Eri woke up slowly, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
She'd had the strangest dream, where a person named the 'God of War' had saved her from Chisaki, told Eri her Quirk was a gift, and carried her out of Chisaki's base.
The dream also had a pretty snake lady and a gray dragon sitting at a desk. The God of War said he didn't trust them but also shared a house with the pretty snake lady, who seemed to work for the gray dragon.
Eri blinked as she felt the weight of the blanket on her. Chisaki never gave her a blanket this warm, nor was her bed normally this soft; it couldn't be…
Her eyes opened slowly, and she saw the room she was in, and it wasn't the room Chisaki kept her in.
Her dream hadn't been a dream.
Eri sat up, her head turning as she looked around the room in slight amazement. It was huge compared to where Chisaki kept her; there was a feeling of protectiveness over it, and Eri instinctively knew nobody could hurt her here.
"Hey, you woke up early," A voice said from the door.
Eri turned, seeing the person who saved her leaning on the door frame, his eyes covered by bandages, and his arms crossed over his chest.
"Thank you," She whispered, tears springing to her eyes as she realized she was truly free from Chisaki.
Marvin walked over, sitting at the end of the bed and messing with Eri's hair with a smile.
"Don't worry about it, kid," He told her. "It's part of my job. You'll be safe here; I'll protect you."
Eri climbed out from the blanket and threw her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder.
Marvin held her as she cried, letting her get the years of pain and abuse out of her system without judging her. If no one were there for him when he needed it, he would damn well be there for others.
Eri held onto him tightly, as if afraid he'd disappear in front of her.
"It's alright, Eri," Marvin whispered as she cried. "I'm not going to abandon you; you're safe here."
Eri lifted her head up, looking up at him cutely.
"What if he attacks you?" She asked softly, looking genuinely concerned.
"Then we'll fight," Marvin replied with a grin.
"But that's dangerous," Eri said. "What if you lost?"
"Nah," He told her casually. "I'd win."
Marvin stood up, messing with her hair with a smile. "You going to eat something, or do you want to keep sleeping?"
Eri's brows furrowed, not used to being given a choice like that. She almost cried again, realizing her new caretakers truly were what she thought Heroes would be.
"I… Some food would be nice," She told him after a few seconds, her stomach rumbling at the thought.
Marvin grinned as he walked to the door. "Sure, anything specific? Some food you really like?"
Eri looked hesitant again. "I really like apples."
"Apples it is!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as if celebrating a great discovery.
"Give me a few minutes, and I'll see what I can make you, ok?" He asked, getting a nod from her.
Marvin walked out, heading over to the kitchen and seeing what Hebi had that he could use to cook for Eri.
He checked the watch he'd nicked from a random villain. 'Not even eight yet. Either this girl needs less sleep than a normal child, or we're more alike than I hoped.'
Marvin himself was only up so soon due to his nightmares making it essentially impossible for him to sleep more than three or four hours at a time, if he was lucky anyway.
He shrugged it off, checking the pantry and grabbing bread and cinnamon.
'How in the fuck is there so much food here?' He wondered as he looked in the fridge. 'Organized as fuck, too; guess I found another neat freak.'
He grabbed a few eggs, milk, and butter, deciding to make some French toast for Eri to go with the apple.
Marvin quickly made the batter but paused, deciding to give Eri the best breakfast he could.
He began cooking the toast but grabbed two pots, adding syrup to one and sugar water to another and putting them over the fire.
He cut the apple into slices, putting it aside on a plate before peeling a small mango, cutting it into pieces alongside a strawberry, and blending them with water.
Marvin flipped the toast, removing the pot with syrup after stirring it until it was thick and smooth.
He waved his free hand over the syrup, causing it to shoot from the pot and float into the air.
He took the homemade caramel and lightly covered the apples with it before taking the rest of the caramel and beginning to melt it again.
Marvin took the mango-strawberry mixture and strained it, taking the now simmering sugar water off the stove.
He snapped his fingers, causing the water to cool rapidly as he poured it into the strained mango-strawberry mixture.
He grabbed a few lemons, cut them in half, squeezed them into the juice, and stirred.
Marvin left the lemonade there, taking the pieces of french toast off the stove and plating them.
He put the caramel apples next to the French toast before grabbing the re-melted caramel.
He poured it over the French toast, covering them lightly in syrup.
"Eri, your breakfast is ready," He called, putting the plate on the counter with a glass of the mango-strawberry lemonade.
Eri walked out of the room, sitting at the counter and staring at the food curiously.
"Try it," Marvin smiled. "I can promise you you'll like it."
