Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shouta resisted the overwhelming urge to groan. He wasn’t sure what exactly went wrong, but he had somehow managed to get himself in the custody of a villain group, one he was supposed to have taken down by now. He had gotten captured, for the first time since he became a hero. It was a strange feeling, one he wasn’t accustomed to, but he was up for the challenge. It had been a long time since he had been in such a dangerous situation.

He was currently in a cell, with iron shackles attached to his ankle. Now, he knew ways of getting out of them, but there’d be no point. The door locking him in looked solid and probably a no-go. He needed to bide his time and make sure he chose the right moment.

So, he looked around the room, taking stock of what he had to work with. It was sparse, and the only furniture was a small bed and table. A sizable mound was on top of the bed, covered by a blanket. It looked like it was moving. Shouta’s eyes narrowed. There couldn’t be someone else in here with him? Surely not!

Worriedly, he approached the bed. He had to be sure whatever was in here with him wasn’t a threat to him. It wouldn’t be completely out of the equation for the villains to have locked him up with someone dangerous. Slowly, he yanked the blanket off the mound, expecting the worst.

However, what was hiding under the blanket wasn’t anything dangerous, but Shouta thought he’d have preferred it if it were. Instead, it was a tiny boy who was wrapped in bandages. He looked like he was sleeping, but small whimpers were escaping his mouth as he shifted around the bed. Shouta’s heart clenched and his eyes burned with rage. These villains were worse than he had thought — he hadn’t known there were any kids involved with the case. Even worse, Shouta wasn’t in a position to rescue him immediately. He’d have to revise his plans to escape sooner with the boy. Suddenly, he felt the fear and worry that had been completely absent earlier well up in him. He wasn’t just looking out for himself anymore.

The boy stirred suddenly, waking up from the disturbance. Shouta carefully draped the blanket back onto him, studying him a little closer. The boy had curly green hair and light freckles splashed across his face. Shouta guessed he was around the age of six or seven, judging by his small stature. The thought was both worrying and rage-inducing. Who would do this to a kid?

Before Shouta’s blood pressure could climb anymore, the boy’s eyes shot open, revealing brilliant green eyes. They were filled with a deep fear, and he sat up, instantly backing away and pressing himself against the wall next to his bed. Shouta instantly felt terrible. Maybe he should’ve just let the boy sleep in peace.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright kiddo,” he said in the gentlest voice he could manage, putting his hands up in the air in a non-confrontational gesture. “My name is Shouta. I’m not going to hurt you, don’t worry. What’s your name?”

The kid was silent, only staring at Shouta with wide eyes.

“Don’t be scared. It’s okay,” Shouta encouraged, forcing his expression into a gentler one.

“M-my n-name is Izuku,” he said softly. The fear didn’t ebb from his eyes, however.

“Okay, Izuku. How did you get here? Do you know any of the people who are keeping you in here?”

He shook his head. “No. I … My mom b-brought me here,” he said. “She s-said she w-was coming back, but she didn’t.”

“Your mom, huh?” Shouta said with a frown. “That’s not right. Do you know what you’re here for?”

He hesitated and stared at Shouta distrustfully. Shouta could kind of guess why from his reaction.

“It’s okay, kid. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, no worries. But you don’t have to be scared of me. I’m a hero, actually. I’ll find a way to get you out of here.”

“Hero?” he asked, his eyes widening. “Wow!”

To Shouta’s relief, he dropped his defensive stance. “Yes, though you probably haven’t heard of me. I’m an underground hero.”

Izuku nodded and seemed to relax even more. “Oh. Well… In that case… it’s for my quirk,” he said, looking down at his hands. “I c-can’t show you it now, but …”

“Is there a specific reason why they wanted your quirk?” Shouta prompted gently. It still surprised him to no end that this had gone over their radar. Surely there should’ve been a missing person’s report at this point?

“It’s … strong, I guess. I c-can control darkness,” he said. “Suited for a villain,” he added with a small frown.

“And they want you to use your quirk for them?”

“But I don’t … I don’t want to…” Izuku was starting to shake again, and Shouta immediately felt a pang of guilt for pushing too far. “I don’t wanna be here.” He teared up, looking even smaller than before.

