Work Text:
Flat, dry leaves, brown and full of holes... large red and yellow ones with their edges starting to curl... those that still held a touch of green with dapples of orange... even a few that appeared more purple in their tint. The grounds of UA campus were covered in leaves in the middle of October. It was about time for the talk in the hallways to morph from supermoves to what the students would be doing for Halloween and in conjunction-their newest ideas for costumes.
Now that the students lived on campus, the staff had been wrangled into hosting several internal events for them. Aizawa hardly thought this was necessary, they had more than enough schoolwork to occupy their time, and if they had holes in their schedule, why not take a damn nap or even better hit the gym? It was encouraged not to leave school grounds outside of family visits for safety concerns, so he supposed it made some form of sense to accommodate unoccupied children with innocent entertainment.
This meant a halloween party would be coming up. And of course the staff were 'encouraged' to dress up.
Maybe I'll just attach some antennae to my sleeping bag and say I'm a caterpillar. Knowing Nemuri, there was little chance of that actually happening, and she would probably come up with yet another skimpy outfit to persuade him into by the end of the night. He wasn’t looking forward to it.
Aizawa laid on the front lawn of the school during his lunch hour, a vitamin sustenance pouch at his mouth and his signature sleeping back zipped up to his chin. He was warm in the autumn sunlight and could have easily fallen into a lovely nap, if the jarring loud crunch of large feet smashing through leaves on the sidewalk hadn't alerted him first.
"What do you want, Yagi-san." Any chance he had of napping now would be gone, and he was justifiably annoyed.
"Good afternoon, Aizawa-kun, have you eaten?" The much-too-tall-for-a-normal-human teacher asked him, holding out two bentos despite it being quite obvious that Aizawa had just sucked the life out of the plastic pouch at his mouth.
"'M fine." he responded shortly, and closed his eyes to try and hint that the blond was bothering him.
No luck.
"Come now, surely those pouches don't have all the nutrients you need."
"They have all the proteins, lipids and carbs that I need. Mind your own business."
Yagi shook his head and occupied a spot on the bench that just so happened to be directly next to his napping spot. Foolish of him to choose such a high traffic area, he should have joined Miyuki in the bushes behind the school. But the sunlight there just isn't as good and you know it.
"Suit yourself." Yagi responded to him, and ate his own lunch in relative silence for once.
It was almost quiet enough that Aizawa could convince himself to fall asleep.
Almost.
And then the smell of Yagi's meal hit, and his stomach cramped in hunger. He hadn't had a proper meal in.... well...since the last time he had bothered actually going to the lunchroom with Hizashi and Nemuri. That had been a few days ago now.
He sighed and sat up, unzipping his sleeping bag just enough to reach an arm out, palm up in his co-teacher's direction.
Yagi gave him a huge smile as he handed over the premade lunch and a pair of chopsticks, as if he had won something. It was promptly ignored in favor of tearing off the wrap and into the box of fresh, homemade.... cat-shaped onigiri complete with tiny seaweed whiskers, complimentary veggies, and a tiny compartment of the salted licorice he had a bit of an addiction to.
"Th-thank you." Aizawa mumbled over the first bite, not giving three shits at the giddy little smirk on his coworker's face. It wasn't adorable, the way it made little smile lines wobble at the corners of his mouth and his dimples pop, not at all. He ate the food much too quickly and gave himself hiccups as his body tried to catch up. Stupid.
He moved to give the container back to Yagi and noticed the wrap had fucking cats on it. What was Yagi doing going around with adorable as fuck bento wraps? Was he trying to butter him up? It was common knowledge that he liked cats... UA's permanent resident stray Miyuki being a case and point. Aizawa gave the box back, determined not to be swayed should that be the point of his coming to find him during lunch hour.
"Aizawa-kun?"
"Hnn?" He responded, already drooping and zipped back into his caterpillar bag. He couldn't even look over at him properly, his body felt so heavy.
"Eh... never mind. I'll ask later."
He was still so incredibly sleepy. Last night's patrol shift had been killer and as per usual he had gotten no sleep afterwards. It was lucky that his next hour was free as well, but he wanted to wait until Yagi left to try and get anywhere with it. If he knew the blond giant at all, he would wake him up without even trying, acting as if he had been completely ignorant of his efforts at a damn nap. Surely he wasn’t that thick in the head..
