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Chapter Text

It wasn’t the craziest idea Principal Nezu came up with in their time at UA high, but it sure was out there.

“Principal Nezu has come up with a distinct system for Class 1-A to begin using in the coming days. Due to all of the hardships you all have faced together as a class, almost always unwillingly, he wanted to come off with a way for you all to ‘let off some steam’ so to speak.”

Aizawa paused for a second after scanning the classroom. Some faces held expressions of curiosity, someone intrigued by the possibility of something special for them, others confused.

“Has anyone heard of the term age play?” Aizawa deadpanned, not expecting a response.

He didn’t receive any, but there were notable changes in some of his students' facial expressions.

“Right. Any thoughts you may have had about it, any opinions you may have heard about it, forget it. Don’t mention or think about it. Get rid of all premonitions, especially the negative ones because this is not something meant to be looked upon negatively. This is something we are meant to start all together, something brand new for everyone. Got it?” He paused one last time before deep diving into his explanation.

He wasn’t against the idea, but it would definitely be a big adjustment and he’s tired of dealing with ‘big adjustments’. Why is it always my class? He questioned internally. Leave it up to Nezu to come up with these outlandish ideas but not bother to explain them himself. Why do I always have to do it?

With a deep breath, Aizawa began, “Age play is something that people use as a coping mechanism. It can be used no matter the circumstances, whether it is just because, anxiety and stress, or in our case, traumatic events. When someone is partaking in age play, they revert or regress back to a younger state of mind. It is sometimes referred to as simply being ‘little’. There is no range or limit to what mindset they revert to, it could be anywhere from newborn to teenage years. Depending on how young someone’s mindset reverts back to, they will act accordingly.”

Aizawa paused for a split second to catch his breath, but was of course interrupted.

“There is no way in hell I’m acting like a dumbass baby,” Bakugou began, already fired up, but he too was interrupted.

“Now, now Bakugou. It's rude to interrupt,” Ida began (though he just did the same exact thing) ,”Let's hear what Mr. Aizawa has to say.”

Of course, Ida sees this, like everything else, as a learning opportunity. Especially something like this that he’s never heard before. Although it seems strange to him, he already has a small bit of faith in it since Aizawa is the one who is explaining it to them and the fact that it came from Principal Nezu.

Aizawa silently thanked Ida and continued, “Age playing isn’t something everyone will feel the need or tendency to partake in. On the opposite side of that is being a caregiver. Caregivers are those who take care and watch after those who are regressed. With that being said, you all are going to be using this coping mechanism together, as a class. Whether you like the idea or not, it will be beneficial to all of you.”

“This coping mechanism is a healthy outlet for you all to express yourselves and emotions with your fellow classmates that you already trust. And if you don’t trust them entirely, you will learn to through this. It will make the entire class stronger. The idea is to let out anything and everything while partaking so that when you are training and out in the field, you’ll have a sharper, more clear mind. No distractions or emotions to get in the way of fighting. Is that clear to you all?” Aizawa could only dream that it was ‘clear’ to his students. He is never going to be able to prepare for the onslaught of questions and statements that get thrown to him on a daily basis.

“Out of all things, why this Mr. Aizawa?”

“This seems weird guys, I don’t know how I feel about it.”

“What would we even do while ‘playing’?”

“How do we find out if we are a little or a caregiver?”

“Heck yeah! I’d have so much fun playing video games all day!”

“Are there official rules for this stuff?”

“It doesn’t sound too bad if it will make us stronger as a class…”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try it right?”

Sighing, Aizawa started again, addressing as many questions as he could, “It’s true that other coping methods could’ve been used, but we feel this one would be the most effective and most redeeming for you all. The UA staff knows what you all have been through by simply being enrolled here. We feel partially responsible for parts of your childhood being robbed almost daily, incident after incident. Add to the fact that not everyone has had the most pleasant upbringing, we believe that this was what made the most sense.”

A few students; Asui, Ojiro, Shoji, Kirishima, Hagakure, and Mina were already sold on the idea. The explanation made perfect sense to them and they were all curious to see how it would unfold.

“This actually sounds like fun you guys!” Mina spoke excitedly, “it would be great to forget about all of this hero stuff for a minute and just have fun. We could play board games, watch movies, have dance parties, and so much more!”

A few other students contemplated it and slowly agreed with her sentiment; Aoyama, Kaminari, Sero, Koda, and Sato were on board.

“If it strengthens Class 1A trust and teamwork skills, I’m all for it!” Ida shouted enthusiastically, Uraraka nodding along with him.

“I’m glad some of you are adjusting to the idea so quickly. I understand that a few of you are still hesitant about the idea,” he looked around the classroom specifically at Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Jiro, Yaoyoruzu, Mineta, and Tokoyami who had remained silent, “but in time you all will adjust to it and eventually enjoy it. Trust me.”

“We will soon be taking a test that will let you all and your other teachers know which side of things you lean towards; being a little or a caregiver. There is no right or wrong answer and you don’t have to be only one or the other. You could be both or not heavily lean towards either, but you will still be participating.”

“There will be a set of rules and it will be posted somewhere in the dorms in the future, but nothing too serious and are simply for safety, such as no horseplay when regressed. One requirement is that there will be at least one day a week that you will all be de-stressing and using this system as a class. Aside from that, you are all heavily encouraged to ‘play’ on your own time with another classmate or in small groups whenever you feel the want or need to.”

“While regressed, you all can do a wide variety of things, some of which Mina already stated. You can color, play with toys, read, play games, or simply just lay down and relax.”

“There are plenty of other rules I’ll be explaining to you all and tomorrow you will be taking the exam that will let us know which side you lean on, but for now, class is dismissed. ” Aizawa exited the classroom as soon as the words fell from his lips, leaving no room for argument from those who didn’t outwardly agree.

Class 1A was shocked by such an abrupt exit after such important news was dropped on them, but they quickly began to chatter about it. Some, more excitedly than others, but there were no extreme rejections being heard.

At least, none that they were paying attention to. After a while, the class learned to tune out Bakugou's volatile angry rants.

Even Todoroki was giving it a little bit of thought, “It does sound kind of strange you guys, but I think I will give it a try. For the sake of our class.”
Yaoyuroza agreed and Tokoyami chimed in, “I’m not excited about it, but if it doesn’t hurt any of us I’ll try it out.”

“C’mon you guys! This sounds totally lame!” Mineta exclaimed, “Bakugou’s right, who wants to act like dumb babies! That sounds ridiculous. Dumb babies don’t score with the hot ladies.”

Everyone glared at Mineta and Mina spoke for everyone when she said, “If anything, this was made for you Mineta. You act like such an immature kid all the time, permanently stuck in your peeping-tom phase. Plus, women love babies. They think they’re absolutely adorable!”

Suddenly hearts appeared in Mineta’s and his argument flipped 180, “This is gonna be great you guys! Bakugou, stop complaining and think about what’s really important here.”

Jiro remained silent for a while. To her, it sounded pretty embarrassing, having to possibly act like a child, especially in front of her classmates. She doesn’t enjoy that type of vulnerability. But then she remembered what Aizawa said about caregivers. Maybe I don’t have to act like a kid. Mind made up, Jiro nodded to herself.

Eventually, most of the chatter died down, the majority of the class on board with the plan. All except Bakugou, no surprise, but also Midoriya. His face was screwed in thought, heavily contemplating and processing the information given to him.

Uraraka unfortunately directed the class's attention to him by loudly asking, “So, Deku, what do you think? Doesn’t it sound interesting?”

Midoriya blanched for a moment after realizing everyone was staring at him, awaiting his response, before collecting himself, “O-oh y-yeah! It sure does sound interesting…” he trailed off, “But I’m sure it will be a great learning experience!” he exclaimed with false excitement, hoping to give a satisfactory reply to the question.

The class seemed satisfied and gave a small cheer for it. They resumed their chatter and Izuku was able to go back to thinking.

This is something he has heard of before. More than heard of. He’s actually tried it himself. And it isn’t something he’s proud of. Aizawa did tell them to abandon all negative ideas towards it, but Midoriya’s feelings towards age play that were practically ingrained in him.

All of those feelings strictly went against it. But how was he supposed to say that when else everyone was so excited about the idea?

Izuku noticed Bakugou had slightly calmed down and had resigned to shooting small sparks out of his hand and decided to ask him about it.

“So, Kachaan… how do you fe-” he was abruptly cut short,

“You know exactly how I feel about this, damn nerd! I’m not doing this shit, I don’t care what Aizawa or Nezu has to say about it.” and with that Bakugou stormed out of the classroom.

Bakugou has had his own experience with age play too, nearly the same as Izuku, so he couldn’t understand why the damn nerd had agreed to it.

Of course he would, that damn Deku he fumed internally, Always thinking of others before himself

Chapter Text

The next day, class 1A was antsy while waiting to take the exam. Some were still more excited than others, but when they got back to the dorms they did a little more research on the subject. Those who were on the fence about the subject were put at more ease.

Bakugou and Midoriya didn’t budge on the subject, though Midoriya made an effort to hide that fact while Bakugou outright rejected it.

Midoriya was beyond nervous for the exam, along with a few others. Though they were excited for the whole age play thing together as a class, when they thought about it individually, they had their own doubts.

Some were worried that if they ended up being little, they’d be laughed at or made fun of, while others worried of the responsibility that would come with being a caregiver. Even though they all agreed to not judge each other, regardless of their results, they still had those questions in the back of their mind. The UA staff was confident that nothing but good would come out of the entire experience, so the teens really didn’t have to worry.

What Midoriya was most worried about was the exam format. If it was a simple multiple choice question exam, maybe even a few short answers, he’d be able to skew the exam to a designation in his favor. Of course, that isn’t how it was going to go. Nothing ever works out in Izuku’s favor.

As soon as the bell rang, Aizawa strolled in along with Present Mic, Midnight, Cementos, and All Might, which was a surprise to the students.

Before he even began to explain, Ida began asking, “Mr. Aizawa, are they here for the exam? What exam requires our tea-”

“Quiet,” Aizawa interrupted cooly, “if you let me explain, then you won’t have to waste time asking questions.”

“So, this isn’t your typical exam if that wasn’t obvious enough. It isn’t on paper or anything, which is why I brought in some help today. It's simple. You all will be talking to us teachers one on one. You will be asked questions related to both little and caregiver tendencies as well as shown a few objects. The reason we are doing this in an interview style is to properly gauge where you lie on the age play spectrum. We want the most accurate results we can get from you all and we know how easily lies can be written on paper.”

Internally, Midoriya was panicking. Aizawa basically just called out his whole plan. Fortunately, it's still possible to lie when talking to someone, although Midoriya wasn’t the best at it. Today, he’d have to make it work.

“Oh, and if you think about lying, we will know. Trust that you will be punished accordingly. Though I don’t see a valid reason for lying during this exam, I’m sure some of you will try it.”

Izuku froze at that statement. It's like Aizawa was reading his mind. Midoriya weighed his options and decided that he may just avoid some questions when he could, rather than outright lie. He didn’t even want to know about what punishment Aizawa had in mind. He’s sure it wouldn’t be the least bit pleasant.

While Midoriya was worrying himself sick at his desk, Bakugou’s mind was going down a similar route. He thought he’d be able to lie easily on paper as well, but he had no problem lying to his teacher's face. It was obviously the better option. He was not going to be roped into this stupid scheme like the rest of the class.

“With that being said,” Present Mic started enthusiastically, “There’s no reason to be nervous! Everyone will pass the exam, regardless of their results, so have fun with it! We’re not here to intimidate you, we just want a more relaxed and informed setting for you all.”

“Right. With that being said, the first set of examinees are as follows:
Aoyoma you’re with All might
Mina, Midnight
Asui, Cementos
Ida, me and
Uraraka, Present Mic.”

For the exam each pair will go into separate, isolated rooms. In the meantime, all of you wait here for your turn. There is no time minimum or limit on the exam. We will ask as many questions as we need to give you all an accurate result, so some people will be asked less questions than others if their result is that obvious.”

The first set of examinees stood and nervous made their way to the teacher they were paired with and each pair went their separate ways, but not before Aizawa turned back and said,

“Don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone.” and with one final glare in Bakugou and Midoriya’s direction, he and the others exited.

“What do you guys think the exam is going to be like?” Kirishima asked the class.

“I don’t know, but I sure hope it’s easy like Present Mic said,” Kaminari replied, sounding a little worried.

Surprisingly, it was Jiro who reassured the class, “It can’t be too hard you guys. The whole point of this is for us to relax and not worry anymore, so I’m sure we don’t need to be worrying about the exam either.”

“I have to agree with Jiro you guys. We shouldn’t worry too much about this. Plus, regardless of our results, we pass. And we promised not to judge each other's results, remember?” Yaoyorozu reminded everyone.

Everyone nodded at that, including Bakugou. He knew exactly what it felt like to be judged in the situation and though he’s not going to make the same mistake like last time, he sure as hell wouldn’t wish the feeling on anyone else.

Sero spoke up, “Honestly, I can’t wait to see what everyone’s result is! Both options are pretty cool to me. It would be nice to not have to worry about adult responsibilities and just play like a kid again. But it's also fulfilling and nice to be responsible for someone else’s safety and happiness.”

Some classmates agreed with him while others disagreed.

“I honestly can’t imagine being responsible for another person…” Koda said, “It sounds like a lot. I think I’d manage to mess up a lot.”

“I feel you man, 100%,” Kaminari agreed, “That’s a lot of weight I do not need on my shoulders. I like living the simple life.”

“I’d agree with you there too bro, but taking care of people, it's the manly thing to do!” Kirishima exclaimed.

Meanwhile, in the separate classrooms, the examinations were going quite well. Most students already had a fair idea of what their test result would be, the rest was semantics. And finding what age range they fall at.

All the teachers were grateful that the first group of students had such an easy time, but they knew it wouldn’t be the case for all of the students. Fortunately for Uraraka, Ida, Asui, Aoyama, and Mina, they were out within 15 minutes which surprised their classmates.

As soon as they walked through the doorway, they were bombarded with questions.

“How was it you guys?”

“Was it easy?”

“Why’d you guys finish so fast?”

“What were your results?”

Each student gave their result, but not without collectively informing and assuring the class that the exam was a piece of cake, just like Present Mic said it would be.

“I’m a caregiver, ” Ida and Asui

“I’m a little, ranging from 8 to 13 years old in headspace,” Mina

“I’m also a little, mes amours, ranging from 3 to 7 years old in headspace” Aoyama

“I’m kind of a combination of both?” Uraraka shared nervously, “A caregiver with little tendencies, so an older headspace when little, if I even am little. And I’d probably still care for people while little…if that makes sense to you guys?”

Uraraka was bombarded with nothing but support for her result,

“Of course it makes sense! That’s so cool, you can do both! Also great results from the rest of you.” the class replied

The teachers observed the interactions with fond looks on their faces.

“Next round,
Sato, you’re with Cementos
Todoroki, you’re with me
Yaoyorozu, Midnight
Kaminari, Present Mic
Kirishima, All Might.”

Aizawa didn’t even address the rest of the class while exiting, but he didn’t need to as the classroom burst into loud, non-stop chatter, mainly directed at the first group of examinees.

Midoriya was grasping on to every bit of exam information from them to try and prepare himself and make a plan on how to evade questions, but from the sound of it, none of them got real questions since they had a rough idea of what their result would be.

Sighing, Midoriya put his head down on his desk and no one was paying enough attention to bother him about it, thank goodness. He was dreading the exam, despite his classmates' reassurance.

Chapter Text

Todoroki wasn’t particularly excited to be next for the exam, but he was glad he was going to get it over with. Once he knows his result, maybe he’ll be able to get to know himself a little better and find a side of himself he’s never known before.

When he and Aizawa entered the room, he was surprised at how comfortable it seemed. It wasn’t a classroom with desks and a whiteboard, but more of a hangout room? He doesn’t know exactly what to call it. It had a comfortable looking couch set, with extremely comfortable looking bean bags in a few corners around the room. The colors around the room were slightly vibrant, but relaxing at the same time and the ambient lighting added to the atmosphere.

Looking around the room, a little bit of tension left his body. Present Mic really wasn’t lying about the exam. It was much more informal than Todoroki assumed.

“Sit anywhere you’d like Todoroki,” Aizawa stated, “then we can begin.”

Todoroki glanced around one last time before beelining for the bean bag chairs. He’s never sat in one before and he was curious about how it felt. As soon as he sat, it was like the chair swallowed him and he loved it. He got comfortable in the chair and waited for Aizawa to join him.

Rather than sitting in another bean bag chair with him, Aizawa just stuck to his sleeping bag on the floor, at least keeping eye level with Todoroki, which makes it even less intimidating.

“To cut straight to the point, do you have any idea of whether or not you’ll be a little or a caregiver?” Aizawa asked.

Todoroki hesitated before speaking, “I’m not too certain about it, but I believe I may be leaning towards the little side.”

“Thank you for being honest Todoroki. Any particular reasons, mannerisms, or behavior that makes you think so?”

Todoroki didn’t know whether or not to open up to Aizawa. On one hand, he didn’t want to divulge his past and family life to his teacher and turn it into a therapy session, but on the other hand this was all about trust and he did request that they all be honest and so he answered.
“I didn’t have the greatest childhood. If it isn’t obvious, I was only created to make up for all of my fathers failures, especially being the number 2 hero,” Shoto began, “And my father never let me forget that fact since the day I was born. I was made to be his successor, not his son.”

Aizawa tried to keep his expression neutral but it was hard. Though he didn’t like to show it, he really cared for his students in class 1A and hearing just this small bit of his students’ childhood saddens him.

“I had three older siblings, one who died when I was very young, but the other two grew up around me. But not really with me. For as long as I could remember, I trained with my father relentlessly. I wasn’t allowed to play games with my siblings, not even for a second. I didn’t get to go to school to make friends. I barely even knew people existed outside of my house.” Todoroki said, feeling quite apathetic about it.

He resents his father for all that he’s done, but the past can’t be changed. Fortunately, the future can be shaped.

“Endeavor made it so that I never had a childhood in the first place and I think I’d like to experience that. I have to admit, I’m hesitant to do so with the entire class, but I think it would be good for all of us.”

“Thank you for sharing all of that Todoroki. I appreciate that and your willingness to give this a try. I know it must all seem so strange, but we believe it will all be worth it in the end. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that with your father,” Aizawa apologized, “it was unfair and no one should have to go through something like that.”

Todoroki blushed, momentarily embarrassed, as if finally realizing what he revealed to his teacher. He also wasn’t used to being apologized to and definitely not by adults.

Aizawa continued, “I agree with your reasoning though, it does seem like a valid reason to lean towards the little side of things. Did you also think you have caregiver tendencies?”

Todoroki shook his head. Even if he wanted to care for someone, he just wouldn’t know how to.

“Alright, that will make this process go a lot faster. This next part will be based on the assumption that you are in fact a little. I’m going to try and assign you an age range. All I’m going to do is set out two objects on the ground at a time, and you can pick the one that calls out to you the most. Neither choice is right or wrong, it's simply what you prefer. Understand?” Aizawa explained

Todoroki nodded, “Yes sir.”

And seemingly out of thin air, Aizawa pulled out a box of items. The first two things he placed on the floor were a colorful plastic cell phone that had wonky buttons on it and a large remote control toy car.

Todoroki had never seen either of the items before in his life, so it took him a little bit to decide which he preferred. He first tested out the remote control car, driving it around the room and crashing a bit along the way. Then he grabbed the cell phone, unsure of what to do with it. He looked to Aizawa for directions.

“Why don’t you try pressing one of the buttons Todoroki?” Aizawa asked, giving him the push he needed.

As soon as he pressed one of the numbers, there was a jingly noise emitted from the phone and Todoroki looked at it wide-eyed. He didn’t expect it to make any noise whatsoever. He pressed again just to make sure. And once he was sure it actually made noise, he proceeded to touch each and every button and he was pleasantly surprised when each button made its own unique noise.

His eyes lit up in the process and it warmed Aizawa’s heart. He stared at the boy fondly and knew for a fact he was a little and that he would be an adorable one. It was clear Todoroki was set on the toy phone, so he continued on with the next few items.

Shoto always went for the items that were sensory stimulating, anything that had noise, buttons, matching, all of that.

By the end of the exam, which took a bit longer than expected, Aizawa pronounced Shoto Todoroki as a little with a headspace ranging from the ages 2-6.

Aizawa shouldn’t have a particular preference for what his students tested as, but he was glad that Todoroki was a little, and in a younger age range. It was refreshing to see him, such a tense student, relax during the exam.

He also hopes that it shows the rest of the class that there is absolutely nothing wrong with all of this. If even one of their strongest classmates can open up and be vulnerable enough to be a little, and a younger one, then the rest of the class should have absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

But even though this was another easy exam, Aizawa wasn’t excited for the next. Surprisingly, rather than him being left to All Might, Izuku Midoriya was left to him for this exam. And he has the distinct feeling that the problem child will live up to his nickname.

Chapter Text

The second group of students returned, although they did take a bit longer than the first, but they all looked content when they arrived at the classroom. No one even had to ask as they announced their result.

“I’m like a caregiver” Sato said

“Same bro! So manly!” Kirishima explained, giving him a high five

“I’m a little, age ranging from 3-7” Denki stated.

“I’m kind of like Uraraka,” Yaoyorozu started, “a mix of both and preferring being a caregiver. If I do ever become little, it’s on the older side, maybe in the 8-12 range.”

And now came the result from the group that class 1A wanted to hear the most. While they were away, they tried guessing at who would classify as what, and so far they were pretty accurate, even with Momo.

But they had no idea what Todoroki would be. No one can really get an accurate read on the guy. The only people who had a slight inference were Bakugou and Midoriya and that’s simply due to what they know about Todoroki’s personal life. They didn’t share that detail with the class though and let them have their hard time guessing.

If the small, turtle shaped fidget toy he had by his side was anything to go by, Midoriya and Bakugou now had no doubts about his results.

“I’m uh.. I’m a little,” Todoroki began, uncharacteristically nervous, “and my headspace is a pretty young one. It ranges from ages 2 to 5.”

As soon as he announced it, he plopped down in his seat, avoiding eye contact with everyone. He wasn’t afraid of the fact that he was a little. Todoroki could be honest with himself and admit that he enjoyed the things Aizawa showed him and felt inclined to act younger, but it’s a completely different thing to announce it to his entire class, who was probably expecting something else.

He was met with a brief silence before his classmates began responding.

“Wow! Who would’ve thought Todoroki would be a little you guys?”

“I don’t know man, it was kind of obvious to me.”

“Obvious?! How??”

Todoroki didn’t appreciate the conversation around him. He was being talked about like he wasn’t even there.

“It doesn’t matter now. Todoroki is a little and he’s one of us now! That’s great news!,” one of the littles stated.

“Yeah. I’m sure Todoroki will be the most adorable little this class will ever see!”

“More adorable than mou?” Aoyoma questioned, batting his eyelashes.

The class rolled their eyes at that, but all silently agreed that Todoroki would make quite the cute little.

After hearing the last few comments, Todoroki was a little less shy about his result and held a little hope for himself. With the help of his classmates he was sure they’d all realize the benefits of age play.

The class continued on with the regular chatter shortly after the questions and Todoroki stayed at his desk, letting the pleasant conversations wash over him. He was playing the fidget toy Aizawa gave him, kind of as a reward for completing the exam.

He was quickly interrupted by Midoriya who seemed a little frantic as he approached. Todoroki noticed that Midoriya hadn’t been contributing much to the class’s conversations regarding age play, but he couldn’t put his finger on why. Judging by the look on his face, it was more nerves than anything, which makes sense to Todorok. He knows that Midoriya likes to be thoroughly prepared for things, hence his in-depth hero analysis journals.

“Hey Todoroki!” Izuku feigned enthusiasm as best he could, “congratulations on your results.”

“Thank you Midoriya. I’ll admit I was a bit surprised myself to be on the younger side of the spectrum, but I’m glad I know.”

Midoriya looked a little surprised at that, momentarily forgetting how open Todoroki had been with him since the UA sports competition.

Shoto continued, “I think this will give me a second chance at the childhood that my father ruined for me. I think I’ll really enjoy it.”

Being optimistic like that was Midoriya’s thing, not Todoroki’s. In that moment though, it’s like they swapped places.

“R-really?” Midoriya scratched the back of his neck nervously, “Well I’m glad for you then.”

“Listen, I was wondering how the test was structured, if you don’t mind me asking. You took a little longer than the first group and I wasn’t able to get any good insight from their experience.”

Todoroki wasn’t surprised at this and had no problem divulging the information. It would ease his friend, even in the slightest, he would gladly help.

“Oh yeah, it was way easier than I thought. The room was very nice and relaxing and there were these round, squishy chairs on the ground that were extremely comfortable to sit in. I’m not sure what people call it though, it was my first time sitting in it.”

Poor Todorokihe thought to himself, he doesn’t even know what a beanbag chair is? He definitely deserves to be little. It’s the least that can be done for him

“O-oh really? That’s nice to hear.” Izuku sat impatiently, waiting for him to continue with the actual details for the exam.

“Mr. Aizawa first asked me if I had an inclination toward either side, caregiving or age playing and he asked for reasoning behind my answer. After that it was really simple. He just laid out items for me to choose from to really get an idea of what headspace I lean towards.”

It wasn’t what Midoriya was expecting, though he should’ve learned by now to expect the unexpected.

He was getting ready to ask what kind of things he was choosing between when Aizawa announced the next group of students up for testing.

“Sero, you’re with Midnight
Bakugo, All Might
Shoji, Cementos
Jiro, Present Mic
and unfortunately, Mineta’s with me”

“Hey!” Mineta exclaimed, “other people can only dream of being in my presence. Consider yourself lucky, Aizawa.”

“What did you just say to me?” Aizawa seethed at the disrespect and glared the most intimidating glare he could muster.

Mineta nearly cried on the spot “N-n-nothing Mr. Aizawa sir, just-just some jokes,” he hastily amended, “l-let’s go get the exam over with?”

“Now that’s something I can agree on. Let’s go,” Mineta didn’t even wait for anyone to follow him.

Surely enough, the rest of his classmates and teachers made their move. Well, almost all of them. Bakugou remained at his desk with no intention.

When All Might realized this he stopped in his tracks and went back into the classroom for him.

“Young Bakugou, you’re up next with me, didn’t you hear Aizawa?” All Might questioned, doubting he was going to have an easy time with him.

“I told you guys, I’m not taking this stupid test. Have someone else take it, I don’t care who, just know I’m not moving,” Bakugou barked out angrily.

Some of his classmates gave him disappointed looks but also weren’t surprised. They knew Bakugou was going to be stubborn about the whole thing, but they also couldn’t lie and say it didn’t hurt a little.

Everyone else was going out of their way and making a huge effort to try this out for the sake of their class despite also being wary of the idea. The least he could do is take the exam like the rest of them.

“C’mon Bakubro, it's really easy, believe me man!” Kirishima attempted to convince him, “You’d ace the exam in time. We all have to do it, so just get it over with.”

Bakugou clicked his teeth and glared at Kirishima, “Don’t be stupid shitty hair. There is no ‘acing’ the exam. I’m not wasting my time on something so stupid that wouldn’t even be considered a win for me.”

“Sure you can’t ace it since there really aren’t right or wrong answers,” Uraraka chimed in with a slightly humorous tone, “but there’s no failing it either. It doesn’t hurt to take the exam Bakugou.”

Momo immediately caught on to Uraraka’s sneaky strategy and added, “Unless… you’re too scared to take the exam?”

A few gasps were heard around the room at the insinuation, while Bakugo was getting ready to blow up, but not before Todoroki put in his two cents,

“Of course he would be scared of the exam,” Todoroki scoffed, though secretly, he was amused, “I wonder how he expects to be the number one hero if he can’t take one easy exam.”

The rest of the class was starting to catch on and threw similar remarks at Bakugou until finally, he exploded,

“DAMN YOU ALL! I’M NOT SCARED OF THIS DUMB EXAM! WHAT GIVES YOU THAT IDEA?!? I’M GONNA FINISH THIS CRAP IN NO TIME JUST TO SHUT ALL OF YOU EXTRAS UP!” and with that, Bakugou finally exited the classroom with All Might.

All Might had to admit that class 1A truly was a handful, but times like this remind him what UA is all about. His students already have a deeper level of understanding with each other, hence why they are able to coordinate things like this so swiftly without even having to plan it. He had no doubt that the youngsters would be an amazing set of future heroes.

He’s extremely grateful that his students were able to convince Bakugou to take the exam, but he knew he was really in for it with this one. All Might knows there was a reason behind him being paired with young Bakugou; he was his idol as a young child and is someone he still looks up to. If anyone was going to be able to get an accurate read on the teen, it would All Might.

While All Might contemplated how to go about the exam, Bakugou was still shaking. Externally, it seemed like it was out of rage, but internally he knew what it really was. He was freaking out!

Of course his anger was a front for his lingering insecurity, but this time it was too much for him. Once upon a time, age play for him was something pleasant. Something relaxing that he got to share with a friend.

But the safe feeling it gave him was shattered and ripped away from him and he never got that sense of security back. No matter what he tried, there was nothing he found that compared to it. And so as time went on he got enraged at everyone and everything. Even a loud breath would provoke him these days.

Despite the overwhelming negative feelings that he held in, Bakugou still refused to revert back to his old coping mechanism. He shuddered at the thought alone. Yeah, no way in hell that was happening.

He could even tell that useless Deku was freaking out about it. Though he would never admit it, seeing Midoriya with a level head in an alarming situation always reassured him. To see that he looked more nervous than he felt was causing alarms to go off in his head, but he tried his hardest to ignore it.

He didn’t need that damn Deku anyways. All he needed to do is get this over with so everyone would leave him alone.

They arrived at the classroom and Bakugou sat in the first chair he saw, All Might deciding to sit directly across from him.

“Alright old man, let's get this crap over with.” Bakugou huffed.

Chapter Text

On the walk to the exam room, All Might was contemplating what his best approach would be with Bakugou. He could either go with a stern, no nonsense persona or choose a more friendly and welcoming route while also factoring parts of his hero persona. All Might wasn’t oblivious to the admiration that Bakugou held for him. It rivals Midoriya’s own obsession, though it isn’t as obvious.

Realizing he couldn’t really pick one over the other, All Might decided that he’d adjust according to how Bakugou reacts to the different parts of the exam.

“So, young Bakugou,” he started, “are you ready to begin?”

“I already told you old man, let's get this over with,” Bakugou replied impatiently.

All Might just chuckled, but began nonetheless

“First question. Do you have any sort of preference or inclination of which side of things you’d prefer? Caregiving and ageplaying?”

“Yeah I do,” Bakugou replied, surprising All Might, “It's neither. I won’t and don’t like either of the stupid choices.”

There it is, All Might thought, surprise disappearing, The response I expected.

“I know this isn’t something you want to partake in. I have no idea why though, since I think it's a wonderful idea, but I can tell that there’s something more personal to this for you than for others,” he replied with understanding.

Bakugou’s eyes widened slightly in panic. There is no way he figured anything out...right?.

He quickly masked his panic with a glare, but let All Might continue.

“Regardless of how you feel about this whole situation, it is truly nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. I’m going to be 100% honest with you and let you in on a little secret,” nothing to crazy and secretive that it would be damaging to share, “a lot of people use age play as a coping mechanism,”

Bakugou huffed, not believing the man for a second. He knew that people did it but its not something normal to do. Only freaks do it.

“Most of the top heroes you know today? Yeah, they age play,” All Might stared at Bakugou, gauging his reaction and he wasn’t disappointed.

Bakugou couldn’t help the disbelief on his face this time, eyes wide open and mouth ajar. He couldn’t believe what All Might was saying for one second, but quickly bounced back.

“Pssh, sure,” Bakugou believed, “you really expect me to believe that? How insulting. There is no way top heroes would do something so…weak.”

There was a bit of mirth in All Might's eyes, “Are you calling me weak young Bakugou? Aizawa, Midnight, Hawks, are they all weak to you?”

Bakugou blanched for a moment.

“Even Best Jeanist. What about us seems weak to you?”

Best Jeanist does this kind of stuff too? Bakugou thought in disbelief.

“N-nothing.” Bakugou cursed himself for stuttering and his lack of response, but he really had no idea what to say. He couldn’t tell if All Might was bluffing or not.

“My thoughts exactly. They’re some of the strongest heroes out there, we both know that. I’m sure that even young Midoriya would take this in stride.”

Bakugou knew very well that Midoriya would not ‘take it in stride’ and scoffed when All Might said it.

All Might wasn’t sure which part of his statement made Bakugou scoff, but he continued.

“The sooner you cooperate the sooner we can get this over with. I’m sure that we can both agree that we want to finish this up as quick and easy as possible, right?” He questioned.

“Right,” Bakugou grumbled, crossing his arms defensively.

He knows what All Might is saying is true, but it doesn’t mean he has to pretend to like it either.

“So I’ll ask again. Do you have any clue as to whether you’re a caregiver or little?” All Might asked sternly.

“Not really,” Bakugou lied. Of course he knew the real answer to the question, but he’ll do everything he can to avoid that truth.

“That’s okay, we’ll figure it out right now,” All Might assured, but Bakugou scoffed at his soft tone. He could already tell All Might was going to treat him like a baby.

“I’ll start with a few simple questions. Answer them as best as you can, but if you aren’t sure feel free to pass it. And don’t be afraid to elaborate on some of your answers,” All Might didn’t wait for confirmation that Bakugou heard him and dove right in.

“First question: What is your favorite color? Or colors if you have multiple,” All Might asked, starting simple. He wanted to ease into the whole thing so he doesn’t aggravate the teen anymore than he already has.

Is this guy serious? Bakugou thought, What does my favorite color have to do with anything? He didn’t ask All Might though.

“Easy, orange and black,” he replied.

“I could’ve predicted that one,” All Might mumbled to himself.

“Question two, do you prefer coffee or milk in the morning?”

Bakugou didn’t understand the correlation between this question and age play either, but still answered nonetheless. He was a little bit relieved that they weren’t deeper questions that required intense introspection. He decided that he’d answer the questions as quickly as he could.

If the questions continue being so easy like these, I’ll be done with this shit in no time.

Bakugou smirked at the thought before answering, “Milk, obviously. Keeps bones strong.”

“Valid point there,” All Might replied, whilst imagining the young boy furiously drinking a bottle of milk. He shoved the thought away as soon as it came, not wanting any sort of bias in Bakugou's results.

“Do you consider yourself to be susceptible to high stress?”

There goes the easy question.

“Not really, no.”

All Might gave him an incredulous look, “Are you sure about that? Your volatile attitude says otherwise.”

“WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY OLD MA-” Bakugou stopped short of his outburst. It would prove the point.

After a little thought, Bakugou could admit that it was true, if only slightly. He’d like to say he’s the type of guy that rolls with things and goes with the flow, but ‘the flow’ is his own personal ‘flow’. He is easily frustrated with people's opinions and actions because they make him question himself and what he’s always known.

Not knowing how to deal with the frustration correctly turns into stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed for him and the only way he knows how to express that is through his anger. And when people question his anger, it’s all just a vicious cycle.

“I guess you could say I do get a little stressed,” Bakugou began mumbling,

“But it isn’t my fault! All the dumb extras around me are constantly doing crazy things, making big mistakes and shit. It's so annoying! Of course that stresses me out, who wouldn’t feel the same?” he finished, fired back up.

That stupid twinkle was back in the hero's eyes and Bakugou had no idea why, but he hated it.

All Might was amused by his response. He was easily able to decipher the response. This kid will be the death of me, he thought, not meaning it in the slightest, He doesn’t even understand that his ‘annoyance’ and ‘stress’ from his classmates is just his way of worrying.

All Might thought it was just as endearing as it was troublesome. It's great that Bakugou is feeling a sense of responsibility and care for his classmates to some degree, but he clearly has no healthy way of conveying that.

Students like Bakugou are the perfect example of why Nezu thought that age play was the best route for the class. Students allowing themselves to be vulnerable around each other while also witnessing their peers around them do the same is something that would encourage them to be open and honest about their feelings with each other. It may have varying degrees of effectivity, but it could be the push that some students need.

Playing along with it, All Might replied, “Why of course that makes sense. I’m sure it’s not easy having to deal with that; you’re classmates and their mistakes. Is it safe for me to say that you feel a little bit of responsibility for them and their mistakes? Is that why they stress you out?”

“What?!” Bakugou blushed at the insinuation, once again masking it with irritation, “Hell no I don’t feel responsible for them. It's their problem that they’re stupid and make stupid ass mistakes. But I’m gonna make damn sure class 1A is the best UA has ever seen,” he added cockily, “of course, it will be the best anyways because I’m in it, but sometimes you gotta take pity on the weak and help ‘em out, y’know?”

The response told All Might all he needed to know. Bakugou was clearly protective of class 1A, though he is sure the students wouldn’t agree if All Might ever told them that. The rage and insults that Bakugou relentlessly aims at his classmates is a mechanism he uses to protect them from harsh outsider opinions that may, and many times do, fall upon them. Bakugou knew from first hand experience what it feels like. Hell, he’s the reason for their PR training with Midnight.

The teen seems to be fine with the criticism directed towards himself, whether it be due to his inflated ego or some sort of self-loathing, but he didn’t seem to wish the same upon his classmates.

Though his behavior is a poor show of it and sometimes inexcusable, All Might completely understands.

Wow. All Might thought to himself, I’m getting so much better at being a teacher. He gave himself a pat on the back for finally understanding something about such a cryptic student and he was happy that he could finally help him.

While All Might was thinking about all of this, Bakugou was cursing him internally.

When the hell did this shit turn into a goddamn therapy session? he thought.

“That’s understandable. Moving on, what’s your favorite animal?”

What the hell is this guy saying? Asking such a deep question and going back to the stupid ones? This shit makes no sense. Bakugou thought, before saying, “Dragon.”

“Really? A dragon?” All Might was surprised that he chose a fictional creature rather than a real one, “What makes them your favorite?” he asked, though he could guess the answer.

“They breathe fire, duh! It’s awesome” Bakugou replied, with the tiniest bit of excitement in his tone.

Bakugou will never cease to amuse All Might.

“I gotta admit, that is pretty cool,”he replied.

The hero decided to move on to more exhaustive questions, though the few he already asked gave him a lot of insight. He could give an exam result in this very moment that he would be very confident in. But just to be sure, he continued.

“Now imagine it's a Sunday. You’ve done all of your homework, there are no missions or training to be done, it’s just a day to relax and do whatever you want. Of the following choices, which would you prefer to do that day: drawing and doing crafts, play video games, bake or cook, play outside, watch movies, or just sleep the day away?”

This one isn’t too bad

“Play video games of course! I’d smoke shitty hair and sparky in smash bros, easily,” Bakugou replied proudly.

And so, it continued like this, All Might going from asking very mundane, seemingly irrelevant questions, to more situation ones, to even more introspective ones. Rather than taking the “this or that” item approach with him, which he’s sure would deeply offend Bakugou if he even tried it, he decided to stick to the questions.

Bakugou was answering them easily enough and as time progressed, he didn’t seem to be holding back with his answers;

“What types of food would you consider to be your favorites: comfort foods like mac n’ cheese or chicken nuggets, sweets and snacks, more healthy foods like lean greens, or-”

Bakugou had even taken to interrupting him on some of the questions,

“My body only accepts and deserves the most nutritional, high quality foods! With lots of spice too.” He replied proudly, while also admitting, “but everyone deserves a dessert everyone once in a while. Plus, some sweet shit can be good for you, like dark chocolate.”

Finally, after a handful more questions All Might was absolutely certain of Bakugou’s result and designation and was ready to make it known.

“Alright. I think I’ve asked enough questions for today. Thank you for answering them, I know you didn’t want to, but you still did great,” All Might praised.

Bakugou blushed, having trouble accepting it, “Well, it's not like I had a choice anyway,” he huffed.

All Might chuckled, “That is true. But you still gave me excellent answers and explanations, more so than I expected and I’m proud of you for that.”

Bakugou could only look away with his cheeks still tinted pink.

“After careful analysis and consideration through these questions,” All Might began, while Bakugou straightened out.

What the hell?!? When did he have the time to analyze this shit? He thought, startled.

Bakugou knew everyone else got their results right after the exam, but he didn’t know they’d be given immediately after. It didn’t make a difference to him though because he was absolutely certain that with his answers, his result would end up completely inconclusive.

He decided to express as much at the same exact time All Might relayed the results.

“You finally realized that I’m not meant for this shit?”
“You’re a healthy combination of little and caregiver.”

WHAT THE FU-

Chapter Text

There was a long, painful silence before the fuse blew.

All Might knew the most explosive fit of rage Bakugou has ever emitted was coming straight towards him and he didn't blame the kid.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” Bakugou seethed, in such a quiet, menacing tone that All Might decided was even worse than his typical yelling.

“I said that you-” All Might was abruptly cut off.

“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU SAID! YOU’RE LYING TO ME OLD MAN, THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT’S TRUE,”

Bakugou was pacing the room for a short time before the itch became too much, and he started trashing the whole room. Breaking chairs, punching the wall, kicking everything that looked like it needed a good kick. He was destroying everything in sight and it was disheartening for All Might to see.

He knew the teen didn’t know any better, but still it has to be the worst way to deal with the information. All Might thought he could understand why Bakugou was initially wary of the exam, but this response makes it seem way deeper than him simply not wanting to be vulnerable around his classmates because it embarrassed him. He made it a personal promise to get to the bottom of it. But right now and definitely not anytime room, not with all the destruction happening.

“Bakugou,” All Might said calmly, in an attempt to grab his attention.

Unfortunately, Bakugou didn’t hear it over the self caused commotion and the angry muttering he was doing. He was more similar to Midoriya than he realized.

There is no one he means that. Bakugou thought, panicked, He has to be lying. Just saying it to mess with me. For the sake of just saying it…right?

Bakugou knew his results were accurate and there was no avoiding that truth. But he truly believed he did a good job at hiding that fact. His answers, in his opinion, weren’t very insightful so he has no idea how All Might was able to come to the conclusion so easily after just a few questions.
That's not what matters now though, what matters is deny deny deny

If he says something so many times, it’ll become true right? In his overwhelmed mind, the thought made sense, so he continued his fit and mumbling.

All Might could only hear snippets of it, “not a dumb little…why would he think that…I don’t care about other people…”

Though the destruction was concerning, All Might couldn’t help the slight amusement that never seemed to leave him. All young Bakugou was doing was proving his point. The kid was throwing a tantrum. Like a true little.

“Bakugou,” All Might repeated, a little louder.

Still, the teen didn’t seem to hear him. He’s nearly destroyed the entire room at this point, and All Might decided it was enough of the tantrum and it needed to come to an end.

“Katsuki Bakugou!” All Might barked sternly, finally breaking Bakugou out of his reverie. No one’s ever used his full name before so it definitely worked in getting his attention. That, along with All Might’s reprimanding tone of voice that he always tended to shy away from no matter what context it was being used in.

The little abruptly stopped his destruction and stared at the hero wide-eyed and shaking.

All Might crossed the room to stand directly in front of Bakugou and knelt to be eye level with him.

He began with a soft, yet stern tone of voice, “I firmly believe in what I just said, that you’re both little and caregiver. I know it’s hard for you to accept and that’s okay. It will be an adjustment for everyone, but that isn’t a a valid reason to destroy UA’s property. Look at what you’ve done.”

He watched Bakugou look around with a small bit of disbelief, seeming slightly surprised at what he was capable of doing in a blind fit of rage. He wasn’t even thinking when he did it, his reaction just came so naturally to him.

Bakugou looked down at his feet in embarrassment, a feeling he wasn’t used to. He didn’t know how to respond so he just stayed silent.

“What you did was unacceptable. All you’ve done here was prove my point. You just threw a tantrum, just like a child that you claim to be. If someone else saw what you did just now, they’d be reluctant to even give you a caregiver designation,” All Might paused to let the words sink in before continuing,

“I’m very disappointed in you young Bakugou,”

Bakugou looked up sharply at that, catching the sad look in his teacher’s eyes. It cracked a piece of his small heart. Hearing that from someone he looked up to and aspired to be like would shatter any normal persons heart.

“I expected a little more of you. I thought you’ve came a long way after your little spar with young Bakugou, I guess I was wrong after all,” he added an extra ounce of disappointment to his voice.

He knew it was a bit much, but thought it necessary to lay it on extra thick. If he wanted to get Bakugou to reach a point where he could regress with no hesitation, it would take a long and painful process, but it was necessary. This step was just the first to many difficult ones.

All Might’s objective was to get the teen to realize the truth and if he had to forcefully push him to his first regression, then so be it. He could tell the kid needed it more than anyone.

Until he regressed, All Might would continue to reprimand and treat him like a child. He could tell Bakugou was slowly getting to that point, if the expression of his face was anything to go by.

No little let alone a child could feign that hurt from hearing such cruel words from their favorite superhero. He could even see the tears that were beginning to pool Bakugou’s eyes, even if they were barely noticeable.

“You know, I have very high expectations of you, young Bakugou. In my eyes, you’re one of the only students that I hold accountable to the same degree as Midoriya, my own protégée. It’s a lot to live up to, but I believe you can do it. Maybe even be better than him!” All Might encouraged.

“But this type of behavior,” he backtracked, “isn’t something I’d expect of one of my students, especially the brighter ones. That applies to you too, understand?”

All Might truly did believe in Bakugou and his potential.

“I don’t hold you to a higher standard because I want to see you fail or frustrate yourself. I do it because I believe in you. I know you can go beyond my expectations. But one of my best expectations is that you know you’re own limits. You’ve seen me in my true form,” he chuckled at his own statement.

“I’m truly embarrassed to consider myself one of your mentors while I’m like that. If I had something like this back then, I don’t think I would’ve reached such a poor stage in my life. I don’t ever want to see my students reach a point so low in their lives that they lose the strength to be a hero.”

All Might stopped himself, realize he was going on an unnecessarily long tangent, though Bakugou was soaking up every word.

He was absolutely awestruck at what his idol was saying about him. He would never get used to the praise, but he held onto every single bit of it. His anger was completely forgotten.

Bakugou’s heart swelled at every sentence. He was seriously considering All Might’s words. Would this really help me become the number one hero? Is it simply another stepping stone to reaching his goal? He thought, nearly convinced.

He was ready to fold then and there, when all of a sudden (his version) of logic came back to him.

All Might thought he was finally reaching the boy, but saw a sudden conflict in his eyes. A hint of the school was coming back.

Age play is wrong. I’m not a baby and I don’t need it.

“I appreciate the concern All Might,” Bakugou finally said, sounding uncharacteristically calm, “but I don’t need this, believe me.”

Bakugou couldn’t even really believe himself. And All Might could tell as much by the doubt in his tone.

“I can’t pretend to understand why you are so against this. But I want you to know that it's okay now. You can let go,” All Might said with the utmost sincerity,

“Us adults and caregivers will take care of everything now. The unfair burden put on your shoulders ever since arriving to UA won’t have to be dealt with alone anymore. We don’t want you to deal with all these hard things alone. So please just let us be here for you. We want nothing more for you to be happy and become the number one hero you want to be.”

The tears started to pool in Bakugou’s eyes faster, threatening to spill at any moment. He wanted to run but he couldn’t move. It was like All Might’s words were keeping him frozen in place.

“I don’t want to guarantee anything, but I’m almost 100% certain that this would be a great help to get you there. We know you are an incredibly strong boy Bakugou,” All Might said, before correcting himself, “I know you are incredibly strong. Being able to have vulnerable moments like this will only make you stronger. Believe me. But you don’t have to be strong right now, okay?”

“Let everyone else be strong for you,” he finished in a soft, coaxing tone.

Those final words shook Bakugou out of his reverie. Let everyone else be strong for me? I don’t need that though. There was a profound amount of discord in his head.

Why would anyone want to be strong for him? Of all people, him, who treated everyone like scum on the bottom of his shoe, which they never even did anything to deserve.

If I were them, I wouldn’t even want to be around myself. Let alone help me. He thought, trying to make logical sense of All Might’s words. Part of it felt like a trick but another part of him really want to let go.

But unfortunately, it wasn’t in Bakugou’s nature to just let go. He would do everything in his power to never get hurt like he was before. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

So he turned on his heels, taking the first steps to begin his sprint out of there. He needed to get out of there.

Fortunately All Might was there to stop him, and he did so by grabbing the teen and pulling him in for a hug. Bakugou immediately was thrashing in his arms, itching to get out of the room that was overflowing with big feelings and emotions, but it only made All Might tighten his hold.

“I told you,” All Might whispered quietly over his head, “It is okay. Just. Let. Go.”

Bakugou stopped his thrashing and did exactly that, letting out a choked sob. All Might’s words finally reached him.

As soon as the first tear spilled, the rest didn’t stop and the little was now crying in earnest. All Might didn’t try to get him to stop, he just let it happen. Bakugou needed this more than anyone, to cry it all out.

All Might continued to offer comfort through the hug and a few words.

It’s okay now.

You can cry little one.

We will take good care of you now.

And now all he had to do was take Bakugou’s leap of faith and remember it to ensure that those words remained true.

Chapter Text

Aizawa was just getting finished with the exam with Mineta (Thank God) when he felt a vibration in his pocket.

Aizawa isn’t the type of guy to use his phone while at the school, much less in the middle of such an important exam, but at this point he’d take anything that could be used as an excuse to ignore the kid.

He’s just too much for him. Not even the problem child gets under his skin like this one. Mineta could probably interact with the world's kindest and most patient person and still manage to tick them off. It had to be a special talent of his.

Pulling out his phone while standing to leave, he saw that there was a message from All Might to a chat with all of the class 1A teachers and Nezu, which was a bit strange considering the fact that he should be in the exam with Bakugou.

Did the kid give him such bad time that he’d need backup?Aizawa thought before opening the message, No, Bakugou is smarter than that.

All Might: “Just a heads up for everyone, Bakugou and I won’t be returning to class for the rest of the day. We just finished up the exam and the poor guy had a horrible time accepting his results.

Not surprising considering his initial reaction when I brought it up. Guess that means he’s a little?

He had an epic meltdown, but we’re okay now. I’m going to keep him company for a bit until he settles down. Don’t wait up for us or anything, we’re heading straight to the dorms. Good luck with the rest of the students.

Aizawa was glad that All Might was paired with Bakugou. If there was any teacher that could break down his walls, it was All Might. The kid held so much respect and admiration for him, it was incredibly cute when Aizawa thought about it. But he was a little surprised by the fact that the meltdown came so soon after. He would’ve expected Bakugou to maybe rage and run off, but if he knew anything about All Might, he would have let that happen.

Replying to the message with a thumb, he directed Mineta back towards the classroom. He didn’t bother waiting for the other teachers to reply, expecting them to simply acknowledge it and carry on with the final few students to just get it over with.

Aizawa and Mineta were the last to arrive to the classroom. He prompted the students to reveal their classifications.

“I’m a little, age range 5 to 9 years old,“ Mineta

“I’m a caregiver,” Shoji,

“Same here,” Jiro

“I’m a little with caregiver tendencies,” Sero said proudly.

“Ooo that's a new one! Sounds cool!” Mina nodded enthusiastically.

The class felt like something was off though, like they were waiting on something. That’s when Midoriya realized Bakugou never returned and it seemed like others were starting to realize the same if the confusion on their faces were anything to go by.

I hope Kacchan is okay. Midoriya thought to himself worriedly, He should’ve been back with the rest of them.

Just as Izuku was about to verbalize his worry, Kirishima beat him to it.

“Hey, wasn’t Bakugou in this group too? Why isn’t he back?”

A few students nodded along with him wondering the same thing.

Aizawa decided to be fully transparent with his students and replied, “Not surprisingly, he had trouble accepting his results. He’s still with All Might, but they won’t be returning to class for the rest of the day.”

Well, he almost fully transparent with them. He left out the part where Bakugou had a meltdown, deciding to save him the embarrassment.

Meanwhile the class was already talking amongst themselves.

“Aw man! I knew he’d give All Might a hard time but I didn’t know he’d be that bad,” Uraraka said, feeling sympathetic towards All Might.

“Yeah, that plus I really wanted to know his result!” Mina said.

A few murmurs of agreement were heard. Even Todoroki vocalized his thoughts.

“Yes, I agree. I’m curious as to which he could’ve possibly been. Or both. I’m not sure though, I really can’t imagine being either of them, caregiver or little,” he pondered aloud, receiving a few nods and more murmurs of agreement.

The only person who wasn’t interested in the conversation was Midoriya, who was really beginning to panic.

If Kacchan got caught up in the exam so easily…he began to fret Then what’ll happen to me?

Midoriya was able to deduce that if All Might was still with him and he was truly having trouble accepting his results like Aizawa said, then All Might was able to figure it out. Figure out that Bakugou was a little and a caregiver. And because of that, Midoriya began to worry even more about himself.

There’s no way they figured it out so quickly, right? If someone like Bakugou couldn’t hide their true nature and inclination, Midoriya had absolutely zero hope for himself to get through the exam.

Midoriya began bouncing his legs and muttering to himself as his panic grew, giving no attention to the rest of his classmates. Soon enough though, Todoroki noticed and approached him quietly so as to not bring any unwanted attention to the two. He didn’t have to worry about that though, as the class was still talking about Bakugou and the results of the latest student group.

“Midoriya?” Todoroki questioned quietly. He didn’t seem to hear him though, and Todoroki stepped a little closer to him, putting his hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, making him flinch a bit.

That itself was enough to worry Todoroki, so he asked, “Midoriya, are you alright? You seem scared of something.”

Midoriya’s eyes widened at that. He didn’t realize Todoroki was there, but he was more attentive and perceptive than people gave him credit for. He just hoped no one else had noticed them.

“O-oh! Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just worried about Kacchan, that's all,” Midoriya replied nervously. Technically it wasn’t a lie, but what he was more worried about was himself taking the exam. He didn’t know whether or not he should confide in Todoroki about the fact.

Midoriya probably would’ve if he didn’t have any prior history with age regression and age playing. But since he had an extensive past with it that was fueling his reaction, he decided against Todoroki. He didn’t have it in him to admit to it or explain to his friend, not yet anyways.

Todoroki gave him a serious look for a moment, seemingly analyzing his response. Shoto didn’t really believe that was what was bothering Midoriya, but he wasn’t going to push the subject. All he did was offer a few words of encouragement.

“I’m sure Bakugou’s fine,” he reassured, “he can take care of himself. And I know you’re probably still nervous for the exam right?” he didn’t wait for a reply before continuing, “but trust me, you don’t need to worry about it. It’s really easy and stress free.”

Midoriya just gave him a lopsided smile that he really wasn’t feeling and replied with feigned enthusiasm, “Thanks Todoroki! I really needed to hear that!”
Izuku hoped his smile was enough to get Todoroki to leave him alone. He wanted nothing more than to retreat to his mind and think even more about the exam. Of course he trusted Todoroki, but his trust for him was overridden by his fear of the whole subject matter.

Todoroki seemed to accept the reply as being good enough for him because he just shot him a small smile and turned back to the rest of the class.

Aizawa decided there was enough chatter about the whole thing. He wasn’t going to confirm or deny any of their guesses about Bakugou. That is something the teen needed to do on his own, at his own time. So Aizawa decided to interrupt by quickly announcing the last round of students taking the exam, wanting to get over it all in time for lunch.

“Since we’re down one teacher, two of you will be with one of us, taking the exam right after each other since there are five of you left.”

“Hagakure, you’re with Midnight,
Ojiro and Tokoyami, you two will be with Cementos
Koda, Present Mic
And Midoriya with me.”

Midoriya blanched a little at that. Before this, he was at least hoping that he would be paired with All Might so he could feel a little at ease for the exam. Not that he didn’t love his other teacher, Mr. Aizawa was amazing! But he’s a pretty scary dude too. There’s no way he could lie to the man.

Unfortunately there was nothing that Midoriya could do about this, so he gingerly rose out of his seat and shuffled to Mr. Aizawa, following behind him to the exam room.

It’s now or never. Let’s get this over with.Midoriya thought, trying to convince himself, It can’t be that bad…right?

(bonus part that I didn’t think of til last minute, i thought yall deserved it )

Meanwhile in the dorms, All Might had Bakugou cradled in his arms while sitting on one of the couches in the common area. He knew it was a big risk to be where anyone could see them, but he didn’t remember which room was Bakugou’s and he didn’t want to disturb the boy by asking.

The boy had finally calmed down enough to just a few sniffles here and there with his head buried in All Might’s shoulder. That plus the fact that the couch was pretty comfortable, All Might thought it wouldn’t hurt anyone to be there for a little while longer since lunch wouldn’t be happening for another half hour or so.

The former number one hero couldn’t lie to himself, Bakugou’s cries had to be one of the most heartbreaking cries he’s ever heard. He doesn’t know if it's because he had never heard before or if it was just the pure anguish that sounded with every tear.

Poor little guy. This has to be so scary for him. Hopefully in due time he will learn to appreciate this more than seeing it as a burden.

For a while after his little meltdown, Katsuki felt a little emotionally numb. All he could do was sniffle. It was like he cried all the tears his body had stored in him. He knew that All Might had moved them somewhere else, but he couldn’t be bothered enough at the moment to think about where they were.

He wanted to do nothing more than remain in All Might’s embrace. It made him feel all warm and safe inside which was such a foreign feeling to him and because of that, he never wanted to let it go. He was laying with the hero for a little while longer when his sniffles came to an end and he finally felt better about the cry.

But since his brain was no longer clouded with the crying and pure feeling of distress, his mind cleared and began to think coherent thoughts once again.

He deeply thought about the events of that day and what brought him to this point. His thought process started rationally, just remembering what happened, but as he began to really remember the exam and what had led to his fit of cry, he became anguished once more.

All Might noticed Young Bakugou was beginning to fuss a little, his little face screwing up as if he was going to begin crying again. All Might was quick to start shushing the boy this time, deciding that he had done enough crying for the day. The boy deserved a nice and relaxing rest of his day.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay little one,” All Might began gently in a soothing tone, “No more tears alright? It’s all going to be okay like I said. You have very big feelings in that cute little head of yours, but we’re going to figure it out together, day by day.”

Bakugou blushed at his words. It made him feel all squirmy inside to be talked to as a little kid but he didn’t hate the feeling at all. But he still had a little bit of fight in him, so he replied in a tiny voice,

“B-but I don’ wanna be a little. It’s wrong,” he looked to the ground in shame.

