My Father's Son - Chapter 65

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“Do fish ever get thirsty?”

Katsuki froze, halfway through pulling the blankets up, staring at Yuuto’s sweet, innocent, wide-eyed face.

“What?” he asked stupidly.

“Fish,” Yuuto repeated. “Do they get thirsty, or do they drink every time they open their mouths for other things so they don’t ever get thirsty?”

“Umm... I’m not a fish expert, but I don’t think they actually drink,” Katsuki answered, finishing pulling the blankets over Yuuto’s tiny form. “Not the way people drink at least. So no, I don’t think they get thirsty.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Um, we can look it up, if you want. Tomorrow. We’ll... learn about fish together.”

“Okay,” Yuuto agreed, snuggling down into his blankets and reaching for his floppy Downfall plushie. “If Mini Fall came to life, would he have to go to school?”

“No, because he’s me, and I already finished school.”

“But he’s mini!”

“Yeah but he was made after I graduated, so he’s fine.”

“Okay. That’s sad, I think he’d like school.”

“Maybe you could sneak him in your bag so he can listen and decide if he likes school or not.”

“Okay, I can do that. Unless him coming to life makes me a plushie.”

“I know there are a lot of weird quirks out there, but I don’t think that’s one you need to worry about,” Katsuki assured him, leaning in to hug Yuuto awkwardly through the blankets. “Alright, you comfy and cozy now?”

“Uh-huh. I like my blankie.”

“I know, it’s a great blankie.”

“What happens when someone gets really sick and the doctors don’t know how to help?”

Katsuki blinked at him, mouth falling open a little, and Yuuto just stared up at him, waiting.

“Are you stalling because you don’t want to sleep?”

“You always say I can ask questions when I want.”

“I know, and you can, but... Are you?”

“I think lots when I’m going to bed.”

“That... makes sense. Um... Wow. That’s a tough one.”

“Do they die?”

“Well... Maybe, yeah. Does that scare you?”

“No, I’m not sick.”

“Yeah, that’s true. And we would get you all the best help ever, if you got sick.”

“Mm-hm. But what if?”

“If the doctor can’t help, you can always go to a different doctor, and try again. And there are specialists, doctors who are super highly trained in a specific area, so they can help even more. Sometimes people even fly to another country, just to see a specialist who might know more.”

“Wow. Those doctors are heroes.”

“All doctors are heroes,” Katsuki corrected him. “Just like police officers, and firefighters, and nurses, and teachers, and... postal workers.”

“Postal workers? The people who bring the mail?”

“Yeah. They travel far and wide, all across the city, to get us our letters and packages. Sounds pretty heroic to me.”

“Mm... I want to be your type, though.”

“You can,” Katsuki assured him. “You will.”

Yuuto nodded, content, and for a moment Katsuki thought it was over, when he rolled onto his side and got comfy. But then those little red eyes were peering up at him again, so curious and thoughtful.

“If there’s a fire, what’s the most important thing to save?”

“Yourself,” Katsuki answered, without hesitation. “Anything else doesn’t matter.”

“What about Papa?”

“He can save himself too.”

“And Nana?”

“So can she.”

“What if she’s asleep?”

“You can yell and scream to wake her up, while you escape. But there are smoke alarms that will go off and wake her, anyway.”

“What about Hirokun? Alarms don’t wake him up.”

“You’re worried about Hiroki in a house fire?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki chuckled, ruffling Yuuto’s hair fondly. “Ready to sleep now?”

“Mm-hm,” Yuuto agreed, finally closing his eyes. “Thanks Dad.”

“You’re welcome, buddy. Get some rest.”

Katsuki headed for the door, barely resisting a groan when the little voice piped up again.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“If birds don’t have hands, how do they carry their worms?”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Katsuki complained, a little pathetically, as he paced across the room. “I want to support him, I love how curious he is, but it went on for an hour. He needs his sleep!”

“I know the feeling,” Izuku chuckled. “As soon as he’s lying still, his mind starts running wild. Mine does it too sometimes, so I can’t exactly blame him.”

“How do you deal with it?”

“Hmm... Focusing on something else?” Izuku answered, pulling a face as he considered it. “I like to kind of... imagine my dream. Like, I pick something I want to dream about, and start kind of telling that story in my head, until I fall asleep. I know it sounds silly, but it works for me. Yuuto isn’t great at doing things in his head, though; he’d be up making a cardboard sword to wave around as he acted out his dream.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki sighed, mentally filing away the information all the same. “He’s like that when I read to him, too. It doesn’t help him settle down, the way it helps Hiro.”

