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Midoriya had insisted that he wasn't All Might’s secret lovechild, that it ‘wasn't like that’. But Shouto hadn't believed him. It was the only explanation that made any sense for why their teacher had such an interest in the young man, and why their quirks were… practically identical, except for their skill in using them. There was simply no other viable excuse. And besides, it wasn't as if Midoriya would have admitted to such a big secret, so his denial really didn't mean anything.
Shouto had a theory. He was pretty sure Midoriya wasn't All Might’s son in the traditional way; that is, that All Might hadn't raised him. Given his own father's hatred of the man, Shouto was pretty sure he'd have heard if the hero had a family, because Endeavor would have been complaining about his offspring too, casting them as rivals for his prodigal son. So that probably wasn't the case. His theory was that they were long-lost family, and one had discovered the other recently, given the fervor with which they interacted, as if they'd been missing from each other's lives and had only known it once the emptiness was filled.
He wasn't sure how it was still a secret. They were glaringly obviously invested in each other in a way a mere teacher and student were completely unlikely to be. Shouto was surprised none of his fellow classmates saw the way they always looked to the other when something big was happening, how they seemed to coordinate so well, and their fierce protectiveness over each other. Even if their quirks were mere coincidence, the way they gravitated towards each other had to mean something.
There was also the fact that Midoriya obviously knew of All Might’s emaciated ‘true form’ (which, in Shouto’s opinion, was even better evidence of their relation, because the muscular hero didn't bear all that much resemblance to his classmate, but his thinner form… sort of did, a little more). He'd worn this constantly guilty expression the month after the truth came out, like he wanted to apologize that he hadn't told his friends about it.
So clearly they were in on each other's secrets, with a trust and familiarity born of what could only be blood ties.
It only became more pronounced after they graduated. There was a year or so in which they all worked to get situated in the hero community, while they became familiar with the ins and outs of the job and made connections that might help them build up their careers. Though they weren't in school anymore, they all still ended up seeing a lot of each other as they visited different agencies to find which would best suit them (or if they ought to build their own, which many of them eventually did). Also, simply by virtue of living in the same city (as many of them still did), they tended to run into each other somewhat frequently.
Shouto could not count on both hands the number of times he saw Midoriya and All Might together in public that year, simply eating or shopping or doing something that wasn't even related to hero work. Counting instances related to their job, he'd probably have had to use all of his siblings’ hands too. They definitely didn't seem to be hiding their relationship, which was why he was so surprised that nobody in the media was talking about it.
Another thing that surprised him was that Midoriya didn't seem to spend much time with his girlfriend. Or boyfriend, or whatever he had. Shouto supposed maybe it wasn't too weird that he didn't go out with them in public, because maybe they preferred to remain private, considering Deku’s growing popularity. That wouldn't be unreasonable. Still he couldn't help thinking Midoriya couldn't possibly have much time to spend with them between work and all the time he spent with All Might.
It was possible that maybe Midoriya wasn't dating anyone anymore, though Shouto found it a bit unthinkable that anyone would dump him. Midoriya was clever and loyal and hardworking, and adorable besides. Half of their class back at UA had had a crush on him, Shouto among them. In fact that was how he knew that Midoriya was dating someone to begin with.
It had been some time in their final year when Shouto had decided to take a chance on his feelings. It was a warm autumn afternoon after class, and he and Midoriya happened to be heading the same way down the hall, alone in the quiet and waning sunlight. Preamble had never been his forte, so he came right out and told him, “I’ve always admired you, Midoriya.”
And Midoriya had looked over at him in surprise, a light blush coloring his cheeks. “Oh, Todoroki. I’ve always admired you too!” He’d given Shouto that smile that was becoming his trademark.
So Shouto had conjured up a soft smile of his own and leaned in and kissed him.
Midoriya didn’t linger against Shouto’s lips, pulling back almost immediately, and he wondered for a quick split-second if he was too hot, or too cold, or if his breath was bad; what had made Midoriya change his mind?