“Now what makes you say that young Bakugou?” All Might said, hoping to get a response. If the kid opened up now it would be much easier to help him navigate the whole thing with him.

Unfortunately Bakugou just clamped his mouth shut and didn’t elaborate. All Might could only sigh and continue,
“I told you that it’s okay. It’s a good thing. It’ll be great for you and the class. You guys will have so much fun and learn how to take care of each other. It’ll be great!” He tried ending on a lighter note in an attempt to dispel Bakugou’s fear, if only temporarily.

“But I don’t want to be a baby,” Bakugou whispered in a higher pitched voice.

All Might didn’t get the chance to specify Bakugou’s age range or anything like that, but Bakugou knew himself. His little personality was a wide spectrum, ranging anywhere from 2 to 12. Though he seldom regressed to the younger ages like 4 and younger, his headspace was creeping in that direction and he hated it.

All Might could tell that the kid was teetering on the younger side of the spectrum as well, with his thumb creeping towards his mouth. He didn’t comment on it, but took note of it.

“You don’t want to be a baby?” he feigned extreme confusion, “why ever not young Bakugou? I’d love to be a baby! Then I wouldn’t have to worry about a single thing in the world! I’d be able to trust someone else to do all the hard stuff while I’d get to play all day! Doesn’t that sound like fun to you?” All Might tried squeezing every amount of enthusiasm into his voice to convince the teen.

Thankfully it didn’t take a lot of convincing at all with the headspace Bakugou was now fully in. His eyes shone brightly at All Might, though there was still a bit of hesitation in his expression. Bakugou didn’t have to ask anything aloud for All Might to know what he was thinking.

“Yes, I mean that young Bakugou, 100%. I’d love to be a baby! But, I don’t think I’d be a good one. I think I prefer to take care of people more, it makes me very happy. So could you do me a huge favor, little one?”

Now Bakugou was the enthusiastic one, head bouncing fervently when he nodded, thumb now fully lodged in his mouth . He’d do anything for All Might, his favorite hero!

“It would make me really happy if you could be my baby today. You don’t have to be of course, but I’d really appreciate it. I haven’t been able to take care of anyone in such a long time. It would make me really happy to take care of one.”

All Might stared intently at Bakugou, gauging his reaction. He could clearly see the admiration the boy had for him and it was adorable. He also saw the hesitation and could practically see the thoughts swarming his little brain.

He added, “You don’t have to really be a baby either, you could just pretend,” he tried, giving him another option, “Pretty please baby, I know you’d be the best baby and helper for me!”

The nice words and paternal tone in All Might’s voice had Bakugou folding so easily. It made him feel all warm and goey inside, in the best way.
I guess I could do it. It’s just pretend, Bakugou thought, thwarting away his hesitation, Anything to help All Might, the bestest hero ever!

Yup, it was decided, he would help the hero.

He made it known by eagerly nodding his head again and All Might flashed the biggest smile at the boy.

“Oh my goodness, thank you so much! You’re the bestest little boy in the world,” he exaggerated, pretending to grovel, “Whatever can I do to repay you, my boy?”

Bakugou giggled wetly at his antics and momentarily dislodged his thumb to whisper in the sweetest little voice,

“Piggyback ride?”

“Of course!” All Might exclaimed in his hero voice, “How did I not think of that!”

All Might got off the couch and crouched down so Bakugou could hop on his back, which the boy did with ease.

“Now lead the way Young Bakugou, we have important things to attend to! Mission ‘Be All Might’s baby.’, a mission I know only you are capable of completing!”

Bakugou giggle once more before pointing All Might directions to his room, excited to be going on a mission with his idol. All of the tears from earlier were forgotten and the deeper issue behind Bakugou’s behavior was momentarily ignored.

All the little could think was, A mission with All Might? This is the coolest!

Chapter Text

They hadn’t even sat down in the room before Midoriya was hoping for the exam to be over. He knows there is no avoiding it, but it being a requirement doesn’t comfort him at all.

He’s glad his classmates like this idea for them and he truly believes that it will help them. Not him though, not at all. If anything, participating in age play would make him more of a wreck than he already is.

He had been conditioned so hard to be against it, fight every instinct and little feeling, and he had been doing so for years. So it shouldn’t be a problem now. Right?

Except no, that was wrong because even before the exam began, Midoriya felt the nerves getting the best of him. He took a deep breath and sat on the comfy sofa, right across from the bean bag chairs Todoroki talked about.

Without thinking about it, Izuku pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them close. He was already attempting to self soothe before the stress came. Aizawa took note of it before beginning.

“So problem child. Any idea on whether you’d be a caregiver or little?” Aizawa deadpanned, getting straight to the point. Best not to tip toe around things, especially when he could already see the apprehension on Midoriya’s face.

Midoriya knew exactly what he was, but he of course couldn’t admit that to Aizawa. He wanted to lie to the man, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to, at least not completely.

So he settled on a half truth and provided mediocre reasoning.

“I, uh, might be leaning towards a caregiver, but also little? I don’t really know. I care for my classmates a lot, but I also cry a lot. That’s something only babies do…” Midoriya trailed off, sounding a little resentful of the one notorious, yet odd trait of his. He doesn’t know how or why he cries so much, just that he does.

“Okay. It's a good start, I’m glad you’ve put some thought into this. Anything else you want to mention or ask before the exam begins?” Aizawa questioned.

Midoriya was about to answer with a ‘no’, but stopped himself for a moment. This was his chance to finally come clean about his experience with the situation. He knows that it's something that Aizawa would want to know.

He really does want to open up about his experience. But he just can’t. It's like every time he wants to, his mouth clamps shut and doesn’t let him. This time though, he wasn’t going to even try it. Midoriya trusted his teacher, but he didn't want to risk Aizawa incurring judgment or disgust towards him.

It would hurt him even more than being honest with himself.

So he gives a weak smile and shakes his head no, he doesn’t have anything else to add.

Aizawa was easily able to see the hesitancy on the child’s face, but didn’t comment on it. The man believed that Midoriya would open up in time like he usually had. (boy was he wrong about that.)

“Good. Now let's get started. First, I’ll ask you a few questions, then I’ll be having you choose between two different items, pick the one that calls out to you the most.” Aizawa informed.
Izuku eased up a little, Okay, I can do that. It’s exactly like Todoroki said.

Aizawa began with the questions All Might gave Bakugou,

“What’s your favorite color?”

Aizawa was immediately amused by the genuine look of contemplation on Midoriya’s face, as if the question truly required deep thought. Of course he’d have to think so deeply about such a simple question.

He didn’t rush the boy though and after a solid minute, Midoriya replied, “I’m not really sure. I’d say teal or red, but when I think about other colors, I remember how pretty they all are. I can’t just pick one.”

Aizawa thought it was absolutely adorable how much thought he put into the question. He knows Midoriya genuinely appreciates every single color there is.

“That’s fair. I’m glad you’re putting a lot of thought into this Midoriya. That means you care about this and that’s really good.” Aizawa stated, observing the slight blush that colored Izuku’s cheeks.

One thing he is certain about is that Midoriya absolutely thrives and flourishes from praise, especially from his mentors. Sometimes it seemed to be the only thing keeping him going, so he made sure to worm it into the exam as a means of encouragement.

He continued his questioning, “What’s your favorite animal?”

Midoriya did ponder for a bit, but not nearly as long as last time. When he figured out his answer, he sprung up enthusiastically.

“A pomeranian! The angrier, the cuter!” Midoriya laughed himself a little, having a surprisingly specific answer. Aizawa gave a hint of a smile at the enthusiasm but he had no idea where it came from.

It couldn’t have been from such a simple question, so he decided to ask, “I see, interesting answer. Any reason behind it? Or why angrier is ‘cuter’? I can see that the question was quite exciting for you.”

The blush was back on his face when Aizawa asked the question. Midoriya gets carried with his excitement a lot of the time and gets embarrassed every time it's pointed out. That plus the reasoning behind it is also kind of embarrassing.

“O-oh… uh..” he began hesitantly, stuttering out the answer, “I-it reminds me of Kacchan a l-little.”
That was not what Aizawa was expecting at all. The man was in the middle of taking a breath when Midoriya answered, and he ended up choking on the air in surprise.

Midoriya panicked a little, rising from the couch and rushing to his teacher.

“M-mr. Aizawa! Are you okay? What’s wrong? What happened!?” Midoriya rushed out, alarmed.

Aizawa continued his coughing fit for a moment before attempting a reply.

“Nothing,” cough, “Nothing’s wrong, problem child, don’t worry. Air just went down the wrong pipe. Happens to the best of us, thanks for worrying though, ” Aizawa explained, not wanting to elaborate and possibly make Midoriya even more anxious than he was.

Midoriya breathed a sigh of relief at that, glad that his teacher was alright. He sat back down and waited for the next question with a baited breath. His nerves had returned full force and Aizawa sighed resignedly at that. He continued right on though.

“Imagine it's a Sunday. You’ve done all of your homework, there are no missions or training to be done, it’s just a day to relax and do whatever you want. Of the following choices, which would you prefer to do that day: drawing and doing crafts, play video games, bake or cook, play outside, watch movies, or just sleep the day away?”

“Oh I couldn’t possibly do nothing! That would be a waste of a good day!” Midoriya replied passionately, “but I'm not sure what I’d do. Baking sounds fun! But I’m pretty clumsy with it to be honest, I’d probably make a huge mess or burn something. Crafts sound fun too but I’m no artist. Playing outside sounds the best to me! But I’d need someone to play with, same with watching a movie. Doing it alone is boring,” Midoriya rambled, but then sighed, “Argh there’s just too many to choose from Mr. Aizawa. What would you choose to do?”

Aizawa expected the rambling and prepared for it, but he didn’t expect the question to be turned back on him. Leave it to Midoriya to do such a thing. Aizawa hadn’t really given any of the exam questions a consideration until now, when he was asked, so it did take him to reply, but he still did, but not before taking mental note of the bouts of indecision Midoriya had frequently shown.

“I’d like to say a movie, but I know it would just turn into me sleeping the day away. To me, there’s never too much sleep.”

The answer didn’t really help Midoriya’s dilemma, but he still appreciated the answer. He thought a little more about it before he made a connection in his head.

“Oh! Is that why you have your sleeping bag all the time? It looks so nice and cozy, I wonder what it feels like,” Midoriya said dreamily. He truly meant it, he couldn’t count the number of times he had the thought and longed to lay in the thing.
Midoriya was surprised when Aizawa replied kindly, “It sure is. You can try it sometime if you’d like. Just make sure to return it.”

He didn’t realize he had said it outloud and shook his head fervently, verbalizing as much.

“I didn’t realize I said that out loud! I’m sorry, you don’t have to do that sir. It’s yours, I don’t want to ruin it or anything,” Midoriya said apologetically.

“Nothing to be sorry about Midoriya. I meant what I said, you can try it for yourself, I don’t mind,” Aizawa reassured.

He hated the fact that Midoriya apologized over such a small thing that would never even warrant an apology. And the fact that the child thought he’d ruin it by simply using it. Aizawa would have to figure out a way to address the self-esteem issue with him another time though because he was cutting it close to lunch time.

“Enough of the questions for now, I know that one was a little complex. Let’s do something simpler,” he began to explain, “like I told you before, there will be two objects I place in front of you. All you have to do is choose the one you prefer more. It doesn’t matter why you choose it, but if you wanted to explain it, it would definitely quicken the exam process.”

Midoriya nodded at the last statement, deciding he’d definitely fluff up his answers to get out of the exam quicker.

Aizawa began with the same two items he first presented to Todoroki, the toy phone and remote control car. Unlike Todoroki though, Midoriya didn’t immediately go to get a feel of both of them, he just stared back and forth between the two items. When Aizawa thought he’d reach towards one, he’d stop just out of reach before turning to the other and doing the same.

Izuku was struggling to choose not because he wanted both items, but because he knew which one he wanted Aizawa to think he likes. The problem was that he couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for it except that it was cool. Deciding it wasn’t a terrible reason, Midoriya picked the toy car.

“Remote control cars are the coolest!” Midoriya said, feigning excitement.

Aizawa could see through him almost immediately. When Midoriya picked up the toy car, he still glanced, with longing, towards the toy phone. And rather than leave the car on the floor and actually use the remote control to drive it around the room, the boy just left it at his side showing Aizawa that he had no real interest in the item. The one sentence explanation only furthered Aizawa’s suspicion.

“Are you sure about that, Midoriya?” Aizawa questioned.

No way he saw through me that easily!

“W-what? Why wouldn’t I be Mr. Aizawa?” Midoriya stuttered.

Answering the question with another question was all Aizawa needed to know to confirm that the boy had lied. He decided to be frank with him.

“I don’t appreciate being lied to Midoriya,” he deadpanned, “I can see that you wanted to choose the toy phone, but you didn’t. You keep looking at it. You didn’t even try to use the remote for the remote control car. And the explanation was lacking, which just isn’t you. So, do you want to try that again?”

Midoriya’s eyes widened at that. Yes way he did see through me that easily. What am I supposed to say now!? he thought, anxiety spiking.

He could either carry through with the lie or come clean. He’s already halfway through with the lie, but Aizawa saw through it so quickly that he wasn’t sure if another lie would hold up at all. But admitting to liking the toy phone would only push him closer to the truth that he was so desperate to forget.

Izuku looked up at Aizawa and immediately looked back down to his lap. The stare he received was absolutely unnerving. Mr. Aizawa sure is scary.

With that thought, Midoriya admitted it, “I-I mean I guess that is sort of true. I like the car though! I do admit, the toy phone is more appealing to me, but the car is still really cool!”

“I understand that you think the car is cool Midoriya, but I don’t want you to lie to me. The directions were pretty simple; to choose which you preferred. It will affect your exam results. There is no reason to lie about something so trivial. So why did you?” Aizawa questioned in a serious tone.

He was concerned about the response truthfully. Midoriya isn’t the type of kid to lie about things, much less something so unimportant. To Aizawa, the lie meant that there was something he had to be missing and he wanted to get to the bottom of it, fast. He hated that the exam was already getting derailed, but he had to know.

Midoriya could only stutter. He really felt the intimidation now. It was like he was being interrogated and he hated it. When being called out for it, Midoriya felt horrible for lying, especially to a teacher. He knew it was wrong, but to avoid his past, it just seemed right.

It’s now or never Izuku, he thought, trying to convince himself, just explain it to him and it’ll be over with.

Chapter Text

Midoriya took a deep breath, preparing himself to explain, but even his breath came out in stutters. He had no idea what to say, where to begin. It was a long story that he wasn’t at all ready to tell. The thought of simply beginning the story filled him with pure fear.

Aizawa noticed that Midoriya’s breath quickened after his inquiry and he was momentarily worried that he was being too hard on the boy.

At the same time though, he thought it was important to know what caused him to lie and if it was related to the panic. Aizawa gave a sympathetic look to the boy.

“It’s okay Midoriya, take deep breaths,” he said in a calming tone, “You won’t be in trouble for your answer, no matter what it is. I just want to understand why you lied.”

“I-I d-didn’t mean to!” Midoriya stuttered out, “I-i,” he couldn’t even elaborate as tears started to run down his face rapidly and the air was sucked out of them.

Why can’t my stupid mouth just open and say it! Midoriya internally berated himself. He knows that he could trust Mr. Aizawa. Despite the man’s hard exterior, he loved him as a teacher and found great joy and humor in the class referring to him as ‘dadzawa’, and that was before this whole age play thing came into play.

The man could lie all he wanted, but everyone, including Midoriya, knew that Aizawa loved his students more than he could even stand his colleagues. Izuku knows he had to confide in someone, anyone, at some point about what happened in his past, but if there was anyone he actually wanted to confide in, it was Mr. Aizawa.

But as it was at the moment, he just couldn’t. He couldn’t even think clearly enough to remember how to breathe. The panic was consuming him at an alarming rate and Midoriya truly felt like he was dying. His lungs were on fire. Every thought related to controlling his breath made his mind wonder the exact reason why he couldn’t do it in the first place, and it only fueled the fire.

He didn’t realize Aizawa had been talking to him until he felt something touch his shoulder. Midoriya’s hand went straight to grab it and hold onto it for dear life. Whatever it was, it was able to shake him out of his cyclical panic. It took him a moment to realize it was a hand he was grasping, Aizawa’s hand, and when he realized that it was like his brain finally had started to work again, at least enough to process words through his ears.

“It’s okay Midoriya, take deep breaths with me. In, “ Aizawa said, having repeated the request quite a few times, “and out. Do you think you can do that for me kid?”

Seeing Midoriya nod shakily made Aizawa want to beam with pride. The kid worked himself into such a panic so quickly that Aizawa wanted to panic himself. He has no idea what went wrong, but it couldn’t be his focus at the moment. He finally got the child to hear him and he had to work fast

He gave Midoriya’s hand a slight squeeze and as warm a smile as he could muster.

“Great,” Aizawa brought both of their hands to his chest and exaggerated his breaths so they could be felt, “can you feel that, my breathing? Could you try and match yours with mine?”

Aizawa celebrated an internal victory when he received another shaky nod.

Midoriya was surprised that such a simple task of feeling Aizawa’s breathing could help him out so much. The breath, along with Aizawa’s steady heartbeat soothed the boy. Slowly, but surely, Izuku was able to match his breath, though not too steadily.

As soon as the reality of the situation dawned upon him, Midoriya began to cry in earnest, mortified of what had happened. He wanted to crawl in a hole and never come back out because a) he had a panic attack in front of his teacher, b) he had a panic attack in front of a teacher because of his own lying and c) he’d have to explain why the panic attack occurred in the first place.

Aizawa nearly conceded defeat at the heartbreaking cries from the boy. He thought he finally had calmed him down, but Izuku was getting himself worked up again. But everyone knows that once Midoriya’s waterworks began, they weren’t stopping, so Aizawa just remained in his spot next to the boy, letting him cry his remaining feelings out.

Despite all of the crying, Izuku never once let go of Aizawa’s hand, though it fell to the couch. It was like the man’s hand was his life line that he couldn’t bear to let go. Aizawa wasn’t bothered by the fact at all and was glad he was able to offer the student some sort of comfort, but he wondered if he could do more for him.

There was only one other thing he could think of, “Is it okay if I hug you Midoriya?”

“Mhm!” Midoriya nodded fervently, adding, “please.”

Aizawa wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the boy and he felt the gesture being returned as Midoriya buried his face into the crook of his neck, hiding his face away for a moment.

The tears continued to run down his face, but Midoriya’s cries had lessened to nearly just a sniffle.

Who knew Mr. Aizawa would give such great hugs? Midoriya thought. The guy didn’t seem like a hugger at all to him, but he was mistaken. The man felt very warm and safe to him with the way he had his arms secured around Midoriya’s waist.
Midoriya had moved to end the embrace, not wanting to burden the man anymore than he already had, but Aizawa only held on to him tighter. He didn’t fight the man though, he just sighed and settled into his welcoming embrace.

Aizawa’s chin gently rested atop his head for a moment before he began to speak.

“I’m sorry I made you panic so much Midoriya. I shouldn’t have pressed on like I did,” he immediately apologized, “It was very insensitive of me and I apologize. I wanted to know why you lied, but I didn’t mean to push boundaries like that. It was clear that you were uncomfortable with something and uncomfortable with sharing it as well. I shouldn’t have pushed it.”

Aizawa, pro hero Eraserhead, rambling? I must’ve died and ended up in hell.

“No, no, this isn’t your fault at all Mr. Aizawa! It was all me and my dumb emotions,” Midoriya replied, looking down shamefully, “I shouldn’t have panicked like that. It was a valid question because I shouldn’t have lied. You specifically told us not to and I went against that. You deserve an explanation,”

Midoriya paused, contemplating what to say next, but Aizawa interrupted his thinking,

“Nonsense Midoriya. Something clearly triggered your response, but that’s okay. Your emotions are not dumb. You are allowed to have them, whether good or bad ones, it's nothing that you should ever feel sorry about. You don’t have to explain anything to me right now, problem child, okay?”

Aizawa put extra emphasis on the last sentence, not wanting the boy to get worked up all over again. Not only would that be so emotionally and physically draining for the boy, but they still had an exam to complete.

Midoriya gave Aizawa an odd look before accepting his statement. He knew logically that at this point in time, he wasn’t ready to share his story, not mentally, not emotionally. But he promised himself that he would open up to his teacher as soon as he was ready.

“Thank you Mr. Aizawa,” he mumbled, “I p-promise I’ll tell you o-one day. Just not today.” and Midoriya left it at that, remaining comfortable in Aizawa’s hold.

Aizawa shifted the boy to where he was sitting on his lap, legs splayed across the couch and his arm was supporting his back so he could lay at a slight incline.

Midoriya immediately blushed, Is this man cradling me? Like people cradle babies?!

The thought itself was pretty embarrassing, but actually being held like that was another story. It was extremely relaxing. The hold made him feel even more safe in his teacher's arm and the intimacy of the whole entire situation made his heart want to burst. Izuku felt completely at ease at that point

Mr. Aizawa is the bestest teacher ever! Despite already knowing the man deeply cared for class 1A, Izuku felt a sense of contentment at personally receiving the man's affection. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, he supposed, and he had to cherish it.

He snuggled up closer to the man and Aizawa had to hold in his coos. He had no doubt now that Midoriya would be classified as a little. But he didn’t want the boy to fall into any sort of headspace that could affect the testing, though it seemed like the boy was already well on his way.

Aizawa knew it had a little something to do with the cradle he had the boy in, but he couldn’t help it. The boy’s heart wrenching expression was all the reason he needed to do it.

Both were comfortable and at peace in the embrace and silence, but Aizawa knew they still had an exam to finish up and he brought that fact to Midoriya’s attention.

“Alright Midoriya. I know that must’ve been very tiring for you, but we still have an exam to finish up. We’re almost done though, and then it’ll be lunch, how does that sound?”

“Sounds good,” Midoriya replied quietly. Usually he would’ve had more to tack on to his replies, but Aizawa was right, the whole scare was very tiring so he didn't have the energy to say much.

Aizawa nodded and began shifting on the couch, moving to get the two sitting upright again, when Midoriya suddenly clutched his forearm. The boy gave him a slightly pleading, but also embarrassed look.

“B-but can we stay like t-this?” Midoriya asked, blushing. The boy didn’t think he could successfully finish the exam without the grounding physical touch his teacher provided him.

Aizawa’s heart simply couldn’t take the adorableness of the boy anymore and he flashed the widest smile his face would allow him to, without looking too scary, and nodded.

“That’s fine. I quite like sitting like this too,” Aizawa admitted, “It makes me feel very at peace for some reason.”

Midoriya beamed at the admission, glad that Aizawa felt the same he was feeling and it wasn’t something weird that only he thought. Fully reassured now, Midoriya’s eyes sparkled with determination, ready to finish the exam.

At this point Aizawa could only proceed with questions rather than selecting objects if he wanted to maintain the position they were in, so he opted for this or that questions.

“If you had to choose one to drink from, would you prefer a bottle or sippy cup?”

Midoriya’s never ending blush reappeared in earnest at the question. He knows the questions are necessary to get a good grasp on his headspace, but it still embarrassed him to hear the question being asked out loud, as if it weren’t deranged for a teenager to desire either of the options.

Izuku wanted to lie again for the sake of his results, but decided against it this time, not wanting a repeat of what had just happened.

“B-bottle,” he whispered, not offering an explanation.

Aizawa understood that the boy was tired, embarrassed, and probably getting hungry as lunch time neared and realized he wouldn’t be getting any more in depth explanations like before, so he asked the questions almost like rapid fire.

“Have you ever sought comfort by sucking on your thumb or chewing on objects?”

“I have.”

“Would you say you are more introverted, extroverted, or a good mix of both?”

“Introverted.”

Aizawa was about to go on to the next question when Midoriya sighed loudly and looking at the boy, it was clear that his mind was made up about something. What it was, Aizawa didn’t know, but he paused his questions momentarily, awaiting the answer.

Midoriya was growing tired of the questions faster than he anticipated and everything was finally catching up with him and his body. His impatience grew with each question, feeling like they were such a big waste.

He knew that Aizawa was only doing his job and needed this answer to get a proper read on the boy, but Izuku already knew what his result would be. So he decided to end the test himself and come clean about a thing or two, just so he could be over with it.

He also felt like he owed it to Mr. Aizawa offered something after his epic meltdown earlier, and the information would make both of their lives easier and get them to lunch faster.

“Mr. Aizawa…,” Midoriya started nervously once he saw Aizawa was look at him intently, “I have something to tell you…”

Aizawa was a little surprised at that, thinking the boy was about to confess what caused his earlier panic.
He’s ready to share? So soon?

The man didn't say anything though, just let the boy continue.

“I, um, I already know about age play and regressing younger and all of that stuff. I’ve known about it for a long time actually. And I know that I’m a little,” Midoriya rushed out, not knowing how to continue.

Aizawa didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t see that coming. At all. The boy was just so embarrassed about the questions and gave them real thought. If the boy already knew what his result would be, why would he bother? Aizawa didn’t have time to ponder further before Midoriya found his words again.

“M-my age r-range is from 1 to 8,” he finally said timidly, suddenly tense all over again.

The only reason he was tense though, was because he went back to lying again. It wasn't completely a lie, his age range, but it wasn’t the truth either. The real truth was that he was a young, young, young little majority of the time, headspace usually never rising past 3 or 4.

Izuku’s true age range, as far as he knew, only ranged from 1 to 5. But this little lie was his last chance to dodge the age playing thing, even if only partially.

He knew that it would’ve been realized sooner or later, that he was a little. He clearly failed at lying to Aizawa about his preferences in an effort to be classified at an older age range. So Midoriya thought it was worth a shot just to say it and hoped Aizawa would just run with it and believe him.

And Aizawa did believe him. At least partially. At the admission, things started making a little more sense to him. The looks that Midoriya had when he brought up the topic made sense to him now. Midoriya saying his age range begins at the age of 1 also made sense and lined up with his answers.

But what still didn't make sense to the teacher was why he lied. Sure, maybe the kid was embarrassed about such a young age range to begin at, but embarrassment alone isn’t enough to warrant a full blown panic attack.

There has to be more, something I’m missing here.

Aizawa realized the kid was done talking and sighed at the fact that he didn’t elaborate. He realized it really was something he was going to have to figure out on his own. He took what Midoriya admitted at face value though, deciding to believe the boy.

“I can’t say that I’m not surprised Midoriya, not that you knew about this, but why you didn’t decide to say anything earlier. It could have made this process a lot easier, problem child,” Aizawa began honestly, “But I’m glad you shared that with me. The age range lines up, somewhat, with what I was thinking for your results. I wasn’t able to get a full and solid understanding though, so I want to finish the test in its entirety at another time. But since it’s lunchtime right about now, I’m going to trust you know yourself better than I do and officially say that you are a little, with a headspace ranging from the 1 to 8,”

Midoriya breathed a sigh of relief hearing that, glad that Aizawa didn’t see through the partial liie this time. Sure he’d do more testing in the future, but Midoriya wasn’t worried about it at all because now he knew exactly what to expect.

“Thank you Mr. Aizawa!” Midoriya exclaimed and began to sit up, “I’m sorry for wasting your time like that. I should’ve just said it in the beginning, I know. But I’m glad we got through this finally!”

Midoriya was truly grateful for the man. He was now standing, heading towards the doorway with Aizawa following behind him. Both of them were more than ready to dig into their lunch.

Midoriya stopped in the doorway though and turned back to his teacher,

“Also, thank you for uh, helping me through the panic attack,” Midoriya whispered, still feeling ashamed about it, “I’m sorry I freaked out so badly in front of you and forced you to deal with it, but I’m glad and very grateful that you helped me through it.”

Aizawa only smiled at the kid, patting his back and said, “Don’t worry about it, problem child. I’ll always be here to help you through whatever you need. There’s nothing too big or small for pro-hero Eraserhead.”

Midoriya giggled quietly at the rare antics his teacher was humoring him with and flashed one of his bright, blinding, award winning smiles before turning around and skipping off to the cafeteria.

Chapter Text

Aizawa headed straight to the teachers lounge and was surprised to see all the other examinees already there, including All Might.

He raised an eyebrow at the man and received a chuckle in response.

“I’ll explain in a minute. How’d the exam go with young Midoriya?” All Might inquired, truly curious of the results.

He knew the boy had a strong sense of responsibility in him to make sure all others around him were safe and taken care of, but the boy had many childlike qualities to him. All Might wouldn’t be surprised if the boy ended up like Bakugou, a mix of both.

Aizawa made a sour face at the question, which surprised the other teachers. If there was any student they thought wouldn’t give a hard time about the exam, it would be Midoriya. The kid was eager to please and always open to new experiences that he could learn from.

“It was…complicated,” Aizawa began slowly, trying to find a way to explain it, “It started out fine, just a few basic questions, the ones we ask everyone. Then when we moved on to choosing between one toy or another, he lied for some reason.”

The other teachers raised brows at that. Sure the boy has lied, usually by omission and in dire situations, but they didn’t understand why he would feel the need to lie about something so simple. They all remained silent, letting Aizawa continue.

“When I called him out on his lie and asked for an explanation, he couldn’t give me one. Me simply asking sent him into a full blown panic attack.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at that revelation.

“It took a while to calm him down, but I did. At that point I had a decent idea of his result; little, but we continued the exam just so I could be sure. It went a little better after that, but then after a while he got frustrated with the questions, for whatever reason. That’s when he decided to reveal to me that he already knew what age play was.”

Ears were now wide open, eyes staring at Aizawa with rapt interest.

“He didn’t explain why or how, but that he already knew that he was a little, age ranging from 1 to 8. It seemed fairly accurate to me, though I’m not sure how much to trust that answer from him. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt,” Aizawa sighed loudly.before adding,

“I’m still not sure what got him so worked up and why he didn’t decide to reveal that information until later in the exam, but I’ve decided to leave it alone for now. I do want to finish up the actual exam with him, just to be sure of his age range, but decided 1 to 8 would be his temporary result until the time comes. The kid seemed exhausted and I didn’t want to push him any further today.”

When Aizawa finished recounting his exam experience, he was met with a moment of silence, everyone seeming to be lost in their own thoughts.

Present Mic was the first to speak, “Hm, I wonder what had the little listener panicking so badly about such a regular question.”

“Same here,” Cementos agreed.

“Is it possible that it had something to do with the fact that he already knew what age play is?” Midnight contemplated, “And that’s why he decided to withhold the information until he got frustrated?”

Aizawa hadn’t thought of that yet, not having processed the entire ordeal. He verbalized as much.

“That could be a possibility, I hadn’t really thought about the two being related. All I know is that I’m going to get to the bottom of it sooner or later,” he informed, determination evident in his voice, which was rare to hear from the man.

All Might agreed with the man, sporting a sympathetic look on his face, “Poor Midoriya. I vow to help him get over whatever caused his panic no matter what.”

The other teachers nodded in agreement and approval of the statement. They couldn’t lie, most of the class 1A teachers had a soft spot for Izuku. It wasn’t good to have favorites or anything, but they couldn’t help it. The boy was so kind hearted and selfless, unlike any other student they had ever seen. He was always willing to go the extra mile for the most seemingly unimportant things with an unrivaled passion and they wanted nothing more than to see the boy flourish into the greatest hero the world has ever seen.

“Enough about that though, how’d it go for the rest of you?” Aizawa questioned, only a little curious.

Midnight was the first to reply, “I had an easy time with Hagakure, she’s a little. Her age range is 5 to 9.”

“Koda is a little as well, aging ranging from 4 to 8,” Present Mic added.

“Ojiro is a caregiver and Tokoyami is a caregiver with little tendencies, I’d say it's a 90%/10% mix,” Cementos finished.

None of those results were too surprising to the staff and they didn’t have any commentary to respond with. So they all turned to All Might, waiting for him to say something.

All Might was momentarily alarmed at all of his colleagues staring, when he remembered that he had an explanation to give.

“Oh yeah, about young Bakugou. He’s perfectly fine right now. He’s actually up in his room. I was somehow able to put the kid down for his nap,” All Might said, a bit of mirth in his voice, “his exam wasn’t terrible, but when I told him his results, he really started to fight back on it. The kid threw a full blown tantrum that sent him straight into headspace.”

The teachers were speechless once more, surprised that a student as volatile as Bakugou would even let himself be ‘put down for a nap’, but All Might addressed that, seeming to read their minds.

“Young Bakugou is such a difficult teen, but boy is he the most adorable little. The little guy was the absolute sweetest. Of course I sort of tricked him, but he ‘pretended’ to act like a baby, under the impression that it was to help me. He wouldn’t do it for himself, but when I told it was for me, he barely even hesitated!” All Might was now gushing, adoration pouring from his voice.

“I can’t wait for you guys to meet little Bakugou someday! You’ll all melt into mushy puddles from his cuteness.”

They all just chuckled and rolled their eyes at that, not fully able to picture Bakugou acting in such a way.

Now that the exams and conversations were over, the teachers finally went to grab a bite to eat.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile Midoriya ended up taking a little detour.

Not before heading to the cafeteria of course. He couldn’t ignore the hunger he felt. He also wanted to catch up with the rest of the class to hear their results, though he was reluctant to share his own. He was still embarrassed. But he would share, nonetheless because the rest of his classmates were brave enough to.

As soon as he stepped foot in the cafeteria, he saw the rest of his class seated together, enthusiastically waving him over when they spotted him.

He gave them a hesitant smile and grabbed some food before sitting with them.

“Hey guys,” he greeted shyly, “How’d the exam go for the rest of you.”
Hagakure, Tokoyami, Ojiro, and Koda relayed their results quickly, having already told the rest of the class.

Now Midoriya had the class's attention. They all gave him an expectant look, wanting so desperately to hear his results.

He blushed at the attention on him and stuttered out, “o-oh I’m just a l-little… agerangingfromonetoeight,” he rushed out the last part, utterly embarrassed of his headspace range. Izuku hid his face behind his hands immediately following the confession.

Even though he gave himself an older age limit than what was accurate, the bottom half of the range was completely true. And now he knew he had the youngest age range of the class, which would probably warrant more attention on him from his classmates.

Will they make fun of me because I’m such a baby? Izuku thought, hands still covering his scarlet face.

Thankfully, the class was very perceptive to Midoriya’s sensitivity to the topic and didn’t make it a big deal like they had with some of the others.

“That’s cool bro!” Kirishima exclaimed, flashing his shark toothed grin.

Midoriya uncovered his face and glanced up at him incredulously, as if he didn’t believe the statement.

Others in his class agreed enthusiastically,

“Yeah! We’re going to have the best time together!”

“We all are, as a class! It’ll be a great time, especially with the variety of age ranges. Think of all the fun activities we can do!”

“Oh em gee, I can’t wait!”

Midoriya was slowly forgetting his embarrassment at those statements. His classmates seemed so excited with the prospect and their excitement was contagious. He was finally able to look up at all of them and received the kindest looks in return. He flashed a weak smile at his peers and began to quietly eat his food.

The class was discussing all the many activities they wanted to do together whilst eating and Midoriya was fully engrossed in the conversation, mentally taking note of each idea that was suggested.

He didn’t notice Todoroki walking to his table until the boy was sitting in front of him.
He was a little surprised that Todoroki had decided to sit with him, “O-oh hey Todoroki!”

“Hi Midoriya. How was the exam for you?” Todoroki asked, wondering a little more about his friend's experience.

He wanted to know if it was as bad as Izuku thought it would be.

“Oh, uh, it wasn’t too bad,” Midoriya began, “I did kind of freak out during one part, but Mr. Aizawa was really nice and helpful about it.”

Todoroki gave Midoriya a small smile after hearing that, glad that it wasn’t a total disaster for him.

“Yes, Mr. Aizawa was very kind during my exam too. Guess he really is dadzawa like you guys have been saying lately.”

Midoriya giggled at that, the joke never ceased to amuse him.

Todoroki continued, “Well, I can tell you’re a little shy about your age range, though I can’t really see why,” leave it to Todoroki to be so utterly direct about Midoriya’s results, “I’m actually glad about your results.”

Midoriya now looked at his friend, puzzled. Why would he be glad about it?

Todoroki continued, “You’re headspace kind of aligns with mine, at least a little bit. I was a little scared at first honestly. I know we're all doing this and learning together as a class, but I feel better knowing we’re a bit similar in our little age.”

Midoriya certainly wasn’t expecting that. Of course, Todoroki didn’t seem overly exuberant about being a little or his age range, but he didn’t seem as nervous as he currently sounded.

Izuku just shot him a reassuring smile, “Oh I didn’t think about that! But I’m glad too, at least we both know we can always buddy up together.”

The thought of having each other to rely on for this whole thing was reassuring to both the boys and the conversation was over.

Midoriya continued to eat in a comfortable silence, mind wandering to everything and everyone when his eyes widened.

He couldn’t believe he didn’t notice it sooner but Bakugou was nowhere to be seen. Izuku had been so worried about himself that he forgot about his childhood friend and his lack of appearance after his exam.

He hurried to finish his food and shot out of his seat, heading back to the cafeteria line for more food, capturing the attention of a few of his classmates.

“Hey Deku, where are you going?” Uraraku asked curiously.

“O-oh uh, nowhere, j-just going to take some of this food b-back to the dorms. It was so yummy!” He tried to sound convincing.

“It was good, but they have this stuff here everyday, couldn’t you just get more tomorrow?” Asui asked.

Quick, I gotta think!

“Oh well I, uh, I really want it for dinner but I don’t want to walk all the way back here, so I’m going to take it to the dorms really quick okay? See you guys in class!” Midoriya exclaimed, not even awaiting a response before rushing out of there and straight to the dorms.

Izuku didn’t care if his lie worked or not, he just wanted to know Bakugou’s status.

Despite their rocky childhood friendship, they had recently started to repair the relationship, though Midoriya’s care for his friend never disappeared through the years.

It wasn’t exactly an uncharacteristic thing for Bakugou to not show up to a few things, lunch included, but Midoriya was worried because of the whole exam thing. He knew Bakugou’s classification, it didn’t have to be told to him. The boys had actually discovered age play and regression together.

They also stopped together. And forgot about it together. And vowed to never take part in it again.

So now here he was, rushing off to the dorms to check on his friend. The closer he got, the more nervous he grew, not knowing what to expect when he arrived at Bakugou's room.

When he arrived, he was out of breath from his hurry. He knocked on the door and immediately heard a groan on the other side, but didn’t hear any other movement.

He knocked again, announcing himself, “Kacchan, it’s me. I brought you lunch.”

Izuku heard another groan before a bit of movement and then the door opened. To his surprise, Bakugou looked completely fine, not at all affected by the exam. But that didn’t make sense to Midoriya because if the exam went fine for him, he would’ve just returned to class.

“What do you want shitty nerd,” Bakugou barked tiredly, with no bite behind it.

“Um, I just came to check up on you. You missed lunch, and the rest of class. I was kind of worried,” Midoriya replied honestly, still waiting in the doorway.

Katsuki just sighed, opening the door a bit wider to let Midoriya in before shutting it behind him and sitting back down on his bed. Izuku handed him the food and was internally grateful for the fact that he remembered the hot sauce packets.

Midoriya continued his nervous explanation to his presence, “When you and All Might didn’t come back after the exam I-I was kind of scared,” the teen admitted, “ ‘cause if you couldn’t get through the exam, then I most definitely wouldn’t. And I sort of didn’t, but also did. It was kind of a disaster for me.”

Bakugou was trying to figure out what to say to Midoriya. It was hard to admit to his rival that his results had been so easily put together. He himself thought he’d have a better chance of getting away with a false result than Midoriya would ever, but All Might had seen through him so easily.

He didn’t want to admit it to Midoriya, but his childhood friend was kind enough to have brought him food, so he felt like he owed him a little something in return.

Bakugou sighed loudly before beginning, “All Might knows,” Midoriya’s eyes widened at that, not hiding his shock, “the damn old man saw straight through me! I thought my answers would’ve had him thinking the opposite, but the geezer still figured me out,” he grumbled, nearly pouting, “he got it down to a T, even the caregiver part. I have no idea how, but he did.”

“R-really?” Izuku squeaked, anxiety shooting through him. Yeah, Aizawa and the class know he’s a little now, but he had planned on masking his true little age with the older one he told everyone. If All Might could see so easily though Bakugou, though, he stood no chance against his mentor.

“Yup,” he finished, sounding surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

“A-and you’re not panicking or anything?” Izuku asked, voice nearly any octave higher.

“Why would I be?” Bakugou replied proudly, trying to play it cool, which was such a contrast to his behavior before the exam, “he knows now, there is no hiding it anymore. I obviously don’t plan on participating in this stupid thing with all the dumb extras, but I at least have an older age and caregiver side to hide behind.”

And Bakugou truly meant that. For his sake, he wouldn’t, couldn’t allow himself to slip to his younger headspace around his classmates. It was something both he and Midoriya had the same thoughts on.

Midoriya chuckled nervously, “That’s true… I wish I could say the same for myself…,” he trailed off sullenly, “I had a bit of a meltdown during the exam, but I was able to compromise. I told Aizawa…”

Midoriya braced himself for Bakugou’s reaction, and his friend did not disappoint.

“YOU WHAT???” Bakugou’s face immediately turned a fiery red, “Why the fuck would you tell him dumbass?! Actually, what the hell did you tell him?” he demanded, seething.

“N-nothing about you, I swear Kacchan!,” Midoriya rushed to say, not wanting his friend to think of him as a snitch, “I just told him that I already knew what age play and the whole regressing thing was. Not how I knew though, just that I knew. I also mayhaveliedtohimaboutmyagerange.”

Bakugou paused in his fit of rage to try and decipher the last part, but he couldn’t.

“You may have what? Out with it Deku!” Bakugou said impatiently.

“I lied to Mr. Aizawa about my age range. But only just a little. I told him it was 1 to 8. And I think he believed me, sort of. He said he wanted to do a little more testing to make sure, but for now he said that it's my official result.”

Bakugou’s rage disappeared, feeling oddly proud of Izuku for the lie. He never would’ve thought the kid had it him in to lie to a teacher, much less Mr. Aizawa. He accepted the response and moved on to his next question.

“What was the meltdown about?” He deadpanned, not skirting around the topic.

Izuku blushed at the question and he looked down, still ashamed of his reaction during the exam.

“Well, um, you know the part where you get to choose between one item or another, choosing the one that appeals to you most?,” Midoriya asked rhetorically, not expecting a response. Bakugou actually didn’t know what he was talking about, but he let the boy continue.

“The first two things I had to choose between were a toy phone and a remote control car and well I-”

Midoriya was cut off by Bakugou, “and you totally chose the toy phone and freaked about it? Tch.”

“Uh, no actually, I chose the toy car,” Midoriya corrected, causing Bakugou to raise an eyebrow. He knew Midoriya better than that. Sure he would think a toy car was cool, at least a little, but not as much as a toy phone.
“I only chose it because I thought I could get away with lying in that portion of the exam. And it wasn’t a complete lie for me anyways. But Aizawa caught my lie SO easily, it’s like the man has a sixth sense or something.”

Midoriya paused before continuing, reminding himself to stay calm during his explanation, “He asked me why I lied, which shouldn’t have been a big deal at all, I should’ve thought faster and came up with a good excuse, really. But at the moment I couldn’t think of one. In the heat of it all, I just really wanted to tell Aizawa the truth,” he heaved a sigh before continuing, “About what happened all those years ago. You’re the only person who knows Kacchan and that's only because you were forced to know. Sorry about that, by the way.”

Bakugou sighed, the guilt in Midoriya’s tone resonating with him, but for a different reason. He was sorry that the whole thing had even happened to Midoriya, not even the least bit angry or upset at his involvement. Leave it to stupid Deku to apologize for something that wasn’t even his fault.

“I wanted to tell him about what happened with Hisashi. I know logically that Mr. Aizawa probably wouldn’t have judged me if I explained it to him, but I just couldn’t. When I tried to start talking about it, panic and fear consumed me,” Midoriya choked out, tears started to pool in his eyes.

Bakugou gave Midoriya a look that made Midoriya want to crumble. Whenever his friend gave him that forlorn look that was reserved for only the most heart wrenching situations of Izuku’s, it made him want to do nothing more than hide and never come back.

Fortunately Katsuki could partially pick up on the feelings and scooted closer to his friend, placing a hand on his leg, hoping that he would feel the weight of the gesture.

Midoriya certainly did, the hand placement conveyed the unwavering support his childhood friend had for him, despite his usually horrible ways of conveying it.

“If my panic attack didn’t come from the fear that my father instilled in me, then it was the utter disgust I felt with myself. How could I even want to act like this, Kacchan?” he asked in desperation, “Why would I want that. It's disgusting! Embarrassing, humiliating and completely shameful. I shouldn’t want this stuff!”

Midoriya was now fully sobbing in front of himself, unable to stop himself. All of the big and ugly emotions bubbled up inside him and needed to come out somehow and tears were the only way for Midoriya to express them.

Bakugou visibly flinched at the sobs, not knowing what to do. He’d love to comfort his friend, but he didn’t know how to. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the crying or anything, he’s had ages to get used to it and learn how to deal with it. But he couldn’t find any words of reassurance because he felt nearly the same way as Midoriya.
He hated himself for having such unnatural desires. It felt wrong for him to enjoy it. And so, having the school suddenly say that it was okay, not weird, not disgusting, and even a good thing challenged his every thought and instinct regarding age play. The contradiction wasn’t easy for him to process and accept at all. Even though his little moments felt few and far between, compared to those of him caregiving, the immense self hatred he had for his little side would always shine through.

Somehow though, Bakugou finally found his words.

“I, uh, I know what you mean nerd,” he began, uncharacteristically quiet, “a big part of me feels the same way. It’s such a weird thing to want. It goes against everything we know, to even think about wanting it again. I get scared even admitting that to myself.”

Midoriya’s eyes widened at Bakugou’s vulnerability. Sure Midoriya could’ve made a fairly certain educated guess about how his friend felt about age play, but he never heard him verbalize his feelings like this.

Bakugou continued quickly, trying to get his point across before losing his nerve, “I know I’m not nearly as little as you, or as often as you, but I get it. You’re shitty father did some shitty things to us back then,” he chuckled, with no humor behind it.

“But, uh, during the exam…” he blushed as he admitted, “I ended up going into headspace. Well, more like after.”

Midoriya’s eyes were now wider than saucers at that. So soon? he thought.

“I got really angry after All Might told me the results, not because he was able to see me so easily, but because the results were 100% accurate. It was something I had buried deep inside of me and I was never planning to dig it back up. So being forced to… I sort of trashed the entire room,” Katsuki admitted, having the audacity to look ashamed at his actions. As if it wasn’t typical for him to blow up the way he did.

“All Might didn’t get angry though. He was disappointed in me, yes, but wasn’t angry like he would’ve been about my tantrum. But after All Might called me out on my tantrum, one thing led to another and he had me slipping into littlespace. I fought it, of course, still feeling shame about it, but he told me that it was okay,” Bakugou’s tone switched from despairing to hopeful at the last sentence.

The switch had Midoriya sitting up straighter, eyes rapt with attention.

“He said that there was nothing wrong with age play. Even though I don’t entirely believe it right now, he told me that a bunch of pro hero’s actually age play too.”

“Really?!” Midoriya asked, his crying already forgotten, “Are you serious, Kacchan?”
“I don’t know if he was only saying it to win me over and convince me it was okay, but I don’t think he was lying when he said it. He told me that it’s completely normal and even fun for all of them, that it helps them balance the responsibility and the stress that comes with the hero gig.”

“Wow,” Midoriya’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, “I wonder which heroes are littles and which are caregivers.”

Bakugou chuckled at Midoriya’s child-like curiosity that never seemed to dull, no matter how gloomy the situation was.

“I don’t know if I completely believed All Might, about this being okay to do, but in the moment I was convinced. I mean if the former number one hero is telling us this is okay, why wouldn’t we believe him?”

“Well, if All Might said it…” Midoriya trailed off, both boys finishing the thought together, “It has to be true, right?”

And it was a valid point that hit home for both of the boys. If there was anyone in the world they trusted in with unwavering faith, it was All Might. Though their reservations about the entire thing still rang true, knowing that All Might was though age play was a good thing wiped away the teeniest seeds of doubt away for the two teens.

Though they were nowhere near fully convinced that age play wasn’t completely disgusting and shameful, this was a big start for them.

Even though Midoriya wasn’t the one to hear the words from the hero personally, he still held onto them like a lifeline. It gave him hope, hope that he’d eventually reach a point where he wasn’t so terrified of the subject.

Midoriya flashed Bakugou one of the biggest smiles he could muster, with a few stray tears still falling from his eyes, and Bakugou’s flush returned in full force, as if finally realizing how delicate and emotional his talk was.

Bakugou was the last person you’d get to see show any shred of emotion, other than pure anger.

He was getting more comfortable with showing other emotions around Midoriya, but he still hasn’t reached a point where his other feelings didn’t embarrass him.

“I’m still scared,” Midoriya said with a sniffle, “it just feels so wrong. But I want to at least try, if it’s what All Might and the class wants us to do. And even though it felt so wrong to lie to Aizawa about my age range, it at least gives me a chance to remain guarded. Being so little in front of the class is something I refuse to do though, I don’t care about the circumstances.”

Midoriya was happy with his hastily thought up plan, to remain in the older side of his false headspace, when Katsuki laughed at him. Like actually laughed.

At the noise, a little bit of doubt clouded him, “W-why are you laughing Kacchan?”

“Oh no reason Deku. Except the fact that there’s absolutely no way in hell you’d be able to do it,” Bakugou teased.

“Not true!” Midoriya exclaimed with a slight whine in his voice, “I can stay bigger than usual! I’ve done it before.”

That part was true, but it was under a different circumstance and for a much shorter period of time, and Bakugou reminded him of that.

“Whatever you wanna believe, shitty nerd,” Bakugou replied, slight amusement still in his tone.

He sobered up quickly though, “I know you don’t actually though. You’re too little, for better or for worse. But I have an idea.”

And it seemed pretty foolproof to both of them. Bakugou offered to, if it came up, be his caregiver in moments where Midoriya felt too little, in a headspace he refused to show anyone else except his childhood friend. In return, if Bakugou ever felt little, at all, which was something he wanted to keep to a bare minimum, he’d go to Midoriya and no one else about it.

Yeah, to them it seemed like a great idea. Their little secret, they would cover for each other, no matter what. Little did they know they were in for the rudest of awakenings. Did they really think they could keep such a big secret to themselves?

Ha, fat chance.

Chapter Text

Katsuki finished his lunch while Midoriya waited in a comfortable silence. Both boys were at ease after they came to the conclusion that the plan was as foolproof as it could be.

It was approaching the end of lunch time, aka the start to the second half of their classes of the day. Thankfully, they were going to be back on their normal schedule if classes, no more age play stuff. At least that's what Midoriya and Bakugou thought.

Present Mic’s class, English, was what started the second half of the day and the boys were getting ready to head over. What they failed to realize was that it would be a tad bit suspicious for the two to walk in together, especially after one didn’t return after the exam and the other ran from the cafeteria for unknown reasons.

It was too late for them though because the moment they stepped foot in the classroom, they were bombarded with questions.

“Where’d you run off to Midoriya?”

“Where the hell have you been Bakubro?”

“Why are you walking in together, you guys never do that?”

“Bakugou, what were your exam results?”

Present Mic was truly shocked to see Bakugou back in class so soon. He was expecting the kid to take the entire day off considering the extreme tantrum he had thrown, as described by All Might. His shock temporarily worded him speechless, until the volume of the class reached uncharted heights.

A vein was already popping out of Bakugou's neck at all of the annoying questions, while Midoriya was panicking at the sheer amount of questions. He couldn’t keep up, he couldn't possibly know how to start answering his peers.

Present Mic decidedly heard enough and intervened with his quirk, “All right little listeners, that’s enough. How do you even expect them to answer your questions if you don’t stop to let them speak?”

That easily silenced the class, logic suddenly coming back to them.

“Now, I’ve got two things to say before class starts. Number one is Bakugou, please quickly announce your results to the class.”

All eyes in the room were focused on Bakugou now, allowing Midoriya the chance to slip away to his seat.

Bakugou didn’t know whether to rage or just tell them. He would’ve assumed that All Might told the class by now, but thinking about it, that simply couldn’t be possible since he stayed with Bakugou after the exam.

He knew he didn’t actually have a choice in the matter, that his classmates would have to know at some point, but that fact didn’t encourage him to reveal it.

In a very uncharacteristic mumble, Bakugou finally spit out, “I’m a mix of both, little and caregiver. Mostly caregiver,” his fiery persona came back within seconds, “but that doesn’t mean I’m a baby like you dumb extras! Don’t think this changes anything. You guys are still dumb extras and I’m still the best.”

As if everyone was in sync, sans Midoriya and Present Mic, jaws dropped, ready to catch flies.

No one believed what they heard. Bakugou, a little? They most certainly didn’t expect it. They knew Bakugou was seldom a caring person, but a little? They saw zero correlation.

“HUH? You’re a little Bakugou?” Mina questioned, needing to hear it again for it to really sink in.

Bakugou growled, “I said what I said racoon eyes! Take it or leave it!”

Mina winced at his tone and shrunk in her seat. All she could think was, Bakugou sure is scary sometimes. Mans is a whole walking contradiction! This makes no sense.

Others in the class were beginning to collect themselves and were readying themselves to ask Bakugou questions as well, but Present Mic beat them to it.

“Now, the second thing I wanted to say is that today's lesson is going to be a little different. Since we finished the exams that classified you as either a caregiver, little, or both, we wanted to give you guys more information on the topic as a whole. So I have a few special guests!”

Some people were excited at the prospect of more information and special guests while others were tired of the topic already, wanting to resume back to the small bit of normalcy they had before age play had been introduced to them.

“Come on in you guys!” Present Mic shouted to whoever was outside the door.

To everyone's pleasant surprise, it was UA’s big three. Mirio Togata, Nejire Hado, and Tamaki Amajiki. All of them strolled in with big smiles on their faces. Well Mirio and Neijere did, Amajiki had more of a grimace on his face. But for him, that could be counted as a smile.

Most of the class was giddy now, having gotten close to the big three in the past few months. Every time they were able to help class 1A in any capacity, the trio jumped to it. They all developed soft spots for their underclassmen, just as class 1A developed a great admiration for them.

After the initial shock of seeing them though, class 1A was struggling to put the pieces together.

Present Mic said we’re going to continue the talk about ageplay right? So what are the big three doing here? They usually come to help with school stuff, like training?

Before the class could bombard the trio with those exact thoughts, Mirio began to speak enthusiastically,

“Good afternoon everybody! How are we doing today?” he asked, but didn’t leave room for anyone to actually answer before continuing, “Good! Well, us big kids heard about your exams today and we wanted to congratulate you guys!”

The mood in the room shifted at that, suddenly an air of anxiety floated around the class. They didn’t think anyone else would’ve known about it.

“W-wait, I thought it was just a thing for class 1A?” Ochako questioned nervously. She was interested in learning, even a little excited about doing something together as a class, but she couldn’t deny the way the subject left her feeling a bit vulnerable and shy.

She wasn’t as nervous when she was under the impression that it was something exclusive for class 1A because it was just her peers, the peers she grew significantly closer to through the year.

Others were following Ochako’s same thought process, anxious now that people outside of UA staff and their classmates knew what Nezu had planned for them. Did anyone else know about it?

Nejire could see the unease on the students' faces growing and was quick to address it.

“Oh, don’t worry you guys! It is something just for class 1A, like you said. No one else outside of your class knows except us. But it’s only because we were the ones to suggest the idea to principal Nezu in the first place!”

Many eyes widened at that, as she continued to explain, “Surprise! The three of us also age play, just like you guys do. We started in our second year. It took us a while to figure it all out and realize that it was something that we needed, but man did we need it! I personally believe that if we didn’t find it when we did, we all would’ve spiraled under the stress that comes with being in the hero course. We probably wouldn’t even be the big three today if it weren’t for age play!”

Now a lot of the students were hooked on her words, eyes wide with disbelief, but also shimmers of hope shown through.

“Wait, really? You guys are the ones that came up with this for us?” Asui asked, genuinely curious.

“Of course we were!” Togata swooped in, not missing a beat, “we honestly see ourselves in a lot of you, especially our second year selves that were ready to crumble under the pressure and stress. You guys have been through a lot and we think that you guys deserve something special, an outlet for you guys to just be able to forget all of your troubles for a moment, relieve all the stress, and experience the fun parts of life all over again!”

To everyone’s surprise, even Present Mic's, Amajiki spoke up and added on, “Y-yeah I was very scared of it at first. But Mirio adjusted to it very well, so I decided to try it too. A-and now I feel much less anxious than I was when I first started at UA.”

And everyone believed it too, simply due to the fact that Amajiki even worked up the nerve to speak to the entire class. Everyone remembers their first meeting, when they were talking about their work studies, and how Amajiki had turned to the wall when prompted to greet them.

Present Mic knew that many of his youngsters in class 1A looked up to the big three and so he thought bringing them into his class to talk about age play would help ease the wariness of some students, but he didn’t realize how big of an impact they’d have on his students.

He saw a lot of expressions do a complete 180, from nervousness, panic, and anxiety, to hope, excitement, and anticipation.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to reach Midoriya and Bakugou though. Present Mic had taken special care to observe the two after what he was told of their exam experiences. Bakugou sported his usual scowl which could’ve been seen as normal if one didn’t look close enough.

The teen’s expression never once faltered, but he kept looking over to Midoriya periodically, as if trying to catch something. What it was, Present Mic didn’t know, but he did notice that Midoriya hadn’t looked up once during the entire introduction from the upperclassmen.

He was focused on his desk, nearly drilling holes into it with his unwavering stare. His pencil was slightly shaking with his hands, but it was barely noticeable. No one else seemed to notice and didn’t seem too bad to Present Mic, so he left his students alone.

He definitely agreed with Aizawa though, that something was going on with his problem child. He also made a silent vow to get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile, Bakugou and Midoriya were having the same thoughts when it was revealed how age play wormed its way to their school life, though they had entirely different ways of expressing it. Both boys were trying to hide it and though Bakugou was doing pretty okay at that, Midoriya was strugglingly.

