Chapter Text
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
Izuku didn’t even look away from the window.
“I don’t want to hear that from you, Aizawa.”
The older man shrugged as he made his way in. It was the closest thing to an invitation he’ll get from Izuku. He peered outside, curious on what held Izuku's attention at three in the morning. The two were silent, as Aizawa's eyes drifted from twinkling stars and the night patrol group making their way through.
His eyes fell to Izuku, sitting at a desk like a student would, and felt awfully nostalgic for a moment. The moonlight that hit him could have been replaced by fluorescent lights, and even though Izuku was wrapped in bandages, Aizawa thought that the UA uniform would have suited him well. The thought blurred together better than he would like and he pulled his gaze back outside.
“...You were a teacher, right? Before all this?”
Aizawa arched an eyebrow. It was strange to think that Izuku was making smalltalk, but he wasn’t going to discourage it.
“Yeah, at UA. I’m the homeroom teacher for first-years.”
“And you were a hero at the same time?”
“...Yeah,” Aizawa nodded, feeling a little strange at the bright-eyed look Izuku gave him.
“It must have been tough, balancing all that out.”
The older man shrugged back, “It pays off.”
There was a long beat of silence, as a cloud passed by the moon. When the light reached the field again, Izuku spoke up.
“And now?”
As though the air in his lungs had turned to ice, Aizawa froze. He snapped to Izuku, eyes wide, and the young man leaned back, just as surprised.
“...Was that rude to ask?” he asked, and in a rare show of actual shame, he backtracked, “Sorry, I didn’t know if you were an insomniac, or if this was something you were used to.”
Without meaning to, Aizawa's gaze dropped to the scar on Izuku's chest, right where his kidney should be, as thick as his fist, and looked away.
“What were you going to do with that answer?” he asked.
Izuku didn't act like it, but Aizawa had his fair share of close calls. The effects linger even after the wound closed.
Green eyes looked back outside the window.
“I wanted to know if this was something I could get used to.”
"Then, I suppose we could let each other know when we find out."
The two exchanged a wry grin before looking out the window again. The night was long, but these days, it wasn't unbearable.