Chapter Text
The main issue that Aizawa Shouta dealt with nearly every single day was that it really did seem that barely anyone around him tried as hard as he did.
Even as far back as him being a child, Shouta had always looked around and found everyone else’s efforts lacking and lacking hard. All the way back when he was pushing himself to get into the Hero Course because he hadn’t been the only one. Every one of his classmates claimed up and down and sideways that it would be them who would be getting that rare and elusive transfer from General Education to the Heroics Program. But did a single one of them put in the effort that Shouta did? Going to Yuuei’s gyms every morning and night? Researching past Sport Festivals until their gaze swam? Sneaking out of classes just to get a glimpse of the various Hero Hopefuls training out on the field? No. Not a single one of them put in the effort that Shouta did and, yes, it sure did show when the Sports Festival came.
And when adulthood came and Shouta was ready to enter the field of other Heroes pushing themselves? It was nothing but pure disappointment. Sure, the Underground had a lot of competent Heroes and Shouta only had to open up his group chat to find at least three. But for all the other hardworking Heroes, he only had to turn on his television to see some fool posing and laughing and making one liners to the cameras instead of actually doing their jobs and being Heroes. If Shouta was the one doing some of the takedowns he often saw on television? Five minutes max for the takedown and then telling the cameras to fuck off while he worked on seeing if there were any injuries. And to see instead pure and utter laziness in the field of Heroics, the field that Shouta had been putting his heart and soul into since he was a child? It really made it clear that trying hard wasn’t something did as hard as he did.
It was a core staple to Shouta’s personality, right next to being an asshole. If you were going to try and do something, then you might as well put your whole ass into it. And Shouta liked to believe that it showed in the way he was parenting Izuku. The kid certainly trusted him more than he had when they first met. He called him Shouta-san instead of the stuttery, fearful Aizawa-san with the anxious looks that always accompanied it. Shouta could say, for the most part, he was one of the few adults that actually did show up for this kid and was continuing to show up to this day. One of, thankfully. Again, some of them were in the group chat that had started more than a few battles over who got to babysit on a certain night.
One of the others was currently living in America and testing the limits of Shouta’s fucking patience.
“Wren-san, could you please lean away from the camera, I can only see your mouth.”
“Sorry, sorry Eraserhead!-san” The American on the other side of the connection leaned fully back in his chair, showing off his draconic mutation all the way from the red scaled skin to the horns curling around his head. Even his tail could be seen swishing from behind him. “That better?”
Shouta took a very deep breath and tried so fucking hard to remind himself that this was one of his foster son’s uncles and he desperately needed to try and have a good relationship with him. Especially since the man was very obviously trying. It had taken some doing to get a phone call between one of the Firefly Brigade instead of texting, especially with the time difference between Japan and the United States. For Shouta, it was five in the morning and the world should be fucking happy that he had committed himself to no violence for this day in particular. But for Wren, the leader of the Firefly Brigade, it was three in the afternoon and he was taking time from his busy schedule as a Rescue Hero to do this call with Shouta. The other members of the Brigade were all out on a mission and Wren had taken the video call from their headquarters. If this man was as competent as he seemed, in Heroics anyway, it must be killing him to step away from his team, even for the briefest of moments. While Shouta was sitting in his kitchen, sipping at his very large mug of the blackest of black coffees and trying not to glare into his phone camera, Wren was dressed in his Hero Uniform and was clearly ready to go back up the rest of the Brigade the second this call was over. “Yes, Wren-san, that is better, thank you.”
Wren beamed, showing off his sharp teeth, and, God, it really was unfair how attractive this team of Himbos were. Idiots, all of them. Competent Heroes, yes, their Hero Ranking showed that for certain. But one only had to talk to them for five minutes for it to be clear that these four men had maybe three braincells that they were all actively competing for and, from the old videos that Shouta had found of Izuku’s late father, Midoriya Hisashi had been exactly the same. How a genius like Izuku came from them, Shouta had no idea. “Perfect! Sorry about that, really. It’s just so hard with these computers something! My niece usually gets this stuff get set up for me!” He leaned forward again, yellow eyes taking up most of Shouta’s phone screen. “Are you sure it’s okay that I pass on the address you texted? I don’t want to put you or ‘zuku in danger but I know the team really wants to pass on letters and our kids really want to get to know their cousin more.”
