Category: General Fluff
Characters: Shota Aizawa, Eri
The rain pounded against the walls and windows, filling the ordinarily quiet night air with insistent drumming. Occasionally, the wind would wail and rattle the branches of the trees outside, making their spindly fingers and dripping leaves scrape against the siding. Thunder rolled in the roiling gray clouds, preceded by brilliant flashes of white streaks of lightning that carved like lines of silver through the fluffy masses.
Shota could see the reflection of the window in the bright glaring screen of his laptop. For the last ten minutes, instead of finalizing his lesson plans for the following week like he ought to, he had been watching the water stream over the glass pane like a thundering waterfall. A particularly loud boom of thunder shook the dormitory, and he sighed deeply, leaning far back in his computer chair to rub his eyes.
He peered through his fingers at his alarm clock. Bright, neon green numbers spelled out 2:18 a.m. in the gloom. He ran a hand over his face, which then split into a long yawn. For a man who loved his sleep, he sure found himself awake at ungodly hours of the night more often than he wished to.
A small creak from the other side of the room attracted his attention. He used his feet to turn the chair around to glance at the bedroom door, finding it slightly ajar. Ruby red eyes, watery and full, blinked at him from the small gap. With a small tsk, Shota rubbed the side of his head and gestured for the little girl to enter the room.
"Does the thunder scare you?" he inquired as Eri shuffled into the small bedroom. She stopped several feet away from him and silently shook her head. Eri had been residing at U.A. for several months now, but the girl was still very much skittish. Smiling softly, Shota motioned with his hand for her to approach. Her butterfly-patterned yellow nightgown swished around her little knees as she cautiously padded over the wooden floor to his chair. "What is it, Eri?"
"I had a nightmare," she admitted meekly. Her little fingers wrung into themselves, and she looked guiltily at her bare feet. "I dreamed… That I was back there, and he was doing those awful things to me." She ran her small hands over her arms, arms that had not too long ago been swathed in bandages. Her bottom lip wobbled as tears sprung to the corners of her eyes. "I dreamed that Lemillion and Deku were dead, and he was laughing at me, telling me it was all my fault!"
"Hey, hey," he consoled quietly as she began to cry pitifully. He leaned down to slip his hands under her armpits, and then lifted her effortlessly into his lap. She rubbed at her teary eyes with her hands, sniffling and hiccupping. "Overhaul can't hurt you anymore," he crooned, smudging the tears away with the pads of his thumb. It did little good, as the girl continued to cry petulantly, replacing the deposed tears with new ones. Shota just exhaled and hugged her head to his chest, running his fingers through her wavy, white-silver hair. He had never been good with children. Hizashi could probably get her to smile, he thought with a click of his teeth.
Eri snuggled into his body as she cried, pawing her little hands into the folds of his tee-shirt. After a few minutes, she ceased her weeping and propped herself up on her knees to cuddle into his shoulder. Shota's hand smoothed soothing circles into the small of her back, and he leaned his head against hers.
"I know he can't hurt me anymore," she whimpered, digging her hands into the sleeves of his shirt, "but it still frightens me. I'm afraid that one day I'll wake up, and all of this will have been a dream." Shota smiled painfully. This is much too heavy a burden for a child to carry. If I ever see Overhaul again, I'll rip out his insides, he thought bitterly. He pushed Eri back so that she sat on her knees, pouting uncertainly at him. Shota brushed a strand of her milk-white hair from her round face, tucking it behind her ear.
"That's a pretty scary thought," he agreed gently, "but you're safe now. This is no dream." Her small lips curled into a shaky smile, and internally, Shota shouted victory. Another roaring roll of thunder resounded through the heavens, shaking the sturdy walls of the dormitory. Eri squeaked and jumped into him, making him chuckle and wrap his arms snugly around her quivering body. "So, you are scared of the thunder, too."
"It's so loud! I could never hear it so deep underground… Is the sky falling?"
