Don't Give Up On Me: TodoDeku (Book 2 of You're Like Me)

4

Hizashi wraps his arms around his kid tightly, ushering him into the apartment where Amajiki sits at the table. Aizawa ended up staying back at the first year dorms after Ms. Midnight was called out on an emergency (she was supposed to supervise the problem children for a few hours so he could spend time with his family).

His papa bombards him with questions, so much so that Izuku hardly has a chance to eat. They see each other every day in class, though the man acts like he hasn't seen the boy in a month. Izuku explains that, yes, therapy went well, training for their provisional licenses has been difficult but fun, and yes, Todoroki's doing well.

Finally, Amajiki speaks, which allows the boy to stuff his face, "Hizashi, would it be possible for me to visit my mom tomorrow? I haven't seen her in awhile..."

The mans eyes soften. With everything going on with Izuku, he's afraid him and Shota hadn't been addressing his needs, "Of course. Is she still in the Hosu Correctional Facility?"

"Yeah. I know it's last minute, but I'll already be in the city with FatGum tomorrow-"

"It's no problem, Tamaki, really. Most of your classmates will be at work studies anyway, so their should be no problem with me taking you."

Amajiki thanks the man. His husband had told Hizashi how their first meeting went, so he couldn't help but be concerned. Still, as much as he loved the kid and wanted to protect him, he wasn't going to keep him from his mother.

While the man gets a start on the dishes, the two boys go into the living room area and scroll through Netflix to find a movie to watch. When they finally settle on a documentary, they go to a bookshelf filled with games and sort through them, "Tama-chan? What's your mom like?"

Amajiki smiles, setting aside the game of Monopoly he had pulled out, "She's great, really pretty too. We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, but she made sure I was taken care of for the most part."

He continues, "She was kind of like a combination of Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada. She was really protective, and I was bullied a bit because there was no speech therapy program at my school. Still, she always let me help her cook, and we played games and read books together."

Izuku grins, and agrees when his foster brother suggests a simply game of Kings Corner. Amajiki made the best cookies and brownies, "If you don't mind me asking... how did you end up in foster care? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Amajiki sits cross legged on the ground, and shuffles the deck of cards on the small coffee table, "It's al-alright. My mom got fired from a job, and she couldn't afford her medications without the health insurance. She has bipolar disorder, so things got a little less structured. I started missing school a lot to take care of her when she was depressed, making sure she ate and things like that. My tru-truancy was consistent enough that child protective services was notified."

"How old were you?"

Amajiki shrugs, "About ten. It was my second year of middle school. They were able to get her some financial aid and there were a couple of pro-programs she qualified for to help her get back on her feet. The first time I was only at a temporary foster home for six weeks before I went to live with her again."

Amajiki understood that his situation wasn't great. A kid shouldn't have to care for their parents. But it felt... it felt different for him. His mom sacrificed so much for him, and he had the ability to care for her. He knew his mom better than anyone, and he knew that she couldn't help it when she would be in bed for days at a time.

He knew it was a product of her disorder now, but back then- the good times were worth everything. When she was manic, they would ride the train all around the city, and she would show him the best ice cream places, the parks with the funnest swing sets and they would play together for hours, "The first time?"