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Ever since he was “diagnosed” quirkless and his mom stopped loving him, Izuku dreamed about it.
How it would happen.
What kind of person they would be.
What their house would look like.
If they would already have children and if his siblings would like him.
How soon it was going to happen.
Praying it would happen at all.
By the time he turned 15 though, he’d stopped daydreaming.
Even if he met parental soulmates at this point, how long were they going to take care of him ?
Three years ?
He needed to be saved 10 years ago, he could take care of himself now.
Even if he did meet a parental soulmate now it wouldn’t mean anything at all.
There would always be the possibility that they wouldn’t have bonded if he didn’t have a quirk still.
It was too easy, loving him now that he had the number one hero’s quirk.
Sure it destroyed his body, but it was a quirk, and it was powerful, heroic and he was a student at UA now.
He would have ended the practical entrance exam with zero point if it weren’t for the quirk.
He really was a useless, quirkless Deku who had no hope of becoming a hero the way he was.
So when he grabbed Aizawa-sensei’s limp body at the USJ to carry him back to the entrance, he almost dropped him right back down.
He managed not to though, and he was pretty sure neither Asui nor Mineta noticed anything.
But he could, he felt the warmth radiating from a newly discovered soulbond on his forearm.
His arms were no longer trembling solely from the fear, but also from the shock.
He’d given up.
He’d just given up.
Why did the universe give him what he wanted most once he stopped wishing for it ?
Besides, he’d just watched Aizawa-sensei be pummeled into the ground by a monster without doing anything.
What a son he would make uh.
He was already a problem child, if he found out Izuku was also his problem son he definitely wouldn’t be happy.
Izuku didn’t want to be rejected by his soul dad after having already been rejected by his biological ones.
Good thing Aizawa was unconscious right now, so he wouldn’t have felt that, and he wouldn’t know who it was from.
Now hopefully his part of the mark wouldn’t be too obviously identifiable as him.
He could check.
As soon as his dad, dad, dad teacher wasn’t bleeding out and dying on his back.
How ironic would it be, if his soul dad died minutes after meeting him.
If that happened he could as well be considered cursed for real.
No family of his wanted him and the one who maybe would, dying upon meeting him ?
Yeah, no way but this much bad luck could befall a single person without fate targeting him itself.
When he notices All Might struggling against the Noumu though, he remembers the exchange between Thirteen and Eraserhead earlier.
All Might is out of time.
He’s struggling right now and nobody but him knows.
It makes him want to puke, cry, hurt himself when he passes Aizawa to Asui and runs back into the fray.
He let his soul dad be beat into the ground without doing anything, and now that he was doing *something*, he was abandoning him to help All Might instead.
The man he’d wished was a parental soulmate of his but was crushed when he found out he wasn’t.
A casual brush of their arms walking back from training side by side but nothing happened.
No warmth, no euphoria, no feeling of a dislodged limb snapping back into place.
Nothing but disappointment.
All Might didn’t mention his teary eyes and wobbly smile, nor did he say anything if he realized what they were for.
He just went back to his neglectful at best, abusive at worst, biological mother who hadn’t fed him in years and looked at him in months.
He wondered if she even lived with him anymore.
It probably wouldn’t change anything if she didn’t.
Regardless, All Might wasn’t his dad, but he was abandoning the one who was and risked his life to save them.
He was just like his biological parents.
Disgusting.
Aizawa-sensei deserved better.
He was better off not knowing.
That was fine.
He didn’t need to know.
It was a blessing he was unconscious, he wouldn’t have to feel the disappointment of having someone like Izuku as his fated son.
It was good.
It was.
So why was he still shaking ?
And why did his heart feel like breaking ?
He’d given up months ago.
He wouldn’t have parents.
He’d stop hoping for something that would never come.
He’d finally accepted he was on his own, and that fate had decided he needed neither biological parents or fated ones.
He wasn’t deserving of either.
It was fine.
He’d use his life to save people more deserving of living than himself, without leaving any family behind to mourn him.
-
The three-day-weekend after the USJ was nerve-wracking for Izuku.
He spent most of it staring at the green bunny on his skin, with a droopy ear, glowing red-eyes and bandages around his arms.
Well, more like parts of a capture scarf wrapped around them.
It was much more recognizable as Izuku than he wished it had been, the bunny and green scheme of his hero costume as well as the arms he just kept on breaking every time he used his quirk.
But the mark didn’t fade to black, didn’t fade at all, and so he knew without being told that his father teacher had survived.
That didn’t mean he expected him to walk in on Monday morning wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
At least it was unlikely he knew about the mark on his forearm, wrapped up as he was.
And his arms were in cast too, so it’s not like those bandages would be changed anytime soon.
