#derposaurs

— *** —

You think about calling Izuku a lot, but you can never manage to do it. Truly, you feel like scum- an awful coward. 

You never meant to hide this from him- you didn’t figure out you were pregnant until after your big move, and at that point, you were still heartbroken. Just thinking about seeing Izuku made your eyes well up, so you convinced yourself that once you gave birth you’d find the courage to tell him everything. 

Three years have passed. 

Your daughter is a healthy ball of energy, her hair just like his in color and obnoxious wavy ends. Her eyes sparkle just like his, too. You won’t lie- the fact that she resembles her father so much stings sometimes. But it doesn’t hurt as much as knowing that you’re forcing her to have a life with only one parent. 

She should have a father- she deserves it. She doesn’t deserve your cowardly behavior, so after a lot of thought and an impulsive streak, you pack up to go on a day trip back to Musutafu. 

Yui, your daughter, doesn’t know why you’re going to the big city, but she’s very excited. She’s only three, but her passion is strong and she can’t wait to meet all the big pro-heroes! 

Just like her dad. 

You hold Yui’s hand as you walk through the familiar city, pointing out anything that might interest her (which is basically everything). You plan on staying in Musutafu for a few days, so meeting up with Izuku wasn’t planned just yet. Instead, you want to make some good memories with your daughter before her life changes before her very eyes. 

You take her everywhere you can. A fancy ice cream parlor, a hero museum, a huge children’s park. Yui is beaming, smiling ear to ear the entire time. 

Everything has gone relatively well, which you’re pleasantly surprised at. At least, it was going well-

Until you run into pro-hero Shoto. Or, as you know him- Todoroki. 

Yui is the one that spots him, her whole body practically vibrating as she points at him eagerly. He’s exiting a grocery, two plastic bags in his hands. 

“Mommy, mommy it’s Shoto!” 

At the sound of his name, you watch in silent horror as Todoroki’s head turns and spots the two of you. He sees the little girl first, his brows furrowing, and then he looks up at you- 

You’d call yourself lucky to ever see such an animated expression on his face, but unfortunately for you, it’s kind of bad news. 

“You’re right, it’s the hero Shoto! Would you like to say hi?” You enunciate the ‘hero’ part, hoping that your old friend will take the hint. He slowly approaches you both, still looking quite confused, but he switches it off so he can greet your daughter properly. 

“Hello, little miss,” Todoroki smiles, reaching a hand out. She happily shakes it. 

“I see you on TV!”

“You do? That’s very cool.” 

“Yeah! You kick butt.”

He actually laughs, a quiet and soft laugh, and you’re glad that he’s not offended by her blunt behavior. It’s that moment his phone rings and he excuses himself with an apology, looking at the screen. 

“Well, since Shoto’s busy, we should probably leave, honey,” God get me out of here. 

“You don’t have to go, you know who it is,” he looks up at you with an upright eyebrow, showing you the screen. “It’s pro-hero Deku.”

Your face pales. “Todoroki, don’t-“ 

“Wow, really?!” Yui shouts, getting several looks from passerby’s. The icy-hot user smiles again as he accepts the call. 

“Hey, Deku. Guess who I’m talking to.”

You finally let go of Yui’s hand, lunging forward to grasp Todoroki’s wrist. You look at him desperately, whispering. “Please don’t. I’m here so I can tell him. Don’t make it happen like this, Shoto.” 

“…An old friend. I’ll put them on.” 

He hands you the phone with a tired look in his eye. “Then make it happen,” he wordlessly mouths to you before heading over to your daughter to give you at least an inkling of privacy. 

God, when did Todoroki turn into such a meddlemaker? 

“-llo? Hello? Shoto, this is weird,” you finally lift the phone to your ear. Your heart skips several times at the sound of his voice- oh God, this is happening. 

“Hi, Izuku,” you bite your lip hard. There’s silence on the other end before you hear a rumbling sound and an ‘oof!’ Did he just fall? 

“___?” He asks. 

“…Yeah, it’s me. I’m, um… visiting the city and I kind of ran into Todoroki. He just shoved the phone in my hands.” 

“Sounds like him,” Izuku sighs and you laugh.

“Not to me! He’s changed a lot.” There’s another silence as you shift your feet anxiously. “Well… okay, listen. I’m actually here in Musutafu because I really need to talk to you about something. Could- do you have time to meet up with me tomorrow?”

“Oh. Uh- well- yeah, of course. What’s… what do you need to talk about?”

Good to know that his voice still goes high pitched when he’s nervous. You smile without thinking about it, watching Shoto pick up Yui and point towards something or other.

“I can’t tell you over the phone. Could we meet at the park, the one next to your old house that you went to as a kid?” You had been meaning to show Yui that area. 

“Alright, that’s great! And, um… I’m really glad you’re back, ___.” You hear him sigh on the other end. “I’ll see you then. I hope you’re okay.” 

“I’m fine, Izuku. I’ll see you tomorrow- and I’ll give you back to Shoto now since you called him in the first place.” You barely hear what Izuku says, the phone already away from your face as you walk towards Shoto. You gesture for him to take it with a mildly unimpressed look on your face. 

