Marshmallow |BnHA|

Chapter Sixteen

Shouta ran a heavy hand down his face, groaning slightly.

Of course, at two in the morning, Izuku;s light would still be on and Denki's giggles could be heard. The kids had been sent to bed hours ago, and had either managed to convince Shouta they were asleep or had woken up.

That brought his second worry of whether Izuku had had a nightmare. 

Peaking around the corner of the half-open door, he felt his worries vanish.

Izuku was wide eyed, no trace of tears on his face and a grin on his face. The boys were sat on the bed, crossed legged and opposite one another, Paws laying on her back between them as they bounced a piece of rope just above her. 

Izuku was wearing a green 'Bolbasor' onesie - a recent addition to his collection - whilst Denki was in a yellow 'Pikachu' version. Izuku had been insistent on Shouta buying him one, so much he offered to sell almost everything he owned.

Shouta hadn't thought my of it until the boys screeched in excitement. 

Smiling slightly, he let himself just watch for a moment.

Izuku was generally a chatty kid when he wanted to be, but other than when he was mumbling about Heroes or interrogating Shouta's friends, he was quiet and observant. That was a trait of Shouta's Father, one he had inherited and so had Izuku.

Denki was the almost polar opposite. He never shut up, and in the rare occasions his mouth was too full for a sound to formulate, he was bouncing and tapping things. 

Yet, they had a good dynamic. 

Izuku had only spoke about one other friend, who Shouta questioned. Izuku didn't see a problem with the way he described 'Kacchan', but Shouta did - and he worried about how the kid would grow up. He couldn't exactly blame him, he hadn't been told treating Izuku different because he was Quirkless was wrong. 

And despite his oldest friend all-but abusing him, Izuku didn't have a bad word to say about him. 

Sighing, he left the boys to their devices, using his time to search this 'Kacchan'. It might do Izuku good to see a familiar face.

_______________________

"Bye Bye Kisan!" 

Izuku frantically waved out the window until they turned the corner, unable to see the waving Denki, and pulled his arm back in. The grin didn't leave his face.

It was late afternoon, the boys sleeping until past lunch, and Shouta was already itching to get home to the comfort of their fort. It was the first time Izuku had left the house since the funeral, and occasionally the boy would look out the window in slight fear, only to have Denki distract him with another topic of conversation. 

As much as it wasn't a route Shouta wanted to take, distractions was the best course at the minute. Until he found a therapist. 

"Lettuce?"

Izuku hummed, kicking his legs out slightly and turning his smile to Shouta, who looked at him through the mirror. 

"Do you want to go and see Kacchan?"

The boy froze for a minute, eyes widening. Shouta thought he had made a mistake, and was about the back track when Izuku grinned even wider before.

"C-Can we?! I haven't s-seen Kacchan in so long! He w-will probably be s-so strong Unkie! He h-has an amazing Quirk! He's the b-best!"

Nodding, Shouta pushed down his nerves. 

"I called Mrs Bakugo last night, she's cooking us Katsudon. Now, I know this is exciting but you need to do something for me."

Izuku nodded sternly.

"If it get's too much and you want to leave, tell me straight away. No one will get mad at you, okay?"

Nodding again, Izuku grinned happily and bounced in his seat, looking out the window. It was about an hours drive to the Bakugo's, and Shouta grew wary of how Izuku would react. After all, this was where he lived. 

He was mostly silent during the journey, humming slightly to the music. Shouta couldn't help but smile at moments like these; where both of them found the lack of speaking comforting. No awkward conversations, no funny looks, no trying to find a topic they hadn't already exhausted. 

Not these happened much to Izuku and Shouta, but the threat was always there.

Izuku giggled as they drove past a park, now only half an hour away, pressing his face against the window.  "T-That's where me and Kacchan w-went on a school trip! We played H-Heroes and Villain's! Me a-and Kacchan where the Heroes and e-everyone else were Villains!" 

Shouta smiled. "Yeah? When was this?"

Izuku frowned. "Just b-before the Doctors. K-Kacchan s-still thought I could be a H-Hero." He shrugged, before smiling again. "I t-think Kacchan was just s-sad. We d-didn't think I could b-be a Hero and he t-thought I had broken our promise."

"What promise?"

Izuku grinned, a determined look flashing in his eyes.

"We're gonna be the best Heroes together!"

He paused for a minute, as if realising something.

"Kacchan wanted me to be stronger, d-didn't he? He wasn't angry b-because in was Quirkless. But because I l-let it make me weak."

The rest of the ride was silent and as they pulled up outside the door was wrenched open, a small blonde boy standing in the threshold.

Izuku squirmed to get out the seat and Shouta helped quickly, letting the kid go and watching as he ran, tackling the blonde into a hug.

Crimson eyes suddenly flicked to to him and he lightly pulled away from the hug.

"Deku! What the hell!?!" Izuku grinned sheepishly, waving to the blonde women as she appeared behind the kid.

"I didn't break our promise Kacchan! I'm going to train extra hard to be a Hero!"