Getting Closer—Found Out
Spider-Man, Captain Britain, and all associated characters, are property of Marvel. My Hero Academia and all related characters are property of Kohei Horikoshi
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"…and then—and I still don't believe—he just hung there on one leg and fell right asleep!" Gran cackled, slamming the butt of his cane on the ground. Izuku flushed up to his ears, staring down at his lap and fiddling with his sleeves. Toshinori's booming laughter made him wish he had some sort of turtle-type powers so he could hide in a shell.
But then he heard his mom's stifled, giggles, and his mood soared.
He dared to look up. Toshinori and Gran were still laughing, the jerks. His mom quickly stopped all movement when he caught her gaze, a guilty flush lighting her face. But there was a joy in her eyes that Izuku hadn't seen since…ever, if he was being honest.
He'd been so worried about her. He was, more-or-less, okay with throwing himself into danger if it meant saving others. But it wasn't until recently that Izuku considered how such things would affect him mom. How terrified she'd be for his sake. And how guilty he felt for making her feel that way, and potentially putting her in danger by association.
Leaving her with Toshinori had been both a weight off his shoulders, and a chain wrapped around his heart. But seeing her now…the chain was loosening.
They talked for hours—well, he and Gran talked, Toshinori and his mom listened. They talked and talked until they were all starting to droop in their seats, cheeks hurting from smiling so much.
"You know," Toshinori said through a yawn, "there's space for both of you to stay the night."
Gran waved him off with a huff, "It's not that late, we can catch a train." Toshinori lolled his head to the side, arching a brow at Izuku. He just shrugged—Gran was right.
His mom got up after that, bringing him into a tight, wordless hug. Izuku reciprocated, only letting go when he felt himself drifting off to sleep. Not helped when Toshinori walked over and ruffled his hair, the two moving further into the apartment.
He was only jolted back awake when Gran rapped his shin with his cane. "C'mon, kid," the old grump said with a chuckle, "let's get going."
"Right," Izuku shook his head, "right…Hey Gran," the semi-retired Hero arched a brow. "…Thanks, for letting us do this."
Gran's stern expression softened, turning almost melancholic, "Don't mention it. You've been putting in good work, so really, it's the least I can…do…" Gran trailed off, eyes going wide as he stared past Izuku, jaw dropping open.
Izuku blinked, turning around—and adopted the exact same expression as he watched his mom and Toshinori stumble into the same bedroom, closing the door behind them.
He wasn't entirely sure how long he and Gran stayed rooted in place, staring at the closed door.
But eventually, Gran moved forward, gently closing Izuku's jaw. "I think," he said, eyes still wide with disbelief, "that we should stay the night. If only to avoid rushing back here when we wake up." Izuku nodded, following Gran as he led him to one of the guestrooms. The one right next to where his mom and Toshinori were…sleeping together. Or…more?
Izuku stepped away from the room with a shiver. "I-I think I'll sleep on the couch." Gran frowned, but then it clicked, and he sighed, bidding Izuku a short goodnight as the two separated.
Surprisingly, Izuku slept relatively well that night. So well, that he was, somehow, able to convince himself that he was just seeing things. Of course Toshinori and his mom weren't sleeping together! That'd be crazy (nothing against either of them, but the idea of All Might getting together with his mom had been the subject of so many childhood fantasies that he'd learned to dismiss the thought as nonsense).
But then a door opened, and Izuku looked up from the couch to see Toshinori and his mother step out from their shared bedroom, the latter leaning against the former; Toshinori's hair was a frazzled mess, and his mom…had a very large, very fresh, hickey on the left side of her neck. And then they saw him.
Izuku adopted the same expression that he'd had the previous night. Toshinori paled considerably, and his mom's entire body turned tomato-red, before they both fled back into the room, slamming it shut behind them.
While Izuku's mind struggled to reboot, he just found himself beyond relieved that his mom wasn't wearing one of Toshinori's shirts.
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Gran slid a cup of tea over to Izuku. He barely spared it a glance, his fists clenched together and pressed against his mouth, left foot rapidly tapping the ground. "What's taking them so long?"
"They're probably just cleaning themselves up." Izuku froze, face twisting into a grimace. "Not like—" Gran started to scoff, only to pause, a thoughtful expression on his face. "…Well, they are two consenting adults."
