Chapter 1

It's in the dead of winter that it happens.

From where he's working inside the dorms, Aizawa can see out the window, and has been watching the snowstorm building for the last few hours. Visibility is low and snow blows across the campus, making Aizawa duck into his wool scarf, content that he gets to stay inside for a while longer. After all, the dorms are warm and right now, empty, and he doesn't have to be anywhere for the next few hours. He would be perfectly happy staying inside, looking over his lesson plans and Toshinori's, sitting in the common room with his laptop on the table, a blanket pulled over his shoulders—if he hadn't caught sight of the thing that's been distracting him for the last hour or so.

The kids are all set to go home for the holidays. Aizawa had made sure they'd all be fine, had set them all up with the proper amount of security and surveillance, had worked into the nights to make sure everyone was set up with proper communication and he could reach the parents at any time, all so the kids could have a few days to spend with their families. Everyone had been appreciative and happy, most opting to leave as soon as possible, except one kid.

Aizawa looks up from his work again, for what feels like the thousandth time, and sees Todoroki Shouto still standing near the entrance to the dorms.

He knows Todoroki was supposed to be picked up hours ago. It had been part of the plan that Aizawa had meticulously set up so that he knows where all the kids are at any given point. His father—a man Aizawa has never been particularly fond of—had been the one signed up to pick him up, and yet, the tall, fiery man is nowhere to be seen.

About an hour ago, Todoroki had told him that he was going to wait outside for his father. Aizawa can still see him out there, a bag slung over his body, standing with his back to the window Aizawa looks out of, dressed in a heavy coat and a hat.

Sighing, Aizawa gives up on working for now, shrugs off the warm blanket around his shoulders, and gets up from the floor, leaving the comfort of the table with the heater under it. He paces the floor, crossing his arms as he leans on the picture windows near the door.

He frowns, closing his dry eyes for a moment, before digging his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants.

Hizashi is the first number on his speed-dial.

"Shouta!" Contrary to the slow warmth of the dorm and the quiet that Aizawa's been able to enjoy for the last few hours, the voice hero's tone is loud as he all but yells Aizawa's name in excitement. There's hardly a pause before Hizashi starts talking more, and Aizawa's more than used to it by now. "Babe, you want me to come get you? I know it's early, but the kids are all gone, right?"

"Actually," Aizawa cuts in, looking out the window at the child left behind. His voice is quiet, softer, deeper than Hizashi's, and he considers his words before going on. "There's a bit of a problem."

"Oh? What is it?" Hizashi calms down a little, concern seeping into his voice.

Aizawa watches Todoroki for a long moment, letting a beat of silence fall between him and the man on the other end of the phone.

Finally, he breathes out, and answers Hizashi.

"Todoroki's father seems to have forgotten about him."

He can hear the excitement fall completely from Hizashi, even when he doesn't immediately speak. When he does, his voice is far quieter and more serious, "Endeavor ? Did you try calling him?"

Aizawa makes a hum of agreement, watching as the kid outside checks his phone, his shoulders falling a little as he does, "I've texted, called, emailed. There's no answer."

Hizashi doesn't say anything.

Aizawa's voice takes on a tone of annoyance. With Hizashi, he doesn't try to hide it, "I had a feeling something like this would happen. Endeavor never seems to take his son's safety seriously. Todoroki's been waiting for him outside in this weather for an hour."

"You feel bad for him," Hizashi says softly.

Aizawa hums, but doesn't deny it.

"Shouta, I can duck out of here now. Let me try to get to his father. It's fine if the kid comes with us to dinner or has to stay the night with us. I'll be around to pick you up around six."

Aizawa sighs, and it's a content breath. It's a plan he can agree to.

"Let me know if you get ahold of him," He tells Hizashi before hanging up. He takes a moment, sending Hizashi Endeavor's contact details, and moves to his own temporary room in the dorms, quickly finding the black jacket he'd been wearing before and shrugging it on over his sweater. He doesn't bother with gloves or anything, already wearing a scarf, and shoves his hands in his pockets as he opens the doors of the dorm and the cold blasts at him.

Visibility is low and the cold is horrible and Aizawa hates being uncomfortable more than anything, but he lets the wind and the snow blow at him, locking up the dorm with his keys before fighting his way through the harshly blowing wind towards the gate. It's harder than he'd thought it'd be and the weather is worse than he'd expected, but he makes his way to the gate after a few long minutes of trudging through the cold, wet snow.

