Chapter Text
Once again, some idiot had made the coffee in the teacher's lounge way too bitter. What a great start to Shouta’s Monday..
He grimaced at the taste and set the cup aside on his desk, turning his eyes back to the newest information pamphlet about another week at the U.A High School.
The same paper was on every desk in the room, a few already picked up by other teacher’s around him and some still lying on the empty tables, waiting for more teacher’s to slowly creep to work at 7.45.
The pamphlet informed the teachers about the upcoming renovation in the art rooms, Toshinori’s return to work from yet another sick leave and, as Shouta had feared, the destination of this year’s field trips with a reminder to distribute the participation forms to their homeroom classes.
It was that season again, and Shouta pondered if this piece of news had been the cause of the bitterness in his mouth. He took another sip. No, definitely still the coffee.
He took one last glance at his schedule for the morning, first 2 hours of P.E with 1C and 2 hours with 3A. He was still getting used to the new schedule for the semester that had started just a month ago, blessing him with his own new homeroom class, 1A. He had their lessons of P.E later in the week, and he wasn’t sure if he was anticipating or fearing the energetic but skilled class.
1C was gonna do some stretching and baseball practice today, ending their lesson with a practice game against each other, Shouta reminded himself and started gathering what he needed: his black tracksuit jacket from his chair, a whistle, keys for the sports supply room and his phone. The coffee would stay here, for good.
Nemuri, his desk buddy on his right side, glanced at him tiredly when Shouta got up from his desk (she was even worse than him at handling early mornings) and gave him a little wave as other teacher’s started leaving for their classes too.
The door of the lounge burst open.
“Good morning!”
Of course, Shouta rolled his eyes behind his hair. If there was one teacher who Shouta knew to always be smiling and awake at 7.45 am., it was the overly excited, cheery English teacher, Yamada Hizashi.
It was irritating.
“Ah, as lively as ever, Aizawa! Good morning to you!” And for some reason, Yamada had decided to focus all his excessively positive energy at Shouta.
Shouta was lucky that he was already leaving the teacher's lounge, only rushing past Yamada on his way.
“Late as ever, Yamada.” Shouta hoped there was some coffee left for his blond colleague.
---
His students were doing laps across the track field as Shouta prepared the equipment and drew the bases for baseball in the gravel.
1C was one of the four first-year classes that started high school this year, and Shouta was still trying to figure them out.
They were a mixed bunch of kids, some slightly uncooperative, some just nonathletic, some had too much energy but there were a few that were clearly athletically gifted and in good shape.
Not that Shouta really cared: he evaluated his students more on their abilities to work together, to try their best and show that they listened to him. Other skills in sports were just a plus.
He could also see that the class was having some trouble hitching together, the kids still too shy and unfamiliar with each other to really become a class. That’s what field trips were for, Shouta sighed deeply.
Out of curiosity he checked the homeroom teacher of the class, trying to come up with advice for their teacher to bring the class together.
Oh, right, 1C was Yamada’s class. Shouta quickly abandoned any thoughts of discussing the class with the blond, even if he was worried how some of the students in the class seemed to become isolated from the group. Yamada could deal with it himself.
During the year that Yamada had been working at U.A, Shouta had never really gotten a good impression or even a grasp of his personality. Yamada taught languages, English mostly, some French and Korean, while Shouta was the P.E teacher of the high school. Safe to say, they had nothing in common.
Other than that, Yamada seemed very outgoing, social and enthusiastic, always in a good mood, waltzing into other people’s classes and the teacher's lounge without any consideration. He was loud too and had basically won over everyone in the first month. But Shouta didn’t buy into it.
He didn’t really like how nonchalant and careless Yamada sometimes seemed to be, arriving just on time to work, gossiping loudly with Nemuri in the cafeteria and Yamada’s own laughter echoing from his classroom every time Shouta went even near it. Was he even teaching or just showing some fun videos to the class?
What he liked even less was that he thinks Yamada was flirting with him. Hell, he might be flirting with anything that moves and is about his age, but Shouta thought it unprofessional and indiscreet.
It would have been inappropriate too, if Shouta wasn’t retaliating every time, shooting his flirts down or teasing him in hope that Yamada would grow bored. But it hadn’t put Yamada off at all, it seemed to only encourage him.
But Shouta wasn’t going to give Yamada the satisfaction of running him down, no, he’d fight fire with fire, hopefully making Yamada realize how annoying it all was.
---
The lunch break was a blessing and a curse, since it was the time Shouta finally had a small break from the young troublemakers, but it was also his reminder that his colleagues weren’t mentally much older than their students.
Nemuri, the teacher for health education and psychology, was reciting her latest bar story from the weekend (if she wasn’t Shouta’s closest friend, he’d definitely be questioning Nemuri’s professionalism), when Shouta noticed Yamada heading to their table.
“Oh, great. As if the cafeteria wasn’t loud enough.” Shouta huffed to himself, earning a pat on his back from Nemuri. Kan, the biology and chemistry teacher, and Ishiyama Ken, physics and math, happily greeted Yamada as he sat down with them. Of course, everyone else loved him...
“C’mon, Shouta, Hizashi is such a cool guy! Maybe you should get over your jealousy or whatever it is soon. Sooner than you might think.” Nemuri whispered and smirked at him as she took a sip of her ice tea.
Before Shouta could even object, he was not jealous, or ask what she had meant, Yamada’s voice drowned all other noises around them.
“Yo, don’t you just love Mondays when the students are too tired to even fight back at ya?” Yamada laughed, and Shouta’s eye was starting to twitch. Had he no respect for the profession?
