Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku was a good kid. 

It wasn't terribly surprising that he never went through a rebellious phase. He was well mannered, listened to his mom, and when Toshinori entered the pictured, Izuku listened to him, too. 

Although, that didn't mean he was an angel, and it definitely didn't mean he was above being petty. Izuku held grudges like the worst of them. He had gotten pretty good at pushing those thoughts to the farthest reaches of his mind, but… sometimes they just happened to shove their way forward again.

Like right then, for example. His mother was going on and on about how happy she was that Izuku was done with high school early and how he's in his second year of university, despite his Quirk status. While that could potentially be sweet, she kept adding in how glad she was that Izuku gave up that 'silly dream of being a Hero.' Toshinori hummed his agreement, nodding slightly as he stared fondly at Inko. 

Izuku felt a sharp pinch in his chest as his childhood hero agreed that it truly was for the best.

The twinge of annoyance and hurt that lingered was enough to bring up those carefully hidden feelings. It wasn't like he had to remain Quirkless. Toshinori could have easily passed his Quirk to Izuku, but… he didn't. Izuku understood that it was Toshinori's Quirk and his to do with as he pleased, but it didn't change that it had hurt. He was never offered One for All, and Toshinori insisted that it was for the best the one time Izuku had questioned it. According to Toshinori, Izuku's body wouldn't be able to withstand the strain of such a Quirk. He hadn't been preparing for it. 

Which is why Toshinori had taken Sir Nighteye's advice and given the Quirk to Togata Mirio. 

If Izuku had to listen to how great a hero Togata was, or how quickly he was rising the ranks, or how much the public loved him one more time, he was going to snap. 

Instead of yelling at his parents, however, Izuku took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and did what he did best – he planned. What could he do that might make his parents as upset as he was? 

The answer came to him a bit later. It was genius, in his own humble opinion. Izuku had pulled out his laptop in the middle of the night, a wide grin on his face as he listed an advertisement on Craigslist.

When Izuku checked his email during lunch the next day, he had to say he was impressed. He had gotten seven responses! So what if five of them were offers for anonymous sex and one was a bot to take him to a porn website? They were still responses! Okay, maybe it was… only one actual response. That's fine, though – he could work with that!

He read through the message, noticing how short and clipped the inquiry was. Izuku responded, asking to meet later that day in the small café that was a few blocks away from his old high school.

The high school had a wonderful Hero Support program. Not as grand or exclusive as U.A.'s, but it worked for him, and he didn't have to worry about running into people he might have known. He also didn't need to deal with the fact that the Hero program was so close, just out of reach, but could never be something he could have. It had gotten him into a better Analyst program at his university, so he couldn't be too upset.

The response was nearly immediate and Izuku grinned. He would interview the person, and while it was likely that the man would get the 'job,' Izuku needed confirm a few things and also bring up some key elements that would ensure that this whole operation ran smoothly. This was going great!

Izuku was running late, but only by a few minutes. His professor had asked him to stay back for a bit so they could review his work and his newest gear design. He had wanted Izuku to stay even longer, but the boy had stuttered out some flimsy excuse before rushing off. 

He practically ran to the café, really hoping that whoever responded to his advertisement hadn't left because he was late. By the time he entered the small coffee shop, he was panting and red faced. He looked around, trying to figure out who could possibly be there waiting for him, but was at a loss. Shuffling to the side so that he didn't block the doorway, he pulled out his phone to send a message. He didn't realize when someone had approached him.

"Are you Midoriya?"

Izuku's head snapped up, eyes wide. He nodded slowly. Anything he was about to say died in his throat, his tongue sitting heavy in his mouth. The man in front of him… he looked homeless. Part of him understood why he responded to the listing - if he was homeless, then certainly the prospect of free food was enough to draw him in!

Although… he didn't smell like he was living in a cardboard box - there wasn't any body odor, nor the damp stench of cigarettes in alleys. Upon further inspection, Izuku came to the conclusion that this stranger simply wasn't what he appeared to be.

The man's dark, long hair was clean and tied back in a messy ponytail. His clothes, although baggy, seemed fresh, and the tired look in the other's face, accompanied by dark circles beneath his eyes, told Izuku that he probably spent a lot of nights up late. The man was holding a cup of coffee and seemed unimpressed with Izuku's staring.

Izuku nodded again, this time quickly, "yes! Yes, sorry, I'm Midoriya Izuku! It's nice to meet you…?"

"Aizawa Shouta."

"It's nice to meet you, then, Aizawa-san! I'm really sorry for being late – my professor wanted to talk about my project after class and we can both get carried away," he laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Aizawa gave a noncommittal hum, "let's sit down."

So, they did. 

They exchanged basic information. Aizawa's first question was if Izuku was of legal age, which he nodded in response. "I wouldn't have done this otherwise. I can even show you my ID." Aizawa waved him off, seeming to believe him.

Izuku hadn't asked him how old he was in return, but he had asked what the man did for work. Aizawa studied him for a moment before taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm a teacher."

"Really?" Izuku brightened. "That's cool! My, uh, step-dad's a teacher, too." Izuku left out the fact that his step-father was All Might and that he taught at U.A., but… it was practically the same thing, right? "What do you teach?" He asked, squinting after a moment, “I'm getting… don't tell me… law? I feel like you would teach law. Ethics, maybe.” Izuku paused, leaning forward a bit. “But you seem like you could fit the overworked and tired artist type, too, though.”

The man shifted, flushing lightly and seemingly uncomfortable with the scrutiny. "I'm a high school teacher," he admitted finally. Izuku's eyes widened a bit in surprise. He would have thought the man was teaching university! "I'm also a mentor. One of my students, he's… he's a good kid. He just needed someone to believe in him."

Izuku nodded in understanding, his expression turning soft. That was something he could understand. "I'm sure he's grateful," the young man murmured. He knew that he would be if someone had done the same for him. A swell of bitterness grew at the thought. He still couldn't believe All Might sometimes. 

He had the drive! He had the dedication! He would have been an incredible Hero!

Izuku stopped himself from spiraling and took a deep breath. "Alright!" He chirped, "so you teach. I'm a university student."

Aizawa rose an eyebrow, "first year?"

"Second, actually," Izuku corrected. "I… graduated high school early. I'm dual majoring in Hero Support and Analytics."

The man nodded thoughtfully, "Heroes need solid analysts these days," he murmured, "good information is important for staying alive. Good luck in your studies, Midoriya."

Izuku flashed him a shy smile before moving the conversation along. "So, long story short, my mom and step-dad are nice people. They mean well, but sometimes well-meant isn't… encouraging for a kid with a dream." He paused, "if I have to hear my parents tell me one more time that they're so glad that I changed my mind on my career path, I think I'm gonna lose it. Or if they start talking about how my dad's protegee is continuing his legacy so well, well. I'm an analyst, Aizawa-san. Part of that is knowing how to clean up a Hero's mess." It was a threat, albeit a very weak one. Izuku might be physically stronger now than he had been, but he'd still lose against a powerful physical Quirk.

Aizawa suddenly broke out into a toothy grin, "alright, kid, I'll bite. If you're such a good analyst, why don't you pick a Hero and tell me about them."

The younger blinked, "wah – what?" Very eloquent, Izuku, he thought to himself in exasperation.

The man shrugged, "you're implying that you're a superior analyst with the skills and capabilities to make someone disappear should you need to. It's illogical for me to believe that without any proof."

Again, Izuku blinked. How did this conversation get turned around on him?! He's the one who's supposed to be interviewing Aizawa! He puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, "I'm not one of your students, Aizawa-san! You can't just – I don't know. Give me a pop quiz?! What if you're secretly a Villain?!"

Aizawa nodded at him, sagely. "I see," he said, and Izuku felt himself relax, leaning back against the seat. "You can't prove it. Noted."

"Can't pro– I'll prove it! Give me a Hero – dealer's choice. I'll give you an on-the-spot analysis." Izuku huffed, crossing his arms, and looking to the side. He knew he took the bait, but something in the back of his mind kept kicking him and he didn't want to seem like some idiot who was just claiming to be good was what he did. Well, at least his memory was good. Besides, what good were all those Hero Analysis notebooks if he couldn't even analyze something in the moment?

Aizawa hummed, sitting back. He searched Izuku's face for a moment, taking in the younger's stubborn set jaw and determined eyes. "How will I know you're not lying?"

Izuku groaned, "oh my god," he placed his face in his hands, "you're hired. You won't know, so just pick one."

"Fine. Eraserhead."

Izuku's head snapped up and he looked at the man for a moment. Then, he laughed at him. "Okay, Aizawa-san. I'll tell you about Eraserhead," he giggled. The man suddenly looked wary, but Izuku figured it was just because it probably looked like he really was about to snap. It wasn't his fault he was asked for an analysis on his favorite Hero!

He took a deep breath, quieting his giggles. Wow, this would really be a piece of cake. "Hero name: Eraserhead. Quirk: Erasure. It cancels out a person's Quirk, but it's only really effective on Emitter types. So, essentially, he fights Quirkless most of the time, which is super neat! He needs to have a target to be in his line of sight, and it only works on one person at a time. I've always wondered if he needs to see the entire person for it to work." The boy shook his head, refocusing and barreling on.

"He's an Underground Hero who's known for being quick and efficient. Works alone, mostly. Sometimes patrols with Psyren. Eraserhead's yellow goggles are probably to hide the stain of Erasure. He should probably look into getting moisture-sealing lenses. I'm sure the migraines from Quirk overuse are terrible," Izuku shrugged, not really paying attention to anything as he took a sip of coffee.

"Um, let's see…" he rubbed his chin, "oh! His capture weapon, right! Well, it sort of looks like this really long scarf that would appear to be more detrimental than beneficial to anyone else, but," Izuku stressed, "when Eraserhead activates Erasure, there's some sort of thing that happens that lifts his hair. If he figured out how to use the scarf with that, then that could be a reason why it works so well for him. The technique is difficult for others to learn, but not impossible if they're stubborn enough." He hummed, thinking of the knots he and Hitoshi had gotten tied up in. "Psyren has been seen with the same scarf, actually."

He tapped at his cheek this time, wondering what else he could add, "he seems to have connections to Present Mic and Midnight, if their constant huddles at Hero Galas are anything to go by, but it's also just possible they went to school together since they all debuted around the same time…" he trailed off. "He seems have slowed down in the past few years in the number of missions he completes and successful capture rates, but that could be due to not necessarily needing to work as a Hero anymore. Maybe he sustained an injury? Wanted to settle down and have a family? Who knows?"

Aizawa was staring at him. For a moment, Izuku was worried that the man wasn't breathing. The look that Izuku was receiving felt like he might have broken the other. His own face begin to heat up in embarrassment, "I'm so sorry, Aizawa-san! I should have realized how weird that all was! I didn't mean to go off like that. I know it's not polite and is probably a little creepy, but he's my favorite Hero, y'know? Not a lot of footage exists of him fighting, and if it does, it's hard to tell certain things so there's a really good chance that not everything is right!" He forced himself to get out quickly in his defense.

That seemed to shake the man out his stupor, and he quirked a brow just slightly in interest. "Why is he your favorite Hero? Most people prefer All Might, or Hawks, even." Izuku noted that Endeavor wasn't mentioned and filed that thought away for another time.

He shrugged, "Hawks is a great hero and really neat to analyze and he's great with the public, but he's been groomed for that role since childhood. He came out of nowhere and all of the sudden he's in the Top Ten? It screams nepo baby or child soldier. Either way, not ideal." He offered another shrug. "And as for All Might… Well," he gave a crooked grin, "they always say not to meet your Heroes."

Aizawa gave a hesitant nod at that. He looked at Izuku differently now, seemingly trying to pick apart what made him tick. Izuku glanced down at his coffee cup as he started playing with the paper sleeve of the disposable cup. "Like I said," he murmured softly, "Eraserhead essentially fights Quirkless. It's… I look up to him for that. I've always been told that I can't be a Hero without a Quirk, but there are plenty of Heroes who have Quirks that don't give them a battle advantage. It shouldn't be about how powerful a Quirk is, but the character and strength of person." Well, at least the other knew he was Quirkless now. He peered through his bangs to look at Aizawa. "Ah," he said, "I'm sorry, that got heavy really quick, but –"

"I think I'm in love. Marry me."

Izuku sputtered, eyes going wide and mouth dropping as he looked at the man sitting across from him incredulously. It wasn't even phrased as a question! The coffee cup he had been playing with now long forgotten. "You can't be serious!" He squawked. The man was staring at him with nothing but sincere and genuine interest and a weird kind of fondness that started to overwhelm Izuku. "You can't marry a man you just met, Aizawa-san!"

The man hummed, leaning an arm on the table to hold his chin in his hand, "but you can, Midoriya-san?"

"You know that's not what I meant!"

Aizawa gave another wide and toothy grin, that Izuku really shouldn't find as charming as he did. "Come on, Midoriya, think about it. Showing up to the family dinner with a surprise husband in tow? Someone they've never met – never even heard about? Who's…" he cleared his throat, glancing away for a moment with pursed lips, "at least twice your age?"

Izuku considered it. He hated that he was considering it. He knew what the man was doing – knew that if he legally married him (because that's the only way he would be able to convince his parents. They would demand to see the marriage license), that forced Aizawa into his life, even for just a little while before an annulment or divorce. But why did Aizawa want to keep him, a Quirkless university student, around so bad? Did he plan on kidnapping Izuku and selling him on the black market? Maybe he wanted to harvest Izuku's organs? Is that why he looked homeless but wasn't homeless? He shook his head, breaking out of his runaway thoughts.

Izuku bit his lip. "If we're getting married, I still want a proposal. I can't afford to buy expensive rings, though. Student budget and all."

His concerns were immediately waved off as Aizawa pulled out his phone and started typing. "Don't worry about paying for anything."

This prompted Izuku to remember that he never actually asked why Aizawa had responded to his ad. When he asked the man, he got a shrug in response. "I was told that I needed to get out of the house more."

Izuku's pretty sure this was not what they meant.

Chapter Text

Izuku was staring at the man. He was not expecting Aizawa to put everything together so quickly. But, there he was, in a fitted black suit, clean shaven, and hair neatly pulled back. He was down on one knee, holding Izuku's hands, and spouting nonsense about how he had never known love until he was sitting in that booth and having coffee with Izuku, blah, blah, blah.

Izuku asked him if that meant that it wasn't love at first sight. Aizawa pointedly ignored him and continued with his spiel.

Then, Aizawa pulled out a larger than normal velvet box. He opened it to show two rings: one was a simple band of blackened metal – tungsten or titanium, probably. Easily something typically more masculine. The other… well. Izuku almost fainted.

He's pretty sure that emerald is bigger than his mother's diamond, and All Might had been the one to buy it for her!

"Aizawa, I – "

"Shouta," the man corrected.

"Shouta," Izuku hissed, "I can't accept these!"

He blinked. "Oh. Is it not enough? Maybe I should have taken Nem..." He muttered.

How was this his life? How was this his life right now? "No! That's not what I meant! It's just – well… Those look really expensive – they could probably pay for my rent for the next year. Maybe even two."

Izuku received a bland look in response. "Izuku," he started – and, oh, hearing his name fall from the other's mouth should not be doing all those weird things to his stomach. "I'm a workaholic who lives alone with three cats. I have more money than I know what to do with. Take the ring."

Izuku shook his head.

"Midoriya Izuku, if you don't put one of these rings on, I will do it for you."

Izuku froze, staring at Shouta with wide eyes. That shouldn't have been as hot to Izuku as it was. That wasn't fair! Shouta wouldn't. He couldn't, right? He quickly pulled his mind away from thinking about how… nice… it would be to wrestle against the man and to be pinned down… huh… no! Focus, Izuku!

Shouta made slow, deliberate movements. He pulled the ring out with the giant emerald stone, sliding the box back into his pocket.

Quick as a snake, Shouta grabbed Izuku's hand again and slid the piece of jewelry onto his finger. He stared at the ring for a moment before standing up, seemingly satisfied. He tangled their hands together. "Come on. We have a marriage license appointment at Musutafu Precinct."

"What?! Doesn't that take weeks? Months?!" Nothing made sense. Nothing was making sense and Izuku knew that he was probably being way too trusting of someone who was practically a stranger (but that stranger made him feel butterflies in his stomach anytime they looked at him).

Izuku knew he was, in fact, not thinking with the right head.

Shouta shrugged. Izuku noticed that the man did that a lot when he didn't want to give a long explanation. "I know a guy."

No, that didn't sound ominous at all.

Once they arrived at the precinct, Shouta took the lead. He leaned down to speak with the receptionist as Izuku took the time to peer around. It'd been a while since he was last in the building with Toshinori, but he still saw some familiar faces.

A man in a distinct trench coat came walking around a corner. He was holding some file in wild disbelief. Izuku perked up upon seeing him. "Uncle Nao!" He chirped, waving excitedly at the other. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Tsukauchi Naomasa looked up, locking eyes with Izuku. His whole demeanor deflated, and he looked defeated for some reason. Izuku frowned. His uncle walked over to him the same way a man would walk to the gallows.

"Izuku," his uncle greeted warmly, then lowered his voice, "are you being forced into this marriage?"

He blinked, cocking his head to the side, "e-eh? What do you mean? I'm not getting married!" Izuku panicked. He knew he lied, and directly to his uncle's face at that. His uncle, who had a lie-detection Quirk! He knew he needed to do some damage control. "You can't tell dad," he pleaded. "Or mom. Please, Uncle Nao. You can't tell dad or mom."

He heard Shouta snort from behind him, mumbling something about how this was definitely how a top analyst reacted under pressure, and in response, Izuku not-so-subtly stomped his heel on top of the other's toes. Satisfied upon hearing the pained grunt, he turned his attention back to the detective. "Please, please, please," he begged, "I'm not being forced into this. Just. Mom and Dad can't know. Please."

Naomasa raised his hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose. "Izuku. Do you even know who you're marrying?"

"Of course, I do!" He shouted, offended.

Now, the thing about his uncle's Quirk, Izuku knew, was that it wasn't foolproof. If the person fully believed in the lie they told, it would come across as the truth. If the question or response was worded a certain way, it could come back as inconclusive. But, in Izuku's case, he did know who he was marrying – Aizawa Shouta – and that would be enough to satisfy his uncle's Quirk and snuff out any potential meddling.

The detective gave a long, heavy, drawn-out sigh. "It's your funeral," he said causally, looking over Izuku's head and directly at Shouta. Izuku glanced back at Shouta, feeling a bead of sweat drop along his temple. The man simply replied with a raised brow. Naomasa turned and gestured for the pair to follow him.

"Uncle Nao," Izuku hissed, grabbing the detective's sleeve, "be nice. Don't scare him away – I really like him!"

He didn't expect his uncle to trip over nothing and look at him like he had grown another head. "Uh… huh…" His now empty gaze went past Izuku again and back towards Shouta. "And… Izuku, kid, I hate to ask this but, uh – you're not forcing him to marry you, right?"

Shouta stared directly at the detective before speaking in the most deadpan tone, "Midoriya Izuku is my soulmate."

The man's face paled. "Why is that true…" he whined to himself, rubbing a hand over his face before shaking his head.

Izuku felt his face heat up in embarrassment and covered it with his hands. "Can we just get this over with? Please? People are starting to stare…"

Naomasa kept moving, but Shouta turned around to glare at the crowd that had congregated. It quickly dispersed, leaving Izuku impressed. Maybe it was because Shouta was a high school teacher and had experience dealing with unruly teens and the ever revolving gossip mill.

The rest of the visit at the precinct went smoothly. They both signed the required papers, Naomasa shaking his head the entire time, and then they were officially pronounced husbands.

"One last order of business," Naomasa said to them both. "Will you be changing your surnames?"

Izuku looked at Shouta, who appeared considerate. Shouta turned to him. "Your choice. I don't mind either way."

Izuku blushed, raising his hand to scratch at his cheek. Laughing nervously, he said, "I never really thought about it!" Did he really want to keep his surname? It's not like he felt a strong connection to his birth father or the name Midoriya… His mother never changed her last name, again, though.

But, he also didn't want to inconvenience Shouta with having to change his last name again after they ended the marriage. "Um…I guess I should take yours? Maybe?"

Shouta hummed, tilting his head to the side with a certain gleam in his eyes. "If that's what you want," he said, and Izuku saw his uncle make a note.

"Well, as much as I love seeing you, kid, you should get going. You too," he said, nodding at Shouta. Izuku wondered if they knew each other. It seemed like there was some sort of relationship between the two. They all stood up and his uncle walked them to the door.

Quickly, Izuku was wrapped in a hug by his uncle, "congrats, kid. Don't tell him I said it, but if I were to trust anyone to keep you happy and safe, it would be Aizawa. Keep 'em on his toes for me, yeah? I'll keep your secret." Oh, so they did know each other, somehow, he thought. Weird. Maybe Shouta worked with troubled teens? He had mentioned mentoring a kid, hadn't he? After one last squeeze, Izuku was released, and they were out the door of the office.

There was a comfortable silence that settled between Izuku and Shouta as they left the station. The weather was nice, so they decided to wander around the nearby park. As they were walking, Izuku hesitantly reached for Shouta's hand, who immediately responded by intertwining their fingers. It was a little scary how natural it felt.

A small, very unreasonable part of his mind was screaming that maybe Shouta was right. Maybe they really were soulmates.

Izuku stopped walking, "hey," he said, not letting go of Shouta's hand. If anything, he used it to tug at Shouta. The man paused, turning around to look at him. Shouta waited for him to get his thoughts together. It was nice, he realized, to not be rushed. "It's… it's not a r-real marriage until we k-kiss, right?"

Shouta's resulting grin was predatory. He stepped closer to Izuku, unclasping their hands so that he could bring his own up to cup Izuku's freckled cheeks. He leaned in close. "Well, we can't have that. You are my husband now." Izuku gave his own nervous smile in return. Then, Shouta closed the distance, sealing their lips – and their marriage – with a soft, sweet kiss.

When Shouta pulled back, he searched Izuku's face for something, and hummed in satisfaction once he found it. He stepped away and dropped his hands before tangling their fingers together again. He shifted on one foot, looking away. Izuku could have sworn he saw pink forming on the man's cheeks and the tips of his ears. "…do you want to meet my cats?"

Izuku giggled, nodded, and told him to lead the way.

"That's Hotdog," Shouta pointed towards brown tabby cat that was lounging across the back of the couch. "This is See You Next Tuesday. Tuesday, for short. Nemuri named her that because she was a dumpster kitty I found that would try to claw out the eyes of anyone nearby." Shouta held a very pretty looking calico who stared back at Izuku in judgement. "And that's Presentation Michael," he motioned towards the large orange cat that was walking down the hallway.

