Chapter Text
One moment, she was asleep, the next, she was awake. Her mind instantly went into observation mode…Izuku was next to her. They weren't in a familiar location. It was dark. She could hear the murmur of voices. She was on something soft, and she was warm. Her leg felt heavy and unwieldy, and a dull ache was coming off it.
The panic that had been rising in her chest at the unfamiliar location was somewhat mollified by the sound of Izuku's soft breathing, her love resting on her chest. If he was there and asleep, she likely was okay, but where was she? Unbidden, the memories started to return…the explosion, the nurses office, the agreement with Shouta…right. They were in Shouta and Mic's home, their spare room, on the futon. A very high quality futon. She knew quality when she felt it. And the blanket over them…it was warm, and heavy, and made something in her feel settled in ways she never could recall before.
But the voices caught her attention again. She focused, listening in as best she could, but couldn't quite make out words. That said, she did recognize the voices of Shouta and Mic speaking. She then remembered…Eri. The little girl had been staring at them all of the prior night, but never said a word. Shouta couldn't explain why, but for whatever reason she seemed to be refusing to speak. She also never let go of the cat, until he squirmed out of her grasp to go get his own food, but he returned minutes later and let Eri grasp onto him once more.
Ochako and Izuku had been so goddamned tired they could barely finish the meal; even with the tasty mochi at the end, Ochako had only been able to stomach a couple before her exhaustion nearly knocked her out at the table. And so they'd come into this spare room and just…died to the world, alone in the dark and quiet.
She felt Izuku stirring against her, relaxing her grip around his shoulders so he could move. Izuku didn't like feeling restrained (even though he made an exception for her, he could be set off upon waking if he didn't realize it was her holding him), so she made sure he could slip out if his mind took too much time to awaken.
She supposed she was lucky, as besides a sharp intake of breath and a twitch from his hand, he didn't panic. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Izuku looking up at her with bleary eyes as he noticed she was awake. She gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead, the easy affection returned quickly as he nuzzled her cheek and pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth.
She had almost lost him the day before. It hadn't really settled into her thoughts until that moment, the second he was looking at her with a morning-blurred gaze, but it was there, in the back of her mind and now in the forefront, her every thought laser focused on what happened. He'd been bleeding so badly, her hands had been covered in his warm blood, sickening her. She felt like she could still smell the rusted iron scent of his life force fleeing from him, and all she could do was squeeze him tighter.
Like always, her Izuku knew her. He understood without a word why she was suddenly gripping him tightly, his own grasp tightening around her as he brushed another kiss on her cheek. She knew he had similar worries in his mind; he may not have been conscious for it, but in some ways she imagined that was more terrifying for him, to know she'd been alone and he could do nothing to help. She imagined he was already filled with misplaced guilt for getting knocked out…mostly cause that's how she'd feel if she was in his position.
But they couldn't talk about it right now. The heroes were still here, and they'd already agreed to watch Eri. Maybe later, but for now, she knew they couldn't talk. Still…she curled closer to his warmth, letting it soothe the ache in her bones and in her heart, letting out a deep sigh as she buried her head in his hair to find the comfort she so desperately needed.
There was a soft knock on the door. She took the second to lift her head and meet Izuku's eyes, her boyfriend nodding at her once. She cleared her throat. "We're awake," she called out.
The door slid open, Shouta standing in the hallway. He was adjusting his scarf around his neck as he glanced down at the entangled teenagers. "We're about to head to class. Phone's on the kitchen table, and you can feel free to raid the kitchen for whatever you need. Eri is on a special diet to help deal with her malnourishment, it's pinned to the fridge. All easy things to make, but if you need help just call me, I'll send someone over. Hizashi will be back earlier than me, around two in the afternoon. Recovery Girl gave us some painkillers for you if it gets too bad. They are in the cabinet above the stove. I trust you to choose when they're necessary. I…I think that's it?"
Ochako nodded. "Yeah, we got it."
"Is Eri still asleep?" Izuku asked softly, rolling over slightly and out of Ochako's arms. He tried to sit up, but hissed in pain at the bending of his waist, Ochako quickly moving to comfort him.
Shouta didn't respond to the pained hiss, choosing not to call attention to it. "Yeah. She'll likely wake up soon though, she's a pretty light sleeper."
"K. We'll get up then," Ochako said softly, sitting up. She winced as her leg clunked on the floor, the cast skidding off the futon, but managed to get to a seated position without too much issue.
