Chapter Text
Tama seems to have chosen a new favorite family member.
She usually sleeps at the foot of Tenya and Izuku’s bed, but she abandons them for Hikaru. Izuku has never been prouder. He needs a minute to collect himself when he peeks into Hikaru’s room and finds her curled up against his shoulder.
“Tenya, the cat adopted Hikaru,” Izuku says as he returns to his own bedroom, actual tears in his eyes.
Tenya, halfway through changing into his pajamas, drops his shirt on the bed to come hug his husband. Izuku presses his face into warm skin and laughs wetly, knowing better than to worry about the tears bothering Tenya.
“I’m so happy,” he mumbles. Tenya presses his face into Izuku’s hair.
“I feel the same.”
Izuku squeezes Tenya around the middle.
“Does it feel real for you yet?” Izuku asks, his voice still muffled from being hidden in Tenya’s chest.
“Truthfully, no. Finding a child who is such a perfect fit for us feels almost too good to be true.”
“You’re so sweet with him,” Izuku says. “I love you. You’re already such a great dad.”
“You say that as though you are not doing spectacularly yourself! It seems like you know just what to say to soothe his anxieties.”
“When you hugged him at the group home today I nearly cried.”
“He loved the stuffed animals you chose for him!”
“I think we’re in a compliment feedback loop again,” Izuku says, laughing helplessly. “But I don’t even get credit for that one, Tsuyu was the real hero on that mission.”
“We will have to thank her the next time we see her.”
“It really does take a village, huh?”
“Indeed.”
*
Tenya and Izuku usually take the first patrol of the morning, and the fact that they don’t actually have work today doesn’t throw off their internal clocks. They keep as quiet as possible while they take turns in the bathroom, and tiptoe past Hikaru’s room on the way to the kitchen.
“It would be good if we had breakfast prepared when he wakes up,” Tenya says, accepting ingredients as Izuku takes them out of the fridge and hands them to him.
This plan lasts for about ten minutes before the smell of frying fish wakes Hikaru up. His door opens and Tama leads the way out into the hall, meowing a hello to the two men in the kitchen. Hikaru follows her out, pushing his sunglasses out of the way to rub one of his eyes. His hair is at peak bird’s nest and there’s a crease on his cheek from the blankets.
“G’morning,” he says, peering hopefully into the kitchen. “Um. I smelled breakfast?”
“Sorry, we wanted to have it done before you got up,” Izuku apologizes, but Hikaru hastily shakes his head.
“No, that's okay! Um! Can I help? They didn’t let us in the kitchen at the group home but I really like cooking shows, so, um…”
“Of course! Would you like to assist me with the miso soup?” Tenya offers from his place by the oven. Hikaru perks right up.
“I’m allowed to use the stove?”
“Only with supervision,” Tenya corrects, firm but gentle. A few sleepy lights orbit Hikaru’s face for a moment as he nods.
Tama disrupts this moment of family bonding with a demanding meow.
“Oh, Tama-chan wants her breakfast,” Hikaru says, squatting to gently stroke the cat’s head. “Can I feed her?”
“Sure, let me get the wet food. It smells pretty bad, though, just to warn you,” Izuku says, reaching up to fish one of the cans out of the cabinet.
“That’s okay, I’ll hold my nose.”
Hikaru figures out how to use the can opener without help, which is pretty impressive given that it's one of the ‘innovative’ versions of kitchen tools that Tenya likes to purchase. It actually took Izuku longer to figure out how to use the thing than it does for his eight year old son.
“Okay, you have to say ‘thank you for the food’ before you eat,” Hikaru says as he sets down the dish on the floor. Tama meows, and Hikaru smiles. “Good job! Very polite.”
Izuku is going to die. This child is too adorable.
“I’m ready to help with the soup now!” Hikaru says, turning away from the now-distracted cat.
“I will show you the best techniques,” Tenya says, and Hikaru eagerly crowds in around the stove.
Both student and teacher remain completely intent on the task for the duration; Izuku has never seen a child take soup this seriously. Tenya always does, though. That part isn’t new.
Hikaru fits right in.