“Hey… It’s going to be okay,” Shouta said uncertainly. “I’ll get us out of here, and you won’t have to do anything you don’t want. Don’t worry.” There would be more time for questions in the future, preferably when they’re both safely out of this cell.

“Are you sure?” Izuku sounded doubtful. “But you… you’re in this cell with me. How can we get out? They … they’re pretty strong. You can’t take all of them at once.”

Shouta’s heart sank. Izuku clearly didn’t have any faith in him. Maybe if he were a more well-known hero, it would be a different story. “I’ll figure out a way, I promise,” he said.

Izuku seemed to consider that for a second, then he nodded, finally stilling and relaxing a little. Shouta allowed himself to as well and started planning an escape. He had been so busy making sure Izuku was comfortable with him that it took the backseat.

The room itself wasn’t small, but the concrete room looked airtight with no windows or holes. The door was reinforced steel, much like the ones the heroes used for stronger villains — they weren’t taking their chances. Trying his best not to alarm Izuku, he gave the door a tentative shove, finding it to be as sturdy as it looked. They weren’t going to be able to bust their way out through it.

Right as he was about to look for other avenues of escape, he heard loud yells and thuds outside. They sounded extremely close, almost like it was right next door. Frustrated, Shouta shoved the door again, but again, it didn’t even budge an inch. He needed to get out of here fast, and maybe help the other people being held captive in the complex. Izuku couldn’t be the only victim.

Then he remembered. Izuku.

Turning around, he found Izuku curled up at the foot of his bed, shaking lightly. The noise must’ve undone all the progress Shouta had just now. Heaving a deep sigh, Shouta calmed himself and sat down next to him. Comforting a kidnapped kid wasn’t on his list of agenda for the day. He cursed himself for the thousandth time for deciding to go off alone.

“Hey. It’s alright. I won’t let anyone hurt you, okay?” He wasn’t sure if it was a promise he could keep, but he was going to try, that’s for damn sure.

“L-loud,” he whispered, rocking himself back and forth. His eyes were watery again, and Shouta feared he would start crying. He doesn’t know if he can deal with a crying and injured child on his own.

Uncertainly, Shouta covered Izuku’s ears with his hands. Izuku looked alarmed at first, but eventually, the shaking and whimpering stopped. Shouta took that to be a good sign.

Then all at once, the noises all stopped abruptly, leaving an ominous silence in its wake. Shouta sighed in relief, letting go of Izuku and pulling back. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what had happened out there.

“It’s over now, see,” he said softly. “Everything’s okay.”

“D-do you think the person m-making the noise is okay?” Izuku asked.

“I’m not sure, Izuku,” he said hesitantly. He didn’t want to lie, but he worried about how Izuku would react. “But let’s not worry about that right now. There isn’t anything we can do.”

“Is that going to happen to us too?”

“No, it won’t. Not when I’m around.”

“Okay.”

They lapse in silence for a while, with Izuku picking at the threads of his blanket and Shouta trying to figure out what the right thing to say was.

“So, Izuku. What’s the first thing you want to do when we get out of here?” he asked finally, after a moment’s deliberation. He knew he was going to go find himself a dummy’s guide to how to talk with scared children. He was too far into his hero career to be bad at this.

“I … I dunno,” he said, staring down at his hands.

“No? What do you like to do usually?” Shouta winced at how awkward he felt. He needed to get better at talking to kids, or just people in general. Even if he was an underground hero, it was still a major part of the job.

“I like to watch All Might videos,” he said uncertainly.

All Might. Shouta could work with that. “You know what, kid? If you can stay brave for me until we get out of here, I promise I’ll get you a meeting with All Might. Can you do that?”

Izuku’s face brightened, and he looked at Shouta with such hope it was almost blinding. “Really? You can do that?”

“Of course. While we’re at it, I’m sure I can get Present Mic to hang out with us too,” he said. Considering Hizashi, he’d be breaking down doors to cheer Izuku up. All Might would be a little harder to get a hold of, but Shouta thought it was a small price to pay to get the sad and scared look off the kid’s face.

“Present Mic too?” he said, his voice filled with reverence. “What do you need me to do for that?”

“You just need to do as I say. If I tell you to run or hide, you do it without question, alright? This is very important.”

