Chapter Text
Chapter 12 – Finally Home
“Izuku…Izuku, we’re home.”
Toshinori nudged Izuku awake as Aizawa eased the old rust bucket into the driveway, killing the ignition. Another nudge and the sleepy teen stirred, then looked up blearily as the bright evening light hit his aching eyes. “You think you can walk?” He checked with the boy, not wanting to see him faceplant on the concrete driveway.
The teen seemed to think about that for a moment, expression giving nothing away. After considering it, he decided that yes, he should be fine. “I think I can manage.” He spoke quietly, exhausted from the day’s events, tone dull and expression blank. He made to exit the car, but a firm but gentle pressure around his wrist had him turning back.
Toshi gave him a sad but reassuring smile. “You can come to me if you ever need to talk about anything; You know that, right?” He had offered Izuku this multiple times, but still, he needed to be sure the boy knew he meant it.
“Yeah,” the teen sighed sadly, “thanks All Might.”
“I was thinking, if you like,” the pro hero started, feeling unsure with how the boy would react, “you can call me Toshi. Outside of school, that is. You’re part of the family now, Izuku, so there’s no need to be so formal with me.”
Izuku perked up a bit at that, feeling honoured that his own personal hero wanted him to call him by his given name. “Really?” He no longer appeared to be robotic, acting more normally animated instead.
“Really.” Toshinori confirmed.
Izuku blushed slightly, and dropped his head in a failed attempt to hide it. In the process of looking down, he was finally able to take stock of his sodden, mud-slathered clothes, and frowned with a grimace. “Sorry for getting in your car like this,” he quickly apologised, feeling guilty.
“Not to worry my boy,” he brushed it off, uncaring about whatever, if any, damage had been inflicted on his car. “All I care about is getting you cleaned up and into some warmer clothes. Come on, you jump straight in the shower and I’ll leave you a set of clean clothes by the door.”
It was slow going with Izuku still unsteady on his legs, the days events still weighing heavily down on him, but with Toshi’s assistance, he made it to the bathroom completely unscathed. “Leave the door unlocked my boy; I’ll stick the clothes in as I go by.” Izuku nodded, and when the hero walked out, he began to slowly peel his drenched suit off, layer by layer, draping it over the towel rack to dry. He stepped into the steaming water and sighed in relief as the hot stream enveloped his weary frame, pounding down and washing the film of grime from his muscled legs.
He scrubbed roughly at himself with a bar of coconut scented soap, trying to erase the muddy, wet dog smell that clung to his freezing skin. Relief washed over him as the stress of the day was sucked down the drain, thanking any gods listening that he never had to go through the pain of burying his mother ever again. He wasn’t sure he’d ever fully recover from her death, but now that the funeral was over, he felt as though he might finally be able to begin grieving properly.
The door creaked open a touch, signalling Toshinori’s return, and sure enough, when he finally pried himself out of the relaxing stream, a set of warm clothes were sitting in a neat pile just inside the door. He allowed himself a small smile as he scraped the towel over him, mopping up the liquid that clung to his skin, before pulling on the soft tracksuit pants, matching black shirt, and a pair of thick green socks. Happiness swelled in his chest, Izuku realising, not for the first time, that Toshi really did care about him, in a way that went beyond teacher and student, successor and mentor.
Feeling confident in his assessment, he returned to the living room, where three steaming mugs of tea sat on the coffee table, untouched, as the two pro heroes carried the same number of large bowls and plates, containing a mouth-watering tomato soup and fresh slices of toast. As the bowls were sat down, he moved straight over to where Toshinori was standing and threw his arms around the man’s slender waist, initiating a strong embrace between the two.
“What was that for, my boy?” Toshi asked curiously as they broke apart, the child moving instantly over to where Shouta had been watching with a mild interest. Without hesitation, Izuku hugged him tightly too.
Surprisingly, Aizawa mimicked the warm gesture in a mere second, pulling the teen close and stroking his freshly washed hair. With his face pressed against the erasure hero’s firm chest, Izuku felt rather than heard the deep rumble of “How’re you holding up?” as Aizawa sensei addressed him.
“I’m…not feeling great, but I’m better than I was,” he replied truthfully, realising they would probably appreciate his honesty, rather than having to pry for the truth. “Thank you. Both of you,” he stated sincerely, meeting both pairs of eyes, “…for staying beside me today. I’m not sure I could have done that alone…”
“No worries, kid.”
