"Hey, hey, Eraser!" Yamada called. "Want to come drinking with us?"

Aizawa shuffled his papers around, not looking up at his co-workers. "No thanks, I don't want to be around either you or Midnight when you're drunk." He grabbed a pen to continue grading the tests from the kids with supplementary lessons. Uraraka, Tokoyami, and Kirishima were improving somewhat at least though not by much. "Nevermind both of you at the same time."

"You should take a break though," Toshinori remarked from behind the other hero. "A lot's happened."

Yamada nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, so come on, let's go!"

Aizawa grabbed his calico kitty mug, taking a sip of his coffee. "Just go without me."

The blond hero's giant smile vanished, replaced with a bitter scowl. It was hard to tell because of his sunglasses but he was glaring at his former classmate. Well, actually, he was incredibly expressive so his eyebrows gave away his expression immediately.

Toshinori rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling the tension in the air. He knew there was a lot of history between these co-workers since they were in the same class in high school. They had inside jokes (made by Yamada) and blackmail material (usually Aizawa) that no one else understood. Sometimes, it was like they were speaking their own language.

"Yo, All Might," Yamada called, his voice bouncing off the walls. "Why don't you go on ahead?"

Toshinori blinked. "Uh… are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm going to try to convince Eraser to come with us," he replied.

"Well," Toshinori looked between them, "okay." He threw on his suit jacket over his button-down, one that actually fit his skeletal frame since he couldn't maintain his muscle form for too long anymore. "But if he really doesn't want to go, don't force him."

Yamada waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah."

"So persistent," Aizawa grumbled.

Toshinori left with the rest of their teachers, giving the other two the name of the bar they were heading to. Once it was just the two thirty-year olds alone in the lounge, Yamada pulled out the swivel chair next to Aizawa and sat down, spinning in circles. A vein appeared on Aizawa's forehead but he restrained himself from kicking the other teacher off.

"You're annoying."

Aizawa pulled his mug away from his lips and turned to the other man in surprise. "I'm annoying?"

Yamada stopped spinning, his knees pulled up to his chest, and a face devoid of his usually giant smile. Even after spending fifteen years together, his face just didn't seem right without one. "Do you have any idea how worried I get when you're in the thick of things? First USJ, then the summer training camp, and now that raid mission! You almost got killed twice and kidnapped a third time!"

Aizawa had no idea he'd worried the other man so much. "I'm fine."

"That's what you said back then too," Yamada remarked.

"Back then?"

"Fairy Summer?"

Aizawa snorted, chuckling a little to himself. "My god, Fairy Summer…"

—X—

Yamada sat hunched over his desk, a horrified open-mouthed smile frozen on his face as the rest of his classmates milled about the room, discussing their plans for summer. He was the only one who failed the final exam. Aizawa felt bad about it because he felt it was his own fault. His Quirk was useless in a battle against robots so Yamada assisted him in secret.

The news that they'd all be able to go to the summer training camp regardless of whether they passed or failed thrilled Yamada. But his mood was brought right back down as soon as he was told he'd have to take intense remedial lessons to make up for it. In the end, Aizawa wanted to help but nothing really came to mind until he overheard some of their peers talking about the legendary Seven Mysteries of U.A.

"Hey, did you know?" one girl remarked. "There are fairies that live in the forest near the school."

"Fairies? No way," a boy scoffed.

She crossed her arms and raised a brow. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure and wonder?" A puff of fire escaped from her lips. "I think it can totally be possible for fairies to exist if us humans can evolve into having Quirks."

"Well… sure, but I've never seen them."

"Then let's go fairy hunting!"

"Fairy hunting?"

Aizawa could see that Yamada was interested in this conversation. So with a sigh, he said, "Hey, are you free this weekend?"

"Eh?" Yamada uttered, looking up with a blank expression. "Are you… asking me out on a date?"

"I'd rather die."

"You're so cruel!"

Everyone ducked down, hands over their ears as a soundwave pierced their eardrums. "Don't yell!" the rest of the class shouted, glaring at the students at the back. Yamada shrunk down to the size of a pea while Aizawa just sighed in annoyance.

After class, as they were heading home, Aizawa clarified what he meant. So the pair set up a time to meet on Saturday to do fairy hunting, whatever that would amount to. It was clear that Yamada was excited because he wouldn't shut his mouth for one second. He kept theorizing on how the fairy looked like or what they did while Aizawa just stared at him, making sure his Quirk wouldn't activate randomly.

On Saturday morning, the sky was a clear blue and the sun was shining brightly, beating down hard. Aizawa was sweating profusely underneath his black hoodie and long hair. He got winded just climbing up the road to the school's entrance. Yamada was already waiting there in cargo shorts and a loose white undershirt. The moment he saw his classmate, he immediately started shouting. In English.

"Hey dummy!" Yamada snapped. "Why are you wearing that?!"

Aizawa was hunched over, breathing heavily. "It's comfortable."

"How?!" Yamada snapped. "Your head's like a waterfall!"

