Souto had been sneezing all day.
At first, he refused to acknowledge it, swatting away Shinso's sarcastic remarks like they were flies. "I'm not sick!" he declared loudly, only to follow it up with a sneeze so violent that he nearly knocked himself off balance.
Shinso, sitting on the couch with a textbook, raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure. Totally fine. You only look like death warmed over."
"Shut up!" Souto croaked, his voice already hoarse. He collapsed onto the opposite end of the couch, tugging his hoodie tighter around him.
By the time Aizawa woke up from his long Saturday nap, Souto was buried under a blanket, sniffling pitifully. The moment Aizawa walked in, he took one look at Souto and sighed.
"Great," Aizawa muttered,"You've caught a cold."
"No, I haven't!" Souto protested weakly, his voice muffled by the blanket.
"Kid, you sound like a dying cat," Shinso quipped, earning a glare from Souto that had all the ferocity of a wet kitten.
Aizawa walked over and placed a hand on Souto's forehead, ignoring the boy's grumbles of protest. "You're burning up. Go to bed."
"I'm fine!" Souto insisted, even as his head lolled back against the couch.
"You're going to bed," Aizawa repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Grumbling incoherently, Souto allowed himself to be herded upstairs. He flopped onto his bed with all the grace of a sack of potatoes, pulling the blanket over his head. Aizawa sighed, tucking the blanket around him before heading back downstairs.
---
The peace didn't last.
By midnight, Souto was tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable. His head and nose felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and his body ached all over. Eventually, he gave up on sleeping and shuffled out of his room, clutching his blanket like a cape.
He found his way to Aizawa's room, knocking lightly on the door.
"What is it?" Aizawa's voice came from inside, groggy but alert.
The door creaked open, revealing Souto standing there with red, watery eyes and a pout. "I feel gross," he mumbled.
Aizawa stared at him for a moment before sighing and scooting over on the bed. "Come on."
Souto didn't need to be told twice. He climbed onto the bed, curling up next to Aizawa. Aizawa pulled the blanket over him, patting his head lightly.
"You're lucky I'm used to dealing with needy kids," Aizawa muttered, though there was no real annoyance in his voice.
"Shut up," Souto mumbled, already half-asleep.
The next morning, Shinso walked into the room to find Souto snuggled up against Aizawa, snoring softly. He took one look at the scene and smirked.
"I should take a picture," Shinso whispered to himself.
Aizawa opened one eye and glared at him. "Don't even think about it."
"Too late," Shinso said, holding up his phone triumphantly.
"Shinso!"
The house may have been chaotic, but moments like these reminded Aizawa why he took in these two in the first place. They were his kids, chaos and all.
...
Thank you, (already running out of ideas, ಠ_ಠ)
YOU ARE READING
BNHA | A Bite-Sized Problem
Fanfiction.ᐟ Comic relief / Slice of life. Eraserhead, pro hero and notorious insomniac, adopts an 8-year-old vampire delinquent with an attitude problem? Chaos, that's what. Souto, a loud, abrasive troublemaker with a biting temper (literally), finds himself...