“It’s fine, Wren-san.” The people who brought mail into the gated community that Shouta lived in were so fucking vetted by the Underground Hero Association that Should would be impressed if a leak got in through there. “I know that Izuku is looking forward to receiving more letters from you.” And the other kids of the surviving Brigade. Shouta had spent what felt like twenty minutes of this call listening to Wren talk about the various kids that the Brigade had brought up over the years. “And you’re welcome to call the house to speak to him.”
The video call blurred and moved around as Wren pumped a fist in the air, making Shouta want to just end this call and go straight back to his bed. “Rocking!”
Shouta could feel his brain melting out of his ears.
“Yeah. Rocking.”
The camera continued to shake and Shouta took a few seconds to glance over at his clock, feeling parts of his soul start to crumble away at the realization that by the time this call was over it’d be time to start prepping for breakfast for him and his hungry problem child. And Shouta’s luck at Cat sleeping through this was stretching a little so he’d probably be taking him out for an early walk. And with the plans for today bursting at the stems, there would be absolutely no fucking time for a nap. The world should feel so fucking lucky that Shouta was dedicated to committing no murder around his kid because Shouta would be getting through the day on nothing but coffee and the last dredges of good will that had managed to survive his childhood.
Shouta rubbed a hand down his face and sighed deeply, cursing again the massive time difference that laid between him and Midoriya’s only surviving and relevant family, and forced himself to lock back in. “Wren-san, have you spoken to the rest of your team regarding the Sports Festival happening next week?” He closed his eyes when the camera steadied but ended up tilted back so that Shouta was staring up at the ceiling. Just ignore it, he urged both Wren and himself. Ignore it, get the answer, and then power nap until Cat remembers somebody other than Izuku exists.
“Yeah, I did – is my camera messed up again?”
“No.”
“I think my camera is messed up.”
“It’s fine, Wren-san.”
“Hang on, gimme a sec.”
“Wren-san, it’s - you flipped the camera, Wren-san.”
“Oh, oh, how do I fix – My Dudes!!!”
Shouta used the God Sent Gift of Wren being distracted to press a knuckle into his eye and start praying that a villain would crash into his kitchen so he could leave this fucking conversation. Especially as his screen was invaded by not just the one American he had been talking to but three others, all dressed in the same uniform and smacking each other on the backs and happily greeting each other at the loudest volume possible. The others were all just as big as Wren only with soot pressed into their skin and the few wears and tears that rescue missions always brought.
“Wren!”
“Hassan! Chad! Alvaro! My Dudes!”
“Bro! We contained the fire, bro!”
“My Dudes, great job! High fives all around, bros!!!”
“Wren, bro, are you on call?”
“Yeah, bro, with the guy looking after Izu! Hassan, bro, help me flip this camera.”
“You gotta press a button, Wren.”
“Which button, bro?”
“I dunno, bro.”
“Hey, the camera’s flipped, right? Why don’t we just flip the phone around?”
“Hassan, my dude, you’re so smart! But we won’t be able to see Eraserhead then!”
“That’s okay,” Shouta mumbled into his palm. “You don’t gotta see me. I prefer not being perceived.”
There was a flurry of motion on the other end until Wren’s was being held out by a long, muscular arm and all four of the surviving Brigade was crowded together. And, God fucking Dammit, they were all very fucking hot. All men in their late thirties and early forties, all of them with muscles and scars from years of hard Hero work, and all of them with soot apparently permanently imbedded in every crook and cranny visible. If only they weren’t so loud. Why was everyone that Shouta knew so fucking loud? “Eraserhead-san! Can you see us?”
Save Shouta from hot idiots. “Yes, I can see you.”
“Rocking!!!”
Oh, dear God, they were louder as a group.
Shouta blinked slowly and tried his hardest how to figure out how a team like this – with the lowest casualty rate of all Rescue Heroes in all of America and named one of the most strategist Rescue teams ever – couldn't figure out how to flip a fucking phone camera. How could these be some of the smartest and also dumbest people Shouta’s ever met. “. . . So are you coming to the Sports Festival?”
