Third person pov

Lunch came soon after healing Izuku, who didn't want to leave at first. For a long moment, the teenager just gazed into the glowing eyes of Atlantis as his quirk purred. He didn't know why it was reacting the way it was to him. Atlantis clearly seemed to sense something too, if his odd ocean comment was anything to go off of. Izuku wasn't sure what that meant, really, but it had made his quirk inflate itself happily and in a way it never had before. It made his power feel almost... alive. Recovery Girl was really too caught up in how perfectly Izuku's arm had healed to notice.

"That student of yours is very different." Atlantis noted as Shota led him to the teacher's lounge to eat, their hands linked. Recovery Girl had decided to go talk to Nezu and report how well Atlantis was doing. Apparently his healing Izuku's arm was enough to sell her completely. Atlantis had to be her successor. She wouldn't take anyone else at this point. "The one with the green hair. The ocean is fond of him. There's... something in him that's different."

"Ah, the problem child. Of course there would be." Aizawa snorted, looking down at Atlantis with a half-smile. Hearing that his day was going well was a huge relief. The tired man hadn't gotten any good chances to slip out and come check on him, so he'd resigned himself to waiting until lunch. He'd been fretting all morning that Atlantis was in some sort of distress or breaking down. To see he was seeming to settle in was another step in the right direction. It only solidified that they could do this. They could have a life together here on land. "Has anything else weird happened?"

"Not really." Atlantis' bottom lip jutted out in thought, which Shota privately thought was cute. "Recovery Girl is onto my lack of knowledge. She asked if I'd hit my head before I came to get you. I told her I didn't know."

Shota winced as they entered the teacher's lounge. Shit. Of course Recovery Girl would realize Atlantis didn't recognize basic first aid items such as band aids and gauze. Aizawa was an idiot for not thinking about it. It was too late now, though. They'd have to deal with it as it came. At least the woman hadn't tried to ask Shota why Atlantis didn't know, even if it was pretty obvious she'd probably be informing Nezu. They were lucky the shifty principal liked to watch things of these nature play out. If things went their way, he'd leave them be and simply sit back.

"Shota, Atlantis!" Mic crowed when he spotted them, drawing attention towards them. Atlantis squeezed Shota's hand without meaning to in response to the blonde voice hero's volume, and Shota squeezed back while giving his long-time friend a rather bland look that screamed unamusement. Ignoring him, he dragged his fiance further in and towards the fridge where Lunch Rush should've placed their lunches. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

"Leave them alone, Hizashi. They clearly don't want to answer any questions." Midnight mused, eyeing their conjoined hands as Aizawa carefully handed Atlantis his closed up bento. He took it cautiously, eyeing it like it was a bomb about to go off. If they didn't have an audience, Shota would've laughed. "Though it would be nice if you could formally introduce us."

"I already did. At the teacher's conference." Shota grumbled, nudging the fridge shut and turning to glare at everyone. "Now leave us alone."

"Sh-Shota, that's rude!" Atlantis blubbered, eyes going wide at the harshness of his statement. Aizawa paused, glancing down at him. "Th...They're just curious."

"You bet yer ass we are." Snipe observed. Atlantis was a small little thing. Shy, maybe a little bubbly underneath. Nothing like Aizawa. None of them ever would've assumed that would be his ideal match. He'd never been one for dating. A few of the staff had tried to set him up on dates in the past, but he simply wasn't a fan. He didn't care for romance. Yet here he was, engaged to some man none of them had ever seen or even heard of. It was concerning a bit startling.

"Yeah, when's the wedding, anyway?" Mic grinned, causing Aizawa to pause on his way to the table settled in the corner. This caused Atlantis to pause too. The underground hero turned slightly, looking slightly perplexed as he gazed down at his fiance. The man blinked right back at him, his eyes big and clueless. Where had Shota even found this guy? He was as close as you could get to a puppy without being an actual dog. Well, barring Hound Dog, but one could argue he was more animal than human at times.

"When is the wedding?" Shota asked, sounding more than a little lost. Atlantis cocked his head. "When do you want to get married?"

"U-Uh... tomorrow?" Atlantis shrugged, not really knowing if there was a right answer. Sooner seemed better than later, right? He didn't know! He had no idea what their customs were. Merfolk weddings were usually done upon proposal in the nearest field of coral with the sealife to witness. Other mers would sing songs laced with magic to bestow blessings of health and eternal love. Atlantis had only witnessed one in his lifetime, but it wasn't something he'd ever forget.

"Okay." Shota shrugged, smiling a little dumbly. Everyone seemed to pause as the two sat down, Aizawa turning his back to them so they couldn't see his facial expression. Mic spun slowly in his chair to face Midnight. 

"Did that just happen?" The woman asked in a hushed tone. Mic nodded in a stricken way. From the corner, there was a quiet laugh no one recognized. Glancing back and seeing Shota's shaking shoulders and Atlantis' flushed face, it was obvious who it was. They all looked away and focused on their own lunches. They were curious, sure. Just... not as curious as they were scared.

