Chapter Text
Since she’d carried her son, Inko knew he’d be a handful. A wonderful, sweet, gentle soul, but still a handful. Izuku was all that and more. It had honestly been a heartbreaking relief when he’d turned out to be quirkless—she’d seen his adoration of All Might, she’d watched that video with him a number of times. But what his tiny eyes didn’t see was the chaos, the wreckage, the danger to the man himself. All Might, a man just as mortal as the next person. And Izuku wanted to be him! It petrified her to no end. Eventually she stopped watching it with him because of those thoughts swirling around in her head.
Then he’d gotten a quirk, and the worry seemed never-ending at that point. She’d dreaded answering the phone during his normal school day, only to be told her son was in the nurse's office—or the hospital!— yet again. Over and over, it happened countless times until he learned to control it, and then got himself into even more danger because of that control. She wanted to support him, but the fear felt infinite.
It hadn’t really changed the situation, but when the very man Izuku so admired knelt on her kitchen floor, feeble and steadfast, her heart changed.
All Might vowed to protect and raise her son so that he didn’t walk that same bloody path—that he would be the hero he wanted to be! It meant the world to her, not just his words, but his actions, his dedication and devotion to that promise. She watched those years after, seeing him stand together with her son, guiding him and raising him more than the boy’s father ever had. She was so grateful, and so moved.
Something she didn’t expect was to end up in a relationship with that man!
But here she was, setting the dinner table elbow to elbow with All Might—or Toshinori, as she typically addressed him—as they awaited her son.
He was all grown now, Izuku—already grown into a man and the hero he always dreamed of being. With so much help from his school, his classmates and friends, and from his mentor, he’d achieved his dreams and was truly soaring. She still had moments of being conflicted about it all. The danger was still very present, and on top of that, learning after the fact about how Izuku had really gotten his quirk… Yes, she wasn’t too happy with that one at the time, but she understood. She knew Toshinori by that point, and he was so good, but he didn’t always think things all the way through. Still, he always meant well. She could see perfectly clear that soft-hearted man looking at her little Izuku with his bright and hopeful face, wanting to be a hero with no chance of getting there—of course Toshinori had done what he’d done.
“Shall I start the tea, Inko? He said he’s a few minutes away,” Toshinori said, drawing her out of her thoughts.
Inko smiled at him. “That’d be great. Thank you, dear.”
He smiled happily before heading back into the kitchen. She smiled after him, then sighed as she sat on the couch. It was nice to have a companion again. Truly it was. Hisashi had been adventurous and energetic and just a whirlwind of everything, and she’d been brought along for the ride. The beginning of their marriage had been exciting and passionate. But having Izuku changed a lot of that, had changed Hisashi most of all.
She and Izuku needed him to be stable and present and a part of their family! But he wanted nothing more than to follow his dreams—or whims, whichever they ended up being. She hated the absence of a father from her son’s life, and Hisashi hated being tied down by that responsibility. He took more and more shifts out to sea, with excuse after excuse. Eventually she stopped asking when he’d be home, and he stopped coming home. By then, the utter disregard for their baby had soured her love for the man, and she filed for divorce when Izuku was only a few years old. The child asked after his father only occasionally, but he really didn’t know he was missing something because Hisashi hadn’t been around enough for Izuku to miss him. Sometimes she wondered if the boy’s obsession with All Might had stemmed from that missing piece his father had left…
The most she heard from Hisashi in recent years was simply his mandated child support up until Izuku was legally an adult. After that, he just stopped all contact.
She worried about Izuku, of course. The thought of her own father abandoning her and never wanting to even speak to her, she couldn’t imagine—and she hated that her own son had to go through that. But Izuku never seemed to mind.
“It’s fine, Mom,” he’d said to her one of the last times they’d spoken of it. “If he wanted to be here, he would, I guess. But it doesn’t change anything that I’m working towards, so don’t worry about it.”
Now, after meeting All Might. After being cared for and mentored by him, she liked to think Izuku was experiencing what it felt like to actually have a father. And her heart glowed every time she saw it.
“What’re you thinking so hard about?” Toshinori asked as he came to sit beside her.
She smiled again and took his hand as she laid her head on his shoulder. “Just happy, that's all.”
He breathed a quiet laugh and rubbed her arm gently. “So am I.”
Inko cuddled into him and pressed a kiss to his thin face. “I’m just grateful to have you in my life—and in Izuku’s too.”
Toshinori sighed, kissing her hair. “So am I,” he repeated softly.
The door clicked just as she was thinking about giving him a nice kiss. Instead, she untangled herself from his arms and stood to greet her son.
“Welcome home,” she said happily and Toshinori stood next to her.
“I’m back,” Izuku said with a bright smile—Inko felt warmed every time she saw that smile. It made her just want to pick him up and cuddle him close, though she doubted she could even lift him anymore, being the tall and strong man that he was now. Still, she missed when he was small.
Inko still came over and gave him a hug. “How’re you doing? Are you remembering to eat? Or sleep? You do look tired, honey.”