“Hell yeah!!!” One of the others that Shouta was fairly certain was Hassan beamed at him. “We’re brushing up on our Japanese!”
“Booked our seats down there already,” another confirmed. “Gonna be screaming Izuku’s name!”
Shouta quickly cut in. “There are new procedures this year actually. Our students will be entering under their Hero Names, not their civilian ones. I’ll be sure to send you Izuku’s before the Festival starts.”
“Even better,” Wren cried. “Can’t wait to hear our little Lightning bug’s Hero Name! Is it fire related?!”
“I don’t think so. I doubt it.” There was a thump from upstairs and the sound of excitable barking. Thank God, finally, the best possible thing that came with raising a kid. Having a built in excuse to end conversations. “I gotta go and check on the kid. It sounds like he’s awake.” This time he was ready for the outcry from the Rescue Team and braced himself, wincing at the roar of the other four men, all of them eagerly demanding that he tell Izuku hi, that they love him, that they can’t wait to see him, and that they’re so gonna be sending him an internship offer. Because of fucking course his Problem Child would be getting an international offer for his first ever internship.
He ended the call after a halfhearted farewell, getting deafened by a roar in return, and when Izuku padded into the kitchen, Shouta was slumped back in his chair with a hand thrown over his eyes and his phone as far away from him on the table as he could get it. He didn’t move the hand from his face, even as he heard Izuku come to a stop by the kitchen door or Cat barking excitedly as he slid between the two. “S-Shouta-san?”
Shouta grunted in response.
“. . . Are you okay?”
Shouta shifted his hand so he could glance over at the Problem Child who was staring at him, still dressed in his pajamas and squinting at him through tired eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because it’s five in the morning on a Monday and you’re not, um, sleeping. Are you sick?”
See world? Even the Problem Child knew just how big of a deal it was for Shouta to be awake at this hour. Be thankful Izuku existed or Shouta would currently be preparing for his killing spree.
Shouta sighed and forced himself to sit up in his chair, rubbing his eyes briefly before forcing back the sleep clawing at his eyes. “No, kid, not sick. Just had a call that I had to wake up early for. And why are you awake?” Nobody who didn’t have to deal with loudness if they didn’t have should be up at five in the morning.
Izuku just shrugged slightly. “I thought I was hearing voices?”
Ah shit. So, it was Shouta who had introduced the loudness to Izuku this early in the morning. Minus ten parenting points to Shouta.
“Sorry, kid, that was my fault. I didn’t expect the call to be as loud as it was.” He kicked the chair from across from him and Izuku quickly scurried over. Shouta couldn’t help but be amused by just how eager the kid seemed to sit with. It wasn’t even the crack of dawn and yet here they were. Only Underground Heroes and their kids would understand; Shouta was sure of it. “I was getting in touch with your uncles.”
There were many good things Shouta had discovered about having this child in his house. Even with the constant worrying, Shouta knew that being given custody of Midoriya Izuku was one of the best things that had happened to him. But he didn’t think it was possible for things to get better than it did when Izuku’s eyes widened, realization hitting him, and the bright, beaming smile stretched across his face really did erase any lingering feelings of murder Shouta was feeling. “Y-you did?!”
“I did,” Shouta confirmed. He leaned back in his chair and pushed his hair back. Cat pressed his little stupid head up against Shouta’s calf with a low whine and Shouta leaned down, scooping the dog off the floor and letting him flail happily in his arms. “I wanted to talk to them about you. About the Sports Festival too.” From the second the words left his lips, Izuku’s straightened. It was a topic that Shouta had been avoiding, not wanting to give Izuku an answer on whether or not he could participate until he knew just how safe it would be. And with the email Shouta had woken up to that morning, he felt safe finally giving an answer. “They’re very excited to see you participate.”
The smile that stretched across Izuku’s face could rival the sun. Suddenly Shouta remembered the picture of Smokescreen that he had looked up briefly before the call with the Firefly brigade; Izuku smiled just like his father. “I can?!”
