"A sleepover?" Mrs. Shinsou echoed.
Shouta nodded, awkwardly holding a cup of offered tea in the Shinsous living room.
It was about a week after Izuku had ran away in the middle of the night and was found by Shinsou Hitoshi on the streets.
After a few days of the first disastrous night of babysitting, the trio had decided to give it another shot. (But only after firmly wielding all the vents in the house shut tight) And it had gone just as well as Shouta would have imagined.
Which was to say, it did not.
Izuku threw a fit as soon as he caught wind that the hero would be leaving again. He had screamed and shouted and downright refused to let Shouta step within ten feet of the apartment door, blocking it with his massive rabbit form.
And even after Shouta had erased the kid's quirk, he still refused to move from his spot in front of the door.
Knowing the night would have gone terribly wrong if he forced the kid to let him leave, Shouta called in and cancelled his patrol. Apologizing that due to circumstances he wouldn't be able to go out just yet.
He could hear laughter in the voice over the phone and they told him not to worry about it, sometimes kids needed their parents more. And hung up before Shouta could correct them.
It was when the dark haired man brought Izuku along to play with the younger Shinsou (Izuku wouldn't stop asking about him and Shinsou's parents confirmed their son was eager to meet the other boy again) that Shouta got an idea.
"I am a pro hero who patrols largely during the night hours," he told the older Shinsous. "Due to Izuku's circumstances, he can't be alone for long periods of time, even when asleep. My friends watch over him when I'm out but, they have a hard time controlling him at best, and have to prevent him from running away again at worst." He swirls his cup a bit, watching the translucent liquid dance under his direction. "It doesn't help that Izuku isn't overtly fond of them."
"You think he'll listen to Hitoshi," Mr. Shinsou stated.
"I do," Shouta confirmed as he set down his cup. "Besides myself, Izuku hasn't exactly bonded with another human person. He will tolerate them, but nothing too far beyond that. I think the problem might have to do with the people he does meet being adults." Leaning back in his seat, Shouta nodded once in the Shinsous direction. "Your son is his own age and has already been successful in dragging Izuku out of his shell. If we could get Izuku to hang out more often with him I feel like it would be a step forward in his progress."
"That sounds... reasonable," Mrs. Shinsou said, sharing a glance with her husband.
Mr. Shinsou seemed disturbed. "Did that child really grow up in a forest by himself?" He asked, horrorstruck.
"We believe that to be the case."
"I see... well, by all means I can't really find a problem with that," Mr. Shinsou admitted. "I can already tell you Hitoshi will be thrilled. He admires heroes, you see. He'll probably faint when he finds out he will be staying in a hero's home," he laughed.
At that moment, a loud THUMP sounded from down the hall and was soon followed by a quick yelp!
The three adults in the living room stilled.
And slowly turned in the direction of the noise.
"...you two doing alright over there?" Mr. Shinsou called out slowly.
When they did not get an answer right away, Shouta was almost out of his seat to go check on them himself but stopped as a head of purple hair sheepishly pokes itself into the room.
"Um... Izuku's foot is stuck in the door."
"In?" His mother asks with a bit of a tilt. "Like insi—"
"Inside the door, yeah."
Getting up to see for themselves, they had the clear view of Izuku carefully using the doorknob to balance himself as he hung upside-down by his foot.
The hole went straight through the flimsy wood of the door, and his foot, thankfully, was fully scaled and protected from splintering edges.
Rabbit ears swiveled at their arrival and Izuku looked up. "St-uck," he said awkwardly and trembling in his effort not to slip off the handle.
Shouta put his face in his hands and groaned. "I'll pay for a new door."
Luckily, Shinsou's parents weren't too upset that a feral-raised child put a foot to their son's door and was still willing to allow the younger Shinsou to stay over.
Which brought to a new problem.
Shinsou did not yet know about Izuku's bigger form and Shouta did not want him to learn about it while he was out patrolling.
