Hello my lovelies! I don't know how many of you actually read these but I've noticed a lot of you like my writings and I figured I'd link that nifty tumblr I man that houses more discussions of my fics, a lot of reblogged fanart, and which has a handy-dandy FAQ right over HERE at .com

It's mostly Invader Zim focused, but I do occasionally post MHA there as well as ATLA for fans of those shows!

Thank you for loving my writing and always letting me know what you think of my chapters/works! It means a lot!

Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Partner Swap

Aizawa couldn't sleep. Not the usual "waking up multiple times over the night" couldn't sleep, but rather, he couldn't seem to get to sleep. He was wondering just when he'd have to deal with a night of bonified insomnia during this, and apparently tonight was the night. He was almost certain he didn't actually have insomnia but with his sleeping habits he certainly wasn't able to tell. It didn't help that he was left without his usual go to activities to pass the time.

He couldn't grade papers (Jesus, he was going to have so many papers to grade). Nor could he go training anywhere without risking Yamada waking up and having a heart attack. He certainly wasn't going for a walk in the dead of night with a cane knocking around constantly to give away his position, and he wasn't well versed enough in the other dorms to find anyone else's apartment. Not that he'd purposefully wake anyone up, either way, but sometimes another of his partners would be awake at an odd hour for one reason or another and he'd just have to see which building had a light on in the apartment windows. He wouldn't risk another student catching him in the other dorms without a viable reason for him to be there, either way, though. He was certain that Nemuri was probably at the apartment off campus, indulging entirely in being the cats' sole source of affection at the moment, so that was also out.

He had eventually settled on laying in bed and listening to Yamada's breathing. But that could only last to distract him for so long. He rubbed at his eyes, slipping out of Yamada's grasp, and slinking off to the bathroom. He shut the door, blocked the bottom with a towel, and pawed at the wall until he reached the plug-in light and yanked it out. With that done, he tore off the blindfold and sighed heavily in relief, blinking away freely. It was a heavy relief, but it was something he knew would have to be brief. He couldn't just lock himself in the bathroom all day every day until this was done. It also didn't fix that he couldn't do anything different than if he had the blindfold on. What little night vision he had with his usual eyesight was not going to be helpful in grading a paper or reading. It was really only useful enough for navigating the dorms or his apartment in the dead of night.

The only true difference here was that he could blink again. Feel air on his eyes. Not have to settle on faux blinking when he felt like his eye lids were getting restless and might slip open against his will. It left him wondering if maybe he should lock himself in the storage closet in the lounge daily just to exercise his lids. He never thought he would ever have the thought that he would have to exercise his eyelids. He really needed to ask the universe what kind of bull he'd pulled to land in a situation where that idea even grazed his train of thought. This was, by far, officially the worst. He'd take getting in a fist fight with a villain over this. He'd take rebuilding Ground Beta over this. Hell, he'd take the Nomu on in a second round over this.

Alright, perhaps that last thought was a stretch too far, but he was starting to get to the end of his rope.

He hesitated for a moment, then, another intrusive thought was niggling its way into his brain. He wasn't sure it would work. Nor, was he very sure that he wanted to test it, because a migraine was certainly the last thing he needed tonight when he was already going to be sleep deprived. He growled, trying to drag his hands down his face to relax himself. Usually the action worked, but it wasn't helping him at all tonight. He sighed heavily, resting his forehead against the bathroom door.

He squeezed his eyes shut. Then, he turned slowly towards the mirror. If he could see something for just a moment, then he would at least have something that could take his attention up. And if not… well, he'd figure it out later. For now, he was debating the merits of testing this new theory out. The only things he knew about this Quirk effect for certain was a) light was the devil, b) utter darkness was his best friend for the month, c) the pain was searing and then migraine inducing. But; he wasn't entirely sure if it was every light source that caused the pain. He cracked one eye open, shifting his hair out of his face, and saw one dull red dot staring back at him. The glow from his eyes, without his Quirk, was dim. But, it was perceptible in the darkness.

He slid down the door, chuckling bitterly. It was something incredibly small, but it felt like something grandiose after the last week or so of darkness. He pulled himself back up to the sink, staring at the mirror, where the red glow of his eyes stared back. He still couldn't make out his face very well. The light was mildly distorted by the mirror, and perhaps that had something to do with it, as well. He'd have to risk testing it further if he really wanted to know. He was torn on the thought.

He really did want to know. But he also really didn't want to know. A flashlight reflected in a mirror was headache inducing enough. He didn't feel very keen on figuring out if the reflection was actually an enhancement to the strength of the light. For now, he was content just staring at the red glow in the mirror's surface.

Yamada woke up to Aizawa already dressed and lounging on the loveseat with a 3D puzzle in hand. He kissed his head on his way by. Aizawa grunted at him and Yamada slowed his walk into the kitchenette.

"Didn't sleep well?" he asks. Aizawa only nodded, not wanting to risk he'd snap at Yamada if he spoke. Yamada gave a little hum and ran his fingers through his hair. Aizawa started to melt immediately into the touch with a sigh. "Want to take the day off?"

"No."

"Alright. I'll be ready in a few, okay?"

