Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

They’re twenty-one years old when it happens.

Two years out of school, two years of experience as pro heroes, but still pretty baby-faced in the grand scheme of things – even with everything they’ve been through. They just cracked the top thirty on the Hero Billboard Chart last winter, but Izuku has a feeling they’re both going to have a decent jump when the new rankings come out in a few months. Maybe not Hawks-level decent, but both he and Katsuki have more than proven their worth since graduating from U.A.

They’ve done a lot since they graduated, actually. It’s kind of been a whirlwind, with both of them throwing everything they’ve got into their burgeoning careers. Kacchan’s still determined to hit number one before him, which means Izuku’s determined not to let him.

He likes to think their competitiveness adds a little spark to their relationship, but he’s pretty sure they’d still be like this even if they hadn’t, as Katsuki likes to put it, gotten their shit together in third year and finally started dating.

Three years, going strong.

Sometimes, Izuku can’t believe this is where they’re at. Twenty-one, together, sharing an apartment.

Pro heroes battling to be the best in the country.

It’s kind of crazy. It’s insane.

“Is our life even real?”

It’s early September. Izuku’s standing in front of the stove, pretending he’s actually going to cook dinner when they both know he’s only got, like, three meals he can make and they’ve already had two of them this week. Katsuki just trudged in through the front door and he drops the duffel bag housing some of his hero gear at his feet as he shoots a somewhat baffled look in the direction of the kitchen.

“The fuck?”

“This.” Izuku uses the frying pan in his hand to gesture vaguely around them. “Sometimes I think maybe I’m actually in a coma somewhere and this is all a really elaborate dream.”

“If you’re dreaming about me getting my ass tossed up and down the Mishima shopping center, then we’ve got a problem.” Katsuki wanders over, sidling up behind Izuku and wrapping his arms around his waist. “Today was annoying.”

Izuku makes a commiserating sound. “I heard.”

“Fucking Half-and-Half,” Katsuki grumbles.

“It was a good thing he showed up, wasn’t it?”

“No.” Izuku gives him a look over his shoulder, eyebrows arched, and Katsuki scowls. “I was about to take that asshole out, I didn’t need his help. It wasn’t even his sector!”

“Mirio-senpai said that villain had some kind of fire Quirk.”

Katsuki groans and slumps against Izuku’s back. “Yeah. Kicked my explosions into overdrive and there were too many people around for me to risk anything. Todoroki ended up freezing him and I got stuck clearing civilians out of the buildings.”

“You did good, then,” Izuku murmurs. He reaches back as Katsuki buries his face in the curve of Izuku’s neck, combing his fingers through spiky blonde hair. “No casualties. Minor injuries all around.”

“I guess,” Katsuki says, voice muffled and petulant against Izuku’s skin. He lifts his head after a moment and sighs. “Had to evacuate a whole damn daycare, so that was fun.”

Izuku chuckles. “Oh no.”

“Yep. Armfuls of brats.”

“Well, now I’m gonna have to watch the news later and see if they got any footage.”

“Nope.” Katsuki somehow manages to press himself even more flush against Izuku. “No news. I got other plans.” He very pointedly grinds his hips forward and Izuku snorts.

“Really? We haven’t even eaten yet.”

Katsuki peers over Izuku’s shoulder, eyeing the clean counters and empty pots. “You said you were gonna cook dinner.”

“I said I was going to start dinner,” Izuku corrects him.

“Okay. And so far you’ve…?”

“Hey, I got the pan out.”

“Wow,” Katsuki says dryly. “Barely anything left for me to do.”

“I only got home a little before you! And I had to shower.” Izuku’s nose wrinkles a bit. “I see you didn’t bother.”

“Didn’t feel like doing it at the agency.” Katsuki finally pulls away, glancing down at his t-shirt and sweatpants. “Just gonna get sweaty again anyway.”

That draws another laugh out of Izuku. He turns so that he’s facing Katsuki and leans back against the counter. “You’re really up for it, huh?”

Katsuki spreads his hands in a sort of shrug, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “This is your pervy dream, nerd.” He steps in closer, bracing his hands against the counter on either side of Izuku and effectively boxing him in. “Fuck it, let’s just order takeout.”

“Yeah?” Izuku grins. Katsuki is barely taller than him anymore, but he still likes to act like he’s got some kind of advantage here even though they’re pretty evenly matched in every other way. Izuku tips his chin up anyway, because Kacchan likes it when he does, and the other man leans down eagerly to steal a kiss. “Okay. Takeout it is,” Izuku murmurs once he pulls away again.

“Later,” Katsuki says, and his smirk stretches wide, turning feral. He ducks and grabs Izuku around the middle, causing him to squawk in protest before he’s unceremoniously tossed over Katsuki’s shoulder and hauled off toward the bedroom.

“Kacchan!” He grabs at the back of Katsuki’s shirt, laugher bubbling out of him. “What’s gotten into you??”

Katsuki kicks the door open, uncaring of how it bangs into the wall, and proceeds to dump Izuku onto the bed. “Dunno. Endorphins or something probably.” He’s still got a wild look to him, and Izuku barely has time to scoot himself further up the mattress before Katsuki is on top of him, fingers buried in green curls as he wraps Izuku up in a hungry, bruising kiss.

They usually save this sort of thing for the weekend, or whenever they have a day off. It’s not like they never do it on a work night, but their combined goals as heroes means they’re each hyperaware of how necessary it is to be at the top of their game every day. They’ve got a healthy sex life, sure, but recovering from a long day of chasing down villains and keeping the general population safe often comes first.

So, really, this is a pleasant surprise.

Katsuki rakes his hands down Izuku’s sides, going right for his track pants and wasting no time yanking them off. Izuku uses that time to rid himself of his shirt, and he watches eagerly as Kacchan does the same thing, sculpted muscles shifting beneath smooth skin as he moves. He runs his palms over Katsuki’s sweatpants-covered thighs, tugging a little, wanting them off, and Katsuki shifts like he’s about to acquiesce when he suddenly pauses.

Izuku blinks up at him. “What’s up?” It takes Katsuki a moment to answer. He’s gone unnaturally still, just sort of staring at Izuku. “…Kacchan?”

“Actually…” He’s breathing a little more heavily than he probably should be considering they haven’t done all that much yet. Izuku eyes the rise and fall of his chest, but he doesn’t have time to get concerned because in the next second, Katsuki clamps his hands around Izuku’s hips and rolls them over, switching their positions. “You top.”

“What – really?” Izuku asks, somewhat disorientated from the sudden change. Katsuki just nods, finally starting to shimmy out of his pants, and really, Izuku doesn’t know why he’s surprised. It’s not like they never do it this way. Heck, it’s not even like it’s something rare, it’s just… Katsuki usually isn’t very vocal about wanting it. “Alright.” Izuku reaches for their nightstand drawer, rifling around inside for their supplies, while Katsuki does his best to distract him by tangling their legs together and rolling his hips up against him.

“No condom,” he says when he notices that Izuku pulled one out. That makes Izuku’s eyebrows shoot upwards, but Katsuki ignores him easily enough and gives another roll of his hips. “Come on, Izuku, hurry the fuck up.”

It gets a bit wild after that. There are a few moments when Izuku wonders what the hell has gotten into his boyfriend, but he quickly gets swept up in the heated, frantic nature of everything and stops overthinking it. He doesn’t have time for that anyway – Katsuki has turned unnaturally demanding and Izuku is more than happy to comply, pushing into him with barely any preparation and watching in amazement as Katsuki’s head falls back and his chest arches, a long, low groan escaping him.

By the time they’re done and Izuku is collapsing onto his back beside Katsuki, they’re both panting and drenched in sweat.

“Um,” Izuku says, trying to catch his breath. He has no idea what to follow that up with, though. Part of him wants to ask if Kacchan’s okay, but he’ll probably get snapped at if he does.

Katsuki seems to be on a similar wavelength, though, and he has no problem voicing it. “What the fuck,” he says plainly, somehow mystified and succinct at the same time. That breaks the tension between them and Izuku snorts out a laugh, rolling onto his side and resting on his forearm.

“Todoroki stealing your thunder really got you all worked up, huh?”

“Ew, gross,” Katsuki says, scowling over at him. “No saying his name when we’re in bed, geez. This is an Icy Hot-free zone.”

“Unlike the shopping center today,” Izuku quips with a grin, before yelping as Katsuki tackles him back into the pillows. He’s still giggling as he wraps his arms around Katsuki’s broad shoulders and draws him in to claim his mouth in another kiss.

Izuku manages to convince himself the whole thing was a weird fluke for the next day or so. It’s not like Kacchan isn’t allowed to get really hard up for it sometimes. He doesn’t even know why he feels like there was something ever so slightly off about the whole thing. They’ve had that kind of rushed, needy, almost animalistic sex before. Maybe it was the way Katsuki looked at him before flipping them over?

Or maybe he’s just never heard Kacchan sound like that before.

Whatever it was, Izuku makes himself put it out of his mind for a little while – until one evening only a couple days later.

They’ve just gotten home, together this time, arms full of groceries because they stopped at the store on the way back from their agency to grab dinner supplies. Izuku has only just set his bags down on one of the counters when Katsuki is on him again, mouth hot against his own and hands slipping beneath his shirt.

“Dinner can wait,” Katsuki says in between kisses, already pushing Izuku toward the bedroom. “Fucking want you.”

“You’re, like, extra into me this week,” Izuku murmurs, heat quickly building in his gut and simmering through his veins.

Katsuki has twisted them around by the time they reach the bed. He drops onto it and pulls Izuku down with him so that his knees dig into the mattress on either side of Katsuki’s hips. “Dumbass. I’m always into you.” Izuku grins at him, warm and wide, and the moment evidently becomes too sweet for Katsuki because he’s bucking his hips up in the next second, his hard length impossible not to notice as it presses against Izuku. “Rather have you in me, though,” he says, giving Izuku a lewd smirk.

He just rolls his eyes in return, but then hesitates a bit. “Again?” he can’t help asking.

“Yeah,” Katsuki replies easily. “Now. Come on, Izuku.” He’s pushing at Izuku’s shorts like he truly can’t wait any longer, and who is Izuku to deny him?

That night isn’t the end of it, either. Somehow, this becomes their new norm over the next several weeks. And it’s good, it always is, but Izuku honestly doesn’t know how Kacchan isn’t sore as shit every day. They haven’t done it this often since they had that three-week break between graduation and their new jobs starting, and back then they didn’t really have anywhere to be most of the time. Now, though, they still have to get up in the morning and drag themselves out to fight evil or whatever.

Izuku’s starting to feel exhausted.

It's the same thing every time. Katsuki can’t seem to keep his hands off him when they’re home, and he always wants Izuku to top. They’ve used a condom a grand total of one time since Katsuki seemingly borrowed Mineta’s sex-craved disposition, and he was so grumpy about it afterwards that Izuku hasn’t dared to suggest it again since. That might be one of the stranger things about this entire episode – Kacchan usually isn’t big on messes, and cleaning up after not using a condom can sometimes be a pain. It’s never really been Katsuki’s thing, aside from a few notable occasions.

Now, it’s the only way he wants it.

There’s one day that Katsuki almost doesn’t even wait until they get home. They’re in the agency locker rooms, peeling their uniforms off, and suddenly Izuku finds himself slammed up against a locker with Katsuki’s hand down the front of his pants.

“Kacchan,” he hisses, eyes immediately darting around to make sure there’s no one else nearby. They’re alone, luckily – he doesn’t really think Katsuki would’ve initiated anything if there were people present, but he’s been so damn randy lately that it’s hard to be sure.

He probably should’ve started questioning things at that point.

“We can be quick,” Katsuki says, head bent down so that he can nuzzle at the juncture of Izuku’s neck. His breaths are hot, wet pants against Izuku’s skin. “There’s no one else here.”

Izuku gets a firm grip on Katsuki’s wrist, squeezing tight and freezing him in his tracks. “I am not doing this with you here!” he whispers harshly, nearly scandalized. “Have you lost your damn mind?!”

“You were so fucking good out there today, though,” Katsuki says. His voice is a low rumble and while he doesn’t try to escape Izuku’s grasp, he does let the rest of his body lean into him. “The way you kicked that idiot’s ass… Shit, I almost jumped you right in the fucking street.”

“Oh my god,” Izuku says, groaning. “Stop. You can wait until we get home.”

“Home is really far away,” Katsuki mutters, pulling back enough that he can give Izuku a pouty sort of glower. It’s a look Izuku rarely sees on him, and for a minute he can only stare.

“Home is a twenty-minute walk,” he says eventually, eyebrows arched in an unimpressed way. “Less if we take the rooftops.”

Katsuki scowls, but he finally removes his hand from Izuku’s pants, at least. “Fine,” he grumbles. “We’re racing, though.”

They don’t even make it to the bed that night. Katsuki shoves Izuku onto the couch instead and rides him until Izuku sees stars.

There’s another night in early October that Izuku actually tries to not give in so easily. It’s starting to get chilly in the evenings so they’re wrapped around each other beneath their comforter, hands roaming and lips sliding together. Katsuki is starting to tug Izuku on top of him, his legs spreading wide, and Izuku yanks backwards before he can talk himself out of it.

“Wait,” he says, panting a little. “Wait, wait, wait. It’s my turn, Kacchan.”

Katsuki just gives him an uncomprehending look, and that’s actually a little infuriating.

Izuku frowns. “Don’t you miss doing it the other way?”

“Hadn’t really thought about it,” Katsuki admits, though at least now there’s something a little confused rising up from the depths of his intense gaze. Like he’s not exactly sure what’s going on with him either. “I guess we can.”

“You guess?” Well, that’s a little less enthusiastic than Izuku had been hoping for. He tries not to feel hurt, but the concern beginning to bleed through Katsuki’s expression tells him he didn’t succeed.

“Fuck,” Katsuki says, pushing himself up onto his elbows. “No, you’re right. I’m – shit, Izuku, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m…” He lowers his eyes, looking at the bed around them like he’s seeing it for the first time. “It’s, uh. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Izuku nods, his brow furrowing. “I miss you.”

“Deku,” Katsuki drawls, an almost singsong sort of lilt to his tone as he heaves himself the rest of the way up. Izuku sits back in his lap, knees bracketing his thighs. “I’m right here, nerd.” He reaches out, brushing the back of his hand against Izuku’s freckled cheek and then tugging on a curl of hair by his ear. “You have me almost every damn night.”

“I miss you being in me,” Izuku clarifies, huffing and leaning in to press a simple, lingering kiss to Katsuki’s mouth. His voice lowers, but there’s still a heated intensity to it. “I want you to fuck me, Kacchan.”

Katsuki lets out a harsh exhale. “Holy shit. Yeah, okay. Yes.” The kiss between them is hungry this time, and very quickly gets wet and messy. Katsuki’s hands find Izuku’s ass to pull him closer, making Izuku grind against him. “Fuck yes, c’mere. Can’t believe how long it’s been.”

To Izuku’s growing worry and Kacchan’s clear horror, it’s apparently going to be a little longer before they actually get to do it that way again.

“It’s normal,” Izuku tries to assure him. Katsuki’s knelt between his legs, glaring in disbelief at his traitorous dick that’s seemingly refusing to get with the program. “It happens to everyone sometimes.”

He tries to ignore that it’s never happened to them before. First time for everything?

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Katsuki grouses, something tight in his voice.

Izuku makes another attempt that he knows won’t help at all. “Maybe you’re just tired?” Katsuki promptly gives him the stink-eye and Izuku sighs. “I mean…honestly, I’m tired. You’ve been keeping us busy the last few weeks.”

“I’ve been keeping us busy?” Katsuki says immediately. “What, like you’re not involved?”

“Well, no,” Izuku murmurs. “Obviously, I am. But you’ve kinda been the one…um.” Katsuki’s eyes narrow and Izuku hastily tries to backtrack. “It’s been good, don’t get me wrong! It’s just, uh. It’s also been…a lot?”

Katsuki shifts backwards, pulling away. Izuku immediately wants to reach for him, but he senses he might need the space. “If you don’t wanna fucking do it, you can tell me to fuck off. What the hell? I didn’t know you were so fucking miserable–”

“I’m not miserable,” Izuku cuts in quickly, mentally keeping track of how many fucks Katsuki throws at him. The number is usually proportionate to how upset he is.

“Right,” Katsuki says, barking out an unamused laugh.

“You know I’m not,” Izuku says calmly. “I love you, Kacchan, you’re just running me ragged. And – really, we should probably talk about that.”

Katsuki’s gone full defensive now, though. He’s got his arms crossed uncomfortably over his chest and he’s red across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “What’s there to talk about?” He scowls, snidely adding, “Sorry I like sleeping with you, didn’t know it was such a fuckin’ problem.”

Izuku huffs in exasperation. “Would you stop? I’m just saying, we’ve been doing it a lot. Like…a lot. And you only ever want to do it the one way and that’s unusual for you!” He has to raise his voice by the end, talking over Katsuki’s embarrassed attempt at protesting. “We normally switch more, Kacchan! And, I mean, if you don’t want to anymore… If – if bottoming is your preference now, then that’s fine! I just want to be able to have a conversation about it.”

“It’s not my preference,” Katsuki says, annoyed. “Maybe lately but sure as fuck not FOREVER.” He’s frowning and looks so unhappy that Izuku’s heart aches. He doesn’t say anything, though, and another moment passes before Katsuki sighs and lets the tension drain out of his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I’ve just been in some kinda mood or something.”

“That’s fine,” Izuku says quickly. “It is. This all just happened so quickly, I didn’t know if something had happened, or… I don’t know. As long as you’re okay.”

Katsuki groans a little at that. “I’m fine, Izuku. Just…” He trails off, and then snorts. “Horny. Apparently.”

“No kidding,” Izuku says, chuckling. “For what it’s worth, your stamina is amazing.” Katsuki’s blush deepens, and this time Izuku does reach out to squeeze his knee. “Just like the rest of you.”

“Ugh, you’re so goddamn corny,” Katsuki complains, groaning again, but he lurches forward and tumbles onto Izuku, toppling them both back onto the mattress. Izuku’s arms come up, wrapping around Katsuki, and Kacchan burrows into his side, his head tucked against Izuku’s shoulder. “Sorry I couldn’t get it up,” he grumbles.

“Don’t worry about it,” Izuku says. He slides one hand up, combing it through Katsuki’s hair, and lets out a low chuckle. “I could use the break.”

“I don’t know what you’re whining about.” Katsuki shifts a bit, turning his head until his chin is propped against Izuku’s collarbone. Then he grins. “It’s my ass getting plowed every day.”

Izuku splutters. “Kacchan!”

“I’m just saying!”

“That’s your fault, you’ve basically been begging for it–”

“Fuck you, I haven’t been begging!”

* * *

Things go back to normal after that – or their new version of normal, at least. Katsuki doesn’t know how or why their sex life has ended up this way, but he notices that Deku doesn’t bring it up again and is quietly grateful for it.

Not that Deku didn’t have a point… He knows there’s been this kind of nonstop urge burning through him for a while now. It’s not anything debilitating, which is maybe why he hasn’t questioned it yet. It’s just this feeling that simmers in his blood throughout the day, spiking at odd moments and leaving him wanting Deku on him, in him, all fucking over him in a very specific way.

Katsuki had figured it was just, you know, because he loves that nerd or whatever. Of course he wants to be with him all the time. But he hadn’t really noticed how abrupt the shift had been from a normal amount of sex to a literally what the fuck are you doing this is RIDICULOUS amount of sex until Deku brought it to his attention.

He's not worried about it, though. Maybe if it doesn’t die down soon… But it hasn’t been going on that long yet, and if Deku is fine with riding it out for now, then so is he.

After all, the sex is GREAT – even if they’re maybe having too much of it.

…Is that even possible?

Too much sex?

Remind him what the fucking problem is again??

He’s half considering pointing this out to Deku when he gets home one night later in the month. It couldn’t hurt to make it clear how Deku’s actually lucky as shit that he’s getting laid so much. He doesn’t have a chance to say anything, though, because the second he shuts the door behind him, Deku is all up in his business and waving his phone in Katsuki’s face.

“Did you see?!” he asks, eyes wide and eager with a smile that makes heat explode in Katsuki’s gut. “Oh my god, Kacchan, I can’t – I’m so happy for them!”

Katsuki frowns a little, pushing Deku’s phone out of the way. “The hell are you talking about?”

“Kacchan!!” Deku gives him an exasperated look. “Did you mute the class chat again?”

“I never unmuted it,” Katsuki says, rolling his eyes. He pushes past Deku, intending to grab a sports drink from the fridge.

Deku follows after him, right on his heels. He’s practically bouncing around like an excited puppy. “Well, you need to check it. Kyouka’s pregnant!”

That halts Katsuki in his tracks, and he snaps around to stare at Deku. “What?”

“Yeah!” Deku nods excitedly. “Crazy, right?? They just announced it in the chat.”

Okay.

Okay, what the fuck?

Katsuki honestly doesn’t have any fucking clue how to feel about that.

Kaminari and Jirou had surprised everyone by getting married right out of high school. They’d been together since second year, sure, but somehow Katsuki hadn’t thought Jirou – Kyouka – fuck it, he hadn’t thought Ears would be the type to get married so young.

He'd been less surprised that Kaminari had leapt at the chance to seal the deal, but still. Marriage was one thing…

A baby, on the other hand?

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Katsuki asks, digging his own phone out of his pocket. “They’re twenty-one years old, what the hell are they thinking?”

Deku smacks a hand against Katsuki’s arm. “Oh, come on. They’re in love! They’re married!! Why shouldn’t they have a baby?”

“Because they’re twenty-one years old,” Katsuki says again. “And they’ve barely established themselves as pro heroes, they can’t just– What the fuck.”

“I mean.” Deku shrugs a little. “Yeah…I guess. You can’t say that to them, though!”

“I wasn’t gonna,” Katsuki mutters. He’s got a shit-ton of notifications on his phone, he realizes. Not from the class chat, but from the smaller one his friends have always insisted he be a part of.

Tape Guy
[ Holy shit, Kaminari, is this for real???? ]

Shitty Hair
[ denki!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUDE IM SO HAPPY 4 U ]

Tape Guy
[ Not convinced this isn’t some kind of prank. ]

Shitty Hair
[ i am crying so many MANLY TEARS right now omg ]
[ mina won’t stop laughing at me ]
[ but that’s fine i love her anyway ]

Pikachu
[ IT’S REAL YOU GUYS ]

Shitty Hair
[ !!!!!! ]
[ 😭😭😭 denkiiiiii congrats bro WOW ]

Tape Guy
[ Hoooolyyyyy shiiiiit. ]

Pikachu
[ it’s real, it’s SO REAL ]
[ DRINKS PLEASE??? ]

Tape Guy
[ Sure! ]

Shitty Hair
[ yes!! ]

Tape Guy
[ And congrats, holy shit. ]

Pikachu
[ The usual place? can be there in 20 min ]
[ THANKS!!!! ]
[ where’s bakugou ]

Shitty Hair
[ idk ]

Tape Guy
[ Probably glaring at his phone because YOU’RE HAVING A BABY. ]

[ technically Ears is having the baby ]
[ which -- wtf ]

Pikachu
[ thank you in advance for your undying love and support, Kacchan ]
[ DRINKS? ]

[ whatever, congrats I guess ]

Tape Guy
[ So pissy. ]

[ fuck you, I’m not ]
[ it’s their life ]

Pikachu
[ COME OUT FOR FUCKING DRINKS BAKUGOU ]

[ FINE ]
[ be there in 30, need to shower ]

Shitty Hair
[ yay drinks ]
[ draaanks ]

Katsuki leaves it at that, scowling a little as he looks up from his phone to meet Deku’s gaze. “Well, it’s real.”

That makes Deku laugh softly. “Of course it’s real.”

“He wants to meet up. You wanna come?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Deku leans in to kiss him and smooths his hands over Katsuki’s chest. “You go. Have fun. Be nice.”

“I’m always fucking nice,” Katsuki grumbles, which is a blatant lie. He kisses Deku again and then pulls away, ignoring the needy feeling welling up inside of him that makes him want to drag Deku to bed instead of stepping foot outside their apartment ever again. “Gonna shower real fast.”

“Don’t hate me for not joining you,” Deku says teasingly, and Katsuki just snorts before trudging off down the hall.

The other three are already there by the time Katsuki gets to the bar they like to frequent. Kaminari spots him first and waves him over excitedly, and he’s barely dropped into the booth opposite him, next to Kirishima, before the questions start flying. It’s like the other two idiots were holding back until he got there, which for some reason has him hiding a glower behind his beer bottle.

“When’s she due?” Sero asks.

“End of April,” Kaminari replies. He can’t seem to stop grinning, which almost makes Katsuki feel bad for being so grumpy about the whole thing.

“Wait,” Kirishima interrupts. His brow furrows as he tries to do the math on that. “So, then…?”

Kaminari nods. “We’ve known since August,” he says. “She wanted to wait a bit, make sure everything was okay.”

Sero laughs. “Wow, look at you keeping a secret.”

“I know!” Kaminari cries, throwing his hands in the air and making his drink slosh all over the place. “It’s been so fucking hard, you have no idea. I’ve wanted to blurt it out at least ten times a day.”

“How’d your parents take it?” Kirishima asks, and then he pauses. “I mean, I assume you’ve told them.”

“A couple days ago,” Kaminari says, nodding again. “My folks are excited. I think her dad sort of wants to kill me, but he pretended he was okay.”

“Aww, don’t worry.” Sero claps him on the back. “He’ll come around!”

“Can you blame him?” Katsuki mutters, and all three of them turn to look at him. Kirishima’s got the same kind of look in his eyes that Deku had earlier, that sort of ‘don’t you dare be an asshole’ warning glare that has Katsuki grimacing.

Shit.

“I’m just saying,” he tries. “You’re–”

“I know we’re young,” Kaminari interrupts, with an unusually serious expression. “And I’m gonna assume this bitchiness is just your way of showing concern, but seriously, we’re fine.” He shrugs a little. “It happened, so. We’re having a baby.”

Ugh, fuck. He’s really not trying to be a dick about this.

Honestly, Katsuki’s not entirely sure why everything about it is rubbing him the wrong way. He’s almost fucking mad, and that just makes no damn sense.

But he knows he needs to tread carefully here. Somehow this sparky moron is one of his best friends and he doesn’t want to shit all over what’s supposed to be a momentous occasion for him.

“I’m not being bitchy,” he finally says, straightening up out of his irritated slump and attempting an open and not at all pissed off expression. “It just caught me off guard. I thought the baby crap was years away for any of you losers.” They’re all still looking at him in a guarded sort of way, and Katsuki huffs out an annoyed sigh. “Fuck – I’m sorry, okay? I’m happy for you.”

That does it. Kaminari’s entire face brightens again and he feels Kirishima relax next to him. Sero just takes another swig of his drink.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kaminari says. “I was surprised when we found out, too.” He gives Katsuki a curious look. “Haven’t you ever thought about having kids?”

Katsuki snorts. “Not really.”

It’s only halfway true. He guesses he maybe has a vague idea that he and Deku can adopt one day or something. But that’s years away, they’ve got too much to accomplish before then, and it’s not a conversation they’ve had even once yet.

“You’d be a good dad, though,” Kaminari says.

Kirishima instantly follows that up with, “Oh my god, you’re going to be a dad.” Like he’s only just made the connection.

Kaminari laughs. “I know! Fucking crazy, right?”

“Prayers up for your kid,” Sero jokes, digging an elbow into his side.

“Babies are so tiny,” Kirishima murmurs. His eyes are starting to tear up and Katsuki makes a face at him.

“Oi, for fuck’s sake.”

“A baby, Bakugou!!” Kirishima exclaims, lurching sideways into Katsuki and jostling him a bit.

“Would you get the fuck off me?!”

It’s almost like any other night they’ve hung out together, except that Ears is pregnant and Kaminari is going to be a DAD and suddenly Katsuki can’t help wondering if they’re going to be able to do this for much longer.

Kaminari will have other priorities soon.

He can barely wrap his head around it.

Deku’s already in bed by the time Katsuki gets home later, but he’s not sleeping yet so Katsuki unceremoniously flops down on top of him without even changing out of his clothes. That results in a small tussle as Deku oofs and tries to throw him off because he was READING, Kacchan, geez, while Katsuki ignores all that and tumbles around until he’s on his back and able to pull Deku on top of him.

“How’s Kaminari?” Deku asks, hands going for the button on Katsuki’s pants and working it open. He’s a smart one, at least. Not that Katsuki’s exactly being subtle here, but Deku obviously knows what he wants and didn’t even protest much before tossing his book away.

Katsuki grunts, lifting his hips so Deku can tug his jeans off. “He’s fine. Excited, I guess.”

“You guess?” Deku repeats, laughing a little, and Katsuki rolls his eyes.

“Fine, he’s very excited. It’s weird.”

“You’re having a hard time with this, huh?”

“I’m not,” Katsuki insists. “It’s not my kid so what do I care? Fuckin’ hell.”

“It’s a big change,” Deku says softly. “You’re allowed to have feelings about it.”

“Oh my god, shut up and fuck me already.”

It’s different that night for some reason. Katsuki can’t possibly say what it is, but he feels on the brink of something as Deku’s hips roll into him, as he stretches him wide and fills him up. There’s an intensity between them, something thick and hot and heady that consumes Katsuki entirely. He locks his legs around Deku, squeezes his thighs tight and clutches at Deku’s back as Deku pushes him higher and higher. Katsuki’s blood is boiling in his veins, there’s a stark want inside of him and a craving in his belly.

He wants Deku inside of him forever, wants to milk every last drop out of him when he tips over the edge, and the release that hits Katsuki right after is unlike anything he’s ever felt before in his life.

Something uncoils in his chest as they collapse back against the mattress, each of them breathing heavily. There’s a weird sort of peace settling over him that’s different from his usual post-orgasmic haze. It’s nice, though. Almost calming, in a way. He finds Deku’s hand and threads their fingers together, barely noticing how the remaining dregs of that simmering heat within him seem to suddenly bleed away.

For the first time in over a month, he feels like he can finally relax.

Chapter Text

“Do we really have to go to this fucking thing?”

“Do we have to go?” Izuku steps out of the bathroom, pulling a black mask down over his eyes. “No. Did we already tell them we’d be there, so we’re going whether you want to or not? Yep! I need your explosion things.”

Katsuki just stares at him for a long moment. He’s wearing Izuku’s hero costume, though it looks suspiciously tight across his chest. Izuku squints at him.

“Are you wearing an old one?”

That breaks Katsuki out of his stupor and he glances down at himself before smirking. “Heh. No.” He puffs his chest out a bit. “Just more stacked than you.”

Izuku huffs. “Barely.” Kacchan’s winter costume, on the other hand, seems to fit him just fine – it’s maybe not painted over his own pecs like a second layer of skin the way it looks when Katsuki wears it, but the material clings almost too tightly to his arms. “You’d better not stretch that out.”

“Sure,” Katsuki says, rolling his eyes. “I’ll just shrink my tits for the night.” He turns away at Izuku’s snorting laugh, rifling through his closet and then holding out a pair of explosion headgear clip-on things for him to take (Izuku has never known what to call them, honestly).

“Nooo, not those!” He spreads his hands wide on either side of his head. “The ones you used to wear in high school! I know you’ve still got some of the early ones – I want the biggest you’ve got. Out to here.” He moves his hands even farther apart and Katsuki scoffs.

“When were they ever that big?!”

“Definitely first year. When you thought you were so cool.”

“Tch…” Katsuki grumbles a bit, but he starts digging around through the closet some more. “I was cool. I still think you should wear the gauntlets, too.”

“They’re too bulky for an indoor party,” Izuku says. He accepts the headgear Kacchan offers him this time, moving back into the bathroom so he can clip them onto his mask. “I’d probably end up knocking everything over at Kaminari’s.”

“If we’re going high school, then I’m not wearing your iron soles!” Katsuki calls from the bedroom. “Just gonna steal your shitty red shoes.”

“That works! You’re just going to take them off anyway.”

“This is so dumb,” Katsuki mutters, appearing in the mirror over Izuku’s shoulder. “It ain’t even Halloween yet.”

“We all have to work or be on emergency standby on Halloween,” Izuku reminds him for at least the fifth time. It’s the same every year for heroes across the board – this holiday more than most others seems to draw out the troublemakers. “It’s only two days early, no big deal.”

Katsuki just grunts at him. “Whatever. Freckles or no?” He pokes at his cheeks and Izuku shakes his head.

“Nah. Unless you think I should cover mine?”

“Don’t you dare,” Katsuki says immediately, dropping his hands so he can wind his arms around Izuku’s waist. He has to dodge around the headgear explosions to avoid getting stabbed in the face. “Fuck, were these things always this annoying?”

“Couldn’t say,” Izuku replies with a grin. “There was an unfortunate lack of me trying to hug you in first year.”

“Why does my costume look so fucking good on you?”

Izuku arches his eyebrows. “Trust me, it looks better on you.”

“Debatable.” Katsuki leans into him, his hips pointedly flush against Izuku’s ass. “Are you sure we have to go?”

“Yes,” Izuku says, but he can’t ignore the way his breath catches when Katsuki presses forward. And it’s impossible to miss the part of the blonde that’s clearly interested in having its own kind of party.

It’s been about a week since the last time they did anything. Izuku has carefully been keeping quiet, wondering if maybe whatever came over Kacchan for the last month and a half has finally faded away.

He hasn’t brought it up and he definitely hasn’t mentioned their failed attempt at doing things differently a couple weeks ago. The last thing he wants is to make Katsuki feel bad about it, so he’s more or less been hoping everything will just magically resolve itself.

That’s probably exactly the wrong approach, but he figured he could give it a few more days, at least, before he stirred that pot again.

If this is a sign that Kacchan’s good to go, though…

Izuku’s hands curl around the edges of the sink. He looks up, meeting the reflection of Katsuki’s intense gaze in the mirror. “Kacchan… You want to–?”

“I really fucking want to.” Katsuki’s voice is a low rumble that quickly has tendrils of heat starting to spread through Izuku’s limbs. He draws his bottom lip between his teeth, trying to think, and ends up having to bite back a moan when Katsuki’s hand dips into the front of his pants to stroke idly over his belly.

“…I guess we don’t necessarily have to be on time.” A wide smirk instantly splits Katsuki’s face, and the sight of it sends a thrill shooting up Izuku’s spine. “You have to be quick, though.”

“Fuck that,” Katsuki says. He ducks down, nuzzling at the small area of Izuku’s jaw that’s visible above the collar of the borrowed uniform he’s wearing. “S’been too long, I’m gonna give you the attention you deserve.”

“Mm, Kacchan…” Izuku’s head tips to the side to give him as much room to work as he can. He finds himself resting back against the broad chest behind him, anticipation already spiking in his gut. “I don’t want to shower again, though.”

“Tough shit, I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You wouldn’t.” He twists to look at Katsuki over his shoulder. “Hasn’t been that long.”

“I’m gonna take care of you, Izuku,” Katsuki says, and there’s a finality to it that has Izuku letting go of whatever remnants of worry had still been lingering around. A giddy feeling explodes through him instead, something that’s purely fond and maybe tinted with a dash of relief because hell yes this is actually happening this time.

Katsuki answers Izuku’s sudden smile with his own sharp grin, and then he bodily hauls him out of the bathroom and pushes him down onto their bed, quickly shoving various articles of clothing out of the way. After that, there’s just the sound of the lube cap popping open and the familiarity of Kacchan’s fingers working into him, his mouth hot against Izuku’s bare skin. Izuku is practically sobbing by the time Katsuki sinks inside, overwhelmed by how much he’s missed this.

It doesn’t take them long to find their rhythm again. They fall right back into it like they never stopped doing it this way, and in no time at all Izuku is gasping into the bedspread and writhing beneath Katsuki as his hips snap into him over and over again. There’s nothing rushed about it, but they don’t exactly take their time either.

They’re both too eager.

It’s easy to forget there was ever anything off between them at all. In the end, the whole thing ends up being little more than a blip on the radar.

* * *

They’re somehow only an hour late getting to Kaminari’s, which isn’t too bad – even if their damp hair and rosy skin is a dead fucking giveaway for what caused their delay.

Katsuki’s not really concerned about anyone noticing. He feels way too damn good to care about that. It’s like some missing piece within him has clicked back into place, and he’s riding such a high that he doesn’t even mind that Deku made them clean up basically immediately after they’d finished so they could still show their faces at this stupid fucking party.

As is the usual for Katsuki whenever they have some sort of social gathering to attend, however, he’s not mad that he’s there once he steps through the door. He does actually like their friends, something he’ll freely admit these days, and there are even a few faces here from their class that he doesn’t get to see very often, so that’s an added bonus.

Everyone has already split off into smaller groups to converse amongst themselves by the time they get there, so they manage to avoid being dogpiled at the door. Except, evidently, for Sero, who materializes in front of them as soon as they’ve stepped out of their shoes and boots as though he was specifically waiting for them to arrive.

“Finally,” he says, shimmying his way in between them and throwing an arm over each of their shoulders. “It’s about time! Nice costumes, by the way. They’re either really great or super lazy. I’m undecided.”

“Lazy,” Deku admits, laughing. “It was the only way I could get Kacchan to agree to dress up.”

Sero pokes at one of the pointy ends of the headgear explosions. “Were these always so big?”

Deku snorts at that, while Katsuki scowls. “They’re not that big, asshole!”

“They’re from the Great Explosion Murder God era,” Deku says, as though that explains everything. As though that name wasn’t then and still isn’t now completely awesome.

“Ahh.” Sero nods, overly serious. “I see, I see. From the time of Yell First, Ask Questions Later.”

Deku grins. “That one’s still going.”

Katsuki shrugs Sero’s arm off him and twists away, glowering at the other two. “Yeah, okay, keep it up, Mr. Bunny Ears.” Deku gives him a mock-offended gasp, splaying a hand across his chest, but Sero just snickers. Katsuki lifts the metal mouth piece from where it’s situated around his neck and locks it into place on his face. “You wanna talk about this thing?”

“Dude, you look like a feral animal,” Sero says, eyebrows arched in amusement. “If Midoriya actually wore that, all the villains would piss their pants after a single glare.”

“If he could glare effectively,” Katsuki shoots back, which is not one of the brightest things that’s ever left his mouth because he knows full well just how terrifying Deku can be in the midst of a fight. The twin dubious stares that both Sero and Deku immediately pin him with just kick his glower up another notch or two. “Did you fucking want something?”

Sero perks up at that. “Oh yeah! So. Do you guys think…that…” He leans in toward Katsuki and drags Deku along with him. “I should ask Todoroki out?”

Deku’s eyes go wide.

Katsuki promptly scrunches his expression up into the most vicious display of exasperated disgust that he can manage. “The hell are you asking me for?”

“You two are, like, his best friends basically,” Sero says, as though it’s an obvious statement of fact, and Katsuki is momentarily so offended that he’s actually at a loss for words. Sero continues, almost as an afterthought, “And maybe Iida.”

“Kacchan,” Deku scolds, stretching a hand out to poke him in the forehead. “Stop looking like that.” He turns to Sero with an excited gleam in his eyes. “You like Todoroki??”

“That man has had a stranglehold on me since at least second year, but I can’t read him.” Sero frowns a bit. “Does he like guys? Girls? Unicorns?? Who fucking knows.”

“Oh. Hmm.” Deku makes a considering sound. “Yeah, I – I don’t actually know. I thought he might’ve had a crush on Yaoyorozu back in school, but I guess that hasn’t gone anywhere. So maybe not?”

“He’s awkward as fuck,” Katsuki intones, but that just draws Deku’s attention back to him.

“Do you know?”

“Why would I–?! Ugh, goddammit.” Katsuki just barely refrains from throwing his arms up and instead casts a look around the room until he spots Icy Hot talking to a non-costumed Tokoyami over by the couch. “OI, HALF-AND-HALF.”

Todoroki glances over before bidding his goodbyes to Tokoyami and wandering over to their group. He’s dressed as a vampire, which Katsuki is pretty sure is the same costume he’s worn every single year for as long as he’s known him.

Sero is trying to throw some sort of panicked warning look Katsuki’s way, but he easily ignores it.

“Hello,” Todoroki says blandly. “I like your outfits. Appropriately lazy.” He nods toward Sero. “Are you going for a color variation of your usual?”

“Wha– Oh. No.” Sero gestures broadly at the red and blue spandex that’s covering his entire body. “I’m Spider-Man!”

Todoroki’s brow furrows. “Is that a hero I’m unfamiliar with?”

“Oh, oh!” Deku lights up, practically bouncing on his heels beneath Sero’s arm. “He’s an old era comic book hero! Like, before Quirks! Before anyone had any kind of powers at all, he was created by–”

“Are you interested in men?” Katsuki quickly interrupts, before his nerd can regale them with a thirty-minute tale about the origins of fucking Spider-Man (Katsuki already knows all that shit anyway).

Sero makes a sort of wheezing sound.

Todoroki just blinks. “Ah.” A moment passes, and then he steeples his hands together in front of his mouth. “I had a feeling this day might come.”

“What day?” Deku asks guilelessly, eyes owl-wide.

“Bakugou. Midoriya.” Half-and-Half draws in a breath. “As honored as I am that you would come to me, I care too deeply about both of you to risk ruining our friendship just to join you as a third participant in your–”

“Oh, fuck off!” Katsuki explodes, lunging forward to grab Todoroki’s stupid black cape while Sero bursts out laughing and Deku splutters and frantically flails his hands in some nerd-version of denial.

“–nightly sexual escapades,” Todoroki continues, not flinching in the slightest at the sparking palm that’s inches from his nose. There’s a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, but otherwise he’s entirely deadpan. “So as intrigued as I might be by the idea, I think that politely turning you down is the only appropriate response I can provide.”

“Todoroki,” Deku moans, bright red now as he folds his arms on top of his head.

“Intrigued, my ass,” Katsuki growls. His hand clenches in the material of Todoroki’s cape, but he’s unfortunately learned to read between the lines with this bastard over the years and after a few seconds, he backs off. “So that’s a yes, then.”

Todoroki shrugs. “Sure.” He eyes Sero up and down, so briefly that Katsuki almost misses it and Sero definitely does. “Spider-Man looks good on you, Sero.”

Of course it does. It’s fucking spandex. It’s not that different from his actual hero gear, and there’s a damn near unanimous vote in their class that Sero looks the best of any of them in his pro uniform.

“Oh – hah. Thanks,” Sero says, pink in the face suddenly and more awkward than Katsuki has ever fucking seen him. “There’s – it comes with a mask…thing. But I was hot wearing it.”

Deku’s gaze flits back and forth between Todoroki and Sero. He grins. “You’re still hot not wearing it.”

“I won’t hesitate to disown you,” Katsuki says, voice flat. He gives Sero a sidelong glare while he’s at it. “You, too.”

Todoroki takes the opening and runs with it. “He’s not wrong, though,” he says, and the way he drags his eyes over the length of Sero’s body this time is so obvious that their classmates standing on the opposite side of the room have probably noticed. “Can you show me the mask?”

Sero’s reply is an unnaturally loud: “YEP.” He stumbles away from Deku and clamps a hand around Todoroki’s wrist to drag him off to god knows where. “It’s – somewhere. I don’t know, we’ll find it.”

“I can help you look,” Icy Hot murmurs. “Kaminari’s apartment doesn’t have that many rooms but I’m sure we can find one to thoroughly search.”

They disappear into the crowd and Katsuki makes a face at their backs. “Gross.”

Deku looks almost dazed, still watching after them. “I honestly don’t know if Todoroki has dated anyone before and that was still somehow the quickest pre-hook-up exchange I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, let’s never talk about it again,” Katsuki says, and then it’s like the floodgates have officially opened or some shit because suddenly they’re surrounded by about five more of their friends, all clamoring for attention like the noisy assholes they are.

“Deku!” Uraraka cries, throwing herself at him and instantly inspecting every inch of the outfit he’s got on. “You look good, I told you the winter version was the better option!”

“I think you need a tighter uniform, bro,” Kirishima says, clasping one of Deku’s biceps and giving it a squeeze. “Yours does not do your arms justice, what the hell.”

Kaminari snickers as he falls in at Katsuki’s side and hooks an elbow around his neck. “I love this, whose idea was it? Maybe next year Kyouka and I can swap.”

Katsuki shoves him right back off again. “Nobody wants to see that,” he says, before turning to shoulder his way through the crowd of extras. “I need a drink, be right back.”

“Kitchen!” Kaminari calls, just as he’s bulldozed by Deku wrapping him up in a hug and screaming, “KAMINARI~! Congratulations!!” in his face.

“Yo, bring me one!” Kirishima yells after him.

“Kacchan!” Deku yells next, because being unnecessarily LOUD is contagious, apparently. “Don’t forget, you’re on shift at ten tomorrow! Don’t have too much!”

…Ah. Shit.

Well, at least it’s blessedly quieter when he finally makes it to the kitchen.

It’s also where Ears is currently hanging around.

“What’s up, babymaker?” Katsuki greets, as he beelines toward the counter where the alcohol is. There’s also a cooler on the floor in front of it, full to the brim with various types of beer and soda. “Why’re you hiding in here?”

Kyouka is leaning against the opposite counter, nursing a solo cup of something or other. She shrugs. “Came for a refill, stayed to catch a breather. It’s about time you guys showed up.”

“We were busy.”

“Uh-huh.” There’s a dry sort of disbelief to her tone, but she looks amused. She gestures at Katsuki with her cup. “What, do you have rabies or something? Midoriya hardly ever wears that mask thing.”

Oh, right. Katsuki snorts, reaching up to unlatch it and letting it fall to hang around his neck.

“Better,” Kyouka says. “Black is really more your color, though.”

“Listen, it was this or I was just gonna throw on a pair of cat ears and be done with it.” Katsuki swipes a can of soda from the cooler and cracks it open. “Be glad I dressed up at all.”

Kyouka grins. “I don’t know, now I kind of want to see the cat ears.”

“Tough shit,” Katsuki drawls. “Like you’re one to talk. Isn’t that Uraraka’s witch costume from last year?”

“Listen,” Kyouka says with a mocking lilt. “In between the bouts of projectile vomiting, I didn’t exactly have time to put an outfit together. Ochako helped me out.”

Katsuki’s nose wrinkles. “Ew,” he says, and Ears barks out a laugh.

“Thanks.”

“If you’re sick, why’d you still have this dumb party?”

“I’m not sick, asshole, I’m pregnant.”

…Right, duh, fucking of course. Katsuki is an idiot.

Kyouka doesn’t look offended, though. If anything, she’s got a glowing sort of pride to her. As though being able to say the words at all is enough to make her happy. “Denki wanted to host. Really, I think he just wanted a chance to brag about the baby to anyone who’ll listen.” Something in her expression softens as she mentions it, and Katsuki does his best to keep any wayward flashes of grumpiness off his face this time. Although, truthfully, he doesn’t feel like that’s even an issue anymore – but just in case. “It’s fine, he pretty much set everything up himself. Yaomomo helped him decorate.”

“So, guessing that’s not a lemon sour, then,” Katsuki says, nodding toward her cup.

She lifts it in a small, sarcastic little cheer, the corner of her mouth tugging up into a smirk. “Water.”

“Sucks to be you. Sucks to be us, I’ve gotta patrol in the morning.” Katsuki returns the gesture with his own coke can. “Guess I’m your sober buddy.”

“Hurray, lucky me,” she says, about as flatly as she can possibly manage and accompanied by a slow twirl of her finger. Katsuki flicks her off and she snickers at him, but then they fall quiet for a moment. It’s one of the things about their friendship that Katsuki likes best – they’ve always been able to exist comfortably in the same space without feeling the need to fill the silence between them with unnecessary noise. He does notice after a bit that Ears is sort of eyeing him over the top of her cup, but she speaks again before he can ask what the hell she wants. “I heard you freaked out when you got the news.”

“The fuck?” Katsuki scoffs. “I didn’t freak out.”

“But you were a jerk about it.”

“I wasn’t–” He scowls, setting his coke on the counter behind him, eyes dropping away from Kyouka’s face. “I was just in some kinda mood or something, for fuck’s sake. I got over it.”

Honestly, it’s true. He hasn’t been nearly as irritated by the whole thing since the night they announced it to everyone, and he’s still not entirely sure why it even ruffled him so much to begin with. He’s got some lingering concerns, maybe, but they’re on Kyouka’s behalf. And even then, it’s none of his damn business.

“Did you?” Kyouka asks. “Because I sure noticed you never bothered to say anything to me.”

Katsuki winces. “Shit, sorry. Congrats?” She just rolls her eyes at his feeble offering, but Katsuki pushes off the counter and crosses the kitchen to lean next to her instead. “I mean it, Ears.”

“Well…” Kyouka gives him a sidelong glance. “Thank you, then.”

“Kaminari said your dad wasn’t too happy.”

Kyouka groans a little. “He’s exaggerating. My dad’s just worried.” She gives Katsuki another knowing sort of look. “Kind of like you.” Katsuki makes a face at her and Kyouka snorts out a soft laugh. “It’s not exactly career-ending, you know.”

“I know that,” Katsuki mutters.

“But I get it,” Kyouka continues with a sigh. “There’s a reason most female pro heroes wait until later in life to have kids. I’m sure my agency isn’t thrilled, but fuck ‘em. Legally, they can’t get rid of me just because I’m having a baby.”

Katsuki’s brow furrows as he looks over at her. “You’re not still working, are you?”

“I’m allowed on low-risk reconnaissance missions, but that’s about it. And I don’t think that’ll last much longer.” She tips her head back, grinning up at him. “I’m a liability, didn’t you know?” Katsuki doesn’t comment, because he does know. He knows exactly how patriarchal the whole hero scene can be sometimes. Kyouka’s eyes lower again as she lets out an annoyed exhale. “Probably will be for years. I don’t have the experience to back myself up and I’ll have a bigger priority at home.”

“S’all bullshit,” Katsuki says. He crosses his arms over his chest. “Frankly, I think our first year at school has all of us covered in terms of experience for the rest of our lives.”

That draws another laugh out of Ears, and something inside Katsuki eases a bit when she grins at him again. “Shit, right?”

He nods, somewhat absently, and then abruptly says in a rush, “I wasn’t trying to judge you guys. The other night.”

“It’s fine,” Kyouka murmurs. “Denki was scared as hell when we first found out.”

Katsuki snorts. “Fuckin’ Pikachu. Seriously, though, I don’t – I’m not sure what the fuck my brain was doing.”

