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Shouta was done patrol early.
And by early, he meant he was trudging onto campus nearing three o’clock in the morning. His leg was aching and he was about ready to collapse into bed once he made it to his room.
What he wasn’t expecting was to see Shinsou, outside in the dead of night. Shouta’s spare capture weapon was wrapped around his neck, piled up to his purple hair. The silver fibres reflected dully in the light of the moon as it snapped out and curled back in a repetitive motion.
Shouta cleared his throat.
Shinsou jumped, the fabric falling limply to the ground. But the guilt that might have shown on his face was shadowed by the regret of getting caught.
“Good… morning?” He offered rather weakly and Shouta almost laughed at the half hearted attempt, but managed to restrain his reaction to just a raised eyebrow.
He shifted his weight onto his back leg, feeling the ache in his front foot lessen. He had been a tad bit distracted trying to figure out his lesson plan for the following classes. It was his fault really, he shouldn’t have been thinking about his class work while fighting a villain with a heteromorphic quirk, and he had gotten careless. The wall wasn’t as forgiving as he would have liked, but nothing was broken so that was good enough, even if it was making Shouta ache on one side all the way from his foot to his hip.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Shouta asked rather than deigning Shinsou’s attempt with a response.
Shinsou shrugged, easily giving up on the innocent act. “I have to keep up somehow, and if I’m not in the program just yet I’ll keep falling behind.”
Ah. Shouta knew the feeling well- understood the drive behind Shinsou’s sleepless nights. And yet, he was never one for sympathy.
So instead he just said, “Go to sleep. You won’t catch up if you’re neglecting your body’s needs in the meantime.”
“You do it just fine.” Shinsou said stubbornly, and Shouta just raised a single hand to point at the growing dark circles under his eyes. Shinsou frowned. “Okay, point taken.”
Shouta stuffed his hands into his pockets, fighting back a yawn. “Your footwork is sloppy when you’re tired. Come by after classes tomorrow and fix that or it’ll form a nasty habit,” he said as he moved past Shinsou. His eyes lit up at the offer and he nodded excitedly. Shouta merely kept walking. He paused halfway through a step, turning a fierce glare on the boy, even if he doubted it would do anything at this point. “Go to bed.”
Shinsou snapped the capture weapon back up and snagged an empty coffee mug from the grass beside the tree. Shouta’s eyes narrowed but Shinsou just shrugged with no amount of remorse before turning to make his way back to his room.
Shouta sighed, rubbing his sore eyes tiredly. He could wait until he got back to his room to put his eye drops in. He only had a couple minutes left in his walk anyway.
He continued on his way once he saw Shinsou enter the building. He cast his gaze upwards at the sky, shaking his head slowly before starting off towards his own building.
He unlocked the door with his keycard- thank the gods above it was still in his pocket- and slipped inside, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. All of two seconds later he heard a dull thud and a muffled curse. He leaned forwards, allowing himself a single breath with his head resting against the door before he turned around and stepped into the kitchen.
“Long night?” He asked tiredly.
Bakugou whirled around in an instant and, Shouta having already cancelled his quirk, spun into an elegant kick that Shouta had to commend but just barely managed to block. Bakugou’s eyes widened slightly in recognition before hardening into the look that let Shouta know he wasn’t going to get an apology, if he even wanted one.
Shouta frowned as his mind caught up to the situation. Bakugou wasn’t exactly known for being emotionally open and Shouta wasn’t good at that stuff anyway, especially at three in the morning, but something was clearly up. Bakugou went to bed early and came to class late. For him to be up at this hour was strange to say the least. Shouta glanced down at the cracked glass on the floor. He looked back up at Bakugou, who stiffened, folding his arms across his chest.
“I came down for water,” he said defensively.
Shouta said nothing.
More often than not, allowing silence to stretch between people often prompted them to talk. Since Shouta wasn’t likely to fill the awkward space, having no inclination to talk to people when he was fully awake, he figured Bakugou might fill the gap as a reflex. It was the right bargain, because Bakugou soon filled the space between them with a mumbled, “Couldn’t sleep” as he bent to pick up the glass. He turned it in his hand, examining the cracks.
Shouta leaned a hip against the kitchen island. “Any particular reason?” He prompted.
The empty glass in his hands seemed to be very interesting to Bakugou all of a sudden.
