Her heart was pounding against his back, as he swiftly carried her over his shoulder, heading somewhere downstairs. She asked him twice to let her go, however he wouldn't listen and simply continued his journey. She even attempted to grab the guardrail once, but he noticed that from the corner of his eye and moved closer to the wall instead.

The second Aizawa stepped on the first floor, he hesitated for a moment. He turned his head towards his room, then turned to the right and headed to Mariko's room instead. The man carried her silently, yet quickly. He passed the door leading to Eri's bedroom and headed to the next one, then opened it and closed behind himself.

Mariko was shocked, confused, stressed out and excited. She had no idea what to think of this and what was the reasoning behind it all.

Eraser stepped deeper inside the room and slid her from his shoulder, throwing her onto her own bed. He reached to his ponytail and removed the hairband. Her body bounced up, but before she did anything, he placed his left knee on the mattress and both of his hands right next to her shoulders. Her chest seemed to be filled with electricity, sending small discharges across her body. The alcohol she drank earlier - though it wasn't much - slightly boosted her confidence.

She stared at his shiny eyes in the dimmed room and slowly slid her right hand across the bed. His eyes followed her movements until she placed her palm on top of his hand. Then, he snapped his gaze to meet hers, as tension slowly built up between the two. Eraser moved his right leg closer to Mariko until their knees touched. He then shifted his body weight to his arms and hovered above her, staring her down.

Okaido felt the exact same way as before; she was pinned, cornered, defenseless, trapped and somehow, she enjoyed all of that. Her eyes slid from his face to his body, quickly admiring his silhouette, before climbing back up to his iris. She always knew that he had to be muscular, but his baggy hero costume left the exact image of his body to her imagination. The man didn't move or say anything, all she heard was his calm, deep breath, mixing the smell of whiskey with the sexy fragrance, slowly driving her crazy.

She felt the heat resonate from his body and the tension building up in between her legs. She clenched her jaw and moved her hand up his forearm, slowly caressing it with the tips of her fingers. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, but knew better than to push any boundaries.

'We have to talk,' he said quietly.

Mariko felt her heart drop, as thoughts raced through her head.

Did she annoy him? Was he mad at something?

Eraser recognized the sudden change in her energy and added:

'Don't overthink.'

'How did you know that I am?' she asked him, now surprised.

'I just did,' he said, shrugging with one side.

There was a long pause, during which they just looked at each other. There was no way for Mariko to know that, but he was using a lot of temperance to control himself completely. He glanced down at her lips and slid his hands to the sides of her head, then lowered himself to his elbows.

Mariko froze, partially believing her eyes, displaying her an image of him being so close. What if someone walked in? They would need a lot of explaining to do and nothing would have fully justified their current position.

He tilted his head to the side, capturing her eyes in his. She clenched her fists on the bedsheet below her and slightly lifted her head towards him, non-verbally asking him for a permission. She always wanted to kiss him, but the urge was never as strong as in that exact moment.

Shota supported his body weight on his left elbow and placed his right hand on her chin, pushing her back to the bed. He placed his thumb on her bottom lip, sliding it only a few millimeters to the sides. Knowingly or not, he lit up a fire inside of her. She moved her legs in a small sign of impatience.

'No,' he said with a low voice and made her eyes darken.

She felt as if something started to leave her body, but then she heard him say:

'Not under the influence.'

Her eyes immediately lit back on and her gaze wondered across his face for a while, until it snapped back to his eyes. He reached to his chin and scratched his beard, making a weirdly pleasant noise. He looked to the side and slowly got up from above her, sitting on the side of his left leg. His other foot stayed at the floor and his left arm was stretched, supporting his weight on the bed.

Mariko stared at the ceiling, then forced herself to sit up as well, turning her face towards the man.

'I am not very affectionate, you know,' he said, after a while.

She nodded at him, not wanting to interrupt his vulnerable moment. She was not sure what he was getting at, but she hoped that maybe he wants to slowly build up an explanation or an intro to a topic; if he wanted to, she would give him all the time in the world to do so.

He moved in his seat and then looked at her seriously.

'What don't you like about me?'

She opened her mouth and closed it right after. Her gaze drifted to the side and a frown appeared on her face. He kept observing her, as if trying to validate her honesty.

'Plenty of things. Or rather, it's a one thing that kinda affects a few,' she said. Her eyes returned to his and she took a deep breath. 'Do you want to know what it is?'

'Yes.'

'I dislike your energy sometimes. I know that you are not a very upbeat person and by all means, I am not saying that your kind of energy is bad, but you seem so depressed sometimes.'

Shota lowered his head and gaze, savoring her words.