Aizawa hummed, nodding along into Yamada's touch until he'd dragged himself far enough away that his fingers slipped from Aizawa's scalp. At Aizawa's irritable groan Yamada smirked at him, starting up the coffee machine. Even as Yamada gave him a full mug of coffee minutes later and set out to getting changed, he could see that Aizawa was… not in a good mood. That was a dangerous scenario to find oneself in on a regular day but with Aizawa being as high strung as he was lately this was a potential time bomb. Even grabbing the cane was punctuated with a little more force than necessary, a little more snap than was needed.

He was so glad he wasn't the one subbing the class today.

Yamada gently coaxed Aizawa off the loveseat and out the apartment door with the full intention to cut off anything or anyone that could cause him to snap before they'd even gotten out of the building. It was just a shame that the students had become so intent on being with Aizawa at every possible moment. Frankly, Yamada found it quite adorable. That they took turns greeting him in the morning was extra adorable.

"Bonjour, Sensei!"

"…Morning, sensei."

"Aoyama, Jirou," Yamada greeted. Aizawa was still walking, headed right down the middle of the hall. Yamada quickly reached out and wrapped his arm around Aizawa's waist, dragging him towards the stairs. He spoke firmly as he pulled Aizawa along, careful not to let him trip. "No."

"You're being unnecessary," Aizawa said, his voice just barely above a snipping tone. Jirou and Aoyama shared a concerned glance with one another. Yamada waved them off.

"He's exhausted," Yamada said quickly.

"That implies I slept," Aizawa growled, finally shaking Yamada off at the first landing. Jirou paused on the stairs, moving back up at least one step.

"You didn'tsleep?!" Yamada screeched. Aizawa rounded on him, with the body language of a deadly glare, but the obvious lack of the visual cue. Yamada still felt a short chill down his spine regardless. "Right. You didn't sleep. More coffee?"

Aizawa didn't respond, stomping down the stairs instead. Jirou paused next to Yamada, watching as Aoyama bounded after Aizawa. The boy definitely had balls of steel for jumping so readily after Aizawa while he was in that kind of mood.

"Is he going to kill someone today?" Jirou asks. Yamada gave a solemn chuckle.

"Well, I hope not," he says.

By the time that Yamada had come down to the kitchen, Aizawa had thankfully (and mercifully) opted to just sit at the table with his students surrounding him. He was still eating breakfast so he wasn't at the "fight me for the smallest slight" stage of sleep exhaustion yet, which was honestly the best that Yamada could ask for. Yaoyorozu set a fresh mug of coffee in front of Aizawa. He could have wrapped her in a hug and never let go. Yamada doubted that she knew just how much Aizawa needed that coffee.

"Sensei, did you not sleep well?" Uraraka asks.

If it was any of Aizawa's partners had asked, Yamada was sure that Aizawa would have sassed them. But, this was one of his kids, and even if he wasn't going to admit it just yet, Aizawa was not one to snap unnecessarily at his kids. He'd sass Yamada, Nemuri, or Kan all day. But if it wasn't warranted, he wasn't going to be unnecessarily crude to the kids. It just wasn't in him.

"I didn't sleep," Aizawa said flatly, downing half the steaming coffee mug in his hand in one go.

How he didn't burn his mouth, Yamada was never sure. Perhaps he had burned it years ago and had lost all sensation aside from his tastebuds. Tastebuds grew back. Yamada wouldn't be surprised if he'd scarred his mouth from drinking mug after mug of steaming coffee for years. Maybe that was why he didn't care what he ate.

Breakfast had managed to go by without incident past Aizawa being very short in his responses to anything asked of him. Bakugou had started to develop a twitch to his eye due to the personality shift. Yamada knew that Aizawa had suffered from a rather bad insomnia night before while teaching the kids. He knew because he'd had to brew three mugs of coffee before classes for him before. Yamada now stood in front of Kan's desk with Aizawa at his side, the other man already scowling.

"Kan, it's your lucky day!" Yamada said. Kan eyed him suspiciously. He looked Aizawa over and turned his attention back to Yamada.

"You're setting me up," he says. Yamada baulked at him in mock offense. Aizawa started to nod.

"Babe!"

"He's right," Aizawa said, stalking off to his desk. Kan pinched his brow, leaning over his desk.

"Yamada, you're sending me into the lion's den."

"Is that everyone's new favorite phrase?" Aizawa asks.

"It's your turn to sub," Yamada says sternly. "I'm just reminding you."

Kan glanced to Aizawa. He was tapping the pen against the desk harshly. Kan looked back at Yamada, already feeling exhausted. Yamada cleared his throat, gesturing towards Aizawa.

"He didn't sleep last night," Yamada says.

"Oh, that explains it," Kan sighs. It also explained why Nemuri had yet to say anything. She was eyeing up the pen in Aizawa's hand. Kan couldn't rightfully blame her. He simply nodded, checked the time, and made his way to Aizawa's desk. "Class is starting, Shou."

"End me," Aizawa grumbled.

"Or," Kan said, tapping the desk. "You take a nap while I teach."

Aizawa grunted. It was a tempting offer, though, and so he pushed away from the desk and followed Kan out. He nodded at Yamada on his way past.

"The kids in my class are doing hand to hand in pre-chosen pairs today, so just take them to the gym," Kan says in passing.

