#by social worker she gets new ppl settled into the city she lives in if they've come in as refugees

[boyybites]

Felt in a punk/goth kinda mood so I drew this girl up and I love her

Art/Character©Boyybites

[enderham]

Remember that parenting AU I talked abt a while back?

This one

Well here's the prologue

On Ao3

Or down here

~

The hospital is busy, the attack that made it that way harrowing. It's been a long time since such a large-scale attack had been launched by villains and the devastation to the city and its residents is palpable even in this hospital, relatively far from the battleground. One would think that the further hospitals would take in more lightly injured patients but in the panic of the moment, there was no time for priority victims. Everyone was shipped off the moment they were found, regardless of their state. Thus, the halls are filled with mostly lightly injured people and family members of the ones that are worse off. The rooms are reserved for the latter.

Izuku is there, for once, not on his own behalf. He had only sustained minor injuries and had been tended to at the scene. He came to pick up Shouto, who had taken a bullet to the bicep and couldn't stay for the cleanup, being carted off as soon as the fighting died down. Now that all the civilians have been taken care of and no more heroes were needed, Izuku had been shooed off as well by his superiors, and thus he finds himself here, in the crowded halls of the hospital. He keeps busy by helping the nurses move patients and talking to the children to calm them down.

He's out of things to do however and now he aimlessly roams the halls, waiting for Shouto to text him that he's done. People recognise him here and there, stop him to thank him and show their support, and he in turn thanks them for their bravery. It's a common occurrence, one that he's lived through hundreds of times but one that never gets old to him. That's exactly what he's doing, talking to a family that had been leaving and thanking them for their support, when he hears the sniffle.

Ears trained on the sound, he bids the family goodbye and a safe trip home, and tries to find it's source. Following the hiccups and sniffles, he stumbles upon a girl sitting in a chair in an empty hallway and doing her damned best not to be loud. He remembers her, he took her to the med station himself and now, meeting here in the hospital again, he can't help but approach. Crouching slowly in front of her, he lets out a low "Hey," to catch her attention.

The girl looks up with a start, big tearful eyes locking on his own and there he sees the despair that should never make its home on a child's face. "Hello," he says with a soft smile, "you're Toriga, right?" She sniffs and nods, tangled wavy hair bouncing around her face. "I remember you," Izuku continues, "you were so brave today, you really impressed me!"

Toriga wipes her nose on a battered sleeve and offers a wobbly smile. "Y-you were impressive too, Deku-san."

Izuku beams his best smile at her "Oh you really think so? I can't wait to tell Shouto!" Then he frowns a little. "He's my boyfriend, he's been hurt, you know, and I'm really worried about him. Are you worried about someone too?"

The little girl hiccups and nods, "My mom," she chokes out, "I heard the doctors saying they don't know if she's gonna wake up!" With that, she falls forward and clings to Izuku's neck, and he doesn't waste a moment before enveloping her in a tight hug.

"Oh darling," he tells her softly, "I'm sure she'll pull through. If you're that brave I can only imagine how awesome your mom is. She's gonna be alright." The girl only sobs more, Izuku knows that now that she's let go she won't stop until she's spent. He's an experienced crier himself after all.

So he picks her up completely and sits in the now vacated chair. On a thought, he unclasps his mouth guard and takes it off, letting her bury her face in his hood. He hugs her closely and lets her cry her eyes out, rocking her just a little and murmuring soft words into the empty air. He wonders why Toriga's alone here. She's too little not to seek comfort from a family member at a time like this and she hadn't mentioned a father at all, though that might not mean much. She might have run away when she overheard the doctors and gotten lost.

He's debating heading to the more populated area of the hospital with her so they're more easily found by whichever family member might be looking for her when his phone chimes. Shouto is telling him to meet him by the admittance desk. He probably knows Izuku got caught up helping around. That settles it then, he hoists the now sleeping child more safely onto his shoulder and picks up his discarded mouth guard. He awkwardly texts Shouto with the one hand that's less occupied that they can't leave yet and that he'll explain in person. Shouto's text back is characteristically flat but accepting nonetheless, and Izuku huffs a low laugh.

When Shouto spots him with a kid on his shoulder he raises an eyebrow but leans in for a kiss anyway, opting to not ask any questions and let Izuku tell him on his own.

