Puppet Master

Our Last Day

Izuku woke to the sound of harsh coughing somewhere in the apartment. He shot up. He could hear the sizzle of grease in the background. Izuku ran into the kitchen but it was only Present Mic. The man turned around to face Izuku.

"Hey, listener," he whispered. "Mary Lou will be up in a bit, don't worry." Izuku glanced to the left to where the hallway would be if it weren't for the wall. Mic gave a grin. "How about you go make the napkins? It might cheer her up." Izuku looked at him and nodded. Izuku tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach as he folded the napkins into good but still not all that good origami bunny. A few minutes later, the coughing stopped just as Izuku was oh so carefully placing the last bunny on the plate of Mary Lou. Mary Lou exited the hallway and entered the dining area.

"Good morning, Mary," Present Mic said as he crossed the room with the skillet, placing a kiss on her cheek before moving on to the table. Izuku thought that it was pretty cool of the hero not to abandon Mary Lou when he found out she was ill.

"Good Morning, Yamada." Her voice sounded strained from all of the coughing. "Good morning, Izu."

"'M- morning..."

Present Mic dished out cheesy eggs and bacon onto each plate. *POP* Izuku jumped and swung his head to the kitchen where the toaster sat, freshly toasted bread peeking out of the top.

Present Mic was surprisingly a good cook. The three ate around the table in comfortable silence before Mary Lou suddenly stood as they were finishing. "Alright!" Izuku jumped slightly. "Are we ready?"

Izuku tilted his head. She smiled at him. "We have a fun day planned today." She turned to Present Mic. "Yamada, would you please get the bags?" The man nodded and stood, taking up the empty plates and depositing them in the sink before disappearing somewhere in the apartment.

"W- where a- are we g- g- going?" Izuku asked as he helped Mary Lou wash the dishes. "It's a secreeeetttttt!" She pressed a finger against her mouth. Izuku quirked up an eyebrow but didn't question further. While Present Mic was gone, Izuku got dressed in a pair of clothes had set out for today: a red shirt with sleeves that went down to his elbows and green shorts.

Mic returned with two large black bags. Izuku narrowed his eyes. They looked suspiciously like the bags one would carry around to conceal guns or drugs. "Sorry, listener," he said, "but I can't let you check these. It'll ruin the surprise!" Izuku hesitated. Why? Mic wouldn't be doing anything bad, would he? He would. He's a good guy. Bad guy. Mic's... Well, if Izuku had to think of anyone as a father figure it'd... it'd be Present Mic.

"I- I trust M- Mic," he whispered.

Present Mic stared at him with wide eyes. The bags dropped to the floor. Mary Lou peeked over from out of the kitchen. Izuku looked down. Did I say something wrong? There was a soft *thud* as Present Mic fell to his knees in front of Izuku. Izuku snapped his head up. Tears were at the edges of the man's eyes and a smile on his face. Mic held out his hands. Izuku, a bit skeptical, gently placed his own in the large palms. Present Mic squeezed softly.

"I'm so glad you feel that way, Izuku," he breathed out.

Izuku felt his face heat up and his cheeks go flush. He looked away to the side. "Also!" Present Mic suddenly piped, Izuku flinching away from the loud voice. "Mic?" Izuku looked up at the man's questioning tone. "You know you can call me by my name, right?" Izuku blushed harder. "I- I mean it's okay if you don't but ya know you can't call me that in public if I am in civilian clothes and all." Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.

That made sense but... Yam- Yamad- His eyes widened.

"Yami," Izuku blurted out.