Chapter Text
That Midoriya kid must think he's stupid.
As the storm raged on outside Enji completely expected to be left to his lonesome on a quiet, Friday night. He was always the last to leave the office even at fifty. Some called him traditional, but it merely was a case of habit. At least, that was his excuse. The excuse for the other boy, however, was harder to drum up.
"Check out my manicure boss!" Midoriya exclaimed. He slapped both his hands on Enji's desk to show off ten completely normal looking nails. Not a hint of paint on any digit as far as Enji was able to tell. Midoriya did not wait for him to express this confusion as after a moment of silence he explained, "they're a clear coat. But they're so soft now."
"Hm," he grunted. There was no work to be done, but he'd pulled up a report that had already been reviewed and submitted to the government two weeks ago. If there was an issue he'd rather catch and rectify it first before any pencil pusher in the government caught it.
"You want me to do yours too? Uraraka showed me how."
"I don't need a manicure."
"But that's not a no."
Because it wasn't. Enji sat back in his chair as the younger man grabbed at his left hand, pulling it away from the computer where he'd set up a mini station at the other end of his desk. He didn't recognize any singular item so he didn't bother trying to guess what they were. Izuku sat cross legged at the edge of his desk in the outfit he'd walked into the agency in that morning: black joggers and a green shirt that said "laundry day" on the front. He had compression socks on that had been worked over the cuffs of the joggers as well. If he were trying to entice his boss into an illict affair this was far from the outfit one might want to be wearing.
Izuku pulled out a small cube item and began scraping at Enji's nails with it. And then, in the silence, he began to talk.
He did this often. Somehow it would be just them in his office, in the silence of a late night, and he would have something mundane to do. Some art he was sketching on his iPad, merch he was trying to get approved. Something not important, that Enji didn't need to see or even care about. And then he would talk about it. Sometimes he spoke so long that he only took a break long enough to gulp down a breath. Then he would return to his rambling as if nothing else had happened. Enji should find it annoying. He should find it infuriating.
Instead he found it charming.
Perhaps Midoriya didn't think he was stupid. He was twenty-one years old. An adult in name only. Eventually a child had to be thrown to the world and it just so happened that twenty was when Japan decided that all humans should go forth and take control of their own lives. Whether that was the right age was far outside of Enji's expertise. Eventually all people had to be treated as adults.
"So then they released the second game in the series where he went to the city of Rhodes-" Izuku finished with his pinky. Inspecting the hand, even as he talked, he seemed to find his work satisfactory for the moment. Rather than return the limb to its owner Izuku set it down on his thigh. Low enough that his wrist rested on Izuku's kneecap. He could feel the muscle of his leg if Enji so chose. It was possible that a wayward squeeze would go unnoticed. But Enji was not a horny teenager, nor was he a lewd old man. He was the number one ranked hero. And this was his sidekick. His son's friend. A boy less than half his age. And this had all gone too far.
"Give me your other hand."
"What are you doing?"
"Giving you a manicure," Izuku leaned forward for the other digit. While he may have grown he wasn't so tall that he could just reach over and grab his hand.
"I am not stupid," he said.
At this Izuku froze, "I never called you stupid."
Enji tried to remain neutral. It was something he'd been practicing with his kids. Interested, but nonjudgemental even when he wanted to scream. "Surely you have better things to do than to sit in an office with an old man. You should leave now before the trains shut off for the night."
"My apartment already doesn't have power. No reason to go and sit in the dark alone."
"That is your excuse for the day," he finally pulled his hand back. "I am not so interesting as to keep you here. You have friends, I know you do. I'm certain Shoto would appreciate you keeping him company."
Izuku shrugged, "I dunno. I guess I like it here."
"You like to sit around at work all day?"
The room was silent for a long moment. Izuku fiddled with the file, not looking at Enji as he formed his response. "... Maybe I like the company."
Enji couldn't stop the snort, "you're wasting your time."
Izuku continued to fiddle with the file, "you can't waste time you enjoyed."
"Izuku, I am trying to be kind."
"That's nice of you," he finally looked up. Finally he looked all of his twenty-one years. His brow furrowed and his scars prominant under the low light. Izuku had accumulated a number of scars not just on his arms but on his face as well. There was one that cut through his hair line. Izuku never hid it, and it could be seen through the hair he'd cut short on the sides. He'd remembered when Izuku had cut it after the war. It slimmed down his face. Made him look older, more mature. Not so mature as to be confused for someone in Enji's age bracket.
