Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Katsuki

The attack at the USJ was fresh on both he and Izuku's minds for the past couple of weeks. They were given a few days off of school, and Katsuki used that as time for self improvement. Since his dad was told, with little room for argument by literally everyone that cared about him, to stay off his feet. He tried complaining that he needed to do some things around the house, when his work excuses flopped, but Izuku and Katsuki were on it. They could tell that he was caught between being proud of them for taking on the responsibility, and being upset because they were against him getting up and around to help them.

Katsuku sat Izuku down, and told him that they needed to hash out a plan in case their dad tries to help, and how they were going to divide chores. 

Izuku volunteered to do literally everything except cook. Because, apparently he tried when their dad got sick way back when, and he almost (he did) burn the kitchen down. He said he would usually love to try again, but he wasn't sure it wasn't going to happen again, and burning the kitchen down wasn't very helpful for the healing of one's mind and body. 

But that was okay, because Katsuki liked cooking. He was running out of recipe options that don't include knives, but he was working on that. It was taking longer than he would have wished, though.

Izuku volunteered to do the knife-ing when the recipe required it, and Katsuki would temporarily leave the room. He felt stupid. What a sad thing to be afraid of. His brother isn't going to stab him, what is he thinking?

They walked to UA every day, and either Hizashi or All Might taught their dad's class. Supposedly, Hizashi threatened the number one hero. With what, Aizawas 2 & 3.0 did not know. It was best not to question it.

Izuku disappeared during the lessons that he knew All Might was going to teach, which cut his time with their classmates in another half. He spent all his time with Mei, whom Katsuki met during this whole shit show. She was nice. A little manic, but Katsuki didn't mind. Izuku was right when he said they had similar personalities. 

Izuku was also getting super close to their shared classmate, Shinsou. Like Katsuki was close to Eijiro kind of bond. 

"Hey, Izuku, I have a question for you," Katsuki asked that morning. Shinsou had yet to arrive. 

"What's up Kacchan?" Izuku replied.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?"

"What is this, a middle school slumber party?" Izuku asked, stiff. If Katsuki knew Izuku at all, he was trying to redirect the conversation.

"It's Shinsou, isn't it?"

"Yes, oh my God, he's so pretty!" Izuku exclaimed, sighing, and leaning onto his desk, "Just look at him! He's the most perfect boy ever."

Katsuki's eyes drifted to Eijiro, who was doodling puppies in his notebook, "No, you've got it all wrong."

"Eijiro is the most perfect boy for you," Izuku replied, poking Katsuki's cheek, "Hitoshi and I are made for each other."

"Then tell him," Katsuki prompted, taking a good long look at Eijiro before he tuned back into the conversation, "It's not that hard."

"Were you the one to ask Eijiro out?" Izuku asked.

"Yes, actually," Katsuki sighed, gripping Izuku's shoulders like he was a sports team member, and Katsuki was hyping him up, "I promise you nothing will go wrong, if you time it right. Tell him."

Izuku stared back at him for a long second, before Shinsou walked into the room, Izuku's green eyes tracked the movement, and he blushed, "I'll think about it."

All Might began the heroics lesson the next afternoon. Of course, that meant that Izuku was hanging off his friend's shoulder in one of the other classrooms. Far, far away from All Might and his bullshit.

Shinsou, ever the skulker, approached him during the lesson. Like he was counting on his brother being absent.

This was either about to go really well, or really poorly. Katsuki didn't know which.

"Hey," he started. So far so good. 

"What's up? Is this about Izuku?"

"It is, actually," Shinsou confirmed. Oh good, so Katsuki was right, "How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," Katsuki shrugged. This was bound to be way more fun than listening to All Might's droning voice go on and on about flashiness (again), "What do you want?"

"Is your brother single?" 

"Do me a favor, and count the people in line to date him," Katsuki pointed out.

"So that's a yes?" He asked.

"Of course, that's a yes, dumbass. Why? Are you interested?"

"Let's say I was," he said slowly, like he was afraid of Katsuki's reaction. What was he going to say, No? Izuku was dead over heels for this guy. "How would you respond?"

Katsuki stared at this kid for a long time. He thought, 'What the fuck? Is this guy legitimately asking for my blessing? What is this, an eighteenth century courting ritual?'

Shinsou hovered nervously around him, but to his credit he was very good at hiding it.

"Literally just ask him out," Katsuki said when he was done staring. Izuki was right. Making people uncomfortable with just one's eyes was really easy, "It's not that hard, eyebags."

"What do you know?" Shinsou asked. Katsuki raised his arm and pointed at Eijiro. His redheaded boyfriend noticed the attention, waved, and blew him a kiss. Dork.

"Fair enough," Shinsou sighed, "So you're cool with me asking him out?"

"Birdie, this isn't a romance novel. Just do it."

"I'll think about it."

Izuku was right (again). They really were made for each other. 

He wondered if he'd have to deal with any more of this shipping drama.

_______

The answer was yes. He did.

"Katsuki!" Izuku screamed from his bedroom. 

Katsuki was in the kitchen, inching towards the knife block. He had just gotten his hands on the handle of a small one when Izuku showed up at the counter, and started interrogating him. Looks like homemade knife exposure therapy would have to wait.

"What. Are you doing?"

"You said I should ask him out!" He screeched. 

Katsuki put a hand to his mouth, to try and shut him up because their dad was asleep, but Izuku just licked him. Instead of being vocally disgusted, he simply wiped his hands on a disinfectant wipe, and instructed Izuku to not do so again, "You should wash out your mouth before your tongue starts burning. Remember my explosion Quirk? Take a wild guess as to how it's activated."

Izuku, for his part, only hesitated for a second, before he was dashing to the other side of the kitchen counter to rinse the nitroglycerin off his tongue. 

Then he ran back over to the other side of the counter, sat back down, and hounded Katsuki for answers. Answers to what, he didn't know. And he wasn't going to focus on it either. He had cookies to take off the tray.

"You said I should ask him out," Izuku restarted. Katsuki hummed, noncommittal.

"Did you?" He asked, "Ask him out, that is."

"No! I didn't get the chance to, before he did it first!" He yelled, flapping his hands angrily.

"Izuku, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a good thing?" He asked, not pausing in plating the cookies.

"It isn't when you have an idiot brother who had every opportunity to spill my secret!" That sounded like an accusation.

"Izuku, I swear– One: I promise I did not say anything to him about your die-hard cutie-pie crush. And Two: it's not a secret. Ask literally anyone."

"DAD!" Izuku yelled. Katsuki really hoped he wasn't asleep.

