I had… way too much fun with this chapter. Clearly, because this is another very long chapter! But it's difficult to not enjoy writing this series lol. It has dug its way into my brain and it has refused to leave me. And now it will refuse to leave you as well!
Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Soft Reprieve
Snipe watched from the wall. Mostly because he had already been discharged, but also because he wasn't going to interrupt the fiasco in front of him until he had to. He was trying to stifle a chuckle watching Aizawa bat away every hand that came within a foot of his face. He didn't have a good track record with any doctor other than Recovery Girl (the woman had enough experience to be three doctors as far as Snipe was concerned, despite still technically being a nurse, so "doctor" he was going to call her). He hadn't been surprised to hear from Yamada that a trip to the hospital had been out of the question when Aizawa had been blinded. In fact, they'd had to knock him out with Nemuri's Quirk at least once.
He had far from a comprehensive knowledge of Aizawa's recorded—and unrecorded—medical history, but as far as Snipe was aware Aizawa had been shot, stabbed, had his bones broken (by his own dumb decisions or a nasty fight), been hit by a car more than once, been burned, bludgeoned, beaten, and had not been able to leap from a building successfully without a lot of practice. Not all those attempts were clean landings. He'd treated his body to a crash course in Hell and if Yamada and Nemuri were to be believed he'd been to the hospital only a small percentage of those times. He usually went to Recovery Girl. Or treated himself. The man was crazy, sometimes, he would swear to it.
The USJ Incident was the most recent example of Aizawa going to the hospital. And only because he'd been unconscious when they took him away. Snipe wouldn't be surprised to learn that Aizawa would have, in another timeline, asked Recovery Girl to heal him enough he wouldn't die and then drag himself home for the night. Given that he'd come to class right after the incident, when he could still barely walk, it seemed entirely plausible that it'd be something he would do.
"I need to examine the eyes after head injuries—"
"And I'm saying you'll do that over my dead body—"
As it stood right now, he was (still very vaguely) threatening the hospital staff. Heroes got priority if there wasn't an emergency in the area (especially if they were grievously injured; but luckily no one had been that hurt from the shopping district ambush), but something told Snipe that the doctor and nurses would rather be seeing to anyone else. They'd wrapped his head wound and some scrapes on his hands already, but past that, Aizawa was being the most uncooperative patient they'd probably gotten that week.
"… that's unnecessary," the doctor says flatly, glowering at Aizawa.
"But he means it," Snipe warns.
One nurse tried to set her hand on Aizawa's head to force a lid open. The flashlight in her other hand readying to flick on for the briefest second that they'd likely get. Aizawa himself had shoved her hand off immediately, at the same time Snipe shot off the wall and snatched her other wrist in his grip. She jumped, spinning to stare at him, terrified a moment, until she recognized him.
"Don't," Snipe ordered. "His eyes remain shut."
"I need to examine them," the doctor insisted. Snipe glowered at him next and clicked his tongue.
"He got blinded by a Quirk, as he told you already, so, no, his eyes are not opening," Snipe says. The doctor still didn't look ready to back down.
"If that were true, then why isn't it reported in his charts?" the doctor asks.
While the question was fair, the attitude certainly didn't put Snipe in any better of a mood. Aizawa slapped another hand away.
"A lot of injuries aren't," Aizawa grumbles.
"Because this partner of mine doesn't like hospitals," Snipe interjects. "Now, either you can update it in his chart until he's discharged, or he will literally fight you if you try to crack one of his lids open. And partner? I will not help you if you decide to sign your own death warrant today."
"…Fine. He can keep his eyes closed. But do not let him sleep for at least another three hours. If he has issues with balance, coordination, or memory, bring him back."
"Will do, doc!" Snipe said proudly, saluting the man. He got a deadpan stare in return—by the doctor and Aizawa to the best of his ability—before the staff all mostly emptied out of the room. Snipe sighed, deflating, and turned to Aizawa. "You're welcome."
"Thank you."
"I'm just going to update your chart," the only remaining nurse says. She'd been standing off to the side most of the time, if Snipe recalled. She gave Aizawa a side-ways glance. He was sitting on the edge of the bed now that they'd stopped accosting him, his head propped on one hand on his knee. "Um… I'll try to find something to act as a blindfold?"
"That would be excellent, actually," Snipe says gratefully.
"And can I have you join me for the chart update? I need some information about today's attack," she says quietly. Snipe couldn't really blame her for not wanting to interrogate Aizawa on the matter, but…
"He's still the best to ask, but I can fill in some of the info for today while we look for that blindfold, yeah?" Snipe offers. The nurse, blessedly, nodded and started to lead him out of the room. He turned to Aizawa at the door. "And you. Don't leave."
Aizawa just grunted. Snipe sighed, running his hand through his dreads. Yeah, he was going to be hearing that for a while, probably. Aizawa was in a bitter mood, and not just because of the insistence of the doctor. After Midoriya had led him back to Snipe, Snipe had noticed not just the eye covering was gone. Aizawa had planted himself against the nearest wall and glowered as harshly as he could at the ground without opening his eyes to do it. The cane had been gone as well and it didn't take a genius to see it had upset the man. While they'd waited for transport to the nearest hospital, because Midoriya refused to let him out of his sight and Todoroki had joined in seconds later, Snipe had leaned on the wall next to Aizawa, pressing their arms together in a silent show of support.
"You okay?" he'd asked.
"She put a lot of effort into it," Aizawa had said quietly.
It had squeezed Snipe's heart rather painfully to hear the disappointment in Aizawa's voice. He'd apparently grown rather attached to the cane—and Snipe hadn't even noticed. Some boyfriend he was—and after hearing the story it didn't sound like the cane was repairable.
Snipe shook his head out to return to the present and shut the door quietly behind him. The nurse led him down the main hallway right outside Aizawa's door, towards the students who had huddled against one wall of the hall at the far end since the hall narrowed towards Aizawa's room. Most of them were going to be discharged within the next hour. Aizawa would be joining them soon if they were lucky.
He wasn't sure on most of their statuses, but he knew none had been seriously injured. He knew Ashido had been thrown through a shop window, and Sero had gotten his arm injured on some debris near the tail end of the ambush—so while not grievous, he should probably amend using the term "not" seriously injured—so it wasn't likely the rest of the "squad" was going to leave until they were all discharged. Kouda was stuck talking to an officer alongside Aoyama, Iida, and Yaoyorozu. Frankly, he'd gotten his questioning over with as fast as possible to get to Aizawa's room faster and stop any calamity. But, Yaoyorozu and Iida were bound to give as detailed descriptions of what had happened as possible. And with none of his classmates present, it was likely Kouda was being held up with no translator having been immediately available. He felt pity for the kid, truly. Perhaps he could get Bakugou or Midoriya to go back to him.
"You're all still here," he observes as they start to pass. "Do any of you know if Kouda needs someone to translate?"
"A translator just joined them!" Midoriya reported.
"We're waiting. Not everyone has been discharged, Sensei," Asui says, rocking in one of the provided seats. "Ashido and Sero should be out soon, though."
"Oh, good. I'm going to try and find Aizawa an eye covering. Keep an eye on his door for me, alright, partners?"
"Yes, sensei!" was the chorus of voices that followed him.
Midoriya kicked his legs in his seat. Shinsou was stood beside him, staring at the opposing wall. He hadn't spoken a word since Midoriya had found them and he was getting worried something more than what Ojiro has told them may have happened in the music shop. Midoriya looked up at him, his brow furrowing. Uraraka elbowed him lightly in the side, urging him to speak. Midoriya cleared his throat, poking Shinsou's arm. The boy jumped, looking down at him.
"Shinsou, are you okay?" Midoriya asks. Shinsou looked forward again, speaking quietly.
"He chucked an entire display stand.."
Midoriya blinked. "H-huh?"
Shinsou suddenly turned and gripped Midoriya's shoulders, looking at him intently. "He chucked an entire display stand, Mido. It was like the pens; but I got to see an entire display stand."
"Uh—"
"It was awesome."
Bakugou snorted from his seat, scrolling through his phone. "Fanboy."
Jirou leaned over to him, whispering, "You call him dad."
Shinsou's head shot up. "You what."
"OI, SO DO YOU!" Bakugou shouted, punching Jirou in the arm.
"Ow."
