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Shouta's purposeful strides dissolved into shuffles as he meandered from one end of the room to the other. His shoulders sagged, one damp, the other dry and red from the tiny grip clutching the fabric of his shirt, making it more constricting and uncomfortable by the minute. The culprit? Izuku Midoriya.
The Problem Child himself had become a literal child and now would not stop crying or raking his fingers against Shouta's skin as he held on to his teacher for dear life.
The kid cried if you looked at him, but tonight took things to a new level. To call him inconsolable was an understatement. Everything from swaddling him gently in his capture cloth to rocking him wasn't helping. His cries were sirens, peeling and never-ending, causing Shouta’s headache to begin its descent into migraine territory. All the underground hero wanted to do was climb into his sleeping bag and never come out. Instead, he threaded his fingers through the tangled mess of green and whispered shhh again, as if saying it this time would influence Izuku enough to actually make him stop wailing.
"Do you want me to try?" offered Hizashi, hands extended.
"If he wouldn't quiet down for Toshinori, what makes you think he'll calm for you?" Shouta realized the bite in his tone a little too late and sighed. "No, 'Zashi. I've got him. Thanks for offering."
"Of course. Hey! Y'know, I just thought of something."
"What?"
"Midoriya's always been super in-tune with his emotions. Maybe crying is his Quirk?"
"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised. He'll stop soon...hopefully. If for no other reason than because he's worn himself out."
Izuku's cries suddenly escalated. He kicked and pushed against the pro hero's chest. The exhausted man adjusted his hold on the kid and switched to patting his back.
"Midoriya," said Shouta with a bit of exasperation that added an unintentional half-scolding, half-pleading snap to his tone. He rubbed his student's back. "Midoriya, seriously, what is wrong? I can't help make it better if you don't tell me or show me what is wrong. Are you in pain? Are you hungry? Tired? Perhaps you're thirsty. You have to tell me."
The Problem Child continued to wail, adding in a strained, "Papa!" before pushing against his teacher's shoulder again.
"Your father isn't here, Midoriya." Come to think of it, Shouta didn't know much about the kid's dad other than that he was always away.
"Mama! Want Mama!"
"Your mom isn't here, Midoriya."
If it were possible for Izuku's eyes to get any bigger, it happened. The tears continued to pool around his lids and his face grew red. Then Izuku became so quiet that it startled both men. His mouth remained open, and Shouta felt Izuku's small rib cage expand against his palm. Sharing a look with Hizashi, he realized what was about to happen just in time for their student to let out an enormous scream followed by a jumble of sobs as he begged for his mom.
"Your mom isn't here, Midoriya. Please calm down."
Hizashi stood, hands poised for intake. "Shou, please? Let me try. It can't hurt, right?"
His partner only wanted to help, and he had to admit he was way out of his depth with the bawling blade of grass against him. Not to mention, he was still reeling from the fact that one of his students even encountered the General Studies student with the age-regression quirk. Then again, if it had to be someone from 1-A, it would certainly be Midoriya, if not Bakugo. (Though, admittedly, an explosive Katsuki being on the receiving end of an inconvenient quirk would make his current situation with this vocal shrub-haired bundle damn-near delightful.) Both, along with Todoroki, had been on his To-Prepare-For list, but he'd never gotten around to setting up logical contingency plans for what would happen if they were ever met with an incapacitating quirk.
As Shouta tried to figure out what to say to the kid crying for his parents, he found himself admitting defeat and passed Izuku to Hizashi, who gratefully cradled the kid in his arms. The pro hero rocked his hips, swaying his upper body gently with his internal rhythm.
"Hey, Izuku," whispered Hizashi. "It's okay. What's wrong, little listener? I know you want your mama, and she's not here, and that's enough to make you wanna scream and cry, but it's okay because we're here. It's okay. Shou—er, Aizawa and I have you, ya dig? You're probably feelin' all kinds of fear right now, but I got a secret. Wanna know?"
To Shouta's surprise, Izuku nodded. His cries simmered down from loud wails to whimpers for the first time in an hour and a half, and actually nodded in response to the question. How?
Hizashi didn't miss a beat. "You've got two pros here. Isn't it awesome? Eraser and I have been heroes for a while now. We won't let anything happen to you. You're safe, Izuku." He shushed him and, slowly, the toddler calmed down.
Izuku muttered something to Hizashi and hiccuped, his large eyes watering.
"I know, little listener, but it's okay. Shouta and I and Toshinori are gonna look after you, okay? So close those eyes. The villains won't get ya."
And that's how they carried on. Shouta watched as Izuku muttered a bunch and Hizashi continued to reassure him until the kid's eyes closed mid-mutter, and he stuffed his thumb into his mouth.
"Is he asleep?" asked Shouta.
"Barely. The little listener was seriously upset about something."
"How'd you do that?"