Shouta nodded, understanding the silence anyway. “Nightmare?”
Bakugou jolted a little and then cast a derisive sneer his way that Shouta did not for a second believe. He found himself almost wishing it was Midoriya who was awake, who would just cry and then fall asleep in exhaustion and let Shouta go to bed. But this was Bakugou, and it wasn’t going to be that easy.
He made a mental note to make sure to pair Bakugou up with Kirishima tomorrow, and pulled out one of the stools from under the island. Setting the pair of them up to work together usually helped, as Kirishima always seemed to know what to say to Bakugou where no one else in the class could.
“You know,” Shouta started slowly, searching for the right words. “It’s not a weakness to have nightmares.”
Bakugou glared at him, but if Shouta’s glares didn’t work on his students, the same could definitely be said for his student’s glares. He wouldn’t be able to give them so many pop quizzes if he let it affect him.
“Either you talk to me about it now, or I schedule you an appointment with Hound Dog.” Shouta continued smoothly, and the glare worsened, but Shouta just drummed his fingers lightly on the counter. He was going to schedule that appointment regardless, but that didn’t need to be said quite yet.
Finally Bakugou rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Kamino.” He supplied with no small amount of frustration.
Shouta nodded, but remained silent, letting Bakugou fill in when he was ready. As long as he stayed awake for long enough to hear and didn’t pass out at the counter, he could count tonight as a win.
It took another couple minutes before the furrows in Bakugou’s scowl somehow deepened and he continued.
“It shouldn’t have happened. And I keep seeing the fight and I keep feeling like I should have done something, done anything to help-“
“You did.” Shouta cut in. “You got out.”
Bakugou’s glare was full of anger, but at who, Shouta wasn’t sure. “I ran, you mean.”
“No. I don’t mean ran. You followed the most logical plan of action and it worked. You allowed All Might to access the full reign of his power, and in getting out you got your friends out of there too.” Even if they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. “You did everything right.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
Shouta shrugged. “It never does. I could have done this, I should have done that. It won’t change it. All Might is a pro hero who can make his own decisions. What you did was make your own decision to help him and protect your friends.”
Bakugou’s lips curled and he set the glass on the counter, hard. Shouta was a little surprised the glass didn’t break, even with small cracks already present. He was going to have to ask Nedzu where to buy them. It might be handy to have some that wouldn’t shatter from Hizashi’s excited yelling on game nights.
“Bakugou,” he said seriously, tearing his tired mind away from things that didn’t matter. He needed to focus on his student. “Talk to someone. If you won’t talk to Hound Dog, talk to me. What you went through shouldn’t have happened, but it did. And talking will help, no matter what you think. Take it from someone who has been in their own share of bad situations before they were ready.” A flash of white hair crossed his mind, a cheery voice, the dull grey of the sky that day. But his voice was steady when he continued. “Talk to me.”
Bakugou didn’t look at him as he pushed himself upright, moving for the stairs. Before Shouta could even say anything, he held up a hand. “Maybe later. I know you’ll be on my ass about it anyway, but some of us need sleep to function.”
Shouta watched him move up the stairs, a soft chuckle escaping him. That was one of the most civil conversations he’s had with Bakugou, and a promising one at that. It must be a good night. He spun around on the stool, picking up the glass so he could clean up and go to bed. His foot had just touched the ground when he heard footsteps from behind him.
“Bakugou, go to bed.” He said without turning around.
“Bakugou was up?” A voice that definitely wasn’t Bakugou asked. “At this hour?”
Shouta turned to level a dull look at Uraraka, who stood in the entrance of the kitchen, hand resting on the doorframe.
“At this hour?” He parroted back flatly and she flushed a little.
“I woke up and it’s too hot for me to fall back asleep so I opened my window and came down for a glass of water,” she explained a tad defensively, sidestepping him with a yawn and moving into the kitchen area.
Shouta frowned. He had been getting notifications on his phone around this hour for the last week. Not that he obsessively checked the notifications when they popped up, or had a separate ringtone for Class 1A, or anything of the sort. Because that would be ridiculous, and he didn’t care enough for that.
“Have you been waking up at this time a lot?” He asked.
She set the cup down in the sink. “Yeah, the weather’s starting to get warmer.”
“You can change the thermostat in your room.”