Shouta decided to tune the upcoming conversation out completely, instead focusing on eating the small dish he had bought at the cafeteria.
He only came back to the present when Nemuri squeezed his shoulder and left the table, waving goodbye to him and Yamada who were the only ones left. Wait, what?!
He quickly glanced at the blond teacher, his glasses on his nose, long blond hair pulled into a messy bun and outfit always on point to the last detail. Yamada was already looking at him with a devious smirk on his face.
Another distinctive factor between them was that Yamada was always dressed to the nines at work, either in very flashy, bright-colored clothing or tight fitted dress-shirts and straight pants in all possible patterns and designs, but never arriving without his leather jacket in the morning. Aizawa usually stayed the whole day in comfortable tracksuits, black and grey his go-to choices of color.
“Should you be wearing so many clothes at this time of the year?” Yamada pointed innocently at his jacket. It was the middle of August. “I’d hate to be the one to catch you if you faint.” He grinned.
Shouta was already ready to leave. “Don’t worry, I know how to hydrate.” Shouta glanced at Yamada’s arms on purpose. “Don’t think you could even catch me.”
“Hey, I work out!” Yamada cried out but the grin returned quickly. Shouta got up from his seat, only frowning deeper to show that he didn’t care. “Wait!”
He stopped, narrowing his eyes at whatever clever flirt was coming out of the blond’s mouth next.
“Umm, you had 1C this morning, right? How are they doing?” Yamada’s smile faded slightly, but not completely vanishing from his face.
Oh, Shouta had not expected such an honest, professional question. If the issue hadn’t already been on his mind that morning, he wouldn’t have given Yamada any more of his time.
Shouta sat back down.
“They are fine, no more deviation than in any other class. No one’s failing or getting expelled either. Yet.” Shouta said in his thoughts and was surprised when Yamada gave him a genuine, bright laugh. “I have been noticing some worrying things though. Shinsou Hitoshi, for example.” Yamada’s brows furrowed in concern, at least he wasn’t interrupting. “He seems very talented and motivated in P.E, his grades in other subjects are great, much better than the average of his class. But he seems to be left out of the group, he doesn’t really talk to anyone, but no one really acknowledges him either.”
Yamada’s expression shifted between puzzlement and concern. “I’ve been noticing the same thing, to be honest. He’s such a nice kid when you get to know him. I’ve had some guidance lessons with him, like with every student in my class, and he doesn’t seem to acknowledge the problem, he just brushes it off.” Yamada shrugged his shoulders. “But he does talk how interested he is in psychology and sports. And of course, he’s mentioned his favorite teacher, Mr. Aizawa a few times. You have left quite an impression on him.”
Yamada’s smirk was back and Shouta decided to end the conversation there, not only for the the annoying teasing but because of the embarrassment rising onto his cheeks, hearing his student's admiration over him.
The conversation was more reasonable than probably any of theirs so far but Shouta knew that conversations with Yamada would always deter into a territory Shouta did not want to even consider at some point. Not even if he did admit to Yamada being quite attractive and charismatic.
---
His workday was already supposed to be over when another paper was slapped onto his desk in front of him.
Before he could even give the paper a look-over, the words from his colleague’s mouth made him freeze.
“Looks like we’re gonna be field trip-buddies this year, Aizawa!” Yamada pointed at the sheet of paper.
Field trips to Sousaki Inn at Mt. Gunga, Musutafu
08.29.-31. 1A & 1C (Aizawa and Yamada)
09.05.-07. 1B & 1D (Sekijirou and Inui)
He’d definitely rather take Kan, even if he already knew from past trips that the big man’s snoring would keep him up for the whole weekend. He’d probably even survive Inui’s weird obsession with the surveillance of the students, like a hound dog.
But a whole weekend babysitting 40 brats, probably in the same space and room with the biggest baby of them all, Yamada Hizashi?
Bitterness rose into his mouth again.
---
Two weeks weren’t nearly enough time for Shouta to mentally prepare for the weekend.
And somehow, it didn’t seem to be enough for many others either because Shouta was standing beside the bus, 10 minutes ‘til the planned departure, and 6 students and one teacher were still missing.
Even at 30, he was way too old for this.
“Sorry, sensei! I slept late!” Kirishima ran into the bus, throwing his bag to the storage space under the vehicle.
“Glad you could make it.” Aizawa checked out another student from his list, not even looking up. Maybe Kirishima arriving would stop Bakugou from screaming so much inside the bus.
Few other students from 1C arrive just after and Shouta’s list is getting closer to completion. Ashido arrived, still half asleep (it’s 10:50 on a Friday, kid, Shouta shook his head) and Aoyama skipped into the bus, his hair and make-up perfectly in place, which might have been the reason for his tardiness.
“Morning, ‘Zawa! Wow, you look so excited for our first field trip together!” Yamada finally jogged to the bus from his car he parked moments earlier. Shouta knew it was sarcasm because he had been nothing but frowning the whole morning.
“Couldn’t arrive any earlier?” He countered, not really interested in returning the greeting or the irritating nick name. 10:59, he looked at his clock.
“I’m on time, aren’t I? I needed to get my cat to my sister’s and she hates me interrupting her beauty sleep. My cat, not my sister. Sorry though, I’ll make it up to you!” Yamada winked and shoved his bags to the bus.
Shouta’s frown eased just a bit. “You have a ca-- Never mind, everyone’s waiting for you.”
Shouta nodded to the driver and took his seat behind the man, completely preparing to be asleep for the most of the one-hour drive to the mountains.