Todoroki doesn't seem to notice him at first, and Aizawa doesn't announce himself, instead standing at the opposite end of the gate, leaning forward to look into the distance, at the road that runs through the campus. It's as empty as it's been for the past hour, the same as Aizawa had seen it through the live footage he'd pulled up on his laptop. There's no sign of the older Todoroki, the man that's left a bad taste in Aizawa's mouth for years, and Aizawa waits, glancing at his student as Shouto looks at his phone again.

Understandably, the kid jumps when he goes to look at the road and catches sight of Aizawa a few feet away from him, unruly black hair blowing with the blasting wind and trying to blink the snow out of his eyes.

In fact, Shouto nearly jumps out of his skin and in any other situation, it might be amusing, but it's not, as Aizawa stands out here in the cold with him, the scar below his eye starting to burn in the frigid cold.

"—Sensei!"

Shouto's voice is higher pitched than Aizawa has ever heard it, and the kid leaps back, nearly crashing into the open gate behind him. Aizawa narrows his eyes at him, looking him over, noticing that the kid does look a little underdressed. His coat is unbuttoned and open and he really should be wearing gloves or a scarf or something and if it weren't for his quirk, Aizawa would have him sent to the infirmary to get him checked for frost-bite.

"You should come back inside," He tells Todoroki, frowning at him, anxious to get back inside himself. There's a reason he stays inside most of his life unless it's for his jobs, and it's because Aizawa's developed a dislike for weather and its extremeness.

"My father is coming," Todoroki tells him, his voice falling back to its usual quiet, serious affect. Denial. Aizawa knows it too well.

"I've been contacting him for over an hour," He sighs, deciding that telling Shouto the truth is probably best. He can be brutally honest, but hurting the kid emotionally isn't something that Aizawa wants to do, especially when he suspects Todoroki already knows what's going on. "Come inside. You can sit with me while I work."

Todoroki hesitates, not saying anything, and Aizawa suppresses a shiver at the cold air. Somehow, it makes sense that there would be a horrible snowstorm today of all days.

"…You're a teacher," Shouto says, looking away from him, staring down at his phone again. Despite his quirk, Aizawa can see the redness in his bare fingertips. He barely catches Todoroki's next words, but he does, and they just make Aizawa stare harder at him, "You shouldn't have to be responsible for me. I'll just get in your way."

"You're fine," Aizawa pushes his face further into his scarf, trying to seek out any warmth, missing the heated table he'd been working at. "You know better than that. My responsibility for you doesn't end at the classroom. You may be able to heat your body better than other people, but I'm not going to let you stand out here in the cold alone."

Another pause. It feels like he's colder than he's ever been in his life and Aizawa hates every second of standing out here in the middle of a snowstorm, but the thought of leaving Todoroki alone here doesn't cross his mind. It's irrational to do that. He'll stand out here as long as it takes to convince the kid to come inside, even if he gives himself frostbite from it.

But, Todoroki concedes. He doesn't look at Aizawa, but he hears the boy's mumbled response, "Alright. I'll come inside."

Shouto follows him back to the dorms. Aizawa is ecstatic to get back to the warmth of his workstation as he unlocks the front door to the dorm with numb hands, opening the door and letting Todoroki in before following the kid. Aizawa throws his jacket on a chair in the common room, sitting himself on a cushion on the floor in the same place he was before, not taking the warmth that the heater under the table provides for granted.

Todoroki watches him as Aizawa yawns and opens his laptop again. It takes him a moment to realize that Shouto is waiting for instruction.

"You can sit down," He tells the boy, raising an eyebrow at him. He doesn't offer further instruction, watching his student as the kid slowly takes off his coat and stiffly makes his way to the couch just behind Aizawa. He keeps his gaze on Todoroki, noticing how he looks more than a little uncomfortable.

Shouto doesn't speak. Aizawa's irritated, but it's definitely not at him.

He recognizes this, even after all these years, and it cements in place what he's been wondering about since he first got this class. Since he first met this kid.

He knows Todoroki won't answer him if he directly asks about it. It's familiar to Aizawa and it's easier than ever to pick up on his reactions, since it's just the two of them alone in the dorm.

