A little bit of self-indulgent fluff with a touch of angst and maaaaybe a few more dropped hints for the ongoing mysteries of the story on this jolly Christmas morning! I hope you're able to spend it with the people you love! Merry Christmas, everyone! Or if you don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, or simply Merry Break from School! ;) Enjoy! =D
Shokuko Soma was in the process of putting away the last few bowls that he'd just finished cleaning when he heard a familiar pattern of taps against the back door of Todoza Ramen and Udon. With a small smile, he pulled his drying rag from his shoulder and set it aside on the countertop, then made his way along the familiar path through the kitchen to the back door. When he opened it, he smiled in the general direction of a patch of darkness that was just a touch more solid than the rest in the alleyway.
Soma wasn't actually completely blind; he could still make out vague shapes, shadows, and even colors when it was really bright out, or occasionally when the colors themselves were especially vibrant, but ultimately nothing looked like more than a blurry mass. If not for his senses of smell, hearing, taste, and even touch, he doubted he would be able to differentiate one person from another anymore-nor would he be able to tell that his visitor wasn't alone today. As he breathed in the familiar scent of ink, paper, and the lingering hints of alcohol-a byproduct of his visitor's current living space, Soma had been told-he also caught another highly distinctive, highly inhuman scent, as well as heard a soft, low rumble, like distant thunder.
"Well this is a surprise," the chef said quietly, quirking an amused eyebrow. "I know you said you had a few connections, but I still didn't expect you to get one so quickly."
"Meet Stanley," the boy replied, a touch of smug pride in his voice as he stepped inside the restaurant. "I think he'll be just what you need."
"That so?" Soma chuckled, locking the door behind him. "Well, come along then. They're up in Touya's room."
Together, the pair headed up the little back stairway to the small, two-bedroom apartment space set up above the shop. The stairway opened up to a small living room, where the scent of ash had become much more prevalent in the last couple of days since Touya-kun had moved back in with his daught- Ahem. Ward. Then the man led the way around the unadorned coffee table to the small bedroom where he could hear gentle voices explaining how to play a card game.
"Daigo? Touya? Eri?" Soma called, rapping his fingers against the door. "Izuku-kun's here."
"Izu-nii?!" Daigo's muffled voice called, excitement bleeding into his tone, quickly followed by a rustling of clothing and rapidly padding footsteps before the door was thrown open and the thirteen year old threw himself at the older boy.
Izuku-kun released a startled laugh, returning the hug even as he struggled to maintain his grip on the cat in his arms. Judging by the disgruntled mreow and the light thud of a weight hitting the floor, he musn't have succeeded in the effort.
"…You brought a cat," Touya's low voice began, nonplussed frown evident in his tone even as the light infinitesimally increased, indicating the widening of the open doorway.
"My, how observant you are," Izuku-kun drawled, and Soma could still hear the teasing lilt in his tone.
"Cat's always react the same to me. They think I run warm 'cause of my quirk, then when they realize how cold my core temperatures actually are, they run off," Touya sighed wearily.
"Yeah. That's cause you're a burnt-"
"Mido don't you dare-"
"A burnt frozen chicken nugget!" Daigo piped up.
Touya spluttered, Izuku-kun snorted and clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his burst of laughter, and even Soma chuckled while his youngest giggled, clearly pleased about catching his older brother off-guard.
"I hate it when you two gang up on me," Touya grumbled under his breath as the laughter began to subside and the group began to shift inside the bedroom. "Anyway how'd you manage to get one already?"
"Are you sure you want me to answer that?"
"…Mido, no."
"Stanley was happy to get out of there."
"Midoriya-"
"Did I miss something?" Soma frowned vaguely in their direction.
"Nope, nothing at all!" Izuku-kun replied cheerfully.
"Godda-"
"Language!" Daigo piped up with an evident grin, cutting him off. Izuku-kun snickered and Touya growled, but it was a sound without any heat.
"Dagnabit then-"
"Okay that just sounds weird coming from you-"
"Mido, the point is, you can't just blackmail people into giving you whatever you want!"
"Why not? Like I said, Stanley wasn't complaining about it," Izuku-kun audibly grinned, obviously enjoying their petty argument.
"Sorry, but who did you blackmail?" Soma frowned.
"Eh, no-one to be concerned about. It's just an illegal breeding lab experimenting on animals with quirks; the only reason I haven't shut them down yet is because their research into quirk backlashes may actually yield treatments for people with self-harming quirks. Anyway, the point is there's no paper trail that would lead the police or them here. And even if there were, you could always just play dumb and tell them he was a gift from a friend-it's true after all. Besides, if you want to complain about adoption by less-than-legal means, you've hardly got room to talk."
"You're impossible!"
"That's not a denial~!"
"Ugh, fine! Whatever!" Touya snapped in the way he did when he was embarrassed and didn't want to admit it, "But I am not taking responsibility if the police come knocking at the shop, got it?"
"Wouldn't dream of it!".
"Dab- T-Touya?" Eri's tremulous voice whispered beyond the door, interrupting them. "Wh-What is this?"
Stanley's low, rumbling purrs had started up once again. As Soma zeroed in on the location of the sound and delicately sniffed the air, pinpointing the cat's scent mixed in with the stubborn scent of antiseptic that still lingered around the little girl, he realized what had happened.
