#bt writes

"Sure," he forces out when Yamada looks at him with a little furrow between his brows and Hitoshi already knows that he's not going to sleep in that room anymore.

She needs to get used to her new space and it's best if she does that with as little distractions as possible. Plus he won't be allowed to speak to her anyway and if they break out a muzzle to make sure of that she might get frightened and Hitoshi still has nightmares sometimes so—no.

He can't sleep in her room but he knows from experience that the couch is comfy enough and Yamada said it wouldn't be for too long.

They must have already contacted CPS to dissolve whatever kind of fostering contract they have for him and it will only be until that's done.

Hitoshi can spend a few nights on the couch, he slept way rougher for way longer after all.

"Shouta will tell you a bit more about her circumstances later, and what actions to avoid with her, seeing as she's had it—rough for most of her life."

He winces when he says it and it only helps a tiny little bit to know that he's not being replaced for nothing. At least she really does need nice people in her life.

It's a hollow comfort.

"'s fine," he mutters, getting back to cutting up the vegetables just like Yamada wants them and a distant part of him wonders why he's even still trying.

It's already a done deal after all.

~*~*~

Hitoshi manages to avoid detection for two nights. He sets his alarm super early to erase every trace of sleeping on the couch and by the time Yamada comes out of the bedroom he's already pouring over what will be on the next exam even though he won't be there to take it.

He knows that he won't be allowed to stay in the hero course or at UA at all—the fact that he got in and his previous family allowed him to was a fluke and there's no way in hell Hitoshi gets that lucky again.

He'll probably be moved too far out to attend this school again, possibly even by design so that Aizawa and Yamada don't have to look at him any more and that's—Hitoshi will live.

It was a pipe dream to begin with and he always knew that.

He doesn't get so lucky on the third night though, because Aizawa stumbles out of the bedroom half an hour before Hitoshi's alarm goes off and Hitoshi is a light enough sleeper that he wakes up to find Aizawa staring at him in apparent shock.

"Why are you not in your room?" he asks, clearly confused and Hitoshi bites back the instinctual correction.

It's her room now; he doesn't know why Aizawa pretends otherwise.

Hitoshi doesn't have a good answer other than that though so he simply shrugs and Aizawa shakes his head as if he needs to clear it.

"Hitoshi, if you don't want to share with her for the time being you could have said," Aizawa goes on as he shuffles towards the kitchen. "We could have cleared out the office in that case, we just figured it would be too much work to do that now and then pack everything up again when we move. But if you're not comfortable with her in your room, then you can say that."

Aizawa isn't looking at him as he speaks, so Hitoshi has no chance to look for the tiny tells Aizawa has when he's lying but—

He knows he is anyway.

"It's fine," Hitoshi says, fiddling with the blanket in his lap because he hadn't even considered that they would move.

Maybe he isn't being transferred too far away and they want to make sure that he doesn't know where they live anymore because they wouldn't want to see him again after they got rid of him.

"Doesn't seem fine to me," Aizawa says, leaning against the counter, his arms crossed in front of his chest and even though the apartment is still the same comforting home, it's no longer home.

Not even the by now so familiar gurgle of the coffee machine can change that.

"I should start packing soon," Hitoshi says, doesn't quite dare to make it a question anymore because rules change with tiny children in the house.

Aizawa and Yamada might have been lax before when it came to that but with her in the picture now—he's nothing more than a threat.

"You can but it might still take a while," Aizawa says with a sigh and Hitoshi notices the displeased line around his mouth.

CPS is not working fast enough to dissolve this placement or maybe they can't find another home that would take him. Hitoshi probably should tell him that they need to contact a group home because otherwise they'll never be rid of him, but he can't find his voice to do that.

If they don't know that, he gets a few more nights here and Hitoshi is selfish enough to take them.

"Okay," he nods and resolves to start packing as soon as she's out of her room.

He should have done it the first day she arrived, but Hitoshi has been hurting and it's made him stupid.

He didn't know that a reprieve as short as this would make his pain tolerance that low and he already fears what it's going to take to build it up again.

Hitoshi used to be better than this, he used to be indifferent to new placements but then again—no one has been as nice to him as Aizawa and Yamada have so maybe it's just normal that he forgot all about how to not get attached.

But it's undeniable that he is and it's only biting him in the ass now.

He should have known better. He was stupid to trust, to believe, to hope.

But his new family will make sure he remembers, Hitoshi is certain of that. Aizawa and Yamada have been the first outlier in ten years and Hitoshi doesn't have another ten years in the system to find another.

~*~*~

He finds them studying house listings one evening and it's stupid, it's so fucking stupid but it just blurts out of him because he's a dumb kid who never learns.

"Please don't make me go," Hitoshi says, begs them almost, and he knows it's stupid, it's so goddamn stupid because CPS is already informed and there's nothing that can be done about that anymore but—

He doesn't want to go, he likes this apartment, these men who were kind to him and he hoped he could have—well.

A family has never been in his life, he knew that since he was six and it's so incredibly foolish of him to not have learned his lesson but that's just him.

Stupid, till the end of times, and it's no wonder that everyone is so eager to get rid of him.

"Go? Hitoshi, kiddo, you're not going anywhere," Yamada says and for a moment, for a split second, Hitoshi dares to feel reassured and then reality hits him.

They are going to leave him here, like an unwanted piece of furniture you don't want to bring into your nice, new home and really, Hitoshi should have expected nothing less.

CPS is working too slowly after all and the girl needs a stable home, so it's just logical to go and leave Hitoshi behind.

It's—almost nice, in a way, because at least like that he still has some familiar walls but then he realises how stupid he's being yet again because—

"I can't afford this apartment," Hitoshi mutters and he's pretty sure that no one is going to employ a stupid sixteen-year-old with no experience and this apartment can't be cheap.

There's no way he's going to be able to get enough money to pay for it, even for a month.

"Afford this—kid, what are you talking about?" Aizawa asks and Hitoshi keeps his gaze on the floor because it's safer than to look at them.

"You just said it, I'm not going anywhere, and it's nice of you, really, that you don't want to drop me on the streets but—I don't have the money to pay for this."

He doesn't even need to look, he can practically hear the long look Aizawa and Yamada are exchanging and he wonders what they could possibly be trying to communicate.

They all know what's going to happen, and soon, and there's no need to beat around the bush anymore.

Yamada already said that Hitoshi is not going to go with them, after all.

"Kid, sit," Aizawa says and it's not an order at all.

In fact, his voice is just as soft as when he speaks to the girl and instantly Hitoshi's eyes burn.

He would really rather have them yell at him, because this last act of kindness might just break him once he gets to his new family.

Still, he does what Aizawa told him to do because what else is there for him to do but obey and for a moment, there's a terrible silence in the room.

"Why don't you tell us what you think is going on, and then we tell you what we think is going on and then we can all be on the same page again, huh?" Yamada says, and he too is kinder than Hitoshi probably deserves, so the least he can do is answer his question.

"You're taking in a new kid and that means I have to go. You're looking for a new apartment so I won't be able to find you again and you're just waiting for CPS to dissolve this foster agreement. They are working too slow though, so you're going to move without me so you can start your family as soon as possible," Hitoshi dutifully rattles off and he doesn't let himself be deterred by the pained gasp he hears.

"That is not at all what's happening," Aizawa says, his voice as steady and reassuring as it usually is but it's not reassuring to Hitoshi at all right now because what he says makes no sense.

"You brought home a girl," Hitoshi mutters. "A girl with a quirk that isn't—mine. I know how this goes."

It's the third time it happens after all and Hitoshi might be stupid, but he's not stupid enough to not see the pattern.

"Hitoshi, has this happened before? That a family found another kid they thought was better than you?" Aizawa wants to know and Hitoshi shrugs.

"Well, found is—not quite right. My parents just waited until my sister's quirk came in to decide who to keep."

There's a deafening silence in the room after that and Hitoshi rushes to go on.

"But the second time—yeah. That foster family wasn't quite so bad and I thought it could—well, they found a sweet little girl who was nothing like me and gave me back."

"Gave you back?" Yamada repeats as if Hitoshi hadn't been clear but he feels the need to explain anyway.

"To CPS. They dropped me off at their doorstep, but it was a weekend and there wasn't anyone to deal with me. And I'm grateful you're not going to do the same, I really am, but like I said, I can't pay for this apartment," he brings them back to their original point though he knows it's useless when Aizawa lets out a long, measured breath.

"Hitoshi, will you look at me?" Aizawa then asks and Hitoshi blinks a few times to make sure that he's not going to burst into tears the moment he does but eventually, he raises his head.

Aizawa looks almost crestfallen and Hitoshi doesn't even dare to look over to Yamada because he can hear him sniffle and this is not right, this is all not right but he doesn't know what to do to fix it.

"Hitoshi, we're not going to give you back," Aizawa says and his voice is strong and firm and he's keeping eye contact and there is none of the tells he usually has and Hitoshi is confused.

"But you brought a girl with you," he mumbles because her presence in this apartment is undeniable even if he did his best to stay out of her way, so she wouldn't notice a difference once he's gone.

Kids with trauma need a stable environment, he heard that somewhere before or maybe someone said that to him, and he wanted to give her that despite everything.

"And we should have discussed that more with you but we were pressed for time and then we simply fucked up," Aizawa sighs out and Hitoshi blinks because Aizawa never swears. "You're both going to stay with us. We're going to be your parents and we're going to be Eri's parents. We're not going to choose between you two, you're both going to be our kids."

Hitoshi knows that adoption was a consideration for them because they asked him if he would want that but that was before the girl and Hitoshi hadn't dared to think about it again, but this—this sounds as if they still want to do that.

"But that's not—how that goes," Hitoshi weakly argues even though he desperately wants that to be how it goes and Yamada leans forward, into Hitoshi's line of sight.

Just like he feared, there are tears in his eyes and Hitoshi doesn't know how to fix it.

"Kiddo, we love you and we're not going to simply drop you. I'm sorry that happened to you before, I'm sorry you had to go through that two more times than any kid really should, but we're not going to do the same. You're our son and Eri is going to be our daughter and neither of you is going to be more important than the other."

"Right now, Eri needs a bit more of our time because everything is so new to her, but that doesn't change the fact that we love you, too. We love you the same amount and nothing is going to change that."

"But—I'm not like her," Hitoshi tries to argue, though he's not sure why.

"No, you're not," Aizawa agrees. "And she is not like you. And both of these things are okay, kid."

"I don't—understand," Hitoshi admits because this is not how this goes and Aizawa leans around the table to pull him into a loose hug.

"I know, kid, and we're sorry. We really should have talked this over with you more, that's on us, and we apologise. But you're going to stay with us. We're not choosing between you and we're definitely not giving you away or back or simply leaving you here. None of that is going to happen."

