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On an average Saturday, midmorning would find Shouta babysitting the boys while Hizashi would still out at the radio station. Izuku would typically play quietly by himself, sitting next to Shouta’s favorite grading spot- their too-lumpy, too-comfy couch- as he colored on random sheets of paper. Shouta would often side-eye the boy’s work, giving out compliments as he saw fit. Their fridge was already covered in Izuku’s drawings, but Shouta always found another in the boy’s pile to add on.
Midmornings also found Keigo out on their apartment’s balcony, stretching or doing strength exercises. Inui had suggested the teen take up yoga, and recently, Keigo had taken strides in doing such. He found a yoga Youtuber he liked and took to the balcony to do his stretches and poses. And Shouta had to say, it seemed to be helping with the teen’s anger and attitude problems.
That current morning, however, found all three of them inside, sitting around the coffee table as Shouta pressed around paper after paper. There was still documentation to be taken for the boys, especially if they were to start schooling soon. And it had been nearly six months. Inui and Hizashi were both confident that the boys would be able to start school at the start of the next term. Shouta… had his reservations. But he wasn’t going to go spouting them out, making Izuku and Keigo unconfident or angry.
“So…” Shouta drawled out, looking down at the documents on the coffee table while the boys sat in front of him. Or rather, Keigo sat, and Izuku squirmed around in Keigo’s lap, squeaking and chirping and playing with his brother’s feathers. “Yamazawa Keigo. Quirk: Fierce Wings. Sound good?”
Keigo shrugged half-heartedly as he preened Izuku’s feathers. “I guess. I still don’t get why I can’t go by Takami anymore.”
Shouta fought the urge to sigh heavily, because he’d had this conversation with Keigo. Multiple times. But Keigo was only fourteen. Shouta had to be patient, explain things thoroughly, and hope that the boy's stubborn streak wouldn’t break out once more. “Going by your old names and Quirk titles, it’s not safe,” the man said, only to be interrupted by the teen.
“Why not? I thought you guys cleared out all of the…” Keigo’s eyes glanced down at his baby brother, and he cleared his throat. “I thought you cleared them all out.”
“And we did,” Shouta said honestly. “But we don’t know if there are any informants or loose ends that could turn on us. It’s safest to abandon the Takami name for now. To keep you and Izuku safe.” Needing to drive the point home, Shouta said, “I know you want to want to keep Izuku safe, Keigo. Hizashi and I want to keep you both safe, which is why we’re doing this.”
Keigo huffed, but didn’t object or question anymore. Which may have been because Izuku was, as of that moment, attempting to climb up the teenager’s back like a monkey up a tree. Shouta absolutely did not smile at the sight.
“Alright, then. Yamazawa Izuku. Quirk: Fierce Wings-”
It was, surprisingly, Izuku who chirped up that time. “Not wings,” the little boy said, feeling uninclined to elaborate. Keigo froze, looking slightly pale, and Shouta frowned in confusion.
“What do you mean, Izuku?” he asked the five-year-old, who was ignoring him once again in favor of trying to swing his legs over Keigo’s shoulders. “What do you mean, not wings-”
“Just put it down as Fierce Wings,” Keigo snapped, grabbing Izuku’s ankles and assisting the child in swinging upwards to sit on his shoulders. The little boy chirped happily, scrunching up his nose and flapping his wings a little. “He has wings, right? Same Quirk as me.”
Shouta hesitated, pen hovering over the paper in front of him. After a few moments of inspecting Izuku- who was completely oblivious to Shouta’s confliction- and Keigo- who was stubbornly staring the man down, as if threatening him to question the teen’s statements- Shouta wrote down ‘undecided’. Swiftly, he flipped the paper over to join the rest of the pile so that Keigo couldn’t read it.
“Alright, then. We’ve got your documents nearly finished. Now onto the placement testing…”
Keigo threw his head back and groaned, jostling Izuku, who giggled mirthfully at his big brother’s distress. Shouta smirked, but his mind was still on Izuku’s reaction to his Quirk.
