My Father's Son - Chapter 66

[Previous]

“I’m home!”

No matter how many times he said it, Katsuki couldn’t resist a chuckle every time Ryouji showed up at the door, calling those words to let Hiroki know he’d arrived. And sure enough, Hiroki went racing past them, down the stairs to greet him with a solid thump of them both hitting the ground.

He really needed to put a pillow or something in the entryway.

“I thought we were picking you up,” Katsuki called down the stairs. “Do your dads know you’re here?”

“Yup! I was ready early so I told them I’d walk!”

“Alright, welcome home.”

“Thank you!”

Soon Yuuto was heading down to join them, too, carefully carrying the container of cinnamon rolls he'd spent hours baking the night before, determined to do it without any help. Katsuki grabbed the car keys, following him down to bring up the rear. He hit the button to unlock the car before he’d even made it down, and by the time he caught up, all three boys were strapped into their booster seats – Hiroki and Yuuto in their usual spots, with Ryouji squeezed in between them. He held a small bag in his lap, his arms wrapped around it gently, and Katsuki couldn’t help but be a little curious – this was the kid who tried to avoid taking his backpack to school, and he’d suddenly decided to carry a bag on the weekends? Very suspicious, after his recent firework acquisition.

“Is Mr. Midoriya not coming?” Ryouji asked, when Katsuki started the car.

“Nah, one of his old friends from university came to town unexpectedly, so they’re catching up.”

“Oh, that’s good. He doesn’t see friends very much.”

Katsuki didn’t have an answer for that. It was true, after all. Katsuki wasn’t sure he even had friends, to be honest – not ones who lived near them, at least. Maybe he needed to cave to his own friends’ requests more often, let them come over and hang out. He knew Ochako, at least, seemed to adore the nerd, and Shouto had spent a weird amount of time talking to him and asking after him too. Maybe he could get Izuku hanging out with them occasionally, and get them off his own back in the process.

“He went on a date once,” Hiroki complained, pulling a face – he was still bitter about that day, apparently.

“He did? With who? Was he not nice?”

“She was fine but boring.”

“She?” Ryouji asked, frowning slightly. “Really?”

“People are allowed to be straight, Ryou,” Katsuki reminded him.

“I know that,” Ryouji said. “But Mr. Midoriya?”

“He’s not,” Hiroki assured him. “He’s bi but he mostly likes boys.”

“That makes more sense.”

“You guys need to quit with the stereotyping,” Katsuki warned them. “You can’t just go around guessing and assuming what people’s sexualities are.”

“Says the uncle who forgets to ask about people’s pronouns.”

“Ryouji.”

“It was a joke!” Ryouji defended himself, smiling a little over Hiroki’s giggles. “I mean, you should, but I know not to stereotype! Hiroki told me that Mr. Midoriya likes boys.”

Katsuki glanced in the rear view mirror as they stopped at a red light, unsurprised to find Hiroki’s hand laced through Ryouji’s, with that sweet little smile on his face that Katsuki only ever saw when Ryouji was around. He loved that smile.

“Do you hold hands all day at school, too?” he asked, amused when Hiroki blushed faintly. “Must make it hard to write.”

“It’s okay, I sit on the left,” Ryouji assured him. “So he has his important hand free.”

“That’s good to know.”

“And it’s not all day,” Hiroki grumbled. “Just sometimes.”

“That’s probably good too. You’d miss out on a lot of fun stuff if you were stuck together permanently.”

“Playing tag would be hard,” Yuuto said solemnly. “And peeing.”

“Ewwww,” Hiroki whined, despite Ryouji’s laughter beside him. “I don’t want Ryou to watch me pee!”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to watch you pee either,” Ryouji assured him. “We can let go for that.”

“Good!”

When they pulled into Katsuki’s parents’ driveway, the pair separated anyway, taking turns to clamber out of the car. Hiroki ran up to the door to ring the bell before Katsuki had even gotten his seatbelt off, Ryouji a little slower with his bag held carefully in his arms. Yuuto waited for Katsuki, watching him lock the car doors before he followed, fingers curling into Katsuki’s pant leg a little.

