Work Text:
Izuku was in the hospital again.
This usually wasn't very notable - as the #1 pro hero, he got into a lot of fights with a lot of very dangerous villains, which naturally resulted in a lot of injuries. Most of said injuries were fairly small, though, easily healed by minor healing quirks or even just modern medicine.
This time, a villain's quirk had pushed him into a coma, and nobody knew when he would be waking up.
On top of that, the moment Izuku was ambushed had been recorded and broadcasted to the entire world as it had happened, so everyone was in a bit of a frenzy about it, too.
This, naturally, included his friends.
When Shouto showed up at the hospital barely fifteen minutes after the news dropped, the receptionist nodded gravely. "Frostfire. Your friend is on the third floor; I'll send someone to escort you immediately."
When Tsuyu and Tsuyu arrived at around the same time half an hour later, a doctor stopped them before they even made their way to the front desk. "Oh, I know you guys from TV!" she said, blinking in recognition. "You must be here to see Dekiru. Hey, I just got back from a break, I'll show you the way."
When Ochako finally got back from a rescue mission later that afternoon, a passing nurse stared at her with shining eyes. "Uravity...?! Oh my god, no way... my younger brother wants to be just like you when he grows up!"
"Watanabe," his passing coworker snapped. "Not the time."
"...R-right," the nurse agreed, his expression cowed. Now that he thought about it, Ochako herself didn't look particularly happy about his fan behaviour either. "...Um, anyways, Dekiru is on the third floor, room 13."
He probably deserved it when she swept past him to the staircase without a single word of acknowledgement.
Finally, when Hitoshi showed up that night, his underground hero schedule meaning that he hadn't been able to come any earlier, the receptionist at the front desk blinked up at him, politely and with absolutely zero recognition. "Purpose of your visit?" she asked.
He got straight to the point; "I'm here to visit Midoriya Izuku."
Instantly, something in the receptionist sharpened, her aura of polite professionalism turning into something wary. "I'm sorry," she said firmly, "Dekiru is not receiving guests at this time."
Hitoshi raised an eyebrow, abruptly exhausted (even moreso than usual, that was). "Visits end at 9pm. I still have an hour."
She smiled tightly at him. "Are you a family member?" It clearly wasn't a real question.
"I'm a friend," he said.
The receptionist shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't just take your word for it."
Hitoshi sighed, trying his best to push down his exasperation. "I know you probably get a lot of fans trying to sneak their way in, but I was his classmate. I'm also a pro hero. Here;" he fished his license out of his pocket, sliding it across the desk to her. Underground Hero - White Noise, it read across the top.
She frowned down at it, and for a second he thought he had finally made his case; but then she shook her head once again, even more firmly than before. "I'm sorry, but this just isn't enough proof that he actually knows you. I'm going to have to ask you to leave so I can move onto the next person in line."
He could have started trying to bring up photographic proof of their history, but he could tell by now that anything short of official paperwork proving their connection wouldn't make her budge. So he didn't have a real choice; he left.
And then he texted the group chat of Izuku's closest friends, because while he wasn't going to make a scene in the waiting room, he was going to get his way into that hospital room eventually.
shinsou-hitoshi: they won't let me see him.
The others all viewed the message immediately, probably monitoring their phones constantly in case there was any news on Izuku's condition.
asui-tsuyu: Oh. They let us all in immediately, but that's because they recognized us
iida-tenya: Yes, I can confirm, Ochako informed me that she had the same experience!
iida-tenya: Are you still at the hospital, Hitoshi?
todoroki-shouto: One of us can come
iida-tenya: Yes, I was going to make the same offer! We can bring you with us into the room so that you can visit.
Hitoshi looked at the time in the corner of his phone screen, and then he mentally calculated how far away from the hospital all of them were.
shinsou-hitoshi: nevermind. I don't think there's any time tonight.
uraraka-ochako: yeah, i didn't want to say it, but if you're taking your normal shift, you'd only be able to see him for five minutes by the time any of us get there...
shinsou-hitoshi: it's fine. he'll still be there tomorrow.
It wasn't fine. Izuku was in a coma.
uraraka-ochako: one of us will bring you there the second your shift ends, okay?
todoroki-shouto: I can do it
That made sense - Shouto and Tenya woke up the earliest of all of them, in Shouto's case a habit still carried over from his childhood of imposed highly regimented routines.
While one small part of Hitoshi's brain thought that over, the rest of it was flooding with relief. A large part of him still chafed badly at how he'd been turned away, and itched to still see Izuku right now; it didn't matter that both the doctors and every single one of his previous visitors had confirmed that he was in a perfectly stable condition and was essentially just in an indeterminably long deep sleep. But at least now he could make it through his shift knowing that he would be able to see his friend the second it was over.
shinsou-hitoshi: thank you.
uraraka-ochako: i'm sorry you can't see him now, i know i was itching to see him too and i only had to wait a couple hours
This too soothed Hitoshi slightly - these people understood him, and just how important seeing Izuku was, the coma being completely stable or not. This was one of the first times Hitoshi had ever regretted the fact that he was an underground hero - he didn't envy his friends for their fame or rabid fanbases, perfectly content to his job that allowed him to save just as many people as they did. But his lack of fame disallowing him from seeing a comatose friend that the rest of them had been able to see immediately...