Izuku laughed at all the names. Especially the last one. "P-Presentation Mic-Michael?!" He couldn't hold it in. He wheezed, "like – like Present Mic?"

Shouta nodded sagely. "There was that one interview with the American journalist who incorrectly introduced him as Presentation Michael. It looked like a part of his soul died that day," he shrugged, but Izuku could see the glee in his eyes at the other's embarrassment. "I thought it was funny."

Izuku simply stared, mouth dropping open. He couldn't believe he married another Hero nerd. How did he manage to get this lucky?! Maybe the man was onto something with the whole soulmates thing… And no wonder Shouta wanted to hear about his analysis! On Eraserhead no less!

He moved over to pet Tuesday in Shouta's arms, reaching out rub behind the cat's ears. Izuku never had any animals growing up, and he didn't have any after he moved out, either. In the beginning, he was too worried about having enough money to feed himself, much less a cat that would be relying on him. It wouldn't have been fair to the cat.

Even now, with him making a little more money, he still didn't get one. He was busy and kept strange hours. It didn't feel right to leave a little friend at home all day, alone. Maybe he and Shouta could stay friends after this whole marriage bit was over. Having access to some furry friends would be a plus!

"I love them already," he told Shouta seriously.

He hummed, "just wait until Tuesday gets in one of her moods. You won't be saying that then."

Izuku gasped in feigned shock, "I can't believe you would think so lowly of me as to think that my love is conditional towards our children." It was meant to be a joke, but the way that Shouta's eyes lit up made Izuku feel like he said something right. Somehow. But, then Shouta huffed at him, and it sounded almost fond.

"Don't be dramatic," he rolled his eyes. "I'm going to change. Would you like something more comfortable to wear?"

Izuku shrugged. Why not? "Sure, I guess now is a good a time as any to start stealing your clothes." He walked over to the couch to pet Hotdog, who started purring loudly practically immediately. Hotdog was taking up all his attention, so he didn't notice Shouta's approach until the man was standing right next to him. "Oh!" He jumped, "sorry, I just… didn't hear you come back." Shouta looked a little sheepish, but didn't say anything.

Instead, he held out a small pile of grey sweatpants and a black hoodie. The corner of Izuku's lips lifted when he saw the bright pink sweatpants that the other was wearing. Izuku thanked him and moved towards the hallway. Just as he was about to call out and ask which door the bathroom was, Shouta was telling him, "second door on the right!" Izuku laughed quietly before nodding to himself and quickly entering to change.

He was swimming in fabric. Was this what people meant when they talked about boyfriend hoodies and stealing your significant other's clothes? They were comfortable - soft. They smelled good. Izuku sniffed once before blushing darkly and feeling like a creep. He shook himself out before he shuffled out of the bathroom with the ends of the sweatpants rolled up several times. While leaving the bathroom, Izuku noticed that there was a door half closed. He saw a bed and assumed it to be Shouta's room. Curious, he shuffled towards the door and peeked inside.

It was a normal bedroom – no dungeon torture chamber, so that was a relief. The bed was made neatly, and there was a pile of clothes on a chair in the far corner. It just looked like more sweatshirts and pants, so Izuku didn't think much of it. It was normal. He shrugged, turning around and returning to the living area.

Placing his clothes by his shoes, Izuku finally made it to the living room and flopped onto the floor, spreading his limbs out in all directions. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"…are you okay?"

"It's floor time."

There was a shuffle of movement, and suddenly he could feel the warmth of another person next to him. Not touching him, but within reach if he wanted. He doesn't know how long they stayed there, eyes closed or staring at nothing. He blinked a few times, breaking from his daze. "I'm married…" he whispered, mostly to himself but loud enough for Shouta to hear.

"Yes."

"We're married."

"Yes."

Izuku turned his head to look at his new husband, not bothering to move anything else. "Did you really mean it? When you said that I was your soulmate?"

Without missing a beat, and with as much confidence as the other responses, Shouta turned to look at him. His eyes were serious.

"Yes."

The newlyweds spent the rest of the weekend together. Shouta insisted that Izuku take the bed. Izuku insisted that Shouta take the bed. Shouta told him he was used to sleeping in weird places and brought out a giant yellow sleeping bag. Izuku blinked. "But… it's your room," he argued weakly.

Shouta just stubbornly placed his sleeping bag on top of the futon and pointed towards the bedroom. Izuku sighed, trudging down the hall. He didn't feel the insatiable need to be nosy and rummage through Shouta's belongings, so he simply crawled into bed for sleep to take him.

When Monday morning came around, Izuku groaned, back popping as he pushed off his own bed in his own apartment. Shouta's bed had been much more comfortable than his, that's for sure.

Staying with Shouta was… surprisingly easy. Domestic. It felt like they'd been living together for years instead of only having met a few days prior. Maybe they were, unironically, in the 'honeymoon stage' everyone talked about.

He glanced at his alarm, noticing that it was still early. If the alarm hadn't woken him up, then –

There were multiple loud, rapid hits against his front door. He jumped up and immediately rushed to look through the peephole. He swung the door open, just as an arm raised to start banging against the door again.

"I have neighbors," he hissed, dragging his non-apologetic friend through the entry way.

"Well, maybe if someone didn't go MIA all weekend, I wouldn't have had to bang on your door," Hitoshi shot back. "You didn't answer your phone, so I swung by only to see that you weren't home –"

"Did you break into my apartment again, Hitoshi?"

"– so I was starting to get worried."

Izuku groaned, throwing his head back. "Is this? Why? I can't have nice things?" He said to his ceiling. He huffed, crossing his arms and staring pointedly at his friend. "I… was on a date." Weddings were sort of like dates, right? Right?

Hitoshi rolled his eyes, "ew, gross. I don't need to know you were banging some dude for the whole weekend."

He sputtered, "I wasn't just banging some dude!" He argued, "this guy cares about me… um. I think. Weirdly enough…"

His friend squinted at him, "why were you on a date? You never go out. Are you lying to me?" Izuku narrowed his eyes. He knew his friend was not above a teensy-weensy little Brainwashing to get some information out of him. He stayed silent, stubbornly glaring at his friend. Hitoshi huffed, "fine, whatever, keep your dirty weekend secrets. See if I care."

If the grumbling was anything to go by, then Izuku thought that Hitoshi cared very much. He sighed. "It's… complicated, alright?"

"Oh. Why didn't you start with that? Who do I need to kill?"

"No one! You're not killing anyone! You're in a Hero Program! Stop it!" He poked his friend on the nose like he had done to Tuesday when she was getting a little fussy the day before. Hitoshi's head moved back an inch as his eyes crossed, watching the finger. He stared at Izuku, blinking a few times.

"Did you just boop me like a cat?"

Izuku chose to ignore him, "aren't you going to be late for class? I thought your sensei was some scary demon guy."

"No, he's just Eraserhead." Hitoshi sing-songed.

Izuku groaned. "I know he is. You bring it up every time. I don't know why you just wouldn't introduce me to him. I just want to talk!"

"Oh, is that what they're calling it nowadays?"

"Hitoshi!" He snapped, "cut it out! I don't even know what he looks like! I just want to ask him about his Quirk!"

His friend waggled his eyebrows, "oh, I'm sure you do."

Izuku let out a sound of frustration before he stomped deeper into his apartment. He was a married man, now! "Ugh!" He moved towards the kitchen to start on breakfast. If Hitoshi followed him, then maybe he'd make enough for the both of them. Except… Izuku forgot that he left the marriage certificate on his kitchen table. Along with his shiny, eye-catching new ring. "Shit!" He muttered under his breath.

He rushed around the island towards the table. Hitoshi had finished taking off his shoes and was halfway to the table by the time Izuku remembered the certificate. As soon as Hitoshi noticed that Izuku was sprinting for the table, the taller knew that he needed to make it there first. Unfortunately for the Hero student, Izuku bodily shoved him out of the way and quickly grabbed the document and his ring. Hitoshi had seen the word marriage and the piece of jewelry. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together.

Hitoshi stared at him, disoriented and speechless; it was as if he was really seeing Izuku for the first time. "Izuku," he started, keeping his voice calm and taking a deep breath. "Did you get married this weekend?"

Izuku sniffed. "…maybe."

Hitoshi just kept staring at him. Izuku held the paper close to his chest as he walked down the hall to place the certificate in his safe in the bedroom. He slipped on the ring. When he came back out, Hitoshi hadn't moved an inch. He was staring with vacant eyes at the spot where Izuku had been.

"And you didn't invite me?"

"It was, uh, kind of spur of the moment. We didn't tell anyone."

Hitoshi gave a weak laugh, "spur of the moment…" He turned to face Izuku. "Izuku, are you crazy?! Do you hear yourself?! There's no way you've been in a relationship long enough to get married without me knowing!"

Izuku shrunk back, feeling small. "I can make my own decisions, Toshi."

Hitoshi ran his hand through messy purple hair. He glanced at the time. "I… I have to go. Sensei is going to kill me if I'm late – but this conversation isn't over, Izuku." He slunk towards the entrance, "I'll see you later. Please be safe."

The door closed with a soft sntch. Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and blinked away some tears. Well, that was one way for the rose-colored glasses to come off. He knew that getting married was a rash decision, but he was a big boy. If he wanted to make rash decisions and big mistakes, he was allowed to.

But…

Izuku was starting to think that marrying Shouta wasn't a mistake.

He looked down at his hand and saw the glittering ring staring back at him. He fingered it with his thumb. Whatever. He didn't have enough time to think about this too hard. He had his own classes to get ready for.

Chapter Text

As Izuku was slipping on his shoes to leave, he felt a vibration come from his pocket. Frowning, he pulled it out. Hitoshi wouldn't be texting him an apology so soon, and it wasn't like Izuku had many other friends. When he unlocked the screen, a smile quickly spread across his face.

From: Hubby

> I hope you have a great day. Hotdog misses you.

> sent cat_009322.jpg

Kitten

 > (*^_^*)

> you too!!!!

> ❤️

> sent ring_0212.jpg

From: Hubby

> I'm glad that you're wearing the ring. It looks good on you. Text or call if you need something.

> Anything.

Kitten

> I promise to only bother you with important stuff!!

From: Hubby

> You are the important stuff to me, Izuku.

Izuku bit his lip, bringing his phone to his chest as he held in his squeal.

Kitten

> ahhhhhhh ❤️

Shouta hummed on his way to the teachers' lounge. He failed to notice the anxious looks on his students' faces or the smile on his own, mostly obscured by his capture weapon but not completely covered.

Unlike Izuku who chose to wear his ring on his finger, Shouta's was hanging from a chain around his neck underneath his costume. That's not to say that he wasn't wearing a green silicone band on his left ring finger in place of the metal one. He'd prefer to not have an accident or damage the ring. He continued humming all the way to his desk before sitting down to review his lesson plan for the day.

He missed his two friends sharing a puzzled and disturbed look. Hizashi crept closer to the man. "Uh. Yo. Sho. Everything good?"

Shouta flicked his eyes up to the other, determined to not let his friends ruin his good mood. "Yes." Short, sweet, simple. Effective. Or at least, it should have been.

"Sho, baby, 'Zashi and I are just… worried. You're smiling. You don't smile like that unless you're plotting, which promises pain for someone. Usually your students. Or Hizashi," Nemuri explained, sidling up on his other side.

He looked up, smile fading from his face. His eyes flared red, and his hair rose. "You're ruining my good mood."

Hizashi, either brave, or just stupid, sputtered, "yeah, that's kind of the point, ya dig?"

Shouta glared at them both, but released his Quirk. He debated telling his friends the truth. Well. They were going to figure out one way or another. Might as well give them something to chew on. He raised his left arm, leaning forward on the table and holding his cheek in his hand.

It was Nemuri who noticed it first. "No," she gasped, one hand flying up to her mouth before taking the other and pointing one long, manicured finger at Shouta, "no!"

Hizashi's gave flicked between the two of them, panicked. "What? What's wrong?!"

"When would you have even had the time to date?!" She shrieked. "And without anyone knowing?!"

"It's a new development," Shouta murmured.

"Yes, I can see that your marriage is a new development, but I'm talking about the development before this development!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa – who said anything about marriage?!"

Shouta shrugged, "I found my soulmate."

Hizashi and Nemuri turned towards each other. "This has got to be a Quirk, right?" Nemuri asked.

Hizashi nodded, "definitely a Quirk."

Shouta wondered if his… friends… realized that by standing on either side of him, he was privy to any conversation happening over his head. He grunted. "It's not a Quirk. Will you two idiots leave me alone, now?"

"Sounds exactly like what someone under a Quirk would say," Hizashi muttered childishly.

Shouta flared his Quirk again, standing up and slamming his hand on his desk. "It. Is not. A. Quirk. Now knock it off."

Before either could respond, the door to the teacher's lounge flung open. Nedzu stood in the open doorway, pleasantly whistling to himself.

He meandered over towards Shouta's desk and jumped up. By now, the man was openly glaring at the principal, agitated with everyone who deemed it necessary to bother him.

"I believe a congratulation is in order!" Nedzu all but chirped. Shouta sat up a little straighter and noticed a sharp look in the mammal's eye. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Now, Aizawa-kun," Nedzu continued, voice dangerously pleasant, "should an incident occur in which you find yourself at fault for harming my friend – " the mammal stopped for dramatic effect.

Shouta didn't understand. Nedzu didn't have friends. Nedzu had colleagues. If anything, Shouta was the closest thing to a friend that the principal had.

" – whether it be mentally, physically, or emotionally... well. I have the upmost faith in Midoriya-kun's ability to clean up a mess or two!"

Shouta felt sweat drop down his neck and onto his back. He said the only thing he could possibly respond with, "it's Aizawa, now," and in hindsight, correcting Nedzu probably wasn't the smartest move to make in that moment.

The mammal gave what Shouta assumed was a grin but looked more like a snarl with all his teeth bared. "Of course, Aizawa-kun. My apologies." Shouta watched as Nedzu's whisker twitched.

He clapped his hands together loudly, "now that that's out the way," the mammal hummed, turning to Shouta, "take care of Aizawa-kun. He doesn't know it yet, but he will be working here at U.A. soon enough. Your recent nuptials simply sped up the timeline!" With that, Nedzu turned on his heel and walked back out of the teacher's lounge to go bother some other poor soul.

Shouta tilted his head to the side, thinking. How did Nedzu know Izuku? Izuku was smart, but he never applied to U.A., he wasn't a Hero – he wasn't even out of university yet.

He winced.

Right.

He married a university student. His own students might even be the same age as Izuku with the way U.A. functioned. Students were required to remain enrolled for the first two years of their debut. It was meant to give them the resources to succeed while learning to stand on their own two feet. They still had classes, but most of the time it was either training, or Hero Law & Ethics.

That was a dilemma to think about later. He wasn't dating – no, he wasn't married to a U.A. student, so it was fine. He was fine. Everything was fine.

He let out a deep, tired sigh before setting his attention on his two friends. "Is that enough to convince you two that it's not a Quirk?"

"When are we meeting him?!" Hizashi said excitedly.

Nemuri jumped in, "yeah! When are we meeting him, Sho? What's his name? What does he look like? Is he as grumpy and prickly as you?"

He sighed, "with any luck, never."

Hizashi whined, "c'mon, Shooooo! Throw us a bone over here!"

Shouta huffed, "no. He doesn't need you two in his face and interrogating him."

It was an unfortunate mistake that Shouta had turned all his attention towards Hizashi, leaving the side that Nemuri was on completely open and unguarded. The woman quickly reached to grab Shouta's phone, swiping it away from the table and into her hand as she danced out of grabbing distance.

"Let's see…" She opened his phone, eyes gleaming in delight when she saw the conversation already pulled up. She glanced between the phone and Shouta a few times, raising an eyebrow. He was almost starting to feel self-conscious. Almost. "Are we sure this isn't a Quirk?"

Shouta began to feel genuine irritation. "It's not a god damned Quirk. Now give me back my phone before I have to take it from you."

Nemuri blew him a kiss, "oh, Sho, honey, I don't think you're taking anything from me when you have sweet little Kitten over here with a fucking green boulder for a ring."

Lighting up at the knowledge of a ring, Hizashi tried to hurriedly join Nemuri… only to trip over the leg that Shouta stuck out to the side.

He glowered, "I need to start class. Give me the phone." He was pointedly ignored. "You know what? Fine. Come find me when you've gotten it out of your system." He was too tired for this shit. He heard Nemuri squeal as he turned to walk out of the room.

After closing his eyes and counting to ten, Shouta repeated to himself that, no, he was not allowed to murder his coworkers.

Izuku glanced down at his phone, wondering why someone would be calling him. When he looked at the ID and saw that it was Shouta, he immediately picked up. "Shouta?" He asked softly, "is everything alright?"

"Well, don't you just sound like the cutest little thing!" A woman's voice filtered through the speaker.

Izuku's mind ran a mile a minute. Was this a girlfriend? Did Shouta have a secret girlfriend who found out that he got married to Izuku? Oh, god, was he going to die? He's too young to die.

"Oh, sweetie, breathe. You're not going to die, I'm not a secret girlfriend," she laughed. "I'm one of Shouta's friends."

"Yeah, dude, you got nothin' to worry about! Sho's practically a hermit!"

Izuku felt an itch in the back of his head. That man's voice sounded… very familiar, but he couldn't place it. He pushed the thought aside and refocused on the conversation. "Oh." He said, giggling, "are you the friends that told him he needed to get out more?"

There was some sputtering on the other end of the line, "I'm wounded," the man said, "is that all he said about us?"

Oh, that wasn't good. "W-well," he started nervously, "he told me that one of you is, uh, overcompensating by being extremely flirty and sexual all the time, and he said that the other one behaves sort of like a cockatoo. Which – is your Quirk somehow bird related? Like Hawks? Can you fly? Do you have feathers?" Silence came from the other end of the line. He winced. "Hello…?"

"Hi, yes, sorry. It seems like classes are about to start so we better get going, hun. Great talk. We'll meet up soon. Kisses. Mwah." The woman told him quickly before the line went dead. Izuku stared at the phone after she disconnected. Huh. Weird.

Nemuri marched into Shouta's classroom donned in full Hero gear. "Eraserhead," she sang, "I just had the pleasure of having a chit chat with a little kitty-cat who was told that I am overcompensating."

Shouta had been writing out a definition on the chalkboard as the door slammed open. He blinked, confused. The only time that Shouta had told Izuku that Nemuri was, in fact, overcompensating was when Izuku was talking to him about some of his other Hero analyses and Midnight had come up.

Izuku theorized that Midnight might be asexual despite the overly sexual nature of her Hero persona, saying that it might have just been easier to lean into that sort of character than have to constantly defend herself and her relationship choices. Shouta had just hummed and said that his friend, Nemuri, was very much like that, and that she was overcompensating for her own love life, and also to make sure that people liked her.

"Yes, and?"

Nemuri gaped like a fish, "that's so rude! We haven't even met him yet! He told us that you said Mic looked like a cockatoo!"

Again, Shouta was confused. He wasn't the first, nor the last, person to call Hizashi a cockatoo. Izuku had been describing Present Mic and his Hero persona and how the man always seemed to find his way into the spotlight, and how his hair sort of reminded him of a cockatoo plume. Shouta had nodded sagely and responded by saying Hizashi, his other friend, sort of did look like a cockatoo. He even said as much to Nemuri, "Mic does look like a cockatoo, though."

He felt nineteen sets of eyes, bouncing back and forth between him and Midnight. No one dared to interrupt – they never got to hear about Shouta's personal life, and they were not going to lose out on this golden opportunity.

"This is a conversation for later, Midnight," he stated firmly, glaring at her. "Are you ready to give me back my phone?"

She sniffed, crossing her arms. "We're coming over tonight to meet him."

"Later," he hissed.

"I mean it." She insisted, pointing his phone at him, but not handing it over. Instead of continuing the conversation, Shouta turned back to the board and continued to write out definitions and legislature code. "Ugh! Whatever, we'll be there at eight after Mic's show." Shouta continued to ignore her as she stomped away.

As he finished writing everything out, he sighed and turned back to his students. "Does anyone have any questions?" Nineteen sets of hands went up. He lifted his right hand and pinched at the bridge of his nose, already feeling a migraine coming on. "Does anyone have any questions about the lesson?" He specified.

Every hand lowered in disappointment, except one, but he ignored Hitoshi. If the kid wanted to ask him a question, he could ask him later during training. Maybe he'd even answer, though he doubted it. "Good. I'm going to take a nap. Finish the handouts."

There was unhappy grumbling as his students got started with their work. He wondered how long it would take before they forgot about their work and started gossiping with each other in low voices.

He gave it ten minutes before someone broke. If they broke before ten, he was going to give them all a pop quiz – not that grades really mattered anymore since they graduated, but it had somehow… slipped Shouta's mind to mention that little detail to his class.

Eight minutes and twenty-seven seconds. He was slightly impressed that they had lasted longer than five minutes. Maybe he would grade the quiz on a curve. Man, he was getting soft…

He crawled out of his sleeping bag and stood back up at the podium. The silence in the class was deafening. Until Kaminari hiccupped out of nervousness and the class broke out in giggles. Shouta stared at them blankly. "Time for a pop quiz. Put away anything other than a pencil."

Everyone groaned and blamed Kaminari for their pop quiz despite it not actually being the boy's fault. It wasn't like Shouta would be correcting them, though.

It was the end of the day and he still hadn't gotten his phone back. It was beyond irritating at this point. Nemuri and Hizashi were always just outside of his reach. He was radiating frustration and murderous intent while stalking through the halls to Gym Phi for his training with Hitoshi; students and fellow teachers alike gave him a wide berth.

He shouldered the door open and felt some of his hackles lower at the sight of the boy doing his warmup stretches. Good. He didn't feel like wasting time. Hitoshi waved lazily at him from the other side of the gym when spotted. "Yo," he called out.

Shouta rolled his eyes and didn't respond. He started his own set of warmups. Training with Hitoshi was always its own kind of challenge. The boy had grown in strides since the Sports Festival in his first year, and Shouta was relieved to have a competent Underground Hero trained and ready to take his place as he slowly stepped away from field Heroics.

He didn't plan on doing it immediately, but Izuku was right when he said that he had been distancing himself from Hero work. It was starting to take a toll on his body, and he wasn't sure how many more sleepless nights he could take before he just collapsed one day. Besides, now he had a cute little husband to dote over.

He waved Hitoshi over silently, and the boy quickly made his way. "So, sensei –" Hitoshi started.