“Hiro has been... pushing his luck, too,” Izuku admitted. “He always wants an extra story, or another hug, or something, and I’m powerless to say no.”

“Oh, he’s doing that game again?” Katsuki asked. “You’ve got to be stern with him. Tell him it’s the last one and stick with it. Or tell him no. I know it’s hard when he brings out the puppy eyes, but you’ve got to learn or he’ll walk all over you.”

“But I like giving him extra hugs!” Izuku whined. “I’m so glad he asks!”

“Yeah, and he knows it,” Katsuki snorted. “Set boundaries from the start. One story, a last hug, then sleep. If you cave once, you’ll cave every time; he’s well aware of that.”

“I’m not strong enough for this,” Izuku said with a pout. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“A lot of practice, and reminding myself that it’s important for his sleep schedule.”

“Yeah,” Izuku sighed. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

“Me too,” Katsuki mumbled, glancing off toward the stairs, where their two boys were dozing up above. “I’ll help him find something to focus on.”

“That sounds great, Kacchan.”

This is it, this is the moment.

“Hey, um, I’ve been meaning to tell you...”

The front door closed, down below them, and Katsuki immediately chickened out. Something about having other people awake in the house just made it feel impossible, especially when the footsteps came toward them. Two figures made their way up the stairs, to meet them in the living room, and Katsuki saw it immediately: a thin gold band, with a little square diamond set in the top. She started to raise her hand, ready to announce it, but Katsuki was already striding across the room, throwing his arms around her and squeezing her – hard.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, laughing as she wrapped her arms around Katsuki’s waist. “Thank you, sweetie.”

“Congratulations,” he whispered. “I’m really happy for you.”

Her eyes were full of tears when they parted, but she somehow managed to keep them from spilling over – at least until she looked over at Izuku, at her only son, already bawling his eyes out like an idiot.

“I’m so glad,” he managed to splutter out. “I’m so relieved that you said yes!”

Inko laughed, her own tears coming out in full force now, and Katsuki glimpsed a fond look on Toshinori’s face that he was pretty sure mirrored his own – fuck.

“Good work,” he said, holding out a fist. “You must have made a convincing argument.”

“I learned from the best,” Toshinori chuckled, bumping their fists together. “I wore her down.”

“Take care of her or I’ll beat your ass.”

“I’m well aware.”

Izuku and Inko were hugging, sobbing into each other’s shirts, only managing disjointed words and phrases that didn’t form coherent sentences, though they seemed to understand each other anyway.

“God I love her,” Toshinori said fondly, as he watched.

Clearly Katsuki and his old mentor were far too alike for their own good.

———

“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” Hiroki chanted, as he bounced in excited circles around the coffee table. “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!”

He bounced his way over to where Inko and Toshinori sat, and Inko held out her hand knowingly, letting him examine the ring for the fifth time.

“Did you choose it yourself, Grampa?” he asked this time. “It’s very shiny.”

“Actually, it used to be my mother’s,” Toshinori answered, and Katsuki’s eyes widened – he hadn’t known that part. “I kept it after she passed away, hoping I could give it to the love of my life, one day. It took a while, but here we are.”

Inko leaned in fondly, her eyes a little teary again, and Toshinori smiled softly as he wrapped an arm around her. They really were sickeningly sweet together.

“What do you think?” Katsuki asked quietly, when he saw the little pout on Yuuto’s face.

“I knew too,” he mumbled. “It’s okay, he says he’ll protect her.”

“I’m sure he will,” Katsuki agreed. “You knew?”

“Grampa Yagi asked if it was okay,” he explained, and Katsuki felt himself welling up a little – of course the considerate asshole had asked Yuuto before proposing, damn him. “I said he has to be her hero.”

Katsuki hugged him tightly, and Yuuto whined into his chest, squished by the strong arms.

“Sorry,” he said immediately. “I should have asked.”

“It’s okay,” Yuuto conceded. “Just only sometimes.”

“I won’t do it too much,” Katsuki agreed. “But I’ll ask first next time.”

Yuuto nodded faintly, but he leaned into Katsuki, apparently not too offended by the surprise affection – thankfully.

“You know you’re welcome here, right, Toshi-sensei?” Katsuki asked, turning to look at the pair again. “You don’t have to move out, Inko.”

“Oh Katsuki,” Inko said, chuckling. “You’re very sweet, but you don’t want to live with a couple of old newlyweds!”

Katsuki grimaced. He didn’t want to think about the things that brought to his head.

“Besides, the boys don’t need me here twenty-four seven anymore, now that they’re at school. And I’ll still be here to visit and to babysit as much as you want or need me, but Toshinori and I want a little privacy sometimes, too!”