Izuku nodded, looking much more cheerful than he did mere moments earlier. Shouta silently marveled at how effective All Might was as a bribe.

“Okay! I can do that,” Izuku said, smiling for the first time. Shouta’s stone-cold hard softened a little at the sight. It was amazing that he could still smile so brightly in a situation like this.

It was hard for Shouta to sleep that night, but he knew he needed his energy for tomorrow. He knew staying here longer wasn’t going to make escaping any easier, and his best bet would be to do it as soon as possible, while the villains don’t expect it.

Positioning himself between the door and Izuku’s bed, he lay down on the hard and scratchy concrete floor, wishing he were back home.

Shouta was up early the next day, or at least he thought it was early. It was hard to tell time without any windows or clocks, but he thought his biological clock was fairly good. Izuku was still sleeping, and Shouta let him, even though he looked like he was having a bad dream. If they were able to find an opening for an escape today, they both needed all the energy they could have.

He took another look through the room, this time much more thoroughly, trying to look for anything he might have missed yesterday. Unfortunately, it was just as air tight as it was yesterday, and he couldn’t find any possible defect in the construction. He went around, tapping each individual brick with his knuckles in the hopes that one of them was loose, but to no avail.

Before he could make any more progress, the door abruptly swung open with a loud click, and one of the villains Shouta recognized from yesterday strode in. Narrowing his eyes, Shouta studied the man carefully. He looked around Shouta’s size but even more muscular, so it’d be difficult to completely subdue him before he could call for backup. However, there was only one person. If they thought that it was enough to deal with Shouta, they had another thing coming. He’d just have to pick his timing carefully.

“Good, you’re up,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Shouta.

Shouta stood, turning to face Izuku. He wasn’t sleeping anymore and had sat up, looking completely terrified. Shouta wished he could comfort him. He’d just have to wrap this up quickly.

“Izuku, this is your last chance,” he said, not even looking at Shouta anymore. “I’m sick of keeping you around when you refuse us time and time again. It’ll be much easier on you, trust me.”

“Hey. Leave the kid alone,” Shouta said, moving to block him from Izuku. He wasn’t sure if he could handle seeing Izuku get hurt.

“You can join us, or I will kill this hero,” he continued as if Shouta hadn’t said anything.

“No!” Izuku said shakily. “Don’t do it. Please!”

“No? Then how exactly do the two of you plan to stop me?” he asked, crossing his arms.

Shouta had gotten so many death threats before that it barely fazed him this time. “Killing me won’t accomplish anything,” he said, shooting the villain with his nastiest death glare. “Do you really think Izuku would want to join you after watching you kill me?”

“Shut up,” he snarled, leaning forward so he was up in Shouta’s face. “This is none of your concern. You should be more worried about dying here.”

“I’ll give you a bit of advice,” Shouta said. “Your best course of action here would be to let Izuku and I go before the other heroes come for you. Then maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t get a lifetime jail sentence.”

“Don’t be stupid. I’m not the one in danger here. The heroes won’t be able to take down our base that easily. Do you think our security measures are just for show?”

“We’ve taken down bigger organizations than yours. I doubt it’ll be an issue for us.”

“Enough!” he roared, and Shouta heard a small whimper come from Izuku’s direction. In one quick movement, he roughly grabbed Shouta’s dominant arm and pulled it towards him. “I’ll start with breaking your arm. Maybe that’ll be persuasive enough for you, Izuku. Remember, you can end this any time. Hell, I’d even let the hero go if you do.”

“It’s okay, Izuku,” Shouta said, eyeing the villain’s hold on his arm. “Don’t worry about me.”

“You sure about that?” the villain asked, beginning to exert pressure on his forearm. “I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you.”

“Stop it,” Izuku wailed. “Leave him alone!”

Shouta wished Izuku would stop talking. He was terrified the villain would turn his attention towards him instead, and hurt him, god forbid.

“You can stop this, Izuku,” he said, a twisted smile appearing on his face. “It really isn’t hard.”

The pain was increasing at an uncomfortable rate, but still manageable. He was more worried about his arm being incapacitated than anything.

“Please, stop!” Izuku was yelling now, panic clear in his usually timid voice. “I … I…”

“No Izuku, don’t agree to anything. I’ll be fine,” Shouta said in a calm voice, save for a slight underlying tremble. He was a hero, dammit, this shouldn’t bother him at all.

