#incognitopheno

Or were they just putting him out ofhis misery, heading off this stupid misbegotten crush before it snowballed out ofcontrol? Aizawa would have absolutely no problem informing someonethat he had no interest in them in front of a crowded cafe, of thathe was certain, even if the thought made cold sweat streak down hissides. Damn, these UA teachers were brutal. Plus Ultra, indeed.

“They think we're too worked up aboutFinals,” Aizawa continued, like he wasn't aware that the man acrossfrom him was suddenly crumbling from nerves. He sipped his coffeespitefully, if that were possible, ending with a grimace. “I saythey're not worked up enough. Leaning on their Quirks, as always.Irritating.”

“Well, I'm, uh--” Toshinori's mindflew. Recalculated. It was a break for them? “Huh. I'm flattered, I guess --”

“I'm not,” his coworker counteredsharply, dark eyes flashing. He chewed his lip. “It speaks of a lack of regard forautonomy. You can't just send someone away and tell them to changetheir emotional state, especially when it pertains to something sopresent and important. It's arrogant and dismissive.”

“Like you were ordering me to relaxearlier?” Toshinori ventured, smiling somewhat. Daring. Aizawafrowned at him.

“You're just bad at it,” he saidflatly, unfazed. “Literally inept. I've never seen anyone sit sostraight before. You're allowed to let go. You have to, or elseyou'll shake yourself apart.”

“I haven't had many chances to.Relax, I mean,” the older hero admitted after a moment, honest.“It's been ... a long time.”

Aizawa tilted his head and made a flatnoise, acknowledging him (and, unspoken, the tolls that came with asuccessful hero career, the rules painted in hyper-vigilant red and nightsweats), andthat was that. They sat in the quiet together, listening to the clinkof cups and dishware in the small cafe and soothing chatter. 

He thought about it: Fridayafternoon date time in a small college town. Studying, talking,snacking, laughing in safety. It was … sweet, and certainly nothing Toshinorihad ever had in his life. He liked it, even as an observer. But then, that described so much of his life it wasn’t really a distinction anymore. Part of being the Symbol of Peace was a life of violence and there was no way around it. Now, today ... it was peaceful, and he was a part of it.

Even if it was just to get them out oftheir (very fashionable and well-kept) hair, Toshinori was grateful to Kayama and Yamada for givinghim this strange chance to just sit with their usually thornycoworker in comfortable silence. It almost gave him the courage toask Aizawa more questions about himself, but later. Much later, lest the thorns come outagain once the soothing magic of the coffee wore off.

“Hm. We could try again,” Aizawaspoke up after a moment, taking a long drag of his coffee andlooking out of the cafe window. Toshinori was momentarily distractedby the strength of his fingers clawed around the cup, the infinitescars toughening Eraserhead's knuckles. The battles he had fought. “When it's not Finals. Whenthere's no scheming.”

“Relaxing?” Toshinori said with avague chuckle, catching up. He didn't have the faintest hope that hewould miraculously acquire the skill just because Finals were over,because who knew what lay beyond that?

“No. Coffee,” Aizawa said with atiny, terse smile, and Toshinori promptly dropped his very large mug and spilledhot tea all over his pants, because, as the kids said – he had nochill. Absolutely no chill.