Author's Notes:

So, yeah, I got obsessed with this idea of Endeavor being Deku's dad and started to write another story. This one is absolutely self-indulgent, I'm just writing for me a total family fluff and stuff with Enji as a good parent (heard opinions he is OOC here, though I don't see it), very slow paced, very nothing much is happening. And to my surprise it got quite a decent popularity on AO3, on par with my Heroes fic, on which I worked rather hard :D. So, since people apparently liked it I decided to publish it, though I always thought ffnet to be a little stricter place when it comes to quality. But maybe you'll like it too. Also this is not Rei bashing fic!
For people who have read Heroes Not Always Make Good Dads:
This is a separate, completely self-indulgent story that aims to satisfy my need for Enji raising Izuku well, however I've reused most of the headcanons from the Heroes, hope you don't mind (asked around and apparently people don't mind reusing stuff).
For those who haven't read Heroes Not Always Make Good Dads:
I shamelessly recommend you reading the Heroes, not because it is important to this story (it isn't), but because if you got here searching for some Enji & Izuku or specifically Enji as Izuku's dad, it is a story that is finished and well thought through. This one is more just me writing without clear outline and without a selfdiscipline, so can't promise you how regular shall be the updates, but I'll do my best.
Also if you're a new reader I sadly must warn you I'm no native English language user and even though I do my best to selfcorrect my work (also using Google correct and reverse Google translate) I still end up with a lot of mistakes, especially the tenses are SOMETHING ELSE in my story lol. Still, I am on a forever search for an English beta.

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Chapter 01 The Call

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It was a cloudy, unpleasant day when Enji's family finally and irreversibly broke apart. He had been sitting in his spacious cabinet, skimming with angrily curved brows the multitude of mails that were being sent to his agency daily. He had people to deal with all these matters – charity pleas, lawsuits, commercial cooperation offers, nosy questions of reporters – people who were responsible for appropriate processing of each and every one of these letters, but he still firmly believed in having his controlling eye on everything. Enji Todoroki, Endeavor, the Flame Hero, might have been doing the job on the side of light, but it definitely wasn't because he cherished humanity. On the contrary – his whole life he had been being proved humans were shitty, lazy, egoistic and not to be trusted. And even if his sidekicks and employees were all hand picked and best of the best that wasn't enough for him to let his guard down. Many agencies faced huge difficulties, when engaged in their dangerous and characterized by irregular work hours heroes had not paid enough attention to what had been being done under their nose by their own workers. The public, after all, never cared much for all the good deeds and sacrifices you had made, but was quick to blame you for any mistakes. So, Enji buried himself in hundreds of mails every afternoon, even if the work was tedious and aggravating. And it wasn't like he was looking forward to coming back to his grim home. He loved his children and wanted to be there for them whenever he could, but that viper of his wife, the woman that was responsible for Touya's death was poisoning their minds, resulting in fear and hatred he was given in exchange for his love. So it was nothing to look forward to, maybe except training Shouto, which the boy detested, so even this wasn't pleasant.

There came a light knocking.

"Yes," he barked unpleasantly.

His secretary creaked the door open.

"Endeavor-sama, forgive me for interrupting you, but there was a weird telephone call. The woman said the name Inko Midoriya should mean something to you."

He froze. His conjugal life was nonexistent. He married young, with clear intention of having children, but neither him nor his wife ever felt comfortable together. So, once, a couple of years ago, he had slept with one of his fangirls, to try and see how normal sex life looked for people, but of course it had been a disastrous experience, with his multitude of issues and her not telling him beforehand she actually had been a virgin. Since that time he gave up on sex - clearly it wasn't something meant for him, which he had suspected a long time ago anyway.

He clearly remembered the girl's surname, because it matched her green hair. It was Midoriya. What the hell could she possibly want from him after almost five years?

"Put her through."

"She is not on the line anymore, Todoroki-sama, I have her number."

He nodded. "Send it to my phone."

He called her immediately, grimly wondering what new was going to fuck up his life.

"Yes?" came the angry female bark. It's been years, but the voice definitely did not sound like Midoriya's.

"It's Endeavor."

There was a pause.

"Hello, you fucking bastard."

