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Hitoshi knows that something is going on the moment he comes home. The energy at home is totally off and it puts him on edge immediately, because he can't quite figure out if it's something good or something bad and until he knows for sure, old habits kick in.
And that means being wary, being tense and careful and trying to be as unobtrusive as he possibly can be.
Even though he has been with Aizawa and Yamada for close to a year now, it still comes easy to him and he carefully inches his way into the apartment. Hitoshi finds Yamada in the kitchen, humming under his breath as he puts away groceries and it's normal enough, it should be normal enough, but there's something in the air, an excited energy all around Yamada that puts Hitoshi's teeth on edge.
It's probably not even anything bad, but heightened emotions meant danger for Hitoshi for so long that he thinks he can be excused for being wary.
Still, he apparently trusts Yamada—and his place in their home—more than he thought because instead of hiding himself away like he would have just a year ago, he steps into the kitchen, still careful, still wary, but not terrified out of his mind.
"I'm back," Hitoshi forces himself to say and almost flinches when Yamada whirls around to him a second later, but he relaxes when a smile overtakes Yamada's face.
"Welcome home," Yamada cheerfully says and steps close to pull Hitoshi into a hug.
Hitoshi is always warmly greeted when he comes back home, but this is unusual, even for Yamada who is more touchy than Aizawa and Hitoshi combined and so Hitoshi can't help but to frown when he's being released.
"What's going on?" Hitoshi wants to know because something has to be, there's no other explanation for Yamada's behaviour and he's proven right when Yamada gives him a sheepish expression.
"Sheesh, you're just as bad as Shou, I can't keep anything from you, huh?"
"Well, you are kind of obvious," Hitoshi gives back and it makes Yamada laugh, further soothing the worry that's still lingering in Hitoshi.
"Okay, fair," Yamada easily agrees and then pulls Hitoshi over to the kitchen table. "And I actually need to rope you into this, so it's only fair that you learn about this in advance. But—" and here he levels Hitoshi with one of his serious looks "—you need to keep this a secret from Shou until tomorrow."
Hitoshi blinks.
"Why?"
It never bodes well to keep secrets from his caretakers, no matter how open and welcoming they have been and especially not if one wants to pit him against the other.
Hitoshi chides himself for that thought as soon as it crosses his mind because Yamada and Aizawa are not like that; they love each other and Hitoshi is confident that even if they were having a fight, neither would drag Hitoshi into the middle of it.
So instead of jumping to conclusions, Hitoshi forces himself to take a deep breath and then says "I need you to explain this."
Immediately, Yamada's face falls.
"Right, shit, I'm sorry, Hitoshi. Of course." Yamada waves him closer to the table, where Hitoshi sees a brown envelopee. "I'm going to explain, and of course you're not obligated to keep this a secret, but I would really like it if you could, until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is Aizawa's birthday," Hitoshi slowly says, eying the envelope again.
"It is. And this—" he taps the envelope "—is his present. Well, all our present, really, but Shou gets so—" Yamada cuts himself off and starts again before Hitoshi can even think to voice his confusion. "Those are your official adoption papers," Yamada then tells him unceremoniously and for a moment Hitoshi's ears ring and he can barely breathe.
"They are?" he asks, voice full of hope and his fingers twitch with the need to pick the envelope up.
"They are. It's official now," Yamada nods and then sighs. "You and Shou put way too much weight on a single stupid piece of paper," he then mutters with a shake of his head and Hitoshi frowns.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asks, more biting than the situation maybe warrants, but this 'stupid piece of paper' as Yamada so nicely put it is the single most important thing in Hitoshi's life right now. And possibly for the foreseeable future.
"Hitoshi. Kiddo. You're our son. We already have a veritable book of papers in this apartment, stating exactly that. We're your primary caretakers. We're your foster parents. We're your medical proxies and your emergency contacts. We have all of that documented already. All this piece of paper is doing, is replacing half of the papers we already have, telling us exactly what we already know. I know it's important to you and Shou, and I get it to a certain extent, but you are our son already. This is not going to change that."
"But it's not permanent. Or, well, it wasn't. I could be taken away from here any second," Hitoshi argues, because he knows the system. Things can change at the drop of a hat and only the adoption papers will give him the security he needs to know that this is it. That it's permanent.
"Come here," Yamada says as he takes a seat at the kitchen table and Hitoshi slowly follows his example, sitting down on the chair next to him.
"First of all, it's not quite so easy to take you away from us," Yamada starts and he silences Hitoshi before he can even argue that point. "I know you've had quite the different experiences, but it really isn't. For you to be taken away from us, a few things have to happen. First, someone would need to raise concerns about your living situation."
Yamada looks at him, clearly waiting to give any indication that he understands and so Hitoshi nods.
