"We should go."

He stood up and took out his phone, beginning to text someone.

"Since you might have lasting side effects, there would be no sense in us trekking our way by subway and foot. A chauffeur should meet us out front within ten minutes and drive us back." he said, tapping on his phone one last time before putting it back in his pocket.

"I'm sorry about all of this." I said rather meekly.

"Hm?" he hummed, as he looked at me before I casted my eyes down to the floor.

"If it weren't for all of this, if I weren't here, none of this would be happening to any of you. You all could go about your business and be fine." I said, feeling tears beginning to form. "I shouldn't have gotten in that stupid car..." My voice trailed off as I put my face in my hands, trying to keep my compsure.

Aizawa squatted in front of me and lifted my chin with one finger, making us both have eye contact with each other.

"None of this is your fault." he said, brushing away a single tear from my cheek, "We can go around in circles about what any of us could've done differently, or play out different scenarios or outcomes, but it won't be much help to us presently. I won't tell you not to feel upset, but I do want you to remember that you didn't ask for any of this to happen."

My eyes looked away from his, trying to override the guilt that was still eating at me.

"I choose to be here because I want to help." he continued, "If I didn't, I wouldn't have made the choice to become a pro. Contractual obligations aside, I'm in this situation because I actively made the choice to be here, not because you forced me to."

I let out a sigh, knowing he was trying his best to be reassuring. Still, being in this situation only made things more complicated and difficult, especially knowing that neither of us knew how to fix it.

"Didn't I say that it's rude not to look someone in the eyes when they're talking to you once already today?" he said, grabbing my attention as I looked at him and chuckled, wiping the last of the tears away. A smile grew on his face, "That's better. Now, let's get you back to my place."

Without missing a beat, he gently scooped me up and began to make our way out of the building.

"I'm not too heavy to carry, am I?" I asked.

He let out a low chuckle as he continued walking with me in tow.

"Hardly." he said.

"I will say, this beats being carried away like the first time I ran into you." I said with a small grin.

He raised an eyebrow and met me with the same grin, although more tired than mine.

"If you keep avoiding to look at me when I'm talking to you, that could be arranged." he warned.

I couldn't help but feel my heart skip a beat after hearing those words.

"Is that a challenge, Aizawa?" I asked, trying to hide my smile with my hands.

He rolled his eyes.

"Don't bite off more than you can chew, Miss Doe." he said, as we finally reached the front door of the building, "It might get you into trouble one day."

As we reached the car that was waiting for us, the chauffeur opened the back door and made his way back to the driver's seat, while Aizawa gently lowered me into the backseat of the car.

"I don't mind a little trouble." I slightly mumbled to myself, kinda hoping he would hear me.

Aizawa paused only for a brief moment before shutting the door and walking around to the other side of the car.

'I wonder if he heard that.' I thought before he opened the door and joined me in the backseat. 'Probably not.'

"Drive." he said clearly.

And without a moment to waste, the driver took off.

"We should probably get some food in you. Any thoughts on what you'd want?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Something quick and easy?" I asked, "I'm not one to fuss."

He let his head lay back to the cushion of the seat, thinking for a moment with his eyes closed.

"I can make some soba when we get back." he said before letting out a long yawn.

"Of all the things I already knew about you, you being able to cook wasn't one of them. I figured you just snacked all the time." I gently teased, watching him slowly drifting off.

He smirked.

"That was before I had a woman in my apartment. Besides, there's more to me than meets the eye, Miss Doe." he said in a very tired slur before I heard a soft snore escape his lips.

I smiled as I watched him sleep for a moment before looking back out the window.

"I'm well aware." I said quietly to myself.

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Author's note: A bit of a shorter chapter today compared to the others (which were basically twice as long). I hope you don't mind. More to come soon!