"What do you need, Izuku?" He heard his dad answer, fully awake, and sounding slightly panicked.

"Did you know I have a crush on Shinsou?"

"That purple-haired kid in my class?" He asked loudly. Katsuki should talk to Izuku about loosening the reins on their dad's recovery. Especially since he was moving just fine, now.

"Yes!" Izuku screeched, right next to Katsuki. His hearing aids didn't like that.

"Yeah, I knew that," he shouted back, "You aren't very good at hiding it kiddo."

Izuku grumbled, "I'll accept when I've been defeated," he replied, picking at the charm he attached to his phone case, "what am I supposed to do now?"

"I don't know, Izuku, maybe accept the date?" Katsuki asked. It really wasn't difficult. Katsuki didn't understand why they were having so much trouble, "Unless you don't want to, in which case politely decline."

"No I want to go," Izuku said, then sniffled, "But I don't know how. What if we go on this date, and he decides he doesn't like me? What if I'm not good enough?"

Katsuki took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. It would take a lot of patience to get over this next hurdle, "Izuku, he asked me yesterday if it was okay that he asked you out. Like I was some prestigious noble in medieval times, and he was but a lowly commoner–"

"Are you sure those aren't just your complex fantasies?"

"Can you wait for me to finish before you try to roast me?" He sighed, "Anyway, he asked if you were single."

Izuku looked at him in disbelief, like he was surprised that Katsuki was telling him someone liked him. 'Bullshit,' Katsuki thought, 'you're the most annoying, lovable little shit.'

"Seriously, the dudes got a major crush," Katsuki confided, "Besides, if he goes on this date with you and quote 'decides that he doesn't doesn't like you', I have class with him all day, every day. I spar with plenty of people. What stops me from going just a little bit harder on him if he's an asshole to you? Offer pending for any and all couple fights, by the way."

"Katsuki's right," his dad walked out of his bedroom, leaning slightly on the wall, like he had bad balance. Izuku looked two seconds away from sending him back to bed, and it looked like his dad was just waiting for it to happen. Katsuki, however, thought that he would be useful in this discussion, and motioned for him to come sit down. He looked so relieved to be able to join them. 

"That kid is so in love, I wonder if he's even paying attention in class," he said, sighing as he took a seat next to them, "He sits right behind you Izuku, and I can see his eyes glaze over while he daydreams."

Izuku looks a little disturbed. Katsuki supposed he just didn't know about that. Huh.

"Give me your phone," Katsuki demanded, "You want to go, you don't know how to respond, I do, give me the phone."

Izuku, albeit reluctantly, handed over his phone. 

::Izu is Online::

(Today. 2:34pm)Toshi: 

Hey zuzu

I have a question for you.

You're not here right now, but now that I've sent the message I can't take it back and I think if I wait too long to say it I'll weasel out of it and never tell you. 

(Today. 2:35pm) Toshi:

Izuku, are you there?

Okay then here goes

Sorry this is nerve wracking

Asdkejshsbs

Crap, sorry I dropped my phone

Okay, now here goes

There's a new cat cafe opening down near the grocery store.

Would you like to go with me to check it out?

Like a date situation?

(Today. 2:37pm)Toshi:

Fuck I'm sorry thats super awkward

I wanna ask you properly

Shit you just read these messages

So is it a yes or a no?

Don't feel pressured to say yes, please

(Today. 2:38pm)Izu:

I'm here

Ummm

Give me one sec

(Today. 2:38pm)Toshi:

Okay

Take your time

(Today. 2:48pm)Izu:

I'd love to!

When are you free?

(Today. 2:49pm)Toshi:

Oh shit really?

Fuck yea!

I'm free any day

(Today. 2:54pm)Izu:

I'm free tomorrow

At what time

(Today. 2:56pm)Toshi:

How about 3

That seems like a pretty open time

(Today. 3:00pm)Izu:

It's a date!

♡♡♡

::Izu is Offline::

"All done," Katsuki handed the device back to Izuku, "Are we going to talk about how your chat names are Izu and Toshi?" He asked. He saw Izuku stiffen just a little as he watched, and he waved an arm to brush it off.

"I won't if you won't," Izuku snorted.

"Are you sure you aren't already dating?" Katsuki teased. He felt a steady, pleasant warmth in his chest when he thought about how happy this made Izuku. His little brother was going on a date.

Izuku smiled at him, head inclined slightly to the left, silently thanking him, Katsuki thought. His dad smiled at both of them, "I've missed you both." He said. 

"You haven't left. We haven't been gone," Katsuki pointed out, finally placing the plate of cookies between them. Izuku offered them to their dad, and then took the rest of the plate.

"No, but someone," he looked pointedly at Izuku, "didn't want me to walk around my own house, and justified it by calling it healing."

"I stand by that decision," Izuku defended himself. Katsuki wondered how this debate would play out, "If you walk around the house, you wouldn't heal, and if you don't heal, you don't be a good hero, and then you lose brownie points."

"Brownie points," he echoed, bored, "what the fuck are those?"

"It doesn't matter, because what I did is called 'backseat healing'. Basically I'm your live, laugh, loving nurse in this situation."

Katsuki and his dad shared a long look. They agreed, silently, that Izuku was not the most desirable caretaker. They would not, however, voice that fact to him. It was better to have Izuku positive in this situation anyways. The opposite is… Izuku was very reactive when he got upset. 

"While we're one the subject of healing," Katsuki said, turning the rest of his attention to his dearly beloved dad, "Speaking as Recovery Girl's messenger, you are allowed to return to work on Monday morning. Teaching only."

"Oh, that's great! Finally," he sighed, leaning back in his chair. 

Katsuki felt rather nice about his family. He had a troublesome little brother (but who doesn't, right?) and a dad that truly cared. Sure he worried about the potential of this arrangement going wrong, what with what Shinsou would describe as "daddy issues", but nothing that would actively harm his relationships. 

Izuku liked causing problems, Katsuki kind of followed his lead, and their dad stood to the side and either let it happen, or did his best to stop it, depending on the severity of what they planned to do. He must like fixing things, since he has adopted two children with a genius knack for inciting agitation.

Katsuki and Izuku may (or may not) have kept him on bed rest a little too long, and they were both quite certain that Recovery Girl thought that it was hilarious that two teenagers were willing and able to all but lock Aizawa "Eraserhead" Shouta in his bedroom until his bones stopped being weak. Essentially, the student has become the teacher, and they grounded their dad.

He could tell he didn't mind too much, though.