"You~ Got it~!" Yamada called after them. Once they were out the door he deflated into his desk with a sigh.

"He'll be fine after lunch," Nemuri assured him. "I'll tell LuRu."

"Sweet Kami, please."

Kan wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. The start of the class had been fine. The class had all come on time and been seated and ready. They'd given him a few confused looks initially, but he had expected that. He'd also been expecting someone to question it, but no one seemed to be in an adventurous mood, what with Aizawa emanating a dark aura in the corner at his desk. Tokoyami seemed to be the only student present who wanted to say something about that unnerving aura. Kan was silently grateful that the kid didn't seem to have the guts.

Aizawa sat at the desk, ignoring the sleeping bag since he found he still wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway, with his feet propped up on the corner. He'd dropped the idea of the nap when he realized he still couldn't shut his mind off enough to even nod off. A scowl was heavy on his face. He was tapping his fingers on the desk in a constant drum. Kan had been able to do the lecture for the most part with no issue. As the hour progressed, however, even he was starting to find it hard to ignore the constant drumming.

The tapping hadn't increased in volume or speed, but it was a persistent distraction. Every student could, at varying degrees, handle the growing irritation of the noise. All but one. Bakugou had progressed to the point of having a distinct bulge at his temple and a restless leg. Midoriya had, for the first time in a long time, started to lean as far back in his chair as he physically could. He was also watching Bakugou carefully and concernedly. Kan, to the man's infinite credit, was trying to explain the lesson as well as he could within the time constraint Aizawa's lesson plan allowed before their time was done.

"Bakubro, it's not that long now," Kirishima whispered desperately, eyeing the clock that would mark the end of the period.

If they were in the dorm building, he'd usually just give Bakugou a peck on the temple and rub the tension from his shoulders, but he couldn't rightfully do that in the middle of class. Especially not with Kan there. So, they were all going to have to suffer. Bakugou's accompanying growl was only further confirmation of this. Kirishima turned to Ashido desperately, but the girl was solemnly shaking her head. Her method wouldn't work either. Yaoyorozu was equally lost on what to do to calm the Beast in the midst of class. Midoriya was equally at odds, or he would have done something already, Kirishima was sure of it. Bakugou hadn't had a proper, royal, outburst since they'd all officially gotten together and so most of them were without a plan of action to begin with.

Finally, the tension snapped at Bakugou's voice.

"Oh, just punch the wall already!" he screamed, small sparks igniting in his palms. Midoriya flinched on reflex, as did half the students surrounding him.

They flinched again when Aizawa's free hand, clenched into a fist, slammed into the chalk board. The side of his fist hit the board with enough force that the resulting cracks spider-webbed out across to the edges furthest from where he sat. The pain shot from his hand up his arm, zapping the frustration clear from the forefront of his thoughts. It cleared his head if nothing else. Aizawa sat there, otherwise unmoving, not even lifting his head off the back of his seat, as the room sat in silence. A few pieces of the high-grade stone chipped off and fell to the floor with small clinks. Kan was left baulking at the display, unsure what to say.

Aizawa removed his fist, a cascade of chipped stone following, with a grunt. "You're right, I feel much better," he says flatly.

Kan couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Then, a very quiet voice piped up.

"Holy shit."

Kan sighed heavily, deflating into the podium as the bell finally rang. Why it couldn't have done that a minute ago, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that the class was officially derailed as multiple students clamored up to Aizawa's desk, an unusually bold Satou trying to take Aizawa's hand to examine it. Aizawa let him, for a brief moment, before shaking him off.

"I'm fine," he grunted. "I've hit villains harder than that."

That was far from reassuring, given the state of the board, in Kan's opinion. He knew from sparing with Aizawa just how hard the man could really punch; and it was true. He could punch far harder than that. Kan rapped his knuckles on the podium.

"Alright, enjoy lunch, because after that we're going to do basic training at the gym," Kan announces.

He waved the lesson plan in the air when some of the class turned to him. He wasn't sure about where Hagakure's attention was centered, but he wouldn't put it past still being fully trained on Aizawa, given a portion of the class still didn't turn to him. The implication was clear, however, and they all seemed to get the gist of what he was implying. As they all filed out, Ashido and Asui flanked Aizawa as he stood from his desk. He grabbed his cane, already seeming to know what they were planning.

"Aizawa-sensei, can you join us for lunch?" Ashido asks.

"We can push the tables together again, kero," Asui furthers. Aizawa took a breath, mulling it over. Kan smirked from his place at the podium.

"Of course, he can," he says. He caught the twitch at Aizawa's fingers, but at the same time, he could see some of the tension leave the man's shoulders. Sitting with his kids would do his attitude some good, Kan thinks. He patted Aizawa's back, ushering the rest of them out of the room. "Just get him something other than rice."

"Oh, I have the perfect idea!" Hagakure declared, acting as the buffer between them and the rest of the class as they hit the quickly filling hallway.

Kan fought back a snicker as he watched Aizawa being guided away. He wasn't even using his cane, the motion unnecessary when almost twenty students were near and ready to redirect him if he started to stray. Kan made his way to the teacher's lounge, finding almost everyone present. Nemuri was first to see him, her desk closest to the door, and she waved, her mouth occupied with a kebob.

