Freeze Frame

Chapter 87

Uh so like, most of this was written on my phone so like,,, typos 

(((hahhahsdkl I'm sorry)))

Third person pov

Mic ended up taking Lillian to Aizawa's apartment, his smile far too wide and his eyes begging as Lillian hiccuped and sputtered about all the things she did wrong. Living after the moment was a hell of a lot different from living in it. While it had been fun, spectacular even, and probably one of the best nights of her life, it had still been stressful. There had been thousands of eyes on her for hours. She'd been streamed on live television, had used her actual, real, actual voice to sing (what the hell was she thinking?), and they'd all chanted her name on several occasions for no discernible reason. It had all been... preposterously overwhelming.

The only thing holding back her panic was the witnesses. If she'd broken on stage, crying, hyperventilating, it wouldn't be good. How could anyone have faith in a hero who couldn't put up a good front for the masses? She was glad it had happened, but it didn't change the fact that her own anxiety had been halted by the hulking wall that was labeled 'fear of social judgment'. Now that they were out of there, that damn had broken, leaving her to wind down and release all the pent up nervous energy she'd been accumulating throughout the night.

Aizawa didn't typically let Hizashi into his house. That didn't often stop the Blonde Voice Hero, but the boundary existing was what counted. Very few things would make him sway in that. Aizawa couldn't count the amount of times he'd slammed the door in his loud friend's face only for the guy to barge in anyway. He got kicked out most of the time, or was glared at until his shouting faded to a pouty mumble as he sulked out the front door. It happened at least three times a week, if not more, and most of the time it wasn't for any real reason. Even Mic didn't seem to know why he came over at times.

However, this time was different. Mic was desperate and had Aizawa's daughter with him. Aizawa's daughter, whom he hadn't really gotten to talk to about the whole parent-child thing yet. It was a bit weird and... foreign. Aizawa had no idea how to feel about it. He was happy, of course! Terrified in literally every way, but happy nonetheless. He loved Lillian. She was such a good kid, and he'd already been making plans to adopt her. Did he still need to do that, or would they grant him custody a different way?

"I knew this was going to happen." Aizawa ground out, putting a hand on Lillian's shoulder and leading her into the apartment. She wasn't so much crying anymore as she was hyperventilating and over thinking. The poor girl was working hard to level out her breaths, all while sputtering out apologies pertaining to them intruding and such of the like. He'd told her it was okay, telling her she was welcome here too. He bit back a comment about this being her home too now.

"I-I'm okay, I'm okay!" Lillian insisted as Mic loudly shuffled through Aizawa's cabinets, determined to make her some hot chocolate. "I'm just p-panicking, that's all!"

"Oh, we can tell." Mic's head popped out of the kitchen doorway. Aizawa punted one of the couch's throw pillows at him, suddenly glad Nemuri had forced him to buy them.

"It's alright, kid. That was a big deal. Jumping from a radio show to a live concert," Aizawa glared toward the kitchen, "is a huge leap. Mic should have warned you before doing something so irrational."

"I-It was fun." Lillian offered, taking a few deep breaths. Aizawa felt himself smile a small smile. This was nice. Not the her freaking out, but the her being here in general. Having her in the apartment made him feel warm. It had been a long time since he'd felt such a feeling, so maybe that's why it took him so long to figure out just what it was. He was feeling familial love. Of course he still felt it towards his parents, but they lived so far away now that he seldom ever saw them. He'd been living alone since starting at UA, his parents renting him a small, one-room apartment at that time.