"Hey hon," Izuku greets, "how's that arm of yours?"

Shouto looks down at the sling they gave him and shrugs his good shoulder. "I tried to tell them to save the medical quirks for the civilians but they insisted. I guess hospital staff has a good reason to want heroes back on the job as quickly as possible. They say I should be good as new in a few days."

"That's good to hear," Izuku says with a relieved sigh. Then he nods to the sleeping girl in his arms. "I found Toriga here alone in a hallway. Her mother hasn't woken up yet and she says she heard the doctors saying she might not wake up at all." After Shouto's sympathetic hum, he continues, "I was hoping to find a family member of hers but I don't know her last name so I can't really ask at the desk. It won't hurt to try though."

Shouto nods, but before they can head to the desk, a shout interrupts them.

"Toriga!"

They turn around to see a woman in her thirties jogging towards them with relief on her face. "Hello. Are you her family?" Izuku asks.

"Quirk counsellor. Kaguya Hanako, nice to meet you." She corrects, coming to a stop in front of them. "Deku and Shouto, right? I came as soon as I heard about her mother."

Izuku and Shouto share a glance. "No family?" Shouto asks cautiously. The woman shakes her head mournfully.

"Her grandparents are both in a hospice and her mother is single and has no siblings, to my knowledge at least. The father was never even mentioned so there's no way to contact him. I'm her designated social worker as I am for every child I work with."

"What… What will happen to her now?" Izuku asks carefully, rubbing one gloved hand up and down Toriga's back slowly.

Miss Kaguya sighs. "Well, I'll take her home with me tonight, but I can't neglect my work at the school for too long and I'll be legally obligated to situate her at an orphanage if a week passes. I'll most likely have to do it even sooner than that, before she comes back to school." She says sadly. "I'm not particularly happy about it, but it's currently the only way."

They all fall silent, the heroes taking the time to process the sharp turn this child's life must be taking. Shouto doesn't even have to look at Izuku to know the expression his boyfriend is sporting and what exactly comes next. He looks down at him anyway, takes in the (admittedly well hidden) trembling lip, looks him in the eye and sighs deeply. He turns to Kaguya.

"Is fostering an option?"

The woman looks between them in disbelief, but at Izuku's vigorous nod and Shouto's soft smile, she deflates. "Well, it is a better option than the orphanage. She seems to trust you." She says, nodding at Izuku, who nods back in confirmation.

"I was the one who found her during the rescue."

"But this isn't to be taken lightly. I'm well aware of both your jobs and statuses in the hero community." She warns, eyes flicking to their costumes. "You'll have to stay with her for at least a week, providing that you have good accomodations for her and there will be questionnaires and paperwork to be filled, not to mention moving at least some of her belongings to your residence."

"That won't be a problem." Shouto says, and Izuku continues for him.

"Yeah, we have a pretty big apartment with a guest bedroom. Shouto is going to have at least a few sick days after this, and if our agency doesn't grant me leave as well, then I'll take vacation days. I would even if I didn't have a lot stocked up. After that we can work our schedules around in her favor and our families will be more than happy to look after her. I know my mom will for sure." When he looks up at Shouto, the taller man nods.

"My mother and sister would be delighted as well."

Kaguya scrutinises them for a little longer, but she must like what she sees because in the end, she nods. "Well then, all that's left is to ask Toriga." She says at last.

Izuku opens his mouth to agree, but he's interrupted by a small "Yes." Coming from his shoulder.

"Toriga?" He asks, looking down at the little girl "You've been awake this whole time?"

"For a little while. Will I be staying with you, Deku-san?" She sits up in his arms and rubs one eye. He adjusts his hold on her.

"Yeah, with me and Shouto, if you want to that is."

She looks at Shouto, who gives her a small smile and a wave, than to Kaguya, then back at Izuku.

"Of course I want to!"

~

There was a moderate amount of interest in this AU and I really wanted to explore it and all its intricacies, so I'm gonna start it as a series of one-shots! It has so many branching paths and possibilities that not even I know where it'll go yet, but I do have the next few installments in idea-form. Hopefully ppl like it and I keep my motivation on a continuous enough level to work out this admittedly huge project.

Oh yeah, and my ask box is open for prompts!