Face red and eyes wide, Midoriya grimaced. “S-sorry, Todoroki. I’m… sorry. I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“Oh.” Shouto’s tiny smile fell as he started to understand the situation. It wasn’t his breath, and he wasn’t too hot or too cold. “So you don’t feel that way…”
“No! Uh, I mean. It’s not that I don’t like you…” Midoriya looked away, off into the distance at something only he could see, scratching his head nervously. “It’s just that I’m… kind of seeing someone already?”
“Oh. Okay,” Shouto had said, nodding. He didn’t push the matter, which seemed to surprise Midoriya. They continued walking down the hall, and that was the last they’d talked about their feelings, either for each other or anyone else. Midoriya never told him who he was dating, and that was okay because Shouto respected Midoriya’s right to privacy. So he didn’t ask, even after several years passed and he’d heard not even a whisper of Midoriya’s potential girlfriend from either the media or their friends. He genuinely hoped things were working out for them, but it wasn’t his place to butt in.
And it really wasn’t his place to suggest that he spend less time with All Might in order to devote it to this mysterious hypothetical date partner. As much as Shouto didn’t get along with his own father, he knew that family was important. Or it could be, at least. To some people.
Clearly it was to Midoriya. He and All Might continued to be closer than any other father-and-son pair he’d ever met before. Shouto didn’t know how they were so close (because he’d never experienced anything like that), but he supposed he was glad for them. He thought maybe it had to do with their cultural differences. All Might was American… or, half-American? Or he’d spent some time in America. The retired hero definitely exuded American charm, and a lot of his mannerisms seemed native to the States as well. So maybe that accounted for some of the strangeness in their relationship.
For example, there was this one time when Shouto had needed to coordinate something with Deku, for a joint effort their two agencies were planning on. He could have sent an email, or had an intern run a message for him, but he happened to be nearby, and he’d always prefered to do that sort of work himself if it didn’t interfere with his schedule too much, so he decided to go to Midoriya’s agency himself. They worked together frequently enough that the secretary let him through without much more than a friendly wave, and he saw himself back to Midoriya’s office, where he walked in on a sight that left him a little… confused.
Obviously just on his way out, All Might had leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Midoriya’s lips, a parting gesture. They were smiling fondly at each other until Midoriya’s eyes flicked over and noticed Shouto and his face went a bit pink as he cleared his throat. “Oh. Todoroki. Hi,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
All Might turned and looked down at him in mild surprise as well, though he straightened up and gave him a polite smile, and stood back to wait for the introduction to be over before going along with his business.
“I came to talk about the details of our collaboration,” Shouto said, and Midoriya nodded.
“Sure. Just give me a minute.” He turned from Shouto and returned his attention to All Might, looking at him like he was the only person in the room, which wasn’t unusual for either of them but still struck Shouto as kind of funny. “So, I’ll see you later. Dinner, maybe?”
“I have to get through some coursework tonight,” All Might said in a gently regretful tone. “Maybe lunch tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Midoriya said with a nod, before waving goodbye to the tall man and closing the door after him. He came back over to his desk and settled in to talk business.
The discussion went just fine, and then they spent a few minutes catching up, at the end of which Shouto decided to casually ask, “Americans have some odd customs, don’t they?”
Midoriya laughed in a way that showed he didn’t quite know what Shouto was talking about. “I guess they’re a little weird sometimes,” he said, and that was the end of that, as they moved on to other topics. Shouto figured, again, it really wasn’t his place to criticise the way that people did things, and certainly not the way that Midoriya and All Might did things, since it seemed to work out for them. Everyone had their own way after all, and maybe kissing your family on the lips was weird to him, but he had no reason to tell other cultures they couldn’t do it.
And Midoriya and All Might were both such great heroes. If they were a little odd at times, if they had habits or mannerisms that he didn’t quite get, there was no harm in it, as long as they continued to be good people and hard workers. And they really were. Deku was becoming quite the popular hero and, from what Shouto had heard, All Might was also doing well at UA, now that he had a little practice as a teacher and wasn’t splitting his time with hero work. He imagined that they were both getting paid quite well, which was why he was a little surprised when he heard that they were moving in together. He was pretty sure that they could afford separate apartments. They’d been doing so for the past few years, after all. And the economy might have gotten a little tighter that year, but not enough to necessitate cohabitation. He supposed it was for a different reason then. The two of them did work together fairly frequently, so maybe this was a way to make it easier on them. Or maybe it was just a way of catching up on all the time they didn’t have when Midoriya was a child, back before they found each other.