"No. Maybe after you manage to pin me. Maybe. No capture weapon."

Hitoshi's eyes glittered at the challenge.

Sometimes, fighting Hitoshi felt like fighting himself. He knew it was because he trained the boy from the beginning and molded him into the Hero he was always going to be, but gone were the days that Shouta would wipe the floor with his student. Hitoshi met him step for step, kick for kick, and roll for roll. It felt less like a fight and more like a dance.

Without realizing it, his shoulders began to relax, and his movements became more fluid. Then, by complete accident, he rolled his ankle. It left him unable to block on the oncoming roundhouse kick to what would have been his flank, but as he fell because of his ankle, ended up hitting him square in the chest.

The wind was knocked out of him as he gasped for air, lying on the ground. Hitoshi cautiously nudged his arm using his toe, watching as his teacher lay panting. "I win?" He asked, amusement in his eyes. Brat, Shouta thought.

Shouta just glared at him. He could feel the chain around his neck pooling on the side of his throat. The delicate band was sticking to his sweaty skin. The boy held his hands up in defeat, laughing while slowly shaking his head from side to side and taking a step back.

"Alright, alright. I won't ask, but – " Hitoshi's eyes zeroed in on his neck. Shouta lifted his hand to gently prod at the area, worried that he was more injured than he originally thought. Hitoshi let out a loud curse, swinging his arms up in the air.

"There's no way," he muttered to himself, beginning to pace. "Absolutely no fucking way. I'm being ridiculous. It's crazy. It's illogical. Aizawa-sensei wouldn't be illogical." He turned his head to look at Shouta, who was beginning to grow concerned for his normally put together and stoic student.

Hitoshi ripped his gaze away, seemingly still trying to process his thoughts. Finally, the boy took a deep breath and walked back towards him. "Sensei, this…" he started, "this might seem kind of weird…"

Shouta braced himself. This wasn't going to be a confession, was it? God, he hoped it wasn't a confession. He wouldn't know how to handle it and let the kid down gently. He was more likely to try and run from this particular problem. Besides! Shouta already considered Hitoshi family in the same way he thought about Nemuri and Hizashi as family! Please don't let this be a confession, he begged to whatever was out there that would listen.

"Um. Any chance you got married this weekend?"

Shouta looked up at his student and furrowed his eyebrows. That wasn't what he was expecting. "What?"

Hitoshi slouched in relief, "oh, thank god, okay." Shouta didn't know whether or not he should be offended. At least it wasn't a confession.

"How did you know?"

The boy stiffened. Now it was Hitoshi's turn to furrow his brow, "what?" The pitch of the boy's voice was slightly higher than usual, he noticed.

"That I got married. How did you know? Did Mic or Midnight tell you?"

Hitoshi let out a baffled laugh, verging on the edge of hysteric. "Oh god. Oh my god. I just – haaa haha –" he couldn't stop laughing, now doubled over. "Just – ahaha – give me a minute," he managed to gasp out between giggles. "This is… this is too good. Oh my god."

Once he was able to stand up straight again, Hitoshi wiped at his eyes. He turned away from Shouta and jogged towards his bag. After digging around for a moment, the boy produced a phone. He brought it up to his ear after a few swipes, and waited, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Hey," he started, small little laughs still spilling out. "Izuku, dude, what the fuck? No, really," his voice turned serious, "what the fuck? Call me back." Shouta listened to the voicemail that the other left. Oh, did Hitoshi know Izuku?

The Pro Hero hadn't moved from his position on the ground. Izuku really had given him a new appreciation for lying on the floor. Hitoshi's face pinched when he saw that he hadn't moved. "No. We are not having floor time right now, sensei. Get up." Oh. So, Hitoshi did know Izuku. First Tsukauchi, then Nedzu, and now Hitoshi. His little husband was turning out to be quite interesting.

Although… people kept telling him what he could and couldn't do today. It was bothersome. "No," he said stubbornly. "Go run laps."

About ten minutes later, Hitoshi's phone rang loudly through the gym. The boy zipped across the gym faster than Shouta could ever remember him moving and picked up immediately, despite being out of breath. Shouta couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying. "Yeah. So. Like. Quick question." Hitoshi managed to get out between pants. "What does your husband do for a living?"

What an odd question, Shouta thought. Of course, Izuku knew what he did for a living – Hitoshi already came to the conclusion that they were married, and Shouta would think that two people would need to know each other at least a little bit for that to happen.

Hitoshi's gaze drifted over to him. "Uh-huh." He hummed noncommittally, "yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna stalk him. No, I won't try to intimidate him. Oh, my god, Izuku, I'm not gonna do anything, I promise." He paused. "Um. And – I'm sorry for this morning. I… might have overreacted." Shouta wondered what that meant, but was sure Izuku would fill him in later. "Yeah, alright. I'll talk to you later, 'Zuku."

After hanging up, Hitoshi wandered back over to him, and leaned forward, hinging at the hips with a Cheshire Cat grin spilt across his face. "Oh, you are so fucked, sensei," he chirped. "If you hurt him, so help you god, I'll help him get rid of your body."

Shouta was beginning to think that the sudden number of death threats he'd received recently was concerning. Especially when all the threats revolved around Izuku taking point and handling his imminent death.

Huh.

Did he marry a serial killer?

He mentally shook his head, no, Izuku wasn't a serial killer.

Although… as one of Nedzu's only friends…

No! His husband was not a serial killer!

"Mic and Midnight invited themselves over to meet him," Shouta started hesitantly, "if you already know Izuku, can you come over and do damage control?"

Hitoshi hummed, "what's in it for me?"

Shouta thought about it. "He doesn't cry?" Hitoshi didn't look convinced. Shouta sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you how we ended up married."

"Sensei," Hitoshi smirked, "you got yourself a deal.

Chapter Text

"This entire marriage is already so Izuku-coded," Hitoshi suddenly interrupted. Shouta tilted his head in silent question. "The Craigslist Ad over being annoyed. His mother is sweet, but… I don't know. It's… weird. She's always smothered him – isolated him and basically had him in bubble wrap throughout his childhood 'for his own safety,'" he huffed. "Didn't help the bullies, Izuku said. As for his step-dad… um. Well."

Hitoshi scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm gonna let him explain that one." Shouta gave a noncommittal hum, filing that away in the back of his mind. "But – meeting up with a stranger without telling anyone? Word vomiting his entire analysis about Eraserhead to you? Agreeing to marry you for the bit? It's just all Izuku."

"It's not just for the bit."

Hitoshi's head whipped around so fast that Shouta thought his student might have gotten hurt. "What do you mean it's not just for the bit? You'll show up to dinner, married, and then be divorced by the next week. Right?" The sinking feeling in Hitoshi's stomach that this might be a permanent development was getting heavier.

"No," Shouta replied stubbornly. "I'm not getting a divorce."

Hitoshi blinked owlishly at him. "Sensei, I don't think you – "

"We are both fully grown adults and – you know what? I don't need to explain this to you." He snapped. "I'll see you tonight."

Izuku was on the couch, fidgeting with his hands. Tuesday was sleeping in a ball to his left, and Shouta was to his right. He was nervous. He was meeting Shouta's friends for the first time! They were already married! What if they didn't like him?! Then Shouta would only stay married to him because of the dinner and then he would –

Shouta nudged him. "Mumbling," he said softly. "Stop spiraling. Everything is going to be fine." Izukuk looked up at him, and Shouta immediately pressed a kiss to his forehead. Izuku was going to say something, but found he couldn't remember what.

He huffed, "you can't just forehead kiss me every time you want me to forget what I wanted to say."

Shouta smirked, "don't be so easy to distract, then."

Izuku's hand snaked between them. He pinched Shouta's side, hard, and he relished in the startled yelp the man gave out. The other was glaring, but his lip was twitching. Tuesday stood up, meowing, and sent the pair a dirty look before moving further down the couch.

"Hmph."

Izuku could hear voices outside the door. His anxiety flared once again, but he forced himself to take deep breaths. It's okay. He could do this. There were knocks. He felt Shouta slip out from beside him to go open the door. He opened his eyes, listening to the slight clink of the door handle as it was grabbed.

He couldn't do this!

Izuku grabbed the nearest thing he could find – Shouta's horrendous yellow sleeping bag. Immediately, he shimmied inside and drew the drawstrings tight. Now he was hidden, and no one would bother him. He was just a lump on the ground. He was becoming one with the sleeping bag.

Were those jelly pouches at the bottom?

There were voices. He heard someone call out for Shouta's husband. A woman's voice followed suit, saying that they were excited to meet him.

Izuku didn't move.

"Uh. Sho, man, are you… sure you got married?" The man's voice asked. It was muffled through the sleeping bag, but he was surprised by how much he could actually hear.

"Yes, Hizashi, for the last time this isn't – "

"A Quirk, yeah, we know. But – " there was silence and Izuku could only imagine that the man was gesturing to the empty apartment.

Footsteps padded down the hall, no doubt Shouta's as he searched for Izuku in the bathroom or bedroom. Other footsteps entered the living area and Izuku felt his mind go into fight or flight. As soon as the footsteps stopped, indicating that there was no more movement and that Shouta's friends had settled, Izuku ever so slowly began to inch his way out of the living room. The voices of Shouta's friends picked back up, chatting with each other and wondering what was going on. If he was slow enough, then they wouldn't notice, right?

The only thing was… Izuku had no idea where everything in the living area actually was. He could sort of picture it, but he didn't know where the low table was, or the plant against a wall, and in his hurry, he had disoriented himself enough to not know which direction the exit was.

He took a quiet breath before starting to move, wincing each time the sleeping bag made a noise.

He knocked into one of the side tables, rattling the items on top. He froze. There wasn't any more talking.

"Uh, Shouta?" The man called out. Izuku knew he needed to move. He was found out so it wouldn't matter now, anyway. He moved away from the end table and continued his awkward shuffle towards the doorway. His renewed pace seemed to startle the man further, "ShoUTAAAAAAA! WHY IS YOUR SLEEPING BAG MOVING ON ITS OWN?!"

Rapid footsteps came down the hall. Izuku froze. How could he possibly explain this? He stopped moving. "YOUR BAG IS POssessed!" The man continued, drawing a huff from who Izuku thought was Shouta. Huh. Izuku wondered what the man's Quirk was. It seemed like some sort of voice projection Quirk. Did it only activate in times of stress? It seemed like it could turn on and off at will. 

A foot not so kindly nudged the bag. "Wha- ow! Hey! Watch it!"

"Izuku, as funny as I think this is, Hizashi is about to faint." Shouta hummed. There were newly familiar and skilled hands immediately finding the opening and pulling the drawstrings apart. Izuku popped his head out, glaring up at Shouta. It had the intensity of a soaked kitten.

He grumbled, "that hurt. You didn't give me any time…" He crossed his arms, not having looked behind him at the two people in the apartment. "Why do you have jelly pouches in a pocket at the bottom? Wouldn't it be better to have a pocket at the top?"

"Aha!" A woman's voice cried, "I knew there was a pocket!"

Izuku felt his face heat up before turning around with an embarrassed smile. "Hi, I'm – " Izuku blinked a few times. "Shouta, why are Present Mic and Midnight in our apartment?"

"Ours, huh?" Shouta teased, a smug smirk pulling at his lips.

"This is so not the time!" Izuku turned back towards his husband with wide eyes, scrambling to stand. "Oh my god," he squeaked.

Shouta turned him back around with an eep! before pointing. "Cockatoo," he pointed at Present Mic, and then turned towards Midnight, "overcompensator." Izuku thought that would be the end, but Shouta kept his arm up and pointed over the couch. "Hitoshi is having floor time."

A desperate noise left Izuku's throat. "H-Hitoshi?" He squeaked. There's no way that he it would be his Hitoshi, right? Hitoshi didn't know Shouta. There's no way. But there was also no way for Shouta to know Present Mic and Midnight. Shouta was a high school teacher!

Purple hair and tired eyes popped up over the back of the couch. "Yo," he said in a bored tone. "At least someone told me what was going on," he sniped.

It didn't take a genius to start putting things together. One plus one plus one equaled Eraserhead.

Izuku promptly fainted.

He heard voices around him, the words warbling away like they were spoken underwater. There were fretting hands combing through his hair, and another person was taking his pulse. He was dazed and his head felt fuzzy. The last thing he remembered was…

"Izuku! There's a Pro-Hero fight happening down the street! You're gonna miss it!" Hitoshi shouted casually.

Izuku's eyes snapped open, and he ended up looking at three different faces peering down at him.

The last thing he remembered was realizing he was married to Pro-Hero Eraserhead. He swallowed thickly. "Hi?" He offered carefully. He heard Hitoshi snort from wherever he was in the room. "Um. So. Who was going to tell me that I married Eraserhead?"

Shouta blinked down at him slowly. He stared, brows slowly furrowing. "What do you mean? You knew who I was? You told Tsukauchi and that's why you started laughing when I told you to analyze Eraserhead. Because you knew who I was." Shouta paused. "Right?"

Izuku let out a strangled noise, "oh my god, I'm an idiot," he whispered. He ignored Hitoshi's loud agreement. "So, um. Heh." He raised his hand to rub at the back of his neck, "uh. Yeah. Funny story. I, uh, didn't know you were Eraserhead. No one's been able to get a good look at your face when you're in costume. I've been begging Hitoshi to introduce me to you because I wanted to ask you about your Quirk," he rushed out. "I just – I just thought you were a secret Hero nerd! I mean, you wanted to hear m-my analysis and – and you seemed impressed – and – and Presentation Michael."

It was Midnight's quiet coos and giggles that reminded him there were other people in the room. "He's so cute, Sho! Any chance you'd mind sharing?"

Shouta tugged Izuku a little closer, "get your own," he growled. Then, he looked down at Izuku. "I – wait you agreed to marry a complete stranger without knowing anything about them?"

Hitoshi groaned, "that's what I'm saying!"

Izuku shrugged. "You were pretty insistent, and I was feeling particularly petty…" he said quietly before he paused, "besides. I thought you were handsome. In a rugged, lives in a tent kind of way." Shouta pointedly ignored the last comment, and shot a dark look towards Present Mic when the Hero snickered.

"We're going to speaking at length about stranger danger later, but can we get back to the part where you told Tsukauchi you knew who I was?"

"Uncle Nao's Quirk isn't perfect, despite what he likes to think. I – I really thought I knew who you were, so it registered as truthful," he looked away to rub at the back of his neck.

Shouta looked at him, face exasperated and fond. "Izuku. How did you somehow not know I was a Pro-Hero?" He turned his head towards the door and the hook next to it. He pointed. "Izuku. My capture scarf is literally right there when you walk in."

Izuku's face turned scarlet and his cheeks puffed out. "You said you were a high school teacher!" Izuku argued. "How was I supposed to know?! It could have been cosplay! You were the one who answered the Craigslist post with the promise of food!"

"Oh my god, Shouta, you didn't." Present Mic – Hizashi? – whispered in horror.

His husband shrugged. "There are definitely worse ways to spend my time. I was doing my civic duty and helping a civilian." He paused, "and if I happen to get a free meal out of it, what does it matter?"

Hitoshi hummed, "yeah. Just wait until you meet his parents, sensei. God, I wish I could be there…"

Izuku furrowed his brows. "You know you have a standing invite, right? I think Mom's sort of glad I have a friend and, well. He can kiss my ass."

A low whistle cut across the room, "strong words coming from you. I'm pretty sure he could snap me like a glowstick, though." He hummed, thinking.

Izuku pouted, then muttered darkly, "not anymore. Trust me."

Hitoshi snickered, "alright, I'll be there." At least Hitoshi being there meant that Izuku would have more emotional support.

Izuku looked at Present Mic and Midnight once more, horror dawning on his face, "oh my god, I called you a cockatoo and I speculated on your sexuality. I'm so sorry! It wasn't supposed to ever reach you!" He bowed as much as he could while still sitting on the ground.

Midnight scrunched her face up, "could be worse," she said, "I like sex as much as the next gal, but I just… haven't wanted it in a long time. Not opposed with the right person, though. Besides, I don't make my dating life public and it's less of a headache to let everyone believe I'm some sex-crazed woman. You were right. It's easier to lean into."

Shouta rolled his eyes, "oh, so it's not like you're a chronic flirt or anything."

"I still don't understand why you would both call me a cockatoo!" Present Mic whined. "It's not like I have a bird Quirk!"

Izuku's mouth spoke before thinking. "Oh, that's easy. It's your hair when styled and the way you obsess over the littlest details of your costume. You're always fiddling with one piece or another when on patrol, so, to me, it's sort of always looked like a bird preening itself."

Present Mic melted to the floor, and Izuku decided to just let him have his floor time. He turned back to Midnight. "Um. Hi. I'm Midor – ah, Aizawa Izuku and it's nice to meet you!" He gave a sunny smile. "I'll tell Present Mic later when he's done with the existential crisis."

Midnight smirked. "Kayama Nemuri. Pleasure is all mine," she purred with a wink. "Call me Nemuri, honey. You're already family." Izuku beamed at the woman, and looked back towards Shouta, looking for approval. Shouta was watching him fondly and it made him blush lightly. Nemuri followed his gaze and brought a hand to her chest. "Oh," she said quietly, "that's terrifying."

Izuku frowned at her, unsure what exactly was terrifying about Shouta's expression. Sure, his mouth was curled into a soft grin, showing off straight, white teeth, and his eyes might have been a little tired, but Izuku could see the laid back content in them. Like the cat that got the cream.

As if trying to get back to familiar territory, Nemuri gave a salacious grin, "Shouta, you absolute dog. If Shinsou knows your cute little husband, they must be similar ages, hm?"

Shouta's face pinched, but it was Hitoshi who cut in, "Izuku is a second-year university student." His husband nodded.

"I'm an adult," Izuku sniffed, "and I can make my own decisions." The comment hit a little bit of a sore spot. Even now, his parents still tried to control his life. They meant well. He knew they meant well, but they never listened to him; never considered his own wants or needs.

If it were up to them, he would still be living at home, would still be in the only high school in the area that allowed Quirkless students, and would be finding himself on rooftops more often than he should. He wondered if Shouta would have ever found him up there. Or after. He didn't really want to think about it. Hitoshi shot him a sympathetic look, and it seemed Nemuri knew enough to not press at someone's big red buttons.

"I would like to know why one of your decisions was to call me a cockatoo!" Present Mic bemoaned. It broke the tense atmosphere, and Izuku laughed. He had to give the other man credit – he knew how to work a crowd. The blonde sat up, grinning and pointing finger guns at Izuku, who flushed softly, starstruck. "I'm Yamada Hizashi also known as Present Mic! Feel free to call me whatever you're most comfortable with – Yamada, Hizashi, Mic," he said, and then sighed dramatically. "I suppose even cockatoo would suffice."

"How about 'monumental pain in my ass,'" Shouta grunted soon after.

"You wound me, Shouta. Wound me!"

The rest of the evening was nice. After Izuku got over his initial starstruck, he was excited to know that Nemuri and Hizashi were kind, welcoming, and fit his brand of weird just right.

As everyone was leaving, Nemuri pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly. "Don't let that one boss you around, alright?"

Izuku tilted his head to the side, his face the picture of innocence. "But what if I want him to boss me around?"

"Nope! Nope, I am not listening to this. Goodbye. I need to bleach my ears." Hitoshi muttered quickly, shoving on his shoes and rushing out the door.

Everyone looked at Izuku. He gave a sly smile and shrugged his shoulders. "He was mean to me this morning. He deserved it."

Hizashi and Nemuri shared a look. Then, in sync, they turned to Shouta. The man took a step back, not expecting the sudden attention. "We might be Pro-Heroes," Nemuri began.

"But if you hurt him, we know how to hurt you." Hizashi finished with a bright smile. "Have a good night you two!"

"I think that was the third death threat I've gotten today." Shouta mused, closing the door behind his friends.

Izuku looked at him, "e-eh?" That didn't make any sense. "What do you mean death threats?!"

Shouta paused after locking the door. He turned around and rose a brow at his husband. "You threatened me the first time we met. Granted, it was like being growled at by a kitten," he smirked.

"Then, this morning, I get a shovel talk from Nedzu. Which – you're going to have to explain that one to me. He called you a friend, Izuku. Nedzu doesn't have friends. During training, Hitoshi said he'd help you bury my body if needed, but it was kind of weak considering he had a meltdown a few minutes earlier. Now, suddenly, somehow, you've managed to turn my own friends against me. Not that they need much to jump ship, the traitors," he grumbled.

They stared at each other before Shouta stepped forward. Izuku stayed where he was, frozen to the spot and mind running a mile a minute. Was the man was upset with him? He really hoped that Shouta wasn't upset – that would really put a damper on this whole marriage thing, probably.

"You really are perfect for me."

His mind ground to a halt. "How can you say those things with a straight face?!" Izuku cried, face bright red as he turned away. "It's not fair!"

Strong arms wrapped around him from behind, and a chin rested on top of his head. Shouta hummed. "Life isn't fair, kitten. But I'll try to even the playing field for you." Strong arms squeezed slightly in comfort.

That's when Izuku realized something.

"Wait, wait – Nedzu threatened you? As in like the principal of U.A.? That Nedzu?" Shouta nodded, not bothering to release the smaller man. "But I don't know Nedzu…" Shouta wasn't surprised by this information, especially considering Izuku didn't even realize that the man he married was a Pro-Hero. He waited for Izuku to catalogue all of his acquaintances and colleagues.

Eventually, Izuku sighed. "I really am such an idiot." He huffed. "RatGod001. That's the only one that fits." Shouta gave a small sound of acknowledgement, but then Izuku was suddenly shaking his head frantically. "Oh, god. Oh, no. No, no, no, oh this – Shouta, you don't understand. RatGod001 has been my best friend for years. We – we met in an online chess room."

Shouta knew better to interrupt the process and stayed silent. Izuku turned around in his arms, eyes panicked.

"Oh my god. I've –" he stopped himself. He started crying, his voice starting to crack. "I've been telling Nedzu that I wanted to be a Hero since we met online. It would have been right before high school started…" He looked at Shouta. "He was… he was the first one who ever told me that I could still be a Hero without having a Quirk," Izuku whispered, face crestfallen. "I – I don't understand. Why didn't he ever say anything? Did he lie? Did he just tell me the things I wanted to hear?"

Shouta shook his head, trying to soothe him. "Nedzu doesn't offer empty platitudes. It might feel like he speaks in riddles sometimes, but if he said it, then he wholeheartedly believed it."

