Hizashi never thought he'd be quite such a mess at the prospect of sending his child to school, granted he's still getting used to the concept of actually having a child, but sending the little one off stresses him out more than he'd like to admit. He'd never been opposed to having children, in fact he always wanted them and he loves Izuku so much, it's just none of his dreams involved sending a terrified child to school.
Izuku spends the entire time getting ready attempting the bravest face he can manage and trying to hide his fear. Hizashi can see right through it, he knows Shouta can too. But Izu is trying so hard and it won't do them any good not to let him try. He's so brave.
Hizashi tries not to worry too much and sends him off with a promise that they won't be mad if it doesn't work out, they can find something else. He knows they would do almost anything to keep him safe and if that means something different, it means something different.
He forces himself to focus the whole day, trying not to get irritated as time seems to crawl. He just wants to know how if he's alright! He doesn't get any calls which is either a good sign or Izuku is still too scared to bother him. Shouta has to stay after school for some hero course activities so Hizashi heads home first.
-
Izuku seems tired mostly, from what Hizashi can tell at first glance. It's the exhaustion of being on edge all day waiting for an ambush. Hizashi's come home like that more than once, still twitchy but too tired to actually stay fully tense and prepared.
Hizashi holds his questions as the little one droops in the entryway. He's glad to see the remaining tension seem to melt off him as soon as he's in the door. He's so glad he feels safe enough with Hizashi to unwind. Of course, that means he almost tilts over completely before he manages to catch himself. He gently takes his backpack from him and guides him over to the couch.
He's out almost immediately, curled up on his side and relaxed.
Hizashi takes some time to grade papers at the kitchen counter before starting dinner. He's got a new appreciation for little moments like this, the only thing that could make it better would be Shouta.
Alas, they must do their best with what they have and he'll take what he can get. He's just started dinner prep when Izuku stirs and stumbles over to the counter with Tuna in his arms. She must have joined him at some point. He looks adorably befuddled and confused in the way only an afternoon nap can make a person. His hair is a mess and his uniform needs ironing.
Hizashi smiles at him and doesn't hold back from offering a hug, he blinks blankly for a second before relaxing into it and Hizashi can't resist mussing up his hair a little more. He's just so cute!
"Hello Little Listener, how was your day?"
He scrunches up his nose and considers the question while he moves to sit down at the counter, Hizashi is stubbornly taking that as a good sign. It can't have been totally awful if he has to think about it.
"It was scary. I almost said Mi-Midoriya instead of um, Y-Yamada." He blushes and Hizashi stifles a sudden desire to coo. "I-I've n-never had a n-nice time at school but i-it wasn't as bad th-this time. I think, I think I m-might have made a f-friend Yamada-san."
He seems, not startled exactly, by the admission, but so amazed and almost unbelieving, looking at Hizashi with wide sparkling eyes. It almost breaks his heart all over again.
"That's great Izu, I'm so glad." And he is, for all he wants to rage at the world for making him expect to be hated instead of loved, he's so happy for him.
"I-I met him b-before, um, remember w-when I was 8, my foster parents l-liked to l-lock me in a cl-closet." Of course Hizashi remembers that, he spent most of that part of Tsukauchi's interview trying very hard not to scream or look angry. "Th-they locked o-other kids in with m-me sometimes, especially o-ones with 'sc-scary quirks' and he held my h-hand. His name's Hitoshi. We had lunch t-together today."
"Well, I'm glad you found each other again." And what else is Hizashi supposed to say, that he's sorry that happened in the first place? Of course he is, but that isn't what's important and it's not something he can change.
Izuku nods vigorously and looks down to pet Tuna.
"He has a nice f-family now and h-he likes cats. I t-told him about Tuna and Aiko and Sake. D-do you th-think he c-could maybe m-meet them s-someday?"
"Of course Izu, we'd love to meet your friend and I'm sure the cats would too." He lightly bops Tuna's head as he says it and she attempts a gentle swat back.
Izuku just nods again, subdued this time. He has a content little smile on his face and it warms Hizashi's heart to see. No fear, no wariness, just contentment and maybe a little bubbling happiness at having a friend.
Hizashi smiles and holds out his hand.
"Wanna help me peel some vegetables before Shouta gets home? I want to hear all about this Hitoshi!"
Izuku reaches out a hand and Hizashi lets his smile turn into a grin.
Shouta finally stumbles in right around dinner time. He announces his presence and pulls off his boots. Instead of a cat coming to greet him like usual it's Izuku who pads over to the entryway and peaks around the corner.
"Hey kid," he pauses in taking off his capture weapon to wave vaguely in greeting.
"W-welcome back Aizawa-san."
Shouta allows a tiny smile and nods his thanks before going back to his capture weapon. Izuku scampers back to whatever he was doing before.
