Chapter Text
Shouta had never really been one to care about birthdays. Sure, he’ll get his friends gifts and go to parties if invited, but he didn’t really think they were all that important. Once his son came into his life, however, he quickly realized that lack of interest didn’t include Izuku’s birthday, especially given the fact he had missed the first ten.
That was why, the day of his son’s 11th birthday, not even three weeks since he moved in, he snuck into Izuku’s room and carefully put the gifts his friends and colleagues had handed him for the “sunshine ninja” at the foot of the bed. After hiding his own gifts underneath the bed, he gently shook his son awake, having to fight a smile at his sleepy appearance.
“Happy birthday, sleepyhead.”
Izuku blinked, rubbing at his eyes drowsily and looking very much like a disgruntled cat. When Shouta’s words finally registered in his sleep-adled brain, however, he blinked repeatedly, blurry eyes flicking between the pile of gifts and his dad. “What?”
Shouta rolled his eyes good naturedly, the smile finally winning the battle of wills and overtaking his features. “It’s your birthday, kid. Go on, open your gifts.” As he watches his son nod numbly and reach for the first gift he tries not to let the nagging feeling of worry show on his face. Izuku had told him of his lack of friends, and Tsukauchi had told him that he was literally the last family the kid had left, but his reaction to waking up to a pile of gifts really hit home just how lonely he must have been.
“No way!” Shouta blinks out of his reverie at his son’s excited exclamation. “How did Midnight get these?”
He leaned over. “What’s this?”
“It’s the original six volumes of Teen Titans! They are from the 1960s. These don’t even look old, how..?” Izuku startles as he notices the minimalistic birthday card, opening it. His eyes flit over the fancy handwritten message. “Oh, she had them printed from scans, that makes sense. Still, it must have taken a lot of work to get them to look so authentic! This is so awesome!”
“I’m sure she’ll be glad you like them; she already calls you her nephew and gushes about you to anyone who’ll listen.”
Izuku blushes to the roots of his hair and splutters, using the stack of comics to hide his embarrassment. “I’m not that special…”
“Izuku, you’re my kid, that is the only reason my friends need.”
His son apparently decides to ignore him as he quickly reaches for the next gift in an attempt to change the subject. Izuku’s eyes grow mistier with every gift he unpacks, and Shouta wonders if this year marked the first time he had more than one or two gifts to his name. Hizashi had gotten him very expensive-looking Bluetooth headphones that looked almost too large on Izuku’s head but had him gush excitedly. Nezu had apparently gotten him a freaking textbook on Quirk analysis, which he thought was a dumb gift but Izuku seemed to adore. Thirteen had gotten him a print of the night sky from the day of his birth, which managed to get Izuku to finally cry and Shouta had to admit it was a very fitting and thoughtful idea. Kan had gotten him a large plush cat, which, well, considering Kan was a dog person really meant a lot. Shuzenji got him a giant bag of vitamin gummies, Inui animal shaped cookies and Ectoplasm a set of Bluetooth speakers (Shouta already regretted letting them bond over music, why did his son have to discover a love for metal and punk?). Maijima got him his own capture scarf, which, wow, that must have been some rule bending to get a child support gear not necessary for their Quirk (and it sent Izuku into another crying fit) and Ishiyama got him a book on Norse mythology by some British author that had Izuku bounce up and down on the bed. Snipe got him a jeans jacket with various patches from America sewn onto it, and judging from the wear and size it was one of Snipe’s own (the card, upon further inspection, read that he had worn it hitchhiking through the states and the patches were from the various places he’d visited – Izuku let out an inhuman screech when he discovered a patch from the time All Might had been in the States and which hadn’t been available in Japan). Lunch Rush had given him a card promising him a birthday cake and to have Shouta tell him the flavor and date to pick it up or eat with the whole staff.
Izuku sat, rubbing his red eyes as he was surrounded by enough gifts to build a nest out of, but stiffened when he noticed Shouta bending over to grab his gifts from beneath the bed. “Now to your final gifts, kid.”
“B-but I already got so many…”
“Yes, and now you’re getting your first gifts from your dad.” He hands him the first, a flat rectangle box wrapped in black with a bright yellow bow. His son’s hands shake as he slowly opens it to find a phone, looking up at him with wide green eyes. “Since I have a busy schedule, I thought you need a means to contact me or the other staff members at UA. I saved everyone’s numbers in it.” Shouta pauses, unsure if he should bring it up. “I know you didn’t have one before since it was only your mom and you and you never had a reason to be out for long, bu-“ He is cut off by Izuku throwing himself at him in a crushing hug.
“Thanks, dad.” And oh, that kills him. It’s the first time he has called him dad and it squeezes his heart something fierce. “Just don’t complain when I send you memes during class.”
