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“So, which of the three is your dad?” Uraraka asks, clasping her hands excitedly in front of her.
“I don’t actually know,” Izuku tells her sheepishly. He bites his lower lip and looks down at his feet, the toes of one of his red sneakers digging in the sand.
“But you said you invited him to the wedding?” She sounds confused.
“Oh no,” Shinsou says, sounding delighted. “You’ve been scheming again.”
“It’s not a scheme,” Izuku pouts. “More like, um, a plan. An innocent little plan. That might have involved inviting all three of them without telling mom.”
“Oh Deku,” Uraraka sighs, but it’s more fond than exasperated.
“This is highly irregular, Midoriya!” Iida chides with his usual arm-chop. “What are you even going to do once they are all here?”
“I’m sure once I meet them in person, I’ll know. I’m good at figuring things out. It’ll be obvious to me who my father is.”
“Does Todoroki even know about this?” Shinsou asks, and when did this turn into an interrogation? Izuku has done nothing wrong!
“Yes, of course! He said it’s good I’ll have my own family things to deal with so I won’t poke my nose into his. Touya’s coming. He and their dad haven’t been in the same room in at least 10 years I think?”
“Ooooh, the mysterious elder brother, the family rebel,” Shinsou grins. “Can’t wait to meet him! Is he hot?”
“If he’s anything like Shouto’s other siblings…” Uraraka giggles.
This is gonna be fine, Izuku tells himself, trying to calm his nerves as his friends start speculating about Todoroki Touya before circling back to Izuku’s potential dads. It’ll go well, and he has now recruited help to hide the three men from his mom until the wedding. She’s been stressing about the ceremony for weeks now, desperate to make it perfect.
“So, Deku, tell us again what your mom’s journal said about your dads?”
*
“Yagi Toshinori. Mom describes him as tall and strong and, I quote, ‘a real hunk’, which is not something I’d ever thought my mom would say. She, um, goes on about his abs a lot. He was a firefighter when they met. I found a couple of news articles online, and apparently he was forced to retire after he was injured while saving something like 30 people a few years ago.”
Uraraka whistles. “A real hero as your dad? I guess I could see it.”
“Nah,” Shinsou grins. “‘Zuku has the abs but no one would describe him as tall.”
“Hey!”
Toshinori looks at his watch anxiously again, then at the trees the train tracks are cutting through. The very stationary trees. Because the train has been stopped for the past thirty minutes as railway employees clear one of those same trees that decided to fall right on the tracks.
Maybe he should have just flown there, but it seemed silly to go all the way to Osaka to grab a plane, and he thought he’d enjoy the train ride and then the ferry to Oki Islands. But if he misses the boat…
The wedding isn’t until tomorrow, but he really wants a chance to talk to Midoriya-san before then. He hopes she’ll still recognize him, in spite of his emaciated state. He hopes she won’t be too disappointed. Toshinori can still remember how much she loved his strength. How she smiled when he picked her up effortlessly. The heat in her eyes when they kissed.
If only he hadn’t been so callous, back then. He can’t even remember how the argument had started, just the hurt in her eyes when he told her that no good person would ever consider working with sharks like Endeavor Law. Then her soft, loving face had turned to steel as she told him coldly to leave.
He’s still not sure why she’s invited him to her son’s wedding after all these years. Her letter was very vague, though kindly-worded. If it were anyone else, he’d think she wanted to gloat that, after she’d made partner, Endeavor Law had started taking on high-profile charitable cases and really cleaned up its image of amoral, vicious lawyers. But the Midoriya Inko he remembers wasn’t a vindictive person.
“There’s no use holding on to old anger,” she’d said once. “It’ll just poison your heart, and stop you from moving forwards.” It’s words that always stayed with him.
Finally, the train starts moving again, and Toshinori lets out a sigh of relief. Which promptly turns into a small coughing fit.
“Are you alright?” the man sitting across from him asks, his brow furrowed with polite concern.
