Two Years Later

Izuku's arms burned from the weight of the child he carried. He cradled the boy's head to keep from jostling him too much as he sprinted away from the human trafficker Izuku had been after for weeks.

"Mori, I could use some backup!" Izuku called a little desperately. The other police officer was perched cross-legged on the hood of their cruiser.

"Sorry, no can do. I was told I have to get my paperwork done by Friday or else," Mori said, not even deigning to look up from the papers in his hand. "I assumed that was why they paired us together, because you're amazing enough not to need a partner."

"Give the child back!" the man howled, enraged. He was obviously under the influence of some substance or another, which really did not bode well for Izuku at the moment.

"Mori, please!" Izuku begged. "Do it for the kid. Just tase him."

"That sounds like a rough time, Little Midoriya. I just have so much paperwork…"

"I will help you!" Izuk pleaded, yelping when the criminal got a little too close for comfort. "Just TASE HIM."

The other police officer shifted a bit, but before he could actually assist Izuku in the situation, a familiar voice shouted, "How dare you try to abduct a child!"

None other than Death Arms intervened, quite literally sending the kidnapper sailing with a single punch. Izuku slowed, torn between gratitude for being saved and resentment towards the hero.

His entrance had been showy enough that a crowd was gathering around Death Arms, impressed civilians clamoring to get a closer view. The hero didn't give them his attention, though, instead placing a meaty hand on Izuku's shoulder. "That was brave of you, kid, but you should really leave the saving to the professionals. What would you have done if you or the child got hurt?"

When Izuku met the hero's gaze for the first time in three years, it was pure ice. "It's not 'kid,' it's Officer Midoriya. In case you didn't notice, I am one of those professionals. Thank you for your assistance, I leave the perpetrator in your more than capable hands. I have a child to reunite with his family."

Walking towards the police cruiser, Izuku's posture was ramrod straight, his movements almost mechanical. Once there was enough distance between him and Death Arms, though, Izuku softened. Looking at the child, he asked, "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Tsutsui Yuki."

"Well, Tsutsui Yuki, your parents are waiting for you at the Police Station. Are you ready to see them?" Izuku asked. The kid was about Eri's age, and Izuku couldn't help the way his heart twisted seeing how scared the boy was.

He gently helped Yuki into the squad car before facing Mori. "For that stunt I get to drive, and you have to do the paperwork for this case."

Finally Mori looked up. "But I couldn't help you because of paperwork! Do you really think that more paperwork will solve anything?"

"You know the policy. You can do your paperwork in the station, and if it doesn't have any sensitive information, you could even take it home. But in the field is definitely allowed, especially when your partner and a civilian are in danger!"

Once inside the car and seatbelted, Mori pouted. "That guy didn't even touch you. You were perfectly fine!"

"I had to be saved by Death Arms," Izuku sighed as he started the car. "Do you know how humiliating that is?"

The drive to the station was short, and the reunion between Yuki and his parents was joyful. It had become something of a common scene to Izuku over the past three years. (Being involved in so many child abduction cases seemed statistically impossible, but it was like Izuku was a child magnet.)

Once the chaos subsided, Izuku was taking care of paperwork - from his most recent cases, like a responsible adult - when Saito came and leaned on his desk. "So you saved another kid, huh? Did you use the Midoriya Snatch 'n Sprint?"

"The what?" Izuku choked.

"You know, that thing you do with all the kids," Sasaki said, passing by. "When you take off running and you just scoop up the kid without even slowing down. I swear you barely even seem to notice the weight of the kids."

"Am I that predictable?" he asked, mildly horrified.

"Fifty-three instances of you using the Snatch 'n Sprint technique over three years," Tamakawa said tiredly from where he was organizing old files. "You've been so successful that the Police Academy is considering putting it in their textbooks."

"Every time you play with my son I'm afraid it's just to practice the Snatch 'n Sprint, but Aki loves when Uncle Midoriya goes fast with him, so, eh," Detective Kimura said with a shrug. "And out of simple curiosity, Midoriya, with all of your weight training, do you think that you could successfully execute the Snatch 'n Sprint on, say, a teenager?"

Izuku thought for a moment, internally wondering when his life had spiralled so far out of control. "Well, I-"

"Don't answer her, Little Midoriya," Sasaki cut in. "She knows that if she has such valuable insider information then she's disqualified from the bet."

"There's a bet?!"

