My Father's Son - Chapter 70

“You brought Muffin!”

Katsuki and Izuku exchanged a quick glance, but anything they might have said was cut off by Hiroki sprinting up the stairs, arms wrapped around the middle of the little black cat, leaving her feet dangling. Oddly, she didn’t seem to mind, just hanging there contentedly while Hiroki bounced around the room, pressing kisses to her forehead.

“We got a call from the vet,” Mitsuki explained, when they came up the stairs. “No one has called about her, and a litter of stray kittens was brought to a local shelter the same day she found us, so they think she was one of them, but wandered off before the litter got picked up.”

“Are her brothers and sisters okay?” Hiroki asked.

“Yep! They’ve been adopted out to a bunch of happy, loving families.”

“I’m so glad!”

He finally released Muffin from her prison, sitting down on the carpet beside her, and Katsuki was surprised to see that she didn’t run away from him immediately. Just like the first time, she hung around his feet, waiting for toys or food or something.

“We were talking, Hiro,” Katsuki said, gesturing toward Izuku beside him. “And we thought you might want to adopt her.”

Hiroki’s eyes went so wide that Katsuki was worried they might fall out entirely, his mouth hanging open in a shocked little o, before he looked over at his grinning grandparents for confirmation.

“We hadn’t really planned on keeping her long-term,” Masaru said softly. “We would have, if she needed it, but we were just expecting to take care of her until her family showed up.”

“It’ll be nice to come visit her sometimes,” Mitsuki added. “But I think she’d be happier with you.”

“Can I really?” Hiroki asked, head whipping back and forth between his dads and his grandparents, waiting for one of them to break and say ‘just kidding’ or something of the sort. “I love her so much.”

“You have to help take care of her,” Katsuki warned him. “Not just cuddles, but food, and play time, and emptying her litter box too. Even when she’s an adult cat; you can’t just get bored when she’s not a kitten anymore.”

“I don’t care if she gets big!” he insisted, flopping down onto his stomach to play with her ears. “Pretty please, Daddy, Papa! I’ll do everything for her!”

His eyes shone like the prettiest emeralds in the world, and Katsuki couldn’t resist a fond smile.

“Okay,” he said softly. “Welcome to the family, Muffin.”

Hiroki scooped her up again, rolling around on the carpet with her in his arms, only able to express his joy through delighted little squeaks and squeals. Yuuto came trotting down the stairs to investigate, pausing to wave at his grandparents, before his eyes honed in on Hiroki’s delight.

“Oh, Muffin is here,” he said. “Hello, Muffin.”

“I get to keep her!” Hiroki exclaimed, holding the kitten up high in triumph. “She’s my baby now!”

Yuuto looked up at his dads for confirmation, getting two nods, then grinned as he sat down and reached over to pat her.

“I’m glad,” he said. “She makes you happy.”

“Yeah! I love her!”

Yuuto smiled softly, and Katsuki understood completely. He was an observant little thing, he’d seen all the same signs as Ryouji had, even if he hadn’t known what to do about them. Seeing his brother genuinely happy, after so much sadness lately, had to be a nice moment for him.

“Alright, your dads need to go, so say goodbye!” Mitsuki instructed. “We’ll get Muffin all set up with a toilet and a bed, while they’re gone. She’s not very good with stairs yet, by the way, so I reckon we set her up on your floor, so she can sleep with you and have a toilet in your bathroom.”

“Okay!”

Katsuki paused to pat her as he started to head out, grinning as he stroked Hiroki’s hair to match, getting a giggle in return. To Yuuto he just offered a fist, getting a contented little bump in return, and then they were heading downstairs, left alone for the first time since...

“You doing okay?” Izuku asked, as soon as they stepped into the garage.

“Are you seriously asking that?” Katsuki snorted. “Yeah, nerd, I’m good. And so are you, I assume, since you’ve been staring at me all day.”

“We were both at work today, Kacchan, don’t give me that crap.”

“You’re hot when you swear.”

“Kacchan!”

Izuku burned red, and Katsuki felt oddly gleeful about it, sliding into the driver’s seat and leaving him to compose himself. It was so damn easy to get the nerd all flustered, and he was living for it.