"Why didn't he ever try to get me to apply to U.A.…" he said, shoulders dropping. "I told him my step-dad – " Izuku started crying again, now fully realizing what must have happened. His words came out stilted. "I told him Dad said I couldn't be a Hero without a Quirk. My dad – he wouldn't – he said I wasn't allowed to take the Entrance Exam. He wouldn't sign off on it."

"Izuku, your step-father kind of sounds like an asshole," Shouta bluntly pointed out.

The boy gave a wet, almost bitter laugh. "Don't I know it. But, mom loves him, and – and he's so good to her. She deserves to be happy after having to raise a Quirkless child on her own."

Shouta stayed quiet. It wasn't his place to comment on the first half, but, "Izuku, you're not a burden." He said firmly. "You know that, right?"

Izuku's turned his head over his shoulder to look at Shouta. The smile he gave was weak and twitchy. "Sure," he said.

"Izuku, hey, look at me." When he didn't, Shouta grabbed his chin and forced them to lock eyes. "You would have made a great Hero, Izuku."

With that, the boy's lip wobbled and he started to cry once more in earnest. Perhaps it wasn't fair to Shouta to deal with this all of a sudden, but Izuku couldn't help it. Hearing Shouta say it – as his husband, as a Pro-Hero, as someone Izuku found himself caring about – was enough to acknowledge that little boy inside of himself that never truly gave up on wanting to be a Hero.

Shouta was probably overwhelmed, but Izuku couldn't see through his tears. He wasn't really paying attention and was just trying to breathe through his heart wrenching sobs. Even then, he reasoned with himself, Shouta was the one who had originally signed up for this. What was the wedding vow? Something about for better, for worse? Well, hello, worst.

He felt hands fluttering around him, unsure of the best way to help. Izuku threw himself at his husband's chest. He was probably getting snot and tears everywhere, but there were arms holding him – grounding him, as Shouta held him close.

Soon enough, Izuku was all cried out. His eyes were puffy and red, and he was exhausted. He probably looked like a mess, but he still peered up at Shouta. He knew it was late, and he didn't want to walk home alone. No – he didn't want to be alone. "Can I…can I stay the night?" He whispered, voice hoarse. "Please?"

"You don't have to ask. What's mine is yours, Izuku. I mean it."

Izuku nodded halfheartedly, shuffling towards the bedroom. He looked back at the man, and almost started crying again. "Can you sleep in the bed with me? Hold me?"

Shouta didn't need to be asked twice.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Izuku woke up with crusty eyes and a throat as dry as the desert. He pushed himself off the soft bed, carefully untangling his limbs from Shouta's. His alarm had gone off. He supposed that he usually woke up earlier than the man. With a sigh, he realized that he kind of needed to pee. But Shouta was like an octopus – each time Izuku managed to pry one limb off, another one had reattached. It would be cute if it weren't for his full bladder.

He eventually managed to slip away by tricking Octo-Shouta with a pillow. It wouldn't last long, so Izuku hurried back, then sat on the edge of the bed and observed.

Shouta was softer like this. The harsh lines on his face that spoke of decades of hard work and difficult circumstances had disappeared. He still had stubble, but it wasn't unattractive. His lips were parted, air passing through quietly. Shouta's dark hair was even spread out across the pillow.

Izuku could be embarrassed about his breakdown later. Right now, seeing Shouta so at peace left him feeling like everything was going to be alright.

Everything was not alright, Izuku decided. When Shouta had asked if he wanted to go to U.A. with him that morning, Izuku had been all but buzzing from excitement. He would actually get a look inside of the school! He would be inside its walls!

And instead of letting Izuku go back to his apartment to change, Shouta had shoved some clothes into his chest and pointed at the bathroom. He huffed but complied. When Izuku caught sight of himself in the mirror, a goofy grin spread across his face before he went to find Shouta. He marched up behind the man and put his hands on his hips. Clearing his throat, Izuku waited. "Well?" He asked, "what do you think?"

Shouta turned around and looked at him, a dark expression passing over his face. It was possessive – predatory. Izuku almost felt like a trapped rabbit.

Oh, he thought. Oh, he liked being looked at like that.

A self-satisfied, smug expression settled on the older man's face. "You look good."

"You're only saying that because I'm your husband," Izuku teased. He looked down and started to pick at the fabric, "and because this is one of your old costumes. Probably a very early prototype from your time as a student…"

The older man hummed, "well, you are my husband, and that is an old costume, but you look… hm. You look like trouble in all the best ways possible." Izuku blushed in response. "Wait here," the man ordered before disappearing for a few minutes. Izuku wrung his fingers together before starting to play with some loose threads hanging from the thin fabric of the costume. "Close your eyes," Shouta called out from the bedroom. Izuku hesitated, but did as he was asked. He heard light footsteps coming closer soon after, and he could smell Shouta's bodywash and shampoo. A heavy, mildly familiar weight draped across his shoulders. Shouta adjusted the weight a few times, "there," he said, "now you look perfect." The man took a few steps back to admire his work.

Izuku's eyes lit up, finally seeing the capture weapon laid across his shoulders and yellow goggles clipped around his neck. "This is so cool…" he murmured. He looked up at Shouta, "at least you know that I didn't marry you because you're a Pro-Hero, but dear god is it certainly an added bonus."

"Hm. Yes. It certainly is, isn't it?" Shouta agreed absently, quietly watching his husband poke and prod at his old costume.

Now, standing in front of the gates, Izuku was intimidated. His whole life he had been convinced that he would never see the inside of U.A.. The goggles that were fit snug against the top of his head and the scarf looped around his shoulders had become a small comfort. Shouta held his hand as he pulled Izuku through the gate, not even bothering to stop at the security desk to get Izuku a Visitor Pass.

Before walking all the way down the shiny hallway, Shouta pulled Izuku into an empty classroom. "I want to try something," he said.

Izuku blushed brightly and squeaked, "h-here? But anyone can walk in!"

Shouta's face went blank before he took in a sharp breath. "Not… not that. But we will be circling back to it later. No, what I want is for you to teach class today. As me. Tell the brats it was a Quirk accident."

"Wha – Shouta, I don't even have a teaching license!" Izuku held his tongue when he felt the need to point out that the so-called brats were the same age as him.

The man hummed, "then I guess it's a good thing that I do. Don't get found out, and there won't be a problem. I want to see how long it takes for one of them to snap." A manic smile spread across his face. "It's been a while since I've given them a logical rouse. They're severely overdue."

Izuku didn't know where to start with any of that. What did snapping mean?! "I need to text Hitoshi, first, or he's going to ruin it. You need to tell Nemuri and Hizashi." Shouta hummed but nodded.

Call me Anna bc I married a guy I just met 🤪
> if you know me, no you dont
> wait why is my name changed??? ;-;

From: Insomniac 💤
> bc you make questionable life choices
> also ????????

Izuku rolled his eyes, not bothering to change the handle back. He looked to Shouta. "What am I even teaching?"

Shouta shrugged, "eh. Haven't followed the syllabus in ages." Izuku stared at him, not comprehending. This was U.A., right? The top Hero school in the country? "It doesn't really matter, honestly. You could go in and give them a spelling test and they would be too confused or scared to question it."

Izuku was beginning to think that maybe this wasn't U.A..

Shouta gave a dramatic sigh, "give a lesson about Quirk analysis. Have them think about their strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure there's plenty that they don't realize. Having you knock them down a peg or two is completely warranted. Kaminari will probably do something stupid with the electrical panel within the next few days, anyway. U.A. will only agree to buy so many toasters, Izuku."

It seemed that Shouta took Izuku's silence as agreement. "Great. It's the second to last door on the left. Good luck." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Izuku's cheek while smirking. "I'll be watching from the vents. You'll be fine."

Izuku watched as his husband walked further into the empty classroom before standing on a desk and disappearing into the ventilation system. That had to be a security risk, right?

He took a deep breath before waiting for the last bell to ring. He didn't want to deal with any stragglers in the hallway. Izuku cracked open the door and peered out. When he saw no one, he made his way down the hall and stood in front of the classroom Shouta had specified. He took another deep breath before putting on the most bored looking expression of his life. He opened the door, not even bothering to look at the class. He made a direct path to the board, grabbing the chalk and writing in all capital letters: QUIRK ANALYSIS TEST.

The class was quiet, and no one dared to speak up.

He turned around, eyes skimming the room. "Pair up."

"Um, s-sir, I think you might have the wrong –"

Izuku whirled to stare directly at a brown-haired woman who let out a little eep! at his sudden focus. His mind supplied that this girl was Uravity. "Did I stutter?"

Izuku had never seen a class move so fast in his life and he had to lower his face into the borrowed capture scarf to hide his grin. He composed himself before acknowledging the class again. "You will do an overall analysis of your partner with an emphasis on their Quirk, their strengths, and their weaknesses."

He went on, "there will be no speaking – you all have worked together for years at this point. In the field, you are going to be responsible for working with other Heroes – ones you may not have worked with directly but have only seen videos of, or only know in passing. Being cognizant of potential areas of concern could be the difference between life and death."

He made sure to look across the room, only really seeing some students due to his nerves. Hitoshi looked incredibly smug. Izuku would have to remedy that eventually. "You have fifteen minutes."

With that, he walked towards the front corner of the room, brought the goggles over his eyes, pressed his back against the wall and slid down. He buried his face in his husband's scarf, pretended to sleep, and waited. It was convenient that Shouta's goggles prevented the students from knowing where he was looking, or if he was even awake. He tried to appear like he was taking a nap.

It took two minutes and thirty-seven seconds before someone spoke up, louder than they probably should. "Are we not going to talk about how Aizawa-sensei is suddenly a garden gnome?" A blonde with a streak in his hair asked. Izuku felt his eye twitch. He didn't think he was that short!

Another student with red hair and sharp teeth shook his head, muttering quietly and at a much more acceptable level, "you can ask, dude. It's your funeral."

"U.A. wouldn't just let someone who is pretending to be Aizawa-sensei onto the grounds, much less make it to the classroom," Izuku heard the Todoroki boy supply.

There were various murmurs of agreements.

"Shut up finish my stupid analysis, fuckin' half-and-half."

Izuku froze. That – oh. That… that wasn't… Bakugou… right? There's no way that Bakugou Katsuki was in this class and Izuku had completely missed him... He mentally groaned. He should have known that he would be there – Ground Zero was a recently debuted Pro-Hero and Izuku would know those explosions anywhere. He closed his eyes and willed away the memory of burnt flesh and sickly-sweet caramel.

Izuku took a quiet breath in and let it out slowly. He could feel multiple pairs of eyes on him. Assessing him. Searching for something to pick apart. Izuku refused to let it happen.

"SHOUTAAAAAAAAAAA!" The door slammed open as Hizashi came flying into the room. Izuku should have expected this. Leave it to the theatre kid to really sell a story. "I came as fast as I could, I just had to see this with my own eyes!" He flailed around Izuku, as if he was fretting over him.

Nemuri followed behind at a more sedate pace. She was unconcerned. "What's it like down there, short stuff?"

Izuku glared at her. He wished that he had his husband's Quirk – if only to look more threatening. He made sure to ignore the students watching their interaction.

"You two are interrupting class," he said flatly.

"Oh, Sho, you must be in a good mood today if you're not insulting us!" Hizashi chirped, using Izuku's head to rest his arm. Izuku hissed at the man and threw his arm off. He considered using the capture scarf, but decided against it. He'll keep that knowledge to himself for now. Instead, Izuku glanced at the large, unscreened, and open window.

"I will throw you out the window," Izuku told him seriously.

Nemuri startled slightly, obviously noticing something in Izuku's tone that told her he was serious. "Hey, Mic, maybe that's not such – "

Hizashi just snickered peering down at him from over the rims of his glasses. "I'd like to see you try!"

Izuku smiled serenely. "Would you, now?" He asked.

Hizashi just laughed again, digging his own grave. "Heh. In that body? Go ahead and give it your best shot, pipsqueak!"

The younger stalked up to the blonde, each step careful and calculated. Hizashi was still laughing, entirely unconcerned. Izuku tapped him on the shoulder, and the man gave him a teasing grin. Izuku answered in kind, curling his finger to wave the man down. As soon as Hizashi had bent over, Izuku threw a hard punch into the man's gut.

The Hero wheezed, curling in on himself even more. Izuku didn't give him a moment to retaliate. He brought his knee up to slam into Hizashi's chest. He'd feel bad later (probably not), but he had appearances to keep up for his husband and all.

Then, after the man was stunned, Izuku fisted his hand in Hizashi's shirt, making sure to grab some of the leather jacket, too. Once he had a good grip, he dragged Hizashi across the room.

Hizashi was still coughing, dazed and trying to catch his breath. Izuku hauled him up and made sure to make direct eye contact. "Fly, little birdie." With that, Izuku reached down to lift Hizashi up in a fireman's carry before promptly throwing him out the window.

There was a shriek and Izuku grinned widely. Maybe Hizashi would know not to fuck with him anymore. Izuku looked to Nemuri, who was standing in the doorway still, lips parted. "Holy shit, that was hot," she blurted out before immediately turning red. Huh. Who would have thought that Izuku would be the reason that Pro-Hero Midnight would end up glowing with a bright red blush?

He blinked, and glanced up at the vents very quickly. He could see his husband's red eyes through the slats, and he rolled his eyes. He turned to Nemuri. "Midnight, would you like to join Mic via the fast way down?"

She blinked once, and then regained her composure. She batted her eyes and leered, "why, Eraser, I'd let you throw me around anytime, anywhere." Izuku huffed, then turned back to the class, who had been watching with rapt attention.

"The word of the day is defenestration: the act of throwing someone or something out of a window." He didn't bother checking on Hizashi. They guy was a Pro-Hero – he could walk it off. He cleared his throat. "Time's up. Pencils down."

"But sensei, that wasn't even fifteen minutes!" A boy with glasses announced.

Izuku glared at him. It wasn't even fake this time around. "Would a Villain give you enough time to plan your next move? Be better prepared." The boy looked down at his paper, properly chastised.

Izuku realized he didn't know anyone's name. Shit. He didn't want to start with Todoroki and – yep. That was definitely Bakugou staring at him with sharp red eyes. It's funny, Izuku thought, how he loved Eraserhead's Quirked red eyes but couldn't stand the sight of Bakugou's.

Shouta said a name earlier. What was it? The one who kept destroying the toasters? Oh! "Kaminari," he started, causing a boy to immediately let out a cross between a groan and a whimper. Izuku almost felt bad. Not bad enough, though. "You're up first. You and your partner will choose who goes next."

Kaminari, it seemed, was paired up with Hitoshi. He glanced between the two, stashing the information away for later. The blonde seemed to be excited to be around Hitoshi. Definitely interesting. He wondered if Kaminari was to Hitoshi what Hizashi was to Shouta.

The blonde listed off all the usual things – Quirk: Brainwashing, the user needs the target to respond, it had limits, only one person can be under at a time. Strengths: stealth, capture weapon, short-range sneak attacks.

Izuku's eyes flicked up to the vent again, giving Shouta the most deadpan look. Honestly, Shouta couldn't have cloned himself and gotten a better mini-me than Hitoshi.

Weakness: low strength, low stamina, chronic insomnia. Izuku felt his lip twitch as that one as Hitoshi just look at his classmate with exasperation.

Izuku nodded, accepting the information. "Brainwashing can have multiple targets at once, but only one can be actively controlled at a time," he said simply. "While Shinsou is adept at stealth and agility, he lacks in strength. This is correct, but still very surface level. Helpful, but anyone could see that." Kaminari deflated a little. Izuku felt compelled to throw the kid a bone. "What is Shinsou's support gear, Kaminari?"

"The capture weapon and mask?"

"What does the mask do?" Izuku prodded.

"It's a voice modulator. It can change what he sounds like."

Izuku nodded. "Good. Now, what's stopping me from handing Shinsou a cell phone during a hostage negotiation to have him tell the Villain to let the hostage go?" In other words: what was so special about the voice modulator?

Kaminari shifted uncomfortably. "I... uh. Nothing?"

Izuku sighed, disappointed. He watched the boy wilt in his seat. "Brainwashing doesn't work through electronic devices. Shinsou's support gear is a type of artificial vocal cords that use plates to create sound. When transmitted through something like a phone, his voice becomes electrical signals, thus making his Quirk null and void. That said, unless Shinsou had shared that with you, you likely wouldn't have known. You did fine at scratching the surface, but you need to practice more, Kaminari."

The boy nodded, seeming to understand.

"Huh," Nemuri muttered under her breath, seemingly surprised. Izuku raised an eyebrow at her, and she just returned a soft smile, shaking her head.

Then, Izuku turned to Hitoshi, locking eyes with his best friend. Hitoshi started the same way. Hero name: Chargebolt, Quirk: Electrification. A drawback is that too much use causes Kaminari to basically fry his own brain. Izuku didn't think that was healthy and made a note to figure out a way for the boy to either store excess electricity or make sure he was better protected against his own Quirk. Kaminari still wasn't as confident as he could be as a Hero. He's a close- and long-range fighter due to the nature of his Quirk, but he had to be mindful of allies.

And so, the class went, each talking about their fellow Hero. Izuku offered tips for improvement and scenarios to think about. He cut in every now and again, prompting questions to get students thinking.

("Why do you think Ashido has pink skin?"

"It could be a mutation, ribbit."

"Or…?" He prodded.

"Or…ribbit. Side effect of her acid?" Izuku gave a sharp nod.)

Izuku felt bad for singling out the Todoroki boy, but he had always found this particular Hero frustrating. He allowed for Bakugou to read his analysis, which was rather in depth (but not anywhere near Izuku's caliber). Then, he focused on the stoic boy. "You need to use your fire side." He told the other without fanfare.

Todoroki looked at him, almost incredulous. "This again? No."

Izuku almost growled. "You are going to become a liability one of these days. The constant disregard for half of your Quirk – half of your person is going to bite you in the ass."

"I refuse to use my father's Quirk," the boy spat.

Izuku looked to the ceiling, counting to ten. Is that the reason? Is that the singular reason that this Hero put himself in danger every time he used his ice? "Todoroki. What is your father's Quirk?"

"…Hellflame."

"What is your Quirk, Todoroki?"

"…Half-Cold Half-Hot."

"It's not your father's Quirk, then, is it?" Izuku hissed, frustration and annoyance bleeding into his tone. Todoroki shook his head. "Right. Because it's your Quirk."

Todoroki gaped at him like a fish. It was as if he was seeing something for the first time. Izuku sighed. "You need to practice with your fire, Todoroki. You will freeze to death in the field without using it to regulate your body temperature. The fact that it is suppressed and untrained means that when, not if, you do have to use it, it's going to be unsafe for both yourself and anyone around you. I don't care how you practice – cook some bacon on your arm, roast some marshmallows, whatever. Just don't burn down the building." The boy nodded dumbly, no longer arguing. Well, Izuku thought. Hopefully that changes things.

The last student was Bakugou. They stared at each other. Izuku knew that the other wasn't going to say anything to him. It was too much of risk for others to hear his outburst, and on the off chance he really was Shouta, it would be signing a death certificate. Besides, it's been a few years since they'd last seen each other.

"Bakugou," he started, voice turning cold and almost robotic. "Seeing as Todoroki is in a moment of revelation, I will be offering analysis on your Quirk."

"Tch. Like you know anything," the boy muttered, crossing his arms and looking to the side.

"Quirk: Explosions. It a combination of your parent's glycerin Quirk and acid sweat Quirk. Somehow this evolved for you to sweat nitroglycerin. You can ignite this at will, although it is helpful to have friction."

Izuku could see that the other was casting looks towards him out of the corner of his eye. "Your strength lies in you Quirk – it is powerful, and it's only gotten more so. Overuse can lead to arm and shoulder pain, although if you tried to create explosions from other parts of your body, you could potentially mitigate this issue. You're intelligent, and, while your temperament leaves much to be desired, you have the ability to plan ahead."

The other students were flicking their eyes between Izuku and the blonde now, interested in seeing their teacher publicly rip into their classmate. "Your Grenadier Braces are dangerous. How they were approved by the HPSC, I don't know," he laughed humorlessly. "If you miscalculate where that blast is going, you could be creating the next disaster. They are bulky and need to be slimmed down – what if a Villain got a hold of your arm and pulled the pin? You need to be able to have control over that."

He paused, taking a deep breath. "Your greatest weakness is that you are insecure. You make up for it in arrogance and pomp and circumstance, but you are so single-mindedly focused on being the best. Perhaps through childhood you were told you were destined for this or that. Applauded for illegal Quirk use. Who knows?" Izuku gave a barely-there bitter laugh. "But your refusal to work on yourself and your disregard for your comrades' opinions make you dangerous. I'm not afraid of you becoming a Villain, Bakugou, but I want you to be a better Hero."

The class was quiet. It was tense and Izuku still stood tall. Bakugou scoffed, but his words were hollow, "thought that might be you, shitty nerd." The blonde didn't look towards Izuku. "Stop fuckin' looking down on me!" He snapped. "You're nothing but a Quirkless Deku!"

Izuku wasn't going to listen to this, and especially not in a class full of eighteen other students. "Class dismissed." He stated blandly, turning around to look at the board. There was no movement.

"You can't just ignore me! Hey! I'm talkin' to – "

Maybe Izuku needed to give Kaminari a little more credit. He seemed to be pretty adept at understanding tense situations and trying to defuse them. He was a lot like Present Mic in that sense. "Does this mean that Aizawa-sensei wasn't turned into a garden gnome?"

Hitoshi hissed at Kaminari to shut up, and Izuku could hear the shuffle of the boy's uniform.

No one else moved.

Izuku heard Shouta decided to drop from the vents at this point, placing himself between Izuku and the rest of the class. He glanced over his shoulder to see the man with his hair raised and Quirk activated. "Class. Dismissed." He grit out through a clenched jaw.

Everyone high tailed it out of there.

Once the last student had left, Izuku turned towards his husband. "I think I might have been too harsh on their analyses," he muttered. "Some of them looked like I kicked their favorite puppy right in front of them."

Shouta waved him off, "Kaminari always looks like that after he gets a question wrong."

Izuku huffed a small laugh. "Well, he wasn't the only one."

Shouta gave him another shrug in response. His husband moved over to his, raising a hand to pet at his hair. "You did good, kid."

"'m not a kid…" he argued weakly. They both knew he wasn't.

"I can't believe you threw Hizashi out a window," his husband snickered. "He deserved it. Surprised I hadn't thought of that sooner."

Izuku snorted, "yeah, well, maybe he'll learn not to judge a book by its cover. Besides, it sounded like I was Nem's wet dream," he joked knowing that the woman was probably just shocked in the moment. Shouta pressed his lips into a thin line, and Izuku had to bite back his smile at the display of jealousy. It was cute.