That aggravation carried through the entirety of his shift, every stretch of silence leading his brain back to the frustrating fact that he still had hours and hours to go until he was free to leave.
When he was done logging his activity and stepped out of the agency, Shouto and Ochako were standing outside.
"I know I wasn't a planned addition, but I really wanted to see him again," Ochako said, and then made an attempt at smiling in greeting. Considering the circumstances, the expression was weak.
"Let's go," Shouto said simply after Hitoshi nodded back, and then they were off.
There was a different receptionist this time, who gave them a similar professional smile. "Ah, Uravity, Frostfire," they said. "And...?"
"Our friend," Ochako finished for them.
"He's coming with us," Shouto said.
"Of course," the receptionist agreed, implicitly deciding to trust two of the top 10 heroes standing right in front of her. "Right this way."
It was almost hard to believe how differently the interaction had gone compared to last night. Almost. Because really, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened - Hitoshi wanting to see one of his friends in various public settings, and being initially turned away out of the assumption that he was a superfan or a stalker or a villain. The latter was less irritating than usual, since they would have made the same assumption over anyone trying to come into close contact with a very popular hero, and being turned away usually wasn't that bad, since one of them would always come and get him sooner rather than later...
This time had been the worst, though. And Hitoshi was realistic enough to know very well that this wouldn't be the last time one of them would end up getting this badly incapacitated and he would have to be the last to see them.
They arrived at room 13 then, and he cast aside all other thoughts in favour of taking in Izuku's condition.
Everyone had been right, of course. He was fine. Other than the fact that he was on a hospital bed, he really looked like he was just taking a quick nap, moments away from blinking his eyes open and smiling up at his visitors.
But from Uraraka's subconscious sigh, it was clear that knowing that fact was different from seeing it to the others in the room too. Tenya and Tsuyu and the many other visitors Izuku had no doubt gotten, too, even though they weren't here at this second.
The three of them had been in the room for over half an hour, watching Izuku and murmuring to each other and fussing over every piece of medical equipment around the bed, when Izuku's mother showed up.
She too smiled when she saw them, although the expression was just as tired and strained as Uraraka's had been. "How has he been?"
"The same as yesterday," Shouto said.
Inko expression softened a little, clearly also catching the way his eyes drifted also to her son no matter how blunt has words had been. "Thank you, Todoroki. Uraraka, nice to see you here again... Oh, and Shinsou, I'm glad you made it; I was worried they wouldn't let you in."
Hitoshi smiled wryly. "They didn't. I had to come back with some heroes they actually recognized"
"Oh..." Her eyes filled with tears, just a little bit (because like mother, like son). "I understand they have to take precautions, and I'm glad they're keeping my son safe, but..."
"It's fine," he brushed her off, because he felt bad about hijacking her visit now, no matter that she had clearly also been here yesterday.
"You can come back with some of us tonight," Ochako added. "Speaking of, Shouto and I should get going..."
Hitoshi dithered for a second, knowing he should probably be getting back to his apartment soon too. ...Not yet, though. "I'll stay here for a bit," he said.
"I hope you have a good day at work," Inko said to the departing guests, still wiping tears out of her eyes. Which was for naught, because when she smiled at them a moment later, they immediately started to water again. "Oh, I'm so glad my Izuku has friends like all of you."
And so Shouto and Ochako went to work for the day, and Hitoshi and Inko took the two seats by the side of the bed and silently watched Izuku's chest peacefully rise and fall.
After another half hour passed, Hitoshi had to admit to himself that he really needed to get changed, eat a proper meal, and get some sleep. "I'll see you soon," he promised Inko as he left.
He did see her that very night, when he visited before his shift. Tsuyu came down to reception to get him, and when he arrived Inko, Shouto, and Tenya were also there, all crowded into this now too-small room. Nobody moved to leave, though; there was an implicit understanding between all of them, a shared love for their friend (and son) that made them just silently shuffle aside to make room for the new addition.
Izuku woke up three days later, during the day when only his mother was able to be there. She called them immediately, though, and Ochako was the one to pass on the news to everyone else.
Once he was released back to his apartment, everyone visited him at different times; Inko was still there with him, of course, and Ochako and some of Izuku's mentors showed up not long after (whether due to their retirements or simply being able to easily take a half-day off). Tsuyu, Shouto, and Tenya showed up as soon as they could after their shifts. And Hitoshi showed up last, again, essentially immediately after waking up.
Most of the others had left already, leaving Izuku some time to recuperate (even though he had essentially just been asleep, that still meant he hadn't gotten in the proper nutrients or exercise for a few days). Inko was still there, though, greeting him at the door with a relieved smile. "Come in," she said.
"Thanks," he said back, and then he made a beeline from where he could hear the sound of the television in the living room.
He nearly collided with Izuku in the doorway, the latter having apparently heard the door and wanting to greet whoever was here to meet him now. After stumbling backwards, Izuku lit up, and it was such a blessed relief to see his lips lift into a smile instead of being slack and unmoving on his face. "'Toshi, I thought it was you!"
