Finding Arcadia

So I’m currently working on putting out a few more chapters of Made For Him. Writing a first person point of view smut scene is hard. I mean...Izuku is baby...like should he really be saying dick and cock. Like he DOESN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT SEX IS GUYS! lol 

But no in all seriousness, 1st POV smut scenes are hard and I’m dying so when they come out onto AO3 please don’t hurt me if they are cringy. I’m trying lol. Any and all pointers are welcome. Oh and I finally have someone to beta my work. She’ll be drawing a few things for the fic as well which I will post up here. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818468/chapters/66040222

Chapter 4 : Disharmony

The two of us sat in silence for a bit, drinking in the sounds of nature. Me more so than Shoto, who was undoubtedly enjoying the sensation of my fingers running through his hair. To this day my mind could not understand why he dyed it but nonetheless went with it. To be honest it looked good on him. Him and his two-colored eyes. We sat on Yua’s porch watching our group of friends and family play, get dirty, and wrestle through the dirt. I loved each and every one of them in their own way. That included the older people in our ‘family’. Thinking about this family brought my mind to the many unanswered questions I still had.

What exactly are we?

Why is everything a secret?

What is it that lingers around and tugs at me?

Am I crazy?

Living in Washington, let alone a town so close to the border of Canada it was 50 percent forest and more beyond the United States border and mostly protected by laws – laws that forbade many from trespassing on certain lands or deforesting. I never understood the importance of that until recently, the forests were our home. We were woodland people if anyone had to label us. I never understood why part of that many questions deal. We stayed away from the towns and people mostly. We’ve lived here in Spokane since we came to America.

In my time here I did notice many things, people steered clear of us. The other kids rarely spoke to us. We were labeled weird and barbaric for living in the woods and surviving the way we do. I’d like to think we were normal….mostly. We lived like anyone else, shopped for food, hunted for the winter, used furs to help warm us along with some luxuries. We just kept to ourselves. Like a tribe. Or a pack.

“Izuku…”

My mind raced, dark green bunnies zipping about on my life and questions that I barely heard the words that came from my best friend.

“Earth to Izuku.”

I took a breath and pulled my hand from his hair and looked down at him. “Sorry, mind bunnies.”

“I see that. What is going on in that head of yours?” He said as he turned slightly toward me.

“Would you believe me if I said absolutely nothing?”

“No.” Shoto deadpanned.

Sighing I tugged the blanket around myself and up to my chin. “You know, we’ve been here for a long time.”

“And?”

“I’m just saying. Anyway, it’s been what eleven years.” I said softly through the fabric while looking out at the slowly dimming light. Aizawa would most likely want me safely inside the house, and he would probably call Yua just for kicks to make sure I was home. “No one has changed.”

Shoto paused in his motion of attempting to get up and let his eyes shift toward me.

There was a long pause that made something in my head sound an alarm.

Something was not right.

“Change?” he asked. “Change as in personality-wise or what? We don’t need to change who we are or what we do because here we are a family. We look after one another. Why change?”

Smooth Shoto Todoroki, real smooth.

“Yeah…” I agreed knowing full well he detoured the true meaning behind my statement earlier.

“Come on, worrywart. Let’s get you inside.” Shoto stated as he turned and lifted himself to his feet. He offered a hand to help me from my comfortable spot and sadly I took it mourning the warmth and comfort that I had at that very moment. Letting the blanket slip from around me ungracefully, I shoved it back into the chair and allowed Shoto to pull me towards him and ultimately toward the door.

“Aww look at you being a good babysitter. You brought me back home right at curfew.” I taunted. “I’m sure if you sit and give paw, you’ll get treats.”

Shoto just stared at me while I had gotten my keys out and had them in the door ready to open it. “Forget Aizawa and his issues,” Shoto said as he moved away from me with a small smirk on his lips. “You’re lucky I let you live past childhood.”

A snort gracefully slipped out of me, or as gracefully as a snort could. Before I could say anything Shoto swatted my backside and took off, off the porch, and along the path toward his family’s house. His agility to this day confuses me and makes me a little uneasy. Shaking my head I opened the door and walked in, toeing my shoes off at the front. The house Yua and I lived in was designed similar to a traditional Japanese house. Well at least on the inside. Shoes off at the genkan.