“You’re welcome, my boy. You’re stuck with us now; we will be by your side from here on out no matter what.” Toshi grinned at him brightly as Izuku broke out into the sweetest and most genuine smile they had seen in weeks. “Eat up, young Izuku; there’s something Shouta and I have been meaning to help you with,” he finished cryptically, Izuku’s interest piquing.
Curious as to what Toshinori was referring to, he made quick work of his dinner, inhaling the lot then waiting nervously as his two teachers, particularly Toshinori, seemed to take their time. His mind was racing as he tried to guess what this ‘help’ might be related to, but no matter how hard he tried to think of a suitable, reasonable answer, nothing was forthcoming. Eventually, the anxiety became too much, and he eventually found himself asking “So, what are you going to help me with?”
“You’ll see, dear boy,” he said with a great deal of pleasure, knowing that Izuku would struggle to guess. Very slowly he carried the empty dishes to the sink, soaking them in hot, soapy water before finding nothing else to delay them further. Together, he and Shouta led an anxious looking Izuku down the hall, stopping at the boy’s room. Izuku looked at them in confusion, wondering what was going on. It wasn’t until his mentor asked him what was missing that it finally clicked.
His bare room.
“I think it’s about time we made this room yours, don’t you?” Toshi gestured to the moving boxes that, while they’d been opened and rifled though, still sat largely unpacked. He looked gleefully at the boxes, then back to Izuku, but the boy was still not smiling. “Izuku…?” He could tell that something was wrong, that much was obvious, but as to what that was, he had no clue.
“Talk to us kid,” Aizawa prompted, taking charge, “What’s up?” He manoeuvred the boy over to the bed and gently eased him down onto the mattress, crouching before him so he could make direct eye contact.
Izuku heaved a sad sigh, unsure of what to really say. “…Nothing. It’s just…I thought it would be too painful, displaying all the things she had bought me,” He said distractedly, playing through happy memories of he and his mother.
“Listen,” Aizawa started, trying to find his wording. “I’m not gonna lie to you kid, for a while, you’ll see all of those things, and it probably will hurt. You’ll feel down and get lost in your thoughts, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You want to remember her, and you should. Don’t do yourself the disservice of trying to block any painful feelings by not thinking about her. It’s okay to grieve; grieving is good. It means you’re healing.” He glanced up at Toshi, who gave him an understanding nod. “If you’re not ready to do this,” he gestured around the room, “then that’s completely okay. We understand, and we certainly didn’t mean to force this upon you.” He pushed himself to his feet and ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately. “If you decide in future that you would like help setting your room up, Toshi and I would be more than willing to assist.”
The two heroes made to leave, but Izuku’s abrupt call stopped them in their tracks. “Wait! I… You’re right. I was too busy trying to numb the pain that I forgot what was important. Will you help me…please?” He wasn’t sure if he was ready to do this, but if he didn’t now then would he ever? He would procrastinate, he knew it, and that just wouldn’t do.
“Are you certain, my boy?” Toshi asked just to be sure. “We don’t want you to feel pressured if you’re not comfortable with this.”
“I’m sure,” he answered resolutely, moving over and dragging the emptiest of the boxes back towards the bed. Together the three of them placed the contents on the bed, sorting them in to three specific piles; wardrobe, bookshelf, and desk. Izuku took the wardrobe pile and sorted the items away, being the most personal. It mostly consisted of old school books, beach towels and a handheld gaming console with a stack of games and accessories. Shouta opted for the desk pile, being the least personal as he didn’t want to pry, lining the items across the desk in an orderly fashion, easy for Midoriya to readjust to his own liking. Toshi did the same with the bookshelf, however was perusing through the numerous novels and information guides on the top heroes, including himself, wanting to get a feel for the boy’s interests. He snorted silently. The kid most definitely was the biggest fanboy he’d ever met. He was actually shocked by the vast amount of empty space when he was done, assuming there would be more in the other boxes.
The second contained more personal items; the clothes that had yet to be put away, his huge array of notes on heroes he had meticulously documented and compiled over the years, and two very large photo albums that contained images from the boy’s birth up until this point. For a while he flicked through the pages, not minding that Toshi and Aizawa could see, the mood becoming more solemn for a while. He slid them into the top shelf of his cupboard with a sniffle, bringing the last of the boxes to the centre of the room.
He knew exactly what this box contained, as did Aizawa. He left if for last because he knew it would lift his spirits. He’d been about to slice through the tape, when Shouta cut him off. “Please Midoriya, let Toshi open that one.” Izuku raised an eyebrow at the man, before remembering that he’d been the one to pack them. Which meant he also knew what it contained, hence why he was smirking evilly, for only his student to see.