"The new apartment—"

"Look," Yamada says and pushes the laptop more towards Hitoshi. "We're looking for four bedroom apartments or houses. One bedroom for us, one for you and one for Eri and one we can use as an office. You both deserve to have your own space after all and we will need to work from home more."

"You planned for me?" Hitoshi's voice comes out shaky and weak and Aizawa tightens his arm around him.

"Of course we planned for you. We're always planning for you because you're our son and you're a part of this family."

It's enough to make the tears spill over because it's everything Hitoshi has ever wanted and was sure he wouldn't get once Eri showed up but Aizawa sounds so certain and there was zero hesitation to his answer and maybe, just maybe for once in his life Hitoshi can be lucky.

Lucky enough to keep this family and maybe even get to know what it's like to have a sister.

(And he does. He understands Eri better than the grown-ups sometimes because even though their experiences were different, a fucked-up childhood is a fucked-up childhood and it helps, that he can relate to her.

He might be training to be a hero, but he's not that brave especially not because Katsuki is going to fucking murder him for it.

"Why not?" Neito asks, tilting his head and looking back at Hitoshi. "Why not tell him? He might want you back."

"Right," Hitoshi snorts out. "Not even my own pa—guardians want me and you think he might. Funny, Neito, really."

Neito blinks slowly at that, clearly processing what Hitoshi just said and Hitoshi flushes when he realises that his damn mouth ran away from him for no reason at all and revealed one of his biggest hurts.

It's just to Neito, which is fine—he knows Hitoshi better than Hitoshi does himself sometimes—but this—it wasn't supposed to slip out.

"Wait, what?" Neito says after a long pause and Hitoshi lets out a long sigh.

He knows Neito is not going to let it go, will dig and prod and annoy until Hitoshi spills it all and for a quick moment he wants to be difficult, but it would only drag it out and not really change anything, so he gives him a wry smile.

"You heard me," Hitoshi whispers. "They don't want me and Katsuki won't either."

"What do you mean Aizawa and Yamada don't want you? They adore you."

"And yet they don't adore me enough to bring up adoption," Hitoshi mutters and curls up his legs, making himself as small as he feels when he thinks about this.

Neito blinks again, clearly not processing Hitoshi's words very well before he pushes himself to his feet.

"One moment," he faintly says and then, louder "Hey, Kendou! Lend me your quirk real quick!"

Neito jogs off, Kendou meeting him halfway without much fuss and after a quick brush of hands, Neito turns back around to Hitoshi, a manic glint in his eyes that makes Hitoshi scramble to his feet.

"Neito," he warily says but Neito only gives him his most deranged grin as his arm grows in size.

Hitoshi is off like a dart, but Neito is nothing if not good and he has borrowed Kendou's quirk often enough to be more than proficient with it, so it isn't long before he manages to grab Hitoshi and then he shakes him like a doll.

"You goddamn fucking idiot," Neito hisses and brings Hitoshi close, so he can spit it right in his face.

Hitoshi is distantly aware of some classmates staring at them, but no one is interfering because this is just a normal Tuesday for Neito and Hitoshi and Hitoshi groans.

"Will you stop?" he begs but Neito's eyes blaze.

"No. You're so incredibly stupid. Aizawa and Yamada might not be perfect but have they ever stepped over one of your clearly set boundaries?" he demands to know and Hitoshi frowns.

Aizawa and Yamada are really not perfect and they've had fights more times than Hitoshi can count before Hitoshi learned to explain things and Aizawa and Yamada learned to question things first but once Hitoshi puts his foot down about something, they respect it.

"No?"

"No," Neito nods and shakes Hitoshi again. "And what did you tell them mere days after you came to live with them?" he asks and Hitoshi wrecks his brain before all the blood rushes out of his face.

"That adoption is not a thing I ever want to talk about," he whispers out, completely horrified at that revelation.

"And what did I say to that when you told me about it?"

"That I'm stupid and that it will bite me in the ass."

"There," Neito smugly says, releasing Hitoshi, who half-heartedly glares at him.

"Fuck you," he mutters and Neito grins at him.

"We can, but I always pegged you as more of a romantic who doesn't fuck around for the fun of it. So maybe ask Bakugou about it."

"Fuck off," Hitoshi grumbles and Neito grows his hand a bit to better shove him away.

"No, you fuck off and go talk to your parents," he tells him and Hitoshi freezes with fear.

"You think—"

"They want to adopt you? Hell, Hitoshi, you really are so goddamn stupid. I bet they would have adopted you mere days after they took you in and just didn't because you shut that line down right from the start."

Hitoshi lets that sit for a moment, before his eyes dart back to Katsuki.

"And what about him? I never told him to not have feelings for me."

"No, but you did come into the hero course guns blazing and declaring that you're not here to make friends. Everyone is kind of afraid they are already pushing you by being your friend. You really think anyone is going to take it even further and potentially make you withdraw completely? They all love you too much for it."

"You can't just say that," Hitoshi whines out and covers his face with his hands, afraid that he's blazing red in the face.

"It's the damn truth, though, so either you man up and tell him or you continue your love-sick staring. Your choice."

"My choice, huh," Hitoshi mutters and watches how Katsuki explodes himself across the field, much to a shrieking Denki's delight and Hitoshi knows he could be right in the middle there and no one would mind at all.

As if Katsuki finally felt his stare, he stops the chase of Denki to turn around to Hitoshi.

"Oi, Eyebags, get over here and help me!"

"Now or never," Neito mutters from behind Hitoshi, like a small devil on his shoulder, and Hitoshi loves him more than he can say.

"No, you come over here!" he calls back to Katsuki, briefly leaning into Neito, hopefully conveying his thanks, before he walks over to the side of the field, away from most prying ears.

Katsuki jogs over as if it's totally normal for Hitoshi to order him around and Hitoshi can't help the surprised flush on his face.

"What?" Katsuki grumbles out, keeping half an eye on Denki in case he tries something stupid but Hitoshi only has eyes for Katsuki.

He's slightly panting, a thin sheen of sweat on his face, his unruly hair wind-swept and he smells so sweet that for a moment Hitoshi sways on his feet, almost dropping his head to Katsuki's neck.

Fuck, he really is so goddamn gorgeous.

"Listen to me," Hitoshi says, and just like that, Katsuki's attention snaps to him.

It's almost too much, having those bright eyes on him, being the sole centre of Katsuki's attention, and Hitoshi burns with it.

"What?" Katsuki asks, more serious now, clearly noticing that this is important and Hitoshi takes a deep breath.

"I like you. I really, really like you."

"Yeah, I should hope so," Katsuki says with a small smirk and Hitoshi huffs out a breath.

"No, I mean. Romantically. I like you romantically."

"That's called being in love," Katsuki corrects him and Hitoshi can feel himself go red in the face.

"Fine. I'm in love with you," he admits and Katsuki looks so smug, Hitoshi wants to kiss him. "You got something to say to that?" he dares to ask when Katsuki stays quiet for too long and Katsuki huffs.

"First you take forever to say something and now you're rushing me?" he demands to know and Hitoshi groans.

"I have not been obvious," he complaints, because he hasn't been, Neito was very clear on that and Katsuki barks out a laugh.

"No, you haven't been," he admits and takes a step closer, so that Hitoshi has to bow his head when Katsuki looks up at him. "We're going for dinner. Tomorrow. I choose the place and you don't dress like a slob."

"Rude," Hitoshi mutters, even as he nods because he's not stupid enough to turn down a dinner date with Katsuki.

"Which is how you like it," Katsuki very accurately says and then quickly turns his head, brushing their lips together for the briefest moment before he steps away, eyes immediately going to Denki again. "And now you die, Pikachu!" he yells out and Denki shrieks before he scrambles for his life again.

"Told you so," Neito's smug voice rings out behind him and Hitoshi turns to him with a bright grin.

"Yeah, you did," he easily agrees because he feels as if he's floating on cloud seven and Neito's face goes all soft.

"You insecure idiot," he mutters and then gently pushes his shoulder. "And now go and get your parents, too," he then says and for a moment worry grips Hitoshi's heart before he forces himself to relax.

There's no reason to worry—Neito clearly was right with Katsuki and Hitoshi has told his guardians to never talk about adoption.

And for all that they push him sometimes, they never cross any boundaries and Hitoshi laid that one out pretty early.

"Yeah, I think I will," Hitoshi decisively nods and then jogs off, certain that he'll find both Aizawa and Yamada in the teacher's lounge at this time.

He barges in, and feels bad for a split moment when Aizawa's head snaps up, and Yamada's face clouds over with worry.

"I need to talk to you," Hitoshi says before he can think better of it and immediately, both men sit up and give him their entire attention.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"If my problem children overdid it I'm going to expel them," Aizawa growls out and Hitoshi lets out a light laugh.

"Nothing happened and no one did anything," he says and then winces, which makes Aizawa narrow his eyes.

"Lie," he very accurately says and Hitoshi presses his lips together, blushing slightly.

"I—might have confessed to Katsuki," he admits and Yamada excitedly claps his hands together.

"And?" he eagerly asks and Hitoshi can't even begin to hide his huge smile, which is immediately met with Yamada's smile, while Aizawa lets out a long sigh.

"You couldn't have chosen a less problematic one?" he asks, but there is a small smile playing around his mouth, so Hitoshi knows he doesn't mean it.

"Excuse me, he's very on brand and chose a loud blonde, I really don't know what you expected," Yamada tells him and Hitoshi lets out a surprised laugh.

"Is this what you wanted to talk about?" Aizawa asks after a moment, patting the space next to him and inviting Hitoshi to sit with them.

"Not really," Hitoshi admits, and goes over, even though he feels too nervous to sit down.

But he does, because Aizawa asked him to and next to him is a place where Hitoshi feels safe.

"It's—fine, if I date Katsuki, right?" he can't help but to ask because he doesn't know. Sure, you'd think they won't say anything about it, but they might, because it's Katsuki.

"Of course it's fine, kiddo," Yamada says as he leans over and ruffles Hitoshi's hair. "Thank you for telling us and well done! Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Hitoshi mutters and ducks his head, before Aizawa nudges him.

"What else did you want to talk about?"

Immediately, the worry is back, because this feels somehow more important—and more daunting—than confessing to Katsuki and that's almost funny, because Aizawa and Yamada have shown him nothing but understanding and love since he came to stay with them and so this shouldn't be as terrifying as it feels right now.

"I'm—staying with you, right?" Hitoshi mutters out, fiddling with his shirt.

"Of course you are, Hitoshi," Aizawa immediately replies.

