Chapter Text
Shouta does something on his phone and then they walk a couple blocks to what looks like a bus pick up station. They don’t even have time to sit on the bench before a white car pulls up. After a quick check of his phone, Shouta tells him, “That’s our ride.”
The ride is quiet and Izuku is kind of tired, so he leans on Shouta for most of the trip, eyes closed. He stirs when the car pulls to a halt.
They get out in front of a brown house and Izuku follows Shouta to the door. To his surprise, Shouta just opens the door and walks in.
“Um. Are you sure this is okay?” Izuku asks nervously, following him in.
“Yes. As far as they’re concerned, I still live here,” Shouta explains. Which explains nothing.
*What? Who?*
*You’ll see,* Shouta replies in amusement. He hands him a package of slippers. “Here, guest slippers.”
Apparently, Shouta has figured out how to get around conveying every thought to him or is just not thinking about who it is that they’re visiting. *You gotta teach me how to do that.*
*Just plan when I’m not awake.*
Oh.
He follows Shouta into a living room with two people watching TV.
“Hi, mom, dad.”
Izuku bluescreens.
“Shouta!” Shouta’s mom jumps up and hugs him. “And is this the alpha you’re courting? He’s so cute!”
Then she apparently spots the bite marks.
“You’re mated!? I thought you were dead set on waiting!” she exclaims. She studies Izuku for a moment, during which he realizes that Shouta’s face shape and eye shape are identical to hers, just a little more masculine, and then she hugs him. “Welcome to the family, Izuku!”
“Thanks,” he manages, finally managing to move past his shock. *You are an evil, evil man.*
*And you didn’t psych yourself out by knowing ahead of time. You can thank me later,* Shouta replies smugly.
Izuku hugs Shouta’s mom back tentatively.
Shouta’s dad stands up and walks over and gives Shouta a quick hug. This is definitely who Shouta got his coloring from. “So this is him? I hope you waited until he turned sixteen.”
“Yes, this is Izuku. We were going to wait, but he went into rut at school and bit me. On his birthday, so yes, he’s sixteen,” Shouta explains. “Our bond gift is telepathy with a bit of empathy.”
“Wait, really?” Shouta’s mom steps back and regards him with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Yes,” Izuku admits. “I didn’t think I’d go into rut so soon. And, uh, rut brain. I wasn’t really thinking.”
“Nice to meet you,” Shouta’s dad says with a shallow bow that Izuku reflexively returns.
“Same.”
“Can’t say that I blame you for pinning him down before he could talk himself out of it. Shouta’s a bit flighty, like his mom,” Shouta’s dad tells him.
“Dad!” Shouta protests.
His mom smirks, “You would’ve been bored if I didn’t make you work for it. Telepathy and empathy, huh? That’s pretty rare, but you probably get it from my side. My parents have a short-range telepathic bond. I think they mainly use it to trash talk movies when watching them with other people.”
It is true that telepathy and empathy tend to run more in certain families, but to all evidence, what sort of bond one gets isn’t genetic. One theory is that what bond one gets depends on the mentality of the participants, but no one has been able to pin down what exactly that would entail.
“Ours isn’t short range,” Shouta corrects. “We haven’t actually pinned down a range where it weakens or cuts out.”
“Oh, that’s handy for if one of you is at home and the other has forgotten the grocery list,” Shouta’s mom says immediately.
*What are your parents names? And why is a grocery list the first thing that she thinks of for that?* Izuku demands.
*Sachie and Ryota. Because dad forgets the grocery list half the time and has to call her to find out what’s on it,* Shouta explains. *Otherwise she ends up with the ingredients for something totally different than what she planned to make. It’s made for some interesting meals.*
“True,” Ryota agrees. “What are you planning to do for the mating celebration?”
“Let mom and Inko plan it,” Shouta replies shamelessly.
“Smart,” Ryota praises.
“We can’t have it until I’m 18,” Izuku reminds them.