"Nem."

"Hmm~!"

"Vladdy! How's our resident grumpy cat?" Yamada asks, lounging at his desk.

"I have a feeling he'll be in a better mood after lunch with his kids," Kan says. Nemuri snickered, waving her empty kabob around.

"They always cheer him up," she says. "It's adorable."

Kan couldn't really argue with that. He left the front of the lounge, headed straight for the fridge in the corner. Once the door had shut, Nemuri stood at her desk, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. The sudden sound was enough that Ectoplasm jumped and a copy manifested briefly. Nemuri snorted, covering her mouth quickly when Ectoplasm sent her a brief glare.

"Sorry, E. Okay. So, since Zashi has admitted to hogging Shou all for himself, I for one cannot let this pass any longer," Nemuri says. Yamada shot up at his desk.

"What?!"

"YOU ADMITTED IT ALREADY, YOU SOUND SLUT!" Nemuri says.

"Well!" Yamada pursed his lips. He sat roughly back into his desk with a sigh. "Okay, so I have been worried about him at night when I'm at the station or on his patrol… and I have to go on an evening patrol and then to the station until three tonight."

"You're pushing yourself as much as Shouta pushes himself," Ectoplasm mumbles.

"Here's an idea," Nemuri says, "Split his patrols with us. I can see those bags under your sunglasses!"

"No, you don't!" Yamada screeches, trying to duck out of Nemuri's sight. She playfully ducked around his desk to keep them in sight, giggling when he tried to shove her away. Kan cleared his throat, getting them both to calm down again.

"If you're done being so domestic—"

"Jealous?"

"—why don't we just take him on the nights you're not available, Hizashi?" Kan asks. Thirteen perked up immediately.

"Oh! YES, YES, YES!"

"Even on nights that Zashi is available!" Nemuri quickly added. She shot him a determined look when he sat up to retort. "You've been gone from the apartment too long. The kitties miss their dads."

"You just want to spoon 'im again," Snipe teases. Nemuri shot him a sultry smirk and a wink. Snipe was thankful the mask hid his reddening face.

"We aren't ever opposed to anyone wanting to join, just saying~," Nemuri sang.

"Alas, your apartment just isn't big enough for all of us," Ishiyama sighs. "Besides, Shou takes most of the shifts at Class A's dorm."

"Dedicated Dad Mode," Nemuri mumbled fondly. She sighed wistfully and clapped her hands. "BACK ON TOPIC!"

"You're the reason we went off topic!" Ectoplasm shouts.

"I would actually really appreciate you guys taking custody of him most nights. He's been having nightmares again. He thinks he doesn't wake me up when he gets up at ungodly hours, but I always know. He can't just… look over anymore," Yamada sighed.

"Is it USJ or…?" Majima asks.

"I think USJ, but that might just be because he was at the hospital again? It could be anything, though," Yamada said. He slumped against his desk with a pout. Ishiyama came up to pat his back.

"Well, I say we draw straws. See who gets him tonight and then the shorter straws go next in order, yeah?" Snipe offers, rummaging through his desk.

"Have enough in there?" Nemuri asks, bounding over with a pair of scissors.

"Yeah, I kept the extra ones from coffee runs," Snipe says, bringing up a bundle of the thin stirring straws.

He pounded them on the desk until they were all straight and then held them up for Nemuri. She angled the scissors and snipped. Snipe moved to Yamada's desk next, handing off the straws. Yamada hid them from view, mixing them all up and then flattening out the tops that they could see over his hand. The others crowded around his desk, eagerly waiting for his mark. Yamada raised his empty hand.

"And…. Go!"

At Yamada's slap of his palm onto his desk, each staff member made a grab for a straw. Nemuri held hers up eagerly, flicking her eyes around the desk. Hers was the longest it seemed, her excitement growing, until her eyes landed on Kan's hand. He held it forward proudly, smirking at her. Nemuri stared at it a moment before holding hers up to compare. His straw was just barely taller than hers. Nemuri slammed her straw on the desk.

"Damn it!"

"HA! I get him first!" Kan cheered.

"Okay, okay, no bragging," Yamada laughed. "You're never this excited for our date nights."

"This hardly counts as a date night…" Thirteen mumbles.

"Well, I haven't had Shouta to myself in quite some time since this whole mess started, have I?" Kan asks. "Just my luck I'm subbing today, I guess."

"Don't you have to be at the Class B dorms tonight?" Thirteen asks. "Who would be at the dorm that's not covered?"

"I can cover," Snipe says. He tosses his straw down. "I'm third in line, anyway."

"I'm a little jealous you're second, Nem," Ishiyama says.

Ectoplasm, silent the entire exchange except for a brief grunt when Yamada had held up the straws, sighed heavily and placed his straw down. "I'm last…" he says dejectedly.

Before him, Thirteen would have their turn, and then before them Ishiyama.

"Not entirely," Yamada says with a snap. He nodded towards Toshinori's empty desk. "He can have last turn. Then, we'll do straws again. And then repeat until Shou gets his sight back and a clean bill of health from Chiyo!"