"This placement is not temporary, and we have no intention of making it so," Yamada chimes in as well, and they sound so sure about that and Hitoshi lets out a small chuckle when he realises that Neito must have been right about this.

He told them once that adoption is not something he wants to talk about and they accepted that and just left it.

And now it's on him to bring it up again.

"Have you ever thought about adopting me?" he weakly asks, his voice barely audible in the room and he feels Aizawa and Yamada share a look.

"You were very clear on that, kid," Aizawa finally says. "Adoption is not something you ever want brought up."

Again, Hitoshi fiddles with his hem.

"And what if that changed?"

"Kiddo, we need you to be very clear with us here," Yamada seriously says. "Because we're not going to do anything you don't want us to."

"I would love to talk about it," Hitoshi admits, his heart racing in his chest. "I'd love to be adopted."

It's difficult to say, because for the longest time Hitoshi feared that this was something that would never be in the cards for him; it was something he didn't let himself want, because no foster family would want to anyway but Aizawa and Yamada are different.

They want Hitoshi around, they want to be a family and even without adopting him, they call him kid and kiddo and son and Hitoshi wants it to be official.

"And we want to adopt you, kid," Aizawa gently gives back as Yamada crushes him to his side.

"We've had the papers in our drawer since even before you told us that you don't want it," Yamada tells him and immediately, Hitoshi's eyes burn.

"Really?" he whispers out, because to think that they have wanted this for so long is almost more than Hitoshi can take right now.

He thought they didn't want to—to learn that the opposite has always been the case is mind-boggling.

"Really," Aizawa firmly says. "And if you say your stance on that has changed, we'll apply for that today."

"Please," Hitoshi chokes out, because there's nothing more he wants right now and Aizawa brings up his arm around Hitoshi as well.

"Consider it done," he promises and Yamada lets out a happy laugh.

"Gonna make you our son for real," he proudly proclaims and Hitoshi ducks his head, a smile so wide on his face that his cheeks hurt and he leans into their embrace.

"Gonna have parents for real," he mutters and is promptly crushed by both of them.

They stay like that for a while and Hitoshi feels safe and protected and loved and thinking about Katsuki and Neito and all of their classmates only makes that feeling grow and grow and grow until he has to bury his face in his hands to hide his tears.

He's not doing a very good job about it, if the way Aizawa and Yamada tighten their embrace on him, but it still doesn't change anything.

"What's wrong?" Aizawa immediately says and Katsuki lets out a measured breath.

"No one is injured," he tells him because of course that would be Aizawa's first thought. "I just—"

Katsuki's throat closes up because how does he even ask Aizawa for help with something so domestic, something that his old sensei has no business dealing with for Katsuki's sake and there's something very close to panic clawing up his back.

"Katsuki? Can you tell me what's going on?" Aizawa asks him, with more patience than Katsuki is used to and it's enough to get him to speak.

"There's something wrong with the sink," he weakly says, feeling incredibly stupid for having to call over something as mundane as this but Aizawa only hums, prompting him to talk more. "I don't know what happened but there's water everywhere and I don't know how to fix it."

"I can take a look," Aizawa promises him. "Did you turn off the water?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll be there in twenty." There's a slight pause before Aizawa goes on. "Thank you for calling, Katsuki."

It's said with so much sincerity, as if Aizawa could truly be thankful that Katsuki ruined whatever his plans for the day were and it makes Katsuki's eyes burn with something he doesn't care to name.

"You said to," he weakly gives back because they did, even though Katsuki didn't trust it, but Aizawa agrees with him.

"We did. And we meant it. See you in a bit."

"See you."

It's—strange, knowing that he can ask for help and get it without any screaming and insults from the other end but Aizawa didn't seem to be annoyed and he didn't call Katsuki stupid for not knowing how to do it himself and maybe, Katsuki's parents aren't really all that great anyway.

(Fixing the sink is a matter of minutes for Aizawa. Katsuki expects him to leave right away, but he helps Katsuki clean up and then stays for a coffee. It's unbearable but it's also nice.)

~*~*~

Katsuki eyes the clothes in front of him with distaste. The party tonight is important and he needs to make a good impression and wearing the right clothes is a big part of that but Katsuki can't make a choice.

He hates all the options available to him and he doesn't want to do this at all, actually, and normally, this is the point where he calls his mother to get some advice.

But he's not going to do that, not this time, because fuck his mother and her advise and her screaming and yelling and he'd rather go in his ratty t-shirt and worn sweatpants than subject himself to that ever again.

Asking Hitoshi is out of the question, too, because he has no fashion sense to speak of and the same goes for most of their friends.

And Katsuki is in no mental shape to endure Pinky for more than five minutes today.

That leaves him with precious little options though and Katsuki groans in despair.

The sound brings Hitoshi to his side and Katsuki watches with no small trace of amusement how he eyes the options that are laid out, because Katsuki knows that Hitoshi is just looking for the sake of looking. He has no taste and he has no opinion and in fact, his advice is probably going to be something as outlandish as "Why don't you go naked?".

"And?" Katsuki asks after a few minutes of thoughtful hums from Hitoshi and Hitoshi's eyes are sparkling when he turns towards Katsuki.

"You could always go naked and make the news like that," he suggests and Katsuki lets out a world weary sigh. "Too obvious?"

"You're so fucking predictable. Get out of my sight," he sighs out and Hitoshi laughs before he leans in and presses a kiss to Katsuki's cheek.

"Papa knows his fashion stuff," he says as he dances out of the way when Katsuki playfully swipes at him and then he leaves Katsuki standing right there, going off on his patrol without considering what his words just did to Katsuki.

Yamada sure as hell knows his fashion stuff, that's true, but Katsuki never even consider that his advice might be an option for him.

But—Hitoshi's parents had told him to call them if he ever needs them and maybe he does right now.

And Aizawa had been more than nice and helpful when Katsuki had called him about the broken sink, but that was probably because it’s also Hitoshi's apartment and this is decidedly different. This has nothing to do with Hitoshi and therefore Katsuki's hand shakes as he reaches for his phone.

He still hovers over the call button for a good while before he presses it but to his credit, Yamada picks up almost immediately.

"Hey there, little listener, what's rocking?" Yamada cheerfully wants to know and Katsuki bites back his initial response because he's not little.

But he wants something from Yamada, so he lets out a measured breath.

"Hey," he awkwardly says. "I—could use some advice?"

It feels like pulling teeth, admitting that but to his credit, Yamada takes it in stride.

"Sure thing, but shouldn't you be on your way to that fancy party thing right about now?"

Katsuki blinks because how does Yamada even know about that but it's the opening Katsuki needs.

"It's about that, actually. How did you know?"

"You think Hitoshi hasn't been going on and on about his perfect and popular dashing boyfriend who gets invited to crazy ass parties to shake hands with the most important ones the city has to offer? Please, kid, the boy is so ridiculously proud of you, he couldn't shut up if he tried to."

"Oh," Katsuki breathes out because, sure, he knew that Hitoshi was happy for him but that he is this proud? That's news to him.

"'course he wouldn't tell you," Yamada mutters. "But you wanted something?"

"I—all of my outfits are stupid," Katsuki admits and Yamada makes an understanding sound.

"Fashion advice I can do. But Eri's here today so I can't come over. Either you send me pictures or you pack everything together and come over. If something's missing I'm sure I have enough stuff here to spruce up every outfit and we can make a little fashion show out of it."

"I wouldn't want to intrude," Katsuki mutters, because fuck, if Eri's there he's definitely intruding on family time right about now but Yamada only laughs.

"Please, family can't intrude, so chop-chop," he gives back and then simply hangs up on Katsuki without even waiting for a reply.

Katsuki is not about to argue with Yamada over text, so he packs everything up and gets going, steadfastly ignoring the warm feeling in his chest.

(It's fun. It's fun in a way Katsuki could have never predicted and his outfit absolutely slays and the small details Yamada added only make it better.)

~*~*~

Katsuki has just managed to make Hitoshi go home and sleep in his own bed for once instead of camping out in a chair next to Katsuki's hospital bed, like he has done for the last few days that Katsuki had been unconscious, when his phone chimes.

He lets out a groan, because Hitoshi should take a break, and that includes contact with Katsuki, but of course the fucker would spam Katsuki's phone almost as soon as he's out of the hospital.

Despite the way his everything aches Katsuki reaches for the phone to give him a piece of his mind, but when he sees his mother's name flash up on the screen his mood drops almost as fast as he drops the phone.

He doesn't want to read that message. Katsuki has no idea what it's going to say, but he knows he's not going to like it and that is all he needs to ignore the phone for the next half hour.

The phone is burning a veritable hole into his bed though, so eventually he caves and picks it back up again. He quickly clicks into the message and then stares at the screen for a good while, until his eyes start to burn from the lack of blinking.

It's certainly not anything else.

'You need to work harder to make the top, you should up your training' is all the message reads and Katsuki fights the urge to throw his phone at the wall.

They don't even ask if he's okay. He's been seriously injured and has been unconscious for the better part of two days and they don't even ask how he's doing.

If he needed any more proof that his parents don't really care for him then it's this but it still doesn't make it any easier.

Katsuki is just scrubbing his hand over his face—certainly not to get rid of any tears—when the door to his room opens.

"I told you to get some fucking rest," Katsuki croaks out because he thinks he made his stance with Hitoshi pretty damn clear but when he blinks the spots out of his eyes, he isn't met with the familiar and beloved purple hair but with black and yellow.

"I don't think you did, actually," Aizawa drily gives back as they stroll into his hospital room as if they belong there and Katsuki is still a little bit loopy from the pain medication and the horrific injuries he sustained and that's the only reason he starts to cry almost immediately.

"Hey, hey, little listener, we didn't mean to upset you," Yamada rushes out and is at his bedside a moment later, soothingly carding his fingers through Katsuki's hair. "We can leave if you don't want us here," he then offers and it's so far from everything Katsuki has ever wanted that he only cries harder.

"Or not," Aizawa says and seats himself on Katsuki's other side, almost awkwardly patting Katsuki's leg and they patiently wait until Katsuki gets himself back under control.

He just knows that his face is swollen and bloated and his complexion must be all spotty too because he's an ugly crier and always has been but Aizawa and Yamada don't mention it at all. In fact, they only keep up their soothing motions and clearly wait for him to gather himself enough to speak.

"You don't want us to go," Aizawa says when he deems Katsuki ready enough and Katsuki is so tired, he simply shakes his head. "But you were surprised we're here."

A nod.

"Toshi told us you woke up and his bedside manners leave something to be desired, so we got you some stuff from home," Yamada says and lifts a bag up. "We got you your pj's, half of your skin care products and the one plushie we're sure doesn't belong to Toshi."