"You are barking up the wrong tree kid. Go to one of those clubs, find someone your age."
"That's not a rejection, that's an excuse."
"I fail to see the difference."
"You're trying to use external factors to get out of even having to entertain the idea. And I don't think that's valid," he scooted on the desk, knocking the handful of supplies to the floor. He pushed the keyboard out of the way and sat right in front of Enji. Filling his field of vision so he could look Enji dead in the eye. "Tell me you don't want to be with me. Say it, and I'll drop it like it wasn't even a thing."
If he had it in him to be surprised he would be. But Midoriya was bold. Even at sixteen he'd been bold. It made him uneasy to look back on, because he shouldn't find a sixteen year old who stood up to the number two hero attractive under any circumstance.
He looked away, like the coward he was.
"See, you can't. So we should try it out."
"You'd risk your reputation to waste your prime years with an old man."
"Yeah... yeah I would."
Midoriya was bold. Bolder than Enji gave him credit for. The younger boy moved slow, clearly telegraphing his moves. And Enji didn't move away. A choice far more damning then his responses had been. Midoriya slipped off his desk onto his lap. It wasn't a slinky movement. There was no attempt in seduction. Rather Midoriya set his hands on Enji's shoulders and squeezed in comfort. Enji had seen the way the boy reached out to others. He was tactical to a fault, and his dark, green eyes pierced through Enji's.
"What do I gotta do to convince you? I get why you might be worried. Let's talk about it."
"It's not going to be that simple."
"I never said it would be," he pressed his cheek against Enji's and breathed out, "but I think we deserve to find happiness. Never know what tomorrow might bring."
Enji closed his eyes. It was shameful how this kid burrowed his way under his skin. Twenty-one might be old enough to know better, but at fifty there was no doubt. He should lie. He should force him off. Fire him. Transfer him to a different agency. And, instead, he rested his hand against the younger boy's lower back.
"We won't announce for a year," he finally said. "No public dating or affection. Engagements with my family come first, and I will speak to Shoto. If he disapproves it ends."
"Okay."
"I have worked too hard for the goodwill I have to risk it. Not for anything."
"I understand."
"You will go out with your friends, even when I am there, no following me around like a puppy."
At this Midoriya chuckled, "what kind of guy do you take me for?"
"To be honest, I take you for a bit of a fool."
"Wow, thanks."
"So many men your age you could date without worry and you choose a divorcee with four kids. I wouldn't even want that."
Izuku shifted in his lap, he sunk into Enji's chest resting his head against a firm shoulder. "Anything else?"
"No sex for six months."
"I've waited this long."
He tried not to have any feeling to that response, "we are not rushing into anything. If you get bored I'm sure there's plenty of others more willing to speed things up. No hard feelings."
"Nah, this is good."
Enji went silent so he could listen to the way Izuku's breath slowed. The other man was warm against his chest and he found himself rubbing his thumb into the muscle right next to the younger man's spine. Outside the storm raged on. The train lines shut off for the night, and everyone around hunkered down for a chaotic night. Enji eventually found sleep himself.
In the morning he was alone in his office. There was a blanket thrown over him, the only confirmation that the night prior had not been a dream. The agency did not provide blankets to their overnight staff, because he was the only overnight staff, so he did not know where it came from. He folded it up and set it next to Izuku's locker before anyone could trickle in.
The storm had been routine. Nothing the region wasn't prepared for and thus there had been few issues throughout the night. A few of his electronics had reset when the power went out, but nothing had lasting damage. The same could not be said for the people in the building that night.
Izuku already had his number, and as the pursuer in this hypothetical chase Enji let him set the pace. He kept his phone in his pocket as he went about his Saturday. Always ready to answer a text or a call, but refusing to sit by and wait for it. Let the boy be bold, he decided, he would need that kind of backbone if he wanted to continue with such a relationship.
No text came Saturday. But one came Sunday well after Enji had retired to his estate for the evening and thus was available for this surprise visit. This was likely the difference between generations. Whereas Enji enjoyed a solid plan, Izuku was figuring his life out day by day. It should be annoying.