Izuku soon waved them off with a 'later losers' and Katsuki was pretty sure he heard the ceiling creak. Shinsou described it as a clubhouse, and Izuku requested that he avoid intruding. His dad also said he should avoid that area. Katsuki Wondered if it was for his protection or Izuku's. Maybe both.

He hoped Izuku's date goes well.

For Shinsou's sake. 

Izuku

Izuku's date with Hitoshi was right around the corner, and he's so excited! A cat cafe with the cutest boy in the entirety of UA. Cafe. Date. Izuku might swoon.

Hitoshi messaged him a few more times throughout the night, and at some point during each conversation he tentatively brought up the date. Like he was silently asking Izuku if he actually wanted to go. Which was a terrible question to ask. Of course he wanted to go. He wanted to go more than anything.

And that's how he found himself in front of 'Flavourly Latte', with an electronic sign that had a chibi mug with latte art styled like a cat. Huh. The sign was cute. Hitoshi, right next to him, was bright red. 

'It kind of clashes with his hair,' Izuku thought, 'It is now my life's mission to make him as flushed as possible.'

Hitoshi ushered him inside like he was a prince, and strode awkwardly over to one of the far booths. It was obvious he was uncomfortable, but Izuku tried to avoid letting it bug his insecurities. He was probably just being weird because this was a date. A date with a person that he apparently had a huge crush on. Izuku felt good being that person.

Hitoshi insisted he order whatever he wanted. Don't worry about anything. Izuku told him that that was sweet, but he was not going to let him pay for everything.

"I have been preparing myself to give you the perfect first date. I can't do that if you're going to be stubborn."

"Well, I'm naturally stubborn," Izuku reminded him, crossing his arms on his chest. He was hoping it made himself look bigger, but Katsuki told him he looked like an angry toddler when he did that, and that wasn't the energy he was going for, "So you should prepare yourself for that."

"Oh, I did. But little do you know that I'm also stubborn, and I'm paying," Hitoshi also crossed his arms. Whoa. That worked for him. It left his muscle-y arms on display.

"Bring it on Lavender," Izuku challenged. 

Turns out, Hitoshi was not kidding when he said he was paying. He and Izuku playfully fought over it every few minutes, until they agreed that whoever got to the bill first got to pay. And Hitoshi won by a landslide. He looked like he was going faster than light as he dashed to their table to pay before Iduku could even get up. He would like to state his case and condition as 'incapacitated'. Why? There was a cat that had been deciding where he wanted to sit, and Izuku didn't know if he would pick his lap or not. 

The rest of the date continued like that for a long time. Hitoshi would offer to pay, Izuku would fight him, they would banter around, then Hitoshi would pull some stupid scheme to pay before Izuku could first. 

Maybe he resorted to trickery because he knew that Izuku would win otherwise. 

Eventually, they arrived at the beach. Takoba Beach. Izuku noted that it was clearer than he remembered, and Hitoshi moved along past the rubble to an old train car. Izuku thought it looked well used.

"What is this place?" He asked cautiously. He hadn't heard of any murders in the area, but he thought it was okay to be nervous.

"You have your attic clubhouse, I have my beach clubhouse," Hitoshi justified the secret, "I come here to hide from my mums."

"Your mum's are… bad, then?"

"Oh," Hitoshi paused, "No, they're not bad. They just don't understand me. And the fosters are mean."

Fosters? Was Hitoshi adopted?

"They like taking in 'kids like me'. Kids that lost one or both parents in villain attacks. A lot of the kids they bring are older than me, though," Hitoshi sighed, sitting on his own little makeshift bed in the corner of the old car, "They're nothing like me."

Izuku sat down on one of the old seats, and waited for Hitoshi to continue.

"Sorry, this isn't really a first date conversation," he apologized, "I'll change the subject."

"No, no you can keep talking. Your voice is calming," Izuku prompted, resting his head on the back of the chair. 

"Okay, but I stand by changing the subject. Do you have a preferred topic?"

"No… just talk."

He did. He talked for what felt like hours. Time blurred when he spoke, and Izuku was getting tired. He'd close his eyes for just a minute. Just a minute. Then he'd open them and keep listening.

When he opened his eyes, they weren't in the train car. Hitoshi was carrying him, down streets not unfamiliar. The sun was barely set, bathing the alley with a vivid orange hue. It also clashed with Lavender's hair, and Izuku was reminded that he wanted to make him blush a whole lot. Oh well, there was always next time. 

When they rounded the corner, and spotted Izuku's house, Hitoshi stiffened. When Izuku looked, Kacchan was waiting for them, leaning against the door. He looked pissed. Uh oh. What was he mad about?

"Izuku, are you okay?" He asked hurriedly, panicked. 

Izuku wiggled off of Hitoshi's back, and yawned, "Yeah, why?"

"Because you were supposed to be back two hours ago!" 

Oh. Izuku didn't know that. He never considered planning a time for the date to end, "I'm fine. We just fell asleep."

"Actually, you fell asleep. I just kept talking." Hitoshi corrected, taking a small step back after he set Izuku down.

"Where did you go?" 

"The cafe, a toy store, and the beach." Hitoshi was taking this concern really well. That's probably good. If Hitoshi panicked, Kacchan would likely get even more upset.

"We laughed at Endeavor merch," Izuku sighed with content, "and he bought me this rubber dinosaur, and this frog plush."

He showed Katsuki the items, and he relaxed a little, "I was worried. Please be better next time."

"Sorry, Katsuki."

"Yeah, I'm sorry Kacchan."

"Just get inside," he pointed at the door, and moved out of the way. Izuku waved goodbye to Hitoshi, and he caught the tail end of Hitoshi's smile.

Once the door was shut, the voices resumed, and Izuku could hear them through the wood.

"Did he have fun?"

"We both did. I promise he's fine, too. He just fell asleep while he was listening to me talk, which I did at his request," Hitoshi's voice confirmed, "I promise I would never let anything happen to him. You don't have to worry."

"I'll worry anyways."

"That's fair. I would too."

Izuku had nothing to worry about, so he went up to his clubhouse, and put his dino, frog, and pictures away.

Yeah.

He hoped he would get a second date.

Shouta

The same day as Izuku's date, the adoption finally went through. Shouta happened to be in Tsukauchi's office when he got the call.

"Oh my god, it's official!" He screamed, hitting his hands together to avoid picking up and throwing things. He had to set his phone down, out of his easy reach, or he would, in Izuku's words, yeet it, "Tsu, he's my kid now! He was my kid before, but he's mine now!"