Every damn time he had just settled in for a good nap, it felt like he was there, ruining them! Even when he didn't need anything! Curled up behind the staircase on the third floor? Yagi-san was there asking him about their plans for the next hero studies class period. How about a linen closet, a sort of smelly alternative, but worked just as well if he were just sleeping? Nope, he'd find himself awakened by the bright fluorescent lights of the school’s hallway, Yagi's smiling face staring in at him, asking if he'd like some coffee because he was just going to go get some for himself and Kayama-chan.... The man was lucky Aizawa hadn’t killed him, he had interrupted so many naps. He was worse than Hizashi for crying out loud.
It was incredibly annoying. Aizawa had taken to finding the most construed napping places he could manage and hoping Yagi didn't find him. The man had impossibly sniffed out and memorized all of his favorite haunts, even once waking him ON TOP OF A BOOKSHELF IN THE LIBRARY. How!? He had been so startled that he rolled off the other side, and if not for his sleeping bag, probably would have broken something. His co-teacher had apologized profusely after that incident, but that didn't make his lack of sleep any better.
Aizawa had really started to wonder if people were informing Yagi of his whereabouts on the sly. It was the only rational explanation. The former hero wasn't a stalker, after all. Probably just too kind for his own good.
He was too tired to give it more thought at the moment, however, and after the hiccups died down, the weight of the consumed bento combined with the warmth of his bag and the sunshine on his exposed face made him even drowsier than before. A close by tree still held many of its leaves and he found himself enamored by a burnt orange pair clinging to a low-hanging, bare branch, each holding on desperately in the breeze, as if the other would save them from their inevitable fall.
Yagi's light clicking of utensils didn't bother him as he cleaned up next to Aizawa on his bench, and he decided when the blond patted the top of his sleeping bag and wished him a peaceful nap that it didn't bother him either.
He watched the pair of leaves wave in the wind and detach from the branch, still connected even as they fell. He followed them while they fluttered to the ground, connected even as they joined the multitude already littering the sidewalk.
His eyes finally closed and he got his much needed nap.
...
The dreams that flit through his unconscious mind were always jittery, little bits and pieces of scenes that melted into one another. They used to feature mostly cats and random shenanigans with Hizashi or fighting various villains. They still had a lot of cats in them, but it annoyed him to no end that a new addition had wiggled its way into his world; several blips in his dreams now featured Yagi's kind smile. Yagi petting cats with him, going to an animal shelter with him, cooking with him, shopping with him and arguing over which was the best deal for quality, going out for drinks with him and his friends... as if they were... no, Aizawa refused to put words to it.
These annoyed him, he still thought of Yagi (while he acknowledged his past achievements and merit to society) as a little bug in his everyday life that made his work more effort intensive than it needed to be. They most certainly didn't make his heart beat a little faster when he remembered them after waking, especially so when that smile--just no...
It especially irked him when they took a naughty turn and he'd be forced to relive those scenes over and over when he saw Yagi next. It was normal for him to fantasize sometimes, and in his youth he may have indulged in more than one wet dream featuring the tight spandex of All Might’s suit… but why did these have to be about Yagi? Now, after the stupid dreams, every time he saw the blond he had to shove the image of his naked body out of his mind--no we will not be thinking about how delicious that ass probably is under those fitted pants.
Aizawa considered himself lucky that they were few and far between.
...
When he woke up he had just been dreaming of dancing with Yagi. Where, he couldn't remember, but they had both been dressed in black suits, and the crunch of leaves echoed around them as they swayed to music he couldn't remember. The wind had blown his hair into a flurry and then it became leaves, and then both he and Toshinori were leaves. Specifically, the two leaves he had watched fall from the tree just before he fell asleep.
Aizawa wasn't sure how he felt about it.
The look in Yagi's eyes was admittedly more than platonic, and that terrified him. If that was how the man always looked at him, they might be in for an awkward conversation. He’d turn him down if his coworker came onto him, of course.
Wouldn’t he?
There was no reason to date, that was just too much energy, and he didn’t have any feelings for the guy.
Right?
He unzipped his bag and stepped out of its warm embrace before rolling it up and stowing it under his arm. The leaves that had valiantly struggled on their branch still lie on the ground near him and he decided to pick them up.
...
"Aizawa-kun! There you are!"
The teacher in question sighed, he thought he would be left alone in the lounge at this point in the day. School had long since been released and the sun was just an orange blip on the horizon. He had stayed late to get his grading done, but why was Yagi there?
