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The first time it happened, Izuku didn’t realize it would become a thing. He figured it would be one of those one-off accidents that they would brush off and pretend never happened. Hell, he could barely remember the first time clearly. That was probably the pain medication.
Midoriya wasn’t often alone with Endeavour. They usually had a buffer of Shouto and Katsuki. The only notable time it had just been the two of them had been at the Sports Festival. This time, he was in the infirmary of the pro’s agency with a significant amount of bandages wrapped around his arms. The agency’s doctor was hired solely because of her ability to heal burns which he had in bulk. Usually, Shouto was more careful with his flames but he and Kacchan were a bad mix and Izuku had gotten caught between them.
Endeavour sat on the tiny stool next to his cot, looking at him with an unreadable expression. “Why did you step into the line of fire?” He questioned with a gruff voice, his ever-present flames extinguished.
“Oh, you know me; no regard for my safety when other people are on the line!” Izuku giggled, waving his bandaged arms up in the air. He could hardly feel them. Whatever that nurse had given him was amazing~. He wished he got it whenever he turned his bones to dust. That would’ve been nice.
“Neither Shouto nor Bakugo were in any immediate danger. You did not need to step in.” The hero reprimanded.
“Oops, haha~” The teen knew deep down he should take the situation seriously, but his head was floaty and Endeavour-san looked silly on the little chair. He was just so big and the chair was so small, just like him. If Endeavour sat on him he’d be crushed to death. He giggled. All for One and Shigaraki move over, there’s a bigger threat to the ninth holder of One For All - he little!
“You should take your health more serious.” Izuku just laughed softly as if he didn’t hear a word his boss said. Endeavour felt his eye twitch as the small teen stared glassy-eyed at him. “Are you even listening to me? Touya!”
The name fell past the hero’s lips without permission. Blue eyes grew wide as the teen went still. All Enji could see was white and blue where there was green and black. Big eyes and round cheeks stayed the same and Izuku’s image overlapped with another. A different small teenager covered in bandages laughing off his injuries in pursuit of his dreams.
Without another word, the number one hero stood and left the infirmary. Izuku stared at where the man had been and blinked incredibly slow.
“Who the hell is Touya?”
xXx
The first time had been a fluke, obviously. Enji had just been high-strung because his intern had been given third-degree burns by two of his friends. It was a one-off occurrence and would not happen again. He had never once mixed up anyone’s names. Not his kids nor sidekicks nor coworkers. He prided himself on his ability to recall the proper name and use it without difficulty. Clearly, he’d just been having an off day and that was all.
Putting the situation behind him, Endeavour entered the training room where his three interns warmed up. Bakugou aggressively pushed himself into every stretch, sparks dancing off his skin every time he looked at the other two. The explosive teen was nowhere near as flexible as his teammates and apparently didn’t like that. Shouto bent himself in concerning directions, looking a lot like a cat until a loud crack was heard. He seemed pleased by it and straightened up. Midoriya’s chest rested on the floor with his legs behind him spread out into a split as he mumbled and scribbled in a notebook. He didn’t look the slightest bit uncomfortable.
“I hope you are all warmed-up because it’s time to get started.” The flame hero announced, startling the shortest of the three from his thoughts. The other two simply stood up, acknowledging his presence but already having known he was there. Midoriya quickly shoved his notebook and pen . . . somewhere . Enji’s not sure where, they just weren't there anymore.
Out of all of the teens, Deku was the easiest to train. He took his every word to heart and learned at an incredible speed. He didn’t fight his teachings like Shouto nor shout at him at every turn like Bakugou. He’d thought the boy would be a nightmare to work with after seeing his display at the Sports Festival, he was anything but. The only complaint Enji had was that the boy would push himself harder than necessary, even through injuries. He was once again struck with familiarity as he watched Deku hop up onto a definitely sprained ankle and keep fighting.
“Midoriya, take five. You need to see the nurse.” Shouto stalled at his father’s words yet the other two gremlins just kept going.
“Midoriya, Bakugou, stop sparring for a moment.” A large blast drowned out his voice, or they just ignored him. The blonde kept gunning for the shorter boy, keeping him on the defensive.