He was safe for as long as it took his teacher to recover.
Not that he didn’t wish him a speedy recovery but well…
You need to see the upsides right ?
Anyway this also meant the bandages around the arms may not even represent him, but Aizawa !
The green bunny was still similar to him but he could deny it as long as they had no proof, and he was not planning on ever switching to his summer uniform.
He’d also switch to a long-sleeved-sport uniform as well.
Shit, this was going to be so obvious.
At least Aizawa didn’t die.
He could have never forgiven himself otherwise.
The man was acting as he usually did (worrying in and of itself ?!?!?!), so Izuku did too.
Act casual, act casual.
You didn’t just receive a soulmark, no you didn’t.
You’re just a traumatized kid after a villain attack, yes, you are.
That’s all you are.
-
Shouta was dead tired.
The only reason he’d agreed to commentate on all three years’ sport festival was because A. he hated feeling useless while all of his colleagues were patrolling the stands or looking after the kids on the field, and B. because he was weak for his husband’s puppy-dog eyes.
Sue him, he was stupidly in love and he couldn’t help it.
At least the high-light of the three-day event was being able to finally, finally take off all of his casts and bandages.
He would also not be able to return to patrol right away.
He swore not to overdo it and once again, he’d have to go through with that promise when Hizashi looked at him like he had.
Damn the man and the power he knew he had, and made full use of.
Losing the bandages around his chest and head felt like he could finally breathe again, but he was most looking forward to getting the use of his arms back.
He knew Hizashi didn’t mind having to bathe him, feed him, wipe him off after going to the toilet, but he’d never felt so much like a child and he wanted his full-body-autonomy once again.
Having their partner wipe their butt for them might be a kink for some people, but it definitely wasn’t one for them.
He watched as the doctor sawed the casts of his arms off then unwrapped the bandages.
The smell was terrible after a month of being trapped without being able to clean the flesh, but he couldn’t even focus on that.
Not when he could see a mark on his inner forearm slightly below where Hizashi’s rested on his pulse point.
Below his husband’s yellow-haired golden retriever holding a grumpy black cat by its scruff, there was a cute little green bunny with one drooping ear, Erasure activated and bandages around his arms.
A soulmark.
A parental soulmark.
It being below Hizashi’s meant it was their soulchild.
Although it would have been theirs even if Hizashi and the kid didn’t share a mark, which they would as soon as they touched.
He raised his eyes to look at his husband, sporting the same expression of absolute shock they were both feeling.
It was hard to take Shouta by surprise, but this, this had his heart racing and his eyes widening.
They’d figured out long ago they’d definitely have soul children, they were heroes and bleeding hearts, there was no way they wouldn’t be taking in children they saved.
However, they’d never felt the tug, and so they waited patiently for their little ones to show themselves.
Hizashi was now pulling up his sleeve to check his own skin but they both knew getting a soulmark without even knowing about it almost never happened,.
And as they thought, Hizashi’s inner forearm was free of any mark other than their own.
Both of their brains were racing with thoughts as they came to the same conclusions.
In only two cases could someone get a soulmark and not realize it : if they’re asleep or unconscious.
Shouta didn’t have this soulmark before the USJ.
For the last month he’d spent every night at home, alone or with his husband.
He hadn’t been on patrol or fought so he couldn’t have gotten it this way either.
Which only left the USJ.
But even then he’d only lost consciousness at the very end, and most of his students were too far from him to touch him.
There were no children amongst the villains so they were out of the running, same went for the paramedics.
The only people who’d touched him between losing consciousness and being handed over to Hizashi were three… Mineta, Asui and Midoriya.
Green.
Bunny.
Bandages.
Arms.
Both husbands lifted their heads and looked into one another’s eyes at the same time.
“Midoriya.” the name was said in chorus and with certainty.
After that realization, Shouta took a deep breath that reminded him his arm was in desperate need of a wash.
The doctor had simply been observing them the entire time and seemed to have caught on to what was happening.
He let Shouta clean himself up before sending them away with a single soft “Congratulations” that had them both blushing.
Yeah.
They were parents now.
Not that it was that easy though.
Although Shouta had been unconscious, Midoriya hadn’t been, so he knew his teacher was his soul dad.
Had known for the past month.
And he hadn’t said anything.
Well, they would see him the next day, but they didn’t want to just corner him at school either.
It would help if they could understand why the kid had hidden this information.
Shouta knew from his student’s file that he was living with his mother, not in foster care.
Parental soulmarks only existed when the biological parents were deemed unfit to care for their child, most of the time because they were abusive.
Thus, fate gave the child the parents they would have deserved to be born to.
That didn’t mean the child understood that though, often they were still seeking their biological parents’ love, and found excuses for the way they were treated.
