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Getting their translators was a scary experience. They hadn't been able to speak to their dads without them and having so many strangers around doing scans and examining them hadn't been fun. Izuku had to get fit for two translators!
Watching Izuku's face light up when he realised people could now understand him was amazing though, even if hearing a kitten speak was strange.
After a while Hitoshi realised that he could hear both the sounds people intended to make and the sounds they were making. If he concentrated he could hear both at once. It gave him a headache but…
"Izuku," Hitoshi whispered as he watched their dads talk. They were all seated at a big table in the dining area of their family ship. He and Izuku were supposed to be doing worksheets to learn the common written language but he was distracted.
"Hm?" Izuku didn't even look up as he scribbled away on his tablet, completely focused.
Hitoshi poked him, which made Izuku look up with a pout on his face.
"What?" he whined.
"They're not speaking the same language," Hitoshi said.
Izuku looked between him and their dads, obviously confused.
Hitoshi held back his eye roll and said, "Turn off your translator."
His brother hesitated and then lifted his wrist computer to input the command to turn it off. Then he looked at their dads and his eyes widened.
Shota (they liked to call him Paw, because it was like dad and he had so many paws) was making rumbling noises with chittering sounds and almost growls thrown in. Hizashi (they called him Dad) was making whistling sounds and caws almost like a crow. Oboro was making noises that were the closest to a human language which Hitoshi knew he could probably mimic but…
"None of them speak the same language," Izuku said with wide eyes.
"Not usually," Hitoshi whispered back. "Some words are the same, sort of. I don't think Paw can make the same sounds as Dad." He played with the pen for his tablet as he watched them.
"We could."
Hitoshi frowned and looked at Izuku, he wanted to ask but it was hard to get used to people being okay with that.
Izuku saw his frown and then said, "We could make those sounds."
He slowly realised what Izuku meant and started to grin.
The first time Shota heard whistling from the kits' shared room he was concerned. If something was whistling in the ship (other than Hizashi) it usually meant something was very broken.
He knocked on their door perhaps a bit harder than he should have and the slow response from the boys had him opening it before they gave permission.
Both kits looked at him with wide eyes as he urgently scanned the room. "Everything okay in here?"
When he didn't hear any more whistling he focused back on them and realised they were both using their wrist computers.
Taking a step into the room, he watched them with concern. "Are your translators working right? Are they–"
"The translators are fine!" Izuku squeaked out, sounding rushed.
Shota tilted his head, then looked at Hitoshi who was bobbing his head similar to how Hizashi did in agreement very enthusiastically.
"We're fine! Everything is fine in here," Hitoshi assured rather forcefully.
Relaxing slightly, Shota examined the wall panels and vents. Nothing seemed out of place. The vents were a dark green that was a few shades darker than the panels of the room. Their shared desk had the chairs pressed underneath it, with cupboards above for storage. Their beds on either side of the room had storage underneath them for clothing which made them a little tall for the kits but still easy enough to climb into when they were both human. The climb that Izuku used when he was in cat form was pressed to the end of his bed where it should be.
Nothing was suspicious besides the two innocent looking kits.
Hiding his thoughts, Shota reached out a paw to each of them and ruffled their hair. "Sorry to come into your space so abruptly. I thought there was a malfunction in here." He dropped his paws. "I'll let you get back to your conversation."
Both kits eagerly said goodbye so he left without complaint and walked a bit down the hallway. He pulled his tablet out of a pocket to start a diagnostic check of the ship's system just in case but he thought he knew what the sound could have been.
He had the best hearing of anyone on the ship so if something was wrong he would be the one to hear such a noise first if he stuck around.
At the first tentative whistle his ears perked up and he wandered closer to the kits' room. After a few moments there was a much louder whistle followed by giggles. His eyes narrowed in an amused expression as his whiskers pushed forward.
As he wandered away from their door he wondered how Hizashi would react.
Hizashi wasn't sure if he was hearing things.
He was sure at first that he was actually mishearing some other noise, if it had actually been anything wrong with the ship Shota would have heard it first and the problem would have been solved.
Then he heard a greeting whistle, which was too distinct to be anything but another creature. Bewildered, he had gone to check what it could be and found Hitoshi and Izuku diligently working at the work and meal table. The fake wood space looked empty without his husbands sitting in the other free spaces.
The room they were in had light yellow wall panelling with a counter separating it from the room used to prepare meals. The kitchen was covered in storage space with a dishwasher and small sink. Most of the storage was covered in fake wood panelling with plantlife painted on it. The light grey flooring was that material that was like plastic but cushioned underneath that Hizashi could never remember the name of.
