Shouta sighed down at the shattered bed frame.

Getting ready for bed, Izuku had shifted and took a running start to flop himself roughly down, and being as heavy as he was, the frame's legs gave itself underneath and snapped, sending the mattress crashing to the floor.

Izuku lowered his head, abashed, and pawed at the blankets.

Really, Shouta should have seen this coming. The kid weighed a near half ton and the fact his shitty bed frame lasted this long after months of misuse was a damn miracle.

I'll have to look into reinforced frames…

Shouta's lips thinned. This wasn't the first thing Izuku had broken just by being in his other form.

Over the past week, the boy had been hitting a growth spurt of sorts.

He says 'of sorts' because the kid himself has only grown an inch or two at most.

His other form, however…

When Izuku first came to live with Shouta, his rabbit body was as tall as himself. Just enough for the boy to comfortably lay his chin atop of the older man's head. Now, within this week alone, that height has shot up to at least a foot and stretched out length-wise to match.

Simply put, Shouta's tiny apartment was not cutting it.

Damn it.

They are going to need to move, aren't they?

And move they did.

With the help of Nemuri and Hizashi (and along with some input from Nezu) Shouta was able to narrow down his options to a small-looking house.

At first due to its size, Shouta had almost passed it off in favor of larger options. But upon taking a look inside the building, he had to admit it was one of the better choices.

Hallways were minimal and wide. Rooms were more open-spaced and designed to prevent crowding. Doorways were larger and the kitchen space wasn't clustered. The house came with a basement divided into two rooms.

The house looked like it used to belong to a family of quirk users who need more space than modern housing would allow for.

Shouta was more partial of a small area like his cozy apartment, but with Izuku he knew that would not work out.

The kid was energetic, playful, and very large. For both of their sanities, this was for the better.

But there was another reason why Shouta leaned towards this particular house.

The home was fitted snugly near the very edge of the forest Shouta had found Izuku in, and came with a large fenced-in backyard that included about a dozen or so trees. A personal little scoop of the outdoors right at their doorstep.

The fencing is in bad shape and will need to be redone. Making it a bit taller wouldn't hurt, either, Shouta observed, taking in the scene. Maybe an inground pool to cool him off during the hotter weather. Izuku seemed fond of the river for that reason. Better digging up a spot for some water than Izuku sneaking out and running into the forest for a dip.

"So, what are your thoughts, sir?" The lean voice of the real estate agent asked him.

Sweeping his eyes over the backyard one more time, Shouta knew his decision had been made.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing."

"Why?"

Shouta gives Izuku a patient look. "Remember when I told you we are moving to a new house?"

Izuku blinked. "Yes?"

"Do you like having your things in your home?"

Izuku nodded. Of course, he did.

"Then, we need to pack the stuff up so it will come with us." Shouta explained. "Just like when we brought your things from your old home to your new one."

"What will happen with this one?" The boy questioned, still not understanding entirely. Why were they moving in the first place? Izuku liked this home! It smelled like family, while the 'new' one from his single brief visit was foreign, stale, and had too many scents of strangers lingering on the walls.

His dad shrugs. "It'll remain empty until someone else moves in."

Izuku frowned at that. He did not like the thought of someone he didn't know moving into his home, even if it was no longer in use.

He made sure to tell Shouta exactly this.

"You're just not used to it yet," the dark haired man told him. "Give it a chance and I'm sure you'll love it just as much as this place if not more. And as for other people living here, well," black eyes met green, pausing in his action. "Other people need a home too. Keeping this one away from people in need of it would be selfish."

A spindly tail twitches. Mocha told Izuku that only "special" humans lived in this building, though he wasn't really sure what made them special. Was that one of the reasons? Humans that needed a home?

"I guess…" Izuku eventually admitted, then fell silent. Thick furred fingers anxiously tapping on the wooden dresser he was leaning on. Shouta zeroed in on the action.

"Is something else on your mind?" He prompted.

"I…" one ear twitches as his eyes quickly darts to the corner of the bedroom. "Is it because I broke that?" He gestures to the bed with a flick of his tail.