"Do all of you?" Shinsou asks incredulously, still gripping Midoriya's shoulders.
Midoriya's face flushed crimson alongside Uraraka. He was stuck stuttering and muttering up a storm until Shinsou finally took pity and let him go. Hagakure, however, flipped over Ojiro's tail and giggled. Her top and bottoms bounced off Ojiro's side as she settled, turned towards the present class at large.
"Hey," she says, getting most of their attentions. "So, like, hypothetically speaking—"
"Sure."
"Shut. Totally hypothetically speaking: If Mic-sensei and Dad are married, does that make Mic-sensei our dad or our Uncle?" Hagakure asks.
Shinsou gaped at her. "If they're what?"
"Wait, we don't know that for sure!" Uraraka said loudly.
"Actually, wait. Shinsou?" Asui cut in, leaning away from her perch on the wall, "You train with Sensei, right? Does he wear a ring around his neck?"
Shinsou regarded her like she'd grown a second head. "Firstly, what? Secondly, no? Thirdly, that'd be way too easy to grab! He'd never wear that when training."
"Oh, that explains it—" Bakugou started, looking like he'd had some sort of epiphany. He stopped once Yamada raced past them, actually causing a breeze in the hall as he rushed past, shouting with a hint of his Quirk.
"HEY KIDS, BYE KIDS, I'M JUST CHECKING ON SHOUTA!"
He reached the door, hands on the handle, and promptly faceplanted into the wood. The class watched as he paused. When he stepped away none of them could tell if the redness in his face was because of the impact or embarrassment. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
"SHOUTA!"
"Jesus Christ, I'm fine." Aizawa groaned.
Shinsou snorted, covering his mouth quickly and hoping that Yamada hadn't heard, as the other man shut the door. Yamada leaned his head on the door and sighed. Aizawa hadn't moved from his perch on the edge of the bed, but he was rubbing at his eyes.
"Was that slam I heard you running into the door? Again?" Aizawa asks, smirking. Yamada shot him a nasty look for a brief second before he pushed off the door and was at Aizawa's side. He wrapped the other in a tight hug, rocking him.
"Maybe it was, so what of it?! You're in a hospital! A HOSPITAL!"
"Volume—"
"Don't you 'volume' me, mister."
"Don't make me sick by rocking me around," Aizawa said. Yamada paused his rocking, but he didn't let go. Aizawa smirked, resting his face into the crook of Yamada's neck. Yamada pouted, looking at the wrappings on his head. Aizawa sighed, one hand reaching up to squeeze Yamada's arm, the other brushing loose strands from the man's face. "I'm fine," he says, softer this time.
"I know you've had worse, it's just…" Yamada deflated, leaning more onto Aizawa. Aizawa wasn't sure what exactly Yamada was going to say, but it hardly seemed to matter. The little stunt back at the shopping district clearly had done a number on his nerves. One hand gently smoothed his hair away from his eyes as Yamada started to lean them both back.
"Oi, no, no," Aizawa said, barley holding back a chuckle, and swatting Yamada's arm. "I can't sleep for a few more hours."
"Oh, right! Sorry!" Yamada immediately pulled him back up. Aizawa reached up, starting to run his fingers through Yamada's hair, undoing the hair tie. Yamada snorted, swatting gently at his hands. "Hey! No, my bun!"
"You can remake it," Aizawa says, hooking one leg around Yamada's waist to keep him there. Yamada snickered, still fruitlessly trying to get Aizawa to stop. "Mine got destroyed before I got here. Show some compassion."
"Shou!"
"He was so worried."
"I think it's incredibly cute!"
"Only because D—uh—Sensei isn't actually hurt that badly," Midoriya says, staring at the floor.
Shinsou looked at him briefly before turning back to the class. Uraraka, Asui, and Hagakure and Aoyama (who had been given the entire recount the second he'd rounded the corner) had been gushing about Yamada's grand "entrance" for the past few minutes. In that time Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari, Shoji, Iida, Tokoyami, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu had all rejoined them. Sero had been taken up immediately by the "Bakusquad", whereas Shoji was pulled into a spot in the group by Tokoyami and Todoroki respectively. Shinsou wasn't a master observer, yet, but he had picked up that the three (plus Midoriya and Bakugou) had gotten closer after the summer camp. So, the two boys literally dragging Shoji through their classmates and into a chair so they could each take a seat on him (Tokoyami perched on his shoulder and Todoroki scrolling through his phone on the boy's lap) was less strange than it should have been. Kouda was just joining them, deflating right into Ojiro's free side, as the conversation really started to kick off and Shinsou started to have trouble keeping track of who was talking.
"Did you see how fast he was running?"
"That was sprinting."
"It's so romantic!"
"Do you think Mic-sensei has a ring on a necklace, too?"
"The fuck do you think? That man ain't subtle."
"Oh, mi amor~! He definitely does!"
"Don't call me that—"
"Does he wear it?"
"Have any of us seenit?"
"What if he doesn't wear it like Dad doesn't wear it?!"
"Maybe he keeps it in a drawer? No! His pocket! OH! NO NO! HIS WALLET!"
"Why would it be in his wallet?"
"Shh!" Jirou cut everyone off. She pointed to the door just as Yamada slipped it open. His hair was down again and frankly it was weird to see him without his hair gelled to the max. He turned back briefly before shutting the door behind him. He started to pull his hair back into a bun as he approached them, smile on his face.
"Hey, Little Listeners! I have to go find a nurse, so can you watch Shou's door for me, hm?" Yamada asks. Jirou scrutinized his top a moment before locking eyes with him.
"Yeah, no problem, Sensei," she assures him.
She and Kaminari both gave him a thumbs up. Yamada stared at them a second before just nodding. Did he have something on his shirt? He was pretty certain he didn't, unless somehow, he got some of Aizawa's blood on him, but he was fairly certain it had all been dried. He'd have to double check later.
"Great! I'll be back in a jiffy!" Yamada said happily, rushing down the hall. The class watched him go until he was out of sight.
"Did you see a ring?!" Hagakure asked the second she was certain that Yamada was out of earshot.
"For as tight as his rocker-style costume is, no." Jirou said, leaning back with a 'tsk'. "If he has one, it's probably somewhere else like Dad's."
"Oi, don't go fucking calling him that in public. Some moron is gonna think you're all serious," Bakugou snaps. Jirou stuck her tongue out at him.
"I could pass for his kid. That means I got better visitation rights, right?" she asks.
"OI!"
"Kacchan, I don't think anyone heard," Midoriya says calmly. Bakugou shot him a glare.
"You really wanna make that bet, nerd?"
"…no—"
"What is this betrayal?!" Jirou shouted. Half the class shushed her. Bakugou shot her a satisfied smirk.
"HA."
None of them noticed the door slowly slide open at the end the of hall amongst their bickering. Aizawa slipped out, feeling along the wall until he hit the guiding bar. He turned down the hall, getting further from the class. He had to move slowly, using his toes and gliding his hand along the guiding bar to feel out any obstacles set against the wall, to avoid tripping over anything. The last thing he needed wasn't being fretted over by his kids or his partners. The last thing he needed was risking any greater injury and being stuck there for any longer. He'd find the exit and wait. No way was he finding Yamada's car without the key, nor was he trusting any car he did get into to legitimately be a taxi if he called one, so he was stuck for now.
It was a few minutes before he hit a quieter hallway. He realized suddenly that even if he managed to find the exit, he would likely be stuck waiting until the discharge paperwork was finalized. Yamada had gotten fast at filling it out, but that didn't affect how fast the nurse would process it. Yamada finding him wasn't exactly an issue—the blonde would know exactly where he had gone the moment he found the room empty—so really it would just turn into a waiting game. He stopped at a corner, humming to himself. Maybe he should turn back. He wasn't sure, though, how he'd find his room again. he hadn't thought to check the room number before leaving. It was a rookie mistake for someone who frequently slipped out of hospital rooms unnoticed.
He should have thought this through more. He should have practiced patience and just waited for Snipe at least to come back with the eye covering. And it'd have been someone to talk to.
"I knew I should have stayed with those tots," Snipe snickers from somewhere in front of him. Aizawa smirked, leaning against the wall on his shoulder. He crossed his arms.
"You set them on guard duty, did you? Just how many guards do I need?" Aizawa asks, smiling at him. Snipe stopped in front of him, shrugging with a smirk of his own.
