Chapter 3
Both Todoroki and Midoriya get the next day off work so they could start making calls. The first one is to Inko, asking her to come over so they could break the news in a nicer way. They also had to tell her the doctors requested she did got tested for ALS, to see if it was an inherited case.
"Oh Izuku! It's so good to see you, though I was a little surprised when you asked me to come over. Shouldn't you be working, honey? " Inko says, wrapping her son in a huge hug the second she walked in the door.
"Hey Mom! It's good to see you too. Come on in, Shoto is in the living room," Midoriya says, trying to keep his voice light and cheerful .
Inko instantly sees right through her son, but she says nothing, waiting for him to bring it up on his own. She follows Midoriya to the living room, giving Shoto a small wave.
"Hello, Mrs. Midoriya," Todoroki says politely.
"Oh Shoto, I've told you you can call me Inko, dear," she replies with a warm smile. "You've been dating Izuku for years now. Next thing you know, you two will be getting married!"
When the boys here and go talking about marriage, they both involuntarily tense. It was something they hadn't really considered yet, and now the chance to spend years married was taken from them. What was the point in rushing so they can't get married in the little window of life Midoriya had left? It wouldn't be the same as if it has happened naturally.
Inko had noticed the way the boys tensed and begin to worry if they'd call her here to tell her they broke up. "Izuku, it is... Is there something wrong?"
Midoriya takes a deep breath, partly to calm himself, but mostly to avoid answering. How do you tell your mother you have a fatal disease unlikely we have less than three years to live? There wasn't really a good way to do that.
"Mom...... I.... I have ALS. I was diagnosed yesterday and was told I have three to five years to live," Midoriya says, looking at his hands the whole time.
Inko down for a moment, trying to wrap her head around what her son was saying. "But.... Can't do the doctors do anything? Isn't there cure?"
Both boys stay silent, which answers Inko's question. There was no cure.
"How?" Inko whispers. "How is there no cure? So many other things have been cured..."
"A failing of the old world government. They didn't dedicate the time or the money to research the illness, so people continue to suffer today," Todoroki says softly.
"Oh Izuku... Do the doctors have any idea of how you got it?" Inko asks, wringing her hands in her lap.
Midoriga thought back to the email Dr. Renzo had sent, outlining the basics of the disease. "Well, most cases are random, but five to ten percent are inherited. My doctor thinks you should get tested, mom," he says, glad his mother wouldn't have to go through the array of testing he did.
"I'll book an appointment later today. Izuku baby.... Is there anything I can do for you?" Inko asks, feeling tears start to prick her eyes. Her poor boy... What ever had he done to deserve all the bad things the world threw at him?
"I think we're alright for now. Th-thanks mom," Midoriya says, his voice breaking slightly.
"Promise you'll ask if you need something?"
Midoriya just nods, not trusting himself to speak. Todoroki wraps his arms around the smaller boy's waist, pulling him close. Inko gets up to leave, pausing to give each boy a brief hug before she left. The boys sat together silently, gathering themselves.
"Sho.... How are we supposed to do this again and again? How are we supposed to tell them I'm going to... die?" The last word is hardly more than a whisper, and it's coated in fear.
"Please Izuku... lets not worry about that part just yet," Todoroki says, feeling like he would utterly break down if he had to think about Midoriya dying. They'd have to face it eventually, but not now.
"Okay Shoto..."
The heterochromatic boy sighed, trying to release some tension from his body. "We can't keep doing this one by one. We need to get groups of people, at least four. But how do we get everyone together? So many of the people we need to tell are heroes..."
"I'm going to have to retire anyways, so why don't I just let the press do the work?" Midoriya suggests. "It's going to come out eventually."
"Do you want the media hounding you for the next three to five years?" Todokoki asks dully.
"You're right, you're right," Midoriya says, wrinkling his nose. As soon as the press knew he was sick, he could kiss what little of his privacy remained goodbye. Midoriya closes his eyes, trying to think of a solution.
Oddly enough, the solution comes from Mina. Midoriya's phone goes off, and he picks it up to look at the text.
Mina
UA is having a class reunion in 2
weeks. I expect u and Shoto there
He'd hardly finished reading the text when his phone went off a second time, Todoroki's going off simultaneously. It's an email from their agencies letting them know they bad September 11th 2414 off for the class reunion. It was quite possible that class B and C would also be at this reunion, so it would be the easiest opportunity to tell a bunch of people all at once.
Todoroki and Midoriya looked atone another, not wanting to drag something so dark to the reunion but unable to think if a better way to get everyone together all at once
"We'll wait til the end... Then we'll tell them.," Midoriya whispers, burying his face in Todoroki's chest, listening to the sound of his boyfriend's breathing, his heartbeat.
ØØØØ
Two weeks had never seemed to pass so slowly, yet so quickly at the same time. Midoriya had all but retired, as it was too risky for him to continue doing hero work. More symptoms were starting to make themselves known. There were the tremors, the spasms and the coordination loss from before, as well as the slurred speech and noticeable muscle weakness.
