With most of his habitants gone, it was unusually quiet in the students' dorms.

Izuku, though, didn't mind. Quite the opposite. He actually enjoyed the silence, taking the chance of a quiet and peaceful afternoon to catch up on his notes and journals. He had been invited to join Kirishima and Kaminari for some extra training, since most of their classmates had gone home over the weekend and they had the training grounds to themselves.

But Izuku had declined, still remembering that he had promised Aizawa to take it easy until he had recovered from his nightly brawl with Kacchan. The boys had shrugged, letting it go easily, though Kirishima reminded him that he could always join them later if he wanted.

Izuku appreciated the offer, but didn't feel to take them up on it.

That's how he had ended up in the living room, feet drawn up onto the armchair, one of his notebooks leaning against his drawn-up knees as he gnawed at the end of his pencil in thought.

From time to time, he would look up from his notes, over to the couch. There, All Might – no, Toshinori-san, Izuku reminded himself – was taking a nap, a thin blanket frown over himself as he slept soundlessly, showing the watching boy his back.

It had taken an exasperated Aizawa, a few pleading students (mostly Mina and Uraraka) and a stern reprimand from Recovery Girl to finally convince the former hero that it was completely alright to take naps throughout the day as often as he could.

Toshinori had grumbled and sighed, protesting half-heartedly, "Isn't taking naps only something for old people?"

"You're retired," Aizawa had answered, fed up with the other's stubbornness, "If someone is allowed to act like an old man, it's you. And now go to sleep before we sedate you."

And that had been that.

It had not even taken that long for Toshinori to fall asleep. Once his head had hit the pillow and Izuku had wished him a good sleep, the former hero had been out like a light.

He must have been really tired, Izuku thought, looking over again.

Toshinori's face twitched just then, nose scrunching up slightly and brows furrowing before relaxing again.

The urge to draw the sleeping man, add the picture of a completely relaxed and peaceful Yagi Toshinori to his notes, was almost overwhelming, but Izuku managed to resist. It felt like it would be rude to draw a sleeping person without their consent.

Perhaps I can ask him when he wakes up, Izuku mused, trying and succeeding to hold back a snicker. That would be a funny reaction for sure, asking his rather self-conscious mentor if he could draw him for his hero-notes. He could already picture the rather surprised "Why me, my boy?"

Toshinori still didn't understand that he was as much an idol to Izuku as All Might was.

A sudden sound pulled the boy from his musings, and he blinked, looking around for the source of it.

The sound repeated itself, a hoarse, broken half-word trailing off in a whimper, and with cold shock, Izuku understood where it was coming from.

Letting his notebook fall down onto the ground without care, he was out of his seat and rushing over to the couch without a second thought.

The sight that greeted him was heart-wrenching.

Toshinori was turning and tossing so much, it was a surprise that he had not fallen of the couch yet. His blanket had been kicked off already, a tangled bunch of cloth that he was pressing to his chest instead of covering himself with it. Haggard features twisted into a grimace, the retired hero threw his head from one side to the other, mumbling and groaning in his sleep. What he was saying was unintelligible, but judging from the sounds he made and his fearful, pained expression it couldn't be something good.

Flailing, shifting in spot, Izuku tried to figure out what to do. His first thought had been to wake Toshinori up, but that thought didn't sit well with him. His mentor slept far too rarely, staying up often when everyone had already gone to bed. The man needed the sleep, desperately so.

But he couldn't just leave him to his nightmares.

Searching for a way to calm the retired hero down and reassure him that he wasn't alone, Izuku reached out without much thinking and laid a shaky hand on top of his mentor's head.

Instantly, both of them stopped moving, Toshinori twitching and then falling silent, and Izuku frozen in shock by his own boldness.

Soft, was the first thing Izuku registered, a bit perplexed by his discovery. Somehow he had always thought that his mentor's hair would feel as spikey as it looked. It defied all laws of gravity, after all.

I really shouldn't be doing this, he worried only seconds later. Here he was, petting the sleeping Number One's hair as if it was the most normal thing of the world.

It wasn't, really. Izuku had to fight the urge to pinch himself because he wanted to make sure that he wasn't dreaming right now. He always had had the feel of unbelieving wonder whenever he had somehow come into contact with All Might, be it a pat on the shoulder or the ruffing of his hair or even a hug.

How, just how had he of all people, quirkless, nerdy little Deku, ended up being the one who was allowed to come so close to his idol? It was difficult to accept that reality, when he always thought that it had to be a dream.