Aizawa was forced to remove his jacket and he stuffed it into his messenger bag. They headed for the forest behind the building to find a camp set up just on the outskirts. There was the blackened remains of a campfire and an inflatable tent. As it would turn out, Yamada had been so excited about this hunt that he decided to stay on campus overnight.

"You really are an idiot," Aizawa grumbled. "What's the net for?"

Yamada grabbed it and raised it like a flag. "For catching it, of course!"

Aizawa's eye twitched. "What's with that wild look in your eyes?"

The other teen started snickering sinisterly as he stared straight into the woods, like he could see his prey right in front of him. "My predator blood is boiling." A glint bounced off his sunglasses and stomped down on the campfire just to be safe. "Now let's hunt some fairies!"

Aizawa felt like he was forgetting something as he followed the blond inside. All he could think about was how annoying the cicadas were that day, screaming their heads off. But he supposed that was just part of the music of summer along with the occasional cool breeze running through the verdant leaves overhead. Then came the chorus. A human scream.

Not even five seconds into their adventure, Yamada let out a mortified scream. He fell to his butt and scooted backwards as quickly as possible, jaw looking like it dislocated for it to reach several decibels higher than usual. It was like a jet engine going off right beside your ear.

Aizawa dug his pinky into his ear, trying to get the ringing out. "You blew out my eardrums…"

"A-Aizawa!" Yamada stammered, hugging his classmate's leg. "Th-Th-The g-g-g-giant b-b-b-bug…"

Aizawa looked between his quaking classmate and the palm-sized cicada on the bark of the tree in front of them. With another annoyed sigh, he grabbed Yamada by the collar and yanked him up onto his feet. "You're going to be a pro hero. What the hell are you being afraid of a single bug for?"

"How mean," Yamada sniffed. "You're mean, Aizawa!"

Aizawa sighed. "What happened to that 'predator blood' of yours?"

"It evaporated," Yamada wheezed.

From then on, Yamada clung to the other boy as they skulked through the woods. Aizawa preferred to stay in the shade so every time he saw spaces of sunlight, he walked around it like it was a pool of corrosive acid. Yamada would complain about making unnecessary detours if he wasn't freaking out over every sound that was similar to a screeching bug.

"What are we looking for again?" Aizawa asked.

Yamada stood up straighter but still stuck close. "Fairies have butterfly-like wings and they're like tiny, pretty, graceful women." His eyes underneath his sunglasses darted left and right, as if looking out for eavesdroppers. "Supposedly, the trees have eyes and the soil has ears so the fairies always know when an intruder's in their forest."

"So you mean they might've run away?" Aizawa inquired.

"No way," Yamada hissed. "In the summer, they always stick around."

Aizawa wondered how he knew so much about fairies. Then again, the Seven Mysteries of U.A. sounded like the kind of thing that would be right up Yamada's alley. He also had to admit, he was curious about the origin of the rumors and why it was so pervasive.

"Why not?" asked Aizawa.

Yamada gestured to some vibrant violet flowers growing at the base of a tree. "They like the plants here best."

It was such a simplistic answer but it made sense. Aizawa personally liked the flowers in that forest too. With a renewed burst of excitement for their little expedition, he decided to put some more enthusiasm into this. "Okay, let's keep going."

"Eh?" Yamada blinked, looking up. "You suddenly sound excited about this."

"I feel like you should be more excited," Aizawa retorted. "Now come on."

"Alright, now we're talking!"

The pair explored the forest from one end to the other in search of the mythical fairies, leaving no stone unturned. They tried their best to avoid any insects though when a dragonfly and a stag beetle flew too close, Yamada screamed. It was only thanks to Aizawa's Quirk that they were able to avoid having him yell too loudly. They didn't want to scare off the fairies after all.

Every butterfly got their attention. Every flower had their subtle breaths bouncing off of their petals. Every speck of dirt found their way onto their knees as they crouched down. Every tree ended up getting climbed as they wondered if they could see more at higher points.

They took a break around noon, seating themselves beside each other against a tree. Unfortunately, Yamada hadn't thought to pack a lunch so Aizawa had to share his bento box. It wasn't a big deal. He'd rather not listen to Yamada's stomach bark while he ate. They only had one pair of disposable chopsticks though so they had to share it.

"Ah," Yamada grinned, opening his mouth

Aizawa lifted up a shrimp tempura. "Roll up your tongue. You're not a dog."

"Woof," Yamada smirked. "Feed me, master!"

Aizawa's eye twitched though he resisted exhaling in annoyance He looked the other boy directly in the eyes, and then ate the shrimp himself. Yamada gasped in betrayal, tears actually spurting out and rolling down his cheeks. But he couldn't say a word in distress as Aizawa immediately grabbed a maki sushi roll and stuffed it into Yamada's mouth.

Yamada blinked the tears away as he chewed. "This is really good. Did your mom make this?"

"I made it," Aizawa replied. "My parents are in Tokyo so I live in an apartment on my own."

"Hey, me too!" Yamada grinned. "Oh, well, except for the Tokyo part." He reached into the lunchbox and held up another sushi roll. "But I can't make anything near as good as this. All my sushi comes out in clumps. They taste fine… usually. But yeah, you're really good at cooking."

