Chapter Text
Shota had never believed in miracles. His life had been one jump to the next of finding tragedy wherever he stepped. He'd been labeled with a villainous quirk, only finding refuge with Hizashi, and the one friend they made together had died right after they all decided they wanted to start dating. So, no, he didn't believe in miracles or good things happening to good people.
That being said, he didn't think he could describe this as anything else.
Somehow, after years of him being gone, Oboro was just standing there right in front of him, he was alive and even though there were differences in how he looked Shota knew it was him. His hair was colored like smoke, his eyes a bright yellow color that almost glowed but he was still here, he was still right there in front of him. His yellow eyes still held a spark of mischief in them, his smoke colored hair still flowed with the wind like a cloud. He was different, but this was still his Oboro, and it took everything in Shota's power not to break into tears right then and there.
It was probably good he didn't, though. Tsukauchi had been there looking at him with a curious expression on his face, and the kid he'd helped had rushed forward into Oboro's arms. The two of them were looking relieved for some reason. He didn't want to break down in front of a detective he respected, and he could tell it wasn't the time.
He just stared and watched them talk. Oboro was lecturing the kid about not leaving their house like that. It was fatherly, and it couldn't help but make him wonder what exactly had happened when he was gone. He didn't know, didn't feel like he could really ask right now, and he was just trying to get over the shock of all of this. Seeing his long-lost lover, seeing someone he loved and had thought was dead. A million questions ran through his head, and he didn't know where to start when asking them.
He could just stare at Oboro, taking him in and feeling like he could finally breathe after the 3 years he had been gone.
He was distracted at first by the kid, which Shota could understand; he had a lecture to finish after all, and he had a distinct feeling that his partner had become a parent in the time that he was... Gone. There were a lot of questions running through his head about that, too, but he wasn't really in the mood to focus on that part of this. Maybe they were also a little too young to be parents but it had been something they'd talked about doing in the future. Adopting a few kids and getting a whole bunch of cats, sure, that was considered to be more something they would do when they were in their twenties or thirties, but life had a way of doing the unexpected. This was one of the times when that was for the better, really.
Even as he focused on the kid, he kept glancing up at him every now and then. He looked like he was having the same crisis as Shota, unsure if he was even real. It made him feel a little better, in all honesty, that he wasn't the only one at a loss for words.
Once he was done talking with the kid, though, he said a few more words and walked over to him. Then they were in the same space again. A breath caught itself on the way out as he stared at his long-lost partner. He'd grown, got older like the two of them had, and changed in more ways than that, but he was still the same starlit cloud he knew three years ago. He still felt the same, the same heat radiating off of him in a way that was so familiar. He knew him, had known him, but had lost him before he'd had a chance to become as familiar to him as Hizashi had. It didn't matter, though, not when he was here staring at him with the same look he always did. That love that said forever, even if they were still young and didn't know what forever meant. He'd thought that promise was broken. Maybe he thought wrong.
"'Boro," He whispered, the tears he'd tried so hard to hold finally being unable to stay back. Then they were pressed together more than they had been even a moment before, and then they were kissing, and it tasted so much better than it ever had. Then they were both crying and holding onto each other so tightly, afraid to let go.
"I missed you so much," Oboro said to him, cradling his cheek with his hand like he was something precious like he couldn't believe he was here but was so happy that he was. "I didn't even know who you were, but I missed you so much."
There would be questions later, and he'd have to call Hizashi as soon as he possibly could, but for now, they just stood in each other's space, enjoying the fact that they could. Enjoying the fact that they had each other, enjoying the fact that they were able to hold each other. It had been three long years, three long years that Shota didn't know the content of. Three long years of being apart. But here they were, here they were, and everything felt like it'd be alright.
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Hizashi had started to worry a bit when the call came in. He didn't really have a great reason to be worried, but after they lost Oboro, there was always a fear left over of something happening to Shota when he wasn't there to help. His quirk had killed Oboro. Maybe it was unfair to blame himself, maybe he shouldn't, maybe he should give himself a break, but it was hard not to dwell on that fact. The villain had copied his quirk and used it to topple the building that killed Oboro, and there was no getting around that fact. So yes, he felt guilty; it was something that hung with him over the years, and he didn't think he would ever be able to let it go entirely.
