Keeping true to his word Bakugo Katsuki stood at their door the next morning. He was going to see to it personally that Izuku went to work. Even though the guy never agreed the night before. It took threats from both the blonde and a tired Aoi who had not been pleased too the six am wake up of a softer, more normal knock coming from their door at the ass crack of dawn. Bakugo threatened to blow Izuku's ass up if he didn't leave. And Aoi threatened to leave if it meant the man would follow her out. She would walk to his agency if she had to in order to drop him off like some preschool child that clings to their mothers leg refusing to let go.
And that was how she found herself all alone in the large empty apartment. It was weird having the apartment all to herself. The place felt oddly silent. She turned the tv on instantly just so the place was not so quiet any more. It helped a little with the anxiety she felt. She had not even been alone for half an hour and she was feeling antsy. Whatever was playing held no interest to her, but it did help a little to hear voices fill the home. With a light limp she found herself in the kitchen. Her stomach was gnawing at her to eat something. The last few days she had been neglecting herself and she knew it. Skipped meals, sleepless nights. Annoying thoughts that just made her anxiety and depression worse.
And yet she was happy to be alone. Finally she could breathe without a worried hero standing over her shoulder ready to panic and aid her at the first opportunity. It was still something she was struggling with. Izuku was so eager to be there, to help her and do almost anything she asked of him. Still he had yet to ask anything in return. That was what she struggled to understand. She was looking into the pot of the miso soup she was boiling as if it may magically give her the answers to the enigma that she felt the hero was. People did not do things out of the kindness of their hearts.
Most days she even wondered if the average person even had a heart any more. Humans are selfish and greedy creatures. She had seen it time and time again since she was young. Managers abusing staff, heros fawning their power and abusing it, cops who will turn a blind eye as long as their pockets were heavy with coin. And everyone will walk past a dirty, rough looking child saying that someone else will come along. A hero will come and help. They all say it but it never happened. Heros only help those who are worth helping within society standards.
Turning off the stove she poured her soup into a bowl, grabbed her rice and some pickled vegetables from the fridge before sitting down at the table to slowly eat her breakfast. She barely paid her meal any attention. She knew all too well that she was not someone that society deemed worth saving. She never had been. She was not saved as a kid, she struggled as a teen. And now as an adult it was all she could do to keep her head afloat. And yet Izuku somehow deemed her worthy all of the sudden.
She wanted to believe it was his kind heart. The man was too soft for his own good. And yet her brain screamed that there had to be strings attached. He must want something from her. But what? Izuku knew she had nothing to offer as repayment for his kindness. No job or money any more. She had also not been nice to him lately.
Sighing, she looked down at her empty plates before gathering them up and walking to the sink to wash them and all the dishes she had made dirty while cooking her meal. The least she could do was clean the apartment while she waited for the hero to return. So first the dishes, then she wiped down the counter, then swept and mopped the floor. Though by that point she needed a break as her sore ankle was a little unhappy with all the standing. What should she do next? The bathroom would be a good idea. Then again she should start some laundry if she wanted it all done and dry before Izuku got back.
Sitting on the couch she looked down the hall towards the bedrooms. Should she enter Izuku's room and clean it? She wanted to, and it wasn't like there was anything he had worth hiding from her. She had already seen his hero merchandise boxers. But then she wasn't sure if the poor bundle of shy nerves would still be happy with that idea. She should ask him first. Slowly climbing to her feet she slowly made her way to her bedroom to gather up her dirty clothes to throw in the wash while she cleaned the bathroom.
By the time she heard the front door unlock she was in the kitchen already working to try and finish cooking dinner. Though she had not been sure when he would exactly return. She expected him to be gone for a while and it seemed him returning after six pm was what she expected. She was pretty sure she could hear the hero sniffing like some dog before the messy head of curls poked into the kitchen.
"That smells good," Izuku said as she was standing at the front of the stove. The sizzling of the stir fry in front of her almost blocked out the arrival of her roommate.
