Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hanta likes to think he leads a normal life. He's a good guy, never done anything illegal except smoke a few joints in high school. Now he's a hero, though; helping people every day, signing autographs, taking pictures with people. 

So maybe it wasn't normal for regular people, but for most heroes that was the daily outcomes of their lives. 

It starts off when Hanta is strolling through a park, whistling a quiet tune to himself. The chill of early winter air manages to get under the hoodie he'd quickly thrown on. He doesn't normally walk around in parks at ass o'clock in the morning, but something inside him had urged him to do it. And now there he was, just having a casual wander around a random park. If he’s being honest, the walk itself calmed him, a definite change from the rush of a hero life. 

Just for a moment, Hanta hears something, like a sniffle or a cry of a baby animal. He pauses, taking in his surroundings. Children’s play area to his right, flickering lamp over his head, pitch black, night sky. What a perfect time for him to be jumped. 

He hears the noise again, only this time much louder, and Hanta can actually pinpoint where it's coming from. As he approaches the bush the noise came from, it happens again. Oh. That's a baby crying. Hanta pushes the leaves out of the way, revealing a terrified looking baby bundled up in a multitude of blankets in a carrier (is that what they're called?). Not exactly sure what to do, Hanta picks up the carrier, placing it on a nearby bench to properly inspect it. 

There's a note tucked into the side, and Hanta unfolds the paper. 

To whoever finds my baby, 

I'm so sorry, I blame myself too. It seems irresponsible for me to leave her out alone like this but it was the only way she would be able to live a proper life. I beg of you, please don't leave her and look after her. 

She was born today, October 28th. That is if you find her in time and I really hope you do.

Hanta feels himself frown. The woman who gave birth to the baby must be in some kind of abusive household. It makes his stomach churn just by thinking about it. 

Decision already made, he calls Mina. He and the baby stare at each other as the phone rings. She picks up after the fourth ring. 

“This better be good, Hanta. It's two am.” 

“So Mina,” he begins slowly, reaching out a hand towards the baby, she grabs his finger. His brain resets at the tight grasp, no longer remembering what he was going to say. “You're a girl.” 

“What have you done?” He can already hear Mina getting out of bed, in preparation to leave to get Hanta. She's a good friend, bless her soul. It almost makes him feel bad for causing her this trouble but he decides it's very urgent. 

“Well, I found a baby.” 

“Say no more, send me your location and I'll be there soon.” 

“Thank you, see you soon, love you.” Hanta ends the call, sends Mina his location, then turns back to the baby. Who is still holding onto his finger. She gazes up at him with wide, expectant eyes, no longer making a sound now that there's someone with her. He decides to take a seat next to her on the bench, figuring it will be a short while until Mina arrives.

Mina arrives sooner than expected, wearing a coat over her pyjamas to fight the chill. She jogs up to him once she properly sees him, coming to a stop in front of him. His finger is still being held by the baby, whose hand must be cold by now. His finger certainly was. 

“Okay, so you definitely have a baby.” Mina states, leaning over to look into the carrier. Hanta makes a face at her.

“What, did you think I was lying?” 

“You never know, you could have mistaken something else for a baby.” 

“That's more something Denki would do when he shocks himself.” Hanta rolls his eyes foldly, then stands up. “Anyway, what do I do with her? I have no idea how to look after a baby.” 

He remembers at one point in high school, his second year if he recalls it correctly. Some of his classmates were talking about babies and he called them blobs that just cried and pooped. It hadn't gone down very well.

The shocked look Mina gives him makes him  almost doubt himself for his decision, “are you sure you can handle it, sweetie? Being a hero and a parent could be really taxing on you.” She places a gentle hand on his shoulder, he smiles confidently though. 

“I'm sure I can do it. Also, if I fuck up, I've got you and the others to help me.”

“Sure do. Let's get you back home then, the baby must be getting cold at this rate.” Hanta nods in agreement, wriggling his finger from the baby's grip so he can grab the carrier. There's a moment of fussing, but once she realises she's moving she goes quiet again. Mina smiles down at her, and begins walking. “Now I don't know if this is one of those carriers that can be strapped into the car, but I assume it is since most brands make them that way now.” 

“I'm so glad you're here,” Hanta breathes out in relief. Mina shoots him a grin. Her car comes into sight and he feels so much more grateful for Mina again. Walking back would have been much more dangerous and would have taken much longer. 

As she unlocks the car, Hanta clambers into the back, attempting to put the carrier in a suitable position. Mina opens the door on the baby’s side, grabbing and pulling the seat belt around the huge thing. “We need it so she's facing the back of the seats, there's usually something to entertain them but you're there I guess.” 

He sticks his tongue out at her as she clicks the seat belt in and shuts the car door. She gets into the driver's seat, starting up the engine and turning down the radio to a low volume. The quiet pop music flows over him as he goes back to watching the baby. His baby. Her dark eyes were shutting as she fought sleep, cheeks rosy from the heat of the car. 

For the rest of the ride, they sit in a comfortable silence and manage to get into his apartment with relative ease. Hanta finds himself thanking his past self for buying one with two bedrooms and not one. “I'm afraid you guys are going to lose the spare room to crash in after nights out,” he says to Mina as he places the baby beside his couch. She laughs. 

“First things first, we need baby things. I'm going to go get some basics, since she will need changing and some milk.” 

“Yeah, I'll think of some names. I can't keep calling her the baby in my head.” Hanta waves Mina off as she leaves, then goes into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. It wasn't the time to fall asleep.  

--

Mina has no idea what happened while she was out, but when she arrives back at Hanta’s apartment he is passed out on the couch. There is a half drank mug of coffee and the baby is strapped to his chest with tape. She smiles fondly, moving Hanta’s legs to take a seat on the couch. The sight of the peaceful expression on his face makes her almost feel bad for what she’s about to do. 

“Hey Hanta, sweetie. Wake up.” She shakes his knee, rousing him from his sleep. He groans and sits up, his hand coming to secure the baby in place. “Come on lazy, we need to sort out everything for tomorrow.” 

“Okay, what do I need to do?” 

“First you need to email everyone at the agency that you won't be in tomorrow, I don't think they would appreciate their boss randomly not showing.” Mina hands him the mug that's sat on the table, he tips his head back and gulps it down in one. “While you do that, I'm making you a list of things you need to go buy tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s smart, I have no idea what I need.” Hanta pulls his phone out from his pocket and begins typing up an email. He sends it off and hopes no higher up come barging into his life to figure out why he has taken a break at such an early notice. “I brainstormed some names.” The words make Mina perk up and stop typing for a moment. 

“What are you thinking?” 

“I like the name Makigai.” 

“Hanta, you are not naming that poor child snail.” 

“Fine,” Hanta rolls his eyes, a smile still appearing on his lips, “what about Michiko then?” 

Mina taps her bottom lip, eyes narrowed in thought. Then, she nods approvingly, tickling the bottom of Michiko’s foot. “I like it, it suits her.” 

“Sero Michiko,” Hanta repeats the name quietly, very much liking the sound of her name on his tongue. It sends a soft, fluffy feeling throughout him. 

They end up staying awake the entire night, learning how to make formula and the correct amount of scoops for the volume she would be drinking. By the morning, Michiko has three correctly made bottles of milk for the day. Since Mina still has a patrol to do, Hanta waves her off around five am and he goes back to now watching tv. No stores would be open yet so he would have to wait for at least another two hours. 

At some point, Michiko begins to fuss and cry and Hanta thinks about what Mina has taught him. Check if she's hungry, if not, see if she needs changing. He picks her up, gently cradling her in his arms. Right, support the head. She's floppy for a few months. 

“Okay, my wonderful little blob, are you hungry?” He sways side to side as he makes his way into the kitchen. The bottles are lined up by his microwave, and he remembers the milk needs to be warm. “You wouldn't have liked that, would you Chiko?” She sniffs at him, eyes still teary and Hanta feels like she wasn't impressed.

Just to be safe, Hanta only has the bottle in the microwave for ten seconds and he shakes it before going back to his couch. “Now, time to eat baby. I don't know how much you need, so just drink until you're full I guess.” He moves the bottle towards her, and she takes whatever the opening to the bottle is called into her mouth and drinks. 

It's quite relaxing. While Michiko eats, Hanta closes his eyes and allows himself to rest. Only then did he realise how exhausted he actually was. 

Michiko begins fussing again, squirming around to get away from the bottle and some lands on her cheek. Hanta wipes it away with his thumb. He wonders briefly what it would taste like and before he can stop himself, he lifts his thumb to his lips and licks the milk off. 

Worst idea ever he thinks to himself as he gags at the taste. “How do you like this stuff?” He asks the baby, glancing down at her disgruntled expression. “Who am I kidding? You probably hate it too.” For some reason, Hanta feels like he's forgetting something. 

“Oh right, I'm meant to burp you. Somehow.” The internet, he can search things on there. 

After a quick scroll through a wikihow, Hanta is confident he knows how to burp Michiko. Since he's missing the rag that was thrown over the person's shoulder in the picture, he decides to ignore it. It doesn't seem all that important anyway. He picks up his daughter, resting her against his shoulder, and begins to pat her on the back. 

For a while nothing happens, and Hanta wonders if he’s doing it wrong. But then he hears a tiny burp, bringing a smile to his face. It doesn't last long however, as Michiko makes another sound and something warm and wet is dripping down his back. He moves Michiko back into his arms, frowning down at the vomit covering her chin. “So that's why you need a rag.” 

Another half an hour passes, Hanta successfully changed into another shirt, cleaned up the sick from both the couch and the baby and is now attempting to change her. In the middle of changing her, his phone rings. She's lying naked on an old towel Eijirou had left over, despite being on the floor, Hanta didn't want to risk leaving her to her own devices while he went to get his phone from the other room.

“Um, right.” They stare at each other again, and Hanta wonders if Michiko can understand him or even see him clearly yet. He'd heard that a baby’s vision wasn't very developed until they were older. Right, phone, other room. Hanta nods to himself and releases some tape from his elbow, strapping it over Michiko’s stomach and taping her to the floor. He stands, sticking up a hand like he was training a puppy, “now stay.” 

The phone is still ringing on the table, and he quickly answers once he sees its Uraraka calling. Oh dear. “Hey, Uraraka. How's it hanging?” 

“Don't how’s it hanging me. Why did you send me and the rest of the agency an email at three in the morning saying you wouldn't be in today?” Her voice is sharp and strict, Hanta winces. 

Him and Uraraka co-own their agency. After a training simulation in their second year, they realised they were amazing at rescuing people, and decided then they would stick together. They also realised how much work being in the top ten was and decided to rank just below it, giving themselves much more free time than some of their friends. 

“In my defence, I have a very good reason.” He replies calmly, going back to his bedroom where Michiko was still stuck to the floor. The baby is trying to escape the tape, pulling at it with weak arms. “I'm back Michiko, don't start fussing please.” At the sound of his voice, she seems to calm again and he sits back down in front of her. 

“I'm sorry. Michiko? I swear Sero Hanta, if you have blown off work to be with a girl I swear I will not be afraid to pummel you.” Uraraka and Katsuki's friendship is very dangerous, especially for poor Hanta who works with one and is best friends with the other. 

“No no no,” he blurts out, afraid of the power that the woman possessed. “Michiko's a baby, my baby. I found her in a park last night.” 

“You are honestly something else.” There's the sound of a door opening on the other side of the line and some muffled speech. “Okay, I've just gotten to work, but I'm going to come over because I know you're hopeless.” 

“I'm actually going to buy stuff for her, so maybe just meet me at the mall?” Hanta puts his phone on speaker and manages to change Michiko without much hassle, he grabs the onesie she was previously in and hopes there's nothing too gross on it. 

He hears Uraraka sigh, “I cannot wait for you to realise how much work this baby is going to be. I'll see you there.” 

“You have such little faith in me.” 

“For good reason.” 

--

Hanta did not think newborn babies needed so many things. He's walking down the newborn isle of this baby store, scrolling through the seemingly endless list Mina has sent him. “Hey Uraraka, quick question. What are bottle nipples?” He peers at his phone over Michiko's head, the baby is taped to his chest again, this time a bit more securely. 

Uraraka looks over from where she’s dumping piles of clothes into their shopping cart. “It's the part of the bottle that goes in the baby’s mouth. Do you actually know anything?” 

“I know to support the head. Babies have floppy necks for a few months.” Hanta raises daring eyebrows at Uraraka and purses his lips, and she responds by putting more things in the cart without breaking eye contact. He's glad being a well known hero pays well, because from what he's tried to add up in his head, his month’s spare cash is already gone. 

Once they get all the fabric-y things, they move onto looking for a crib and a stroller. Now, Hanta wasn't poor in any way, but looking at the prices of the cribs made his wallet feel much lighter. 

“Can't I just put her in the same bed as me? I mean, she doesn't take up that much room. She’s like a potato.” He peers into one of the cribs. There’s not much room. Uraraka comes up beside him, holding a tiny sleeping bag looking thing. 

“I'm going to ignore the potato thing but sure, as long as you don't move much.” 

“I wouldn't dare squish my baby.” Hanta presses a kiss on the back of Michiko’s head. “I love her very dearly.” 

--

Shopping over and done with, Hanta sits back on the couch, Michiko fast asleep in his arms. So far she hasn't done much but sleep, only waking up to eat and be changed. At one point she had woken up when a news reporter had spotted him, drawing in a crowd that hounded him about her. Hanta had never seen people back away so fast once Michiko had started crying. 

“I should tell everyone now, before the news tells them first.” He muses quietly to himself, brushing his fingers over the soft tufts of hair on her head. “I hate to wake you up, but you haven't eaten in a couple hours and you look so cute in your outfit.” Hanta moves Michiko around so her back is against his stomach, she blinks her eyes open slowly. Pulling out his phone, he leans down so both of them are in the shot and takes a picture. 

Chat: The Bakusquad™ (flextape, blasty, pikachu, kirishima the rock eijirou and queen)

(13:04) flextape: [attached image]

(13:04) flextape: which one of you wants to plan my baby shower

(13:06) pikachu: hanta

(13:06) blasty: What the fuck

(13:06) pikachu: HANTA

(13:07) blasty: What the fuck did you do?

(13:07) queen: oh is that michiko 

(13:07) queen: she looks so cute in that frog hat

(13:07) flextape: she does doesnt she

(13:08) flextape: its froppy merch as well

(13:08) blasty: DON’T IGNORE ME YOU ASSHOLE

(13:08) flextape: what does it look like 

(13:09) flextape: i have a baby now 

(13:09) pikachu: I CALL GODFATHER

(13:09) flextape: sold!!!

(13:09) blasty: Wait pinky you fucking knew

(13:10) queen: i did

(13:10) queen: hanta found her in a park last night so he called me

(13:10) kirishima the rock eijirou: hey guys im on patrol right now

(13:11) kirishima the rock eijirou: your buzzing is very distracting what is happening

(13:11) blasty: Read up shitty hair 

(13:12) kirishima the rock eijirou: holy shit hanta you have a baby congrats!!! 

(13:12) kirishima the rock eijirou: can i be godmother since denki took godfather

(13:12) queen: back off thats my position 

(13:13) flextape: there can be more than two godparents

(13:13) flextape: anyway gotta go Michiko needs feeding

(13:14) flextape: goodbye dear friends cant wait for tomorrows patrol

Chapter Text

Hanta’s sleep was very disrupted. Every few hours Michiko woke up for something. That also included waking up at night. 

After his morning of shopping, Hanta had needed to go have Michiko registered as his child. Because according to Katsuki that was necessary for every child born in Japan. Without a birth certificate it had taken much longer than needed, but they had complied once Hanta started offering his baby to the unfortunate strangers who happened to be near him. 

(Hanta wouldn't dare give up Michiko, but it was funny to watch everyone's face turn panicked at having a baby shoved in their face). 

At eight in the morning, Hanta walks into his agency with Michiko strapped to his chest. She's in an actual baby carrier now, since Uraraka had gone on about the safety regulations of his tape. He has to admit, the baby carrier feels much more comfortable. 

His secretary, Amane, spots him as soon as he comes through the door, her eyes widen almost comically. “Sero-san, you look terrible. You should get some sleep.”

“No need to worry, I feel great.” Hanta waves her off as he nears the desk. He almost slumps against the surface but remembers he is at work and he would crush his daughter. Professionalism at its finest. “If you could though. Please call to have a minifridge and a microwave put in my office.” 

When Uraraka had gone back into work the day before, she had told everyone at work about the baby, just so they weren't as surprised. He finds himself grateful for this fact as Amane smiles at him and rests her hand on top of his own. “Go take a nap, I'll make sure no one goes in for the next hour.”

“Amane, I have no idea what we'd do without you.” Hanta returns the smile and makes his way over to his office, there's no windows that allow anyone to look inside so he can sleep in peace. Once he shuts the door he flings the bag filled with Michiko's things onto one of the chairs for visitors and drops down onto his own. 

For the next hours he sleeps peacefully, Michiko acting as a tiny heat pack on his chest. He finds himself woken up by Uraraka slamming open his door. “Sero, the media is all over you.” 

“I figured they would be.” He sits up straighter, placing a hand over Michiko's stomach to keep her steady. “Is it in a bad or a good way?” 

“Well,” Uraraka starts, grinning as she sits down in the empty seat, “there's the pictures of us shopping for the baby stuff.” She slides her phone across the table and sure enough, there's multiple photos of them picking out clothes and toys. “They found the fact you taped Michiko to your chest amusing. They were calling her tape baby until last night.” 

“What happened last night?” 

“There's a video of you offering Michiko to strangers while trying to get her registered. Someone uploaded it to their snapchat story and it managed to get on every media platform you could think of within the hour.” She takes her phone back, a slightly unimpressed expression on her face. 

“Even pornhub?” 

“Why are you like this?”

Hanta nods slowly, taking his phone out of his pocket as he does so. “Is that why mine's been making noise since last night?” He hasn't even looked at his phone since he texted the others that afternoon. There's a lot of messages, mostly from his old classmates and a few from those who were in class B.

Uraraka puts her feet up on the desk, leaning back as she scrolls through her phone. “Shouto told me to tell you congratulations, he would have sent you a text but he dropped his phone in the sink while it was filled with hot, soapy water.”

“Fair.” It was strange to think that's how Todoroki broke his phone when he fights villains almost every day, but Hanta isn't going to judge. 

“Anyway, now that the media loves you and Michiko. You're going to get a serious increase in attention. People have already been trying to figure out who you knocked up or if you stole a baby.” 

“I'll just make some public appearances and have an interview. Simple.”

--

Going on a patrol with a baby is much more complicated than Hanta was expecting it to be. During the middle of the day, not much happened, especially where he is currently patrolling. Of course Hanta would think it would be the same. 

His problems were not being caused by Michiko, no. It was the trail of fans and reporters he accumulated over the last half an hour of his patrol. To avoid them, Hanta has been swinging onto the rooftops, feeling like Spiderman as he pulls himself up. Michiko, from what he can tell, seems highly entertained by the swinging. It's been a whole three hours since she last cried. Hanta calls that a win. 

 “Cellophane, we would like to have a word!” One of the reporters yells up to him. He finds himself swinging down to land on top of a street light, sitting down and swinging his legs like a child. 

“Sorry everyone, I'm kind of on duty right now and I've got my baby with me. If there's anyone who wants to do an interview, just call up my agency and it will be handled from there.” With a salute, he goes back to the rooftops, listening to the chatter below. “Now Chiko, let's finish this patrol and get us both some lunch. How does that sound?” 

He assumes her silence means yes, and carries on with regular business. The most dangerous things he runs into are common thugs, who are more confused by the sight of a baby strapped to a hero’s chest than anything else. It allows a very easy capture for him. 

Straightening the Froppy hat on Michiko's head, Hanta smiles down at her. “You've been very helpful today, my tiny blob of joy. I should take you on every patrol I go on.” Then again, thinking back on the dangerous situations him and his friends were usually involved in. “Okay, maybe not every one of them.”

--

When he'd agreed to do the interviews, Hanta didn't expect one of them to be on one of the biggest hero talk shows in the country. He fiddles with the edge of his sleeve, waiting for the announcement for him to go on. For once, Michiko isn't with him, she's with Mina and Denki while they probably destroy his apartment. 

“And now folks, it's time for this week's final hero. He's been getting a lot of attention as of late so let's not waste any more time. Sero Hanta, everyone!” 

There’s cheering, lots of it and Hanta makes his way on with a big grin. Yoshiro Kawasaki is seated on a plush, leather couch his legs crossed and arms folded over his lap like a movie villain. An identical couch is next to him, Hanta assumes it's for him so he takes a seat. “Hi everyone.” He lifts a hand in a wave. 

“This interview has been, should I say, greatly anticipated. I can’t begin to imagine the spotlights you have been under this week.” Kawasaki takes a sip of water from the glass on the table between them. The reflection from the spotlight bounces off the glass and almost blinds him. 

He manages to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the irony of it. “Ah, it's been pretty intense this week. I'm new to being a parent and having this much attention on me.” 

Kawasaki takes it as an opportunity to latch on and get straight to the point. “So fans have been dying to know, how did your daughter come into your possession? There have been lots of theories circling around about who it could be.” He places his elbow on the arm of the chair, leaning his cheek into his palm.

“Oh, Michiko isn't my daughter through blood. I found her in a park one night and decided to adopt her. Her mother had left her there hoping someone could look after her.” 

“Well then, are you not angry at this mysterious woman for abandoning her baby?” 

“I never really thought to be angry.” Hanta firgures that somehow getting the mother's attention would be best done through public television, if he was going to help her and anyone else. “There was a note that had been left with her, I assume the mother is in a difficult situation.” 

“Would you mind telling us what the letter said?” 

Hanta shakes his head firmly. He wouldn't risk hurting this woman secondhand through letting Michiko's birth father find out what she'd done. “For the safety of this woman, no. The only part I will tell you is that she wanted Michiko to live a proper life.” Maybe she would recognise the words she had written in the note.

“Well, as the daughter of a hero, Michiko may not live a normal childhood but it will sure as hell be exciting.” A few laughs come from the audience, and Kawasaki flashes them a charming smile. “Which leads me to another thing, many have commented on your, unorthodox, methods of caring for your baby.” 

“You're talking about me taking her on patrols, right?” Hanta allows a chuckle to escape his lips. “There's no need to be worried about that. I fight mostly long range so she's out of the danger zone unless something bad happens. And even if it did, I would protect her with my life.” The audience coos, Hanta rubs at the back of his neck with a small smile.

“That's very sweet. Would you ever find Michiko a mother, to help you?” 

Without meaning to, Hanta snorts. “Oh god no.” There's a few shocked faces in the crowd and he hurries to speak again. “I mean, I barely have time to find a nanny currently, so there's no way I have time to date. All my friends have agreed to help me anyway, so I know Michiko's going to have a loving family even if it's not by blood.” Everyone seems won over by his words, and some people even coo at him again. It was like he was visiting his grandmother as a child again.

“Many of your fans have become fans of your daughter, and they have been wondering if there's ever a chance there would be something such as a father-daughter photoshoot.” The idea of putting Michiko in his own merch and him matching in his hero outfit sounds awesome in his head. Giving those photos out to the public, however, doesn't sound as good.

“I don't want to expose her to all this publicity at such a young age, so anything like that would be strictly between close friends and family. Once she's older I will let her decide if she wants to do anything like that.” Hopefully not. Hanta loves his fans, but only the ones that respect his privacy. He's seen those who follow Katsuki around.