The villain scowled, but before he could give a scathing response, a loud, frantic knock on the door interrupted him.

“What now?” he muttered, releasing Shouta’s arm and walking towards the door. Shouta immediately gave it a once over, thankful it hadn’t reached the point of fracture yet — he could still move it around without issue. The only evidence of it ever being hurt was the dark bruise on his wrist where he held it.

Within seconds, Izuku was by his side and looking at him with worry in his eyes. “A-are you okay?” he asked in a small voice.

“Yes,” Shouta said, giving Izuku a reassuring smile and getting back on his feet. This was the opening he was looking for. The villains were comically stupid for turning their back on Shouta.

“But he… he …”

“It’s okay, I’ve been through much worse,” Shouta said in a whisper. “Listen Izuku, remember what we talked about earlier? I need you to hide now and not look until I tell you to.”

With only a minimal amount of hesitation, Izuku nodded, scampering to his bed.

Hoping that he hadn’t wasted too much time and lost their escape opportunity, Shouta turned his attention back to the villains at the doorway.

“We have to get out of here, now. The heroes are here.” The unknown man at the door said, his voice high pitched with what sounded like panic. Shouta felt his own spirits lift at his words — this might be even easier than he thought.

“What?”

“They already took over the first floor, and are halfway through the second. They’ll be here any minute now.”

“Dammit!” he yelled, slamming his fist into the wall and cracking the plaster. “And you guys couldn’t stop them?

“This is why I was against capturing that hero. You know they would be trying to rescue him as soon as they can.”

Taking advantage of their distractedness, Shouta quietly snuck up behind them from an angle that made it hard for him to be seen. The chains were long enough for Shouta to reach the villain, which was yet another mistake on their part. Using his uninjured arm, he punched him as hard as he could from behind. The effect was instantaneous, and he crumpled to the floor like a bag of potatoes. It was incredibly satisfying.

The other villain’s face lit up with shock.

“Leave us if you don’t want to end up like your friend,” Shouta threatened, holding his fists out and activating his quirk for the intimidation factor. He’d love to knock him out as well, but he’d rather conserve the energy for later.

A second of hesitation later, he scampered off with a horrified look on his face.

“Okay, Izuku, it’s safe to come out now,” he called softly, hoping that the scuffle hadn’t scared him.

After a short second, Izuku came crawling out from under the bed. He glanced uncertainly at where the villain lay unmoving on the ground, a familiar fear filling his eyes once more. “Did you…?”

Shouta nodded. “Don’t worry Izuku. He’ll be fine in a while; he’s just knocked out. But we’re safe now. Let’s get out of here.”

Izuku still looked painfully uncertain but still walked up to Shouta’s side.

Searching through the knocked-out villain’s pockets, he took out a ring of keys, trying all of them on the lock of his shackles until one of them worked.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

“Y-yeah,” Izuku said, suddenly reaching out to grasp the fabric of Shouta’s pants and glancing out the door nervously. “I’m ready.”

Shouta sighed. This wasn’t going to work. “Want me to carry you?” he asked.

Izuku nodded tentatively, and Shouta lifted him with ease and promptly left the cell. Izuku was as light as a feather, yet he was the hardest thing Shouta had had to hold in his life. No matter how much he tried to shift his hold on Izuku to make it more comfortable for him, it never seemed right, and each position felt just as awkward as the last. He was just so small and fragile looking that Shouta felt like he was going to break in his arms.

“I’m scared,” Izuku whispered, his fists clenching tightly on the fabric of Shouta’s costume. He kept craning his head and looking around anxiously. “What if more of them come?”

“Then I’ll get them all,” Shouta said, injecting as much certainty into his voice as possible. “Don’t be scared. I’ll protect you.”

“O-okay,” Izuku said.

“Just think about meeting All Might later,” Shouta encouraged. “We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

Izuku nodded and rested his head against Shouta’s shoulder lightly. For the moment, Shouta let himself think that they would be okay. They had gotten this far, he wasn’t about to fail now.

He vaguely remembered the route the villains took to get here and was relatively confident in his ability to find the right path out. Hell, they might even run into the hero team the villains were talking about earlier. That would solve all their problems for sure, but he couldn’t count on it.

