(How To)Forgive and Forget

Perception(VS Reality)

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Aizawa asks, watching the green haired boy shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

After the 'Window Incident'(as it had been dubbed by Present Mic), Shinsou had come to him and they'd had an...interesting conversation.

"...So he's like you." The black haired teacher clarifies, hands tight around his capture weapon as his student avoids eye contact with him.

"Well,"

Aizawa has the feeling he needs to brace himself for this, despite not really knowing what was about to come out of his protégé's mouth.

"He's basically me but...a lot worse."

The teacher's eyebrows raise, but he doesn't say anything, letting the silence stretch out.

Could Midoriya have told him about his late bloomer status?

"I'm not going to tell you much, but I do need you to do something for me." The purple haired boy looks up, meeting his tired, dark eyes with purple ones that glint with a kind of determination that Aizawa has never seen in his student's eyes before.

"You need to establish yourself as trustworthy and reliable. I think you being a stable authority figure will help him a lot."

Nezu had told him that Quirk Counseling was off the table, along with any sort of Quirk assistance.

So that left crippling indecision and hesitance...or Shinsou's suggestion. It sees like a good idea—especially if Midoriya is as damaged as Aizawa suspects him to be—and it won't involve any sort of triggering or emotional conversations.

Though the boy is clearly uncomfortable around adults, Aizawa is known for his patience, and establishing himself as stable and trustworthy is a hell of a lot more appealing than detangling the mess that is Midoriya and All Might's relationship. Playing therapist or mediator sounds like a nightmare, especially with the blonde idiot involved.

"Yes, sir. I can't afford to miss any more classes, and I have the Support Item I told you about now." Midoriya confirms, adjusting his hold on the small, thin girl in his arms.

He frowns.

After everything that happened, Midoriya was going to go back to the person that clearly caused him stress?

It didn't seem heathy, but there wasn't exactly an alternate Foundational Heroics class in UA, and he couldn't just swap All Might out for a new teacher...

Stop. Don't play therapist, it isn't your job.

He sighs again, burying his face in his grey capture weapon.

"Okay."

The green haired boy seems to sense the reluctance in Aizawa's voice, and gives him a small, reassuring smile before slipping out of the door.

He watches Midoriya leave with furrowed eyebrows and a racing mind.

____________

Izuku adjusts the bracelet on his wrist and carefully presses the blue button once. It beeps, and the screen on the metal band blinks to life at 0%. He sighs in relief at the lack of explosion and pulls his glove over the bracelet. He can still check it, but it had some sort of padding to prevent it from breaking.

Eri watches this process curiously, and after he's done, he kneels down to give her a better look.

"It's going to help me make sure my Quirk doesn't hurt anyone." The green haired boy explains, allowing her to poke at the bracelet.