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Aizawa Shouta’s birthday, much to his never-ending exasperation, has become a sort of multi-day affair. Unfortunately, this is what he gets when pseudo-adopted a bunch of heroes in training fifteen years younger than him who are, also unfortunately, lean toward being extroverts over all.
Over the decade of having his hellions in his life, they have come to an agreement. On the actual day of Shouta’s birth, he has a nice quiet dinner in with his husband, his adopted daughter, and his protégé/pseudo-adopted child that he “loves the most”. It had since included said boyfriends of both daughter and protégé as well. Additionally, the collective seven cats of the Aizawa-Yamada household are also involved.
The Saturday evening following Shouta’s quiet birthday at home, his hellions get together to throw the biggest rager that the world has ever seen. Because, apparently, they want no one to forget how much they love their former sensei and would, actually, probably kill and/or hide a body for him if he asks. Maybe overthrow the government if it so annoys him.
It’s frankly a terrifying amount of power that this group of twentysomething wields and, with this party, they remind the world who holds the leash.
Coincidentally, no villain really wants to fuck with Eraserhead on patrols for like two weeks after the party either.
This year, however, the hellions of Class A, the youngest and most popular heroes dominating the charts, have roped in the nightmares of Class 1-A as well, clearly having sensed kindred spirits in the class. Ki, however, shows up with the party invitations to Shouta’s own birthday party one morning after having dinner at the Original Problem Child’s house the night before.
Shouta and Ki hold eye contact for approximately twenty seconds before he crawls into his sleeping bag while she hands out the invites to her classmates.
“I thought this was an intimidation tactic so sensei could get some sleep,” he hears Wada say. “You mean it’s actually a thing?”
“Unfortunately,” Ki replies voice dry. “And you won’t get to see everyone get sloppy drunk either. Iida-san is making the party dry until we leave for the evening because, um, something to do with being good role models or whatever. I got so many awesome videos last year.”
“Watashi,” he grumbles from his sleeping bag.
“Don’t worry, sensei. It’s on an encrypted separate hard drive marked Retirement Fund,” Problem Child Junior chirps out.
Shouta decides that’s probably the best he’s going to get before burrowing back into his yellow cocoon.
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re fucking terrifying?” he hears Kurihara tell Ki but Shouta falls into a doze before he hears the reply.
Either way, it’s probably going to be interesting.
Shouta’s actual birthday falls on a Sunday this year. He has no school or work for the evening. Eri came home last night so she can spend the whole day with her dads and the cats. There’s a sort of a rhythm that his birthday has fallen into since he and Hizashi adopted Eri.
Hizashi and Eri wake early and make Shouta a late breakfast-in-bed allowing him to sleep, uninterrupted, until eleven in the morning. Following this, there’s a lot of relaxation on the couch, watching movies while Eri braids his hair and talks about classes and Hizashi, utterly free from his three jobs, has his feet in his lap, fond smile on his face.
In the late afternoon, Eri’s boyfriend, Kouta Izumi, arrives with some presents from the Pussycats as well. A couple hours later, Hitoshi with Shouto and Problem Child in tow come barring gifts: takeout from one of the nicest restaurants in the city. Which they all eat and slip some of the fish to the Yamada-Aizawa army of cats.
Afterward, gifts are given along with cards. It’s practical gifts, of course: gift cards to cat cafes, donations to his name to his favorite charities, other practical things that Shouta will get use out of every day.
All in all, it’s a nice, lowkey, and pretty decent day from start to finish for him.
That Saturday, for the big party, it’s…not that.
First off, Heroics, Support, and Management have extra classes on Saturday for their various disciplines. General Education, meanwhile, has club days that day or can take special Saturday elective courses. Still, most of the late morning to the early part of the afternoon, Shouta is with Gang Orca and Kan, overlooking a joint training exercise between Class 1-A and Class 1-B.
“Excited for your birthday party tonight, Aizawa?” Kan asks as they watch the controlled chaos below.
“About as excited I am to get a migraine.”
“The parties do look rather wild,” Gang Orca agrees, sounding amused. “Unsurprising though, from what I saw of Bakugou and Todoroki in remedial classes it was very much a go hard or go home philosophy with that class of yours.”
Class A has several life philosophies, but, yes, go hard or go home definitely seems to be the prevailing one.
“It makes them happy,” he replies, pushing his green streak from his hair.
“The picture of a doting father,” jokes Kan.
