Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

So Hawks will admit that he was in a bit of a predicament.

Said predicament involving the hero student he was currently carrying back to Endeavor’s agency.

He knew vaguely about this Deku kid. Hard not to with all the replay edits of him going feral at last year’s Sports Festival popping up everywhere. But even beyond that, the kid just kept appearing more and more in the hero world—rumors about him being involved with the Stain capture, multiple incidents of him having direct interactions with the League of Villains—or well, the League since they didn’t really follow the Villain part anymore—long before the Commission sent Hawks to make contact, and he had seen the scrubbed footage of the Overhaul fight.

Midoriya Izuku was a threat.

To what side was to be determined. The Commission certainly had him on their radar, but genuinely did not seem to know what direction they wanted to take with him, considering how invested All Might has been in Deku. Targeting the Symbol of Peace’s protégée wasn’t exactly a thing to take lightly, and as much as he hated the Commission and wanted them to fall, they were smart enough to pick their battles. But tonight alone would certainly make things even more complicated considering Deku had once more found himself intertwined with the League, this time disappearing with them for hours. 

The only saving grace for the kid was Endeavor not putting out an official alert about the kid’s capture, but that saving grace could quickly turn into an excuse for a smoking gun if the Commission were to catch wind. 

But yes, all of this internal monologuing was just to say that Hawks had no fucking clue where this kid’s loyalties lay and what angle to take with approaching why he was so chummy with the League.

Dabi had pulled him aside and said that the kid was chill, that Tomura tried offering him to join their pack—which was a whole other mess to unwrap because didn’t Shigaraki threaten to kill this kid a few times during their original meetings? But regardless, Hawks was still less willing to outright trust the kid. He didn’t get anything more out of them about what they knew about Midoriya Izuku, but Hawks had seen the kid’s file.

Kids don’t just go from fifteen years of quirklessness to that overnight.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He just needed to say the right things to keep the kid from spilling about Hawks involvement with the League to Endeavor and the other heroes. Just…whether or not to play into the sympathy angle or his original mission…

”You found me unconscious on a rooftop.”

Hawks stuttered in flight, looking down at the kid in his arms. “Huh?”

Deku looked unphased, continuing, “There weren’t any signs of anyone else in the vicinity when you found me. When you shook me awake and I explained jumping after the League through a portal, we both came to the conclusion that the League knocked me out and dumped me somewhere away from their hideout.”

His flight slowed. “…kid—“

”Whatever is going on with you and the League isn’t any of my business,” Deku added, finally looking up to meet Hawks’ eyes. “Just like it wasn’t any of my business when Tomura said that their pack was meant for people like us.”

He swallowed heavily. “Like us?”

”People who are broken.” Deku broke his stare. “If they are what helps you piece yourself back together, it's not my place to get involved.”

And for once, Hawks didn’t have an angle to play as he spoke. “You said ‘us.’”

All he had was curiosity.

Deku shrugged, or at least shrugged as best he could with the way Hawks was holding him. “I’m working on it.”

He closed his eyes. “If you say so, kid—“ The distant sounds of explosions echo through the air, setting Hawks on alert. “What is that?”

Tensing in his arms, Deku mumbled out, “That would be a Kacchan.”

”…a what—“

”DEKU!”

Hawks narrowly dodged a full on collision from what he could only describe as a high speed missile, only to look and realize that no, it was not a missile. It was a kid.

A very loud and angry kid.

Pivoting midair, the explosion kid—which wait, this was the one that won Deku’s Sport’s Festival last year…and the one kidnapped by Tomura—rocketed back towards them, screaming something he couldn’t quite understand as he dodged out of reach once again.

”Why is your classmate attacking us?!” Hawks shouted.

Deku began to wiggle unhelpfully in his hold as if trying to break free. ”Because Kacchan is Kacchan!”

He dodged once again. ”That doesn’t make any sense!”

With a frustrated little growl, Deku amended, “Packmate! It’s complicated, but I’ve known him since I was born!”

Oh. 

Alpha packmate with known temper issues, plus previously kidnapped Omega packmate in his arms, sprinkled with a dash of deep rooted bond.

Hawks promptly chucked Deku into the air and dodged far away from that bullshit.

Deku had barely let out a surprised little yelp before this Kacchan was zooming back into frame, snatching Deku from midair and taking off towards a rooftop.

…Hawks had done his due diligence, right?

Right?

He then remembered how this Kacchan tried to beat up an unconscious kid on national television for not giving a good enough fight.

…he promptly sighed and hurried off after the pair. Endeavor would be pissed if Deku was returned with an injury received after he came into Hawks’ care...

Izuku wished he could just go home and curl up in his nest with Eri and be done with everything for the next week.

Unfortunately, Katsuki had other plans.

The landing on the rooftop was rough as Katsuki gripped his uniform and dragged him along as he came to a running stop. The Alpha wasn’t even fully stopped before the shouting started, not that Izuku expected anything different.

”You god damned idiotic, brain dead, stupid fucker!” Katsuki growled out. “I swear to god, your brain is so full of stupid hero worshipping bullshit, but you never use it when it counts! What in the hell were you thinking?!” 

Before Izuku could say anything, Katsuki shook him. “The answer is you weren’t! Self sacrificial asshole! Did you even care? Letting all these idiots worry about you! Me having to cover half the damn city searching for you blind because you decided to jump through a portal? Do you really think that’s how I want to spend my night? Huh? Answer me!”

If Izuku had any self preservation instincts, he would immediately be groveling, apologizing, placating the Alpha’s worries. It would have been the sensible option. But over the last year, he felt as if he had burned away most if not all of his self preservation.

And, if he even had any left, he went against any of those surviving self preservation instincts when Izuku could not help but smile fondly at the Alpha. “It’s really good to see you, Kacchan.”

And, in typical Kacchan fashion, Katsuki’s face turned bright red, caught between rage and embarrassment.

Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Izuku decided to carry on in typical Izuku fashion…aka, rambling. “I just—I know things are weird for us. And I know its been that way for years, and I understand. I accepted that things changed. I accepted that I was in your shadow and that we weren’t the same little kids that dreamed of being heroes together…but I still never forgot. I still held that hope that one day, things would be different. That we would be different. 

”But I was quirkless and a male Omega, a weak one at that, and it was hard. It was so hard seeing how amazing and perfect you were, how you were an Alpha with such a powerful quirk.” His voice choked a little at the end, and he breathed out. “And looking at you, how could I ever deserve to stand next to someone like you?”

Katsuki jolted. “Deku—“

”How could I ever call someone like that my packmate?” Anything Katsuki might have said died, staring at Izuku with wide, panicked eyes. Izuku, in turn, just kept vomitting out words. “But then I got a quirk and everything changed. Like, like I might be worth something, that I might deserve to want a little more—but I always had that voice in the back of my head, telling me I had to do more. That I had to be more to deserve anything from anyone. I made friends, but how could I ever want more from them until I proved I earned it?”

“Deku—“

“So I worked even harder. I worked and pushed and kept reaching for something, anything to bridge the gap I built in my head. And along the way, I didn’t even realize that in the past year, the gap had long since been ripped away. I just…I just kept pushing and pushing and ignoring all the hands held out to me, all our friends, even Yagi and Aizawa and Yamada, even you—“

”Izuku!”

And for a minute, Izuku’s words cut off, staring in surprise at Katsuki, as the Alpha held him by the shoulders, looking at him in desperation. After that pause, Izuku quietly whispered out, “…I just convinced myself that no matter what I did, I would never deserve to call any of you pack.”

Katsuki’s face twisted with emotion, before settling into some bone deep tiredness. “If anyone deserves to have a pack, it’s you, Izuku.” His head dropped, eyes turned to the ground. “You deserve so much more than what I ever gave you.”

”Kacchan—“

”You need to accept the others,” the Alpha continued. “You need to accept them as pack. They care about you, they worry about you, they—they would never hurt you the way I have. You deserve pack like that.”

Now, it was Izuku carefully reaching out, grabbing Katsuki’s shoulders. Watching as Katsuki looked up at him, he commented, “You know, despite everything, despite not thinking I deserved pack and despite you not wanting to be pack with me—“

”I wanted it.” He had never heard Katsuki this quiet, this unsure. “I wanted it, but I did everything to convince myself I didn’t need it.”

Izuku went quiet for a beat, then he replied, “I never stopped considering you pack.”

Katsuki grit his teeth, his hands tightening on Izuku’s shoulders to an almost painful degree. “You should have. You should have wanted nothing to do with me.”

“How could I ever want nothing to do with a person I think of as my brother?”

The sound Katsuki made was like a wounded animal, hands shaking as they held tight. “You…you damn idiot.”

Feeling emboldened, as if he were standing taller than Katsuki, Izuku countered, “Yeah, but I’m an idiot who has you watching their back…right?”

At that, Katsuki barked out a wet laugh. “Yeah…fuck, I’m stuck with you, aren’t I?”

Grinning broadly, his heart feeling more light than it had in years, Izuku chirped, “No take backs!”

Katsuki lightly shoved him, one hand dropping but the other keeping hold as if Izuku might flee at any moment. “God damn it, Deku—“

“Okay so, not to ruin this moment of…whatever this is,” Hawks, standing off to the side on the rooftop, interrupted in a way that definitely ruined the moment. “But since when can the finger breaking kid float?”

Izuku stared at Hawks in confusion. “Huh?” Then he turned his gaze downwards, noticing that yes, his feet were currently a few inches above the ground. 

Katsuki stared at Izuku’s feet as well. “What the fuck?”

All Izuku could think to say was, “Oh, so that’s why I felt taller.”

In response was a series of unfortunate choices. Katsuki let go of Izuku’s shoulder, hands crackling as he started to yell at him. Izuku, now no longer being held in place, started to rapidly float upwards into the air. Katsuki in turn started to yell even louder at Izuku, whose very small self preservation instincts finally kicked in as he started to panic and flail in the air, shouting out increasingly desperate Kacchans for help that was not given. 

Hawks just watched it all before declaring, “I am bullying Endeavor into buying me dinner for dealing with this,” before finally sending out feathers to catch Izuku before he floated too far away. “Alright! Explodo boy—“

“It’s Great Explosion God Dynamight!”

“I don’t care! Now, find me a rope before I lose your friend to the stratosphere…”

“Who says I want to keep him?!”

