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“Step away. From my kid.” The tired man’s voice is cold and unyielding, he was not in the mood for this today- or tomorrow, or even the day after. He just wants to find a place to settle down for a few days and make sure his kid isn’t constantly on the edge of a mental breakdown.
And now, there’s this blonde-haired bitch thinking he just found this kid on his own- as if he didn’t leave Izuku alone for one minute JUST to check around the corner of the home he was debating on staying in for the night. And sure, Aizawa will admit he’s not the most friendliest looking person, but that is HIS kid. Fuck being nice, if the blonde does not take his hand off of Izuku in the next second he will shoot.
Izuku, who is currently doing what Aizawa says to do in a situation like this and staying quiet- remaining as still as he can. The boy’s good eye stares at Aizawa with a pleading look, as hazy as it is- Aizawa can see it. He knows how to read the kiddo like the back of his hand, and his kid was currently not okay with this situation.
“..This is your kid?” The blonde questions, head tilting in a confused manner- yet the tall man remains on guard and suspicious- and honestly, fuck him.
“That’s what I said, are you deaf?” Aizawa’s eyes sharpen at the way the blonde’s grip tightens on Izuku’s shoulder, bad move bud. The tired man raises his gun and points it at the blonde, the other man immediately taking a hand off of Izuku and taking a step back.
“Woah! Woah woah- I wasn’t going to hurt him I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t in trouble or lost-”
“I do not care. You made my kid feel scared . Back the hell off.” Aizawa interrupts the tall man, gesturing for Izuku to come over and not batting an eye as the small boy runs over and hides behind his leg.
“Okay, Okay. Just.” The blonde man keeps his hands slightly raised as he takes another step back, “If.. You need a place to stay with your kid, we have a camp up the road. My name is Yagi- you can tell anyone who’s at the front gate my name and they’ll let you in. There’s other kids there too, so he can-”
“ Shut up. ” Aizawa warns, but he does put his gun away and huff. He kneels down and takes his backpack off, opening it up. Yagi watches as Izuku immediately steps into it, basically melting into the warmth and protection of the backpack and squeaking as he’s lifted back into the air. It’s a weirdly cute sight, this overly tough man with a baby-faced boy on his back- tucked away in his backpack. Yagi thinks he saw the tired man’s eyes soften, but that thought is quickly crushed as he flinches at the glare that’s sent his way.
“Uh…”
“Show me where the camp is.” Aizawa basically orders , but it’s not forceful- atleast, Yagi doesn’t think so. There’s no gun raised and the tired man’s hand is raised, ruffling Izuku’s hair soothingly.
“No offense, but weren’t you just pointing a gun at me? This seems a bit….”
“Suspicious? Sure. Whatever. You had your hand on my kid. Now you don’t, and you offered something that I have had before. Sometimes it was a lie, but you, Yagi, are not lying. So I would like to go to your camp. I cannot guarantee I will be staying, but we need food, and this is the most logical thing to do at the moment.” Aizawa puts his gun away in his pocket, glaring off to the side. “My name is Shouta, but you will call me Aizawa. And this is Izuku.” The boy squirms a little, eyes squinting over at the blonde- as if he’s having trouble seeing him. Which, would make sense- Yagi supposes. One of the boy’s eyes was almost greyed out- with a scar running over the other larger scar already on his face. It seemed to not be focused on anything, it must be blind. And his other eye wasn’t that far off, maybe he was losing vision there too.
The poor boy, Yagi thinks.
“I’ll admit, I’m unsure if I trust you. But I can’t just leave your boy hungry. So follow me.” Yagi says with an uncertain voice, because it’s true- Aizawa was a very straight-forward man who seems like he would shoot Yagi if he had not backed away, and you usually can’t trust people like that in this situation. But when that attitude was directed towards in defense of his child.. Maybe it would be okay.
Aizawa merely lets out a grunt in response, following the tall blonde out of the home that had nothing in it anyways and down the road. He glances over his shoulder at Izuku whenever he can as they walk, eyes always softening whenever the boy’s eyes widen at his Dad looking back at him. As if he’s fascinated just by the fact that his Dad is looking at him.