“With conditions,” Shouta amended. He reached reluctantly for his phone and quickly pulled up the email Nedzu had sent out, sliding it over for the Problem Child to eagerly devour. “Same new procedures for everyone participating.”
It wasn’t as strict as Shouta would’ve loved – no banning all press from the event, much to Shouta’s dismay – but Nedzu had brought in some seriously needed changes. For one, no student would be going by their names. Not even the students outside of the Hero Course; for those students, it’d be a fun little thing where they got to choose a name to go by during the Festival. For the Hero students, it would be the first place where they got to display their Hero names to the world. Honestly, it was a change that Shouta had been wanting to get pushed through for a very long time now and was happy to know that his students wouldn’t just be going on international television and screaming their names to the world.
The second change that was happening was amped up security. More security had been hired for the event and every Hero and guard would be presented with pictures and descriptions of the Villains that escaped during the USJ attack, along with their own security cameras scanning each and every face that walked into the stadium. And even with the guards and extra Hero detail, all students would be given a small tracker and heart monitor in the form of a bracelet. And Shouta just knew that Powerloader and every Support Company they had on retainer had been cursing Nedzu’s name when they realized just how many trackers they would need to make. Knowing that soothed something in the gooey center of Shouta’s asshole heart.
It certainly helped that Izuku’s use of One for All looked absolutely fucking nothing like All Might’s use of the Quirk. If it did then Shouta wouldn’t even be entertaining the idea of Izuku participating at all. As it was, hopefully, Izuku would just look like another kid with an overpowered Quirk.
At least at this point, Shouta could feel a little more confident about letting Izuku step out on that field. Yes, his Quirk and face would be on display and that was something that Shouta would always hate about the Sports Festiva, no matter the circumstances. But that wasn’t something that was about to change anytime soon, even with the additional risk that the attack on the USJ had posed. Shouta had to be realistic here, as fucking annoying as that was. Plus, as long as Izuku didn’t stand on the field screaming for the world to know that he was the next holder for One for All, Shouta was hoping that All for One wouldn’t recognize it, especially since from the limited times Shouta had seen, Izuku’s green lightning and almost green glow wasn’t similar at all to All Might’s use of the Quirk.
Plus, it was only a matter of time before Izuku had to step out as a public hero. Even if he eventually wanted to become an Underground Hero, Shouta couldn’t prevent Izuku from participating from any and all Yuuei activities. For right now, until they knew more, it might be better to not give Izuku’s special treatment, pulling him from the Sports Festival and make other students wonder why he’s not participating. All of which coupled along with Yagi staying far away from Izuku should be enough to keep the kid safe. Izuku was just another face in the crowd. With a powerful Quirk, yes, but that didn’t mean anything when it came to the students of Yuuei.
It would be fine; it would be fine.
“I will only allow you to participate with these conditions in place,” Shouta said, trying his best to put as much sternness in his voice as he could. It was hard when the Problem Child was beaming with excitement. “None of these conditions are optional. If you have an issue with even one and refuse to go along with them then you’ll be spending the Sports Festival doing alternative activities.” A part of Shouta prayed that Izuku would skip the festival altogether, choosing instead to an observer and a junior participant of the Second Year Underground Students’ annual heist; they were aiming for Nedzu’s office this year and it would be such a good lesson for the Problem Child in impossible tasks and inevitable failure. “Is that fair to you, Izuku?”
Izuku’s eyes were wide and bright with excitement but, credit is where it was due, he stilled at Shouta’s question and actually thought about it; cradling his chin in his hand and staring down at the phone thoughtfully. After a long moment, he looked up at Shouta through his bangs. “. . . Do you think it’s worth it, Shouta-san? I mean . . . we don’t know if All for One is really dead yet, do we?”
Shouta let out a long, deep breath and shook his head. “No, we don’t, kid.”
“And All Might still hasn’t said anything to you about it?” It was question with an absurd amount of hope to it, like Izuku was begging to be proven wrong. It broke Shouta’s heart to shake his head and bring the kid back down to earth. Izuku’s nose scrunched up briefly but he pushed down whatever disappointment he was feeling to continue, albeit in a slightly strangled voice. “So, there must be pretty big risks to doing this, aren’t there?”