“That’s rather expensi-” she cut herself off with furrowed brows.
Shouta’s frown deepened. “You don’t have to think about that here. This school has more than enough money for the thermostat in a single room.”
She offered him a half-hearted smile, trying for cheer. “Old habits die hard,” she chirped. “But I should be going back to sleep. Got more classes tomorrow!” She turned to leave, but paused as Aizawa called her name.
“If I get a notification at this time again, I’m instructing Yaoyorozu to change it for you,” he said gently, but with just enough force behind it that Uraraka would understand. “It’s important to get the correct hours of sleep.”
She gave him a look and he almost wished that she would say what was on her mind. She was a strong willed student, he knew that for a fact, but she would never speak out against a teacher, himself included. He could almost read the words on her face though. You don’t sleep that much and you’re doing fine. He raised an eyebrow and she smiled a little, a genuine one this time.
“Good night Aizawa-sensei,” she said instead, disappearing quickly up the stairs.
He sighed, moving away from the kitchen and placing the cracked glass in the recycling as he passed by. He should check the other rooms, just to be sure none of the other students were up. He had turned his phone on silent for the time being, just in case he got a message while he was in the building. Some of his students were light sleepers, and he didn’t want them startling to a loud and sudden ringtone. He usually had it on vibrate but he had forgotten to turn it back on after class today. It had been a long day.
Speaking of long days… he scrubbed a hand across his eyes as he blinked tiredly at the shape at the end of the couch, trying to discern what it was. He felt a presence hovering behind him and almost jumped as he turned face to face with Dark Shadow, whose yellow eyes were glowing with mirth. A jolt of pain shot up his leg at his sudden shift.
“Tokoyami,” Aizawa said slowly, adjusting his stance to take the weight off his leg. “Are you aware of the time?”
“It is the Devil’s hour, Aizawa-sensei,’ came the answer from the dark shape on the couch and Aizawa fought to hold back another tired sigh.
“If you know what time it is, I am assuming you also know where you should be at the moment?”
“I had something I needed to accomplish, and the time when the darkness is most potent was the best option.”
Shouta closed his eyes, counting to four as he held his breath. “Have you finished what you needed to?” He asked instead.
“Dark Shadow was hungry after.”
And sure enough, when Shouta turned again there was a bag of chips clutched in Dark Shadow’s talons.
“He could at least eat something healthy,” Shouta mumbled. He cleared his throat, speaking louder. “He can take the snacks back up to your room if the both of you will go to bed.”
“Of course.” Tokoyami stood up, moving past Shouta to get to the stairs. “Enjoy the remainder of this time, while the veil is thin.”
What’s thin is my patience, and what I want to enjoy is my bed, Shouta thought tiredly, but he merely inclined his head as Tokoyami retreated into the dark.
Shouta had barely taken a step when he heard muffled sounds coming from the kitchen again. The gods must hate him or something. Was every single one of his students awake at this ungodly hour? Were they all conspiring against him, keeping him from his sleep? But he dutifully turned around once more, coming face to face with his resident waterfall.
“Problem Child,” he said, trying to keep the gruff edge of tiredness out of his voice.
Midoriya’s eyes widened as he scrubbed at his face to little avail. “Aizawa-sensei, you’re back! How was your patrol?”
“Uneventful,” Shouta lied. “What’s going on?”
Midoriya frowned, his lips moving silently as he worked through what he wanted to say. Shouta just waited. Midoriya talked fast enough so long as he didn’t get too caught up in his thoughts, Shouta would likely only have to wait a minute for Midoriya to sort it out.
“I’m worried,” he said finally, and Shouta was rather shocked at the lack of accompanying mumbling. The em
ptiness hung between them as Shouta tried to figure out where the long winded explanation went, why the room was silent, why Midoriya had his eyes fixed on the linoleum floor.
I take it back, he thought almost desperately, I take back what I said earlier. I don’t know if I can deal with Midoriya’s tears this late at night.
But what he did was take a step back and sit at the last stool at the island, a wave of relief flooding through him as the pressure on his leg lessened. He gestured at the free one on the other end. Midoriya pulled it out with a quiet sniffle, wiping at his eyes with his shoulder. His tears had slowed, which was a good sign. Aizawa could talk when he wanted, but comfort was Hizashi’s thing, not his.