Yeah, his stunt might have worked, but it was still a dick move.

“Okay, I have to go now,” Shoto lets your daughter down and pats her head. “Thank you for telling me about so many animals.” 

“You’re welcome!” Yui puffs out her chest, quickly walking back to you and taking your hand. You smile down at her- but freeze up again when you hear Shoto.

“Who was that? Oh…” As if it wasn’t a big deal, he throws you a thumbs up. “A kid wanted to get an autograph.” Nice. 

The two of you silently wave, walking in your separate directions. Yui talks animatedly about her time with Shoto while you were on the phone, but you can’t do anything more than nod and smile along.

This is it, you think. I’m going to tell him. He’s going to know. It’s all that’s on your mind as you check in the hotel you reserved a room for and unpack your clothes.

My life is about to drastically change.

—

You let Yui play on the swings and jungle gym as you wait for Izuku to arrive. Your foot anxiously taps on the concrete as you sit on a nearby bench, your fingers scratching at your wrists and teeth tugging your lip. You’re a few steps away from being a complete wreck- it doesn’t help that you couldn’t sleep at all last night.

How does one go about this? Hey, Izuku, it’s been three years since our break up and hey, have you ever wanted kids? Well, surprise!

You deflate in your seat. Yeah, right. As if you could be blunt like that.

At least the park is mildly empty- you’re a little worried about meeting the top hero in a public setting, especially when you’re having him meet his daughter. Uh-oh. Your face pales- what if someone saw? What if news got out?

Suddenly you realize that this may have not been a great idea. 

But apparently, you’re stuck with your bad decisions- right as you’re about to call Izuku to change plans, you hear your name from behind you. You immediately stand up, looking back and meeting eyes with the man you haven’t seen face to face in so long. 

“Izuku,” you try not to smile- really- but you can’t help it. He’s just as handsome as he is on TV, but actually standing near him you can see all the tiny details that a camera just can’t bring to life. 

The happiness in his eyes is something you can’t replace. He smiles back, taking the few steps he needs to meet you and bring you into an embrace.

“___,” Izuku sighs, “I’m so glad to see you.” 

You hug him back, your hands gripping his shirt. You half expected him to wear his Hero Suit since it’s all you’ve seen him in recently because of the news- you’re glad he didn’t. In your opinion, Izuku looks much better wearing casual clothes. 

“I’m glad to see you too, Izuku,” you break the hug and sit back down on the bench, urging him to sit beside you. More than anything, you’d like to take your time and get to know him again, but you know that your daughter will only be distracted by the park for so long. “Okay, so, I just… need to tell you this right away. Rip off the bandaid, you know?” Your hands return to your lap, anxiously wringing as you look at him. “But I- I want you to know that… I didn’t mean to hide anything from you. I would never hide something from you on purpose.” 

“What?” Izuku’s face falls as his eyebrows furrow. “What- what did you hide?” He really didn’t know where this was headed.

You take a big breath. Guilt and anxiety rushes to you in waves but you try to push it back. You need to do this. “Listen, Izuku, I… when I left-“

“Mommy!”

Your daughter’s scream cuts you off and your head snaps toward the sound, eyes wide. You want to curse- you knew your daughter liked to climb things, but the swing set? How did she do that?

It doesn’t matter- she’s falling, that’s what matters. You quickly use your quirk and teleport to the swings, swiftly catching Yui before she fell on the bark chips. “Yui!” You place her down on the ground. “What did I tell you about climbing things? You can’t always rely on me to catch you- you could get hurt!”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. She’s obviously upset and you’re a sucker- you take her into your arms again and kiss her head.

“Just be careful, honey.” You carefully pick her up, holding her by her bottom as you stand. “I have someone I want you to meet, okay? Will you be a good girl for me?” 

Yui looks confused, but she nods and you smile at her in reassurance. You walk back to the bench where Izuku was now standing at- his eyes wide in disbelief as he stared down at your daughter.

His daughter.

“Yui, this is Izuku. He’s, um…” You hesitate- do you tell her the truth? Does he even want to be a part of her life? 

Izuku picks up from where you left off. “I’m- I’m your dad.” He looks up at you before quickly looking back to Yui, holding a hand out for her to grab. “Is… that okay?” You hide your face in your daughter’s chest with a silent laugh, tearing up quietly. You feel her tiny body move and watch as her little fingers grab Izuku’s own. 

“You’re daddy?” Yui looks back up to you, still holding Izuku’s hand. “Is he?” 

“Yes, Yui,” you sniff and readjust her in your arms, trying to wiggle a hand free so you can wipe some of your tears. She leans forward to whisper in your ear and you grin happily as you nod. “Yeah, okay. Izuku, would you…” you step a little closer to him. “Would you want to give her a hug?” 

“YEAH,” Izuku bursts, frantically nodding his head and reaching out to wrap his arms around Yui who wiggles from your arms to his. You take a step back as you look at them. It’s so weird, honestly, seeing this perfect picture of Izuku sobbing with your daughter wrapped around him, looking so, so happy- it’s a picture that you only imagined up until now.