“There’s my boy,” Masaru said fondly, when he opened the door on Hiroki already beaming and holding his arms up for a hug. “I’ve missed you!”

He scooped Hiroki up obediently, letting him snuggle in, and his eyes widened when Ryouji’s hand raised in a little wave.

“I didn’t know you were coming!” he explained, after his momentary pause. “It’s so good to see you, Ryouji. How are you?”

“I’m good!” Ryouji told him. “How are you?”

“I’m good too, thank you!”

“And Grandma?”

“She’s doing okay,” Masaru laughed, stepping aside and waving him through the door. “Hi Yuuto, thanks for coming. How are you doing?”

“I’m good too,” Yuuto said quietly. “Um, thanks.”

Masaru still didn’t set Hiroki down, and Hiroki made no move to say he wanted it, so Katsuki just clapped his dad on the back as he followed Yuuto in, rather than concede the hug his dad usually wanted from him. His mother was sitting in the living room, her casted arm resting in a sling that she was clearly not happy about, considering the way she kept shifting and adjusting it constantly.

Katsuki just raised an eyebrow, when she looked up at him, and she scowled immediately, huffing.

“I know,” she insisted. “Don’t start.”

“Better your wrist than your head,” Katsuki acknowledged. “Probably didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and Katsuki shrugged, flopping onto the other end of the couch.

“That’s what happens when you get old,” he explained. “You need time to think instead of reacting on instinct.”

“Don’t call your mother old, you damn brat!”

“You have grandchildren.”

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“One of your grandchildren is married.”

“That does not count.”

“Two of them,” Ryouji corrected him. “To each other.”

“True, in-laws count as well. My bad.”

“I brought you a present, Grandma.” Ryouji reached into his bag, and Katsuki braced himself for the worst – then again, his mother would probably get a kick out of a box of illegal fireworks. “It’s only small, but I made it for you.”

He held out his latest origami creation, and Katsuki leaned over to get a peek – he was always genuinely impressed by the stuff that kid managed to put together.

“Dad says doves mean peace and healing,” Ryouji explained, as Mitsuki took it gingerly with her good hand. “I know it’s not very exciting, but I thought it could protect you for a little bit while you get better.”

“It’s beautiful, Ryouji!” she assured him, and Katsuki knew how genuine it was, not just from her tone, but from the fact that he thought so too. “I’ve seen a lot of different origami birds before, but never one with so much detail, look at these wings!”

She held it up for Katsuki to see properly, and he smiled, nodding his agreement.

“He makes amazing things,” Katsuki agreed. “It’s perfect, Ryou.”

“He makes dragons too,” Hiroki informed her, sliding down from Masaru’s grip finally to pull out his phone. “I have photos, see?”

There was a whole album in Hiroki’s gallery just for Ryouji’s creations, so it took no time at all for him to find the pictures he wanted, showing off a couple of neat dragons perched on school desks, and the vase of flowers he’d once been gifted.

“I want to make a phoenix but I haven’t figured out how yet,” Ryouji said with a shrug. “So dragons have to suffice until then.”

“Dragons are great too! They breathe fire!”

“I have a dinosaur,” Yuuto added. “It’s super cool.”

“You’ve got a real talent for this,” Masaru said, when Hiroki turned around to show him the photos too. “You must have worked hard.”

“It’s fun and quiet when I’m bored in class.”

“Ryouji! You should be paying attention in class!” Masaru chastised him.

“I can do both!”

Hiroki’s head turned suddenly, and Katsuki looked up just in time to not freak out when he squealed. Hiroki forgot his family even existed, in that moment, too busy diving to the floor and holding his arms out, his face lit up with the brightest smile in the world. The little black cat just stared at him for a second, but it didn’t run away, and even allowed it when Hiroki picked it up, rolling around on the carpet with the little creature held in his arms.

