Hey, guys! Sorry it's been so long since I posted this. I had always meant to write this chapter, and one more that I have planned. But I did the Sicktember prompts for this year, which you can find over on Archive of Our Own (A03) if you're interested! So I was kind of sick of writing by the end of September, lol, and I wanted to take a break. But I'm back at it, and have a couple things to finish, one more chapter of this and then a third fic in the Hunter x Hunter series I have. And then after that I want to finish a couple other fanfics I have started, plus I have a whole list of fanfiction ideas to write. So I'll be posting fics for a while, hopefully, as long as I can get them written.
Anyway, that's not important. Here is the second chapter of "It's OKAY", and this one was inspired by "Sleep Deprivation gave him a Dad" by achromantic.
I hope you enjoy!
It was the end of the school day, the kids had been released from classes about fifteen minutes prior, except the unlucky few who had detention, or those who had after school activities or meetings. But that wasn't any of Shouta's problem, since he didn't have any kids in detention or appointments to get to. So he was just on his way to the teacher's lounge, a file of essays to be graded tucked under his arms, when it happened.
He had just been walking down the hallway, hands tucked in the pockets of the loose jumpsuit that was his pro-hero outfit, and folder leveraged under his left arm. The teacher's lounge was just down the next hallway, so he sped up his steps a bit as he turned the last corner, but then he stopped. On the other side of the bend in the halls, a student stood, leaning up against the wall with their back, head bowed.
Shouta stood there, staring at his student, waiting for them to make the first move. The teenager's head slowly looked up, and Shouta's heart clenched at the sight of the dead eyes. It wasn't normal, to see those eyes so expressionless, he, and everyone else, was more used to seeing them burning with conviction and determination, or flooded with tears. They weren't supposed to be empty, and it was startling to see them that way now. But, careful not to show how shocking the sight was to him, Shouta kept a straight expression and loose posture, making himself as open and approachable as possible.
He had had more experience than was usual with this specific child's emotions, ever since the child had come to him a couple months back for a hug and a supporting presence. So he was ready and willing to do whatever the student needed of him, he just needed to know what that was.
"Is something the matter, Midoriya?" He started off with, his tone even and light, no hidden meaning in it besides an open question and invitation. He could only hope that the boy would recognize it for what it was. Not knowing what was coming, but wanting to be ready for anything, he carefully bent down and placed the folder of essays on the ground, freeing up his hands and arms.
He was surprised, and a bit confused, when, without saying anything, Midoriya just walked towards him slowly, face directed towards the floor, and no words escaping his tightly-drawn lips. Not moving a muscle, but not tensing up, Shouta stood there as Midoriya hesitantly but determinedly wrapped his arms around the man, and hid his face in Shouta's black jumpsuit.
Shouta brought his own arms up slowly, carefully, to wrap around Midoriya's back in return. When the boy showed no sign of flinching or shying away at his touch, he allowed himself to hold the teenager firmer, pulling him tight to his chest just as the first tears started to fall.
Unlike Midoriya's usual tears, which would erupt like a volcano and flow like a waterfall, these were more akin to a trickling stream, silent as they made their way down the natural cracks and dents in his face, getting pressed up against the jumpsuit until they blurred into nothing but a damp spot on fabric. They kept coming, and Shouta was sure he would have some wet spots on his clothes after, but that was the last thing on his mind at the moment.
After a minute of them just standing there, Midoriya facing straight into Shouta's chest and crying, Shouta started rubbed his hands up and down Midoriya's back and opened his mouth. "Hey, kiddo, you wanna move somewhere more private, or do you wanna stay here for a bit?" His voice was light, almost melodic, but low and quiet. He hoped it would be soothing, but didn't realize just how soothing it was to his student. It loosened the tightened in Midoriya's chest, the crushing weight he had been feeling all day, and the boy's shoulders hitched, that becoming the first sob of many.
Shouta blinked in surprise at the change so suddenly, but he just shifted positions on his feet to a more relaxed posture and resumed the steady and soothing motions of his hands across Midoriya's back. His student's breath was shaky as he tried to breathe and cry at the same time, but Shouta just shushed him quietly. As much as he was upset that his student was distressed, he was glad to hear the shaking breaths and feel the jerking, full-of-tears sobs against his chest, as that meant his kid wasn't blocking his emotions anymore.
With a person like Midoriya, who was usually so expressive and full of emotion, a boy who wore his heart on his sleeve for all to see and be inspired by, it was one of the worst things for those around him to see him expressionless, in a daze of blankness, reflected on his face and in his mannerisms. It was painful for those who cared about him, and that's why Shouta's heart felt like it was being ripped to shreds when he saw his kid like that.