He hadn't been there; Oboro had died, and it was his quirk's fault. When he and Shota were kids, they bonded over everyone saying they had a villain's quirk. In middle school, they had gone to the same school for troubled kids, which basically just put all the villain kids in one place. His parents had given him up at a young age; after all, when your baby could blow out your eardrums just by crying, why would you want him? Everyone had called him a villain, too loud, too much for anyone. Shota had been a bright spot in changing that, and then later on, when they went to UA, so had Oboro, but then... his quirk had been used to kill his boyfriend, and it really had become a villain's quirk.
He worried, too, more often than he ever had in the past. Maybe it wasn't necessary, maybe Shota would be just fine, but it really was hard not to. So when the call came in, he answered almost immediately, but he wasn't able to stop himself from sounding slightly frantic since, well, he was slightly frantic. "Sho!? Is everything alright!?"
He waited for a moment as his partner paused on the other line, the only reason his worry wasn't getting worse being that he sounded mostly fine, at least his breathing was even. It wouldn't be the first time he'd called him with a stab wound in his side because he needed backup or was too stubborn to go to the hospital on his own, but it didn't sound like it did when something like that usually happened. Small wins, he supposed.
He was about to try to talk again, to make sure Sho really was okay, when he finally responded, his words even as well. "Hizashi, I... You should probably come over; we're in the Mufastu police department."
Well, that wasn't ominous at all and certainly helped the worries that he was already feeling. He also couldn't help but wonder who the other person with Sho was, and it wasn't like he usually worked with anyone else. Sho had always wanted to go into underground heroics, it'd been something they'd understood when they had wanted to make an agency together but he had been willing to patrol with the two of them. Had being the key word since after Oboro he'd never even let Hizashi patrol with him so honestly it was a bit confusing. Not that he'd ever say that all out loud; he wasn't even sure Sho was aware of his habits.
Besides, Hizashi had his own habits too.
He was never afraid of using his quirk, he wouldn't let the villain take that away from him as well but he often was quieter with it. Not on the field, not when it counted but at home. When he was a kid he could break things in the times he would let his quirk lose, it wasn't convenient but it was endearing and often people would laugh when they saw him do it. He also worried, called a bit more often on patrol than maybe he had to or would even be fully reasonable. The year after they became full fledged heroes, one night he'd called Sho so much that he caused him to mess up in an active situation and get himself hurt. He called a lot less often after that.
Even so, the call he just got stuck fresh in his mind and he didn't allow himself to dwell on things much longer after that. Whatever had happened, whoever he was with Hizashi needed to be there. Though Hizashi had a habit of calling often, Shota had a habit of doing the opposite so him calling now meant the situation was actually probably pretty serious. So after a lot of deliberation he put on his coat and headed out the door, hoping it wasn't anything too serious and that Sho didn't get stabbed or something like that.
The walk to Mufastu police station wasn't a very long one but it did give him time to think a little more. Worry about what would meet him when he eventually got to the station. He wasn't that scared, sure Sho would tell him if it was anything too serious but he was still wondering why he'd called.
Well, at the very least he would hopefully know soon enough when he was actually there. He could wait, nervous to do so as he was and could hope that everything would be fine. He didn't have any reason not to do so at the moment but history did tend to repeat itself.
The police station was quiet, when he got there. It wasn't an ominous quiet, at least. There were time in the past, ehwn he was sure somthing had gone wrong, that the quiet itself had told him they had. This, at least, wasn't a quiet that did that, and he could thank whatever force watching over him that it wasn't. So, sure that there probably wasn't something going wrong, he walked in and checked in at the front desk.
Then he was there and... He froze, at the sight he had seen. For a moment he wondered if he was sleeping. It wouldn't be the first time something like this would have been a dream, really, that was the only explaination he could come up with, what other one was there? That his boyfriend had come back from the dead? Then, as soon as he realized it wasn't a dream he did two things, he let out a quirked scream and promptly passed out.