Tsukauchi looked up from his paperwork, looking at Shouta with excitement, "Really?"

"Yeah! I get to tell him!" This was one of the days days off his life, Shouta decided, "Katsuki is an Aizawa!"

"That's great!" Tsu cheered. Shouta didn't quite hear him. His excitement was roaring in his head, and he had to sit and bounce his leg up and down to stop himself from running around the room.

"Shouta, you should go home, go celebrate," Tsukauchi did his best to calm him down, but it did not work. Nothing would, at this point. The last time he was this excited was when the adoption went through for Izuku, and he called him dad for the first time. 

He nodded quickly, stiffly stood up, and walked robotically out of the room. He had two legal sons, two little kiddos, two additions to the crumbling Aizawa name (not that it was all that honorable to begin with), and two whole family members that he helped. He saved. He protected. He couldn't wait to give them the good news.

How was he going to do that?

The obvious answer was Tsu's party idea, but how was he going to pull it off by himself?

He had to tell someone.

And that is how he found himself at a book cafe with Hizashi, and Nemuri. Tensei was, regrettably, on a mission, so he could not join them. 

"I need your help," he started, drumming his fingers on the table anxiously, "I'm planning a party."

"Whoa. Who are you?" Nemuri teased, leaning forward in her chair, and gazing at him attentively.

"I'll admit, it is a little out of character, Sho. What for?" Hizashi agreed, sipping on his venti mocha half-caf salted caramel iced coffee with extra chocolate drizzle, and a dash of cinnamon.

"It's for Katsuki," he admitted, "The adoption is official, and I wanted to surprise him."

"Dude, that's awesome!" Hizashi cheered, "You must be so excited!"

"I am. I was with Naomasa when I got the call, and he could see me leap around with boundless energy."

"Okay, so what do you want to do for the party?"

That needed a little bit more thought than an impulsive friendly phone call so he can inform his friends of what's going to happen. He wanted Katsuki out of the house for at least a few hours so he could cook. He wanted to have Izuku be part of the planning, being how else are they going to send Katsuki away long enough to prepare the party? Nemuri was best at colour coordination, but Tsukauchi knew how to not go overboard. 

Hizashi, a man of several talents, would have to wait until we found the right thing for him to do, so officially he was on standby. Shouta needed to inform Izuku, pull him away from his brother, and explain the plan, what he needed to do, and get him to promise he won't say anything to anyone. 

He should also get Kirishima in on it. Surely Katsuki would like to see him there. Kirishima was probably the easier of the two tasks, but they were both up to Shouta to complete. Otherwise, the entire operation would crumble like the sand just out of the sun. The thing was, he had no idea how to go about this. It was Sunday, so Shouta supposed he could pull the chipper student behind after class, and break the news to him then, but there still came the issue of Kirishima and Katsuki telling each other literally everything, so maybe Shouta had two teens to convince.

Maybe.

"Okay, so here's the plan…"

The next morning in class, Monday, oh how much he usually hated this day, and how much he claimed to hate teaching, he really didn't. He missed caring that it was Monday.

The day passed, uneventful. Well, kind of. His class was really excited to see him, especially since they hadn't seen him since he was in the hospital, and that was a month ago. So other than all twenty (sixteen. Katsuki, Izuku, Tenya, and Todoroki were all happy, but not actively partying). 

After class was when the real treat happened. He called for Kirishima to stay behind after school, and he watched with moderate amounts of amusement as his class all went 'ooooo, you're in trouble'. Kirishima, he supposed rightfully so, was freaking out, and Shouta could see the gears turn in his head while he tried to figure out what to do. 

After the lesson, Kirishima's close friends all bade him farewell, and told him they would provide a poetic eulogy. Katsuki lingered, but Kirishima motioned for him to go, signing 'I'll meet you at our spot'.

And then he was gone.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Kirishima asked stiffly. He was nervous.

"Yes, it's about Katsuki," Shouta affirmed, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes, of course. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is right. Can you promise to keep this a secret?"

"Indeed I can," Kirishima promised, "I swear on everything I own that I will not tell a soul."

Shouta considered it for a moment. Kirishima wasn't one to lie, but he was still a little skeptical, "Not even Katsuki."

"Of course not. If I may ask, why me?" He asked, "Why pick me for this secret?"

"Because, all things considered, you are likely Katsuki's favorite person," He explained, kind of tired, "I'm planning a surprise party for Katsuki, and I would like you to attend. The kid needs all the happy things."

Kirishima looked to be considering it. If anything, he looked confused, or impressed. Shouta had remarkable patience. He could wait forever. But now, though, he would really like Kirishima to hurry up the thought process.

"What's the party for?" He finally asked, "Because his birthday is in April."

"We are celebrating his adoption."

"Oh," Kirishima replied, before it hit him, "Oh, that's amazing! You must be super happy!"

"I am. I thought I would inform you, because I would like Katsuki's favorite people to be in the room when I tell him," Shouta reasoned, "The event takes place at my family's house, the place you walk him to. Monday. Will I see you there?"

Kirishima nodded vigorously, "Of course, sir. I would love to!"

"Thank you. That is all, you're excused," Shouta said, leaning down to gather his things to leave, "and remember, don't tell anyone. Especially not Katsuki."

Kirishima nodded again, and skipped out of the classroom. He was really excited for the event. They all were.

Izuku sat on top of Shouta's car, munching on something that Shouta thought, for his sanity, not to question. Quickly scolding him, and motioning to get in the car, they were off down the road.

He and Katsuki, and Kirishima, agreed that he was allowed to walk home, if he would like to. Izuku was not, unless he was tagging along with Katsuki, or with Shinsou. Simply because of what happened last time. (Internally, he shuddered. Never again). He needed to bring it up, while they're alone.

"What do you need to bring up?" Izuku asked. Wait, what? What was that?

Did Shouta say that out loud?

"Dad?" 

"Oh, yes?" He replied, gripping the steering wheel in confusion. 

"You said you needed to bring something up. What's wrong?"

He was quite certain that he hadn't said that, "Yes, but I need you to promise not to tell anyone."

"Yeah yeah–"

"I'm serious, Izuku. Not a soul," Shouta pressed, sending glances at Izuku's way to make sure he got the message, "do you understand?"

Izuku faltered for a long moment, then nodded, "I promise. Actually, this time."

Shouta nodded, and told Izuku, "We're planning a surprise for Katsuki," he could see Izuku gear up to ask why, but he stopped him before he did, "The adoption is official."

Izuku beamed, screaming right next to Shouta in some form of excitement. He had an (official) partner in crime. Well, partner in not legal stuff, but they may as well be crimes, right?