“That gives us plenty of time to plan, then,” Sachi says cheerfully. “And Izuku, feel free to call us Mom and Dad.”
“Uh.” That’s what he calls his own parents though.
“Or you can use our names if that makes you uncomfortable,” Ryota amends.
“I’d feel more comfortable with that for now,” he admits.
“In that case, I’m Ryota and my wife is Sachie.”
“I’m Izuku Midoriya. You can call me Izuku,” Izuku returns, relieved.
“Come sit at the table while I start supper and we can get to know you,” Sachie invites. “Shouta just told us that you’re one of his students that he’s ‘unexpectedly compatible with’.”
*If she makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer,* Shouta reassures him, guiding him to the four person table in the dining room that opens onto the kitchen. *I can tell her to back off.*
*Okay.* Aloud, he says, “He didn’t really tell me anything about you other than that you’re his parents.”
Ryota chuckles, sitting on his left while Shouta sits to his right. “I’m an editor for law books and Sachie is an investigator for a lawyer’s office. I’m full demon and Sachie is a quarter.”
*You know, I can see how those two jobs lead into you becoming a hero and teacher.*
*You’re not wrong,* Shouta acknowledges.
“I can talk for myself, you know,” Sachie calls as she rummages in the fridge. “I make suppers and Ryota makes breakfasts and we order take out for lunches. Between the two of us, Shouta learned enough that you won’t need to worry about food poisoning, but he’s not much one for cooking. Too busy with his hero things and teaching.”
“I like his cooking,” Izuku informs her. “But it’s fine if he doesn’t want to cook. Mom taught me how to cook a few things.”
“You have a smart mother! Sounds like I’ll like her,” Sachie compliments.
“Probably. Everyone likes mom.”
“Tell us about yourself! What kind of things do you like or do?” Sachie demands.
“Oh, um. I’m half demon. I like heroes and I love quirks. Haha, I know that’s kind of weird, but they’re really fascinating to me. I’m quirkless, so I’m registered as having a Longevity quirk, but that’s kind of useless to heroics, so I started learning script as soon as I could. I went to school here in the demon world until I got into UA, so I’m familiar with most local customs in both worlds and I’m reasonably fluent in demon script, script, Japanese (both versions) and English.” He pauses, trying to think if there’s anything else interesting about him. “I’m an alpha, but you probably knew that. I have a fully human pack brother named Katsuki. Mom’s human and she writes articles for a couple fashion magazines from home. Dad’s a demon and is currently working in the US. That’s about it, I guess. I don’t have a peer pack yet, but I have a few friends that I might end up being pack with. Shouta’s peer pack have kind of adopted me, I think.”
“They have,” Shouta confirms, radiating pride.
“Clean genes. Nice,” Ryota says. “And a script master. That’s surprising. Has Shouta told you how absolutely hopeless he is with script?”
“Oh, uh, I wouldn’t call myself a master, but that’s what I’m aiming for eventually. And yes, he has,” Izuku rejoins.
“Peer packs come in good time. Don’t feel a need to rush it,” Sachie puts in. “We figured you were a beta or alpha, but Shouta didn’t specify.”
*Really?* Izuku gives Shouta a look.
*No preconceptions on either side was for the best,* Shouta replies shamelessly. *I told you they’d like you.*
*I’m lucky you bothered to tell them we were courting, aren’t I?*
Shouta’s mental laughter is enough answer.
*You’re a menace,* he grumbles.
*I wouldn’t have done that to them,* Shouta answers more seriously. *Or you.*
“So, not that we aren’t glad to meet Izuku finally, but what brings you here tonight?” Ryota asks.
Both of them stiffen.
“Buying some things for the training camp,” Shouta says after a moment.
Sachie hums. “That reaction didn’t look like it was just a shopping trip.”
“Um. My classmates and I went to the mall to shop for the trip, but I ran into the USJ villain, so- Shouta and I did most of the shopping online and we only had bug spray left to get for us and a classmate,” Izuku admits shakily.
