[He's an established hero, for that matter, everybody in his graduating class is now. He isn't the only one who settled into becoming a teacher, Shouto's there too.
He finds he actually likes teaching, he likes helping students realize their potential and hone their skills into becoming great heroes.
Unfortunately, he's also a ball of stress at the beginning of the school year- he always is, without fail. What is he stressed about? All the things that could possibly go wrong this school year, starting with failing to teach his students anything of value to what if they have another villain incident. Never mind that hasn't happened in literal years, if it happened once it might happen again.
He can be found in the teacher's lounge in the morning, going through his lesson plans, smiling blankly at the pages as he thinks over all the possible ways this year could end in disaster.]
[ To say that he hadn't expected to go into teaching, even short term like he plans, would have been an understatement. Shouto is bad with the media, bad with most people, but when he was asked to teach some lessons... he sort of fell into it.
Especially when one of his students came into homeroom in the morning looking battered in a way that was all too familiar.
At least he can say he's not as bad as All Might was, even though he tried a great deal. But his kids are all relatively starstruck by him, and hero Deku down the hall. Who is probably going to work himself into a stressed fervor that will give him greys before he's out of his twenties.
So when he doesn't find Midoriya in his classroom - after dropping something off in the top shelf of the podium - Shouto heads for the teacher's lounge. He's capable of approaching him without the other hero looking up, which is... fairly telling of that blank smile.
Reaching out, he taps a finger against the table he's seated at. ] Midoriya.
[It's frankly amazing he hasn't gone gray already, considering the frenzy of stress he tends to work himself into before every single school year.
He stares blankly at the lesson plan for another second or so before the tap registers and he looks up to Shouto standing at the table. He shakes off the blankness and gives Shouto a smile.]
No, but it looked like you needed someone to come over and get you to stop your downward spiral of worse case scenarios.
[ The words are, frankly, in one of his bluntest tones. But literally everyone from their graduating class is entirely aware of the stress that Midoriya Izuku, the hero called Deku, will stack on himself in the blink of an eye.
He crosses his arms and leans his hip against the table. ]
[Shouto knows him so well- a lot of their friends know him very well, but Shouto's the one that actually teaches with him.
He'll close the lesson plan and completely fail to look Shouto in the eye when he asks that question.]
Ye... No. [He can't do it, he can't bring himself to lie like that.] I started thinking about what could go wrong and then I couldn't make myself go back to sleep.
[ Shouto isn't even that great of a liar, himself. Never has been. But sometimes he's fairly sure Izuku is worse, especially when it comes to things like this. He starts to, and then he stops, and confesses anyways. He's not even remotely surprised by it.
He does sigh, however. It's a mix of fond and exasperated, all culminated in concerned. ]
And here you are, still thinking about it. Midoriya...
[He fidgets with his fingers as he continues avoiding Shouto's gaze. He knows that sigh, he knows that tone.]
... Sorry, I couldn't stop myself. I know nothing's happened in years but... you know.
[Look, their high school years left a definite impression.
There wasn't anybody there to stop him from his negativity spiral until Shouto came and talked to him.
He should probably rest, but he actually has a class to teach in the afternoons. Still, it's hero studies and his notes are incredibly detailed. If somebody else wanted to teach it, they could. The problem is getting Izuku to agree to something like that.]
[ There are plenty of teachers who could come in and cover for him. Shouto knows that. He knows Izuku knows that. But he also knows that it will literally be nigh impossible to get him to agree to do it, when he's so passionate about it. He's doing what All Might did, after all. He's helping to shape the so-called eggs of Yuuei and hopefully preparing them for what they certainly weren't, during their high school careers.
They've got the scars to prove it.
So he just stands there and watches him, even if he won't look at him. Probably for the best - he's a lot softer when no one's looking at him, especially when he's looking at Izuku.
He schools it a little bit when he speaks again. ] Don't apologize, it's fine. Call me next time, though. Even if it's late, at least maybe you can either talk about it and get it out of your system or distract yourself enough to fall asleep.
[ Reasons why Shouto's not even going to bother trying to talk him into going to take a nap instead of staying to teach.
Though, he does raise an eyebrow with his question. ]
You know me. [ Basically when have I ever said something I didn't mean? in three words. He twitches his shoulders in a shrug. ] Maybe it'll get you to actually sleep.
Good. [ Because if he can help him, he will. Even if it's trying to get him to destress and actually sleep, instead of working himself up to the point of being unable to sleep. ]
What's the plan for the day? Other than copious amounts of coffee.
The hero and villain exercise. We'll be going over each pair's weaknesses and strengths in approach, partnership and quirk usage. It's a good way to get a handle on the kids.
[ Shouto inclines his head, a wordless no problem.
But he does snort about the coffee. Maybe he'll get him a thermos as long as his arm next time he goes out. Right now, though, he angles where he's leaning to look down at his lesson plan. ]
They'll like that. And it'll get them to burn off some of their summer energy, probably. I still remember how keyed up everyone was the first couple of days. [ And then everything that went downhill afterwards. Actually, on that note... ] Do you want to do the USJ later in the month like last year?
[They're always so excited to see him- it's flattering and intimidating at the same time- not he's told anybody about that second part. He hasn't let any of them down so far, but he can't help worrying- he's a chronic worrier.
He taps his pen against the desk a few times as he considers USJ.]
That's probably for the best. They need to get used to using their quirks freely first. Will you be coming down with us like last time?
[ Considering the fact he feels like he's pretty bad with people, teenagers? Teenagers are kind of terrifying. He wouldn't blame Izuku if he confessed to being intimidated by them and their excitement.
But Shouto thinks they're easier to deal with than the media, so. ]
If you want me to. I can keep my schedule open for it pretty easily, and it seemed to help with the last batch.
