Follow the River [Shoto Todoroki x Reader: Fantasy AU]

Chapter 14: The Little Boy

Warning: War, mentioned/referenced deaths

Izuku had turned back into a baby.

(Y/n) hadn't even known that such spells existed. Maybe it was her fault for performing it without knowing exactly what it was going to do... but it was kind of cute. And it was part of the whole witch thing, making mistakes and all.

If the book was correct, the effects would only last for six hours. It was nothing too drastic, so they didn't freak out too much.

However, none of them had even held a kid before.

Because of this, Shoto was... surprised to see (Y/n) doing so well with baby Izuku.

She was around the same age as Shoto, after all, and was around him for the majority of her life. He would've known if she liked kids... Yet there she was, holding a baby in her arms and smiling as if she had done it thousands of times before. Maybe it was just a natural thing to her.

Tenya had attempted to hold the baby, but almost dropped Izuku when he started kicking. (Y/n) took him back after that, with no intention of allowing Tenya to hold him ever again. Tenya didn't really mind, but was hurt nonetheless.

Izuku didn't seem to cry often, but when he did, it was ear piercingly loud. (Y/n) was the only one able to silence him. All it took was the soft ruffling of his hair and whispers.

(Y/n) gave Shoto the baby for a moment, a little curious to see how he would handle it.

Everything was fine for a while. Shoto awkwardly tried to move him back and forth in a soothing way, but eventually gave up when it wasn't making any difference. He was so stiff and clueless that eventually, (Y/n) suggested that he just sit with Izuku on the couch and stay there for a while.

She was also quick to snatch baby Izuku out of his hands when Shoto first let his eyes close carelessly.

Shoto explained that he wasn't falling asleep, but rather resting his eyes for a moment, but (Y/n) argued that if he had fallen asleep right then, Izuku could've fallen off and hit his head. Or even worse; Shoto could've crushed him with his weight.

Shoto simply nodded and apologized. It's not like he was the expert in that field.

Izuku didn't seem to regress into a newborn state, but more so around six months old. (Y/n) decided to take the chance and feed him little pieces of bread, since there was not much else because of Tenya's appetite the last few days.

Shoto also made the mistake of leaving Izuku unattended on a chair while he went to take a piss outside, which ended up in being yelled at again by (Y/n) because Izuku almost fell off of it and hit his head just seconds after.

She even yelled at Shoto when he tried to wrap Izuku in one of the big beds meant for adults when they were going to sleep. She was ranting about how he could suffocate in the blankets... or something. He stopped listening.

(Y/n) was surprised yet extremely happy to find a dirty crib in pieces in the closet. It made sense however, as this was Izuku and Inko's old house, around the time where Izuku would've been a baby.

Tenya helped put the crib together quickly, and (Y/n) laid the wrapped Izuku in it. It was a bit wobbly but it would have to do.

Shoto found a stuffed teddy bear in the closet. He awkwardly placed it in Izuku's crib, but (Y/n) snatched it and once again yelled at him for putting Izuku in danger of suffocation yet again.

Shoto decided that he just wasn't cut out for this type of thing and kept quiet, leaving the work to the knight.

Besides that, he liked watching (Y/n) with a kid for some reason.