“Kacchan!”

“Two dinners. Endeavor owes me at least two dinners!”

The group had only just entered the lobby of Endeavor’s Agency when Shouto descended upon them. 

“Midoriya!” he called out, shoving past Hawks to Izuku’s side and looking him up and down as if searching for an injury.

“Chill out, Half and Half!” Katsuki barked out even as he hovered close to Izuku as well. “The idiot’s fine. They just hit him in his hard ass head.”

“Did you check for a concussion?”

“Of course I fucking checked! I’m not stupid!” he growled back. “Deku is lucky I didn’t give him a concussion myself!”

Sighing, Izuku muttered, “I’m right here, you know…”

Shouto blinked. “Yes, but you also have a track record of hiding injuries.”

“No I—“

“Three fracture incidents and numerous concussions.”

“I wasn’t—“

“And one time where your lung was nearly punctured.”

“I didn’t mean to hide that!”

Katsuki snarled. “I’m sorry, what?!”

Izuku shrunk. “I thought I was just winded…”

Laughter interrupted any response they might have had, and they all turned to see Burnin and a very tired looking Endeavor approaching. “Glad to see you in one piece Deku,” she called out with a grin, though her eyes narrowed in on Katsuki. “Would be better if your friend didn’t take off without me.”

Unapologetically, Katsuki replied, “I went to go get this idiot before he got in more trouble.”

“And that is the only reason why you are not being suspended,” Endeavor countered sternly. “Leave your assigned hero’s side without permission again, and it will be a very different conversation.”

All he got in reply was a very terse growl. 

Izuku took this opportunity to bow. “I am so sorry for all the trouble I caused.”

Endeavor softened a bit, sighing heavily. “I am just glad you are okay.”

Burnin snorted. “Yeah, would have been a hell of a nightmare dealing with All Might and Eraserhead if we hadn’t found you.”

This caused her boss to grimace. “That is a…notable point.”

Cautiously tilting his head up, Izuku asked, “What do you mean?…”

Both just stared at him, then looked to Katsuki. Katsuki in turn blurted out, “Yeah, I know. I hit him on the head too much as a kid.”

Izuku made a confused and wounded sound.

Shaking his head, Endeavor cut in, “It is not important. But to the point, we will need to debrief you, Deku.”

Izuku rose from his bow, only for a hand to land heavily on his head. Hawks, who had been silently watching the exchange but was now standing at his side, easily chirped, “I can help with that debrief.”

Ah, so he was still concerned with what Izuku might say. 

Before Izuku could reply, he felt himself being yanked away. Katsuki dragged him off, calling out, “That can wait! We need to have a chat first. Candy Cane, keep up!”

Izuku looked over his shoulder as Katsuki pulled him away to see Shouto hurrying to catch up. All the while, Endeavor’s flames were flaring as he called out, “This is not something to be put off!”

“Five minutes, old man!”

And giving Endeavor an apologetic smile as he was yanked down a hall, he turned back to his friend, pleading, “Kacchan, please, slow down!”

“No!”

“Kacchan!”

Now at Izuku’s side, Shouto glanced between the two. “What happened?”

Katsuki turned down the hall towards the elevators, glancing over his shoulder. “You two need to talk.”

“…talk?”

Even Izuku was confused. “Talk about what?”

“Fucking idiot…” Katsuki muttered as he stopped short of the elevators. Jabbing the button as he dropped Izuku’s hand, he spun on the pair. “About pack claiming, dumbasses!”

Shouto was immediately grabbing the arm Katsuki had just dropped. “Is Midoriya letting us join his pack?”

“The fuck you mean his pack?” Katsuki snapped back. “If this is anyone’s pack, it’s mine!”

Shouto stared. Then, he slowly replied, “…if that’s what you wish to think—“

“Why are you saying it like that?!”

At this point, the elevator had arrived, and Izuku took this opportunity to grab them both and drag them inside. “Look,” he started, clearly flustered as he turned around to face them as the elevator doors slid shut. “I just—pack leader isn’t even something I’m thinking about.” Looking up to meet Shouto’s gaze, he quietly said, “I’m just tired of pretending like the people in my life aren’t everything to me. You don’t deserve that.”

Shouto softened, a small smile on his face. “You were worth waiting on.”

Izuku felt warm, wanting to say something else…only for loud gagging sounds to interrupt the moment. 

“Fucking hell,” Katsuki shouted, hands crackling in a way that made Izuku appreciative that Endeavor’s agency didn’t have sensitive fire detectors. “Are you two done yet?”

Shouto tilted his head. “Why are you complaining? You initiated this—“

“And I’m regretting every god damn second. Now then—“

It was at this point that the elevator dinged. Izuku briefly realized that none of them had actually pressed a floor button and that the lift had simply moved on its own and the door was now opening to a random floor. 

The next thing he realized was that Yagi was the one standing on the other side. 

The man immediately brightened. “Izuku, my boy!”

“Yagi-San!” Izuku shouted back, launching himself at the man and nearly knocking him over. “Sorry, sorry—I just—“

Despite nearly bowling the man over, Izuku found himself wrapped tight in a death grip of a hug. “It’s so good to see you, my boy…”

It took all his willpower not to cry on the spot. Instead, he just turned his face into Yagi’s chest and hugged the man back. Taking in a deep breath of the older Omega’s scent, Izuku declared quietly, “I need to talk to you.”

“Then I shall take this as my cue to leave.”

Izuku popped up from his hug, seeing Midnight standing next to the pair, an easy smile on her face. “Ah, I am so sorry, Midnight-sensei!”

She waved him off. “Oh hush. I’m not going to be offended about a pup reuniting with his father.”

Izuku’s face felt warm. “Eh?”

A quiet, “I knew it!” followed by a loud “You didn’t know shit, Half and Half!” came from the elevator. 

Smirking, Midnight gave them a wave. “I’ll meet both of you two in the lobby.” Then, throwing a wink to a now flustered Yagi, she headed into the elevator. “Now won’t you boys be a dear and escort a lady downstairs?”

“Since when the hell are you a lady?!”

“…how about you escort me downstairs or join me in detention?”

“Why you—!”

“Escorting is fine, Midnight-sensei.”

This was the point when the doors finally shut, leaving Yagi and Izuku alone. After a beat, they both shared a look, silence hanging in the air in the otherwise empty hall…before booming laughter spilled out of them. Izuku clutched his stomach as Yagi leaned on his knees, the laughter only subsiding when Yagi’s laughter melted into wheezing and bloody hacks. 

Izuku started to fuss over the man, hovering about, but Yagi had already procured a handkerchief from somewhere, waving Izuku off while wiping his mouth. “I’m fine, my boy,” he insisted. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

”I know, but still…” Izuku muttered quietly. “It’s my fault you are so stressed right now.”

Yagi shrugged. “As is the territory of having a pup in a career like this.” Then, after a beat, the man’s face turned bright red. “I mean—“

”Yagi-San,” Izuku interrupted, grabbing the man’s hand. With Yagi’s full attention on him, Izuku shrunk a bit, face tilting towards the ground as he dug up the courage to speak. “I…” He swallowed, steeling his nerves, then looked up to meet his gaze. “Is that offer to be pack still on the table?”

Yagi stared, eyes wide and jaw hanging open a bit. Then, after a second, his whole face went soft, a warm, happy smile growing. “It never went away, my boy.”

And now Izuku was actually crying.

”Ah, come here, you cry baby,” Yagi murmured as he pulled Izuku into a hug, his voice tinged with the sound that he might be on the edge of crying as well. “This is a happy moment.”

Sniffling as he buried his face into Yagi’s chest once more, he replied, “These are h-happy tears, I promise…”

A hand ruffled through his hair as the other arm hugged him tighter. “Good.”

And then for a minute, nothing else was really said as they just enjoyed each other’s presence. Then, shifting, Izuku nervously started, “I…hate to spring this now…”

Yagi pulled back from the hug, looking at Izuku expectantly.

“I need to ask you something.”

When Aizawa shoved open the doors to Endeavor’s Agency, it took all of his willpower to keep a level head. 

His eyes swiftly landed on the man in question, standing across the lobby with a sour look on his face while Burnin chatted with Hawks. However, even though Hawks was present, Izuku was nowhere in sight. His face twisted into a scowl, suppressing the urge to growl. He then felt a sharp jab in his side. 

Hitoshi stepped into his line of sight. “So, are you just going to stand here and look annoyed, or are you going to ask them where the Golden Boy wandered off to before he gets himself kidnapped again?”

Eye twitching, Aizawa warningly grumbled, “Shinsou…”

”Learn to take a joke,” his apprentice quipped back, shoving Aizawa’s arm. “Now come on.”

And with that, he turned away and headed off towards the other heroes, leaving Aizawa to have to quickly smother down his Alpha and follow after. The three quickly noticed them, Endeavor looking distinctly uncomfortable while Burnin and Hawks were varying levels of amused. Clearing his throat and trying to sound as levelheaded as possible, he asked, “Where’s Deku?”

”Well, hello to you too, Eraserhead,” Burnin chirped, her usual wide grin on her face.

“Ah, Eraserhead,” Hawks started, hands in pockets and stance lax. “Long time no see.”

His eye twitched.

Sighing heavily, Endeavor stepped forward. “Ignore these two. Deku is alright—“

”Then where is he?” he cut in impatiently, one hand twitching at his side. 

Endeavor’s own eye twitched. “Dynamight pulled Deku and Shouto off into an elevator for a…discussion.”

“Has he been examined by medical staff yet?”

“No—“

”Why not?”

”Because none of those three are prone to listening to their instructors, apparently,” Endeavor replied, clearly at the end of his patience with the conversation. “A fact that I am sure you are familiar with.”

Aizawa’s eyes closed. Reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, he muttered, “…unfortunately, yes.”

Hitoshi let out a snicker, and without opening his eyes, Aizawa did not hesitate to reach over and flick the teen in the head. 

Hawks, in his usual cheeky manner, chimed in, “Tokoyami listens to everything I say.”

Endeavor, flames flickering a little more sharply, snapped back. “Good for you.”

Before anything else could be said, a loud, and very familiar voice could be heard, loudly echoing into the space as elevator doors opened down the hall. “—and for another thing, will someone finally fucking listen to me and put a god damn tracker on Deku?!”

