Mariko was lying on her bed, her feet swinging to the rhythm of a song. It was early in the morning Christmas Eve.

She was never very interested in Christmas. She never experienced the things that people look forward to when the holidays are right around the corner. She never sat at a family table, she wasn't giving or receiving gifts and the food, at least from what she remembered, was mediocre at best.

'Ah, ah anata wo otte,' she sung, tuning perfectly into the melody she was humming in between the singing. 'Tasogare no bay city,' she continued, while writing down some things in her notebook.

She smiled to herself, after filling a page with notes on how she was in the past. She tore the page out of the notebook and folded it in two. The sun shone on the side of her fully clothed body, gently warming up the fabric of her hoodie.

'Ah, ah meguri aetara...'

Just as she did so, she heard a knock on her door. She slowly slid to the floor and walked to the entrance.

'Damatte dakitomete,' she continued singing, much quieter than before. 'Yes?' she asked, as she opened the door, still tapping the rhythm with her foot. She looked up at Aizawa standing in front of her.

'Okaido, it's Christmas,' he said and at first she thought that her singing was inappropriate. Just as she was about to apologize for being so loud, the man continued. 'Come downstairs.'

She opened her mouth in a slight disbelief, then raised her one eyebrow.

'Eee, is that the reason behind the visit?'

'Yeah,' he sighed. 'Stop alienating yourself.'

'Uh? It's early in the morning. The Christmas hasn't started yet.'

'I already know you will try to spend it all in your room.'

She moved her head backwards, feeling very shocked at his honesty.

'I was never into Christmas that much.'

He looked at her for a few moments, with surprisingly soft expression on his face.

'What?' she asked. ' It's a very... you know... family-gathering type of holiday.'

Eraser didn't respond. Mariko looked down the corridor, while pouting with a neutral expression in her eyes. Aizawa slid his hands into his pockets and closed his eyelids for a few seconds.

'You can have two families in your life.'

Mariko gazed at his calm face, inspecting his relaxed features. Her sight trailed his gorgeous eyelashes and the scar under his right eye. He opened his eyelids, making her heart jump at the sudden eye contact.

'The one that is bound to you with blood, and the one you choose yourself,' he smiled softly and turned his body to the other side of the corridor, while looking at her. 'Come.'

Mariko straightened her back and nodded.

'That's so true,' she admitted and quickly grabbed her shoes, closed the door, leaving the room with the man.

'Later, I'm gonna pay a visit to my class, I'm taking Eri there as well,' he informed, as the two of them turned towards the staircase. She knew what he was getting at, but she wasn't quite sure if it is appropriate.

'I don't want to cause any issues, though.' She slid the shoes on, and continued the walk.

'What issues? Don't be ridiculous.'

'I don't have anything to bring, I have only a few gifts and they aren't for the entire class, I am not prepared and limited with resources,' she started explaining, looking at the stairs above her, while walking towards the living room.

Aizawa stopped on one of the steps and stared her down.

'But that's how it is,' she raised her eyebrows.

'It's not about the gifts, Okaido.'

'Yea, but it's still coming empty-handed.'

'Then contribute somehow, maybe bake something?'

She snapped her fingers and nodded.

'Right! Great idea. But I need to do something first, do you have a lighter, sir?'

'A lighter?' he repeated. 'No.'

They stepped into the common living room. Mariko looked around the dorm and realized there is no one around. The young woman walked all the way to the shared kitchen.

'Where are the teachers?' she asked, looking for a box of matches in the kitchen.

'With their families. Same for students. School is pretty much empty right now.'

Mariko turned her head towards the teacher, standing in between the kitchen and the living room. He was dressed in his regular Hero Costume, with The Binding Cloth around his neck. She raised her eyebrows again.

'What? It's so shocking that heroes have partners and kids?'

Okaido shrugged, then turned her attention to one of the drawers. She ducked and reached deeper to pull out a box of matches. She closed the drawer and looked again at her crush.

'I don't know. Just quite unexpected. You guys are so busy.'

'Are you listening to yourself?' he asked her teasingly, as she walked towards the entrance door, gazing at him for a moment from above her shoulder.

With a weird wave of confidence, her eyes darkened.

'I am entering the same profession, sir,' she rolled the 'r' at the end. With that, she turned around and opened the door, walking outside of the building.

