Work Text:
Izuku was walking down the hallway, most of his weight on the wall rather than his feet. He stumbled down the silent path, muttering to himself about the homework he had due next week, when he ran into a warm body. The body grumbled, firm arms gripping Izuku’s lightly, and Midoriya whined, pushing his face into the person’s shirt.
“Problem Child?” A man’s voice echoed quietly around him, and Izuku only whined louder, his headache growing worse.
“Hey, are you with me right now?”
It took all of his willpower to shake his head, and he whimpered as a stabbing pain went through his head at the movement, his arms hanging uselessly by his sides. A warm pair of arms wrapped around him and he melted into the touch, eyes slipping shut. The man’s hand moved to his hair, gently carding through dark green curls and easing the headache just a little bit more.
“Alright Problem Child, I’m gonna move you now, okay?” An arm hooked under the back of Izuku’s legs, and he made a startled noise when he was lifted off the ground. He turned his head, tucking it into the person’s neck before letting out a soft groan. “Hey, hey, can you just keep your eyes closed for me? The lights are quite bright and I don’t want you hurting your eyes.”
Izuku kept his face in the man’s neck, regaining feeling in his fingers while he clung onto his shirt. The gentle rocking of the man’s gait along with the warmth he radiated helped him slowly drift to sleep, curled in his arms.
The next time he woke up, he was lying in bed next to the man, who was sitting up and reading. He shuffled over, flopping his tired body on top of the other’s, drawing out a grunt from him. Izuku heard a rustle of paper before arms came to rest around him, cradling him against a sturdy chest. He sighed, shoving his face into the crook of the man’s neck, taking in the scent of coffee and fresh paper.
“You with me yet, kiddo?”
Izuku let out a hum, wrapping his own arms around the man’s neck in a loose copy of a hug. When the man’s hand began rubbing circles into his back, the greenette giggled.
“Is this what a dad’s like?”
The body under him tensed, but the hands didn’t stop moving, and Izuku smiled.
“What makes you say that, Problem Child?”
“I dunno, nev’r had one.”
This time, the man did freeze, and what-if thoughts began to flood Midoriya’s mind. Did he upset the man somehow? Was he going to get hurt now? What if the man decided to punish him for making a mistake?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Sorry, sorry, sorry, s’rry, ‘m sorry-”
“Hey, no, it’s okay,” The man pulled Izuku closer to his chest. “I was just surprised, you did nothing wrong.”
The greenette paused.
“Why are you being nice to me?”
“What do you mean, kiddo?”
The unexpected question made him pause before responding, as though the answer was obvious.
“‘M quirkless,” Midoriya rubbed his cheek against the man’s collarbone. “I’m useless, I’m worth nothing, I’m less than dirt, and should be treated as such, but you’re being so nice.”
---
Aizawa was having a normal day, as normal as it could get with the devil’s children as his students. He was returning to his classroom after school ended, needing to go pick up test papers he left behind in his desk drawer when he noticed the small figure stumbling down the hallways. Upon taking a closer look, he recognised the child to be one of his students, Midoriya. His Problem Child.
He walked towards the boy slowly, watching the way he quietly moved around the halls, large eyebags sitting just underneath dull green eyes. Aizawa held out his arms a bit when he got closer, making sure the Problem Child didn’t fall over, and instead, the boy walked right into his chest. He grunted a bit, arms moving to hold Midoriya’s steady before he decided to speak.
“Problem Child?”
The boy whined, hiding his face in the fabric of his capture scarf. Aizawa’s face knitted with worry, paying close attention to Izuku while he counted the different symptoms of a migraine. He could tell that Midoriya was wholly unaware of where he was, nor who he was clinging to, since the boy would be a stuttering mess if he accidentally ran into him.
“Hey, are you with me right now?”
Aizawa realized his mistake when the boy tried to shake his head, probably worsening the pain. He let his arms move around the boy in a comforting hug when he heard him whimper, trying to provide what little comfort he could. He moved a hand to the teen’s green hair, fingers threading through the soft strands to gently brush out any knots. Aizawa felt Midoriya slump against him, soothing the child with his hands.
“Alright Problem Child, I’m gonna move you now, okay?” Aizawa bent down a little, hooking one of his arms under Midoriya’s legs, swiftly pulling him into a bridal carry. He gave a slight smile at the strangled noise his student made out of surprise, cradling him against his chest as he began the walk to the teacher’s dorms. “Hey, hey, can you just keep your eyes closed for me? The lights are quite bright and I don’t want you hurting your eyes.”
He cooed at the boy’s groan, using one hand to help tuck his face into the fabric of his capture scarf. Not long afterward, he felt the teen become heavy in his arms, dead asleep. A few minutes later, Aizawa was walking back into the teacher’s dorms, ignoring Midnight’s heavy stare. He made his way up the stairs, bringing the sleeping boy into his room and leaving him on his bed, tucking the blankets tightly around him.
“Shouta,” The gruff man turned around to face his friend. Nemuri was leaning against the doorframe, watching him carefully. “Why’d you bring Midoriya here? This is the staff dorms, is something going on?”
He sighed, looking down at his student with worry, Kayama almost surprised by the amount of emotion he had on his face. Aizawa turned to his friend and coworker, opening his mouth to speak.
“He ran into me in the hallway with a migraine,” Midnight’s face fell into concern, brows furrowing as the teacher spoke. “He didn’t even recognise me, I don’t think he knows who I am right now. I’m worried about why this hasn’t been brought up before. I’m going to keep him in my room until he can remember who I am again.”
Kayama nodded, reaching an arm into the room to grab the door handle. She whispered a quiet farewell before closing the door, leaving Aizawa to help his student. The man sighed again, grabbing the book from his bedside table before gently pushing Midoriya over, moving to sit on the bed next to him.
Around 20 minutes after he lay down, Aizawa felt the bed creak and he glanced over at the boy on the bed, hearing him groan as he shuffled. He smiled as the teen turned around, flopping on top of his teacher. Aizawa grunted, bookmarking his page before setting the book down, resting his arms around the boy in a loose hug.
His Problem Child huffed before wriggling around, managing to hoist himself up against Aizawa’s chest, tucking his face into his neck. The man started rubbing circles into the boy’s back as he began talking.
“You with me yet, kiddo?” Aizawa smiled again when Midoriya giggled and returned the hug.
“Is this what a dad’s like?”
Shouta tensed up at the question but didn’t stop rubbing his back, not wanting to stress the teen.
“What makes you say that, Problem Child?”
“I dunno, nev’r had one.”
Aizawa paused, movements stilling at the simple, quiet reply, and he stared at his student as he began to question why he didn’t read his student’s files. He quickly realized his mistake when Midoriya started breathing harder, the boy devolving into a series of apologies, words slurring as he mumbled out the word ‘sorry’ on repeat.
“Hey, no, it’s okay,” Aizawa cradled the boy to his chest, holding him tightly in a hug. “I was just surprised, you did nothing wrong.”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
“What do you mean, kiddo?” The stern teacher could feel dread welling up in his chest.
As the boy paused, thinking about his answer, Aizawa couldn’t help but worry even more, fingers tangling in the boy’s hair in an attempt to comfort him.
“‘M quirkless,” Midoriya rubbed his cheek against the man’s collarbone. “I’m useless, I’m worth nothing, I’m less than dirt, and should be treated as such, but you’re being so nice.”
At those words, Aizawa felt something inside him crack, and he tucked his Problem Child under his chin, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead while he muttered words of reassurance in his ear. He needed Midoriya to know he was loved, and he'd be damned if he let him get hurt again.