"Well, someone had to, partner. I've heard how slippery you can be."
"It was a sneaky move; but, you underestimate how quickly they distract one another."
"Hmm. Reminds me of the stories you and your spouses always tell us on drinking nights," Snipe confesses. "I think it's endearing."
Aizawa smirked and chuckled. At his soft sigh Snipe rubbed at the blindfold in his hand. He reached up, pressing it to Aizawa's face. When the other didn't pull away, he kept going, starting to tie it off in the back.
"You're always so gentle," Aizawa murmurs, smile still on his face.
Snipe flushed, finishing of the tie and readjusting Aizawa's hair to fall over the blindfold more. He looked more like himself without his hair being as constricted by the blindfold's fabric. He couldn't do much about the bandaging, though. He let one hand drag down to rest on Aizawa's cheek and chin, lightly rubbing his thumb over Aizawa's cheekbone. Just like he was hoping, the other's cheeks started to turn pink and Aizawa turned his head into the touch. Snipe could get that reaction from any of his partners with this action and it was just something he was irrationally fond of. Kan blushed the most—without fail, and probably due to his Quirk—and he couldn't really tell with Thirteen, but they claimed they did. Nemuri's mask made it hard to see. Yamada was too open and affectionate all the time to really get a full blown blush from such a soft touch, which was a bit of a shame in Snipe's opinion. It was similar to how he was a little disappointed he couldn't really tell how flushed Ishiyama, Ectoplasm, or Ryo got.
He really wanted to kiss him.
Given everyone's schedules, just as with scheduling date nights, it was rare to have naturally soft and intimate moments amongst the staff poly. Outside of coinciding days off, they only really had chances in the Teacher's Lounge, and half the time they were either speaking with a student or working on paperwork. Especially the paperwork. He was going to enjoy this while he had the chance.
"S-Senseii! Hi!"
God dammit.
Ashido hopped off the bed the second she was given the all clear. Aside from being embarrassingly caught off guard and chucked through a window of a shop—and landing on a display case instead of the clothing rack just feet away, because that was just her luck—she had done rather well in her battles. She was hoping Bakugou would openly praise her for using her acid web as a way to cut through a window without shattering it to get out of their shop. At the time he had seemed more concerned with bolting out to blast his way down the street. Not three seconds later that she'd left the shop via window had she encountered her first villain.
And then a second. And then a third, and then a fourth. By her fifth, and ultimately last, villain encounter she had started to feel like she was in a video game. They just didn't stop coming. The last one punting her through a window had been a bit of a surprise… and Uraraka had been quite overwhelmed trying to make sure she was okay.
She was more than okay now, checking her phone to see that "Dad" was now no longer being checked on by nurses or the doctor, and the class was waiting for her and others just outside his room. The room numbers they were sat in front of weren't too far from where she had been carted off to, luckily. She just had to navigate a few hallways and she'd be home free to sit on Bakugou's lap and demand cuddles for her injuries. She really only had one bad cut that ran from shoulder to lower back—and it had bled worse than it ended up looking by the time a doctor with a minor Healing Quirk had gotten her in his hands—but it did make moving a lot a stiff endeavor. And a slow one. She was walking with caution.
Every twitch of the bandages that went a disagreeable way against the still partially open wound was painful. Not like she was being cut open again. More like a burning itch. It was still distracting enough that she would rather move like a snail than risk running. And by proxy risk opening the wound again and being dragged right back to square one.
She turned a corner and froze.
At the end of the hall, at the intersection of the conjoining hall, was Snipe. And in front of him was Aizawa, standing without two prominent items that she was fairly certain he had when they'd left the dorm that morning. His cane was gone and the only eye covering that she could see was the plain white blindfold that Snipe had in his hands. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Aizawa was smiling. She could barely see it past the hair covering most of his face, but she could make out that it wasn't a smirk. It at least wasn't one she'd seen on his face before—so it had to be at least a grin. Which was quite an achievement if she did say so herself.
The dreadlocked Pro fiddled with the fancy blindfold a little before he reached up to tie it around Aizawa's head. Aizawa said something that had Snipe blushing. He finished tying off the blindfold, but instead of taking his hands away, he let one linger. Ashido couldn't really see Aizawa's face, given the hand resting on his chin and cheek was blocking her view, but she could swear she saw Aizawa's skin turning pink.
She could feel herself about to squeal. Rather than give herself away like that, she opted to take some initiative and shout. "S-Sensei! Hi!"
Snipe drew his hand away instantly, jumping and hitting the wall with his back. Aizawa stood there, hiding his face with his hair for a second, his shoulders shook once, and he turned down the hall towards Ashido. Had he… had he just laughed? It was one too many things for her to process right this second. She would do that later with Aoyama and the rest of the class. When she could properly scream her head off about what she'd just witnessed.
"Hey, little partner," Snipe called down to her.
"Hello, Ashido. You're in a hospital, please watch your volume," Aizawa says.
"Right, right!" Ashido walked up to them, stopping just short. "You're up and walking!"
"I was walking before," Aizawa said. He pushed himself off the wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Ashido hummed, flicking her eyes down the hall. She turned back to Aizawa, tilting her head.
"Sensei, were you trying to leave?" she asks accusingly. Snipe hid a smile behind his hand.
"….I was going to wait at the door," Aizawa said flatly.
"But that's the ambulance entrance," Ashido says. Snipe snickered beside her.
"Ah, good thing I stopped him," Snipe says. Aizawa groaned, turning on his heel.
"I changed my mind. I'd rather see that doctor again."
"Oi! No, you do not!" Snipe snapped, chasing after him.
"Eh?" Ashido followed after them.
She rubbed at the bandages covering the various cuts on her arm since she couldn't reach her back without aggravating it. Maybe Kirishima could rub her shoulders for her. Or Jirou and Sero could tag team and do that. Maybe Aoyama would lend her some numbing gel. She'd take any one of them—Bakugou was more likely to just massage her scalp and that'd just put her to sleep—so long as it meant something that stopped that itching and irritated skin.
"THERE YOU ARE!"
"End me," Aizawa immediately says, turning to Snipe. Ashido barked a laugh out. Yamada stormed up to him, pouting heavily. He looked beyond frustrated, but not angry. Exasperated, she'd say.
"I KNEW YOU'D TRY TO LEAVE," Yamada accuses, leaning forward to poke Aizawa in the chest.
"Ow. Volume."
"Would you stop that," Yamada whined. Snipe snorted beside them, having to lean on the wall. Yamada whipped his head around to him. "Friday is canceled," Yamada whispers fiercely.
Snipe snapped his head towards him, gaping. Ashido's eyebrows reached to her hairline, her smile wide. Yamada didn't seem to realize she had heard that, no thanks to his Quirk.
"Oi, that ain't very fair… I found 'im…"
"You had one job," Yamada snapped. He gestured harshly around Aizawa. "One job, mister."
"What about Kayama?!" Snipe asked, offended.
"How dare you," Yamada started. Ashido almost laughed at the face Snipe pulled. "She got injured."
"Are…. Are you implying you wouldn't be mad if I had gotten injured?" Snipe asks incredulously.
Before he could answer, Ashido peered around Aizawa, waving. "Hello, Mic-sensei!" she said cheerily. Yamada snapped his eyes to her and straightened up. Snipe couldn't believe the possibility he'd just noticed her, but then again, he had been rather distracted the second his eyes had landed on Aizawa.
"Why, hello there, Little Listener! Good to see you up and walking!" Yamada says. He hooked his arm in one of Aizawa's, pulling him down the hall. Ashido bounded after them, with Snipe dragging his feet as he followed, as Yamada led them back to the class.
"Thanks, Mic-sensei! They're mostly superficial cuts, so I should be a-okay in a few days!" Ashido says proudly. "Just the one on my back that's botherin' me."
"Good to hear you're doing well! Same with your sensei here," Yamada says, patting Aizawa's head. Aizawa huffed at him.
"Put some antibiotic on it regularly," Aizawa says. "It'll make the itching subside faster."
"…thank you, Sensei."
Once they rounded the correct corner, he could hear the scraping of chairs as his students all clamored to reach them. Yamada couldn't help the goofy grin that came upon his face when he saw Shinsou visibly relax at seeing Aizawa walking on his own.
