Chapter Text
Hizashi Yamada opened his eyes slowly, feeling the slight heaviness of his eyelids after sleeping for so long.
The world surrounding him was quiet, his mind filled with peace as the silence enveloped him. After all, that's how most of his mornings felt before putting his hearing aids on.
And he liked it like that. Much better than waking up by the vibration of his phone at ungodly hours of the morning or by the hurried shaking of his husband when something was wrong.
And those mornings weren't uncommon for a hero like him, whose family was somehow always in the middle of unfortunate events.
But this morning was a peaceful one. He looked down at the warm and heavy weight on his chest. His husband slept peacefully, using his chest as a pillow.
His official husband of 3 years, Aizawa Shouta.
Hizashi wasn't surprised that Shouta was still asleep. After all, he had been up all night grading papers. He wasn't exactly sure at what time the man went to bed, but he knew it was after 3am since he opened the door for one of their cats at that time, Tuna, to be more specific.
That shorthair grey tabby was currently curled up by his head, taking up half of his pillow.
Yamada ran his fingers through his husband's long wavy hair, not as long as his of course—although it could have the potential of getting there if the stubborn man would just let him take care of it.
Also his waves would pop out a lot more.
And it would feel a lot better than it did.
Regardless—
He stroked Shouta's head gently, not really wanting to wake the man up, but he couldn't help the ever existing feeling of touching him at every chance he could get.
After what did not feel like enough time for Hizashi, he finally got up and when Shouta stirred slightly, he pressed a kiss on his forehead,
“Keep sleeping, I'll make breakfast.” He whispered.
Hizashi felt a slight vibration from Aizawa's chest, although he couldn't see the man's mouth, he could assume it was either a hum or half asleep comment from how short the vibration lasted.
He huffed a laugh before stepping out, grabbing his hearing aids on the way out
______________________
Making breakfast for his family was one of Hizashi's favorite things to do. He was the only morning person in a household of 4 so it almost felt like his duty.
Plus with his husband's and son's terrible diet of jelly packets, he had to make sure they at least got one real meal.
And ever since he cut down his hours at the agency and radio station after the war, he had also been able to cook them dinner almost every day.
It was a win-win!
They ate a proper meal.
And he didn't have to keep seeing as many disgusting jelly packets.
Just as he was getting done, he heard footsteps from the hall.
Yamada turned around with a smile, “Goo-Goo Good morning, little listener! How's my favorite son doing this morning?”
Hizashi was met with a blank expression from Hitoshi, who simply signed “coffee” while taking a seat.
Hizashi passed a cup to the teen, he watched as the tense shoulders of the boy relaxed slightly as he took a sip. A comfortable silence followed, the sound of bacon sizzling on the pan being the only audible thing in the kitchen.
The smell slowly mixing with that of rich coffee. He always made sure to have coffee ready, not only for Shouta and Hitoshi but for himself as well.
Although he wasn't a maniac that drank it black.
After a few minutes, Hizashi began humming to the sound of a song he had listened to the previous day. He didn't mind the silence from others, but he himself couldn't help but make noise.
Perhaps it was his quirk, perhaps it was just him, but he had always struggled to keep quiet.
He had struggled a lot of with being conscious of how loud he was after Eri started living with them.
The girl had a hard time with sudden and loud noises, but they made it work somehow.
“I will never understand how you have so much energy in the morning.” The monotone voice of Hitoshi snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Well—” Hizashi started, taking the crispy bacon off the pan, “I have a wonderful husband I woke up to and two beautiful healthy kids! There's no other way for me to wake up!”
He sent finger guns to the teen, receiving an unimpressed look—which was scaringly similar to Shouta’s—back.
“You sound like an old man.”
Yamada crackled loudly at that, the kid was undoubtedly Shouta's.
“Papa.”
Another voice, a much quieter and groggy one resonated in the kitchen.
Looking to the entrance, he was met with red round eyes. Tired ones too.
“Good morning, my princess! Did we wake you up?” Hizashi smiled brightly, a hint of shame in his tone.
“There's no ‘we’ in that, Zashi.”
