Chapter Text
“A babysitter, huh?”
“Please! I know it’s short notice, but until I can start making money with this new job I can’t hire a real one!”
Inko Midoriya was in a real bind, that much Toshinori knew. She was a good, hard working woman and had been his friend for years. When Inko’s husband left her and their son Izuku, Toshinori promised he would help her whenever he could. She ended up being the reason he decided to move to this part of the city. Even if it wasn’t the ideal area where he would have liked to have bought his first house.
“Relax, Inko, it’s no trouble.” Toshinori said with a small laugh.
“Really?!” Inko said with relief. “You sure aren’t too busy?”
“I have a chapter to finish but I’m stuck anyway.” Toshinori said with a shrug. “I could use a little break.”
“Oh, thank you so much, Toshi!”
Toshinori smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s no problem, really.”
Peering out from behind his mother’s leg was a small boy with dark messy hair. He peered out at the man that to him, was a giant. Noticing little Izuku, Toshinori squatted down so that he could be more on the kid’s level. He offered a playful grin and a wave.
“Hey there, Izuku!” Toshinori greeted in a playful tone. “I’m uncle Toshi, it’s nice to meet you!”
Izuku was gently nudged forward by Inko. Toshinori could see the remembrance between mother and son instantly. They shared the same eyes and hair, though Izuku’s was a floofy mess. Toshinori noted the freckles, as he could recall, Hisashi, Inko’s ex-husband, had them too.
Regardless, he was absolutely charmed by the kid, Izuku was adorable. It was likely that was what Inko was counting on. It was never a secret that Toshinori was fond of kids, he was looking forward to being a father one day. It was a mystery to many why he hadn’t attempted to start a family yet. He was a handsome and strong young man, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to find a significant other. But according to Toshinori it wasn’t the right time just yet. His writing career was only starting to take off so he was uncertain about stability. Buying his first house was a good first step. Perhaps playing the role of babysitter would be a good second step. After all, he would need to build up such skills if he was going to be a good father.
“Ah, Toshi, I’m going to have to run to work.” Inko said after she had realized the time. “Can you do me a small favor?”
Toshinori looked up at her with a curious blink and a raised eyebrow. “Uh, sure? What is it?”
Inko gave a nervous laugh. “You’re going to have to hold onto him.”
“Say what?” Toshinori replied flatly. He quirked an eyebrow at the request.
Instead of explaining further, Inko began to walk away. Izuku spun around and saw her starting to leave and immediately tried to chase her. He didn’t get far, Toshinori grabbed and scooped him up into his strong arms. Izuku then went into full panic mode.
Inko cringed as she heard her son scream and yell. She looked over her shoulder and called out an apology to them both. Izuku was thrashing about in Toshinori’s arms. He screamed, hit him and yanked the poor man’s hair. Toshinori seemed to be taking it like a champ, after all he couldn’t blame the kid too much. After his father leaving them Izuku was likely afraid of losing his mother too.
Toshinori huffed out a sigh and carried the boy into his house. It was going to be a tough first babysitting job.
The first couple of hours together hadn’t been all that great for either of them. Izuku kept hiding from Toshinori and even tried to escape the house. The scary thing was that the kid almost succeeded once or twice. If it was one thing, you had to give Izuku a lot credit, he was a startlingly smart four year old.
Toshinori gave a tired sigh as he waited for Izuku to come out from his latest hiding place. He would have assumed the kid had somehow escaped had it not been the broom closet. Toshinori’s brow furrowed together as he tried to think of a way to get the kid out of there. The easiest way would have been to just open the door and grab him. But he kept that option off the table for the time being, he wasn’t willing to give the kid another scare.
No, he had to be a little more clever than that. That was when Toshinori’s stomach gave a loud growl. He blinked as he realized just how hungry he was. It then donned on him that if a grown man was hungry then Izuku certainly needed something to eat too. Toshinori snapped his fingers as the idea hit him. He walked away from the broom closet to make sure the windows, and the front and back doors were locked. When he felt confident Izuku couldn’t possibly escape he made his way to the kitchen.