"Sensei!"
"You're okay!"
"Why were you down the hall—oh my god we had one job," Jirou says, burying her face in her hands. Yamada laughed at them all, waving his hand to quiet them all down.
"Kids, kids, we need to stay quiet," Yamada reminded them. He did a quick head count, just to be sure all were accounted for.
"Alright," Aizawa says with a small sigh. "Injury report."
"I got punted through a window," Ashido reports readily, smiling. Bakugou's eye twitched.
"And who did that?" he asks.
"They're already arrested, Bakubabe."
"Tsk."
Aizawa snapped his fingers, wanting to know how they were all doing as quickly as possible. The faster that happened, the faster he could get out of there. Yaoyorozu moved to stand before Aizawa and Yamada, poised as if rehearsing a speech. Ashido took up the seat that was freed next to Bakugou, hooking her leg over his knee with an impish grin. Bakugou stared at her leg, then her face, and she just smiled wider. His hand immediately drifted to her hair. Yaoyorozu's voice dragged Yamada's attention away from the pair.
"Most of us just have minor scrapes and bruising. Kayama-sensei had a broken wrist that is being treated as we speak. Kaminari had a minor concussion. Sero had injuries to his arm due to debris, but it was mostly superficial. Aside from that, and Ashido, there are no serious injuries," Yaoyorozu reports.
Aizawa nodded along, humming lowly. This was excellent news to him. They can all return to the dorms and within the next few hours, he could finally take a nap. Yaoyorozu smiled up at him, then. Yamada felt a sharp sense of unease at the smile. The unease was quickly replaced once she spoke, however.
"And how are you fairing, Aizawa-sensei?" she asks sweetly.
Yamada snorted into his free hand. Aizawa was silent for a moment, no doubt trying to discover a way out of answering the question. Eventually, he just bowed his head with a sigh, knowing that all twenty-two of the people present would sooner wrestle him to the ground than risk he left with untreated wounds he might be hiding. Yamada especially. The man just knew him too well.
"Possible concussion from the head wound."
Yamada shot Snipe a knowing look. Snipe returned the glance for only a second before he caught several of the students looking at Aizawa with a renewed intensity.
"Some hairline fractures from debris—"
Shinsou rested his hand on his forehead. "He threw a display stand…" he whispered in disbelief. Kouda shot him a confused look.
"Cuts on my hands and some general bruising, also from falling debris. That's it," Aizawa finishes. Yaoyorozu regarded him a second before she smiled sweetly again.
"And the injuries have been treated, correct?" she asks, her voice just slightly strained with the familiar tone Bakugou often heard her use with Midoriya before she inevitably dragged him to Recovery Girl. If she didn't assign someone to do so. Bakugou tried to cover a chuckle from behind her, whispering something like "such a mother" under his breath. Jirou elbowed him in the side.
Aizawa pursed his lips. There hadn't been anyone with a Healing Quirk called to his room since he was sure they were sent to more prioritized injuries for civilians, so his fractures weren't fully healed. But, he'd be fine for one night until he could see Chiyo.
"I was seen by a doctor, yes."
"I'm glad to know you're okay, Sensei," Yaoyorozu says after a beat.
Aizawa was silent, regarding her, somehow, from behind the blindfold. His shoulders slumped. The action wormed worry deep into Yaoyorozu's gut. Before she could prompt him, however, he ran his hand through his hair as best as he could with the bandages.
"About the cane," he begins, sounding strained. His voice remorseful. So much so Yaoyorozu was caught off guard, blinking up at him. Yamada gave his arm a subtle squeeze. "…I broke it."
"Over a man's head," Ojiro added quietly.
At the comment, Yaoyorozu's mouth quivered. She cleared her throat to fight down the giggle. She lifted her top, at her side, pressing her palm against her skin. Within moments, she was producing a second cane, the design slightly more streamlined from before. She grabbed Aizawa's hand, smiling proudly, and shoving it into his grasp. He bent his head down at it for a moment. A genuine smile drew on his face as he spun the cane in his hand.
"Thank you."
"Of course, Da—Sensei!" Yaoyorozu says.
She backed up, covering her face as she spun to face the class instead. Her panicked eyes locked with Todoroki first. She flicked her eyes to the side, silently asking. Todoroki glanced at Aizawa, who was preoccupied with testing the cane, though Snipe was trying to hide his snickering, having to lean on Aizawa's shoulder. Yamada shot him a look to keep quiet. Well, if that was a clear indicator neither sensei would blab to the other, he felt rather confident in reassuring Yaoyorozu. Todoroki locked eyes with her again, slowly shaking his head. Yaoyorozu's shoulders deflated instantly, sighing in relief. Iida took up her space, moving between the teachers and students.
"Now that we're all present, I suggest we return to the dorms!" he says.
"Kami above, please," Aizawa grumbled, dragging Yamada down the hall. Yamada laughed, patting his back.
"You can't even sleep when we get back!" he claimed.
"Anything to get away from doctors."
"Oi, you like Chiyo."
"Chiyo knows how to do her job."
Midoriya watched them as they made their way down the hall. He turned to the class, most of them getting up to follow them. Snipe paused at their seats, having checked his phone, and slipped it back in his pocket before following at the back. Midoriya stood, shuffling between Snipe and Shinsou.
"Is Midnight-sensei—sorry, is Kayama-sensei alright?" Midoriya asks.
"Well, she's back at the school," Snipe says. "Recovery Girl wasn't happy with her; but we both expected that. I imagine she'll be less pleased with Aizawa when he goes in for his check-up tomorrow."
"But… he was cleared by the doctor, wasn't he?" Midoriya asks. Snipe smirked. He wouldn't exactly say he had been "cleared" by the doctor, but he could call it that. He shrugged.
"She likes to look us over herself. She has a similar standard for doctors that Aizawa does," he chuckles. "She's like a doting grandma with killer arm strength for a woman her age."
Midoriya made a choked noise, flailing his arms. "Sensei!"
"I've known her for so many years, I'm allowed to crack jokes," Snipe says.
"Hey, Midoriya," Shinsou calls. Midoriya forgoes trying to dispute Snipe's claim in favor of turning towards Shinsou with a questioning hum. "Can I come to the dorms? Just until… just for a while."
"Yes, of course!" Midoriya says a little too quickly. Uraraka snickered beside him, turning away when Midoriya whirled on her. Shinsou opted to leave the matter alone for the time being.
Really, he just wanted to be sure that Aizawa wasn't going to try sleeping any time soon. Whether he had a possible concussion or not, it was a safer bet that he not risk it.
Aizawa was first through the door of the dorm building. Yamada had kept himself latched onto his arm until they'd hit the building, only releasing him when they had arrived at the front door. Aizawa wasted no time in dropping onto the couch, right over the arm rest, falling back into the cushion. Yamada rushed over to him, regardless of the students who filtered in after him to witness, as he started to swat at Aizawa's chest.
"Hey! No! No, no, no! GET UP!"
"VOLUME," Aizawa snapped.
"I will scream with as much of my Quirk as I have to, you are not sleeping for…" Yamada checked his watch. "At least two hours."
Aizawa groaned into the couch cushion. He flipped over, onto his feet, with a sigh. Yamada nodded once before dragging him over to the counter. "Coffee, then," Aizawa grunted. Snipe took up a stool next to him.
"Make that two?" he asks. Yamada scoffed at him playfully.
"I am not a barista!" he jokes. Regardless, he started on the coffees, leading both men into casual conversation.
Students took up their seats in the common room, some stealing occasional glances Aizawa's way.
Yaoyorozu plopped down at one couch, flanked by Jirou and then Bakugou, smiling widely, watching Aizawa settle the cane against the counter island wall where he sat. Shoji settled into one of the chairs, Tokoyami similarly settling in the nest-like hold he made of his arms. Shoji glanced over Dark Shadow towards the kitchen, his eyes settling where the Sensei Cabinet would be. Todoroki followed his gaze. He pulled his phone out, typing into it rapidly. Soon most of the class were pulling their phones out.
IcyHot: Were we still going to present the Sensei Cabinet tonight?
Grenades: Hell no
P!nky: Why not?!
