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“Our best guess at ages is that Amajiki is six and Kirishima is three…” The woman’s voice is soft, lace with a tone of understanding as if she expects the hero to balk at her proposition. “There’s really not much that can be done about it except wait for the quirk to wear off.”
Taishirou stares down at the two children standing before him instead of the woman talking to him. One smiles up at him, arms raised as if asking to be picked up, while the other is biting nervously on his thumb and looking as if he’s about to start crying.
“And how long will that be?” Taishirou picks up the younger of the duo, and grins wide at the cheerful giggle it earns him.
Eijirou’s hair is black now, longer and hanging just over his eyes. When he pushes it back, Taishirou can see that the scar on his eyebrow is gone, and he would bet that if he were to lift Tamaki’s sleeve he would find that all of his scars from their last few battles together were gone too.
“Truthfully, we aren’t sure.” She pats Tamaki’s head, prompting the young boy to curl in on himself even further despite the gentleness of her touch. “The child’s quirk hadn’t presented before this incident and it’s unlike anything his parents have, so we don’t really know anything about it. We would like you to stay in the district until it does though, so we can help monitor the boys and assist with their care if need be. Our doctors would also like to ask them some questions about the whole experience once they are back to normal.”
She’s assuming they’ll go back to normal.
Taishirou chastises himself immediately for thinking so negatively. The battle they had endured had been brutal and even if they don’t know much about the quirk affecting his young protégés, he can see that they’re relatively unharmed and don’t seem to be in pain. And he reasons that there’s nothing wrong with making the best out of a bad situation. He smiles down at Tamaki before scooping the boy up into his arms as well. Eijirou giggles again, taking the older boy’s hand in his own and babbling to him in the language of small children. Surprisingly, Tamaki doesn’t shy away, just lets his hand be held while he stares between Taishirou and the woman who had patted his head earlier.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing to be done about it. I won’t need help though. I’m sure I can handle these two on my own.” He takes the hotel key card handed to him and pockets it for later.
Taishirou had already made plans for after patrol. Dinner at his favorite restaurant and a night on the town to follow with Tsunagu and Mirko. There’s not much that can be done though now, so he supposes those plans are on hold for at least the night, and maybe even longer. It isn’t the boys’ fault so he doesn’t let it get him down. He sends a quick message to both of them, letting them know that he’ll need to reschedule and then pockets his phone. He’s determined to make this a day a win in his books.
The hotel the HPSC is providing for them will be nice for sleeping, but he doesn’t want to keep the two tykes cooped up in a room all day. They’re far from home and even as little as they are, he’s certain that he can make some good memories for them. He walks down to the end of the block and takes in the sight of the bustling city. He pauses at the busy street corner, realizing that he has no idea what kids their age even like. He’s sure he’d seen a park a few blocks away and maybe he could–
“Fishie!” Eijirou squeals happily, chubby finger pointing to a large billboard advertising a local aquarium.
“Wanna go see the fishies, huh?” Taishirou bounces Tamaki gently in his hold while he looks into watery, indigo eyes. “What do you say, Maki? Want to go see the fishies?”
***
Taishirou had taken the small shrug of Tamaki’s shoulders as an agreement of sorts and soon enough the trio had found themselves standing in front of the aquarium’s massive, arched entrance. The corridors beyond are wide and dark, with most of the ambient lighting coming from the massive aquariums lining the walls. Eijirou squeals happily and babbles as he’s carried from tank to tank. Tamaki is much more reserved, preferring to keep a tight hold of Taishirou’s hand while they walk and mostly peeking out from behind his legs when they stop.
They’re stopped in front of a large tank with bright, colorful fish when Eijirou lets out another sharp squeal. He squirms and wiggles until Taishirou is forced to put him down and then watch as the boy toddles off to the tank across the room.
“Shark!” Eijirou bounces excitedly and then leans forward. He presses his face against the glass just as a large grey nurse shark swims by. “Maki! Maki! Look! Shark!”
Tamaki peeks out from behind Taishirou’s leg, but it’s not enough for Eijirou. He grabs the older boy’s hand and pulls him closer, chubby finger pointing to the far side of the glass as the shark starts to come back around.
“Look! Teeth!” Eijirou grins wide and points from the shark’s jagged teeth to his own before putting his face back to the glass. After the shark passes he bounces excitedly on his feet before grabbing Tamaki’s hand again. “Wow…”
He watches the shark pass twice more and then pulls Tamaki towards the next tank. They move like that, from exhibit to exhibit, with Eijirou tugging the older boy along and Taishirou trailing patiently behind them. The exhibits are nice and well taken care of. He stops for a moment to appreciate a beautifully lit jellyfish display. It’s higher up off the floor with a very small window. The colors change slowly, making the translucent animals appear to shift as well and he can’t help but think about lifting the boys up to see it better. When Taishirou turns back around to suggest as much, he finds that the boys are gone.
“Eijirou?” Panic swells in Taishirou’s chest as he turns in circles, eyes dragging over every patron and child present while looking for his young wards. “Tamaki!”