“Maybe you were just jealous,” Kyouka says, with a teasing, singsong sort of voice, and Katsuki promptly sways sideways, knocking gently into her side.

“Yeah fucking right, Ears.”

Kaminari pokes his head into the kitchen just then, almost like he’s somehow been summoned. “Hey, Kacchan, did you die or something? Kiri wants to know where his drink is.” He pauses when he spots the two of them, his face going carefully blank aside from a wary, defensive kind of look that simmers in his eyes. “Oh. You good, babe?” he asks Kyouka, and it’s not that Katsuki has ever doubted Kaminari’s abilities when he really puts his mind to something, but right then, at that moment, he actually finds himself thinking, holy shit, this is not a man he ever wants to piss off. He looks so fiercely protective of Ears that it’s mildly terrifying.

Like he wouldn’t hesitate to electrocute any fucker who dared to upset her – Katsuki included.

“We’re okay,” Kyouka assures him, and Kaminari slides right back into his usual cheerfulness so quickly that Katsuki almost gets whiplash.

Fucking hell, this guy.

“I cannot believe you’re going to be a fuckin’ dad,” he says. It comes out softer than intended and he huffs out a quiet laugh to match his tone. “Lucky kid.”

Kaminari straight up beams. He’s across the kitchen in the next second and flinging his arms around Katsuki, who indulges him for the length of exactly one inhale before he pushes him off by shoving a hand onto his head and ruffling his hair. Kaminari just chuckles and curls around Kyouka instead, drawing her into his side.

“I knew you’d come around,” he says, still grinning.

“I refuse to babysit,” Katsuki throws back at him. “Call Izuku for that shit. I’ll supervise.”

“Dude, we will absolutely take you up on that.”

All in all, it’s not a bad night. Katsuki has to call it somewhat early, but their apartment is within walking distance so he and Deku don’t worry about leaving together. He’s about halfway home, meandering past the darkened windows of their favorite Thai restaurant, when Kyouka’s words suddenly zip through his brain again.

“Jealous,” he mutters to himself. “Tch. Fuckin’ stupid idea.”

Halloween ends up passing mostly uneventfully – which is a good thing, obviously, but it also makes for a few boring days of patrol. It’s not that Katsuki wants a bunch of villains to go on a rampage or anything, but he can only rescue cats from trees and shit a handful of times before he starts to lose his mind.

Things heat up a little a few weeks into November, though. The reveal of the new Hero Billboard Chart rankings is just around the corner, so Katsuki’s really on his game. Hell, he’s always on his game, but it can’t hurt to put a little extra oomph into his performance right now.

Of course, that kind of thinking is part of the reason the rankings are a little bullshit these days. Katsuki knows that, he had his eyes opened and then some years ago when Deku turned everything he thought he knew on its head. He’s not out here risking his ass every day for the fame and fortune of it, but it is still his job.

There have been a lot of strides made in recent years to reform Japan’s hero society and recalibrate the whole mindset behind being a pro hero versus being a true hero. It’s definitely improved since All For One was tearing shit up, but they’ve admittedly still got a ways to go.

If he views the rankings as something akin to a score he’s getting on a final exam, then at least the whole thing feels less like an insufferable popularity contest. And Katsuki was always an excellent student.

No reason to let that change now.

His target right now is a gang of young, annoying, wannabe big times who have been hitting a bunch of banks in the city over the last several days. The fact that they’ve gotten away with it even once is stupid as fuck – how the hell are there still shitheads out here robbing banks under the noses of the approximately eight gazillion heroes clogging up the streets?! But one of them has some sort of phasing Quirk, apparently, that’s been able to help the group evade any and all security measures that have been thrown at them so far.

Lemillion had responded by sending half the agency out to provide back-up at the banks in their sector in preparation for another attack, and it pays off when there’s a sudden commotion over Katsuki’s earpiece calling for assistance a couple blocks over.

Katsuki’s off in an instant, out the door and blasting down the street to help kick some ass. They know there are at least four jerks in the gang to deal with, so he figures he can claim one at minimum, easy.

He hasn’t made it far before a green blur pulls up next to him.

“Afternoon, Kacchan!” Deku greets, way too cheerfully. “Come here often?”

“It’s a real good thing we never had to rely on your pick-up lines to get us anywhere, Deku,” Katsuki says pointedly, and the other man just laughs.

“Ah, sorry. Dynamight.”

“Weren’t you stationed west of here?”

“Yeah, but when I heard the bank address, I knew you were pretty close.” Deku’s smile turns a bit dangerous and a competitiveness that he reserves just for Katsuki sparks in his eyes. “Bet I can arrest one of them before you.”

Katsuki makes a sharp turn at the next street corner, propelling himself over the heads of a few onlookers who have started to gather. They can’t see any of the action from here, but they’re getting close enough that they can start to hear the sound of Quirks clashing above the late afternoon traffic.

Deku’s still right beside him, hurtling through the air. Katsuki shoots him an appraising look, his teeth bared in his own shark-like grin. “You treating this like a game, nerd?”

“They’re bank robbers, Ka– Dynamight.” His tone shifts, sounding almost disappointed and far more edged in cynicism than he usually allows. “Who robs banks anymore??”

Katsuki barks out a laugh, but it’s short-lived as something inside him abruptly lurches in a very fucking unpleasant way.

He drops out of the sky without warning, alarmed without really meaning to be, and finds a spare bit of empty sidewalk where he can just – fucking – stand still for a moment. Cold sweat pricks at the back of his neck and he shivers a little, though he somehow feels too warm at the same time. There’s a wave rising within him that makes his stomach churn, and he realizes with a flash of dread that the steadily building feeling is actually nausea.

It takes Deku a few seconds to register Katsuki’s disappearing act, but he’s backtracked and found him again by the time Katsuki is staggering unsteadily to a nearby alleyway.

“Dynamight?” he asks, clearly confused. “Are you–”

Katsuki lifts a hand quickly, a silent plea for him to shut up. He’s trying to keep his breathing as even as can, but his stomach keeps flip-flopping and he’s fighting not to gag. “I’m fine,” he rasps, and then immediately regrets it because opening his mouth was a huge fucking mistake.

Shit, he can’t stop it. He lurches forward, the same lifted hand smacking into the brick side of a building to steady himself as his body decides to just go ahead and upchuck his entire lunch onto the cracked concrete at his feet.

“Kacchan!” Deku cries, rushing over. He reaches for him, resting one palm against his back and clutching at his arm with his other hand. “Oh my god, what – are you okay?? What happened?”

“Don’t–” Katsuki starts, tries to warn him, but he’s heaving again before he can get all the words out. Deku’s mostly out of the way, at least. His grip on Katsuki’s arm tightens as he continues emptying his stomach until there can’t possibly be anything left to puke. Katsuki’s gasping by the end of it, barely notices how Deku’s attempting a calming rub along his spine. “Fuck.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he soothes. “Um – if you’re sick, you should–”

“I’m not,” Katsuki protests immediately. “I felt fucking fine ten minutes ago, this is just – urgh–” He gags again. Deku’s wince this time doesn’t go unseen, and Katsuki hits him with a baleful glare as he drags the back of his hand over his mouth.

Deku ignores it. “What’d you have for lunch?” he asks.

“I don’t fucking know,” Katsuki says, agitated and trembling a little. He actually doesn’t, just then. He can’t fucking remember. He feels exhausted suddenly, like he barfed up all his energy right along with his food. It takes him a moment, but it was only, like, a goddamn hour ago or some shit, so it does eventually come back to him. “Sushi.”

“Maybe it was bad,” Deku says. He’s still running his hand up and down Katsuki’s back. It feels weirdly good, but they don’t exactly have time to keep lingering here.

Katsuki lets out an annoyed sound. “Maybe.” He’s pretty sure it wasn’t, though. It came from the same place he always gets his fucking sushi, and it had tasted perfectly fine. “We gotta go, come on.”

A beat passes.

“You’re still hunched over,” Deku points out. Gently.

Katsuki scowls.

A few more seconds trickle by. Every time Katsuki fools himself into thinking the nausea has ebbed, it comes rushing back in and has him gritting his teeth against it.

Deku’s voice is soft when he speaks again. “I think you should probably go home.”

“I’m not going home,” Katsuki snaps. “There’s fucking…” He waves his hand around. “Bank robbers. And shit.” Not that he’s being in any goddamn way useful right now.

“Cellophane and Bubble Girl got there in time. They’re taking care of it.” FUCK. What the hell, is Katsuki so fucking out of it that he missed that entire exchange over their comms? “Kacchan…” Deku tries to ease him into straightening up again. “If you’re not sick, you might have food poisoning. Or you just think you’re not sick but you’re actually coming down with something.”

“I’m telling you, I’m fine,” Katsuki insists, but he has to lean back against the wall once he’s upright. Still queasy.

“Do you think you can get there by yourself?” Deku eyes him up and down, worry shining in his gaze. “I can call off, too.”

Katsuki glares at him. “Do not do that.” He huffs out a grumbling kind of sigh. “I can – I’ll manage.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Izuku.”

Deku pauses. “…I feel like I should–”

“IZUKU.” Katsuki levels him with another look. “Priorities, remember?”

“You are a priority,” Deku says obstinately, because he’s a stubborn fucking nerd.

“I got sick off some shitty sushi.” Maybe. Probably not. Whatever. “I ain’t about to keel over, for fuck’s sake.”

Deku finally agrees, but he doesn’t look happy about it. “Okay… Text me when you get there. And, uh, I’d kiss you goodbye, but.” He gestures vaguely in the direction of his own mouth. “You know.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Just go before people start noticing Dynamight and Deku are creeping around a damn alleyway in the middle of the day when there’s a fight happening half a fuckin’ block over. Tabloids don’t need that kinda freebie.”

“Alright. Okay. Text me!”

“You said that already!”

Deku gives him a final onceover, squeezes his arm again, and then he’s bounding off in a rush of green lightning.

Katsuki frowns, rubbing idly at his stomach. Whatever the hell that was, he thinks it might’ve finally faded away.

He gives it another few minutes just to be safe and then slowly makes his way home.

Chapter Text

Okay, so he was half right.

His sudden freak nausea attack had faded long enough for him to get home and collapse into bed for a much-needed nap, but it came back again that night.

And then the following morning.

He’s currently on day two of Deku-imposed house arrest because he’s got the flu or some shit, and he’s pretty pissed off about it.

Katsuki does NOT have the FUCKING FLU.

The thing is, he feels totally fine when he’s not hurling his guts up. Mostly. But Deku insisted and it was hard to argue when Katsuki was curled in a ball on the floor in front of the toilet.

He’s managed to move his betraying bitch of a body to the couch and is trying to keep his inner whining about how lame this whole thing is to a minimum when someone knocks on the door to the apartment. It’s around lunchtime and he’s definitely not expecting anyone, so he ignores it and hopes whoever is trying to bother him just fucks off – most of the people he knows should probably be working right now anyway.

…Unless it’s their day off.

“I know you’re in there, dude!” Kirishima’s voice calls suddenly, and Katsuki groans into one of the couch cushions. “Come on, I brought you stuff!”

Stuff? The fuck does that mean.

“I don’t want it!” he yells back at the door, but apparently all that does is confirm he’s here, which Kirishima seems to take as permission to let himself in.

Never should’ve given that asshole a key.

“Damn,” Kirishima says, once he’s made his way over to the couch and is peering down at the pitiful lump that Katsuki’s turned into. “Midoriya said you were sick but I thought he was exaggerating.”

Katsuki growls and shifts until he’s got one eye uncovered enough to glare up at the other man. “Did he put you up to this?”

“Uh…” Kirishima scratches at his cheek, looking a little sheepish. “Nah. Mina’s working, so… Our schedules didn’t line up this week.”

He’s holding a carryout container with his other hand, Katsuki notices, along with some kind of plastic grocery bag. To be honest, Katsuki’s really not sure he trusts his body to actually keep anything down right now.

But he’s also absolutely fucking starving. So.

Dilemma.

“Can’t even manage one day by yourself, huh?” he says, heaving himself up into a sitting position with a grunt.

“Dude, the apartment is so quiet when she’s not there, it’s super weird.” Kirishima lifts the food container and gives Katsuki a hopeful grin. “I brought you ramen from the good place?”

Katsuki perks up at that.

Fuck it.

“What kind?”

“Ah, well. Not spicy.” At the immediate glower that gets him, Kirishima quickly adds, “I didn’t think that’d be a great idea, not if your stomach’s all upset and stuff. It’s still good, though! Promise.”

“Better be,” Katsuki grumbles. He carefully pushes himself the rest of the way up, trying not to make any abrupt movements that might set him off again. “Come on, dumbass.”

It’s not like Kirishima doesn’t know where the kitchen is, but Katsuki leads him there anyway so he can unpack the food while Katsuki pulls himself together enough to get them something to drink. Kirishima tries to make him sit back down but he stubbornly refuses.

“I can stand for five minutes,” he insists, as Kirishima’s popping the lids off the styrofoam carryout bowls. “I’m not fucking dying.”

Kirishima slides him a dubious look out of the corner of his eye. “Is it just a bug or something? …Shit, are you contagious?”

“Probably should’ve considered that before you decided to just show up,” Katsuki drawls. Then he shrugs. “I don’t know what it fucking is, but it needs to stop.”

“Well, hopefully it clears up soon.” Kirishima peers at the steaming bowls with a scrutinizing eye. “The noodles look alright.”

“They always hold up,” Katsuki says. “Izuku loves that place.” It’s close enough that they can pick up dinner and make it back home before anything gets too soggy, which is a definite win if they’re not in the mood to risk eating out in public where their quickly growing fanbase can spot them. He leans in to see what kind of broth Kirishima went with, and nearly gags when he gets hit in the face with a warm cloud of something foul.

Shit, shit, fuck.

Katsuki stumbles back as his gut churns, his arm flying up to block his mouth and nose. “What the hell did they give you??”

Kirishima just blinks at him, his eyes slightly wide as he looks from Katsuki to the bowls and back again. “Um. They’re both pork? Got one shoyu and one tonkotsu.”

“There’s something wrong with ‘em.” Katsuki lowers his arm again, just a bit, to take an experimental sniff, but the smell just makes his mouth start to fill with saliva in a way that he’s unfortunately grown familiar with over the past couple days. He inches backwards toward the sink and tries taking shallow breaths, willing his goddamn stomach to just fucking knock it off already.

“They…smell fine to me?” Kirishima darts another confused look at the bowls, but then quickly scrambles for the lids when Katsuki grunts some kind of displeased noise at him. “Okay, okay, shit. Sorry. But it’s fine! I brought back-up options in case the ramen wasn’t doing it for you. Midoriya was worried you wouldn’t eat at all.”

Katsuki narrows his eyes. “So, he did send you.”

“He didn’t!” Kirishima says, laughing as he pulls the grocery bag over and starts rummaging through it. “I volunteered.”

“Dammit, I told him I was fine!”

“Bro, you nearly just hurled because you thought some perfectly decent ramen had a funky smell.”

It did have a funky smell, Katsuki sullenly thinks. Kirishima’s nose is just broken.

His stomach is still doing queasy flip-flops, but he thinks he’s managed to cram down the worst of it. Maybe he can bullheadedly force this whole nausea thing into submission through sheer willpower alone.

“Here we go.” Kirishima pulls out a six-pack of ginger ale and a box of boring-ass crackers, then slams an alarmingly pink bottle down next to them. “He said you didn’t really have a fever or anything like that. This is supposed to help with nausea and vomiting.”

Katsuki makes a face at the bottle. “Pepto Bismol?”

“It’s a ginger and chamomile herbal blend or something,” Kirishima says, sounding a little too excited as Katsuki warily reaches out to pick it up. “They’re softgels.”

“A trusted brand for the treatment of upset stomachs,” Katsuki reads off the bottle, not a little sarcastically. “For adults who occasionally experience motion sickness or…” He pauses, then levels the most unimpressed look he can manage on Kirishima. “Morning sickness. Really?”

Kirishima flushes immediately. “I don’t know! It might work! The internet definitely said to try ginger.”

“Well, the internet is never wrong,” Katsuki intones, but he grabs the six-pack anyway. “Eat your damn ramen in here, I’m gonna go collapse on the couch again.”

“Crackers,” Kirishima reminds him, holding the box out. “Gotta try to keep something down.”

Katsuki wants to groan at that, but he’s not a damn child so he reluctantly accepts them. He takes the stupid pink bottle, too, because what-fucking-ever.

He’ll try anything at this point.

By the time Kirishima joins him in the living room again, Katsuki’s downed a whole can of ginger ale and his stomach actually does feel like it’s calmed a little. Without the queasiness occupying his entire being anymore, though, he’s starting to realize just how tired he is.

“Want me to put on a movie or something?” Kirishima asks. He’s sprawled out next to him while Katsuki stays curled up on his side, eyes half-lidded and barely seeing the TV. “I heard there’s a new All Might documentary out.”

“We’ve seen it,” Katsuki mumbles. “S’good, though. Sure, put that on.”

Kirishima does as told and then settles in to watch it. He shakes the box of crackers at Katsuki every so often, trying to remind him to eat even when it just gets him a scowl in return. Katsuki does manage to scarf a few down at least, which seems to satisfy him.

Eventually, probably not even halfway through the documentary, Katsuki drifts off. He somehow sleeps straight through the rest of it, and then through Kirishima cleaning up around him and Deku coming home. He also sleeps through the entire ten-minute conversation the two of them have, and still doesn’t even stir when Kirishima finally takes his leave.

It’s not until Deku gives his shoulder a gentle shake that he blearily opens his eyes.

“Hey,” Deku says softly, smiling down at him from over the back of the couch. “How’re you feeling, Kacchan?”

Katsuki groans and unfolds from the fetal position he’d been lying in, slowly stretching out his legs and arching his back. “Like ass,” he says in a low grumble. “Fuck, you’re already home? What time is it?”

“After seven.”

“What?!”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Deku tries to soothe. “You were tired.”

“I didn’t even fucking do anything.” Katsuki sits up and lays a hand on his stomach. “God, this is such bullshit.”

Deku lets out a warm chuckle. “You’re sick, don’t beat yourself up so much.”

“Did you eat?”

“I had the ramen Kirishima said you didn’t want.”

Katsuki scrunches up his nose. “Was it even good? The noodles were probably fuckin’ mush.”

“Still tasted okay,” Deku says, shrugging. “Come on, I drew you a bath. Then you can go back to bed.”

“My sleep schedule’s gonna be so fucked,” Katsuki complains, but the thought of taking a nice, long soak in the tub certainly has its appeal.

He coerces Deku into getting in with him, not that he puts up much of a fight. It ends up being more soothing that Katsuki had even anticipated. With the warm water rippling gently around them and Deku’s broad chest a solid presence behind him to relax against…

It’s the best Katsuki’s felt in days.

“Are you feeling any better, you think?” Deku asks at one point, and Katsuki responds with a lazy, one-shouldered shrug.

“Feel fine right now,” he murmurs, eyes sliding shut as Deku lets his hands roam up and down his sides. “Guess we’ll have to stay in here forever.”

Deku hums out a considering sound. “If you’re still throwing up tomorrow, you should probably see a doctor. Just to make sure it’s not serious.”

“It’s not,” Katsuki says mulishly. “It’s just annoying. I’ll be kicking ass again in no time.”

“Don’t push yourself,” Deku says. He slips his hands around to Katsuki’s stomach and absently trails his fingers over the defined lines of his abs, tracing along every bump and groove and then brushing across puckered skin from old battle wounds that have long since healed.

Katsuki sighs and lets his head fall back to rest in the curve where Deku’s neck meets his shoulder. “You worry too much, Izuku.”

“I know. Can’t help it. Just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” Katsuki says. “Promise.”

True to his word, he only wastes one more day at home before he’s back in the field.

* * *

The nice thing about the Hero Billboard Chart ceremony is that it’s not a formal affair. Izuku doesn’t necessarily mind getting dressed up when they have to go to charity galas and the like, but he never feels like he cleans up very well.

Kacchan always gives him a look when he says stuff like that, but it’s true! Also, it’s just awkward. He’s not comfortable in suits or tuxedoes, and he always starts imagining worst-case scenarios where some villain decides to take advantage of the large crowds of people gathered in one spot. Fighting in a tuxedo is a pain. Izuku knows – he’s had to do it before.

Anyway, Katsuki always gripes and complains about having to wear fancy clothes, too, even though he looks amazing when he does. So, really, he’s not allowed to get on Izuku’s case about not liking it.

Luckily, none of that is an issue tonight. It’s a relief to just be able to wear their hero gear as the new rankings are revealed, and the party afterwards has a relaxed, casual feel to it, as well.

None of their class manages to sneak into the top ten like Hawks did at their age. Izuku lands himself in the number seventeen spot, though, which is pretty damn exciting. Katsuki and Todoroki have been duking it out right behind him ever since they debuted, but Todoroki ends up being the one who snags the next slot this time. Kacchan’s after him at nineteen, and then there are a bunch of former class A and class B students sprinkled throughout the rest of the top fifty.

“Aw man, I was SO CLOSE to breaking forty,” Kirishima says later when there’s a group of them hanging out around one of the tables near the buffet.

“Forty-one, though!” Izuku leans toward him eagerly, a wide grin stretched across his face, and Ashido nods from where she’s got her arm slung around Kirishima’s shoulders.

“Forty-one is totally impressive, babe,” she says, smacking a kiss against his cheek. “I’m so proud of you!”

Kirishima smiles a tad sheepishly. “Thanks. I’m not complaining! It’s just forty was right there.”

“I’m still not sure what the fuck just happened,” Kaminari speaks up. He’s had a dazed look on his face ever since his number thirty-two rank was announced – a jump of nearly thirty spots for him. “Do you think they made a mistake?”

“Nah, dude,” Sero says. “You blitzed half the assholes in that drug bust basically on your own, that was pretty impressive.”

“Indeed. Your rank is well-deserved, Kaminari!” Iida affirms. He’s number twenty-seven this time. The only other person higher than him outside of the top twenty is Yaoyorozu, who claimed rank twenty-four.

Uraraka lifts her glass toward Kaminari, giving him a little salute. “That’s what happens when your Quirk can fry everyone around you in, like, two seconds.”

“And when you finally figure out how to not short-circuit yourself,” Sero adds with a soft snort.

Kyouka sighs, her voice threaded with a teasing lilt when she speaks. “I kind of miss that, though.” She sways sideways, bumping into Kaminari’s shoulder, and he laughs before contorting his face into a goofy expression and giving her two thumbs up.

Todoroki shows up then, which starts a round of cheers around the table. He drops into the open seat next to Sero, immediately reaching for the man’s beer to steal a swig. “My father is exhausting.”

“You know, I really thought Hawks might pass him this time,” Kirishima says.

Izuku makes a considering sound. “I don’t know. I think Endeavor’s probably still got a couple years left as number one.”

“What’d he do?” Sero asks, prodding Todoroki’s shoulder.

“He wants to go out to dinner and celebrate.” Todoroki looks vaguely pained at the mere idea and Izuku chuckles a bit.

“Is he planning on renting out a restaurant again?”

Todoroki huffs. “Probably. He’s impossible to be in public with. If he tries to be normal about it, paparazzi swarms us. If he shuts everything down for a private affair, we still get swarmed but the headlines end up being about how he’s flaunting his wealth.”

“Imagine being rich enough to have those kinds of problems,” Sero says. Izuku doesn’t miss the way he slides a hand over Todoroki’s forearm, his thumb idly stroking against pale skin, and he has to hide his sudden grin behind his drink. “Couldn’t be me.”

“He should just let Fuyumi set something up,” Todoroki grumbles, but having Sero’s hand on him must be soothing his nerves because he only lets out one more annoyed exhale before moving past it and shooting Izuku a curious look. “Where’s Bakugou? I wanted to be smug at him.”

“Bathroom, I think.” Izuku cranes his neck, looking over his shoulder as if that’s going to make Katsuki suddenly appear.

“Is he still sick?” Uraraka asks.

Izuku shakes his head. “No… I mean, he wasn’t. Maybe I should go check on him?”

“He practically shotgunned that soda,” Ashido pipes up. “Boy probably had to pee.”

“Yeah, Kirishima created a monster,” Izuku says dryly. “He’s addicted to ginger ale lately, our fridge is full of it.”

“Hey, but it helped, though,” Kirishima points out, laughing. “Score one for the internet!”

Shinsou’s the next one to approach their table, and his appearance kicks off another round of excited clamoring. He’s been away for nearly a month on some kind of undercover mission, so Izuku quickly pounces and ropes him into a long overdue chat. They’re in the middle of catching up when Katsuki finally decides to show up again.

“Hey, there you are,” Izuku says, immediately distracted from Shinsou. The other man rolls his eyes before offering Katsuki a nod.

“Congrats on making top twenty, Bakugou,” he greets.

“You alright?” Izuku asks.

Kacchan just grunts at both of them. He’s hovering a little closer to Izuku than he normally does in public situations like this, not that Izuku minds. Obviously. “Yeah, fine,” Katsuki replies. “Why?”

“You were gone awhile.”

“I ran into that steel bastard. We were talking.”

Kirishima perks up at that, even though he’s halfway down the other side of the table now and in the middle of gesticulating excitedly through a conversation with Uraraka and Yaoyorozu. “Tetsu’s here?” he says, head snapping around like an eager puppy that’s just heard its name being called. “Where??”

Katsuki gestures over his shoulder with his thumb, indicating some random direction behind him, but Kirishima apparently doesn’t need anything more specific than that and swiftly takes off to find Tetsutetsu.

“I thought I saw him with Monoma by the dessert bar,” Shinsou says.

“Sure, yeah,” Katsuki says. “That’s where we were.”

Izuku gives him a confused look, frowning a little. Shinsou just raises an eyebrow. “Dessert bar’s the other way.”

“Tch, whatever.” Katsuki scowls and edges past Izuku so he can throw himself onto the seat across from Todoroki. “Kirishima’s not that dumb, he’ll find him. Hey,” he says, speaking directly to Todoroki this time. “Asshole.”

“Oh.” Todoroki feigns surprise, as though he wasn’t staring at Katsuki for that entire weird exchange and basically waiting to be noticed. “Hi, nineteen.”

“Ha fucking ha,” Katsuki says. He jabs a finger in Todoroki’s face. “Don’t get too comfortable, Icy Hot. I’m coming for your ass next year.”

“I’m fairly certain that’s what you said this year,” Todoroki muses, idly rubbing at his chin.

Sero squishes himself against Todoroki, his arm slipping around the man’s waist. “It’s these pretty boy looks, Bakugou. He’s got that extra oomph of crowd appeal boosting his stats, so good luck.”

“Sero’s not wrong,” Kyouka says. She rests her chin on her hand, using one of her earphone jacks to gesture at Katsuki’s face. “The public’s not used to your whole growling dog persona yet.”

Izuku huffs at that. “Hey, Kacchan’s pretty,” he says, because he’s generally incapable of letting anyone insult his boyfriend. Even when it’s their friends, but also especially when the claims are so wildly inaccurate.

“Kacchan IS pretty,” Kaminari loudly agrees, and Izuku blinks at him. Kaminari shoots a finger gun and a wink his way. “I got your back, dude.”

Katsuki ignores all of them, which is par for the course, honestly. He’s still pointing at Todoroki, his brows drawn down, but another beat passes and his expression smooths out. “Congrats,” he says, deliberately uncurling the rest of his fingers. Todoroki recognizes the gesture for what it is and lifts his own hand to clasp Katsuki’s in a firm grip.

“Thanks.” He smiles a bit. “You, too.”

Katsuki drops the handshake and angles his head back to find Izuku, smirking. “What we should do is team up to take down the nerd.”

“All that boy-next-door charm, though.” Todoroki peers up at him, as well, letting Izuku’s flustered squeak bounce right off him. “He’s a worthy opponent.”

“Challenge accepted,” Katsuki says, and his smirk promptly turns into more of a leer.

Izuku flushes and makes an attempt at being exasperated with the pair of them when really he just wants to tackle them both to the ground and scream about how amazing everything is. Unfortunately, he’s in a room surrounded by his peers and coworkers and heroes he’s looked up to for half his life, so he needs to at least pretend he can show a modicum of self-control.

That doesn’t stop him from bracing himself against the back of Katsuki’s chair, sort of subtly leaning into him. Sort of subtly.

Uraraka gives him a knowing, amused look, but whatever! He’s in too good of a mood to be self-conscious about such a tiny amount of PDA.

“You should come over,” Izuku says to Todoroki. “We should celebrate.”

“Stop trying to rope him into a threesome, Midoriya,” Sero says, and Katsuki snatches up a bread roll and chucks it at his face.

“Kacchan.”

“I hate that this is still a thing, by the way,” Katsuki says, as Sero squawks indignantly. “Are you coming over or what? I’m ready to get the fuck outta here.”

Sero blinks. “Oh, I’m invited?” he asks, while Todoroki shrugs and says, “Sure.”

“Of course!” Izuku says. He glances down the table at the others who are still lingering around. “Anyone else?”

“Hell yeah, we’ll crash your top twenty party,” Uraraka says, grinning and glancing towards Iida for confirmation. “You don’t have to be in early tomorrow, right?”

“My shift is in the afternoon, but I have a debriefing prior to that.” Uraraka gives him an exaggerated pout and he coughs, hastily adjusting his glasses. “Of course, we probably have time for a quick drink or two.”

Ashido’s pink cheeks puff out as she groans. “Booooo, Eiji and I both have patrol in the morning.”

“Pikachu?” Katsuki asks, and Kaminari is quick to grin and nod before he suddenly pauses and glances at Kyouka.

“You can go,” she says. “I’m gonna go home and crash, I think.”

“Mm…nah.” Kaminari leans in to press a kiss against her hair, then turns back to everyone else again. “Sorry, guys, not tonight.”

Shinsou and Yaoyorozu both beg off, as well, but Uraraka manages to convince Tsuyu to tag along. They’ve been sharing an apartment since high school ended, so they usually end up going places together.

That’s how Izuku finds himself lounging around his living room later, surrounded by a cluster of his friends. He’s sprawled out on the floor with Katsuki so their guests can have the couch, and there are various cans, bottles, and glasses littered across the coffee table.

Actually, Kacchan’s not so much sprawled out as he is curled up in a ball with his head pillowed against Izuku’s thigh. He had exactly one beer and then conked out, which is typically how these things go when they hang out at their place. Katsuki’s still not really much of a night owl, though he makes the occasional exception when they’re at an event or a friend’s house.

Izuku smiles fondly down at him, absently combing a hand through his soft, blonde spikes.

“I don’t know why he’s so tired,” Sero says from where he’s slumped against Todoroki up on the couch. “I caught him napping during our lunch break today. How much sleep does one person need?”

“It’s past his bedtime,” Tsuyu says softly, amused. She’s sitting next to Izuku on the floor, nursing a glass of wine from the bottle that she and Uraraka decided to split.

Uraraka snorts out a laugh. “Guess that’ll never change.”

“I think he’s just been overdoing it,” Izuku says, making sure to keep his volume low. “Trying to make up for when he was out. We haven’t really taken any time off since we started working, so he wasn’t too thrilled I made him stay home.”

“He was pissed,” Sero corrects, chuckling. “But in that typical Bakugou way. All posturing.”

“Kirishima said he looked like he needed it,” Todoroki says. “When he came by to see him.”

Katsuki lets out a grumbling sort of sigh in his sleep, shifting against Izuku’s leg. Izuku doesn’t want to risk waking him, so he just nods.

“Recovery and downtime are both equally important when it comes to staying healthy,” Iida points out. “You should try convincing him to take a vacation, Midoriya. Even a short one.”

Izuku hums, considering. “Maybe.”

“That goes for you, too,” Tsuyu says with a knowing look. Izuku just grins sheepishly at her.

“Right? Deku’s just as bad.” Uraraka rolls her eyes. “They’re both going to work themselves to death.”

“We’re not that bad,” Izuku protests. “Just because we haven’t taken a vacation – we still have our days off! Mirio-senpai won’t let us in the field if we’re not scheduled unless it’s an actual emergency.”

“Or unless you’re on call,” Todoroki says. “Which you constantly volunteer for.”

He doesn’t work for the same agency, but it’s easy to keep up with everyone’s schedule these days. There’s a communal calendar that the Commission puts out weeks in advance and then updates daily so that every hero across the board knows who’s in the field each day or available for emergency back-up. It’s one of the newer policies they put in effect a couple years back in an attempt to present a more unified front across the country. Knowing exactly who’s available around the city at all times is a godsend, particularly when it comes to collaborative efforts between agencies or when a particular villain shows up in one sector who’s more suited to a hero working somewhere else.

“I’ve seen you show up at the office for no reason multiple times, dude,” Sero says.

Izuku splutters. “That’s only if I’ve got paperwork to catch up on!”

Sero rolls his eyes. “For no reason,” he repeats. “Paperwork can ALWAYS wait, far as I’m concerned.”

“That was, like, two times,” Izuku says. Grumbles, really. “Three – maybe four times. Five tops!”

“Oh boy,” Uraraka mutters.

“Anyway,” Izuku continues stubbornly, “we’re fine. We get plenty of rest. We haven’t even been working that long yet!”

“No, of course not,” Uraraka says. “Only two and a half years.”

“You might consider taking a long weekend, at least,” Iida tries again.

“One where Bakugou isn’t sicking up everywhere,” Tsuyu adds, and Izuku sighs.

“Okay, okay, you’ve all made your point.” He looks down at Kacchan, listening to the light, snuffling snores that keep escaping him. His face is half mushed into Izuku’s thigh, which can’t be comfortable.

It’s cute, though.

Izuku smiles again. “We’ll see. Maybe we’ll take some time off when the weather gets nice again.”

You know. Maybe.

* * *

Katsuki is…struggling.

And he’s not really sure why.

He’s starting to think he should be concerned, but it’s not really that unusual to be so damn tired, is it? Being a pro hero means working long hours, after all. Comes with the territory. And Katsuki’s not a damn slacker, so he works hard. He’s always been one to push himself to the edge of his limits.

It’s just that he’s also always been a stickler for keeping up with his own wellbeing. He’s got his routines – a rigid gym and workout schedule, a healthy diet, making sure he drinks enough water every day and goes to bed at a reasonable time every night. That stuff has all been set in stone for years. If something starts going sideways, he generally knows not to ignore it.

When they were third years, one of the extras came back from a weekend home with a nasty cold and it spread like wildfire through the dorm. Katsuki only had to sneeze, like, once before he downed a gallon of orange juice and locked himself in his room to wait it out.

There were only six people still in class by the end of that week, and he’s proud to say he was one of them. Deku, in contrast, had been a snotty, coughing disaster for days.

Katsuki skipped one of his gym sessions this week. He skipped one last week, too.

And the nausea hasn’t really abated so much as Katsuki has just learned to live with it. Sometimes he actually forgets about it, but it’ll still spike at odd moments and leave him abruptly halting whatever he’s in the middle of doing so he can get his shit together and try to quell that distressing need to throw up.

It works most of the time.

That more than anything makes him think he probably needs to get his ass to a doctor, but it’s not consistent enough that he remembers from day to day.

He’s busy, okay? His job is time-consuming as hell, and his relationship deserves an equal amount of focus and attention.

Everything else…is important, too. Fine. But he’s only gone a little off the rails. A missed workout isn’t the end of the world.

His diet’s a little in the shitter, if he’s being honest, but he blames Kirishima for that.

“Hey, Kacchan?” Deku wanders up behind him, meeting his eyes in the bathroom mirror. Katsuki’s been scrutinizing his shirtless reflection for the past few minutes, searching for…something. He’s not really sure. His jeans hadn’t felt right when they went out to dinner earlier and it’s been eating at his brain ever since.

He looks fine, though. Right?

Katsuki turns to the side, eyeing everything from the firm planes of his stomach to his hips to the curve of his ass beneath the sweatpants he immediately changed into when they got home.

“What?” he says eventually, when he remembers Deku’s still standing there.

“Do you want to do anything on Christmas Eve? I think we’re actually both off this year.”

Katsuki pivots slowly to face the other direction, as though his profile from the right is going to look any different than his profile from the left. “Sure,” he replies after a moment. “What were you thinking?”

Deku shrugs. “I dunno. I thought maybe we could go downtown and look at the light displays.”

“There’ll be fuckin’ crowds,” Katsuki says, grimacing a bit.

“Aw, come on. They’re supposed to be really pretty!”

“They’re lights, Izuku. Can’t we just grab some KFC and be lazy assholes at home?”

Deku stares at him. It takes him longer than it should to notice because he’s busy giving his torso a suspicious look now. There’s a gnarly looking bruise blooming across his left pec from a hit he took during a fight yesterday, and he knows if he were to turn around, he’d see a whole mess of scrapes and slowly healing road rash etched across his upper back from being tossed into the concrete last week.

He flicks his eyes upward, accidentally catching the reflection of Deku’s gaze in the mirror again. Oh yeah. “…What?”

“You don’t even like fried chicken,” Deku says.

“I don’t not like it,” Katsuki shoots back, though he can’t actually even remember the last time he had that shit. But he knows it’s a thing, okay, people having KFC on Christmas, and it sounds kind of good for some reason.

Deku’s brow furrows. “So…you’re off pork all of a sudden, but fried chicken is okay?”

“I’m not off pork, the fuck?”

“I brought that leftover katsudon back from my mom’s the other day and you wouldn’t eat it!”

“Because it smelled rank, Deku, what do you want from me?” He scowls. “I’m not eating shit that’s gone bad.”

“Oh my god,” Deku mutters, dragging his hands over his face. “It was fine.”

Katsuki huffs. “Says you.”

“What are you even doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“This.” Deku gestures at Katsuki’s whole studying-himself-way-too-closely-in-the-mirror thing. “What is this?”

“…Nothing,” Katsuki mutters. He reaches for the shirt he threw on the toilet lid earlier and quickly pulls it on. “If you wanna see the lights, we’ll go see the fucking lights.”

Deku brightens instantly at that. “Really?”

“Yeah, nerd. Set it up.”

“Okay! It’s going to be so fun, Kacchan, you’ll see!” Deku wraps his arms around Katsuki’s waist, giving him a squeeze.

Katsuki just rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

He gives himself one final look-over in the mirror, then lets Deku pull him out of the bathroom so they can go to bed.

No more ginger ale, he firmly decides. He’s been drinking too much of that sugary, carbonated shit.

It’s making him look all bloated.

Chapter Text

One day in early January, Katsuki wakes up and he actually feels…good?

He feels like he won’t have to drag himself out of bed this morning, like he can just get up and get on with shit.

It’d be fantastic if not for the fact that it’s his day off and he doesn’t have to be awake right now. Go fucking figure.

Deku’s still a lump on the mattress behind him, dead asleep and pressed up against his back with his arm draped around Katsuki’s waist. Katsuki doesn’t really want to wake him. Between the two of them, it’s Deku who’s the early riser – if Katsuki doesn’t have to be awake for work or to squeeze in a morning run or whatever else, then he’s usually more than happy to burrow under the covers for an extra hour or two. So if Deku isn’t awake yet, then that means it’s probably stupid fucking early.

A quick glance toward the window confirms it’s still gray outside, the sun barely up, and Katsuki lets out a quiet groan.

He should probably try to get some more sleep. It certainly couldn’t hurt, seeing as how lately he never feels like he’s gotten enough.

Right, okay.

Back to bed. At least until Deku gets up.

…

Katsuki makes it ten more minutes before he growls out an irritated sound and rolls over, pushing forward until Deku’s on his back and Katsuki can shuffle on top of him and nudge a thigh in between his legs.

“Oi,” he says, arms folded across Deku’s chest. He rocks his hips forward a bit. “Izuku.”

Deku mumbles something unintelligibly but Katsuki can feel him against his thigh, can feel his typical morning situation twitching and beginning to wake up even more. He moves his hips again, more insistently this time, an urgency that comes from Katsuki’s sudden realization that he’s practically fucking vibrating with his own arousal and holy shit where did that come from? The feeling spikes when Deku finally cracks his eyes open to peer sleepily up at him.

“Morning,” he murmurs. His arms curl behind Katsuki’s back as a smile begins to curve his lips. “You’re up early.”

Too early, but hey, at least he can make the most of it. “Wanna fuck?” Katsuki blurts out, grinding his pelvis downward again, and Deku’s eyes go wide.

“Uh…yes.”

Katsuki grins. “Awesome,” he says, and then he stretches up to claim Deku’s mouth in a hungry kiss, morning breath be damned.

After, when Deku is tucked against Katsuki’s side, skin warm and sticky between them, he cranes his head back to give Katsuki a curious look. “You’re awfully energetic for a weekend.”

“Slept well, I guess.” Katsuki strokes his hand down Deku’s spine. “Do we still gotta go shopping or whatever today?”

“Mm.” Deku’s arm is slung across Katsuki’s stomach, and he gives him a firm squeeze before sighing and pulling away to starfish across his half of the mattress. “Need to find something for Todoroki’s birthday.”

Katsuki scowls. “He’s a grown-ass adult, he doesn’t need a birthday present.”

“Kacchan,” Deku says, turning his head to level him with an unimpressed stare. “He got you something last year.”

“He got me merch,” Katsuki shoots back flatly. “His own merch. He gave me a fucking Shouto t-shirt, Izuku. With his FACE on it.”

Deku snickers a little. “It’s really soft, though! I like it.”

“I thought I exploded it.”

“Nah, I wear it to the gym sometimes.”

“What?”

“Come on.” Deku lurches up into a sitting position with a grunt and stretches his arms above his head. “We should get moving.”

Katsuki grumbles but reluctantly follows suit. “Whatever. I’m fucking starving, let’s stop somewhere for breakfast.”

“Oh, that sounds good!”

They inevitably end up in a hero merch store about five seconds after they get to the shopping mall. Never fails, but Deku’s eyes practically light up with glee as soon as they walk through the entrance so Katsuki supposes it’s worth it. Hell, maybe he can find a Dynamight beach towel or some shit to throw at Icy Hot.

He drifts away from Deku, leaving him nerding out over the latest Hawks and Mirko action figures, and wanders further back into the store. It’s always a trip coming to these kinds of places because Katsuki is really only half aware of what’s floating around out there with his name, face, or colors on it. They have to sign off on stuff every so often and he’s gotten roped into his fair share of photo shoots, but for the most part he doesn’t have to deal with that shit because there’s an entire department at the agency that takes care of their merchandising for them.

So it’s a little bit of a surprise when he stumbles across a whole rack of baby clothes and finds a miniature version of his costume redesigned to fit a tiny little onesie.

Katsuki stops short, staring at it.

There’s more than just his costume. There’s one for Deku and Half-and-Half, as well, and then a bunch of others for all the usual heroes who tend to get the most merch. There’s even about five different All Might variations and he hasn’t been active in years.

The Deku onesie is so fucking cute. It’s got a little hood with little bunny-like ears and everything, fuck.

Katsuki reaches for it before he can stop himself, though he sort of pauses and peers quickly around the shop once he’s got it in his hands. He doesn’t really know why – probably because the idea of some shitty tabloid running wild with a story about him looking at baby clothes would be a pain in the ass to deal with.

Luckily, it’s still early enough that there aren’t too many people out. There’s only a small group of teens clustered together in another corner of the store, so Katsuki just tugs the brim of his hat lower and goes back to staring at the onesie.

It's so small.

He can’t believe Kaminari’s going to be in charge of anything that’s this itty bitty. He also can’t believe Ears is cooking up an actual human being inside of her that will eventually fit into this thing.

For some reason, Katsuki finds himself holding the onesie up against his stomach.

He can’t even fathom it. Kyouka’s like half his size, too, so she’s probably going to end up looking like she swallowed a beach ball.

“Oh my god,” Deku says suddenly from right fucking beside him, and Katsuki nearly startles out of his own skin. “Oh, they’re adorable.” He’s got the Dynamight onesie in his hands and is staring down at it, starry-eyed. “Kacchan, look!”

Katsuki snorts a little. “I saw it.”

“It’s too bad there isn’t one for Chargebolt or Earphone Jack.”

“Fuck that, I’m definitely buying the Dynamight one for them.”

Deku grins at that, amused, but then he suddenly gasps and reaches for something else. “Look at these teeny tiny shoes!!”

The baby shoes are somehow even cuter than the onesies, holy shit.

“The old hag always claims those are pointless,” Katsuki says, but he picks up a pair of the Hawks shoes anyway. They have the eensiest little wings sticking out on the sides of them.

“What? Why?” Deku demands.

“I don’t fucking know. Not like babies are doing a lot of walking, I guess.” Katsuki shrugs and Deku deflates a bit.

“Oh. That’s true.” He looks down the clothing rack, eyeing all the various options. “God, I’d probably buy an entire store’s worth anyway.”

“Dumbass. I’m limiting you to two pairs,” Katsuki says.

Deku huffs. “Mean,” he says, and then laughs. “Fine, as long as you don’t limit the hero clothes.”

“Nah, go crazy with that. Baby’s gotta wear something.”

“Kyouka probably doesn’t feel the same way, huh?”

“She can dress her kid however she wants, I’m still getting her a Dynamight onesie.”

“Hey.” Deku leans in close to him. “Those kids are looking at the Deku backpacks. Should I go say hi?”

It’s the same group that Katsuki noticed earlier. They’re talking animatedly amongst themselves now and gesticulating wildly – it looks like they’re recounting the B-grade villain attack Deku took care of last week. “Go for it,” Katsuki says. He holds out a hand and Deku passes the Dynamight outfit over. “I’m gonna go buy this.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you up front in a few?”

“Sure.”

Deku slips past him and Katsuki waits until he hears the delighted squeals and shouts emerging from the surprised teenagers before he starts snatching up a good half of the baby clothes that are on display. He grabs a second Dynamight onesie, another Deku outfit, a Lemillion one, Mirko, Gang Orca, at least three of the All Might variations – fuck it, he even picks up the damn Shouto onesie.

…And he keeps the Hawks shoes.

He also spots a pair of truly hideous denim Best Jeanist baby shoes and takes those, too.

What he’s even doing, he has no idea. Kaminari can have one each of the Dynamight and Deku outfits, but the rest… What the fuck is he supposed to do with them?

Save them? Apparently?? For…whenever???

Shit, he’ll shove them in the back of his closet once he gets home or something, he just – he wants them. It’s some weird urge that he can’t even begin to explain, but the clothes are SO SMALL and SO GODDAMN CUTE and it’s his own fucking merch so, like, whatever.

He can buy this garbage if he wants.

Deku’s none the wiser. When he meets Katsuki at the front of the store, he clearly assumes Katsuki did the normal thing and only bought a couple outfits for their actually pregnant friends who are actually expecting a baby, and Katsuki doesn’t bother to show him what else is in the bag.

They hit three more stores in the mall before Deku finally finds something he deems worthy for Todoroki, and thank fuck for that because whatever burst of energy Katsuki had woken up with that morning is fading fast.

“Ready to go home?” Deku asks when they exit the final shop, and Katsuki nods.

“Yeah.” …Wait. “No. Let’s get lunch first.”

Deku blinks at him. “You want lunch?”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t I want lunch?”

“Ah, sorry, I just…” Deku scratches at the back of his head, looking like he’s uncertain if he should say something or not. “You ate a ton at breakfast, so.”

Katsuki scowls and, inexplicably, feels his cheeks go warm. “And I’ll burn it all off at work, what’s your point?”

“You even finished my food.”

“I overdid it at the gym yesterday,” Katsuki lies, and then immediately wonders why he said that. Why’s he being so fucking cagey today? So he’s hungry, so fucking what.

He actually skipped his last workout (again), but that’s beside the point. It’s not like he doesn’t get a shitload of exercise most days just because of his damn job.

Deku’s eyebrows arch a bit, but he doesn’t question him. “Okay. My bad, then. What’re you hungry for?”

Katsuki just sort of glowers back at him for a moment. He feels all keyed up now for some reason, or like he’s somehow acting suspicious. It’s got him weirdly on the defensive but he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s defensive over. “There’s a KFC in the food court,” he eventually says, and Deku’s eyebrows lift even higher.

“Again?”

“Fucking– Fine, asshole, where do you wanna go?” Katsuki snaps.

“Whoa, hey,” Deku says, frowning now, and Katsuki’s emotional pendulum swings the other direction as something guilt-ridden and horrified abruptly washes over him.

“I – shit. Sorry,” he mutters, dragging a hand through his hair. “I don’t… We can go wherever.”

Deku watches him carefully for a moment. “Honestly, I’m not really hungry so I probably won’t get much. We can do KFC – but we should cook, like, real food for dinner.”

Katsuki shoves down the insane urge to complain that fried chicken is still chicken, and chicken is real food and healthy enough, Deku, geez…but truthfully he’s just craving their fries and there’s no trying to justify that.

“Fine,” he grumbles instead. He grabs Deku’s hand, tugging him along to the food court. “We can pick up salmon on the way home. I’ll make something.”

“Okay. Do you want to go for a run with me later?” Deku asks cheerfully, and ugh, no, Katsuki really doesn’t.

“Sure, nerd. Sounds good.”

But he probably should.

See, it’s like this. Katsuki doesn’t really believe in the concept of “cheat days” or whatever the fuck. He’s active as hell, even with his lightened gym routine as of late, and he eats all the right things a majority of the time. If he wants to indulge in shitty fast food every so often, he’s not going to blow himself up for it or claim it’s a one-off. He’s allowed.

And Deku usually doesn’t get on his case about it because it’s just not a concern with their lifestyles. Plus, he’s the same way. Katsuki’s come home from a late shift more than once to find him shoving instant ramen in his face because he wanted a snack, and the only response it’s ever gotten out of him is a roll of his eyes.

The issue is that occasional indulgence is one thing, but whatever is making Katsuki’s jeans continue to feel like they’re not fitting right is something else entirely.

He’s always worn his pants one size up, so it’s not like they suddenly don’t fit. But they’re definitely not as loose as they should be. Lately, he’s just taken to wearing joggers or sweatpants whenever he can get away with it because everything else is slowly becoming a pain in the ass.

At least his hero gear isn’t as restrictive.

Katsuki hadn’t thought it was something that anyone else had noticed, though. He’s never been self-conscious about his body before and when he’s glaring at his reflection in the mirror most evenings, he still looks…mostly fine. Muscle definition is all still there. He thinks his waistline is maybe a little thicker?

He can’t really tell himself he looks bloated anymore because it’s not like it ever went away. And he knows he’s always been pretty narrow around the middle – Deku’s commented on it enough over the years. The nerd’s kind of, like, really obsessed with it for some reason.