Eri took a small bite of the toast, and her eyes brightened sharply in surprise.
She quickly dug in, eating far faster than Marvin would expect from someone so small.
'Chiskai must have starved her,' He snarled internally. 'Won't be happening here, that's for sure.'
He turned, washing the used utensils before grabbing vegetables from the fridge to make food for himself.
By the time Hebi walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes tiredly, she blinked in shock at the scene.
About half a dozen utensils floated around Marvin's head, along with two frying pans, one holding a mix of vegetables, and another holding strips of chicken.
"What the-" She muttered as she watched Marvin move around the tiny kitchen with speed and grace rivaling a professional chef.
Marvin looked up from chopping an onion. "Oh, hey," He stated before gesturing to the floating utensils. "Does this bother you?"
Hebi shook her head. "As long as they're out of the walking path, you're fine."
Marvin nodded, going back to dicing the onion. "You want food? I'm already here, and there's like three things on the stove already. Might as well make you something while I'm here."
"Just toast is fine," Hebi replied, sitting down next to Eri, who was halfway through her caramel apples.
Marvin shrugged. "Spreads? Honey, avocado, olive oil?" He asked, grabbing a few pieces of bread.
Hebi gave him an amused look before giving him the specifics, causing him to nod before setting to work.
She turned to Eri, who was happily eating the last piece of French toast Marvin had given her.
"Sleep well, Eri?" Hebi asked, causing the young girl to turn.
Eri swallowed her food and nodded. "I thought it was a dream," She said, staring at her toast. "That someone came to save me. I never thought someone would try to save me."
"Well, you're with us now, Eri," Hebi told the young girl. "And you don't have to worry about Overhaul anymore."
"That's what the God of War said," Eri replied, looking up and pointing to Marvin, who was cooking about five things simultaneously and somehow not burning them.
"God of-" Hebi paused, turning to him. "Did you really not even tell her your name?"
She could tell Marvin rolled his eyes even under his bandages as he turned.
"It passed up," He told her, his voice holding a slight edge.
He turned to Eri. "My name is Marvin, Eri. You don't have to call me the God of War; that's what the people who piss me off call me."
"Is that your Hero name?" Eri asked, her head slightly tilted in confusion.
'Cute,' Hebi thought with a smile, watching the girl.
Marvin shook his head. "My Hero name is Odin, but the God of War is the name the news gave me after I fought a powerful villain without a license."
"Oh, ok," She replied, going back to her toast.
The toaster pinged, and Marvin grabbed the slices, covering them with an avocado-jalapeño spread, plating them, and passing them to Hebi.
He went back to his cooking, finishing the breakfast skillet with chicken, eggs, sausage, and several vegetables, and looked enough to feed three people with leftovers.
"You're really going to eat all of that?" Hebi asked with a small amount of shock as Marvin leaned against the counter.
"Got a problem?" He grumbled, his head snapping up as he ate.
Hebi blinked. "I- No, I just-" She shook her head, going back to her toast. "Never mind."
'What's gotten into him?" She asked herself, wondering how Marvin could go from being kind and even somewhat gentle to harsh and rude so quickly.
Maybe it was a mask, she mused; Hebi would often use masks during missions, to hide her fear so she could lead her team better. But why would Marvin need a mask?
Marvin ate alarmingly quickly, seemingly inhaling his food before washing his dishes and heading to his room.
He dug through his bag on the ground, pulling out two vibrant blue opals, two pieces of amethyst, and an emerald, along with some thin string.
Marvin bit his thumb, drawing blood before delicately beginning to write on the gemstones.
He drew a protection rune on the emerald, which looked a lot like a strange 'Y' with the top part stuck halfway through the line.
He tossed the emerald in the air, his magic holding it up as he grabbed the opals.
Marvin wrote a good luck rune on both sides of each, tossing them in the air along with the emerald.
He took the amethysts and drew a more powerful strength rune on them, causing them to glow slightly as the magic bordered on unstable.
'Let's hope this works,' He thought as he put a piece of amethyst down.
He held the remaining piece up and concentrated his magic on the fingertip of his free hand.
Marvin took a deep breath, pushing his fingertip near the top of the gemstone slowly.
A light sizzling sound went off as his magic burned clean through the amethyst, leaving a small hole clear to the other end.
Marvin grabbed the string and pushed it through the hole in the amethyst, leaving it dangling by the string.
He quickly did the same with the other gemstones, putting an opal, the emerald, the second opal, and finally the second piece of amethyst onto the string, making a small bracelet.
'Now comes the hard part,' Marvin thought as he tied the bracelet and put it on the ground.
