#like silk

You end up being much later for class than you might have liked. So late, actually, that you don’t even have time to stop off at the bathroom before you head to your homeroom. As you slide open the massive door to the classroom, you’re left only to keep your head ducked and pray that the furious scrubbing you’d given your face on the walk over had erased any tear tracks left on your cheeks. 

Fortunately for you, there are still a number of seats sitting empty in the classroom when you enter it, despite the time, so all eyes are not on you as you shuffle your way between the rows of desks and flop down into your own chair, letting your bag thump to the floor at your feet. 

So far, your morning has been complete ass. For a multitude of reasons. And there’s an awful sick feeling churning around in the pit of your stomach that tells you things will probably only get worse from here. 

Running into Midoriya on the train first thing in the morning after you’d left your house had not been a good omen for you. After his confession last night, you were left feeling even more on edge around him than normal. And that unease had unsettled you enough that when you accidentally bumped into Bakugou on your way up to the UA campus, you’d snapped up the bait he’d thrown for you at the first chance you got, with none of your usual thought towards the idea of being mature.

You’re still fuming over the situation. Bakugou’s hissed words continue to play like a broken record in your head, repeating themselves again and again and again, and you can’t help but glare as hard as humanly possible over Midoriya’s empty desk and right at the back of his stupidly blond, stupidly spiky-haired head, where he sits lounging like a smug-fucking-bastard at his own desk. 

You want to throw something at him. Something very heavy. However, for once in a blue moon, Mr Aizawa is actually here before the bell, and you don’t think he’d take very kindly to having one of his students knocked unconscious by a textbook to the head right in front of him. Even if said student is the most self-righteous, stuck up, major, raging, incentive douchebag to ever walk this earth. 

‘What the fuck even in his problem anyway?’ you think angrily to yourself as you sit glaring, quietly hoping your eyes will somehow burn a hole right through his thick skull. It’d been him who started it, of course. He had approached you, not the other way around. You’d just been minding your damn business before he swooped in, riding atop his stupid-fucking wave of a grudge from way back before elementary school, all high off the idea of making himself your biggest problem. “ I saw you sitting with that damn nerd on the train,” had been his exact words, which he’d spat right in your face once he’d pulled you from the throngs of people walking into school. “ He looks like shit, as usual. Fuckin’ hilarious.” 

You still don’t know why you’d snapped back at him, telling him to shut the fuck up. But you don't think you regret it. You definitely don’t regret getting to see the flash of surprise that has sparked through his crimson eyes. 

“You finally give in and suck his dick, then?” was his reply. “Wouldn’t be the first fuckin’ time.” 

Just thinking about those words sends a chill through your stomach now. You don’t care. At least, you shouldn’t . Because it’s fucking Bakugou, of all people, the one guy who has a whole fucking reputation built on how much of an ass he is. 

It does hurt though. Probably more because it does come from Bakugou, of all people. It hurts more than it should. 

Thank goodness, before you psych yourself up so much that you do actually lob your textbook at his head, the classroom door slides open once again. Your attention turns at the sound and then quickly you duck your head down as much as you can when you catch a glimpse of forest green hair. As much as you’re sick of Bakugou right now, you’re even less prepared to deal with Midoriya and his friends. Especially after you have a fleeting suspicion that Midoriya might actually have seen you crying when you’d rushed past him in the hallway earlier. You refuse to make eye contact with him as he weaves his way through the desks before flopping into the one in front of you. You refuse to make eye contact with anyone, really, especially when you can feel another gaze burning into the side of your head. Uraraka is glaring at you, as she always does any time she sees you, and you're almost tempted to throw her the middle finger because she's really only adding insult to the injury of your already shitty day. 

But then the bells ring out through the classroom and Mr Aizawa slowly gets to his feet. What little chatter that could be heard throughout the room dies off abruptly. 

"Alright, settle down," your teacher grumbles out, as monotone as ever. You raise your head slightly to look at him properly and it's only now that you notice it - there's a huge cardboard box standing on the edge of his desk, large enough to easily fit at least three of your classmates comfortably inside it. There's no writing on the front, nothing to indicate what it may be for, but you can feel your heart sinking anyway as something deep down tells you it has everything to do with the project that you're partnered with Midoriya on. 

