Third person pov

When Aizawa showed up for work the first day of school, Mic and Midnight both thought maybe they'd hallucinated him being all happy and colorful over the summer break. He showed up, hair messy and in its usual style. He had scruffy stubble and bags under his eyes, and that ungodly yellow sleeping bag slung over one arm. His goggles and capture weapon were present around his neck, and he showed up at the same time he always did. Exactly an hour before the school day actually started. It was as though he hadn't vacationed at all. The only give away was his tan.

Honestly, Shota didn't really want to be there. He'd went to see Atlantis in the early morning, dreading going the day without him. Atlantis had given him a cheerful kiss and peppily reassured him that he'd have a lot of fun. He said he'd later demand to know every detail of his day, and he wanted to know about all twenty of his students. Atlantis had already said how excited he was to learn about all of them as the year went on, so Shota was already less inclined to expel anyone despite having gotten rid of an entire class the year prior.

He was also going back on patrol today. It was a shorter shift that happened later in the evening to help him re-adjust, though he was sure he wouldn't need it. His senses hadn't dulled despite not being on duty. The only difference was now he was going to be more irritable. Before, he'd been fine with work. He still was! He was just... more eager to get it over with now that he had someone waiting for him. It was a nice thing, to have something to look forward to other than just a nap. 

"So, Shota! You getting back into patrolling?" Mic asked, plopping down into his chair in the teacher work area. Aizawa had skipped out on a lot, and was only just now watching the entrance exams. Nezu had picked his class for him for the first time since his first year as a teacher here. Shota had really and truly been wrapped up in his vacation, wherever or whatever that entailed. Hizashi had just about a million questions, and he was pretty sure Nemuri had twice that. The woman lived off gossip. Not knowing something could very well cause her heart to give out.

"Yes." Aizawa answered. Simple and gruff-- just like him. It was like nothing had changed! Where was that other Shota? The one who'd popped up over the summer? That Shota had been... happier. This one was just like the old one! Which wasn't really a problem, to be honest. It was just... moderately concerning, that's all. He made eye contact with Nemuri from over his computer monitor. She looked suspicious, her eyebrows raising in question as she subtly jerked her head towards Aizawa. He shrugged helplessly back.

Aizawa tiredly shuffled through the lesson plans he and Atlantis had come up with together. They were... softer than his past ones. He'd given Atlantis some of his ideas, but his were sharp and unforgiving. Atlantis was so much gentler than Shota had ever been. He had never seen human children before, but he assumed they were like most children were, even where animals were concerned. Young, naive, hopeful, and somewhat sweet when they weren't being little hellions. Shota had just shrugged, because who was he to say no to Atlantis? The merman was too bright to deny.

And so here he was, with plans for lessons that would build emotional strength as well as physical. He'd never done exercises like that before. Atlantis had insisted that if they were going to throw children-- literal children-- into harm's way, they may as well be prepared on all fronts. He had an excellent point. He was sure he'd be tweaking things a bit along the way to better fit his character, but Atlantis had given him a good outline. 

"You're quiet this morning. Something happen?" Mic interrupted his train of thought, and he turned to give his friend a flat look. He knew he hadn't spent the time he normally would've with the man as of late, or with Nemuri, but he couldn't help it. Well, he could, but that wasn't the point here. He loved Atlantis and had wanted to be with him, so that's what he did. He'd still make time for both Mic and Midnight. It would just be... later. Probably. 

"I'm always quiet, Mic." Aizawa drawled blandly. 

"That's fair." Midnight quipped back. "Are you going to tell us what you were doing all summer? You must know we're all dying to know."

Aizawa raised a brow at her, glancing around. Cementoss and Snipe averted their gazes, pretending to be chatting. Vlad's gaze flickered back to his computer screen, though Shota caught him glancing a few times. He sighed. They'd all noticed his absence during the entrance exams, and Hizashi and Nemuri were both anything but subtle. They'd probably been asking everyone if they knew anything. Which of course they didn't, but it certainly got the rumor out.