Because the kid would find out about it right away.
Which led to Shouta sitting down Shinsou and explaining to him about Izuku's quirk.
As it turned out in the end, he didn't need to worry.
As a ten year old boy, finding out your friend can turn into a large, very easily ridden, creature was pretty much the coolest thing to exist.
Shinsou wasted no time in stroking Izuku's thick soft fur and to admire how cool his scaled half was as he rapped his knuckles on his hind legs testing their toughness.
Izuku preened at the praises, looking genuinely pleased with himself. It was the first time Shouta realized just how proud the boy must be of his other form.
When Hizashi showed up at the apartment, he was greeted with a small Shinsou Hitoshi riding a shifted Izuku around the house like a majestic steed on their way to war in a room way too small.
Not that the two children seemed to mind as they knocked over books and picture frames off the walls.
Six months pass in what seems like a blink of the eye and little Izuku was a terrifying sight to behold.
The moment Nezu had decided Izuku was far along enough to learn how to read and started to teach him the basics, Izuku pounced on as many books as his grubby little hands could reach at his current level.
Which was, still low and mostly revolved around younger children's books, but he was starving for them. He was finally able to put a story to the beautiful pictures he would admire for hours on end.
At first, he read silently to himself until Shouta suggested that he read out-loud to help with his pronunciation skills and allowed the hero to correct the curly haired child if he was off. His accent was still thick and snappish, making Shouta wonder if his damaged tongue is causing him more troubles than the doctor originally thought.
But doctor Yasushi told him it was alright, and Izuku didn't seem too bothered with it himself, so he pushed it from his mind for now as he walks into the police station.
"Oh, good! You're here!" Came Tsukauchi's greeting as he walks up to the hero with a steaming white mug in his hand.
"You mentioned you wished to speak to me after my patrol, so I thought I would just drop by on my way home instead of calling in later," Shouta grunted, sliding off his yellow goggles from his eyes and placing them to rest around his neck.
The detective nods around his drink and waves at Shouta to follow him into his office.
"It took several months, but a spot finally opened up for little Izuku to be placed in a foster home," Tsukauchi told him as they both settled down.
Shouta's throat tightened. "Oh?"
"Chiki-san is one of the best for handling highly energetic children who possess strong or dangerous quirks." Rifling through the files on his desk, Tsukauchi finds what he was looking for and hands over a nondescript beige folder in Shouta's direction. Opening it up, the folder contained 'Chiki's' photo, information, background history, and her overall dealings with past children that were under her care. As far as Shouta could tell, it was impressive.
"What about his schooling?"
"Chiki-san is able to homeschool children up until their high school years, if necessary. But UA has been doing a great job at it from the reports you've been giving." A thoughtful hum. "If Nezu and the rest of the staff do not mind it, then considering Izuku's unique circumstances it might work out better if he keeps learning under you." Tsukauchi smiled and added.
"I don't think it would be wise to uproot too much at once for him, so I would prefer that as well," he grunted, but his mind was racing.
Izuku leaving? The concept sat foreign on his mind. He forgot he was only the kid's temporary caretaker, and that eventually his problem child would need to leave his house in his search for a new, loving family. Izuku deserved one, no doubt.
And yet.
"When does he have to move?" Shouta asked with a vague feeling of a doctor about to tell a patient how long they have left to live before an illness claims them.
"A week. The child that is moving to their new home will be packed and out of there in a few days, and Chiki-san should have the room cleaned up for a new occupant by the twenty-third, roughly eight days from now." The detective tapped the surface of his desk at an even rhythm with his pen. "I wanted to tell you right away so you could ease him into the news."
Shouta nodded, absentmindedly.
Was it even possible to be eased into? Izuku is going to be crushed to hear that he will have to move away. Surely it's too soon?
But the kid has been doing well, already making leaps in bounds in his progress. And if Shinsou was anything to go by, being around other children might be good for his social learning. He needed to be exposed to people closer to his own age more.