“When did you get a cat?” Katsuki asked, unphased by the noise and excitement that had made the rest of them jump. “You never said.”

“Oh, it showed up here a few days ago,” Mitsuki said casually. “We called around the vets and everything but no one has claimed it yet, so we said we’d take care of it until someone does.”

“We call her Muffin,” Masaru told him. “Because she tried to steal Mitsuki’s one.”

“Muffiiiiiiin!” Hiroki gushed. “I love you, Muffin!”

“And you didn’t think to tell us you got a cat?” Katsuki asked.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Mitsuki said with a shrug. “She’s not ours.”

“Look at this kid, you think that’s not a big deal?”

“Well I didn’t think about that, did I?”

Masaru produced a little basket of toys from a corner, and Ryouji picked out a mouse on a string, heading over to sit next to Hiroki and dangle it in front of them. Muffin went for it immediately, batting at the furry little mouse, and Hiroki squeaked again gleefully as he watched her roll around to grab it. Yuuto joined them, and they all took turns teasing her with it, letting her stalk and pounce to her heart’s content. Katsuki couldn’t help but smile at how delighted his little boys were over something so simple. Maybe he needed to get them a pet of their own, but it had always seemed so difficult with his weird schedule. Not that Hiroki had ever actually asked – Katsuki had just seen how immediately he fell in love with every animal he met. He’d have to give it some thought, now that the kids were a little older and more responsible, and Izuku was on deck to help out, with a slightly more normal work schedule.

“Besides,” Mitsuki continued after a moment. “I’m still mad at you, so don’t go criticising me.”

“Haah? What the fuck did I do?”

“Bad word,” Ryouji pointed out, without even looking up.

“I’m an adult, I’m allowed,” Katsuki argued. “What did I do?”

“Making your poor boyfriend come all the way over here to bring us food? Like I can’t cook with one hand!”

“My what?!”

“Oh please,” Mitsuki snorted. “Like we don’t all know.”

“There’s nothing to know,” Katsuki said through gritted teeth, squeezing his hands into fists to keep from hitting something. “You don’t get to talk shit just because you hurt yourself. And he offered.”

“Be nice, dear,” Masaru instructed, sitting down to form a barrier between the two of them. “It was very sweet of him to come over and check on you, even if you didn’t need the help.”

“You even made him cook for us.”

“The hell? I cooked for you, you asshole.”

“What?”

Katsuki had stayed up for hours, that night, cooking his parents’ favourite meals and carefully sealing them in containers to heat up when they wanted them. He’d left the bag of them in the fridge for Izuku to take over, sure, but he’d done the work.

“I know he’s a nerd, but he’s not a stalker,” Katsuki huffed. “You think he just conveniently made you all your favourite foods? Fuck off.”

Mitsuki’s face softened a little as she stared at him, speechless for once, and Katsuki could feel his cheeks growing hot.

“Last time I do anything nice for you,” he grumbled.

“We appreciate it, Katsuki,” Masaru assured him. “She was just teasing, you know her.”

“Whatever.”

“We had the chilli last night, it was delicious. You never did tell me your secret.”

“And I never will,” Katsuki retorted, some of his tension falling away all the same – his dad had always managed to have that effect on him. Thankfully, considering some of his pre-teen bullshit. “I’ll take that recipe to my grave.”

The three of them fell silent, and Katsuki regretted the words immediately. He knew exactly how hard of a time they had with the concept of him dying in the line of duty – not that he was planning on it happening any time soon. His mother had gone off on some bullshit once about how kids aren’t meant to die before their parents, after one of his various near-misses, and he’d finally realised exactly how hard the pair of them took it, seeing him put his life on the line day after day. Despite it all, they’d never been anything but encouraging about his career path, and Katsuki knew he owed them one for that – so many of his friends and coworkers had been begged to pick something else, had watched their parents cry about it the moment they got their first job as a pro-hero, and he was pretty sure a few of them still sobbed in front of the television every time their kid was out on a call. Most of them just avoided talking about it entirely, to keep from causing problems, but the truth was, every hero knew exactly how their parents felt about it. Even the ones born to hero parents still felt that pressure, still carried the weight of their parents’ concerns every time they went on a patrol.