Aizawa resists that urge to stick his tongue out at the boy or pick up a colorful leaf to show him, just to make the boy giggle or gasp in fascination. He can do that when Izuku wasn’t hungry and in need of a good nap.
He also ignores Yagi’s attempts at conversation, because lol no.
The next day, when he’s sitting in one of the homes Yagi’s camp offered him and bouncing Izuku on his knee- there’s another blonde he sees charging towards his front door with a huge stupid smile on his face.
For fucks sake is everyone here like this? Maybe he should go back out, at least things won’t seem so fake out there. He’s not used to… A legit happy community.
And he knows Izuku needs this, but god. It’s going to be painful.
“HEEEEEEEEEY!! New guy!!” The new blonde idiot hollers from the front door, giving a good few knocks.
Aizawa ignores him, and continues to- especially when Izuku clings to his shirt with nervous energy.
“Uhhh, hello??” Long pause, “is he not home?”
“The guy seemed pretty dense, Hizashi.” A new voice breaks through, a woman- it would seem. And- wait. Hizashi? That name seemed stupidly familiar. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s ignoring you, just let him get settled in for a bit. Plus he had the cutest little boy with him, his son- I’m guessing. The kid seemed pretty afraid of everyone though, so maybe you yelling really isn’t the best idea.”
“Oh, oh shit my bad.” ‘Hizashi’ backs away from the door, “I still want to greet him but.. I don’t want to scare the lil kiddo.”
“Ah, so you’re concerned about scaring the kiddo but not annoying the man who’s been on the road for god who knows how long.” Aizawa can almost hear the smirk on her face, and it makes him huff out in amusement. Izuku looks up in his direction, eyes open wide at the sudden noise and he lets out a noise of his own as to copy him. The tired man actually snorts this time, bringing Izuku closer to his chest and squeezing him in a reassuring way that makes the boy squeak.
Yet, his heart pangs in a painful way at the same time. Little Izu has been through so much, he’s never had the chance to properly grow up and learn what it’s like to just be a kid. He has a lot of trouble socializing, never knowing what’s right or what’s wrong to say or to do. Aizawa has taught him what he needs to be afraid of and what to do in severe situations, but he can barely find the time to truly teach him or even get him to smile real big like how a kid should. It’s always been small moments where Aizawa would show Izuku something that he’d like, or where he would actively try to play with the small boy and the kid would end up totally lost on what they were doing or actually letting out small giggles.
“-WHAT?! You said his name was Shouta?? His last name shouldn’t happen to be Aizawa would it-”
Wait, what did he miss?
Aizawa glances out the window, and immediately regrets it as Hizashi’s eyes find his own and widen a considerably large amount. And. Oh. Wait. What the fuck.
What the fuck.
That’s his annoying tallass blonde, not just any annoying tallass blonde. Loud too. Hm. It’s odd though, considering he hasn’t seen him in about three years. Right before all this shit started.
He feels as if he should be more emotional over this, but again. A lot has changed since he’s seen this man, and he’s certainly still in the same situation he was before. Nothing just changed by seeing his long lost best friend.
Except of course, y’know. His loud blonde tallass best friend speechlessly looking at him with wide eyes and his other long lost friend Nemuri right beside him, seemingly putting the dots together and blinking in shock.
Hm, maybe Oboro is here too then. Wouldn’t that be something?
Aizawa then, in the most Aizawa way possible, looks away from them and shuts the blinds on the window.
He ignores the flabbergasted hollers outside and stands, Izuku squirming in his arms but settling down when Aizawa gives him a kiss on the head. The little boy wraps his arms around his Dad’s neck, clinging with a strong grip even as Aizawa has his own tight hold on him. The tired man walks towards the front door where the voices are the loudest, narrowly avoiding any windows as to not let them know he’s coming and while Nemuri and Hizashi are seemingly having an argument with each other of some sort outside- he opens the door and waits for them to notice he’s there.
