Chapter Text
"Who is this?" Aizawa Shouta, teacher and member of UA, answered his phone. The tired-looking man was under his desk, taking a well-deserved nap during his break, when his phone started ringing. Since it was on top of the table he was under, the ragged mage just lifted his arm and answered the call from his nap spot on the teachers lounge.
"Hi, Mr Aizawa. It's Miss Jackson, from the Kufuku foster care home," a feminine voice said from the other side of the line, waking him up completely.
"What happened? Is Shinsou okay? Is he hurt?" he asks, worried, getting out from his spot and leaning towards his husband, who also perks up when he hears.
"Is that the Foster home? Something happened?" Present Mic asks and takes his husband's hand, pulling the phone between them to hear.
"Oh, no, no. I'm calling with good news," the two breath again. "The Hitogui never came looking for Shinsou, and they appear to have left the country. You two are the next on the list so you can come pick up Shinsou and take him with you. Does tomorrow morning work for you two?" the voice from the phone said.
"Yes, of course. We'll be there," Aizawa tells her and hangs the phone. "We are going to be parents," he says after a small pause.
"We are!" Yamada exclaims loudly, gaining the attention of the other teachers inside. "Oh, we should get toys!"
"I think we also need more clothes, but we don't have a size yet," Aizawa also comments as he holds his phone tightly containing his excitement.
"We can still buy some! I'll start the car. You tell Nezu we need the rest of the week off!" Hizashi says, and he doesn't need to wait for an answer. The moment he finished talking, the blonde was packing their stuff as Aizawa ran out of the room, almost crashing into someone. Once he has everything the two need, he also rushed out the teacher's lounge, a few of his co-workers starring at him and his husband.
"Did they plan a hot date or adopting a new cat?" Snipe asks in a loud voice, still staring at the door where the two adults had ran off to.
"Knowing them, it could be either," Midnight sighs.
As he gets to their car, Hizashi throws their stuff on the back of the car and get's into the driver's seat, turning the key on the ignition. Shouta appears a few seconds after through the same door he came out. He slides on the hood of the car and quickly sit at the other front seat before Hizashi starts driving. There wasn't a reason for them to rush, in reality. They already had everything Shinsou might instantly need, and they weren't supposed to pick him up until tomorrow. Besides, if the other couple -of bastards- were gone, that meant they were the next on the list. Nobody else would be able to take Shinsou unless they took their names off, which was never going to happen. But they were too excited to stay still, and who could blame them? They would finally be able to take Hitoshi home.
After rescuing him from that pool, after waiting for him to recover in the hospital, after visiting him and talking with him, they were finally going to be together. Hitoshi would have a chance to be happy and safe with them after what he went through.
"There's a sale on the mall nearby," Shouta suddenly says, as he taps at his phone.
"We need to change first, though. We'll take a small stop at home first," Zashi tells him.
When they arrive at their small apartment, Zashi goes to the bathroom and starts washing out the hair gel, while Sho simply changes into a similar pair of black pants and shirts in the bedroom. When he is done, he stops by their ex-guest room, which they transformed into a bedroom for Hitoshi, and starts taking notes on what else they might need. They didn't make a lot of changes, the walls and floors were the same as well as the closet. But they did exchange the double bed and the two nightstands for a study table, a library and a kid's bed. They didn't want to decorate it much, as they prefered for Shinsou to do it with stuff he liked.
Shota hears his husband finish in the bathroom, and sees him get out of the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He probably took a shower since it was quicker. The blonde hurries to their bedroom to change, and Shota waits for him in the living room. "Once Shinsou is here, you can't do that anymore, you know?" he yells at him from the love seat as Sunny and Rainy, their two cats, come near him.
"You do it too!" Hizashi yells back, but Shota barely listens. Sunny is playing with the end of his capture weapon, and Rainy is now resting in his lap, purring. His attention is elsewhere.
It doesn't take his husband long to finish, luckily, and once he is dressed in a more casual outfit, they leave to the mall. Their first stop is the bedroom store, where they buy a bedside lamp and some more bed-sheets. Unluckily for Shota, his husband needed it to be perfect. Not too squishy, not too soft, not too blue. -How could something be too blue?- He took so long that Shota even took a nap on one of the displays beds. He got woken by him, holding two sets in front of him. "Lilac or purple?" he asks.