“You think I’m gonna go out like an asshole and leave my kids behind?” Katsuki asked quietly. “I’m gonna eat the damn chilli over your grave just to rub it in.”

Mitsuki snorted, and even Masaru cracked a little smile, despite how sombre his eyes remained.

Sorry, Katsuki thought, hoping it came across without him having to use his voice. I’m doing my best.

Katsuki raised his eyebrows when he saw Ryouji hovering around them, waiting for a chance to slip into the conversation, and Ryouji smiled awkwardly, holding up a little plastic bottle, full of some weird, goopy concoction.

“Can I try something, Grandma?” he asked. “I don't know if it'll work.”

“Is it a dangerous something?”

“Nope, just a gross one.”

She squinted at him a little, but Katsuki caught on quickly, watching Ryouji open the cap of his bottle and chug the contents. His face twisted up, clearly it wasn’t a good concoction, but he swallowed it valiantly, capping the empty bottle and putting it in his bag. While he waited for it to kick in, he knelt in front of Mitsuki’s seat, gently placing his hand over hers – or what was reachable of it, with the cast covering half her arm.

“What was in it?” Katsuki asked knowingly. “Spinach?”

“Kale,” Ryouji corrected him – close enough. “Blended with milk, lemons, sardines, and bone broth.”

“That sounds disgusting.”

“It was,” Ryouji agreed. “But they all have stuff in them that’s good for your bones.”

“Can you even use it on someone else?”

“We’re gonna find out! It works with chocolate.”

He clearly felt the moment it began to work, because he held Mitsuki a little more firmly – though still carefully, to avoid causing pain. Katsuki didn’t see anything happen, there was no glow or gas like he often produced, but Mitsuki’s face changed, surprise and confusion taking over, and Katsuki knew something had to be happening.

“Okay,” Ryouji said, when he let go. “Maybe it’ll heal faster now. I’ll keep working on it, maybe when I’m older I can fix it properly.”

“Thank you, Ryouji. It’s very sweet of you to care.”

“Until then, drink lots of milk!”

“I will,” Mitsuki said with a chuckle. “I promise.”

———

Hiroki whined when it was time to go home, hugging Muffin to his chest like he might never let her go. It had been a while since Hiroki had last gotten petulant about something, Katsuki had hoped he’d grown out of it or something. Wishful thinking, apparently.

“Hiroki,” he said, a hint of warning in his tone. “Say goodbye. To the cat and your grandparents.”

“But I love heeeeeer.”

“We can come visit her again another time. It’s time to head home.”

Hiroki pouted, but he set the kitten down obediently, and Katsuki was surprised to see that it didn’t run away from him immediately. He sure as hell would’ve, if some giant creature from another species had spent the day carrying him around everywhere.

“If someone calls to claim her,” he said quietly. “Can I come say goodbye first?”

“Of course you can,” Mitsuki promised. “We’ll call you immediately.”

“But someone else who loves her just as much is probably worried sick about her right now,” Masaru pointed out. “So we’ll still have to say goodbye, when they find us.”

“I know,” Hiroki said sadly. “I just wanna say goodbye first.”

“Definitely.”

Hiroki hugged each of his grandparents in turn, then bent down to give Muffin one last pat, kissing her between the ears before he finally headed for the door.

“If no one calls, are you going to keep her?” Katsuki asked quietly, when Hiroki was sufficiently distracted.

“We hadn’t really talked about it yet.” Masaru gave him a knowing smile. “Do you want us to let you know?”

“Maybe,” he admitted. “He’s old enough to help take care of it, and Izuku works more stable hours than me.”

“We’ll let you know when we hear from the vets again.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

Yuuto stopped on his way through, to say goodbye, and Masaru bent down to his height, smiling warmly.