“Then we have Aizawa Shouta. Kind of Yagi’s opposite. Mom compares them a lot, mostly going on about how smart and rational he is, and how he’s not obsessed about his physique… I think she was a bit bitter about her break-up with Yagi.”
“So, a rebound?”
“I guess, but she seemed to really like Aizawa. She says his sharp humor reminds her of Mitsuki’s -Kacchan’s mom- and those two have been friends since forever. He’s a teacher now.”
Despite the man’s assurance that he’s fine, Shouta keeps a careful eye on his travel companion for the rest of the journey. This Yagi-san looks alarmingly skinny, like an understuffed scarecrow. Also Shouta thinks he spotted traces of blood on the man’s handkerchief.
At least the blond provides a good distraction from his thoughts.
See, Shouta is a logical man. From what he remembers of Midoriya Inko, she was a logical woman. And there aren’t many reasons to invite your summer fling from twenty years ago to your kid’s wedding…
The train comes to a stop and Shouta grabs his travel bag, hurrying out and onto the platform. It takes him longer than he would have liked to find directions to the ferry, and he runs all the way to the pier, only to find himself staring at the boat. Which is already about a hundred meters away.
He missed it.
As he’s staring, somebody stops abruptly next to him and swears loudly in English before coughing. Already feeling exhausted, Shouta turns towards the blond.
“Were you headed to Oki Island, Yagi-san?”
“And the last one?”
“Shigaraki Hisashi. Some rich, sophisticated guy. He took her to a lot of fancy places, made her feel really special until he had to go back to the US for work. Mom found out she was pregnant a couple of weeks later and apparently decided to have me on her own.”
“Does he still live in the States?”
“Yeah. He’s the CEO of some corporation called All for One, though I couldn’t figure out what they do exactly.”
“Sounds shady.”
“Hitoshi!”
Hisashi almost ignores the two men commiserating on the pier, up until one of them mentions the wedding he’s attending tomorrow. While he could let them fend for themselves (the first boat next morning will probably get there just on time), if they are friends of Inko’s then offering them a ride would certainly earn him some points with her, and possibly the kid. If Inko hasn’t changed -and judging by her career path she hasn’t- she must still value helping people in need.
Leaning over the railing of his yacht, Hisashi aims his most charming smile at the two men below him.
“May I help you?”
*
Izuku is freaking out. Just a little. Almost every passenger has walked out of the ferry and still no sign of his dad. Dads. Potential dads. Somewhere on his right Shouto is dealing with his mother and his siblings, and a tiny part of Izuku is also freaking out because, as it turns out, Todoroki Touya, who is covered in tattoos and piercings, is dating Takami Keigo. A.K.A. International rock star Hawks. Who is gonna be at Izuku’s wedding.
But mostly Izuku is losing his mind over the lack of dads. Potential dads. His mother’s ex-boyfriends. Do they really count as boyfriends if not one of them even lasted two whole weeks?
“It’s gonna be very anticlimactic if none of them show up,” Shinsou drawls.
He and Uraraka are sharing a bag of popcorn, while Iida, always the dutiful one, is helping carry the Todoroki family’s luggage. Izuku bites his fingernail, makes a face when the taste of the nail polish designed specifically to break that bad habit hits his tongue.
“Oh, Deku, look!”
Uraraka points excitedly to the small yacht pulling in at the pier, next to the ferry. A tall man with long, dark hair walks off it as fast as humanly possible, the tight grip on his bag belying his bored expression. He’s quickly followed by two even taller men who appear to be ferociously arguing, although they fall silent before Izuku manages to figure out what about.
Actually, all three of them are now standing on the pier, staring at Izuku, who shuffles from one foot to the other.
“Mamma Midoriya sure liked them tall…” Uraraka fake-whispers behind him. Shinsou sniggers.
Izuku’s eyes are frantically jumping from one of the men to another, looking for any distinctive features that he might recognize, that he might share with his actual father. One glaring flaw in his plan suddenly dawns on him: Izuku looks just like his mom.