Shouta told him all about the plans all the way home, including his part as house decorator alongside Hizashi. Nemuri and Tsukauchi would get decorations, Shouta would cook, and Kirishima's job is to keep Katsuki away for as long as possible. The entire event would fall apart if it weren't for Kirishima's job. 

Izuku agreed with all of it. He weirdly stressed that he was not going to tell anyone. Like… he was incredibly insistent on the fact that he was not going to tell anyone. 

The other members of the surprise planning group were at the house already. Kirishima was going to stall, to give them time to hammer out last minute flaws in the plan. He was taking him to his place, to place some kind of board game that Kirishima's dad invented, or something. Katsuki was excited about it.

He learned why Izuku was being weird about it just an hour later, when they were planning.

"Sho-Sho, you got Izuku up to speed, right?" Nemuri asked.

"I did. He's going to help Hizashi decorate."

"Okay Izuku," Hizashi chirped, "We need to talk about our game plan. How are we going to go about decorating this entire house?"

"Sorry, I'm not allowed to divulge anything to anyone." Izuku smirked. He leaned against the refrigerator, eating an onion. Like an apple. 

"Izuku, I'm part of the planning, please talk to me." Hizashi pleaded. 

Izuku was obviously having fun with this. He was making things entirely too difficult, and he was probably ecstatic about it, "I think you have the wrong number. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Izuku, you little shit!" Hizashi screeched, finally fed up with Izuku's attitude, "The one time you dutifully follow instructions, you figure out how to be annoying then too!"

"It's a talent," Izuku agreed. He had a wicked smirk on his face, and clearly relished in how angry Hizashi was getting, "Anyone else?"

"Izuku, quit being difficult." Shouta scolded. There were only four adults Izuku listened to. Shouta, Nemuri, Recovery Girl, and Nezu. He claimed his right to be a nuisance to everyone else. Izuku pouted, but didn't outwardly object. He took a seat at the table, while Shouta flicked through recipes in the kitchen.

"I'd say divide and conquer, but you and I have wildly different styles of decoration, so we'll have to go room to room together." Izuku said.

"How about we limit the event areas to just the main area here? Have a few trailing down the hallway, and up the stairs, but I don't see why the entire house need to be decorated," Hizashi reasoned. He had a good point, Shouta noted, "also, no glitter." 

There. Izuku was definitely pouting. 

They had a lot to work on.

Over the weekend, everyone was rushing to get everything done. They informed Kirishima of all that had changed about the plan, and he altered his own accordingly. The plan was for Kirishima and Katsuki to arrive at six thirty. That allowed for two and a half hours for everything to get done. 

Now it was Monday. The day of the party. Shouta freaked out for a while, thinking that he wouldn't have enough time to cook and bake all these things, because he also had to buy the things he needed. But Nemuri to the rescue. She got off early on Monday. She would head to the precinct, get Tsu, and go shopping for decor, and ingredients. Izuku will claim to be bored of heroics, and leave to go see Hizashi. Hizashi will get don't with his paperwork an hour early, and take Izuku home, and they'll start on decorations. 

That leaves Kirishima, and Shouta. Kirishima had help with his homework in advance, and already turned it in, so he was allowed to leave study period early. Katsuki would fo the same, but that's only because he always did his homework before study hall.

Shouta had to stay later than some of the other teachers, because he had heroics, so he got Snipe to cover for him in light of the circumstances.

That just left them to actually fulfill the plan, and get it all done just in time for the surprise. 

Kirishima quite loudly exclaimed, "And you're back home!"

Which left everyone hurriedly putting the final touches on whatever they were working on. 

Katsuki opened the door, and invited Kirishima inside. The redhead walked in first, gently failing his arms in excitement while Katsuki had his back turned to shut the door.

"Oh, what's this?" He asked, drawing Katsuki's attention from the door. The door that was still cracked. 

The room was decorated with balloons and streamers, a sign that said 'For Aizawa Katsuki' in bold writing, and a cake and little foods on the counter. The decorations were all the colours of the rainbow. Izuku got his way, as usual, and coated a little less than half of the surfaces in fine glitter, under the premise that he would be cleaning it up. Shout knew for a fact that he wouldn't.

He looked quietly surprised, like frowning a little, and looking like he was more confused than excited, "What's all this?" He asked after a long moment.

"We're celebrating!"

"What are you celebrating? Why is my name on that banner? My birthday was three months ago." He wondered aloud. He still looked confused.

Shouta walked around the counter, holding a little gift wrapped packet. It wasn't so big it would hold much, but inside was everything.

Katsuki looked at Shouta for a very long moment, while Shouta smiled, and motioned to the gift.

As the paper fell away, the manila folder with Aizawa Katsuki on the cover was revealed. Opening that showed a stack of paper. 

Shouta watched Katsuki face morph from silent, odd confusion, to excitement and hope, "I thought it wasn't going to be official for another month!" Heexclaimed, tearing up.

"We lied," Aizawa smiled. It made him so happy to see Katsuki like this.

"Not lied," Tsukauchi reminded him, "Misinformed."

"Tsu, it's the same thing, stop doing that," he scolded, teasing. He was doing his best to keep the situation light. 

Katsuki stood in the middle of the room, gently holding the official paperwork for his adoption.

"Its really real?" He asked quietly.

"Yes! Now legally you're mine, and no one can take you away."

"Thank you so much…" Katsuki cried. 

Now it was officially official. Shouta had two legal children.

He was…

He was a dad.

Shoto

Dad. A foreign word to Shoto. Sort of. He had a dad, and a mum, and siblings, but he wasn't sure they liked him very much. He knew for a fact he was created to make someone feel good about himself.

That person?

Dad.

Or, more accurately, Todoroki Enji, or Endeavor. Father to Shoto and his siblings. Not dad, not papa, not even parent. Just Father. But that was okay, because he wasn't much of a parent. 

He was on a mission. A quest. His brother Touya went on the same mission when he was still alive, but he failed. Apparently, Shoto was better than Touya, so maybe he would have better luck.

It wasn't as easy as it looked, and as much as Shoto wished the opposite, the public loved him. Sort of. He was the same in public as he was at home, with the exception of hitting his kids and calling it training. He still did that, but it was supposed to be a secret, and Shoto wasn't allowed to tell anyone.

Until he did anyways. He never was great at following the rules.

He broke the news to Aizawa. The little one. Well, one of the little ones. Could he even call them that? Shoto was younger than both of them. It's something to think about. Most everything is something to think about, but Shoto pushed the debate of who is the smallest Aizawa, and if he was legally allowed to call them small if they weren't to the front of his mind, under 'Very Important'. 