"Oh honey, you have -"

"Um, Officer Midoriya? You're needed in the staff room," the new secretary, a timid man named Watanabe said, looking like he feared for his life after cutting off an officer.

"Thanks, Watanabe," Izuku said with a smile, hoping it would put the man at least marginally at ease. He didn't know much about the man, he always seemed to disappear whenever Izuku had a few spare minutes to talk.

"N- no problem," he stuttered before practically sprinting away.

Izuku had absolutely no idea why he might get called to the staff room, he just prayed that it wasn't some cruel prank courtesy of Saito and Kimura. The last time he'd fallen victim of them, he'd found glitter in his hair for the next six months.

When he got to the door, he opened it hesitantly, just in case. He wasn't sure what he expected, but he was greeted by a shout of, "SURPRISE!"

One of those confetti poppers exploded in Izuku's face, and someone pushed him forward into the room.

"What's going on?" Izuku asked, bewildered by the chaos around him.

Someone had put a birthday hat on Detective Tsukauchi, and an even worse assortment of decorations than usual lined the room. They were new, which means that they were just tormenting him at this point. Yet another gender reveal banner proudly stretched across the room. It was supposed to proclaim, "It's a girl!" but "girl" had been scribbled out and replaced with "detective."

Naomasa cleared his throat. "Midoriya Izuku, we the Japanese Police Department formally congratulates you on the achievement of becoming our newest and youngest Police Detective to serve on the force."

Izuku almost fainted then and there. In a strangled voice, he asked, "D-do you mean…"

"You passed the test!"

"You're a full detective now!"

Officer Sohma cleared his throat. "We all pitched in to get you a gift as well."

Hesitantly taking the proffered box, Izuku was almost scared to open it. When he did, though, the tears he was desperately trying to avoid spilled over.

"We special-ordered it," Saito said brightly, taking it out of the box with a flourish, holding it out for Izuku to try on. "It should be just your size."

It was a trench coat just like Detective Tsukauchi's, complete with a hat that matched the older detective's as well. Putting on the trench coat and hat was almost a religious experience, and Izuku sniffled pathetically, unwilling to sully the tan fabric with his tears or snot.

Kimura shoved a box of tissues at him. "Naomasa told your mother the news earlier, and he made sure to take her a crate of these when he did."

"C'mon, stop your crying, Detective Midoriya," Nakamura said with a rare smile.

Blowing his nose, Izuku pulled himself together. "I'm honored, and I'll do all in my power to best serve the citizens of Japan."

Saito ruffled his hair, leaving the hat skewed at an angle. "We've already seen that these past years, Little Midoriya."

Kondo coughed. "Should we stop calling him Little Midoriya now that he outranks us?"

"Not while I breathe!" Sasaki declared dramatically.

The little celebration lasted much like that for the rest of Izuku's shift, and when it was time to walk home, he did so with his new coat slung over one arm. It didn't feel real, he scarcely believed he was a police officer already. But a detective? It felt impossible.

Idly, he wondered what he would wear. Their station, more than any he'd observed, was fairly lax on dress code for the detectives. Naomasa wore more formal clothes because he chose to, but Kimura wore whatever she pleased. As a plainclothes detective, Izuku would do well to have the element of surprise, which means he would probably benefit from wearing something appropriate for his age. A part of him would miss his police uniform, though, with the comforting weight of his badge and all of his patches.

He made it to his house faster than he'd expected, snapping out of his thoughts when he started up the steps to his house.

When the door opened, Shoto looked up from where he was doing homework on the couch. "Welcome home, detective."

Izuku couldn't help the radiant grin that spread across his face. "What are you doing home? It's a school night."

"Eri called me," he said, scribbling down another answer. "She talked to Nexu on my behalf, and not even he could say no to her."

"Do I smell pancakes?"

"Also Eri's doing. She insisted on making them herself."

"The other officers frequently called Izuku's home life "disgustingly domestic." After adopting Eri, Inko and Izuku had found a new house, even closer to the police station as before. It was jarring, doubling the size of their family in a matter of months, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Leaving Shoto to do his homework, Izuku slipped into the kitchen. Eri stared intently at the pancake currently in the frying pan, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth.

"We're in for a delicious meal tonight!" Izuku said with a smile.

Eri startled before she beamed, throwing her arms around Izuku. "You're home, Dadku!"