Shouta answered honestly, even if it tore him slightly in two to do so. “No more than anything else you do from this point.” He leaned forward, making sure that his boy was looking him firm in the eye before he answered. Because this was important and Shouta couldn’t let Izuku go anywhere until he understood. “Because since the second you took that Quirk and because a Yuuei student, you ensured that everything you do from now on is going to have risk to it, more than anyone else in the school. At some point, you’re going to be caught on camera doing something that could, possibly, be a hint to somebody that you hold that Quirk. It sucks but it is what it is. Even if you decided to step down from the Hero Program-”
“I would never.” Shouta stopped short because it was the first real time Izuku had ever cut him off or talked over him. It meant something, Shouta was sure it did, but he was too caught off guard by how serious Izuku looked. He looked a little insulted at the very notion. Like Shouta had just said something blasphemous. For the first time, possibly ever, Izuku glared at Shouta fiercely and it was like everything peeled away, every anxiety the kid had ever held, until only ice cold certainty remained. It was like getting a glimpse of the Hero the kid might be and Shouta, to be honest if only to himself, felt humbled to see it. Izuku met his eyes firmly. “I took this Quirk, it’s mine. And, and I want to use it for good, to be a Hero.”
Is this what All Might saw that day, almost a year ago? Is this what every teacher, for years, spent ignoring? This heroic boy who, stripped of anxiety and fear, just wanted to do good?
Shouta felt humbled. A part of him felt oddly small in front of it. With One for All, Izuku was going to be an amazing hero. Shouta wished with everything he could that he could’ve seen the Hero he would’ve been without it and the target that came with it.
It took a second for Shouta to continue, to force the words out of his mouth, to talk to this determined little boy who seemed to just always want to do good. He swallowed, reminded himself firmly that he was a teacher and foster parent and had to be in control of this situation, and continued. “Okay. That’s your decision, kid, and I would never argue against that. But as it is, you’re always going to be at risk a little. What’s important is mitigating the risk. Only using a Hero name at the festival and not your civilian one is a big part of that. And, though this is only a suggestion, not revealing your full hand could be another.”
Izuku tilted his head and his eyes seemed to flash. “You mean . . . maybe don’t use my whole arsenal? That’s gonne be hard though, Shouta-san. My quirk doesn’t seem very versatile right now. Hizashi-san is teaching me how to use it more during classes and after school and I’m doing better but,” the kid trailed off for a moment and stuck a finger to his mouth thought, tilting his head down with furrowed eyebrows. “Maybe. . . “
Shouta arched an eyebrow. “Maybe?”
“. . . It’s just that Yaoyorozu and Todoroki implied that maybe we could team up during the second round of the festival. Since the second round is usually a team event.”
Shouta hummed and nodded, wondering if his advice to switch things up so clever kids like Izuku would have to adapt on the fly instead of relying on carefully laid plans would finally be listened to this year. “I’ve never noticed if there was a pattern,” he lied carefully. “But it would make sense for you to work together in that circumstance.”
Izuku nodded but pressed his finger harder against his lips. “Right, we thought so too. But . . . maybe it doesn’t just have to be during the second round.” He looked up through his bangs, hesitant but curious. “You said that you shouldn’t have just one move, that you should have an arsenal. Teamwork can be part of that arsenal, can’t it?”
Shouta was so not the hero for this conversation.
Shouta had gone independent from the very second he could, only bothering to sign up for the Underground Hero Association purely so he could have the benefits of being a member; anonymity, being able to claim a territory of his own, having support when it came to dealing with police and the vultures known as the media. But teamwork? Aside from the few times his missions collided with other Unders, Shouta was independent in every sense of the world. He rarely even ran with Midnight, despite her own claimed territory being close to his own. Aside from the brief stint of working with Hizashi, a year and a half of working with his closest friend, Shouta had always been the definition of independent.
Any thought of teamwork for him had been crushed under a collapsing building when he was only a little older than Izuku himself.