Aizawa was beelining off towards the elevators, his mind one track focused on finding Izuku. Unfortunately, it was not his Omega stepping off the elevator—

He nearly tripped when he thought ‘his Omega.’ Clearly, his Alpha was more stressed out than he allowed himself to acknowledge.

But focusing back in on the current scene, Bakugou was currently stomping off the elevator, Todoroki and Nemuri following close behind. Nemuri let out a tired sigh, waving a hand at the explosive blond. “Yes, yes, Bakugou. We will send a message to Power Loader immediately to add a tracker to Deku’s suit.”

”Forget the damn suit! You need to shove it up his—!”

”Aizawa-sensei,” Todoroki called out, cutting off whatever unsavory suggestion Bakugou might have been making. “Good to see you.”

Body stiff and on edge, he managed a curt nod to his student before asking, “Where is Deku? I was told he was with you two.”

Rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms, Bakugou snipped, “The nerd is upstairs with All Might. The scarecrow ran into us while we were trying to talk, and Deku nearly started waterworks.”

His whole body twitched, but he wasn’t sure why he was so upset at that comment. Izuku cried all the time, it wasn’t something new. Perhaps it was that Deku chose to run to All Might rather than reuniting with him—

Another twitch. He needed to get his Alpha in check. He had no right to be so possessive over a packmate that had clearly stated boundaries.

Nemuri, a god sent, recognized him struggling immediately. “They’ll be down in a few. Just a pup needing a minute with their father.”

Aizawa stared at her, blinking.

She gave him a look. “I think they are finally past denying it on both ends.”

Slowly he nodded. “That’s…good.” His head tilted down. “That’s good.”

He did not sound confident in that.

Which in reality, that was a good thing. The whole reason Izuku and Eri came into their care was because of Izuku’s inability to accept packbonds, and Yagi not wanting to strain their relationship by seemingly backing him in a corner about forming a pack. The only issue with this was that now that the barrier had fallen…

What use did Aizawa and Hizashi have to Izuku and Eri anymore?

He was snapped from his thoughts by a firm smack to the head. He looked up to see Nemuri in his face, giving him a look that screamed, ‘don’t be stupid.’ Usually Hizashi was on the tail end of these, but Aizawa wasn’t immune. He just usually had better luck of avoiding her when in a bad headspace. 

Shaking her head, she quietly murmured, “Stop thinking up doomsday scenarios before anything even happens, alright?” 

Hesitantly, he nodded. 

He then noticed the two students hovering awkwardly behind her, staring at him. “What are you looking at?”

Bakugou, clearly pushing his luck today, huffed and blandly replied, “An idiot.”

”Do you want to run hell drills?”

Bakugou went to reply, only for ice to form over his mouth. As angry, muffled expletives came from the blond, Todoroki took that chance to do a quick semi-bow, managing a brief, “We are going to go be debriefed now,” before snagging Bakugou’s arm and beelining it over towards Endeavor and the others. 

Aizawa glared after them, only to have Nemuri bump shoulders with him. “Come on, Shouta. Relax a little.”

”I’ll relax when I actually have eyes on Izu—Midoriya.”

She stared at him. Then, slowly, she said, “You know, you can admit that this isn’t a good match.”

His head snapped to her. “What are you—“

”Even if Izuku doesn’t resolve his issues with Yagi right now, there are plenty of other teachers that could take him in,” Nemuri continued, voice quiet and quick. “Ones that don’t have an Alpha or Omega that clings to packbonds quite like yours and Hizashi’s.”

Aizawa shifted a glare onto her. “I’m not giving up on him—“

”And this wouldn’t be giving up on him, Shouta,” she pressed. “But you need to make sure that yours and Hizashi’s mental health is taken into account as well…and I know you both are struggling.”

His hands tightened at his side, gaze shifting over towards the group. It looked as if his three students were attempting to make awkward small talk, Hitoshi appearing to apologize in his tsundere way, Hawks and Burnin watching as if it were the best entertainment while Endeavor just looked so done with everything. Not that he could blame the man. Aizawa struggled enough as a teacher, he could not imagine the stress of managing an agency as large as Endeavor’s with three interns like Bakugou, Todoroki, and Izuku.

And speaking of Izuku…

”I know you are trying to help,” he replied softly. “But Hizashi and I made a commitment. I know that even if you convinced me, you wouldn’t be able to convince him.” Then, sighing, he added, “And I would be lying to say that we weren’t already attached, distance or not.”

She squeezed his arm. “I’m not going to pressure you. Just know you have support if you need it.”

Aizawa did not get a chance to reply before the elevator dinged once more. His head snapped up just in time to see Izuku stepping out beside All Might, happily chattering up at the man.

His chest felt tight.

Resisting the urge to rush forward, he called out, “Problem child!”

Izuku paused mid sentence, head swiveling towards him with a wide eyed expression. Then, the boy lit up. “Sensei!”

And he darted over towards him, away from All Might.

If Aizawa was sane, he would not have reacted to this. His Alpha, however, was testing his sanity that night, and a pleased rumbling chuff slipped out over Izuku rushing to his call. Nemuri, still clinging to his arm and clearly having heard the slip, pinched him sharply, though she looked more amused than anything. She patted the spot she pinched, which he wouldn’t be surprised if it bruised given how harshly she pinched it, and then sauntered past Izuku towards All Might. 

Izuku barely acknowledged her except with a brief “excuse me” before sliding to a halt right in front of Aizawa, looking up at the man expectantly. “It’s good to see you, Sensei!”

”It’s good to see me, huh?” he drawled back. “Even after you made such a dangerous decision as to jump through a known S tier villain’s portal without any backup?”

Izuku’s smile wavered. “I…uh—“ Izuku bowed sharply. “Sorry!”

He sighed. Reaching out, he heavily dropped his hand on top of Izuku’s head, blatantly scenting the boy. “Just don’t do anything that stupid again, alright Problem Child?”

Izuku, still a little hesitant but with a bit of sass, replied, “I shouldn’t make promises I can’t keep, Sensei.”

This kid.

”Good that you're honest,” he continued as Izuku rose to stand fully. “But that means that you can apologize on your own for the stress that Hizashi’s been under knowing you are MIA and having to hide it from Eri.”

Now, the sass faltered. “Wait—“

Aizawa reached out, wrapping an arm around Izuku’s shoulders and starting to pull Izuku along towards the others. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you cleared by medical and debriefed so we can get home—“

And then he halted as a scent hit his nose.

”Sensei?…” Izuku started quietly as Aizawa stared at him. “Is something wrong?”

His hand tightened into Izuku’s jacket.

”…Aizawa-sensei?”

His Alpha was prowling, growling in his head, trying to press forward—

“Shouta?”

He snapped out of it. “What?”

Izuku, who had never used his first name before, shifted nervously. “You were out of it. What’s wrong?”

What’s wrong? Oh, isn’t that the question. He isn’t surprised his students hadn’t picked it up, they aren’t trained to do so, which was one thing he would have to look into because they should know better as Alphas, but surely one of the other adults should have. The only thing keeping him from causing a scene was because clearly Izuku had not realized it, and he did not want to stress him out. “It's…nothing, Midoriya.”

Something about his answer must have been wrong, given the shift on Izuku’s face, but the teen swiftly buried it with a smile. “Okay, Sensei.”

So the Shouta must have been a one time thing.

Gently guiding Izuku forward once more, he nearly stopped again when Izuku quietly commented, “When we get back…can I talk to you and Yamada-sensei? Without Eri listening.”

”Oh?”

”It’s…important. About me and All—Toshinori-San.”

So this was it, then. His hand squeezed Izuku’s shoulder. “Of course, Midoriya.”

Izuku nodded, seeming a bit more sure of his steps as they approached the others.

Meanwhile, Aizawa just felt like a pit of dread was building in his stomach.

Regardless…he will support Izuku no matter what choice he makes.

Then, he will support Hizashi as well as he can while they adjust to a once more emptier pack. At least this time it will just be distance rather than loss. They will survive.

Aizawa had mastered swallowing grief. He knew the bitter taste by heart.

But still—

As they finally reached the others, Hawks clapped his hands together. “Okay! Let’s get this debrief done and go home to pass out!”

Todoroki nodded, before bluntly adding, “And perhaps swinging by the Agency showers before leaving.”

”And why is that, Shouto?” Endeavor asked tiredly. 

Tilting his head, Shouto replied, “I know Bakugou’s sense of smell is limited due to the fumes from his quirk over the years—“ Wait, what? Why in the hell was this not in his medical file? “—but I assumed the rest of you could smell Izuku.”

Izuku?

Were he and Hizashi the only ones now without the ability to use Izuku’s name?

”He smells a little funny, but I didn’t think much of it,” Burnin commented.

Hitoshi, clearly having no reference, interjected, “If this is a scent thing, I’m not even in the running.”

”And I just met the finger breaking kid today,” Hawks chimed in unhelpfully. “So, I’m assuming he doesn’t always smell like this?”

Todoroki turned his attention to Aizawa.

”Get to the point, Todoroki,” he remarked blandly, having a feeling he might know where this was going.

“So you are alright with your packmate clearly having been heavily scented by Toga Himiko?”

Aizawa closed his eyes. Well, Todoroki was sure living up to his reputation of being blunt. And as Aizawa feared—

“Toga did what to me?!”

“What do you mean he smells like that crazy bitch?!”

”So much for a quick debrief,” Hawks muttered as Bakugou continued to yell, hands crackling dangerously. Hitoshi, being the beacon of reasonability, swiftly backed away from Bakugou and his tantrum. Todoroki didn’t move an inch despite being in the blast zone.

Izuku looked up at him. “Was this why you were being weird?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I was trying to be subtle about it…”

Todoroki raised his hand. “In my defense, my Alpha was pissed off about it.”

That earned a questioning look from Endeavor towards his son, and Aizawa hoped the man didn’t read into it.

Bakugou now was grabbing Izuku by the collar and dragging him off. “Showers! Now!”

”Kacchan, wait!”

Todoroki looked towards his exhausted father and shrugged, turning to jog off after the pair. Hawks slumped, wings dragging on the floor as he mumbled, “Noooooo, my debrief…”

Hitoshi sidled up beside him. “You know…maybe I’m not as jealous about this pack shit as I thought I was.”

Aizawa’s eye twitched.