“Um, hi,” he says, lamely, waving a trembling hand.
The skinny, blond man’s scowl slips off his face, replaced by a blinding smile as he takes a step forward. “Hi. You must be young Midoriya.” His voice is warm and kind and Izuku feels his chest expand with hope. “I’m Yagi Toshinori. I’m an old friend of your mother, although I haven’t seen her in many years.”
“Twenty,” Izuku squeaks. He clears his throat. “You haven’t seen her in twenty years, right?”
Yagi-san’s look of surprise slowly turns into shock as he stares at Izuku. “Oh.”
“What?”
The man in the suit, the one who’d been arguing with Yagi-san early, seems furious. But when he notices Izuku’s gaze sliding to him, he visibly takes a deep breath to calm himself. He smiles, and it doesn’t have the warmth of Yagi-san’s easy grin, more sharp and assured instead as he steps in front of Yagi-san to greet Izuku.
“Hello, Izuku-kun,” he says, placing a strong hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “My name is Shigaraki Hisashi. I knew your mother very well, twenty years ago. Maybe you could take us to her, I have… a few questions I’d like to ask.” His voice is low, and he sounds so very reasonable, but something in his eyes makes Izuku want to gulp nervously.
“Problem child,” a tired voice calls, and Izuku takes a quick step away from Shigaraki-san to look at the third man. Aizawa-san’s calculating gaze is fixed on Izuku. “Does Inko even know we are here?”
“Oh, this is gonna be great!” Shinsou comments while Izuku tries to explain himself. “We’re gonna need more popcorn though.”
*
Toshinori’s still reeling from the realization that he has a son. Or might have a son? Young Midoriya’s rapid-fire, convoluted explanations had, honestly, kind of gone over Toshinori’s head and before he knows it their car is stopping in front of a hotel.
“Um, most of the guests are staying at another hotel down the street,” his possible son mumbles nervously. “So you don’t need to worry about meeting Mom in the lobby or the restaurant or anything. I, er, I’ll explain everything to her as soon as I can, I promise.” He takes a deep breath, then turns to the three men, for a moment looking as lost as Toshinori feels before giving them a wobbly smile. “Thank you. For coming. For… for caring, I guess.”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for dear Inko,” Shigaraki-san replies smoothly. “And if you’re my son, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Toshinori nods, slightly annoyed to find himself agreeing with the man. The feeling helps him rein in his frazzled nerves, and he puts a comforting hand on young Midoriya’s shoulder.
“If you have time,” he says, smiling softly, “I’d like to get to know you a little.”
“Yes! I’d really like that!”
After promising to drop by the other two men’s later, Inko’s son follows Toshinori to his room. The hotel is Western-style, which Toshinori appreciates, as sleeping on futons is more than a little uncomfortable ever since his injury. He sits gingerly on the edge of the bed, gesturing Midoriya to the desk and its chair.
“So…” Toshinori starts, then stops awkwardly.
Young Midoriya hums, but doesn’t say anything. Toshinori clears his throat and tries again.
“What do you do, my boy?”
“Physics!” the young man replies enthusiastically. “I’m working on my bachelor’s degree right now but I plan on going all the way to a doctorate. I’m particularly interested in astrophysics, so I’m already keeping an eye on a few programs abroad.”
One thing Toshinori discovers pretty fast is that when young Midoriya gets a chance to talk about something he’s passionate about, something he loves, there is no stopping the flow of information. The boy moves on from his studies to talking about his friends and his fiancé, eyes shining with obvious affection.
The boy obviously loves as freely as Toshinori. Because they have that in common, he finds it easy as breathing to make room in his heart for young Izuku. For his son.
*
It’s easy to see that Midoriya is smart. His love for physics denotes a logical mind that seems to echoe Shouta’s, even if the boy’s current… plan is a bit of a mess. At least his plans for the future are better organized. And researched. And carefully compared. Yes, that boy is a thinker, like Shouta. Like his father?
