Summary: It isn't weird to find Shouta working late into the night. However, it is weird to find Midoriya in the dorm kitchen at 3am.

Notes: There is implied PTSD here, but it is very light. There are also mild manga spoilers up to Chapter 98!

Unbeta'd

Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia.

Shouta sighed, leaning back in his chair as he stretched his arms over his head, tilting his head left and right to work out some of the kinks in his neck. A glance at the computer clock told him it was 3am, more than several hours since he first started working. He had been compiling a new training regime for the class, one that was more tailored to each individual student and their respective Quirks.

Despite the late hour, Shouta didn't feel like sleeping yet. It wasn't just the amount of work he had to get done. Especially after the USJ incident, he often found himself lying in bed, dreading the feeling of darkness enveloping his vision. Memories and scenarios came to mind unbidden, showing him what would have happened if he didn't save Asui, if he didn't give everyone permission to fight back during the summer camp, if he prepared the class better for the real world.

If he hadn't managed to save anyone.

His thoughts usually continued in this manner until he gave up on resting all together and simply started getting ready to face the new day.

It seemed like today would be another of those days.

He stood and picked up a few papers that still needed to be graded, rubbing at weary, dry eyes before leaving his desk and pushing open the door to his room with a yawn.

If he was going to be up working anyways, might as well make himself a cup of coffee.

In order to keep a better eye on the kids, both he and All Might stay in the same dorms as Class 1-A. This allows them to react more quickly if something were to occur, as well as keep the class out of trouble.

Shouta made his way down the hallway toward the kitchen. He noticed the state of disarray that the living room was in, making a note to remind to the kids to fold all the blankets and put the pillows back on the sofa when they leave the common area. After he put everything away and turned back toward the direction of the kitchen, he noticed a dim light pouring out the kitchen, illuminating the surrounding area with a pale glow. Did someone forget to turn it off or was a student still up this late? Frowning, he walked through the kitchen doorway.

The kitchen wasn't anything extravagant; it served as an area for the students to create meals and snacks at their own leisure. It wasn't often that they did, since a majority of their meals were still provided by the cafeteria, but sometimes they would get together to make dinner for the whole dorm. Chaotic, yes. But it was enjoyable seeing the students not worry about having the weight of becoming heroes on their shoulders and just focus on making a simple meal to share. In the center of the kitchen was a circular table capable of seating around 10 people. There were two large refrigerators against the far wall to store food and cupboards lined the stretch of wall next to it, one for each student. Everyone had made sure to divide up the area the day they moved in, to avoid conflict in the future. Next to the cupboards was a microwave for heating up food and a few gas stoves and ovens for multiple students to cook at the same time.

Next to one of the stoves was Midoriya Izuku, watching a boiling pot of water apprehensively.

Midoriya, both of his arms bruised and broken, scratches and bruises marring his entire body as he swayed, barely standing as a hand reached out–

Shouta snapped out of it and shook his head to clear his mind, grimacing from the recollection of his student in such a state. After he took a moment to compose himself, he sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned back on the door frame.

"… Midoriya." The boy in question flinched, before turning to face the kitchen doorway, eyes slightly wide from being caught awake past curfew. He fiddled with his hands nervously, lowering his gaze to avoid Shouta's eyes. "What are you still doing up?"

Midoriya hesitated slightly before answering quietly. "I-I couldn't sleep… So I thought if I made myself some tea, it would help me calm down…" he drifted off, gaze wandering back to the pot of water before turning back to his teacher. Shouta frowned. It was clear from Midoriya's tense shoulders and restless hands that something was bothering him, that he was overthinking. Rather than ask him to elaborate, however, Shouta instead made his way to the table in the middle of the kitchen and took a seat that wasn't facing the stove directly. He placed the papers he brought from his room in front of him, before turning back to Midoriya.

"Drink the tea and go to sleep right after. Training starts early and you want every bit of sleep you can get." Midoriya nodded before turning back to the pot of water, his nervousness melting away slightly as he realized he wasn't going to be lectured or questioned. Satisfied, Shouta picked up the papers one by one, making the occasional mark or note with a red pen he brought in his pocket.

A comfortable silence fell between them, filled with the sounds of water being heated and the scratching of pen on paper. Shouta had finished grading several papers when Midoriya spoke up again.

"Why are you still awake, Aizawa-sensei?" Shouta stopped writing, his grip on the pen tightening as he recalled the reason why he was awake this particular night.

Asui, face displaying a look of pure horror as she crumpled to dust before him–

"Aizawa-sensei?" He blinked when he heard his name called again, realizing he had been quiet for a bit too long.

"… I have some work to finish so I came in here to make myself a cup of coffee." He forced himself to maintain his expression of indifference and not show any panic as he turned to face his student. Although he was used to such thoughts flashing through his mind every so often, especially after a traumatic event like USJ, he couldn't control the feeling of fear that rose up each time.

Midoriya frowned, noting the darker circles under his teacher's eyes and the obvious exhaustion from his appearance. "But Sensei, you can't be intending to work through the night! The caffeine won't help you sleep and All Might always told us that it isn't beneficial to anyone if you work while you are tired."

"Doesn't matter. Work is also expected to be finished on time and as your teacher, there are always lessons to be planned and papers to be graded," Shouta replied and went back to grading, his grip on the pen loosening as he scribbled down a short comment. Midoriya glanced around, trying to think of a way to prevent his teacher from drinking coffee and help him get some much needed rest.

"How about a cup of tea instead? All Might showed me a blend of chamomile with honey and it's supposed to help when you have difficulties falling asleep. It worked for me, at least." The water started bubbling intensely and Midoriya moved to remove the pot from the heat before heading to the cupboard where they stored cups.

"I don't really like tea," Shouta answered without looking up from the paper he was grading.

