Chapter 19: Her Name Is Squish And I Would Die For Her

Chapter Text

They had come back from training camp closer than ever. The rest of the class had removed their heads out of their asses gotten comfortable with being friendly to a quirkless person and now Izuku was completely relaxed in the dorms. Well, he was before he committed a crime that Aizawa would surely give him at least three detentions for. For two weeks, every minute the students were in the dorms and Izuku was out of his room, he was a nervous wreck.

Since everyone was on good terms these days, it was common for people to be visiting other floors and Izuku had lived in fear a noise from his supposedly unoccupied room would tip them off. The stress was giving him gray hairs. He hadn't meant to break any rules! Izuku had just been walking back from visiting his mom and came across the tiny white kitten covered in scrapes and severely underfed and he knew he couldn't just leave her there . So he'd taken her to the pet store, bought all the things he could fit in his backpack, stuffed her under his hoodie, and smuggled her into the dorms.

Two weeks later Squish (because he wanted to spend all day squishing her adorable face) was getting back to a healthy weight and loved curling up with him for cuddles. Izuku spoiled her rotten, she had the biggest, comfiest cat bed he could find, the healthiest food, and a large selection of toys to entertain herself with while he was in classes.

Of course Katsuki had figured it out immediately, too many years barging into each other's rooms made him suspicious when Izuku's door was suddenly always locked. When confronted Izuku couldn't lie to his best friend and Katsuki would never admit how much he loved cats, but Izuku knew the promise of kitten cuddles would buy his silence. Katsuki's natural body heat had Squish clinging to him every time he was in the room and the bastard was very smug about Izuku's cat liking him more.

Shouto had been let in on the secret after he asked if Izuku was getting tired of him. It wasn't an unreasonable assumption when he'd been hiding away in his room without inviting his boyfriend like he normally would. Izuku wouldn't let Shouto think that for a second longer, taking him and introducing him to Squish. Shouto had stuck a hand out to the nervous kitten and said, with a straight face and very serious voice, "Hello, Squish, I'm your other father. You can call me Dad, Izuku's more of a Papa."

Izuku was red for hours after that.

Shinso had been awake for three days and was legit about to die probably so Izuku had barged into his room and dropped Squish into his lap. He sat next to his purple haired friend with a smile, "This is Squish and she has magic sleeping powers." He'd rolled his eyes at Izuku, but was asleep with a lap full of purring cat in under ten minutes. After that, Shinso regularly visited Izuku's room to take advantage of the magic sleeping powers and Izuku was just happy his friend could get some rest.

The real problem arose right around the three week mark. Izuku stood in his room panicking, he knew he couldn't hide this from his teacher. So, ready to meet a violent end at the hands of an underpaid and overworked teacher, he texted Aizawa to please meet him outside his room asap and now he was staring at a very worried underground hero, buzzing with anxiety. "So, um I may have accidentally committed a kidnapping?"

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily, "What. The. Fuck. Does that mean?"

Izuku opened his door so Aizawa could see the small, white haired girl swinging her legs off the side of his bed. Dressed in one of Izuku's shirts that fell to her knees and a pair of too large socks. At the sight of them she offered a small, timid smile, "Hello. I'm Eri, but Papa calls me Squish. Papa said you're a hero and I could trust you like I do Papa and Dad."

Aizawa raised a brow and mouthed Papa and Dad? at him. Izuku grimaced "Shouto has been calling us that to her." The teacher's expression grew more incredulous and Izuku rushed to explain, waving his hands frantically. "She was a cat when I found her! She was starving and injured so I brought her here and I've been taking care of her. Then today she turned into a kid and so I accidentally kidnapped a child who now thinks I'm her dad?"

"Only you, problem child." Izuku offered a sheepish smile to the man and Aizawa approached the girl. It took a while and some coaxing, but they figured out she'd been abandoned by her parents when her quirk showed up and she couldn't make herself turn back. Aizawa made a call to Detective Tsukauchi and used his emergency foster license to get custody until they could figure out something to do with her. Eri was obviously traumatized and had gotten attached to her new friends (and parents but Izuku was really trying not to think about that) so they didn't want to cause any distress by separating her from them too quickly.

Turns out, Nezu was more than pleased to let Aizawa and Hizashi adopt the girl they quickly found themselves attached to and allow her to live in their apartment on campus. The two men loved the little girl and encouraged her to spend as much time as a cat as she wanted. It was a common sight for Aizawa to walk around campus with a small white kitten perched on his shoulder. Eri was too young for school, so she spent her days napping on a cat bed or coloring in the corner of the class while her dads taught class.

Eri still got to see the class all the time and eventually she stopped calling Izuku and Shouto Papa and Dad, which was good because Izuku looked ready to pass out every time she did. Shouto kept telling him it was good practice for when they had children of their own when they babysat her and Izuku really needed him to stop before he had a heart attack.

When Shouto told the story over their monthly Midoriya/Todoroki family dinner, Rei and Inko thought it was hilarious and adorable. Now the two women were insisting on meeting their new granddaughter and Izuku was honestly considering faking his death and becoming a hermit in the woods.