So if he’s filling out some around there and it’s actually noticeable to others, then maybe that’s why Deku’s suddenly all skeptical about Katsuki wanting to inhale some fucking fries.

He just needs to be a little more mindful, that’s all. Not let “occasional” turn into a worrying habit.

And stop fumbling his workout schedule, fuck.

He manages for a little while.

Katsuki rides the energetic wave he’s suddenly been blessed with for the next couple weeks. Sometimes it gets him through a full day. Other times he starts to crash in the afternoon and has to drag himself through the last few hours of patrol.

Mornings are definitely the best. He keeps waking up raring to go in more ways than one, and at least taking care of that with Deku puts some pep in his step for the first half of his shift.

So, of course, right as things are seemingly starting to right themselves, it’s absolutely fucking typical that that’s when Deku gets pulled into a two-week joint agency mission with Fat Gum’s crew down in Esuha City and everything goes to shit.

“I’ll be back by Valentine’s Day,” Deku tries to reassure him when they’re at the train station, as though that’s something Katsuki was particularly worried about. “This is going to be the fastest two weeks ever, you’ll see.”

“Hangout at our place that Friday,” Kirishima chimes in. He got called for the mission, as well, representing his own agency, so he and Deku are traveling down together.

“We’re inviting everyone,” Mina adds. “We haven’t all been in the same place since the rankings reveal! It’s been too long.”

“It’s been two months,” Katsuki says, voice flat.

“Exactly!” she cries. “Don’t be a grumpy butt, Bakugou. You know it’s fun when we’re together.”

Deku laughs. “Don’t worry, we’ll be there.”

The speaker system sounds overhead, announcing a final boarding call for the train and prompting the four of them to get in their final hugs and goodbyes. Katsuki finds himself clinging to Deku a bit longer than he normally would, not entirely willing to let him go.

It’s dumb as fuck because it’s not like this is the first time one of them has assisted on an out-of-town mission. They’ve been apart from each other before.

Katsuki just…really isn’t looking forward to it this time. For some reason.

Like, he’s nearly fucking emotional about it, what the shit.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he mumbles to Deku, arms still wrapped around his shoulders like he’s some kind of damn koala.

“I won’t,” Deku assures. He ends up being the one to pull back, but he leans in for a quick kiss before he disentangles himself entirely. “You be careful, too, Kacchan.”

“Always am.”

Deku reaches for his suitcase. “I love you.”

And, to Katsuki’s horror, his throat tightens. “Love you, too,” he forces out, trying to sound like he’s not currently all choked up. His eyes burn and he blinks rapidly, turning away to let Kirishima drag him into his own hug. “Both you dumbasses better stay safe.”

“I’ve got his back, bro,” Kirishima says. “Don’t worry.”

They finally board, and then Katsuki and Mina do that stupid thing where they linger on the platform until the train is nothing but a speck in the distance. Mina’s slumped into Katsuki’s side, curled around one of his arms.

“Facials and sad movies at my place?” she asks after another few minutes have slowly dragged by.

Katsuki just nods. “Sure.”

Usually when Deku is gone, Katsuki tries to pick up a few extra shifts just to give him something to do. Lemillion doesn’t let him this time, which is annoying. But…maybe also a good thing.

Because his body is starting to do shit that is quickly descending into levels of what-the-fuckery that Katsuki is having a hard time continuing to ignore.

He’s hungry all the time now. The problem is it’s not just his waistline that’s inexplicably widening anymore – he’s pretty sure his stomach is also starting to expand outward in a worrying way. If he sucks his gut in, he still looks fine. But it’s at the point where he can’t just pretend he’s not gaining weight, so that kicks off a vicious cycle where he actively tries to cut back and put himself on a legitimate diet, which just means he feels like he’s starving all fucking day. When he inevitably caves and shovels down some food, he feels gross about it. And it sucks because what he sees in the mirror now is a constant reminder that he shouldn’t do that but he’s so goddamn hungry when he doesn’t eat enough and–

Okay, so he’s spiraling a bit.

His brain circles back around to the idea that he should probably go see a fucking doctor. He meant to back during the New Year, if he’s being honest. He really did. But he kept forgetting to actually make the call to schedule an appointment and then it seemed like things had kind of gotten back to normal for a little while there.

It’s clear now that whatever the hell is going on with him is anything but normal.

Aside from starting to grow without his permission, his stomach is doing this weird thing where it cramps up randomly throughout the day, too. And every so often he’ll get this kind of brief fluttery feeling in his gut.

He still has those bursts of energy, but they don’t seem to correlate with what he’s actually capable of doing.

That, honestly, is the biggest concern.

Katsuki’s on his usual patrol route one day when all hell breaks loose downtown. Some bastard with a growth Quirk not dissimilar to Mt. Lady’s starts wreaking havoc in the business district right in the middle of the work day, and he’s got a couple of lackeys with him making a mess of shit. Katsuki gets there within minutes and takes care of one of the lesser jerks in no time, but the big fucker is starting to smash through some of the high-rises. As one of the heroes on the scene who can fly, he quickly switches gears and starts evacuating civilians from the upper floors.

It's the kind of attack that draws in a lot of heroes, including most of Katsuki’s agency since their office is nearby. Lemillion’s there, barking orders and going after the oversized asshole while Centipeder takes on the other lackey. Katsuki keeps pulling people out of windows, blasting from one to the next and handing them off to Kamui Woods, who showed up to help. The other man gets them safely down to the ground where they can be herded off to a protective shelter, and then they do it all over again.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

There’s smoke and debris everywhere, heat rising from the flames that have started up in one of the buildings that got wrecked. The people inside are beginning to panic, which is never good. They’re pushing at each other in their attempts to get to the windows, their only exit at this point because of the billowing fire closing in behind them.

Katsuki hears over his comms that someone with a water-based Quirk is on their way, along with the fire department. Somewhere above him, a woman screams. Katsuki snaps around at the sound. He sees her falling from one of the window ledges.

It happens almost in slow motion.

Kamui Woods is somewhere below him, limbs full of civilians. Katsuki’s closest. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to reach her in time.

He explodes himself forward, going as fast as he can – but he’s off. Something’s off. He’s not as fast as he should be, his body feels too heavy, he can barely fucking breathe, and this woman is tumbling through the air too quickly for Katsuki to catch up, fuck, fuck–

A thick strip of white tape goes flying past him, connecting before Katsuki can get there, and Cellophane swings into view.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” Sero says, trying to calm the hysterical woman as he draws her in. “We’ll get you down, don’t worry.”

Katsuki catches himself on the side of the building, chest heaving. Sero barely spares him a glance, keeping his focus on the civilian. Once she’s been transferred over to the ground crew in one piece, he uses his tape to pull himself back up to where Katsuki is.

“Dude, are you okay?” he shouts over the chaos surrounding them. He’s not even in his hero gear, Katsuki notices.

“Fine,” he grunts, which is extremely untrue. He almost didn’t catch that woman. He almost let her fall.

He’s also still panting and can’t for the life of him figure out why he’s so winded already. They haven’t been dealing with this villain attack long enough for him to already be in this state, what the fuck.

Katsuki peers at the other man. “You weren’t on call today.”

“Emergency standby,” Sero says, eyes pinned above them, taking in how many more people need to be rescued on the upper levels. “You’ve almost got everyone out. Come on, I’ll help you get the rest.”

They finish clearing out the building. Down on the street, Lemillion finally knocks out the massive dickwad that started all this, and then after that they help with recovery until the cleanup crews get there and can take over sorting out the worst of the damage.

Katsuki is wiped.

He lost sight of Sero somewhere in the aftermath of everything, but hours later, once he’s finally made it back to the agency and is stripping down in the locker room, Sero decides to fucking corner him.

“What the hell is going on with you?” he demands, as Katsuki shuts the door to his locker, down to just his boxer briefs and towel in hand.

“The fuck?” Katsuki frowns, trying to edge past him so he can get to the showers. “What’re you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Sero says. He trails after him the entire way, also dressed down so he can wash off the dust and grime. “Look, man, you know I wouldn’t say anything if I thought that catch was impossible for you to make. Shit happens. But I’ve known you almost six years, I know your moves, and that should’ve been easy for you.”

“I fucked up, okay?” Katsuki says, scowling. “It won’t happen again.”

“You don’t fuck up.” Sero reaches out to snag his arm. “Bakugou. That wasn’t just a mistake, you looked like you weren’t firing on all cylinders. Are you sick again?”

“I ain’t sick.”

“Because if you are, this is a perfect fucking example of why you shouldn’t be in the field until you’re back to one hundred percent.”

“I’m not fucking sick,” Katsuki snaps, yanking out of Sero’s grasp and turning to face him. “Back off, what the hell?”

Sero’s eyes drop, roaming down over Katsuki’s body. Katsuki realizes too late what he’s doing, but he still shifts the towel over in a pathetic attempt to hide the way his belly slightly curves out just below his navel. When Sero looks back up again, his eyebrows are raised.

“I’m not sure how to say this without sounding like an asshole,” he starts, speaking cautiously. “But you don’t…look like yourself.”

Katsuki knows that. He knows, okay.

…But maybe he needed someone else to point it out for it to really sink in.

His shoulders slump a bit.

“I don’t know what the fuck’s going on with me,” he admits, voice low, gaze pinned somewhere off to the side. “Everything’s…weird.”

Sero’s brow furrows. “Weird how?” Katsuki just shrugs, still not looking at him, and after a moment, Sero sighs. “Alright, well. When does Midoriya get back?”

“Couple days.”

“Okay. Shower, then let’s grab dinner.”

Katsuki groans a little. “I just wanna go home and crash.”

“After a day like today, you gotta eat.” Sero’s got his phone in hand, tapping away at it. “Midoriya’s not here so I know you’ve got nothing else going on. Come on, I’ll get Kaminari to join us. And since you’re not feeling well, I’ll even cut you a break and not invite Shouto.”

That makes Katsuki grimace a bit. “You’re doing that now, huh? Calling him Shouto?”

“Sure am,” Sero says cheerfully, and he gives him a wide grin that has Katsuki scrunching his nose up even more.

“You can invite him,” he grumbles, because there’s really no point in pretending Katsuki actually dislikes that moron right now. “I’m used to his dumb ass being around.”

Sero barks out a laugh. “He’s got an overnight shift tonight. Otherwise I would’ve texted him already.” He sets his phone and towel down on one of the benches in the shower room. “Kaminari’s gonna meet us at the place with the curry you like, so hurry up.”

Forty-five minutes later, they’re sliding into a booth at the restaurant. Kaminari brought Ears with him and Katsuki realizes just how long it’s been since he last saw her when his eyes land on her stomach.

She’s looking…round.

Katsuki squints at her. “When are you due again?”

“End of April,” Kyouka says. “Ish. Around your birthday, actually.”

Sero lets out a low whistle. “Damn. So only, like, two months, huh? That’s crazy.”

“You guys wanna know a secret?” Kaminari asks eagerly, leaning forward. He doesn’t wait for either of them to say anything, instead bursting out with: “We’re having a girl!”

“Aww, dude!” Sero exclaims. “Kyouka! Congratulations, that’s awesome.”

“A girl,” Katsuki repeats. He tries to imagine it, tries to picture Kaminari carrying around a little girl wearing a purple dress with ribbons in her pigtails, and part of him actually melts. “Holy shit.”

“He’s so excited,” Kyouka says as she slides an amused look over to her husband. “He can feel her kicking now and every time she does, Denki claims she's going to grow up to be a hero like Mirko even though neither of us have a Quirk like that.”

“We’ll put her in karate classes,” Kaminari says. He drapes an arm around Kyouka’s shoulders, beaming. “A girl, can you fucking believe it?”

“You can feel her kicking?” Katsuki asks.

“Yeah, dude! It’s wild.”

Katsuki figures he probably knew that was a thing, but it’s not like he’s been around a lot of pregnant people in his life. The details of that whole experience are a bit murky to him – just leftover knowledge from whatever they tried to cram into his head during middle school health classes. The closest he’s ever come to even holding a baby was during their first aid and CPR courses in high school and that was just a creepy infant manikin.

“You’re gonna spoil her rotten,” Sero says, propping his chin on his hand and grinning. “Wow. This feels so real all of a sudden.”

Kyouka laughs. “Oh, trust me, buddy. It’s real.”

The waiter comes around and they place their orders. Katsuki gets the spiciest curry they have on their menu. He’s actually been laying off spicy foods lately, sort of unintentionally, so seeing it as an option kicks his craving for it into overdrive.

Kyouka just orders a bowl of plain rice and once the waiter moves on, she reaches into her bag and pulls out a small tub of cottage cheese and a container full of sliced apples.

“The hell is that?” Katsuki asks, his nose wrinkling.

“It’s all she ever wants to eat anymore,” Kaminari says.

Kyouka waves him off as she scoops up some cottage cheese with one of the apple slices and pops it into her mouth. “If I eat any of the curry here, it’ll give me heartburn.”

“What? Shit, you should’ve said something,” Sero says. “We could’ve gone literally anywhere else.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kyouka says, and Kaminari nods.

“Half the stuff she eats gives her heartburn,” he says. “Doesn’t matter where we go or if one of us cooks or what.”

“Pregnancy perk,” Kyouka says, rolling her eyes.

Katsuki watches her eat another apple covered in lumpy white junk, trying to figure out why it somehow looks appetizing. He doesn’t think he’s ever had cottage cheese before in his entire goddamn life.

“Let me try one,” he says, and Kyouka, sitting across from him, lifts an eyebrow but then just shrugs and pushes her food toward the middle of the table.

It’s actually not bad.

Granted, there’s no reason it shouldn’t taste okay. It’s just fruit and cheese. But still.

He snags another, ignoring the odd look Kaminari’s giving him.

“So, uh…” Kaminari says, sounding like he’s trying to tread a little carefully. “Sero said there’s something going on with you?”

Oh, goddammit. Katsuki frowns and gives Sero the stink-eye, but he just holds his hands up defensively.

“Dude, you said, and I quote, everything’s weird. Sue me for being a little worried.”

“It ain’t that serious,” Katsuki mutters.

“It’s a little serious,” Sero says. “Stop trying to write off the fact that you were struggling today. Hard.”

“During that attack downtown?” Kaminari asks. “It looked pretty rough.”

“I’m just…” Katsuki flounders for a moment, then slumps back in his seat. “I’m tired, I dunno.”

“You’ve been tired for months,” Sero points out, and Katsuki scowls.

“When did you get so damn nosy?”

“Bakugou.” Sero levels a look on him, undaunted. “When your performance is affected to the point that it puts other people’s lives in danger, then I’m going to be nosy.”

“We just want to help,” Kaminari adds.

“What else is going on?” Kyouka asks next. Her eyes are narrowed a bit. “If you tell me you’ve been throwing up since November and haven’t seen anyone about it, I’m gonna kick your ass. Pregnant or not.”

Katsuki snorts. “I’m not throwing up,” he says. A beat passes, and then he reluctantly tacks on, “…Anymore.”

“Dude.”

“Bakugou! Are you serious?”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Katsuki insists, trying to defend himself. “It wasn’t a lot or anything, not once I was back to work. I was just nauseous mostly!”

“Nauseous,” Kyouka repeats. “For how long?”

“December,” Katsuki says vaguely. “Maybe a little into January.”

“And Midoriya didn’t drag your ass to the hospital?” Kaminari asks. When Katsuki winces, his eyes go round. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“He didn’t know,” Katsuki admits, folding his arms over his chest. “I didn’t – I guess I didn’t want him to worry?”

“That just means you knew something was wrong,” Sero says.

“Of course he knew,” Kyouka says. “He pays more attention to his body than anyone we know. In a good way!” she quickly adds, when Katsuki bristles up defensively. “Okay, what else?”

Katsuki gives a jerky shrug. “Body aches. Stomach, back, head… Sometimes my fucking calves? Or, like, my chest is randomly sore some days.” He prods at one of his pecs, missing the way Kaminari and Ears glance at each other. “And I think my metabolism is fucked.”

“Your…metabolism,” Kyouka says slowly. “In what way?”

“He’s gaining weight,” Sero supplies, and Katsuki smacks a hand sideways into his arm with a glare. Sero ignores him. “Maybe it’s a thyroid thing?”

“Maybe,” Kaminari says, though he sounds doubtful. “Uh. That kinda sounds like a lot of the stuff Kyouka’s been–” He cuts off with an oof when she abruptly digs an elbow into his side.

“We can sit here guessing all day,” she says, paying no attention to Kaminari’s pout as he rubs at the grievously injured area. “Bottom line, Bakugou – get yourself to the damn doctor. If it’s something serious, you need to find out now.”

Ah, there it is.

That’s what he hasn’t wanted to deal with.

If it’s something serious.

Something cold settles in Katsuki’s gut and he glumly reaches for another apple slice.

“Fine,” he grumbles. “I’ll schedule an appointment.”

As if this entire shitshow of a day could get any worse, the curry he ordered ends up giving him heartburn.

Which is fucking bullshit.

He blames Ears.

* * *

Three days later, it’s Valentine’s Day and Izuku is on his way home when some goofball and his gang decides it’s a good idea to run the train off the tracks just outside the city limits. Izuku supposes the eventual goal was to ransack all the luggage and maybe hold the passengers up for ransom or until they unloaded their wallets or something, but obviously this poor dope had no idea that Deku and Red Riot were onboard.

Sucks for him.

The only annoying thing is that there’s about four of them and the train is full of innocent bystanders, but ultimately it doesn’t take too long for him and Kirishima to take care of business. By the time they’re done, a few other heroes have shown up to offer assistance. Todoroki’s among them and he beelines it toward Izuku once he spots him.

“Not the welcome party you were imagining, I suppose,” is the first thing he says, and Izuku chuckles.

“Not quite.”

“Your shoulder’s dislocated.”

Izuku grimaces. “Yeah, noticed that.” His arm is dangling somewhat uselessly by his side, after all, pain radiating through it up towards his neck. “One of those guys threw me into the side of the train. Help me out?”

“I’m still escorting you to the hospital after this,” Todoroki says, even as he does as requested.

Izuku bites backs a yelp as his shoulder pops back into place, then slowly rotates his arm around. “No, look. It’s fine! See?”

“Protocol,” Todoroki says simply, and Izuku groans. “Class two injury, they have to clear you.”

“That’s so unnecessary… Can’t one of the medics here do it?”

“They’ve got their hands full.”

That’s fair, Izuku grumpily supposes. The train was near capacity, after all.

They flag down Kirishima to let him know, and then Todoroki whisks him away to the nearest hospital for an evaluation. He hangs around until the end of it, not that it takes too long because Izuku is fine.

“How have things been here?” Izuku asks, while he’s still sitting on the examination table. There’s a doctor poking and prodding at him, but Izuku’s used to that kind of thing at this point in his career.

Todoroki shrugs. “Mostly uneventful, aside from that incident a couple days ago.”

“I saw that on the news,” Izuku says. “And Kacchan told me about it.”

“Have you spoken to him recently?”

That’s kind of a weird question. Of course he has. Izuku’s brow furrows as he looks back at Todoroki. “I called him this morning.”

“Did he say anything?”

That has his brows drawing down even more. “Anything about what?”

“I’m not really sure,” Todoroki admits. “Hanta said there’s something going on with him. I’m just being nosy.”

What?

What the heck is that supposed to mean?

“What do you mean there’s something going on with him?” Izuku quickly asks. There’s an alarmed pinging in the back of his head. “Something like what??”

“Hanta only said he’s been off,” Todoroki says, shrugging again. “And that he’s not feeling well.”

“Again?” Something drops in Izuku’s stomach. “He never gets sick, what – are you sure?”

“I literally have no details, Midoriya. That’s why I’m asking you.”

“Todoroki,” Izuku groans. “You can’t just throw that at me in the middle of an examination! Shit, I was supposed to check in at the agency before going home. I can’t – is he okay? Oh my god, I need to see him, how much longer is this going to take–?”

“You’re good to go,” the doctor interrupts, pulling a clipboard out of nowhere and jotting something down. “We’ll send the results over to your agency and let them know you’re cleared for duty.”

Izuku’s off the table and out the door in seconds, the top half of his uniform not even fully back on yet. He doesn’t wait for Todoroki, who lingers to offer the doctor an awkward bow and a stilted, “Thank you for your assistance.”

He catches up with him outside, though, while Izuku’s trying to decide if he should call for a cab or just start leaping across the rooftops.

“Should I tell Hanta you’re not checking in, then?”

“Yes,” Izuku says, harried. “Do that.” Green lightning sparks up around him, circling his legs. “We’ll see you Friday, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

Izuku nods and shoots him a wobbly smile, then he launches into the air. He’s on the opposite side of town from their apartment, so it takes him longer to get home than he would like. Katsuki should already be there, at least. Izuku remembers that he was complaining that morning about being on desk duty today, which means normal working hours.

He’s trying not to overthink what Todoroki said, but it’s hard to keep the panic from creeping in – because he feels like maybe he knew there was something going on. He knew something wasn’t right, he knew Kacchan was acting a little strange, but he’s been telling himself that if something was really wrong, Katsuki would tell him.

It’s not like Kacchan to ignore warning signs. He’s super attentive when it comes to his own health, and Izuku is super attentive when it comes to him. They haven’t BOTH been ignoring whatever this is, have they? They can’t possibly be that stupid.

Katsuki’s cooking when Izuku bursts through the door. He can tell because the apartment smells amazing, but he doesn’t give himself a chance to appreciate it as he skids to a stop in the kitchen entranceway.

Shit, he didn’t even remove his shoes. But whatever.

“Kacchan!” he cries, and all of his fretting feels momentarily misplaced as Katsuki looks at him over his shoulder and does nothing but raise an eyebrow.

“You’re back already?” he asks. “I thought you’d be a while, Kirishima said you had to go get cleared.” He snaps off the burner on the stove and Izuku is so abruptly filled with relief that he’s not, like, visibly dying that he doesn’t even wait for him to cross the kitchen before he dives at him and wraps him up in a giant bear hug.

“Kacchan, oh my god,” Izuku gasps out. “I missed you so much and Todoroki said that Sero said you weren’t feeling well and I was so worried that I think I broke the sound barrier getting home – are you okay??”

“Oi, what the hell?” Katsuki says, stumbling backwards as he’s basically bulldozed into with the entirety of Izuku’s weight. He’s quick to wrap his own arms around Izuku’s middle, though. “I – what? I’m fine, what the fuck.”

“But Sero said–”

“God, that nosy motherfucker,” Katsuki mutters. “Ignore that asshole.”

“Kacchan.” Izuku pulls back, eyeing him up and down. There’s nothing he can immediately place, but something still niggles at a corner of his brain. Katsuki looks…okay? But. “How do you feel?”

“Didn’t I just say I’m fine? Dumbass.” Katsuki leans in to kiss him, one of his hands palming at the back of Izuku’s neck. “I missed you, too.”

Izuku still squints at him suspiciously when he pulls back, trying to place what seems off. He’s acting the same and he seems in good enough spirits.

But there’s something.

“Hey,” Katsuki says impatiently after this has gone on for a minute or two. “The hell’s wrong with you?”

“That’s what I’m trying to ask you,” Izuku insists, and Katsuki rolls his eyes.

“Look, just.” He squirms in Izuku’s grasp, pulling away so he can turn back to the stove. “Let me finish this, okay? We’ll eat dinner and then…and then we’ll talk.”

“Talk about what?” Izuku asks, not a little apprehensively. Great, there’s that panic again.

“Nothing, just let me–”

Izuku plasters himself against Katsuki’s back. “Tell me what’s wrong, Kacchan.”

“Dammit, Izuku, I don’t know what’s wrong.” Katsuki huffs, looking annoyed. Izuku snakes a hand around his waist–

And then instantly snatches it back.

What.

“It’s not a big deal, okay?” Katsuki continues obliviously. He hasn’t turned the stove on again yet. He’s just standing there, glaring down at the frying pan on the burner. “Everything’s gonna be fine, I just need to get checked out or something.”

Izuku slowly reaches his hand back around, cautiously letting it curl against the, uh…very noticeable swell of Katsuki’s belly.

He swallows.

“Kacchan…”

“I know I shouldn’t have let it go on this long,” Katsuki says harshly. “It was stupid as fuck. I thought it would all go away on its own but that was dumb, okay, I get it.”

Izuku tugs at Katsuki’s shirt with his free hand, lifting it out of the way, and then pushes up on his toes a bit so he can peer down over Katsuki’s shoulder.

He’s used to feeling Kacchan’s taut muscles beneath his hand when he does this. They’re still there, he can still see the slight definition of his abs, but there’s a definite little bump around his bellybutton now. It curves outward into Izuku’s palm, firm to the touch, and Izuku’s brain just straight up blanks out.

“…Izuku,” Katsuki says.

He can’t make sense of what he’s seeing. Some hysterical part of his mind starts wailing about Katsuki’s exhaustion as of late, starts lighting up with dread as he recalls those few weeks he was physically sick. Oh god, what if – what if this is some kind of tumor or something? What if he’s got stomach cancer, is that a thing?? Shit. Fuck.

A much more rational train of thought sneaks in to remind him about Katsuki’s recent KFC obsession. So…right, okay, maybe just weight gain?

Sero wouldn’t be worried if it was only that, though. He wouldn’t have been concerned enough to mention it to Todoroki.

There must be more going on that Sero’s aware of. Symptoms that Kacchan hasn’t told Izuku about.

His mind flashes back again to when Katsuki was sick. When he was…throwing up…

“Oi, Deku,” Katsuki snaps, and Izuku jolts back to reality. “The fuck are you doing?”

He’s still cupping Kacchan’s belly bump, is what he’s doing.

Brain whirring.

Izuku is sure this wasn’t here two weeks ago.

“You haven’t been to the doctor yet?” he asks, and Katsuki goes still.

“…I scheduled an appointment for next week.”

“We’re going tomorrow.”

“What?” Katsuki twists around to look at him. “We’ve got work tomorrow.”

Izuku shakes his head. “We’re calling out.”

“It’s not that seri–”

“Kacchan,” Izuku interrupts, and Katsuki blinks at him. He’s gone slightly pale. “We’re going tomorrow. I’ll call in the morning.”

For a long moment, Katsuki just stares at him. Eventually, he drags his eyes away to look down his own torso to where Izuku’s still gently cradling the slight swell of his stomach.

He lets out a shuddery breath.

“…Okay.”

Chapter Text

Izuku’s got his phone on speaker as he rummages through his closet the following morning and pulls on the first articles of clothing his hands find. He’s trying not to let himself get too worked up, keeps telling himself they don’t actually know anything yet. It might not be that bad.

He can’t get the sight of Kacchan’s stomach out of his head.

It doesn’t help that Katsuki’s currently standing sideways in front of the bathroom mirror, scowling as he pokes at his belly. He doesn’t have a shirt on and Izuku catches himself stopping short in view of the open door more than once, eyes helplessly drawn to the curve of his profile.

There’s nothing logical about where Izuku’s thoughts keep drifting. It’s insane, not to mention impossible.

He hasn’t even let himself think about it in concrete terms yet, but…

Kacchan almost looks like he’s–

“Nighteye Hero Agency,” a female voice chimes from the phone suddenly. “How may I direct your call?”

Izuku turns away from the bathroom. “Morning, Hasegawa. This is Hero Deku. I was trying to reach Mirio-senpai but he’s not answering. Is he available?”

“Good morning, Midoriya! Lemillion got called into a meeting, but he should be free by the time you’re due in. Did you want to leave a message or can you talk to him when you get here?”

“Ah, well, that’s the thing.” Katsuki’s leaning against the bathroom doorframe now, arms crossed over his chest as he watches. Izuku notices he finally put on a shirt. “I can’t make it in today. Actually, I need to call out for both me and Kacch– Dynamight.”

“Oh, okay! I can put that in the system.” The faint sound of a keyboard clacking carries through the phone. When Hasegawa speaks again, her voice is teasing. “Celebrating being back by taking a day off, are we?”

Izuku lets out an obligatory chuckle, but it’s forced. “Not exactly.”

“Can I put you down for emergency standby?”

That makes him hesitate. Izuku can’t even remember the last time he called out of work – he’s actually not sure he ever has? But he’s always been on emergency standby, even on his days off. The only single instance he can recall that he wasn’t was when he and Kacchan actually left town one weekend to go hiking. He legitimately had to be physically not in the area for him to accept that he wouldn’t be able to help at the drop of a hat if the situation was severe enough.

…Maybe his friends have a point. Maybe he does need to take some time off.

“No,” Izuku finally says. Katsuki’s arms fall, his eyes widening. “I’m sorry, neither of us are available. Not today. That’s kind of why I wanted to speak to Mirio-senpai directly, but it’s okay. I’ll call him later.”

“Izuku,” Katsuki starts, moving toward him. “What the fuck are you–”

Izuku turns away, grabbing his phone off the dresser as he goes.

“Oh,” Hasegawa says faintly. “Okay, no problem. I’ve got it all in here, so the communal calendar should update shortly. Um, I hope everything’s okay!”

“Thanks,” Izuku says. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Alright. Stay safe out there!”

“You, too.” Izuku hangs up and glances back over to Katsuki, who’s pretty much just standing there gawking at him. “You ready to go?”

They take the car, which just adds to Katsuki’s sour mood. It’s a hand-me-down from Mitsuki and generally sits in the parking garage of their apartment complex most of the time since they can either walk or take the subway almost anywhere they need to go in the city. Their usual hospital is pretty local, too, unlike the one Izuku was at yesterday across town, but he insists on driving them anyway.

By the time Izuku has coerced Katsuki into getting in the passenger side of the car, he’s reached the Not Talking Anymore stage of annoyance. Izuku leaves him alone as he pulls out onto the busy street, and it’s not until they’re halfway to the hospital that Katsuki finally decides to break his silence.

“So what do you think it is?” he asks out of nowhere.

Izuku glances over at him briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. “What do you mean?”

“Whatever’s fucking going on with me,” Katsuki clarifies. “You’re freaking the fuck out. Why?”

“I’m not freaking out,” Izuku mutters, which is absolutely a lie. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe you’re fine.”

“Then why this big production?” Katsuki demands loudly. “You call us out of work, you won’t let me fucking walk to the damn hospital, and I don’t know what fucking strings you pulled to get me in to see my actual doctor instead of just rolling us up to the emergency room–”

“It’s not an emergency,” Izuku interrupts. “Probably. We would’ve taken someone else’s spot.”

“Deku.”

“I don’t know, Kacchan!” His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “I don’t know, but I think we have to acknowledge that it’s been – hell, weeks. Months? If it goes all the way back to when you had that stomach bug…or whatever that was. Just. I want to be sure you’re okay. I mean, it might be nothing. Right?”

Katsuki snorts, turning to look out the window. “Sure.”

“What do you think it is?”

Kacchan’s quiet for a moment. When he eventually speaks again, his voice is cautious. “Sero mentioned… It could be a thyroid thing? Underactive thyroid. Maybe. I was reading up on it and – I dunno. Maybe. I’d just need to be on daily meds or some shit, but that’s doable. I’d still be okay for hero work.”

“That’s not too bad,” Izuku says, equally cautious. He’s not super familiar with whatever that is, but Kacchan doesn’t sound overly concerned. “Still needs a diagnosis, right? Hopefully they’ll be able to tell us something today.” His voice lowers. “And then we can stop worrying.”

The hospital has a designated wing for heroes to allow them some privacy, but both Izuku and Katsuki wear face masks and baseball caps anyway as they check in and sit down to wait. When a nurse comes out to bring Katsuki back to get his height and weight, Izuku remains seated – until Kacchan shoots him an irritated look over his shoulder.

“You coming or what?”

He hadn’t been planning on it, honestly, but only because Katsuki’s an adult and Izuku didn’t want to seem like he was hovering too much. But there’s a subtle kind of look on Katsuki’s face, a muted fear in his eyes that he’s clearly trying to hide, and it makes Izuku immediately hop out of his seat to trail along after him.

Before long, they find themselves shuffled into the doctor’s office to wait some more. Izuku drops down into one of the chairs, but Katsuki ignores the examination table and instead paces agitatedly back and forth around the room.

It’s only a few minutes this time before the door opens again and a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair comes through. He’s holding a tablet and shoots an unreadable look at Izuku before peering over the rim of his glasses toward Katsuki.

“Well, you don’t appear to be mortally wounded,” Doctor Matsuda says. “When Midoriya here harassed the nurses into canceling another appointment so they could squeeze you into my schedule, I assumed something serious was going on.”

Kacchan scowls over at Izuku, who immediately flushes. “I panicked! I’m sorry.”

“No matter,” Matsuda says. He’s always had the sort of no-nonsense temperament that pairs well with Katsuki’s impatience for flowery bullshit, which is how he ended up being Katsuki’s regular doctor. Izuku typically sees someone else for his own yearly check-ups. “You’re here now, Bakugou, so let’s get on with it. What’s the problem?”

Katsuki hesitates for a moment, glancing at Izuku again briefly before turning back to Matsuda. He looks like he’s not entirely sure what to say, and instead ends up just tugging his shirt up over his stomach.

Matsuda’s eyebrows arch in an unimpressed way. “I certainly hope you’re not here because you need a referral for a dietician. That doesn’t require immediate attention, surely.”

“No,” Katsuki grits out, frowning. “There’s other shit, it’s not just this.”

“Well, don’t hold back.” Matsuda pats the examination table and Katsuki reluctantly takes a seat at the end of it. “Are you uncertain why you’re gaining weight?”

“It’s more I don’t know why I’m so damn hungry,” Katsuki mutters. “I keep trying to stick to my usual diet but it’s not enough anymore. Which, fine, whatever, I get shit changes, but I tried to adjust it without going overboard and it didn’t help.”

“It looks like you’ve gained about eight pounds since your physical last spring,” Matsuda says, swiping through a screen on the tablet. “That’s not too alarming. Dietary changes and weight gain aside, is there anything else going on? When did this start becoming an issue?”

Katsuki rattles off an answer and begins listing a whole mess of symptoms he’s been dealing with while Matsuda sets the tablet aside so he can check his eyes and ears, humming in acknowledgment every so often. Izuku feels his own eyes widening more and more as Katsuki mentions stuff he had no idea was happening. Unexplained aches and cramps, nausea for over a month, evidently – he can’t help the distressed sound that escapes him at that, which makes Kacchan wince a bit.

“Nausea,” Matsuda repeats, as he slides his stethoscope up the back of Katsuki’s shirt. “Was that accompanied by any vomiting? Deep breaths.”

Katsuki inhales and exhales a few times, then nods. “In the beginning. It sort of went away eventually.”

“What’s eventually?” Matsuda moves the stethoscope around to Katsuki’s chest. “After one week? Two?”

“Uh.” Katsuki darts a look at Izuku again, then glowers down at the floor. “Longer. It just wasn’t as regular. I was able to keep it mostly under control.”

Izuku grips at the seat of his chair, his stomach sinking fast. He doesn’t get how Kacchan didn’t compile everything that was going on and realize how similar it sounded to–

Well.

Okay, he does get it. Because it’s still impossible.

It’s impossible.

Matsuda’s gone somewhat quiet as he continues poking and prodding at Kacchan. There’s a little pinch between his brows, but when Katsuki mentions something about his thyroid again, he’s very accommodating as he starts feeling below Katsuki’s jaw and down his neck.

But it doesn’t escape Izuku’s notice how he keeps glancing down toward Katsuki’s stomach.

“Lie back for me,” Matsuda says a moment later, adjusting the examination table so that Katsuki can rest with his legs flat in front of him. He lifts Katsuki’s shirt and then starts pressing gently against the top of where his belly begins to bulge outwards. “…Hmm.”

“What?” Katsuki asks immediately, propping himself up on his elbows.

“I know it’s a difficult question to answer, particularly with your line of work…” Matsuda shifts his hands, feeling along the sides of Katsuki’s abdomen now. “But to your knowledge, have you been under the affects of any kind of Quirk recently?”

Katsuki frowns. “Not that I know of. I gotta deal with civilians at least once a week, though. Never know what they might accidentally hit you with when they’re panicking. Why?”

Matsuda doesn’t answer. He just leans down a bit and brings his stethoscope back up, this time placing the chestpiece right against the curve of Katsuki’s belly.

Izuku’s heart is pounding. There’s no reason for it – he doesn’t know why he’s suddenly infused with this strange sort of anxious anticipation, why it feels like he’s about to vibrate out of his own skin. He’s hunched over, hands steepled in front of his mouth, his knee bouncing.

Waiting.

Matsuda straightens again, pulling the ear pieces free and draping the stethoscope around the back of his neck. Izuku spends about two seconds trying to decipher the odd look on his face, but he quickly stops when he realizes it’s only making his uneasiness increase.

Katsuki answers a few more questions as Matsuda readies some equipment for drawing blood, and then when that’s done, he sends Katsuki off to the adjoining bathroom with a cup and a lighthearted, “I’m sure you know what to do with that.”

Once he’s gotten everything he needs, he sweeps out through the door and tells Katsuki and Izuku he’ll be back in a few minutes.

They’re quiet at first while they wait. Izuku can’t think. He can’t put all of his swirling thoughts in order, can’t even begin to formulate any kind of coherent guess as to where this is all going.

Kacchan just looks vaguely troubled where he’s still sitting up on the examination table. It makes him appear younger than he is, which causes Izuku’s heart to clench. He’s watched Katsuki face down all kinds of villains and beasts with nothing but a sharp grin and battle-ready eyes – to see him visibly nervous is almost unheard of.

“I feel weird,” Katsuki murmurs after another minute or so has crawled by.

Izuku blinks up at him. “How so?”

“I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “I just feel like I don’t wanna hear whatever the fuck he’s gonna come back in here with.”

“It’ll be okay,” Izuku says softly. “Whatever it is. We’ll make it work.”

Katsuki’s brows draw down, but the door opens again before he can say anything and Doctor Matsuda reenters.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he says, drawing to a stop in the center of the room and angling himself toward both Katsuki and Izuku. Izuku finds himself holding his breath. “A couple of my colleagues are going to join us momentarily, but I thought I should go ahead and do this part myself so you’re not too overwhelmed.”

He’s holding the tablet again, as well as a couple test strips and something that looks like–

“Do you know what this is?” Matsuda asks, holding up the aforementioned item that is absolutely the kind of pregnancy test Izuku has seen in approximately one thousand different television commercials.

Katsuki just stares at him.

“It’s a pregnancy test,” Matsuda continues, undeterred. “You can purchase them in any convenience store.” He sets the test behind him on the counter and holds up the strips this time. “These are the HCG urine tests we typically use here in the hospital. Like the pregnancy test, they’re designed to detect the presence of the HCG hormone in urine.”

“The HCG hormone,” Izuku repeats blankly. Katsuki hasn’t moved at all, but the color has drained out of his face so thoroughly that Izuku would get up to check on him if he wasn’t completely frozen himself.

Matsuda nods. “The presence of HCG is generally considered a sign of pregnancy.” He hesitates briefly, then looks directly at Katsuki. “Bakugou, all of the tests against your urine came back positive.”

It’s quiet.

Kacchan might as well be a statue up on that examination table. Doctor Matsuda waits patiently and eventually Katsuki blinks once, hard, before swallowing. “So…” he says faintly, uncertainly, but then stops there.

Matsuda gives him another moment, but it seems that’s all he can manage. “So,” Matsuda says carefully. “It would appear that you’re pregnant.”

Izuku sucks in a breath.

Katsuki’s eyes are starting to narrow. “But I’m a man,” he says. It comes out almost like a question. As though he’s suddenly unsure of what his gender is, or like he’s trying to figure out if it’s possible that he’s been misinformed about it for his entire life.

“Indeed,” Matsuda says. “Which makes this very confusing for you, I’m sure. I’ve put in a request for our lab to rush your bloodwork, so we should have those results back within the hour. But I expect the diagnosis to remain the same, as improbable as it sounds. Your symptoms all line up–”

“I’m a man,” Katsuki cuts in, more harshly this time, his voice raspy as he leans forward to glare at the doctor. “I can’t fucking be pregnant, it’s not even possible!”

“It is…exceedingly rare,” Matsuda agrees. He looks down at his tablet, tapping on the screen. “We’ve never had a case in this hospital, but I checked and you wouldn’t be the first Quirk-induced male pregnancy on record.”

Somehow, those are the words that finally break through Izuku’s stunned brain. “Quirk-induced?”

“Well, that’s my assumption.” Matsuda glances over at him. “Honestly, there aren’t really any other explanations that I’m aware of.”

“But what kind of Quirk–”

“I’m not fucking pregnant!” Katsuki explodes – almost literally. His palms spark and let off harmless pops, but he’s seething in an alarming way. Izuku can see his chest heaving and his eyes have gone round. He looks somewhat crazed and almost certainly on the verge of an outright panic attack.

Matsuda takes it all in stride. “I could hear the baby’s heartbeat,” he says calmly, and Katsuki stiffens all over again.

Oh god.

Oh god oh god.

“Baby,” Izuku squeaks out stupidly, almost dizzy with shock. But, like, obviously. If Katsuki’s pregnant then of course…

Shit.

Kacchan’s pregnant.

Izuku sways in his seat, flashing cold and then hot. His gaze darts over, finding Katsuki, trying to – to get his body to work, to do something, to blow past the way it feels like he’s taken a sledgehammer directly to his chest. He can’t think straight, his mind desperately scrambling to catch up, to accept what they’ve been told.

“Get it out of me,” Katsuki says hoarsely, and Izuku feels like his heart cracks in two. “What the fuck – get it OUT.”

He’s trembling. Izuku can see it even from where he’s sitting, struggling suddenly with the profound sense of loss that’s just washed over him. For something he didn’t even know he wanted.

“We can go over all your options,” Matsuda says, still in that infuriatingly calm voice.

Izuku can’t breathe. It’s all happening too quickly. He hasn’t even wrapped his brain around the very idea and they’re already trying to take it away from him. “Wait,” he croaks out, without really meaning to, and Katsuki snaps around to pin him with an owl-wide look.

They stare at each other.

“…I’ll give you a minute,” Matsuda murmurs, and then he quickly steps out of the room and closes the door behind him.

Izuku makes another attempt at gathering his thoughts, but Katsuki doesn’t give him a chance to. “Are you out of your damn mind?” he hisses through clenched teeth. “I can’t – Deku, I can’t.”

“I know,” Izuku says miserably. “But just – just wait a second.”

“I can’t have a fucking baby,” Katsuki says loudly, and then he flinches like he just heard his own words. His eyes drop to take in his stomach and he lifts a hand, but that’s all he can manage. It just hovers inches above where his shirt curves outward, shaking, and then a strained, almost whimpering sort of sound slips out of him.

It’s enough to finally propel Izuku into motion.

He lurches out of his seat, barreling into Katsuki’s side, arms wrapping around his shoulders. He’s slightly taller than Katsuki like this since the other man is hunched over, so he buries his face against Katsuki’s hair and waits for his gasping breaths to settle.

It takes a moment, but it’s not long before Katsuki leans into him. “What the fuck,” he groans, shifting until both his hands can clutch at Izuku’s shirt. “What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck. Izuku, what the fuck.”

“It’s okay,” Izuku soothes. “It’s a lot, I know.”

“This is insane. It’s actually fucking insane, what the hell is happening?!”

Izuku takes a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling slowly. He’s starting to feel marginally less crazy, at least, even with the molasses goop his thoughts have become.

This is good, though. He needed everything to slow down for a minute.

“We’ve never even talked about having kids,” Katsuki mumbles into Izuku’s chest.

“I know,” Izuku whispers. He swallows. “I always figured we would, though. Eventually.”

“Yeah, exactly. Eventually.”

Izuku’s eyes burn. “Kacchan… I’ll support whatever you want to do here.”

Katsuki’s quiet for a beat before pulling back to peer suspiciously up at him. “…But?”

“But nothing,” Izuku says, shaking his head. “It’s your body. It’s your career.”

“The fuck? What do you mean, my career?”

“Well, I – I think you’d have to take a leave of absence. For now. Until…”

Until the baby’s born.

Izuku can’t say it. The words get stuck in his throat, strangled by his own wildly inappropriate hope.

“Fuck that,” Katsuki says flatly.

…Right.

Izuku squeezes his eyes shut. “It’s not like you wouldn’t catch up.”

Stop, stop, stop.

Quit it, Izuku.

He keeps talking. “You’re the best hero I know. You’d probably still hit number one before me, even with that kind of setback.”

“Izuku…”

“Sorry,” Izuku mumbles. He turns his face away, pressing the heel of his hand against his eye. “Sorry, I’m not thinking straight.”

“Don’t do that.” Katsuki reaches up, fingers curling around Izuku’s wrist to tug his hand back down. “If you’ve got something to say, then say it.” Izuku shakes his head, which he knows is a mistake. He can sense Kacchan’s frustration growing. “What?” Katsuki demands. “Do you actually want a fucking kid right now?”

“I just never thought this would even be a possibility!” Izuku bursts out, emotion welling up inside him. “I thought – adoption, maybe, or I guess we could’ve gotten a surrogate or something, but – but. Kacchan, a baby that’s yours and mine? That we actually created?? That’s – that was never even an option!”

Katsuki wilts a bit. “We don’t know that it’s yours,” he says weakly. “It’s a goddamn Quirk baby, it could be fucking anyone’s.”

“I think there are tests for that,” Izuku says, though some stubborn part of him is already fully committed to the idea that he’s half responsible for this tiny human life. “But I’m not – Kacchan, I’m not trying to persuade you one way or the other. I just wanted you to calm down for a second and – and think about it. This should’ve been impossible.”

“Bullshit,” Katsuki grouses. “You put that in my fucking head because you know I’ll feel guilty if I get your kid ejected from my body.”

“Kacchan.”

He cringes, palms sparking again, and hops off the examination table. “FUCK.” Katsuki shoves past Izuku, folding his arms on top of his head. “How the fuck did this happen?” He spins back around. “I can’t do it, Izuku. I want a family with you but not like this. Not now.”

Izuku nods, even as his stomach plummets straight through the floor. “Okay. Whatever you want to do.”

Katsuki squints at him. His eyes have gone wet in that way they do when he feels like everything’s spiraling out of his control. Izuku’s only seen that look on his face a handful of times, but it still pierces through him right to his core. “Don’t say that,” Katsuki forces out, a desperate tint coloring his tone. “Asshole. You know this isn’t just my decision.”

“It is,” Izuku says quickly. He takes a step toward Katsuki. “I promise, I’m okay with whatever you decide.”

“Even if the kid’s yours?”

“I…” Izuku’s voice catches, but he clears his throat and forces himself to speak. “It’s okay. Really. Trust me, I know how you felt about, um. Kaminari. We’re too young, right? And you just – we just broke top twenty. I get it if you don’t want to pause everything right now, I know it’s not a good time. You’re focusing on work. We’re focusing on work, and – that’s the dream, right? Being number one, that’s what we’ve wanted since…forever…”

He’s rambling. Talking too much, trying to make himself believe the words coming out of his mouth.

Katsuki’s lowered his arms. His hands are clasped behind his neck now, his lips pursed, intense gaze even more watery than before.

“And even putting all that aside,” Izuku continues in a rush. “You’re – you’re a guy. So. That makes it even more complicated. You never expected to… God, I can’t even imagine. Quirks are so fascinating, huh? And weird. This probably counts as a weird one, actually.”

“Would you keep it?” Katsuki asks suddenly, and Izuku clamps his mouth shut around the verbal waterfall flowing out of him.

He blinks. “What?”

“Would you keep it?” Katsuki asks again. “If this had happened to you. If you were magically fucking knocked up against all fucking odds.”

“Uh.” It’s hard to picture it. To put himself in Kacchan’s shoes. It’s a little panic-inducing to even consider, if he’s being honest.

And really, that just cements his resolve to support Kacchan however he can.

“I guess I don’t really know,” Izuku murmurs. “I might feel totally different if I was actually experiencing it like you are, so–”

“Izuku.”

“Yes,” he blurts. “I think – maybe. Probably.”

Katsuki nods, looking away. His shoulders slump. “Shit,” he mutters, dragging his hands over his face. “You’re gonna be so disappointed.”

Izuku steels himself.

He hasn’t even had this baby – this concept of a child for more than thirty minutes yet.

Kacchan is more important.

“Hey,” he says, striding forward until he can lift his hands to cup Katsuki’s face. “You could never disappoint me.”

“Liar,” Katsuki chokes out, voice thick.

Izuku shakes his head. “I’m not lying. I might be a little sad, but it’s okay. We’ll do this when we’re both ready.”

“…Right. When I don’t have to be the one getting all fat because of it,” Katsuki says. He’s trying to pass it off as a joke but it’s weak, there’s a wavering to his tone, and Izuku realizes abruptly how terrifying this must be.

Kacchan’s basically had his body hijacked against his will. It’s just been growing an entire human without his knowledge or permission when that’s not something it should even be capable of doing.

It’s both amazing and scary.

“That’s not fat, Kacchan,” Izuku says softly. He lets one hand fall, sneaking it beneath Katsuki’s shirt and pressing against what he now knows to be Kacchan’s baby bump.

Amazing, scary, and absolutely mind-blowing.

Katsuki’s breath shudders out of him.

Izuku leans up to press a kiss against his temple. “I love you, okay? Do what you need to do.”

He lets the idea go.

* * *

Katsuki is fucked.

He feels like he knows he’s fucked even as he tells Deku he can’t go through with this. The mere thought of some alien lifeform growing INSIDE OF HIS DAMN BODY makes him want to shrivel up in a corner somewhere.

His mind keeps balking at the entire concept. It doesn’t make sense.

He didn’t agree to this. The fucking audacity, frankly, of this – this…

Baby.

To think it could just exist without his knowledge.

Actually, the sheer fucking audacity of his body to incubate the brat without even giving him some kind of sign–

…Well.

Okay, so apparently there were signs. A lot of them, in fact.

Katsuki stubbornly maintains that it’s not his fault he didn’t connect the dots. Why would he? In what fucking universe would he have EVER assumed that he was FUCKING PREGNANT.

It makes his skin crawl, but he thinks that’s partly because he’s still really struggling to even accept this as a legitimate thing that’s happening. Even though he can actually see it. There’s an unavoidable bulge in his gut, which was already unnerving enough. Now, though, knowing that it’s because he’s unwillingly growing a goddamn actual real human being in there makes his entire brain short-circuit.