"No, the sky's not falling. Come on now. Let's go to your room." Obediently, she wound her slim arms around his neck and tucked her tiny legs against his waist. Bearing her weight with the thick of his left arm, he rose from the chair to head to the little girl's room. The drenched yard beyond the row of floor-to-ceiling glass windows thrashed in the thrall of the storm; the crackles of lightning illuminated the thrashing trees and trembling bushes and rippling puddles of rainwater. Eri's vermillion eyes reflected in the glass like two shining blood moons, beholding the splendor of nature's power.
"Are you sure we'll be okay?" she asked unsurely. Shota smiled and patted the back of her head reassuringly.
"I'm sure. Tomorrow, the grass will be greener and the flowers brighter because of all this rain. If you asked him, Midoriya might take you out to play in the mud puddles." He felt the girl stiffen with glee, and she released a delighted little gasp, making him grin. Maybe I know children better than I thought.
The pink nightlight blazing in the corner filled Eri's bedroom with a soft, rosy glow. He carried her over to her bed and gently lowered her into it, then pulled the comforter snugly under her chin. She pouted thoughtfully up at him, her eyes shaking like she wished to ask him a question. "What is it, Eri?"
"Will you sing to me?" Shota's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Eri fingered the hem of the comforter, looking a bit guilty. "I'm sorry. We watched a movie the other day, and a mother sang a lullaby to her baby. I don't… I don't remember if my mother ever even sang me lullabies… I just wanted to know what it was like." Shota's mouth twisted into a mixture between a smile and scowl. Jeez, how awful would he be, to refuse such an innocent request from such a traumatized girl? Resigning himself to the humiliation, Shota sat on the edge of the bed and wracked his mind for a suitable melody for the girl. Deep in the recesses of his memory, he recalled a tune.
"A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain softly blows over Lullaby Bay. It fills the sails of boats that are waiting, waiting to sail your worries away," he sang awkwardly, shifting on the bed. Eri's blood-red eyes watched him rapturously, her lips slightly parted in fascination. He cleared his throat and continued, looking up at the ceiling with pink cheeks, "It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain, and your boat waits down by the quay. The winds of night so softly are sighing. Soon they will fly your troubles away."
He peeked out of his peripheral vision to see Eri's eyes drooping. She blinked slowly, like a cat, and smacked her lips a little. The edge of Shota's mouth curled upward into a smile. "So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain, wave goodbye to cares of the day, and watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain sail far away from Lullaby Bay." Her chest was rising and falling with deep, unlabored breaths. Her red irises just barely peeked out from beneath her long lashes, and they hazed with exhaustion. Shota smirked, knowing she was forcing herself to stay awake for the last verse. He swept his hand over her forehead, ruffling her soft bangs. "So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain, wave goodbye to cares of the day, and watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain sail far away from Lullaby Bay."
With one final, long exhale, her eyes drifted closed. Shota cocked his head and watched her sleep for a while, stroking lines into her cascades of hair. Her face remained peaceful and unworried; no more nightmares tainted the solace of her rest. The rain had dwindled to a soft pattering against the roof tiles, with the thunder no more than a few distant rumbles. He leaned back on the palms of his hands to watch her with a tiny smile. Shota hadn't been quite sure what to make of it, when Principal Nezu had assigned her to his care. Yet, looking at her then, so pure and content, Shota knew in his heart he didn't regret it.
"G'night, Eri," he breathed and brushed her small knuckles with his fingertips. Her little mouth curled into a teensy smile and she muttered his name, though she was completely unconscious. He hesitated for a second, then leaned over and pressed a small kiss to her forehead, overwhelmed by paternal instincts. When he leaned back, her smile had widened.
When Shota finally ventured back into his bedroom, the neon numbers were shouting 2:37 at him. Groaning, he flopped face-first onto his bed, not even bothering to pull the covers over himself. Lying on his belly and hugging the pillow, he looked thoughtfully out the raindrop-splattered window. … Maybe tomorrow, I'll wake up early and take Eri to play in the mud puddles myself. Smirking, he rolled over to set his alarm for the following morning.