Third person pov

Both Lillian and Hitoshi passed out around six in the morning or so, the boy having introduced Lillian to the wonderful world of memes. They'd collapse on Hitoshi's bed, both of them snuggled up against one another. The look on Mihoko's face when she peeked in at around ten was priceless. Seeing her son with his arm around the small girl's shoulders. Her head leant against his chest. Their legs, overlapping and tangled in the blankets. Lillian wearing her son's hoodie.

"Just a friend my ass." The woman whispered, slowly backing away to go hunt down a camera.

At first, Lillian hadn't been sure of vines. Hitoshi had climbed onto the bed and plopped down next to her. He'd pulled up a video titled "Vines that cured my cancer" and offered her an earbud. At first she'd been a little lost. She hesitantly accepted it and let her eyes shift to his phone. Hitoshi was grinning like he knew something she didn't.

By the time this ten minutes were over, she couldn't feel blood on her hands anymore. With shining eyes, she turned towards Hitoshi, which was grinning hopefully at her.

She felt her lips stretch into a grin as well.

"Another?"

Hitoshi had looked overjoyed.

And so started a two hour marathon consisting of Vines, Vines, and more Vines. A lot repeated, but those were the most iconic ones, so neither could complain. Hitoshi could practically feel Lillian coming over to the dark side, and it made him grin. He didn't really have ant friends aside from her, let alone any he could watch Vines with. He knew she'd just been through some mad trauma, but he still couldn't help but feel a little giddy.

He almost screamed when she muttered "yeet" under her breath. He wanted to cry, but not in a bad way. He'd been very worried that maybe she wouldn't like them, or perhaps she'd be uncomfortable. He'd been... well, he didn't want to scare off his only friend. He took the risk, and he didn't regret it. Lillian seemed to be getting into vines and memes just as much as he currently was. She'd even whispered "bitch lasagna" to herself. It made him feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy.

Sleep crept up on them like a ninja in spandex. At some point, the two teens had sort of melded together. Like two people trying to sit in the same chair or something. He normally wasn't one for physical contact, but he found that he quite liked it. More than he thought he would, anyway. It felt... comfortable, and warm, and at home. He even felt himself begin to drift off somewhere between I coulda dropped by croissant and I won't hesitate, bitch. It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment it started.

Lillian was out first, her head falling against his chest. She had rolled over a little, half on top of him, and half not. It made it impossible to slip away and roll off the bed into his futon. So he didn't. Instead he sat and let himself drift off, his head lolling to the side. He realized just as his consciousness faded that he had an arm around Lillian. He didn't remember holding her ever, but he really didn't care. He was too tired to.

Mihoko returned and took around twenty, maybe four-hundred photos or so. Most were from angles that shouldn't have been humanely possible, but Mihoko was a resourceful woman. This was a monumental moment. Shinso had never really had a friend before, nor had he ever outwardly admitted to having a crush. He'd never even shown interest in a girl before, or a boy for that matter. But now Lillian was here, and well...

Mihoko was pretty much ready to start looking for a wedding venue. 

Hajime Shinso left early for work around noon, wanting to check up on Eraserhead, who had been placed under his care. He'd gotten a few more concerned texts from Lillian's parents, most long and drawn out, begging her to come home. He was just glad they weren't spamming him, because they really could if they wanted. He appreciated their restraint.

He felt a little bad as he sat in traffic, gazing down at his phone as it lit up with another message. This one was short. All it said was "We love you, please be safe and come home soon." He frowned. He'd broken a law not calling them and letting them know where she was, and probably scared the shit out of them too. He sighed and pressed dial.

It rang one time before someone picked up. He put it to his ear, listening as the person on the other in gasped out as though they'd been suffocating. He winced. Yeah, whoever that was had definitely been crying. Well, now he felt even shittier. Great.

"L-Lillian, honey?" It was a woman, probably Lillian's mother if he had to take a guess. "Honey, w-we're not mad. Are you safe? Did you g-get hurt? We saw the news and- god, there was so much blood. P-Please come home. P...Please, Lillian..." The woman broke out into more sobs, and Hajime winced, pulling his car forward as the lane he was in finally moved. It came to a stop again soon after.

He heard someone take the phone, and the woman's sobs became fainter. "Hello?" It was a man this time. Lillian's father, Hajime was willing to bet. He sounded downright exhausted, as though he hadn't sleep. He... He probably hadn't. "Lillian?"

Hajime cleared his throat. Right, he should probably say something. "Hello, Mr. Faust. I'm Hajime Shinso: the doctor who treated your daughter. She's perfectly fine. She just overused her quirk and had some temporary side effects, that's all." He said. He heard the man choke out a sob of relief. "Your daughter happens to be friends with my son. Lillian was afraid you'd be mad at her for not telling you about her quirk, and quickly fell into a panic. She... She went through a great deal of trauma, and held the life of her teacher in her hands for a prolonged period of time, during which she was in an immense amount of pain."

The man on the other end was silent, prompting Hajime to continue. The purple-haired man let out a sigh, massaging his temples. What a mess.

