Why did I agree to let him come over? I hate having people over. And…Hizashi is the only person I'm comfortable with seeing this place. Akari surveyed her apartment, running her fingers through her hair as she tried to figure out where to begin tidying up.

When she was a nighttime hero, she got into the habit of sleeping all day and working at night. She spent very little time in her living room so she had a dusty television and a small bookshelf with half of the books untouched. The couch had hardly been broken in and was uncomfortable to sit on. As she stared to clean up the hero costume she had shed as soon as she got home, she sighed.

What am I going to do? I should've told him 'no'. I should've said I can handle it, but I know that I can't. I've been trying for a while. Even before the school year began, she had been attempting to fix her sleep pattern. The day that Yamada helped her get hired, she became determined to acclimate herself to a normal schedule. Old habits die hard though.

Combing through her hair, she managed to pull it back into a ponytail so it was at least out of her face. With grim determination, the woman managed to get the living room and her bedroom cleaned up. She located a clean pair of sweatpants and a tank top just as she heard a knock at the door. Half-hopping as she struggled into the pants, she made her way out to the living room. "Just a second!"

As she neared the door, Akari pulled the tank top on over her head and checked herself a bit nervously. Okay! I look okay, right? Why am I so flustered? She opened the door and the smile that she gave Aizawa was nothing short of creepy. "Welcome!"

The man raised an eyebrow at the odd greeting. "What were you doing?"

I look so uncool right now! She stepped aside to let him in, her smile falling. "I was cleaning," she explained. "I don't usually have anyone over."

"Doesn't Yamada have a spare key?" He entered the apartment and paused in his steps. The expression on his face made her regret letting him come over. The man's frown and narrowing of his eyes showed clear exasperation as he looked at his surroundings.

"Do you want some tea or coffee?" Akari rarely had guests over, but she at least knew that this was a normal thing to ask.

"I'm here to help you sleep," Aizawa reminded her. "No caffeine."

"I have mint tea," she argued.

"Fine. Make some."

Akari walked to the kitchen, trying to calm herself down. I'm just flustered because of that incident in the hallway. He hasn't said anything though. Maybe he didn't actually hear? She was filling the kettle with water and paused to yawn. The day's events were more tiring than usual; teaching along with the stress of worrying whether or not Aizawa heard what she and Yamada were talking about.

Shift P.O.V

He had to admire her efforts so far. Akahana had put up thick, dark red curtains over all of the windows in her apartment to block out light. All of the lighting fixtures had a dim setting on them. There was a bottle of sleep aids on the coffee table next to a bottle of water.

Aizawa had expected a little more from her apartment. Her living room looked barely used. He could still see the price tag on the cherry red sofa and when he sat down, it was a little too firm. As if no one had ever used it before. The man was soon standing again; it was too uncomfortable.

Akahana's apartment showed no signs that it belonged to her besides the very red color scheme to everything. There were no pictures anywhere. No personal belongings in sight that would give a clue to her personality or interests. If not for the warm colors, it might feel like a cold, impersonal place.

He went to the kitchen and was mystified to find that all of the food she had seemed to be quick, cheap meals. Things like cup ramen, energy bars, and rice. When he opened the fridge, Aizawa actually took a step back as his mouth contorted in displeasure. The fridge was full of energy drinks. Row after row of cotton candy flavored energy drinks.

"The tea's almost done," she remarked. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." He closed the fridge and leaned against the counter beside her. "What do you drink after work?" Aizawa decided to get straight to the point of why he was there; helping her be able to sleep restfully.

She poured two cups of tea and offered him one. "Water. I just drink water after work. Well, sometimes this mint tea because I read that it's supposed to be calming. It's not caffeinated."

He watched her crimson lips pucker as she leaned down to blow on her tea and he frowned. With her hair pulled back like that, he was reminded of how she wore it in high school. Always pulled back in a braid and put over her shoulder so she could fidget with it if she got nervous. "What do you after work?"

Akahana looked a little sheepish as she sipped her tea, those vivid cerulean eyes shifting away from him. "I take a sleep aid and try to sleep. And if I can't sleep, I end up reading."

"So you don't watch television? You don't go on your laptop?" He saw her shake her head. I'm getting tired. Covering a yawn, he caught her looking at him again and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." The redhead set her cup down, but ran a fingertip along the rim as she looked down at the warm beverage. "So how do you fall asleep?"