"Thanks," she mumbled as she focused on the food in front of her and not letting it burn.
"I've missed your cooking Aoi," Izuku said as he stood behind her. His tall stature made it easy for him to look over her head and at the stir fry she was mixing.
"Good, I noticed you didn't take a lunch with you this morning. There's a bento in the fridge for tomorrow. I expect you to take it with you," she tossed a glare over her shoulder at the hero who she knew had most likely skipped both breakfast and lunch in lieu of trying to get as much hero work done as he could. Of course the hero just smiled innocently at her.
"Go shower and dinner will be done by the time you're out," she said after a soft sigh. It wasn't like she had any room to scold the hero on his bad eating habits. She herself was just as bad. She may have cooked breakfast but she skipped lunch as well. And she had no excuse for it like the hero did.
She had plates filled and had just placed them down on the table before she heard the door to the bathroom open. She was grabbing them glasses of water before she turned to see Izuku sitting at his spot at the table. A wide smile pulled at his lips as he looked up from the food to the woman as she placed down a cup of water in front of him.
With a quick thanks to the food both started to dig in. Though the silence felt heavy and awkward. It was easy to break. A simple question was all it took and the hero was rambling on and on.
"How was it being back at work?"
That question had Izuku instantly jump into a ramble of how his day had gone. From the purse snatching he stopped on his way to work, to how happy he was to see his fellow hero's again. And how he spent his day helping people. It was clear with the energy and smile on his face that being a hero made him happy. He was not doing the job for the money or fame like most hero's. He helped people because he wanted to. She felt a little bad for doubting him lately.
She simply sat there enjoying her meal, smiling and nodding as she let Izuku's rambling fill the silence. It was slightly soothing and she tried to focus on what he was saying and not let her thoughts encompass her entirely. Still she couldn't help but wonder why he did so much for her. And how could she repay him?
That was the question she was now thinking over as she watched the hero across from her rambling on about his day back after his little holiday off. She had no way to repay him. No money to her name and he clearly did not yet want her to leave the apartment alone so she doubted he would let her get a new job tomorrow. And even if she did it would take time to find a job that would hire a high school dropout. She would have to try and find a convenient store nearby or something similar that would hire her. Even then it would take a while for her to earn what she could assume would be enough to cover her medical expenses, her share of rent on such a nice place, her share of the food and other basic things.
She had little to no options. What else could she do? Sure she could cook and clean but she would do that for herself anyways. Making a little extra food to feed the hero was easy when she was cooking for herself. Looking up at him he was still just rambling away about his work. She glanced away and looked down the halls towards their bedrooms. Oh yes she could ask him about cleaning his bedroom. She had not entered his room for fear it could upset him. She would have to ask him about it as soon as the man finished his little ramble.
She watched and waited till Izuku finally seemed to be drawing his rambling to an end. Took him a while, but she let him go on as long as he wanted to. It did not seem worth interrupting him while they ate. It wasn't till she was gathering up dirty dishes from the table that it seemed Izuku was finished.
"How was your day?" Izuku asked as he finished his food and jumped to his feet to help her clean up. She softly shrugged her shoulders before she turned and carried her dishes towards the sink.
"It was okay. Mostly spent it cleaning. Which reminds me. Is it okay if I clean your bedroom? Or even just go into your room so I can change your bedsheets? I would like to add them to the laundry I will do tomorrow," she said as she started filling the sink with hot water so she could wash the dishes.
"Huh? Oh you don't need to worry about doing my laundry or anything like that," Izuku was quick to try and tell her she did not need to clean up after him in his room.
"It's fine. There isn't much to do here other than clean up. And anyways if I'm doing my own laundry it's not that much work to add yours," she said simply as Izuku slipped up beside her within the de entry large kitchen. Yet his presence made the kitchen feel tiny.