"I was on vacation." Aizawa decided on, plain and simple. Mic let out an exaggerated groan, throwing himself backwards in his chair. Nemuri just rolled her eyes, clearly not buying it. Shota didn't blame her. It was only a half truth, and everyone present knew it. Vlad King was giving him a look, Mic was complaining loudly, and Nemuri was now gazing at him like she knew something he didn't. He would've been put off by the gaze if he hadn't seen it a million times in the past. He scoffed lightly to himself, getting back to work.

While Shota was at work, Atlantis decided to venture outside the cove. He'd begun chatting more with the sea life here. He wanted to make himself a home in the area, and that meant becoming acquainted with the locals. They were all polite and generally drawn to him anyway. Most expressed that they were happy he was here, and honored by his presence. That always made him feel a bit flustered. He hadn't done anything to earn their praise. He'd simply... existed. That was all!

There was a part of the ocean they all strayed away from. Almost every finned friend he'd come across had warned him away from it. Even the sharks strayed away. The water wasn't necessarily polluted, but they said it was dangerous there. It made Atlantis a little uneasy. He made a mental note to mention it to Shota later if he got the chance. Could it be one of those villains he fought so often, or was it a natural disturbance driving his fellow sea dwellers away from the spot? Either way, he vowed not to venture that way alone. He didn't want to risk capture. Not when things with Shota were finally settling. Not when he was finally happy with someone else.

The day dragged on. Atlantis hunted down a shipwreck with the help of a friendly whale. It was old. And when Atlantis said old, he meant old. It was mostly buried, with just a half-snapped mast sticking from the sand. With the help of some curious sea turtles and eager dolphins, along with his ability to manipulate water, they started to dig. It was a large ship, but they worked fast. Atlantis had done this before, so it wasn't anything new. It was fun to see what was inside, and to see if there was any sort of date they could get. Atlantis wasn't terribly well versed in their system of time here, but he'd gathered some of it from things he found under the sea, whether it be drifting trash or long lost treasure.

The ship was big and wooden. Based on the rundown Shota had given him on human history, this had to have come from before quirk manifestation. Way, way before. Shota had mentioned historical museums before. Could some of the items in here belong there? Atlantis had little to no concept of what was valuable on land and what wasn't. To him, it seemed food would be the most expensive thing, but Shota had shrugged and said there were plenty of other things deemed more valuable. Like houses. People had to pay for to live somewhere? He was still having trouble understanding that one. For him and the other sea life, if they'd wanted to move, they did. They slept where they slept and made nest where they wished.

There were a great many things buried in the sand. A lot of photographs in glass frames emerged, damaged by water and weathering. The sand had helped preserve them. Some of the dolphins picked them up and swam in the direction of the cove. They knew where Atlantis resided nowadays. 

One photo remained untouched by time. It was inside a large, clear glass bottle full of air. The cork was in tight and had kept any sort of moisture from seeping in. It was of what he had to assume was this ship. The... crew? Yes, the crew was all standing on the large dock by it, some even on the ship. It was a grainy, browned photo, but it still made him smile. What were things like back then for humans? What were things like now? They all seemed so excited in the picture, and ready to set sail. He was sure they hadn't realized they'd crash when the set out. It was sad to think about. Had they been scared?

The bones made him feel rather morose, but the present fish were nice and helped take them away so the could be buried amongst the coral. When Atlantis passed away, he hoped someone would do the same for him. He'd want to be surrounded by all those colors for the rest of eternity if possible. Though he'd only been alive for 26 seasonal cycles-- or years he supposed Shota referred to them as-- so he had quite some time to go. Merpeople lived longer than humans in most cases. It was something he somewhat feared. What would he do if Shota passed before him? It was a terrifying thought.

There were several large boxes sitting inside the broken down ship, made from npw-rotting wood. Most were on the verge of falling apart, so he decided it was probably best to move them himself. Water wrapped around several objects carefully, and he began back toward the cove happily. He knew it was vaguely pointless, but it felt good to have something to do. Keeping busy while Shota was away would be hard. It was something he was going to have to learn to work around.

Several assorted fish followed after him curiously, and one of the turtles started to sing a song at some point. Soon more of the fish were joining in, and Atlantis found himself laughing and spinning through the water happily as they sung their spirited sea tunes. The turtles were good at making a beat, blowing out bubbles and clacking their mouths open and closed to create a background sound for everyone to belt out to. It was nice, and Atlantis relished in the music as it followed him back to the cove. He had always loved music and singing. Did humans on land have music? Surely, they did.