It's—a lot. It's so much in fact, that Katsuki just quietly starts to cry again because what the fuck are these two even doing here with all of this and it doesn't help that they are not even making fun of him for even having a plushie.

"Thank you," he croaks out and makes grabby hands at Yamada because he's tired and exhausted and for some reason he feels safe and Yamada hands the purple cat over without a word.

"Sorry we showed up without notice," Aizawa says, once Katsuki has merged with the bed again.

"Don't be," Katsuki mutters. "Just surprised you came at all."

It's the understatement of the year; Aizawa and Yamada are the last people he expected to show up here, because surely they have better things to do.

Hell, not even Katsuki's biological parents could be bothered to show up so why the fuck do these two take time out of their day for him?

"Katsuki," Yamada gently says and he leans forward, making sure that Katsuki hears every word he's about to say. "When someone from your family is in the hospital, you go visit them. It's as easy as that."

Katsuki is real fucking tired of crying so he buries his face in his cat until he has himself under control again and Aizawa and Yamada don't berate him, don't call him weak or stupid or overly sentimental and just for that Katsuki could cry again but he swallows it all down.

"Thank you."

"Always," Aizawa promises him and at this point, Katsuki is ready to believe.

(They drop by every second day until Katsuki is released and they are the ones driving Katsuki home and making sure he's well situated and has all his meds. Katsuki is tired of crying into his cat.)

~*~*~

Katsuki slams the door behind him as he storms out of their apartment. He's pretty sure he just cut Hitoshi off, yelling something after him, but Katsuki can barely hear over the rushing in his ears anyway and with how they had been screaming at each other, he's not sure he wants to know what Hitoshi's parting words were, anyway.

He lets out a rough breath and powerwalks out of the building, intent to get some distance between him and Hitoshi and every stupid word that has left their mouths and he made it half a block before his phone rings.

Katsuki has half a mind to simply ignore it, but it could be important, it could be Best Jeanist, it could be an emergency, and so Katsuki fishes the phone out and then actually stops when he sees Aizawa's name flashing up.

Great. So Hitoshi already told him what a colossal fuck up Katsuki is and now Aizawa is going to yell at him.

Well, more like he'll be calmly disappointed and that's so much worse actually, but Katsuki really can't bring himself to ignore Aizawa, no matter how much this phone call is going to suck and so he hits accept.

"What?" he snarls out, the anger still simmering closely under his skin and there's a beat of silence before Aizawa speaks.

"How are you doing?" he asks and for a moment, Katsuki can do nothing but blink stupidly.

"What kind of question is that?" he then snaps and Aizawa hums. "Surely you fucking know."

"That you and Hitoshi had a fight? Yeah, it's why I'm calling."

"Shouldn't you be calling your son?" Katsuki blurts out because surely he should prioritise comforting Hitoshi over berating Katsuki.

"He's on the phone with Hizashi," Aizawa gives back and Katsuki closes his eyes, because great.

That leaves Aizawa with the time to rip him a new one. Perfect.

"Well, then get to it already, would you?" he tiredly says and he walks just far enough to find a bench he can drop his sorry ass on.

"Get to what? I'm calling to ask if you're okay."

"If I'm—okay," Katsuki tonelessly repeats because this doesn't make sense. "I just yelled at your son for ten minutes before I walked out on him," he tells Aizawa because maybe he doesn't know yet, maybe Hitoshi has—for some reason—not told his parents what a colossal fuck-up Katsuki is but Aizawa just makes that same understanding humming noise again.

"I know. It sounds as if you're upset. You wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about it?" Katsuki incredulously asks. "The fuck are you on about? I just yelled at your son," he repeats, in case Aizawa has turned incredibly senile or maybe deaf. "You should tell me to stay the fuck away from him."

"And why would I do that? Hitoshi is old enough to make his own decisions, as are you. I'm just wondering how you're doing. Hizashi has Hitoshi covered and I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to."

"What if we broke up?" Katsuki blurts out because he doesn't understand how Aizawa can offer this to him when he just royally fucked up and blew up at Hitoshi over abso-fucking-lutely nothing, simply because he's stressed out of his mind over the next hero rankings.

"Katsuki," Aizawa says and Katsuki tenses all over because Aizawa has never used his given name before. "You're part of this family. That doesn't stop should you and Hitoshi break up, just like you didn't stop being my problem child once you graduated. Is that understood?"

He's using his no-nonsense teacher voice, so really, Katsuki has no other choice but to answer him.

"I'm not sure," he admits, because he has no goddamn clue what the hell is going on anymore; sure, he knows that Aizawa and Yamada offered their support and promised him that they would always be there for him but Katsuki was under the impression that the offer is tied to his relationship with Hitoshi.

And should they ever break up, then Katsuki would have nothing, again.

"You're family," Aizawa says and his voice doesn't allow room for an argument. "My son is upset and I figured my problem child might be, too. Do you want to talk about it?"

Aizawa says 'problem child' the same way he calls Hitoshi 'son' or 'kid' and it's enough to make Katsuki's next breath come out wet and shaky.

"You can't just say that," he gets out because Aizawa can't, there's no way he can mean it but Aizawa is nothing if steady and certain and there's no hesitation when he answers him.

"I can. And I did. Deal with it, or don't, but you're not getting out of this family, no matter how things go with Hitoshi."

Katsuki bends over, hiding his face in his knees as he presses the phone to his ear, almost wishing those words would sink into his very bones so he can always, always remember that they were said, once and thankfully, Aizawa gives him a moment.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks again after a moment and Katsuki lets out a shuddering breath.

"I fucked up," he whispers hoarsely and Aizawa clicks his tongue.

"Tell me about it and then go fix it," he says and so Katsuki does.

(He texts Aizawa after, informing him that he apologised and that it's all good again and he gets a thumbs-up in response, which is typical for Aizawa but then he also gets a 'We're very proud of you' from Yamada, which is not very typical for Katsuki to get but thankfully Hitoshi is right there for Katsuki to hide his face away.)

~*~*~

Katsuki has just gotten off the phone with Aizawa when he turns around and finds Hitoshi fixing him with a contemplating look on his face.

"What?" he demands to know already bristling because he just knows that Hitoshi is going to say some stupid bullshit but instead of doing that, Hitoshi's face melts into something incredibly soft, something that almost makes Katsuki blush just looking at him.

"What?" he snaps out, more flustered than anything and Hitoshi nods towards the phone.

"You call my parents more often than I do," he says and immediately, Katsuki feels—something.

Guilt, maybe.

"That's—sorry?" he weakly gives back because he has no clue what he's supposed to say here and the smirk on Hitoshi's face lets him know that the bastard damn well knows it, too, but still he goes over when Hitoshi makes grabby hands at him.

"Kats, angel, love of my life, that's a good thing," Hitoshi says as he pulls him on the couch and tucks him into his side.

"It is?" Katsuki unsurely asks because how can it be?

Shouldn't Hitoshi be angry or jealous or something?

"It very much is," Hitoshi says and presses a lingering kiss to his forehead. "I told you they are good parents. I told you they'd be your family, too and it makes me very happy to see this."

Katsuki looks down at the phone in his hands and he realises that he's calling either Aizawa or Yamada once a week. He has been talking to them once a week for at least the last two months now and the knowledge kind of makes his head spin.

"I—like talking to them," Katsuki admits and Hitoshi simply nods.

"I never liked talking to my family."

It doesn't have to be said, because that much has to be obvious with how Katsuki hasn't even sent his parents a quick message in several months now but Hitoshi nods again before he makes a thoughtful noise.

"I think we need to call them your bio family," he then says and squeezes Katsuki tightly. "Because your family are my dad and papa now."

Katsuki's throat closes right up at that and it takes him a moment to swallow past the lump that's lodged itself in there but once he's sure his voice will actually hold he looks up at Hitoshi and says "And you."

Aizawa's words still ring in his ears, that Katsuki will not stop being their family even without Hitoshi and maybe he is starting to believe that now, but Katsuki's first family was Hitoshi.

And he always will be.

"And me," Hitoshi quietly agrees and noses at Katsuki's temple. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," he replies, because he does, more than anything.

"And they love you, too," Hitoshi tells him and for a moment that makes Katsuki freeze up again because he's not used to family that loves him.

But he thinks back to all the times they were there for him, thinks about the support he has gotten from Aizawa and Yamada, unconditional and without question, and he realises with a start that it must be true.

They love him, too, as family, as their problem child and for a moment Katsuki doesn't know what to do with all these feelings inside of him.

Hitoshi knows, of course he does, and he simply holds Katsuki until he's ready to speak again.

"I love them as well," Katsuki admits, something he would never, ever have said about his bio family but here, with Aizawa and Yamada as his most frequently called contacts, with Hitoshi right there, it's easy to admit.

Hitoshi snorts out a laugh before he can help himself, because no one ever cared to figure anything out.

"Taking that as a no," Yamada says, his voice weirdly pinched and Hitoshi shrinks in on himself because that sounds like displeasure and displeasure is dangerous.

It means pain for Hitoshi, always, and he really doesn't want to start his day like this.

Yamada seems to immediately notice, because he takes a step back, giving Hitoshi space and it's so thoughtful that Hitoshi feels his eyes burn.

"I'm not angry," Yamada says, because they do that, too.

They explain things to him, they explain themselves to him in a way no one ever has done before and they explain their emotions.

Because sometimes they are angry not because of him but for him and that, too, is something Hitoshi has no reference for because it never happened before.

"I'm not entirely happy either, because your previous guardians should have taken you to a specialist to see if it really is related to your quirk or if there is another reason for it. That's all. You didn't do anything wrong, kiddo."

The reassurance slides down his back like a warm blanket and Hitoshi nods to signal his understanding because he doesn't trust his voice to hold.

"We're going to get that checked out, but for now: have you noticed a change since you came here? More or less sleep, feeling more rested or the opposite? Any change might be worth noting down."

Hitoshi treats the inquiry with the required seriousness and thinks back to all his nights here and then shakes his head.

"No change at all. I mean—I guess I do feel a little bit better cause I sleep deeper here, but the hours haven't changed at all."

And it's the truth—he feels as if he sleeps deeper here than anywhere else, which probably has to do with the fact that he doesn't have to jolt up at any tiny noise, that he doesn't have to worry about his own safety at any given time.

Yamada rewards his answer with a blinding smile before he ruffles Hitoshi's hair again.

"Alright, kiddo, if the hours change you let us know and we'll get on that appointment with a specialist," Yamada promises him and Hitoshi nods his understanding and he knows they mean it.

If they said it, it will happen, because that's just how Yamada and Aizawa are.

"Now, you ready for breakfast?" Yamada asks and that, too, is not a misleading question.

There will be breakfast for him, and there will be as much as he wants, with no restrictions on how much he can eat.

