Chapter Text
“It's not gonna be alright!” you scream.
“I lost my job, I lost my house…I own nothing but these ripped clothes now. Can you even imagine how it feels?”
An embarrassed silence falls on the UA’s infirmary. The heroes and the students all look away as the news gets broadcasted on a monitor above.
“This morning, a school for quirkless children was attacked by a solo villain and razed to the ground. Thanks to the intervention of a group of UA students, the kids are all safe with their parents. The casualties among the staff, however, are reported to be significant.”
After your outburst, the tall, scrawny man in front of you lowers his blonde head.
You're used to seeing him everywhere on TV, but meeting the great All Might in the flesh has turned out to be…disheartening.
Dark eyes sunken in his sharp face, he’s just a shadow of his former self, a skeleton in an elegant suit. Even his signature smile is gone.
“There are no words to express how deeply sorry we are. We failed you.” he mutters.
“Oh, you did. That's why I'm sure Mr. Principal here will be generous enough to help a civilian out.” You look down to the mouse in the tweed vest, as you spit out your bitter words. “I need a job and a room. I'll work hard and I promise, I’ll be out of here in a month.”
“Impossible.” The mouse sighs, “Only students and professors can stay in the dorms.”
“Well, I could be a professor…temporarily. Teaching to quirkless people shouldn't preclude me from applying, right?” Your eyes narrow. “There must be actual lessons here, other than flamboyant costumes 101.”
Mr. Principal scratches his tiny nose and, after some thinking, he states aloud: “A guest lecturer. Yes, that might be interesting. Unfortunately, dear, I can’t help with the housing issue as I won't risk our student’s safety.”
“I insist. I don’t even know where to go for the night.”
“Could you please consider my hospitality, then?” All heads turn towards All Might.
“I mean, I live here now and my old apartment has been empty for quite some time…I'd be glad to help. ”
”You really think that’s a good idea?” A black haired professor puffs from the back.
You recognise Eraserhead coming forward. As he argues with All Might, though, you get lost in thoughts about the offer.
The man must be rich. He’s the most famous hero in the world and owns one of the highest towers in the whole country… what he calls an apartment will most likely be a luxury residence.
You wonder at your own reasoning for a second: you never cared about these things before. You’re just a high school professor who loves being around students and colleagues, always smiling, caring. But the place where you've felt at home for so long has gone and god knows what’s gonna become of you now.
Bitter and angry, you conclude that you deserve to figure things out in a free private pool rather than a shoebox for rent.
“I'll take your generous offer, thank you.”
A week has passed and you’re sipping on your instant noodles, still wondering what happened to that private pool. “I should have expected it.” you smirk behind the cup.
All Might’s apartment is plain and empty; more than decent but definitely far from luxurious. The place is so lifeless, actually, that he's probably hardly used it at all.
You put your dinner down and walk through the short corridor, yawning. A brief stop to change into your pajamas -a humongous sweatshirt forgotten at the bottom of a drawer- and you leave the bedroom for the dusty office where your scribbled notes await to be rehearsed.
It's already dark outside when the jingling of keys echoes through the main room.
“Good evening.” A gentle voice calls as the door slowly opens “May I-?”
The number one hero freezes in the entryway, surprised.
His house is wrapped in a cozy darkness where glowing shapes fluctuate freely: lights and shadows woven into intricate connections, shifting into abstract shapes of humans, animals, landscapes.
“Oh! Good evening Mr. All Might.”
As you spring to your feet, the darkness disappears and the ceiling light blinds you both a little.
“That was beautiful. I thought you said you have no quirk, though.”
“I said I taught the quirkless, sir. It’s my teaching method: showing while telling.”
“I’m sure the kids love it.” The blonde man smiles fondly. “Do you need anything? I was in the neighborhood with a friend, I thought to check if everything was all right here.”
He goes sitting at the kitchen table.
“I have everything I need, thank you. I'm working hard for the lecture and I’ve almost found a place.”
“You can stay as long as you want, I’m more than happy to help.”
“I just don't wanna be a dead weight. If all goes well, I could move out by the end of the week, so fingers crossed!”
His sunken blue eyes stare at the cup of tea you've set in front of him. “That's…that's great news.”
The conversation moves to the clichés all teachers love the most: the dumbest things their students did, how much they hate paperwork, why coffee from the teacher’s lounge tastes so bad. Chatting with him is lovely and he seems like a genuinely good person.
“How sweet. I’m kinda sorry I yelled at him.” you think as he's rambling about a particularly angry freshman.
But a weird feeling is making its way through your mind. It's like…All Might doesn't want to leave.
Noticing your casual glances at the watch on his wrist, the hero looks away. “It’s getting late, uh? I sure have bored you enough for the night, I should go back to the dorms.”
“On the other side of the city? By the time you get there it’ll be time for class…You could stay for the night.”
Suddenly flustered, he stutters about how inappropriate it would be, what a burden he would be.
“This is your house, remember?” You chuckle. “A house that has two separate rooms. The only issue I see here is that I may snore.”
“I'll use the office then, thank you for your concern.”
You just stare back at him, nodding slowly: is that man even for real? Thanking you for letting him stay in his own house?
Still puzzled, you wish him good night and head for the corridor.
“Mh, that sweatshirt looks somewhat familiar.” He whispers, causing you to trip over your own feet, red-faced.
When morning comes, though, you sit at the kitchen table, staring into space.
Last night was hell.
His half-broken words brought you to stand outside the office door at 4am, wondering what cursed dreams were haunting the hero. Then, he must have woken up and paced around the office for the rest of the night, ‘cause the muffled thumps continued until sunrise.
“So much for living large.” You think, burying your face in your hands. “He’s spent his whole life watching over people and trauma is what he’s left with.”
The towering figure of All Might appears in the corridor, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Goodmorning.” He says cheerfully. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you.” you lie.
The hero’s struggling with his loose tie when his phone rings loudly. He picks up and a flat voice crackles full volume:
“Toshinori, are you… Kids will be practicing…”
You can't help but smile softly as he waves towards you and runs out the apartment.
“Toshinori.” you whisper under your breath “Is that his real name?”
The flutter in your chest fades quickly, it's not like you'll ever dare call him that.