"Is there anything you wish for, Kumohira-sensei?"

Aizawa's tone is just a little too coy to be innocent and, when Thobari turns his head to look (just a little too quickly to be non-chalant), he finds Aizawa's smile coy enough to match. In another world, another lifetime, it might have been a casual question, but with the shinrabanshou on everyone's mind, anything and everything to do with wishes and hopes is (and must be) suspect.

"Nothing... in particular," he replies carefully, trying for neutrality, even disinterest, and failing. Aizawa's widening smile tells him as much.

"Is that so?" An eyebrow arches ever so slightly and Aizawa leans back a bit. "But what about your phobia? Wouldn't life be easier if you could get on trains, or ride in cars, without fear? I mean, you'd certainly save money on all the shoes you must have to buy, given all the walking you do."

Thobari starts to reply, then frowns. "Are you teasing me, Aizawa?"

The smile is back with all its wide-eyed almost-innocence, and it's very hard suddenly to believe he's older than fourteen. "Would I do that... Kumohira-sensei?"

"Now you're definitely teasing me." Thobari shakes his head. "What about you, then? What do you wish for?"

"You already know the answer to that." The amusement fades ever so slightly.

Thobari waves his hand, trying to brush away that hint of sadness and not quite sure why it matters so much. "No, not that, something else, something happier. You asked me, so it's only fair that you answer your own stupid question."

"But you never answered!" Now there's laughter again, in Aizawa's eyes and smile and voice, and the world feels just a little bit brighter. "But all right, since you want to know..." He taps a fingertip against his cheek thoughtfully, teasing again even as he hesitates.

"Well?" Thobari crosses his arms, smiling a little bit now himself. He's not a mean-spirited person, of course, but sometimes it's very satisfying to watch the tables turn.

"I'm thinking!" And, laughing aloud now, he gets up from his seat and walks over to the railing. After a pause, looking out across the water, he pulls himself up, balancing carefully on the narrow beam with his arms spread as though to fly.

Thobari is up in an instant, rushing over to grab him before he falls. "Aizawa! What are you doing?" He grabs his ankle and tugs him backwards into his arms. But Aizawa weighs more than he expected and, rather than heroically catch him, he just sends both of them sprawling.

Aizawa peers down at him, glasses askew, and the laughter's back but somehow different. "I was thinking."

"Is... that so?" Thobari swallows compulsively at their closeness, but doesn't push Aizawa away.

"Mmhmm." And he closes the narrow distance between them suddenly with a kiss that's certain and soft at once. And then he's whispering something against Thobari's mouth and it takes a moment for Thobari's brain to catch up with the words, but when it does, he wants to smile, too.

"I think I know what else I'd wish for."