“But enough about me,” Midoriya says eventually, turning his intense green eyes to Shouta. He looks so much like Inko. “You’re a teacher, right? That’s all I could find out online.”
“I am. Social studies and physical education.”
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as a PE teacher,” Midoriya says, his eyes carefully assessing Shouta. “Now that I know, I can tell you’re in shape, but you hide it well.”
“Unlike you,” Shouta smirks, gesturing at Midoriya’s bare, muscled arms.
Midoriya shrugs, smiling.
“I enjoy teaching, even though teenagers can be exhausting. It’s a rewarding profession, and it leaves me plenty of time for my family.”
Shouta watches Midoriya carefully as he says it. All he sees in the boy’s face is a moment of surprise quickly chased by genuine curiosity.
“You have kids?”
“A daughter,” Shouta says, grabbing his wallet to fish out a photo. His fingers drift tenderly over Hizachi and Eri’s faces before he hands it to Midoriya. “My husband and I adopted her a couple of years ago.”
Midoriya’s face turns soft as he looks at the photograph. “She looks very happy.”
“Kid,” Shouta says, dropping his hand on Midoriya’s floofy head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, growing up. Whether you’re my blood or not, it doesn’t matter. You’re a good kid, that’s obvious. Inko raised you well. I’d be proud to call you son.”
*
Izuku carefully dries his eyes (again) before knocking on Shigaraki-san’s door. He knocks again, louder, when no answer comes. After a few minutes, he heads for the reception where he’s told that the tall, white-haired gentleman he’d arrived with had gone out a little while ago.
Izuku clamps down on his panic. Just because Shigaraki-san didn’t wait for him doesn’t mean the man doesn’t want to talk to him. It doesn’t mean he’s angry at Izuku for inviting him under false pretense. Or for springing a surprise son on him. Or a potential surprise son, with two other potential fathers he clearly doesn’t like.
His phone pings. It’s a text from Uraraka.
RED ALERT! One of your dads is talking to your mom!
Izuku runs.
*
Hisashi takes his time showering the sea salt off his skin and pulling on clean clothes before heading out. He’ll have all the time in the world to get to know his son, after all, but first things first.
First things being Inko.
Hisashi could pretend that his renewed interest in Midoriya Inko was mainly because of her position at Endeavor Law. Or at the prospect of having an heir worthy of inheriting his empire. Unlike Shimura Tenko, Hisashi’s ward, who was only good at being Hisashi’s puppet, Izuku was smart. The kind of smart that had him graduating top of his class from Japan’s most prestigious high school, and sailing through his university classes.
(Hisashi’s research had been thorough. And definitely broke a few laws in the process. Who cares.)
The truth, though, was that even twenty years later he was still fond of Midoriya Inko. The woman had been sweet, but it hid a will of steel and shark instincts that allowed her to climb through the ranks of the most competitive law firm of the country. He had seen hints of her strength even back then.
She’s perfect. And he won’t let go of her this time.
Finding the hotel is easy, and charming the receptionist to give him Inko’s room number even easier. He puts on his best smile and knocks on the door.
“Oh.”
Inko stares at him. There are a few lines on her face and a few pounds on her frame that are new, but…
“You’re still as beautiful as ever.”
“How… why are you here?” she asks, stepping into the corridor instead of letting him in. Disappointing.
“I’m here for our son’s wedding, obviously,” he explains patiently. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“You know about Izuku?”
“Yes. A brilliant young man. No wonder, with parents like you and I.”
“Ah. The truth is, he might not be yours,” Inko tells him, fidgeting. “Before I met you-”
“Yes, yes,” he cuts her off with a smile. “There were two others, I know. Our son invited them too.”
“He what?”
“The boy is a schemer,” Hisashi says with a triumphant grin. “Of course he’s mine.”
*
“I’d love to walk you down the aisle, my boy.”
*
“I would be honored to walk you down the aisle, Problem Child.”
*
“I’m walking you down the aisle.”
