Chameleon - Shoto ASD fic -

32

I'm sat playing with Eri. She's braiding my hair, putting in cute little clips that I think are actually really nice.

'So Sho, you never told me who you liked' She says.

'Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention. I have a boyfriend. His name is Izuku Midoriya'. She stops clipping my hair, plopping herself onto my lap. 

'DEKU IS YOUR BOYFRIEND?' She squeals excitedly. 'Who asked who out?' She asks.

I think. 'Well, I guess, Deku did?' She grins. 'Backu owes me 100 yen, and he said I could comb his hair for a week'. I stifle a laugh. Now that's something I gotta see.

She looks up at my face. 'Sho, how did you get that mark on your face?'

My blood runs cold. 

Because your mother didn't love you.

But then I look down at her, with love and adoration. Eri loves you. And that's enough. I force a smile.

'I got into a little accident when I was younger' I say. 'Like the accident you had in the alleyway?' She asks me. Damn. Kids really have no boundaries. I nod again. 'Exactly'.

Before I know it, she's touching the burn. 'Can I put make up on you?' She asks 'I want you to feel pretty'. I nod. She scurries away into another room, and I hear a few jingles of collars from cats.

Hitoshi walks into the room. 'Did somebody say make-up?' He says, grinning. 'Yep' I smile. Eri runs back into the room with an elabourate full make up kit.

'Is this yours?' I ask with suspicion. She shakes her head. 'It's daddy's.' 

'Eri, have you got permission from dad to use it?' Hitoshi asks. She pouts. 'You know the rules, you gotta ask him first'. She huffs, running into the study.

'MAKE-UP ON SHOTO?' I hear a voice boom. Oh no. She's awakened Mic. He rushes into the room, grinning like a madman.

'Hell yeah! Let's do it'. And before I know it, I'm having my face cleaned, primed, spritzed and patted, amongst other things. And I fucking love it.

Mics working on my eyeliner, his face scrunched in concentration. Hitoshi is working on my lips, whilst Eri is choosing eyeshadow. 'Ever worn make up before?' He asks me. 'No, Endevour said that boys don't wear make-up and if they do then they're, well, then he said the f slur'.

I see Mic's eyes darken, and I just about hear 'I am going to kill him' under his breath. He smiles. 'Well, in this household you can wear whatever you want Sho.'

Aizawa strolls into the room. 'Cute' he says, sipping from a mug of coffee. He sits down in an armchair, watching the show.

'PINK' Eri suddenly says, grabbing some eyeshadow. 'Please dad, pretty please can we do pink eyeshadow?' Mic laughs. 'Eri, that colour doesn't go with his undertones. What did we discuss honey?' He then goes in depth about colours, complimentary colours and tones and things I do not understand. Eri pouts.

'Oh leave it Zash, let the kid have pink'. Aizawa says. Mic wrinkles up his nose again, muttering something about colours under his breath. 'Fine' he says, 'but if it makes his skin look muted, don't come crying to me'.

-later-

I sit in front of a small mirror, everyone gathering around me. 'D-do you like it' Eri questions. I blink, is that really me? I tilt my head to one side, noticing how there's a shimmer every time I move.

You look like a fa-

Shut up. Its..I feel...

'I LOVE IT!' I say, barely able to contain my excitement. 'C-can we do this more often?' I ask shyly. Everyone laughs, whilst Mic practically beams.

'Yes! This weekend I'll take you to the mall. We can get your foundation, concealer and other things, then I can teach you...' he goes off at a milllion miles an hour, talking about things I do not understand. I frown.

'But, is it really okay if I wear this? It's not too girly?' Mic sighs. 'Sho, you absolutely can wear what you wanna wear. Gender is a construct'. I tilt my head, not understanding.

'But I was born a boy, not a girl' I say. 'I'll make some tea' Aizawa says, leaving the room. Mic scootches next to me.

'Sho, you do realise that there's more than two genders right?' There's...what? I think my brain explodes, cause Mic chuckles.

'Like, there's boy and girl, but also things that mean both, neither, part of, excetera'. My mouth drops.

'So, I don't have to choose either boy or girl?' I ask. Mic laughs, Hitoshi chuckles. 'No. There's a wide spectrum'.

This officially blows my mind. 'I thought I always had to pick, and I picked boy because dad was mad when I said I might be a girl'.

Mic pulls me into a hug. 'You can be whatever you want to be. Just let us know and we'll do our best to accomodate for that, okay?' I burrow my face in his neck, enjoying the smell of bubblegum.

'Thanks dad'. Mic squeals very loudly, hurting my ears. 'SHOTA, HE CALLED ME DAD!' I hear footsteps. 'YAY!' He responds. We unclasp. Aizawa plops on the floor next to me.

'Shoto, we love you for you, okay? Whatever you wanna be, we'll support you. We're proud of you'.

Proud.

They're...

proud?

I feel my eyes prickle. Then tears. Crying? Now? But it's like a damn has been broken, and I can't stop crying. All these feelings come rushing out of me, just from that singular word: proud.

'Oh geez kid c'mere' Aizawa says, pulling me into a hug. 'S-sorry' I say hiccupping. 'It's okay' he says, and begins to stroke my hair. 

And that when I notice something. Well rather, the absense of something. The voice, it's gone. Maybe not permanently, but for now at least.

'We love you Sho' Mic says. 'T-thank you' I say. He joins in the hug, kissing the top of my head. All this affection and love feels really nice. It's warm, but not scolding. I. I think this is love.

Eri also piles on, as well as Hitoshi. I've got four people I care about hugging me, making me feel safe. And I feel like I can take on anything. 

'Shit the tea!' Aizawa says, scurrying up and out to the kitchen. We all laugh. Hitoshi looks at me. 

'So Sho, I think we need to tidy up that masara and send a picture to Deku. I think he'd really like it'.

'You think so?' I ask. What if he hates it? What if he leaves you?

He nods. 'Absolutely.' We tidy up under my eyes, as Aizawa comes into the room with the tea. We take a few pictures of me, which turn into photos of me and Eri, which evolves into all five of us. 

'Can I frame this one?' I ask Mic. Its a selfie of Eri hugging me, Shinso holding Cat up to the camera, and Mic kissing a very red Aizawa's cheek. Mic nods. 'Of course! We can print it at the mall'.

I look at the photo again, focussing on my face. And for once, I actually like what I look like.