“So, we stopped by Two Worlds and then came here,” Shouta finishes.
“Don’t want to talk about it?” Ryota asks gently.
“N-No. Not- Not today.” Izuku shudders, pushing the memories away. It’s too soon.
Sachie shoots Shouta a questioning look, but he shakes his head and she backs off.
Ryota changes the subject. “So. Crosswords or sudoku? Which do you prefer?”
“Oh, um, Sudoku, actually. Sometimes I forget which language I’m doing crosswords in, so they get confusing,” he admits.
Gradually he relaxes into the chitchat that follows and by the time they leave, he’s decided that he actually really likes Shouta’s parents. They seem to like him too, so that’s a big relief.
~
Their ride drops them off, not back at the bus stop, but at a large building with a roman style entry made of black marble. Izuku squints at it uncertainly. “Why are we here?”
Shouta gives him a tired smirk. *On the count of three, use your transportation tattoo. One. Two. Three.*
Obediently, Izuku uses it and blinks at the small street with a few cars wandering down it that they end up facing. After a moment, he looks around and recognizes the place.
*Home sweet home,* Shouta confirms as he pivots 180 degrees to face Shouta’s apartment building.
“How did that monstrosity end up parallel to your apartment?” Izuku asks in mild disbelief.
“Hell if I know, but it makes a great landmark to have drivers navigate to. And Sono-jō cars are cheaper than Uber cars. Not to mention that this way we don’t have to find our way home from UA,” Shouta tells him cheerfully.
“You should visit your parents more,” Izuku decides as they walk inside.
*What?* Shouta gives him a confounded look.
“This is the first time since I’ve met you that I’ve seen you this relaxed and cheerful,” Izuku informs him.
Shouta scowls, though it doesn’t really affect his relaxed mood, “The pack says so too, but I don’t really see it.”
*You are aware I’m in your head and have a front row seat to your moods?* Izuku tells him a little sarcastically as they walk into the elevator and Shouta hits the button for the third floor. He feels Shouta mentally concede the point.
“It’s hard to find time to visit them when they’re home,” he complains. “Usually I’m catching much needed sleep between jobs. We send each other notes, but I only see them every few months or so.”
That’s a valid point. Izuku contemplates possibilities as the elevator rises.
Shouta shoots him a narrow-eyed look. “You aren’t thinking about-”
“Yes. I don’t think it’s a demand your agency will turn down, particularly since I’m so young and they’ll be assuming I need more of your attention. Two set days a month. One for your parents and one for mine. They’ll have to take you off of investigative cases anyways until we figure out how to block things we don’t want the other knowing or until I get special clearance to be ‘in the know’. Whichever comes first.” Izuku says as Shouta unlocks the apartment.
His mate sighs. “I’m off of anything except teaching until we figure out how not to distract each other if something happens.”
“Sorry.” Izuku locks the door behind him.
“Not your fault. I’d rather this happen now than later. This would be a hell of a thing to work through right after you graduate,” Shouta admits.
Izuku winces at the thought. Being indefinitely withheld from hero work directly after graduating would effectively tank his career for a few years, minimum. Not that he cares that much about rankings, but Kacchan would never let him live it down.
“By all means, let’s avoid giving Bakugou fodder to tease you indefinitely,” Shouta says drily, a tired grin tugging at his lips.
“You say that in jest, but Kacchan is a bulldog when he wants to be,” Izuku warns him.
“Duly noted. Why don’t you take a shower first?” Shouta suggests.
And yes, he really wants a shower after the whole mall incident, even though it’s been hours and he’s calmed down about it now. Had he really compared belief systems to boxes of apples?
*Yes, yes, you did,* Shouta confirms.
“Let me bemoan my stupidity in peace,” he grumbles.
Shouta huffs a soft laugh. “No comments from the peanut gallery. Got it.”