He pushed the boxes out of the water and to a more secluded part of the shore, where they wouldn't be visible unless you were out in sea itself. The first one opened with ease, the hinges having rusted through long ago, along with the lock. Atlantis popped out of the water, peering inside curiously. His eyes lit up excitedly, and he dunked himself back beneath the surface with a beaming smile.

"Gold!" He exclaimed, and many of the sea creatures whooped. "Don't humans find that somewhat valuable?" 

Maybe Shota could use it. He peered into the other boxes. Some had what seemed like weapons inside, and one was full of miscellaneous items he couldn't really identify. A hat, a bottle with some sort of paper in it. There was one thing that really drew him in. It was a small, blue crystal hanging from a piece of twine. It seemed alive just as the ocean was, like there was an entire sea trapped inside. It seemed to call to him as he pulled it out, peering down at it. It pulsed in his hand, and he blinked. This was not of human origin. He could feel wisps of magic pulsing off of it in rippling waves. He closed his hand around it, deciding he'd try to study it more later.

The rest of the day was spent sorting through their haul of treasure and playing aquatic games with his new friends. The dolphins he'd introduced to Aizawa came around again, and he showed them the many tricks he'd learned over the years. They had fun mimicking him, chortling to one another and teasing. They held a competition, trying to best one another. It was quite fun.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, he could feel his pearl approaching. His head popped out of the water, eyes scanning the shoreline. Shota was drawing nearer, already pulling off his capture weapon. Atlantis let out an excited yelp, falling back beneath the waves and racing towards the dock. He was excited to hear about Shota's day, and hoping he'd like the treasure he and the other sea creatures had retrieved from the sunken ship. He was quite sure gold was valuable, but he wasn't too terribly sure. Shiny rocks sometimes were, too? He wasn't too sure on that one. 

"Atlantis!" Shota exclaimed as the merman pulled himself onto the dock. Atlantis stretched out his arms and Shota lowered himself closer, capturing him in a hug and not seeming to mind the way his clothing got wet. Atlantis took a deep breath. Shota smelled less like the ocean today, and more like a combination of spices and something else. Sweat, maybe? He didn't know, nor did he really care. Shota was here! School days were terribly wrong. "I've missed you all day, you know. I was so eager to get here, I didn't even bother expelling anyone."

"I missed you too!" Atlantis burst out, beaming. Shota smiled back. "I-I found something for you! I went outside the cove today, and I found an old ship, and-"

"You found a shipwreck?" Aizawa blinked, surprised. His arms were still loosely around the merman. Looking at him now, he was pretty much vibrating with anticipation. It was adorable, and only made Shota's tension from the day melt away. The first day was always insane, but this year was going to be especially hectic, and he could tell. One of his students had already tried to kill half the others with their explosive quirk, one was a pervert, and another had broken his finger and smiled about it. 

"Yes!" Atlantis clapped his hands together. Off to the side, an unnatural pillar of water rose up and shot towards the rocky wall of the cove. Shota's brows shot up as a box was retrieved. "You... gold is valuable, isn't it? And some shiny rocks?"

"Generally." Aizawa answered, blinking. Before he could ask why Atlantis was asking, the box was plopped down on the deck and the lid was removed. Shota peered down into it curiously. It took him a moment to process it, but once he did, his eyes grew wide and his lips parted in surprise. Atlantis smiled gleefully, having absolutely no idea what he'd just found. The necklace he'd retrieved sat next to him, forgotten for the time being. 

"Do you like it?" Atlantis blinked, peering into the box. 

"That's... a lot of gold." Aizawa blanched, not knowing what to do or think. There were also several gems sitting in there, large, and pale in color. Pale blue, to be exact. "Are those diamonds?"

"What's a diamond?" Atlantis asked, pleasantly oblivious. Aizawa worked his jaw shut, shaking his head and blinking a few more times. A fond smile came to his face. Of course Atlantis would find a literal underwater fortune and not realize its actual value. 

"Nevermind." Aizawa grinned, drawing closer to him. Atlantis felt his heart skip a beat. "Now come here. I haven't gotten to do this all day."