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Obobo just sort of stared for a moment before he looked back at Shota.
This whole thing was admittedly hard to process. He'd gained his memories, suddenly realized his kid was missing, and then when he kid was found, he'd been reuinited with one of his boyfriends. The explaination he'd had to give to Tenko had also not been an easy one to make. He hadn't really had a past, before all of this, he'd only had his face peek out once or twice even, and those times had always been when he was the most emotional. Being like this, like he used to be, It wasn't an easy thing to explain to a small child who was just dealing with a whole lot of other things on top of this. Either way, the situation was what it was and it wasn't a bad thing by any means either, so he couldn't be that upset that he had all of this thrown on him at once.
The second thing had been telling Hizashi. He'd trusted Shota to it because he had to talk to Tenko and also because it probably wouldn't have been the best idea for him to answer the phone. He'd trusted Shota to make a good explaination, he was remembering now why that had been a terrible idea.
"You didn't tell him about me, did you?" He said bluntly, realizing that for how many things had changed, just as many, if not more had stayed the same. There really wouldn't have been any sinificant amount that his boyfriend had changed and he honestly should have just realized that in the first place. To be entirely fair in his defence, he had had just recently found his emotions again, so he didn't think it would be entirely fair of anyone to blame him for this.
Shota, looking as sheeping as he should have, nodded, and Oboro just sighed. Nothing for it, then, this was simply the sort of situation he was going to have to deal with. At the very least Tenko had already been in the other room. It had been good for him, getting to spend some time with a hero, and all things considered with what he'd learned recently of the boy's liniage, it was good for the two of them to connect regardless. Oboro was his father for all things that mattered, but for Tenko to have a connection with the family that he had lost... that was needed for him. Maybe it could help the boy process some of the grief that was definately still there.
"Well, go wake him up then," He added, because it was Shota fault so he was going to be the one to fix it. Even so, Oboro leaned down next to the two of them, wanting to be there when Hizashi woke up.
It took longer than Oboro would like, admittedly, though it was nothing he could really complain about. There wasn't an easy explaination for this whole thing, and considering Shota hadn't even tried on the phone it would have been even more of a shock than it needed to be. There was really nothing for it though, they'd just have to do better when he woke up.
Eventually he did and Oboro was quick to say something before he promptly passed out again. "Hey, it's me, I'm real, I promise. Stay with me, ok?"
Hizashi clearly didn't know what to make of the whole thing but at the very least he hadn't passed out this time. He just sort of stared, looking at him like if he did so for long enough he might be able to figure out what was going on. Oboro couldn't blame him for that. He did finally speak, though the words were as unsure as he seemed to be. "How... are you here? I know I'm not dreaming but... You died. How are you here? How are you alive."
That was the million dollar question and not really an easy one to anwer, either. He knew how to answer, what the words were, what the truth was, but that didn't make it easy by any means. He had been dead, and the only reason he was alive was because of something that made his skin burn when he tried to think about it. Still, they deserved an answer after the two of them had been there to watch him die. "There's a man with multiple quirks, that rules over the underground. He works with a doctor to create... what really amounts to monsters, mostly. But they make them out of people and quirks. Most of them are mindless, but somehow they made me and I wasn't. None of it was exactly pretty, but I ended up as alive as I could be. They had me take care of a young boy, Tenko. He was in danger, where he was, and considering the only goal was to protect him I actually manged to escape. He'll still be after me though, there's a danger that comes with me now."
The explaination was long and he could tell that the two of them didn't even understand, fully, but even so it was enough to explain how he was alive. The first one to actually give a responce was Shota. "Well regaurdless of how you came to be, even if it was painful, I'm glad you're here."
Hizashi nodded along, "I am as well... it... when we lost you something broke in the two of us, I think. We had each other, but you were always missing, there was always the reminder that you weren't there when you should have been. I'm sure... I'm sure that none of this will be easy for us, what with everything you've said, but I'm willing to go through it knowing that we'll have you."