You're not the only one who's noticed either. A chorus of whispers rustled through the students in your class, all of them eyeing up the box just as you are, curious expressions on their faces. 

They shut up pretty soon though, when Mr Aizawa shoots everyone a dirty look. 

"As you guys learned yesterday," he begins, glaring around at everyone. "You will all be participating in a project that will run from now, over the Christmas holidays and then on to the end of the year. This is an ongoing thing and it is not "- he shoots a very distinct look at Denki Kaminari, who sits in the middle aisle of desks, - "something you can just do at the last minute. Constant engagement is required throughout the process and you will be graded on whether or not you meet this requirement." 

There are a number of small huffs that can be heard throughout the classroom, a few students scowling deeply and flopping back in their chairs. You almost feel sorry for them, but then you remember that you are going to have to spend consistent hours working with your partner. All your pity turns inwards. 

"You were assigned your partners yesterday," Aizawa continues, sparing not a single glance for the people busy grumbling. "I trust that you all remember who you're working with because I don not have the time or patience to read it all out again." 

He pauses, glaring around at his students and, thankfully, no one raises their hand to ask for confirmation. You see Mr Aizawa's shoulders visibly relaxing and then your entire mood perks up when he reaches out to pull the huge cardboard box a little closer towards him. 

“Up until this point,” he starts, “UA has never placed much emphasis on home economics. This is a science school, and the primary focus throughout your three years here has been to prepare you all to enter your chosen STEM fields following graduation. However, as has been tradition for a number of years now, in an attempt to provide you with at least some basic life skills before you leave, you will be completing one final project for your home economics course.” 

A number of your classmate look round, shooting confused looks to one another. You just roll your eyes, already completely over the entire proceedings. Mr Aizawa too, looks entirely bored. 

“Frankly, I have always felt it’s a bit late to try and teach you soft skills during the final third of your last year of school,” he continues on, looking around the class. His gaze lingers on a certain few heads before he looks away. “You lot, especially, I think are past the point of no return. However, this project is a curriculum requirement and so we run it nonetheless.” 

There are a few snorts to be heard around the classroom. Sero in particular actually chuckles. My Aizawa just shakes his head. 

“I digress however, since I have seen some miraculous transformations come for students attitudes with the completion of this project. Now, does anyone have any questions before I get into the parameters of what you’ll be doing?” 

No hands go up and you say a silent thank you that there aren’t any godforsaken souls within your class who are willing to drag the suspense out any longer. Mr Aizawa nods and then turns around. You watch curiously as he digs one hand into the large cardboard box, the air within the classroom suddenly going tense and suspenseful. Your mind flashes with a thousand possibilities, all ranging from building your own AI to concocting the cure for cancer to designing a new engine for next year's Formula 1 season. 

But all your hopes are dashed when Mr Aizawa removes his hand and pulls out…

A plastic baby? 

You feel your heart sinking immediately, tight down the length of your body until its puddled somewhere near your toes as your mind screams out fuck no! because you've heard of this project. And suddenly any hopes you'd had about maybe not having such an awful time with Midoriya as your partner are stomped into oblivion beneath Mr Aizawa's boot. 

"This," your teacher says, holding up the baby for everyone in the class to see properly. "Will be your project for the next four months. You will need to take care of this mechanical baby." 

He seems to feel you glaring at him like you're trying ignite every one of the brain cells in his head because he pauses and then gives a very stern look. 

"I'd like to stress that the partners you've all been given are non-negotiable," he says and it's in his dont-you-fucking-dare-argue-with-me voice. "They have been chosen for a very specific reason and if you don't like your partner, you will just have to suck it up and deal with it." 

You don't push him, although in your head you’re swearing up and down about all the horrible things you could do. Your hands ball into fists against the wooden top of your desk and then you turn your focus to Midoriya and wonder if you focus hard enough, you could cause him to spontaneously combust.