To his great annoyance, a group of villains appeared as Shouta turned the corner and Izuku let out a small, horrified gasp. Shouta scowled; he should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. It wasn’t the most ideal condition for him to take them, but he had to make do. He wished he had his capture gear with him. It’d save a lot of time.

“Get out of my way,” he said in his most authoritative tone. He didn’t think it would have much of an effect when he had a child in his arms, but it was worth a try.

“You can’t take all of us at once,” one of them said, but he looked wary.

Before Shouta could make a move, he heard rapid footsteps stomping towards them from the hallway to their right. Tensing, he braced himself for yet another onslaught of villains. Yet only two people appeared — Hizashi and All Might.

Shouta blinked, momentarily worried that it was only a hallucination his tired brain had conjured up, but they were still there. All Might had already stepped into the fray, taking the villains on with gusto. Glancing down at Izuku, he found him to be mouthing the words All Might with awe in his eyes.

“Hey Shouta,” Hizashi said, making his way to Shouta. “Need a hand?”

For once, Shouta didn’t have a snarky reply at the ready. “Yes, please,” he said, tightening his grip around Izuku, who was still watching the fight with amazement. He didn’t look nearly as afraid as he did a few seconds ago.

“I’m on it then,” he said, staring at Izuku with concern. “You two should get out first, the east hallway is completely clear and you can get out through it without any trouble.”

Shouta nodded. “Good luck Hizashi,” he said.

“Don’t need it,” came the cocky response. “I’ll see you later.”

True to Hizashi’s words, he was able to quickly make it out with Izuku in tow. His first instinct was to send him off to the closest hospital, but he refused.

“I wanna see All Might in action,” he had said with as much determination as a child could manage, and that was that.

Unfortunately for him, there wasn’t much action to be seen from their spot where it was safe. The EMTs looked like they wanted to stuff Izuku in the ambulance, but Shouta didn’t have the heart to make him.

“It’s alright Izuku, you can see All Might later after we get you fixed up at the hospital,” he told him. “I promised, didn’t I?”

The sun was bright and searing on Shouta’s face, but for once, he embraced the warmth just as he had embraced the tidal wave of relief at having made it out. Now that he had made it out relatively unscathed, he allowed himself to finally reflect on the severity of what had transpired. Perhaps he should’ve been a little more afraid before— there was a very real chance their escape could’ve gone differently. He had gotten lucky, something no hero should ever rely on.

However, looking at Izuku, he found that he didn’t mind the rough past day. If he hadn’t gotten himself captured, who knew how much longer it’d have taken for Izuku to be found. He’d have to investigate his parents and the reason he had gotten kidnapped, but that was for later. For now, he let himself enjoy the feeling of relief for having saved Izuku. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he had failed

Izuku was still staring in the direction of the villain base, a strange expression on his face. Shouta was glad he didn’t look afraid anymore, but he thought he should provide some more words of comfort.

“Thanks for keeping your promise. You were very brave, perhaps even more so than All Might,” Shouta said, putting a gentle hand on Izuku’s head. It was strange, but he found himself not hating physical contact with the boy as he usually did with people outside his immediate circle.

“R-really?”

Shouta nodded solemnly. “I don’t lie. Bravery takes many forms, not just the ability to rush into battle. You were brave for trusting me and going along with what I told you to do.”

Izuku’s smile was small and tentative, and yet Shouta could still sense the pure sincerity behind it. “Thank you,” he said. Then his eyes drooped, and he slumped forward a little. Today’s action must’ve tired him out — Shouta didn’t blame him one bit. He couldn’t wait to go home and sleep for at least two days.

The moment his eyes closed completely, the EMTs were there and quickly loaded him up in the ambulance.

He watched them drive off, suddenly feeling empty. It was strange to part like this, after spending at least twenty-four hours together in such tight quarters. Unlike certain heroes, he was never in the habit of visiting past victims, but with Izuku, the thought of not following up felt wrong.

Shouta tried to tell himself that the fondness he was feeling for the boy was just leftover protectiveness, but he wasn’t sure if that was true.

Chapter Text

Panic.

That was what Izuku felt when he first woke up.

