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Aizawa was lying in his hospital bed, miserable as usual. He couldn’t shake off the feeling, rising like toxic gas from the deepest pits of his brain. The feeling of uselessness now that his quirk was practically gone, along with his eye.
He has to wonder if it was really worth it sometimes, cutting his leg off just to be bed bound with an almost functionally useless quirk, despite his efforts. It was like the universe was taunting him.
They couldn’t have rescued Eri without his quirk, but what if, now that he can barely use it, they’ll decide that he isn’t a suitable guardian anymore, and take her away? He knows, deep down, that these thoughts are illogical. She’s a ward of UA, and Principal Nezu would never let Eri be taken away.
Sometimes he just can’t push these thoughts away. All day stuck in a hospital bed leaves his mind with a lot of time to wander.
“Hey Eraser!”
Ms Joke looks cheerful as always, undeterred by his dismal appearance and the too sterile surroundings.
“Hello, Joke.” Aizawa grumbles lightly under his breath. He’s sure that she’s here just to be annoying and possibly bombard him with puns, but he can’t deny that it’s a welcome distraction from his self-deprecating thoughts. “Why are you here?”
“Just to visit my favourite pal while his leg is growing back.”
“That’s not how it works, Joke.” Aizawa says, unamused at what barely qualifies as an attempt at a joke. If she came here to joke, she could at least do better than that. It’s almost insulting that she’s not even trying.
“Oh, but I just came here to catch you off guard with another marriage proposal! I figured you’d weaken eventually.”
She has such an annoyingly bright smile. He’s quite exasperated at this point with the constant marriage proposals.
Upon seeing his lack of amusement, she changes tactics. It makes sense, but today, she can't quite tell what's going on behind those eyes. He seems more closed off than usual.
“I mean, I came here while you were vulnerable to make you laugh! Finally, I win because you can’t stop me!”
It’s rare that her jokes are so hit and miss, Emi thinks to herself. Usually, playful banter is the way to go with this guy. It's not like he outwardly reacts, most of the time, but she can find the fond exasperation she's looking for in his eyes.
She looks at him again, trying to discern his feelings. He seems upset, like he’s been ripped open on the inside. She mentally facepalms. Why did she say that?! The poor guy just lost his eye, and now she’s making jokes about him being helpless to stop her while he’s literally bed bound.
That’s… quite terrifying.
There’s a long, drawn out pause. “I’m sorry, Eraser. That was a bit insensitive of me.”
Maybe she’s not so bad, after all.
“No, it’s alright. I can handle a bit of joking around. I’m not fragile.”
“I know you aren’t. You’re not incapable, either.”
“Thanks for coming to see me. I needed the distraction.”
“I wanted to see you. Anyways, what do you call a three legged donkey?”
Aizawa groans. “A wo-”
“A wonky!”
Aizawa side eyes her. “Sorry Eraser, I couldn’t let you ruin the punchline.”
He gives her a reluctant smile, and she gives him a big cheesy grin in return.