Aizawa drums his fingers on the table, measuring out his words before speaking, "Mic is trying to locate your father now. He'll call if he finds anything out."

Silence. The kid's mismatched eyes wander away from him.

He decides to change the subject, breathing a sigh that he knows will sound annoyed, and he runs a hand through his bushy, unruly hair, "That guy could get anyone to talk, with his voice—he's been itching to get out of his radio station's fundraiser, anyways. He'll be grateful that you gave him an excuse to get out of there."

"Oh," Todoroki says, sounding distant. "I thought Mic-sensei liked doing radio work."

Aizawa crooked a smirk, remembering Hizashi's insistent whining over the last few days, "He's loved it ever since he was a kid, but he finds a way to complain and whine about anything. Don't be fooled."

He watches Todoroki as he glances at Aizawa before quickly looking away.

"Speaking of him," Aizawa glances at the clock on the computer, seeing that he had about two hours until Hizashi would inevitably be here to pick him up. "If no one shows by six, you're coming to dinner with us."

Immediately, Todoroki opens his mouth to protest, but Aizawa's quicker.

"That wasn't a question. You can't sit around waiting for him all day without eating. You'll drive yourself nuts."

Todoroki still doesn't look at him, still staring out the window Aizawa had previously been distracted by, "Yes, sir."

His voice is robotic. Aizawa makes a face, frowning at him.

"Don't call me that outside of class, ugh."

Finally, Todoroki turned to him, "Then what do I—"

"'Aizawa' or just 'Sensei' is fine," Aizawa turns back to his computer, glancing at the window of live security camera footage he has pulled up. The road is as empty and snowy as ever. He pauses before going back to looking over the lesson plans he's in the process of preparing for the next semester, "Do something fun, kid. Play a game or read. I'll keep an eye out for your father."

Todoroki doesn't say anything, but Aizawa's nerves are laid to rest when he hears Shouto going through the bag he'd put down on the couch, and when he hears pages rustling. It's enough to get him back into what he was doing before, looking over documents of lesson plans, making occasional changes here and there, marking them up with notes. Every few minutes, he checks the security camera, and every time, it's the same thing. An empty road with snow dusting blowing across the pavement. Todoroki's quiet, and Aizawa finds it in himself to relax a bit, his eyes drooping with usual tiredness as he starts the everyday fight of keeping awake.

It's thirty minutes before Todoroki Shouto speaks again.

Aizawa's about ready to switch over to looking over the hero work he has lined up. He's been putting it off a bit, not wanting to think about going out on patrols in this weather, and hoping that the storm clears up in the next few days before he wants to patrol. He's been caught up with trying to get the kids out of here for the holidays and there's a few requests piled up, and Aizawa's readying himself to start sorting through them when he hears a shift behind him and then, Todoroki's quiet voice breaks the silence of the common room.

"Aizawa-sensei," He starts, making Aizawa pause where he was typing on his laptop, fingers hovering over the keys. He waits, not looking back at Todoroki, listening to the twinge of uncertainty in his usually stoic voice. "You've worked with my father before, right?"

Now, he does turn to look at the kid. Todoroki appears to have relaxed a little, sitting cross-legged on the couch, a booklet in one hand and a pencil in the other, and Aizawa quickly figures out that the kid has been working on some sort of word puzzle behind him. Shouto leans forward slightly, his mismatched eyes focused on Aizawa, staring at him, the slightest hint of redness blooming across his face, as if he's embarrassed. Kids, he knows, are easy to read. It's part of the reason he works with them.

"Worked with is a strong term," Aizawa doesn't try to hide the displeasure in his voice at all, and he frowns openly at the thought of the man in question. He leans on the table, the warmth from it creeping into him further and shaking the last bit of the cold outside from Aizawa's body. "We've been associates before, sparingly. You're probably aware that I don't really work with anyone, and your father doesn't, either."

It's amusing, almost, as he remembers his few encounters with Endeavor. Aizawa himself likes to work alone, but he's an underground hero whose gimmick relies on stealth. Endeavor, on the other hand, has always refused to work with others out of pure selfishness and pride.