*
While they’re eating, Izuku brings up their plans for the day.
“So, Hikaru-kun. Would you like to meet my mom today?”
This time the lights are immediate; they actually appear faster than Hikaru can turn his head. He drops his chopsticks.
“Yeah!! Is she going to come over or should I put on my shoes?”
Izuku holds up his hands in a placating gesture.
“It’s okay, you can finish eating! I was thinking about inviting her over for lunch.”
“Should I find my best graded homework? Heiji says his grandmother likes him more when he gets good grades, I want to make a good first impression!”
“She’ll love you no matter what, I promise,” Izuku says, trying his best to be soothing. Inko has been beside herself with excitement through this whole process, ready and waiting to love her grandchild.
“That’s good because I think I left all my schoolwork at school,” Hikaru says, fidgeting with his fingers. “Or at Mimi’s. We usually go to her house for homework when it’s cold ’cause she has a kotatsu and the group home didn’t allow visitors for dinner and Heiji’s dad says he isn’t paying for a kotatsu just ’cause Mimi’s got one. But, um, I saw that we have one, so, maybe we could study here sometimes?”
All of this is said very fast, like Hikaru is trying to get all the words out before they escape on their own.
“That is a splendid idea! Some of my fondest memories of school are from our study groups,” Tenya says.
“We’ll get you guys some good study snacks the next time we’re at the grocery store,” Izuku promises.
“Ah! And if you need assistance with your studies, you need not hesitate to ask. Both Izuku and I excelled academically, we would be happy to help.”
“Wow, thanks!” Hikaru says, grinning. One of his lights is doing a slow, easy circle around his head. “I’m, um, really good at kanji and vocabulary, but math is hard.”
“Izuku, I believe you tutored Ochako in math for a time?”
“Well, only because she and Tsuyu had just started dating so--”
Izuku cuts himself off and glances at the eight year old at the table. Finishing that sentence with ‘they couldn’t study together without ending up making out’ probably isn’t a great idea.
“Err. They were distracted by wanting to hold hands.”
That was a terrible excuse. Still, Hikaru doesn’t question it, grinning.
“Mimi does that too! One time she got to hold hands with the cutest girl in our class on a field trip and she totally forgot to do her homework for like, three days!”
Izuku laughs, which makes Hikaru grin even harder and triggers a flurry of happy lights.
“She sounds like a lovely girl,” Tenya says, probably seeing just as much of Ochako in that story as Izuku is.
“She is! I love Mimi!” Hikaru says, and the lights are only multiplying. He flaps one of his hands happily, which makes him look like he’s trying to wave fireflies away. It’s painfully sweet. “I’m sure you’ll like her! Heiji too! They’re really, really good friends and they’re both really nice and really smart!”
“If they’re important to you, then I already like them,” Izuku says.
Hikaru dissolves into happy giggles.
*
Inko arrives a little after noon, her arms so full of baked goods and hand-knitted winter wear that she has to knock on the door with her elbow.
“Mom! I would have helped you get that out of the car!” Izuku says, frantically taking things out of her hands. He has super strength, there is absolutely no reason for her to have to struggle getting things into his apartment.
“Oh, I know, I was just so excited! I made three different hats to make sure I got size right, but I ran out of green yarn halfway through so some of them are different colors--”
Izuku knows the moment Hikaru pokes his head around the corner because it immediately cuts off Inko’s rambling. She breaks into a huge smile.
“Hello there!” she says, her voice warm in a way that throws Izuku back to being eight years old himself. Izuku watches Hikaru takes a deep breath and leave the safe haven of the living room, only to stand halfway behind Izuku for his greeting. His excitement from this morning seems to have given way to nerves.
“Hi. I’m Hikaru Iida. It’s nice to meet you,” he says, fidgeting and keeping his eyes somewhere around the vicinity of Inko’s belly button.
Inko mouths the word ‘Iida’ and then covers her mouth with her hands. It doesn’t do much to mask her smile or the tears welling up in her eyes.
“Oh. Oh, I’m so happy to finally meet you,” Inko says, wiping at her eyes.
“Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”