Hitoshi found himself mirroring the expression as he was pulled into a hug, and it remained on his face as Izuku chattered about how the coma really had been just like a several-day nap for him and how he was trying to petition his agency to let him go back to work tomorrow, even as Inko gently nudged both of them back into the living room and onto the couch.
She had also muted the television and disappeared into the kitchen only halfway through the long tangent, and when he finally ran out of steam, she returned with a big platter of snack food cradled in her arms.
Izuku immediately flushed. "Mom, you don't need to-"
"Izuku," she admonished lightly as she placed the food on the coffee table. "I'm your mother, and you just came out of a coma. Any good parent would want to do the same." She looked over at Hitoshi with a calculating expression on her face; "You too, Shinsou. You need food in you before you go to work, because don't think I don't know you came here without eating any breakfast."
Hitoshi wisely didn't argue, and dutifully popped an edamame pod into his mouth after Izuku had collected his own pile of food. "Thank you," he said to Inko again, who was now settled in the armchair on Izuku's other side.
"Of course," Inko replied, eyes soft as she watched her son settle under a pile of blankets. "I'm glad you were able to come today, it really was such a shame that you couldn't see Izuku that first night."
Izuku's eyes flew from his plate to Hitoshi's face. "What? You couldn't?"
"No." Hitoshi rubbed at the back of his neck. "I wanted to visit before my shift, but the hospital had no proof that I knew you, and there wasn't enough time for your mother or any of the more famous heroes to come vouch for me."
"Oh." Izuku looked nearly as upset as Inko had at this revelation, only less so because he had already seen firsthand some of the times that similar things had happened in the past. And then the look in his eyes turned contemplative. “Hmm. We could get married,” he mused.
Hitoshi waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't - it seemed he was being completely serious.
“For this,” Hitoshi said, disbelief colouring his voice.
Izuku smiled sheepishly. “I mean, it’s not the first time something like this has happened, and it won’t be the last.” He sent an apologetic glance towards his mother at the reminder of how dangerous their jobs were. "It's just an idea - then you'd have official paperwork to show people and prove you're trustworthy."
He... was right.
Hitoshi turned to Inko as the voice of reason here, but she too was nodding thoughtfully, seeming completely unbothered that her only child had just essentially proposed over the fact that his friend had had to wait nine or ten hours to get into his hospital room.
"...Okay," Hitoshi found himself saying. Then- "But aren't you worried about what the press will say?"
Izuku just shrugged. "I'll ask All Might, he knows how to keep things like this a secret." That made sense - after all, he had gone decades as the #1 hero without anybody revealing so much as his name. "I know you wouldn't want a bunch of people looking into you either."
Of course, keeping it a secret could possibly hamper his ability to use this at other events - but in hospitals specifically, where everyone there was bound to keep personal details a secret unless they literally wanted to be blacklisted from the industry...
Hitoshi imagined a scenario in which one of his friends was on their deathbed and he was barred seeing them in their last moments because of a lack of proof that he knew them, and that solidified his answer. In a moment like that, he wouldn't even care about keeping his relative anonymity as an underground hero.
He did have a shift to get to again, so only thirty minutes of hashing out some details later saw him pulling his shoes back on and Izuku pulling out his phone to text the group chat. Hitoshi pulled his out too just in time to see the first message go through.
midoriya-izuku: hitoshi and I are getting married! ^^
That was... way too abrupt of an announcement. Hitoshi was just tapping away to explain the reasoning behind Izuku's out-of-the-blue proclamation when responses from the others started pouring in.
todoroki-shouto: So that he's not turned away from the hospital in the future?
uraraka-ochako: and events too, probably!
uraraka-ochako: great idea, guys! wish i had thought of it sooner
iida-tenya: I agree, this plan seems like a sound way to ensure that Hitoshi is no longer excluded from important happenings! I commend your thoughtfulness and preparedness in this matter.
...Nevermind. He never should have thought for even a split second that any of Izuku's friends would react normally to this.
(Of course, he strategically ignored that he was included in that group - he too had agreed to this insane plan in the first place, after all.)
asui-tsuyu: Let us know if you want help with anything :)
"Have a good shift," Inko said kindly as Hitoshi put his phone back away, now fully content to let Izuku explain their plan to everyone else. "And make sure to eat a good meal in there, okay?"
Hitoshi nodded - he hadn't packed anything, but there were plenty of restaurants in the area of the agency he worked at open all night to capitalize on people just like him.
Izuku appeared in the living room doorway again, looking up from his phone long enough to send a sheepish smile Hitoshi's way at his mother's... well, mothering. "I'll see you soon?"
Hitoshi nodded without thought, because even if he wasn't pulled into another visit tomorrow, he was certainly going to be pulled into something on the upcoming weekend. "Bye, Izuku."
As he made his way to the agency, still snacking on some of the things Inko had shoved into his hands in the last second, he mulled over everything that had just happened.
He, Shinsou Hitoshi, was imminently getting married. What a world.