"What is Deku to you?"

"He's only a student, just like you, Bakugou-shounen."

"What is Midoriya to you?"

"He's only a student Aizawa-sensei."

"You have obvious favoritism for the boy."

"I do not."

"You do, Yagi-san."

"That Izuku boy, he's special. Isn't he, Toshinori?"

"He is."

"Reminds me of you when you were younger."

Izuku Midoriya was never one to have a fatherly figure. In fact, he couldn't remember how his father looked like. With only his mother to love and support him, he made it this far. To prove himself and make her proud. Make her, and him proud as well. He stared down at his hands, because of Mom and because of All Might. Because of Kacchan. Because of everyone that dared believed in me. That's why I am now standing here. His eyes watered, and a few stray tears rolled down his freckled cheeks. A voice broke him out of his daze; he looked up with eyes glazed with unshed tears, "...And here we have All Might's descendant, the youngest pro-hero: Deku," the reporter smiled brightly at him, "How does it feel? Standing here in front of everyone, accepting the award of the Number One Hero, alongside Ground Zero, the second part of the Wonder Duo!"

Kacchan snarled at the reporter, "Oi, I'm not the second part of it, we're an efficient team, recognize it by what it is." The reporter apologized and Katsuki patted Deku on the back, both of them sharing a smile before Bakugou mouthed, stop crying you big baby. Izuku chuckled, his attention back on the reporter, "It feels surreal, really. And at such a young age. I just… it's crazy. If I would have told my 15 year old self, a quirkless, little insecure boy that my third year of high school, I'd become the number one hero, I think I would have thought it was the most absurd thing I could have ever said."

The reporter laughed with him but nonetheless congratulated him on his achievements. The reporter left to interview Bakugou and he headed towards the stage. He was nervous as he has ever been, and he still had a speech to deliver. In front of him was a sea of people, all cheering him on and screaming out "Pro Hero Deku!" He grinned at them, his nerves calming significantly when his eyes landed on his mom. The feeling of crying flowed through him again, emotion striking at his very core. Next to her was a man, a man he didn't expect to be there, but he was. It was a man he had always looked up to, a man he had admired from such a young age, and now he was here, his #1 supporter, various times fighting for the spot alongside his mom and Kacchan. The man grinned at him and Deku grinned back, a few tears slipping again. The ceremony commenced and after all the other awards and certificates were given, his turn to speak came up. He was shaking with nerves as he stood from his seat, but as he passed all his friends, with all the small pats and cheers they gave him, he felt more at ease as he made his way towards the center of the stage.

He closed his eyes and took a breath, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen." Cheers and screams were heard and he smiled, "Tonight is a very special night; tonight signifies the ending to a chapter and the beginning of another. Tonight we all graduate high school and head into the real world. A real world we spent 3 years training for, a world we wish to protect," more cheers, "And tonight, I was given the privilege to receive the Number One Hero Award." A sea of screams, he chuckled, "Oh God, I'm so nervous and honored at the same time to have this many supporters on my side. I was supposed to thank everyone in this speech and talk about how I got here but I feel like maybe changing it up a little."

He cleared his throat, "When I was young, I was told I'd be quirkless, and despite my desires to become a hero, I was told various times to give up." He choked on his tears but still continued, "I was told I wouldn't make it. But I still continued fighting for my dream. Fighting for what I believed in. And here I am now," another wave of cheers, "But I didn't do this alone, there's many people that inspired me to continue fighting, to continue trying. First of all, Mom. You have no idea, no idea," his voice cracked, and she wiped tears that were falling like waterfalls from her eyes, "You have no idea how grateful I am to have been blessed with a mother like you. To raise her son by herself and to feel guilty about me being born without a quirk, but Mom, this isn't your fault, mom. It… it never was," he smiled at her, tears of his own falling as well, "You were always so hard working and strong and supportive despite it all. And I love you for that and so much more that I can never put into words. You mean the world to me, and I'll continue fighting any villain, overcoming any obstacle in my way so I make the world safer for people like you and me, for people who don't believe in themselves, never forget that anything is possible if you try hard enough. Use me as an example," cheers roared even louder than before, "Another person I have always admired from a young age was you, Katsuki," he looked back at him and Katsuki cupped his hands over his mouth and screamed, "Call me 'Kacchan', Deku." The crowd laughed alongside them and Bakugou smiled softly at Izuku, "I always thought you were great at everything. I wanted to be as strong and as good as you." Katsuki wiped a tear that unknowingly slipped, "And I know we had our heavy differences, Kacchan, but you have no idea how happy and overwhelmed I am that we overcame them and became the best team that could have ever come to be," a roar of cheers erupted as a small chant of 'wonder duo, wonder duo' resonated from both the crowd and their classmates, "I owe a lot of this to you, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner," Midoriya tapped his ring finger on his left hand and Katsuki did the same, the crowd cheering them on, "All in all, you're amazing and I don't ever want you to forget that. I don't want you to forget that you made an important impact on my life and you became my bestest friend." Katsuki smiled at him, apparently hanging around Izuku all those years finally came around and tears slipped from his crimson eyes.

"Last but not least. I'd like to thank my father," Izuku saw the man next to his mom slouch, almost as if his heart had been broken, "I want to thank a man I never knew for leaving my life and allowing another one to take in his place. I want to thank you, All Might," at this All Might sat up as the crowd roared with excitement, "I want to thank you for not only being the hero I always aspired to be, but for being a teacher, a helping hand, a father figure. I want to thank you for showing me things I never imagined existed and for being there for me and making me into the hero I am today." He went back to his seat, Uraraka handed him a folder and he thanked her for it as he walked back to the podium, "I know it might be a little too late but I managed to pull a few strings here and there to get these papers," the crowd oohed in anticipation as he took the creamed colored papers out of the folder, "I want you to sign these papers, because I not only saw you as a hero and a teacher, but progressively I started seeing you like my dad. Like the dad I never had and only ever dreamt of. You became a huge aspect of my life and I haven't discussed this with my mom either, but, All Might, I…. I'd like to have the honor of calling you 'dad'," the crowd gasped as All Might's jaw dropped, a hand covering it as an endless stream of tears rolled down his face, "It would be an honor," Izuku continued despite the emotions overriding him and the knot in his throat, "it would be an honor if you would adopt me."

The entire reception was silenced before someone behind him started clapping. A sea of claps and cheers were slowly rising and someone motioned for All Might to come upstage and he did, he practically ran and embraced Izuku in the tightest hug he could manage and whispered a lot of things that the world would never know, because those are the type of things that are kept between a father and a son. In the end, Izuku Midoriya wasn't only another student, he was the chosen one, he was the one Toshinori wished to have been a part of him, and the one Toshinori wanted to father and now, he was granted that privilege. It really had been worth the wait, it always had been when it came to Izuku Midoriya, and the greatest achievements of them all: calling him 'my son'.