"Shh, it's okay, Midoriya, I'm right here," he murmured into the kid's ears, his neck bent at an awkward angle so he could murmur it directly into the fluffy curls at the side of the kid's head. "Take your time, you're okay right here, you're fine."
Midoriya blubbered something incomprehensible into his suit, but Shouta didn't get the impression that it was anything meant to be understood or heard, so he didn't press his kid to repeat it, instead he just kept moving his hands up and down across the kid's spine, occasionally squeezing tighter for a few seconds, to ground the kid and let him know that he wasn't alone.
Eventually, after Shouta didn't know how long, Midoriya stepped back from him, sniffing and wiping a sleeved arm across his face to get rid of the residual tears. When he looked up at Shouta the man could still see glimmering trails of dried tears on his cheeks, smudged from where they were pressed into the man's chest, but his gaze was drawn then to the boy's eyes. They were watery, still, but weren't empty anymore, thankfully. Now, they reflected light, sending it back out to the rest of the world brightly, though a little more dimmed than usual.
"Thanks, Sensei," Midoriya mumbled, sniffing once more, and avoiding his teacher's gaze.
"It's not a problem, Midoriya," Shouta replied. "I don't mind, you know."
"I–I know, Sensei, but…I really do appreciate it, and I don't want to inconvenience you, you probably have something important to do." His eyes glanced down to the floor, and Shouta's followed, seeing the file of essays he had placed there when he first saw Midoriya. "Isthatfolderyours? IprobablyshouldgosoyoucandoyourworkI'msosorryI'llgonow!"
Midoriya started to bow down low as he rambled with nerves, so Aizawa just sighed and put a hand on the boy's shoulder, letting the corner of his lips twitch up for just a second while Midoriya's head was still bowed and no one else was around. He still had a reputation to maintain, after all, he couldn't have anyone thinking he had gone soft. Even if he had, especially for a certain, green-haired student of his.
"Midoriya," he said, meeting his student's eyes as the boy finally straightened, his wide, shocked eyes locking with Shouta's concerned, steady ones. "You don't need to apologize, you will always be more important, there's nothing more important than your health, both mental and physical."
"O-Okay, Sensei," Midoriya stammered, a blush rising to his cheeks as he wrung his hands together.
Sighing internally, and knowing that Midoirya still didn't fully understand, and would still apologize for things that weren't his fault, Shouta just determined to keep reminding this kid of his worth, for as long as was needed. Even if it took the rest of their life, he would try to make Midoriya see that he deserved kindness, deserved care and comfort and attention. He knew it would be a long journey, but he was willing to undertake it, for his problem child.
"Midoriya, do you want to go back to your dorm, or would you rather come to my office for some quiet? You could take a nap, or do schoolwork, or really whatever you would normally do."
Midoriya was hesitating, but Shouta could tell that he would accept the offer. Usually—or, as usual as it could be with only a few times in as many months of Midoriya coming to him for a hug—the boy would want some down time to fully calm down before returning to his friends. They had been to Shouta's office before, after a similar time where Midoriya needed some physical comfort, but Shouta knew that Midoriya would still need the assurance that they could go there, and that he wouldn't be pressured to do anything other than what he wanted to do.
"Can we…can we go t-to your office, please, Sensei?"
Shouta just nodded, and, after bending down to pick up his folder, while Midoriya shuffled from foot to foot, he turned and led the way back down the hall to his own private office. Midoriya followed behind him, and when they got to the office the boy headed straight for the comfiest couch, grabbing the soft, tan throw-blanket off the back and curling up at the side, leaning against the armrest.
He started at Shouta as the man set his work down at the small desk, and fell into the swiveling office chair. The teachers' offices didn't have their work computers in them, they were more for private meetings with the students if necessary. Shouta could do his grading in there, though, as it didn't require the computer.
Settling in, he swiveled to look at Midoriya first. "You good, kid?" The student nodded at him, right before a yawn split his face and he brought a hand, covered with a blanket, up to rub at his eyes.
Hiding a soft smile in his capture weapon, Shouta nodded back at him and turned to his desk, mentally preparing himself for a long afternoon of marking messy essays.
So, with Shouta softly scratching at papers with a red pen, Midoriya slowly but surely calmed down, and scooched down on the couch until he was laying down. With the steady presence of his favorite teacher in the room, and the phantom warmth of the man's secure arms around him, and his whispered words reassuring him that he was okay, the boy fell asleep.
An hour later, when Shouta took a break to stretch out his back and rub at his tired eyes, he glanced over at his sleeping student. An unhidden smile graced his face, and he stared at his kid for a minute, taking in the sight and sound of his soft breaths, full of peace and contentment. That's all he wanted for his students, and for this child in particular. He was his Problem Child, and he wanted him to be happy. And he would do whatever it took to make that happen, for the rest of his life.