Chapter Text
The funeral was a small affair. Inko Midoriya lost many of her friends and family when she became pregnant at sixteen and with long hours spent working, she didn’t have time to make new friends. Only a few coworkers had come to give Izuku their condolences and share the happy memories they had of his mother.
Izuku was thankful for everyone who came and more so for their kind words. He didn’t know how he was going to express his gratitude to Shigaraki-san though. Not only did the women pay for the service but had offered to house Izuku till he was old enough to live on his own.
The arrangement allowed for him to continue his third year at the same school as well as continue seeing the boys. They were a great distraction from the grief but they could tell that the middle schooler was upset.
Yoichi gave the teen one of his favorite stuffed Superman toys and Hisashi had even shared some of his dessert on nights Izuku was feeling especially down. Izuku would tear up almost every time and he almost hugged Yoichi till he passed out after receiving the plush.
Tomichi-san (as she insisted Izuku call her now that they lived together) didn’t ask for much. Just to watch the boys when she wasn’t home, keep the house clean, and make sure to make dinner for her, even when she wouldn’t be able to eat it fresh. It was nice.
The only thing that made Izuku uncomfortable was her dislike of metas.
“It’s not that expensive and I’m using my own money for it.” Izuku tried to reason a few months into his stay with the Shigarakis.
“The money I give you for your allowance is my money and I don’t want it used on such ridiculous things.” Tomichi-san argued.
“It’s just hair dye.”
At that, the woman snapped her head away from her mirror and faced Izuku with a glare. “Dye that makes you look like one of those meta humans. Do you want people to think you're a tengu’s servant?”
At that, Izuku bristaled. “And what about Yo-chan and Hi-kun? Do you think they’re servants of goblins because their hair is white ?”
Tomichi-san scoffed. “Of course not. They have perfectly normal hair colors. Albinos may be rare but they're not unheard of. Green hair on the other hand is and from now on you will stop dyeing yours that color.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” Tomichi-san stated as she went back to finishing up her makeup. “I let you into my home , Izuku. I’ve taken you in when you had no one else. The least you could do is not dye your hair such a hideous color.”
With one final look at herself in the mirror, Tomichi got up and faced the teen who stood silently at her side. His hands curled, his brows furrowed, and his head was down to hide away the tears that stung his eyes. The woman cooed as she gently cupped his cheek and raised his head.
“Hey now. Everything will be fine. I’m sure you’ll look quite handsome with black hair.” Then she tilted her head, a glint flashing in her eyes. “You’d actually look similar to my late husband if you did that.”
After their “talk,” Izuku helped Hisashi with some of his times tables as Yoichi colored in his D.C coloring book. The younger boy seemed a little more subdued than usual so when the teen got a chance, he turned to Yoichi.
“Hey Yo-chan, what’s wrong?”
Hisashi instantly tensed up and whipped his head towards his brother as the addressed boy stopped his coloring, not lifting his head.
“It’s just…just what mom said to you…”
“Oh. Oh Yo-chan, it’s okay. Tomichi-san is probably just worried about me. People are becoming meaner to those with meta abilities lately and she probably just doesn’t want me mixed up in it.”
“But,” Yoichi started, head snapping to the teen and exposing his tears, “what she said was so mean! She called your hair ugly! It’s not ugly Izu-nii. I promise! I like your green hair.”
Izuku couldn’t help but smile as he went to hug his unofficial little brother. “Thanks Yo-chan. That means a lot to me coming from you.”
“Oh? And coming from me it wouldn’t mean much, huh?” Hisashi huffed.
Izuku glanced over to the boy before he gave Yoichi a smirk and a wink. In the next second, Hisashi squeaked as the teen dragged him into a hug. “Aw. Are you saying you think my hair is pretty Hi-kun~?”
“I didn’t say that!” The younger boy shouted as he squirmed.