Kawasaki flicks out his wrist to look down at his watch, “It seems we have time for one more question. So, Sero-san, now that you have Michiko. What do you plan to do in the coming months?” 

“I'm going to put my focus on the problems that are hidden from the rest of the world. To free those who feel they don't have a safe place to go or call home.” 

“That’s very heroic of you, and on that note, it is time to say goodnight. I will see you next week, Japan.” Rising from his chair, Kawasaki sticks out his hand for Hanta to shake. “It had been a pleasure talking to you this evening.” 

“You too,” Hanta shook his hand, “I must go though, I have a baby to get home to.” He said his goodbyes and quickly left the building. Michiko had been away from him for three hours max, but a strum of anxiety knots his stomach. Even if he completely trusts his friends, being away from Michiko hurts him inside a little. Is he going soft? Definitely. 

His journey home passes quickly, and as he climbs up the stairs to his apartment he already hears the chaos that is going down behind the door. Mina laughing and Michiko's crying are the loudest things he can hear. He opens the door to see Mina on the floor, clutching her stomach as she gasps for air. Denki is on the couch, frozen, eyes wide and covered in thrown up milk. His legs are pulled up at an angle and Michiko is leaning against them, cheeks bright red and stained with tears. 

He shuts the door slowly, still taking in the scene before him. “Well it looks like you guys have got a handle on this situation.” 

Denki's horrified eyes turn to him, “it's in my mouth,” comes the whisper. Mina’s laugh turns into a cackle. 

Hanta takes Michiko from Denki's lap, cuddling her to his chest. “Hi Chiko, were you mean to uncle Denki?” She begins to calm down and he tickles her pudgy stomach. “Good girl.” There's an insulted noise from Denki and Hanta gives him a pitiful smile. He knows what it's like to be in his position. 

Seeming to have recovered, Mina comes up behind him and claps a hand on his shoulder. “You should have seen it happen, it was glorious.” 

“I feel defiled.” Denki mumbles to himself, beginning to strip to his underwear. Mina makes an overexaggerated gasp and covers Michiko's face with her hand. 

“Don't worry Denks,” Hanta laughs, going over to the bedroom to find him a change of clothes, “you can stay the night while I wash them if you want.” Denki would probably be plagued by Michiko's crying every couple hours but screw Hanta for wanting another one of his friends to experience it. It feels slightly cruel, not that he cares all that much.

Flinging over a pair of pants and a worn cotton shirt, Hanta mentally shrugs to himself. Oh well. Denki's voice gets louder as he is attacked by clothes, “sure, I’d love to stay!” 

He would later come to regret those words.

Chapter Text

It wasn't long until Hanta and Michiko reached a routine. Every night, he would wake up a total of three times at even intervals to feed her. In the mornings, they would take a quick bath, before bundling up and heading for the agency. Happily strapped to his chest, Michiko would laugh and gurgle at the sights around her on the journey there. 

Once reaching the agency, she would be put into her playpen (recently switched to one of those bouncy swings that allowed her to tire herself out) while Hanta completed any paperwork he needed. After she ate again and had her afternoon nap, they would go on patrol. Hanta’s plan was flawless, the routine stayed unchanged for months. Until it did change. 

Which is where Hanta’s problems currently lie. 

Michiko wails, high pitched and loud, almost shattering Hanta’s eardrums. For the last few days she had gained a slight fever, so Hanta obviously took her to the doctor. He rocks her, hushing her gently as he goes into the kitchen. As he pulls out a teething ring from the freezer, he grumbles to himself. “Oh don't worry about it, they said. She's only teething, they said. What a load of bull.” He props her onto his hip, guiding the teether into her mouth. 

Her cries die down into soft whimpers as she gnaws on the ring. Hanta wipes a few stray tears from her cheeks, feeling terrible that his daughter must be going through so much pain. 

While she's momentarily distracted, Hanta takes the opportunity to change her and put her into her most comfortable clothes. At four months, Michiko had grown noticeably in size, and he had dragged Katsuki and Eijirou on an emergency shopping trip. There had been some complaining, but it had stopped once Hanta had agreed to buy a Ground Zero hoodie for Michiko to wear more often than she wasn't. 

So she didn't outgrow it quickly, Hanta had bought it a few sizes too large. It currently swamps Michiko, and she loves it. He rolls up the sleeves on the hoodie, so Michiko can actually hold onto things, then hefts her back up onto his hip. “Okay, time to go to work. I know you didn't sleep a lot last night, and neither did I.” Michiko smiles up at him, for the first time in the last twelve hours. “Are we gonna work together and not be disruptive?” 

Their agreement flies out of the window almost as soon as they reach the agency. Within fifteen minutes of starting his paperwork, Michiko begins to cry. Now, people at the agency are used to the sounds of crying, and Hanta usually manages to calm her down relatively quickly. Even the two interns who had joined him had become accustomed to the sounds. But this much crying isn't normal and had to be disturbing everyone in the building. 

Hanta gets up, pushing the teething ring back towards her mouth. She cries harder and bats it away with a flailing arm. It must have warmed back up if she hates it that much. He sighs, goes to put the ring in the mini fridge next to his desk and picks up his distraught baby. “Shh shh, it's okay,” he whispers soothingly, cradling her to his chest, “I know it hurts, and you're tired, I am too.” His words seem to have some sort of effect, her cries lowering to a regular volume again.

For the next few minutes he walks in circles around his office, trying to will Michiko into falling asleep, or at least for her to stop crying. The attempts are useless, and she begins to almost scream. “Oh no no, baby, please stop crying. It's okay.” An ache in his chest seems to double as Michiko's voice does, a gut wrenching feeling that almost makes him cry.

He's so caught up in his daughter, that he doesn't notice his door opening. Nor does he notice the person stood motionless in the doorway. 

“Are you okay?” 

--

As a big, fat middle finger to his father, Shouto had let his best friend rise to become number one hero. He was happy to sit at number three, allowing Izuku and Bakugou to take the spotlight as the top two. Since he was still the number three hero, Shouto gained a lot of attention, and was hounded by people everywhere he went.

Then one week, all of that attention was shifted to someone else. 

He didn't stay in contact with many people from his class, only the circle of friends he had gained during high school and those he saw occasionally due to work. Hearing from Ochako that Sero had a baby was certainly shocking, but once he heard how he'd managed to find her. Shouto was less surprised. It was always Bakugou and his friends who managed to get themselves into weird situations. 

Shouto had watched the interview Sero had on the talk show; watched the careful consideration of his words when talking about the note, the determined look in his eyes when he spoke about his future plans. There was something about it that made Shouto want to do something.

Since then he, Ochako, and a very trusted lawyer began to build up a case file against his father. Sometimes she would visit him and most of the time he would visit her at her agency. 

With all the work he had, Shouto only ever had time to meet up once or twice a week. Even then, he rarely ever saw Sero, or his baby around. Sure, he heard the occasional cry or laugh that sounded very much like a baby's, but hardly ever saw the pair. He's never asked Ochako about them, not really sure how to bring it up, or being able to come up with a reason as to why he would want to see them. 

So Shouto's surprised by his own actions when he opens the door to Sero's office, concerned by the difference in the cries he normally heard. Sero looks stricken, mumbling the same words over and over to the bawling, red faced, baby. “Are you okay?” He asks tentatively, not exactly sure how to go about the situation. 

At the sound of his voice, Sero seems to freeze up, slowly turning to face him properly. Other than the baby's cries, it's like a blanket of tense silence settles over them. For a moment, Shouto is unsure what to do, and it almost feels like he's intruding. But then Sero seems to snap out of his daze and rushes towards him. 

All of a sudden there is a crying baby in his arms and Sero is jogging back over to a mini fridge that is placed beside his desk. “I'm really sorry Todoroki, but please hold Michiko for a second, I just need to sort everything out. She wont stop crying and I just.” It all comes out in a rush as he grabs a bottle from the fridge and puts it into the microwave. 

Shouto stares down at Michiko, bewildered. As the youngest of his siblings, he never had a chance to deal with a baby before. Holding one was completely new to him. He moves her into a position he's seen in a movie before , cradling her against his left side. With his other hand, he wipes away the tears running down her face. Is that what he's meant to do? Michiko reaches out and grabs onto his hand, bringing it towards her mouth. 

Momentarily, Shouto panics, not sure if he wants to be covered in baby drool. As soon as she begins to chew on two of his fingers though, her cries almost instantly stop, along with his panic. He doesn't want to disrupt her again, pretty sure that stopping her from crying was the main goal. 

The absence of noise makes Sero turn quickly, expression filled with disbelief. He rushes over, eyes wide and rapidly moving between Shouto and the baby. “How did you do that?” Comes the slightly awed voice and he almost squirms at the attention. 

“She just grabbed onto me, and she stopped crying.” Shouto shrugs, careful not to jostle Michiko in any way and he watches as a smile breaks out on Sero's face. 

“Of course, it's your cold side, you run cold.” He grips Shouto’s sleeve tightly in a fist, even if they were both the same height, Shouto felt almost smaller than ever. “You're a human teether.” 

“Thank.. you?” Shouto feels unsure whether or not it was a compliment, but accepts it as one anyway. 

Sero lets go of his sleeve, goes back over to the microwave to take the bottle out. “I guess I won't need this yet then.” He leans against his desk, facing Shouto with a pleading look. “I know this may sound really weird, but can I please stick around with you or vice versa? Michiko's teething ring needs to cool down again and I don't want her in any more pain than she already is. 

From the desperate look in Sero's eyes to the relieved expression on Michiko's face, Shouto decides to help. For some reason, he feels very protective of the child in his arms, despite it not being his. 

Now Michiko is no longer crying, Sero seems to relax much more. “Attached already? She has that effect on people.” There's something wistful in his tone, and Shouto just nods, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere. “Oh right. You were here for Uraraka. I'll stay here, assuming it's some sort of private matter since I keep seeing a lawyer go in around the same time you do.” 

“If you don't mind,” Shouto replies. He isn't quite ready to tell anyone else yet, especially having the whole information just being dumped on Sero by being present during such a dark meeting. 

“No problem at all, dude.” Sero waves it off with a hand, there's an amused grin on his face. “I mean, you are letting my baby chew on you for the next few hours.” 

“I guess so.” He glances back down at the baby, her dark eyes staring up at him as she chews on the ends of his fingers. A smile slips onto his lips involuntarily as he lets cold seep into his hand and Michiko makes a pleased sounding giggle. 

--

At the end of the day Shouto is lying on his couch, exhausted and almost falling off. He ended up spending the rest of his day with Sero and Michiko, seeing as the baby only let go of him so her father could feed her. There hadn't been much room for argument once Michiko began to wail after being separated from her so called favourite person . 

Honestly, Shouto isn't sure if that was true, or if the baby just enjoyed using him as a teething ring. 

Even after the long day, Shouto doesn't feel much like moving to get himself dinner. All he can think about is how drained he is, and how much Sero seems to have changed since high school. 

While he had been feeding Michiko, Shouto had allowed himself to fully take a look at Sero. He had grown, in a few ways. Both of them had gained a few inches of height, Sero still managing to stay that inch or two taller than him. Sero also seemed to have grown into his lanky form, toned muscles tensing as he held Michiko in his arms. 

It wasn't just that, that had fascinated Shouto. In the few months Sero had Michiko he matured a ridiculous amount. According to Ochako, anyway. Most of the time, Shouto found himself believing it. Sero had a so-called dadpack. All it was, was a backpack stocked to the brim with things Michiko may need. 

Shouto finds himself smiling up at his ceiling as he pictures Sero's proud (and he must admit, very pretty) grin while he had shown him the bag.

Just as he's about to berate himself for thinking such things, his phone screen lights up in the corner of his eye. He curses his friends, and reaches out to grab his phone. 

Chat: Kool Kidz and Shouto (the good one, kaachan but girl, what, bones to spare and always on speed) 

(22:57) bones to spare: Shouchan what on earth have I just read?? 

(22:57) bones to spare: [attached link]

(22:58) kaachan but girl: oh yeah, hes been with sero all day

(22:58) kaachan but girl: swung by for a visit and michiko latched onto him like a baby koala

(22:58) always on speed: Guys, it is very late and we all have hero duties in the morning. You should all be asleep right now to assure you get proper rest! 

(22:59) kaachan but girl: ha im not

(22:59) kaachan but girl: ive got a patrol in an hour so i get the morning off 

(22:59) always on speed: I know, I hear the television. It's very loud and you're probably disrupting the neighbours.

(23:00) kaachan but girl: fuck those guys

Shouto takes a moment to click on the link Izuku sent. It sends him to a twitter post about him joining Sero on his patrol earlier that day. There’s a few photos of him and Sero talking and Michiko being handed between them. He doesn't find anything exceptionally wrong about the post until he reads the caption. 

So when Cellophane said in his interview he wasn't finding a mother for his child, did he mean instead he would find her another dad? Very sneaky.

No. Not going to even go there. Shouto quickly dismisses the thoughts popping up in his head and goes back into the chat. 

(23:00) what: tenya do you really expect any of us to sleep at regular times 

(23:01) kaachan but girl: shouto makes a good point ten 

(23:01) bones to spare: Youre also awake Tenya

(23:01) bones to spare: So shush 

(23:02) the good one: probably not by choice considering he lives with Ochako 

(23:02) kaachan but girl: tsu i cannot believe this betrayal 

(23:02) bones to spare: Wait no guys you distracted me from my main goal 

(23:02) bones to spare: Shou is the boyfriend part true

(23:03) what: no 

(23:03) what: thats simply fan speculation 

(23:03) kaachan but girl: thats a lie hes totally a dad now

(23:04) kaachan but girl: he literally wouldnt put her down and held her day

(23:04) bones to spare: Awwww Shouchan! 

(23:04) what: do not /aww/ me 

(23:04) what: i was doing sero a favour since she wouldnt let go 

(23:05) the good one: [attached image]

(23:05) the good one: he is definitely a dad just look at his face on this picture 

(23:05) bones to spare: SHOU YOURE A DAD

(23:06) what: why is your name the good one tsuyu

(23:06) what: all you do is appear at random moments of conversation and make unhelpful comments 

(23:06) kaachan but girl: its like shes always watching us ready to reply at all times

(23:07) the good one: it's because I am

(23:07) bones to spare: Tsu dont do that to my pure, delicate soul

(23:07) what: where did tenya go

(23:07) kaachan but girl: after izuku told him to shush he made himself a cup of tea and is now sulking next to me on the couch

(23:08) kaachan but girl: hes been reading over my shoulder this whole time 

(23:08) bones to spare: Sorry tenya love you tenya 

(23:08) kaachan but girl: he says its okay 

(23:09) kaachan but girl: he also says congrats on the new baby shouto

(23:09) what: every single one of you are now dead to me 

(23:09) bones to spare: Shou no dont leave me :( 

(23:09) what: d e a d 

(23:10) bones to spare: :( 

(23:10) kaachan but girl: :( 

(23:10) the good one: :( 

(23:10) what: why am i friends with any of you 

(23:10) always on speed: :( 

(23:11) what: tenya not you too 

(23:11) always on speed: ༼ ༎ຶ ෴ ༎ຶ༽

(23:11) kaachan but girl: tenya i love you so damn much 

Shouto, deciding he hates all of his friends, throws his phone to the other side of the couch and rolls off with a huff. His friends in all of their annoyances have motivated him to actually leave the vicinity of his phone. Now he could make himself food without it being his main goal. 

First things first, he needs to stop thinking about Sero and Michiko. His mind could be very influenced by his friends and he’s not letting them win this time. 

Chapter Text

After his initial encounter with Todoroki, Hanta ends up seeing a lot more of him in the following weeks. He doesn't know if it's because he's now noticing him more often because of what happened, or if somehow he's unconsciously doing himself. The more he thinks about it the more confused he makes himself.

The first time it happens is a few days after Michiko used Todoroki as a teething ring. He's sat cross legged on the floor across from Michiko, holding out a cuddly dinosaur plush in front of her face. She coos, making a face as she reaches out for the purple diplodocus. 

The day before Mina and Kirishima had showed up at his apartment at six am with the plush and teething gel for babies. All day she was content with holding onto the dinosaur and drooling all over it, only fussing when she needed something. Hanta thinks his friends are a gift from the gods.

Michiko bounces slightly in her swing, trying to launch herself forward to grab the plush. It brings a smile to Hanta’s face and he taps her cheek with the plush, making a kissing sound as he does. “You look like you're doing better, my angel.” She gargles back at him. He figures that Michiko was actually able to do stuff now, and calling her a blob doesn't have the same effect as it used to.

Letting her take the plush from him, Hanta leans back on his hands to watch her drool all over the dinosaur. A warm feeling curls in his stomach. 

Work had been slow for the last week, with the path the agency had gone down there was only so much they could do. It was made public that they were going to focus more on abusive households when Hanta did the interview. Since then, many reports came in from concerned neighbours, friends and sometimes even the victims. 

Whenever he managed to help someone, it made him hug his daughter tighter at the possibility of finding her birth mother. 

He isn't sure if he's worried about Michiko being taken away, or if he just wants to share the joy she brings with her mother. Hanta knows that one day he wants to tell the woman, and thank her for doing what she did. 

A knock on his door makes both him and Michiko turn their heads towards the noise. “Come in,” he calls out, preparing to push himself up to stand if it was anyone official. When Todoroki pokes his head through the door though, he immediately gets comfortable again. “Yo, you looking for Uraraka?” 

“I checked her office, is she out?” Todoroki’s gaze moves from Michiko to Hanta, then the very sloppy bun Hanta forgot he put his hair up into. 

“Probably, she shouldn't be out long if you want to wait here.” He laughs softly to himself, beckoning the other in. There's a moment of hesitation before Todoroki steps into the office and shuts the door, he goes over to the pair and hovers around them. “Dude, just sit down. Michiko won't care if you join us on the floor.” 

He makes a quiet noise of something Hanta can't quite figure out before sitting down, replicating the crossed legs Hanta is sitting with. Michiko, maybe recognising the person she spent a whole day with, reaches out a hand. It happens to be the one she's holding the dinosaur with, and Todoroki is slapped with the plush. His expression goes from a stoic calm to a stunned bafflement; staring down at the floor, mouth gaping and nose scrunched up. It looks positively adorable on the number three hero. 

Hanta tries to hold in a laugh at the almost betrayed look Todoroki shoots at his daughter. He fails and it comes out at a weird mix between a snort and a splutter. “You okay there?” The incredulous look he's given makes him bark out a laugh. “Not used to getting hit in the face with a stuffed animal I see.” 

“I've never had to.. deal with children before.” Todoroki grumbles awkwardly, a faint pout forming on his lips.

They sit and talk for another twenty minutes, about the most mundane of things. What they eat for breakfast, how they like their coffee, the longest time they've gone without sleep, how dumb their friends are. “You know, I saw Bakugou the other day.” Todoroki starts, poking Michiko softly in her pudgy, baby stomach and getting a giggle from her in return. “He had a huge group of teenagers following after him and I haven't seen him so annoyed since high school.” 

“Eijirou told me that Aizawa sensei asked him to come in to speak with his newest class. I still haven't figured out if it was to scare them or shift all their attention onto Katsuki instead of him.” Hanta wonders if what he's doing should feel weird, sitting and having pointless conversations with someone like Todoroki. Even in high school, Todoroki was seemingly untouchable, from his powerful quirk, genius and very obvious beauty. 

Despite being best friends with Katsuki, who is always in a constant battle being the number one hero with Midoriya, Todoroki still feels much farther from reach. 

“Oi, is this where you've been hiding?” Ochako, barging in through Hanta’s door, gives Todoroki a withering glare. “Come on idiot, we have shit to do.” 

“Guess that's my cue to leave,” Todoroki chimes, rising to his feet. “Bye Sero, Michiko.” He gives Michiko another poke on her belly, and she garbles back at him happily. 

--

The next few times Hanta sees Todoroki is when he happens to be shopping. Michiko is sat in the shopping cart, happily chewing on a teething ring as Hanta scans the shelves for whatever he needs. 

Every time, Hanta spots Todoroki on the opposite end of the long isles. He's always wearing some sloppy disguise, a big coat with the hood pulled over his head and a ridiculously large pair of sunglasses. It looks very suspicious and out of place in the store, but Hanta assumes the workers know about him at this point and decide to respect his privacy. 

One time, Hanta just stares at him. Watching how he picks up a tub of ice cream on sale, considers it, then shrugs and tosses it into the cart. 

“Todoroki is weird, huh?” Hanta finds himself asking his daughter, who’s deadpan stare seems to radiate disappointment. “Hey, don't judge me. You shit yourself on the daily.” 

He gets a weird look from a nearby shopper. 

--

The next time Hanta actually talks to Todoroki is after a very long and very stressful day. Michiko's pain seems to have reached an all time high, the combination of the gel, teething ring and calpol not working to soothe it. Hanta curls up on the couch, Michiko screaming into his shoulder. 

Four hours of continuous crying, every minute that passes Hanta feels his hysteria double. All he can do is give her water in the hopes she doesn't dehydrate herself and give her all the love he can. Her fever radiates heat into him and he bites his lip to help fight the tears that so badly want to fall.

Hanta has seen a lot of things that would make others cry. Nothing has ever hurt him more than what is currently happening at that moment. “Come on, angel. Please calm down. I know it hurts but it'll be over soon and then we can both sleep for an entire day.” He forces himself to take a deep breath before he spirals into a panic and becomes useless. All he needs to do is think. 

It's a long shot, but Hanta grabs his phone anyway. The time makes him groan and a tear manages to slide down his cheek. Almost three in the morning. There was no way Hanta could ring Todoroki without the man hating him. 

Chat: a child with a child and todobroki

(02:49) a child with a child: i know this is a huge longshot 

(02:49) a child with a child: but im about to have a breakdown and i need your help like right now please 

For what seems like an eternity, nothing happens. No reply, just Michiko crying and her tears soaking into his clothes. Then it happens, a buzz against his hip and a light illuminating the dark room. 

(02:55) todobroki: do you need me to come round

(02:55) a child with a child: im begging you 

--

When Shouto agreed to come round, he didn't know what to expect. Sero has lots of close friends, which include even some of his own. There were many people Sero could have chosen but he decided to text him. From basic deduction, Shouto can positively say there's a problem with Michiko, seeing as that's what he's previously helped with.

He gets buzzed up almost instantly, and as he climbs the stairs Shouto can hear the cries. His steps speed up and once he reaches the door he opens it without bothering to knock. 

As he takes in the sight before him, there is one thing Shouto is certain of. The two of them are a mess. Sero’s hair is pulled up into a sloppy bun that is falling apart on the top of his head, his eyes are red and tears are rolling down his cheeks. Michiko matches his expression, red from exertion as she rubs her face against her father's shoulder. There's a tight wrench in his gut, and Shouto feels like he shouldn't be allowed to see the pair in such a vulnerable state. Sero is still wearing parts of his hero uniform for god's sake. 

It's definitely uncharted territory for Shouto, he's not much of a comforting person. That job is usually left for Izuku or Ochako in their group. He will try though, and it's the thought that counts. “Okay, I'm here. What do you need me to do?” 

At the sound of his voice, Sero sits up straight and he frantically wipes away the stray tears on his cheeks. “I'm sorry for texting you so late.” His voice is hoarse, like he's not drank anything in the last twenty four hours. “I just. You were probably sleeping and it was really dumb to text you, I'm sorry.”  

