Chapter Text
It’s not frequently that Toshinori gets the pleasure of spending one on one time with his kids much these days. Typically he’s doing interviews, saving the day, filing papers about how he did interviews and saved the day- it’s all very timely and tiring. So by the time Toshinori is home and Mirio wants to play a game or Izuku wants to show him a scribbled picture he made, the man is barely awake enough to indulge his sweet boys- let alone to the level of attention and appreciation they both deserve on their own.
So when Toshinori can find time to not be All Might he’s always squeezing in as much ‘dad-time’ as possible. And today just so happens to be Mirio’s turn.
Mirai needed to take Izuku to the doctor for his check up and some more vacation dates, so Toshinori devised a wonderful plan. He told Mirio to wait at the park near the elementary school like he normally does but that today he would be the one to pick him up. Toshinori turned to putty in the boy’s hands when his little face lit up at the mention of spending time with him.
Hence why he’s walking over to the small park now.
He did have to go in disguise to be unnoticed, but otherwise Toshinori is glad to be out of his office. He’s dressed in tight fighting denim jeans, a cream t-shirt suited for the warm weather, and a navy baseball cap with his bangs tucked behind his ears to truly sell the ‘definitely not All Might’ look. He strolls up to the playground with his hands in his pockets, checking the area for the blonde child he loves so much.
And there is Mirio, dressed in his precious little light blue smock and a pair of khaki shorts. His tiny white socks come up to his ankles and blue sneakers with velcro straps to complete his school uniform. Toshinori smiles at the sight of him playing on the swings with another little boy- a close friend of Mirio’s actually.
“Young Mirio and young Amajiki!” The man waves as he walks by the rainbow metal fence that encloses the play area to keep the kids safe. Mirio leaps from his swing with a grin at the sight of his father and little Amajiki slowly exits his swing to wave hello.
“Daddy!” The boy squeals in his arms and Toshinori spins the boy around in his arms before letting him back down.
“H- hello Mister Yagi.” Amajiki greets nervously and Toshinori smiles. The boy has been over to the house a few times and he seems rather shy- but he knows the kid is a good one. He’s always very polite and friendly every time they’ve spoken. His father is a teacher at the elementary school so he, like Mirio, plays at the park until his dad is ready to leave.
So Toshinori gladly waves back to the child with a smile. “Hello there, my boy. I’m taking Mirio out for a bit- but do you need us to stay here until your dad is finished with his work?” He asks as he watches Mirio run off to grab his school bag that’s leaning against the side of the large plastic yellow slide just right of the metal swings.
“Nuh-uh, ‘m okay. M- my dad said if Mirio goes home I- I can go nap in his office until we go home.” He shakes his head and Toshinori’s happy he doesn’t end up having to leave the child all by himself at the park.
“Very well! It was wonderful to see you.”
The boy agrees. “Y- yes! Goodbye sir, a-and goodbye Mirio!” His face grows red when Mirio runs back and gives him a hug.
“Bye bye Amajiki! I’ see ya tomorrow and we’ll swing even higher!” Mirio chirps as he’s lifted into his fathers arms. They give one final farewell then Toshinori is gladly walking away from the school with a smile on his lips and his boy in his arms.
The man brushes Mirio’s golden hair on his head and the boy glows with excitement. His smile lights up the sidewalk even more than the sun that beats down on them in the afternoon heat. He turns with curious eyes to his father and gently wraps little arms around his neck.
The boy purses a question on his lips and hums into his father’s ear. “Dad, where are we going? Home is the other way- or did silly daddy forget!” He pokes a small finger to the tip of Toshinori’s larger crooked nose.
“My boy, I promise I still know the way home.” Toshinori chuckles. “But I figured with you being a big four year old and all that now, you might like to get some new clothes and spend some time with me at the mall. We can go home if you’re too busy…” He teasingly pouts and the boy gasps as he wiggles free from his dad’s arms.
He plops onto the ground and runs laps around the aging man. “No, no! I want to go to the mall! I do want to! Please take me! I want to go to the place that sells all the, um, the toys!” He begs and Toshinori finds himself ruffling the boy's hair with a laugh.
“I already said I was taking you, calm down, my boy! And Mirio, I promise on our way out we can drop by the toy store and we’ll pick out something just for you.” He sighs with a smile and Mirio instantly cheers excitedly.
