Palm To Palm

Chapter 6

Third person pov

Izuku rolls into a form that vaguely resembles a rice ball against All Might's side, absolutely tiny next to the hulking skyscraper of a man. Nighteye took a seat primly across from them, eyes crawling greedily across the apartment and taking everything in with insatiable hunger. Izuku could definitely understand that, solemnly enough. From one All Might fanboy to another, he too had soaked up the space like a happy sponge his first day in. He still did from time to time, but it was sort of like exposure therapy, to be honest. Now he was just numb to the awe. 

That was besides the point anyway. All Might was sweating like a pig waiting for slaughter and it only got worse the longer his former sidekick stayed silent. He was doing his best to stay strong for Izuku, but he couldn't deny Mirai had mad intimidation points backing him. Not as many as Gran Torino-- All Might's worst nightmare, second to only All For One. Maybe. Depending on his mood. 

Izuku, for the record, did not squeak like a startled mouse when Nighteye's gaze descended upon him like a vulture onto the corpse of a raccoon on the side of an interstate highway. The way his glasses glinted was ominous in the worst way, and Izuku momentarily wondered if there was something he could do to get out of this situation. A glance at Toshinori told him the man was going to be no help in bailing him out. He was just as pale as Izuku was! At least they were in this together, he guessed. If Izuku was going down then he was, shamefully, going to drag All Might down by his hair antennas alongside him. 

"A son." Nighteye somehow didn't sound impressed, those two simple words firing like missiles from a launcher. The newly-awakened dad in All Might rose defensively to the challenge, batting them away with his shiny, fresh fatherly pride. 

"He's cute!" The blonde hero immediately blurted out, sounding distinctly offended on his behalf. Izuku pressed his lips together so tightly they formed a straight line and contemplated the benefits of willingly dissociating, and Nighteye still didn't look impressed. All Might, being the Number One hero, naturally did not waver in the face of this great threat. "And very smart. The brightest child I know."

"And how many children do you know, Toshinori?" Nighteye cocked an eyebrow in a manner near elegant, and Izuku was once again overcome with a feeling of severe inadequacy. He really didn't like this. Could they go back to the part where he was criticizing Toshinori-san's food tastes? Burning muffins? Writhing in pain from the injury he'd taken? He'd even take the thirteen papercuts he'd gotten from their failed attempt at origami over that oppressive glower! 

"Enough." Toshinori gave him the stink eye for a moment before collecting himself. Because he's a mature adult who does things maturely. "That's besides the point! I'm sure you're here to address my increase in patrols!" 

Nighteye nodded wordlessly as Toshinori puffed his chest out pridefully, the underground hero unable to stop the fondness that washed over him unbidden. Izuku looked between the pair hesitantly, trying to figure out whether or not he should say something. If he called for a bathroom break, he was pretty sure he'd at least make it out the front door before either of them could bring themselves to react. Or he could say he'd gotten food poisoning. But Toshinori-san had been eating all the same things as him and would definitely call him on it. Maybe. Or maybe he'd give him the out... it could be worth a shot.

No... no, this is unavoidable, isn't it? He's pretty sure he hasn't been this scared in his entire life, barring that one time he found out his mother got burned alive, but trauma dictates that he's at least a little numb to all that. For now. He'll have (another) mental breakdown eventually. Nighteye is All Might's former sidekick and it makes sense he'd show up eventually. Ugh. Oh woe is him. He got a nice, loving new home with the literal Number One Hero and now he has to talk to his super badass former sidekick who can see the future. He'll never recover.