But as much as he keeps thinking he can’t – he can’t reconcile the direction he thought his life was going with what his new reality might be, he can’t keep this thing inside of him for nine months or whatever the fuck, he can’t, he can’t, he CAN’T…

He’s not actually sure he’ll be able to…do whatever it is they do to make this not a thing anymore.

Abort.

Get rid of it.

Because it’s not just an it, is it? It’s potentially a whole kid he and Deku mutually created from nothing and fuck Deku for making him think about that. But the annoying thing is he’s right.

Katsuki hadn’t even considered that this might be a baby that’s half him and half Deku. Something they made together.

He doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to see this through until the end.

He also doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to make it disappear.

Katsuki’s glaring out the office window at nothing in particular, Deku pressed against his side, when there’s a soft knock at the door. They separate as Doctor Matsuda pokes his head through.

“Ready for me again?” he asks, and Katsuki just gives him a tired nod before moving to settle back on the end of the examination table. Deku lingers near him instead of sitting in one of the chairs this time, and Katsuki’s quietly grateful for it.

There are two other women with Matsuda when he steps into the room. He gestures at one of them. “Bakugou, Midoriya, I’d like to introduce you to Doctor Tajima, one of the directors of our Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. She’s going to personally oversee your case as your obstetrician, so she’ll mostly be taking over from here.”

“It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you both,” Tajima says, bowing deeply. She has a lab coat on and her dark hair is pulled back into a low ponytail. When she straightens again, there’s a wide smile on her face. “My son is a huge fan, Dynamight. Has been ever since your third year Sports Festival.”

Katsuki manages to crack a small grin at that. “Bakugou’s fine. Your kid’s got good taste.”

“And this is Ueda Shizuka,” Matsuda speaks again, waving toward the second woman. “She’s the hospital’s Quirk specialist.”

“I’m here to help narrow down what might’ve happened,” Ueda says, stepping forward and offering her own bow. She’s nearly as tall as Katsuki and has such vibrantly red hair that he finds himself wondering if it’s natural or if she uses the same hair dye that Kirishima does. “I’m mostly going to take notes today while Doctor Tajima asks you some questions. If we think you might’ve been hit with something on the job, I’ll also work with your agency to see if we can pinpoint the event where the Quirk occurred. That’ll help us locate the person who has the Quirk so we can reach out to them for questioning.”

“Questioning?” Deku asks, and Ueda nods.

“We need to know the details so we can try to figure out exactly what happened to Bakugou, and also so we have a better idea what to expect going forward. It’ll help us determine what kind of precautions we may need to take and make us aware of anything we should be concerned about.”

“You mean aside from the fact that I’m fucking pregnant?” Katsuki asks wryly, and Deku hisses beside him as he pokes him in the ribs.

“Kacchan.”

“Sorry,” he mutters, rolling his eyes. “Doctor Matsuda’s used to my shit, so…”

“It’s okay!” Tajima says cheerfully. “He warned us, and I think everyone has seen at least a few of your interviews. Don’t worry, I’m not easily intimidated. You should hear my mouth after I’ve had a few drinks.”

“She’d have even you blushing,” Matsuda adds in a dry tone. He moves to take a seat on the stool that got shoved to the side of the room. “We have a lot to go over, so we should probably get started.”

Katsuki peers at him. “Didn’t you have other people to see today?”

“I cleared the rest of my morning,” he says simply. “This is…quite a unique situation.”

“Truly,” Tajima says, as she pulls up one of the other chairs. It’s sort of awkward with Katsuki sitting on the examination table because it puts the others at a lower level, but at least Deku’s next to him and Ueda stays standing, as well, instead choosing to lean back against the counter opposite him. She has a notebook and pencil in her hands, unlike Tajima who has the same kind of tablet that Matsuda did. “First off,” Tajima continues, “let me assure you that we understand the need for discretion with a case like this one. That’s why I’m planning to take this on personally instead of letting one of my other doctors handle it. However, I want you to know that if you find yourself uncomfortable with me for any reason, even if it’s something as simple as preferring a male doctor, I won’t be offended and we can find you a better fit. Everyone on my team is wonderful and can be trusted to keep your privacy.”

…Shit.

Katsuki hasn’t had time to think about other people finding out about this.

That’s a whole can of worms he can’t even begin to open just yet.

“I ain’t that picky,” he says. “You’re probably fine.”

Also, he’s pretty sure – possibly, maybe – that this isn’t going to be an issue for much longer anyway.

He’s, like, ninety percent sure.

Eighty…maybe seventy-five percent sure.

“Well, feel free to let me know if you ever have any concerns,” Tajima says, and Katsuki snorts.

“Oh, I have plenty of fuckin’ concerns.”

Deku groans, but Tajima just laughs. “I’m not surprised.” She glances at Deku briefly, then looks back to Katsuki. “I apologize in advance if this first appointment gets very awkward for you, but unfortunately there are several things we need to pin down.”

Katsuki slumps forward a bit but grunts out his understanding. “Hit me.”

“You and Midoriya…” Tajima looks back and forth between the two of them again. “Since he’s in here, am I correct in assuming he’d be the other father? Or is he here for emotional support?”

Deku barks out a laugh, high-pitched and slightly strained, and when Katsuki shoots him a look, he sees that he’s gone bright red beneath his freckles.

The thing is, they’ve never bothered to hide the nature of their relationship…but they’ve also never made any sort of public announcement about it. He figures they’ll probably have to soon – they would even if they weren’t dealing with this whole babygate thing. The longer they work as pro heroes and the higher they climb up the ranks, the more their fanbase grows and the more demanding they get. It’s just inevitable.

Katsuki refuses to take part in any ‘Most Eligible Bachelor of the Year – Rookie Edition’ bullshit, even though he’s already been asked twice. And rumors tend to spread like wildfire when you don’t put any facts out there. He’s supposedly been with everyone from Camie to Yaomomo to Monoma, which is just fucking laughable.

Besides, aside from enjoying his privacy, Katsuki can’t see any real reason to keep it under wraps. It’s not like he’s ashamed of it or anything.

Quite the fucking opposite, thanks.

“If it’s not a magical Quirk baby, then yeah,” Katsuki says. “This guy somehow knocked me up.”

“Magical Quirk baby?” Ueda repeats, lifting one perfectly shaped eyebrow.

Katsuki folds his arms across his chest. “We don’t know how the fuck this happened. So.”

It seems obvious to him. Honestly, he doesn’t know why everyone’s first thought is that Deku somehow fucked a baby into him. His parts don’t freaking work that way.

“You’re sexually active, then,” Tajima confirms, and Katsuki snorts.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Are you typically on the receiving end?”

Katsuki blinks at that and, despite his best efforts, feels his face go warm.

Next to him, Deku mumbles, “Oh my god.”

“Sorry, sorry, let’s back that up,” Tajima says, before either of them can fumble out a more coherent response. “Doctor Matsuda estimates you could be at least four months pregnant, possibly even five. Now, we actually measure pregnancy by weeks, with most pregnancies typically lasting around forty weeks.” She pauses. “How familiar are either of you with this? I don’t want to sound patronizing in any way, it’s just that in my experience, young men who don’t have children often don’t know all the details of the process.”

“That’s a fair assumption,” Deku says faintly.

“Yeah, assume I don’t know a damn thing,” Katsuki adds, brow furrowed. Five months sounds so long, what the fuck? He can’t possibly be THAT far along.

“Alright,” Tajima says, head bobbing. She brings up her tablet, turning it so that Katsuki can see the screen as she opens the calendar. “According to Doctor Matsuda, he could already hear the baby’s heartbeat through a stethoscope. That usually becomes possible sometime between the eighteenth and twentieth week. So, let’s pretend you’re twenty weeks pregnant. If we count backwards twenty weeks…” She starts scrolling back through each week, and Katsuki watches the months slip by in near disbelief. “That puts us at the beginning of October. But, fun fact, we actually count pregnancy starting from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period.”

“…I don’t have one of those,” Katsuki says. Voice flat.

Tajima chuckles lightly. “No, of course not. But it means that women don’t actually conceive until the end of the second week, or beginning of the third. Somewhere around there.”

“So…they’re not even pregnant for the first two weeks of their – pregnancy?” Deku asks. He sounds like he wishes he had one of his damn notebooks with him so he could be jotting this down.

Such a nerd, Katsuki thinks fondly.

“You got it,” Tajima says. “Of course, no pregnancy is the same, even among those biologically capable of conceiving. But for simplicity’s sake, and so that we can figure out your due date and know when to look for certain milestones, we’ll stick with the usual forty weeks as a guideline. That means that if you’re twenty weeks pregnant, you would’ve conceived somewhere around…” She taps on one of the date boxes, highlighting it in yellow. “October 19th.”

“October…” Deku says. His face is all scrunched up and he’s got a hand pinching at his bottom lip.

“Do you remember anything out of the ordinary from around that time?” Ueda speaks up. “Any behavioral changes, or if you were feeling strange? Odd encounters with a civilian or even a villain… Anything you can think of would be useful information to have.”

“Not really,” Katsuki says, shrugging, but Deku makes a weird noise suddenly. Katsuki glances over at him. “What?”

“Kacchan,” he says slowly. “That was – that was when…”

“…When what?” Katsuki asks impatiently when Deku trails off and doesn’t continue for a moment.

“Um.” Deku scratches the back of his head, eyes darting to Tajima and then back to Katsuki again. He looks vaguely pained. “She asked if you, uh. Typically…receive? And, um. Well.”

Katsuki frowns, feeling his cheeks heat again. Goddammit, this is so stupid. Like, whatever, he’s not embarrassed about his freaking sexual preferences – it’s just awkward as fuck talking about it in a room full of people.

Then again, Tajima said it would be. At least she warned him.

“And what?” Katsuki prods again, trying not to clench his teeth. “We swap, what’s the big deal?” He forces himself to meet Tajima’s gaze. “Yes, I fucking take it sometimes. No, we don’t always use a condom, if that was your next question. Didn’t think we fucking needed to.”

“It wasn’t sometimes,” Deku blurts. “Not then. Don’t you remember?”

“Hah?” Katsuki straightens up, tensing. “The hell are you–?”

“It was always,” Deku interrupts him. He digs his hands back into his hair, eyes wide with a slightly crazed gleam to them. “For weeks, Kacchan, remember?? You didn’t want to do it any other way – you couldn’t, even when we tried!” Katsuki splutters, the color in his face deepening, but Deku just keeps fucking talking. “And we usually DO use protection, actually, at least when it’s you, but you wouldn’t let me back then! Oh my god, I knew something wasn’t right, shit, shit, you were totally under the effects of a Quirk and we ignored all the signs!”

“Shut up, what the fuck?” Katsuki says, voice high and alarmed. “That’s not – that didn’t–”

Deku shakes his head, determinedly plowing on. “And you wanted to do it so much more than normal. Come on, Kacchan, I know you remember!”

“I – yeah, but.” He can’t think. Of course he remembers, it’s unlikely he’s ever going to forget the night he couldn’t fucking get it up, but everything else hadn’t seemed that unusual…

Had it?

Deku was definitely concerned. He can recall that much.

Wait, didn’t he try to jump the nerd in the locker room one time?

Holy shit.

“Fuck,” Katsuki says, and Deku nods rapidly.

Ueda’s scribbling furiously on her notepad. “Okay, let me make sure I’m getting all this,” she says. “Behavioral changes for – how long did you say?”

“Weeks,” Deku supplies. “At least as far back as September.”

“Increased sexual urges, only inclined to…do it in one position, we’ll say. And no protection.”

“He was so grumpy the one time I used a condom,” Deku mumbles.

Katsuki actually shoves him this time. “Enough,” he growls. “They get it already, for fuck’s sake.”

“Ah, sorry…”

“It sounds as though your body really wanted to be pregnant,” Tajima says, glancing at Ueda for confirmation.

“Seems that way,” she agrees. “Do you have any idea when all of that stopped? Try to narrow it down as much as possible.”

“Shit, I don’t…” Katsuki makes a face. “I guess it was…toward the end of the month? Hell, it could’ve actually been the nineteenth.”

“Definitely before Halloween,” Deku says, and when Katsuki looks at him again, he flushes. “That was, uh. The first time we were able to…do it the other way. In, like, forever.” The memory of that night has Katsuki grinning sharply, which in turn makes Deku cough into his fist and avert his eyes. “So, yeah, it would’ve been… Hey, when did Kaminari and Kyouka make their announcement?”

“I think the week before or so, right?” Katsuki says. “It was real close to their party. I remember that, at least.”

“That sounds right…” Deku turns to face Doctor Tajima and Ueda. “Um, so I think the window you’re looking for was about five to seven days before the thirty-first. Somewhere around there.”

“Oh, well done,” Tajima says, spinning her tablet around and using a stylus to mark something. “That definitely fits with everything Doctor Matsuda noticed.”

“When did you say your nausea started?” Matsuda asks.

Katsuki swallows. “November.”

“Morning sickness, for sure.” Tajima twirls the stylus between her fingers. “Nineteen weeks, then. We’ll still do an ultrasound before you leave today, just to make sure we get a visual confirmation that everything’s tracking as it should. You’re nearly halfway through, can you believe it?”

No.

He really can’t.

Katsuki hasn’t been nauseous for at least a month now, but he suddenly feels like he’s going to throw up.

“How do I end it?” he asks quietly, and everyone in the room seems to go still. “That’s possible, isn’t it?”

He can hear the slow inhale that Deku takes beside him, but his eyes remain stubbornly pinned on Tajima.

“Well,” she says, very carefully. “You’re awfully close to the legal limit for having an abortion. I have to be honest with you, this hospital typically doesn’t perform them at this point unless there’s a medical emergency.”

“How does this not count as a medical emergency?” Katsuki grits out.

“I’m sure it would,” Tajima assures him. “At the very least, I think we could make an exception based on accidental Quirk misusage. But I want you to understand exactly what you’re asking for because it’s not going to be that simple. Not for you.”

Katsuki’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”

“I’m assuming you haven’t had any physical changes to your lower extremities, at least as far as you’re aware. I doubt you would’ve let that go unchecked.”

He takes a second to parse that one out, then glowers at her. “My dick is still there, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That is what I’m asking,” Tajima says, amused. “We’ll need to do a full examination sooner rather than later regardless of what you decide to do, but I’m sure you’re overwhelmed enough today. In any case, the Quirk apparently gave you a uterus but I’m not certain it provided a birth canal to go along with it. If we go through with a termination, it’ll more than likely be an invasive procedure that will require you to be admitted to the hospital.”

……Okay. So maybe sixty-five percent certain he’s not having this baby, then.

His confidence is falling fast, and he’s never been so aware of his own heartbeat in his entire goddamn life. Katsuki can feel it thudding rhythmically in his chest, can practically hear the thump-thump sound echoing in his ears.

Nineteen weeks pregnant.

Nearly halfway there.

Would it really be so bad if he just…kept going?

“I’ll add that we can’t be sure how terminating the pregnancy might affect the Quirk,” Ueda comments softly. “Whatever changes your body has incurred, it might be possible they can be medically reversed – but it’s also just as likely you’ll need to see the Quirk through until it concludes to revert back to normal. Of course, if we locate the Quirk user, we could also ask them about canceling it. There are a lot of unknowns right now.”

“If I don’t have a–” Katsuki cringes, his mouth fumbling the words, “–birth canal…then how would – at the end, how do I…?”

“We would deliver the baby via C-section,” Tajima says. She straightens in her seat and traces her finger in a wide U shape along the bottom of her stomach. “That’s when we make an incision in the abdomen and uterus to reach the baby.”

Katsuki blanches, going lightheaded at the sudden grotesque mental image of…that. Deku must notice, because he steps in close and curls a hand over his shoulder.

“What’s the recovery time on both options?” Deku asks.

“On the C-section,” Katsuki corrects in a rush. “If I do this thing, how long am I going to be out?”

Deku’s grip on him tightens. Katsuki doesn’t look at him.

“Out of hero work, you mean?” Tajima clarifies. When Katsuki nods, she continues, “You’d need to stop immediately, obviously. It’s frankly a miracle you haven’t miscarried already with all the hits you take on a daily basis. So, starting from today…I would say you should expect to be out, at minimum, eight to ten months. I’d be more comfortable saying a year, even.”

“A year?” Katsuki repeats incredulously, his eyebrows just about shooting right off his forehead. “No fucking way, are you serious?”

“We’re looking at a July delivery date,” Tajima says. “Recovery time for a C-section is usually around six weeks, then you’ll need to get back into proper condition for hero work. Once you’re deemed medically ready, we’ll clear you. But, as you know, you’ll still need to pass whatever regulations your agency has in place.”

“Six weeks, what the hell?! Don’t you have people with healing Quirks here?” Katsuki demands.

“We do,” Matsuda speaks up. “But we don’t employ them for every situation.”

“Healing Quirks almost always use the patient’s energy as a resource,” Tajima adds. “And really, you’re going to need all the energy you can get as a new mo– …Parent,” she quickly corrects herself.

Katsuki groans, unconsciously leaning into Deku. “God, this is so fucked up. A whole freaking year…”

“Only if you keep it,” Deku whispers, but Katsuki knows he’s holding back.

Deku’s already attached. It’s been all of a fucking hour and he’s already enamored with some baby he hasn’t even met yet.

Katsuki’s still having a hard time accepting that there even is a baby. And that it’s his.

“My rank would plummet,” he feels compelled to point out, but he’s weirdly…not too worried about that right now.

He thought he would be.

He thought the idea of being forced to stop working, at least as far as field work is concerned, would feel unacceptable. Career-ruining, even.

Instead, it somehow seems minor. There are far more important things to worry about.

Like how this damn adventure ends with a BABY that they’d have to, you know. Raise.

So, less career-ruining and more completely life-altering.

“You broke top twenty in less than three years,” Deku says. “You think you can’t do it again?”

Katsuki huffs and drags his hands over his face. “This isn’t over after I have the kid,” he mutters, glancing at Deku out of the corner of his eye. “You get that, right? It’s forever. It changes everything. You’d have to make changes, too.”

Deku’s gaze goes owl-wide. Something like hope begins creeping into his expression. “I – yeah. I know. I know, Kacchan, I get it.”

Fifty percent…

Katsuki heaves out a breath. Fuck. Fuck. “How long do I have to decide?” he asks the doctors, who are all waiting patiently for him to get his shit together.

“Unfortunately, you do need to make a decision pretty much as soon as possible,” Tajima says apologetically. “The baby is only going to keep growing. If you decide to terminate, we’ll need to do an examination to figure out the best way to go about that, and then get you on the schedule right away. And if you decide to keep it, well. We need to go over what adjustments you should make in your daily life. Diet, exercise, you’ll need to be on prenatal vitamins–”

“I wouldn’t have to stop working out, would I?” Katsuki interrupts.

“No, definitely not,” she says quickly. “In fact, we encourage exercise for all expectant parents. But you’ll likely need to scale back. A lot of pro heroes do – your workouts tend to be a little more extreme than what the rest of us schlubs running laps at the gym are doing.” Deku lets out a sheepish laugh and Tajima shares a quick grin with him before continuing, “We can go over what a typical workout routine looks like for you now and see what needs to be changed.”

“Okay,” Katsuki says. “Fine. I…I need a minute.”

He needs about a thousand minutes, but that’s beside the point.

Tajima nods and pushes out of her seat. “How about we start with an ultrasound? I can roll a machine in here.”

“Sure, whatever.”

Matsuda rises, as well, and Ueda moves toward the door. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” she says to Katsuki. “Doctor Tajima will keep me updated. If you decide to continue your pregnancy, I’ll connect with your agency and have them provide me with your schedule from September, and we’ll go from there. Sound good?”

Katsuki lets out some sort of confirming grunt, and then the three of them file out of the room, leaving him and Deku alone again.

Deku hops up onto the examination table behind him, legs dangling off one side. He twists his torso around so that his arms can circle Katsuki’s waist. “What are you thinking?” he murmurs, chin dropping onto Katsuki’s shoulder.

Katsuki shrugs. “Thinking I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“It doesn’t make sense that the baby wouldn’t be mine, you know.”

That’s actually not what Katsuki was mulling over at the moment, but it does make the corners of his mouth tug down. “How do you figure?”

“Because I agree with what they were saying! That the Quirk made your body want to be pregnant.” Deku gives him a squeeze. “That’s why it kept trying. If the Quirk itself was going to impregnate you somehow, then none of that other stuff would’ve been necessary. It needed – well.”

“Your dick?” Katsuki supplies dryly, and he can practically feel Deku blush.

“I mean! Basically, right?”

“Guess that makes some kinda sense,” Katsuki says with an annoyed sigh. He turns his head so that he’s angled away from Deku. “But that’s not… I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“What, then?”

A frustrated sound tears out of his throat. “You heard her! About how it’s a miracle I haven’t miscarried?” He pulls out of Deku’s grasp, shifting around until he’s mostly facing him again. “There’s no way this kid is okay, Izuku. I’ve definitely been punched more than once since fucking October. And – and I’ve had alcohol, that’s a thing, ain’t it? You’re not fuckin’ supposed to drink–”

“You don’t drink that much,” Deku says calmly.

“But–”

“Shhhh,” Deku soothes, reaching up, palms cupping the curves of Katsuki’s face. “Don’t jump to conclusions. Let them take a look first, okay?”

“I don’t think I wanna see it,” Katsuki says. His breathing turns shallow, picking up speed. Suddenly, he’s terrified. “It feels too fucking real.”

Deku’s thumbs stroke against his cheeks. “Because this is real. We can’t avoid it. One way or another, we have to make a decision.”

“God,” Katsuki chokes out. “I’m gonna murder whoever set this bullshit on me.”

“The baby could have your eyes,” Deku says lightly, and Katsuki pauses.

“…Yours are better.”

“And maybe my freckles.”

“Kid better have freckles if he knows what’s good for him.”

“Or her.”

“Oh, fucking hell.” Katsuki pulls out of Deku’s grasp, though he’s still somewhat slumped against him. “Like I’d know what the fuck to do with a girl.”

“What if there are twins in there? Maybe a boy AND a girl.”

“Do not,” Katsuki says immediately, feeling damn near hysterical at the very thought. “Fuck’s sake, nerd, don’t put that cursed energy out there.”

Deku snickers and lowers one of his hands, sneaking it around to press against Katsuki’s belly. He’s almost cautious about it, like he thinks Katsuki might bite his head off for touching him, but Katsuki just rolls his eyes and rests his own hand next to Deku’s.

“If it’s a boy, can we name him after All Might?” Deku asks.

Something pangs in Katsuki’s chest. He lets his eyes slide closed. “Stop fantasizing,” he says quietly. “I’m serious, Izuku. Just…let me get through the next hour before you start planning the kid’s whole life. I still don’t know what to do.”

Or so he tells himself. He can feel that number dropping, though.

“Sorry,” Deku murmurs.

The door opens before Katsuki can say anything else, and Matsuda and Tajima reenter the room. They’re rolling an ultrasound machine between them.

“Alright!” Doctor Tajima says, shooting them a grin. Honestly, she’s probably too peppy for Katsuki’s tastes, but whatever. She hasn’t actually managed to annoy him yet, so he can probably deal with her for…however long. “Let’s get started.”

She has Katsuki lie back on the examination table with his shirt bunched up around his ribs, then smooths some kind of gel over his lower abdomen.

“It’s been a minute since I’ve had to do this,” she admits with a laugh, messing around with some buttons on the machine. “Usually one of our technicians would take care of this part, but I’m trying to involve as few people as possible.”

Katsuki’s busy staring resolutely up at the ceiling, but he hums a little to show he’s listening. Deku’s in one of the chairs now, sitting on the other side of the examination table. He reached for Katsuki’s hand as soon as Tajima started spreading that gunk all over him, and Katsuki can’t be bothered to shake him off. He’s tense, jaw clenched as he waits, and he can tell Deku’s staring eagerly at the screen opposite him.

“Okay, here we go,” Tajima says, and she presses the wand just below his navel.

An image flickers to life on the screen. Katsuki’s not looking at it, but he still catches sight of it out of the corner of his eye. He hears Deku suck in a breath beside him and turns his head farther away, eyes squeezing shut.

Tajima moves the wand around, sliding it over different areas of his stomach. She’s quiet, probably because she’s picked up on Katsuki’s extreme reluctance here, but that just puts him even more on edge.

The hell does she see?

Is everything fucking okay??

What’s actually going on inside of him, is it really a baby or is it some kind of mystery Quirk parasite–

Tajima leans over to the machine suddenly, tapping something, and the room is abruptly filled with a soft, rhythmic sound. A sort of whooshing thump, thump, thump that has Katsuki’s eyes flying back open.

“Heartbeat sounds good,” she comments softly, and Katsuki swings his head around again, gaze locking instantly on the screen.

He has no idea what he’s looking at. White, amorphous blobs against a dark background, shapes that make no sense to him. Tajima clicks something again and the audio fades back out.

“It really sounds good?” Katsuki finds himself asking. Can’t help it.

Forty, twenty-five, ten… He’s – he’s still maybe ten percent sure this isn’t a good idea. He isn’t ready, there’s still so much to do, he doesn’t know shit about babies, he’s–

Tajima glances at him. A soft smile curves her lips. “It sounds very good,” she says, and then she moves the wand again until suddenly there’s a very distinct outline of the profile of a little head.

Fuck.

Katsuki’s eyes go round.

The curve of the baby’s forehead slopes gently down to a tiny little nose. Below that, a slightly open mouth. There’s the outline of an ear. He can make out the arms tucked against the baby’s chest.

It’s startlingly clear.

He doesn’t know what he was expecting, but he definitely hadn’t realized they’d already be able to make out so many details.

“Kacchan,” Deku breathes, and Katsuki grips at his hand, squeezes tight, but he can’t look away from the screen.

Tajima begins pointing things out as she angles the wand this way and that, covering the entire area of his belly. Spine, hands, feet, even things like the baby’s brain, heart, and lungs. The shape of the placenta, how much amniotic fluid there is. Some of that is meaningless to Katsuki, but Tajima explains as she goes.

More than once, Katsuki has to look down at himself to where his stomach curves outward, has to watch as the wand presses against his skin and reaffirm that, yes, this is all actually happening. It’s real. Eventually, though, he manages to relax into it. He feels a bit like he’s floating, lulled into a semi-hypnotic daze where it’s just him and this baby on the screen.

This baby inside of him.

“Well, I don’t see anything unusual or concerning,” Tajima says some time later. “No abnormalities, everything looks to be developing right on schedule, and it’s a healthy size. I think we hit the mark with nineteen weeks.”

“Fascinating,” Matsuda murmurs.

“How big is it?” Deku asks.

Tajima hums. “If we go with the fruit chart, the baby’s about the size of a mango right now.” She looks back at the screen again, clicking one more thing. “Would you like to know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“No,” Katsuki says immediately, as Deku excitedly blurts out at the same time, “You can already tell??”

Katsuki huffs out a sigh. “Just – can you write it down or something? So we can…look at it later. Maybe.”

“Absolutely,” Tajima says. “I’ll have some pictures printed for you, too. You should be able to feel the baby move soon, if you haven’t already. Honestly, you’ve probably been feeling it and not realizing it, actually. It can be a little hard to tell in the beginning with your first one. But anything like little flutters, or even what you might assume are gas bubbles – that’s probably the baby.”

…Hah.

Weird.

It’s weird to think he’s going to be able to feel the kid moving. That’s freaky as hell.

What she’s describing sort of sounds familiar, though, and – “Oh,” he says blankly. Blinking. Surprised.

“You’ve felt it, huh?” Tajima asks knowingly, and Katsuki can only nod, completely stunned. “It’ll get stronger over time. It shouldn’t be too long before Midoriya can feel it, too.” She sets the ultrasound wand aside and grabs some paper towels to help Katsuki wipe the goopy shit off of him. “So,” she hedges after a moment. “How are we feeling?”

Overwhelmed.

And a little crazy.

But…

Katsuki looks over, catching Deku’s eyes for several long seconds. “Are you really sure you want to do this?” he asks eventually, quietly.

Deku bites his bottom lip and, because he’s a giant crybaby nerd, makes it about half a second before his eyes start to well up. “If – if you want to. If you’re okay, Kacchan. I’m sure if you’re sure.”

Something squirms in his gut. Or…someone, Katsuki realizes. It’s bizarre and it almost kind of tickles and that’s his and Deku’s goddamn miracle baby and it’s moving.

“Okay then,” Katsuki says, and the smile that explodes across Deku’s face is actually fucking blinding. It knocks into Katsuki, makes his heart stutter in his chest, and then the tears spill over and Deku lurches forward to kiss him and it’s wet and gross and embarrassing because they’re not alone, the two doctors are still there, and also Katsuki’s actually not entirely sure if Deku’s the only one here who’s crying but he’s going to blame the kiss being all soggy on him anyway.

“Congratulations,” Matsuda says, amused, when they finally break apart.

“The adventure begins,” Tajima adds with a thrilled look. “Alright, first steps…”

It’s still another hour or so before they’re finally back in the car and on their way home. Katsuki’s got about fifteen different pamphlets and print-outs with him, dietary guidelines, a list of dos and don’ts, the name of some prenatal vitamins he’s supposed to pick up, an envelope full of pictures from the ultrasound and another envelope with the sex of the baby hidden inside, and – he’s fucking exhausted.

“Can you make room on his schedule for us tomorrow?” Deku’s asking Hasegawa. They have her on speakerphone through the car as Deku drives. “It’s really important.”

“Sure thing. Assuming nothing goes bonkers in the morning, you know how that goes. He’s got time around ten. Does that work?”

“Perfect,” Deku says. “And, um. We both need to take off again. I’m sorry!”

“Gosh, Midoriya. I hope it’s not important in a bad way.”

“No, no,” Deku assures her. “It’s…well. It’s just complicated. But we’re okay.”

“I’m required to ask – are you available for emergency standby?”

Deku pauses for a moment. “I am,” he finally says. “Dynamight isn’t.”

“Alright. Well, we’ll see you in the morning, then!”

Katsuki waits for Deku to end the call before speaking up. “People are gonna notice the second I’m pulled off the schedule,” he points out. “Our friends are all nosy assholes. Hell, they’re probably all wondering where the fuck we were today.”

“Yeah…” Deku absently drums his fingers against the steering wheel. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Katsuki murmurs. “Like, I wanna sit on this until I’m fucking used to it, but I don’t know if that’s feasible.”

“I can’t believe you’re pregnant,” Deku says for about the eighth time since they got in the car. Katsuki just rolls his eyes. “We’re supposed to see everyone at Kirishima’s on Friday. If you’re still up for it.”

Katsuki thinks for a moment. It’s Tuesday now. That gives him a few days, at least. Some time to soak it all in, really get used to the idea.

That should be fine.

“Call him,” Katsuki says, and Deku spares him a quick glance before pressing a button on the steering wheel and telling the car to dial Kirishima.

He picks up after a few rings. “Yo, Midoriya! What’s up?”

“It’s me,” Katsuki says. “We’re in the car.”

“Hey, Kirishima,” Deku greets.

“Oh cool!” Kirishima says. “I noticed you disappeared off the schedule today. Did you guys go somewhere?”

“Sort of,” Katsuki says dryly. “Hey, this thing on Friday…”

“Yeah?”

“It’s just hanging out? You’re not making any kind of…fuck, I dunno. Announcement?”

“Uhh, what?” Kirishima sounds confused. “Announcement?”

“You’ve got everyone in one place and it was fucking Valentine’s Day yesterday, I’m just making sure you didn’t surprise Mina with some shit when you got back from Fat Gum’s.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line for a moment until Kirishima makes some kind of fucking wheezing sound. “Oh. Dude, what – no! I – nooo, I’m not… We’re not. Why, did she say something?! Holy shit.”

“She didn’t fuckin’ say anything, calm down,” Katsuki says.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to get married, man. You’re sure she didn’t, like, hint at something? Why are you asking??”

“For fuck’s sake. There was no hinting, dumbass, she literally hasn’t said anything. I’m only asking because I’ve got some shit to tell everyone but I didn’t wanna steal your thunder or something.”

“You…” Kirishima trails off. Katsuki can picture the baffled look on his face and it almost makes him laugh. “What do you have to tell us?”

“Guess you’ll find out Friday.”

“What?! Dude, come on, that’s so mean! That’s forever away!”

“Not my fault you’re an impatient moron.”

“At least give me a clue!”

“Nah.”

“Bakugou!!”

Deku chuckles a little, trying to muffle it. Katsuki shares a grin with him. “We gotta go now.”

“No, wait!”

“Bye, Kirishima~!” Deku says with a singsong sort of lilt, and he hangs up while Kirishima is still protesting and demanding they tell him what’s going on.

“You know, it might actually be fun.” Katsuki reaches across the center console, palm turned up, and Deku is quick to move one hand off the steering wheel to tangle their fingers together. “Seeing all their dumb faces when we tell them.”

“Yeah,” Deku agrees. He’s practically glowing. Katsuki’s heard some nonsense before about pregnant people having some kind of glow to them, but it’s definitely Deku who’s radiating joy right now.

He’s glad, honestly.

Deku being so damn excited is having a strange calming effect on him. It makes him feel like he can do this, like they’re going to be just fucking fine when it’s all over.

The two of them and their baby. This little family they’re starting.

Deku snorts out a laugh. “Kaminari is going to be so excited.”

“Oh fuck,” Katsuki groans, letting his head fall back to thunk off the headrest behind him. “He totally fucking is.”

“Kyouka, too.”

“At least our kid won’t be lonely.” Katsuki tips his face toward the window, watching as they turn onto their block. A few seconds later, it’s his turn to start chuckling quietly, a low, rumbling sound that reverberates in his chest.

“What?” Deku asks, sliding a quick glance toward him.

“I was just thinking,” Katsuki says. “Back when I was puking my brains out and all.” He turns to meet Deku’s look, grinning. “Kirishima brought me that shit that was supposed to help with morning sickness.”

Deku blinks. There’s a beat of silence that hangs there, almost expectantly, and then suddenly they’re both laughing – loud and boisterous and warm, filling the space between them.

It feels good.

Chapter Text

Stepping back into their apartment again is weird in a way that Katsuki wasn’t expecting.

This is where he’s lived with Deku since they graduated from U.A. It’s the place they’ve called home for almost three years, it’s where they find each other after a grueling day of hero work and where they wake up together every morning. They’ve tended each other’s wounds here, comforted and supported each other, grown closer as their relationship has deepened.

Their entire adult lives have taken place here. And they’ve only been gone for a few hours, so it’s not like anything about the apartment has changed – but everything else has.

Katsuki is suddenly hyperaware of how small it is. It was pretty much the best they could afford when they’d first started out and they’d always meant for it to be a temporary living situation anyway, just something to get them through the first couple years of their careers until they had the means to pay for a nicer place. But it’s grown on both of them.

It’s close to their agency and a lot of their friends. There are plenty of restaurants in walking distance. There’s a subway stop just down the block. And it’s technically a two-bedroom, although Katsuki thinks calling the second room anything other than a walk-in closet is being extra fucking generous. Currently they’re pretending that “bedroom” is a shared office, but actually it’s just housing boxes of their combined hero memorabilia that they couldn’t fit anywhere else.

He guesses they should probably clear that out now.

The other option being–

“We’re gonna have to move.”

Deku blinks over at him where he’s still just standing in the entranceway, staring at the space around them with new eyes. “What? Why?”

“We can’t raise a kid here,” Katsuki says, and this time Deku frowns. He scans the living room in front of them as if he’s trying to understand where Katsuki’s coming from, which has Katsuki abruptly remembering that the two of them were raised in very different households.

Katsuki is maybe a bit spoiled. He can admit that.

This is about more than the size of the place, though.

“We can turn the office into a nursery,” Deku says slowly. “A crib will fit in there.”

Katsuki snorts. “With all our shit? Barely.”

“The desk can go, we’re not using it anyway.”

“We’re not using it because it’s covered in All Might junk.”

“Half of that All Might junk is yours, Kacchan.”

“And we do need the desk, actually, because whenever one of us has paperwork to do it ends up all over the coffee table because we don’t have a fucking REAL table. We eat all our meals on the damn couch and then I gotta hand in greasy-ass folders and shit at work because something always spills.”

Deku, the snarky little nerd, just rolls his eyes.

Katsuki scowls. “It’s not big enough, Izuku.”

“I lived in an apartment my entire life,” Deku says, a tad defensively. “And I turned out fine. We like this location! Where else would we even go?”

“Somewhere where there’s fucking trees, for one.” Katsuki throws a hand out, gesturing off into the distance. “And parks. You grew up in an apartment in the suburbs, remember? It’s different than this. We had a neighborhood, playgrounds… I want that for our kid. I don’t wanna raise them in the city.”

The small amount of tension Deku was holding in his shoulders bleeds away, his expression softening. “Ah. That’s…a good point.”

“Also, it was mostly just you and your mom at your place – we’ve got a whole extra third person.”

“It’s just so convenient here,” Deku says weakly.

“I told you there’d be changes,” Katsuki points out, and Deku sighs.

“I know. Can we even afford a house?”

“I’m not saying I need a fucking house, geez. I’m just saying we need to start getting used to the idea of commuting.” Katsuki pauses to do some quick math in his head anyway. “But…I mean, eventually, sure. Hell, how much space does a baby even need? We’d probably be fine here for another year or two.”

“Mm, but if we move back home then we can rope our parents into helping out with childcare.” Deku sucks in a breath suddenly, his eyes blowing wide as he reaches out to snag Katsuki’s wrist. “Oh my god, Kacchan. We have to tell our parents.”

Katsuki cringes.

Yeah. He knows.

But he’s not sure how he’s supposed to navigate that conversation at all.

Telling their friends is one thing. He’s warmed up to that idea a little, mostly because watching all their heads explode will probably be funny as shit.

And he assumes telling his boss is going to be mortifying, but he’ll suck it up because it’s gotta be done.

But dropping that bomb on his mother?

Sure to be a goddamn nightmare.

…For whatever bizarre reason, though, Katsuki finds himself filled with an inexplicable and deeply unfamiliar urge to talk to her.

Like, right now. This instant.

Which is a feeling he honestly doesn’t know what to do with.

Mitsuki is hardly the soft or gentle sort. She and Katsuki are more likely to snap and bark at each other than sit down and have a heart-to-heart. They’ve had that kind of abrasive relationship for Katsuki’s entire life, so why he suddenly wants to collapse into her arms, curl up against her and let her shield him from all the bullshit life has to offer, he has no fucking idea. She hasn’t held him like that since he was in diapers, probably. And a good chunk of the reason for that is because he wouldn’t fucking let her, so it’s fine, that’s just how they are and it’s not something that’s ever bothered him.

Because despite all their combined bitching at each other, she’s still his mom. He still loves her.

And he knows she loves him.

It doesn’t make him feel any less pathetic that this sudden dumb crybaby impulse is so overwhelming that it’s making his throat go tight. It’s stupid and kind of alarming and definitely annoying as all hell, but fuck, he just really, really wants to talk to her.

He wants his mom.

Katsuki handles this brand-new bullshit territory by shoving every wayward emotion he’s currently experiencing deep down inside of him and pulling free from Deku so that he can slouch off in the direction of the bedroom.

Goddamn pregnancy hormones. Yeah, he knows all about those now! He’s already not a fucking fan!!

“M’gonna take a nap,” Katsuki mutters, as he ambles down the hall.

Deku doesn’t say anything. He just watches him go, his brow creased in concern.

Once Katsuki’s in the safety of their bedroom, he lets out a shuddering exhale and scrubs the heels of his hands over his eyes.

Fuck this entire day, honestly.

He knows he’s ping-ponging all over the place. Blindsided one second, horrified the next. Reluctantly hopeful and very tentatively excited. But still terrified underneath it all. Still a little bitter, a little resentful.

Part of him is mad.

A bigger part is buzzing with anticipation and nerves.

There’s a thread of pure joy twisting around his heart.

It’s all so fucking much.

Katsuki starts to beeline toward their bed, fully intending to collapse face down onto it and not come up for air for at least three hours, but he pauses as he passes his closet, eyes drawn to the top shelf. Left side.

There’s a familiar shopping bag there, hidden beneath a pile of scarves.

He hesitates for a moment, then changes direction and moves toward the closet instead, unearthing the bag and yanking it open so he can peer inside at its contents.

Baby clothes.

A whole hoard of fucking baby clothes that he was stashing like a damn chipmunk gathering acorns for the winter.

Katsuki drops heavily onto the bed, still staring at his amassed collection. Onesies and baby shoes galore.

What the fuck.

How did he let this giant red flag go unchecked?

He’s never in his entire goddamn life felt any need to even look at, much less purchase, tiny little outfits for squalling infants. And here he walked out of the store with practically the entire freakin’ clothes rack and didn’t think he should probably be at least a LITTLE concerned about that?

Katsuki groans and flops backwards onto the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes, his free hand still clutching the shopping bag. Fuck, he remembers holding one of the onesies up against his stomach, trying to imagine Ears growing a human big enough to fit into it.

The thought has him lifting his arm a bit so he can squint down at the bag again. Then he’s moving in a flurry, scooting himself further up the bed so he can rest against the pillows and digging around in the bag until he’s pulling out one of the Deku onesies.

Shit, it’s big.

Or, well, it’s not. It’s still fucking small but now he’s trying to picture a baby this size somehow fitting in his body and it’s FUCKING BIG, okay?!

He scowls, searching for a tag or something, and there’s some relief when he realizes it’s meant for kids three to six months old. When he was snatching all these outfits up like an absolute lunatic, it hadn’t occurred to him to check for fucking sizes.

At least it’s still cute.

Katsuki rummages through the bag some more until he finds a onesie that’s meant for actual newborns. Zero to three months, it says, and unfortunately it’s the Shouto one but what-fucking-ever. It’s still alarmingly big while at the same time being so, so small, and the clashing thoughts are honestly making his head hurt.

He leans back into the pillows, stretching his torso out so he can drape the Shouto onesie over the slight bump in his belly.

Weird.

Weird, weird, weird.

But…not impossible. He’s just gonna be huge, that’s all.

There’s a noticeable squirm in his gut just then. A light, fluttery sort of feeling that isn’t exactly new because he has felt it before. A couple times over the past two weeks or so.

He hadn’t realized it was something worth noticing at the time, though. Now that he knows exactly what it is, he feels his eyes growing wide with awe all over again.

“You like this one, huh?” he mumbles, lifting the Shouto onesie up so he can examine it more closely. “Well, tough shit, kid. You’re not allowed to like Icy Hot best.”

It’s soft, though. There’s a little snowflake design on the bottom of one of the footies, and a flame on the bottom of the other. Kind of a nice touch, he thinks, feeling the corner of his mouth quirk upwards.

–God, okay, he’s talking to himself now. Talking to his kid and admiring baby clothes and he’s fucking pregnant and is any of this ever NOT going to feel jarring as shit???

Fuck.

Okay.

It’s been, like, five minutes since he found out. He’s allowed to still feel fucking insane about the whole thing.

There’s a light knock on the door and Katsuki jolts, scrambling to shove the shopping bag and all the clothes in it under one of the pillows as Deku enters the room with his laptop held in the crook of his arm.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d fallen asleep yet,” he says, while Katsuki tries to look like he didn’t just hide a whole pile of baby clothes in their bed. Baby clothes that he personally bought all by himself like a totally normal twenty-one-year-old man who’s pregnant but didn’t know it at the time.

“Not yet,” Katsuki says. He narrows his eyes at the laptop. “What’re you–?”

“It’s your mom,” Deku says, and then he quickly holds up a hand before Katsuki can immediately lose his shit and adds in a rush, “She’s muted! I didn’t tell her anything. You don’t have to tell her anything. I just thought you might want to talk to her.”

Katsuki blinks. He’s tense, posed like he’s about to launch himself off the bed and storm out of the room, and – he doesn’t know what to do.

How does Deku know him so fucking well?

“I don’t know how to tell her, Izuku,” he says, and his voice comes out hoarse. Choked. Maybe if he went through his dad first…?

But that’s a nightmare in its own way.

Mostly because it’s somehow embarrassing, he literally can’t imagine telling his dad that his very male and definitely gay son is magically knocked up with an accidental Quirk baby.

Surprise! You’re not even fifty and you’re going to be a grandfather. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

Shit, and Katsuki is actually close with his dad. He’s normally the one person Katsuki willingly talks to.

“We don’t have to say anything right now if you don’t want to,” Deku says again. “That’s not why I called her. I just… It seemed like you might need her.” Katsuki scoffs purely out of habit, and Deku lets out this sound that’s so exasperated it almost makes him laugh. “Kacchan. Do you want to talk to her or not?”

“I do,” Katsuki blurts out, and then he promptly grimaces. Dammit. “Fine, give it here. She’ll fucking kill me if we tell anyone else before her anyway.”

Deku crawls onto the bed next to him, handing over the laptop, and Katsuki gets it balanced on his knees before taking a deep breath and fully opening the lid so he can see his mom’s image on the screen. Then he taps the unmute icon. “Hey.”

“What’s wrong, kid?” Mitsuki asks immediately, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What’s going on, you okay?”

“Yes?” Katsuki says, giving her his usual irritated frown. “Why the hell would something be wrong?”

“Why else would Izuku call me?”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “He calls you every week.”

“Not at…” Mitsuki glances at the corner of her screen. “Lunchtime on a Tuesday. Why aren’t you working?”

“We’re off today.”

“I missed our call last week,” Deku says, leaning into view with a too-bright smile. “I was on that mission, so. Just got back yesterday!”

“Oh, that’s right.” Mitsuki sits back a bit, seemingly accepting that this is just a normal call. Hah. “How’d that go?”

Deku launches into a story about some fancy restaurant Fat Gum took them to after they’d wrapped everything up, and Katsuki lets him talk, trying to keep a neutral expression on his face. He doesn’t want to give anything away before he’s ready, especially with his mom trying to pretend she’s some kind of shitty detective today.

For the next few minutes, Deku’s rambling fills the room, and every response from Mitsuki eases something in Katsuki’s chest. Just hearing her voice is somehow soothing, which is so ass-backwards from usual that it’s actually hilarious. Eventually, though, Deku trails off into silence, and Mitsuki’s gaze slides pointedly back over to him.

“What are you working on?” he asks, spotting some sketches on the desk in front of her.

Her lips purse for a moment before she exhales shortly through her nose. “It’s a bomber jacket. I think you’d like it, actually. Any chance I can get you to come to our next show?”

Katsuki snorts. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s right up your alley, ya brat! Look.” She holds up one of the design drawings, and Katsuki has to admit (to himself, silently) that it’s not half bad. “Not too chic, right? I wanted it more toned down.”

“High fashion that doesn’t look like it but still costs a fucking arm and a leg?” Katsuki drawls, and Mitsuki gives him a sharp grin.

“That’s very in right now, you know.”

“If it’s in, it’s because you decided it’s in.”

“I know what the consumer wants,” Mitsuki says loftily.

“Fashion is a scam,” Katsuki mutters to Deku, which makes him chuckle. He’s currently curled against Katsuki’s side, watching them talk. “Why don’t you ever make shit that’s actually useful?”

“And just what the hell do you think counts as useful, huh?”

“I dunno, like… Pregnancy clothes or something.” He can’t quite bring himself to say maternity. Beside him, Deku goes still. “Or crap for babies.”

Mitsuki pauses. “That’s not really our brand,” she says after a moment, a furrow forming between her brows. She reaches for a clean sheet of paper. “For your friends?”

“…Sure.” Whatever, he’ll go with it. “They’re not high ranking enough yet that they get merch made for them like that.”

“Chargebolt, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And – Jirou, she’s…?”

“Kyouka,” Katsuki corrects. “Earphone Jack is her hero name.”

“I could maybe do a one-off,” Mitsuki says, already sketching something out. “Something special for them, I mean. I couldn’t put it in stores, that’d require going through their agencies and dealing with a whole bunch of legal bullshit that I don’t have time for right now.”

“That’d be so cool,” Deku comments softly. “I bet they’d really love that.”

“Kyouka can buy maternity clothes anywhere, though.” Mitsuki looks up from her drawing, one eyebrow slightly arched. “You don’t need that from me, right?”

“No,” Katsuki says, voice sullen. “Guess not.”

Mitsuki squints at him. “Katsuki, what’s wrong?”

“For fuck’s sake!” Katsuki snaps. “Nothing’s wrong, goddamn. Lay off, would you?”

She ignores him. “You’re in a mood.”

“I’m not in a fucking mood.”

“And you look tired.”

“I’m gonna hang up on you.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Mitsuki says quickly, pointing her pencil at the camera. “I haven’t talked to you in weeks! How’d I raise such an ungrateful son?”

“It hasn’t been weeks,” Katsuki complains. “It’s been, like, two at most.”

“And you’re ignoring my texts.”

“I’m BUSY.”

“You’re never too busy to talk to your mother.”

“I swear to fucking god.” Katsuki scowls, jerking his eyes away. “Where’s dad?”

“Upstairs. You want me to get him?”

“No,” Katsuki says immediately, and that sure doesn’t help the situation any. Both of Mitsuki’s eyebrows shoot upwards this time, so Katsuki tries to correct himself with a hasty, “I’ll talk to him later.”

“You’re setting off every single one of my warning bells, kid.”

“Why are you being so paranoid?”

“Why are you being a shady little shit??”

“I’m not. I’m just–” Katsuki’s breath hitches and he clenches his teeth against it. Deku leans further into him, one hand coming up to rest on his forearm.

“Katsuki,” Mitsuki says, and there’s something bordering on desperate in her tone now. “Baby, tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s – I’m okay,” Katsuki forces out. “I just got hit with a stupid Quirk.”

Mitsuki looks frozen on the screen, red eyes pinned steadily to Katsuki’s, her skin pale. “And?”

“And it… Uh. Fuck.” Katsuki swallows. “It’s hard to explain. I’m gonna be fine, I’m just…”

“Katsuki.”

“Fuck, okay. Fuck. I kind of – I might be pregnant?”

There’s silence from the computer for a long moment. Katsuki’s pretty sure he’s not breathing, and Deku’s grip on his arm is so tight that he won’t be surprised if it bruises.

Then Mitsuki blinks. “Might?”

Katsuki exhales in a huff. “No, I…am. Pregnant.”

“Wha…” Shit, he’s never seen his mom so completely thrown off-kilter before. She looks like she’s not comprehending what he’s telling her, and it takes her a few attempts to get any real words out, mouth opening and closing soundlessly until finally her entire face scrunches up in confusion. “What? Katsuki, what the fuck are you saying to me right now?”