"Gran," Izuku groaned, dropping his head onto the table, "please don't."
"Are you…mad at them?"
"Wha—no!" Izuku shot up. "No! Just…" he trailed off. "…This is just weird, okay?" He really wasn't upset or anything (well, maybe a little that he only found out about them by accident). He wasn't blind, either—he knew his mom and Toshinori had gotten close over the last year. But he didn't think they'd gotten this close.
Finally, the door to…their bedroom opened up. Toshinori and his mom quickly, if meekly, entered the room. No one was willing to look at each other for too long. Izuku tried to speak but found that the words just kept dying in his throat.
"Okay," Gran huffed, getting out of his seat, "enough of this." He smacked Toshinori's legs with his cane. "Get moving, brat! Let's give them some alone time."
Toshinori paused, but a quick look at his mom—followed by her smiling and squeezing his arm—and he let Gran shove him away. Leaving Izuku and his mom alone.
She quickly took a seat, gesturing to the undrunk tea. "Is this yours?" Izuku shook his head, and she quickly drank it up.
Izuku waited until she put the cup down before blurting out, "Are you and Toshinori dating?"
She sighed, a sad smile overtaking her features. "Oh, Izuku," she reached over the table, taking his hand into hers, "I…I don't know. I don't think so." Izuku scooted closer to her, leaning his head against her shoulder. She started stroking his hair, "I care for him, certainly. But this whole…thing is just something that happened, you know? I don't know about him, but I've been a mess since this whole thing started, and, well…" she blushed. "…It's a…comfort, being with him. One of the few I've got, recently."
Izuku's mind stalled, once again, at the confirmation of his mom's and Toshinori's upgraded relationship status. But then the rest of her words sunk in—the way she said them, the way she held herself. God, this was all his fault, wasn't it?
"Mom," Izuku pulled away from her, looking down at his lap. "I'm sorry." Her eye's widened, shock overtaking her features. She made to speak, but Izuku barreled on, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry! It's my fault! Because of me we had to move out of our home and our lives are in danger and I don't think they'll ever go back to normal because All for One lived through Toshinori fighting him at his best and I can't do anything against that and for the rest of our lives we'll be—!" He was cut off when his mom pulled him into a fierce hug, tears falling down her face.
"Oh, Izuku," she whispered as he held onto her like a lifeline. She pulled back, holding onto his face to make sure he looked her in the eyes. "…Are you happy?"
He balked. "Wha—Are you kidding me? We've been forced out of our home, there's some insane, immortal monster out there that wants to, at the very least, kill me and Toshinori, and—"
"Izuku," she cut him off. "Are you happy?"
Izuku forced himself to take a breath. "…Yes," he said. And it was true. Yes, the backdrop of All for One was terrifying. The idea that, at any moment the Villain could enact whatever evil scheme he was planning and tear Izuku's life to shreds kept him up some nights. But…that was just a small part of his world now. Finally, he had the means to do what he knew he was born to do. A chance to make the world a better place. He even had actual friends for the first time since he was four. He was learning at the heels of his all-time, favorite Hero (who was also hooking up with his mom, inadvertently fulfilling a different childhood fantasy).
So, yeah, he was pretty happy.
His mom sighed, leaning up and pressing a kiss on his forehead, "Then that's all the matters. Living here now certainly wasn't planned, but if this means you can finally become the man you were meant to be, it's all worth it."
Izuku smiled, tension seeping out of his body. "…Getting together with All Might is probably a good bonus, huh?"
His mom huffed, gently tugging on one of his bangs, "Don't sass me." She smoothed out his hair, pulling him into one more hug. "I love you, Izuku."
Izuku swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. "I love you too." He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but it was far too short for his liking.
She fixed up his hair. "Now," she said, "I think you need to talk with Toshinori. As nervous as I am, he's got to be a wreck."
Izuku chuckled, "Especially since we left him alone with Gran." His mom joined him, until they tapered off into silence, the thought fully dawning on them.
"…We should go," they said at the same time.
Gran had dragged Toshinori to Gran's temporary room, the door closed. Izuku knocked on the door, and Gran opened it up. He looked the two of them over, smiling slightly, "Work things out?"