And that might be one of the things Hitoshi loves most here, so he nods and gives Yamada a small smile.

"Ready," he agrees and starts in his day not with a threat of violence but with concern and love.

~*~*~

Hitoshi gnaws at his lower lip, rapidly tapping his pen against his homework sheet and he can feel cold sweat breaking out on his skin.

He can't solve this; there's no way for him to know how to because this is a subject exclusively taught to the hero course and he clearly missed the first part of this, being stuck in Gen Ed and all and so he can't even start to guess on where he should start with this.

There's an obvious solution for this—Aizawa is out in the living-room right now and he keeps telling Hitoshi to ask if there are any problems but it doesn't feel right.

It feels like an admittance of weakness, of stupidity, and those normally come with flying fists and sneered curses and Hitoshi could do without them.

But then again, this is Aizawa, who hasn't done anything to him in all the time he's been staying with them and Aizawa told him to come to him should he ever have problems with his homework.

It's not an easy decision, even with Aizawa's steady reassurances but after another ten minutes spent over his worksheet with no damn clue on where to even start, Hitoshi admits defeat.

He gathers his homework and shuffles out of the room, clutching the papers as if they are a lifeline. Aizawa notices him the moment he steps into the living-room and his eyes fall down to the sheets almost immediately.

"Trouble?" he asks and there's no judgement in his voice, just simple curiosity and it gives Hitoshi the strength to nod. "Come here then," Aizawa says, waving at Hitoshi, while pushing his own papers away, making space on the table.

It looks as if he's been grading and shit, Hitoshi shouldn't have disturbed him, he inconvenienced him and he should go back to his room, he should—

"Breathe," Aizawa says, still seated at the table and merely looking at Hitoshi. "Breathe and relax, you didn't do anything wrong," he reassures him because he always, always knows when Hitoshi is spiralling and Hitoshi forces himself to do as he was told.

He breathes and he relaxes and then he holds out the papers.

"I can't do this," he admits and while normally the admittance that he can't is closely followed by a beating, Aizawa only nods and pats the space next to him.

"Come here and let's go over it together," he offers and Hitoshi does.

He goes over and he spreads out the sheets and Aizawa takes time out of his day to explain it to him in a way that's easy to understand and it barely takes them fifteen minutes until Hitoshi gets started on scribbling on the page.

Hitoshi is so engrossed in his homework that he startles badly when a cup of tea is suddenly put down in front of him.

"Time for a break," Aizawa gently reminds him and a quick glance at the clock reveals that Hitoshi has been working on this non-stop for almost an hour.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"And you didn't," Aizawa cuts him off before Hitoshi can even figure out what he's apologising for and Aizawa's voice doesn't allow any argument. "You've been working very diligently and now you need a break, that's just how it is."

There's no judgement in his voice, nothing that makes Hitoshi believe that he's displeased or even angry and so he allows himself to relax again.

"Thank you," he quietly says and grabs his tea, wrapping his hands around the cup and leeching its warmth.

"You're welcome, kid. Homework makes more sense now?" Aizawa asks, sitting back down next to Hitoshi and he nods.

"Yeah, thanks again for explaining," he mumbles into his tea and Aizawa pats his head.

"No problem. If there's ever anything else that gives you trouble, ask away."

It's an offer he has repeatedly put out there but today was the first day Hitoshi really took him up on it and if this is how it's always going to go then Hitoshi will ask him more often.

"Can I—stay out here?" Hitoshi hesitantly asks once his tea is gone and he's tensing up in anticipation of Aizawa telling him to get lost and to hide himself away in his room, because out of sight, out of mind after all, but Aizawa only gives him a small smile.

"I'd like that. School work—no matter if it's homework or grading—is always much more fun if you have company for it."

It's an open invitation to keep Aizawa company whenever one of them have to work on something like this and it makes Hitoshi's eyes burn, so he quickly ducks his head.

"Okay," he eventually agrees and just like that, they get back to it.

And homework doesn't feel all that bad like this.

~*~*~

Hitoshi is nodding off on the couch, but he's determined to stay up until he finished the book they were assigned to read, Yamada’s radio show running quietly in the background, but it seems as if Aizawa has a different idea because the book is being pried out of his hands.

"Hey," Hitoshi sluggishly says, his vision barely staying clear and Aizawa bonks the book slightly on his head.

"Go to sleep, kid. You're almost there anyway and you won't remember what you read now. You still have time, there's no need to rush."

Hitoshi pouts and makes grabby hands at the book but when Aizawa continues to keep it out of reach, Hitoshi flops back down on the couch, and just laying down is enough to almost drag him into sleep.

"In your bed," Aizawa admonishes him and pokes Hitoshi's side until he grumbles and pushes himself up.

"Alright, alright, stop nagging, dad, I'm going. Good night," Hitoshi slurs out, stumbling over his own feet on his way to the bedroom and he faceplants into bed without another thought passing through his mind.

Hitoshi sleeps blissfully until he's rudely awakened by something slapping his face.

He jolts upright, wildly looking around as his heart rapidly beats away in his chest, and it takes him a long moment to notice Aizawa standing next to his bed, his arms crossed in front of his chest and some sheets sitting in Hitoshi's lap.

"What the hell," he mumbles, but instead of explaining, Aizawa only nods at the papers, so Hitoshi takes them and quickly skims them.

And he must be dreaming, he must still be sleeping, or maybe he's hallucinating because—

"Did you just hit me with adoption papers?" he weakly asks, his hands shaking where they are clutching the sheets and Aizawa tilts his head.

"Well, did you hit me with a dad-bomb?" he gives back and it takes Hitoshi a moment to understand what he's talking about but when he finally remembers, he goes bright red in the face.

"I—that was—I did?" he finally offers, his voice shaking and he would think he's in trouble, but the papers in his hands say something else.

"You did," Aizawa says with a nod.

"And because of that you—"

"No," Aizawa immediately cuts him off and sits down on the edge of Hitoshi's bed. "We've had these papers for a while, because we want to adopt you. Have wanted to do that since the moment we took you in, but we wanted to give you time to get used to us, time to adjust, time to figure out if you'd want that. But you seem plenty comfortable to us now and with that little slip—we figure it's time."

"Time to—"

"Ask you. If you want us to adopt you."

It's not a question Hitoshi ever expected, because he bid that dream farewell a long, long time ago and to have it offered to him like this again brings out tears Hitoshi wasn't prepared for.

He's scared of getting any of them on the papers so he quickly lowers them and since he doesn't trust his voice, he simply nods so hard his hair flops around and Aizawa's face goes all soft.

"Alright," Aizawa gently says and pulls Hitoshi forward so he can fall into his chest. "We'll hand them in as soon as the office opens," he promises and Hitoshi continues to cry because that means they want that, they want to call him their son and not just kid or kiddo like they have been doing and just the thought of that is overwhelming in the best kind of way.

"Thanks, dad," Hitoshi says, testing it out, saying it consciously, and Aizawa hums.

"You're welcome, son," he softly says and Hitoshi is pretty certain he can never put into words just how much this means to him.

Going by the way Aizawa holds him for the rest of the night, Hitoshi guesses he knows it anyway.

Link to the series on AO3

Except that the last part is getting harder and harder by the day because their son is crying his goddamn eyes out in his room and they have no idea what's going on.

"We have to ask him," Shouta decides, even though they've done that in the past.

And Hitoshi lies straight to their faces every time, claiming that everything is fine, that nothing is going on and that he's good.

His red-rimmed eyes and splotchy cheeks tell a very different story, but he never explains anything to them. And they tolerated that for a while, but it's not getting any better.

It's been several weeks since that very first time and there hasn't been a single time that Hitoshi went out and didn't cry afterwards.

And Shouta thinks he's had enough.

"If he doesn't answer us this time, we'll have to figure it out another way."

"What are you thinking?" Hizashi asks, rightfully knowing that Shouta already has half a plan.

"I think that my problem children might know something," Shouta gives back and he's going to squeeze it out of them, no matter what.

"Let's ask him first," Hizashi slowly gives back, though it's not the argument Shouta expected.

Hizashi is big on letting Hitoshi come to them and normally, that works fine but it clearly doesn't here and he seems to know it, too.

"We will, but we've also waited long enough. We have to figure out what's going. I refuse to let our son get hurt by anything else in his life."

It's already hard enough to know that he's currently crying and that there's nothing they can do because he doesn't want them to but enough is enough.

This has been going on for too long already and Shouta is going to figure out just what the hell is going on here.

"Yeah," Hizashi quietly agrees and they cuddle a bit closer together as they wait for Hitoshi to come back out of his room again.

Which he does, maybe forty minutes after he first came home, and he immediately slinks off to the bathroom, no doubt cleaning up his face as if that could hide the fact that he was crying, before he joins them in the living-room.

Hizashi and Shouta readily make space for him because they never want him to feel unwelcome and then they share a look before Shouta speaks.

"Hitoshi, what is going on?" he asks, in that blunt way he has and they watch with a heavy heart how Hitoshi tenses up before he forcibly relaxes himself.

"What do you mean?" he asks, always trying to gauge what could possibly be going on before he says something of substance and Shouta knows that it's because he’s had to endure too much shit in his childhood but it's also simply infuriating that he can never give a straight answer.

Just because Shouta understands the reason doesn't mean he has to like it.

"You've been crying."

Shouta is not one to beat around the bush, after all, and Hizashi makes a sound at his side, before he elbows him in the stomach.

"You insensitive brute," he hisses, which makes Hitoshi's lips twitch upwards before he grows serious again.

"It's nothing," he gives back, the same thing he's been saying for weeks now and it's clearly not nothing.

"It's something," Shouta shoots back and Hizashi sighs.

"Kiddo, it has to be something because it's been going on for a while."

"We're worried."

"You don't have to be, it's fine."

"You've been crying," Shouta reiterates. "Excuse us if that makes us worry." Shouta pauses for a moment. "We're going to figure it out eventually."

It's not a threat but a promise and also an offer—should Hitoshi really not want them to know now is the time for him to tell them.

They figured out early that there are some things Hitoshi truly wishes to not speak about and if he says 'I do not want you to know this' then they drop it, but Shouta thinks he's over it.

"There is nothing to figure out, it's fine," Hitoshi reiterates and Shouta scoffs.

"Bullshit. It's not fine if you're crying every other day."

"Hitoshi, what Shou means to say—" he's side-eying Shouta hard as he speaks "—is that clearly something is up and we're here to help. You can tell us whatever is bothering you."

"Nothing is bothering me," Hitoshi gives back, more angry this time but there's also a faint blush on his face, almost as if he's embarrassed and Shouta is confused.

"Hitosh, you can—" he starts but Hitoshi cuts him off when he jumps off.

