🖤💙𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕💙🖤

Manners

POV TOMURA

I'm still in the shower when Eraser's kids come home. I hear Eraser greet the older one, patting him on the back and asking how school was. Though their conversation is a little tense, I can sense the bond between them. Father and son. They remind me of Kurogiri and Dabi, in a strange roundabout way.

A few minutes later, his daughter returns, too. She's with All Might, and on instinct my body flinches. His voice isn't as demanding and boisterous as I remember, but even with AFO dormant, I remember that I have to hate him. I remember that he's the reason I'm trapped in this shit hole, in this horrible life.

That's the reality AFO fed to me, at least. His word has been law up until now.

I wonder if Eraserhead is really strong enough to keep me safe. I wonder if he can fight my master, break me free. I'm grateful that he wants to try, but if he takes on All For One and loses, the guilt will consume me. I refuse to pull him away from the life he made here.

I'm not worth it.

I hear All Might greet Eraser, handing over the young girl and noting her exceptional behavior. All Might leaves, and I turn off the shower head, glancing at the ointment Eraser gave me. He told me to rub it all over myself, over every single place that itches. I flinch a little, in a good way, at the memory, though I'm not sure why.

When my whole body is lathered in the ointment, I gently pad myself dry and throw on the clothes Eraser gave me. While he's not built unnaturally big like All Might and Endeavor, Eraserhead has quite a bit of muscle on him. Still, his black shirt is huge on me, and I'm practically swimming in a hotel bed comforter in his gray sweatpants.

I clench my hands into fists to keep myself steady. I don't know what's wrong with me today.

Slowly, I creep out of the bathroom, trying to stay out of sight as I slink into Eraser's room.

Unfortunately, I'm caught.

His daughter, the one with the big eyes and little horn, tugs on my leg, a big beaming smile plastered on her face. I grimace as she drowns in hope and light and bliss. "Are you my Dadzawa's new friend?" she asks. "Ms Midnight said he was gonna get a new friend. Are you him?"

I jump back as her hand reaches up to touch mine. She screams and recoils at my sudden movement, and suddenly she's sprinting back down the hallway, yelling "Toshi! Toshi! Help!"

The son appears, a scowl similar to Eraser's painted on his pale face. He picks the daughter up and lets her rest on his hip. One hand holds up his little sister, the other rests heavily on the back of her head. He looks at me, glares at me, and I can see him fighting back his panic. Usually, this ability to instantly instill fear in others makes me giddy with power. Now, I feel like I was awkwardly forced into a spotlight.

Before things get out of hand, Eraser diffuses everything. He and his son mutter a few words between them, anxious and snake-like words, but eventually Eraser convinces him to wait in the living room. When the children are out of sight, Eraser sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leads me to his room.

I've never felt like more of a burden than I do right now.

Eraser closes the door behind us as we enter the room. He nods to the bed, and I cautiously sit down on the edge while he adjusts settings on the new humidifier.

"Those are your kids?" I ask out of nowhere.

Eraser nods. "Yeah. Both adopted. The older one is Hitoshi, a general studies kid that I started training a while ago. And I'm sure you know about Eri, since you know Overhaul..."

I'm quick to defend myself, though I'm not sure why. "I didn't know Overhaul was using a child to mass produce," I blurt out. "If I would've known, I would've decayed his limbs much earlier."

Eraserhead snorts a laugh. "Thank you, but you're not all that righteous either, Tomura. You've kidnapped children before. What makes you any better?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "I would never abuse a child. I only kidnapped the explosion boy because I saw how his hero school chained him up and muzzled him on national television. And we both know it was Himiko who took the girl."

Eraser hums, though it's disapproving. Irritated, almost. "I thought I made it clear you aren't to mess with my students at all. Was my mercy brushed off as a slap on the wrist?"

"What? No, of course not Ersaerhead. I told you, we haven't done anything to the students since Himiko's stupid mission. The League is in a tough place right now anyways."

Eraser hums, stepping back toward the door. He seems to have believed me, which is a relief. "Well," he says, "you need some rest. It's almost eleven, and the kids have school tomorrow, so I'm going to drop them off at the dorms to spend the night. I'll be right back. Sleep, and don't fucking break anything or I'll have you shipped off to the Public Safety Commission in a heartbeat."

I nod, shifting backward awkwardly to properly lay down on the bed. I bury under the heavy comforter, and for a few silent beats, I'm allowed to drift off into my own mind. The fanboy in me will not shut up: I'm in Eraserhead's house! I'm in his room! I'm in his bed! Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Thankfully, AFO isn't around to stomp on the spark.

Eventually, I'm able to drift off. I'm not worried about the rest of the league: I know Kurogiri can keep everything together and under control. And Twice and Himiko still have each other to entertain themselves. Spinner won't make a move unless Compress allows it, so the drama is pretty much covered.

That just left me, away from them, snuggled into a hero's bedsheets. I wonder how many "I told you so" jokes I'll have to hear once I catch up with Dabi.

When I wake up, it's to the sound of the door opening and Eraser stumbling into the dark room. He reeks of alcohol and cigarettes, and his footing is all wrong. I flick on the side lamp and scoot to the edge of the bed.

Eraser's attention flutters to me, his eyes hazy, and I try not to sink backwards at his intense gaze. He wades through the room like he's underwater, and I pull my legs back, sitting criss-cross on the bed while Eraser looms over me. I don't know what he's thinking, and it's making me anxious. Part of me screams to dodge the oncoming punch, but another part of me wants to lean into the man's touch, whatever it may be.

Would I enjoy Eraser kicking my ass yet again? Even without the binding cloth involved? Well... I don't know. This situation has me questioning things about myself, that's for sure.

My mind is running a lot quicker than Eraser's, I'm assuming. He seems lethargic, looking down at me through dark, narrowed eyes. Slowly, he raises his hand to my cheeks, his long fingers cupping my face. His middle finger sits just under my earlobe, but slowly, it tracing my jawline while his thumb rubs over my bottom lips. I can't do anything but stare up at him, amazed.

"The ointment," Eraser mutters, his fingers now firmly holding my chin. "Did it help?"

It takes me a moment to realize he's talking to me. My skin feels amazing, actually, after the ointment and now the humidifier. The roughness has pretty much smoothed out, but there's still an awkward texture from the scars my nails have left over the years. "Yeah, it helped," I finally say. "And you- your bed- no, your room helps, too. Shit, the fucking, I mean..." I sigh, pinching my eyes closed as if that'll soothe the embarrassment. "The humidifier helps a lot as well. Thank you so much, sir."

Eraser smirks, the stubble over his jaw twitching up with the gentle curl of his smile. "I wonder where you learned those manners," he slurs, fisting the front of my baggy shirt to jerk me forward.

I make a small surprised noise and muffle it by clearing my throat. "It's not a big deal, I can–"

"Keep talking pretty, Tomura, and I might just go easy on you."   

A/N: I caved