“Hang your jacket up!” Yua’s voice floated through the house from the kitchen. Her senses always amazed me, her knack for knowing who was in the house or what was going on was unreal, but hey I guess that is a mom thing. What’s funny is that I had been seconds away from just tossing my jacket either on the floor or on a chair.

Making my way to the kitchen I spotted the mother-to-be, or already mother… I don’t even know anymore. She was creating a concoction of things. Taking a sniff, I could smell a weird mix. “Onions, peaches, chocolate, noodles…” I paused watched her add pickle juice while she had a cookie shoved in her mouth. “I’m ordering take out.”

“Awww Izu, you don’t want some?”

I looked on in horror, surveying the dishes and chopped vegetables on the counter and the other empty containers. “Nope.” I declared. “You and your craving have just created a monster sickness in my stomach.”

Yua giggled and shrugged while she attended her…whatever it was.

“Where’s the beef?”

With all the weird craving this woman had, there was always meat involved. Beef usually, ground and made into the perfect meatballs, or shredded and sprinkled over something. I swear the baby was a carnivorous beast and it made its mother eat weird nasty meat concoctions. Ah, the price of motherhood. Those dark, fuzzy, hopping creatures were back in my brain. Lately, weird things had been happening when it came to Yua, her abdomen would swelling and something it looked like the baby was having a party in there, other times her abdomen would be a normal size for someone who was as pregnant as she was. I had thought to ask but assumed it would go into the pile of unanswered questions.

“Hey.” Yua touched my chin. “I’m going to be okay.” I wondered briefly when I had zoned out long enough for her to waddle herself toward me.

“Mind reader.” It was like this woman knew me so well that my thought never escaped her.

Yua just smiled and pulled away from me with her hand pulled up into fists, like she was ready to throw a punch. “I’m a fighter, besides I’m just pregnant not…”

“I know…”

I didn’t want to think of anything happening to the one person aside from Aizawa that helped nurture me and raise me. For an orphaned child she has never met, Yua had given up being anything normal and risen to the plate of motherhood. She gave me a home and made sure of our places in this family. She stood up to many people when it came to me and my mischief, Aizawa included. You know I think that was why we were together like this because Aizawa saw her love and care and willingness to fight for someone she knew nothing about.

“You’re gonna be okay.” I whispered to myself, hoping that if repeated enough I would believe it. That if said enough like prayer, it would be true. Pregnancies are difficult, sometimes women die in childbirth. Especially if the family was insistent on home birth, those were difficult if there were complications.

Shut up brain.

“Alistair?” Changing the subject was the best considering where my brain decided to go. Stupid bunnies making my train of thought run wild. Yua’s husband, the man she left Japan for. He usually was glued to her side, never one to leave for fear of something happening. Hence the fear instilled into me. Besides, Yua could cook and he never missed her meals. Even if I was not fond of the man, he just gave me weird vibes, his absence was a bit strange to me.

“He won’t be home tonight.” She said as she waddled back and forth in the kitchen, messing with her mixture of food. “Try this.”

Having let the mind bunnies free to dash and hop I realized too late that I took the bite offer. I had regrets, major regrets. Never again was I allowing this woman to feed me. Her food, I wanted no part of any longer. “Disgusting!” I had spit it out in the trash and proceeded to drown my mouth with anything sugary to get the taste out of my mouth.

“Hmmm…” she said and spooned a portion into her mouth. “Your loss, I guess.”

I gagged and proceeded to take large gulps of the soda I had opened. “I’m gonna throw up.”

Yua shrugged and proceeded with her project. At this point there was no other word for it, the food was a project made for the science fair. It was a concoction made of pure pregnant evil.

“I swear, if I didn’t know you, I’d say you were evil.”

“Then you don’t know me very well.” She said as she took another spoonful.

“Yeah, on that note.” I left the kitchen in search of the takeout menus we had stashed somewhere for when Shoto and I had those boring nights of video games and crap talk. “Alistair isn’t home, even though he’s like your guard dog. Aizawa has given me a curfew and gave me babysitters. You’re messing around with me in hopes of distracting me from asking questions.” I yelled as I dug through the side table drawer in the living room. “What’s going on?”

Yua’s form appeared in the entryway of the kitchen leading toward the dining and living area. “Izuku, do me a favor. Stay out of it.” Her expression was one of pleading and I turned away from her face to look at the now found menus.

