#married tododeku

Winter’s chill nipped at Shoto as he headed home for the night. Just because he wasn’t bothered by the cold didn’t mean he wasn’t awareof it. Nor did it mean that he wasn’t aware of the ways it might affect other people, especially those close to him. Namely, in this case, his husband. The joints in his arms and hands were permanently damaged from how many times he had broken every bone in them using a quirk that, at the time, had been too powerful for his body to handle, and Shoto knew from long experience that the cold made them stiff and painful. He allowed himself a moment to feel bitter that someone he cared so much for was suffering from what many people would consider an old person’s ailment before he was thirty, but there was nothing to be done for it now but try to help ease Izuku’s pain however he could.

To that end, he made sure to turn up the thermostat in their shared apartment as soon as he arrived home. That done, he went into the kitchen and switched on  the kettle, preparing a mug of soothing chamomile tea, which he knew Izuku liked to drink to wind down at the end of a long day, as the kettle’s heating element got to work. Lastly, he plugged in the heated blanket that Izuku kept folded on top of the couch so that it would be ready and warm for him when he came home. Then he settled in to wait, holding the freshly brewed mug of tea between his hands, occasionally applying bursts of heat to it from his left hand to keep it at the perfect temperature.

A few hours later, Shoto heard the scrape of a key in the lock on the front door, and then it swung inward and Izuku stepped through it. He moved gingerly, wincing and grimacing as various aches and pains made themselves known, flexing his right hand down by his side, held slightly behind his body as if to hide how much it was bothering him. With anyone else, it might have worked, but Shoto knew him too well, and his focus immediately honed in on the gesture.

“Here,” he said, getting up from the couch to intercept Izuku at the door. “Sit.” He sat him down on the couch and tucked the heated blanket up around his shoulders. Thrusting the mug of tea into his hands, he added, “Drink this while I go and run you a hot bath.” Izuku accepted the mug wordlessly, wrapping his hands around it and letting out a sigh when the heat from it seeped into his aching joints. He didn’t speak, but his eyes said, Thank you.

You’re welcome, Shoto’s answering smile replied, and then he went to run the bath he had promised. He ran the water hot enough to steam, and added epsom salts to ease the ache from Izuku’s sore and tired muscles. By the time the bath was ready and Shoto went to fetch Izuku, he had finished his tea and was dozing under his blanket.

“C’mon,” Shoto said, pulling him gently to his feet, letting the blanket fall in a heap on the couch. “Your bath is ready.” Izuku nodded and let Shoto lead him down the hall to the bathroom. Once there, he undressed and got into the bath, letting out a contented sigh as he sank slowly down into the hot water.

“Make sure you stay in there until the water’s cold,” Shoto told him. “I’m sure you’ll need lots of time to soak all your aches out.” Izuku nodded and rested his head against the wall behind the tub, his eyes drifting closed. Shoto turned and made to leave the bathroom, intending to let his husband enjoy his bath in private.

“Oh, and Izuku?” he asked as a thought occured to him, pausing in the doorway and turning back toward him.

“Yeah?” Izuku asked.
“I understand why you feel like you have to hide when you’re hurting from the people around you, but you know you don’t have to hide with me, right?” Shoto asked. “I understand, and I’m here for you, okay?” Izuku nodded, and Shoto, satisfied for the moment, finally left him to his bath. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” Shoto said teasingly, striding up to the agreed upon meeting point for the joint mission between the Endeavor Agency and Team Idaten, where Izuku was waiting for him. The green of his costume blended with that of his hair and eyes, complimenting and enhancing it. For the hundreth or perhaps even the thousandth time over the course of their relationship, Shoto was reminded of how head over heels he was for Izuku, even after years of friendship, then romance, and now marriage.

That sense of deep affection driving him forward, Shoto curled his fingers around Izuku’s and pressed a kiss against the back of his hand.

“Hello gorgeous,” he murmured, looking up at Izuku through his lashes.

“Sho, we’re at work,” Izuku hissed, pulling his hand out of Shoto’s grip. His cheeks flushed, making his freckles stand out sharply against pink tinged skin.

“If I can’t flirt with my husband while we’re at work, when can I flirt with him?” Shoto teased.

“Not when we’re in public!” Izuku replied. “It makes me all flustered, and it’s embarassing! I have an image to uphold, you know. People expect All Might’s successor to be composed at all times.”

“Well, maybe I like seeing you flustered,” Shoto murmured, closing the gap between himself and Izuku. “Maybe I think it’s cute.”