"Drop it," Hitoshi hisses out and then storms away to his room, where he promptly locks himself in again, leaving Shouta and Hizashi with nothing to do but stare after him in confusion.

"That wasn't a 'I don't want you to know'," Shouta finally says because he will figure it out.

"Shou," Hizashi warily says, and Shouta understands where he's coming from, he does but—

"No. I understand if he doesn't want us to know something about his past trauma but this is ongoing. This is happening right now and I will not allow him to get hurt anymore than he already has been. I will figure this out and if my hell class is to blame for this I am going to expel them all."

"Oh boy," Hizashi mutters, clearly knowing that arguing is pointless in this moment and Shouta already knows what he's going to do.

And the fact that Hizashi is not trying harder to stop him speaks volumes anyway.

~*~*~

Shouta waits until Hitoshi leaves for his therapy session before he makes his way down into the common room. He has about three hours to interrogate his hell class before Hitoshi comes back because he likes to relax at the cat café after therapy and it's a window Shouta is not going to pass up.

"Iida, gather everyone," he almost rudely snaps out when the class president crosses his path, knowing that this will be the fastest way to get everyone.

Iida is very good at handling the class, after all.

It takes them all of five minutes to gather in the common room and Shouta looks at each one with narrowed eyes. It's almost amusing how it makes them squirm, but there's nothing amusing about his crying son and so Shouta doesn't crack even the faintest smile.

"Who here knows what Shinsou had been up to yesterday afternoon?" he asks and he doesn't expect an immediate answer, but Ashido's hand flies up so fast she bounces a little bit with it. "Yes?"

"He was with us," she declares and Shouta frowns harder.

"Us? Everyone who was involved, raise your hand," he demands and watches how all of the Bakusquad's hands go up, even though Bakugou takes an elbow to the side from Kirishima before he moves.

"Those with raised hands stay, everyone else is dismissed," Shouta barks out and watches how Ashido and Kaminari sink in on themselves, clearly trying to figure out if they did something wrong but Sero, Kirishima and Bakugou don't seem too bothered.

Still, Aizawa glares at them with all his might, because if they are the reason his son comes home crying every other day, expulsion is literally the last thing these five need to worry about.

He waits until everyone else has gone back to their room before he speaks again.

"What were you doing?"

"What's it to you?" Bakugou immediately shoots back. "It was outside of UA and we didn't skip classes so we don't have to explain ourselves."

Technically, he's right but Shouta couldn't give less of a fuck about that.

"But you will," he threatens them and bless Kaminari, because with one glare from Shouta he folds like a house of cards.

"We went to the arcade," Kaminari rushes out, earning himself a snapped "Oi!" and a slap over the head from Bakugou for it. "What?"

"There is no fucking way he needs to know this," Bakugou angrily tells him and then fixes Shouta with a look. "Why do you need to know this?"

"Bakubro," Kirishima tries, but Bakugou's glare stays the same.

"No. If troll doll wanted him to know something he would have told him, but clearly he didn't so it's not our place to tell either!"

Shouta has to agree with him, but these are extenuating circumstances and so he couldn't give less of a fuck about it. Though he has to admit it does make him feel a little bit softer towards them, knowing they have Hitoshi's back like this.

"Was he with you on Sunday, too?" Shouta asks, directing his question at Ashido and Kaminari, because these two have to be the weak links here.

"Yes," Ashido instantly replies, not caring about the hissed "Racoon eyes!"

"Last Friday? Thursday? Tuesday?" Shouta rattles off, because those were the days just last week that Hitoshi came back only to cry in his room and Ashido confirms each and every one of them.

"Why do you know this all so fast?" Aizawa wants to know and Ashido puffs up with pride.

"Because I am the one planning, otherwise these guys would never get anything done. Yesterday was the arcade, Sunday we went to the park, Friday dinner and movie, Thursday study session, Tuesday training after class," she lists off and it only makes Shouta's confusion worse.

None of these explain why Hitoshi cried afterwards.

"Why do you ask?" Sero asks, a little bit more polite than Bakugou did before and Shouta lets out a sigh.

"Because after each one of these outings, Hitoshi came back, locked himself into his room and cried for a good twenty minutes. And I need to know why."

It's not a secret that Hitoshi is staying with him and Hizashi, not anymore, and so there's no need to hide that, especially not because he needs an answer.

"He cried?" Kaminari chokes out and Ashido instantly bursts into tears, too, and Kirishima, Sero and Bakugou seem almost devastated by those news, too.

"Did we hurt him somehow?" Ashido cries out and Sero goes over to awkwardly pet her head when she throws herself at his chest.

"What did we do?" Kirishima asks, clearly helpless in the face of these news and Bakugou makes a dismissive sound.

"If he knew, he wouldn't be asking us," he snaps at Kirishima but Shouta can tell that he's shocked by those news as well.

"Uhm, what's going on here?" Hitoshi suddenly asks from the doorway and every head flies around to him.

"Hitoshi," Ashido cries out and flings herself at him.

Hitoshi just barely manages to catch her before Kaminari is there, too, slinging his arms around his neck and hanging off him, crying just as much as Ashido.

"We're so sorry, so, so sorry, we didn't mean to," Kaminari sobs and Hitoshi's face goes carefully blank in his confusion.

Shouta hates to see it.

"Welcome back," he says, because he has to. "You're early."

"Appointment got cancelled. There was an emergency. What's going on here?"

He's trying for a light voice, but Shouta can spot the tension running through him and it doesn't help that Sero, Kirishima and Bakugou make their way over to him as well.

"Oi, eggplant! Why the fuck wouldn't you tell us to back the hell off?" Bakugou demands to know and now the confusion wins out and breaks through Hitoshi's mask.

"Why would I?"

"Because we made you cry," Ashido wails and hugs Hitoshi harder. "We didn't mean to, you have to tell us if we overdo it!"

"Yeah, man, you can't just be going around and taking shit from us. You gotta talk to us," Sero chimes in and Kirishima nods vigorously.

"You need to enforce your boundaries, bro, especially with us!"

Hitoshi digests all of that for a moment before he turns betrayed eyes on Shouta.

"Don't even look at me like that, kid," Shouta sighs out. "You really cannot expect to come home four to five times a week only to have a good cry and for me to just let it go. If something is wrong, I need to know."

"Nothing is wrong though," Hitoshi sighs out and that blush on his face is back.

"Then what the hell is going on?" Bakugou asks him and Hitoshi hides behind a hand.

"I'm happy," he mutters out, barely audible over Ashido's and Kaminari's sniffles. "I'm so goddamn happy, because I have parents who want me and for the first time in forever I have friends and I'm just—I'm happy," he admits and for a split moment, Shouta feels as if he's tearing up.

That was the first time he referred to them as parents after all, and Shouta was not prepared for that.

"What?" Ashido breathes out and Hitoshi gently pushes her away.

"Can you stop crowding me in?" Hitoshi asks and everyone takes two steps back from him immediately.

So much for enforcing his boundaries, Shouta amusedly thinks, but he's just as curious for the explanation as the squad clearly is.

"It's so fucking embarrassing," Hitoshi mumbles and then glares at Shouta. "Which is why I didn't want to explain anything."

"Tough luck, kid," Shouta says with a shrug because by now he knows when Hitoshi is really mad and this is not it.

"What do you mean you cry because you're happy?" Sero brings them all back on track and Hitoshi heaves out a sigh.

"Just that. I never had friends who wanted me around and you—do. Somehow. And yesterday was great, it was so much fun and—"

"But we just went to the arcade," Kirishima gives back, clearly confused but Hitoshi shrugs.

"Yeah, and I've never been," he admits as if that isn't the most heartbreaking thing for a teenager to say ever. "And you didn't make fun of me for not knowing any of the games. Instead you taught me how to play all of them and I had so much fun. I'm—" he cringes but then Hitoshi soldier's on "—not really used to that. Being accepted. Or wanted around or whatever, so. It's a lot for me."

"Bro," Kirishima says and now he sounds distinctly chocked up as well.

Shouta can relate. He's certainly feeling the lump in his throat, too, and if Hizashi were here, he would be full on bawling his eyes out already, Shouta just knows it.

"Please don't," Hitoshi sighs out, clearly sensing that a few more people are going to start crying and he throws a look at Bakugou, clearly asking for help.

"You're a fucking idiot," Bakugou mutters and not even he seems unaffected by what Hitoshi admitted.

"Yes, you are, because we love you," Ashido cries and then throws herself back at Hitoshi again.

It seems to break some kind of dam, because they are all moving in, hugging Hitoshi as if his life depends on it, and who knows, maybe it does.

Shouta can't help the soft snort when even Bakugou moves in, though he doesn't quite hug anyone but instead bullies his way into their space. It's a very Bakugou-way to hug, Shouta thinks.

He stays for a moment longer, just watching how loved his son is by his friends, before he quietly makes his escape.

This is certainly not what he expected to find out, but he can't deny that it makes him happy as well and he can't wait to explain all of this to Hizashi.

"Wonderful, there's a file, everything should be in there," she says, already looking over her shoulder before she gives them a weak smile and then rushes off again.

She didn't even look at the kid. She didn't even talk to him and she certainly didn't explain anything to them.

Shouta and Hizashi share a look before they shrug it off and concentrate on the child.

"Hello, Hitoshi," Hizashi says as he crouches down. "My name is Yamada Hizashi and this is my husband, Aizawa Shouta. I think you've already heard but you'll be placed into our custody for now. Is that alright with you?"

Hitoshi stares at them with wide eyes and Shouta is honestly not sure if he understands what they are saying to him.

"Do you understand us?" Shouta asks, squatting down next to Hizashi as well and blending out all the bustle around them.

Hitoshi's eyes dart from Shouta to Hizashi and back before he nods once, just a small, jerky movement of his head but it has to be enough for now.

"Do you want to hand me the file, kid?" Shouta asks and holds his hand out.

Hitoshi's eyes flick down to the file before they fixate on Shouta's hands again and he almost throws the file at him. Shouta is luckily quick enough to catch it but he thinks it speaks volume about what they are going to find in it.

"Thanks, Hitoshi," Shouta softly says and gets up, just like Hizashi.

"Have you seen a doctor about all of your injuries?" Hizashi asks, a pointed look at the bandages covering almost all of Hitoshi's body and they look new and clean but if he was found in a lab, maybe they could be wrong.

Hitoshi nods again and for now, they are satisfied with that, so they quickly herd him out of the chaos around them.

The drive back home is absolutely silent, at least on Hitoshi's part, but Hizashi and Shouta make sure to keep a light conversation going. When they lead the kid into their apartment Hitoshi's eyes go almost painfully wide and for a split second a horrifying thought occurs to Shouta.