While Toshinori normally does his best to keep things even between his sons- like if Izuku gets new pajamas then Mirio can have some new clothes too or if Mirio spends the afternoon with his father then Toshinori will dedicate the morning to Izuku -but he also understands the importance of having something that’s all your own. He might have never grew up with siblings, but after his parents passing, the orphanage he was raised in had quite a few children. He recalls having to share everything. He didn’t have clothes that were his, just hand me downs that wouldn’t stay his for long. All of ‘his’ toys were also the orphanage’s toys and he had no way to keep something just for himself. Sure, sharing is important and it helps kids grow up compassionately, but it’s nice to have just a few things that are your own. Even just little things, like nice stationary and small trinkets, made Toshinori glow at the idea of something being ‘his’ as a child. He doesn’t want his boys to grow up selfish, but he doesn’t want them to feel like nothing is theirs.
So today is all about Mirio and making sure he feels special and loved- simply because Toshinori does love him and he knows he is special.
“Daddy, will you carry my bag? It’s kinda heavy… teacher gives way too much work!” Mirio pouts.
Toshinori reaches down for the little plastic coated backpack and loosens the straps as much as possible so he can sling it over one arm. “I can hold it, don’t worry.” He says gently as the boy starts to walk with much more pep after being freed of his bag.
Mirio then goes on to explain exactly how his day at school went. Starting with a test on writing- which Mirio had studied very hard for -then he giggled about lunchtime when he had sticky rice and soup. Apparently it was funny because the soup had fish broth so Amajiki got to show off his quirk during recess by turning his behind into a fish tail- Mirio couldn’t go a second without laughing every time he said the word ‘butt’.
And the blonde man relishes in his son’s tales of the morning. It’s strange to hear his baby boy exclaim happily about the place that Toshinori used to dread the most as a child himself, but it’s a welcomed experience nonetheless. Toshinori still feels his heart ache when being teased for being born quirkless and having no parents at home to support him. If he ever were to catch tale of anyone bullying a child at that school- let alone his child -Toshinori is sure he would lose his hero’s license and become a most wanted criminal within a matter of minutes.
Luckily it has yet to come to that! He just hopes that middle school and high school are just as pleasant for Mirio as his elementary school has been. Not that Toshinori is ready for his baby to grow up! He’d rather not think about Mirio becoming a teenager for a long time…
It’s a good thing he doesn’t have to think about it because they’ve finally made it to the mall. It’s just a fifteen minute walk from the schools, and only thirty minutes away from home. Mirio beams at his father and drags him through the entrance, causing the man to laugh.
“C’mon dad! The toy store- the toy store!” He grunts as he tries to pull on his father’s arm.
Toshinori bends over and pets down Mirio’s hair. “Easy. We’ll get to the toy store, my boy, but first let’s go try on some clothes. Would you like a new sweater for the fall? It’s supposed to be very cold next week- it’ll be a nice break from the hot weather we’ve been having.” He hums.
“Oh… I guess we can look at clothes, but then the toy store, right?” Mirio slows his roll and crosses his arms. It’s obvious that at his young age that getting clothes isn’t exactly as exciting as toys or games.
“Mhm. We’ll look at some cool weather clothes in your size, some new pajamas that fit better than the ones you have now, and then you can get any toy you want.” Toshinori agrees.
“Sounds good!” Mirio declares with little hands on his hips and a grin across his face.
With Mirio’s blessing, Toshinori leads them into a clothing store just for children ages four to ten. The walls, racks, and shelves are a sterile white- which greatly contrasts from every last bit of brightly colored clothing item. It’s organized by style and size, with feminine clothing to the left and masculine clothes to the right and the sizes increase as you move towards the back of the store. While Toshinori had initially headed towards the masculine side of the store, well aware that Mirio’s favorite clothes are blue shirts with limited designs and soft fabric, he soon found himself following Mirio into the little girl’s section. The child, unbothered and unaware of what gender norms even are, seemed to know exactly what he wanted. He gravitated towards one particular sweatshirt.
His little hands reached out and looked up at his father then back to the sweatshirt. It is a very soft material, almost like a blanket. Against the cream fabric of the sweatshirt, decals of horses run along the bottom. The horses are just silhouettes and each one is a different shade of purple. Mirio pulls it off the rack and hands it to Toshinori almost pleadingly.
And the man knows exactly what this is about. A couple of weeks ago they had watched some movie about horses and ever since then Mirio’s been obsessed. He got an American cowboy coloring book just to color in all the horses. He’s played extra on his rocking horse every chance he gets. Even for school he wrote on his assignment that he wanted to horse if he couldn’t be a hero when he grows up. And while it’s laughable and cute how much he’s grown to love horses since he basically discovered them, Toshinori can’t help but add to the child’s addiction.