Until Yamada sat right next to him.
“I almost couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited! This is going to be fun!” Yamada smiled at him.
Taking a longer glance at his colleague, Shouta noticed that for the first time Yamada was wearing something a bit more casual, a pair of black running leggings with a band t-shirt and his leather jacket, his ponytail hidden under a cap.
Shouta had still opted for a black tracksuit with the school’s logo on his chest.
“I couldn’t sleep for an entirely opposite reason.” Shouta grunted at him, turning to look out of the window as the bus left the school’s parking lot.
“Aww, but you’ve done this many times, right? No need to be nervous!” Yamada exclaimed.
“I’d call it worry, rather than nervousness.” Shouta liked to think he had seen everything in the six years he had been teaching at U.A. He’d seen kids disappearing in the night, students escaping from the field trip and basically setting a part of their hotel on fire with a fire quirk. He knew how badly incapable teachers could mess up field trips. “Isn’t this your first trip?” He narrowed his eyes at Yamada. He needed to estimate the risk of the trip being a chaos early on.
“Well, kinda. Last year I didn’t have my own homeroom so I just stuck along with Nemuri and Yagi on the third year’s field trip. They were very well behaved, the kids and teachers, so I basically did nothing but relaxed the whole weekend.” Yamada laughed. “But it’s different this year.” Yamada’s voice suddenly sounded more serious. When Shouta turned to look at him, really look, Yamada was looking behind them at the row after row of excited students.
“Everyone got here good? No one seemed panicked or.. worried?” Yamada looked puzzled, the first time Shouta’d seen it. For some reason, he wanted to reassure him as fast as he could.
“Yeah, they were all excited. I don’t’ think there will be any big drama on the trip.” He’d seen that too. Shouta released his frown, the closest he could get to an actual smile.
“And Shinsou?” Yamada finally glanced at Shouta.
“He was quiet in the morning, but I tried to talk to him a bit and he seemed to relax. I think he’ll be your mission this field trip.” Shouta didn’t want to admit that he was worried about Shinsou too and wanted to help. They both needed to do their best to get Shinsou settled into his class, hopefully even talk and befriend some people during the weekend.
“Ah, that’s great. Thanks!” Yamada’s smile was sweeter than usual, a hint of relief in his eyes. “So, did you look at the schedule? We’re gonna have an awesome time: hiking, baths, bonfires! I love camping so much! Except for the bugs!” Yamada exclaimed again. Shouta didn’t have the mind to remind him that they weren’t camping; they were just staying at an inn, which was reserved entirely to their school, surrounded by the fresh mountain air and conifers.
It wasn’t the worst scenery to spend a weekend in.
“Ooh, I wanna be the guide!” Yamada suddenly jumped up from his seat and grabbed the microphone at the front of the bus.
“Goood morning, little listeners!” His voice suddenly burst from the speakers of the bus. “Welcome to field trip à la Yamada and Aizawa! We will be arriving to our destination in approximately 45 minutes. I ask you dear listeners to stay seated until then and get some sleep or relax, since this weekend, you’re not getting any!” Yamada laughed as the students grunted and cringed at his attempt to humor them. Even Shouta found his lips quirking up slightly. “I know that you kids will be absolute sweethearts to your old teachers, but I’m still gonna go over some rules for the trip so keep your ears open! First…”
Shouta got to rule number 4 when he was already asleep.
---
They arrived at the inn, only 15 minutes behind schedule, and he and Yamada observed the students trickling out of the bus and picking up their bags.
Shouta had been at the same inn 3 years ago, as the inn had been working together with U.A for some time to accommodate their field trips. The building was beautiful, a traditional Japanese inn with a big kitchen and dining area, rooms for about 50 people and a lot of entertainment, like baths, a small study slash library and game room.
The sliding door opened to tatami mats and a reception that led to the dining area and a big lounge with a fireplace. The rooms had been prepared for their arrival, decorated minimalistically with dark wooden furniture and flower arrangements.
On the backyard there was the fenced bath area, a basketball court and many signs to the mountain paths to Mt. Gunga or down to the small village under the mountain. The area was surrounded by tall pines and spruces but left a big yard open to the warm sunlight.
The kids ran into their rooms, divided into groups of 4 while he and Yamada were sharing one. The stay wasn’t going to be a vacation for any one of them: he and Yamada were basically still on the job and getting paid, and their students had their own duties cooking dinner and breakfast and cleaning.
The first group on duty started preparing the lunch for the two classes with Yamada’s guidance. Each group on kitchen duty consisted of two students from 1C and two from 1A to better the communication between the two classes. Yamada shouted instructions from the cookbook to two of his own students from 1C, as well as Yaoyorozu and Jirou.
In the meanwhile, Shouta had made sure the kids were settled into their rooms and they started their afternoon activities, all kinds of games and quizzes (that were probably more suited for 10-year-olds) that were supposed to make the kids interact with each other and meet new people, building up the group spirit.
The rest of the afternoon went by fast as they ate lunch and allowed the students some free time. Bakugou and his group had started playing basketball in the yard, Midoriya and his friends were inspecting their surroundings and the rest of the boys were either in the game room or in their rooms, relaxing. The rest of the girls, minus Uraraka, Asui and Ashido, had mostly gathered at the lounge and were quietly talking about whatever they usually talked about.
Shouta and the group on dinner duty, Chikuchi and Nakamura from 1C and Tokoyami and Shoji from his class started making curry for dinner an hour later.