Hizashi turned to Hitoshi, who gave a mischievous smirk in return. Hizashi gasped dramatically and full of indignation.
He approached Eri, his eyes never leaving Hitoshi’s as he picked her up, “That's slander!”
He turned to his daughter, placing a kiss on her forehead. The girl still looked sleepy, it usually took her a few minutes to fully wake up.
He took her to the table and sat her down next to Hitoshi before turning back to the food.
If both of the kids were up, it wouldn't take much longer for Shouta to get up. He figured it was best to start plating the food.
He kept humming while the kids talked with each other. Eri starting to wake up more and more, her voice becoming more cheerful as she talked about her dream.
“Morning.”
Just as Hizashi expected, “Good morning, Shou! Breakfast is re-re-readyyy!!”
He extended a cup of coffee to his husband, who took it without saying anything else.
They all sat down and began eating. Hitoshi making comments about Shouta's sleep deprived appearance—as if his was any better—and Shouta commenting on Hitoshi's coffee addiction.
Which of course earned him the accusatory allegations—as his husband called them— from both him and Eri.
The morning had gone by nicely and watching his family talk and bicker, got Hizashi in a good mood.
Hizashi loved his family.
______________________
Once he, Hitoshi, and Eri had finished cleaning up the kitchen, Yamada went to his room, expecting to see his husband sleeping once again.
Instead, he found the eraser hero himself grabbing his keys, his stand slightly tense.
“You're leaving?”
Hizashi looked at Shouta while the man gathered his things, his eyes narrowed slightly as the man took his capture weapon and work phone with him.
Not that it was unusual for Shouta to take his weapon everywhere, but Hizashi couldn't help the unsettled feeling in his stomach.
“The agency called,” Shouta answered, trying to sound nonchalant, but Hizashi wasn't going to drop it easily.
“Uh-huhhhh, but why did the agency call? I thought you had stopped going on missions since— y'know,” Hizashi covered one of his eyes, mimicking Shouta's eye patch.
Eraser glared at him before huffing slightly, “My quirk might not work as well anymore but it's not completely useless.”
That—Hizashi knew— of course he did. He wouldn't be Eraserhead’s #1 fan if he didn't.
But right now he wasn't Eraserhead's fan, he was Aizawa Shouta's husband.
Hizashi put his hands up in apparent surrender, “Yo yo, I know. Still one of the strongest heroes! But I thought no more missions? Especially with the kiddos.”
Shouta was quiet for a second before shaking his head, “It's not a mission, Zashi. They just wanted some help with the newer underground heroes, that's all.”
“Got it.” Hizashi winked at him, but seeing as his husband turned around to leave without a second thought, he sighed loudly, making the man turn to him with furrowed eyebrows.
He pouted, looking at Shouta with puppy eyes, “No goodbye kiss for your husband?”
Yamada buried his face in his hands before Shouta could even answer, fake crying, “Am I your side chick? Did you get everything you wanted and are now leaving me to be a single parent?”
He looked at his husband, who simply gave him a blank stare, completely unimpressed by his antics.
Well, he had to have some fun from time to time.
Hizashi puckered his lips expectantly.
Seeing as Shouta had no intentions of moving, he pointed at his lips with both hands.
Finally, Shouta rolled his eye before giving him a quick peck on the lips.
Hizashi would be lying if he said he wasn't expecting a bit of a longer kiss but he could see that he was starting to push Aizawa’s buttons and didn't want to push his luck too much.
“Be safe, I love youuuu!” He held the U as Shouta walked past him.
Shouta mumbled a quick, “Same,” and walked out.
Yamada’s eyes lingered on the door. A disappointed huff leaving his mouth.
It was alright.
He knew Shouta wasn't a man of many words.
It's not like he minded too much. Their relationship had its ups and downs, but after everything that had happened with Oboro and Kurogori and the fact that they were parents now, their communication had improved significantly.
He would even dare say that their relationship was a lot healthier.
So whether Shouta said ‘I love you’ back or not wasn't that big of a deal.
Really.