Bakugou looked up to glare at Ashido. She slammed her phone in her lap, pouting fiercely from across the room before typing back at him. Shinsou looked between the two, turning slowly to raise a curious brow at Midoriya. Midoriya sank back into the couch cushions, trying to angle his phone away so Shinsou couldn't read it. Shinsou snorted, ruffling his hair and shoving him a little.
P!nky: YOU STILL OWE ME CUDDLES BITCH DON'T MAKE ME PULL OUT MY COUPON
Astrotough: omg deku stop being such a ho
Broccoli: I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!
Froppy: Mina maybe try to live a little longer first
Grenades: BITCH I DARE YOU
Astrotough: I see that blush you liar
Broccoli: I can't help it
Grenades: Deku grow a pair already
Grenades: We're not fucking presenting it, yet!
Yaomomo: I'd rather wait until he can see it himself, if I were being honest
Sonic: I believe it would make a better impact
ThatOneRing: Y'all really ignoring Mido's blush huh
ThatOneRing: Missing out
Broccoli: Please I can't take this
SugarCrush: You all realize it's creepy to have us all sitting completely silently here, right
Midoriya and Uraraka's faces were the first to go completely red at the call out. Shinsou looked at Midoriya with even more confusion than before. All the boy could do was mumble incoherently. He turned to Uraraka next, the ever-present blush brighter on her cheeks, and she gave a nervous laugh.
Uraraka quickly bounced up, racing towards the TV stand, ignoring the continued conversation over the class chat. "Who wants a movie?" she asks.
"ALIEN!" Bakugou and Kaminari both scream.
"Remake or original?" Kirishima asks.
"Original, duh," Kaminari says. He and Bakugou both high-fived.
"Aw, but the remake was so good!" Sero whined.
"Nah, man, if we're watching a classic, we're watching the classic," Kaminari says. "Besides, the special effects were pretty good in it for Pre-Quirk era."
"Especially for how old it is," Satou mumbled.
Aizawa and Snipe both turn to the common room. Aizawa turned back shortly after, finding little point in picking the movie given his current predicament. Snipe on the other hand seemed all for it.
"If you're taking suggestions, I'm throwin' out Tombstone!" Snipe offered. Aizawa smacked him upside the head. "Ow!"
"They don't own any Westerns," he says simply.
"Ah… well if we're going to go Pre-Quirk Era horror, I pick JAWS," Snipe says instead.
"Nooo! Casino Royale!" Yamada calls out with his Quirk.
"That isn't a horror film," Aizawa states.
"Senseis, we don't have those movies!" Satou calls back. Yamada banged his hands on the counter.
"HOW?!"
"Hizashi."
"Sorry, ba—Shou," Yamada corrects quickly. Aizawa huffed at him, downing his coffee. He turned to the kids as Snipe snickered in his seat, sipping his own coffee. He shot Yamada an eyebrow wiggle. Yamada's face flamed and he slumped against the counter. "Stop that, you menace."
"You love it," Snipe whispered knowingly. Yamada hated that he was right.
"I say we play Vous Et Moi," Aoyama says, striking a pose best as he could where he was sat.
"No movie that requires subtitles!" Sero shouts.
"What? No! I can't do my default if you do that!" Kaminari shouts.
"We're not watching a fucking comedy, Sparkplug!"
"How about…." Midoriya rocked in his seat. "Inception?"
"Is that Pre-Quirk era?" Todoroki asks, typing away at the group chat. It had fallen far out of topic with Ashido aggressively trying to negotiate personal time with Bakugou, and Kaminari and Sero cracking jokes at both classmates' expense.
IcyHot: We're off topic
IcyHot: I asked a serious question. Focus.
Grenades: Fight me, Extra
P!nky: that's my job
Astrotough: excuse me, that's MY job
IcyHot: I'm serious. Are we showing Dad the cabinet or not because if you all dont decide then I'll do it
Grenades: you do that and I'll end your existence Half N Half
Broccoli: Kacchan please
Grenades: Wait until he can fucking see again fuck
Grenades: Gives me time to make it presentable
Grenades: Damn Extras just throwing everything in at once
CopyrightPrincess: Can you get it ready by Monday night?
Grenades: why
CopyrightPrincess: …I don't want to wait…
Grenades:
Grenades: fuck alright
Staples: BOOM BAM BAKUBABE DOWN FOR THE COUNT
"You wanna die?!" Bakugou screamed.
Sero started to laugh, but Todoroki shot the blonde an unimpressed stare, having re-read the chat. Bakugou promptly flipped him off. Midoriya sighed heavily, putting his phone away. He wasn't going to get anywhere with Bakugou, and he could tell. At least the last of the chat looked like they all agreed to wait on presenting the cabinet. Shinsou settled down beside him, looking over the couch at Aizawa.
"Aizawa-sensei, do you have a suggestion?" he asks. Aizawa lifted his head a little, thinking. There as a long pause before he finally spoke.
"…Spiral."
"Oh! I have that one!" Ashido cheered, digging through the movies alongside Uraraka.
"Are yours the pale pink stickers?" Uraraka asks, sifting through the movies.
"Neon," Ashido corrects, "I think pale is Tooru." She pulled out move after movie, glancing at the stickers on the spine of each DVD case before setting them down.
"I thought Tooru was white."
"Sero is white," Jirou corrects.
"OH! FOUND IT!" Uraraka cheered, presenting the film.
"What genre is it?" Yaoyorozu asks idly.
"It's a horror," Ashido says ominously. Her smile and clear joy at ominously pulling the disk out to put the film into the player depleted the effect a little, however.
"Why do we always do horror?!" Hagakure asks.
"It's more like a Thriller," Shoji says.
"What else are we gonna watch, huh?" Bakugou asks. "Nothin' else is as good."
"Why can't we do a comedy?"
"Nah."
"Nah yourself, mister. I just spent the whole afternoon dodging Quirk shots and getting poked and prodded by doctors. If we're really doing horror, it's my turn to pick a movie!" Hagakure announced.
"Oi, fuck off! I ain't watching none of your shit taste in movies!"
"Stop me, then, coward—!" Hagakure was shouting, her socks hitting the floor as she flipped off Ojiro's tail.
Bakugou tried to tackle her before she could reach Ashido. Ashido cackled madly as she set the DVD into the player. Bakugou did manage to tackle Hagakure before she could intercept Ashido. Right into Ojiro and Kouda, toppling their chairs with the momentum, forcing them all into a haphazardly dogpile. Hagakure was shrieking—and laughing so at least she probably wasn't hurt—and Bakugou was cursing up a storm about watching The Invisible Man for the thousandth time. Snipe watched the chaos, unsure if he should step in. He turned to see Aizawa sipping a second cup of coffee nonchalantly.
"This is normal," he says.
"Is it?" Snipe asks. Yamada snorted, nodding.
Midoriya tore his eyes away from the dogpile of his classmates to regard Aizawa. Shinsou elbowed him lightly, getting Midoriya's attention. "Whatcha thinking about?"
"If Dad will be able to sleep well—I mean! Um!" Midoriya was flailing, falling out of his seat on the couch. "Wait! Wait!"
Shinsou had started to give Midoriya a shit-eating grin the second the word had left his mouth. It only grew more when Midoriya's face turned beat red. Midoriya kicked his shin, almost on reflex, and buried his face in his hands. Shinsou snorted, leaning over the couch where Midoriya had just been sat. Midoriya peeked through his hands up at him.
"…Dad, huh?" Shinsou whispers.
"I'm revoking my friendship," Midoriya mutters. Shinsou laughed, shaking Midoriya by his arms.
"Stop it. Drama Queen."
"I'm serious. I've never been more serious," Midoriya says, rolling over.
"No, come back," Shinsou said, still laughing. Uraraka looked up, puffing her cheeks. The opening credits were starting to play above her. She shoved the DVDs back into the TV stand, opting to deal with them later, and went to rescue Midoriya and get him back on the couch.
Meanwhile, Snipe was turned in his chair, lounging against the counter. Yamada had moved to stand between the two men, snuggled rather comfortably between their shoulders. He hummed, sniffing his own mug of coffee. Sometimes, he really could understand why Aizawa loved the bitter drink. Yamada loved it after six packets of sugar and seven creamers. Snipe leaned towards Yamada as the music started to get louder in the opening scene.
"Is Friday really canceled?" he asks. Yamada smirked, making a show of sighing heavily.