They protected the people who were hurting them because they thought they could change, and because they thought they deserved it.
Midoriya was a smart kid.
He should know such a thing wasn’t true.
But it wasn’t a matter of intelligence, when you grew up being told the sky was green, just because someone suddenly told you it was actually blue, didn’t mean that you could believe them that easily.
If they grew up being told they were evil, bad or unlovable, that they deserved to be hurt…it wasn’t that easy for them to accept it was a lie.
That the way they grew up wasn’t right.
Especially in Midoriya’s case when he only found one of his fated parent at 15.
It was late.
Thankfully there was a way to gauge the kid’s feelings on this more or less discreetly.
Soulmarks did more than just point two fated people to one another.
They provided a connection between them, so they could share their love, pain and comfort through the bond.
Shouta hadn’t felt a single thing from Midoriya’s bond, but it simply meant he hadn’t wanted to make contact.
But now Shouta knew he could.
So with Hizashi sitting at their dinner table across from him, Shouta’s bare arm laying between them, hands gripping one another, he took a deep breath and sent out a feeling of puzzlement.
You couldn’t pass words through a bond, but feelings were somehow just as clear, and what Shouta just sent was as close to a question-mark as one could get.
For long seconds, there was only confusion.
Then realization.
Relief.
And fear bordering on terror before the connection was immediately cut off, like a concrete wall slamming between the two.
It wasn’t painful but it still took him by surprise so he hissed in discomfort when he felt the barrier separating him from the boy.
He narrated to his husband the answering feelings he had sensed, and his eyebrows gradually pinched in worry.
“Hizashi…I think the kid was about to have a panic attack…”
He hated it.
Hated being so far and not being able to go to his child and hold him and tell him everything would be okay, that they would take care of him.
His husband, though, like usual, could read him like a book, and squeezed his hand reassuringly with an apologetic smile.
“We can’t Sho” it was a whisper but it felt like it echoed between the walls of their dining room.
“We can’t use personal information we know from our students’ file to barge into their home without proof of abuse.”
Shouta knew.
He knew that.
But they were his soul parents.
The law recognized soul parents as a child’s legal guardian the moment the bond could be verified.
The bond’s sole existence was proof enough that the previous guardians were unfit.
He told his husband as much but he knew the answer he would receive before it even came out of his mouth.
Hizashi was shaking his head from side to side with a painful look in his eyes, this hurt him just as much as it hurt Shouta.
“We can’t Sho,” he squeezed their hands together once more, “the little listener has known about this for a month. We can’t force this on him, even if we know it’s for the best. We need to talk to him. And figure out why he didn’t say anything before doing anything.”
“But soon” Shouta insisted, unwilling to let their child suffer any longer than they had to.
“Soon” Hizashi agreed softly.
-
The Monday after the Sport Festival was nerve-wracking for Izuku.
On Saturday evening he’d felt a wave of confusion overcome him he could tell was not his own.
He hadn’t received any emotion from his sole mark (Kacchan’s) since he was 6-year-old, so he kind of forgot how it felt.
It took him a few moments to realize the feeling originated from Aizawa-sensei’s soulmark.
He didn’t feel relieved that his teacher was finally fine for more than a few seconds before his brain caught up and realized he now knew he had a soulchild.
He may have no way to know it was Izuku, but he was still a pro-hero, he would figure it out eventually.
Part of him hoped he did, and maybe he could even be happy about it and take him in ?
He’d tried stopping himself from feeling hopeful but he couldn’t quite extinguish that last silver of childish wish of wanting somebody to love him.
However in this case, it was most likely that, if he figured it out at all, he’d just be disgusted by which child fate had sent his way, and he’d either reject Izuku outright, or act like he didn’t know it was him.
He couldn’t tell which would be kinder.
He didn’t want to be rejected but he also didn’t want to spend the next three years with the fear of his teacher finding out his identity.
He was screwed.
No matter how hard he tried, his nerves showed when he made it to school.
He couldn’t suppress the trembling of his body, and instead of abating, it increased when Aizawa made his way into the classroom.
Thankfully Kayama-sensei quickly took over so they could choose their hero name, and the man slipped into his sleeping bag to nap.
The shivering now only covered his fingers as he thought about what hero name he could give himself.
When he’d been small he wanted to be Small Might, or All Might Junior, or Mighty Boy.
He had to forcefully bring his mind back when it started straying towards thoughts of naming himself Eraserkid, or Powerhead.
Not only did it sound terrible, he was trying to do the opposite of making a connection between Eraserhead and him.
Even if he kind of wanted to.
In the end, settling on Deku left him quite happy.
Not the useless, worthless Deku.
