Incomplete [Chapter 11]

[Chapter 10]

When Izuku got home from work Friday morning, instead of the lonely house he'd returned to in the days prior, he came home to a house full of hope and excitement. Potential, not emptiness. Waiting, not loneliness.

He also came home to a pile of packages on the doorstep, addressed to them from different hero agencies around the city, and he couldn't help but laugh to himself as he began carting them inside.

“What's all this?” Katsuki asked, thumping down the stairs to greet him. “You order stuff without me?”

“From our friends,” he explained, hugging one of the smaller packages as he beamed. “I asked for a couple of kids' hero shirts.”

“Oh lord, and they sent all this?”

“We have the best friends.”

The biggest package came from the agency Ochako and Tsuyu both belonged to, and he tore into that one first, finding a note on the top in loopy handwriting.

“We can't wait to hear all about it,” Izuku read aloud. “I hope these can bring some happiness to whichever kids you've chosen to spoil.”

The box was stuffed to bursting with merch, including shirts in a range of sizes, some unreleased as of yet – or maybe forever, if the girls hadn't approved them. Izuku quietly lamented not asking for some for himself, and Katsuki snorted at him. They piled the folded shirts neatly on the living room table, finding a whole range of designs, then moved on to the rest of the box. It felt like it was suddenly Christmas, and Izuku loved it.

“Plushies, keychains, figurines,” Izuku observed, splitting them between the piles evenly. “Oh, there's the bows!”

He handed them to Katsuki, who laughed surprisingly brightly when he saw them.

“She's gonna love them,” he grinned. “She'll be so happy.”

“Socks!” Izuku declared, raining them down on the table. “We wanted socks!”

“They'll have all the socks they could ever want.”

“They'll be so happy.”

As they opened more boxes they found a hundred t-shirts, colourful figures, plushies, even posters and prints signed by the depicted heroes, ready to be collected or displayed.

“Wow,” Izuku mumbled, staring at the piles, before he said it again: “we have the best friends.”

“I hate to admit it, but you're right.”

Izuku snapped a photo of the piles, sending it out to their group chat with a ton of heart emojis, and for the first time in months Katsuki deigned to show himself in the app too.

> Thanks guys, we appreciate it.

It was such a simple and concise message, but Katsuki's presence alone made them instantly erupt into mayhem, and Katsuki pulled a face as he logged off again and tucked his phone away. Izuku grabbed a laundry basket, filling it with the shirts and socks from one pile, leaving the rest stacked to wait for a second load.

“I'll wash all this,” Izuku offered. “Can you do the dishes?”

“Or you could throw the first load in and then go sleep.”

“That's not a bad idea either,” he admitted. “Excitement kind of made me forget how tired I am.”

“Why don't you go shower?” he suggested, pulling a face as he sniffed pointedly. “I'll put some laundry in, wash these drink bottles and things, then come give you cuddles for a bit.”

“Happy celebratory snuggles?”

“Yeah.”

“Deal! Give me ten minutes!”

“No rush.”

He took the laundry basket from Izuku's arms and switched places, sending Izuku upstairs to get clean while he took the downstairs bathroom for laundry. When the first load was in, he returned to load the basket with the rest, leaving it atop the machine for later. He started a list as he ran water for the dishes, contemplating as he stared at it on the fridge.

“Pyjamas,” he wrote first, remembering the way both kids had slept in their dirty clothes. “Hair ties. Paper and pencils. Books. Toys. Cake. Toothbrushes.”

The list grew and grew, Katsuki stopping after every dish he washed to add more, until finally everything was on the drying rack and he was staring at the mess of ink blankly. On the floor above, he heard the water stop, and reluctantly he set down his pen to head upstairs.

“I love you,” Izuku said fondly, throwing his damp body at Katsuki for a hug. “Thank you for marrying me.”

“Whatever, idiot.”

He hugged back all the same, Izuku nuzzling into his neck, and sighed faintly as they melted together.

“We have a lot of stuff to buy.”

“Hmm?" Izuku hummed into Katsuki's neck, making him squirm. "We've bought most stuff already.”

“Yeah, just small stuff. Books and toys and clothes.”

“They can choose their own clothes, we don't need to buy them in advance.”

“I thought we should get them some pyjamas though, until we get a chance to take them shopping. Nice fluffy ones.”

“Yeah. Hey, we should get our designers working on pyjamas. I'd never thought about it. Fluffy black pants with little orange crosses all over them?”

“Green bunny rabbits.”

“They're not rabbit ears.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“You're the only one who thinks that.”

“No, I'm the only one who argues with you.”