Something flashes in the other man's eyes, too quickly for Izuku to catch before it vanishes. "Not at all. When you lived in a den, did you ever have to make a new one because it had gotten too small?" Izuku hesitated, then nodded. That happened twice. "It's no different than that. Once a home is too small to live in, a bigger one is needed."

"But this is big," the boy tried to argue. It was bigger than the den he lived in! And had multiple rooms!

"Not exactly. This place was originally more suited for a single person than two. Average houses are normally bigger than this."

Shouta closed and sealed the cardboard box, having finished filling it with clothes. "I know you are anxious, but I have a feeling you'll like our new home. Just give it a chance, ok problem child?"

Izuku grumbled at the nickname but ultimately agreed. If they were going to move to that stale human house, then the first thing Izuku was going to do was mark down every inch of it until there wasn't even a hint of a stranger's scent in a single corner .

The days sped by and before Izuku knew it, moving day was upon them and they were saying goodbye to the place the rabbit-eared child has called home for almost a year. His mind flashes back to his old den tucked in the forest someplace past the river. He had to (officially) say goodbye to that home just a few months ago, as well.

I really hope humans don't move too often…

Izuku didn't like leaving places he called home.

He pauses.

I didn't mind leaving the forest, though.

"Come on, little listener! Grab a box and let's get on our way!"

A forked tongue stuck itself out at the banana-shaped head, but he did as he was asked and lifted the nearest box. Hizashi had (finally) learned to control his loud voice around the young boy's sensitive ears.

He watched as Shouta stacked one box on top of another and exited the doorway. Thinking to himself that was a smart move, Izuku did the same. And when he realized his load wasn't heavy, he sought after a third. Heh, maybe I can carry every single box. He was strong, after all.

But he was also tiny. So, by the time he attempted a fourth, his stack was already well over taller than his small body and was increasingly hard to keep from falling to the floor. The smart thing to do, would be to set down a box or two, but he was determined.

It's kind of hard to see. He bit his lip. Maybe he can walk sideways?

Izuku had managed to make it out the door and put some distance towards the elevator, when he felt the tower start to wobble. His balance tilted backwards, trying to even out the boxes, but then it had started to tilt towards the side and Izuku was rapidly losing his footing.

One hand shot out to steady the boxes, while another placed itself between his shoulders to prevent him from falling on his bottom. When Izuku successfully right himself, two of his boxes were taken from him and his field of vision returned.

"Careful little bunny, you don't need to take such big loads. Leave some for the rest of us to handle," Nemuri winked down at him. "I'm surprised you managed to get these out of the doorway, they're quite heavy."

Izuku's tail twitched irritably. "They're not." He didn't have a problem with the weight, just the awkward height! Izuku could have easily carried more!

"If you say so, mister strong man," the woman laughed, though not unkindly.

Giving a huff, Izuku shifted his hold on his now two box pile and bounded towards the elevator.

They put everything in a 'truck'. Or rather, that is what Shouta told him. The vehicle looked nothing like a 'truck'.

I thought trucks had a big opening in the back? Humans could not make up their minds sometimes, could they?

Shouta took the boxes from Izuku's hands and loaded them into the giant room truck. Back and forth the four went, until finally, nothing remained in the apartment other than lingering smells. It's emptiness giving it a foreign appearance.

Izuku blinked, and the door was closed shut.

"Why three beds?"

"Because there are three bedrooms."

Izuku pulled his head back out of the small room and glanced over his shoulder. "We get three rooms to sleep in?"

"Not exactly," Shouta's grunt turned stiff as he and the giant banana lifted the couch. Izuku offered to help but was turned away because it was ' too heavy for children, little listener! ' "You and I have different rooms. The extra one is for whenever one of these two idiots stop by."

"Aww, we love you too, Shou-chan~," Nemuri called out from the kitchen, her voice echoing slightly.

"Why a different room? I wanna sleep next to Shouta!" He didn't want to sleep by himself! If that were the case, then he already dislikes this new home!

The couch thumped heavily onto the floor as both adults sat it down, panting slightly. "And you still can, if that is what you want," Shouta reassured. "You have your own room so you will have a place for privacy when you want it."