He concentrated his magic on his hands, causing them to glow golden along with his eyes, which looked like small stars even under the bandages.
Marvin took a deep breath as a magical wind swept up, blowing his hair and clothes around as he focused.
He touched the bracelet with both hands, pushing his magic into it forcefully.
The runes glowed a bright silver as they activated, their edges tinged with red and the gemstones appearing almost see-through.
The room grew dark as the magic sucked all light out of the room, leaving Marvin and the bracelet as the only sources of light.
"EIR! HEAL THE WOUNDS!" He called, and the runes flashed gold.
"THOR! GUARD THE CHOSEN!" Marvin yelled, and the runes glowed blue.
"HEIMDALL! WATCH THE PATH TAKEN!"
The runes flashed in a rainbow of colors, becoming bright enough to blind as the magic was sealed into them, pushing the bracelet into being able to protect from everything but the worst of magic.
They flashed brilliantly before dying down, their glow becoming contained as the magic solidified inside the gemstones and runes.
Marvin stumbled back, breathing heavily and staring at the bracelet.
'Fucking hell, that took like 90% of what I got,' He thought, checking his magical reserves and finding them dangerously low; if he'd put just one more rune on the bracelet, it would've killed him.
"What the hell was that?"
Marvin turned, seeing Hebi and Eri standing in the doorway, staring at him with wide eyes.
He grinned. "Shield," He replied, grabbing and holding up the bracelet. "It'll protect Eri from practically everything someone could throw at her."
Hebi stared at it curiously. "What are the limits though?"
Marvin shrugged. "Feeds off my magic, so anything my magic can block, the bracelet will block as long as she wears it. It'd take a ridiculously powerful spell to even break through, let alone hurt her. She could probably survive a nuke going off without damage."
He didn't actually know what the limits were for the bracelet, so he wasn't sure if it could actually stop a point-blank nuke, but he knew it would stop mostly anything else.
He crouched in front of Eri and held up the bracelet. "Wear this; Chisaki won't be able to hurt or even touch you with this on."
Eri took the bracelet delicately and blinked at the feeling of protectiveness radiating off it, which felt a lot like a warm blanket wrapped around her.
She put it on, and the magic synced with her, causing a shimmer in the air around her as the magic activated.
"How does it work?" Hebi asked, staring at the bracelet. She hadn't felt or seen the flux of magic so to her, it just looked like a nice bracelet.
"Millions of tiny shields placed right next to each other," Marvin replied. "The second one is twice as strong as the first, and the third is twice as strong as the second, and so forth. The last shield is just above Eri's skin, and is the strongest."
The bracelet had more functions than that; if someone did break the shields, the luck runes would activate, lowering the chances of Eri getting hurt to almost 0. If those failed and someone managed to hurt Eri anyway, the strength rune would activate, amplifying Eri's strength, speed, durability, and Quirk, allowing her to fight off and escape her attacker.
It was also connected to Marvin via the blood runes, making it essentially impossible to kidnap Eri since Marvin could activate the runes and get Eri's location. He could also send more magic into them remotely if needed.
He wouldn't tell Hebi that though, he didn't trust her not to immediately tell Jona, and Marvin didn't trust Jona as far as he could throw him.
Hebi blinked. "Isn't that overkill?"
Marvin shrugged. "It only uses like 5% of my magic to stay active, which isn't much."
Just during the conversation, his magical core had drawn on the food he'd eaten and was nearly replenished already.
"Yeah… I have no idea what 5% of your magic is," Hebi replied.
Marvin rolled his eyes under his bandages. "5% is enough to wipe out a city without much effort; if it's concentrated that is."
"Ok… That's terrifying," She stated, blinking a bit.
Eri held up her arm, staring at the bracelet. "So I can keep this?"
"Of course," Marvin smiled lightly, messing with her hair. "It's for you."
—-
Izuku paced in his room, trying to offset his nerves through movement.
Momo was going to meet his mother today, and even though he knew that Inko wouldn't reject Momo, it was still nerve-racking.
'What do I even do in this situation?' He thought, hoping for some advice.
'The hell you asking me for?' Marvin replied. 'I didn't even know MY parents; you think I'll know how to react at meeting someone else's?'
Izuku sighed. He was also going to meet Momo's parents afterward, which was the only reason Momo was allowed to come over in the first place.
'You don't have anything that can help?' Izuku asked, running his hands through his hair.
'How the hell would I help with that?' Was Marvin's reply. 'You're overreacting man, just do you. Acting like you're going to meet the fucking president.'
