Chapter Text
Hitoshi had been reluctant to the idea of nursery school since Aizawa first suggested it.
Now that Hitoshi was three years old, Aizawa couldn’t look after him at home anymore. Things would be easier if his mother were still around… But she wasn’t, so this was the only option he had left.
“Come on. It’s fine. There’ll be toys and other kids to play with. You’ll have fun.”
“Don’t want to.”
“Please, Hitoshi.”
“No! Not going, not going!”
He’d had multiple tantrums over it, but now that they were finally here, Hitoshi was strangely quiet. He gripped tightly onto Aizawa’s hand as he was led up to the front door. It was painted a sunny yellow and covered in colourful handprints, with a sign on the window that read, ‘The Sunflower Nursery’. It matched the tall flowers growing out of a planter in the front garden, their brown faces craning towards the bright, warm sun in the cloudless sky.
The inside of the building was just as colourful. The receptionist’s room had children’s drawings pinned all over the walls, as well as hundreds of handmade and store-bought ‘thank you’ cards, seemingly from all the ex-pupils.
They approached the front desk, Hitoshi lingering back and staying hidden behind Aizawa’s legs.
“I’ve brought Aizawa Hitoshi for his first day,” Aizawa said to the receptionist.
She looked up from her computer and gave him a beaming smile. She was exceptionally pretty, with long dark hair and big blue eyes framed with thick eyeliner and smoky eyeshadow. If Aizawa weren’t gay, he’d likely find her attractive. Hell, anybody would.
“So nice to meet you, Mr Aizawa. I’m Nemuri.” She glanced over her desk to look at Hitoshi. “And you must be little Hitoshi! You’re going to have a great time here. I’ll take you along to your playroom. Follow me.”
She stood up and beckoned them over to a door, which was patterned with sunflowers. This place really had a strong theme going, Aizawa thought to himself.
“You’re going to be in the Rainbow Room, Hitoshi. Everyone is really friendly there. I’m sure you’ll make lots of new friends!” Nemuri said as they walked along the corridor. The walls were patterned with murals of children playing amongst flowers, chasing butterflies and skipping rope, joy shining out from their painted smiles. Each door along the corridor was covered in a different pattern, and Nemuri stopped them outside the one that, as expected, was covered in rainbows.
She opened the door for them and inside Aizawa could hear the chatter of toddlers, laughing and screeching as they ran about. Hitoshi shrunk away.
Kneeling down to be at his height, Aizawa ran a hand through his son’s hair.
“It’s alright, Hitoshi. Just give it a chance. I’ll stay for a while, okay?”
Hitoshi still seemed uncertain, but the promise that he’d have a familiar face there seemed to make him slightly more confident.
They walked in the room, hand in hand.
Then Aizawa saw him.
He was probably one of the tallest people Aizawa had ever seen, looking like a giant amongst all the tiny pre-schoolers, with wild blonde hair that exactly resembled the sunflowers they’d seen on the way in. He wore a light blue apron over a white polo shirt and dark blue jeans, which clung to his skinny legs, making him look even taller. It was as if he had been stretched out like a piece of elastic that wouldn’t snap back into place.
The man looked over at him with a radiant smile. His eyes were deeply set in his face and shadowed, but Aizawa could see that they were a brilliant sky blue, twinkling like diamonds in the dark.
Shit.
“Hey, you must be our new classmate, am I right?”
The man walked over to them, extending a hand to Aizawa.
“I’m Mr Yagi, but the kids just call me Toshinori.”
Aizawa was somewhat lost for words for a moment.
Get a hold of yourself.
“Uh, I’m Aizawa. And this is Hitoshi.”
He gently pulled on Hitoshi’s hand to make him come out from behind him. Hitoshi looked up at Toshinori with uncertainty. Once Toshinori had shaken Aizawa’s hand, he offered the same greeting to Hitoshi. The boy latched his fingers onto two of Toshinori’s and gave them a tiny shake.
“A good, strong grip! Now that’s what we like here!” he exclaimed, beaming at Hitoshi and then Aizawa.
God, that smile.
Suddenly, they heard a pattering of small feet racing over.
“New kid, new kid!”
“I wanna play with him first!”
“No, he’s going to join us!”
Toshinori held up his hands and shook his head at the trio of toddlers who had come to greet the new arrival. “Hey, hey, now. Let’s not crowd him, okay? Remember what I taught you about personal space?”
The kids looked between each other and nodded.
“No touching ‘cept if they say so!”
“That’s right. I know you’re very excited to make a new friend, but we don’t want Hitoshi being scared, do we?”
They shook their heads.
Toshinori kneeled back down. “You guys go ahead and introduce yourselves. One at a time.”
The boy with the bright red hair jumped in front of his peers. “My name is Eijirou, though you can call me Kirishima!”
“And I’m Mina! I hope we’re going to be best friends!”
“I’m Izuku, but everyone calls me Deku.”
These kids seemed a lot bubblier than Hitoshi, but Aizawa hoped that might help Hitoshi break out of his shell. After all, he didn’t want his son to have the same lonely childhood that he’d had.
