Cheaper by the Half-Dozen - Little Sh*t #11 [Part 3]

[Part 2]

Bakugou had thought the tiny dork had fallen asleep against him, with those red and white strands spilled across his lap in a way that couldn’t possibly be comfortable, but he felt the moment that every muscle in that little body went rigid, his fingers curling tighter into Bakugou’s pants. Before he could ask, though, there was a knock at the door, and Bakugou looked up to see two tall figures standing just beyond the glass – one hunched over and apologetic, the other broad and annoyed. Bakugou shifted his hand, laying it on Shouto’s back protectively, and Aizawa headed over to open the child lock, looking wary as the pair headed inside.

“Hello,” Endeavour said awkwardly, almost painfully calm in tone. “I was... wondering if I could stay here tonight. To... help.”

Bakugou would have laughed if he hadn’t known better, or maybe accused him of being some shitty fake who couldn’t even get the words right let alone the tone, but of all people... well, Bakugou was the one who saw the signs. The way Endeavour couldn’t quite make eye contact with any of them, and pointedly looked anywhere but Shouto’s direction. The way he’d come in without a single flame on his body, for maybe the first time in his life. The way he just seemed... genuine, albeit awkward.

“All Might said there were a lot,” Endeavour explained, gesturing toward the children mingling amongst their older classmates, most of them too focussed on the cartoon on screen to notice the boring adult who was talking. “So, uh. If you’ll... let me.”

“Yeah,” Bakugou said, before any of them could say otherwise. “You can stay.”

Shouto looked up at him, almost betrayed, but Bakugou just rubbed his back lightly, hoping it might come across reassuring. It wasn’t like any of them would let shit happen, after all.

“I’ll be here,” he said quietly. “You’re safe.”

Midoriya was giving him weird questioning looks, Aizawa sending a couple his way that almost matched, but All Might just looked relieved – it was probably gonna save them a lot of drama from the last time, after all. And an extra pair of hands never hurt.

“All Might, go rest,” Aizawa said, when no one spoke up to object to the arrangement. “You can’t have gotten more than a nap yet, if that.”

“Pot, kettle,” Bakugou mumbled, getting a stifled chuckle from Midoriya.

“I will, I will!” All Might assured him. “What time would you like me to come back? Before dinner?”

“Yes please,” Sero spoke up, every head in the room whipping around to look at him. “Bakugou and Midoriya have to go home for dinner, so we’ll be down a couple of hands.”

“I don’t have to do shit,” Bakugou complained.

“Our parents will understand if we postpone!” Midoriya assured him.

“No,” Sero said firmly. “I told Mr. Bakugou that I’d drag you there myself if you tried to get out of it.”

“You what?!”

“He was super helpful! It was the least we could do! And, well, Kiri and Kami promised too, but they’re not exactly in a dragging state.”

“Drag drag!” Denki said stubbornly, tugging at Sero’s leg.

“Yeah! I can drag!” Eijirou agreed, pulling at the other one gleefully.

“Not me, you dopes,” Sero laughed. “Drag Bakugou.”

“Who?”

“Katsu!” Eijirou said triumphantly, rushing across the room to wrap himself around Bakugou’s leg. “Drag drag!”

“Drag drag!” Denki agreed, hurrying over to help.

Shouto didn’t speak, but he tugged at Bakugou’s sleeve lightly, and Bakugou let out a long sigh.

“Fine,” he conceded. “But it’ll only be a couple of hours, we’ll be right back to help.”

“We can handle it without them,” Aizawa promised, waving All Might off. “After dinner is fine. I promised Eri we’d order pizza.”

“Everyone loves pizza!” Eri explained. “It’ll make everyone happy!”

“I’ll be here,” Endeavour added awkwardly. “If there’s any... hassle.”

“Okay,” All Might agreed, surprisingly trusting. “I’ll be back around eight, then, when they’re getting ready to sleep.”

“See you then,” Aizawa said, nodding. “Go sleep.”

Aizawa locked the doors again behind him, then turned around to do a head count – they’d all learned their lesson, finally, about Denki and Mina’s grand plans. Bakugou still had a child wrapped around each of his legs, which made it a little easier, but Aizawa narrowed his eyes as he looked around.

“Where did Mina go?”