“Hestia just kicked Thief of Hearts in the crotch,” Gang Orca notes. “Why the hell did she scream for the honor of sensei? And, oh look, the rest of Class 1-A is chanting it as a war cry.”
Shouta buries face into his scarf to hide his pleased smile.
His class wins the exercise.
At least the nightmares know how to make him proud.
Technically, in the most technical terms imaginable, the rager that Class A throws is a formal event. Shouta’s pretty sure that it’s an excuse for them to get dressed up and progressively get their nice clothes more wrecked as the evening goes on. He doesn’t complain, of course, because it makes Hizashi happy.
After the exercise ends, Class 1-A sprints to the locker rooms and then to the dorms to get ready. Shouta, at this point, can only hope that dorm itself will survive that chaos of a bunch of teenagers getting dressed up for a semi-formalish event hosted by his other group of disaster children.
“That’s one way to phrase it, Dad,” Eri says with a smile as she brushes his hair back into a bun.
“Am I wrong?”
“Nope.”
He tilts his head back, taking in his daughter. Eri’s almost seventeen now, and something in his chest pangs a little at that. She’s curled her long silver hair and the dress she’s wearing is dark blue and sparkly, giving the effect of moonlight on the water.
“You look very pretty, kid,” he says, which has her beaming. She kisses his forehead.
“You clean up pretty well yourself, Dad.”
“Don’t I know it! I married him for his looks after all,” Hizashi crows, emerging in a purple suit as loud as his personality. “You look so lovely, Eri! Look at our baby girl, Shouta. I’m going to cry.”
Shouta watches his family with his heart soaring.
He will deny this on pain of death, but Shouta doesn’t hate the rager nearly as much as people thinks he does. Yes, it’s a loud, obonoxious party where he’s the center of attention and has to wear a suit to the damn thing.
But, for a night, his kids and his family and his friends are under one roof and they’re safe and they’re happy. And that’s…important to him. He likes seeing them happy because the memories of them scared and hurt like haunt him.
So, yes, he doesn’t hate the loud, obnoxious party that his hellions throw for his birthday every year. It’s guaranteed peace of mind for a night. And, also, really hilarious once the alcohol gets involved.
Class A immediately breaks into applause when he arrives with Hizashi, Eri, and the rest of the nightmares. Then he’s besieged by hugs and back slaps and well wishes from his hellions.
“Next year is the big 4-0, sensei!” teases Mina. “We’ll need to top ourselves.”
“Is that a giant cat ice sculpture?” Shouta deadpans, but also makes for his phone because he wants a picture of it now.
“We’ll do one for each of your cats next year, sensei,” promises Momo with a grin.
See? His hellions get him.
Dinner, of course, is delicious. Before the party gets started, there are some gifts from the hellions as well: a vacation for him and Hizashi, more donations to charities that Shouta supports, and other various gifts from his kids.
That’s when the nightmares stand up from their tables to take center stage on the dance floor. His eyes are immediately drawn to the eye-searing matching neon pink suits with the ruffles that Murai and Ito are wearing.
“They have to be dating,” mutters Hizashi toward him. Shouta grunts and makes plans to confirm it before sending them to Nemuri to have the safe sex talk. He only does this once in the final semester when he has enough time to psychologically prepare himself for it.
Suzuki, in a seafoam green dress that swirls around her heels, steps forward.
“Aizawa-sensei,” she says with a smile. “You put up with a lot from your nightmare children aka Class 1-A. Up to and including us trying to provoke a reaction from you by performing in the common room for the HeroTube channel. So, for once, here’s a song that we know you’ll love and not being recorded for posterity on the internet.”
She steps back into the group of his latest batch of kids: all in suits or dresses.
Who then proceed to break out into an acapella version of “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat” from the Aristocats.
Goddammit.
He does love his nightmare children.
The party, of course, devolves from there. Kouta and Eri disappear onto the dance floor once the DJ gets things started along with the hellions.
He watches, bemused, as Katsuki and Eijirou attempt to do the Dirty Dancing move.
“Good birthday, Aizawa-kun?” Yagi asks, appearing with a glass of punch in hand.
“It’s not the worst,” he says as the entire venue bursts into applause when the pair actually nail the move with no injuries.
“They’re good kids.”
“They’re hellions and nightmares and are probably the reason why my hair will be white before I turn fifty,” Shouta sighs, but there’s a smirk tugging on the corners of his mouth. “But they do make me proud I suppose.”
Yagi laughs.
“And here people think you don’t have a heart.”
“People can be so illogical at times.”