“Ew.”

“Katsuki!” Toshinori reprimanded him, his face turning red. “Not like that!”

“Not like what?” Hiroki asked.

“Not like... uh... She’s not trying to get away from your dad, it’s just nice to have time alone together, like you and Ryou do sometimes.”

“Oh like dates? Does living together feel like being on a date for ever and ever? I’d like that.”

“Exactly,” Toshinori agreed, and thankfully Hiroki didn’t question it any further. “I’ve been looking for a new place anyway, a little closer to you all, and we found a little apartment that we both like. It’s near you boys’ school, in fact. So not far at all to visit, I can see you much more often.”

“Hooray! I’ll miss Nana being here but I’ll like seeing you more often!”

“You’ll hardly even notice I’m gone,” Inko assured him. “I’ll still be visiting all the time, I promise.”

“And we can visit you too?”

“Absolutely. As soon as we move in, you can come over whenever you want.”

“Okay! I’ll come over after school!”

“That sounds great.”

Katsuki’s phone rang, and he dug it out of his pocket to inspect – no one ever phoned him unless it was a stupid work thing, and he didn’t get those at night, what the hell? When Old Man lit up the screen, though, he felt every muscle in his body go rigid, tensing up to avoid showing the panic that was quickly setting in.

“Sorry,” he said, proud of how calm it came out. “Just a sec.”

He slid out from under Yuuto, heading out of the room before he hit the accept button, fingers curling too-tightly around the device as he lifted it to his ear.

“Dad?”

“Hey, son,” the voice said, and Katsuki let himself relax just a tiny bit – he didn’t sound panicked, at least. “I just wanted to let you know, your mother had a tiny accident. She’s fine, don’t panic, she’s just hurt her wrist so I brought her in for an x-ray. I have everything covered, you don’t need to worry, I just didn’t want you to feel like you were left out of the loop.”

“What did she do?”

“She tripped on the stairs and tried to catch herself with her hand.”

“Her son is the number one hero, she should know not to do that.”

“That’s exactly why she didn’t want me to call you,” he chuckled. “But I knew you’d be mad if you found out later down the line instead.”

“Do you need anything? I can come over after work or something, if you want. It might be a bit late, but I don’t mind if you don’t.”

“We’re fine, Katsuki, I promise.”

Katsuki sighed, but he let some of the tension seep out of him with it, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.

“Alright,” he said finally. “But if you need anything, tell me, alright? None of your stupid bullshit.”

“I’ll let you know,” Masaru answered, clearly smiling to himself just from his tone alone. “Thank you, Katsuki. I appreciate the concern, and I’m sure she will too.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just be safe, alright? Don’t overwork yourself for her. And don’t let her do stupid shit.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Something beeped in the background, and Katsuki grimaced.

“Are you still at the hospital now?”

“Yes, she’s getting a cast put on.”

“A cast? She broke it?”

“Unfortunately. But they said it should only take a few weeks to heal, it’s okay.”

Katsuki groaned, eyebrows knitting together, closing his eyes to try to keep himself composed.

“I’ll be over on the weekend,” he said, leaving no room for argument this time. “Unless you need me earlier.”

“We don’t need—”

“Then the weekend,” Katsuki cut him off. “Maybe the boys can cheer her up, she’ll be frustrated and bored by then.”

Masaru paused, but then a little chuckle came out, and Katsuki knew he’d won.

“I’m sure she’d like to see you all,” he caved. “I would too.”

“Okay. I’ll text you a time or something. Let me know if you have other plans.”

“No plans, we’ll be here.”

“Alright. Um, take care. Be careful and stuff.”

“We will. Goodnight, Katsuki.”

“Yeah. Night, Dad.”

He hung up the phone, heading back into the living room and trying his best to ignore the look of concern he immediately got from Izuku.

“Old hag broke her wrist,” he explained, when Izuku just kept looking at him pointedly. “Old man says she’s doing fine and they don’t need any help, but I said I’ll go visit on the weekend anyway, maybe take the boys over to entertain her for a bit.”

“I’ll go!” Hiroki said brightly. “She can still go for walks with a broken wrist, right?”

“Yeah, she won’t be stuck in the house, so she’ll cope.”

“Probably not her swim dance class, though.”

“Hmm. Maybe not, with a cast on. If it’s splashproof she could maybe do it still.”

“Swim dance class?” Yuuto asked, frowning slightly. “What does that mean?”

“It’s called aquarobics,” Katsuki explained. “A bunch of old people get in the pool and put music on and splash around.”