So, really, it was for the best.
Izuku can finally get his life on track and Shouta can go back to his sense of normalcy from before.
He does not exactly recall giving the detective a vague wave and saying he'll sort it all out, nor does he recall leaving the station but he does snap back to reality when the door to his apartment looms in front of him, shut as tightly as a vault door protecting the treasure that hides beyond it.
He unlocked it like a bank robber avoiding detection, wanting nothing more than to slip in unnoticed and desperately hoping that the catastrophe that was sure to strike, wouldn't.
But the clicking of the door opening may as well be as loud as a gunshot to the keen hearing of a rabbit's senses, because as soon as Shouta steps through that door a loud THUMP sounds from the bedroom, followed by the scraping scratching of scales scrambling for purchase.
The bedroom door slams open and a small blurry green mass barrels at the dark haired man at impossible speeds.
Shouta, being used to this over the months, widens his stance on autopilot and catches the way-too-hyper-at-this-time-of-the-morning child as he tackles into his stomach.
And as a trained, professional hero, Shouta did not flinch and wheeze as his lung capacity emptied against their will. It simply did not happen.
"Shouta!" Izuku all but shouted in his joy. "Well-come home!"
"Izuku," Shouta said breathlessly as air worked back into his lungs, "you don't need to greet me every time, you are going to wake Shinsou."
"Too late for that," came a weak groan. Through the opened door Shouta could see a crumpled heap collapsed next to the bed. The source of the loud noise from before?
Shouta ran his fingers through curly green locks, lightly scratching. He should tell Izuku about the foster program. The sooner they ripped the band-aid off the sooner he could soothe the kid into knowing that this is for the best and how close he was to getting a loving family that would cherish him.
But then those wide, shining green eyes looked up at his, sparkling full of trust and mirth, that his heart twinged in his chest.
"Go back to sleep, there is no school today," he said instead, giving his boy's hair one last ruffle before nudging him back to his room where Shinsou played the convincing role of a corpse. Izuku shot him a look.
"Shouta too?"
"Me too," he told him. "I'll sleep in a bit, I promise."
Satisfied, Izuku trounced over to his friend, grabbed his arm, and dragged his lifeless body back to the comfort of the mattress. All while reprimanding him about how sleeping on the floor 'isn't good, Hito-shi!'
Poor Shinsou, he simply wasn't one for early mornings.
Giving a nod to Hizashi who was slumped on the couch, Shouta slipped into the kitchen.
Would Shinsou and Izuku still be friends after the move? He doesn't see a reason why not. From the file, the address wasn't too far away from the Shinsous residentiary. There should be no problem in letting the purple haired child visit Izuku.
The sink squeaked as the water flow was halted. Shouta graciously chugged down his glass, the cool liquid soothing his throat.
Finishing, he placed the mug down back on the counter, right next to a nearly identical one. Except instead of a black cat design, there was a green bunny happily printed on the side. Gifts from Hizashi and Nemuri.
He looked at the other mug, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he recalled the day he had to switch to giving the kid chocolate milk instead so it would 'match Shouta's' in color.
Gods forbid the day that kid got a taste of coffee proper.
Shouta all but collapsed onto the other couch, taking a page out of Hizashi's book. Today was the weekend, and that meant Shouta was free to thankfully sleep in. His mind was on Izuku's bright smile and emerald eyes as he drifted off. And how much he dreads watching them dim.
"That about wraps it up for today, I believe!" The rat-Nezu declared, clapping two white paws together.
Izuku swished his tail in answer, not sure if he was relieved that Nezu was finally leaving or annoyed because he didn't get to finish their set today.
Nezu must have seen his expression because he flourished two white sheets of paper seemingly out of nowhere. "I know you are eager to learn, Izuku—just as eager as I am for you! That is why I am giving you worksheets to go over once you return back to your home. This will be a challenge of sorts to test your current knowledge and comprehension skills. I am sure Shouta will be happy to help you through them if necessary."