“Oh, Kacchan, wait. I think Endeavour called for a ceasefire.” Midoriya told his childhood friend, halting in his movements. A little too last second for Bakugou, everyone in the room noticed, as the teen took an explosion to the shoulder. He was quite used to being on the receiving end of them and remained unbothered. The Todorokis were not.
“Damnit, when I say stop, you both stop.” Enji reprimanded as Shouto rushed to his friend’s side and looked the injury over. He couldn’t see much past the singed, smoking fabric. “Are you okay, Touya?”
All four froze. Mismatched eyes scrunched up in confusion. “Dad, why did you just call Midoriya ‘Touya’?”
“Take him to the infirmary and have that ankle and burn checked out.” Endeavour redirected, ignoring his son’s question and exiting the training room.
“Seriously, who is Touya?”
xXx
The first time was a fluke and the second time was an accident. Obviously, it wouldn't happen again. Enji never mixed up his kids' names or called someone by the wrong one. He wasn't about to pick up the habit now, calling his intern by his dead son's name. He became very aware of every interaction with the boy, making sure to annunciate very clearly 'Midoriya' or 'Deku'. That's who he was, nobody else.
He kept it up for two weeks without any issues. How he managed to make the mistake twice was beyond him, but it would not be happening again. He made sure to look the kid in the eyes; green, so very green without a hint of blue. Or stare at the freckles on those round cheeks and his messy hair, which was black and green not white with hints of red. The more he looked, though, the more he saw his firstborn. Just change the colours and they'd be identical. He tried to focus on the green. Touya wasn't green.
Both Touya and Izuku's eyes were so damn big and bright, looking up at him scrunched in frustration when he made them take a break rather than keep pushing themselves. Their hair wild and messy, the fluffiest thing to exist on someone's head. He used to pat Touya's nest of fluff whenever he came home from work and the toddler would bounce around his legs for attention. Both boys were so small with incredibly powerful quirks that caused them injury. Round faces and optimistic, toothy grins. Fair skin marred with scars from their own quirk. Determined and ambitious, willing to destroy themselves for their goals. Enji's heart ached with how similar the two were, but Izuku was not Touya. He needed to remember that. It proved rather difficult.
With all the reminiscing Enji was doing, he really shouldn’t have been surprised that it happened a third time. It was a moment of high stress in the middle of patrol. While Izuku was a good student most of the time, there were instants when he would ignore protocol and run off on his own. This usually happened when someone was in danger. Endeavour was usually proficient in keeping ahead of the boy thanks to years of experience but, he couldn’t always.
This time, the pro had ordered Deku to stay back and assess the situation. Instead of listening, the teen runs headfirst into trouble resulting in a building nearly collapsing on him. The number one followed quickly behind once he realized what his intern had done. He saved three civilians and received a nasty gash to the head along with a few superficial injuries. He was barely conscious when Endeavour got to him.
“You never listen to me, Touya.” Enji murmured under his breath as he lifted the too-small, too-reckless teenager up. Green eyes with mismatched pupils stared up at him as a stupefied toothy grin formed.
“Not ‘polgizing!” Deku exclaimed, giving a little wiggle in the pro’s arms.
“I figured you wouldn’t. Now try to actually listen to me this time and don’t fall asleep.”
“Yessir~”
xXx
Thankfully, Izuku had been too out of it to notice what Enji had called him. His injuries weren't anything major but he was on paperwork duty for two weeks, both to heal up and as a punishment for disobeying his boss. During his rest time, Fuyumi suggested a little get-together so she and Natsuo could meet Shouto's friends. The flame hero didn't want to tell her no when she looked so excited so he invited his two interns over.
Bakugou, unsurprisingly, did not accept the offer and refused to be acknowledged as Shouto's friend. Midoriya on the other hand was enthusiastic in his acceptance as if he'd never been invited over for dinner before. Sometimes, that child was a walking red flag which was saying something when remembering his own family.
The evening actually started out pretty well. Both Fuyumi and Natsuo were instantly smitten with the little green ball of sunshine that was his intern. His daughter gave a little house tour, avoiding the training rooms and where Touya's shrine rested. He left to pray at it and not bother Natsuo with his presence for a bit.