And a part of Shouta wanted badly to protect Izuku from that feeling. There was a small, panicky part of him that wanted to take his kid and tell him that no, teamwork should be reversed for special occasions, times where you had no choice. It shouldn’t be used for times for the Sports Festival. Relying on yourself, that was the safety strategy one could use.
But the other part of him, the part that loved dancing with Hizashi, the part of him that still lived on the rooftop of Yuuei, that part of him that that Nemuri had so lovingly cracked and told to trust again, knew that wasn’t the right answer for his ward or for any kid. Hell, the teacher in him knew that was an answer that All Might would give, not a competent teacher or hero.
Instead of taking the deep breath he wanted to, he nodded without hesitation and decided that Izuku definitely needed more role models than Mr. Independ Hero Man over here. Did he know any Heroes in an actual team? The Pussy Cats, maybe? He could always hope that they thew an offer out to Izuku during internships and encourage the kid to go there. And, of course, there was always the chance that Izuku would eagerly want to go to New York for the week with his uncles.
It would be good, Shouta decided, for a kid with such good leaderships qualities to see how a team worked.
“No rules against it,” Shouta said, shrugging carelessly. He smirked a little though and pointedly tilted his head. “But maybe don’t go around telling everyone your plans, yeah? Get those you want on your team on your team and then quietly plan. Teamwork is good but teamwork only your team knows about? In my experience, that’s even better.”
And judging by the way Izuku smiled, beaming at Shouta with a sly little gleam in his eyes, he was picking up exactly what Shouta was throwing down.
“I need to text Yaoyoruzo-san,” Izuku muttered, slipping off his chair with one hand tapping against his hip in a steady tempo. “And, and Todoroki-san maybe too. He was very specific about the second round only but, well, maybe if I explain my idea in more detail; and Shinsou, I gotta talk to him too, he’d be such a good wild card and it would get him attention if he could be shown as part of a group.” His hand was tapping quicker and quicker against his side. “And, a-and we wouldn’t be able to plan all out, we don’t know what the rounds will be about, but, well, there’s no rule against working together and helping each other.” That hand was flapping. “Shinsou-kun is probably awake right now, I can call him and he’ll agree right away, I just know he will.” He beamed at Shouta, sunshine bursting out through his smile and eyes crinkling with excitement. “Thank you, Shouta-san! I, I’m so excited, and I’ll be careful at the festival, I will be, and I’ll think of ways to use my quirk in more subtle ways, and maybe if I’m working in a group than I’ll be able to blend in more and-”
“Izuku.”
Izuku cut himself off, shoulders straightening and eyes widening. “Y-yes?”
Shouta looked at this excitable kid, his excitable kid, and took a moment to really consider if he’d be able to sleep knowing that his kid was off making war plans with other first years before standing up with a sigh. “Go grab your coat and Cat,” he muttered, shaking the last dredges of sleep from his eyes. “If we’re both up for real than we might as well go down and get some drinks from Yasmin-san to wake up first.”
“Can . . . can we stop for blueberry pancakes too maybe?”
Another great reason to have kids. They could suggest things that adults never could.
With a mental fist bump at the chance for more fucking pancakes, Shouta very casually nodded. “Sounds good to me, kid. Go on, grab Cat’s leash and get him up. We’ll pick up coffee and pancakes on the way back and then,” he sighed away, rubbed at his eyes, and said, in pure exhaustion, “you can go and start making war plans with your friends to break down the other little demons, how about that?” It made something in him glow warm to see how Izuku eagerly nodded. “Okay, go,” he stopped short as the worst possible thing imaginable at five am happened.
His phone rang.
Izuku paused in his happiness attack, still obviously overcome at the thought of working with his friends to overthrow everyone else at the festival, to stare down at the phone in confusion and then cautious hope. “It is my uncles again, Shouta-san? I’d love to talk to Wren-Oji if he’s available.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be another conversation with an idiot hottie Shouta was going to be blessed with again today. No, of course not. No, only a real dickhead could call him unprompted at five in the morning.
Shouta picked up the phone, looked at the user ID, rolled his head back, and seriously considered murder as he answered the call. “Tensei. What?”
“Shou-chan.”