The rest of the two classes didn’t need to be told twice to get dinner when it was ready, surprisingly politely making a long line for Shouta to portion out dishes for them. Yamada appeared to the dining area a while later, already in sweats and a comfortable hoodie, hair up on a turban after his bath.
“You can take food for yourself.” Shouta huffed as he took a serving for himself.
“So, you aren’t gonna feed me then?” Yamada grinned but luckily just turned to find himself a plate.
The kids were still loud, just not as loud as at lunch.
There were several tables in the hall now filled with chatty students, some tables longer for bigger groups of friends like the one Midoriya, Iida, Uraraka and the rest of their group was occupying, and some only for 4 people, like the one where Jirou, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami and Mina were sitting in.
Shouta knew his own class quite well already. He had been able to see the friend groups forming in the first weeks and he was secretly happy and relieved that the whole class seemed to get along very well, despite the healthy rivalries between some students in his class.
But Shouta could just as easily notice the table at the back of the hall which could’ve fitted six people, but was only currently occupied by one, Shinsou Hitoshi. Shouta frowned to himself but decided to make his way to that table. Even if Shinsou would deem it embarrassing to sit with his teacher (Shouta would leave one seat vacant between them to avoid that), he much rather wanted to see the boy embarrassed than lonely like now.
“Is it okay if I sit here, Shinsou-kun? It’s pretty crowded everywhere else.”
Shinsou gave a surprised glance at him and nodded. After a short silence, Shouta decided to engage him in more conversation. Even if he always stayed strictly professional, he still wanted to get to know the new students in U.A, to form a connection to the kids he was going to be seeing nearly every day for the next 3 years. “Have you ever been to an inn like this before?”
Shinsou’s eyes snapped up but he answered indifferently. “Not really. We don’t travel that often with my foster family.”
Oh, right, Shouta remembered reading about his family situation from Shinsou’s files. Shinsou had lived with the family for 8 years already, so the foster family seemed well enough. He had seen too many students suffering from bad fostering during his teaching years.
He decided to dismiss the subject and continued asking more questions about school and training, trying to keep the conversation light and approachable.
Only minutes later, another plate was lowered to the table and long blond hair draped over the plate as Yamada sat down opposite of Shouta.
“Oh my goodness, I’m starving! Let’s see how good of a cook you really are, Aizawa.” Yamada grinned, less flirty in the presence of their students but still making Shouta’s skin prickle with his jabs.
“The kids were the ones who made this, I just helped. All complaints can be directed to them.” Shouta let his lips curl upwards to show Shinsou, who was following their conversation, that he was just joking.
“Food seems to be the first thing I’ve seen bring a smile to your face, sensei.” Yamada of course had to point out. “When’s your cooking duty, Shinsou-kun?” Yamada gave the boy a chance to join.
“Tomorrow for dinner.” He answered shortly.
“Are you a good cook?” Yamada pried more, an understanding smile on his lips.
“I’ve learned something from my foster parents. I’m able to make better coffee than any of your colleagues at least.”
Yamada laughed at that, explaining to Shouta that he had sometimes given Shinsou coffee from the staffroom and how the boy had grimaced at the taste every time.
He and Shinsou had something in common, then.
Shouta had to admit that Yamada was better at handling teenagers than he had thought. Shinsou was joking around him, even smiling slightly when Yamada joked back. Yamada made the kids feel listened to and comfortable in his presence.
Yamada hummed at another answer from Shinsou. “And are you nervous for the weekend?”
Yamada asked it so casually that Shouta had to pause eating to realize how sensitive the question could’ve been for Shinsou. Yamada didn’t hold back, it seemed.
“Not particularly. I like hiking and stuff. And I think the basketball tournament tomorrow sounds fun, so..” he shrugged his shoulders, not really answering the question. Shouta and Yamada gave each other a look.
“You’re real talented too, kid. I bet me and Yamada are gonna be fighting over who gets you on their team.” Shouta tried to ease the atmosphere, but maybe the honest compliment was too much since Shinsou was almost blushing.
“Oh, you’re on, ‘Zawa! My kids are gonna beat your kids’ little butts!” Yamada grinned as they continued eating.
---
When Shouta came back from his bath, having made sure that all the kids were in their rooms and their lights out, Yamada had already prepared their futons for them on the floor, a bit too close to each other if you asked Shouta.
“Okay, so who takes breakfast duty in the morning? I wouldn’t mind getting an hour more of sleep with all the stuff we have planned for tomorrow.” Yamada sat down onto his futon.
“You wanna be the one to wake up the kids then? And be the one tearing them out of bed and dragging them to breakfast at 9 in the morning? I don’t mind switching with you.”
Yamada grimaced at the thought and pulled back the covers of his bed. “Yeah, maybe not.” He laughed and slipped in.
Shouta turned the light off and got onto his own futon, already feeling the stress of the day seeping out of his muscles.
It wasn’t as bad as he had thought. He had assumed that he’d need to do all the work, like look out for the kids and arrange their program all by himself, but he and Yamada worked well together, they balanced each other in some weird way. They both knew when to help the other and when to let the other teacher handle things by themselves.
And Shouta could see that his students liked Yamada too. It was much easier to try and manage the big group of hormone-driven teenagers when you both already had at least some of their respect.
They were more compatible than Shouta thought, after all. But only speaking strictly of their professional morals and pedagogical practices.
“You don’t seem to like me too much, do you?” Yamada suddenly spoke in the darkness which Shouta’s eyes were still getting used to.