He breathes a small laugh as Todoroki continues to stare at him, "I do actually work with other people. Mic, namely, but your father has always been adamant about working alone. I just prefer to only work with people I know well. There's value in partnership, as you've found out."

Todoroki nods, and Aizawa knows what's coming next. The kid bites his bottom lip, eyes flickering away from his, and Aizawa waits, not pushing him.

It comes, and Aizawa expects it.

"What do you think about him?"

Even though he'd expected it, Aizawa takes a moment to think. He's not a fast talker. He likes having time to prepare his responses. He knows words and meanings are important, and he wants to say the right thing, the logical thing. Right now, it's a fight between telling the brutal truth and bad-mouthing the elder Todoroki in front of his son or watering it down and keeping his manners in check.

Aizawa leans his cheek on his hand, deciding to go with the latter, "I've never liked Endeavor much. In the times I've met him, I've always had to help keep him in check. He's irrational, impulsive, and unnecessarily violent and I don't like any of those qualities. There's lots of reasons to become a hero or stay one and I don't have a problem with most of them, but his goal has always primarily been to take down another hero, and that's not something I have any respect for."

He notices the way Todoroki's eyes widen at him and the way he doesn't say anything, his mouth slightly open. Aizawa gives him a moment, but keeps talking,

"He acts immaturely in every situation I've met him in, and he always treats people terribly. I may not be the most friendly or courteous person, but I have respect for people working with me," Aizawa looks back at his computer, looking at the security footage. The road is empty. "To me, your father is no better than a child who thinks he's special."

Todoroki is dead silent behind him. Even his breathing is shallow. Aizawa keeps his focus on the screen in front of him, but he can't bring himself to resume working.

He'd watered it down as much as he could, deciding not to go into specific instances or anything outside of professionalism, but he knows it was still harsh. And he'd meant it to be. He can't have any respect for someone who forgets about his child for hours. Aizawa looks after twenty children every day, and he knows their whereabouts every second, even now when the kids are off with their families. He doesn't understand how Endeavor forgets about Shouto when Aizawa has been drilling it into every parents' head for weeks how important obeying by his set pickup and dropoff schedule is.

He knows it's probably intentional in some way or another, and that just solidifies the worry Aizawa's had since the beginning of the schoolyear.

"Aizawa-sensei…"

Todoroki doesn't say anything more and when Aizawa looks back at him, he sees the flicker of emotions playing on the kid's usually expressionless, serious face. It's in his mismatched eyes and the slight quiver of his lips, and Todoroki looks undeniably upset.

Now, he figures, is as good of a time as any.

Aizawa leans back against the couch, keeping his dark gaze on Todoroki's upset face, and speaks slowly to him, in a soft voice he rarely uses with students, "Kid, I know I might not seem like the friendliest person around, but you should know that I do care about you. There's no logical reason for you to live in a place where you're not safe."

Todoroki holds his gaze for a long moment, before looking away, pointedly, at the window, murmuring similar words to what he'd said outside, "You shouldn't have to be responsible for me."

Aizawa sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. He knows the feeling. It's almost tangible to him, even after years and years after getting out of a similar, yet different, situation. It's a little disconcerting how much of his younger self he sees in Todoroki.

"I told you outside," Aizawa chooses his words carefully, reiterating the same point he's made before. "My responsibility for you doesn't end at the classroom. Every part of your life is partially my responsibility. Your father doesn't scare or intimidate me. If you need help, I can get it for you, but you and I both know that you need to ask for it first."

With that, Aizawa's phone rings, buzzing in the place where he'd set it down, drawing both his attention and Todoroki's. Hizashi's name comes up, as well as his contact photo of him cuddling with one of their cats, and Aizawa sees the confusion in Shouto's face.

He answers the call and leaves the phone on the table, hitting a button to turn on the speakerphone function. Todoroki is old enough to hear their conversation.

"Shouta!!"

Hizashi draws Aizawa's name out, long and loud and full of the energy that Aizawa has come to expect from Hizashi. He glances at Todoroki and the kid winces with Hizashi's voice. Hizashi has a way of defying the volume that Aizawa has his phone set to, but he's used to it by now.

He decides not to bother with professionalism with Hizashi, given that Hizashi has already pretty much destroyed that by calling Aizawa by his given name only. Besides, it doesn't look like Endeavor has any intention of showing up any time soon, and the kid will surely find out when they go out to dinner, anyways.