Stupid Midoriya, you think to yourself as your eyes trace the outline of his dark curly hair. Stupid project, study baby . You huff out a sigh and cross your arms angrily over your chest, still glaring. This assignment is so unrealistic anyway. There's no way you'd ever have a kid with that fuckhead, much less do anything that could result in having a child. 

Although , another voice at the back of your mind whispers as you notice a flash of pale blond moving in front of Midoriya, the partners could be worse. You could be with Bakugou.

The thought just about makes you gag. 

"The aim of this project is to try and simulate actual parenthood as closely as possible,” Mr Aizawa continues. “These babies are an incredibly advanced technology, engineered specifically for us by some students right here in our school. This will not be an easy assignment, I assure you, these things have been programmed to be as temperamental as possible.” 

“So,” a new voice pipes up, one that you recognise as Denki Kaminari. You glance in his direction to see that he’s rocking back on his chair, head tilted to the side as he stares up at your teacher with an expression of mild apprehension. “Do they, like, cry and stuff?” Beside him , Eijirou Kirishima also looks petrified, eyeing the baby in Mr Aizawa’s grasp as if it’s some kind of bomb. You fight down the urge to laugh. 

“The point of this project is to teach you how to look after something that is totally dependent on you," Aizawa replies. "Babies need everything from you but can’t communicate it, which is one of the main problems you will run into if you ever become a parent. So in answer to your question, Kaminari, yes, they will cry. For a multitude of reasons. Your biggest struggle will probably be figuring out what they need." 

Kaminari slumps back, looking dejected. "Dude, I'm not ready to be a parent," he mumbles out, although it's loud enough for most of the class to hear him. There are a few resounding giggles. 

On some level you agree with him, although you make sure not to let it show at all in your expression. Even despite who you have to do the project with, the assignment itself is daunting. Parenthood is not something you've ever taken a fuck ton of time to think about, beyond the occasional throwing a baby doll around when you were a toddler. You've been goal oriented since you first knew what a goal was and your goal - 

Well, it's never been 'to be a mom'. 

As you stare up at the baby Mr Aizawa is holding, taking in its - slightly creepy - realistically wrinkled face and the way its tiny body looks even smaller in the arms of your teacher, you can't help but feel… 

You can't help but feel nervous. 

As if he knows exactly what you're thinking, Midoriya spins in his chair the very second your face begins to crumble. You catch his deep green eyes beneath the fluff of his curls and yet, for one of the first times in years, you don't snap at him for looking at you. The pair of you hold each other's gaze for a long second before Midoriya offers you a reassuring smile. And to your surprise, it actually does its job. 

"It'll be fine," Midoriya says quietly, so no one else can hear him through the rounds of chatter that are circling through the rest of your classmates. "It'll be exactly like playing house the way we used to when we were kids." 

You snort bitterly at that, an eyebrow twitching. "So we're gonna be a big happy family?" you ask him, tilting your head a little to the side. By the look on Midoriya's face, he seems to understand how absurd the idea is. This little game of house couldn't get more dysfunctional if it tried and it hasn't even begun yet. But he smiles through it, even though you know that's exactly what he's thinking. 

"Probably not," he says, but you can still see the sparkle in his bright green eyes. Something inside you sings. "But just… don't worry. It'll fine, okay? Promise." 

"You can’t promise shit," you tell him grumpily, hastily looking away from him before your heart can do any more stupid things. "And I wasn't worrying." 

He doesn't believe you and he actually laughs about it, prompting a fiery blush to rage through the skin of your cheeks. "Yeah sure," he tells you and then turns back around to face the front of the classroom again.

Unfortunately, Mir Aizawa starts speaking before you can snap back at him, so you're left to glare heartedly at the back of his head once again. 

Stupid project, you think, Stupid baby. Stupid Midoriya. 

Stupid stupid Midoriya. 

"Unfortunately for you children," Mr Aizawa says, raising a hand to bring silence to the room once again. "Technology isn't advanced enough to create a entirely lifelike robot babies just yet. In reality, there are a hundreds of different reasons why a child might start crying. However, for the purpose of this project, there are only four." 