'I hope you say that once it happens to you,' Izuku grumbled, though internally, he knew Marvin was right.
'Keep hoping,' Marvin told him, rolling his eyes. 'Good fucking luck finding someone stupid enough for that.'
Izuku sighed again, trying to calm himself when he heard someone knock at the door.
His head snapped up, and he was heading to the front door before he knew it.
'Wait, didn't you have a crush on that girl from ANVIL, Hebi?' Izuku asked.
'Your point?'
'Well, from what you told me, she seems to care about Jona a lot,' Izuku explained. 'So you kind of already did meet her father. And given how you nearly strangled him, it didn't go well.'
'Yeah, but I wasn't a nervous wreck like you are,' Marvin replied. 'Plus that doesn't count, we aren't dating or even close. You and Momo have slept together.'
Izuku choked as he reached the front door. 'Please don't say it that way out loud. I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea.'
'Yeah, 'cause you totally haven't done that yourselves already,' Marvin drawled as Izuku opened the door.
Izuku elected to ignore him, smiling widely as he saw Momo standing there.
"I was beginning to think no one was home," Momo smiled before hugging him tightly.
"Sorry about that," He rubbed his neck, hugging her with his other arm. "Was having a talk with Marvin and kind of got a bit sidetracked."
Momo pulled back a bit. "As long as I can sidetrack you too, I don't mind," She whispered, grabbing his face and pulling him in.
She leaned in to kiss him when Inko cleared her throat loudly.
The two jumped back from each other sharply, their faces red enough to make Kirishima's hair seem pale.
Inko raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed. "Usually people introduce themselves before just jumping on each other like that."
Momo flushed more. "Ah- Well, I- I didn't mean to seem rude, Miss Midoriya."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "M-Mom, this is Momo; s-she's the girl I told you about."
Inko turned to him. "So she's your girlfriend?"
Momo nodded, managing to regain her composure after a few deep breaths.
"Yes, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you," She smiled warmly, stepping forward and extending her hand. "My name is Momo Yaoyorozu."
Internally, Inko was overjoyed that her son had not only found such great friends at UA High but also a girlfriend. And one that was so polite, too!
She didn't care about their openness in affection, her reaction was mostly just to mess with them.
But part of her, the overprotective mother part, couldn't help but worry. Izuku was always far too trusting, and even though that trust usually resulted in good things, Inko wasn't one to think something like 'too cautious' existed.
Inko shook Momo's hand with a slightly tight smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Momo. You can call me Inko if you wish."
She gestured them forward. "Please, both of you sit down. I was just about to make lunch."
Izuku closed the door behind Momo, following his girlfriend to the small table and sitting down.
Momo was looking around curiously, the tightness of the apartment an odd change of pace compared to the ample mansion she lived in.
She liked how it was furnished, the furniture making the most of the small space while ensuring the apartment looked comfortable.
"So, Momo," Inko began, placing a pot of tea to boil. "How long have you been dating my Izuku?"
Momo hesitated; officially, they'd only been dating a week or so, but they'd shared their first kiss back at I-Island, which was about a month ago.
"Well, we've officially only been together for a week," She replied, deciding that honesty was key here. "But we've technically been together for longer."
Inko hummed. "Interesting," She stated, taking the kettle off the boil. "You met Izuku at UA, right?"
Momo smiled brightly. "Yes, ma'am. He was one of my first friends there and even helped me develop my Quirk."
Inko raised an eyebrow as she put the teapot and cups down on the table. "Oh? I didn't know my Izuku was a teacher now."
Izuku flushed a little. "I just pushed her a little, she did all the work."
"I couldn't have done it without him," Momo protested to the Midoriya matriarch. "And it was mutual; according to him, I helped him develop Wind Force."
Inko looked amused. "So you're the reason my Izuku's always trying to make stuff float with his Quirk. He dropped hot soup on himself once for trying to show off."
Momo's head snapped over as Izuku turned bright red again, avoiding both women's eyes and taking a definitive interest in his hands on his lap.
"Excuse me, you did what?" Momo asked her boyfriend.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "I had learned how to balance stuff in the air with Wind Force and thought I could balance a plate with it. I did, but I got distracted and dropped it on myself."
Momo pinched the bridge of her nose. "But why one filled with soup? An empty one would've done the same thing."
"I didn't know it had soup in it," Izuku replied, covering his face.
"On the bright side," Inko told Momo. "He stopped trying to balance things in the air since then."
Izuku flushed again, trying to ignore the comment and deciding to pour some tea instead.
Inko took a deep breath. "So, Momo, I'm assuming this relationship is long-term?"
