Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku was a good kid. 

It wasn't terribly surprising that he never went through a rebellious phase. He was well mannered, listened to his mom, and when Toshinori entered the pictured, Izuku listened to him, too. 

Although, that didn't mean he was an angel, and it definitely didn't mean he was above being petty. Izuku held grudges like the worst of them. He had gotten pretty good at pushing those thoughts to the farthest reaches of his mind, but… sometimes they just happened to shove their way forward again.

Like right then, for example. His mother was going on and on about how happy she was that Izuku was done with high school early and how he's in his second year of university, despite his Quirk status. While that could potentially be sweet, she kept adding in how glad she was that Izuku gave up that 'silly dream of being a Hero.' Toshinori hummed his agreement, nodding slightly as he stared fondly at Inko. 

Izuku felt a sharp pinch in his chest as his childhood hero agreed that it truly was for the best.

The twinge of annoyance and hurt that lingered was enough to bring up those carefully hidden feelings. It wasn't like he had to remain Quirkless. Toshinori could have easily passed his Quirk to Izuku, but… he didn't. Izuku understood that it was Toshinori's Quirk and his to do with as he pleased, but it didn't change that it had hurt. He was never offered One for All, and Toshinori insisted that it was for the best the one time Izuku had questioned it. According to Toshinori, Izuku's body wouldn't be able to withstand the strain of such a Quirk. He hadn't been preparing for it. 

Which is why Toshinori had taken Sir Nighteye's advice and given the Quirk to Togata Mirio. 

If Izuku had to listen to how great a hero Togata was, or how quickly he was rising the ranks, or how much the public loved him one more time, he was going to snap. 

Instead of yelling at his parents, however, Izuku took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and did what he did best – he planned. What could he do that might make his parents as upset as he was? 

The answer came to him a bit later. It was genius, in his own humble opinion. Izuku had pulled out his laptop in the middle of the night, a wide grin on his face as he listed an advertisement on Craigslist.

When Izuku checked his email during lunch the next day, he had to say he was impressed. He had gotten seven responses! So what if five of them were offers for anonymous sex and one was a bot to take him to a porn website? They were still responses! Okay, maybe it was… only one actual response. That's fine, though – he could work with that!

He read through the message, noticing how short and clipped the inquiry was. Izuku responded, asking to meet later that day in the small café that was a few blocks away from his old high school.

The high school had a wonderful Hero Support program. Not as grand or exclusive as U.A.'s, but it worked for him, and he didn't have to worry about running into people he might have known. He also didn't need to deal with the fact that the Hero program was so close, just out of reach, but could never be something he could have. It had gotten him into a better Analyst program at his university, so he couldn't be too upset.

The response was nearly immediate and Izuku grinned. He would interview the person, and while it was likely that the man would get the 'job,' Izuku needed confirm a few things and also bring up some key elements that would ensure that this whole operation ran smoothly. This was going great!

Izuku was running late, but only by a few minutes. His professor had asked him to stay back for a bit so they could review his work and his newest gear design. He had wanted Izuku to stay even longer, but the boy had stuttered out some flimsy excuse before rushing off. 

He practically ran to the café, really hoping that whoever responded to his advertisement hadn't left because he was late. By the time he entered the small coffee shop, he was panting and red faced. He looked around, trying to figure out who could possibly be there waiting for him, but was at a loss. Shuffling to the side so that he didn't block the doorway, he pulled out his phone to send a message. He didn't realize when someone had approached him.

"Are you Midoriya?"

Izuku's head snapped up, eyes wide. He nodded slowly. Anything he was about to say died in his throat, his tongue sitting heavy in his mouth. The man in front of him… he looked homeless. Part of him understood why he responded to the listing - if he was homeless, then certainly the prospect of free food was enough to draw him in!

Although… he didn't smell like he was living in a cardboard box - there wasn't any body odor, nor the damp stench of cigarettes in alleys. Upon further inspection, Izuku came to the conclusion that this stranger simply wasn't what he appeared to be.

The man's dark, long hair was clean and tied back in a messy ponytail. His clothes, although baggy, seemed fresh, and the tired look in the other's face, accompanied by dark circles beneath his eyes, told Izuku that he probably spent a lot of nights up late. The man was holding a cup of coffee and seemed unimpressed with Izuku's staring.

Izuku nodded again, this time quickly, "yes! Yes, sorry, I'm Midoriya Izuku! It's nice to meet you…?"

"Aizawa Shouta."

"It's nice to meet you, then, Aizawa-san! I'm really sorry for being late – my professor wanted to talk about my project after class and we can both get carried away," he laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Aizawa gave a noncommittal hum, "let's sit down."

So, they did. 

They exchanged basic information. Aizawa's first question was if Izuku was of legal age, which he nodded in response. "I wouldn't have done this otherwise. I can even show you my ID." Aizawa waved him off, seeming to believe him.

