Nightmares. She had them constantly, and it was worse when Aizawa was gone. It hurt. It always hurt. "Shh, it's okay. Um, deep breaths." She breathed heavily, tears rolling down her face, hugging herself as tightly as she could. It always hurt… "I-it's okay, sweetie, just breath. Can you breathe with me?" She nodded, barely able to see the man other than the neon blond hair. "Okay. In." She took a shuddering breath, launching into a coughing fit. Oh, no, she coughed on him, he would be mad- "It's o-okay, Eri." This wasn't him. It wasn't that man who hurt her. How did she keep forgetting? "It's okay, b-breath, that's I-it. In." She took another shaky breath, tears pouring out. "Good job. Out s-slowly." She followed his instructions, him breathing in and out with her. As her tears stopped flowing, she saw he was in tears as well, hands shaking and looking as scared as she was.

"Z-Zashi?" He wiped the tears away, smiling.

"Just keep breathing, sweetie. In and out, nice and slow." She nodded, hugging herself tightly as tears continued pouring down. "It'll be okay. It was just a nightmare. You're not in trouble."

"I-I c-coughed on y-you…"

"It's alright." She knew the man wanted to touch her. It's how he comforted people. But he couldn't touch her while she was panicking. Not without dying. It hurt her more and more, that knowledge. Why couldn't she control it? The tears began anew. "N-no, it's okay, Eri. It's alright…" He was lost: she knew he was. He kept telling her how to breath, and it was helping to calm her down. She was scared of the pain. She didn't want to get hurt anymore. And here was a man not scared of anything. She felt so small next to him. "Shh, it's okay. Just k-keep breathing. D-do you want s-some music?" She nodded, sniffling. He pulled an ukulele out, making a buzzing sound that sounded like purring along with the music (Electra, religion cut, by Airstream). Her tears slowly faded, and she stared at him with wide eyes as he continued to play it. He looked somewhat sad, but smiled at her gently as he continued to play and buzz his throat. She watched in curiosity as he continued buzzing. The door opened in the front room, and Eri looked behind him, frightened. "Who's there?" The man called casually, looking at Eri with a calm smile.

"It's me." Eri relaxed: that was a voice she knew well. Aizawa came in to find the loud man with a ukulele in his hands and buzzing, and Eri. He knelt by her. "Another nightmare?"

"Y-yeah, I tried to handle it…" The loud man rubbed his neck nervously, looking just as lost as before.

"You did good, Zashi." Eri didn't reach out for Aizawa, and he sat by her with a healthy distance between them so she didn't feel trapped. "Do you want to talk about it?" The metal, the pain, and the blood-she rapidly shook her head, feeling sick. "Okay. Do you want to do something?" Eri looked down, then looked back up.

"C-could I braid z-Zashi's hair?" Aizawa glanced at the man, who looked hesitant, but said confidently,

"Yeah, little listener!" She giggled. Something about how he so freely would shout or whisper…she liked the loud man. He took a seat with his back facing the couch, but he seemed nervous. Did she upset him? Her smile faltered.

"D-did I do something wrong?" Zashi turned to face her with a smile.

"Not at all, Eri. I just don't usually let people do this." She paused. Wait, does that mean she shouldn't? She started panicking again, causing the loud man to move his hands rapidly from his own panic, only making Eri panic more. Aizawa grabbed his hands and said firmly, covering the man's mouth with his spare hand,

"You can braid his hair, Eri. If someone says you can do something, you can. He was explaining why he seems a little nervous. It's perfectly fine." Eri calmed down at that explanation, and Aizawa said pointedly, "You can't panic when someone else is panicking, Zashi." The loud man looked offended, but only slightly.

"I can't help it, they just look worried, and then I get worried, which makes it worse! I don't mean to, Sho!"

"And that is why you're an emotional mess." The loud man made an exaggerated movement to put his hand over his heart, gasping loudly in fake horror. It made Eri chuckle.

"Like you're any better." Eri felt a smile cross her face. They were having fun: she was safe. She gently brushed Mic's hair back, trying to be gentle and not touch him more than needed as her dad and the loud man chatted casually. She was safe. The nightmare was forever ago, and she had two people here who cared for her. As she brushed his hair, she noticed how long it was. She giggled, wrapping herself into the sheet of neon yellow softness. "What are you doing back there, little listener?" Aizawa locked eyes with her and snorted. She giggled again.

"You have a nest now, and it has a little bird in it."

"What?!" Aizawa handed the loud man a mirror, and he held it up so he could see the small girl curled into his locks. He laughed. "Glad to know you like my hair, little listener."

"It's so soft and fluffy, like a cloud!" The loud man laughed again, though it sounded a little different. Aizawa scooped her out of the hair, carefully not getting any hair caught in his grasp.

"You said you wanted to braid his hair, not hide in it, Eri." He nuzzled her gently, making her giggle again, smiling widely. "So, are you going to braid it, or just keep playing?"

"Noo, I'll braid Uncle's hair!" Aizawa and the loud man looked at each other.

"You think Zashi's your uncle?" There was a bit of a confused tone, and Eri said cheerfully,

"He's your brother, and you're my dad!" The next second, she was being hugged in opposite directions: one that smelled like sweat and fabric softener, and one that smelled like honey and a lot of avocado.

"I'm an uncle!" He didn't sound upset: if anything, he sounded happy. Eri smiled: the nightmare was gone.