My Father's Son - Chapter 50

“What are these for, nerd?” Izuku smiled sheepishly as he turned around, finding Katsuki looking at him with narrowed eyes...

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“What are these for, nerd?”

Izuku smiled sheepishly as he turned around, finding Katsuki looking at him with narrowed eyes, one eyebrow raised slightly in question.

“W-Well, it’s White Day,” Izuku explained awkwardly. “You had such a long day yesterday that I figured you wouldn’t have thought to make anything or buy anything, and you said a lot of people gave you chocolates for Valentine’s Day, so I thought you should have something to give back to them!”

“Oh,” Katsuki said, his expression immediately softening out of his suspicious look. “That uh, that was thoughtful of you.”

“And I know you aren’t big on sweet stuff,” Izuku assured him. “But I did make extras so you can try some too. If you want, I mean. They’re white chocolate and macadamia, and I know you like macadamia nuts, so I thought you might want one for dessert after lunch or something.”

“I will. I’ll try one. Thanks.”

Izuku shot him a beaming smile, and Katsuki quickly turned away, reaching back into the fridge to grab his lunch box and water bottle.

“Did you... want to go out for dinner again?” Katsuki offered, his voice barely more than a mumble. “We went for Valentine’s Day, so it only seems fair to round out the pair.”

“That would be nice!” Izuku said cheerfully. “It might be a bit late to book somewhere, though.”

“I’ll find something.”

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you,” Izuku agreed. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Cool.”

“But this time I’m paying.”

“Like hell you are,” Katsuki snorted, ruffling Izuku’s hair as he passed. “You already pay half the mortgage, you don’t need to assert yourself anymore.”

“But you paid last time! You always pay!”

“Let me know when you earn number-one-hero pay, then we’ll talk.”

Izuku huffed, but when Katsuki grinned back at him he couldn’t keep up his pout, instead just raising one hand in a dumb little wave.

“Have a good day,” he said softly. “Go kick butt.”

“You know it.”

Izuku watched the doorway even after Katsuki moved out of sight, listening for the click of the front door closing behind him before he let out a long sigh. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn Katsuki was intentionally making his heart pound like a damn jackhammer.

“Morning Papa!” Hiroki called, as he jumped down the stairs, two at a time. “Breakfast smells yummy!”

“I’m glad,” Izuku said with a smile, quickly forcing himself to regain his composure. “Nana is sleeping in today, so I made us all bacon and eggs.”

“I love bacon.”

“Good! So do me and Yuuto.”

Hiroki gave him a quick hug then slid into his seat at the table, waiting patiently for a much slower, more trudging Yuuto to catch up and join them.

“Morning Bubs,” Izuku said fondly, kissing his head despite the little whine it elicited. “Sleepy?”

“Mm-hm.” Yuuto yawned. “Bacon?”

“Coming right up.”

He put two plates down on the table, and Hiroki giggled when he saw the little bacon-and-egg faces Izuku had made with their food. Even Yuuto cracked a smile, looking right at Izuku as he stabbed one of the egg-eyes, and Izuku just shook his head fondly.

“You take after your Dad more every day,” he teased.

“I don’t mind.”

“Yeah, I know you don’t,” Izuku said softly, ruffling his pillow-squashed spikes. “Me neither.”

When breakfast was done with, Yuuto finally seemed a little more awake, and the pair hurried off to get dressed for kindergarten. They only had a couple more weeks left, and Izuku got a little choked up every time he thought about it – his little boys were growing up so quickly, it wasn’t fair!

“Ready!” Hiroki called, hopping down the stairs again, this time all the way to the front door. “Oh, hi Nana! Good morning!”

“Good morning,” Inko’s fond voice came from down below. “Here, for your friends today.”

“You remembered!”

“Of course,” Inko assured him. “Happy White Day, Hiroki. I hope you have a fun day with your friends. What time is Ryouji coming over this afternoon?”

“Straight from extra-school I think, he might beat me.”

“That’s okay, I’m sure I can keep him safe for a little bit until you get here.”

“Nuh-uh! He has to keep you safe, Nana, he’s the one who wants to be a hero!”

