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“Mom! How could you say that!?” Izuku screeched, appalled by his mothers words.
“Whaaat? I’m just saying that the black and red really make his muscles pop.” Inko responds in a teasing tone.
“First of all, gross. Second of all, if you want to talk about making things pop then you have to agree that All Might’s Silver Age costume is the best. The blue enhances All Might’s eye color and the yellow of the boots and arm braces create a nice balance with his hair.” Izuku responds.
Izuku and his mother were driving back home from the doctor’s office and the conversation drifted to All Might, as it typically did.
“Alright, I yield. I know better than to argue with All Might’s number one fan.” Inko teases before adding, “Twelve years old and already lecturing me about hero fashion.”
Izuku lets out a small groan of embarrassment. “Mooooom, stooop.”
Inko smiles, reaching an arm over to ruffle her son's hair. “Okay, okay. So, are you excited for summer? You only have a few weeks of school left.”
“Of course I am! I can work on my note-”
The world lurched.
There was a sound like metal screaming, impossibly loud and far too close. Izuku felt himself jerk forward, the seatbelt biting into his chest as something slammed into the side of the car. Glass exploded. His mother shouted his name.
Then…nothing.
No pain. No fear. Just a sudden, absolute absence, like someone had turned the lights off without warning.
Izuku doesn’t know how much time passes.
He knows his name. He knows his mother. He knows that he was somewhere else moments ago, warm and loud and alive.
Now there’s cold beneath him.
He tries to move and his body doesn’t respond the way it should. His limbs feel wrong, too small, too weak, and when he opens his mouth to call for his mom, the sound that comes out is thin and broken.
A mewl.
Panic flares, sharp and overwhelming, but it slips through his thoughts like water through his fingers. It’s hard to hold onto anything for very long.
There is a shape above him. Warmth. Fur brushed against his side.
He’s lifted carefully and then placed somewhere soft. The presence lingers for a moment and then pulls away.
Izuku is alone again.
The cold creeps back in. His thoughts blur. Whatever he was trying to remember drifts just out of reach.
All he knows is that he is small, and he is breathing, and something deep in his chest aches in a way he doesn’t have words for.
Aizawa was on his walk back home from patrol when he stopped in his tracks. As a hero, he was always on alert, with his senses firing on all cylinders. He strains his ears to see if he can pick up the noise again.
There. The familiar cry of a mewling cat. From the sounds of it, it’s a kitten, young enough to still need its mother. If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to tell, but Aizawa likes to consider himself an expert on all things cat.
He follows the noises until he reaches an alley, the noises get louder the further he walks. Finally, he sees it. Curled up on a pillow and huddled against a dumpster is a tiny kitten.
Aizawa walks closer and squats down to get a better look at the small creature. It’s roughly the size of his hand, big for a kitten who looks this young. Aizawa notes that the kitten's tufted ears have yet to perk up.
The kitten continues to let out sad whines and mewls until Aizawa reaches down and scoops it up. The whines die out but the kitten continues to mewl as Aizawa cradles it into his chest and wraps it in his capture weapon.
Hopefully Hizashi will forgive him for bringing a cat home…again.
Hizashi is finishing up dinner when he hears the door to their apartment open.
“Zashi?” His husband calls out.
“I’m in the kitchen!” Hizashi responds. He finishes plating their stir fry and turns to find his husband with a guilty look on his face.
“What did you do this time?” Hizashi asks, in an exasperated tone.
Before Shouta can respond and loud mewl erupts from his capture weapon.
“Shoooo, why did your scarf just meow at me?” Hizashi asks, even if he already knows the answer.
Shouta stays silent, gently unwrapping his capture weapon to reveal the face of a kitten. Hizashi wants to be mad that Shouta brought home a cat again but the tiny face peeking out at him makes his heart squeeze with fondness.
Hizashi sighs as he approaches, “Where’d you find this little cutie?”
Shouta’s guilt melts away as he gently pets the kitten's head. “Poor thing was alone by a dumpster, some asshole must have tossed ‘em out.”
Hizashi frowns. “Poor baby. Well they’re in good hands now. I assume you wanna get them cleaned up and fed before we eat?”
“You don’t have to wait ‘Zashi. I can eat on my own later.”
Hizashi shakes his head with a smile. “I don’t mind waiting Sho. I’ll help you get the lil furball cleaned up.”
Hizashi places their dinner in the oven and moves to clear out the sink. “I’ll go grab the soap and some rags.”
Shouta and Hizashi are sat on the couch, Shouta bottle feeding the kitten while Hizashi feeds them their dinner.
“I should bring kittens home more often if it means you spoil me like this.” Shouta teases after swallowing a bite of stir fry.
“Don’t even think about it. The little green bean is an exception.” Hizashi retorts.
“Speaking of, why do you think he’s green? I thought he was just dirty but that’s actually his fur color.” Shouta ponders.
