Need You (ShinDeku)

Ch. 22 - Family

A/N: I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter, so yay I guess.
Have fun reading!

Yamada POV

     I sped down the hall nervously, knowing Shota was with 1-A, his homeroom class, last period. He hadn't responded to any of my texts since two periods ago and I was really starting to freak out. The school day had just ended anyways, so he should have dismissed his class by now.

     I had always wanted a kid so we could have a real family. I used to go on and on about it non-stop. Shota shut it down every time. I knew he wanted a kid too but at least one of us had to be logical. It just wasn't a good idea for two pros to have a child. We would never be home, we would always be at risk because our jobs were dangerous, and the kid could be targeted for being associated with pros. It never could have worked out. It was part of why we became teachers, though Shota would never admit it.

     I knew he felt bad, so it wasn't a subject he brought up often, although a few years ago he brought home two kittens and told me that we could be pet parents. I knew they were only cats, not technically children, but it made me really happy and I had started crying.

     I'm not sure why Shota would bring something like this up now, of all times, and then just tell me to drop it like nothing happened. It's kind of worrying.

     I almost bumped into him walking out of his classroom.

     "Ba-Shota!" I remembered that we were in school last second, though thankfully no one was around to catch my slip up.

     "What was that about? You just text me like that out of nowhere and then tell me to forget it?!"

     "Not now, Zashi." He says quietly. His face is pretty blank but I've learned to read him over the years and he looks like he's hurting.

     "Oh baby, what's wrong?" I ask, pulling him into a hug. He hesitantly wraps an arm around me.

     "I'll tell you about it when we get home, okay?" I pull away nodding.

     "Let me just drop these papers off in Nezu's office and then we can go."

——————

     Shota pulled into our driveway and I got out, walking up and unlocking the front door. He followed after me and we both sat down on the couch.

     "Sooo, are ya gonna tell me what's going on?" A deep sigh left him as one of our cats jumped up and sat next to him.

     "You know about everything that happened with Midoriya, right? With the kidnapping and all?" I looked at him confused. Why was this relevant?

     "How could I not? The poor kid was missing for months and you were practically leading the case. Not to mention how he's been now that he's back. The poor thing." I feel my heart clench. No kid should have to go through something like that, especially not alone.

     "His mother died yesterday." I stiffen. Oh goodness.

     "What happened?"

     "Well, you know that he was on his way to her house when he was taken, but she was coming to UA to see him yesterday, for obvious reasons. She had seen him briefly while he was sleeping in the hospital but she hadn't actually talked to him since a few weeks before he was taken. On her way here she was hit by a car, and they think it was on purpose based on the footage from the street cameras. A hero got her to a nearby hospital but there wasn't much they could do, so they called the school upon her request to let her son know. I tried driving them there but there was too much traffic so I told Shinso to run to the hospital with Midoriya. Shinso told me they got to the room right when she flatlined."

     I had a hand over my mouth as I looked at Shota who was staring straight ahead at the wall. He continued talking although I had some idea where this was going.

     "Today Tsukauchi came in to talk about what happened with the league and his mom, and apparently he has no relatives to take him in, so they're putting him into the system. I just... don't think it's a good idea for people he doesn't know to take him in, after everything that's happened. They wouldn't know how to properly take care of him and so many things could go wrong. And to not have any sort of parental figure to lean on, it could only end badly." He looks worried out of his mind.

We're both silent for a while as I think over what he's said.

     "You know... maybe it's time we started a family. We would be able to give him the support he needs, and it would be a lot less stressful for him since he knows us." I suggest after a minute. He was silent for a long time.

     "But what if..." Shota doesn't finish his sentence.

     "What if what? Baby, he doesn't have to agree. If he doesn't want us we won't adopt him, but we should ask. You said yourself it won't end well if some unknowing family tries to take him in, or if he has no one at all. He'll be at school and the dorms most of the time anyways, and he's already sixteen so we won't have to take care of him like a small child."

     I watched as he argued with himself in his head. I don't want to be the cause of that, but I can't help but get my hopes up. I never stopped wanting a child.

     "I know you just want what's best for him. He's been through a lot but you know he's strong. Remember the sports festival when he broke his arms just to get that Todoroki kid to use his full power? He can take care of himself, we just need to give him that little extra support that some random foster family won't be able to do." I debate whether or not to voice the last part in my head, deciding to just go for it. "And we could finally have a kid like we've always wanted." 

     I reached a hand out to rub his back in little circles. He was really tense.

     "We can talk more tomorrow. For now I'm gonna go heat up some leftovers for dinner and we can go to bed early." I say, trying to sound comforting.

1091 words.