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A Game of Chance

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The era of All Might had ended.

It was inevitable that it would, of course. No one could hold up the world for so long without repercussions and no human being could hold it forever. Not even when the were widely treated as if they were some sort of demi-god.

But Yagi was still alive.

He was still breathing, his heart still pumping and his hair was still a goddamn mess. In fact, Yagi looked like a student that had just finished finals and hadn’t fallen asleep yet. The shadows underneath his eyes were more prominent than ever, his face was so pale it almost looked green and his shoulders were set as if he was expecting an attack.

It wasn’t until Aizawa and Yagi were in the backseat of an official UA car to speak to the parents about dormitories that Aizawa saw Yagi close his eyes and lean back into the cushions.

His face was on the frontpage of ever newspaper and website after he’d announced his retirement, bowing low. There was nowhere to hide anymore. For a man who’d only gotten used to a life outside of the media’s scrutiny, it must have been jarring to be forced back into the limelight like this.

No wonder he was exhausted.

 A broken arm and countless wounds and bruises didn’t help either. Some part of Aizawa just wanted to wheel that man to the nearest bed so that he would sleep for a few days. But he knew that Yagi wouldn’t calm down until there was a new plan in motion and he’d done at least some immediate damage control.

It was only logical that the two of them should handle speaking to the parents for this class, of course. When they’d finished speaking to J’s parents and gone back to the car, Yagi’s shoulders relaxed just a fraction and Aizawa found himself breathing out.

“You look all nice,” Yagi said, gesturing at Aizawa’s bun and trimmed facial hair. “And I look like a mummy.”

“How the tables have turned,” Aizawa said, hearing the affection in his own voice. He’d spent so much time this morning brushing cat hair off his clothes. He’d run out of lint rollers near the end and had just resorted to plucking each and every hair off his neat black trousers.

With his hand in a cast and concealer over the worst bruises, Yagi looked nowhere as bad as he’d looked just after the fight, still dripping with blood.

Still, Yagi’s breathing was shallow and Aizawa scooted closer until Yagi took the hint and rested his head on Aizawa’s shoulder. Just for a few minutes, until they’d reached the next house.

The back of that car was a small, safe place. Besides, the whole car was totally bulletproof for good measure. They both got a few minutes of rest before they reached the next house.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when Yagi had suggested that he’d speak to Midoria’s parent all by himself. Aizawa had heard every single variation of the rumor that Midoria was in fact All Might’s secret love child, but seeing the hesitant smile on Yagi’s face, he wondered if Yagi himself wasn’t certain if the kid was in fact his son…

Not that Aizawa would ever tell anyone if he found out the truth about this confusing father-son relationship between All Might and their student. Yagi had a kid. That was the important bit, blood relations didn’t need to be a factor when it came to something like that.

Aizawa rang doorbells and spoke to parent after parent, bowing and explaining and handing over documents and forms until his bag barely weighed anything at all.

He was considering slipping into a coffeeshop for something when he looked up to see Yagi standing on the street corner with a tray of iced coffee and the sun gleaming in his hair.

Yagi was standing straighter, his expression one of thoughtful optimism instead of a wide smile. Even his movements were different when he unceremoniously handed Aizawa the tray.  

“So Midoriya’s mother agreed to let him stay in the dorms?” Aizawa asked, taking hold of the drink and adjusted the straw.

“Eventually,” Yagi said. “It took some bargaining.”

“Hm,” Aizawa said, keeping his eyes on how the coffee sloshed in the cup  instead of how Yagi was brushing dust off his knees.

The coffee was cold and smoother than the underside of Yagi’s wrists.

“I did say that I’d treat you,” Yagi said, sipping his own drink, which appeared to be mostly whipped cream with some additional coffee.

“You did,” Aizawa said, opening the car door. Everyone knew that All Might would treat you right (at all times, in every way possible). And he did. Or at least made a valiant attempt.

The car door closed and Yagi put on his seatbelt, wedging the plastic cup between his thighs. Aizawa looked away, his cheeks burning.

“Safety first,” Yagi said, sounding for a moment like the hero that had done enough automobile safety instruction videos that saying stuff like this had become ingrained. And the man couldn’t even drive. He’d never needed to, not when he could jump such long distances so damn fast.

“Of course,” Aizawa said, making himself comfortable. “Someone’s got to be here to make sure that you’ll make it to work tomorrow.”

Aizawa put the seatbelt on with a sigh, already thinking about sinking into his duvet back home but opened his eyes when he felt Yagi’s hand on his elbow.

 It lingered there for a long moment.

Aizawa didn’t pull away. But trying to distract himself by finishing his coffee didn’t work as well as he’d have liked.

They kept going, speaking to even more parents until the sun had sunk below the horizon. Eventually the car pulled up to an apartment complex that Aizawa had never taken much notice of before. Aizawa found himself following Yagi up a clean stairway until they reached a door.

“Won’t your agency know that I’m here?” Aizawa asked, glancing up at the top of the range security cameras in the hallway. There had even been motion sensors all over the garden and staircase. Mic had told him once that some of the big agencies kept an eye on their heroes, but he’d just thought that it meant phoning at all hours. Not this.

“Does it bother you?” Yagi asked, turning to face him. “There aren’t any cameras or anything inside the apartment, you know. I had to fight them tooth and nail on that one.”

The keys jingled in his hands.

Aizawa could imagine that meeting and how effective it was when All Might had put his foot down about those cameras and heaven knew what else.

“No, it doesn’t’ bother me,” Aizawa said, shrugging. “They probably just think that we’re working late or something.”

“Maybe,” Yagi said, unlocking the door. “It’s not like I can’t bring handsome men home with me without checking with them first.”

“The benefits of being retired,” Aizawa joked, closing the door behind him.  The apartment was just as large as he’d imagined and just as unlived in.

“I know that you value your privacy,” Yagi said, taking off his shoes. “But one day someone could take a picture of us or leak something to the media-“

“We’ll deal with that when that day comes,” Aizawa said. “There’s no use in worrying about that now.”

Yagi kissed him softly, his bandaged hand covering Aizawa’s scarred hand for a fleeting moment. Aizawa moved closer, careful not to press himself against Yagi’s sling as he wrapped an arm around his waist. Yagi’s fingertips were cool on Aizawa’s shoulder as the kiss grew more heated.

“You’re here,” Yagi said when they pulled apart, smiling at him. “So I’m not worried.”

“Of course I am,” Aizawa said blinking. “You invited me in.”

He was about to say something about Yagi going to bed to rest if he was experiencing short-term memory loss as a result of his headwounds and trauma but closed his mouth when he saw the brightness of Yagi’s eyes.

 

Aizawa pulled Yagi closer and they kissed until the world melted away. Layers slid off, one by one as they moved towards the bedroom as slowly and inevitably as all rivers ran to the sea.

Everything was a game of chance. There were no built-in guarantees that things would turn out all right for anyone. But that was also the promise that you made to other people when you became a hero and even when you weren’t: that you’d be there, that you’d live beside them and help out however you could. That you’d support them until they could stand on their own.

You made that promise even though you had no idea what the future would hold for anyone. And others made that promise in return, a circle of trust.

Learning to both make and belong to the circle took a long time.

It meant that some mornings Aizawa woke up to the sound of Yagi’s enthusiastic cooking and the promise of a bento box made just for him. It meant hospital visits and herding the students and Mic and Midnight showing up unexpectedly at his apartment all the time.

It was worth it.

It was so worth it.