“Thank you again for the cinnamon rolls, they were delicious. I'm gonna be thinking about them for weeks," he said. “And draw us a picture for next time, okay? We’ll build it together.”

At some point in the day, Yuuto had ended up in Katsuki’s old room, sitting at the desk Masaru had custom-built for him when was a kid. Katsuki hadn’t been there for the discussion, but he’d come back downstairs fascinated by the concept, and Masaru had promised to teach him. In all honesty, Katsuki kind of hated that his dad still built things – it was great that he had a hobby, sure, but there were so many heavy things involved, and Katsuki couldn’t always be there to lift and hold them for him, even though he tried.

“Okay,” Yuuto agreed, eyes dropping to stare at his feet. “Th-Thanks, Grandpa Bakugou.”

Katsuki smiled knowingly as he watched his dad’s eyes fill with tears, unable to keep them from spilling over. He wrapped his arms around Yuuto, holding him tightly, and Yuuto allowed it, awkwardly putting his own hands on Masaru’s sides to somewhat return it.

“I love you,” Masaru whispered. “I hope you know that.”

Yuuto nodded, swallowing hard, but Masaru didn’t give him a chance to feel obligated to return it. He let go before it could go on too long, and gave Yuuto a last warm smile, before he stood up again.

“Have a safe trip back, okay?” he said to all of them, waving from the doorway as they filed out to the car. “Be good for your dads.”

“I’m always good!” Hiroki protested.

“I’m not!” Ryouji laughed. “Take care of Grandma, okay?”

“You know I will,” Masaru assured him, despite Mitsuki’s protests about not needing it. “Say hi to your dads for me.”

“Okay!”

Katsuki made sure the kids were all strapped in safely before he gave his parents one last wave, starting the car to back out of the driveway. The boys chattered at first, but Hiroki dropped off to sleep within about five minutes, one hand clinging to Ryouji’s like always. Yuuto and Ryouji continued to talk, though – much quieter than when Hiroki was involved, but a conversation all the same. Considering Ryouji didn’t like people in general, and Yuuto was still so shy with them, it was kind of a miracle that the two of them could talk without Hiroki to help, but he was eternally grateful for it.

They stopped outside Ryouji’s house first, letting him slip out of Hiroki’s grasp with a quick goodbye-kiss on the cheek and a booster seat tucked under his arm, Hiroki mumbling a sleepy goodbye as he watched him go. Then it was their own house, and the boys climbing out again, Hiroki yawning despite how awake he’d seemed as they left.

“We’re home, Papa,” he called all the same, when he saw Izuku’s shoes in the hallway. “Did you have fun with your friend?”

“Welcome home!” Izuku called back, hurrying to the stairs to meet them as they climbed. “I did! How about you? Did you have a good time with your grandparents?”

“They got a kitty and I love her.”

“Oh?”

“Pee first, then story,” Hiroki said, continuing his path to reach a bathroom. “Back soon.”

Izuku chuckled, but turned his attention to Yuuto, giving him a little wave.

“Welcome home,” he repeated. “How was your day?”

“Good,” Yuuto said firmly. “Grandpa Bakugou is gonna help me build a table.”

“A table?”

“Uh-huh.”

“He learned about Dad’s woodworking,” Katsuki clarified. “So they’re gonna build something together.”

“Oh! That’s so cool, I can’t wait to see it.”

No one commented on the new name, but Katsuki saw the look in Izuku’s face, and couldn’t help but smile. It was always so obvious when Izuku was holding back his tears, even if Yuuto seemed to be too distracted to notice it.

“Gonna have a bath,” Yuuto said. “Can I have the bubbles?”

“Yeah, of course. There should be some under the sink, in the green bottle. You know the one?”

“Uh-huh. I’ll call if I’m not sure.”

“Good. Enjoy your bath.”

He headed off up the stairs, leaving just Izuku and Katsuki alone together in the hallway, shooting each other quick, slightly awkward smiles.

“So,” Katsuki said, sighing despite his smile. “I think we might have to adopt a cat.”