Denki refused to look at him, and Bakugou groaned, reaching to shove the kid off his leg and get to work. Midoriya halted him, though, looking pointedly at the three children all clinging to him in various forms, and sliding out from under his arm instead. Even Endeavour began searching, when Midoriya and Aizawa ran off, letting the teenagers keep their eyes on the five accounted-for kids who remained.

“What shitty plan are you enacting now?” Bakugou demanded, shaking his leg slightly. “What’s she doing?”

“Nothing!”

When Sero hit the elevator button, calling his intentions back to the group, Asui hurried after him to check the girls’ side of the building. Had Mina really gotten that far without anyone noticing? There was no way, surely, she must have just been—

“Izuku,” he called out, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “Check the damn fort.”

Denki and Eijirou both tensed up against his legs, and Bakugou knew he’d hit the nail on the head. Midoriya hurried back, lifting a blanket to peek inside, and sure enough, a little voice yelled “Boo!” as she jumped out at him, giggling.

“Crisis averted!” Midoriya called, breathing a sigh of relief. “Sero, Asui, it’s okay!”

The group trickled back in, looking oddly defeated, but Mina just continued to giggle as she returned, flopping onto the futon beside Ochako.

“Did you see his face?” she asked, kicking her feet in her delight. “I scared him!”

“Good heist!” Ochako told her, and Bakugou groaned. The damn heists were back. “Good plan!”

“Mina and Denki have decided they want to run heists,” Midoriya explained, when he saw Endeavour’s expression. “We have to do frequent head counts, to make sure they haven’t run off to enact some new plan.”

“I can handle that,” Endeavour said, surprising Bakugou a little. “While you...”

He trailed off, and Bakugou looked down at Shouto, still curled into his side contentedly. He hadn’t closed his eyes again, since Endeavour had arrived, but he’d managed to relax a little, just keeping a wary eye pointed in his direction rather than stare at him and tremble.

“Yeah,” Bakugou said. “Uh, thanks.”

Midoriya gave him the fondest look he’d ever seen, and Bakugou thought the whole ordeal might have been worth it, just for that. Seeing Midoriya look at him like he’d done something so amazing, so heroic, and all he’d had to do was supervise a couple of clingy brats? It was a pretty good deal, he had to admit.

The cartoon was over, Bakugou realised, when the kids scattered into the wind like an alarm had told them go. Mina threw toys all over the room as she hunted for one that looked interesting, Denki ran for the fort to no doubt start plotting, Ochako went for a stack of books in a corner, letting them float away as she decided she didn’t want them, and Shouto... actually, Shouto didn’t move an inch. Nor did Iida, where he sat propped up in Eri’s lap, sound asleep despite his position.

Endeavour, unbelievably, sat down in the middle of the floor. Bakugou had never known him to put himself below someone, to let anyone look down at him, but in that moment he just folded his legs like a kid in school, reaching into the small bag he’d brought with him. Bakugou had just assumed it held a toothbrush and a change of clothes, since he planned on staying the night, but instead he pulled out a long plastic wand, and Bakugou could only stare at him in disbelief as he uncapped it, pulling out a wand that sent bubbles flying through the room.

Like a bunch of bees spotting a lone flower in a desert, or something, the kids came sprinting back, laughing and cheering as they chased after bubbles, jumping up to pop them, or trying to catch them delicately in their hands. And Endeavour just sat there, watching as the bubbles dwindled, then waving his tiny wand again, giving them a new batch. The toy looked comical in his massive hand, held between two fingers to keep all of the bubble-making area exposed, and Bakugou silently sneaked his phone from his pocket, opening up his camera. He was pretty sure he could get a fortune from the celebrity gossip magazines, for that ridiculous shot.

“You want to play?” Midoriya asked.

Bakugou looked down, surprised to see Shouto’s head raised, wide eyes peeking over his leg to watch the bubbles. He didn’t answer, didn’t move, but those eyes followed every wave of the wand, shining with every new batch of bubbles.

“You can play,” Midoriya assured him, offering him a hand. “I’ll come with you.”

He looked up at Bakugou, and with a groan, Bakugou nodded.

“Yeah, me too,” he caved. “Eri, you want to play with the bubbles?”