“I’m fine, I did, don’t worry,” he replied, pulling his shoes off. “I have a team now, so I’m not doing everything on my own anymore.”
“That’s something I never truly figured out,” Toshinori said regretfully. “Would’ve made a lot of things easier.”
Izuku nodded at that, and Inko watched the both of them sober a bit. Shared grief and trials—it made her long for both these wonderful men in her life to stay safe and sound in her little home and imagine nothing could harm them. Boy, did she have stressful relations…
“Well, I’m glad for that. You spend so much time working, you never even have time for your friends,” she sighed, hanging up his coat for him.
“I do, it’s just… during hero stuff.”
She gave him a flat look, which he looked sufficiently shamed at. “At least Ochako is working with you now. It worries me to think of you being all alone. I’m glad for her being there with you.”
Inko smiled slyly at the pink in her son’s cheeks at the mention of that sweet girl. She promised herself she wouldn’t push it—and she didn’t. But everytime she saw them together, they both practically glowed. Why neither of them had said anything up to this point escaped her, but it wasn’t her place to pry… still, she hoped one day she could call little Ochako her daughter.
“I’m glad, too,” Izuku said, oblivious to his mother’s not- scheming. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”
“Oh, of course,” Inko smiled, and with a glance she saw the same twinkle in her dear Toshi’s eye. “Anyway, you’re just in time, dear. Dinner’s all ready.”
Izuku loved coming home to his mother when he could. For some reason, it felt like nothing had changed in his life when he was there. One would think that would make him melancholy, but it didn’t. It was more fondness than anything else. A simpler time and a simpler space. Sometimes in his big, loud, amazing, terrifying life, a little simplicity went a long way.
He thought back to a few months ago, when that villain had stabbed Ochako—and he’d… It was still hard to think about. Ochako was feeling much better, and had started working with him as soon as her wound had healed sufficiently.
With everything that had happened, it was relieving to have her with him every day. Sometimes he felt that guilt seeing her and remembering, but he knew he couldn’t live his life holding onto it like that. So he worked at it. At the hospital, he’d been recommended counsel for heroes, and he’d decided to commit to it. It was tough at first, but it was helping a lot.
And of course, coming home helped too. His mother and All Might helped. So he was glad to get the invite for dinner and actually be available. It had been years since All Might and his mom had tentatively begun a relationship, and it had definitely caught him by surprise—which turned to pure, unfettered joy. Not just for them, but who else could say ‘All Might is dating my mom!’? As a fanboy, he had the bragging rights of the century. Not that he did any of that, but it was still mind blowing.
It made him most happy to see them together—two people whom he cared for so dearly growing close like that. It brought a smile to his face every time he even thought about it.
“-it really shouldn’t have been cleared, I’m not sure if any inspection had been properly done, but anyway, the building came down almost entirely,” he was saying, recounting a recent rescue he and Ochako had participated in. “There would’ve been a lot more wounded, but it was actually someone’s birthday, so some of the business’ branches had gone out together for lunch. Which was lucky for them.”
“You really can’t discount some good luck,” All Might chuckled. “Glad they were safe. And the others?”
“Uraraka was able to lift the large sections of rubble to clear a path for me to go in. At most, someone broke an arm during the collapse. Other than that, it was just a few scrapes and bruises.”
“Well, I’m just glad you didn’t have to fight any villains and whatnot,” Inko sighed deeply. “Honestly, I die everytime I see you fighting on TV. I really do.”
All Might patted her hand with a gentle smile. “He’s gotten a lot more careful and in control. There’s few out there that could really stand up to him now, isn’t that right?”
Izuku shrugged. “Maybe, but yeah, I’m trying to be careful, Mom. You don’t-“
“-have to worry? That’s not really something I can do, but I’ll try,” she sighed again and took a sip of tea.
Izuku chuckled softly. “Sorry.”
Inko waved her hand. “It is something I’m used to. But I am proud of you. Saving people and being the hero you’ve always wanted to be. I am proud of you, and excited for you! I just get scared too.”
He felt his heart warm at his mother’s words. “Thanks, Mom.”
She beamed at him, then took All Might’s hand, giving him a gentle smile before turning back to Izuku. “There’s another thing we wanted to talk to you about, dear.”
Izuku blinked as she continued to speak. Then he smiled, and then he cried. He already thought it was amazing that his mom was dating his hero—his mom marrying his hero was so much better!
“You’re getting married!” He exclaimed happily, hugging his mom tight as she laughed and cried right along with him.
“Yup, Toshinori asked me a couple days ago,” she said, wiping at her tears.
Izuku wiped at his own, looking up at the man with all the fondness and love he’d ever had for his mentor, teacher, guide—and now father! “All Might-!”
All Might gave him a solid hug, patting his back gently. “If you’ll have me,” he said softly.
“Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
The night continued with celebration and lots of laughter and warmth. Izuku felt again, as he did so many times in his life, just how blessed he was at every turn.