“Well then, between the two of us I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Inko chuckled.

“Is Grampa Toshi coming too?”

“I think he might,” Inko agreed, making Izuku smile from the room above them. “I’ll make us all a nice dinner.”

“Yummy! Thanks Nana!”

Yuuto held up his bag as he passed Izuku, much more slowly than Hiroki had, to show he was ready to go. Izuku followed after him, grabbing the car keys on his way through, and hugging his mother in the garage doorway.

“Morning Mom,” he said fondly. “I’m glad you and All Might are gonna spend the evening together!”

“Thank you,” she laughed. “Are you and Katsuki going out for dinner again?”

“I think we might, if that’s okay. Will you two be alright with the boys?”

“Of course,” she assured him, dropping her voice to a whisper immediately afterward. “Apparently Ryouji has a surprise present for Hiroki, so he’ll be here to help entertain them anyway.”

“Have you been plotting with your grandson-in-law?” Izuku teased.

“Of course not! Just keeping quiet about his plots,” she said with a grin. “Alright, you have a good day at work, Izuku. Take care of yourself.”

“I will! Have a nice day, Mom.”

She waved from the doorway as they got into the car and drove off, the boys waving back right until the moment they rounded the first corner, no longer in sight of the house. Each of the boys clutched a container of little cupcakes iced with white frosting – Hiroki had been so upset about not being able to decorate them himself, with his hands still in bandages, but Inko had promised to make them perfect for him, and from Hiroki’s delight, Izuku suspected she’d come through.

“Papa, did you bring something for your work friends too?” Yuuto asked, when he saw Izuku glancing at the cupcakes in the rear-view mirror. “Do you need some cakes?”

“I brought something too,” Izuku assured him. “I made cookies for them.”

“Wow! They’re so lucky!” Hiroki gushed. “I bet you’ll give the best White Day cookies they’ve ever tasted!”

“I hope so,” Izuku laughed. “It’s my first White Day with them, just like it’s your last one at kindy, so we’ve all gotta make it extra special!”

“It will be!” Hiroki assured him, eyes shining. “I can feel it.”

———

Izuku felt like he might burst if he ate another bite, finding himself weirdly grateful when Katsuki ate the final little chunk of cheesecake they’d shared, so that he wouldn’t have to do it himself. Everything had been perfect, just like always, and when Katsuki reached into his bag for his wallet, Izuku felt oddly disappointed that it was coming to an end.

“Here,” Katsuki said, sliding a wrapped package across the table. “Was gonna give it to you this morning, but I kind of forgot it was today until too late.”

“You got me a present? Kacchan you can’t, I didn’t get you anything!”

“You made me cookies.”

“For your friends!”

“Still counts. I ate them too, they were good.”

“I’m glad, but I still should have gotten you something proper!”

Katsuki paused, drumming his fingers on the table with one hand, and nudging the package a little further with the other, closer to Izuku’s hesitant hands.

“Get me something next Valentine’s Day, then,” he said after a minute. “We’ll take turns.”

“Fine,” Izuku huffed, accepting the parcel. “Thank you, Kacchan.”

“Don’t thank me until you’ve opened it, dumbass.”

Chuckling, Izuku tore through the paper, finding the softest white fur in the world inside. He turned it over, uncovering two black eyes and a little pink nose, beneath two fuzzy peach ears.

“It reminded me of you,” Katsuki said with a shrug, when Izuku hugged it to his chest. “You know, you being a bunny and all.”

“Thank you, Kacchan!” Izuku nuzzled the fluff fondly. “He’s adorable!”

“It’s no big deal.”

Izuku felt himself getting teary, but he did his best to blink it back, so he wouldn’t make a scene in the restaurant – he knew Katsuki would regret bringing him, if he started crying in front of everyone.

“I’m gonna call him Katsusagi.”

“I should’ve known you’d come up with something stupid,” Katsuki huffed, his cheeks turning pink all the same. “Ready to head home?”

“Sure,” Izuku said, a little reluctant. “I had a great night, Kacchan, thanks for dinner.”