Poor Toshinori was confuddled with the whispered conversation between the two, wondering why Shouta was so adamant that he be the one to peel back the flaps. He did so, gasping in shock before bursting out laughing, clutching his stomach tightly. Izuku followed suit, his reaction to the superior amount of All Might merchandise priceless.
“Oh my goodness,” he exclaimed as he rifled through the box, revealing its contents one by one whilst trying to ignore the giggles from the other two in the room. It was mind-blowing; numerous detailed figurines, posters, caps, capes and hoodies, stationary, pen holders and keychains… It was never-ending. Surely the boy couldn’t be this much of a fanboy… And then, he realised it… the remaining space on his bookshelf, and his desk, was for all this.
He chuckled in disbelief, feeling overwhelmed. This put the true nature of Izuku’s awe of him into perspective, and he felt more flattered than ever he had in his entire life. “You really are something else, my boy.”
The teen blushed and smiled, trying not to be too self-conscious about his obsession with the #1 hero being revealed. Toshi and Aizawa didn’t seem to mind, that knowledge putting his mind at ease.
“Yeah well, you should have seen my reaction when I walked in and saw a hundred of you staring back at me,” he recalled, the memory causing him to chuckle deeply. “Honestly, I nearly died…” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he even realised what he was saying, his smile slipping right off his stubbled face at how spectacularly insensitive that sentence had been. He felt like the world’s biggest asshole as he turned to their incredibly sad-looking young charge, apology on the tip of his tongue.
But Izuku beat him to speak. He plastered on a false smile, doing his best to ignore the pang that unintentional jab had hurt, sensibly aware that that had most definitely not been his homeroom teacher’s goal. “It’s okay, Aizawa sensei,” he reassured the man, taking in the extremely guilty look splayed across his face.
“No, it’s not,” he interrupted, refusing to allow the boy to make any excuses for him. “I’m sorry Midoriya; that was uncalled for. It was obvious that that hurt you.” He felt like an utterly garbage human being, saying something so thoughtless just hours after the boy had buried his dead mother. He was quite clearly beating himself up about it, Toshi and Izuku both concerned with the way he had suddenly withdrawn himself.
Wanting to lighten the mood in the room, and to show he wasn’t overly hurt, or mad, Izuku fetched his favourite stuffed All Might plushie from when he was little, and thrust it into the man’s lap. “Here,” he said with a smile. “Cuddling him when I was sad always used to cheer me up.”
Shouta snorted, but did so anyway, and found that it actually helped. But, probably only because he was currently in a relationship with the hero it was based off. “You know, this is nice, but I think I’d like the real thing better.” Toshi took the hint and wrapped him tightly in his arms, planting a loving kiss in the man’s hair. “I really am sorry Izuku,” he reiterated, unable to let it go.
“It’s really okay, I promise. It was an accident, I’m not going to hold it against you, Aizawa sensei.”
The rest of the evening and weekend wrapped up quickly, Izuku’s room fully personalised and bathed in All Might’s signature reds, blues and yellows, and all three of them well prepared to return to school early Monday morning, not that they were overly excited about it.
Shouta, feeling tense and frustrated, hit the streets late Sunday evening, hoping to distract himself with a group of feisty villains. Unfortunately, and fortunately, for the general public, all that he’d managed to come across was a drunken octopus-looking character waving eight bottles of beer at what appeared to be a rookie cop, and even though he’d assisted in apprehending him, it wasn’t enough to vent his frustrations at having to go back to teaching. Not that he didn’t enjoy it, because for the most part he did, but sometimes, a full class of over-excited teenagers with quirks could just be too much. Especially on the first day of school.
When he finally felt exhausted enough to be able to sleep well, he made his way back home, toeing off his shoes at the door, startled to find a set of emerald green eyes staring up at him from across the room. He glanced at the clock, which read nearly one in the morning, then back to the teenager sitting quietly on the couch in the dark. ‘Odd’, he thought, at the boy’s unexpected presence, ‘usually he’s well and truly in bed at this time of night’. He padded over in his socks and lowered himself down beside him, close enough to be able to read his body language and facial expressions, but not too close to encroach on his personal space. “Everything alright?” He asked quietly, non-threatening.
“Yeah…” He started, looking resigned. He had his hands clasped together resting in his lap, and Shouta could tell he was reluctant to speak his mind.
“I’m not as good with the whole comforting thing as Toshi, but I’m pretty decent when it comes to listening. What’s on your mind? You nervous about going back to UA?”
The green-haired boy shook his head, face pinched. “No, it’s not that. I dreamt about the USJ incident, and it just left me feeling uneasy is all.”