"Oh, I suppose not," he says quietly. Aizawa leaned against him.
"Give him a reward, he did good today," he says. Snipe's smile broadened as Yamada's face went red. Yamada turned to Aizawa, gaping.
"Do you have a concussion?" he whispers. Aizawa shrugged.
"Won't matter in two hours."
"…You seriously concern me sometimes, Shou."
"He concerns all of us," Snipe quipped.
Aizawa woke up to Yamada rolling out of bed. He kept his hand on Yamada until the other man had slid away enough that his hand plopped on the bed instead. He grumbled, irritated, and sat up himself. He could hear Yamada rummaging around in the dresser as he stretched and replaced his eye covering. Yamada gave him a quick kiss to the temple before giving him his own set of clothes.
"I gave you some color today with the blue top," Yamada says as he walked away. Aizawa just grunted in response. He was out the door before Yamada was out of the shower, clicking the lock behind him. He set the cane on his shoulder.
"Who's greeting me today?" he asks.
"We have a surprise for you!" Ashido's voice rang out in the hall.
'We'?
"We thought you'd like some variety with your blindfolds," Kaminari says. Aizawa could hear someone approaching and held his hand out. Several blindfolds, in fact, were placed in his palm. He couldn't feel any texturing on them as he ran his thumb over the surface.
"They're all different colors! Try one! Try one! Try one!" Ashido cheered.
She bounced on her heels, her eyes darting to the floral patterned one she'd snuck in the center of the blindfolds. Bakugou eyed it as well, almost anticipating Aizawa to chance picking that one for the day. By their own bad luck, Aizawa settled for just picking the one on top—Yaoyorozu's own patterned pick of cream and grey stripes—instead of any of the riskier patterns. Ashido's shoulders sagged a little and Bakugou just patted her head. He owed the betting pool now, but at least he didn't have to watch his teacher obliviously walk around with flowers or—god forbid he'd have picked Midoriya's All Might design—or Aoyama's sparkle fiasco. No chance in hell Yamada or Nemuri wouldn't hold onto that one to see if they could get him to wear it, however. From what they'd all seen of their teachers this past week or so, those two were definitely the type of friends to do just that.
It was eerily similar to how Kaminari, Kirishima, and Ashido would act, now that Bakugou thought of it.
The door opened shortly after that and Yamada stopped, slipping past Aizawa to shut the door, and then taking in the blindfold he was wearing. Aizawa was just turned in his general direction, waiting. Yamada looked down at the patterns in Aizawa's hand, Kaminari's mischievous smile, saw a blindfold with polka dots and cats, and snorted.
"What pattern is it?" Aizawa snaps. Yamada laughed once, waving his hand.
"No! No! It's just stripes, it's actually good!" Yamada says quickly. Aizawa raised a brow, unconvinced. "It's just! So cute!"
Yamada laughs into his hand. Aizawa sighed, opening the apartment door and sauntered over to the coffee table. Yamada looked in after him. "Nooo!" he wails in after him. "They're good, really! It's so wholesome!"
"Don't toss them!" Ashido wailed along with him, crashing into Kaminari's back to look inside herself. He almost fell to the floor with the sudden impact, but he managed to keep them both standing. She spotted the pile dropped onto the coffee table and scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Oh…"
"I don't need them all for one day," Aizawa says. Kaminari quickly shuffled him and Ashido backward, carrying her like he was giving her a piggy-back ride, as he left the apartment again.
"Did you all come up just to give him those?" Yamada asks in a sing-song voice.
"Not everyone would fit up here, but these idiots insisted," Bakugou sighs. Kirishima just beamed at Yamada.
"I hadn't gotten the chance to come get him again, yet!" he announces. Yamada could have just coo-ed all morning right then and there, but they were going to be late if Aizawa had to deck him to keep his Quick under control. Chiyo would have words, too. Best to just squeal later when he was spilling all this to Nemuri.
"That is adorable."
"Start moving," Aizawa ordered, pushing Yamada by his shoulder.
"Oi! Oi! Oi! I'm going!"
The "squad"—minus Jirou and Sero until they were about halfway down the stairs, anyway—had headed the group. Aizawa didn't have the chance to find the coffee brewer before someone had grabbed his cane and guided him towards the table.
"Hey," he said warningly.
"We already made you breakfast," Aoyama announced from his seat. The hand released the cane, guiding him instead into the chair by his shoulders. The dual temperature between the hands told him Todoroki was the bold one to grab his cane. With Bakugou and his friends upstairs already, he supposed that made sense.
"Oooooh~ There any left?" Yamada asks, his stomach already growling. He looked over Aizawa's plate, filled with rolled omelets, onigiri, and a vegetable soup on the side.
"We have plenty, sensei!" Iida called from the kitchen.
Yamada left Aizawa to eat, Midoriya slipping into the seat on Aizawa's other side, to get himself something. Most of the kids were already eating, either in the kitchen or the common room, so while there weren't many seats left it appeared they'd intentionally left two for him and Aizawa to sit together. It was so incredibly sweet. He had to dedicate a song to them for his show tonight.
"Who made it?" Yamada asks idly.
"Kacchan," Kaminari says, bounding past them to snag an extra onigiri.
Yamada nodded, vaguely recalling that as Bakugou's nickname. A very particular nickname, given he got annoyed when someone other than Midoriya used the title. It seemed Kaminari just didn't care if he risked getting blasted or not most days. Or, Yamada figured, the "squad" was safe, and the others just preferred their variations on the boy's name. He wondered if calling Aizawa any variation of his name would work. He couldn't really think of one at the moment. He was still rather fond of just calling him "Shou". Or kitten. But he was going to have to kiss his streak of no concussions goodbye if he ever called him the pet name—pun definitely and always intended—in front of any students.
He tried the rolled omelet before he made to move to his own seat and froze in the kitchen. "Sweet Kami…" he mumbled with the chopsticks still in his mouth.
"Oh, you've never had Bakugou's food before?" Tokoyami asks from above.
Yamada jumped and whirled, spotting the kid on the fridge of all places. How had he missed him? Why was he up there? Yamada could only nod. Was this… normal… behavior? He would have to ask Aizawa about that. He really didn't watch the kids as often as he should. Aizawa only ever did night patrol when they were all either gearing up for bed or already in their rooms, though, so he really hadn't gotten much time with them outside classes. Aside from Aizawa given any potential substitute "babysitters" a list of Dorm Rule Loopholes—their little mannerisms were still news to him. It was like Nemuri's weird habit of sleeping in a blanket burrito all over again.
"Can't say I have," Yamada admits.
"He's the Master Chef of the dorm," Uraraka says happily, depositing her dishes to the sink. "Satou is the bakery version."
"Bakery version?!" Satou shouts from his seat.
"You got a problem being compared to me, asshole?!" Bakugou snaps.
"Bakery," Satou stresses. It clicked in Ashido's head first, and she burst out laughing.
"Oh, please let me call you that!" she asks.
"No."
"But you're the resident cake maker!" she says. "Half of us would burn them!"
"Because you don't know how to use a damn oven!" Bakugou says.
"You cook with your Quirk," Jirou says.
"Not anymore he doesn't," Aizawa says, eating the last bit of omelet.
"But that was hilarious!" Hagakure shouted from the common room.
"FUCK OFF!"
"Shou, do you want more?" Yamada asks, already halfway done with his plate before he'd even sat down. Aizawa shook his head, leaning back. He was stuffed, actually. Didn't matter that he would eat anything made for a meal, it was difficult not to wolf down Bakugou's cooking. And they'd piled his plate high.
He could feel someone subtly leaning on his arm. It was so subtle, in fact, he almost brushed it off as his imagination. But, given Midoriya had sat beside him, he had a pretty good guess the kid had just scooted closer.
"Yes, Midoriya?"
"… You slept well last night, right?" Midoriya asks. Aizawa paused, about to finish off his coffee. He set it down, tilting his head Midoriya's way. He got the funny feel the kid was staring at him, as if ready to see it he was going to lie.
"I did. Did you?"
"Ghk! Y-yes!" Midoriya says quickly. He slid back from Aizawa a little, readjusting his chair to the original placement. God, the kid still needed to work on lying.
"…Did you?" Aizawa presses. Midoriya fumbled with his hands a moment. He sighed in defeat soon after, bowing his head guiltily, though Aizawa couldn't see.