Everything was a bit of a blur after that. Katsuki throwing him into a shower, uniform and all, then being dragged off to medical by Aizawa while wearing nothing but a set of Endeavor merch sweats since his clothes were now soaked.

If he didn’t know better, he could have sworn Endeavor was smirking at Toshinori as they marched by all while Toshinori frowned at his fellow hero.

He was quickly cleared by medical personnel with instructions to rest for the next forty eight hours due to the bump on his head and the stress of the day. Izuku felt like this was overkill, but given how Aizawa was nodding in agreement the whole time, he felt like his fate was inevitable. But by the time he was being debriefed with Hawks, he was exhausted, struggling to keep his eyes open. At the very least, the debrief was short and probably should have been done first.

Sorry, Hawks.

Regardless, they eventually found their way back to campus, with Midnight and All Might agreeing to shuffle Shouto, Katsuki, and Hitoshi off to their dorm. Katsuki was brusque in his goodbye, though he did roughly mess with his hair, something that he had learned was probably scenting. Shouto was far more polite about it, asking permission before scenting him and extracting a promise that Izuku would come talk to the rest of their group sometime tomorrow after resting. 

His conversation with Hitoshi was unexpected, though you couldn’t really call it a conversation. The Beta simply waited for the other two to finish their goodbyes, then quietly remarked, “I’m glad you're okay, Golden Boy,” before quickly speeding away.

Izuku was practically vibrating with glee once the initial shock wore off. He found himself rambling quietly about it to Aizawa as they trudged back to the apartment, commenting, “Maybe now he’ll join us for movie nights? And I wonder if he would answer questions about his quirk. It's so fascinating! And it's perfect for heroics, with the ability to de-escalate the situation with little to no violence needed—“

”Try to take it one step at a time, Problem Child,” Aizawa drawled as he leaned against the elevator wall, eyes closed and head tilted back, though a small smile rested on his face. “He’s slow to trust but quick to bolt.”

Izuku nodded. “Yeah, I can be…a lot.” Quietly, he murmured, “Maybe Shouto could ask him to movie nights—“

”Keep in mind, Shouto gave him that black eye.”

”…oh yeah.”

The elevator pinged while Aizawa shook his head. “Everything will be fine, Problem Child. No need to plan it out like a battle strategy.”

Aizawa then proceeded to shuffle Izuku off the elevator, practically herding him towards the apartment. While most would not think much of it, the action felt…odd coming from the man. Izuku could tell he was exhausted, running on fumes as the stress of the night bled out of the Alpha and very likely running on instinct alone. He doesn’t think Aizawa realized what he was doing, but now that Izuku knew what to look for, he realized that the Alpha kept scenting him every chance he got.

He didn’t really mind. Something in his hindbrain felt relaxed by the notion. And considering it was his fault that Aizawa was so stressed out in the first place…who was he to stop the man?

They finally reached the apartment door, and Izuku found himself hesitating. Hizashi was inside. Hizashi, who had been balancing the stress of knowing Izuku was missing all night as well as keeping Eri distracted and content in Izuku’s absence. His chest felt tight, tears pricking the corner of his eyes.

Aizawa leaned over him. “What’s wrong?”

”You two have done so much for me,” he murmured quietly, staring at the door, refusing to look up at the Alpha because he knew he would start crying. “I don’t deserve—“

A heavy hand dropped on top of his head. “Hush.”

Izuku swallowed. “But—“

A rumble sounded from behind him, one that he wasn’t used to hearing. It wasn’t upset or irritated like Katsuki, and it wasn’t quite a sound he had heard from any of the other Alphas in his class. It felt—

“That’s what pack is for, Izuku.”

Comforting.

He finally burst into tears. At the same second, the door to the apartment flung open, Hizashi with a wide grin plastered on his face, clad in his random band shirt and oversized sweats with hair hanging loose, only to see Izuku’s crying face and freeze. “What’s wrong?“

Izuku threw himself forward, clinging tightly to the older Omega, burying his face into his shirt and sobbing.

He swiftly found himself being swept up into Hizashi’s arms, the mates beelining into the apartment with quiet and sharp whispers, all while Izuku couldn’t figure out how to calm himself down. He needed to get over himself, to think clearly, that Eri could see him like this, that he could upset her—

Unaware of what was going on around him, he suddenly found himself being half tossed in the air, letting out a small yelp before landing on a mattress. The guest room mattress to be precise. He barely grasped this knowledge before noticing Hizashi moving in a flurry around him, yanking blankets and pillows with practiced ease, coaxing Izuku aside as he adjusted them around into a—

A nest. 

Hizashi was building him a nest.

The tears came back with a vengeance.

”Shh, hey, none of that,” Hizashi crooned, jumping onto the center of the bed and pulling Izuku close. Izuku in turn gave no resistance, feeling so bone deep tired in that moment that all he could do was cling to the comfort offered. “Everything is fine, it’s okay…”

It was at this point that Izuku realized Aizawa was hovering fitfully outside of the nest, slightly pacing, clearly hesitant on what to do. Hizashi held out a hand to the Alpha, trying to urge him into the nest. 

Aizawa shook his head, eyes drifting to Izuku.

Izuku’s cries rocketed up, his hand shooting to his face to muffle his sobs. He couldn’t, it was too much, it’s—

“—my fault,” he half wailed, trying his best to be quiet. “I can’t—I don’t—“

And then suddenly he heard a low and frustrated growl, only to have Aizawa in the nest as well, trying his best to offer comfort. “Easy, that’s it. Just breathe, in and out, everything will be fine—“

”I don’t deserve a pack!”

His words would have been shouted if his voice wasn’t cracking and hoarse. He refused to look at them as he continued to shake, tears streaming down his face. “I never felt like I’m enough, that I’m equal to you, yet, yet all of you that I’ve met since I came to UA…every one of you treat me like—like I’m worth something.” He laughed at that, a wet, choked sound. “I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve thought I was worth anything.”

And now he found himself being dragged back into Hizashi’s arms, practically sitting in his lap while Aizawa hovered in close next to them, a hand laying on Izuku’s back. Still, the words kept tumbling out. “You’re all so—so grand and amazing, and then there’s me.”

”You’re amazing too,” Hizashi fiercely insisted, and Izuku could feel the man hunch forward, resting his chin on top of Izuku’s head. “You’ve saved so many people, fought through so much.”

”You’ve come leaps and bounds since coming to UA,” Aizawa continued. “You’ve saved so many lives with your abilities, kept getting better and stronger despite being a late bloomer—“

”It’s all a lie,” he sobbed out, unable to hold it in any longer. “I’m not a false negative. I’m just quirkless.”

He could feel the mates tense, the air feeling heavy. Izuku sniffled loudly, violently shaking in Hizashi’s hold at this point. He had discussed this with Toshinori, he knew what this conversation would entail.

Quietly, Aizawa asked, “What do you mean?”

He knew what he could lose.

He spoke anyway.

”It—the story starts with two brothers...”

Aizawa wasn’t sure what else the day could throw at him. The emotional toll from the kidnapping alone was enough to nearly do him in. Now to add this—

“Yagi literally gave you his quirk,” he breathed out, sitting against the headboard of the bed. 

Izuku hummed in affirmative at his side, also leaning against the headboard but slumped against Hizashi as well.

Hizashi, with a tight voice, added, “A quirk that came gift wrapped with a centuries old murderous arch enemy.”

The younger Omega shifted. ”Toshinori-San thought All for One was dead when he gave me One for All.”

”Toshinori-San also was extremely reckless giving an unprepared teenager such a powerful quirk!”

“I trained for a year to prepare myself for the quirk,” Izuku insisted, tone clearly stating his stance on the matter. “He didn‘t know it had reached the point that it was that dangerous for the user. He did his best—“

”His best which didn’t include involving your teachers or anyone else that could help—“

”Nedzu and Recovery Girl know,” Izuku cut in firmly, and oh, wasn’t that something difficult to swallow. Him and Nedzu would be having words later. “As well as Detective Tsukauchi. You two were relatively strangers to him back then, and by the time we grew to trust you, it felt…it was more my hesitation that held us back than anything.”

Hizashi tried to say something else, only for Aizawa to reach across Izuku and place a hand on Hizashi’s leg, pleading for him to temper his emotions. Then, as gently as he could, he asked, “What made you hesitate?”

The pause was long, but eventually, Izuku quietly admitted, “I didn’t want you to think less of me…”

His heart could have broken at that moment. 

He wrapped an arm around Izuku’s shoulders, bending to the side to drop his forehead atop Izuku’s head. “Never.”

The quiet whine Izuku made actually did fully shatter his heart.

Hizashi was leaning in to hold Izuku as well now, both of them just giving the teen a minute to try and collect himself. Everything was too raw right now, too fresh, and he genuinely didn’t really know what to do from here. They all sort of just…existed in each others’ presence for a bit, trying to process everything from the day.

Eventually, in a small voice, Izuku whispered, “Can…can we…” His gaze dropped to his lap, causing Aizawa to lift his head. “Can we be a real pack now?”

Aizawa felt like the air had been knocked from his lungs. 

Hizashi reacted quicker than him. “Fucking finally,” he declared, dropping his cheek on top of Izuku and blatantly scenting him. 

Despite the younger Omega seeming to be unbothered, even chuckling at Hizashi’s antics, Aizawa still made a point to flick Hizashi’s head. “Ask permission, Mic.”

”I don’t mind,” Izuku cut in, his words sounding heavy and clearly melting at the scenting session—which now that he thought about it, Izuku probably had never had a proper scenting before. His Omega was going to be practically drunk if they weren’t careful. “‘S nice…”

Hizashi chirped at this, increasing his efforts to drench poor Izuku in his scent. Aizawa could only shake his head at his mate’s antics, staring at the pair while more subtly moving his arm that was still wrapped around the teen, wrist scenting Izuku as best he could. Then, he asked, “So, we were sort of in a rush to get somewhere more settled to help keep you from dropping—“

”Wait, I was in a drop?”

”…I’m mandating secondary gender classes for all of you hellions starting next week.”

Izuku made a positively disgruntled sound that should not have been as cute as it was. This just made Hizashi trill in reply, doubling down on scenting while Izuku continued to grumble.

Shaking his head, Aizawa continued, “Was that Eri and Mirio in a pack nest in the living room?”

