Chapter Text
Yamada Hizashi sat in his chair around the conference table, watching his husband out of the corner of his eye. Today’s staff meeting was the last one of the school year and the teachers were nearly as antsy as the students were to see its end. There was one teacher, however, that sat quietly and seemingly unaffected by the nervous and excitable air of finals and upcoming graduation.
Hizashi wasn’t sure exactly, but it looked like Shouta was staring at the blank projector screen, the presentation long over. Peripherally, he heard his fellow teachers shuffling around, animatedly telling and asking each other what their plans for summer were. The heavy weight of pressure from the past year of school was slowly sloughing off their shoulders. The third years were nearly done with their written and practical exams. The last two weeks were usually set aside for finalizing their future careers with agencies and companies, some students even branching out to become independent contractors with assistance through UA’s established connections.
It was still a trying time for third year teachers.
Surprisingly, nineteen of Hizashi’s original twenty 1-C students were now 3-C and just on the cusp of graduating. The blonde voice hero felt a large hand on his shoulder and looked up to a concerned Snipe, who motioned at Shouta with his head. Hizashi nodded, unwilling to break his husband out of whatever trance he was in with the sound of his voice. It was actually Vlad King who did the honors from across the table.
“Never thought I’d see the day you’d graduate a full class, Aizawa.”
The teacher of 3-A tensed for a moment before easing himself back into his chair. “That makes two of us.”
Sekijiro’s chuckle was more of a grunt. “Not like they didn’t try to change that at all.”
Aizawa’s body language and expression didn’t change with the exception of a half smile. “They tried their best. Plus Ultra and all.” The underground hero let out a soft huff. “They sure made me work for every paycheck.”
Hizashi knew, hell, every staff member knew about the fun little competition between the two hero-course teachers, but at the end of the day, they were still coworkers at this prestigious hero school trying to impart decades of knowledge, practicality, experience, and wisdom into often overpowered teenagers. They were trying to make sure that their students were smart enough to stay alive while fighting for the freedom and safety of their country.
“Hell, Aizawa. Your class made all of us work for our paychecks. Especially you, Shuzenji, and Inui.” Someone cleared their throat. Ah, Cementoss.
Sekijiro let out a hearty laugh. “My apologies. Both of our classes made you work for your paycheck, Ken.”
Cementoss grunted, grateful at least someone recognized his efforts. “Lemillion’s third year kept me pretty busy as well.”
Kan’s face fell. “That was when this year’s graduating class were first years.”
“That makes a lot more sense now.” They shared a good laugh over that as the last of the faculty filed out of the room, leaving Hizashi and Shouta alone.
“You alright, love?” Hizashi’s heart ached for his husband, who slouched forward until his forehead rested against the table. A heavy sigh was Shouta’s response and it told the English teacher all he needed to know.
“This is the best prepared hero class you’ve ever graduated, Shou. They got three years’ worth of experience packed into their first year and spent the next two years refining their skills and knowledge. They are years ahead of where your past classes were at this point.” And that was the cold, hard truth. Classes 3-A and 3-B really were ready to be out in the wide world of pro-heroes.
“What’s eatin’ you up, babe?”
“I-” Silence. It was a common thing with Shouta, especially when dealing with something of the emotional variety. Hizashi had learned to recognize the signs and knew it was best to offer to listen and not pry. Too much.
“I don’t know.”
And damn if Hizashi didn’t hear the truth ringing in those three words.
There were two weeks left in the school year and Shouta couldn’t seem to get rid of this excess energy he’d been carrying around. In a surprising change of habit, he’d had to cut way back on the amount of coffee he drank, limiting himself to one cup mid-morning and one mid-patrol. Any more than that and he wasn’t able to keep his hands from shaking or his body from moving up and down the rows of his classroom or through the halls of the school. When Hizashi suggested he visit Recovery Girl, Aizawa was so out of sorts that he actually listened to his loving husband and headed to the health room.
“Lay it on us, Recovery Girl,” Hizashi pleaded. “What’s going on with him?”
Recovery Girl looked between the couple with a splash of amusement on her face. “Shouta is suffering from good, old-fashioned…”
When they realized the Youthful Hero wasn’t going to say anything else, Hizashi growled out, “old-fashioned what?”
“Anxiety.”
“What!”
“Huh?”
Shouta was very unimpressed. “Anxiety? I can’t keep still because of anxiety ?” Logically, that would explain his nausea, the extra worry he’d had about his students and the need to keep them in his sights. Hizashi had even questioned why he’d been up, doing random late-night dorm checks this past week. Well-
Shit.
“How’s your caffeine intake? Ungodly? Inhumane?”
That earned Recovery Girl a full scowl. “I’m down to one cup before lunch. I’ve been too jittery and drinking it has made my shaking worse.”
“Wow, Shouta. That’s amazing.” The surprise on the older woman’s face was genuine. “Is it helping?”
“I refuse to answer that.”