"Date night~" Izuku sang when Enji answered the door. He held a bag in his right hand and a movie in the other.
"I have food here."
"But do you have my food?" Izuku said. He kicked off his shoes at the genkan.
"Did not imagine you for a picky eater."
"I'm not, it's just a trend," Izuku fished a tin from his back. Turning it over it read some words in English Enji was too not willing to admit he didn't understand. All-Might was the translator, not him. "Tin fish date night!"
"What?"
"I saw it online. They have so many different tin fish from other countries available now. You make a meal out of them. I brought bread and cheese too."
So the selection was western. He thought it fitting for All-Might's successor to partake in international tastes whereas Enji considered his preferences traditional. But he was giving this all a shot and thus he followed Izuku to his own kitchen to watch him prepare this "dinner".
Izuku set down a selection of four fish tins on the counter then pulled out a few small bowls. Enji grabbed a bottle of beer from his fridge, thought for a moment, then grabbed a second. He popped both tops off with his finger then turned back to Izuku. He set one of the beers down on the counter and took a long sip from his own. In that time the "cooking" had progressed quite quickly. One tin was already mixed up with mayonaise and seasoning to make a dip and some bread was already in the toasted. Izuku cracked open a bag of crackers before spotting the offered beverage. He grabbed it, took a sip from his own drink then set it down to continue working.
"So what is this trend?" Enji asked.
"Oh, ya know, people my age can't afford a night out so they do nights in," he took another swig of his beer then continued on with his cooking. Next on the plate was olives and a bit of cheese, "felt appropriate."
"I pay you fairly."
"But not enough to make us both invisible enough to have dinner at a restaurant," was the quick comeback, "besides I probably have canned something at least twice a week. Might as well splurge."
"And what's the movie?"
"This?" Izuku flipped it over. It was a Hollywood movie from the looks of it. Some internationally known actors all faced the cover their faces twisted into a serious expression, "it's a horror movie. Didn't know what you liked to watch."
"Never pegged you for a horror man."
"I'm not, but I'm open to experimentation. Didn't think you would appreciate any of my All-Might movies."
He would not. It was more than what he was. It was the way his mere presence, even as a picture on the screen, made Enji feel like second best. Even in this moment. He knew he shouldn't think about it like that, Izuku obviously had a far different relationship with All-Might then he had with Enji, but he found himself wondering if he was first pick.
And how pathetic was that? To feel insecure over his rankings in the mind of someone barely an adult.
"Done!" Izuku sang. The board was assembled almost professionally, the man certainly had taken notes. But it was a little more messy than the artfully presented dishes Enji had been accustomed to in restaurants. Two tins had been turned into two separate dip, the third was left to its lonesome, and the fourth was a pate. Then there were various crackers, cheeses, and vegetables. "Can I have another beer?"
"Should I be worried?"
"Nah, I don't drink much more than most people."
"Most people, or most people your age?"
"Yes."
He got Izuku that second beer.
They settled in the living room where Enji popped the movie into the player and pressed start. It had been decades since he was dating, he and Rei didn't date after they'd gotten married, so the situation felt foreign to him. The motto for the night was to just try, and so he did. The movie began and he tried to get into the whole spread. Truthfully he was not particularly picky, to maintain his mass he couldn't be, but he was a man of his routine.
Why Izuku chose to go with a horror movie quickly became a question that had no clear answer. The boy flinched at every jump scare and screamed whenever there was a body. Movies were, by their nature, sensationalized. They amplified anything they depicted. Despite that it was a little hilarious to watch a boy so strong he could end a war peak through his fingers at the tv screen. The other man had buried himself into Enji's side and Enji had responded by wrapping an arm around his shoulders just enjoying the feel of another warm body next to his. And yet the movie continued playing on because Izuku absolutely could not rest until he learned how it ended.
Needless to say the ending was not so kind to any of the characters.
"C-can I pick something else next time," Izuku pleaded as the credits rolled.
"By all means, this is your idea."
"I will take requests."
"This is your project, you get to pick."
Izuku pouted. Enji wouldn't go so far as to call it a cute look, but it was charming in its own way.
"Well why don't you pick next time?" Izuku reached out to grab his beer. It was no doubt warm after a whole movie spent sitting out. He took a big swig and didn't react to the taste, "you said you would try."
