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"Shou, I love the cats, but we don't need any more furry listeners!" Hizashi, making dinner, pauses to lean opposite his husband against the kitchen counter, glaring half-heartedly. It's more like a puppy trying to be fierce than anything else.
"But Zashi, they're cats, of course we do. Kid, I'm right, aren't I?" The man calls, prompting their son to look up from his notebook across the room, eyebrows scrunched and gaze confused,
"Uhm, probably?" They can all tell he wasn't listening, but that won't stop the underground hero,
"There you go," Shouta announces, gesturing dramatically, even if it ends in a lazy flop to pillow his head on his arms,
"I'm right and we need more cats."
"Shou, we literally got a new child a month ago. No, not- not unless pigs fly!"
Shouta will deny it for the rest of his life, but he legitimately pouts then. Izuku and Hizashi only exchange soft, amused glances because this is the third time the men have had this conversation since the kid moved in and, really, it's the same every time. Izuku has settled into the routine of it by now, and he loves it; it's so silly and sweet and domestic, the closest to an argument as his new dads get, and it's amazing. They love each other - and him - so much and Izuku still can't believe he's with them sometimes.
He certainly won't take it for granted.
Izuku is walking home alone after one of his self-defence classes because both of his dads have a staff meeting at UA before the start of the new school year, when he hears a pitiful little mewling sound. He pauses, steps to the side so that he's not blocking the pavement, and waits a minute. It doesn't even take that long until he hears it again, and he can tell it's from the alleyway just a little ahead so Izuku scurries forwards, halting at the mouth of the alley to scan for any odd shadows or shapes that don't belong. Living with two pro heroes hasn't made him paranoid - he already was, quite frankly, blame it on the discrimination he's been faced with since he was four - but it has made him more aware of what exactly to look for in general, beyond the bullies that he's specifically familiar with.
Well, used to be familiar with. He's not seen any of them in several weeks now, although that's besides the point. The point is that it sounds like a cat is hurt and the greenette can't stand the thought of that, so having decided that the alley should be safe, Izuku heads in, trying to assess where he thought he heard the meow. It hadn't been far in, and there's a pile of cardboard and newspapers there, maybe behind- Oh. Oh, the poor thing.
It's a dark cat, maybe grey or black naturally, but it's wet, muddy and grimy, little eyes pressed shut, shivering in a tiny ball of ragged fur and Izuku's heart melts.
With a series of quiet shushing and crooning sounds, the greenette slowly steps closer, then crouches. When he's just within reach, already sliding off his backpack, the kitten turns its head, eyes staying shut. It looks a bit big to be a newborn though, so maybe their eyes are just crusted shut with mud or something. Either way, the little thing is nudging at the air in his direction and Izuku doesn't hesitate to carefully reach out and run gentle fingertips over the small, shivering body, trying to make sure it's not hurt in any way. But he can't feel anything, and it doesn't flinch or whine at any point, so hopefully it's fine beyond the general situation. And it must have been alone for at least a day by now, if it's this skinny and unwashed? No siblings either...
Nodding decisively to himself, Izuku draws his hands back, heart stuttering when the little yowls grow stronger, and he croons more in return, scrabbling at the buckle on his rucksack to get it open and dig out his spare hoodie in there. Folding it in half over his own lap, the boy leans forward again, just enough to be able to easily scoop up the shivering baby and oh-so delicately deposit it on top of his hoodie, wadding the thick fabric around it until he's left with a loose bundle and a little kitten head poking out, chattering more quietly to him now.
Oh no, Izuku loves them already. A lot.
He walks home quickly, clutching the bundle of fabric and fragile life close to his chest, and silently hopes that his dads might have finished up early and will already be home. Sure, he's got a decent idea of what to do, and between that and the internet he should be fine, but now that he knows he can rely on adults he likes to take advantage of the fact sometimes. Better to be safe than sorry after all. (It's a novel thing, even now, to be able to have such faith in adults and not have his hopes dashed for that every time, to not earn locked doors and insults and wounds for him daring to hope that someone, just someone, might deign to care about him; Eraserhead was the first person to make Izuku's outstretched hand into a firm grip, the first one to reach out in return, Hizashi the second, and it's new and brilliant and oh-so precious to the boy.)