“Worried about what?” Shouta prompted when Midoriya remained silent.
“Everything,” Midoriya said softly, his voice uncharacteristically dull. “Everyone. I’m worried about All Might. I’m worried about Eri. I’m worried about our class, and Mirio. I’m worried about what the League will do next, and what if we’re not prepared, what if we can’t stop it, I don’t think I’m ready for this but I have to keep training so I can be ready and-“
Midoriya was rambling now, which was a good sign, but his words were flying past Shouta’s tired brain and he fought to keep up. “Midoriya,” he said firmly, effectively halting the boy’s mutters, thank goodness. “Look at me.” Midoriya did, his hands fidgeting uncomfortably in his lap. Shouta waited until he was sure he had Midoriya’s full attention before he continued. “Everything is going to turn out okay. And I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. Things are going to go wrong, yes. I know that, and I know you know that. But it will be okay. Do you know why?”
Midoriya shook his head slowly.
“It’s going to be okay because you are not alone. You have your classmates, and your teachers, and you have the pro heroes. All you have to do is focus on your studies and take care of yourself. Now I want you to tell me what has you thinking of all of this at three o’clock in the morning.”
Midoriya’s face fell. “I was dreaming of the fight with Overhaul again.” He said slowly. “And I wasn’t fast enough.” Again. The unspoken word hung between them, but Shouta had a feeling that this dream was markedly worse.
Tears began to form in his eyes again and Shouta fought against his instincts to just pat Midoriya on the head and hope that was enough.
What would Hizashi do? Shouta thought tiredly. He found the answer quickly enough, as much as he was loath to admit it.
He shuffled a little on his seat and sighed, opening his arms. Midoriya’s eyes widened but he didn’t waste a second of the opportunity as he flung his arms around Shouta’s waist and burrowed his face into his chest. Shouta, to his credit, did not wince. Hizashi would be so proud of him, but he was never going to find out about this if it was the last thing Shouta did.
“Kid, there’s always going to be people you can’t save,” Shouta said softly. “And I know that’s hard, and you’re going to have regrets. Anyone could be a hero if that wasn’t the case. But what makes us heroes is the fact that we endure. We take what comes and we use it to make us stronger. So use it.”
Midoriya nodded against his chest, squeezing once more before pulling back. He turned to leave, but turned back a second after. “Thank you Aizawa-sensei,” he said. The corners of his lips twitched up in a ghost of a smile and Shouta sighed, waiting for what came next. “How much did it hurt you to give me that hug?” He asked curiously, and Shouta rolled his eyes, but Midoriya’s voice was lighter already so Shouta knew he had done what was right.
“Go to bed, Problem Child.”
“Right. Good night, Aizawa-sensei.”
Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose. He steepled his fingers and leaned his elbows on the countertop, waiting. If his luck stayed, he’d have another student showing up any second now.
He waited patiently.
He didn’t wait long.
Todoroki wandered around the corner, steps faltering just a little as he took in Shouta sitting at the counter, but he didn’t question anything. He just opened the cupboard and pulled out a juice box. Shouta noted the slight bit of frost creeping up the side of the container as Todoroki stabbed the straw into the box and leaned back on the counter, locking eyes with Shouta.
Shouta narrowed his eyes. Todoroki’s expression didn’t change. If anyone could rival Shouta’s poker face, it was this kid. So he would have to be direct.
“Any night-threatening crisis tonight?” He asked. Todoroki was not delicate, and Shouta knew he would not appreciate being handled with kid gloves. Plus, he was tired, so it was a win-win.
Todoroki paused, his head tilting slightly to the side in thought. “Just needed to clear my head,” he said flatly. Shouta waited. “Can I… may I have permission to visit my mother tomorrow after school?” Todoroki asked hesitantly.
Shouta nodded. Nightmares then, he felt it was safe to assume. He knew a bit of what Todoroki had discussed with Hound Dog, but he had never pried for details. If Todoroki wanted to tell him more, then he would be there, but until then he was content to know just enough to be aware of what Todoroki needed. “Of course. I’ll make sure someone can take you there, and if there’s no one available then I’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you, Aizawa-sensei.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” Shouta grunted. “Then get some sleep.”
Todoroki continued to drink his juice box, moving out of the kitchen and heading for the stairs.
