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 "Mic, you gotta see this before you go!" The woman at the radio station ran up to the startled Voice Hero, brandishing her phone around like a deadly weapon. "Oh. My. Godddd!"

Hizashi raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"

"Just look!" She squealed loudly and thrust the screen in his face.

The image was of a custom stuffed toy, a likeness of him in a much larger size than available in stores or other promotions. It looked similar to a Cabbage Patch Kid, but much bigger with adult proportions.

"So weird!"

He jumped back, eyes wide. "Ah, holy crap! That's way bigger'n the ones they sell."

"I knoooow, right? Ew."

"Ew?" He frowned, squinting at the text below yhe image. "Why ew? And, uh. The comments are gettin' really harsh."

<i>Do you, you know. Do you... do you, uh...? I don't wanna know forget it lol</i>

...

<i>This is an abomination and should not exist. Destroy it. Now.</i>

...

<i>You fuck that thing, don't you.</i>

...

<i>y Mic tho?</i>

He snorted and finally pushed her hand with the phone away. "People can be a buncha weirdos."

"I <i>know</i>, right? They paid somebody to make that thing!"

"That's not what I - ah, hell." She wasn't listening and was already out of sight, scampering down the hall. 

When he got back to the campus later he noticed the school counselor wasn't around to greet him like usual. She slept poorly and often would still be awake, coffee in hand seated on the couch ready to talk. He frowned, hoping she was all right.

"Maybe I should check," he muttered to himself as he walked down the hall. His light knock on her door produced no response, but it wasn't locked and swung open easily. Alarmed, he tensed in preperation for what might be on the other side. 

Elly was on her bed curled up in a ball. She stood up when she saw who it was, rubbing at her eyes with her hands. Her cheeks were pink and stained wet from crying, her purple eyes bloodshot and miserable.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I mean... not really. But I will be."

"Well, if ya need a good laugh - check this out!" He showed her the Mic doll on his phone, hoping at least for a smile. 

She did not smile. 

In fact, her face paled considerably and she clapped a hand over her mouth. 

"Holy shit! You okay?" Hizashi watched her transformation in dismay. She'd looked bad to begin with, but now she appeared to be sick. "You need to go see Chiyo, babe -"

"No."

"But you look like you're gonna barf!"

"I'm - I'm not," she said weakly. "I promise I'm not, it's, um. Oh..."

"That's it. Nurse. Now." He made as if to reach for her and she shook her head wildly.

"No! It's mine."

"Ehhh?"

"The Mic plushie," Elly clarified. "I had it made. That's why - I didn't want you to know..." 

He looked around, confused. "But -"

She pointed to her closet with a shaky finger. "I - I hid it in there."

Hizashi sat heavily on the bed and blew out a huge gust of air. "Why, Ches?"

"I posted on a therapy group," she explained weakly. "I wanted to share with other fans so they wouldn't be scared to use plushes. But I forgot to make the image private." She rolled her eyes, brushing her side locks away from her cheeks. "My account is vague and I'm on a VPN, so no one knows it was me. But the pic... ugh. This is why people are scared to try different comfort techniques. I mean, I tried to help but it backfired."

"Um, babe?"

"Yeah." 

There was a beat of silence, and then he gently turned her to face him. "Why d'ya have a plush <i>me</i>? Why not a teddy bear or somethin'?"

"Oh." Elly made a face, wrinkling her nose. "I guess everything's gone to shit so I might as well fess up. I fell in love with you a long time ago."

His face immediately blossomed into color and he stared at her in shock.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't going to tell you, it's unprofessional and <i>creepy</i>. I realize it's creepy." Her ears twitched and she sighed sadly. "I just really want to be held. I had it made life-sized so the arms could - could... hug me. Plus, studies show it's good for adults, it was published in 2013 in the journal Psychological Science that simply holding a plush could reduce existential fear in people with low self-esteem -"

"Whoa, hey now."

"Sorry!" She grimaced. "Sorry... I know."

He shook his head, his huge plume of hair rustling. "Nah, babe, don't be sorry. I get it, yeah? I mean, I was freaked out at first, 'course I was! They sell other ones of me, though. There's tons of merch. I think I even got on a bubblegum wrapper once. That's weirder, right?"

She sighed. "Maybe. I'm still sorry, though. And embarrassed. Let's put it past us so we can still be friends?"

"Past us?"

"Please. I'll get rid of it, I promise."

"Ches -"

"I never should've had it made." Elly shook her head. "I wanted to imagine what it felt like when someone loved you unconditionally. But it didn't feel like anything. It's not real."

Hizashi shook his head slowly, huffing under his breath. "Damn, girl. No wonder you wanted a hug." He stood, popped his neck gear off and carefully set it by his feet.

"I'm also sorry I dumped all that on you." She opened her mouth to apologize more but found herself enveloped in a tight embrace that smelled mostly of leather. Hizashi was much taller than her and she came up to around his chest. That meant she was snuggled against firm pectoral muscles and could feel the wild beating of his heart.

She stiffened, gasping out loud, but he didn't let go and she eventually relaxed a little. "You don't h - have to do this!"

"I know." He swept her off her feet and into his lap as he sat on the bed. "It's, you know. Unconditional."