Momo jumped slightly as a knife shot into Inko's hand at alarming speeds, though the woman didn't seem to notice as she cut a few sandwiches.
The girl shifted nervously as Inko put the plate of cut sandwiches on the table, the knife still held loosely in her other hand.
"Yes, of course," Momo replied, swallowing her nervousness at the implied threat.
"Oh, that's wonderful," Inko said, putting the knife in the sink, much to Momo's relief.
"Sorry about that, Momo," She continued, sitting down opposite them. "I just had to make sure, you know?"
Izuku blinked, glancing between the two. "Mom, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Inko replied calmly. "You don't have to worry about it."
She smiled warmly. "I'm happy you found someone, Izuku. Though, I didn't expect it to happen so soon after you joined UA."
Izuku rubbed his neck. "Well, it was more that Momo found me than anything. I'm just glad she chose me."
"Like I would've picked someone else," Momo rolled her eyes.
She leaned over and kissed his temple before remembering who they were with and pulling back sharply.
Inko just smiled at Momo's embarrassment. "You're fine. I'm not so old that I forget what it's like to be a teenager in love, you know?"
Momo's face was still a bit flushed but she nodded.
"Just don't make me a grandmother anytime soon, ok?" She asked calmly.
The two teens choked, turning bright red at Inko's comment.
"M-mom- We're not- I-I mean, it's not-" Izuku stammered, his eyes wide in embarrassment.
Inko laughed a bit, waving off Izuku's words. "I know Izuku, I've raised you with sense. I know that when you two eventually get there, you'll make sure not to do anything risky."
Izuku surprisingly regained his composure first, managing to clear the blush off his face rather quickly, though Momo still looked like she was in a competition with a tomato.
"You're- You're not making us avoid that?" He asked, feeling an odd discomfort at speaking about such things, with his mother no less.
Inko raised an eyebrow. "Izuku Hisashi Midoriya, do you really expect me to believe that two hormonal teenagers who are dating and around each other constantly wouldn't even attempt to go in such a direction? I wasn't born yesterday, you know."
Izuku flushed again. "Well- you know… normally parents don't want their kids to do that…" He trailed off, unable to look his mother in the eyes.
"I would prefer that you two wait until later in your relationship to go there," Inko told him calmly. "But I'm not so naive to think it would never happen."
She took a breath. "And I would prefer you to be able to tell me if something does happen so I can help you two instead of you two having to hide it and potentially get into a lot of trouble."
Momo finally recovered, managing to shake off her deep red blush, though her mind was definitively in the gutter at the thought of her and Izuku going there.
"Thank you, ma'am," She said, bowing her head in respect.
"None of that," Inko told her with a smile. "If you're going to be dating my son, just call me Inko. And there's no need to be so formal; I'm hardly a socialite, Momo."
"Thank you, ma- Inko," Momo corrected herself after a light glare from the woman.
"It isn't a problem, dear," Inko replied, her smile still bright. "I hope you'll always feel welcome into our home."
Momo smiled warmly in return, slipping her hand into Izuku's and squeezing, getting an amused look from the Midoriya matriarch.
"Now, from what my Izuku's told me, you're quite the smart girl, aren't you?" Inko asked, pouring herself some tea.
The conversation descended into getting to know each other, with Momo happily telling Inko about herself, her family, and her schooling, much to Inko's delight and slight shock after realizing that Momo was family with those Yaoyorozu's.
They eventually moved to the living room, with Inko pulling out albums of baby pictures and showing them to Momo, causing Momo to gush over them and for Izuku to feel like he was dying in embarrassment.
It was only after it became close to nightfall that Momo left, with Inko telling her she was welcome anytime.
Momo kissed Izuku fiercely before leaving with a skip in her step, leaving Izuku frozen in place for a moment.
"You better marry that girl, Izuku," Inko told him casually.
"Way ahead of you, Mom," Izuku breathed, staring at where Momo had just been.
.
.
.
Author's Note: Chapter's done! Sorry this took so long, I was really struggling to decide if Izuku should meet Momo's parents in this chapter too. Eventually decided against it with the help of my beta, and just had some character interactions and whatnot.
Next chapter will be coming out much sooner, and we'll be skipping to the introduction of the dorms. Somebody's getting booted from 1-A in order to make space for Marvin, and the way it's going to happen is rather satisfying.
Also, since I legitimately cannot decide, I'm going to be putting a poll on my page to see if Marvin will be ending up with Mirko along with Melissa and someone else. To be clear, this is just to see if Mirko will join them, not if Mirko's going to be the only partner Marvin will have.