“If you want this one, we can get it.” Toshinori affirms as he takes the sweatshirt into his arms.
The boy shyly smiles. “Thank you daddy.” He seems embarrassed but happy at the same time at the notion he’ll soon be the proud owner of his very own horse shirt.
“Of course, anything your heart desires is yours, my boy. Now, why don’t we go look at some more sweaters? Your brother has a new orange and red one, let’s find one that’s similar so you two can match.” Toshinori suggests and Mirio nods, agreeing as he skips across the store to find something with fall colors.
He watches his son thoughtfully sort through clothes, occasionally holding up a piece only to shake his head and fold it away. Toshinori decides to let the boy have a moment of freedom in the store, staying but a few steps away from his son. He stays in a section dedicated to fall, with new and upcoming clothes just for the season- and luckily he’s able to see where Mirio darts anywhere in the store.
So Toshinori allows himself to browse, knowing exactly what he’s looking for. Just a couple of weeks ago Mirai had come home with a striped sweater for Izuku. It’s got chunky stripes and it’s decorated with pumpkin and leaf embroidery all over the front. It is absolutely adorable- and also the piece of clothing they’ve decided to base their upcoming family photo around. So now everyone is on the hunt to find something similar in order to match.
And this is really no joke. They take family photos very seriously. Ever since Mirio was born up until now they’ve taken a matching photo. Last year they took it in the spring, dressed in light pinks, yellows, blues, and greens. The year Mirio was born it was early summer, with polos and sunglasses. This year they’ve opted for a fall photo. Toshinori can’t recall when or how the tradition started, he isn’t even sure if they’ve ever officially talked about it being a yearly tradition. Yet for four years now, the man has enjoyed silly, adorable, candid, and posed photos of the people he loves most.
Even as much as Toshinori loves his growing collection of family photos, the man knows the pressure is on. If he isn’t able to find something that Mirio can wear, then the entire theme will be thrown for a terrible loop! He can only imagine the heartbreak and let down of skipping out on their photo this year.
He searches the piles and racks of clothes for anything that might prevent a photo disaster. Sure some of the sweaters are cute, but Toshinori has to find the cutest! He needs to find something that Mirio not only looks adorable in, but something that he’ll love. There’s no reason to buy clothes for one picture and have the boy hate it- hence why Toshinori has to find a good middle ground between his wants and needs and his son’s wants and needs.
He passes on sweatshirts, as they’re just not fancy enough. He doesn’t bother looking at wool because Mirio would be itchy if he even glanced at them. Toshinori merely browses the button ups and decides that there is no way they’d be warm enough for an outdoor photo.
The entire store feels hopeless amid Toshinori’s searching! That was until his eyes fell upon something so perfect, so fall-ish, so absolutely adorable. This had to be it.
Toshinori drops whatever childish garb he was holding before and carefully takes the sweater vest into his hands. It has a cable knit pattern, light creams, dark tans, and deep reds- and most importantly along with most adorably -there is a pattern of leafs along the entire length of the vest.
This is it!
Toshinori can see it now; little Mirio with his hair brushed down in a light beige button up, his dark brown pants, and this perfect little sweater vest as the cherry on top. It nearly brings a tear to his eye at the thought.
Giddy with the idea of their search being over, Toshinori quickly spots his son and makes haste to show off the absolutely wonderful vest that he’s sure to like. Just last summer he picked out a blue sweater vest to wear for special occasions! Mirio will undoubtedly agree that this meticulously crafted fall piece is exactly-
“That looks like baby clothes.” Mirio points at the item in his fathers arms and the man shatters into millions of pieces.
“H- huh? You haven’t even looked at it yet, would you just let me show it to you! It’s very nice and soft, it matches with your brother, and it’s just like your other one!” Toshinori scrambles to show Mirio the sweater vest, hope still riding in his chest like the last warrior of a fight he’s already lost.
Mirio shrugs and steps closer to the item, eyeing it up and down as if he were just trying to raise his father’s heart rate with the anticipation. He touches it with little hands, then backs up and shakes his head.
“I don’t like it.” He announces again this time with his hands on his hips. “It’s too much like Izuku’s clothes, I’ll look like a baby. I won’t wear it.” He huffs.
How could this even be?! It’s entirely unfair- of course it’s like Izuku’s clothes, the two of them are supposed to match! Toshinori searched so hard for the perfect thing. He knows it’s comfortable, he knows Mirio likes sweater vest, so why must he be so- so fickle!