They found him in a lab, the woman had said. A lab. Hitoshi's reaction to their apartment makes it seem as if he has never seen a real home and Shouta shares a worried look with Hizashi, who seems to have come to the same conclusion.

As soon as the kid is settled, they will have to dig through the file, trying to figure out what the hell is going on here.

How unused Hitoshi is gets even more apparent when he freezes in the doorway of his room.

"This is your room, Hitoshi," Hizashi tells him but that doesn't seem to reassure Hitoshi at all.

"Do you want to get settled?" Shouta asks and puts the bag with Hitoshi’s meagre belongings down on his bed.

They are going to have to go shopping, and soon at that, because Hitoshi hardly has anything to his name.

Hitoshi doesn't seem very receptive to their gentle tone and keeps standing frozen in the doorway, so that Hizashi has to gently push him inside.

"Check the room out, kiddo, it's not going to bite. We'll be out in the kitchen, making you something to eat, alright? Any allergies?"

Hitoshi doesn't react to their inquiry so they decide to stick with a soup for now.

Being raised in a lab doesn't scream well-fed at them and Hitoshi's frame seems to support their worry, so they'll probably have to start slow.

"This right here," Hizashi says and points at the door opposite of Hitoshi's door, "is the bathroom. Our room is right next to that, that there is the office, the kitchen and the living-room."

Hizashi points to the corresponding rooms and even though Hitoshi tracks his movements he doesn't outwardly react. Well, at least he seems to understand them, which is already a plus. Now they only have to figure out if he can also speak.

And what his quirk is. And why he was in a lab. And what kind of injuries he has and why. So many questions considering he's such a tiny boy and Shouta's hands itch to reach the file.

"You good for now, kiddo?" Hizashi asks and Hitoshi only blinks blankly at them, which they take as a yes and decide to leave him to his own devices for now.

They keep the door open, of course, in case he needs them, but they retreat to the kitchen for now.

"This is fucked up," Hizashi says, gathering everything he needs to make his patented soup and Shouta sits down with the file in front of him.

"It is," he agrees and then gets to reading.

Shouta is not new to the horrors of this world, but even though he's been a pro hero for a while—and works exclusively at night and underground—he has to stop reading at least twice.

By the time he's done he feels sick to his stomach and it's no wonder that Hitoshi doesn't speak to them.

He's been experimented on, treated like a lab rat and grown accordingly, his quirk almost violently exploited and Shouta wants to kill something.

And also hug the shit out of the kid, but with how little he's been socialised, Shouta doubts it would go over well.

"Bad?" Hizashi asks knowingly when Shouta finally closes the file and Shouta nods.

"Worse," he grimly says and it's not at all an exaggeration. It's so much worse than anything they expected.

"Summarise it for me?" Hizashi asks, and Shouta does.

~*~*~

They start slow. They check in on Hitoshi multiple times a day, always bringing him something to eat and to drink when it becomes clear that he's not going to come out of his room, but for the most part they keep the door closed or almost shut to make him feel safer.

After a week, they tell him they would like to keep the door open during the day, so that they can converse more easily with him but that of course he's always welcome to close it, should he not want that.

Hitoshi hisses at them for that.

~*~*~

Hitoshi starts to venture out three weeks in. First it's only at night, as silent as a mouse as he skips through the hallway, but Shouta's ears are sharp and Hitoshi has never really learned to hide his tracks so it's easy to notice where he's been.

They don't mention it; just like they don't mention it when they spend time in the living-room and Hitoshi watches them from his doorway.

Shouta and Hizashi still talk to him, of course, include him most of the time, but when he so clearly checks out if it's safe for him to come out then they give him space.

They don't outwardly react when Hitoshi steps foot into the living-room while they are still in it for the first time, but they share a quick look and it's more than obvious that they are going to freak out about it later.

Hitoshi bolts almost immediately, but when neither Shouta nor Hizashi reprimand him for it, it happens more often.

~*~*~

Hitoshi starts to accept food from them; he has always eaten what they brought to him or left out for him, but always with a delay. Now they are able to put something down in front of him and he gets to eating almost immediately.

Shouta doesn't know what the hold-up with that was, but he doesn't really want to know and he's just happy that Hitoshi is eating at all.

~*~*~

The first time Hitoshi says something to them feels like a monumental milestone and yet—again—they don't outwardly freak out, too worried to scare him off.

It's nothing more than a whispered "Thank you" when they put his dinner down in front of him and Hizashi gives him a warm smile.

"You're welcome, kiddo. I hope you like it."

Hitoshi does, if his empty plate is anything to go by and Hizashi totally cries that night.

~*~*~

Hitoshi starts to spend time with them. It's almost like parallel play—he doesn't really do anything but watch them, but he's mostly in the same room with them and he doesn't even flinch when Shouta or Hizashi speak to him.

It's progress—no matter how slow—and that is the only thing that matters to them.

~*~*~

"You think I can lure him onto the couch with us?" Hizashi asks one morning as they are getting ready in their bedroom and Shouta snorts.

"You can try," he agrees, because he doubts Hizashi is going to get anywhere but then again, he's always good for a surprise, so who knows.

Shouta knows that he has lost when he comes home and smells hot chocolate in the air, and when he steps into the living-room, Hizashi beams at him.

Hitoshi is sitting at the other end of the couch, feet happily kicking out as he drinks his treat and when Hizashi gloats at him that night, Shouta lets out a sigh.

"You and your secret little potions," he accusingly says—on purpose not anywhere Hitoshi can hear, because he has read about all the concoctions they made him drink—and Hizashi pouts at him.

"It's not a potion, it's hot chocolate. It's a recognised treat and a perfect bribe. And it worked!"

"It sure did."

~*~*~

They get him to talk and to eat and to spend time in their presence and one day, they even get him to ask for a hug and it feels like the best day of their lives.

It only gets better when Hitoshi realises that he doesn't have anything to fear from them and then he's the most cuddly kid Shouta has ever encountered, always seeking them out for a hug, or just staying pressed close to them and neither Shouta nor Hizashi ever tell him to get lost.

~*~*~

By the time CPS remembers to check in on them, they have the adoption papers filled out and ready.

~*~*~

"You have to give him space," Shouta says, tugging Hitoshi out of the office and closing the door behind them. "You don't know what he's been through and this is scary for him. We let him acclimate himself in this room for now."

"You think he'll be alright?" Hitoshi asks, a concerned look on his face and Shouta ruffles his hair.

"Of course he will be. He's with us now and we'll make sure he is fine."

Hitoshi found the cat hurt behind a dumpster and it was clear that the last few months of its life have not been good ones and—bleeding hearts that they are—neither Shouta nor Hizashi had the heart to tell him no when he asked if they could keep the cat.

"I just hope he learns to trust us," Hitoshi mutters, poking his hand where the cat had let him know exactly what he thought about being touched and Shouta takes his hand in his to inspect the wound.

"He will. Let's get this cleaned up though, so you're still around by the time that happens," he jokes and Hitoshi huffs.

"One measly cat scratch is not going to kill me," he grumbles and normally Shouta would agree—Hitoshi already survived so much shit in his childhood, it would almost be laughable if something like this takes him out but—he's not going to take a chance when it comes to his son.

"Best not to tempt fate."

~*~*~

They spend a few minutes at a time inside of the office, usually two of them, so they can talk and get the cat used to their voices. Hitoshi is diligent about it and it warms Shouta's heart to see how much compassion he has, despite everything he went through in the past.

The cat doesn't seem to think the same though, because it continues to hiss at them.

~*~*~

They start to feed it by hand. The cat still gets his normal food in a bowl, of course, but treats are exclusively delivered by hand and it gets the cat close because clearly the hunger is greater than the distrust.

Shouta does not make fun of Hitoshi when his eyes brim with tears, the first time the cat puts his front paws on his knee to get to the treat better.

~*~*~

The cat is being let out of the office gradually. It gets one more room every other day and the bribing continues, until it curls up on the couch with them.

And that is the point where Hitoshi suddenly turns suspicious eyes on them.

"You," he accusingly says and Shouta frowns.

"Me, what?"

"You and papa, you—you!" he says, even more outraged now and Shouta tilts his head back to share a confused look with Hizashi in the kitchen.

"What did we do, kiddo?" Hizashi asks, momentarily forgetting his task of making hot chocolate and coming over and Hitoshi goes so far as to point an accusing finger at them.

"You treated me like a stray cat!" he finally cries out and it takes a moment before Shouta can't hold back a laugh.

"Don't laugh, dad, what the hell!" Hitoshi yells, effectively sending the cat scattering back towards the office, though it stops halfway to assess the situation anew and that, too, is progress.

"We did, didn't we," Hizashi slowly agrees and it only makes Shouta laugh harder.

Because their kid is right. They treated him like a goddamn stray cat and—and this might even be worse—it totally worked.

"You even lured me on the couch with your hot chocolate, just like we just lured the cat here with a treat!"

"Guilty as charged," Shouta gasps out and lets out a grunt when Hitoshi throws himself onto him.

This would have all been fun and games five years ago, when Hitoshi was tiny and so light a strong blow could pick him up and carry him away, but now he's a lanky teenager, filled out due to regular meals and training and it really hurts when he makes himself heavy on top of Shouta.

"I'm not a cat," Hitoshi whines out and Hizashi steps close to scratch under Hitoshi's chin.

Which he allows, and even makes easier for Hizashi by tilting his head back.

"Sure," Shouta amusedly says and gets an elbow to his gut for his troubles.

"You be quiet," Hitoshi demands and now that, Shouta can't let stand, so he wrestles Hitoshi around until he's groaning under Shouta's weight.

"That's what you get for that."

"This is bullying. Cruelty. Worst day of my life," Hitoshi laments and Shouta pushes off him with one last hair ruffle.

"You're so dramatic."

"I get it from papa," Hitoshi says without missing a beat and now Hizashi lets out a scandalised gasp.

"Excuse you! Me? Overdramatic? Who would ever accuse me of such a thing?" he cries out, clutching at his heart and Shouta gives him a flat stare.

"Me. Him. Us. Everyone. Take your pick," he says, completely deadpan and Hitoshi laughs.

It's still one of the most beautiful sounds Shouta has ever heard and watching his husband and their son bicker, while the cat carefully watches everything from a safe distance, makes him feel so incredibly lucky that for a moment, Shouta is afraid he's going to cry.

And then he catches a stray comment from Hitoshi that drags him right back into the bickering and while any (happy) tears are forgotten, the warm feeling in Shouta's chest stays.

Link to the series on AO3

"He's—how is he?" he gets out, panic gripping at his heart because how can it be Shinsou? He's barely in the hero course, how can this happen?