Shouta hung up without waiting for another word and flapped his hand at Izuku in exhaustion. “Go,” he told the shocked looking boy. “Jacket.”
Izuku was looking at him scandalized. “You just hung up.”
“Yeah.”
“On a friend.”
“Yeah. Jacket.”
“You hung up on a friend, Shouta-san.”
The phone started ringing Tensei’s ringtone again and, without looking, Shouta declined the call. “Jacket, Izuku.”
“You shouldn’t hang up on a friend, Shouta-san. What if they don’t want to be friends anymore because of it?”
Shouta viciously denied another call. “Then I might get a good night’s sleep for once. Go on, Problem Child, go and get Cat ready for our pancake run and I’ll see what Tensei wants.”
Izuku, the poor friend deprived thing, looked close to a conniption as Shouta denied yet another call. If he had the kind of friends that Shouta had at his age, then he’d be rejecting calls at the first sign of his friends being dickish too. But, because he was a good kid, he walked off. And with a bit of an attitude at that, looking at Shouta with might just be a frown pulling at his lips. God, Shouta literally couldn’t be prouder of his kid right now. He sighed when Tensei called again and picked it up, rubbing at his eyes as he did so. “Start running, asshole, I’m coming to kill you.”
“Hi, Shouta.”
“It’s five am in the morning, why the fuck are you calling me right now?”
Tensei sounded way too happy. “You sound awake.”
Shouta was going to start this wonderful day off by killing one of his oldest friends, he swore to God that he was going to kill Tensei for this. “I am awake, dickhead. I’m awake and mad about it and am in the process of going out to coffee with Izuku. Why are you calling me?”
“Just got off patrol! Had three energy drinks to get through my night shift and, hey, y’know, I was thinking, I’m free tonight.”
Shouta pressed a knuckle deep into his forehead and considered the possibility that he might have one friend too many. He could get along just fine with Nemuri and Hizashi, he was sure. Sure, he’d miss Tensei at first but he could get over that. He wouldn’t have any more five o’clock phone calls, that was for certain. Of course, he also, though he’d rather set himself on fire than admit it, had a feeling that it would be a very long time before he got over missing Tensei, if such an event ever happened at all. He took a deep breath in, forcibly reminded himself of years of friendship, and then said, “Well, I am not. I have patrol tonight. Asshole. I told you already, I can’t do dinner for a while but-”
“And,” Tensei continued without skipping a beat, like Shouta hadn’t talked at all, “I was thinking, right? Hizashi’s still in his funk and everything and while I’m sure your son loves him, nothing wrong with giving Hizashi a break from babysitting for a while. So, y’know, I was thinking-”
“You think?”
Tensei blew a raspberry at Shouta through the call and Shouta, God, Shouta was far too tired for this. Even if the act reminded him achingly of his highschool days. “Look, why don’t I come over with Tenya? The kids can have a sleep over, I’ll sleep on the couch, and you’ll have the peace of mind that a competent Hero is watching your boy while you’re out patrolling. Plus, it’ll give Hizashi more time to,” Tensei hesitated for just a split second but it was enough for Shouta to swoop in and pick up on the conversation before Tensei could.
“I spoke to him yesterday. He’s out at bed, at the least, and he said that he’d be at school today.” He sighed and stood up from the table, grabbing his wallet in the slow preparation for the day. “I don’t know, Tensei. I let Nemuri and Hizashi babysit because Izuku knows them from school, he’s comfortable around them.”
“He knows Tenya,” Tensei protested. “And this way, it won’t be some weird guy coming around that he doesn’t know! It’s a sleepover between friends with one of the kids’ older brother supervising.”
The kids did need supervision. Tensei wasn’t wrong about that, though just thinking that made Shouta grimace. It was weird, admitting that Tensei was right about something.
But . . . Shouta glanced up at the second floor and hummed uncertainly. “I was thinking of doing a dinner first, Tensei. Let him get to know you first before you come babysit. And did you tell Tenya about his new cousin yet?” Shouta doubted it; there was no way Tenya would’ve allowed Izuku to go hang out with two legacy kids alone if he did. Kid would’ve kicked a hole in the Yaoyorozu mansion to go collect his friend before he let that happen without his supervision.