"No… but Shouto and Kacchan helped."
"Don't tell me," Aizawa began, "Bakugou is an unofficial member of the No Sleep Club, too."
"H-he just rarely ever comes down to the kitchen," Midoriya sheepishly admits. Something he and the young blonde had in common, then. Aizawa hummed, taking note of that. He had a solid idea of how he wanted to start off class tomorrow, and this just added to it. Yamada got up from his seat, marking their departure soon. He could hear his own plate being taken away with the man.
"If you need an adult, you're all still allowed to knock on the apartment door. I'll just grab a blindfold so you can still use the lights," Aizawa says. "You lot gave me quite a collection."
"…Thank you, sensei," Midoriya says, sighing in relief. Aizawa was almost grateful he couldn't see the possible bags under the kids' eyes. Maybe he could convince Nemuri to come over next weekend to knock them all out for some extra, needed, hours.
Thinking on it, though, that might be dubiously legal. He'd have to check that.
"Ready?" Yamada asks. Aizawa got up from the table, twirling the cane in his palm.
Yamada didn't quiet down the entire walk to the building. First, concerns over Aizawa's head wound and his fractures. Chiyo was not going to be happy about marking those injuries in his personal chart. Again. He would have to see how many fractures she had totaled over the years. He had definitely missed some, with his reluctance towards hospitals, but it'd give him a good estimate the next time he and other Pros ever compared injury histories. He had a variety to draw from. Yamada's were largely focused on his throat and chest due to his Quirk. Aizawa was shocked he hadn't gotten his clavicle replaced by metal yet. It would certainly suit his rocker aesthetic, wouldn't it? Then, with no students to risk overhearing, Yamada was able to plan out their next date nights with the rest of the staff freely. Aizawa was secretly grateful he had only been teasing about canceling Friday with Snipe. The two really didn't get to spend quality time together as much as they should.
Ah. Wait.
"Oh… Ashido may be causing some chaos in the dorms by now," Aizawa mumbles. Unbeknownst to him, the chaos had started the second Ashido was sure they were out of earshot and couldn't hear her screaming. Yamada hummed, turning to him, curiously. "She saw Snipe and I in the hospital hallway."
"So? With how they've been orbiting you, they're going to see you interact with the others more."
"No," Aizawa says. "She saw Snipe doing that thing with his thumb caressing your cheek."
"Oh. Oh shesawyoubeing soft," Yamada laughed. Aizawa elbowed him roughly in the side. "Oof. C'mon, it's cute when you're soft~."
"I have a reputation to uphold."
"You know Nemuri's goal is to shatter that."
"And lose her kneecaps—"
"Oh, stop it," Yamada says, ruffling his hair.
Chiyo was already waiting at the door when they arrived. She eyed Aizawa as he walked past her, stopping in the middle of the room. She knocked her own cane onto a bed for him to use. Yamada waited nervously in the doorway.
"Good morning, Chiyo," he says.
"It would be better if you all would stop being injured on your weekends," Chiyo snapped. "Nemuri came to me first like a good girl—why was he," she pointed accusingly towards Aizawa, who was waiting patiently and pretending not to hear anything, "Brought to a hospital and not to me?"
"…In my defense I wasn't present at the time," Yamada says.
"I was taken away by EMTs and a very insistent Midoriya and Todoroki," Aizawa says, finally saving Yamada from Chiyo's building annoyance.
"And where was Snipe, hm?" Chiyo asks.
"Don't know," Aizawa says honestly. "I was stuck in a music shop."
"He whooped ass in a music shop," Yamada corrects.
"I saw the footage," Chiyo says. Aizawa tilted his head at her. "The shop's CCTV footage. Nedzu obtained it so he was aware of what was going on with his students. Not everyone's battles were caught on camera, but yours, young man, was."
"So, what exactly was caught on camera?"
"You sustained a head injury from pieces of a falling light, I was informed you have multiple fractures that need tending to on top of that possible concussion you sustained, I saw that your eyes were aggravated—"
"That's one way to put it."
"—and you threw an entire display stand with those fractures."
"You WHAT?!" Yamada screeched.
"And then, you participated in being moved out of the shop by use of a Quirk that could have aggravated those wounds."
"I'm fine," Aizawa reasserts.
"You lost your temper," Chiyo corrects.
Aizawa grunted, unable to argue against that. He couldn't really deny that, once his eyes had gotten the sudden blast of light—however briefly—past his lids thanks to the loss of the blindfold, he had metaphorically seen red for a second there. He was shocked that he'd managed to hit the villain so squarely. He just hoped he hadn't scared Ojiro or Shinsou of sparring and training. He wouldn't intentionally be maliciously violent against any of his students—obviously—but he knew he was far stronger than he looked and that could catch people off guard.
Yamada sighed heavily, deflating in the doorway. "I'm going to grab what papers need grading from the office. I'll be back later, okay?"
"Leave him to me, dear, he won't be going anywhere," Chiyo assured him. Yamada bowed gratefully and flitted down the hallway. She turned to Aizawa, pulling her stool over and climbing onto it. "So," she began, "how have you been?"
She started her work, kissing the side of Aizawa's head, as he groaned. "I haven't been this doted on since the USJ. It's gotten excessive."
"I'd say it got excessive when they started to flank you like a military platoon," Chiyo teased. Aizawa hummed, bumping the cane against his chin.
"It's not necessary," he insists. Chiyo rolled her eyes at him, taking a seat on the stool rather than stand. "I'm fine."
"You're so against anyone trying to take care of you," she chides. "It's a love language. Accept it."
"I'm fine. I'm not stuck this way forever. It's temporary."
"No, but use that giant logical head of yours," Chiyo says, waving her finger at him. "It's temporary, but it's also blindness."
"It's still temporary."
"Shouta."
Aizawa was silent, waiting for her to continue. Chiyo sighed, pinching her brow. He was sometimes just as difficult as Midoriya or Bakugou when it came to realizing the extent of his injuries. And even more so how it affected those around him. At least Midoriya would mumble his thought process, though. Bakugou was more like Aizawa. They both just stewed in silence if left unprompted.
"Aizawa, it's your eyes."
Yes, it was his eyes, but that's what blindness affected. Aizawa pouted and then paused. Chiyo could see the gears turn in his head. Just a little extra push and it would click.
"Imagine," Chiyou says slowly so that the information would stick in his brain, "How would Bakugou, Ashido, or Uraraka feel if they, say, broke their hands?"
They would be devastated and possibly drive themselves insane. They'd be stuck vulnerable and unable to use their—oh. His eyes were the house of his Quirk as much as his students' hands were the houses of theirs. He remembered suddenly and harshly how much his partners had panicked when they'd come to see him in the hospital after the USJ. Particularly how Nemuri had kept ghosting her hands over his head, over his eyes, afraid to put any pressure on the bandages. When his head had gotten smashed into the ground, he had worried himself of possible eye damage. Whether he'd ever be able to use his Quirk again. If any damage done would be irreversible even with Chiyo's Quirk at work. Because as impressive and powerful as her Quirk was, it wasn't limitless.
He was at least adult enough to admit in his first session with Hound Dog that he had panicked at the prospect. He wasn't privy, aside from what anyone had personally told him, to what the rest of the staff had shared in their mandatory post-USJ sessions. But he knew from the Yamada's own mouth that Yamada had barely kept himself together enough to use his Quirk appropriately and catch the League off guard when they'd launched their rescue assault. Aizawa was always silently grateful about that. Frankly he hadn't wanted his kids being temporarily rendered deaf, even if it was the product of a rescue. After teaching them for this long he could tell that Bakugou had enough trouble with that due to his own Quirk.
Or worse, if Yamada had lost control of his Quirk and accidently turned someone's insides to jelly. Not a pretty thought.
Chiyo hopped down from her chair, snapping him back to the present. Yamada came in soon after, all cheery and boisterous as usual.
"I got everything!" he announces.
"Good, now take your husband home. Those kids need to dote some more," Chiyo teases.
"I hate you," Aizawa snaps absently. Chiyo only smiles up at him.
"And I'll see you on Monday for another update on your eyes, young man," Chiyo says.
Yamada waved her off. He linked arms with Aizawa, dragging him towards the entrance. He was humming a tune and Aizawa could feel him bouncing on his feet. Aizawa regarded him curiously.