Izuku froze.

Hizashi hummed absently. “Oh yeah, he stayed over to help me distract her.”

”I’m a horrible guardian,” Izuku whispered guiltily. “I—is Eri okay?”

Aizawa gently flicked Izuku’s head this time. “You are not a horrible guardian.”

”Yeah, Listener: today was just a lot,” Hizashi insisted. “And for the record, she’s fine! Put the fear of god in Mirio between handing the guy y’all’s main scenting blanket—which by the way, don’t make a liar out of me and murder him over that, he about shit his pants when she handed it to him to guard—and add in her sugar high, well…”

Izuku blinked, trying to process that all and settling on, “Sugar high?”

”…I panicked and made poor choices.” Shrugging, he added, “She went out like a light after like an hour. Also she really likes apple pie.” 

Aizawa closed his eyes and sighed. “Anything else we should know about?”

”…so the hall bathroom is currently unusable.” Then, after a pause, he added, “Also we might need to send whatever unlucky bastard is below us a fruit basket or something as an apology for the water leaking through their ceiling.”

His eye twitched. “Snipe is below us.”

”Okay, so alcohol.”

Aizawa didn’t even get the chance to reply before he felt Izuku shifting in their hold. “I—can we go check on her? Please?”

His face softened. “Of course.”

”She made sure we made the nest big enough for when you got back,” Hizashi added. “We can all fit: Mirio is passed out on the couch currently. I didn’t mean to leave her, but I heard you both at the door—“

”Which I thought I told you to stop falling asleep with your hearing aides in.”

“Look, it’s been a long day.”

Izuku laughed softly, shaking his head. “I don’t think I will mind sleeping out there, so long as I don’t wake her up.”

”Trust me, nothing short of a bomb is going to wake that girl up, Izuku.” Then, after a pause, Hizashi added, “Uh, if it’s okay to call you that—“

”It’s fine!” He quickly replied. “Um…Hizashi. And you too, Shouta.”

Hizashi looked fit to burst. Aizawa, thankfully used to this, saw fit to toss his capture scarf around the blond’s mouth, eyes glowing red. “Watch it.”

The muffled complaints were enough to send Izuku snickering once more, eyes closed and content, and finally, all the tension of the day bled out of Aizawa.

Things would be okay now.

He was sure of it.

…and unless he was hallucinating, he was also fairly sure that—

“Am I high?” Hizashi asked slowly after pulling Aizawa’s scarf from his mouth. “Or is Izuku floating?”

Izuku’s eyes popped open, looking around as he continued to slowly float towards the ceiling. Looking frustrated, the teen muttered, “I knew I was forgetting something…” 

“Problem child.”

“…so I think I had a quirk awakening earlier in the night.”

“…can you turn it off?”

Izuku now was high enough that his head thumped against the ceiling. “…no.”

He activated his quirk causing Izuku to fall back to the with a soft “oof!” Tiredly, he ordered, “We’ll discuss this tomorrow. No going outside without someone holding your hand until I approve so.”

Izuku mock saluted him. “Sir, yes sir. I prefer not to float away, thanks.”

Aizawa allowed himself to chuff at this, moving to start nudging Izuku. “Alright, let’s go check on the pup and get some shut—“

Izuku was immediately alert and scrambling out of the nest. 

“…eye.”

Hizashi chuckled, nudging Aizawa as well. “Come on, let’s go make sure he doesn’t start crying over her. She’s really cute, and he’ll be heartbroken if he wakes her up.”

“Yeah, yeah…” feeling warm, he pleasantly rumbled, “Let’s go take care of our pack.”

Hizashi’s smile was magnificent.

It was the next morning, not long after they had all woken up—with Mirio leaving early and the freshly awoken and hyper Eri happily regaling a barely functioning Izuku and Aizawa about her adventures with Hizashi and Mirio battling the evil broken toilet that she totally didn’t break—that Hizashi found himself in the kitchen cooking. Usually Aizawa took control of breakfast but—well. 

He remembered the last time they gained two pack members. 

It would probably be worse this time around.

So Aizawa settled into guard duty, sitting just outside of the nest, while the two young Omegas happily chattered, Izuku absently braiding Eri’s hair after pulling her into his lap. Every time he glanced out into the living room, he noticed Aizawa quietly reaching over to scent Izuku, both in a way to not be noticed but also clearly not realizing how often he was doing that. 

Based on the glances his Alpha sent Eri, he clearly wanted to scent the little girl as well. But they knew: this would be a slow process. They could discuss with Izuku in a few days, but attempting to scent the pup without express permission from Izuku could turn sour very swiftly.

So. Baby steps. 

Shaking his head, he picked up the last bowls of rice, carrying them towards the table while calling out, “Breakfast is ready!”

He heard quite a bit of scurrying from the other room, and by the time he was sitting the dishes on the table, Izuku was at his side, grinning widely with Eri perched on his hip. “Ah, this looks so good!”

“Ha, see?” Hizashi chirped, grinning broadly. “I’m practically perfect housewife material!”

Izuku made a choked sound, only for Aizawa to walk in and drawl, “Considering that I know the kitchen looks like a war was lost in there without even needing to see it, I beg to differ.”

Hizashi’s eye twitched, but he kept his grin plastered on his face. “Well, would that make you the perfect housewife?”

The annoyed look on Aizawa’s face he received was well worth whatever retribution he might receive later.  

Once they were all seated at the table, he barely declared, “Now, let’s dig in!”

And then there was a frantic knock on the door.

They all shared confused looks. “Were either of you expecting someone?”

Izuku hesitantly shook his head, while Aizawa mused, “Did Mirio forget something?”

Hizashi shrugged, while Izuku commented, ”Mirio-senpai isn’t exactly the type to knock—“

More knocking, this sounding more urgent than before. Aizawa was up in an instant, heading towards the door and Hizashi quickly gave Izuku and Eri a reassuring smile before heading after him. By the time Hizashi turned the corner, Aizawa was already opening the door to reveal a nervous and pale Yagi.

Something was wrong. 

“Is Izuku here?” Yagi asked quietly. “It’s urgent.”

”What happened?” Aizawa asked, not answering Yagi’s question.

Yagi clearly hesitated, looking between the mates. Hizashi bit his lip, holding back anything he wanted to say. He was still…unsettled about everything he found out the night before, and he likely needed a mediated sit down chat with Yagi and the others involved in heaping such a secret on Izuku’s shoulders. But it became more difficult to keep his mouth shut the more Yagi resisted telling them what was wrong.

But then Izuku called out, “Toshinori-San?”

Yagi tried to lean around them. “Izuku, I need to speak—“

Aizawa shifted in the man’s way. “What. Happened?”

Before anything else could be said, Izuku was shifting between them. “Hey, easy now.” Looking up at Yagi, Izuku murmured, “I told them everything last night.”

Yagi blinked, then looked a cross between relieved and nervous. “Well then…there is no easy way to say this.”

Hizashi reached out, grasping tightly to Izuku’s shoulder.

”Shigaraki Tomura broke into Tartarus last night and killed All for One.”

His grip tightened as Izuku sucked in a breath.

”He is currently in custody…and refuses to speak with anyone but Izuku.”

Could they not have one day of peace?

“I don’t like this.”

”None of us like this,” Tsukauchi replied to Aizawa as the group continued past yet another checkpoint. “Sending a student in isn’t a decision we’ve made lightly.”

Shooting a glare at the detective, Aizawa snipped back, “Well, you were all certainly quick to cave to Shigaraki’s demands—“

Tsukauchi gave the man a tired look. ”Because we know he isn’t going to answer anything otherwise”

”So it’s okay to put a targeted victim of his in the same cell less than twenty four hours after he kidnapped them and twelve hours after he murdered someone in cold blood…all because he’s stubborn.”

Though the detective looked ready to say something else, Yagi stepped between them. “Let’s just all agree that none of us like this, but what’s done is done. And you forget, Izuku wants to speak with him.”

Aizawa looked like he wanted to say something else only to bite his tongue. Still, the low, predatory growl rumbling through the Alpha set all the guards on edge as they scanned Izuku once more. Hell, Aizawa barely made it to this stage given his attitude and lack of clearance.

One of the guards took one look at him, and bluntly blurted out, “You brought Eraserhead? You’ve got to be shitting me.”

When they all looked to Aizawa, all they got was a grumbled response about being on a ‘list’ when it came to security clearances, something about being ‘too involved with the rat.’

Yagi had frowned, told Aizawa not to call Nedzu a rat, then proceeded to somehow talk the prison heads into giving Aizawa said clearance.

If Izuku was being honest…he would rather Aizawa not be here. Not that he did not trust the man: he knew how capable he was as a hero, and there was no one better suited to watch his back. But despite having told him about All for One and One for All, Izuku did not want to involve the Alpha any further in this mess. It was dangerous, and Yagi had waited years after believing he had killed All for One to pass the mantle for a reason.

But unfortunately for Izuku, Aizawa was not going to take no for an answer. 

Hell, were it not for Eri, Hizashi would likely have been following right behind. 

Passing through what was supposed to be the last connecting chamber, Tsukauchi finally began to speak again. “Now, Izuku…from this point on, there will be no recording or listening devices. Nothing discussed with Shigaraki will leave these walls unless one of the four of us repeats it.”

Which meant that they would likely hear anything being mentioned about his…stay with the League.

…that could be future Izuku’s problem.

Glancing at Aizawa, Tsukauchi looked back to Izuku and asked, “I know you said you just read him in, but how much does he know?”

Without hesitation, Izuku replied, “Everything.”

After a pause, Tsukauchi nodded. “Good. That will make this easier.” Then, laughing dryly, he quipped, “Eraserhead probably would have been a good one to read in earlier, to be honest.”

Yagi awkwardly replied, “You know I wanted to keep the circle small…and I couldn’t justify endangering another hero needlessly.”

”Yet you endangered a teenager—“

A quick hiss slipped from Izuku as Aizawa spoke, and after a moment, he realized it was just like the one he used to scold Shigaraki and Dabi back at their hideout. Which, judging by how Aizawa froze in place at his side, he was beginning to find it to be a useful tool. 

A bit mean, but useful.

Aizawa looked at him, eyes wide and shocked. Izuku, refusing to falter, replied, “We’ve been over this. You know he thought it was safe when he passed it on. Don’t pick a fight. And…” Meeting his gaze dead on, he pleaded, “Please respect my choices, Shouta.”

