Chapter Text
Saturday was moving day and Izuku had to sit it out. He felt bad that he couldn’t help, but Dr Ishikawa said it was going to take at least a week for his condition to stabilise and he couldn’t leave the hospital until she was satisfied.
She had compromised a little though, allowing him two visitors at a time. The first duo that came to see him was Shoto and Momo. Seeing them together wasn’t weird, they’d often gravitated towards each other at school and Izuku was happy for them that they were dating now.
“Hey guys,” he smiled.
“Hey, Midoriya,” Momo greeted, eyes immediately sweeping over his belly and the monitors. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” he grinned.
Shoto followed behind her.
“Hello, Midoriya. How are you?”
It wasn’t just a polite question, he could see that Shoto was genuinely concerned.
“I’m okay. It’s a lot. Obviously. But I’m just trying to focus on my baby and making sure I do everything I can to keep her healthy.”
Shoto nodded his approval.
Momo sat down by Izuku’s side.
“Do you have a sonogram I can see?” she asked.
“Um, not at the moment,” he had to admit. “It’s on my phone and I’ve been banned from using it…”
They both understood why.
“I think that’s a good call,” Shoto said.
“Why?” Izuku checked. “Have you heard something bad?”
“No. But too many people with no real knowledge have an opinion. You shouldn’t give them a second thought.”
Momo looked around.
“It’s kind of boring in here, isn’t it?” she said, unbuttoning her top. For a split second he wondered exactly how she planned on brightening it up, but then she pulled something fluffy and pink from her chest.
She held it out to him. It was a stuffed rabbit.
“For your little girl,” she smiled.
“Thank you,” he said, accepting the gift.
She created another.
“And this one is from Shoto.”
It was a calico and white cat plushie, which matched Shoto’s split colouring.
“Thanks,” he grinned. “She’s gonna love them.”
Momo smiled.
“They can keep you company in the meantime.”
For a while they all chatted about hero work and rankings, both of them were top twenty pro heroes now.
After a while, Momo stood up and said goodbye to him.
“Thanks for stopping by,” he told her. “I really appreciate you taking the time. And thanks for the presents.”
“Sure,” she said. “You let me know if there’s anything else you need.”
“I will.”
She turned to Shoto and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Yes,” he agreed, squeezing her hand. Then she left them to it.
Izuku couldn’t help smirking at his friend.
“It’s nice,” Shoto said. “My family never showed any affection.”
Izuku’s smile turned into something softer.
“I’m really happy for you, Shoto. You guys are a good match.”
“Thanks, Midoriya,” he said, taking a seat. “I hope it’s okay I told Momo about your pregnancy.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to keep secrets from the person you love.”
Shoto’s cheeks flushed.
“I never knew it could be like this. It’s easy to be happy when you care about each other.”
Izuku thought of Toshi and his shoulders tightened.
“Sorry,” Shoto said. “I didn’t mean… I was just thinking about my parents.”
“It’s okay. I know what you mean. When it’s just me and Toshi, it works. When it’s right, you know.”
“Yes. A lot of people from 1-A are pairing up.”
“Did Ashido and Kirishima get together yet?”
“Not that I know of. But I’m sure Bakugo will let us know when they do.”
“Yeah…”
“You think Bakugo will ever find anyone?” Shoto wondered.
Izuku laughed.
“She’d have to be very special to tame Kacchan. I hope he does though, he’s a good person. I think anyone he loved would be very lucky.”
“Yes. He’s been relentless protecting you.”
“I owe him a lot.”
“No, you don’t. He does it because he’s your friend. We all are.”
Izuku was speechless for a moment. But he knew it was true.
“Thanks, Shoto.”
Shoto nodded.
“Momo and I have discussed going public with our relationship. We thought it might draw some attention off you and All Might.”
“Shoto, you don’t have to do that.”
“I know. But it’s going to come out eventually, and this way it might do some good.”
Izuku couldn’t help smiling.
“This is why you deserve to be a top 10 hero.”
They were interrupted when Dr Ishikawa arrived. Shoto stood up immediately.
“I’ll get out of your way,” he said.
“It’s alright,” Izuku said. “Dr Ishikawa, this is Shoto. You probably recognise him as a top pro hero. We went to school together.”
She nodded.
“It’s always nice to meet another member of the famous 1-A. I’ve heard so much about you all. I’m Rika Ishikawa.”
“Nice to meet you,” Shoto bowed. “Thank you for taking good care of my friend.”
“My pleasure,” she replied. “Izuku is a unique patient.”
“He always kind of did do his own thing,” Shoto agreed.
Dr Ishikawa smiled, then turned to Izuku.