*
Shouto finds Izuku at the hotel bar, Uraraka gently patting his shoulder while Shinsou watches them with a smirk and a colorful cocktail. Which is reassuring, as it’s always hard to judge if a situation is really serious just by Izuku’s reaction.
Shinsou might be a little shit, but he actually cares, so things can’t be as dire as Izuku’s text implied.
“They’re all so nice,” the love of Shouto’s life is saying, tears in his voice. “They all want to be my dad. I can’t have three dads, Ochako!”
“Why not?” Shinsou chirps, grinning.
“Because I can’t! Can I?”
Izuku turns to look at Shinsou and spots Shouto in the process. His face is tear-streaked, and no matter how many times Shouto has seen him in similar states over mild inconveniences, it still makes his heart squeeze uncomfortably. Shouto reaches out to his fiancé’s face, tenderly wiping the tears.
“You can have three dads,” he tells him. “You can have ten dads. A hundred. Anything you want.”
“Sap,” Uraraka fake-whispers.
She’s not wrong, but still, he gives her a cold look. Izuku is crying.
She has the gall to grin at him.
“Is it really okay?” Izuku asks, sniffling.
Shouto hands him a tissue.
“You’re the one who taught me we make our own happiness,” he says calmly, looking into Izuku’s eyes. “Who cares if yours is a little unusual?” Izuku slowly smiles at him, and the weight on Shouto’s heart lifts. “Of course they all love you already. How could they not? You’re perfect.”
“The sappiest sap,” Shinsou pips up.
Shouto doesn’t even bother to glare this time. He’s too busy kissing the boy he loves.
*
“Stop crying, idiot!” Katsuki growls, grabbing more tissues and forcibly rubbing Deku’s face dry. “You’re supposed to do that at the end, not before the wedding even started.”
Even though he swears up and down he only accepted to be Deku’s best man because his mother would have skinned him alive otherwise, Katsuki can’t help but feel emotional. He clamps down hard on his feelings: he refuses to cry at stupid Deku’s wedding. Bakugos don’t cry, that's a Midoriya thing.
“But Kacchan, I’m getting married!” Izuku wails.
“I know, moron! It’s why we’re all here! Because you and stupid popstar-wannabe half-and-half are so stupidly in love you feel the need to shout it to the world. Now stop. Crying!”
There’s a knock on the door, and a ridiculously tall, blond man looks in nervously.
“Is everything alright?”
“Yes!” Katsuki snaps at the same time Deku shouts “No!”
Another man, slightly less ridiculously tall, nudges the door wider and walks in, putting a hand on Deku’s shoulder. Who the fuck is this? And who the fuck is the white-haired giant with the murderous eyes that follows?
“What happened?” that last one asks in a cold, angry voice. Katsuki gets the distinct feeling that if Deku asked, that man would kill for him. He very carefully bites down on his indignation, because unlike his childhood friend, he has a sense of self-preservation.
“I’m getting married to Shouto!” Izuku replies dramatically, and Katsuki rolls his eyes. “He’s so beautiful and kind and perfect!”
There’s a moment of confused silence before the blond tentatively speaks up.
“And, that’s a problem?”
“Yes!” Izuku replies, way too loud and way too close to Katuski’s ears. “Because I’m so happy I can’t stop crying, and you’re all here which makes me even happier!”
“Ah.”
The three look at each other, unsure what to do. Katsuki rolls his eyes yet again.
“Listen, I don’t know who you are and right now I don’t care. You can wait outside. I’ll take care of this.”
“Kacchan!” Deku hiccups, wet eyes on Katsuki. “I’m so happy we’re friends again!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Katsuki says, waving the strangers out of the room. “Me too, nerd. Now, stop crying and explain who these fuckers think they are to dare walk into the groom’s ready-room?”
“Oh,” Deku says, wiping his eyes again. He grins. “They’re my dads.”
“Your what???”