[ Both the media and teenagers gossip and ask questions, but at least the teenagers don't stick microphones in his face and get too invasive. Only slightly, until someone reminds them it's not appropriate to hound their teachers. ]
It was pretty easy to monitor the fire and mountain rescue simulations with me there, and they do act a little calmer when we work together...
[ Well, that's not wrong. They're just dissecting everything, though. ]
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Teacher AU
He finds he actually likes teaching, he likes helping students realize their potential and hone their skills into becoming great heroes.
Unfortunately, he's also a ball of stress at the beginning of the school year- he always is, without fail. What is he stressed about? All the things that could possibly go wrong this school year, starting with failing to teach his students anything of value to what if they have another villain incident. Never mind that hasn't happened in literal years, if it happened once it might happen again.
He can be found in the teacher's lounge in the morning, going through his lesson plans, smiling blankly at the pages as he thinks over all the possible ways this year could end in disaster.]
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Especially when one of his students came into homeroom in the morning looking battered in a way that was all too familiar.
At least he can say he's not as bad as All Might was, even though he tried a great deal. But his kids are all relatively starstruck by him, and hero Deku down the hall. Who is probably going to work himself into a stressed fervor that will give him greys before he's out of his twenties.
So when he doesn't find Midoriya in his classroom - after dropping something off in the top shelf of the podium - Shouto heads for the teacher's lounge. He's capable of approaching him without the other hero looking up, which is... fairly telling of that blank smile.
Reaching out, he taps a finger against the table he's seated at. ] Midoriya.
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He stares blankly at the lesson plan for another second or so before the tap registers and he looks up to Shouto standing at the table. He shakes off the blankness and gives Shouto a smile.]
Todoroki? Did you need something?
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[ The words are, frankly, in one of his bluntest tones. But literally everyone from their graduating class is entirely aware of the stress that Midoriya Izuku, the hero called Deku, will stack on himself in the blink of an eye.
He crosses his arms and leans his hip against the table. ]
Did you even sleep?
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He'll close the lesson plan and completely fail to look Shouto in the eye when he asks that question.]
Ye... No. [He can't do it, he can't bring himself to lie like that.] I started thinking about what could go wrong and then I couldn't make myself go back to sleep.
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[ Shouto isn't even that great of a liar, himself. Never has been. But sometimes he's fairly sure Izuku is worse, especially when it comes to things like this. He starts to, and then he stops, and confesses anyways. He's not even remotely surprised by it.
He does sigh, however. It's a mix of fond and exasperated, all culminated in concerned. ]
And here you are, still thinking about it. Midoriya...
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... Sorry, I couldn't stop myself. I know nothing's happened in years but... you know.
[Look, their high school years left a definite impression.
There wasn't anybody there to stop him from his negativity spiral until Shouto came and talked to him.
He should probably rest, but he actually has a class to teach in the afternoons. Still, it's hero studies and his notes are incredibly detailed. If somebody else wanted to teach it, they could. The problem is getting Izuku to agree to something like that.]
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They've got the scars to prove it.
So he just stands there and watches him, even if he won't look at him. Probably for the best - he's a lot softer when no one's looking at him, especially when he's looking at Izuku.
He schools it a little bit when he speaks again. ] Don't apologize, it's fine. Call me next time, though. Even if it's late, at least maybe you can either talk about it and get it out of your system or distract yourself enough to fall asleep.
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You're sure? It'd probably be really late if I called you, and we both have work.
[He finds he does want to talk, but not if it inconveniences his friend. Which, honestly, with the mess of a schedule he keeps, is very likely.]
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Though, he does raise an eyebrow with his question. ]
You know me. [ Basically when have I ever said something I didn't mean? in three words. He twitches his shoulders in a shrug. ] Maybe it'll get you to actually sleep.
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I might call you tonight then.
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What's the plan for the day? Other than copious amounts of coffee.
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... It's going to be mostly coffee.
[He opens the lesson plan back up.]
The hero and villain exercise. We'll be going over each pair's weaknesses and strengths in approach, partnership and quirk usage. It's a good way to get a handle on the kids.
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But he does snort about the coffee. Maybe he'll get him a thermos as long as his arm next time he goes out. Right now, though, he angles where he's leaning to look down at his lesson plan. ]
They'll like that. And it'll get them to burn off some of their summer energy, probably. I still remember how keyed up everyone was the first couple of days. [ And then everything that went downhill afterwards. Actually, on that note... ] Do you want to do the USJ later in the month like last year?
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He taps his pen against the desk a few times as he considers USJ.]
That's probably for the best. They need to get used to using their quirks freely first. Will you be coming down with us like last time?
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But Shouto thinks they're easier to deal with than the media, so. ]
If you want me to. I can keep my schedule open for it pretty easily, and it seemed to help with the last batch.
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I like having you there. The kids seem a little calmer with you there. Plus we'll be able to use more of the USJ simultaneously with more teachers.
[No, the kids are watching the both of them like hawks, trying to figure out if they're a couple or not.]
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It was pretty easy to monitor the fire and mountain rescue simulations with me there, and they do act a little calmer when we work together...
[ Well, that's not wrong. They're just dissecting everything, though. ]
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Thank you for this, Todoroki. I know you're busy.
[They're both busy, between teaching and heroics.]
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If I can help, I'll help. Besides, maybe it'll mean you'll actually get some sleep for once if I'm around.
[ You never know. ]
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[Not... much of it, considering, but.]
Do you? You're usually as busy as I am.
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[ And that's what counts, right? Once he's asleep, he's usually out like a light unless something external wakes him up. ]
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[But he should definitely do something about his own sleep schedule- which he will.]
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You just admitted you don't get enough sleep.
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[That won't stop him about fussing over Shouto though.]
I'll call you tonight, I promise.
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