Why do children have to be so small?

Bleeding ears

It’s the last day of vacation. We’re going to the airport in the afternoon, and we should land in Tokyo tomorrow at noon. Then it’s straight to UA and back to school on Monday. We’re all spending the last day on the beach. I am, as usual, sitting in my chair in the shade. Hizashi is at the bar getting drinks for all of us, hopefully alcohol free. Hitoshi is still teaching Eri how to swim. I’ll make sure to get her a proper instructor when we come home. Hizashi sits down next to me with a small tray with four glasses on it, and a bag of chips.
“‘Toshi! Eri! Drinks and chips!”
All the glasses are the same, so it doesn’t matter which one I take. The kids come running out of the water and plop down next to me.
“Is everything packed? All clothes? Phones, chargers?”
“Yeah, everything except our swimwear.”
“Great, make sure to put them in plastic bags before you put them in your bags, or everything inside is gonna get wet.”
I take a sip of my cola and look at Hizashi. He’s helping Eri with her hair. She’s still struggling with putting it up herself. He ties it with a hair tie and stands up.
“I need to go to the bathroom real qui-”
Someone bumps into him and he falls forward, right onto me. I quickly put away my glass to grab him.
“Woah! ‘Zashi, are you okay?”
He looks up at me. His pupils seem to double in size.
“Will you marry me?”
“We’re already married.”
“Marry me again!”
I turn to the person who bumped into him, who seems to be explaining what they did in english.
“Uh… ‘Toshi? Will you translate for me?”
“He’s saying-”
He suddenly bursts out in laughter.
“What is it? Why is he like this?”
“He has a love quirk. Pops must have been hit by it and fell onto you and… fell in love with you.”
Eri laughs too.
“Papa really loves daddy!”
I sigh and try to make Hizashi sit up properly.
“Come on, get up… you overgrown baby.”
He refuses to let go of me, clinging to me like a child.
“Hizashi! Sit up!”
“I don’t wanna let you goooooo…”
“How long is this gonna last for?”
“He said up to a week.”
“Oh god… he’s gonna be like this in school too? We’re doomed.”
“I love you, Sho…”
“I know you do, come on, get up.”

I never managed to get him to sit up. At least not outside my lap. And now he’s insisting that he’s gonna sit in my lap in the taxi too. But all he’s getting is a hand to hold. Both Eri and Hitoshi think the situation is hilarious. I do not. Hizashi is currently… kissing? Licking? my cheek while I try to push him away.
“Hizashi I swear to god, I will divorce you.”
His eyes fill with tears.
“N-no! You can’t do that!”
“Yes I can and I will if you continue. I said you can hold my hand, not that you can lick my face!”
“I want to appreciate you!”
“You can appreciate me in other ways than licking me! Come on, sit down properly!”
He sighs deeply and dramatically before he sits in his seat, crushing my hand with his.
“And sit next to Eri, not pushed against me.”
“But I don’t love her as much!”
“She’s your daughter, Yamada!”
I’m hitting his weak points on purpose, because it seems to work. He frowns at me and sits closer to Eri.
“He doesn’t mean it, Eri, don’t worry about him.”
“I know, he’s just weird!”
I feel Hizashi’s hand creep up to touch my leg. I slap it before he can grab me.
“Only hand holding. Nothing else.”
He pulls his hand back.
“And if you continue, I won’t sit next to you on the plane.”

We’re finally at the UA dorms. Hitoshi basically grabbed his bag and ran to the 2-A dorms as soon as we left the car. So now I’m left with a 6-year-old child and Eri.
“Come on, let’s go inside.”
I grab Hizashi’s wrist and pull him through the door to the teachers’ dorms. Nemuri is sitting in the couch, drinking what looks like coffee.
“Welcome back Sh- what happened to Hizashi?”
“Yeah long story. He was hit by a love quirk or something and now he refuses to let go of me. Can I get some help? I can’t get him off myself.”
She stands up and grabs Hizashi’s waist, trying to pry him from my shoulder.
“Come… on… Hizashi… let go!”
“I will never! You can never make me leave my one true love!”
I’m sure he’s not aware of it, but he activates his quirk. He’s yelling straight into my ear. I try to cover them, but he’s holding my arms too hard.
“Hizashi you are hurting me!”
His eyes fill with tears again. He slowly lets go of me and laughs sadly.
“I’m sorry, Sho… I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
His quirk is still activated. I cover my ears this time. It feels like my eardrums are about to explode. Nemuri is saying something to him and I slowly remove my hands from my ears.
“I’m sorry Sho!”
I’m not quick enough this time. I grab Eri’s arm and pull her to the elevator.
“He doesn’t have much control of his quirk when he is like this, but I’m sure he’ll be back to normal soon.”
“Daddy! Your ears!”
She pokes my cheek with her small finger and shows it to me. It’s red. I’m bleeding.
“I’ll be okay, okay princess? It’s nothing, I’ll just head over to Recovery Girl. You don’t have to worry about me.”
I smile at her and pick her up, leaning her against my chest. She tries to wipe the blood off of my cheek.
“Hey. I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”
I grab her hand and step out of the elevator.
“I’ll be fine and so will Papa. Don’t worry, princess.”