Work Text:
~I~
“Okay kids!” Izuku called behind him as he opened the front door for Himiko, “Be nice to each other, and be good for Uraraka-san!”
“Okay!” Five angelic voices chorused in unison, “Bye Daddy! Bye Mommy!”
“Bye kids!” Himiko chirped, stepping over the threshold, “Love you!"
Izuku chuckled to himself as he followed his wife out the door and down the path to their car. With a big grin, he opened the passenger side door for her, and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips as she slid into her seat. He closed it after her, then hurried around to get behind the wheel.
“So,” he breathed as he started the car, “the restaurant’s booked for 8, so we should get there with plenty of time to spare.”
Golden eyes gleamed wickedly at him, and Himiko smirked, “‘Plenty of time’?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but his lips were stolen by Himiko’s own, her deep, searing kiss capturing the words right out of his mouth. A moment later, she pulled away, mischief in her eyes, “Well, Izu, we should get going, right?”
“Abluh.” Was his highly intelligent response, and he pulled out of the driveway and onto the road with stiff, robotic movements, his brain running on autopilot.
Beside him, Himiko snickered, “Still got it.”
Izuku’s brain kicked back into gear just enough for him to respond with a weak, “You… you really do.”
She burst out laughing, the sound like the chiming of the most glorious bells, and he smiled as he watched her from the corner of his eye. They’d been married for over a decade now, had five perfect children together, and still he loved her with as much boundless fervour as he did on their wedding day. It was shocking they’d made it this far, to be honest, considering where they’d started from. That wasn’t to say it had been easy, god no, but they’d made it through every bad night and rough day together.
He sighed wistfully to himself, watching Musutafu’s busy roads ahead of them. It was rare for them to get an evening without the kids- not that they ever wanted to be apart from them for long, of course - so when the stars aligned and they were able to reserve a table at one of Musutafu’s classiest restaurants, they just had to take it. Fortunately, Uraraka-san was free to babysit, and the kids loved her, so everything seemed to fall into place.
They continued driving along in the comfortable quiet only a married couple could share, the low warble of the latest pop song on the radio filling the silence between them. The drive was peaceful, quiet, and calm.
So of course it was soon shattered by an earthshaking BOOM .
Izuku hammered hard on the brakes, halting their journey instantly. Glancing up, he found a wall high up on a nearby skyscraper had been blown up, people inside and all around the base scurrying like panicked ants. He sighed ruefully, and shot his wife an apologetic smile.
She shook her head, “Go on, Izu.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.” She nodded, “You wouldn’t be the super cute hero I love if you didn’t step in when people needed saving.”
Heat rose to his face, but he quickly planted a kiss on her lips and stepped out of the car, untying his tie, divesting himself of his suit jacket, unbuttoning his collar and rolling up his sleeves. He had a job to do.
Allowing One For All to spread throughout his body, he leapt high into the air, catching his own fall using Float and blasting off to the scene of the incident. He arrived faster than anyone could have expected, assessing the situation in a matter of seconds. There didn’t seem to be any obvious villains around the place, so he turned his attention to the civilians. There were injuries, naturally, though not as many as there could have been. Once he’d swept the area immediately around the incident site, he began a swift evacuation of the building, ensuring everyone nearby was safe as he continued his investigation.
There didn’t seem to be evidence of an explosive device anywhere, but he couldn’t tell the source of the incident beyond that. Sighing with dissatisfaction, he returned to the ground just in time for the police to arrive.
“Deku.” Detective Tsukauchi greeted him. The man had aged, as had they all; grey now streaked his hair and the beard he’d kept after the war. Wrinkles were more prominent around his eyes and mouth, and, well, he looked like he’d aged 10 years. Because he had, more or less, “What’s the situation?”
“Everyone’s safe, and I’ve got all the injured ready to be taken to the hospital.” He rattled off, “I investigated a little, but I didn’t see any signs of an explosive device. I can’t say I know what caused the incident, to be honest.”
The other man nodded, jotting the information down, “Good job.”
Izuku beamed at him, waved at the civilians who had started to gather, and kicked off with Float again. Maybe if he made it back to Himiko now, they could still get to the restaurant in time?
And then he remembered he’d have to fill in paperwork for the incident, and sighed to himself.
Well, maybe next time, eh?