'But at the same time, when things are kind of slower, there is no one else I would feel more comfortable with,' she explained. 'It's just... sometimes it seems like a joy-killer. You do the same thing to Present Mic, from what I have noticed.'

'Yea,' he admitted and hid his face behind his hair.

She stopped and looked at him worriedly.

'It has advantages to it, though. You are a fantastic observer and because of the calculated demeanor, nothing beats your advice.'

He straightened his back and asked:

'What else?'

'Nothing comes to my mind right now. I don't think there is literally anything that would bother me in any way. I can either be neutral to the rest or pretend like I am not enjoying something, but I secretly do.' She smirked at him.

'Like what?'

'Your strictness,' she responded.

'Because you are a masochist,' he chuckled.

'Because I know that it is not your full persona. You are such a softie sometimes,' she said in a cute, high-pitched voice and hugged herself, with a delightful expression on her face.

Shota turned his head, hiding a small blush on his pale cheeks. He didn't look at her for a long moment.

'And what about me?' she asked quietly.

He traced the side of the bed with his fingers, focusing on his thoughts.

'You are too loud sometimes, like Mic.' The man looked at her with tired eyes. 'Makes me wanna silence you.'

'Why don't you do it, then?' Her eyes darkened.

'And a brat,' he added with a harsher tone. 'Stop, I want this to be a serious conversation.'

'I apologize.'

He nodded and took a deep breath, watching her fold her hands, slightly embarrased.

'From what I know about you, I think that's it,' he said after a few minutes of silence.

'Oh,' she exhaled and glanced at his face.

Mariko thought that at some point he will explain why he asked about that, but he didn't seem to want to. While anticipation was slowly killing her and her mind phrased a question, he spoke up.

'Doesn't that bother you?'

'What?'

'The age difference.'

She looked at him and shifted in her seat, placing a foot below her body. Her leg touched Shota's and none of them made any effort to disconnect their bodies.

'No,' she simply responded but realized that he is not happy with such answer.

'Our profession doesn't favor relationships,' he informed.

'I am well aware. But this is exactly why I don't mind the age gap. I always found older men more attractive than the ones my age.'

'Why?'

'I don't know.' She shrugged. 'That's not just one thing making me feel this way, it's multiple.'

'Please take your time to answer, but I would like to know.'

'Alright,' she replied and gently brushed her knuckles, while frowning. 'I can view some men my age as handsome or attractive, but it's not the same kind of feeling. It's just like 'yes, this person is attractive, but there are many attractive people in this world.' For example, I think that Hawks is hot, but that's literally all there is to it. Something deep inside of me just prevents me from choosing men that aren't older enough. They don't make me feel safe, they don't make me want to impress them, they don't inspire me, I don't know... It's just not the same.'

He kept looking at her with half-lowered eyelids, not saying a word.

'And when it comes to your previous question. Does the age gap bother me? No. I set my mind long time ago on becoming a hero, putting my Quirk into a good use. I am aware that once I make it, my life might be at risk... Hell no, I already almost died once... It's a risky profession, age doesn't matter, because the life can end at any time. And I will accept all the time that will be given to me and the other person. And I will seek every second of it.'

He brought his palm to her cheek and gently held her face, looking into her eyes. She touched the top of his hand and slightly pushed her face into his skin.

'Was it reasonable and honest enough?' she asked jokingly.

He chuckled once in a low, deep voice and closed his eyes.

'Yes.'

'And do you mind it?'

'Yeah,' he said and saw her smile slowly fade away. 'But just because I know that society isn't very respectful towards women in relationships with older men.'

She closed her eyes and smiled brightly, then bit on her finger to stop herself from screaming.

'You are so adorable,' Mariko said and looked into Aizawa's eyes.

'I am serious.'

'I am serious, too.' She grinned. 'But I know what you mean. I am well aware of that. Still, it is so nice that you considered something like that.'

'It's very important and logically speaking,' he started and heard her chuckle again. 'I had to make sure that you know about that.'

'I know,' she said honestly and nodded. 'And I am still willing to try,' she informed, looking at him meaningfully.

He slid his hand from her cheek to her left shoulder.

'I see,' Shota said. He moved back and slowly stood up.

She followed the man with her gaze, as he started towering over her.

'I like the height difference. It adds to the power dynamics,' she admitted lazily and grinned.

'Masochist,' he purred and turned on his heel. 'Sleep well.'

'You too,' she responded and threw herself onto the bed, looking at the entrance door.

Eraser turned his head after stepping through the threshold and then carefully closed the door behind. Mariko laid still for a few long minutes and then stretched herself on top of the bed, smelling the scent of his fragrance on her bedsheets.