“It's okay, I chose to come here.” Shouto moves towards the couch, reaching out towards them. “Give me Michiko, go changed into something more comfortable.” Sero makes a quiet noise that reminds Shouto of the sound Izuku makes when someone touches his limited edition All Might merch, and hands her over after a moment of hesitation. 

He hefts Michiko up onto his hip, offering her his quickly cooling hand to chew on as Sero goes to change. The effect is almost instantaneous, Michiko’s cries quieten down to a sorrowful whine and she holds onto Shouto's hand like it's her lifeline. 

Shouto sits down on the arm of the couch, sitting her on his lap while she calms down. She's still in regular clothes, and he assumes she should be in pyjamas at this point. “I would change you, but I'm not exactly sure where anything is.” He's not exactly sure why he speaks to Michiko, but it feels normal after watching Sero spend hours saying anything and everything to her. 

During the peace, Shouto takes the time to take in his surroundings. He doesn't know what he was expecting, but Sero's apartment does not look like anything he thought it would. There's baby toys scattered all over the floor, a brightly coloured xylophone, some stuffed animals and what looks like a pop up ball pit. Is that a giant inflatable pretzel by the tv? The mix between all of Michiko's baby things and hints of the high school Sero that Shouto remembers makes something curl tightly in his stomach. 

After a while of gently bouncing Michiko on his lap, Shouto realises that Sero has been gone for a long time. He stands up, holding Michiko under her armpits as they stare at each other. “Should we go get your dad?” Michiko looks slightly irritated at the loss of his hand and babbles loudly at him. “I don't know what you're saying but I'm saying it's yes.” 

They go into the bedroom, and Shouto only feels slightly awkward about it before he enters. The first thing Shouto sees is the sight of Sero passed out at the foot of his bed. He's wearing a pair of bright green, plaid pants and a dark hoodie that's riding up his stomach. To the side of the room, there's a dresser with a changing mat on top of it and he goes to put Michiko down on it. She's not too thrilled about it so he has to try and rifle through the drawers with one hand while the other one is chewed on. 

Shouto grabs a onesie from the top drawer and places it next to Michiko, who gazes up at him with wide eyes. “You think you're worried about what's about to happen.” He comments sarcastically, wondering what the hell he’s meant to start with. Somehow, Sero manages to sleep through Shouto’s terrible attempt at undressing and redressing a baby. Once he does manage to do it, Michiko looks vaguely uncomfortable and shifts around on her back. 

“Was I meant to change your diaper?” Michiko babbles as a reply and Shouto feels his face scrunch up in despair. “I do not know what I'm meant to be doing.” 

“Don't worry,” Sero's voice chimes in, making Shouto jump, “I changed her around an hour ago, depending on how long I was asleep for.” He turns to look over to see that Sero had joined his side, rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm. At the sight of her father, Michiko coos and reaches out her hands towards him. 

“About half an hour,” Shouto responds quietly, watching as Sero picks Michiko up and presses a loud kiss onto her temple. It's a sweet scene, with Sero cuddling Michiko into his chest as he talks to her. He feels slightly out of place as it all happens. 

Sero pauses to smile at Shouto, he looks a lot better after the little sleep he got. “Hey thank you for coming, and I'm sorry for falling asleep while you looked after her.” 

“You should apologize less, I came of my own accord and apologizing doesn't suit you.” 

For a moment, Sero gapes at him slightly, before shaking his head and smiling. “Oh, yeah. You want to put a movie on then? Y’know, as a thank you.” He walks away, back into the main room Shouto follows him, nodding.

“Sure.” 

Sero hands Michiko back over to Shouto and crouches down by the cabinet the tv is on. “Okay, what movie tickles your fancy? I have Disney, Studio Ghibli, Pixar.” 

Shouto takes a seat in the middle of the couch, sitting Michiko on his lap and letting her lean against his stomach. His cold hand is pressed against the side of her cheek as a soother. “So just animations?” Sero whips his head around as the words come out of his mouth.

He jabs a pointed finger at Shouto, looking like he's been greatly wronged. “You shut your trap Todoroki Shouto, animated films are the best kind of films.” 

“If you say so.” Shouto finds himself smiling as he shrugs and brushes his fingers through Michiko's hair.

“They are, trust me. Now, what do you want to watch?” Sero turns back to his collection of films, dragging a finger down the cases as he scans the titles. 

Shouto tries to think of what he watched in high school with everyone else, or the times when he and Natsuo snuck downstairs late at night to watch films before his quirk came in. Nothing specific comes to mind.

“I mean, I haven't seen many of them. So choose whatever you think is best.” The horrified look Sero gives him makes him purse his lips. “What?”

“How have you made it to adulthood without having a proper childhood?” 

He's got to admit, the comment wants to hurt. But Sero doesn't know, even if he is right. There was nothing normal about not being allowed to watch movies with his family as a child, having a huge garden with no children playing in it, being five years old and already experiencing pain some will never know of. Shouto forces a smile, hoping it doesn't come out too bitter. “You tell me.” 

“Well, we are going to watch all of these right now, starting with Disney.” Sero pulls out a case with a blue creature on the front. “We are starting with Lilo and Stitch because it's great.” 

“Okay. Shouldn't you sleep though?” Shouto asks.

Instead of giving him an answer, Sero slaps his shoulder on his way towards the kitchen. “Scooch over, I'll be back with hot chocolate.” 

“You're changing the subject.” He calls, craning his neck to see a grin taking up half of Sero's face as he spoons hot chocolate powder into some mugs. Michiko babbles in agreement.

Sero returns to the couch with two mugs of hot chocolate and a bottle of milk, placing them down on the table. “Just so we all have something to drink,” he says with a wink and a smirk. Shouto reaches for his mug and attempts to stop the snort that comes out. Such a little thing would never make him laugh in a normal situation, but he is awfully relaxed and he fails. Sero’s grin grows wider at the sound. 

“I made you laugh,” he gasps and pulls a blanket over the both of them. Shouto has no idea where he got the blanket from, he won't question it though since this is the best he's felt in a while. Sero slots himself right next to Shouto, losing all of their previous boundaries and absorbing his warmth. He finds that he doesn't mind at all.

“If that's what makes you happy.” Shaking his head, Shouto arranges the blanket so Michiko can still drink from her bottle and makes himself comfortable against Sero. He's not been so familiar with anyone in a while, it must be the late night (or early morning?) that's getting to his head. 

They watch in a blissful silence, until Shouto’s gaze keeps focusing on the inflatable pretzel. That damn pretzel has been troubling him to no end. “Why do you have a pretzel?” 

“The pretzel? Oh yeah, that's Chiko’s chair. She sits in the holes.”

At some point during the film, all three of them fall asleep. Shouto only knows this since he's woken up by a door being unlocked and the sound of toys being kicked across the floor followed by quiet cursing. He blinks open his eyes, grunting at the stiffness in his muscles. There are two weights on his chest and on his shoulder. Sero is fast asleep, his cheek crushed against Shouto’s shoulder and snoring lightly. Shouto is holding Michiko against his chest as she sleeps, and he gets the idea to check the time since she seems to have yet woken up.

The person in the apartment freezes in the dark and Shouto lifts his head from Sero’s. “Hello?” He squints to try and see better, not yet fully awake.

“Shouto?” It's Ochako, standing over him with her phone out. “Didn't mean to wake you up.” 

“What are you doing here?” He asks, keeping his voice quiet as to not wake up the other two. Sero mumbles to himself and shifts against his side but does nothing else to show he's awake.

Ochako exhales slowly, tiptoeing over to the table where she sits down. “I knew Michiko was fussing all day yesterday, so I said I would check on him in the morning.” She suddenly smirks, giving Shouto a look that sends a tremor of fear through him. “But it seems he already got some help.” 

“You're the devil,” Shouto whispers as accusingly as he can, hoping that just glaring at her will stop her thoughts. There's a moment where Ochako is silent and he thinks that it somehow worked. Then she splutters, slaps a hand over her mouth and Shouto’s hopes go down the drain. “Why are you laughing?”

“Just,” she wheezes softly adding another hand to help stop her giggles, “your whole tone and glare is destroyed by the fact you're holding Michiko so protectively.” 

“Shut up.” Shouto huffs, watching her try and calm herself down. Once she does, he gives her another hard stare, “did you take a picture of me?” 

“No.”

--

Chat: Kool Kidz and Shouto (the good one, kaachan but girl, what, bones to spare and always on speed) 

(09:12) kaachan but girl: [attached image]

(09:13) kaachan but girl: shous been busy yall

(09:13) always on speed: Did you just seriously use the word y’all?

(09:13) bones to spare: Shouchan 

(09:13) bones to spare: I cant believe you didnt tell me

(09:14) bones to spare: Why arent you surprised Tenya

(09:14) always on speed: Ochako already showed me the picture

(09:14) the good one: Shouto what other secrets have you been keeping from us

(09:15) kaachan but girl: yeah shouto what else have you been hiding

(09:16) what: i will get my revenge

(09:16) kaachan but girl: id like to see you try posh boy

Chapter Text

After that one night, Hanta notices an obvious change in his relationship with Todoroki. It starts with Todoroki arriving at the agency earlier than normal so he can stop by and talk to him. They text more often, mostly Shouto plotting so-called revenge against Uraraka for a reason Hanta is yet to find out about. He chooses to sometimes help plot his revenge, but he's in the danger zone and usually doesn't help since he works with her. 

Michiko begins to recognise Todoroki as someone she knows, smiling at him and babbling more when he's around. He even spots Todoroki talking back to her across the room when he's doing paperwork. 

Along with the night once a week Hanta reserves for all his friends to hang out together, he makes sure Todoroki comes over every week so they can watch a film. Ever so slowly, he's expanding Todoroki’s film knowledge and his looking after a child knowledge. 

One particular incident with him attempting to bathe Michiko was especially hilarious for Hanta to watch. 

So far, Hanta has done a pretty good job of avoiding the topic of his relationship with Todoroki with everyone. He suspects Mina knows due to the gossip chat between all of the girls in class A he saw her on once, and she's waiting for him to crack and tell them. Denki seems unknowing to his situation, happily living life as a part time teacher at UA. If Eijirou knew he would be too nice to say anything until everyone else jumps him and Katsuki would definitely make it known that he's suspicious of what's happening. 

--

It does in fact come up when they're all drinking one night in Hanta’s apartment. He’s leaning heavily against Denki, his vision blurring in and out of focus. Mina and Eijirou have their heads on Katsuki's lap, sipping vodka and lemonade through long straws. Katsuki is drinking straight from a bottle, looking ready to pass out while Michiko watches him quietly from her pretzel chair. 

“Should we really be drinking in front of a baby?” Denki hums, pressing his cheek against Hanta’s. They probably shouldn't, Hanta considered this before they all came round. It has been so long since he last had a proper drink though, so he decided to forget that worry long ago when he started drinking.

He tries to sit up, almost falling backwards onto the floor. His tolerance to alcohol has dropped considerably, sue him if he became drunk a lot faster than normal tonight. “She’ll be fine. I mean, look at her, she's drinking with us already.” There's an almost empty bottle of milk held tightly in Michiko's hands. Her eyes are beginning to droop, so she's already lost focus on everything around her.

“On the topic of babies.” Katsuki practically shouts, no longer having control over the volume of his voice. “What the fuck is up with you and that icyhot bastard? That asshole has practically adopted tape baby over there.” He jabs a thumb in the direction of Michiko, elbowing Mina in the head. She whines and stops sipping her drink to sit up and rub her head. 

“Oi, that hurt you dick.” In return, Katsuki flips his middle finger up at her. She flicks drops of vodka at him, then attempts to get into a more comfortable position. Which somehow ends up with her slouching against Hanta’s other side. “Anyway. I know what's happening. Me and Ochako had a very fun gossip coffee morning.” 

“Oh no. You met in person.” Hanta pours himself a shot, drinks it, pours himself another and drinks that one. He ignores the churn in his stomach that tells him he's going to be sick if he continues. “Please tell me it wasn't all about us.” For good luck, Hanta takes another shot. 

The smile on Mina's face shows he's going to suffer. And for much longer than a moment, Hanta considers finishing off the bottle instead of just taking shots. “Well, Hanta, would you like to say anything about all of this before I reveal your darkest secrets.” 

“Yeah bro, why didn't you tell us?” Denki bemoans, leaning more into him. Hanta is beginning to feel like a sandwich filling. 

Eijirou, who seems completely oblivious to what's been happening for a while, chimes in oh so very helpfully. “Tell us what? That he's dating Todoroki?” 

“You're dating him?” Mina snaps into sobriety so quickly it gives Hanta whiplash, and she moves onto him with focused precision. His arms end up pinned against the floor and Mina towers over him, her eyes narrowed. Due to the sudden movement, Denki is shoved to the side, screeching in drunken surprise as he falls on his face. 

As Hanta and Mina are stuck in a staring match, Hanta hears a slap and Eijirou's shocked yelp. Then Katsuki swears, and he assumes everything is going as well as it usually does. “We're not dating, I swear.” He rushes out, trying to sink into the floor away from Mina's intense, mind reading glare.

“You better fucking not be.” Katsuki interrupts Mina before she has the chance to reply. “I know you have better taste than that Soy Sauce.” He takes Mina's place, shoving her sort of lightly to the side and sending her tumbling back onto Denki. 

“Uh, yes. I'm not dating him.” Hanta nods, almost gaping as he takes the hand Katsuki offers to him. 

“Then start talking, idiot.” Folding his arms, Katsuki makes himself comfortable against the side of the coffee table and fixes Hanta with a hard stare. Everyone, sensing there's something fun they're about to listen to, hurries to sit down back in their previous circle. Their excited gazes cause a chill to go down Hanta’s spine. 

He sucks in a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for his friends’ interrogations after his story. “Whatever you're thinking, we aren't dating. I don't even like him like that.” 

“Sure you don't bro.” 

“Shut up Denki. Anyway, he visits Uraraka at the agency and when Chiko first started teething he helped me out for the day.” 

“How could he help you?” 

“She used his cold side as a teether.” 

Katsuki barks out a laugh, taking a long swig from his bottle. “Icyhot was used as a chew toy. Fuckin’ awesome.” 

“Now, do you want me to continue this story or not?” 

“Yes please,” Eijirou chimes in, wrapping an arm around Katsuki and covering his mouth with his hand. “We'll shut up.” 

“Going to have to give me a second.” Hanta puts up a finger as he picks up his own bottle, finishing the rest of it in a few quick gulps. “Okay, so he came round again one night and we hung out. After that, we just gradually spent more time together. That's all there is to it.” 

Mina loudly clears her throat, gaining the attention of the circle. “So tell us. You don't spend those movie nights with Todoroki cuddled up with him and Michiko like a cute little family?” 

“What?” His brows pull together in confusion. Not once have the two of them cuddled, from what he can remember anyway. The closest they've gotten to that is when Hanta once had his feet on Todoroki's lap. Which is really nothing considering he, Denki and Mina shared a single bed the year before. “We've never cuddled before.”

Laughing maniacally, (that may be an overstatement but sue him, he's scared) Mina slides her phone across the floor so it's between them all. “Not according to this picture.” They crowd over the phone, and Hanta’s eyes widen. Sure enough, he's cuddling with Todoroki. He's asleep on Todoroki's shoulder, probably drooling oh god. Todoroki looks like he's waking up, one of his hands going up to his face while the other is wrapped protectively around Michiko. Most of their bodies are covered by Hanta’s blanket, but it doesn't hide his hand that is reached out and fisted at the edge of Todoroki's sleeve.

He wants to melt into the floor and disappear forever. 

“Hanta you look so cute here,” Eijirou gushes, lunging forward and snatching up the phone. Denki leans over onto his shoulder to get a better look. 

“Mina how did you get that?” 

“Ochako obviously.” Mina winks, blowing him a kiss. “She sent it to me not long ago.” 

“Of course she did.” He drags his hands down his face with a pained groan. Why are his friends so cruel to him? What did he do in a past life to make him deserve this? “Please tell me we aren't your main topic of conversation in the gossip chain.” 

“Oh sweetie,” Mina leans over and puts a not very consoling hand on his shoulder, “you adorable, naive, little creature.” 

Katsuki, who's stayed surprisingly calm through all of this (it's definitely the alcohol), slaps Eijirou's hand away from his face. “Okay, you've still got shit taste. At least don't be in denial about it.” 

“In denial about what?” 

“How you have a huge crush on Todoroki.” Eijirou offers yet again oh so helpfully. 

“I do not, and I repeat do not, have a crush on Todoroki.” Hanta protests, rising to his feet and almost falling over. “What even makes you think that I do?” 

The next few minutes of his life, Hanta decides, are the most embarrassing minutes he will ever go through. Some of the suggestions of his so called crush include:

“You spent a lot of your free time at the agency with him.” 

“Every week you watch movies and drink hot chocolate with him.” 

“You talk about him loads. 

“There's a specific mug for Todoroki in your cupboard.”

“Look at you in this picture dude.” 

“I know you've taught him how to look after Michiko.” 

“You're literally wearing his hoodie right now.” 

“Okay okay, all of you shush. You made your point. It may seem like I do, but seriously, I don't.” Hanta had slowly sat back down as they all spoke. He waves his arms around, secretly hoping he'll accidentally slap one of them in the face. So what if he has a crush on Todoroki? The dude is the textbook definition of gorgeous and he's cute in a bumbling mess kind of way. That doesn't mean he does have a crush on him though.

Maybe. 

He won't focus on the contradictions swimming  around his head for too long. 

Katsuki and Mina scoff in terrifying synchronicity, leaning back on their hands to look at each other as if saying are you seeing this guy? “Sure Hanta, whatever makes you happy.” Mina takes a long and obnoxious sip from her drink, making sure to raise her eyebrows at him in a challenge. 

“You literally all suck.” He takes another drink. “Now, I'm going to go put my baby to bed, and then we are all going to drink ‘til we pass out.” 

--

Hanta wakes up to an impressive hangover and Michiko slapping him in the face. He groans, rolling onto his side to grab his daughter and sit her up. “Please stop slapping me, your dad's got a hangover and you have to cooperate with me this morning.” Her babbles sound happy so he'll assume she said yes. 

As he goes through his daily routine, albeit a little slower than usual, he notices his friends are scattered around his home. Michiko's bath is put off until nighttime due to Mina being fast asleep in his tub. He decides that he's very lucky when he discovers that he has no patrol and changes into a pair of jeans. Sweatpants just seem too unprofessional, even hungover. In the kitchen, Denki is fast asleep on his counter, missing his shirt and a sock. Katsuki is on the couch, crushed between a snoring Eijirou and the couch cushions.  

“I have a spare room for a reason guys.” He mumbles under his breath as he drags the inflatable pretzel in front of the tv and sits Michiko in it. On his way back to the kitchen he throws a pillow at Eijirou's head, who ends up falling off the couch. Judging from the thud and the loud yelp of pain and surprise. 

Denki gets woken up by being slapped with a cold spoon. As it hits his cheek Hanta is lightly zapped. “Hey Denks, get your ass off my counter. I need to make breakfast for my daughter.” 

“Ow, everything hurts. How much did we drink?” 

“A lot. I'm waiting until I get to the agency until I die.” Hanta mixes the formula into a bottle and puts into the microwave, grabbing a banana and cutting it up while it's being heated. He puts the banana into a little plastic bowl and takes that and the milk to Michiko. 

Both Eijirou and Katsuki are awake now. The former playing peek-a-boo with Michiko while the latter swears into a pillow. “Hi guys, since you all drove me to drink so much last night, you're helping me this morning.” He hands Eijirou the milk and the banana, “you're on feeding duty. Katsuki you wake Mina up and Denki just, just put on a shirt.” 

“Smart.” Denki says as Hanta disappears back into his bedroom. 

There's the sound of his shower being turned on, and Mina's scream fills the air. “Katsuki what the fuck?” Hanta’s almost afraid to leave the safety of his room. 

--

Being at work is not any better for the headache raging inside of him. He strolls in like usual, Michiko strapped to his chest, goes over to the front desk where Amane is eyeing him suspiciously. “How much did you drink last night?” She asks him. He laughs nervously and his hand moves to rub at the back of his neck, nudging the sunglasses he's wearing. Fun fact, there's no sun outside and the dark clouds in the sky makes it look like it's about to rain. 

“A lot, I don't think I stopped until about four hours ago. If it makes you feel any better, I'm regretting all of my actions.” 

“As long as you're suffering for your dumb choices.” She laughs and waves him off, promising to tell everyone he isn't available for the morning. He thanks her as he ducks around the corner towards his office. Once inside he puts Michiko in her swing, dumps the carrier and his bag on a chair and collapses on his own. He never even turned the light on.

For who knows how long, Hanta sits at his desk, head in his arms and sunglasses tossed to the side. Michiko makes the occasional noise, but it seems she quite enjoys the darkness. He's almost tempted to take one of her stuffed animals and use it as a pillow but that would be bad if anyone walks in. 

His door opens and the lights are flicked on. Hanta yells out some jumble of words and hurries to cover his eyes as his headache grows. “No no, turn it off turn it off.” The lights turn off again. 

“Sero, are you hungover?” Uraraka’s teasing voice fills his ears and, if it was even possible, his headache gets worse. 

“You,” Hanta begins, squinting in pain as he sits up, “I have a bone to pick with you.” 

“I turned the lights off, what more do you want?” 

He shakes his head, instantly regretting the action. “Fuck, my head hurts.” Uraraka laughs. Rude. “But no, not the lights. That picture, the one of me and Todoroki.”  

“Oh that one, yeah, you three just looked so adorable together so I had to take a picture.” Her smile shows fake innocence as she perches herself on the edge of his desk. “If it helps, Shouto was very embarrassed about it as well.” 

Todoroki knows? Dammit, Hanta really does feel like becoming a puddle on the streets. After everything his friends said, his thoughts have been way too jumbled over whether or not he really does like Todoroki. On one hand, he does have a crush. On the other hand, all of the dumb stuff they said got to his head and he's making himself think he does when really, he doesn't.

He puts his head in his hands, the heels of his palms digging roughly into his eyes. “Can you please get me some water?” 

“Sorry, no can do.” Uraraka reaches over and pats him lightly on his head. “Got very important work to complete today.” 

“I hate you,” he grumbles, defeated.

“Love you too.” 

The sound of the door opening and shutting again makes him whine, a very high pitched sound that hasn't come out of him since he got both drunk and stoned with Eijirou in his first year. 

“It's good to know I'm wanted here.” Todoroki says, voice monotone. Hanta sits up so quickly his hair flicks him in the eye. 

Either everyone's words definitely got into his head, or he felt like crap because Todoroki looked amazing. He wasn't even wearing anything special, just what he normally wore, he looks so good. It is definitely the hangover making him think things like that, blame it all on the hangover. 

“What's up Shou?” Uraraka, completely unaffected by Todoroki’s arrival, waves him over, “want to join me while I watch Sero suffer?” 

“Uh.” Todoroki seems confused at the invite, his brows drawing together as he takes a step closer. “Sure?” 

“Why do you hate me Uraraka? Go bother Katsuki, he's hungover too.” 

“You know what Sero,” Uraraka grins, pulling out her phone, “that's a great idea.” She stands up and walks out, phone pressed against her ear. “Hey Katsuki, so I heard my favourite human bomb was hungover and I just wanted to call him.” Her voice fades as the door shuts behind her and she walks down the hall. 