Aizawa put down his chopsticks. "Well… you're a better fighter than I am."

"Eh? Where's this coming from?"

He wasn't sure himself. "I can teach you to how to make sushi later, if you'd like."

Yamada seemed surprised by the offer but then he smiled big and wide. It stretched across his entire face as he threw an arm around the other boy. "Sounds great! We'll be like a happy family together!" He would've continued but Aizawa suddenly froze. "Aizawa? You're… are you crying? D-Did I say something wrong?!"

"No," Aizawa coughed out, vigorously wiping at his face. "I'm fine. Let's just go back to fairy hunting."

For someone as vocal as Yamada to become so deathly silent showed just how much he didn't know how to respond. So instead, they finished up lunch and continued on the move. They figured it would be a good idea to try climbing up the incline. Too small to be considered a mountain but too big to be a hill.

The sun threw the shadows of the trees across the forest floor, painting the grass and dirt underneath in bright orange. They came to the realization that it was probably best to go back as it was getting late. They could always return another day. But as they were going down, Aizawa suddenly tripped on a protruding rock. As Yamada threw his arm out to break his fall, he underestimated how light the other boy was and they both went tumbling down the other direction.

"Aiza… wa… Ai… zawa… Aizawa!"

The black-haired boy's eyes snapped open, blinking and wiping away the clumps of dirt that had gotten on his face. He slowly sat up with Yamada's help and realized they were surrounded by unfamiliar shrubbery. They'd gone so far off the marked trail that they no longer knew where they were.

"Crap, how long was I out?" he asked.

"Don't know," Yamada shrugged. "Our phones died a while back, remember?"

Aizawa sighed, slumping down and sitting on his haunches. "Great, just great." He rubbed at the stubble around his chin, wondering when the last time he had shaved was. At this point, he just wanted to crawl back into bed in his empty apartment and sleep. "I'm sorry Yamada. It's my fault we're in this mess."

"What?" Yamada blanked. "If I hadn't grabbed you, we might not have—."

"We wouldn't even be in this forest if it weren't for me!" Aizawa snapped.

Yamada knelt down beside him. "Hey… Aizawa? Did I… do something wrong?"

"What?"

"You said you were fine during the final exam," said Yamada. "But I didn't listen and helped you out anyway. You… probably didn't want to cheat but… the test is really unfair! You're Quirk doesn't work on ro—!"

"That doesn't mean you should've interfered!" Aizawa yelled. It shocked him and Yamada both as he rarely raised his voice. Angry tears were spilling out and he desperately tried to dry his face. "I was fine… I am fine!" He hadn't realized he was keeping all of this inside. "I'm going to be a hero just like you, you know." He realized… fairy hunting was for him, not Yamada. "So let me take care of things myself."

"You wanted to get your mind off things," Yamada sighed. He dropped down onto the ground, hands pressed against the soil, as he looked skywards. He pondered for a moment, what would be the right thing to say but only one thing came to mind. "You know… you're a better hero than I am."

"…What?"

"Your first instinct is to protect people," Yamada explained. "I… just like having the cameras and flashing lights on me all the time. Not to mention, you can take on any of us in a one-on-one fight if you wanted to!"

"Yamada," said Aizawa. "I… no one's told me that before…"

"They should," Yamada chuckled. "You're amazing."

"I… I'm going to tell sensei to switch our grades," Aizawa sighed. "If I'm as strong as you say I am, then I'm going to make sure my future scores are made with my own power. I want to become a hero with my own potential."

"Okay…" Yamada stood back up, hands on his hips. "But if you have an issue with the unfairness of an exam, don't just say 'I'm fine' all the time. That goes for if you're dealing with any other trouble too. We're like family, you know."

"Family," Aizawa smiled. "Yeah."

Now they had to figure out how to return to the city. As they got up to look around, they noticed that a pathway had been opened up. Bordered on either side was a bunch of multicolored flowers, tilting back and forth in the breeze. Briefly, the boys glanced at each other, wondering if they just encountered one of the Seven Mysteries.

A little wind chime-like giggle traveled along the path. And they suddenly felt their chests get lighter.

—X—

"We're like family," said Yamada, "together for fifteen years. Hell, we even moved in together—."

"To make rent easier," Aizawa interjected.

Yamada sighed in annoyance this time but chuckled as well. He glanced over at the calendar hanging from the wall. It was early September, but not quite autumn. "True, that was part of it. But we made a promise together that summer, remember?"

"That I wouldn't always pretend to be fine," Aizawa sighed, a smile buried in his scarf.

"So I'll ask again," Yamada nodded. "Want to drink with us?"

The test papers weren't completely graded yet but it wasn't like they were going anywhere. He could always finish things up at home or return to the office later. Outside, birds were chirping, the cicadas were gently buzzing, and the sky took on a muted orange shade. Summer wouldn't last forever. And that Fairy Summer was over fifteen years ago.

"Alright," said Aizawa. "Let's go."

"That's the spirit, Eraser!" Yamada chuckled.

"Just don't get too drunk or I'm leaving without you."

"I don't even drink that much, not after last time."