*
It’s the best day of Inko’s life. So far, that spot had been tightly held by Izuku’s birth, but seeing her baby so happy fills her with so much joy! She has to fight hard to keep her eyes from tearing up, because she doesn’t want to miss a second of this.
The ceremony is held in a large reception hall, neither of their family being religious, and Shouto and Izuku enter the room on opposite sides. Inko only knows that Shouto is accompanied by his mother because Enji had grumbled and pouted about it enough: she only has eyes for her baby.
Toshinori and Shouta are flanking Izuku, with Hisashi walking right behind him, hands on his shoulders, and Izuku is beaming, his eyes fixed on his fiancé on the other side of the room. All three men are radiating pride as they slowly walk Izuku toward the center, where Mayor Nedzu and the boys’ witnesses are waiting.
Not for the first time, Inko wonders if she made the right choice all these years ago. Izuku and her were always happy just the two of them, or at least she thought so. None of these men had seemed ready to have a family back then, especially not with someone they’d barely known for a week or so. But Izuku went through the trouble of finding them, and they all came, they’re all here, for him…
Izuku’s eyes briefly catch hers and there’s no resentment there, only joy. Then all becomes blurry as Inko finally loses her fight against her tears. The Izuku-shaped silhouette meets the Shouto-shaped one at the center of the room, and the three men make their way to their seats, Toshinori and Hisashi on each side of her, which she only registers when they both hand her a tissue.
“Thanks,” she whimpers, using one to dry her face and the other to blow her nose. Toshinori gently pats her arm with a kind smile, which she returns.
The ceremony is beautiful, but Inko wonders how much of it the boys are aware of as they just stare in each other’s eyes through it all, hands clasped tight together. Katsuki-kun has to actually shake Izuku’s shoulder, wrenching a hand free to give him the ring, and as soon as the wedding bands have been exchanged they kiss without waiting for Nedzu to pronounce them married.
Hisashi squeezes her hand as she starts crying again.
*
Izuku smiles as his husband twirls him, in perfect time with the music. Everything Shouto does is perfect.
“You’re the one who’s perfect,” Shouto tells him, and Izuku blushes.
“One day, I’ll stop mumbling all my thoughts, I swear,” he says, biting his lip.
“Please don’t. I like knowing what you think.”
“Right now I’m thinking that I love you.” Izuku smiles as his words are rewarded by a kiss.
When the song ends, Shouto heads to the drinks table and Izuku’s eyes sweep over his friends and loved ones, happiness bubbling in his chest like champagne. Ashido and Kaminari have somehow managed to drag a very reluctant Kacchan on the dancefloor, where Izuku’s mom is currently dancing with Yagi-san.
“Your other dad doesn’t seem too pleased about that,” Shinsou says from right behind Izuku, nearly giving him a heart attack.
“Hu?”
Shinsou points towards Shigaraki-san, who’s standing nearby, glaring at Yagi-san.
“Oh. I… I see.”
They watch as Shigaraki-san walks up to the couple, puts on a charming smile and taps on Inko’s shoulder, clearly asking if he can cut in. Yagi-san politely smiles and lets Izuku’s mom go, though he too glares at Shigaraki-san as soon as Inko’s back is turned.
“I’ll be honest,” Izuku says, gulping, “I hadn’t thought any of them would still, you know…”
“There’s a lot you hadn’t really thought through.” Shinsou laughs, because he’s a bit of a dick. “I don’t think your mom minds, though.”
And it’s true, she looks just as happy dancing with one man as she had dancing with the other.
“Let’s not talk about that, yeah? Look, Shouto’s back!” He grabs the drink his husband (his husband!!) hands him, then drags him towards the tables. “Let’s say hi to your family, I’ve barely seen them!”
“As you wish,” Shouto replies, because he is perfect.
They arrive in the middle of an argument between Touya and Enji, and Izuku is so glad for the excuse to get involved in family drama that does not involve the possibility of his mom dating one of his dads. Or worse, two of them.
Yeah, that’s a problem for tomorrow-Izuku.