Aizawa looked away.

Tsukauchi looked to Yagi, silently mouthing, “Shouta?”

Izuku ignored that. They continued on, reaching the viewing room for Shigaraki’s cell. The room itself was sparse beyond two chairs, both bolted to the floor and seated at the cell’s control panel. Nothing that could possibly be brought into the cell beyond each other and the clothes on their backs. No one was exaggerating about the security in Tartarus, but considering how much of a fight Aizawa had to put on to allow Izuku to wear his full hero gear into the cell, he shouldn’t have been surprised. But the argument that Izuku was safer with his gear than without prevailed, and so, here they were.

Staring at his fellow Omega through the glass, Izuku could feel a million thoughts running through his mind. 

But all he could find himself saying was, “He’s injured.”

His eyes remain locked on the gash on Shigaraki’s cheek, the skin crusted over with blood and clearly untreated. Between this and how he seemed even more haggard than the night before, Shigaraki appeared small sitting hunched over on his thin cot in the far corner of the room, with no shoes and clad a prison uniform. Though none of it was helped by the blinding lights with the bright white room paired with the heavy, quirk nullifying restraints that enveloped Shigaraki’s hands. 

Izuku could feel the others’ gazes on him, but he did not look, not even when Aizawa bluntly replied, “He killed a man last night.”

Izuku’s hands tightened on the railing. “That man has done far worse.”

”And you believe that justifies killing him?” Tsukauchi asked incredulously.

Finally tearing his eyes from Shigaraki, he looked Tsukauchi dead in the eyes and declared, “And up until a few months ago, you believed Toshinori-San had killed that very man. What makes him more justified?”

The beta took a step back, eyes wide. Yagi shifted uncomfortably, but his gaze drifted to Shigaraki, his face contemplative.

He shouldn’t be here. Izuku shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be speaking when he certainly could not think straight. He was saying things he shouldn’t, revealing parts of himself that just could not help but question how society worked, how he believed that as much as he loved heroes, their system was flawed, was beyond broken. The past year had only opened his eyes to their flaws.

Being here made him want to speak about everything that he kept silent.

Izuku chose to look back at Shigaraki. “Why is All Might more justified than the child All for One tortured and forced a deadly and isolating quirk on?”

Silence hung in the air. 

Eventually, Tsukauchi quietly asked, ”What do you mean by forced a quirk?” 

Izuku only half answered him. “All this time tracking the League, and no one ever noticed that leader wears a brand of shoes meant for the quirkless.”

Yagi took a shaky breath. 

Izuku let go of the railing and fully turned to them. “How do I get in?”

Aizawa stared at him. “Are you sure about this?”

Izuku’s hands tightened at his sides. “How do I get in?”

Quicker than he imagined, he found himself stepping into the cell. Shigaraki’s gaze had landed on him the moment the cell door slid open, watching silently as Izuku stepped inside and as the door swiftly sealed shut behind him. For a second, neither said anything.

Then, Shigaraki smirked. “Hello, Hero Brat.”

And Izuku, despite all the emotions and turmoil swirling inside of him, smiled back. Stepping further in, far closer than recommended, Izuku moved to drop and sit across from him. “Hey, Tomura.”

The others watching through the glass were going to be losing their minds by the end of this.

Izuku resolved to apologize later.

”I’m sorry about your face,” Izuku added lamely, not quite sure what else to say. “I don’t have any of my med kit supplies with me…”

Giving him a look like he was stupid, Shigaraki asked, “Seriously?”

Izuku shrugged.

After an awkward silence, Shigaraki’s head tilted. “Surprised they actually let you in here.”

He shrugged once more. “Toshinori-San let me know that you wanted to speak to me. I pushed to see you, and he has a lot of sway, so…”

The villain’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Toshinori?”

”All Might.”

The confusion swiftly shifted to irritation. “Ugh.” Slumping further against the wall and pinning the glass with a scowl, Shigaraki muttered, “Let me guess: he’s part of the viewing party?”

Izuku nodded. “Along with Detective Tsukauchi and Eraserhead.” 

That had the scowl lightening a bit, gaze drifting away from the glass. “Eraserhead is okay, I guess.”

Shifting how he sat, Izuku pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “They said there aren’t any cameras or microphones in here, so don’t worry about mentioning whatever you need to tell me.”

”You expect me to believe that?”

”Do you think we would risk One for All becoming public knowledge?”

That seemed to be enough of an info drop for Shigaraki to drop his guard, his whole body language shifting. Now he was sitting more casually, slumped to the side and legs lax. “So, you’re not going to interrogate me?”

He shrugged. “Tsukauchi gave me some questions to ask you, but I doubt you’re gonna answer any of them.”

The smirk was back. “Let me guess: information on my League and their locations.”

“Basically that, yeah.”

”First one—fuck off. Second, no fucking clue.”

That had him surprised. “Wait, really?”

”Told them to scatter and not tell me where they went,” Shigaraki replied, grinning proudly. “Wasn’t gonna risk a quirk that could get the info out of me.”

And that had Izuku himself relaxing, rather pleased with the outcome. But still— “Why did you come here?” Izuku blurted out. “Why risk getting captured? I thought you wanted to protect them?”

”And you think I’m not?” Shigaraki asked, suddenly harsh once more. He tried to move his hands as if to scratch his face, but the cuffs covered them completely, just leaving him more agitated. “You think they were safe as long as that bastard was alive? It didn’t matter if they ran or distanced themselves: he knew they meant something to me, so they would be pawns until the day they died.”

”So you chose now to do something?”

Shigaraki looked away. “Over a decade of manipulation from him doesn’t go away overnight…and your little comment was the last straw to make me see straight.”

“A particular brand of red shoes.”

His eyes dropped to Shigaraki’s now bare feet. “…I’m sorry.”

A quiet growl slipped from Shigaraki. “Stop that. Don’t feel guilty for my choice.”

”But—“

”Don’t belittle my choices.” The words were practically hissed at him, Shigaraki’s eyes narrowed and dangerous. “They are my choices. Mine. I made them with my own thoughts, with my own reasoning, with no one else pushing me to make them. I may be locked in this cage, but that choice to kill Sen—to kill All for One was the first real choice I have made in ages. The first real decision that let me be free of him.” He was leaning forward at this point, face twisted up and full of rage. “Don’t you dare take that from me.”

And finally, finally Izuku understood.

Nodding slowly, Izuku could not help the slow smile growing on his face. “…then I’m happy for you.” And after a beat, Shigaraki’s rage faded. Izuku could see the shock breaking through on Shigaraki’s face, how dumbfounded the man looked. 

But still…

“I’m happy that you’re finally free.”

Izuku could not stop smiling.

Aizawa was struggling to not launch himself through the glass.

Not that he could even if he wanted to. Tartarus was the strongest prison for a reason: quirk reinforced glass was a minimum. Even All Might in his prime would struggle to break through—and the moment he thought that, he was reminded of the fact that Izuku was basically All Might 2.0 and likely could break through at any moment.

Which was a foreboding thought given the direction Izuku and Shigaraki’s conversation was taking.

”So something tells me that Deku wasn’t exactly honest about his kidnapping debrief…” Tsukauchi said quietly as they all watched the two Omegas who seemed to be in some silent stand off at the moment.

A low growl slipped out, his quirk flaring for a moment as he snapped sarcastically, “Gee, what made you think that?”

”Young Izuku must have a good reason,” Yagi, the glass half full optimist, insisted. “He would not lie otherwise.”

“That’s not in question, Yagi,” Tsukauchi eased, though his face looked uncomfortable. “I doubt that he would be revealing this to us if he had bad intentions.”

Aizawa didn’t really get a chance to reply, with Shigaraki letting out an annoyed growl before speaking, the room’s speakers projecting their conversation clear as day in the viewing room. “God damned Hero Brat,” he growled, head turning away from Izuku. “Who says stupid shit like that?”

Izuku chuckled lightly, absently scratching his head. “Ah, I don’t know. I’m just being honest.”

”You’re being weird. Stop it.”

”It’s called being a friend, Tomura-kun.”

”We’re not friends.”

”Whatever you say, Tomura-kun.”

”When I threatened Vlad that Izuku could make anyone friend shaped, I did not mean it to be a personal challenge to the universe,” Aizawa deadpanned, trying to tamp down his Alpha’s protective instincts as Shigaraki once more growled warningly at Izuku. He was beginning to suspect that the other did not know the difference between a normal growl and a threatening one given how often he threw them out with no signs of true aggression behind it.

God damn it, he was starting to sympathize with the guy.

”How much longer till we can pull him out?” Aizawa barked out as the two in the room continued to bicker as if this were just two friends bantering rather than an interrogation of an S-rank villain.

Tsukauchi scratched his head. “Well, we weren’t really given a time limit…”

He felt his whole face twitch.

Then, before he could properly complain, he noticed something. And apparently, he wasn’t the only one. 

Shigaraki stopped mid sentence, staring wide eyed at Izuku. “…Hero brat. Why are you floating?”

“Oh, not this again.”

Tsukauchi blinked. “Again?”

Izuku’s laughter stopped, eyes opening back up as he turned his attention to Shigaraki…only to have to look down as he slowly floated up towards the ceiling. “…oh, uh…forgot about this.” He started to slightly rotate in midair, his face turning red in embarrassment. “I, uh, think One for All evolved.”

Shigaraki blinked. ”Brat. What the fuck?”

Tsukauchi looked towards Aizawa, also asking, “Aizawa. What the fuck?”

Aizawa glanced at the detective. “I just found out about it last night after getting back to the apartment. We haven’t exactly had the time to loop everyone in.” Looking towards Yagi, he asked, “I take it this isn’t normal?”

Yagi just stared slack jawed at the scene as Izuku began to flail a little in the air, begging Shigaraki for help and getting a “What the fuck am I supposed to do?” In return as he waved his fully cuffed hands in the air.

Tsukauchi, looking immensely tired and done with everything, grimaced before suggesting, “…maybe you should go get him, Eraserhead.”

”Yeah, no shit,” he replied as Shigaraki could be heard shouting in the background, “Can someone come get this brat before the sensors decide to turn him into target practice?”

Izuku began flailing more desperately.