Bakugou kept looking at him, trying to glare his way into getting his attention. The behavior Midoriya was exhibiting was far too uncharacteristic for him and his classmates would notice if he didn’t stop his shaking soon.

After realizing the glaring wasn’t working, Bakugou decided to kick the back of Midoriya’s chair and surely enough it caught Midoriya’s attention.

The boy yelped and quickly straightened up, turning around to look at Bakugou, but the boy had his glare directed elsewhere.

I must have been spacing out again, then, Midoriya deduced, he must’ve noticed.

Midoriya was thankful for the kick. Sometimes when he got wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice what his body was doing externally to express them. Usually it was mumbles, but other times it was more strange things, borderline concerning. Biting the skin of his lip, shaking, scratching and picking at the scars on his arms, tugging on strands of his hair. He must’ve been doing one of those things if Bakugou felt the need to kick his chair.

The only reason he was so deep in thought was because of the shocking revelation to him, about the big three. He felt such mixed emotions the longer they talked. On one hand, he was happy that they had something that helped them and made them happy, especially Mirio. The guy truly deserved it.

But one the other hand, the reason he was so deep in thought, was because he was trying to squash the hope he felt at their words. They all seemed to glow when talking about it, which was such a stark contrast to what he was feeling about it.

The way they talked about it was sowing seeds of doubt into his mindset.

Was Hisashi wrong? Was this actually okay? If the big three can do it and still be as great as are, then can I do?

Thoughts like that were running around is his brain until Katsuki’s interruption and the ideas quickly disappeared, thoroughly squashed.

Of course not. It wouldn’t work for someone like me. I’m just a big baby, nobody wants that. It’s disgusting.

Midoriya straightened himself out and plastered on a more optimistic facial expression and silently listened to the trio as they continued.

“So we’re here today to tell you more about it and possibly demonstrate? No guarantees about that last part though, it all depends on how dear Amijiki is feeling. Oh! And before we forget to tell you guys, I was classified as a caregiver,”

Neijere followed, “I’m a good mix of both little and caregiver!”

Amajiki stuttered out, “a-and I’m a little. My age r-ranges from 2 to 5.”

“That’s right! Tamaki is my little baby!” Mirio exclaimed, full of joy. Lots of people, including Amajiki, blushed at the statement. They knew how open Mirio was with his emotions, but it was still overwhelming to witness it, let alone be on the receiving end.

Mirio knew it would embarrass Amajiki, but he also knew that it would help him slowly settle into littlespace, if he was truly feeling it.

“Tamaki is the little baby, Neijere is a great big sister to him and I’m the bestest big bro to both of them! Thankfully, we are a great trio that meshes well together. Our dynamic works perfectly for us and you guys will find that you will gravitate towards certain people or groups while taking part in age play. Some of you caregivers may prefer the older littles while others may prefer the younger ones. On the other side of that, some littles may prefer a more strict caregiver while others may prefer more soft and affection ones. It all depends on preference. None of these are better or worse than the other, it just means that everyone has unique likes and personality, which is a great thing!”

Everyone was soaking up Mirio’s words, even Bakugou and Midoriya. They were all trying to think about which they’d prefer.

Todoroki doesn’t think he could handle a caregiver that is too strict, but he’d still like some structure.

Mina hated the idea of a strict caregiver! Following rules was something she’d do if she needed to, but she likes a bit more freedom than that.

Jiro didn’t think she could handle super young littles. She gets a bit nervous around younger kids.

Kirishima couldn’t choose between an older or younger little, deciding he’d love his classmates' little side no matter their ages.

“We don’t have much to cover today so we’ll try to make it quick, so maybe you guys can participate in our demonstration today!” Nejire began, gaining traction with the group simply by sporting an enthusiastic tone.

Nejire knows that it's extremely nerve wracking for littles to regress for the first time or even talk about it, so she wanted to put them at ease, as much as she possibly could, before mentioning the idea.

“First I want to ask; have any of you taken the liberty of doing a quick internet search on what ageplay is?” Nejire asked.

The entire class nodded at that, Ida speaking on everyone's behalf, “We all searched it up together, as a class! We wanted to ensure that we had a full understanding of the subject. Class 1A will always strive to be fully prepared!”

“That is true, what Ida is saying, but..uh,” Momo began meekly, “there were some u-uhm more questionable results?”

She didn’t want to specify and hoped that Neijire understood. Once again, to their surprise it was Amajiki that replied.

“U-uh yeah.. I’m sure what popped up was something more…adult right?” He questioned quietly.

Yaomomo nodded at that, grateful that she didn’t have to say it.

“Disregard anything of that sort. What you guys will be doing is completely, 100% non-sexual,” he stated fiercely, gaining some confidence, “ what we do is more close to something called age regression. It can be confusing and misleading, but we use the terms interchangeably.”

“Great job explaining something so important, bud!” Mirio praised, causing Amajiki to blush once again and shy back towards the wall. It made his friends chuckle and Togata continued, “We wanted to make sure you guys understand that part most of all. Nothing about this will be sexual, despite what the internet may have told you. That is a preference for others, which I won’t judge, but that isn’t something you guys should be worried about right now, you guys are far too young for it.”

It was clear to the three that the class understood and agreed with that, they all nodded with grim expressions on their faces.

“Now for less serious stuff!” Mirio exclaimed, all solemnity gone, “Like I said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what kind of little or caregiver you guys choose to be, everyone is different. For example, Tamaki, if you could tell everyone a bit about your little persona?”
Tamaki gave Mirio an anxious look while trembling slightly, beginning to clam up at the idea of being so open with such a big group of people, but he obliged to his caregiver’s request, “u-uh yeah. I’m a pretty…y-young little. I like more quiet and tame activities…playing with blocks, coloring, books, and stuff like that. Nothing t-too stimulating. I tend to stay on the more quiet and shy side, but I do crave a lot of affirmation and affection…” Amajiki trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

“Thank you for sharing Tamaki!” Nejire swooped in, sensing that the little had decidedly done an enough talking, “just as Tamaki craves affection, he reciprocates it just as much! He is such a sweet baby brother and I just love him! He gives the best cuddles and we have the most fun sleepovers,” she elaborated, winking at Amajiki,

“I personally remain in an older age range, probably as a tween. I like being a bit more active as a little, going outside to play, play video games, sing and dance and more things like that. I love being Amajiki’s big sis and caring for him, but not all the time. Nothing is wrong with him that makes me not want to, it's just too much responsibility for me sometimes and that’s where big brother Mirio comes in!”

The two shot blinding smiles to each other while Mirio finished explaining the dynamic, “Surprise surprise everyone, I’m the responsible one of the three. I love caring for the two of them. I don’t like to be too hard on them, I just want to ensure that they’re safe. While they enjoy regressing to a mindset where they are able to be carefree, my stress is relieved when I’m able to care for them in that state.”

“For me, I feel a great sense of fulfillment when caring for my two friends. It’s gratifying to know that I am someone that they can depend on when they are most vulnerable. It really warms my heart. Knowing that I can create a safe space for them that provides them some stress relief is all I need to be happy. Making other people happy makes me happy!”

He pumped a fist in the air with his last statement which made class 1A chuckle. The three continued talking about basic, but vital information for the younger students to know about age play. Nejire and Mirio kept making small, but intentional comments towards Tamaki that had slowly been guiding him into little space.

The boy had begun swaying back and forth on his feet and a calmer expression took over his face. His thumb had slowly been creeping to his mouth and as soon Togata caught it, he sent Nejire a smug look and they both nodded to each other.

Mission Success!

“Tamaki, baby, please don’t put you’re thumb in your mouth,” Mirio urged lightly, catching class 1A attention immediately.

The students that weren’t already staring at him all focused on Amajiki and the sudden attention had him blushing and shying away from the center of the room. He shuffled over to Togata, deciding that behind his big brother was a nice place to hide from the attention. He clutched onto the back of his shirt tightly.

Todoroki had noticed Amajiki’s behavior changing slowly throughout class and wanted to hear his suspicions confirmed.

“Is Amajiki in the little space you guys talked about?” he asked.

“That he is Todoroki! Great job recognizing it,” Nejire praised, causing Todoroki to look away embarrassed.

He wasn’t used to praise being thrown at him so openly and he didn’t know how to respond to it, so he didn’t.

“Is he really?” Mina exclaimed, “he’s just adorable!”

Others in the class began to gush at Tamaki as well, throwing out similar comments.

Tamaki could only hold on tighter to the back of Mirio’s shirt while he blushed furiously. The comments were truly flattering but he didn’t know how to deal with so many people witnessing him being little.

Mirio only chuckled and turned around to face him. The rest of the class watched the interaction intently.

“Hey bud, you feeling alright?” he questioned kindly, “Are you feeling up to playing a little with the class?”

Amajiki looked up to his caregiver shyly, thinking before responding softly, “mhm.. I'm okay. I wanna play…” he trailed off hesitantly.

Of course he wanted to play, what little didn’t? He was just nervous about the amount of people.

Some of his nerves left when Mirio replied, “Sounds great buddy! Thank you for being so brave for me. You’ve been such a great help today.”

Tamaki’s chest puffed a little at that, feeling a bit proud of himself. He was helping class 1A, like a good upperclassman should do for their younger peers. That thought made him feel a little bit better about playing in front of others. He flashed Mirio a small smile and that's all the conformation the caregiver needed.

“Nejire, do you mind getting some toys for Tamaki to play with? There should be a bin in the storage closet,” Mirio instructed patiently. He noticed Nejire had also sunk a little bit into her headspace. Not as young as she could be, but still young enough to feel special when being appointed to small tasks that she’d swear she’s ‘big enough to complete’.

She nodded enthusiastically and went off to fetch the bin and while she did, Mirio turned to the class, speaking again.

“This is the ‘demonstration’ I was telling you guys about. You guys will be able to see someone in little space right before your eyes. I want you guys to get a feel for how it could be when you do it all as a class. Feel free to join in playing with us, or just observe, whichever you are more comfortable with.”

And with that, the demo began.

Chapter Text

For the remainder of class, Nejire and Tamaki played. It took a minute, but a lot of class 1A warmed up to it all, chipping in here and there. Some helped Tamaki build his block tower and others played charades with Nejire.

Present Mic was truly happy to see his students adjusting so well. He was a little wary of the idea when Nezu brought it up. Not because he hated it, but he didn’t know how the class was going to react.

All his doubts were squashed when he saw Kirishima and Jiro encouraging everyone who was helping Amajiki build the block tower. They ended up turning it into a little contest to try and see who could build the tallest tower without it collapsing. Uraraka, Asui, Koda, Kaminari and Todorki were all competing against Tamaki on one side of the classroom.

On the opposite side, Ida, Mina, Mineta, Aoyoma, Sero, Shoji, and Hagakure (she was doing most of the guessing) were playing charades with Nejire. They took turns acting out the words, but Aoyama and Mina had, by far, put on the most theatrics when it was their turn.

The rest of the class was sitting back and observing, with fond looks on their faces. All of class 1A couldn’t deny the joy they felt inside when they saw each other having fun.

Once again though, Present Mic couldn’t help but notice Bakugou and Midoriya. They seemed to have swapped facial expressions, scarily enough. Midoriya sporting a slight glare, which is something Yamada had never seen before, and Bakugou looking pensieve.

It was very odd, but again he didn’t interfere, just continued his observations.

As did Midoriya. His muddled emotions swirled inside him the entire class period until they came to a T while watching his classmates interact with the big three.

Izuku was jealous.

It wasn’t something he felt often at all, but when he did, it was one of the nastiest feelings for him.

Jealousy irritated him. But at the moment he couldn’t help it.

He was jealous of Mirio, jealous of the fact that he was strong enough to be Nejire’s and Tamaki’s caregiver. He could never be that strong.

He was jealous of Nejire, jealous of the fact that she could flourish in an older headspace. He couldn’t truly cling on to an older one, no matter how hard he tried.

He was jealous of Tamaki, jealous of the fact that he was so carefree in his headspace, able to sink into it so easily. He would never have the comfort of feeling at ease with his headspace.

But most of all jealous of the fact that they all seemed to be having so much fun.

It was something Midoriya deeply longed for, and the longing wormed a tiny hole in his heart because he knew his desire could never be satiated.

He couldn’t do that. He didn’t deserve to have that kind of fun, the ability to leave all of his worries at the door. It isn’t something he should even want because it was just plain wrong.

But here he was, wanting it more than ever before. He truly thought he could live without it, but he questioned that thought every second as his jealousy grew.

Why can’t I have that? Why can’t I just let go like that? It’s not fair!

Izuku was wrestling with those thoughts for the rest of class and it eventually left him teary eyed. It truly doesn’t feel fair, but Izuku doesn’t feel like that happiness was something he deserved. He should be able to deal with the stress, roll with the punches, without something so taboo.

Little Izuku was disgusting and never ever deserved to come out. At least that’s what his father told him. And with all the old, now unfamiliar, desires coming to the surface, Midoriya chose to cling to the mindset that he was more familiar with; revolt against every impulse.

It hurt to have to squash his hopes at things being different, but he had to be realistic with himself. Getting hopes up doesn’t help much with anything.

Present Mic noted each shift in Izuku’s expression and as soon as the tears started to pool, he went to make his way over to the boy.

Unfortunately, the bell rang before he could reach the boy. He sighed in defeat as he watched him rush out of the room.

While all of those thoughts swirled in Izuku’s head, Bakugou had similar thoughts, but with a different emotion tied to them. It was something more bittersweet.

Yeah, he wishes he could have that, what the big three and his classmates were experiencing. Such childish carefree joy, purely unadulterated. But at the same time, he feels content just watching them enjoy themselves.

This new, unfamiliar feeling in his life had been occurring more and more frequently as he finally came to tolerate his classmates. It was kind of what Mirio had described, seeing his peers happy made him happy.

It wasn’t something that Bakugou thought he deserved, being the brute that he was, but his classmates surely did. He could remain satisfied by simply knowing that his friends were okay.

But he also still wrestled with these thoughts. He felt extremely overprotective of them, especially his close friends; Kaminari, Mina, Sero, Kaminari, and Jiro. He wasn’t a stranger to the feeling either, but it was something that he only ever felt towards Midoriya. And even then he always masked the feeling with his anger and insults.

The more he thought about it, the bigger battle his brain was having with himself and it was beginning to give Bakugou a headache. He decided to push it all away, ignore it rather than dealing with it, something he does best.

His mind didn’t linger on such thoughts for the rest of the day.

“All right everybody, head on over to your next class, I’ll clean up the mess. I hope you all had so much fun!” he exclaimed, “And don’t forget to say thanks to Togata, Amajiki, and Nejire on your way out!”

The class did just that, gathering their belongings and saying their goodbyes, seeming to not have noticed the lack of a specific presence in the room.

Class 1A was excited to be in their final class of the day, back with their homeroom teacher. Midoriya and Bakugou had different reasons of course, but most students were still feeling giddy for Present Mic’s class, excited to explore more and play other games.

Midoriya and Bakugou were just ready for the day to be over, to push their desires out of their mind and focus on other, more worthwhile things.

As soon as the bell rang, Aizawa emerged from his sleeping bag, wanting to get straight to business.

“There’s a few important things I’d like to go over in class today. As soon as we're done with them, you guys will be dismissed,” he deadpanned. He too was ready for the day to be over. He just wanted to sleep.

“I see that some of you are excited and I’m assuming it has something to do with your lesson with Present Mic today?” Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the class and received eager nods from them.

“Yes, it was super fun!” Mina exclaimed

“I have to say, I forgot how fun it was to play like that,” Denki admitted.

“I agree,” Ochako added, “we really haven’t had time to unwind like that in such a long time. It was great to have the chance.”

“That’s good to hear,” Aizawa replied to the commentary, “that activity was meant to help you all get used to all this.”

“The first announcement I have for you all is that this Sunday, we will be holding the first age play session for you all as a class,”

Excited whispers circulated the room at that, and Aizawa continued, “but before that happens, we need to do a few things. First order of business is coming up with rules together. Could anyone tell me why we would even need rules while playing?”

Ida didn’t wait to be called on before answering, blurting out, “So we can all be safe! Also, I read that rules can provide littles some structure, which is something their little side usually craves. The structure provides consistency and is something that we all can trust to fall back onto, should any problems arise.”

“That’s exactly correct Ida,” Aizawa said, glad that he didn’t have to do all of the explaining, “As a class, you all will be making a list of rules that you believe should be followed while regressing. The rules won’t only apply to the class sessions, but also when you decide to play individually or in groups. Is that clear?”

Everyone nodded their understanding and Aizawa continued, “Good. Now you guys will have 20 minutes to brainstorm some rules you think should be implemented and we’ll go over them once finished so we can make them official. And don’t forget that with breaking rules, consequences arise. Don’t forget to include that. You may begin.”

Aizawa sunk back down to his sleeping bag, deciding 20 minutes was enough time for a power nap.

Ida took the lead in starting the conversation and they soon had a hefty list of ideas from the class. They narrowed it down by deciding that some things were common sense and didn’t need to be said and so they were able to narrow down the list to a solid 10 rules.

1. Be kind to yourself and others
2. No lying
3. Clean up after yourself, toys, crafts, etc.
4. Don’t wander off alone, always have a buddy with you and notify a caregiver where you are going
5. No skipping little time
6. No swearing
7. No hitting or yelling at each other
8. Littles cannot be in the kitchen alone (even older ones)
9. Must be in bed by 10pm
10. Have fun!

Punishments
1. Time out
2. Writing lines
3. No sweets
4. Early bedtime
5. Extra class chores
6. Essay on why what you did was wrong
7. Limited electronic privilege (tv, video games, etc.)

They handed the list of rules to Aizawa and he read each one, nodding as he went down the list.

“This is a pretty good list,” he complemented, “There is just one more, very important thing I’d like to add to it. Whenever any of you littles feel littlespace creeping in, notify any adult or caregiver. It can be very scary and unsafe to experience alone, so please don’t hesitate to grab someone the minute you feel yourself regressing. Is that clear?”

Everyone nodded solemnly at the words, even Bakugou and Midoriya. They knew the feeling of being in headspace alone, it wasn’t a good one. And they could honestly agree to do that, but no with anyone else but each other. Their plan only involved the two of them and they’d like to keep it that way.

“Good. Now for the second thing,” Aizawa grabs a stack of papers from his desk and begins to pass them out while talking, “I have a short survey for you all to fill out. It's pretty straightforward, just asking for preferences and things you guys would want to do on days you all play together. As soon as you are done with it, bring it to my desk and you’ll be free to go for the rest of the day. There is no need to wait for the entire class to finish. You may begin.”

This time silence overtook the room, everyone taking special care with answering the survey questions.

It was similar to the classification exam, choosing which items and things you’d prefer, but there were many more options and it was more specific. Students were able to circle all the items that interested them rather than having to choose between one or the other.

Some items available to be chosen were:
Pacifiers, chewing necklaces, specific children's books, different stuffies, stickers, bottles, pull ups, diapers, sippy cups, musical toys, hero action figures, play sets, legos, arts and craft sets, coloring books, board games, puzzles, video games, electric vehicles, and much more.

Some students blushed while reading the options, not realizing diapers, sippy cups, pacifiers, and similar things could actually be factored into all of this, but some littles still selected them.

There was plenty of space on the last page for specific requests, such as specific colors for a sippy cup, or a particular action figure they wanted, or to mention something that wasn’t included on the page of items.

The test was mainly geared towards the littles, so the teachers could gather all materials needed for Sunday, but also had questions for caregivers to gauge their comfort level with caring for their classmates. Whether they were comfortable with directing a large or smaller group of littles, or if they’d rather let someone else direct the class altogether while they interacted with littles on an individual basis.

There was also a section for them to write ideas they had for activities to do together.

Sato wrote something about baking lessons with the littles.

Jiro wrote something about music lessons with the littles.

Aoyoma wrote something about having a fashion contest.

Mina wrote something about doing a karaoke contest.

Koda wrote something about going to a zoo.

Asui wrote something about having a pool day.

Others wrote similar ideas and after about 15 minutes, a few students were finishing up the survey. For some it took a little longer to think of what to choose and write, but after 30 minutes, most of the class was gone.

The only students still filling out their papers were Midoriya, Todoroki, and Mina and all for different reasons.

Mina was scribbling furiously, ideas flowing to her rapidly. She had to request to additional sheets of paper from Mr. Aizawa after she ran out of space in the activity suggestion section. She was writing like a machine, eager to catch up with the rest of the class.

Todoroki was reading every section carefully, weighing on each option carefully. He wanted to make sure he was doing everything right and not letting his hesitation get the best of him. He eventually decided to circle the items that he was still on the fence about. It never hurts to try, right?

Midroya was struggling terribly with the survey. There were so many things he wanted to circle and say, but he knew he couldn’t allow himself to fall back into such adverse behaviors and habits. He wished the floor would just swallow him whole.

His hand was shaking while trying to complete the survey and kept gravitating towards the items meant for younger babies, like his arm had a mind of its own.

Izuku was at war with himself, both physically and mentally. He used his other hand to force his writing hand to keep steady and steer clear of the more… undesirable options. In his head, he was going back and forth with himself.

A pacifier is way better than a dirty finger or item, he reasoned with logic, but the other half of him countered sharply, but I’m not a baby! I don’t even like to suck on my thumb! That’s disgusting.

Diapers are more comfy than pull ups, very soft and lots of padding. Doesn’t hurt when I fall on my butt! he shook his head violently, What kind of teenager would even consider wearing either?!? That’s so weird. I don’t wet myself, so why would I even need that?

Thankfully, there were a few things that he could choose without fear of his true nature being discovered. Hero figurines, puzzles, even stuffed animals were something that weren’t questionable, not even for a normal teenager who didn’t age play.

But it still took Midoriya an excruciatingly long time to get through the survey and by the time he was done, he and Mr. Aizawa were the only ones in the room.

When Midoriya looked up, he gawked, looking all over the room. Am I seriously the last one to finish?

He gathered his belongings and quickly made his way to the front of the classroom, planning to bolt out of there the second his paper hit the desk. He didn’t like the idea of being alone with Aizawa, not because he thought anything dangerous would happen, but because Izuku was still embarrassed about his panic attack in front of one of his favorite teachers. He didn’t feel ready to talk about it at all and didn’t want him to bring it up.

Thankfully, Aizawa didn’t say anything about the incident specifically, but as Midoriya walked towards the door, Aizawa decided to speak up, causing Izuku to stop in his tracks

“Don’t forget Midoriya, I’m here for you. Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be ready to listen,” Aizawa said with a calm, but decisive tone.

Midoriya didn’t turn around to face his teacher, feeling tears pool his eyes for the millionth time that day.

Why does he have to be so nice to me? I don’t deserve this from him. I’ve been nothing but a bother today.

All he could do was nod his head in acknowledgement and continue his brisk walk out of the classroom. He went straight to the dorms and up to his room, not bothering to linger in the common area with his classmates.

No one noticed the tears streaming down his face as he went and shrugged off the abnormal behavior, chalking up his quietness to being tired. It was a pretty exhausting day and a few other students had also gone straight to their rooms to relax a bit.

Chapter Text

Izuku was feeling moody for the rest of the day, so he holed up in his room. The only time he came out was to eat dinner. He ate his meal quickly, feeling too tired to keep up his happy facade for too long.

He spent the rest of his night reflecting on the day he had. So many things happened in such a short period of time and it was throwing him off badly.

Whenever an unfamiliar or troubling situation came up in his life, Midoriya was able to deeply analyze it, think of all possible angles and variables, and that was something that was always able to put him at ease.
But for the first time in his life it wasn’t working. It was something one of his in depth analysis couldn’t be applied to, not when the subject matter was clouded with foul emotions and past trauma.

It was beyond frustrating for Izuku and it made him want to pull his hair out. He tried reevaluating the facts and events of the day.

Principal Nezu was mandating age play as a coping mechanism for class 1A

He and his classmates all got classified as either being a little or a caregiver.

Both he and Bakugou failed at hiding their classifications.

He was deemed a little by Mr. Aizawa, but with an incorrect age range.

But not before having a full blown panic attack.

He and Bakugou had developed a plan to circumvent the requirements.

He found out the big three also play age.

He now knows that the first group play session is this Sunday.

Midoriya knew, rationally, that these were indeed factual. Things that he couldn’t change. But he still couldn’t help the mental fight he was having. He doesn’t want any of those things to be true. It was almost like his worst nightmare was coming true and it was a nightmare he didn’t even realize he had.

Izuku had truly left all ideas of age play and regressing far far away in his mind, locked up and meant to never be unlocked. His father had quite literally beat the urge out of him. At least until now. The same urge was coming back and he didn’t know how to deal with it.

The worst part of all is that there was nothing he could do about this. He wanted to be able to take control of the situation so badly, but it was out of his hands. It was going to happen whether he liked it or not. Nezu is an actual genius. If he thinks it's the right thing for class 1A, Midoriya wasn’t going to doubt the man.

He desperately wished for someone to confide in with all of this, but he simply couldn’t. Sure, he and Bakugou had their little talk and made their plan, which did make him feel a little bit better about things, but it could only do so much for him. The more he thought about the plan, the more doubt started creeping in.

And though Katsuki knew what happened to Izuku that ill-fated day, even witnessed a part of it, Midoriya knew he couldn’t talk to his childhood friend about it. Bakugou had no tact when it came to anything remotely traumatic. He’d just make Izuku feel worse about it.

He wouldn’t receive the comfort and reassurance he craves so badly because Bakugou was in the same exact boat as him. Not to mention, the boys had only recently gotten on good terms with each other. Their friendship was developing nicely, but it was a slow, finicky thing that Izuku didn’t want to screw up with such a touchy thing.

So no he couldn’t go to Bakugou about it, the only person who knew his true feelings on age play.

His mind drifted onto the next person that came to mind: Todoroki. They had become increasingly close as the days went by, confiding in each other about more personal things in their lives. Honestly, if Todoroki wasn’t such a blunt person, Midoriya doesn’t think they’d ever be as close as they currently are.

Their friendship blossomed from the sports festival to now and Izuku knew he could trust his friend with almost anything. He was tempted, but shook his head at the idea, not wanting to burden his friend with the information.

Todoroki already has enough on his plate, trying to reconcile his relationship with his mother and process the fact that he was physically and emotionally abused as a child by his father. This would be way too much for him.

The next person to come to mind was Uraraka. Midoriya’s very first friend when he arrived at UA. She was such a kind soul and made him regain so much confidence that he had lost in his childhood.

She was the reason he was able to reclaim the insulting nickname ‘Deku’ and repurpose it, giving it a new and more honorable meaning.

He believed in Ochako as much as Ochako believed in him and trusted her with his entire life. She is full of compassion and has a way of understanding things that just makes you feel sopathetic. He didn’t want his friend to see him in such a pitiful light, especially when she believes in him becoming the number one hero.

He had similar thoughts when his mind wandered to telling Ida or Asui. He knew they’d be able to help him truly rationalize his thoughts, but he didn’t want them to see him as weak either.

His thoughts circled back around to Aizawa’s offer. He knew what he told his teacher, that he’d tell him about his panic attack when he was ready. And Aizawa said he’d welcome him with open arms. But could really do it? Would he ever be ready to talk about it with someone other than Bakugou?

He wanted to test the theory, to see if it would truly be okay like Mr. Aizawa told him. But the situation was bigger than just him. It involved his father, who had disappeared without a trace, Bakugou, and his mother. He didn’t want to drag others into his issues, Mr. Aizawa included.

He mulled it all over, considering each new variable, but his mind kept going back to what the pro hero said to him.

I wouldn’t be in trouble for it…he said he’d always be here to help me with whatever I need…

And this was something that Izuku wholeheartedly believed and needed oh-so desperately. He was nearly sold on the idea, already forming a plan on how to bring it up to his homeroom teacher when he realized one thing. If he told Mr. Aizawa about what had happened in his past then a few, it would create a huge domino effect and everything would fall apart.

The story involved details about Bakugou that Midoriya was sure his friend didn’t want to. It also required him to reveal his true age range and he knew he’d be forced to behave within that range, which is something he truly didn’t want. His classmates would know that he had lied and would be forced to deal with such a small age range, which he didn’t want to burden them with. He knew it wasn’t easy.

Add to that, he was sure that his teacher would be legally obligated to mention the situation to his mother, which is something Midoriya didn’t want to happen, in any circumstance. His mom shouldn’t know. Hisashi, no matter how horrible of a father he had been, had remained the love of Inko’s life and if she found out that Izuku was the reason he had left for good… Midoriya simply couldn’t afford it, he was already short one parent, he didn’t want to alienate the other.

And how could he forget about his beloved mentor.

What would All Might think if he saw me now? Izuku thought, self-deprecatingly, He’d wish he had chosen a better, stronger successor like Sir Nighteye had told him too. Togata, or some other talented 3rd year. Not a sad weakling like me. All might would surely want to take his quirk back from me if he ever found out about this.

All of those thoughts and more gathered into a huge, dark, thundercloud over Izuku’s head. When enough negativity had finally gathered over him, the lightning bolt struck him.

Hard.

The semblance of hope he held was crumbled at the crushing realizations and Midoriya felt utterly defeated. If he had any tears left, he’d be crying, but he used them all up already. He was utterly spent and he gave up for the night, deciding he was done with his overthinking. He wanted nothing more than the black abyss of sleep to consume him for the next 8 hours.

He got ready for bed and pulled out an old tattered blanket from under his bed. He knew he should get rid of it, but he couldn’t. It was a soft and fuzzy beige baby blanket, with bunnies lined up in rows, all varying shades of green and doing different things. Some were hopping, some were eating carrots, some were even sleeping.

He’s had it for nearly 11 years now, it was one of the many gifts his mom tried to buy as a way to appease him after he had been diagnosed quirkless, when she thought her son would have to give up his dream.

The feeling of it soothed him, simply having it gave him emotional support. And he needed some self-soothing, in any form he could get it. He knew he couldn’t get help from anyone, but at the very least he had his blanket. He brought the fabric to his cheek and rubbed it gently across his face, sighing contently.

There was only one single thought in his head now and stayed until he drifted off to sleep, it was decided:

No one else can know.

Chapter Text

It was Sunday. The day it all became official, there would be no going back after it.

Most students woke up and felt excitement, like the type you feel when you wake up on the morning of a field trip in elementary school.

Some students felt that excitement mixed with a bit of nervousness about it since it was the very first time they would be regressing.

Midoriya initially woke up peacefully, momentarily forgetting what day it was. He stayed in bed for a solid 10 minutes just soaking up the tranquil feeling that he hadn’t felt in a while.

Until there was a loud knock on his door. He didn’t even have to ask who it was, no one banged on peoples doors like Kaachan did.

He sighed, sluggishly making his way to the door. He wanted nothing more than to laze around for the entire day.

Why is Kaachan here so gosh darn early? Izuku thought before opening the door.

His eyes widened as Bakugou stormed.

“K-kaachan? Is something the matter? What’s got you so worked up so early in the morning?” Midoriya asked, genuinely concerned.

“What do you mean ‘what’s got me so worked up’ Deku!?” Katsuki fumed, looking his friend up and down and realizing he was still in pajamas, “Do you even realize what today is, nerd? It’s Sunday!”

Midoriya’s eyes widened comically. I completely forgot! How could I forget what’s happening today!?!?

He began to ramble in a panic, “Oh my gosh! It completely slipped my mind. Oh my gosh what am I going to do?!???! How am I supposed to deal with this? This is awful. I can’t go out there, it's not possible. It doesn’t matter that it's a requirement, I simply can’t.”

He was now pacing back and forth and tugging at his hair.

“Quit your pacing nerd! It’s annoying,” Bakugou barked, causing Midoriya to stop abruptly, “Also, did you already forget our plan, nerd? Tch, figures. You are dumber in the mornings.”

“Oh,” Midoriya scratched the back of his neck and looked down with slight embarrassment, “you’re right. How could I forget so easily? Sorry Kacchan…”

They did have their plan, and they met late last night to go over how this day would go for the both of them. Bakugou would not fall into littlespace at all, just act as a caregiver the entire day. And Midoriya wouldn’t allow his headspace to fall any lower than the age of six. Both boys promised to keep a close eye on each other to ensure that nothing went sideways.

“But wait a second, if we already have our plan, then why’d you storm in here so angry Kaachan?” Midoriya questioned, more curious than concerned now.

A slight blush tinged his cheeks now, though it could easily be mistaken for a flush of anger. Honestly, Bakugou himself didn’t really know why he bothered coming to Midoriya’s room in the first place.

He woke up feeling antsy about the day ahead of them and needed some reassurance, but before he knew what he was even doing, he ended up here, in Izuku’s room.

Of course Bakugou didn’t know what else to do aside from mask his insecurity with more anger, “I came to make sure you remembered, and obviously you didn’t! Don’t be so stupid Deku! If you forget this so easily, there’s no shot at hiding all of this!
Midoriya agreed solemnly with the statement, “I’m sorry Kaachan, you’re right. I need to do better.”

“Yeah, well you better get ready nerd. We’re all supposed to be downstairs in 10 minutes.”

Bakugou left the room while Izuku scurried to get ready for the day. He put on some casual lounge wear and brushed his teeth as quickly as he possibly could.

As soon as he got to the common area downstairs though, he wished he had taken his sweet time.

There was way too much going on. He felt dizzy just from turning his head all over to look at everything he could.

The common room didn’t look anything like it had the day before. There were so many new things.

One corner was furnished with a colorful rug, a bookshelf stocked with children's books and a few oversized bean bag chairs. It had a small sign labeling it the ‘comfy corner’. There were many blankets stored on the bottom row , along with a wide selection of stuffies right next to the shelf.

In another corner, there was a full size play kitchen set, stocked with plastic pots and pans, along with all kinds of fake foods.

By the tv there were several shelves full of a variety of movies and video games, as well as puzzles and board games.

In the center of the room there was a nice, big plush rug and a few bins were lined up around it, filled generously with toys. They seemed to be sorted by which age range they were geared to.

When the heck did they have the time to do all of this?!? Midoriya thought, absolutely flabbergasted.

It looked like a picture of a playroom that could only come out of his dreams. It was absolutely breathtaking and simply looking at it nearly had Midoriya slipping.

Bakugou looked at his childhood friend and knew from one look that he was on the cusp of headspace and internally he panicked at the realization.

No way in hell am I letting this shit happen. He should be able to hold it together better than this!

“Why the hell does your face look so stupid Deku?” Bakugou shouted across the room, knowing a good insult would snap him out of it.

And that it did, Midoriya quickly straightened up and headed to the rest of the group who was seated at the dining room table, waiting for their day to officially begin. He also noted that a few of his teachers were present: Mr. Aizawa, Present Mic, Ms. Midnight, and All Might.

“That was mean Kaachan,” Midoriya replied, going along with it, though he mentally thanked his friend once again for bringing him back to reality.

“It sure was! Why do you have to be so mean to Midoriya,” Uraraku asked, coming to her friend's defense, “Especially on a day like this?”

“Yeah!” Ida agreed, “We should all be kind to each other, remember the rules we made?”

Bakugou was about to go off on the two of them as well, but Aizawa spoke before he had the chance.

“That’s right Bakugou. It’s the first rule on the list. I’m going to let it slide this time because the day hasn’t officially started, but if you say something like that again, expect a nice 15 minutes in the corner,” he reprimanded.

Bakugou could only blanch at the statement, a slight blush crowding his features. He didn’t respond to his teacher though, just grumbled to himself.

Present Mic took that as his cue to begin his antics.

“All right little listeners! How are we doing today?” he questioned joyfully, received mixed replies, “Good, good. Well I hope all of you are excited for today! We have quite the day planned for you guys, isn’t that right All Might?”

“We sure do!” All Might affirmed enthusiastically, “Today is going to be filled with fun! It’ll be great!”

The excitement from the teachers was affecting the tone in the room positively. Some students were now bouncing in their seats, ready to begin the day. They had great faith that it would live up to the hype.

No matter how badly they wanted too, Bakugou and Midoriya couldn’t fight the positive energy in the room, it was contagious. They tried keeping it at bay, but there were small bits of excitement lingering in them too.

“Let’s get this part-ay started bay-by!” Present Mic exclaimed, and the room finally burst into cheers and applause from Class 1A.
The teachers had a well crafted agenda for the day, and it included the theatrics that they had been displaying. Having caregivers be over dramatic like so was just one of the many tools that could guide a little into their headspace.

“Just a forewarning for you guys,” Aizawa stated, hating to pause the excitement, “All littles will be treated as such today. Don’t be surprised with our treatment and actions towards you all. And all caregivers will be treated as such as well. You are expected to be responsible for your little classmates and help them in any way you can. Is that understood?”

Everyone nodded, with a bit of exasperation, more than ready for the day to get started.

“Wonderful!” All Might swooped in, “first event of the day: breakfast! It seems silly, but we decided to make an activity out of it.”

This was decided after the teachers took a liking to Sato’s baking lesson idea, but they didn’t want to limit it to baked goods.

“That’s something we take turns doing every day though. Why would this be a part of age playing?” Denki asked, feeling clueless.

“Don’t you remember the rule we made, Kaminari?” Jiro asked with a tone of exasperation since the rules were posted on the wall in front of them

“Jiro is correct,” Midnight stated, “Due the kitchen rule you all have made, this won’t be your typical time cooking. Littles won’t be able to prepare anything on their own. Caregivers will guide them through the entire process and must ensure their safety, meaning no little should be allowed near any heat sources without proper protection or handle any sharp objects, no matter the circumstance.”

It was all starting to make sense to the class now. It seemed simple enough, but they didn’t know what to really expect when they wouldn’t be operating in the kitchen as they normally did.

“I know you guys will need time to adjust, so we’ll take the lead here for you,” All Might said, “just so you can get the general idea.”

Bakugou and Midoriya felt a bit of relief at the description of the activity. Midoriya was certain that he would be able to remain in an older headspace for the day. Cooking and baking always made him feel on the older side. Baby Izuku would rather leave the responsibility up to a caregiver, though he’d chip in here and there.

Midoriya’s relief was short-lived though.

“Young Midoriya,” All Might called out softly, “ would you mind being my helper today?”

All Might’s tone and wording had Izuku blushing. It made his insides squirm, but in a good way. It was a sign that he was a step closer to headspace, but for now he still had a hold on it.

Midoriya nodded at the request, not wanting to say no to his favorite hero.

He shuffled over to his side and awaited further instruction. All Might just flashed him an award winning smile that caused Izuku to blush even further.

“Perfect! Now everyone, let's gather in the kitchen so we can get started!”

Everyone paraded over and gathered together on one side while Midoriya and All Might were on the other.

All Might turned to Midoriya and asked, “So little one, what would you like to eat for breakfast?”

The term of endearment wasn’t lost on Midoriya, but he could ignore it in favor of contemplating what he wanted to eat. Normally, he wasn’t big on breakfast since he usually spent most of his mornings working out. A piece of buttered toast or a granola bar could typically satisfy his hunger until lunch.

But since it was the weekend and this was part of an activity, he decided he’d indulge himself.

What he failed to realize was he had his little thinking face on, tongue slightly hanging out of the corner of his mouth while scratching his head. It was quite the adorable look. His teachers wanted to coo at him, but they didn’t want to scare him or his creeping headspace away

“Mmmm…I think pancakes sound good? Pancakes with chocolate chips in them? Please?” He requested kindly.

“Pancakes sound great!” All Might agreed warmly, “Thank you for using such great manners Midoriya.”

The boy shrunk a little at the praise, but his heart soaked it up.

“Now how about you go get the dry ingredients while I get the rest, how does that sound young Midoriya?”

“Sounds good!” Midoriya agreed quickly, but then hesitated before saying, “u-um you could also call me Izuku? If you wanna…”

The boy looked embarrassed to ask, but he meant it. Being referred to by his surname while on the cusp of headspace felt very impersonal to him and he didn’t like it.

“Why of course, young Izuku, thank you for letting me know!” All Might praised once more.

At that point, most littles and caregivers were starting to pick up on the differences between making breakfast normally and doing it today. All Might was speaking to Izuku as if he were truly a child and the boy seemed to be soaking it up.

Once all the ingredients were gathered, All Might measured out the proper portions for the ingredients and set them off to the side.

“Now Izuku, do you think you could do the honors of mixing all of the ingredients?” All Might asked.

The boy nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah I can!”

His little side truly felt honored to be able to complete the request given by his mentor. Not only did he love mixing ingredients when it came to any type of cooking and baking, but his mom told him he was great at it!

“Good! Now be careful not to make too much of a mess, we still have a bunch of breakfast meals to get through.” All Might reminded gently, but Izuku was already too far gone

He had already put all the ingredients in one big bowl and was whisking the mixture at a speed akin to an electrical mixer. Whether it was due to his enthusiasm for the task or if he was actually using his quirk to do it, but it resulted in a faint white cloud of flour, sprinkles of it landing on him.

The realization only made him giggle and was what finally tipped him into headspace.

How could I forget how fun cooking pancakes was? Izuku thought, I should’ve been doing this every single day!

Some other littles felt encouraged by Izuku’s behavior and were also creeping towards their headspace.

“I wanna help too!” Denki exclaimed, eager to assist.

“Yeah me too! But I want to make my own breakfast, something different” Mina informed.

“I’d like to assist as well,” Todoroki chipped in.

And with that, the first activity of the day was in full swing with every student eagerly participating, even Bakugou.

The teen had a knack for cooking and he wouldn’t skip out on breakfast simply due to his pride. But it was a little odd feeling for him to want to interact with the other littles in his class, so he stuck to Izuku, helping him flip his pancakes while also assigning the boy small tasks that would assist the blonde in making his own breakfast.

By the end of the first hour, everyone had a chance to help in the kitchen and they were now seated together, eating to their heart's content. All the work in the kitchen so early made them all a little more hungry than usual.

The teachers held fond looks for class 1A when they all sat together at the table.

All of them had one identical thought.

This is why I continue to teach.

The teachers wanted nothing more for domestic moments like this to become more and more frequent for the class. They truly deserved it.

Izuku was thinking on a similarly positive note. For the first time in a while, his brain didn’t ruin the moment for him. He enjoyed every second of being a helper with All Might and Kaachan, especially his favorite and most important part of chocolate chip pancakes: adding the chocolate chips.

He was now seated next to Katsuki, legs swinging in his seat as he waited for his friend to serve the pancakes on his plate.

Katsuki was internally gushing at how adorable Izuku was at that very moment. He tried his best to push away the thought because the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to coddle him and that was definitely not part of the plan.

He had half a mind to even cut up Izuku’s pancakes for him to make it easier to eat, but he knew better than to even try cutting bigger pieces. Katsuki knew Izuku and his headspace very well and such an act would send him to a place far younger than he was now.

The little was barely passing as six with the way he was acting, but he didn’t exhibit any behaviors too alarming to Katsuki, so he let his childhood friend be.

Soon enough everyone finished the meal, tummies full and content smiles on their faces.

Surprisingly, it was Todoroki who spoke up, with a level of excitement no one had ever heard from him before.

“So what’s next?” he exclaimed, ready for the fun day that his teachers had promised.

Chapter Text

“There’s a lot more planned for the day,” Aizawa replied, “but first, you all need to clean up the mess in the kitchen and on the table.”

Some of the students groaned at that, hating this part of cooking. Cleaning was never fun.

But of course with Present Mic there, it was made into a fun activity.

“All right kiddos! I know cleaning doesn’t seem interesting, but let's make it a little game alright?”

The groaning stopped as the littles listened intently.

“Has anyone ever heard of the clean up song before?” He asked, and feigned a surprise look when everyone shook their head no. Barney was an American show after all, not many people here have heard of the purple dinosaur.

“What?!?” He exclaimed dramatically, “What a travesty! Well you guys are going to learn it today for sure! We need everyone to sing it for the game!”

The littles that were in headspace giggled at the theatrics and the caregivers in the class gave fond smiles after hearing them .

“I’m going to teach you all the songs quickly and then we’re going to sing it all together! Once we start singing it, the goal is to finish cleaning your own mess before we finish the song. As soon as you're done with the cleaning, head on over to the tv and find a comfy spot to sit, make sense?”

After receiving affirmation from the class, Present Mic began to sing the toon happily.

Clean up, clean up,

Everybody, Everywhere,

Clean up, Clean up,

Everybody do your share.

(Imagine additional lyrics because the song is short af LOL).

Excited nods were seen around the room, many of the students putting on their game faces. The song was pretty short so they knew they had to be as quick as possible to be able to win.

Present Mic just laughed at their determination.

“All right kiddos, you ready? Remember to be careful, no shoving each other or anything just because you want to be fast about it alright?”

“Yes, we get it,” Mineta whined, “Can’t we just get on with it already?!”

His impatience made others chuckle, but they felt it too.

“Alright alright…Don’t forget to sing with me too!” Present Mic reminded, “On your mark, get set, GO!”

And with that the game began, everyone stacking plates, cups and silverware and putting it in the sink, while a lot of littles were singing the song at the top of their lungs. With all the commotion from the quick movement though, the volume wasn’t bothering anyone.

The first person to finish the task was Ida and he sped off to the couch, proud of being first, even though it wasn’t what mattered. After him it was Mina, then Ojiro.

One by one the rest of the students were finishing up and making their way to the couch, though it was only possible with a little bit of shoving. No one was hurt though, so it was fine.

The song was nearly over at this point but there were a few people left in the kitchen. Midoriya, Denki, Ayoama, Koda and Kirishima were the only ones left.

Midoriya and Kirishima had already finished with their own cleaning, but Kirishima noticed how flustered the other three littles were due to the commotion and stayed to help them out.

When he saw them overwhelmed, he was quick to comfort them, feeling the caregiver in him taking over for the first time, “It's alright guys, no need to worry! I’ll help you guys out so you can get to the couch before the song is over!”

The three gave relieved smiles at that, glad to have some help. They were some of the littles that were actually in headspace, so they had a bit of trouble completing the task.

Midoriya had been observing the group. He didn’t want to leave any of his classmates behind but he didn't realize what was taking them so long. Now that Kirishima seemed to figure it out though he decided he wanted to help too.

He tapped on Kirishima’s and shyly asked, “Um… can I help out too, Kiri?”

Kirishima felt as though his heart was going to explode at that very moment.

Kiri? That’s so damn adorable!!

Kirishima turned to the boy and exclaimed, “Of course you can Midobro! That would be great!”

Izuku flashed a toothy grin to the caregiver and rushed over to the sink, helping Aoyoma with the washing while Koda and Denki did the drying and Kirishima stored each item in their respective spot.

With their combined teamwork, they were able to make it to the couch right when the last word of the song was uttered. The littles all breathed sighs of relief and high fived each other, impressed with themselves.

Everyone was gathered around the tv one way or another, whether they were sitting on the couches, sprawled out on the floor, or had a chair pulled up to the area.

“You guys all did a wonderful job at cleaning,” Midnight praised, “It looks cleaner than it did when we arrived this morning!”

A lot of the littles cheered at that, glad that the hard work paid off. Midnight gave a good hearted laugh at that and continued,

“Now Todoroki, since you asked about the next activity, I’m going to let you choose.”

Shouto’s eyes widened at that. He didn’t realize there would be options in all of this, and he most certainly didn’t expect to be the one that decided for the class. He listened closely as she revealed the two options.

“We can either watch a short 20 minute episode of a cartoon of the classes choosing and then have some play time, or we can have a little bit of play time first and then watch the cartoon later? Which one sounds better?” she asked tenderly, not wanting to overwhelm him.

Making choices could be difficult for some littles, she knew, but today was a day for the teachers and caregivers to gauge how exactly each little liked being treated.

As soon as the options were presented to him, the class erupted with shouts, all directed at Todoroki.

“Todoroki, Todoroki! Choose play time first!! I want to try out the cool toys!” Sero exclaimed, bouncing in place.

“Yeah I do too!” Denki agreed.

“A cartoon does sound pretty nice,” Hagakure stated.

“Yeah, it sounds like a nice and relaxing time,” Uraraka agreed.
Todoroki was truly conflicted and could barely process all of the opinions thrown at him when surprisingly, of all people, Bakugou came to his defense.

“C’mon extras, pipe down already! Midnight said it was Todoroki’s choice, not ours!” he asserted, but with only a quarter of the usual bite in his voice.

He was perfectly aware of the fact that a lot of his classmates were in headspace and he didn’t want to ruin it for them by being his usual explosive self, so he toned it down as much as he could for them, though it wasn’t all gone.

“Bakugou’s right you guys,” Momo agreed, “I’m sure the yelling didn’t help at all either. You guys have to give him a little time in space to think about it.”

Todoroki was beyond grateful for the two, a feeling he thought he’d never associate with Bakugou, but it was true. He gave the two caregivers an intense look, but they knew it was just him giving thanks. They both nodded at him with understanding looks.

After a few minutes of contemplating, Shouto came to a decision and turned to Midnight to relay it.

“Um Miss Midnight? I think we should watch the cartoon first…we just ate breakfast and some of us are still pretty full, I think,” he announced in a soft tone.

“Ah, what a wonderful point Todoroki! What a smart boy we have here, am I right everyone?” Midnight questioned, half jokingly, but she received nods of agreement.

“He is! Great thinking Todoroki!” Ida praised.

“Yeah! I can’t remember the last time I watched a cartoon either, so I’m happy we get to do this first,” Jiro said.

“That’s true I guess,” Mineta agreed begrudgingly, a whine creeping into his tone, “I did want to play first, but I am kinda full.”

The boy's face flushed a bright red at that and he looked to his feet, but if you looked close enough, you could see the small smile on his face. He was a bit relieved hearing those words. He feared that he was going to make the wrong choice and end up upsetting his classmates.

At this point, the caregivers were adjusting very well to the dynamic that was being laid out in front of them. The teachers were great examples to them. So far they heavily noted that a little bit of encouragement and praise goes very far with littles, some just needed the extra push or affirmation.

Some caregivers also noted that it was fairly easy to make littles all happy and giggly if Present Mic was anything to go by. A little exaggeration in tone of voice made all the difference.

The one universal thing that all of the caregivers agreed on without a doubt though, was that each little was so damn adorable! All in their own ways too.

Any doubts they had before about the idea of age play were all gone and forgotten. The caregivers were 100% certain that this would help them and their fellow classmates to relax. It was such a simple thing that they adjusted to easily, as if it were second nature to them already.

A lot of them were beginning to feel the fulfillment that Mirio had described to them.

“Before we continue,” Aizawa started, appearing out of nowhere, “We’d like to get a proper idea of what age you littles are feeling, so we can pick the proper cartoon for you guys, alright? So let's just go around the room, state the age you think your headspace is at, if you are in headspace already. If you're not fully in headspace or you aren’t quite sure what age to rate yourself, that’s fine, just give your best guess.”

Somehow, the monotone voice Aizawa always used that was typically boring to the students was now quite soothing for them, which was perfect for bring them back down from the earlier squabble

“I feel about…11,” Mina said.

“Six or seven for moi,” Ayoma said.

“Maybe five?” Koda.

Todoroki held up four fingers in lieu of a verbal response, a tad bit embarrassed to be the first youngest so far.

“Eight,” Sero.

“Five,” Hagakure.

“Seven.” Mineta.

The last one to answer was Midoriya, but only after Bakugou suddenly nudged his shoulder when he took to long.

“Oh uh.. I’d say seven?” Izuku announced with a bit of a shake in his voice.

He had been so distracted trying to think of a proper age to say. He knew the goal was to stay about the age of six, but he already felt like he was failing. He wanted to go younger, somewhere around Todoroki’s age, but he knew he couldn’t indulge himself.

I should be grateful for the chance to be little at all, Midoriya thought, I shouldn’t be able to choose the specifics, this should be enough.

So he had been thinking of things that would help him age up, like the responsibilities he had as older Midoriya; homework, tests, work study, and more, but he couldn’t linger on it too long or else he’d be completely pulled out of headspace.

Aizawa nodded at the littles and turned to some other students, “And what about those who are a combination, do you guys feel little at all? Or just caregivers at the moment.”

“I’m on the caregiver side right now,” Tokoyami answered and Yaoyorozu and Bakugou nodded in agreement.

“Hmm, I can’t really tell right now,” Ochako replied, “I don’t feel entirely big, but I don’t feel very little. That’s called in-betweening right?”

She remembered the term from their lesson with the big three.

“That’s correct,” Aizawa confirmed, “and that’s fine for now. You’ll probably end up leaning towards one or the other as the day progresses.”

While everyone had been calling out their headspace ages, All Might gathered a few options for the cartoon to watch of the ones they had available on DVD, adding and removing some choices with each different age mentioned. His final assortment included Shaun the sheep, Mighty B!, The Fresh Beat Band, and Chowder, and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy.

Almost all of the students were unfamiliar with the cartoons and so they could really only judge off of the cover of the DVD.

A quick vote happened with a show of hands. Chowder won with seven votes, chosen based off of the funny looking characters and patterns on the DVD cover. In second was The Fresh Beat Band with five votes, both Wow! Wow! Wubbzy and Mighty B! had three, and Shaun the sheep was in last place with two votes.

Once it was decided, All Might inserted the DVD and hit play, scurrying out of the way before he could get yelled at for blocking the view.

The reaction to the cartoon was almost instantaneous as the theme song began playing. It was so catchy! Most of the littles were dancing or wiggling to the song in their own little way, while giggling at the antics of the purple kid and the pink bunny looking girl, who they later found out were Chowder and Panini.

Everyone, even the caregivers, were fully immersed in the episode, never having seen such a silly cartoon before.

Todoroki most definitely made the right choice.

Chapter Text

Before class 1A knew it, the episode was over and some whines were heard from the littles as the credits rolled.

One episode was all they needed to conclude that Chowder was now their favorite cartoon ever! There was excited chatter around the room.

Some littles were so enamored with the show that they started imitating characters.

It started with Denki, repeating Shnitzel’s signature, “Rada rada rada. Rada rada? Rada rada rada.”

Kirishima humored him with a surprised, “Rada rada?! Rada rada radaaaa!”

A lot of giggles were heard as more littles played along with it, now only communicating in ‘rada’s’ as if they truly understood each other

It wasn’t part of the original plan, but Aizawa offered everyone an option just because the students had been so engrossed in the first episode.

“I’m glad you all enjoyed that, it should’ve helped you a bit deeper into headspace if you weren’t all the way there already. Now you all have two options, you can have a little bit of play time and get familiar with all the new things in there or you can sit for another episode, but everyone gets to make their own choice.”

A few cheers were heard from the people who enjoyed the show the most. Some students migrated to other areas in the room while the ones who stayed adjusted their seating to get a bit more comfortable.

Midoriya was itching to explore the rest of the room and the brand new toys, but he knew himself better than that. He couldn’t really know what to expect to see doing that and so he wasn’t confident that he’d be able to stay in his sham of a headspace.

Izuku knew that the tv show would be perfect to keep up the older age range, so he remained on the couch along with Momo, Tokoyami, Koda, Shoji, Jiro, Asui, Todoroki and of course, Bakugou.

Bakugou had decided to go along with whatever Izuku planned to do for the rest of the day to make sure nothing went south or even came close. But if he was being honest, he was beginning to second guess the plan they made.

He was feeling a bit of guilt mixed in with selfishness. He knew the personal reasons behind all of it, but a part of him felt guilty about coming up with the plan in the first place. Katsuki had been observing Midoriya very closely the entire morning and the amount of conflicting expressions the boy held was saddening to see.

Bakugou knew exactly what the boy wanted to do; age down to a lower headspace, around his usually two or three. The contortions in Izuku’s face told enough, he was trying to age himself up and Bakugou felt horrible about it.

He truly believed his friend deserved nothing more to indulge himself and be as little as he wanted, but he also knew that it would’ve been an even bigger internal battle for Izuku if he were to actually get that small.

But Bakugou also had his own, very selfish desires. He wanted to see baby Izuku come out. He forgot how much he enjoyed seeing and interacting with littles, it had been far too long since he last did.

Izuku was still adorable in the older headspace, in Bakugou’s opinion, but baby ‘Zuku always had his heart. It took Katsuki a while to come to terms with the fact that he was a caregiver suited best for younger littles, but it was the truth.

Something about being the one to make all of the big decisions on someone else’s behalf was gratifying for him because it required so much trust. And not a lot of people honored him with that level of trust, not able to see past his explosive front, so he never took it lightly when presented with the chance.

Yeah, it sucked that people never trusted him (it was his own fault really), but when someone did, namely Izuku, it meant the world to him and it wasn’t something he was willing to screw up.

Right now though, Bakugou knew Midoriya wasn’t trusting him to protect the smaller side of him, but he was trusting him to ensure that he stayed aged up. So, for the time being that's all Bakugou could do, no matter how badly he wanted to indulge himself.

One thing he couldn’t resist though was making silly faces to the boy when he kept looking back at him and he was rewarded with toothy smiles every single time.

Midoriya was only looking back so many times because he had a bit of separation anxiety when it came to Kacchan and his little self and it was prevalent no matter how old. Even big Izuku was sometimes anxious to be away from his friend.

The anxiety was always amplified when he was little so he always had to ascertain that his friend hadn’t left him.

What he used to do, a long time ago, was get as close to the other boy as possible, no matter what they were doing.

Katsuki washing dishes? Expect Izuku to be right behind him, clutching his shirt and waiting for whatever was next.

Katsuki watching television? Expect Izuku to cuddle in closely, maybe even be on top of the other boy.

Katsuki using the bathroom? Expect Izuku to wait right outside the door for him. And if his headspace was young enough, he’d crawl in the bathroom right behind the caregiver with zero shame.

It was a tad concerning how attached little Izuku was to his older friend, but it was also extremely endearing for Bakugou. He had his own little duckling to follow him..

Izuku currently wanted nothing more than to cuddle up next to his friend, but he thought better of it. With so many people around, he was just super embarrassed. Plus, he was hyper aware of every single move he made and it had him antsy enough. He didn’t want to raise suspicion with any odd behavior, so he settled for looking at his friend periodically.

Which was fine with him, for now at least, since Chowder had most of his attention.

After about two more episodes of the cartoon, everyone migrated to other areas in the room. Each little had something occupying them.

Sero, Denki, Mina, Jiro and Kirishima were all doing karaoke, pretending to be performing at a concert, with a toy mic and speaker set.

Ida, Asui, Momo, Tokoyami, and Shoji were playing a game of scrabble.