"Aren't those the same?"
"Your right. I'll buy both,"
After that they go to a toy store. It's the same thing, except now he follows Hizashi every move since there are no beds here. He's never seen his husband so nervous. He is going left and right across the store, choosing stuff before changing his mind and searching for something else. Not even when he listens to music is he so picky. He looks like he is in the middle of an anxiety attack. "Hey," he squeezes his hand, stopping him in his rant. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm great, I'm fresh," he obviously lying. Aizawa can hear the signs. The tremble in his voice, the use of outdated slang, his fake smile plastered on his face. His husband is freaking out and in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Hizashi had always been like this. He hides his emotions and insecurities behind a big smile and a goofy personality. He prefered to be a rock who others could lean on, before being a 'burden'. They both were very alike with that, preferring not to talk about their feeling, but somehow, Hizashi was better at it.
"I know you are lying. Tell me what's wrong," Aizawa says softly, holding his hand tighter.
"What- what if we are making a mistake, Sho?" he confesses to him. "Maybe we should- maybe we shouldn't-" he seems to be unable to finish the sentence. But he doesn't need to. Shota understands him.
"You don't want Shinsou to live with us...?"
"No! There is nothing I would love more than that! But what if that's not what he wants? What if he isn't happy with us?" Hizashi says, small tears forming in his eyes. "What if-"
"You have to stop thinking about the 'what ifs'," he interrupts him. "You saw how happy he got whenever we went to visit him, how his face lights up when he woke up outside of that pool. We can give him a happy life, and not because of perfect toys or bedsheets. But because we care about him," Hizashi sniffs and places his face on his shoulder. Shota wraps his arms around him to hold him, and he returns the gesture. "You're going to fill my shirt with snot," he comments after a while.
"You have the same 20 t-shirt, Sho," his husband mumbles.
They end up getting just a stuffed cat with a fluffy tail and ears. Then, they stop by a stand to get some coffee and rest a little on a bench. After their coffee break, they stop at a bookshop, and magic shop for some final touches for the room and then they finally got to the last item they needed, clothes. At first they went together, but as two grown adults checking kid clothes, they got weird looks from the people inside. They decided to divide and conquer. It was getting late anyway.
They didn't need to buy a ton of stuff, just some warmer clothes, some sleeping wear and slippers for inside. Once they were done, they packed everything on the trunk of the car and went back home. They stopped at a passing store though, to buy some food for them and the cats, and unloaded their car. They placed everything on Shinsou's, and while Shota took care of the new bedsheets and the lamp, Hizashi found an... interesting object.
"Sho, what the hell is this?" he asks his husband as he hold the atrocious item in front of him.
"A sweater," his husband responds, oblivious to the problem.
"It's so ugly," the item in question is an orange sweater with green cuffs and neckline and yellow cat-related drawings on.
"It's Fine," his husband, who is so cute Hizashi doesn't know if he should cry or laugh at the moment, tells him as he hides his face in his scarf.
"It's so ugly, Shota. And you got a matching set," he exclaims as he takes the matching pair of pants from the same bag. "What were you thinking when you bought it!?"
"...Shinsou likes cats,"
"I love you so much!"
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Just like Miss Jackson told them, the next morning, she and Shinsou were waiting for them at the entrance of the foster home. The kid only had a schoolbag and a small suitcase with him apart from the clothes he had on as his possessions. When they got out of the car, Miss Jackson made them sign some papers, and then, they were free to take Shinsou with them.
The car ride back to the apartment was filled with Hizashi's chatter. The male tried to establish a conversation with the kid, but he barely answered with a yes, a no or I don't know. It was one of the things they had to work on. Hitoshi had been told of his life not to speak due to the wrong assumptions about his species. It also didn't help that his magic allowed him to mind-control people, further feeding the wrong rumours. The kid only knew that speaking out of turn would get him in trouble, and as their new parents, they needed to help him understand only bad people did that.
"Here we are Hitoshi, your new home!" Hizashi welcomes him when they arrive.
Instantly Sunny and Rainy came to inspect their new guest. Sunny, the white, more active one of the duo, walked directly up to him and only sniffed his shoes a little, before she was rubbing herself on him and purring. Rainy watched from afar, above their coffee table with his usual judgemental look. They had already shown him pictures of the two pets, but something told them it had been a while since the kid petted a cat.