The rat's words bled through Izuku's ears and oh, how badly he wishes he could turn his hearing off. He doesn't understand why the rat continues to use words Izuku doesn't understand yet. He gets the feeling his teacher does it on purpose. To motivate him into learning more?
It worked, of course. It was just annoying.
Izuku shoved his ire down and looked at the sheets of paper with an excited tingle.
What was it Hitoshi called it? Homework?
Sure, he also complained about it all the time but—Izuku never gotten any until now! The knowledge that he and Hitoshi were going to be doing the same thing made his tail curl in pleasure.
The rat hopped off the couch-nest, still going on about something or another. Izuku tuned him out until he was white noise to his ears.
Izuku noticed a pattern after his 'lessons'.
If Nezu decided to teach him as soon as he arrived at the fake forest for the day, then by the time he leaves the building another human usually doesn't take his place until somewhere past five or ten minutes. (yes, he has noticed that someone was always watching him even if they didn't show themselves!)
So, Izuku has a period of time where he is alone. No one watching him. What is he going to do with this? Easy. He is going to escape.
The fake forest was, no, has been boring for a while now. It was no fun! He longed to stretch his legs in real dirt surrounded by real trees with a real genuine breeze.
But no one wants him to leave the fake forest for some reason! It was especially frustrating because there was an actual one just farther along! He saw it! Why can't he play over there?
His clawed fingers dug into the sofa, ears pricked for Nezu leaving the fake forest entirely.
Izuku slipped out of the little room he and Nezu usually spend their sessions together and peeked around the corner, watching as the double doors close behind the rodent as he walks away.
Go time.
He shoots from his place and into the fake forest, expertly dodging around roots and trees.
Five to ten minutes. That is his timeframe. He doubts he can actually succeed today, as he has been trying for nearly a week now—but who knew! Today is a new day and Izuku is not easily swayed away.
He slows down as he comes up on a low hanging branch. Ducking under it, the wild-born boy crawls over the few remaining feet to where a bush was slowly taking over the side of the building. Gently peeling the cover back, Izuku reveals a window.
Some interesting things about this window:
It was thick It was tough Izuku broke at least two claws trying to pry it open Those broken claws hurt a lot
He was positive he could outright break the window if he shifted and slammed into it enough times, but he did not want a broken window. Izuku was sure a broken window was easily discovered. But if he could somehow open it... then the boy could slip through it as many times as he liked, with no one the wiser.
He thought it was a good plan. It wasn't as if he were planning to do something bad! He only wanted a bit of fresh air!
His tail twitched with concentration as the boy got to work on the lock mechanism that sealed the window tightly shut. He got close, last time. He thinks so, anyway.
Face scrunching up, a forked tongue poked itself from scarred lips. Newly regrown claws poke and dig farther down into the metal as they map out just what makes it tick .
And they do. Before he knows it, his finger suddenly glides easily off to one side as the lock gives out under a soft click . Gently pushing against the window, he tested it.
The window flawlessly swung open upwards without an issue, and Izuku practically preened at his success.
Do I have enough time to slip out today? He wonders with a shooting glance towards the ceiling. He can't sense anyone in that hidden room yet. Should be fine—right?
He crouched back under the bush, wiggled his lower body, and jumped through the now open window, landing on his feet his ease.
Sweeping a look around, he could see no humans nearby—perfect! He'll only step out for a little bit and be back before they even notice he was gone.
Izuku raced away from the building that held the fake forest and shifted once he was a decent distance away, beyond thrilled for the chance of just running under the sun again. He was far from it, but to Izuku it felt like home .
The school forest was too far away to run to and back today, so Izuku gladly settled for gleefully jumping and pouncing around on the fresh cool grass under his paws, pretending beetles were prey as he chased them around.
And then he saw something that made his hunters senses flare with a burning passion.