~II~
Izuku sighed with relief as he parked nearby the restaurant. Two months had passed since his and Himiko’s last attempt at a date night had been interrupted, and it was only thanks to his position as a top 10 hero and the saviour of the world that he could reschedule it so soon. He did feel a little guilty about abusing his authority like that, but, it was all for Himiko.
An eager grin spreading across his face, he unclasped his seatbelt, hurried out and around the car, and opened the passenger side door, offering a hand to his wife, “Shall we?”
Himiko grinned, golden eyes gleaming as she took his hand and stepped out of the car, “Lead the way, my hero .”
He shuddered at the way she purred the nickname, and was suddenly reminded exactly why they had five children when they were barely in their 30s. He was only a man, after all, and she was some… temptress , drawing him to the path of sin.
He shook his head, banishing the… lewder thoughts from his mind. This was a classy restaurant, he couldn’t just walk in while, hm, pitching a tent, as it were. Turning back to his wife, he could see the mischief written on her face - she knew what she did to him. He fondly rolled his eyes, shut and locked the door behind her, and began their walk towards the restaurant.
“So, I looked at the menu,” Izuku explained as they approached the door, “and it’s a lot of french food, but there’s explanations with it, so don’t worry!”
Himiko laughed to herself, “Prepared for anything, eh, Izu?”
He chuckled, “Well, anything except-”
A buzzing in his pocket cut him off. He’d turned all notifications off except for the truly essential ones, so if someone was calling him, it must be important. Sharing a confused and concerned glance with his wife, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
Asui-san was calling him. And since she was their babysitter for the evening…
He picked up before he even realised it, “Asui-san, what’s up?”
Her voice came out calm, “Aiko-chan’s been sick, kero. I put her to bed and she should be fine, but I thought I should tell you.”
Biting his lip, he met Himiko’s worried gaze and mouthed, ‘ Aiko’s been sick ’, to which she sighed slightly, but nodded. He nodded back, and responded to Asui-san, “Thank you for telling me. We’re on our way back right now.” He hung up without saying anything further - the other woman would understand.
Sighing, he and Himiko turned on their heels and returned to their car, Himiko calling the restaurant to explain the situation as Izuku just barely kept below the speed limit. Sure, date night was interrupted again, but their kids’ health came first, always.
Besides, the happy glimmer in Aiko’s yellow eyes as they came in to check on her was much better than any fancy meal.
~III~
Izuku smiled to himself as he kissed each of his children on the head, though Mai, big and tough 11 year old that she was, tried to squirm away from it, “Okay kids, you all be good for Grandma and Granddad tonight.”
“We will!” They all-but sang.
Laughing at them, he turned to his parents, “You’re sure you’re okay with watching them for tonight?”
His mom smiled and stepped forwards, placing her hands on his shoulders, “Of course, Izuku. You know I love spending time with my grandchildren.” Her eyes darted to the five children softly chatting amongst themselves nearby, “Even if I didn’t expect to be a grandma five times over before I turned 60.”
Izuku chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, “In my defence, One For All-”
“Yeah, yeah,” his dad laughed, clapping him on the back, “every man’s used that excuse before.”
He stared at him out of the corner of his eye, and shook his head, “If you say so…”
“Izu!” Himiko shouted from the front door, “Are ya coming?”
“Be right with you, Himiko!” He called back, then turned to his parents, “Well, you both know what to do! Thank you again!”
His mom smiled, “Have a great time, Izuku.”
He nodded, and dashed off with a shouted, “Love you all!”, to which he received an enthusiastic call of, “Love you too!”
Himiko grinned at him as he hurried up to the door and opened it for her. She led the way outside, but just as he was crossing the threshold, his phone rang in his pocket. This wasn’t an unheard of occurrence at that time of day; he wasn’t technically out of office hours for another ten minutes or so, and between his agency and his teaching job there were plenty of reasons for someone to call him. So, without thinking, he answered it, sliding into his car after opening Himiko’s door for her, “Hello?”
“Um, Deku-san?”
The voice was shaky, but he could easily identify it as belonging to one of his agency’s new secretaries, “Oh hi, Tsukumo-san. Is everything okay?”
“U-um, well,” the young woman stammered, and his heart went out to her - it couldn’t be easy to call your boss when he’s a top 10 hero, “there was a mistake, with some paperwork, a-and we, um, need you to come in immediately to sort it out.”