"Do you think that Chiyo, Inui or LuRu would want a turn?" Thirteen asks. They swayed on their feet a little. "Grannie would want to be sure he isn't opening his eyes while he sleeps."

"Bold nickname," Nemuri says with a snicker. "Chiyo probably doesn't want to babysit, though."

"LuRu has to be up and down pretty early so he can prep all the meals, so that probably wouldn't work, either," Ishiyama says idly.

"Okay, what about Inui?"

"…He can have last turn?" Yamada says slowly.

"Why don't we ask them first, hm?" Ectoplasm offers. "I'll ask Inui and Chiyo. You all can decide who asks LuRu."

"I'm leaving that to you lot," Kan says, flicking his straw towards Snipe, who caught it with a 'tsk'. "Hizashi, can I snag Shouta for my dorms tonight, instead?"

"That's up to him, big guy, but you'll have to stop by for his change of clothes, anyway," Yamada says.

"Oh, fun," Kan sighed. "My class is going to interrogate us the second I have him through the door."

"At least you don't have a Bakugou equivalent to deal with when they have to go to bed," Snipe mumbled. "I'll be lucky if he just cusses me out."

"Oh, he's not that bad. Besides, if he gives you trouble, just hit him on the head and he'll go down in an instant," Nemuri said cheerily. Snipe turned to her, dumbfounded. "What?"

"That's assault."

"It's that or you call Daddy Aizawa to get him to bed if he's gonna be that bent out of shape about it," Nemuri says with a shrug. Snipe choked for a second, leaning over the desk.

"Never call him that again," he begged.

"Then figure it out, lightweight," Nemuri says. Snipe slapped the desk, shouting at her back as she waltzed back to her own.

"I still want that rematch!"

"Bet! I'll win again!" Nemuri declared, kicking her feet up onto her desk. Kan shook his head at them, grabbing the file folder that held the lesson plans and making his way towards Class A's room. He could eat in peace there, if nothing else.

The class had indeed pushed together two of the larger tables again to accommodate them all sitting together. Aizawa would never suggest it to Nedzu, but he could see the class somehow crafting a table large enough to render combining tables a moot point. So long as Yaoyorozu could span the width of it, he was fairly certain they could just drag it slowly out of her side, but he didn't want to imagine how much food she'd have to shovel into her mouth for that to work seamlessly.

"Aizawa-sensei, do you like the blindfolds?" Ashido asks.

"Of course, I do."

"Aaaw…. Aizawa-sensei, really?" Hagakure asked, sounding close to tears.

He'd found himself starting to calm down the moment the students had whisked him away through the hall. He wasn't sure exactly what the effect they had on him was, but he liked it. He was fully capable of handling himself, of course, but that didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate the care and love showcased in all their actions.

Especially when Asui had wrapped her arm around his in a very short-lived attempt to hide her own check of his hand. That attempt had lasted about a third of the way to the cafeteria before she had started to examine the side of his hand. He'd just smirked under his Capture Weapon and let her at it. She wasn't going to address that he definitely knew what she was doing, and he wasn't going to address her doing it. That would draw too much attention to the both of them and he rather liked giving her the chance at being a little stealthy. That is to say if the other classmates didn't already know what she was doing—not that he could actually confirm that or not.

"Aizawa-sensei, did you eat enough?" Midoriya asks. Well, now he and the others were starting to sound like Ishiyama. "O-oh… am I?"

Aizawa's brain snapped back to reality full force. He'd said that out loud? He stamped down whatever panic that gave rise to and turned his head in Midoriya's general direction. "It's not a bad thing," he says quickly.

Midoriya was silent, but leaning in, alongside Uraraka (the girl mid-bite of some mochi). Ashido took the chance to scoot her chair closer. Aizawa shook his head at the sound of Ashido's chair moving on the floor in little hops. She reminded him so much of a high-school Nemuri. It was almost uncanny some days. He could never let them spend a whole weekend in the same building unsupervised. They'd influence each other far too much.

Kan was waiting at the podium when the class filed in. Aizawa had been sandwiched between a particularly chatty Ashido and Yaoyorozu. Something about styling their hair and he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps they were trying to ease Aizawa into letting them style his hair. Kan could speak from experience watching Aizawa work on Nemuri that the man knew how to style hair even if he rarely styled his own past a bun. He had to have learned some of it from Yamada, but even Yamada didn't know as many styles as Aizawa did.

He'd styled each staff member's hair at least once by this point, after all, and so he'd learned quite a range.

Once everyone was sat, Aizawa remained standing, knowing what was in the lesson plan for the afternoon class. "Alright!" Kan clapped his hands to quiet them all down. "Get changed into your gym uniforms and meet us at the gym. You're going over basic reps today."

"Aw, what?!"

"But we already know all of those!"

"Quiet," Aizawa ordered. Kan didn't have any qualms about letting him take over for a moment, not wanting to risk putting him in another bad mood. Aizawa readjusted his Capture Weapon as he spoke. "I had originally planned to oversee these myself, but for obvious reasons Kan is going to do that. You're all learning proper warm up techniques because you're all going to start learning proper hand to hand combat from me once this wears off."

The classroom was silent for a single beat before both teachers were assaulted by overlapping voices.

"We're learning from you?!"

"Aizawa-sensei!"