Heading towards the entry doors, he let out a long, suffering sigh. He was too tired for this shit.

One second, Izuku was floating and panicking, trying his best to not hit the ceiling and set off any sensors they may have up there. 

The next, he felt a familiar emptiness settle over him as he fell to the ground, letting out a yelp as he expected to land face first onto the hard floor…only to be caught midair. He blinked open his eyes only to see Aizawa holding Izuku bridal style, his face the usual bland and tired expression. “Problem Child.”

He smiled awkwardly. “…hey, Shouta.”

Aizawa sighed. “Maybe don’t use my real name around the high rank villain.”

”…oh.”

Said villain snorted in the background. “Like your name is some trade secret,” Shigaraki snarked. 

Now, Aizawa was looking at Shigaraki, his expression narrowed. “It should be.”

”Sensei was far too interested in you to not know everything about you.”

Izuku felt his body grow still. “What?”

Now both were looking at Izuku, Aizawa in surprise at the shift in tone, Shigaraki with this…knowing look. Huffing, Shigaraki drawled, “It wasn’t just my pack that he was a threat towards.”

The first thought that flashed through Izuku’s head was that it was good that the man was dead then.

Something on his face must have shown that too easily, given the smirk that slipped onto Shigaraki’s face. “It’s getting really annoying how alike we are, Hero Brat.”

Defensively, Aizawa snapped, “Izuku isn’t like you.”

”Keep telling yourself that, Eraserhead,” came the easy reply. “We’re alike where it counts.” Then, frowning, he added, “If only the brat stopped worshipping All Might.”

Now that had Izuku shaking himself from his train of thought. ”Hey, All Might is the best!”

Shigaraki gave him a look like Izuku just spat in his food.

Letting out a tired grumble, Aizawa cut in, “We’re leaving, Izuku.”

Now, he was sitting up straight in Aizawa’s hold. His eyes shifted from him to Shigaraki and back. “We can’t just leave—“

”Versus what, taking the villain with an endless list of charges including murder back with us?” Aizawa fired back in a bland, sarcastic tone.

The younger Omega refused to meet his eyes.

”…Problem Child—“

“Just take the brat and leave,” Shigaraki cut in, sounding almost annoyed. “I’m done talking to him anyway.”

Izuku made a wounded sound that was supposed to be a joke but made Aizawa tense his hold around him all the same.

Face shifting into something more serious, Shigaraki added, “You better take good care of him, Eraserhead, or else we’re laying claim to him and his pup.”

And now the tenseness of his hold became just short of bruising. “Over my dead body.”

Shigaraki snorted. “That’s the idea.” Attention shifting to Izuku, he continued. “Let us know if they aren’t treating you right. Apply the same standards you give your pup to yourself.”

Firmly, Izuku replied, “I know that they will.”

He could practically feel Aizawa preening at Izuku’s steady belief in him. Meanwhile, Shigaraki simply nodded in acceptance. “Just know that the offer is open, brat.”

And then, despite Izuku wishing otherwise, they were leaving, with Aizawa not setting him on his feet until they were behind closed doors in the viewing room. As they left, his Omega felt heavier with each step. While he knew in his heart that he was making the right choice, he could not help but wish for a reality where he could keep them all as his pack. A greedy thought, but a thought nonetheless. 

Unfortunately, reality was not always kind.

Eventually, Aizawa sat him back down on his feet as they reached the main hallway towards the Security office, where many officers began to swarm in to debrief them. Tsukauchi swiftly gave his account of events, carefully dodging anything too revealing such as One For All and, thankfully, Izuku’s lies about contact with the League. He knew he was in for a lecture about this later, but was grateful that in the meantime, they seemed to still have faith in his choices. 

It was as they were retrieving their items that a particular guard caught Izuku’s attention. The guard, someone nondescript with plain brown hair and no obvious mutations, smiled at him easily as he stood off to the side looking rather unassuming overall. But something in his gut made Izuku pause and stare, something about how the guard stood, how they seemed interested in Izuku in particular.

The two finally locked eyes, and the guard’s eyes seemed to glint in the light with a familiar manic gleam.

In retrospect, Izuku was proud of how he managed to move. While he was often known for moving without thinking, his next measured steps were all so calculated and methodical that it should have scared him. But instead, an almost eerie calmness fell over him as he continued through the steps, easily pulling out his notebook when no one was looking, scribbling on the corner of the page, and tearing it off. 

All the while, only this particular guard watched him, all others too distracted by Tsukauchi talking and Eraserhead collecting his concerning stash of confiscated weapons.

So as casually as he could manage, Izuku did as he normally would in a situation like this: he let himself be distracted. He let himself wander a bit. And then, he let himself bump into the guard.

”Ah, sorry!” he rushed to apologize in a nervous, sheepish way as he balanced himself on the guard’s arm. “I wasn’t paying attention and my mind just wandered—“

”Easy there, kid,” the guard replied smoothly, his smile just a bit too wide to be normal. “No harm done!”

Izuku then promptly took the guard’s hand and shook it. “Well, again, sorry!” And then, quietly and with an emphasized tone, he added, “I’m glad there are people looking out for kids like me.”

And the smile on the guard’s face grew practically unhinged before quietly murmuring, “You’re so smart, Izu-Chan.”

Izuku was barely out of the building, trailing behind the others, when his phone began to come to life with messages. Several were unhinged ramblings that he expected to receive the moment he gave her his number. Others were from the group chat she had added him to, various confusion and panic over why she would add a random number to their chat.

One in particular was more urgent.

Unknown Number: This could land you in Tartarus right alongside Crusty if you get caught.

Izuku glanced up at the others, all approaching Tsukauchi’s car, debating what type of food they wanted to pick up to bring home. It was simple, it wasn’t anything life altering, but it was real and a life he would never want to lose.

However.

Deku: I wouldn’t deserve the life I have if I didn’t reach out a hand to help those who need it.

Unknown Number: God, you heroes are saps. What can you tell us about the setup? Himiko can only get so far with the cover she snagged, and Kurogiri can’t help until we have exact coordinates.

”Problem Child.”

Izuku looked up, seeing Aizawa watching him with a curious look. He smiled widely at the man. “Ah, sorry! Coming!”

Aizawa watched intently as Izuku jogged over to the car, simply opening the back door for him and motioning for Izuku to slide over as he hopped inside. Yagi still argued with Tsukauchi from the passenger seat. “One meal is not going to kill me—“

”One meal with your stomach very well might,” Tsukauchi scolded as he shut the driver’s door. “And even if it doesn’t, Recovery Girl surely will kill us if we let you have hot wings for dinner.”

Aizawa cut off any argument Yagi could have made with, “That new ramen place by the school has options that could be easier for your stomach.” Then, as if to seal the deal, he added, “And Katsudon.”

Izuku sat up straight and alert in his seat, only for the other three to immediately start snickering at him. His face shifted into a frown. “Hey.”

Reaching over to ruffle his hair and blatantly scent Izuku at the same time, Aizawa continued, “So, my vote is for there.”

Yagi caved, and as they pulled out of the parking lot, Izuku slipped his phone back out and began to type once more. 

Deku: Let me get back to the dorms and away from the others, and I’ll type up what I know. But I have a request in return.

Unknown Number: Oh really? This should be interesting.

“So are we really just not going to talk about the fact that Deku was floating in Shigaraki’s jail cell?”

Izuku nearly dropped his phone as all the attention in the car shifted to him after Tsukauchi’s question. Nervously laughing, he replied, “So, in my defense, it’s been a busy twenty four hours and that was a very new development.”

They all continued to stare.

”…look, I didn’t ask to have this kind of stuff happen to me.”

It was early the next day when the news broke about the League breaking Shigaraki out of Tartarus. 

Pausing his scribbling in his notebook, Izuku glanced at the screen, then pulled out his cell phone, opening his silenced notifications. There he saw a picture that both answered all his questions while also creating more: Shigaraki in the background glaring at the camera and clearly trying to sleep on an old beat up couch while Himiko and Twice flashed peace signs for their selfie in the foreground. Looking up towards Aizawa and Hizashi sitting to the side, he watched as they both kept their eyes locked on the newscast with intent focus, Eri dozing lightly in Hizashi’s lap. 

Izuku felt like his heart was stuck in his throat.

They might hate him for this…

…but would he really be himself if he sat back and did nothing?

He cleared his throat, eyes dropping to his lap when they both immediately looked towards him. “…would you two be able to watch Eri for the day?”

When he looked up, he could almost see understanding in their eyes, as if they knew what he was thinking.

”There’s something I need to do.”

He only wished he could actually tell them.

Hours later, he found himself standing at a familiar place. 

“Well, you certainly know how to pick an out of the way meeting spot.”

Izuku glanced to the side, seeing Yagi looking around curiously at their surroundings, sitting his large bag on the ground. “Well, it’s a place I used to visit a lot when I was little.” His eyes drifted, taking in the creek in front of them before settling on the large old oak precariously positioned across the cavern. “Kacchan and I used to explore here, back before…everything.”

He could feel Yagi’s eyes on him, but refused to turn around. Eventually, Yagi said, “So, Young Bakugou would know this location if necessary.”

Izuku smiled and accepted the slight change of subject. “Yeah…so if this goes South, he’ll understand.” Finally turning back to Yagi, he chirped, “Just call and tell him to find you where the members of the Agency Bakugou met!”

Now, Yagi was frowning. “You say that as if you won’t be able to call him yourself…”

At this, he hesitated, before offering Yagi a smile. “Well…if this goes south, then I’ll probably be busy holding them off. And since you insisted on being present…”

“As if I would just leave you alone to handle this,” Yagi countered with a huff. “Especially considering the last time, you ended up kidnapped—“

”Hey! Kacchan and Shouto were there too!”

”Exactly,” was the dry reply. “And you still barreled forward into a portal alone instead of waiting on your backup.” Then, after a beat, Yagi quietly added, ”You seem to have a lot of faith that this will go well.”

At first, he didn’t say anything. Then, he firmly replied, ”I know what it's like to feel like you have no hope.” Eyes watering a bit, his smile widened. “And I know how much it meant to have someone finally reach out a hand to help. How could I be a hero if I didn’t try my hardest to do the same?”

Yagi looked a little awestruck at this, his face eventually melting into something fond and proud. “Ah, I should have known who I was talking to, my crybaby hero.”