"Hizashi. So loud," Aizawa comments, putting on a façade of fake-annoyance in his voice. It drops out of his tone in a second, though, since Aizawa's a fan of getting to the point. "What did you find out?"

"Well I—" There's a pause, and then a hum. "Oh, I'm on speakerphone? You must have the kid there with you. Hi, Todoroki! Anyways, I tracked down Endeavor…"

Quietly, from behind him, Shouto whispers to Aizawa, "…Mic-sensei?"

It's definitely a question. Aizawa can't blame him. Hizashi's real name isn't well known, and the kids all know him only as Mic. It doesn't help that Hizashi's contact photo is of him at home, where Hizashi wears his hair down and looks far more normal. Hizashi does have a very distinct voice, though, and it'd be odd if Shouto hadn't recognized him. Aizawa only nods in response to him.

On the phone, Hizashi continues, clearly not having heard Shouto's whisper, "…So, I know you wanted me to call him or something, but he wasn't answering, like you said! I might've gotten in his face a little, sorry, Shouta. Well, I guess you would've done worse. But, I found some stuff out! Hm, how to say this—?"

There's a hesitation and Aizawa knows Mic is trying to think of how to phrase what's coming next with Todoroki in the room. He doesn't exactly know what happened, but he knows what's coming—the realization that Todoroki hasn't been left here by accident.

Hizashi clicks his tongue on the other end of the phone and hums again and then speaks up in his usual fast speech, "I guess Endeavor wanted Todoroki to come to him? He said something about it being good training. I don't know—Shouta, I don't like the guy at all. I tried being polite—I really did—but no matter what I said, he's not budging. He doesn't understand at all! I don't know how he can jeopardize Todoroki like that…"

Aizawa half tunes Hizashi out as he looks over Todoroki. The kid is staring at the phone, his body stiff and rigid, his face stoic.

"I didn't know…" Todoroki murmurs, and Aizawa knows that Shouto isn't talking to him or Hizashi. His face softens as he looks at the kid, and he cuts Hizashi off as the other man launches into another bout of thinking out loud.

"Even if you'd known, I wouldn't have let you go," He says, and Hizashi falls silent on the phone. He runs a hand through his unruly hair, pushing it out of his face so he can watch Todoroki better. He has his mismatched eyes fixed on Aizawa now, and he can see the kid struggling to keep up the emotionless façade. "Your father apparently has no understanding of the situation at hand, even though I've spent the last few weeks telling every parent how important my schedule is. He's the idiot here; not you."

Hizashi speaks up now, and his voice is serious and lower than before, and Todoroki seems almost surprised to hear it as he looks back at the phone on the table, "Todoroki, Shouta has this set up so that he knows where every kid is all the time. He's really thorough about this kinda stuff. Besides, this was supposed to be a vacation for the kids, wasn't it? Eh, I can't forgive Endeavor for trying to put more stress on Todoroki when he's been through so much this year. Shouta, that guy's a real piece of work. Babe, I dunno if—"

"Hizashi," Aizawa hisses at the nickname before Hizashi can get another word in edgewise. He looks away from Todoroki, and the room goes silent.

And then, quietly, "Oops."

Aizawa runs a hand through his hair again, but his fingers knot in it this time, and he groans at Hizashi's habit of running his mouth.

"Well, I mean," He can hear Hizashi getting excited again as he tries to explain his mistake. "The kids usually find out eventually, don't they? Hey, Todoroki, you gotta keep it a secret, but your favorite teacher and your homeroom teacher are married!"

He's never needed convincing that Hizashi is a total idiot who's actually too smart for his own good, but it's never been as obvious as it is now.

The good thing is that, as Aizawa glances back at Todoroki and sees that there's an almost-smile on his face, it's distracted the kid from the fact that his father had been more willing to let him trek through a snowstorm in the name of training than come get him himself. It's something, at the very least, and Aizawa doesn't reprimand Hizashi for that exact reason. He gives another fake-annoyed groan, and listens as Hizashi's excited voice picks up again.

"Now that that cat is out of the bag, it doesn't seem like Endeavor is willing to budge. Ugh, I tried to convince him, Shouta, but the guy is more stubborn than you are! Except, not the cute kind. I'll keep trying, but I'll be there at six to pick you and Todoroki up for dinner."