"And you're making pancakes! You better be careful or you're going to spoil me, Eri," Izuku said, ruffling her hair.

She just rolled her eyes. "You're being silly again."

"Whatever you say, squirt. I'm going to let Mom know that I'm home."

Inko's bedroom door was closed, so he knocked lightly before cracking it open. "Hey Mom, I'm home."

"Oh, Izuku!"

His sobbing mother collided with his chest, tears soaking through his shirt at an alarming rate. Past her, the room was an expanse of white, every surface covered by piles of used tissues. The fact that she had any tears left to shed was simultaneously impressive and concerning.

"I'm so proud of you," Inko sobbed. "But you have to put your safety first, okay?"

"I promise, Mom," Izuku said, crying himself as he hugged her back. "I'll be the best detective you've ever seen."

"You already are, Izuku," Inko said, patting his cheek. "And I know you'll keep changing this world to be a better place."

Kit's Korner

Early After Eri's Adoption

Between Izuku's (now legal) efforts and Aizawa's efforts, Eri's quirk was very manageable. She was a conscientious, if timid student, in every aspect of learning.

It was one of the days Eri had training at U.A. Izuku wouldn't be done with his shift at the police station in time to pick her up, so Shoto volunteered to walk her home. The two had an odd dynamic, they didn't fully understand one another, but there was a… fondness between them.

Those nights were Izuku's favorite, dinners with the whole "family." He hurried home as fast as he could, wanting to treasure every moment he could.

Eri was waiting for him when he opened the door. "Deku! You're home!"

He caught her in his arms, giving her a hug. "How was your day, Eri?"

"Good, I learned a lot!"

"That's good, and I want to hear all about it later," he said, kneeling down next to her. "But Eri, remember how I told you that you can't call me Deku? I'm not mad at you, it's just important so I can keep it a secret and help even more people, like when I helped you."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eri said, looking down at her feet. "I forgot."

"You don't have to call me Izuku, if you don't want to," he was quick to say. "You can make up your own nickname for me if you want. That way it will be special, just for you and me."

That caught her attention. "Really? I can call you something only I would call you?"

"Yep."

She thought a moment, her brow furrowing in concentration. Izuku could see the moment it clicked for her, looking up excitedly. "I could call you Dadku!"

Izuku choked. "What?"

"Yeah, Dadku. It sound like Deku so I'll remember it, but Dad instead!"

"Why dad?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"I heard someone talking about Moms and Dads today. I have a Mom now, so I know what that's like, but Shoto explained what a Dad is supposed to do. They're supposed to protect you, and teach you, and take care of you, and you do all of those things for me. That makes you my Dad, right?"

Izuku gave plenty of flustered explanations and protests, but in the end, Dadku stuck.

That Night, After Dinner

There were more than enough pancakes for everyone. It was a happy dinner, full of laughter and tears, not necessarily in that order. Inko had a few things to take care of, so it was left to Izuku, Eri, and Shoto to clean up after their meal.

Eri watched Izuku and Shoto washing and drying the dishes respectively. Her time in the Midoriya household had made her more comfortable, bolder. "Shoto, do you have Uraraka's phone number?"

A plate nearly slipped out of Izuku's grasp as Shoto said, "Yes, why do you ask?"

A devious grin spread across Eri's face. "If we have a party to celebrate Dadku's promotion we should invite her."

Izuku covered his bright red face with an arm. "Eri, that's really not necessary."

Shoto's facial expression didn't shift in the least, but he got the same devious look in his eyes that Eri had. "But there would be a lot of people at the party. Maybe we should invite Uraraka to dinner sometime."

They would have continued, but Izuku placed the last plate in Shoto's hands. "I just remembered, I have some paperwork to take care of," he said, fleeing the room.

A/N: Finally the title of the fic is accurate! There are a lot of things in this chapter that I've been planning for a long time, and there are even more to come. I had the idea to call Izuku's move the Midoriya Snatch 'n Sprint around Chapter 4, and surprisingly Kit was in full approval. She's going to hate that plainclothes Izuku means the reappearance of the Save My Fanny Pack, though. Anyway, we finally made it to the time skip! I know how anxious everyone is about this arc, so it won't be long before you all get answers about what happens before and after the events we see in the prologue.

I hope all is well with each of you. I know your comments make me feel less isolated with the quarantine in place, and I hope that this story can do some of the same for you. Keep yourselves and others safe, guys.

-Rogue