He was lying on a comfortable and clean bed, surrounded by sterile white walls. A tall IV rod stood next to him, and a transparent tube was attached to her arm. The window by his bed let through warm rays of sunlight, giving the room a nice natural glow — it was, all in all, a massive improvement from the cell that he had been stuck in for so long.

But it was missing something.

Where was the strange hero that had gotten him out of the horrible place? Suddenly, the room felt colder, and he shivered. He needed to get out of here. He wanted to find Shouta; it didn’t feel safe without him. The door didn’t look like it had locks, nor did it look sturdy. With his quirk, he could probably get through.

Nodding to himself in determination, he carefully took the IV out of his arm, wincing as the tape tore at his skin, and leaped off the bed. He landed painfully—his legs were still aching—but wasted no time in getting to the door. Just as his hand was about to make contact with the doorknob, it swung open abruptly. Izuku immediately leaped back, his heart skipping a beat.

It was a doctor—or at least he looked like one. His white coat was unkempt, and he looked frazzled.

“Woah,” he said, looking down at Izuku with surprise. “You’re… uh… awake and out of bed.”

“Who are you?” Izuku backed away some more, eyeing him with distrust. Where was Shouta, and why was this unknown man here instead? He didn’t like this. Not one bit.

“I’m Doctor Harada, and you’re at a hospital. Now, you’re still in the process of recovering, so why don’t you--”

“I don’t care! Where’s Shouta? I want Shouta!” he wailed. “I want to see him!”

“Shouta?” the doctor asked with a strained smile. “Who’s that?”

“He promised! He promised!”

“Alright! I’ll see if I can find this… Shouta person, just please, calm down! You’re going to hurt yourself,” he said. He reached his hand out towards Izuku like he wanted to comfort him, but Izuku took another step backward. He sighed. “Well, do you at least know his last name?”

Izuku stilled for a moment as he tried to recall his conversations with the hero. “No…” Now that he thought about it, he didn’t really know who Shouta was. Their time together was brief and filled with complete panic, so they didn’t exactly have time to chat.

“Okay. I’ll try my best. Just…wait a little and don’t get too agitated.” The doctor put a hand to his temple as he walked away.

The door closed shut, and Izuku’s anxiety rose. He worried that it would never open again; that Shouta wouldn’t come. Izuku waited, trying to stay patient. Shouta wouldn’t just leave him here all alone, right? What if he thought Izuku was nothing but an annoying burden?

Time seemed to pass slowly as he thought about every conceivable reason for Shouta not being here. Maybe he had cried too much? Been too whiny? He didn’t think he had been that bad, but he couldn’t help but worry. He didn’t want to be trapped in here with complete strangers.

The door swung open again, and Izuku looked up slowly, fully expecting it to be the doctor again.

It wasn’t.

Shouta was standing at the doorway, this time not in his hero costume, but in a baggy sweatshirt and jeans instead. His tousled hair and red-rimmed eyes made it look like he just got out of bed, but Izuku didn’t care. He came for him! All at once, Izuku felt relief surge through him like a tidal wave, washing all his anxiety away.

“Izuku!” Shouta spoke first, quickly walking up to him, the tiredness in his eyes vanishing in an instant. “Are you okay?”

Without a word, Izuku nodded, instinctively launching himself at Shouta and clinging to his shirt like his life depended on it. It felt so much safer, somehow, knowing that he was here now. Like he knew everything was going to be okay.

Izuku heard Shouta grunt in surprise, but he still wrapped his arms around Izuku.

“Missed me, huh?” Izuku felt the slight rumble of his chest as he spoke. It was comforting.

“Uh-huh,” Izuku mumbled into his shirt. He could faintly smell the lingering scent of coffee on it.

Shouta chuckled lightly. “I’ve missed you too, kid,” he said, patting Izuku’s back.

They stayed that way until Izuku’s heart wasn’t racing and his eyes weren’t wet anymore. Untangling himself from Shouta, he sat back down on his bed. “Sorry,” he muttered, wiping his eyes. “Kacchan always says I cry too much.” He hoped he hadn’t embarrassed himself too much, though judging by the wet stain on Shouta’s shirt, he already had.

“It’s fine. You can cry if you want,” Shouta said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you feel better now?’