Aizawa taps his fingers on the table in thought, easing the words out, half-knowing what kind of reaction they'll have, "Why don't you let me talk to him? I'm sure I could convince him—"

There's no hesitation and Hizashi's voice drops to a serious tone, "Babe, we both know that is not a good idea. You don't react well when parents are… like this."

Quietly, Todoroki whispers to him, "What does he mean?"

Aizawa just shakes his head in response. Unfortunately, Hizashi's right. Aizawa's never liked Endeavor, and when parents act like this, it's hard for him to think rationally, admittedly.

"…Makes sense," Aizawa mumbles just loud enough for Hizashi to hear him.

"I'll try to wear him down," Hizashi reassures him. "I'll let you know if anything happens. See you in a few hours, babe!"

The call is over, then, and Aizawa gives Hizashi one last irritated sigh before hanging up.

The common room is silent for a moment. It's warm in here, almost homely, and there's the soft yellow light from the lights above blanketing the room. He can hear Todoroki breathing, can feel the slight tension, as if the kid is trying to look for the right words to say. The snowstorm outside is still going, and again, Aizawa's grateful that he's inside and not out there, remembering the way the cold winter had crept into his skin when he'd been talking to Shouto. Inside, it's warm and quiet, and Aizawa likes that, and he feels almost at home here, even though it's not the house he lives in with Hizashi. He's worked hard to make this place a safe environment, a place the kids can call home without worrying about their safety.

He thinks that maybe that's why Todoroki chose to not go home until the very latest date.

"Does he always talk that much?" Todoroki asks him, leaning forward, his tone flat and only giving off a hint of curiosity.

"Unfortunately," Aizawa answers him, frowning in his usual fake-irritation as he turns back to his work, a screen full of piled up hero work greeting him. The window of security cam footage is still ultimately unchanged and Endeavor is unsurprisingly nowhere to be seen. He prepares himself to go back to work, wondering if Todoroki will leave the conversation or continue it. He doesn't mind either way. "I've been listening to the guy talk for fifteen years. You get used to it eventually."

There's a short pause, and Aizawa can tell that Shouto wants to talk more.

"Sensei, it wouldn't be too much of a trouble for me to go meet him—"

"Maybe not on your end," Aizawa says, reading over the villain cases that he's been given. It's nothing huge, but there's a few cases and he's busy deciding which to do alone and which to take Hizashi along on. He brushes his long hair out of his eyes, resting his cheek on his hand, "You need to understand that it's not you giving me trouble. It's your father. I had a schedule. I need to know where every one of you kids are at every second. Every other parent understands that."

Aizawa opens a window to respond to one particular case, but he hesitates, fingers hovering over the keys on his keyboard, his voice softening, "It's cruel, anyways. Your father isn't a teacher. Your training is not his responsibility and I've warned him before to stop these ridiculous training exercises with you. He clearly doesn't know the first thing about it, and it's going to do more harm than good. This was supposed to give you a respite from training. I organized this to give you all a break."

He hadn't really been planning on admitting that he's contacted Endeavor about this before, but he makes the decision, in the moment, to tell Todoroki. He's not completely sure why, but part of him just wants the kid to know that his father isn't the only person Shouto has around.

He just barely catches Todoroki's response, "I understand."

"It's best not to think about it right now," Aizawa tells him, going back to the task at hand. "Let us take care of things. It's not your job to deal with this."

With that, he dives back into his work, writing out responses to cases and reading through the work that's been piling up. It takes a bit, but behind him, he eventually hears the rustling of pages and realizes that Todoroki has gone back to the booklet he'd been working on before.

It's easy to slip back into his work. There's a message here and there from Hizashi, mostly just telling him that nothing much is changing. After about an hour, Aizawa gets up and turns on the radio to Hizashi's station, the common room filling with the noise of the holiday fundraiser that Hizashi had been at before he'd left to deal with Endeavor. Hizashi doesn't return, much to Aizawa's amusement, especially as he listens to his radio coworkers offhandedly complain about his absence.

It's nearing six and Aizawa is getting ready to close up.