She shivered at the sudden difference in temperature. She wasn't dressed very well for a weather like this - she was only wearing her slim fit pants and a comfy, slightly oversized, olive hoodie. She blocked the wind with her body and rotated herself around to make it easy to light up one of the matches from the box she was holding.

She slid the match across the igniting stripe and watched the small flame burst out, fighting against the cold, winter weather. Mariko gently put it below the folded paper she snapped out of her notebook a while ago and let the flames consume the page.

She breathed deeply, feeling as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She was aware that it was purely symbolic, but somehow this ritual had so much power!

She raised her hand and released the piece of burning paper, watching it slowly fall to the ground covered with snow, turning into ashes as it went down.

The second the remains of the note landed on top of the snow, slightly melting it's surface, Mariko dashed towards the door and stomped a few times, knocking the snow off her shoes.

'Ah, it's so cold,' she announced and entered the building.

She hugged herself and hid her head inside her shoulders, looking at the man, still leaning at the wall in between the kitchen and the living room. Her cheeks flushed at the difference in the temperature and her accelerated heartbeat.

'Can you make me some coffee?' he asked, pleasantly surprising her.

'Sure!'

She shook off the coldness of the outside and took off the wet shoes, stepping inside the kitchen in her socks. Mariko reached to the kitchen cabinet, where she started storing all the necessary, coffee-making supplies she was using so often and took them all out, placing every utensil and ingredient at the counter.

Shota pushed his back away from the wall and slowly walked over to the bar stools in front of the kitchen island, patiently awaiting his coffee.

'When are you supposed to give gifts?' she asked him unexpectedly, not turning her face towards the man.

He put his chin on his hand, glancing to the side.

'It depends. Traditionally you should wait until everyone gathers around the tree after having the dinner or whatever.'

'Hmmm.'

'But it varies, why?'

She turned towards the man, while spinning the coffee grinder's mechanism.

'No reason whatsoever,' her lips curved downwards, as she looked to the side.

He inspected her curiously.

'Do you have a gift for me?'

'Maybe?' she raised her one brow and then chuckled, seeing his unimpressed expression. 'Yes, I do.'

He sighed and looked at her with tired gaze.

'Don't waste your money on me.'

'Sensei,' she started and then made a long pause for the effect. 'When it involves you it's never a waste.' She looked at him genuinely.

He lowered his chin, hiding his cheeks behind the Binding Cloth. His reaction clearly surprised her, as she expected a verbal comeback. Maybe it was too early in the morning for him to snap back?

'Whatever.'

Mariko turned around and emptied the coffee grinder to the coffee filter, then poured some water into the electric kettle. She put her hand on the counter and leaned onto it, humming a melody from before.

'Tabako no kaori, hiekitta kiss...' she sung quietly, tapping the fingers on top of the kitchen counter.

She felt Aizawa's gaze on her back, and stopped singing, feeling slightly insecure. Mariko turned to her side and grabbed the kettle, when it finished boiling. Then, she slowly poured water in the grounded coffee, making a swirling motion with her right hand.

When the water reached the maximum height inside the coffee filter, without spilling on the counter, Mariko moved her head to the side, wondering about what cake to make. She placed the kettle next to the mug and walked to the fridge, taking a look inside.

'Eggs, milk,' she listed under her breath. 'Butter as well, nice. Oh, some mizuame!'

Okaido checked inside one of the kitchen cabinets.

'Wheat flour and cocoa powder, alright, alright.' She nodded with approval and then checked if the coffee is ready. She removed the coffee dripper, placed it in a sink, then grabbed the mug and handed it over to Aizawa, sitting behind her.

'Thanks,' he replied and took a deep breath, smelling the scent of the brewage. She nodded and looked away, still wondering about the cake. 'Any ideas?'

'Hm?'

'For the cake.'

'Oh,' she raised her eyebrows at the question.

'He's so weirdly talkative this morning. Maybe there is something true about the Christmas spirit,' she thought to herself, then a faint smile appeared on her face, as she stopped herself from a chuckle.

'Kasutera, but a cocoa one. I think it's the safest bet.'

'Traditional.'

'And good!' she responded and crouched near a kitchen cabinet, looking for some bowls and a beater. 'Do you like it?'

'I don't think I like anything, really.'

She looked at him over her shoulder, clearly confused. Shota glanced at her from above a cup, the steam dancing in the air in front of his iris.

