Chapter Text
Izuku giggled as he and Katsuki hopped up the mountainside.
"Don't go too far," his dad called out to him with a soft smile.
"We won't," Izuku shouted back as he grabbed Katsuki's hand and ran up the path.
Hisashi promised Inko and Mitsuki a night together just to relax, so he and Masura took the little ones to the observatory. It was the perfect time to see the Lyrid meteor shower. The Lyrid meteor shower had been the first one Hisashi had ever seen, three days after his birthday with the first telescope he had been given, peering out of his window as his father told him to sleep. He couldn't wait to show it to Izuku.
The four-year-old greenette bounced on the balls of his feet as he spotted the place his dad worked. Izuku had often visited during the day as his father ploughed through the results, but Izuku had always wanted to visit at night. "Come on, daddy! We're here!"
Hisashi leapt up the final distance as he pulled out the keys. Hisashi's boss was a kind woman, and when Hisashi told her about the night out, she was more than willing to give him the keys to inspire the next generation. The observatory had been changed slightly for tonight. A massive mattress had been laid out under the telescope, pillows and blankets piled up to make the stay comfortable.
Izuku and Katsuki ran about excitedly before they chucked their matching All Might backpacks off and jumped on the mattress. Masura and Hisashi laughed at their sons' behaviour while waiting for them to calm down.
"Uncle Hisashi? How can we see the stars from here? There aren't any windows on the roof," Katsuki pointed out as Hisashi smirked.
"Do you want to help me?"
Both boys cheered as Hisashi brought them over to a crank. He let the boys grab hold as he helped them open up the roof. They gasped and awed at the sight, and once the ceiling was fully open, they charged back over to the mattress. Izuku dug through his bag and brought out his notebook and a pencil. Katsuki brought out an instant print camera as he sat back and took a picture of the telescope.
Hisashi sat down behind the boys as Masura brought out the snacks and drinks they had brought with them.
"Boys, look, it's starting," Hisashi pointed up as the flashes of blue stretched across the sky. Both boys were in complete awe as they watched. Masura and Hisashi shared a knowing look as they picked up their sons and put them down between them. "Tell me, boys, did you know that Lyrids tend to have outbursts? There were cases of nearly 100 meteors an hour being observed."
Izuku squealed at the information as he opened his book and started to copy down notes. Izuku drew small pictures of the meteors as Katsuki took some pictures and let Izuku sellotape them to the page- almost looking like a scrapbook.
"What else do you know, daddy?" Izuku looked at his father expectantly, making Hisashi chuckle.
"Well, these meteors have been observed for over 2,700 years. There are records from 687 BC of Lyrid meteors' falling like rain' in ancient China," he explained as Izuku gasped.
"So we're looking at something our ancient ancestors could have been looking at?"
"Yes, they would have been looking at showers just like this."
Both boys gasped yet again before Katsuki turned to his father. "Why don't you know anything interesting?"
Hisashi snorted as Masura shuffled. "Well... the source of the Lyrid meteors is the comet Thatcher which crosses the Earth's orbital path in late April."
Katsuki's jaw dropped as Izuku giggled, already noticing the notebook Hisashi had given Masura. Izuku tilted his head as he looked at Masura. "Does that mean we could see the Thatcher comet too?"
"Sadly not, Izu," Masura stated, making Izuku pout.
Katsuki scowled as he jumped up. "Why not?!"
"The Thatcher comet doesn't visit our inner solar system, so we can't see it. The last time the comet was present was during 1861, which is why there are no pictures of the comet," Hisashi explained, seeing Masura's lost face.
Katsuki muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'stupid comet' as he sat back down.
"Don't be sad, Kacchan," Izuku said as he hugged Katsuki, "I'll hug it better!" Izuku squeezed as hard as he could before jumping back into his father's arms. "Can you do it, please? Pretty please, daddy?"
"Of course, Izu." Hisashi pulled Izuku closer as they lay down and stared up at the sky. After a few seconds, Hisashi's eyes lit up like the stars they watched. "Now, as you both know, we are currently in the time of Aries, the time of the Ram. But do you know why Aries is a Ram?" Both boys shook their heads as they looked up, a beautiful blue ram jumping out of one of the comets.
"The Ram is the first of the twelve Zodiac constellations, and according to myth, the ram's fleece made the golden fleece of greek." The Ram glowed, a bright golden fleece lifting off him and floating above the awing eyes. "Now, Jason was sent on a quest to find the golden fleece to prove himself the rightful king of lolcis in Thessaly, but the Argonauts were also after it."
"Originally, the ram had been a gift from Mercury to Nephele when her husband took another wife, Ino." The Ram bowed down in front of a woman figure who petted his head. "Ino was a horrible person who persecuted Nephele's children." A different women-like figure in red stood above smaller figures that cowered away as Izuku and Katsuki jumped and clung to each other.
"But don't fear, to keep them safe, Nephele told Phrixus and Helle to take the Ram and to run. They flew far east on the back of the magical Ram." The two smaller figures climbed onto the Ram. They became smaller and smaller until they were twinkling stars in the night sky. "However, Helle fell off the Ram into the Hellespont between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara." The Ram came back into view as a figure fell off his back. "Phrixus safely made it to Colchis, where they were safe from any harm. They sacrificed the Ram and presented the golden fleece to the king, Aeetes, where a fearsome dragon guarded it." The figure bowed down with the fleece in their hands as a king-like figure gave it to the dragon.