Then, the older man sighed. "So, are we going to talk about the verbal beat down you gave Bakugou? Not that the kid didn't need one."

Izuku sniffed. "…no?" Shouta stared at him, unimpressed. "Kacchan and I were childhood friends. Until I turned four and didn't get a Quirk. Then Kacchan was Kacchan and I was… just Deku. My best friend turned around and became my biggest tormentor during grade school. Haven't seen him since middle school even though our parents are friends." He kept it short – to the point. His husband didn't need to know that the scars he has were from the blonde. At the look Izuku received, he knew that Shouta knew there was more to the story, but was grateful that the man gracefully let it go.

Not a second later did another lump jump out of the vents.

"Aizawa-kun!" Nedzu greeted in high spirits. "It's nice to meet you in person!"

Izuku peered past his husband to the chimera standing on the teacher's desk.

"P-Principal Nedzu?" He asked.

"I suppose you know me as RatGod001, but yes."

Izuku stared at the other, thinking. He had so many questions to ask the chimera about his Quirk, about being a Hero, about everything. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" He finally settled on, unable to conceal the hurt in his eyes.

Nedzu's smile didn't waver, but a tired look passed through his eyes before it was gone just as fast. "I thought it would be needlessly cruel to subject you to any potential hope of attending U.A. after already knowing… " his gaze flicked toward Shouta, "your father's stance on the matter." The chimera paused. "I would have loved to take you on as a personal student." He stood up straighter, humming. "I suppose I still can, hm? You're not yet finished with University, and actually, it may even be easier if you were…"

"P-personal st-student?" Izuku managed to get out, quickly moving around Shouta and staring at the mammal with wide eyes. "Really? But – but I'm Quirkless. I'm sure your efforts would be better spent on someone with an analysis Quirk."

Nedzu tutted, "Aizawa-kun, I thought we got passed this phase in our friendship. A Quirk status, or lack thereof, does not define a person's worth." Izuku looked down, feeling guilty. "If it would make you feel better, you are welcome to take an intelligence exam, and the U.A. written exam."

"Oh," Izuku said in a quiet voice, "okay, then."

The principal clapped his hands together once, pleased. "Wonderful! Now that you're an adult, I no longer have to bend to your father's whims. Not even with the HPSC breathing down my neck!" Izuku wondered how the mammal could be so chipper. "We can officially start tomorrow – you can take the exams towards the end of the day. I will contact your university and make the arrangements." Nedzu hopped off the tabletop and walked out of the classroom, humming to himself, "and congratulations on your marriage, Aizawa-kun!"

He turned back to his husband, who was watching Nedzu leave with a contemplative look. "Hm," he hummed to himself. Then, a few moments later, he said, "I don't think I've ever seen Nedzu so… fond."

Izuku turned to look at his husband, face blushing a pretty pink as he tried to hide in Shouta's old scarf, "eheheh…really?"

Shouta rolled his eyes. "C'mon. Let's eat lunch before combat training this afternoon." He held his hand out to Izuku, who happily grabbed it.

"I get to stay?" He whispered excitedly, mostly to himself.

He heard a snort, "you think I'm going to deal with the headache of questions being asked this afternoon on my own? This is your mess to clean up, husband mine."

The green haired boy grinned, tugging on the man's arm. Shouta stopped walking and peered down at him. Without giving himself a chance to hesitate, Izuku shot up and pressed a solid kiss to Shouta's lips. He could feel the older man relax, lazily kissing back through his self-satisfied grin.

Chapter Text

"You guys! Guys!" Mina rushed to her friends. "You'll never believe what I just saw!" She waited for her friends to ask her what she was talking about, but when it felt like no one was going to speak, she barreled forward. "I saw Aizawa-sensei kissing the garden gnome!"

Todoroki blinked, chewing slowly. "You're right. I don't believe you." After that, he turned his attention back to his lunch.

"Surely sensei wouldn't be kissing anyone in plain view, Mina. It would be against school code." Iida pointed out with a frown. "And that boy looked younger than us. Sensei is twice our age. It simply wouldn't happen."

"But I saw – "

"Deku's older than he looks." Bakugou cut in. Everyone paused then turned to look at him. He should have known better than to say anything. It was like unleashing a pack of rabid dogs.

"How old is he?"

"What's his name?"

"Is he really Quirkless?"

"There's no way! He's so smart! He threw Mic-sensei out of a window!"

"Smart and cute and fiesty!"

"Like a rabbit. Ribbit."

"He seemed so mean, though!"

"He was teaching, of course he was mean. Duh."

"Why is he here?"

"How you know him, Baku-bro?"

The constant onslaught of questions and comments had begun to annoy Bakugou. "Enough!" He snarled, slamming his hands on the table. "It doesn't matter who the fuck he is or why he's here or how old he is," he seethed, "useless Deku doesn't belong here. Someone just needs to remind him of that." Bakugou's sharp glare silenced everyone, but it didn't stop the looks they were giving each other.

Shinsou gave a loud, overdramatic groan. "Dude, chill the fuck out. Can't believe you talk about how useless he is and yet he's got your pretty pink panties in a twist. Fuck off."

"Haah? What was that, Eyebags?!" Some pops of explosions went off and Shinsou rolled his eyes.

Yaoyorozu decided to step in, "save it for training, you two!"

Bakugou huffed, "whatever. Fuck if I care."

Izuku frowned at the heads-up text he received from Hitoshi. "Apparently the class is pretty riled up." He glanced at Shouta, "are you sure you want me out here with you all?"

"Yes. I trust you not to hurt them too badly."

"Shouta, I think you're worried about the wrong thing."

"Am I?" He grinned lazily, "you threw Hizashi out of the window, Izuku. Do you don't think I know when someone has a training regimen?" His grin grew, "or when you literally picked the couch up with one hand without even thinking about it because you were looking for Hotdog's toy?"

Izuku flushed. "I – well – but – I don't – ugh!" He didn't know which point to argue first. It wasn't that he was a Vigilante. He knew that there were too many risks for him to go out on his own and without proper gear. But… he had tried to impress his dad, and when that didn't work, continued to do it for himself. Once Izuku met Hitoshi, he finally had a sparring partner, too.

Shouta looked smug as they sat on the gym bleachers, waiting for the class to change into their gear and gather. Izuku gave a half-hearted kick at the man, but his foot was easily caught.

"Too slow." Shouta teased

Izuku felt a swell of defiance. "I'll show you 'too slow,' old man," he taunted. "Just you wait."

"I look forward to it." Izuku saw the amusement in Shouta's eyes and took all his self-control not to huff like a child. What's worse was that Izuku knew that Shouta meant it. He knew that Shouta wanted to spar against him. Maybe he just wanted an excuse to grope Izuku, who knows?

"Aizawa-sensei? Garden gnome-sensei?" Kaminari called out with an arm raised as the group exited the locker room. "Mina said she saw you two kissing."

Izuku watched as an elbow collided into Kaminari's stomach. He almost felt bad for the kid, but – you know what's said about snitches and stitches.

"Mina did no such thing!" The girl defended, looking scandalized and incredibly nervous.

Iida stepped forward, "we know that they weren't kissing, Kaminari, Mina. Sensei wouldn't kiss a potential student or campus guest." Izuku wondered if the arm chopping was a secondary effect of his Engine Quirk. Being part machine was sort of like being part robot, right?

The boy was shaken out of his musings by Shouta's humming. "Iida's right. I wasn't kissing a student or guest."

"See? Thank y-"

"I was kissing my husband." Shouta sat back against the bleachers and simply watched at the chaos he created with hidden glee. Izuku was pretty sure that all the students, except Hitoshi, were having their own minor meltdowns.

Oh, that definitely wasn't a healthy shade of red on Uraraka's face.

Every so often a terrified look was thrown his way, and he didn't quite understand it. Hitoshi walked over and sat on the bench next to him. "They're wondering about how much of an insane sadist you must be since sensei decided he needed to marry you."

Izuku gaped, "but I'm not!" He argued.

Hitoshi shrugged, "listen, man, I don't make the rules. You were pretty harsh during class this morning. Look what you did to Mic."

"Mic deserved it!"

Hitoshi smirked. "Did he, though?"

"Shinsou Hitoshi, I will put you on your ass in front of this whole class."

His friend rolled his eyes, then snarked out, "bite me, Izuku."

"Shinsou!" Iida called out, "it is inappropriate to be speaking so casually to Aizawa-sensei's hus-husband!"

The tired boy rolled his eyes. "I was this guy's friend first before he got hitched with sensei. I'm still hurt I wasn't invited to the wedding."

"How long have you guys been married?" Kirishima finally asked, his brain seeming to have completed its reboot.

Izuku hummed, counting the days. "I don't know, like a week?"

Shouta answered with a much more precise time. "Six days, two hours, and forty-seven minutes."

Uraraka pointed at the two of them, "how long have you two been together?! We never heard about sensei having a partner!"

Once again, Shouta gave a precise answer: "Nine days, two hours, and thirty-three minutes."

Multiple wails cut through the gym as the students tried to wrap their heads around this development.

"…I'm almost afraid to ask how long they've known each other."

Izuku tapped his lip. "Do you mean the first interaction we had online or the first time we met in person?"

"Oh my god, sensei met his husband on a dating app." Mina raised a hand to her mouth in horror.

"Our first interaction happened nine days, eight hours, and thirty-two minutes ago. It wasn't a dating app, it was Craigslist."

Izuku turned to look at his husband, squinting.

"Do you just have all of these memorized?" When Shouta hummed noncommittally in response, he huffed. "How long has it been since you told me you might be in love and to marry you?"

"This has to be a joke. This has to be some kind of really weird joke. One of sensei's logical rouses, right?!"

"Eight days, three hours, and…" he paused, glancing at his watch, "one minute."

Izuku blinked. "Huh. So, it really wasn't love at first sight?" He pouted. "Some soulmate you are," he grumbled.

His husband panicked, suddenly paling. "I – no, Izuku that's – that's not it!" He rushed out.

"This is the Twilight Zone. I knew it was real. I knew it existed and now we're trapped and this is what we get because none of you listened to me," sniffed Todoroki who clearly felt vindicated.

Izuku noticed that the one tape on their elbows passed out, and Kaminari didn't look too far behind him. He sniffed, "hmph. Don't you have a class to teach? A reputation to uphold?" He teased while crossing his arms.

Shouta shot him a look of despair, to which he rolled his eyes. "I'm not mad, Sho, geez. I'd be pretty concerned if you fell in love after I was running late and out of breath when meeting you at the café." His husband relaxed. He inclined his head towards the class and made a shooing motion. "Go teach."

With that, the Hero turned back to the others in the gym. "It's been some time since we focused on Quirkless sparing," the man announced.

Everyone except Hitoshi groaned. This caught Izuku's attention, and he tugged on Shouta's sleeve. Quietly, he asked, "are they like this with all sparring or only Quirkless?"

Shouta glanced at him, hesitating. "…only Quirkless."

"Hm." Izuku glanced at the milling students who were trying to find a partner for warmups. His gaze landed on Hitoshi, who was fiddling with the end of his capture weapon. Izuku glanced down to the one around his neck, and rose a hand up to tug on it. A plan was forming in his mind. "Hey, sensei," he teased, flushing at the dark look Shouta gave him, "how similar is this capture scarf to the one Hitoshi uses?"

Shouta looked at him with furrowed brows. "Hitoshi learned using that one," he jutted his chin towards Izuku.

The younger man lit up with excitement. "Wait. Really?" He asked, needing to make sure. His husband nodded warily. "So cool!"

"Oh my god, they both have the same creepy smiles," a voice whispered loudly.

There was a distinctive thump sound, and then Hitoshi's voice. "Oh my god," he mocked, "how about you shut the fuck up?"

"Shinsou! That kind of language is not befitting of a Hero!" Iida scolded.

Izuku rolled his eyes, then turned to face the class. "No, he was right. It's pretty rude to comment on someone's appearance just because they don't look like you." He glanced at the few people with mutation Quirks in the class. They seemed surprised that Izuku would say anything. He turned back to his husband, a cheeky smile on his face. "Wanna show them how it's done?"

Shouta's eyes widened fractionally before an even wider, unsettling grin (to anyone else) made its way onto his face. Izuku beamed brightly. He knew his husband wasn't expecting a spar so soon after their conversation, but hey, Izuku needed to keep him on his toes. Shouta offered a hand to pull him up, which Izuku took before taking off down the stairs with a bounce in his step as he made his way towards a training mat.

A hand on his arm stopped him, and Izuku was ready to bite off the head of the Hero who thought they could touch him, but just found Hitoshi smirking at him. "Give him hell, 'zuku," he murmured quietly enough so that only the two of them would hear. To everyone else, it probably just looked like the other man was giving Izuku a warning or tip.

His husband followed at a much more sedate pace. "You might wanna take that off," he gestured to the scarf. "It's heavy, and it's difficult to move with." The if you're not used to it went unsaid.

Izuku grinned at him, but waved it off. "Adds to the experience!" He chirped instead. He heard Hitoshi snort behind him. Shouta squinted at him, but eventually just shrugged. The man probably figured that this fight would go on for longer than expected, but still end relatively quickly. Shouta was a seasoned Pro-Hero, after all, and Izuku was… well, Izuku was a scrawny looking civilian. Even if he did throw a Hero out the window. Everyone knew how Present Mic behaved, anyway.

"We should place bets!" He heard someone shout excitedly. Mina, probably.

There was a long, withering sigh. "What's the point when we know sensei's gonna win?"

"I don't know, guys… he threw Mic out a window," Kirishima said. Red Riot, Izuku thought to himself absently.

Mina blew a raspberry, "bah, you guys are no fun!"

Hitoshi hummed. "If you all think sensei's gonna win, then I'll match whatever amount you guys put up combined – except I'll put it on Izuku winning."

Kaminari, never one to disappoint (or pass up the opportunity of an easy payday), shouted with greedy excitement, "deal! You're so on, Shinsou!"

"Isn't it rude to bet against someone who will obviously lose?" Someone whispered.

Another voice responded. "Nah, if he thinks he can take on sensei without becoming a door mat, then he deserves it."

The only one who didn't speak at all throughout the whole exchange, was Bakugou. Instead, he felt red eyes following him – boring into him to search for a crack to wiggle himself through. Izuku wanted to laugh. Bakugou would find no such crack.

Izuku shifted, giving Hitoshi a withering look, but moved towards the mat again. Shouta was already there and warming up. Izuku followed suit.

So, maybe the scarf was still a little bulky, and he grumbled about it to himself more than once, but it was just annoying. It would be fine one he got a little more used to it – besides, he knew how to use it. It was just unfamiliar because he didn't use one every day – he only managed some training whenever Hitoshi came around to visit and they both had enough time.

It wasn't a detriment, though. His movement and range of motion would be unhindered, and the capture weapon certainly wasn't weighing him down. If anything, the scarf would only be a boon.

He glanced towards Hitoshi, who gave him two thumbs up and a lazy grin. Then, he blew an overexaggerated kiss towards Izuku with a wink. Izuku gave a small laugh, rolling his eyes. His best friend was an ass.

"Ready?" His husband asked, watching the exchange between Izuku and Hitoshi with a slightly sour expression. Oh, it was so cute that Shouta was jealous.

"Mhm," Izuku answered, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Are you?" He shot back with a smirk. "C'mon, old man, don't you want to show me how the Pros do it? Toshi – countdown please?"

His friend cleared his throat, "three – "

Izuku rushed forward towards an unsuspecting Shouta. What? Did Shouta expect him to fight fair? Who did he think he was? Izuku knew the cards were stacked against him, but he was going to damn well level the playing field. Besides – no one gave a count down in a real fight.

Shouta ducked out of the way of his lunge, and it caused Izuku to stumble for a few steps. He took a deep breath, calming himself down before turning around again, and facing a thrilled, darkly grinning Shouta. "Dirty," the older man said simply.

Izuku scoffed, "next you're going to tell me it's un-Herolike to give myself the advantage." Shouta smirked in response.

Now, Izuku knew that odds weren't in his favor, but he had something that Shouta didn't: years and years of analysis stored in his mind about the one Hero who seemed the most like himself. He knew how Shouta fought. He knew what side he favored. He knew the tricks and feints that the man used; the hits he made.

And, most importantly, he knew how to use the capture scarf.

Izuku cocked his head to the side, waiting. It would force his husband to come to him on the offensive rather than let the man stay defensive. Izuku was small, but he was fast, and while Shouta was both bigger and faster than him, he was nowhere near as strong as Izuku.

For now, Izuku would ignore the capture scarf. Maybe he would even pretend to get frustrated by it. He wondered if his husband would be pulling his punches – Izuku sure hoped not.

He kept his hands up, protectively blocking his face and torso.

Shouta moved closer. Izuku felt himself smirk. Just a little more, he thought.

Then Shouta was there and in his face and reaching for Izuku to throw him over his shoulder. Izuku let him, letting himself relax before impact. Once slammed on the ground, Shouta got sloppy – apparently assuming that Izuku was down for the count.  

Izuku turned over onto his side to bite his ankle. The man yelped.

All the students stared in stunned silence before chaos broke out. Izuku didn't really care much for it, because him biting at Shouta's ankle had managed to get the man off balance. Izuku jumped up, snapping out his leg for a kick aimed at Shouta's flank. The hit connected, but all Izuku got was a slight flinch and hop forward. Then, Shouta turned around, eyes blazing.

"Did you just fucking bite me, Izuku?!" He seethed, but there was also interest in those eyes. Barely concealed delight at having found a partner that was a little unhinged when fighting.

"Sensei said a bad word! Garden gnome-sensei made Aizawa-sensei say a bad word!"

"You never grew out of that fucking habit?! Jesus fucking Christ, Deku." He heard Bakugou shout in exasperation.

"God forbid a guy have hobbies," Izuku muttered before whirling around and giving an out-of-place serene smile. "Kacchan, if you wanted me to bite you again, you shouldn't have gone running after the first time!" Seeing Bakugou's face go pale was so worth the punch to his kidney and his legs being swept out from under him. "Rude…" he muttered.

"Well, maybe someone shouldn't be threatening to bite my students."

Izuku rolled out of the way before springing up once again to his feet. "Aw, but Shouta! What happened to what's mine is yours, huh?" He stuck out his tongue, dancing away from one of Shouta's kicks that would have definitely hurt. The man growled at him, deciding to finally lash out with his capture weapon. Izuku tucked and rolled forward, leaving his husband to overshoot his aim.

He pushed himself to stand, and scrunched his face. Shouta looked like he was starting to get frustrated. His face had hardened and his eyes were focused on watching Izuku's movements like a hawk. Good, Izuku thought, it'll make him careless. He'd seen how some of Eraserhead's longer fights went once he started to get tired or angry. The man would typically get sloppy and end up hurt, even if he completed the mission or took down the Villain.

"Someone's getting tired," he taunted.

"Someone kicks in their sleep," Shouta shot back.

Izuku rolled his eyes, shooting forward to feint a punch before switching tactics and kicking out Shouta's legs from under him. The man grunted, stumbling back. Izuku retreated, not wanting to be in immediate grabbing distance. Besides, he didn't want the fight to end so soon – not when he hadn't even gotten the chance to show off yet!

His husband glared at him. "Why can't you just stay still?" He growled. Izuku grinned. Shouta probably hadn't ever had such a slippery spar partner before.

Izuku laughed brightly. This was the most fun he's had in ages. "Remember when I said Eraserhead was my favorite Hero?" His husband's glare didn't cool. "Well, you could say I watched a lot of your fights." He overheard Bakugou's not so quiet mutter calling him a creepy stalker. He didn't let it faze him. Izuku's grin widened, "and I had Hitoshi around to teach me some tricks, too, y'know?"

Shouta didn't seem to fully grasp what Izuku was implying, and that was all the better for Izuku. He brought his hands up to protect his face while threading his fingers through the capture scarf. Shouta smirked, "someone's going to end up in a tangled heap."

Izuku hummed, then laughed, agreeing. "Oh, geez, you are so right about that, Shouta!" He said brightly, voice just edging on condescending. Someone was going to end up in a tangled heap, but it wouldn't be Izuku! He glanced towards the students before finding an absolutely thrilled looking Hitoshi.

"Go, Izuku!" His best friend cheered, cupping his hands to increase his volume. "Get his ass!"

Izuku gave a small, exasperated huff, but it was fond. He looked back towards Shouta. Now or never, he supposed. He had faith in his own abilities, but he also knew Shouta was a professional, who had years, decades even, of training. He would look like an idiot if it didn't work.

He took a deep breath and let his fingers weave through the scarf, catching on this point and that. He knew he had to be careful, but having the semi-familiar weight of Hitoshi's practice scarf put him at ease.

"Remember when I gave you that analysis and mentioned how you probably figured out how to use Erasure's secondary Quirk effect to better use the capture weapon?"

Shouta shot out another piece of his own scarf, trying to entangle Izuku. When it failed, again, due to Izuku moving out of the way, he narrowed his eyes. "Yes," he said finally.

Izuku was practically vibrating in excitement. "Yeah. And remember when I said that other people had to be, like, super stubborn to learn how to use it the same way? Like Hitoshi?"

"Hey!"

Shouta rushed forward, this time trying to grab at Izuku with his own two hands this time. The man missed Izuku, but had latched onto a loose end of the scarf and tried to pull the smaller towards him. "Yes, Izuku, what is your point?" Shouta hissed, clearly distracted by finally grabbing onto something connected to Izuku.

Izuku's eyes blazed, unhappy. "That is mine, thank you very much!" He huffed, tugging the piece free from the other's hold. He crouched low, fabric carefully and skillfully wound around his hands and arms – he felt like a mummy, but that was neither here nor there. "Hey, Shouta?"

Izuku snapped out a strand of cloth, looping it around one of the gym rafters before tossing another piece towards his husband, who had been watching the other part of the scarf fly to the ceiling in surprise. Izuku made quick work of tying up his husband faster than the man could blink, using the piece connected to the rafters as a way to swing in circles. Shouta was staring at him with an unreadable expression. "I'm so much more stubborn than Hitoshi."

There was more yelling – more screaming to the side of the mat, and he sent a short glare towards the group who all immediately shut up. Oh. Good. Maybe none of them had ever actually managed to see Shouta defeated, much less all tied up in his own capture weapon? Definitely not by a man half the Hero's size and Quirkless to boot.