"It seems you've found me." Yet again. "What do you want." His words were probably colder and a bit more snappy than he truly meant them to be, but he was so tired he didn't care, and continued pouring his coffee.
"Ah, well I had wanted to ask you earlier, but you were so cu--ahem, uh anyway...."
Yagi rubbed the back of his neck like he was as nervous as the students they taught and Aizawa wondered what could possibly have him so flustered. His cheeks burned with embarrassment he almost smiled at the hilarity of it all. This man was older than him and still as easily flustered as a fourteen-year-old. It might have been endearing another day, but at the moment all he wanted to do was get his grading done and get home so he might actually get a good night’s sleep for once.
"Spit it out, Yagi-san. I have grading to get to."
“So, um, the Halloween party. A-are you going?”
“It’s basically required, isn’t it?”
“Ha, uh, probably. But I meant are you going…. With anyone?”
Aizawa quirked a brow at him. What did he mean? Hizashi and Nemuri would probably make their appearances as well-they liked the holiday anyway, but they lived off campus… hmm…. He supposed he would be going alone after all. Though that suited him.
“I don’t think so?”
“Oh! Okay! Um. Would you… I dunno…. Would you consider… maybe going with me?”
Once he finally forced the words out, Yagi summoned up the courage to actually look him in the eye and damn he actually saw the flush spread over his face and down his neck. Poor guy, he was mortified. Why? We’re practically neighbors in the dorms, it makes sense to go together. Aizawa wondered who had turned up the thermostat, he felt hot as well and pulled at the neck of his uniform and looped capture weapon.
“Sure, I guess that would be fine. We both live on campus, it would be logical to go together.”
Aizawa took his coffee and went back to the couch, figuring the conversation was over. He picked up his grading and continued his work.
~~~Yagi~~~
As smart as he thought he was, Aizawa could be pretty ignorant when it came to romantic cues. Yagi had been trying to drop hints that he liked the guy for months now. He’d frequented all his napping spots just for the opportunity to talk to the man, researched all his favorite foods, his likes and dislikes, found his favorite coffee shop just go bring him that specific coffee….etc etc…. but no matter what he did, his co-teacher seemed to completely ignore him.
He brought him food as often as he could manage, did everything he could to make it obvious and yet Aizawa continued to be as cold as ever. Yagi had even approached his friends about it, and they had no words to help him other than extreme bluntness.
‘Sho-chan is a bit of a workaholic. He doesn’t really care about these things. If you want to get through to him, you’ll have to actually spell it out. There’s no other way.’
And that was what Yagi had tried that afternoon. He had tried to be blunt with the man and tell him he wanted a date, and Aizawa had got the exactly wrong impression. His perpetually tired coworker continued his grading as if nothing had changed and Yagi stood there stunned. He wasn’t sure how much more to the point he could be.
“I like you, Aizawa-kun.” Ugh, it sounded so pathetic in his head. He couldn’t possibly say that.
“Wh-what was that?”
WAS THAT OUT LOUD, OH MY GOD NO.
“I-I…ahem…” he steeled his resolve and determined he would just have to make the best of the situation at hand, “I said that I like you.”
“Right… well you aren’t so bad yourself, when you aren’t being so lo--”
“Aizawa-kun, please, I mean it as more than a friend. I like you. I want you to go with me to the Halloween party as a date.”
The surprise on Aizawa’s face was clear, and his pen dropped to the papers at the desk in front of him.
“Oh.”
“Yes. Is that-is that okay? Are you still willing to go with me?”
Yagi hadn’t been expecting the light coloring to his coworker’s cheeks, and even less so the affirmative yes a moment later.
...
The Halloween party would turn out to be less torture than either of them thought. They had been willingly spending more time together and Aizawa started to notice what Yagi had been trying to do for him. It was heartwarming in a way; he decided Yagi didn't actually bother him that much. Except interrupting naps, fuck he had to do something about that...
The night of the festivities went rather quickly for both of them. They decorated a gym and Yagi insisted on finding enough sugary treats to put them all in a coma for a year. It was a mildly enjoyable time, even if it was just watching 15 year olds awkwardly flirt and try to dance.
Both left partway through the evening, deciding there were more than enough chaperones to watch over the kids for the rest of the night and they wouldn’t be missed.
Their shoes crunched as they walked hand-in-hand and Aizawa remembered the pair of leaves he had rescued from the ground that day, like two halves of a whole.
Maybe one day Yagi would be his, despite his nap-ruining habits. They would work on it.