“No biggie.”

Katsuki paid, smirking when Izuku cringed over the cost, then the pair of them headed out into the night. The weather was getting warmer every day, but the night winds still made Izuku shiver, and he blushed when Katsuki immediately handed over his jacket. Katsuki felt the cold far more than Izuku did, it seemed rude to accept, but Izuku was pretty sure Katsuki was wearing thermals under most of his clothes, anyway. He’d done enough loads of the household's laundry to know that Katsuki wore a set just about every day, so it didn’t seem like much of a stretch to assume. That made it okay, right? Just this once.

Caving, he pulled it around himself a little tighter, relishing the warmth from Katsuki’s body, and Katsuki looked at him surprisingly fondly as they began their trip back. The restaurant Katsuki had managed to reserve was only a short walk from home, so they hadn’t bothered to take the car, leaving it instead for any potential trips or mishaps that Inko and All Might might encounter with all three of the boys at home – Katsuki wouldn’t have been at all surprised if they’d gotten a call from the hospital, but so far all had been quiet. Ryouji had probably been shutting down any of their usual grand plans, with how concerned he’d been about Hiroki’s hands.

Noises behind them made Katsuki stand a little taller, turning his head slightly to listen. They weren’t too close, not like someone was trying to sneak up on him, but something about the sounds just didn’t feel right. When they got a little louder, Izuku turned to look too, and Katsuki swore under his breath when he saw shadowy figures emerging from alleyways at the end of the street. They hadn’t seen him yet, he was pretty sure – they seemed to be focused on something the other direction – but Katsuki knew it was only a matter of seconds before he got caught out. He didn’t bother to say a word, just threw his bag over Izuku’s shoulder and took off running, feet pounding hard against the pavement as he tried to close the distance.

Izuku took a step backwards when the first figure turned their way, legs trembling as he watched Katsuki sprint toward them, but when he felt a warm little bundle pushed into his arms, they stopped shaking immediately. He looked up in surprise to see Tamaki running after Katsuki, and after a moment for his shock to pass, he held Koara a little tighter.

"I've got you," he whispered, hurrying the opposite direction, toward home and safety. "It's okay, sweet girl, your Daddy is a super strong hero, he'll be okay."

He wasn't entirely sure if he was talking to her or himself, really, but when Koara cooed at him happily, he figured he'd done the job either way. He slammed through the front door, locking both the handle and the deadbolt behind him, and reaching for the alarm panel to switch it on. Ryouji and Hiroki rushed to the stairs to see him, but Izuku was still out of breath from the sprint, unable to quite make words yet. Hiroki just seemed relieved to see him, but Ryouji, on the other hand, looked terrified.

Izuku didn’t have a chance to reassure him before he was off again, ducking through the doorway to the living room. He ran to the television wordlessly, and when Izuku joined them, his legs aching with the exertion, he saw three familiar faces lighting up the screen.

"It's been a while since we've seen Suneater in action," a reporter was saying, over the crashing and roaring of the fight in the background. "The last I heard, he was taking paternity leave for his second child, so I'm surprised to see him out here."

"Dad is there," Ryouji whispered, wrapping his arms around his knees. "Don't get hurt, Dad."

"He won't," Yuuto said firmly, before Izuku could think of anything to say. "He's Suneater, he's too strong to get hurt."

Ryouji glanced over with a nervous look on his face, but Yuuto didn't even look away from the screen, his face so typically passive that there wasn't a single doubt in Izuku's mind that he meant every word of it.

"They'll all be safe!" Hiroki agreed, leaning into Ryouji's side. "They're together!"

Sure enough, every time one of the heroes on the screen came close to being hit, someone else was there to stop it – a tentacle smashing a villain out of the air, or an explosion sending an offending limb cascading to the ground across the street, or a punch that moved the wind itself throwing someone into the nearby buildings with a crash that shook the street. They had each other's backs, and Izuku loved watching it almost as much as he hated it.

“Go Uncle Suneater!” Hiroki cheered, when two long tentacles carved trenches in the street, trapping villains beneath them. “He’s so strong!”