He knew what Yamada meant. He hadn’t been exactly talkative or cooperative with Yamada so far, not to even mention the teasing and jabbing they had been keeping up for over 9 months now.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I act the same with everyone.” That was mostly true: with Yamada his grumpiness was only emphasized.
“Na-ah, you’re much nicer to Nemuri!”
“So are you.” Shouta turned to his side, away from Yamada.
“Not true, I’m just as nice to her as I am to you. I just don’t have to tiptoe around her all the time.” Yamada said and Shouta could hear the smirk on his lips. He wasn't sure what the blond meant but he didn't care that much anyway.
“If that’s tiptoeing than I don’t even want to know what Nemuri has to go through.” Shouta teased, softer than usual. He was just tired, right? “I’ve never liked languages anyway.” He answered after a while.
Yamada burst into a quiet laughter. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, maybe you’re just bringing up past traumas from my English teacher who always made me read passages out loud, knowing that I couldn’t pronounce any of it.”
Shouta’s English teacher had been a bit cruel to him. But realistically, that had nothing to do with how he felt about Yamada.
“Aww, but I’m not a teacher like that! I’m trying to find ways to get the kids hooked into languages, not just shoving all the grammar into their little skulls. That’s why I always show clips of games, music and TV series to the kids, so that they can see how English can approve their everyday life.”
Well, it explained a lot about Yamada. Shouta found himself not hating that method of teaching; the only reason he had ever learned just a bit of English was from browsing through internet sites about different cat breeds.
“You should come and see me teach sometime! I bet you’d be surprised how much teaching methods in languages have developed.”
Shouta didn’t doubt that. “Possibly. I have busy weeks.” He retaliated. Yamada gave a little squeal of excitement.
“Good night, ‘Zawa. Let’s work together to make tomorrow as fun as it can be!”
Shouta snorted. “Good night.”
---
The morning was calm. His students were just tired enough not to cause any scenes first thing in the morning but still awake enough to drag their fatigued bodies to the dining hall where Yamada was serving them porridge, cooked rice and miso soup with his breakfast group.
“Another day, living the life of a married couple with 40 children.” Yamada had exclaimed to Shouta when he appeared in the kitchen, today in a dark blue hoodie instead of black.
“No, it isn’t.” Shouta grunted, hiding the warmth the joke brought onto his cheeks.
The kids got their energy back after breakfast when Shouta announced the start of their basketball tournament in the back yard of the inn, designed to be a teambuilding exercise for the students.
They divided the students into four groups, two of which were more athletic and wanted to play more seriously and two which faced each other in a calmer game for beginners.
Shouta acted as the referee and Yamada was.. some kind of a cheerleader, if you took into account how much he kept cheering for all the groups.
They played four games of 30 minutes until the kids started to get distracted. The ones that weren’t playing were able to cool down and try the ping pong table on the back porch.
The midday in late August was warm, even up the mountain. Their kids were laughing and playing music (with Yamada’s permission), some of the quieter kids sitting on the grass at the yard while the more energetic ones were completely immersed into basketball, shouting directions and cheers for each other.
Until it became too hot, and Shouta decided to take off his jacket, leaving him in only a dark gray t-shirt.
That was his first mistake.
“I knew P.E teachers were fit, but damn.” Yamada was immediately by his side, talking nonchalantly enough that no one paid attention as the students kept playing.
“What are you even talking about?” Shouta answered tiredly, already hoping to hide himself inside the loose, comfortable hoodie again.
“I’ve never seen you not wearing a jacket. I’m only impressed that you are taking your job seriously and keeping in shape.” Yamada grinned at him innocently.
“It’s not a job requirement for P.E teachers. Just like you don’t have to use English outside of the classroom any chance you get.”
“Yo, that’s hurtful, ‘Zawa. How otherwise could I confuse you as much as I wanted?”
Shouta stared at him, unamused. “I didn’t understand a word you were saying.”
“I bet I am better at English than you are at sports.”
“Again, I don’t actually need to be good at sports to do this job. But I could definitely beat you.” Shouta couldn’t contain the competitive smirk that rose on his face.
“Yeah, wanna bet on it?” Yamada turned to him, using the few extra centimeters he had on Shouta to hover over him.
Shouta had always been athletic; he’d done judo for most of his life, some other martial arts as well, he jogged, went to the gym and did cross country running every week. Safe to say, he was confident.
“Sure, I challenge you to a round of basketball. And if I don’t win..” A lot of suggestion crossed his mind, until he settled on one that Yamada would probably be excited about. “.. then I will come and watch your English class.”
Yamada’s grin widened. Now Shouta noticed that all their students had quieted around them and were staring right at them.
“Deal. And what if I lose?” Yamada crossed his arms.
“You can’t use English for the rest of the trip.” Shouta smirked right back.
Yamada gave him a bright laugh and they stood silently for a while, sizing each other up, although Shouta felt like Yamada was only staring at his bare arms.
“Sensei! Can we play too?” A shout suddenly disrupted their staring match.
Shouta looked at the excited students on the court, Kirishima and Kaminari already grinning and stretching to play along their teachers.
Shouta looked at Yamada and gave a little shrug. “Sure, let’s do 1A versus 1C. Everyone who wants to compete, can. I trust the skills of all my students.”
Yamada turned to his own class and they started forming a team, quietly whispering strategies between them.
Shouta’s team ended up being Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido and Sato. Yamada had of course convinced Shinsou to join the opposing team.
“Kids, this is just a friendly match! Your teacher and I only have some unfinished business to settle.” Yamada announced to the teams and the impressively large audience, both classes cheering for their own teams and teachers.
