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“Shouta〜”
The aforementioned boyfriend/father-figure/teacher just groaned and buried his face further into the couch cushion. It was too early for this, at least for him.
“Don’t make me sic Eri on you. ‘Cause I will and you know you can’t resist our little kitten. Tell ‘em, Eri.”
“Mew.”
Shouta turned his head to look at Eri who was leaned in way too close to his face. Her soft doe eyes mixed with the cat ears headband forced him to raise his head at least a bit.
“What’s this about?”
Pleased her papa was as awake as he was going to get, Eri surged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, prompting him to sit up all the way so he could hold her properly. But whatever quiet moment they were going to have was interrupted by Hizashi.
“Ha! I told you she could get you up!” Hizashi slid in to sit next to him, pressing their shoulders together.
“Again, what’s this about?” Shouta grumbled.
Hizashi just shot him a fondly exasperated look. “It’s Saturday! We planned a picnic. Remember?”
No. All he remembered was telling them all that if he walked into a surprise party for his upcoming birthday, he’d walk right back out.
“Sure. Was I supposed to be doing anything?”
“Nope!” Hizashi swooped down to gather Eri in his arms and settle her on his hip. “However, I’d like you to come with me to the store for a bit. I was going to drag the boys too but I caught them doing their homework last minute. We can meet them at the train station.”
This plan held its fair share of suspicion but at the moment, Shouta was not in the mood to try and dissect his boyfriend’s schemes. As long as there were no wild parties involved, he was fine with whatever.
“That’s too much candy.”
Hizashi paused, holding a bag of fun-sized candy halfway in the basket. “It’s for the kids,” he quickly defended.
“Mmm hmm. How about if we are in the mood for sweets, we get ice cream afterward so we don’t have temptations laying around the house later.”
Hizashi pouted but still relented and placed the candy back on the shelf. Eri just giggled at their antics before continuing to peruse the candy at her eye level. After a moment, an unfamiliar word on a package stopped her in her tracks.
“Papa?”
“Yes, Eri?” Aizawa kept his face stoic despite wanting to jump for joy every time Eri called him that.
“What’s c-car-ee-meal?”
He leaned down to look at what she was trying to read and found a simple caramel chocolate bar.
“I’m not sure how to describe it. When eating it plain it’s very thick and chewy and will stretch a lot if you try to pull it apart.”
She still seemed unsure as she stared at the golden package.
“They dip apples in it sometimes.”
She whipped around to look at him fast enough that her headband threatened to fall off. “So it’s candy apple coating?”
Damn, that was cute. At this rate, they’d be making homemade candy apples by the end of next week. Not that that was a bad thing.
“No, not exactly. It’s just a different type of coating and it does taste different. It just tastes good with apples too.”
She seemed to consider it for a moment before looking back at the candy bar. Her soft expression seemed almost pained as she considered the taste of a new sweet.
“I’ll buy it for you,” he blurted out.
Oops.
Hizashi was never going to let him live down how fast he said that.
“Really?” She looked overjoyed at the 150 yen purchase and handed the candy bar off so Shouta could put it in the basket.
It was a nice moment until Shouta noticed Hizashi watching him with that starry-eyed look that was usually reserved for baby animals or a new mixtape.
“Not a word.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were thinking it.”
Hizashi just grinned wider and waved finger-guns at his boyfriend before moving to follow Eri as she started to wander towards another shelf.
God, he was such a pushover.
“Did you two finish your homework?” Shouta asked the second the boys came into view.
Neither boys startled very hard but both shied back at the accusation.
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t have to leave us behind though,” Hitoshi mumbled. “We could have done it when we got home.”
“And you should have done it earlier this weekend instead of last minute,” Shouta said, feeling like he should be putting his hands on his hips.
“Yes, papa,” Hitoshi retorted sarcastically, ending with a cheeky grin.
Shouta just stopped, mid-turn and leveled him with a glare. “I feed you, care for you, teach you, and keep a roof over your head. That isn’t a teasing statement, it’s the truth.”
He didn’t a chance to turn back towards the tracks before he was bulldozed by an overexcited Hizashi and swept into a hug.
Despite his dislike of public affection, he held still long enough for Hizashi to get his fill.
“Alright, that’s enough-”
Then Eri was wrapping herself around his leg.
Then Hitoshi was looping an arm around his shoulder.
And Shoto ended up awkwardly grabbing his hand.
God, they were such a weird family.
After a few more moments passed and no one was letting go, he shot Hizashi a hard glare and the clingy man detached, signaling everyone to do so as well.
“We’re going to miss our train. Let’s go.”