Eri nodded gleefully, handing a sleeping Iida off to Aizawa, before she hurried over to join in. Shouto finally accepted Midoriya’s hand, to help him up, and Bakugou stretched briefly before he followed. Shouto’s hand reached back, those big eyes staring up at him again, and Bakugou cursed himself for being such a damn pushover as he accepted, linking them all together into a little line. For a few minutes Shouto just stood there, holding on to them both, watching as Midoriya reached up to pop the ones that drifted up higher than the kids could reach. His hand shifted slightly, like he might let go but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it, so Bakugou let go first, instead lifting him up around the waist, to where he could reach the bubbles floating by. Gleefully, Shouto clapped around a bubble, watching it burst, and Bakugou couldn’t help but crack a smile, reaching up to fan a few more toward him.

Endeavour was doing a surprisingly good job of staying calm, Bakugou thought. He was barely looking at Shouto, just stealing occasional glances to watch him play, without scaring the kid. And when Bakugou set him back down, watching him run off to chase bubbles with the others, he just fell still, waiting for Shouto to pass before he dared to wave the wand again, rather than scare Shouto with any sudden motions. Considering what a complete asshole he’d been the last time, he was actually really trying, and Bakugou was... fuckin’ impressed, to be honest. It was kind of a shame that Shouto wouldn’t remember it, later, but he supposed the fact that Endeavour would was probably enough.

“Do you want to try?” Endeavour asked, a little gruffly, but quiet and calm all the same. “You can wave it.”

He held out the little wand, and Shouto tiptoed toward him to take it, pausing before he waved it gently. Nothing came out, the gesture too small, and Shouto pouted a little.

“Can I help?”

Shouto nodded, and Endeavour reached out, gripping the very end of the wand, below Shouto’s tiny hand. He helped him wave it, a little further and quicker, and Shouto gasped when a swarm of bubbles came from their hands.

“Just like that,” Endeavour explained, letting go again. “Your turn.”

Shouto waved it again, a little harder this time, and when the bubbles appeared he full-on giggled. Bakugou was surprised Endeavour didn’t burst into tears right then and there; but no, he just watched, a fond expression sneaking onto his face while he wasn’t focussed on holding it back.

“We should get ready to go,” Midoriya whispered.

“Yeah,” Bakugou agreed. “While they’re all distracted.”

Aizawa gave them a little nod as they made their silent escape, and a few of their classmates gave them a thumbs up as they passed, trying to reassure them. Still, Bakugou felt dread pooling in his stomach. It wasn’t like there was any reason that they should be the ones to take care of all the damn kids, but it had happened so many times already that it felt kind of weird to leave them. Maybe it was Shouto’s clinginess, or maybe it was the fact that they hadn’t been there to help capture the villain and spare their classmates some pain, or maybe he’d just gotten weirdly attached to—nope, definitely not that one.

“I feel a little guilty,” Midoriya said.

“Is that what it is?” Bakugou asked, catching himself a little too late to prevent the words. “I mean—”

“It’s okay,” Midoriya assured him, grinning. “What, you’ve never felt guilt before?”

“Only at you.”

“Awww, you do love me.”

“Like I haven’t told you that,” Bakugou grumbled. “You make me say it every fuckin’ day.”

“I like hearing it!” Midoriya laughed, wrapping his arms around Bakugou’s waist as they stood in the elevator. “I love you, Kacchan.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Kacchan.”

“I heard you, damn it.”

“Kacchaaaaaaan.”

“I fuckin’ love you too, asshole.”

“Yay!”

He was still giggling over it as they headed into Bakugou’s room, where most of Midoriya’s stuff tended to live, lately. They found a change of clothes each, something that wasn’t just old athletic wear covered in crumbs from the kids’ snacks, and gathered their keys and wallets, pausing as they started to head back out.

“Balcony?” Bakugou suggested.

“Kacchan! No!” Midoriya insisted. “We need to say goodbye!”

“Ugh.”

Despite his complaint, he didn’t hesitate to follow Midoriya back to the elevator. He knew things like that were the reason his friends liked to call him ‘whipped’ all the time, but it wasn’t like any of them were around to see it. Even if they had been, it wasn’t like they’d have any concept of what was going on, nor would they remember it later. The minor perks of the stupid quirk effect, he supposed.