"He is stable and asleep for now, though we do have some concerns that we need to talk to you about personally. Can you come in?"

"How did you know to call me?" Shouta wants to know first, because something about this seems off.

He didn't manage to put himself down as Shinsou's teacher and emergency contact yet and he only gave Shinsou his private number, so the hospital really shouldn't be calling this number right now.

"Eraserhead, like I said, there are some things we need to talk to you personally about. Can you come in or not?"

Shouta shares a look with Hizashi, who is propped up on one arm, frowning at Shouta as he's trying to follow the conversation but he must have gotten the gist of it, because he nods.

"Yeah, I'm coming in," Shouta lets Nurse Ikeda know and she lets out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. I'll be waiting for you, but please hurry. We only have two hours left and you need to be here before that."

Two hours for what, Shouta wants to ask but by then Nurse Ikeda has already hung up on him and when he relays the information to Hizashi he grimaces.

"Before they are legally forced to call his first emergency contact or guardian. You know they can drag it out should they think there's something to worry about but they are required, by law, to call the appropriate people eventually, at least if no investigation is opened or if a Pro Hero decides that whoever needs to be called, shouldn't."

"They don't want to call his guardians," Shouta breathes out, even as he flings himself out of bed and throws on the first clothes he can find. "What in the hell happened?"

"You're going to find out," Hizashi reassures him and then stops him for a moment before Shouta can fly out of the apartment to pull him into a soft kiss. "I'm going to prepare the guest room just in case. If the kiddo needs you to stay at the hospital with him, I'll be by with breakfast. Deal?"

"Deal," Shouta agrees and takes another moment to lean into Hizashi before he finally makes his way over to the hospital.

Taking the train might have gotten him there a little bit faster than flying over the rooftops of the city, but Shouta doubts he could have sat still for the entire forty minutes it takes him to get there.

He prefers to burn some of that jittery energy in him though it doesn't help to quiet his mind and by the time he arrives at the hospital he has already ten different plans formulated, depending on what he is being met with right now.

"Eraserhead," someone calls out for him the moment he steps into the hospital and when he goes over Nurse Ikeda immediately leads him into a conference room, away from everyone else.

Away from Shinsou.

"Where is he?" he demands to know. "I want to see him."

"And you will, I promise, but we need to sort out the legal stuff first," Nurse Ikeda tells him and motions for him to sit down. "Listen, we were only allowed to call you on a technicality and we need this to be waterproof before four am rolls around."

Shit, Shouta really hates it when Hizashi is right about things like that.

"You don't want to call his guardians," Shouta guesses and Nurse Ikeda vehemently shakes her head.

"No, I really don't. Shinsou was awake for a little while as we checked him out and he almost had a panic attack when someone mentioned calling his guardians. He begged us not to."

"Then why did you call me?"

"Because you're listed third in his emergency contacts. He was still awake when he got here so it was his right to tell us not to call someone and with how panicked he was about his guardians knowing—we decided it might be best to get a Pro Hero involved and conveniently, you were right there, listed as well."

It's—crafty, Shouta has to admit that, and this reasoning is going to hold up in court, too, especially if there are witnesses to Shinsou panicking.

It still doesn't explain why she called his work phone when all she had to go on was his name.

"How did you know to call me though? I know he has me under Aizawa-sensei in his phone."

He knows because Shouta watched Shinsou like a hawk, typing in his number and then saving it, because he wanted to be certain that he had it.

Shouta just wished it wouldn't have been for something like this.

"You saved my brother a few months ago and he—" Nurse Ikeda lets out a little amused laugh. "He hyper-fixated a little bit about it. I fear I know more about you than I ever really wanted to but it came in handy now, didn't it?"

"Your brother? When was that?"

"Three months ago, with that huge villain attack," Nurse Ikeda gives back. "You got him out of the fray and then stayed with him until medics could get to him. He never stopped talking about how cool you were, using your quirk while still talking to him and I want to thank you for it. It could have been a harrowing experience for him but thanks to you it's something he thinks back to almost fondly," she tells him and Shouta remembers.

Of course he remembers.

"How is his arm?" he asks much to her surprise it seems but he still remembers how the bone had poked out of his forearm and how incredibly brave the kid had been about it.

"It healed up no problem, it was a clean break despite everything. Thank you."

"I was just doing my job," he grumbles, because no matter how long he has been doing this he never got used to anyone thanking him for what he does on his job but Nurse Ikeda shakes her head.

"You were doing so much more. You could have just left him there, you were well out of reach of the villain and you could have assumed that someone would come by who could help him and I know other heroes would have done that but you didn't. You stayed with him until he was truly safe, and that is a kindness neither he nor I will ever forget."

Shouta has nothing to say to that and instead of stewing in awkward silence he brings the topic back to the original point.

"So Shinsou didn't want you to call his guardians?"

Nurse Ikeda gives him a knowing look, clearly picking up on his inability to accept thanks but she straightens up, all business now again.

"No. We're not sure why, though—we can guess," she says with a wince and Shouta raises an eyebrow at her. "We got an anonymous call about a kid in an alleyway, clearly hurt. There are no serious injuries but—there are a lot. He is bruised all over, there are choking marks on his throat, cuts on his face—" she indicates the placement of the cuts on her own and Shouta's stomach drops out because he knows injuries like that "—and a sprained shoulder all paired up nicely with a concussion. He was almost hypothermic so we have to assume he had been out hours before we got the call. And with the way he freaked out when someone mentioned calling his guardians—"

"You think it was them," Shouta summarises and he has to agree.

This situation has domestic abuse stamped all over it, especially with the muzzle marks.

"Yes. We need you to seize custody of him and start an investigation. I am in no rush to hand him back over to them, but the law demands it. Unless—"

"A Pro Hero decides otherwise," Shouta nods and of course he's going to seize custody of Shinsou.

That is not even a question.

"I'll call a detective I know and get that investigation started, so it's all official," he says and gets his phone out before he hesitates. "Thank you. You likely just saved his life and I am—thank you."

"You know him. As more than just his teacher."

"I'm training him personally," Shouta tells her. "He wants to be a hero and I'm making sure he reaches that goal."

"No teacher I know would willingly and immediately seize custody of one of their students like that, but sure, you keep telling yourself that," Nurse Ikeda says, clearly looking straight through Shouta and he has to admit that she's right.

Well, he would seize custody for all of his problem children, but he'd also make sure that their situation gets sorted out quickly so they wouldn't have to stay with him for longer than absolutely necessary.

The fact that Hizashi is already preparing the guest room for Shinsou speaks volumes, though Nurse Ikeda doesn't have to know that.

"Can I see him?"

"He should be still asleep, but of course. Find me after your calls and I'll bring you to his room," she promises and then leaves Shouta to his own devices.

There are a bunch of phone calls he has to make now, so that everything is watertight and no one can hand custody of Shinsou back to his current legal guardians on a technicality, but before he gets started on that, he shoots off a text to Hizashi.

We're gonna need the guest room and I'm staying here.

Because there's no way he's going to let Shinsou wake up alone and in a panic.

~*~*~

By the time Shinsou finally wakes up, Hizashi has been by with breakfast and is almost coming over with lunch again.

Shouta has called out of work, both as a hero and a teacher, he made sure that Nedzu is informed about the entire process so that the absent days don't get Shinsou in trouble, he has talked to Tsukauchi, Sansa, the CPS, Recovery Girl and Shinsou's doctor and he's exhausted.

He also feels accomplished though, because shortly after his talk with the doctor, Tsukauchi called him to let him know that not only are Shinsou's current guardians arrested, but since there were more signs of abuse and neglect in the house than Shouta cares to think about, they won't be out for a while and with the injuries that are now well documented, no judge in the world would let them go free.

CPS also agreed to transfer Shinsou into his care more permanently, and Shouta vows to thank Hizashi for always needling him to keep his foster license updated because otherwise this could have been an entire bureaucratic nightmare.

Like this, though, it was almost easy. It just needed one caring nurse to get Shinsou out of his situation and Shouta really has to find Nurse Ikeda later, to thank her again.

Shouta always made sure to tell Shinsou that he could tell him anything, that he would take care of any problem Shinsou might have because he saw signs of this, but Shinsou has always been adamant that nothing was going on, that he didn't need any help.

Well, now he had it anyway.

Shouta is jolted out of his thoughts when Shinsou groans in his bed and finally blinks his eyes open, blearily staring up at the ceiling before he tenses.

"I can't be here," Shinsou mutters before he tries to push himself up, clearly intent on running and Shouta clears his throat to get Shinsou's attention, who freezes immediately.

"Aizawa-sensei," Shinsou breathes out when he finally recognises him but he only barely relaxes. "I'm sorry," are Shinsou's next words and Shouta hopes that Tsukauchi hasn't been too nice to his previous foster parents.

"There is nothing to apologise for," he tries to reassure Shinsou, who immediately shakes his head.

"You're here. Someone must have called you and I'm sorry for being such a hassle."

"You're not being a hassle, Shinsou. I'm glad that I was called. I'm glad you were adamant that no one inform your previous foster family."

At that, Shinsou flinches.

"Previous? Are they not—where am I going to go?" he breathes out and Shouta can practically see him slide into a panic attack, so he is quick to take Shinsou's hand.

"You're going to come home with me, kid," he tells him. "You've missed a bit while you were asleep, but your foster family has been arrested for their abuse of you and Hizashi and me applied to be your foster parents, which CPS approved. You're going to stay with us now and no one will hurt you again."

"This is—" Shinsou starts and then almost painfully squeezes Shouta's hand. "Tell me this is not a dream. I'm not, like, in a coma or something, right? This is real?"

Shouta hates that Shinsou can't even seem to trust this but he only gives him a soft smile.

"This is real," he reassures him. "Apart from a few lingering scrapes and probably some soreness you're perfectly healthy, so no coma involved."

"And you're not lying to me, like a logical ruse to keep me calm or something, right?" Shinsou goes on and there's so much hope in his voice and on his face that Shouta can't help himself, he simply has to pull him into a hug.

"No lying involved, I promise you that. It's real."

"I don't have to go back?" Shinsou breathes out and clings to Shouta with his free hand. "They can't hurt me again?"

"Never again, kid. You're safe now," Shouta promises and he's not at all surprised when Shinsou starts to cry.

He holds him through it without another word and when Shinsou pushes away from him, his face is blotchy but he's also giving Shouta a small smile.

"Thank you."

It's said with more gratitude than Shouta knows what to do with, but at least here, he can do what he couldn't with Nurse Ikeda.

He reaches out to ruffle Shinsou's hair and gruffly says "Don't mention it" and then he catches Shinsou up on the less boring details of the last seven or so hours, until Hizashi barges into the hospital room with lunch.