You sat on the dorm stairs, hoodie drawn over your head as your thumb hovered over your phone screen. The last message still sat there.

Boba after my shift?

YESSIR 🤍

That was two hours ago.

You didn’t expect much — not really. You knew how chaotic hero life could be. But for a second, you let yourself believe he’d remember. You even wore your favorite jacket. Dumb, maybe, but still.

A loud ding snapped you out of it. The dorm front doors hissed open. You didn’t look up.

“…Kid.”

You blinked once, slowly, before raising your eyes to find Aizawa — drenched, exhausted, and holding a soaked plastic bag in one hand.

Your chest twisted. “You forgot.”

He sighed, stepping closer, his voice low and a little guilty. “Unscheduled patrol. Got called in the moment I clocked out.”

You swallowed. “Could’ve told me.”

“I know.”

“…You didn’t.”

“…I know.”

Silence hung in the air for a beat before he dropped the bag into your lap. Inside was a cup of room-temperature boba and a steamed bun, slightly squished but still warm.

“I grabbed it on the way back,” he muttered. “Didn’t wanna come empty-handed.”

You stared down at it, then up at him. “You were supposed to be asleep by now.”

“So were you.”

“…Tch.”

He sat beside you, a bit awkwardly, clearly soaked to the bone. You nudged your jacket toward his shoulder without a word. He didn’t stop you.

“Y’know,” he said after a while, “when I took you in… I didn’t think I’d be the one hurting your feelings.”

“I didn’t ask you to take me in,” you mumbled.

“I know,” he murmured. “But I still chose to. And I’ll keep choosing to. Even when I mess up.”

Another pause.

“…I was just excited to see you again. You’ve been out a lot lately. Thought boba would make it easier.”

You finally looked at him. “It did.”

He blinked. “Even now?”

You picked up the cup. “…Still counts.”

He huffed softly — maybe a laugh, maybe a sigh — and leaned his head against yours.

“Next time,” he said, “we’re getting it fresh. No patrols. Just me, you, and thirty minutes of not being hero and student.”