“I hate to ask...” Izuku began tentatively, when he’d calmed down a little. “Is it okay if we don’t tell my mom just yet?”

“Sure,” Katsuki agreed easily. “Toshi-sensei either, I assume.”

“Yeah.”

“And the other idiots coming over.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Katsuki assured him. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet, we don’t need to go putting labels on things and announcing them to the world just yet.”

Izuku sighed, relieved, and Katsuki shot him a quick smile.

“But tonight, when you stop doing your anxious little dance in the hallway and come up to my room, we’re gonna talk about it.”

“How do you—? What are you—? Kacchan, stop teasing me!”

“Never,” Katsuki grinned. “Do I need to just drag you to bed when I go?”

“I’m not going to bed at seven o’clock, Kacchan.”

“There he is.”

Izuku laughed, and Katsuki had to turn and look for a moment, to see the way his whole face lit up so brightly in his excitement. It was easy to see how Hiroki had ended up such a cute kid, when that damn ray of adorable sunshine was his father.

“I came to your room last night,” Izuku pointed out.

“I dragged you to my room last night.”

The truth was somewhere between the two, really. Katsuki had grabbed him by the hand, and Izuku had followed willingly, the two of them both equally nervous and awkward as they tried to figure out whether or not to touch, to cuddle, to share more kisses in the privacy of Katsuki’s bedroom. Katsuki, for one, had never been good at the whole relationships thing, and he wasn’t even sure if that was what it was, so he wasn’t going to have some kind of weird discussion about it. The whole thing was insane and complicated, and if it had been anyone else, Katsuki wouldn’t have bothered. Izuku, though... he was worth the effort, Katsuki supposed.

“You’re not gonna make this easy, are you?” Izuku asked, smiling wryly.

“Oh Deku, you’d get bored if I did.”

Izuku just shook his head, though the smile stayed on his face, and soon they were pulling up outside the little apartment building, a bunch of familiar cars already waiting on the street.

“Got the photos?” Izuku asked.

“You know it.”

He could hear the group long before they got close enough to see them, but as soon as they stepped out of the stairwell, people were cheering, throwing their arms in the air like idiots and welcoming them in. “Moving in” had apparently turned into “housewarming party” before the boxes had even left the cars, and Katsuki just rolled his eyes when people started grabbing them to drag them inside.

On the kitchen counter sat six framed photographs, all with dark wooden frames, just like they’d talked about. Katsuki pulled his own out to add, watching Toshinori get all teary-eyed like a damn sap. One of them was of Toshinori and Katsuki, way back at graduation when his parents had demanded it, since Katsuki had always been too proud to ask. Toshinori had agreed without hesitation, throwing an arm around Katsuki’s shoulders, and Katsuki admittedly thought the looks on their faces were kind of sweet. Katsuki looked a little stubborn, as always, but even he could see the admiration in his eyes, the hint of a smile on his face as he looked up at his hero. Toshinori wore a much bigger smile, all nostalgic and bittersweet over his students graduating, but it was so genuine. Katsuki had set that photo as his laptop wallpaper, for a long time – right up until Hiroki came around, he was pretty sure.

The other photo he handed over was of Toshinori holding Hiroki in his arms, the day they’d first met. He had tears streaming down his cheeks, and he held Hiroki’s tiny body so protectively, as if he were silently vowing to never let any harm come to him. Katsuki was a little sad that he didn’t have any photos of Yuuto and Toshinori, that Yuuto hadn’t had the chance to grow up with him too, but their relationship was still so new and tentative, and he was excited to see how it would grow over the coming years, now that their lives were so intertwined. And if Katsuki had bought a couple of extra frames, ready to add photos when the time came, nobody had to know.

“You need to stop doing nice things,” Toshinori complained, pushing Katsuki lightly. “I have no way of repaying you!”

“You’ve done plenty for me, old man,” Katsuki reminded him. “And hey, I have one more thing for you, but you probably shouldn’t put it on your wall.”

“Should I be worried?”

Katsuki shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small, thick, plastic case, just like the one he’d picked up for himself just a couple of months back. Inside was a brand new card, yet to be officially released, lined with shiny foil that gave off rainbows when the light hit it right. Izuku had gone feral for the thing, had clearly fought desperately to hold back the urge to steal it, but he’d managed to just watch silently as Katsuki carefully signed it, then had helped fasten it into the protective case, just like they’d done with his own.