When the elevator doors opened again, they heard wails coming from the living area, and Bakugou ran. Everyone was gathered together, children and adults alike; had someone gotten hurt? Had an argument? A fight? No, he realised, when he got close enough to see into the middle. Shouto sat on the carpet, sobbing and wailing, a piece of melted, deformed plastic held in his grip.

“I already called her,” Asui said knowingly, when Midoriya reached for his phone. “She’s on her way.”

Endeavour hovered, his hand trembling, trying to decide whether or not he should reach out. But after a moment, he took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and gently placed his hand on Shouto’s head.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “It was an accident.”

“Myyyy buuuubbleeeeees,” Shouto sobbed.

“I’ll get you another one. I promise.”

Still Shouto bawled, and Endeavour shuffled a little closer, gently reaching his arm around Shouto’s back. He held him gently, stroking his back, and slowly Shouto’s wails began to quiet, turning into a series of little whines and hiccups.

When the elevator dinged, Midoriya raised a finger to his lips, silencing Yaoyorozu before she could announce her arrival. He took the new bubble wands from her with a grateful smile, then tiptoed over to where Endeavour sat, sneaking them into his free hand.

“Shouto,” Endeavour said, giving Midoriya a nod of thanks. “Here.”

Shouto turned to look, falling still when he saw the new bubble wand. His hands froze halfway to his eyes to rub away the tears, his little chest still heaved, but his voice went dead silent in a heartbeat.

“Want to try again?” Endeavour asked. “You can use your other hand, if you want.”

Shouto reached for it, his fingers trembling, and Endeavour carefully unscrewed the top, putting the handle in Shouto’s little fingers. He hiccuped again, but when he waved the wand, more bubbles came rushing out, and Shouto swallowed hard, watching them. Endeavour opened a second one, waving it around beside Shouto’s, and finally a little giggle came out. Midoriya cracked a smile, returning to Bakugou’s side and squeezing his hand.

“Thanks, Yaoyorozu,” he said quietly, and she just grinned at him in return. “I think Endeavour will remember this for a long time.”

With a few quick goodbyes, Midoriya and Bakugou left their classmates to it, the kids thankfully distracted enough by the new wave of bubbles to not notice them slipping out the door and try to follow. They hurried to the train station, well aware that they had missed the train they planned to catch, just hoping they might make it in time for the one after. It was a close call, with a few people bumped into a little too hard as they hurried past, but Midoriya didn’t have time to feel guilty about it. They ran straight onto the last train car, just in time for the doors to start closing, and Midoriya smiled softly as they found a spot to stand near the doors. It was too crowded to get a seat for at least the next few stations, as usual, but they at least had a little breathing room, which made a nice change.

Bakugou refused to text his parents, to let them know they were on their way, when Midoriya suggested it. He even slapped his hand, when he tried to do it himself. So with a little huff, he just shoved himself into Bakugou’s side instead, forcing him to hold them both up despite an annoyed little grunt about it. Midoriya adored the knowledge that Bakugou would never step aside to make him fall, or shove him off; he would just stand there and take it for as long as it took, and Midoriya couldn’t help but abuse that knowledge every once in a while, just to remind himself he could. It had become a good way to be just a little bit annoying, when he felt like Bakugou deserved a good dose of Midoriya-being-a-pain. He didn’t move until the doors behind them opened at a station, stepping aside to let people pass, and before he could lean again, a little old lady shuffled over on the seats, making room for two people to sit side-by-side beside her.

Midoriya loved little old ladies.

They fell into the seats gratefully, and Midoriya gave her a big smile, getting a fond look in return as she glanced down at their hands. Midoriya hadn’t even realised he was doing it, but he’d slipped his hand into Bakugou’s, linking them together like they always seemed to be, these days. He blushed a little, averting his eyes, and she went back to her knitting – he would never understand how people could do that, let alone on a moving train.

The next thing he knew, a hand was shaking him, and he cracked his eyes open to see Bakugou looking down at him fondly, gently waking him. He hadn’t even been that tired, but something about the gentle rocking of a train always seemed to lull him into dozing.

“This is us,” Bakugou said softly, the train beginning to slow. “You good?”

