Chapter Text
Inko dropped yet another box full of stuff from their old home on the hard floor, clapping her hands together and patting her knees off from any remaining dust, then stands up fully. She turns around to look at her little boy who was looking at something on the floor. She softly smiles at his newly found curious demeanor, walking towards him and gently lowers down near him.
“Izuku, how do you like it?” She asks. “Isn't this place much better than our last one?” Her voice was laced with excitement for a new start with her child.
Izuku, who was gazing at something in the corner, brightens up when Inko addresses him. He looks up at his moms inviting eyes, skittering over to her arms and settles down in her embrace while looking around the new living room with a delighted expression.
“I love it!” He expresses happily. “Mama, let's check out our new rooms!” He says while standing up. Izuku takes his mothers much bigger hands into his smaller ones as he rushes down their new hallway, Inko barely able to keep up with his fast pace. They stop in front of a door, however Izuku can’t quite reach the handle, so he looks up at his Mom.
Inko chuckles softly when he looks at him, and opens the door to Izuku's new room. The door swings open and Izuku rushes in, immediately in awe of his room and taking in the new scent. Unsurprisingly, he starts to gush over the amount of space he has now compared to his last room. To most, It was just an average-sized room with a medium-sized bed frame in the corner, a small closet on the opposite side of the room, and a small bookcase leaning against the wall. However, to Izuku who had to share a room with his mom at their old home, he felt amazing. He scampered all over the room with profound excitement, and started rambling about all the stuff he could fit in his new space.
“Look Mom! There’s a bookcase for all my All Might figures, and shelves for all my books! Oh, I love it!” He pumped his fists in the air and his eyes twinkled with amazement.
“Oh Izuku, I’m so glad you like it. We’ll warm up to this place in no time!” The woman said as she clapped her hands, a cheery smile plastered on her face.
Together, they finished unpacking their new home and slowly filled up all the new space with picture frames, action figures, and new furniture. They have yet to meet their new neighbors, but Inko said that they can wait until they’ve settled in more. Izuku wasn’t that excited to immediately meet a bunch of new people, so he didn’t mind his mothers answer. But he did wonder if they were any kids near their new place, he did want a friend or two.
“Honey, don’t you worry one bit,” Inko whispered reassuringly to her son as she was tucking him in for bed. “Everyone will love you. You’ll make a bunch of new friends!” She said, her voice stable and encouraging.
“I hope so, Mom. I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Izuku replied, his usual bubbly tone quieter than usual.
Inko’s heart broke a little bit with each word. She combed her fingers through his curly hair and leaned down to softly rub her nose against his, which caused the little boy to laugh gently at the ticklish feeling.
“Don’t you worry, sweet. Mama will always be here for you.” She promised.
Izuku’s lips wobbled as he clutched his All Might plushie, and reached out to hug his mom. They clung to each other before Inko removed him from around her neck, and tucked him in once again. She kissed his forehead, and bid him goodnight.
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Izuku surprisingly slept well for their first night.
He awoke to the smell of breakfast being made, so he got up after a slight stretch of his arms. He lightly padded to their shared bathroom and brushed his teeth and fixed his bedhair. He bounded into the kitchen excitedly,
“Morning Mom!” Izuku said happily.
“Ah, my little boy! How did you sleep?” She greeted him with a pink apron tied tightly around her body and a bright smile that was easily contagious, especially to a child.
Izuku nodded his head at her to silently say, good. He hopped up onto a chair at their new table.
“I made a favorite of yours for as a gift, so go on and eat before we go and greet all of our new neighbors.” His mom said before she slid a plate of steaming bacon, sunny-side up eggs, and a fluffy pancake with syrup lightly drizzled over the top in front of him.
He internally groaned at having to meet a lot of people, but he ate his breakfast anyway. Izuku wasn’t a huge fan of crowds, which was why he didn’t make many friends at his last school. This time however, he promised himself, and his mom, that it would be different this time around. So he sucked up the distasteful feeling swimming in his gut and quickly tucked it away. When Izuku finished, he put his plate up in the sink and followed his mom around the kitchen and out the door.