And okay, he’d demanded to get the next one that came out, but that was beside the point.

“Figured now we can match,” Katsuki explained, as he pressed the plastic case into Toshinori’s hand.

Toshinori looked down, flipping it over in his hand and falling still when he saw the image and the autograph. He just stared at it for a minute, silent, before tears began to fall down his face, and Katsuki groaned.

“Why are you all such damn crybabies?” he demanded, grabbing a box of tissues from the counter and shoving it at him. “Inko is rubbing off on you too much.”

“Katsuki, look at it,” Toshinori sniffled. “I’d have to be a saint to not cry a little over this.”

He was crying a lot more than a little, but Katsuki decided not to point that out.

“Well, it took me years to find the courage to ask,” Katsuki said with a shrug. “Figured I’d just save you some time.”

“I love it, Katsuki. Thank you.”

Katsuki pulled out his own, dangling it by the car key it lived on, and cracked a little smile when Toshinori just stared at it.

“I’ve had it with me this far, it may as well serve an extra purpose now.”

What he really wanted to say was I’ve had it practically my whole life and I’m not gonna risk losing it again but he couldn’t seem to make those words work. It wasn’t like Toshinori didn’t know what he meant.

“Alright, shall we move some furniture?” he suggested, when Mirio finally showed up, completing the set of ex-students and framed photos alike. “Don’t need the former-number-one hero to break a hip doing something stupid, it would be in the news for weeks.”

“We can make it the current one,” Mina offered, sticking out a foot as if she was going to trip him over. “That would be in there for months.”

“If you think tripping over would put me out of action, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Mina cringed, remembering all the shitty scenarios she alone had seen him in, let alone the rest of their friends, and after a moment she reached out a hand, squeezing his arm lightly. Their whole high school squad did that sometimes, to reassure themselves everyone was okay, and it was one of the few touches that Katsuki never complained about.

“Sorry,” he whispered, when everyone else had started to head for the cars.

“It’s okay,” she assured him, flashing him a tiny smile. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“More than okay,” he said. “I’m doing pretty good.”

“Yeah?”

Her eyes darted to Izuku knowingly, and Katsuki cracked a smile of his own. He raised a finger to his lips, and she mimed zipping hers, eyes shining all the same. He knew she wouldn’t say anything, knew she’d just be quietly excited for him, but somehow she was always the first person he wanted to share his news with. They’d always had that kind of friendship, and he’d never known why, but over the years they’d both come to embrace it.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, grabbing his arm again as they headed for the hallway. “He’s such a cutie.”

“Fuck yeah he is.”

———

Katsuki froze when he reached his bedroom doorway, stunned to find a tiny blond boy just sitting on his floor, staring at the mismatched collection of stuff he’d lined his windowsills with. For a moment he just stood there like an idiot, unable to find his voice, but when Yuuto looked up, his face turning red, he quickly made himself find some sense of composure.

“Everything okay, bud?” he asked, taking a step inside. “What’s going on”

“I’m fine. Sorry,” Yuuto said sheepishly. “I just wanted to look.”

“You don’t have to apologise,” Katsuki assured him. “You’re always welcome here.”

He sat down on the carpet, right by Yuuto’s side, and dragged out an awkward smile as they looked up at the windows together.

“That All Might figure was the first one I ever got,” he said, pointing at the little plastic figure on one of the highest windowsills. “My dad bought it for me when I was too young to even remember it, so to me, I’ve had it my whole life.”

“I don’t remember some of mine, too,” Yuuto admitted. “I’ve always had them.”

“It’s kind of nice, right? Knowing you have precious things that have just always been there.”

Yuuto nodded, and Katsuki reached out, putting his hand on Yuuto’s back gently.

“Do you recognise that drawing at the bottom?”

“Did I draw it?”

“You did. It was right after we first met, you drew it and said I could keep it if I wanted, so it’s been on display ever since.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

He leaned in, resting his head against Katsuki’s side, and Katsuki had to swallow hard to keep his composure.