It takes about five minutes, and it’s Nemuri who notices first and promptly shuts Hizashi up with a smack to his arm. The loud blonde whips his head around to Aizawa, raising a hand up as if he’s going to say something- but remains quiet. Most likely shocked into silence, the tired man assumes.
“Nemuri, Hizashi.” Aizawa deadpans, “You’re not dead.”
“No fucking shit.” Nemuri flicks her long lost friend on the forehead, and he does not react whatsoever. But it does however, get a startled noise from Izuku- who whines and waves his hand in Nemuri’s direction- as if to say ‘don’t do that to dad :(‘.
“You- Shouta-” Hizashi fumbles with his words, then focuses on Izuku. “..Child?”
“Yes, a child Hizashi. So observant.” Aizawa adjusts Izuku in his hold, gently tapping the boy’s arm so it goes back around his neck. “His name is Izuku, and if either of you hurt him- regardless of our past together, I will end you.”
“Oh my god he became a Dad.” Nemuri’s smile is obnoxiously wide and it makes Aizawa squint.
“Uh, Nemuri, that is not the main thing I’m focused on.” Hizashi then pauses, “well, okay, it’s part of it but-”
“Listen.” Aizawa interrupts the blonde, the loud man frowning at that, “We were good friends three years ago, yes. But I do not know either of you now. Am I happy to see you? I don’t know. I’m not exactly the greatest when it comes to shit like this anymore. Not that I ever was- But let me make one thing clear, fuck with me- and I'll kill you.”
Nemuri grimaces and Hizashi just looks sad at that, both of them sharing a look before sighing and nodding.
“Good.” Aizawa steps inside, leaving the door open- “Now come inside and explain to me your community so I can decide if I stay or not.”
Both of them, despite being threatened moments ago, immediately spring into action and walk into the home like they own the place.
And Aizawa pretends like it doesn’t bring a sense of fondness and familiarity. Because that would mean being soft, and he is not soft.
Izuku baps his cheek as he walks towards his couch, and Aizawa does not smile.
Again, he’s not soft. Stop looking at him like that, Hizashi! Look. Away.
Another few weeks later and Aizawa is sitting at a bench near a small lake they have in the community. He’s watching Izuku try his hardest to talk with Hitoshi- a kid who’s been here from the start and failing. But Hitoshi never puts Izuku down for not being able to communicate that well, only smiling and continuing to show Izuku different leaves on the ground that are pretty or even a flower. Every time Izuku bounces in place with a large amount of enthusiasm, taking the leaf or flower delicately in his hand and staring at it with wide eyes. Then, Izuku would sometimes stand up and dash over to Aizawa, stumbling only slightly in his own clumsiness- in order to show his Dad the pretty thing.
And every time, Aizawa ruffles Izuku’s hair in response- making Izuku squeal in delight before running back over to Hitoshi.
It was way too much good and sheer cuteness for Aizawa’s heart.
It was also the happiest Aizawa has seen Izuku so far, and he was living for it. And only for it. Nothing else.
Definitely not for Hizashi either. Or Nemuri. Or Oboro who was apparently also alive and also liked to barge into his home at odd hours- including at 1 am.
It was weird, having friends again. Scary too, because Aizawa is finding himself starting to care, and he honestly doesn’t want to go through this shit again. He already has Izuku he cares way too much about- even more people he cares about… And people who are taller and not easily grabbable like Izuku- how is he supposed to protect them?
….
Ugh, he won’t think about it. Thinking too much about it just means experiencing feelings and the only thing he wants to feel right now is pure warmth for Izuku’s enthusiasm.
Everything else? It can currently go fuck itself.
“SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUTAAAAA!”
He immediately regrets everything.
Aizawa scoops Izuku into his arms as soon as the boy runs over to him, standing up from the bench and giving Hitoshi a small nod as the boy waves a small ‘bye’ to the tired man and Izuku.
Then, Aizawa turns to Hizashi who tugs on his sleeve all giddy-like, trying not to get blinded by the huge-ass smile he has.
“Do I want to know what you want?”
