Two Heroes and A Hustler

16

A/N: In the second part of this chapter, there is a conversation about sex, nothing graphic (yet lol). Just a bit of sex/relationship education that I wish I knew when I was younger :). Happy reading!

After the probation officer leaves the next morning, Deku and Yamada are dragged into the living room by the little girl who proceeds to deconstruct the couch.

He's the only one who seems to be confused by her intentions as the teacher helps her by grabbing extra chairs and blankets. When he asks, the answer doesn't give him enough information, "A fort! We're building a fort!"

A fort was a strong post generally used by militaries. The building required intense integrity in order to protect the inhabitants from outside attacks and put them in a good enough position to fight back.

A fort was not a few couch cushions with blankets draped over top.

But the blonde didn't seem to question it, giggling with his daughter as she shouts the lyrics to Under Pressure. Everyday he faced some sort of strange situation that appeared to be common knowledge to everyone else around him.

While it still made him a little self-conscious, somewhere along the way he'd began to enjoy it.

So he bites his tongue and rather than pointing out the gross inaccuracies of the term and result, he sits inside the structure on the flower cushion. He watches and giggles at the shadow animals Eri creates in the flashlight Yamada holds up, clapping along with each successful execution.

When the door opens, the little girl is about ten minutes deep into her ridiculous story about the bunny and the wolf. All three campers look up, though they see and hear nothing but the sound of the door locking.

The hero is about to call out when a tentacle slithers into the fort, causing Eri to squeal, "TAMA-CHAN!"

She attempts to catch it before it retracts as Amajiki shyly peeks his head inside, "H-Hi."

The structure nearly collapses on all of them as she quickly jumps onto her big brothers leg. He quickly pulls her out, but her short attention span has shifted and demands that Amajiki be the one to play.

Deku helps Hizashi put the living room back together while the two fetch stuffed animals from her room. After confirming it's alright to grab the dino plush from his bed, the teenager catches a glimpse of his soft look, "What?"

"You're a really good kid."

He freezes, the blanket nearly slipping from his hands before he catches himself. His face heats up, and he can only pray that it doesn't translate to an actual blush. But he never had much faith so he turns around anyway, "Shut up, old man."

Now that reaction he was used to. And he tears up because of it, "Really, Deku."

"God, just leave me alone!"

Yamada doesn't know the extent of his trauma, but he didn't really need to. He knows the boy in front of him has already grown so much in the small time they've spent together. Six weeks ago, he wouldn't have done more than slightly frown and ignore him.

He never knew he could get so emotional from teenage stubbornness.

(And he definitely didn't go and text his husband that the little listener had told him to shut up in a blur of tears.)

Deku joins his foster siblings in a game of pretend with the stuffed animals, though he may or may not lean on Eri for creative support.

"A... businessman?" The little girl shakes her head so he tries another profession, "A cashier?"