He stared at the phone and only the utter surprise he felt was the reason his mind paused and he did not end the call immediately.

"Inko's dead."

"Wh-" Her name was Inko, he recalled that now. "So?" he asked brusquely.

Another pause.

"What the fuck is wrong you?!"

"Alright, th-"

"The mother of your son is dead and you ask 'so?' No wonder this society is shit with heroes like that!" The woman on the other side was furious now.

What?

"The hell are you raving about?! I've got no son with anyone other than my wife!" he spat at the phone angrily.

"So, Inko-chan had indeed never contacted you? Well, no wonder. No one would want a bastard like that to be a dad to their kid!"

What? What the hell? No. Bullshit.

"I've slept with her once, five years ago! Don't you try to bullshit me that she got pregnant with me!" This wasn't true. No fucking way. He slept with her once! He slept with anyone other than his wife once! What were the odds?! ...knowing his fucked up luck, pretty high, actually.

"Well, that's what she told the doctors before she died, apparently. Anyway, if you don't want Izuku that's even better, a bastard like you-"

"Where is the child?" he growled.

"Forget it, you're no-"

"I'll find you and the boy anyway." No. No. No.

"He is staying with me now. Inko-chan has- had no close family."

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His car approached the small house surrounded by a perfectly kept garden. Normally he'd appreciate the hand of whoever was taking care of the greenery here, but today to say he was in no mood for this would be the understatement of the decade. The Bakugou woman, who apparently had been a close friend to Inko Midoriya, evidently belonged to the higher middle class. Not that many could afford a house in the city. Midoriya had been renting a tiny apartment, he remembered that.

He rang the bell and soon was facing a blonde, red-eyed woman, with a fury that seemed eternally carved on her face. He could tell that cause he was an expert on that - he saw the similar view every day when he looked at his own mirror after all. One of the curtains moved and he noticed two kids in one of the windows – one looking like an exact copy of the Bakugou woman, second with a bush of green hair, not looking at all like him if he could judge from a distance. Maybe Midoriya slept with many men back then and now just chose the richest, hoping he won't think of a paternity test. Right.

"You know what, forget it, asshole," Bakugou repeated what she had said a couple of times on the phone. "We will take care of Izuku."

That would be perfect. He would be able to go back, forget about it all, return to his fucked up family without fear of making things even worse for him and his relation with children. That would be best.

But if the boy truly was his son... he just couldn't leave and forget. He hated to even begin to think what it would mean for his family life and hero career if he had an extramarital child, but he wouldn't leave his own child. Children should not pay for their parents' mistakes. He swore to himself a long time ago he would be a good parent and he intended to keep his word, even if life was throwing nothing but obstacles on his way to achieving that.

"I want a paternity test. If this is indeed my son I will take care of him."

"Izuku does not need an asshole who never cared-"

"I never knew!" He of course lost control, he was never known to be able to contain his anger.

"Because she apparently was afraid to contact you! Have you raped her?! Why wa-"

He grabbed her by her collar, singing the material, and immediately stopped himself. 'Fucking calm down, Enji, you're gonna make it worse,' he growled internally to himself.

"I've never. Ever. Raped. Anyone," he hissed with burning fury, feeling his flames surrounding his face.

"Well, there must have been a reason she was afraid to call you. And no wonder, you are an asshole."

He glared at her.

"The boy is going to be tested whether you want it or not."

"You can't force us."

"Yes, I can." He might be an emotional man, but he would not get as far as he did if he was stupid. He came well prepared, after analyzing everything. "Do you even have any right to be keeping the boy in your custody?"

She paled.

"I. Have been. Helping. Inko. ALL THAT GODDAMN TIME, YOU BASTARD!"

"So, you have no right, it seems. How come he is with you at all? This is not legal."

Her eyes widened, she was scared now. Stupid woman.

"Friends at the hospital, right? Did you think I wouldn't find it weird it wasn't the hospital staff calling me?"

"Izuku is like family to me! I am his aunt to him!"

"Paternity test. If he's not my son, I'll never bother you again."

"I shouldn't have ever called you," she spatted fiercely. "I shouldn't have ever heed Inko's wish!"

"The paternity test," he repeated again and got back to the car, slamming the door.