A huff pulled Izuku from his thought, and he noted that Toshinori was shifting slightly again, frown marring his features and sweat breaking out on his forehead as he mumbled something, fingers gripping the blanket tighter again.

Pushing his own silly thoughts aside, Izuku scooted closer, daring to card his hand through the blond strands. Careful, steady strokes.

Instantly, Toshinori's features eased up a bit, mumbling turning into a questioning, confused little noise.

"Shhh," Izuku whispered, keeping up the stroking motions. "Shhh, it's okay. Everything is alright, I promise."

I can be embarrassed later, the boy decided, determined. Right now, I have to look out for Toshinori-san.

There was a flutter of eyelashes, barely visible in the shadows of Toshinori's deep eye sockets, and Izuku held his breath, fearing that he had failed and the man would wake up now. But then, Toshinori breathed out deeply, almost a sigh, and turned around, drawing his blanket further up and curling into himself. The tense set of Toshinori's shoulders fell and he relaxed back into the cushions, breathing becoming deep and even again.

Due to Toshinori turning around, Izuku was now face to face with his mentor. Like this, he could study the familiar features closer than he normally would when Toshinori was awake.

Frowning, the boy discovered with slight worry that Toshinori looked more tired than he had been aware of. There were shadows under his eyes, his skin was paler than usually and his breath came raspier than Izuku was used to.

When was the last time he slept? Izuku wondered to himself, unconsciously picking up the stroking again, letting blond hair slip through his fingers and lightly rubbing over the cold skin of the man's neck. Or did he try to sleep and woke up to nightmares every time?

The thought alone made him feel sick. Oh, he knew the feeling of waking up disoriented and shaken all too well, especially since Kamino Ward. There had been no night of peaceful sleep since then, he had always woken up drenched in cold sweat and shivering at the memories of blood and death and don't hurt them, please don't…!

He just… had never thought that Toshinori would have those nightmares, too.

It only made sense, though, Izuku mused. After all, All Might had been far closer up than anyone else. He had spent years and years amidst catastrophes and fights in order to protect society. Izuku could only fathom what horrors the former hero had seen during his career.

Not to mention, the boy thought darkly, gaze falling onto Toshinori's covered up left side, all the scars you got.

If I am already struggling with nightmares – then how must it be for you?

Izuku had to bite his bottom lip as to not huff in annoyance and anger. That wasn't fair at all. After doing so much for everyone, Toshinori couldn't even get some peaceful sleep. Not to mention that he probably worried about his retirement and the loss of his strength every waking moment.

Determination surged through Izuku like a wave, and he could feel One for All react to it. His quirk flared, warm and comforting, sending a familiar tingle over his skin.

Carefully pulling the blanket out of Toshinori's grip, he unfolded the cloth and covered his mentor up with it again, making sure that he was safely bundled up. Only then did Izuku sit down onto the ground cross-legged, never taking his eyes from Toshinori.

"I'm going to protect you," he told his sleeping teacher quietly. Fully aware that the sleeping man couldn't hear him, but that didn't change anything about the fact that he meant it. "I won't ever let you get hurt again, I promise you."

Waking up was, normally, a very abrupt and rude thing for Toshinori. One moment, he would be struggling to fall asleep, tossing and turning to find the much needed rest, and the next, he would shoot up from a violent, blood-freezing nightmare of days long gone and wounds long faded into scars.

Thus, he felt a bit confused when he woke up slowly for once. He couldn't remember any nightmares nor could he think of when he fell asleep. He didn't even know where he had fallen asleep.

But Toshinori was far too content to really worry about things like that. He felt pleasantly sleepy and warm, balancing somewhere between sleeping and waking.

Letting out a soft noise, he shifted and stretched a bit, ready to fall back asleep just like that.

He didn't get the chance to do so. As soon as he moved and made a noise, he registered some shuffling next to him, and a very familiar voice whispered, "Shhh, it's okay."

Scrunching up his nose in confusion, Toshinori tried to recognize the voice. Familiar, gentle…

Izuku?

Oh, right. The memories came back as he tried to summon them up. Izuku had been sitting with him in the living room, reading something while he had tried to get a nap…

Toshinori had no idea how long he had been asleep, but his student had seemingly stayed with him the whole time.

"Don't worry," Izuku said next him, quietly and reassuring.

Mind still clouded by sleep, Toshinori struggled to understand what his student meant by that. Why should he be worried? He wasn't worried, just a bit confused and disorientated.

But before he could ask, there was a firm yet gentle touch on his scalp and Toshinori blinked blearily, startled by the feeling of being petted of all things. Warm fingers carding through his hair, gently tugging knots out and smoothing it out and…

It felt nice, Toshinori noted, surprised. It was almost hypnotizing, very calming, and made it entirely too difficult to stay awake when part of him just wanted to lean into the soft touch and fall back asleep.