The hero who can do it : Deku.
That word would never be used as an insult again.
Aizawa-sensei left without a glance, which had Izuku relaxing completely.
He was safe.
When at the end of the day after homeroom, the man called for him to stay, he realized that he had not, in fact, been safe.
-
If Shouta wasn’t sure who his soul child was, he would immediately know it to be Midoriya from how hard the kid was trembling, all while conspicuously avoiding his gaze.
Yeah, the kid couldn’t lie for shit.
He’d been noticeably more relaxed during the afternoon homeroom, which he really shouldn’t have because that was the ideal time for him to strike.
If by strike you meant have a talk with the kid about how long they’ve been waiting for a soul kid and that he deserves better than what he’s currently getting and if he could please let them take him home it would be awesome, thank you.
Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t say it this desperately, but Midoriya did need to understand how serious they were about this.
So at the end of the day, he ended up with the boy reluctantly trailing after him until they were in his office.
They both sat in silence on opposite couches.
Shouta figured he should probably say something cause the kid looked a little stressed, but also he was waiting for Hizashi, he wasn’t really good at this.
The moment it seemed Midoriya couldn’t hold it anymore and was opening his mouth, Present Mic barged in through the door with a yell.
And snacks.
His husband had brought him a canned coffee with a jelly pouch (god did he love this man), strawberry milk and dorayaki for the child (he’d refused to let him buy the kid’s usual energy drink, he would not be encouraging that habit) and tea with a chocolate bar for himself.
Finally he laid himself across Shouta with his back propped by the armrest and his feet on his lap.
He allowed it.
The awkward silence resumed until Hizashi caught on to Midoriya’s discomfort.
“Don’t worry listener, you’re not in trouble or anything, we just wanted to check in with you and make sure you’re okay!” he was waving one of his hands through the air like the hyperactive man he was, while he held his snack in his other hand.
Midoriya didn’t even relax and just further tensed his shoulders bringing them to his ears.
The kid he’d known to be meek and gullible had a fire in his eyes he’d only seen on the day of the quirk apprehension test, after throwing the baseball, and during the Sport Festival when he broke finger after finger against Todoroki.
This was not the kind of situation you wanted your child to be sporting such a look.
They were not his enemies, he didn’t need to be afraid, or defiant.
He put on a bright but still shaky smile on his face.
“Thank you for your worry, senseis, but I’m alright, there’s nothing wrong. Just a little tired from the Sport Festival is all” he was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and yeah, the kid really was a shit liar.
“Children with soul parents aren’t usually fine until they’re under the care of said parents though” he countered.
That earned him a flick on the forehead from his husband while the kid choked on a breath but honestly he couldn’t just stay there and spend hours talking around the subject, he had enough of those conversations with Nedzu already.
“That’s..! I mean, I don’t..I’m not…I don’t know what you’re…” the boy was sputtering, unable to find words to defend himself or deny understanding of the topic from how shocked he was.
Shouta couldn’t help himself but to send a wave of warmth and comfort through the bond.
It had the kid’s shoulder visibly untense while he sighed in relief before he realized he’d basically given himself away with that.
Shouta did not react since he’d already known from the start, and his lack of reaction had the kid dropping his shoulders and surrendering with a sigh.
Hizashi took over there, after he sat himself up more properly now that his husband had killed the casual mood he had going for a more serious discussion.
“What Shouta here means...” the last word was punctuated by an elbow to the rib that had Shouta clutching his stomach.
He cut off his husband “You ask me to take it easy then hit me in the ribs, I guess I can resume patrolling tonight then.”
But the glare the man turned to him behind his orange-tinted glasses had him accepting defeat.
He would not be resuming his patrols tonight.
Hizashi resumed like he had not been interrupted at all.
“What he meant was, we know you’re our soul child kiddo.” Hizashi rested one of his elbow on his knee while his other arm reached towards Midoriya, stopping within reach of the kid.
He could decide to make contact, or not to, but it was his choice.
“And we know that means your current living situation isn’t the best. We don’t want you to have to stay in such a place any longer when we’re willing, and wanting, to take you in. We always knew we’d end up having soul children, that’s just who we are, and we’d be honored if you would let us become your dads.”
Tears were brimming in Midoriya’s eyes as he watched his homeroom teacher for a sign of disagreement or a lie, but he found nothing but wishful longing.
He looked at his english teacher’s hand instead, and raised his own, slowly bringing it just short of touching.
After a few deep breaths and some tears leaving his eyes, he finally made contact.
Shouta couldn’t feel anything, but he could see his husband’s widening smile and the kid’s drooping relief.
He allowed himself a small smile as well.
That was it.
They had a kid.
They could take him home.
Give him a real family.