A disbelieving hum thrummed in the boy's throat. He couldn't see himself needing privacy, when he loved to be around his family. But he supposed he could see the light in having a place to store his things.

Which room was his? He couldn't really tell. Maybe it's not decided yet?

Pivoting back on his heel, Izuku waits until Shouta makes his way back into the house with a new box and asks him, he shrugged and told the boy to pick whichever one he liked more.

After looping between all three rooms, Izuku decided upon the one that had two windows. One facing some buildings into the city, and the other showing off the forest that lay behind the house. Once Izuku pointed out which room he wanted, a bed larger than he had ever seen before was placed inside. Izuku looked at it, bewildered by its shape and size. Unlike Shouta's, it was boxier, and it rested on the floor instead of being lifted off the ground and leaving a gap underneath. The silver frame raised a few inches upwards and was sturdy under his touch, but the mattress inside was soft and heavenly. If Izuku were to shift, the bed would be able to fit him inside it with plenty of room left over.

"Why does it look like that?" Izuku asks, turning to look at Shouta.

The older man sat against the frame and crossed his legs. "It's a special bed for people with similar quirks like yours. It's claimed to be more comfortable, but if you do not end up liking it, we can switch it out later." He ran a hand against the padded mattress. "My new bed doesn't have this frame, but it is made out of this material, this fabric won't fray when your scales rub against it." Oops.

Izuku nodded. The bed kind of reminded him of when he had to sleep in a nest. Maybe he could give it a try when Shouta has to leave during the night and Hitoshi is over.

The bed was given one last pat before the adult hefted himself to his feet once more. "Right, I'll get your box of things and let you decorate your new room."

Really, it didn't take Izuku very long to sprinkle his possessions around his own little room before becoming bored.

At some point Nemuri had fitted his new bed down with sheets and a blanket, and Hizashi had dragged in a dresser for his closes, but for the most part the three adults stayed out of Izuku's way and were scrambling all over the new house placing items left and right.

Every time Izuku tried to get one of their attention, he was brushed off and told not now, maybe later, play outside.

When Izuku tried to act on that last comment, apparently he went too far into the forest and Shouta fetched him back as he pointed out the fencing around the house. Izuku was to stay within its boundaries. He couldn't even talk to the cats because they were all at Nemuri's until everything is moved into place.

So really, it was not long before Izuku started to feel cooped up, bored, and antsy.

He was laying in a corner sulking as his tail periodically thumped down behind him, his fingers threading into the carpet as he picked at it.

Nemuri took notice of this and loudly gained Shouta's attention.

"I think a break is in order! For myself anyway," she winked, and turned her gaze onto the sulking child. "Izuku do you want to go grab some ice cream with me, while these two do all the boring work?"

Izuku's ears perked. He liked ice cream.

He nodded energetically at the woman.

"Great!" she grinned.

"The child leash should be in the small green box over by the door," Shouta waves vaguely, not looking up.

The leash was dug out and equipped on Izuku's back not long after, and with an eager wave goodbye to the two men still slaving over the heavy lifting, Izuku and Nemuri were off.

Izuku kept close to Nemuri. Outside it was extremely windy and had nearly bowled the small boy over three times before he hunkered next to the woman, using her as a shield against the offending wind.

A quick look around showed people rushing from one place to another, not wanting to stay out longer than needed.

The trees usually protected me when it got too windy, how come the buildings don't? Most of them are way more massive. Maybe the streets were too wide? Either way, Izuku wasn't a big fan.

He would probably be fine if he shifted, but Shouta said he wasn't allowed to in public unless he had said so. Izuku chalked it up to another weird human rule.

The sound of laughter reached his ears and he caught a glimpse of a park, children chasing one another in loud voices. From this distance he couldn't see much, except for a faint spark from one kid and something red on another's back, giving the child a weird, hunched look.

"Here we are!"

Tearing his gaze away from the park, Izuku looked up at the brightly colored building.

"Do you know what flavor you want?"

Izuku grinned a fanged smile. "Strawberry." Most of the time, that flavor came with small chunks of the fruit. He enjoyed passing the frozen pieces around in his mouth as it unthawed and became soft enough to swallow.