Shouta jerked forward, like he was going to step into the room, but stopped himself. He cleared his throat. "Would you like a hand up?" he asked, his voice soft and non-judgmental.
Ochako shook her head. "Nah, I'll be fine. Gotta get used to this for a bit anyways."
Shouta sucked in a breath, but let it go. "Alright. I do have to ask one favor of you though."
Izuku blinked up at him, finally able to sit up with Ochako's help. "What's that?"
"I need your word youwillactually eat while I'm gone," he said. Left unsaid was the fact he'd clearly figured out their reluctance to accept even the tiniest bit of charity, and he was trying to force the issue.
Ochako clenched one fist in the blanket, his words warring with her refusal to take from others when she didn't need to. A glance to her side showed the same unhappy expression on Izuku's face, but before they could speak up Shouta continued. "Please. Just…take care of yourselves, that's all I'm asking. It helps Eri too, she feels guilty if we don't eat with her, so if you can, please eat with her. She gets breakfast, lunch, a snack between and one after lunch. Hizashi will be here for dinner so that's covered. Can you do that for me?"
Ochako had to fight to let go of her tight grip on the blanket, but…another shared look with Izuku had her letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "...okay."
Shouta's face quirked up in a small smile, nodding at them. "Thank you. We'll be off now. Take care."
"...you two," Izuku murmured. Shouta gave another acknowledging nod, leaving the room and closing the door behind him as he went, leaving the two vigilantes sitting in the dark. Izuku closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, deeply, a ritual Ochako was familiar with, his way of resetting himself to a more even keel. He opened his eyes and looked at Ochako, reaching over to place one hand on her cheek and gently pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Okay. Let's do this." Ochako smiled, returning his kiss to his forehead, letting out an acknowledging hum.
Izuku had to work very hard to keep his roiling emotions under wraps, to keep Eri from noticing. She'd woken up shortly after Ochako and him had, and of course she'd been hungry. Not that she was willing to ask for her food (and he understoodthat), but they knew she needed breakfast. Luckily her diet plan was pretty simple, and Izuku did know how to cook simple things. Ochako wanted to help, but her leg made it hard to stay standing without too much pain. Granted, Izuku wasn't feeling top of the world either, but if he didn't bend, he was okay, and standing at the stove for a few minutes wasn't an imposition.
He'd been tempted to only make breakfast for Eri and Ochako…but he knew Ochako would kill him if he did that. And he wasn't going to lethernot eat. So fine, he made enough for all three of them. It was weirdly…domestic, if he was being honest. Ochako was keeping Eri company (but she still hadn't spoken and Izuku wondered about that), and here he was, standing in a kitchen making breakfast for his girlfriend and a little girl they'd rescued from some f*cking Yakuza assholes.
In ahero'skitchen. It felt…off. Of course, this only happened because Izuku f*cked up. The sudden surge of self-loathing and rage made him freeze in place for a brief moment, having to force his shoulders to relax as he finished up their breakfast. He didn't have time to unpack this right now. Eri and Ochako needed a nice breakfast and deserved a chance to relax. Going off what Shouta had said, Eri was still only barely managing to make it through the days, and she'd been missing them.
Admittedly he wasn't surewhy. She'd only known them for a day, and it's not like they made a great impression, considering her first sight of Izuku was him busy getting nearly beheaded by a knife before he managed to break the guy's leg. Of course, that wasafterOchako brought half the complex down, so he would have thought she'd be evenmoreafraid of them, but nope. She was really focused on the two of them for some reason…and now she'd been more attached with them staying here.
He huffed out an annoyed breath as he plated the food. She needed tonotbe attached so she could have a real home! This entire event proved what he'd feared already…the two of them were going to get killed. Sooner rather than later. And if he kept f*cking up like this it'd be even sooner.f*ck!He cursed internally, barely keeping the grimace off his face. No matter what he did he couldn't keep it out of his mind. The fact he'd been taken out from thestart, making him a burden on his Ochako. He always knew he was a burden on her but this just cinched it. He should have never offered to work with her…if he hadn't, maybe she wouldn't have gotten mixed up in this and she'd not have a brokenleg!
No. No, not the time. He had to stay calm, collected. He had to focus. Breakfast first. Had to get his energy up to get healed soon. He carried the plates to the living room, and even with his foul mood, he couldn't help but brighten up just a bit at seeing his Ochako resting on the couch, quietly talking to Eri, the silver-haired child watching Ochako with bright, wide eyes, the ball of fluff that pretended it was a cat curled up in her arms.