__________________________
The rest of the afternoon had gone by pretty uneventfully.
Hizashi had played a few video games with Hitoshi—sponsored by Santa of course.
He also played dolls with Eri, and he made the most beautiful princess, if he may say so himself.
He made lunch with the help of both kids, although Hitoshi didn't eat with him and Eri, he had helped him cook.
Both Hitoshi and Eri would get overwhelmed after spending too much time with him so they would leave to their room for a few hours, which he did his best to respect.
They were good kids.
And they had gone through a lot. The least he could do was give them space whenever they needed it.
Although right now, Eri had decided to draw. Her color crayons scattered across the kitchen table.
She looked concentrated so Hizashi decided to leave her be.
Plus he also had homework to grade—
Too much homework since he had put it off for a few days.
But hey, he was no hypocrite. He took forever to grade things but he was also pretty lenient of his late work policy.
Hizashi was looking forward to grade last week's assignment though.
The kids had to write an essay on The Monkey's Paw.
Perhaps not the usual English literature that he liked to read to his class but it was still a classic.
After a few hours of grading, Eri had fallen asleep, her silver hair covering her eyes, but Hizashi could see the slow rising of her shoulders with every breath she took.
He gently scooped her up and walked to her room, the girl had initially struggled to sleep in the house, so seeing her be able to not only sleep, but nap, was truly a wonderful sight.
Eri held him tight even as she slept, he could feel her small but warm hands gripping his shirt.
Once Yamada had tucked her in, he made his way back to the kitchen and continued grading papers.
After a few minutes, Hizashi saw his son walking by, stopping at the entrance, his hands froze right as he was about to grab his shoes.
The teen turned to where Hizashi was at the kitchen table, fidgeting with the hems of his sleeves, “It’s time for training.”
Hizashi smiled, he knew the boy wasn't used to letting someone know where he was going. It had been a point of discussion for them, especially at the beginning with Hitoshi leaving without telling anyone.
It made sense.
No one had cared about his whereabouts till Hitoshi started staying with them.
Hizashi put both of his thumbs up, “YEAHHHH training time! Make sure to stay H-Y-D-R-A-T-E-D. We don't want you passing out, little listener!”
Hitosh nodded awkwardly and then proceeded to put his shoes on. Right as he was about to open the door, he turned to him again.
“Oh Zashi, I'm going out with Denki after training with Dad. We'll probably eat dinner so you don't have to wait for me.”
Hizashi's eye twitched slightly at the word ‘dad’
“No worries, make sure to be safe and use prrrotection my little listener!” Hizashi rolled his Rs, emphasizing the word with a heavy accent.
Hitoshi turned red at his words, glaring at him, “Argh Hiza— We're not going to-”
The teen bit his lip, still looking at him red as a tomato, “Whatever, I'm leaving!”
Hitoshi closed the door, leaving behind a cackling Hizashi. Once the kid had left, Hizashi sighed softly.
He had been delighted the day Hitoshi had called Aizawa dad. The boy had struggled so much with how to call them and feeling close to them, so of course Hizashi had been happy.
Still, after 3 months of referring to Shouta as dad, Hizashi couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.
It was illogical—as Shouta would say— not that he had ever told his husband or Hitoshi.
He would never tell them.
The kid had no obligation to call him anything he wasn't comfortable with, and he wasn't less of his son just because of that.
Yamada knew it wasn't fair to feel hurt over something so trivial, but at the same time, the feeling that he was loved less wouldn't stop bugging him.
It made sense though, Hitoshi had known Shouta for longer. They had trained a few months before his husband had started to bring him over to their home, and even longer before they decided to take him in.
Hizashi was happy to have Hitoshi with them.
And he was happy that the kid loved his husband so much.
Shouta deserved all that love.
He was okay with it.
He was a grown man, he wasn't going to be hurt by something so trivial.
_________________________
Hizashi had finished dinner when he felt his phone vibrating.
Shou ♡
I'll be late.
Eat without me.
Well—
That was kind of disappointing.
It wasn't the first time something like that had happened, but they both were supposed to have the day off and spend it together.
