Flea

Chapter Twenty

Todoroki blearily woke up to find a silhouette standing over him. He tried to sit upright, causing the three cats huddled over the boy's left side to leap off, hissing. 

"Care to tell me why you've spent the night on my couch?" Mr Aizawa asked, an eyebrow raised. Todoroki opened and closed his mouth several times, but couldn't manage to form any words. His teacher gave a deep sigh, raising his eyes skyward. 

"You could've folded it out. Why didn't you just sleep on it as a bed?" 

"Wh-what?" 

"Maeve's taken in a frustratingly large number of students over the years. I eventually got sick of the... residents... complaining about sleeping on our previous furniture, so to shut them up I bought a fold-out couch. And now you're not even using it. What's the point?" 

Todoroki looked down at the sofa he'd crashed on with new eyes. How had he missed that? 

"Sorry, I didn't... I had no idea." 

Aizawa just huffed and started walking away. Todoroki gaped at him. 

"Did you just get home? What time is it?" 

It was obvious that Eraser Head didn't appreciate the questions. Shoto still wasn't sure if Maeve had told the teacher he'd be staying with them, or if he'd just come home to find a student asleep in his apartment. Either way, he definitely couldn't be happy that the guy who mutilated his daughter was now sharing the same roof as her. 

"It's about 4, night is the only time I can keep up hero work. Is Maeve back yet?" 

Todoroki rubbed his eyes. 

"I think she got in a couple hours ago. We didn't talk, I was half asleep and she seemed in pretty bad shape. Do you know anything about Iida's brother?"  

Mr Aizawa shrugged. 

"He's alive at least, thanks to her almost killing herself. The timing couldn't have been worse, Maeve was already past her limit because of the festival. Don't expect to see her tomorrow, she doesn't handle sleep deprivation well either. Try to get some more rest." 

With that, the teacher shuffled out of the living room, cats trailing behind. A few minutes later Shoto heard the shower start, and he lay back on the couch, anxiety gnawing a hole in his stomach. He shouldn't have come here. It would be bad enough to expect hospitality from his school teachers, let alone teachers he'd assaulted. The thought was so ridiculous it was almost funny. But Maeve had told him to come and he needed answers. What was the confidentiality agreement his father had forced them to adhere to? Why would they allow the number two hero to get away with something like that? He had limitless funds to throw at his problems, but this seemed like a stain difficult to wash out. How many people knew? 

Todoroki eventually exhausted himself with questions, digging himself further into a queasy hole of worry. The situation felt disgusting, for all parties. Checking his phone, Shoto scowled at the 18 missed calls from Endeavor. He reluctantly replied to the frantic texts from Fuyumi to let her know he was alright and not in a ditch, before turning over to try to get back to sleep. It wasn't forthcoming. 

*** 

"Could you stop looking at me like you're wondering what's under my clothes? I know you're gay but still..." 

Todoroki, who'd just taken a sip of orange juice, choked. Mr Aizawa, who'd been flipping pancakes, fumbled and dropped the frying pan onto the stovetop. Maeve observed the frantic coughing, clanging and loud cursing with a vaguely amused expression. She was swaddled in her trusty dressing gown, had shadows under her eyes that would rival Kurogiri's, and was clutching a bowl of steaming coffee. Her bun looked like a bird's nest that had been covered in ash and then thrown at her head. It seemed that when at home, Maeve ascended from mere mugs to full-on dishes as vessels for the higher power of caffeine. Like chipped holy grails.