“Are you ready for your ultrasound?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Shoto said goodbye to him, and then he bared his belly, used to the procedure now.
Dr Ishikawa ran the probe over his skin, eyes on the screen.
“Blood flow is improving,” she said.
“That’s good.”
“Yes. If improvement continues at this rate you’re on track to be able to go home by the end of the week.”
“That sounds nice.”
Satisfied, she turned the machine off and wiped the gel off his belly.
“May I use my quirk?”
“Go ahead.”
She laid her palm on his skin, familiar warmth flaring.
According to his books, at 17 weeks his baby was the size of a pear. She would be practicing sucking, and developing fingerprints.
He felt a strong flutter. Feeling her there now was comforting.
“Reflexes are good,” Dr Ishikawa said.
“Can you pick up any emotion yet?”
“No, her neural networks aren’t quite developed enough for that at this stage. Right now she reacts to stimuli such as temperature and movement.”
“When do you think you will?”
“I might start to get impressions around 24 weeks.”
Izuku smiled. In seven weeks time he might really be able to know how she was feeling.
“You’re both hitting your milestones,” Dr Ishikawa said. “Everything is progressing as it should.”
Izuku nodded, straightening his gown. She pulled the sheet back up, lingering a moment.
“You really are an incredible patient, Izuku. You’re doing so well under very difficult circumstances.”
“The media isn’t helping...”
“Not just that,” she said. “Creating a life in a body that wasn’t built for it, it’s even hard for me as a doctor not to deem it miraculous.”
Izuku smiled softly and laid a hand on his belly.
“Mm. Sometimes I wonder why she’s there, but then I think about how much I love Toshi, and it’s not so strange anymore.”
She gave him a warm smile.
“A little while ago I might have dismissed that, but love is powerful. Isn’t it?”
The look on her face told him that she was speaking from experience.
“Yes,” he agreed.
No matter how messy or hard things became, it was love that was going to carry them through.
- - -
Izuku being in hospital didn’t stop Kacchan’s regular Sunday visit. He showed up in the afternoon.
“Hey, Kacchan,” Izuku smiled.
“Hey, Deku. You seem better today.”
“I… I’m trying to stay positive…”
“Good. Better for the kid if you do.”
Kacchan plonked down in the seat beside him, scowling.
“I thought you sorted all your otaku junk out.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve just spent all morning unpacking your crap and I swear there was just as much as before.”
Izuku blinked.
“You unpacked my stuff?”
Kacchan’s cheeks flushed a little.
“Well who else was gonna?! Not like you could…”
Izuku smiled.
“Thanks, Kacchan. I felt bad that Toshi would have to deal with all that alone.”
“I figured you’d turn it into something needlessly dramatic. So yeah, it’s done now.”
“Did you like the place?”
“It’s decent.”
“It’s close to home…”
“Mm. I guess that’ll make your mom happy or whatever…”
“That’s what Toshi thought.”
“She was there when I left, scrubbing the place top to bottom…”
Kacchan rubbed his neck and looked away.
“So anyway, when the hell are you getting out of here?”
“End of the week, hopefully. Dr Ishikawa says the meds are working and everything is starting to stabilise where it should.”
“That’s something. You going back to school?”
Izuku picked at a thread on the sheet.
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“Ack! Me? How should I know? I think you’re crazy to put up with the damn brats to begin with. But I guess it’s not really something you can half-ass, is it? I don’t really see how you could give all your attention to them, and the kid, and yourself. But then again, I guess you did handle seven quirks at once…”
“So you’re not gonna fill in for me then?”
“Hell no!”
Izuku laughed.
“I didn’t think so. Still,” he said, settling back against the pillows, head spinning a little. “Someone is going to have to. I… I don’t trust myself anymore…”
Kacchan leaned forward.
“What’d you mean?”
Izuku sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“I… I break too easily. Whenever anything happens, I freak out. What if someone says something at school? What if the media approach me? Right now I can’t imagine standing in front of a room full of teenagers and keeping it together. Plus…” he said, hand coming down to rub his belly. “I can’t hide this much longer…”
“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind already…”
He tipped his head back and closed his eyes.
“I never thought I’d be this weak…”
“Weak? Are you serious? A crybaby, a chronic over-thinker, super dramatic… Totally. But weak? Never. Deku? Hey…”
He opened his eyes and looked at Kacchan, who was looking back, an actual smile pulling at his lips.
“You’re having a baby. What other guy could handle that?”
He smiled and touched his tummy again. The funny thing was he couldn’t remember what it was like not to have her with him now.
“You saying you wouldn’t want to go through this?”
“No way! I would have gotten rid of it the second I found out.”
