Chapter Text
Izuku lay in bed, tired but pushing through it. Something wasn’t quite right; his dad and his papa had said they’d been called in by Tsukauchi. It was normal for Aizawa to be called in on a case, but papa was a daylight hero and Izuku hadn’t heard him being involved with the detective before.
Sure, papa was friends with him, but he didn’t realise they were colleagues.
So Izuku waited. He hadn’t been left alone for long periods of time in all the six years of living with his dad and papa. A feeling of unease was building in him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.
Had he done something wrong? Was there something big going on, a major case which needed both his parents there? He hoped no one was being hurt, what if his parents were in danger?
Izuku begun to feel his heart race, and sat up, leaning forwards slightly as he clutched his chest.
When he heard the door click open, he practically sprung up and out of bed, racing to his bedroom door and into the corridor. There was papa and dad, but they were both frowning and in between them was a boy who looked around his age, with purple hair.
He couldn’t see the boy very well, but he looked thin, and he saw cuts around the boy’s mouth. Izuku hadn’t told his fathers about the bullying that occurred at Aldera, it still happened today and more than once he had been muzzled by a teacher for muttering. It had never left cuts that deep, so either the boy’s muzzle was sharp or left on for a very long time. Izuku wasn’t sure which one was worse.
“Er…dad? Papa? Who is this?” Izuku asked, confused as he shifted his weight from foot to foot on the carpet.
“Not now Izu, go to bed, we’ll talk about this in the morning, okay?” Aizawa spoke, sounding tired.
He deflated, not sure what to say but not wanting to cause any trouble, he turned to his room and closed the door behind him, lying in bed.
Surely his dad was just tired and hadn’t meant anything by it. But in all his years of living with them, neither of the men had ever not explained something. He was always the first to know about a change, they always kept him in the loop.
Had he done something wrong after all? Was this his replacement?
He tried to think back over the last few months. Maybe he had gotten too greedy, he had begun to outright ask for hugs, for snacks, had requested new notebooks. Maybe the selfishness had caught up with him.
Izuku shook his head, turning onto his side to fall asleep. He ignored the feeling of hot tears down his face.
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The next morning, Izuku lay on his back again. There were a few moments when he woke up where he thought he was still with Inko.
He’d had a bad dream and woke up gasping. Then, when he was able to calm down a little, there was a couple of seconds where he felt entirely calm, knowing he was with his fathers and that they’d protect him.
Then, he remembered the boy.
Who was he?
Izuku decided he must have just been tired last night, and dad must have been too, surely everything would be back to normal today. He’d get an explanation and it would be okay.
Slinging his legs over the bed, he got out and begun to get dressed for school. Usually, he’d get up and eat breakfast in his pyjamas, but he was worried that the boy would be out there and would judge him for the childish All-might pyjamas.
Opening his door, and taking a breath, Izuku moved into the kitchen. There, papa was stood with his back to him, making breakfast.
He flicked the light on and off to get his attention, and Mic turned around.
“Hey hon, don’t worry I’ve got my hearing aids in. We were worried Hitoshi would have a bad dream.”
Mic never slept with his hearing aids in. And who was Hitoshi? That must be the boy, which means he was still here.
Izuku decided to nod, moving to see what Hizashi was cooking. Katsudon- for breakfast! That was his favourite. He moved to begin making coffee, like every morning, putting sugar and creamer into his and papa’s cup. Aizawa liked his black.
“Who is Hitoshi?” Izuku asked, looking up at his papa.
“Ah right, Aizawa and I will talk to you about it in full detail later, okay? But he’s going to be staying with us a little while. He was in a bad situation and got really hurt. We’re going to be a safe space for him to decompress.”
Izuku nodded. That was okay, that meant it wasn’t permanent and he wasn’t being replaced. He relaxed a little but decided to be as helpful as possible just in case the two changed their minds.
Besides, he remembered exactly what it was like to come into a new house and not know your place in things. He’d be sure to welcome Hitoshi.
Izuku set the coffees on the table, alongside four sets of cutlery. He sat down; his chair was the closest to the kitchen counter so he could watch papa. Sipping at his own coffee, he thought about what lessons he had at school today. Bakugou had eased up on him since the rumour had spread that he’d been adopted by two pro heroes, but the others didn’t believe it and still tripped him up and hit him. He was sure the only reason Bakugou believed it was because Mitsuki had told him about Inko.
Still, he’d count his blessings where they came.
When he looked up, Aizawa was walking into the room, Hitoshi behind him.
