Chapter Text
Izuku was hungry. Like really, really hungry. His mom had dropped him off somewhere in the middle of a scenic trail, promising to pick him up later; yet a whole day later, not a single soul had passed by his drop-off point.
Izuku wasn’t naive, despite his age. He knew he was abandoned, most likely because of the weird quirk he’d just gotten. He’d been so excited to show everyone who he could turn into a cat—the hero applications were endless—but if he’d known how they were going to react, he never would’ve shown it to them.
And now, he was in his kitten form, trying to sniff around for food. He’d thought since cats had such a good sense of smell that he'd be able to find something quickly, but a few hours later, his stomach was still very much empty. It didn’t help at all that he was in a deserted place either; maybe if he were in the city, there’d be people he could beg scraps from. Here, there was nothing but weird grass and trees.
He wanted to cry. This wasn’t how he imagined getting his quirk would be like. He thought everyone would praise him just like how they’d praised Kacchan when he got his, but all he got were weird stares and half-hearted congratulations. His mom’s reaction had been the worst. She’d sneezed and asked Izuku to go to his room and stay away from him with a frosty expression. He knew she was allergic, but it wasn’t like he was stuck in cat form forever. He could shift back to his human form when he wanted to. Most of the time, at least.
The second day of being abandoned came and went, and before he knew it, night had fallen once more. Izuku curled up and was resigned to sleeping on an empty stomach when he picked up on a new, unfamiliar scent. It kind of smelled like coffee.
Izuku’s eyes widened and he quickly scampered over. Thanks to his cat eyes, he could see clearly in the dim path, but he found that he didn’t even need it, for his sense of smell led him straight to where the scent of coffee was the strongest.
It didn’t take him long to reach the source, which looked to be a hiker walking slowly on the trail.
Izuku was so happy he could cry. He was saved! Now all he needed to do was turn back into his human form and ask for some food and hopefully a ride out of here.
Concentrating hard, he pictured his human form with all his might and waited.
And waited.
He wasn’t changing.
Izuku tried again, this time focusing harder.
Still nothing.
Uh-oh.
The person was getting further and further away. If Izuku kept wasting time here, he might never be able to catch up. As much as he didn’t want to approach the person in his cat form, he had no choice. Sprinting as fast as he could with his short, wobbly, kitten legs, he raced after the scent of coffee the person left trailing behind him. Twigs and dried leaves crunched under his paws, nowhere near as silent as it should be for a real cat.
The person whirled around when he got close enough, stopping abruptly in the middle of the trail. Izuku almost crashed into his legs as he skidded to a halt right in front of him
“Woah!”
Izuku panted and craned his head up to look. The person was a man, and he had long dark hair and was wearing all black, which seemed about right for someone who would be hiking here in the middle of the night. If Izuku had been in human form, he would’ve been hesitant to approach, but in his kitten view, he was the most trustworthy-looking man in the world.
“Hello there,” the man said in a soft voice, slowly crouching down in front of him and offering up a tiny smile. “What’s a tiny kitten like you doing out here all alone?”
Izuku tried to tell him about how his mom had left him here, but all that came out of his mouth were indignant meows.
“Oh, are you hungry, little one?” The man chuckled and fumbled around his pockets. “I have just the thing. Here you go.”
He unwrapped something from a plastic package and held it out in front of Izuku. He could smell what it was before even having to look at it—meat, or jerky, more accurately. Wasting no time, he chomped eagerly on it, devouring the entire thing in seconds.
He was still ravenously hungry.
“Where’s your mom, huh?” he asked, scratching Izuku behind the ears. “Where’d you come from?”
He meowed loudly and pawed at his hand, trying his best to convey his hunger. If only he was better with his quirk, then he wouldn’t have to do all this embarrassing stuff.
“You want another one?”
He nodded as best as he could.
The man laughed. “Alright. Good thing I packed so many,” he said, unwrapping another jerky, which Izuku demolished in record time.
“There you go,” he said, placing another one in front of him. “Eat as much as you’d like.”
Now that Izuku finally had something in his belly, he suddenly felt self-conscious about the way the man was watching him eat. Could he tell that he was actually human? As much as he wanted to communicate with him, he felt it would be too sudden to transform now, assuming he even could.
“Good kitty,” he cooed, gently patting Izuku’s head.
It felt good. Too good. Izuku felt wrong, somehow, to be enjoying his touch.
“Okay. Now that you’ve eaten all my jerky, it’s time for me to go,” he said, giving Izuku another pet before standing up. “It’s a bit late, even for me.”
Izuku’s relaxed state instantly vanished—he was leaving? Without him? He tried to speak again, but the only thing that came out was a panicked meow.
“Aw…I’m sorry, buddy. I can’t take you with me,” he said. “I can’t take care of a kitten right now.”