Hitoshi, however, was howling with laughter. "Get REKT, sensei!" He was doubled over with giggles, eyes tearing up and unable to take in a deep breath. Izuku would be concerned if it weren't for the bright smile on the other's face. "Oh my god," he wheezed. "Do you – ahaha – do you remember that day I came in and just suddenly somehow knew how – hahaa – how to use the scarf?" Shouta kept quiet, clenching his jaw. "Guess who stayed up all night teaching me!"

Izuku blushed, tugging the scarf so that it loosened around Shouta. He wanted to argue about how it was just about knowing what angles to throw and snap and then the timing, but the words died on his tongue when Shouta blinked a few times, surprise coloring his features. Then, he gave Izuku a very soft smile. One made for just him. "You would've made a great Hero."

Izuku's breath hitched. "Stop that," he told the other, voice wobbly. "You just want me to cry in front of your students."

His husband hummed, taking the hand that Izuku offered to help him stand up. A warm hand ruffled Izuku's green curls. "Maybe," he shrugged, "doesn't make it any less true."

"Pay up, bitches!"

Chapter Text

Shouta was eyeing him when class ended. The students had gone to English class, speaking in hushed whispers to each other while sneaking glances at Izuku as they left. He gave them cheerful waves. Once they were alone, he slumped over. "God, that's exhausting."

Izuku never saw Shouta move, but suddenly he was pressed up against the gym wall while being fervently kissed. He was surprised, but he couldn't say he was opposed.

"Fuck, that was hot," Shouta muttered into his mouth, trying to press himself closer, as if he wanted to merge into one person with Izuku. He pulled back just the slightest bit so that he could look at Izuku. "You have no idea how fucking good you look in that costume." Izuku blinked, staring back into pitch black eyes.

"You mean your costume?"

Annnnddd I'm being kissed again, he thought. Hands moved from his waist to travel up his sides before moving back down towards his hips. Izuku decided to be bold, hopping up and wrapping his legs around Shouta's torso. Shouta didn't even need to adjust Izuku's weight and moaned quietly. Izuku let his hands tangle in his husband's long hair, tugging lightly and smiling into the kiss when he felt the man shiver.

"You are so fucking amazing," Shouta mumbled, pressing kisses to Izuku's cheek before peppering a line down his neck. "Can't believe you bit me, you brat." As if to prove a point, Izuku felt bunt teeth clamp down at the base of his neck, worrying flesh between them before soothing with a wet tongue. Izuku let out a soft noise definitely not appropriate for public. Shouta renewed his efforts. "You know how to use my scarf," he murmured, awed. "You – you used my scarf to tie me up and you won. Do you know how much that turned me on, Izuku?"

Izuku swallowed thickly. He was starting to get a very good idea about just how much his husband enjoyed that. He pulled away with a laugh, tugging again on Shouta's hair. "Our first time together is not going to be some quickie in the middle of a school gym where your students can just walk back in at any minute." Their second time, however…

"They won't come back. You scare them."

"I don't mean to!"

"It's amazing. You're amazing. I love you so much."

Izuku could feel his face heating up. He was sure he was turning into a strawberry. Shouta was looking at him like he hung the moon in the sky, or like he held all the answers to the universe. He ducked his head to hide his face. "I know," he said quietly, "me too…"

His husband froze, eyes widening, before beginning a new make-out session in earnest. "Fuck. You're perfect. So glad I married you. You're never getting rid of me, Izuku. You're mine," he rambled between kisses. Izuku could feel his blush intensifying, but answered in kind by reminding the man that, yes, he was his, and that they were married and he wasn't going anywhere, either.

Finally, Shouta seemed to pull himself out of whatever feral spiral he had fallen into and moved back. Izuku let his feet drop back on the ground with a soft thud. "Hey, there," Izuku murmured softly, giving a half-grin, half-smirk. "You back in the driver's seat or should I worry about your Yandere side making another appearance?"

Shouta rolled his eyes, huffing quietly. "I'm fine," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face, "probably." Izuku thought it was cute to see the slight blush high on the man's cheeks. Shouta huffed a small laugh, "you drive me wild, Izuku. It's going to be a problem." Shouta paused, humming. Izuku froze. "Problem Husband…?" Shouta whispered, mostly to himself. "Problem Husband," he said, this time louder and surer in his words. Izuku scoffed, and pushed the man away.

"Problem Husband," he scoffed, "I'll have you know I'm a problem solver, Shouta. I'm resourceful."

"Mm," Shouta grunted, "sure. Whatever you say."

Izuku's eye twitched, "do you want to have a problem, Shouta?"

His husband stayed quiet, but the look of innocence on his face was woefully fake. "Of course not, Izuku. As I've been informed in the past - happy wife, happy life."

He took in a slow breath, choosing not to rise to the bait. It's like Shouta wanted to start another fight. He squinted at his husband, and Izuku realized that Shouta probably did want another one. Izuku flushed, tearing his gaze away. Pervert. "Whatever. Come on, let's go make sure you're ready for the next lesson."

"I can't believe he kicked your ass, man," Hizashi snickered. "Shinsou showed us the video. You're losing your touch." The blonde laughed again, "the kid bit you! During a spar!"

Shouta let out a sigh that he would argue was not dreamy. "Yeah… he did bite me."

"Dude…" Hizashi shook his head. Then, he whined, "you let him throw me out a window!"

"I didn't let him do anything, Hizashi."

"You didn't stop it! That's aiding and abetting!"

Shouta turned to glare at his friend. Hizashi wasn't dropping this and Shouta was beginning to feel irritated by this point. Nedzu had stolen away Izuku for that testing he had mentioned earlier. He had no doubt that Izuku would pass with flying colors, but it didn't mean he wanted to share his husband! Especially not with Nedzu!

With Nedzu's resources and Izuku's brain, those two were bound to bring the world to its knees. He wondered how much longer those tests would take. It'd already been more time than Shouta would like. He wanted to have Izuku next to him and teaching with him and patrolling with him and –

Wait.

He wanted Izuku to patrol with him.

"Hizashi," he cut off whatever complaint or inane story his friend was telling him. Shouta's eyes turned owlish. He slowly turned towards the blonde, who looked back, wary. "Hizashi, I want Izuku to patrol with me."

His friend gaped at him like a fish. Shouta knew Hizashi would understand the importance of that sentence. Shouta never wanted anyone with him during a patrol, and most of his missions involved him and only him. He only tolerated Hitoshi because at least the kid was competent and he needed internship experience. But… for Shouta to want someone with him – willingly? It was unheard of.

(Shouta never again wanted to see someone he loved die.)

Shouta continued to stare at Hizashi, but he was lost in his own thoughts. Well. This means he would need to convince Nedzu to help him get Izuku a Hero license. He didn't think it'd be very hard, but there would be a lot of red tape and stupid hoops that needed to be dealt with.

"You… he's – huh. You got it baaaaaddddd, my dude." Hizashi let out a quiet little laugh, "never thought I'd see the day." Shouta gave him a flat look. "Look, man, I'm just saying! You're a workaholic hermit who can barely take care of himself with spoiled three cats. Not exactly most eligible bachelor material – oh, come on, don't look at me like that, you know it's true." Shouta crossed his arms. Some kind of best friend Hizashi was supposed to be. "I'm happy for ya, man. He'll be good for you. Listen, I never believed in the whole soulmates thing, but after seeing you two? I'm thinkin' I ought to start."

The Underground Hero could feel the tips of his ears warming up. "Whatever…" he muttered.

"Nem and I are still offended we were never invited to the wedding, though."

Shouta dropped his head onto the table with a groan.

"I wonder why Nedzu called this meeting," Nemuri murmured to Hizashi.

Hizashi shrugged, "who knows? He's busy with the kid. Something about placement tests, I think. Not sure – ask Sho."

When she glanced at Shouta, she noticed the man's mood was sour; if it were possible, dark rainclouds would be looming overhead. Then, she noticed the distinct lack of an Izuku shaped presence next to him. Nemuri looked at her friend once more and grimaced. "I think I'm good."

As the other teachers trickled into the meeting room, Shouta could be seen getting more and more agitated. He was glaring at everyone, jaw working slowly. Nemuri was half convinced that she was going to have to leash Izuku to Shouta's side just so everyone else could survive the man and his moods.

Eventually, Nedzu walked through the door at a leisurely pace, hands held behind his back and humming quietly. It put everyone on edge, but no one dared to say anything.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you here at such short notice. I wanted to inform you that there will be a new teacher joining our staff."

"A new teacher…?" Hound Dog groused. Usually, Nedzu had him run a psychological evaluation on any potential employees at U.A..

"Yes," the man said. "In fact, he is taking all the necessary exams to not only graduate from university early, but he is also completing the teaching license exam. As well, of course, the written portion of the Hero licensing exam."

The room was shocked. This… new hire wasn't even a Hero? No completed college education? Just who the hell was this guy?!

Shouta looked at Nedzu, jaw relaxing and mouth parting. "Really?" He asked plainly, not wanting to get his hopes up.

Nedzu's eyes glittered with mischief. "Indeed. I must admit, I may have omitted the true reasons for his exams, but… what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"He doesn't even know he's taking these tests?!" Vlad cut in with a loud shout. "How can we be sure he's competent?! He's – he hasn't even finished university!"

Nedzu allowed the man to finish before nodding. "Any other concerns?"

"Aren't U.A. faculty and staff supposed to be involved in this decision?" All Might asked. Shouta's eyebrow twitched. "To make sure that the new hire is a good fit for the rest of the team?"

Shouta bristled at the blonde. "Says the man who was forcibly placed here without any consultation from the rest of us."

All Might floundered, "but – but that's different! Everyone knew who I was! I was the Number 1 Hero, surely you wouldn't have turned me away!" Shouta stared at the man before dismissing him with a scoff.

Nedzu hummed, ignoring the tense atmosphere in the room. "Now, then. The new hire has been vouched for and I have personally conducted a… hm. Thorough, multi-year long background and personality check. He is a close friend."

All Might stared at Nedzu, mouth open. "I'm your friend!" The man argued, "does that mean that you would have hired me, too? I never knew you to be biased, Principal Nedzu."

The grin Nedzu gave in response was sharp. "No," he said pointedly. "I would not have. You still have yet to complete the teaching license course requirements." He cleared his throat in a way that told Shouta that Nedzu was trying to calm himself down. "Aizawa-kun has earned his place and proven his character. It was not agreed upon by my decision alone. I've consulted with Detective Tsukauchi, along with Present Mic, Midnight, and Eraserhead."

The mammal paused, "I'm sure Mic can attest to Aizawa-kun's quick thinking and physical capability. Eraserhead, along with his students, have already evaluated Aizawa-kun's combat ability. Not many can understand how the capture scarf works, and I can count on one hand the number of people who can actually use it. Aizawa-kun is one of them."

All eyes turned towards the group sitting together in the corner. Shouta was annoyed and bored, but he also felt like he was missing something important. Nedzu could have announced Izuku to them all after the other had finished his exams.

"What does that mean? Does young Aizawa have a brother? Distant family, perhaps?" All Might questioned with a frown, deep in thought. "Since you're related, perhaps he has a similar Quirk to yours, Aizawa." He cocked his head to the side. "What is his Quirk?"

Nedzu cut in. "Aizawa-kun's Quirk is of no concern to you, Yagi. Please do not antagonize Aizawa-kun right now as I'm unsure on whether he would attack you." Nedzu didn't specify which Aizawa-kun he was referring to.

All Might's mouth dropped open, shocked. "I – I simply was curious! I'm sure all of us are!" There were some murmurs of agreement around the room.

Shouta growled at the rest of the faculty. His Quirk flashed, and everyone shut up. He was already irritated, and knowing that everyone was going pelt him with questions was starting to make him itchy. Shouta barred his teeth. "Don't bother me. I'm going to find my husband." He pushed himself to stand and started to make his way out. He needed to go find Izuku before he ripped someone's throat out.

"You're married?!"

"Since when?!"

"There's no way some poor soul went and married you!"

"What's his name?! How soon can we meet him?!"

"ENOUGH!" Hizashi cut through the shouting with his Quirk. "Leave it alone! You'll meet him soon enough. He's a good kid." Hizashi paused, and Shouta shoved down the urge to throttle the man. "Um. Man. He's a good man." Shouta reminded himself that he could not murder his idiot friend. If Hizashi hadn't tried to course correct, no one would have thought anything about it.

"…you said university student, Nedzu. How old, exactly, is his husband?"

"Old enough to not be babied by a bunch of Pro-Heroes," Shouta hissed. "I swear, if I hear him even breathethe wrong way while working here, I don't care – he will get rid of you, and I will help him hide your bodies." He stared at everyone in the eye, lingering on All Might. "I don't want to hear any bullshit about Quirks or questions about his, either. Do. Not. Bother. Him." He nodded at Nedzu before finally slipping away.

He'd let Hizashi and Nemuri deal with the aftermath of that little speech. They had wanted to know his husband, so that meant that they could help defend him, too. He trudged towards Nedzu's office, grumbling about this thing or that. Students were giving him a wide berth, and he's sure it was because his mood was spilling out around him.

He pushed open the door, and stomped his way over to Izuku, who had been muttering to himself while hunched over a stack of papers. Shouta flopped forward against the other man's back.

"Nedzu's hiring you." He mumbled into green curls. "Did you know that?"

Izuku paused, "don't be ridiculous," he muttered. "This is U.A.. There's no place for me here," he said bluntly. His step-father's words circled in his head. They were practically ingrained in his head now in bright neon letters. He didn't even feel bitter about it. It was just… fact.

Shouta froze, "what?"

The man huffed. "Are you really going to make me repeat it? This is U.A. and there's no place for me here," he hissed, shoving the papers away from him and twisting to face Shouta. "I'm Quirkless, so there's no point for me to be at U.A.. So, please – I didn't think you'd be cruel to me, too."

"Izuku, I'm not messing with you," Shouta said carefully. Izuku scoffed. "Did you even take a look at the tests you've been taking?"

"What? Of course, I have! I've been taking them, haven't I?!"

"Then you would know," the Hero began slowly, "that you're finishing your university requirements, completing the teaching license exam, and taking the written portion of your Hero licensing exam."

Izuku felt dizzy. "What…?" He asked, "what do you mean? These are just… placement tests. U.A. entrance exams." He looked at the massive pile of paperwork he'd mostly finished. His voice was small when he asked, "…right?"

Shouta pressed a kiss to Izuku's forehead gently. "We're really going to need to work on that confidence of yours, Izuku. You have kept Nedzu, one of the smartest beings on the planet, captivated for years. You became friends with him. Do you think Nedzu would lie about that?"

The smaller man stayed silent for a while. "No," he finally admitted quietly. "He wouldn't. He's always mentioned how human feelings are difficult for him to understand and doesn't know why people get offended when he's brutally honest." Shouta huffed a small laugh. "Did he really tell everyone that I was going to be teaching here?"

"Yes. Technically. He informed everyone of a new teacher joining staff soon."

Izuku took in a deep breath and carefully asked, "did anyone… object?"

Shouta shifted, "there were concerns that Nedzu shot down quickly. All Might is an idiot anyway. I don't know how that man has survived this long."

Izuku snorted, "you're telling me…"

"It doesn't matter what the others think." Shouta told him firmly. "You belong here, Izuku." When Izuku stayed silent, Shouta sighed, "Izuku, you won our spar. You analyze Quirks like its as easy as breathing. You want to help people and your so damn good, it kind of hurts to see it in action." He gave a small, breathy little laugh. "It's more than a little insane that you actually married me – especially because you didn't know who I was."

He sniffled, pushing the other away. "You're an idiot," he said, "I love you, though."

An extremely out of place, dopey grin spread across Shouta's face, "yeah. I love you, too."

"We're kind of a weird couple, you know that, right? Who gets married and falls in love in less than a week?"

Shouta shrugged. "I've never been one for tradition. Small talk is too much energy. People are selfish and stupid. I've always tended to fall on one extreme or the other. So, falling in love with you? God, it was so easy, Izuku."

Izuku grinned, scratching as his cheek. "You're so cheesy."

"No one would ever believe you."

Izuku just laughed, letting his head drop forward and resting his forehead against Shouta's collarbone.

"Are you sure you actually want to meet my parents?"

Shouta looked over at Izuku who was curled up on his couch, absently petting Presentation Michael. He raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I?"

Izuku shrugged, "I don't know. You married me for the bit and I just…"

"Worried that after I meet them, I'll demand a divorce?"

Izuku looked down, shame and embarrassment causing his face to heat up. "Yes, actually."

Shouta sighed, moving across the apartment to reach Izuku. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to the other's head. "Not happening. Don't worry." He hummed, "was never the plan, anyway."

"Eh?"

"You think I would have let you go after having you? I'm a greedy man, Izuku." Shouta ruffled green curls. "Go get ready for dinner. Hitoshi is going to be there, too, right?"

Izuku laughed nervously, "aha. Yeah. He will. Um. I should – I should probably tell you what my parents do for work." Shouta cocked an eyebrow, waving for Izuku to continue. "Mom's a nurse. Dad's… um. He's a Hero."

Shouta froze, mind grinding to a halt. "A Hero?"

The smaller gave a quiet titter, wringing his hands together. "Yeah. Do you…?"

Shouta shook his head and ran a hand over his face. "No. Might as well leave it a surprise at this point." He squinted at Izuku. "Hitoshi knows?" The younger nodded. "You don't look like any active Heroes…" Shouta muttered.

Izuku gave him a wry half-grin. "Dad is my step-dad, remember? But he's been around since I was a teenager."

His husband nodded. "Noted. You gonna tell him you got your Hero license, graduated, and found a new job all in one day?"

The younger looked down, "um. Maybe. Let's… let's see how it goes, first, yeah?" He looked back up at Shouta. "You promise you won't go running for the hills?"

Shouta smirked, "Izuku – even if I did, it would be with you carried over my shoulder."

Izuku huffed, "possessive bastard."

"Only for you, my love."

Chapter Text

Izuku was nervous. They were standing outside of his childhood home, staring at the apartment door. Shouta was behind him, cleaned up and looking sharp. The man had shaved, pulled back his hair, and was dressed smartly yet casually. It made Izuku want to drool because wow, his husband was yummy, but it wasn't enough to pull his anxiety away.

He knocked on the door.

He heard some muffled conversation come from inside before there were pounding footsteps, indicating a race to the door. The door was left open only long enough for Hitoshi slide out and it was quickly shut behind him. His eyes were slightly panicked. "You need to leave."

"What?"

"Like right now," Hitoshi pressed, "because tonight is going to be an absolute shit-show. Come back a different night."

Izuku, and Shouta were both confused. It wasn't often they saw Hitoshi panicked like this. The doorknob rattled, the person on the other side swearing loudly. Izuku felt his tense smile begin to drop.

"Oi! Open the god damn door, Eyebags!"

"Oh, no." Izuku despaired. Shouta raised an eyebrow. "He's right. We need to leave."

"It can't possibly be that bad, Izuku," he said, glancing at Hitoshi who was shaking his head and trying his best to keep the door shut.

The smaller shook his head, "you don't understand – Kacchan is – "

The door was ripped open, and Izuku felt himself freeze. "Shitty Deku!" The blonde growled. "Fucking bastard kept covering my mouth – what's the deal? Not like Auntie and Uncle don't know you're married to the hobo."

Izuku stayed quiet, looking at the ground. Katsuki had a thoughtful look on his face, before he started laughing meanly. "They don't know!" He cackled. "Oh, I'm so glad the old hag dragged me here tonight. Fuckin' priceless." He glanced at Shouta, a cruel smirk on his face. "Better get those divorce papers ready, old man."

Izuku grabbed Shouta's hand, tugging it and trying to lead the man away, "c'mon, let's just go. I – we can figure this out another time. This is going to be a circus." All Izuku could think about was how Katsuki was probably right about Shouta starting on those divorce papers. It's one thing to have a stranger show up and pretend, and it's another thing to have a real relationship (Izuku still didn't know what they were. Husbands, yeah, but… still. That was of circumstance! It wasn't.) that could very easily be tossed away without too much of a headache.

"Izuku, I teach high school brats. High school brats with highly volatile," he glanced at Katsuki, "Quirks. I think a slightly uncomfortable dinner is fine." He paused, "isn't that what you wanted, anyway? I remember reading, and I quote, I want this to be the most awkward, uncomfortable family dinner to date while appearing absolutely oblivious to it. I don't think we could get any better than whatever this is going to be."

Hitoshi was gaping at Shouta, shaking his head rapidly, "you really should go."

"Hitoshi? Katsuki? Who is it?" Izuku could head his mother ask from somewhere inside the apartment.

"The nerd's here! And he brought a friend," Kacchan smirked, arrogant and rotten.

Izuku shot a look at the blonde that promised a slow and painful death. The other didn't seem fazed. Probably because he didn't think that someone Quirkless, like Izuku, was any sort of real threat. He wasn't completely wrong but Izuku knew how Katsuki fought. Besides, Izuku would still bite him, given the chance.

Shouta squeezed his hand in encouragement, nodding at the door. "How do you want to do this?"

Izuku grumbled, "I don't."

"Izuku," Shouta warned.

"Whatever, come on, then." He led the other into the apartment, and then moved to take off his shoes. "Mom? Dad? I'm home! I – um. I brought someone I want you guys to meet."

He heard a loud clatter come from the kitchen, and knew that his mother probably dropped whatever she was holding. Besides Hitoshi, Izuku had never brought anyone to family dinner nights.

His mother rounded the corner, eyes wide and searching before she found Izuku. Her gaze was sharp and it narrowed while looking at the four men crowded in the entranceway. "Katsuki, I think your father needs some help in the kitchen." She said evenly, "and Hitoshi, would you be a dear and set the table for me? You'll need to grab an extra plate from the cupboard."

Both Hitoshi and Katsuki jumped to attention and scurried away. Traitors, Izuku thought to himself. By his husband's quiet snicker, he must have muttered it out loud. Oops. He turned completely, facing his mother. "Mom!" He greeted with a genuine smile.

"You've skipped so many dinners, baby, I was starting to get worried!" She laughed lightly, bustling towards Izuku and wrapping him up in a tight hug. She pulled away, glancing at Shouta in curiosity. Izuku had no doubt that she took in the man's age while doing so. "Well, come on, now. Introduce me to your friend!" 

Izuku hesitated, then turned to look at Shouta for help. His husband shrugged, and also waited. Everyone was a traitor tonight, huh?

"Izuku…?"

He swallowed, throat clicking, and then mentally groaned. He hated this. "Mom, this is Aizawa Shouta. He's my…" He paused, swallowed, and looked away. "Ah, well, he works with Dad." Shouta shot him a confused look.

"Oh! You're a Hero, then, Aizawa-san?"

The man nodded quietly and politely responded, "yes, ma'am."