He sends off a last response to the agency he uses for hero work, looking over his outlines of what he's going to do when. He closes his laptop, yawning and hanging his head for a moment to rest his eyes from looking at the computer screen. This apparently gets Todoroki's attention, because the boy speaks up.

"I'm coming with you?" He asks, and Aizawa glances back at him, finding that Shouto has made himself more comfortable on the couch. He's all but curled up at one end of it, a little further through the book of word puzzles than Aizawa remembers him being, looking undeniably relaxed and content.

"I'm not going to let you starve, nor am I going to let you stay here alone," Aizawa shrugs off the blanket around his shoulders, tightening the scarf around his neck before getting up from his place on the floor. "It's better to be around other people. Mic isn't that bad of company."

Todoroki stares up at him. Aizawa breathes a sigh.

"Ruminating isn't going to get you anywhere. We're both more than happy to have you come with us."

Aizawa leaves it at that, crossing the common room floor to the temporary bedroom he has in the dorms. As comfortable and homely as this place is, Aizawa is happy to be going back to his actual home. The past semester has been hectic and Aizawa often stays in the small apartment at the back of the dorm. It's tiny and doesn't have a lot of home comforts, like his cats or his loud partner, but he sleeps better knowing that the kids are safer with him there and he can protect them at a moment's notice. He still misses home, though, and he's happy to be going back to his own house for the holidays, even if he knows that his holidays will still be spent worrying about the kids.

He has his things packed already, in a small bag, and Aizawa slings it over his body before rifling through his drawers to find a hat and gloves. Hizashi will kill him if he doesn't dress properly for the weather, and he closes up the tiny apartment, locking it with his keys, and goes back to where Todoroki sits.

He throws the extra scarf and gloves he'd picked up to him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I don't need—"

"Yes, you do," Aizawa cuts him off, crouching down to slide his laptop and paperwork into his bag. When he turns back to Todoroki, the boy is holding the clothing Aizawa threw to him in his hands, a thin flush of embarrassment across his face. "Even with your quirk, you can still get frostbite. Not to mention that the cold is uncomfortable. And Mic will get after me if I don't make you dress for the weather."

Aizawa shuts off the radio and, with a long look out the windows, pulls the blinds shut. He gives the common room a last look-over, making sure he hasn't missed anything. He'll shut off the lights and lock up the building when they leave. The blinds are pulled and his apartment and the kids' rooms are all locked up. He closes his tired eyes, letting out a relieved breath, the feeling of release starting to settle in. He knows he won't stop worrying, even over the small vacation, but besides Todoroki, everything's gone as planned. He's well aware of where every one of the twenty kids are, and he recognizes that they're safe. It's enough to take the edge off of his nerves, at the very least.

Silently, Aizawa crouches down at the table again, digging through his paperwork to find a sheet of paper without much written on it. He says nothing as he writes a string of numbers down and tears it off from the rest of the sheet, and he still keeps quiet as he holds it out to Todoroki, staring down at him with narrowed eyes.

Todoroki's mismatched eyes go from the writing on the paper to his teacher's face. Aizawa doesn't look away from him.

It's nearing six and Aizawa knows that Hizashi will be here soon. He's always punctual, after all.

Todoki Shouto stares up at him, and he doesn't seem to know what to do, but he takes the slip of paper between his fingers. He can see again that Shouto is struggling to keep up a façade of stoicism, but the confusion and emotions are slipping through with the kid's slightly widened eyes and his open mouth.

"My phone number," Aizawa clarifies, keeping his gaze locked with Todoroki's. "After we get you back to your father, I need you to call me if anything happens. Do you understand?"

These kids—sometimes, people treat them like adults. It's true that they're typically mature and know how to handle themselves, but Aizawa is well aware that in no circumstance, that means that they're an adult. A mature kid is just that: a kid. Nothing more, nothing less. Aizawa has always had a talent of keeping a mutual respect with his kids, but there are times where he needs to do things that may very well destroy that respect. There are times when he has to treat them like much younger children, times when he has to do things that leave the kids with no choice, because he knows they'll make the wrong one if they're given the choice.

They're kids. The world will sometimes treat them like adults, but they're not.

Todoroki doesn't say anything.

"Do you understand?" Aizawa repeats, his voice a little harsher this time. He doesn't want to hurt Shouto, but it's necessary that he understands what Aizawa is asking of him.