"The grumpy one over there is Rainy, and this cuddle nugget is Sunny," Hizashi tells the little boy as he only caresses the animal with a careful finger. Shota notices that Hitoshi eyes suddenly dart between the two cats and he is biting his lip, trying to not speak.
"Is there something you want to know about them, Hitoshi?" Aizawa asks him, trying to ease him into talking to them.
"Why- why the names?" the kid finally asks, his voice barely a whisper.
"Well, we found Rainy in the rain, that's why we named him like that. But for Sunny, look," Hizashi starts telling him and stops to get on of the cat toys laying around, the stick with the feather at the tip. He starts playing with the white furry creature, until she rolls on her back, revealing a large yellow spot on her stomach. "It's like an egg, Sunnyside up!" he finishes explaining, and Shinsou snorts at the answer. "You want to play with her?" he offers the toy and Hitoshi takes it happily.
Shota, seeing as the kid is satisfied with the cats, takes his things to his room. Shinsou follows him, however, Sunny trailing after him and Rainy watches from a distance. The kid is speechless as he stares at the room. It's not that big of a deal, since the place is bare of any decoration and only has a few pieces of furniture. "Thi- this is for me?" he asks, surprised.
"Yes, this is your room. We also got you some more clothes. We don't know if they fit, but if they don't we can go change them later," Shouta tells him and the kid nods. "Do you want help to unpacking your things?"
"No, I can do it," Shouta nods and starts heading out of the bedroom. "Umm, thanks, Aizawa," he hears the kid say, and he smiles at him.
In the end the only clothes that fitted him correctly were the cat onesie and the atrocity outfit Shota bought him. Most of Hitoshi's clothes that he brought with him were dirty or too small, so the only thing he had was that ugly thing Aizawa thought was cute. It was even uglier when it was on. However, after a quiet nod of approval, Hitoshi let him take a picture of him wearing it. He then sent it to the chat group he had with his husband and Nemuri. From the messages he got from Nemuri, he believed she was having an aneurism from it. They ordered sushi for lunch, and then later went to the mall to get him more clothes and toys. Though Shinsou was adamant on getting the latter. They had the stuffed cat on his bed and the little guy took it with him everywhere, as if it would disappear if he left it for a second. They had no problem with him having the plushie at all times, but they were a little afraid he would lose it.
They returned home with a lot more bags than last time, and to a home that had an inpatient Nemuri waiting for them. "What are you doing here?" Aizawa asks. They had taken away her key after the tequila accident, how did she get in?
"You send me a picture of your new son, and you don't think I will come and start-up on my aunt duties?" Nemuri tells them, and then lowers down to Shinsou's level, who is hiding behind their legs. "Hi, Shinsou. I don't know if you remember me, but I was with your parents when you woke up at the hospital," she says softly, and the kid's eye light up in recognition.
"...hi," he waves from behind them, and Aizawa strokes his back to comfort him.
"I'm Nemuri, but you can call me Aunt Nem, if you want," she introduces herself, and then presents them a gift bag she had on her hand. "I bought you this. You wanna open it?"
Shinsou looks up at them at first, asking for permission, and only heads towards the gift when they nod and encourage him to take it. He moves slowly, as if he was dealing with a dangerous animal which would lash out at any moment. Rainy and Sunny, who must have been taking a nap somewhere else, come running to greet them. Although, instead of their usual greet, where they rub themselves over their legs, Sunny to everyone and Rainy only to Shota and Hizashi, they stop by Shinsou, and don't move from there. Aizawa is a little conflicted with this matter.
Shinsou opens the gift carefully, Rainy and Sunny by his side. He takes out a wood ring with an intricate string design and a few feathers hanging from it. "What is it?" he asks, staring at the gift.
"It's a dreamcatcher," she explains. "It's infused with magic, so it will give you an easy sleep and nice dreams,"
"Thank you," he bows.
"If you want we can hang it over your bed," Hizashi suggest, and gets a nod. The two go to the room, Rainy and Sunny following them.
"I also brought you two something," Nemuri states before Aizawa can say anything, and offers him a book. The tome reads 'Mermology 101: A dive into mermaid culture'. He takes it without a second thought, and thanks her quietly.