Izuku nodded, taking a shaky breath. Now that Shouta was here, his worries earlier seemed so needless. Of course Shouta wouldn’t have left him. He had saved him, after all. “Sorry,” he repeated. “I dunno what came over me.”

“No, it’s understandable. You don’t have to apologize,” he said.

“Sorry,” Izuku said. “Wait, I mean… sorry.” He sighed.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to mind too much. A beat of silence followed as Shouta frowned, considering his next words with care. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it right now, but I wanted to let you know that the raid was very successful, and all the villains are in custody now,” Shouta said. “You’re completely safe now.”

“Already?” It was great news to Izuku, but he had stopped worrying about them the moment he saw Shouta. He knew if anything happened again, he would be there to knock the villains out, just like last time.

“Yes. All Might got all of them,” Shouta responded.

“What about my mom?” Izuku asked hesitantly. He wasn’t sure how he felt. Deep down, he knew she was the reason she was in this mess, but it was still difficult to be angry. She was his mom, after all. And Izuku still cared about her.

“She’s… well…in custody at the moment,” Shouta said. “But you don’t have to worry about it. We’re dealing with it.”

“Oh,” Izuku whispered. “I see.”

“Do you want to see her?”

Izuku thought about it for a second. “I’m… not sure. But I… I don’t think she would come, so…”

A flash of anger appeared on his face, but Izuku wasn’t afraid—he knew the anger wasn’t directed at him.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up then,” he said. “Though, I have to ask. Do you have anywhere to go? Any family that could take you in?”

Thinking back to his extended family, he winced. He was most certainly not welcome there. “No, I don’t think they’d let me stay.”

“Then do you want to stay with me?” Shouta asked.

Izuku froze, his eyes snapping to Shouta’s with shock. “W-what?”

“You heard me,” he said gruffly. “Would you like to live with me, at my house? I can’t promise that it’ll be the b—”

“Yes!” Izuku said, his voice rising in his haste. “I mean, yes, I’d r-really like that,” he amended in a more level tone.

Shouta looked vaguely shocked at his positive response. Izuku couldn’t fathom why, though. Shouta was just so cool, strong, fearless, and most importantly, a hero. Izuku couldn’t think of a single reason why he wouldn’t want to live with him. He was honestly more surprised that someone like him would want Izuku around.

“Well, alright then,” Shouta said, ruffling Izuku’s hair gently. “I’ll get started on the preparations. Meanwhile”—he shot Izuku a stern glance— “please try to behave for the staff here. Being woken up so early by a panicked call from the hospital was not how I prefer my days to start.”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to,” Izuku squeaked. “I just … panicked.”

Shouta’s stern expression immediately softened. “I know. You just worried me a little, that’s all.”

There was a soft knock on the door, and the doctor from earlier walked in.

“Hello,” he said awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Sorry for interrupting. I just want to check on Izuku for a bit if that’s alright. It won’t be long.”

“Of course, I’ll leave you to it,” Shouta said, standing up. “Remember what I said just now, Izuku.”

“Okay,” Izuku said, crestfallen. He tried to hide it, but Shouta seemed to have noticed it.

“ll be back sometime today, don’t worry,” he said, patting Izuku on the back.

The anxiety and discomfort returned as soon as Shouta stepped out of the room, but it wasn’t nearly as intense as earlier. Shouta said he was coming back soon and he hadn’t broken any of his promises thus far, so he’d take his word for it. He’d stay calm for the doctor, as Shouta had asked him to. He wouldn’t want to anger him when he had only been kind to Izuku. What would he do if Shouta didn’t want him anymore?

Shouta sighed, shaking his head as he glanced at the small boy sitting in the backseat of his car through the rearview mirror. He was currently staring out the window with a look of awe and wonder—an expression Shouta was starting to associate with the boy. How he managed to stay optimistic through all the traumatic events, Shouta had no idea, but he was going to try his best to protect it. It wouldn’t do at all for him to become as jaded as Shouta was.

The words had left his mouth before he could register the gravity of them, and once he did, it was too late. Izuku had looked too elated for Shouta to take them back. So now, he had a … son; temporarily or otherwise. Despite him having no clue how to take care of kids—traumatized ones especially. He could barely take care of himself as it was. Still, he was sure he could figure it out. Well, reasonably sure, at least.