Mildly embarrassed but still smug, the boys followed him close, shooting Hizashi a knowing look to which Hizashi violently waved off with a frantic expression.
They couldn’t spoil the surprise yet.
Eri latched onto Shouta’s hand that wasn’t holding the picnic basket. (Yes an actual basket. Hizashi is that extra.) And Hizashi brought up the rear, carrying the blankets.
It was a cute image, right off a postcard. Not exactly Shouta’s style but that’s okay. Style’s change. Lives change. And this time it’s for the better.
By the time they made it down to the kids’ favorite park and got half-way through lunch, Shouta was trying and failing to hide the fact that he was shivering.
“I told you to wear an actual scarf,” Hizashi sighed before pulling off his jacket and draping it over his boyfriend’s shoulders.
Shouta couldn’t argue with that so he just buried his face into his capture weapon.
The tranquil moment was interrupted by Eri suddenly coughing and gasping loudly and repeatedly.
Shouta was up instantly and halfway to her before she coughed, hard, one last time and spit out a piece of bread that she hadn’t chewed enough.
The entire group seemed to sigh in relief before Shinou leaned over with a napkin for her to spit the food on.
“Please chew your food more carefully, Eri,” Shouta said calmly even as his heart wanted to burst out of his chest.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, curling inward slightly. “I didn’t mean to.”
It took all their collective willpower to not scoop her up into a hug and refuse to ever let her frown again. Instead, Shouta calmly gestured for her attention before smiling softly at her.
“Good. I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself.”
After a moment, she returned the smile, if only a little one, and everyone collectively relaxed.
“I vote we ban American food from our house for endangering Eri,” Shoto said simply.
“Okay.”
“Our?”
“No!”
Shouta, Shinsou, and Hizashi spoke at the same time, startling Eri and even Shoto slightly.
“Shoto, it isn’t the type of food’s fault!” Hizashi pushed. “She just didn’t chew enough. And Shouta-”
The addressed man looked up and smiled slightly at his boyfriend’s scandalized expression.
“-I have loved you for fifteen years and you’d dare ban my favorite genre of food from our household.”
“Eri choked on it.”
“She could choke on any kind of food!”
“Then that settles it. The only food allowed in our house is juice packets and applesauce.”
By this point, Shoto and Hitoshi were trying and failing to hide their smiles while Shouta was openly grinning at a horrified Hizashi.
“Shoutaaaaa,” Hizashi whined, falling dramatically against his boyfriend.
While the two men playfully argued about the merits of an all liquid diet, Hitoshi put his trash away before silently gesturing to the two other kids.
Thankful for the respite from mushy adult stuff, Shoto and Eri both wrapped what was left of their food and followed him into a cluster of trees to play and practice with a certain support item.
It took a moment for the adults to realize they were alone but after checking on the kid’s safety, they relaxed against each other, dropping the argument.
“Our kids are growing up too fast, Sho,” Hizashi whined as he balanced on his elbows so that Shouta could adjust into his own lying position.
“One, they aren’t all our kids. Two, Hitoshi and Shouto were already teenagers when we met them. Three, most six-year-olds can play on their own without a hovering parent. And four, just because they are maturing doesn’t mean they’re gonna disappear.”
Hizashi just made another whining noise and plastered himself to his boyfriend.
With a gentle huff of laughter, Shouta just patted his leg in consolation.
Over in the trees, Hitoshi was repeatedly trying to snatch small pillars of ice Shoto was making and tossing into the air. So far he had managed to get his capture weapon around only one before it slipped out of his hold.
“I don’t believe this is helpful to you,” Shoto said, tossing another pillar into the air. “Would you like me to make another shape?”
Hitoshi snapped the scarf once again, trying to catch the ice. “No, you’re already breaking the law regarding your quirk. I don’t want to make a big scene.”
“And having the son of the number one hero tossing ice into the air while a kid tries to grab the pieces with a really long scarf is not going to draw attention?”
Shinsou stopped waiting for the next pillar and just fixed Shoto with an unamused stare.
“It was a serious question.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
In lieu of a comeback, Shoto froze another chunk of ice, which this time he melted to resemble a dumbbell.
When Hitoshi tried catching this one, the end snagged on the scarf, allowing him to tug it back towards him. Yet in doing so, it was flung right back at his face, missing his ear by an inch.
Before either boy could register what just happened, Eri ran over to them, arms full of freshly picked (and cold resilient) flowers.
“Can we start now? I don’t want these to wilt before we start.”
“Uh…” Shinsou looked back at their picnic blanket and saw both men were still chatting. “Not yet. Remember we have to wait for Mic-sensei to leave before we start.”