"Inko?" Izuku heard his dad call out. He tensed, knowing that All Might was about to round the corner. "Honey, where'd you – "

"Aizawa?"

"Yagi?!"

Izuku gave a nervous laugh, playing with his hands. His husband turned to him, with bewilderment written across his face. "You didn't think to tell me your father was All Might?"

"T-to be fair, I did ask if you wanted to know…" He avoided Shouta's eyes. His excuse sounded so much worse saying it out loud.

"You were going to let some poor schlump come to dinner for one night and have to face All Might?" Shouta asked him, trying to understand.

Izuku sniffed, "I… look. I was upset, alright?!" He snuck a glance at his dumbstruck father and confused mother. He hissed, "it's not like they would have known!" Izuku brought his hands up to run through his hair.

He was glad that he had chosen to wear his ring on a chain like Shouta, tucked beneath his shirt, just above his sternum. He swallowed. He didn't want to drop the Hey Mom, I got married, this is my husband. Surprise! just yet.

"Izuku…?"

He stiffened. "Yeah, sorry. Um." He glanced at Shouta, who was just shaking his head minutely, still processing. "Shouta is my partner." He finally settled on, ignoring the faintly amused look making its way onto his husband's face.

"Oh!" His mother chirped, "it's really great to network, Izuku. I'm so glad you're taking the next steps for your analyst career! See? Didn't we tell you this would be a good path for you?"

Izuku flinched. To anyone else, it wouldn't have even been a twitch, but to a seasoned Underground Pro-Hero? It was practically a scream.

"Yeah," he croaked looking towards Shouta.

Toshinori was squinting between the two of them. "I suppose interning at an Underground Agency makes sense, but, Izuku, wouldn't you prefer doing analysis for Daylight Heroics? It would be safer for you."

Izuku looked down, shifting. "Uh-huh." He knew that he was practically wilting in front of Shouta and it made his ears burn.

"Great! I can set up an interview for you with Sir Nighteye. I know – "

"That won't be necessary," Shouta cut in smoothly. "I'm not one to share."

Izuku wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"But, Toshinori's right," Inko implored. "He'd be much safer as a Daylight Analyst." She paused, thinking. "He would make more money, too."

He could feel his husband looking at him. He cleared his throat, trying to move away from this conversation. "Um. What did you make for dinner, Mom?"

She blinked a few times before brightening. "Oh!" She laughed lightly, "where are my manners? Please, Aizawa-san, come in, come in." She waved them forward. Izuku noticed how Toshinori eyed them and their closeness, but Izuku chalked it up to being told no for once. "I made spicy mapo tofu," she told the pair.

"Oh," Izuku said quietly. "Kacchan's favorite."

"Yes! Mitsuki and Masaru managed to convince Katsuki to join us tonight. We have a full house with you, Hitoshi, and Aizawa-san joining us! Once we knew that you and Hitoshi were coming, it seemed like the best opportunity to get everyone together."

Izuku knew that Shouta was slowly starting to put together some pieces of this jagged little puzzle, and it was beginning to make Izuku feel sick. Shouta wasn’t smiling anymore. His hand on Izuku's back shifted slightly – just barely, really. But it felt like he was bracing himself for something. Or, well, maybe trying to shield Izuku via proximity. It was… sweet.

Inko waved them on, directing them to the dining area. Before they could fully leave, Toshinori cleared his throat. "Izuku, a word, if you wouldn't mind?"

Oh, Izuku minded. Izuku minded a lot.

"You know Mom doesn't like to talk shop on dinner nights," Izuku tried to joke. It fell flatter than intended, and he was cursing himself internally. He should have just said yes. He closed his eyes, then nodded in defeat when Toshinori didn't move.

"It's okay, Shouta," Izuku murmured to his husband, who he noticed began to hover around him closely. Protectively. It hurt Izuku's heart. Maybe his parents were right. Maybe he should take the safer route.

Shouta placed a hand on his shoulder – warm, grounding, firm – and squeezed. "I'll be right around the corner. You'll let me know if you need me, right, Izuku?" The question sent butterflies through him that wound up with wings uncomfortably pinned.

"Yeah."

"Izuku…"

"I'll let you know if I need you, Shouta."

The man nodded, gave one last squeeze and left the room.

"It's rather curious to see young Aizawa so… relaxed." Toshinori murmured, mostly to himself. "Perhaps that new husband Nedzu mentioned is the reason… it would certainly make working with him much more tolerable…" He coughed lightly before turning to Izuku. "Ah, but that is beside the point! Izuku, you can't possibly be happy going into Underground Analytics. I think you should reconsider interning with Sir Nighteye."

Izuku bit the inside of his cheek. "Paid or unpaid?"

Toshinori looked at him with confusion written across his face. "Unpaid, of course. You must have some experience before you even begin to start looking for a permanent position!"

The boy grimaced. "Re-respectfully, I will have to pass. Th-the agency that – " he took a steadying breath, "Eraserhead's agency pays me rather well." It was a maybe a teensy-weensy little lie since he technicallyhasn't been hired, but Toshinori didn't need to know that. As it was, the man looked scandalized. Besides, Shouta's 'agency' would have just been him, Hitoshi, and Shouta himself.

"But you are still a student! They can't possibly be paying you already."

Izuku tilted his head to the side. "Ah. Well. Actually, I'm not a student anymore."

"You dropped out?!"

He rolled his eyes, "no," he answered curtly. "I did not drop out. I finished early. The university offered to let me test out of the rest of my requirements." Izuku wasn't sure how that was actually possible, but he wasn't going to be the one to question Nedzu.

"That's not possible!"

Izuku closed his eyes and counted to five. "Nedzu helped set it up." He paused. "It was… surprising, but now I'm able to actually go out in the world and start helping."

"Izuku, you're going to get someone hurt without the proper education and experience behind you."

Izuku's mouth twisted into something unpleasant. "You can't even say congratulations before tearing me down? Do you have to immediately jump to me being incompetent at my job?

Toshinori's eyes went wide. "That's not – !"

Izuku pursed his lips and cut him off. "It was what you were implying." He paused, "first, I can't be a Hero, now I'm not allowed to be an analyst?"

"It simply for your own safety, Izuku! Heroics and Underground Analytics are dangerous. People get hurt. Villains target Quirkless individuals disproportionately. Just ask your uncle."

A sharp laugh burst out of him. "That statistic is wrong. It's not accounting for the extremely small number of Quirkless individuals compared against the billions of Quirked people on the planet. I know Uncle Nao has tried to explain this to you before."

"Naomasa shouldn't – "

"Shouldn't what?" Izuku asked, sugar sweet venom coating his words. "Shouldn't put ideas in my head? Shouldn't support me?"

Toshinori stayed quiet. "Izuku, my boy, you don't understand – this world is not made for Quirkless individuals," he argued, voice rising. "You need to face the facts. You are Quirkless!"

Izuku felt like he was choking. The air in the room had suddenly become toxic and he couldn't breathe past the lump in his throat. Everything he felt was beginning to spill over, and he could feel hot tears gathering in his eyes. God, he hated crying from any strong emotion.

Before he could let out the first shaky sob, he managed to find his voice. "SO ARE YOU!"

His step-father took shifted, stepping back, hurt on his face. "Wah-what?"

"You're Quirkless, too!" He shouted, "I know you are! All your old photos have you wearing the same stupid red shoes as me. Sure, you had One for All," he spat, "but you passed that on to Togata."

The older man opened and closed his mouth a few times. Izuku pressed the palm of his hand to his eyes and pressed hard. He took a deep breath, his chest somehow now feeling ten times lighter. "I am working," he said, "in Underground Heroics," he said carefully. "Eraserhead and Psyren have already offered me a permanent position."

"Seriously, Izuku, are you really planning on working with Shinsou and Aizawa? It's career suicide – "

"I am literally standing right here, Yagi." Izuku turned to find his husband in the doorway, arms up and bracing himself against the two sides, eyebrows raised.

Izuku noticed that Shouta had rolled back the sleeves of his dress shirt. It was very difficult for Izuku not to stare at the man's bare forearms, feeling like he was in some old novel where showing any type of skin was considered inappropriate and risqué.

Was he objectifying his husband? Probably. By the look in the man's eyes, it seemed like Shouta didn't mind and probably knew exactly what he was doing to Izuku. Hitoshi must've said something. Bastard. At least it was a distraction to derail Izuku's racing thoughts.

"Besides. The whole making less money that Daylight? That's a lie we tell Daylights so they don't throw a hissy fit." He smirked, "I take very good care of my employees." Izuku could feel his ears burning. Shouta's face melted into something neutral once more. "I was instructed to inform you both that dinner is ready."

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, "oh thank god, let's go." He didn't wait for his step-father, nor did he look back at the man. Shouta casually threw an arm over Izuku's shoulders, and over his head, he could feel the man turning to look at Toshinori. He heard coughing and wondered what Shouta did to get the man that worked up.

Whatever. He deserved it.

Dinner was a mostly quiet in the beginning, especially considering introductions weren't necessary since Shouta was Hitoshi and Katsuki's teacher.

His mother shifted uncomfortably. "So, Izuku," she started, and the boy felt his spine straighten to attention at the flood of anxiety that washed into his system. He felt a warm hand press itself on top of his thigh in comfort. Shouta squeezed gently.

"Hitoshi and Aizawa-san were telling me how you've passed all your classes for university early. Is that true?"

This felt like a trap. Izuku wasn't sure what kind of trap, but it felt like one.

He nodded.

"Honey, did you drop out?"

Izuku must have misheard her. "I'm sorry?"

His mother dabbed her mouth with one of the cloth napkins. "Well, they were talking about how much more free time you have now and the ability to make your own hours. I was simply wondering."

"Mom," he started. "I graduated."

"That's not how it works, sweetie. You don't just magically graduate college halfway through your second year."

Izuku opened his mouth to respond when Masaru slid into the conversation to defuse the situation. "How has the job search been?"

He glanced at his mother before turning his attention to the calm man. "It's been really good, actually! I have two places of employment and both have wonderful benefits and competitive pay."

So competitive, in fact, that Nedzu and Shouta had practically started a bidding war, he thought to himself with a small, exasperated smile on his face.

"That's great!" Masuru smiled, "where are they at? What are you doing?"

Mitsuki huffed, "two jobs? If they're both so great, why not just stick with one?"

Izuku's smile turned slightly strained. "I'm signed on with Eraserhead and Psyren – Shouta's agency." She scoffed, clearly finding the information distasteful. In her mind, he's sure that he would be nothing more than a glorified librarian.

"Yeah, 'cause Deku can't get an actual job somewhere else." Katsuki taunted. "He'll never be good enough for a Daylight agency."

Shouta's grip on his thigh tightened slightly. Izuku kept his breathing even. A sweet, understanding smile spread across his face. "You know what, you're so right, Kacchan. I'm much better suited for a teaching position, right? Maybe the students can take whatever I know and make it better, yeah?" He pressed.

Katsuki eyed him, but wasn't concerned. "Hah! Yeah, maybe if you were teaching brats in diapers!"

"It's just so funny that you would say that, Kacchan," he chirped with an innocent smile. "That's a really good joke." He watched with satisfaction as Katsuki's eye twitched, "but, no. I'm not teaching at a daycare. Or, well, I guess it depends on how you look at it." He shot a teasing grin at Shouta while Hitoshi rolled his eyes.

"It certainly feels like one sometimes," his husband offered blandly. "It's also not me they're scared of anymore. You've ruined my reputation."

Hitoshi snorted, "if it makes you feel any better, Denki's still scared of you."

That didn't seem to help anything. Instead, Shouta muttered, "Kaminari is scared of anyone in a position of authority or who could break him in half."

"No fucking way," Katsuki breathed.

"Watch your language, brat!"

"Shut up, hag!" He stared at Izuku, then at Shouta. Going back and forth. "Nah, I don't believe it. Only way you managed to get a teaching position there would be if you slept your way to the top," he smirked, ignoring the scandalized gasps of Katsuki! as he leaned back into the chair and crossed his arms.

"Can someone tell the rest of us what's going on, please?" Inko asked, patience beginning to wear thin.

Izuku opened his mouth to speak when Shouta squeezed his thigh. The man sent him a look that said, just trust me. So, Izuku did.

"Izuku will be co-leading a class with me next year. Seeing as the rest of this academic year, I am still with the hell class, he will be assisting so he is ready for next year." Everyone started talking at once, and Izuku watched as Shouta waited for the noise to die down.

Inko blinked at him, eyes wide. "I'm sorry, what?" She played with her napkin nervously. "But – but Izuku doesn't have a Quirk, Aizawa-san. Certainly U.A. knows that!" She turned to Toshinori, who was puzzled, frowning as he stared at Izuku. He didn't really care and ignored him.

Shouta nodded, "yes. U.A. is aware of Izuku's Quirk status, although, I fail to see how it is relevant to his ability as a teacher."

"A Heroics teacher!"

"Yes, and?" Shouta raised a brow. "I still don't follow."

"He can't be a Hero with no Quirk, Aizawa-san! He's not fit to teach those who do! It's too dangerous."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, your son put me on my ass in front of my entire class."

Inko gasped, shocked. Then she turned to look at Izuku who had been out of the crosshairs until then. "How could you do such a thing?"

Izuku pushed his food around on his plate, pretending not to have heard her.

"Heroes benefit from Quirkless fighting," Shouta explained, "there will be times where their Quirks will be useless in battle or an emergency. Overreliance on Quirks will only backfire later down the road. Who better to teach it than the man who learned how to use my scarf? On his own?"

Everyone blinked at Izuku. "Well, Hitoshi he-helped."

"Nah," Hitoshi brushed off, "more like you were helping me." Shouta hummed in agreement.

"You gave Shitty Deku a weapon?" Katsuki nearly screeched. "What the fuck?!"

Shouta stared at the blonde. Silently. Until he was sure he had Katsuki's attention. "I would advise you, Bakugou, to stop calling him that." Izuku flashed him a small, grateful smile towards Shouta for defending him.

Katsuki scoffed but shut up, which was good enough for Izuku.

"Moving on from talking about my jobs that I earned by my own merit," Izuku said carefully. "Mom, what's been new with you?"

He watched, confused as his mother and Toshinori shared a look before she cleared her throat. She sat up primly. "Well, there is a reason that we wanted everyone to be here tonight."

Oh, no.

Inko's face split into an excited grin, "I'm pregnant."

As those around the table starting bursting out questions, Izuku sat back, numb. His mother – who had always told him that parenthood was exhausting, who had always sworn up and down that she would never have another child, who would always complain and say that she never wanted another child – was pregnant.

For a moment, he couldn't tell what was causing the pounding in his head – the clatter of silverware, the tension in his jaw, the suffocating pressure in his chest…

Or maybe it was from all the psychological warfare he'd just endured.

Maybe it was the pregnancy announcement.

Izuku was going to have a baby sibling. That was twenty-one years younger than him.

It was probably the pregnancy announcement.

He had a dream like this once, when he was younger. Where his mother had remarried and announced that she was pregnant with her new husband's child. Izuku had been pushed to the side in favor of his sibling. It was like he had ceased to exist.

He looked around, everyone was staring at his mother or Toshinori. No one looking at him. It was the same exact dream.

Except.

Shouta was looking at him.

His husband had dark, worried eyes locked onto Izuku, who felt like he was drowning. How many ups and downs could a single dinner possibly have?

Why hadn't they even questioned how he and Shouta met? Asked him more about his university and early completion with pride and genuine curiosity? Had they even asked him how he was doing in general?

He leaned towards Shouta, voice low and sad. "I think I'd like to go home now." Shouta's jaw ticked, and Izuku felt his shoulders drop. "Please?" The man let out a slow breath before nodding.

It was a wonder how Izuku and Shouta had managed to stand and gather their things without anyone except Hitoshi noticing. It hurt. Well, maybe his replacement would be born with a Quirk. Most likely. What were the chances of having two Quirkless children?

While Izuku and Shouta had no issue slipping out of their seats, Hitoshi wasn't so lucky and Inko's eyes found him immediately. "Oh, don't worry about cleaning up, Hitoshi. I've got it later. It's very sweet of you to think of it, though."

Izuku closed his eyes because of course his mother thought that Hitoshi was thinking about helping her. He spun around, intent on leaving but unfortunately colliding with Shouta, who just happened to be standing a hair too close. They let out grunts after knocking into each other, and Izuku knew people were looking at him now.

He knew what they were all thinking – that even standing up was too much for him to do correctly.

His face burned, all tingly and uncomfortable. He imagined that it was likely splotchy and dark red.

"Izuku? Honey, where are you going? You haven't even finished your food." His mother smiled at him, then, lighting up. "Oh! Maybe it is a good thing that you rushed through school. When you get laid off, you can come help with the baby."

Oh – oh, that was… unexpected and it hit Izuku in the chest like a knife to the heart. When not if. His breath stuttered quietly, unable to respond. Shouta cupped his hand around the nape of Izuku's neck, grounding him and rubbing small circles.

"Hey," he murmured, stepping in front of Izuku and blocking his view of the table – and their view of him. "Hey, look at me," the words were firmer this time, and Izuku's eyes snapped to his. He moved his hand from the back of Izuku's neck to hold his chin instead, tilting his head up just a little bit. "You are not a burden, Izuku," he told him quietly, voice even. It was difficult to believe him right now. "Let's go home, alright?"

He nodded, but it felt stilted.

"Wait – Izuku – Aizawa-san, please, stay! Don't feel like you have to leave so soon. Izuku will calm down in a few minutes. He always does," Inko laughed lightly, as if sharing an inside joke.

Shouta didn't even bother trying to be polite and instead gently herded Izuku back towards the front door. They both winced as they heard chairs scrapping against the floor. "Izuku, you know better than to leave before dinner is over!" She scolded. "Since you'll be moving back in soon, you need to remember the rules, Izuku."

Shouta straightened, turned around, and kept Izuku blocked from his parents' view. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but Izuku has no plans of ever living here again." Izuku's hands curled into fists.

Toshinori stepped forward, "you will not speak to my wife like that, Aizawa!"

Shouta, calm and controlled, stepped forward to match Toshinori. Izuku had a feeling that if Toshinori tried to come to blows with Shouta, it would be a bloodbath. He wasn't sure if he would try to stop it. "Then, Yagi, it is in your best interest to understand that you and your wife will not speak to my husband like that."

The apartment went pin drop silent. Even those in the peanut gallery back at the table had shut up at the revelation, despite Hitoshi and Katsuki already knowing.

"Husband…?" His mother muttered, looking between Shouta and, well, trying and failing to look at Izuku.

Shouta reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the copy of the marriage license that they had requested from Uncle Nao. He held out the paper. "Yes. Izuku and I are married."

"No…" his mother muttered, snatching the paper from Shouta's hands and reading it over. Izuku moved to stand beside Shouta. "But – but he's a Hero, sweetie? Did you even tell him what he's getting into? He can't – you won't ever be safe, honey. It's not fair to put that on someone else," his mother pleaded with him.

She turned to Shouta. "I apologize for the confusion, Aizawa-san, but I don't think my son has been fully honest with you." She was tense and kept sneaking dirty looks towards Izuku, who kept shrinking back.

Shouta rose an eyebrow, waiting for his mother to elaborate. "As you know, Izuku is… well, Izuku is Quirkless," she finally said. "He's very bright, but life dealt him a bad hand, and he'll always be a target, Aizawa-san. It's not fair to put that responsibility on you, especially as another Hero." She bowed, "I deeply apologize for my son's behavior."

Izuku stared. This had to be a joke. This was a joke, right? His mother couldn't – his mother couldn't possibly think that he had tricked Shouta into marrying him, right? His mother didn't actually believe that!

But as his mother held her deep bow, Izuku felt tears begin to gather in his eyes. "Mom…" he felt his voice crack. "Mom, he already knew. And – if I hadn't already, you've been mentioning it all night." He turned to Shouta. "Let's just go."

Shouta shook his head lightly, and stepped to put himself in front of Izuku, blocking him from his parents' direct view. In response, Izuku reached out to hold onto the bottom of Shouta's jacket in an attempt to keep them both grounded.

"Midoriya-san, I assure you that Izuku's Quirk status is of no issue. Your son is very strong and incredibly capable while still remaining kind. It's a wonder he turned out the way he did considering the Quirkist views of his own parents." His lip was curled unhappily, shooting a dark glare towards All Might.

His mother struggled to respond, "I – but! He won't be able to hold down a job! As soon as they find out his Quirk status, they'll fire him!"

"I have hired him. Nedzu has hired him. He will never have to worry about finding a place of employment again. Even then, if Izuku ever decided that he never wanted to work another day in his life, then he wouldn't need to as I would have no issue providing for myself and my husband."

Inko was getting desperate. "He – he's a danger to himself and the people around him! You must understand, Aizawa-san, that as a mother, I simply cannot sit back and let my son's poor decisions affect someone else's life."

Izuku sniffled, tears freely falling at this point. His mother had never been this honest about how she felt before. He had always thought that she was just worried for him. Not being able to protect himself would always worry her, he thought, but… she was confirming his worst fears and validating his deepest insecurities; he was a burden. He glanced at his father who was nodding along.

"She's right, Aizawa."

Izuku couldn't take any more hurt that night. He snapped, "if that's what you think, then maybe you should have given me your Quirk!" He knew they sort of hashed this out earlier, but it didn't matter. Feelings were messy like that.

He wasn't finished. "Maybe you should have passed down One for All to me instead of going and giving it to someone who already had a Quirk." Izuku felt like throwing up, but he pushed through. "But nooo, you couldn't give it to the boy you claimed was like a son to you, could you? You had to go find the next Symbol of Peace and decided that it had to be Lemillion!"

"Izuku, your body – "

"Is plenty capable of fighting and winning against a Pro-Hero!" He cut him off, steamrolling through. "You never believed in me. You told me I couldn't be a Hero without a Quirk. You crushed my dreams," he let out a soundless sob, his voice hitching. Then, he glared tiredly at his father, resentment filling him freely now that the floodgates were opened. "You left me on a roof." Toshinori blanched.

He took in a shaky breath, "but guess what, Dad?" He asked voice trembling as he reached into his pocket to grab his wallet.

"Guess what I was able to do with people who never needed me to prove I was worth believing in." He maneuvered himself around his husband before holding up a laminated, shiny plastic card. His newly earned Hero license.

"Guess who made it anyway. Guess who became a Hero without a Quirk – without you. Not that you ever even gave me the chance. I know you blocked my U.A. applications. You couldn't even risk having me in Gen. Ed. because you were worried that I'd fight my way into the Hero course, right?" Toshinori shifted uncomfortably, looking away from Izuku to Shouta instead. Did his step-father think that Shouta was going to side againstIzuku?

