Binding Connection (A DadZawa Story)

Day 1, Part 2

"You okay, Hitoshi?" I asked, sitting on his bed. All we can do is try our best and hope for the best. He looked at me from between his knees, his eyes red and puffy. "What's wrong?"

"Everyone always says shit like you did." he said, lowering his eyes again. "I really though you were different, though. You didn't try to relate yourself to me. But then those two came over. I guess I'm just a prize or a charity case, huh?"

"It's not like that!" I said, finding it hard to hold my emotions back. "I just..." If I fuck this up, he'll go back into the adoption agency. He only has 2 years before he ages out, then he's thrown into the real world. "I just didn't know what to do. I still don't. I'm not a parent. Hell, mine weren't all that amazing, either. So I don't know how to be a good parent. But I promise you this..." I looked at him, placing my hands on his shoulders, causing Willow to jump to the bed and him to look up at me. "I'll do my damndest to make sure you turn out to be as good as I know you can be, Hitoshi."

He looked up completley, his hair even more a mess than before. "Jesus, the other people I've been with were always positive." he said, placing his hand behind his neck. "Then they usually put me back into the agency in a few weeks. I really don't wanna go back, Mr. Aizawa, but I know I'm a burden."

"No, you're not." I responded, gripping his hoodie. "Whoever told you that was full of shit. And if it was you who assumed that, don't. Us adults our responsible for making sure you're okay, no matter the amount of effort it takes. Don't know why, but that's how it is."

"So, you won't give up on me?" he asked, his eyes filled with tears. I placed my head on his shoulder, hugging him.

"Never." I responded, hugging him tightly. He let the tears come out, wetting my shoulder. We sat there for what felt like an hour, me giving his a long, encouraging hug. Eventually, Willow climbed onto Hitoshis head and laid there, causing him to back up, chuckling.

"Jesus, Willow." he said, pulling the cat off of his hooded head. His face was completley red, his eyes more red and puffy than before."Mr. Aizawa, do you have any cat food?"

"Uh, hard food, no." I said, petting Willow. "But I do have some canned chicken we can give...It's a her, right?"

"No, it's a he." he said, smiling. "Willow is what I called William Shakespere when I read Hamlet when I was 10. It's kinda stuck in my mind since, I guess."

"Gotcha." I said, standing up. "I'll get some chicken and water and I'll be right back."

"Alright." he said, petting Willow. As I turned to exit his room, he called, "Mr. Aizawa..." I turned to him, tears once again in his eyes. "Thank you."

"Any time, kid." I responded, smiling.

Shinsou's POV

As Mr. Aizawa shut the door, I wiped my eyes, not letting myself cry anymore. Willow jumped off my bed and looked up at me, meowing. "Yeah, yeah." I said, sliding off my bed to my feet. I bent down and extended my arm, Willow climbing up my arm and stopping on my shoulder. "Good boy." I rubbed my cheek on his face, causing him to pur loudly. I walked out to the living room, shutting my door behind me.

"Right in time." Mr Aizawa said, walking out to me and Willow, then setting a bowl of chicken and one of water on the ground. I knelt down, Willow leaping off, then eating some of the chicken.

"Been a while since he had anything other than cheap cat food." I said, running my fingers through my hair. Mr. Aizawa patted me on the back as I watched Willow.

"And what about you? You hungry?" he asked as I scratched my arm.

"Uh, kinda. But not really." I grumbled, feeling my stomach clench onto itself. Mr. Aizawa looked at me, then exhaled.

"You can eat whenever you want here." he said, putting his hand on my back and walking me to the kitchen. "If you get even a little hungry, feel free to find something to eat. If I make something or order in, you can always have leftovers if you're not hungery at the time."

"O-Okay." I mumbled, then grabbed a bag of potato chips. Ripping it open, I started eating them as Aizawa walked me to the living room. 

"Now, do you want to watch anything in particular on TV?" he asked, offering me the remote.

"Not really." I said, watching the screen, still displaying the news.  "Just no news. Or anything depressing." He nodded, flipping through the channels. After a minute, he stopped on the beginning of a show. The title card read 'Grimm'.

"This is pretty good." Mr. Aizawa said, continuing to click through the channels. "But you need to have watched all the previous episodes to understand anything." I exhaled, Willow joining me on the couch, perching himself on the top of the couch, right over my shoulder. Aizawa finally settled on an episode of 'Seinfeld', which I told him I was famliar with, if only in passing. We sat there, watching TV.