Chapter Text
Even though he’s visited Rei a hundred times before, Izuku can’t help feeling nervous as he walks towards her room. He chews the inside of his cheek, a coppery taste filling his mouth after a few seconds. Someone’s hand squeezing his own pulls Izuku out of his thoughts and he glances up, meeting Shouto’s concerned eyes.
“Are you okay, Izuku?” Shouto asks, stopping a few steps away from Rei’s room. “There’s nothing for you to be nervous about.”
“I know, I know, but I can’t help it. I’m not seeing Rei today as a friend, I’m seeing her as your boyfriend. It’s a little nerve-wracking,” Izuku explains, running a hand through his hair nervously. He immediately regrets it, realizing all the time he’d spent trying to make it look somewhat tame is now wasted.
Shouto is quiet for a moment, studying Izuku before nodding once in understanding. “I think I get it,” he says, taking both of Izuku’s hands in his own. He holds them gently, the contrast of warm and cold somehow making Izuku feel grounded. “You’ll be fine. I’m here with you, no matter what.”
It’s only a few, simple words, but they calm Izuku down nonetheless. He takes a deep breath and smiles up at Shouto gratefully. “Thanks, Shoucchan,” he says softly, reaching up and quickly kissing his cheek. When Izuku pulls away, he sees how Shouto’s cheeks have reddened and gets a bigger smile. “Do you need a minute?”
He shakes his head, squeezing Izuku’s hands once more before letting go so he’s just holding his right one once more. “I’m good. Thanks,” he replies, looking away before tugging Izuku towards Rei’s door.
It’s opened slightly, so Shouto knocks on it once, pushing it open a little more so Rei can see them. She perks up when she does, her smile bright as she stands and pulls them both into a hug. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d see the two of you at the same time for a while,” she says. Rei pulls away, ushering them inside before shutting the door behind them.
“I’m not sure any of us did, Rei,” Izuku points out.
She waves him off and hums softly. “Well, I’m glad it all worked out so soon. You had your date last weekend, right? Tell me about it,” she says, gesturing for them to sit down at the table while she gets out a small tin of cookies.
“We went to the aquarium,” Shouto says.
Rei laughs as she sits down, setting the cookie tin on the table in front of the two boys. “I knew that already, honey. What did you do at the aquarium?” she asks.
Izuku smiles, squeezing Shouto’s hand before letting go so he can pull the cookie tin closer. “We saw some of the freshwater fish, first. The aquarium had this really pretty koi tank in the middle of the first room,” he says, offering one of the cookies to Shouto before taking one for himself.
Neither Shouto nor Rei stop him, so Izuku ends up rambling about the whole aquarium. He barely stops to breathe, let alone actually take a bite of the cookie in his hand. It’s only ten minutes later, when he starts to describe the gift shop, that Izuku suddenly realizes how long he’s been rambling and stops. “Sorry,” he says, blushing brightly as he shoves the cookie into his mouth to keep from saying anything else.
“Don’t be. It’s cute. You’re cute,” Shouto tells him, only making Izuku’s face redder. He whines and hides his face in his hands, slouching in his seat.
He peeks out when Rei starts to laugh softly. She quickly covers her mouth, attempting to stifle herself. It only serves to make her shoulders shake harder. “I’m sorry, really. I don’t mean to laugh. You two are just adorable,” she explains.
Izuku blinks and the room gets a little warmer. He looks over at Shouto to see him pressing his right hand to his left cheek, trying to cool himself down. “Thank you. I think,” Izuku says, smiling slightly when he looks back at Rei.
She just shakes her head, watching the two with fondness in her eyes. “Don’t worry. How are classes going?” she asks.
“We just finished our final exams last week,” Shouto tells her.
Izuku nods and adds, “The practical portion was pretty hard, but we both passed. And there’s a summer training camp coming up in a few weeks, too!”
“Oh? What kind of training?” Rei asks.
Izuku pauses and hums in thought. “Well, Aizawa hasn’t really told us anything specific. But, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s something to increase our stamina and quirk strength. The whole point of school is to boost our abilities and, even with everything that’s happened to our class over the year so far, there’s no telling if we've actually improved much beyond our starting point from the quirk apprehension test. Plus, this is probably a chance for Aizawa to see how we power through exhaustion from using our quirks,” he explains.
He takes another cookie, biting into it as he looks between Shouto and Rei. “Do you know that because of how long you’ve known Aizawa or is it more of a guess than anything else?” Rei asks curiously.