"I need to ask Shinsou what to expect—"

"Expect an ass whooping."

"—inally get to fight my teacher!"

Kan turned to Aizawa, who was standing completely unperturbed, and just waiting. Eventually the class had settled down enough that Iida and Yaoyorozu could usher them out of the room to change. Aizawa started after them, letting Kan sidle up beside him towards the gym.

"They'll be sorely disappointed," Aizawa drawled. Kan smirked, turning him down the hall. "It's just warm-ups today."

"I'm still deciding if I should be concerned or endeared that they're so excited to spar with you one on one," Kan admitted.

"Mmm. Nemuri would be endeared."

"Concerned, then," Kan says. Aizawa elbowed him in the side with a smirk.

"Shinsou has somewhat of a leg up on all of them. He has a way to go, but he's been improving faster than half this class did at the start," Aizawa admitted.

Kan scrunched his brow at the roundabout compliment. Not that Aizawa didn't praise his students from time to time. He was just far more obtuse about it than someone like Thirteen or Ishiyama. Frankly, Kan found it hard to distinguish if he was praising one of his students or being nice about a criticism. He settled on praise and stopped Aizawa at the edge of the painted lines on the gym flooring.

"The wall isn't far behind you if you want to lean instead," Kan says. It took Aizawa a second of contemplation before he started to step backward and finally hit the wall. He leaned against it, shoving his hands in his pockets as they waited.

"So. Zashi and the rest of us have come to a decision," Kan began, resting his elbow against the wall beside Aizawa.

"Oh?"

"You're staying with me at the Class B dorms tonight," Kan says. Aizawa turned to him sharply, already intent on stomping that possibility with his heel, but Kan beat him to speaking first. "We've already handled who's watching your class and it doesn't matter if I stay with you for it to work, no, but my class won't respond well to having a random teacher suddenly replacing me just because I was put on "babysitting" duty—their words, not mine—for their rival class's teacher. Your class can ease into it better. Besides, it's Snipe. They like Snipe. It was that or we combined the dorms for the night. Or, I can ask the others to watch both dorms and I can take you home or to my place."

Aizawa was silent during Kan's entire reasoning speech, taking in every word. The offer that capped off his little speech was tempting, but Aizawa couldn't get past the niggling anxiety of moving off campus when he was so unfamiliar with the streets that led back to it without his sight. He was really regretting not mapping those out as thoroughly as the neighborhood he patrolled more regularly. A mental note for later, then. He wasn't entirely sure he'd find his way back to the school if he got separated from Kan somehow in the morning. Kan likely wouldn't let him out of his sight, but then again he hadn't planned on running into anyone with a Blinding Quirk, so really, he couldn't ever be certain something wouldn't separate them. He turned to Kan fully, resting his arm on the wall.

"And if one of them gets hurt?"

"Then you can personally land Snipe on his own ass, but that won't happen, because something tells me they won't want you to worry," Kan stresses. Aizawa grimaced still and Kan sighed. "I'm going to make sure that my class is respectful. More so than just because you're a teacher, because you'll be a guest on top of that. And we'll be nearby to the Class A dorms, so if something does happen, you won't be very far from them."

Aizawa gave an unappreciative hum, but it meant he was close to agreeing so Kan kept it up.

"And, we can stop by the Class A dorms to grab you whatever you need for the overnight stay and you can tell them goodbye yourself. You can even explain to them the plan yourself. They'll probably take it better coming from you anyway," Kan admitted with a shrug.

Aizawa sighed heavily, turning over so his back was against the wall again. "Fine."

Kan smirked, stepping close to brush Aizawa's hair lightly. "Thanks, dear. They'll be fine for one night. I promise. They survive when you're on patrol."

"They usually have Hizashi or Toshinori there," Aizawa points out tiredly.

"Mm…" Kan grimaced, tapping his chin.

Toshinori was busy working with the local police on a case as far as he knew. Something about a crime ring he'd run into whilst in America and had dealt with before. He'd assured them he could come back in an emergency. But frankly, with Yamada busy tonight as well, Kan wasn't keen on calling either one back if he didn't absolutely have to. He'd sooner call Nemuri in. He shook his head out with a hum.

"They'll be fine with Snipe. Thirteen is on campus tonight, and so is Nem," Kan says. Aizawa paused before nodding slowly.

"That's not half bad for back up calls…" he relents. Kan smiled victoriously. He reached out to warp Aizawa in a one-armed hug, but stopped short and stepped back once the gym door opened and Class A started to file in. Instead, he clapped his hands loudly to get their attentions.

"Alright, first thing is first," he shouted. The students looked at him with anticipation, Hagakure and Midoriya both bouncing on their heels. "Stretching!"

"Oh, come the fuck on!"

Kan looked over the students as they started in on their third set of reps, with Iida leading. They'd covered stretching their legs and arms (after Aizawa had reprimanded the entire Bakusquad for following Bakugou's high energy complaining to get them all back in order) and had moved onto punching stances. Bakugou and Ashido both had started to do palm strikes at some point, but the positioning was the same, and really, that suited their Quirks far better regardless.

"Hmm… Uraraka, try palm strikes, as well. It'd be good for you to get used to the possibility of using your Quirk like that in combat," Kan says.