Izuku pouted, the expression immediately cracking when he saw the fond eyes and teasing smirk aimed his way, returning to his post against Katsuki's pale neck instead of arguing.

“Sleep,” he murmured. “Wanna be up in time to go get them.”

“I know. Come on, then.”

He grabbed Izuku around the thighs, hitching him up, and smirked again when Izuku giggled at him. Izuku held tight around his neck, even when Katsuki made to throw him onto the bed, resulting in a mess of tangled limbs falling onto the mattress heavily, amidst a lot of laughter.

“I'm really happy, Kacchan.”

“Me too.”

─────

Izuku was barely awake as they drove to the Home, but still he insisted on coming along – refused to miss his chance to help share the news. He clung to Katsuki’s hand as they walked up the front path, and Katsuki paused a moment at the door, giving Izuku a chance to take a deep breath and try his best to look awake.

“We get to tell them,” he whispered, watching Izuku’s lips quirk up immediately. “They’re gonna be so excited.”

“I know,” Izuku grinned back, finally perking up. “So am I.”

“And me, so let’s do this.”

He knocked on the door.

“I missed you!” Koharu declared, diving at Katsuki before the door was even open all the way, trusting him to catch her. “You're back! I'm so happy!”

“I missed you too,” Katsuki laughed. “Is Yoshiki around too?”

“Uh-huh! He was just packing, he's on his way down!”

Katsuki and Izuku exchanged a look, and when Yoshiki shot them a tiny smile from the staircase, Izuku's heart melted all over again.

“We had something to ask you guys,” Katsuki explained, crouching down and setting Koharu on the ground, brushing hair back from her eyes lightly. “It's kind of a big question.”

“Would you like to come live with us?” Izuku finished.

For a moment, both kids were silent, Koharu's jaw slowly dropping as Yoshiki tried to hide the grin fighting at his lips.

“Together?” Koharu asked.

“Obviously, stupid,” Yoshiki shoved her lightly. "Or they'd ask in private."

“Does this mean you're adapting us?”

“Adopting us.”

“Yeah,” Izuku nodded, tearing up all over again. “It’ll take a little time, we can’t just take you home today and never come back, but we’d like to, one day, if you're okay with it. So if you say guys say yes we can start on the process, and you can stay with us every weekend, as long as you still do well in school and get your homework and everything done.”

“Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!!”

It was Izuku's turn to catch her this time, hugging her tight as the tears spilled over, and he looked up at Yoshiki for something, anything, to say he wanted it as much as the rest of them.

“Why us?” he asked finally. “You could have picked any kid you wanted.”

“Believe it or not, we didn't walk in here to try to adopt a kid,” Katsuki pointed out. “It was because we met you two that we decided to adopt, no other reason.”

“But... I'm nothing special,” Yoshiki said sheepishly, looking away. “Why wouldn't you want... I don't know, some kid with a fancy Quirk? Someone who can be a hero like you?”

“You guys remind me of myself as a kid,” Izuku said softly, stroking Koharu's back as she cried happy tears. “We can't have kids genetically, even if that was what we wanted, and honestly, you guys are closer to being like me than I would ever have expected. The moment we met you, I knew I had to take you home. Both of you.”

“I told you about my best friend when I was a kid,” Katsuki added. “I loved him, I always did, and I always will. You two remind me so much of him, and of the relationship we had. And then we started talking to you, and you're both just... Such good kids. You deserve so much more. I'm gonna get it right this time, if you’ll let me.”

“And our home is so empty without you guys there,” Izuku whined. “I missed you both so much!”

“You were working,” Katsuki protested. “I was the one stuck at home all lonely without them.”

“You were only alone for a few hours!”

“All night, thank you very much!”

Yoshiki cracked a smile as they argued, and finally he nodded, clutching at handfuls of his shirt – Deku patterned this time, Katsuki couldn't help but notice.

“Okay. I'd like that.”

“Thank God!” Izuku sighed with relief, resting his cheek on Koharu's head. “I was afraid you were gonna say no, for a minute there. Welcome to the family, kids.”

“Family,” Koharu whispered, snuggling in closer and clutching at Izuku’s shirt. “I’m so happy.”

“I’m glad. We miss you so much during the week. It’s still gonna be a while before you can be with us all the time, like I said, but it’s gonna feel so good just knowing that you’ll be with us again soon.”

“And we can come now? Again?”

“Of course! And your room is always there, just for you, so you can stay over any night you want, as long as your caregivers here say it’s okay. They can call us absolutely any time. You too, Yoshiki. Any time you want, as long as they allow it. And if they don’t, we can still come visit you here if you need us, so you can still call if you ever need anything.”