Hagakure, Ojiro, Aoyoma and Mineta were racing some hot wheels on an intricate race track that they made together.

Sato, Koda, Todoroki, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Bakugou were all surrounding the kitchen set, playing their own made up game.

The little’s had come up with a simple name for it: Restaurant.

Sato and Bakugou were both appointed chefs, courtesy of the littles. Uraraka and Midoriya chose to be the waitstaff, while Todoroki and Koda pretended to be the guests, waiting for the food. The teachers were also involuntarily roped into the game as guests.

It was a cycle that never tired out the littles: Izuku and Ochako would go out to their guests and take their orders. They’d then rush to the kitchen and demand the orders be made ASAP to the chefs. The moment the food was served up on the plate, it was practically snatched from the chefs, rushed to the ‘paying’ customers. Then within three minutes of delivering the food, the waitstaff checked up on them, making sure everything was made correctly or if they’d like to order anything else.

The teachers thought the game was absolutely adorable and indulged the waitstaff, ordering a thing or two and expressing their content with the service they received.

Uraraku and Midoriya were quite the staff, taking everything seriously in order to ensure the best reviews from their customers. At one point, they even made it a competition to see who could serve the food quickest, using small percentages of their quirk power to help themselves out.

The game went on all the way up to lunch and as soon as lunch was announced, light bulbs popped up in Ochako and Midoriya’s heads.

“Ooo! Oo! Can me and Midoriya take everyone’s order for lunch! We’re the best waiters ever!” Uraraka exclaimed.

“Yeah, we promise we’ll give you guys the best service ever!” Midoriya agreed enthusiastically.

“It’s true,” Todoroki affirmed, “the service was great! They were super fast with the orders.”

The expressiveness Shoto was exhibiting was a shock for a few, but if that’s what he says, then they believe him.

Koda nodded in agreement.

Ochako and Izuku took turns making more points to sell the idea.

“Sato and Katuski can be the cooks since they’ll be safe in the kitchen.”

“Everyone else can sit down and we take their orders, but we give them a small menu, so the cooking doesn’t take too long.”

“Yeah and while we all wait for the food, we can do coloring pages, like a real restaurant!”

The teachers all looked at eachother, speaking with their eyes. They didn’t want to be too indulgent and say yes to everything, but this seemed harmless enough.
“What a fun idea you guys!” All Might said, “You guys are pretty good waiters, that is something I can attest to. I do think you may need a little more help though. Anybody else want to help?”

A few hands shot up at that.

Momo and Shoji volunteered to be extra help in the kitchen while Denki and Mineta argued over who would be the better addition to the waitstaff, but not for too long before Midoriya stopped them.

“Guys…,” he whined, in a pleading tone, “No fighting. Both of you can help!”

And in an instant the squabble was resolved. Izuku hadn’t meant to whine like that, but he was afraid that if they argued too much, All Might would change his mind and not let them do it all. He breathed a sigh of relief when the two other littles accepted the solution.

“Okay, everyone make a line at the couch!” Ochako directed, acting as a temporary hostess, “and wait to be seated.”

Everyone not part of the game did as told and while they waited for a moment, Izuku and Ochako organized a “staff meeting”.

“Alright everyone! We have an important job today!” Ochako began, trying to sound motivational, “We’ve got mouths to feed, bellies to fill!”

“Mhm!” Izuku agreed, “we gotta make the bestest food ever for our frien- I mean customers!” He giggled at his little slip up, wanting to treat their dorm as a real restaurant.

“Momo? Can you do us a favor?” Uraraka asked sweetly, “Could you make us some little notepads, like the one restaurants have for taking orders?”

“Of course Ochako, no problem,” Momo replied warmly. Within seconds four notepads were conjured and she handed them to each waiter.

“Before you guys go and take those orders, what would kiddos like to see on the menu?” Sato asked.

“Hmmmm,” all the littles hummed, contemplating for a moment. In order for everyone to get their food quickly, it would have to be a simple and pretty limited.

Midoriya’s mind drifted to all of the food he knows class 1A enjoys when the idea appeared. He thought about Todoroki and his love for (cold) soba.

That’s sorta easy to make!he thought excitedly, I’ve got the perfect idea!

He shared it with everyone, “Noodles! We should do all things noodles like soba and ramen and-and udon-”

He would’ve kept on going if Denki didn’t cut him off, “Yeah! That sounds yummy! Even the American stuff, spa-spag, ” he stumbles over the word for a bit before settling on, “spasketti!”

Everyone agreed with the idea and the menu was quickly fine-tuned to include some topping options like mushrooms, eggs, pork cutlet, and more. With all the details worked out, the kitchen staff got started and the waitstaff were on standby, waiting for Ochako to seat their customers.

The entire thing went without a hitch, everyone seated and eating within a half hour. It was super fun for the littles and incredibly heartwarming for the caregivers and teachers.

While the class conversed about the most menial things, the teachers had a deeper discussion.

“So,” Aizawa initiated, “how do you guys think things are going so far?”

“Great!” Present Mic exclaimed, “These kids are naturals. They’ve adjusted so well, much better than I thought.”

“I agree,” Nemuri said, “They have adjusted incredibly well, almost too well.”

Surprisingly, it was All Might who agreed with the statement, “Yes, I expected a lot of pushback today, especially from Midoriya and Bakugou.”

Now it was Aizawa agreeing, “Yes, the two of them surprised me the most today. But I did notice how they seem to cling to each other. Not in any obvious way, but where one goes, the other follows, staying nearby each other constantly. It’s strange.”

“It would be a bit more odd if they weren’t in the midst of repairing their relationship, but it's still strange,” All Might said.

“Do you think it could be a separation anxiety type of thing?” Present Mic pondered.

“That could have something to do with it,” All Might agreed, “They have apparently known each other since the age of three and clearly haven’t had the chance to escape each other.”

“It's still unusual though. With the way Bakugou has teased and bullied Midoriya relentlessly since they’ve arrived at UA, and probably for much longer than that, why would Midoriya even want to be near the guy?” Midnight said, bringing up a valid point.

“Because it's Midoriya,” Aizawa deadpanned, “could you even imagine him pushing his childhood friend away? Or anyone for that matter?”

They all shook their heads.

“Yup. The boy is too kind and forgiving, sometimes for his own good,” All Might said solemnly.

He knew the boy had a heart at least a thousand times bigger than his own and it was one of the reasons he entrusted his successor so much. But that didn’t mean the thought didn’t worry him. If the boy sees even a fraction of a redeeming quality in you, he’ll help you, no matter the circumstances or the person. Which of course is a great thing for him as a person and friend, but as a hero… All Might worried it could someday cost him. Gravely.

“Midoriya is just a really sweet kid, that's all,” Present Mic reasoned, “nothing wrong with that. I think it's actually been more helpful than harmful, him and Bakugou’s reliance on each other. If you guys haven’t noticed, Bakugou hasn’t made another snarky comment since this morning. He even came to Todoroki’s defense earlier. I have the feeling it has a little something with Midoriya’s presence and the effect it has on him.”

Aizawa nodded, “I agree on that. It hasn’t been an issue so I don’t think anything needs to be done about it. But if it does become one, we may need to separate the two so they don’t become too reliant on each other. Let's just continue to keep a close eye on the boys.”

They all nodded firmly.

Nemuri piped up, changing the subject, “Now, who wants to be the bearer of bad news and tell our babies that it's almost naptime,” she smirked, voice filled with mock sympathy.

Chapter Text

The teachers most definitely had spoken too soon about a good day.

As soon as everyone finished their lunch, Aizawa had to be the bearer of the bad news and the reaction was instant.

A lot of protests were thrown his way, groans, whines, boos. It wouldn't have been so if he didn’t say every little was required to take a nap, no matter how big their age was. Aizawa didn’t feel bad about it though because to him, naps were amazing. Hell, he had planned on taking one while they took one.

“This is non-negotiable,” he deadpanned, “You’ll thank me when you wake up and feel re-energized.”

With that, Aizawa went over to his yellow sleeping bag and shimmied in, leaving his colleagues and the student caregivers to deal with whatever words were intended to be thrown at him.

Some littles were readily coming to terms with the fact that the nap was required. After a few yawns escaped their mouths, Ochako, Todoroki, Hagakure, Aoyama, and Koda accepted it. Unfortunately there were still protests around the room.

“I’m way too old to be taking a nap. Maybe the younger littles could use one, but I don’t need one!” Mina said, frustrated.

“Hey! We’re not actual babies,” Mineta argued, “we don’t need naps either!”

“Yeah!” Denki agreed, “We wanna keep on playing! Pretty please can we keep playing?”

Midoriya was thinking the same thing, but didn’t want to say anything because he wouldn’t dare go against something mandatory (that’s a lie and a half).

“Great manners little guy, but unfortunately that's a no can do,” All Might said sympathetically, “Everyone needs a nap, even the Pro-Hero Eraserhead takes naps you guys! There’s nothing wrong with it. I don’t understand all the hubbub.”

Izuku really hadn’t planned on saying anything, but All Might said he didn’t understand and he wanted to help explain. We walked over to his favorite hero and began his explanation.

“Um…I think what they mean is they aren’t feeling tired enough for a nap?” he said hesitantly, “And it was just so much fun playing…we just want a little bit more play time.”

All Might couldn’t take enough adorableness from his successor and he didn’t know what to say. With the puppy eyes directed towards him, he couldn’t possibly say no to them. Thankfully, Present Mic saved him from having to.

“Aw, little listeners, I know how you all feel,” Present Mic cooed, “But it’s alright! You know why? Because the toys will be here when you guys wake up! You’ll have so much more time to play later, a little nap won’t even take up a fraction of the time. I promise you guys will get to play more later today, but only if you take a nap, okay?”

The protesting littles nodded begrudgingly, all sporting pouts on their faces. It broke the caregivers hearts and so they decided to swoop in and change that.

“Yeah you guys, Present Mic is right!” Kirishima exclaimed, “we’re going to have so much fun when you guys wake up! It’ll be even more fun than this morning.”

“Yup. And that’s saying something,” Jiro agreed, “because this morning was pretty dang fun.”

A few more caregivers added to that and the mission was successful, all pouts were wiped off the littles faces, replaced with small smiles.

The teachers were grateful for their students. They all straightened up and got down to business.

“Now before you guys go down to nap, there’s just one more thing to do,” Midnight said, “It’s potty time!” she exclaimed, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible. She knew this part may be even more difficult than announcing nap time.

She got a few puzzled looks from her students, and explained a little further, “It may seem silly, but everyone should go to the bathroom before naptime. We wouldn’t want any accidents would we?”

Everyone blushed at that, even the caregivers, but nodded in agreement. This was one of the parts of age play that they were less familiar with and not too excited about.

“Exactly,” she said smugly, “now come, come, all littles follow me, you too Present Mic!” she called out, knowing she’d need an extra hand, “Caregivers, get the naptime cots set up with All Might before we get back.”

So the caregivers did just that, All Might directing them to a storage closet that had been repurposed for this occasion. The cots were very easy to move and they were set up in no time. While they were waiting for the littles to come back, All Might decided to chat with them.

“So, how have you guys been liking this so far?” he asked the group.

“Great!” Ida jumped to answer, “Though I had my reservations about the whole thing, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this so far.”

Everyone agreed with him.

“Yes, I had my own doubts as well,” Yaoyorozu shared, “doubts about whether or not I’d even been a good caregiver. But it’s just come so natural to me, I don’t even have to think about it.”

“Same here,” Jiro agreed, “I thought it was a little hard to entertain the idea of me playing with the littles, but it was much easier than expected.”

“It reminds me of my little siblings at home,” Asui said, “and I didn’t realize how much I missed taking care of people like that until today.”

“Yup!” Kirishima exclaimed, “our little people are so damn adorable! I just want to squish their cute little faces!”

Cuteness aggression was very real.

“Not bad,” Bakugou huffed, offering nothing else, though everyone knew his response was a good one. Him having nothing negative was a rare thing and it was equivalent to someone saying something positive.

All Might flashed a warm smile to the group, “I’m glad to hear that! I knew you guys would be great caregivers, but you all are truly naturals.”

The group continued their discussion while waiting, while All Might decided to pull Bakugou off to the side. He had been developing a soft spot for the teen and wanted to check up on him personally.

Bakugou grumbled at being pulled away, but still followed his idol.

“Young Bakugou, are you doing okay?” All Might asked kindly.

The teen only scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be okay, old man?”

“No reason, no reason, just checking,” he replied. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two before All Might spoke again, “you know, if you end up feeling little today too, feel free to-”

“Don’t finish that sentence old man!” Katsuki whisper-yelled, “I’m barely ever little, what you saw that one day was a fluke, okay?!”

All Might flinched at the sudden change in tone and reassured him, “I don’t mean anything by it. There’s nothing wrong with it, being little. All your classmates are okay with it, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be. But I didn’t talk to you to convince you to regress today or anything,” he backtracked, “I just wanted to check up on you, that’s all.”

He patted the boy on the shoulder and went back to the rest of the group and explained the planned nap time procedures. Bakugou followed him, trying but failing to wipe the scowl off his face.

His day had been going perfectly fine and dandy before the old man had decided to say anything. Now he can’t get the thought of being little out of his head. All Might hit him where it hurt honestly, though he honestly didn’t feel a huge desire to be little yet. Though he knows that may change as the day progresses.

Thankfully he didn’t have to think about it for too long before all the littles returned, some dead on their feet while others were still sporting blushes on their faces. All Might assumed it was from the talk.

The talk that he knew most littles probably had been dreading since the subject appeared on their interest survey.

Pull ups and diapers.

Now it wasn’t common for littles to actually need them, but it happened sometimes.

Regardless of that use, some littles liked to wear them because of the comfort it gave them, both physically and mentally. The extra padding always did soften the fall. And though littles we’re always so certain of the fact that they wouldn’t have an accident, it wouldn’t be so horrible if they did.

No soaked clothes and no big mess to clean, it’s a pretty big win for all parties involved, and Midnight and Present Mic were able to convince the littles of just that.

Thankfully for the littles though, the pull ups and diapers wouldn’t be implemented today. The teachers had all decided before today that it would be too overwhelming for being little for the first time. And it would only be something for the littles who expressed interest in the survey, it wouldn’t be forced onto anyone.

It was comforting for the littles to be reminded that they do in fact have choices, even though this nap time wasn’t one of them.

When they arrived in the room, the caregivers decided to take the lead, rather than let the teachers continue. All Might informed them of plans for the rest of the day and they wanted to see if they were able to direct and handle their classmates while they were little.

“Welcome back guys!” Kirishima said in an excited, but hushed tone. He didn’t want to rile them up too much now that they were about to nap.

“There’s just one more thing left to do before you sleep,” Momo said softly, receiving a few whines.

It made no sense to the littles. They were just promised sleep, but now they suddenly have stuff to do?!

“Wan’ sleep,” Todoroki mumbled, eyes closed while standing.

“Sorry bud,” Asui apologized, “but what we’re about to do is something necessary so you can have a better sleep.”

“Asui is correct,” Ida explained, “all you guys have to do is choose a nice blanket for naptime!”

Eyes brightened slightly at that, not really thinking about the fact that they’d need blankets for naptime.

“Yup!” Kirishima said, “If you’ll follow us this way,” he led them to the comfy corner with the bean bags and pointed to the blankets on the bottom row of the bookshelf, “you guys get to choose a blanket just for you, and you get to keep it! How does that sound?”

He only received mumbled responses and sluggish nods and he smiled at the littles and added, “See the big bin with stuffed animals over there? You guys can pick one from there too, to keep forever, if you want to. If not, you can just grab your blanket and pick any of the cots we have set up around the room and cruise on through dreamland.”

“Yeah, and make sure you guys hurry up, you brats really need the sleep,” Bakugou added, no heat behind his words.

The littles did just that. They wasted no time, eager to lay down and get their shut-eye.

It didn’t take too long for most littles to choose their blanket+stuffie combo.

Some stuffie choices were obvious; Todoroki chose a turtle, Mina chose a racoon, Kaminari chose Pikachu, but some were more questionable; somehow Mineta got his hand on a stuffed grape. Most of the caregivers followed after them to help them get settled for their nap.

When it was Midoriya’s turn to choose, the boy was near tears and it didn’t go unnoticed by the caregivers.

“Midobro, what’s the matter, kiddo?” Kirishima asked, voice full of concern. He crouched down to be eye level with the little,

Izuku only sniffled and looked down, not knowing what to say. He was just so conflicted. He wanted to pick a blankie like his friends did, but he wanted the one he had in his room even more. But a big part of him was too embarrassed to even ask for it, so he just sniffled again and shrugged at Kirishima.

“C’mon buddy, it's alright. There’s gotta be something getting you down, right? I hate seeing you sad. Is there something I can do to help change that?” Kirishima tried again, truly wanting to help his friend.

Izuku thought for a second before whispering, “C-can you get Kacchan please Kiri?” He realized that if there was anyone who could help him, it would be Bakugou.

Kirishima was a bit confused at the request, but complied nonetheless, waving his friend over “Hey, Bakugou, c’mere a second, would you?”

Bakugou didn’t delay in going over to his friend. He had been observing Midoriya out of the corner of his eye and could tell the kid was about to burst into tears, but he couldn’t exactly tell why. Internally, he was a little worried that Izuku may have regressed younger than intended, but he was more worried about why his friend was so close to tears in the first place.

He wanted to swoop in to help the moment he realized it, but Kirishima beat him to it. Bakugou had initially wanted to tell Kirishima to leave it to him, but he refrained. He didn’t want to seem so obsessive with Midoriya, though it was pretty obvious to most people. Plus, he trusted Kirishima to get to the bottom of it.

“What is it, shi-crappy hair,” he corrected, trying to seem nonchalant.

“Poor Midoriya here is sad about something and I’ve been trying to help him out, but he asked for you,” Kirishima informed.

“Hm, is that so?” Bakugou replied in a sarcastic, but lighthearted tone.

He proceeded to crouch down to Midoriya’s eye level as well and ruffled his hair affectionately, which thoroughly surprised Kirishima. He knew that Bakugou secretly cared for Midoriya, a lot more than others realized, but he never expected that to be displayed so openly.

“What’s up, nerd,” Bakugou said quietly, “What’s got you all worked up, huh?”

And the gentle tone from his childhood friend was all that was needed for the dam to burst.

Tears were coming down rapidly and Izuku gasped intermittently during his explanation, “I-I want my blankie! I k-know we're posed to choose one from here, b-but”-hiccup-”b-but I want my special b-blankie!”

Now all of the nearby caregivers' attention was on the trio, teachers included. Tears and meltdowns were to be expected during the day and it's no surprise that the first little to cry was Midoriya, but what did surprise them was Bakugou’s response.

The blonde sighed and pulled the boy in for a hug, still crouched down. He rubbed his hand on his friend's back to soothe him a bit before speaking.

He’s definitely in a younger headspace now, Bakugou thought, so much for today’s plan.

He couldn’t blame Midoriya though, the kid was just a bit overtired. And even big Midoriya could rarely sleep without the blanket.

“That’s all ‘Zuku? It’s no big deal, we can go get it upstairs, okay?” he reassured softly as the sobs began to taper, “but you could’ve told Kirishima too you know? He would’ve helped you get it.”

Midoriya blushed, suddenly shy, “‘s embarrassing. Didn’t want him to know about my blankie…,” he trailed off, whispering loudly the way kids try to when telling a secret.

A few of the caregivers, including Kirishima and Bakugou chuckled at that.

“Well, he definitely knows now,” Katsuki said, “but you see, he’s not making fun of you at all, is he?”

Izuku turned to face Kirishima and was met with a warm smile and replied, “Mm mm, he’s not.”
“Exactly. Plus, all the other littles have a blanket. So why would it be embarrassing for you to have yours?” Bakugou reasoned with him, trying to get the little to think a bit more rationally.

At the same time, Bakugou was unintentionally, and only microscopically, healing Midoriya’s mindset with respect to littlespace. Getting Izuku to think rationally about why things were okay and not wrong, like what had been ingrained into him, was something very important.

Izuku thought on it for a second, failing to come up with a valid reason, and whispered, “I dunno…”

“Exactly,” Bakugou repeated, “It wouldn’t be. So enough of these tears. Let's go get that blanket of yours so you can have a nice relaxing nap, okay?”

Midoriya nodded, hastily wiping the tears from his face as Bakugou rose from his crouch and took his hand.

Kirishima also stood up to his full height and flashed Midoriya another smile, “Well, I’m glad that Bakubro is able to help you out, little guy! He’s right though, Midobro, I would’ve helped if you just told me. Blankets are nothing to be embarrassed about. I even have my own special one, its red and black and super fuzzy!”

Midoriya giggled wetly at that, trying to imagine Kirishima snuggled up with a fuzzy blanket.

“We’ll be back in a second,” Bakugou informed, before setting off with Midoriya to get the blanket.

After the pair disappeared from view, all the caregivers gave each other dumbstruck looks.

What the hell was that?

“Did you guys just see what I saw?” Kirishima asked, puzzled at what just happened.

“Bakugou being nice? Yeah, we all must’ve died and ended up in hell, “ Jiro joked darkly.

No one could believe how gentle Bakugou was towards Midoriya. Sure, he got classified as a caregiver, but up until now, everyone thought that it might’ve been a fluke. Clearly it wasn’t though because Bakugou handled the situation like an expert.

It did seem a little odd to them, how already Bakugou knew exactly what blanket Midoriya had been asking for and how he was able to handle the tears so well, as if something similar happened before. But no one thought about it for too long, they were just grateful he got the tears to stop.

And he didn’t explode on them either. Typically, when Bakugou was caught showing any other emotion aside from his usual anger, he’d get embarrassed and cover it up with more anger. But he hadn’t even come close to it this time.

It wasn’t clicking, in most of their heads, just how gentle he was being with Midoriya. They didn’t know Bakugou was even capable of it. But now there was most definitely no denying the fact that Katsuki Bakugou was a caregiver.

What was also confirmed to the teachers was the attachment the boys had to each other. It helped in this case, but they didn’t know how long it would take for the clinginess to harm them.

If young Midoriya was only willing to confess his problems when Bakugou came, All Might thought, who knows how many other things will end up bothering the kid that wouldn’t be revealed without Bakugou being there?

Chapter Text

After Midoriya and Bakugou came back downstairs and he was settled for a nap, the teachers decided to inform all of the caregivers of the itinerary for the rest of the day. Just like for nap time, they wanted the students to take the lead on the day's remaining activities.

About 30 minutes after naptime began, the first little woke up. It was Todoroki. He was initially a bit disoriented and confused about where he was, but everything came rushing back to him.

The most important piece of information he remembered was the promise of more playtime after napping and so he got off of his naptime cot and shuffled over to the play area, stuffed turtle still clutched in his hand. He was still half asleep as he walked over, so he didn’t notice that he was the only little awake.

The caregivers noticed though and some went over to greet him.

“Heyo, Todoroki,” Kirishima said, “Have a good nap buddy?”

Todoroki only gave a sleepy nod in response.

“We’re glad to hear that,” Momo replied, “you’re the first one to wake up, little guy.”

Shoto became a little less sleepy after hearing that. He only had one concern.

If everyone’s sleeping…who will play with me?

He decided to ask his friends, “You play with me?” he questioned softly, “till everyone wake up?”

So damn CUTE!!! Kirishima and Yaoyorozu thought.

If his sweet little voice wasn’t enough for them, the look he was giving them was to die for.

“Of course dude!” Kirishima exclaimed, but quietly, “but it can’t be too loud, alright? We don’t want to wake anyone else up.”

The little nodded in agreement and tried to think of something quiet to do. He doesn’t remember much of what he did while playing as a kid, so his options were limited, but he ended up thinking of something.

“Color with me?”

Momo offered a kind smile, “Of course we can.”

The trio gathered all the coloring supplies and followed Todoroki to wherever he decided to set up shop, which was on the ground in the middle of the play area. They did so in a comfortable silence and as time passed, more littles woke up and decided to join them, everyone coloring their own picture.

Some woke up more cranky than others, wanting more sleep. Midoriya was one of them. It wasn’t easy for him to get sleep, but when he did he never took it for granted. He noticed that he was nearly the last to wake up and he whined at the realization.

If everyone else had woken up already, he’d probably have to stay up now. He grumbled to himself and walked over to the rest of the group silently with a stuffed bunny in his hands, when he paused. Nearby the comfy corner he spotted something that intrigued him.

Theyellow sleeping bag. Aizawa’s. He changed his course of direction and headed over to the teacher. The closer he got to his teacher, the better he could see him and he realized that his teacher was still sleeping.

No fair! he thought frustratedly, Why does he get to keep sleeping?

After a second of thinking, an idea popped up in his head. If no one was coming over here to interrupt Aizawa’s sleep, then maybe he could sleep with him and no one would interrupt him either.

Yeah, no one will bother us here!

With that thought in mind, Izuku marched over right next to Aizawa and laid on the floor and closed his eyes, fully intent on getting a few more minutes of shut-eye, but he couldn’t seem to get comfortable. He didn’t know if it was the hard floor or the fact that he didn’t bring his blanket over with him, but he was restless. Midoriya was squirming in his spot, trying to get comfortable and unknowingly woke his teacher up in the process.

The Pro-hero’s eyes shot open, the man suddenly alert. Before he got ahead of himself and assumed the worst, he looked to the shifting weight that had assumed a spot right beside him.

Aizawa was thoroughly surprised to see Midoriya on the ground next to him. He had thought the boy had been avoiding him recently and that it had something to do with age play in general, but here his problem child was, on the ground right next to him, squirming.

“Problem child,” Aizawa groaned in a sleepy tone, “What brings you here.”

Midoriya immediately stilled when he heard the question, not knowing his teacher had woken up.

He shyly began to explain himself, “want more sleep, but you’re the only one left sleeping and no one noticed. So I came to sleep over here, don’ want anyone to wake us up.”

Aizawa let himself chuckle at that, realizing Midoriya wanted to use him as cover. He must’ve realized that no one would dare wake the sleep deprived teacher from his nap, no matter the circumstance.

“Interesting,” he pondered, “did you try asking if you could sleep a little longer before coming over here?”

Izuku instantly blushed at the question, which gave Aizawa the answer. Of course he hadn’t, he didn’t even think of asking. He indicated as much with a shake of his head.

“Of course not,” Aizawa chuckled again and sighed, “Alright kid, c’mon, in the sleeping bag you go.”

Aizawa unzipped the bag and patted the spot next to him for Midoriya to lay on, with him. The teen blushed even harder at it while his teacher was completely unaffected.

One thing nobody could’ve guessed about the man was that he was the biggest cuddle bug ever. It wasn’t often that he sought after cuddles, but whenever he saw an opportunity, he could never avoid it.

Midoriya spluttered, trying to come up with an excuse to not get in the sleeping bag wouldn’t that be weird?!?, but still tired Aizawa was having none of it.

“C’mon kid, get in, I know you want to,” he coaxed sleepily, “I’ve seen the way you kids eye my sleeping bag. It’s just as comfy as it looks. Come try it out yourself so we can both get some more shut-eye.”

Izuku only sighed and scooted towards his teacher and settled in the spot. As soon as he was done adjusting himself, Aizawa zipped the sleeping bag back up spoke again,

“See Midoriya, isn’t this nice?”

The little was still blushing, now because of the proximity between the two, but he nodded in agreement.

“‘S nice and comfy. Super warm too,” he mumbled sleepily.

That along with the fact that he felt as though he was being swaddled, as a baby would be and the great snuggles his teacher was giving him, without him even asking. It made him feel incredibly safe, something he hasn’t fully felt in an extremely long time. The feeling aided him in his drift back into dreamland in no time, Aizawa following suit shortly after.

It was of course Bakugou who discovered the pair. He had shockingly been distracted with all the coloring with the other littles that he failed to realize Midoriya had vanished from his napping cot and he immediately went to look for him.

He was almost in a state of panic when he finally found him, cocooned in the famous yellow sleeping bag with their teacher. He breathed a sigh of relief and then let himself observe the pair fondly for a second.

He was truly happy for Midoriya, that he was doing so well with all of this. He thought the boy would be more jumpy, skittish, and shy. But the boy clearly needed the regression, whether he had realized or not, and his brain and body complied.

He was also glad that Izuku had someone else he could trust, someone else he could go to for comfort aside from himself. Don’t get him wrong, Katsuki is obsessed with the fact that little Izuku trusts him enough to rely on him heavily, but the kid needed to branch out. Not just to have other options, but for Katsuki to actually get the time for himself to be little.
In the past, the two were able to regress together(it rarely happened though), but if either of them were too young in headspace, it always ended up being a disaster. Bakugou didn’t envision that happening anytime soon for either of them, but he had to prepare for the worst.

He also, surprisingly enough, didn’t feel the need to be little either, despite being surrounded by so many littles. He didn’t know if he got his fill the day of the exam or if he was just that relaxed, but he was glad because it meant that he had the chance to keep an eye out for his childhood friend.

He was debating on whether he should just leave the pair as they were or wake them up, but decided on the former. He didn’t want to ruin the moment they were having. He went back over to the rest of the group and offered some critique on the artwork they were still working on.

.

The rest of the day went very well after Aizawa and Midoriya woke up. The caregivers flourished in their roles just like the littles did. They were able to do some origami arts and crafts, eat dinner, play a bit more, and watch one more episode of chowder before it reached their bedtime.

Well, it wasn’t really a bedtime, it was just the time they had to be in their bed. After the tv episode, everyone said their goodnights, albeit forlorn at the fact that such a fun day is over, but once the teachers reminded the class that this was only the first of very many little days, they perked up.

Some students were still in headspace as they walked to their respective dorms for bed while others were slowly coming out of it, now that the day was over and they weren’t in the same atmosphere they had started in that day.

Midoriya was unfortunately one of the students coming out of headspace and it only made his fears rush back to him.

I screwed up so bad!he panicked, pacing in his room, how did I even allow myself to get so little?!?

He thought back to every interaction he had with his class throughout the day and he mentally kicked himself, the kicks getting harder and harder the longer he thought about it.

Izuku realized he had been doomed from the start, when he sunk into headspace so easily, simply due to his surroundings. It only went downhill from there. He groaned, completely ashamed of how he had acted the entire day. He wished so deeply that it could’ve been wiped from his mind.

I even cried in front of Kirishima over my blanket! He probably thought it was so un-cool.
Once again, it was his feelings that were overtaking his logic. He knew that Kirishima didn’t hold an ounce of judgment towards him for it, but Midoriya was internally judging himself for it.

He didn’t know if that was the worst part, or if it was the part where he literally cuddledwith his homeroom teacher?!?

He groaned even louder and stuffed his head under a pillow.

Did I really let myself be…swaddled like that? he thought incredulously, ... and did I actually enjoy it???

Midoriya shook his head violently at the thought, trying to will it away.

Yeah, he definitely screwed up, big time. He didn’t follow the plan, not one bit of it. His headspace never ended up going below five, sure, but it was damn close. Way too close to be okay.

But his mind ended up wandering even further.

Wait a minute. Why didn’t Kaachan keep me in line?!? Wasn’t that also part of the plan.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he was marching over to Bakugou’s room down the hall, bedtime rules be damned.

If Midoriya remembered correctly, they were supposed to be looking out for each other, making sure they don’t slip too hard or do anything too concerning, but if his memory served him right, Katsuki did nothing but indulge him the entire day.

He barged in, not bothering to knock, and began his rant.

“Kacchan, why didn’t you stop me today!? I thought that the plan was to keep me from getting so little and deep in headspace? We’re supposed to be looking out for each other.”

“Oh, please Deku,” Bakugou scoffed, not even surprised by the sudden intrusion, “you know for a fact that even if I tried to, you were in too deep already.”

“That’s not true!” Midoriya argued, crossing his arms, “you didn’t even attempt to do anything, so how would you know?”

“Because I know you, dumbass. Besides, it wasn’t that big of deal, now was it?” Bakugou said, nonchalantly, which surprised Midoriya.

Now while Izuku had been thinking about the day, Katsuki had done some thinking of his own. His attitude towards regression and age play as a whole began shifting and he didn’t know how to feel about it.

Just a few days ago he and Midoriya were caught in a mutual panic over the idea of it, but today proved to him that their fears were kind of silly. No one judged each other. No harsh words were thrown to anyone about their littlespace. Everyone else in their class accepted that age play was okay.

So why shouldn’t he and Midoriya do the same?

Bakugou knew that it was easier said than done, especially due to the trauma associated with the subject, but he felt much more at peace than before.

He knew Izuku would have a hard time accepting what he was about to propose, but it was worth a shot.

“Let me ask you this, Deku,” Bakugou began quietly, “did you have a good day?”

Midoriya shot him a puzzled look, not understanding the relevance of the question.

“Well, did you? Did you have a good time today?”

Izuku paused for a second, before giving a hesitant nod. Despite his earlier regrets, he couldn’t deny the amount of fun he had today.

“That’s what I thought,” Katsuki continued, “and though I hate to admit it, I had a good time today. I wasn’t prepared for it at all, enjoying this again, but I can’t ignore how it felt to see you little for the first time in such a long time.”

Both boys blushed at the admission, not used to Bakugou being so open, “Let’s both be honest with ourselves, nerd. We missed this, no matter how much we want to deny it.”

Midoriya could only shake his head, conflicted with himself. Deep down he agreed with what his friend was saying, but he didn’t want to actually admit it. It goes against every thought his dad had instilled in him.

“C’mon Izuku,”

Midoriya’s head snapped up at that, eyes wide. Bakugou never addressed by his first name, not fully anyway, and never when he was out of headspace. He knew his friend was actually being serious now.

Bakugou continued, “you know I’m right. Even though I’m still a little on the fence, I think that we should abandon our plan,” the revelation had Midoriya spluttering, “you saw how today went. No one judged you. Everyone was kind. No one said anything about this being wrong or disgusting like we thought it was. Isn’t that enough to let you know that your father was the one that was wrong?”

Midoriya shook his head faster now, and finally found his words, “Are you insane!? What do you mean you want to get rid of the plan Kacchan? Do you not remember what happened before?”

And that is where their mindsets differed. While Midoriya had been the one to receive the brunt of his fathers abuse, Bakugou had only been there to see the aftermath. No matter how much they thought they understood each other, this was a concept that neither of them seemed to grasp.

“I do remember, nerd,” Bakugou huffed, getting impatient, “I know it was bad, but…it was so long ago, don’t you think we could just forget about it, have a fresh start with all of this?”

Bakugou tried to sound as convincing as possible, but he obviously failed as he noticed the tears spring to his friend’s eyes.

“Forget?” Izuku whispered, “Do you not think I wouldn’t have ‘forgotten’ about it already if I could have? How could you possibly think this is something I could forget?! Sometimes I still remember the exact way my dad hit me, feel the pain in the same spots, the way he used his quirk against me. Did you really think that's something I can just shove away and pretend never happened? Are you that dense Kacchan?”

Bakugou’s eyes widened at the sudden fury directed towards him. He didn’t expect Midoriya to react in such a way and he didn’t know how exactly to respond to it, so he replied in the only way he knew how, with more anger.

“Yeah well, how is that even my fault huh?!” he barked, “I’m sorry that I even brought it up stupid nerd, yeah, go ahead and blame me for trying to help you out for once in my life! You need this more than anyone in our class and that’s something that won’t change until you accept this! Why can’t you understand that Deku?”

“Because it’s not true!” Izuku shouted, tears now streaming down his face, “I don’t need this and clearly, I don’t need you to help me with this anymore, since you’re just going to give up so easily. I can manage this just fine on my own!”

He huffed and stormed to the door and slammed it shut, not even caring that it was so late in the night.

As he was walking back to his room, he heard a shout from the other side of the door,

“Yeah, good luck with that! Well don’t come back crying to me when you realize I’m right, shitty nerd!”

With a sniff, Midoriya rushed back to his room and proceeded to cry his little heart out, now feeling the hopelessness return to him.

Now that he didn’t have Kacchan on his side to help, he had no idea what he would do to avoid all of this, but he knew he’d have to think of something. His father’s teachings just wouldn’t let him give in to it, no matter how much he wanted to.

The fight with his logic and feelings were never ending, and it was somehow always the logical side of him that lost.

All Izuku could think about before succumbing to sleep was,

How the hell am I going to get through this all alone?

Chapter Text

It was Monday morning and Izuku had one of the worst nights of sleep he’s had in a long time. He couldn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time without waking up to toss and turn and on hour four, he gave up.

He sat up in his bed, feeling like absolute dog poop. He had unintentionally cried himself to sleep and it left him with a headache. And thinking about his conversation with Bakugou only made him feel worse.

Why did I have to be so stupid and barge into his room like that? he thought, full of regret, If I hadn’t been so quick to confront him and just cooled down a bit before talking to him, this would’ve never happened.

Tears sprung to his eyes again and he wanted to punch himself for it. God, I’m such a crybaby.

Midoriya was overwhelmed with what he was feeling. He realized how badly he screwed up with Katsuki. It was bigger than the ageplay thing. They had just started getting along with each other again, building their friendship up and for the first time since then, they just had their biggest argument yet.

And this was one that couldn’t be resolved with a simple spar like usual.

Not only had he screwed up the developing friendship between them, but he was now left all alone to make up a plan of his own to avoid regressing.

The only viable solution that came to mind was him just using mature thoughts to forcefully age up, but would that really last long? Midoriya didn’t know, but for now he made it his temporary solution. He would never be regressing like that again, he would make certain of it.

He wasn’t going to give in to such sickening desires, no matter what Bakugou said.

Sure the entire class was okay with it, but that didn’t mean it would be okay for Midoriya.

With these thoughts in mind, a new sense of ill-directed determination filled Izuku. He would not fail this time.

And so that’s how it went for the next few weeks, every Sunday, Izuku refrained from acting the same way he did that first little day, always sticking to a headspace of 7 or 8 years old.

Bakugou stuck to his plan of abandoning the plan and Midoriya stuck to his. There was even a day that Bakugou had let himself be little, though not very long and not very young, but he had grown so much in the weeks, without Midoriya, to the point that he was finally getting comfortable with his classmates.

It broke Midoriya’s heart, how he couldn’t have been the one to help Bakugou with that, but he couldn’t think of anything to patch their friendship back up. He and Bakugou were back to square one. They never spoke about their argument, just ignored each other.

Which raised alarm bells in literally everyone’s head. It wasn’t unusual for the pair to take a few steps back in their redeveloping friendship, but the tension had never lasted more than a day or two when there was conflict between the pair.

More than that, rather than even bothering to insult Midoriya like he usually did, Bakugou just clammed up around him and turned the other direction when it seemed they were coming to near to each other

The behavior didn’t go unnoticed by a single person who interacted with class 1A, but they didn’t address it either, opting to let it pass (if it ever did). They didn’t want to get themselves involved with something that could possibly end up being one of the most disastrous fights between the two.

The teachers though, they were getting sick of the behavior from the boys. It was hindering their academics and training severely, the two not even able to speak to each other for combat exercises.

They didn’t think it was anything more than a childish row and they, namely Aizawa and All Might, decided that it needed to come to an end, and quickly. Their behavior was going against every goal they had been pursuing with their little coping mechanism and if the problem wasn’t resolved soon, they were afraid the idea would soon become ineffective at relieving their stress.

What piqued their interested in the whole matter though, was the fact that Bakugou was the one to seem more at ease while Midoriya was the one who seemed more reserved about the age play, their feelings developing inversely to the way Aizawa and All Might had thought it would’ve happened.

With the way Izuku had slipped into his headspace so easily on the first day, they thought it would be him who would become more comfortable with his classmates and teachers and eventually open up to Aizawa. But nope, it was Bakugou who had.

Not the last part though, he still knew he had a promise to keep to Midoriya, but he was truly flourishing with the class and their weekly regression.

Despite that promise though, he wasn’t about to let that promise hinder the new relationship he was developing with himself and his regression.

For once in his life, Bakugou was able to accept the positive feelings associated with something and he relished in the feeling. He felt like he was taking back control of something that he never realized needed and could even be controlled. He was just so quick to fall into his anger that it had clouded him, but now, with the weekly sessions, it was becoming more and more clear to him.

With that clarity came the realization of the weight he had been feeling on his heart every time he thought about Midoriya. They hadn’t talked to each other for so long, it was becoming unbearable. He wanted nothing more for his childhood friend to take the leap of faith with him and trust that everything would be okay, but he knew it wasn’t that easy.

He never failed to notice Midoriya’s aged up behavior every Sunday.

I guess that’s the nerd’s plan then,he thought, that ain’t holding up for too long.

He knew logically that it couldn’t possibly last forever, but the power of will was a completely unrelated factor. When Midoriya was determined to do something, he would make it happen, no matter the cost. Which was truly unfortunate, in Bakugou’s eyes, and he initially didn’t want to bother with it.

But after a few weeks of witnessing Midoriya’s heartbreaking self sabotage, he decided he needed to do something about it, something to help him out. He was still a caregiver at heart, despite the feud they were in. Bakugou felt like he owed it to Midoriya, since he was the one who practically abandoned him to face things on his own.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to do much at all, because on a random Thursday afternoon, All Might and Aizawa decided to call them both into the teacher lounge to discuss the very issue.

“Young Midoriya, Young Bakugou,” All Might greeted when they arrived, “How are boys doing today?”

“Fine.” They both said, blushing when they said it in sync.

Aizawa got straight to the point, feeling no need to beat around the bush, “You guys are both here to solve whatever issue you guys have been having recently. We don’t know what it is or how it came to be, but we do know that it needs to come to an end.”

The boys blushed even hard at that, while All Might added,

“I agree with Aizawa, whatever's going on needs to stop here and now. It's done nothing good for either of you, only made things difficult. And not only for you guys, but the rest of the class.”

Their eyes widened in disbelief at that statement. They hadn’t realized they were affecting their classmates with their own personal matters.

All Might just kept going after noticing the looks he received, “Yes, you heard me right. You guys avoiding each other like the plague has made training exercises increasingly difficult for your classmates to endure. You probably haven’t noticed, but whenever the two of you end up in a room together, everyone else around you is left to walk on eggshells, so as to not worsen whatever is going on with you guys.”

Midoriya looked down, feeling guilty for not realizing, but Bakugou just spluttered indignantly before finding his words.

“It’s all stupid Deku’s fault!” He exploded and Izuku shot him an incredulous look before replying,

“Oh really? How is this my fault Kacchan? It was you he ruined our plan!”

“I ruined the plan? Are you sure about that nerd? Because if I remember correctly, it was you who couldn’t handle it in the first place. ”

Their argument didn’t get any further than that, Aizawa interrupting them.

“What is this plan you two are referring to?” he questioned.

The room fell silent again as both boys suddenly clamped up, as if they hadn’t meant to say anything at all.

Aizawa spoke again, completely stony-faced, “Quit wasting time and get on with it, what was the plan you two were talking about?”

Again, nothing.

“Just letting you two know, none of us will be leaving this room until this issue is resolved,” All Might informed, “So you might as well get straight into it.”

It turned into a staring contest between the two teens before finally, Bakugou nodded, while Midoriya shook his head furiously, knowing what was coming.

“Please, don’t Kacchan,” Midoriya pleaded, “Don’t tell them.”

Bakugou only shook his head solemnly, “You know they would’ve figured it out eventually…plus, this is probably for our own good.”

And with that statement, Bakugou turned to his teachers and began to explain. He told his teachers that he and Midoriya had devised a plan to avoid regression, to keep it to a bare minimum. He informed them that he wanted to forget about the plan while Midoriya refused to. He didn’t include why exactly they were doing it, didn’t mention anything about Midoriya’s father, but he did reveal that Midoriya was lying about his headspace, though he didn’t specify his true headspace, and the revelation brought a few different reactions from the group.

Katsuki felt guilty for saying all of it, but he knew it had to be done.

All Might was truly shocked at the information, never thinking to question Midoriya’s age range for a second. The plan they devised was also a bit of a shock, but not entirely surprising considering the fact that Bakugou had been so reluctant to regress during his exam.

He noted that the boy had made amazing improvements in regards to accepting it all, but he hadn’t realized Midoriya was aiming to do the exact opposite; push it all away.

Aizawa though, he wasn’t too surprised at all. He can’t say that he was expecting all that, but he did have an inkling that Midoriya had lied to him about his headspace. Yet, even with this information that Bakugou provided, he didn’t know the root of the problem and it was starting to frustrate him.

He was getting more and more pieces to the puzzle but he didn’t feel like he was any closer to solving it. Still, he was thankful for the information given, and much that known.

“Thank you for telling us Bakugou,” he turned to Midoriya, “Now, problem child, is what Bakugou said true? That you lied about your headspace? And that you both agreed to the plan?”

Midoriya looked down shamefully, tears slipping out of his eyes silently and onto his lap. He nodded so slightly that it was barely noticeable.

He startled a bit when All Might appeared in front of him. The sympathetic look the man was giving him made him feel even worse and he had to do everything in his power to not burst into sobs.

“Young Midoriya,” All Might began softly, “why did you lie, my boy? There’s no need to lie about your headspace. Just like I told young Bakugou, it’s okay to be little. There’s nothing wrong with it. No one will judge you here, no matter what your headspace is. So why lie?”

Izuku couldn’t help the sobs that came when he tried to answer, “B-but it is wrong!”-Hiccup-”It’s bad! Bad to be a b-baby. It’s disgusting-g. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!”

The boy had truly worked himself up at that point and All Might didn’t have the words to console his protege, so he did the first thing that came to mind, and swooped the boy in for a big hug.

He whispered sweet nothings in Midoriya’s ear as the boy cried his heart out into his shoulder.
It was now that Aizawa was left stunned.

What horrible thing has this boy endured for him to call regression wrong and disgusting.

He knew it must be something horrible, but no matter how badly he wanted to continue inquiring about it, he knew he couldn’t.

Midoriya was in no state to answer any questions on the sore subject and Bakugou wasn’t looking much better than him, the guilt truly setting in for him.

Aizawa only sighed and went over to the fiery boy. He stood in front of him for a moment before Bakugou unexpectedly leapt into his arms for a hug. It caught the teacher off guard for only a second before he wrapped his arms around the boy and began petting his hair.

It was very rare to see Bakugou seek comfort so Aizawa knew that when he did, it was something he truly needed.

The boy wasn’t anywhere near tears like his classmate, but he was grasping onto his teacher like a lifeline, relishing in the comfort he was offering.

I know this would happen at some point,he thought sullenly, but that doesn’t make me feel any less horrible for telling them.

“You did good Bakugou,” Aizawa whispered in the boy's ear, “I’m glad you told us. Now we can help you and Midoriya with adjusting to this, you guys don’t have to do it all alone.”

The consolation brought tears to Bakugou’s eyes, but he didn’t dare let a single one fall. He just nodded his head and remained in the embrace, soaking up every bit of warmth and safety his teacher’s arms offered him.

After a solid ten minutes, Midoriya was all cried out, eyes dry. He and All Might ended up sat across from Bakugou and Aizawa, both boys still grasping on to their teachers for comfort.

There was a long silence before Aizawa cleared his throat and started the conversation up again.

“Though I’m a bit disappointed you lied to me again Midoriya, I won’t hold it against you. I can clearly see that there is something deeper going on and even though you might not feel comfortable revealing to us what exactly is going on, we can still help you now that we know a part of the issue.”

“Yes, thank you again Bakugou, for coming forward about this. It saddens me to think of how much you two have been struggling with this alone, but we’re here for you, okay?” All Might reassured kindly.

“All Might is correct. We can’t change what was going on, but we can help you guys now. That means things will be changing for you too. Midoriya, you will be closely monitored on little days by a teacher of your choosing so we can assert that you are going down properly. And Bakugou, even though we know you’re a mix of caregiver and little, we’d like to see you be little for at least one Sunday every month, does that sound agreeable to everyone.”

The boys nodded tiredly, no energy left to argue.

“In addition to that, I’d like to suggest something,” All Might spoke up, “Even though you boys are allowed to regress whenever you’d like through the week in addition to Sunday, I’d like to mandate an additional day in the week for you, young Midoriya. It seems you have missed out enough already, on truly being able to relax and regress.”

Aizawa hadn’t thought about that, but nodded in agreement, “That’s a fair point and I feel inclined to agree.”

All Might continued, “you’ll be able to choose when you regress and who’s supervision you’ll remain under while regressed, but it has to be another day in addition to Sunday.”

Midoriya was less than happy with the idea, but he felt so guilty about his intricate plan to keep his lie going that he felt obligated to accept it without protest.

He nodded dejectedly, accepting the fate that he could not avoid.

“I know it won’t be easy for you, young Midoriya,” All Might consoled, “but rest assured that we will be here for you, ready to help in anyway, every step of the way, alright.”

Midoriya gave another tired nod before whispering, “I understand All Might. I trust you.”

And he meant that with all of his being.

It was the last thing he said before passing out from the exhaustion his emotions always gave him. He was breathing softly, asleep, still cuddled into All Might’s chest.

The man sighed, as did the other occupants in the room, and just continued petting the boy’s hair.

It was then Bakugou who decided to speak up, “We have to help him. He needs this more than anyone.”

The urgency in his tone was as endearing as it was worrying. No one could ever deny how much Bakugou cared for his friend but everytime something like this came up, the teachers couldn’t tell if the two were actually repairing their relationship or if this was their trauma bond being manifested.

They nodded to the blonde, promising to do just that.

Bakugou decidedly had enough of all the touchy feely emotions and scurried out of the room, but not before stopping to wave at the number one hero and whispered,

“Tell Deku I’ll be waiting for him. I’m still on his side, whether he likes it or not.”

Chapter Text

When Midoriya woke up, he found himself in the same position he had fallen asleep in, cuddled in All Might’s arms. It took a few seconds for that fact to set in and as soon as it did, he jumped out of the man's arms. He looked around trying to make sense of everything that had happened. He noticed that he and All Might were the only two in the room now.

“Woah, woah, young Midoriya, calm down,” All Might said in a non threatening tone, “No need to panic.”

“Sorry sir! I was just a little confused for a second,” he apologized, embarrassed, “but now I remember how I got here.”

He blushed and looked down, ashamed of his behavior, but to his surprise, All Might praised him,

“Ah yes, our little discussion. You handled it as well as you could’ve, my boy, I’m proud of you. I’m sure it was a lot to take in.”

Izuku’s eyes widened in disbelief at that, “Proud? B-but I lied to you guys. Why would you be proud of that? And now you know that I’m just a big baby.”

All Might walked over to his protege and took Midoriya’s hands in his own and gave him a sincere look before speaking,

“Midoriya, my boy, I need you to understand something. Despite whatever occurred in your past that made you feel so disgusted with age play and regression, no one here believes that. We ate UA still firmly believe that this coping mechanism is in the best interest of you and your classmates. Have you noticed any changes in your classmates ever since we began this?”

The teen didn’t have to think long before nodding. There were a lot of differences in their class before being introduced and now. Everyone was more relaxed with each other. They all held a new found respect for eachother. Their teamwork as a whole had improved amazingly, in and out of combat. They even stopped yelling and talking over each other in class.

It was a positive change that everyone noticed and greatly appreciated.

All Might continued, “The changes have all been good ones. What makes you think this would be any different in your case?”

Midoriya only shrugged lamely, not having a valid explanation to offer.

“My point exactly young Midoriya, it is no difference. Just like with your classmates, this is meant to help you. Please let us help you, kid. This is the least we could do for you,” he pleaded, “the least that I could do for you. Your class has endured a lot through the year, you especially, and I feel like I am to blame partly. So could you just let me help you with this one thing?”

“You’re not the one to blame for anything, All Might!” Midoriya jumped to protest, not paying mind to anything else said, “you couldn’t have possibly known that anything was ever going to happen to us at all.”

All Might gave a sad smile, “Yes, well, it doesn’t make me feel any less guilty as a teacher. But letting me help you with this would probably ease my guilt, if only a bit.”

It was a dirty trick, All Might knew that, but he still did it. He knew Midoriya would do nearly anything to help him and if he had to twist the situation to where he himself needed the help, rather than Midoriya, then so be it. It could be the only way that the kid actually takes things seriously.

“I-I guess if it would help you out…” Midoriya replied hesitantly, “then I guess that’s okay.”

Got ‘em!

“Excellent, young Midoriya!” All Might exclaimed, all traces of gloom suddenly gone, “I’m glad you’re willing to help a silly old man like myself!”

Izuku gave a soft chuckle at that, “You’re not an old man All Might.”
“Oh, so am I just a silly one then?”

“Mmm,” Midoriya feigned a look of contemplation, deciding to humor the man, “Maybe just a little bit silly?”

“You really think so!?” All Might feigned disbelief, keeping up the theatrics, “I can’t believe this, what a shocking development. Whatever will I do now, young Midoriya?”

“Nothing! There’s nothing wrong with being silly sometimes,” the teen comforted, “everyone’s at least a little bit silly, even if they say they aren’t. Like Kacchan!”

“Ah, young Bakugou, he had a message for me to relay,” All Might said, suddenly remembering, “He’ll be waiting for you. He’s on your side, young Midoriya, but I’m sure you already knew that kid.”

Midoriya knew that for a fact, even despite this fight they had been having, but hearing it said out loud made him tear up and he sighed in exasperation.

“Ugh, why do you have to be such a cry baby Izuku,” he whispered to himself, frustrated. He doesn’t know why the tears never end with him.

“Nothing wrong with that my boy! Even I cry a little more than the average joe,” All Might admitted.

“Yeah, but it’s just so annoying!” he scrubbed at his eyes rapidly, “Who would ever want to be around someone who’s crying all the time.”

“I would. And I’m sure classmates would too. Not because we enjoy seeing you cry, but because we enjoy being able to comfort you and be there for you whenever you need us too. Especially us caregivers. We thrive off of being able to do things like that.”

I guess that’s true, Midoriya thought, reasoning with himself, doesn’t make me any less embarrassed about it though.

He huffed and his teary expression changed to a pout.

All Might chuckled because of it.

“Two questions for you, my boy. Though Bakugou told us that 1 to 8 is not you’re true headspace, he didn’t specify what it actually was, do you mind sharing?”

Though it was posed as an optional question, Midoriya knew he didn’t actually have a choice in answer, so he mumbled, “about 1 to 5. Usually on the younger side though…,” he trailed off.

“Wonderful!” All Might exclaimed, “such a cute age range! Two, I know today has been a little bit stressful on you, as have the last few weeks, so I was wondering if you’d want to regress today? No pressure at all though and it doesn’t have to be with me, but I can’t lie and say I’m not excited to one day see baby Midoriya!”

The enthusiastic tone threw Midoriya off. All Might just seemed so excited at the prospect of Midoriya being a young little and that wasn’t something he expected at all.

He contemplated his answer for a hot minute. In all honesty, he just wanted to go find Bakugou and make sure everything was actually okay between them. But at the same time, All Might was right, the past few weeks have been stressful.

It wouldn’t hurt, would it?

It wasn’t typical for Izuku to give in to this so easily, but the stress had truly been piling. And though he still had his doubts about being a younger little, All Might’s words still held weight with him. He trusted the man with his life and if he said it was okay…then who was he to question that?

As he continued to think on it, he realized that he’s never been that little around anyone else but Bakugou…the thought suddenly had him ten times as anxious. He was wary about his headspace as it was, but having to share it with a completely different person was another thing entirely.

He was about to politely decline the offer when another realization hit him. Midoriya thought about the weekly age play sessions. And how now that his true headspace was revealed, he’d have to regress accordingly in front of many, many more people than just All Might. The idea was much more nerve wracking than this.

So maybe this could be a little warm up for this Sunday?

Though All Might was just one person, in contrast to his class of 20, adjusting to new people was always the same.

His head shake turned into a nod and he finally replied, “I-i think I’ll take you up on that, sir. I dunno how little I’ll get, I get nervous just thinking about it, but I’ll try my best.”

“Don’t worry about that, my boy,” All Might assured, “I’d love to spend time with little you, no matter how little you end up being.”
Midoriya blushed and gave a soft smile at that, appreciating the words. He kicked at the ground awkwardly and spoke again, “...so, how do we even get started with this?”

Usually, when Midoriya was little, it was because his headspace was already creeping him. It wasn’t something that ever needed to be coaxed out of him, until now. He didn’t really know where to begin.

“Well, first, where would you like to be for this? We could go back to your dorm or you’re welcome to my dorm room and we can start from there,” All Might replied. The man knew a trick or two about getting a little into their headspace, but he needed to know a few things first.

Izuku got a little excited at the idea of seeing the dorm his mentor lived him, but he thought against it, wanting to be somewhere familiar and safe to regress.

“My room,” he answered quickly.

“Excellent!” All Might boomed and gathered their belongings, slinging Midoriya’s backpack over his shoulder.

Izuku immediately made a move to grab it, but All Might just moved in the opposite direction.

“I can carry my own bag, All Might!” he said, a slight whine in his voice.

“I know you can, but let me. Regression is about forgetting all your worries, including carrying this heavy backpack of yours,” the hero replied firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Another pout made its way on his face. He knew this was the purpose of the action, but he felt like a kid who was too lazy to carry his bag and made his parent do it instead.

That was only the very beginning of what made him slowly sink into his headspace, like when All Might had requested that Midoriya hold his hand during the walk to his dorm. Or when he stopped to grab a few little items from the storage closet without revealing to Izuku what he got. Or when he put on a cartoon for the boy to watch while he got everything situated.

What Izuku didn’t know was that back when he was so deep in contemplation, All Might sent a text to Aizawa, requesting the information the teen had given on the interest survey, to see exactly what little Izuku would be interested in.

The reply back made him feel all giddy inside, excited at seeing his successor’s preferences. It was an admittedly selfish feeling, but the man couldn’t help himself. As much as he wanted to indulge Midoriya, he also wanted to indulge himself.

Toshinori longed for the moment he’d be able to take care of Midoriya. He had always felt a strong paternal instinct when it came to the boy, and that was long before age play was ever introduced to his class. The feeling had remained with him ever since meeting the boy, really, despite starting off on the wrong foot.

There was just such a unique, childlike innocence that the boy had about him that All Might wanted to protect and cherish, no matter the cost. It seemed that someone had alright tarnished that if Midoriya’s feelings towards age play were anything to go by. But he promised he wouldn’t let anything else ruin it for him.

He wanted to help the boy make new and more positive memories to associate with regression and he was glad that Midoriya took the leap of faith today and decided to regress with him as his caretaker.