Izuku was panicking, hard. What was he going to do if the man left him? The beef jerky he had been given wasn't enough to last him long—he was going to die out here!
“I’ll come back to see you again,” he said. “With more jerky, I promise.” He hesitated in front of Izuku for a moment and started walking away.
Izuku followed closely, his heart pounding with fear. He kept meowing and making an assortment of different cat noises to get the man’s attention, but he just kept walking and walking. He didn’t give up, though. He couldn’t afford to.
At a particularly loud and desperate meow from Izuku, he finally stopped and turned. “I really can’t take you,” he said with a frown. “Please stop following me.”
Izuku couldn’t waste this chance. Trying his very best to tell the man about his plight, he meowed. Loudly.
“Oh…come on, kitty,” he said. “I wish I could too, but my husband would be so angry. We just moved into a new place, you see. There are so many boxes and new furniture lying around waiting to be unpacked. No space for a kitten like you.”
Izuku had no choice. If he couldn’t speak, then his only choice was to act cute. The man clearly liked cats, so how hard could it be?
“But I promise I’ll be back with more food tomorrow,” he said.
Izuku let go of his dignity and booped the man’s leg with his nose.
“Aww…cute,” he said with a strange expression. “But I still can’t take you home.”
He could practically smell the man’s uncertainty, which meant it was time for Izuku’s next attack. Unsheathing his claws, he dug them into the man’s sweatpants and slowly climbed up.
Surprisingly, the man didn’t stop him and eventually, Izuku made his way to his shoulders. There. Now he couldn’t get rid of him anymore.
“Stop it,” the man said, but his voice held no real heat. “You’re making this hard.”
It was shocking comfortable perched atop the man’s broad shoulders and he suddenly had an intrusive thought to nestle in his long hair. It looked like it would be warm and cozy, but alas, what little left of Izuku’s dignity didn’t allow it.
“You wouldn’t be comfortable at my house,” he continued, turning to look Izuku in the eye. “It’s cramped and messy, plus my husband’s really loud. Like really, really loud. Your eardrums will burst.”
Izuku meowed and pawed at his hair. He wasn’t sure what he was doing anymore and was just acting on instinct—his hair was fun to play with.
“Oh, that’s it,” he said, gently prying Izuku off him and dropping him back on the ground. “I’m going to go now. For real this time. You’re too adorable.”
Oh no! Was it because Izuku messed with his hair? He thought the man wouldn’t care because it was already so messy. He attempted to apologize, but again, could only meow.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise,” he said and started walking away.
Not missing a beat, he followed closely, but the man walked faster and faster until he was nearly at a jogging pace. Izuku didn’t let that stop him and full on sprinted after him.
“Stop following me!” the man said loudly. “Please! I don’t have time to take care of you. You’ll be happier out here than in my cramped apartment.”
If only the man knew.
“Kitty, please…” The man finally stopped walking and turned to look at him. “I’m begging you.”
He meowed and pawed desperately at the man’s pants, looking up at him pleadingly. Was he not cute enough?
“This is bad. This is really bad,” the man mumbled under his breath. “Oh god. How am I going to get away?”
He stroked Izuku’s fur and he purred, ecstatic to have the man’s attention again. His hand was really big and warm, much like a cozy blanket.
“You’re not going to give up, aren’t you?” he asked in a soft voice.
Izuku meowed and leaned into his touch. The man was safe; he was certain of it now. Just being in his presence was enough to soothe Izuku’s fears.
“Welp, I guess you win,” he said, the corners of his lips twitching up minutely. “Are you happy now, kitty? I’m going to be yelled at by my husband for the next few weeks. Thank god he’s out on a work trip right now so you won’t be kicked out immediately, so you better practice acting cute before he gets back.”
Did that mean…?
He huffed and picked Izuku up gently. “Let’s go home, you little rascal,” he said.
—-
Instead of being fed, Izuku was forcefully given a thorough bath the moment they got to his house. He howled and scratched fiercely the entire time, but to no avail—the man seemed to have experience with giving cat baths. Eventually, he decided to just relax in the warm soapy water and let the man work; he was so gentle that it started feeling good despite how utterly mortifying it was.
After the bath, the man gave him more treats and some water and left to shower. Izuku considered trying to transform again while he was gone, but he didn’t want to give the man a heart attack. He’d try tomorrow, maybe. Right now, he was happy to eat the cat treats he’d been given.
When the man finished his shower, he picked Izuku up—this was getting a little annoying—and sat down on the couch, which was coincidentally the only piece of furniture in the living room packed with sealed boxes. He was tempted to scratch all them up with his shiny new sharp claws; it seemed like it would be fun.
“What am I going to do with you?” he asked and gently scratched him behind his ears.
Izuku purred contently and curled up on his lap. The boxes can wait.
