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Playing with Denki always make Izuku happy. They never played at Midnight's, not really. She didn't have the relief in her patrols that Daddy and Papa did. After all, they were Izuku's guardians, even if no one else knew what they really did together. So she was known to drop off Denki when she had things to do.
And the fun they had together! They would dump out Izuku's toy box and build fantastic cities. They would stage epic battles with all his hero toys. They would snuggle together on the floor and watch animated movies of All Might, or episodes of Pokemon.
Papa and Daddy were wonderful. They'd slice apples and do the little carving in them to make them look like bunny apples. They'd fill sippies with juice. They would give Denki the same snuggles that they gave to Izuku, and he was surprised to find that he
wasn't jealous. After all, he had two grown ups to give him all the love he could want, and Denki's Night-Night wasn't there.
It was one rainy Saturday afternoon when they woke up from their naps, feeling restless and hyper. This was something that could be expected from Denki. But it was kind of new for Izuku. The boys tussled on the floor of the apartment, giggling, running around and chasing each other.
“Okay, little listeners!” Papa finally said after he stopped them from toppling over the laptop he was submitting grades on for the third time.
“I think we need to find a quiet game to play.”
“Awww, Papa!” Zuzu pouted. “We're having fun.”
“I see that, and I hate to ruin the party.” he smiled. “But someone could get hurt, and I really don't want that to happen. So no more running, okay?” he kissed the both of them on top of the head. There was a rough voice calling for him from the bedroom.
Aizawa had needed to do some sorting of their clothes. Likely he'd finally sifted through and gotten all of Hizashi's clothes and now needed him to come and make the final choices. He gave the boys what he hoped was a serious look and headed back there. He knew it was going to take awhile, but Nemuri should be back sooner rather than later, and she'd play with the little ones.
“Let's have secret races!” Denki urged.
“Secret races?”
“Yeah. We run as quietly and as fast as we can.”
“But Papa said he didn't want us to run.” even when he was little, Izuku was mostly a rule follower. He remembered growing up how Kacchan would make fun of him for it, but he didn't think he cared. The grown part of him was worried that if he was too much trouble, Shouta and Hizashi wouldn't want to take care of him, and he could lose this precious thing he had. The little part of him simply loved the praise that was heaped on him for behaving.
“I know he said that...” Denki drawled. “But if he doesn't catch us, what does it matter?”
“Well,” Izuku wavered. Denki just gave him his bright grin and was running. True to his word, he was running on light toes, not even making a sound. It was really good hero training if you thought about it. So surely this was okay. They weren't wrestling or anything.
The boys maanaged to hold in their giggles as they raced around. It wasn't until Izuku bumped into a shelf that disaster struck. A little glass cat fell off the shelf, falling with a sick shattering sound. Both boys gasped, looking at the mess.
“Quick!” Denki said. “Get rid of the glass! Your Daddy will be mad, he likes kitties.”
That was very true. He loved kitties. Izuku carefully scooped up what he could and put it into the trash. The glittering bits fell under the other trash. He picked up the rest of the pieces and sighed. None the wiser, he thought. Denki gave him a thumbs up.
“Hello, boys!” a voice called as the door opened. Denki dashed towards his Night-Night, holding his arms up to be cuddled. She gave him a big cuddle and kiss, making him giggle. He seemed to have already forgotten about the glass thing broken.
“Are you having a good time? Are you being good?”
“Super good! Ask Zuzu's Papa.” Denki nodded frantically. Just then, the two men emerged from their bedroom.
“They've been a little wild, I think cabin fever is setting in. The weather, you know.” he admitted. “But what else can you expect with little boys?”
“Papa, we're big boys!” Zuzu protested. After all, he hadn't needed a pacifier today, and that 100 percent made him a big boy in his mind.
“Oh, right, of course.” he amended. “Sorry, I forgot, I just love you being my baby.” bent down to give Zuzu's cheeks a little nibble, making him giggle and step back.
He felt it then. He felt the little piece of glass sliding right into the bottle of his foot. He couldn't cry, though. He couldn't say anything. If he did, they'd know he broke the kitty, and then he'd get in trouble. They'd be so mad at him for breaking the rules and breaking stuff. They might not ever want him to come back again.
“Zuzu's are not for eating, they're for cuddling.” Shouta scolded, reaching down and settling him on his hip. At least that felt better than standing on his hurt foot. He relaxed into Daddy.
“Well, Denki, why don't we head home for some supper?”
“Okay, Night-Night,” Denki nodded. They had already picked up the toys they'd gotten out. Shouta and Hizashi bid good bye, and the two of them headed out. Shouta set the baby down, and he very carefully masked the wince from the glass in his foot.
“Dinner sounds great, what should we have?” Hizashi headed to the kitchen. Shouta looked at the tiny little shelf that they had near the kitchen. It was full of knick knacks, little things that they had collected over the years.
“Does something about that look different?”
“Huh?” Hizashi turned around. Izuku felt cold sweat drip down his back. “No, I don't think so.” he almost let out the loudest sigh of relief. But it was such a crowded little shelf, it would have been hard to prove that something was different.
“If you say so.” Shouta shrugged before the adults began to talk in earnest about dinner. Izuku crept towards his toy box, quietly beginning to build a house. The quieter and calmer he stayed, the less likely they were to ask him too many questions.
“Did you have a good time today playing with your buddy?” Hizashi asked once dinner was started. Izuku smiled and nodded.