They seemed happy about it, though, so Shouto was happy for them. When they had a housewarming party, he attended, and brought them a small bonsai as a housewarming gift. Setting it down beside a few bouquets of cherry and plum blossoms, daisies, and a solitary but very large sunflower, he glanced over the other gifts. Quite a few people had brought wine, as was customary, and there were a few stacks of shiny coins and little shakers of salt. A single jar of honey was sitting a little too close to the edge, so he moved it further towards the middle, away from the broom that was leaning against it. Several loaves of fresh bread were arranged artfully by the flowers… but most of the rest of the table was covered in jars and sacks of rice. A lot of people had brought rice.
He blinked at one jar and the cute pink ribbon wrapped around it, with a little heart-shaped cut-out attached to it, signed by Uraraka. That made sense; she’d always liked cutesy things, and since her family wasn’t especially well-off it probably made sense to her to bring a utilitarian gift like rice, regardless of the fact that it was traditionally a blessing of fertility.
The party was quite nice. Shouto hadn’t seen some of his old classmates for years, so he spent a little time catching up with them-- even if they did most of the talking, and he primarily nodded along, as was his style. Everyone seemed quite happy to be there, to have the chance to see their favorite hero and teacher (and their favorite classmate, because there was no doubt that Midoriya was nearly everyone’s favorite) in his home environment. Aside from a quick ‘hello’ and ‘congratulations on the new home’, Shouto didn’t bother to talk to Midoriya or All Might very much. They were crowded enough as it was. Instead he wandered around the new apartment as he nibbled on his plate of snack foods.
It was a nice place, quite an open and airy layout, with lots of room-- for an apartment. (Shouto still prefered houses, but he knew not everyone had had the luxury of growing up in a mansion. He’d seen Midoriya’s family’s apartment, back in school. This was much larger, but probably still familiar.) Everything was shiny and new and smelled very fresh. The bathroom was quite nice; not a traditional style, but the bathtub was large enough to probably fit several Americans, which was impressive, at least. There were photos hung up on the walls in the hallway, some of people he recognized, some of which he didn’t. On the windowsills in the kitchen sat a variety of potted plants, thriving, clearly very well cared for.
All Might’s bedroom was, frankly, huge, which Shouto supposed it had to be, to fit the massive bed. He imagined it was difficult to find a bed quite that large, big enough to fit perhaps his whole family on. The bedspread was, humorously, All Might themed. It wasn’t a garish design, but it was obviously patterned after one of the man’s old hero costumes. Shouto chuckled to himself, imagining All Might wrapped up in the comforter on a cold morning, wandering through the house like a cheerful parody of himself. There wasn’t a whole lot else in the room, but it still had a warm and welcoming feel.
By contrast, Midoriya’s room seemed quite drab. It was only sparsely decorated, and the colors were more muted. He could only assume that they hadn’t finished moving all of his belongings in yet. Later, as the party was winding down, he offered his help moving the rest of their boxes, but Midoriya just thanked him and said they had it handled.
That was all good and well. Several months went by in which everyone seemed to be getting along just fine. Shouto was busy with his work, as were most of the other people he knew. The political and economic climates were stabilizing, along with the rate of criminal activity. All Might and Midoriya continued to have an enviable relationship with each other, but aside from perhaps the smallest pang of jealousy, Shouto found that he was quite content with life.
Until he received some particularly strange mail, which had him distressed and nearly sick with confusion and worry.
He read it over and over again, back to front, side to side, but no matter how many times he read it, the fancy, gold-embossed card was still inviting him to celebrate the wedding of Yagi Toshinori (who he knew to be All Might) and Midoriya Izuku. Shouto narrowed his eyes at it, wondering if maybe he was just… reading it wrong? Was there an alternate reading to these kanji? Surely there was some mistake. They must have meant Midoriya Inko, Izuku’s mother. That made sense, for his biological parents to get back together after 20-some-odd years.