-
Shouta stands by the counter and basks in the quiet atmosphere of the kitchen. Hizashi is stirring some side dish and smiling, pure joy in his eyes. Izuku is standing next to the counter, fiddling with a little scrap of paper.
Shouta has noticed that Izuku seems to like their company. He isn't confident or comfortable enough yet to seek out physical comfort unprompted but more often than not Shouta or Hizashi find themselves with a little shadow. Sometimes he sits quietly at the kitchen counter and works on his notebooks, sometimes he'll nap on the couch while one of them works. It's such a quiet but profound sign of trust that he's willing to be so vulnerable so soon.
They'd honestly expected him to hide away more in the beginning, but even when his eyes are haunted and it's clear he's remembering horrors they will never understand, he stays with them. He's hesitant to intrude but desperately wants their companionship whether he consciously realizes it or not.
Good thing he isn't and won't ever be intruding. Shouta walks over to stand next to Izuku and offers him a gentle hair ruffle. He unconsciously leans into it which is admittedly adorable.
He takes a second to look over Hizashi's shoulder at the food and notices the valiant but ultimately failed efforts of an inexperienced hand.
"You help with dinner?" He murmurs, pulling Izuku closer and tucking him into his side, hand still gently resting on the kid's curls.
Izuku responds with a small affirmative sound and a shy nod.
"Looks good," he pretends not to see the happy smile at the comment and ruffles his hair again for good measure.
-
Dinner is nice, Shouta loves relaxing and listening to Izuku's stumbling retellings of having lunch with his new friend, at least it better be a new friend. This Hitoshi kid had better make sure to be a good one.
He lets himself smile, one of his nice ones, and eats his wonderful meal with its poorly chopped vegetables. They taste good all the same.
His post-dinner plans begin and end with a nap, he has a half-patrol and has no intentions of going through it half awake.
He wakes up long after the rest of the household has gone to sleep and heads out.
-
His patrol is fine. Nothing too exciting or too dull, which obviously means something is bound to go wrong somewhere.
He makes it back home without issue. It doesn't help his sense that something is wrong. He listens carefully for anything that might possibly be amiss, narrowing his eyes and hoping his perpetual exhaustion is making him paranoid.
His answer comes when he hears a small distressed noise coming from Izuku's room. He barely stops himself from entering unannounced and knocks on the doorframe to let him know of his presence.
There's a quiet gasp and a slightly less muffled sob and Shouta takes it as permission, or at the very least awareness.
He kneels by the bed and looks into shiny, distressed eyes. Izuku's only somewhat present, still trapped in the last vestiges of his nightmares. He doesn't know what terrors or memories haunt him so he just holds out a hand in silent offering. The kid chokes back another sob, searching Shouta's face for something. He must find it because he grasps his hand with silent desperation and pulls himself into an awkward cling around his neck.
Shouta doesn't bother with anything other than try to maneuver them into a more comfortable position. It's not easy with how Izuku's arms around his neck or listening to the heartbreaking sobs wracking his entire frame but he manages.
He sits with a lapful of child for a very long time, trying to soothe. He sets a hand on his head and gently, rhythmically brushes through his curls. This isn't something he has a lot of experience with but Hizashi and he agreed, they're in this together. No matter what, he knew this child would have him out of his comfort zone many times. He loves him too much already to leave him to fight his nightmares alone.
Eventually the sobs transition into hitching gasps and quiet sniffles. He doesn't let go and neither does Shouta. He leans his head back and waits, if Izuku wants to say something he'll be here, if he doesn't he'll be here too. He doesn't seem inclined to at the moment at least, shifting so he's buried even further into Shouta's side, hiding his face from the world.
Once Shouta figures he's calmed down some he speaks, never halting in his soothing movements.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
A desperate shake of the head is his only answer, his frame tense with trepidation, as if Shouta would force him to answer.
"Alright, that's fine. Do you think you can go back to sleep? Do you want me to leave?"
His head whips up and Shouta can see the answers in his still shiny, haunted eyes.
"Ok, mind if we go somewhere more comfortable?"
He waits until he sees a tiny, hesitant nod and shifts to pick him up. He's still too light but it's much better than before. A sign of progress to be proud of. He sets them both up on the couch and secures blankets, Izuku's eyes tracking his every movement. He relaxes once Shouta returns and goes back to clinging. Shouta's never been more glad for his ability to fall asleep nearly anywhere, even if he wakes up to a crick in his neck and a teasing husband.
He makes one last check on Izuku and, deciding he's about as fine as he's going to get under the circumstances, allows himself to drift off.
Hizashi wakes up alone. Which is odd and slightly worrying but not panic inducing just yet. It wouldn't be the first time Shouta collapsed on the couch and forgot to move afterwards. He just hopes he was responsible enough not to have any actively bleeding wounds this time.