"By mixing radio skills with hero skills." When Shouta lifted an eyebrow, Hizashi began to explain. "I always try to make people feel okay and safe when I'm on hero duty—"
"We all do, Mic."
"Yeah, but I…how do I explain it? I know people fall asleep or wake up listening to my show. That's obvious, but I try when I'm on the air to make people calm. You know, forget about whatever anxiety they have, or the bad or stressful stuff that they may have dealt with, so they can sleep listening to some of the best tunes. Toddlers aren't much different. He's two. He's an anxious little broccoli as a teenager, but as a teenager just turned into a baby? This little listener's super not-okay. It's gotta be weird having your homeroom teacher soothing you, not to mention embarrassing to have your idol slash father figure doing it too. I'm a little more detached from Izuku than the two of you—"
"What's that supposed to mean? You're his English teacher."
"—Plus, I've got the gift." Hizashi pointed at his throat. "When I'm not yelling, my voice can be pretty chill. Why else would I have gotten asked to be part of the Hero Series for that ASMR podcast?"
Shouta would've rolled his eyes if he hadn't been so deep in thought. The way Midoriya pushed against his chest like a cat that wanted to be let down before he passed him off to Hizashi confirmed his partner's hypothesis about the kid feeling awkward. Izuku started wailing the minute Toshinori left to gather a soft blanket, clothing, diapers, a bottle, and other necessities for him—almost as much as he'd started yelling when that first year's quirk de-aged him. The effects would wear off in just under a week, but having to deal with a toddler-ized Izuku wasn't in any of the teacher's plans. All Might volunteered to keep watch on him since Shouta and Hizashi had more classes to deal with, and Hero lessons could wait until Izuku was back to being a teenager.
"I'm back." Toshinori slid the door shut behind him. "I apologize for taking so long. Where's Young Midoriya?"
Shouta, who swallowed his urge to thank the retired hero for not saying his catchphrase, simply gestured at Hizashi. "Mic got him to sleep. Kid's finally—"
"Papa?"
All eyes turned to a previously sleeping toddler scrubbing at his eyes. Izuku's head popped up from Hizashi's shoulder. At the sight of Toshinori, he smiled and pushed against his teacher.
"Papa!" cried Izuku.
The men watched as Izuku leaned for All Might, all the while calling out "Papa! ". Shouta's eyes widened. Hizashi hesitated for a moment before walking toward the Symbol of Peace with Izuku.
"Papa, papa, papa!" cried Izuku as his fists opened and closed. "Want papa!"
"Who's your papa, little listener?" asked Hizashi. "Is that him?"
When Izuku nodded, Toshinori let out a cough of surprise. "Young Midoriya… I'm not… I'm—"
"Papa!" cried the two-year-old. "Papa up!"
"But I'm not—"
"Toshi, let's be real," began Hizashi as he adjusted his hold on Izuku. "You became his dad a while back ago."
Shouta nodded. "Given his near-obsession with All Might and determination to be a pro hero because of you, I'm inclined to think you were a father figure to Midoriya long before you crossed paths. Especially with his father being away so frequently. It's a logical progression. The relationship you two have now has only reinforced that connection, hence—"
"Papa?" Izuku hiccuped, tears welling again. "Papa, up?"
"Izuku Yagi," Hizashi hummed. "That's got a rockin' ring!"
Toshinori let the words of his colleagues sink in. Izuku struggled against Hizashi, calling for the weakened hero's attention. It was enough to shake him back to reality. He scooped Izuku into his arms with a smile. "I am here, Young Midoriya. Is that what you wanted? My attention?"
Izuku nodded, his hair growing even messier from the action. He gave a small yawn and rubbed his eyes.
"Are you sleepy?"
Another nod. "Sweep?"
"Of course, Young Midoriya. You can go to bed if you're tired."
"Kay."
The toddler rested his head on All Might's shoulder, prompting another tiny yawn to leave his frame before he popped his thumb in his mouth. In turn, the hero brought a thin hand up to rub soothing circles against Izuku's back. The action was enough to send the toddler to sleep.
"Good to know whatever influence you hold over Midoriya translates to his toddler self," said Aizawa.
"Oh, no, I wouldn't say that," protested Toshinori. "I just… I mean I…"
"You should accept the compliment. You're good with him."
Toshinori gave a small smile and whispered, "Young Midoriya was about this age maybe when he first saw me. He told me once that he watched the video of me saving those citizens dozens of times. I… I'm honored that he sees me so highly, but I don't think it's something I necessarily deserve."
Hizashi squeezed his shoulder. "You do! Look at that little listener. Toddler or teen, he looks up to you, and you earned every bit of it. And I don't mean just as All Might."
Izuku squirmed, and All Might shifted the toddler's position, cradling his successor in his arms and rocking him gently. After a yawn, Izuku buried his face against Toshinori's shirt.
Perhaps if Young Midoriya saw him as a father, it wouldn't hurt to accept the role. Even if it was just for a little while.