Aizawa Izuku. He wasn't sure he cared for Shoto either, but he really wanted to tell someone, and Aizawa seemed like the least likely to judge him out loud. 

"That is… quite the tragic backstory," he said when Shoto finished telling him, in the hallway, during the sports festival. Not his best moment, but what was, right?

"Quite." Shoto agreed, "I apologize for having you share my pain."

"You mean trauma?"

Shoto blanked, "If that is what one defines as trauma, then yes, I suppose."

"Oh yeah, that's trauma," Aizawa affirmed, taking his hand and walking down the hallways, "And I know just the person for you to speak with. He's known for helping kids like us deal with our trauma, and relocating our abusers. To jail."

Shoto followed after him, his hand still captured by Aizawa's. He may have felt hopeful, because he mentioned prison for his Father. That was the mission objective. But then Aizawa turned and faced him, "I can't promise jail time for Endeav-whore, because as much as I hate it, the people love him. But I can promise a new kind of relocation. For you." He said.

They arrived at a door that had a sign. It said "Do Not Enter Without Entry", and Shoto thought that was a little redundant. 

Aizawa, without hesitation, leapt into the air, and grabbed the vent grate. His body weight, combined with rigorous wiggling loosened the nails, and he dropped to the floor, grate in hand, "Hold this," he instructed. 

Then, he leapt again, and held the edge of the vent. Then he was gone. Shoto was standing there with a metal vent cover, looking a little incriminating if anyone caught him like this. Was he supposed to follow him into the vent? He didn't think he'd fit, regardless of his energy for the task. 

Soon, on the other side, he heard three voices.

"Whoa, kid, where did you come from?"

"Vent." That was Smallest Aizawa's very distinct voice. He still needed to figure out that title.

"You're not allowed in here. Nezu had the grates nailed shut, kid," Said the third voice, and the deepest of all, "how did you get in?"

"Oh please," Aizawa scoffed, "did you really think that would work?"

Shoto set the metal down, leaning against the wall, and out of the way. Who was on the other side? Were they a therapist, like Natsuo had suggested he get? Were they a doctor for his trauma? Were they Father, coming to collect him? Were they–

"I present," said Aizawa's voice, opening the door, cutting off Shoto's train of thought. 

Inside the room was Smallest Aizawa, Present Mic, and Aizawa the original. Okay, so none of his theories. But still… this might be the worst to deal with, "Hello," he said simply, deciding quickly that a greeting was probably for the best.

"Don't just stand there, come in!" Aizawa– um. Now there were two Aizawas in the room. He couldn't just call him Smallest Aizawa out loud.

"Okay," he said slowly, stepping into the room, "Why am I here?"

"To discuss trauma," Smallest Aizawa said.

"Hate to interrupt this riveting conversation, but can you guys have that discussion somewhere else?" Mic asked, strained. He was nervous, but not like he was afraid, "I'm trying not to embarrass myself on live television. Skedaddle. There's a sign for a reason."

"You mean the incredibly superfluous sign with less use than my grandmother's kettle?" Shoto asked, and his mask fell for just a moment. He was supposed to be calm. He was not supposed to disrespect his teachers. 

"Oh, I like you," Smallest Aizawa gaped in pride. 

"Yes, that sign," Mic replied, obviously annoyed. Shoto would have to apologize later, "Now, I have duels to commentate. Scoot. Shouta, you should probably go with them or that one," he pointed at Smallest Aizawa, "will never leave me alone."

Mr Aizawa, who had been passively watching this happen, nodded, and hustle-bustled both he and Smallest Aizawa out of the room.

Present Mic had a lot on his plate. Shoto felt kind of bad for interrupting him like this. 

"You know it was unlocked, right?" Mr Aizawa asked as they walked down the hallway with the two teens in tow, "You didn't have to come in through the vents and piss Hizashi off."

"But if I did that, I wouldn't have made a big enough entrance for Prince Trauma," his classmate replied, literally skipping down the hallway. He kind of regretted telling him in the first place. 

"Why was it unlocked if he wanted to keep people out?" Shoto asked what might have been the most relevant question he ever had. He also filed that away as 'Very Important'.

"Present Mic works in mysterious ways, Todoroki," Mr Aizawa replied.

"You mean 10 Hour Energy and spite?" 

"What?" what the fuck is that...?

"10 Hour Energy is when you mix 5 Hour Energy with Red Bull, trip-shot espresso, and DayQuil," Smallest Aizawa explained, "I'm pretty sure he drinks it daily."

"Does it work?"

"So far, no. He still passes out at his desk, and still has burnout syndrome," He shrugged sadly, "but there's nothing I can do."

Oh. That sounded like a cocktail of misery. Mr Aizawa made no conversation, but Shoto could tell that he was suddenly very tense. Call it intuition. (Literally anyone else would call it trauma). 

Soon, they turned a corner, and came face to face with his Father. Shoto felt that familiar, creeping feeling of fear and anger in the back of his mind, but he instinctively looked down, and avoided eye contact with him. The Aizawas noticed his discomfort immediately, and tried to ignore his Father as well. But Todoroki Enji wasn't a big fan of being ignored, and grabbed Shoto's shoulder. To his credit, he only flinched a little. 

"You are not performing at your best!" He shouted. Shoto felt his hand heat up just past uncomfortable, and suddenly it stopped. His Father's hand was as cold as ice.

When he looked up, Mr Aizawa was glaring at his Father, hair raised, and eyes red. The lack of his Father's Quirk flickering on his shoulders obviously made the man uncomfortable, and he told Mr Aizawa to turn off his freaky Quirk. He did not.

"My student is currently preparing to participate in the one on one battle trials. My son and I are escorting him to a waiting room," Mr Aizawa snapped, "So I would appreciate it if you left us to do the task. You are more than welcome to watch the matches from one of many pro-hero boxes provided for speculation."

Father scoffed, glared at Mr Aizawa for several minutes, (during which Mr Aizawa did not blink even once), and then walked away, seething and searing. Shoto wondered how it was possible to look so red with anger, he looked like he was on fire, but inevitably decided that it was for the best that he did not learn.

Mr Aizawa, Shoto, and his classmate continued their trek to a prep room, because that's where Shoto assumed they were going. 

He wondered how much of his tragic backstory he would have to give Mr Aizawa to get him to believe that it's the truth. Hopefully not a lot, and he would believe him no matter what he told him. But Shoto's experience with adults that claimed to want to help him did not improve his hope for the situation.

