Simple Misunderstanding

3 | Father Figure

Izuku sat on his bed, unable to sleep. His classmates' behaviour was taking a toll on him, and not for good reason. He thought about how they had ignored him as if he were invisible. It had reminded him of how he was treated back in middle school. When he was still quirkless, plagued with an uncurable disease.

He still questioned if they had found out he used to be quirkless. He thought of it as their only reason to ignore him. To treat him as if he were invisible.

His chest began to tighten as memories of middle school filled his head. He held his head as his breathing quickened.

"Please.. stop.. please..!" He pleaded, as he placed his hands over his ears, gripping his hair tightly in the process.

If you want to be a hero that badly, there might actually be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof of the building!

His cries became louder as his breathing became more ragged and irregular. He started to hyperventilate as his desperate tries to silence the voices were not working at all. He closed his eyes, his room suddenly too bright to look at despite all the lights being off.

"Please.. just stop.." He pleaded, as he grabbed his chest, suddenly self-aware of how tight it had become.

Please shut up..

Aizawa raced down the hallway as he tried to trace the location the strangled cries had come from. He had heard the noises as he was finishing up with grading papers. He was going to ignore them, assuming it was just Kaminari running away from Bakugou, but they had grown louder and sounded much more painful.

He had finally reached the location he had heard the cries come from. His eyes widened as he recognised whom the room belonged to.

Midoriya's dorm room? Is he in trouble?

He opened the door, not expecting the sight laid out in front of him.

Izuku was awake with his knees to his chest. Tears rolled down his cheeks as Aizawa spotted the hands that were covering the greenette's ears. He heard the ragged breathing, the hyperventilation.

He rushed over, bending down to Izuku's eye level. He placed his hands over the greenette's. "Midoriya, can you hear me?"

Midoriya's eyes shot open, filled with pain and panic. "M-Mr A-Aizawa?.." he stuttered.

Aizawa smiled, a smile that was reassuring and understanding. "Are you alright?"

"N-n-no! The v-voices won't g-go away!" He yelled, his breathing becoming irregular again as tears streamed down his face.

Shota held his hands again. "Alright. Well, can you name me five things you can see?"

Midoriya looked around. "Yo-you, All M-Might posters, A-All Might figurines, m-my knees, your sc-scarf.." He replied, shakily, eyes darting all over the room as he tried his hardest to focus on Aizawa only.

"Alright, now name me four things you can hear."

"U-um.. your v-voice, my v-voice, Kacchan's yelling a-and music fr-from Aoyama's dorm.." He said, chuckling slightly at the last words.

"Okay, now three things you can feel." Aizawa continued.

"Y-your hands, my ears and my h-hair."

Shota smiled at him. "Now, two things you can smell."

"Coffee and sm-smoke." Midoriya said. "I think K-Kacchan's blown something u-up again.." he giggled.

"One thing you can taste."

Izuku smiled at him. "Katsudon!"

Aizawa gently pulled the greenette's hands away from his ears. He wiped the tears as he squeezed Izuku's hands gently, hopefully making him feel a bit better.

"Th-thank you!" He said as he hugged Shota abruptly. He felt his shoulder getting damp again. "I-I've never had someone do t-this for me!"

The ravenette paused, taking in the words as he hugged the greenette back. "Wait, what do you mean you've never had someone do this for you?"

Izuku separated from him, avoiding eye contact. He didn't know whether to trust his teacher but since he had just helped him, he guessed he could trust him enough.

"W-Well, my mother would a-always be working since it's j-just us. A-And, I didn't have a-any friends in middle s-school, so.. " he trailed off.

Aizawa understood. "So, you dealt with your panic attacks alone?"

Izuku nodded. The ravenette stood up, sitting next to the boy on the bed. Then, all of a sudden, he pulled the greenette into a hug, rubbing circles on his back. It felt nice. It felt safe.

He felt loved.

So, Izuku cried onto his shoulder. His broken sobs filled the air, Shota's heart aching at the sounds.

Though, Izuku smiled sadly. The man in front of him was like a father figure to him. He was giving the greenette the fatherly love he had never received, having grown up without a father at all.

He leaned into the ravenette's touch, resting o his shoulder as his eyes began to get heavy. "Thank you.. dad.. " Izuku responded, before falling asleep in the ravenette's arms.

D-Dad?

Aizawa blushed, the heat rushing to his cheeks. Never in any of his years of teaching did he think a student would call him 'Dad'. He smiled softly, repositioning Midoriya in the bed. He pulled the covers over his shoulders, making sure he was warm enough before standing up and walking towards the door.

"Goodnight, son." Aizawa replied as he closed the dorm room door.