“Mostly from how long I’ve known Aizawa,” he admits, shrugging a bit. He nudges the cookie tin closer to Shouto, smiling a bit when he takes one, and looks back at Rei. “He’s hard to read at first, but not impossible.”
Rei nods in understanding, smiling softly as she watches the two. “Izuku, are you going to introduce Shouto to Inko soon?” she asks.
Izuku blinks and flushes slightly. “Oh, um, I was thinking of asking if he wanted to meet her before the training camp,” he says, shyly glancing over at Shouto.
He looks a bit taken off-guard, but nods. “I’d love to,” he replies.
“Wonderful! I know Inko would be happy to meet you. And I’m sure your siblings are looking forward to meeting Izuku as well, Shouto,” Rei says.
That makes Shouto choke on his cookie, coughing as his face turns red. “I hadn’t thought that far,” he says hoarsely, taking a deep breath.
“But you want me to meet them, right?” Izuku asks, rubbing his back. When Shouto nods, he gets a bright smile. “Oh, good, I was worried for a second there,” he admits.
Rei’s smile fades a bit. She looks down at the table, quiet for a moment before looking out the window. “I wish you could meet Touya, too,” she says softly.
Shouto blinks and looks up at Rei, frowning slightly. “We have the shrine. Izuku can meet him that way,” he replies gently.
“That won’t do any good if he isn’t dead,” she points out.
The room is quiet, Izuku a little lost as he looks between the two. Shouto seems to be conflicted, hesitantly saying, “He was declared dead, Mom.”
Rei just shakes her head, eyes stubborn as she meets Shouto’s gaze. “A mother knows, Shouto. If your brother were dead, I would know,” she says.
When Shouto looks ready to argue, Izuku grabs his hand and squeezes gently, shaking his head slightly. Even if he doesn’t understand the full context, he knows better than to argue with Rei about one of her kids. “Either way, I’m still looking forward to meeting Fuyumi and Natsuo,” he says, smiling reassuringly at Shouto before looking over to Rei.
She perks up a bit and nods, easily taking the change of subject. “There’s this nice cafe I used to take the kids to just after Shouto was born. Maybe you could meet them there for the first time,” she suggests.
“Would Fuyumi remember the name of it?” Shouto asks.
“She should. We went so often because she loved the hot chocolate they had,” Rei explains.
Izuku smiles softly as the two talk, munching on a cookie as he listens. Seeing the two interact somewhat easily makes him feel a little lighter. He’s wanted Rei to be able to reconnect with Shouto since he learned about the distance between them when he was younger. Actually seeing it, though, makes him realize Shouto really has come a long way since the beginning of the year.
A little while later, there’s a soft knock on the door before a nurse pokes her head in and smiles apologetically. “Sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours are over,” she says.
“Oh, okay. We’ll be out in just a moment,” Izuku replies, smiling brightly at her before she leaves the doorway. He looks at Rei with a bit of a pout. “I wish we could stay longer.”
She just shrugs and stands, tugging Izuku up and giving him a hug before pulling Shouto into one as well. “I’m just happy you both finally visited me at the same time. You should make a habit of it,” she says, getting a playful smile as she pulls away.
“We’ll try,” Shouto promises.
Rei hums softly and gives them both a kiss on the cheek as well. “I’ll hold you to that. Now, get a move on so the nurse doesn’t get impatient,” she tells them, shooing them towards the door. “Maybe go for a walk through the park or something if you have the time.”
Izuku blinks and looks at her, standing in the open doorway. “Are you trying to make us go on a date?” he asks.
“Yes. You’re only young once. Enjoy the little things,” Rei explains, smiling warmly at them.
“We might have some time,” Shouto says, glancing at Izuku when he nods in agreement. He looks back at his mother and smiles slightly. “I’ll talk to you later,” he promises, giving her one last hug before tugging Izuku out of the doorway.
Rei smiles wider and nods. “I look forward to it. Have fun, you two,” she says, leaning against the doorway.
Looking at her now, Izuku can see how much healthier she’s gotten and grins. “Thanks, Rei,” he says, waving to her before gently tugging Shouto towards the hall that leads to the elevator.
Rei waves to them once more before she shuts her door. They’re quiet until they get inside the elevator, and then Shouto looks over at Izuku. “Do you want to go for a walk?” he asks.
“I think the others are still at the mall, if you want to go catch up,” Izuku offers, looking up at Shouto with a smile. “We don’t have to, though,” he adds when he sees the conflicted expression that his boyfriend gets.
Shouto nods. “I’d rather spend time with just you,” he explains.
“A walk sounds great, then.”