That had Chiyo laughing. “Well, don’t stop now. Keep it up,” she encouraged. “How’s your sleep? You look like you used to three years ago, when your class were fresh-faced first years.”
“My sleep is fine.”
“-His sleep is absolute shit-” Hizashi cut in. “He’s constantly waking up and wandering the kids’ halls like a damn ghost. Is there something I can shove down his throat to make him sleep a whole night?”
“Legally? Probably. Will your husband take it? Probably not.”
“No,” Aizawa announced. “He will not.”
“Shou, you’re gonna run yourself ragged. You need something that can help you relax and take the edge off your nerves.”
Recovery Girl eyed the underground hero before turning to Hizashi. “If he’ll let you, a good massage can go a long way.”
“ He is right here.”
“I’m sure I can convince him to let me.”
“Long hot baths and playing with his hair might help too. I know it always helps me-”
“-will you two stop talking about me like I’m not here?”
Chiyo did nothing more than raise her brow at him before continuing on as she had been. “As his primary care physician, I will send Nezu a recommendation that Aizawa be removed from patrol for the next three weeks-”
Shouta was on his feet. “Three weeks! There’s no way you can swing that, not with my agency,” Shouta assured her, speaking a little more forcefully than he had intended.
“Actually, I can. And besides, from what it sounds like, you’re busy enough patrolling Heights Alliance. You’ll thank me when this is all over.”
“You mean I’ll file a complaint against you with the school board.”
Chiyo narrowed her eyes at him and Shouta felt a shiver run through him. “Try it and I’ll slip sleeping powder in your food.”
Aizawa looked incredulous. “Zashi, did you hear her just threaten me?” When he turned to look at his husband, he saw Hizashi putting his hearing aids back into his ears.
“Sorry, love. Were you saying something?”
Shouta glared at his husband’s feigned innocence and yanked the door open. “We’ll see what Nezu has to say about this.”
“Oh, yes,” Nezu said, nodding with his typical smile. “It was a very reasonable request. It has been a while since you’ve graduated a full class and you cannot underestimate the amount of stress you’ll be under. The Japan National Educators Agency coordinates with other agencies to make up for the loss of teachers on patrol leave during the last couple of weeks of school.” Nezu’s head tilted to the side. “I’m surprised that this sounds new to you. All of our teachers, including your partner, do not go on patrol for the last two weeks of the school year nor the week following.”
“I do not need to take time off from my hero duties,” Shouta insisted but he knew once Nezu had his mind on something, there was no changing it. At least, not without great difficulty. Aizawa did not have the energy for this.
He was angry and frustrated that someone else had made the decision for him. Two someone elses, in fact.
“I want it on record that I am not pleased.”
“Duly noted,” Nezu replied. Then his smile fell into a serious expression. “Off the record, as your friend, I would like to reiterate that you have never had a full class for three years, nor graduated a full class since you began teaching here. It will be a much different experience than previous years.”
“What makes you think that?” Shouta felt his blood pressure rising and if Hizashi ever found out, he would never hear the end of it. When he looked at Nezu, instead of the desk where he sat, Aizawa saw surprise all over the furred-principal’s face.
“I have watched you fight for your students, bleed for your students, stay up and patiently help them with their homework. You’ve taken them meals when they were ill, bandaged them up after a hard day, and counseled them when they needed a listening ear of someone who cares and understands them.
“Anyone can tell that you have a very close relationship with your students and believe me when I say that your relationship with them is something they will never forget, something you will never forget. You have changed them and they, you. This class graduating will be a completely different experience than your previous class graduations.
“I apologize that this is not something you want to hear but I have already sent the recommendation to your agency for the traditional three weeks off for all of my staff. I did that with your best interest in mind and it is my professional opinion that these three weeks will be some of the most emotionally trying you have ever had with this class. You will need the energy you would have used patrolling.”
Shouta did not slam Nezu’s door on the way out but he did leave without a word.
Hizashi came up behind him, rushing to reach his side. “Shou, it’s not going to-”
“ Don’t ,” Shouta hissed. “Just do what you did for the last twenty minutes and don’t say anything.” If Hizashi couldn’t tell he was mad, that statement would have done the trick. Instead, his husband put his hands up in surrender.
“Alright,” Hizashi placated. “I’ll see you at home, love.”
Shouta was suffocating. He pulled his capture weapon off of his shoulders and draped it over one arm, still desiring it close by. His first thought was to go check on his class but a niggling voice told him it probably wasn’t a good idea. He was truly angry and did not want to take it out on his innocent students. Instead, the underground hero took a few turns and ended up in front of Hound Dog’s office. Ryo’s door was open, letting Shouta know he was free for visitors.
“Ah, Aizawai. How are things?”
Without a single inflection, Shouta dropped, “I want to blow shit up.”
“The door,” was all the counselor said. Shouta turned, locked the door, and took a seat at the round table in the corner of Ryo’s office. The large hero brought a deck of cards and a ceramic dish with him and placed it to the side. Shouta reached over and snagged a couple of chocolate-covered coffee beans and popped them into his mouth. The familiar flavor soothed him faster than he thought it could.
