The Artist and the Hero (Aizawa x OC)

Apart

Time passed, as it always does, and things became a bit calmer for a while. Shota and I went on dates more often before he had to leave, and I got to work on some more paintings, especially since another auction was coming up. I even ran into his students a few times while I was out and about. Of course, most of them knew who I was since I was all over social media. I still didn't know how to feel about that, but I guess I would just have to get used to it.

Sometimes I would get to see my brother, who would come over for lunch or just talk. I convinced him to try his hand at painting, just to see how he would do. It turns out, he was a horrible artist, so bad that I was embarrassed for him. Still, it was a great moment for us to bond, and he didn't care that he was bad. He claimed he was 'better at other things.'

Nemuri, Hizashi, and I hung out more as well, which was always fun. I loved how extroverted they were; it always brought out my playful side. Besides, I loved learning about their lives before they became pro heroes. I always did enjoy digging up history about my friends, it made them all the more interesting. As a trade, I would tell them things about my childhood, or how my dad almost became a pro hero.

Even with all of this entertainment, however, the day that Shota would leave was drawing nearer. I wasn't looking forward to it, although I knew he would only be gone for about two weeks or so. That's why he and I spent as much time together as we could. He would even sneak into my apartment after his patrols to come sleep over. It was always nice when I woke up to a pair of arms wrapping around my middle. Besides, he was warm when he came back from patrol, and sometimes my bedroom could get a little cold.

One night, as I was cuddled under the covers, I started to think about the day he would be leaving and how long we were going to be apart. Of course, my overactive imagination just had to keep me from sleeping. I sighed, slowly getting up to get myself some tea. I knew I had some melatonin laying around somewhere, I just had to find it. As I was waiting for the water to warm up, I heard a loud bang sound come from the window. I whipped my body around to face the noise, only to see a hunched over Shota outside.

Quickly, I moved to unlock the window, eagerly waiting for him to step through it. "Shota, are you okay?" I furrowed my brows once I saw he was clutching his shoulder. He also seemed to be walking with a slight limp. I cupped his face in my hands, searching his eyes for any signs of pain. His walls blocking his emotions were up, which meant he must've had a hard patrol. "Baby, do you need to sit down? I'm making some tea if you want some," I gestured to the small couch.

"I lost a kid today," he said in such a small voice I had to strain my ears to hear him.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry," I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him so tightly that he grunted a little bit. I pulled away for just a moment to plant a tender kiss to his lips. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now," he sighed, sinking down onto the couch as if he was carrying a sack of flour.

"Okay, just stay right there while I pour us some tea. It should help you sleep," I said before kissing his cheek. Once the drinks were ready, I carried them to the couch, where Shota was staring hard at a piece of string on my carpet.

"She was so small," he whispered, wringing his hands together. "I could've held her with one hand if I wanted to."

"Shota, I'm sure you did everything you could. I know it's unbearably difficult to accept, but you can't always save everyone," I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I know, but I just can't stop seeing her face," he held his head in his hands, trying so hard to fight back tears.

"Aw, baby, come here," I opened my arms, to which he immediately settled into. I massaged his scalp with my nails, sometimes kissing his forehead when he was on the verge of crying. "Honey, can you try to drink some tea?" I whispered as he sat up. He ended up drinking the whole thing before cleaning himself up a bit. I put away the dirty mugs before slipping back underneath the covers. I was now feeling sleepy, so I decided to go to bed.