Izuku laughed, the sound wet and a little broken, but joyful all the same. “I don’t cry that much anymore!”

”Said as you continue to cry right in front of me.”

Any more protests Izuku could have made were halted at the familiar sound behind him. Turning, he watched as the dark purple and black portal began to grow and expand no less than a dozen feet in front of them, and soon figures started to emerge. First, Dabi made his way out, hands shoved in his pockets and an absent grin on his face. “Hey there—“

”Izu-Chan!”

Dabi’s face seemed to freeze as a blur darted past him, barreling forward straight into Izuku. Both Omegas didn’t know how to respond as the blur collided with the younger, squeezing him in a tight hug and squealing. “Izu! I should have known you would recognize me!” Heavily and blatantly scenting Izuku, they continued to coo, “Oh, you’re so smart and perfect!”

Izuku sighed. “It’s good to see you too, Himiko…but why are you shifted into Tomura-kun?”

Yagi started hacking in the background all while Himiko froze, standing up straighter while still holding on tight. “Ohhhhh…” Turning her attention back towards Dabi, she called out, “Sorry, Dabi-kun! I messed up the plan!”

Dabi took in a deep breath. “It’s fine, Himiko…” Shaking his head, he muttered, “Never gonna forget the image of Crusty acting like that.”

Himiko had resumed scenting Izuku once more, and the teen called out, “I promise this isn’t a trap!”

”Forgive us for being cautious,” another voice called out, Mr. Compress stepping out of the portal, followed closely by Spinner and Twice. 

“Yeah,” Spinner continued, scratching his head. “We kind of just got him back, and didn’t want to take any chances.”

Twice was violently nodding his head. ”Yeah, we totally trust you!” “He’s gonna stab us in the back!”

”I told you idiots that you were being paranoid.”

Everyone turned to the portal only to see Shigaraki, the real one, finally emerge, with Kurogiri trailing close behind. He was dressed in black sweats and an old, faded shirt for some game that Izuku vaguely recognized but couldn’t place the name. Glaring at the group, he snarled out, “Alright, everyone back in the portal. Let me talk to the brat.” Then, looking directly at Izuku, his whole face twitched. “Himiko, stop fucking acting like that while wearing my face!”

Seeing a version of Shigaraki physically pouting while hugging him was not on Izuku’s bingo card for the year.

”Are you sure, Boss?” Spinner asked quietly. “Like yeah, the kid is chill, but that’s All Might with him…”

”Do you really think I’m scared of that scarecrow?”

”He sometimes sounds like Kacchan…” Izuku muttered while Yagi nodded in silent agreement, all while Shigaraki continued to bicker with the group.

”You can send the others away,” Dabi cut in. “But I’m not going anywhere.”

Reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, Shigaraki muttered something along the lines of, “Paranoid ass…” before letting out a relenting sigh. “Fine, fine. Just the rest of you, go.”

Toga’s disguise began to melt away as she whined, “But—“

”Now, Himiko!”

A few minutes later and a lot of herding via Kurogiri, it was just Izuku and Yagi standing across from Shigaraki and Dabi. Scowling, Shigaraki snapped, “Alright, Hero Brat. I’m here, just like you asked. What did you want to talk about?”

Izuku glanced towards Yagi, who in turn tried to step forward with his bag. Dabi immediately stepped forward as well, shifting slightly in front of Shigaraki, causing everyone to freeze. Shigaraki let out a small warning growl towards the Alpha, clearly telling him to step down, while Izuku took the moment to take the bag from Yagi before the older man could protest.

”We wanted to give you this.”

Shigaraki didn’t move as he stared at the bag Izuku held out towards him, eyeing it as if it might bite him. “What’s in the bag?”

Izuku gave him a sunshine smile. “A new start!”

After a beat, Shigaraki finally shouldered around Dabi and stepped forward. Dabi straightened his stance at this, eyes burrowing into Izuku, as if daring him to try anything. All the while, Izuku stood steady as Shigaraki grabbed the bag straps and yanked it from his grip, backing away with a suspicious look. He looked down, dropping the bag to the ground and kneeling next to it to unzip it.

Then… “What the fuck is this?”

Izuku practically shimmied in place. “So, I asked a favor from Toshinori-San—“

”You asked him for a giant bag full of yen?” Shigaraki cut in incredulously.

Dabi was bent over the bag as well at this point, picking up a stack and flipping through it. “Shit, it’s even non-sequential.”

Toshinori sheepishly remarked, “Ah, I had some friends who owed me favors and agreed to not ask questions. Apparently, saving so many banks over the years really pays off when it comes to making large cash withdrawals.”

Shigaraki looked back up at Izuku while Dabi was now kneeling on the ground as well and intently digging through the stacks of cash with a near manic glee. “What’s the catch?”

Izuku shrugged. “No catch.” Then, shifting awkwardly, he added, “I just…I know it’s going to be difficult for you all to start over, and without any help, the chances of you turning back to villainy…”

Shigaraki squinted. “So, it’s a bribe.”

Izuku scowled. “It’s me wanting a better life for my pack.”

The words hung for a beat, Shigaraki’s face melting into true, dumbfounded surprise before finally looking away with a huff. Izuku took this as a means to approach, slowly and cautiously. “Toshinori-San also has contacts that can get you set up with aliases and new identities, at least to help keep you under the radar to a degree.”

”Who says I want All Might’s help?”

”Stop being stubborn,” Izuku chided. “If not for you, then for your packmates. I doubt you want them looking over their shoulders and living on the run forever.”

Again, Shigaraki went quiet.

That’s when Dabi, still rummaging, spoke up. “And what’s this?”

He was holding a file folder, tightly tied shut and clearly full of folders. Toshinori took this opportunity to speak up. “Ah, that would be my doing. I…” Floundering for words for a minute, he carefully explained, “My Master…before her husband died, he owned a shop. One of those vintage comic book stores. It was rather popular, but for obvious reasons, my Master could not keep it open after he passed, having to continue hunting All for One. And when she died…it was passed onto me.”

Toshinori took a step forward, Shigaraki watching him warily all the while. “The intention was that once All for One was defeated, she wanted it passed down to her son and her story told. However, when I thought All for One dead, it was then that I discovered…everything.”

The words hung heavy as the two stared. Quietly, Yagi insisted, “Had I known your fate, I never would have rested till you were free.”

Shigaraki growled quietly. “Shut up.” Face shifting to stare at the file, he added, “Just because I hate All for One now doesn’t mean I like you any better. Be greatful that the brat is attached to you for whatever fucking reason.”

Yagi nodded, clearly sad. “Right…right…well…” He cleared his throat. “The gist of it is that I am finally fulfilling my Master’s wish as best I can.”

Now, Shigaraki looked confused. “Huh?”

“I bought the rights to the building a while ago, it just made it easier to maintain the closed store,” Yagi continued, getting a little more cheerful as he explained. “The three floors above the store are even apartment units! A little dated, but certainly functional—“

”What the hell are you going on about?” Shigaraki cut in, looking a cross between panicked and annoyed.

Dabi chuckled, his grin still a hint unhinged. “I think All Might just gave you a whole ass building.”

Shigaraki blue screened.

Toshinori beamed. “A business would give you a solid source of income for you and your pack, and the apartments above it would cut down on costs of living even more! We will have to get you a proper ID with your birth name—purely for legal purposes simply because, well, I legally can’t really give you one under Shigaraki Tomura and also it would get flagged even if I could, and Tsukauchi would give me an earful about it—“

”Are we sure the kid isn’t related to him?” Dabi asked while Shigaraki tried to shake himself from his stupor. “He fucking talks too much like him.”

Both Izuku and Toshinori made affronted sounds.

It was at this point Shigaraki asked, “Why?”

Frowning, Toshinori admitted, “I would be lying to say if this isn’t partially born out of guilt…I failed you in a way that could never be corrected, Young Shigaraki, and for that,I will never be able to make it up to you. However…” His gaze shifted to Izuku. “Young Izuku sees something in you, in all of you. I trust his judgement.” Expression hardening, Toshinori looked back to them. “I hope that for your own benefit, you do not betray this faith he has in you.”

At this, Shigaraki grumbled, not really knowing what to say. 

The sun had begun to set by this point, and Izuku frowned up at the sky. “Ah…I really should be getting home to Eri…” Looking back at the pair, he insisted, “Toshinori is going to keep communicating with his contacts to see about getting you IDs made to finalize the process for signing over the building. It might be a few weeks, and some of you are going to be more difficult to pass off with IDs than others, but if you need places to stay in the meantime—“

”We can manage a few weeks just fine, Brat,” Shigaraki cut in, clearly not willing to accept more help than what was already forced on them.

Roughly zipping up the bag, Dabi cheekily chimed in, “God, it would be nice to finally have a place with a working toilet.”

All Shigaraki did in reply to Dabi was roll his eyes as they both stood up. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Looking at Izuku, he declared, “Don’t go thinking that this means we are going to suddenly become Hero fans.”

“I’m hopeful, not delusional,” Izuku deadpanned. Then, with a smile, he commented, “And while I know traditional heroism isn’t your thing, that doesn’t mean you still can’t help people.”

”What?”

Izuku shrugged. “I’ve always kind of admired vigilantes. They are like Undergrounders…helping those that get missed along the way.” THen, his smile turned a little sad. “Helping people like us.”

Shigaraki stared silently. Then, he quietly replied, “You really are a brat, aren’t you?”

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh.

As they stepped back through the portal, Dabi couldn’t help but comment. “Y’know, it’s been bugging me.”

”What?” Tomura snapped, absently scratching at his neck as he didn’t even bother looking at him.

”Deku. The kid said his parents were Betas.”

”Yeah. So?”

Dabi stopped, shoving his hands into his trench pockets. ”If I learned one thing from my piece of shit dad, it's how genetics works.” 

Halting, Tomura didn’t turn to face him as he growled, “Get to the point.”

”Two Betas can’t have an Omega child.”

Silence. And then… “I know.”

Dabi’s eyes widened slightly. “You know?”

”Yeah.” Tomura started digging his nails into his neck. “The brat’s dad isn’t that Beta in America.”

Dabi stared expectantly. “You know who his father is.”

Tomura finally looked back at him. “Yeah. I was in Tartarus for killing the man.”

And then Dabi couldn’t help himself.

He laughed.