"Breakfast," he announced quietly, drawing the attention of the two girls. He set Eri's plate down first on the coffee table, figuring for this they'd eat in the living room (he didn't want Ochako to have to get up). Once that was situated, he set Ochako's down, and with a smile he didn't feel, absconded into the kitchen to fix his own plate and bring it out (he knew if he didn't, Ochako wouldn't eat until he had his own).
The room was mostly silent as each of them started to eat, but Izuku noticed something off with Eri. Ochako picking at her food was normal…eventually she'd eat it all, but she'd always pick at it first. Eri though…she was mostly just poking at it with her chopsticks, her expression flat.
Izuku cleared his throat. "Eri? Is something wrong? Do you not like it?"
Eri shook her head from side to side, still staring at her breakfast but not saying anything. Izuku waited to see if she'd explain anything, but when she didn't he spoke up. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"
She seemed to ponder his question for a moment, before speaking quietly. "If I eat slower, time will go slower and you won't leave so fast."
Izuku blinked rapidly, feeling…well, he wasn't sure what he was feeling but it was alot. Ochako hissed in a deep breath, looking stricken, Eri still not looking up at either of them. Izuku swallowed thickly. "That's…that's not how time works, Eri."
Eri's face fell. "Oh…so you're going away now?"
"N-no!" Ochako replied, wincing at her own raised voice. She cleared her throat. "Um, we'll be here for a bit, um, we got banged up so…"
"Were you saving someone else?" Eri asked, looking up at Ochako with wide-eyes.
Izuku let out a humorless chuckle. "No, not this time. We just…got attacked, is all."
"O-Oh," Eri murmured. She looked at Izuku and then Ochako, scanning over them. "Are you okay now?"
"We're healin' just fine," Ochako reassured Eri, smiling wide. Eri nodded at her, turning back to her food and finally taking a bite.
Izuku waited for a bit, but his curiosity couldn't be contained anymore. He genuinely didn't getwhyEri was so attached, and he doubted she could tell him, but…"Eri?" he waited for her to give him her attention, continuing once he had it. "Why does it bother you if we're not here?"
Eri thought about her answer for a moment, before shrugging halfheartedly. "You saved me. I want to see you. I'm sorry for making you see me."
"No, no, don' apologize! We wanna see you too!" Ochako said, hands outstretched pleadingly.
"Then why did you leave?" Eri asked. Izuku winced. There was nothing accusatory in her eyes or voice, but the look of hurt in the child's gaze was enough to make him feel like trash.
Izuku wracked his brain for a way to explain it. After a moment, he knelt before Eri, looking at her sitting on the couch and spoke quietly. "It's because there are lots of bad guys out there, like the ones who hurt you. We're trying to stop them all, and make sure no one else gets hurt."
Eri looked confused for a moment. "But Sho and Zashi do that too, and they didn't leave?"
Ochako knelt on Izuku's other side, trying to back him up. "Yeah, but some of the stuff we gotta do is against the rules. They are heroes, they gotta follow those rules so they can't do as much as we can."
"But breaking the rules is bad, isn't it?"
Internally Izuku was cursing the fact they had asmartsix year old on their hands, because it made this really hard. He couldn't exactly explain the wholevigilantething to her…
"It's complicated," was all he could manage to say, getting a deadpan look from Ochako as Eri blinked at him.
After a few moments, Eri's shoulders slumped. "So youaregonna leave again," she murmured, looking down at the table.
Izuku shared another look with Ochako. They didn'twantto upset Eri, but they did plan on leaving once they could. Ochako tapped on the back of Izuku's hand, her code to tell him to let her take over. He leaned back, more room for Ochako to slide forward and reach out to grip Eri's hands. "Maybe we'll have ta leave, but it won' be for a while yet. So we'll be around for a bit, k? We'll be 'ere for ya," she said.
Eri looked up to stare into Ochako's eyes, ruby meeting chocolate, and then nodded slowly, seeming to decide she believed her. "O-okay," she murmured. Izuku's eyes noted Eri squeezing Ochako's hands tightly and held back a smile at how cute the two of them looked…even moreso when the cat, Bastard, decided he wanted to be in the middle of this and shoved his way into Eri's arms, bapping Ochako in her face with his fluffy tail and making her rock back, eyes blinking rapidly in confusion. Izuku couldn't help the snicker that escaped him, his girlfriend turning to glare at him.