“The one beside it was the first thing Hiroki ever drew that was recognisable as something, instead of just scribbles, and the other one came from Ryouji for my birthday one year, when he was really little.”

“It’s nice that Ryouji is there too.”

“Yeah, he’s always been a part of the family. I’m glad you get along with him too.”

“He’s nice,” Yuuto agreed. “He remembers things.”

“Like the things you like?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Yeah, he’s good at that.”

With Yuuto leaning into his side, they went through each item on the windowsills, all the little things Katsuki had picked as his most important to display, and Katsuki told him the story of each and every one. Yuuto listened with rapt attention, asking questions along the way, and Katsuki smiled to himself all the way through.

“Oh,” Izuku said, when he appeared in the doorway, finding them cuddled together on the carpet. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You’re good,” Katsuki assured him. “We’ve just been telling stories.”

“I just came to tell Yuuto it’s bedtime,” Izuku said sheepishly.

“Past it,” Katsuki chuckled, glancing at his watch. “We got carried away, huh? Go brush your teeth and get ready for bed, okay? We can tell the rest of the stories another time.”

“Thanks Dad,” he said softly, hugging Katsuki tightly before he stood up. “Goodnight.”

“I’ll come down and say goodnight properly,” Katsuki assured him. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Izuku stepped aside to let Yuuto pass, and Katsuki climbed to his feet, taking a moment to stretch, then smirking when he caught Izuku staring. He knew his shirt was riding up, giving Izuku a glimpse of his abs, and he couldn’t help but take his time, stretching his arms a little higher, to let Izuku continue to perv.

“You done?” he asked, making Izuku turn red.

“Shut up,” he huffed, turning away quickly to stomp down the stairs. “I’m going to read Hiroki his story!”

“Have fun,” he called after him, grinning to himself. “See you after.”

He heard a little huff as Izuku departed, and chuckled to himself quietly. The nerd was too much fun to tease, he just couldn’t help it. He hoped Izuku didn’t mind it too much.

It didn’t take long to get the kids in bed, curled up all cosy and warm, Hiroki out like a light with a kitten under his arm, and Yuuto slowly drifting off with his soft music playing. The house was silent as they went through their nightly chores, cleaning the house up after a long day of kids and grandparents, until Katsuki tried to sneak a peek at his lunch for the next day, only to be shoved away with a hand in the face, Izuku pouting as he stubbornly hid the lunch box.

“Someone got bold,” Katsuki said, as he easily removed the hand from his face. “What, you want a fight?”

Izuku curled his hand into a fist, barely touching Katsuki with a joking punch, but Katsuki, grinning, took it as permission. He grabbed Izuku in a headlock, pulling him in extra close, his free hand slipping under Izuku’s shirt to tickle his ribs. Izuku whined, quickly turning to laughter as he tried to squirm away, failing to break Katsuki’s grip no matter how hard he tried.

“Okay, okay!” Izuku caved. “You win!”

Katsuki released him immediately, though he didn’t exactly want to, and Izuku backed away, breathing heavily as he tried to find a little composure.

“I win,” Katsuki echoed, smirking and watching Izuku blush when he saw it – good to know. “You done making my lunch look pretty?”

“No,” he pouted. “No peeking.”

“Fine,” Katsuki caved; he was such a sucker for his nerd. “I’m gonna go shower, then I’m gonna head to bed. I know you’re a night owl, but you’ve been way too tired getting up for our runs lately, so there’s no way around it, you’re gonna have to join me.”

“You’re sending me to bed early?” Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow. “Kacchan, you don’t get to decide my bedtime, I’m an adult.”

“I’m not sending you anywhere,” Katsuki said pointedly. “I’m telling you that if you’re not in bed within... let’s say an hour of me getting there, because I’m generous, then I’m gonna come drag you.”

He heard the stutters behind him as he walked away, grinning to himself at the awkwardness and embarrassment in his wake. He’d felt a little bad, the first time they’d shared a bed; he’d been half-asleep when he’d offered, too used to just rolling over and letting Hiroki in beside him, too sleepy to think about it being Izuku who had shown up at his door. Izuku had felt awkward about it, that much had been clear, but it had taken Katsuki a little while to realise exactly why he’d felt awkward. The moment he’d realised the nerd had a crush, all Katsuki’s concerns had gone out the window in a heartbeat; he liked it too much to let Izuku stop sleeping beside him. He wasn’t convinced it would last, was pretty sure Izuku would come to his senses soon enough and they’d have to figure out how to let it go and coexist together without the weirdness, but he was too weak to resist the temptation, he had to make the most of Izuku’s affections while he could still get them.

