It isn't often that Shouta has a truly restful sleep, no trouble getting to sleep, no interruptions, no waking up groggy and irritable. Today's post-patrol nap was an exception, a glorious experience to be treasured. Now all he needs is some coffee and all will be right with the world.
He feels like he might be forgetting something.
Ah well, he trudges into the kitchen for his coffee and glances at the living room. Hizashi is sitting on the couch which is a little odd, he's usually working on breakfast around this time. Coffee obtained he heads to the living room to see what's up.
Oh yeah, that's what he was forgetting, there's a child in their apartment. A child who is currently leaning heavily on his husband and dozing, evidence of recent crying obvious to anyone paying even the least amount of attention. Hopefully that's not a terrible sign, they'd both agreed that Hizashi would try to talk to him before Shouta got up so as not to overwhelm him. Well, he is trusting Hizashi enough to sleep on him so that's good. Shouta takes a long sip of his coffee and walks into Hizashi's line of sight. He's wearing his hearing aids but he doesn't want to risk waking the kid before he can get some answers so he signs.
How'd it go?
How would you feel if I asked you to help me hide some bodies.
That bad, huh.
I am going to destroy several careers. He accidently told me that he's quirkless and immediately spiraled into a panic attack, begged me not to hurt him!
Shouta finds himself smiling a little inside as his husband rants, still so careful not to gesture too widely or too quickly and wake the kid up. He cares so much, it's wonderful. The discussion may be heavy and upsetting but Hizashi has always had a strong sense of justice and no matter how much he sees over the years it doesn't waver or falter. He pays close attention as Hizashi tells him everything he's discovered and his theories as to what happened, scowling furiously at how thoroughly this child has been failed.
Quirk discrimination, bane of his existence.
Hizashi's just gotten done giving him the rundown when Izu stirs a little. Shouta can tell by the way he signs and the way he holds him he's attached, very attached. He starts to resign himself to the reality that they have a new addition to the household, provided that's what Izu wants. From what Hizashi's said, he's not sure either of them would trust him with anyone else. He hopes Izu likes him.
The kid squirms a bit more and then is awake all at once, jumping back to the other side of the couch and apologizing quickly and quietly over and over. Shouta leaves Hizashi to do the soothing, especially since Izu doesn't seem to have noticed his presence yet, steadfastly looking at the ground. After he's been reassured that it's ok, he's not upset that he fell asleep, and manages to calm down a little he turns and freezes like a deer in the headlights. Shouta makes eye contact and finishes his coffee. Once he's sure the kid's just surprised and not panicking he speaks.
"Hello, I'm Aizawa Shouta. I married that one."
He tilts his head in Hizashi's direction.
"h-hello, I'm, um-uh, I-I don't... you can c-call me Izu."
"It's nice to meet you Izu, don't be afraid to tell us your full name when your ready. We can protect you if you need it."
"um..." He makes significant eye contact with Hizashi and Shouta can tell he's trying to ask if he told him his quirk status.
"I told him Little Listener, I didn't want to upset you but I wanted both of us on the same page. I promise he won't hurt you or treat you any differently."
He seems to accept that and nods a little.
"ok."
"I'll make breakfast this morning, any allergies?"
Shouta waits for him to shake his head before heading to the kitchen to get started. He hears soft talking for a few more minutes before there's movement in the hallway. Hizashi probably telling the kid what's going on today. He wasn't able to get out of his late morning to afternoon patrol so it'll just be Shouta and Izu for awhile. Hopefully it isn't too horribly awkward.
-
He decides to go with some miso soup, rice and a few easy side dishes. No need to make the kid's stomach upset with anything too heavy. He makes sure to give him a slightly smaller portion as well. They don't want him overwhelmed but they don't want him to think he's going to be neglected either. He's a pleasantly surprised when the kid, still swamped in his old clothes, timidly makes his way over and stands next to the kitchen counter fiddling anxiously with his sleeves.
"Um, do, um, d-do you need any help Ai-Aizawa-san?"
"nah, I've got it handled, thanks kid. You can sit at the counter while you wait if you want though."
Izu nods and after a short internal battle takes one of the stools and peaks up at Shouta nervously from time to time. Shouta does his best not to look back at him and focuses on the food, he doesn't want him to feel watched or distrusted. After a few minutes of quiet, Hizashi comes back in his full hero costume. Shouta's a little surprised to note the kid doesn't seem surprised to see he's Present Mic, he must have told him at some point. He can see a little spark of intelligent interest as the kid eyes certain parts of his outfit, especially the cleverly hidden support aspects. It's well disguised but Shouta can tell if the kid wasn't so nervous and unsure, he'd probably have a lot of questions.
Breakfast goes well, Hizashi sets about chattering on about nothing important. Shouta doesn't contribute much but the normalcy seems to help the kid relax a little. He gets through most of his rice before slowing down to a crawl. Before either of them are ready Hizashi has grabbed his directional speaker and rushed out the door, leaving them alone.
No... he needs his extrovert social buffer. It doesn't help that the kid noticeably tenses up once Hizashi's gone, shrinking into himself to appear smaller, less of a threat. The hoodie several times his size just makes it hurt more to watch.
He does a poor job of hiding his flinch when Shouta stands perhaps a little too abruptly. Shouta ignores it and moves to clean up the table.
"I-I'm sorry I d-didn't eat more." Comes a timid, shaky voice.
"It's fine kid, I wasn't surprised you didn't finish it."
"What?"
"I'm going to assume you haven't been getting regular meals lately." He gets a pathetic head shake in response. "You'll have to work yourself up to normal meals, it'll take awhile but don't worry we'll get you there."