“Shoto!” Izuku protested, stamping his foot like a child. There was humor glinting in his emerald eyes that suggested he was in on the game Shoto was playing. Soon, he burst into giggles, and Shoto couldn’t help but to press a kiss to his laughing mouth. Izuku didn’t hesitate to return the kiss, and even though they had seen each other that morning before leaving for their respective agencies, they clung to each other as if they had been apart from one another for days or months rather than mere hours.

“God, I love you,” Shoto said when they broke apart. 

“I love you too, Sho,” Izuku replied. “As I’m sure this”- he wiggled the fingers of the hand on which he wore his wedding band, hidden for the moment beneath his long white glove- “reminds you and the rest of the world of every single day.”

“Maybe not the rest of the world so much,” Shoto said softly, glancing down at his own bare hands and his silver colored wedding band gleaming in the afternoon sun, “but me? Absolutely.” He darted in to give his husband a kiss on the cheek before pulling back once more. 

“How long has it been since we’ve gotten to work together?” he asked.

“Too long,” Izuku answered, eyes growing misty at the reminder. “Not since you officially took over management and operations of the Endeavor Agency from your father.’

“And I’ve told you-” Shoto began.

“There’s a place for me there now that Endeavor is finally retired,” Izuku interjected, finishing a conversation that they’d had so many times that they each knew their lines by heart. “I know. But I like the work I’m doing with Team Idaten.”

“Thank whatever forces out there in the universe that allowed us to be able to do that work together this time around,” Shoto said.

“Better enjoy the opportunity while we have it,” Izuku replied, a gleam in his eye, and leaned in for another kiss.

Behind them came the roar of Iida’ engines, startling them apart. When they turned toward the sound, they saw him standing watching their antics with his arms crossed and a disapproving frown on his face. Shoto groaned internally and prepared himself for a lecture on respectful conduct and public displays of affection. Some habits, it seemed, Iida would never grow out of.

The silence persisted for a moment, until Izuku broke it by clearing his throat awkwardly, trying to dispel the tense, uncomfortable air that suddenly hung over them all.

“If you two are quite finished,” Iida said, fixing them both with a reproving glare, “I believe we have work to do.” Both Midoriyas nodded and followed after him as he began their joint patrol and debrief, both thinking it wise not to mention that he was often just as disgustingly flirtatious with Ururaka when they worked together, if not more so.

Early morning sunlight was just beginning to filter through the gap in the bedroom curtains when Shoto heard the sheets rustle and felt Izuku begin to pull away from him.

“Izu, where are you going?” he slurred, still mostly asleep.

“I’m just going for a run,” Izuku murmured gently in reply, brushing Shoto’s long hair back away from his face and pressing a kiss to his temple. “Go back to sleep.” Shoto sighed contentedly and let his eyes drift closed again, listening to Izuku’s footsteps move around the bedroom before receding out into the hallway. This had become their routine- every morning at dawn, Izuku would slip out of bed to go for a run, a habit he’d gotten into when they’d still been in school. He’d be gone for about two hours, return home, take a quick shower, and then return to bed, and then he and Shoto would sleep curled up together until their alarm went off a few hours later. 

But today was a special day. It was the first day they both had off in almost three months. It hadn’t happened by accident, either. Their lives were busy and chaotic enough that nothing could be left up to chance and everything had to be planned in advance, even time off. From Izuku’s telling of it, Iida had practically ordered him to take a day off and spend time with his husband before he worked himself to death, and Shoto had been only too happy to leave things to the other people at his own agency for the day in response. He had almost expected that Izuku would skip out on his morning run, just this once, considering that this was a rare occasion where they managed to be off work on the same day, but in hindsight, he supposed he should have expected that he’d keep to that part of their routine, no matter the occasion or circumstances. With another contented sigh, he let himself drift back to sleep, knowing that in just a couple of hours Izuku would be in his arms again and they could spend the whole day in bed if they wanted, having nothing pressing that needed their attention.

Shoto was awoken a few hours later by the alarm going off and the feeling of something being not quite right. He reached over to gently prod Izuku to get him to turn it off, since the side of the bed that he slept on was closest to the bedside table where the alarm clock sat, but his fingers brushed empty sheets long since cooled from the lack of a warm body wrapped up in them. If his husband had gone on his morning run, he wasn’t back yet, which was unlike him. He always returned within two hours, like clockwork. Shoto suspected there was something else going on, and he had a feeling he knew what it was.

