Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Mom! Mom! There’s a moving truck outside!” Six-year-old Izuku bounced excitedly as his mother exited their small apartment to stand with him at the railing and watch the movers work. A girl around his age, with long blonde hair and cat ears on her head was sitting on the edge of the truck’s trailer; swinging her legs back and forth. Her skin was sun-kissed, like she spent a lot of her time outside, and she had red eyes and a sprinkle of freckles on her face and down her neck. Her ears flicked forward at his cry and she waved, grinning broadly.

“...She saw me.” Izuku mumbled, ducking his head. He wasn’t used to being singled out with happy intent, not since his Quirk hadn’t come in and his classmates ostracized him from their circles. Inko pushed him gently towards the stairs, smiling. “Why don’t you go and say hello? Maybe you two can be friends!”

“What if she asks for my Quirk…” Izuku sighed softly, fisting the bottom of his shirt in his hands. “I don’t want her to think I’m weird.” Inko crouched down to his level and smoothed out his shirt, taking his small shaky hands in her warm ones. “Then you tell her you don’t have one. You’re amazing, honey, and you don’t need a Quirk to have friends. No matter what anyone says. Now go have fun!" Izuku jumps down the stairs carefully, holding into the bar as he goes. “Even though the steps aren’t big, they’re steep; and safety comes first. All Might even said so in one of his interviews!” His train of thought screeched to a halt as the girl he spotted earlier met him at the bottom of the stairs. “She’s here! I didn’t think I would meet her so soon; what do I say? What do I do?”

Luckily for Izuku, the girl seemed intent on starting first. “Hi! I’m Max, Max Lokk; what’s your name? Your hair’s really cool! It looks soft and fluffy, like mine!” Smiling, she pointed at Izuku’s head and then at her own, cat ears twitching back and forth. “I-i’m Izuku… Izuku M-midoriy-ya...”

“Nice to meet you! Dad and I just moved here from America; it’s really far away. Across the ocean!” Izuku’s eyes sparkled. “That’s where All Might is from!”

“You like All Might too?!” Max grinned, bouncing in place excitedly. “He’s my favorite hero!” “Mine too!” Exclaimed Izuku, striking a pose. “He always saves the day, even when the bad guys are super strong! He’s All Might!” Inko reached the bottom of the stairs, smiling as she heard the two children exchange words. She approached the truck, waving a greeting to the tall man who shared Max’s blonde locks and tan skin.

“Hello there, are you our new neighbor?” She asked, as he set down the box he was carrying. “Yup, that’s us!” The man smiled, holding out a hand. “Edward Lokk, nice to meet you.”

“Inko Midoriya, likewise. Is the little beauty over there yours?” She pointed to the staircase, where Izuku and Max were sitting in the dirt talking about heroes. “Sure is! And I’m guessing the other one is yours?” She nodded. “It’s good that they’re getting along… Max didn’t really have a lot of friends when we left, so I was hoping she’d have an easier time here.” A wistful look flickered across the man’s face before he blinked it away and smiled at Inko.

“It’s nice meeting you, Inko. Maybe we could chat later? I’ve gotta finish unloading and let these guys take off.” He jabbed a thumb behind him at the truck, where a couple of large men were unloading boxes into the apartment next to the Midoriya’s.

“Of course!” Inko replied, smiling. “Would you like some help with those?”

“It’s alright, ma’am, but thank you.” Edward shook his head, picking up a box. “Thank you for the warm welcome!”

Inko nodded, looking back over to where the children were talking. Something was changing, she decided, taking in Izuku’s expression. He was explaining one of All Might’s interviews to the girl next to him, gesturing and laughing with a light in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. This, she thought, might have been what he needed. Someone who was willing to listen to him and make the first move.

Smiling quietly to herself, she climbed the stairs to the apartment. Moving was exhausting work, after all, and Edward might appreciate an ice cold drink for his efforts.

Chapter Text

It was only a couple of months after the Lokk family moved into the apartment next to theirs, but Inko was already used to their lively antics. Edward got a job for a lovely family that did construction work, making use of his “Ardor Blaze” Quirk to weld materials quickly and efficiently. Being able to generate flames was handy around the house too! For example, they probably saved a lot of money on electricity since he could just use his Quirk to cook in the palm of his hand. The downside was that it used his vitality as fuel, so he needed to eat and sleep a lot in order to maintain the power for work.

Inko recommended Izuku’s elementary school for Max to enroll in, as it was close by and had a good reputation for the most part. She had heard some nasty rumors about teachers looking the other way when it came to certain subclasses of Quirks; or none at all, but Izuku came home smiling and that was enough for her.

Speaking of Izuku… She’d never seen him this happy before. Max was a ball of energy and seemed more than happy to share some of it with Izuku. She was more than happy to sit with Izuku in their living room and chat about heroes, although she’d get bored quickly; it seemed hard for the girl to just sit still. Another thing she loved to do was show off her Quirk, much to Izuku’s adoration and excitement. He’d always materialize his notebooks from somewhere and start jotting things down; and ask her questions.

Max’s Quirk was called “Ardor Vent”, and it was a streamlined version of Edward’s. Instead of turning her vitality into fuel for flames, it shunt the compressed energy out like a rocket exhaust from anywhere on her body. Since her Quirk involved heat, her body temperature also ran hotter than most people, and she was perfectly happy strutting around with t-shirts and shorts in the brisk fall weather; while Izuku grumbled about his heavy jacket.

All was good, it seemed. Inko had found a friend in Edward, although why it was just him and his daughter was puzzling to her. She managed to get it out of him over a cup of coffee, while they both had a day off of work.

“Am I seeing anyone?” Edward grinned, shaking his head. “Nah, I’m afraid not. Why? You want to go out with me, Inko?” She laughed, used to his teasing. Edward was a cheerful person by nature, and she knew by now how to determine if he was serious or poking fun at her. “Just curious, Edward. Aren’t you married? It’s rather unusual to see a single father manage things so well; I’d think your wife was helping you behind the scenes!”

The man swirled the remnants of his coffee in his mug before finishing the dregs. “Sarah passed a few years ago, when Max was still young. I held it together as best I could, but the company I was working for went under and I needed a place to go. We were supposed to live with family, but they bailed on us; so I looked for cheap apartments in the area with good schools and chose Jakku Apartments.”

“I’m sorry, Edward… Although, I’m glad you chose to move into our building. Izuku had a hard time with his classmates for not having a Quirk, and I’m happy he and Max are so close.” Inko patted her companion’s hand across the table, sending him a warm smile.

The man shook himself from his unhappy attitude, smiling back at Inko. “That’s right! I was wondering if the two of you would like to come over for dinner this weekend. It’s the final week of their elementary school, and it’d be nice to return the favor for once; although I doubt my cooking can match yours!” Edward grinned, shrugging.

Friday night couldn’t come quickly enough for Izuku.