Glass Heart

Glass Heart - Chapter Nineteen

"Shouta...?" Izuku muttered to him, slowly walking into the living room. He fiddled with his T-shirt (that was light green with the word 'T-Shirt' on it) and stared at the floor.

"Yeah kid?" Shouta said, placing the newspaper on the small table next to his cup of coffee. "You okay?"

"Yeah!" Izuku was quick to reassure him. "I just... I wanted to ask... could I see Shinsou later today? He invited me to a café... It's near here, called the... oh, what's the name... Ne... Ne..."

"Neko No Eiyu?" Shouta said automatically, before pausing. "Umm..."

"Yeah! You've been there? I don't really know anything about it, besides the location. Do they serve good food there?"

"I..." Shouta looked away. "I don't really go there for the food... but the food is good!"

"Uhh... okay?"

"On a completely separate topic, are you allergic to cats?"

"... no?"

"Ah, okay. Anyway, yes of course you can see your friend." Shouta smiled at Izuku as he felt a surge of relief flow through his veins at Shouta's response. Shouta... really is different than any other adult Izuku had ever known. "I've got Shinsou's phone number anyway, so I can keep in contact with both him and you. You're both good kids, I trust you."

"T... Thank you..." Izuku said, wiping away a few small tears. Part of him really believed Shouta would say no, or even get mad at him for asking. After all, the last time he'd asked his father for something, he had ended up bedridden for a few days. Not that anyone noticed or cared at the time.

With each passing day, Izuku was starting to trust Shouta more.

Noticing Izuku's tears, Shouta sighed fondly, and got up from the couch, crossed the room to Izuku and gave him a hug. Izuku felt himself lean into it's tight security, and he wrapped his arms around Shouta's back. The hug seemed to have the opposite effect, because as soon as Izuku's hands pressed into Shouta's back, Izuku's crying grew until he was leaning into Shouta's neck, tears staining his top.

"I - I'm so - sor - sorry Shouta!" Izuku kept saying between his tears. Shouta didn't respond, aside from another fond sigh, and rubbed Izuku's back until he calmed down.

"Izuku, kid, you can tell me anything, okay? I'm never going to be mad at you for asking me a question, or for telling me the truth, or for being open with me, okay? And I wouldn't ever be mad at you at all either - the furthest I would ever go is disappointment. And I am not disappointed in you by the way!" He added when Izuku tensed up. "I'm happy and proud that you trust me enough to ask me something that probably worried you."

Izuku felt loved.

---TimeSkip---

"So this is 'Neko No Eiyu'?" Izuku muttered, standing outside the café with Shinsou. It seemed like a fairly normal café, even with the strange sign (a large black cat face with 'Neko No Eiyu' written on the front in white lettering). However, Izuku doubted it really was just a simple café, based on Shouta's reaction to it this morning... It seemed quite intriguing.

Izuku smiled at his new friend and opened the door for him to walk through. "Have you ever been here before?" He asked, as he held the door open.

"Yeah, it's my favourite spot." Shinsou smiled, walking through the door and waiting for Izuku to enter so they could choose a table together. "It's really relaxing, especially with..." He trailed off. "Midoriya, you said you've never been here before?" At Izuku's small head shake, he grinned. "Well then I'll leave it as a surprise."

Izuku's curiosity piqued, he quickened his pace to find a nice table. The two of them headed to the back, where a few small tables were slightly hidden. They sat down at one, and placed down their bags, as a waitress walked up to them.

"Hey there, Shinsou! The usual experience?" She asked, smiling politely at them.

Shinsou nodded. "Full treatment, three hours please, for the two of us." He reached into his pocket and gave some money to the waitress, who glanced at Izuku.

"It's nice to see Shinsou with some friends, especially someone so cute!" She said with a small smile. "He's one of out regulars! He normally is here alone, so I'm glad he can enjoy the café with someone new. Okay, I'll book room 2 for you both for the next three hours."

Izuku flushed slightly at the waitress's compliment and didn't say anything until she walked off.

"Okay we have three hours!" Shinsou said with a grin. "Should we order some food first?"

"Wait, was that money for us both? I thought that was just for you! I can pay my part, Shinsou!" Izuku quickly rebutted, reaching into his pocket for the money Shouta and Hizashi gave him.

Shinsou quickly stopped him. "No! This is my treat, okay? You can pay me next time." At Izuku's pause and eventual small nod, Shinsou smiled. "Okay! Let's order some food, and while we're waiting, we can go into the next room."

"There's another room?" Izuku questioned. "Are you sure we're allowed in the kitchen?"

"Izuku this other room has nothing to do with cooking!" Shinsou laughed, and afterward kept his lips sealed. Izuku pouted with frustration at his questions not being answered, but knowing they'd be answered soon, kept quiet and began to bounce on his seat with anticipation.

The waitress shortly returned, and the boys placed their orders. Once done, Shinsou grabbed Izuku's sleeve and hauled him out of his seat, grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay! Let me show you the best part of the café!"

Izuku allowed Shinsou to drag him across the café, their small figures thankfully preventing them from bumping into any tables in their excitement. The other people in the café smiled at the two children and their antics.

Shinsou stopped at a hallway with three doors. "There are multiple rooms so we can be on our own, even if multiple people indulge in this café's main feature. We have room two."

Shinsou walked to the middle door and turned the handle, swinging it open.

Izuku gasped.

"C... Cats!"

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I know there's a lot of chemistry between Izuku and Hitoshi, but I promise you guys it is NOT a ShinDeku fic, its TodoDeku. Just hold out, I'll introduce Shoto eventually.

School is now back, which is... fun. But as a blessing in disguise, we're back in lockdown, so I have more time to spend writing - that I would have spent going back and forth from school. So hopefully the updates will keep coming. (written 5th January).

And I think that's all I have to say? I got to 1K in a separate fanfiction (New Hope) which I'm super happy about, but you guys aren't here to read Danganronpa, you're here to read My Hero Academia, so I won't go on about that XD

Thank you all for your amazing support!

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