It’s easier to get out the second time around, at least. “That I’m pregnant,” he says dryly. “Just found out this morning.”

“How?” Mitsuki asks wildly, a hand coming up to palm at her cheek in a way that honestly looks more like a move Deku’s mom would pull. “You – are you sure?? How did… Oh my god.”

“Some bullshit Quirk.” Katsuki shrugs a little. “We don’t know a lot about it yet, the Quirk specialist at the hospital is working on looking into it.”

“You’re pregnant?”

“Yeah, mom,” Katsuki says, with a slight roll of his eyes. He glances at Deku and gives him a nudge. “Go get the pictures.”

Deku nods, disappearing off the bed in a flash.

“Oh, Katsuki.” Mitsuki has both hands covering her mouth now. She shifts like she wants to get up or move toward him somehow, but it’s not like there’s anywhere she can go since Katsuki’s on the other side of a computer screen. “Katsuki. What are you going to do?”

“I mean.” Katsuki shrugs again, fully aware that he’s trying to make it seem like his next words aren’t a big deal when in fact they’re the biggest bomb of all. “We’re keeping it. So.”

Deku’s back in the room again, envelope in hand, when Katsuki’s mom screeches, “You’re keeping it?!”

“Fucking hell,” Katsuki mutters. He makes a show of rubbing at one of his ears. “Can it with the banshee shit, would you?”

“Katsuki–”

“Yes, okay? We’re keeping it.” Deku climbs up next to Katsuki again, handing over the envelope with the ultrasound scans inside. “We’re having a damn baby or whatever. Congratulations, grandma.”

“Holy shit, I just lost thirty years off my life,” Mitsuki says, voice faint. She presses a palm against her chest, eyes closing for a moment before she opens them again and levels a steady look at the camera. “That is a big decision, kid.”

“We know,” Deku says, leaning into view. “Kacchan struggled with it, but… This is where we landed.”

Mitsuki gives the pair of them a mild frown. “You’re both so young. You’ve got your whole lives ahead of you. This – this ties you together forever. In one way or another. You realize that, right?”

“The fuck?” Katsuki straightens up at that, a scowl tugging at his mouth. “What the hell does that mean? It’s not like we were gonna split up anytime soon.”

“I know that,” Mitsuki says, in this annoying, placating tone that only manages to get Katsuki’s hackles up even more.

“Don’t say shit like that, then! We were already forever, it’s got nothing to do with having a baby.”

“Aww,” Deku says next to him, looking pleased in a surprised sort of way. Katsuki glowers at him, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. “No, that was sweet!”

“Shut up,” he grouses, and then turns his glare back to his mother. “Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? You weren’t that much older than me when YOU got pregnant.”

“I’m just saying it’s a massive commitment you’re making. To each other, to your future–”

“No shit, you think we don’t know that?”

“Having a kid is a lot of fucking work,” Mitsuki continues, ignoring him. “And you’re both already so busy all the time, and your jobs are dangerous – I’m just worried. I’m worried, Katsuki. It’s my job to worry.”

“Well,” Katsuki says, gruffly and not a little awkwardly, his lower lip jutting out. “Fucking…stop.”

Mitsuki laughs somewhat helplessly at that. It’s a sound Katsuki doesn’t think he’s ever heard from her before. “Oh boy. You have no idea, Katsuki. None at all.”

“You’re acting like I’m doing this with some stranger,” Katsuki complains. He flings a hand in Deku’s direction. “It’s Izuku. We’re partners. He’s got my back, we’re gonna be fine.”

“That’s not what this is about.” Mitsuki’s gaze shifts, meeting Deku’s. “Izuku, you know I love you, honey. I’m not doubting you.”

“I know,” Deku says easily. He gives Katsuki a look out of the corner of his eye, brows arched a bit. “Kacchan is forgetting he had this same exact reaction when we found out about Kaminari and Kyouka. And they’re actually married.”

“I didn’t–!” Katsuki starts, but he has to cut himself off because oh.

…Well, shit.

That’s a nasty feeling. Ugh, dammit, now he retroactively feels bad all over again.

He huffs out a noisy breath. “Look… It is what it is, okay? It’s done, we made our decision. You could try being a little fucking supportive.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my son is somehow pregnant.”

Katsuki snorts. “Join the fucking club.”

“Are they sure it’s viable?” Mitsuki asks, and Katsuki rolls his eyes so hard they twinge a bit.

“It’s alive and kicking,” he says. “Literally. I’m nineteen weeks in, mom. If you’re thinking I had a lot of other options or something, well. I didn’t.” Katsuki’s eyes lower for a moment. “Don’t get me wrong, I made the decision to keep it. I want to. But doing anything else would’ve been…really complicated.”

Mitsuki just stares at him. “Nineteen weeks. You’re nineteen weeks pregnant and didn’t find out until TODAY?”

“He didn’t connect the dots,” Deku says, poking Katsuki in the side.

“Fuck off, it’s not my fault!” He slaps at Deku’s hand, making him snicker. “Like I was gonna jump to the conclusion that I was knocked up with nerd spawn. Yeah, that’s totally a fuckin’ thing I definitely knew was possible.”

“I have so many questions,” Mitsuki says, her voice going faint again. “If my head ever stops spinning, maybe I’ll ask them. But…” She takes a deep breath. “Well, here we are. A baby, huh?”

“A baby,” Deku agrees with a grin. He’s so much more chipper than either Katsuki or his mom, and Katsuki catches the exact moment she notices that. Something in her face softens as she watches him.

“Your dad might cry,” she tells them. “He cried when he found out I was expecting, the giant sap. Can I get him now? Let me go get him, you have to give him the news.”

“Wait!” Katsuki says quickly. Mitsuki’s half out of her seat already, but she ducks back into view with an expectant look. For half a beat, Katsuki hesitates. Then he swallows his pride and forces the question out. “Can you just fucking tell him? Explain everything first, then bring him here?”

He sort of expects her to refuse, to tell him to man the fuck up and do it himself. But for once in her life, she goes easy on him and just nods. “Sure thing, kid. Be right back.”

Katsuki collapses back onto the pillows with a loud sigh. He still has the envelope of pictures in his hand and stares up at it blankly.

“Hanging in there?” Deku asks, giving him a gentle smile.

“Barely,” Katsuki mutters. “This is excruciating. Maybe I don’t want to tell the others.”

“That won’t be as difficult, I think.”

“All downhill from here?”

Deku lets out a low chuckle. “Something like that.”

They fall silent for a while. Katsuki can’t imagine how the conversation with his dad is going. He’s glad he doesn’t have to hear it.

It’s not long before they come back, though. Less than ten minutes and there’s the sound of footsteps approaching. Katsuki heaves himself back up into a sitting position just as his dad’s face fills the camera, his mom appearing behind him over Masaru’s shoulder.

“Kat,” he says, voice full of concern. “Are you okay?”

And, in a horrifying turn of events, Katsuki immediately feels his eyes go wet.

Goddammit.

“Yep,” he chokes out, bending forward to crush the heels of his hands against his eye sockets. “Fuckin’ peachy.”

“Oh, Kat.” Masaru sounds like he’s about to force his way right through the computer screen. The pure emotion in his voice is almost overwhelming. “Don’t, son, it’s okay. It’s okay. You’re gonna get through this, everything’s going to be fine!”

“Shit, that’s my fault,” Mitsuki says, squishing in closer beside Masaru. “I was weepy as fuck when I was pregnant.”

Deku’s hand comes up to rub in soothing circles along Katsuki’s spine. He hears his dad tell his mom, “You really were, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, it fucking sucked.”

Katsuki barks out a sobbing kind of laugh, face still buried against his hands. “Yeah? Any other bullshit you wanna warn me about?”

“So many things,” Mitsuki says in an oddly fond tone. “I love you, kid. I love you with every fiber of my being. I wanted you before we knew you existed. I wanted you when you were fucking refusing to leave my body for fourteen hours. Every temper tantrum and fight, every heart attack you’ve given me over the years – through every single goddamn second of it, I’ve never once regretted being your mom.” A beat passes. “But, Katsuki, I hated being pregnant.”

A shuddering sob wracks Katsuki’s shoulders as he’s hit with the sudden understanding that this is why he wanted to talk to her so badly.

Because as much as it sometimes pisses him off, he’s pretty sure there’s not a single other person on the planet who can relate to him quite as much as she can.

“You weren’t even born yet and you were already such a brat,” she continues, sounding almost cheerful about it now. “You just lived on my bladder. God, what a little asshole.”

Katsuki chuckles quietly again. The tension eases out of him, and he rubs at his eyes for another second before lifting his head to give his parents a wry grin. “Karma really is a bitch, I guess.” He meets his dad’s gaze. “Surprise, old man.”

“Little bit,” Masaru says, with his own soft, disbelieving laugh. His mom was right – Masaru’s eyes are red-rimmed beneath his glasses. “Can we come over?”

“What, now?” Katsuki cranes his head, glancing at Deku who just shrugs. He’s still got a hand on Katsuki’s back.

“For dinner,” Masaru clarifies. “We’ll bring food. And we can stop and pick up Inko on the way.”

Deku’s eyes go wide.

Katsuki curses under his breath.

Masaru just blinks at them. “…Unless you haven’t told her yet.”

“Midoriya Izuku,” Mitsuki says dangerously, Mom Voice in full effect as she shoves her face closer to the camera. “You haven’t told your mother?!”

Deku splutters. “We were busy telling YOU.”

“That’s not an excuse! You add her to this call right now!”

“Ah, okay! I’ll text her!” Deku scrambles for his phone, tapping away at it. “She’s probably at work but maybe she can get away for a minute…”

“Fuck’s sake, ma.” Katsuki gives Mitsuki an exasperated look. “We were gonna get to it.”

“This is better,” Mitsuki says, waving him off. “I can help you out.”

Katsuki arches an eyebrow. “Oh really? Ms. Why Are You Keeping My Future Grandchild, You Should’ve Just Chucked That Thing?”

“Mitsuki,” Masaru says, completely scandalized, and Katsuki shoots her a smug grin while she throws her hands up and tries to save face.

“That is not what I said, not even close.”

“You weren’t exactly thrilled,” Katsuki says.

“Were you?” Mitsuki fires back at him, and he harrumphs.

“I had to get used to the idea. I’m still getting used to it.”

“Well!” Mitsuki gestures broadly at nothing, using that answer to prove her point. “There you go.”

“She’s going to call us,” Deku says, coming back into view. “Wait, what am I supposed to say?”

“We should’ve gotten balloons,” Katsuki mutters. He holds the picture envelope out toward him. “You could show her one of these.”

Both Mitsuki and Masaru zero in on the envelope instantly, but a little box pops up on the computer screen telling them someone’s trying to join their call, and Deku is quick to reach out and click on it before either of them can say anything.

“Hi, mom!” he says, high-pitched and falsely bright. “Um, hey. Hi. How are you?”

“I’m great, honey, but I can’t stay on long. Is everything okay?” Inko blinks as she notices how many other people are on the line. “Oh, everyone’s here.”

“Inko! Did you read that book I told you about yet?” Mitsuki demands, foregoing any kind of actual greeting.

“I’m halfway through!” Inko says. “I should finish it by the weekend, I think.” She shifts her gaze to Katsuki, smiling at him. “Katsuki, sweetie, how are you?”

“Super pregnant, actually, thanks for asking,” he says, simple as that, and everyone who isn’t Deku’s mother squawks or groans or straight up punches him in the thigh.

Fine, there was probably a better way to do that. Some middle ground, surely, somewhere between beating around the bush and just blurting it out without any warning.

But Katsuki’s tired and he didn’t have it in him to try to be gentle about it anymore today.

“You’re – what?” Inko asks. “Sorry, I don’t think I heard correctly.”

“You did,” Deku says, giving Katsuki a dirty look before turning wide, innocent baby deer eyes to his mom. He’s fucking twenty-one years old and somehow can still do that shit. Effectively. “Kacchan, um. He got hit with some kind of Quirk, and…”

“He’s pregnant?” Inko’s eyes are as big as Deku’s are. “He’s pregnant?”

“Yeah.” Deku swallows. “I know it’s a lot, uh, sorry to just drop it on you.”

Inko seems to be taking it about as well as Mitsuki did. She’s just sitting there, stunned, the cogs in her head almost visibly turning as she tries to accept what she’s been told. “It’s – is it yours? Izuku?”

Deku’s jaw drops open. “What – OF COURSE it’s mine! Mom!”

“No, no,” Inko says hastily, waving one hand. She’s using her other hand to hold her phone in front of her face. “Honey, no, that’s not what I meant. You said it was a Quirk, I just – I wasn’t sure…”

“Oh.” Deku deflates out of his alpha macho man protective mode that Katsuki secretly finds really fucking hot. “We’re still figuring the Quirk out, or the hospital is, but it’s… We’re pretty sure it somehow gave his body the, um. Ability to…conceive? And then…yeah.”

“And then you got him pregnant.” There’s some kind of look on Inko’s face. Utter confusion mixed with baffled shock. “You got him pregnant,” she repeats, like she’s trying to understand.

“Uh. Yes?”

“Huh.” Her hand slides around to cover her mouth now, her eyes drifting off to the side. “Well, I didn’t see that one coming.”

Katsuki can’t help it.

He snorts, just as his own mom bursts out with, “Oh my god, Inko.”

Masaru lets out a deep sigh and rubs at his forehead, and it’s about then that it finally snaps into place for Deku and he lets out this strangled, offended sound that has to be the funniest thing Katsuki’s ever heard leave his mouth in the entire nineteen years they’ve known each other. “MOM.”

Inko squeaks, her entire face going bright red. “I didn’t mean–! Oh, that just slipped out, ignore me. Ignore me! Oh good lord.”

Katsuki gives Deku his biggest shit-eating grin. “Hah, your mom thinks you’re a twinky little bot–”

Deku slams sideways into him before he can finish speaking, toppling him onto the bedspread and knocking the laptop askew. “Stop talking right now, Kacchan, don’t you dare!”

Somewhere in the background, Mitsuki is cackling. (So is Katsuki.) The exasperated look on his dad’s face is just barely visible on the tipped over laptop screen.

“Kacchan,” Deku whines, still pathetically shoving at him. “Stop, it’s not funny!”

“It’s fuckin’ hysterical, actually,” Katsuki says, amused as shit as he briefly grapples with the other man. “Careful, you’re gonna bend the pictures.”

Deku backs off immediately but he’s still pouting. By the time Katsuki gets himself upright again and has the laptop straightened out, he’s mostly managed to stop laughing himself.

Inko seems to have vanished from her screen. Instead, they’re getting a nice view of the ceiling. If Katsuki had to guess, he would say that she’s probably busy burying her face in her hands.

“I don’t know why you’re so amused,” Deku mutters, settling into place next to him. “She can think whatever she wants but you’re the one who’s pregnant. So.”

“He’s got you there, kid,” Mitsuki says, smirking, and Katsuki rolls his eyes.

“I’m so fucking done talking about my sex life today. And why are any of you even thinking about it?!” he demands in the direction of the computer screen.

“I assure you, I am not,” Masaru says, voice heavy, but Mitsuki just shrugs and goes, “Eh.”

Inko must lift her phone up again because she comes halfway back into view, but one of her hands is covering her eyes and she’s still looking a little pink. “I’m so sorry, that…that threw me for a loop, I didn’t know what I was saying.”

“Uh-huh,” Katsuki intones. Deku smacks the back of his hand against Katsuki’s arm, which just makes him snicker all over again.

“Boys,” Masaru says tiredly.

“Wait.” Inko lowers her hand, green eyes going owl-wide as she stares at her phone. “Wait. Wait.”

“There she goes,” Mitsuki says, leaning forward to watch as Inko’s entire face lights up in realization. “Finally.”

“Are you – are you telling me you two are having a baby?”

Katsuki refrains from saying something dumb like yeah, that’s what being pregnant means. Instead, he lets Deku take over and watches as he nods, his whole expression going wobbly and teary.

They’re both just a gross, crying mess today, apparently.

“Yeah, mom,” Deku says softly, and Inko is quick to join the blubbering party. She spills over immediately, actual fucking rivers trailing down her cheeks, and Katsuki idly wonders if their kid is going to be doomed to a life of being a crybaby, too.

“Oh,” Inko sobs, pulling her phone in too close. “Oh, Izuku. Katsuki! I can’t believe this! You’re giving me a grandbaby??”

“Yeah,” Deku says again, laughing this time.

“How is this – Katsuki. Oh my goodness. Are you okay? I can’t believe this is even possible!”

“Quirks might’ve been a mistake,” Katsuki grumbles, but then he sighs. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Just… It’s a lot.”

“I can imagine.” Inko wipes the back of her hand across her eyes, sniffling. “Oh, honey. I’m sure that was hard to find out.”

Katsuki swallows and rubs at the back of his neck. “Uh. Kind of, yeah.”

“You’re going to be great parents, both of you,” Inko says, in this wholeheartedly earnest way that makes Katsuki simultaneously want to puff his chest out with pride and also shrivel up in a corner somewhere.

Parental approval, ugh, why is that somehow always so satisfying? Even when he’s a grown-ass adult??

Inko is still leaking tears all over the place and trying to wipe them away at the same time, but there’s a beaming smile on her face. “I just can’t believe this. A baby!”

Katsuki and Deku glance at each other. “You wanna see it?” Katsuki asks, and all three of their parents crowd in close to their respective screens, shouting confirmations and demanding to see the damn kid already.

Deku picks up the envelope and finally reaches inside to sort through the various prints until he finds the best one and pulls it out, proudly turning it towards the laptop and showing it off with an elated, “Ta-da!”

It's the profile shot. The picture that shows the baby’s forehead curving down to a tiny little nose that Katsuki is rapidly becoming obsessed with.

Masaru’s eyes well up this time, and Mitsuki looks like she actually might not be that far behind him but is trying to hold it in.

Inko just starts wailing. “It’s so cuuute!” she cries.

“Look at that little nose,” Mitsuki says, almost reverently. “Oh my fucking god. That’s your nose, Katsuki, I swear it is.”

“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” Masaru asks.

“The doctor wrote it down for us,” Deku starts to say, and then Katsuki quickly cuts in to add, “But we’re not looking at it yet.”

“Look how cute!” Inko continues, still bawling. “Oh, it’s so tiny!”

“It really is adorable,” Masaru agrees, almost in shock. “Wow. That takes me back.”

“Did you like being pregnant, Inko?” Mitsuki asks suddenly, and the other woman chokes off midway through a sob, blinking.

“Did I–? Oh, yes, absolutely.” She sniffs again and then clears her throat, trying to reel the waterworks in. “Goodness me. I did enjoy it! Mostly. Hisashi wasn’t around much even then, you know, so little Izuku kept me company. I used to talk to him all the time.” Her expression turns thoughtful for a moment. “I guess I didn’t like being a whale in the middle of July, though. That wasn’t very pleasant.” Inko turns her eyes back to Katsuki, curious and blissfully unaware. “When are you due, honey?”

Katsuki gives her a flat, unamused glower in response. “July.”

Mitsuki barks out a laugh and Inko jolts, looking flustered. “W-Well, I mean. As long as you have air conditioning…”

“Inko,” Masaru speaks up. “We’re planning on heading to the boys’ for dinner this evening. Care to join us? We’ll drive.”

“Oh! Sure, let me just – oh, I’m so late.” Inko glances back over her shoulder at something the rest of them can’t see. “I should really get back to work, but I’ll tell them I have to leave early. Someone just text me the time, I’ll make sure I’m ready.” She turns back to the screen, pressing her fingers to her mouth briefly and then blowing them a kiss. “I love you, boys! You’re having a baby!! Gosh, I can’t believe it. See you tonight!”

“Bye, mom,” Deku says, and then she’s gone.

“We’ll let you go, too,” Mitsuki says. “Take a nap, Katsuki. You look like you need it.”

Katsuki scowls. “Wow, thanks.”

“Have you been working this entire time?” Masaru asks, frowning.

“I didn’t know I was pregnant, did I?” Katsuki makes a flippant gesture with his hand, half-shrugging. “So, yeah.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Mitsuki mutters. She reaches forward on her end of the screen, getting ready to end the call. “Get some rest, kid. We’ll see you soon.”

They blink out next, and then finally it’s just Katsuki, Deku, and blessed, wonderful silence.

Katsuki closes the laptop, leaning over the side of the bed to rest it on the floor, and then he falls back against the mattress and inhales as deeply as he can before slowly releasing it. Deku carefully tucks the ultrasound picture away again and sets the envelope on the nightstand. Katsuki’s sure they’ll end up showing the rest of the scans to their parents later.

“Still good?” Deku asks, turning back to Katsuki and flopping against his side.

He nods, lifting his arm so Deku can snuggle in closer. “Survived the worst of it.”

Deku props his chin on Katsuki’s shoulder, peering at him. “Do you hate being pregnant?”

“I wasn’t thrilled with all the throwing up and shit,” Katsuki drawls. “But…” He stares thoughtfully up at the ceiling, a slight crease between his brows. “I guess I haven’t been aware that I’m pregnant for long enough to know if I hate it yet.” When he drops his gaze back down, he finds Deku looking at him with big, concerned eyes, and huffs. “Don’t worry about it, Izuku. The point is that the end result is worth it, even if getting there ends up sucking ass.”

“I don’t want you to be miserable…”

Katsuki shakes his head. “I’m not miserable. I mean, I’m mad I can’t work. And what I hate is that I might be off the hero scene for a whole fucking year. But I don’t hate that we’re having a kid and I don’t hate the baby.”

“And you don’t hate me,” Deku says, smiling a bit, and Katsuki snorts.

“I hate you a little, shitty nerd.” He tightens his arm around Deku’s shoulders. “You and your goddamn super sperm.”

Deku’s nose wrinkles up at that. “Ew.”

“Listen,” Katsuki says. He makes sure Deku’s eyes are caught on his before he continues, “I don’t know how the next few months are going to go. I’ll probably be awful. I might bitch and moan and complain like a whiny asshole, but I’ll never regret making this choice.” Katsuki searches Deku’s gaze, wanting to make sure he understands. That he gets it. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Deku whispers. He stretches up until he can reach Katsuki’s mouth, giving him a gentle kiss. “I love you, Kacchan.”

“I have something for you,” Katsuki blurts before he can stop himself, and then he has to bite back a groan at his own stupidity. Deku’s eyebrows arch and Katsuki sighs, rolling slightly away from him so that he can reach under the pillow he’s resting on and dig out the shopping bag he stashed there earlier. He unceremoniously shoves it at Deku. “Here.”

Deku must recognize the bag, because his eyes just crinkle in confusion as he takes it. “I thought we got these for Kyouka?”

Katsuki feels himself flush. “Just…look in it.”

He does. For a long moment, Deku just stares into the bag. “Kacchan…?” he says eventually, uncertainly, and then he reaches in to pull out one of the All Might onesies. “You – why did you–?”

“I don’t fucking know!” Katsuki bursts out, his face heating even more. “I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking but I snatched up those damn clothes like they were free samples at a merch convention. What the hell??!”

Deku snorts out a laugh and then just keeps on giggling, though he at least seems like he’s trying to keep it a bit stifled. He digs through the bag some more, looking utterly gleeful. “You got Todoroki’s outfit?”

“Shut up.”

“Oh my god.” The denim Best Jeanist baby shoes come out next. They’re still, Katsuki is absolutely mortified to note, completely hideous. “These were…a choice.”

“Ugggghhhh.”

“I thought you said baby shoes are pointless?”

“THEY ARE.” Katsuki throws his arms over his burning face, groaning some more. “They’re so pointless and those are so fucking ugly.”

“You’re such a mess,” Deku says, still laughing, and then he sets the bag aside and rolls on top of Katsuki, pushing his face into the curve of Katsuki’s neck. “But at least our baby’s hero style is going to be on point.”

“This is the stupidest day of my life,” Katsuki says loudly. Deku starts kissing down Katsuki’s collar into the dip of his shirt, but there’s something decidedly non-sexy about it. Katsuki peeks at him from beneath his arms, watching as Deku moves lower over his chest, pushing his shirt up until his stomach is exposed, and ah. That’s why.

“I just love you so much,” Deku says, but Katsuki honestly isn’t sure if he’s speaking to him or to his baby bump. He keeps planting soft kisses against his skin, trailing down over his navel, his hands oh-so-gently cupping the new curves of Katsuki’s body. Deku glances back up at him. “Thank you,” he says, completely serious, and Katsuki goes hot all over again.

“Don’t fucking thank me, holy shit,” he mutters. He reaches down, burying his hand in Deku’s thick, green curls. “You just gonna hang out down there?”

“Mmhmm.”

Katsuki huffs. “Alright, well I’m taking that damn nap finally.”

“Okay,” Deku murmurs.

“You’re the mess, by the way.”

“I know.”

“I love you.”

Deku looks at him again, grinning. “I know.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes, but he ends up falling asleep to the sound of Deku cooing nonsense at his belly.

It’s actually kind of soothing.

Later, when their parents arrive with mountains of food and a baby crib they’ll have to put together (how the fuck did they have time to buy that??) and a teddy bear that’s holding a pink and blue balloon that says CONGRATULATIONS in a cheerful font, the first thing Masaru does is sweep Katsuki up into a giant bear hug and refuse to let him go for a solid five minutes.

Katsuki’s weirdly okay with it. Even more so when his mom joins them and combs a hand through his hair like she used to do when he was little.

The first thing Inko does is start poking around the apartment, asking where the crib is going to go.

Their parents have been to their place before, of course, but they don’t come often. Aside from the week they first moved in, they’ve actually never all been there at the same time. And it’s been a while since Inko has visited at all, because normally Deku wants to save her the trip and instead makes the drive to see her back home.

So, she’s not super familiar with the layout they’ve got or how much extra space there is.

When Deku shows her their spare bedroom-slash-office-slash-All Might closet, Inko takes one look around, gives Deku an exasperated look – probably because even though she was already familiar with his massive collection from childhood, somehow there’s now even more shit – and immediately says, “You’re going to have to move.”

Chapter Text

Mirio-senpai takes the news surprisingly well.

“My best friend can change specific parts of his body into animal limbs based on what food he eats,” he says, in response to the twin baffled looks directed his way after their initial announcement had only been met with a wide grin and a, “Hey, that’s great! Congratulations!”

“Heck, I mean, my entire body turns intangible,” Mirio continues. He leans back in his chair, looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling. “So it doesn’t surprise me at all that there’s a Quirk that makes this possible. At least you and all your new parts are still human.”

“That’s actually a good point,” Izuku murmurs, glancing at Katsuki.

He scowls. “Doesn’t make it any less bullshit. But sure, whatever.”

“Actually, Bakugou, it explains a lot, too,” Mirio says. “About your performance recently.”

Katsuki shifts in his seat, a frown crossing his face. “My performance?”

“Mm.” Mirio sits forward again, folding his arms on top of his desk. “I was still working out how to address it, but especially after that incident the other day–”

“Goddammit, Sero,” Kacchan interrupts, muttering, and Mirio just chuckles.

“It’s not his fault,” he says. “Don’t be mad at him for coming to me, he was just concerned. It’s his job – and yours – to make sure everyone’s safety is our number one priority. Not just civilians, that includes yourself and your coworkers, too. And it’s my job to notice when my employees aren’t exactly on their game.” Mirio levels a look on Katsuki. “Lately, you haven’t been.”

“What incident?” Izuku asks. His eyebrows arch. “Did something happen when I was gone?”

Kacchan’s gone somewhat pink and he looks annoyed, arms crossed tightly over his chest. “I fucked up during that attack downtown on Friday,” he admits, before Mirio can say anything. “And I didn’t tell anyone about it because it turned out okay, but I know I got lucky. Sero showed up and bailed me out and – it was fucking stupid, alright? I know. But that was when I was still pretending everything was fine.”

Izuku’s stomach sinks. He hasn’t really focused on it too much because…well, honestly, it’s sort of scary. But knowing now that Katsuki was working in the field for so long in his condition…

It’s hard to swallow.

They’re lucky he made it this far without anything worse happening. Especially if he was making mistakes and straight up not acknowledging them.

Izuku will have to ask him more about what happened later. Mirio-senpai obviously already knows, so there’s no reason to harp on it too much in front of him.

…He should probably thank Sero, too, actually. For noticing something was wrong.

Shit, they’re so lucky.

“It wasn’t just that,” Mirio says, his tone carefully even. “Something seemed off the last couple of weeks, so I’ve been keeping an eye on you anyway. But that more or less confirmed it. That’s why I had you on desk duty on Monday. Of course, then you called out yesterday before I could pull you in for a conversation – and now here we are!” He grins again. “Nice to know what’s been going on, at least.”

“So now what?” Katsuki asks. “What are my options?”

“Hmm, well.” Mirio leans over to his computer, grabbing the mouse and clicking through a few things. “You’re actually my first employee pregnancy, so let’s see. When’s Great Explosion Murder Baby going to be joining us?”

“Murder baby?” Izuku repeats dubiously.

“Murder baby,” Kacchan says, almost reverently because he’s ridiculous. His gaze has widened a bit in delight. “Hell yes.”

Izuku rolls his eyes. “Our child,” he says, very pointedly, glowering sideways at Kacchan, “is due in July.”

“I’ll think of something better before then.” Mirio braces his chin on his hand, appearing for a moment like he’s contemplating all the mysteries of the universe. “Firecracker, maybe?”

“Oh,” Izuku says.

“Shit, that’s good, too.” Kacchan absently curls a hand against his stomach. Izuku wonders if he even realizes he’s doing it. “Great Explosion Murder Baby, though. Fuckin’ classic.”

“Firecracker’s cuter.” Izuku will not be referring to any of his potential future offspring as murder babies, thank you very much. “And it doesn’t make us sound like crazy people.”

“It doesn’t sound crazy, it sounds badass.”

“That’s debatable.”

“The hell it is, nerd.”

“Anyway,” Mirio cuts in, laughing. He turns back to his computer, opening some document and then humming a bit as he reads. “I know your current position is definitely safe,” he says. “You don’t have to worry about that. When you’re ready to come back, your job will be waiting for you. Until then, we can keep you on desk duty. Paperwork, dispatch, that kind of stuff.” He glances up with an apologetic look. “We’ll have to adjust your salary, though.”

Katsuki exhales noisily. “I sort of figured.”

“You get twenty-six weeks of paid maternity leave.” Mirio pauses, his brow furrowing. “Paternity? Sorry, everything says maternity on here,” he says, gesturing to whatever he’s reading on his computer screen. “Midoriya gets…four weeks. One month, basically.”

“Twenty-six weeks?” Katsuki repeats, his entire face scrunching up. “That’s – what, six months?” He looks vaguely horrified, which makes Izuku want to roll his eyes again. Kacchan’s so dramatic sometimes. Like, he gets it, he really does, but also the world isn’t going to end just because they have to take some time off work.

Although…Izuku didn’t realize he got any paid leave.

It’s hard to imagine not working for an entire month.

…Which he immediately feels bad for thinking, because that’s literally exactly what has Katsuki so ruffled. So, he’s either on board with the time off or he’s a hypocrite for mentally berating the other man.

Geez, this is tough.

“Yeah, I know.” Mirio-senpai still sounds like he’s apologizing for something, though Izuku isn’t sure what it could possibly be. It’s not his fault they somehow landed themselves with an accidental pregnancy. “The Commission regulates that. Unfortunately, I don’t have any control over it.”

For a moment, Izuku and Katsuki just stare at him – like they’ve both realized they’re not exactly on the same page here. Once Mirio also cottons on to that, his eyebrows hike upwards. “…You do know most of the country gets a lot more,” he points out, and Katsuki makes another face at him.

“How much fucking time do they think people need?”

Mirio huffs out a kind of half-disbelieving, half-amused laugh. “Bakugou… It’s not a punishment. It’s time for you to heal and recover and, you know. Bond with your newborn kid? Mostly that last one.”

“And I need six months for that?”

“The doctor did say you should expect to be off hero work for up to a year,” Izuku reminds him.

“You don’t have to take it,” Mirio says. “But I don’t know why you wouldn’t. It’s literally paid time off.”

Katsuki scoffs. “At my usual rate or my desk job rate?”

“It’ll be at your current pay,” he assures him, but then he pauses and squints at his screen. “Wait, no, sorry – eight weeks at your current pay. You’re required to be off at least that long. The rest is, uh…two-thirds of your salary.”

“Great,” Katsuki drawls, sarcasm absolutely dripping from the word.

“You actually get four weeks off before the baby comes, too. At your regular salary. Wow, this is kind of complicated, huh? It should all be in your employee handbook, though.” The corner of Mirio’s mouth tugs upwards as he glances over at them again. “I’m sure you’ve read that cover to cover. And highlighted the important parts.”

“I don’t even know where mine is,” Izuku admits sheepishly.

“Probably in the trash,” Katsuki says. “Right next to mine.”

Mirio snorts. “Okay, well neither of you are getting Employee of the Month anytime soon. Anyway, once your leave is up, you have to meet certain regulations before you’re approved to come back.”

Katsuki frowns. “Another physical evaluation?” he guesses, and Mirio nods.

“Same as when we hired you. Plus a mental evaluation this time.”

“The fuck?”

“Midoriya has to pass that one, too.”

“Why?” Katsuki demands.

“Because…you’re having a baby,” Mirio says slowly. “That’s a lot, you know? A major life event and all that. They just want to make sure you’re good to go before you’re tossed back into the field.”

Katsuki lets out an irritated sound and makes an aborted sort of gesture with his hands, as though he wants to toss them up into the air in exasperation or something. But then he ends up just slumping back into his seat like a deflated balloon instead. “This is so stupid.”

Mirio watches him for a moment before sighing. “Listen, I can’t say I personally know what it’s like. But I imagine it’s no easy task putting yourself back in harm’s way on a near-daily basis when you’ve got kids at home who need you. They’ve got these precautions in place for a reason.”

“And I knew what kind of risks I was accepting when I signed on for this shit!” Katsuki complains. “This doesn’t change that.”

“It might,” Mirio says. “It might change a lot. Or maybe it won’t! Don’t stress about it yet, okay? Just focus on yourself for now, that’s my advice. I know it’s hard – I know you want to be out there helping people. But you have to give yourself time.”

“Four to five months of desk work and six months at home changing diapers is plenty of time,” Katsuki grouses. “I’ll be ready to come back, trust me.”

The forced break from his job seems to be what Kacchan is struggling with the most in all of this. At the moment, anyway. Izuku mostly put that together yesterday, but Katsuki’s agitation is really on display right now. And it sucks because there isn’t much Izuku can do to make it better.

He’s intimately aware that being a hero has been Katsuki’s lifelong dream. He was there for all the blood, sweat, and literal tears that were poured into making that dream a reality. He witnessed firsthand just how hard Katsuki worked, trained alongside him as they catapulted themselves to the top of their class, and here they’re finally out of school and doing what they love and Kacchan’s entire professional career ends up derailed not even three years in.

Izuku is trying, he’s really trying, to fully comprehend just how frustrating that must be.

It’s just that he’s also so embarrassingly thrilled with this sudden new development in their lives that his understanding of how Kacchan feels is completely blanketed by this giddy, almost flippant acceptance of what the facts are and the awareness that they just have to deal with it.

Like, oh well! C’est la vie and all that. The sky is blue, All Might is still the best, and Kacchan’s pregnant. So, logically, for his own safety, he can’t work right now and won’t be able to for quite some time.

It’s easy for him to accept that and move on.

Katsuki, not so much.

Izuku knows it’s not even about his rank or anything like that, though. Mirio-senpai is right – Kacchan just wants to be out there doing what he does best: embodying what it means to be a hero.

“Kacchan,” he murmurs, reaching out to lightly skim his fingers against Katsuki’s forearm. He almost wants to grasp his hand, but he knows Katsuki would never let him while they’re at the office. “I think we’re going to be surprised by how quickly all of this goes.”

Katsuki gives him a dark glower but then suddenly takes a deep breath, his eyes sliding shut for a few seconds. When he opens them again, he looks marginally calmer. “Sorry,” he mutters to Mirio. “This is still…a lot. One second I’m fine with it, the next I’m furious. I’m working on it.”

“Sounds exhausting,” Mirio says, and Katsuki nods miserably. “Tell you what – how about you take the rest of the week off?” Kacchan starts to make another stink-face at him, but Mirio quickly holds up a hand. “It’s only two more days. A mini mental vacation. Go home, relax, meditate or something. And we’ll start you fresh on Monday with your brand-new, shiny desk job.”

“…Fine,” Katsuki grumbles.

“That doesn’t include me, right?” Izuku asks.

Mirio laughs. “No, I need you. I’m down a heavy hitter for the foreseeable future.” He shoots Katsuki a wide smile. “Hey, but how about this? My baby gift to you will be all the money I save on insurance premiums from not having you on the roster.”

“Ha ha,” Katsuki says flatly, with a roll of his eyes. “You won’t think it’s so funny when I hold you to that.”

“Ah, good point. Maybe we’ll split it, then.”

“What details do you have to put out?” There’s a wavering sort of lilt in Kacchan’s voice. A hint of nervousness, maybe. “When I get taken off the calendar?”

“The only other person I have to inform is HR,” Mirio reassures him. “Other than that, it’s up to you who you tell. As far as the rest of the hero community knows, you’ll just be on medical leave. And, frankly, we don’t have to tell the public anything. It’s not unusual for heroes to go absent sometimes – best case, if people start wondering where you are, there’ll be a few conspiracy theorists who’ll pop up claiming you’re on an undercover mission or something. Happens all the time.”

“Guess that works.” Katsuki sighs. “The extras here’ll find out eventually, but whatever. I’ll deal with that later.”

“Go at your own pace, Bakugou. I think we’ve got some knitters out there, though.” Mirio turns back to his computer, clicking around for a moment before he begins to type, the clacking sound from the keyboard filling the room. “Bet they’d make you a baby blanket or something. Okay, I’m gonna put this through and then send a message to the rest of the office. Then I’ve gotta go talk to HR. You might want to head out if you don’t want to be here when the news starts spreading.” He leans back a bit, shooting them a questioning look. “Unless you’ve got something else for me? Great Explosion Murder Baby part two?”

“Nope, just the one ridiculous announcement,” Katsuki says dryly.

“Uh, the Quirk specialist from the hospital should be reaching out at some point,” Izuku speaks up. “But I think that’s it.”

“Her information’s in there.” Kacchan nods toward the folder they handed Mirio-senpai at the start of the meeting, which also contains the doctor’s note that proves his condition. “She’s gonna ask for my schedule from last fall or something.”

“Oh sure, no problem,” Mirio says. “We’ll get her whatever information she needs.”

Izuku and Katsuki say their goodbyes after that and make an attempt at escaping the building without being spotted, but they only make it as far as the agency break room before they’re immediately flagged down.

“Yo, hey!” Sero calls as they pass by on their way down the hall. They both pause, turning to watch as he sticks his head out of the room. “What’s up? I thought you two called out today?”

“Had something to take care of,” Katsuki says, carefully vague. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and ambles back toward him. “How’s shit here?”

“Been a light week, not gonna lie.” Sero grins a little. “Guess that’s a good thing, though. Welcome back, Midoriya!”

Izuku offers him a small wave from where he’s hovering close to Kacchan’s shoulder. He notices Awase in the break room behind Sero, leaning against one of the counters with a protein shake in his hand. “Thanks. You guys getting ready to patrol?”

“If only,” Awase says. “I gotta go show my face at Jakkyu Elementary.” He grimaces in an exaggerated kind of way. “Past me was an idiot and volunteered to do a safety seminar for the kids.”

“Trade ya,” Sero says. “I’m pulling double duty today. Twice as much ground to cover since some people–” He leans in toward Katsuki, bumping up against his shoulder. “–decided not to come to work.”

There’s a pinging sound from somewhere. Katsuki throws a hand in Sero’s face, palming his forehead to shove him away, and the other man just snickers. Izuku watches Awase pull out his phone.

Watches as his eyebrows slowly draw down in a confused frown.

It’s time for them to leave.

“Fucking deal with it,” Kacchan’s saying to Sero, half-assedly grappling with him. “What kind of shitty B-tier hero can’t handle a few more blocks on their route during a slow week, hah?”

Awase pushes off the counter, still staring at his phone, and crosses the room so he can nudge Sero with his elbow.

“Kacchan,” Izuku says, almost a whisper as he reaches for his arm. Sero glances over to Awase, then his gaze drops to take in the phone screen and the email that’s open on it. “We should go.”

Sero’s fingers are curled around Katsuki’s wrist from when he was trying to twist out of his grasp. At Izuku’s words, his grip tightens and his eyes shoot back up, owl-wide now as they land on the blonde. “You’re switching to office work?”

Katsuki pauses. Awase’s squinting at him, too, utterly bemused, and Kacchan looks back and forth between the two of them briefly before swallowing. “Just – temporarily.”

“It says you’re on extended medical leave from field work,” Awase says, eyeing him up and down. “Did you get injured or something? The other day?”

“Not exactly.” Katsuki yanks free from Sero and takes a step backwards until he knocks into Izuku. Then he just stays there, like the physical contact is something he needs right now. Izuku subtly leans into him, doing his best to offer any kind of silent support.

“Bakugou–” Sero starts, and Katsuki scowls.

“Fuck, nosy much? I’m fine, okay?” He catches Sero’s worried stare and steadily holds it. “It’s nothing bad.”

“Implying there is something,” Awase says, but Kacchan and Sero are apparently having some sort of wordless conversation and completely ignore him.

After a moment, almost imperceptibly, Sero’s eyes go the slightest bit round again. “Okay,” he says faintly. He darts a quick glance at Awase, but then he’s right back to looking at Katsuki. “Alright, if you say so. Glad you, uh…worked that out.”

Katsuki nods, then turns on his heel to march off down the hall. “See you Friday,” he says over his shoulder. It sounds like a promise.

Or possibly a threat.

If Sero wasn’t planning to go to Kirishima’s for any reason, Izuku is sure he’ll be there now.

“What,” Awase mutters. “He wouldn’t be on medical leave if he was fine.”

“He really is okay,” Izuku says in a rush. He scrambles to follow after Katsuki. “Um, please don’t worry! Everything’s fine! Talk to you guys later!!”

“Bye,” Sero says, quiet and contemplative.

Izuku slips through the door to the stairwell, just barely catching Awase’s grumbled, “That jerk better not be dying.”

Oof.

And here come the rumors, he thinks.

* * *

Pikachu
[ So ]
[ Bakugou isn’t on the communal calendar anymore. ]
[ like……at all ]

Shitty Hair
[ ??? ]

Pikachu
[ he’s not there ]
[ Midoriya still is for tomorrow but bakugou’s gone. ]

Shitty Hair
[ that’s weird ]

Pikachu
[ yeah no shit. ]

Shitty Hair
[ what about next week ]

Pikachu
[ I’m telling you dude, he’s been totally removed ]

Shitty Hair
[ sero???? ]

Pikachu
[ I mean Bakugou’s in this chat, he could just PAY ATTENTION ]

Shitty Hair
[ he won’t ]
[ he’s being a sneaky butt ]

Pikachu
[ lol what? ]

Shitty Hair
[ something’s going on, he told me he has something to tell us ]

Pikachu
[ oooohhhhhhhh a SECRET?? ]

Shitty Hair
[ SERO ]
[ they must’ve told u guys something ]

Pikachu
[ I love a good mystery. ]
[ Except for when I’m left in the dark and it’s about one of my friends and they vanish from our shared work calendar for the foreseeable future and I don’t know why ]

Tape Guy
[ That’s a very specific scenario. ]

Pikachu
[ SERO ]

Shitty Hair
[ do u know what’s up??? ]

Tape Guy
[ Not really. ]

Pikachu
[ where the fuck is Kacchan ]

Shitty Hair
[ come on they had to put out some kind of message at ur agency ]

Tape Guy
[ It was pretty vague. ]

Pikachu
[ YOU’RE pretty vague. ]
[ but seriously ]
[ Did something happen? ]

Tape Guy
[ Guys, I’m trying not to go behind his back. ]
[ If he says he’s going to tell us, then he’s going to tell us. ]

Pikachu
[ WHEN ]

Shitty Hair
[ friday ]

Tape Guy
[ Friday, I think. ]

Shitty Hair
[ is he ok tho ]

Tape Guy
[ I saw him like two hours ago, he seemed fine? ]

Pikachu
[ you saw him at the office? ]

Tape Guy
[ Yeah. ]

Pikachu
[ So he was at the office. ]
[ and then got removed from the calendar ]
[ the mystery deepens ]

[ y’all are the nosiest group of motherfuckers ]

Pikachu
[ KACCHAN ]

Shitty Hair
[ BAKUGOU ]

Pikachu
[ rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated. ]

[ you can tell them whatever Lemillion put out ]
[ I don’t give a shit ]

Shitty Hair
[ dude just tell us what’s going on ]
[ pls it’s killing me i’m dying ]

[ nah ]

Pikachu
[ skjdfhs ]
[ He IS being a sneaky butt ]

Shitty Hair
[ SERO PLEASE ;_____; ]

Tape Guy
[ It’s not going to help at all. ]
[ The email just said he’s switching to an office role until further notice. ]

Pikachu
[ what ]
[ why? ]

Tape Guy
[ … ]
[ “Extended medical leave.” ]
[ From field work. ]

Pikachu
[ Wait, what? ]

Shitty Hair
[ MEDICAL LEAVE?? ]

Pikachu
[ No, seriously. ]
[ We were telling him to get his ass to the doctor not even a week ago ]

Shitty Hair
[ u were?? ]

Tape Guy
[ Yeah, well. ]
[ I guess he listened. ]

Pikachu
[ Stop ]
[ are you shitting me???? ]

Tape Guy
[ Midoriya insisted he’s okay. ]
[ If that helps. ]
[ Said not to worry. ]

Pikachu
[ It does NOT help, in fact. ]

Shitty Hair
[ bakugou?? ]

Pikachu
[ great, guess I’ll just panic spiral for the next two days ]

[ don’t ]
[ ffs Kaminari ]

Pikachu
[ Are you dying? ]

[ no??? ]

Pikachu
[ Did you go to the doctor? ]

[ … ]
[ yes ]

Pikachu
[ okay ]
[ I’m still gonna panic but it won’t be all-consuming. ]

[ dumbass ]
[ all of you are dumbasses ]
[ I’m healthy and shit so don’t get your panties in a twist ]

Shitty Hair
[ my panties r already a pretzel and ur just gonna have to accept that my dude ]

Tape Guy
[ Pfffft. ]

Pikachu
[ …lmao ]

[ gross ]

Shitty Hair
[ thank u, i try ]

* * *

Izuku doesn’t even make it two full days before he starts getting antsy.

It’s still Wednesday. After giving Mirio-senpai the news, they’ve basically spent the rest of the day doing nothing. Kacchan’s in the kitchen, cooking dinner even though they have leftovers in the fridge from what their parents brought them the day before. He’s also antsy, but probably for different reasons. And when Katsuki gets restless like that, he likes to cook.

Izuku lets him do his thing and hangs out in the living room instead. There’s some old action movie on TV but he can’t focus on it. Instead, his gaze keeps drifting to the coffee table where a certain envelope innocently rests.

The envelope that has the gender of their baby hidden inside.

They haven’t really talked about it yet. Izuku has noticed how quick Kacchan is to shut it down when someone brings it up, though. Doctor Tajima, their parents…

He’s not really sure what exactly the plan is. If Katsuki’s waiting for something, or if he doesn’t want to look at it at all.

If that’s the case, Izuku thinks he might actually die.

It’s bad enough knowing the information is right there. It’s literally within arm’s reach and he has to ignore it.

His knee bounces as the TV drones on in the background. Another minute slowly drags by and the envelope just sits there, taunting him.

Izuku huffs. “Hey, Kacchan?”

Katsuki leans out of the kitchen, spatula in hand. “What?”

“Don’t you want to know what we’ve having?”

“Having – what, for dinner?” Katsuki’s forehead scrunches and he looks back over his shoulder. “I’m making okonomiyaki.”

“No, like…” Izuku throws a hand in the direction of the coffee table. “The baby, I mean. Are we going to look?”

“Oh.” A complicated expression washes over Katsuki’s face as he follows the line from Izuku’s hand to the envelope. “…No. Not yet.”

“Are you waiting for something?”

“Not really,” Katsuki mumbles. “It’s just hard to…”

“Hard to what?”

“To picture it, I guess.” Katsuki ducks back into the kitchen, but Izuku’s curious now so he pushes up from the couch and trails after him.

“What do you mean?” he asks, leaning up against the doorjamb.

Kacchan scowls. “Like. Fuck, I dunno.” He prods angrily at whatever’s in the pan on the stove. “There’s this massive thing happening but it’s all kind of – hazy? Right now. Just this…fuckin’ abstract idea. Of a kid or whatever.

“And…?” Izuku’s brow furrows. “What, knowing if it’s a boy or a girl makes it less abstract?”

“I guess.”

“But you’ve already seen it,” Izuku says. “Kacchan, we saw the ultrasound. We know it’s real.”

“I know! Just.” Katsuki lets out an irritated sound. “It’s – I know it’s selfish. But I can’t handle another freaking surprise right now. Okay?”

“Kacchan…” Izuku sidles up behind him, careful not to interrupt his cooking as he slips his arms around the man’s waist. “I get it. It’s okay.” He feels Katsuki relax against him and lets out a breath, resting his cheek against the back of Katsuki’s shoulder. “We’ll look eventually, though, right?”

“Yeah. Soon.”

“What do you think it is?”

“I have no idea,” Katsuki says dryly. “Either fucking way, both options feel impossible.”

Izuku hums, letting one of his palms curl more deliberately against the firm little curve of Katsuki’s stomach. He can’t help it – he knows he probably seems like he’s obsessed, but he literally can’t stop touching Kacchan like this.

It’s just so amazing.

That there’s a tiny life growing under his fingertips, that Kacchan’s body is putting in all this extra work to house and protect their son or daughter.

“Our little firecracker,” Izuku murmurs, and he hears Katsuki snort.

“That one’s gonna stick, huh?”

“I like it.”

“So are you just gonna grope my stomach for the next five months or what?”

“Hmmm.” Izuku turns his face until he’s nosing at the back of Kacchan’s neck. “Probably.”

“Awesome,” Katsuki mutters, but there’s not actually any bite to it.

Izuku smiles. “Hey…”

“What?”

“Can I fantasize now?”