“But you implied it!” Izuku declared, giving the ten year old a tighter squeeze, much to Yoichi’s delight if the giggles were anything to go by.
After a minute of unsuccessfully escaping Izuku’s grasp, Hisashi slumped. “Are you going to let me go now?”
“Nope!” Izuku cheered. “Not until you admit you like my green hair.”
“What?! No way!” Hisashi shouted, escape efforts back in full force. “Let me go!”
“Nope. Not until you say it.”
“I’m not saying it.”
“Then I guess I’m not letting you go.”
Hisashi pouted at Izuku’s cheeky response but ultimately couldn’t escape. Since the boy refused to comply though, Izuku followed his word. The three eventually settled back down; Yoichi sat with his thigh up against Izuku’s as he colored and Hisashi continuing his homework on Izuku’s lap.
A couple minutes later though, the peaceful quiet was broken. “The kids at school don’t like our hair.” Yoichi confessed.
Izuku hummed.
“They call us metas.” Hisashi chipped in. “Freaks.”
The teen couldn’t help how he stiffened at the term. It wasn’t helped by the seven year old’s nod of agreement.
“You're not freaks. You guys know that, right?”
Yoichi just turned away while Hisashi scoffed. “Yeah, but that doesn’t stop us from looking like ones.”
“No.” Izuku stated firmly, more firmly than he ever has with the two before. He twisted the boy in his lap and made sure they made eye contact before he continued. “You're not freaks. You don’t look like freaks, you don’t act like freaks, and even if you guys actually were metahumans, you. Would, Not. Be. Freaks. ”
Hisashi stared at him with wide red eyes, evidently shocked by Izuku’s declaration, but the teen wasn’t done yet.
“And in the end, even if you were some kind of freak of nature, that is no reason to be thrown away. You deserve to be loved and cherished and if the whole world ends up turning on you then know that I’ll be here for you. Both of you. No matter what.”
They were both staring at Izuku, both wide-eyed and shocked, before they promptly burst into tears.
After a few long minutes calming the two down, the homework and coloring was abandoned in favor of playing a cartoon on low volume as the three cuddled up under some blankets on the couch.
It was mostly silent for an episode or two, just an occasional sniffle, cough, or shuffling of blankets as they tried to snuggle even closer together, but eventually Izuku decided to speak.
“Do you guys want to hear a secret?”
The two boys looked to their pseudo brother and nodded.
“You can’t tell anyone this okay?” the teen whispered just loud enough for only them to hear.
The two looked to each other for a second before turning back to the teen with nods.
“My hair, “ Izuku started, taking a deep breath before letting it back out, “is naturally green.”
It was silent for a moment, the two processing, then Yoichi shouted.
“You're like us!”
Izuku couldn’t help but let out a shocked laugh. “W-what do you mean?”
“You got weird hair like us!” the boy cheered, seeming to grow excited at the revelation.
“Yea.” Hisashi added. “We're all freaks with our unnatural hair.”
“What did I just say about you guys not being freaks?”
The ten year old rolled his eyes. “Fine, not freaks but people still think we're metas.” Then he paused for a moment, only to look at the teen quizzically. “Does that mean you’re a meta?”
Yoichi’s eyes seemed to light up even more but Izuku only laughed with a shake of his head. “No, I don't think so. I mean, yea, my hair is an unnatural color but I can’t glow in the dark or fly.”
Hisashi hummed at that, looking a little disappointed.
Yoichi on the other hand was having a hard time sitting still. “That’s still so cool! Your hair is such a pretty color Izu-nii.”
“Thank you.” Izuku thanked with a smile, reaching out to ruffle the smaller boy’s hair. “And so is yours. Like a fresh layer of snow.”
After that night, the boys seemed to be closer than before. It may not have looked like much from the outside, the three still walking to and from school together and snuggling close for movie nights, but there was a sense of comradery that wasn’t there before. No longer was it two brothers against the world. It was three.
It was, for a little while anyway.