He looked around but nothing seemed out of place.
Deciding not to disturb the little listeners he wandered away.
An hour later he heard it again and when he got to the kits he decided to ask, "Are you watching videos, little ones?"
Hitoshi turned his tablet to show a writing worksheet and Izuku shook his head in a way his translator told him was no.
"You're both so hard working! We couldn't ask for better hatchlings!" he told them as he raised his crest, pleased to see them both react positively to the attention.
Izuku was hiding in the bottom of the closet where the cleaning bots sat when they weren't in use. They had figured out how to make it stay closed most of the way so he wasn't easy to see but he could still hear what was going on outside.
He heard Hitoshi whistle from the dining table. Just after that he heard the distinctive footsteps of their Papa. He grinned as he saw the yellow feathers pass by through the crack in the door.
He opened it to see Papa stop to talk to Hitoshi.
When he heard Hitoshi start talking to Papa he made the greeting whistle sound just like they practised and Hizashi squawked in surprise.
Holding a hand over his mouth, Izuku quietly ran down to the bathroom and turned around like he was just leaving it.
Biting his lip to keep from grinning he turned his translator on. Then he walked down the hall innocently.
Papa was looking into the now empty closet with all his feathers flared in confusion.
Holding back a giggle, Izuku rocked back on his heels and asked, "Are you looking for something Papa?"
Papa made a surprised sound that sounded funny with the translator and spun around to face him, his wings spreading slightly.
"Oh! Izuku! No, I'm not really looking for anything," he said, his beak held open slightly in a gesture he was told was embarrassed.
Papa shut the closet quickly with a click. "I'm just going to go talk to your Paw and Dad about something."
"Okay!" Izuku said with a big smile.
As his Papa walked away he turned to see Hitoshi rushing closer, his shoulders shaking in amusement.
"I want to see what he says," Hitoshi whispered and they both followed after Papa, trying not to giggle.
They were in the control room that looked like the pilot area of the first ship that Paw had brought them on. There were seven flight chairs in the room but only three of them had access to the controls that were laid out under the windows that started halfway up the walls and continued up into the ceiling. Everything was a dull grey metal, though the floor was slightly cushioned somehow.
"–think there is a problem with the speakers?" Papa asked their Paw, who was sitting at the controls for their ship.
"There aren't any speakers in the closet," Paw said matter of factly.
Papa made strange noises that didn't translate and then said, "But how else could I be hearing greeting calls?"
There was a pause and then Papa said, "Shota? What's so funny?"
Hitoshi started laughing and Izuku couldn't help laughing too.
Papa turned around with his feathers all flared like he stuck his finger in a wall socket and they both started laughing harder.
"They can whistle," Paw told Papa.
"We can!" Izuku agreed proudly between giggles.
Papa's feathers all lowered slowly as he watched them all. Then his crest rose and his wings spread in excitement. "I can teach you more!"
The thing was, Hitoshi had learned that translators worked in weird ways. They would translate what you mean to say to someone else. If your words didn't quite match the meaning of what you wanted, it could confuse the translator. When that happened, everyone who heard it who had a translator that was on was also very confused.
(He didn't realise how often people used sayings that made no sense when directly translated before his dads.)
But this also meant that you could make yourself sound angry even if you weren't… or sound like other people enough to really confuse people.
He knew that someday that would help with his dads' jobs but today it was just funny.
Dad was carrying a glass of water, which was always funny to watch because he preferred walking on four legs since it was easier. He had a bag over his back that really reminded Hitoshi of a saddle but cups spilled if he tucked them into the pockets so he had one clasped in his right front paw. The way he walked on three paws had a lot of swaying to it and he stuck his tongue out of his mouth to concentrate on not spilling the drink.
Hitoshi sat next to Izuku in one of the flight seats (they were big enough that they both fit side-by-side) by their Paw as they watched Dad come in, quietly giggling
"Here's your water Shota!" Dad said.
When he didn't immediately get a response he shoved it in Paw's face, making him lean back quickly.
The water spilled on his arm making Paw hiss slightly. "What?" he asked grumpily.
"I got you water," Dad explained.
"I can see that, why?"
Dad's ears dropped and his head sunk down slightly. "Did you forget you asked?"
Hitoshi burst out laughing and Izuku did the same.
"I didn't ask at all," Paw told him, sounding amused.
He looked up to see both parents watching him, his translator helped him know they were both amused as he looked at them.
"Do you want the water Hitoshi?" Dad asked, waddling over to them.
"Y-yes," he said between giggles.
He had the best dads.