They devolve into laughter at Izuku’s quip, and Shouta thinks they’ll be fine. Slowly untangling himself from his son he smirks, reaching down under the bed again, surprised the second gift has stayed silent for so long until he realizes it’s still snoring softly. Slowly, careful not to startle it, he picks up the fluffy calico kitten and deposits her in Izuku’s lap. The boy is stunned silent, staring at the slumbering kitten slowly getting comfortable in his lap. “She’s yours, so you gotta take care of her. You get to name her, too. I already made sure Shiro and Kuro like her, and I had one of your shirts in her basket for a while to make sure she’ll recognize you.”
Izuku stares at the kitten with wide eyes, seemingly too shocked for more tears, until a bright smile erupts on his face. “Catra.”
Shouta facepalms to the sound of his son’s laughter. “Really?”
“You have no right to talk, dad.”
He wasn’t wrong.
They are having lunch in a newly opened American-style diner dedicated to All Might, somewhere Shouta would normally not be caught near but is enduring for the sake of his son’s excitement. The waiters are all wearing different versions of All Might’s various costumes, and one was dressed up as Sir Nighteye, which the Underground hero ended up taking a picture of and sending to the man himself, for shits and giggles (he received a key smash in reply). The dishes are named after the hero’s various fights, attacks and other inside jokes that Izuku spends the entire time explaining to him in great detail.
Shouta ends up eating a Texas Smash burger and water while Izuku has the Carolina Smashed potatoes with shrimps and a coke.
(Shouta wonders if the names and foods have any connection and decides to bring Snipe around some time, he often mentions his nostalgia for American cuisine
he then wonders when he started to be proactive in hanging out with his friends and colleagues and decides his son is a bad influence)
They’re at the zoo, and Shouta would usually hate every second of it with the amount of people around, but Izuku’s gleaming green eyes and pearling laughter make it worthwhile. He keeps an eye on the time and another on the ball of overexcited child as they make their way through the shark exhibition, the blue light casting them in stark contrasts as they walk by the giant windows. The air is stuffy and humid, blessedly empty due to the season, and they watch a swarm of pallet fish disperse as a small tiger shark flits through them.
“Hey dad.”
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, kid.”
They are at the panda exhibit when Izuku stiffens, green eyes locked on a blond kid his age passing by with his own parents. His red eyes find them and a frown mars his features. The kid’s parents seem to notice, and unlike their kid their expressions read nothing but joy when they find Izuku through the crowd. Shouta sighs internally and braces himself.
“Uncle Masaru, Auntie Mitsuki… Kacchan. Hi.“
Shouta raises an eyebrow at the frowning child. That was the ominous Kacchan bullying his kid? Fucking hell, his kid had the same rotten luck as him, go figure.
The woman’s eyes are glassy as she bends down to hug Izuku, her voice boisterous but there is an underlying sadness. “Izuku, sweetheart, happy birthday! I’m so glad you’re ok! We had no way to contact you after… and the police wouldn’t tell us anything since we aren’t related. Where are you living now?”
Izuku seemed overwhelmed by her rapidfire monologue, ironic when Shouta thinks about it. The man, Masaru, if he had caught it right, eyed him. Deciding to be civil for once he holds out his hand. “Aizawa Shouta, I used to go to school with Inko’s brother and… well, I’m Izuku’s dad,” he says the last part sheepishly. It’s one thing to say this to people who didn’t know Izuku, but these people had been in his son’s life far longer than he had been, and it made him uncomfortable.
“Bakugou Masaru, this is my wife Mitsuki and our son Katsuki. Nice to meet you. Finally, I suppose.”
Mitsuki straightens and looks him up and down, evaluating him like a microbe under a microscope. “So you’re the guy who kno-, you’re his father?” She corrects herself at her husband’s warning look. “She never really mentioned you.” We are more family than you are, is left unsaid.
“We lost contact when her brother died, and she elected not to tell me. I only found out after she passed.” I would have dropped everything to be there for them, his eyes say.
“Is that so?” We’ll see about that.
“Mitsuki, love, this is enough.”
“Your dad looks like just as much of a loser as you do, Deku.” Shouta raises an unimpressed eyebrow at the kid’s attitude, but frowns when he sees Izuku take a step back and grab the back of his shirt.
Masaru sighs tiredly and Mitsuki cuffs her son over the head. “Stop antagonizing every single person you meet, you brat.”
“Shut up, you old hag!”
“Oh, so that’s why you’re immune to cussing, kid,” slips out of Shouta’s mouth before he can stop himself, and to his surprise the woman snorts at that.
“You could say that. Masaru and Inko did their best, but between me and Katsuki it was a lost cause.”
“That’s nothing to be proud of, Mitsuki.”