Hanta huffs lightly, resuming his previous position of lying his head on his arms. Todoroki sits on the free chair in front of him, watching him with what Hanta hopes is concern. “Are you okay?” He asks softly, not causing any distress to Hanta’s murderous brain. Thank god for Todoroki. 

“Yeah, I just drank way too much last night.” Hanta offers him a tired smile and a half assed thumbs up. “How were you while I was making terrible mistakes last night?” 

“I was up wondering what you meant when you texted me and called me your lightly toasted waffle.” Todoroki unlocks his phone and places it on the table so Hanta could see. He did in fact text him. There's a couple of typos and it's spread out over three messages but Hanta did in fact call Todoroki his lightly toasted waffle. “I suppose it means you were drunk.” 

“I guess so.” He laughs nervously to himself, attempting to dismiss the thoughts going through his head. There's heat creeping up his neck, he can feel it. Think of something else. Michiko, how terrible it was while she was teething, how Todoroki helped him through it. Going in a loop there Hanta. 

While he’s going through his internal crisis, Todoroki’s gaze seems to move down his body. Oh he's checking me out, no you fool, stop thinking! He's about to say something incredibly stupid when Todoroki interrupts him. “Are you wearing my jacket?” 

Yes, of course Hanta is wearing Todoroki’s jacket. He wears all of his friends’ jackets if they leave them over. It is the hoodie he was wearing the night before, Hanta put it on because it's only a thin, zip up one. Somehow, even with the very logical reasoning in his head, Hanta can't say it out loud. His voice catches in his throat so he resorts to nodding sheepishly, now feeling the very obvious flush on his face. 

Hanta’s reaction caused Todoroki to also grow flustered, the tips of his ears turning red and his eyes widening slightly. A traitorous thought lets Hanta know he finds Todoroki adorable at that moment, despite his own embarrassment. 

Okay, so maybe Hanta does have a little, tiny crush on Todoroki. That doesn't mean his friends are right though. 

Chapter Text

Hanta’s amazing breakthrough of finding out he likes Todoroki in a really dumb high school crush kind of way went as well as he could have hoped. 

It took a grand total of two days of hanging out with him to realise just how in deep he was. Then he gave himself a week to have his crisis over this shocking revelation. He ate a lot of cheap ice cream and he is sure Michiko judged him the entire time. 

When he told his friends they were obviously extra supportive in his trying times. Note his sarcasm. They were all extremely cocky about it and every single one of them said “I told you so,” at least four times. Uraraka’s reaction to finding out was even worse. He'd received a random yet suspicious text from Mina asking if he was with her. Replying with a yes was followed by Mina texting her about his crush and Uraraka proceeding to fall to the floor cackling like the witch she is. 

He's sure Todoroki is the only one who's a good, supportive friend. This is why he's got a crush on him and no one else even has a chance.

Along with his relationship struggles, Hanta has another problem. At the ripe age of six months old, Michiko is learning how to use both her voice and her legs. Denki has been trying to make her first words something absurd and Hanta is convinced Katsuki has cursed so much around her, Michiko's first word will be fuck. 

The talking is less of the problem, her need to crawl instead being the most prominent issue Hanta has ever faced. One moment she's sitting, playing with one of her many toys in his peripheral, and the next she's gone. Nowhere to be seen. Nothing frightens him more than when his daughter keeps going missing in his apartment and at work.  

He's currently out on business, checking up on a call someone made about disruptions next door. He left Michiko at the agency in Uraraka’s sort of capable hands since he isn't too sure how this will go down. When he reaches the address he double checks it, making sure it's the right door before he knocks. 

The person that does answer happens to be a small child, only six or seven years old if he could guess correctly. They peek through the small crack in the door, eyes wide with fright. “Uh, hello?” His voice is almost silent, barely reaching Hanta’s ears. 

“Hi,” Hanta begins softly, not wanting to startle the boy, “I'm Sero, what's your name?” He crouches down, making himself eye level with the kid.

“I'm Kouji.” The boy opens the door a little more, seeming a little less intimidated. “Are you.. are you a hero?” At Hanta’s nod, a small smile quirks at the corner of his lips and he clutches the bottom of his shirt tightly. He turns his head to look back inside the house, Hanta tries to follow his gaze. “Momma, she said I shouldn't talk to heroes.” His voice is at a whisper now, he leans out of the doorway to say the words to Hanta. 

Hanta frowns, checking through the gap in the door for anyone. “Why is that Kouji?” 

“She said,” Kouji pauses, looking hesitant as he tugs at his sleeve, “she said you would take me away.” 

“Why do you think that?” Hanta asks slowly, he doesn't want to rush the child or overwhelm him in any way. The kid seems okay with him though, a little worried and fidgety, but Hanta assumes that's not because of him. 

Kouji looks around behind him again, before stepping outside. He shuts the door, making sure to be as quiet as he can. “Sometimes, momma gets really angry, or really sad. It's after she drinks this stuff. I've tried it.” At that, Kouji’s face screws up. “It doesn't taste nice.” 

Not good, sure he's drunk in front of his child before. She's only a baby though, and won't remember a thing. This is a kid that can probably read and probably remember stuff in vivid detail. “Well Kouji, that's a grown up drink. You shouldn't be allowed to drink it.” 

“Momma can't clean it up so I do it for her.” 

“That's very helpful of you,” Hanta smiles, watching as Kouji flushes from the praise and beams back at him. 

His smile dampens back down, a hunch in his shoulders that a child should never have. “Are you going to take me away?”

“That depends, does your mom treat you well? Do you want me to?” 

“I don't know.” Kouji whispers, more to himself. He looks up, a protective look in his eye as he says the next part. “She doesn't hit me or anything.” 

“It doesn't matter if she hasn't hit you. Has she left you on your own or been mean to you?” 

He bites his lip and clenches his fists, frown deepening, “I-I don't know.” 

“It's okay, take your time.” Hanta urges gently, offering out a hand for him to take if he wants it.

Kouji takes one last look around before spilling everything that had happened in the last few years since his father died. A case of child neglect and slight psychological abuse. He makes sure the kid goes back inside while he makes a few calls, eventually finding a distant relative that is willing to look after him. The mother is confronted by the police and is scheduled to go to rehab in the following weeks. 

Hanta takes the kid back to the agency while he waits for his relative to collect him. He walks through the doors hand in hand with Kouji, listening to a tale he's telling about a friend at school who can control dust. Amane raises a brow and stops typing on her computer. “You adopted another child Sero?” 

“Absolutely not. Michiko is enough work as it is.” He raises the hand that's holding Kouji’s. “Meet Kouji, he's getting picked up by his great aunt very soon.” 

“Can we see your office now, mister hero?” Kouji tugs impatiently at his hand, jumping up and down on the spot. Hanta laughs and nods, waving goodbye to Amane as he leads him down the hall to Uraraka's office. 

He knocks on the door before he enters. “We're going to pay my friend a visit first, okay? She's a hero too.” Kouji gasps excitedly, his grip on Hanta’s hand tightening. Swinging open the door, he is greeted with the sight of Uraraka diving for Michiko who’s tumbling off the side of her desk. Todoroki is sitting in a chair, knees pulled up against his chest and head down. “I'm not even gonna ask what's going on here.” 

Kouji rushes up to the desk, awed by the giggling baby in Uraraka's arms. Todoroki looks up from his knees, making a small noise of surprise at Hanta’s appearance. He ignores the skip in his heartbeat and sends him a cheerful grin. Uraraka has never looked more relieved at Hanta’s arrival, rushing towards him and handing Michiko over to him. “Oh thank god you're here, please take your child back.” 

“Babaga!” She shouts happily, reaching her arms out. Hanta gives her a quick toss into the air, then swings her onto his hip. 

“No, it's dada . Not baba.” He urged, putting emphasis on the word he really wants his daughter to say first. Uraraka moves her focus onto Kouji, patiently answering every question he fires her way. Hanta, deciding he no longer needs to keep an eye on the kid, goes over to Todoroki and sits across from him on the end of Uraraka's desk. “So how long have you been here for?” 

“Long enough to know Ochako can't look after a baby that can sort of crawl.”  There's a smirk tugging at the edge of Todoroki’s lips, and Hanta recognises the glimmer of mischief in his eyes. He knows Todoroki is perfectly capable of helping Uraraka, he was there when Michiko first started crawling and the first time she disappeared in the apartment. 

He laughs softly, moving Michiko to his lap. She smiles and babbles as Todoroki. “My lips are sealed.” He swears Todoroki winks and he has to try very hard not to blush like a schoolgirl over it. 

Kouji’s relative comes to pick him up, and Hanta is given a constricting hug from him before he leaves. He's given a hard pat on the back from Uraraka as he watches the door for a minute after he leaves. “Cute kid, it's a mystery how you keep finding them.” 

“I'm just that charming.” He retorts, flicking his hair dramatically. There's a noise of what seems like agreement from Todoroki that makes Uraraka quickly turn to him and grin wildly. She receives a glare back. 

Strange. But Hanta knows the pair and how weird they can be around each other, so he dismisses it. 

--

Just as he's about to finish a late night patrol, Hanta gets a text from Todoroki. He’s sat on the edge of a building, swinging his legs as he overlooks the streets. The night has been peaceful, making him feel like he's been on more of a midnight stroll than anything else. 

Chat: a child with a child and todobroki

(23:56) todobroki: hey can you come over im bored

(23:56) a child with a child: sure im just about to finish patrol so i wanna use your shower and steal some clothes 

(23:56) todobroki: thank you and thats fine i just cant sleep 

(23:56) a child with a child: been there before 

(23:57) a child with a child: you okay though 

(23:57) todobroki: yeah 

Hanta shrugs it off for now, deciding to wait until he's actually there to question him. Todoroki’s apartment isn't far away, only a hop, skip and a jump away if he goes by building. He's only been to Todoroki’s four times, since he has to look after Michiko and Todoroki doesn't have the need to own baby things. 

(Not yet anyway, an evil voice in the back of his head purrs). 

When he gets to the apartment he walks straight in, spotting Todoroki in the kitchen wrapped in a thick blanket. He's trying to make hot chocolate, but the blanket seems to be getting in the way of his hands. “Yo, your favourite person has arrived.”  Todoroki turns, the bottom of the blanket swishing out like a princess dress. 

He smiles faintly and walks over, letting the blanket fall loose on his shoulders. “Hi, you got here fast.” 

“I've got my ways.” He winks playfully to fight off the fluttery feeling in his gut that Todoroki didn't deny the favourite person claim. “I'm going to shower now. Can you take Chiko?” 

“Was planning to anyway.” He lifts Michiko from the carrier, his fingers brushing Hanta’s chest. She begins to stir from the movement, grunting softly before going still again once she's resting on Todoroki’s shoulder. 

Hanta removes the carrier and drops his bag on the floor, leaning it against the kitchen cabinets. “I'll be out soon. Remember to take off her shoes-” 

“And her hat, and the onesie is in the bag. Make a makeshift bed from my pillows. I know.” Todoroki’s interruption is jarring, but he shakes his head and goes to the bathroom with a smile. Unbelievable how Todoroki got so caught up in his routine that he knows it. 

Once he gets out of the shower, dressed in one of Todoroki’s t-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants, he goes to sit on the couch. Todoroki is already there, curled up on one side, clutching a steaming mug of hot chocolate. There's another mug on the table, so he grabs it before mirroring Todoroki’s position. While Todoroki looks at anything but him, he takes a sip of the hot chocolate. Very nice, sweet, little bit of whipped cream. Todoroki’s getting better at making them. 

“So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you.” Hanta asks, getting bothered by the way Todoroki is constantly fidgeting. 

Todoroki finally looks up, “what? Nothing is bothering me.” Despite the clear panic that passed across Todoroki’s face at the question, Hanta can clearly tell he's lying by the way one side of his mug frosts over and the other steams.  

“Come on dude.” Hanta stretches out his leg and gives him a soft-ish kick in the shin to ground him. “You're a terrible liar.” 

“Am not.” 

“Hey,” he gives him another kick and tries not to smile at the childish pout he's currently got. “You wanted me here for a reason. So either tell me soon or I'm here all night.” 

Todoroki looks at him, and his eyes seem to darken. Hanta gulps and attempts to hide the shiver that goes through him. “What if I want you here all night?” Oh dear everything that is holy, help him survive, Hanta prays in his head.

“You don't want Michiko though. She wakes up at least three times a night for something.” He manages to blurt out, trying inside to calm his racing heart. It makes Todoroki huff out a small laugh so Hanta will count it as a sort of win. 

“Okay, you know you don't need to be here right?” Todoroki asks, worrying his lip between his teeth. “You can leave.” 

“Fuck that, you literally asked me to come here.” He smiles encouragingly, thinking about reaching out and patting him on the shoulder since he's not within arm reach for him to actually do it. “Whatever you want to tell me. Your dark, sexual secrets, you killed a man, your penis problems, I'll listen dude.”  

He gets a weird look for his random and probably concerning list of things, but Todoroki looks considerably more relaxed and ready to talk. “Thanks. Okay before I tell you the main thing, I'll give you a little context. You may be a little disturbed but I really need to talk to someone who's not Ochako about this.” Hanta nods, taking a long sip from his mug and letting Todoroki continue. “So it's not uncommon knowledge that I'm not exactly fond of my father.” 

“Yeah, every single time he was mentioned in school you would scoff or roll your eyes.”  

“I said not uncommon for a reason. Anyway, there's a reason for that.” Todoroki pauses, pressing his lips together and breathing in heavily through his nose. His grip tightens on his mug. “My father, he's not a good guy. In fact, he's the biggest asshole this planet has probably ever witnessed. That's putting it lightly too.” His little comment seems to make himself smile, but there's a tightness in his shoulders that Hanta hasn't seen before. 

He wants to reach out and comfort him already, but he knows Todoroki won't let him as he is right now. So he opts to stay quiet and let him say what he needs to. 

“Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?” At Hanta’s nod, Todoroki’s expression turns grim, but he keeps talking. “My father was born into a rich family and he has a powerful quirk, sometimes it could be too powerful. He wanted to be the best, to be better than All Might, but he couldn't do that with his drawbacks. He wanted to make the perfect offspring.” 

“So he married your mother.” Hanta’s weak interjection shocks him, he frowns and nods. 

“She has an ice quirk. He essentially bought off her parents and forced her into the marriage. Every time one of my siblings’ quirk came in and they didn't suit his perfect vision, he would force mother into having another baby. Until they got to me.” Todoroki pauses, shakily inhales and exhales, his brows drawing together. Hanta presses his ankle against his as a small comfort. “I was the perfect mix of fire and ice, no physical flaws to hold me back.” 

Hanta listens in horror as Todoroki explains what Endeavour did to all of his children. The neglect, abuse, the trauma he caused all of them. He always knew the guy wasn't to be trusted or liked, judging by the way Todoroki constantly shit-talked him in his first year, but not to such a degree it’s really at. 

“That is, a lot to take in.” He says after taking a moment to process everything Todoroki just told him. “Are you like, mentally and physically okay?” 

Todoroki nods, placing the empty mug on the table. “Physically, once I started UA I didn't exactly see him a lot, so all my injuries just happened from the League of Villains bullshit and fights in general.” He shrugs, like that first year wasn't a huge deal for him. Something inside Hanta twists. “Aizawa made me go to therapy in our second year. It really sucked because I always saw Bakugou in passing afterwards and I was in too bad of a mood to insult him. The therapy did help though, I'm mostly over all the trauma and I still go see someone when I can. Now I just want to beat my father down in the most public way possible.” 

“How do you plan on doing that?” 

It's like he's been waiting for that one question to be asked all night, and Hanta’s handed it to him on a silver platter. The biggest grin he's ever seen on Todoroki’s face appears, causing faint dimples to form on his cheeks and make Hanta’s heart flutter. “By spending months on a legal case against him and making a public testament to how much of a dick he is and how he deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life.” 

“Holy shit dude, that's awesome! Is that what you have been doing with Uraraka?” Hanta thinks it's the perfect way to deal with Endeavour’s oversized ego, by crushing it and making everyone hate him.  

Todoroki nods, his expression going back to a more calmed, neutral one. “It's slow going, considering we have to keep it very under the wraps, but when the time comes I can't wait to see the exact moment he realises he couldn't control us with fear.” 

“Okay, I know you're really happy about this, and if you ever need any help I will drop everything to do so. But, dude, can I hug you?”

“Yes? Not sure why you want to, but whatever.”

“I feel like you just really should have a hug after all of this.” Hanta drains the rest of his mug and puts it down on the table. He dives into Todoroki’s open arms, wrapping his own tightly around Todoroki’s waist and burying his face into his shoulder. Judging by the position Todoroki was in and the way Hanta just fell on him, the hug should be extremely awkward and uncomfortable. However, this hug may just be the best Hanta has ever experienced in his entire life. Todoroki somehow shifted before Hanta landed on him to accommodate the extra body in his space. “Dude, you give the best hugs ever.” 

“Do I really? Ochako and Izuku have said the same thing.”

“You really do.” Todoroki’s arms are wrapped securely around his shoulders, his chin resting lightly on his shoulder. It's the optimal temperature, not too hot and suffocating like some hugs could be. He could stay in Todoroki’s arms forever, and that's not even because he like likes him. Maybe that's why he thinks the hug is so good. Oh well, his point is clear. If it were possible, his professional job would be to hug Todoroki Shouto all day, every day. 

They stay in that position for what feels like hours (Hanta almost rolls his eyes at the cliche thoughts going through his head ), until Todoroki speaks up suddenly. “Also what you said before. I am not a bad liar.” 

Hanta smirks, releases his hold on him and sits up. “Go on then, tell me a lie. Right here, right now.”  

“I am in fact, straight. ” Todoroki pauses before saying the last word, uttering it out like one would a curse. His face screws up tightly like he's eaten a lemon. It's highly entertaining for Hanta to watch. 

“Ugh, being straight. Boobs are just not for me.” 

“They just always seem like a hindrance.” Todoroki chimes in thoughtfully, pursing his lips and bringing a hand to his chin. “Ochako has always complained about how they just get in the way.” 

“Mina has always said that. She very loudly and explicitly tells us how bad it is to be a girl once a month.” 

For the next hour, they swap stories about their weird friends, far too tired to care if they embarrass them if they find out. At some point, Michiko wakes up for a bottle and they both decide they should probably sleep. The last thing Hanta remembers doing before falling asleep is Todoroki smiling sleepily at him, but he's not sure if he's just hallucinating or something. 

Probably hallucinating. 

Chapter Text

After three months of being friends with Sero, Shouto is confident enough to say that he's a damn good father. Michiko is seven months old, crawling fast enough to give Shouto a heart attack whenever he's looking after her, and can say four whole words. Sure, one of them may be fuck (hearing it for the first time terrified him, until he remembered one of Sero's best friends is Bakugou), but Sero still has his respect. 

It's strange, thinking how close they became so quickly. They went to school together, so that obviously sped the process along, but they still weren't as close as they are now. He figures maybe Michiko is the reason as to why he felt so drawn to Sero. But even if she wasn't in the picture (as much as he hates to think that), there's still something about Sero that makes him so likeable. 

He's so deep in thought, Shouto almost bumps into someone on the street. Luckily, no one seems to have recognised him so far. His large sunglasses and ridiculous cap seem to do the trick in shielding his most prominent features, contrary to Izuku’s beliefs. Michiko, gleefully strapped to his chest, babbles out a collection of sounds.

According to Sero, he had to pay Kirishima an important visit and needed Shouto to watch her overnight. He doesn't mind of course, he finds Michiko very easy to look after. It is what brought Shouto to thinking though. Who would leave their child with someone they had been friends with for only three months? 

Why would Shouto tell Sero about his childhood traumas then? 

All of it is beginning to make Shouto slowly question his sanity. What he needs to do is go talk with Ochako, or maybe Tsuyu, or both. The more he considers the last option, the less thrilled he gets about it.  

“Hey, Shou!” The familiar voice causes Shouto to lose focus on his thoughts. He looks up to Natsuo beaming directly in front of him. “Fancy seeing you here baby bro.” 

Seeing Natsuo suddenly in front of him so close makes him jump back a pace. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asks, feeling his heartbeat recovering from the initial shock. Natsuo, looking very proud of himself and only slightly smug, just smiles brighter and links his arm with Shouto’s. 

“What, not happy to see me? It's been months, we have so much to catch up on.” 

“I was literally texting you two days ago.” Natsuo drags him the way he was already heading, so he allows the brotherly affection to happen. His brother pouts, leaning onto him as he does so. 

“But I haven't seen you in person for so long. Anyway, what's up with the baby and the terrible disguise?” Shouto slaps him away, and Natsuo’s gaze moves to Michiko. She seems to be enjoying what's happening, judging from the toothy grin she's got. “You kidnapped this kid or something?” 

He sighs, his hand automatically moving to brush through Michiko's hair. “My disguise isn't terrible, it's worked so far.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” 

“And I didn't steal Michiko.” He glares at Natsuo for the (very rude) interruption. “She's my friend’s baby and I was looking after her overnight.” 

“Is that right?” Natsuo coos, taking one of Michiko's hands and shaking it. “Well then, little one, you can call me uncle Natsuo.” Michiko laughs and keeps a hold on his hand. Shouto hates to admit it, but it's a sweet scene. 

He allows the growing smile, because it is his brother and he does love him despite his idiocy. However, his nose does wrinkle up at uncle Natsuo . “She's not going to call you uncle Natsuo. If anything, she probably won't see you ever again.” 

There's something in the way Natsuo smirks, and how his general aura of smugness increases that makes Shouto both nervous and suspicious. “I don't know about that,” he practically sang, messing with Shouto’s cap and ruining his hair. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” 

“You shouldn't swear in front of kids Shou.” Natsuo finally lets go of him, pulling his cap down so it covers his eyes. He's a top hero, he shouldn't receive this treatment, even off his brother. “Anyway, I'm leaving. See ya baby bro.” 

“Bye.” Shouto watches as his brother spins and leaves the opposite way they were heading. He doesn't question Natsuo’s antics and instead looks down at Michiko. “That's Natsuo. Don't trust him, he's usually up to something.” 

Michiko waves her arms around, slapping Shouto a couple times. “Nasu!” She chirps and claps her hands together like she's made a huge discovery. It's been decided, she's gone to the dark side. 

As they enter the agency, Michiko becomes noticeably louder. She fidgets in the carrier, trying to escape to reach Sero. Shouto assumes that's what she's trying to do since she yells “dada,” over and over. He hums quietly and brushes through her hair again, “yes, I want to see him too.” 

When he opens the door to Sero's office, he's greeted with the sight of Sero hunched over, elbows on the desk and fingers digging into his temple. His face is screwed up in a mixture of deep thought and confusion. Something must have happened not long ago. Shouto lifts Michiko out of the carrier and allows her to crawl over to her father. “Hey, I'm here. Are you okay?” 

“Oh hi,” Sero looks up, his expression relaxing as he sees him. “I guess so, just shocked really.” He picks Michiko up and presses a kiss on her cheek, placing her down on his lap. Shouto takes a seat on a chair and settles back into it, waiting for Sero to speak again. He presses his lips together, brows furrowing like he's hesitating. “Did you.. happen to see your brother on the way here?” 

Of course Natsuo was up to something. Shouto knew he should have been more suspicious of his brothers out of the blue appearance. He sighs, dragging a hand down his face. “What did that idiot do?”

Sero shrugs, a faint flush colouring his cheeks. “He asked me a few questions, nothing much. They were mostly about how you are doing.” 

“Of course they were. Ignore everything he said.” 