“You call him sensei outside of school?”
Hitoshi shot him a glare. “What do you call him? Because I’m pretty sure there isn’t a standard procedure for when your teachers all-but-legally adopt you.”
Seeing the point, Shoto shrugged before crouching to Eri’s level.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine for a little bit longer. If they can survive this chill, they can stay upright until Yamada-san gives us the signal.”
“Promise?” She stared up at him with wide, misty eyes.
“Promise,” he confirmed quickly before opening his arms to invite a hug.
When she accepted and nuzzled right in, flowers too, he sighed in relief. Not because of the hug itself but because he was not good with crying kids.
“Do you two have your parts ready?”
At the sound of Hitoshi’s question, the two broke apart. Shoto with a glare and Eri with a dazzling twinkle in her eye.
“I got it right here!” She proudly presented the handwritten note that simply said “Will” in elegant, ruby-red font on cream-colored paper.
Silently, Shoto held up his own reading “you” in a red to orange gradient over ice-blue paper.
Satisfied with the results, Hitoshi held up the next piece “marry” which was written in black on lavender paper.
Shoto smirked at him, prompting Hitoshi to drop his smile.
“What?”
“Of course you’d choose purple.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Instead of answering, Shoto just continued to smile while helping Eri separate the flowers from the grass she picked beside it.
If all went well, the three papers would eventually be added to Hizashi’s gold and yellow “me?” sign and put in a frame together, wrinkles, creases and all.
Because a diva like Present Mic can’t just hand his husband a marriage proposal.
“How’d you decide to give Aizawa-san your paper?” Eri asked Hitoshi once she had a proper mini-bouquet.
In response, he pulled at the capture weapon to emphasize it. “I’m going to pretend it got tangled up and brush it off like I didn’t want to bother you guys while you were playing. The card will go in the most knotted part.”
“Cute!”
“You were having trouble with your idea,” Shinsou said, turning to Shoto. “What did you end up with?”
“I couldn’t think of anything good.”
Shinsou stopped and stared at Shoto for a moment before whisper-yelling, “You don’t have anything planned? We have like, two minutes before we start and you didn’t even bring anything!”
Shoto rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid. Of course, I brought something. It just isn’t very good.”
“What do you mean?” Eri was by his side staring up at him.
“You both have deep connections to your presentations. He’s a mentor and a father-figure to you guys. I just used him as a get-out-of-a-crappy-situation card. I’m not-”
Eri grabbed onto his sleeve and tugged, hard enough to make him stop mid-rant.
“Can we see?”
His expression plainly said, “no” but as Eri stared at him like he hung the moon, he knew he didn’t have a choice.
“I’ve been practicing using my fire-side to melt chunks of ice I make into shapes. I have perfected sculpting cats and I wanted to make him one, at least to have for a while. But it sounds stupid compared to the emotional attachment you guys have to your plans.”
It was quiet for a moment as everyone struggled to find something to say. This was the first time in forever that Shoto had so openly shared his vulnerability. It might have been not the best time but it is nice to clear the air every once-in-a-while.
“Shoto?”
The boys looked down to Eri who was now hugging Shoto’s leg.
“Aizawa-sama helped you feel better about using your fire quirk. Right? Because your dad made you feel bad about it?”
“Yeah?”
“And he helped train you with both quirks so you can make smaller flames and ice chunks.”
“Yes...Where are you going with this?”
She dropped her head and looked away, as if ashamed. “Then by making little ice-sculptures with your quirks, you are giving him proof that you listened and learned.”
They stared at her for a second before Shoto leaned down and playfully pinched her nose. “When did you get so smart?”
“Heh, she should come to class and give a lesson to us emotionally-stunted neanderthals.” Shinsou smiled through the self-deprecating statement.
“Yeah, but-Shoot! Hizashi walked away and we missed it!”
Shoto’s head jerked up and he quickly confirmed that Hitoshi was telling the truth
He quickly set Eri down and took her paper and carefully folded it and slipped it into the upper part of her braid just like she had planned. She was stiff with nerves but as the boys ushered her forward with gentle pats on the back, she was able to continue forward.
Another minute passed and Hizashi was still not back from “getting a drink”. (Even though he went in the wrong direction.)
Shouta had a feeling this had something to do with his birthday coming up soon. Despite his boyfriend having learned over the years that throwing a surprise party was the easy way to get the silent treatment, he wasn’t quite sure at the moment.
The kids, however, had stopped what they were doing and were conversing very close together despite the distance away.
So they were in on it too.