"Alright, so what's going on? Why did Izuku crawl through the vents to get my attention?"

"Since when does he not do that?" Shoto replied, with a valid point. 

He could see Mr Aizawa falter, just for a second. Then he nodded, "Okay, you're right. But what's going on?"

"I have a tragic backstory. According to him," he pointed at Smallest Aizawa, "I have trauma."

"A lot of it, my guy," Izuku agreed, "So, dad, I'm making you a part of my get Endeavor arrested or worse plan! Congratulations, you're no longer in the dark."

"Okay, okay run that by me again. I don't doubt you have trauma, in fact, I suspected your father had something to do with it. Do you have details?"

Shoto explained almost everything in extreme detail. The origin of his scar, the death of his brother, his uncanny prowess with his quirk before starting at UA, his Father's critical behavior towards people of his community. The homophobia, the transphobia, the bigotry. He explained everything that fucked up his childhood, and everyone that stood by and watched when he asked for help. He told him about the training. He only skimmed over that one, but he could tell Mr Aizawa knew it was the truth, and that it was so much worse than Shoto described.

Mr Aizawa told him he was going to be just fine, and that he was going to try and do something about it. He quickly wrote out a message on a little slip of paper that Shoto supposed he just kept in his pocket, and gave that to Shoto. 

"Do you believe me?" He asked, just after Mr Aizawa gave him a hug, and told him he had to go.

"I believe every word."

That was… new. He, of course, had hoped he would be taken seriously, but he didn't figure that it would actually happen. 

Eventually, his father came by again, and collected him from his classmate, not long after Mr Aizawa went back to whatever he had been doing.

Shoto felt an uneasy pull towards looking at the note. But he could not, in the company of his Father, so he restrained himself.

That evening, at the Todoroki estate, he had no such hesitation, and carefully unfolded the paper to peek at it. It was a phone number. Mr Aizawa's phone number. Beside it, a message: "Call this number if you ever need any sort of help, and I will be there", it said. 

Immediately, he put in the phone number. He felt safer, having it with him. He didn't think he'd need it any time soon, but it might be helpful for his mission, so he may debate calling it later.

______

Soon comes way sooner than Shoto hoped. The week after the sports festival, the very same day they returned to school after the weekend, he heard distantly from Fuyumi that his Father was going to take away his binder, and make him train.

Originally, he only allowed the binder and new pronouns because Shoto got terribly sick when they weren't used. He didn't have any qualms with his name, considering his Father's lack of creativity. He guessed that Shoto was his birth name only because he thought that naming a kid after what he wanted would give him better luck. Historically, it didn't work, but Shoto believed his Father to be slightly above average IQ for his grizzly old age. 

The lack of his binder wasn't even the worst part. It was training without it that would be a problem. Sure, most people out there will tell him that repeatedly being kicked in the chest would hurt less if you weren't simultaneously binding your chest down with tight fabric. Supposedly it made it easier. But Shoto didn't listen to most people. He'd rather die of numerous injuries at least being happy with his body, thanks.

But he didn't want to start training again. With how rough it was from age four to now, it was bound to be something his teachers noticed. Maybe. He had never been to a school before, so he wasn't sure if that was generally something teachers noticed.

Mr Aizawa would notice, Shoto believed. Mr Aizawa could help. 

::Todoroki Shoto is Online::

Todoroki Shoto:

Hello.

I have a question.

What are the parameters of what you are agreeing to help me with?

Aizawa Shouta:

Are you in danger?

Where are you?

I can help you,

But I don't know where you are.

Todoroki Shoto: 

I am not currently in danger, no.

But I imagine I will be in a certain amount of pain very soon.

What do you mean by help?

Aizawa Shouta:

I mean get you out of danger, kid.

How much pain, and why?

Scale of 1-10.

10 is the highest pain you've ever experienced.

1 is no pain at all.

Todoroki Shoto:

On this scale, I would say maybe six. 

Seven if he is angry.

Aizawa Shouta:

Who's He?

Todoroki Shoto:

My Father.

He trains me, but he is going to take away by binder again, and he will make it hurt worse because I said I am a boy today.

Aizawa Shouta:

Where are you?

Todoroki Shoto:

At home.

Why?

Aizawa Shouta:

I'm coming to get you

Hang on

Todoroki Shoto:

Okay.

You know, I never noticed how similar our names are.

Shoto and Shouta. 

But I am not allowed to call you that. 

Aizawa and Todoroki are not very similar.

That is a shame.

Aizawa Shouta:

It is.

I didn't notice our names were so close

Good eye, kid

I'm almost there.

Todoroki Shoto:

Okay.

I will wait for you, then.

By the way, you don't have to kick the door down or anything.

Natsuo hasn't been here in weeks, Fuyumi is at the school, and Father is at his agency. I heard from Fuyumi that he intends to restart training, and I took measures to prevent that from happening.

I apologize if helping me has become an inconvenience.

Aizawa Shouta:

Don't worry kid.

Even being afraid that your father will hurt you is enough to warrant a call for help.

Especially since he's hurt you in the past.

Todoroki Shoto:

Okay.

That is good to hear.

::Todoroki Shoto is Offline::

He sat and waited for maybe ten more minutes, until there was a knock on his door. A very polite knock. Loud, though.

It was Mr Aizawa. Not that he expected literally anyone else, but still.

"Got your stuff?" Mr Aizawa asked, glancing around anxiously. Shoto believed he had nothing to worry about. His father sucked at getting home on time.

"No." He replied, offering to let Aizawa inside, "I'll go do so now, then. I don't imagine it'll take very long."

"Alright. I can wait," Mr Aizawa breezed, still warily scanning the streets surrounding the estate.

Shoto didn't think he'd need very much, considering he didn't have a whole lot to begin with. To his understanding, he was not going to be away from this house very long. At most, a couple days, and then Shoto would resume planning his mission. It really wasn't as easy as it looked. 

In the end, he packed a suitcase, full of clothes, his various forms of ID, his extra binders (just in case), and a yarn shawl that his grandmother on his dad's side made for him before she died. The woman that led him to, and through, his transition.

Aizawa continued to stand in the threshold, silent, and watchful. When Shoto reappeared with his suitcase, and a handful of residual hope, he motioned for him to get in the car. 

"By the way," Aizawa said during the drive, "This technically counts as kidnapping, but it's fine. For the greater good. My friend, a detective, knows this is happening."

"Do you always 'kidnap' kids, while justifying it with the knowledge and hope that your friend will look the other way?" Shoto asked. He was genuinely curious, "Also, how many kids have you helped?"

