🖤💙𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕💙🖤

Idiots Of All Shapes And Sizes

POV AIZAWA

I still can't get used to having a normal alarm clock. I miss Hizashi bursting through the door, jumping on the bed like an overly exuberant child to wake me. As annoying as it was, it was effective. And it made me feel less alone. Now I just have this damn digital clock, buzzing and beeping on my side table. I groan and shut it off, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

Last night, Eri and Hitoshi invaded my space and forced me to watch My Little Pony until I collapsed from exhaustion. Out of habit, I reach up to pull my hair back, but instead of my usual scraggly bedhead, I find two frizzy twin braids tied at the ends with pink ribbons.

Eri peaks her head into my room, a smile painted on her face. "Good morning, Dadzawa!" she exclaims, trotting over to me. She catches me in a hug, and I have no choice but to hug her back. "Do you like your hair?" she asks, pulling back to beam at me. "Toshi and I did them!"

Hitoshi leans on the doorframe. His hair is parted into two sloppy sections, also twisted into braids, tied with curly ribbons. I can't help but snicker at him.

"Don't laugh at me," Hitoshi scoffs, though his tone was light and his shoulders bounced with a gentle laugh. "She's persuasive."

"Speaking of persuasion," I say between a groggy sigh. "Nezu is going to crucify me if I don't show up to work today."

Hitoshi frowns. "It's been less than a month," he says. "We should take time off."

"Yay! Vacation!" Eri cheers.

I shake my head, forcing my fingers to stop trembling as I undo the braids. Eri scowls at me, and I chuckle a bit at her intensity. "The world doesn't stop spinning, kid," I say. "Plus, you have to get back to school, too. You can't afford to fall behind."

"I can study while staying home," Hitoshi protests. "You need to take care of yourself, dad."

His persistence makes my stomach churn. I hate being pitied. I hate people worrying about me. I'll deny this sick feeling in my throat and the trembling in my hands until the day I die if it means appearing stronger to my kids. They need a hero, a sturdy father figure, not a violently depressed man who can't even take care of himself. I just have to hold on a little longer.

When Eri gets a better hold of her quirk, she can start school. And Hitoshi is just a few weeks from being ready to transfer to the hero course. As soon as they're on track... I can let go. Kill myself, probably. It's a stupid thought, but I couldn't say it's not welcoming. Without Hizashi and Oboro, there isn't really much else for me to do besides raise my kids. But they're getting older. Stronger. They'll be able to take care of themselves soon enough.

Just hold on a little bit longer. You're almost there.

After pouring Eri a bowl of sugary cereal and forcing Hitoshi to consume something other than an entire pot of coffee, we set out to UA campus. I had the option to stay in the teacher's quarters, but it felt too cramped to keep Eri, Hitoshi, Hizashi, and me all in that little dorm space.

I suppose, without Hizashi around, it would be more spacious.

God, I think I'm going to vomit.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel. Hitoshi notices and taps my arm. I don't look at him and instead just force my body to calm down. This damn kid has too much responsibility on his hands.

"Aizawa-sensei!" exclaims Kaminari as I enter the room. "You're a few minutes late, bro!"

I roll my eyes. "I'm not your bro, Kaminari."

"Pfft, whatever, dude. Oh, and hey Shinsou! Eri, too? Wow, you brought the whole fam."

"No, Papa Mikey is still on vacation," Eri says, matter-of-factly. "When he gets back, then we'll have everyone."