There was silence on my end. I couldn’t stay out of this, it involved me. I’m part of this family. I deserve to know.

“Yeah, I didn’t think you would.” She sighed. “I’m stressed, Izu, I don’t think this is good for me so please.”

My eyes widened and I looked at her then. She struck where it hurt, my care, and worry for her. “You’re gonna be fine.” I repeated my statement from earlier. “Besides telling me to stay out of it, makes me want to know even more. It obviously must be big, and it involves this family. I am part of this family.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818468/chapters/65965942

Chapter 3 : Restless

Following Shouta’s departure and my calling out the eavesdropping children that were my family and friends, I set about making the rest of this day as normal as possible. Turning away from the people slowly trickling out of the surrounding forests, I took a deep breath.

“Mongrels, really Izuku?” a familiar voice washed over me. The words were issued from directly behind my left shoulder. Vaguely my brain thought how creepy it is that most of the time everyone around me was relatively silent when they crept close by or lingered around. There were times they were so stealthy that I had no idea they were around. Frustratingly stealthy. Mysteriously so.

I whirled around to face the one boy who I had known since day one of being adopted. He was my first friend when Aizawa brought me home. Shoto Todoroki. “Yes, you all scatter when the going gets tough, like puppies. Besides it was the first word that came to mind.” I said sheepishly as I scratch the back of my neck.

“You realize, you called us dogs.”

“You realize, you and everyone else ran with your tails between your legs when Aizawa ran upon us.” I whined. As my best friend, Shoto was morally obligated to listen to me whine. His laughter rang out and I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“I guess we are dogs, we did come back though.” He chuckled as he gestured to the others that had wandered out of the woods. I rolled my eyes and began to leave our current spot. “Come on Izu, let’s head back to the house.”

Back to the house, he says.

Pouting, I stopped in my tracks, letting my toes scrunch into the grass. “Is this the curfew thing?” My eyes slid toward my best friend. I wanted time to be outside, I wanted to run and be free. The urge so strong it made my skin itch. It was something I had wondered about since becoming a part of this family. It was one of the many things that remained a mystery to me though, due to Shouta Aizawa never answering my questions.

“I want to stay outside. I don’t care when curfew is…” I was taking full advantage of the best friend obligation and whining till my heart was content.

Shoto didn’t bother to expend the energy by disputing my words or acknowledging my whine in any way. He just shouldered up to me with a small smile and steered me toward the direction of the many houses on our land, silently waiting for my ranting to subside.

“You do realize if Aizawa is serious about having someone on Izuku duty, it will be most likely be me and my family.” He stated softly, ending my rant of having a curfew and a ‘babysitter’. My eyes locked onto him, wide with shock.

“You…” my mouth gaped like a fish struggling for air. “No way…” Shoto had already begun our journey back, the others have long gone to escape my verbal rampage. Shaking my head, I groaned out of frustration.

Shoto sighed. “When Aizawa tells you to do something, you kinda obey.” His hand on my shoulder was comforting, but it did nothing to quell my frustrations. “You know it helps that the babysitter is me. Best friend and all. Anyone else and it would have been more difficult.”

At that moment I reached over and smacked him.

Shoto just smiled at me. He was my best friend, my partner in crime. He was absolutely not my keeper. I was not going to put up with this from Aizawa. The man was playing games, games that if I tried hard enough, I could win. Ok probably not but who am I kidding, I wanted to be strong and that meant not taking this crap for starters. For crying out loud the man was using my best friend to keep me in line.

Insert four-letter word here.

“Have I mentioned, I hate you today?”

“Not today, but you’ll get over it, princess.” Shoto said as he steered me closer toward the house. Familiar laughter echoed around the yard and my eyes caught the figures of long-time friends of this family, of those that were of this family, all blending in the yards. Playing and laughing and just having a good time.

“Fine, if this has to happen at least it’s you.” I said. Shoto was just looking out for me, he did not entirely deserve my frustration.

A moment ticked by, and Shoto managed to maintain his serious expression. “Indeed.”

Before we neared the front porch of Yua’s house, Shoto stopped his arm around my shoulders. “Any idea why Aizawa is being so….extra?” My voice was soft as I spoke.

Shoto lifted an eyebrow and smirked, on the verge of laughter. “You’re lucky he’s let you live past childhood.” He let a chuckle slip past his lips as we moved toward the porch. “I can’t imagine anyone else talking about Aizawa like that.”