He holds up four of his fingers for the class to see. 

"The first," he begins, "is because they need their nappy changed." He reaches into the box again and pulls out a small zip-up pouch. "This is your baby bag. Inside if everything you will need to complete this project. Including reusable cloth nappies." He sets the baby down on the surface of the desk and opens up the bag, pulling out a bundle of white cloth. 

"The dolls have sensors built into them which connect to sensors in the nappies," he explains. "These sensors will read whether the nappy is dirty or clean. Dirty nappies cannot be used more than once within a twenty four hour period. If you do use on, your baby will throw a fit and it will constitute a considerable deduction in points."  He glares round the class, his dark eyes settling on every student for a millisecond before flitting away. "So don't do that. The nappy will reset after twenty fours hours once it has been used. You need to keep track of this." He puts the ball of clothes back in the pouch and then swivels the entire thing to the side to show everyone a small pocket holding four baby bottles. 

"The second reason your baby may cry is because it's hungry. Now, you won't actually feed them anything. These bottles are all empty. However "- he pulls one of the bottles from the pocket and twists it to show a strip of four lights that run up one side - "these will show you how full each bottle is. As the bottle is used, the lights will deplete and once the one at the bottom turns red, you will know the bottle is completely empty." 

A hand goes up. It’s Uraraka, who's looking a little like she’s vibrating in her seat, in her eagerness to ask a question. You suppress the urge to roll your eyes and look away. 

"Sir," Uraraka starts once Mr Aizawa nods in her direction. "Do the bottles also reset after twenty four hours? Or do we have to do something else to refill them?

"Good question," Mr Aizawa says and this time you do roll your eyes when a look of pride washes over Uraraka's face. "The bottles do reset, but it's after six hours instead of twenty four. You only have four bottles so you should arrange a system to cycle them, to ensure you can always feed your baby when it needs it." 

As he puts the bottle back into its pocket, you chance another glance over at Uraraka. Only to be surprised when you find that she's already glaring right at you . Your gaze meets her for a moment and your eyes narrow as you try to figure out what the fuck her problem might be this time, besides her usual shitty attitude of course. But then you catch the way her eyes flickered briefly away from you to the boy sitting in the desk in front of you and your face curls into a smirk when you realise. Oh she's so jealous . 

You flash her your most smug expression and make sure she sees it before you look away once again, switching your attention back to Mr Aizawa, who's picking up the baby again. Even as he raises it for the class to see, you can still feel her heated gaze on the side of your face and your heart sings with triumph. 

"The third reason that your baby may cry," Mr Aizawa says, continuing with his explanation. "Is that they need to be held, or rocked." He gives Kaminari and Sero a sharp look. "There is a correct way to hold a baby. And if I see anyone swing swing their's around like a hooligan, I will fail you immediately." He shifts the baby in his arms, cradling it with one hand behind its head and the other arm tucked around its body. " This is how you need to hold your babies. It may seem complicated now but I'm sure you'll all get the hang of it relatively quickly. In the case of the third reason, you will hold your baby and gently rock it back and forth"- he demonstrates -"which should help to calm them down. The babies all have built-in motion sensors, so they will know if you're doing it properly. They also have audio sensors, which leads to the fourth reason they might cry. And you all need to pay attention very carefully for this one…" 

It feels like the entire class leans forward, everyone hanging onto Mr Aizawa's every word. He shifts the baby in his arms, adjusting his grip before raising his eyes again to look around the classroom. 

"Your babies need affection. Essentially, you need to talk to your kid." 

He holds up a hand before questions can start rocketing, the energy within the classroom beginning to buzz as it becomes clear it's getting near to the end of the briefing. "Let me explain and then I'll send you all off to go and set up your babies. The babies are equipped with sensors all over their bodies. They also have recording devices in their backs." He turns the baby around to show the class. "To set your baby, you need to press this button here and then allow it to record you saying its name, as well as a few other phrases so it can learn to recognise your voice. Both you and your partner will do this. It will take a few minutes for your baby to calibrate and then the clock will start. From then on, your baby will record everything you say and do with it and will store that knowledge. At the end of the project, the chip inside the babies will be collected and then your progress will be graded out of 100 by an AI. Does everyone understand?" 