A mole was snuffling among fallen leaves in search for seeds, just a few mere yards away.
And Izuku, who hasn't hunted in two seasons now, was ecstatic. He crept forward, inching his large body stealthily towards the small creature.
But with the lack of proper cover, and his over energetic movements coupled with his hunting skills being stale with misuse, the mole froze and that was all the warning Izuku got before it darted in the opposite direction.
Izuku lurched forward, giving chase. It was less about catching food, and more about the thrill of it all. Something the rabbit creature realized he sorely missed.
The mole veered to the left and Izuku pivoted on his paws and propelled himself forward in a magnificent leap.
He didn't catch the mole as much as he crushed it under the force of his paws, but the boy did not mind a bit of flattened prey. He bent his long neck down, teeth lightly grabbing the small creature before flinging it in the air directly above him. His teeth snap shut as he caught the mole and swallowed the thing whole. A decent snack to go with his exercise.
Pleased, he licked his muzzle. I should probably go back now. He had ended up a decent ways off from the fake forest building, lost in his joy of the hunt. It probably could've ended sooner, but he went easy on the thing!
Lifting his head, Izuku looked around him. Still no sign of humans, good. He shouldn't have gotten caught then.
The boy bounded towards the fake forest building in long strides aided by his beastal form. Izuku dropped it and shifted down to his smaller as he neared the building, not wanting to cause attention to himself and squeezed back inside through the window.
His body rolled on the dirt and he stilled, waiting for any sign that he had been noticed.
Predictably, nothing happened. Because why would the other humans outside of the rat and Shouta and his friends interact with him? So, he shrugged and carefully closed the window, making it look as if it were still locked. It was frustrating that he had to steal moments of being free, but he didn't want to take the chance of the rat making it so he couldn't slip out, or the possibly of disappointing Shouta.
"So, Problem Child."
Said child was in his much larger form, laying on his back with his paws tucked neatly under his chin as he tilted his head up at the hero.
"Do you mind telling me why several students claim to have seen a 'very large green animal prowling near the gyms'? Any idea as to who that might have been?" Shouta listed off, staring down at his charge.
The kid had the nerve to gaze up at him with a look of absolute innocence in his green dappled eyes. Izuku let at a questioning chirp and, that was total bullshit because Shouta knows the kid can understand him now to a point. But only when he wanted to it seemed.
Shouta sighed, watching as Izuku's tail starts twitching erratically, a sign that the boy was happy.
He didn't see how his kid could have slipped out. The man had checked every window and they were all shut, and the doors were locked. He should not have been able to get out.
But this was Izuku, and after three more attempted escapes from his apartment all for silly reasons and never completely out of the apartment complex, Shouta was sure the kid got a kick out of it all and slowly turning into some escape artist.
"You are going to be the cause of me getting grey hairs early," he sighed, petting thick fur. "Now please shift back, you are shedding all over my floor."
"Hito-shi, what is your quew—quirr—um."
"Quirk?"
"Yes!" Izuku nodded with his usual wide eyed smile.
Hitoshi hummed; his eyes glued to the phone his parents had given him a few months after he had met Izuku. "Why you wanna know?"
"Why?" His friend's face scrunched up. "Ned-zu said a-bout them today." A chirp. "Weird p-wers?"
"Powers? Yeah some are pretty weird," Hitoshi agreed.
"Yes! That why hu-mans smell weird. Diff-rent."
Smell?
Hitoshi looked up at Izuku, who was dissecting his newest book. "Izuku can you... smell quirks?" The other boy looked up at him, tilting his head as he processed the words in his mind, then nodded. And was that normal? No, that didn't really matter, what he wanted to know was—"What does my quirk smell like?"
Izuku's face fell into one of concentration. "Um... spinny, twisty?" He moved his finger in a circle, spiraling inwards.
"Spiral?"
Izuku nodded, and what? How do you even smell spirals?