“We could play with the blocks together. Would you like that?” Deku asked, pointing at the tower he’d built so far out of the colourful wooden pieces. “I’m building a big castle!”
After hesitating for a moment, Hitoshi nodded slowly and cautiously let go of Aizawa’s hand, following the curly-haired boy across the playroom.
“I’ll leave you guys to it, is that alright? I better get back to the phone,” Nemuri said, putting her hands on her curvy hips.
“Of course. I’ll give Mr Aizawa the low-down on everything, then show him out. Thanks for all your help, Kayama.”
She tittered and shook her head. “How many times have I told you, Toshinori? Just call me Nemuri.”
With a laugh and a flick of her hair, she strolled out, shutting the door to the Rainbow Room behind her.
Toshinori turned his attention back to Aizawa with another blinding smile. He seemed to embody the sun somehow, and Aizawa wasn’t sure how to deal with that.
“We’re really excited to have Hitoshi with us. I know a lot of parents worry about leaving their kids for the first time, but I think he’s going to fit right in here,” he said, pushing some of his hair out of his face. “A lot of them were very scared when they first came, then settled really quickly.”
“I’m not worried.”
Toshinori raised his eyebrow. “Well, that’s great! It’s best when parents don’t push their own anxieties onto their kids. So… Would you like the grand tour?”
“Uh… yeah. Sure.”
The man beamed again. Damn, Aizawa wished he would stop doing that.
“This is the playroom where Hitoshi will be spending most of his time. There’s the toy area in that corner, the time-out zone when they want a bit of peace and quiet, and the messy table there for painting and the like. Most of the time, they’re free to just have fun and do whatever they want, but sometimes I put on DVDs and have stuff like sing-alongs, story time and class games. They get their lunch at twelve, with the lunch room just along the hallway you just walked down. Depending on the weather, we try to get them out in the playground every day – this door here leads out to it.”
“Is it just you watching them?”
“Usually, yeah.”
“Doesn’t that get a bit much for you?”
Toshinori laughed. “Well, they can be a handful sometimes. But normally they’re good as gold and don’t give me any bother. Except, well—”
One of the kids yelled, “HERO TIME!”
Suddenly, Toshinori was pounced upon by several children, clinging onto his legs. Hitoshi held back, still sitting by the block tower, looking bewildered.
“Do the hero voice! Do All Might!” they pleaded with him, tugging at the hems of his trousers and bottom of his apron.
“Okay, okay!” Toshinori relented. “But first, you’ve gotta let go!”
The kids scrambled away again and looked up at him expectantly.
Toshinori glanced over at Aizawa. “Want to stay and watch for a while?”
Aizawa nodded. He didn’t have anywhere else to be and had promised Hitoshi that he’d stay.
“Alright then. Would you just pass over that cushion there?” He pointed to one that was laying on a chair. Aizawa handed it over and stared as Toshinori tucked it into his top, making his chest look bigger and more muscular. He undid his apron at the back and spun it around his neck so that it resembled a cape.
“Fear not, children! For I am here!” He boomed, putting on a much deeper voice and much wider smile.
The children shrieked in delight, chanting, “All Might! All Might”
Toshinori put his hands on his hips triumphantly, looking around. “But what’s this? I have no villain to face!”
A blond boy with spikey hair jumped onto Kirishima, pinning him down to the floor. “Me! I’m the villain! And I’ve got Kirishima! Die, die, die!”
He pretended to bite the other little boy’s face off. At least, Aizawa hoped he was only pretending.
“Ahhh! No, I’m a dragon and I’ll eat you!” Kirishima yelled back, struggling to break free.
“Aha! A villain emerges! Be gone, you criminal!”
He swooped down and picked Kirishima up off the floor, out of the other boy’s reach. Toshinori held up high up in the air, spun him around, then safely planted him back down behind him, with Kirishima giggling all the while.
“You are rescued! And you, villain, are defeated! There is only one punishment for evil-doers such as you… Broccoli!”
The blond boy started to yell. “Noooooo! Not broccoli!”
“Yes! And Brussel sprouts!”
Aizawa watched them all play until it was time for their lunch. He helped Toshinori lead them down to lunch room, a gaggle of children following him asking if they could touch his hair and wear his scarf. He refused on both, much to their disappointment.
He’d expected Hitoshi to walk with him, but he’d already made a new friend in Deku, happily chatting away with him about what they were going to add on to their castle next.
The lunch staff were there to watch them as they ate, so Toshinori and Aizawa headed back to the playroom. Toshinori slumped down in his chair, his mug of coffee in his hand.
“I don’t know how you manage all of this,” Aizawa said, shaking his head. He looked around at all the scattered toys – the evidence of the chaos that the kids had left behind.
Toshinori laughed. “I’m used to it. I get this hour to take a break, so it’s not so bad. Plus, I enjoy it.”
“Being… what was it… ‘All Might’?”
“Oh yeah. They love playing superheroes. I used to be able to play the part much better than I can now, back when I was able to hit the gym and didn’t look like this. Hence the pillow for a bit of extra beef.”