Settling for a compromise, Toshinori hummed and let himself doze a bit, enjoying the care he was given. Izuku was most likely only so bold because he thought his mentor still asleep and unaware, and the retired hero would rather be damned than giving himself away by saying something, risking to lose the feel of that nice petting.

He could get really used to that.

The petting didn't stop, but Izuku spoke again, voice slightly shaky as he assured again. "You don't have to worry."

I'm not worried, though, Toshinori wanted to say, frown wrinkling his brows slightly. Why did the boy keep insisting that he had no reason to be worried? And why was Izuku even trying to calm him down…?

Oh.

A thought hit him, and it took everything last bit of Toshinori's self-control not to bolt upwards in sudden understanding.

The nightmares.

With Izuku being here and his nightmares being a regular occurrence, it was more than likely that he had done or said something in his sleep that had worried Izuku. Something that had driven the boy to try and calm him down, instead of the other way around.

Shit. I'm never falling asleep in the living room again.

He couldn't take back what he had done in his sleep, but he could at least reassure Izuku that it was alright. So he pushed himself to speak, voice croaking and hoarse from sleep but clear enough to be heard, "I'm not worried."

Like he had thought, Izuku's hand froze, a hitch in the boy's breath telling him that his student had all but stopped breathing in shock. Then there was a squeak, and Izuku scrambled to pull back, probably embarrassed that he had been caught.

Toshinori wouldn't let him, though. Blinking his still heavy eyelids open, his hand shot up and caught the boy's wrist before it was out of reach.

There was a pause as neither of them moved and Toshinori struggled to fully wake up.

When he finally managed to keep his eyes open, he turned, pushing himself up onto one elbow so that he could look at his student.

Izuku met his gaze, even though the freckled cheeks were burning red in embarrassment and the boy was biting his lips. Insecure about how the older would react.

"I'm not worried," Toshinori repeated, gaze softening as he met Izuku's. "For you are here."

He didn't know where it came from, but there was that feeling… no, the knowledge that, no matter what would happen from now on, no matter his own inability to protect himself or others… there was no doubt in Toshinori's mind that he was completely save as long as Izuku was with him.

There was a flicker of something in Izuku's eyes – surprise, shock, understanding, joy – before the boy smiled brightly, all happiness and determination while he nodded. "Right!"

Toshinori's lips curled into an answering grin and he chuckled. Tugging at the boy's wrist that he still held hostage, he brought his student closer, until Izuku had no other choice but to climb onto the couch next to his mentor and their foreheads knocked together gently.

Izuku's face was hot, the still present blush giving off heat, but Izuku hummed happily, closing his eyes as they leaned against each other for a second, drawing strength from each other. Slipping off, Izuku shifted until he could bury his face in the crook of Toshinori's neck, staying there, arms wrapping tightly around the man's torso.

Understanding that the boy was still too embarrassed to look him in the eyes right now, Toshinori let him hide. Instead he adjusted, pulling Izuku with him as he lay back down. It took some shuffling and twisting, but finally he managed to lay onto his back, Izuku curled half against and half on top of him, and the blanket wrapped around the both of them.

One green eye appeared between messy strands, blinking curiously up at him.

"I would like to get some more sleep," Toshinori mumbled in explanation.

A blink, then a chuckle, and Izuku nodded against him. "Okay."

Resting one hand on top of the boy's head, Toshinori returned to earlier favor by ruffling the green hair gently. He was pretty sure that Izuku felt rather comfortable like this, too, but he still had to ask, "Stay here?"

This time, Izuku turned fully, resting his chin on his mentor's chest in order to look up at him. His eyes were determined as he answered quietly. "Don't you worry."

"Right," huffing out a laugh, seeing the answering grin of his protégé, Toshinori allowed his tired eyes to fall closed again.

Kept warm by both the blanket and Izuku, the boy's scarred fingers wrapped around his own bony ones' and knowing that he was being watched over - Toshinori had never fallen asleep as fast and easily as he did now.

This time, no nightmares plagued his sleep, and for the first time in a long while he was able to sleep deep and peacefully.

Izuku didn't let go of the warm hand in his, not even when he was sure that Toshinori had fallen back asleep. He stayed where he was, listening to the calm breathing and the slightly stuttering, but strong heartbeat under his right ear.

The clear signs of life where the most beautiful things he had ever heard, Izuku decided with a smile, and he wouldn't trade them for the world.