He froze for a moment, before covering his phone’s receiver and groaning. Himiko watched him with sad sympathy, having already guessed the nature of the situation. After a moment, he returned to his phone, “And you’re sure I can’t fix it tomorrow?”
“I-I’m sorry!” Came the response.
Sighing, Izuku shook his head, “It’s okay, it isn’t your fault. I’ll be in shortly.”
He hung up, and felt just a little guilty at leaving the nervous woman hanging. Palming his face, he turned to Himiko, “Another time?”
She smiled, sad but understanding, “Another time.”
~IV~
Izuku sighed with relief as they finally, finally , walked up to the restaurant, the doorman opening the door with a polite smile. Izuku stepped aside to allow Himiko to enter first, and together they stepped up to the maître d's podium and waited, exchanging eager glances. Soon enough, a well-dressed European man walked up to them, a polite smile on his face.
“Good evening, may I help you?” He asked in perfect, though slightly accented, Japanese.
Izuku stepped forwards, “Hi, we have a reservation under the name ‘Midoriya’?”
The man’s eyes glimmered as he glanced down at his book, then glanced back up to them, “Ah! But of course. Welcome, Monsieur and Madame. May I take your coats?”
They nodded, and handed them over, and he placed them inside a nearby cupboard, handing them a small slip with a number on it. “Now, please allow me to escort you to your table.”
They both nodded, and he turned on his heel and strode off, full confidence in his gait. They walked after him, marvelling at the tasteful opulence of the dining room, a sleek, modern affair, but with the traditional lighting of a smoky Parisian cafe. A live band played gentle, easygoing music that served as a backdrop to the quiet clinking of cutlery against plates and the hubbub of conversation. The maître d' continued walking until they reached a table tucked away in the back, allowing for total privacy from other diners. He pulled their chairs out for them, promptly handed them both menus along with the wine list, before bowing and making his exit.
He sighed once they were alone, and smiled at his wife, “Finally made it.”
She grinned, and reached across the table to take his hand, but before she could, Izuku’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Fortunately, the sound wasn’t loud enough to disturb other diners, but it was enough to disturb Izuku’s peace of mind. For a solid minute, he considered just ignoring it, letting it go to voicemail. They were so, so close to finally having an uninterrupted date night!
But, no. His phone was completely silenced to all but the most important notifications; that is, immediate family members, as well as Iida-kun, who was watching the kids for them.
Sighing to himself, this time in exasperation, he pulled out his phone and answered it, keeping his voice low, “Hello?”
“ Midoriya-kun !” Iida-kun’s voice was just as loud as ever, but it held an unfamiliar hint of panic, “ I truly apologise for interrupting your night, but I would not call if it were not important! ”
He straightened up, catching for the first time the shouting of his children in the background, “Is everything alright?”
“ Oh, yes! Everything is fine! However… well, I believe Sakura-kun has manifested her Quirk for the first time! ”
The world around him froze. Sakura was something of a late bloomer, nearing the age of 6 without having developed her Quirk - and she definitely wasn’t Quirkless, they’d checked. That she was developing it now?
That was far more important than any silly old dinner.
“We’ll be right there.” He confirmed, before turning off his phone.
“Izu, what is it?” Himiko frowned at him, though she was already picking up her bag to leave.
“Sakura’s Quirk’s here.” He explained in as few words as possible. Fortunately, it was enough to convey the gravity of the situation, and the two of them stood in unison and all-but ran out of the restaurant, maintaining a polite but brisk pace, and being sure to quickly explain the situation to the, thankfully, very understanding maître d', who retrieved their coats and wished them well.
They did break the speed limit on the way home this time, but the look of pure joy on Sakura’s face as Izuku taught her how to use Float was more than worth the ticket.
~V~
Izuku slumped into the driver’s seat, hoping against hope that this time they could have a complete meal without interruptions. The kids were all healthy and being watched by Jirou-san, there were no major alerts, no paperwork, nothing that could possibly get in their way.
Right?
Almost hesitantly, he pulled out of the driveway, Himiko’s hand on his helping to ease the nervous tension that locked his body up tight. God, he loved her.
The drive into the city centre seemed… fine. Not too busy, but not quiet enough to be suspicious either. Everything seemed normal. Fine. Calm.