Midoriya paused as he was reaching to grab a second cup, lowering his arm slightly. "O-oh."

Shouta sighed as he heard the disappointment in Midoriya's tone, pinching the bridge of his nose as his eyes began to sting. He reached into his pocket for his eye drops as he considered, then revised his previous answer. "… One cup."

"Huh?" Midoriya turned to face him, confusion evident as he held the cupboard door slightly open.

"Go ahead and make me a cup." He swiftly applied the eye drops, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of cool relief that they brought before opening his eyes and meeting Midoriya's gaze. "I'll try it once but I can't guarantee I'll like it."

Midoriya grinned as he turned to reach back into the cupboard and grab a second cup. He placed the cups on the counter before going to another cupboard to grab the tea and honey. Shouta watched for a bit before turning back to the papers in front of him, picking up Kaminari's paper and readying his pen to mark it with corrections.

Kaminari, burnt out from using too much electricity and unable to defend himself as the ground collapsed beneath him and he fell–

It wasn't long before Midoriya walked over to the table and placed Shouta's cup on an area that wasn't covered with papers, before taking a seat a few chairs away. Shouta ignored the cup for a while, returning his focus to Kaminari's paper and noting that his writing skills had improved since the beginning of the year.

Once he was finished, he put down his pen and picked up the cup of tea, careful to grab the handle so that he wouldn't burn himself. He could smell the mix of apples and flowers as he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. The tea was light and refreshing, the honey not overriding the floral taste and its sweetness subtle. Shouta knew about the calming effect that chamomile tea had but experiencing it for himself made him realize how true it was. He felt his mind finally clear itself of the panic and fear, relaxing (if only slightly) for the first time in weeks. It was… nice.

"Do you like it?" Shouta looked across the table where his student was hiding part of his face with his tea cup. "I wasn't sure how much honey you wanted but then I remembered that you tended to drink black coffee so I only added a spoonful. But if you don't like the tea then you don't have to finish it! I used all the water, but I could go ahead and boil–"

"Midoriya." The young teen paused in his rambling. "It's fine. You don't have to boil any more water." The pro hero took another sip of his tea as Midoriya lowered his cup, his face brightening as he realized that his teacher's way of saying that he liked the tea.

For a while, none of them spoke, choosing to enjoy their tea in relative silence. A question rose to the front of Shouta's mind and he considered asking it for a while. It was a delicate topic, one that he couldn't risk the other students overhearing since it concerned the student before him and a fellow teacher. One that he needed the answer to, because he was a teacher to said student and a friend of said teacher.

He had his suspicions, of course, but logic without evidence only gets one so far. Confirmation would be best in this situation, but the pro hero also knew that if this suspicion was true, it would be heavily guarded and difficult to get a straight answer.

Still, he had to try.

"You said that All Might taught you how to brew this tea?"

Midoriya froze with the cup pressed to his lips, startled by the sudden question. It was a while before he answered, hands no longer wrapped about the cup and instead clenched nervously together. "I… used to have trouble sleeping before the provisional license exams. The exams were important if we wanted to use our Quirks outside of school and it was imperative that we got them as soon as possible. Especially since All Might…" Midoriya trailed off and Shouta nodded in understanding. He was the one that pushed for approval from the school to allow the students to get their provisional licenses, now that the world could no longer rely on All Might. Midoriya had thrown himself into the training with renewed vigor and became more desperate to become a hero, almost as if he had a goal to meet and the deadline for it was soon.

Midoriya took a deep breath before continuing. "One night, I was going over some notes in my notebook. Just things to keep in mind and what I should work on. All Might caught me still awake and made me some tea. We talked for a bit and I got some of his input regarding some of my ideas. I found the tea helped me calm down and now I make some whenever I can't sleep. It works most of the time."

Shouta betrayed nothing in his expression as he stared back at Midoriya, deeply regarding his answer and wording but not pressing for more. Instead he takes another sip of tea, signaling that the conversation is over if Midoriya wants it to be. He didn't get the answer he wanted, but he knew that the retirement of All Might was still a sensitive topic for his student.

Midoriya looked relieved, reaching to pick up his tea cup again. Shouta finished the rest of his tea and walked over to the sink to rinse it. "I'll rinse your cup Midoriya. Go ahead and get some rest."

"Ah, are you sure Aizawa-sensei? I can help-" A stern look from Shouta broke off Midoriya's offer and he glanced to the side sheepishly. "A-are you going to go to sleep after as well?"

Shouta nodded slightly as Midoriya downed the rest of his drink and brought the cup to him. The young teen began to head back to his room before pausing, turning back to face Shouta. "Aizawa-sensei?" Shouta hummed to show that he heard, squeezing some soap into a sponge as he lightly scrubbed the cups clean.

"Thank you."

Shouta paused, cup in one hand and sponge in the other as he turned around to see Midoriya smiling at him, almost like how All Might smiled to reassure the general public that everything will be ok. He knew then that Midoriya was thanking him for more than just keeping him company or for trying the tea.

"That's my job," Shouta grunted in response. Midoriya continued smiling, as if trying to imply that he knew that wasn't the only reason behind the pro hero's actions.

… he must be getting soft, if his students could read him that easily.

"Good night, Aizawa-sensei!" Midoriya bowed slightly before leaving the kitchen. Shouta went back to washing the cups, placing them on the drying rack. He gathered the papers he was grading and slipped the pen back into his pocket as he turned off the kitchen light and made his way back to his room, finding the darkness calming for the first time in a while.

Yeah, seems like he could get some rest tonight.

A/N: Come find me on Twitter (link in profile) and other places if you wanna chat about BNHA :D thank you for reading!

Ciao Ciao~

Pikachu

Published 8 November 2017