Apparently it didn’t take much pushing, because by the time Katsuki finished his shower and was climbing the stairs to his room, he could hear Izuku following, showing up with wet hair after a hasty shower of his own, dressed in his pyjamas, with a pillow and his phone charger in hand.

“Good boy,” Katsuki teased, watching him almost trip over his own feet. “C’mere.”

He grabbed a towel, chucking it over Izuku’s head, and before Izuku could object or ask questions, Katsuki was shoving him onto the mattress, leaning in to ruffle his hair with it. Izuku settled immediately, his face still pink as he ducked his head, letting Katsuki dry him off properly.

“There,” he said, when Izuku was suitably damp instead of drenched. “Now you’re allowed in my bed.”

Izuku glanced over at it, biting his lip, quickly distracted from his nerves when Katsuki began to shed his tank top.

“What?” he asked, when Izuku’s gaze snapped to him, eyes darting from arms to abs to chest and back again. “You get clingy at night, makes me too hot.”

They both knew that it wasn’t remotely true, that Izuku only came close when Katsuki explicitly invited him, and that Katsuki loved any extra warmth he could get, he’d never complain about being too warm in bed; but Izuku was hardly going to call him out on it when it meant seeing Katsuki shirtless.

“Okay?” he asked, getting a frantic nod in return. “Talk to me, nerd.”

“Sorry!” Izuku squeaked, tearing his eyes away to meet Katsuki’s, only lasting a moment before they began to drift back down again, pausing at his chest. “I’m good.”

“Yeah, apparently,” Katsuki snorted, shoving him lightly as he crawled past to get into bed. “Turn the light off when you’re done perving.”

“Kacchan!”

Katsuki just raised an eyebrow, and Izuku huffed.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, defeated.

Katsuki grinned to himself as he got comfy, watching Izuku shuffle over to the light switch, taking one last glance at Katsuki’s bare torso before he flicked it off.

“So, um,” Izuku began, as he crawled into bed and let Katsuki pull the blankets up over them both. “Are you... my boyfriend?”

Katsuki knew the proper, polite answer was probably ‘do you want me to be?’ or ‘what does that mean to you?’ or something equally stupid, but Izuku already knew what he was getting into, right?

“Damn right I am,” he said instead, curling his hand around Izuku’s hip possessively. “If you ever want to stop, you’re gonna have to tell me directly, otherwise I’m gonna keep fighting for you.”

Katsuki realised his poor choice of words when Izuku ducked his head, cursing as he lifted the hand to Izuku’s cheek instead, hoping his gentle touch might convey some of his apology.

“I will,” he said, a lot softer. “If you ever need it again, you know I will.”

“I know,” Izuku agreed quietly. “Even if we weren’t close, you still would.”

“True,” Katsuki admitted. “But you especially.”

“Okay,” Izuku conceded, cracking a little smile. “Take good care of me, Kacchan.”

“You know I will,” Katsuki assured him. “Now c’mere. If I’m gonna sleep without my pyjamas, you’re gonna have to keep me warm.”

“Kacchan,” Izuku said incredulously. “You just claimed that I make you too hot.”

“Just shut up and get over here.”

Izuku sighed, but he didn’t seem at all put-out by wriggling over closer, letting Katsuki’s arm wrap around his back and pull him to his chest. Izuku’s head tilted a little lower, his cheek going straight onto Katsuki’s pec, and it took every ounce of Katsuki’s willpower to keep from snorting at him for it.

“Comfy?” he prompted, when Izuku settled in contentedly.

“Yeah,” Izuku agreed, his cheek twitching against Katsuki’s skin as he smiled. “Thanks, Kacchan. I think... I think I’m gonna sleep really well tonight.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” Katsuki agreed, the snort finding its way out this time. “But you’re washing the sheets in the morning.”

“Katsuki!”