Chapter Text
It was unanimously decided to end the two-hour-long meeting after their group hug, and return the next day to begin planning the changes they need to make. An extra day wouldn’t hurt, and it had been an emotionally tolling meeting. They used the opportunity to ask Nezu to invite two more people. All Might’s reaction to the requested individuals was to spurt blood.
As the staff prepared to go home for the day, All Might gently approached Izuku, who beamed at the man.
“Hi All Might! Is everything ok?” All Might smiled back and laughed kindly.
“We’re as okay as we can be in times like these.” Izuku’s smile turned slightly rueful, but the beaming quality was still there. He was just so happy to be addressed by the people he cares about that his smile refused to drop.
All Might pat his head placatingly. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time young Midoriya-” He paused to pat the kid’s head again at the incredulous look Izuku wore at the concept of All Might ‘taking up’ his time. He would always have time for his mentor. All Might’s face softened. “There are just a couple of things that I’d like to ask about without other prying ears about things you danced around explaining fully, if that’s okay with you my boy.”
Ah, Izuku had noticed All Might picked up on some things. Nezu probably did too, but it would mean more to All Might. His smile softened as he looked up at the man. “Of course. There are some things I think you’d like to hear as well.”
All Might gave Izuku one final head pat. “Thank you, young man.” Before he walked away to let Izuku go home he told him “If you ever need anything, even a hug, don’t hesitate to come find me.” Uh oh, Izuku felt his famous Midoriya tear ducts activate. All Might chuckled, and waved goodbye to a teary green bean as he left the room.
Izuku was left standing in the room of pro heroes shifting to leave, and was hit with a wave of uncertainty. Logically, he knows he should just go back to his mum’s house and live his best life until the next day… but… well.
He walked up to Aizawa, who had just finished getting all his stuff together and turned to face Izuku.
“What’s up problem child?” Izuku made a face at the resurfaced nickname while his dad’s eyes scrunched amusedly.
Izuku floundered for a moment, not really sure how to articulate his uncertainty. In the end he settled on pointing at the man, receiving a confused look. To clarify, he simply said “Dad.”
Shota’s eyes dawned with understanding, and his expression softened. He leaned forward and donked his forehead against Izuku’s own affectionately, earning a giggle from the teenager.
He straightened up again to sling his brown messenger bag over his shoulder. “Give my number to your mum. I’ll try my very best to figure something out with her, okay?”
Izuku really couldn’t stop smiling at the moment. He supposed it had something to do with it being the best day he’d had in like two years but he digresses.
Shota moved across the room and gestured for Izuku to follow, which he happily did. They walked out of the meeting room and down the halls of UA side by side as Shota began to check in on his kid.
“Was everything ok today with your friends and in your classes?”
Izuku wrung his fingers as he considered his answer. “Well… classes were fine. I’ve forgotten a lot of the stuff, but it’s all slowly coming back. It’s basically just revision for me.” He pulled a face. “I’m not too sure how I feel about that. I feel like I'm cheating even though I know I’ve put in the proper effort to learn everything the first time.”
Shota nodded. “We’ll have to see what to do for you about testing. Nezu seemed pretty happy to just accept the grades you got the first time, but I don’t expect either of us to remember exactly what you got for more than anything major like your exams.”
“Yeah.”
Shota looked at his kid worriedly at the lapse in the conversation. “Everything ok with your friends?”
Izuku’s expression went slightly downcast. “They were all wonderful to me. As they always are. But It’s kind of hard being faced with a version of my friends that haven’t had the same experiences with me you know? I’m closer to them than they are to me if that makes sense.”
Shota frowned. He had been worried about something along those lines. It was different for him because he had been friends with Hizashi and Nemuri for around fifteen years. There hadn’t really been anything major in the current year. Same with the majority of the UA faculty, most of whom he’d known for at least four years. But for Izuku, his closest friendships were formed during this time, and they’d been sent back to when they’d only known each other for a couple of months. He’d had lots of important moments with his friends he’d never get back. Especially…
“Was… everything okay with Bakugo?” He asked hesitantly. Izuku stopped in his tracks causing Shota to stop and turn back to face him. Izuku stared contemplatively at the ground.
“Nothing really happened today. If anything, he avoided me I think. It’s just…” Izuku hesitated. Shota made an encouraging gesture. “You remember how I told you that Kacchan taking that blow for me almost felt like the apology I’d never thought I’d get from him?”
Shota nodded. Izuku began walking again so he followed. “Seeing all the work on our relationship gone was hard. We haven’t had our fight, and he wasn’t told about One for All in confidence or anything like that. We haven’t learned to work together and we haven’t really fought alongside each other.” Izuku sighed dejectedly. “He’s gone back to not knowing how to feel about me, and I think my show of power may have actually made his current feelings about me worse. Remember how he reacted to seeing my quirk on the first day?”
Shota recalled having to restrain Bakugo and rubbed his eyes in sympathy for his past self’s dry-eye. “Yup.”