When they arrived to Midoriya’s room, All Might felt a warm chuckle reverberate through his chest at the decor. He knew the boy admired him greatly, but not this much. He knew if he pointed it out, the boy would be embarrassed of it, so he immediately pulled out his phone to give the boy a distraction while he got everything set up.

He got just about every item Midoriya had circled on the interest survey; diapers, a pacifier, a bottle, sensory toys, and much more.

“All right little one, are you ready to begin?” All Might asked in a gentle tone.

The boy was so wrapped up in the cartoon that he didn’t even hear the question, so All Might came to sit next to the boy on his bed and tried again.

“Young Midoriya,” he coaxed, “are you ready to regress baby?”

The proximity as well as the pet name brought Midoriya out of his stupor. He blushed and put the phone down, already feeling the edges of his headspace creeping in. All Might’s tone of voice only accelerated the process.

I’ve already gotten this far, might as well carry through.

He took a deep breath and gave a slow nod.

“Great! Now before we get into it, I’d like to ask you one last thing. Do you trust me, little one?”

Without a moment of hesitation, Izuku replied, “Of course I do!”

All Might chuckled at the keen reply and continued, “Then I trust that you won’t get too upset about what is about to happen. Everything I’ve brought with us today is based on the items mentioned in your interest survey and I hope that’s okay with you.”

Midoriya now gave his teacher a confused look at admission.

What was he planning that could make me upset?

It was then that his eyes wandered to the side of the room where All Might had been setting up the things he gathered. His eyes grew to the size of saucers when he realized what exactly it was that he was seeing.

It was quite the set up really, something akin to a changing table, just lowered to the ground. There was a variety of diapers with different patterns on them, baby powder, rash cream, and wipes set up around a foldable plastic mat.

I don’t even remember circling this on my survey?!?

Midoriya panicked internally. He remembered thinking about circling it, but he doesn’t remember marking it with his pencil. His arm really did have a mind of its own that day.

Externally, he was spluttering, completely embarrassed at what was being presented to him.

“I-i don’t need diapers!” Izuku squeaked, covering his face in an attempt to hide from what would undoubtedly end up happening.

He felt a hand rub his shoulder as his mentor spoke, “You might not need them baby boy, but it wouldn’t hurt to wear one, would it? Just to be extra safe, just for this old man’s sake?” he cajoled sweetly, “Plus, I hear that diapers are really comfortable to wear. Don’t you want to be all comfy, baby?”

Now that was something that Midoriya could agree on, diapers were extremely snug and cozy for him. And it was kind of true, that it wouldn’t hurt to wear one. That didn’t make it any less embarrassing for him though and he found it extremely difficult to verbalize his agreement.

Slowly, without realizing, his hand had been creeping up to his face, towards his mouth. It wasn’t until his fingers were pulled from his lips that he realized what he was doing. In an attempt to self soothe from the distressing thoughts, his body automatically moved for him.

He was berating himself internally for coming so close to doing something so babyish and was about to apologize for it, when he felt something rubber being pushed gently on his lip.
In an attempt to see what it was, he crossed his eyes adorably and looked down, but to no avail.

All Might’s heart warmed at the sight of his confusion and spoke, “Don’t worry baby, it's just a pacifier. It goes in your mouth, so you don’t have to suck on your fingers.”

Izuku was immediately on the defensive, moving away from the object.

Did I really circle this too!?

“Don’t need it! Not a baby!” He whined in protest, though he felt himself slipping more and more by the second.

“Okay, big boy,” All Might indulged, “you might not need it, but I’d like you to have it anyways okay? So that when you feel like you want to suck on your fingers, you have the paci instead. Then you’ll be able to use both hands freely!”

There were less opposing viewpoints in Izuku’s mind the smaller he felt, and so he was losing the battle. He still shook his head no, but then when All Might continued and said,

“Could you at least try it? Just for me? Pretty please?”

He folded. If it was for All Might, he’d do it. Not because he wanted it or anything, cause paci’s were for babies, but because All Might asked him nicely.

Izuku’s pout still lingered, but he finally parted his lips slightly, and allowed the rubber bulb to settle on his tongue.

He gave the object an experimental suck, forgetting how it felt to have one in his mouth. It had been too long, truly, because after only a few more suckles, he let out a content sigh and all his anxieties slowly leaked out of his body.

I forgot how great paci’s were!

All Might felt triumphant on the inside and the acceptance of the pacifier. It was such a big step for the boy, he could tell. In addition to easing the boy's tension, it also seemed like the pacifier had sent him a little further into headspace, if the childlike gleam in his eyes meant anything.

Now here comes the hardest part.

“Great job baby! I’m so proud of you for taking the paci!” he said enthusiastically, trying to oversell it, “Now can you do one more thing for this silly old man?”

The tone and statement prompted a curious look from the little, and he continued, “I need you to choose a diaper for me, can you do that?”

The way the question was posed didn’t seem to panic the boy as he seemed eager to be able to choose something. All Might chuckled and brought the boy off of the bed and to the temporary changing area.

There were the classic white diapers, along with cars, unicorn, teddy bear, and fishy themed ones.

The little looked at all of them thoughtfully, before pointing to the one with teddy bears all over it.

“Excellent choice my boy! Now could you lay down for me, little one? The quicker we get you changed, the quicker you’ll be able to have play time!” All Might tacked on the last statement in hopes to distract the boy from the task at hand, but it didn’t seem to work.

Tears sprung to Izuku’s eyes as the realization hit him. He hadn’t just been choosing a diaper for no reason, but for himself. He still had a bit of his big headspace he was clinging to and if it weren’t for that, he would’ve accepted the change much easier.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t today’s case and All Might was rushing to soothe the boy.

“Don’t worry baby boy, it’s alright,” he said in a lulling tone, “No need to cry, little one. I’m sure after getting this diaper on, you’ll feel brand new!”

Despite the words, tears slipped down Izuku’s face, and he sucked on the pacifier more furiously in an attempt to self-soothe.

All Might reached blindly on the kid’s bed until he felt the fur of the stuffed bunny Midoriya had taken a liking to on the first ‘little day’.

He handed it to the boy and immediately, he hugged it tightly to his chest, rubbing his cheek against the fur.

His only thought in that moment was

Soft.

“I promise, Izuku, this will be over really quick, I’ll be as fast as I can,” All Might reasoned, “Could you be a good boy for me and lay down?”

And finally, Izuku obliged without protest. The bear was a great distraction for him, but All Might addressing him by his first name is what finally got him to sink into his headspace fully, oddly enough. The hero noticed the change as soon as it happened and felt triumph once again.

He went straight to work with diapering the boy, finishing the task in less than three minutes and as soon as he finished, he picked the boy up and off of the mat and brought him back to his bed.

Izuku giggled at the feeling of being lifted up, it felt like such an exhilarating rush to his baby brain.

All Might cooed at the boy, heart warming at the giggle. It was absolutely adorable, sounding like music to his ears.

He made a move to grab a few of the toys he gathered for the boy when he realized Izuku had grabbed onto his shirt. He turned back to the boy, shooting him a curious look.

The little took the pacifier out of his mouth to say one thing,

“Cuddles?” he asked, in a soft, sweet tone.

Dear God, this boy will be the death of me! He’s so damn cuteeeee!

“Of course, my baby!” All Might replied without missing a beat, “Cuddles sound amazing right now!”

That was all Izuku needed to hear before he put the pacifier back in his mouth and leaped towards the man, bringing him down to the bed with him.

All Might chuckled at his haste and whispered kindly, “Easy there sweet boy, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. You’ve got me here for as long as your little heart desires.”

And so the two got comfortable on Izuku’s bed, snuggled up together and fitting like two puzzle pieces. They remained in the spot for a hot moment, content with just each other's presence.

It was something refreshing for the both of them and something that they wouldn’t mind getting used to.

The moment didn’t last too long though, not before a thought popped in Izuku’s head.

Want Kacchan!

Chapter Text

It wasn’t that All Might wasn’t enough for little Izuku, he most certainly was, but he missed his friend, especially when he felt so little like this. Bakugou had been his only caregiver up until now and the familiarity of the blonde was always comforting to Izuku, even when he wasn’t regressed.

He verbalized his longing to see his friend.

“Wan’ see Kacchan? Please?” he asked his mentor sweetly.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sat no to this kid!

“My polite boy! Of course we can see young Bakugou!”

All Might stood up and hoisted the boy onto his hip. He grabbed the boys stuffie and a toy before he headed to the blonde's dorm, thankfully, their rooms were very nearby each other and it wasn’t a long trip.

Izuku was excited to see his friend and was squirming in All Might’s arms, which had made it increasingly difficult for the man to have a firm hold on him. He leaned the boy forward so he could do the honors of knocking and the boy did so eagerly.

A groan was heard on the other side of the door, along with a string of unintelligible grumbles, but in a few seconds, Katsuki was at the door and as soon as it was opened, Izuku jumped out of All Might’s arms and straight on to his friend.

Bakugou was taken off guard and he let out a quiet “oof”, but his instincts let him catch Midoriya.

“Someone’s excited to see you,” All Might said, humor in his words.

“Kacchan!! Excited to see you!” Izuku repeated, not bothering to hide a single emotion now that he was fully in his headspace. The pacifier fell out of his mouth as soon as he spoke, but he didn’t even notice. All Might did though and picked up off of the ground, taking mental note to wash it off. The pacifier, along with the stuffie and toy, were quickly forgotten.

It had taken mere seconds for Bakugou to realize what was going on, that his childhood friend was in littlespace. In his real headspace. The realization warmed Katsuki’s heart, glad that his friend was finally able to relax enough to enjoy this. He was quick to reply,

“I can see that buddy! Has the old man been treating you well? Or do I gotta rough him up a little, teach him a lesson or two?” Katsuki said in a serious tone, though he was only joking.

His dramatics made Izuku giggle adorably, “No Kacchan! All Might good! No lesson for him!”

“Ah, good to know,” he replied, “but if he does ever end up messing with my baby brother, I’m not afraid to teach him a lesson, you got that?”

All Might smiled at their antics, silently observing them, but noticed a quick shift in the room at the last part.

Both Midoriya and Bakugou froze for a split second when they realized that Katsuki referred to Izuku as ‘baby brother’ because it only meant one thing; that Katsuki was feeling little.

It was such a rare occurrence for Bakugou and Midoriya to be in their headspace at the same time and it wasn’t because they didn’t want to be, it just never worked out well for them.

Whenever Izuku fell into littlespace, Katsuki automatically went into caregiver mode, always feeling protective of the boy.

Whenever Katsuki ended up in his littlespace, though Izuku wasn’t exactly a caregiver, he’d usually force himself to stay big to ensure his friend's safety.

Two littles together without any caregiver supervision was usually always a spell for disaster and the boys knew that from experience, so usually whenever it happened, it was pure accident.

Luckily, that wasn’t the case this time. I mean, yeah it was sort of an accident, but a happier one. Bakugou hadn’t been feeling very little at all before the two arrived to his door, but once his brain processed a little Izuku with one dad might, it was like a switch flipped inside of him.

The blonde was so accustomed to having to be the one that took care of his friend and himself, the one that had to be responsible. But seeing All Might there, it was like a weight was lifted off of his shoulder. He didn’t have to be the responsible one for once because there was someone else there to do the hard stuff for him. Someone that he trusted wholeheartedly

The feeling was so foreign to him but it was a true delight.

Now I can play with my baby brother! For the first time in forever! he thought excitedly.

He settled himself and Izuku on the bed and immediately spoke,

“Let’s play a game ‘Zuku! What should it be?”

Both boys held adorable expressions, seemingly deep in thought.

This has to be the best day ever! All Might was gushing internally after finally realizing what the significance of the term ‘baby brother’ was, I get to spend time with both little Midoriya and little Bakugou.

He wanted so badly to express his excitement externally, but he didn’t want to bother the littles. Play time was always such an important thing, All Might knew, and it wasn’t to be interrupted by a caregiver unless explicitly requested.

It was Izuku who suggested, “Play hero’s?”

And it had Katsuki nodded eagerly, “Good idea! Playing hero’s is the best!”

It was their go to game as children, the two having their slightly unhealthy obsession with the profession at a young age. It was something they also had played frequently when they first discovered age play because it was what they knew best. There were plenty of variations of the game too, whether it be using action figures to reenact a fight they had seen on tv, pretending to be the hero themselves, or making up their own heroes and villains to play as.

With their game decided, Katsuki immediately took charge in getting it set up, “Zuku, you’ll be the civilian that I’m gonna save okay! I’ll be the mighty hero dynamight! And All Might,” he turned to point to the man, ”you’ll be the villain!!”

Izuku gave a happy nod, glad to be assigned a role in the game no matter how boring it seemed.

Meanwhile, All Might was slightly shocked by the demand. The blonde sounded so passionate about it that he couldn’t reject the order, despite how contradictory it was, considering he had once been the world’s number one hero. He was just happy to be included in whatever they were doing.

“Sir yes sir!” He saluted the boy as seriously as he could.

Satisfied with the reply, Katsuki continued, creating a scenario for them to work with, “Okay Zuku, you’re gonna be the innocent civilian, just doing whatever you normally do, and All Might is gonna be the big bad meanie and I’ll save you from him, okay?”

Izuke gave another nod, now determined to play the part his big brother assigned him. He got off the bed and toddled over to Katsuki’s desk, getting into action mode.

Do what I norm’ly do?he contemplated for a second and then a lightbulb went off in his head,Gonna pretend to write in notebook!

He giggled at the thought of just pretending and gathered what he needed. He found a stray pen on the desk and a blank sheet of paper and began his scribbling like he usually did when filling his notebooks. Except this time, it truly was scribbles. A bunch of scribbles and the occasional doodle.

When Midoriya had initially made the move, Bakugou had hidden on the other side of the bed, settling into his role as well and waited for All Might to make his move.

All Might had to think quickly. He needed to do something deemed ‘villainous’ but nothing too harsh. He didn’t want to upset the boy, but there wasn’t much to work with, especially since he was lacking experience in the bad guy department.

The only petty crime he could think of was stealing and so that’s what he went with.

Plan in mind, he made his move. He crept up behind Izuku and abruptly snatched the pen out of his grip, cackling wildly.

Izuku startled at that and turned quickly to the culprit. All Might noticed the genuine surprise in the boys face and reassured him in a quiet tone, “Don’t worry little one, it’s all part of the game.”

The green haired boy's face lit back up at the reminder and he took it as his que to begin the theatrics.

“Help! Help! Someone! Mister bad guy steel my pen! Is my favorite pen in the world!” he declared, faking panic.

Izuku was giggling at his own performance, thinking I’m such a great pretender!

All Might resumed his role as villain and puffed out his chest proudly and declared, “I sure did! And I’d do it all over again. It’s such a pretty pen and I see why it's your favorite. But it's mine now! Ha Ha Ha! And no one is here to stop me!”

The older man cackled as Izuku continued to plead for help and it was then that Katsuki emerged from behind his bed.

He surprised the two with a change in wardrobe. It resembled his hero costume, but didn’t include the bulky gear, just some of the signature clothing plush a makeshift orange cape, constructed with a few shirts tied together.

He really got straight to work over there. All Might thought amused.

“Fear not citizen, for it is I, the legendary hero dynamight!” he declared bravely, “I’ll save you from this criminal!”

I can’t handle this! All Might thought, heart nearly exploding.

Katsuki's declaration bore close resemblance to All Might’s signature arrival speech that he used most often in his beginning hero days. It was such an endearing sight that the man almost forgot about his role in the game and the fact that they were even playing a game.

It was Izuku that broke him out of his reverie.

“Help me Mr. Dynamight! Big meanie stole my favorite pen!” the boy exclaimed, continuing to play his part perfectly.

“It’s my favorite pen now!” All Might replied evilly, making a move to ‘run’ away.

Katsuki marched right up to him, stopping the man right in his tracks.

“I don’t think so meanie! Give that boy his pen back now, old man, or else!” he threatened boldly.

“Or else what?” All Might shot back, skirting around the teen to attempt another escape and taunted, “You can’t catch me dynamight!”

“Oh yeah!” Katsuki replied, trying to sound threatening, “Watch me!” and with that, he jumped on the man’s back and wrestled for the pen.

Initially, All Might evaded the boy, knowing he needed to put up some sort of fight before giving in. He heard faint giggles from Bakugou’s desk and he internally felt triumph once again at being able to entice such a sweet sound from Izuku. while the boy was on his back, he kept shaking the pair and eventually that’s what All Might used as an excuse to give up.

He fell onto the bed as if he had been tackled and groaned loudly and as soon as he did, Katsuki snatched the pen back and jumped off his back, crying out in triumph. It was now his turn to taunt the man,

“I told you, meanie! You should’ve just given the pen back!”

He rushed to find a piece of clothing to tie All Might’s hands together as a substitute for handcuffs and as that was done he went to Izuku. The boy was now nearly crying from laughter at the whole scene, but tried to calm himself down when he saw his big brother approaching.
The laughter warmed Katsuki’s heart as well and he wanted nothing more than to coo at his baby brother’s adorableness, but he still had an important role to play for a bit longer.

“Here you are, my dear citizen,” he declared ceremoniously, handing Izuku the pen, “you’re beloved pen.”

Izuku jumped to the blonde, giving him the biggest hug he could, “Thank you kaach-I mean Mr. Dynamight!” he exclaimed, letting out a few more giggles at his slip up, “What would I do without you!”

Katsuki accepted the hug and gave a brotherly pat on Izuku’s, “You don’t have to worry about that, I’ll always be here to save the day! For I am the Mighty hero Dynamight!” he declared once more.

“Mighty hero!” Izuku parroted adorably.

He broke away from the hug and turned to look at All Might who had remained in his spot on the bed, looking thoroughly defeated.

Izuku turned back to his friend and finally broke character, “All Might okay?” he asked his brother, voice full of concern.

Katsuki laughed at that, Baby ‘Zuku is just as sweet as big Zuku.

“‘Course he is, Zuku, he’s All Might,” he reassured proudly.

He didn’t seem too convinced though and requested, “We go check on him, Kacchan?”

“Sure we can, Zu,” Katsuki indulged.

They walked over to the man, who continued the theatrics for just a moment longer than needed.

“Oh woe is me!” he fretted in a tone full of self pity, “I’ve been caught by the mighty hero dynamight! Whatever shall I do now?”

The littles both answered at the same time.

“The game is over now, old man,” Bakugou deadpanned.

“Is okay All Might! Game over now, no villain anymore!” Midoriya assured sweetly.

“Are you sure, young Izuku? These ‘handcuffs’ sure make me feel like one, they’re kind of tight,” All Might joked lightly, finishing the act, but Izuku took his statement seriously and hurried to untie the man’s hands.

All Might sat up and rubbed his wrists. Okay, maybe it was actually a little bit tight.

The greenette took notice of the action and in a worried tone asked, “hurts?”

The teacher was about to deny the speculation when the boy continued,

“Zuku kiss it better?” he offered kindly.

And that was something All Might couldn’t deny.

Free kisses from sweet baby Zuku? I’d be an idiot to pass that up!

“Oh my sweet boy,” he cooed, “Of course I’d love kisses from my baby!”

Izuku perked up at that, glad he could do something for the man. He climbed up on the bed, settling so close to the man that he was nearly in his lap. His little hands grabbed All Might’s larger ones. He pecked both hands quickly before pausing momentarily before changing course and landing a big wet kiss on All Might’s cheek.

All Might laughed heartily at the gesture and Izuku turned away, feeling slightly embarrassed, but the older man was quick to reassure him, “Thank you so much, baby boy, for the kisses! I feel a million times better already!”

The reassurance was all Izuku needed in order to brighten back up and he giggled in response, given an identical kiss on his other cheek.

It was then that Katsuki finally cut in, finally having enough of the scene in front of him, “Hey Zuku! What about me! Don’t you think dynamight deserves some kisses too?” a hint of jealousy crept into his town as he reminded, “I was the one who saved you and your pen, not him!”

Izuku didn’t have to think long before agreeing enthusiastically, pulling his friend towards him with a bit of force that had them landing on top of each other, giggling. The two squirmed around a bit as Izuku landed wet kisses all over Katsuki’s face. After a solid minute, they stopped and settled into a comfortable silence, still wrapped in each other's arms.

And for the second time that evening, All Might received the request of cuddles, but this time from young Katsuki, though it wasn’t really presented as a request, it was more like a demand.

“I can see you want to join, old man,” he announced brashly, “c’mon.”

And with those words the trio settled into the most comfortable, snuggly, and warm cuddle pile seen. There was another comfortable lapse of silence for who knows how long.

It was Bakugou who was first to break contact, sitting up on his bed. He was about to suggest another game when he looked over to Izuku. The boy was blinking tiredly at him while offering a weak smile.

With better judgment, he changed his mind and asked, “Wanna watch a cartoon, Zuzu?”

Izuku’s eyes lit up slightly and he gave a tired nod, still cuddled into his mentor’s side.

Katsuki nodded right back at him and went to grab his laptop. He got back up on the bed and logged on to the laptop. Instead of searching for a cartoon, he silently handed the device to All Might. He shot the man an expectant look and even though Katsuki didn’t ask anything, All Might knew what he was wanting.

The boy was entrusting him to select a child friendly series. So the man did just that, searching for a decent show.

While he was doing that, Katsuki settled back next to his young friend and began to pet his green hair in such a way that soothed both boys. He began a hushed conversation with the boy.

“Did you have fun today?” he asked.

He received a nod in response and a quiet, “Lots!”

“Glad you did, baby Zuku,” he replied kindly, “told you it wouldn’t be bad, didn’t I?”

Izuku nodded again, admitting, “Not bad. Big brother Kacchan was right.”

Katsuki flashed a proud smile at that, “Of course I was, I’m always right!”

A small giggle came from the younger boy as he just nodded along to most of what the older said, his true judgment clouded by the sleepiness creeping in.

They continued to lighthearted chat for a few more seconds before All Might finally found a show called ‘Oswald’ that starred a big blue octopus. He looked like a kind character and the show didn’t seem too stimulating and so it was an easy choice.

All Might reached over both boys and settled the laptop in front of them on the last bit of empty space on the bed and pressed play.

Their conversation ended abruptly as soon as the episode started. The pair seemed totally enraptured with the content displayed to them, but still, it wasn’t long before their eyes were slipping closed and they were off into dreamland. In fact, they didn’t even get through the entire episode before they were out.

All Might smiled at the endearing sight and sighed, knowing his fun day had come to an end. He layed cuddled up to Izuku for a few more minutes before deciding it was his turn to go to head to bed.

He slowly shimmied off the bed, so as to not wake the younger little, and grabbed Katsuki’s laptop. He closed it and placed it on his desk. He then tiptoed to the door as quietly as he could and when he heard a little voice whisper blearily,

“Goodnight kiss, All Might?”

He turned back to the pair and finally realized young Katsuki had awoken at some point.

All Might flashed a warm smile at the boy and replied in a hushed tone, “Of course, my boy, how could I forget?”

And he went back over to the littles and kissed them both on the forehead lightly, “Sweet dreams, my sweet boys.”

That was all Katsuki needed to settle back into sleep, soft snores coming out of his mouth.

All Might gave one last fond look at the boys before retreating to his own room in the teacher dorms.

There was one thought that kept running through his mind while walking there,

Today was a huge success!

Chapter Text

And as time progressed, there were many other successes in Izuku’s life like that day. The more he regressed, the more he was able to wash away his negative feelings he associated with the coping mechanism.

That success led to the others, his stress being chipped at little by little with each age play session. He was performing much better academically as he was combatively. He was able to endure longer training sessions and barely broke a sweat during them.

There were of course ups and downs along the way, but there was no problem that couldn’t be solved without the help of his classmates.

Specifically though, the biggest bump in the road to date occurred on a random Wednesday. The day progressed as any Wednesday normally would, but during class with All Might that day, they had engaged in a special combat training, where students were strategically pitted against each other based on their quirks, strengths, and weaknesses.

Midoriya’s hero notebooks were what inspired the idea and after requesting intel from the boy, All Might gained plenty of knowledge that aided his lesson plans greatly.

Todoroki was put up against Kirishima, his hardening being able to withstand high heat and sharp ice.

Uraruka was up against Ojiro, both of their quirks allowing high mobility

Mineta against Tokoyami, one with a quirk that will keep you stuck in one spot while the other

Shoji against Hagakure, his enhanced sensing tentacles allow him to scout out the girl despite her invisibility.

Midoriya against Ida, their high speed quirks making most of the battle a frustrating game of tag.

Yaoyorozu against Bakugou, the girl constantly conjuring something to counteract his typical brazen attack style.

Mina against Kaminari, both teens having limited usage of their quirks before they were rendered defenseless.

Sero against Asui, the frog like girl used to being able to quickly evade opponents with a few hops but being challenged by his quicker than average response time with shooting tape just about everywhere.
Aoyama against Sato, both boys with wildly different strengths but similar stamina and low range limitations.

Jiro against Koda, her sonic power hindering his ability to call out to animals.

The mini-battles took off without a hitch, on a large and intricate training ground that allowed for each fight to be happening simultaneously.

All Might walked around the building, surveying fights as he passed them and as he analyzed each one, he realized that every single match was a well made one.

The students are doing great! he thought proudly.

But of course, they didn’t share that sentiment with their teacher. It didn’t take long for the students to figure out why they were paired the way that they were. It was clearly to have specific weaknesses be exploited or strengths highlighted.

It was a frustrating lesson for the students because no matter how much power they put behind their respective attacks, their opponents could almost always counter it with one of their own. It forced every single student to think outside of their typical strategies and create new ones on the spot.

It was an extremely tiring experience for the students and they wished for it to be over sooner rather than later, but All Might let it go on for quite a while. He wasn’t looking for any specific winner or loser in each dual, what he really wanted was for his students to absorb the value of the day’s exercise.

Class 1a, whether they were realizing it or not, were exercising skills that would be vital in their future work as heroes. You could never predict what kind of villain or issue you’d deal with on a daily basis and so it was best to be prepared for having to stray away from your typical fighting style and formulate solutions on demand.

After a while though, All Might could tell his students were thoroughly worn, each dual slowing down to something more sluggish. He could even see his protege was feeling the exhaustion creeping in.

Though Midoriya had recently discovered the power of blackwhip that should’ve easily caught Ida, it was still something he was working towards being familiar with, so it wasn’t of much help with today’s task. He had focused so much of his personal training on his newly awakened quirk, but it was no match for Ida’s increased stamina.

While Izuku had been making big improvements with his quirk, other students were doing the same with their own, Ida included. He could now use his speed boosts for longer periods of time, at quicker speeds, and with higher frequency.

Midoriya had been so wrapped up in his own improvement in the past few weeks that he hadn’t stopped to observe his classmates’ better abilities. It caught him off guard, but in the most pleasant way.

He was proud of his friend and how far they both have come with utilizing their quirks and after complimenting Ida in that regard, he raised his hands in surrender, putting the duel to an end.

“That was amazing Ida!” he said full of enthusiasm, “I’ve never seen you move so quickly before and for so long too!”

“Thank you Midoriya!” He accepted the compliment happily, “Over the past few weeks I’ve been collaborating with Hatsume and my brother to find ways to be able to improve my speed without compromising my stamina, and all the work finally paid off. I may not have actually beat you, but I did push you to concede and that to me is a win!”

Izuku laughed at that, loving that they had such a healthy rivalry, “You sure did man, it was great really. I haven’t felt so challenged like that in such a long time, it was really refreshing, so thanks for that.”

And he meant it. Though his quirk was a fickle one, it overpowered many of his classmates when it came to training exercises like this one and so the matches usually ended in less than five minutes. It wasn’t much of a triumph to win in such a way when there was always a wide power imbalance between him and his opponents.

It was just always such an easy win for him and the lack of challenge didn’t help him grow like the exercises were intended to, so this match was truly a breath of fresh air for him and it pushed him for the first time in a while. The feeling of facing difficult obstacles was a true thrill for the boy.

They hadn’t been the only pair to finish their fighting. They had decided to walk around the training ground to observe other student’s fighting and that's how they found Mina and Denki on the ground on one side of the arena, looking thoroughly pooped.

They chuckled at the sight and left the pair to recover from their battle and continued on their trek.

They stopped when they approached Uraraka and Ojiro. The two were all over the place, though they seemed thoroughly fatigued. Despite that, the boys could see Urakaka giving it her all and they cheered her on from a distance.

The cheers seemed to have reached her after a minute because she perked up suddenly and abruptly pinned Ojiro to the ground, by his tail.

It was like the encouragement from her friends gave her a temporary power up and it was all she had needed to end the fight.

Ida and Midoriya cheered louder at that and congratulated her quickly, before continuing on their walk.

They reached Todoroki and Kirishima and surveyed the surrounding area, surprised at the amount of damage done. There were mini fires scattered around in the area, along with broken chunks of ice. It wasn't a rare sight to see, but the sheer amount was. It wasn’t like Todoroki to use so much of his quirk when in a casual training exercise, so it only meant one thing.

Kirishima was putting up one hell of a fight!

And soon the boys were observing it, both redheads coming into view. They could see the pair were thoroughly battered and bruised, but they were still going strong.

Kirishima and Todoroki were so wrapped up in their own little world that they hadn’t even noticed others approaching to observe the battle, but nearly half the class was settled beside Ida and Midoriya now.

The fight had captured everyone’s attention because they never thought it would’ve been strung out like this. Sure, Kirishima was a formidable opponent, but Todoroki was almost always heaps stronger than all his opponents, just like Midoriya was.

No one had ever considered the fact that Kirishima’s hardening would be able to understand extreme temperatures.

Each move and counter move had the class on the tip of their toes in anticipation, not even rooting for a particular classmate. They just wanted to see who would go down first. But that’s not how the fight ended at all.

In a last ditch effort to deter his opponent, Kirishima lifted a ginormous rock and threw it up in the air. As it came down, he punched it with his hardened fist, sending bits and pieces of the rock in all directions, but mostly Todoroki’s.

Unfortunately, a few of the pieces ended up hitting the spectators of the match. They winced at the sharp feeling of the projectile, but only rubbed at the spots where they were hit since it didn’t get any of them too hard. Most students retreated to the locker rooms after that, not appreciating collateral damage just for observing.

This wasn’t the case for Midoriya, though. A little piece of rubble was something he never imagined would take him out, but it did for some reason.

A golf ball sized piece of rock hit him right in the eye. Izuku didn’t know if it was because of where it hit or if it truly hurt him, but the strike brought immediate tears to his eyes.

Why am I crying? he thought, upset with himself, it's just a teeny tiny rock!

He was scolding himself internally for it, feeling weak for his reaction. He was comparing himself to the people around and noticed no one else had reacted similarly and that made him feel worse.

He scrubbed at his eyes furiously, trying to will the tears away and after enough internal berating, it worked.

Until a few moments later, when he somehow caught himself smack dab in the middle of the battle. Izuku had been so preoccupied with stopping his tears that he didn’t realize the boys were approaching. Kirishima and Todoroki were also still too wrapped up in the battle to realize how dangerously close Midoriya was to the fight.

Midoriya froze in a panic and frantically looked around him. The remaining spectators of the fight were cut down to Ida, Asui, and Uraraka, but they had obviously been more aware of their surroundings and jumped away just in time to miss one of Todoroki’s bone-chilling ice attacks.

“Deku, watch out!” Uraraka and Asui shouted in unison

Unfortunately, Izuku had no such luck and reacted a split second too late as did the others in the area, including Todoroki. He had let out a huge spray of ice, the move intended to end the battle once and for all, but as soon as he activated his quirk, he finally saw his friend in the middle of his and Kirishima’s battle, and his eyes widened.

When did Midoriya get there!?! He panicked, but it was too late for him now, his quirk was working too fast for him to divert the attack to a different direction.

In a split second, Izuku was frozen by the ice, midjump. The look of panic in his face was frozen as well the students in the area.
They were thoroughly stunned by what had just taken place, but it was Ida who moved first.

“Quick you guys! Let’s get him out of there!” he directed and everyone else rushed to the poor boy, who had to be near hypothermic by now, even though only a few seconds had passed.

Todoroki’s ice power and cold temperatures were extremely potent.

Asui and Uraraka weren’t of much help given the circumstances, but the three boys were working hard to undo the damage Todoroki had done.

Kirishima was using a hardened arm and leg to chip away at the ice, Ida was using raw manpower to punch the ice, despite the pain that radiated because of it, and Todoroki was using his fire to thaw away the ice.

In no time, Izuku was freed from the ice, but the damage had already been done.

As soon as he was freed from it, he collapsed to the floor and did the first thing his body allowed him too.

He wailed, tears pouring out of his face at a pace never before seen by his friends. He was so caught off guard by the ice attack, adding to that the emotion he had just experienced from the rock in his eye, that his brain just launched him straight into little space.

It was an absolutely gut-wrenching sound and everyone was rushing to comfort the boy. Kirishima quickly scooped the boy up and tried bouncing the boy in soothing motion, but to no avail. The cries continued and he was at a complete loss, so the girls began to console him.

“It’s okay Deku, you’re safe now!” Ochako reassured, and Asui nodded in agreement, “Yeah Midoriya, no more cold ice, buddy!”

It did nothing for the boy, so Ida stepped in and took the boy out of Kirishima’s arms, pacing back and forth while also trying to console him, “It’s alright now Midoriya, no need to cry little one, I know it was a little cold but it’ll be okay now.”

The entire time Izuku was sobbing, Todoroki stayed frozen in place, with an overwhelming feeling of guilt taking over his body. He hadn’t meant for this to happen at all! He would never hurt his friend like that intentionally.

I need to fix this! he thought.

He felt tears pooling his own eyes, but he willed them away. He was intent on fixing the mess he made. He forced his legs to move and he approached Ida and Izuku.

The wails were much louder in his ears now that he was so close and he wanted to cover his ears with his hands, but he needed them for this.

Shoto slowly kindled a flame in his left hand and brought it close to the pair.

“M-Midoriya?” he stuttered out, strong emotion present in his tone, “I-I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to do that. Can I use my fire to warm you up?”

He didn’t receive a response from the boy, but Ida nodded his consent to the idea.

It made Ida extremely sweaty, but he endured for his friends sake.

Thankfully, the heat was working to calm the boy down. He was still crying loudly, but no longer inconsolable. He had his head burrowed deep into Ida’s shoulder as he shivered.

The other three students had been on standby at that point, just praying to the God’s that Todoroki’s idea would work and they sighed in relief when they saw that it was.

It was then that they approached and Kirishima held his arms out to take Izuku again, noticing that Ida was reaching a limit with the extreme heat Todoroki was emitting.

The hand off was quick, though it elicited whines from Izuku, having just got comfortable with Ida. He adjusted well enough with Kirishima though, and leaned his ear onto the red heads chest, listening to his heartbeat. The rhythmic thumping noise soothed Izuku more and his crying had been reduced to sniffles.

The caregivers in the room gave relieved smiles at that, glad that the boy finally stopped his crying. If he had gone on for any longer, he would’ve made himself sick.

Todoroki though, he still held a look of determination on his face, never losing his concentration with the small flame in his hand.

The caregivers shot the other little a worried look at him, noticing the tears that had now made their way down his face. They were silent ones, not noticeable if you weren’t facing the boy.

Ochako was about to approach the boy and ask if he was alright, when Kirishima stopped her.

“Hey Urakaka, could you go and get All Might for me?” he requested, realizing this would be a lot easier with an actual adult with them.
She nodded firmly and Asui offered to accompany her so they could explain the situation together, and so they set off to find their teacher.

Ida stood dumbly for a moment, not knowing what to do with himself. He’d go back over to Izuku to check on him if it weren’t for Todoroki’s fire. He was still burning up from it.

Kirishima noticed the conflict on his classmates face and smiled kindly to him, “Don’t worry about us man, go take a cold shower(A/N: never do that, you’d probably have a stroke from such contrasting temperatures), I’m sure you’re sweating literal buckets right now. You were a huge help dude, I appreciate it,” he reassured, “But I think I can handle these two for now, especially since Asui and Uraraka went to get All Might.”

Ida hesitated before nodding. He didn’t want to leave Kirishima alone with two littles, one already in headspace and the other seeming like he was about to be, but he heeded the redhead’s words.

All Might should be here soon enough, so he should be okay. he reminded himself and with that thought, he set off to the locker room, leaving Kirishima, Todoroki, and Midoriya.

After a few minutes of waiting, Kirishima decided to bring himself down to a seat on the ground. He brought Midoriya down with him, plopping the boy in his lap and Todoroki followed the motion, settling right next to them.

A few more minutes passed and the boy began to worry slightly at how long it had been since he sent Asui and Uraraka out to find their teacher.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a mumble from the still sniffling Izuku. He looked down at the boy and realized his thumb had crept into his mouth. He smiled at the boy, not admonishing him for the action.

“What was that Midobro? I didn’t quite hear you, little guy,” he questioned quietly.

The little huffed in response and repeated himself, a little louder, but still sounded a bit muffled, “Hot!”

Guess he’s finally warmed up now.

The thought had relieved Kirishima once more and he turned to Todoroki, who hadn’t seemed to hear the boy.

“You hear that Todoroki? You did a wonderful job helping Midoriya stay warm, buddy. You can get rid of the fire now, okay?” he assured kindly, but again, the boy didn’t seem to hear him at all.

Kirishima now had his attention focused on Shoto, concerned. The boy had a guilt-ridden expression on his face, but the determination still shone in his eyes, despite the tears that were there.

The redhead put a hand on the boy's shoulder and shook him lightly, finally gathering his attention. He was about to repeat himself when Todoroki spoke instead, but not to him

“I’m sorry Midoriya! I didn’t mean to do it, it was an accident! Please forgive me” he was crying in earnest now and Kirishima sighed, realizing he now had two little boys on his hands.

“It’s alright Todoroki, I’m sure Midoriya understands that. Right Midobro?” Kirishima asked, looking down to the little that was still cuddled into his chest.

The boy only continued sucking on his thumb, not offering any sort of response.

The lack of response only made Shoto cry harder.

“Kirishima, I didn’t mean it, I swear, you hafta believe me!” he pleaded, desperation seeping into his tone.

“Woah there buddy, no need to work yourself up so hard. I know it was an accident, you’d never do something like this on purpose. You’re too sweet of a friend to do something like that, I know it for a fact,” Kirishima reassured the boy in a warm tone, wrapping his arm around the boy and pulling him close. He continued,

“I’m sure Midoriya is just a bit overwhelmed right now and that’s why he didn’t say anything okay? I’m sure he’ll forgive you as soon as all of the emotions die down.”

It was all the comfort Kirishima could offer for the moment as they still awaited his classmate's return with his teacher.

They sat in silence, sniffles now coming from Todoroki and quiet sucking noises from Izuku’s mouth.

Finally, Asui and Uraraka returned to the trio, but with grim looks on their faces and no teacher with them.

Kirishima shot them a confused look when the approached, and Uraraka explained,
“Yeah, so…All Might kinda sorta left?” she said lamely.

“It appears that Mineta had bled excessively during his fight with Tokoyami, so he escorted him to the infirmary just before all of this went down,” Asui added.

“Sorry we couldn’t get him for you,” Uraraka apologized.

What are the odds of that? Kirishima thought, frustration coursing through him now.

He thought quickly of what to do next and decided the best thing would be to get himself and the littles cleaned up.

He stood up, hoisting Izuku up onto his hip with one arm and using his other to hold Shoto’s hand.

Kirishima finally replied, “It’s alright Uraraka, you couldn’t have known he wouldn’t be here. It's fine though, I think I’m gonna get these two all cleaned up. I’m sure I’ll catch Ida in the locker rooms to help me out, so feel free to get yourselves cleaned up too. I appreciate it guys! If you happen to see All Might on your way, let him know what happened. Or any teacher, for that matter.”

The girls nodded and turned back, heading over to their locker room while Kirishima turned to the boys locker room.

There was a stench that hit him as he was walking and it smelled distinctly of urine. Midoriya’s entire body was wet from the thawed ice so he couldn’t be certain, but Kirishima had an idea where the smell came from.

The littles didn’t seem phased by it though, so he just continued on, picking up the pace.

He sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day once he arrived at the locker room.

All his other male classmates were there, sans Mineta, and as soon as they noticed his presence they gawked a little.

Since they hadn’t stayed to observe the fight, they had no idea what happened in such a short period of time, but they could clearly see that two of their classmates were in headspace and that it was due to something distressing.

Once their initial shock wore off, they made a move to help the redheaded caregiver and in that moment, Kirishima was so grateful for his classmates.

Thank God they’re here.

Chapter Text

Of course, nothing could ever be so simple for Class 1A.

It was an entire production, getting the two littles cleaned up.

As soon as Bakugou spotted little Izuku, he shoved passed all his classmates, disregarding the fact that he was half naked.

“Hand him over shitty hair, I got it,” he barked, feeling a strong sense of possessiveness over the boy.

Katsuki could see the dried tear tracks on Izuku’s freckled cheeks and he also noticed the stench coming from the boy. He grimaced for a moment, before going straight into caregiver mode.

“Hey nerd,” he greeted, softening his voice, “Let’s get you all freshened up, ‘kay?”

Izuku just gave a tired nod as he clung to his friend.

Bakugou settled on a nearby bench with the boy, tuning everyone else out. The only person he cared about right now was Izuku.

Because of that, he didn’t realize his actions caused more tears to stream down Shoto’s face.

After Kirishima handed Izuku over to Bakugou, Ida took charge of Todoroki so that Kirishima could get himself cleaned up as well.

The separation from his dear friend saddened Shoto deeply and was the cause for his tears. He voiced as much in a high pitched whine,

“Nooo, wanna stay with Izuku! Please, gotta make sure he’s okay!” he cried out.

“But Todoroki, don’t you want to get changed first?” Ida questioned, “I’m sure you’ll feel much better after, and you can check on Midoriya right after.”

“No!” Shoto whined louder this time and stomped his feet childishly, “Wanna stay with Zuku!!”

Ida looked to the other caregivers in the locker room for help on the matter. Most of them shrugged though, at a loss for what to do. Tokoyami was already in the process of grabbing Todoroki’s bag while Sero grabbed Midoriya’s, under the impression that it would be a simple task.

No one said anything as Shoto continued to pout and stomp his feet.

It was after Bakugou had finally finished undressing himself and Midoriya that he noticed the pouting little and raised a brow at the boy.

“Wanna stay with Izuku,” he whispered, less whining this time.

“Tch, no need to cry about it icy-hot. No one’s keeping you from him. How ‘bout you join us for our bath?” He offered, “that way the both of you can get cleaned at the same time.”

Shoto’s frown was instantly turned upside at the suggestion and he was nodding eagerly. He rushed to take off his own clothes but was having trouble with it due to his shaky hands.

He whined again and the waterworks were about to start back up when Kirishima suddenly appeared in front of, now only in his boxers.

“Need help bro?” he asked kindly.

Todoroki nodded fervently at that, glad someone understood his whines.

Kirishima chuckled at that and got the boy properly sorted so he was left in his boxers as well. He grabbed his hand and led him over to the bath where Izuku and Katsuki were waiting for the gigantic tub to be filled

The littles were now facing each other and suddenly, Shoto felt shy and hid behind Kirishima.

The action caused Midoriya to giggle and both caregivers smiled at that.

As they were waiting for the tub to get filled, Katsuki fell very impatient and took it out on the other boys in the locker room and it was partially justified too, since they had just been gawking at the four for quite a while.

“Well?! Are you dumb extras just going to stare or help us out?” he barked, like the angry pomeranian he was.

The boys stopped staring and hopped to, Ida speaking first, “How can we help?”

“Four eyes, go use your quirk to get to the dorms and to the storage closet with all of the little toys. I’m sure you can find some bath toys in there,” Bakugou ordered.
“Sir, yes sir!” He saluted, taking off without a hitch.

“Bird brain, you go with him and grab changing supplies, diapers for Izuku,” he demanded while sparing a glance towards the other little, “and pull-ups for Todoroki. A pacifier too,”

Tokoyami obeyed without question.

“Now if the rest of you extras wanna join us, be my guest, but if not, go gawk at something else.” Bakugou finished with a deadpan.

There was a moment of silence, a different energy flowing through the room.

Kirishima was the first to speak, “Wow Bakubro, that was awesome! So manly, you taking charge like that! How are you so calm about this dude?”

“Tch, why wouldn’t I be? That was cake. Anytime my Zuku is involved, I’ll do anything to make sure he’s okay,” he replied nonchalantly.

Now if he had made that same statement, say, about three months ago, everyone would’ve stared at him with looks akin to that of a fish out of water. But like Izuku, Katsuki had grown in his own way too.

The weekly age play sessions forced him to be around his classmates in an environment that guaranteed everyone’s safety, his included and that caused him to open up to them. As time progressed, class 1A had begun ‘unlocking’ new emotions from the blonde. It was like collecting pokemon, really, because it was such a contrast to the constant anger.

One of the most frequently seen emotions that surprised the class the most was the affection that was usually only ever aimed towards little Izuku.

No one had ever imagined Bakugou being affection towards anyone, let alone the student who seemed to be his biggest rival.

But it was true. Katsuki’s soft spot for little Zuku had only grown over time, especially since they had both let go of nearly every negative idea they held towards age playing.

They were learning to enjoy it to the fullest and that just made Izuku even more adorable and Katsuki even more protective of him.

Everyone adored the relationship between the two when Izuku was little and Katsuki was his caregiver, but they adored little Izuku and little Katsuki even more.

Though the moments were still few and far between, the days where they were little together were incredibly amusing. Those were the days where the most giggles were heard from the entire class. Katsuki was honestly their little comedian when he was in his headspace, always incredibly dramatic.

After a minute more, the caregivers decided the bath was filled decently and sunk in, both littles in tow.

And with perfect timing, Ida arrived with a heap of bath toys in tow. Bath crayons, rubber duckies, a variety of plastic ocean creatures, including the big blue octopus Izuku had seen in the one cartoon not too long, and even a small magnetic fishing rod to reel the animals.

As soon as Shoto and Izuku spotted the toys, their eyes lit up and they both made grabby hands towards Ida.

Even Sero, Aoyama, Koda, and Kaminari showed a bit of interest in the items and finally decided to join the others in the big bath, taking up Bakugou on his offer.

The boys all choose a bath toy and settle near each other, splashing around happily. The caregivers gave each other knowing looks.

It wasn’t planned, but the entire male little population in class 1A had dropped down into their headspace.

The moment they were currently having was such a contrast to the mishap that had occurred not even thirty minutes ago and that change was welcomed eagerly.

All the caregivers made sure to take special care of the littles and their hygiene, making certain that each boy was squeaky clean before the bath water had inevitably dropped in temperature.

That was when it was declared bath time was over and a lot of groans and whines of protest were heard at that, but they were quickly reassured.

“Don’t worry guys, you’ll be able to play plenty once you’re all dressed and back in the dorms!” Kirishima said, full of enthusiasm.

“He’s right,” Ida agreed, “plus, the longer we stay in the cold water, the greater the likelihood of us developing colds. You guys wouldn’t like that very much, would you?”

“Uh uh,” all the littles said in unison.

“Being sick is yucky!” Aoyama exclaimed.
And the other littles nodded their agreement.

One by one, each boy paired with a caregiver and made their way out of the bath.

The caregivers had their towels wrapped around their waists as they dried the littles with softest, most fluffy white towels. The boys giggled at the feeling.

Somehow, Tokoyami had foreseen this moment where all of the boys would be regressed, and so when he had gone to retrieve the items Bakugou had requested, he got much more than a few diaper changing items and a pacifier.

No one knew how he managed it, but he brought back 14 matching pajama sets for them. The soft t-shirts and lounge pants were decorated with notorious pro-hero’s, All Might, Endeavor, Mirko, Hawks, Best Jeanist, Present Mic, even Erasehead made the cut, plus many more, but they were cartoonified.

While the littles were captivated by the cutesy design and excited at the fact that they’d all be matching, the caregivers took a minute to genuinely think of how it was possible and they all came to the same conclusion.

Momo

And their inference was proven correct when they arrived back to their dorms, all dressed and feeling refreshed. The girls were sporting the identical pajamas as well.

As soon as the regressed group of boys had noticed, they squealed in delight and ran over to the girls. They recounted their fun filled bath time and all of them listened with undivided attention.

None of the girls had regressed like the boys while they were freshening up, but they were well on their way now, headspaces always bouncing off of each other, sort of having a domino effect.

Once one student was little in the presence of their classmates, it was only a matter of time for others to follow suit.

Soon all the littles were settled in the middle of the room playing with each other in small groups. While that was happening, the caregivers split into their own groups. One group stayed with the littles to supervise their playtime, another was getting the area set up for dinner and an impromptu movie night, and the last group was in the kitchen whipping up a feast.

It was amazing that the class had come so far along with this. They worked seamlessly and without hesitation with these unexpected little moments and it was only possible after lots of experience of trial and error, like earlier that day.

Todoroki still had the earlier events on his mind though and while most of his classmates were being rowdy together, we sat alone with crafting supplies and construction paper. Kirishima was the caregiver that spotted him while he was gathering the surprise and noticed the glitter tucked in his arms. He rushed over to the boy, ready to dissuade him from the use of glitter. The cursed substance.

Why littles enjoyed something so evil, the world would never know, but it was dangerous to use without close supervision.

“Heyo Todobro, watcha got going on over here buddy?” Kirishima asked casually.

“Making something,” he replied quickly, setting down the items once he found a nice spot to work at.

Kirishima chuckled at that, “Well, what exactly is it that you’re making bud?”

“Card. For baby Zuku,” he said distractedly, focused on choosing the colors he wanted.

“Aww,” Kirishima cooed, “That’s so sweet baby! What for?”

“Saying sorry. For earlier,” her replied, the earlier guilt seeping back into his tone.

Kirishima sighed, knowing that Todoroki would be feeling that guilt until he visually saw that Izuku accepted the apology.

So instead of reassuring him about the forgiveness that was already guaranteed to him, Kirishima offered a helping hand to Shoto, which the boy gratefully accepted.

It took Shoto a lot of concentration to decorate the card, but after a lot of help from the redhead, he declared the card finished.

He admired his artwork, extremely proud of the end product. Big bubble letters saying ‘SORRY ZUKU’ covered the front of the card. The letters were outlined with the God-forsaken glitter. In the empty space surrounding the words, there were small doodles of all the things Todoroki knew that Midoriya liked.

All Might, bunnies, Katsudon, there was even a doodle of a fluffy haired angry blond person that resembled Bakugou.
On the backside of the construction was a small message that Todoroki requested Kirishima to write, knowing his own handwriting wouldn’t be steady enough to convey the message. It read;

Shoto is very sorry for today, baby Zuku. Didn’t mean it and won’t ever do it again. Please forgive me?

And included was an ending note signed by Todoroki himself that he had scribbled hastily:

LOVE U ZUKU! FROM SHO

Besides the celebrity worthy autograph was a smaller, neater drawing that was also rendered by Shoto himself.

It was two stick figures modeled after him and Izuku, hugging each other with big smiles on their faces and hearts surrounding them.

“The card looks amazing bud!” Kirishima complimented once the finished product was revealed to him, “I’m sure Izuku will love it!”

Shoto blushed profusely, not yet used to the praise that was constantly thrown around by his classmates, but nodded.

“Gonna go give it to him right now!” he announced determinedly and began his march over to Izuku, who was absentmindedly pushing a toy car back and forth with one hand and holding onto his stuffed bunny with the other, a pacifier lodged firmly in his mouth.

As soon as he spotted his friend though, the toy car was immediately forgotten and he squealed happily, squirming in place.

Suddenly, Shoto got shy when he was noticed by the boy. He quickly hid the card behind him and took a step back. He had never had to go through such a gesture with anyone before and he didn’t know how to initiate the conversation.

Luckily, Kirishima had followed behind him and noticed the hesitation. He gave him the little push that he needed.

“Go on bud, show him the wonderful card you made! He’s gonna be so happy once he sees the masterpiece you made just for him,” Kirishima encouraged quietly.

Todoroki took a few more steps and finally settled on the ground next to Izuku. He hadn’t even pulled the card from behind his back, but already the other little was smiling brightly at him and it also helped to reassure Shoto.
“Um, Zuku?” he began quietly, “I um.. I made something for you…to say sorry for what happened today.”

Izuku was now eyeing his friend curiously and Shoto took it as his cue to pull the card back out. It immediately caught the younger little’s eye with its glitter and multitude of color.

He wanted to reach out for it, but he wanted to make sure of something.

“For me?” he asked sweetly, though it was muffled by the pacifier still in his mouth.

“Mhm!” Shoto replied, regaining some of his nerve, “I made it super special just for you. I hope you like it. And I hope you can forgive me…”

Todoroki handed him the card and as soon as Midoriya had his hands on it, he admired it with the same proud glint in his eyes. He took in every last detail in the card, his favorite part of it being the last doodle on the back side

“Love it ‘Roki!” Izuku squealed, before recreating the drawing.

He threw his arms around Todoroki with such force that it had landed both boys on the ground and that caused them to giggle loudly together.

Finally, Shoto felt the guilt wash away from his conscience and it was invigorating, truthfully.

Kirishima smiled widely at the pair, cooing at them during the entire interaction.

SO. DAMN. ADORABLEEEEE!! he thought, willing himself to breathe. His heart surely would burst from all of this, one day.

He would never get enough of the moments like the one he just witnessed. It was probably one of the best things to come out of Principal Nezu’s idea.

The pair remained close together for the rest of the night, practically attached at the hip, which eventually led to both of them being attached to either side of Bakugou during dinner time and movie night, remaining in physical contact with each other via hand holding.

They had ended up drifting off to sleep in the middle of the movie, but even in their sleep while cuddled up snuggly on either side of the blonde, they continued to hold hands tightly.

Katsuki looked down at the two fondly and didn’t have the heart to separate them to send them to their rooms to sleep, so he decided he’d be sleeping on the couch with them.

By the time the end credits were rolling, the trio was in a deep sleep and had a large blanket draped over them.

What they didn’t find out until a few days after the moment occurred was that Mina ended up snapping the perfect picture of them. And the only reason they found out was because she ‘mistakenly’ sent it out in the class group chat.

Chapter Text

Unfortunately for Izuku, his sleep wasn’t as pleasant as his classmates. He woke in a cold sweat, beginning to panic before he eventually realized where he was. At UA, in the dorm common area, cuddled up with his closest friends.

He was struggling to remember what the dream was about, but after a moment he realized it had been a nightmare. The worst one in the longest time. As more details flooded back to his brain, he began to get himself worked up. Before he could wake up his classmates, he slipped away from the couch and rushed to the bathroom.

Midoriya splashed cold water on his face, willing his brain to rid itself of the awful imagery but it wasn’t working. He paced back and forth, desperately wanting to forget the dream, but the longer he paced, the more and more he thought about it and he nearly worked himself into a panic attack, as well as a panic attack about having a panic attack.

Midoriya didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to bother Bakugou, even though he’d probably know what to do. He’s dealt with Izuku’s nightmares before, but it had been so long since he last had one.

I’m sure Kacchan is finally able to sleep peacefully without me waking him from my nightmares, he thought sadly, I don’t want to ruin that for him.

At the same time though, he was no closer to calming himself down. In his nightmare, he had relived the most horrible moment of his entire life. He wanted nothing more than to forget it, push it away like he always had, but for once he was having second thoughts about that course of action.

He has learned so much in the past three months. He has grown so much. And part of that growth has taught him that sweeping things under the rug gets him absolutely nowhere. Of course, all old habits die hard, but more often than not, he’ll now seek help with challenges that arise. Izuku learned that having help is okay. That it doesn’t make him any less of a person to need it. Everyone needs help sometimes.

It was when he began hyperventilating that he knew he wouldn’t have a choice in whether or not to seek help. His lungs were on fire by the time he reached his destination. Midoriya’s feet had been moving before his brain even let him know its decision.

He was in the teacher dorms. The boy had to be running on pure instinct at this point, because he had never even stepped foot in the dorms. Sure, he’s seen it in passing but he’s never had a reason to go in. He’s not even sure if he was allowed to be there, but again, his body took charge and barged indoors.
Midoriya had no idea what he was planning to do once in there, but something in him knew that the teacher dorms were the place to be at this very moment.

He looked around wildly, his feet suddenly frozen. Thankfully though, his instincts paid off immensely because at that very moment, Aizawa appeared in front of him

The man had also experienced a fitful sleep, but for reasons unknown. He had only planned on getting a glass of water and heading back to bed, but it seems fate had something else in store for him. As soon as he heard the front doors open, he was curious, but when it slammed shut, he rushed over, immediately on the defensive.

An intruder? he thought momentarily, that wouldn’t make sense though, they wouldn’t have been able to get through the barrier.

As soon he realized it was Midoriya though, he sighed. Aizawa was getting ready to send the boy back to his own dorm when he noticed the state he was in. Hair and clothes disheveled, breathes coming much faster than normal.

It was then he had a short flashback to the classification examination and Midoriya’s panic attack. The boy was looking eerily similar to how he had been in that moment and the teacher sprung straight into action.

He guided the boy to the couch and began speaking sternly, but also kindly, “Midoriya, I need you to breathe for me, okay? In and out, in and out.”

Aizawa repeated the phrase, but when that didn’t work well enough, he went another route. He held out his pointer finger in front of the boy and spoke,

“Alright, kid, do you think you could do something for me? It may seem a little weird at first, but it should help.”

He was relieved when he received a nod. At the very least, Midoriya was coherent enough to hear and process what he was saying, so he continued explaining,

“Pretend my index finger is a candle, one of the annoying ones that never go out no matter how hard you blow,”

He received a wobbly smile at the comment.

“Could you blow it out for me? Just keep going until I say it's out, okay?”

Midoriya gave another nod and began to blow, though he started shakily and with a few coughs in between. But eventually it became less erratic, his breath coming out periodically. Aizawa had eventually told him the candle was blown out and he put his hand down, but Midoriya continued the breathing exercise, finding it calming.

That and the fact that his loud breathing filled the awkward air, a valid excuse to not talk. Yeah, he had gotten through the hard part, but what now? Give a lame excuse and run back to his dorm? Or talk about it with his teacher.

He thought long and hard about it. The more he regressed, the more he felt like he was healing from his trauma. But that wasn’t true at all. Sure he may have felt that way on the surface, but Izuku never dove deeper. He never spoke about it and everytime he was reminded of it, he pushed it away viciously.