There was a pause where for a moment the crunch of grass just beyond us could be heard, and the birds' midday songs were dimming down.

“Nevermind, you’d be the only one to talk like that about anyone…”

“Todoroki!” I growled and rolled my eyes, pulling away from his hold to stomp my way to the porch and climb into my favorite egg chair.

Feigning hurt, with a hand delicately and dramatically placed against his chest, Shoto spoke. “And we resort to last names. I’m crushed Midoriya.”

“Knock it off, drama queen.” I mumbled as I draped myself with the gray throw blanket that was on the chair. This blanket had been through many nights of laughter and sadness and right now it was helping me through frustrations of feeling trapped.

Out of all of my friends and family that were in the same age group as myself, Shoto was the tallest, the strongest, and most likely the next person to become a leader of sorts when it comes to this family. God, it sounds like the mafia. Are we the mafia? Nah…

Rolling my eyes as Shoto sauntered over to my spot and planted himself just in front of my chair, I was brought back to when he and I first met. Almost everyone overlooked me, the tiny shell-shocked boy with dark hair, but Shoto declared he adored me from the moment he’d set his heterochromatic eyes on me, shivering in Aizawa’s arms, blood-splattered and wild-eyed. I can remember that day clearly but everything else before that seems fuzzy. Shoto and I, we became inseparable, it was to Shoto that I finally opened up and spoke to for the first time. It was with Shoto that I became sassy and mischievous. It was always Shoto.

Now Aizawa has given me to him as a charge. A burden to keep an eye on.

“I hate this.” I blurted out as I shuffled into my blanket a little deeper, leaving my hand out to lightly touch the dual hair adorning my best friend’s head.

“I know you do. You’re a free spirit, but I can’t have you being in any danger or getting into too much trouble.” It took me a moment to notice that Shoto had changed his voice and was trying to impersonate my adoptive father. The impression was downright hilarious.

“You’re as stubborn as a mule, you know that Izuku.” He continued as I let my finger lightly brush his dual-colored hair, the colors constantly reminding me of a candy cane.

I let the laughter bubble up and spill over finally. “Fine, fine. You win. Happy now?”

“Ecstatic.”

I bite back my giggles and continued to brush through his hair. “My point…” he shuddered and held back laughter making me pause. “My point, Shoto – I wish-you-had-a-middle-name Todoroki, is that if Aizawa has you and your family on Izuku duty – then there is something going on.”

A pause in breathing was my response.

“Just leave it alone, Izuku.” Shoto’s voice was soft but that underlying serious tone was not missed and it made me even more curious as to what exactly my family was. The whole response itself made me realize that Shoto knew something I didn’t. And Aizawa was making sure, somehow, that he would not tell me.

“Todoroki!”

“Midoriya.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818468/chapters/65446303

Chapter 2: As You Were

Looking at Aizawa, my eyes felt the burn of those black eyes waiting for me to continue. Out loud I opted for, “I gave the bike back. And Sousuke barely even minded.” I had the nerve to sound sheepish, I do however doubt that Sousuke would be inviting me to anything anytime soon.

Aizawa furrowed his brow, the hint of laughter falling away from his features. “Are you interested in this boy?” Despite the fact that he made a good impression of an overprotective pit bull, I’d lived under his rules long enough to realize that his concern wasn’t just for me or my heart. It was something deeper, something I have not been included in.

“I have no interest in provoking interspecies aggression.” I said, silently laughing at my own joke. Sousuke was just that a species of male that thought with what’s in their pants and not with what’s in their skull.” And trust me when I say, if I did have interest, it wouldn’t be for a guy who wouldn’t let me drive.”

I spent enough time resisting testosterone-driven dominance maneuvers in my day-to-day life. The males in my ’family’ all seemed to find themselves high and mighty and a select few made themselves out to be big bad tough guys. The last thing I need was a boyfriend who wanted me to play the submissive house wife, a simpering miss. No I would not bend to a man who did not see me as an equal.