“Hizashi’s going to love you,” he said with a quiet laugh. “After he yells at me, that is.”
He wondered what his husband was like. Would Izuku actually get to meet him before he gets kicked out?
“I’ll let him name you. It might make him less angry. He loves naming things,” he decided. “Though I must say, he’s not the best at it. You might get stuck with something stupid like me.”
The two of them enjoyed each other’s company in silence for a while, with the only sound being the man’s quiet breathing and the water dripping from the tap. It was so pleasant and tranquil that Izuku thought it might be better if he remained a cat forever.
But for now, Izuku was going to enjoy pretending to be the man’s cat. He’d worry about his impending homelessness some other time, preferably after he got some sleep and more food.
Just as the warmth and peacefulness of resting on his lap lured Izuku into a fragile sleep, he felt the familiar feeling of his skin stretching painfully.
“What.”
And just like that, Izuku’s panic returned and he quickly rolled off the man’s lap. He tried to meow, but words came out. “I’m sorry!”
“You’re…not a cat.” The man’s eyes were wide and he was staring intently at Izuku, his previous relaxed posture completely gone. He looked just as tense as Izuku felt.
“I’m sorry!” he wailed hoarsely. “P-please don’t kick me out. I didn’t mean to trick you! I just couldn’t use m-my quirk to t-turn back earlier.” He cursed his quirk for activating at the worst possible time.
“Calm down,” he said after a second. “It’s okay. Deep breaths.”
Try as he might, Izuku couldn’t calm down. Instead, his eyes welled with tears and he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t want to spend the night out in the scary forest again.
Then he felt the man’s warm hand on his head.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’m not going to kick you out. I’m not angry either. Just relax.”
Slowly, Izuku’s breathing evened out and his heart rate returned to normal. His touch felt just as good in human form and he couldn’t help but crave for more.
“There you go. Good job,” he said, leaning back into the couch. “Do you want to tell me your name?”
“Y-yeah,” he said. Now that he wasn’t as panicked, all he felt was embarrassment and shame. “I’m Midoriya Izuku.”
“I’m Aizawa Shouta,” he said. “Nice to meet you. I guess Hizashi doesn’t have to name you after all.”
“S-sorry,” he mumbled, his cheeks heating up.
“Don’t be. I thought you were a bit too social for a wild kitten,” he said. “But I assumed you were abandoned or something, not…this.” Instead of looking angry like Izuku thought he’d be, he merely looked amused.
Why wasn’t he angry? “I was afraid you’d leave me there,” he admitted. “My mom left and didn’t come back.”
The amusement on his face vanished, replaced by a deep scowl. “Did she now?”
Izuku froze. Had he said too much? He didn’t want his mom to get in trouble. “Um…it’s cuz she’s allergic. I just got my quirk, which is to…to turn into a cat, and I guess she didn’t like that.”
“You’re going to have to give me the details later,” he said. “I’ll deal with it for you.” There was a certain kind of conviction in his tone that made Izuku wonder what he did for a living. Cop? Vigilante? He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.
“It’s okay,” he said quickly. “You already helped me so much. I’ll think of something, but…but for tonight, can I stay? Please?”
Aizawa sighed. “I said this was your home earlier, didn’t I?” he said. “I don’t go back on my promises, even though this is a bit…unexpected.”
“Thank you, thank you!” Perhaps it was his lingering instincts taking over, but he flung his arms around him and pressed his face against his shirt. It was slightly damp from the shower, but he could still smell the lingering scent of coffee.
“Er…you’re welcome,” he said, hugging him back after a second.
When he pulled away, Aizawa’s face was slightly red.
“Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat. “You must be tired. I guess the sofa won’t do anymore…”
“I can sleep on here,” he said. “When I turn into a cat, sleeping on the ground isn’t bad.”
“No. I won’t force you to use your quirk,” he said. “You can have the guest room. I need to go assemble that bed first though so you’ll have to wait a little.”
With a loud pop, Izuku had shifted into a cat again, this time completely against his will. Why was it that a stray thought about his cat form was enough to shift, but turning back into a human was so difficult? He let out an annoyed meow and glared at his paws. He had some more things he wanted to ask Aizawa.
“Ah.”
Izuku meowed again and looked up at him helplessly.
“Do you prefer to be in cat form?”
The answer was no, but right now, Aizawa’s lap was looking mighty comfortable. With a purr, he climbed on there and nestled himself against his soft shirt. This was better than any bed in the world, especially one that wasn’t assembled yet.
“O-okay then,” he said. “As long as you’re comfortable.”
Within moments, he felt his gentle hand stroking his head once more. It felt different from before, almost as if Aizawa was less certain, but it was enjoyable all the same.
“Give me a light scratch if you want to go back to human form,” he said. “My quirk is erasure. It can shut off your quirk.”
He had a feeling that wouldn't be necessary.