Unlocking the door, Izuku shuffles in carefully, working hard not to trip over Princess Fucker or Cup as they both wind around his ankles, meowing loudly, and he snickers when the large fluffy lump of the former headbutts his shin once, twice, then stretches up to place her paws just above his knee.
"One minute you two, okay? I- I'll feed you as soon as I get this one settled somewhere warm."
And indeed, Izuku assesses the living area, finds the sunlit patch of the black cat bed beside the sofa, and knowing it must be warm, is quick to head over and gently place the bundle of hoodie and kitten down, softly chiding the other cats to leave the little thing alone for a minute. Amusingly enough, they seem to listen, all four of them swarming him now, but apparently content to sniff the edge of the hoodie before they shift back towards him. When Moose jumps up onto his shoulders, rubbing against his neck and even chewing at one of his ever-longer curls, Izuku giggles, rubs a brief, light touch over the top of the kitten's head, and gets back to his feet. Moose stays atop his shoulders through the movement, trilling softly.
Izuku hurries through setting down fresh food and water, shuffles back over to briefly check on the kitten, then heads past it into the bathroom and puts the plug into the sink, starting up both the hot and cold taps. A few moments of holding his hand in the resulting pool has him lessening the hot water a bit before going to retrieve the kitten. Ah, the poor thing is meowing again, little warbling cries that shudder in time with its trembles, and the greenette croons quietly to it.
"Hey, hey, c'mon, y-you're okay. I promise, I'm gonna get you in some warm water now, o-okay? It should help, I promise." He undeniably sounds a bit panicky to his own ears, but the kitten probably can't tell - who is he kidding, animals are intuitive, but his hands are steady and that will have to be enough - and then he pauses, the hoodie bundle against his chest, assessing the fact that dunking the kitten straight in might not be the best idea.
Instead, Izuku perches on the edge of the bath beside the sink and sets the hoodie in his lap, letting it fall open enough that the kitten, in all its scraggly-fur and muddy glory, is fully exposed and it has his heart melting all over again. Sweet little thing, it is.
After a moment's thought, Izuku dips his left hand into the still-warm water, cradling the kitten with his right, then brushes it down the kitten's side. The initial flinch has Izuku frowning, murmuring apologetically, but he keeps on going, gradually scooping up a bit more water each time until the cat seems used to it and streaks of mud are already beginning to marr his hand instead, little bits of dirt in the sink-water too.
"R-right then, shall we try you in the sink now? It's only a bath, you know? I d-didn't even put in any soap!" Izuku chirps, trying to be cheery as he scoops the baby up and stands beside the sink. Then, trying to be relaxed himself, he lowers his hand, with the kitten sprawled out on top, into the water. And sure, its tiny claws dig in painfully when most of its back-end is in the water, but it largely relaxes once it's in up to its head and the greenette continues to croon to it, telling it how good of a job it's doing, that it'll feel so much better soon.
And, within a quarter of an hour or so of starting, the mud is all gone, leaving a dark grey kitten in its wake. And when it opens its eyes, Izuku can't help but gasp because they're so very pretty. Sure, there's traces of blue still there, although it's largely a stunning copper, burnished brass, and it reminds him of constellations and matching wedding rings that hang on chains around necks but that shone, sunlit, in wedding photos, and oh no he really, really wants to keep this kitten.
Pushing down the rising tide of adoration, Izuku carefully pulls the kitten back out of the water that's now rather grey and grimy, dumps it onto a small hand-towel he had waiting, then quickly drains the sink and puts in a fresh shallow bath of slightly warmer water that the kitten seems far more happy with than the cooler wash it had last time, and it's a far quicker task this time around, more to warm the baby up than get it clean. And that means it's easy to get the kitten in, out and then buried in a towel, ever-so carefully drying the little one off until it's genuinely purring under his ministrations.