“Even the part where he said he liked me?” He leans back and smirks, and Shouto has to admit that it's a good look on him. 

“Yes, Natsuo already charmed Michiko. He can't charm you as well.” At the mention of his brother's name, Michiko perks up, she smiles and waves her arms in the air.

“Nasu!” Her voice is bright and joyful. Shouto so desperately wants to fight back the smile he can feel tugging at the corner of his lips. 

Sero grins back at him, glimmers of delight dancing in his dark eyes. “Katsuki’s going to be pissed she said your brother’s name before his.” There's something about his smile that makes Shouto’s heart stutter, and warmth spreads through his chest. 

Well then.

“I am now completely fine with his charms.” Shouto remembers to reply before his silence got weird, leaning back and relaxing in the chair. He hums thoughtfully, tempted to test a theory. “Are you going to ask how Michiko was?” 

Sero's smile grows as he lifts Michiko onto her feet to look her over. She looks jarred by the sudden action, puffing up her cheeks in disdain. “Well she looks perfectly fine right now. Unless you did something illegal around her last night I don't think I have to worry.” 

“I didn't. In fact I did great.” Fighting the urge to pout, Shouto crosses his arms over his chest.

“Are you trying to brag to prove something?” Sero copies his pose, leaving Michiko to try and throw herself off his lap for freedom. He yelps and grabs her before she has the chance to escape.

“Izuku rang me multiple times last night thinking something would go wrong.” Now, that isn't exactly a lie. Izuku had in fact called him at hourly intervals asking how Shouto was doing. 

Judging from the way Sero begins to laugh, Shouto actually pouted at his own words. Calming down relatively quickly, Sero gives him a warm smile. “That's just how he is. I'm confident that you looked after her perfectly.” The sincerity in his expression sends another thrum of warmth and contentment through Shouto’s chest. Yeah, he's definitely screwed.

“Thanks.” He replies softly, managing to hide the bashfulness he's beginning to feel.

For a moment, they sit and smile, before Sero begins to get restless and shuffle on his seat. There's obviously something on his mind that he wants to talk about. “So do you want to know what Eijirou's emergency was?” 

“Go on, you seem eager to tell someone.”

“Now, I'm telling you this because I trust you and I know you won't tell anyone.” Sero purses his lips and raises his brows, giving Shouto a level stare. He mimes zipping his mouth shut, which causes Sero to lose all seriousness and snort obnoxiously loud. “Eijirou is planning on proposing to Katsuki and I was helping him plan it.” 

“Oh,” it's certainly a shock to him, but Shouto knows that they're both good for each other. Based on how they act around each other when he's around them, anyway. “Kirishima actually wants to spend the rest of his life with that idiot?” 

“You’re so mean.” He can tell by the smile on Sero's face, that he knows he's joking. Michiko, who’s been constantly squirming since Sero stopped her first escape, starts slapping Sero's arm for release. “Stop wiggling Chiko, here be free.” She’s picked up under her armpits and smoothly deposited on the floor, where she immediately crawls away across the office. 

Shouto watches her go, something inside him feeling very, well, sappy and gooey over her. “She's growing up fast,” he finds himself saying, his gentle and fond tone surprising even him.

“Well aren't you beginning to sound like a sentimental parent?” He can feel the dark flush on his cheeks as Sero smirks and leans forward. The smirk morphs into something loving and fond as he looks back over at Michiko. “I get what you mean though, it doesn't even feel like I've had her for as long as I have.” 

It is certainly remarkable how Michiko could barely even sit up when he first met her, and now she is able to crawl. Is he going soft? He definitely is, and Ochako will never let him hear the end of it. “Hey, is Ochako in work today?” 

“Hm? Not that I know of. She sent me a very hard to understand voicemail last night.” Sero tilts his head slightly to the side, probably in thought. Shouto finds it kind of (or very) cute. “I think it was something along the lines of her and Tsuyu going out and having a girls day.” 

Oh good, that gives him one less person to text. 

Chat: posh boy and in need of cash

(09:37) posh boy: i know youre doing that girls day with tsu 

(09:38) posh boy: but i feel like you will enjoy my news just as much 

(09:38) in need of cash: will i now? 

(09:38) in need of cash: we are currently at the spa so come and join us

(09:39) in need of cash: [sent location]

(09:39) posh boy: i feel like i will regret this

Shouto rises to his feet and pockets his phone. “It seems I have to leave, Ochako wants me at the spa with her.” 

“Ah okay,” Sero waves, not bothering to hide his amusement at the idea of Shouto at the spa. “Thank you for looking after Michiko, and don't forget to send me a picture. One with cucumber slices over your eyes.” 

“No promises.” 

--

Shouto is sat back in an extremely comfortable massage chair, his pants rolled up while his feet are submerged in one of those foot spas. His hair is pulled back by a headband, and his face is covered in a strong smelling substance. There's even the cucumber slices over his eyes. 

Ochako and Tsuyu are on either side of him, both in the exact same position. Except they have soft looking, silk robes on. He's not going to lie, he really wants a robe too. The spa people have left the room though, probably to give them some privacy.

“So Shou,” Tsuyu begins, her voice deceivingly gentle and soothing. “Why did you join us on this wonderful ladies day out? Not that we're complaining.” 

“Ochako told me to come.” 

“No, you idiot.” Ochako chimes in. Shouto thinks that if they didn't have the cucumbers on their eyes she would be glaring at him for his obvious dodge of the question. “What do you want to say?” 

It's not like he's scared of it. People get crushes all the time. He and Izuku joke about their crushes on each other in high school that they never found out about until last year. Shouto has never felt embarrassed about a crush he's had. Except maybe that fleeting one on Bakugou in his second year when the guy properly smiled in front of everyone. 

He folds his hands onto his lap, contemplating how he should go about telling them. The quicker the better, really. “I like Sero.” Like ripping off a bandaid, short but painful. 

“You do?” Ochako practically yells. There's loud sounds of movement as she says it. Shouto opens his eyes to look over at her, forgetting that he has cucumber on his eyes. It burns, and he clenches his teeth as he takes them off. Ochako is gaping at him, a mixture of shock and unfiltered joy on her face. 

Tsuyu removes her own eye cucumbers to raise a brow at Ochako, “you didn't know?” 

“Since when did you know?” Shouto asks, swivelling his head around to look at her. She smiles, Shouto can't tell if she's amused or mocking him. Probably both.

Getting properly comfortable in her chair, Tsuyu leans back and stretches her arms out on the sides. “Well, I had my suspicions when you first hung out together and they put pictures of you online.” Shouto opens his mouth to speak, but she puts a finger to her lips to keep him quiet. “When I was certain, it was when we all came round last month and I discovered you had a drawer for Sero's clothes and one for Michiko’s.” 

“They visit a lot, what else was I meant to do?” 

“Not sleep in the same bed as them both?” Ochako suggests, a devilish smile taking over her face. 

Shouto purses his lips, glaring over at his friend, “that was a compromise we made.” After spending way too much time arguing over who slept where, they both eventually agreed to just all sleep on the bed whenever the other stayed over. It wasn't like they hadn't slept together on the couch before. 

Tsuyu hums thoughtfully, gaining the attention of the other two. “You seem awfully calm about this, Shou.” 

He shrugs, looking down at his hands. “I mean, I know how I feel. Liking someone is just a part of life, I was kind of expecting it to happen.” 

“Wow, aren't you grown up now that you're practically a dad?” Ochako teases. That gets a rise out of him, and he can feel the blush warming his cheeks. Damn it. 

The encouraging smile Tsuyu gives him as she reaches out and puts her hand on his own calms him slightly. “You should ask him out, Shou. I'm sure he likes you back.” 

“Yeah, you definitely need to get laid. Big time.” 

“Ochako why are you like this?” He scowls, leaning back in his chair and shutting his eyes. Some deep part of him says he regrets telling them both, but they have his best interests at heart and that's what counts. Even if their secondary goal is to embarrass him. 

Ochako, ever the faker of innocence, bats her eyelashes. “Oh I'm sorry Shou, I forgot you were an innocent, little virgin.” 

“I'm not a virgin, you know this.” 

“You think I want to know about your sex life?” 

“Yes, you told me to tell you everything when you found out. Just so you could make fun of me.” 

“I'm sure Sero won't care if you're inexperienced. There's nothing to worry about.” 

They spend the rest of the day on their ladies day out. Apparently Shouto is now one of the girls whether he likes it or not. To be honest, it was quite fun. 

When he gets home later that evening, the first thing he does is get dressed into something more comfortable. Tsuyu was right about the whole drawer for Sero and Michiko, however Michiko has way too many and usually Sero’s are mixed in with his own. The neon pink sweater with a badly drawn penis printed on the front is definitely Sero's, but it is also very cosy. 

He falls onto the couch, flicking through movies on netflix until he comes across one he and Sero watched a few months back. While the beginning starts he finally goes on his phone after hours of ignoring it. 

Chat: a child with a child and todobroki

(14:07) a child with a child: so i heard youre a virgin

(18:24) todobroki: i am not a virgin 

(18:24) todobroki: ochako is just being herself and making my life more difficult 

(18:24) a child with a child: theres no need to be ashamed 

(18:25) a child with a child: ill even give you some sex tips if you want ;) 

(18:25) todobroki: i wont hesitate to block you 

Thinking on it, Shouto definitely would hesitate. 

(18:25) a child with a child: how rude 

(18:25) a child with a child: after all these precious months of friendship you wouldnt dare

(18:26) todobroki: oh i would 

(18:26) a child with a child: so its a war you want 

todobroki’s name has been changed to cute little virgin <3

(18:26) cute little virgin <3: you are just as bad as ochako

(18:26) a child with a child: wouldnt have me any other way

(18:27) cute little virgin <3: i see how this is 

(18:27) a child with a child: wait what are you going to do 

(18:27) a child with a child: im scared 

(18:27) a child with a child: you cant leave me hanging like this 

(18:27) a child with a child: todobroki your bro rights will be removed i swear 

(18:28) a child with a child: ill change your name back

(18:28) cute little virgin <3: will you though 

(18:28) a child with a child: na 

(18:28) a child with a child: seriously though sex tips? ive got some tricks

(18:29) cute little virgin <3: if i send you the spa photo will you shut up about this

(18:29) a child with a child: absolutely 

(18:29) cute little virgin <3: [attached image]

(18:29) cute little virgin <3: there

(18:30) a child with a child: oh its wonderful 

(18:30) a child with a child: its now forever saved in my camera roll 

Despite the embarrassment and slight annoyance because Ochako caused this. He still finds himself chuckling softly and smiling at the messages Sero sends him. Typing out a reply, Shouto thinks that yeah, he is in way too deep. 

Chapter Text

Hanta has no idea how it happened, but holy shit was it a sight and a half. 

He's curled up on one end of the couch, knees pulled up to his chest as he hyper focuses on the film everyone is watching. It's sort of hard to do though, since Todoroki is right next to him and his arm is practically wrapped around his shoulders. 

They've gathered an odd group. He, Todoroki, Uraraka and Mina are all on the couch while Denki and Tsuyu are sharing the inflatable pretzel. On the tv, My Neighbour Totoro is nearing its end. If Sero hadn't watched the movie many times before, he would have no idea what it was about. All he could think about is Todoroki and the weird encounter he had with his brother the week before. 

“If you're going to court my precious, baby brother.” Natsuo had said, jabbing a finger onto Hanta’s chest. “You better do it properly.” 

What on earth did he mean by properly? Hanta has no idea how to court someone in general, let alone do it properly. He must have turned his internal freak out into an external one, since Todoroki presses against him more, leaning down to whisper in his ear. “You okay?” Hanta nods, not sure if his voice would actually be able to work. As he spoke, Todoroki’s breath fanned across his cheek, making Hanta slowly die inside. 

Both Uraraka and Mina leaned forward to peer around them, sharing twin looks of smug amusement at his predicament. Why did life currently want him to suffer? At least give him something good in his trying times.

Todoroki nods back at him, leaning back and settling into his previous position. His gaze drifts over to Michiko, who is crawling over to them with a banana in her hand. She sits next to the couch, staring up at Hanta and Todoroki with adorably large eyes. “Dada.” 

“Yes, my angel?” Hanta asks, putting his feet down so he could lean towards her. Bless his daughter for giving him a slight distraction. She holds the banana up to him, it's a little squished where Michiko was holding it as she traipsed it across the ground, but it looks okay to say she technically crawled on it. 

“‘Nana.” 

“Yes, that is a banana.” He takes it from her, peeling some of it and snapping off a small chunk for her to eat. She makes a happy noise as she gets the banana back and sits in silence as she eats it. 

Denki coos from the pretzel, leaning back to look at Michiko. “She's so cute. I want a baby too.” 

Mina barks out a laugh, “like you would be able to look after a baby on your own.” 

Chuckling softly, Hanta settles back into the couch, a warm feeling filling him as he's surrounded by his friends. Even through all of his gay panic, he still loves hanging out with Todoroki like this. His side is pressed up against Todoroki again, earning a few giggles from Mina and Uraraka.

Todoroki grumbles something at them, and Hanta hears replies that are something along the lines of “one of the girls,” and “no escape.” He really wants to know, but at the same time he's concerned by what the hell that actually means. 

Seeming to understand his shifting, Todoroki turns back to him. “I'll explain later.” 

Nice. 

The film comes to an end with relative peace, which is unusual considering the people who are gathered in one room. Hanta feels a dryness in the back of his throat that's telling him he should probably get a drink. But he's warm and comfortable, and his limbs refuse to listen to what he wants. 

Luckily for him, Todoroki stands up and stretches. He reaches up and grabs the bottom of his shirt and gives Todoroki the best puppy eyes he can. “Make me a drink?” 

Todoroki furrows his brows as he looks down, pouting slightly at the request. “No.”

“Hot chocolate please.” Hanta laughs as he makes his way into the kitchen despite what he previously said. He takes the time to check his phone while the rest of them squabble over what movie they should watch next. Eijirou had sent him a text not long ago saying he and Katsuki should arrive soon. 

Tsuyu wins the movie argument, putting on Finding Nemo and daring anyone to tell her no. When she sits back down next to Denki she looks around, wearing a puzzled expression. “Hey Sero, where is Michiko?” 

“She's here.” Todoroki replies for him, walking back into the living room with two mugs. Michiko crawls just behind him, trying to grab the bottom of his pants and tilting her head up to look at him. “She likes to follow me around.” 

“Thank you,” Hanta grabs the mug offered to him and takes a sip, ignoring how the heat of it burns his tongue. He watches as Michiko tries to make another grab for Todoroki’s pants, but misses and just slaps the back of his ankle with strength a baby shouldn't have.

Instead of going to sit down, Todoroki turns and crouches down to become more eye level with Michiko. “Yes?” He asks as she smiles at him. 

Her smile, if possible, widens, and she holds her arms out towards him. Hanta feels his heart lurch at how adorable the scene looks. He doesn't think it’s possible for it to get better, but then Michiko yells out a joyful, “papa!” 

Now, Hanta hasn't seen Todoroki get flustered a lot. If he thinks hard enough, he's probably seen it happen a grand total of two times. 

This, however, will be eternally saved into his memory. 

Todoroki practically flies up to his feet, stepping back into the clear area in the room. His face flushes a dark red, dusting his ears and even travelling down his neck. A mix between surprise and delight, his jaw is dropped and lips twitching up into a wobbly smile. Sero, admittedly feeling a little flutter-y inside himself, rises to move towards Todoroki. “Hey, you good?” 

Upon hearing Hanta’s words, Todoroki’s left side bursts into flames. Somehow, the flush becomes even darker and he crouches down to bury his face into his knees. “Yes.” He replies, voice squeaky in a way Hanta’s never heard before. 

“Wait, this has happened before,” Uraraka says, standing up and going to crouch down on the not-aflame side of Todoroki. Her expression overflows with sadistic glee as Todoroki attempts to glare at her. “Do you happen to have a tiny fire extinguisher? Maybe a bucket?”

“There is no need for that.” Todoroki protests weakly. He slowly rises to his feet, rubbing his face with both of his hands, “just, give me a minute.” Michiko giggles, completely oblivious to what she has caused.

At that moment, Hanta’s door opens, revealing Eijirou and Katsuki. Upon seeing Todoroki, Katsuki's peaceful expression morphs into one of incredulous pain. It makes him look a little bit constipated. “What the fuck is Icyhot doing here on fire?” 

“Katsuki, Ei, welcome to the party!” Mina waves, a cheery grin on her face. 

Uraraka jabs a thumb in Todoroki’s direction, “you see, Michiko called Shou papa. Now he's on fire.” 

“Makes sense,” Eijirou nods, dragging Katsuki into the room and shutting the door. The distraction of their arrival allows Todoroki to gradually extinguish himself, and Hanta feels much less stir crazy inside. There is no way someone should be so cute and hot (both literally and figuratively) at the same time. 

During passing, Hanta makes eye contact with Eijirou, who winks playfully. He smiles and returns the gesture, taking a moment to ignore his lovesick heart. 

Denki patts the space next to him on the floor. “What took you guys so long?” 

“Well..” Eijirou drags out the word, making sure everyone is paying attention. Then quickly, he throws his and Katsuki’s joined hands into the air. “We're getting married!” 

Immediately, everyone surrounds them, joking and congratulating them with varying degrees of excitement. Todoroki, seeming to have recovered by now, picks Michiko up and joins them. “Congratulations Kirishima. I wish you lots of luck marrying an idiot.” He bows his head slightly and Eijirou laughs.

“You sure change your attitude fast, don't you, you bastard?” Katsuki sneers, taking a step towards him but being stopped by Eijirou's hand on his chest. 

Todoroki, unaffected, swings Michiko onto his hip and nods. “I do, I am very composed, unlike you.”  

“Fight me, asshole!” 

“Sorry but no, wouldn't want to ruin your happy night by beating you up.” 

Eijirou puts his hands up in a sign of surrender as Katsuki makes a grab for him. Hanta swiftly removes his precious child from the situation and joins Uraraka and Mina back on the couch. Despite their argument that is currently increasing in volume, there are hints of smiles on their faces. 

“It's good to know if both of their romances fail, they have each other.” Mina comments, almost fondly as she watches the pair. She has a hand on her cheek, like a proud grandmother watching her dumb grandchildren fall over each other. 

Hanta laughs, but trails off once he realises what Mina actually said. “What do you mean, both of their romances?” He asks, despite already knowing deep down, what she meant. 

As long as she doesn't actually say it out loud he can carry on living in denial. 

“The obvious bedroom eyes you keep giving to Todoroki, duh.” 

“Wow okay, what a way to word that.” Sneaking a glance at the one in question, Hanta lets himself breathe easy knowing that Todoroki didn't bear Mina's very loud statement. 

Uraraka smirks, leaning forward to peer around Mina. “Are you trying to defile my sweet, best friend? You aren't denying it.” 

“No, I don't want to do that,” He throws himself forward to slap his hands over his friends’ mouths, not so successfully keeping them quiet. “Let's just keep your words to yourself, don't want a certain someone to hear.” 

Luckily for him, Todoroki is very immersed in his rock paper scissors match with Katsuki. 

Tsuyu sits down on Hanta’s other side, sandwiching him between her and Mina. “They're like a couple of children.” She muses as Todoroki makes a tiny flame in his palm. 

“How the fuck is fucking fire involved in this?” Katsuki yells, slapping away the fire. 

“Fire burns paper, hence, I win.” 

“Fine, let's go again.” 

“And what is that meant to be?” Todoroki points at Katsuki’s crackling hands. 

“A bomb, fuckass. It destroys everything.” 

“It can beat rocks, that's it.” 

“Well that's fucking dumb. What about scissors?” 

“Ice.” 

“What the hell is ice meant to do? 

“Freeze the scissors so they can't move. It's like you don't even understand my quirk.” 

“Fuck you!”

--

When Shouto wakes up, the first thing he notices is the hand on his face that's bending his nose uncomfortably to one side. It's dark, and Michiko is crying in between him and Sero. He lifts the hand from his face and sits up, bringing Michiko into his lap. She sniffs loudly and buries her face into his stomach. 

“Are you hungry?” He asks quietly as he stands up, holding her against his chest. Sero shifts and grumbles at the loss of heat but otherwise doesn't show he's awake. 

As he makes his way over to the kitchen, he passes Ochako and Tsuyu asleep on the couch, and Kirishima and Kaminari cuddled close together on the pretzel. He works quietly, making sure to turn the microwave off before it makes a sound and wakes everyone. Shouto has no idea what time it is, but he's sure no one would appreciate the abrupt awakening. 

Sero is awake by the time he gets back to the bedroom. Shouto sits back down on, what is technically, his side of the bed and crosses his legs to easier feed Michiko. “How long have you been awake for?” 

“Not long,” Sero mumbles, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “my internal mothering clock was ticking.”  

“Not your internal fathering clock?” He jokes lightly, expecting Sero to laugh.  

Instead, Sero smiles. Not the way he usually does, that's light and carefree, with his grin growing so wide his gums peak out. It's soft, expression fond and peaceful as small dimples form on flushed cheeks. “No, I'm sure that belongs to you.” He replies, voice gentle in the dark.  

Speechless, Shouto closes his mouth, smiling as he looks down at Michiko. His heart beats at an immeasurable speed. He's usually very in tune with his feelings, Izuku made sure of that before they all graduated, he knows what he's feeling. 

He might love Sero Hanta. 

Shouto loves the grown man that insists on showing him every animated film from his childhood because Shouto wasn't allowed to. The one that listened to him spill everything about his terrible childhood one random night and didn't treat him like glass afterwards. He loves the person that gives things dorky names and says they are his genius inventions. The man that insists on wearing bright, fuzzy socks to bed, but after ten minutes ends up taking them off because it's too warm. 

Shouto loves an idiot. A sweet, caring and lovable idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. And he doesn't mind a single thing about that.

His revelation may have taken too long, since Sero yawns and pulls the covers up to his chin. “Mm, since you have dad duties sorted, I'm going back to sleep. Night Shou.”

“Shou?” 

“Yeah, you can call me Hanta too.” Within seconds of saying it, he's fast asleep. 

Shouto focuses on another thing though. The way Sero said his name so easily, how appealing it sounded coming from him.  

He goes through the motions of burping Michiko, more muscle memory than anything else. His mind is hazy from so much at once. Not once has he been so entangled in his feelings, that's not the kind of person he is. 

Tucking Michiko back under the covers between him and Sero, Shouto decides he really needs to sort this out.

--

“So we are gathered here today,” Ochako announces from her seat upon a spinny chair on a table, “to help Shouto ask out our dearest Sero Hanta.” Ominous music plays from a speaker behind her, the scene is almost cult-ish. 

“Is this really necessary?” Shouto asks, moving his gaze between all of the girls who were in class A with him. Hell, even Shiozaki, Kendou and Tokage from class B were there too. How all nine of them managed to avoid hero duties just to do this to him astounded him.  

Ochako crosses her arms and nods her head firmly as she turns the chair to face him, “yes it is very necessary.” She makes a gesture with her head to everyone currently surrounding him on his pathetic, wooden chair. “You're one of the girls now, accept your fate, peasant.”

“Isn't that you, though?” 

He earns a shoe to the head for his comment. 

Ochako, now down a shoe, claps her hands together. “Anyway, carrying on with the main topic of why we have gathered. Shouto, how do you plan on asking Sero out on a date?” 

“Uh, by asking him?” Shouto shrugs, not really sure how he's meant to explain it. It isn't like he knows what he’ll be saying when he doesn't wimp out. 