“Not wings.”
…
At least once per week, Hizashi took the time to take Izuku and Keigo into the great outdoors, an attempt to acclimate them to civilian life. Whether it was grocery shopping, a stroll on the trail near their home, or just a trip to the park- both boys absolutely ate up the time being outside. Especially when Hizashi gave them the ‘okay’ to fly overhead. Hizashi enjoyed watching his boys fly together. Izuku always flew lower than Keigo, nearly within arm’s reach of Hizashi, as though he were fearful the man would disappear. Keigo, not willing to leave his baby brother unattended, would send feathers after Izuku to keep the child company while he did loops and tricks high up in the sky. It was wonderful to see- Keigo and Izuku having the freedom to enjoy themselves, to experiment with their Quirks at their own accord, to just be children.
That day was not unalike any other. Hizashi had brought Izuku and Keigo out to the park, and Izuku was playing on the playground- with a few red feathers trailing after him- while Keigo did loops in the sky around the park. Hizashi, not pressed about any nearby dangers and happy to leave the boys to their own devices, sat nearby the playground and started putting together a new Spotify playlist on his phone.
It was hardly ten minutes later that the screaming started.
At first, Hizashi gave it no mind, thinking that there were just a few children being rowdy. But then, he heard a voice- so familiar, yet so, so foreign in its loudness- join the din, and his head shot up.
Izuku was standing in front of several older boys, screaming at the top of his little lungs for them to “Go away! Stay back!” Behind the child’s green wings- spread wide in a protective stance- laid a little purple-haired child, their limbs spread out on the woodchips. “Leave them alone!”
Hizashi bolted, pocketing his phone as he raced over to where Izuku was beginning to be surrounded by the bullies. From the spaces between the bullies’ bodies, Hizashi made out Izuku’s fearful yet brazen expression. His hair was fluffing up around his head as his wings kicked up air, bringing him to hover a few inches off the ground. And his eyes were-
His eyes were red?
But then Hizashi blinked, and suddenly Keigo was there, getting in between the bullies and his little brother. He snarled something at the children, his wings raised menacingly, and they scattered.
By the time Hizashi reached his boys, the bullies were gone. Izuku was shaking, and Keigo was seething. Taking a moment to take stock, making sure neither boy was injured, Hizashi then turned to the purple-haired newcomer on the ground.
“Hey, little listener,” he spoke softly, gently, like he had when he first met his boys. “Are you alright?”
The child sat up, their arms shaking as they forced themselves to stand on the woodchips. Brushing some dirt from the back of their pants, they stammered, “Y-Y-Yes. Thank you, P-Present Mic, sir.” And then, turning to Izuku, the child said, “And thanks, um…”
“Izuku,” the little boy shyly offered, tucking his hand into Keigo’s as he chirped and shuffled his feet.
The other child grinned. “Hitoshi. S’nice to meet you.”
“And I’m Keigo,” said teen offered as he rolled his eyes. “Your guardians around here anywhere, kid?”
“My aunt is-”
“Hitoshi!” came a familiar voice, and Hizashi whirled around to see none other than Miss Joke rushing at them. She was in civilian garb, but it was hard not to recognize the woman who was infatuated with his husband.
Fukukado crouched and took Hitoshi into her arms protectively, kissing his forehead and cracking a joke to make the boy smile. And then, much more seriously, she turned to Izuku and nodded her thanks. “Thank you, kid, for helping my brat of a nephew here. He’s always getting himself into trouble…”
“T-T-They s-started it,” Izuku mumbled, shaking his head. “They were- were being m-m-mean…”
“Still,” Fukukado insisted. “Thank you. All three of y… Hey, Yamada?! I didn’t know you had any brats!”
Hizashi fought the urge to wince. “Hey, Fukukado. I didn’t realize you had a nephew?”