It doesn't take long from there for Izuku to ferry the kitten back into the living area and, seeing that spot of sunlight once more, he doesn't hesitate to set the kitten down on the pet-bed and, after a moment's thought, curls up around it, not too tightly to make sure he doesn't block the sunlight or make it feel trapped, but just enough that it hopefully feels sheltered and knows that it's safe.
He doesn't mean to fall asleep, but it happens all the same.
~~~
Aizawa and Hizashi get home, takeaway dinner in hand, later than they had intended. Yet, when they unlock their door with calls of being home, they don't get a reply, and that has them alarmed enough to rush through the genkan to try and find their son. He always replies to them, without fail, so- Oh. He's asleep. On the floor. Snorting, Aizawa turns back to kick his boots off and put them to the side in the genkan, taking his husband's with an incoherent grumble when they get chucked at him, but before he can come back into the living area, there's a soft, muffled squeal of delight.
"What now 'Zashi? You've seen Izuku sleeping about five thousand times by now and yeh it's sweet but do you really need to make a racket every ti-"
"Shou, Shou, look, the baby's got a baby!"
"What?" the pro demands, highly concerned as he rushes over. Only to pause when he peers around the blond and sees that by 'baby' his idiot husband simply means a kitten.
Oh, a very, very cute little grey kitten that their kid is curled up around, protective and sweet and adorable.
"Hey, Zashi, are there any pigs flying?" The underground hero prods, Cheshire grin in place as he crouches down next to their son, eyeing up the kitten. It doesn't seem injured or anything, and it's probably around two months old, at a guess, with fluffy dark fur, grey like ashes and stormy skies, and it purrs occasionally, just for a few moments every few minutes, and it's very much endearing.
"Shouta!" The Voice Hero's indignant whine is definitely louder than intended because it has all of them startling, kid and kitten included.
"Honestly, waking up sleeping children, you absolute monster," Aizawa deadpans, settling a hand in Izuku's curls in greeting, already continuing,
"Hey kiddo. We got a new friend?"
"A-Ah, uhm, we don't h-have to keep them," the greenette protests, but there's reluctance obvious in every syllable, even more blatant in how he stays curled up, eyes dropping to the kitten busy fidgeting within the curve of his body. Hizashi and Shouta exchange a meaningful glance.
"I think we'd like to, lil' one," the blond offers, crouching down too.
"R-really, Pops, Dad?"
"I'm certainly not complaining," said Dad replies, reaching over to prod Hizashi. Izuku snickers, staring up at them both with a vivid gaze, full of awe and delight and relief, brighter than starlight, and neither of them could be happier than that expression being directed at them. They want their son to be happy, to grow and thrive, and it's in moments like this that they feel like they're managing just that. There's nothing better.
"Well then kiddo, got a name in mind for her?" Izuku pauses, lets himself think it through, staring into those bronze-copper eyes, so bright and beautiful, and something clicks in his mind.
"Hestia. She- y-yeh, Hestia."
"Ah, a suitably lovely name for a lovely fur baby!" Hizashi croons, hair spilling over his shoulders as he leans further forwards to peer at the kitten more closely. And then the cat rolls over, stretching out paws with the tiniest of toe beans, and starts to bat at one golden strand.
All three of the humans melt in tandem.
"Kid, if we hadn't already agreed this one was a keeper, that would be it, you know?" Aizawa murmurs, Hizashi busy cooing wordlessly at the playful cat.
"Thanks Dad!" the greenette chirps, eyes glinting, already proud of his kitten. Quite reasonably so. His two dads, for their part, are proud of him for being kind to a stray, for being compassionate and considerate and so damn cute, it's unreal. They've got lucky with their kid. More than lucky really, more like blessed, and they both know it.
And they're sure that this kitten will be a blessing for Izuku in return.