At least that one was easy, Shouta thought as he folded his arms on the counter. He wasn’t quite sure whether it would be safe to go to bed yet. He flicked the light off in the kitchen and moved into the living room. If he had to wait and see if any more students would be up at this hour, he might as well be comfortable. He pulled out his phone, tapping through a couple missed messages, flipping through news reports, and by the time his finger hovered over the images icon on his phone he decided that enough was enough. If he was getting bored enough that he was about to look at cat pictures, he probably wasn’t going to see another student tonight.
He turned to move away from the living room but as he pivoted on his foot, his bad one, he should’ve seen it coming damnit, he heard more than felt something pop and he staggered, dropping down to his knee on his good leg with a huff of breath.
“Aizawa-sensei?” A quiet voice called out, worry clouding the words. Shouta went to wave them off, whoever it was, because he was slightly more focused on moving his leg again than he was on which student was awake and unharmed at the moment. They shouldn’t be up this late anyway. He didn’t want to still be up. The floor was looking awfully inviting for the night.
But hands caught his arm as he motioned for them to leave, and he lifted his gaze to see the concerned face of Yaoyorozu as she moved around in front of him.
“Aizawa-sensei, where does it hurt?” She asked immediately, no-nonsense and straight to the point. Shouta raised an eyebrow at her but she didn’t back down. “What happened?”
He rolled his eyes. “I was out on patrol and I hit a wall. I’ll be perfectly fine in a minute. You should go to bed.”
She ignored him, poking gently at his leg. He stiffened slightly, holding back a wince. He might have a high pain tolerance but it wasn’t as if he didn’t feel it. Unfortunately, Yaoyorozu was definitely fully awake now, thanks to finding him on the floor, and as observant as ever. She helped him stand and gently maneuvered him to the couch. “Stay here,” she said, fixing him with a glare that he couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit proud of. It really was something.
He tugged at the fabric of his pants, working them up so he could figure out what was wrong. A short moment of gentle rotations revealed that something in his foot wasn’t quite right. He had worked off his boot and was prodding gently to find where the problem was when Yaoyorozu returned, hair tied back out of her face and a first aid kid tucked under her arm.
“Have you found it?” She asked, and Shouta nodded.
“Just popped something out,” he said. “I’ll ask Recovery Girl to set it straight tomorrow. I don’t want to wake her though, it’s nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow morning.”
Yaoyorozu didn’t seem convinced. “Out of place? Do you know how to fix it?”
Shouta sighed. “You’re not letting me leave the couch until I do, are you?”
She smiled at him, the careful, practiced smile Shouta had seen Nemuri teach them a hundred times before, the one he’s watched Hizashi use on particularly stubborn civilians. It was the first time it had been turned on him. He wasn’t a fan. He was going to have to either complain to Nemuri or commend her, and he was pretty sure he knew which one it was going to be. “I’m glad we agree,” she said, smile still fixed in place.
Grumbling, under his breath, Shouta pulled his foot onto his knee, fingers sliding along, searching for the bone. Satisfied that he was at least making an effort, Yaoyorozu turned away. Moments later, Shouta was finished and Yaoyorozu was presenting a crutch. She leaned it against the couch beside him, ignoring his flat glare.
“Feel better?” she asked. He ignored her. She had already placed medical tape on the arm of the couch beside him, and she looked at it pointedly. He picked it up, ripping the tape harshly as she smiled serenely. Shouta wrapped his foot and quickly tugged his boot on before she could insist he do anything else. “Remember, rest, elevate, and ice,” she said, closing up the first aid kit after placing the tape back in. He flapped a hand at her.
“Get some sleep,” he said gruffly, but accepted the crutch she had made anyway. He stopped, turning slightly to look at her fully. “Why are you up at this hour?”
“Oh, I heard voices and I came down to check it out. I wanted to make sure everything was okay.” She frowned. “I passed Todoroki on my way down but I wanted to be sure. I’m glad I did.”
Shouta grunted. As long as she wasn’t also having nightmares or some sort of teenage crisis at three am. “Alright, well if you don’t need anything, you should head back to bed. There’s still classes tomorrow after all.”
Yaoyorozu nodded, unbothered by his gruff nature like all his students were. “Are you sure you’re-“
“Good night, Yaoyorozu.”
“And you can make it back on your-“
“Good night, Yaoyorozu.”