Why does this feel more like a social visit? Aizawa downed his tea in one go and set the empty cup into her sink. "I just fall asleep."

Her lips twitched into a smirk. "That's a cool talent."

"Where's your room?" He caught the unmistakable rush of color to her cheeks and almost smirked back at her.

As she led him to her room, he watched her body language. He knew that she was tired, but she was moving kind of stiffly. As if she was tense. The man was once again reminded of how she was in high school. She was close with Yamada even back then and would sometimes get sucked into the hyper vortex that was the blond's personality, but she always calmed down when she was around Aizawa.

He had liked her back then. She never pushed him to do things he was uncomfortable with and even stood up for him to Yamada a few times when the blond tried to push him too far. He had liked her, but she never seemed to feel the same way so he never said anything to her about it. Besides, they were both training to become heroes. It would be distracting to date.

After graduation, they rarely spoke. He was aware of her accomplishments though. Both being nighttime heroes, they had even worked together a few times. They just were not very close. Now that they were coworkers, it was different. They were both different people. Though, regrettably, the attraction was still there. If anything, he liked her a little more now. He enjoyed watching her struggle to stay awake and when she made the "nn" sound when she was tired, she reminded him of a cat.

Shift P.O.V

"This is it." Akari tried not to think about the fact that she was showing her bedroom to a man. Sure, Yamada had been in there a number of times, but never Aizawa. She was starting to feel self-conscious.

The door was opened to reveal a room decorated in black. She knew that it contrasted weirdly with the rest of the apartment's red color scheme, but when she was researching ways to help her sleep, dark colors had come up. Red was a stimulating color. Besides, she did not want her bedroom to look like something from a cheap love hotel.

Aizawa stepped into her room, looking around. He seemed satisfied that the environment was good for sleep. When he turned to regard Akari, he found her toying with a loose lock of crimson hair that fell beside her face. "How do you sleep?" he finally asked.

"Ah. Well, I just kind of curl up-"

"You wear pajamas?"

She bowed her head to try to hide the rush of color to her face. "Sometimes," she admitted. "Sometimes I'm too tired to bother." Half the time, she would come home, get out of her costume, and just pass out. But the sleep never seemed to last for long.

"Hm." Sitting on the edge of the bed, he appeared to be testing the mattress. A few seconds later, he swung his legs up onto the bed and was lying on his back, eyes focused on the ceiling. Seconds after that, his eyes were closed and he was most definitely asleep.

Wait…what just happened? Akari let her hair down, ruffling it anxiously as she tried to decide what to do next. She saw the oddly soft, peaceful expression on his face as she approached the bed and it made her frown. I'm so tired. I can't tell if I was conned into letting him have my bed or if he really planned to help. The thought of this being an elaborate ruse made her want to laugh.

Instead, she yawned and sat at the edge of the bed. Seeing him sleep was making her fatigue all the stronger. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she tried to wake him. "Hey…Aizawa? I need my bed." There was no sign of him waking, even a little. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair again.

This is a dangerous situation. Her gaze wandered from his eyes down to the scruffy facial hair on his chin and cheeks. She was tempted to touch it. In her fatigued state, she had the odd idea that it would be nice to rub it with her fingers. Akari's eyes half-closed as she yawned again. Damn Hizashi. Putting words in my mouth. Look at you. Hot? That's doesn't even…I mean! Look at you!

She fell onto her side on the bed, forcing herself to face away from him. Certainly a short nap would be fine. Her sleep was always broken so there was no way that she would sleep through the night beside him. One of them would wake up and probably wake the other. Though she knew the more likely scenario. He would wake before she did, probably be irritated that she had let this happen, and he would leave without a word to her.

Sleep was beginning to claim her when she felt an arm wrap around her from behind. Akari opened her eyes a little to look down at the hand now planted against her stomach. Her groggy, apparently lecherous, mind decided to take his hand and draw it upwards to her chest. Settling back against him, she closed her eyes again. The man's fingertips were against bare skin, touching where the tank top did not quite cover her whole chest. "…Shouta…" she mumbled, smirking sleepily.

"Quiet." He pulled her back tighter against him, a leg pushing between hers to get more of her warmth. His face buried in the back of her neck, his breath gently fanning over her skin. "…go back to sleep…"