Izuku hadn't asked him how old he was in return, but he had asked what the man did for work. Aizawa studied him for a moment before taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm a teacher."

"Really?" Izuku brightened. "That's cool! My, uh, step-dad's a teacher, too." Izuku left out the fact that his step-father was All Might and that he taught at U.A., but… it was practically the same thing, right? "What do you teach?" He asked, squinting after a moment, “I'm getting… don't tell me… law? I feel like you would teach law. Ethics, maybe.” Izuku paused, leaning forward a bit. “But you seem like you could fit the overworked and tired artist type, too, though.”

The man shifted, flushing lightly and seemingly uncomfortable with the scrutiny. "I'm a high school teacher," he admitted finally. Izuku's eyes widened a bit in surprise. He would have thought the man was teaching university! "I'm also a mentor. One of my students, he's… he's a good kid. He just needed someone to believe in him."

Izuku nodded in understanding, his expression turning soft. That was something he could understand. "I'm sure he's grateful," the young man murmured. He knew that he would be if someone had done the same for him. A swell of bitterness grew at the thought. He still couldn't believe All Might sometimes. 

He had the drive! He had the dedication! He would have been an incredible Hero!

Izuku stopped himself from spiraling and took a deep breath. "Alright!" He chirped, "so you teach. I'm a university student."

Aizawa rose an eyebrow, "first year?"

"Second, actually," Izuku corrected. "I… graduated high school early. I'm dual majoring in Hero Support and Analytics."

The man nodded thoughtfully, "Heroes need solid analysts these days," he murmured, "good information is important for staying alive. Good luck in your studies, Midoriya."

Izuku flashed him a shy smile before moving the conversation along. "So, long story short, my mom and step-dad are nice people. They mean well, but sometimes well-meant isn't… encouraging for a kid with a dream." He paused, "if I have to hear my parents tell me one more time that they're so glad that I changed my mind on my career path, I think I'm gonna lose it. Or if they start talking about how my dad's protegee is continuing his legacy so well, well. I'm an analyst, Aizawa-san. Part of that is knowing how to clean up a Hero's mess." It was a threat, albeit a very weak one. Izuku might be physically stronger now than he had been, but he'd still lose against a powerful physical Quirk.

Aizawa suddenly broke out into a toothy grin, "alright, kid, I'll bite. If you're such a good analyst, why don't you pick a Hero and tell me about them."

The younger blinked, "wah – what?" Very eloquent, Izuku, he thought to himself in exasperation.

The man shrugged, "you're implying that you're a superior analyst with the skills and capabilities to make someone disappear should you need to. It's illogical for me to believe that without any proof."

Again, Izuku blinked. How did this conversation get turned around on him?! He's the one who's supposed to be interviewing Aizawa! He puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, "I'm not one of your students, Aizawa-san! You can't just – I don't know. Give me a pop quiz?! What if you're secretly a Villain?!"

Aizawa nodded at him, sagely. "I see," he said, and Izuku felt himself relax, leaning back against the seat. "You can't prove it. Noted."

"Can't pro– I'll prove it! Give me a Hero – dealer's choice. I'll give you an on-the-spot analysis." Izuku huffed, crossing his arms, and looking to the side. He knew he took the bait, but something in the back of his mind kept kicking him and he didn't want to seem like some idiot who was just claiming to be good was what he did. Well, at least his memory was good. Besides, what good were all those Hero Analysis notebooks if he couldn't even analyze something in the moment?

Aizawa hummed, sitting back. He searched Izuku's face for a moment, taking in the younger's stubborn set jaw and determined eyes. "How will I know you're not lying?"

Izuku groaned, "oh my god," he placed his face in his hands, "you're hired. You won't know, so just pick one."

"Fine. Eraserhead."

Izuku's head snapped up and he looked at the man for a moment. Then, he laughed at him. "Okay, Aizawa-san. I'll tell you about Eraserhead," he giggled. The man suddenly looked wary, but Izuku figured it was just because it probably looked like he really was about to snap. It wasn't his fault he was asked for an analysis on his favorite Hero!

He took a deep breath, quieting his giggles. Wow, this would really be a piece of cake. "Hero name: Eraserhead. Quirk: Erasure. It cancels out a person's Quirk, but it's only really effective on Emitter types. So, essentially, he fights Quirkless most of the time, which is super neat! He needs to have a target to be in his line of sight, and it only works on one person at a time. I've always wondered if he needs to see the entire person for it to work." The boy shook his head, refocusing and barreling on.

"He's an Underground Hero who's known for being quick and efficient. Works alone, mostly. Sometimes patrols with Psyren. Eraserhead's yellow goggles are probably to hide the stain of Erasure. He should probably look into getting moisture-sealing lenses. I'm sure the migraines from Quirk overuse are terrible," Izuku shrugged, not really paying attention to anything as he took a sip of coffee.