“It’s good for fitness!” Inko clarified. “Especially for us old people, the water helps support our joints so we won’t hurt ourselves.”

“That’s good,” Yuuto said sagely. “You can have fun and be strong but not get hurt.”

“Exactly!”

“Can I bake her something?”

“I’m sure she’d love that,” Katsuki agreed. “Have a think about what you want to make, and we’ll put a grocery list together.”

“Okay. I’ll find something yummy.”

“In the meantime, you two should go have your baths.”

Hiroki whined a bit, but headed out all the same, with one last reverent touch to Inko’s ring. Yuuto just nodded, following behind, and suddenly the room was quiet, devoid of Hiroki’s energy and Yuuto’s questions.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Izuku said quietly. “You don’t need to worry.”

“I’m not worried,” Katsuki lied. “She’s an adult.”

“I can drop in after work tomorrow,” Izuku offered. “It’s not far from the office, I can drive over when I finish, see if they need anything.”

“Oh. Um, yeah, that... That would be cool. If you can.”

“Of course!” Izuku beamed. “I know how busy you are at work right now, it’s the least I can do to help out!”

“Could you sneak a look at their fridge? I’ll send them groceries if they need anything.”

“I’ll do my best!”

“Um, thanks.”

“My pleasure!”

When a lot of yawns began spreading through the room, Inko and Toshinori excused themselves to head to bed, bidding everyone their last goodnight. It was going to be weird, soon, to not see them go – it was already a little weird sometimes when Inko stayed over at his place, but every night? It felt unthinkable, even though she’d only actually lived with Katsuki for a few months. He was gonna miss her like hell, and he knew Izuku would be a mess for at least the first few days without her.

“Ready to give this another try?” Katsuki asked, as tiny footsteps padded back up in their direction. “Be strong, nerd.”

“I’ll do my best!” Izuku promised, smiling despite a hint of nervousness in his face – damn nerd got nervous about everything apparently. Not that Katsuki could exactly talk. “And you’re gonna find Yuuto something distracting?”

“We’re gonna give it a go.”

“Okay!”

They walked together up the stairs, finding both the boys heading into their rooms, still a little damp, but dressed in their comfy pyjamas, ready to snuggle in for the night.

“Ready to get cozy?” Katsuki asked, kneeling down beside the bed to get on Yuuto’s level. “It’s chilly tonight, your blankie is gonna be extra amazing.”

“Will Nana have a good blankie at All—Grampa Yagi’s house?”

“Definitely,” Katsuki assured him. “He probably already has a good one for them to share, but if not, she’ll take her one over with her, and then they can both appreciate it.”

“Is it okay for me to say it?” Yuuto asked, his voice a lot quieter. “You and Papa make faces sometimes when I do it.”

“To say-? Oh. Yeah, bud, of course it is. We don’t make bad faces, I promise. It just surprises us sometimes, and at least for me, it makes me smile. You don’t need to worry.”

“He said I could,” Yuuto explained, a little defensive regardless. “I don’t have a Grampa and he said he’d be happy to be mine too, if I wanted.”

“I love that for you both,” Katsuki said, a little surprised by just how much he meant it. “It’s always good to have a Grampa to be there for you, and Toshi-sensei loves having grandkids, I bet it made his day when you wanted to be one too.”

“He said your dad would probably like it too, if I want.”

“You’d make him cry,” Katsuki laughed. “Like how Papa always cries.”

“Happy cries?”

“Yeah. But you don’t have to, only if you want to, okay?”

“I do, I think.”

Katsuki helped him pull the blankets up, just like always, using the motion to hide just how close he was to his own tears at the thought. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen his dad happier than the day he’d brought Hiroki home to them, he’d been so overwhelmed with love and pride and joy. He’d accepted it immediately, too, while his mother had still been asking endless confused questions. His dad hadn’t cared about how, he’d just been full of love.

“My dad is maybe my favourite person in the world,” Katsuki admitted. “Obviously you and Hiro come first, but that’s different.”

“Even more your favourite more than Grampa Yagi?”

“Even more,” he agreed. “My whole life, my dad was the person who was there for me. He always knew what I needed, or what to say, even if I didn’t admit that as a kid. I was a real brat, I don’t know how you and Hiro turned out so well.”

“You weren’t nice?”

“Nuh-uh. You wanna hear my worst memory with my dad?”

Yuuto nodded, fingers curling into the blanket as he waited patiently.

“You know how I loved All Might stuff, right? I collected the toys and plushies and stuff, like you have your collection. And one day, my dad brought me home a present, but it was an Endeavor plushie. I already had all the All Might stuff, so he thought maybe I’d like another hero too.”

“Did you not say thank you?”