He carefully doesn't acknowledge the shocked look on the kid's face at his casual admittance that they intend this to be long term and finishes up clearing the table. The kid hesitantly stands and follows at a safe distance, apparently unwilling to let him out of his sight but also uncomfortable in his presence. How is he going to handle this?
Wait. They have cats.
Shouta is a certifiable genius, master of making children less terrified.
"Hey kid," the child startles at being addressed, "I heard you met Tuna last night. Want to meet the others?"
"Others?"
Shouta just snorts and gestures to him to follow down the hallway. They'd moved their stuff and shut them in the bedroom last night to avoid any issues. Opening the door he's greeted by Tuna who immediately beelines to wind around the kid's legs.
"There's Tuna again, friendliest one of the bunch as I'm sure you've seen." He smiles just a little at the awed expression gracing Izu's face as he crouches to pet her. Turning back to the room he scoops up a thoroughly disgruntled black cat. "This is Aiko, she's old and grumpy so give her some time to warm up to you." Setting her down he reaches for the final cat, a half grown tabby. "This is Sake, I found him hiding in a box of empty Sake bottles, hence the name. He's weird, he makes his decision about whether he likes you almost right away and there's no changing his mind once it's made up."
Shouta leans against the wall and watches Izu try desperately to balance his attention between all three cats. Aiko comes up to inspect him and leaves to go back to her nap looking generally unimpressed. Sake, as usual, makes his decision almost instantly and joins Tuna in showering the poor kid in affection. This goes on for awhile before they both leave to wander off and find something better to do. By the end, Izu looks more relaxed and he's stopped watching every movement Shouta makes like the next one might be the one to hurt.
Satisfied that the cats have worked their magic, Shouta draws Izu's attention back to him. He's proud to see that only some of the tension from before returns.
"Hizashi made up the spare room for you last night if you want to see it."
He gets an anxious nod and leads the way a little further down the hall, stopping once they reach the door on the end. He opens it and gestures for the kid to go in. It's pretty plain but it's clean and doesn't smell at all of dust like spare rooms are inclined to. It has a desk and bookshelf and a bed. There's plenty of space for personality to be added later on. Izu looks a little overwhelmed, like he thought Hizashi and Shouta weren't being serious the times they hinted and outright stated they intended him to stay. He gives him a few minutes to process before gently speaking again.
"I know you might not believe us, but both Hizashi and I want you here. We may have just met but I'm not lying when I say we fully intend for you to stay long term, quirkless or not. Hear me out here, Hizashi filed some paperwork to document you staying with us anonymously. It's a temporary measure and long term we would need some more information but I hope you can trust us enough to try."
He's not surprised when Izu starts crying again, although the kid himself seems taken aback as he chokes back on sobs.
"I-I think I can try."
"That's all we ask."
-
He's not sure how the kid will handle it so he doesn't try to offer a hug or anything, just waits for him to compose himself a little and guides them both back to the couch. There's still a couple hours before Hizashi's patrol ends and he knows he's planning on doing some shopping for the kid afterwards. Tuna, no doubt attracted by the crying, pays them a visit and plunks herself down on Izu's lap, much to his quiet joy. Shouta sits back and lets the quiet atmosphere calm him, thinking of how best to proceed. The kid's a little less jumpy and anxious around him, he's introduced the cats, shown him his room and made sure he knew their intentions. Mission accomplished in many ways, but there's still a lot to do and he doesn't want to mess anything up.
He lets himself bask in the peace for a few minutes before deciding to move on.
"Kid." He waits for him to pull his attention away from the cat. "Is there anything you have where you've been staying that you want to get? If there is we don't have to get it now but if we do we can pick something up for lunch after."
He watches carefully from behind feigned nonchalance as the kid shrinks into himself again and starts anxiously twisting his fingers together. It looks like it hurts but Shouta needs to wait for him to come to his own conclusion without too much pressure. He can hear breathless mumbling, not loud enough to make anything out but it's easy to guess the kid's talking himself through every way this could go wrong and how much he wants to risk for his stuff. Eventually he comes to a conclusion and looks up.
"Um, A-are you g-going to c-come?"
"Yes, I don't want you wandering around by yourself. You might get hurt or attacked again."
"O-ok, uh, it's k-kinda far..."
"I don't mind."
"ok."
"If you don't mind I'd like to check your arm before we go, make sure it isn't getting infected."
He makes quick work of checking the cut, as Hizashi said it isn't deep. It probably should have been checked earlier but thankfully there's no sign of infection. He rewraps it in new bandages and they head out.
-
Izu guides him through the streets until they reach the trash beach on the edge of town. It's a good choice all things considered. No one goes there for fear of falling trash and the smell of rotting garbage. Anyone looking for him isn't liable to search anywhere near there. It's upsetting to watch him duck into the piles with practiced familiarity. A child was forced to live in such conditions, but pity won't do anyone any good. All he can do now is his best.
Shouta waits the edge of the beach, Izu had looked uncomfortable with him going all the way so he waited outside with the promise the kid would yell if something happened. After a few minutes of getting accustomed to the smell and general unpleasantness of standing on the outskirts of an unmaintained garbage dump Izu returns with his meagre belongings. A worn-out yellow backpack filled to the brim with clothes and notebooks.
"It's still early, want to go home and drop your stuff off or have lunch first?"
Is he being a little presumptuous calling it home this soon? They've collectively known this kid less than 24 hours. No, he decides after seeing the slight wonder cross the kid's face before he schools his expression back. No, It's not too soon. He doesn't allow himself to second guess himself and carefully telegraphs his movements and ruffles the kid's hair once he nervously agrees to head back. Enjoying the lack of a flinch and the little squeak of surprise he gets for the action before Izu leans into the affection contentedly.