Mina, on Ochako’s left side, shakes her head and tuts loudly. “No no no. You need to plan what you will say. Here, I'll pretend to be Hanta.” She takes out her phone and spends a minute scrolling through her photos, until she taps on one and holds her phone over her face. “This will help.” 

The photo itself is a picture of Sero when he was a little younger. He's passed out on some concrete, half naked and surrounded by what looks like a sacrificial circle drawn very hastily with chalk. Surrounding him are banana peels that are on fire. Shouto doesn't know what happened that night, and he doesn't think he wants to. 

He purses his lips, wondering if Sero knows that this picture of him exists. 

“Uhm, go out with me?” 

There are a few disappointed sighs, one especially loud one from Momo who shakes her head at him. He frowns and looks back to the picture of Sero.  

Tsuyu stands up, dusting her hands on the sides of her jeans. “Okay, clearly we need to try something else.” Everyone nods, including Mina who puts her phone away. Damn. “Ochako, how did Tenya ask you on a date?” 

Ochako laughs, “it was more me asking him. The poor guy was blushing and stuttering so much I just grabbed his hand and told him we were going out for lunch.”  

“Okay that clearly won't work,” Mina chimes in, pointing at him, “just looks at him.” 

“I don't know what you're insinuating,” Shouto begins, wrinkling his nose at the finger in his face, “but I feel very insulted.” 

Momo crosses her legs, nodding solemnly. “As you should.” 

“Is this bully the gay man hour?” He asks, glaring at his friends and their evil following of gossipy women.  

Ochako leans forward and narrows her eyes. Shouto mirrors her position and they both refuse to break. “Yes it is, and I will tie you to that chair until we get this.”  

Schooling his expression into perfect neutrality, Shouto replies. “Unfortunately for you, I'd only let Sero do that to me.”  

“Then how about I call him over and you can explain why you're in this situation?” At his silence and a singular twitch in his eye, she smirks, triumphant, and leans back in her chair. “That's what I thought.” 

Fuck. 

Tokage stands up and walks between them all, holding her hands up as if making a barrier. “We are getting off track, why don't we try something else?”  

In the years Shouto has known of Tokage he has never said a word to her, but right now she is his favourite person. 

They try roleplay, which ends horribly in more ways than one. At some point a mask of Sero's face with the eyes cut out is brought into the mix, Shouto ripped it to shreds as soon as he got the chance. That thing was terrifying.  

Next, they try telling him what to say. However nothing sounded sincere enough to tell Sero and he stumbled awkwardly over the words that didn't sound like him. 

“Right, this seems to be going nowhere.” Tsuyu stands up, putting her hands up in surrender. “I'm going to go make some soup.” 

“Come on Shou, this has taken like two hours now. We do have jobs, you know?” Ochako jumps down from her seat and stands in front of him, making sure the tapping of her foot is loud enough for Shouto to hear. 

He scowls, leaning back to look up at his friend. “Then go do your jobs instead of doing whatever this is to me.” 

“Or, you learn how to properly ask someone out, then we can all leave happy.” She offers him an encouraging smile. “It's simple. Repeat after me. Will you be my boyfriend?” 

Now that he's hearing it out loud, it doesn't seem too hard to say aloud. Shouto allows himself to relax, his eyes slipping closed and imagining Sero in front of him. Almost immediately, his useless gay panic begins and words become meaningless. “Uh. Me, boy, yes you, friend.” 

Wow, that's a new low, even for him. 

Ochako slaps him around the back of his head, Momo’s brows furrow in concern, Tsuyu disappointedly sips at her soup and Mina sighs loudly.

“Let's just hope for both of your sakes that Hanta is the one to ask you.” 

--

For the last couple of hours, Hanta has had a constant itch at the back of his nose. That kind of feeling where you know you're going to sneeze, but it doesn't actually happen. 

After watching him make awkward faces as he tries to force out a sneeze, Katsuki finally snaps. “Okay Tape Man, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Michiko tries to replicate it, babbling out a rough sounding wadda fug . Katsuki smiles and bounces her on his lap. 

Eijirou walks out of the kitchen, three mugs in his hands. “You probably should stop swearing in front of Chiko, she will start swearing regularly.” He places them down on the table, takes a seat practically draping himself over Katsuki and pulls out his phone. Michiko reaches out to try and grab it, making him tilt the phone towards her so she can watch what he's doing. 

Reaching to grab his mug, Hanta waves a dismissive hand at his friend. “As long as she uses it in the correct context, then she's allowed. Plus I don't think there's any point since me and Shouto always swear in front of her.”  

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Katsuki interrupts his drink of coffee by stealing his mug. “Since when are you and Icyhot on such good terms?” 

“I don't know.” He shrugs, reaching out to take his mug back. Being honest, Hanta truly does not remember confirming with each other about being on first name basis. The only thing he does remember is waking up extra groggy and Todoroki calling him Hanta. If he could assume anything, it's that he woke up to feed Michiko, but didn't actually move so he never fully woke up. Something probably happened then.

Katsuki gives him an incredulous look, and Hanta takes a shameful sip of his coffee. 

“Are you disappointed in me?” He asks. 

“For forgetting? Yes. For the fact you're practically married to Icyhot? No.” The blond grumbles something under his breath, crossing his arms and furrowing his brows. “Somehow, that asshole’s become more tolerable, I guess.” 

Not looking up from his phone, Eijirou snorts. “That's a first, all you complain about is him and Midoriya.” Hanta laughs as a flush colours Katsuki’s cheeks. 

“But really though? Even after you said I had shit taste in guys?” He’s somehow already drank half of his drink, but he still takes another gulp. 

Katsuki huffs, “no, you idiot. I've seen you two dweebs together.” Huh, he hasn't used dweebs as an insult for a while. “I might be a dick, but I'm not heartless.” 

“Wait, really?” Eijirou looks up at Katsuki, lips twitching up into a smile. “When were you going to tell me you got a heart?” 

He flicks him in the head, scowl deepening. “Shut up bitch, you proposed to me.” It makes Hanta grin, and he covers his laugh with a cough. 

Hanta really is glad though, having his friends’ approval of his, hopefully, soon to be relationship. As he jokes with two of his best friends he feels a weight lift off his chest, and he can hope freely that Todoroki has just as big of a useless gay crush on him as Hanta does. 

“We can properly start merging our groups now,” Eijirou happily points out. Michiko babbles out a bunch of syllables like she's in agreement. It sounds overall like a very smart and entertaining idea, given the events of the night a few days before. 

Katsuki makes some unexplainable sound as he chokes on his coffee. “Excuse me, what?”

Eijirou nods, his smile devious. “You're excused.” 

There's something eerily similar about Eijirou that Hanta can't exactly place. “Who have you been philandering with?” He asks, putting his hands on his hips in mock anger.  

With the most innocent expression he has ever made, Eijirou bats his eyes. “Me and Tsu meet up for lunch every now and then.” 

“Of course,” Hanta claps his hands, “Shouto’s always complaining about her apparent random and unnecessary inputs whenever they're texting.” He makes sure to do his best impression of Todoroki’s constant statement. 

“He just can't handle Frog Face,” Katsuki huffs, his lips forming into a pout. 

“Well, next time we all get together, you can tell him that.” 

Chapter Text

When Shouto is out one night, he comes across a woman. 

It's not strange to see people out at this time, but they're usually in groups or pairs, going home after a long night of drinking. However, a woman sitting on her own in a park rings alarm bells in the hero part of his mind. There's a dim streetlight, flickering above her that provides him a slight glance at her features.

He takes a step closer, standing on a stick as he does. It cracks underfoot, making a very obvious noise that cuts through the muted city sounds. The woman flinches, looks up, and sighs once she spots Shouto’s hero uniform. 

“Hello,” he says after a moment of uncertainty. Is he supposed to talk to this woman, does she want him to talk to her? She offers him a small smile, and taps the empty spot next to her on the bench. 

Something deep inside him urges him to sit down, he's not sure why. 

“You're the hero Shouto, aren't you?” The woman asks, her calm expression not revealing anything. Unsure what to say, he just nods. A quiet laugh is how she responds, bringing one hand up to cover her mouth. “I'm sorry, this probably isn't what you were expecting so late.” 

“Not exactly.”  

“So what are you doing here? This is never usually a place heroes visit.” She sighs wistfully, he gaze moving from him to the large hedge beside her. 

Shouto, despite his natural nosiness, thinks it's rude to ask a stranger for random details of their lives. Even if it is obvious she visits this place a lot. He looks up to the flickering light, “I just finished patrol, decided to take a detour home.” There's something about this woman that makes him talk. 

Maybe it's her pleasant aura and the gentle look in her eyes. Or the defeated and tired slouch in her shoulders that reminds him of his mother years ago. 

There's a dark, ugly bruise on her jaw that is hardly noticeable in the night. Shouto winces and brings up his hand to brush his own. “Are you okay?” 

“Oh, the bruise?” The woman pulls her collar up so it's more concealed, the hint of a frown appearing on her face. “That’s just, it's just from a fall. No need to worry.” 

He nods, not exactly believing her. If he brings it up again she will probably get upset. Subject change, that's what to do in an uncomfortable situation. “Why are you here? It can be dangerous being alone at this time.” 

“I know, but, being out here makes me feel free.” She pulls her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “You may think I'm a bad person, but I left my baby here a while ago. At the time I wouldn't have been able to properly look after her or keep her safe, so I hoped that someone else could.” 

Taking a deep breath, Shouto shakes his head and leans forward to focus on his shoes. “You know, I sort of wish my mother would have done the same thing.” He takes note of the woman staring at him in the corner of his vision. “But, I'm glad she didn't, or else I wouldn't know the people I do.” 

“What do you-” 

“I think you did the right thing, as long as you believe it too,” Shouto interruptus before the woman can say anything. He stands up, rummaging around in his pocket until he finds a key. “Here, it's the key to my spare apartment.” Before leaving, types the address in the notes app on her phone, gives her the best smile he can muster and leaves. 

--

It happens late one evening, when Hanta is at his most peaceful. 

He's taking the time to use the cramped balcony that came along with his apartment. Wrapped up in a thick hoodie and a fuzzy blanket, he relishes in the light drizzle of rain that hits his face with feather light touches. The setting sun casts an orange glow against the clouds that cover it, faint beams of light shining through them.

There's a small itch inside him that wants to roll a joint, to let the hours pass by in a blur until it turns dark, when he can take Michiko out in the carrier and walk around aimlessly. 

Hanta’s on his fourth drag when Shouto appears, climbing through the half opened window to join him. After years of smoking, he's still far from gone, maybe a little lighter than usual. He smiles, saying nothing and he opens up the blanket as an offering.

“You're quieter than usual.” Is the only thing Shouto says when he takes a seat on the floor next to him. They don't bother with greetings anymore, they see each other far too often for that. 

He nods, leaning into the warmth that Shouto’s body radiates. “Weed does that to me.” They also stopped asking why the other visits, there's no longer a reason other than the fact they just want to see each other. Hanta can tell there is something on Shouto’s mind though, the way his gaze seems to focus on the streets below and how he keeps brushing his hair back with his hands. 

Giving him a chance to collect his thoughts, Hanta takes a look at his surroundings. If Shouto wants to tell him, he can in his own time. The iron bars acting as the barrier to stop him from falling are rusting, bits of the paint chipping off and falling. He wants to reach out and pick it off himself, but instead stays in his cocoon of warmth. 

He takes a couple more drags of the joint, blowing out the smoke in one long trail, watching contentedly as the white wisps curl into the sky. Shouto’s watching him, eyes trained to him yet so unfocused. Hanta offers it over, holding it out towards him. 

At the shake of his head, Hanta shrugs and brings it back to his lips. He lets the smoke linger in his mouth until he feels lightheaded, properly inhaling then breathing it out of his nose. His head is gradually growing heavier on his shoulders, mind spinning. 

“You know,” he begins as his head falls onto Shouto’s shoulder, not exactly sure where he's going with the conversation. Shouto’s breath hitches slightly, and he hums, bringing the joint back up. 

His trail of smoke is interrupted by Shouto blowing it away, he pouts and tries to look up. There's a hint of a smirk on the bastard’s lips. “What do I know?” 

“Well, I don't know if you know. But,” Hanta tugs the blanket tighter around himself, hiding his face in his hoodie, “I like you. Like, like like you.” He doesn't know what urged him to confess so suddenly, probably the drugs inside of him. 

Shouto’s relaxed posture immediately stiffens, his back straightening as he flinches away from him. Definitely not the reaction he was hoping for. “Hey, should you be saying things like that? You are not in the right state of mind right now.” 

“No no, trust me.” Hanta grabs the end of the blanket that Shouto was previously holding and tugs it around himself, like a shield. Shouto watches him warily, leaning back on his hands and legs stretches out in his hurried escape. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a while. I'm not so far gone that you should be worrying about anything I'm saying or doing.” 

His words seem to work, and Shouto sits properly, willing to listen. His cheeks are dusted a rosy red, something that Hanta finds very endearing.  

Taking another hit, he keeps tired eyes on Shouto, whose hair glows gold in the fading sunlight. “I don't know when it happened, but everything you do is so endearing, you're super cool and you are really fucking beautiful.” He laughs softly to himself and holds his hands out to the man sat across from him. “Essentially, what I'm saying is, I want to be your considerably less pretty boyfriend.”  

“Well, I'm glad I didn't have to ask you. It would have gone much worse than this, but yes, I also feel the same.” Shouto smiles, shuffling back over to join him under the blanket again and grabbing Hanta’s free hand. “Although, I don't know what you're talking about. I think you're gorgeous.” 

Something catches in the back of his throat from the overwhelming amount of emotions, and he tightens his grip on Shouto’s hand. Hanta turns to face him, their legs tangling until he manages to sit himself between his legs, his own crossed behind Shouto’s back. One of his hands moves to Shouto’s shoulder, while the other grips tightly at his upper sleeve. “Hey, can I kiss you?”  

Already leaning in, Shouto huffs out a breath of laughter. “It would be rude if you didn't.” Two hands cup Hanta’s jaw, one searing hot and the other freezing cold, and a shiver runs down his spine as he closes his eyes. 

A soft, tentative press of lips, moving languidly together as they relax into the kiss. Shouto leans back on the wall and one hand moves to let his fingers tangle into dark hair. Their chests press together and Hanta hums, darting out his tongue to deepen the kiss. His other arm wraps around Shouto’s shoulders as he lightly tugs at his hair.

There's nothing rushed or heated about their actions, just a peaceful strum of warmth that flows freely under their skin. It makes Hanta feel dizzy and lightheaded anyway, melting further into Shouto’s hold as time passes.

After a while, Hanta pulls away, earning a noise of complaint from his new boyfriend. He giggles, and peppers a few kisses all over his flushed cheeks before hiding his face in the crook of his neck.  

They stay like that until it turns dark, Shouto’s hand slowly trailing up and down Hanta’s back. As the hand slows to a stop, he lifts up his head expecting Shouto to have fallen asleep or something. Instead, he's staring up at him, eyes bright. “I actually came here for another reason than to listen to you confess to me.” 

“You did?” He smirks, putting a hand on Shouto’s chest. “And here I was thinking you just missed my beautiful presence.” 

“I've already got my own wonderful presence to keep me company.” Shouto shoots back, putting his hand over Hanta’s and linking their fingers. He stays quiet, leaning his head back against the wall. “It's happening tomorrow, the court case against my dad.” 

Hanta pushes his hair from his face and presses a gentle kiss between his brows. “How do you feel?” His hair is silky soft, and playing with it is seeming to calm Shouto down, so he continues.  

“I don't know. Obviously I'm happy, he's going to get what he deserves when we win. My family can live without that fear we've always had in the back of our minds, we can be free.” 

“But?” 

Shouto glances down, worrying his lip between his teeth and tightening his grip on Hanta’s hand. “He's still my father. As twisted and atrocious his parenting was, he still made sure we had food and water.” 

“Shouto look at me.” Hanta grabs his face, squishing his cheeks between his hands. “You owe that man nothing. Whether he bought you all the things in the world or gave you nothing. Not once did he show you he gave a damn about you or your siblings, other than to defeat All Might in his messed up race to be the best.” 

As he opens his mouth to speak, Hanta covers it with a hand. “No, you listen to me for a moment. Think of everything he's ever done, to you, your mother, your siblings. Nothing he does will ever make up for that many years of abuse, neglect and the trauma he caused you all. Think about Uraraka, her parents couldn't always assure a meal on the table, but they always made sure she felt loved and wanted. 

“You're asshole dad owes you more than the world can offer, same goes for anyone in your situation. If it was legal, I would kick his ass into next week, but watching you take him down tomorrow will be more than enough. You got this.” He sucks in a deep breath, surprised at how much he actually said. Wow, he feels dizzy.

Shouto stares for a long time, so long that it makes Hanta nervous. Just as he's about to ask if he's okay, he surges forward and wraps his arms tightly around Hanta’s middle. “Please be there tomorrow,” he asks, voice timid and hoarse. 

There's a damp patch forming on Hanta’s shoulder where Shouto’s head is buried, but he doesn't mention it. He simply nods and returns the hug, “I wouldn't dream of missing it.” 

They get up after that, hands joined as they make their way over to Hanta’s bed. Michiko is tucked securely under the thick comforter in the middle, and they lie down on either side of her. 

This time when Hanta falls asleep, he is fully certain of Shouto smiling sleepily at him before he shuts his eyes. 

--

The morning comes very suddenly for him.

Shouto is woken up by a loud, gleeful giggle. He sits up, blinking open his eyes to watch Hanta blow a raspberry on Michiko's stomach, forcing another screech of delight from the baby. The light pouring through the window makes him wince, but his eyes are glued to the very familiar scene. 

No matter how familiar it is, it never fails to make him soft, his worries leaving him in an instant.

Probably hearing him wake up, Hanta looks over and grins. “Morning, sleeping beauty. Want to make breakfast or shower the baby?” 

“I'll make breakfast,” he replies, forcing himself to get up out of Hanta’s extremely comfortable bed. Showering Michiko was a long process, but only when Shouto did it. For some reason, Michiko thinks bath time with him is play time, and sets out to flood the bathroom with soapy water and rubber ducks.

Hanta nods and picks up his now nude daughter, he himself is only wearing a pair of neon orange booty shorts. Shouto is almost certain those belonged to Ochako, unless the pair she always wore in high school are to match with his. 

Noticing his stares, Hanta smirks and saunters over. “Like my ass that much?” 

“I do,” he pecks him on the lips and disappears out of the bedroom before Hanta has a chance to even react. The faint squawk of surprise he hears behind him makes him smile.

There's a curl of anxiety he can feel in his gut now that he's alone, but he ignores it and goes through the routine of his mornings at Hanta’s. It passes by quickly, and soon enough, he needs to leave to get ready for the court. He knows it is going to be a big affair, as soon as he or his father is spotted reporters will swarm the area. All of his friends being there for moral support will also attract a lot of attention. 

When he arrives, his whole family is already there; Natsuo, practically vibrating with anticipation, his mother and Fuyumi are standing behind him, their heads bent towards each other and talking in hushed voices. The seconds Natsuo sees him, he bounces over, flinging his arm over his shoulders. “Jeez baby bro, look at all these people you brought along.” Jabbing a thumb back at all the gaping passerbys, his grin turns into more of a sneer. 

He is pulled towards the small circle his family made. Fuyumi smiles at him, asking how he feels, he shakes his head and focuses on his mother. She's improved since Shouto graduated, moving into Natsuo's two bedroom apartment and getting a part time job as a florist. 

“How's the flower shop?” 

“Oh it's been wonderful.” Her voice is bright and cheery. “We’ve had a shipment of venus fly traps, I feel like you would all love one.”  

Natsuo laughs and nods, “we already have three at home, I called one Pete.”  

They talk and catch up, at times forgetting what they are even there for. Until the crowds of people there become silent as a threatening presence fills the room. Shouto feels his back go straight, but he remembers his family are here with him and he's not alone. 

“What have you brought me here for, Shouto?”  Endeavour asks, voice deep and everything he feared as a child. 

Shouto isn't a child anymore though. He turns on his heel, looks up at his father with a dark glare. “You will find out eventually, dearest father.”   

Arrogant, and not one to back down from a challenge, his father stomps into the courtroom.

Grabbing his mother's hand, he takes a deep breath. It grounds him slightly, and gives him the courage to steel his nerves. She runs a reassuring hand up and down his back, “we can do this, Shouto.” 

He nods, almost breathless, “yeah, we can.” 

--

The court lasts the whole day. By the time Shouto leaves he's just about ready to fall into bed and collapse. He's drained mentally and physically, and all he wants to do is go home. 

Endeavour has officially been revealed to the public as an abuser, to be imprisoned for ten years and losing his hero license. Rei Todoroki is no longer a Todoroki, no longer tied to his bastard of a father.  

Shouto beams as he leaves the room, despite the fatigue that weighs his feet to the ground. Hanta is there to greet him, a matching smile and arms open wide. It's like all of the tiredness leaves him. He practically runs forward, wrapping his arms around Hanta’s waist and picking him up in his sudden burst of energy. 

When he puts him down, Hanta puts his hands on either side of his jaw and pulls him into a kiss. Nosy onlookers gasp and gape at the scene. 

“You did it Shou!” Hanta cheers, hands still cupping his jaw. 

“I did it.” He nods, his smile faint but still present. All of the years as a hopeful child, wishing something could happen, that something would change. His family is finally free. 

An echoing, careless voice sounds through the hall. “What's this about Endeavour losing his privileges?” Mina comes barging through the crowds, a giggling Michiko strapped to her chest. 

Natsuo joins them, arm linked with his mother’s as he drags her after him. “Holy shit, did it actually happen?” His grin is wide, eyes filled with mocking mischief. He's lightly tapped on the shoulder for his curse.

“Mina, hey. Natsuo, congrats on the defeat of the garbage fire!” Hanta lets go of Shouto to take Michiko from Mina, who throws her arms out to try and grab him. “My angel, hello.”  

She doesn't even move to hug him, instead tries to scale his shoulder to make a grab for Shouto. “Dada, papa.” 

“Oh, so you didn't miss me, you missed Shouto.” Hanta smiles, handing the baby over to him. “You're turning her against me, take her.” 

He takes Michiko, cuddling her against his chest just as she likes it. “Thank you.” Natsuo watches, sparkly eyed. 

--

Shouto’s warm, cuddled up under layers of blankets. There's a movie playing on the tv, loud enough to have a faint idea of what's happening yet quiet enough for it to be background sounds in his current peace. 

Hanta laughs underneath him, making his head shake from where it's lying on Hanta’s chest. “You're like a cat.” 

“I don't know what you're talking about.” He murmurs softly, taking in a deep breath and relaxing into an almost boneless state. A hand twists and cards through his hair, making him melt even more. 

They're silent, letting the noises of the movie flow over them. Until Hanta sighs, drags his other hand up his back and down his arm until he's fiddling with Shouto’s fingers. “How are you feeling?” 

Shouto hums quietly, linking their hands properly. “I'm doing okay.” 

“You sure?” 

He nods, smiling, “I'm sure.” And he's not lying either. Sure, the day has caught up to him. All of the partying his friends dragged him into after they left the court, spending way too much time talking to reporters and socialising in general. Now though, he's feeling perfectly at home. 

Hanta stays silent, like he's watching for any little movement that could prove his words otherwise. Then, cupping Shouto’s jaw, he asks, “do you have anything else on your mind? 