Green eyes or red eyes? Freckles? Blonde hair, green, soft spikes or curls… Boy or girl.

Will they have a Quirk?

“…Yeah, Izuku,” Katsuki says softly. “Fantasize all you want.”

* * *

Deku goes back to work the next day and Katsuki has no idea what to do with himself.

He feels like he’s never had a day off before in his life, which is just dumb. It’s like he’s forgotten how to handle suddenly having a surplus of hours to while away.

Sleeping in only takes up so much time. Going for a run hardly takes up any more.

He dawdles in the shower just because he can, avoids the mirror as he gets dressed, and then makes himself a breakfast that stops looking appealing as soon as he plates it for some fucking reason.

At some point, he pulls out the ultrasound scans again, spreading them across the comforter on the bed and then just staring at them.

After that, he moves across the hall to their shitty All Might storage room and stares at things in there instead. He could…start moving stuff maybe. But to where?

The box with the crib in it is propped against one of the walls. Putting it together would definitely waste another hour or so, but he’s not sure he’s ready to have a fucking crib in their apartment.

His phone is still blowing up – has been since yesterday afternoon. Katsuki’s stopped looking at it for the most part because he doesn’t have answers for any of the millions of concerned questions he’s getting. At least, not any answers that he’s ready to share yet. He feels bad enough that his friends are worried, so he sure as shit wasn’t prepared for people like Best Jeanist or Mirko to reach out.

Like, he knows they sometimes still feel a little protective over him.

But goddamn.

He actually gets a call from Aizawa, which is insane. But he freezes and just boggles at his phone instead of answering it. There’s no way he’d be able to lie to the man, or dodge around the truth of what’s going on. He’s positive he’d blurt it out immediately and he’s in no way prepared to have that kind of conversation with someone who has, over the years, become far more than just a teacher to him.

This really shouldn’t be getting as much attention as it is, should it?? Just because he’s not on the calendar anymore. He wonders which of the losers from his agency started spreading the medical leave thing around already, because they sure didn’t waste any fucking time. He expected it to get out eventually, but he was really banking on his peers assuming he was on some kind of mission for at least a week or so.

Sheesh.

Fuck, he can only imagine what Deku’s dealing with right now. The nerd was getting hit with texts left and right last night, too, and today he’s actually out there where everyone can get in his face with their bullshit.

It almost makes him glad that he’s stuck at home.

Almost.

Katsuki’s sprawled on the couch awhile later, one hand shoved up under his shirt to palm his baby bump while he glowers up at a message on his phone from Icy Hot demanding to know if he’s going on an extended mission in Milan, when a video call from his mother comes through. And because he’s kind of desperate for a distraction at this point, he actually lets the call connect.

“What?” he asks, in lieu of a proper greeting.

Mitsuki’s outside somewhere, but Katsuki doesn’t really recognize anything behind her. She looks excited, though. “Katsuki! We found something!”

The fuck?

“We who?” His brow furrows. “Found what? The hell are you talking about?”

“I’m with Inko.” Mitsuki turns the phone for a moment until the other woman pops into view, and she waves cheerfully at the screen. “We’re looking at houses.”

“…Holy shit,” Katsuki mutters. He drags a hand over his face. “Ma. It’s been, like, forty-eight hours. Are you fucking kidding me?”

“We just wanted to come look,” Mitsuki says, a tad defensively. “I knew there were new homes going up over here, but I haven’t been this way in ages. Be grateful, brat!”

“Which way?” Katsuki pushes himself up until he’s sitting cross-legged and can glare at his phone more comfortably. “Where the hell are you?”

“You know how Takoba Beach got cleaned up a few years back?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki says warily. Of course he knows. It’s cleaned up because of Deku.

“Well, they’ve been building up the area since then. There are some new shops and one of the abandoned apartment complexes was bulldozed – they’re putting in an elementary school instead.”

“It’s really cute,” he hears Inko say in the background.

“And there are two new neighborhoods! Whole developments, kid, I’m telling you. They’re a bit squeezed in but the houses are nice.”

“That whole area was a dump,” Katsuki says. “It was sketchy as shit, it can’t have changed that much.”

“They’ve renovated a lot of it,” Inko speaks up again. “They’re trying to make it more family friendly so they can draw in a younger crowd.”

“Sound familiar?” Mitsuki asks, grinning, and Katsuki rolls his eyes.

“The beach still looks great,” Inko adds.

“So – what? You think we can afford that? Mom.” The corners of Katsuki’s mouth pull down as he looks away. “Any fucking house is a stretch right now, much less a new one.”

“You’d be a fifteen-minute walk away from us,” Mitsuki says. “And it’s a straight shot to the city by train.”

“Are you even listening to me? How the fuck are we supposed to pay for that?”

“Oh, Katsuki. You’ve got money!”

“Not that much.”

“We could help you with the down payment, you know that. That’s what parents are for.” Katsuki can feel himself making a face, and Mitsuki just looks at him in exasperation. “What’s the problem, kid?”

“Literally the money,” Katsuki replies, voice flat. “I’m stuck on desk duty and a lower salary the next few months. And then the – the maternity leave or whatever is bullshit. Two-thirds of my usual pay?!”

“Ah. You told your boss?”

“Yeah.”

“Desk duty, huh.”

“Yep.”

Mitsuki snorts. “Well, no fucking way that’s gonna last.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re not a desk duty kind of person, Katsuki,” Mitsuki says. “You’ll be bored out of your mind in a week.”

“Well.” Katsuki scowls and makes an annoyed gesture at nothing in particular with his free hand. “I don’t really have a choice.”

“Sure you do. You’ll think of something. In the meantime, though, you should come look at these houses.”

“Mom.”

“Listen, are you still going to be the number one hero?” Mitsuki demands, holding the phone closer to her face so she can peer at him as directly as possible. Katsuki hears Inko murmur something about how that’s going to be Izuku, actually, and he bristles defensively even though that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

“Of course I am.”

“You’re not gonna let this baby thing set you back?”

“No!”

“Then, Katsuki, you will have the money.” That makes him pause, blinking, and Mitsuki quickly plows on. “Invest in your future! Between you and Izuku, you’ll be fine. You’ll both be making a shitload eventually.”

“…That’s horrible advice,” Katsuki grumbles after a moment. “Anything could happen before then–”

“Don’t even,” Mitsuki says sharply. “We’re not going there. For fuck’s sake – stop being so damn pragmatic, would you?”

“I get that from you!” Katsuki complains.

“Where is Izuku?” Inko asks.

“Work.” Katsuki rakes a hand through his hair and then rubs at the back of his neck, sighing. “Lucky bastard.”

“Your mom is going to send you some pictures.” Inko squishes into the frame next to Mitsuki, who angles the phone lower to accommodate her. “Show him, okay? Really, I think you’ll be surprised. I can see you two living here.”

Katsuki arches his eyebrows at her. “You can see us there because it’s closer to you.”

“There’s a nice park,” Inko continues blithely, ignoring him. “Not to mention the beach.”

They’re so determined, ugh. Katsuki’s eyes dart to the side, taking in the living room around him. He thinks about the crib again, tries to imagine shoving things aside in the second bedroom to make a space for it.

“That’s not the Aldera school district, is it?”

“I don’t think so,” Mitsuki says. “But I’ll find out for you.”

Fuuuuck, god. Fine.

“…Alright, send the pictures.”

* * *

“Hey.”

Izuku yelps and spins around, nearly toppling backwards off the edge of the roof he’s perched on. Todoroki’s crouched on another ledge about two stories above him, eyes narrowed in his direction.

“Oh my god, you scared the crap out of me,” Izuku says, one hand pressed against his heaving chest. “What the heck, Todoroki?” He pauses, sparing a quick glance at their surroundings. “Wait, what are you doing here? This isn’t your sector.”

“I was looking for you,” Todoroki says. If possible, his eyes narrow even further. “Are you and Bakugou relocating to Havana?”

Izuku blinks. “What?”

“It’s the capital of Cuba.”

“No, I know that, I just – what?”

“Hmm.” Todoroki extends his right hand and sends a path of ice shooting towards Izuku, making him scurry backwards another startled step or two as Todoroki skates down his new frozen slide. “What about Texas?” he asks, coming to a stop inches away from Izuku and folding his arms over his chest. “Did you accept a new position in the United States?”

“What are you talking about?” Izuku can’t keep the utter bewilderment out of his voice. “Where is this coming from??”

He realizes half a second later what a phenomenally stupid question that is.

Todoroki is hardly the first person to interrogate him about the sudden lack of Kacchan on the communal calendar, after all. It’s just that, so far at least, no one else has jumped to the conclusion that they’re suddenly moving halfway around the world.

“Oh my god,” Izuku mutters again, dropping his face into his hands. “Todoroki… We’re not going anywhere.”

“Are you sure?” Todoroki leans in closer. “Is it possible Bakugou didn’t tell you?”

“He wouldn’t not tell me!” Izuku exclaims, head shooting up again, exasperated and bizarrely offended for absolutely no good reason at all.

“So why isn’t he working?”

“He’s…” Izuku trails off, going shifty-eyed. “He is working. Just. In the office.”

Todoroki frowns. “Oh.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.” He sighs. “That’s good to hear, but it’s not very interesting.”

“Ah.” Izuku spreads his hands a bit, shoulders lifting in an apologetic shrug. “Well, I’m sorry we aren’t moving to Havana.”

“I would’ve been upset if you were,” Todoroki says, and then he abruptly goes still, one hand raising to touch his earpiece. Izuku waits for a moment, recognizing the signs of an incoming radio message. A beat passes before Todoroki curses under his breath. “I have to go.”

“Need any help?” Izuku asks, almost hopefully.

“No, it’s nothing I can’t handle.” He steps up to the edge of the roof. “See you tomorrow.”

And then he’s gone, using his fire to blast himself away.

Izuku blinks again, watching him go, and decides now is a perfect time to borrow one of Kacchan’s favorite phrases.

“What the fuck?”

* * *

It’s already packed by the time they get to Kirishima and Mina’s place on Friday. They’re not even particularly late this time, it’s just that their friends are all impatient morons.

Like the rest of them, their apartment isn’t all that big. It’s a similar layout to what Katsuki and Deku have, except they’ve sacrificed having a decent-sized kitchen for a more spacious living and dining area – which they’ve managed to squeeze people into every fucking inch of.

At least it looks like it’s mostly class A there, Katsuki is grateful to note. Although there are a few former class B members scattered about, too. Awase’s lurking in a back corner with Monoma. Yaomomo seems to have brought Kendou with her, and of course Tetsutetsu’s there.

Kirishima greets them at the door and damn near throws himself at Katsuki, but he manages to catch himself at the last second and instead laughs kind of nervously and shoves a beer into his hand.

“Well, you look alright,” he says, sweeping his gaze up and down Katsuki’s body like he expected him to show up bleeding out from a mortal wound or some shit.

Katsuki just rolls his eyes and casually hands the beer off to Deku before shrugging out of his coat. “Told you I was fine, didn’t I?”

“Yeah…” Kirishima looks uncertain, though. Katsuki should probably just put him out of his misery, but fuck, can’t a guy have a few minutes to get settled??

Deku asks Kirishima something about a case he worked on, like, three months ago, and Katsuki takes advantage of the distraction to beeline towards the couch where he’s just spotted Ears hanging out. She’s surrounded by a whole horde of other women and at least two of them have their hands on her rounded stomach. Katsuki throws himself down next to her, kind of elbowing Mina out of the way to do so.

“Ugh, watch it, Bakugou!” Mina complains, scooting away from him. “Geez, you could’ve just asked.”

Katsuki ignores her. “You actually enjoy everyone getting all touchy-feely with you?” he directs at Kyouka.

She gives him a wry grin in return. “It’s usually not my favorite.” Something in her eyes softens and she strokes her own fingers down the side of her belly. “She’s showing off for everyone, though. So I’m being generous.”

“Baby girl is putting on a whole acrobatic performance,” Uraraka pipes up. She’s on the floor at Kyouka’s feet, her palm pressed gently alongside Yaomomo’s. “It’s so cool. Ahhh, it almost makes me jealous!”

Kyouka glances at Katsuki again, quiet for a moment, and then one of her eyebrows lifts. “You wanna feel?”

Oh.

Katsuki balks, jerking backwards a bit. “I – that’s not fucking weird?” he asks, and Ears laughs.

“No, you loser,” she says, before reaching out to grab Katsuki’s wrist. “Come here.”

Kyouka tugs him forward, shooing Uraraka out of the way to make room for him. And then she presses Katsuki’s hand against the side of her stomach.

Nothing happens for several long seconds. Katsuki finds himself holding his breath, waiting, curious what it’s going to feel like from this side. He has no idea what to expect. Finally, after almost a full minute has drifted by, there’s a surprisingly firm nudge against his palm. And then another.

Katsuki’s eyes go big.

“Holy shit,” he chokes out. Any hesitance within him vanishes and he puts a little more pressure behind his touch, just a bit, and can’t stop himself from barking out a laugh when Kyouka’s baby pushes back.

“Neat, huh?” Mina asks on his other side. She crowds in close, letting her chin drop to rest on Katsuki’s shoulder, and he can’t be bothered to shake her off as he nods in a daze.

Yaomomo sits back eventually, letting Frogger take her place. Katsuki doesn’t even pretend like he’s going to pull away anytime soon as he idly listens to the girls talk in soft tones about a teaching position Tsuyu is taking at U.A. in the spring.

“It’s a two-year contract,” Tsuyu’s saying, and Uraraka groans, letting her head fall forward to knock lightly against Tsuyu’s temple.

“She’s taking over for Thirteen,” she adds, still moaning. “And I’m so happy for her but also so sad because she’s going to be living ON CAMPUS and my apartment is going to be SO LONELY.”

“You’ll just have to have Iida over more,” Yaomomo says, teasing, but that just makes Uraraka grumble something under her breath about how it’s improper or some other such bullshit – according, apparently, to Glasses. He’s not here tonight, Katsuki notices. Probably had to pull a night shift or something.

A few more minutes lazily pass by before Kyouka turns her head to give Katsuki a searching kind of look.

“You seem okay,” she says quietly.

Katsuki grunts. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’ve got Denki and everyone worried as shit.”

“That was an accident,” he mutters defensively. “I didn’t think people would blow it up so much.”

Kyouka snorts a little. “Come on. You should know better than that.”

“I think it’s kind of nice that everyone is so concerned,” Tsuyu says. “It just means we all care about you.”

Katsuki makes an exaggerated gagging sound and Uraraka slaps at his knee. “Hey, you jerk, she’s not wrong. You guys have been so tight-lipped about whatever this is! I tried getting Deku to spill the beans yesterday but he wouldn’t!” She huffs. “He didn’t even reply to Tenya.”

“I said to wait until Friday, didn’t I?” Katsuki scowls a bit. “I told Kirishima. I know that news got around.”

“It’s Friday now,” Mina points out, pouting, and Katsuki shoots her a dark look out of the corner of his eye before another gentle bump against his hand distracts him again. He exhales, letting his head tip to the side to relax against the couch.

And then, because he’s an idiot, he absently asks Kyouka, “How long do you think it’s gonna take you to lose the baby weight?”

The question leaves his mouth without him considering whether it’s a good idea or not, and before he can try to elaborate or even begin to explain where he’s coming from, it’s already too late because everyone around them immediately screeches.

“Bakugou,” Yaomomo gasps, the most scandalized he’s ever heard her – which is saying something, honestly.

Mina draws back and smacks him upside the head. “Oh my god, Bakugou,” she hisses. “You can’t just ask that!”

“It’s a legitimate question!” he says loudly, forced to pull away from Ears so he can defend himself against Mina’s swipes. “Fuck – back off, crazy! I was just wondering!”

“Guys, guys!” Kyouka’s saying amidst all their offended squawks, trying to sit up (with little luck) and waving her arms around. “It’s okay, stop. I don’t care if he asks!”

Kaminari chooses that moment to pop up out of nowhere, because of course he does, and perches himself on the arm of the sofa. “The heck is going on here?”

“Bakugou’s asking your wife about her weight,” Uraraka says, just fucking throwing him under the bus. Kaminari blinks at him and Katsuki flushes despite himself, trying to sink backwards into the cushions.

“Bakugou,” comes Todoroki’s voice next as he leans over the back of the couch near Katsuki’s head, making him startle a bit. “My father wanted me to inquire after your health. Are you still not talking about it?”

Katsuki notices then, probably belatedly, that they’ve started to attract a crowd. Kirishima drops onto the couch next to him, squishing in beside Mina which has her throwing her hands up in exasperation. Someone pushes another drink into his hand and Deku appears out of thin air to quietly take it from him. Sero shoves in next to Todoroki, hovering somewhere near Katsuki’s ear.

Fucking hell.

“OKAY,” he bellows, lurching up from the couch and sending people toppling to the sides as though they were all physically clinging to him. He storms a few feet away and then spins around to face the group. “For fuck’s sake, okay! You idiots wanna know what’s going on?”

Approximately two million confirmations from all around the apartment are shouted back at him. He’s suddenly facing a sea of wide eyes, curious faces, and concerned looks, and despite the fact that he’s been mentally preparing for this, his next inhale is noticeably shaky.

Deku plants himself at Katsuki’s side, sipping from the drink he just stole. “You ready for this?” he asks, voice soft, and Katsuki can only nod.

“Yeah,” he mutters. “Get the thing, would you?”

Deku disappears again and Katsuki takes another breath, shoving his hands into the pockets of his track pants. “Right, so. I’m fine, you all can stop freaking the fuck out. But…I got hit with a Quirk awhile back.”

It’s like all the air is somehow vacuumed out of the room. Everyone instantly goes quiet and still. He watches Kaminari’s skin pale, sees Kirishima grip Mina’s hand. Sero leans into Todoroki but keeps his gaze steady, at least.

Katsuki swallows.

“So, uh… It’s not that serious.” He pauses. “…But also kind of really serious, I guess. Just not in a bad way.” Deku slips back through the crowd again and holds out a small gift bag. Katsuki makes a big show of taking it from him. “Oh. Right, thanks.” And then he steps forward and tosses it lightly to Kyouka. “That’s for you guys.”

Kyouka catches it automatically, but then just stares at him.

Kaminari, meanwhile, leans so far across Mina and Kirishima that he almost falls right into their laps. “What is it?” he asks, and then Mina makes an impatient, fed up sort of sound and forces Kaminari to swap seats with her. She drags Kirishima along, too, so there’s a bit of shuffling around before Kaminari is finally able to flop down next to Ears. “Open it, babe.”

Kyouka does no such thing.

“You’re seriously trying to give me a present right now?” she asks instead, squinting up at Katsuki in disbelief. “Are you stalling? What the hell is this?”

“–Shit, right.” Kaminari whips back around to pin Katsuki with a wildly frazzled look. “No fair, dude! Stop trying to distract me with shiny things. Tell us about this Quirk or whatever.”

“Open that first,” Katsuki insists. At his side, Deku curls around one of his arms.

“Bro,” Kirishima says, sounding pained. “Bakugou, come on.”

Katsuki huffs out an annoyed breath. “I’ll tell you in a second, I promise.”

“Open the damn present!” Monoma calls from somewhere at the back of the room, and Kaminari flips him off without even looking.

“Oh my god,” Kyouka mutters, before tearing into the gift bag. “Fine.” She digs through the mountain of tissue paper Deku stuffed into it until she reaches what’s underneath, and then hesitates, blinking a few times. Kaminari’s peering over her shoulder, but his gaze shoots back up to Katsuki when Kyouka reaches in and pulls out a tiny black and orange onesie.

“You got us baby clothes?” he asks, sounding oddly touched.

“Not just baby clothes,” Kyouka murmurs. “It’s a copy of his costume.”

Kaminari lets out a dramatic gasp. “You got us Dynamight themed baby clothes?!”

“Whoa, is that official?” Uraraka asks.

“Obviously.” Katsuki rocks back on his heels with a grin that’s only a little smug. Or possibly just proud, but no one has to know that. “They’ve got ‘em for all the top twenty.”

“There’s one for Midoriya, too,” Kyouka says, lifting the green onesie out of the bag next. Her eyes are starting to look a little wet as she runs her fingers over the soft material. “I can’t believe you – ugh, I hate how cute these are! This isn’t fair, stop trying to make me cry.”

“Top twenty,” Todoroki repeats. “What, you didn’t buy mine?”

“We did, but that one’s at home,” Deku says, in an overly casual sort of way. His grip on Katsuki’s arm tightens.

Todoroki’s head tilts at that. There’s faint puzzlement etched across his features that Katsuki does his best not to acknowledge. Beside him, Sero’s eyes go round.

Kyouka fishes the third and final outfit from the bag. Her brow furrows as she looks at it, but Kaminari snorts out a laugh. “You really want me to dress my kid like you, huh?” he says, grinning up at Katsuki. “Trying to make her a little Kacchan fan?”

“Two Dynamight onesies is a little overkill, don’t you think?” Kyouka asks. There’s still something thick in her voice, even though she’s trying to sound like her usual unaffected self. She clears her throat and swipes beneath one of her eyes, smirking a little. “We love you, but honestly.”

Deku shifts, turning to bury his face against Katsuki’s shoulder for a second. Katsuki can feel him muffling a few bubbly giggles, and when he lifts his gaze to meet Katsuki’s, there’s a conspiring smile stretched across his lips.

“Geez, Izuku,” Katsuki drawls, kicking his volume up a few notches. “That was pretty dumb. Can’t even pack a gift correctly.”

“Oh, whoops!” Deku replies, his voice also raised and with an added singsong lilt to it. Look, neither of them are actors, okay? And they planned this shit on the fly, so what-fucking-ever. “Totally my bad, Kacchan. I’ll do better next time.”

Katsuki steps forward to snatch the second Dynamight onesie out of Kyouka’s hands and tosses it over his own shoulder instead. “Yeah, sorry, you weren’t supposed to get that one.”

“We kind of need it,” Deku adds, and then he sucks in a breath and draws his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Oh,” Sero starts, his voice faint, “my god.”

“Wait, what?” Kirishima cranes his head to glance at Sero, then turns his baffled stare back to Katsuki. “What’s going on, what’d I miss?”

Kaminari just looks confused. “Why do you need–? Hang on.”

“Are you…adopting a child?” Yaomomo asks, surprise written all over her face.

“Close,” Deku says. “But no.”

“Are you adopting a cat?” Todoroki questions next, and Deku just laughs.

Kyouka’s eyes are beginning to brighten with realization. Her mouth slowly curves into an amazed, if somewhat incredulous, little smile. “No way.”

Deku catches her awestruck gaze immediately and grins, big and wide. “Yes way.”

“Wait.” Kaminari prods at Kyouka’s shoulder. “Wait, what’d you figure out?? Tell me!”

Kirishima’s up on one knee now, twisted halfway around on the couch and trying to get some details out of a shell-shocked Sero. Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Kendou are all having a whispered conversation amongst themselves on the floor that has a lot of gesticulating involved. In the back of the room, Ojiro, Tokoyami, and Tetsutetsu are having a discussion of their own where they all look extremely uncertain of where exactly this is going.

Alright, Katsuki thinks. Time to blow some minds.

“So, I got hit with a Quirk,” he says loudly, and all the clamoring that had begun to start up dies again just that quickly. “And…it turns out we’re having a kid because of it.”

It gets real fucking noisy after that.

“WHAT?!”

“You’re – what?”

“How are you–”

“Are you serious??”

“No fucking way.”

“A KID?!”

“Hold on, hold on, hold on.” That last one is Kaminari. He scrambles off the couch and nearly stumbles straight into Katsuki in his rush, but ends up catching himself by bracing his hands on Katsuki’s shoulders. “What the fuck do you mean you’re having a kid??”

“I mean,” Katsuki says calmly, brows arched as he lets Kaminari cling to him, “that the Quirk somehow made it so I could get pregnant and shit. And…” He gestures at Deku. “I ain’t a fucking virgin. So.”

Kaminari’s eyes look like they’re about to fall out of his head. His grip on Katsuki’s shoulders tightens, fingers practically digging into him. “…You’re pregnant?” he whispers.

There’s the slightest pause, just a heartbeat’s worth of hesitation, and then the corner of Katsuki’s mouth tugs upwards. “Yep.”

The room explodes into motion again.

Uraraka launches up from the floor and slams into Deku, arms wrapping around him so fiercely that he lets out a startled squeak.

Mina and Sero bulldoze into Katsuki’s sides with zero shits given for his delicate condition or whatever the fuck. “I knew it, I knew it!” Sero crows, grasping one of Katsuki’s biceps. “I thought I was being crazy but I just had this feeling!”

Awase somehow shoves his way into his personal space, too, a grin on his face that’s a little bewildered but well-meaning all the same. “See, now the desk duty thing makes sense. Holy shit, man.”

Deku’s got a whole gaggle of losers gathered around him now, and Kaminari is still just frozen in front of Katsuki like a computer that’s errored out and is having trouble rebooting. Kirishima, however, is noticeably missing from Katsuki’s cluster of dumbasses, and he finds himself peering around the rest of his friends in an effort to find him.

“The fuck are you doing?” he asks, when he spots the redhead still standing over by the couch, wide-eyed and swaying on his feet.

“Processing,” Kirishima says, so quietly that Katsuki almost doesn’t even hear him. “I…” He takes a step forward. “Shit, dude, I was so worried. And – and now I’m still worried but also relieved and oh my god are you seriously pregnant right now?? Like – like you’re having a baby? For real???”

Katsuki scoffs. “You think I’d joke about something like that?”

Kirishima shakes his head, coughs out a laugh that sounds more like a sob, and then marches the rest of the way toward him, pushing past the other idiots all pressed in too close until he can attack Katsuki with an absolutely bone-crushing hug.

Next to him, with one hand now twisted into his shirtsleeve and clinging to it like it’s a lifeline, Kaminari straight up bursts into tears.

Sort of.

He’s not Deku so he manages to keep it a little under control, but he’s definitely crying and Katsuki is pretty sure that Kirishima’s also getting weepy all over his shoulder and Mina is squealing in his ear and holy fuck there’s just a lot of emotions being thrown his way right now.

Katsuki awkwardly pats Kirishima on the back a few times, knowing full well he’s not pulling away anytime soon, and shoots a befuddled sort of look at Kaminari. “Fuck’s sake, Pikachu, why are you crying?”

Kaminari droops sideways into Kirishima, propping an arm on his shoulder and burying his face against it. “I don’t know!” he wails, and he’s still clinging to Katsuki with his spare hand. “I’m just really freakin’ relieved!”

“I told you all I was FINE,” Katsuki says, completely exasperated. “I wasn’t trying to lie to you, it was the goddamn truth.”

“It’s not that.” Kaminari lifts his head again, dragging the back of his hand across his eyes. “…It’s not just that,” he amends a moment later, voice going gruff and slightly embarrassed. “I just…” He darts a look over at Ears, who’s still on the couch with Yaomomo and Kendou, and then turns back and gives Katsuki a watery grin. “It’s been kind of hard doing this by ourselves,” he admits. “And…I thought we were going to be the only ones in the group with a baby for, like, forever, but now we’re not and I know it’s probably weird as hell but shit, dude, I’m just so fucking happy you’re pregnant.”

“That’s definitely weird,” Katsuki says, voice flat, and Kaminari chuckles in a way that’s bordering on being self-conscious. Katsuki eyes him for a few seconds before sighing. “Although… I guess one of my first thoughts was, hey, at least my kid won’t be lonely.” He lifts his free hand and drops it on the blonde’s head, ruffling his hair. “So…I get it.”

Kaminari blubbers out another sobbing laugh and wipes at his face again, then beams at Katsuki through his tears.

Next to him, Kirishima finally rears back out of his fucking octopus hug and clutches at the pair of them, his eyes going wide. “Wait, now I want one, too!” He whips around, finding Mina hanging on Katsuki’s other side – but before he can say even a single word more, she’s quick to bark out a very Not Amused sound.

“Nope!” she says, reaching out to poke Kirishima in the forehead. “Absolutely not, Eiji, you get that out of your head right now.”

“But!! Mina!”

“No.”

“Don’t worry,” Sero says, thumping a hand against Kirishima’s back. “We can be their favorite uncles.”

“I want in on that,” Todoroki cuts in, shifting away from Deku’s own congratulatory group so he can shove his way into Katsuki’s. Kirishima and Kaminari back off a little to make room for him, and then Half-and-Half just stands there for a moment, arms crossed as his gaze bounces back and forth between Katsuki’s stomach and his face. “…This is very strange.”

Katsuki snorts. “Little bit.”

“It’s better than Milan, though.”

“I don’t know where the fuck you got that from anyway.”

Todoroki’s eyes narrow. “Do you really have a Shouto baby outfit?”

“…I might’ve blacked out and accidentally bought one,” Katsuki mutters.

“That’s nice.”

“Mention it again and die.”

“I believe there are also Shouto bedsheets.”

“No.”

“And curtains.”

“Fuck off,” Katsuki complains. “Are you gonna congratulate me or what?”

Todoroki’s mouth quirks and he steps in toward him, giving him an awkward sort of one-armed bro hug that Katsuki reluctantly accepts because he decided at some point during their whirlwind announcement that this is the ONLY day this collection of nerds is allowed to touch him like this.

“I have a question!” Kyouka says suddenly, loudly, from the couch. The sea of people between them parts so that Katsuki has a clearer view of her, and Deku finally manages to weave his way through the throng of their classmates until he’s back at Katsuki’s side. “When you were sick last fall,” she continues. “Was that actually morning sickness?”

“Yeah, apparently,” Katsuki replies, and that kicks off another round of disbelieving shouts.

“Just how pregnant are you?” Ojiro asks.

“Almost twenty weeks,” Deku supplies. Those in the room who have a frame of reference for how far along that is make some more surprised noises.

“Oh damn,” says Kendou. “So, like, really pregnant.”

Kaminari gives Katsuki’s shoulder a shove. “Dude, seriously? And you just found out?”

“People can stop being shocked about that any fucking time now,” Katsuki grouses, folding his arms over his chest. “How the fuck was I supposed to know?”

“You don’t look really, uh…pregnant,” Kirishima says uncertainly. “You…kind of don’t look pregnant at all.” He pauses for a beat. “…I think my brain is breaking a little. Um, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Katsuki mutters. “I lost my whole goddamn mind when I found out.”

That gets him a few commiserative winces from some of the guys around the room.

Tsuyu steps toward Deku, placing a hand on his arm. “Look at Izuku, though,” she says, smiling up at him. “You’re thrilled, aren’t you?”

Deku titters out a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head. “I can’t help it,” he says, grinning wide. “I just think it’s really cool! I mean, I would’ve been happy to have a family with Kacchan any kind of way.” He tips his head back, turning his smile on Katsuki, and Katsuki instantly feels his face grow warm. “And maybe we’ll still adopt one day – there are so many kids out there who need a home, you know? But…this baby is ours. It’s from both of us, and I didn’t think something like that would ever be possible.”

“Kid’s gonna be a little terror,” Sero comments teasingly.

“Well, I think it’s very brave what you’re doing,” Yaomomo says. There’s a soft curve to her lips and a knowing look in her eyes, her words obviously directed at Katsuki. They fill him with an insane urge to puff his chest out with pride, and he has to forcefully shove the impulse away. Yaomomo reaches beside her for Kyouka’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Of course, I think it’s brave when any person does it,” she adds sweetly, which makes Kyouka go bashful and duck her head. Then she turns back to Katsuki, way too fucking earnest as she continues, “But I do think you deserve some credit. I’m sure it’s been a very emotionally complicated journey for you so far.”

…Okay.

He knew this was going to become awful at some point, and that right there – that makes the heat in his cheeks deepen and lets loose some squirmy, flustered bullshit in his chest.

Fuck. Fuck.

“It’s… I mean.” Katsuki shifts his weight and scowls up at the ceiling, trying to force the blush off his face through pure willpower alone. “Yeah, I guess. You’re not wrong. I’m happy and shit but it’s also still fucking me up, so just… If I’m not all – fuckin’ – sunshine and goddamn rainbows about it, that’s why.” He lowers his eyes again and huffs out a gruff little sigh. “But…thanks.”

“Sunshine and rainbows from you would be very alarming, actually,” Icy Hot intones, and Kirishima snickers.

“Yeah, bro, we’ve known you a million years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you even close to sunshine and rainbows.”

“Except for at graduation,” Kaminari says. A loud groan echoes from across the room and he smirks, raising his voice to be heard over the sound. “WHEN MONOMA TRIPPED AND FELL WALKING ACROSS THE STAGE and you wouldn’t stop laughing.”

“Fuck you, Kaminari!” Monoma shouts back. There’s very little heat to it, but that doesn’t stop Kendou from sighing and reaching out with her Quirk to bonk him on the head.

“This is so crazy,” Uraraka says, drawing everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand. “Like…it’s just really, really crazy. It almost doesn’t feel real.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“Are you seriously pregnant?” Kaminari asks, as though he somehow missed the entire last twenty minutes of conversation. “Like, actually?” Katsuki just stares at him, and eventually he slinks backwards and flushes pink. “Hah…sorry. I’m trying to make sure this isn’t some kind of insanely elaborate dream.”

“You’re an idiot,” Katsuki mutters in a low rumble, and then he tugs at his shirt and lifts it up over his stomach.

He’s still only barely showing, but the slightly rounded bump of his belly is obvious enough. Hell, he actually thinks it might already be bigger and it’s only been, like, three fucking days since they found out.

That could just be his imagination, though.

Maybe.

“Whoa,” Kirishima murmurs, eyes round.

Kaminari makes an obnoxious awwww sound, and Sero says, “Yep, that’s what set off all my alarms in the locker room last week.”

Deku chuckles. “Right? I left for two weeks and then suddenly…” He gestures at Katsuki’s stomach, grinning. “I was like, umm, Kacchan??? Mind telling me what happened??”

“I mean, that’s how I look when I’m pregnant with a food baby,” Uraraka grumbles. “But go off, I guess.”

“Wait, hang on,” Kyouka says. She heaves herself up from the couch, with Yaomomo’s assistance, and then makes her way over. “I didn’t want to get crushed by the stampede earlier but I want to see.”

Katsuki angles himself toward her with a sigh that’s not half as irritated as it’s pretending to be. “Get your fill because I’m not showing it off again.”

“No one asked you to show it off now,” she shoots back at him, tone dry, but her gaze drops anyway to take it in. “Oh… Wow. God, I remember when I was that small.”

“Some of my pants are already tight,” Katsuki says grumpily. “It’s annoying as shit.”

“Can you feel it moving yet?”

“…Yeah. A little.”

“When are you due?”

“July. Around the tenth, they think.” Katsuki hesitates for a second, and then decides to just throw it all out there. “But they’re gonna schedule a C-section sometime the week before.”

Kyouka’s eyes lift, meeting his. “Ah.” There’s an extended moment where they’re just kind of watching each other, their friends all circled around them, and then Ears lets out a deep exhale and falls forward against him, her arms coming up to squeeze around Katsuki’s middle. “I cannot believe you went and got yourself knocked up, too,” she mumbles into his chest. “But Denki’s right – I’m kind of glad you did.”

Her stomach presses against him, so much bigger than Katsuki’s own, and the ridiculous thought flashes through his head that it’s like they’re introducing their kids to each other for the first time.

And isn’t that a fucking trip?

He makes sure to return the hug, wrapping his arms around her smaller frame, and then suddenly Kaminari’s right there next to them and clamping a hand down on each of their shoulders.

“So!” he says brightly. “Do you know if you’re having a girl or a boy?”

Deku, squished against Katsuki’s other side, shakes his head. “Not yet.”

Katsuki hums.

He pulls one arm free and snakes it down between them, digging into his pocket, and when he reemerges it’s with a very familiar, if slightly crumpled, envelope in his grasp.

Deku’s eyes immediately blow wide, and Katsuki grins.

“You wanna find out?”

Chapter Text

There’s a lot of excited yelling and other nonsense going on around them, but Katsuki only has eyes for Deku, speechless and gaping next to him like some kind of nerdy green fish.

He gives the envelope a little shake, one eyebrow lifting. “Up to you.”

“YES,” Deku exclaims finally, snapping out of his stunned daze. He presses up against Katsuki’s side, gaze darting back and forth between him and the envelope. “Yes, definitely, I – if you want to, then yes! Not knowing is killing me!”

“That’s because you’re an impatient dweeb,” Katsuki says, accidentally way too fond, before he glances around at the rest of their wide-eyed friends. “Anyone wanna guess first?”

Deku lets out this crabby little sound (that Katsuki does his best not to laugh at) and rocks into him. “Kacchan.”

“If it’s a boy, then our kids can get married,” Kaminari says instantly, only to immediately follow that up with a dramatic gasp and a jostle of Katsuki’s arm. “Oh my gosh, or if it’s a girl – they could also get married! Bakugou, we’re going to be in-laws!!”

“Okay, maybe don’t plan our daughter’s wedding when she’s only, like, negative two months old,” Kyouka says dryly, which has absolutely zero effect on the starstruck look splashed across Kaminari’s face.

“How cool would a boy be, though?” Kirishima says. “I mean, literally all the options are cool, but – you two combined would make a kick-ass little dude.”

“Or a feisty little girl,” Uraraka pipes up, and both Katsuki and Deku snort.

“I was the opposite of feisty,” Deku admits, grinning a tad sheepishly.

“Kid’s probably gonna be a huge crybaby either way,” Katsuki adds, which makes Deku smack the back of his hand against his arm.

“Oh, any combination of your genes is going to turn out adorable,” Yaomomo says. “No matter what gender the baby is, biological or otherwise. You’re both very fortunate in the looks department.”

Sero leans in closer to Katsuki, bracing an arm on his shoulder and giving him an obnoxiously wide grin. “Personality, though, not so much.”

Katsuki just rolls his eyes and shrugs him off. “Watch it, fucker.”

“KACCHAN,” Deku says again, insistently, tugging on his shirtsleeve now. “Don’t make me wait any longer, come on!”

“Alright, alright.” Katsuki lifts the envelope high above his head. “Which one of you assholes wants the honor?”

There’s a small clamoring amongst the crowd of their friends, but it’s Monoma who suddenly materializes out of thin air right in front of Katsuki, reaching up to snatch the envelope away from him.

“Allow me,” he says, skittering backwards like he thinks Katsuki might try to wrestle the damn thing back from him or some shit. “Honestly, it’s so like class A to treat baby-making like a competition. You think you all can beat us? We haven’t even gotten started!”

Katsuki can feel the way every single one of his classmates gives the blonde an unimpressed or exasperated look. Awase and Tetsutetsu both just groan.

“So,” Kaminari starts, “what you’re saying is that, because you haven’t started, we actually ARE beating you.”

Monoma gives a haughty sniff. “No.”

“Seems like it’s two to zero if you ask me,” Katsuki points out.

“Why,” Kendou moans. Her head tips backwards for a moment before she levels a glare on Monoma. “Why are you like this?”

“It’s not my fault,” Monoma says, affronted for some fucking reason, as though he wasn’t absolutely the dumbass who started this whole thing. Katsuki has learned to put up with the idiot over the years, he can even admit he’s useful to have around, but holy fuck, sometimes he still finds himself wanting to slap a palm in the guy’s face and let it ignite. “You need to get a move on.”

Kendou splutters at that, and Yaomomo actually lets out a dainty little snort. “And it’s not her fault you’re quite single at the moment, now is it?” she asks.

“I’m single by choice, thank you.”

“Bro, I wouldn’t call your last date leaving in the middle of dinner ‘by choice’,” Tetsutetsu says with an exaggerated wince.

Monoma whips around lightning quick to give him a glare. “He had an EMERGENCY.”

“Would someone tell this joker to hurry the heck up already?” Dark Shadow squawks suddenly as he bursts out from Tokoyami to hover just above him. “Some of us have places to be!”

“Apologies,” Tokoyami intones. His eyes slide shut as he leans slightly away from his sentient Quirk. “We have nothing scheduled, he just doesn’t want to admit how curious he is.”

“Fumikage!!” Dark Shadow whines. He shrinks down behind him, poking his fingers together. “So are you.”

Tokoyami coughs into his fist. “Yes, well…”

Deku clasps his hands together in front of his chest. “Monoma, please,” he damn near begs, and Katsuki can’t help the soft laugh that escapes him this time. It’s not that he isn’t curious himself…

He’s just also scared shitless and he can’t even begin to explain why or justify it to himself.

It’s like Deku said the other day: they already know this is real. But up until now, he’s been able to picture his life continuing almost as normal. Sure, there’s a baby-shaped outline in the middle of everything now, and he knows there are massive changes on the way – he’s completely, fully aware of that – but it’s honestly still kind of a mental challenge for him to really comprehend just what the fuck is happening to him. Inside of him.

Having any kind of specifics seems wild, if he’s being honest. It fills the outline in a little. Gives him something solid to grasp onto.

But having that additional bit of proof is terrifying.

“Yes, yes, fine,” Monoma says. He slides his thumb beneath the flap of the envelope and reaches inside, pulling a piece of paper free with unnecessary flourish and holding it up as if he’s about to announce there’s fucking royalty entering a ballroom. Awase and Tetsutetsu crowd in around him, eyes wide as they peer at the paper, but all former members of class A have apparently decided to situate themselves around Katsuki and Deku instead.

They’re huddled together, and it’s almost hilarious because Katsuki is pretty damn sure that not a single one of them is breathing. He catches a small glimpse of the paper and can tell immediately that it’s a printed scan of the best shot they got from the ultrasound. Monoma’s eyes roam over it for a moment. Tetsutetsu grins big and Awase lets out a low whistle.

Next to him, Deku reaches down to grasp his hand, his grip tight. Katsuki squeezes right back as Monoma looks up at them.

“Well,” he says, smirking a little in an attempt to hide his own excitement. “It seems you’re having a girl.”

Katsuki chokes on nothing, something lurching wildly in his chest.

Somewhere behind him, Mina lets out some kind of excited shriek. The rest of the group gradually follows suit, the noise level ratcheting upwards as shouts of giddy congratulations fill the air, but it’s muffled in the oddest way. Like, Katsuki knows they’re all yelling. He can tell they’re shaking him and cheering and celebrating. But there’s a buzzing in his head and it’s like everything around him slows down and goes wobbly, as though they’re submerged underwater.

Katsuki sways a little, trying to jumpstart his brain. He feels Deku pull his hand away and swings his gaze around toward him, finding him with both palms pressed against his cheeks as he stares owl-wide back at Katsuki.

And then, like an elastic stretched too thin, time suddenly snaps back into place.

“A girl?” Katsuki repeats, almost a whisper.

Deku nods rapidly. “A girl,” he says, and he’s hushed, almost reverent, as well.

An entirely new future spills out in front of Katsuki in that moment. One filled with high-pitched giggles, pink bows and tiny dresses, unicorns and baby dolls and every other stereotypical thing his very boyish upbringing has apparently caused his mind to associate with little girls.

Logically, he knows that’s a pretty limited view on things.

Logically, he knows his daughter – his DAUGHTER – doesn’t have to have a childhood surrounded in cutesy pink and purple things if she doesn’t want to. Maybe she’ll be a tomboy. Maybe she’ll wear nothing but skull-covered black t-shirts like Katsuki did in high school. Maybe she’ll live in nerdy All Might merch like Deku.

Maybe she’ll be badass as fuck like Mina and Kyouka and the rest. Maybe she’ll be tough as balls like Mirko.

Maybe she WILL love Barbies and ponies and whatever the fuck else while also being a superstar volleyball athlete who plays the drums in a garage band she forms with Kaminari’s kid.

Hell, maybe she’ll be a goddamn tomboy and be into pink shit.

The possibilities are literally endless. She can be whatever the fuck she wants to be, Katsuki will support her to hell and back, and something abruptly wells up inside of him in the split second he spends envisioning his life with this new puzzle piece firmly locked into place – something so fiercely protective that it nearly knocks him sideways.

A girl.

His daughter.

THEIR daughter.

“A girl,” Katsuki says again, a slow grin stretching across his face, and Deku bubbles up with laughter, all smiles and practically bouncing in place.

“A girl!!” he cries. His hands lower again and he clamps them onto Katsuki’s shoulders, but Katsuki’s having none of that.

Instead, he lurches forward into the other man, wrapping him up in a bruising hug and lifting him right off his fucking feet. Deku’s giggles chime in his ears and Katsuki’s heart swells some more, nearly fit to goddamn burst.

“Holy shit,” he utters, voice a low, warm rumble. “Izuku – holy fucking shit.”

Deku squeezes his arms tight around Katsuki’s shoulders. “A daughter! We’re having a girl! Oh my god, Kacchan, oh my god.”

“Instant best friends,” Kaminari’s saying somewhere near them, and the world around Katsuki finally starts to come back into focus. “INSTANT, just you watch!”

“I’m gonna spoil the heck out of both of them,” Kirishima says fervently. Katsuki glances over to find the two of them wrapped up in their own hug like the pair of morons they are. Ears is standing right next to them with a look of fond exasperation on her face. “I’m gonna be the best uncle! THE BEST.”

“I already am an uncle,” Todoroki speaks up. “So I can show you the ropes.” He raises his eyebrows at Katsuki and Deku. “If you need any older sister advice from someone with a toddler, I’m sure Fuyumi would be all too willing to talk to you.”

Deku chuckles. “Maybe! Thanks, Todoroki.”

“Aren’t you not supposed to lift that much when pregnant?” Kendou asks, and Katsuki, who still has Deku hefted up against him, curses and quickly drops him back down.

Monoma steps toward them, holding out the paper with their baby’s gender on it. “I’m assuming you want this back.”

“Ah, yes!” Deku snatches it back and eagerly scans the image. Katsuki shifts closer to look at it, as well – it has both ‘male’ and ‘female’ written along the bottom, and the word ‘female’ has been circled in red ink. Deku grins all over again. “Thanks, Monoma!”

“Of course,” Monoma says. He actually looks almost pleased for them. “Happy to assist.”

“Is that her?” Tsuyu asks, standing on her toes to peer over Deku’s arm.

Uraraka leans in, too. “Oohh, let me see!”

“Isn’t it so cool how much you can already make out?” Kyouka asks, somehow sliding her way in between Deku and Katsuki, giant belly and all. “It blew my damn mind, honestly.”

Kaminari barks out a laugh. “Same, dude.”

“This is just a paper copy, so it’s not even that good,” Deku says. “We’ve got better prints at home.”

“If only we’d brought them,” Katsuki says dryly, and then: “Oh, wait, I did.”

Deku’s head snaps up. “You – really? You did??”

Katsuki shrugs. “Sure. They’re in my coat pocket.”

“…You had this all planned out, huh?” Deku says, his smile turning soft, and Katsuki feels his face go warm.

So, naturally, he tries to scowl it away. “I just figured! It’s a fucking one-time thing, you know, so.” He huffs. “Whatever. Shut up.”

There’s some rustling behind him, people moving in and out of his periphery, and then suddenly Sero and Ojiro pop up in front of Katsuki with his coat held between them.

“Let’s go!” Sero says cheerfully, and Ojiro is quick to add, “Show and tell time, man.”

Welp.

Katsuki didn’t sneak those pictures in here with him for nothing.

“Fine,” he says, like it’s some huge hassle. “But if any of you losers bends or rips or finds any other way to mess them up, I’m exploding you six ways to fuckin’ Sunday.”

They all squish in around the couch, Deku sitting on one side of him and Kyouka on the other, as Katsuki carefully slips the photos free and begins handing them out. Some are more exciting than others, obviously. Uraraka coos over the baby’s tiny thumb, and Kirishima gets teary over the shot that showcases the bottom of her little feet.

“I always love the ones that just look like blobs,” Kaminari says, laughing.

Kyouka glances at the scan he’s holding. “That’s the top of her head.”

“I know, but it’s still funny.” He passes the picture on to the next person and then fishes his phone out of his pants pocket, opening up the photo gallery and scrolling for a moment. “Look, check it out,” he says, shoving the phone in Katsuki’s face. “Ours keeps flipping us off lately. It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Denki,” Kyouka groans, as Katsuki sits up in interest to look.

“What? It’s hilarious!”

“Okay,” Katsuki says. “That’s amazing.”

Kaminari beams at him. “Right? Hang on, I’ve got more.”

He has a lot more, in fact. And loathe as he is to admit it, Katsuki thinks it’s a fucking brilliant idea to save the images on his phone. Like, shit, he’s definitely gonna steal that. Kaminari is a goddamn genius.

They’re all distracted as they share the various ultrasound images between them, so no one really notices the apartment door opening and someone else entering the room until he’s pretty much standing right in front of them.

Deku spots him first and makes an excited little noise.

“Dude!” Kirishima exclaims next, shooting up from the floor to give him a slap on the back. “You made it!”

“Just got off shift,” Shinsou says. He looks it, honestly – his hair is a tousled mess and the bags under his eyes are even more pronounced than usual. Katsuki notes, in a quietly vexed sort of way, that he’s got a disposable coffee cup in his hand.

Even though it’s gotta be, like, at least 8:00 PM or something by now.

What the shit.

Shinsou takes a look around the room, clearly spotting the different pictures people are holding.

He blinks.

“So…what’d I miss?”

* * *

A couple hours later, after most of the group has headed home, those of them left are still scattered around the living room, talking amongst themselves.

Shinsou’s sitting cross-legged up on the couch next to Kyouka, with Kaminari on the floor at her feet. Izuku’s beside him, and Kacchan’s lying sprawled across the carpet with his head pillowed against Izuku’s thigh.

On the other side of the coffee table are Kirishima and Ashido, and then Todoroki and Sero are piled together on the giant pink and black tiger-striped bean bag they’ve hauled out of the bedroom.

Izuku’s honestly still half in a daze. His stomach keeps doing excited little flip-flops and he can’t keep the smile off his face for more than two seconds at a time. He keeps zoning out of the conversation as he turns this new bit of information over in his mind, trying to picture what she might look like. What personality their daughter might have. She’s going to be so freaking cute, he already knows it. The thought alone makes him want to do something ridiculous like roll around on the floor with his hands balled up into flailing fists.

“This is great, though,” Kaminari says, and Izuku forces himself to tune back in. “We could totally share a nanny or something, split the costs. We live close enough, right?”

“You’re not gonna stick her in daycare?” Sero asks.

Kaminari shrugs. “Haven’t decided.”

“It’s so expensive for infants,” Kyouka says. Izuku glances down at Katsuki, finding him already staring back. “It’d be easier if our parents were closer, but mine are gonna be all over the country for the next year. They had a band tour scheduled before they knew I was pregnant.”