If he never spoke about it, how did he ever expect to overcome it?

And that's when he decided it was time to tell Aizawa about what happened.

About everything.

Aizawa hadn’t made any move to speak as the boy continued to catch his breath.

If he wants to tell me, he will. If not, that's fine.

After a while, he thought Midoriya wasn’t going to say a word and he was preparing again to kick the boy out of the teacher dorm and back to his own, but finally he spoke.

“Um…M-Mr. Aizawa,” he spoke shakily, “I t-think I’m finally ready to t-tell you. About everything.”

He barely showed it, but Aizawa was a bit surprised. He hadn’t even known the reason Midoriya was there, though he could’ve made an educated guess that it had something to do with the subject matter that triggered his first panic attack with him and that was confirmed now.

Aizawa nodded, but also spoke, “Are you sure Midoriya? You don’t have to if you don’t feel like it, you can always tell me another time.”

Yeah, Aizawa wanted to know badly, but not this badly. He had hoped he would get the information at a better time and in a better circumstance. Of course that would never be his or Midoriya’s luck.

“No, I think I can,” Izuku replied, finding his voice, “I feel like if I don’t say it now, I never will.”

And he really did feel that way. He already decided it in his head and now he was set on it. So Midoriya spoke. And spoke. And spoke. Completely uninterrupted until he was done.

“So remember how I told you that I already knew what age play and regression was?” he didn’t pause for the reply, “Both Kacchan and I know all about it. I don’t remember when exactly I started regressing, but it was sometime in middle school. It took me a while to put a name to it. All I knew was that I was the only one in my classes that still liked doing things that I did as a kid. Play with my action figures, play hero, cuddle with stuffies.”

“At the time, I didn’t really pay any mind to it because it made me happy. Being quirkless for the first fourteen years of my life…it takes a toll on you. The amount of quirk discrimination going on in Japan is much worse than I realized.”

Midoriya thought about Melissa for a second and how she was also quirkless. But she wasn’t nearly as ashamed about it as Midoriya was.

“So I kept on with it because it made me feel a little better about all the bullying and harassment from my fellow students. Kacchan included. Though one day, he did end up finding me in the middle of it one day. I remember it like yesterday,”

It was a Friday night, an end to another horrible week at school. Izuku had rushed home as quickly as possible, wanting to make the most of his weekend alone.

His mother would be away for the weekend for some work conference and he was finally old enough to where he didn’t need constant supervision. So she didn’t find anyone for him to stay with or watch over him that weekend. Or so he thought.

At the time, he didn’t have many little items, but he made the most of what he did have. He immediately settled into his comfiest set of pajamas, which featured All Might, grabbed all of his favorite snacks and his biggest All Might plush and settled in the living room.

He was planning on watching a movie, but being outside of his room for the first time while being little sparked an idea in his head.

Imma build a fort!

And so he hopped to, grabbing every blanket, pillow, and chair he could find and he brought it to the couch. He was placing each item methodically and with lots of trial and error, it was coming together.

But because of the commotion of his side quest, he never heard the knock on the door, nor did he hear the door opening.
What Midoriya didn’t know was that even though his mother didn’t send someone to stay with him over the weekend, she did ask her close friend, Mitsuki Bakugou, to check up on her son at least once a day.

And that wouldn’t have been a problem for Midoriya, he loved his auntie. She was very funny and outspoken, and even though she was a bit aggressive with her affection, it still showed. But it wasn’t auntie Mitsuki who was checking, and it was at a rather inopportune moment that he was being checked on.

Bakugou barged in with no hesitation after not getting a response from the first knock. His old hag of a mother had sent him to check up on useless Deku because apparently his mom would be away.

I don’t understand why I have to be the one to check up on him. Aunt Inko didn’t ask me to, she asked my mom to.

Bakugou just huffed and rolled his eyes and called out, “Hey stupid Deku, you here? Your mom told my mom to check up on you while she’s away for work.”

His plan was to walk out as soon as a response was heard and he was expecting an immediate one. He didn’t even care if he physically saw Midoriya, all that mattered to him was that he heard the other boy and he would gladly take his leave after.

When he didn’t get a response though, he got annoyed. He then actually walked in, mumbling angrily under his breath.

“Who does this stupid useless nerd think he is, not answering me. And what was my old hag thinking making me check up on him. I could be doing way better things right now.”

Despite how much he didn’t want to do it, Bakugou wouldn’t dare disobey his mother. Her temper rivaled his and an easily avoidable screaming match wouldn’t be the best start to his weekend.

He was about to call out for his classmate again when he finally caught movement in the living room. He shuffled over to investigate and his confusion intensified. There was a mess of blankets, pillows, and chairs.

“Deku, what the hell are you doing!?” Bakugou shouted angrily, tugging the top blanket off of the pile. Finally, he found Midoriya, and he was going to continue on an angry tangent, but both boys froze.

When did Kacchan get here?!? Midoriya panicked internally, why would he even be here?

Bakugou, meanwhile, was thoroughly confused by the sight. Midoriya was wearing All Might pajamas, which wasn’t as unusual as it sounds, but at 5pm? Yeah, that’s a little strange. But what actually had questions running through his brain was the All Might plush tucked under Midoriya’s arm and the small circle of hero figures surrounding him.

For some reason, the sight made him irrationally irate and he finally found his words again,

“Shitty nerd, what the hell is that!? I knew you were a crybaby, but not an actual baby,” he sneered, “You still play with toys? Do you wear diapers too?”

The taunts immediately brought tears to Midoriya’s eyes and he struggled to speak,

“I-its not what it looks like Kacchan!!” he stuttered lamely, “I-uh…”

Izuku couldn’t think of an excuse quickly enough. I mean really, what kind of excuse would validate a teenager playing with figurines and plushies?

“Oh really? It’s not what it looks like?” Bakugou mocked, laughing cruelly, “so what exactly is it then, huh Deku?”

Izuku didn’t know what to say, so he decided to be honest, “It’s just relaxing sometimes…to poke around at my old things…”

“Poke around? This is much more than that loser. Do you realize how big of a baby you look like right now,” he bit out.

And that’s when Izuku had enough of the insults.

“Stop calling me that!” he whined, fully crying now, “It’s not hurting anyone is it? So leave me alone. If you’re not here for something, then get out!”

Bakugou’s eyes widened at that, taken aback. Midoriya had never gotten angry like that before, nor did he ever ‘talk back’. So for once in his life, he truly listened to the boy and what he had to say.

“I finally found something that makes me feel happy, makes me feel safe again. Because of people like you, I haven’t been able to feel that way in a long time. So if you’re here to ruin this last bit of hope I have, go ahead. Do it, “ Midoriya’s voice was now eerily calm, “but when you hear about me taking your suggestion, ‘a swan dive off the roof’ don’t be surprised. Just know it was you who caused it.”

For the first time in his life, Bakugou was forced to actually think about one of the horrible things he said. Everything he’s ever spoken, he’s never had a second thought about, that was just how he was. He was so overly confident in everything that he didn’t need to second guess things. But now that his exact words and the weight of them were being thrown back in his face, he was doubtful of himself.

Did I really tell him to kill himself? What kind of hero would I be? he thought to himself angrily, If people found out I told someone to take their own life, I’d be a villain.

So now, it was Bakugou who was stuttering out a lame reply, “W-wait I didn’t mean it like that…”

He really didn’t want Izuku to die. He never has. He doesn’t ever want that to happen. Deep down he still cares about him. But the feeling has been buried so deep that he doesn’t even recognize it anymore.

Midoriya gave a humorless chuckle, “Really? Then what exactly did you mean? There aren’t many other ways for that to be interpreted. If I had done it that day, what do you think would’ve happened? No one would’ve been there to save me. I don’t have a quirk to save myself…” he trailed off, now feeling bitter.

Bakugou didn’t have a witty response like usual, so he stayed silent.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Midoriya continued, “You’re not the only one doing this to me, but it definitely hurts the most coming from you. I don’t understand why, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I finally found something to help myself. And you won’t even let me do that in peace!” Izuku tugged at his hair frustratedly,

“I don’t understand! What do you want from me, Kacchan?!? You make every last second of my life miserable and when I find something to alleviate myself from that misery, you come here and try to ruin it too? When will it be enough for you?”

Bakugou again didn’t have anything to say. He was stunned into silence and for the first time, he felt ashamed of himself and his actions.

He always put people down, he knew that, because it made him feel better about himself. But he never gave much thought to how his words made others feel. And he never needed to. The people he bullied never had the nerve like this to yell back at him.

Midoriya was now sobbing, in earnest, “P-please K-kacchan! Just let me h-have this one th-thing!” he begged desperately, “y-you c-can do whatever-r you want to me, okay! J-just don’t t-take this f-from me!”

The begging struck a cord deep within Katsuki. He knew he wouldn’t be giving Izuku hell for this ever since he mentioned the ‘swan dive’ comment. But now he knew he definitely couldn’t. This was obviously the tipping point.

If Deku doesn’t have ‘this’, whatever ‘this’ is, who knows what’ll happen to him?

Of all the ways Bakugou could’ve replied, it was with a question, “So what the hell is ‘this’ that you’re doing anyways, nerd?”

Izuku’s cries came to a halt at the question. His eyes widened, absolutely bewildered. Despite his pleading, he still expected more insults. To receive a question about his coping mechanism instead threw him for a loop.

“W-what?” he stuttered out.

“You keep on sniveling about letting you have ‘this’. But I don’t even know what the hell ‘this’ is. So tell me.”

Does he really want to know?

“O-oh uh,” Midoriya sniffled and cleared his throat, “H-have you ever heard of this thing called age play?”

“Nope,” Bakugou replied blandly.

Izuku sighed and prepared himself for a lengthy explanation. If Bakugou asked about something, that meant that he truly wanted to understand it. And Midoriya didn’t want any detail forgotten because he also wanted the blonde to understand it and why it helps him, so he planned to relay every last detail he knew on the subject.

“So, basically…”

“And that day marked a huge change in our relationship. Of course, appearances were upkept, Bakugou kept on with his bullying and insults, but it was much less than before and most of the time he didn’t even mean it. It was more of a habit than anything. Initially, it was just that, him being easier on him.”

“That day he found me, he just accepted my explanation and let me be. But one day, out of nowhere, he demanded I ‘show’ him little Izuku. I was extremely hesitant at first, not understanding why he’d want to see such a thing, but I eventually gave in and let him be around me while I played. And to my surprise, that day ended with both of us playing together. I initially thought that he was a little, just like me, but after a few more times of us playing together, I realized that wasn’t exactly the case.”

“Sometimes he’d play, sometimes he’d observe, sometimes he’d just make commentary, but most of our interactions slipped into a dynamic where I was the child and he was an older, more responsible brother. That’s when I went back to my research and discovered what a caregiver was. I also discovered that before playing in Bakugou’s presence, I never truly regressed. I think I was doing something called age dreaming? I’m not sure, but ever since he stumbled upon me that day, play time was much better for me.”

“Everything was fine and dandy. I’d regress, not very often, but enough to keep on strong in school. It wasn’t until that stupid day.”

Midoriya paused for the first time in his story and felt a hand on his shoulder. Aizawa was looking at him with a neutral expression, but the action still held weight. Izuku flashed a weak smile in appreciation and continued.

“My father had shown up. He wasn’t a frequent figure in the house. I’d see him once a year if I was lucky. ”

That bit of information surprised Aizawa, he hadn’t heard an inkling of Midoriya’s father, not from the boy or his mother. It was always unclear what his role was in the family, but he had a feeling he was about to learn that and why he had rarely been mentioned before.

“I don’t know what he’d do when he was away, but I did know that when he came back, it was only ever because he wanted something from us. Usually money. And my poor mom, she was, still is, in love with him. Every time he came back, it sparked a flame of hope within her and so she thought if she kept giving him what he asked, he’d eventually stay one day. It never happened, but she still tried.”

Izuku truly felt bad for his mother. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through, mentally and emotionally. He knew what love could do to a person. He loves his mom and his classmates and all the people he has met on his journey to becoming a hero. He’d do just about anything for them and he’s sure his mother felt the same way for his father.

But it had to be much worse because of the type of man he was. And Inko truly felt horrible about it. About the fact that she was so hopelessly in love with such an awful man that gave her nothing in return. But she couldn’t help herself. Hisashi had been a much better man, say a decade ago, but everything changed the day the Midoriya family found out Izuku didn’t have a quirk. Despite everything that had happened to them from that moment up until this point, she still loved him.

“This time when he came back it was no different, he was still there with the same intention and he didn’t even bother hiding it. Unfortunately my mom wasn’t home when he barged in. It was just me. I remember I was in my room…regressed,”

Izuku paused again, starting the breathing exercise again shakily, but eventually continued, “He found me. On one of the rare days that I wasn’t regressed with Bakugou. I was alone. And at that point, I had gotten much more ‘little gear’. So when he walked in on me, the sight wasn’t as subtle as it was the day Bakugou found me.

“I had a pacifier in my mouth, a onesie, many more stuffies, and a sippy cup. He didn’t even say anything at first,” Midoriya shuddered, reliving the memory as he continued to explain it.

Hisashi was cackling like a madman and Izuku was frozen in place. He was surprised to see his father, but it took a moment for the reality of the situation to set in. That his father had seen him in this state. The realization immediately got him out of headspace and he began to hurriedly shove away the items even though they had already been seen.

“Wow. I came to see my wonderful, amazing, beautiful wife,” he drawled out condescendingly, “but here I stumbled upon my worthless excuse of a son. Doing what? Acting like a fucking baby. Are you kidding me?”

The angry in his tone was already brewing and he had only just started, “Is this real Izuku? Are my eyes deceiving me? What the fuck do you think you’re doing boy?”

Izuku was paralyzed with fear, not able to respond. It wasn’t the words that had him stuck even though they were the cruelest he’s heard spoken from Hisashi. It was the smoke coming from his mouth. Meaning his quirk was about to be activated, whether intentional or not.

“You already disgrace me, you little shit. Being quirkless. Carrying my last name only taints it. But now this? I always knew you were a fucking cry baby but this is too much. I will NOT let you ruin the Midoriya name more than you already have.”

And immediately following the sentence, fire was set ablaze in front of Izuku and tried to scramble away, but he only ended up cornering himself in his room.

Hisashi laughed cruelly, “Look at my defective son, not even having a quirk to defend himself. This is what you deserve, Izuku! Remember that! You will never, ever do something like this again.”
In that moment, Hisashi gathered every item Izuku had tried to hide away, and with a simple breath, it was all charred. Ashes. Hisashi surveyed the room wildly, looking for any other item resembling those he just burned, anything childish. He burned every last plush, figurine, bottle, pacifier, game, onesie, even t-shirts that had characters on them were burned.

“You perverted, worthless, disgusting, filthy boy. I’m going to teach you the most valuable lesson you’ll ever learn, you little shit.”

Izuku was crying now, barely able to get the story out. “H-he even b-burned t-the onesie I was wearing,” he sobbed, “right off of me!”

Aizawa was horrified at the gruesome details he heard from the boy.

How can a parent do that to their own child?

He felt murderous now. He has never seen the man, but Aizawa was sure that if he were to ever lay his eyes on him, he’d be dead in an instant. He hadn’t felt such an intense hatred for a person since he found out what All for One did to Oboro.

Aizawa moved his hand from Izuku’s shoulder and grabbed his hand in support. He truly wanted to hug the boy, but he knew that the teen needed to get it all out before he could.

“He-um” he hiccuped, tears still streaming down his face, “He b-beat me. Really badly. I honestly thought I was gonna d-die that day.”

Izuku shuddered again. Saying all of it outloud was much different than thinking about it. He wanted to be done with it and so he finished up the story with less detail.

“Hisashi left me there and honestly, I’m sure he thought I’d die too. He left, not bothering to wait for my mom to come home so he could get what he originally came for. And she never knew that he was there.”

“I didn’t have the strength to call an ambulance. But I did have the smallest bit of energy to send a one word message to Kacchan, one only he and I would understand. I don’t know how long it took, but he showed up. If he hadn’t…I’m not sure what would’ve happened that day.”

“He was adamant that I go to a hospital, but with every last bit of energy I begged him not to take me. He was eventually convinced, but he still thought it was sketchy. Thankfully, he knew a guy with a quirk similar to recovery girl’s, a healing one, and brought me to him.”

“After being mostly recovered, I told him everything. Every last detail of it. I remember the exact expression on his face when I told him. He looked just as pained as I had felt.”

“The events of that day were never spoken about again. Neither was age playing. I stopped regression and Kacchan never bothered me about it. He helped me cover up what happened that day. My mom was told that it was an accident that had occurred on the way home from school. We went far to make it seem as such. My mom didn’t know about the regression and if she knew what really happened, the topic would’ve been unavoidable. I was so convinced of what my dad had beat into me that I didn’t think there was an option in the matter. My mom couldn’t find out, no matter what.”

“Hisashi hasn’t shown up since then. I don’t know where he is, but I could care less. He was never a father to me and it wouldn’t make a difference if he started now,” Izuku finished sadly, a few sniffles following.

Immediately, Aizawa enveloped him in a big hug. It took a minute, but Izuku was returning the hug just as fiercely, tears renewed again.

Finally! Izuku thought, relieved. The constant weight on his shoulders was finally lifted.

“I am so proud of you Midoriya,” Aizawa said with all the sincerity he could express, “You are incredibly brave for sharing this with me. It’s a hugestep kid, you should be proud of yourself.”

All of the details clicked as soon as Izuku had ended his story. Why he had initially lied and reacted the way he did. And Aizawa believes it was 1000% justified. What happened to the kid was downright inhumane.

He didn’t want to push the kid anymore tonight, but he had to ask one thing, “I have just one question though. Why didn’t you turn him in Midoriya?”

Izuku sighed, as though he was expecting the question.

“Looking back on it now, I realize it probably would’ve been the smarter thing to do. But so many things held me back. I really didn’t want my mom finding out about the regressing. And I didn’t want her to know that the man she still loved so deeply did something horrible. It sounds stupid and completely irrational, I know, but I can’t do something like that to her.”

“But don’t you think her feelings for him would’ve changed if she had found out what he had done to his only son?” Aizawa reasoned, “I think she wouldn’t have cared about the regression if it meant that you were happy.”
Izuku only gave a sad smile, “Kacchan tried telling me the same things, but at the time, I couldn’t be convinced. Now I realize it would’ve been the smart thing to do. But it’s too late,”

Aizawa cut in quickly, “but it's not Midoriya. You could still tell her.”

“But what would the point be now? There’s no proof to prove the day ever happened. It’s only my word and even though my mom loves and cares about me, her love for Hisashi turns her blind sometimes.”

“Blind to abuse?” Aizawa fired back, “No mother would be able to ignore that, no matter how much she loved a man.”

Midoriya immediately tensed up. He knew it was abuse, but it was never verbalized and now that it was spoken out into the world, it couldn’t be taken back. He never liked victimizing himself, but he was a victim of abuse.

Aizawa knew he was truly pushing it now, but he had a point to make and he wanted to drill it into Izuku’s head.

“I know it may be hard to hear, but your father abused you. And that is not okay. I wish I could change what happened that day, truly . You didn’t deserve it, not one bit of it. No child deserves such horrible pain for doing something so harmless. Nobody deserves that and most certainly not you.”

He wished he had more to offer than just words. But Izuku was right, that if there is no proof, there isn’t much that could be done. Aizawa would’ve gladly turned the man over to the authorities if there was any, but there wasn’t any evidence to incarcerate the man.

Hell, he didn’t even know what the man looked like. It was like he didn’t even exist and so when Midoriya started talking about him he was truly stunned. Of course every UA student has a deep background check done upon acceptance to the school and when searching for the boy’s father, almost nothing came up.

There wasn’t a single diploma, credit card, or bill in Hisashi Midoriya’s name. Nothing more than a birth certificate. It was almost likely the man disappeared the moment he was born. The UA staff chalked it up to the possibility that the man might’ve moved to another country at some point or something of that nature.

Even with evidence, it would be a hell of a time finding the guy, he thought, but pushed the pessimism away, but we would do it. For Midoriya.

“It wasn’t fair what happened to you Midoriya,” Aizawa continued softly, “and I now understand many of your past actions. But now that you’ve been so brave to share this with me, we can help you.”

That caught Izuku’s attention. He didn’t really think there was much ‘help’ to be getting. The past was in the past. Using regression again as a coping mechanism was a great aid to him, but aside from that, he didn’t think there was much more that could be done. Talking about it with his teacher was enough. Right?

“If you’re open to it, I’d like you to see a therapist about this,”

Midoriya’s eyes widened at that.

“I think it could be very beneficial to you, help you uncover some deeper things.”

He didn’t want to bring up the fact that his mother played a part in the issue, but she did. Inko enabled the man, much more than she should’ve. And if she had just put an end to the half-assed visits when they began, something so horrible would’ve never happened.

“You don’t have to decide immediately, but I think you should think about it. I’d also suggest the same for Bakugou. I know he wasn’t on the receiving end of your fathers abuse, but I’m sure witnessing the aftermath must’ve traumatized him as well.”

Izuku nodded weakly in agreement, feeling partially at fault for that. He forced Bakugou to see him in such a horrible state, but at the time, he didn’t know any better.

“But for now, let’s put this all to rest, okay?”

Aizawa decided that the conversation was over for the night. He saw how exhausted he was and thought that enough was uncovered today.

“You did amazing telling me all this. I bet you feel so much better now, don’t you?”

Izuku gave another tired nod.

“Now that you’ve finally got it off your chest, I think it’s a good idea to go back to bed. We can continue this conversation later, but right now, I can see that you could use all the rest you can get,” Aizawa shot a soft smile at the boy and received an identical one.

“Let’s get you off to bed, problem child.”

Aizawa stood up and Midoriya followed suit. They headed to the front door when the teacher felt a light tug at the back of his shirt.

He turned around and was met with a shy looking boy with the faintest blushing coloring his cheeks. He raised a brow and waited for him to speak.

“U-um Mr. Aizawa…” he whispered shyly, looking down at his feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the room, “C-could I actually s-sleep here tonight?”

The question caught the man off guard and when he didn’t respond immediately, Izuku rushed to say,

“I promise I won’t bother anyone! I’ll sleep out here, on the couch, quiet as a mouse. I j-just think I’d feel a lot better and safer sleeping here. I-if that makes sense.”

Aizawa’s gaze softened at that. It wasn’t a normal request in the least bit, and he wasn’t even sure if it was allowed, but if it wasn’t, he’d gladly take the fall for it.

“Of course, kid, no problem with that,” he replied kindly, “and you don’t have to sleep on that old couch. My room is much better.”

Aizawa turned around, changed route and headed back to his room. Midoriya was following eagerly, like a little duckling. It was the cutest thing.

When they arrived to the room, the set up surprised the teen, but it also didn’t. The room was nearly bare, decor kept to an absolute minimum. But the bed caught his attention. It looked like an exact replica of the infamous yellow sleeping bag, just bigger and fluffier and the thought had him giggling.

Aizawa followed the boy's line of sight to see what caused the giggle and also chuckled.

“Yup, surprise surprise, I basically have a sleeping bag for a bed. But you have to admit, it is quite comfortable, right?”

“Yeah, it was!” Midoriya agreed, remembering the feeling of the smaller one. He didn’t know if it was that or the cuddles he’d received in them, but the memory associated with the sleeping bag was a good one and he held the same expectation for the larger one.

He stood awkwardly after a moment, not really knowing what to do with himself. Izuku wanted to hop right under the covers, but he didn’t know if that would be okay. He’d honestly be fine sleeping on the floor next to his teacher, just having the man close by was good enough for him.

But of course Aizawa would never allow such a thing.

“Alright kid, c’mon,” he grabbed Izuku’s hand and dragged him to the bed and pushed him down lightly, “I know you’ve gotta be tired now, I sure am. Let's get some sleep.”

And with that, Aizawa turned off the lights and climbed into bed right next to the boy. He cuddled the boy to him close, not hiding his affection for the boy. The hero would never be denied a cuddle when the opportunity presented itself.

Izuku was grateful he didn’t have to initiate the contact. He remembers the cuddles from when they had been in the sleeping bag together his first little day and he longed for them ever since.

He sighed contently, snuggling in closely to the man and fell asleep almost immediately, but not before muttering a quiet,

“Night night.”

Chapter Text

This time, Izuku woke up much calmer than before. He felt well rested, despite his nightmare. And despite the fact that was it was 6am

He lay in bed peaceful for a moment before his brain really woke up and processed his surroundings. His eyes widened and he scrambled off the bed.

Did I really ask to sleep with Mr. Aizawa?!? What’s wrong with me??? He berated himself internally, How embarrassing.

He groaned, remembering the details of the emotional night he had with his teacher. Midoriya was glad that he was finally able to get the story off of his chest, but now he had other things to worry about.

Like what happens now that Aizawa knows what his dad did to him. Sure, Aizawa mentioned therapy, but it couldn’t possibly be that simple. Right?

Yes, Midoriya knew it was something in the past that couldn’t be changed. And telling someone about it was a relatively simple task, but he couldn’t help but feel it was too easy.

Like there was another ball waiting to be dropped.

As Izuku’s mind raced to find the supposed ‘missing’ puzzle piece, he didn’t notice Aizawa waking as well.

Of course, Aizawa would’ve stayed asleep if he could, but his body ran on a schedule. A poor schedule, but a schedule nonetheless. If he weren’t a teacher at UA, his days would begin at 1 pm rather than the cursed hour of 6 am.

He laid in bed for a moment before realizing the missing presence. It wouldn’t surprise him if Midoriya had panicked and left upon waking, the boy was prone to that type of thing. He was actually expecting it and he wouldn’t take offense to it either. Aizawa got his cuddles in the end and that was enough for him.

He’d a lot more to worry about later on concerning the information revealed by Midoriya, but for now all he cared about was getting ready for another long day of teaching. It was his only focus, so he was thoroughly surprised when he saw the green haired teen still in the room, near the door.

“Problem child?” Aizawa grumbled out tiredly, “How long have you been awake?”

Izuku was thankfully startled out of his growing panic because of the question.

“O-oh Mr. Aizawa,” he rushed to say, “y-your awake! I just woke up a f-few minutes ago.”

Not enough time for him to completely work himself up Aizawa thought.

If he knew anything about Midoriya is his tendency to overthink. Overthink just about anything and everything, if his mumbling and endless analysis notebooks meant anything. So he was expecting another breakdown this morning. He’s glad to have stopped it before it was in full swing. Or delay it, if only for a moment because he could at least temporarily quell the boy's fear.

He didn’t try skirting around the subject like Midoriya would’ve probably preferred.

“I want to say it again Midoriya, I appreciate you coming to me last night when you needed help. It was a very big and brave step. I’m extremely proud of you.”

Midoriya was immediately blushing. He looked away and stuttered out, “T-thank you, sir.”

Aizawa didn’t stop there, “Remember what I said yesterday? About considering therapy? I know you haven’t had much time to think about it yet, but I was wondering how you felt about the idea.”

Midoriya replied honestly, “I think its a good idea. A much healthier thing to do, way better than what I had been doing before. But also…” his voice trembled slightly, “therapy sounds kind of scary. Intimidating.”

And it really did feel that way for Izuku. The idea of opening up to someone completely random and new was frightening to him. It had already taken so much energy and effort for him to open up to his classmates and teachers, but that was at least made easier by the fact that they spend so much time together and trust each other. But now he’d have to trust a completely random person? Yeah, there’s nothing comforting about that.
“That’s fair,” Aizawa replied, “It does seem daunting at first, but trust me when I say it helps. I personally have been going to a therapist for nearly five years now.”

Midoriya’s expression showed everything he was thinking.

Pro hero Eraserhead? Going to see a therapist?? No way!

The man continued, “It’s more helpful than people. It's not all about deep diving into trauma or issues in your life, sometimes you can just talk about the simple things. Just to get all of the thoughts out of a busy brain.”

“But couldn’t I just do that with a friend or something?” Izuku asked curiously. If it was really that plain and simple, why would he even suggest a therapist.

Aizawa contemplated his response carefully, not wanting to scare the boy away from the idea.

“Well, that may be true in some parts. But therapists are professionally licensed to listen and help you work through anything that may be keeping you from becoming the best version of yourself. I know that you probably felt a huge weight coming off of your shoulders when you told me what happened with your father, but there’s more to it than just talking about it.”

He could see he finally caught the boy's interest because of the curious look on his face.

“I can listen to you and comfort you all that I can, but a therapist could dive deeper than that. They could help you come to terms with what happened, help you understand how it affected you, and they can even prescribe different strategies and mechanisms to help you through things. That, plus sometimes it's just refreshing to talk to someone new that doesn’t have any preconceived notions or expectations of you. ”

Now Izuku was starting to understand it. The way his teacher was putting it did make it seem like the obvious choice was to try it out.

Aizawa drove his point home, “The best part though, is that everything you tell them is kept between the two of you. Legally, a therapist cannot disclose your conversations or records to anyone, unless you threaten violence to yourself or others.”

If he had started with that point, Izuku wouldn’t have been so hesitant. Yes, there was a lot more to it for him, but knowing that someone he would potentially spill every secret to was legally obligated to keep it a secret was a huge comfort to him.

After a moment of thought, Midoriya cleared his throat and spoke, “I want to try it.”

Internally, Aizawa did a little happy dance. His facial expression didn’t change, but he was feeling giddy inside. He always felt thrilled when he was able to help out his students, no matter how that may be. It could be something as small as helping them understand their homework or something as big as this, motivating one to see a therapist.

People still may not believe it, but being a teacher and working with teens was truly his calling.

“I’m glad to hear that, problem child,” Aizawa replied with a softer tone, “It’s a big step in the right direction. And if you don’t end up liking it, that’s okay too, we can find something else.”

The man truly hoped it did work out though, because something else would have been a self regulated coping mechanism, or something like the age play that he was already partaking in, but it could only help so much.

Izuku nodded, glad that he had options. It wasn’t often he got a choice in important things like this, so when he did have one it always made him feel better. He felt like he was in control of his life which was a rarity for a teen like him.

Aizawa turned to the (unused) alarm clock on his bedside table and turned back to Izuku.

“Now I’m not kicking you out or anything, but I suggest you head back to the dorms right about now,” he said firmly, “I’m not sure how long you’ve got before the teachers wake up to see you leaving or before the other students realize you’re missing.”

That comment had Midoriya returning back to his near constant state of nervousness.

“O-oh right! Thank you so much Mr. Aizawa!” he said quickly, rushing out of the room immediately.

Aizawa was correct in saying that Izuku didn’t want anyone to know about him being in the teacher dorms. It wasn’t his embarrassment about the situation that brought him there (though that was part of it), but he wasn’t even sure if he was allowed in the teachers dorms to begin with. Aizawa didn’t say anything to confirm it, but it just felt plain wrong to him.

As he was hurrying off to the dorms, he felt a strange sense of peace with himself. For the first time in a while, he didn’t feel any worry about the bigger things in life. He could finally feel like he had enough reason to trust and believe that the adults in his life truly did want what was best for him.

It was the last class of the day and everyone was waiting impatiently for the final bell to ring. It was one of those school days where all teachers somehow managed to pile up the most boring topics in a single day. There was no highlight to the lessons they learned, it was just basic stuff that honestly could’ve been considered common sense to some people.

Aizawa could see the boredom in his students' faces and it was also something about teaching that left him amused, no matter how often he saw it. The students will never know it, but sometimes on rare occasions, all the teachers band together to make sure that students experience monotonous days like this.

Why? Just to see them suffer really. Despite how much they loved helping their students, it still brought them a little bit of enjoyment to see harmless ‘suffering’ come from the schoolwork assigned. That, plus it basically made for a free day for the teachers, just like the students had their free periods every now and then.

Of course, the day wasn’t meant to be entirely boring. Aizawa had quite the announcement to make to the class, but of course he wanted to drag it out as long as possible.

It wasn’t until the last five minutes of class that he finally decided to speak.

“Alright class, before you go, I have an announcement to make,” he began nonchalantly, “this weekend, we have something planned for you guys.”

A few gasps were heard around the room and some students were bouncing in anticipation, finally feeling something that wasn’t boredom.

“Well! What is it?!?” Mineta shouted impatiently and despite how rude it was, others were on the verge of asking the same.

“Calm down everyone,” Aizawa ordered calmly and waited for everyone to settle before continuing, “For the upcoming weekend, we teachers decided to take you all out on a weekend long trip.”

Again, the students got riled up. Questions were being shot at the man from every which direction.

“Oh my gosh! Really?”

“Where are we going?”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Are any other classes coming with us?”

“Quiet down,” Aizawa said, more firmly than before, “This is something special just for class 1A. We won’t be going very far, just further into the city where there are more things to do. We have a busy itinerary, filled with some suggestions from the interest survey from a while back-”

His response was cut off by the ringing of the bell and even though everyone had just been itching to leave minutes ago, they were still waiting on one more question to be answered.

“But why? For what?”

“Why?” Aizawa shook his head in amusement, “Well, why not? You guys deserve a little fun every now and then. Especially with what you kids have gone through lately. At the end of the day, you all are still children and you deserve to make great memories that overcome the bad ones.”

Everyone was touched by the comment. They too struggled to realize the fact that they were still children. There just isn’t enough time to worry about something like that, with all of the terrible things happening to Japan. With their provisional hero licenses allowing them to use their quirks and the constant dangers that they seemed to face, class 1A as a whole had nearly been hardened as much as the pro’s.

It was a sad thing for the teachers to see. The weekly age play had been slowly working to reverse that damage, but lately the teens had been working so hard. They decided they deserved something more than what their special Sunday’s had to offer.

“More details will be discussed tomorrow, but for now, class is dismissed.”

And with that Aizawa exited the room, leaving the class stunned into a frozen silence.

It only took a few seconds for the class to burst into excited conversation. They all took turns guessing what the teachers had planned for them. It probably wouldn’t be anything too big, considering that it was still within the city and it was only for the weekend, but any outing sounded exciting to them, especially since their interest surveys were mentioned.

The students shared amongst themselves what they had written and began theorizing an exact itinerary.

Soon they were heading back to the dorms, but not once did their excitement falter on the way there. Back in the dorms, they had the ability to do a quick internet search on possible activities they could do in the city.

Everyone was so adamant that their suggestions would be chosen for the weekend because they all seemed possible, but they really wouldn’t know it until tomorrow.

Midoriya was brainstorming with Ida, Todoroki, and Uraraka about what it could be.

“What do you guys think?” Uraraka asked, initiating the conversation, “Personally, I don’t think there’s many options in the city related to my idea. I was thinking about a little pool party like Asui. But that’s something we could do here anytime.”

“I’m not really sure my idea would require us to go to the city either,” Todoroki replied, “I suggested a movie day.”

“I think my idea may have a shot!” Ida exclaimed, “I suggested a day exploring the city's largest hero museum!”

The group chuckled at his enthusiasm. They’d expect no less from someone like Ida who actually enjoyed the educational aspects of all museums. But at the very least, it would be a hero museum which sounded better than other possibilities.

“Those all sound like fun you guys!” Midoriya replied, “Honestly, I don’t even remember if I added a suggestion at the end of my survey,” he scratched the back of his neck nervously, “I was honestly so nervous filling it out, I probably skipped over it.”

His friends gave him a sympathetic look. They knew when they started age playing that something seemed off about their friend. No one really knew the specifics, but his behavior had been a little weird at first.

They assumed that there was a reason for the weariness surrounding his regression, but he still regressed nonetheless. His friends always offered a listening ear, but never pressured him to open up about things he wasn’t comfortable saying.

Thankfully, this issue seemed to have resolved itself. They don’t know what happened between the pair in the first place, but when Bakugou and Midoriya had made up from their weeks long fight, his friends all noticed a positive change in his regression.

Todoroki was the one to notice it first, the way that Midoriya began to regress to a younger age, closer to his own. It was a happy change in pace for both boys, since they now regressed to similar ages. It meant they had similar interests and could often be found playing together.

He didn’t have to point this out to the others though, because soon after Uraraka and Ida were realizing the same thing. Uraraka figured it out on a day that she was feeling slightly little, but in an older headspace, closer to the one that Izuku used to fake.
When she had suggested they play a board game, he had been too tangled up in matching shapes to their respective slots on a wooden box to even respond. Initially she was slightly upset with his disinterest in the board game, but she eventually grew extremely fond and overprotective of a younger Izuku.

Same with Ida. He noticed the younger headspace via observation and interaction with the boy. He used to be able to sit and read short chapter books with him like Harry Potter, but when Izuku started to consistently select bright picture books, Ida put the pieces together. Still, he loved every interaction he had with the boy.

“That’s fair, I was pretty nervous too Deku,” Uraraka comforted, “Is there anything you could think of that you’d want to do this weekend?”

“Hmm, that’s a hard one,” Midoriya said hesitantly, “There’s so many different things to do! I couldn’t pick just one.”

“Well, Mr. Aizawa did say we’d be in the city for the entire weekend,” Todoroki reminded, “Maybe that means we’ll get to do multiple things?”

“Fingers crossed one of those things is the museum!” Ida replied, not thinking of anything else.

“Hopefully we get to do a lot of different things,” Izuku said with anticipation, “That way we could do a lot of people’s ideas and have tons of fun.”

“Same here! I’m excited either way, no matter what we do. I haven’t been into the city much, usually only for special occasions, so this sounds like a treat to me!” Ochako exclaimed.

The class continued to converse in groups for a while after that, but eventually broke off to do their own thing.

Whatever it was the teachers had planned, they just knew it was going to be great.

Chapter Text

For the first time in a while, class 1A was fully awake by 7 am, ready to head off to class. The excitement never died down from the previous day, and they wanted nothing more than to know where they were going.

Of course, Aizawa didn’t tell them right away. The teens were already distracted enough by their anticipation, but once he finally told them about it, they’d rave on for the rest of the day.

Fortunately, the teachers banded together for today’s lesson plans as well. The workload was very light and a lot of them ended with study hall . Aizawa had informed them that they would be 100% booked and busy the entire weekend, so he recommended they finish all assignments and homework during the free time they were given.

Well, it was less of a suggestion, more of an order from him. Him revealing the activities planned for the weekend was contingent on the completion of the majority of their assignments. Aizawa made sure to personally verify each student’s progress every moment he could.

Again, it wasn’t until the last class period of the day that they were finally able to have the ‘big reveal. This time though, Present Mic was accompanying him. The man was just as hyped up as the students, if not more, despite the fact that he helped come up with the idea and already knew every last detail.

Aizawa brought the many with him to do the honors, knowing the blonde could build up much more anticipation with his animated personality than he himself could ever imagine. Who would want to hear such amazing news from such a boring person?

No one, he imagined, so without further ado, Present Mic began his theatrics.

“Heyo to my favorite listeners!” He greeted energetically, “Grumpy ‘ol Eraserhead here decided he was too boring to announce the big thing we’ve got planned for you guys, so he brought me here to help. Are you guys ready?”

A lot of excited cheers and ‘yeahs’ were heard around the room.

“First, I gotta ask,” the man drawled curiosity, “Any guesses to what the surprise may be?”

A few responses were called out rapidly, all ideas from yesterday's little brainstorming session.

“Wow, you kids are pretty clever!” he responded, confirming something to the children, “Some of you guys are spot on.”

“Could I get a drum roll please!?” Present Mic exclaimed.

The request was immediately honored, the room erupting in noise that kept building until finally, the hero spewed out all the details rapidly,

“Your special treat begins tomorrow afternoon here in the dorms. We’ve got tons of funky fits for you to show off the latest fashion in an exciting fashion contest. After that, you listeners will get groovy with a karaoke night, followed by a special dinner, courtesy of your favorite teachers! Then, you guys will start Saturday morning at the zoo. That will be followed by a nice and quick lunch and a trip to the hero museum!”

That had Ida beaming to his friends and they returned the expression.

“Then the day will end with a nice walk around the city and a cozy movie night.”

Todoroki’s eyes widened in genuine surprise, not expecting his idea to be incorporated into the plan.

“Sunday will begin with a trip to this new, super cool shop we just found, called build-a-bear, you could probably guess what it is from the name. After that, we’re going to get all the zoomies out at the trampoline park and finally, it’ll end in the biggest sleepover ever and another movie night. How does that sound?”

Somehow, the room erupted in even louder cheers of enthusiasm. None of them were expecting such a fun filled weekend at all. Sure, they had their theories, but what was just revealed was much more than that. Mr. Aizawa clearly wasn’t lying when he said they’d be busy.

“Glad to hear it, listeners! Want to hear something even better?” Present Mic pressed on, not letting the excitement die just yet.

Everyone nodded, sitting on the edge of their seats.

“As we go to each location, they’ll be private to us for the duration of our visits. We’ve arranged it so that we’d be the only ones in each building as we have our fun, not even employees. Just us teachers and a few other helping hands from our favorite pro’s!”

Eyes widened at that, surprised that they had gone to such lengths.

“Why, you ask?” He continued, though no one had asked yet, “So that you can spend the entire weekend age playing. You guys can be as big or little as you want, with no worries about outside judgment, alright?”

Again, the noise in the room rose even louder as the teens absorbed the information. The idea of an entire weekend of true, unadulterated amusement with no prying eyes to make them uncomfortable felt like a dream come true for them.

Aizawa and Present Mic could only hope that the teens realized what a blessing the entire trip would be. They did in fact go great lengths to make it all happen. It wasn’t easy to ensure that the entire outing was 100% private to class 1A. It most definitely wasn’t cheap either. They didn’t only have to rent out the buildings for multiple hours, but they had to pay off the staff as well for the work hours they were being forced to give up.

Add to that the heroes they had to enlist for some assistance in ensuring the students safety and privacy. Somehow, they managed to get a hold of some of the class’s favorite hero’s for the job; Best Jeanist, Hawks, Mirko, Gran Torino, Ryukyu, and Fat Gum.

That, plus some had to receive brief training from the staff of some of the establishments they planned on going to. Thankfully, they had ectoplasm who could make enough clones to staff every single venue they’d be going to, but it was a lot of information for the man to take in and remember, so that task took a while.

It was a complex thing to pull together, but after an entire month, UA staff was able to pull it off. It truly was a long time coming. The kids deserved it and their excitement alone cemented the fact that this was exactly what they needed.

Izuku was among one of the students bouncing in his seat, absolutely stoked. Everything sounded amazing to him, especially since he hadn’t done half of the things mentioned. And he’s certainly never done any of them while in headspace. The idea seemed a bit scary despite the safeties in place, but Midoriya trusted his teachers.

He approached his childhood friend to share his enthusiasm,

“Kacchan! Doesn’t this sound super cool?!? I’m so excited.” Midoriya exclaimed.

Bakugou flashed the smallest smile at his excitement, glad to see him so happy.

“Yeah nerd, it sounds pretty okay,” he replied nonchalantly, trying to seem cool about it.

Internally though, he felt just as giddy as Izuku looked. He hadn’t done most of the activities either and he was glad that he was going to be doing them alongside all the people he’s come to care for.

Sure, Bakugou used to do entertaining things with people in middle school, like the arcade or go to the movie theater, but it was always with his little ‘goons’ that followed him around everywhere.

For a while he had been proud of the little posse he had through the years. Without fail, the boys followed his every order and he felt a sense of accomplishment from the control he held over the group.

But now that he’s here at UA, he realized how sad of a life he had been living back then. Those guys weren’t his friends or anything, they didn’t know a thing about him personally. It was a sad reality he had to face, that he had never had a single friend growing up, minus Izuku who he ended up bullying and treating horribly.

Bakugou has no idea where he would be now if it wasn’t for Izuku’s persistence and kindness with their relationship. If he wasn’t pushed to open up his heart to the greenette, Katsuki wasn’t sure if he would’ve ever been able to consider any of his classmates as his friends.

He doesn’t know if he’ll ever tell the boy, but he is immensely grateful for him. Izuku was one of the main driving forces for Katsuki to want to become a better person. For all he knew, he could have been expelled from UA by now if he had kept on with his rage filled days.

He hasn’t said it outloud yet, but Izuku was his best friend. The only friend he really needed, if it ever came to it. So Bakugou’s happiness stemmed from Midoriya’s, and the blonde promised to do everything in his power to make sure that happiness is never destroyed again.

“What part are you looking forward to the most, nerd?” he asked to keep the conversation going

Izuku’s excitement bubbled at the question, “Oh, I couldn’t possibly pick one thing Kacchan! Everything seems so cool. I’d say the one I’m most curious about is the build-a-bear place, it's the only thing I’ve never heard of.”

“I haven’t heard of it either, but it seems pretty self-explanatory like Present Mic said.” Bakugou replied, having a basic idea of its meaning.

But Midoriya was thinking more literally than him. Building a bear didn’t make sense to him.
How can you go to a place and build an animal? He had no idea, but he just shrugged it off, opting to think about the other cool things planned.

“I’m glad Todoroki’s and Ida’s ideas got chosen, they looked so happy!” Izuku continued to gush.

That’s how the rest of the class went, everyone discussing their thoughts with what was announced. As soon as class let out, they rushed to the dorms, getting their belongings ready for the entertainment-filled weekend. Lots of the students helped each other plan the best outfits, pack all the necessities, and even gathered some of their little items in preparation for a weekend in headspace.

The hustle and bustle eventually came to an end when Ida brought them to focus.

“Okay class! I know we're all excited for this weekend but there are still things to be taken care of!” he bellowed, commanding all attention to him.

“Like Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic told us, we have an extremely busy weekend. So it’s important that we get done with all of our homework and chores before it begins.”

A few groans were heard, but everyone knew it had to be done, whether they liked it or not. They knew it would be stupid to not use the time they had to finish their work, lest they want a bad grade for it being late or incomplete.

People began to break off into smaller groups to do their homework, choosing various spots in the common area to get their work done. Some opted to work alone, knowing being in a group would distract them too much.

That’s how the rest of the night went, a hasty dinner coming somewhere in between, followed by a nearly impossible sleep, but it eventually came over all of them.

Chapter Text

Class 1A woke with the same feeling they felt on their first day of trying age regression, like they were back in elementary school and it was finally the day of the field trip. Nothing can match that feeling.

Everyone was awake, at the ass-crack of dawn, double checking they had all of their things together for the weekend. Even though there was no need to rush about, since it was so early, there was a ton of hustle and bustle through the dorms.

People bumping into each other every now and then, some even tripping and falling in their haste, but really they paid no mind to it, their excitement overriding everything else.

All the teens seemed flustered, especially Izuku. He was bouncing, full of energy, while try to get his stuff together. But it seemed he had a little bit too much energy, and he couldn’t focus enough to make sure that he had everything he needed.

He got his clothes ready, but didn’t bother to verify if they matched or not nor did he pay any mind to exactly how many possible outfits were stacked. He grabbed a handful of toiletries from the bathroom, but didn’t know if they were the ones he needed. And he grabbed a big heap of little things, being too indecisive to choose just one thing.

Logically, he knew that not all of it would fit into one bag. But he always had trouble picking and choosing things like this, so he rushed to find Katsuki.

Kacchan would know exactly what to do!

He sped off to his friends room, not bothering to knock before barging in, and began to speak rapidly.
“Kacchan, I need your help getting ready for the weekend! I have so many things but I need help choosing what to-”

Abruptly, he shut himself up because when he finally looked at the boy, he realized that they weren’t the only two in the room.

Kirishima was also there. Izuku blanched at the realization and began to blush and apologize profusely.

“Oh! I didn’t see you there Kirishima,” he squeeked out embarrassingly, “I’m sorry for barging in, I didn’t realize someone else was here. I-I can come back later?”

But Kirishima and Bakugou only gave him fond looks. The boy was still too cute, even out of headspace.

“No worries Midobro, we were just finishing our conversation anyways. I’d be happy to help too, if you’d like.”

“Yeah nerd, we’re not busy or anything. Why don’t you show us what you’ve got so far?” Bakugou added.

Izuku nodded shyly, suddenly hyper aware of the attention he was getting from his peers.

Little did he know, the two were just talking about him.

The one person Bakugou could confide in, aside from Midoriya, was shitty hair Kirishima. He doesn’t know how or why, but the redhead was the first person he was able to tolerate and respect at UA.

They had formed a simple mutual friendship after the USJ incident where they were forced to team up with each other for the first time. From there, they had gotten to know each other little by little, finding that they had more in common than they realized. They also realized the other was a formidable sparring partner, and that was more than enough to keep the friendship going.

If there was anyone he had to trust around a little Izuku when he wasn’t available, Bakugou would choose Kirishima, no doubt.

Along with that, there was only so much that Katsuki could tell Midoriya. He couldn’t talk about the greenette straight to his face, that would just be plain wrong. Not that it was anything bad, but sometimes he just needed to get his thoughts out of his head and Kirishima was just the guy for the job.

They could always have those types of conversations, man to man.

Bakugou didn’t divulge too much information to the red head, respecting Midoriya’s privacy, but he had ranted to Kirishima about the ups and downs of their regression journey. And the overwhelming sense of protectiveness he felt for the boy, amongst other feelings.

Kirishima was much more in tune with his emotions than Bakugou would ever be, so he always felt like he could turn to his friend for things like that, though it did take a lot of effort to become vulnerable like that around him. It just wasn’t a thing that was wired into someone like Bakugou.

Kirishima never had a problem listening to Bakugou talking about the little greenette. He actually enjoyed it, hearing the fiery blonde talk about someone in a positive light. He was glad to see that his friend was changing his habits for the better, all because of Izuku. The kid was a walking miracle truly, both teens ended up agreeing by the end of their conversation.

So of course they’d help the boy with whatever he needed, no matter what it was.

Izuku led the teens to his room, and they were amused with the mess they were presented with. Midoriya didn’t just grab the things he needed for the weekend, he tripled it. There was a mountain of mismatched clothing, all the shampoos, soaps, and conditioners from the bathroom, and piles upon piles of toys.

It was a great thing that they were awake earlier than usual because it would take a hot minute to sort through it all, especially considering how indecisive Izuku could be.

“How about we start with the clothes?” Bakugou suggested, wanting to dive right in.

“Yeah, let's pick out a few outfits for the weekend,” Kirishima agreed, “You may need two or three, plus a back up, but not nearly as much as you’ve got laid out right now.”

Midoriya blushed after taking a second look at what he had on his bed.

Maybe I did go a little overboard.

He gave a sheepish nod and the boys spent the rest of the morning before class getting everything in order.

Izuku was grateful for their help, knowing that he would’ve never been able to pick the right things without their insight. The other two were caregivers at heart and kept that mindset when helping the boy choose.

They convinced Midoriya to choose only the most comfortable outfits rather than the ones that might’ve been more aesthetically pleasing. Not that he ever cared about fashion or anything, but he felt obligated to spice up his usual wardrobe since they’d be out in the city.

After that they helped the boy fill up some travel sized bottles with the body wash, shampoo, conditioner and all of those things. They made a mental note to mention sunscreen and bug spray to the class as a whole.

Choosing which toys to bring was the hardest part for Izuku. He wanted to take all of them with him, but he knew it wouldn’t be possible.

He ended up with the bare necessities that he always gravitated to while he was little. His stuffed bunny, special blanket, and his new pacifier that the littles had got to decorate during a craft activity on a past Sunday.

Izuku also chose a small fidget toy and small All Might keychain figurine that he could attach to his backpack. The rest of the little items, like bottles, sippies, diapers, pullups, and all that was left for the caregivers to take care of.

It was another restless day in class for the teens, but they couldn’t help it. How could they possibly be expected to sit and listen to their teachers drone on about whatever lesson they had prepared for the day, when they had such an exciting weekend that was only a few hours away?

It was simply impossible and the teachers expected as much. So that’s why, without informing the students beforehand, they agreed that the school day would be cut short, ending three hours earlier than usual.

While the students spent their morning in class, several of the heroes that would be assisting in the weekend of fun arrived at UA. That part also hadn’t been revealed to the students, but the teachers were sure it would be a pleasant surprise.

It was Hawks who arrived first, Best Jeanist and Fatgum following shortly after. The other pro heroes would be joining on other days at different times, but the trio would be present during the entire weekend.

When they were approached by their colleagues about the entire idea, they were beyond happy to help. Class 1A students always held a special place in their hearts, especially the ones who did their work studies with them.

Their instructions for the day, while the kids were in class, was to get the dorms set up for the fashion show. Best Jeanist came in clutch with this part, having a fair of connections that allowed him to secure a multitude of different articles of clothing, all very unique and stylish.

While getting all the clothing racks and such set up, the heroes made small talk.

“Are you guys prepared for a little filled weekend?” Best Jeanist asked the other two and both nodded enthusiastically.

“Sure am!” Fat Gum replied, “I figured Red Riot would be a caregiver, based off of his interaction with Suneater during their work studies, but I’d love to see how he interacts with his classmates.”

“Same here, I want to see how Tokoyami is, whether he’s big or little. That, plus I haven’t interacted with littles in such a long time. I’ve missed it,” Hawks said, reminiscing on his younger days as a pro-hero.

“I miss it too,” Best Jeanist admitted, “that, plus I’d love to see how Bakugou adjusted to the change that Nezu mandated for the class. If he’s anything like how he was a few months ago, I’d assume that he’s been resisting the entire thing with every fiber of his being.”

The heroes knew of the age play and every student's classification results, but they didn’t know much beyond that. Like how young or old they were as littles or how their dynamic went. They were interested in seeing it.

When Best Jeanist was informed that Bakugou fell on both sides of the spectrum, he was pleasantly surprised. He didn’t expect it, but he was certain it was something the boy needed.

They continued to converse while ensuring the common area was ship shape for when the students arrived.

Eventually it came time for the school day to come to an end. Midnight, All Might, Present Mic and Eraserhead gathered all of the students in their homeroom classroom. They wanted to make the students aware of the guests that would be joining them. Not who exactly, but just make them aware so it wouldn’t scare them away.

“Alright listeners,” Present Mic announced, “The weekend's adventure is about to begin! Who’s excited?”
Everyone clapped and cheered, the volume showed how excited they were.

“That’s great to hear!” All Might exclaimed, “One more thing though, just before we get this started. Do you guys remember how Present Mic told you we’d be getting help from some fellow heroes for this weekend?”

The class nodded rapidly, already having hopes and guesses about who would specifically be joining them.

“Well, we aren’t telling you exactly who’ll be joining us yet,” he continued, earning a few groans, “but we did want to assure that it is 1000% okay to be little and regress around them.”

All Might saw a few shoulders sag, losing tension. No one had said, but he knew that some would most likely be nervous about the idea of regressing around their idols and people they looked up to. But he wanted to reassure them.

“They have also experienced age playing at some point in their lives, just like you guys have.”

Revelations like these never failed to surprise the class. All ideas they had initially had concerning the subject got wiped away, little by little as time went on. At first they thought it wasn’t something very unique and relatively unknown. But then the big three came in and revealed they took part in it as well.

Finding out that pro heroes actually regressed as well just reaffirmed the ideology of age play and regression being something okay and beneficial for them, that it wasn’t something weird or something they needed to be ashamed of.

Doubt would always worm its way into Izuku’s mind and he raised his hand with a question.

“Yes, young Midoriya?” All Might called on him.

“Um, are you sure it's okay? They won’t laugh at us or anything?” he asked nervously.

Aizawa and Bakugou gave him a sympathetic look, the pair being the only ones in the room to know the full weight of the question.

Aizawa still hadn’t informed the teachers of what he learned from the boy a few nights ago because he wasn’t sure if Midoriya would be okay with him sharing such personal information. He made a mental note to ask him once the weekend was over.

“Of course not, my boy!” All Might rushed to assure him, “I can’t imagine any scenario where they’d judge you for any of this, it would be hypocritical of them. But if it does happen, they’ll have to answer to us, isn’t that right?”

All Might looked to his colleagues and they all nodded seriously, not taking it lightly. They would never let any of their babies be ridiculed for regression, no matter what.

Midoriya sighed in relief at that, feeling properly assured. He knew logically that no pro hero would be that cruel, but he just wanted to be completely certain of that. That couldn’t really be verified until he saw them for himself, but for now, All Might’s words were enough for him.

“Also,” Midnight said, “One last thing, really,”

She looked at the students seriously before finally exclaiming, “Have fun! This weekend was specially planned for you all. You guys truly deserve it, so don’t forget to enjoy yourselves!”

The cheering started back up again and the teachers led the group out of the classroom and to their dorms.

When the doors were opened, it was clear that the surprise for the students was indeed a pleasant one.

The common area had undergone a complete transformation. There were racks upon racks of extravagant clothing on one side of the room, accompanied by drawers filled with accessories and a bin with all sorts of shoes. On another side of the room there were makeshift dressing rooms constructed with a few curtains.

There was even a mini fashion runway in the middle of the room with small spotlights and a judges table set up right in front of it.

Aoyama was seen squealing, absolutely overjoyed with how his suggestion was executed. It was much more than he could’ve ever hoped for and so the only way he could express his satisfaction was through squeals and hops of joy.

A few of the other littles join him, already slipping into their headspace with them. They were so tangled up in the sight that they almost didn’t notice who was there.

Bakugou, Tokoyami, and Kirishima all noticed at the same time and spoke simultaneously.

“Hawks?”

“Denim head, what are you doing here old man?”

“Fat Gum! Glad to see you!”

Everyone's attention was now focused on the trio who was looking back at them with kind expressions.

“Now, that’s no way to greet someone Bakugou,” Best Jeanist spoke first, “Did you learn nothing from me?”

Katsuki blushed, feeling properly reprimanded.

“Yup, it's me, little bird,” Hawks replied to Tokoyami, “Long time no see!”

“I’m glad to see you too Red Riot!” Fatgum replied with the same amount of enthusiasm.

“Before you head off to your little contest, don’t forget to thank these three. They’re the ones who got all of this set up for you.” Aizawa told them.

“Really? You guys did this all for us?” Mina asked incredulously.

“How’d you find all of this stuff?” Kaminari questioned.

“And how’d you get it all set up so quickly?” Sero pondered.

The heroes all chuckled at the students and took turns answering.

“Of course we did. When your teachers asked for our help with this, we couldn’t possibly think of saying no.” Fatgum said.

“I’ve got a fair share of connections in the fashion industry,” Best Jeanist replied smugly.