She waves him off, and Shouta has the distinct feeling that this is a common argument between them. “So, what do you do for work?” The measuring look is back in her eyes. Shouta opens his mouth while still usure what to actually say, when Izuku beats him to the punch, gaze determined and fixed on the other kid.
“Dad’s a pro hero and works at UA!” His lips are a thin line as he throws Katsuki a challenging glare. “I’ve been to meet the rest of the teachers.”
“Oh really?” Masaru seems intend to make sure his son doesn’t get to take the obvious bait. “I don’t really recognize you, but I suppose that makes going out a lot easier.”
“I’m an Underground hero, I try not to catch eyes.”
The blond brat scoffs, and Shouta has the sudden urge to throw him into the panda exhibit, Katsuki’s red eyes looking first at him and then at Izuku as if they were bugs. “Underground? That’s for heroes that couldn’t make it.” He smirks at Izuku. “Can’t say I’m surprised a Deku like you has such a loser for a father.”
“That is quite enough, Katsuki,” it’s the first time Masaru’s voice is anything but soft and polite, and the brat actually pales at his father’s voice. “Apologize.”
Katsuki looks like he wants to protest, but one look at his father’s face stops the words in his throat. He bows his head just barely enough to count and mumbles an apology that is almost drowned out by the chatter of the people around them. “That’s one week without TV,” Masaru tacks on and ignores his son’s indignation as he faces Shouta again. “I’m sorry, we try to teach him respect, but his teachers and classmates seem intend on usurping our efforts. Thank you for the work you do and for taking such obviously good care of Izuku.” The mild-mannered man bows deeply, and Shouta revises his opinion of the family in his mind. As a teacher who has met far too many kids like Katsuki he can appreciate the work it takes to fix an attitude that is encouraged at every turn.
“It’s fine,” he finds himself saying, hand in his son’s curly hair. “I’m a teacher and quite used to the trials and tribulations of raising the next generation. If you don’t have thick skin you don’t last long as either a parent or teacher.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Mitsuki mumbles under her breath, right hand rummaging in her purse. She hands him a minimalist card. “This is my number. I’ve known Izuku since he was born, call if you ever need help or just need someone to rant at, from one brat tamer to another.” Her eyes are hard as steel but shine with understanding. “Inko was like a sister to me, you know.”
Shouta nods as he puts the card in his wallet, unsure if he’ll ever take her up on the offer, but he’ll keep the number and give it to Izuku anyways. Masaru ruffles Izuku’s hair with a warm smile and Mitsuki gives him another hug. “Stay safe, okay?”
His son seems more relaxed after Katsuki was thoroughly chastised and smiles at them both. “You too!”
As they wave their goodbyes Shouta thinks that, no matter how well it went in the end, he hopes he’ll never have to deal with that Katsuki brat in a school environment. Nezu lets him do many things, defenestrating his students is sadly not one of them. And he has the distinct feeling that it’d be hard on his self-control to refrain from doing so.
(he wasn’t wrong)
“Aren’t we heading home, dad?”
They are back in the car after exploring the zoo, and Izuku looks quizzically at him. Shouta only smirks as he reaches over to snag some fries from Izuku’s lap and dunk them in the chocolate milkshake sitting in the mug holder, his son pouting at the sacrilege. McDonald’s fries are sacred and his father was a filthy heathen. “I still got a surprise in store for you today, kid.”
“Dad, it’s like… 8PM.”
“I can read the time, you gremlin.”
“You always nag me about bedtimes.”
“It’s your birthday, are you seriously arguing with me about letting you have more fun and stay up late?”
Izuku looks like he wants to say more, but his gaze finally meets their destination and his jaw drops, green eyes wide. Shouta’s smirk grows wider as he parks next to the radio station, finally turning to Izuku. “Zashi is gonna let you in the studio for an hour. You can sit next to him and everything.”
His son is too shocked to stop him from taking the rest of the fries, dunk them in the milkshake, and eat them all.
“Why hello there, my listeners! Tonight we have a very special guest, Izuku’s my best bud’s very own feral child and it’s his birthday today! Why dontcha say hello, Zuku?”
“U-uh, hello!” Izuku turns away from the mic with a light blush on his cheeks. His next words can still be heard over the radio, and it makes many people coo. “Did I do that right?”
“You’re doing great, buddy!”
The radiant smile he gets in return makes his heart melt.
Izuku is still glowing from happiness when he snuggles into his bed that night, Catra happily snuggling into his fluffy hair behind him. Shouta can’t help but smile himself at how happy his son looks.
“Today was amazing.”
“I’m glad you had fun.”
He tugs him in properly, leaning down to peck him on the temple on a whim.
“Hey dad.” Izuku’s voice is a whisper in the dark room, and Shouta stops at the door.
“Hm?”
“I… I think I want to change schools.”
“Ok.” Then, before he leaves, he looks back at him. “Love you, Izuku.”
“Love you too, dad.”