“He’s so cool,” Yuuto said softly, when the night sky lit up with explosions – Izuku honestly wasn’t sure which one he was talking about, anymore. “They’re so brave.”

Ryouji’s arms were still wrapped around his knees, fingers pressing little divots into his legs, but Hiroki just continued to lean on him, one hand lifting to sit on his back. Hiroki was used to it, his father had never taken a day off in his life, but Ryouji was strangely shaken by it all, and Izuku wished he knew how to help.

“It’s good to see him back in action,” All Might said fondly, as he joined them in front of the television. “I always loved watching him fight, even when he was back in high school. A lot of people were concerned and disappointed when he said he was taking time off to start a family, but he knew what he wanted, and we all respected him a lot for that.”

“He hasn’t fought in so long,” Ryouji mumbled.

“It’s a good thing he’s been practicing with you,” All Might said, smiling. “Otherwise he might be out of practice. But look at him go.”

“He goes easy on me, though.”

“I think he goes easy on villains a lot, too.”

“Daddy always says Uncle Suneater is his only competition for number one,” Hiroki said. “I think he mostly says it to be mean to Uncle Number Two, but he never says it about anyone else.”

“He’s still in that third spot for a reason,” All Might chuckled. “No matter how much time he takes off, or how much he tries to avoid the spotlight, he still does so much for the world, and people won’t let him forget it.”

“Uncle Eijirou still gets mad about it!” Hiroki giggled. “He says he’s never been able to beat Uncle Suneater, ever since they first met.”

“There aren’t many people who can,” All Might laughed. “I’m not sure I could’ve.”

“You were the best, Grampa Toshi!”

“Once upon a time, sure,” he agreed. “But we’ve come a long way since then. Our heroes have come a long way. Look at them out there, I never made it look so... easy.”

Sure enough, the battle was quickly wrapping up. The camera zoomed in as they grouped up together to check in, but Izuku couldn’t even see a scratch on any of the trio. Mirio was just grinning, slinging an arm around Katsuki and watching him squirm away indignantly like always, and Tamaki just seemed bored of it.

“I thought that was going to be a lot worse,” they heard Tamaki say, when the news crews got close enough to catch some audio. “I could’ve stayed home.”

“We were happy to have you!” Mirio said with a laugh. “I missed having you by my side!”

“Quit it, sap.”

Katsuki pointed at the camera that was approaching, and all three of them closed their mouths quickly, sharing glances that Izuku couldn’t quite read. A reporter began walking toward them, and Izuku laughed when Katsuki and Tamaki each put out a hand, playing the world’s quickest round of janken before she reached them. Katsuki threw his arms in the air when he won, and Tamaki groaned, getting a look from Mirio that was so full of love that it made Izuku’s chest ache.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta get back to my kids,” Katsuki said cheerfully, clapping Tamaki on the shoulder as he backed away from the reporter’s microphone. “Lemillion and Suneater have got you on this one!”

He launched himself into the sky to run away, leaving Tamaki and Mirio to field the same endless interview questions that got asked after every single fight, and with a fond smile, Izuku got up again, heading over to turn the alarm system back off.

“See?” Hiroki said softly, taking Ryouji’s hand gently. “He’s super strong, he’s okay!”

“It’s weird.”

“I know. I bet it’ll get less weird, though. Maybe he’ll like being back.”

Ryouji paused, looking at the screen again, then conceded a tiny nod.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think he will.”

———

Izuku knocked lightly as he opened Hiroki’s door a crack, peeking his head in to find him tucked up nice and cozy in his new bed. He gave Izuku a sleepy smile, reaching for him, and Izuku hugged him without even a moment of hesitation.

“How’s Ryouji doing?” he asked, when he stood back up and spotted the cellphone sitting on the bedside table. “Is he okay?”

“Much better,” Hiroki said, nodding. “He talked lots with Uncle Suneater and they’re doing good now.”

“I’m glad they talked, I was surprised by how worried he was. Do you feel like that watching your Dad on TV?”

“No, I’m used to it,” Hiroki assured him. “Uncle Suneater hasn’t worked much since we were babies, I was worried about him too.”

