"You're my dad?!"
No one breathes for a short moment following the question, finally Aizawa sighs. "Yes. I am."
The shock on Izuku's face is well understandable. Though funny to see, Izuku looks a lot like his mother, sans the freckles; those are an Aizawa trait, one that missed Aizawa himself much to the chagrin of his mother -although the summer sun would disagree with that statement, there's a reason Aizawa is a creature of the night- . Aizawa watches as the teen looks between him and Inko for a moment. Finally Izuku stops his mental assessment or whatever it was that he was just doing and manages a small.
"Huh." Eloquent. Not that there is an issue with Izuku's lackluster response here, this entire situation was a rather odd one. A complicated one. Aizawa gives Izuku time, there is obviously something he wants to ask, probably a question he's had his entire life.
Aizawa waits, letting Izuku make the first move. This can't be on his terms, it has to be on Izuku's. If this is going to work, well Izuku is the one who has to want him in his life. Not the other way around. The door could be long closed for him to be a parent, but if his son wants him to be, then he will do whatever he needs to make it work. Izuku shuffles over to join them at the table- Inko gets up to hopefully start another pot of coffee. He could really go for another mug or two at this point.
"So... you're really a hero then? That's really why you weren't around?" Inko makes a small gasp, in the background, at the question her son asks. Almost like she's playfully offended and concerned all at once. Aizawa nods slowly before answering, considering his next words carefully.
He gets the feeling that this answer will be the turning point.
"Yes. If I thought I could have been around without jeopardizing you and your mother's safety then I would have been. But more than anything, I needed you to be safe." Izuku white knuckles the hem of his t-shirt, and Aizawa is shocked when the teen starts to cry.
He shouldn't be, crying was most certainly a Midoriya trait, and Izuku really did take after his mother. That was probably a good thing, if there was one thing he had loved about Inko was that she had been kind, that she was good. Izuku taking after her, well that was a good thing.
"So... so it wasn't because of me then? Because I'm quirkless, you weren't around to keep us safe, and not because you didn't want me?" Izuku rasps, wiping furiously at his eyes. Aizawa wants more than anything to reach out and comfort him, but he doesn't want to cross any boundaries Izuku might have. Instead he settles on responding, tone level, completely sincere.
He hates that his decision, even made to keep his son safe, has obviously hurt him so badly.
"Izuku, I promise, it had nothing to do with your quirklessness. I meant what I said on the roof tonight. Quirks don't matter. I wanted to be here for you, I wanted to be in your life- But I just, I couldn't risk you like that. My work is dangerous, and I have enemies and when you were younger... I didn't want you to be hurt because of me. Me being away had nothing to do with you, only with me trying to keep you safe. I am sorry though, that this decision has hurt you."
For the second time that evening Aizawa finds himself holding a sobbing teen in his arms. Inko sniffles, wiping tears from her eyes. He knows he's not moving anytime soon.
Why would he? Because for the first time in so many years he gets to hold his son. ...
They take their time in learning more about each other, before any decisions on moving to America are made. Aizawa enjoys the two days a week we can join the Midoriya's for dinner now. He enjoys Saturdays at cat cafes with his son. Izuku is so much more than Inko's updates ever made him seem. Not that she was selling him short, certainly not, no it more that this is real now, it's no longer text updates and pixels on a screen. His son is a real, warm, kind, breathing person.
He doesn't regret staying away, because he knows it did keep his son safe- but for once in his life, he wished he'd allowed himself to just be a little more present in Izuku's life before now.
Izuku gets a key to Aizawa flat, it's fair, he can come and go as he pleases as long as he lets either of them know. Aizawa keeps his work in his office and nowhere else in his home so it's never at risk for Izuku to see something he shouldn't. The worst he's going to see is essays that need to be graded. Which is what he's currently working on when his son comes in.
"Shoes off" Aizawa calls out, and Izuku's response is immediate.
"I could be a burglar, you know." The teen snickers to himself before he rounds the entryway, Aizawa leans back on his hands to raise a brow at his son.
"You'd be a terrible burglar. Inko working late?"
"She got called in for a graveyard shift at the hospital." Izuku slinks over to join him at the coffee table, the bright yellow backpack hits the ground with a large thunk. He eyes the worn backpack
for a moment.
