apathy

clause 18: no fucking smiling

"What does it take to book a gym here?" Midoriya asks like he hasn't tracked Aizawa through the hallways on his lunch break.

He stares down at Aizawa's sleeping bag, looking like he hasn't slept in weeks—meaning he looks almost as bad as Aizawa himself. Aizawa stares back up at him. The last time he'd seen Midoriya is in the hospital, where each scrape and scar and bandage had nicked his heart with guilt. He looks fine now, much better than Aizawa himself, who is still half mummified.

"You need to sign a log and have a teacher for supervision." Aizawa answers after a long pause. There's another long pause, then Midoriya nods.

"See you in gym Gama after school, Eraserhead." He says, then turns and marches off. Aizawa sighs at his back and turns over to take a quick nap before he has to go back to teaching things. Damn kids, assuming things. What if he didn't want to supervise more brats?

Despite his thoughts, when the last bell rings, Aizawa finds himself slipping away from Hizashi and Nemuri to the Gama gym without really thinking about it. When he gets close enough, he can see Midoriya standing near the door with two other students. One looks just as sleep deprived as Midoriya, with purple hair and an anxiousness to the way he's tapping his foot. The other, a girl with pink hair, has more energy than all of them combined if the way she's flitting around the pair of boys is any indication.

Midoriya spots him first, nodding a greeting and pushing the door open. He ushers the other two inside then waits for Aizawa to go past him as well before stepping in himself.

"Did you need me for anything other than chaperoning, problem child?" Aizawa drolls, watching Midoriya stride to the middle of the gym.

"Nope." He calls over his shoulder. "You're just here to watch me kick Shinsou's ass."

The purple haired boy shoots Midoriya a glare, which Midoriya replies to by waving Shinsou over. He complies with a generous amount of complaining under his breath. Aizawa takes a seat in the bleachers, the girl following suit with a notebook and a camera.

"I've changed my mind," Shinsou announces when he gets closer to Midoriya, "I just want to be good enough to beat you up."

"Lower your expectations." Midoriya advises, shifting into a practiced stance. "You've got less than a month to get ready for your precious festival, and we've got a lot of work to do. Physically and with your quirk."

Shinsou grumbles back, sloppily copying Midoriya's stance. Aizawa spends the next hour or so watching through mostly closed eyes as Midoriya teaches Shinsou the basics of different martial arts, pushing them all together so flawlessly that Shinsou doesn't even notice that he's learning about three different formal styles at once, with a bit of dirty street fighting thrown in for good measure. Midoriya has experience, obviously, and it shows in his form. Aizawa makes a mental note to remind him that he will get Shinsou arrested if he takes him along on his fights.

Midoriya isn't a bad teacher either—he uses a good balance of antagonizing Shinsou's need to prove himself without going overboard and making him too frustrated to continue. It's a subtle and unconventional method, but it seems to be working, because Shinsou is picking up on everything rather quickly. Despite himself, Aizawa leans forward, watching with just a bit of curiosity.

These kids have potential.

Eventually, Midoriya calls for Shinsou to stop and take a break. Shinsou looks like he needs one, but he's done remarkably well for such a short amount of time. Shinsou gulps down a water bottle Midoriya throws him, while his instructor looks over to the benches that Aizawa and the support student are sitting on.

"Hatsume, we're doing quirk training next!" He calls flatly, getting an excited thumbs up from Hatsume and a loud 'thank god' from Shinsou.

"Wait, why is she here for my quirk training?"

"Why indeed." Midoriya answers without answering. Shinsou frowns. "Tell me about your quirk."

Shinsou, though looking uncomfortable with Hatsume and Aizawa hearing, gives a quick run down of his Brainwash quirk. It only works with questions, a light jostle is enough to break the connection, and if he brainwashes a group, he can't give individual commands. Aizawa internally curses the entrance exam for the thousandth time. Brainwash is a perfect non-offensive quirk for hero work.

"We'll work on duration for today." Midoriya decides aloud. "And I'll teach you ways to ask subtle questions later. Brainwash me."

"To do what?" Shinsou inquires, glancing back at Aizawa and Hatsume, who both make an effort to look reasonably distracted. Aizawa makes sure to bury his face deeper into his capture weapon while he watches to make himself seem less attentive.

"I don't really car—" Midoriya's clarification stops as his eyes go blank and his stance gains a strange quality like he's frozen stiff yet limp at the same time. Shinsou looks anxious again, considering what to have Midoriya do.

It isn't something Aizawa has actively noticed before, but there is something about the way that Midoriya holds himself that makes you think of strength. He's unshakable and unconcerned with making himself look stronger than he is. There's something about seeing him vulnerable and blank that curdles Aizawa's stomach. First it had happened at the USJ, when he had seen Midoriya slide limp to the ground through quickly blackening vision. Then again, in the hospital, when Midoriya was unconscious and his face had looked peaceful.

And now, looking at his serenely blank face, Aizawa's stomach clenches again. At least Shinsou seems to feel the same discomfort with Midoriya's state. He grimaces and glances back at Aizawa again.

"Smile?" He says, a questioning lilt to the order. There's a split second where nothing happens, and then Midoriya's face splits into the happiest, brightest, most cheerful smile that Aizawa has ever seen. It has to be his mind playing tricks that makes the room look like it actually brightens when Midoriya smiles.

Is this what he looks like when he isn't miserable?

The entirety of their little group sans Midoriya openly gapes in shock. Shinsou, it seems, is so startled that he releases his control, because Midoriya's expression shifts a moment later back to his usual uninterested frown.

He reaches up to rub at his cheeks and scans their faces.

"... Let's set some boundaries this time." He suggests, a dangerous edge to his voice. Shinsou immediately nods, almost frantically, and Aizawa has to agree. He feels like none of them were supposed to see that, and frankly he's a bit unnerved. "Great. First off, make me smile again and I will remove your kneecaps."

Shinsou is almost successful in hiding his terror.