“No, you wouldn’t…”
“Maybe not, but I woulda complained a hell of a lot more…”
Kacchan pulled a phone out of his pocket. It was Izuku’s.
“I brought you this…”
Izuku reached out. Kacchan pulled it away.
“It’s not for checking the internet and spiralling. It’s for replying to the many messages your good friends have sent you. I see one news article or gossip forum on that screen and I’ll blow the damn thing up right here and now. Got it?”
Izuku nodded, reaching again. Kacchan sat it in his palm with a grumble.
“Supervised access only...”
That was fair after the trouble he’d put Kacchan through.
Izuku focussed on the screen and Kacchan was right, his phone had been flooded.
“I’ve handled most of 1-A, but you should still reply to them all if you want.”
“Thanks, Kacchan.”
As Izuku started to scroll through the messages, the main thing he noticed was that everyone was worried about him. Not because of Toshi, in fact his name rarely came up, it was all about the hospital speculation. Everyone wanted to know if he was okay.
Tears filled his eyes.
“What now?” Kacchan frowned, reaching for the phone to confiscate it. Izuku held it close.
“Everyone is so worried about me. They really care…”
“Of course they do. Seriously, Deku... Why do you have such little faith in all of us?”
“It’s not that…” he said. “It’s just… I love Toshi so much. I want to do everything I can to protect him…”
He let out a breath, hands shaking a little. Kacchan was watching him closely. He looked into those red eyes. Kacchan really was the one person that understood it all.
Izuku blinked back tears.
“I can’t be the person that destroys All Might…”
Kacchan flinched. Izuku knew it was already an old wound for him. Kacchan had blamed himself after Toshi lost his power saving him.
Izuku’s next question was barely audible.
“How did you live with it…?”
Kacchan squeezed his hands together, knuckles turning white. He dropped his eyes and huffed out a breath.
“It was damn hard, I can tell you that…”
“I remember…” Izuku said softly.
Kacchan looked up and sighed.
“I guess I just used it as motivation. I worked my ass off to get stronger, so that I’d never need rescuing again.”
Izuku nodded, but it just wasn’t the same kind of problem.
“Here’s the thing, Deku. All Might survived the whole world seeing him weak like that when he was supposed to be the ‘Symbol of Peace’. And I survived the guilt and shame of causing it. He’ll survive this too. You both will. And you’ve got a hell of a motivator on the way.”
Kacchan nodded towards his belly.
“When she gets here you’re not gonna have time to think about all this crap anymore.”
Logically, Izuku knew Kacchan’s words made sense.
“I hope you’re right…”
“‘Course I am. I’m always right.”
Izuku had to smile.
“The funny thing is that you kind of are…”
Izuku looked down at his phone again, the messages from all his friends still there. He thought back on all they had been through, on that final battle, all of them rallying around him, risking their lives to give him a chance to win.
He opened the group chat and started to type.
Hey everyone. Thanks for checking in. I’m in the hospital right now, just a precaution. Some of you know and some of you don’t, I’m pregnant. My baby and I are okay. Toshi, Mom and Kacchan are taking good care of us. I hope you guys will come visit Toshi and I once I get home ☺️
He hit send and settled back on the pillow.
Kacchan’s phone pinged. He checked it immediately, cheeks turning a touch pink.
“Well that’s that then…”
“Yeah,” Izuku sighed. “The most important people all know now.”
It just sat there between them for a minute, the weight of the 1-A bond.
Eventually Kacchan held out his hand.
“As touching as that breakthrough was, I’m still not leaving you alone with that thing.”
“Fair enough,” Izuku agreed, giving his phone back to Kacchan.
“I’ll let them know you need rest and tell them to keep their traps shut.”
“Thanks, Kacchan.”
After Kacchan left, Izuku’s thoughts lingered on his friends. He thought about their time at U.A., how right from the start every single day had been a struggle, how they’d overcome so many challenges and adversaries together. He thought about the teachers too, and the heroes that had mentored them. There were so many people who’d shaped him. So many people worrying for him now. He didn’t want to cause any more trouble than he already had. He needed to pull himself together.
He turned his head, eyes landing on the gifts from Momo, and then his gaze went to his notebook. It was one thing that always soothed him. He picked it up and tore the first few pages out. It didn’t matter what he and Toshi said, people were going to think whatever they wanted.
Kacchan was right. So were Shoto and Toshi. It was only his family and friends that really mattered now.
Izuku lifted his pen. He was going to write it all down. Everything they’d all been through. Everything Toshi and his friends meant to him.
He pressed pen to paper…
Here’s the sad truth; all men are not created equal. When I was four years old, I learned that some kids have more power than others…