The rest of lunch flew by in rapid succession, and people left Atlantis and Shota alone. Mic really wanted to get to know who was marrying his best friend, but Midnight had shaken hear head and told him to leave it for now. Atlantis was adjusting to a new job and had been forced to bring his fiance back from the brink of death. He probably wanted to settle a bit. Though Nemuri was completely lost in terms of where Atlantis had come from and how he and Shota had met, she was trying her best to be understanding.

Shota didn't want to say goodbye to Atlantis when lunch ended. They'd spent every day of the summer together, and almost every night due to Shota's tendency to camp on the dock. The underground hero was having trouble believing the merman had truly taken to land. And now they were getting married. Shota was getting fucking married! How would they get married without papers? It's fine. Shota had connections. He could get it sorted for tomorrow after school was out.

Recovery Girl was keen on getting Atlantis back. She snatched him away from Shota and dragged him back into her office, leaving Atlantis to cheerfully wave and his smiling fiance. The short woman wanted to know everything about his power that he knew. He kept out anything that wasn't healing related if he could, excusing his obvious ability to manipulate water. He told her he could channel his healing ability through the liquid, and that his mother had been able to do the same thing. She'd taken it all in great stride. 

Despite not doing much that day, Atlantis was dead tired when it was over and ready to go back to Shota's apartment. He just wanted to curl up next to Shota in bed and never move again. He felt drained socially, which wasn't something he'd felt in years, he didn't think. Shota came to fetch him rather quickly, so he didn't have to wait long. Atlantis was glad. He'd missed him all day, even if he'd seen him at lunch. They were still apart a lot.

"He did great." Recovery Girl praised as Shota grasped Atlantis' hand and asked how everything had gone. "His quirk is phenomenal. I've never seen anything quite like it."

"He is pretty amazing." Shota allowed, causing Atlantis to beam at him. Shota's lips twitched up into a small smile. "Thanks for taking care of him, Shuzenji. I'll bring him back tomorrow."

"See that you do. I've already grown attached." The woman said fondly before she was spinning back around in her chair to face her desk. Shota snorted, tugging Atlantis out the door. Most of the students had already rushed out, flooding down the halls and funneling out the front door. He hadn't thought Atlantis would appreciate the surge. Shota never did like dealing with the crowd, and he'd grown up around people. He couldn't imagine how Atlantis would've felt trying to push through that.

Atlantis thought the day had gone well. Everyone he'd met was nice so far, and no one had pressured him with questions. Recovery Girl had asked some, but they were the light kind that he didn't mind answering. She wasn't digging, just requesting. It was... nice. He felt welcomed! Shota seemed happy to. Atlantis knew he was. He missed the ocean, but knew he could make a home here. The ocean had believed that too. It's why it had pushed him onto land. The sea was wise, and it knew there was more out there for him.

"Are we going home now?" Atlantis asked, peering up at him. "I feel tired."

"Yeah, I thought we could go home and nap. I don't have patrol tonight, so we can watch a movie or sleep." Shota smiled down at him. "Anything you want, really."

Atlantis' heart swelled at the thought. He opened his mouth to respond, but his voice suddenly caught in his throat as something harsh tugged at him. His head immediately snapped to the left, his eyes wide and searching. His hand slipped from Shota's as he looked. His fiance looked down at him with startled concern. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting his sudden snap to attention. Atlantis hadn't expected it either. His heart was racing a mile a minute.

This wasn't right. He hadn't felt this in a long time-- he'd almost forgotten the feeling. But it didn't make sense to feel it here. This was an emotion that belonged in the sea. It was the sea. How could it possibly be here on land? In this school? Of all the places, he didn't understand how it could be here. He wanted to reach out and grab it. He'd missed it. He wanted it back, but he couldn't see it. Where was it? His body was being pulled towards it, but towards where? 

"Are you okay? What happened?" Shota asked with clear concern. Atlantis' eyes were watery and darting about, his shoulders tense as his gaze snapped about. He completely ignored Shota. No, that wasn't right. The underground hero wasn't sure he'd been heard at all, period. He tried to follow his gaze, but it didn't appear Atlantis had found what he was looking for quite yet. Did he even know what it was?

"I..." Atlantis felt tears well up in his eyes as his gaze came to rest on the small cluster of students moving towards the front door, chattering in an unassuming way. The crystal hanging around his neck vibrated happily, chirping at him appraisingly as he watched them all walk. His magic swirled, yearning to extend forth towards the familiarity he was feeling. But that didn't make sense. That would mean-

There.

In that crowd of students was one that stood out. One Atlantis recognized. He had stopped walking completely and was left behind by the rest, and seemed confused as he held his hand to his chest. Atlantis felt his lips part in surprise as his magic reared its head more powerfully than it had in years, as though it had been sleeping this whole time. For a moment, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't even think. He could only stare as the teenager's head turned, purple eyes like deep, violet acropora coral. Wild hair to match that stood up wildly and without bounds. The boy's backpack dropped to the ground with a heavy thud as it fell from his grasp, his hand flying up to cover his mouth in disbelief as his tired eyes widened in shock. Atlantis choked out a sob.

"Hitoshi?"