"Yes, sensei!" Uraraka called over. She turned to Ashido, studying the stance of the strike. "You put a lot of force behind it…"

"If you hit your enemy in the chest," Ashido began, shooting her a devious smile, "you can send them flying."

"I-I don't want them to go to space!" Uraraka shouts.

"You can shut your Quirk off long before that point," Aizawa points out. "Just hit them to get them away from you. You can worry about detainment once you're safe."

"Oh… of course," Uraraka sighed. "No duh."

"Hmm…. how would I do palm strikes?" Shoji asks idly. Midoriya glanced over to him, looking his arms over.

"Um…. Give me a minute," he says.

Kan turned his attention to watching everyone else as the conversation evolved around the small group. They were supposed to do kicks and blocks next, which meant, according to Aizawa, Midoriya was going to ask Iida questions about using his Quirk from a stationary position and Kan would have to squash that before it began. He wasn't that concerned about it just yet, however, since he already planned to pair Iida with Kirishima for their reps. Just in case.

He started to look over them again, his face turning a little nervous, and he turned to where Aizawa was still leaning against the wall.

"Aizawa?"

"Hm?"

"A hand?" Kan called. Aizawa pushed off the wall, keeping one hand firmly in his pocket and walked exactly five steps forward towards Kan, stopping right next to him. "…your sense of space is uncanny."

"What did you need?"

"I feel like you have a method for this. How can I tell if Hagakure is doing the correct wrist position?" Kan asked. The class did another set of rep at Iida's mark, copying the boy. Aizawa hummed, patting Kan's arm with the back of his hand, and snapped his fingers.

"Hagakure. Come here a moment."

Hagakure wasted no time bounding over. "Yes, sensei?"

"Do the rep for me," Aizawa said. When Iida gave the signal, she turned parallel to the two and took no time in taking her stance, arm up right in front of Aizawa.

Aizawa set his hand out, ending up on her forearm, and slid his hand down to her wrist. He paused there, feeling out the placement of her wrist, and adjusting it slightly. He took his second hand out to feel out the position of her fist, adjusting it as needed. Then he ghosted his fingers back to her shoulders, deeming no adjustment needed. He returned to her wrist and fist, his fingers barely touching her skin.

"Okay, try that again, getting into this position."

Hagakure did so, jabbing again, and Aizawa followed the motion with his hands over her wrist and fist. She did three reps of the jabs before he gently clamped down on the third jab, readjusting again.

"Focus on where I'm placing your joints and the level I have your hand at," he said patiently. "Keep the wrist straight. Your hand is angled down too far and that might end up breaking your wrist when you hit something harder than a stomach. Break the bad habit, instead."

"Hehehe! Yes, sensei!"

"Ok, try again."

Aizawa was patient, working with Hagakure whilst Kan returned to the rest of the class. After they'd finished the jabs, and Aizawa was satisfied with her form, they moved to the other reps. Aizawa left Hagakure to return to the class, taking up his spot back on the wall. Once Kan called for them to practice with each other, Hagakure sent a quick bow Aizawa's way. Kan leaned against the wall with him, crossing his arms and bumping shoulders with Aizawa.

"I thought you'd have an idea on how to tell," he said. "I see why they hover around you so much."

"Why's that?" Aizawa asks.

"You're probably the best teacher they've ever had," Kan points out. "Can you honestly say you had such a receptive or patient teacher in middle school? Or even when you attended UA?"

He honestly couldn't. Sure, Nedzu hadn't been principal just yet and he'd been teaching at UA at the time, but Nedzu was Nedzu. He had never tried to connect with or watch the students as closely as Aizawa had found himself doing. Moving into the dorms had certainly had an effect on that, but that was beside the point.

The point was the dreaded fact that he was realizing Nemuri was right, and he was becoming a second dad to twenty reckless heroes in training.

Lord help him when they reached their final year.

Kan patted his shoulder, saying something about the class being over, but all Aizawa could focus on was the sudden realization that he couldn't deny any further that he was being a dad.

Aizawa dropped the file folder of lesson plans on to his desk in the teacher's lounge with a sigh. He couldn't see it, but he could almost feel the mountain of paperwork likely strewn across his desk by now. He hadn't bothered running his arm over it since he'd been blinded, but he'd asked all of the staff to drop his lesson plans off on the desk alongside any homework to grade at the end of each day, so he'd probably built up a nice stack by this point.

A nice stack that would no doubt take an entire weekend to get through.

He twirled the cane in his palm, waiting for Kan to finish up at his own desk. Most of the students had probably left by now—except for anyone in Class A, most likely—and he was left to ponder who would be trying to escort him back to the dorms tonight. Only for him to dash those hopes once he stepped through the door and up to his apartment to start packing, that is.

"Aizawa-sensei, are you ready?" Midoriya asks from the doorway. He was standing just outside the boundary of the door, unable to bring himself to enter without express permission or purpose.

"Kan?"

"I'm ready," Kan says, meeting Midoriya at the door. Midoriya shot him a confused look, but side stepped to let him through regardless. Aizawa wasn't far behind.