After placing all the new clothes on the closet and the dreamcatcher over his bed, Hitoshi goes to take bath. Aizawa takes advantage of the situation, and shows him the book Nemuri got them. The blonde starts reading it right away, and chatting with their friends, as Aizawa makes coffee for their guest. "Listen here, apparently, since Mermaids smell like fish, cats flock to them," Hizashi reads out loud. Shota hums as a response, thinking back to Rainy and Sunny who, after being unable to follow Hitoshi to the bathroom, went to his room.
"He is perfect for you guys," Nemuri comments. "But he is taking quite a lot in the bathroom," that makes Aizawa realize something, and rushes to the close door.
"Hitoshi, everything okay in there?" he asks after knocking a few times.
"Y-yes, yes... D-don't come i-in," the answer is shaky, and Shota can tell he is crying.
He opens the door to find Shinsou trying to get out of the tub, but having a ton of difficulty with his tail. He is trying to lift his whole body with only the force of his arms, which Shota knows he can't do with how little strength he has in them. The still-running water, making everything slippery, and the bruises and rashes on the tail are not helping either. The kid was crying, but when Shota steps in, the tears intensify, and he starts apologising between hiccups. The tired-looking man doesn't waste time, and gets to help the merboy, Hizashi behind him. He starts by closing the water, then grabs a towel, and takes Shinsou out of the tub.
The kid seems to calm down in his arms, as he dries him off with the towel. Hizashi then comes in too, holding a change of clothes for him. Once he is dry, his tail rewinds back into legs, and they allow him to change in the bathroom. They don't talk about the obvious problem of the kid not wanting them to see him as a mermaid, and instead discuss what they could do to help him get out of the tub alone. Hitoshi hides in his room, shocked about the transformation. It was the first time he changed since the pool, and it might have triggered some unhappy memories. Sunny and Rainy stayed in the room with him luckily.
Nemuri leaves before dinner, promising to not tell their co-workers about Shinsou. The two were private people, and if people bothered his napping time with personal questions, Shota would hiss. Hizashi makes them dinner, and Shinsou comes to the table wearing the cat onesie. It's purple and soft and it has a tail trailing behind him. Sunny plays with it the entire time while they eat and Shinsou stays quiet and avoids eye contact with them.
Shota is communicating using his eyes with his husband when Hizashi gets an idea. He loudly sits up and takes his plate to the sink before stretching his limbs. "Well, I have a shift now, so I better change," he announces and then turns to Shinsou. "Toshi, what you'll see now might scare you, but I want you to remember that it's just me, okay?" the kid nods confused.
Hizashi goes to their room and Shota starts cleaning up the table. Shinsou is still eyeing the hallway curious and confused. A second later, Hizashi comes back, transformed into his more magical form, and Shinsou gasp a little in surprise. In this for, his husband's skin turned white, his limbs got thinner, his eyes and cheeks sunken into his face, and his jaw elongated and unhinged. He licks Shota, as he can't close his mouth in this form, and messes Hitoshi's hair, who is staring in surprise at him, before leaving. Shota is a little afraid that the whole ordeal scarred Shinsou rather than helped him, but then the kid turns to him and starts asking questions.
"What was that? Why did he look that? Is he sick? Where is going?" Hitoshi asks, his eyes filled with child-like wonder.
"That's Hizashi's banshee form," he explains as he cleans their plates. "He can better use his magic in that form, and he needs it to work his shift,"
"Where does he work? I thought he had a radio show," Hitoshi asks besides him.
"That is where he is going, the station is a magical one, so he needs to change to make his show,"
"Can you do it?"
"No, I'm a mage, so my magic is much weaker than yours. But I can do this," he uses his erasure spell, making his eyes shine red and his hair lift into the air.
"Cool," Shinsou says and yawns, rubbing his eyes.
"C'mon, it's time for bed," Shinsou nods and lets himself be guided to his room.
He gets in, and Rainy and Sunny follow him, Rainy going to the closet and Sunny to the end of his bed. As he tucks him in, Shota notices he keeps stealing glances to his capture weapon. With a sigh, he takes the long scarf off and drops it on top of him. Shinsou wraps himself with it, and once he stops moving, Shota kisses his forehead and wishes him a good night.
"Good Night, Mr Aizawa,"
Not bad for their first day.