“Are you taking the entire six months or whatever?” Katsuki asks.

Kyouka’s eyebrows arch. “Of maternity leave?” Katsuki nods and she huffs out a little sigh. “Probably? We’re still talking about it. I’m trying to decide if I want to, like, make myself look good and come back early. Which is kind of bullshit, but I don’t know. Denki wants me to take all of it but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“It’s not that I want you to,” Kaminari cuts in. “I’m not demanding you take it or something, it’s just annoying you even have to think like that. You deserve to take all the time they’re giving you, you need to recover and shit.”

“See?” Izuku says to Kacchan, very pointedly, and he just scowls.

“No, I get where she’s coming from,” he grumbles. “You’re all buddy-buddy with Lemillion so maybe it’s a little different, but the Commission sure as fuck doesn’t want all their newbie heroes to be out here popping out babies all the time.”

“Okay, but that’s so stupid,” Ashido says. “And also not fair! They can’t regulate shit like that.”

“They can’t, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some level of influence over what agencies are doing and who they’re hiring or promoting and things like that,” Shinsou points out, and Katsuki juts a thumb in his direction and hums out an agreeing sound.

“They already cut the fuckin’ maternity leave in half compared to what the rest of the country gets. Apparently,” he says.

“Dang, are you serious?” Kirishima asks. “That’s nuts!”

Katsuki glances over at him, spreading his hands in a what can you do? sort of way. “Anyone who gets knocked up is automatically out of the field for, what, like a year at minimum?”

“More,” Izuku says. “Probably most people find out a lot sooner than we did.”

“Right, so – on top of the amount of time they’re definitely without that person, with every kid someone has, the Commission thinks the likelihood of them returning to hero work drops.” Katsuki barks out a humorless laugh. “Newsflash, sometimes this country is still really fucking backwards.”

“My father had four children,” Todoroki says. “And I don’t think it affected his work at all.”

“He’s a man,” Katsuki says dismissively. “Look how many more male heroes there are than women. They don’t support ‘em the same, especially when it comes to family care.”

“This is depressing,” Kyouka says, voice flat.

“Also, dude, your dad…” Sero trails off and rocks sideways into Todoroki, who just squints at nothing in particular for a moment.

“True, he’s a poor example. I suppose if my mother had been a hero, she would’ve effectively locked herself out of having a promising career.” He pauses. “Or rather, my father would’ve taken that opportunity away from her. While still plunging ahead with his own goals. Hmm.”

“This is all compounded by the fact that, in general, the average career length for hero work isn’t all that long compared to other fields,” Shinsou says.

“Heroes who last as long as All Might or Endeavor are on the rare side,” Katsuki murmurs.

Izuku looks back down at him again, shifting his hand over to comb it through his hair. “You really did your research.”

Kacchan scoffs, but he also flushes a bit, too. “Well, I wasn’t working these last two days so I was fucking bored.” And then, in a mutter: “…Also, it’s important.”

“Mm, it is.” Izuku cranes his head backwards to catch Kyouka’s eyes. “I didn’t really know anything about how the Commission handles family planning.”

“That’s because they conveniently don’t include much of it in the U.A. curriculum,” she says.

“It’s like you can almost see where they’re coming from,” Sero speaks up again, tone thoughtful. “Almost. Sort of. But it’s still dumb as fuck.”

“I think you should both take however long they’re offering you,” Kirishima says, leaning across the coffee table. “Don’t give any of it back!”

“Yeah!” Ashido cries. “You’re literally creating new humans and putting your bodies through hell, you deserve it!”

Kaminari chuckles and reaches behind him to prod Shinsou’s knee. “Shinsou should just brainwash the entire Commission board into changing shit. That’d fix it fast enough.”

“Oh, sure,” Shinsou drawls. “And I definitely wouldn’t get thrown in jail or worse in the process.”

“Listen, we all gotta make sacrifices,” Katsuki says, smirking.

Kyouka’s mouth quirks, as well, and she gives Shinsou a fake little bow – as much as she can manage over her rounded stomach – with her hand held out toward him. “Your service has been noted and appreciated, sir.”

“ANYWAY.” Kaminari leans right into Izuku so that he can grin down at Kacchan. “Sharing a nanny or something like that – what do you think?”

“Give them a minute, Denki, geez,” Kyouka says. “They might not have thought that far ahead yet.”

Izuku meets Katsuki’s eyes again. “We have,” he says slowly. “A little. And that’s not a bad idea, it’s just…we might be moving.”

“Are moving,” Katsuki corrects. “At some point, anyway.”

“You’re what?” Kirishima asks, looking alarmed.

“Hang on, moving where?” Kaminari demands.

Todoroki actually looks almost wounded, which makes Izuku wince. “You said you weren’t moving.”

“Yeah, we’re not moving to fucking Cuba,” Katsuki says, overly snarky, and Izuku rolls his eyes as he tugs on one of his blonde spikes.

“We’re not going far or anything,” he says, trying to sound reassuring. “Just out of the city. Probably closer to where we grew up, since our parents are there.” He glances at Kyouka. “Like you said, then they can help out and stuff.”

“And then, what, you’ll take the train in or something?” she asks.

“The train’s easiest, but we could always drive, too,” Izuku replies.

“Is this, like, for real?” says Ashido. “Like it’s set in stone, you’re actually leaving?”

Kacchan heaves out a sigh and hauls himself up out of Izuku’s lap and into a sitting position so he can face the others more directly. “Alright, can everyone calm the fuck down? The suburbs are less than an hour away, it’s not that bad. Izuku and I made the trip every damn day to U.A. before the dorms opened up.”

“It’s not that different from being on the opposite side of the city,” Izuku adds.

“But you’re not on the opposite side of the city. Not from us!” Kaminari says, and he looks so sad about it that Izuku almost wants to immediately take it all back and promise they’ll live in their tiny little apartment for the rest of their lives, pinky swear!! “You’re within walking distance, man. It won’t be the same.”

“Yeah, well, fucking nothing is gonna be the same, is it?” Katsuki grouses. “Don’t tell me you guys haven’t thought about buying a house or anything like that. What if you have more kids down the line? Eventually you’re gonna need more room.”

“Sure, eventually,” Kyouka repeats, while Sero sits up and shoots Katsuki a surprised look, blurting out, “Holy shit, you’re buying a house?”

“We don’t know!” Izuku says. “It’s just an idea right now, but maybe.”

“I mean, yeah, we’ve talked about it,” Kaminari says. “But that’s so much money. Plus the baby? I don’t know…”

“You’re getting a raise, though,” Katsuki says, point-blank. “Right? You jumped almost thirty damn spots in the rankings this year, so you should be. Izuku’s kicks in soon as May starts.”

Kaminari goes a bit pink. “I – yeah. But…”

“Kaminari,” Katsuki says, voice serious, and he levels such a look on the other man that Kaminari’s back goes ramrod straight under his attention. “You’re a good fucking hero. You’re just gonna keep climbing, so I’m gonna tell you what my mom told me, because she might be annoying as fuck but she actually had a halfway decent point for once – you will have the money. Both you and Ears, eventually both of you will be making bank.” He turns his gaze to Kyouka halfway through, making sure she hears him, as well, and Izuku tries to hide a grin behind his hand.

Kacchan cares so much about his friends, even when he pretends to act like he doesn’t. Watching him try to convince Kaminari of his own worth fills Izuku with a glowing sort of pride.

“…Huh,” says Kyouka.

“You – do really think so?” Kaminari asks, somewhat meekly. “It’s such an investment.”

“I’d be happy to give you a loan if you needed it,” Todoroki chimes in.

“Oh my god, no, we couldn’t,” Kaminari says immediately, looking flustered now. “We’ve been setting money aside, so… Maybe we could fit it in our budget? I could ask my dad what he thinks.”

“You should come look with us, at least,” Izuku says gently. “Just for fun!”

“Both our moms went batshit crazy and already found us a new neighborhood they want us to check out.” Kacchan’s got an expression on his face that makes it seem like he finds his mom’s involvement irritating or something, but Izuku knows it’s just for show. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so quick to show Izuku all the pictures Mitsuki sent over yesterday. “Reminder that we only found out about all this shit on Tuesday. It’s been four fucking days and they’ve already gone house hunting.”

Izuku scratches at his cheek somewhat sheepishly. “They’re a little eager…”

Kaminari lifts his eyebrows at Kyouka, and she just shrugs in response. “It doesn’t hurt to look.”

“Geez, this is all so adult,” Kirishima moans, bending forward to thunk his forehead onto the coffee table. “I still feel like I’m in high school half the time and y’all are out here talking about babies and houses. I can’t.”

“Seriously. Meanwhile, I’m over here mildly annoyed I can’t pull out a blunt right now because I have to think of the children,” Shinsou says, casual as you please, and Ashido laughs and shoots him a finger gun with an accompanying wink.

“We’ve totally got a balcony, babe.”

“When are you going?” Kaminari asks, gaze bouncing between Izuku and Katsuki.

“Izuku’s off Sunday right now, so that’s the plan,” Katsuki says.

“You’re also off,” Kyouka mentions to Kaminari, and he hums.

“I guess we could tag along,” he says. “Are your parents going to be there?”

“Kacchan’s mom is for sure,” Izuku answers. “My mom might have to work, she’s not sure yet.”

“Oh sweet.” Kaminari grins at Katsuki, big and wide, and Kacchan promptly gives him the stink-eye in return. “Dude, your mom’s awesome! I don’t know why you’re always such a jerk about her.”

“Because she’s obnoxious.”

“They’re just too similar,” Izuku mock-whispers to Kaminari, and he snickers.

“You’d better be nice to her,” Kyouka says, with her own amused look. “You’re probably gonna need her throughout…hell, everything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Katsuki grumbles.

The conversation drifts off onto other topics for a while. Honestly, Izuku is surprised Katsuki hasn’t decided it’s time to leave yet. It’s pretty late, especially for him, but if he’s fine hanging around then Izuku’s not going to say anything. He’s had a few beers so far, and he’s not drunk or anything close to it, but he’s definitely feeling pleasantly mellow and also stupidly giddy just basking in everyone’s presence and enjoying the fact that he now knows he and Kacchan have a daughter on the way.

A daughter!!!

It’s so crazy. Absolutely unbelievable and wonderful and gosh, Izuku is just so damn happy.

Shinsou and Ashido disappear outside at one point, with Sero tagging along after them. Todoroki curls up on the bean bag in his absence, looking like a cat that’s about to doze off any second.

“Have you started thinking of names?” Kirishima asks, dragging them right back to baby talk – not that Izuku minds.

“We have ours already,” Kaminari says. “But we’re not telling anyone, not even you guys.” He shoots a quick look at Kyouka. “Right?”

“Yep,” she affirms.

“I wanted to go with Toshi if we were having a boy,” Izuku says. He frowns thoughtfully. “I don’t really know for a girl. Maybe, like…hmm. Toshi…ko? Toshiko–”

“Absolutely not,” Katsuki interrupts, tone flat. “Fuck’s sake, Deku, not EVERYTHING has to be related to All Might.”

“It’s cute!” Izuku insists.

“No.”

Kacchan’s such a grumpy butt sometimes, ugh. Izuku harrumphs. “Okay, Mr. Great Explosion Murder Baby.” Next to him, Kaminari chokes on his drink and nearly hacks up a lung through his spluttering laughs. “You come up with something then.”

“Later,” Katsuki says, waving him off. “I’m still trying to… We’re not gonna fuck this up, are we?” he asks suddenly, going ever so slightly uncertain as he jerks a wide-eyed stare over to Izuku. “Neither of us knows fucking anything about girls. We don’t have sisters, we didn’t even hang around the girls in our neighborhood when we were kids. How the fuck are we gonna raise a girl?”

“Again,” Todoroki murmurs, half asleep, “if you need advice, I have a sister.”

“You’re gonna be fine,” Kyouka says. “You’ve got us, too. And your parents.”

Izuku rests back against the couch and tugs Katsuki closer until he slumps against his side and exhales a long, slow breath. “You’ve always been good with kids, Kacchan,” he says. “You pretend it’s a hassle, but in the end they always flock to you. Even the girls.”

“That’s bullshit, Eri was definitely scared of me,” Katsuki mutters.

“To be fair, she was scared of a lot of people,” Kirishima points out.

“And she got over it,” Izuku says. “Mahoro loves you.”

That has Katsuki snorting out a laugh. “Mahoro is a brat, so that makes sense.”

“Did I hear right that she’s trying for U.A.?” Kyouka asks, and Izuku nods eagerly.

“Mmhmm! She’s taking the entrance exam in a couple weeks.”

“She’s going for the Business Course, though,” Katsuki says.

Kyouka’s eyebrows hike upwards. “She’s coming all the way out here for that? Surely there are good schools a lot closer to Nabu.”

“Katsuma has his heart set on the Hero Course at U.A.,” Izuku says. “So I think the plan is that she’ll already be working over here by the time it’s his turn.” Katsuki slips a little lower, his head dropping to rest on Izuku’s shoulder – which probably means he’s about at his limit. If Izuku could get a good look at his face from this position, he’s pretty sure he’d find that Kacchan’s eyes are closed. “It’s so cute, honestly,” he continues. “I think she just wants to support her brother in any way she can.”

“She’s gonna lose her mind when she finds out you two are having a kid,” Kaminari says. He reaches for the cooler they dragged into the living room, unearthing two more beers from the slowly melting ice and holding one out for Izuku. “Man, I hope she gets in. It’d be cool having her around. One more, fellow dad-to-be?”

Izuku hesitates for a moment, half expecting Katsuki to say something or tell him he can’t because they need to go, but he’s quiet. Which, Izuku belatedly considers, is probably because they’re at Kirishima’s. It’s one of the places he’s most comfortable hanging out, and it’s not like they haven’t stayed over before. “Sure,” he says, accepting the can, and he hears Kyouka sigh a little behind them.

Kaminari darts her a guilty look. “Uh, or did you want to head out?”

“No, you’re good,” she says, shifting around as she adjusts her position. “I might nap, though.”

“You can take the bed,” Kirishima offers, but Kyouka shakes her head.

“Seriously, I’m fine–”

“She’ll take the bed,” Katsuki quickly cuts in, the suddenness of it making Izuku jolt a little. “We’ll both take the bed.” He sits up, stretching his arms over his head for a few long seconds before letting them fall again so that he can lean in to press a kiss against Izuku’s temple. “Have fun, I’m gonna go pass the fuck out.”

“You sure?” Izuku asks, as Katsuki stands up and scrapes a hand through his hair, jaw cracking around a wide yawn.

“Yeah, nerd. Knock yourself out.” Katsuki turns toward the couch, reaching out to help haul Kyouka up to her feet. “C’mon, Ears.”

“Well shit, alright.” Kyouka points at Kirishima, then at Izuku, gesturing back and forth between the two of them. “Don’t let my husband do anything stupid.”

Kirishima just gives her a lazy sort of grin in return. “You know we have no control over that,” he says, and Kyouka rolls her eyes before following Katsuki down the hall.

Kaminari waits until they disappear through the bedroom door, then he bumps his shoulder up against Izuku’s and ducks his head to murmur in a low, amused voice, “Baby mamas gotta sleep.”

Izuku snorts through the mouthful of alcohol he’s unfortunately just taken a swig of, quickly bringing an arm up to muffle his snickers. And also to, like, make sure he doesn’t spew beer all over Kirishima’s carpet. “Oh my god,” he says, once he’s in the clear. “Never let Kacchan hear you say that, he’ll explode your face off.”

“I can take him,” Kaminari says cheerfully. He slams another can of beer onto the coffee table in front of Kirishima. “Did Todoroki conk out?”

“Looks like it,” Izuku says, squinting across at the other man.

Kirishima throws a quick glance over his shoulder to confirm it. “Yeah, he’s gone.”

“Ah well, his loss.” Kaminari cracks his beer open, then gives Izuku a hearty slap on the back. “So, this is how we celebrate finding out we’re gonna be dads,” he says, and leans in to clink their cans together. “We get absolutely shit-faced."

Izuku laughs as Kirishima lightly smacks his hands in a rapid pace against the tabletop. “What, you want me to chug this?”

“Hell yeah, dude!” Kaminari cheers.

“Drink, drink, drink!” Kirishima chants, his drumroll increasing in both speed and volume.

“Okay, okay.” Izuku’s grin stretches wide as he lifts his beer. “Congratulations to us!”

* * *

Barely twenty feet away, Katsuki gives Kirishima’s bedroom ceiling an extremely unimpressed look.

“They’re idiots,” he says.

“Yep.”

On the mattress next to him, Kyouka’s busy sorting her way through Mina’s approximately fifteen million pillows. Katsuki has no idea what she’s looking for, but eventually she finds one she must deem worthy enough and carefully lays down on her side before straight up shoving said pillow between her legs.

…Katsuki quickly decides he’s just not going to question that.

“We’re gonna have to peel them off the fuckin’ floor in the morning.”

“Yep,” says Kyouka again. She settles into place, squeezing another pillow in her arms. “By the way, baby mama–” Katsuki shoots some quick daggers in her direction, but she just smirks at him until he lets his head drop back onto his own pillow again with a grumbling sigh. “You’re going to want to invest in a pregnancy pillow pretty soon.”

Sorry, a fucking what?

Katsuki makes a face up at the ceiling, then turns his head to make the same face at Ears. “Why?”

“Because this…” Kyouka waves in the general direction of her rounded belly. “Gets very annoying very quickly.”

There’s another loud cheer from out in the living room. Katsuki drags his hands over his face, muttering curses under his breath.

“Sleeping’s pretty much a pain in the ass now,” Ears continues blithely. “Half the time, I can’t get comfortable. I know you like your eight hours, so get ready for that to become a thing of the past.”

“Fuck me,” Katsuki complains.

Kyouka’s lips twitch. “Careful,” she says, with a singsong lilt. “Isn’t that what got you into this mess in the first place?”

Katsuki’s cheeks flare hot and he grabs one of the forty decorative pillows on the bed – a SMALL one – and smacks it sideways – gently – into Kyouka’s snickering face.

Congratulations, indeed.

Chapter Text

“This is so fucking domestic.”

Izuku sighs, adding another mental tally to his running list of complaints from Katsuki today. They’re coming up fast on an even ten.

“Kacchan, this was your idea.”

“So?” Katsuki directs a grumpy sort of glower around the kitchen of the model home they’re currently touring. “Maybe sometimes my ideas are bad ones.”

“Well, we don’t have to move here if you don’t like it,” Izuku says. “We don’t have to move at all.”

Kacchan huffs out an annoyed sigh as he runs his fingers over one of the many counters lining the room. “I think I do like it, though.”

“…Okay.” Izuku squints at him. “What’s the problem, then?”

“I’m pissed that I like it.”

Somehow, Izuku refrains from groaning in exasperation or burying his face in his hands. “O…kay,” he tries again, somewhat dubiously. “And you’re pissed because…?”

“I dunno,” Katsuki mutters. He wanders over to the shiny new stove and turns to eye the refrigerator that has to be at least twice as big as the skinny one they’ve got in their apartment. “Just wasn’t expecting to be doing this so soon.”

“You say that like you’ve been partying your way through your early twenties in a drunken bachelor haze,” Kaminari speaks up from the opposite side of the room. “In case you somehow weren’t aware, dude, you and Midoriya are already domestic as hell.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki grouses. “This is…just. Different.”

Izuku frowns. He’s having a hard time figuring this one out, if he’s being honest. Kacchan’s in such a mood today and he doesn’t know why. “I don’t know what to say,” he admits after a moment. “You like the house, but you don’t want to like it? You want to raise our baby in the suburbs, but you’re…what, sad about leaving the city?”

“I’m not sad,” Katsuki says, making a face. “I don’t even like the city all that much. It’s fucking loud.”

“When you’re in bed by nine every night, yeah,” Kaminari utters under his breath, and Katsuki promptly gives him the stink-eye.

“Kacchan,” Izuku says patiently. “Talk to me.”

Katsuki folds his arms over his chest, turning his glare away from Kaminari and looking out the kitchen windows to the backyard beyond. It’s a decent size – not very big, but there’s enough room for kids to run around a bit and a stone wall bordering the edges. “I’m weirded out by how much I don’t hate this,” he says eventually. “We’re so fucking far from where I saw our lives going but it’s…I don’t know. I think I want it?”

“You can have it,” Izuku says, and Kacchan exhales noisily. “We can have it.” He steps over to the other man, pressing up against his side and curling a hand around his. “It’s right here.”

“Yeah, but it also means my mom was right and do you know how fucking irritating that is?” Katsuki complains. He gives Izuku’s hand a squeeze, though, and Izuku grins.

“The horror,” he shoots back, deadpan, and Katsuki scowls at him until Izuku pushes up on his toes to kiss it away.

“Sappy~” Kaminari sings, which makes Katsuki pull back so he can throw some other kind of grumpy expression at him again. “Come on, of course you love this place. Look at the size of this kitchen! Just imagine all the dinner parties you can have.”

“Why the fuck am I the one having dinner parties?” Katsuki demands, and Kaminari laughs.

“Because I know you want to. Because you’ll want to be the one cooking for everyone like you did during movie nights back in school.”

“He’s not wrong,” Izuku says, swaying slightly so that he can nudge Kacchan’s arm.

Katsuki just harrumphs. “Where the hell’s your wife and why aren’t you with her?” he asks Kaminari.

Kaminari gestures at the ceiling above them. “She’s still upstairs going through all the bedrooms. I left after she cycled through them, like, five times.” He spreads his hands wide on either side of his face. “She’s coming up with a vision, I know it.”

Kacchan snorts and tugs his hand free from Izuku so he can go stand in the small dining area that’s connected to the kitchen, while Kaminari wanders over to lean up against one of the counters beside Izuku instead. Izuku glances over at him. “What do you think of the house?”

“It’s nice,” Kaminari says, peering around the room. “Like…it’s really nice. Gotta admit, it’d be cool living within walking distance of the ocean.”

“Did you end up talking to your dad about this whole thing?”

Kaminari snorts. “Yeah. That was a mistake.”

“Oh…” Izuku’s brow draws down in concern. “He didn’t think it was a good idea?”

“Nah, dude, the total opposite,” Kaminari says, laughing again. “He was so into it. Called me about five times yesterday to go over numbers and shit.” He shakes his head, looking amused. “I was like, dad, I drank my body weight in alcohol last night and you’re trying to make me do math today? Fuck all the way off.”

“Serves you right!” Katsuki calls from where he’s drifted into the living room, as Izuku snickers.

“He went off on some dad rant about how it makes more sense to take the money you’re throwing at rent and put it into a house instead,” Kaminari continues. “You never see your rent money again, but I guess you can always sell a house and blah blah blah, you know.” He gives a slight roll of his eyes. “It’s an investment or whatever.”

“That’s what Kacchan’s dad said, too,” Izuku says.

Kaminari throws his hands up into the air. “Dads, man! I swear. But honestly? He did some digging around the area and these houses – they’re really not bad, right? Like, they’re nothing huge or fancy, but they’re way bigger than where we are now and it’s a good location, and if you start with a decent down payment then the monthly mortgage on them isn’t even that much more than what we’re paying for an apartment in the city. What the hell is that? Just because we’re in the suburbs??” He gives Izuku a wide-eyed look, eyebrows arched high on his forehead. “That seems crazy to me.”

“The down payment, though,” Izuku says. “That’s a lot right there.”

“Mm,” Kaminari hums. “My dad said they could help with that.”

Izuku barks out a short laugh. “That’s what Kacchan’s mom said. My mom doesn’t really have savings like that.”

“Ah.” Kaminari gives him an apologetic look, wincing a little. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Izuku says quickly. “I mean, you’ve seen where Kacchan grew up. They can afford it, he just hates the idea of taking money from them.”

“Shit, that’s what parents are for,” Kaminari says.

“He’s just mad at everything right now, though,” Izuku murmurs. “I don’t know what to do about it.”

Kaminari watches him for a moment, something commiserating in his gaze, before he sighs. “Probably just all the changes happening at once,” he says, keeping his voice low. “This might’ve been one too many in such a short amount of time. It hasn’t even been a week since you found out about the baby thing, yeah?”

“He wanted to come, though!” Izuku rakes a hand through his hair, trying not to feel frustrated. “He’s the one who decided we needed a new place the second we got back from the hospital.”

“Nesting urges kicking in fast,” Kaminari says, chuckling, and Izuku’s forehead scrunches in confusion.

“What urges?”

“Although it’s probably too early for that.” Kaminari glances around like he’s checking to make sure it’s still only him and Izuku in the room before he speaks again, “Pro tip, you’re gonna want to pick up a ‘Pregnancy for Dummies’ book or something real fast. It’s wild what they go through, I was totally freakin’ clueless in the beginning.”

Izuku puffs out a breath, blowing upward at his bangs. “Yeah, I think that’s where I’m at.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s normal, at least?” Kaminari offers, a helpless kind of smile tugging at his mouth. “First time and all, there’s nothing about it that isn’t overwhelming. Bakugou will be fine, though – so will you. Give it a few weeks, you guys don’t need to figure everything out right away. You’ve got time.”

“Thanks,” Izuku says, returning the smile. “I know you’re right, but I still wish there was something I could do to make him stop being so grumpy.” He pauses for a moment, then grimaces. “But see, I think that and then immediately feel bad about it. I know he’s going through it.”

“He’s probably just feeling fucked up by the whole thing. Send him to the spa for a day or something, make him relax. Just don’t let him go in the sauna.”

Izuku makes a considering sound. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“Pampering ‘em goes a long way,” Kaminari says with a knowing wink, and Izuku finds himself chuckling, some of the tension draining out of his shoulders.

Katsuki reenters the kitchen then, head twisted around and looking back over his shoulder. “That room up front could be an office,” he says, apropos of nothing.

Izuku shifts slightly away from Kaminari so that it’s not completely obvious they were just whispering about their pregnant partners, and nods. “Sure. Or one of the bedrooms upstairs maybe. We don’t need three of them.”

“Eh, or we could make one of those your merch room.”

A beat passes.

“Sorry, my merch room?” Izuku repeats incredulously.

Katsuki gives him a blank look. “Well, yeah.”

“…It’s like he doesn’t remember we all lived together for three years,” Kaminari says faintly, looking amused. “We’ve seen your figure collection, you know. The cat’s out of the bag that you’re a giant nerd.”

“You didn’t see all the shit we took with us from Izuku’s bedroom at his mom’s place when we moved into the apartment,” Katsuki says, rolling his eyes. “I ain’t got dick compared to him.”

“I think you’re coparenting the merch at this point, dude.”

“Whatever,” Katsuki grumbles. He leans over one of the counters, bracing his elbows on top of it and rubbing his hands over his face for a moment.

“You okay?” Izuku asks, and Kacchan grunts out some kind of affirmative that’s just about the least convincing thing Izuku has ever heard. He and Kaminari share a look.

“I’m gonna go find Kyouka,” Kaminari says, but he only makes it about two steps toward the front entryway before they hear Kyouka’s heavier than usual footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Denki,” she says as she turns the corner, sounding slightly harried and with a somewhat crazed gleam in her eyes. “There’s enough room here for my instruments. Did you notice that? I could finally get the rest of them out of my parents’ house – I could actually play them. You could play your guitar without the neighbors complaining! We could even soundproof one of the bedrooms if we thought it was too loud for the baby, but I think if we get her used to noise early then she’ll sleep through anything.” She steps up close to Kaminari, reaching out to grasp at his shirt. “We can have a music room and a nursery, every bedroom up there is bigger than we’ve got at the apartment, there’s room for a changing table and that rocking chair my grandmother wanted to give us, there’s room for – for her toys when she has them. There’s closet space for all the diapers, and if we buy that dresser I was looking at then I can start unpacking her clothes! It’d fit in one of the rooms here, it wouldn’t be too cramped.”

Katsuki lifts his head, brow furrowed as he stares across at Kyouka. “Holy shit,” he says, voice low, which makes Kaminari snort out a soft laugh and shoot a look back toward Izuku.

“Nesting,” he says pointedly, as he wraps an arm around Kyouka’s shoulders and presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“Denki,” Kyouka says again, shaking him a bit. “I’m serious. I like this house. A lot. I like the neighborhood.” She pulls away and marches over to the kitchen window. “I like the yard! I want a koi pond.”

“Since when have you ever wanted a koi pond?” Kaminari asks, looking so endearingly fond that Izuku thinks he actually melts a bit.

“Since now.” Kyouka turns back around to face him. “I don’t think we should pass this up. Half the lots on the street have already sold.”

“I don’t know if anything’s actually move-in ready, babe,” Kaminari points out gently, and Kyouka droops a bit. “They’re still building–”

“They’re supposed to be ready by June,” another voice chimes in, and suddenly Kacchan’s mother sweeps into the room. “I checked with the realtor. Sorry I’m late – oh, Kyouka, look at you.” She stops short in front of Kaminari and Kyouka, giving the latter a quick onceover. “You look absolutely stunning. How are you feeling?”

“Ah…” Kyouka flushes pink and ducks her head as she bends forward in a slight bow. “Thank you, Bakugou-san. I’m actually feeling pretty good today.”

“April, right?” Mitsuki asks, eyes still on Kyouka even as she reaches out to give Kaminari’s shoulder a squeeze. “You must be excited.”

“Excited to fit into my clothes again,” Kyouka says dryly, but there’s a persistent little smile on her face that Izuku is pretty sure she couldn’t wipe away even if she tried. She’s got that glowing joy to her that always seems extra obvious whenever she gets to talk about her pregnancy and the baby it’s leading to.

Katsuki, on the other hand, looks particularly miserable right now. Izuku isn’t sure if that’s due to his mom’s arrival or if it’s just the ongoing mood he’s apparently decided to be in today.

It’s another minute or so before Mitsuki notices him as she continues chatting with Kyouka, but eventually she leans to the side a bit so that she can peer at him in a blatantly scrutinizing way. “And just what the hell’s wrong with you, huh?

Katsuki frowns at her, his chin propped in his hand now, mouth half blocked by his palm. “Nothing,” he mutters, though it comes out muffled.

Mitsuki scoffs. “Sure, that definitely doesn’t sound like total bullshit.” She strides further into the kitchen, pausing only to draw Izuku in for a quick, one-armed hug while she digs around in her purse with her other hand. “Here,” she says a few seconds later, and then pulls out a bag of ginger chews. “These were a godsend when I was lugging you around.”

Izuku’s eyes go wide, darting back and forth between the candy bag and the darkening glower on Kacchan’s face. “Are you nauseous again??”

Katsuki’s expression twists, his annoyance clearly ratcheting upwards for a beat or two before it abruptly clears away and he sighs. He lifts his other hand, holding it flat in the air and letting it tip from side to side. “…Only a little.”

“Kacchan,” Izuku gasps, rushing over. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I thought it’d go away,” Katsuki admits sullenly. He reaches for the bag that Mitsuki’s still dangling in front of him, snatching it away from her and quickly ripping into it. “It hasn’t been a problem for a while now, I don’t know why it decided to come back today.”

“Hate to break it to you, but I had it off and on almost the whole time I was pregnant,” Mitsuki says, and she actually looks halfway sympathetic toward him. “I told you, you were a pain in the ass.”

“You probably deserved it,” Katsuki snarks at her. He pops a ginger chew into his mouth. “Where were you?”

“Just out front.” Mitsuki reaches into her purse again and reemerges with a handful of brochures this time. “I was talking to the realtor. You’ve got half an hour until the open house starts, so if you don’t want to be here when people start showing up then we need to clear out soon.” She slaps one of the brochures onto the counter in front of Kacchan. “She said this area is part of the Mandakoh school district, by the way. So, not Aldera.”

“Open house?” Kyouka repeats, sounding alarmed. “Oh god, so many other people are going to see this place.”

“Wait, how did we get in before the open house?” Kaminari asks.

Mitsuki grins sunnily at him. It’s mildly terrifying. “I’m very persuasive,” she says.

Kaminari just looks at her in awe. “Bakugou, your mom is so cool.”

“Gross,” Katsuki says, gagging, and Mitsuki thwaps him on the head with one of the brochures before handing it off to Kaminari.

“So?” Mitsuki arches her eyebrows and spreads her hands, glancing between Katsuki and Izuku. “What do you think?”

Izuku watches Katsuki’s face go through a whole myriad of expressions this time, everything from irritation to reluctance to something that’s nearly full on pouting, before he finally just drops his head and exhales a long, overdramatic groan of a breath. “Goddammit. This place is fucking great.”

“Ha!” Mitsuki crows, arms shooting upwards in a victory pose. “I knew it, I knew you’d like it! Do I know my kid or what?”

“Don’t,” Kacchan practically snarls at her. “If you’re all smug about it, I’m gonna end up moving to the opposite side of the country. I swear to god, ma.”

Mitsuki ignores him. “Izuku?”

“Oh! Uh…” Izuku flounders a bit, trying to come up with a satisfying answer. He doesn’t dislike any of this, it just somehow feels like it’s…too much? He’s never lived somewhere this big that wasn’t also inhabited by nineteen of his classmates. The idea of owning his own home, of having all this room to do whatever he wants with, is honestly overwhelming.

He’s pretty sure that’s just a him thing, though. Izuku’s used to small spaces, of being able to cross from one end of the apartment to the other in seconds. Living in the U.A. dorms had taken some getting used to, but even with its shared open areas and things like the massive bathroom, it hadn’t felt crazy huge because there’d always been at least five or six other people around.

Katsuki’s staring at him, Izuku notices, red eyes slightly round. “You don’t like it?” he asks.

“No, I do,” Izuku says quickly. “I’ve just – I’ve been worrying about you all morning, I haven’t really – um. Taken the time to let the idea of…this. Sink in.”

“We can always look somewhere else,” Katsuki says, but he sounds a little doubtful.

Izuku shakes his head, huffing out a soft laugh. “It’d be the same. It’s not the house, Kacchan. I like the house. Honestly!”

“Inko said this might happen,” Mitsuki says, sidling up to Izuku and slipping an arm around his waist. “I know it feels like a lot. Try to picture it, though! Your mom being able to show up at a moment’s notice to take a screaming kid off your hands. All Might coming over to babysit and having the option to stay overnight in a guest bedroom. You can take a walk to the park and then head over to ditch the brat with Grandpa Masaru–”

“Why do all your scenarios include us abandoning your only grandchild?” Katsuki cuts in.

Mitsuki waves him off with a dismissive gesture. “You’ll be looking for those moments and you’ll be glad we’re nearby, trust me. But fine, point taken. Imagine having a barbecue in that backyard, then. And look at how much room you’ll have to play with your kids!”

“And we’ve gone plural suddenly,” Katsuki mutters this time, but he’s obviously listening closely.

Izuku lets her words wash over him, trying to see it for himself. He imagines finally getting around to hanging stuff on the walls again, and setting up their daughter’s room – Kyouka said something about a rocking chair earlier. Do they need a rocking chair? Is this the kitchen where they’re going to have her first birthday party, surrounded by their friends and family without feeling sheepish about how cramped it is? Is he going to stand in that doorway, anxiously waiting for her to come home from her first day of school?

And what if they do have more kids one day? Somehow. There’s room upstairs for them. They’d finally have a dining table where they could have family dinners. He and Kacchan and their daughter and…fill in the blank, possibly.

Izuku remembers the massive blanket forts they used to be able to build at Kacchan’s house when they were little, sprawled across the length of his living room. He remembers catching fireflies in Kacchan’s backyard on warm summer nights, and building snowmen by the playground in the winter.

Tromping around with the other neighborhood kids while they played Hero Agency without a care for how far away from home their adventures had taken them.

…Actually, thinking of that through his new Dad-To-Be filter is sort of terrifying. But still!

And sure, it wasn’t always fun and games hanging out with Kacchan. Not after a certain point. But the good memories he does have are full of exploring every nook and cranny in both of their respective homes and all the streets in between. He knew the names of all the shopkeepers growing up, was comfortable running errands for his mom when she had to work late…

He knows he’s probably viewing a lot of this through rose-tinted lenses. It’s not like he doesn’t remember plenty of great things about living with his mom in their apartment, too, but he has to admit that the best parts of his childhood, when things were still easy between him and Kacchan, had a lot to do with the neighborhood where they grew up.

Izuku isn’t completely convinced they couldn’t have a life full of just as many opportunities in the city, but…

God, there’s so much they could do here. So much they could experience together.

“Denki, I want that,” Kyouka says hoarsely, knocking Izuku out of his daydreaming. He realizes Mitsuki was still talking, painting a picture that lines up almost exactly with the images that are swirling around his own mind.

He’s a little surprised to find that his eyes have gone all misty, but – well, not that surprised. Who’s he kidding.

“So do I,” he chokes out, and Mitsuki gives him a squeeze.

“You would do so well here,” she says, before looking over at Kaminari and Kyouka. “And if you have neighbors you can rely on? Friends who are going through all the same things you are, who know just how difficult your careers are… I think you could really carve out a nice life for yourselves.”

“No convincing needed here,” Kaminari says. He’s got Kyouka tucked against his side, one of his hands rubbing soothingly over her back. “I’m sold.”

“Fuck, me too.” Katsuki glances across at Kaminari. “I guess living next to you wouldn’t be the absolute worst decision I’ve ever made.”

Kaminari gives him a smug little look, grin stretched across his face. “And here you thought you could get out of babysitting.”

“Alright!” Mitsuki takes a step back and claps her hands together. “You all should let the realtor know you’re interested. And I know I just gave you a big ol’ fucking speech about how great it would be if both your growing families bought a house here, but…” Her eyes bounce between all four of them, taking the time to meet each of their gazes. “This is a decision you should make separately. Decide what’s best for you. There are tons of other places you could check out, you might not want to go with the first thing you see. So think about it and talk to whoever you need to talk to before you make an offer.”

“I took a ton of pictures,” Kyouka says to Kaminari, glancing up at him. “I’ll call my mom tonight.”

He nods. “Yeah, dad’s texted me about thirty times since we got here. I’ll send him some pics, too.”

“Should we check out the area?” Mitsuki asks, as she rummages around in her purse for her keys. “Lunch is on me. There are some cute looking restaurants nearby, I can drive us.”

“It’s five minutes to the shops,” Katsuki says, frowning. “I think we can walk.”

Mitsuki rolls her eyes. “Well, fine, Katsuki, you do that. Kyouka, care for a ride? We’ll make it ladies only.”

“Sure,” Kyouka says immediately, quick to fall into step beside Mitsuki as they head out. They spend a few minutes talking with the realtor, asking her some questions and getting whatever additional information they need, and then Kyouka climbs into the front seat of the car next to Mitsuki and they take off without another thought.

Katsuki wilts as they watch them drive away, his shoulders slumping and lower lip jutting out. “…Shit. I don’t want to walk.”

“Oh my god,” Izuku mutters. He holds out the bag of ginger chews that he’s somehow ended up in charge of. “Take one of these. How’re you feeling?”

“Like ass,” Katsuki grumbles, but he does as told and reaches for another one of the candies. “Feels like my insides are rearranging themselves.”

“They probably are.” Kaminari eyes him curiously for a moment. “So, what, you just got a free-floating uterus shoved in there now? Is that how this whole thing is working?”

“You saw the shit from the ultrasound,” Katsuki says.

“Yeah, but…like, is it connected to anything? It’s just – there?”

Katsuki stares at him unhelpfully for several seconds, waiting just long enough for Kaminari to nervously shift his weight from one foot to the other and cough awkwardly into his fist, before he gives an exaggerated shrug.

“He’s got another appointment this week,” Izuku pipes up. “That’s when they’re doing a full-body scan to figure out, uh…as much as they can, I guess.”

“Oi, he doesn’t need the fuckin’ details,” Katsuki complains. “He’s just being a nosy shit.”

“Ah, sorry…”

Kaminari laughs. “Okay, but can you blame me? Like, how the hell even. The entire thing is so weird.”

“Thanks,” Katsuki says, voice flat.

“I say that with love.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you want me to call your mom back?” Izuku asks.

Katsuki looks like he’s seriously considering it for a moment, but he eventually sighs and shakes his head. “No, she’s already smug enough today. And fucking always. Let’s just go, I’m fine.”

Luckily, it really isn’t that far. It’s only a couple blocks before they start running into a bunch of shops. Some of them are familiar, but there’s clearly been a lot of renovations done over the last few years and there are a handful of newer buildings squeezed in alongside the ones with older, more traditional looking architecture.

They spend the afternoon looking around, checking out some of the stores lining the streets and grabbing lunch at the local izakaya because Katsuki decides he wants to shove a mountain of karaage in his face. Afterwards, they take a stroll past some of the schools that are close by, and Izuku jots down all their names so that he can see what the internet has to say about them later.

It’s not that late by the time they get home, but Izuku can tell Kacchan is beat. He half expects him to go collapse into bed, but he beelines for the kitchen first and starts digging through the cabinets.

“We got any hoisin sauce?” he asks, while Izuku is still stripping out of his coat in the entryway.

“Uh. We should?” Izuku toes off his shoes and follows after Katsuki so he can toss the ginger candies onto one of the counters. He has a feeling they’re going to continue needing them. “It’d be in the fridge, though.”

Katsuki pauses, blinking into the open cabinet in front of him. “Oh, right.”

“Why do you want it?”

“I just do,” he says cryptically, searching through the refrigerator now. Izuku watches him grab a bowl of grapes along with the hoisin bottle, and then he snatches an orange from the fruit basket on the counter, as well, and hauls all of his finds back out to the living room where he finally throws himself down onto the couch. “Don’t ask,” he mumbles, shooting Izuku a warning look when he drops down next to him. “Because I don’t fucking know, okay, it’s just what I want.”

Izuku holds his hands up in a placating manner. “I wasn’t going to say anything,” he lies. Katsuki snorts out a disbelieving sound and drizzles his grapes in the hoisin sauce, eyeing them critically before shrugging and popping one into his mouth as Izuku looks on in horrified fascination. “…Do you want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“Everything.”

“Narrow it down.”

“Fine.” Izuku puts some space between them on the couch and reaches down for Katsuki’s feet, forcing him to swing around sideways as he pulls them up into his lap. “Do you still feel sick? Were you being a butt all day because of the nausea? Should we discuss the house some more? Because I really did like it, Kacchan. I think I just had to sit with the idea for a while.”

Katsuki visibly grumps at him as he chews on another hoisin-drenched grape. Izuku tries not to wrinkle his nose at the display. “It hasn’t even been a while. It’s been, like, three hours.”

“Kacchan.”

“I don’t wanna go to work tomorrow,” he blurts out abruptly, eyes snapping to the side as the tips of his ears flush red. Izuku blinks. “That’s – I dunno. That’s it. It’s fuckin’ dumb.” Katsuki looks back at Izuku again, a tad reluctant. “I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk today, alright? It’s just been on my mind, and then I was feeling crappy on top of that, and I’m still kinda freaked out by how much I liked everything about the stupid house and that stupid neighborhood. Stupid hag’s never gonna let me live it down.”

Izuku takes a second to sort through all of that as he presses his thumbs into the arch of Katsuki’s foot. “Why don’t you want to go to work?”

Kacchan grunts, head tipping backwards for a moment as Izuku works. “It’s dumb,” he mutters again. “I’m just not looking forward to it. S’not my real job and it’ll probably be awkward as shit and, fuck, the paperwork, just. Hnngggh.”

“It might not be that bad.” Izuku makes an attempt at sounding comforting, but Katsuki just lowers his head again to glare at him and angrily stuffs another grape into his mouth. “Okay, so the first day might be weird. But everyone will get used to seeing you there and they’ll stop thinking about it.”

“It’s still gonna suck,” Katsuki says. “Watching you and everyone deal with assholes on the streets while I can’t do anything to help.”

Izuku shifts a hand around to gently squeeze the back of Katsuki’s ankle, fingers dipping beneath his sock and pressing into his skin. He smiles a little at the low moan that escapes the other man as he does. “It’s only temporary,” he says, voice soft. “Just remember that. You’ll be back in the field soon enough.”

“Yeah, in a thousand years.”

“One year.”

“Also…” Katsuki leans over to drop the bowl of grapes onto the coffee table before settling back against the arm of the couch and yanking his shirt up. “This keeps getting fucking bigger.”

“…Well.” Izuku stares at his stomach. Has it really? He guesses, logically, it probably has. But it’s nothing he would call super noticeable, especially since it’s only been a couple of days. “I think that’s unavoidable, Kacchan.”

“I know that,” Katsuki grouses. “I know I’m gonna be huge but seeing it happen is messing with my head.”

“I don’t think you’re that much bigger?” Izuku tries, but Katsuki just scowls.

“I am, I can tell.”

“Your brain might be lying to you. If you’re worried someone’s going to notice tomorrow, I promise you they won’t.”

“They might.”

“They won’t!” Izuku drags his thumb down the sole of Kacchan’s foot again, watching as his toes flex and curl with every touch. “Anyway, I think you look amazing. And that’s all that matters.”

Katsuki is silent for a few seconds until Izuku switches feet and manages to drag another content sound out of him. “That’s all that matters, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Do you think living next to Kaminari would drive us crazy?”

“Nope,” Izuku says easily. “I think it’d be fun. I think you think it’ll be fun. If we could get Kirishima and Ashido out there, too, you’d be in heaven.”

“I see enough of those losers,” Katsuki says, as though he thinks Izuku would ever actually believe that. Izuku just arches his eyebrows at him in return, and Katsuki huffs. “Fine, I guess it’d be alright.”

“You wouldn’t have even suggested they come with us if you weren’t already okay with the idea.” Izuku gives Kacchan’s heel a shake. “It makes sense. It’s not just Kaminari, I think you find it comforting that you can find a somewhat shared experience with Kyouka. Like, at least there’s someone who has an idea what you’re going through.”

Katsuki tugs his foot free to kick harmlessly at Izuku’s arm. “Stop making sense,” he complains. “Hand me the orange, I can’t reach it.”

Izuku reaches over Kacchan’s legs for the orange that’s rolled down to his end of the coffee table. Katsuki already has the bowl of grapes back in his grasp, and he’s quick to start peeling the orange after Izuku hands it over so that he can dunk a wedge of it into the hoisin sauce that’s pooled in the bottom of the bowl.

“That’s, uh…” Izuku can tell he’s making a face this time, but he can’t help it. “I – I think I’m gonna order some books about pregnancy this week. You know. For…research.”

“You do you,” Kacchan says, more focused on his orange slices than anything else. He does eventually offer one up for Izuku, though – almost as an afterthought. “You wanna try?”

Izuku’s never turned him down so quickly.

* * *

Katsuki’s first day working in the office isn’t nearly as terrible as he thought it might be.

There’s some awkwardness, sure. He gets a lot of looks as Lemillion leads him to his new desk where he’s going to be set up for the foreseeable future, but it’s not as though he doesn’t recognize any of the people sitting around him. He’s been working at this agency since he graduated high school, after all. Even if he doesn’t have any huge need to know who all the extras working behind the scenes are, he’s not out here trying to be an asshole about it. And he’s grateful for the aid they give him when he’s in the field. So, yeah, he knows (some of) their names.

What’s actually more annoying is his dumbass friends who drop by to hassle him throughout the day. Sero shows up with an old knockoff All Might statue that looks half melted on one side for him to “decorate his new workspace!” or some other bullshit. (Katsuki absolutely does give the stupid thing a home next to his pencil holder.) Awase brings him a desk calendar with grumpy looking, resting bitch-faced cats all down the sides. Deku checks on him three different times in between his patrol routes, until Katsuki honestly has to tell him to fuck off because he doesn’t need to be checked on, dammit.

Somehow, all his office coworkers turn out to be the ones who are way more chill.

But then again, none of them have any real idea why he’s there.

The work itself is boring as fuck. Lemillion said they’d try to have him cycling through different things, but the truth of the matter is that he’s just not needed here. They have a well-staffed office, Lemillion’s always been good about that, so there’s not really enough to keep him occupied all day long. Mostly, he ends up with busywork, going over case reports and proofreading mission logs that his fellow heroes have turned in. Some of that is amusing, at least. He gets to mark up some shit from Deku and send it back for corrections and maybe it’s petty as hell, but he’s got to keep himself from losing his mind somehow.

The morning still drags by, assisted by the fact that Katsuki holds off taking his lunch break until he’s pretty sure everyone else is finished. He’s not in the mood for getting roped into small talk, nor does he feel like having to field any questions about why he’s stuck on desk duty.

When he finally does make it to the lunchroom, Hasegawa is the only one in there. She’s got her phone propped in front of her on one of the tables with some random drama playing, so Katsuki thinks he’s in the clear for a moment and moves to sit at one of the other tables under the guise of not wanting to disturb her. Unfortunately, though, she’s quick to spot him and kicks the chair opposite her out for Katsuki to sit in.

“Dynamight! Don’t be shy, you can join me.”

Katsuki pauses, sending a longing look toward the empty table, but then he sighs and drops into the chair she’s offering. “Bakugou,” he corrects her. “No point calling me Dynamight right now.”

“Yeah, what’s that about?” she asks, getting right to the point as she leans back in her seat. She’s got what looks to be a pile of colorful yarn in her lap and, Katsuki is just now noticing, a long, thin chopstick or some shit in one of her hands.

“I needed a change of scenery,” he says dryly. “You knit?”

“Hm? Oh! I do, but this is actually crochet.” Hasegawa lifts up whatever she’s working on so Katsuki can see, not that he has any fucking idea what it is. It looks like some kind of tiny yarn bowl. “One needle versus two. See?”

“…Sure.” Katsuki squints at her…creation. “The hell is that?”

“The top of a penguin head,” Hasegawa says, like that’s supposed to make any kind of damn sense. She reaches down into the bag at her feet and pulls out another tiny, squat stuffed animal thing with little beads for eyes – and oh, okay. He sees it now. “They turn out like this. Isn’t he cute?”

The finished one is a soft, sky blue color, as opposed to the pastel purple yarn Hasegawa is currently working with.

“What’s it for?”

Hasegawa shrugs. “Nothing really. It was a new pattern I wanted to try. Sometimes I make a bunch of stuff to drop off at the children’s hospital, but I’m not sure what I’m doing with these yet.”

Katsuki blinks. “Children’s hospital?”

“Yeah!” She nods, smiling cheerfully. “Like beanies for the newborns, stuff like that. I can bang them out in no time.”

“Huh…” Katsuki opens his bento, but everything he packed this morning is suddenly nothing he wants to eat now, which is just the stupidest fucking thing. He closes it again with a grumbling exhale and shoves it away.