“Sure, but we’re still gonna kick your asses.” Shouta announced back, smirking as his teammates cheered with him.
“And the loser team has to do the dishes today!” Kaminari suddenly exclaimed and both teams agreed with a shake of hands.
Shouta’s team was strong, he knew it even before starting. Kirishima was basically unstoppable, Kaminari was the one of the quickest on the court, Ashido was fierce ad never gave up the ball and Sato was the most accurate and tallest on the team.
So, he couldn’t for the life of him understand why they were falling behind Yamada's team.
They had been in the lead most of the game, but Yamada’s team had sneakily gathered up their points quicker than Shouta had noticed. And it was basically all thanks to Yamada and Shinsou.
Shinsou was almost as fast as Kaminari but more accurate with his shots.
And Yamada.. he was a lot taller than Shouta had even realized, blocking Shouta easily and always landing his shots to the basket. He and Shinsou could easily get past their defense.
And that’s why at the end, 1A plus Shouta lost, barely.
He saw the other class rejoice, some of the girls even hugging Yamada and patting Shinsou on his back a few times.
Shouta frowned, kind of feeling bad for costing his students a dish washing and frustrated for the chip that was taken from his ego.
“Sorry, kids. Looks like we’re on dish washing duty tonight.” He huffed to his team.
“But that was awesome, sensei!” Ashido squealed.
“Yeah, it's only Denki’s fault we have to wash the dishes-“ “Hey!” ”-but it was really cool to play with you! You’re so manly!” Kirishima bumped his fists together, and Shouta felt a bit better too. They had worked as a class, and this time, were dealing with the loss together too.
“Aw, don’t feel bad, ‘Zawa.” Yamada came to lean his arm on Shouta’s shoulder. “You don’t actually have to come to my class, we can forget about it.” Yamada smiled at him apologetically. Shouta was competitive but he wasn’t a sore loser.
“Deal’s a deal, Yamada. Maybe you can heal my trauma of English classes.” He couldn’t help the small blush that crept onto his face as Yamada giggled. “I totally underestimated you, though. I guess I was just focusing too much on myself to notice.” Shouta pouted from the embarrassment but to his surprise and relief, Yamada didn’t point it out.
“C’mon, it wasn’t anything serious. I’m pretty sure you could beat me on a one-on-one match. What’s a little rivalry between friends?”
Shouta reacted more to the use of ‘friends’ than he had to their loss, to the way it made his ears warm and his chest feel tight. He wasn’t completely there yet but Yamada had been adamantly turning Shouta’s impression about his colleague around.
Maybe because Shouta actually appreciated the help and support Yamada was giving him on this shared task, or because Yamada was actually not so put off by Shouta’s solitary personality as he had thought, or just because Shouta had never counted on gaining any more friends from his colleagues, but he didn’t hate the idea of being friends with Yamada.
He’d actually also prefer if the weird cat-and-mouse game between them would be over after this. It was taking a lot of energy out of him, and he’d much rather change it into something more meaningful.
He’d give Yamada a chance.
---
Even if the morning and day had been full of activities already, the classes had one more event for their trip: they were hiking up Mt. Gunga.
Yamada and a few of his students had made them all packed lunches that they’d be enjoying at the top.
Once they’d get there, that is.
It was an activity designed to tire out the students for the rest of the evening, and the effect could be seen by the pace they were ascending up the mountain on the marked path.
“C’mon, listeners! Is everyone still with us?” Yamada shouted from somewhere ahead of the big group. “Or should we get everyone a pair that they need to hold hands with?” Yamada cooed.
The teens grunted as Yamada slowed his pace to Shouta’s side.
“Stop it, sensei. You’re trying too hard to be cool again.” Kaminari whined ahead of them.
His and Yamada’s most important job was to make sure that everyone stayed in one group, no one got too far ahead or lagged too far behind.
Bakugou’s screams could be heard from somewhere past the next turn where he and Midoriya had decided to race each other to the top, Iida had taken his job as the class president quite seriously and was hurrying other students up with robotic hand movements and Koda and Tokoyami were doing some birdwatching on their way.
Most of the students had stayed together in the big group, chattering and joking, even Shinsou seemed to enjoy the fresh air when Shouta glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
“Do you need me to hold your hand to make sure you won’t get lost?” Yamada grinned at him when Shouta hadn’t spoken for a while.
They were almost halfway now, the forest was first getting a lot thicker and the air thinner, but soon they’d be able to see the top of the mountain already and the afternoon sun shining on them.
“I wouldn’t actually mind getting lost, if it meant a moment of peace and quiet.” Shouta smirked, ignoring the strange offer, and focusing instead on the laugh Yamada gave him. “I think a few people are growing slower. You wanna check the end tail or should I?”
“On it!” Yamada exclaimed and started slowing his pace, waiting for more people to pass him.
The next time Shouta even saw Yamada was when they had reached the top already.
Most kids were sitting on the ground and watching the sunset, eating their lunches and drinking water after the exercise, but one of his students was missing.
Shouta was on the verge of panicking and turning back after a while, until he saw Yamada and Jirou climb up the last hill to the rest of the group.
“Hey, is everything alright?” Shouta walked up to them, looking at Yamada’s apologetic smile and Jirou’s pale face.
“Yeah, I think Jirou hadn’t eaten that well and was feeling a bit sick on the way. We had to stop and I gave her something to eat so we made it.” Yamada explained as Jirou only looked at the ground embarrassed.
“You could’ve just turned around. It’s really not obligatory to participate if you’re not feeling well.” Shouta’s brows furrowed.
“Well..”