"Three, but one of them was obtained legally. I only call it kidnapping because that is what the law titles it. In this case it is called the relocation of an abused child, even though you aren't legally in foster care."

"So it's not kidnapping?"

"No, it is, but for now we'll call it a sleepover. You're friends with Izuku and Katsuki, yes?"

Friends was a strong word. They co-existed with a predetermined mutual agreement to leave each other out of their own shenanigans. And that was only with Izuku, or as he's still called in his head, Smallest Aizawa (he still hadn't the time to debate the logistics of it). 

The roads to Aizawa's house were actually strangely familiar. He wasn't sure why. He just felt like he belonged among these considerably well-off houses. He started to wonder (not for the first time) if he, Yaoyorozu, and Iida weren't the only affluent members of the prestigious UA. If Aizawa happened to be flourishing in at least some level of wealth, then it would bring the number of known wealthy members of Class 1-A from three to at least five. 

They arrived at a super lovely home, and Aizawa stepped out of the car, and led him inside. Aizawa Katsuki was at the counter, sipping some unknown drink. He gave him a polite nod when he walked in, though, so Shoto had reason to believe he had previously been briefed on the situation.

Mr Aizawa directed him upstairs, and to a door with a blackboard sign that read Shoto. Very neat handwriting, so it couldn't be Smallest Aizawa's. Maybe it was Aizawa Katsuki. He wondered if he was supposed to call them by their given names while he stayed in their house.

The room was nice. A little empty, but that was probably because it was a guest room. Shoto didn't mind. There was a window overlooking the backyard, and a bed with large fluffy comforters.

"Make yourself comfortable," Mr Aizawa told him, "I'm going back downstairs. Izuku will be home soon. If you need anything, or would like to look around the house, you're free to do so, but please be mindful of bedrooms."

Shoto could handle a few instructions. Besides, they were really easy to handle.

He could get used to this.

Izuku

Izuku was in the workshop with Mei when he got a phone call for him to come home, because there's been a development. 

His dad abducted Todoroki Shoto.

"Wow, your dad really does collect kids," Mei pointed out, loudly constructing some kind of rocket, or more accurately, a brand new baby.

"Indeed. I gotta go now, sorry Mei-Mei," Izuku gave her a two finger salute, and bolted down the UA hallways. Despite how he claims that he hates this place, he probably spends the most time there, out of all of his family members.

His family really was growing. At first he thought it was only going to be him and his dad, but apparently he had a secret family that Izuku didn't know about until a month after the majority of them died. His dad had been super casual about his mother's death, and Izuku couldn't have helped being curious. She had been emotionally unavailable. Literally. She physically felt no emotion besides anger, and that was the only thing she expressed to anyone. Turns out his brother, someone by the name of Kennedy, died just before Izuku went to live with his dad, and Izuku didn't know until the adoption went through, and he got around to sharing his family history. 

His dad left. Died in a villain attack. But the only difference between his dad's dad's death, and Izuku's mom's was that his dad was the villain in the situation. The man never cared much for having kids, despite the fact that he had three. Kennedy, Shouta, and Lilith. Lilith spent her time in Tartarus. Izuku didn't know what she did. His dad refused to elaborate. He also had an uncle, and his uncle's wife. His wife was dead. Shot and killed in a home invasion. The uncle went mad after that, and was in a psychiatric hospital. Or was. Izuku didn't know if he was still alive, and neither did his dad. He said he escaped once. Lilith tries, apparently, to escape. But Tartarus held the most dangerous, unstable people, so she wasn't going anywhere. 

Apparently, during high school, Hizashi, and his other friends knew him as Ebina (deadname), and only after that did he change his name fully to Aizawa Shouta after he graduated UA, and fully transitioned. 

Only Izuku, Hizashi, a man named Oboro, and his dad knew the full extent of what happened in his childhood. He didn't like to talk about Oboro, so Izuku didn't ask.

Anyways, past Aizawa Shouta's horrible backstory, Izuku could understand why he was insecure, protective, loving, cautious. He was the king of acceptance. The king of adoption, considering he had done so twice, and most likely planned to do it again, considering his cryptic "I have acquired the dual colour child. Please come home" message, and his well-placed urgency. There was a time constraint on the situation with Shoto, considering his status as the son of the number two "hero". If his dad is caught, he'd go to jail, or worse, in school suspension. 

Maybe Izuku can keep Endeav-whore from realizing he's missing by creating a few distractions in the workplace. Maybe. If he couldn't, he could redirect him from his home by means of framing someone. There was that road strip villain, Ending. He wanted to be killed anyway. If Endeavor happened to think that he took his son, they might both get what they wanted. Besides, he might get arrested for excessive force, in which case it's a win/win/triple win for every human involved. Endeavor didn't count because, come on, what human hits their kids?

He sighed as he opened the door. Another siblings indoctrin– introduction (sike). Izuku was so excited to welcome Shoto to the family.

The sight that greeted him was not at all unexpected. Shoto sat stiffly at the kitchen counter, Katsuki was sipping away at a mug of what was probably just water, but he was drinking it like it was aged Victorian wine from whichever year made the best wine, to make himself feel special. His dad sat to the side, completely relaxed. No doubt he just had a lot of practice. This wasn't his first rodeo, or something. It was his third.

His family did not skimp a single detail of Shoto's willing extraction from that clearly toxic household. Homophobia, transphobia, physical and emotional abuse, and neglect? Izuku was not prepared to wait until they had a plan. Izuku had been recording this from the start. Tsukauchi figured out recordings, so they're good and set. He can verify literally anything, now. Phone calls were tricky. In Tsukauchi's words, the Quirk answer was fuzzy. Like if they tried hard enough, someone could trick him over the phone. 

The best case scenario is Izuku (Izuku's dad) takes Shoto to Tsukauchi to verify his story, and they at least relieve Endeavor of his spot as Number Two.

Then Hawks will move up as Two, and inevitably one, when Izuku gets his hands on that semiautomatic.

"I'm sure he'll start some sort of disparaging redemption arc sometime soon to win back the public's favor, but for now he's likely going to be stuck below fifty, when this gets out. And it will. I'll make sure of it," Izuku scoffed, patting Shoto's back to comfort him, "You're stuck with us."

He looked so incredibly confused, "I'm not going back?"

Katsuki, Izuku, and their shared dad all looked at him softly. They definitely didn't want to spook him.

"Don't worry little Sho," Izuku assured him, "You'll fit right into our merry band of misfits."