“Could we try it on before we make up our mind? I think you’ll really like it, you’ll look so handsome and nothing at all like a baby.” Toshinori pleads as his son turns on his heels and starts to step towards a shelf that’s just about his height.
“Nope!” Mirio insists. “I already found what I want, see, this one! It’s very grown up ‘n very good.” He grabs a different sweater, one not nearly as charmingly cute as the one Toshinori prematurely became attached to.
It’s dark orange with a muddy green and cream diamond pattern. It’s plush to the touch but nowhere near as soft as the sweater vest. It’s not awful, definitely not ugly by any means. It’s just… different from what Toshinori wanted for Mirio.
That is the thing with having children though, isn’t it? If you dream too much for them, you’ll both end up disappointed.
It’s better to spare any arguments or time wasted with false heartbreak. So Toshinori folds his sweater vest choice away and smiles at the diamond sweater his son holds up to him.
“It is very nice, isn’t it? Do you really love it?” He reaches out to grab it and Mirio hands it over, face growing with joy.
“Mhm! I do! I love, love, love it! Can I please have it, daddy? Please?” The child begs and Toshinori knows he’s far too weak to even think about telling him no on this matter. Besides, the sweater is starting to grow on the old hero.
Toshinori nods and ruffles his son’s hair gently before standing up out of his crouch and puts the sweater on his arm with the horse shirt. “My boy, this sweater is yours! I couldn’t imagine anything better.” He hums and Mirio seems to eat up the praise, soaking in every word like a sponge.
“Oh thank you daddy! Thank you, thank you! You’re the bestest daddy in the whole entire worlds!” He squeaks gleefully.
“No need for all that, let’s just check out now, hm? We still need to visit the toy store, right?”
Mirio leaps at his father’s teasing. “Yeah! The toy store, the toy store!” He cheers over and over, making Toshinori laugh at just how excited and happy his sweet boy can get.
Toshinori, after getting Mirio to calm down, takes the boy’s hand and leads him to the cashier. The person behind the counter greets them and bags up the two clothing items as Toshinori pay’s for Mirio’s gifts. The child beams, almost too enthusiastic to stand still in the line, yet he and his father are able to make it out of the child’s clothing store all in one piece.
Mirio dances out into the main area of the mall and Toshinori follows close behind with a proud smile to his face. Sure he might’ve been a little upset at Mirio’s dissatisfaction with the sweater vest he so loved, but he couldn’t be happier that Mirio is able to say what’s on his mind and what he does and doesn’t like. Toshinori recalls being a young man and being in an orphanage where he was all too scared to tell any adult in his life ‘no’. Given all that Toshinori knows about his husband’s childhood, he can sadly say it must’ve been the same for Mirai. So to know that Mirio is able to say ‘no’ to his father of all people, even if it is over little things like sweaters, is still such a comfort. It makes Toshinori sure that he’s at the very least doing something right. He might not always get to be around for everything and Toshinori knows this one on one time with his son is fleeting- hell, Toshinori is sure he’s far from a perfect father.
But…
Mirio is so young and already better than Toshinori could ever be.
So sue the father for being prideful, because nothing is ever going to make him stop being impressed by all the little things his sons do.
He can hold his head high exiting the store, a smile drawn between worn cheeks as he watches Mirio dance without fear along the hall. The child radiates joy and Toshinori knows it’s contagious.
“Dad, what can I get at the toy store?” Mirio questions while bouncing about.
Toshinori hums. “Anything you want- within reason.” He nods and Mirio quickly runs in front of him just to stop with his hands up in order to stop his father too.
“So if I pick out something little, can I also pick out something for Izuku? I don’t want to play by myself…” Mirio asks.
“I-“ Toshinori pauses. With a sigh he ruffles the child’s hair then grins as wide as he possibly can. “Of course! I bet Izuku will be very glad you were thinking of him.” He laughs, eyes crinkling at their sides.
“Good, ‘cus I don’t like to play by myself. Jus’ no fun! I can get two toys and we could play all day when we get home.” Mirio nods to himself and keeps on marching down the mall’s sidewalk and towards the toy store.
Toshinori catches the child’s hand and walks at the same pace so as not to strain himself or the boy. Mirio smiles at his father and Toshinori smiles back.
“Y’know I love you, my boy, right?” Toshinori says.
“‘Course! I love daddy too.” Mirio chirps back.
Toshinori slings the bag from the clothing store over his shoulder, leaving his other hand firmly wrapped around Mirio’s warm little fist.
Toshinori knows he has the privilege of holding the sun in hand.