“You talk too much,” Katsuki huffed, ruffling Izuku’s hair. “They get it.”

“Sorry,” Izuku sniffled a little, teary-eyed. “I’m just so excited. Can I have a hug? Just this once?”

Yoshiki nodded, and Izuku crouched down to meet him, pulling him in beside Koharu to squeeze them both tightly. Yoshiki looked awkward the entire way through, but he still hugged back, and Katsuki couldn’t help but grin down at him. When he was finally freed from Izuku’s grip, Katsuki offered him a fist, and Yoshiki smiled faintly as he bumped it with his own.

“Welcome to the family, kiddo.”

─────

Katsuki and Izuku exchanged a little grin over the kids’ heads as they opened the front door, watching them kick off their shoes and head for the living room. The pair froze in their tracks when they saw the dining table, piled with merch from various heroes – the stacks of shirts, figures in their pretty boxes, keychains and straps lined up in perfect rows – and Yoshiki just stared in silence as Koharu crept forward to take a look.

“Since we were talking about heroes and you guys knew so much,” Izuku explained. “We called in some favours from our friends.”

“This is all for us?” Yoshiki asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“Yeah, they were really happy to be able to send us their new stuff. They'll be even more happy when they meet you, but there’s no rush, you don't need to worry.”

“Wow.” He stepped closer, almost scared to touch. “There's so much.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki sighed, “we asked for a couple of shirts, but this is kind of what our friends do.”

“Can I write them a thank you letter?”

“Of course you can,” Izuku smiled fondly. “I'm sure they'd be super happy to read it.”

“Bows!!” Koharu exclaimed, when she spotted the little pile. “Uravity bow! Froppy bow! Pinky bow! Uhh... Creati bow?”

“Yeah!” Izuku laughed. “You're good!”

“I see lots of heroes on TV! I'll write a letter too!”

“That sounds great. Do you guys want to unpack and put your stuff away now or do it later? Are you hungry?”

“I'll do it now,” Yoshiki nodded. “I had lunch at school, I'm not hungry yet.”

“Me too!”

“Okay, go for it. There's a couple of other things upstairs for you too,” Izuku added. “You can always help yourself to fruit and vegetables from the fridge if you're hungry, but there are some snacks in the baskets in your rooms too, that are just for you guys. Nothing special, just some muesli bars and nuts and dried fruit and stuff, we don't want you going hungry because you were too nervous to ask, or anything like that.”

“Some books too, in case you can't sleep or something,” Katsuki mumbled. “We'll buy you more, but you can choose those ones, these were just to hold you over until we can take you shopping. Figure you'll need some clothes and stuff too.”

“And a couple of new toothbrushes each, one in each bathroom, just in case someone is using one. That's what we do, too. And there are some hairties and ribbons for you, Koharu, in the bedside table drawer, and some more construction bricks for you, Yoshiki, to pad out your collection, and uhhhh... What else?”

“In the drawers,” Katsuki added. “Socks and pyjamas, I noticed you guys didn't have pyjamas last time.”

“Right! Yes!” Izuku laughed. “We got you a green set and an orange set so you can choose who you like the best.”

Koharu laughed, and Katsuki couldn’t resist a smile of his own – he was becoming such a sap around these kids.

“They're also slightly different sizes, since we had to guess. Just in case one set is too big or too small.”

Koharu returned to the hallway to hug each of them in turn, beaming up at them. Something about the excitement was almost sad to Izuku, the way she could be so happy over a few small gifts that she should have owned in the first place.

“We'll leave you to explore your new things and get unpacked,” Katsuki told them. “Just call out or come get us if you need anything. No rush.”

“You guys can decide who gets what, as long as you don’t fight over it,” Izuku added with a laugh. “You’ll have to figure out which shirts will fit you both, too. There’s a bunch there. They’ve all been washed, though, so you can put them away!”

“We’ll just be over here,” Katsuki finished, grabbing Izuku by the hand. “If you want anything, just call.”

Izuku nodded, a little reluctant as he followed Katsuki over to the couch, but Katsuki gave him a pointed look.

“Remember what we talked about?” he murmured.

“I know, I know, give them space.”

“Good boy.”

“I just don't want to waste a moment!”

“We have the rest of our lives, Deku, don't worry about it so much.”

To distract himself, Izuku turned on the television, standing in front of it with the remote as he flipped through channels to find the news. He'd had a slow morning at work, which usually led to busy afternoons, and he couldn't help but be curious even with the excitement of the kids finally arriving.