"Why are you carrying all your books?"
"I don't like leaving them at school." He takes a moment to carefully access that particular statement. Aizawa narrows his eyes slightly at the overstuffed and worn backpack.
"That's terrible for your back kid." His son just shrugs before plopping down across from him at the coffee table. Making a huge point to stretch until his back cracks before slumping forward to dig through his backpack probably for any homework he did not get finished at school.
One thing he learned about Izuku in the last few weeks was how much his son liked to learn, and if given the opportunity would rather learn something new versus trying to make friends or interact with others. A trait that is quite unfortunately an Aizawa one.
Izuku pulls out a notebook that quite frankly looks like it's been beaten to hell and back. The front has been labeled and then later re-labeled with something that looks like it says 'Analysis' he can't quite make out the crossed out words before the book is set gently on the coffee table- but he's willing to bet the were 'hero' and 'future'. His son will either tell him or he'll ask about it later. For now he focuses back on the essay infront of him, making a mental note to ask Kaminari why there is a doodle of him on the back. That kid.
Izuku works studiously on whatever it is that he's working one, writing away in his notebook and Aizawa grades his shaping up to be a hell class' papers. Inko text him some hours later asking if Izuku can stay with him tonight because she's now going to be later than expected and his response is immediate 'that's fine' Aizawa doesn't have patrol tonight and tomorrow is an off day. He orders take out for them at some point, Izuku puts his notebook away and they watch an old detective film on the tv.
It's a good night.
Aizawa still has questions, but they can wait. He wants Izuku to trust him, not just feel obligated to answer.
He's willing to wait for the answers. ...
"Hisashi will be visiting soon." Inko tells him while they're having dinner one night. Aizawa always liked her husband, he was a good man, albeit a busy one. Izuku nearly missed his mouth, stabbing his lip with a chopstick.
"Kid?"
"I don't want to move to America." Izuku states, completely defensive.
"It would be better for you. Baby, highschool hasn't gotten any better for you, in America there are more people you age without quirks the discrimnation isn't going to be as bad. I'm worried about you." Izuku doesn't take that well, he dismisses himself from the table grumbling something under
his breath as he walks out of the room, Inko sighs watching him walk away.
There is a part of Aizawa that feels like he's stuck in the middle of something here. There is also a part of him that agrees with Inko and disagrees with her at the same time. America may be a better place for Izuku- but... he also doesn't want to let his son go again.
Dinner that night ends on a sour note, Aizawa knocks on Izuku's door before he leaves, but the teen doesn't want to talk. For now he sends his kid a text, and a gentle reminder he's here if Izuku needs anything. It's not perfect. But this situation isn't one that was going to be to begin with.
Izuku does text him back, once Aizawa has left the Midoriya residence and is walking down the sidewalk. His commute home wasn't long, he could have taken his bike but usually he enjoyed the walks themselves it gave him time to just decompose and think. Tonight his thoughts are storm clouds and muddled. Aizawa lets himself get lost in the text conversation with his son.
(Why won't she listen to me?)
{Your mother is stubborn, just like someone else I know}
(Dadzawa, shame how dare you speak that way about the cat)
{You know that I meant you problem child.}
{I can show you terrifying at our next parkour lesson}
Aizawa can see that Izuku is still typing so he waits to respond.
{Yes Izuku?}
(I don't want to move to america. Hisashi is great and I know mom wants to be closer, but I just- Japan is my home, I don't want to leave)
{I can't make any promises kid, but I may have a solution if your mother is okay with it}
(Yeah?)
{Yeah, now go to bed problem child, if you show up to practice in the morning with dark circles I'm going to subject you to Mic's horrid new podcast}
(ooo punctuation, terrifying) (Nah, I'm good)
(Dad)
(I actually like that podcast)
{of course you do. Go to bed}
{Night Izuku)
Aizawa tucks his phone away, he finishes his walk in deep contemplation. Hopefully Inko will be
open to the idea of allowing Izuku to stay with him during at least the school year and then have Izuku - If he wanted to - spend the longer breaks with her. It wouldn't be a perfect fix, but it wasn't a perfect situation. Hoping for a perfect solution was just illogical. Imperfect as it was, it could be plausible and that's all that matters.