Aizawa’s demeanor changed and he stiffened slightly at the idea of my dating anyone, even if it was just an idea, an inkling of a thought. I have noticed that the larger males in my ‘family’ all seemed to be protective of the females and the smaller males, which so happens to be me. A small, feminine looking male. And though I wasn’t truly anyone’s actual son or brother or - God forbid – boyfriend, Aizawa has metaphorically dug his claws into me when he adopted me to show he was my father, he was my parent. While in any other world that probably would have made me his ‘property’ of sorts, it made me his child. A problem child, as he so affectionately liked to call me. As a result, everyone that was ‘family’ or close to this family that lived on the land somehow owed me their protection, their concern, and in some weird way that made me theirs too. I know the others that are my age constantly referred to me as theirs. I should just get a tattoo that says OWNED.

I just loved the idea of being owned.

NOT.

“Izuku, I don’t like the idea of you and motorcycles.” He said with concern. “You could get hurt.”

I was not inclined to respond to that particular concern.

“I ask that you don’t do that again, you understand Izuku.” Aizawa said, choosing his words, making it clear that this was not an order but a request. Those requests did not leave much room for noncompliance. I was sure that if I refused there was a good chance he would turn the request into an order, and as ‘head of the family’, Aizawa’s order were like law. But then again most parent’s words were law right? Molding the order as a request was Aizawa’s way of keep everyone else out of it and that let him be free to deal with the situation and myself on his own terms. Sometimes it was a good thing and sometimes not. It all depended on situation and the request.

“Izu?” He said, using my nickname to bring me more towards obeying him and his request.

“Well, I don’t anticipate any motorcycles in my future.” I said, with a small smile gracing my lips. I was pushing him again, but I couldn’t help it. The day I stopped pushing back would be the day I put myself, my happiness, my goals second to anything else. Shifting my feet, I kicked at the dirt. I could distantly hear the others shuffling in the nearby bushes or trees, listening to our conversation.

“Skipping out on your chores means not pulling your own weight here. Being able to pull your weight and being responsible is important.” Aizawa said casually as he stepped back into his into he relaxed demeanor, hands in his pocket. “I’ll have you not slacking off, first it’s chores then it’ll be grades next, problem child.” His voice took on this odd, old-fashion cadence, a mere remnant of the accent he’d had before coming to this country. We moved to America just after I was adopted, to be honest I was unsure as to why we left Japan.

“Right, chores, responsibilities, got it.” I said, knowing that this would most likely end up being a talk of education since he mentioned grades. Honestly, I knew my grades were just fine, I was pulling and solid A in my classes so I wanted to avoid speaking of grades since it was not the issue. “Did you tell Yua?” I asked. When I was adopted, Aizawa had taken others in as well, Yua Nakamura, who had come to America to flee her family for true love. She fell in love with someone close to this family. The thing about Yua was she was in on this so-called secret, this mystery that was this family. Her being inducted into the family, Aizawa had given her me. It was an easy enough decision, she spoke both languages and could help teach me English. And teach me she did.

I learned more English than I should have, and the sass began.

Currently, Yua was twenty-eight years old, recently married to one of my ‘uncles’ and was deemed my foster mother. Adopted mother. Whatever. Putting a label on Yua’s role in my life was somewhat difficult. I didn’t use her last name and she wasn’t married to Shouta, but I lived in her house for almost as long as I could remember or rather since we moved to America. Yua was the one who hugged me, scolded, and raised me from just a scared child alongside Aizawa. They co-parented in a way. They both fed me and clothed me, but it was Yua that made sure I had a place that was solely mine. She grounded me when feelings of fleeing and the constant headaches would assault me. Then there was this pull, like someone tied a rope around me and tried to tug me in a million different directions.

“Yua has her own concerns currently.” Aizawa said and there was a small glimmer of worry on his otherwise unreadable face. Yua was pregnant with her first child and since her pregnancy began she had been having a difficult time.

I was not willing to consider that this difficulty could mean anything other than carrying a child was difficult on the body. I did not want to think that anything would happen to her or the baby.

“Are we done?” I asked Aizawa, hoping he’d get the message that I was done and I refused to spend the rest of this time worrying about Yua who would be perfectly fine-fine-fine.

“Are we on a schedule, Izuku?”

“No.” I said curtly, the smartass side of me wanted to say Yes and I’m late, but I was not about to get lectured for more.

“You realize you broke curfew last night.” The first two complaints had been mere cakewalks, now when this one came up I saw his features tighten, his brows drawing together into a downward arch.

“Well, I wouldn’t have broken curfew if it wasn’t for it being the moment the sun starts to set.” I was so strongly set on this issue, I felt at my age I shouldn’t have to have such an early curfew considering the others had later curfews than my own. Besides, when winter rolls around, nighttime came early and I was not about to be home at four or five each day.

