Aizawa wakes up with sunlight in his face and a cramp in his back from sleeping in a chair.

This cannot become a habit.

He looks over and notices you are still in your chair from last night and hopes you didn't fall asleep in it. Aizawa shifts around and stretches, his spine cracking and drawing your attention away from your book.

You look like you just woke up and you greet him with a sleepy smile, saying, "Ah, you're finally awake. Would you like some breakfast?" You dogear your book, set it off to the side, and check your phone. "It's a little after ten."

Aizawa runs a hand through his bedhead and rubs his eyes. "If it's not too much trouble."

You shrug, set your book off to the side of your chair, get up with an audible click from your leg, and start heading to the stairs. "I wouldn't offer if it was trouble. I haven't eaten yet, either."

Aizawa follows you up to your living quarters and you gesture vaguely around your apartment. "Are bagels okay again? You can use the bathroom and get a change of clothes if you want. Use the same drawers as last time. "

"Yeah, bagels are good with me. Thank you, again." Aizawa shuffles off to your bedroom and he feels like a trespasser in it and in your apartment, intruding into your life. You shouldn't have to care and help Aizawa with fixing his own problems, but here you are and he appreciates you. The room is dark, thick blackout curtains covering the large window on the far side of the room. Aizawa walks to the drawers next to your semi-messy desk with a large corkboard on the wall and chooses a shirt and some pants that look fitting. Now that he notices, your room is quite plain, with not much put up on anything. You have two empty bookshelves and an assortment of unpacked boxes stacked around on the floor. It's odd, considering you've been living here for more than a couple of months, but you've probably been busy with your business.

Aizawa heads to the bathroom and washes his face, pulling his tangled hair out of his face with a hairband he found in his pockets. He dresses and finishes up in the bathroom, walking back to the kitchen as you finish making breakfast, passing the plates and cups onto the countertop.

You both sit down and Aizawa thanks you for the food before eating. It's quiet and you aren't making any small talk so Aizawa looks around, noting that the kitchen is more decorated than last time, with a marimo ball in a glass bowl, a potted lavender, and a framed photo hanging on the wall. In it, there's you in what he believes was your hero outfit, sandwiched between a blond man and a green-haired, straight-laced looking person.

You look happy, so why did you retire? Aizawa chides himself internally. Doesn't matter, though, you have your reasons. You'll talk about what happened when you feel ready.

Aizawa looks over the other people in the photo and after staring for a while, the blonde guy looks eerily familiar.

Where... do I know that man?

"Ah, um, that's a photo of me after I finished my first mission." Your voice breaks the silence and Aizawa turns to face you. You have a soft, bittersweet smile on your face as you continue. "The blond guy is Toshi and the other guy is Mira. I was an underground recon hero and eventually specialized in target acquisition."

It's odd that you don't say your hero name, but Aizawa doesn't press it and instead laughs and says, "Is that why your cafe is called Sticky Fingers?"

Your face splits into a grin and you laugh. "Yeah! I got into baking around that time and Mira called me that. Eventually, I opened my cafe and it stuck."

Aizawa shakes his head but chuckles away. "It's a good name. Did he approve?"

The smile drops from your face for a few seconds and Aizawa tries to backtrack. "I'm sorry, you can disregard that."

"No! No, it's fine. When I retired, we drifted apart." You shrug. "It was unfortunate circumstances for everyone involved. He did laugh when I told him though, so that's nice."

It's quiet again and Aizawa can't tell if that's good or awkward.

This is why I dislike small talk.

Aizawa looks away from you and drinks from his mug, which is a blend of chamomile, mint, and lavender. "You mentioned that your quirk wasn't applicable in the hero course exam? Is it similar to mine in its application?"

Something flashes across your face but Aizawa doesn't recognize it.

"Yeah, you have an emitter quirk, right? But it'd probably be more similar to... uh, you know Sir Nighteye?" You ask, a smile creeping on your face like you just cracked a joke. Aizawa doesn't particularly get it but nods twice and you continue. "It's called Crunch Time, a check on how long an action will take and the probability of the action going well based on current or theorized conditions. I used it to improve my basic skills, plan missions and make on the go decisions during them."

You pause, then say, "But now after hearing that, I guess I could have applied it to fighting."

You didn't use your quirk like that when fighting that villain that jumped me?

"That's really clever. Does it help with managing the bakery?"

"No, unfortunately not. It tires me out quickly so I get sloppy. I don't use it often anymore." You sip your mug before asking, "Can I ask about what happened in the alley?"

"I'm pretty sure the villain thought I was a civilian. They snuck up behind me and threatened me with a knife, but after realizing I wasn't, they started attacking with their quirk. I was doing fine but my dry-eye acted up and they got me on the ground and grabbed my scarf to choke me out."

"Ah. I'm glad I made it in time." You place your mug down and your eyes meet Aizawa's before you gesture at his hair. "Why don't you do that when you're on patrol? It gets rid of your quirk tell."

Aizawa's hands go up to his hair and he remembers the hair tie and his face heats up. "I keep forgetting to put it on."

You both chuckle at his comment and a mellow silence spreads over the two of you, just enjoying each other's company and drinking tea.

"I feel a lot better today." Aizawa's voice is quieter than normal and he is staring into his mug. "I... really needed to hear what you said last night. I shouldn't have let my work affect me to that point. I do need to work more on helping myself."

You seem to mull over his words before talking. "Yeah, you do need to take better care of yourself. Even if you aren't a hero anymore or if you don't have hero work for a while, you need to save time for yourself. I'm glad you've acknowledged that." You pause to meet Aizawa's eyes and you are searching for something. "Listen, if you need help or advice or just a place to relax and sleep, you're always free to come here. You're a good hero, Aizawa, but you need to save yourself from burning out before you save others."

"I can't promise anything, but I will put effort into getting better."

Your smile is half-hidden by your mug but it is sharp. "That sounds like a promise to me."

Aizawa returns your smile and you laugh.

You have a nice laugh.

A phone loudly dings.

"Oh, that's mine." You stand up and survey the kitchen before walking to the living room space and finding your phone on the floor next to a monstera. You read the message and your face twists, quickly typing a message out in reply.

"I'm... sorry. I need to get ready for something." Your tone is serious and you're about to say something else when back-to-back notifications interrupt you. You look back at the screen and Aizawa understands the complex frustration shown on your face.

"Don't worry about it. Thank you a lot, I really appreciate yesterday and this morning." Aizawa hurriedly gets his stuff together and you walk with him to the door and he's halfway out before you say something.

"I'm really sorry about this! I wish we could have talked more..." Your voice trails off at the end and you try to turn your frown into a smile, but it's not particularly working.

Aizawa waves it off, saying, "I'll visit more often, that's a promise."

Your smile is worth it and Aizawa feels that warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest and he's out the door, heading down the street.

I have two promises to keep.