Trying to forget about the way Aizawa had spoken to him last night, Izuku smiled at him and Hitoshi. Neither smiled back, but Izuku was used to Aizawa not smiling much and assumed that Hitoshi was still tired from his experiences.
“Dad I made you coffee.”
“Ah, thanks Izu.”
Izuku smiled wider, happy for the praise. Maybe this would be alright after all.
When Hitoshi sat next to him, Izuku turned to speak to him.
“You’re Hitoshi, right?”
The boy looked at him with disgust, and Izuku wilted.
“Call me Shinsou. We’re not friends.”
“Oh er, okay.” Izuku nodded, he just wasn’t comfortable yet, that was fine. Even though papa seemed to be on first name basis with he boy. It would be okay, right?
When the food was plated, Izuku was quick to begin eating. One, because it was his favourite food in the whole world but also to distract him from the lump in his throat. He didn’t cry as often now, but the whiplash from Hito- Shinsou’s reaction made him ill.
Papa always fried some extra pork and put it on a plate for Izuku, he knew he liked it crispy. And, papa would always use his chopsticks to move it to Izuku’s plate, exclaiming: ‘growing boys need their protein!’
Izuku begun to eye up the pork, he was waiting for papa to notice he was done and serve it to him. He didn’t want to break the routine, and he could do with the comfort of knowing he was still recognised as their boy.
Papa reached for the pork with his chopsticks, and Izuku relaxed a little, but then it was being placed on Shinsou’s plate.
“Make sure to eat your protein Shinsou! It’ll help you get strong if you want to become a hero!”
For a moment, Izuku froze. That was his food.
Then he thought. Well, not it wasn’t. It was his papa and dad’s food. And they could choose who they wanted to give it too.
Both his parents seemed oblivious to the break in routine. Izuku excused himself, standing to go get his backpack.
“Izu could you help me out and take your plate and cup to the sink please?”
Izuku’s face burnt with embarrassment. He didn’t want Shinsou to think he was some brat.
It was just that Inko had made him wash all the dishes from around five. His fathers never made him do it, ever. He would do his own laundry, clean his room, vacuum the house every other week, but he was never made to do the dishes.
The first day he lived with them, he’d gone to do it, and they had explained that he didn’t need to do things like that. That it was the parents’ job to look after the child, not the other way round.
Had he misunderstood? Had they meant he didn’t have to do all the dishes, but should do his own? This whole time were they thinking he was some selfish brat that left his dirty dishes for others to do?
Taking the cup and plate quickly, Izuku cleaned them at the sink and placed them on the drying rack, rushing back to his room. He couldn’t quite breathe.
Picking up his bag, Izuku slung it over his shoulders. He could talk to dad about this on the drive to school, he would explain how he was feeling and ask if he had misunderstood them, ask if he was being replaced.
But, when he entered the kitchen, he stood awkwardly by the table. Waiting.
“Erm dad? We’re going to be late…”
“Oh, Izu, are you okay to walk to school today? Papa and I are going to stay home with Hitoshi today.”
Izuku felt like he was going to be sick. They were staying home without him? Not only that, but his dad was on first name basis with Shinsou too? Had he done something wrong?
“But, um, I’ll be late? It’s a thirty-minute walk and school begins in twenty minutes dad…”
“Go grab your shoes.”
Izuku relaxed a little, good, he wouldn’t be late. He waited with his shoes on by the door and hear his dad’s footsteps.
“Here.”
He looked down at the piece of paper being pressed into his hands.
‘Please excuse Izuku for being late, Shouta Aizawa’
Oh.
A late note. He still had to walk.
Izuku crumpled the note into his pocket and left, shutting the door hard behind him. Tears were beginning to sting his eyes as he walked to school.
Stop being selfish! I’m fourteen for god’s sake. I can walk to school.
He tried to keep a good pace, not wanting to be any later than he had to be. His chest felt tight, not matter how hard he tried to calm down.
He was doing the breathing exercises papa had taught him, in five, hold three, out four. But it didn’t matter, his vision was blurring from tears, and he was clutching his heart as he walked. Crouching down by a wall, he tried to steady himself.
He wasn’t being replaced.
He wasn’t.
They wouldn’t do that to him. They said they’d always love him, no matter what.
Papa mentioned at breakfast that Shinsou wanted to be a hero too. So maybe they could bond over that.
Yeah, soon they’d be friends. And even if Shinsou didn’t want to be his friend, he wasn’t staying with them long.
It was going to be okay.