If there's nothing bothering Shouto, then there is definitely something on Hanta’s mind. He squeezes their joint hand, closes his eyes and leans into the warmth. “I think I'm still a little drunk from those tequila shots we did before.” 

There's a quiet chuckle. “Me too.” 

“What about you?” 

The question seems to jarr him, and Shouto watches as Hanta’s eyes widen before very quickly returning to normal as he glances down. “What about me?” 

“Are you thinking about anything?” 

He's silent, eyes flashing as his face flits through a series of emotions. For a moment, his face screws up and Shouto is sure he won't answer. “Well,” he mumbles, biting his lip, “us.” 

Shouto nods, turning his head to press a kiss on Hanta’s palm. “Go on.” 

“So we're dating now, solid boyfriends.” His hand moves to make random gestures as he speaks. It's obvious there's a but. “I have Michiko as well to think about, we're obviously a package deal.”  

“I knew that already.” Of course he did, he's not dumb. 

Hanta focuses his gaze back on him, looking more concerned than anything else. “But Shouto, you do realise if we get really serious, you’re going to be her dad, right?” 

Shouto nods, pushing himself up to sit back on his heels. “Uh, yes.” Isn't that just a fact though? He's sure this conversation is going in a circle

“Are you worried about that?”

Like a button had been pushed, his mind reels from the onslaught of negative thoughts. “Now you've brought it up, yes.” A door in his mind opens. Images and scenarios of how he could mess up Michiko's childhood, physically, mentally, both. He grabs fistfuls of Hanta’s sweatshirt and yanks him up to his face. “Why would you do this to me?” 

“I'm sorry, I just worry about you,” Hanta says, shifting to accommodate the new position. 

Shouto takes a moment to calm down, pushing the thoughts of ruining a child's life to one side. There's a sincerity in Hanta’s expression that assures him he only wants what is best. And he can definitely see where he's coming from, if he suddenly decided to refuse to be a parent Michiko wouldn't bode well from the loss. 

He sighs, resting his head on Hanta’s chest. “I do too.” 

“Worry about yourself?” His voice is light, and there's a breath of laughter that warms Shouto’s heart.

Meeting his eyes with a smirk, Shouto laughs. “Yes, I have a very fragile heart.” 

“Idiot.” Hanta shakes his head, his smile fond as he leans forward to connect their lips. Shouto responds eagerly, tugging him as close as he can until he's falling backwards into the couch. As he hits the cushions, their teeth clack together, causing them to part with a short laugh. The dark haired male is quick to continue what he was saying. “Anyway, you will eventually become Michiko's dad. Well, I hope so. But you should tell me if you're worried about it.” 

With Hanta’s hair falling around them both, Shouto feels like he's been cut off from the rest of the world. “What if I'm not good at it?” He eventually asks, refusing to look his boyfriend directly in the eyes. “What if I turn out like him?” 

Hanta’s elbows replace his hands at support as he squishes Shouto’s cheeks together. Is this going to be a common thing he does? “Shou, I have all the faith in the world that you won't turn out like Endeavor. Technically you've already been parenting for the last two months, and I say you're pretty fucking good at it.” He brings his face closer, narrowing his eyes as if he's daring Shouto to tell him otherwise. 

There is one thing Hanta is very good at, and that is apparently giving him pep talks. Shouto huffs out a laugh, “I guess I have.” 

Practically oozing satisfaction, Hanta smiles and sits up. Most of his weight digs into Shouto’s stomach but he finds he doesn't mind at all. “Hey, you know how Endeavour is useless and serves no purpose in life?” 

He scoffs, eyes unconsciously rolling back. “Obviously.” 

“There is one thing that he can be used as.” Hanta pauses, presumably for dramatic effect. “A bad example. Everything he did, you can do the complete opposite.” With a smile of accomplishment, he clambers rather ungraciously to his feet. 

Shouto smiles, sits up and takes the empty mugs off the coffee table. “As much as I hate to admit it, you're right.” 

On his way to the kitchen, Hanta pauses and turns around to stick his tongue out. “Wow, that was so cruel.” 

“Sure.” He chuckles, pushing himself up to go join Hanta in the kitchen. As he does, he wraps his arm around the other’s waist, leaning up so he can prop his chin on Hanta’s shoulder. “Hey.”

He hums softly, shaking the bottle of milk in his hand. “Yeah?” 

“I love you.” Shouto’s not surprised at how easy the words come out, despite that not being what he was originally going to say.

Hanta makes an almost strangled sound, but still turns to kiss his temple. “I love you too, Shou.” And then, just on time, Michiko’s soft cries can be heard from the bedroom. He fully turns to look at Shouto with a teasing smile and gives him a small push. “Now, why don't you go get our child so she can eat?” 

“I think I might just do that.” 

Chapter Text

After fourteen long months of planning, Eijirou and Katsuki’s wedding is finally underway. As much as Hanta loves the idea of getting married in hot weather on a beach, Eijirou's idea of flying out to Australia is proving to be half of Hanta’s struggles. 

Shouto sits criss cross at the end of their bed, Michiko in the gap between his legs as they share a plate of grapes. “I told you to start packing last week, but what did you do?” He picks up a grape and tosses it into his mouth. 

“Start packing at two in the morning the day we have to leave, yes I know Shou. Both of you stop mocking me with your fully packed bags and grapes.” His luggage is half filled with random items of clothing, some probably not weather appropriate. However, with only half an hour left until they need to leave for the airport, Hanta doesn't actually care. 

Michiko looks ready for the next twelve hours, wrapped up in multiple layers of clothing that can be taken off once they land in the hotter climate, and a bag next to her with those reins attached. Their original plan for keeping track of her at the airport was a helium balloon tied to her wrist, but then they realised if they got her a bag they could keep her things in it. 

Looking ever so smug at Hanta’s current state of frenzy, Shouto presses a kiss on the top of Michiko's head. “Daddy’s silly, isn't he?” He chuckles at the scandalised expression Hanta gets as Michiko laughs at him. 

“You're turning our daughter against me, stop that,” he bemoans, stuffing two vibrant hawaiian shirts into the little space he has left. “Where did you put Chiko’s clothes?” 

“In my suitcase, since my packing is much more efficient than yours.” 

“Okay rude. What about all of her distractions for the plane?” 

“There's three tubs of snacks in my carry on, an empty colouring book and pens, and the noise cancelling headphones so she can watch movies on my phone.” Shouto finishes his sentence by eating the final grape on the plate. 

Michiko pouts and slaps the empty plate, “papa no!”  

“Sorry Ice Cube, we'll go get some more grapes.” With a smile, Shouto pulls Michiko onto his shoulders and traipses out of the bedroom, pecking Hanta’s lips as he passes. 

He's glad that at least the two of them are prepared. Hanta grins, turning his attention to the pile of clothes he'd just thrown in. There's a pair of flip flops and a random shoe that he's sure doesn't belong to him or Shouto. At least Mina is looking after his suit for the ceremony, if not, it would be missing for sure. 

Just as they're about to leave, Hanta quickly scans over everything he has. Nothing seems to be missing, and he nods proudly to himself and zips up the luggage. They take everything down to the street, where Denki and Mina are waiting in a car. 

“What's up dickwads?” Mina hangs out of the passengers side, voice loud and disruptive in the night.  

Hanta slides into the back, grabbing a sleeping Michiko while Shouto puts everything in the trunk. “Mina you do know it's like, almost three AM?” 

“I do, I'm very excited though.”  

“So’s Eijirou,” Denki interrupts, holding out his phone to show a picture of Katsuki asleep under a mound of sand, “he sent me this an hour after their flight landed.” 

--

Luckily for them, Michiko approved of the seats in first class, and slept through more than half of the flight. Shouto is almost at the end of Ponyo when the plane lands, with Michiko laughing and almost jumping out of her seat. He's not exactly surprised that she enjoys the turbulence, she has spent most of her life strapped to Hanta’s chest while he swings around the city on his tape. 

They make it out of the airport and to the hotel with only small amounts of chaos. Considering they're trying to move eight adults and a toddler in a foreign country, that's good for them. 

Michiko immediately throws herself out of Hanta’s arms and Shouto, acting as the doting father and boyfriend he’s become, chases after her down the beach. He swoops her up and throws her over his shoulder as she yells in protest. “I don't think she's going to cooperate while we find our room.” 

“Okay then,” Hanta steps forward to take Shouto’s bags, “I'll sort out the room, you play on the beach like the child you are.” 

Before he could defend his honour, Izuku leaps forward and steals Michiko from his shoulder. “I'll come with you, I haven't had the chance to spend time with her in a while!” The green haired menace he calls a friend grins, grabs his wrist in a crushing hold and proceeds to drag him onto the sand. 

“Are you using your quirk on me?” 

“Shut up, Shouchan.” Izuku grips his wrist tighter and flings him onto the burning hot sand. Michiko cackles at his pain, because she enjoys his suffering over anything else. 

Shouto gets up, takes off one of his shoes and throws it. He hits Izuku in the forehead. Bullseye. 

While they throw sand at each other like (admittedly) children, Michiko watches them from under her giant sunhat that Hanta had managed to put on her at some point.  After sand manages to get in both of their eyes and Shouto’s mouth, they settle down. 

“It's super weird, you know?” Izuku says, leaning back on his hands as he gazes out to the ocean. “Even after, what, a year and a half? You've become a dad.” 

“Really?” Shouto rubs sunblock into Michiko's cheek, rubbing their noses together when he's done. “It's always been kind of normal to me, probably shouldn't have been, but whatever.” He shrugs, letting Michiko go and gain her bearings on the sand. Even before he and Hanta started dating, he was technically acting as a second parent and they practically lived together in each other's houses. 

Glancing over at him, Izuku smiles. One of his I’m proud you did this but how did you? kind of smiles. “Of course it was, you obviously can't find love the normal way.” 

“It seems neither can you. Where's your date?” 

“You are becoming meaner by the day, I swear.” Izuku sends him a glare, which isn't threatening at all since it's Izuku. “And I'm working on that.” 

Interested, Shouto turns to properly look at his friend. “Oh? Do I get to know the gossip?” He hates to admit it, but the time he's spent as one of the girls™ has made him much more intrigued in the lives of other people.  

A flush turns Izuku into a tomato as he laughs nervously to himself. “Well, you see. It's not much right now but,” his face turns a darker shade of crimson, “me and Kaminari have gotten a little closer and.” Unable to finish his sentence due to his over excessive blushing, he rolls over and buries his face in the sand. 

Shouto is thrilled, to say the least. Especially since everyone is leaving the hotel and making their way over. Hanta smiles and drapes himself in his lap, “will I find out what's up with Midoriya later?” 

“Definitely.” 

Kaminari crouches down in front of Izuku and jabs him in the head. “Yo Mido, what made you explode?” His light, cheerful voice makes his useless broccoli of a friend squeak and pull sand over his head. 

“Is this going to be the week’s gossip?” Tsuyu asks quietly, taking a seat on his left. 

Shouto nods. “Depending on how badly they handle this, the month’s.” 

--

Everyone is in Australia for a week. The first day is to meet up on the beach and greet everyone going to the wedding. The second day is for dress rehearsals, the third for final touch ups.  Day four and five allows for rest or general chaos creating before the wedding on day six, and day seven is for the newlyweds and their friends to get drunk again before the honeymoon. 

That's what the plan is, anyway. 

Hanta is Katsuki's best man, which is exactly why he’s determined to keep everything mostly in order. Mina’s the one helping him, as Eijirou’s best woman of honor, but she's mostly in charge of everything decorative.  

The decision was made one weekend after the engagement was announced. All five of their original group sat in a circle on the floor drinking until they passed out. Eijirou insisted that Denki miss out on best man duties since he was the one that became Michiko’s godfather. By default, that left Hanta and Mina. 

Uncomfortably close to being sweaty in the summer heat, Hanta fights off the urge to unbutton his dress shirt. Dress rehearsal has to be the least favourite of the activities in the week. 

“This fucking sucks,” Katsuki groans and slumps in his chair next to him. He's glad he's not the only one suffering. As the cutest ring bearer (Katsuki's words that no one dares call him out for because he's right), Michiko sits on his other side eating a plate of sliced oranges.  

“Fuckin’ sucks!” She cheers, sending bits of fruit flying onto the table.

Eijirou sighs and rests his head on Katsuki's shoulder. “Shouldn't you stop teaching Chiko how to swear?” 

“To be fair,” Hanta says, stealing an orange slice from his daughter, “if she isn't going to learn it from Katsuki, she'll learn it from Shou. She already learnt asshole and bastard from him” 

“I object to that.” Shouto pouts. 

“Shou, honey, darling, you swear in your sleep.”  

“It's a good job she's just gotten her own room, then.”

They go through basic drafts of their speeches, pretend to eat food because with actual food something would definitely go wrong, and check if any of their fancy dress shoes are too slippery for the dancefloor. 

Four people ended up falling. Denki and Midoriya crash down first, Denki slipping and Midoriya trying to catch him but failing. Katsuki falls next, too busy laughing at the other two to notice his own foot sliding out from under him. Then the most unexpected, Iida, who rushes over to help Denki and Midoriya, but his shoe slides out and he takes a rather ungraceful faceplant into the floor. 

To give him credit, he stands up like a champ and continues helping everyone like nothing ever happened. 

“Are we friends with idiots?” Shouto asks Hanta, hands on his shoulders because Hanta enjoys holding the inch of height he's got over him at any moment possible. 

He laughs, pinching Shouto lightly on the hip. “We are, but I'm also dating one.” 

“That's rude.” 

“Love you.” Hanta puckers his lips and leans in, giving Shouto a very sloppy kiss on the nose. It makes him wrinkle up his nose and lean back, allowing Hanta to swiftly dip him. They smile at each other for a moment, until Michiko comes running up to them. 

He crouches down to her level, taking her outstretched hands. “What's up, angel?” 

“Daddy dance!” 

“Anything for you.” Taking ahold of Michiko's hands, Hanta starts doing a much simpler dance with his daughter. His back is bent over to an uncomfortable degree, but it's his time to shine. He spins, fast enough to lift her off the ground and almost kick Shouto in the shin. 

Shouto, stepping out of the way of flying limbs, looks around at all of the disasters happening around him. “I feel like that's enough dancing for now.” 

--

“Wake up.” 

Hanta, bundled up in the thick sheets of the hotel, wriggles even further into them. Poor thing, must have stayed up too late doing best man duties. It's a good thing Shouto’s already drank two cocktails with Mina over breakfast, and no longer cares about Hanta’s beauty sleep.

He climbs ungracefully onto the bed, spilling a little bit on his third cocktail onto Hanta’s hair. “Come on, get up, it's day four. Let's drink. Even Chiko is up and running.” 

“What did you do?” Upon looking at him, Hanta’s expression morphs into one of utter disbelief. In his almost drunken haze, Shouto can understand why he's looking at him like that. He's wearing bright pink swimming shorts that he just bought from the novelty shop downstairs, paired with one of Hanta’s hawaiian shirts and Ochako’s giant, heart shaped sunglasses. If Shouto was any more sober, he would laugh at himself and take it all off. 

He takes a long sip from the cocktail. “I gave her some chocolate, that's all.” 

“That's all?” Hanta finally gains the energy to pull himself from the cocoon of warmth he’d trapped himself in. “Shou, you know that stuff’s like crack for her.” 

Shouto grins, takes another lengthy sip from his drink. “I know, that's why I gave her to Kaminari before I came to get you.” He's being a great wingman for his best friend, from personal experience, he can confidently say that looking after a baby will help Kaminari and Izuku become closer. 

Hanta pulls on a matching hawaiian shirt, one covered in flamingos wearing sunglasses, and eyes Shouto’s precious cocktail. He feels protectiveness overcome him, and he holds the drink closer to his chest. “How many of us besides me are sober?” 

“Well, Mina and I are on our third cocktails. We had some pina coladas and then we got these.” Holding it up in the air, he takes one long look at it. “I think it's called a pornstar martini.”  

“Back to the question, Shou.” 

“Right. Then I saw Ochako and Kirishima forcing shots down Tenya’s throat.” At the reminder of that particular sight, Shouto crumbles onto the bed in a fit of giggles. While he tries to regain composure, Hanta continues to get ready. “Okay, I'm okay now. I know Tsuyu and Katsukatsu went on a run on the beach before breakfast, so they should be okay. Not for long though.” 

Hanta nods, seeming to have accepted his fate of being surrounded by his tipsy and almost drunk friends, and takes one of Shouto’s hands. He then promptly tugs him off the bed so he’s standing on something solid. 

If he could, Shouto would stay with Hanta in their room all day doing many many things. But there's more pressing issues at hand, like the fact his wonderful boyfriend is sober. “Let's go get drunk.” 

“I need to eat first.” Hanta laughs, letting Shouto drag him out of the room and down the hall. “Did you bring me anything or do I need to get breakfast myself?”  

Stepping into the elevator, Shouto gasps, pulling up his shirt. In the back of his shorts, there's a slightly squashed looking croissant. “I did bring you food.” He's very proud of himself for remembering to bring it, and he holds it out to Hanta with a smile. 

He takes it, with an obvious look of disbelief. “Did this touch your ass?” 

“Obviously.”  

Hanta stares at it blankly for a moment, and Shouto’s sure that he will need to eat his own ass pastry. Then, he shrugs and takes a bite. “Eh, I've done worse.” 

Shouto’s very drunken mind swoons and he crowds up against Hanta, pushing him against the elevator wall. He leans against him, wrapping his arms around his waist until his hands rest at the lowest point on Hanta’s back. “You should take me, right here, right now, against this wall.”  

Hanta’s very soft lips on his own suggest he's done a very job in convincing him for semi-public sex, but before it can actually go anywhere he nips his bottom lip and pulls away. “As much as I would love to, we are way too famous to be doing stuff like that.” 

Damn his top hero status. Who knew it could be such a cockblock? 

With the biggest sigh he's ever done in his life, Shouto steps back. “Fine. Can't believe you're such a stickler.” He tips his head back and finishes off his drink. “I need another one of these things.”  

Hanta watches him with an almost disbelieving grin. “I cannot believe this is how you get when you drink cocktails,” he says, voice so thick with amusement it should mock him. 

Instead, Shouto tries to take another sip, the straw creating that loud bubbling sound when there's too much air and too little drink. “Believe it baby.”  

“Okay, yeah, let's go get me a drink.” As soon as the elevator doors open, Hanta grabs his free hand and drags him out towards the breakfast area. The smell of western food and grease overtakes him and he matches Hanta’s pace. 

Over on a table near the corner, all of their friends are creating noise. Tsuyu and Bakugou have come back, with the former being handed a shot from Tenya and the latter already finishing his first drink. Hanta lifts his hand in greeting, “hey guys, your favourite person is here!” 

“Hanta, hi!” Mina cheers, stumbling out of her chair and over to the two of them. The drinks in her hands slosh over the edges and spill onto the floor. A worker winces and Shouto can tell Hanta is planning to give them a hefty tip. “I got you both drinks. Hanta we're starting you off with a gin and tonic, and look I even got little fruits inside for you.” 

She shoves the drink into Hanta’s hands and turns to Shouto, giving him another concerningly vibrant drink. “This is an aperol spritz. I think. We should definitely try every cocktail on the menu anyway.” 

Already drinking it, Shouto grins. “I thought we were already doing that?”  

“Yeah, I'm definitely going to need a few more of these soon,” Hanta comments, more to himself than anything as he makes him way over to the table to steal everyone’s leftover food. 

Mina and Shouto take a moment to watch him leave, before turning back to each other, clinking their glasses together and draining them. 

--

Not even an hour later they are all kicked out, or well, cut off once the bar staff realise they are all buying each other's insane amount of drinks. 

Hanta spreads out on his front drinking whatever the hell he’s bought. They moved their drinking to the beach once spotting a random vendor selling slush puppies with vodka mixed in. In all fairness, even if what they are doing is probably illegal, the drink tastes amazing. In the distance he can see a banana boat being dragged through the ocean, on it is Shouto, Katsuki, Denki and Ochako. They are all screaming. 

“Hey Chiko, you want some of this? Wait no that's bad, this has a lot of sugar in, and I'm not meant to give you so much at this age.” His voice is beyond slurred, the churning feeling of his stomach when he's drunk too much too fast has been a constant since he finished his first drink within ten minutes. That's okay though, he can just strategically throw up later so he can drink more.

Michiko grabs the edge of her sunhat, lifts it off her head and slaps him with it. 

Wow, okay then. 

He makes a loud gasping sound, reaching out to poke her in the stomach. “Chiko, how could you?” His scandalised voice makes her burst into giggles, leaning so far back she falls onto the sand. 

Iida, on his left, chuckles. “You make parenting look really easy.” 

“You think so?” Hanta asks, bringing his straw to his mouth. He takes a moment to drag Michiko back to sitting up and puts her hat back on. As drunk as he is, he still knows how to dad. 

“Really. You might have to give me tips in a year.” Scratching at the back of his neck, Iida smiles sheepishly. “Ochako and I have been thinking about trying for a baby. She said after the wedding though because she wanted to drink today and didn't want to have a baby bump in her dress.” It's punctuated with a laugh. 

Hanta kisses his palm and raises it into the air, “preach.” 

--

By the time it's dark, they've reached a karaoke bar. Hanta has thrown up six times in random restaurant bathrooms, Katsuki is so far gone he's being nice to everyone, Shouto willingly sang Hot N Cold, and Midoriya is crying over how cute and small shot glasses are. 

Sitting in a corner, Hanta swirls his drink around, feeling exactly like the ice cubes inside as they lag behind the motion. Eijirou and Tsuyu are leaning against each other on the stage, back to back as they sing into their microphones. Iida is passed out next to him, glasses have mysteriously disappeared long ago. 

He's glad Michiko is back at the hotel, under the care of Katsuki’s parents who declared they're much too old to go drinking with their son. Who knows what could have happened if his unpredictable daughter had joined them?

“Are you drinking scotch?” Uraraka asks, dropping herself down on Iida’s unconscious body. He grunts lightly, but doesn't wake up. Poor guy's going to have a killer hangover in the morning. 

“I don't actually remember,” Hanta hums out. 

Mina and Katsuki stumble towards their table, one of Mina's arms wrapped around Katsuki's neck and the other holding on to an inflatable penis. There's a smiley face drawn on the tip of it, and something deep down in him resonates with it. “Hi guys! Like our new dick?” 

Uraraka coos, reaching out to take the penis. “I love it, it's so cute!” She hits Iida on the cheek with the end of it, who snorts once and goes silent again. “Where did you get it?” 

“From some very nice ladies having their bachelorette party,” Mina slurs as Katsuki throws herself onto the seats. Her head collides with Hanta’s, they groan dramatically. It sends a jolt of pain from his head that goes straight to the curl in his gut. 

He stands up, swaying for a moment before he begins his journey. “Give me a minute, I need to go cleanse my stomach again.” It's not too hard to get to the bathrooms, it being mostly empty except Shouto and a random stranger squatting together in the corner. For now, he ignores it and stumbles into a cubicle to crouch over the toilet. 

Stomach empty and only slightly more sober because of it, Hanta drags himself out and over to Shouto. “What are you doing?” He asks, realising that it's something incredibly stupid once he gets closer.  

Shouto turns to look up at him and beams, holding up his hand to show him what he's found. “Me and my new buddy found this little guy behind one of the toilets. He ran out from behind it when I kicked his web.” On his palm, essentially covering it completely, is a huge spider. Like, so big Hanta would be afraid if he was sober. He really hopes that it's not venomous because there is no way he could do first aid like this. 