“I'm so sorry I had to tell you two to settle down, I know it's hard when you're so little with so much energy. I just didn't want anyone to get hurt, that's all.” he played with those wild green curls for a moment. “You can forgive me, right?”
“Yes, Papa.” he said quietly. The man dropped to his knees next to him and began to tickle him. Zuzu squealed, flailing around from those fingers that were attacking him.
“Papa! Why!”
“Because you're so cute, I just had to do something about it. And Daddy says Zuzu's are for snuggles, not snacks.”
Izuku kept laughing until his foot landed wrong on the floor. The glass reminded him that it was there. He whimpered, trying hard to get himself to stop. He didn't want them to ask questions.
“Was all that running around with Denki too much?” Shouta appeared, scooping the baby up. “You know your body needs rest.” there it was. He had an out. It wasn't new for him to have aches and pains.
He rocked a little bit, letting Zuzu still.
“Want to sit on my lap for dinner?”
He very much did. He nodded and was rewarded when his Daddy sat down and began feeding him bite by bite. He chewed happily, Shouta feeding himself as the baby chewed. He carried him into the bathroom after that to draw his bath. Zuzu was thrilled when bubbles were poured in, and the bath crayons produced.
He splashed about, doodling on the walls, being calm when his hair was washed with the special curl products that made his hair feel so soft and lovely. Much better than being a dried out mess. He was carried to the bedroom and a pair of pjs were slipped onto him.
“Are you a big boy, or my baby?” Hizashi asked gently, already on the bed himself.
“Big?” Zuzu didn't sound so sure of himself at that moment.
“Okay, well, we can have some good night cuddles before you go off to your bed then.” even though Izuku really wanted to stay with them and be cuddled and even listen to the lullaby play list, he knew that wasn't a good idea. He nodded and laid down to have snuggles.
Hizashi played with his hair while Shouta rubbed his back. When he was ready for sleep, he was hugged and kissed and went to his own room. He switched on the bedside light quickly and examined his foot. He managed to fish out the glass, squeeze his foot and hope the blood would rinse out anything gross.
Finally, Izuku collapsed onto the bed.
***
When he woke in the morning, he was not big. He pulled on his bunny shirt, aware of the ache in his foot. He glanced down and whimpered when he realized that his foot had begun to swell. He sat on the edge of his bed and waited.
“Good morning, baby!” Papa stepped in. “What's the matter?”
“M-my f-f-foot hurts.” he stammered.
“Oh, are you sore?” he cooed. “Poor baby, let Papa....” he trailed off, glancing at the swelling. “Oh! You woke up that way?”
“Mmhmm,” that wasn't a lie, it hadn't been swollen when he went to bed last night. Papa picked him up and took him straight to their bedroom, when Shouta was sitting up with a mug of coffee. He frowned and set it aside when he saw the watery look in Izuku's eye and the concern on Hizashi's.
“What's up?”
“Look at the baby's foot.”
The baby was set down, and the foot was taken into Shouta's hands. He looked at the bottom, and found the spot where the glass had been. He hissed slightly.
“Looks like there was something in there. It must have worked its way out.”
“N—no, Daddy.” guilt was chewing at Zuzu, and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep up the lie. Not with the way that they were looking so worried. It was his own stupid fault anyway.
“No there wasn't something there?”
“No, it didn't work its way out.” he looked down at the bedspread. “I pulled it out.”
“Why didn't you ask for help? Sweetheart! That should be done by a grown up. Didn't it hurt?” Papa was fussing over him.
“There's glass somewhere? Where? We have to clean that up before it ends up in someone else's feet.” Daddy looked concerned.
“I cleaned the rest of it up.” he swallowed hard.
“Zuzu, there's something you're not telling us.” Papa looked confused. “I'd really like to hear it. We can only help you if we know everything.”
“When Denki was over yesterday,” he looked at his hands in his lap. “You said to stop running around, but we didn't. We had silent races, and I bumped into the shelf by the kitchen, and I knocked over Daddy's little glass cat.” tears were coming down now.
“And I'm sorry!”
“Where's the rest of the glass?” Daddy asked.
“I picked it up and threw it away.”
“With your hands?” Papa looked aghast. “That is one dangerous tune, kiddo. You or Denki could have been hurt.”
“I know,”
“Why didn't you tell us?” Daddy asked, still holding his foot.
“Because I didn't want you to be mad at me. I didn't mean to break the kitty, and you really like kitties. And I didn't want you to think that I was bad and so you wouldn't want to take care of me anymore.”
“Zuzu,” Daddy was pulling him in close to his chest. His little fingers went to his hair again. “It was an accident. I don't even remember where I got that cat. And even if I really liked it, I care more about you being safe.”
“Am I still a good boy?” he asked in a tiny voice.
“Of course,” he hummed. “Hizashi, go and get a warm compress and the antibiotic cream. We'll treat his foot here.”
“You mad?” Zuzu fiddled with his hands. Daddy took both his hands and gave them a big squeeze, helping him settle.
“I'm worried. I want you to always feel like you can come to us about anything. I can't promise we'll never ever be mad at you about anything. I can promise you that we'll always want to help you, and the best way to do that is to tell us when something is wrong. We don't expect you to be perfect.” he kissed the side of his head.
“And we love you just how you are, and we always will.”
Izuku closed his eyes as Hizashi returned with the warm cloth and pressed it to his foot. He relaxed for the first time in what felt like ages. Daddy and Papa were here, and they could take care of it.