“Yeah?”

Hiroki nodded, and Izuku reached out again, stroking his hair lightly.

“We never worry about Daddy or Uncle Number Two,” Hiroki explained. “Because they do it lots.”

“That makes sense.”

“Uncle Suneater had fun, though. Ryou says he realised he misses it so him and Uncle Number Two are gonna take turns more often, now. So we’ll get used to him soon, too.”

“Good. If you ever want to talk about it, you know you can talk to me, right? I don’t mind listening to your worries, even if I can’t do anything about them. Sometimes it just helps to talk.” He paused, then smiled softly. “For Ryouji as well, if he doesn’t want to talk to his Dads.”

“I know,” Hiroki said, grinning. “I’ll tell Ryou too. Did you see my present?”

“You got a present?”

Hiroki pointed at his bookshelf, directly opposite his bed, and Izuku turned around to find two new additions to one of the shelves, right where Hiroki could see them from his bed the moment he opened his eyes in the morning. The first was a little glass vase, filled with origami flowers. There were multiple types of flower, a little assorted bouquet, and Izuku could feel the fond look on his own face.

“He made them all himself,” Hiroki clarified. “But he bought the statue.”

Beside the vase sat a little glass statue, some kind of bird, and Izuku moved closer to take a better look.

“It’s a phoenix,” Hiroki said, before he could get all the way there. “Because I like phoenixes for the fire.”

“I remember,” Izuku assured him, smiling to himself. “You said maybe it’ll be your hero name one day.”

“Uh-huh! I have a big list, but I put Phoenix on it because I like them. I like dragons too so sometimes Ryou makes me origami dragons when he’s bored in class. I’m gonna put them there too.”

“Because they breathe fire?”

“Yeah!”

“These flowers are super impressive,” Izuku said, when he leaned in to examine the pair of gifts. “He must have worked hard on them.”

“I know! They’re so cool.”

“The coolest,” Izuku agreed. “He’s a great boyfriend.”

“Yeah!”

Izuku glanced back at him, finding a big smile on Hiroki’s face despite his blush, and he couldn’t resist a little chuckle.

“We’re allowed to say that now, then?”

Hiroki nodded slightly, and Izuku smiled back.

“I’m happy for you,” he said fondly. “You two make a really sweet pair.”

“He’s the best. He’s super cool, and his quirks are awesome, and he always does nice things for me, and I like spending time with him, and when he teases me I know he’s just playing and it makes me laugh.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Did you have fun with my Mom, too?”

Izuku froze. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Hiroki acknowledge it all like that, before. He’d made ‘blood-son’ comments on occasion, but he’d still yelled at Yuuto’s birth mother for abandoning him, had still always referred to her as his mother.

“I did,” Izuku said, sitting down on the edge of the mattress lightly. “We’d known each other a long time, sometimes it’s still weird to think that she’s gone.”

“Were you best friends when you were little?”

“No, we met at university. I was studying to be a journalist, and she wanted to be a nurse, but we took a couple of classes together and ended up walking between lectures together, since we had the same ones.”

“So she was smart?”

“She was,” Izuku agreed, nodding. “But more than just smart, she cared about people a lot, she wanted to take care of everyone and make the world a better place. So we kind of bonded over that, wanting to be heroes without actually being able to be heroes.”

“You’re my hero.”

“You’re too sweet,” Izuku said, blinking back tears. “Thank you, Hiro.”

“What was her quirk? You said she had one.”

“She made gases. I think maybe that’s part of how you fuel your fires. When she was working with patients she could even make a gas that would help with their pain.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Yeah, it was pretty amazing,” Izuku agreed.

“Do you still miss her?”

“Sometimes. It’s been a long time, so I kind of forget a lot. But when her birthday passes, or our anniversary, or even you and Yuuto’s birthday, it makes me think of her.”

“We should have a party for her birthday, next time.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah! She made me, so we can have cake and celebrate and say thank you.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Izuku agreed, leaning over to kiss Hiroki’s forehead. “But for now it’s bedtime. Daddy will come read to you soon.”