She smiled again, but at least it wasn’t sickly sweet and placating this time. “Good night, Aizawa-sensei.”
He watched her move off with an almost fond smile on his face before he shook his head and made his way quickly to his own living quarters. He’d be damned if he ran into another student on the way. They could wait until morning. He wanted his sleep.
He opened the door and stepped inside, releasing a tired sigh and foregoing getting ready for bed in favour of just switching out his uniform with a soft t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that he could easily pull over his foot. His eyes lingered on the tape Yaoyorozu had made him put on.
He must be going soft in his old age, he thought as he finally made it to bed, that would explain the feeling in his chest. He was going to ignore the ice and elevate and just trust Recovery Girl. He was too tired to want to hunt an ice pack down. He crawled under the covers and Hizashi let out a sleepy mumble, maybe a greeting, but who knew? The man didn’t really shut up, even in his sleep, as Shouta had noted over the years with some level of fondness. He was just thankful that Hizashi didn’t accidentally use his quirk in his sleep and was a heavy enough sleeper that Shouta could come back at any hour of the night and not wake his husband. Somehow, Hizashi would still know he was there and roll over, slinging a lazy arm across his waist like he did now. Shouta pulled the covers farther over the two of them, closed his eyes, and finally fell asleep.
The next day went smoothly considering the strange amount of students awake at strange hours of the night. He had passed Shinsou in the hallways on his way to class after his visit to Recovery Girl, who almost bit his head off after she forced him to admit that he hadn’t been planning on seeing her today. He had been holding a to-go mug of coffee, and had challenged Shouta’s neutral face of displeasure with one of his own.
He was going to have to stop teaching the kid if he kept that up. Hizashi had told him many times before, accompanied by no small amount of assurances that he loved him, that the world did not need another one of him if he couldn’t be nice. Hizashi was never going to want to talk to Shinsou if that was the case. The thought almost made Shouta grin as he made his way to his class for homeroom.
Inside were his students, all sitting relatively quietly. They were having polite conversations with their desk neighbours rather than screaming across the classroom. Even Kaminari was seated before he came in, which Shouta had thought he would see after hell had frozen over.
Bakugou was busy staring out the window, ignoring all attempts made by his classmates to talk to him. Shouta set his stack of papers on his desk, remembering to make sure he got paired with Kirishima in Hero Studies today.
Yaoyorozu caught his eye as he surveyed them, a rather smug smile on her face as she observed his lack of a limp. He ignored that.
“Pop quiz,” he announced once they all fell dutifully silent. A collective groan rang out and he closed his eyes briefly. This was why he loved teaching. He pulled the stack of tests out. It was short today, even for a pop quiz, but the questions would take them long enough. There weren’t many questions, but they would take his students a good amount of introspection and careful consideration. He had spent a rushed 20 minutes putting it together after waking up with the idea.
“Mental health?” Sero asked, his brows furrowing as he looked up at Shouta for confirmation.
“Are you waiting for an invitation to start writing?” Shouta asked, unimpressed, and Ashido snickered. The sound died in her throat as Shouta turned his glare on her and she quickly pressed her pencil to the paper and began to write.
He caught a few of his students nodding slowly as they filled out the sheet, but he climbed into his sleeping bag, relishing in the warmth that enveloped him. This quiz would be good for them. He could review their answers, pass them along to Hound Dog, and continue working to support his students in any way.
And hopefully he could get some more sleep that way. Yes. That was the reason he was doing this.
Minutes ticked by as he dozed, shoes tapped around the desk as his students finished slowly and began to chat quietly while they waited for the bell to ring, and Shouta mentally prepared for his next class while tucked deep in the safety of his sleeping bag.
And if at the end of the day there was a handwritten thank you card signed by all of his students placed on his desk, well, that was just another thing to carry back to his room. It definitely wasn’t going on the fridge in the area Hizashi had designated for Class 1A. It definitely wouldn’t be placed under Shouta’s favourite cat magnet, and it definitely wouldn’t be tucked only slightly behind the magnetic framed picture of his students grinning from after the school festival, the one that he definitely hadn’t loved watching, and definitely didn’t have on tape thanks to Nemuri so he could rewatch it with Eri.
Because that would be something for a ridiculous, overly sentimental man, and Shouta was nothing if not practical.