A/N: Sooooo...sorry about that! It took me a little longer to post this than I thought. :sweat: Life and other writing projects got in the way, but with the newest chapter out today (373), I am DESPERATE for more Aizawa content. T_T And if I can't find any, I must write it myself. I'm not making any promises, but don't be surprised if I upload some more AizawaxJoke content here soon...

Aizawa lounged against the wall as he watched Emi finish tucking Eri in. Slowly, the pro-hero extracted herself and tip-toed out of the room. He fell in step behind her.

"She's out," Emi whispered. "Hopefully she won't have any nightmares, but there's not much more I can do. Maybe find somebody with a dream quirk."

Aizawa grunted and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for everything today. I appreciate it."

"Hey, that's what friends are for. And we're friends."

The mood shifted. Aizawa paused, unsure of what had caused it or why Emi suddenly looked so…so serious.

Emi rested one hand on his shoulder. "Really. Are you okay? Has anybody actually asked you how you're feeling?"

Aizawa blinked. How was he feeling? He'd seen so much chaos. So much destruction. So much death. People close to him. People from his childhood. He'd had to let his young students march into battle, all with the knowledge they might never come back alive.

"I don't—" he started awkwardly. "That…I…"

Emi took a deep breath. He wondered if she'd dare to speak the name of those that they'd lost.

He wondered why he felt afraid that she might.

"You have to take time to grieve. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I don't know anything. These are scary times we're living in." She swallowed. "I'm scared. We don't know who's going to live or die, and sometimes it's overwhelming."

"You're scared?" Aizawa leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. "But…you're always…"

"What? Always smiling? Yeah. Because if All-Might taught us anything, it's that we've got to show up with a smile." Emi squeezed his shoulder. "The truth is, Eraserhead—Shouta Aizawa—there is a chance that you and I might die tomorrow."

"Not you—" he began, only to realize how illogical that sounded.

But after losing so many people, he'd never once thought of her as being in danger.

Maybe he should have.

Maybe that had been very irrational of him.

But now that she'd put the thought in his head, he couldn't lose it. He wouldn't let her end up like his other friends. He wouldn't let someone else die.

Emi gently reached up and touched his jawline. "Yeah. Me. You're not the only one in danger. Your students aren't the only ones out there fighting. Mine are, too. And one day, I'd like to actually sit down and talk to you about it. Before it's too late."

Aizawa swallowed. "…Tomorrow…?"

"Sure. And don't worry. I won't call it a date. We'll call it a shared therapy session between friends." Emi patted his cheek and stepped back. "Stay out of trouble until then, you hear?"

Aizawa wished he had his binding cloth to hide under again, but he'd taken it off when they arrived home. "Yeah. You too."

Emi winked. "Me? I'm always trouble, mister." Her demeanor slipped back into the one Aizawa was all too familiar with. "And you just invited me back into your house. Better hope I'm not a vampire…though I'd still bite your neck if you let me."

Aizawa sighed and rolled his eyes. "And, we're done. Goodbye, Emi."

"Bye, Shouta." Emi blew him a kiss. "See you tomorrow for our therapy session."

"Yeah, yeah." Shouta waved her out as he settled down on the couch. His head pounded…

He wondered how much of the pressure there might be from unshed tears.

Tomorrow.

Hopefully, Emi would still be alive tomorrow to keep their da—

Therapy session.
Laws, did he need it.