All of that together meant…
...he was going to ignore them and try to nap until they started with whatever plan they had.
While it was a nice idea, he had barely laid back down before light footsteps prompted him to open his eyes. What he saw was Eri standing over him, smiling awkwardly.
“Yes, Eri? What can I do for you?”
“Canyouputtheseflowersinmyhair?”
She spoke so fast he barely caught enough of it to understand her.
“Sure. Sit down and pass me the flowers.”
She obeyed as he pulled himself upright and tried to pop all the kinks out of his spine.
While it was nice for Eri to be comfortable enough with this much contact with another person, this had Hizashi written all over it.
“In any order or…”
“Start from the bottom before the top.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Shouta mumbled but started placing the smallest flowers in the tip of her braid.
A few minutes of companionable silence and he started to get antsy. Even though Hizashi wouldn’t do anything malicious, he was still lying in wait with something prepared and that wasn’t good for Shouta’s rising blood pressure.
“Eri? Did Hizashi mention he was planning something for today?”
She stiffened in a way that it was obvious that she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“We are having a picnic,” she said softly.
“Anything else?”
“Well...uh, maybe.”
He was about to gently prod her again for a more concrete answer when the flower he was trying to poke through wouldn’t go through. He tried again at a different angle before reaching up and feeling at her hair.
Finally, he got his fingers around something hard and gently tugged it from her locks.
After a moment of reading and rereading the paper, he tapped her on the shoulder to get her to turn around.
“Eri, what-”
*BOOM*
Despite the distance from the epicenter of whatever that was, he dove for Eri, shielding her with his body as the very earth shook like a carton of jello.
The rumbling stopped just in time for Shouta to launch himself and Eri out of the way of a tree, dislodged from the earth. Behind them, their picnic basket was crushed under the sapling’s trunk.
“Aizawa!”
“Aizawa-sensei!”
He looked up to see the boys running up to them, looking none worse for the wear.
“Are you okay,” Shoto asked as he observed the crushed blanket
Aizawa glanced down at Eri who was shaking and teary-eyed but nothing more.
“We got out of the way in time. Are you two alright?”
“Fine,” Shoto said. “I had to ice a few trees over when they started to fall but it should hold for a while.”
Hitoshi said nothing, instead just nodding along.
“Good. Now take Eri and get as far away from-” he paused to gesture towards the source of continuing crashes and rising smoke. “-that. I’ll text Hizashi that we’re alright and to head to the scene. Hopefully whatever this is will get a big shock from its quirk vanishing and having its eardrums blown out.”
The boys exchanged a look, worry marring both of their faces.
“Sensei-”
“Just go. Neither of you have licenses and I won’t trust Eri’s safety to anyone else. I’ll keep in touch when I can and send a car from UA when it’s safe to head back.”
Spurred on by another booming crash from ground zero of whatever that is, Hitoshi nodded and turned so Eri could cling to his back.
Aizawa helped Eri climb on and nodded at Shoto one last time before tugging loose his own capture weapon and sprinting in the other direction.
The kids stayed silent and still for a moment, contemplating the situation before Shoto tugged on Hitoshi’s sleeve.
“Come on. We really don’t need to become a distraction for the heroes.”
Hitoshi shot one last look at Aizawa’s retreating form before sighing. “I guess Hizashi ain’t proposing today,” he mumbled, starting to run after Shoto.
“It’s called Murphy’s law."
“Sir?”
Shouta opened his eyes when he heard the paramedic return. This time with another, younger paramedic who seemed a bit nervous.
“Alright,” the first one said. “Her quirk allows her to be able to detect broken bones. If your ribs are even cracked, I’m insisting you go to the hospital.”
He just shot her an unamused look.
“Aren’t there people you should be treating?”
“You’re the last one we’ve got,” she huffed still hovering over him with her disappointed look.
“Thank you for waiting!” the other paramedic blurted out, quickly kneeling next to where he was sitting on the curb. “I know it would have been easier to just leave once the other medics weren’t hovering over you.”
Shouta grunted out an affirmation as she prodded his chest where he had been hit by debris mid-fight.
Before she could state her diagnosis, someone came running over to them.
“Shouta!”
Even as the paramedics winced, Shouta found himself comforted by his boyfriend's appearance and loud voice.
“Are you alright?“ he asked cooly. “I didn’t hear your quirk so I assume you weren’t fighting.”
Hizashi sighed in relief after observing that no one way immediately dying. “Too dangerous this far into the city. I ended up helping out with evacuations and scouring the rubble for people trapped.”
“Sir?”
They all looked back to the younger paramedic.