“Sorry,” Midoriya answered, sitting up off Bakugou’s warm shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Don’t apologise,” Bakugou shrugged. “Would’ve woken you earlier if it was an issue.”

“Thank you.”

Bakugou stood up, offering Midoriya a hand, and Midoriya accepted it with a grin, letting Bakugou haul him out of his seat. His other hand reached for the overhead handles, working their way along the car to the doors and praying he wouldn’t trip like an idiot in front of so many people; his balance was pretty good, these days, but he’d had one or two mortifying experiences when he’d either dozed off or been way too distracted by a video of a hero fight, and he was determined to never repeat them.

Bakugou’s stomach growled as they stepped off, and Midoriya laughed, hurrying along behind as Bakugou led them through the crowd. There was something weirdly cute about it, about Bakugou’s body giving away things he wouldn’t say out loud; Midoriya was pretty sure he fell in love with Bakugou a little bit harder every single day, over stupid little things like that.

“You’re such a sap,” Bakugou complained, and Midoriya quickly snapped his mouth shut. “Stop muttering in public, it’s weird.”

“Sorry!” Midoriya squeaked. “Um, I’m really excited to have dinner with your family, Kacchan! It’ll uh, be our first time... telling them, right? Officially?”

“Not like they don’t know,” Bakugou said. “But yeah, whatever.”

“I’m just happy that’s a thing we can do!” he explained. “We don’t have to, I dunno, hide it from them.”

“Why would we?”

“If... um... they didn’t approve? If they didn’t like me? Or... something?”

“When has anyone not liked you?” Bakugou asked, slowing his pace a little as they escaped the crowd, reaching quiet streets. “You’re a fuckin’ ray of sunshine, people eat that shit up.”

“Stop being cheesy!” Midoriya complained, unable to hide his blush properly with Bakugou still occupying one of his hands. “That’s my job!”

Bakugou snorted, and Midoriya just whined wordlessly, taking a few long steps to catch up and walk by Bakugou’s side, instead of being dragged along behind. Bakugou gave him a look for it, but he didn’t say a word, and Midoriya smiled faintly to himself. More things he could get away with, these days, that no one else could.

“It feels like so long since we’ve been back here together,” Midoriya said softly, swinging their linked hands as they passed by the old park where they’d played together every weekend as kids. “Remember the time I made your mother laugh so hard that she cried and a policeman stopped to make sure she was okay?”

“When you ate sand you mean?”

“We don’t need to talk about that part!”

“Yeah, I remember.” Bakugou snorted. “You were a weird kid.”

“Awwww, I’m not weird anymore? You’re so sweet.”

“No, you’re not a kid anymore. You’re still weird as fuck.”

“Meanie!”

When they reached Bakugou’s street, Midoriya ran ahead, dragging Bakugou along behind him despite his whines about it. He ran straight up to the front door, and before he could knock, it was swinging open, Masaru giving them a slightly teary smile in greeting, though he worked valiantly to keep them from spilling over. Midoriya knew that look all too well, after all.

“Hi!” he said happily, shoving Bakugou ahead and through the doorway. “Thanks for having us!”

“I’m so glad you both made it,” Masaru said fondly. “Has everything been okay this week?”

“Weeeeeell, actually, it kind of happened again,” Midoriya laughed awkwardly. “But Aizawa-sensei and All Might are taking care of things, and Endeavour showed up to help since Todoroki was involved, plus a bunch of our classmates are still there, so they’ll be fine!”

“Who are you trying to convince, nerd?” Bakugou asked.

“All three of us, probably,” Midoriya chuckled. “I feel a bit guilty, leaving them.”

Masaru ushered them inside, and Midoriya gasped when he caught a whiff of their dinner cooking. He didn’t get him nearly often enough, and when he did, they usually ended up just ordering something in, so they could spend more time together rather than cook. It was pretty rare for him to get an actual home-cooked meal, he hadn’t even realised how much he’d missed it.

“Did you make stuffed mushrooms?” Midoriya asked. “They smell so good!”

“I did,” Masaru said, smiling softly. “It’s been a while.”

“No wonder it smells so good,” Bakugou said, his hand slipping out of Midoriya’s as he headed to the kitchen to investigate. “And potatoes?”

“I made one of those layered casseroles with potato and onion that you used to like.”