Hizashi shrugs, “Probably a quirk of some kind. We should watch out for any complications as he gets older, quirks can be weird sometimes.”
Shouta hums in agreement before looking up at Hizashi with hope in his eyes. “Soooo, does that mean we’re keeping him?”
Hizashi rolls his eyes affectionately. “Yes, we can keep him. But you need to call Nedzu and let him know that you need time off. We only have a few weeks left, I’m sure he could find someone to cover for you.”
“I’ll call him tomorrow. I don’t wanna deal with the rat right now.” Shouta says as he places the now empty bottle on the coffee table. He leans back and gently lifts their new kitten to rest on his chest. “What do you think of the name Moss? I figured an on the nose name could do for now.”
Hizashi snorts, “Yeah, I think that works.” He reaches a hand out and gently rubs the kitten's back. “But, I think I’ll still call him Green Bean.”
The kitten lets out one last, tiny chirp before curling more firmly into Shouta’s chest, his purring uneven and quiet, like he hasn’t quite figured it out yet. Shouta adjusts his grip without thinking, angling the kitten so his head rests just beneath his collarbone. The warmth seeps through the fabric of his shirt almost immediately.
“Guess that’s it for tonight,” Hizashi says softly, standing and gathering their empty plates. “We should probably get him settled somewhere warm.”
They move through the rest of the evening carefully, like the apartment itself might notice the new, fragile presence and protest if they’re too loud. Hizashi sets up a small box near the bed with blankets folded into something that resembles a nest. Shouta moves to place the kitten inside, only for Moss to protest immediately. His paws stretch out, claws catching on the fabric of Shouta’s sleeve as he clings to his arm.
“…Of course,” Shouta mutters. He lifts him back up with a sigh that holds no real annoyance. “Fine. You win.”
Hizashi laughs quietly. “Looks like you’ve been chosen.”
Moss settles against Shouta’s chest again, purring stronger now, one oversized paw resting awkwardly against Shouta’s collarbone.
Hizashi pauses, squinting slightly. “Hey, his paws are pretty big.”
Shouta glances down. He hadn’t noticed before, too distracted by how light the kitten felt, but now that Hizashi points it out, yeah. Those paws are way too big for the rest of him.
“…Huh,” Shouta says. “You’re right.”
“Well,” Hizashi shrugs, switching off the lights, “guess he’s got some growing to do.”
Shouta doesn’t sleep much that night.
Not because Moss is loud, but because every small shift, every uneven breath, has Shouta half-awake and checking to make sure he’s still warm, still breathing. At some point Moss crawls higher, tucking himself beneath Shouta’s chin, and Shouta freezes before slowly relaxing around him.
By morning, his neck is stiff and his capture weapon is tangled at his feet, but the kitten is still there, safe and warm.
Hizashi wakes soon after, turning his head and blinking blearily, then he grins. “Wow. He didn’t even hesitate.”
Shouta glares. “Don’t start.”
“Oh, I’m absolutely starting,” Hizashi says, already reaching out to scratch Moss gently behind the ears. The kitten leans into it without hesitation. “And people say you’re intimidating.”
Shouta sighs, but there’s no real heat in it. “Go make coffee.”
Aizawa settles on the couch and calls Nedzu, who answers on the second ring.
“Ah, Aizawa! To what do I owe the pleasure this early in the morning?”
“I need time off,” Shouta says flatly.
There’s a pause.
“Oh?” Nedzu hums. “Injured?”
“No.”
“Burnout?”
“No.”
“Personal reasons?”
Shouta looks down at the kitten currently kneading his lap with paws, content after being fed breakfast. “Something like that.”
Another pause. Then Nedzu laughs. “Say no more. UA does offer maternity leave, after all.”
Shouta pinches the bridge of his nose. “Don’t call it that.”
“I’ll grant you eight weeks,” Nedzu continues cheerfully. “Plenty of time to care for your new… addition. I do hope I’ll be allowed to meet them eventually.”
“…We’ll see,” Shouta mutters before hanging up.
Hizashi raises an eyebrow. “Eight weeks?”
Shouta nods. “Eight weeks.”
Hizashi smiles, looking back down at Moss. “Guess you're our baby now, huh?”
Moss blinks up at them, purring louder, one paw stretching out like he already knows he belongs.
Warm.
That’s the first thing that stays.
The world is still too big and too loud, but the hands holding him are steady, and the heartbeat beneath him is slow and familiar in a way he doesn’t have words for. He presses closer without thinking, paws kneading awkwardly as the sound around him settles into something safe.
There’s a blur of green in his thoughts. Something important, something he’s lost, but it drifts away when the hand strokes between his ears. The ache in his chest eases. The cold is gone.
He purrs, small and uneven, and the warmth answers.
For now, this is enough.