Cards were unboxed, shuffled and dealt, and for a while, neither male said anything. It wasn’t until their third round that Shouta asked, “is it true that all staff are given three weeks’ leave from patrol at the end of the school year?”
Inui nodded. “Including the last week of 1st semester and the week after. It’s mandatory leave.”
“Bullshit.”
Inui looked up with one brow raised. “As true as the fact that you’re losing horribly.”
“Since when?” Shouta drew a card and discarded another.
“Since Nezu became principal. It was one of the regulations he fought for before taking the position. He claimed that with the added pressure of testing and certifications, all school staff needed to be available to students at all times of the day. Since it was accepted nationally, student suicides and attempts have dropped significantly, stats of stressed teachers have also dropped to normal levels and now teachers aren’t getting hurt on patrols since they’re able to use the extra time resting. It’s been very refreshing.”
“Hmm.”
Ryo grinned. “It has also given Nezu a whole slew of people all throughout the country he can call on for favors every now and again.”
“Then why hasn’t he ever required me to take the time off?”
Ryo’s hands stilled. “Would you like the truth?”
Shouta narrowed his eyes at his coworker.
Hound Dog laid down his cards and chuffed before pushing the dish of treats toward Aizawa. Two piercing gray eyes searched for something and must have found what he was looking for because Ryo said, “he respects your need for routine.”
“He respects my need for routine? That’s why I’ve supposedly been excused from this otherwise mandatory three-week vacation from routine patrols? Why now?”
Hound Dog dealt the next round and organized his cards, gaze switching between his cards and Aizawa. “You’ve never had a full graduating class before is my guess. That, and one other thing.”
Ryo laid his hand on the table and Shouta sneered, fishing a bill out of his wallet and laying it on the table. “What’s the ‘one other thing’?”
The counselor let out a long, slow breath. “You are attached to this class.”
The disbelief was obvious on Shouta’s face. “I’ve had them for three years, same as any other teacher. Who wouldn’t be attached?” Shouta nearly bristled at the softer look in Inui’s eyes, a look that said, ‘you poor fool.’
“You respect your students, you care for your students, which is good, since you’re their teacher. But you’ve also been to hell and back with them, which oftentimes creates a stronger and deeper bond with those also involved in the incident. Well, incidents in your case.”
“I’m getting three weeks off of patrol because I’ve trauma bonded with my students?”
Hound Dog had already been a steady presence as U.A.’s counselor and faculty member before Nedzu accepted the position of principal and was a damn good counselor. They hadn’t worked together as heroes but they’d worked together long enough at this school that they knew each other fairly well. Shouta trusted him as a counselor to tend to his students and worked with him closely to make sure his class was at peak health mentally.
“No,” Hound Dog corrected. “You’re getting three weeks because every teacher who is also a hero gets three weeks off in the entire country. The reason you’re taking it now is because other teachers, especially homeroom teachers get overloaded at the end of the school year and because they need to be physically and mentally available to make sure their students survive finals and transition to their post-graduate life.”
Ryo could probably feel the irritation rolling off of him because the larger male set his hand down and folded his hands together.
“Shouta, out of all the students on this campus, I see yours the most. The scale of villain attacks they survived in their first year alone is equivalent to many heroes in the top thirty. Not only that, but they have the weight of All Might’s retirement hanging over their heads. They’re scared, they’re worried. They’re excited for their futures and look to you because you have become their foundation.
“As problematic as you like to say they are, they look up to you and hold you in high regard. You’ve taught them how to be a hero but you’ve also taught them how to be a team, how to be a friend. You’ve given them confidence and for a few there, you’ve become the dominant male role model in their lives. You should hear some of the affectionate nicknames they’ve come up with for you.”
“The truth is, Shouta, your kids are just as scared to leave you as you are for them to leave the circle of protection you’ve given them by being their homeroom teacher.”
By the gods, Shouta was exhausted. He wished Ryo’s words weren’t such effective knives digging through the weakening armor around his heart. Even though Hound Dog had inside information because of the counseling sessions he held with the hero students, Shouta wished it wasn’t so obvious that he’d become so attached. There was no denying it.
The sudden need to see his students slammed into him and had him scooting his chair away from the table.
“What’s going on? Are you alright to open the door?” Was he alright to leave their impromptu session?
Shouta’s throat seized up, his hands fisted and face ducked into his capture weapon draped about his shoulders.
“I just remembered I needed to check on something.” Ryo discreetly took a sniff and grunted. Shit. Was it possible for Ryo to pick up the scent of emotions? Shouta really fucking hoped he couldn’t.
“Alright. You have my number if you need anything.”
Eraserhead sighed and stretched his arms back, trying to relieve the tension in his shoulders. “Thanks.” Without a look back, Aizawa Shouta quickly made his way to Heights Alliance to check and make sure no asshole villains got any bright ideas in the last few hours. Much to his relief, his ki-students were all intact.