Despite the fear building within him, he keeps his pace calm so he won’t scare them if, when, he does find them. He’s hopeful that they hadn’t tried to go back the way they’d come and there was only one way forward, so he goes that way. He rounds the corner to find three branching corridors. He’s nearly frantic as he moves through and scans the new crowd and exits that could have taken the boys in any direction, and then finally, finally, his eyes fall on the small boys.
There’s a small touch-tank set up in the corner with marine urchins, small stingrays, and a few other aquatic animals. Taishirou takes in a deep, steadying breath instead of rushing over to them. Even though he’s upset, he doesn’t want to chastise them. They were just kids exploring, after all and it was his own fault that he’d gotten distracted and wasn’t watching them more closely – a mistake he will definitely not be making again.
He watches from where he stands as Tamaki leans over and dips his hand into the tank, much to the frustration of Eijirou who can barely wiggle his wrist over the glass. Eijirou pouts, pointing to the small yellow sea star on the other side of the glass. Tears are welling up behind red eyes but before Taishirou can step forward to intervene, Tamaki is kneeling down in front of the other boy.
“It’s okay, Eiji… Don’t cry.” Tamaki’s fingers morph into the tentacles of an octopus and he waves them slowly in front of his face, much to the young boy’s delight. “You can pet me if you want to.”
Eijirou stares at the small, wriggling tentacles before dragging his sleeve across his cheeks to dry them. He reaches out hesitantly, fingers ghosting over the tip of one red tentacle and letting a sucker attach to his hand before it pulls away. Tamaki wiggles it and Eijirou squeals happily before reaching out and touching it more firmly. The sight of the boys together, happy and safe, makes Taishirou smile, and he gives them a few more moments before coming over to them and lifting them both up so they can touch the small creatures in the shallow water.
***
By the time the aquarium announces it will be closing soon, Eijirou is already yawning and rubbing at tired eyes. His face is sticky with the remnants of some sweet treat he’d had after lunch and he’s dragging around a massive shark plush that Taishirou had bought him from the gift shop. Tamaki’s own toy, a large, plush octopus with long, red tentacles is draped lazily over his shoulders as he trails slowly behind the younger boy.
“Time to go.” Taishirou picks Tamaki up first, careful to make sure the boy doesn’t drop his new toy before catching up to Eijirou and scooping him up as well.
The move garners him a few tired giggles, but no protests and no real energy to speak of. The boys each sink against him, warm cheeks pressed to his neck while their arms hold tight to their new toys. The aquarium’s crowd has thinned out quite a bit and it isn’t hard to make his way quickly back through to the entrance now that they’re not stopping every few feet to look at the animals or move out of someone’s way.
“Shark…” Eijirou mumbles, word broken off by a long yawn as a tired finger points towards a familiar tank.
“Sharks again, huh?” Taishirou smiles softly to himself and stops in front of it to let Eijirou get one last glance at the fish he’s been so enthralled with. “Alright, just for a little bit though.”
He stands there for what feels like a very long time, until his back is starting to ache from the awkward angle has to stand so the boy can see without actually lifting his head, but still wanting to give the boys just a few minutes more. When he looks down, he expects to find Eijirou sleeping but instead, the boy’s eyes are still following the ragged-toothed fish’s lazy glide along the bottom of the tank. Tamaki’s eyes are closed though, his thumb wedged in his mouth while his other hand clings tightly to the soft fur of his plush.
Another few minutes of quiet watching, Taishirou’s gaze more on the boys than it is on the fish until the announcement calls for closing time again, and Taishirou once more has to start walking. It’s not hard to juggle the boys in his arms as they sit quietly, they’re so small. Even when they were full-grown, he could have managed without much difficulty, but now they’re positively tiny and he can barely feel them in his arms.
When they reach the train station, Tamaki is snoring softly. Taishirou shuffles him carefully, trying his best not to wake the boy as he searches in his pocket for the train card. A quick swipe at the terminal and a few steps later and he’s sitting down for the first time all day. The gentle rocking of the train car has his own exhaustion welling up, but he forces his eyes to stay open. A small, sticky hand comes up to brush against his chin and when he looks down, he finds Eijirou staring up at him with tired, almost vacant eyes. Those tiny fingers keep brushing against his skin as if he’s comforting himself and Taishirou can’t help but smile down at him while he rubs his own small, smoothing circles against the boy’s back.
By the time the train stops, Eijirou too has fallen asleep. Taishirou is careful to hold onto the plushies that have now escaped the once tight grips of his boys as he walks the few blocks to the hotel and then down the long corridor to their room. The room the agency had booked for them is large and clean, furnished with not just a bed, but a couch and a small kitchen as well. Rather than try to lay the boys down on the bed and risk waking them up, Taishirou sits down on the couch and leans back, arms still holding them tightly against him.
It isn’t the day he’d originally envisioned, but as he thinks back on the smiles they’d shared and how Tamaki had come out of his shell even as a small child just to make Eijirou smile, he’s not sure he’d trade it for anything. Taishirou lets his eyes fall closed and soon the sound of his own, much louder snoring joins with those of the two exhausted boys still curled in his arms.