“There is talk of threats, to those in this family and associated with this family.” He stated sternly. “I would prefer you safe from it.”

Rolling my eyes, I felt like there was a huge portion of this story being left out from me. I felt like I was to not know why this ‘threat’ was happening and what was going on.

“Here’s how it goes, if I cannot trust you to be back before nightfall, I will take measure to ensure your safety and that you do not disobey the rules we have set.” Aizawa’s words made sure that I heard that it was set in stone, that there was not questioning him. I shift on my feet and feel the grass slip under my shoes reminding me that we were still outside and that we still has an audience.

“I will make sure someone is with you at all times…”

My head snapped in his direction once more and glared. “Are you kidding me?!”

“Izuku, my boy, I don’t kid.” His eyes sparkled with just a hint of that mysterious gold then it vanished leaving me to wonder what just happened.

“You suck.”

He reached out with one hand and grasped my jaw with a smirk. “And you, my problem child, are the most disobedient child I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.” His words spoken with a warmth that I have come to see as a parent’s warmth for a child. It was something he really only showed to me. I was, after all the boy he adopted from a broken family. Still holding my jaw he bent down and rubbed his cheek against mine and then tousled my hair, confusing me even more. He did this on occasion and I never understood this gesture but took it anyway with a smile. I both loved and hated the action because I was unaware of what the meaning behind it was. “Be back by dusk, Izuku.” He told me before letting me go and taking his eave. “There is trouble lurking.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818468

Chapter 1 : When He Was Bad

Laughter peeled from around me as the sound of my feet and many others thundered on the grassy floor, the feeling of togetherness and family flowing freely from multiple directions. The thundering footfalls of myself and others echoed on the earth as well as my ears as we escaped the wrath of the one man that called the shots for most of us. Shouta Aizawa.

“IZUKU MIDORIYA AIZAWA!”

Three names, three words, and one pissed off father. The math in this particular equation never worked out in my favor.

Slowing down while all the others bolted and darted around me while watching to see what would happen next. Taking a deep breath, I turned and wait for the man to catch up to the rowdy group of children and teens. “Aizawa.” I said, feigning innocence at his appearance during our run. “How’s it going?”

His dark eyes narrowed on me and on any normal person the same motion would have conveyed a sharp irritation. But on Shouta Aizawa’s face, the expression was a mild fire of power and a hint of something mysterious if you looked hard enough. Something inhuman.

Growing up with this family, you learn a few things, so I knew the amount of trouble I was in standing my ground and acting as innocent as possible even though I was not. No, far from it. I was the one that instigated the water balloon fight, I was the one that started the others on the path of drenching said parent in front of me. I was the one that had been planning on getting my revenge for having to be in charge of the smaller children when I in fact wanted to go out like a normal teenager with my friends. There was a slight twinge on my upper arm under the sleeves of the blue t-shirt I was wearing, as I continued to stare at my father. Like it was a reaction to his irritation or anger, a tie of sorts to warn me that there certainly wasn’t anything human going on. My head started to ache and the pressure only continued until I brought my eyes directly to Aizawa’s.

The sheer energy rolling off this man made it slightly difficult for me to completely look him in the eye. After a few seconds of meeting his gaze, I snapped my eyes to the side. Something screamed at me to look down, to bare my neck but I shook it off and stood my ground. More often than not this happened, but I never let that feeling take over. I was far from a submissive person and a prank on my parent would never make me into a submissive person no matter how much trouble that prank may have caused for me.

Aizawa rolled his dark eyes that almost seemed to glint with power, a gold metallic that disappeared as soon as it appeared. Instead of making me feel even more cornered than he already did, Aizawa sighed and brought a hand up to his jaw and ran it roughly over the perpetual five o’clock shadow on his chin and jaw that made me think that he was trying to think of a way to approach the situation or mentally count to ten to calm down. Or both. The action, in that moment, reminded me that Aizawa was my legal guardian, the closest thing I had to family, a brother, an uncle, a father, a mentor all smashed into one person. Despite my horrible efforts as a child to deny it and give him problems, he had become all of those roles and I loved him for it. He was the father I never had.