"Oh! Do you want anything brought in? I could get you a game system? Is there a particular streaming channel you want?" He asked before going on a soft ramble about what else he could purchase for her to help keep her from growing bored. Which was not overly helpful to her. Aoi did not watch a lot of tv. She was also not used to being home all day. Working herself to the bone was what she knew the best. She wondered how long she could last being home all day alone without crawling up the walls. Still she didn't like the idea of Izuku spending even more money on her. But she did realize she did really want one particular item.
"Don't worry about it. Your tv has more than enough to watch on it. But uhm a new cell phone would be nice so I could know when you'll be home for dinner," she said softly trying not to sound like she really wanted one.
"Oh yeah I forgot your old one got lost in everything. If I'm going to be out working and you ever needed help you would need to be able to call for help. I'll make sure to get you a new phone," Izuku said, realizing he had forgotten that she no longer had a cell phone. And he did not enjoy the sudden realization that if anything ever happened she would not be able to call him for help. He would make sure to get her a new cell phone tomorrow before he came home after work.
"Thanks," she said softly. She really hated having to ask for anything, and the fact she could not repay him either. She started washing the dishes only for Izuku to shoo her away. Telling her that she had cleaned enough today. And since she cooked he would clean. She didn't mind cleaning. If anything it felt like the only thing she could do to try and repay him. Also she had no idea what to do with herself. The urge to retreat to her bedroom to simply simmer in her own brain was strong. But she was trying not to do that again. She wanted to try and make things return to as close as they had been, before life decided to screw her only the last time.
"You also never answered my question. Do I have permission to enter your room?" She asked over her shoulder before she started towards the living room.
Izuku was happy she had retreated to the couch and could not see how red his face was at her question. He has never had a woman cleaning his bedroom for him before, well not since he was a kid and his mom did it at least. The thought still made him a little embarrassed even though she had already seen his All Might themed room and everything inside of it before. Still did not stop the embarrassment that made his ears warm.
"Hum I guess it's fine," he called out. But at his unsure tone she arched a brow at him.
"Is it really? You know Izuku, you're allowed to say no. Grow a little spine. You won't hurt my feelings if you say no to me," she said as she tried to lean back and look into the kitchen at him.
"It's okay. Just feels weird thinking you will be doing my laundry," he admits from his spot at the sink.
Ah poor little sugar cookie was embarrassed about having a woman in his room. She couldn't help but wonder. Is the hero a virgin? He always seemed so shy and easily got embarrassed over what she saw as little things. If she was braless he would try so hard not to look at her directly, then again she was pretty sure it was the same way when she wore shorts that were almost more like panties than short.
It was a bit hard to believe the man who could probably have any model he could wanted was so shy. Surely women threw themselves at him. And yet here he was getting embarrassed over the thought of her doing his laundry. Almost made it hard to believe that hero was the same age as her. And now him living with another woman was going to just make it all the harder for the poor guy to bring someone home.
The thought crossed her mind and she couldn't deny it stuck. At first the thought repulsed her. She had worked so hard to never stoop to such a low as to sell her body. But it feels like for Izuku it would be different. First off, Izuku would surely treat her well. Yet still she had her pride. But was it using her body if she rather liked the idea of sleeping with him? If she was interested then was it really selling herself?
She was torn on what the answer was. If she wanted to be with him then she was not really trading her body for payment. But still she knew she would be. There was no other way she could repay his kindness. Even if it was slightly annoying, still he kept a roof over her head, food in her stomach and she did not fear what the next day would bring. Fighting off boredom was her only real concern. Well that and how she was going to repay him for this kindness. The next question would be if she did decide to do that, would Izuku even want her? A plain nobody? When he could have a model at his will. She doubted it.
With a heavy sigh she sat deeper into the couch as she listened to Izuku pull the plug on the sink to let the water drain out once he was done washing dishes. Once finished Izuku made his way into the living room happy to join Aoi as she sat on the couch attempting to watch some movie on the tv. He was unaware of the inner turmoil that was bothering her this time. Then again a lot of things had been bothering her as of late. And this was just one of a few things that swam around in her head.