They adopt another kid and resolve some tension.
.
When it came out that All Might and Eraser Head had adopted a child together, the media went wild.
When Aizawa would tug Izuku close against his side and hide their faces, the papers would whine about his overprotectiveness. When All Might rejected the press and flew off with Izuku at the first glimpse of a camera, the symbol of peace was accused of growing standoffish and ungrateful. Yet no matter how hard they tried to keep Izuku from the flashing cameras and microphones in his face, pictures of Aizawa walking him to school and All Might carrying the kid on his shoulders still surfaced.
From those pictures, rumors arose, as they always do.
Accusations of abuse, all because Izuku was a klutz prone to bruising. Speculations of the pro heroes dating, as well as the constant push-and-pull of whether they were happy together or fighting. Controversy as to whether it was too dangerous for heroes to adopt children, then even more controversy because they were both men.
What year was it? 1900?
They were absurd, most of them. They grasped at straws to find problems where there were none, frustrated at the lack of publicity they allowed. It felt like the family could go nowhere without being assaulted by reporters, microphones and cameras shoved in their faces. Toshinori could not risk going out with either of them in his civilian form anymore, or there would be even more controversy.
So when Toshinori brought up the possibility of adopting another child, Aizawa stared at him like he had grown another head.
"You're kidding, right?" Toshinori winced, and Aizawa felt a small tendril of guilt curl in his gut. "Do you want more publicity?"
"Izuku is having a hard time making friends at school," Toshinori replied carefully, voice low as Izuku sent little toy cars zooming along a track on the floor nearby. "Probably because of us."
"You want another kid for his sake?" For all that Aizawa's tone was skeptical, he was transparent to Toshinori, and had a hard time disagreeing. With luck, a sibling could become a guaranteed friend, and goodness knew Izuku could use one.
"It'd be good for us, too," Toshinori pointed out. "They can entertain each other, and we can have time to ourselves."
Aizawa allowed himself a snort, a rare smile curling his lips. "You wait on him hand and foot," he teased. "What would you even do with free time?"
The way Toshinori eyed him, gaze sweeping over his relaxed form, was predictable, but nonetheless had Aizawa's skin tingling.
"I can think of a few things," Toshinori replied, tone light.
Unsure of where to take that line of thought next, Aizawa lowered his gaze and sipped at his coffee. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Past that first night, after hesitantly parting ways and going to bed before things got heated, Aizawa had found that in some ways, they were even more comfortable with each other than before. Sometime afterward, the flirting had started; innocent quips, sly remarks, sometimes even inappropriate innuendos that had Aizawa rolling his eyes so hard he expected them to get stuck. It was absurd, how suddenly smooth Toshinori was at times, and how absurd he could be at others.
But it never went further than that. Toshinori was unexpectedly shy past his bold words, and Aizawa was fine with telling himself until the end of time that he was content with what they already had. If Toshinori was uncertain, then Aizawa was not about to push the matter, especially not when he himself was unsure of what he even wanted. He was not an assertive person in these kinds of situations.
"Are we serious about this?" Toshinori asked after a pause.
Were they? "I'm not opposed to the idea," Aizawa answered carefully, "as long as you aren't."
Toshinori huffed. "Yeah, leave all the tough choices to me," he grumbled lightheartedly. "Thanks."
"It was your idea," Aizawa pointed out, taking another sip of coffee. It was cooling rapidly. Standing, he finally raised his voice and said, "We should see what Izuku thinks," before heading into the kitchen.
"What I think of what?"
As he put his mug in the microwave, Aizawa heard Toshinori explain, "We've been talking about getting you a brother or sister. How do you feel about that?"
A soft feeling blossomed in Aizawa's chest as he listened to Izuku's following outburst of excitement, followed by the telltale clatter of toys being dropped on the floor and Toshinori's chuckle as Izuku clambered onto his lap. Aizawa removed his steaming coffee from the microwave and leaned against the bar, draining his mug and watching Toshinori ruffle Izuku's hair.
They were always so cute to watch. Izuku brought out a childlike joy in Toshinori that the man likely had not felt in years, and Toshinori was such a great father figure to him, great enough that Izuku had taken to calling him such sometimes. Of course, Aizawa was still Aizawa. He told himself that was enough.
Sometimes it felt like he was an outsider looking in. Where did he fall in their dynamic? They were so close-knit, and while they never pointedly excluded Aizawa, he never felt included, either.
"I want one that's the same age as me," Izuku was blabbering, bouncing excitedly. "And we can go to the same school and the same room and play together during recess!" Toshinori simply let him talk, nodding enthusiastically. "And we'll come home and I'll show them my toys and they can always choose their favorite ones when we play together!"
"Would you prefer a brother or sister?" Aizawa piped in from the kitchen, and Izuku swung his head around to beam at him.
"I don't care what they are," he replied brightly, "as long as we can be best friends!"
.
It was settled. Seeing as they had already adopted one child, getting everything in order to adopt another was a breeze. They filled in the questionnaire with their only requirement being that the child be Izuku's age, set up another set of furniture in the room, and after that, all that was left to do was wait.
Little Hitoshi Shinsou was brought home within two months with zero notice to the media.
He was a quiet child, polite, and took Izuku's excitement in stride when Aizawa brought him home. He had not quite met Izuku's levels of enthusiasm, but did not seem bothered by the way he tugged him into their now shared bedroom. Hitoshi took to their household nicely, and the follow-up visits by the caseworker were uneventful.