Aizawa was curious about why Toshinori was no longer able to work out. Was it the time constraints of his job, or something else? But he didn’t believe it was his business to pry into the man’s personal life. After all, he was just his son’s teacher, wasn’t he?
“I’m going to go now, Hitoshi. I’ll be back at three o’clock. Are you going to be okay on your own?”
Hitoshi was back to the building blocks and barely acknowledged Aizawa at first when he spoke. However, as Aizawa opened the door to leave, he felt two tiny arms wrap around his legs and hug him tightly from behind.
“You’re coming back?”
Aizawa ruffled his hair. “Of course, I am. I’ll always come for you. Now go play. Mr Yagi is going to be watching you, so you don’t need to worry about anything.”
Aizawa made eye contact with Toshinori for a moment, who smiled back at him and gave him a quick wave.
He had to head out of the door before the other man could see him blush.
When Aizawa came to pick up Hitoshi at the end of the day, he found his son taking a ride on Toshinori’s back like he was a horse. He was wielding a foam sword which he waved back and forth, giggling every time he was jostled by Toshinori’s movements.
When he saw Aizawa, he yelled out, “Dad!” and Toshinori lowered himself so that Hitoshi could hop off and run towards him. He hugged Aizawa around the legs, before eagerly trying to tug him further into the room.
“We’re playing knights and dragons,” he explained excitedly, swishing his sword to point at Toshinori. “And I’ve beat the dragon, so now he works for me!”
Aizawa’s eyes met Toshinori’s and the other man didn’t fail to deliver one of his usual sunny smiles, though, granted, it was a wearier one. Having a bunch of toddlers on his back couldn’t have done his spine much good.
“So, you had fun?”
“Yeah! Do we have to go now? Can we please stay longer?”
Hitoshi looked up at him with a pleading gaze. Usually Aizawa was good at being firm, but surely it wouldn’t hurt…
“Well, Deku’s mother isn’t going to be here for another hour; he’d probably like the company. I could get you a cup of tea or coffee, if you’d like?” Toshinori chimed in, getting up off the floor.
Aizawa hummed in contemplation, then let out a sigh and nodded. “Alright. Go play, Hitoshi.”
Hitoshi squeaked with joy and scampered over to Deku, initiating a toy sword fight.
“And I’ll take you up on that tea,” he added to Toshinori.
“What is it you do, Aizawa?”
“Ah, well – I’m a university lecturer. Not too dissimilar to your work, I suppose. I’d argue some of the kids here pay better attention than my students.”
Toshinori laughed. “What do you teach?”
“Mathematics.”
“Wow. Can’t imagine that’s easy.”
Aizawa shrugged. “I suppose my mind works in a way that lends itself to maths.”
Hitoshi didn’t seem to have inherited his logic-focused personality. In fact, his son struggled with maths, but was incredibly gifted with language. He seemed to have a way with words – when he was feeling confident enough to speak, of course. Watching him and Deku play, Aizawa was happy knowing that this was a place where Hitoshi could be himself.
As is being able to read his mind, Toshinori smiled and said, “He came up with the dragon game all by himself, you know. He seems very creative.”
He paused for a moment, as if he weren’t sure about what he was going to say next.
“Does he get it from his mother?”
Aizawa nodded. “Yeah, I suppose he must. It’s hard to say. She didn’t really have much of a hand in raising him.”
Toshinori looked a little embarrassed, knowing from Aizawa’s words and tone that their family life wasn’t all that simple, and that he might have just put his foot in it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to –”
Aizawa waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. It isn’t exactly a secret at this point. I suppose it’s better you know. It’s something he can be a little… sensitive about.”
Aizawa knew it was hard for his son having no mother. In a way, he felt like he’d deprived Hitoshi of a real family; he never felt like he was enough to carry Hitoshi’s whole world. He couldn’t always get the attention he needed, because Aizawa needed to work, and there were times he felt desperate for some kind of motherly input. Maybe she’d have known what to do about Hitoshi’s unruly hair. Maybe she’d be better at comforting him when he cried. Maybe she’d have given him so much more than he could.
But, with all that said, it had been her choice to leave. Her choice to walk out and leave Hitoshi behind.
It reached around five o’clock and Deku’s mother had arrived to pick him up. She was a cheerful lady with a big smile and hair that matched her son’s, though far less messy. She’d welcomed Aizawa to the ‘Parents Club’, as she called it, and said that he should come along to the get together with some of the other mothers and fathers. Aizawa said he’d think about it. Social gatherings weren’t exactly his forte.
When she and Deku had gone home, it was finally time for him and Hitoshi to do the same. By this point, Hitoshi was exhausted, battling to keep his eyelids from drooping shut. Aizawa scooped him up and rested him against his shoulder, where Hitoshi instantly fell asleep. He looked over at Toshinori, who had begun to tidy up the toys on the floor.
“I think he had a good first day. Thanks.”
Toshinori beamed. “My pleasure.”
Aizawa hovered in the doorway. “I suppose… I’ll see you in the morning, then. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Aizawa.”