Chapter Text
the moment he laid his eyes on the small, very small bundle, everything that led up to him being left alone in the hospital room was forgotten, irrelevant and no longer important. the moment he stepped into the room, his whole world narrowed down to meeting this little human that is his son.
aizawa izuku was bundled up in a white blanket, his arms were stretched with little curled up fists by his head. shouta stared down at the sleeping baby boy, not quite comprehending how a person could be so small.
"hello," he whispered softly, as though anything louder would break the blanket of calm silence. shouta stroked a careful finger against a soft chubby cheek, his breath catching in his throat when izuku turned his head towards his touch, little lips smacking. "hi," he breathed out in awe. "hi, izuku."
he watched as the baby scrunched his face before letting out fussy noises. the disruption of their peace making something in shouta's chest race in slight panic.
"oh, oh." his words warbled but he mustered the strength to keep his hands steady as he reached into the cot to carefully scoop the little bundle into his arms.
"shh, its okay," he hushed, his movements a little awkward as he lightly bounced the child in his hold. "its okay, dad's here."
the fussy cries died down quickly and shouta watched as izuku let out an impressive yawn before blinking open to reveal unbelievably bright emerald eyes and shouta felt his heart stuttered.
"oh, you're beautiful."
shouta doubted those pretty green eyes saw him as anything more than blobs of colours. he gasped softly when a tear dripped down his face. a quiet laugh left his mouth through silent tears. he hadn't even realised he had been crying. he wasn't even sure why.
he just knew that his heart felt so full- full of love and adoration for the little person in his arms and he would do anything and everything in his power to keep this child safe and happy.
"its okay. dad's got you, love."
the door to the hospital room slams open, the loud noise causing both shouta and izuku to startle awake.
shouta jolted up from where he accidentally fell asleep at the couch at the corner of the room, jostling izuku in his arms. the baby’s limbs flailing outwards in surprise at the sudden movement before curling back up towards his chest. shouta’s heart lurched in his chest at the realization that he fell asleep while holding the baby and he adjusted the now awake izuku into a more protective hold against his chest as he shot a glare towards the door.
hizashi looked properly chastised even without a verbal scolding, wincing at having awoken the baby. he considered himself lucky izuku didn’t start crying. “sorry, sho,” he whispered loudly, as though he didn’t just rudely woke both the father son duo. “but the doctor gave us the all clear to take izu home.”
shouta felt his raised hackles pet smooth at the news. even though he wasn’t here for his usual laundry list of reasons, being at a hospital for so long made him antsy. hizashi made quick work of throwing all his things in his bag and scurrying off to get the car, telling shouta to not dawdle.
alone again in the hospital room, shouta let himself take a deep, long breath. it hasn’t been a whole 48 hours and he was exhausted. between the nurses teaching him how to feed and hold and change and practically run him through a crash course on caring for his new son- plus, long moments at a time of shouta just staring at izuku wiggle around in his sleep his arm and foot sticking out one direction before he turns his head to the other side and sticks out his other arm and foot, ‘like a little fencer’ as his sleep deprived brain supplies- the overwhelming emotions and new anxieties left him little time to relax.
leaving the hospital felt surreal. like it made everything real. he was a really a dad now. izuku was here, with him and the moment they left the hospital, they would have to face the real world together.
sighing, he hauled himself up with izuku in his arms, planting a kiss on the baby’s downy green hair for the nth time that day. it was like he couldn’t help himself from showering the little boy with affection- a promise of unconditional love to his little world and a comfort to himself that izuku was safe in his arms. he couldn’t get over how impossibly small this little human was as he rests a finger onto one of izuku’s tiny palms, smiling when the baby held onto him in a strong grip.
he was glad they had each other.
“let’s go home, love.”