There's a chorus of 'yes sirs’ throughout the class and Aizawa nods. "Do not forget," he says and his voice is serious as he looks around the room. "These babies are switched on constantly. You do not get a break from them, as with normal children. Even when they're asleep, they're recording. Am I clear?" 

The affirmations ring out again. Aizawa turns to put the baby down on his desk once more. However, instead of reaching inside the box or the pouch again, he slides a large binder across the desk towards him and flips it open. As he begins to flick through it, searching for whatever he needs, you notice a twitch out of your peripheral vision. In front of you,Midoriya is backwards, just a little, not enough to be noticed by Mr Aizawa. However, when he turns his head to hiss something in your direction, you realise it's intentional. 

"Have you got any name ideas yet?" 

You don't. You haven't thought about it at all yet and even now as you try to wrack your brains, nothing comes to mind. You shake your head at Midoriya, frowning slightly. 

"I guess we'll have to wait and see what the baby is like," you tell him quietly and he nods in agreement. 

"I wonder if it'll look like either of us." 

You can't help but snort at Midoriya's musing, trying your best to stifle the genuine bubble of laughter that rises in your throat. "These are plastic robots," you try to tell him sternly, however, the upward tilt at the corner of your mouth is giving everything away. "I doubt it'll look anything like either of us." 

"It's nice to dream," Midoriya shoots back, however you don't miss the small smile that's stretching across his own face. 

"Maybe we adopted," you tell him with a shrug of one shoulder. "Maybe your swimmers weren't swimmery enough."

That makes him laugh properly and he has to slap a hand over his mouth to stop his giggles from wringing out around the classroom. As it is, the nearest heads to you turn to eye you and him curiously, and you immediately purse your lips and force down your smile, in an attempt to look cool and composed once again. 

Thankfully, Midoriya can't come at you with a comeback because Mr Aizawa raises his head, finally having located the thing he was looking for. He pulls a stack of papers from the folder and holds one up for you all to see - it's crisp and clean, evidently freshly printed, and covered with sprawls of neat black letters. You have a feeling you know exactly exactly what it is, and when Mr Aizawa opens his mouth to speak again, he confirms your suspicions. 

"This is your baby's birth certificate," he announces. "You will each get one along with your baby and a bag. And you will all fill it out, with both you and your partner's details. I will be taking all of these back tomorrow morning once they're completed, so we can register your babies in our system. And I expect you to take this seriously." He gives Kaminari and Sero a purposeful look. "Try your best to think of this as real parenthood because if you do, there's a chance you'll be slightly better prepared in the future, if you ever do become parents." He sets the paper down and you tense immediately, realising you've finally reached the end of the explanation. 

"I'm going to hand out your babies now," Mr Aizawa says, "along with everything you'll need. You'll have an hour and a half now to get yourselves sorted and then you'll go to the next period at 10. When I call your names, please can both you and your partner come up to collect your things. Then you're free to go outside and begin setting the babies up. Now - Iida and Yaoyorozu…"

You relax back into your seat and he begins to list off the partnerships. This project has turned out to be absolutely nothing like what you'd expected and if you're honest with yourself, you're pretty happy about it. Despite the fact that you now have to co-parent with Midoriya, this will probably turn out to be a lot easier than having to actively collaborate with the kid on classwork. 

As you lounge in your chair, you hear the scrape of another being pushed back and then a figure is weaving through the tables towards you. A smile grows on your face when the person sits herself right on the surface of your desk, one leg crossing over the other. 

"I am dreading this whole experience," Kyouka Jirou tells you dramatically as she glares out across the classroom. "I thought I could get away with just doing the whole thing myself while that dunce face just goofed off. But now I actually have to work with him." 

You briefly remember the previous day, when Mr Aizawa had announced that Kyouka would be paired with Denki for this project, and the smile on your face grows wider. 

"Aww," you tease, your eyes flicking upwards briefly to watch as Uraraka and Shinso rise to go collect their child. "Are you really going to dash poor Kami’s hopes so quickly? I'm sure he's delighted with this project." 