Katsuki sat down to watch, leaning his arms along the back of the couch as he waited for Izuku to come sit himself under one of them, but Izuku didn't even look back, just plonked himself straight into Katsuki's lap.

“Oi,” Katsuki protested, his voice gruff. “I'm sitting here.”

“Yeah? Exactly?”

“We bought the biggest couch in the store but you've gotta sit on top of me?”

“Yeah?”

Katsuki sighed, shoving Izuku firmly in the back to slide him off his knees. Izuku pouted at him, giving him his best puppy dog eyes, and Katsuki scowled as he shuffled toward the corner part of the sofa.

“Let me get comfortable first, asshole.”

He lifted his feet onto the couch, lying back against the cushions, then sighed again as he waved Izuku over. Emerald eyes lit up like it was the best day of his life, and when he dropped into Katsuki's lap happily, two strong arms wound around his waist. He leaned back to kiss Katsuki's cheek, snuggling in happily, and Katsuki didn't protest again, just got him comfortable and secure and watched the screen like it didn't make any difference.

Then again, they'd been together for years – it probably didn't make a difference anymore. Izuku planting himself in slightly inconvenient places was just an accepted part of his life at this point.

As they got settled, the kids divvied up their goods, taking two trips each to cart it all up to their bedrooms. The house fell quiet after that, only the sound of the television keeping the room alive, and Izuku yawned as he snuggled in. He was just about ready for bed, truth be told, but he’d settle for a short nap in Katsuki’s arms.

It took almost an hour for the footsteps to tentatively make their way back down the stairs, breaking Izuku out of his dozing state immediately. He smiled when he saw Yoshiki clutching a handful of thick papers from his school supplies – he recognised the type, a little cleaner and nicer than the standard notebooks, carefully kept aside for homework assignments and important papers.

“We wrote some notes,” he explained. “Um, where can I go to send them?”

Izuku climbed up off Katsuki's lap without even a hint of the usual whines, finding some document envelopes in a drawer and handing them to Yoshiki.

“Let's go through and address them for each agency, slap some stamps on them, and we can go send them together some time tomorrow. Sound good?”

“Yeah, thank you.”

He pulled up a list of agency contact information on his phone, and together they sorted the letters into piles for each one. Koharu came downstairs as they were writing addresses and stuffing envelopes, and Katsuki did his best to smile as he turned the television off and stood up. She peeked over the edge of the table to watch them work, and Katsuki pulled one of her messy pigtails lightly.

“Do you have a backpack for school?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I don't need much for preschool so they didn't buy me one yet, I have my little bag and my zoo bag.”

“We should probably get you one, it would make it easier to carry your stuff here and back to the Home. Maybe a new one for Yoshiki too, your bags are falling apart.”

“You don't have to,” Yoshiki answered nervously, his eyes widening. “You've already bought us so much, and-”

“Yoshiki,” Izuku stopped him, smiling much more warmly than Katsuki could ever manage. “This is the kind of thing parents do, okay? You don't need to worry about it.”

“You might regret it,” he whispered, cheeks burning pink. “You might get sick of buying us things.”

“It's not like you're here with conditions,” Katsuki scowled. “You think we're gonna change our minds if we get sick of you or something? That's not how this works, kid. You're stuck with us. Forever.”

“Forever?”

“Well, I guess when you're an adult you can ditch us if you want, but hopefully you'll stick around,” he grumbled. “We'll always want you, even if you don't always want us.”

“But what if-”

“There are no 'what if's,” Katsuki told him sternly. “If something goes wrong, we'll talk about it and deal with it as a family. It's that simple. There is absolutely nothing that will make us cancel this whole thing.”

Yoshiki's eyes were watering a little when he looked away, blinking stubbornly to hold it all back, and Izuku patted his shoulder lightly.

“Is that all of the letters?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Great. I'll put them over here and we'll send them tomorrow!”

“Okay, thank you. But I really don’t need a new backpack, mine is fine!”

“You heard him, no buts,” Izuku laughed. “Unless you're desperately attached to yours or something, in which case you can keep using it as long as you want, we'll just leave your new one in your closet until you're ready.”

“Ah... Th-Thank you. You're very generous.”

“Nah, I'm selfish,” Katsuki smirked, ruffling Yoshiki's hair. “I want my son to look cool when we go out, we don't do old, worn-out stuff in this family. Gotta use Hero-pay on something, right?”

Izuku started to protest, but Yoshiki cracked a smile, nodding faintly.

“Okay, I'll do my best. Wouldn't want to make Dynamite look bad, after all.”

“Damn right. Now you're getting it.”