“You must have spent hours caramelising onions. Why are you making such a big fuss? You getting a divorce or something?”

“No reason,” Masaru assured him. “Just happy to have you home.”

Bakugou huffed, prodding his dad in the arm lightly, and Masaru just smiled back.

“Thanks,” Bakugou conceded. “It smells really good.”

“It was my pleasure!”

When Mitsuki came downstairs to greet them, her eyes went immediately to their hands, linked back together again without even thinking about it. Bakugou blushed, but Midoriya just grinned, squeezing him a little tighter.

“It’s about time he found his balls.” Mitsuki chuckled, clapping Midoriya on the shoulder fondly. “Did he at least ask you nicely, or did he just grunt out some caveman-esque ‘date me’ like a brat?”

Midoriya giggled, and Bakugou squeezed his hand back, hoping it expressed how fond he was of that damn laugh, even though he couldn’t say it in front of his parents.

“Neither of us asked properly,” Midoriya admitted. “We just kind of... got there.”

He didn’t mention the way they’d talked around it so many times, or the half-dates that they never properly labelled, or the ring, but Bakugou knew, from the soft look on his face, that he was thinking about them. He shifted his grip slightly, rubbing his thumb across the band, and Midoriya shot him a smile for it.

“If you complain, we’re leaving.”

“Kacchan!” Midoriya hissed. “Don’t say that!”

“What would we complain about?” Mitsuki scoffed. “He’s far better than you deserve.”

“Wow.”

“The way you used to treat him? You’re lucky he’ll even be in the same room as him.”

“He’s grown up!” Midoriya assured her. “You wouldn’t believe how much he’s done to make up for it.”

“Shut up,” Bakugou grumbled, shoving him lightly. “She doesn’t need to hear that shit.”

“She absolutely needs to hear that shit.” Mitsuki grinned.

“He’s the sweetest,” Midoriya assured her, in summary. “You raised the best son.”

“Damn right I’m the best,” Bakugou huffed, yanking Midoriya closer and catching him in a head lock. “Now stop saying sappy shit.”

“Never!”

“Whatever,” Bakugou grumbled. “Dad, Hag, meet my dumbass boyfriend.”

“I don’t think you have to introduce me when they’ve known me since I was in diapers,” Midoriya said with a laugh. “But I do like hearing you say it.”

“You were in diapers like a week ago.”

“That does not count!”

Masaru slid past them as they bickered, opening up the oven, and Bakugou forgot his complaints immediately when he saw the tray. He was practically drooling, he hadn’t realised how much he missed a good fuckin’ meal.

“Come have a seat,” Masaru instructed, as he switched off the oven. “It’s ready to go.”

Bakugou was in a seat as fast as humanly possible, dragging his slow-ass boyfriend with him, and then his parents were laughing, and he had to do his best to keep his mouth shut, lest he ruin the night. He was lucky that they hadn’t said anything worse than a bit of shit about his school yard bully days; he knew there were families out there who would have been a lot less nice about the whole subject, so the least he could do was keep his mouth shut once in a while.

Masaru began loading dishes onto the table, and Bakugou found himself softening a little, as he watched. Along with the stuffed mushrooms, which were huge, and the layered potatoes, he’d cooked up Bakugou’s favourite spicy curry, complete with a bowl of rice rolled into tiny balls, each the size of his thumb. He cracked a smile when he saw them, glancing up at his dad’s fond expression, and reached for the bowl immediately.

“Were you feeling nostalgic?” he asked, as he scooped himself a bowl of tiny rice balls. “You haven’t done this since I was a kid.”

“Rice tastes better in ball form, right?” Midoriya asked, giggling. “This all looks delicious, thank you so much for cooking!”

“It was my pleasure. I’m more than happy to cook any time you want to come over for a meal.”

“We’ll take you up on that!” Midoriya said, despite a weak glare from Bakugou for it. “I’ll let you know any time we have a break from school and work studies and everything, and we’ll be here!”

“Your boyfriend is a good influence,” Mitsuki teased, only grinning wider when Bakugou turned pink. “Be good to him, brat.”

“Whatever,” Bakugou grumbled, ignoring the gleeful look Midoriya gave him for the blush. “Pass me the mushrooms.”