"A fantastic choice if I do say so myself," Nemuri agreed as they stepped through the automatic doors.

However, after taking only one step inside, the boy found himself scrambling backwards, the child leash pulling taunt.

Nemuri looked back at him in bewilderment. "Something the matter, little bunny?"

"It's cold! " Izuku said, affronted.

"It's an ice cream store."

"Don't wanna go inside," he shook his head, "wanna stay out here." It was still warm outside at least, despite the strong wind.

"Oh, but Shouta said…" she trails off, thinking. Then steps outside after receiving a particularly nasty glare from the employees. "Shouta doesn't like you being by yourself."

"I'll be good! I'll stay here!" Please don't make me stay in the cold.

"Well… you are growing to be such a big boy. Hmm… alright little bunny, I'll let you stay out here if you pinky swear not to move from that bench. If I come back and find you gone, I will eat your ice cream."

Izuku puffed out his chest and gave a single nod. He held out his hand and hooked his pinky with the dark haired woman. She watched as he stepped towards the bench next to the build and flopped himself against it.

"Stay here, " she stressed one more time before entering the building. And then Izuku was on his own.

His feet swing restlessly as he waits. Luckily for him, there was a big rectangle thing next to the bench that gave him much needed protection once he slid in flush to it. His ears were particularly thankful for this, as they have been whistling nonstop.

Giving his head a small shake, Izuku's eyes sweep the city block until his gaze falls on that park again.

The four children from before were still chasing one another. Izuku's legs ached to go and join them, but he had pinky swore with Nemuri and you weren't allowed to break a pinky swear. Though, he didn't know why you couldn't.

Maybe if he asked, Nemuri would let him go over there next? The only other kid he had played with was Hitoshi, after all.

He watches as a boy with blond hair pushes down a rounder looking kid and jumping off of them, something proud in the way he held himself. The blond steps backward with cackling hands, watching as the other boy springs back onto his feet, the red things on his back stretching wide with the movement. That was when Izuku realized they were bright red wings.

A hard gust of hot wind forces Izuku's eyes shut as his ears flap roughly. The wind changed! He swiftly shrinks his ears down and feels immediate relief. Giving his head a quick shake, he glares at the tall rectangle thing next to him—now useless.

A scream tears his gaze away from it and back towards the park.

Three children were all running down the street, with the shift in the wind he could pick up the sour stench of fear. Something was wrong.

A flash of something bright caught his eye. He blinks and follows it upwards.

Wings spread and pulled taunt, the boy from before was climbing higher, higher, higher. Even from this distance, Izuku could see his small body flailing and his scent overwhelming in bright terror. But his wings, so magnificent as they were, kept climbing higher, higher, finally free from the binding ground that had trapped them there for oh so long, the wind their savior.

Izuku could only watch transfixed at the sight, his old jealousy of birds taking flight when they pleased, of their ultimate form of freedom flaring up as his eyes traveled up, up, up, wishing that could be him.

But, like often, it was ruined by human hand.

One wrong twist and- right away Izuku knew it would be the boy's undoing.

With the foundation stripped bare, that freedom crumbles, down, down, down. And at that moment he wasn't like a hawk, but rather the feeble mouse trapped in its talons, plummeting to its death.

A sickening crunch reverberated across the entire street. Bones snapping and blood splattering upon impact. Those red wings become twisted and bent at odd angles- jutted and mangled. The tangy scent of freshly spilled blood resting on the tip of his tongue. The silence that followed soon after was almost deafening to where even the wind seemed to slow. A beat later, however and the quiet was soon shattered by a scream.

More followed until the street was filled with noise greater than before, people's voices loud with fear, worry, nausea, shock as the crowd gathered and inched close to the body, but still unwilling to approach it.

Nemuri bursts out of the building clutching two ice cream cones firmly in her hands. Her surprise quickly falls into something more serious as she takes in the scene.

"Shit," the woman curses and before Izuku can blink, two cones are thrusted into his hands.

"Izuku," she says in a rush, "stay here and do not move."

And then she was off, running towards the panic.