He gets up and dresses quickly, anxious to locate his husband even if it is just another incident of him falling face first into the nearest soft object. He quietly makes it out of their bedroom and heads to the living room, careful not to make any noise and disturb the early morning peace.
The sight that greets him is adorable.
Shouta is half sprawled across the couch, his legs half hanging off and one arm draped over the side. That cannot be comfortable. Shouta, you have back problems!
The other arm is curled around the little figure in his arms.
Oh, that explains the couch. Izuku is sleeping, laying draped over Shouta, almost trying to bury himself in his arms. His cheeks are covered in tear tracks and he's clinging desperately even in his sleep.
For as much as it grieves him that Izu was obviously upset, he can't deny that Izuku's willingness to accept comfort is an important step. He can't say he's surprised either, they knew there had to be lingering trauma and nightmares were something they had both guessed. It's just that Izu is so quiet most of the time, not wanting to burden them with his problems. Too bad, Hizashi signed up for that and so did Shouta. It comes with having a child.
There's no way either of them would deny him. Hizashi sneaks back to his bedroom and grabs his phone, a few quick pictures and he's satisfied. The adorable scene captured for the future. He finishes getting ready, starts up the coffee machine and leaves Shouta and Izuku alone for as long as he conceivably can.
Tragically, it's only Tuesday and it probably wouldn't help Izuku's obvious desire to go unnoticed if he missed his second day of school. Hizashi crouches down next to the couch and takes Izu's hand, rubbing lightly back and forth with his thumb to wake him up.
His faces scrunches before he opens his eyes and squirms a little to better focus on Hizashi's face.
"hey there." He whispers softly.
"morning Yamada-san." Comes the reply, just as soft.
"feeling up to getting ready for the day?"
He yawns and nods sleepily. Unfortunately for him his attempts to actually get up are quickly thwarted. Shouta has always been a bit clingy in his sleep and doesn't let him go. He wiggles a little before huffing and turning back to Hizashi. Hizashi has no intentions of helping though and smiles back at him innocently.
Izuku gives him a slightly betrayed look. Hizashi is delighted! Izuku's never done that before! He must be getting more comfortable!
Izuku tries again and slumps when it doesn't work. Shouta would probably let him up if he really struggles of course, even asleep, so Hizashi isn't worried. He watches with delight as Izuku attempts a new tactic. He gets his arm free and, after some hesitation, pokes Shouta's cheek lightly.
Getting no reaction from Shouta, he tries again, with a tiny bit more force before quickly pulling back. Hizashi watches gleefully as Shouta's face scrunches and he blinks, trying to make sense of the world before focusing in on Izuku.
"m-morning Aizawa-san." He looks a little nervous but Shouta doesn't bother acknowledging his wake up methods.
"morning kid, feeling better?"
Izuku hums a quiet affirmative but doesn't look like he wants to talk anymore so Shouta lets him up and watches him scamper off, grimacing as he stretches his back and finds it unhappy. Hizashi graciously refrains from commenting and fetches a cup of coffee.
They come together again at the table for breakfast. Shouta's coffee hasn't kicked in yet so he's still half-asleep. Izuku is a bundle of nervous energy, fidgeting and still in turn. Hizashi bumps his shoulder lightly and grins. Hoping to distract him with a story about a date Shouta showed up for soaked all the way through. His description of Shouta's shoes squeaking loudly through the whole restaurant has Shouta glaring half-heartedly and Izuku glancing back and forth between the two of them and giggling.
"I'm telling you Izu, it wasn't even raining that hard! I couldn't imagine how he'd managed it! You know what he told me?" He glances dramatically in Shouta's direction before turning to stage whisper the answer to Izuku. "He saw a cat! stuck! in a box! right underneath a leaky gutter! so, obviously he had to rescue the poor dear." He ignores the grumbled "obviously" from across the table. Hizashi is proud to see the tension and nerves slowly seep out of Izuku's body as the story goes on.
"But! He also didn't want to cancel our date so, his solution?" He pauses for proper dramatic effect. "He rescues the cat and runs the rest of the way to the restaurant sopping wet! Instead of, I don't know, telling me he'd be late and running home to change or finding something to try and block some of the water."
"It was fine! The food was good and I wasn't even late!" Shouta finally cuts in to defend his honor.
Hizashi smiles indulgently and continues. "We got it to go and went home so he wouldn't get sick. No common sense that one."
Shouta huffs and grumbles but his eyes are fond. Hizashi loves that story, he hadn't quite realized how serious Shouta was before he saw him, out of breath and dripping wet, standing outside the little family restaurant Hizashi had picked on a whim. Hizashi has plenty of worries but for now, looking at his family, he thinks everything is going to be alright.