"From your mouth," he continued on pointing at his own. "And flowers. Purple flowers."
The purple haired boy snorted. "That sounds nice."
"Hito-shi smells good," Izuku agreed with a cheshire grin.
And then looked expectantly at him, waiting. Hitoshi's smile dropped.
"I don't want to say my quirk, you'll think it's stupid."
Izuku frowned and lowered his book. "I won't."
"Yes you will. Then you won't want to be friends anymore," Hitoshi all but bristled. That was how it usually went, anyway. He would make a friend, tell them his quirk, and before he knows it, they refuse to talk to the purple haired child anymore or act overly nervous in his presence. He didn't want to see that happen with Izuku, not with how far they've come.
Said child made a garbled noise in the back of his throat, his face twisted in befuddled confusion. "I won't ," he said, distressed. "Hito-shi is friend, my friend."
He could tell the green haired boy wanted to say a whole lot more on the subject, but his vocabulary was limiting him from doing so. And Hitoshi does realize it is a bit silly to think Izuku would hate him because of his quirk, especially when the boy turned into a giant rabbit monster himself. Hitoshi thought it was cool, but he knows someone other people wouldn't think so.
But still. The fear of rejection lingers and grips his heart tightly with Izuku shaped claws. Tight and suffocating.
He takes a deep breath, pushing down the lump in his throat. "My quirk lets me brainwash people."
When a few moments passed in silence, Hitoshi tore his eyes nervously from their place on the floor to his friend. Izuku's eyes were clouded as he stared blankly at him, and right , small words.
"I can control people," he tries again with a slight wince, "if they answer me back, I can get them to do what I want."
Izuku let out a thoughtful trill. "Oh," he said, his ears rising, "your power is cool!"
Hitoshi blinked. "You think so?" His friend bobbed his head and made a motion in the air with his furry hands.
"Yes! Can stop b-ad guys! Or let prey catch," he added with a snigger.
"My quirk doesn't work on animals," Hitoshi snorted with amusement. The hold on his chest lightened as relief flooded his system. Izuku still thought he was cool.
Dark ears flopped to one side as the other boy tilts his head. "Why? Work on it?"
"If I do that, you'll get too fat."
"What is wrong with that? More food good."
Hitoshi laughed at that. Izuku indignant wacked him softly with his bristled tail. "What is wrong with that? Hito-shi? Hey."
His tail assault was saved by Aizawa exiting the bathroom as he arranges his scarf in place. The pro hero focused his eyes to the wrestling children and Hitoshi couldn't help but notice how darker the bags underneath looked, as if he hadn't been getting much sleep lately.
Aizawa's gaze lingered on them, his mouth opened clearly wanting to say something. But then he closed it with a blink.
"Nemuri will be here soon, will you two be alright?" The man asked instead.
Izuku chimed in a "yes!" right away as Hitoshi said at the same time "I am going to be mauled to death."
Aizawa snorted gruffly, with his hand on the doorknob he pointed to the green chaos maker. "Be good. Stay out of trouble. No escape attempts. I'll see you in the morning." And then he was out.
It used to be that one of the hero's friends would have to arrive before he left, not wanting Izuku to be left to himself. But he had started trusting Hitoshi more with keeping his friend under control and the insomniac wouldn't lie to say that he felt a little proud of that fact. Like he was important.
Hitoshi kicked Izuku off of him. The boy made a noise of fake betrayal as he rolled with the kick and onto the floor, collapsing dramatically.
"Aizawa acted a bit weird, what's up with that?" He questioned, peering down the scarred boy's face.
"Dunno," Izuku grunted. "Weird for," he looked at his fingers and counted, "four days."
He paused, letting his hands fall to his chest and Hitoshi could see concern in his emerald eyes.
"Shouta smells sad," he whispered quietly after a moment. "Try to make him hap-py, but he gets more sad."