“Here we are,” he said, unlocking and pushing the door to his apartment open. He had to do a massive cleanup with Hizashi while Izuku was still in the hospital. His house had definitely not been suitable for kids before that. Everything from the counter to the space behind the shelves had to be wiped down with strong disinfectant before Hizashi declared it habitable. The reek of the alcohol remained, and Shouta made a note to open the windows later, lest he gets Izuku sick.

Izuku followed behind him closely, his head swiveling around so quickly Shouta was worried it would snap off. “Woah,” he whispered, his wide green eyes taking in Shouta’s humble living room.

“Make yourself at home,” Shouta said, shrugging off his jacket and draping it on a chair. “It’s yours now, too.” It was a strange thought. He had been living alone for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to have someone else under the same roof as him. For the thousandth time this week, he lamented the loss of his solitude. He knew that Hizashi would insist on visiting Izuku under the guise of helping Shouta out, and there’d be nothing he could do to stop him. It was a miracle that he wasn’t here today to welcome Izuku, and Shouta was sure that if it weren’t for the urgent case that had popped up, he’d be here.

Shouta let him look around for a while before leading him to the room he had cleared out. “This is your room,” Shouta said, waving his hand inside vaguely. It was a converted office—the only other room in Shouta’s house. Maybe he should upgrade to a bigger house, now that he had Izuku. He had the money—he just never saw the point when he lived alone. “It’s a little empty right now, but we can go pick out more things you like later, if you want.”

“My room?” Izuku asked, staring at Shouta with such intensity that he had to look away. “Really?”

“Yeah. That’s … what I said.” Shouta cleared his throat awkwardly, uncomfortable with how excited Izuku was over a simple room. A simple room that was barely even decorated.

“I love it!” Izuku squealed, carefully stepping inside.

Shouta leaned against the doorway, watching Izuku slowly work through the room methodically, picking up the toys and decorations Hizashi had bought with him. He looked like he was satisfied with them all, to his relief.

When he was done, he walked back to Shouta with a large smile. “Thank you.” His voice was heartfelt, and again, Shouta almost couldn’t meet his eyes. He wasn’t used to such warmth from others outside of his closest friends.

“Of course. You’re my responsibility now, and it’d be remiss of me not to give you the necessities.”

Izuku nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know, but you didn’t have to take me in,” he said hesitantly, his eyes watering. “So thank you.”

“No, I didn’t have to, but I wanted to, got it?” Shouta said. “You don’t have to keep thanking me.”

He pretended to look away while Izuku discreetly wiped his eyes. “Yeah, got it,” Izuku said weakly a moment later.

“So, what would you like to do, now that you’re discharged?” Shouta asked, changing the subject now that he deemed his emotional quota for the day reached. “I know I promised we can go see All Might, but I’m afraid he’s a little busy this week, so it’d have to wait.”

Izuku only gave him a faint smile, not looking at all disappointed like he had expected. “I think I wanna stay … home if that’s okay.”

Shouta blinked. “Are you sure? We can do anything.” He’d have thought Izuku would want to do fun things outside like most other kids instead of being stuck indoors with a boring adult, though he supposed he wasn’t all that in-tune with how kids are these days to know anyway.

“Yeah. I’m a little tired anyway,” Izuku said.

“Okay. Stay home, it is,” Shouta conceded.

And stay home they did. Izuku had fallen asleep very quickly, leaning against Shouta on the couch as the show—one Izuku had picked—played on the TV quietly. Shouta sighed, shaking his head. And he thought he was the one who slept too much.

When Shouta tried to stand up to grab a blanket for Izuku, he mumbled something and stirred, like he was about to wake up. With another shake of his head, Shouta sat back down, resigned to being stuck on the couch for the rest of the day. Worst yet, the remote was slightly out of reach, so he couldn’t even switch the channel to something more adult.

Yet despite the minor inconvenience, it was a lot calmer and quieter than he thought it would be. He had always imagined kids to be loud nuisances, yet Izuku hadn’t shown any sign of that today. In fact, he was too quiet and said too few words; Shouta thought he wouldn’t mind if he talked louder or shouted in excitement like he had seen kids at the park do. He’d welcome it, actually.

However, there was a long road ahead of them before any of that could happen, and that was okay. Truly.