As suspected, Tensei just said cheerfully, “I’ll tell him before I get him ready for the day! C’mon, Shouta, at least think about it. You need a babysitter and Hizashi isn’t exactly in the headspace for that right now. And while I know that Nemuri loves kids, well, we can’t push it, can we?”
Again, surprisingly, Tensei wasn’t wrong. Nemuri had long since made it clear that, while she loved Tenya, kids was something she preferred at a very long distance. Babysitting? No problem for her. But there was a reason why Hizashi tended to be the first to volunteer for babysitting duty. Shouta sighed and pinched the bridge of nose. Because, well, this would take a load off his shoulders and give Nemuri a well deserved break. He hadn’t exactly been stressing about it but it would be nice to know for certain that Izuku would be looked after while Shouta was out. And while there was nobody Shouta trusted more than Yamada Hizashi . . . Shouta couldn’t bear the idea of putting anymore on his friend’s shoulders right now, not while he was still grieving a relationship with some fucking idiot.
“. . . Let me talk about it with Izuku first before you drop anything. What time does Tenya wake up for school?”
Knowing Tenya and the schedules for everything, Shouta wasn’t surprised when Tensei immediately answered, “Six thirty! Just text me an answer before then, okay? Look, I want to meet the kid, I’m off tonight and tomorrow, and I know you have a spare futon for Tenya to sleep on.” Shouta did have one tucked away, yes.
“Will Tenya even be okay with diverting from his schedule? Doesn’t he usually only do stuff like this on Fridays? It’s a Monday.” They were both just the worst guardians; Shouta was certain. Planning sleepovers between their kids on a Monday of all nights. “He won’t like that.”
“He knows that being a Hero means having to change things up and he’s been very determined in getting used to that. Plus, it’s not like we’ve never switched things up before; he's not a little kid anymore, Shouta, and he’s been working on being more flexible. The schedule is more like a guide than a rule, we’ve always stuck to that, Shou. He’ll be thrilled at the thought of getting to know a cousin, even if it means spending somewhere else on a Monday than home.”
It had been a while since Shouta had watched Tenya for a night; the last time he had, Tenya had still been in his biting phase, and there had been a very strict schedule Shouta had always followed. But, well, Tenya was older now and he was willingly entering a field that wasn’t exactly structured. A few unexpected twists and changes would have to be expected for any Hero. It would make sense that Tensei had gotten Tenya used to that early. If Tensei was sure that Tenya would be fine then Shouta was willing to believe him. Especially since Shouta knew for a fact that any trepidation Tenya might feel would immediately be overshadowed by the excitement of spending time with a new cousin. Especially if that cousin was Izuku.
Shouta hesitated for a moment longer, listening to the sounds of kid and dog thumping around above him, before sighing. “Give me a bit to talk to the kid first about it. I’ll text you before six thirty but don’t get your hopes up too high about it. Kid’s anxious as hell.” Nemuri might end up babysitting after all.
“Hey, it’s just an idea, let me know what he thinks about it and I’m good to go either way. I know that Tenya will be down so it’s all in your baby’s court.”
Okay, well, Shouta did need to defend his kid’s honour. “Don’t call him a baby, Tensei; he’s fourteen, Jesus.” He glanced up as Cat started to howl and tucked his wallet into his pants. “Okay, I’ll text you in a bit. I gotta go; Izuku and I are going to get pancakes. And if this is happening then you better be ready to pay for takeout; you’re not cooking in my fucking house.”
Tensei laughed from the other end of the line. “I cook for Tenya all the time!
“And I still fear for that kid’s teeth each time he bites into one of your charred creations. My kid is a bottomless pit. Take from that what you will.” He hung up without another word and started walking towards the front door to wait for Izuku and Cat. But not before glancing at the fridge where his calendar was pinned.
He hoped that Izuku did agree to a sleepover with Tenya. Not only because Tensei was a good Hero that would keep his kid safe. But because the Iida brothers would keep Izuku well entertained and distracted from anything else around him.
It had been over a week. Shouta and Yagi needed to have a talk.