But the woman didn’t take the bait, instead insisting on asking questions about Keigo and Izuku. Hizashi answered them the best he could- many things being classified, of course- and tried not to laugh as Keigo bristled at the woman’s attention. In the background, Hitoshi and Izuku were talking quietly, Izuku showing Hitoshi his feathers and Hitoshi staring at them in awe. It had Hizashi’s heart warming.
“Hey, Fukukado,” Hizashi suddenly interrupted the woman. “What do you say to setting up a playdate for those two?”
“Hm?” The woman whirled around on her heel and grinned widely at her nephew, who was talking in hushed tones to Izuku about his Quirk. “D’aww, aren’t they the cutest? Yamada, get a picture for me!” And then, laughing to herself, Fukukado said, “Hey, you have my number still, right? Text me the details and we’ll be there!”
They left the park shortly after that, Hizashi and Keigo eager to get away from Fukukado’s presence, while Izuku was eager for a nap.
Throughout all of the action of the day, Hizashi didn’t send a second thought towards Izuku’s red eyes or fanning hair.
…
In the past, Shouta and Hizashi rarely had a coinciding day off. Maybe once a month, they would have a day where they could both cuddle up and sleep in, content in each others’ arms, without a care in the world. They’d wake up sleepily, typically Hizashi before Shouta, because Shouta’s insomnia meant he could sleep deep into the day, and then Hizashi would go to make breakfast. Shouta would eventually slink after him, blanket wrapped around his shoulders and cats mewling after him, and all but collapse onto Hizashi’s back. There would be soft laughter and dancing and singing along with the radio, and then they would eat breakfast and go back to bed.
Nowadays, their coinciding days off were consistently once a week, and they were much busier. In the early morning- because “the early bird gets the worm!”- Keigo would toss Izuku onto their bed, the little boy’s knobbly knees hitting their kidneys as he scrambled up to rest on either of their chests. He’d be a giggling mess, poking at Hizashi’s nose or scratching at Shouta’s scruff, and whichever one of them was being tortured that morning would send him to the other. More often than not, it was Shouta sending him to Hizashi. But Hizashi would pull the “no hearing aids” card, and Izuku would sign for him to ‘Wake up, Loud Bird!’. What followed would be this:
Hizashi tickling the life out of Izuku.
Izuku shrieking with giggles and kicking Shouta in the stomach.
Shouta waking up rather abruptly, rolling his eyes, and then joining in the tickle-fight.
Keigo ‘saving’ Izuku, dragging the smaller boy off to the kitchen, where Hizashi and Shouta would follow.
Hizashi would make breakfast, because although Shouta could cook, he detested to do so, and Izuku would try to ‘help’. Keigo and Shouta would lazily sprawl over the kitchen table, chatting on about nothing, while the cats weaved around their ankles. The radio would still be on, and Hizashi and Izuku would sing at the top of their lungs.
As they were doing, now. There was some popular English pop song on, and Hizashi was hitting word for word, note for note. Izuku’s voice trailed in and out as he sang the words he knew, humming the parts he didn’t.
And then the chorus came on.
Hizashi belted out the chorus, earning an eye-roll from his husband and a shake of the head from Keigo, while Izuku-
Izuku shrieked the chorus.
Not just a regular child’s shriek.
No, Izuku’s voice was loud, as if utilizing an amplifier.
And everything happened all at once.
The walls in the kitchen shook, mugs and silverware rattling off shelves and shattering to the floor.
The cats shrieked and darted from the room, leaving tufts of fur in their wake.
Hizashi yelped, frozen in shock as he stared at the little boy, who looked absolutely terrified even as he continued to scream.
Keigo bolted from his chair, knocking it to the ground as he rushed to hold Izuku in his arms, his wings flared behind him as his back faced Shouta and Hizashi.
Shouta stood, hair floating and eyes flashing red as he stared at the little bit of Izuku he could see past Keigo’s protective wings.