Maybe this stay wouldn't be so bad, he mused. At least Eri was sweet, and spending time with Ochako in an actual warm place where they didn't have to worry about their next meal was…nice. Although it was only the first day…they'd have to see where it went from here.
"f*cking hell Deku, next time you wanna get your ass blown up just come tome, f*cking idiot!" Katsuki cursed, the first words he bothered to say as he stomped into Shouta's house. Behind him, Shouta was rolling his eyes as he took off his boots, sliding past the blonde teenager to greet his husband.
Izuku and Ochako had been doing fine with Eri most of the day. She'd been quiet, but opened up a bit when they asked her what she liked to do. She convinced the two of them to color with her, and once she realized Izuku could draw she'd pestered him to teach her how to, so he'd spent most of the morning helping her with her art. And then once she learned Ochako could actuallybuildthings, she'd been so excited to see what the brunette could do. Sadly, she lacked any of her tools, but with some playing cards they'd found in one of the drawers, she'd managed to construct a card pyramid that made Eri clap in glee. At least, until Bastard knocked it over. Luckily, the sight of the cat now covered in cards and looking offended by the fact they'd dared to fall uponhimhad mollified any upset feelings Eri got from seeing it fall over, and instead the excitement had led to her taking a nap after lunch.
When Hizashi had arrived, (and insisted they call him Hizashi or 'Zashi'), he'd found the two curled up on the couch, Eri on the one next to them. Izuku was laying with his head in her lap, a notebook propped up on his chest, tapping his pencil against his lips as he periodically wrote in it. Ochako had one hand buried in his hair, gently running her fingers through it, her eyes trained on the same notebook and occasionally offering her input.
Things had been pretty quiet for a while after that, Hizashi going to the dining room table to grade some papers, choosing to leave the vigilantes alone in the hopes they'd get more comfortable with his presence. Of course, the quiet was broken only a few hours later by theloudarrival of Katsuki Bakugo and Shouta, waking Eri up and making her stumble over her sleepy greetings.
Izuku let out a deep breath, sitting upright with a wince. "Hello to you too, Kacchan," he muttered, glaring up at his oldest friend.
Katsuki stared down at him for a moment, eyes narrowed, before letting out a huff and collapsing into the armchair next to them. "How bad is it?" he asked, looking in askance at the cast on Ochako's leg.
"I got a small stab and Ochako broke her leg, we're fine," Izuku replied flatly.
"He was impaled by a chunk of rebar and was in danger of a serious infection, and she broke her leg inmultipleplaces and needed a specialist to come in and repair it," Shouta deadpanned back, to the glower of the three assembled teenagers. He shrugged. "I didn't want to listen to you two fight over the truth until he finally forced it out of you."
Izuku chose to dismiss his words, rolling his eyes. "Fine, sure. Either way, we'll get better soon enough."
"Surprised the old lady didn't fix you two up already," Katsuki mused.
Ochako shrugged. "She said we're too exhausted or somethin'."
"Ah, yeah. That happens, her Quirk uses your own stamina to fix you," Katsuki replied, nodding.
Izuku waved it off. "We just need a couple more days and we'll be good to go."
"Not until the investigation clears," Shouta reminded him, making Izuku narrow his eyes. Shouta rolled his eyes in return. "You already know why. Just be patient, okay?"
"Police investigations takeforever, and half the time they get paid off by the very syndicates that they are chasing down. You cannotpossiblyexpect us to trust them on this," Izuku scoffed.
"I would normally agree with you, but I can personally vouch for the man leading this investigation. He's got the pull to keep an investigation going, and he's not someone who can be bought. You've probably heard of him, Detective Tsukauchi," Shouta replied, figuring those in their line of work would know of him.
"The truth cop? Yeah, guess he's okay," Ochako mused.
"It'll still take too damned long with all their red tape. We'd be able to do it much faster out there once we're healed up."
"Except you have no base and no equipment to work from," Shouta reminded him.
Ochako snorted. "We can just start over, it's no big deal. Sometimes ya lose what ya got, it's how the streets go. Jus' gotta pick yourself back up and push."
"Or, you let me help you, like I said I would," Shouta replied.
"Eraser-" Izuku began, before he was rudely cut off.
"Oh for f*cks sake, why are you even arguing about it now, you're too f*cked up to do anything anyways!" Katsuki interjected, letting out an annoyed growl. "Can't you f*cking focus on healing and sh*t first? Don't youwanther leg to get better?" He said, pointing at Ochako's cast.