"Yes, sir—"

Aizawa gives him a hard look.

"—Aizawa-sensei," Todoroki corrects, and Aizawa's expression softens.

"Good," He tells him, turning away from Shouto to pull on the jacket that he left on the chair.

Right on time, as the clock hits the hour, Aizawa's phone buzzes with a message from Hizashi.

TEXT: Babe, I'm HEEEERE!!!!

Aizawa tucks the phone back into the pocket of his sweatpants, and glances back at Todoroki.

"Put your coat on. Mic's here," He tells him.

Todoroki starts doing as he's told, his fingers visibly shaking as he does the buttons on his coat. The gloves he pulls on are too big for him, and Aizawa remembers that they're his size and Shouto's hands aren't big enough yet. The scarf is long on him, too, but at least the kid is dressed for the weather now, in contrast to when Aizawa had stood at the gate with him.

Todoroki gets to his feet and Aizawa moves to turn off the lights. The common room goes dark and the two of them are left in the near darkness, illuminated only by the little light that seeps through the blinds covering the windows, and Todoroki looks up at him.

"Why?" He asks, making Aizawa stop, a hand on the front door of the dorms.

It's familiar. Too familiar.

"Because I know there's something going on," Aizawa says simply, frowning in thought at Todoroki. He takes a breath and continues on before Shouto can say anything, before he can deny what Aizawa just said. "Because I care about you kids. Because there's no reason for you to have to stay somewhere you're not safe. Because this is a responsibility I knowingly took on when I became a teacher. Because I want to."

Todoroki looks away from him and won't meet his eyes again, even as he comes forward to stand with Aizawa. Aizawa unlocks the door, pulling it open a bit, before hesitating.

Next to him, Todoroki looks small. He's not particularly smaller than his classmates, but he's also clearly not full grown.

"Because you're a kid, and it's my job to make sure you're safe," Aizawa murmurs, half to himself. "And that job doesn't end when you're out of my classroom."

He says nothing more. He pulls the door open and motions for Todoroki to go. He steps out behind the boy, pulling his own gloves on as he locks up the dorms, giving the building one last look over before turning to the road. There, right at the gates, is Hizashi in his car. Aizawa can see his huge grin from here, and Hizashi sounds the horn at them with an excited wave. Aizawa rolls his eyes, but starts the journey to the gate again, Todoroki trailing behind him.

He leaves the empty dorm behind, and Hizashi greets he and Todoroki enthusiastically, immediately babbling to Todoroki about the radio station as Aizawa gets in the passenger's seat, looking out at the dorm he's leaving behind for a few days.

He closes his eyes and when he does, he can still see Todoroki staring up at him with wide, confused eyes as Aizawa gave him the paper with his phone number on it.

Things were different for Aizawa. He was much poorer, and his father hadn't been a pro hero. But, fundamentally, they're similar, and Aizawa sees himself—too much of himself—in Todoroki's mismatched eyes and stoic face.

Unfortunately, as Aizawa has come to realize over the last few months, he cares. It happens with every class; Aizawa gets attached eventually. He has a responsibility to train the next generation's heroes, but the fact of the matter is that they're just kids. Todoroki is a kid, and as much as he hates to admit it, Endeavor's actions, or lack thereof, have left him irrationally angry. Aizawa has a responsibility to this kid, and he's attached to him, and in the end, Aizawa knows what he has a responsibility to do.

He gives a small sigh, and tries to come back to the conversation. Hizashi is listing off different types of food and trying to prompt Todoroki into choosing where they go.

Aizawa tries to force himself to relax and stay here, right now. It's hard, though, knowing that by the end of the night, Todoroki will be back with Endeavor and Aizawa will be making a call that can't be taken back, and the worry will set in again tenfold.

He glances over at Hizashi, meeting the other man's green eyes. Hizashi is dressed down, and would probably be near unrecognizable to Todoroki if he hadn't been around for the earlier phone call. Hizashi falls silent, and Aizawa feels his fingers gently touch his wrist before Hizashi's hand slides into his.

"Ready, Shouta?" He asks, and Aizawa continues to look at him for a long moment. There's something unsaid between them, an understanding about what they both know has to be done.

Aizawa nods, mumbling in agreement, and prepares himself for a few hours of trying to show this kid what a normal home life could be.