"Um, let's see…" he rubbed his chin, "oh! His capture weapon, right! Well, it sort of looks like this really long scarf that would appear to be more detrimental than beneficial to anyone else, but," Izuku stressed, "when Eraserhead activates Erasure, there's some sort of thing that happens that lifts his hair. If he figured out how to use the scarf with that, then that could be a reason why it works so well for him. The technique is difficult for others to learn, but not impossible if they're stubborn enough." He hummed, thinking of the knots he and Hitoshi had gotten tied up in. "Psyren has been seen with the same scarf, actually."

He tapped at his cheek this time, wondering what else he could add, "he seems to have connections to Present Mic and Midnight, if their constant huddles at Hero Galas are anything to go by, but it's also just possible they went to school together since they all debuted around the same time…" he trailed off. "He seems have slowed down in the past few years in the number of missions he completes and successful capture rates, but that could be due to not necessarily needing to work as a Hero anymore. Maybe he sustained an injury? Wanted to settle down and have a family? Who knows?"

Aizawa was staring at him. For a moment, Izuku was worried that the man wasn't breathing. The look that Izuku was receiving felt like he might have broken the other. His own face begin to heat up in embarrassment, "I'm so sorry, Aizawa-san! I should have realized how weird that all was! I didn't mean to go off like that. I know it's not polite and is probably a little creepy, but he's my favorite Hero, y'know? Not a lot of footage exists of him fighting, and if it does, it's hard to tell certain things so there's a really good chance that not everything is right!" He forced himself to get out quickly in his defense.

That seemed to shake the man out his stupor, and he quirked a brow just slightly in interest. "Why is he your favorite Hero? Most people prefer All Might, or Hawks, even." Izuku noted that Endeavor wasn't mentioned and filed that thought away for another time.

He shrugged, "Hawks is a great hero and really neat to analyze and he's great with the public, but he's been groomed for that role since childhood. He came out of nowhere and all of the sudden he's in the Top Ten? It screams nepo baby or child soldier. Either way, not ideal." He offered another shrug. "And as for All Might… Well," he gave a crooked grin, "they always say not to meet your Heroes."

Aizawa gave a hesitant nod at that. He looked at Izuku differently now, seemingly trying to pick apart what made him tick. Izuku glanced down at his coffee cup as he started playing with the paper sleeve of the disposable cup. "Like I said," he murmured softly, "Eraserhead essentially fights Quirkless. It's… I look up to him for that. I've always been told that I can't be a Hero without a Quirk, but there are plenty of Heroes who have Quirks that don't give them a battle advantage. It shouldn't be about how powerful a Quirk is, but the character and strength of person." Well, at least the other knew he was Quirkless now. He peered through his bangs to look at Aizawa. "Ah," he said, "I'm sorry, that got heavy really quick, but –"

"I think I'm in love. Marry me."

Izuku sputtered, eyes going wide and mouth dropping as he looked at the man sitting across from him incredulously. It wasn't even phrased as a question! The coffee cup he had been playing with now long forgotten. "You can't be serious!" He squawked. The man was staring at him with nothing but sincere and genuine interest and a weird kind of fondness that started to overwhelm Izuku. "You can't marry a man you just met, Aizawa-san!"

The man hummed, leaning an arm on the table to hold his chin in his hand, "but you can, Midoriya-san?"

"You know that's not what I meant!"

Aizawa gave another wide and toothy grin, that Izuku really shouldn't find as charming as he did. "Come on, Midoriya, think about it. Showing up to the family dinner with a surprise husband in tow? Someone they've never met – never even heard about? Who's…" he cleared his throat, glancing away for a moment with pursed lips, "at least twice your age?"

Izuku considered it. He hated that he was considering it. He knew what the man was doing – knew that if he legally married him (because that's the only way he would be able to convince his parents. They would demand to see the marriage license), that forced Aizawa into his life, even for just a little while before an annulment or divorce. But why did Aizawa want to keep him, a Quirkless university student, around so bad? Did he plan on kidnapping Izuku and selling him on the black market? Maybe he wanted to harvest Izuku's organs? Is that why he looked homeless but wasn't homeless? He shook his head, breaking out of his runaway thoughts.

Izuku bit his lip. "If we're getting married, I still want a proposal. I can't afford to buy expensive rings, though. Student budget and all."

His concerns were immediately waved off as Aizawa pulled out his phone and started typing. "Don't worry about paying for anything."

This prompted Izuku to remember that he never actually asked why Aizawa had responded to his ad. When he asked the man, he got a shrug in response. "I was told that I needed to get out of the house more."

Izuku's pretty sure this was not what they meant.