Immediately upon Shouta’s Quirk flaring, Izuku’s shrieking stopped. It took Hizashi a moment to assess the situation- his hearing aids were completely shot, and he couldn’t hear what Keigo was saying, despite seeing the teenager’s mouth moving as he twisted his head to address Shouta and Hizashi sideways. Shouta’s face was pained, and he spoke and signed at the same time.
“Keigo, we will not hurt you or Izuku. You know that, kiddo.” And then, less stern and more honey-soft, Shouta said and signed, “Let us help you, Keigo.”
Keigo’s tense wings abruptly lagged, shifting downwards enough so that Hizashi could get a glimpse of Izuku’s face.
The child looked absolutely stricken. There were waterfalls rushing from his eyes, his cheeks splotchy pink and his little chest heaving as he panicked. One hand was tugging at his hair, and the other was closed around his own throat, God-
Hizashi’s hand lurched forward, gently yet swiftly pulling Izuku’s hand from where it had been choking him. “Gentle, baby,” Hizashi crooned, signing with one hand. Keigo shuffled backwards as the man leaned forward, but still maintained his place in Izuku’s personal space, a hand on his little brother’s back. “Be gentle with yourself, Izuku.”
“Let’s go to the living room,” Shouta said and signed, nodding to his husband. “Hizashi, do you still have your spare hearing aids?”
Hizashi nodded, glancing over at Izuku- who was still panicking- and Keigo- who looked ready to grab Izuku and bolt. “I’ll just be a second, sweethearts, just one second,” he promised them.
As soon as Hizashi had changed out his hearing aids, he was in the living room. It had been barely enough time for Shouta to get the boys settled on the sofa. Bastard, the more rabid of their cats, was still nowhere to be seen, but Panda had settled on Izuku’s lap. The little boy’s hands were clenched in her fur, and his chest was shuddering as Shouta ran him through a breathing exercise. The man was sitting on the coffee table across from the boys, and Keigo’s eyes were watching him warily. It broke Hizashi’s heart, seeing Keigo be so fearful and protective after all the months they’d been living together. They’d been through so much, bonded so much, and yet… something inside of Keigo was still fearful. Hizashi knew it was the HPSC’s doing, and nothing he and Shouta had done, but it still hurt.
Shaking his head- because this wasn’t about them or their feelings right now, this was about their kids- Hizashi sat cross-legged on the recliner adjascent to the couch. He reached out to rest his hand on the couch’s armrest, trying to offer support and distance at the same time. To his relief, Keigo immediately reached out and gripped at his hand, the teen glancing over at him and then back to Shouta and Izuku.
Izuku seemed to have calmed down majorly, and Shouta looked much less startled than he had earlier.
“Alright…” Hizashi began the conversation, as he was adept at doing. “We should probably… talk about what just happened.” Well, somewhat adept.
“It-” Keigo started, “it’s nothing. It- it was just a fluke.”
“Keigo,” Shouta spoke, gentle and stern, “Quirks don’t just fluke like that. Izuku-”
“He didn’t do anything,” Keigo snapped back. “His Quirk is Fierce Wings, just like mine. Whatever happened was just- was just- It was nothing!”
“It wasn’t nothing, sweetheart,” Hizashi said reluctantly. “I’m sorry, but we… we need to know what’s going on, Keigo.”
Keigo opened his mouth, likely to object again, but a tiny, frightened voice echoed out from beneath his wing:
“Kei…” Izuku croaked, sniffling and rubbing at his red eyes. “Kei, w-we n-n-need to be h-honest… They- S-Sho and Z-Zashi, they’re not… They’re g-g-good.”
“Izu…” Keigo returned, looking pained.
It took several long minutes. Several long minutes in which Keigo stared at Izuku, Izuku stared at Keigo, Shouta stared at the both of them, and Hizashi’s eyes darted around at each of his boys enough to make him go dizzy.
Finally- blessed finally- Keigo spoke up, voice haunted, “They… They called it Fierce Wings,” he said, “because that’s all they knew it was. We… we kept it secret from them, but- Izuku and I call it Bond.”