Izuku's eyes went wide, but Ochako jumped in first, glaring at Katsuki. "Screw you, my leg'll be fine! And-"
"So you're okay that dumbass Deku over there is still in pain from being impaled?" he cut her off, making her mouth slam shut as she stared at him in consternation. Katsuki let out a snort, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair with a smug look. "That's what I f*cking thought. Just take a chill pill for once and heal up. sh*t sucks, doesn't mean you have to actively make itworse."
"...god you arestillso annoying," Izuku muttered, his shoulders slumping as the fight drained out of him.
"And f*cking proud of it!"
Shouta arched an eyebrow, before deciding to let this go. The argument wasn't over, but itwasgoing in circles so maybe it was best to let it go for now. "Since you're stuck here for a while, would you be willing to meet with Nighteye and go over how you took down the Shie Hassaikai? We want to wrap up the case. And don't worry, we'll keep details about you two to a minimum."
Izuku's hand clasped Ochako's, the brunette quickly tapping on the back of his hand, Izuku tapping back rapidly. After a few moments, Ochako looked up and nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."
"Good. We'll set something up for this weekend," Shouta replied absently.
Katsuki broke the silence with a grunt, reaching into his pocket. He pulled something out of it, keeping it cupped in his hand and out of everyone's sight, but the way his shoulders had tensed up and how nervous he looked made Shouta look at him with narrowed eyes. He cleared his throat. "Hey uh, Deku?"
Izuku looked up at Katsuki, blinking. "Yeah?"
"So, uh…I have something of yours I've um, wanted to give back to you since…since then, ya know?" Katsuki looked uncomfortable, glancing down at his hand and at the floor, not meeting anyone's eyes.
Izuku slowly sat up, ignoring the pain in his abdomen as he leaned forward. This was really strange behavior for Katsuki, and he was rather confused. "Um…okay?"
Katsuki's free hand clenched into a fist, a small 'pop' escaping him. "So…the day you um…vanished, you didn't come to school, right?"
Izuku's voice was low, soft, but full of tension as he said "yes?"
"So I went to your house to check on you, and…no, f*ck, no. We don't have to go over that," Katsuki cut himself off, hopping to his feet and taking a few steps away. Shouta backed off, giving the teenager room, but kept a careful eye on both the blonde and Izuku. Izuku's eyes had gone wide, the words unsaid now filtering into the room as everyone realizedwhocalled in the attack on the Midoriya house. Katsuki walked in a circle, shaking his hands out, still keeping the one cupped around something.
"A-Anyways, after, after all that sh*t was dealt with, um, Mom and Dad um, they, they packed up your stuff and Auntie's stuff and, yeah. W-we have it in storage. But um, I t-took something, cause I wanted it to you know, remind me of what I gotta f*cking do. And now you're back so, so I want to give it back to you, okay? So…so…f*ck, just…here!" Katsuki strode across the room, shoving his hand in Izuku's face, revealing…a heavy duty plastic card case?
Izuku's hand trembled as he took the case, looking into it, seeing a single, pristine card lovingly sleeved, encased in the plastic…a first edition premium All Might card, the same one he and Katsuki had opened when they were four years old…and across the front of it,All Might's autograph, scribbled in black pen.
Izuku stared at it, frozen in place, before his head ever so slowly creaked up to look at Katsuki, the blonde teen biting his lip as he looked everywhere but at Izuku. Izuku's hand shook, a choked sob escaping his throat. Katsuki had kept this, kept it waiting, gotten it signed, just in case Izuku ever came back, and if not, as a reminder…Izuku almost dropped the card, nerveless fingers losing their grip, but Ochako's quick thinking caught it and pressed it between Izuku's hands as Izuku curled in on himself, tears building up in the corner of his eyes.
Ochako looked up at Katsuki, kicking his foot with her uninjured one to make him look up at her. With tears brimming in her own eyes, she offered him a wobbly smile, and mouthed 'Thank you' to him. Katsuki furiously wiped at his own eyes, giving her a short, jerky nod, before spinning about and stomping over to the armchair he'd been sitting in, collapsing into it and refusing to look at anyone.
Shouta decided he wasn't needed in the room right now. As quietly as he could, ignoring the near silent sobs from the green-haired teenager, he headed into the kitchen to join his husband and let the kids have their privacy. They needed time to compose themselves before anything else came up, some time to justfeel, and he'd make sure they got that.