He was never more glad to have them than he was right then. He knew at that moment that he'd be able to face All For One directly, knowing that he had the two of them backing him up. Not that it would be the smartest way to go about things, really, but he still would have been prepared to do it all the same. "I'm glad to have you two as well," He said softly, "I'd been alone on the streets for a while after I'd escaped and I'd been so scared almost every day. I could barely remember anything, but I knew the two of you had to be out there, even if I couldn't remember the full of it. I'm just glad to have the two of you, really. I know that whatever we face I won't have to be as scared anymore. I'm glad for that."
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Tenko didn't really know what to think about this whole thing, in all honestly. Kurogiri... apparently he had a name of his own, had a past of his own before he had Tenko. He promised Tenko that he would always be his first priority but he was still afraid he was going to lose the only parent he'd ever really had. Back before he got his quirk and lost everyone, the only one he'd had in his family had been his sister. Then she was gone and he had no one. He'd lost his entire family and it had been his fault.
At least, he'd believed that for the longest time. Kurogiri always told him it wasn't his fault, that not only did he not have control over his quirk but it wasn't even supposed to be his in the first place. Tenko wanted to believe him but it didn't change the fact that they were gone.
Really, it didn't change the fact he'd barely had a family even before he got his quirk. His dad hadn't liked him. He'd always been too much or not enough. It didn't help that they thought he was quirkless. Actually Kurogiri said he was supposed to be but also promised he would have loved him regardless.
Because Kurogiri loved him. He was his dad, a better dad than he'd ever had. Tenko was just as protective of him as his dad was of him. Kurogiri had been his dad though. But... He wasn't Kurogiri, was he? Kurogiri had his own family, people he'd been able to chose while he'd just been sattled with Tenko. Why would he want to keep a kid that just held him behind when he had all of that? Was that why he'd given Tenko to All Might? Because he didn't want to keep him? Tenko didn't know, he didn't know if he wanted to.
“Young Tenko… I suppose you don’t know me, but I used to know your grandmother.” Tenko jumped when the hero finally spoke, eyes widening as he looked the man over. He knew… his grandmother?
There was a flash there, of the last time he’d tried to ask about her, after he found a covered photo hidden away. He remembered his father getting angry, then the hurt and not much else after that. All Might had known her? Tenko never thought he’d ever get to learn more about her, never thought he’d get the chance, especially since his family had been gone for a while and his dad hadn’t exactly been keen to talk about her in the first place.
“You did?” He asked, and his voice sounded smaller than he wanted it to.
“I did,” All Might said back and his voice sounded so gentle. Tenko didn’t know if he’d ever heard anyone sound as gentle as he had, other than Kurogiri, any adult, anyway. “She was… she was a good woman, a really good woman. She trained me, actually.” And Tenko was small but he could tell there was something he wasn’t saying. It would have bothered him, should have bothered him, really, but he was just enraptured hearing about his grandmother, “It’s… I wish I had known she’d had family.”
“Oh.” Tenko said, and he didn’t know what to say other than that.
He thought about how his family was gone because of him. Actually that was the only thing he could think about. Even if it hadn’t been supposed to be his quirk it had still hurt them, they were still gone. His father hadn’t been nice, his mother hadn’t done anything to stop him but Hana… He probably should have grieved all of them anyway.
“I’m glad I met you.” All Might said, and it broke Tenko out of his thoughts, “It’s, I know Oboro… Kurogiri… he’s your father, I’d be an idiot not to see that, and while sometimes I miss things I am not one. If you do not want me in your life, I understand that, but I am glad to have met you anyway.”
All Might… wanted to be in his life?
Tenko didn’t know what to do with that, he didn’t know what to do with a lot of things, these days. He’d had a mixed reaction to All Might, over the years. He hadn’t gotten to see heroes, when he was younger, his father hated them, then… he’d hated them. But Kurogiri didn’t, and Tenko had learned about them, for once.
All Might saved people, but he hadn’t saved him.
Tenko had loved him anyway.
Now he wanted to be in his life. Tenko thought… he thought he wanted that too. He thought it sounded nice.