Dinner was delicious, as it always was. Fuyumi was an exceptional cook, something she had gotten from both parents. Not many knew that Enji himself was more than just passing in the kitchen. Maybe that was his downfall. Everything had been going to well and the cosmic balance demanded a screw-up to even the scales. He had just wanted a dish that was too out of reach to grab without being rude.
“Could you pass me that, Touya?” He'd gestured to what he wanted and Midoriya absentmindedly reached for it, recognizing the question but not the address. Enji hadn't even noticed what he'd said until the table erupted in noise.
Natuso, the most vocal and angry of the people present, immediately jumped on him for his accidental misnaming. Quickly realizing his mistake, he did the appropriate, hero-like thing and left the room. No, he wasn't running away. It was a strategic retreat to gather himself.
Green eyes stared at the spot his boss just vacated with a scrunched nose and the dish he had wanted in his hands. "Um, who is Touya? He's called me that a couple of times now."
"Touya is - was- our oldest brother." Fuyumi explained softly as Natsuo stared at the teen with an unreadable expression. "He had an accident when we were young. You see, his quirk hurt him immensely but that didn't stop him from using it. One day, it got out of control and burned him and the forest around him."
"Oh gods, I'm so sorry. That's horrible."
"It was. Dad was heartbroken after. I'm not sure why he called you by his name, though. He never mentions Touya."
"I think I see it." Natsuo admitted, stabbing at his food with a single chopstick. "They kinda look alike."
Shouto stared at his friend in consideration before standing up and leaving the room. He returned a minute later with a framed photo which he held up in front of him and looked between it and Izuku with a straight face.
"Natsu's right." He declared with a nod, handing the picture to his sister and going back to his dinner as if nothing happened.
Izuku leaned over to look at the image in Fuyumi's grasp. Both studied it hard. He could acknowledge there were quite a few similarities outside of colouration. If he handed them a picture from his first year in middle school when his hair had started going white, probably from stress, there would be even more. They even made the exact same facial expression in their school photos. Izuku would be a little more banged up in his, he's pretty sure he rocked a split lip and black eye that particular year. If you erased his freckles and looked at the photos in black and white, they would be very difficult to tell apart.
He looked very similar to Endeavour's dead son. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
xXx
As per usual with Midoriya Izuku, it wasn’t long before his internship ended up fighting the League of Villains. He’s honestly surprised it took so long given his track record with them. Funny enough, the league seemed to just be out running errands when they bumped into Enji, Shouto, and Izuku. Kacchan was on the other side of the city with Burnin whom he got along with like fire and gasoline, it was a little terrifying.
Without Kurogiri to teleport them away, the league fell into fighting positions, prepared to defend themselves until the doctor realized they were held up and used his nomu to bring them back to their base. It wasn’t the entirety of their group, just Shigaraki, Dabi, and Toga. Heavy hitters and incredibly powerful, but at least it wasn’t all of them.
Deku and Endeavour fought together like a well-oiled machine with Shouto filling in the gaps. They really did make a good team, like they’d been working together for years rather than months. The three heroes fought against the villains, unable to call for backup just yet but not sure they needed it. The League was sure to be gone by the time anyone else arrived anyway. Toga tried sneaking her way up to the green-haired hero student, her knife ready to stab.
“Touya, on your left!” Endeavour shouted across the makeshift battlefield. As far as everyone knew, nobody in the fight went by the name name ‘Touya’ yet Deku responded to the call seamlessly. He hadn’t even realized he associated the name with himself. For some reason, Dabi had also responded to the call without thinking, accidentally hitting Shigaraki in the face.
xXx
“I’ve got my paperwork all finished.” Izuku announced to his boss after the man asked about it. He handed it over and watched as the hero thumbed through the meticulously written notes. If all his sidekicks completed their work like Midoriya, Endeavour’s life would be much easier.
Without thinking, Enji placed his hand on top of the boy’s mess of curls and patted twice. They were deceptively soft, like a cloud, and oh so small underneath his grasp. “Good work, Deku.” The kid beamed up at him like a miniature sun and bounced in place.
“Thanks, dad!” Izuku chirped before running off, not noticing what he said nor his boss freezing at the words.
“Dad?”