“I wanted to continue, even if Yamada-sensei suggested the same. I didn’t want to miss out on the experience with everyone!” Jirou’s eyes were determined as she apologized once more and started walking to her friends. “Oh, thanks, Yamada-sensei.. for everything.” Jirou smiled in the end.
Shouta crossed his arms and gave a narrowed look at Yamada. “What was that about?”
“Well, I guess she also had some other heartaches that were bothering her. I just offered a listening ear and gave some advice.” Yamada grinned, a hint of blush on his cheeks, or maybe just the sunlight playing tricks. “She’s an incredible kid, so kind and thoughtful, and she said she’s learned English from music like I did. I hope I was able to help her.”
Shouta listened to Yamada’s words, in a bit of an awe. Jirou was technically Shouta’s responsibility but Yamada had stepped in at a time when he hadn’t even noticed anything wrong.
It was.. an elevating realization that he wasn’t doing this all alone anymore.
“Thank you, Yamada.” He tried to say as sincerely as possible, dismissing the embarrassment he felt for saying it.
Yamada just smiled back, like he often did, not asking anything in return for his kindness as they sat down to eat their own lunches on a fallen tree trunk.
Shouta looked at all the kids in front of them, students still figuratively looking for their own paths in life, and it was Shouta's job to help them find it.
Sometimes Shouta wondered if he was enough, as their teacher.
“We make a really good pair, ‘Zawa. I know this isn’t the usual job we do, but anything can be made into an educational experience, and I think we’re doing pretty good!” Yamada smiled, mouth full of onigiri.
“I’m not used to it.” Shouta answered. “I always work alone.”
He could tell that Yamada was looking at him. “Well, you are a great teacher and educator. You survive alone, but there’s nothing bad in trusting others.” Shouta felt like he was being lectured and rolled his eyes playfully.
“Yeah, I have never just needed to do that before.”
“And now you do?” Maybe Shouta was delirious, because he could swear that Yamada had gotten closer to him.
He looked at the kids laughing and joking with each other. He sometimes forgot how intelligent and unique, but also vulnerable and fragile 15-year-olds could be. “I don’t know. I’ve never had such a class before. I want to give them everything I got as a teacher, to support their education and future the best way I can.” He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. “I just don’t feel like I’m good enough to achieve that.”
“Oh man, Aizawa, your class already adores you!” Yamada placed a gentle hand onto his shoulder keeping it there for just a few seconds. “Don’t shoulder all that responsibility all on your own, yo. There’s like—20 something other teachers in the same building, with the same goal as yours. I know you’re their homeroom teacher, but they also have each other and their families and other adults in their lives. I know you worry but everyone in the staff of U.A will make sure that your work won’t go to waste. Trust us.”
“I don’t worry.” Shouta countered but couldn’t stop the smile on his face, a tiny bit of weight falling off his shoulders. He hid the smile behind his hair, clearly in vain.
“So food and your students make you smile. Good to know!”
Shouta rolled his eyes again.
---
When they returned to the inn, the students quickly began preparing for the bath and the dinner group started making ramen with Shouta’s instructions.
He soon realized that he didn’t need to meddle at all as Shinsou had clearly taken initiative to be the main chef. And he wouldn’t want to interrupt the conversation Shinsou was having either.
“Have you played basketball a lot? I mean, that was a pretty sick game in the morning!” Kaminari praised beside Shinsou as the purple-haired boy was cooking the meat and Kaminari cutting some vegetables.
“I haven’t played that much, just at school.”
“You should definitely come and play with us sometime! We have a small group of our classmates that gather to play some street basketball every week. I want a rematch!” Kaminari whined, knowing that the dish washing duty was waiting for him that evening.
“That’s cool. I won’t go easy, though.” Kaminari laughed at the other and patted Shinsou on his back.
Shouta didn’t mention anything to Yamada when he later saw Shinsou sitting at the table with Kaminari, Kirishima, Bakugou, Sero and Ashido. He just hoped their work was done now.
The students continued taking their turns at the bath, the last evening of the field trip free of activities. Most lingered in the dining area and lounge, Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki having a chess match, Koda, Asui and Uraraka reading books while Shinsou had gone to the game room with Kaminari and his friends where Bakugou’s shouts were already to be heard. 1C was also making some snacks for the evening and playing board games on the tables of the dining room.
Shouta had wanted to use his time wisely and had already lowered a stack of exams on a dining table in the corner (his tests on the cognitive aspects of sports for 3A and 3B), but when Yamada suddenly appeared in the lounge area in his casual clothes, his glasses on his nose again and a guitar case in his hands, Shouta couldn’t concentrate on anything else.
“Are we having a concert?” Shouta joked when he sat at the vacant loveseat next to Yamada. The students around them looked at them and smiled, some grinning at Shouta’s joke.
“Aizawa, hey! I told you that I wanted a bonfire and camp songs but all I got is this fireplace and my guitar.” Yamada motioned at the fire that Tokoyami had been maintaining. The English teacher continued tuning his guitar.
When he finished, he dragged the pick through all the strings, making a cold shiver run down Shouta’s spine as they played.
He never really cared for music, had only went to one or two concerts in his life, but something about Yamada picking at the strings and creating a melody out of them, in the warm lounge that was lighted only by the soft glow of the fireplace, made something in Shouta’s heart ache, a longing he couldn’t place.
But when Yamada began to sing, Shouta longed for only one thing: the voice to never stop.
It was so relaxing and soft as Yamada plucked on the strings to the peaceful ballads he was singing. Shouta could have fallen asleep right there but his whole body was so focused on Yamada that he wondered if he’d even be able to sleep at night after this.