"Next, your social worker has to listen to them. She will, because that's her job and she's thorough with it so she'll schedule a visit. A visit that will raise no red flags with her, because there are no concerns about your living situation. Right?"
Yamada asks this as if he expects Hitoshi to say something different and he's quick to shake his head.
"This is the best home I've ever lived in," Hitoshi mutters, and even though Yamada knows this, he's still embarrassed to all hell about it.
"Okay, I'm glad you think so. Well, I'm not glad you've had so many bad experiences, but—you get it," Yamada rambles and Hitoshi smiles because it's such a Yamada thing to do. "Anyway. Once she notices that there are no red flags here, she'll talk to you in a one-on-one, asking if there's anything going on that would need her attention. If you say no, that's it. And even in the case that you should say yes, you'll only be removed from our family temporarily, until more concrete proof can be found."
"That's never how it went. I was always just—moved," Hitoshi gives back and Yamada nods.
"I know. But that's really not how it's supposed to go. It's a whole, involved process, and that's not only because we're pros or because we know your social worker. That helps, undoubtedly, but it's not a deterrent should she find anything wrong. You being taken from us won't just happen."
Hitoshi takes a moment to mull that over and he can't deny that it helps to know this. No one has ever taken the time to explain this to him and with what happened in the past it didn't even occur to Hitoshi to question the process.
And even though the adoption papers are finally here, it still helps to put him at ease.
"And second?" he finally asks, much to Yamada's apparent confusion
"Huh?"
"You said first of all, which implies there's a second point to this," Hitoshi explains and now Yamada gives him a grin that borders on the line of unhinged.
"If you think we'd simply let you be taken from us, then you're sorely mistaken," Yamada gives back. "You're our son. We agreed that if anything happened or if the HPSC tried to pull any bullshit, I'm allowed to go full on villain."
Hitoshi takes a moment to digest that before he shakes his head.
"Aizawa would never allow that," he argues because there is no way he would simply stand by and watch Yamada go off the rails but Yamada only continues to smile at him.
"Of course he would. Hell, it's his plan! He was all prepared, even had a villain name ready for me. Seriously, can't come up with his own hero name but has a villain name for me ready to go at a moment's notice. That guy, honestly." Yamada shakes his head and everything about him screams fond so loudly that Hitoshi fears he's about to go deaf.
"You'd—do that? For me?"
"Kiddo, we'd burn the entire world down for you, if it'd made you happy," Yamada replies without hesitation and he looks so earnestly that Hitoshi has no other choice but to believe him.
Hitoshi leans forward, practically begging for a hug and Yamada doesn't hesitate to give him exactly what he's asking for.
"I'm really happy to be your son," Hitoshi mutters into his chest and Yamada presses his cheek against the crown of his head.
"Tell Shou that when you hand him the adoption papers and he's going to cry," he hums out and Hitoshi frowns.
"He doesn't cry," he says, because he's pretty sure Aizawa is way too stoic for that, but Yamada huffs out a laugh.
"Bet," he only gives back and Hitoshi nods, because there's just no way, right?
"You really want to give him this as his birthday present?"
"No, kiddo, I want you to give him this as his birthday present. I know we don't talk much about our own families, but Shouta's is—distant. They are estranged and have been for years at this point. Shouta tries to not let it show too much but he's a family man, through and through and it hurts him every year when they don't call."
"So you think when I give him this, it'll alleviate some of that pain?"
"I think when you give him this, it's going to make him happier than he has been in years."
"Happy enough to make him cry," Hitoshi says, still doubtful about that but Yamada nods. "When even was the last time he cried?"
Hitoshi can't imagine him shedding even one tear; not only because of his quirk but also because Aizawa appears to be so stoic, as if nothing can really touch him. Hitoshi knows better by now—you tend to learn a whole lot of things about people you live with and who want you in their life, it turns out—but still. Crying?
"When you said you wanted to stay with us," Yamada immediately replies and Hitoshi jerks back in his surprise.
"He did not!"
"He did, later that night, when we went to bed," Yamada says with a small smile. "He was really happy about it, you know. And he's going to be really happy about this, too." Yamada nods at the envelope. "Do you want to give it to him for his birthday, or do you want to do it when he comes home?"
Hitoshi is still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Aizawa apparently cried when he said he wants to stay with them, and he thinks it's kind of mean to keep this from Aizawa, no matter if it's just for a day.
So, a compromise might be in order.
"He'll come back late, anyway, right? Can I give it to him after midnight?"
Yamada narrows his eyes at him, pursing his lips in thought.
"Is this a ploy to get me to allow you to stay up during a school night?" he then asks and Hitoshi snorts.
"I'd be up anyway. I don't sleep much," he reminds him, and even his medication is barely helping with that, though at least lately he sleeps through once he manages to fall asleep.
"Do we need to adjust your meds?" Yamada wants to know almost immediately but Hitoshi shakes his head.