“Izuku.” His voice drawled, even-toned with not a growl of irritation, gripped and tugged me back to the here and now. I was happy to hear in that one name that the situation had been downgraded in his mind from meriting my full name to just this one. It showed that I mostly likely wouldn’t be in too much trouble. Maybe.

“Izuku.” His tone was a bit sharper this time, but most exasperated, Aizawa’s voice forced me to focus.

“Sorry, Shouta.” I said. “Mind bunnies.”

Aizawa sighed then nodded curtly and waited for me to address the reason for his overbearing presence in the middle of my day with the others, my brothers and sisters, my friends that seemed almost part of the family, and the children of those that were ‘family friends’. Aizawa’s eyes on me once more reminded me that he could outwait anyone and the muscles in his granite jaw were relaxed, the power behind his eyes was always palpable in his stare.

“I haven’t a clue to why you’re here.” I told him while I let myself look over the fact that there were water spots that littered his dark clothing. I smiled while he breathed out through his nose, still gazing at me. It was my luck that he knew that this whole fiasco was my fault in the first place.

Aizawa’s posture never lost its relaxed state and his voice never lost its calm. “You have no idea why I might want to talk to you?”

That was a tricky question to answer without crossing the border from half-truths into lies, but again I’ve had years of practice when it comes to speaking with this man. I could handle this. “I really have no idea why you’d want to talk to me.”

Technically, I had several ideas and a few of them were right.

Aizawa calculated and measured my response, I was not dumb enough to believe that he bought what he was hearing, but I knew enough to know or rather hope that he might not want to play this game all afternoon. He was the one who taught me to play this game in the first place, but at the moment he didn’t seem to be in the mood for a “surviving pack life” tutorial on obfuscation. What he meant all those years ago on “pack life” I have no idea.

With an aggravated sigh, Aizawa opted out of forcing me to speak and instead itemized my transgressions for me. “Water balloons. Talking back. Motorcycle. Skipping chores. Curfew.” My brain hit a wall, he had more on me than I realized.

Crap.

“Izuku.”

“Alright…” I hesitated, trying my hardest to fight the very detailed green mind bunnies, which where multiplying at rapid rate. My brain was trying to figure out all of these instances and come up with some type of excuse.

“Stop the mumbling, Izuku.”

Snapping back to myself I sighed. “Right.” I stated and took a breath ready to just let it out since there was nothing better I could do, or come up with. “So, I wanted time with friends. I didn’t want to watch the kids. I am defiant teenager. I wanted to feel the wind in my hair and it was the only way I could get home that day. I have no excuse for the chores, I’m lazy…and well I’m a bad boy who doesn’t believe in curfews. Can I go now?”

For a fraction of a second I thought I might have pushed him too far. I imagined him reaching out and tugging me back to the house by the collar of my shirt. Something shifted in my head then, bringing up a foggy image, almost like a memory, of a man with a wicked grin, holding my neck, his voice oily and vile. The image changed from a man to a wolf and the voice continued to slither in my head and a shudder racked my body.

Come out, come out, wherever you are little one. No sense in hiding from me. I’ll always find you…

I mentally shook it off and grit my teeth together to stamp out the anxiety that threatened to flood my system. I was well associated with strolling down this path of nightmares or bad memories or whatever they were. Aizawa liked to call them night terrors. I call them demons. I also knew that whatever this was that was haunting me was NOT Aizawa, it was not that man that stepped up to be my father. In any sense, Aizawa would have died before hurting me. Instead, he tolerated and took my sass and responded to it just as he always had – with a warning look and the air of someone trying very hard not to bust out laughing.

“Motorcycle.” Aizawa stated it rather than make it a question, but I felt I need to answer anyway. Another weird side effect of Aizawa’s strength that I have come to dub the magic of parenting. It was just something I couldn’t and wouldn’t fight. My only submission.

“A kid from school offered me a ride on his motorcycle.” I said. “I took it.” I chose not to mention that the invitation itself had made me suspicious due to the fact that the other kids in town didn’t associate with me or those of us that lived in the woods. I was generally not the type to get attention from anyone of either of the sexes. “There is a chance that the guy in question had bad intentions and also didn’t want me driving said motorcycle, but I might have ended up with the keys anyway…I’m just a bit faster than he was, I guess.”

A stifled chuckle and a moment of baited breath and Aizawa looked at me with a barely there smile. “I did not train you to fight or move so that you could steal motorcycles.” He said sternly.