"I doubt it's your fault," he reassured his friend. He knows how much Izuku cares for the hero. His heart twisted as Izuku tilted his head in Hitoshi's direction, his green eyes pools of misery. And he wanted to tell him everything would be alright, that Aizawa will cheer up and this would pass. That sometimes people just get sad for a while.
He opened his mouth to delay all of this, but that was the moment Nemuri kicked the door open in her lively fashion and started shoving takeout at the duo, saying something along the lines of "please don't tell Shouta I gave you this, Izuku technically shouldn't be eating this junk," as she slammed down some of the most unhealthy, sugar inducing food Hitoshi has seen in his life.
Which meant that it was absolutely delicious, and the smell was heavenly as both boys practically melted into the carpet. Their previous conversation swiped to the side, but not forgotten.
"It's maniac," Shouta supplied, pointing to the worksheet. "Do you know what it means?"
Green eyes narrow down at the paper, thinking. "...angry?"
"In a way," he hummed, "it is a behavior. Usually when a person is acting wild or obsessive. It can stem from anger depending on the situation."
"Ob-siss-ive?"
"Something that is always on your mind and you let it overtake you."
Izuku nodded along, paying attention as he chewed on the end of his pencil. He could see the kid was nervous about something and kept shooting him glances when he thought the man wasn't paying attention. Shouta would have to kick himself if he said he didn't know why. Not when he has been acting strange as well for the past few days.
It is day six, nearly a week, since the detective told the hero that Izuku is going to move out soon, and Shouta still hasn't said a word to the kid.
That's bad—it was pathetic! He was acting like a complete and utter coward!
He could see Izuku flinch in the corner of his eye as his mood plummeted. Right. He needs to control himself.
"Izuku," he says suddenly, "do you remember your parents?"
"What?"
"Before you lived in the forest. Do you remember them?"
Izuku looked at him as if the man had suddenly sprouted another head. " All-ways lived in forest."
And, oh, how badly Shouta wanted to strangle the bastards who would abandon their own kid in the wild at an age he couldn't even remember them. The knowledge that they had done so with the intention of letting the kid die without anyone ever being the wiser.
It filled him with rage, and he swears if he ever gets the chance to come across them, the first thing he is going to do is punch them in the face.
But Izuku didn't need to know that.
A sadness pangs at his heart. The kid deserved a better life than what was dealt out to him.
A tug on his pants brought his attention back.
Izuku was staring up at him, his face concerned and distressed.
"Why is Shouta sad? Stop," he whined.
"Sorry kiddo, I didn't mean to upset you," he murmurs, ruffling those green wild curls.
They were soft, no longer an unruly tangled mess chalked full of lice and grime from the time he had first lifted an all-too-thin bloodied child into his arms. His body had filled out considerably, no longer skin and bones as every single rib pulled taunt against the surface. Shouta had been there every step of the way to his road to recovery. And the thing was, even after six months he still wasn't perfectly healthy yet.
But this time, Shouta won't be the one to help him along, if Izuku moved away.
His hand stilled and he gave a long searching look down at the kid below him.
"Izuku, I have something I need to tell you."
Did he really want to do this?
Izuku tilted his head questionly. "What?"
And he realized that, to the bottom of his heart, he 100% did .
He leaned forward. "Can I be your dad?"
A ridiculous smile split across Izuku's face. "Already are," he replied with a chirp as if saying ' didn't you already know that? ' And Shouta's heart melts .
Lifting him up into his lap, Shouta hugged Izuku. His nose burying into his hair as the kid nuzzles against his neck, feeding off of the happiness radiating off his guardian at last .
Shouta never expected to grow this attached when he first held the child, but life was funny in that way as he hung onto his new son.
Aizawa Shouta has shared a photo to UA Teaching Staff Group Chat
[Picture of Izuku holding a sheet of paper with a look of absolute delight. Upon farther inspection, the paper is an official looking document with the words AIZAWA IZUKU enlarged and bolded.]
[Aizawa Shouta]
Finally named him.