“Your ribs aren’t cracked, just really badly bruised. It’s bad enough that I’d still recommend a hospital stay…”
She trailed off when faced with Aizawa’s unamused stare.
“Fine just-” she looked at Hizashi pleadingly. “-please no hero work for a while unless you can get access to a healing quirk.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Hizashi assured, stooping to help Shouta to his feet. “I’ve been bandaging his wounds since high school. It’s not a big deal for me.”
Finally content with the result, the two paramedics bowed slightly before hurrying off back to the cluster of ambulances.
Doing his best not to aggravate his boyfriend’s injuries, Hizashi gently heard him over to the car that had been sent over to pick the two of them up before making a stop for the kids.
They sat in silence for the first few moments of the ride. Hizashi feeling down about his proposal idea going up in flames and Shouta trying not to breathe too hard in fear of aggravating his ribs.
“‘zashi?”
Hizashi looked up to find his boyfriend staring at him intently.
“Yeah? Change your mind about the hospital?”
Shouta shook his head. “No, it’s just…”
He paused long enough to adjust himself to where he was semi-facing the other man.
“Were you going to propose at the park?”
Everything came crashing down into his stomach, even as Hizashi forced a smile.
“How far did the kids get?”
“Just Eri hiding a paper in her hair,” Should said cooly, pulling the crumpled paper out of one of his belt pockets.
Hizashi deflated but kept a smile on his face. “Aww, that’s adorable. I bet Hitoshi and Shoto had great presentations too.”
“Hizashi,” Shouta said again, this time in his no-nonsense tone.
Finally, his smile broke. Too fast for him to hide his wince.
“I’m sorry, Sho. I knew you were probably joking about having to “propose properly” when we talked about marriage the first time, it’s just…”
He trailed off, misty eyes betraying how badly this hurt him.
“‘Zashi...you know I love you and you can talk to me. Why didn’t you tell me it was hurting this bad?”
Hizashi just shrugged, folding in even more on himself.
“Hey, I didn’t say any of that because of you. I said it because I was a mentally unstable young adult with abandonment issues. This whole relationship with you has been amazing and supportive. I was just waiting for the day you realize you deserve better.”
Careful not to do any more damage, Hizashi pressed his head into Shouta’s shoulder and gave him a light hug.
“This is the kind of thing we’re supposed to communicate. You’d think after fifteen years you’d figure out I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“You know!?” Hizashi asked incredulously, poking Shouta in the cheek.
Shouta swiped away the prodding finger with a small smile.
“I love you too.”
He allowed himself to relax against Hizashi as much as he could with his ribs still aching.
Gentle fingers carded through slightly tangled hair in an effort to make that relaxation last.
“Yes.”
Hizashi stopped combing for a moment to stare at Shouta in confusion.
“What?”
Shouta leaned back so he could meet his eyes.
“Your goal today was to ask me to marry you. I’m saying yes.”
A dozen emotions flitted over Hizashis face before settling on a barely concealed frown.
“But I didn’t get to actually propose.”
“You still got the question across. And I said yes. So you did propose.”
“Shouta…” Hizashi whined at his boyfriend-turned-fiancée.
“No take backs.”
“I wasn’t going to!”
So engrossed in their conversation, they didn’t notice the car stopping until someone knocked on the window.
Shinsou was out there looking very unamused. “Can we come in or are you two kissing?”
Even as Hizashi smiled, Shouta’s expression turned sour.
Shinsou took the silence as permission and opened the car door, slipping in with Shoto and Eri following.
“You could afford to be less crass,” Shouta grit out.
“And so could you,” Hitoshi replied coolly, taking the furthest spot on the bench facing them.
“What were you talking about anyway,” Shoto asked as he buckled Eri in.
“Nothing just-“
“I accepted his proposal.”
Everyone froze in place, staring Shouta down as the man calmly reached over to adjust Eri’s skirt.
“He...proposed?” Shoto asked slowly.
“I deduced his intent. Hizashi was already acting weird and Eri gave me the first card.”
“So…”
Hizashi sighed dramatically but his smile ruined any false annoyance. “It was kind of a boring proposal but yes we’re engaged.”
He paused as if waiting for everyone to break into cheers but after a moment of silence and very soft smiles, he realized that this wasn’t exactly the group he could get a loud reaction from.
“Please, curb your enthusiasm. I can’t take it all,” he drawled sarcastically.
The kids at least chuckled at this.
Before he could make more downtrodden comments, Shouta grabbed his chin and pulled his face close.
“How’s this for enthusiasm?”
Despite Hitoshi and Shoto making exaggerated grossed out noises, it was probably their best kiss so far.