'Sugar licorice is good, I guess.'

Mariko nodded and placed the utensils on the counter, then crouched again, fetching flour she spotted earlier.

'What about non-sweet stuff?'

'Coffee.'

She laughed. He noticed himself smiling and took a sip of coffee, then stared at the young woman, who turned towards him.

'That I know of. I meant like an actual meal.'

'No preference. It's good as long as I get nutrition.'

'I can't possibly believe in that,' she informed and turned again, reaching towards the fridge to get some eggs and the bottle of milk. 'Oh, wait. That actually makes perfect sense.' She transferred the rest of the ingredients from the cooler.

'Hmm?' he purred with coffee mug against his lips.

'You don't like wasting time. Food preparation takes a ton of that. I mean, usually. It makes perfect sense.'

He looked at her, tilting his head to the side. He lowered his eyelids, as she turned her face towards his. The courage from earlier evaporated immediately, the second his gaze seemed to have pierced her soul.

Mariko quickly turned towards the counter, and pressed her hands on it's edge, stopping them from shaking. She rolled her eyes.

'Jesus, what kind of power over me does he even possess?' she thought and then slowly exhaled.

Mariko grabbed the beater and in the same moment heard footsteps on the staircase. They were less loud than these of an adult, and they were slightly de-synced, not matching any rhythm.

'Eri?' Mariko tilted herself backwards and looked to the stairs; Aizawa looked in the same direction and soon both of them spotted a familiar face.

'Hi!' the kid greeted.

'Up so early?' Aizawa asked.

'It's Halloween!'

'Oh?' Mariko asked and then noticed Aizawa shaking his head.

'It's Christmas Eve, Eri.'

'So do we go visit graves?'

Mariko chuckled.

'Christmas is the one with Santa, remember?' She made a funny face and glanced at the child, who gave her undivided attention. 'The old, white-haired dood with a big sack of gifts on his back and a group reindeers!' She made horns out of her fingers and bent over, slowly walking towards Eri until she bumped into her, making her laugh.

The girl grasped Mariko's neck and Okaido took her in her arms, then walked around the kitchen island and placed Eri on the bar stool next to Aizawa.

'You're growing so fast!' the student noticed, frowning.

'I'm 110 meters right now!' Eri announced proudly.

'Wow, what a giant, kiddo. You cannot be 110 meters, though,' Mariko corrected softly.

'But I literally am,' Eri extended her arm towards the ceiling and climbed on her toes. Aizawa quickly reached towards the kid, securing her from falling from the stool.

'It's centimeters, not meters. If you were 110 meters you would be taller than our school!'

'Oh,' Eri brought a finger to her lips and then chuckled. 'I'm 110 centimeters! We checked yesterday!' She turned her face to Shota, as if waiting for his confirmation.

'Wow, you're going to outgrow me at this rate.'

'It's not going to be that hard,' Aizawa said, shifting his gaze to Mariko.

Okaido's expression dropped and she made eye contact with her teacher, having an unofficial stare battle. They were silent for a while, confusing Eri whose head was snapping from one side to the other, as the kid tried looking at both of them at the same time. Shota smirked at the young woman, making her blush.

'Bullying,' Okaido said and rolled her eyes, then left the two near the kitchen island, walking to the bowl she left before Eri entered the kitchen.

'What are you doing?'

'A cake!' Mariko answered. 'It's going to be a chocolate Kasutera.'

'I never ate it,' Eri admitted.

'That's good, I cannot mess it up now, if you will be the one eating as well,' Mariko informed. 'Want to help me?'

'Yes!' the kid exclaimed with excitement.

Shota slowly stood up and grabbed one of the stools with his left arm and then placed it close to Mariko. He reached towards the mechanism on bottom of the open seat and decreased it's height to the minimum.

'Do you need one as well?' he asked her.

Okaido frowned and leaned her hips to the right, put her hand on her side, then tilted her head.

'Sensei, what is your deal today?'

The corners of his mouth twitched, as he turned around to walk to the other side of the kitchen island. With a small help from Aizawa, Eri hopped from the tall bar stool to the floor and climbed the small one next to the other girl.

'Let's do this!' Eri encouraged and Mariko smiled at her.

'We should eat some breakfast soon as well, Eri,' Aizawa reminded.