Chapter Text
“You get to celebrate twice,” Izuku insisted.
“That’s not how it works,” Rody said, though it was impossible to keep the smile out of his voice. “I’ll be flying for most of it, anyway.”
“You’re not getting out of your birthday on a technicality. Especially with two chances to enjoy it!”
When Rody had first started flying, he had to take the routes he was given. With a few years under his belt, though, he was able to pick his destinations here and there. After a few days in Japan with Izuku’s parents, the plan was to fly out to Otheon and see Roro and Lala, and then they’d be back to the States. Time differences were in fact a thing, though; their last day in Japan would be February 13, and their first day in Otheon would also be February 13.
“We’re celebrating both days anyway,” Izuku said in that voice that left no room for arguing. “Mom already told me she’s baking you a cake, and we know Roro and Lala want to have a party when we arrive.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Growing up, Rody had enjoyed plenty of birthday parties, but after the Souls lost their parents and money got tight, it just seemed like a silly thing to spend money on. The kids’ birthdays were a different story, though. Rody wasn’t letting any of Roro’s or Lala’s special days go without attention.
Guess they learned from the best.
“I wish you didn’t have to work on your birthday, though,” Izuku said.
“Are you kidding? Mr. Workaholic?” Rody teased, reveling in the way pink rose from Izuku’s neck to the tips of his ears, highlighting all his freckles along the way. “Besides, I love my job. I’m spending my birthday flying…and with you.” Ah, and there was the squirming and squawks of protest. Too easy. “What could be better than that?”
“You’re getting two parties, and that’s that!”
Inko changed her mind three times about what kind of cake to bake. When asked his favorite flavor, Rody responded with chocolate, figuring that was the easiest route, but when Inko returned from shopping hours later, she had enough ingredients for several cakes.
“It’s been so long since I made a chocolate cake,” she said with a content sigh. “I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make a mousse filling, or maybe try a ganache…do you like raspberries, Rody?”
“Uh, yes, ma’am.” Rody started unloading grocery bags on autopilot, and she beamed at him when he put things away for her on high shelves in the cupboards. “But…cake mix just comes in a box, you know, two eggs and…”
The sharp look she leveled on him stopped Rody’s words in his throat. Oh. So that was where Izuku got his blazing determination. “You thought I was going to make you a boxed cake?”
Rody faltered. “It’s a lot of trouble…”
“No trouble at all!” Inko shook a little bag of flour at him scoldingly, but not in a bad way. If Rody were being completely honest, he loved visiting Izuku’s parents and having Inko mother him. “Now, get my good pans down from over the fridge.”
Dinner was pork katsudon, which wasn’t Rody’s favorite but which he liked well enough. He insisted several times to Inko that this was what he wanted, and she gave him a look so knowing and affectionate that he had to look away. Watching Toshinori and Izuku dig in with matching enthusiasm was really cute. Cute enough that Rody would have worried he was in too deep if he hadn’t known and accepted that a long time ago.
After dinner came dessert, which ended up being a kind of chocolate buffet. Rody tried a little of everything (delicious, delicious, so worth a future stomachache, delicious) and blushed like a kid when Inko brushed his hair out of his face and fussed over him.
“Happy birthday, Rody,” Toshinori said when they toasted mugs of hot cocoa. “We’re really happy to have you in our family.”
“Dad,” Izuku hissed somewhere between panic and warning. Rody burst into laughter at the look on his boyfriend’s face, and Toshinori sipped his cocoa with smugness.
Warmth filled Rody’s chest. Toshinori always gave off the vibe that he could see through every though in Rody’s head. It was as if he had some kind of mega x-ray vision and could see all the way upstairs into Rody’s suitcase, under all his dress shirts and pilot’s uniform, cushioned between folded socks. As if he knew about the little black box.
“I’m really happy to be here,” Rody said.
Roro and Lala met them at the airport, not a lick of subtlety between them. Both of them insisted on shaking Izuku’s hand and squeezing as hard as they could through his gloves, and then, once Izuku’s back was turned, shooting Rody disappointed looks.
Making sure that Izuku was well-occupied carrying all their luggage like it weighed nothing ( damn, lizard brain though appreciatively, as it had for years), Rody tapped his watch and mouthed tomorrow. Lala lit up, but Roro gave him a withering look.
“That’s really cheesy,” he said.
“Yeah, well,” Rody nodded in Izuku’s direction in lieu of finishing his sentence with words. Roro heaved a sigh and shrugged, a concession if ever Rody had seen one.
A birthday in the Soul house meant a mac-n-cheese party. Even after all their years together, Izuku still looked pretty bemused when Roro cranked up the radio and the siblings danced around the kitchen adding milk, butter, and powdered cheese to a pot of noodles. It was the best Rody could come up with at seventeen, and tradition was tradition even now that Roro and Lala were both in college.
Izuku handled putting out bowls and doing a stilted-but-supportive robot in the corner. He didn’t have the moves like the Soul family, but he tried, and that was the important part.
When the four of them squished together on the couch under blankets, bowls of mac-n-cheese in their laps, to watch a movie, Rody felt comfortable enough in the dark to rest his cheek on Izuku’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you glad you got two birthdays now?” Izuku pushed.
“Maybe.” Rody shoveled a heaping spoonful of mac-n-cheese into his mouth to avoid expanding on his answer. He felt Izuku’s smile, heard the exhale of a laugh through his nose, and knew—yep. He could set a clock by this guy, because a second after that little laugh, Izuku’s hand was slipping into his. It was still warm from holding his bowl.
“Good.” Izuku laced their fingers. “Happy birthdays, Rody.”