With another sigh, this one more than a little disappointed, he got out of bed and switched off the alarm, then padded out into the hallway, not bothering to change out of his pajamas. He rounded the corner and saw Izuku seated at the kitchen table, his back to the hallway, poring over case files.

“Izuku,” he said in only a slightly scolding tone. Izuku’s head jerked upwards and he turned around in his chair to face Shoto, smiling sheepishly.

“I can’t believe you brought your work home with you,” Shoto said, striding into the kitchen and packing up Izuku’s case files before he had a chance to protest. “This is supposed to be our day off.”

“I know, but-” Izuku began to argue.

“No buts,” Shoto interjected. “I swear to all the gods, Izuku, one of these days you’re going to learn how to take a break if I have to force the lesson on you.” With a huff, he finished gathering up the files and set them on top of the shoe cubby by the door, where they would be waiting when they returned to work. Re-entering the kitchen, he asked “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No,” Izuku mumbled. “I kind of… got caught up in what I was doing.”

“Alright, then I’m making us breakfast,” Shoto replied. “Don’t move from that spot.” With that, he set about the process of making breakfast, setting the coffee brewing, retrieving a package of bacon and a carton of eggs from the fridge, and grabbing a frying pan from the cupboard where their pots and pans were kept. He was about halfway done with cooking their breakfast when he felt Izuku’s strong arms wrap around his middle.

“I thought I told you not to move from your seat,” he said without looking away from what he was doing.

“I know,” Izuku replied, then was silent for a few moments before he asked “Are you mad at me?” and Shoto knew he didn’t mean because he’d gotten up from his chair.

“No, Izuku, I’m not mad at you,” he said with a sigh, feeling Izuku’s head move up and down in time with it where it rested against his back. “I just… I wish you would let yourself relax and take a break every once and a while. If anyone’s earned that, it’s you.”

“I’ll try,” Izuku said softly. “Starting today.”

“Good,” Shoto replied. “I’m glad to hear it.” Taking the food off the heat, he added, “Now let’s eat breakfast, and after that we can go back to bed.”

“Sounds fantastic,” Izuku said sincerely, and let go of Shoto to follow him to the kitchen table.

From the first time the former Class 1-A had rung in the new year with a bonfire and fireworks, it had become a UA tradition. And now, it served as the perfect backdrop for them to have their class reunion. And for Shoto and Izuku, it was the perfect opportunity for another kind of meeting.

Six months ago, Iida had responded to a villain attack and had found a little girl among the wreckage left behind, orphaned, her parents unfortunate victims of the villains responsible for the violence and destruction. Either because he knew that Shoto and Izuku had reached a point in their marriage where they were wanting to start a family or because the little girl’s recently manifested quirk- called Push and Pull- was similiar to Izuku’s mother’s, Iida had immediately reached out to them when the time came to arrange the girl’s- Kana was her name- placement with a new family. Moved by her story and unable to turn away anyone so clearly in need of their help, they had immediately agreed to take her in. The circumstances by which Kana had come to them were sad, yes, not to mention tragic, but soon Shoto and Izuku grew to love her as their own. She was their daughter, regardless of whether she had been born to them or not. 

Now, with the arrival of the new year and the Class A reunion at UA’s annual New Year’s bonfire, Shoto and Izuku felt the time was right for their friends and former classmates to meet Kana. She had already met Iida, of course, as well as her “uncles” Katsuki and Eijirou, but the rest of the former Class A had yet to be introduced to her, or even to be told of the new addition to Shoto and Izuku’s family. But they wanted them to have a relationship with her, if they wanted it, and they wanted her to have the same support system in their classmates that they’d had growing up, and in many ways still had.

“Where we goin’ Dad?” Kana asked on the train to UA, bouncing excitedly in her seat in Izuku’s lap. When she’d first come to live with them, she called them “Mr. Izuku” and “Mr. Shoto”, respectively, but now she called Izuku “Dad” and Shoto “Papa”, and there had never been a name in his life that Shoto had been happier to be called by.

“It’s a surprise,” Izuku replied with one of his characteristic sunshine-bright grins, pinching Kana’s cheek playfully. She squealed and giggled in response to the gesture, squirming in Izuku’s lap, and Shoto felt a spreading warmth in his chest as he observed the scene. As a lonely, isolated teenager, he would never have imagined this life for himself, falling in love, getting married, starting a family, but here in this moment, with his husband and their daughter, on their way to a long awaited reunion with their classmates and friends, he had everything he could have ever wanted.