“And of course, who better for a quick job like this than Japan’s number two hero?” Hawks said cockily.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!” The class cheered together, swarming the trio and enveloping them in a big hug.

They returned the gesture happily, not taking it for granted. It wasn’t often you get hugs as an adult and they wouldn’t waste the chance.

It was Hawks who began to break the hug up.

“Enough of the lovey dovey, little birds. Let’s get this party started!”

It was the littles taking the lead now, specifically Aoyama who was in his element.
“You guys!” he shouted, “We gotta pick judges for the contest first!”

The littles nodded in agreement, not having thought about that part.

Before someone could ask who they should pick, Izuku spoke suddenly.

“Ooo! I know who would be the bestest judge!” he exclaimed excitedly, “Kacchan! His mommy and daddy are fashion designers!”

Now all attention was on the blonde and it made him look away embarrassed.

“Really?”

“I had no idea!”

“That sounds so cool!”

“Mhm, Auntine Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru are the coolest!” Izuku agreed enthusiastically.

“You sure ‘bout that Midoriya?” Mineta asked, snickering, “Bakugou sure doesn’t dress like his parents are fashion designers. Heck, his sense of fashion has to be the worst of the entire class!”

The purple pest laughed at his own joke while Bakugou took deep breathes to refrain from blowing up on the boy. Thankfully he didn’t have to say anything to him, Izuku immediately replied.

“Hey! Don’t say mean things ‘bout my big brother!” he glared at Mineta, “Not nice!”

Aizawa interfered before the situation escalated, “Midoriya’s right, Mineta, that wasn’t nice or called for at all.”

The boy pouted at the reprimand as Aizawa rolled his eyes internally. What a way to start the weekend.

“That earned you seven minutes in the corner.”

“What?!? Why,” Mineta whined, “I didn’t even do anything.”

“You sure about that?” Aizawa questioned menacingly, “We’ll see if you still think the same once corner time’s up, let's go.”

He dragged the boy to the corner while Bakugou went over to Midoriya.

“You didn’t have to stand up for me Zuku,” Katsuki said, ruffling the boy's hair gently, “You know how annoying that small fry is.”

Izuku just shook his head, “Yeah I do! No one says mean stuff ‘bout my big bro!”

Bakugou gave the boy a fond look and left it at that.

Everyone’s attention was back to the original task when Aoyama spoke again.

“Okay, we have one judge. We need two more!”

“I can be a judge,” Momo volunteered herself, “I think I’ve got a fair idea of today’s fashion.”

And no one argued the notion, knowing it was well within her ability to buy out an entire mall worth of clothing if she wanted to.

“Great!” Aoyoma exclaimed, “Now we just need one hero judge!”

“Hmm, what about Mr. Best Jeanist?” Ochako suggested, “He’s the one who got all of this cool clothes, so he definitely has to know something about fashion, right?”

The littles nodded in agreement.

“I’d be honored, little ones,” Best Jeanist replied, accepting the role bestowed upon him humbly. The students were correct after all, he did know a thing or two, so he couldn’t decline.

“Perfect!” Aoyamo clapped, glad they could finally get things going.

“Obviously, I can’t compete in the competition because I’d blow all of you out of the water, without a doubt,” he winked at his classmates who rolled their eyes, “So I’ll be the runway coach! I’ll teach you all how to strut like superstars!”

Everyone accepted that easily, glad to be getting pointers. No one knew what they were doing truthfully and they knew it wasn’t that serious, but at the end of the day they were class 1A and there was never a moment that they didn’t want to win.

As soon as the runway coach let them, the students rushed off to the clothing racks, scavenging for whatever pieces of clothing appealed to them most.

While that was happening, the teachers, judges, and heroes sat idly. During that time, Best Jeanist decided to pull his former work study student to the side.

In the short amount of time that he’d seen the boy, he had been thoroughly surprised. He had thought that as soon as Midoriya revealed his parents profession, the boy would’ve blown up immediately, but he hadn’t. And when the purple haired pest directly attempted to provoke him, he was sure that would’ve got the blonde boy to rage.

But still, Bakugou didn’t say anything. Sure, it looked like he was about to blow up, but the boy still managed to hold it in. He seemed to even be taking breaths to calm himself down.

“Bakugou?”

“Hmm?” the boy turned to the hero, “What do you want, denim head?”

He said it coolly, but secretly he was elated to see his mentor again. That was one of the emotions he was still reluctant to express outwardly.

“I just wanted to say, I’m impressed,” he began, causing Katsuki to raise a brow.

“You’ve come such a long way since your work study. Seems like your brash personality can be tamed after all.”

That comment made Bakugou blush as he thought back to his behavior during that period of time. I really was an asshole, wasn’t I? His embarrassment from his past actions and behavior would never go away.

The hero continued, “If I had known that this was all that it would take, I would’ve happily had all of this going for you sooner.”

Katsuki’s eyes widened at the implication that Best Jeanist would’ve gladly had his hands full with a little Bakugou.

Rather than agreeing with the man, even though he knew the point was kind of true, he decided to refute it.

“Yeah right old man, it wouldn’t have been the same,” he scoffed.

Best Jeanist chuckled and replied, “I suppose that’s true enough, you wouldn’t have had your classmates alongside you to enjoy it.”

A moment of silence lapsed before he spoke again, “I noticed you taking a special liking towards that Midoriya boy?”

Katsuki spluttered comically at that and his blush deepened.

How the hell did he figure that out?

The two had barely interacted thus far, only after the Mineta comment, so he couldn’t wrap his head around how the man figured it out so quickly.

Rather than letting the embarrassment consume him, he decided to own it, “Yeah, so what! Zuku’s my oldest friend! We go way back, all the way to pre-school. He’s like my little brother!”

He’s my best friend in the whole wide world and I love him lots! is what was left unsaid.

Best Jeanist smiled kindly at the boy, “I could see that. I’m glad you finally realized how great it is to have friends on your side. Though it may feel like you don’t need them, it makes life a whole lot better, doesn’t it?”

Katsuki was getting ready to agree when a loud whistle was heard.

Everyone’s attention was snapped over to the source, little Aoyama, who was now sporting a matching athletic clothing set, sweatband, and gray whistle. The boy was taking the ‘coach’ role seriously.

“Attention, attention! The show will be getting started shortly. Please be seated.”

Everyone that wasn’t a part of it obliged and got comfortable for the show.

All that could be heard was a few quiet giggles from the side of the temporary runway. The culprits were caught when walking down the runway.

Todoroki was one of them and the reason for his amusement was clear. He somehow got hold of stilettos that were a few sizes too small and a few inches too long and it had him wobbling the entire time. His stumbling caused others to giggle as well.

Uraraka was also laughing adorably, barely able to strut as taught by Aoyamo due to the oversized snazzy suit she was wearing. She looked like she was impersonating a member of the Yakuza. She even managed to draw on a mustache to complete the look.

Another culprit caught in a fit of giggles was Izuku. He was wearing wildly mismatched clothing. Zebra print pants, a flower shirt, and got a hold of the fluffiest feather boa he had ever seen. With every slight movement he made, the material tickled his neck and it only fueled his laughter.

Many of the outfits were similar to theirs. It was revealed that not many students in class 1A had any sense for fashion, so the judges had to go easy with their scoring.

The caregivers were the only ones with semi-coordinated outfits, but even then none of them were mind blowing.

As soon as the show was over, everyone was clapping. Aoyama was dramatically congratulating his peers.

“That was magnifique! You guys caught on so quickly! I’m such a proud teacher,” he teared up, thrilled with his ‘hard work’.

The contestants were now standing off to the side as the judges conferred quietly to select a winner. The choice was almost an obvious one. They had agreed that the criteria wasn’t exactly who was most ‘in fashion’, but who was most dedicated. With that thought in mind, the choice was obvious.

Momo cleared her throat, “If we could get everyone's attention please.”

The talking continued though, her voice not loud enough to be heard. Bakugou scoffed and helped her out.

“Hey extras! We got a winner!” he shouted, getting everyone's attention.

“You all did wonderful!” Best Jeanist complimented, receiving toothy smiles from the students, “Everyone’s outfits were super unique.”

“That they were,” Yaoyorozu agreed, “But there was one contestant that stood out to us today. They went all out with their outfit, getting out of their comfort zone with the non-typical outfit.”

A tension filled silence filled the room as they awaited the big reveal, but Bakugou didn’t let that last long.

“Congrats, Pink cheeks. You make a convincing Yakuza boss.”

Everyone turned to the girl, not missing the way her eyes immediately lit up. She couldn’t believe it!

I win?!

It was Izuku and Shoto who broke her out of the shock by congratulating her.

“Good job Ochako! You won!” Shoto exclaimed.

“Yeah! You look super duper cool, it makes sense that you won!” Izuku agreed.

She squealed and began to jump up and down in happiness.

“Oh em gee! I won!”

The other littles jumped with her, feeling happy for their friend's happiness. The joy in the room was contagious.

All of the caregivers in the room smiled affectionately at the sweet interaction.

“Are they always this adorable?” Hawks asked the teachers.

They chuckled at the question, nodding.

“It just makes your heart want to melt, doesn’t it?” Midnight cooed.

Fat Gum and Hawks nodded in agreement.

“You better buckle up for the ride,” All Might said, “this is just the beginning of it.”

Chapter Text

Mina didn’t wait very long before she decided it was her time to shine.

“You guys! Let’s do the karaoke contest now!” she exclaimed.

No one argued the order and listened obediently as she continued.

“This is going to be so much fun you guys! For this one we can work together in groups or on our own. I also think the winners should be decided by the entire class, maybe with a vote or something?” she suggested.

Everyone agreed to it, especially since it meant that everyone would be able to participate in the contest.

“Great! Also, I think we should keep on the clothes from the fashion contest. Adds flair!” she winked at her peers, “Okay everyone! Find a song and a group, if you’d like, and get to practicing! The show will begin soon.”

All the students scattered to prepare. They didn’t have to worry about anything else aside from picking a song to sing and who’d they be singing it with. The teachers and heroes got to work on transitioning the common area from runway to performance stage, speakers and all.

This activity was a bit more difficult for the class. They loved to work together on things like this, but there were a lot of discrepancies when it came to song choice.

People that would typically would’ve enjoyed performing together we're having trouble choosing a song that they were both familiar with. It was a bit frustrating for the teens, but at the same time they were learning so much about each other and the kind of music they enjoyed.

Some song choices and music taste was surprising to learn. Todoroki, for example, had a much wider variety of genres he enjoyed than expected, considering the fact that he didn’t know what a concert was.

Unsurprisingly though, was his song choice; Hot n’ Cold by Katy Perry.

It was truly meant for him and him alone.

Izuku wanted to perform the song with his friend, but he knew it would make the perfect solo. That, plus the fact that he didn’t know the entire thing. He’d love to pair up with his Kacchan, but he already knew that wouldn’t work.

Bakugou’s taste in music was almost the complete opposite of Izuku’s. The blonde was into the heaviest of metals, while the greenette was into the poppiest pop music.

Though, Katsuki would indulge himself on the occasional modern pop song, much to his chagrin. Some songs were just too catchy to resist. There honestly had to be something laced in them.

Same with Izuku, he would secretly turn on something that would usually leave his ears feeling unsettled. But some songs were just too good to pass up.

This left Izuku to pair up with someone else aside from his childhood friend and for a moment he was at a complete loss. He himself wasn’t very familiar with his classmates' taste in music, so for a moment he was saddened at the idea of performing all alone.

His ears perked up the moment he heard conversation coming from Mina, Ochako, Asui, Momo, Hagakure, and Jiro.

“Do you guys remember the movie we watched a few weeks ago?” Mina asked.

“Hmm…” Ochako thought for a moment until something came to her, “Oo! The lemonade one!”

“Oh yeah,” Asui said, “Lemonade mouth, right?”

“Yeah! That one,” Mina exclaimed, glad they remembered, “We were jamming to the soundtrack for the entire week after we saw it. I say we pick a song from there!”

All the girls nodded together and replied with suggestions,

“I liked Determinate! It was super inspiring!” Ochako.

“She’s So Gone resonated with me a lot,” Momo.

“Breakthrough was also very inspiring,” Jiro.

Hearing all of his favorite tracks, Izuku couldn’t help but join in the conversation.

“Good songs!” he complimented, “Loved lemonade mouth! Wanna sing with you guys, pretty please?”

The group of girls cooed at him, not able to deny the boy.

“Of course Deku!” Ochako replied immediately.

“Yeah, the more the merrier!” Mina agreed, “but I think we might have trouble picking a song.”

Izuku nodded thoughtfully, seeing it as a valid concern. All the songs were too good, how could they pick just one?

Everyone was making their own argument to defend their favorite song when Asui made a suggestion.
“I think there’s enough of us to sing each song as a pair right? And either one trio or one solo. What if we do that so we can all do the song we want instead of having to compromise with one?”

“Good idea Tsu!” Mina exclaimed, “You’re a genius!”

And so they split like suggested:

Momo and Hagakure would be performing ‘She’s So Gone.’

Ochako, Izuku, and Mina would be performing ‘Determinate.’

Jiro and Asui would be performing ‘Breakthrough.’

As they broke off and prepared for their performances, the boys in the class were also inspired by music they saw on tv.

“Do you guys remember the show we started last month? Victorious?” Sero asked.

Not all of them could nod since not everyone had been interested in it, but Kaminari was way ahead of his tape friend and his idea.

“Let’s do that one song, Five Fingaz to the Face!” he exclaimed with a giggle.

The first time he’d heard the song from the show, he couldn’t stop laughing. It was such a silly song but also so catchy. Who’d ever think that five fingers to the face would solve so many things?

“You took the words right out of my mouth man!” Sero agreed enthusiastically, “That song is perfect! I remember all the words like the back of my hand.”

“Same here,” Sato agreed, “I’m down for that one.”

Shoji, Ojiro, and Mineta also agreed and so another group was formed and began to practice.

Bakugou and Kirishima choose Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Bakugou would usually go for something more intense, but he knew he’d have to tone things down for the littles.

Tokoyami picked a song by Red Hot Chili Peppers as well, Under the Bridge.

This left an unlikely trio of Aoyoma, Koda, and Ida, but they were able to come to a consensus easily enough, deciding on another tv show song. It was Aoyoma who suggested Squirrels In My Pants from Phineas and Ferb. Ida could agree that it was pretty catchy and Koda just liked that it had something to do with animals.

While all the students were hard at work practicing their songs, the teachers and heroes observed fondly. Until Present Mic had an idea of his own.

“You guys, what if we put on a little performance of our own for our little listeners!” he suggested eagerly.

No one was surprised by the idea, but no one was as enthusiastic as him. Least excited with the idea was Aizawa, of course. There was no amount of money you could pay him to sing in front of his students.

“You have fun with that,” he deadpanned, “but I won’t be participating.”

“C’mon Eraserhead! For the kiddos?” Present Mic pleaded with puppy eyes.

Aizawa didn’t budge though, “Nope. I don’t sing. You know that.”

“You don’t have to be a good singer or anything, participating should be enough!” All Might added.

He himself wasn’t a great singer, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

“Yeah, don’t be a pushover, oldie,” Hawks teased, hoping to rile the man up.

“Yeah, no, not happening. I’m glad to watch though,” Aizawa replied, hoping they’d take the answer and leave him be.

Thankfully, no one pressed him more. Present Mic didn’t want to spend all his time convincing his friend to perform when they could be practicing.

The blonde gathered his willing colleagues, Hawks, All Might, and Fat Gum and chose a classic. We Are the Champions by Queen. It would be a bit of work, considering the fact that he was the only one who was familiar with the song, but he was determined to make it happen.

Midnight, Best Jeanist, and Aizawa chuckled at them while continuing to sit back and observe the groups in the room.

After nearly an hour, the noise in the room began to die down as groups lined up by the stage, ready to begin. Of course, it was Mina who led the group activity, so it was only right that her trio go first.
‘Determinate’ was the perfect song to get an electric flow of energy in the room. Izuku, Ochako, and Mina performed like it was their birthright. Though Izuku wasn’t able to sing perfectly without stumbling on and forgetting a few words, he was stealing the spotlight. Whenever his mind blanked, he’d just make it up with wild head bops and hilarious air guitar moves.

Todoroki’s performance was similar. It seemed like the only words from the song he remembered were ‘hot’ and ‘cold’, but he hummed the rest just as well. And the high heels from the fashion contest only added necessary sass to the performance.

Kaminari, Sato, Mineta, Shoji, Ojiro and Sero received the most laughter during their performance, especially every moment they stressed those five fingers to the face by getting super up close to each other.

The rest of the performances were just as lively and enjoyable. It was revealed that Momo had the sweetest singing voice, and that Kirishima’s voice was suited perfectly for punk rock.

The performance that received the most applause and noise was from the adults. Maybe it was because it was so unexpected, or because they performed so theatrically and dramatically, or maybe it was because it was just so damn good, but the students loved it.

Present Mic’s quirk clearly suited him, his voice was made to be amplified. It was amazing. Hawks as well. All Might and Fatgum were mediocre singers, but their presence still added to the performance. The students loved it so much that they nearly demanded an encore, but stomach growls were heard across the room.

It made the adults in the room realize the time and they decided to put the contest to an end quickly.

“That was great my little listeners!” Present Mic said, “You all did great! I didn’t know we had so many amazing singers in class 1A!”

Thunderous applause sounded through the room again and it took a moment for the teens to settle down again.

“Now, to vote on our winners!”

One by one, each group was mentioned and were voted upon with a show of hands. It was very close between every group, especially since many of the littles voted multiple times. Present Mic was sure that if he and his group were one of the options, they’d win unanimously. But since that wasn’t the case, the students chose the next best performance.

If it had been based off of singing alone, Momo and Hagakure would’ve won no doubt. But of course, the littles didn’t care much about that. What they cared about the most was which group had been the most entertaining in their performance.

“Everyone give it up for Kaminari, Sero, Sato, Shoji, Ojiro, and Mineta!”

Cheers erupted through the room as the group of boys all high fived each other and gave ceremonious bows. Kaminari cleared his throat and began to speak, like a true performer,

“Thank you, thank you all. I’d like to start by thanking my mom for giving birth to me, Sero for coming up with the idea, Principal Nezu for letting me attend UA…”

The room erupted in giggles at his antics as he continued on and on with his thank you’s. By the end of his speech, he had thanked the entire class and their teachers.

The moment his speech ended, All Might decided to swoop in.

“Alright kiddos, who’s hungry for their super yummy, delicious and special dinner tonight?!” he exclaimed.

Excitement was reignited through the room once more as a bunch of “Me!”’s were heard around the room.

“Great to hear! It won’t be very long until it's ready, but just hang tight right here for a moment.”

And for a moment there was a silence among the students, not knowing what to do while they were waiting for the food.

It was Izuku who suggested adorably, “We sing more? Pretty please?”

No denials were heard from his peers and he smiled widely, already dancing in place. Ochako and Mina joined him, continuing with the rest of the Lemonade Mouth soundtrack. Others joined their singing as well, while others hummed along, and others simply danced their hearts out.

While that was happening, the teachers were rushing to plate the very many different meals that were prepared for their students. They requested assistance from Lunch Rush earlier that week, asking if the class 1A students had any particular meal that they always requested or enjoyed more than others.

The teachers had only hoped for a few pointers, but they were pleasantly surprised to find out that Lunch Rush took note of every single UA student’s favorite foods. It was an absolute blessing to be provided the list a few days ago, so that they had enough time to prepare unique meals for each individual student in class 1A.

It didn’t take too long for the adults to get the table all set up for dinner. As soon as they called the students over, hundreds of heavy steps could be heard hastily traveling from the stage to the table.

Everyone was stunned at the sight before them. They didn’t have to wonder what was for who, as no two meals were the same. The littles were absolutely delighted to see their favorite foods after such a fun day and they dug in with no hesitation. Or any care about how dirty they’d end up getting.

The caregivers chuckled at the mess that was being made as they dug into their own food more carefully, opting to help the littles out once they finished their meals.

Soon enough, everyone's hunger was satiated. They were comfortably full and ready for bed soon after they had finished, the day's events catching up to them. The adults were glad to see it, relieved that it wouldn’t take too much coaxing to send them to bed earlier than usual.

The plan was to be at the zoo first thing in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat, so an earlier bedtime was in order tonight.

No one threw a fit when they were sent off to bed and once everyone was in their respective room, silence finally fell over Heights Alliance.

The adults gathered in the common area to make quick work of cleaning up so that they could also head to sleep. They were settled into a comfortable silence while tidying, until Hawks decided to break the silence.

“So they really are that cute all the time? How do you guys deal with this?”

They all laughed at the question and All Might replied, “I honestly have no idea how I’ve gotten this far without my heart bursting.”

“They’re all so sweet and kind to each other,” Fat Gum said, sharing one of his observations, “You all really have the best first years.”

“I’d love to say its because they have the best teachers,” Midnight joked, “but these kids are amazing on their own.”

Best Jeanist agreed, “I don’t know much about Midoriya, but it seems like he’s made such a positive impact on Bakugou.”
The teachers nodded in agreement. What had initially seemed like such an unlikely pair of friends, the two ended up helping each other blossom into what they have become so far.

“Yes, young Midoriya has that effect on his peers,” All Might agreed, “He also seems a lot more carefree than usual today, which is a refreshing sight to see.”

“I’ve noticed the same,” Present Mic said, “Though, I’m not quite sure what brought the change.”

As they thought back to the past week and events involving the green haired boy, they looked to Aizawa, who had been silent up until now.

The man hadn’t planned on saying anything and he still wouldn’t dare to reveal the personal information that Midoriya had entrusted to him, but he did decide to mention a little something about it.

“I talked to our problem child a few nights ago. About some personal issues. Nothing life threatening or worth worrying about right now,” he revealed slowly, “It was a lot, but we’ve got a plan in place with how to proceed. I’m not sure if he’d be comfortable with me revealing the details just yet, so I’ll refrain. But I’m sure that his improved mood has something to do with that.”

And the teachers left it at that, trusting their colleague to help their beloved student.

All Might couldn’t help but feel a tad bit of hurt at the fact that his protege chose to confide in Eraserhead rather than him, but he quickly pushed the feeling away. It was a selfish thing to think about when Midoriya was the one who needed help. And he knew that he could trust Aizawa to do everything in his power to make sure the boy was happy.

With that final thought, he headed off to bed, just excited as the littles for the fun that was planned for the next two days.

Chapter Text

The following night, they ended up asleep even earlier than the first day of fun. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted by the day's events.

The students had woken up before any of their alarms went off and rushed to get ready for their trip to the zoo. A lot of them were running on pure jitters, never having been to a zoo before.

The caregivers and adults ensured that everyone had everything needed for the day; bottles of water, heaps of sunscreen, cans of bug spray, and enough snacks for the entire day.
When they arrived, they were met by Kamui Woods, Cementos, Snipe, along with Gang Orca. The first three were acting as chaperones and ‘security’ and Gang Orca ‘staffed’ the entire zoo during their reserved time.

The additional help allowed the students to be split into smaller groups for exploring the zoo, which aided in speeding up the day trip. The class was able to see every animal housed in the zoo and they all ended up with mini animal plush keychains, each student choosing distinct animals.

The lunch spot chosen by the teachers was within walking distance of the zoo and so there was no delay in feeding the group. Thankfully, the littles were less rowdy than last night’s dinner and didn’t make too much of a mess.

By the end of their lunch, the littles began to get a little cranky, feeling tired from all the walking so far. As soon as they loaded the bus to head over to the hero museum, they were out cold, even the caregivers.

Every student was cuddled up with their seat partner as they napped and it was just adorable.

Kaminari and Sero were hugging each other.

Ochako’s head was laying on top of Asui’s.

Izuku was drooling on Katsuki’s shirt while keeping a firm grip on it.

Todorki held firmly onto Momo’s hand with his knees tucked into his chest.

Mina’s legs were splayed across Kirishima’s lap as he snored.

The teachers couldn’t help but pull out their phones to snap photos of every pair.

The trip wasn’t too long, but it was long enough for the teens to feel refreshed from their power naps. Some were still a bit groggy, but they weren’t forced to come out of it since the museum was a much more calming environment than the zoo.

Since they were indoors, they were able to wander around more freely, but for the heroes present, it was anything but a free for all. Every moment a little spotted a display that included them, they excitedly dragged the respective hero to inspect the display themselves. It was endearing, truly, but also exhausting. It had the adults running all over the place.

All Might was the most in demand, a picture of him spotted at nearly every turn. He had never been to the hero museum before today and while he was honored and very proud to see himself all over the building, even he got tired of seeing his own face.

Again, the students visited the gift shop and bought their own souvenirs. Many of them chose sticker books with specific heroes highlighted and other similar stationary and things that were lightweight so they’d have an easy time carrying it around on their night walk.

During their walk, they picked up a few more souvenirs and trinkets that would serve as a commemoration of the fun day they had. When they got back on the bus for the final time to head back to the dorms, most of the teens were dead weight, sleeping much deeper than they had during their short naps earlier.

They were so exhausted from the day that when they finally arrived back to UA, most of the littles refused to move from their ‘comfortable’ spots. That was definitely the little side of them talking and forgetting that they had beds that were much more comfortable than dingy bus seats.

Because of their reluctance to move, most of them were carried straight to their rooms by a caregiver or teacher. Of course, it wasn’t too much of a problem to lift any of their peers and students, but they wanted to sleep just as badly.

Everyone was completely over it, not caring about anything else except getting their precious sleep. That’s why some students didn’t even bother heading off to their own dorm rooms when the younger littles clung tightly enough to them.

Izuku was an octopus on Katsuki, just as Kaminari was on Jiro, and Todoroki was on Kirishima. Each caregiver ended up in the littles room and when the littles wouldn’t let go, they conceded and plopped in bed along with them.

It wasn’t until the following morning that the students realized they had completely forgotten and forgone the promised cozy movie night. At first, they felt a little upset at the fact that they had missed out on it, but they were quickly reminded that another movie night was on tonight's itinerary.

Since the day’s schedule wasn’t as full as yesterday’s, the students were able to take time getting ready and eating their breakfast. They were able to make nice and fluffy stacks of fresh pancakes, eggs cooked perfectly to everyone’s individual preferences and toast charred to various degrees.

Izuku was waiting patiently as Bakugou took the time to cut up his food for him. While waiting, his mind wandered and imagined what the day would look like. He didn’t have too much time to search up the Build-A-Bear place that Present Mic had told them about, so he was struggling to imagine that part of the day.

“Hey, Kacchan? What do you think that Build-A-Bear place will be like?” Izuku asked sweetly.

Katsuki, on the other hand, knew exactly what the place was. He personally believed that it would be one of the bigger highlights of the weekend. Being able to make your own stuffie seemed like something super special and he was more excited than he liked to admit.

But if Izuku didn’t know what it was already, he’d rather leave it a surprise for the boy. He’d rather see his excitement at the real thing than just talking about it.

“Hm, I’m not really sure ‘Zuku. I’m sure it’ll be fun though,” he supplied as he continued to cut up the food into bite sized pieces.

The reply had Izuku’s eyebrows furrowing, slipping into deeper thought.

He gasped at the recurring thought that appeared and whispered quietly.

“D-do you think we’re gonna build real aminals? From scratch?”

The idea both frightened and intrigued him. It seemed somewhat gorey to him, to make a living thing from scratch, but he also wanted to see it happen. He had never thought about something like it before.

He was snapped out of his thought process when he heard a chuckle from his friend.

“No, I don’t think that’s possible bud. We’ll see what it is when we get there. For now though, let’s just worry about breakfast.”

Izuku accepted the answer easily enough, decidedly having enough of that kind of ‘deep thinking’ for the morning, and dug straight into his food.

On the bus ride to the store, he was asking his classmate similar questions. He first asked Todoroki, who was his seat buddy for the day, but the boy was having a similar thought process to his. Neither boy had thought it possible to build animals, but it's all their minds went to.

They turned around to Tsu and Ochako and asked the same question. The girls just chuckled at their ideas, but they didn’t correct them either. They responded like Bakugou had, telling them to wait until they arrived.

Neither of the boys were satisfied with the answers and huffed because of it, but didn’t try asking anyone else. Instead they spent the rest of the time on the bus with a multitude of hand games. Patty cake, rock paper scissors, a game called sticks they had just learned, and many more.

Before they knew it, they were parked and ready to go into the store. At the entrance they were met by Mirko, Riyukyu, and Gang Orca once again.

Seeing it from the outside had already caught everyone’s attention. The friendly looking bear embedded in the store logo instantly won the littles over. As soon as they were given the greenlight, the students rushed into the store.

Eyes widened as soon as they were inside. Many littles were thinking the same thing.

Am I in heaven?!??!

As they looked around the store, their excitement grew more and more. There were stuffed animals all over the place and a ton of accessories and outfits to dress them in.

The sight had Shoto and Izuku squealing together, unable to express their joy in any other way. This was most certainly not what they had been expecting.

The excitement was bubbling in the room like never before but it only grew once the activity was explained to them.

Class 1A had assumed that they’d simply get to choose a bear and dress it up, but that wasn’t all.

“You kids excited to build your very own bear today?” Hawks asked and was immediately smiling at the confused looks on their faces.

“What the bird said, you guys are going to be building your very own stuffed animal today.” Aizawa added.

When gasps were heard across the room, Present Mic began explaining the process,

“Listen to this! Each of you get to choose your own stuffed animal, whichever you want. Then you’ll get to bring it to life! You get to stuff it, put any sound or message you’d like in the animal, and most importantly, partake in the heart ceremony. Then you can choose to accessorize your stuffie and finally name it. Then you’ll get a birth certificate to bring home with you!”

“That sounds so freaking cool!” Mina exclaimed, first to speak.
“Yeah! I’ve never made my own stuffie before,” Kaminari agreed.

“Me neither. And I’ve never been able to dress it up. I’ve only done that with dolls,” Hagakure replied.

Izuku and Shoto were squealing once more and now jumping up and down eagerly. This was way better than what they were thinking.

“We’re gonna make stuffies Sho!” Izuku said happily.

“Mhm! We’re gonna make the bestest ones ever!” Shoto replied with just as much enthusiasm.

Without missing a beat, the class immediately went over to pick their special bear. All the littles took turns hugging the display bears to decide which one they really wanted.

It took a while to feel them out, but eventually everyone had decided on an animal.

Ida chose one of the cheetahs.

Mina chose a pink zebra.

Ochako chose a pink unicorn.

Kaminari chose a yellow eel.

Asui chose a frog.

Kirishima chose a shark.

Hagakure chose a pink axolotl.

Ojiro chose a monkey.

Shoji chose a dog.

Sato chose a classic brown bear.

Sero chose a white bunny

Todoroki chose a blue penguin.

Momo chose a black cat.

Izuku chose a purple bunny.

Katsuki chose a dragon.

Mineta chose a tiger.

Jiro chose a brown and white cow.

Aoyama chose a rainbow unicorn.

Tokoyami chose a black bird.

Koda chose a lamb.

The next step was to choose a sound for the bear. Some chose pre-recorded sounds, like a simple giggle or ‘I love you’ or the typical sounds associated with their chosen animals. Others chose a custom voice message.

Kirishima opted for his typical ‘you’re so manly!’ mantra.

Denki went for some similar affirmation.

Mineta chose something punny ‘go get ‘em, tiger’.

Aoyoma spoke something fancy sounding in French.

Katsuki was one of the students who chose a classic sound for his stuffie; loud roaring for his dragon. He was about to make his way over to the stuffing and heart ceremony, when he felt a soft tug on the back of the shirt.

It immediately had him turning around and he was faced with a shy looking Izuku, eyes focused on his shoes and a faint blush flooding his cheeks.

The sight immediately had Katsuki melting. He waited for the boy to speak, but he knew whatever it was that he wanted, he’d make it happen, no questions asked.

“K-kachaan? C-can you.. Um.. could you..” Izuku began stuttering out nervously.

Katsuki listened patiently and waited for him to continue.

Izuku’s blush deepened as he continued, “C-can you say a message? T-to put in my bunny?”
Bakugou couldn’t hold back the big smile that lit his face up as soon as he heard the request.

What an adorable thing to ask!

“Of course baby!” he replied kindly, laying it on thicker than usual. He knew that’s the type of thing that Izuku liked, especially after he had worked up the nerve to ask such a loaded question, but he’d do anything for the little.

Izuku sighed in relief, glad that he followed through with his question. He had been hesitant about asking, embarrassed at the idea, but the idea of having a message from his friend to listen to whenever his heart desired was a huge comfort to him.

“Anything in particular you want me to say in the message?” Katsuki asked.

The greenette shook his head, not caring for the specifics. The sound of the blonde’s voice would be enough for him.

“Surprise me?”

“You got it, Zuku.”

Bakugou walked over to the recording machine. He didn’t have to think too long before he came up with the perfect message for Izuku. The message was one that could be appreciated whether he was little or big.

’You’re doing great, nerd. I’m proud of ya’

It wasn’t much, but the words meant everything. Praising Izuku, directly and indirectly, was one of the ways he showed his affection for him. And Izuku soaked it up like a sponge. He had missed out on so much praise and compliments from his peers and teachers growing up quirkless and so Katsuki tried his best to make up for it by praising him whenever he could.

When he finished the recording and had the clickable paw insert, he headed back to the stuffing line and handed it to Izuku.

The boy gave the sweetest smile and held onto it like it was the most important thing he’s ever been handed.

“You gonna listen to it, Zuku?” he questioned after a moment of silence.

“Not yet. Saving for later,” was the serious reply he received.

He had to work hard to school his expression. If the boy hadn’t seemed so serious about it, he would’ve laughed at that and reminded him that he could listen to the message as many times as he wanted, but stayed silent and let him ‘save it’.

They observed their classmates complete the stuffing and sacred heart ceremony. Both boys were completely enraptured in the ceremony, adoring how special it seemed. They got to put all of their loving and nice kisses into their bears!

The entire store experience had Katsuki teetering on the edge of his headspace, but the heart ceremony was what finally tipped him over the edge. It was a pleasant feeling that he welcomed. Even though the room was already overwhelmingly bright when he wasn’t in headspace, it seemed even bigger and brighter now that he was little.

He was now behaving similarly to the other littles, jittering with excitement as they waited for their turn. Before it was his, he turned to his green haired friend and made a request of his own.

“Hey Zuku! We should both kiss the hearts we put in our stuffies!” Katsuki preened, proud of his idea and the way it had his friend giggling.

Izuku nodded fervently without missing a beat.

“Our stuffies gonna have double the love!” he exclaimed, absolutely elated at the prospect.

The idea was brilliant in his mind. Stuffies needed all the loving they could get and what kind of love would be better than some from him and his big brother!

“Exactly!”

And so they both took turns whispering ‘I love you’ and kissing their hearts before finally putting it in their bears and waiting for it to be sewn up. As soon as that happened, they rushed over to the accessories and clothing section of the store.

The area had already been ravaged by the classmates that came before them, but somehow they managed to find exactly what they needed.

Izuku dressed his bunny in denim overalls and attached a carrot to its wrist. Katsuki found sunglasses with flames covering the frames and black cape to complement the dragon’s fiery colors.

The others in the class chose accessories that also went well with their chosen animal and every little agreed that buying a few stuffie sized chair beds and wheelchairs were absolutely necessary. You never know what’ll happen.
The class walked out of the store happily, every stuffie stored in their respective cardboard box houses.

The experience was amazing for the teens. The adults were sure they’d remember it for a long time and if they didn’t, they wouldn’t have to worry. All Might and Present Mic took enough pictures to fill their camera roll as if they were paid paparazzi. They couldn’t resist though, they just wanted to live in the moment forever.

While en route to the trampoline park, class 1A took turns introducing their stuffies to each other, proud of their creations.

Finally, they arrived to the giant warehouse-like building and were joined by a few more heroes, due to the sheer size of the building. The lesser known Slidin’ Go and Rock Lock greeted them at the entrance, but remained on standby outside of the building.

The littles couldn’t lie to themselves about the heavenly nap the trampoline park would send them into, but they didn’t care. As soon as they stepped foot on the springy black surface, pure joy lit their faces.

Bouncing up and down repeatedly, reaching new heights with each jump was such a liberating experience, almost euphoric. Even the adults were participating in this activities, feeling the same.

With every jump, they felt like they were flying, if only for a few seconds. Everyone had similar thoughts.

Why haven’t we done this before??

The adrenaline rush from the physical activity even had Aizawa smiling, unable to keep it hidden. After a few minutes of plain jumping, the students ran off to the many different areas in the warehouse.

One area had basketball hoops, all reaching different heights. Another had a small dodgeball arena and enough soft puff balls for a real game. There was an elevated area with foam blocks to jump into and nearby was another area with the same foam blocks below a battle beam. There was even a ball pit with an obstacle course hanging over it.

It was just as overwhelming as it was exciting, but everyone made it their personal mission to try each and every thing the trampoline park had to offer.

While all the fun was happening on the outside, Slidin’ Go sighed for the millionth time. He was bored out of his mind.
Rock Lock was fed up with the sighing and had opted for circling the building periodically while the purple and green hero remained standing at the front door.

He kept checking his watch, as though he was in a hurry, but in all honesty, he had nothing better to do with himself. When he was asked by All Might to assist in this, he jumped to the opportunity with no hesitation. He didn’t know what he would be doing when he agreed to help, he didn’t even know what the occasion was, but he thought he could be absolutely sure that it was going to be far more interesting than what he was doing now.

Being a watchdog was never any fun. Plus he usually wasn’t a good one. Don’t get him wrong, he’d do it if he had to and try to give it his all, but he wasn’t known for being the most attentive man. And when he was bored, his mind wandered and he’d forget things. Important things.

Today was no different. After about thirty minutes of sighing, checking his watch and kicking dirt, something better caught his attention. No, not something, but someone.

For a moment, he had thought it was Rock Lock coming around again, but when he saw the man on the opposite side of the building, he realized that the footsteps he heard were coming from someone else.

He finally looked forward and set his eyes on an interesting looking man. He looked to be middle aged, but held a grin that aged him backwards. His hair was strewn wildly atop his head and steam puffed out of his nose with every breath.

Despite the eccentric look, the man didn’t seem suspicious to Slidin’ Go, if the employee uniform was anything to go by. Still, he had a job to do.

“Good afternoon sir,” he greeted as the man got closer, “I see that you’re an employee here, but the park is closed for a private event. Even for the employees.”

“Oh really? I had no idea,” the older man replied, sounding confused.

If Slidin’ Go remembered correctly, he was informed that all the employees should’ve been informed of the event beforehand. Maybe they guy missed the memo? Or he was older than he seemed and was confused.

“Ah, well, I’m sorry to say it sir, but you won’t be able to go in for another hour or so,” he informed patiently, expecting him to accept the answer easily enough and turn back around. Instead he was met with a plea.

“Are you sure I couldn’t go in to hang out for a while before my shift? I take the subway here and it’s pretty hot to be sitting out here for the next hour.”
That had the purple and green hero feeling sympathetic, agreeing that the heat could be too much at times. But still, he had a job to do. And denying the man entry was part of that job.

“No can do, sir. My apologies.”

The man finally sighed and conceded, “All right, all right I get it. But is it okay if I head in for a split second to grab a cold water? To help with the heat?”

Slidin’ Go wouldn’t deny a civilian that much and nodded his ascent, but offered a quick alternative.

“What about this, I head in and grab it for you?” he offered.

The man nodded and informed him of where to find it in the building. Quickly, he headed indoors and made his way to the employee break room.

What the rookie pro forgot was two very important things. One, that the door was meant to be guarded at all times and two, that Rock Lock was no longer next to him and currently halfway around the building, nowhere in sight.

So the middle aged man was left unsupervised. He scouted out his surroundings to make sure there was no else there to stop him and when he was sure of that, he headed straight into the building, grinning like a madman.

That was too easy. That damn fool of a hero failed at his job, shamefully. Are these really the heroes my worthless son looks up to? Figures.

Chapter Text

Hisashi Midoriya was bored. There was no other way to put it.

His several year stint in the Americas added no value to his life whatsoever. At first, it was fun for him. Being a villain in a completely different country where your quirk isn’t registered made it a lot easier.

But at the same time, it made things so boring. The life of villainy lacked the excitement of the chase that he had longed for.It wasn’t just the fact that his quirk was unregistered, but the American heroes had nothing on the ones in Japan. He knows for a fact that if he were an outsider coming into Japan, he would’ve been caught within a week of beginning his misdeeds.

Hisashi gave it time, still appreciating the fact that he was able to get away with so much. That, plus there was a lot more area to explore in the western hemisphere. But after a while, when he was able to settle in one city and his crimes grew in severity, he realized he was lacking something.

He kept ramping up his crimes, expecting and almost longing for authorities to go after him in some high tension pursuit. But nope, nothing happened. Either his crimes weren’t as big as he thought, or the police and heroes just sucked at their jobs. No one was ever there to stop him before, during, or after each crime. There wasn’t even media coverage.

If he’d been caught at all, he’s sure he would’ve been facing a life sentence. Two honestly, if it were possibly. But nope, it was like he was a regular civilian and that bored him to no end. He didn’t get the adrenaline rush he knows he would’ve gotten if he had been in Japan.

So the solution? Go back to Japan and stir up trouble there. He never imagined having a reason to go back, but here he was after such a short time in the Americas.

Hisashi had no idea where to begin. Link up with some of his old goons? Give his estranged wife a visit for some money? Immediately dive into committing crimes again? They were the easiest options, but those things were also boring to him, they were the main reason he left.

That, plus his wretched excuse of a son. The boy was nothing that Hisashi could be proud of ever since he was diagnosed as being quirkless. He had great dreams for his son, but they were crushed in an instant. From that day forward, Izuku had become nearly useless to his father.

There was only one thing he had been good for; basically acting as hostage in order for Hisashi to receive money from Inko everytime he demanded. Of course, it didn’t take much threatening on his part, since Inko was almost always eager to pay him.

The bitch thinks that her money would win me back? Ha, fat chance of that

Aside from that though, the boy had only ever been a good outlet for Hisashi to dish his anger out to. Until the ill-fated day, it had never been anything but emotional and verbal abuse. But when he caught his son doing such a wicked, perverted, disgusting, sickening act, he wished it had been more. Maybe, then, his son wouldn’t have ever thought to act so horribly.

The day he walked in on his son dressed as a full blown toddler was the day he lost his shit. He had previously sworn to himself, no matter how terrible his crimes got, he would never lay his hand on a child unnecessarily, his own son included. But that day was the very first time he found it necessary.

It wasn’t any of what he was expecting, that day he had dropped into his former residence. It was supposed to be the normal, one and done, get the money from Inko and go. But fate wouldn’t have it that way.

Seeing his son in such a state had him seeing red. He knew exactly what was happening. His teen son was one of those kinky ass weirdos, slutting themselves out for money to old pedophiles. There was no other explanation for it, there couldn’t be. Was this Izuku’s way of helping his mother sustain the two, plus him when he made his sporadic demands?

And so without an ounce of hesitation, he beat the boy senseless, as though it was the sole cure to what he had assumed was happening. His tunnel vision didn’t allow him to see reason. He didn’t process the fact that there was no one else in the house that Izuku could’ve been ‘pimping himself out to’, nor a video camera to be recording himself, nor anything sexual to be found in the room.

That was the day he had decided that America would be better for him. He couldn’t stand the thought of being associated with such filth. Forget the fact that Inko was a good source for money when it was tight, it simply wasn’t worth it in Hisashi’s eyes.

But now, he was back, looking for much more than the usual. He decided his next escapade the moment he remembered why he had fled in the first place. Hisashi wanted to know his son's whereabouts, if the beating had been effective and if the boy had led a normal life.

So when he landed back in Japan, he got to work. His first thought was to pay a visit to Inko, but he wasn’t sure if she’d even be in the same residence. Plus, it would be too easy that way. He wanted to have a little bit of fun.

So instead, Hisashi did his own research. But even then, it wasn’t hard to track down his son. Apparently the boy was the talk of the town the past few months. The more he learned, the more angry he got.

Seeing that his quirkless son had gotten into a hero academy was terrible enough. The spot could have been used for someone that actually had a future in that line of work. But finding out that his son did have a quirk after all was what got him properly enraged.

That little shit hid this from me all this time? Who does he think he is?

His rage was all the motivation he needed to actually contact and confront the boy. He dove deeper and deeper, learning of all the instances where his son and their class were attacked, even the moments that weren’t publicized.

The icing on top though, was when he was finally able to get current intel on the boy. With a few connections and fat wads of cash, he was able to get a few people on the inside who could physically see his son, on a daily basis.

Poor heroes, they have no idea how many of their students and staff are willing to turn on them for a quick buck, he thought without an ounce of sympathy. He couldn’t believe that UA was meant to be the top hero school in the country if something this simple couldn’t be caught on to.

When he found out that the beating was not enough for his son to understand his hideous behavior, there was only one solution in his mind; teach his entire class a lesson.

Hisashi pitied his entire son's class. It wasn’t their fault that his son was the way he was, but somehow he managed to rope them into his disgusting lifestyle, and so they had no choice but to be collateral damage in his scheme.

The idea was to teach his son a lesson, once again, but this time he was absolutely certain it would be effective. Because it wouldn’t just be them this time, no, it would be the entire class of 1A there to witness.

So the stakeout continued for a few more weeks and when his informants told him about the weekend the teachers had planned for the class, he knew he had to seize the opportunity. He wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of figuring out how to slip through UA’s many defenses.

The circumstances were almost too good to be true, but he still didn’t want to take it for granted.

The entire process felt like child's play to Hisashi. It wasn’t hard to obtain an employee uniform from the trampoline park at all. He faked a job search and landed the interview within 24 hours of that search and was nearly hired on the spot.

Too damn easy.

The only reason he had chosen the trampoline park was because the heroes that would be there to stand guard. Rock Lock and Slidin’ go were rookies in the hero biz. He could easily take the two on if it came down to it. After that, he didn’t care what heroes he encountered. He didn’t care what would happen after he did it, all Hisashi cared about was drilling this lesson into his son.

He was a horrible father for not getting through to him the first time, but he was sure that this time would be much more effective.

As soon as he walked into the trampoline park, his face wrinkled in disgust at the childish sounds of glee echoing in the building. One look was all it took for him to know what was going on. His rage bubbled the longer he scanned the room in search for his son, but luck was fortunately on his side.

Ironic, how the stars always seemed to align for him, a lowlife criminal, and not the future heroes in the room.

He spotted the messy mop of green hair skipping across the building and into the restroom.

Skipping? Seriously? Has he no shame?

Hisashi shook his head and beelined in that same direction, surprisingly making it in without being detected.

These heroes definitely lost their touch, he chuckled quietly to himself before finally making his presence known.

Izuku heard footsteps coming into the bathroom, but that’s not what weirded him out. It was the barely noticeable chuckle he heard from the person. Yes, sometimes he’d laugh to himself too, when he thought of something silly, but the laugh he heard sent a chill up his spine for some odd reason.

He was getting down with his business and flushing the toilet when his blood ran cold.

“Izuku,” the sickly sweet voice of his father rang in the restroom, “I found you, boy.”

The voice immediately catapulted him out of his headspace and immediately had him on defensive mode. His mind raced with panic, trying to figure out if he was hallucinating or not.

Izuku didn’t move from the stall for a while and Hisashi decided he had enough waiting. With one simple kick to the door, the hinges were broken and the teen was now face to face with his father.

Seeing his old man tripled Izuku’s panic, his mind now flooding with his last memory of the man. But he fought through that panic with a sudden rush of adrenaline that came to him. Like always, his body chose for him, whether it would be fight or flight and as per usual, it was fight.

It didn’t stop his stutter though.

“Y-you shouldn’t b-be here!” he spoke with as much strength as he could muster.

Hisashi let out a cackle that was even creepier.

“And why not? You’re my son after all. Is it wrong of me to want to see you every now and then?” he asked, feigning innocence.

Now it was Izuku’s turn to laugh, though he was far too jittery for one.

“I-I know you don’t care about m-me. And this is a private event. So why are you here?”

“It’s exactly as I said, my boy, I just wanted to see you.”

The older man slapped a hand on his son's shoulder much harder than necessary and it had the younger cowering back.

Something about this isn’t adding up to Izuku, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The period of time he hadn’t seen his father was the longest absence to date and Hisashi’s timing couldn’t have been weirder.

Gathering his thoughts, Izuku began to worry.

How did he get in so easily? Aren’t there heroes patrolling right outside?

If his father did something to hurt them to enter the building, he’d never forgive himself. But then again, how did his father even know that he’d be here? And why did he choose to find him here, of all places, on this specific day, when he was on a class outing?

Is he here to hurt my friends?

A streak of protectiveness entered his body and strengthened his resolve, pushing all panic out of his body momentarily. He assumed the worst when it came to his father and he wouldn’t put it above him.

Izuku didn’t care about the answers to his questions anymore, all he cared about was getting the man out of the building, no matter the cost.

“You need to leave Hisashi,” he spoke in a cold tone, a stark contrast to his usual voice.

The reaction was instant. Before he even realized it, his throat was tightened around his fathers hand. Immediately, he was struggling for air as his father’s hold tightened by the second.

“Who do you think you are, boy! Telling me to leave. You don’t get to tell me that I need to leave, you hear me!” Hisashi spat.
Izuku was now clawing at his father’s arm and after what felt like ages, was finally released.

He backed away from Hisashi as he spluttered and coughed, catching his breath. Izuku didn’t have time to speak before his father was speaking again.

“You really want to know why I’m here brat? I’ll tell you why.”

The snarl on his face was an image that Izuku thought he’d never have to see again, yet here he was.

“It seems that the lesson I taught you wasn’t enough. You’re still the filthy waste of space that you always were. I’m here to finish the job.”

He cackled gleefully at the shocked, yet fearful expression on his son’s face and continued.

“What, you think I wouldn’t find out? You’d be surprised how many people at that UA high are willing to spill over some quick cash. Not very heroic, is it?”

Again, Izuku’s mind was racing.

There’s moles at UA?

He didn’t want to believe it. He thought of the possibility of his father lying, just to rile him up, but then realized there couldn’t be any other way of him knowing that he went back to age playing.

Despite that, he found his voice, “So what? What I’m doing isn’t wrong at all. No matter how hard you tried to make me believe that.”

He felt the string on his cheek before he could process the fact that his father had slapped him.

“Are you fucking stupid, boy?! Isn’t wrong!? You’re a disgusting little slut and you’ve got all of these people in some sort of chokehold in all of this. I don’t know how, but I don’t care. I realized I made a mistake all those years ago, not staying to periodically ensure something like this wouldn’t happen. But I’m here to fix that.”

What kind of messed up sense of justice does this man have?

His wording had Izuku confused. ‘Slut’ was a new one and it had the gears turning in his head. What did his father think this was?

“Fix what, exactly? We’re not doing anything wrong at all. So what, we act like kids every now and then, it's not harming anyone. It makes us happy. Why are you so against that? What kind of father wouldn’t want to see their own child happy?”

If it weren’t for the support he has had the past few months, Izuku would never even dream of defending this coping mechanism the way he currently is and most definitely not to his father. But it most definitely was happening, here and now.

“Are you sick in the head, little shit? You somehow making your classmates participate in your disgusting kinky fantasies is harmless? Are you dumb?”

Izuku’s eyes widened in disbelief and he immediately was squashing the claim, “What are you talking about Hisashi? You have to be the dumb one here. There is nothing sexual about what we’re doing.”

He received a dry laugh at that and replied sarcastically, “Sure, this is something totally normal, nothing pedophilic that weirdos love to pay for. And you definitely don’t need the money for it. I should definitely just leave and never bother you again.”

“Yes, exactly that. I’ve never done anything of the sort. Do you really think I would?” he looked at his father in disbelief, though he really shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course this is what he had been thinking all along. Everything was coming together in Izuku’s head.

He now knew why his age playing was what pushed his father into physically assaulting him. Hisashi had his own sick assumptions about what he had been doing that day, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Izuku knew that his father wouldn’t see reason though and so he didn’t even bother defending his view anymore.

“It doesn’t matter, Hisashi, please just leave. We don’t have to make a scene or anything, you slip out of the door and I go back to my classmates,” he reasoned calmly.

But his father was having none of it.

“You think I came all this way, spent all this time to reach you just so that we could have this talk and you make me leave? Yeah, fat chance you little shit.”

Hisashi came closer and closer to Izuku until they were only inches apart. He stared at his son with the deepest hate in his eyes while Izuku stared right back at him with the most defiance in his.

“I told you I’m here to finish the job and I intend to live up to my word.”

Izuku prepared himself for an onslaught of blows. He didn’t want to, but he’s willing to use his quirk if he needs to. He doesn’t want to fight his father, despite how horrible of a man he is, but he also didn’t plan on letting himself get beat up like last time.

Things have changed for him, for the better, and he wants that to be made very clear to his old man.

Unfortunately though, he wasn’t prepared for the bone chilling fear that would paralyze his body when he saw his father’s fist raised, aiming towards him for the second time in his life. It put him back in the same scared and powerless position he had been the last time he saw Hisashi and there was nothing to bring him out of his stupor as his father landed the first blow.

Chapter Text

It was like his first beating all over again. There was nothing he could do to stop it. Sure he had a quirk now, but it sure didn’t feel like it. He felt absolutely defenseless.

He was being struck left and right relentlessly. Izuku worked up every ounce of courage he could when he had moments to collect himself. He fought hard to wash away the suffocating panic, but each time he saw another fist raised at him or the fire breathed in his direction, panic seized his body all over again.

Izuku thought it truly was that ill-fated day all those years ago, happening all over again.

This time was different though. Because he wasn’t alone. Someone was there to save him.

Izuku wasn’t entirely coherent nor aware of his surroundings, already sporting a swollen black eye, but as soon as he heard his voice, he knew his Kacchan had come to his rescue this time.

He nearly cried tears of joy as his father paused the beating in favor of paying attention to the new presence in the bathroom

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, you monster!?” Katsuki yelled, pouncing on the man.

Bakugou had been playing trampoline basketball with Kirishima, Kaminari, and Denki when he overheard Izuku informing his friends of his ‘need to go potty’. It was clear to Bakugou that his headspace was fluctuating due to the fact that he hadn’t been informed.

Usually, Izuku felt the need to tell Katsuki of his bodily functions because he normally needed assistance in the restroom in one form or another, whether it was because of a diaper or simply being too clumsy in stalls.

It didn’t worry him that Izuku was going alone though, especially since he informed his friends and the entire building was closed off to the public.

What worried him was how long it had been taking him.

Maybe Zuku needed help after all?

Whatever it was, Katsuki decided to investigate. After making sure his friends would pause the game for him, he went over into the bathroom and the sight he was met with immediately made him feel nauseous.

Hisashi Midoriya, in the flesh, beating his very own son like a punching bag. Izuku wasn’t doing anything to fight him back, he just took it. His eyes were empty and it was something so haunting for Bakugou to see that it had him spring into immediate action.

He didn’t hesitate for a second, his shock now fueled into a rage that rivaled Hisashi’s

As soon as he had his hands on Hisashi, Izuku was dropped to the floor with a small thud. Bakugou made a note to apologize about it later, but for now all he was concerned with was setting the old man straight.

While Katsuki was filled with fury, Hisashi lit up in amusement. He recognized the blonde almost as soon as he walked in.

“Oh, I remember you!” he grinned as he dodged a punch to the face, “You’re Mitsuki little brat, aren’t you?”

Bakugou only grunted and continued swinging his fists in rapid succession, hoping to land a few hits on the man, but Hisashi kept up with him and avoided each attempt.

“Oh, don’t tell me this brat convinced you that this was okay? I could’ve sworn you hated him or something. Or was that some other brat?”

Again, Bakugou didn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer. All he focused on was hitting the man the same way he had hit his friend. He had a chance to get back at Izuku’s old man and he wouldn’t let it go to waste.

His anger doubled as he reminded himself of the all consuming guilt he had felt everytime he thought about the beating Izuku had received when they were in middle school. He felt guilty because he hadn’t been there for his friend. He felt guilty because he was supposed to protect his baby brother. Every time Izuku had something negative to associate with regression, Katsuki felt guilt.

But now he had a chance to fix it all. To reclaim the feeling and change it into something else entirely. Now he had the chance to save his best friend from his father. Damage had already been inflicted, but it didn’t have to continue. And Bakugou could now make certain that it would never happen again.
Bakugou finally found the words he wanted Hisashi to hear, “You proud of yourself monster? Proud of beating your own son? Who hasn’t done anything to deserve it?”

He finally landed a hit to the man's abdomen and it had him doubling over in pain. Katsuki smirked at that. It gave him an opening to land endless blows all over the man's body and he continued,

“You’re a sick man. How can you even look at your ugly face in the mirror when you act like this?”

He got a few more hits in before Hisashi finally came back to his senses and retaliated with his quirk. As soon as Katsuki saw the smoke coming out of his nose, he jumped back, and right in time to miss the onslaught of fire.

It only made him laugh though, “That’s how you want to do this old man? Fine by me, I have no problem fighting fire with fire!”

And with that, a full on battle had begun in the mens restroom of a trampoline park. Katsuki Bakugou fighting Hisashi Midoriya, in the defense of Izuku Midoriya.

Right as it began, Slidin’ Go found himself in his own dilemma. He hadn’t been able to find any water in the fridge like the man had said there would be and when he went back down to let the employee know that, he was nowhere to be seen.

He did see Rock Lock rounding the corner and he asked his colleague about it.

“Hey, uh, did you see where that employee went? The one who had asked for a bottle of water?”

Rock Lock gave him a confused look, “What employee? I haven’t seen anyone around here?”

Slidin’ Go’s face mirrored his look, “What do you mean you haven’t seen anyone? I told a man to wait right out here while I went in to grab the water for him. Were you not keeping watch?”

“Don’t pin this on me man,” Rock Lock replied, sounding defensive, “I told you I was walking around the building. I must’ve been on the back side when that happened. You never told me anything.”

Slidin’ Go’s eyes widened comically as he thought back to the moment he interacted with the middle aged man. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks and it had both him and Rock Lock rushing into the building.

It seemed they were too late, as there was a huge scene unfolding in front of them.

Katsuki and Hisashi weren’t able to land many hits without making a commotion. Fire wasn’t the most subtle quirk out there.

It was a burning scent that raised suspicion. Shoji smelled it and pointed it out to his classmates who had also begun to smell it. The adults did as well and immediately instructed them all off of the trampolines.