"Just what are you so pleased about, hm?" he asks.
"Oh~ Just a little…. Date," Yamada smirks. Aizawa smirked, shaking his head.
"Impromptu?"
"I thought you'd be happy to spend some quality time with us," Yamada says. "Nem booked the table. It's at our favorite luncheon. Snipe is meeting us there with Thirteen, Kan and Ken, Ectoplasm, Ryo, and Majima."
Aizawa leaned into Yamada. "I appreciate it."
Nemuri bobbed her head to the music playing over the restaurant. She checked her phone again, growing steadily more and more impatient as Yamada and Aizawa took longer to arrive.
I swear to Kami if they started to make out without me… she thought. She clicked her tongue.
Ishiyama had ordered all the drinks and appetizers before she'd even arrived, so she was at least fed, watered, and entertained all within five seconds of sitting down. It was rather impressive how concisely the man could ensure they were well cared for in an instant. She supposed it helped that they were all regulars, big tippers, and Pros. The luncheon had large curtains for privacy of large parties booking tables; which she was also very grateful for once she had sat down, because that meant that she could flirt and cuddle her partners as much as she wished without any side eye. But, they wouldn't shut the curtain until everyone had arrived.
She kicked her feet under the table, one hand twirling the top of her glass. Her free hand was gently grasped and then promptly being looked over by Ishiyama. Nemuri snickered, rolling her wrist in his grasp.
"It's like it's brand new, hun," Nemuri giggles. Ishiyama hummed, looking it over again. "Seriously, it wasn't a bad break."
"Chiyo tended to it?" he asks. Nemuri nodded with a hum.
"She says it was pleasantly clean for a break. I did get an earful, though," she says. Ishiyama started to hum disapprovingly and Nemuri elbowed him. "Oi, I didn't break it on purpose."
"I know, I know," Ishiyama assured her. "Still. You're not in pain?"
"You know how good Chiyo's Quirk is," Nemuri purred. "I've got full mobility~."
"Nem, oh my god," Kan snorted. Ishiyama's entire face had gone red (a weird, muted color due to his usual complexion) and Nemuri was snickering beside him.
"Hey, I take what I can get for innuendos," Nemuri said proudly.
"Don't you always," a familiar drawling tone came from behind. Nemuri turned, a smile splitting her face, and she shot up out of her chair.
"Shou!" she cheered. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pecking him on the lips. She hung off his shoulders, resting her head against his collarbone. "Ah, so much better."
"That touch starved already?" Aizawa teased her. Nemuri pouted, swatting his shoulder.
"Don't be mean," she chided him. Yamada ruffled her hair as he took his seat. "And you! You've been hogging him!"
"Yes, I absolutely have," Yamada admits shamelessly. Snipe snorted next to him, with Kan slapping the table with his bark of a laugh, and Nemuri scowled at them. "Sorry we're late. He insisted we stop to get his scarf before we left. Now sit down, I'm starving."
"I always appreciate the commanding tone, good sir, I really do~"
"Nem, please."
"But, you're starving?" Nemuri asks. She shook Aizawa's shoulders. "I get you're a string bean, but this man never eats anything but freaking jelly packets!"
"They're nutritious and convenient—"
"Don't you dare start," Ishiyama says. Thirteen snickered beside him. They looked around the luncheon, spotting a few patrons turning away quickly.
Ah…. Never truly private in public, is it?they thought. They turned back to the table with a smirk hidden in their helmet, drawing the large curtain closed. "Careful, Nem, people will talk."
"Oh, they can bite me," Nemuri says, waving the notion off as she pulled Aizawa down into his seat between her and Yamada. She did finally release him, however, when she grabbed a few menus for them. She skipped over Aizawa, tossing one directly into Yamada's face. "Is the tonkatsudon fine?"
"Anything is fine," Aizawa assures her. Nemuri's eyebrow twitched, Bakugou and co's visit flashing through her memory. He really did just eat anything sat in front of him, didn't he?
"Don't tempt me," she teased. Aizawa clicked his tongue at her and leaned back in his chair, balancing the back two legs.
"Teishoku."
"Oh, come on."
"Fine. Tempura."
"I know Lunch Rush isn't here to dote on you but pick something exciting at least! I'll even take the tonkatsudon again!" Nemuri whines pitifully.
"Rice bowl."
Yamada was laughing at his seat, having already settled on sushi, listening to the back and forth. He knew what Nemuri was trying to do. Getting Aizawa to settle on a dish past "just pick something for me" was almost impossible. She'd have just as much luck picking something blindly off the menu.
"Aizawa, do you have a favorite dish?" Thirteen asks suddenly. Nemuri slammed her face on the table, any attempt at subtlety lost. It appeared, rather sadly, that none of them knew if he had a favorite dish. If he did, they certainly didn't know it.
"…I like rice," Aizawa says after a beat of actual thought.
Snipe snorted, almost choking on his water. Thirteen patted his back until he could catch his breath again. Aizawa smirked, trying to hide it in his Capture Weapon. Nemuri pulled the armored scarf down, poking him roughly in the cheek.
"Don't you dare hide that cute face from me, mister, I haven't been able to give you any Gold Standard Affection for too long! Too long!" Nemuri announces. Aizawa couldn't help the laugh the declaration got. Nemuri sat back, satisfied, as the table joined into the light laughter. Yamada passed around a piece of paper and a pen.
"None of us have been able to, actually," Thirteen says, scribbling down her and Snipe's orders before passing it on. "Well, except for Hizashi. You jerk."
Yamada preened, smiling smugly. "Well, if the kids knew, you guys could have taken turns staying with him. Just saying."
"Absolutely not," Aizawa says immediately. He slid the paper across to Yamada once Nemuri had finished with it. Ishiyama tried to grab for it, and she held his hand gently by the wrist.
"I got you already," she says sweetly, pecking him on the cheek.
"Look, I'm not against them not knowing," Yamada clarifies, making sure everyone had written their orders down. He shoved it towards Kan, Inui, and Majima. "Excuse me, gentlemen, you have to eat, too! Lunch Rush would be so disappointed. Anyway. I'm also not against them knowing."
"Because you and Nem love chaos," Kan mumbled.
"Bring down the school one day," Inui mutters, scribbling his order down.
"Well, I'm all for them knowing!" Nemuri says, ignoring the two. "That means I can actually hug you all at school!"
"You can't hug me at school because to do that you'd have to ensure the entire student body knows," Aizawa says. "And are ok with it. And that they won't blab to their parents that all their teachers are in a poly. And then deal with the possible fallout—"
"Oh my god, you pessimist, stop already," Nemuri groaned. She deflated into the table. Yamada waved over the waitress, handing her the list of orders. She quickly swiped it up and assured a quick service before ducking out of the curtain.
"He's not wrong," Majima says teasingly. Nemuri glowered at him, wishing he had sat closer so she could kick him under the table.
"And here I was, going to offer a shoulder massage," she says. Majima's head immediately snapped up to look at her.
"Don't fall for that!" Snipe shouted. "Dear Kami, man, have some dignity."
"Are you seriously telling me to ignore that kind of offer."
"Yes."
"Heathen."
"Like I said to Ishiyama earlier, I have full mobility in my wrist again," Nemuri said with a song in her voice. Aizawa snorted beside her as Snipe ducked his head under the rim of his hat to hide the flush on his face. Thirteen shook their head.
"You're a true menace," they say teasingly. Nemuri flipped her hair, looking rather proud of herself.
"The one and only!"
Aizawa leaned back in his seat with a smile on his face. He had truly missed this. Yamada leaned on his one side whilst Nemuri hugged his arm on the other. She and Snipe were having a debate on who was the real menace of the group, and they'd shifted suspiciously quickly to settling on him. Speaking of Snipe, the man had reached around Yamada to not only drape his arm over Yamada's shoulders but to start gently rubbing the back of his neck and shoulder. It was sinfully relaxing. Inui and Majima were both resting their shins against his as he leaned back in his seat.
This was, quite possibly, the most relaxed he'd been since this entire fiasco had started. Just sitting in their favorite luncheon, with the soft music over the speakers, and his partners surrounding him, was enough to ease the tension out of his shoulders. He felt bad his students didn't get their chance to do this after the shopping district incident. He'd have to make it up to them one day soon.