“Yeah.”
“Ah.” Aizawa slumped his shoulders in resignation at having to deal with the old Bakugo. “Make sure to let me know if you need me to talk to him.”
Izuku let out a small smile. “Okay.”
As they began to approach the door, Izuku turned the conversation on his dad.
“Dad?”
Shota hummed, hiding a smile at the casual use of the still new address.
“Were you okay? Seeing everyone again I mean.”
Shota looked up at the sky as they walked down the path to the gate, before looking at Izuku. “I imagine me seeing my friends would have felt pretty similar to you seeing yours. I hugged Hizashi and Nemuri yesterday and they lost it.”
Shota smiled at the sound of Izuku’s laugh. “As for seeing the students… I’m just glad I have the chance to see you all graduate I think.”
Izuku bumped his shoulder against Shota gently. “Yeah.”
The two began to slow as they passed the bounds of the gate. Logically, they would just say their goodbyes and part here as they went to their respective residences. Izuku fidgeted, and Shota suddenly felt as though the distance between him and his kid was too far.
In a blur, the two met in a tight hug. Izuku tucked his face in Shota’s chest as Shota ducked his face into Izuku’s head of unruly curls.
“Dad?”
“Yes, Izuku?”
Izuku breathed in deeply before loosening his hold, causing Shota to do the same. He looked up at his dad. “I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow?” His statement ended up as a question for reasons he wasn’t quite sure of.
Shota placed a hand on his child’s cheek and rubbed his thumb gently across it. “Yes. You’ll see me tomorrow.” Gently, he pressed a kiss on his son’s forehead. “Come in early if you want. You’ll find me in the teacher’s lounge, okay Izuku?”
The deep paternal affection combined with the impending separation made Izuku want to cry. “Okay Dad.”
They parted ways with gentle “see you tomorrows”, and Izuku began to follow a once familiar route to his house.
~~~~~~
The sun had begun to set by the time Izuku walked in his front door. He called out to his mother. “I’m home!”
The speed at which she rounded the corner revealed her worry to Izuku. “Welcome home honey.” She reached up to press another kiss on Izuku’s forehead, eliciting the thought of him having two parents who loved him enough to show genuine affection, which gave him warm fuzzies. They really need to meet…
“Was everything okay at school today? How was the meeting with all your teachers?”
He smiled. “It was good. Really good. I’ll tell you what happened today over dinner?” Inko’s hovering hands stopped fretting as she looked at his expression. Her body drooped with visible relief, and she gave him a teary smile. “Of course dear. I made katsudon!”
Izuku couldn’t help but let out a joyful laugh. “Again? We had it yesterday!”
She gave him a smile. “Well you’ve had a big couple of days. Better get to the table, it’s almost done!”
Izuku let her lead him further into their apartment with cheeks that hurt from smiling so much that day, and eyes that hurt from all the crying.
~~~~~~
Shota’s head was in the clouds as he walked down the street, letting the day settle in. It felt like he had spent the day surrounded by living ghosts. It ended up being a good thing, because they all leaned closer to the living side than the ghost side.
He began to wonder about the future on a smaller scale. Not to do with nation-ending villains, but with the individual futures of his students and friends alike. What changes would they bring to a world where they got to live?
His mind wandered to his kid- Izuku. He frowned lightly. He didn’t want to show any doubt in front of Izuku, but he wasn’t really sure how his mother would react. She might think that it was really weird Shota wanted her to- what? Share her son?- With him, a man she’d never actually met before. He didn’t even really have an idea of what that would look like beyond him knowing that he wouldn’t be able to take only seeing his kid for short periods of the day. He shook his head. No use worrying about something that hasn’t happened.
If anything, it was unreal that he was in a position where custody(?) over a child was one of his main concerns. The silent world that was made up of two had suddenly burst to life in a cacophony of colour and noise.
It was overwhelming, but an undoubtedly good thing.
He continued down the street as his attention was drawn to a little side alley. He paused to take in the details of the scene. A bin rattled eerily, and there was the odd sound of something almost scratching on metal. But he didn’t reach for his capture weapon.
Suddenly, the top of a bin popped off, causing Shota to tense for a second. Immediately, he relaxed at the tuft of ginger that popped out the top of the bin. Bright green eyes turned and met his. A chirpy meow greeted him, and a cat jumped from the bin to approach him and curl around his legs. Shota looked down and his eyes widened at the affectionate feline. He turned to face the alley again to see five other cats looking at him intently.
Unbidden, a smile bloomed on Shota’s face, hidden in his coiled capture weapon. He had forgotten about the stray cats he used to feed. He bent down to stroke the orange cat’s fur. “Sorry.” He whispered. “I forgot to bring you food.”
The cat simply purred against his legs. He continued to smile, and pet its head one more time, before continuing on his way to his apartment. Two days ago, the only streets he walked were abandoned. As he walked today, he was watched by evidence of life. Cars passed and cats watched his path.