"That's a cat," Touya's voice explained gently, his vague outline moving to crouch down beside an even more blurry shape huddled near the bed. "It's a type of animal that a lot of people keep as pets."
"It's… soft," Eri murmured, the quiet wonder in her voice painting a clear mental picture of the wide-eyed child carefully burying her fingers in the animal's fur as Stanley sat curled up in her lap.
"His name is Stanley," Izuku-kun spoke up now, likely pulled into the room by Daigo, who was understandably eager to introduce his 'older brother' to his new 'little sister' (or was she his niece? They needed to decide before they asked Collosus to draw up some false paperwork for them).
"Stan…ley?"
"That's right. He's like you."
"Like… me?"
"He was rescued, like you," Touya clarified, a slightly disapproving note creeping into his tone on the word 'rescued', causing Izuku-kun to huff in mock protest. Eri remained silent at this pronouncement, but Stanley's deep purrs redoubled, growing even louder than before, like the rumble of a motorcycle engine rather than distant thunder.
"I think he likes you," Daigo smiled with a knowing sort of gentleness, the slightest edge of pain in his tone. (Soma knew how anxious he was to help Eri feel welcome in their home, remembered the ragged way he had screamed when his quirk activated after they met, how his son had clung to him afterwards and sobbed as he desperately begged him to let Eri stay-as if Soma hadn't been planning on it already.)
"…I like him, too," Eri murmured bashfully, her voice barely audible, even to him.
Bit by bit, the conversation drifted from the cat back to the card game. Soma wasn't able to play without his eyes, but he enjoyed listening to his three boys joke around and gently draw Eri into their fun as well, teaching her how to play. Touya and Izuku-kun were careful in what they talked about though, never letting the conversation stray to either of their jobs except in vague terms, and of course Izuku-kun took great care never to say their names. Instead, they encouraged Daigo to talk about what he was learning in his online classes or Soma about the business or prompted Eri to talk about the new experiences she'd had since her escape.
And the entire time, Stanley didn't move from her lap, and his purring never ceased.
"Eri, do you like having Stanley with you?" Touya asked her gently after an hour had gone by and Izuku-kun couldn't risk staying any longer.
"Mmhm," the little girl mumbled, her vague outline shifting as she huddled over the dark-furred cat.
"Well in that case," Izuku-kun began in a tone like he was about to reveal a huge secret, "if you promise to take really good care of him… you can keep him."
"R-Really?" Eri gasped softly, her head snapping back up.
"Really really," Izuku-kun assured her, reaching to lightly tap Soma's ankle. "Right?"
"Right," the chef agreed, smiling down at the newest additions to his little family. "He's yours to keep, Eri-chan."
"Th-Thank you," the girl gasped, her voice thick with tears, but for once, at least they were tears of joy.
"You're welcome," Izuku-kun murmured, and Soma could hear his smile.
"Well Eri," Touya spoke up after a moment of silence, "it's time for Mido to leave now."
"Okay," the little girl whispered. "U-Um…"
"Yes, Eri?" Soma prompted her gently while Izuku-kun rose to his feet..
"W-Will… Will Izu-n-nii come back?"
A pause.
A rustle of fabric.
A dark blur kneeling beside a lighter one.
"Yes," Izuku-kun whispered, his voice slightly muffled as he wrapped the child in a hug and strained by the tears that he refused to allow to fall. "Yes, I will."
"Thank you, for doing this for her," Soma murmured quietly as he guided Izuku-kun back towards the back entrance a few minutes later. "I really think it will help her."
"I'm glad to hear it," Izuku-kun nodded, judging by the subtle way that his voice dipped and rose once more. "Pay close attention to how Stanley interacts with her; he has a mild empathy quirk, so he should give you a heads-up of sorts if she ever has a panic attack or goes into a depressive spiral."
"I'll bear it in mind, and remind Touya and Daigo to do the same," Soma nodded. "And what of her quirk training? I believe that was the ultimate goal of introducing her to you tonight."
"Right. I'll come back in a week or so, once she's had a little more time to settle in and Stanley has a chance to grow attuned to her. In the meantime, I'll have a look at the notes from… from her previous caretaker and put together a therapy program. I might also ask for input from…"
"Alright," Soma nodded quickly, instantly picking up on the meaning behind his vague hum. "We'll see you then, I suppose."
"I suppose so," Izuku-kun agreed, stepping out the door into the back alley. He paused, then the vague blur in the darkness turned towards him, two small pinpricks of green marking his face. "Be careful," he whispered, the barest hint of a plea entering his tone.
"Of course," Soma nodded, watching as the green light disappeared and waiting at the back door until the sound of the child's footsteps had completely faded from his sensitive ears. With a low sigh, the father stepped back inside his shop, closing and firmly locking the door behind him before setting the alarm.
Silently, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against the familiar pattern of the door's wood, his sensitive skin memorizing each peak and valley ensconced in the grains. He took a slow, deep breath, distracting himself from the anxious pounding of his heart with the now-comfortably intense sensation of air entering his nostrils and stretching out the delicate membranes of his lungs, the tightness in his chest slowly fading even as he folded his hands together, squeezing the palms, skin dry and cracked from hours of washing dishes brushing together in a way that was alternately ticklish and painful.
"Please…" he whispered to any god that may be able to hear him. "Please keep him safe…"
It was all he could do.
Credit for Stanley goes to Jathagarth!
Come join the chaos I will have inevitably sparked with this update!
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