“YEAAH!” Hizashi takes Aizawa’s hand, and if he did that a few weeks ago- Hizashi would’ve gotten his hand chopped off. But now, the tired man lets Hizashi drag him all the way to his house without explaining why- and no, it’s not because Aizawa has gotten weak. Fuck you.
When they step into Hizashi’s home, Aizawa blinks in confusion at the balloons and food spread across the table. As well as Nemuri and Oboro sitting at the couch, smiling softly at the man in front of them.
“I’m confused.” Aizawa admits, all while Izuku tries to hit one of the balloons from where he’s in the man’s arms.
“It’s your birthday!” Hizashi chirps, extending his hands out and tilting his head in a questioning manner. Aizawa raises an eyebrow, but silently hands Izuku over to the loud man- who takes Izuku with gentle hands and holds him securely. Izuku at first stares up at Hizashi with wide eyes, most likely taking in the man’s blurry face before placing one of his small hands on Hizashi’s cheek and bouncing in his hold.
Ugh. Adorable.
“My birthday, huh? You all remembered that?” Aizawa questions, ignoring Nemuri and Oboro’s jealous looks at Hizashi holding Izuku- he earned the kid’s trust to do that and that takes a lot of effort. If those two idiots want to do the same they’ll have to work harder.
“Of course we did, and we also know for a fact that you have not given your own birthday even a thought these past three years. You’re twenty seven now, by the way.” Oboro hums in a soft voice, and there’s this certain sadness behind it that Aizawa decides to dwell on later. Not right now.
“twenty seven, huh? That would make Izuku about six then..” Aizawa mumbles, glancing over to Izuku who still seems too small for a six year old.
“Awwww, the baby is six?? Goodness, he might have Shouta’s short genes then! I thought he was at least four!” Nemuri snickers, getting Aizawa to sigh in annoyance and the other two to laugh fondly.
“Nemuri, you’re shorter than me and you are 5’9. I’m 6’0. And Hizashi is taller. Oboro too. What are you talking about? ” Aizawa deadpans, which just makes them all laugh again. Izuku merely stares in confusion, having no idea what’s going on.
“You seem to forget that you didn’t get your growth spurt until senior year, and you just kept going up- sure! But you were the shortest in our class.” Hizashi chuckles, and the noise this time makes Izuku tap his chest to try and get him to stop shaking his body. Hizashi is quick to comply, knowing fully that too much movement that Izuku doesn’t quite understand yet will get him anxious.
“Right.” Aizawa huffs, glancing over to the food at the table and walking over- sitting down in one of the chairs and grabbing a plate. The three adults blink in bewilderment, then just sigh in defeat. This is the most conversation they were getting out of the tired man, and this was usually on one of his good days.
They all take their seats and chatter amongst themselves, Aizawa eventually taking Izuku back from Hizashi when the boy gets nervous about being away from Dad for too long. The boy happily munching on the mashed potatoes and soft carrots Aizawa gives him.
Aizawa goes home that night with a full stomach, a sleeping Izuku, and a calm mind.
It’s the happiest he’s felt in a long time. And he doesn’t know if he’s truly allowed this luxury, but Hizashi keeps telling him that every day is different- to cherish the days he feels happy about and if the next day is miserable, he at least had that good day. It doesn’t change that good day, because you cannot compare one day to another.
Ugh, something like that- at least. And he forces himself to believe it- because he needs to believe in something. Especially when Izuku wakes up from a really bad nightmare the next day and he has to stay with the boy inside all day in order to calm him down. Every time Hizashi, Nemuri, or Oboro tried to visit he had to wave them off- as Izuku would get sent into a panic attack at any knock or wrong sound he just doesn’t like.
But then again.. He had leftover mashed potatoes and soft carrots from yesterday- and when he makes that for Izuku to eat the boy seems to calm down significantly more than he did from just Aizawa rubbing his back reassuringly.
And maybe, just maybe.
There’s something to that.
(art i made beforehand for this AU <3)
(UPDATE: some new art by me :) nov. 2022)