Not only did Shouta leave in the morning, but he probably wouldn't see the man at all for the rest of the day.
Deciding to put his thoughts away, he approached Eri’s door and knocked, “”Heyyy, sweetheart! Dinner's ready!”
Hizashi waited for an answer but was met with silence, he knocked again,
“If you're not hungry we can eat in a little bit.”
Silence followed. For a second, Hizashi turned his hands towards his hearing aids, making sure that they were in properly.
But he could hear his own voice and breathing just fine, he knocked again, he heard the knock just fine.
Hizashi could feel his palms start to sweat, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.
“Eri, can you answer me please? I'm going to open the door, I'll leave if you want but I just want to make sure you're okay.”
He slowly opened the door, Eri sat in the corner of her bed, the blanket covering her while she cried silently. Her hand was placed over her mouth, drowning most of the noise.
Although seeing her did allow him to breathe for a second, his heart broke at the image.
It had been a few weeks since Eri had a nightmare, a record for sure.
“Heyyy, princess.” Hizashi took a step inside the room, making sure not to move too quickly or speak too loudly.
He tried to approach her but she shook her head, pushing her body against the wall
“It’s okay, I won't get close to you if you don't want me to. I just want to make sure you're alright. Did you have a bad dream?” He kept his voice steady as he tried to look for any marks or signs that she was hurt.
Eri’s eyes watered even more but she nodded after a few seconds.
“A bad dream huh?” Hizashi looked at Eri reassuringly, “Those can be scary, but you know where you are, right kiddo?”
Eri gave a shaky nod and he continued,
“You're safe here. I won't let anything happen to you and neither will Shouta or Hitoshi.”
After what felt like the most agonizing seconds of his life, Eri finally moved her hand from her mouth, her breathing steadying slightly as she hiccupped.
“Can I get close to you, princess?” Hizashi asked, his entire being begging him to hug her and make sure that his daughter was okay.
He hated seeing her hurt.
The simple thought of those men that hurt her, made him want to murder every single one of them.
It wasn't very heroic of him, so perhaps it was best that he hadn't seen them.
After all, if he ever did, he would make sure they get the most painful death possible.
Still, Eri shook her head, “I want dad.”
Hizashi's mind went blank at the mention of Shouta.
There was a beat of silence before Hizashi swallowed hard, pushing back down the lump that had settled on his throat, “Sweetheart, dad is at work right now.”
Her eyes started to tear up again at her words.
“It’s okay! Eri, look at me,” Yamada took his glasses off, his green eyes looking straight at her, “You are safe here. Dad will come see you as soon as he gets here, but for now, I’m here and I will make sure nothing ever happens to you.”
Eri’s round eyes looked at him wide, she looked thoughtful for a moment, “I trust you, papa, but—“ she hesitated slightly before continuing, “don't touch me, only dad.”
Hizashi gave her a strained smile, “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, sweetheart.”
She nodded, her eyes now glued to him, trust reflected in them.
“Let’s go eat dinner. Try to eat but if you can’t stomach it, you don’t need to force yourself.” He opened the door for her, making sure to leave enough space for Eri to pass without touching her.
“Okay, papa.”
________________________________
Hizashi sighed as he closed the door to his empty room.
He had already texted Aizawa to let him know that Eri wanted to see him as soon as he got home.
Whatever time it was, that girl would be willing to stay up all night if need be, but after hearing what had happened, Shouta promised to make it back at a decent hour.
Hitoshi shouldn't take too long either. They weren't particularly strict about staying out late, but there was a curfew and although they were willing to extend it or let him stay at a friend's house, it had to be discussed previously.
Yamada laid down in bed, taking his hearing aids and placing them on the bed stand.
Silence.
But this silence was different.
The room was cold and dark, he could always cover himself with the blankets, but it almost felt like he had no energy, so he opted for staring at the ceiling.
His usually loud mind was oddly quiet. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest, he could feel the air in and out of his lungs.
It was strange—just how suffocating it felt.
Hizashi loved his family.
And he knew they cared about him too.
He just wished—sometimes— that he would be more important to them.