They knew little of Hitoshi's past, only that he had been abandoned at a shelter and that this was his second time being taken in. He seemed generally pleased in his new home, however, and the transition was quite smooth.
It shocked Aizawa how much of a non-event the adoption really was, but they were all happy, and that was all that mattered.
.
True to their predictions, Aizawa and Toshinori were left with more free time than they knew what to do with. Not only were they left with a relatively quiet apartment as the boys played in their room often, but now that Izuku had a friend, they both showed interest in after-school activities. Now, twice a week, Aizawa found himself walking home alone.
Toshinori usually dropped in to take their place, avoiding patrol to keep Aizawa company. They would enjoy a cup of tea together, typically in silence, and when the time came to get the children Toshinori would vanish once more with an awkward wave goodbye and Aizawa would be alone once more to collect the kids.
Toshinori had not flirted with him since they got Hitoshi. Then again, had Aizawa any right to complain when he had not initiated anything, either? It was time for him to try.
The opportunity came in the form of an invitation to a birthday party and sleepover, one both boys were excited to attend. It was more than a little nerve-wracking - they'd never had Izuku anywhere but home for bedtime, and Hitoshi was still very new - but he knew this was the sort of thing they would be doing more as they grew, so both Aizawa and Toshinori granted them permission to go.
As Toshinori dropped them off, Aizawa prepared tea. It was now or never.
When Toshinori arrived home once more, he padded quietly into the kitchen and smiled at the sight of Aizawa offering a mug to him. When he reached out to grasp it, however, Aizawa yanked it back. Toshinori paused and glanced at Aizawa to see him frowning.
"We have to stop dancing around this," Aizawa said briskly, every word feeling like he had to drag it out. Slowly, he offered Toshinori the mug once more, who accepted it carefully.
"I suppose I can't play dumb," Toshinori joked, smile not quite reaching his eyes.
"No, you can't."
"Just saying, but I can do the Macarena for a long time."
Aizawa snorted, relaxing minutely, and that brought a more genuine smile to Toshinori's face. "Someday, I'll time you. For now, I want to know why you've been avoiding me."
Toshinori covered a wince by bringing his drink to his lips. He was hesitant, and some part of Aizawa was already guiltily backing down. Had he made Toshinori uncomfortable? Was he avoiding him out of discomfort? Disinterest? He had no right to corner him if there was no interest involved.
"I don't mean to coerce you," Aizawa continued carefully. He mirrored how Toshinori sipped his tea, the warm, herbal flavor calming him somewhat. "It's just that after some things that have been said . . . "
"You want to know where we stand," Toshinori finished, finally speaking up, and Aizawa nodded. "I understand."
They stood in silence for a long moment, each mustering the courage to speak.
"If you're not comfortable - "
"I thought - "
It took a few seconds of them both gesturing awkwardly for the other continue before Toshinori finally relented.
"I don't know," he sighed. He pushed his long fingers through his hair. "That night - that was real, right? I don't really doubt that. But I just . . . "
"You don't have to do anything if you're not comfortable," Aizawa said quickly, but Toshinori shook his head.
"That's not it." He peered down at his tea. "Just . . . we're both grown men, but you're still so young. Flirting is one thing, but I can't help but wonder if you wouldn't be more interested in someone your own age."
Aizawa had to snort at that, amused. "My age? Like who?"
"You have plenty of coworkers you get along with," Toshinori insisted. "Yamada, Kayama, other heroes that aren't me."
Aizawa studied him for a moment, taking in the hunched shoulders and tired eyes. He looked so nervous. Aizawa scoffed then, rolling his eyes and setting his mug on the counter.
"You're telling me you're avoiding me because you think you're - what? A cougar? Or whatever the male equivalent is?"
Toshinori's ears turned bright red, his cheeks quickly following, and Aizawa could not help his chuckle. He eased Toshinori's cup from his hands and set it next to his own on the marble surface and, when Toshinori still refused to look up, tapped an impatient finger under his chin.
"Well, when you put it like that . . . "
"You're not even that old," Aizawa interrupted. He shifted closer and reached up to thread his fingers through pretty golden locks, and their gazes finally properly met. "What, mid thirties at most? I doubt you've even found any gray hairs."
"You'd be surprised," Toshinori chuckled, and Aizawa rolled his eyes.
"Then you'd be a silver fox, which is good," he said simply.
Toshinori paused, eyes flickering between Aizawa's eyes and lips. They were close enough to feel one another's breath on their face, and slowly Toshinori came to rest a hand on the small of Aizawa's back. They stood there a moment before Aizawa scoffed impatiently, breaking the silence, and brought his free hand up to rest against the nape of Toshinori's neck.
"Do I have to bust my lip again or something? Kiss me already."
That was apparently what Toshinori needed to hear. His lips were soft, gentle like Aizawa remembered. He was not satisfied being treated so nicely, however, and after separating for a slow moment, he tugged Toshinori into a far fiercer kiss. Toshinori's free hand came up to tangle in Aizawa's hair, tugging pleasantly, and Aizawa hummed at the light tingle that went down his spine.
Pulling free once more, Toshinori asked quietly, "What does this make us?"
Aizawa scoffed softly, moving both his hands to cup Toshinori's cheeks. "Whatever we are, I don't like sharing," he said, tracing a thumb gently over one sharp cheekbone, "so you'd better choose fast."
Toshinori laughed at that, resting his forehead against Aizawa's. "Glad we agree on that."
Rolling his eyes, Aizawa answered by reaching up to steal another kiss.
.
After that night's events, they slept in late enough they were nearly late in picking up the boys. Ah, well. Children are forgiving.