Izuku cautiously opened the broom closet door and peaked outside. He when he didn’t see Toshinori standing there he stepped out from the closet. Izuku would have headed for the front door immediately if his ears didn’t pick up on familiar sounds. He sniffed at the air, something smelled good and it made his tummy growl. Izuku plodded along toward the kitchen. He peered into the room and caught the sight of his babysitter working at the stove.
Toshinori wasn’t sure what Izuku liked, he would have to ask Inko when she returned from work. Until then he would go with something simple that he was certain tasted pretty good. As Toshinori turned to go to the refrigerator to get some milk, he suddenly paused.
Sitting at the table and waiting patiently was little Izuku. Toshinori snorted and then broke out into a laugh. The kid jumped a little at the sudden noise but soon calmed again.
“Hey Izuku, ever had beef stroganoff before?” Toshinori asked. When Izuku shook his head ‘no’ his smile widened into a grin. “Then you’re in for a real treat!”
It didn’t take too long for Toshinori to finish cooking the meal. After dishing some out for the both of them he found himself watching for Izuku’s reaction. The boy poked curiously at the food as if not sure what to made of it. But hunger seemed to win out in the end as he took a spoonful and cautiously tried it.
“Is it good?” Toshinori asked, a little worried.
Izuku looked at him as he chewed, much less afraid. He finally swallowed the food and smiled back at him. “Yeah!”
Toshinori smiled and reached out to gently ruffle the boy’s hair. “That’s good, eat up, alright?”
Izuku was startled by the man’s hand on his head and moved away from it. Toshinori cringed slightly and pulled his hand back. He obviously must have crossed a boundary that he shouldn’t have. He half expected the kid to run off and hide again but instead he went back to eating.
Toshinori made a mental note to avoid ruffling Izuku’s hair. It was a little disappointing but he had to respect the kid’s boundaries.
“We could watch some movies when we’re done eating.” Toshinori suggested.
It then donned on him that might not have been the best idea. Being a movie lover, Toshinori had a good sized collection of films. But he wasn’t sure if he had much that was appropriate for a four year old. He had to think it over for a moment but was then hit by an idea.
“Hey, Izuku, do you like superheroes?”
Izuku canted his head to the side when he heard the question. “Kacchan and some of his friends do.”
“But do you like superheroes? Have you ever seen a superhero movie?”
Izuku frowned as he thought the question over, he finally shook his head 'no’.
“Alright, I guess we’ll get to see your first one together then!” Toshinori said with a smile. He almost reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair but stopped himself. “Right! So let’s finish up dinner.”
Toshinori always had a soft spot for superhero films, he had quite a few in his movie collection. To start Izuku off easy he picked out 'Superman’ that starred Christopher Reeve. It was fairly lighthearted and seemed like a safer bet.
At first, Toshinori was worried that the beginning of the film might have been too boring for Izuku. But to his surprise, the kid’s eyes were glued to the screen. He also began to ask questions which allowed Toshinori to show off his nerd knowledge. It was a relief that Izuku lowered his guard enough so that they could talk. He was so quiet during time together that Toshinori suspected the kid didn’t like him.
“WOW!” Izuku gasped as he saw young Clark racing a train. He then turned to Toshinori and pointed to the screen. “That’s so cool!”
The look of excitement on Izuku’s face made Toshinori smile. He was enjoying the kid’s reactions more then the movie itself.
They got to watch the first and second Superman movies before Izuku finally fell asleep. He was using Toshinori as an oversized pillow, snoring and clinging to the man’s shirt. Toshinori inattentively reached up and gently ruffled the boy’s hair. He froze when he realized what he was doing and moved his hand away. He wondered why Izuku was so reluctant to accept such a simple affectionate gesture.
Then a thought hit Toshinori, perhaps it was something Izuku’s father would do. It might not have been that he didn’t like it but that it was reserved only for his father.
Toshinori gave a tired sigh, his thoughts were interrupted when he phone buzzed. He picked it up and saw that he had just gotten a text from Inko. She would be coming to pick up Izuku very soon and asked if he behaved. While omitting some details Toshinori texted back to her that Izuku behaved perfectly. After sending that text, he hesitated before starting to type more.
“I wouldn’t mind being Izuku’s babysitter again.”
-End of Ficlet Chapter1-