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Izuku was tired.
They’ve just about greeted everyone in their neighborhood with little snack bags his mom had whipped up before leaving. He put on a smile for everyone, but mostly left all the talking up to Inko. Izuku admired his mom for being able to converse freely for such a long time, and silently wished he was the same. He stuttered, tripped over his own feet, and could ramble about the silliest things for hours if someone let him. Kids shunned him out for that habit, but his mom said it was good to talk about things we found enjoyable, so he never held back when they were alone together.
“Izuku dear, this is the last house! Everyone has been so lovely, don’t you think?” His mom said cheerfully.
Izuku doesn't verbalize the relief he feels at this being the last house they're greeting. He's happy all the neighbors on the block are nice and seem to like him, but he doesn't have a huge social battery. The first few houses he was okay, happily skipping along besides his Mom as they walked around, but now he just wants to go home and watch an All Might movie.
Izuku quickly snapped out his thoughts and peered up at her with a smile.
“Yes, mama. I liked the lady who said my hair was nice…” He mumbled as he tangled his small fingers in his curly hair. No one but his mom has really complimented his hair, some kids even made fun of it for being too green or too ratty. Even if the lady was just trying to be polite, the comment made him happy nonetheless.
Inko hummed at his response and held his hand as they approached the last house on their block. She looked down at him this time with expectancy, and he raised his hand to knock on the last door.
This house is really big, Izuku thought with a wobbled smile on his face. The porch was painted a shiny white, and the door was tall and wide with a silver doorknob. They had a table on the porch as well, and the lawn was cut neatly with fresh grass and a bed of flowers in front of the house.
They both waited a few minutes before they finally heard someone walking towards the door. Izuku heard slight grumbling from what seemed like a kid.
The door swung open, and who they saw wasn’t a middle-aged woman or an old man with gray hair.
Instead, it was a little boy. A boy around Izuku’s age.
“Who are you?” The boy said. His eyes were squinted as he held the door open.
Izuku felt his eyes go wide and his face flush. He stammered as the boy's piercing eyes stared into him.
“Oh!- Uh..I-I’m Izuku Midoriya! We…we just moved here!” Izuku rapidly spat out a rushed greeting as his mind was tumbling. He felt his mom put a comforting hand on his back as she watched intently.
“Okay…so what are you doing here?” The boy flatly responded.
His eyes are pretty.
“Oh!" Izuku repeated dumbly, his tone pitching an octave. "We’re greeting everyone on the block. Here, take this.” Inko chimed in behind Izuku as she bent down to match the child's height. The woman held out the snack bag, patiently waiting for the little boy to take it.
He looked at Inko, then Izuku, then the bag. He stood in place stiffly before reaching out for it.
“What’s your name, dear?” Inko asked him.
“Hm..It’s Katsuki.” His eyes were slightly down cast.
“Kacchan?” Izuku blurted out.
Katsuki flipped his eyes towards Izuku. Immediately, the latter flinched and felt his face heat up once more from embarrassment, his hands coming up to slap over his mouth.
“I-I mean! I’m sorry!” Izuku babbled, his hands coming up in front of body and flapping wildly.
How could that be the first thing I say?! Izuku screamed in his mind.
However, Katsuki didn’t yell. He did furrow his brows more and his lips tightened, but he just scoffed.
“You deku, it’s Kat-suki. Not Kacchan.” His tongue clicked.
Izuku nodded frantically before ducking behind his mom.
Inko looked at Izuku, then back at Katsuki. She sighed with her lips in a tight, small smile.
“Well, maybe you guys will get along later. Here, take this bag and give it to your parents, alright?” Inko said sweetly to Katsuki.
The blonde child finally took the bag and bowed his head respectfully towards her. He gave one last lingering look at Izuku, then closed the door.
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Izuku couldn’t sleep that night. When he finally drifted, what he thought of was piercing red eyes and blonde hair.
He didn’t think about the way his heart thumped quicker than usual.