Midoriya was suspiciously silent on the way to the dorms, even when they'd met up with other members of the class, Aizawa didn't hear any questions. No doubt Midoriya had silently told them not to question it, but they were definitely planning to question him later. Sad they wouldn't get the chance. Once they'd hit the dorms and everyone had filed inside, Aizawa went straight for the stairs.

"Don't bother," he said when he heard someone starting to follow. Aoyama was the culprit, as he made a very displeased 'humph' when so boldly denied.

Aizawa made it up to his apartment in record time. If he recalled correctly, he had a duffle bag on the closet shelf. After pawing the shelf for a good minute, he found it successfully and slung it over his shoulder. He could grab a random pair of pajama pants and forgo risking the shirt. If he was really pressed for it, he would steal one of Kan's tops. He grabbed the spare uniform that he kept on the shelf as well, stuffing it into the duffle bag alongside the pajama pants. He opted out of the phone charger, relenting to plug his phone in while class was in session the next morning. He wasn't about to try fumbling around a wall for a socket and then embarrass himself trying to plug the damn thing in. He hadn't used it for days, so plugging it in at night was more just a mental security than anything else.

It wasn't until he was throwing the overnight toiletries bag into the duffle bag that he realized he'd left Kan downstairs to be subject to his questioning students. Well, if nothing else, it gave the man practice under pressure. The pressure of almost twenty overly protective students.

…I should probably rescue him, Aizawa thought. He went down the stairs as fast as he'd climbed them, duffle bag slung over his shoulder and cane in hand. He started to hear the conversation once he was close.

"—ensei isn't staying here tonight?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Is he ok? Does he need Recovery Girl?"

Oh, god, they all sounded so worried. Aizawa sighed, coming down to the main floor, stopping in the staircase entryway.

"No, I do not need to go to Recovery Girl," he says. "Don't worry over why I'm not here tonight. Snipe is taking over."

"That I am, partner!" Snipe shouted from the kitchen.

"Oh, you're here."

"Don't sound so excited about it…" Snipe sighed. "You went upstairs so fast I didn't even get to say hello, Mr. Speedster."

I'm not the demonic rabbit, according to Shinsou, Aizawa wanted to say. He wanted to, but he refrained. He could let Shinsou tease Midoriya about that all he wanted. He'd gotten his one free jab in already, after all.

"It's one night," Aizawa says instead. "You can all survive one night, and I'm still on campus, I'm just in the Class B dorms."

"But why can't you stay here?" Hagakure asks. "If Snipe-sensei is here then it should be fine!"

Snipe shot Kan a smug smirk. Kan shook his head slowly, crossing his arms.

"Because these two clowns decided on it and they're not as smart as you," Aizawa says. Snipe slapped the table at the resounding giggles.

"Oi!"

"Besides, a few of you saw Kan in action already, you know I'll be fine with him," Aizawa says with a tone of finality. Thankfully, no one tried to refute his claim again as he made his way to the door. He had his hand on the handle when a body crashed into his back, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"I hope you have a good night, sensei!" Ashido said cheerily. She gave him a quick squeeze before letting go and almost sprinting back into the common room. Aizawa stood in the doorway, unsure how to react for almost a full thirty seconds before he pulled the door open.

"Don't set the dorm on fire," he says. A chorus of promises and well wishes followed him out. Kan shut the door behind them, smirking as he led Aizawa towards his dorm building.

"I could almost see your blush past the Capture Weapon," he teases. Aizawa elbowed him in the side.

"I wasn't expecting it," he admitted.

"You're lucky the whole class didn't join her, or you'd have been pinned."

Aizawa shook his head. He was aware of that. He was also aware that he wouldn't have had the resolve to fight any of them off, either. He was only slightly thankful that the walk to the Class B dorms was short. He'd stayed with them only once before, covering for Kan, so he doubted they were very comfortable with him. Just as his class wasn't very comfortable with Kan just yet—though, their shared experience at the USJ might have been a contributing factor for how close they all were. It definitely had a factor in how comfortable they were with him, Aizawa knew. He hadn't really had that kind of experience with any previous class, so their level of attachment shouldn't have been that surprising. Inui had pointed it out after evaluating them all post-USJ that he should prepare for that. He probably could have prepared mentally a little more than he had.

Aizawa shook himself out once Kan stopped him at the dorm's front door. He was first to enter, clapping loudly to get all the overlapping conversations to die out quickly. Aizawa heard him side-step and slipped past, headed right for the stairs after kicking the door shut.

"Aizawa is staying here for the night," Kan began. "No, you're not allowed to ask questions, just accept it and act like he isn't here if you must."

Excellent introduction, Kan, you're really acing this, Aizawa thought wryly.

No shit his students were going to be asking questions, but they weren't questions he had to worry about. Not when he could just go up the stairs and right to Kan's dorm apartment to avoid the awkward stares he could feel on his person as he crossed the common room without even needing to use the cane. Thank Kami the dorms were all set up with the same floor plan. It may have been for efficiency when building them with Ishiyama, but he was just thankful there wasn't some random wall in his pathway thanks to a random floor plan.

Thank every God he could think of that no one had left a stray chair out for him to trip over, either, or he'd have to have contended with that embarrassing outcome. He disappeared up the stairs and out of sight just as he heard Monoma blankly questioning just what was happening.

It was just one night. He could survive.