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[willynilly]

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[willynilly]

[It's such an achingly familiar gesture - both because of when it happened last time, and because she's again reminded of her father and missing him like burning - that she almost breaks down then and there. The struggle in her expression is obvious, the way she drops her gaze, the way she bites her lip. There's a sheen of wet beneath her eyes.

She doesn't pull away, though. It hurts, but it's a good feeling, too.]

You think so...?

[expellerhead]

I wouldn't lie. [at this point, it'd be crueler than telling the truth, even if the truth had been something else.

she's not a little child. she's growing into an adult right before his eyes.]

You are not the same girl as the one from the exam, and that's a good thing. Just as much as you need to push yourself, you need to be proud, too.

[willynilly]

[Proud... it probably shouldn't be as difficult for her to feel as it is, but it's been a struggle for a long time now. She knows she's doing okay, that she's accomplished plenty, but her goal - ignoble as it is - has always been to get rich for her family. You don't get a lot of money for being lackluster at your job. She should be striving to be the best, but with people like Bakugou and Todoroki at the top, and people like Deku in front of her and working with all their heart towards it, it's hard to be proud of just... doing okay.

Aizawa is right though- they have their own problems too, like that Breakpoint Dash hero he mentioned. They've gone through a lot, they've hurt themselves or been noticed by the wrong people. They could burn out. She's not so sure if she wants to be like that, either.

Lots of thinking to be done. Maybe she should take it easy for a bit- not necessarily six weeks, but. Something.

Tentatively she reaches up to grip his wrist, not wanting to push it by holding his hand or clinging like a child, but needing- something. A solid grip on someone who cares about her, even as just a student.

It means so much that he came for her.]

...Thank you.

[expellerhead]

[ruffles her hair.

just a bit.

there's a lot he could say, maybe more he should say; jayden had made that clear enough, that sometimes it's not enough for things to just be known or assumed without words. it's how he operates and generally how his students understand him, but maybe- maybe, due to their circumstances-

no. they don't need to use that excuse. it's about time he faced it; this is not and never will be a classroom situation.

so aizawa instead leans forward, slowly sinks to kneel up instead of crouch, and with an arm around her, pulls her from her cubby and against his shoulder. it's probably what she wants to do, probably what she needs, and he can't keep telling himself that he couldn't possibly help her because that's not their roles, not who he is.

she's a child, a teenager, a blossoming hero in his care. if he can't change himself, his habits, if he's not willing to push himself to accommodate her, then that makes him a pretty piss-poor teacher and hero himself.]

[willynilly]

[There's a moment of resistance, like she can't believe he's doing this, but it's brief and a scant second later her arms are around him, clinging very gently. It's a kindness that's rare for him to offer, not because he isn't kind but because it isn't his way, but hers. He's meeting her in the middle, giving her this.

Even for just a minute, she'll take it, gladly and thankfully. One day maybe she won't need it, but... not for a long, long time, at least.]