Keigo was quiet then, and- despite his vibrating with anticipation- Hizashi watched on silently, his husband mimicking his actions.
And then Keigo continued. “Izuku… when he came to us, he was just a baby. And he didn’t… he didn’t have wings. They didn’t come in until he was about four, so I always thought… Always thought it was just his Quirk coming in. Which it was, but… But it also wasn’t.”
Taking a deep breath, the teen pressed on. “There was a nurse, back at the facility. She tended to my wounds, and Izu- Izu got close to her. We both did. She was… she was the only one to show us any kindness.” Keigo bit his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood, and Shouta was quick to tap the boy’s knee, drawing the teen back to the present. Wiping the blood from his lip, Keigo said a soft, “sorry”, before continuing with his story. “She would sneak us extra food, sometimes. And they- they didn’t like that. They said she was interfering with their subjects. That’s all we were to them. Fucking… fucking experiments.”
Keigo paused, looking nauseated as he said, “She had a Quirk that- it would turn her hair different colors. Based on her emotions, I think. One day… one day, she was feeding us and telling us stories, and then… and then Izu’s hair just- just changed. It turned pink. And then they came into the room, and-” Keigo sniffled. “It was all just a blur after that, but… but we heard later. They killed her.”
Izuku whimpered, burrowing deeper into his big brother’s side.
Keigo continued. “We never saw her again, and Izuku’s hair never changed after that. I don’t know how they didn’t notice- or maybe they did, and they never said- but- but…” Keigo’s eyes turned steely as he growled out, “I would never let them lay a finger on him. Not to experiment with his Quirk. Not for anything.”
And then, looking up at Shouta and Hizashi, Keigo asked, “What- what are you two going to do now?”
Shouta sighed, glancing at his husband before turning back to Keigo. “Well, first of all, we’ll need to adjust Izuku’s Quirk Registry. And then, we’ll train him how to use Voice.”
Keigo paused. “That… That’s it?”
“I assume he’ll also be developing Erasure.”
“He already has,” Keigo admitted quietly. “I- I told him not to use it around anyone…”
Hizashi could see it in his husband’s eyes, even if they hardly changed. Keigo’s admission hurt, and not just because of Shouta’s past and the hauntings of his “villainous” Quirk. It hurt to know that Keigo still didn’t trust them.
But this… this was a big step.
Maybe Keigo did trust them, after all.
“Bond,” Hizashi said. “Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it, Zuzu?”
Izuku stiffened beneath Keigo’s arm at being addressed, but then- glancing around his brother’s torso and smiling softly at Hizashi- the little boy nodded. It was telling of Keigo, too, that the teen didn’t bite Hizashi’s head off at the use of the nickname for his precious baby brother.
“Zuzu, Kei,” Hizashi crooned, “would you two like a hug?”
Izuku’s response was immediate. He nodded frantically, all but throwing himself out of Keigo’s arms and into Hizashi’s, nuzzling the man’s shoulder with his face as he chirped and squeaked happily. Keigo’s response was slower, but still the affirmative. Tentatively, the teenager opened his arms and allowed Hizashi to pull him into a gentle hug.
“Come join us, ShoSho!” Hizashi teased.
Shouta huffed, rolling his eyes at the nickname, but Hizashi didn’t hear any protesting. Instead, Shouta asked Keigo and Izuku for permission to join in their hug, and- upon receiving a nod from both children- wrapped up all three of his boys in a wide group hug.
It was shocking to hear his husband admit it aloud, but Hizashi was still highly pleased when his husband said, “We care about… We love you both. Izuku. Keigo.”
“So, so much,” Hizashi echoed, nuzzling his cheek to Izuku’s. He kissed Keigo’s temple, and the teenager seemed to melt under the attention. “We want to keep you both happy and healthy and safe. So please, let us.”
Voice wet, croaking, Keigo nodded and said, “Okay.”
…