There was something magical but comforting about Yamada and his guitar.
When the man finished his third song, Shouta noticed that they had gathered a small audience, even Jirou and Yaoyorozu sat on the sofa hand in hand, just listening to Yamada.
“Aizawa-sensei” Someone suddenly interrupted Shouta’s.. daydreaming? “I didn’t know you liked music that much. You look like you’re enjoying yourself.” Uraraka smiled, and she and Asui giggled slightly when Shouta’s face grew hotter.
“I’m tired. Yamada’s voice is quite soothing is all.”
“Really?” Yamada beamed until he started another song, this one a bit faster. He probably played a full concert, as Shouta had insinuated, and the fireplace had reduced to embers when he finally started putting the instrument away.
The only ones left in the lounge room now were Midoriya and Todoroki, still playing their last game of chess.
“You could’ve clearly become a music teacher.”
Yamada was almost startled by Shouta’s voice, breaking him from the trance of music and bringing him back to present.
“Yeah, I could’ve. But I didn’t.” Yamada grinned. “Music is mostly just my dear hobby. I actually used to work on the radio before I got a job at teaching.”
“Those are two very different jobs.” Shouta smiled, his mood softened by the night.
“I guess I’m multitalented then.”
Shouta went to the bath soon after, letting Yamada’s voice fill his mind even at the silent moments as he sat in the warm water. It was Yamada’s turn to check on the kids tonight and when Shouta arrived in their room, Yamada seemed to already be asleep on his futon.
Shouta realized that it wasn’t just Yamada’s voice that calmed him but his presence, even asleep, made Shouta feel less alone.
---
The next morning, their last, followed the familiar routine of the weekend. The tired students ate breakfast, they had some last group games at the yard before everyone was ordered to their rooms to pack and clean.
Both classes helped clean the kitchen and common rooms, until the time to leave became and the same 40 students and two teachers were crammed into a bus again.
The ride back to their school was silent, save for the rumbling of the motor. The students were mostly sleeping in the bus, some quietly reading or scrolling their phones.
Shouta had actually expected Yamada to be talking his ears off the whole ride, like the previous time they had sat in the same bus, but the blond seemed just as tired as all their students, his eyes drooping for several minutes until they didn’t open again.
But the silence between them was just as satisfied and comfortable, like both of them were happy of how the weekend had gone but also waiting to get back to their own homes.
Shouta knew that Yamada’s cat would be waiting for him there, and he suddenly caught himself wondering if someone else was too. There was no ring on Yamada’s finger, nor had he ever mentioned a spouse or kids, which would have been very understandable to have at their age.
And suddenly the idea of going home to his little apartment where no one was waiting for Shouta felt a bit suffocating.
Just two days ago, Shouta had been grinding his teeth and cursing the man to get as far away from Shouta as possible, but now it was only familiar that the other sat next to him, accepting that they were in this together as colleagues and work partners, and that’s why there was nothing weird about it. His silent house felt like it was lacking something without the blond’s voice, constantly by his side.
In another 30 minutes, Yamada would get up from that seat and Shouta would be alone again.
It was an irrational thought, they were colleagues and more than likely to see each other every single day at work. But they wouldn’t be working together again, they had their own schedules, own homerooms and exams, and Shouta wondered why it felt so unsatisfying at this moment.
He loved his job, he’d get back to the routine in a heartbeat, but he had enjoyed the weekend too, working beside someone else. And not just someone else, but beside Yamada.
The bus pulled itself into the familiar parking lot and the kids started exiting the vehicle before Shouta even realized the bus had stopped.
Yamada stretched and rubbed his eyes next to him, giving him a sleepy smile that made Shouta’s heart skip a beat. Weird.
They made sure each student had been picked up by their parents or had safely gotten into a local bus until Yamada and him started lifting their own bags out of the bus. Shouta didn’t know how he had missed the guitar bag that Yamada now swung onto his back.
The bus took off in the end, and the empty parking lot of their school on a Sunday afternoon made Shouta feel even more melancholic. Like something had come to an end.
“You didn’t come here with a car?” Yamada suddenly asked, and the voice immediately pulled Shouta out of his thoughts, like he was tuned to it.
The parking lot only held one car, a bright red Mini, which obviously belonged to Yamada.
“No, I don’t own one. I live pretty close to school, so I usually walk or take the bus. I rarely go far from my neighborhood anyway.” He had followed Yamada to the car automatically, as the other teacher opened the trunk and placed his bags and guitar there.
“Do you want a ride home? I don’t know if it’s in the same direction but I don’t mind a detour.” Yamada opened the door to the driver’s seat, still standing and waiting for Shouta to decide.
Shouta felt a strange feeling that could only be described as pulling off the band aid quickly.
“No, it’s fine. The walk is only 10 minutes or so.” He gave him a tight-lipped smile as assurance.
“Yeah, okay.” Yamada looked slightly restless as he leaned onto the car’s open door. “It was a really fun weekend. I mean, the kids are adorable, but I really had fun with you too. I’m glad we got to do this.”
Shouta blushed since the little speech sounded too much like something you’d hear after a date, minus the kids. “It went better than I assumed,” was what Shouta managed to answer.
Yamada laughed again, the empty parking lot feeling a bit livelier with him in it. “Don’t be a stranger, yeah, ‘Zawa?” Yamada’s smile afterwards was warm but reserved. “See you tomorrow.”
Shouta truly hoped they would, and he wouldn’t be avoiding the blond colleague either.