He stopped at some traffic lights, anxiously eyeing the glowing red light. Was it taking too long?
As he sat there, waiting for the light to change to green, a clamor arose from the distance, the dissonant sounds of an orchestra being played by a group of rank amateurs, all noise and no music. He watched, utterly baffled, as a parade of, frankly, very poor musicians came marching down the street, ignoring the cars and pedestrians they cut off as they clattered their way down the road.
Honestly, Izuku couldn’t even be mad, despite it making them far, far too late to arrive at the restaurant. He was just… so, so confused.
~+1~
“I’m home!”
Izuku stepped through the door, calling out into the house as he always did. It had been a long, hard day at his teaching job, and now he wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the sofa with his wife and kids and just… relax.
Though, strangely, said wife and kids were nowhere to be seen. Normally, all six of them would be all over him the minute he got through the door, but now, the house was… strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
“Himiko?” He called, setting his bag down, “Mai? Aiko? Hana? Sakura? Keito? Anyone ?”
He received no response for just long enough that his heart began to race, mind already whirring with worse-case scenarios. Fortunately, before he had a chance to escalate to full blown panic, Himiko’s sweet voice drifted down from the top of the stairs.
“Welcome back, I~ zu~ ku~”
He looked up, and his jaw fell to the floor. His wife - his beautiful, perfect, amazing, wonderful wife - had slipped into a beautiful, blood red dress that hugged her every curve. Her hair had been neatly curled and tied back so that only two strands of hair framed her face. A ruby pendant glimmered just above her cleavage, and he had to force himself not to stare any lower.
“Buh- buh- buh- wha-” He stammered, trying to produce any coherent sound at all.
Himiko smirked, a fang poking out as she elegantly descended the stairs, “Do you like what you see?”
“YE- um, I, uh, yes!” He spluttered, “B-but, um, why…?”
A snort from nearby made him aware of the fact that they weren’t alone, and he turned to find his children gathered with his parents, Uraraka-san, Iida-san and Jirou-san.
He wheezed, “ I feel like I’ve forgotten something very important .”
Himiko chuckled to herself as she reached the bottom of the stairs and walked forwards to lay her hands on his shoulders, “They’re here for us , Izu.” She leaned in to plant a kiss on his lips, and he was all too eager to comply, chasing after the mixed taste of blood and pomegranate that lingered on her breath.
Mai nodded eagerly, “You’ve been working a lot, Daddy, so we wanted to help you relax!”
“Plus,” Jirou-san smirked slightly, “as I hear it, you two haven’t been able to have Date Night in a while.”
The adults in the room chuckled as Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, “It has been… tricky.”
“Mhm!” Uraraka-san chirped, “We’ve prepared a whole three course meal, so follow us!”
They did so, Himiko eagerly slipping her arm into Izuku’s as they walked through the house and into their dining room. Their usual, family-sized dining table was absent, replaced by a surprisingly elegant table for two. The room’s lights were dimmed, a candle burned bright on the table, and Jirou-san split off from the group to pick up a nearby violin and play a gentle, romantic melody, completing the atmosphere. As formal as ever, Iida-kun led them to their seats, and clasped his hands, a soft, polite smile on his face.
“Your meal today will be prepared by Midoriya Inko-san, with assistance from Midoriya Hisashi-san, Midoriya Mai-kun, Midoriya Aiko-kun, Midoriya Hana-kun, Midoriya Sakura-kun, Midoriya Keito-kun and Uraraka Ochako-kun. We hope you enjoy it.”
Bowing his head, he made his exit, as did the rest of their friends and family, save for Jirou-san, who continued playing. Tears pricked at Izuku’s eyes, heart bursting with love and affection, and a gentle squeeze on his hand reminded him that he wasn’t alone at the table. He turned to find Himiko sitting across from him, a soft smile on her face.
“You’re beautiful.” He blurted out, heat rising to his face as his brain caught up with his mouth.
She chuckled softly, “You’re perfect, Izu. You really are.”
He sniffled, dabbing at the corners of his eyes, “You are too.”
“So are our kids.” She added, and he nodded in agreement.
“Yeah,” he whispered softly as the rich scent of cooking hit his nose, “they really are.”
Their meal that night may not have been Michelin starred, but to them, it was even better.