“Goodnight, Papa!”

“Goodnight Hiro, I love you.”

“Love you too!”

With a last little smile, Izuku left the room, giving himself a minute to breathe and compose himself in the hallway as he headed to Yuuto next. He almost ran into Katsuki in the doorway, brushing off the look of concern Katsuki gave him as they switched places, and lying down on the edge of Yuuto’s bed, in the space that was always left for him or Katsuki to join him.

“Are you okay, Papa?”

“I’m good,” Izuku assured him. “Hiroki was just telling me about his White Day presents from Ryouji, did you see them?”

“Yeah! He made me one too, as a friend-present.”

Yuuto rolled over to grab it, sitting on his bedside table, and Izuku grinned when he saw the origami dinosaur held carefully in the palm of his hand. It had to be multiple pieces of paper, Izuku was sure, from the size and intricacy of it – it even had sharp little teeth in its mouth.

“That’s amazing,” Izuku gushed. “He must do a lot of origami.”

“He gets a special magazine every week. He says he gets bored in class so he makes little things while he’s working to entertain himself, but sometimes he does hard ones at home for fun or for his friends.”

“That’s very impressive. Did you tell him you like dinosaurs?”

“Uh-huh. So he picked this one because it looks like it’s roaring and it’s cool.”

“Yeah, it’s super cool.”

He put it back on his bedside table carefully, to watch over him while he slept, and Izuku pulled the blanket back up, tucking Yuuto in where it was nice and warm.

“Did you and Dad have fun at dinner?” Yuuto asked, yawning. “You didn’t tell us before.”

“Oh. Yeah, we did, it was really nice. I guess we got a bit distracted, after.”

“Yeah,” Yuuto said with a smile. “I got to watch Dad fight, though.”

“That’s true, that’s always a good time!”

“And Suneater too.”

“Yeah! It’s been a while, huh? You’ve mostly just seen the old fights, before. Must have been cool to see one as it happened.”

“Uh-huh. Ryouji and Hirokun were worried though so it felt mean to be excited.”

“It’s not mean. They’re allowed to be nervous and you’re allowed to enjoy it, you’re always allowed to have your own feelings. You did a good job of reassuring them though, I was very proud of you.”

“They always worry about people getting hurt, but Dad says that getting hurt is part of being a hero and that he’ll get better just like always.”

“Your Dad is a smart man,” Izuku said fondly. “We all get hurt sometimes, even if we aren’t heroes. But that’s what we have doctors for.”

“Like Hirokun’s hands.”

“Exactly. They’ll be all better before we know it.”

“Yeah. And he got to do cool hero stuff.”

“He did,” Izuku agreed. “But we’re not making a habit out of that. He could have gotten seriously hurt. You guys need to wait until at least high school to start doing hero stuff properly, okay?”

“I know,” Yuuto assured him. “I wanna practice with Dad again, though.”

“Now that you can do,” Izuku promised. “But not tonight, it’s sleep time tonight.”

“Yeah,” Yuuto agreed, giving him one last sleepy smile. “Goodnight Papa, I love you.”

“Goodnight Yuuto,” Izuku said, leaning over to kiss his forehead and chuckle at the little pout he got for it. “I love you too.”

He headed back into the hallway, leaving the door open a crack to let some light in, and heard Katsuki’s footsteps right behind him when he started down the stairs. He knew the question was coming, knew it was inevitable, but he hurried to busy himself in the kitchen like he might be able to somehow prevent it.

Katsuki was silent behind him, just waiting, watching Izuku’s shoulders tense up under his gaze, without saying a word. But Izuku refused to break, refused to give in to the unsaid words, and soon Katsuki was marching over to him, standing right behind him as he rinsed dishes.

“You good?” he asked simply.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Katsuki said, nodding when Izuku glanced back at him. “Goodnight, nerd.”

Izuku blinked at him, waiting for any kind of follow up, but Katsuki just turned around, heading for the stairs again.

“Goodnight, Kacchan,” he said finally, only getting a lazy wave to acknowledge it. “Sleep well.”

“You too.”

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