“Do you make Dynamite themed school bags yet?”

“No, but there's an idea. I wonder who I have to talk to for that deal. I'll get my agents on it right away.”

“The little rubber figures are the perfect size to hang from a bag,” Izuku offered. “Does that count?”

“A black one with a Dynamite figure,” Yoshiki nodded. “You should get them to make one with an orange cross on the flap though.”

“Yeah, and an umbrella holder or something on the side shaped like a grenade,” Katsuki grinned. “I like this idea, maybe I should hire you as my merch designer.”

“He's good at drawing,” Koharu offered. “Yokkun could draw new merch.”

“I'm not good,” Yoshiki protested, kicking her lightly under the table. “I like it but I'm not good.”

“I like it too but you're much better than me.”

“Because you're still at preschool, stupid.”

“Oh.”

Katsuki smirked, putting a hand on each of their heads and pushing them away from each other lightly.

“Less arguing. Save arguments for the important stuff. Are you guys hungry yet? I'm starving. I'm gonna get snacks.”

The room fell quiet for a moment as he left, and Izuku leaned his head on his hand, still smiling to himself as he watched both the kids pout a little.

“I'm glad you guys are here,” he informed them, when Koharu looked up. “It's not the same when you're gone.”

“I'm glad I'm here too,” Koharu grinned. “Thank you for having us!”

“You're welcome, sweetie. Thanks for coming.”

─────

Yoshiki was in the kitchen when Izuku emerged from the bathroom, filling two of their new water bottles to take to bed. Izuku laughed when he saw him in his new pyjamas, getting a surprisingly bright grin in return. His shirt was a familiar shade of orange, fluffy and soft-looking, but his pants were a deep green, a little baggy over his feet. He pointed toward the stairs, and Izuku looked back to see Koharu skipping down to join them. Her shirt was green, loose and not quite buttoned right, but her bright orange pants fit perfectly – thankfully, otherwise Izuku suspected she'd have tripped on the stairs.

“Come here,” Yoshiki sighed, fixing her buttons pointedly. “You rush too much.”

“It's okay as long as it doesn't fall off!” she grinned. “Look, we match!”

She leaned into Yoshiki's side, grinning, and Izuku couldn't help but laugh, nodding faintly.

“Good answer,” he acknowledged, making both the kids grin again. “I hope you know we were kidding about the favouritism thing.”

“Uh-huh!” Koharu agreed, accepting her water bottle from Yoshiki. “It's more fun like this though.”

Izuku waited expectantly when he heard Katsuki's footsteps, hearing a short laugh from the doorway.

“Good answer,” he smirked, ruffling Koharu's damp blonde mess, then Yoshiki's dark locks as he passed. “You guys set for bed? Teeth brushed?”

“Yeah, all done,” Yoshiki nodded, taking a sip from his bottle. “On our way.”

“We'll come help you get settled,” Izuku offered. “I know you've slept here before, but remember our room is just across the hall if you need anything during the night, okay? Don't be afraid to wake us.”

He ushered them upstairs, tucking Koharu into bed first, with plenty of monkeys, warm blankets, and a request for a hug happily granted. He kissed her forehead lightly, making her giggle, before he moved to Yoshiki's room. He was a little less playful, gentler, as he made sure Yoshiki was comfortable in bed, smoothing the blankets out as he helped pull them up. When Yoshiki was settled in, Izuku crouched down beside him, smiling as he said his goodnight and offered him a fist to bump.

“Sweet dreams.”

Katsuki accepted when Izuku reached for his hand, leaning into his side in the hall.

“Goodnight, sleep well. Don't forget to call out if you need anything, otherwise we'll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight.”

With a last light switch flicked off, they made their way back down the stairs, parting ways at the bottom to clean. It had become routine over the past few weeks, spending all their time with the kids whenever they were around, then getting their household chores done when they were safely in bed.

Izuku began to rinse dishes and load them into the dishwasher, Katsuki heading for the bathroom to put their laundry in to wash. There wasn't much of either to do, considering it was their first night with the kids and everything else was done the day prior, but Izuku figured if they stuck to the routine it would be easier in the long-term. There was nothing worse than putting up with Katsuki when he came home to a dirty house, after all. He would never hear the end of it if he let the house get dirty just because he was distracted by the kids. The kids who would be there for years, Katsuki would point out. You can spare five minutes to dust a shelf.

“I love you, Kacchan,” Izuku announced, when the machines were running and his arms were back around Katsuki's neck where they belonged. “More than anything.”

“Yeah, I love you too, nerd.”

[Chapter 12]