Kyouka points a sharp black nail at you, her face dark red. "Don't you dare start," she hisses. "I know your opinions on this and I'm telling you right now you're wrong ." 

You just laugh at her threat because you know her way too well for it to work. "You can't even deny it anymore," you tell her smugly. "That kid is head over heels in love with you and now you have to raise a child together. He's going to be so fucking giddy." 

"Are we talking about Kaminari?" a new voice pipes up and you and Kyouka look up to see Mina Ashido grinning down at the pair of you. Her hands are on her hips and there's a triumphant look sparkling in her dark eyes as her gaze flicks from Jirou's grace over to yours and back again. 

You smirk up at her smugly because you and her share the exact same opinions on the topic of Kyouka's life. "We are," you confirm for her. "You wanna take bets on how long it takes for him to make some joke about them having a kid?" 

"Ooh, of course" Mina giggles, kicking her feet in amusement. She twirls one of her curls around her finger, sparkling pink nail flashing as she seems to think for a second. "I say… a red bean bun on less than ten minutes? Plus a soda if if he says something about it being fate." 

You smirk up at her. "I'll bet on less than five minutes. Kaminari doesn't have that kind of restraint." 

Her eyes glint and she slaps your outstretched palm. "Done." 

Between you two, Kyouka gives an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "You two are so full of shit," she says, shaking her head. "He's not gonna -" 

"Hey, Jirou!" There comes a yell from across the classroom and the three of you look up to see none other than Kaminari making his way between the desks in your direction. Kyouka cuts off her own voice when she sees him, her arms raising to cross over her chest and you can already feel your own smile growing, cruel and smug. That kid is way too predictable . 

"What're the odds, huh?" Kaminari grins and leans one arm casually on the desk opposite your own. He's trying to be smooth, probably attempting one of the tricks that Sero taught him at some point to try and help his game. But he's also blushing. Furiously . And you have to slap a hand over your mouth to stifle your cackle of laughter. 

"You and I…" Kaminari continues, pointing to Kyouka them himself. "Us two, having a child together. This must be a message from the universe, huh? That we're meant to be ." 

You hear a muffled snort from somewhere behind him and glance over his shoulder to see Sero and Kirishima just about peeing their pants with laughter over at their own desks. From your other side, Mina sighs and your triumph grows when you realise she's going to be buying you lunch today. 

"I mean, seriously!" Kaminari is still growing, obviously to the grave he's digging himself, and how Kyouka's glare is getting more and more violent. "Really, we might as well just get married now haha, what the point in waiting amirite?" 

You honestly think Kyouka is about to snap his neck, and you don't doubt she really would have if Mr Aizawa didn't call her and Kaminari's names right then. You offer her a cheeky grin as she hops off your desk, to which she replies with a stiff middle finger and then storms off towards the front of the classroom, leaving Kaminari to stare blankly at the empty spot she'd just vacated. 

Mina leans over to give him a back on the back. "Good effort," she tells him, although her tone is a little salty. "Although could you not have just waited like, nine and a half more minutes?"

Kaminari looks confused but Mina shoos him off before he can ask questions. And then, before she can spin around to start trying to back out of her deal with you, her own name is called, along with Todoroki’s, and she's forced to head up to the front to the classroom too, a pout heavy on her lips. 

You lean forward on your desk again, watching her go with a smug smile on your face as you begin to dream of the bean bun you'll be getting come lunch time. However, as your elbows slide across the wood and your chin goes to rest against the cool surface, you make eye contact with the boy in front of you. Again. 

"What'd you want?" you ask him, although it's not nearly as mean as it's supposed to be. 

Midoriya just shakes his head and looks away. "Oh nothing;" he says, but he's smiling slightly. And you have a feeling he must've just seen the whole exchange. Your snort ends up muffled in your crossed arms. 