"It had to have been hell, and I didn't want to send her into a situation without knowing whether or not it would cause her more grief. I don't know what she saw in there, or what she went through, but it was... it was a near-death experience, Mr. Faust, and she had to suffer greatly just so her teacher wouldn't die. I apologize for not contacting you, but on the off chance you ended up being mad... I could not do that to her. I offered to let her stay at my residence for the night." Hajime finished, quickly holding his breath in wait to see if the man would be mad. He wouldn't blame him if he were. 

There was a deep, shuddering breath on the other end. The man was definitely crying. "I-I... I understand why you did it. W-We aren't mad at her. We were... we were shocked, b-but when she made the top f-five... w-we expected something may be amiss. Thank you f-for letting us know and... l-let her know we love her, and that we are so, so proud of her." The man choked out, and Hajime felt his heart clench.

"I'll make sure she knows, Mr. Faust." The man said softly. He heard a weak thank you before the call ended, leaving him to whip out his phone and contact Mihoko. He doubted Lillian was up yet, but his wife could give the girl the message when she woke up.

It was around one when Shinso stirred. He grunted, cracking his neck and shifting. He felt a weight against him and looked down, blinking a few times to try and clear his blurry vision. His brain was always foggy after waking up. He brought a hand up and raked it through his hair, which seemed more wild than usual. If that was even possible, that is. With a yawn, he looked down at Lillian.

...Lillian.

Hitoshi paused for a moment, staring at her. That's right. She'd stayed the night after the whole USJ, and they'd ended up watching Vines. The memory made him snort a little. He really hadn't thought Lillian would be into that kind of thing, but the surprise had been pleasant. He glanced around, pursing his lips awkwardly. He couldn't safely move without disturbing her. She was not only on top of him, but had started hugging him sometime during their sleep. Not to mention he still had an arm around her anyway.

He felt the girl stir a little, mumbling something so quietly he couldn't catch it. He watched her eyebrows drop, and he felt her shoulders tense. He frowned as her fists clenched around his shirt. Was she shaking? He cursed himself for moving. He must have disturbed her her or something of that sort.

She fell still again, and he pulled his phone out from under his leg where it had fallen. The battery was at thirty percent, but he was sure it Lillian would be awake by then. If not, maybe he'd just go back to sleep and hope he didn't get the urge to use the bathroom. He was always antsy when he had to hold it.

He felt her tense all of a sudden again, her back going rigid, and her shoulders hunching. He raised an eyebrow. Something had to be wrong. Was she awake and too afraid to move in fear of disturbing him, or was it something else? He moved to see if he could get a better look at her face. It was twisted into a rather fearful expression. He felt himself falter.

"Lillian." He whispered, shaking her shoulder a little. She was having a nightmare. She had to be. "Lillian, wake up."

Lillian let out a small, weak cry that sounded hazy and half there. She tried to pull away from him, but he tightened his grip on her to prevent her from falling right off the bed. Pushing himself into more of a sitting position as she began to squirm more. These movements were more frantic. 

Lillian was there, in the operating room again. Mr. Aizawa was staring at her with eyes. He was scared. He was in pain, and he saw scared, and he was dying. It felt like there were a million hands pulling her away, but she felt like she had to reach out. Like something would happen to him if she didn't. It was as though she had to reach him. Or maybe she was just afraid to let go. She didn't know. Her teacher was dying. Her teacher, who'd saved their lives. Who's fought tirelessly just for them.

"Lillian." Hitoshi said, louder this time. He shook her shoulder. "Lillian, you're having a nightmare."

That seemed to do it. The girl let out a loud gasp, her eyes flying open and her body jerking forward. A scream seemed to catch her in her throat, her hand outstretching for something that wasn't there. Hitoshi jumped slightly in surprise at the sudden movement. The terror in Lillian's eye made his chest burn. Nobody should ever have to feel that afraid. Especially not when they weren't in danger.

"Lillian, are you... okay?" He questioned hesitantly as she looked around, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Mr... Aizawa?" She squeaked, he voice cracking. Hitoshi felt his heart squeeze the same way it had when he saw Lillian on the television. She sounded so perplexed and lost, bringing a hand up and pressing it against her forehead.

"He's okay, Lillian." He put a hand on her shoulder, keeping his voice low. The girl turned to look at him again, blinking a few times. That's right... that's right. She'd gone to the hospital with Mr. Aizawa, and he hadn't died. He was fine, and she's come to Hitoshi's house with Mr. Shinso... Everyone was fine. "You had a nightmare, I think."

"I-I... oh..." She muttered, wiping at her eyes. She seemed to realize that they'd fallen asleep next to one another and her cheeks went red, though she still looked a little disoriented. Hitoshi felt a shiver go down his spine. Just what had his friend seen? "S-S-Sorry, I... a-ah..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath. Hitoshi pulled her too him and wrapped her in a hug as more tears filled her eyes. She hugged bag hesitantly.

"It's alright." He said simply, because it really was. "Want to watch more vines? And I don't think you've shamed T-series with me yet." 

Lillian smiled a little and gave a small nod, her shoulders slouching. Hitoshi snorted a little, keeping an arm around her as he reached for his phone. Lillian would be fine. He'd make sure of that.