It would be a very strange possibility and quite unlikely, but if there was a fire in the building for whatever reason, they wanted to evacuate as soon as possible.

This would’ve had the teens protesting if the circumstances were different, but the scent was beginning to concern them.

Aizawa did a mental headcount of his students and concern filled his body when he realized two were missing. He counted again to make sure, but still came sure. He was about to tell the other adults when two things happened at once.

Slidin’ Go and Rock Lock bursting through the front doors and two entangled bodies slamming through the bathroom door, breaking it off of its hinges.

Instantly, it had all the adults in the room in defensive stances, some of the students as well

Aizawa sprinted over to the two rolling bodies, All Might and Hawks following closely behind.

The two bodies stood up and everyone’s eyes widened.

An intruder!

Upon closer look, they could see that it was Bakugou who had been fighting the intruder and he looked properly scuffed up.

“Bakugou! What happened?” All Might demanded.

The boy didn’t reply though, too wrapped up in the fight. Hisashi seemed to be as well, not taking his eyes off of the blonde.

“Let it rest, you stupid fuck!” Bakugou shouted, using a few explosions to dodge a big wave of fire from the older man, “You’re not going to get away with this, how do you not realize this. Beating your very own son in public? What the hell is wrong with you?”

The sentence confused a lot of people in the room, but in Aizawa’s head, everything clicked. This was Izuku’s father. He felt his own anger bubbling inside of him but he had to push it away. He couldn’t ignore the words Bakugou uttered.

Eraserhead ran to the bathroom and the sight he was met with felt like a punch to the gut. His problem child, passed out cold on the floor with mild burns littering his arms and legs, along with a few bruises forming in the same areas. A large handprint was bruising on his neck and a black eye was developing.

The sight was absolutely heartbreaking to the teacher and he gathered the boy in his arms. The wave of guilt that washed over him was overwhelming.

I was supposed to protect him. How did this happen?

He stared at the boy sadly, like thoughts continuing before he expertly shoved them away, the way he had been trained. He had many other things to worry about and his guilt was not a priority.

He ran out of the restroom carrying Izuku bridal style. His state had everyone gasping, some littles crying while some were forced out of their headspace. Midnight, Present Mic, and Fat Gum comforted the students while also stood as a barrier between them and the commotion.

Seeing his protege so battered had All Might running to Aizawa. It was Aizawa’s saving grace because now he was able to hand the boy off and deal with his scumbag father.

“Perform as much first aid as you can,” he commanded, “Tell Present Mic to call the authorities.”

All Might nodded seriously as he ran over to the other students and adults to treat Izuku at a safe distance from the fight.

The sight of their bloody, bruised, and burned classmates was what really forced the rest of the littles out of headspace. They all attempted to crowd the boy, their concern skyrocketing now that they got a closer look.

Fatgum, Midnight, and Present Mic held them back from doing that though.

“I know you guys want to help him, but swarming him wouldn’t do anything for him,” Midnight consoled softly.

“We need to let All Might administer first aid. The most you all can do to help is give him that space for the time being,” Fat Gum added.

They all nodded solemnly in understanding as they watched All Might get straight to work. He beckoned Present Mic to his side to assist him and also relay Aizawa’s message.

On the other side of the room, the commotion finally seemed to be dying down. The first thing Aizawa had done once had handed Izuku off to All Might was interfere with the fight.

Katsuki and Hisashi were still going strong, landing solid blows here and there, but as soon as Aizawa was within a fair distance of the fight, he nullified Hisashi’s quirk.

Still, the man continued fighting the blonde teen, but without the fire coming out of his mouth and nose, Katsuki could finally close the distance and tackle the man. It wasn’t an easy feat to stay on top of the man due to the constant flailing but the position they were in gave Aizawa the opportunity to use his capture weapon.

He didn’t waste a second in restraining the man's limbs. It put the flailing to an end and Bakugou could finally take a moment to breathe. But just as the fighting stopped, the yelling began.

“You sick bastard!” Hisashi screamed loud enough for everyone in the building to hear. It brought the students attention away from Izuku, Present Mic, and All Might.

“Every single one of you in this room are sick, dirty fuckers. You all deserve a beating, just like my worthless son!”

Eyebrows were now on level with hairlines as the revelation hit everyone like a shock wave.

This is Midoriya’s father?

“How could any man do this to his own son,” Ochako whispered, horrified.

Lots of students nodded in agreement and were on the verge of voicing their own anger towards Hisashi when the man yelled again.

“All of you heroes here are nothing but frauds! Allowing your students to indulge in something so wretched and filthy. What’s wrong with you people!”

His choice of words did nothing but confuse the students.

“He has to have it all wrong in his head,” Ida stated firmly, “nothing about what we do is wrong.”

“Yeah! This is harmless,” Mina agreed, “Good, even.”

“I’m struggling to understand why he sees age play as something ‘wrong’” Todoroki said.
The students continued to ponder over the words, but for the teachers, a sickening realization hit them.

Everything suddenly clicked for the teachers of class 1A. Why Bakugou and Midoriya did everything they had done up until this moment. This absolute scum of a man ruined such a beautiful thing for the teens and they were still dealing with the aftermath.

This vile excuse for a father is the reason Bakugou and Midoriya had initially seen age playing in such a horrible light. Thankfully, little by little, their view on it had become more positive, but who knows what this altercation would do to them. More likely than not, it would set them back in their progress.

The thought had All Might fuming on the inside as he continued to administer first aid on Izuku.

How could this boy's father do something so twisted and not have any shame?

He truly couldn’t wrap his head around it. How could someone ever feel the need to lift a hand to such a kind, sweet, and loving boy? It made no sense. There was nothing that Izuku had ever done in his life or could ever do in the future that would make him deserve a beating like this from his own father.

The thought was truly nauseating and as soon as he finished tending to Izuku, he handed him off to Present Mic. He knew it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference, but he had to give this man a piece of his mind.

Hisashi was taking another breath to start up an angry tangent when he was suddenly face to face with another blonde, but older. A sickly looking man that had nothing but rage lit in his eye. He was about to shift his words on this man, who he deemed a nobody, but he wasn’t given the chance.

“Are you proud of yourself?” All Might seethed, voice dangerously calm, “Are you actually proud of beating your own son? Young Midoriya, who did nothing to deserve such treatment from his own father!”

He snagged the collar of Hisashi's shirt so tightly that it slightly restricted his airflow.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on in that sick and twisted mind of yours, but I will not allow you to get away with this, you hear me!” All Might’s voice reached astounding heights and his tone nearly had Aizawa cowering in fear despite not being on the receiving end.

No one had ever heard All Might using such a menacing tone, not even when fighting with All for One.

It had Bakugou backing away and retreating to his fellow classmates, who fretted over him, full of worry. And for once in his life, he allowed it. Because he had reached that point in his life where he could fully trust his classmates.

That and the fact that he had finally got to give Izuku’s dad exactly what he had deserved. He got to save Izuku this time and now that Hisashi was captured, his work was done.

The students got to work patching him up just as All Might had done with Izuku and it only took half of the time. As soon as he was bandaged up, his awareness came back to him and he rushed to Izuku’s side.

Bakugou snatched his friend (gently) from Present Mic’s hold and examined the boy intensely. He took note of every cut, bruise, and burn, the image etching itself into his eternal memory. For the second time, he allowed this to happen. But this time, he was here to stop it before it was too late.

This time, he did something about it. It didn’t entirely ease the guilt he felt when looking at the state Izuku was in, but it was much less intense than the first time it happened.

“I’m so sorry Zuku,” whispered so quietly that no one except for Present Mic heard it, “This should’ve never happened. I should’ve stopped him the moment he stepped foot in the building. I should’ve gone to the bathroom with you. I should’ve gone to check on you sooner.”

It was a heartbreaking sight for everyone in the near vicinity. They could see the tears pooling in the blonde’s eyes, and the slight rocking as Katsuki gently cradled Izuku close to his chest.

Up until that moment, Izuku was unconscious. It was his body's response to the damage it had taken. But his subconscious heard the words, felt the emotions that Katsuki was feeling. And his subconscious wouldn’t accept it, wouldn’t allow for his friend to feel responsible for something that wasn’t at all his fault.

So miraculously, in that very moment, Izuku woke up. His eyes remained shut and laid still in Katsuki’s arms. But he moved his hand to grab his friends and squeezed it with all the strength he could muster.

Katsuki’s eyes widened and he let out a gasp and he stared intently at Izuku. He didn’t expect the boy to be awake so soon.

Izuku forced a gravely whisper out, “T-thank you for saving me Kacchan.”

The words were the tipping point for Katsuki and now the tears were flowing freely down his face. He squeezed Izuku’s hand just as hard and stayed that way for a while. No one had the heart to separate them, so they were left alone for the time being.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room, All Might was still dishing his own beating to Hisashi, only verbally. He yelled every curse and insult his brain could supply him and he continued that until the authorities finally arrived.

The police force was all over the building. Some were surveying the damage in the restroom, others were collecting witness statements from the students and adults, some rushed Izuku and Katsuki back to UA to receive treatment from Recovery Girl, and a few were hauling Hisashi out of the building. Aizawa and All Might followed closely behind, wanting to ensure the man was truly going to face the consequence for his action and not just run away.

This didn’t seem to bother Hisashi at all though. He still had the same sick grin on his face, as though his capture and arrest was the ultimate goal here. But that wasn’t it at all. Despite his arrest, in his eyes, he still won.

Sure, he never ended up finishing what he had planned for his son, but he still did enough damage. Even with his ‘newly awakened quirk’, the boy had still been too weak to do anything. And his entire class got to witness that.

After seeing how weak he is, no one’s going to want him.

In Hisashi’s mind, it was a logical thought. Hero students wouldn’t want to be associated with someone so weak, a hero wouldn’t want to take in any student to study under them if the kid wasn’t strong enough to hold his own. So yeah, in his mind, it was a win.

But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. There wasn’t a single person in the room who thought such ill-mannered things about Izuku. Quite the opposite actually, because if they were right to assume, the room’s occupants would’ve guessed that this wasn’t a one-time occurrence; Izuku may have dealt with it before.

And to be able to shoulder such a horrible thing all alone and still make it out on the brighter side was a huge feat. Something that takes an incredibly strong person, which Izuku was.

Soon, the building was emptied of all occupants. Hisashi went to the slammer, Izuku and Katsuki were already at UA’s infirmary, and all of the students were back on the bus. They waited in painful silence as they waited for Aizawa and All Might to finish speaking with Tsukauchi.

No one had any words for what took place. Their minds could barely process what happened to their beloved classmates, but it was clearly brutal. The day had been utterly ruined, but not a single one of them cared. The rest of their special weekend was completely forgotten about now. Their only thing they cared about was Izuku’s and Bakugou’s health and safety.

There was a solemn and grim air around the bus on the entire ride back to UA, not a single word being uttered.

This wasn’t what was meant to happen at all.

Chapter Text

All Might was still blinded with rage by the time they arrived back at UA and Aizawa wasn’t fairing any better. As soon as the two were certain that the rest of the students were safe in their dorms with the other adults, they rushed to the schools infirmary.

The pair sighed in relief as soon as the boys were in their sight. They looked much better than they had at the trampoline park. With Recovery Girl’s quirk, a lot of their swelling and bruising had gone away, cuts already healing.

Both boys were asleep when they arrived, so they didn’t stay for long. They spoke with Recovery Girl for an update on their condition and when they were satisfied, Aizawa and Toshinori made a hasty exit.

They hadn’t spoken it out loud yet, but they both had the same idea in mind. They needed to be in the room when Hisashi gets interrogated. They need to understand why the man did the horrible things he did. And how he got to the trampoline park in the first place.
They didn’t need to speak though, it was like they were connected telekinetically. Not a single word was spoken on the way to the police department. There weren't enough words in the world for the men to describe what they were feeling. And the more they thought about what had happened, the closer those feelings were to bubbling over.

As soon as they walked into the precinct, they were surprisingly greeted by Detective Tsukauchi.

“I’ve been waiting on you two,” he said, not bothering for a proper greeting, “you guys ready?”

“Let’s see what this son of a bitch has to say for himself,” Aizawa ground out.

The three men in the room didn’t know what was more horrifying; all of what Hisashi was confessing to or the fact that he didn’t sound the least bit shameful confessing all of it.

Tsukauchi didn’t even have to bring up his lie detecting quirk because the elder Midoriya didn’t spew a single lie in his confession.

Hisashi didn’t leave out a single detail, even mentioning his crimes in the Americas. He knew he couldn’t be charged for them here in Japan, but he’s proud of the criminal he’s become. He’d tell his story as many times as he could. He wants everyone to know him and what he’s been able to get away with because he was just that good.

Aizawa and All Might couldn't agree with the sentiment whatsoever. The more the man talked, the more anger they felt.

How was such a horrible man roaming free for so long?

They couldn’t focus on his other crimes for too long though. The two were interested in what led up to the events of today. And Hisashi had decidedly saved the story for last since it was probably his greatest feat of all, in his opinion.

Hisashi told the same story that Izuku had told Aizawa, except from his own demented perspective. The retelling had Aizawa scoffing. The man truly had it all wrong, but he wasn’t here to correct him on what age play was to Izuku. He was here to listen to why he did it.

All Might, on the other hand, was hearing the story for the very first time and it brought conflicting emotions over him. He clenched his fists in anger as the story progressed while also keeping sorrow filled tears at bay.

He knows, logically, that there was no way he could’ve prevented what happened, but he can’t help feeling partly responsible. Maybe if he was a better mentor to the boy, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened a second time in his life. If he was a better mentor, Izuku might’ve opened up to him about it. If he was a better mentor, he might’ve been able to track Hisashi before Hisashi tracked them.

All Might wasn’t able to wallow in self-pity before the store took a dreadful turn.

“You know,” Hisashi drawled out, “I’m not all to blame for this. You guys really need to keep an eye on your students.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” All Might growled back. The men didn’t like the implication by the statement.

Hisashi chuckled darkly, “I mean that your beloved hero academy has a mole. Crazy to think about, right?”

“WHO?” All Might bellowed furiously.

“I don’t quite remember the kids name, it wasn’t important to me. He was a blonde kid, blue eyes. But also kind of gray,” Hisashi scratched his chin, “he was a little odd, now that I think about it. He spoke like Izuku’s entire class was his biggest enemy, like they were all villains.”

All Might and Aizawa’s eyes widened, immediately knowing the student in question. Neito Monoma. They knew the boy had a grudge against class 1A, but did it really run this deep? If so, the boy poses a real risk to the school.

All Might could only continue to stare in disbelief while Aizawa turned to Tsukuachi.

“Is he telling the truth, detective?” he asked.

He didn’t receive a verbal response, only a grim look and slow nod.

“Damnit,” Aizawa whispered under his breath.

This wasn’t good at all. If this one student was willing to sell them out so easily over a grudge to Hisashi, who knows what other people Monoma has given information to.

Everyone’s reaction had Hisashi chuckling again.

“Oh, don’t punish the boy too harshly,” he replied wickedly, “I never told the kid my motive, all I did was motivate him with a fat stack of green. I can’t blame him, it was probably the easiest money he’s ever made.”

Aizawa looked to Tsukauchi again without speaking and the man nodded again, understanding the unspoken question.

“That’s not even the best part!” Hisashi exclaimed, commanding the attention back to him, “Sure, whatever, I gave my son a well deserved beating twice. But you know what?” he asked no one in particular, nor did he wait for an answer,

“Inko knows. She knows I’m a criminal. She knows nearly every crime I’ve committed. But best of all, she knows exactly what I did to Izuku that first time. And she didn’t do a damn thing about it!”

All Might slammed a fist on the table hearing the revelation, refusing to believe this one. Aizawa also refused.

“That can’t be true. Midoriya told me he lied to her about it!” he stated, unbelieving.

“It’s true.” Tsukauchi whispered out.

The two words brought a new kind of heartbreak upon Aizawa and Toshinori. Not only was Izuku beaten by his father, but his own mother had known and hadn’t done anything to report him.

Not only that, but she hadn’t reported any of the other crimes. Which turns her into an accessory. They didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but they couldn’t help but let their minds wander.

Tsukauchi was fortunately not nearly as affected as the other two, despite how sad the information made him, and was able to continue the interrogation.

“Did you ever threaten Inko Midoriya in order for her to keep her silent?”

“Tch,” Hisashi grinned, “The thought never occurred to me. But even if it did, it wouldn’t be necessary. That sorry excuse for a woman would do anything for me. Even if it meant allowing me to continue on as the world’s worst villain. The bitch thinks there's still a chance for our marriage to work out.”

Tsukauchi could only look down and sigh morosely, his quirk recognizing the words as nothing but the truth.
He called two of his men into the room to keep watch of Hisashi as he headed out to make calls.

Toshinori and Aizawa followed closely behind, still struggling to piece it all together. They didn’t want to believe it. But when Tsukauchi spoke again, they knew it was real.

“Bring in Inko Midoriya and Neito Monoma for questioning.”

The day took an even worse turn than they could’ve imagined and it had them stunned into silence once more as they drove back to UA.

When they arrived, neither made a move to get out of the vehicle. It was All Might the one to break the silence.

“What the hell do we do now?” he asked. He put his head in his hands, feeling completely hopeless.

Aizawa wished he could answer but he truly didn’t have anything to offer, so he remained silent.

All Might spoke again, “How do we tell our sweet Izuku any of this? The boy didn’t do a damn thing to deserve this. Not only did one of his peers sell him out, but his own mother enabled this. How could something like this ever happen?”

A few tears escaped Toshinori’s eyes as he mulled over the depressing reality. The way All Might looked is exactly how Aizawa felt on the inside.

There is nothing in the world that could’ve prepared him for the sequence of events, nor for the fact that all of it was happening to one of greatest students. There was no one in the world that could ever deserve something like this, minus a select few villains, but least of all Izuku.

Aizawa didn’t have an answer to that question, but he did reply to the first one.

“We can’t tell him immediately. I don’t want to withhold the information too long because I don’t want to hear it from anyone else. But we need to gauge where he’s at, mentally, once he wakes up.”

All Might nodded in agreement, glad that his colleague was able to keep a level head in all of this. Aizawa continued,

“Unfortunately,” he sighed remorsefully, “this will most likely be a huge step back for him and all the progress he’s made in his regression and overall mental health. He trusted me with this story only a few days ago. He didn’t even get the chance to try therapy to address the trauma.”

“It’s extremely unfortunate, but all we can do is support him in recovery. Him and Bakugou.”

The two men had no doubt that the blonde boy was just as affected by what occurred today. The guilt they were feeling had to be a sliver of a fraction of what Bakugou must’ve been feeling.

Aizawa was right though, all they could do was offer the boys their utmost support. They wouldn’t give up on the two, no matter how long it would take to rebuild what was broken.

The two continued the conversation, devising a detailed plan of action on how the next few days should go.

Meanwhile, back in the dorms there was complete pandemonium. Fat Gum, Best Jeanist, and Hawks had departed, though reluctantly, to their agencies, leaving Midnight and Present Mic to fend for themselves with the remaining 18 students of class 1A who wanted nothing more than to see their injured friends in the infirmary.

“Please Present Mic!” Ururaka begged shamelessly, “We just want to know if they’re’ okay!”

“I told you kids, he’s doing just fine! Aizawa himself texted me!” he exclaimed desperately, blocking the entrance.

“But we want to see them,” Kirishima stressed, “With our own eyes, just to make sure.”

“They need all the rest they can get,” Midnight tried to reason, “Let them recover uninterrupted, at least for one full night.”

“We have to see them!”

The teens knew, logically, what she said was completely true and reasonable, but their worry trumped all logic. Izuku and Katsuki had just undergone something terrible and they wanted to show their full support for them.

They all continued to beg shamelessly, flashing the biggest puppy dog eyes they could muster and it wasn’t long before the teachers gave in.

“Fine! Just stop with the eyes! I can’t take it!” Present Mic demanded.

The frowns were turned upside down and everyone rushed to put their shoes back on.

“You can visit them,” Midnight agreed, begrudgingly, “But if they’re sleeping, don’t wake them. I don’t care how badly you want to talk to them, sleep is essential for recovery.”
They all nodded seriously and headed over. It would be a tad bit disappointing if they were sleeping, but no one would fault them for it. They had undergone immense damage today that required much more than physical recovery.

Everyone was stunned into silence upon walking into the infirmary. Not only were they both awake, but they were bickering like nothing happened in the first place. Of course, it immediately came to a halt when the two noticed the others approaching.

“Hey guys!” Izuku exclaimed, waving at them happily.

It was all they needed to hear before they flooded around their beds, spewing nonsense that neither of the teachers could decode, but at the very least their students were in good spirits, Midoriya and Bakugou included.

They couldn’t feel the same though. It was too bittersweet.

To the students, it didn’t make much sense, they way that Bakugou and Midoriya didn’t seem at all affected by the days earlier events but they just thought it was because they were that amazing. Present Mic and Midnight, on the other hand, knew better.

The two were trauma blocking, at least for the time being. They were sure that the boys didn’t know any better, but the realization was a sour one.

It would be okay for the time being since it was all so fresh, but if it was something that persisted, the heroes knew there would be nothing good to come from it.

For now though, they tried not to worry. Instead, they joined their students in their good spirits. They couldn’t feel the same excitement knowing that it would eventually come to an end, a potentially disastrous one, but they didn’t want to raise any alarm. So they just went with it, for the time being.

Chapter Text

The class couldn’t stay around for too long, especially after a few students noticed the near constant yawns from Midoriya. It wasn’t long before they were saying their goodbyes and promising future visits.

They narrowly missed Aizawa and All Might’s arrival to the infirmary. The two had finally decided to head in after their long discussion and they didn’t want to avoid the touchy situation for too long.

If Tsukauchi was bringing Inko and Neito in for questioning at this very moment, it wouldn’t be very long before people would notice and the rumor mill started up, so the two really wanted to talk to the boys as soon as possible.

When they arrived, they too noticed the boys dozing off and while they didn’t want to disturb them, matters were semi-urgent.

“Hello young Midoriya and young Bakugou,” All Might greeted quietly.

Izuku perked up at the sound of his mentor's voice and suddenly all the bleariness was gone.

“Hi All Might!” Izuku replied in a bubbly tone, “You just missed it, everyone else was just here visiting!”

“Is that so?” Aizawa raised a brow, “that’s funny, considering that they were told to leave you guys alone and let you recover.”

“It’s no big deal old man,” Bakugou defended, “they weren’t here for too long. Plus we're basically good as new already.”

And it was true, All Might and Aizawa could see their swift improvement already. Recovery Girl really was a gift.

“Well, be that as it may, you guys still need time to recuperate. Today was rough,” Aizawa said with a small bit of sterness in his voice.

“Yes boys, we’re very sorry about what happened today. It shouldn’t have happened at all.” All Might said guiltily.

“It’s okay All Might!” Izuku offered one of his blinding smiles, “We’re okay now. And there isn’t really anything you could’ve done to prevent it, so don’t worry about it.”

How is this kid the one comforting me right? This boy really is something else All Might thought.

“You won’t have to worry about it ever again, Midoriya,” Aizawa began looking to All Might before continuing. The man nodded his assent to continue.

“Your father confessed everything to Tsukauchi. Everything with you and a lot more, like crimes in other countries. Unfortunately he can’t be sentenced for that, but there is enough that he can be sentenced for that will leave him in jail for life.”

“Finally! That bastard deserved that a long time ago,” Bakugou said, resentment laced in his tone.

“I agree,” Izuku said, a bit more quietly. He didn’t say anything else which had everyone turning to him.

They didn’t know how he would react, but they were hoping for a little more to work with.

After a few more seconds of silence, All Might spoke.

“Young Midoriya, are you alright? This is good news isn’t it?”

Izuku gave a wobbly half smile and replied weakly, “Y-yeah it's great! But…um…does my mom know about it?”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the question, not understanding why the thought of his mother would be hindering his feeling of joy for the news.

Aizawa and All Might didn’t know if he was asking because he didn’t want his mother to know about what Hisashi did or something else, but it was too late for that.

Aizawa saw the opportunity to bring the bad news though, so he didn’t wait too long before answering.

“Well unfortunately, she does. And she’s currently being questioned by the police,”

Both Katsuki and Izuku gasped at that and Aizawa continued,

“Because according to Hisashi, Inko knew about everything a long time ago. All of his crimes and the first time your father did this to you.”

Aizawa paused again to gauge their reactions. Izuku had unshed tears pooling in his eyes and Katsuki’s face was clenching his teeth and his face was turning an angry red.

All Might continued for Aizawa, “We’re terribly sorry boys. You two didn’t do anything to deserve this happening to you.”

“T-that can’t be true,” Izuku whispered pitifully, “There’s no way mom could have known,”

Both he and Katsuki were struggling to believe it.

“Yeah, there’s no way Aunt Inko could have known. She would’ve gone to the police by now!”
Aizawa and All Might shot each other sad looks. They hated to ruin the sweet image of Inko that the teens had, but it was only the truth.

“We’re sorry. But as far as we know, everything Hisashi said is true, Tsukauchi used his quirk to confirm,” Aizawa said with as much gentleness as he could muster.

Now the tears were freely flowing from Izuku’s face and Bakugou was visibly seething with anger.

Aizawa and Toshinori’s hearts were broken at the sight. They didn’t bother to mention Monomo’s involvement with the whole thing, deciding that this was enough to process in one night.

“Young Midoriya, is it alright if I give you a hug?” All Might asked gently.

Surprisingly, his offer was rejected with a simple head shake. The response made the adults even more worried and that worry multiplied when Izuku spoke again.

“N-no thank you. I’m fine. I just need time processing, that’s all. C-could you guys leave us alone now?” he put it as nicely as he could, but on the inside, Izuku wanted to scream at them.

The adults just sighed, but respected his wish. They knew that this entire situation would bring about change in behavior and lots of setbacks, but this was the last thing they were hoping for. Midoriya pushing them away would just end in something even worse.

But there isn’t much for them to do now except let the boys rest and like Izuku said, process it.

The men left the room and headed off to the dorms, promising each other to check up on the teens again tomorrow.

As soon as they left, Izuku broke into full body sobs and for a moment, Katsuki was able to forget about his anger in favor of comforting his friend.

He stood up as quickly as he could, though he was slowed by the minor ache in his body and enveloped Izuku in a big, but gentle hug, not wanting to aggravate the remaining injuries.

The action only made Izuku cry harder and grasp on to Bakugou’s shirt like it was his lifeline. Bakugou climbed into the bed to be closer to him and just rubbed his back as he cried.

Katsuki even let out a few tears himself. He knew very well that if the information was proven true by Tsukauchi’s quirk, then there was no refuting it. He was sure that Izuku knew that as well and that’s why he was crying so hard.

Eventually, the cries turned into sniffles and Izuku was calm enough to speak. He pulled away to ask what was really bothering him the most about all of this.

“K-kacchan?” he whispered, voice hoarse from crying, “Why would my mom do that? Why didn’t she say anything? That’s so wrong!”

Izuku was asking, but he didn’t need an answer because he already had a fair idea on why. It was like a sick love spell was put on his mother, that’s the only way he could put it. His mom must still be so deeply in love with Hisashi to ever do something like this.

He continued after putting it all together, “D-does she love him more than me?”

Izuku’s cries were about to start up again at that thought, but Katsuki found his words before the sobs began.

“If Aunt Inko loves that bastard more than you, then she’s dumber than I thought. Who in their right mind could love anyone more than you Izuku?!” Bakugou started heatedly, but grew shy as he continued to put his feelings on display,

“You’re great Izuku. You’re super sweet and kind. You’re funny. You care so much about other people. It doesn’t make sense that she would love Hisashi more than you, but even so, who cares!” He regained confidence in his speech.

“I know the thought of that hurts and I have no idea why she would do this, but it doesn’t matter. Everyone here at UA loves you and that’s what matters now.”

Izuku was caught off guard by the words from his childhood friend. Whether it was because he was surprised to hear it from someone as cold as Katsuki or the fact that the words struck a deep chord within, he didn’t know, but it had him hugging Bakugou even harder than before.

The little speech was effective. The sincerity in it put Izuku at ease, better than Aizawa and Toshinori could’ve. It meant much more to Izuku since it came from Katuski. But Katsuki wasn’t done speaking and he continued, tone unwavering.

“You can’t let this bring you down. We’ve gotten so far at UA, you and I. It sucks that what was holding us back from age playing came right back to bite us in the ass, but we can move past it. It sucks even more that your mom did that, but we can still move past it, because we have all of our classmates and teachers to support us.”

“Remember how we were in the beginning? That stupid plan we made,” Katsuki chuckled at the memory, “And look at us now. We were doing great. So don’t let your terrible parents ruin that progress we made. Don’t let it hold you back. You have us now, okay?”
The words were an immense comfort to Izuku and he nodded in Katsuki’s shoulder, not letting his friend out of the embrace.

“You’re my best friend Izuku. We’re going to get through this, together.”

Those words went straight to Izuku’s heart and he quickly rid himself of sadness. The words from his best friend were exactly what he needed to hear to pull him out of his mopey state. Theu acted as his motivation and determination to overcome this moment of his life.

He didn’t want any of his classmates' love and support to ‘go to waste’. So his mood took a complete 180. Izuku forced his tears to a halt and pushed a smile onto his face.

If Kacchan can be strong, then so can I!

“We can Kacchan!” he finally spoke, resolve unwavering, “We’re gonna be okay. We’ll get through it together.”

Fortunately, but also unfortunately, the happy and hopeful spirits continued on for the next few days. They were released from the infirmary and insisted on immediately resuming classes, despite everyone saying they should take some time off. They shrugged it off and insisted they would be fine.

Even after the two teens were questioned by the police, they remained unaffected. They continued on as though what had happened was just another day in their life as hero students. And while fighting villains isn’t something foreign to them, this particular situation should’ve garnered a much more severe reaction and more time to process.

Their intentions to ‘be strong’ were pure, but completely misguided. But the two didn’t know any better. They were just kids, afterall, and they didn’t realize that the processing part was absolutely essential to overcoming life altering events such as this.

Eventually though things took a turn. It took nearly an entire week, but the day finally came. Izuku and Katsuki’s blissful bubble has popped and the aftermath was not pretty.

In the days leading up, both All Might and Aizawa had tried their hardest to get the boys to talk about what had happened, but they were always immediately brushed off. Both boys insisted they were fine, that what had happened sucked, but it was ‘just life’. But it was also clear that they weren’t fine.

There were subtle things that only the teachers could pick up on. The bags developing under their eyes from lack of sleep, the constant alertness from unsettled anxiety, even Izuku and Katsuki’s inability to be away from each other for more than five minutes.

Sure, they were in the same class and lived in the same dormitory which guaranteed a lot of time together, but their dependence on each other was reaching new heights. They were seen everywhere together. The kitchen, the common area, even in the bathroom, one waiting outside while the other went.

It was all the confirmation that All Might and Aizawa needed to know that they were not, in fact, fine. Knowing that didn’t bring the boys any closer to admitting it though.

That brought them to this current moment. All Might and Aizawa pulled them aside, into a vacant classroom the same way they did when the two had fought.

“Do you guys know why we're pulling you aside right now?” Aizawa asked calmly.

“Yeah, I do. We told you guys a million times, we're fine!” he grumbled, already annoyed, “Quit bugging us!”

“Be nice Kacchan!” Izuku scolded, “but yes, you guys really don’t need to worry and keep asking. We’re doing great!”

“You guys may say that and truly have convinced yourself of that, but we don’t think it's true at all,” All Might said as gently as he could, “What happened last week was incredibly terrible and should be much more difficult than this to get through. It's expected for you guys to take time and process it, feel every good and bad emotion. That’s the healthy way to do it.”
“But we haven’t seen any of the bad emotions from you too. It seems like you’re putting on strong fronts, am I right?” Aizawa asked, “And don’t lie to us.”

Izuku’s expression switched from kind to hesitant. He faltered a bit when replying, but his answer remained the same.

“We’re fine Mr. Aizawa.”

The man just raised a brow and looked unamused, “Those eye bags tell a different story. They’re on par with mine.”

Izuku’s eyes widened at that, he didn’t think anyone noticed. He stayed silent and Aizawa turned to Katsuki.

“And you Bakugou, don’t think we don’t notice how you won’t let Izuku out of your sight and vice versa. You two clearly aren’t doing well.”

Katsuki was spluttering at that, trying but failing to come up with a reasonable excuse for it.

Toshinori picked up where Aizawa left off, “You two are struggling and that's okay. It's expected and that’s what we're here for, to help you guys navigate this tough time. But we can’t do that if you two don’t let us.”

“We don’t need your help!” Bakugou replied fiercely, “We’re fine on our own.”

“You really aren’t,” Aizawa deadpanned, “But that’s fine. That’s why we're here. You guys are just kids and you may think that you know everything and what’s good for you, but you really don’t. You two might think you need to be tough all the time, especially since you are the top two students of your class, but you don’t.”

“He’s exactly right,” All Might agreed, “Like we’ve told you two before, it’s okay to be vulnerable and not be fine. It’s what the school is here to help you with. Where students lack, teachers come in and help them learn and grow. There is now getting over this alone you two. You guys need help.”

The seriousness of the conversation was starting to hit the two and they looked at each other nervously, but stayed silent as they adults continued.

“Let me ask you something Midoriya,” Aizawa started again, “How do you feel about your mother’s involvement in all of this, since you’ve been given time to ‘process’ things?”

Izuku’s eyes widened at the question, thrown off by it. Ever since the day the news was broken to him about Inko, she wasn’t brought again. It was in the back of his mind all week, but until now he was able to keep it there by using other things to distract him. He didn’t want to think about it at all.

The first reasonable thing to reply with that came to his mind was something a bit similar to what Katsuki had said in the infirmary that night.

“U-um well… It really sucks that she knew about this…b-but it-”

He was cut off by a dry chuckle from Aizawa.

“‘Really sucks’ is putting it lightly, kid.”

Izuku didn’t really know how else to put it without thinking too hard, so he didn’t address that. Instead he continued with what he was saying.

“It’s good that she was caught. So it won't happen again.”

“That’s it?” Aizawa pressed, “That’s all you feel regarding your mother? You aren’t angry or upset or heartbroken? Don’t you feel betrayed? You haven’t even asked about what’s happened to her since that day. Aren’t you curious to see how justice is being served?”

Izuku didn’t know it, but all of that was true. But he never allowed his thinking to follow that line of thought because he knew he’d never be able to pull himself out of it. He was completely fine thinking about his father and how he’d be in prison for life, but he couldn’t bear to think about his mother. And now he couldn’t think about it because Bakugou spoke up before Aizawa could continue the harsh reality check.

“Hey old man, quit grilling him so hard! He doesn’t need something like this right now!”

“But that’s the part that you two fail to understand,” All Might rebutted sadly, “You need to confront these emotions, not shove them away. Once you do that, you can get over them, move past them, and grow from them. Burying under other things will only make it worse. You kids should know that all too well.”

And that they did. But some habits are harder to break. Some mistakes are harder to learn from and you may need a repeat lesson or two.

“We have to be strong though. We can’t let this affect us,” Izuku said quietly, “that would mean that everyone’s support was useless. For nothing. I can’t let that be true…”

“That is far from true, my boy,” All Might continued, more gently now, “Our support and everyone else’s is what gives you the ability to bring your walls down, be open and completely raw with us, so that you don’t have to worry about anything else. Our support will protect you from everything else in life that is hard, you two just need to let us do that for you, so you can simply be allowed to feel.”

A lone tear escaped Izuku’s eye as he took in the words. Aizawa was completely right in assuming how he felt towards his mother. He felt angry, heartbroken, betrayed, and much, much more. But he didn’t want to let those feelings consume him so he opted to avoid them.

But All Might’s words were so encouraging. And tempting. Tempting him to just bring those walls down so everyone else could take care of it, all the big stuff. It’s tiring to keep such a strong front and when presented with a choice that doesn’t require that, it’s much more tempting.

The words were also reaching Katsuki, but he still wasn’t as convinced. Yes, he knows that he has people supporting him, but he didn’t think he needed it that much. He felt like he could and should be strong for everyone, especially Izuku. It's what they needed to stay on the right track. Or so he thought.

“Let us take care of you. Please. It’s alright,” Toshinori was now pleading, not wanting the two to suffer in silence any longer, “We can get you the help that you need and deserve. You guys don’t need those nasty feelings Aizawa described in you any longer.”

“Nezu recommended age play for a reason, it’s a tool for coping with situations like this,” Aizawa said plainly, “It’s a healthy outlet for all of this. Regressing will allow you to release all those negative feelings. Let us help you in that way.”

The two teens were stunned into silence for a moment, not moving an inch. They were always so stubborn in their ways, once they’ve decided them. But everything up until now always ended up throwing them for a loop.

They were at a crossroad, not knowing what to do next. But All Might’s next words are what decided for them.

“Just let go, you two. It’ll be alright. We’ll take care of everything from here.”

The sincerity and conviction in his tone broke something in Izuku and Katsuki.

In a matter of seconds, the lone tear on Izuku’s face turned into full body sobs and Katsuki followed soon after and before they knew it, both boys sunk into their headspaces.

A breath they didn’t know they were holding left Aizawa and All Might’s body. They immediately swung into action.

Aizawa rushed to comfort Izuku while Toshinori did the same with Katsuki. There wasn’t much they could do to quiet the crying, but that wasn’t what they were trying to do. They wanted to let the boys cry it out and actually feel their emotions before finding ways to overcome them.

So for now, all they could do is hug the littles tightly and whisper sweet nothings into their ears while the cries quieted down. It was heartbreaking, but it was all they could do.

As the cries finally tapered, Izuku began speaking, but to no one in particular.

“Why mama do that to me? Mama no love me no more? Why mommy? Why?” he pleaded in such a sweet, but sad tone.
Aizawa desperately wished he had an answer for the boy, but he didn’t know the answer himself. So he just continued to cuddle with the boy, rocking him gently where they sat.

Katsuki wasn’t fairing much better, but his cries were more heated, “Why auntie so mean do baby Zuku? Not nice! Dumb auntie!”

And the two littles kept on with their cries and questions to the universe for a good while until eventually there was nothing left to say and no more tears to be shed.

“I bet that felt good to get out, huh?” All Might asked soothingly, rubbing Katsuki’s back and not expecting a reply.

And he didn’t get one either, unless tired blinks and half nods counted. The two boys were tuckered out from all of their big emotions and it showed.

“I’m glad you two were able to get all those icky emotions out. I’m sure that wasn’t all of them, but for now I think that was enough. Now how about we get you little one’s settled for a nap, huh?”

“Great idea,” Aizawa agreed, “It’ll probably be the best nap ever.”

Especially after all that crying.

There was zero protest when the boys were led out of the classroom and to the teacher dorms, rather than the student dorms. It was Aizawa’s idea to bring them there, so as to avoid excessive attention from the rest of class 1A and to have a wonderful nap in his very own extra large sleeping bag with his best cuddle buddy, plus a blonde one that would end up making the perfect furnace.

The only protest from the two littles ones was whining at the fact that they wouldn’t be carried there, but it was still daytime and other students were around, though barely.

As soon as the littles were tucked on either side of Aizawa, they were out like a light and Aizawa was too. All Might didn’t even get the chance to wish them sweet dreams. It was such a bittersweet sight for him to see.

He was sad that they had reached this point to where they practically cried themselves to sleep, but he was glad that he and his colleague were there to catch the two boys when they fell. It was what they were there for.

Chapter Text

It was Katsuki who woke up first. All was calm. For a total of 2.5 seconds.

He realized something was missing upon waking. He couldn’t put his finger on it until he remembered the nap started with Aizawa between him and Izuku. Remembering that sparked a chain reaction in him.

Without warning, all of his pre-nap feelings came rushing back to him and his little brain couldn’t place the cause. The only way he could describe it was that he was sad and all icky inside. It was an unusual feeling for him when he was little, which only caused him more dissatisfaction.

With no other thoughts in his mind aside from the desire to not feel icky and sad, he began to tear up.

Little Katsuki wasn’t a crier, but right now, he couldn’t help it. One tear escaped, then another, and then they came quicker and quicker until there was a sob that evolved into loud wailing.

It woke Izuku and initially he was confused. But it didn’t take long for his icky feelings to rush back to him either and he began crying in earnest.

Not only did he feel all sad, but his best friend was sad and that made him feel even worse.

“K-kacchan sad! Make Zuzu sad!” the little wailed, only semi-coherently.

Katsuki understood though and that in turn made him feel worse. He didn’t mean to make his best friend sad, but he couldn’t help the tears. All he could think to do was embrace him in the tightest hug and continue his crying.

Izuku reciprocated the hug just as fiercely and continued his crying as well. At the very least, they were able to do it together.

To the two too little boys, it felt like they were in that position forever, but in reality it took less than five minutes for their teachers to barrel in.

“Boys! Are you alright?!” All Might called out, before even reaching them.

He was the only teacher in the vicinity at the moment since all of the others were with the rest of class 1A. The events were finally catching up to the rest of them and it became apparent that Izuku and Katsuki weren’t the only two that would be needing help dealing with processing it all.

What happened!? Are they hurt? Toshinori thought worriedly, How could that be? I checked up on them not even five minutes ago!

As soon as he made it into the room, he assessed the situation. He looked around for any intruders or any external causes of duress, but all he saw were the two distressed little boys in the center of the bed, looking oh so small and lost, clinging onto each other like lifelines.

If his heart hadn’t already been broken a million times the past few weeks, he’d say his heart absolutely was shattered now.

Once All Might was certain there was no actual threat in the room, he made quick work of talking the two down from whatever internal turmoil they were currently experiencing.

He cautiously approached the two, not wanting to alarm them in any way. He ended up sitting just on the edge of the bed.

“Aw, boys, what happened?” he crooned in the softest, most sympathetic tone he could muster. He wasn’t sure if the boys could hear him over their crying, but he continued in that same tone anyways, “You two seemed to be having the best nap just a few minutes ago, what happened?”

He was pleased to see the over exaggerated shrug from both of them. It wasn’t an answer that could allow him to diffuse the situation, but it meant that they weren’t so worked up that they didn’t notice his presence or couldn’t understand him.

“Is it okay if I join you two and your big hug you’ve got going? Looks like you two could use all the All Might cuddles you can get,” he continued, trying to sound as cool as possibly could. What he really wanted to do is fret over them like the mother-hen he’d never admit he is.

Neither boy hesitated before nodding. They were thinking the same thing.

All Might cuddles have to make it all better!

Immediately, Toshinori enveloped them in the warmest hug they had ever experienced. Coupled with that, the man was whispering words of comfort and sweet nothings into their ears.

“Oh, it’s alright my babies.”

“All Might is her to make it all better.”

“Get all those tears out, little ones.”

“You two will feel better in no time.”

And many more. Izuku and Katsuki didn’t know if it was the words, the gesture, or simply them being tired of crying, but soon after All Might joined in on the hug, the tears died down, eventually coming to a full stop.

The man gave a tired smile to the pair after a while and he was met with wobbly ones.

“I bet that tuckered you two right out, even though you kids just took a nap. It’s too bad you can’t take another,” All Might chuckled to himself, “Now, to get to the matter at hand.”

He paused, taking a deep breath. He didn’t want to trigger the waterworks again, so he had to go about it all gently.

“Do either of you boys want to tell me what that was all about? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’m just curious about what could’ve made my best students so sad.”

His reply started slow, but the more Katsuki spoke, the more worked up he got, “Woke up small. Too small. Then I remember’ yesterday and got super sad. It felt super icky inside and I dunno why, but I start crying. I don’t like cryin’! Made me cry even more… Then Zuzu wake up and start crying and it made me feel more icky!”

Izuku was nodding along with the explanation every second of it and Katsuki continued,

“But now All Might save the day?” he questioned curiously. In his little head, it was the only explanation he could put together to explain how much less icky he felt. He was just have a bit of trouble puzzling it all together.

“Mhm! All Might save us Kacchan!” Izuku answered enthusiastically.

All Might can do anything!

The faith Izuku had in him amused Toshinori, but Katsuki’s explanation kindled something less optimistic in him.

Nothing like this should have ever happened to these kids. They never deserved this.

But he had to push those thoughts away and respond to what was just said. And his exact words would be vital in establishing their recovery path.

He needed to sympathize, empathize, show them that he understands the ‘ickiness’ they feel. Then he needs to validate their feelings, because it truly is okay that they feel the way they do. It's something natural, nothing wrong about it. Then he needs to redirect them, find something to distract them from it, if only temporarily.

Their feelings won’t go ignored whatsoever, but All Might knew that the subject was too heavy to be broached while the boys are in headspace.

Another time, then.

“Those sure do sound like big feelings, huh?” he started kindly, “I’m sure that must’ve been scary to wake up to. But it happens to the best of us sometimes, even me. Sometimes I feel icky inside too.”

Both littles starred in utter disbelief.

In unison they question, “All Might get icky too?”

“Yep, that’s right. It happens to all of us, no matter how big or small you are. But it’s okay to feel that way. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s natural for everyone.”

“Everyone?” they asked curiously.

“Everyone,” All Might confirmed, “To heroes, villains, your friends, your teachers, your classmates. Everyone. And when we feel like this one of the most important things is finding ways to feel better,” (and talking about it),”Do you guys know what I like to do to feel better?”

The boys sported contemplative looks and took turns shouting out answers.

“Defeat bad guys!”

“Color!”

“Get super duper strong!”

“Eat lotsa ice cream!”

All Might chuckled and replied, “I’ll admit, those are all good guesses that I do sometimes. But my favorite thing is spending time with the people I love. It makes me feel a lot better to know that they will be here for me no matter what.”

At this, Izuku and Katsuki gave each other a long look that conveyed more emotion than their little brains could help them verbalize.

The love they held for each other was something that took them too long to realize. They were never able to put words to what they felt about each other because it was never love in what they know to be the ‘traditional’ way. It wasn’t romantic love, nor was it exactly familial love, but it also wasn’t exclusive to a platonic love. It was something special that only they held for each other.

All Might could see that the two were having a moment. But them sticking to themselves wasn’t exactly what he had in mind.

“How about we go pay a visit to your classmates? They’ve missed you dearly.”

All Might knew how much Izuku loved his friends, but the little boy's reaction took him by surprise. All traces of sadness had completely vanished. Gone was the icky feeling boy. Now all he saw was a kid bouncing with barely contained excitement.

Izuku was so excited that he failed to realize he stuffed his fingers in his mouth in an attempt to contain the energy. He only noticed when he felt them being removed, only to be replaced by something rubbery.

Paci! he thought happily, begin to suckle loudly.

Even more surprising than that was Katsuki’s reaction. Rather than grumble like he usually would about being ‘forced’ to be in the presence of his peers, he seemed awfully excited, though he was doing a much better job at containing it.

I can’t wait to see Kiri! I feel like I haven’t played with him in forever!

What really surprised All Might was the fact that neither seemed wary of the idea like he assumed they would be. He was absolutely certain that the traumatic events would be a catastrophic setback in their regression, that the boys would be much more reluctant than they ever were in front of their classmates. But it seemed to be quite the opposite.

They must be real deep in headspace. He thought, Best not to question it for now. But he stored the thought in the back of his head to bring up to his colleagues later.

“I’ll take that as a yes, kiddos. Who wants to go for a super duper special ultra rare All Might piggy back ride?” he questioned loudly, rilling the two up even more.

“Me! Me! Me!” they both shouted back, raising their hands desperately.
Good thing he is All Might and he cancarry both at the same time.

Chapter Text

It was much easier said than done though.

The excitement lasted all the way up until the trio reached the front door of heights alliance.

Yes, the two littles were excited to see their friends but they were also feeling quite shy. They had made great strides in being vulnerable around their classmates and yes, despite the big setback with Midoriya’s father, they still trusted their peers. But they have never been this deep in headspace around them.

Izuku knew himself very well and he knew that there was no bringing him out of the current mindset he was in. The longer he had been riding on All Might’s back, the younger he felt. He no longer felt like talking. He just wanted to be.

In this state, Izuku is certain that cuddles would be enough to keep him content. But he isn’t certain how his classmates would react to it. Everytime he had been little with them, he’d been one of the more energetic ones, jumping from high energy activity to high energy activity rather than being one to settle for quiet things like books or tv.

Izuku is worried that the change in behavior may scare away his classmates. They liked hanging out with energetic and fun Izuku, not this non-verbal, mellowed out version of the boy. He could only hope that his classmates would like this side of him.

Katsuki was feeling a little better, but he was having similar thoughts. He had never been this deep in his headspace before and that’s generally speaking. Not even with Izuku has he felt this young. Up until today, he had typically maintained a headspace of 6 and older. Right now though, he was feeling like a toddler.

The feeling itself didn’t bother him, he actually found it quite nice. But the idea of being so young in front of others did bother him. Everyone was used to an older Katsuki, so what if no one thought that younger Katsuki was fun enough to play with?

As though they had shared their thoughts telepathically, Izuku whined loudly at the same time Katsuki yelped out, “Wait!” right as All Might went to open the door.

The man was immediately confused by the two boys. They didn’t sound nearly as excited as before. He gently set the two boys down on their feet and turned to face them. They looked much more apprehensive than they were five minutes ago and it threw him for a loop.

“What’s the matter, you two? You little guys seemed so excited just a moment ago?” he inquired gently.
Katsuki did all the talking.

“Was excited, but now ‘m scared. Feel very little. Never felt this small before. What if no one likes tiny ‘Suki? What if no one wants to play with me no more?” he asked, anxiety seeping into his little voice.

Izuku just nodded fervently, agreeing wholeheartedly with his friend. Kacchan summed up his same feelings perfectly.

All Might’s gaze softened as he looked at the two littles, understanding the apprehensive looks on their faces now. He noticed that they seemed to be a little deeper in headspace than usual, but Toshinori expected that. He welcomed it even, but he could understand where their anxiety came from.

“Ah, I see. It’s perfectly normal to be nervous about something so unfamiliar, I completely understand. It’s nerve wracking to think about, isn’t it?”

The two boys nodded in agreement.

“But I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Your classmates love both of you for who you are, no matter what headspace you’re in. I think you all have learned by now that your headspaces can sometimes slide on a fluid scale. No one is restricted to a particular age and that includes you two. I severely doubt any of your classmates would like you any less for feeling smaller today.”

On the contrary, Toshinori expects the entire class to gush over the two littles, to an overwhelming degree. Class 1A was much more observant than people gave them credit for. They knew their two classmates were struggling and had been for a while and it worried them just as much as it worried the teachers.

They all knew the boys were due for a big drop, bigger than normal. They were well versed in regression now and they knew enough to realize that a big drop was a necessary step in the healing process. And the entire class was prepared to welcome the two damaged littles with arms wide open.

All Might knew that they would. He wouldn’t have suggested the visit to Height’s Alliance if he wasn’t absolutely certain that it would have been beneficial for the boys.

“You two will be just fine, okay? And if anyone even thinks of trying anything mean, remember that I am here, alright? You boys have nothing to worry about,” he grinned at the two of them, hoping his words worked to reassure them.

Katsuki and Izuku looked at All Might, then to each other for a few seconds. All Might isn’t sure what they were saying through the look, but after a while they nodded at each other and then turned back to him and nodded again.

Toshinori took that as his cue to continue on into the dorms. Not before shooting another reassuring smile to the boys and taking one of their hands in his, though.

Izuku was sucking furiously on his pacifier as they walked in, some nerves still with him. He walked in, slightly slower and slightly behind All Might. He wished there was somewhere he could hide until the embarrassing feeling left him, but behind his mentor would have to do for now.

Katsuki, on the other hand, felt his nerves leave him as soon as he saw his second favorite person in his class.

He immediately let go of All Might’s hand and ran over to the redhead, unexpectedly crushing him with a hug. It raised a quiet alarm bell in Kirishima’s head.

A hug from Katsuki was unusual in itself. A hug from little Katsuki was also exceedingly rare, but more likely to happen if he’s prompted. So, Katsuki running to his friend and hugging him without question was quite odd.

“Kiri! Missed you so much! We haven’t played for forever!” he said, a mix of longing and glee in his tone.

Kirishima, the fun loving guy and natural born caregiver was thankfully able to take it in stride without missing a beat, despite his own surprise.

“Is that right Bakubro? Well we’ve gotta change that don’t we? Let’s go play, whatever you want bud, you choose,” he replied kindly.

No one had ever seen Katsuki regress so young before and while it did sadden Kirishima to think about what ‘pushed’ him to this point, he knew it was bound to happen. He was overjoyed that his friend sought him out at such a vulnerable moment. He was also excited to play with this smaller Katsuki.

The rest of the class was stunned into silence at the younger behavior, but only for a second. It is exactly what they suspected would happen and they were prepared for it. They didn’t have a particular plan of action for it, but that’s because they didn’t need one. They all agreed to just act normally, of course with a bit of extra dotting.

They all had discussed it at length one day and they were extra careful to ensure that everyone understood how important this moment would be. And how careful they needed to be. They didn’t want to say or do anything that would make Izuku or Katsuki feel negatively about the ‘non-typical’ behavior they could end up exhibiting. So they discussed that they wouldn’t and shouldn’t point it out. They wouldn’t make a big deal of it.

Because it really wasn’t a big deal, how young or old any of their classmates were feeling. They were all still close friends at the end of the day and that’s what mattered.

The class turned their gaze from Katsuki and Eijirou to Izuku and All Might. Well, mostly All Might. The former number one hero was turned around, blocking the majority of their view of Izuku. He looked to be reassuring Izuku.

The entire class thought the same thing.

Poor baby has to be nervous out of his mind.

They all gave each other knowing looks and nodded. The teens disbursed, the majority going over to join Katsuki and Kirishima. Some went into their own groups, while Ida, Uraraka and Todoroki made their way over to Izuku.

They didn’t know exactly what was going on with him, but they wanted to help him as much as they could. They were a pretty tight-knit group and they always helped each other up when one of them was down. It was time for them to help Izuku back up.

The closer they got, the more they were able to hear All Might.

“It’s okay, young Izuku. See how kind they were to young Katsuki? They’ll be just as kind to you. I promise, no one will judge you or be mean.”

Ida, Uraraka and Todoroki’s heart broke at the implication of the words.

Izuku must be in a younger headspace too they all thought, poor baby must be so scared right now.

It was Shoto who decided to speak first.

“We really won’t be mean to you Izuku,” he said with as much sincerity he could muster, “I promise.”

Upon hearing a voice that wasn’t All Might’s, Izuku instantly gasped and wanted to hide. He couldn’t find anything to hide behind in the area, so he just hid his blushing face behind his hands.

His brain didn’t register the fact that it was Shoto who spoke to him.

The voice spoke again, “it’s okay to be tiny Izuku. We can be teeny tiny together, ‘kay?”

That sentence piqued his interest. Someone wanted to be this small with him?

He moved his fingers apart to take a peek at who it was speaking to him and his eyes widened as soon as he did.

Sho! he thought, a gleeful feeling clouding his brain. It wasn’t meshing well with his anxious feelings from earlier, so he didn’t make a move to remove his hands from his face. He was halfway hooked in,though.

Now it was Ochako adding in, “Yeah Deku, I promise we won’t judge you at all! I like taking care of babies! It’s what makes me a good big sis.”

That comment had Izuku moving his hands away from his face, his curiosity piqued.

If ‘chako here too, who else here?

He looked around, only finding Ida in addition to the other two. And it brought another cloud of happiness to his brain, seeing that it was just his closest friends. He felt a bit more at ease seeing them. And hearing their words.

“We’re happy to see those pretty eyes of yours, Izuku!” Ida complimented, glad that the boy was feeling less shy and embarrassed around them.

Izuku blushed at the praise and giggled nervously. He was standing in the same spot, now playing with the hem of his shirt, unsure of what to do with his hands.

Toshinori looked at the interaction warmly. The boy's friends seemed to have perfect timing. He trusted that they could handle it from here on out, so he slowly and silently walked away and let them do their thing.

Shoto continued with his encouragement and the more he spoke, the more he willed himself into headspace. He thought that if he put himself on Izuku’s level, the boy would feel less anxious about his own headspace.

“We don’ have ta do anythin’ crazy Izu’. Can relax in comfy corner, together?” Shoto suggested cutely as he pointed at the currently vacant comfy corner.

Izuku looked over to the corner in question and didn’t have to think twice before nodding. Quiet time sounded really nice right now, especially since he still didn’t feel like talking.

He nodded and Shoto took that as permission to grab the boy's hand and walk with him over there.

Ida and Ochako followed behind them, cooing at the pair. Shoto took the initiative with this and they would let him continue to take the lead.

While the pair started to get settled, Ochako had the bright idea of grabbing Izuku’s prized blanket and bunny stuffie, so she and Ida slipped away for a moment to retrieve the items. They wanted the boy to be as comfy and cozy as possible.

“Wanna pick a book, Izu?” he asked sweetly, “I read to you.”

Izuku simply shook his head in disagreement and pointed back at the boy.

Shoto understood immediately.

“Want me t’pick for you?” he questioned, and after receiving a nod in response he did just that, never letting go of Izuku’s hand.

After picking a simple looking one called “Penguin and Pinecone”, he brought Izuku over to one of the oversized bean bag chairs and gave a simple instruction, “Sit.”

And Izuku did just that, plopping down without a word.

Shoto sat right next to him in the same chair after deciding it seemed big enough for the two of them. Plus, he was sure Izuku would appreciate some cuddles. He knew that he loved cuddles a lot more than normal when he felt super small.

It took a moment for the two to get comfortable around each other, but once they were settled Izuku had his body twisted towards Shoto, head resting on the taller boy's shoulder. Shoto had on arm looping around Izuku’s back and around his front, kind of holding him in a half hug.

The secure feeling of the arm around his middle, added to the natural high body heat Shoto emitted and the comforting motion of sucking on his pacifier, all traces of nerves and timidness left the greenette.

He sighed contentedly, tension leaving his body. Shoto looked down at his friend affectionately for a moment, overjoyed that he was able to put Izuku at ease, before he opened up the book and began to read.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Shoto didn’t have the energy nor the desire to actually read words, so he kinda just…made up the story as he went. He went based on what he thought was happening in the pictures.

He vowed to make the story as silly as possible after he heard one soft and sweet giggle from Izuku. He wanted to hear so many more giggles from his friend.