"When Jason arrived to take the fleece, he had too much respect for the dragon to harm it, so instead, he drugged the dragon before stealing the fleece with no conflict." The first figure snuck past the dragon, fleeing with the fleece in his hand. "When Jason returned home, he used the fleece to sanctify his royal union with Medea." The figure sat beside a female figure, the two kissing as Hisashi's eyes returned to normal.
He shared a look with Masura as he pulled up the blanket around the two sleeping children. "Izu never makes it to the end," he whispered as he leaned back, both watching the night sky until darkness consumed them.
~~~
Izuku sat beside Katsuki as they flicked through Izuku's notebook. Izuku added notes of some of the heroes they had seen on TV that morning when a shadow covered them.
Izuku and Katsuki looked up only to gulp in fear.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Quirkless losers," Saza teased with Tsubasa behind him.
"Leave us alone, Saza," Izuku ordered, standing in front of Katsuki. Both Izuku and Katsuki were four now. They were the only people in their class who hadn't gotten a Quirk, not that it slowed either of them down.
"Are you talking back to me, Deku?!" Saza growled as he pushed Izuku back. Katsuki caught Izuku as they glared back up at the bully.
"Don't call me that!" Izuku stood his ground, digging his feet into the ground.
"Izu, stop. Let's just go," Katsuki said, pulling on Izuku's shoulder.
Just as Izuku was about to agree with Katsuki, Saza opened his mouth. "Awww, the Quirkless losers are running away!" He laughed with Tsubasa as Izuku growled.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Izuku's eyes glowed brighter as the wind picked up around him. In front of them, a massive brass scale appeared.
Saza looked up at the scales as he laughed. "Is that all you can do? That's not very scary! What are you going to do? Bake me a cake?"
Izuku's eyes widened as he lost focus, and the scales dropped directly on Saza's head, knocking him unconscious. Izuku's eyes dimmed as the scales disappeared.
"I got a Quirk! Kacchan, I got a Quirk! It's like daddy's! It's to do with the stars! I just know it!" Izuku jumped up and down as Katsuki laughed. Izuku picked up his notebook, throwing everything inside his bag as he grabbed Katsuki's hand and dragged him back home. "Mummy! I got a Quirk! We have to go see Daddy now!"
Inko's eyes widened as she smiled. "I'm so glad, but we can't disturb your father while he's working." Inko petted her son's hair as Izuku pouted. "How about we register your Quirk instead?"
Izuku shook his head, small tears in his eyes. "I'm not going without daddy!" Izuku stomped his foot, but he just looked like an angry rabbit, so Inko didn't find it very intimidating.
"Then, can you wait until your dad gets home?"
Izuku nodded vibrantly as he sat down with Katsuki. Bringing back out his notebook, he started to sketch his own figure to work with. It didn't take long for Izuku to notice that Katsuki was deep in thought as he tapped Katsuki's nose with the end of his pencil. "Are you alright, Kacchan?" Katsuki nodded, but Izuku could see the inner turmoil. "You know I don't care if you have a Quirk or not. You'll still be Kacchan to me! You'll be the super-strong hero in my eyes!"
Katsuki smiled as he hugged Izuku. Izuku turned over the page, drawing a new figure as Katsuki watched. "Who are you doing now, Izuchan?"
Izuku smiled as he wrote the name above the figure. 'Kacchan.' Izuku giggled as he and Katsuki thought of every way possible to make Katsuki a hero with or without a Quirk.
As time passed, Katsuki eventually had to go home, leaving with a small promise to finish tomorrow. Inko felt the worry start to claw at her as she watched her son. Hisashi still hadn't come home. Even on the worst days, Hisashi was never this late. "Izu, maybe you should come in. It's getting cold."
"No, I'm going to wait for Daddy." Izuku rubbed his eyes, trying to stay up as Inko gently picked him up.
"Come on, sweetie. Daddy will be here when you wake." Inko carefully brought Izuku in, tucking him into bed and turning on the star projector that made them feel like they were in the observatory.
Izuku wanted to stay up, but he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.
~~~
Inko was not happy when she heard knocking on her door. Who came around at 3 in the morning? Pulling open the front door, Inko instantly woke up. "Hello? Can I help you?"
"Mrs Midoriya? Can we come in?"
Inko let the men through, sitting down as the anxiety came back. "Are you going to sit?" Inko pointed at the other seats, but the men shook their heads. "What's going on?" Inko looked between the men as one sighed.
"Mrs Midoriya, we have some bad news. There was a villain attack earlier today that led to many casualties. We believe one of the bodies is your husband."
Inko let out a distressed cry as she curled in on herself.
The younger of the two men looked like he wanted to comfort her, but the senior stopped him. "We need you to come down to the morgue to confirm the identity; however, this doesn't need to be today. Do you have someone who can come over?"
Inko couldn't answer, her tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry, madam. I know this must be very upsetting, but I need to know if there is someone who can take care of you." The senior officer leaned in, but their conversation was interrupted.
"Mummy? Is daddy home yet?" Izuku rubbed his eyes as he looked into the living room. "Mummy...?"
Inko couldn't think of how to explain this situation to her son. She didn't think she could ever find the right words.
~~~
Izuku knelt over Hisashi's grave. The name was engraved into a marble stone, his birthday and death day inscribed underneath. The words, 'A loving Son, brother, husband and father,' engraved at the bottom with the Aries sign in the middle. Izuku gently laid down his little projector as he wiped away the tears. Katsuki hugged his friend, his own tears dripping onto Izuku's shoulder.
"I'm going to be a hero, Kacchan. I will protect everyone like daddy, who can't do it themselves." Izuku gripped Katsuki's sleeve as he nodded.
"And I'll be there by your side, Izuchan. We'll be heroes together. For uncle Hisashi."
"For daddy."