You and him are one of the last pairs to be called, with only Bakugou and Asui left sitting at their seats. The rest of the desks have been vacated and when your names finally rings out, you have plenty of room to hoist your backpack up onto your shoulder as you move through the classroom, heading up towards Mr Aizawa’s desk. You have plenty of room but you decide to ignore it in favour of head straight up the aisle and knocking Bakugou's feet down from where they’re propped up on the surface of his desk as hard as you can. 

You don't apologise even when you hear him let out a sharp growl, and as you flounce up to the front, you make a show of not acknowledging him either. It's probably very petty and childish, but it feels good to do, even when Mr Aizawa gives you as look when you finally go to stand in front of him. 

"That was unnecessary," he tells you. You just shrug in return. 

"I disagree." 

"Just try not to cause trouble," your teacher sighs. Then he looks past you to where Midoriya has come to stand at your shoulder. "Between the two of you either," he adds and his expression is stern. "You were paired together for a reason and I trust you understand that." 

You struggle not to roll your eyes and give him a tired look in return. "Are we really the kind of people who'd cause trouble?" you ask, sarcastic to the point that you can taste it on your tongue. 

Thankfully Mr Aizawa doesn't miss that and he gives you a small shake of his head. "Very funny. Now…" he pulls the cardboard box towards him, which seems like a significantly easier job than when he'd first opened it earlier that morning. "Here is your bag," he says, reaching in and pulling out a pouch identical to the one he'd used in his demonstration. He hands it off to Midoriya behind you, who shoulders it with ease. 

"And here…" he continues, reaching into the box again, "is your baby." 

He gives the baby to you this time and you have barely a second after take it to stare down into its hard plastic face. Then your own expression crumbles. 

"Are you fucking with me?" 

Because the baby - 

The baby looks like you and Midoriya. 

And it’s fucking terrifying. 

It's got a head of wild midnight green curls, the texture and shape of which matches your classmate's so perfectly it genuinely concerns you. You recognise Midoriya's eye shape too, round and wide with slightly downturned corners and thick heavy lashes. It's your own irises that stare back up at you though, glassy and unblinking, and way too fucking realistic.

The baby has your skin tone too, matched perfectly, and you're almost inclined to hold it out at arms length for a second because while you knew " having a child" with your childhood friend was gonna be bad, you never expected it to be this bad. 

"Seriously," you mutter as your eyes rove over the grotesque sight. "What the fuck?" 

"Language,” Mr Aizawa says, although it's half-assed. Then he sighs and rubs a hand over his face. "Look, I know it's a little…" 

"Fucking creepy?" you supply and he gives you a scowl. 

"Odd ," he says in emphasis. "But with the introduction of this project, it’s become a tradition for the second year robotics lab students to design the babies. We tell them the partners in advance and they all tend to go a little… overboard." 

"You don't say," you mutter as you stare down at your baby again. It's not as if it looks bad or anything - in fact, the baby itself looks incredibly realistic, exactly what a hybrid of what you and Midoriya might be.  It's just… 

"It's like this makes it real," you say, mostly to yourself, as you hold the baby up in the air. Even the weight mimics that of an actual newborn. "I… dammit, Deku!" 

Midoriya starts when you turn to glare at him, eyes going wide as he throws his hands up in defence immediately. "What'd I do?!" 

You don't answer him because you don't actually know yourself. You're just looking for someone to blame and despite the fact that he's in exactly the same boat as you are, he's the easiest victim. 

"Here's your baby’s birth certificate," Mr Aizawa says, drawing both of your attention again before the atmosphere can thicken any further. "You'll need to complete it in full. And remember to name your baby before you set it up, because it'll need to register both of you saying it's name. There's a panel on the back that'll guide you in calibrating it." 

You don't make a move to take the birth certificate, still too busy glaring daggers at the baby that's now balancing on your hip, so Midoriya reaches out instead. He shoots Mr Aizawa a smile of thanks as he does so, which you don't miss. Then the pair of you turn to begin walking towards the classroom door. 

"Find somewhere quiet to do the recording," Mr Aizawa calls after you. "You want it to be as clear as possible." 

And with that, you and Midoriya step out of the classroom and into the now empty hallway, equipped with a bag, a birth certificate and a robot baby that night as well be your own biological child.