They might have to, later, but right now he really doesn't want to think about this.
"Can I stay up?"
"Sure," Yamada says with a sigh after a moment of deliberation and Hitoshi allows himself a little celebratory wiggle in his chair.
They spend the rest of the evening like they would on any other day, but now Hitoshi understands why there was this undercurrent of anticipation when he first came home; he, too, is beyond excited to hand Aizawa the envelope, to have it be official, no matter if his place here was already guaranteed or not.
When Aizawa finally comes home, he seems to pick up on it immediately as well, because he narrows his eyes, first at Yamada and then, when he only gets a big smile in response, at Hitoshi.
"Why are you still up?" he then asks because it's ever inching closer to midnight but Hitoshi copies Yamada and gives Aizawa nothing but a bright smile.
"You're plotting something and I am not a fan," Aizawa grumbles as he unspools his capture weapon from his neck.
"Ah, but you're going to love it," Yamada reassures him as he steps close for a kiss. "Welcome home. Everything go okay?"
"Quiet night," Aizawa replies, though a small smile curves his mouth. "I'm home."
At first Hitoshi thought it was incredibly cheesy to have this exchange every time one of them comes home, but he gets it now. It makes their home feel warm and loved and Hitoshi never fails to participate, too.
"Welcome home," he adds and gets a glare for his troubles, because clearly Aizawa is not yet convinced that it's not for any nefarious reasons.
Still, Hitoshi keeps quiet, the envelope safely hidden away in his room and he can practically feel himself watch the time crawl on, until finally, it's time.
Yamada gives him a meaningful look as he captures Aizawa's attention effortlessly and Hitoshi slips away to retrieve the envelope. Once it's in his hands, the nerves settle in, which is just beyond stupid.
Aizawa is going to love it, there's no doubt about that. He pushed harder for this than Yamada or even Hitoshi himself and he's going to love it.
Still, Hitoshi's hands shake when he makes his way back to the living-room and Yamada must know it because he gives Hitoshi a reassuring smile.
"Would you look at that, Shou, it's past midnight," Yamada exclaims once Hitoshi reaches the couch. "Happy birthday." It's added so softly that Hitoshi feels himself flush, especially when Aizawa tries to hide his smile in the scarf he's no longer wearing and before this can get any more awkward for Hitoshi he clears his throat.
"Happy birthday," he too says and hands Aizawa the plain, brown envelope.
Aizawa raises an eyebrow at him, but Hitoshi forces his face to be stoic and he simply watches how Aizawa looks over at Yamada before he sighs and opens the envelope up.
Hitoshi gives him a moment take the papers out, to read what it states, before he says "I'm really happy to be your son."
Hitoshi doesn't need to look over to Yamada to know that his eyes are brimming with tears, and he himself is not doing any better, because even his voice gives away how emotional he is about this.
It's nothing to Aizawa's reaction though.
Hitoshi watches how his face goes slack, the paper slipping right through his fingers and then suddenly Hitoshi finds himself crushed to Aizawa's chest.
"Our son," he whispers and even though Hitoshi can't see his face it's more than apparent that Aizawa really is crying.
Hitoshi wouldn't have thought it possible, but now that it's happening, it only makes him press more firmly into the hug.
"Happy birthday, Shou," Yamada says again and Hitoshi can feel the shuddering breath Aizawa releases.
"How? It was supposed to take another week, minimum!"
"I pulled some strings. You know how it is, with bureaucracy. It was basically all done anyway, it just needed one last signature and I made sure that happened sooner."
Yamada hadn't mentioned that before, but Hitoshi is not really surprised. If anyone could have pushed this along, of course it would be him.
"Thank you," Aizawa breathes out and presses his face into Hitoshi's hair. "Welcome home, son," he then adds and now that's enough to make Hitoshi cry, too.
Wonderful.
At least he can be sure to be in good company, because when Yamada gathers them both up in a hug, he's most definitely crying as well.
Hitoshi thinks a few years back, or with other people, he would have minded, but not now. Now, it only feels right, and like being home, and being loved and having a family.
Everything Hitoshi never thought he'd have, handed to him, because Aizawa and Yamada willed it so, because they want him as their son, badly enough that finally having it is enough to move Aizawa to tears.
"Best birthday present ever," Aizawa says in that moment and squeezes Hitoshi tight. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Shou," Yamada mutters and Hitoshi nods, because words are escaping him right now but he still needs to convey how grateful he is, too.
Yamada made him promise that he'd go right to bed after this, but Aizawa seems just as unwilling to let go of Hitoshi as Hitoshi is to move away and going by the fact that Yamada still has his arms around them, too, he's in no rush to send Hitoshi off to bed either.
And it's just right, Hitoshi thinks, that they spend a little bit more time on the couch, together.
As a family.