“He's very, big,” Hanta gets out, wondering how the fuck Shouto’s kept it so still on his hand. Is it the warmth? Definitely the warmth. 

Nodding happily, Shouto smiles and holds up his phone. His buddy joins him, and in very clear English that Hanta can just about understand, he says, “we're going to take a selfie with it.” 

“I'm gonna print it and frame it,” Shouto adds, eyes wide and fully serious. 

As the two of them take multiple selfies with the big spider, Hanta slowly backs away. “We are not having that picture in our bedroom. But have fun.” 

“Sure okay.” 

--

When Hanta wakes up the next morning at almost noon, head pounding and probably still a little drunk, Shouto is missing. He's also not at the table for lunch.

“If you're wondering where Shou is,” Ochako begins, sipping pathetically at her glass of water, “he left about half an hour ago saying something about getting a picture developed.” 

Michiko nods solemnly, looking almost exactly like Shouto when he's being purposefully annoying.

Damn. 

--

Their second day of drinking is much more peaceful than the first. 

To fend off their murderous hangovers, they all drink, but considerably much less after being reminded they have a wedding to go to tomorrow. Shouto struts back into the hotel, triumphantly holding a framed version of his selfie with the spider and his friend who will never be forgotten. Just as he steps inside, the elevator doors open to reveal Mina and Ochako. 

“Shou, you're back, good.” Ochako beckons him over, linking their arms together once he's close enough. “Because we're all still fucked, we have all decided to drink by the pool that is so graciously provided for us.” 

He nods, letting himself be dragged to an outdoor area. All of their friends have essentially taken over part of the pool, their rambunctiousness keeping normal people further away from them. The only two people who are generally calmer are Hanta and Michiko, who are paddling around the shallow end. Michiko's legs kicking up a mini tsunami and splashing other children in the face.

Avoiding a few kids running around the pool, Shouto makes his way over to the cluster of lounge chairs they've gathered. Tenya is under the shade, one of the chairs next to him empty. He's more than happy to take that place. “How are you feeling after last night?” 

“Glad to see you're alive.” Tenya smiles, shutting the book he was reading after marking the page. “I feel like death, but I'm still going to stay out of drinking today. For my liver’s sake.” 

Shouto nods, stretching out on the lounger. In the near distance he watches as Kirishima jumps into the pool, crashing straight into Bakugou and Kaminari playing chicken. “I get what you mean, I don't remember anything from yesterday.” He holds up the picture of the spider, “except this, of course.” 

“I sure hope it didn't bite you.” 

“Hmm, not that I'm aware of.” There's a loud bubbling sound as Bakugou resurfaces the pool, probably after being dunked a few times. Mina's loud cackles from the edge of the pool don't last very long as the vengeful blond grabs her and pulls her in. Disappointed parents watch them with disdain. 

Not too far away, Izuku floats past them, being held up by two pool noodles hooked under his knees and around his back. His entire body is limp, limbs floating around uselessly and head sagging just above the water. If it wasn't for the occasional kick of his feet that moved him around, Shouto would assume he's unconscious. 

“Papa!” Michiko, feet slapping loudly against the floor, runs over with a sunny grin. Shouto returns it and opens his arms to let his daughter jump onto him. The water from the pool soaking into his clothes doesn't even bother him. “See me swim?” 

“I did, you were very good.” At that, her smile grows and she shifts so she's properly draped over his torso like a baby sloth. He runs a hand over her dark hair, briefly wondering how the hell Hanta managed to keep her sat still enough to give her braids. 

Hanta arrives, moving at a much slower pace, “you're back from your adventures I see.” 

Shouto holds up his framed photo victoriously, not even feeling slightly guilty. “I am, and the picture came out looking wonderful.” He turns it so Hanta can properly see it. “Don't you think so too.” 

“Wanna see,” Michiko says, reaching up to try and snatch it from him. 

“Ah ah, no.” Just before she can grab it, he moves it out of reach. “What do we say first?” 

“Please?” 

“Good.” He brings it back towards them, and smiles as Michiko giggles at the silly spider

Sighing in defeat, Hanta sits down on the edge of the lounge chair and puts a hand on Shouto’s knee. “You're lucky I think you're cute.” Shouto responds with a wink. 

Michiko quickly gets bored, insisting that Shouto takes her swimming this time. He obliges, pulling off his t-shirt and tossing it on the floor. She cheers and drags him towards the pool by the edge of his shorts. 

There's a pair of abandoned armbands by the water which Shouto recognises buying for Michiko last week. The little ducks dressed to go swimming on them are very adorable and he's never been more proud of a purchase in his life. Besides maybe that one time he bought a hot tub. 

“So Ice Cubes, can you swim without these yet?” He asks, holding out one of them to put her arm in. 

“Nope!” She pops the ‘p’ in a way that reminds him exactly of Ochako. Since when has she been teaching her things? Her arm slides into the arm band, and they quickly do the same for her other arm. 

Picking her up and tossing her into the air a little, he grins. “Well then, I'll just have to teach you.” 

They paddle around for a while, Shouto dragging Michiko around in circles while she kicks her feet and babbles about her day with Bakugou's parents while they all got extremely drunk. After an hour, Shouto takes off her arm bands to let her try on her own. She floats relatively well, with only two face-under-the-water incidents. 

Hanta walks up to the edge, holding two pairs of sunglasses and the inflatable pretzel. When did he get the chance to deflate and pack that? “I think you two should relax now,” he says, handing them over. 

“Hey Chiko, how do you feel about annoying some of your uncles?” 

“Yeah!” Michiko cheers, throwing her arms in the air as Shouto settles her down on his stomach. They put on their glasses and wave to Hanta while he pushes them towards the centre of the pool. 

--

Izuku gasps and wipes the water from his eyes, sending a glare over at Kaminari. The latter is laughing, barely keeping himself afloat through gasping breaths.  

Wearing matching sunglasses, Shouto and Michiko float by. 

“Have you ever thought,” Shouto begins, turning his head towards them, “how many kids have peed in this pool?” 

“Shouto!” 

“And you've just had your head dunked in it Izuku.” 

At that moment, Izuku really wishes Michiko wasn't there so he could throw his best friend into the pool. 

--

Hiding from the blazing heat, Shouto and Bakugou sit tucked away under the shade of a parasol. Legs crossed and hunched over their cards, they mirror each other on the ends of the lounge chair. 

Shouto scans over his cards, occasionally flicking his gaze back up to Bakugou. “So, you worried about tomorrow?” 

The blond huffs, glaring over his set of cards with scorn. “Hurry up and choose already, idiot.” 

“Fine, fine.” He rolls his eyes, leaning back against the chair as he scans the cards he has on hand. There is no way he will lose this. “You got any threes?” 

“Fuck.” Bakugou hands over his card. “And why would I be worried? My marriage is going to be fucking awesome.”

“I have no doubts.” 

Hearing his drab tone, Bakugou narrows his eyes and his grip tightens on his cards. “Have any sevens?” 

“Go fish.” 

“What about you dickface?” At Shouto’s raised brow, he continues speaking. “You've shacked up with my best friend for a while and I expect you to do something about it soon.” 

Shouto snorts, letting a smile curl the corners of his lips. “ Shacked up, what an eloquent way to put it.” 

“Well that's what you did, asshole.” 

“Any sixes?” Two cards are not very happily handed over to him. “Based on recent events, it seems like I'm not the one with the plans.” 

Bakugou lets out a long groan of despair, leaning back so far he almost falls off the end of the chair. It's like the idea of Hanta even planning something is bad. Well, he can be right about that assumption. “What's my idiot friend doing now?” He sits up quickly, holding out a flat palm. “Give me your fours.” 

Shouto places his precious four in his hand, silently wishing it for a good life. “He started mumbling stuff in his sleep. Usually something along the lines of calling me Sero Shouto, and telling me he's going to propose to me so hard I'll never forget it even in death.”

“God, what a fucking idiot. Revealing his plans before he even goes through with it,” Bakugou says almost fondly, shaking his head like a disappointed mother.

“I know. Got any nines?” 

“Go fish.” 

Shouto takes a card from the pile, making sure he keeps his expression blank. A six, just what he needs, one more and he can complete the set. “I'm almost tempted to ruin it for him. Propose first.” 

“If you do, you better do it right. Make it great or I'll kick your ass.” 

“And I'll freeze your ass first.” 

Bakugou scowls, “fuck you.” Then, after a moment, “got any twos?” 

“Here.” 

At that moment, there's a loud scream followed by a splash. Shouto watches over Bakugou's shoulder as Hanta keels over in laughter by the edge of the pool. The amount of times everyone has been pushed in, they should know by now not to stand by the edge. Bakugou turns back to face their game.

“Is it just me,” he says offhandedly, “or has Soy Sauce stopped working out?” 

If Hanta ever did any exercise other than hero work, Shouto did not know about it. He's sure the main reason Hanta doesn't gain weight, other than being a hero, is the fact that he snacks on all sorts of fruit instead of anything processed and sugary. He shrugs, “I don't think he worked out in the first place.” 

“I'm sure in the last couple years he had more muscle on him. Instead of being such a lanky bastard.” 

“He seemed to be less lanky than when he was in high school. When I saw him again anyway.” Bakugou, as much as he hates to admit, does have a point. Even during his last year, Hanta was always more lean than any of the other guys. 

Bakugou shakes his head, cackling. “Fuck that, he's always been like that. The extra muscle was a very recent development that happened just before you rocked up.” 

“It's probably Michiko, then. Hanta stopped taking her on patrols because he can't find a carrier that will fit a two year old.” Although, it's probably smart to stop taking her on them anyway. She was starting to become too feisty for her own good. 

“Fuckin’ kids. Would have to swing around two people instead of one.” Bakugou looks vaguely impressed at the information, but if Hanta knew that he would become cockier than he already is and carry on taking their daughter out to fight random criminals. 

Just as they're about to start their very important game of Go Fish again, Kaminari strides over, wrapped up in a large towel. “Okay guys, as important as your child’s game is, it's almost time for food.” 

“Don't diss Go Fish, Dunce Face. I'll throw you back into that fucking pool.” Slapping down his impressive collection of cards, Bakugou stands up to defend the honour of their card game. 

Kaminari just laughs, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and dragging him towards the doors into the hotel. “You love me too much to do that Kaachan!” 

Shouto, deciding to wait for Hanta and Michiko to catch up to him, collects up all the cards and puts them back in the box. He and Bakugou can have a rematch another time. “You have fun with your cards?” Hanta asks once he reaches the chair, offering out the hand that isn't in Michiko's. 

He nods, grabbing it. “You know what, I did.” 

“Have any intelligent conversations?” 

“We talked about how you lost the muscle you got from carrying Michiko around all the time.” 

Hanta makes an offended noise and Michiko giggles up at them. 

--

The wedding is actually really, fucking beautiful. And Shouto doesn't give out that sort of compliment lightly. 

Just off the coast of a secluded beach, they've managed to claim a place surrounded by towering rocks. Fairy lights have been strung up around them all, combining with the faint light of dusk to create a warm glow in the sheltered area. The excess sand has dusted from the flatter rocks, allowing the guests a place to sit. 

Kirishima and Bakugou stand off to the side, hand in hand, smiles larger than ever before. In matching white tuxedos, they stand out against the darker shade of the rock, managing to look much more sharp and put together than normal. Hanta, just next to them, is already snivelling rather unattractively and blows his nose into the pocket square that was meant to stay in his jacket pocket. 

The officiant carries on talking, some stuff about love and holy matrimony, but does spare a scrutinising look Hanta’s way. “And now, we will move onto the vows.” 

“Good, me first.” Bakugou lets go of Kirishima's hands to rub his own together, like he's planning something. “You know, Shitty Hair, I actually hated you when I first met you.” 

There's a few quiet gasps from the crowd, presumably Kirishima's family members who are yet to properly get to know the blond. However Kirishima just smiles, tilting his head to the side. “Oh really?” 

“You were so fucking happy and outgoing, got on my fuckin’ nerves. How could somebody be so damn happy and genuine?” It gets a laugh from Kirishima, who just grabs Bakugou's hands again and runs his thumbs along his knuckles. “Apparently you, because I talk to you one time and you don't leave me the fuck alone.

“You were everywhere. First during lunch, then when I was studying, even on my fucking hikes. That was okay though, because you never gave up, and after awhile I started to enjoy being around you and your stupidly pretty smiles and happy go lucky attitude.” 

Kirishima laughs, bright and loud, his grip on Bakugou's hands tightening. Bakugou huffs softly and continues talking. “When I realised I actually liked you, I wanted to deny it so much. But what was the point in doing that? You saw good in me.” At those words, his voice cracks slightly, something Shouto has never seen happen before. “Good that hardly anyone else ever saw, not even me. And fuck . Being around you is so easy and I never want it to end. I love you so damn much, Eijirou.” 

Like Hanta, Shouto can feel himself tearing up, but it's much more controlled than him. It was a very emotional and rare speech, one that only Kirishima will have the honour of hearing more often. Kaminari starts to blubber, leaning against Hanta for support. They cry together in one emotional mess. 

They seem much less composed than Kirishima, the actual person the vows were about, who takes a deep breath before speaking. “I feel like I should have gone first, for two reasons really. One, there is no way I could have topped something such as manly and amazing as that. Two, you could have gone out with a bang, just like your quirk.” 

Bakugou laughs, his smile seeming to permanently exist at this point. “You and your puns.” 

“What? They're good!” Kirishima complains, bouncing up on his heels for a moment. “Anyway let me woo you with my awesome vows. I don't know if you remember this, but during our first week of high school me and Denki were throwing pencils at each other. I messed up my shot and instead hit you in the back of the head.” 

“That was you? You fucker.” 

Putting a finger to his lips, Kirishima carries on. “Shush, you love me. But at first I was wondering what was going to happen, because all I heard about you was that you were this big, scary guy that would beat anyone up. And I was the idiot that just hit you on the head.” He beams, so wide all his teeth are on display. “Yet all you did was yell to yourself and spark up your hands a little, talking about how whoever threw that ruined your concentration for studying. Then you just pouted to yourself and went back to studying. It was really cute.” 

Blushing bright red and matching the shade of his tie, Bakugou scowls and turns his head to the side. “I actually hate you right now.” 

“Sure you do babes. After that moment though, I have to admit, I fell for you. No explanation as to why, I just did.” Kirishima's smile turns softer now, looking up to the sky like he's thinking back. “I'm really glad I did though, because you've always been there for me, like I have for you. There's not been a single moment since meeting you where I've had any regrets, except maybe that one night we got drunk and stoned at the same time.” 

For a second, Shouto watches them, Hanta, Mina and Kaminari all cringe simultaneously. Hanta in particular seems to more than the others, his face screwing up like he's thinking about all of his old, teenage woes. 

Viscously shaking his head, unstyled hair flopping with the momentum, Kirishima’s smile is smaller but even more fond. “But, regrettable memories behind, I have loved you for so long it's crazy, almost half of my life. And you know what? I plan to love you for the rest of it. Of all the people you could have opened yourself up to, I'm really glad I made the effort and that you chose me. I would go on, but we both know the party is going to rock so hard we can't wait much longer.” The speech is punctuated by a breath of laughter. 

The officiator nods, content. “Do you, Kirishima Eijirou, take Bakugou Katsuki to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

“I do.” 

“And do you, Bakugou Katsuki, take Kirishima Eijirou to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

“Course I fucking do.” 

“And now the rings.” 

Shouto, who's been crouched by Michiko towards the back for the entire ceremony, straightens up. “Okay Ice Cube, it's your time to shine.” Michiko nods and runs over towards the pair with great enthusiasm. She gets a round of coos from the guests, which Shouto thinks are well deserved. All day she's been practically vibrating with excitement to help her precious uncles get married, she's never stayed so silent and still for so long. 

Bakugou meets her in a crouch, ruffling her hair as he takes the rings from her outstretched palm. “Thanks kiddo, you did great.” In return she beams and scurries over to Hanta’s side, who goes to pick her up and cry on her new dress. 

They exchange the rings, and quickly draw each other together when the officiator announces they are married. Everyone cheers and claps, the next few minutes passing in a blur as the newlyweds immediately lead everyone to the party.

--

Eijirou insisted from day one of the engagement that his first dance would be to the Macarena.

Dinner and speeches out of the way, Hanta sits back in his chair watching as Katsuki begrudgingly dances with Eijirou to the Macarena. He can feel Shouto’s smug aura increase as the flush on Katsuki's face does. “Chiko’s going to drag you up there soon, then you'll have to do the same dumb dances your daughter wants.” 

Shouto gasps dramatically, covering Michiko’s ears. “You dare call her wonderful dance moves dumb? You're so cruel.” Michiko, sitting peacefully on Shouto’s lap, looks up to him and giggles.

“Papa let go.” 

He obliges, moving his hand down to tickle her sides instead. “I'm very sorry, Ice Cube.” His apology is almost drowned out by her delighted shriek as she wriggles around in his hold. 

“Careful not to ruin her dress, we might need that for another event.” Hanta says, but at the rate Michiko is growing she might not fit in it within a few months. He wishes it would though. The dress is like a generic princess dress, but with more ruffles in the skirt and covered in glitter. In his personal opinion, his daughter looked absolutely adorable in it. 

Shouto nods, twisting her around so they're face to face. “We have to be careful, especially when you look so beautiful right now.” 

Michiko smiles and throws her hands in the air, the momentum almost sending her tumbling backwards. If Hanta trusted Shouto any less his heart would have popped out of his chest. “I do look beautiful.” 

“You're going to have all the boys and girls swarm you.” Shouto coos fondly, leaning in to rub their noses together.

Oh god. His daughter, dating. It will be a cold day in hell before Hanta will let that happen. 

Before Hanta’s protective streak can properly kick in, the music grows a little louder, signalling that people can migrate to the dance floor. Michiko jumps down and begins tugging at his sleeve, bouncing on the soles of her feet. “Daddy, dance!” 

“Of course my angel.” He stands up, giving Shouto a little wave as he's dragged away. 

“I'll be over here with my beer.” 

“Don't drink too much.” 

“I would never.” 

Laughing at the innocent expression Shouto makes, he turns to properly face Michiko. She takes his other hand and tugs him down to a height much better suited for her. He lifts her onto his feet for easier mobility and they spin through the crowds. 

“So Chiko,” he asks, slipping between everyone as they dance, “who's your favourite person ever?” 

She considers it for a moment, her face screwing up and eyes narrowing in concentration. He's never seen her look so focused before, other than that one time she was colouring in a picture of a fish. “Hmm, papa is my favourite.” 

“What? My angel no, what about me?” 

“Daddy is after papa.” Her nod suggests her mind won't be changed and she's set in her ways. 

Hanta swings her up onto his hip, pouting for added effect. “But you're my favourite person ever.” 

Michiko gasps, bringing up her hands to cover her mouth. It's like he's just said the worst thing possibly ever. “What about papa? Papa should be the best!” 

“Well, I love you both very much, so you can both be the best.” He rubs their cheeks together, since his daughter’s new way of showing affection is by slamming her face against someone else's. 

Michiko thinks over his words, then makes a noise of confirmation. “Papa is still favourite.” 

“Chiko why?” He cries, hugging her tighter against his chest. She giggles tapping at his shoulder until he loosens his grip. 

“Papa gives me ass cream.” Hanta silently mours the fact Michiko still pronounces ice as ass, but his mind is focused on something much bigger.

Shouto bribes her with treats. Oh that conniving little bastard. 

In a failed waltz, Eijirou and Katsuki make their way over, dancing next to them. There's a small smile on Katsuki's lips, that tells Hanta he actually likes the dancing more than he's letting on. He spins, gaining enough momentum to lift Michiko onto his hip. “How's the newlywed life so far?” 

“It's great,” Eijirou says cheerily, “I'm now legally obligated to annoy Katsuki for the rest of our lives.” His cheeks are flushed a rosy red, his tie already loosened around his neck. The champagne they had over the meal must have hit him harder than anyone else. 

Katsuki turns so he can properly look at him, sending Eijirou spinning with a quiet “wheee,” sound. One hand grips his though, so he doesn't go anywhere. “Ignore Eijirou, this is only his third time drinking champagne because it makes him go batshit insane by the end of the night.” 

“Can't wait for that.” Hanta laughs, and lets Michiko go back to standing so she doesn't get restless. 

She looks up at him, eyes wide with innocent curiosity. “What's batshit insane?” She asks, voice loud enough to let the surrounding people dancing hear. They get a few dirty looks for it, probably because he's not scolding her for swearing. 

Fuck those guys though. He squeezes her hands, “it means crazy. You know, like your uncle Katsuki.” 

“Hey, fuck you,” the blond in question snaps. 

Michiko points at him, her cheeks puffing out. “No, fuck you uncle Katsu!” 

“I'm so proud of you Chiko, you learn so fast.” 

--

As the night comes to an end, Kirishima has passed out, prompting Bakugou to throw him over his shoulders and leave with a, “peace out extras, thanks for attending the wedding of the damn century.” 

Shouto finds Michiko between two boys around her age, definitely Kirishima's relatives judging from the vibrant red hair. She's half asleep, eyes fluttering closed before jolting back awake. Her new friends are both asleep, one lying on the floor and the other leaning against Michiko's shoulder. 

“Hey Ice Cubes, you ready to go to bed?” He crouches down in front of her, keeping his voice low so as not to wake up the other two. She jumps, shaking her head vigorously and clutching the boy’s arm. 

“No.” There's a hunch Shouto has about children, and it's that when they are tired, they never actually want to go to sleep. It's never fun to deal with then when they get like that. 

He slides the boy on her shoulder to the floor, and picks his daughter up under her armpits. The effect is almost instantaneous, her lips wobbling and eyes already beginning to tear up. She lets out tired cries and wails into his shoulder, upset to be separated from the two boys. 

To calm her down, he starts humming a tune under his breath as he makes his way back over to Hanta. He's drinking a bottle of water on an empty table, suit jacket slung over his arm and tie missing. Upon seeing him, he jumps up and saunters his way over. “Shou, hi. I'm ready to go back to our room.” His words are a little slurred, and Shouto wonders just how much he's had to drink. 

Michiko has gone quiet, presumably asleep despite her previous efforts to stay awake. She's always been weak to resist the warmth of his left side. He nods, taking Hanta’s hand to lead him safely back to their room. “Let's go.” 

Hanta smiles, presses himself against him and leans his head on his shoulder near Michiko’s. “She's so cute, I want another one.” 

“I thought Michiko was almost too much for you to handle.” Shouto replies, leading him up the stairs. He wouldn't mind having a second child with Hanta, his siblings have always been a big part of his life and it would be a shame if Michiko were to miss out on that. 

“Oh Chiko was definitely a lot of work to look after.” Hanta pushes open the doors leading to the hallway with their room and stumbles forward. “Babies are hard work though, and we'll know what we're doing from the very beginning if we do have another.” 

He makes a very good point. Even before they were dating, they had scrambled around each other trying to figure out what weird baby thing Michiko would do next. 

“How about when we get home, we'll start planning for it.” Shouto opens the door to their room, allowing Hanata to rush inside and dive onto the bed. He goes in slower, careful not to jostle Michiko as he lays her down to change her into pyjamas. 

There's a warmth filling up inside him. It stays there until they're all in bed, cuddled up together in one, little family pile. And Shouto thinks he couldn't be happier.