97 - Dealing

The door bumped loudly open and Hizashi stuck his head inside his apartment, his large plume of blond hair sticking out as he shoved his face into a strange darkness. 

He frowned. It was odd, the home being so dark. Elly usually greeted him enthusiastically with music playing and sometimes something cooking on the stove despite the early hour. The only sound he could hear now, however, was the tapping and chiming of her phone in the bedroom. He unfastened his neck speaker and set it absently aside on the kitchen counter as he passed. Walking down the hallway in that ominous silence was eerie, and he felt a creeping sense of dread.

"You okay, babe?" He peered inside. It was slightly brighter in here with the lava lamp on, casting a shimmery gold light over his beloved hunched over in their bed. She jerked upright at his voice, startled.

"Zashi! I didn't hear - did you just get home? Is it that late?!"

"Uh oh," he murmured as he saw the blue of her twitter profile. He gently took the phone out of her trembling hands to look. He sucked air in through clenched teeth as he read the barrage of tweets on the glowing screen. Most people were twisting her words around, hearing what they thought someone like her would say. They weren't thinking that maybe, just maybe, a difference in opinion didn't always come with intent to harm.

"Whoa, princess... it's gonna be okay. I promise. I'll take care of this, an' you won't have to deal with it." He set the phone far out of her reach and cuddled her closely against him, knowing she loved to be held. "What do you need from me to feel better? Can I help right now?" 

"Just... be you," she husked softly in confusion. "My brain is on fire, I can't stop it. I'm hurting myself."

"Aw, no." He pulled her all the way onto his lap and began talking in a lower tone, rocking her a little. "You don't need to do that. I know you know this, but you probably need t'hear it, eh? It's not your fault." 

She sighed, snuggling closer into the t-shirt he wore under his jacket. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Nah. People will always pick on others. Especially if you're in the spotlight, like a pro hero." He smiled sadly. "I know what the worst comment on there was for you, too. Saw it a lot. It's easy for others to say 'just deal with it', but they don't know what you've gone through."

"I don't know if I deal with things, but I always have you to calm me down. I love you, Zashi." 

He grinned when her hug turned fierce. "I love you, too."