Izuku scoffed, his lip curling. "Because you knew I'd win and then everyone would know that not only did someone beat 1-A silly without a Quirk, but everyone would know that your son was Quirkless." He wiped at his eyes angrily. "I love Shouta. He's… he's the second – no, third person to believe in me: an online friend, Hitoshi…" He paused, thinking about it for a moment.

"Actually, I think Uncle Nao believed in me, too. He kept pushing me to join the police force so that I could help him with cases. He avoided the topic of me being a Hero, but I don't need a lie detector Quirk to know he would have made sure I had the chance."

His father was staring at him, mouth gaping like a fish. Izuku laughed, mildly hysteric, "and I love how out of everything you've learned tonight, you're probably still stuck on the fact that I finally have a Hero license."

"It's a conflict of interest to have Aizawa sponsor you. You both know this!"

Izuku smiled, and it was all teeth. "Principal Nedzu was the one who sponsored me. He's the one who got me to finish university early. He's the one who got me to take the written portion of the license exam. He's the one who offered me a job at U.A.." Izuku shook his head with a sad huff.

"All of this, and still, neither of you could bother to tell me congrats? Not for graduating, not for achieving my dream, not for finding a stable job, not for my marriage?" He laughed, but it was bitter. He went to wipe at his face again. "You just keep telling me how I'm always going to be a problem. Always useless. I am sick and tired of being treated like I'm somehow under-evolved just because I don't have a Quirk. I'm not doing it anymore. I can't." He scoffed, "come on, Shouta. Let's go. I'm gonna call Nemuri and 'zashi and we're all gonna have floor time."

 He turned from his parents without acknowledging them. After shoving on his shoes, he turned back to the interior of the apartment. "Hitoshi, we're leaving! Feel free to come with or stay – your choice. Just come over later."

There was movement, then a purple head of hair squeezed past his father. "I'll come with. Do you mind, sensei?" Shouta shook his head. "Sweet."

"Izuku, sweetie, wait – I didn't – "

For the first time, Izuku walked away from his parents' apartment with his head held high, flanked by his two favorite people.

After they were a block away from his parents, Shouta stepped in front of him. Calloused hands cupped his cheeks, thumbs gently brushing over his freckled skin. "You were brilliant. They still couldn't see you – that's not your fault," Shouta murmured. "But I did, and I always will, Izuku."

Chapter Text

Hizashi and Nemuri were waiting for them by the time they got back to Shouta's apartment. They looked worried and were anxiously pacing in front of the door. When they heard the group approach, they slumped in relief.

"Oh, thank god, all of you are okay!"

"…Shouta, what did you tell them?"

His husband looked away innocently. Hizashi rolled his eyes, "he sent us SOS." Then, he shook his head. "That's it. No more information."

"Well, we were a little busy…" Shouta offered.

Izuku stared at his husband, dumbstruck, before shaking his head and letting out a small laugh. "Let's all go inside, yeah? I'll, um. Explain everything." Izuku winced as Shouta wrangled the group of them through the door and into the living area.

The smaller man immediately made his way towards Shouta's sleeping bag. He made grabby hands towards Hitoshi, who stared back at him with wide eyes and hesitated. Hitoshi probably knew how territorial Shouta could get.

Izuku huffed, and made the same motion. "Hitoshi, you're my bestie and I will actually start crying if you don't get over here and cuddle me. Like right now."

Shouta snorted. "What is with you and weaponizing your tears?"

Izuku shrugged, and impatiently waited for his best friend. Hitoshi glanced at Shouta, unsure, but Shouta just gave him a barely-there nod. Izuku watched as Shouta's face softened while watching Hitoshi scramble to wrap himself around Izuku, who let out a happy little sigh at the familiar weight of his friend against his back.

The smaller man leaned back into Hitoshi. "I'm glad you were there tonight," he murmured.

Hitoshi huffed, "today sucked. Fuckin' proud of you for walking away, though."

Izuku snorted, "eh, more like ran away. Also, I might be spiraling again in, like, twenty minutes."

His best friend hummed, "then I'll be here in twenty minutes. And then twenty more after that."

"You're a good friend, you know that?" Izuku murmured.

There was a loud scoff. "Wow. Alright. Demoted to just friend now? No longer a bestie? Whatever will I do. Friend-friend-zoned by the guy who once licked a vending machine. I think that might be a new low," he said dryly.

"It was for science!"

"Mhm, sure it was."

"It was!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Izuku," Hitoshi hummed, grinning deviously before pinching at Izuku's side.

The smaller yelped, shoving Hitoshi away harshly and glaring. He stuck out his tongue. "So mean!" He whined. "Shouta! Shouta, come here, I want to cuddle someone who actually loves me," he huffed.

His husband rolled his eyes, but moved towards Izuku with arms open. Izuku immediately crawled towards the man and settled in his lap, leaning back, pleased. Izuku left a hand open, palm up, for Hitoshi. He wasn't reallymad at him – the guy was still his best friend. He didn't think that Hitoshi would ever actually leave his side, and he was grateful to have someone like the man in his life.

"So?" Nemuri prompted as she plopped onto the ground in front of the couch. "What gives?"

Izuku took a deep breath before letting it out. He felt Shouta's arm tighten around him "My mom's pregnant," he started with. Soft balls, first, he thought. "Um. This is with a second husband – not my biological father. I call him Dad, though."

"So, you're talking about a step-dad? You call him Dad and the kid would be your half sibling?" Hizashi clarified.

"Yeah," Izuku said lamely. He quieted. Maybe Hitoshi and Shouta would let him –

"And?" Shouta prompted, jostling Izuku slightly in his hold.

Izuku looked at him, eyes pleading. Shouta was firm in his conviction – Izuku knew he wouldn't win that fight. He cleared his throat, scratching at his cheek. "Um. Well… so. All Might's my Dad."

It was only thanks to Shouta anticipating the pair's reaction that everyone in the room still had their hearing. Hizashi looked slightly embarrassed as he muttered apology.

"What do you mean, All Might is your dad?!" Nemuri shrieked, somehow managing to be just as loud as Hizashi with his Quirk. "I feel like that's something that should have been mentioned by now!"

Shouta grumbled, "to be fair, it's only a few weeks…"

Izuku gave another sigh. "When I was fourteen, there was a Villain attack happening near me. I… no one went to help. All the Heroes kept waiting around for All Might. I knew I couldn't get in trouble legally as someone… someone Quirkless… The Villain was this glob of slime or something. It was – it was attacking Bakugou Katsuki. I threw my backpack and my feet moved on their own. Eventually, All Might showed up, made a mess of the place, and I was reprimanded by literally everyone for being the only person to actually do something."

He paused, allowing himself to squeeze Hitoshi's hand for support. "I was walking home later. The Villain escaped and started to attack me. I… don't want to really talk about that. But, um, All Might showed up. Again. Bottled up the slime Villain, and autographed my notebook. I latched onto his leg before he jumped to leave, and he tried to shake me off before landing on a roof. I asked him if I could be a Hero without a Quirk. He said no, and then he left. I was alone."

Izuku shrugged, looking down as he started to pick at the skin around his nails, "somehow he and my mom met and hit it off and he eventually he became my step-dad." He looked down. "Um. If I told you all a, uh, secret that needs like, top tier security clearance – like a secret that could be a threat to national security – you promise not to freak out?"

Crickets. The only sound he could hear was Shouta humming behind him. Well, that was as close to an NDA agreement as anything, right?

"Yeah, so, anyway, All Might had a Quirk that was transferable and it only gets more powerful with each transfer. You know how All for One takes Quirks? This is kind of the opposite – it's called One for All. I thought – I thought that hey, maybe this could be my chance if I showed him how much I wanted to follow in his footsteps. It didn't matter, I guess, since he gave it to Lemillion…"

"So that's why the kid got so much stronger all of a sudden?!" Hizashi asked, bewildered. Izuku gave a wry smile.

His husband was stiff beneath him, and when Izuku looked up, he saw that Shouta was frowning. His brows were drawn together, and face contemplative. "Izuku," he started softly. "Just… how close were you to jumping off that roof?"

The 'what can you do?' smile he gave in response was frail and bitter. He let his eyes close as he spoke the next part. "I did," he told them softly. "Jump, I mean. Wasn't high enough. Just ended up breaking my arm and a rib or two. Got a bunch of bruises – it felt like I got hit by a train."

When he blinked a few times and looked around. Three sets of eyes were wide open in shock, looking at him – perceiving him. He shrunk back a little bit, feeling self-conscious.

Hizashi finally broke the silence. "You tried to kill yourself?"

Izuku cleared his throat. "Yeah." He swallowed, letting a small laugh bubble up. "'s how I met Hitoshi. He, uh, found me." Hitoshi hummed beside him.

"Yeah," his best friend drawled, peeking his head past Izuku to look at Hizashi, "it was a win-win in my books. He lived, we both got a new friend, and he took the muzzle off for me."

The trio stared. Shouta cleared his throat. "We're… we're going to unpack all of that another time, but right now – let's just… focus on what happened tonight?"

Izuku whined, "do we have to?" Shouta gave him a pointed look.

"Ah… moving on," Nemuri muttered, "so. All Might is a dick. What a surprise."

Shouta coughed, "not to be rude, Izuku, but… your mother did not leave a good impression, either."

Izuku frowned, looking down as he started to play with Hitoshi's fingers, then winced. "Can we all just have some quiet floor time? I just want to lie down and not be a person for a little bit."

There was a silent conversation happening around him and over his head, but he couldn't really find it in himself to care.

Eventually, it was Hizashi who finally just huffed and flopped over like a dead fish. Hitoshi quickly followed, then Nemuri. Shouta slowly and carefully laid them down so that he was curled around Izuku protectively. Hotdog wandered into the room, looked around, and plopped himself down on the couch.

It was quiet for a while, and in that time, Izuku had fully calmed down. Well, he thought, at least he wasn't reliant on his parents for anything – and hadn't been for a long time. Not that it mattered. Shouta had already told him point blank that he was going to spoil Izuku whether the boy liked it or not, so really, Izuku needed to just suck it up.

"Hey, kid?" Hizashi started hesitantly. "I'm kinda scared to ask, but how d'you and Nedzu become pals?"

Izuku laughed, "we met online. I beat him at chess when I was fourteen."

Silence followed.

"You beat Nedzu at chess when you were fourteen?" Shouta asked him, stunned and needing to make sure he heard Izuku correctly. "You didn't say that last time!"

Izuku blushed, "it's not a big deal," he argued. "He was probably distracted."

"Oh my god," Nemuri cut in, laughing in glee. "Oh my god, do you guys remember that one time that Nedzu went feral and we all swore he had rabies or something?"

Izuku made a face, "that's not very nice…"

"Izu, sweetheart, you don't understand. He had never acted like that before. Nedzu is the epitome of cool, calm, and collected, but that week he was absolutely losing his little brain," she told him. "He was tearing out his whiskers. Kept snapping at people. He wouldn't stop growling at All Might for… some… reason…" She blinked, then muttered to herself, "oh that makes so much more sense."

Hizashi glanced up at his friend. "I remember – what about it?"

She pointed at Izuku. "Well, we just found out the reason why!"

"So, it wasn't rabies?" Hizashi pressed, seemingly unconvinced.

Izuku frowned, "Nedzu gets a rabies shot every year, of course it wasn't rabies." Everyone turned to look at him. "What?" He asked. "What?! RatGod001 has been my best friend for years."

"I thought I was your best friend," Hitoshi muttered petulantly. "I found you first."

"You lost that privilege with your vending machine slander." Izuku huffed, unruffled. "Nedzu was pretty weird about wanting to know about my home life when I was a kid," Izuku murmured with a small smile, then it turned a little sad. "I think he was worried. I wonder if he would have tried to adopt me," he laughed quietly.

"I mean, it's not too late," Hitoshi offered simply.

Izuku blinked, "what?"

"For him to adopt you. You don't need to be a kid for him to do it – and it's easier now, probably, since there's no issue about parental rights," he explained.

"It's not a bad idea… Honestly, I can't think of a bigger fuck you to All Might than to go find a better father-figure than him. I'm sure Nedzu would be thrilled to get his greedy little paws on you," Shouta said. "Even if that means that he'd be my… father-in law," the man grimaced.

"Better than All Might," Hitoshi helpfully reminded. Shouta nodded in acquiescence.

Izuku closed his eyes, trying to take in all the new information. Opening them, he frowned in slight confusion. "Hitoshi, why do you know all this?"

"…no reason," his friend mumbled without looking at him.

"Oh," Izuku heard Shouta breathe out from behind him. It sounded like the man was coming to a long overdue realization. "Hitoshi, we're adopting you."

The normally lazy boy shot up, eyes wide and fearful. "W-what?!" He was nearly shouting, "what – why would you say that?! Don't be ridiculous, sensei!"

Izuku considered it for a moment. Hitoshi didn't care much for his parents, and especially not after he had become an official ward of U.A.. Hitoshi was one of the closest people he had (although he would admit his circle was rather small, and had only recently expanded because of Shouta), and he already considered the other family. He hummed, then nodded. "Okay, yeah. We can do that."

"Izuku?!" The boy screeched.

He rolled his eyes. "It was always Dadzawa this and Dadzawa that, now that it's happening, you're saying no?"

Hitoshi was quick to respond. "I'm not saying no!"

"Dadzawa…?" He heard Shouta mumble quietly. Izuku patted his husband on the arm.

When Izuku glanced towards Hizashi and Nemuri, the two were absolutely engrossed in the conversation and they wore matching shit-eating grins.

"Oh, but Shinsou… think about how much you can mess with your class," Nemuri purred. "Sho happens to hand you something? Thank you, Daddy." Her grin morphed into something absolutely salacious, and Hitoshi gagged.

Izuku chanced a glance back at his husband and saw the matching grimace. "Please don't," Shouta said, tone showing his obvious distaste.

"You two are no fun. I'm sure Izuku would have found it funny," she pouted.

The boy bit his lip, "while you're not wrong…" he started, ignoring the looks of betrayal sent his way, "I'm not exactly the kind of person who likes to share."

"Kinky." Nemuri chirped. He ignored her.

Izuku looked at his friend, "no offense, Toshi." Pausing, Izuku hummed, "although, honestly? I don't think adopting you would be a bad idea."

"Izuku!"

He glared at his friend, "Hitoshi," he started seriously, "think about the health insurance."

That shut him up.

Hizashi was cackling in the background. Hitoshi whipped his head to look at the man. "What are you laughing at?! If I agree, you're gonna end up an uncle!"

The blonde's laughter turned into a wheeze. "U-uncle?!"

"Oh my god, yes!" Nemuri squealed excitedly. "I get to be a wine aunt!"

Hitoshi's face probably shouldn't be able to get that red, but there he was, sputtering and trying to take in air. Izuku could do nothing but snicker under his breath.

He settled back against his husband. Sure, his mom and dad sucked, and he was pointedly not thinking about how much their words hurt him, but… he thought he could be more than okay with making this little family of his own.

Shouta leaned forward enough so that his lips were pressed against the top of his head and his face was hidden by his unruly curls. "I love you," he heard murmured quietly despite the yelling in the background.

He grinned and squeezed Shouta's arm. "I love you, too."

Chapter Text

Shouta had introduced Izuku to Tensei a little while after they started living together.

Well.

It was more like Hizashi and Nemuri showed up with Tensei in tow, who then proceeded to use his wheelchair to run over Shouta's foot as he announced his displeasure of not being invited to the wedding. He did it again, pretending to try to move back and out of the way, with faux concern and overdramatic guilt on his face, even when he mentioned just how absolutely crazy it was to not be told that one of his best friends had gotten hitched.

He rolled forward again when pushing his way further into the apartment, rolling over Shouta's foot one last time as he casually asked why he had to find out through his brother, who had gone home and promptly had a meltdown over his teacher being married.

Izuku was having a hard time holding back his giggles, especially as Shouta was jumping around on one foot, swearing loudly and glaring heatedly at all his friends. Tensei had been unconcerned as he made his way over to Izuku to introduce himself with a sunny smile.

"Hi, I'm Iida Tensei. Please call me whatever you feel comfortable with!"

Izuku blinked. This was robot boy's brother? But – but he was so normal! Wait – if he's robot boy's brother, then –

The man's warm laugh startled him out of his thoughts, "yes, Tenya is my younger brother. He took up the Ingenium name after I," he paused, giving a wry smile, "well, I'm sure you can understand why."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say any of that out loud – !"

It was then that Nemuri and Hizashi slid up close to either side of him, their arms being thrown over his shoulders easily. "'Course ya did," Hizashi announced with a grin.

"Yeah, Sho's told us that it's you at your most unfiltered." Izuku shot his husband a look of betrayal. He didn't even look guilty, the bastard. Nemuri continued, "don't worry, though," she winked, "your secret's safe with us!"

"Evidently not…" Izuku muttered, causing the man in front of him to curl his lips into a smile. Izuku sighed, then gave an apologetic look to Tensei. "Aizawa Izuku. It's nice to meet you!" He paused, trying to stay calm and not overwhelm the man with his eagerness. "Do you… ah, would you mind if I asked you a few questions about your Quirk? I just – it's – ah, well – have you tried using your Quirk as a wheelchair boost?!"

Tensei cocked his head to the side and thought about it for a few moments. As the other turned around, Izuku started to panic – he hadn't meant to insult one of Shouta's friends (again)! But, when Shouta had finally rounded the corner, grumbling to himself about one thing or another while looking away from the group –

It left him vulnerable and open to attack.

Tensei zoomed across the room, utilizing the engines in his arms so that he could barrel straight into Shouta. His husband made a panicked noise, but it was too late – Tensei had managed to get in close, and with his momentum, had been able to lean low and knock Shouta's feet out from under him to throw him over his shoulder.

Shouta wheezed as his back slammed on the ground.

Hizashi couldn't catch his breath next to him, doubled over while cackling and gasping for air. Nemuri was also laughing, although she looked a little more poised while doing so. Tensei turned back towards them, a warm smile on his face. "Oh," he said with a certain kind of mischievous glee, "this is going to be so much fun."

"Isn't he great, Ten?!" Nemuri squealed. "He's absolutely perfect!" Then, she pouted, "but someone is selfish and won't share with his very best friends in the whole wide world!"

Shouta couldn't form a response and moaned in pain from his place on the floor.

Izuku gave the woman a flat look. "Nemuri, we've been over this – I'm very, very gay."

She waved him off, "yeah, but you already know it's not like I want to fuck you – besides! It would be great, think of the reactions we'd get!" She huffed, "I just want a cute little boy toy, too, but it's all nooooo Nemuri, you can't have him! It's just so unfair and selfish of Shouta to keep you to himself!" She sent a glare at said man.

Izuku huffed, rolling his eyes. "Ask Hitoshi." The woman's eyes lit up like she hadn't even considered the option before. They both ignored Shouta's groan of disagreement. Izuku did not feel the slightest bit bad at setting the woman loose on his best friend. He was sure Hitoshi would do something to make him annoyed sooner or later. "Besides," he started, voice flippant and slow, "the last time I did something for the bit, I got married."

Tensei blinked, and then glanced down at Shouta before moving his gaze to Izuku, then back down to Shouta. "No offense, man, but how the hell did you somehow manage to bag this one? He's, like, way out of your league."

"He's just the cutest little twink, Ten! Look at him!" Suddenly there were hands squishing his cheeks together. "Can you blame me for wanting to Sho to share?!"

"Wait – what – " Hizashi cut in, "Izuku what do you mean you got married for the bit?! What – oh my god, the Craigslist ad."

"Craigslist ad…?" Tensei questioned, trailing off.

Izuku gave a nervous laugh.  

Shouta rolled over onto his side, "I had it framed."

Izuku whirled around, voice pitching at the information. "You what?!"

His husband blinked at him, "it was our first interaction, of course I had it framed."

The younger man made a miserable little noise.

"Where? Where is it?" Nemuri was practically foaming at the mouth.

Shouta sighed. "Wall. Next to Oboro."

"Next to – ?" Nemuri was a blur as she rushed over, and Hizashi had tripped over his own two feet. "Oh my god, you're not lying. They're right next to each other. I really hope he's judging you right now."

"This is why he was the only one who was invited to the wedding," Shouta shot back. The pair made twin noises of shock. Izuku wondered if Shouta typically didn't make jokes that included their late friend.

"You'd rather a ghost be there instead of us?!" Hizashi shouted.

Shouta hummed. "Mm. Quieter."

"His Hero name was literally Loud Cloud, Shouta." Nemuri reminded him.

"Oh, give me a break. We all know it's because he smoked – hey! Don't give me that look! Of course, I knew! I'm not that oblivious!"

"You say that, but it took you two how long to get together?" Nemuri screeched. Izuku blinked. Oh, he hadn't known that the two had dated. It made him sad to know Shouta lost someone he must have loved when they were so young.

He watched as Shouta rolled his eyes, "yeah, and how long did it take for us to realize we were better off as friends? And then for you to start dating him, Nem?"

During the argument between Shouta and the other two Heroes, Tensei turned to look at Izuku for an explanation. He simply raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "My, ah, biological mother and step-dad are Quirkist. I wanted to bring a fake boyfriend to a family dinner to piss them off." That caught the attention of those arguing.

"Fuck All Might!" Nemuri shouted in the middle of the conversation.

"Fuck All Might!" Hizashi copied.

An awkward smile settled on Izuku's face, and it turned apologetic at Tensei's raised eyebrow. "All Might married my mom."

"Ah," Tensei told him, nodding. Izuku had a feeling that out of anyone, Tensei could probably relate the most to Izuku – neither of them were worth anything to society. One of them Quirkless, and the other disabled and unable to work as a Hero. "Fuck All Might."

Izuku couldn't hold back the genuine smile that spread across his face.

"I never did get to enjoy that free, home-cooked meal," Shouta hummed.

Izuku shot a glare at his husband. "Oh, I'm sorry. If my cooking every night doesn't count as a home-cooked meal, then I might as well let you go back to surviving on jelly pouches!"

Shouta's eyes widened, and he scrambled to stand up and rush towards Izuku. "No, no, no, Izuku, I didn't mean it like that!" He scooped the smaller up into a hug, forcing Izuku to wrap his legs around his husband's waist. Izuku hooked his chin over the edge of Shouta's shoulder, a smug smile on his face. He caught Tensei's gaze, who was watching the interaction in shock until he noticed Izuku's expression. Then, he broke out into laughter.

"Oh, man. He's so out of your league, Sho."