"I did say that."
"So, why don't you?"
Enji went quiet. He'd managed to graduate from beer two to three with no ill effects.
"It's not like you to half ass something."
He was amused at the jab more than offended. He realized he should probably be angry, but already Izuku was given leeway that he hadn't granted another person in years. And he was being challenged in ways he hadn't been forced to in twice as long.
"What do you normally do on Sundays?" He asked.
"Sleep and do laundry."
"Then that will be your day," he said, "for your little tin fish and movies. I will think up something else."
"I don't have a monopoly on Sundays."
"No," he began piling up empty tins onto the equally empty tray, "but if this is simple for you than I can find something else."
When he'd begun dating Rei he had been quite romantic despite what little money he made. He didn't talk about those times often, but he did view them fondly. Being young and stupid. Spending a hundred yen on a little toy he found because he knew she liked them. What did one do when money was no object? Normally it was fancy restaurants and expensive jewelry. It was lavish vacations out of the country.
But the rules of engagement were set, and if he didn't want a relationship where he paid and paid for some pretty young thing to hang off his arms then it was best to never start in the first place.
Izuku came back that next Sunday for dinner, but they had to skip the week after as he had dinner for his mother's birthday. Enji spent that day alone as he usually did. But in just two weeks he'd grown acclimated to the boy coming over. The house felt unusually quiet in his absence. He found himself not wanting to be in it alone. And how telling was that? To want to be in a home with a person who didn't fear or hate him?
With plenty of afternoon left to enjoy Enji left to walk to the second home. Todoroki and Natsuo had already moved out, and it was very possible Fuyumi was at work, but it didn't hurt to check. He made the walk down to the home. It was a thirty minute walk where he really started to contemplate the challenge presented to him by Izuku. This would be their reality for a year at the very least. Sneaking around, hardly telling anyone. He had to make it worth the while. To not give his all and let it fizzle out. Izuku was right, it wasn't like him.
He arrived at the second home with the resolve to think of something to truly cement his interest in his new partner. Opening the door he expected the quiet of a home managed by Fuyumi and Rei. And, in a way, he did. Except with the addition of a stranger sitting at the table.
"Oh!" The young, well younger, man exclaimed. He immediately looked nervous as Enji toed off his shoes. "M-Mr Endeavor... hi..."
"Dad!" Fuyumi exclaimed, "welcome over this, uhh, this is Mr. Narako!"
"Hello," he said, politely. He wasn't much younger than Enji, perhaps forty. Dressed casually in pants and a beige shirt. He actually looked very interchangeable for many men his age out on the street.
"He's... uhm, well mom's in the bathroom right now she can tell you."
That's when this Mr. Narako stood up. He adjusted his shirt, which did nothing as it sat on his body same as before, then walked over to Enji and held out his hand. "I've, uh, been seeing Mrs. Himura for a month or so now. Nice to meet you."
Well he could not fault a man for being up front. Enji returned the gesture, "likewise."
Rei came from the bathroom a moment later and froze when she saw him. Old habits died hard, and she unfroze just as quickly.
"I didn't expect you today," she said, "Narako ordered pizza. Would you like to join us?"
Did he? He thought it would be hard to see Rei move on. But as he sat down for dinner eating yet another western meal he found he did not experience the emotions he was expecting. Hurt, sadness, loss. He'd experienced them all during the divorce, and he'd braced himself to feel them again. But he could only feel happy as he saw Rei light up with this new man, this normal man. This man with a job who got discount corner store meals when he worked at the office late. She was happy and open and if she settled down, if he saw this man every weekend for the rest of his life, Enji could not be mad.
The night wrapped up at ten and Narako headed off with a wave. Fuyumi focused on cleaning up and Rei sat across from him with a cup of tea and a small smile.
"I don't think I said thank you."
"I don't see why you would."
"For being nice to him."
"I have no reason to not be."
She shrugged, "I suppose not. But I was so afraid of bringing him around. I didn't know how everyone would react."
"You cannot have been worried. His only controversial opinions are on baseball."
"But I want everyone to like him," she said, "so thank you. For giving me that."
He'd never thought of his acceptance as a gift he could give, but he supposed it was in some eyes. That night he sank into his bed and wondered if that was something he could ask. Maybe it wasn't. But he wanted to.