It Takes Time

18

"I just can't believe she did that. I can't believe she went back!" Aizawa complained. His words felt like they were slurred in his head, but he knew that they came out of his mouth completely clear. He was a very capable drunk. If he didn't start talking bullshit as soon as he got drunk, no one would notice.

He had seen the note that Y/N had left him as soon as he had gotten home, and he had found himself not knowing what to do. Of course, it was her decision if she wanted to go back to her husband, but he still didn't like it. He was worried about what he might do to her. She had said that she had been talking to him and that he was promising to change and that he had started therapy and everything.

Aizawa hoped it would go that well for her. He really hoped that she was right, and he was wrong about what might happen in the next few days or even weeks. But he knew from experience that it was unlikely to go well for her. He had seen it play out with people he had helped over a long time. They would go back a few times and try again and hope for change. But nothing ever would change for them.

And therapy? Well, therapy was usually a good thing, but Aizawa had soon learned that if an abuser would go to therapy, it would usually go the other way. They would somehow get the therapist on their side and use that against their partner. And then it would be much more difficult to get out of any sort of relationship. Of course, he couldn't say it for sure, but he had the feeling that Y/N was making a terrible mistake.

But what was he supposed to do? Run after her, try to convince her to leave again, like some madman? That was exactly what her husband had done. And he didn't want to be like that in any way whatsoever. So, all he could do was stay quiet and hope that she would eventually come around again. Or that things would go well for her. For a moment, Aizawa almost hoped that they wouldn't go well for her, because that would mean she would come back to him, and he missed her. But that was selfish.

The only thing he could think of doing was to call up Nemuri and to go for some drinks with her. Nemuri might know what to do. Aizawa didn't really trust Hizashi with such a delicate situation, but Nemuri would be fine. She'd be able to handle it well, Aizawa was sure of that. Maybe she had some good ideas about what he could do. But Aizawa already knew there wasn't much he could do without acting like an idiot. An idiot that was obsessed with Y/N – and he was sure that would scare her away.

Nemuri had listened to the entire story quietly and watched him get more and more drunk, as the night went on. Aizawa was incredibly frustrated about her not having said much yet. Maybe she was still taking it all in. It was a lot to hear for the first time, of course, but Aizawa didn't have that kind of time. What if Y/N had already been killed by her husband? What if she was being beaten again already?

"How the hell did you keep all of that to yourself for so long?" Nemuri finally asked him and Aizawa gave her a confused look. That was not really the response he had been expecting if he was honest. But he was glad that she had said anything at all, so he was thinking – how had he kept it to himself for so long?

"I don't know. I just... didn't tell anyone, I guess? I mean, Y/N asked me not to tell anyone about it, so I didn't."

"I mean, I thought there was something going on with you lately, but that's a lot more than I expected, to be honest."

"Why did you think something was going on with me?" Aizawa wanted to know, opening up another can of beer.

"Well, you seemed a lot more tired lately. And kind of unfocussed. And you were tense as hell. I swear, whenever you walked into a room everyone got stressed out, just because you were around, and you were exuding stress. It was pretty obvious that something was going on. And Hizashi told me that you had a bit of a thing for Y/N, but I thought you were just having an affair or something." Nemuri explained.