Chapter Text
“Excuse me?” Shouta was very confused; he did not want these two children in his house. In fact, he wanted nothing to do with them. But here he was, actually considering taking them home.
“Yes, Aizawa-kun. You will be taking them with you for the foreseeable future. Thank you for doing this.” Shouta was going to start a riot. “Fine, I'll take them, but I want some kind of compensation. I'm not going to do this for free.” Nedzu looked at him a little weirdly, but he didn't care. If Nedzu wanted his babysitting services, he would have to pay for them. “Alright then, your compensation will be added to your paycheck at the end of every week. Is there anything else you would like?”
He contemplated for a moment before shaking his head, “No, I think that's all for now. If there's more, I will not hesitate to let you know.” Nedzu nodded at him and then sent them on their way. He should let Hizashi know to set out two more plates for the foreseeable future. He pulled out his phone as they walked and noticed them get uncomfortable while he was using it. He watches them out of the corner of his eye as he keeps messing around on his phone, as they grow more tense and start glancing around. He finds it odd but doesn't comment on it.
He puts his phone away and focuses on getting them home as fast as possible. They make it in record time as he opens the door to the complex. He lets them in and leads them over to the elevator.
“Um, we're going to take the stairs. What's the floor number? We'll meet you up there,” the tallest kid says. Shouta was already so done that he said nothing and walked over to the door of the stairs and started to climb. “Oh, you didn't have to come with us; we would have been fine,” the kid says. He really needs to learn these kids' names. “It's fine, it's easier this way anyway. Plus, this gives me more time to tell you both some things before we actually get there. So first, I have a husband; if either of you has any problem with that, you can sleep outside. Second, we have cats. If you're allergic, tell me now. Third, we have a kid. If you have any problems sharing a room, then you can sleep on the couch,” Shouta finishes just as they get to the floor of his apartment is on. He has never been more glad that Hizashi chose the apartment he did, as it was the one that was closest to the stairs and the elevator. He opens the door to find his husband and child already at the table and eating. He's glad Hitoshi has finally gotten comfortable enough to just start eating even if he's not home yet.
“Welcome home, Shouta, I'm guessing these are the little listeners you were telling me about,” Hizashi said as the three of them started taking their shoes off. “Yeah, this is- wait, what are your names?” he asks as Hizashi looks at him like he has committed a felony. “Really, Shouta, you didn't even get their names?”
“Well, I was a little busy,” Shouta replied indignantly. The tall one snorts, and the smaller one just stares. Shouta has to admit it was a little creepy. This kid would make a great underground hero; the other would make a good limelight. “My name's Percy,” the taller kid says. Hizashi just nods as Hitoshi continues eating. The silence drags on, and then Percy says, “I'm not going to introduce you like you're royalty, I thought I raised you better than this,” Percy says dramatically. “Fine, my name is Nico,” Nico says dryly.
He already loves this child. Hizashi nods again and gestures for them to grab a plate.
Nico didn't know how to feel sleeping in this kid's room by himself. He would have preferred it if Percy were with him, but Percy had decided to sleep in the living room. He kind of resented him for it, but couldn't blame him. If he felt comfortable enough to sleep out in the open like that, he would, but he doesn't, and he can't. So he lies awake on the little pull-out bed in the corner on the floor of this random kid's room.
He can already see some dawning light peeking through the curtains, and regrets his life's choices. He sighs, knowing he won't be getting any more sleep, and gets up, heading in the direction of the living room. He sees Percy still asleep on the couch and sits in the armchair nearest to the couch. He yawns, his eyes crinkling, and tears prick his eyes. Just as he settles back in the chair, he almost jolts right out of it as a door down the hall opens and closes with rushing footsteps out to the living room. He relaxes when he sees Hizashi round the corner and walk into the kitchen, presumably to start on breakfast. He mutters a curse under his breath in Greek and settles again.
He hears Percy stir as he wakes and watches him sit up and rub his eyes. He waves a little as Percy looks at him, and he waves back before getting up and heading down the hall, presumably to the bathroom. He closes his eyes and leans to the side, resting his head on the armrest. He hears more doors open as the time passes and the air starts smelling better and better the minute. Soft murmurs start up as people start talking and assume him to be asleep.
He sits up and makes his way to the table and sits. Hoping to just be ignored for a while, his dreams were crushed almost immediately by Percy as he draped himself over Nicos's back. Nico grumbles and shoves Percy off of him and lies his head on the table. Plates of food are brought over, and the thing he dreads most starts like a never-ending cycle that he can't escape, no matter what dimension he's in, small talk.
Then things take a turn just as Nico decides to grab some things off the table to start eating. “So kiddos, we thought we would give you three the offer of taking the recommendation exam, of course, if you dont want to, you dont have to, but if you do want to, I would be the one sponsoring you for it, since none of the hero course homeroom teachers can.” nico blink slowly and tierdly, this was a very big decision for 9 am. He continues to blink slowly as Percy gives an enthusiastic yes for both of them. Nico just nods along and continues to eat his waffles.
Sitting in front of the test was very intimidating, as he waited impatiently for Present Mic to give the all clear for them to start, and as he did, Percy fumbled his pen, and just as he was about to reach for it, the girl to his right pulled one out from her leg and gave it to him, and while the gesture was sweet he kind of needed riptide. Percy accepted, not wanting to be rude. He then made sure the girl wasn't looking and bent down to grab Riptide. Starting the test was easy; it was mostly just elementary math, sciences, Japanese, and English. As the test went on, it got harder. By the end of the test, he and Nico were already ready to get back to the apartment. Yet here they were standing in front of an obnoxiously large obstacle course.
Percy thought it looked a bit lame, but what does he know? He’s not used to regular obstacle courses. He's used to lava walls and fighting actual blood thirsty monsters, not just running around. He thinks by the look on Nicos' face that he is thinking the same thing. They’re put into groups of five and are told to come to the line when their group number is called. Percy and Nico were put into different groups, Nico in the second and Percy in the last.
He watches Nico run through the course and watches as he gets first place. Then, after a few minutes, it's Percy’s turn, and he tries to run through it as fast as he can. He ends up getting second, just behind the kid with ice powers and right in front of a kid with wind powers.
He thinks they did pretty well on the physical portion, yet he can't be sure about the written part. He knows Nico had struggled with it and had tried to help him by giving him clues, but it hadn't worked. As they head home, he wonders if Shinsou will make it in the regular exam. He hopes the kid does, but he knows if he doesn't get into the hero course, they will just bump him down to the gen ed class, and he could make his way to the hero classes if they have something like that. He decides it would be best to ask.
“Hey Aizawa, I have a quick question. If Shinsou doesn't make it into the hero course and gets into the gen ed course, is there something that would let him transfer into the hero class?”
“There is, he could make it in through the sports festival or by requesting to take the licensing exam with approval from a supervising hero. Why did you ask?” Aizawa replies curiously.
“I was just wondering, just in case one of us doesn't get in,” he replies with easy confidence. Having entered the apartment a few hours before Hizashi, he watches as Aizawa gets a head start on dinner and Nico heads back to his and Shinsou's room. He decided to make himself comfortable on the couch and, within minutes, had fallen asleep.