“Worse,” Katsuki told him, cringing. “I just asked him why isn’t it All Might like a little jerk.”

“Ow.”

“Yep,” Katsuki chuckled. “I apologised to him for it, years and years later, and he just laughed about it, but I know it must have hurt, when he was trying to do something nice.”

“It’s good that you apologised even if it was late.”

“Yeah, I try to be a better person now.”

“You’re the best person.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Katsuki said with a smile, ruffling Yuuto’s damp hair. “Alright, time for sleep. I brought something with me tonight.”

“What is it?”

Katsuki produced the little speaker from his pocket, setting it beside the bed, and Yuuto watched him with wide eyes as he plugged it in at the wall.

“I know sometimes your brain gets noisy in bed,” he explained, getting a little nod from Yuuto. “So I thought we’d put some music on, so you can think about that instead, and see if it helps.”

“What kind of music?”

“We can put any music we want on it,” Katsuki told him. “But for tonight, I picked some of my favourite songs with violins in them, so maybe you’ll hear something you want to learn one day. It’ll go for a couple of hours, so you can just fall asleep when you’re ready and it’ll turn itself off later. Sound like a plan?”

“Sounds good,” Yuuto agreed, wrapping an arm around his Downfall plushie to get comfortable. “Are there pianos too?”

“There are. Lots of instruments, in fact. Maybe you can listen and see how many different ones you hear, or recognise.”

“I’ll try,” Yuuto said. “I’ll listen super hard.”

“Perfect. And we can put it on every night, if you want. And if you want to change the music, or take a song out, or put one in, we can do that too, just let me know.”

He turned it on, finding a quiet volume that would be audible for Yuuto but hopefully not disrupt his sleep, and then he flipped off the light switch, leaving behind only the pale glow of a nightlight by the door.

“All comfy now?”

“Mm-hm,” Yuuto hummed, closing his eyes and sinking into his pillow. “Goodnight, Dad.”

“Goodnight, Yuuto.”

He slipped out the door, heading down the hallway to peek through Hiroki’s, smiling faintly when he found the pair curled up together – Hiroki in the blankets, maybe asleep already, while Izuku lay on top, an arm wrapped over Hiroki’s tiny frame. So much for not granting the requests for extra cuddles.

He tiptoed back downstairs, and soon Izuku was joining him, flashing him a surprisingly warm smile when Katsuki looked up from cleaning the kitchen.

“You were quick with Yuuto tonight!” Izuku praised, picking up a cloth to help. “It went okay?”

“I think so. Time will tell. I saw someone getting extra cuddles, though.”

“We made a deal,” Izuku laughed. “No requests allowed, but he gets five minutes of extra snuggles after we finish our book, while he falls asleep. I don’t think it ever takes him more than that anyway, once he decides he’s ready.”

“Oh. That uh, works, I guess. Um, good job.”

“Thanks!” Izuku grinned, ignoring Katsuki’s awkwardness. “What did you get Yuuto to focus on? Am I allowed to know?”

“Music,” Katsuki told him, not meeting his eyes. “He’s gonna try to find all the different instruments in it.”

“Oh! I like that! And you just left it running for him?”

“It’s on a timer, I can adjust it later if I need to. I don’t mind if it goes all night, to be honest. He can always just switch it off in the morning, I don’t think it’ll disturb anyone.”

“That’s true, and it’s not like you care about the cost of power.”

“We pay for power?”

Izuku laughed, flicking Katsuki with his cloth, and Katsuki grinned as he slapped him back with a spatula he’d been putting away. Izuku ducked away, giggling, to hide behind the table, and Katsuki shook his head fondly, contemplating the spray bottle right in front of him but deciding against it.

“Kitchen cleaner in the face probably isn’t healthy,” Izuku said knowingly, still laughing from his terrible hiding spot. “Thank you.”

“You’re lucky I’m so nice.”

“So lucky.”

Later, as he lay in bed with his own thoughts running wild, he would think back and realise that was the moment, that was his chance to say something, to get it all out in the open, to laugh about it together and just move on with their lives. As he lay there, he’d think about all the things he could have said, all the jokes he could’ve made, or cheesy lines he could’ve come out with.

But in that moment, as they stood together in the kitchen, Katsuki balled up a clean cloth and launched it, landing it on Izuku’s head with pinpoint accuracy that surprised even himself, a little bit.

“Come clean the stove, you dope,” he instructed. “Your hot chocolate always goes everywhere.”

“It does not,” Izuku argued, grabbing the cleaner all the same. “You just don’t appreciate the perfection of a hot mug of drinkable chocolate.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, idiot.”