"For now," Izuku shrugged. He looked past the retired Hero, seeing Toshinori sitting on the bed. He looked up at them, his entire face flushing before he turned away, scratching his neck.
Gran stepped past Izuku, nodding as his mother. "Don't suppose you finally convinced the brat to stock actual food?"
She giggled, but didn't move until Izuku gestured for her to get going, closing the door as they left.
Izuku waited until their footsteps faded before turning around and blurting out, "Do you love my mom?"
Toshinori stilled, before chuckling. "Coming out swinging, huh?" He pat the bed. "Sit down." Izuku did so, hands on his lap. Toshinori stared up at the ceiling, gathering whatever strength he needed before looking back down at Izuku. "I'll be honest, my boy, I've never been in love before. Certainly, I've seen it in action, but I've never been fortunate enough to experience it myself."
That honestly surprised Izuku. He knew that Toshinori wasn't the kind for casual flings, but still… "Never?" he asked after a moment.
"No," Toshinori said with a shake of his head. "I've dated women before, but only because I was, admittedly, too kind to reject them. Intimacy, emotional or physical, was never a priority for me."
"Until you met my mom," Izuku replied, the unspoken 'why?' hanging in the air between them.
Toshinori looked down, before shrugging, "Well, she is a kind woman. We have spent a lot of time together. We've both been in rather…rough spots as of late."
"Mom said pretty much the same thing," Izuku replied.
"She's smart too." Toshinori smirked. His face then shifted into a neutral frown, "I'm going to be straight with you, Izuku—I don't know if me and Inko will develop anything further than…you know." Izuku dearly wished he didn't. "But I do care about her, and really, the least I can do is help her be comfortable and happy."
"Well," Izuku leaned back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, "as long as she's happy." His face twisted into a grimace, "But you couldn't have just…gotten some board games or something?"
Toshinori let loose a bellowing laugh. "You're really hung up on that huh?"
"Of course I am!" Izuku shot up. "I mean…" he quieted a touch. "It's a side of her I've never seen before." He drew his knees up to his chest, resting his head on them. "Hiashi left when I was a kid, and she's never brought anyone home or stayed overnight somewhere. I…I guess I always thought that part of her just…withered away."
"Well, it hasn't." Izuku glared at Toshinori, who had the decency to blush. "But I get it. We brought her here to keep her safe not…this." He adopted a stern expression, "And if you want me to stop, I will."
Izuku stared at Toshinori, before shaking his head, "Thanks, but no. You don't have to do that. You're both adults, and even if I thinks it's a little—okay, a lot—weird—as long as you two are happy, I can power through it."
Toshinori smiled, reaching over and rubbing his shoulder. "You're a good kid, Izuku." Izuku smiled, enjoying the contact. "Now, let's go out and get you and Gran going." He paled, face falling into a blank mask. "Trust me, Gran's going to want to make-up for lost time."
"You know, he's really not that bad." Toshinori stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "I mean, I'm always sore after training, but I've never passed out from the pain or anything like that."
"Didn't Gran just mock you for falling asleep during a training session?"
"Yeah, but that was my own fault," Izuku admitted. "I…stayed up researching Heroes for my notes the previous night."
"…And all Gran did was throw you into a wall?" At Izuku's nod, Toshinori hummed, scratching his chin. "I guess he could have mellowed out following his retirement. Still," he got up from the bed, "we've left him and your mom waiting long enough." Izuku nodded, following him out of the room.
They found Gran and his mom sitting in the living room, silently drinking tea. She was nervous but lit up when they came into the room. Izuku was used to the warmth in her eyes, only now it wasn't directed only at him. He spared a glance at Toshinori, who had some tenderness in his gaze as he smiled at her.
Yeah…they both needed something like this. But that realization didn't keep him from saying, "Next time you guys do something like this, I'd appreciate a little warning." The pair blushed heavily, and Izuku couldn't help but laugh at them.
Until Gran said, "Does this mean you're going to start calling him 'Dad'?" Now Izuku was blushing up a storm, and Gran just cackled like the madman he was.
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A/N: This was supposed to be part of a different fic, but I couldn't make it mesh, so now it's here. Be sure to leave a review. Later.