Shouta could tell that he wanted to say more, but he didn’t want to press too hard, only to have the boy shut him out. This was something that should have been addressed long ago, the ramifications of this incident still impacting him greatly. He knew full well that more than one of his students had sought counselling after that whole debacle, and he could see why, but he’d never taken that step to check on his students’ well-being one-on-one rather than during class, something that he had truly regretted.
“Do you dream about it much?” He questioned gently, trying his hardest not to sound judgemental. That’s the last thing he needed, was for the boy to feel his teacher was ridiculing him. Midoriya nodded. “How often?” He had to know, wanting to help in any possible way.
“Every few nights,” he admitted in embarrassment, trying not to make eye contact. “Childish, I know, but…”
“No.” Shouta stated firmly. “It’s not childish at all. That was a traumatic experience for everyone involved; even Toshi and I have nightmares about it from time to time.”
“Really?”
“100% kid.” He left the boy sitting alone on the lounge, and proceeded to make him a soothing herbal tea. He clinked around in the kitchen as little as possible, trying not to wake Toshi. With two steaming mugs in hand he moved back over to Izuku, gently placing the warm cup in his finely trembling hands. He took in the scarring on the back of the right one, and the slightly crooked fingers, and winced in sympathy. The kid really needed to stop damaging himself like that. “Here, this should help you sleep.” It was accepted gratefully, instantly brought up to the boy’s lips.
“It scares me,” Izuku began after a few moment’s silence, unsure of why he felt compelled to speak, “that you nearly died fighting that Nomu, and my friends were all in danger. I was powerless; I couldn’t protect anyone.” His lips twisted in disgust as self-loathing and hatred overcame him.
Aizawa’s heart jolted in amazement that the kid had been worried about his safety. Sure, he knew the basics of what happened, the kid carrying him off the battlefield, and then jumping in to defend All Might, but he had no idea that the boy had done it out of concern for him, rather than out of obligation. He supposed he shouldn’t be so surprised. Midoriya wasn’t exactly your usual, selfish teenager. “Listen up, kid. You’re a student, and a first year at that. No one expects you to be able take down a hundred dangerous villains, especially with your lack of experience. We were sorely outnumbered, and you did what needed to be done. I’m alive because you got me out of there, and you stepped in to keep Toshi’s secret hidden. You did exactly what any great hero would have done in that situation. No one died that day, Izuku, you have to remember that.”
“Right,” he nodded, feeling slightly better. He swallowed the last of his tea, and returned the mugs to the kitchen. “Thank you, Aizawa sensei. I really needed that.”
“Call me Shouta,” the man replied unexpectedly, surprising Izuku. “And you don’t have to thank me. That’s what we’re here for. If you need to talk, all you gotta do is ask… I’m actually surprised you didn’t go and see Toshi,” he added as an afterthought.
Izuku scrubbed the back of his head nervously. “I was going to, but…I didn’t want to wake him up…”
“Don’t be too concerned about that. You had a nightmare kid, that’s something that can’t always wait. I’m just happy I was out patrolling tonight; I don’t like the thought of you sitting out here alone and not getting any sleep… Look, if you need anything through the night, just come and wake me instead if you’re concerned about Toshi. I nap enough during the day that ten minutes really won’t make any difference, alright?”
“Thank you Ai-, Shouta…”
“No problem Izuku. Think you’ll be able to get back to sleep now?”
“Yeah, I think so. Goodnight.” He yawned deeply, heading towards his bedroom.
“Night kid.” He was going to leave it at that, but something in his heart said ‘no’. “Love ya.”
Izuku stopped dead in his tracks, turning to face the man still standing by the counter, with a watery grin. A warm feeling spread through his chest as the massive implications of those two little words finally sank in. “I love you too…”
Shouta nodded his approval, and the two went their separate ways. ‘Wow,’ he thought to himself, as he headed for the shower. He couldn’t believe he had said that aloud, and the boy had actually repeated it back. But that was definitely the right thing to do, he decided in a heartbeat, recalling the sheer happiness displayed across the boy’s face…
Midoriya climbed back into bed, sleep once more tugging at his mind. He still felt his actions during the USJ had been inadequate to say the least, but for once, he didn’t feel so guilty about not being able to take the villains down. And Aizawa sensei, Shouta… He had definitely surprised him tonight, giving him a clearer look at that kind, gentle side of him that no one other that Toshi was ever really exposed to. Feeling at peace he allowed himself the luxury of slipping into the darkness, excited and nervous about returning to UA with his school friends tomorrow…