If Midoriya couldn't keep a proper hold on a chair or a book, how could he be counted on to rescue someone?
No, it was safer if Midoriya were to take himself out of the field. The cover story was he was focusing on some mison and he went into his office a few times to keep up the charade, but it would only work for so long. At the end of the month it would be announced to the agency that Midoirya was leaving, just a quiet affair so the press didn't catch wind of it.
Because Midoriya had no work to do, the days seemed so long. He didn't think he'd ever spent this much time in the house he shared with Todoroki. It was a beautiful house, more than big enough for the two of them. It felt empty with only Midoriya in it. He wandered aimlessly, trying to clean, though there really wasn't much to clean. He was too restless to read. Midoriya wasn't used to having this much downtime and there was a noticeable amount of energy built up now that he couldn't do hero work.
On the other hand, Midoriya was dreading having to tell his friends that he had ALS so the days seemed to speed by.
The only semi-bright spot was that Inko didn't have ALS. However, Midoriya's case was still inherited. The doctors had determined that it was Midoirya's father who had passed the disease down.
Midoriya was shocked when he felt a stab of anger when he heard the news. If someone had ALS, there was a 50-50 chance of passing down the disease to any children they had. But it was hard to stay angry at someone you didn't know, even if you weren't as forgiving as Midoriya.
And chances were his father didn't even know he had ALS. Midoriya was rather young to be affected. The average age was mid to late forties and at twenty-one, Midoriya was well below that area. It was uncommon, yes, but unfortunately not unheard of.
"Zuku? I'm home and I brought dinner."
The rich, heavy scent of Italian take-out fills the air, rousing Midoriya from the couch. He didn't remember when he zoned out, but it must have been a while ago, as his muscles felt stiff. He tries to hurry to the kitchen to help Todoroki, tripping on the two small steps that brought him up from the living room.
"Izuku! Are you okay?" Totodoki asks, rushing over to help Midoriya up.
"I'm fine. I've tripped before, Shoto," Midoriya says, a touch harsher than he intended to. Just because he was sick didn't mean he suddenly needed help with everything.
"I'm sorry Izuku, just just sounded like you fell hard. I thought you might have hit your knee," Todoroki says, genuine concern filling his voice.
Midoriya softens, feeling bad that he snapped at Todoroki. "I'm sorry, Sho. I don't know why I got so angry, I know you were just trying to help."
"It's alright, Zuku. Come on, let's go eat," Todoroki says, standing and offering Midoriya his hand. The smaller boy takes it, knowing it was more of a sign of affection then an offer of assistance.
"You better have those meatballs I like in there," Midoriya says playfully as they walk to the kitchen.
"What kind of monster do you think I am?"
Midoriya laughs as they sit at their kitchen table, unpacking the containers from the bag. Lasagna, garlic bread and the bite-sized meatballs cooked in marinara sauce then covered in cheese. The table was already set so the boys served themselves and dug in. There isn't much talking -the food is too good- but once the meal is over, they talk about trivial things. The weather, any news they had about their friends, old memories from UA.... Anything but Midoriya's illness and the way their lives were changing.
After dinner, Midoriya washes and Todoroki dries. Midoriya has a muscle spasm, dropping a plate into the sink and splashing them both with soapy water. They say nothing of it, just wish they could pretend that it was just the water making Midoriya lose his grip.
They go to bed early, Todoroki getting in and opening his arms. Usually, Midoriya was the big spoon, but tonight he wasn't complaining. He feels warm and loved in Todoroki's arms, but he can't fall asleep. He's awake for hours.
When he's sure Todoroki is deeply asleep, he gently disengages himself from his lover's arms, going to the bathroom. He locks himself in, standing in front of the mirror.
Midoriya ignites One for All, the familiar rush of power filling his body as lightning criss-crosses his skin. This power had been given to him so he could protect people. He always knew he would have to give up this power, but he didn't think he would have to do it so soon. Midoriya thought he would have this power well into his golden years and choose a successor from the next generation. But he couldn't do that job. He had to pick from the current pool of Pro Heroes.
The choice was an easy one though.
Midoriya fists his hand, turning off One for All as he does so. He knew exactly who he would give his quirk to. There really wasn't anyone else Midoriya would consider giving it to. He pulled his phone out if his pocket and unlocked it, opening his texts.
Midoriya
When is the next day you have off?
I need to talk to you.
With that, Midoriya shuts off the lights and slipped his phone onto the bedside table. He was almost back in bed when Todoroki inhaled sharply and lifted his head from the pillow.
"Zuku?" he mumbles, his voice thick with sleep.
"Just went to the bathroom. I'm alright," Midoriya says soothingly, sliding back into his lover's embrace.
"M'kay." Todoroki wraps his arms around Midoriya's waist, pulling the greenette snug to his chest.
Midoriya sighed, his mind finally calm. He can feel his muscles relaxing and sleep was beginning to lap at his body. He lets himself succumb, glad to escape the cold reality he faced if only for a few hours.