Izuku wasn't sure why she would want to involve herself, when there were so many people nearby. He wasn't even sure what the big fuss was. The green haired boy was slightly annoyed with the botched attempt at flying. The resulting death was the consequence for not taking it seriously.

Things die and others thrive off of their death, fueling them to continue and move on.

Not that he was complaining, as he now gets two treats instead of just the one.

Nemuri handing hers over meant he could have it, right? Right.

The other cone was bright orange in color and had a sharp tangy taste to it. Different from what he was used to, but not unpleasant.

He tackled his own first, wanting those small bits of fruit to chew on. His tongue periodically swiped over to the orange one when it started to drip and make a mess.

Izuku had managed a decent dent into his treat before his attention was caught by a small body flinging itself from the crowd. It roughly pushed away and bolted down the street.

It was the blond kid from earlier, Izuku realized as the boy ran closer.

He rushed past his bench, and farther still before stumbling and collapsing to the side of the road and hurls, sick splattering all over the curb. A cloud of shock and despair prominent around him as he leans away.

Izuku looked at the boy.

Then to his ice cream.

Then back to the boy.

Mourning the loss of one of his treats, but still making up his mind, Izuku stands and makes his way over to the trembling blond. He sits roughly on the curb, taking care to tuck his tail close to his body so bystanders would not accidentally step on it.

The boy jerks at the movement, red eyes glaring hotly in Izuku's direction.

"What are you doing? Go away!" He hisses in rage. His mouth opens again, but before he can say any more, an orange ice cream cone is shoved in front of the blond's face.

He stared at it, face blank and not comprehending. Slowly, Izuku could see the fight drain out of the other boy as numb fingers grip the cone. Strangely, he didn't dig into it right away like Izuku would have expected, but instead continues to look at it with hazy eyes.

Izuku decided to leave him be, having done his part, and continue back to his own cone seeing that it had started to drip in the small amount of time.

By the time Izuku finished by snapping up the last of the cone and every sticky drop licked clean from his hands, the blond boy still hadn't touched the treat Izuku had kindly given to him. He was about to comment on this, to tell the boy not to waste food, when a loud shout had the blond flinching back- his red eyes wide as his head whips around to the source.

He shoves the dripping, melting cone into Izuku's hands and runs over to a woman with a similar hairstyle to the boy, her frantic expression lighting up with relief as her eyes fall on him.

She tries to speak, but the boy only shakes his head with jerky movements. Her hand falls on his back instead, and leads the younger boy away.

Izuku watches this until his attention is back to his newly required treat.

"Izuku."

Vivid green eyes glance upwards, pausing in his messy eating.

Shouta glances over his expression, but doesn't see anything that would suggest him feeling upset.

Still, he asks- "Are you alright?"

The boy nods, licking his lips with a forked tongue. "I have ice cream," he states with a cheeky grin.

"I see that. Where is Nemuri?"

He gets a shrug in answer and vaguely points to the crowd of people down the street.

"She said to stay on the chair. I didn't, though." There was a touch of guilt in his voice. "Was that bad?"

"It's fine." Maybe the kid didn't see it? Over text Nemuri had only said that a child had died and she needed him to come and pick Izuku up right away, as she had been swept up in her job as a hero. Shouta wasn't sure how a child had been killed until he arrived on scene and caught whispers from people standing nearby. Then his gaze swept the tops of heads, searching for the mop of green hair that belonged to his son.

"Come on, problem child. Let's go home." Izuku was a curious child, if he had witnessed a death he would have a question about the topic, right? The man was unsure if he should be the one to bring it up.

But the boy said nothing of it and only smiled up at Shouta with the same amount of happiness as he had always shown.

Izuku's mood went down as he remembered the new living situation. If his ears were shifted, they would surely be drooping as the step closer to the house.

He could feel Shouta's eyes and slight frown from beside him, worry bubbling under his skin. His silent worry sends a flash of guilt through Izuku, he knows his dad only moved with the chance to make the young boy happier.

And perhaps it will, once he gets used to it.

They stepped inside the house and a strong odor greeted the duo. A pot of coffee, set by Hizashi, was brewing and filling up the house with its familiar scent.

And just like that, Izuku thought this new place already seemed like home.