But that was such an egregious typo to make on something as momentous as a wedding invitation! Shouto could just imagine what people might think, getting something like this in the mail, if they didn’t put two and two together. Suppose the person didn’t know Midoriya’s mother’s name, then they’d have no contextual clues for what the card really meant. He had to let them know.
Unfortunately, Midoriya Izuku’s phone just rang and rang when he called, and he had neither All Might’s number, not Midoriya Inko’s. So the only course of action he could think of was to go over to Izuku’s place and let him know in person. He considered waiting, as it was fairly late in the evening, but he didn’t want to let this go for too long, lest it cause chaos for the young hero and his auspicious father. They were both well-liked, but something like this would give them more trouble than they needed.
Shouto rushed out of the house and hailed a taxi, tapping his foot in agitation as he glanced over the invitation again, hoping he’d just read it wrong the first seventeen times. He didn’t want to disturb them this late in the evening, after all. He just had to.
Up at their apartment door, he knocked and waited for several moments. When no answer came, he knocked again. Again he waited, but to no avail. After he’d stood there for several full minutes, debating with himself, he tried the doorknob. To his surprise, it was unlocked, and despite his instinct not to trespass, he let himself in. He’d already come this far, and as he decided before he even left the house, this wasn’t something that was okay to leave until morning. This was something that could potentially ruin lives, if the media found it and happened to have nothing better to focus on at the time.
He closed the door firmly behind him and called out into the house, “Midoriya?”
The apartment was quiet, almost as if nobody was home. But the lights were on in the kitchen and living room, and all signs pointed to the space having been lived in quite recently, glasses beaded with condensation sitting in coasters on the living room table. He stepped carefully through the house, wondering if everything was alright or if they’d maybe gone to bed already. Figuring that might be the case, he went to Midoriya’s room and peeked inside the open door. He wasn’t in there, though; in fact, the room didn’t look like it had been slept in any time recently.
Assuming that meant Midoriya was out, he went towards All Might’s room instead. He hated to wake the man, but he needed to let someone know, so they could quickly send out notices to all the potential wedding attendees.
As he neared the room, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar, and that there was a soft faint noise spilling out from it along with the warm sliver of light. Again, his instinct said to leave it alone, but instead of listening to that (after all, he wasn’t out fighting villains; this was his friends’ home. He didn’t need to be on guard) he walked forward and peeked inside--
--where he was confronted with
he couldn’t
couldn’t quite process…
There had to be some mistake?
Inside All Might’s room, he found not only All Might, but also Midoriya, engaged in some frankly quite carnal activities on their frankly quite massive bed. Tangled in the All Might themed comforter and each other, the two heroes were devoting every bit of their attention to each other, hands clutching at the other, lips exploring, their expressions… so…
adoring
, like the way they looked at each other in public, but
tenfold,
like nothing Shouto had ever seen before. Certainly not the way he’d ever seen a son look at his father or vice versa. Their gazes were darkened with lust, but brightened with absolute pure
love
.
And they didn’t seem to see him, so he stumbled back from the door, doing his best to suppress his frightened, confused gasp. He staggered over to the kitchen and leaned against one of the dining chairs, staring into nothingness as the image he’d just seen looped in his head, distressing, illuminating, and perhaps a little too appealing.
So…
He’d been… wrong.
Still stunned, Shouto went home. He spent the rest of the night trying to sort through what he’d seen, what it meant, and several years worth of assumptions. Then he re-examined his slight jealousy. There was nothing left to it anymore. He was suddenly quite
glad
he wasn’t that close with his father.
He didn’t sleep that night, too distressed to calm down. But the next morning he crawled out of bed anyway, and got ready for the day. He hadn’t quite wrapped his brain around the whole situation yet, but he knew at least one thing: he probably shouldn’t have intruded on their home last night. And maybe they were none the wiser, but even so, he wanted to make up for it.
To that effect, he headed out to find them a good wedding present. And maybe a nice jar of rice to go along with it.