“Do you want a penguin?” Hasegawa asks.

“I do not want a penguin.” A beat passes. Katsuki stares at the tiny blue thing that seems to be peering soullessly right back at him. It looks mildly anxious, somehow. “…I might want a penguin.”

“I can do it in your colors.”

“Can you do one in Deku’s, too?”

“Sure!”

Katsuki eyes her for a moment as she turns her attention back to her phone screen. If she crochets things for newborns…

“…How are you with baby blankets?”

* * *

Izuku’s schedule is kind of crap this week, which he’s a little annoyed about. Not that he wants special treatment or anything, but it’s frustrating having three late shifts in a row just as Kacchan starts a new position with consistent daytime hours.

He’s not sure Katsuki feels the same way after Izuku pops up by his desk a couple times on his first day. Probably he’s glad he gets to leave while Izuku’s still on duty so he doesn’t have to deal with him anymore, but it’s not Izuku’s fault! He can’t help it, he’s just concerned. Now that he knows how nervous Katsuki was about how everything was going to go.

Kacchan seems in slightly better spirits when Izuku gets home on Monday, but it doesn’t last. He’s grumpy again on Tuesday and in a downright foul mood by Wednesday, and Izuku can’t get any kind of real answer out of him as to why other than something along the lines of “everything sucks”. Izuku’s sure it’s partly because he keeps staying up late so he’s still awake when Izuku gets home, but that’s just a habit of theirs anyway.

He's more sure it’s also a continuation of him just not wanting to work a desk job. That idea cements itself firmly in Izuku’s mind when he comes home to a particularly prickly Kacchan on Tuesday after Izuku’s had to deal with a pair of twins who could turn anyone they touched into sentient plants. The whole debacle was more a nuisance than anything, but there’s something about the way Katsuki looks at him after he’s trudged into the apartment, something in his eyes and in the tight hold of his arms around Izuku’s shoulders before he shoves himself away and stomps off in a strop, that makes Izuku realize he’s really not handling being stuck on the sidelines well.

Luckily, Katsuki gets to take Thursday off.

…Unluckily, it’s because he’s got that doctor’s appointment where they’re supposed to do a full-body examination on him.

“Where’s baby daddy today?” Sero asks him at some point in the afternoon. They’re in the break room, just the two of them, so Izuku only gives him a faintly disapproving glance for the comment. “He didn’t quit already, did he?”

“He had a doctor’s appointment,” Izuku says. “We’ve got all sorts of PTO saved up, so he just took the full day.”

“Ah.” Sero’s head tips to the side a bit. “You didn’t go with him?”

“He didn’t want me there. It’s…” He hums, searching for words, and keeps his volume low when he speaks again. “It’s a whole thing. They’re trying to figure out as much as they can about what the Quirk is doing to him.”

Sero makes a face at that. “Oh, fun. I’m sure he’s having the time of his life.”

“He’s having a rough week, for sure,” Izuku says with a wince. “Or a rough nine months, I don’t know.”

“Guess that’s why you’re cooking one of his favorite meals tonight?” Izuku blinks, somewhat taken aback, and Sero just grins at him. “Shouto mentioned you asked him for his sister’s mapo tofu recipe. You would not believe how much of a gossip that guy is, man, I’m telling you.”

“He surprises you with it,” Izuku says, snickering a little. “But yeah, I thought I’d give it a shot since I’m off earlier tonight.”

“Good luck.” Sero lifts his eyes skyward for a moment, a thoughtful expression washing over him. “Maybe have something else as backup, though? Last time I was with him and he ordered something spicy, I don’t think it went very well. I don’t know if that was a preggo thing or what.”

“Sero,” Izuku hisses sternly, darting a quick glance toward the doorway. “You can’t just say stuff like that!”

“Shit, sorry, sorry.” Sero gives him a sheepish look, one hand held apologetically in front of his face. “It just slipped out!”

Izuku is glad for the advice, though. He thinks the mapo tofu turns out alright, but he’s definitely not an expert. At least the apartment smells good when Katsuki gets home that evening, after Izuku for the first time all week.

He looks sort of pale when Izuku greets him at the door and helps him shrug out of his coat so he can hang it up while Katsuki kicks his shoes off. “So? How’d it go?”

“It sucked,” Katsuki says, par for the course, but it’s the way he flinches away when Izuku reaches for his arm that’s alarming. “Don’t. I don’t wanna be touched for at least a fucking week, Deku, I swear.”

Izuku backs off quickly, hands held aloft. “Okay, okay. Don’t snap at me, Kacchan.”

Katsuki grimaces and forces his shoulders back down from where they’d been hiked up near his ears. “Just… Fuck.” He shakes his head, plodding off toward the kitchen and the smell of food. “They poked and prodded at me for hours, I’m so fucking over it. And then they had a guy with some kind of scanning Quirk there to look me over, so that was annoying.”

“Did they find anything out?” Izuku asks, voice cautious as Katsuki leans up against one of the doorjambs at a weird angle – he’s got his forehead mashed against it, but Izuku’s not about to comment on that.

“Confirmed there’s no birth canal,” he bites out. “Uterus might be attached to – something, but. That ain’t a fucking option.”

“Ah…”

“They don’t think I’m gonna…” Katsuki somehow seems to grimace with his full body this time, jaw clenching for a moment before he pivots around so that he’s resting his back against the doorjamb now instead. His hands come up, gesturing vaguely in the direction of his pecs, and it’s impossible not to notice how he’s slowly turning red across his cheekbones and even down his neck. “I shouldn’t have any – any milk coming in. Probably. I’ve been, like, tender and shit up here but it doesn’t look like…” Kacchan’s chest heaves suddenly, his breath catching and his hands falling limply by his sides. His head thunks back against the wood behind him. “Today was a nightmare,” he croaks.

“I’m sorry,” Izuku whispers. He steps closer to Katsuki, but doesn’t dare reach for him even though he desperately wants to. “Did the doctors…?”

“They did their best,” Katsuki says. “Doctor Tajima, she’s – she’s alright. She talked me through everything they were doing and took it slow and shit, but there was no avoiding that it was gonna be invasive as fuck and awful.” He drags his hands over his face for a moment, rubbing at his eyes, then abruptly seems to notice just what the aroma enveloping the kitchen is and swings his head around to stare at the stove. “…What’d you make?”

“Mapo tofu.” Izuku slips past Katsuki so he can go check on the food. “I figured today wouldn’t be great, so…”

“You made mapo tofu,” Katsuki repeats, still staring, though his eyes are pinned on Izuku now.

“Yeah. But, you know, it’s spicy and Sero mentioned that maybe it wouldn’t sit so well with you right now, so if you don’t think it’s a good idea…” Izuku hefts a large carryout bag off one of the counters before turning back to Katsuki with a grin. “I’ve also got chicken and fries and biscuits from KFC.”

Katsuki keeps right on staring. “…And coleslaw?”

“And coleslaw.”

“Do we still have hoisin sauce?”

“I stopped and bought a new bottle on the way home.”

“Shit,” Katsuki says, sounding choked. He’s blinking rapidly, but Izuku can still see how his eyes have started to well up. “Fuck, I want all of it.” Kacchan pushes out of the doorway and practically collapses against Izuku, who has to hurriedly move the KFC bag out of the way before it gets squished. “Why are you so fucking good to me when I’m over here whining like an asshole?”

“I think it’s deserved whining this time,” Izuku says, bringing his free hand up to haul Kacchan in closer. He doesn’t know if this reprieve from the No Touching thing is going to last, so he makes sure to take full advantage of it.

Katsuki just sort of melts against him, though, showing no signs that he wants to pull away anytime soon. “I love you so fucking much, Izuku,” he rumbles warmly into his ear. “You’re the only person I’d do this shit with.”

“Love you, too,” Izuku murmurs back to him. “Sorry the appointment was rough. At least it’s out of the way, though?”

“Yeah…”

“I didn’t even consider you might…um.” He pulls back just far enough so that he can meet Katsuki’s gaze. “The – the milk thing…” he continues clumsily. “I definitely did not realize that was a thing they thought might happen.”

“Praying to every fucking deity in the universe that they’re right,” Katsuki grumbles. “I’m not fucking breastfeeding. That’s where I draw the line, I think my brain would actually explode.”

“Fair enough,” Izuku says, because yeah, that’s a concept that has his head spinning and a mental image that’s absolutely about three seconds away from making him error out like a computer tossing up a blue screen of death. “Bottles are just as legit. You hungry?”

Katsuki snorts. “Awkward transition, but yes. Fucking starving.”

Both of their phones ding suddenly. Katsuki steps back so he can fish his out of his pocket, and then they peer curiously at the screen together.

Pikachu
[ we’re doing it! Put in an offer for one of the houses today. ]
[ ABOUT TO BE HOMEOWNERS AWWWW YEAH ]
[ I’m terrified lolol ]

Katsuki looks at Izuku, eyebrows slightly raised. “We gonna let them beat us?”

“We haven’t really had an actual conversation about it yet,” Izuku says carefully. “I know we’ve kind of been all over the place this week.”

“Talk over dinner?” Katsuki suggests. The corner of his mouth tugs upwards, a teasing light entering his eyes. “We can spread all this shit out on the coffee table and make a mess big enough for you to finally realize that we need a goddamn dining table.”

Izuku chuckles and leans in to press a kiss to Katsuki’s lips. “Sounds like a plan.”

They end up sending in their offer the next day.

And the mapo tofu doesn’t give Kacchan heartburn.

Chapter Text

Katsuki lasts about three weeks working his lame-ass desk job before shit absolutely hits the fan.

Before that happens, though, things gradually begin working their way back to being…mostly okay. It feels sort of like he’s emerging out of a manic, whirlwind episode of pure batshit crazy. He’s been bulldozing through fuckin’ life since finding out about the pregnancy, so it’s a relief when everything starts slowing down again. Like, truly, what the fuck were they thinking buying a damn house five seconds after discovering Katsuki was knocked up? Who fucking approved that??

Shut up, he knows that one’s on him. And his mother. And Deku’s mother. It doesn’t stop him from having a ten-second panic attack when their offer is accepted in less than twenty-four hours. Great, so now they’re having a baby AND moving before the end of the summer. Brilliant move, dumbass.

Katsuki more or less checks out of that entire situation and leaves all the nitty-gritty details, paperwork, and other bullshit to Deku, and just coughs up whatever necessary personal documents are needed whenever he’s asked for something. He can’t deal with the rest of it, he really can’t. And maybe that’s unfair, since he’s pretty much the one who launched them full-speed into the house buying process to begin with, but what-fucking-ever. He’s a pregnant man – that ain’t exactly fair either.

Pikachu and Ears are trucking right along with them, at least, since their offer was also accepted. They end up with the lot that’s across the street and down two houses from Katsuki and Deku, and Katsuki resigns himself to the suburban, white picket fence fever dream that he’s somehow landed himself in.

It’s good, though. Kind of. Once that whole thing is out of the way, fully on Deku’s plate and off Katsuki’s, life somehow manages to continue on as it always does. His new normal stops feeling weird and insane after a while, instead creeping and crawling its way toward banal routine.

The startled shock whenever he spots himself shirtless in the mirror fades away, until he eventually hits a point where he can’t help whipping his phone out to snap a picture of the constant changes. According to Kyouka, he probably “popped” or some shit while Deku was away at Fat Gum’s, and ever since then he’s been steadily ballooning outwards. His gut bulges more every day, little by little, and Deku keeps trying to assure him it isn’t obvious as all fucking hell, but he’s a damn liar. It starts to poke out beneath his shirt, and Katsuki just has to huff out an aggravated sigh whenever he notices and pretend he’s not self-conscious about it.

Kid is just doing what she’s supposed to, after all. Growing. Katsuki has no choice but to grow along with her, he just has to accept that.

He doesn’t have to accept the rest of the garbage that comes with it, though. Like how he’s not looking quite as cut these days in areas that aren’t his pregnant belly – another thing Deku tells him he’s imagining, but Katsuki’s insistently blaming it on the sudden absence of constant daily movement, a somewhat less rigorous gym routine, and a new diet where he’s actively eating for two. He can see it across his torso, where what was once just a tenderness in his pecs has morphed into a visible softening of previously sculpted muscle.

There’s also the way his back begins to ache throughout the day. And the sharp spikes of pain that sometimes shoot through his hips. The nausea comes and goes, but luckily it rarely hits a point anymore where he feels like he’s going to throw up.

Hell, he’ll take the rare win amongst all the other annoyances.

“I’m telling you, you need a pregnancy pillow,” Ears says one day when they’re wandering through the infant section of a department store. Katsuki doesn’t know how he allowed himself to get dragged along on this outing, but both Deku and Kaminari are working Saturday shifts and he was bored at home and – fuck it, fine, he has no excuse. He was a little too fucking eager when she called him up, in fact.

But hey, they do actually need baby clothes now. Plus a million other baby things. Might as well get on that.

Katsuki tugs at the brim of his baseball cap for what has to be the eighteenth time that day, making sure it’s pulled low and shadowing his eyes. He’s in his usual sweats, the elastic resting below the curve of his belly. Any higher these days and it starts to get uncomfortable. Too tight. He’s gonna have to figure out his entire pants situation soon, honestly. Somehow, in all of this, he’s managed to avoid thinking too much about his own wardrobe – or soon to be lack thereof.

“I don’t want a fuckin’ pregnancy pillow,” he grumbles. “Already feels like I’m sleeping next to a damn furnace lately, and you want me to add more shit to the bed?”

Sometime in the last week or so, sleeping next to Deku made an abrupt switch from being awesome to fucking unbearable. Katsuki hasn’t figured out how to say anything about it yet, or if he even wants to. Normally he’s the one who runs hot, but now their entire sleeping situation has become a sweltering hellscape because Deku’s body temperature feels like it’s skyrocketed up to five million and two degrees.

“The pillow’s a godsend, trust me,” Kyouka says. “It’ll help with the back pain. If you have to pick between the two, go with the thing that’s going to help you sleep.” She flaps her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Midoriya can sleep on the couch or something.”

“I don’t want him to sleep on the couch.”

“It’s normal!” she argues. “I see it online all the time. And it’s only temporary, you know? There’ve been times I’ve kicked Denki to the living room for an entire week – usually when I’m making him try a new shampoo or something because he keeps picking shit that makes me want to hurl.”

Katsuki snorts. “Ouch.”

“My nose went haywire in the beginning.” Kyouka shoots him a grin that’s a tad self-deprecating. “He had to switch out his cologne, deodorant, everything. All of it kept making me gag. Poor guy. You weren’t sensitive to anything early on?”

“Don’t think so,” Katsuki says, before pausing. He thinks back for a second, then blinks in surprise. “Maybe pork.”

“Ugh, god, all meat was the worst.”

“I can do chicken.” Katsuki moves over to a new clothing rack, attention caught by rows of tiny dresses in soft pastel colors, all of them paired with matching headbands that have a variety of bows and flowers on top. “Think I’ve eaten more fried chicken in the past four months than I have in my entire goddamn life. Are these cute or just obnoxious as shit?”

Ears waddles over after him and makes a considering sound. “Both?” She reaches out to gently run the material through her fingers. “In that I never thought I’d be a frilly dress kind of mom but these are freaking adorable sort of way.”

“Heh. How do you feel about baby shoes?”

“Pointless,” Kyouka says immediately. “I’ve bought about thirty pairs so far. Ow–”

Katsuki’s head snaps around in alarm. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Kyouka rests a hand against her belly, grimacing. “She just kicked me in the ribs.”

…That sounds like something Katsuki is annoyed he’ll probably have to experience eventually.

Geez.

“Need to sit down or anything?”

Kyouka waves him off. “I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s not the first time.” One of her earphone jacks lifts, pointing at something across the aisle. “Did you see the changing tables?”

“Yeah, but… I don’t know what stuff we should start getting or what can wait,” Katsuki admits. “No point getting everything set up in the apartment.”

“Your parents got you a crib already, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t you just store things at their house?” Kyouka asks. “They’ve got more room.”

Katsuki can feel himself making a face. “If we have to.”

“You might as well. Otherwise, it’s just going to get in the way when you’re packing.”

“I can’t even fucking think about packing yet,” Katsuki grumbles, and then, with a wince: “Shit, I gotta pee. Be right back.”

He wanders off in the direction of the restrooms, trying not to get distracted along the way by every onesie and bassinet and stroller and car seat, damn, they’re gonna need one of those if they’re actually going to be driving more. There are high chairs and bottles and bibs, a variety of swaddles and wraps, diaper bags, DIAPERS…

It’s overwhelming. Katsuki started making a list a few days ago, but he still feels like he has no idea where to start.

When he eventually makes it back to Ears, somehow still empty-handed through sheer willpower, she’s not alone.

Katsuki stops short, staring and slightly horrified. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“There you are!” his mother says cheerfully, turning to him with an obnoxiously wide grin. Behind her, Kyouka is trying to pull off sheepish, smug, and deeply amused all at the same time. Katsuki just squints in her direction, suspicious. “Kyouka told us you two were here.”

Oh, come on. Why the FUCK.

“Did she,” Katsuki says, voice flat, almost a growl. “How…?”

“I gave her my number.” Mitsuki has a large bag slung over her shoulder, and she starts rummaging around inside of it. “Her parents are on a band tour, you know. And her in-laws aren’t local.”

…Okay, fine. Shit, Katsuki can’t even be too annoyed, then.

“This way she has a quasi-mom nearby if she needs anything,” Mitsuki continues. “Anyway, kid, we’re not here to bug you or anything, so get that damn look off your face.” What – she’s not even looking at him!! Katsuki scowls and crosses his arms over his chest. “Just had some shit to drop off, and we have a dinner meeting downtown tonight. Kyouka mentioned you’d be out and about, so the timing worked.”

“Hang on,’” Katsuki cuts in quickly. “We?”

“Oh, your dad’s around somewhere.” She finally emerges from the bag holding a stack of clothes and thrusts them forward. “Here.”

Katsuki’s brow furrows. “What’s that?”

“You were yelling at me for not having a maternity line, right?” Mitsuki shrugs a little. “Well, we still don’t, and I wouldn’t call these maternity anyway, but I figured you’d need something soon.” Her gaze drops and hovers around Katsuki’s waistline. “…If not already.”

“Oi,” Katsuki grumbles, feeling his cheeks warm. “Don’t fucking judge.”

Mitsuki lets out an exasperated sound. “Why the fuck would I be judging? You’re pregnant, ya damn brat, this is just how it goes. Just take these, would you? I based them off your last tuxedo measurements.”

He can guess what she’s handing him at this point, but he’s still reluctant as he accepts the pants from her. Mostly because he’s still struggling not to be embarrassed by needing them in the first place. The whole thing is so awkward, but at the same time, there’s a small part of him that’s also relieved he didn’t have to ask her to make him something. She just went ahead and did it.

“Thanks,” he says gruffly. He holds up one set, a pair of jeans, and tries not to glower at them too much as he gives the elastic waistband a stretch.

“I don’t know what you’re wearing at work these days,” Mitsuki says. She’s got one hand cupping her chin as she gives the jeans a scrutinizing look. “I made you some slacks, two pairs of jeans, plenty of loungewear… There’s more in the bag, plus some shirts and stuff.”

Katsuki stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the sudden lump in his throat, instead forcibly swallowing it down. “Ma…”

“I live in yoga pants these days,” Kyouka pipes up, coming to his rescue. “Bakugou-san, tell him he needs a pregnancy pillow.”

“Oh, you definitely do,” Mitsuki says immediately. “Hell, I still sleep with mine sometimes. Your dad hates it, which just makes it funnier whenever I drag it out.”

Yeah, this is where Katsuki always imagined his life would be heading one day. Straight into a conversation with his MOM about the best ways to deal with all the bullshit that comes from being pregnant.

Mitsuki must catch the cranky, almost pained look he’s sporting, with his still too hot cheeks, because she just rolls her eyes.

“You didn’t exactly have birthing hips before, Katsuki,” she says, way too frank. “Narrow waist, different center of balance – if you’re getting uncomfortable now, just wait. Don’t be stubborn about making shit easier for yourself.”

“He’s such a man,” Ears says, and Katsuki shoots her a glare. “Thinks he’s just going to power through this. At least try it, Bakugou.”

“You being friends or whatever the fuck this is with my mom is my new least favorite thing in the world,” Katsuki gripes. He does finally acquiesce, though, and lets out a long, noisy sigh. “FINE, I’ll try the damn pillow. They got ‘em here?”

Kyouka gives him a triumphant grin. “I saw some back towards the cribs.”

“Oh, Kat! Good, you’re here–” Katsuki perks up at the sound of his dad’s voice and turns to find him shuffling over to their group, a huge box in his arms that he’s straining his neck to peer around. “This is the best car seat on the market,” he says, apropos of nothing. “I did some research. You’re going to need one, right?”

“What the hell,” Katsuki mutters, almost a whisper, before raising his voice to ask, “Why’re you researching shit? You don’t gotta worry about it, Izuku and I got it handled.”

Masaru just scoffs a bit as he lowers the box to the ground. “It’s good to know things. If you don’t want this one, I’ll get it for us. We’ll probably need one anyway.”

“…I mean. I didn’t say I don’t want it.” Katsuki drops to a squat so he can get a better look at the box and see the brand his dad picked out. “A car seat was on the list, just…figured it could wait some.”

“Have you thought about how you’re decorating the baby’s room yet?” Masaru asks. “I sketched out some ideas if you’re open to seeing them.”

“He’s been doodling like crazy,” Mitsuki says, so fondly that Katsuki has to reel himself in before he scrunches his nose up at her.

Masaru chuckles. “Wasn’t sure what colors or anything, though. You might start leaning a certain way once you find out what you’re having.”

Oh.

Katsuki blinks up at him, suddenly hyperaware of the fact that he and Deku haven’t shared that particular detail with their parents yet. They haven’t really discussed a plan for it or anything, he just kind of figured they’d get the three of them together for a dinner at some point soon, but – “It’s a girl,” he says blankly, mind whirling, because there’s a car seat for his daughter right in front of him and they’re talking about what her future bedroom might look like, and even though he sees the evidence every damn day in the mirror, he’s sometimes still caught off guard when other people who aren’t Deku casually discuss the baby as a real, actual thing that’s happening.

Above him, Masaru’s eyes go wide. Katsuki feels Mitsuki grip his shoulder as she swings around into view, too. “A girl?!” she practically screeches.

“You’re having a baby girl?” Masaru says, much more faintly. He’s already going all misty, looking like Deku on the verge of exploding into waterworks. “Really, Kat?”

“Shit,” Katsuki mutters, coming back to himself. “Fuck, don’t tell Inko. I don’t know how Izuku wanted to break that news.”

“A girl,” Mitsuki says again. There’s something close to awe on her face, which is fucking weird. “I always wanted a girl. Then I got stuck with you.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Ha ha,” he intones, and then grunts as he pushes himself back up to stand. It’s not exactly a struggle trying to move like that yet, or do the simplest shit like get up from the couch or roll out of bed, but he’s hit a point where he can tell it’s going to become a pain in the ass sooner than he would like. Mitsuki’s hand slips from his shoulder to the crook of his elbow, helping to steady him as he gets his balance straight, and Katsuki’s annoyed when he catches himself feeling grateful for the assistance.

“That means you’re both having girls.” Masaru glances between Katsuki and Kyouka, and the latter nods.

“My husband is beside himself,” she says dryly. “He’s already planning out their best friends forever, girl gang future.”

“The outfits I can make,” Mitsuki whispers to herself, staring off into the distance at who the fuck knows what. “I can take her to get her hair done. Oh! Maybe she’ll actually want to go shopping with me.”

“Maybe she won’t,” Katsuki snarks. “Maybe she’ll just be me, but a girl.”

“Whatever, kid. I bet the Midoriya genes pull through.”

Masaru abruptly slings an arm around Katsuki’s shoulder, pulling him in for a hug and a manly slap on the back that Kirishima would be proud of. “That’s amazing, son. Amazing! I’m so happy for you guys.”

“Alright, alright,” Katsuki mumbles, gruff and red in the face. “Y’all are too fucking noisy, I’m not trying to get spotted here.”

“We probably need to get going anyway.” Mitsuki pulls out her phone to check the time, then hisses through her teeth and quickly dumps the shoulder bag full of clothes onto Katsuki. “Here, take these. We’ll buy the car seat and stash it at the house.” She starts to move away, pauses, and then reaches out to snatch a little flower-patterned dress off one of the racks. It’s pink and green – Deku green. And there’s a matching headband. “Buy this, too,” she says, shoving it at Katsuki. “And don’t leave without a pregnancy pillow!”

“Your mom is awesome,” Kyouka says, after Mitsuki and Masaru have headed off toward the registers, Masaru once again hefting the giant car seat box in his arms. “She made you clothes. God, she’s so cool.”

Katsuki huffs out a resigned little sigh. “She literally makes clothes for a living.”

“Not pregnancy shit.” Ears arches her eyebrows at him. “She went out of her way for you, dude.”

“Ugh, fuck off,” Katsuki grouses. There’s a warmth behind his ribcage, though. Something embarrassingly pleased blooming up through his chest that he tries to ignore. “Come on, let’s go find this damn pillow you’re forcing me to blow money on.”

Deku’s still working by the time Katsuki makes it home later that afternoon, so he figures he has time to squeeze in a nap before getting dinner started.

He bought the stupid pillow, after all – might as well give the dumb thing a shot.

* * *

“Wait, wait, wait,” Izuku says, eyes darting back and forth between a sleep-rumpled Kacchan and the massive, bizarrely shaped pillow he’s currently squeezing in his arms. “Why do I have to sleep on the couch?”

“Didn’t say you have to,” Katsuki mumbles tiredly. He somehow slept through not just Izuku getting home and loudly calling out for him, but also his entire shower routine. It wasn’t until Izuku was standing at the end of the bed, toweling off his hair while steam clouds poured out of the open bathroom door behind him, that Katsuki started to stir. “Not yet, anyway. But if you want to.”

“I don’t want to.” Izuku plants one knee on the bed to lever himself up and then crawls over to Katsuki. “Why would I want to? And where the heck did you get that thing?”

Katsuki sits up a little, intentionally widening his eyes like he does whenever he’s trying to impersonate Izuku. Izuku’s pretty sure that Kacchan thinks it makes him look all innocently imploring or something – baby deer eyes, that’s what he calls it when Izuku supposedly makes that face. (He does not do that, thank you. Kacchan’s just making stuff up.) “Are you sure you don’t want to?”

“What’s happening here?” Izuku asks. “You don’t want to sleep with me anymore? Is it because you think I’m snoring? Because I think that might actually be you, Kacchan.”

He gets thwapped across the face with the end of Katsuki’s weird pillow for that one.

“The fuck? I don’t snore,” Katsuki says, looking way more offended than the situation calls for.

“It’s not an uncommon symptom–”

“I need everyone to stop telling me what’s fucking normal when you’re knocked up,” Katsuki complains. “I can do a damn internet search as easily as the rest of you.”

“That was in one of the books, actually,” Izuku says, and then winces when Kacchan glowers at him. “Just tell me what’s going on!”

Katsuki looks away for a moment, a myriad of expressions flashing across his face. When he finally speaks, he’s clearly reluctant about it. “You’re clingy.”

…Well.

Yeah.

Izuku knows this about himself. He’s often draped around Katsuki at night – if not vice versa!

“And?” he asks, because that can’t be all of it.

“And I’m dying, Izuku, it’s a fucking sauna in here at night and you’re gonna give me heat stroke.”

Oh, for goodness’ sake.

“Is that it?” Izuku says, laughing a little. “Kacchan. You could’ve just told me. Did you think I’d get upset?”

“I’M upset,” Katsuki complains. “I don’t not want you in here, but it’s the literal worst thing on the planet right now.”

Izuku snorts. “We could turn the AC on.”

“It’s March.”

“Then we’ll open a window.” Izuku shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. If I end up needing another blanket or something, I’ll just get up and grab one.”

Kacchan stares at him levelly for a moment. “You might have to stay on your side of the bed,” he says, and then shakes the pillow a bit. “This is the Great Wall now. No invading my borders.”

“Sure, but just when we’re sleeping, right?” Izuku reaches out to shove the pillow aside and knee-walks toward Katsuki until he bumps into the other man’s criss-crossed legs. “Can I invade your borders now?”

Katsuki makes a face at him. “Just because you asked like that – no.”

“Kacchaaaan.” Izuku dips forward, nuzzling into the side of Katsuki’s neck. “It’s been forever.”

Not since they found out, in fact.

And Izuku gets it. He knows there’s been a lot going on, and he also knows Kacchan’s been super self-conscious about his expanding stomach…

But still.

If he’s been extra clingy lately, this is probably why.

“Mm…” Katsuki hums under his breath, head tilting to the side so that Izuku can press in closer. “I guess it’s only fair. Since I fucking passed out instead of cooking dinner.”

“It’s fine,” Izuku says warmly. “You needed the sleep if I’ve been keeping you up at night. I had a noodle cup.”

That gets him an exasperated grunt. “Tch, that doesn’t count, not when you’ve been out hero-ing and shit all day–”

“It’s fine,” Izuku says again, cutting him off, and then he swoops in to stop that mouth from complaining further.

Katsuki arches into him, winding an arm around Izuku’s neck and inhaling deeply through his nose. “If I said your shampoo was making me sick,” he murmurs when they separate for a moment, foreheads pressed together, “would you change to something else?”

“Of course,” Izuku agrees easily, before pulling back to blink at Kacchan, suddenly alarmed. “Wait, is it? Is that what’s been causing the nausea this whole time? ME??”

“I – no.” Katsuki goes a bit shifty, gaze darting off to the side. “It’s…a recent thing?”

Izuku’s eyes narrow. “Being sensitive to smells is usually a first trimester issue.”

“Ugh, you and your damn books.”

“Kacchan.”

“It could be!” Katsuki bursts out. “It could be your shitty eighteen-in-one shampoo–”

Izuku splutters. “Hey! It’s not eighteen-in-one, it’s – I think it’s only five-in-one?”

“THAT’S FOUR TOO MANY.”

“Oh my god,” Izuku mutters, and then lunges forward to tackle Katsuki to the bed.

Katsuki’s quick to grapple with him in a way that’s familiar and instantly thrilling, their legs tangling together and intentionally bumping and rubbing up against all the right places. “Me,” Katsuki growls, voice low and gravelly as he pushes up to flip them over. The maneuver ends with Izuku pinned on his back, which he’s more than okay with. “Let me.” He gives Izuku’s sleep pants an impatient tug, and Izuku eagerly lift his hips to help shimmy them off. Luckily, he was already shirtless. “Fuck knows how much longer we’re gonna be able to do it like this.”

“Like what?” Izuku asks, a touch breathless as he reaches out to palm the strip of skin that’s visible from Katsuki’s shirt riding up during their tussle.

“This.” Katsuki wedges his knees beneath Izuku’s ass, forcing him to spread his thighs wide so Katsuki can fit between them. “Me pounding you into the mattress, nerd.” He motions at his stomach in a distracted wave. “This shit’s gonna get in the way soon.”

Now there’s a mental image Izuku hasn’t gotten around to fantasizing about yet. Kacchan, swollen and round with their child, still pushing Izuku to the brink. The thought makes him go hot all over – damn, he’s so into it and he’s not even sure why.

“Only if you let it,” he eventually manages to choke out. Face flushed.

Katsuki scoffs, but Izuku notices he’s sort of red, too. “It’s literally physically gonna make it hard. I’m gonna be too big to do fuck all but lie there and take it.”

“I think we’ve got a while before you get to that point,” Izuku says. He heaves himself up into a sitting position, legs still hooked around Katsuki and his core muscles clenching with the effort. It draws Katsuki’s stare down for a moment to roam over his abs, and Izuku gives the other man’s waist a brief squeeze before moving his grip to the hem of his shirt. “And I don’t see why it has to stop you from doing anything anyway.”

“Izuku…” Kacchan shifts, going ever so slightly hesitant as he pulls back, but Izuku’s hold on him tightens before he can get too far.

“Kacchan,” he says, and lifts one hand to cup the curve of Katsuki’s face. “I need you to hear me right now.” His eyes find Kacchan’s, dancing across his face. “I know you’re uncomfortable. I know you’re not feeling like yourself and it’s scary seeing stuff happen to your body that you can’t control.” Katsuki jerks his head to the side, scowling, but Izuku is quick to turn him back and meet his gaze again. “And that’s okay! It’s totally valid. But I just…” He leans back a bit, eyes lowering to trail down Katsuki’s shirt to the baby bump hidden beneath it. “Everything you’re doing, everything your body is going through for this – for her, for us.” Izuku looks back up again, the corner of his mouth quirking. “I think you’ve probably never been more sexy to me.”

Katsuki groans, chin ducking down toward his chest. “You keep saying shit like that–”

“Because it’s true. You do look amazing. And sexy. And hot.”

“Those last two are the same thing,” Katsuki grumbles. He heaves out a sigh, and still can’t quite meet Izuku’s eyes when he lifts his head back up. “I didn’t think I cared this much about how I looked,” he admits. “I’ve always – fuck, it was just supposed to be about staying in shape, I didn’t ever wanna become some vain asshole who can’t even–”

“You’re not vain,” Izuku interrupts. “You’re just going through a really weird experience that only actually feels weird because you’re a guy. Otherwise, all of this is completely natural.”

Katsuki squints at him. “…Nothing about this is natural.”

“Pregnancy is natural.” Izuku lets his hand fall from Kacchan’s face, instead using both to lift his shirt a bit. “Can you…?”

He still hesitates for a few seconds, but in the end Katsuki huffs out a growling sort of noise and whips his shirt off over his head – only to immediately fold his arms defensively across his chest.

“You’re acting like I haven’t seen you shirtless recently or something,” Izuku says, a little amused despite the situation. He spreads his fingers wide over Katsuki’s stomach, palms gently cradling the obvious swell there. “Newsflash, pretty sure I watched you get dressed just this morning.”

“Perv,” Katsuki throws back at him. There’s a faint smirk ghosting his lips, though, and Izuku leans in to capture it in a kiss. His thumbs stroke against the soft skin of Kacchan’s belly, pulling a content hum out of him for a moment until he abruptly jerks backwards and lowers his eyes, staring intently. “Can you feel that?” he asks.

Izuku’s hands go still. “Where?”

“She’s rolling like crazy.” Katsuki reaches for Izuku’s wrist and repositions him, holding him steady while Izuku holds his breath. “I don’t know if it’s strong enough to reach outside.”

They’re quiet while they wait, Izuku nearly vibrating in anticipation, until a minute or so passes without anything happening that he can pick up on. When Kacchan gives him a questioning glance, he can only shake his head. “No. Not yet.”

“Damn.” Katsuki looks back at his stomach again, brushing his knuckles down over his navel. “Bet you’ll feel her soon, though. Won’t be long now. She’s feisty.”

He’s got an expression on his face that catches Izuku’s attention immediately. Something mesmerized and so in awe of what’s happening inside him. Completely enamored with the tiny life he’s growing.

It’s these little glimpses into how he’s feeling that Izuku lives for. He knows so much of it is a struggle. He knows Kacchan’s having a hard time dealing with everything he’s going through. All the changes – at work, at home, out in public.

But this… This.

This small, private moment.

“God, if you could just see yourself,” Izuku murmurs without really meaning to, and Katsuki lets out an inelegant snort.

“Uh-huh, sure. Plenty to see these days, right?”

Fucking hell.

Izuku hooks his finger beneath Katsuki’s chin and hauls him in for another kiss, slow and sweet and deep, pouring as much meaning into it as he can manage. The suddenness of it clearly catches Katsuki by surprise, but he melts into it quickly enough and responds with an equal amount of enthusiasm. His head tips and his lips part, and Izuku licks into him like a starving man getting a taste of the first meal he’s had in weeks.

“Hey,” he says when he pulls back, and he waits until crimson eyes peek open, half-lidded and full of heat, before he continues, “I see you, Kacchan. And you’re beautiful.”

A strained, almost whimper of a sound tears from Katsuki’s throat. “Oh, fuck you,” he forces out, and then he throws himself forward, arms wrapping around Izuku tight as he yanks him back in to kiss him again. “Fuck you and all your sentimental crap, you damn sappy nerd.”

Izuku grins into the next kiss, hands curling behind Katsuki’s back and holding him close. “Yes, please fuck me, I’ve waited frickin’ long enough.”

“Oi, don’t get bossy with me.”

“Hurry up and maybe I won’t have to!”

“Okay, you try carrying around a whole goddamn kid and see how fast you can move, geez.”

“Nah, you’ve got that covered.”

“Guess so.” Katsuki kicks out of his shorts and stretches to reach their nightstand so he can dig out the lube. “Best damn baby incubator you’re ever gonna get.”

“The best,” Izuku eagerly agrees, and then he tangles them up again until they’re wound so closely together that he imagines he can feel Kacchan’s heartbeat thudding along right next to his own, their baby nestled snugly between them.

* * *

Of course, everything still goes sideways. Shit still hits the fan and all that, and it does so one day almost midway through March when everything else appears to be rolling seamlessly along.

Katsuki’s on his lunch break, sitting with Hasegawa as has more or less become habit by now. He’s pretty sure she’s figured out what’s going on with him – it’s getting hard to deny or pretend that he doesn’t look pregnant these days. She’s been too polite to say anything outright, but the fact that she’s unquestioningly crocheting a baby blanket for him speaks volumes, as far as Katsuki is concerned. No who is this for? or anything, and it’s blatantly in orange and green colors. Deku’s green, too, which has always been a little more teal than the highlights on Katsuki’s gear.

Whatever. Honestly, he doesn’t think he cares if she knows. Maybe he even wants her to.

Maybe he’s ready for the news to get out.

He’s wearing some of the jeans the hag gave him for the first time today, just as a trial run, and he’s a little annoyed to find he’s already more comfortable than he’s felt in weeks. Nothing digging into his belly, no material that feels too tight across his hips.

Figures. Always sucks when his mom knows what’s best for him.

There’s a line of crocheted penguins in front of him on the table. Two of them look a little more lopsided than the others, because Hasegawa threw a crochet hook at Katsuki’s head after he kept asking her to make more in the hero colors of every damn person in his life, and told him to learn how to do it himself. So he did. It’s something else to keep him occupied on the slower days when there isn’t a stack of bullshit paperwork for him to sort through, but his nightmare creations aren’t quite as perfected as the ones Hasegawa seems to be able to churn out at lightning speeds.

Yet.

He'll get there.

He wonders if any of the nursery designs his dad sketched out involved penguins in any way (although he’s not sure why they would – maybe something to think about, though).

The Best Jeanist penguin that Katsuki is working on now, denim blue with yellow at the top of its head, is looking botched as hell, which somehow just makes the whole thing even funnier. He half wants to show it to the other man as it is just to see the look on his face, but that would mean actually finally calling him back and telling him about everything.

He needs to.

Katsuki needs to call Aizawa, too, and he knows Deku is getting anxious about letting All Might into the loop.

Maybe he should just send out a fucking newsletter. Or add them all to a text thread and then turn his phone off for a week after dropping the baby bomb.

“Looks like you missed a stitch,” Hasegawa says, leaning over to look at his cockeyed little shit. “…Or maybe a couple.”

“I’m taking artistic liberty,” Katsuki drawls. “It’s no fun if they all look good.”

“Says you, maybe.” She rests back in her chair again, lifting the half-finished baby blanket that was pooled in her lap. “Guess it depends what you’re using them for. How’s this looking? You like the pattern?”

Katsuki glances over, then lifts one shoulder in half a shrug. “Sure. Pattern’s fine.”

“Wow, so enthusiastic.”

“It’s the best fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” he says, deadpan. “Stupendous. A marvel.”

Hasegawa rolls her eyes, but she’s snickering. “I’m making this for you, you jerk. I don’t want you to hate it.” She pauses, then adds softly, “Midoriya, too. I want him to like it.”

“He likes everything.” Katsuki peeks over at Hasegawa, which doesn’t go unnoticed, and for a few seconds they just sort of eye each other carefully. Eventually, Hasegawa’s lips quirk, tugging up at the corner into a small smile as she nods to herself, as though the entire exchange was somehow a confirmation of something. And maybe it was. Katsuki feels his face warming as he realizes, but Hasegawa just turns her attention back to the blanket without another word, and a relieved breath wooshes out of him. “He’ll love it,” he says, voice quiet, stare locked on the deformed penguin in his hands. In his peripheral vision, he sees Hasegawa’s smile stretch into a pleased grin.

“Good.”

Heavy footsteps thud into the room, and Katsuki looks up as Sero drops into the seat next to him at the lunch table. “Second shift is the worst,” he groans, forgoing any other greeting as he lets his head tip backwards so he can complain up to the ceiling. “It messes up the whole day. I’m lazy all morning instead of getting anything done, and by the time I get home I just wanna collapse into bed. Shit, man.”

“Stop fucking whining,” Katsuki says, entirely unsympathetic. Even though he also hates working weird-ass afternoon hours that bleed awkwardly into the evening, leaving him out later than he ever wants to be. “At least you’re in the field at all.”

“Dude, I stopped feeling bad for you last week,” Sero says. “I nearly got my ass handed to me fighting that clay loser and I thought, you know what? Bakugou doesn’t have to get beat up for the next however many fucking months, why am I out here sorry that he’s getting a break? Lucky bastard.”

Katsuki barks out a sharp laugh. “I don’t get beat up anyway, not half as much as you. Try improving maybe.”

“Har har.” Sero sits forward, folding his arms across the top of the table. “I’d like to see you take out a villain with your knitting needles.”

“It’s crochet,” Katsuki says, jabbing him in the arm with the hook. Sero hisses a little and gives him a light shove, but Katsuki just pushes him right back. “Anyway, I can still use my Quirk.”

“Can you?” Hasegawa pipes up, and Katsuki shrugs.

“Not, like…to travel, I guess,” he says.

Sero gives him an obnoxious grin. “Like riding a roller coaster, right? Too much zipping around or something.”

“Or something,” Katsuki agrees. “Managed it fine for five months, though.”

“Good lord,” Hasegawa mutters. “That’s insane.”

“Is one of these me?” Sero asks. He reaches for the red and black penguin, turning it over in his hands. “Did you make this?”

“Obviously the red one is not fuckin’ you,” Katsuki says. He points his crochet hook at Hasegawa. “She made that one. You’re the boring black and white.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“Get a better costume.”

“Uh, everyone loves my costume.”

“It’s true,” Hasegawa says, nodding, and Katsuki scowls.

“Yeah, I know,” he grumbles. “Asshole.”

“Sorry, can’t help being fit.” Sero gives him another annoying grin and makes a show of flipping his hair back. “It’s all natural, baby.”

Ugh.

Katsuki gives him the stink-eye. “Shouldn’t you be patrolling?”

“Got a few minutes, still.” He reaches for another penguin, this one yellow with black zigzags on the sides – another one by Hasegawa. Like fuck Katsuki would be able to work in designs like that, he’s barely managing to switch between solid colors. “This literally just looks like a pikachu.”

“Yeah, that’s the point,” Katsuki says, smirking.

Sero rolls his eyes, but in the process his attention is caught by something behind Katsuki, up over his shoulder. He straightens immediately, snapping to attention, gaze going slightly wide. “Oh shit.”

There’s a TV that hangs in the corner of the lunchroom. It’s usually muted during the day unless there’s something of interest happening, and Katsuki’s more than familiar with the sort of crap that would pull that kind of reaction out of one of his coworkers.

He spins around in his seat, just as Sero blurts out a hesitant: “Hang on, wait–”

And sure enough, there’s shaky camera footage playing from one of the news helicopters that always seem ready to jump into action whenever shit starts going down. Sometimes, Katsuki thinks the reporters on those things are even more reckless than half the heroes he knows.

More reckless than the one hero he intimately knows, who’s apparently at the center of today’s future headlines.

“Izuku,” he murmurs, brain slow to catch up to whatever the fuck he’s seeing. It’s just another fight, at least for a few seconds – until he remembers it’s a fight he’s witnessing from afar. Stuck on the sidelines, unable to do fucking anything but watch, and he hasn’t gotten used to how absolutely insane that makes him yet. The anxiety that creeps up his spine every time Deku’s had to face even the lamest of villains while Katsuki’s been on desk duty is enough to make him physically ill. “Where the hell are they?”

Nowhere that he recognizes in the city. Why the fuck aren’t they in the city??

Deku’s fighting a mountain of a man who doesn’t have any telling signs that hint at what his Quirk might be, if he even has one. He must, though, because he’s matching Deku blow for blow and taking every lightning-laced punch without the slightest flinch. Something strength-based, maybe – your basic power enhancing bullshit that’s always a pain to deal with.

“North, maybe?” Sero says, pointing. They’re all standing, Katsuki realizes. Crowded closer to the TV. He doesn’t even remember moving. “Those buildings back there, I think that’s the back end of the Nagai district. There’s an old junkyard up that way.”

Katsuki’s brow furrows. “That’s not even our sector,” he says, and then winces when Deku gets slammed in the face hard enough that his head snaps backwards, sending him reeling. Fuck, fuck, shit, Katsuki hates this. He hates this.

“Ouch,” Sero mutters. He’s fiddling with his earpiece, making sure it’s turned on.

“I should get back on the phones,” Hasegawa says faintly. She scoots past Katsuki, pausing only briefly to give his arm a squeeze. Then she’s gone and it’s just Katsuki and Sero, and if there’s one thing that riles Katsuki up more than damn near anything – from personal fucking experience – it’s heroes standing around not doing shit.

That’s not what this is, though. Right now, with Sero. He knows that. He knows they’ve made huge improvements in the way hero society is structured, that things are far from the way they were when Katsuki was a cocky little asshole in middle school being suffocated by that sludge dickhead. They’ve got new rules and regulations, important protocols in place that help ensure the right heroes end up where they’re needed most, where their Quirks and abilities will be best utilized. If he played this right, then Deku’s not on his own here. They won’t hang him out to dry. Hell, there’s probably already assistance on the way.

The problem is that Deku’s fucking stacked on his own. And everyone knows that. He’s got so many damn powers at his disposal, a million different options he can whip out at any given moment, that sometimes having too many other heroes around means they just get in his way. It’s always a balancing act, and usually, more often than not, it’s Katsuki out there with him.

Which is exactly where he can’t be now, and watching Deku stumble around sure doesn’t do fucking shit to keep his nerves from spiraling out of control.

“Shouldn’t you be out there?!” Katsuki snaps at Sero, whirling around to face him. “What the fuck are you still doing here??!”

“If they need me somewhere, they’ll tell me,” Sero says calmly. He’s still watching the TV intently, a frown etched across his features. “He’s not exactly nearby; I’d never get up there fast enough to do any good.”

Katsuki lets out a frustrated sound, but a sudden grimace from Sero has him quickly jerking back toward the TV just in time to see Deku go flying and crash into a rusted out old car. “Fuck – the hell is he doing??”

“Better question: who is that guy?”

“Don’t fucking care about that, I just–” Katsuki folds his arms on top of his head as Deku struggles back up to his feet and settles into a fighting stance. There’s green lightning crackling around him, Blackwhip coiling down his limbs. “Where the fuck is everyone else?”

“On their way.”

Deku looks like he’s gearing up to attack. It’s hard to make out anything too detailed because all they’ve got is aerial footage from the helicopters, but Katsuki thinks he spots something blurring across the junkyard, and whatever Deku was going to do is cut short. He staggers on the screen, doing nothing to protect himself from the next punch that comes flying his way.

“Something’s not right,” Katsuki croaks. “That’s – shit, that guy isn’t alone. There’s another villain there.”

Sero nods, one hand covering his mouth. “Yeah. Yeah, you might be right. Bakugou, hey–”

“Goddammit.” His breathing’s all out of whack. Katsuki can feel his heart racing. “God-fucking-dammit, I’m gonna murder that nerd.”

“Bakugou.” Sero grips his shoulder, forcibly yanking him out of his glaring match with the TV and stepping around until he’s blocking Katsuki’s view of it. “Look, I’ve gotta go, but – Bakugou, listen, I think you should go home.”

Katsuki barely hears him. He’s too busy trying to peer around him, needing to see what’s happening. Needing to see that Deku’s still fighting back.

“Bakugou!” Sero says again, more harshly this time, and Katsuki somehow manages to spare him a quick glance. “I’m serious, man, you don’t need to be here right now. I don’t think watching this is a great idea.”

“Go home?” Katsuki repeats belatedly. His forehead scrunches in confusion. “I’m not – what the fuck? Why would I–?”

Deku does that weird stuttering thing again, a tendril of Blackwhip he’d shot forward instead fizzling out into nothing. He gets a fist in his gut for the effort and crumples to his knees.

Katsuki’s eyes go wide.

And then the TV clicks off.

“Oi, hey!” Katsuki protests immediately, voice desperate. “Don’t, I need to – I have to see what he’s doing, turn that back on–”

“Katsuki,” Sero says. There’s an urgency to his tone that makes Katsuki pause, and Sero takes advantage of his silence to drop his hands heavily onto Katsuki’s shoulders. “Come on, please go home. Midoriya’s gonna be fine, he always is. You know he’s got this.”

“He’s struggling,” Katsuki says. “He’s – fuck, I have to–”

“The only thing you have to do is get out of here,” Sero interrupts. “It’s just gonna be crazy the rest of the day, you don’t need to be stressing over everything. And you definitely shouldn’t be watching that shit alone.”

“You’re here,” Katsuki tries, but Sero shakes his head.

“They called me out, I have to go. Go home, okay? Please. Midoriya will kill me if I leave you here by yourself.”

There’s an entire office full of people out there dealing with today’s fuckery, but sure. Katsuki would be by himself.

…He feels like it, actually.

“There’s no one at home either,” he says, and nearly fucking throws up from the wave of panic that lurches up through his stomach at the very notion.

God.

If Deku leaves him alone with their kid, Katsuki will set this entire goddamn city ablaze and watch it burn to ashes.

Sero, unaware of these thoughts, just nods. “I’ll take care of that.” He gives Katsuki a push toward the table. “Let’s go, get your stuff. Don’t turn the TV on when you get back to your apartment, okay?”

Once Katsuki’s gathered up his bento and all the crocheted penguins and everything else, sweeping the lot haphazardly into his backpack, Sero herds him out of the office until they’re standing on the sidewalk just outside. He checks in with Katsuki again, makes sure he hasn’t completely lost his mind yet, makes him promise he’s heading straight home – and then he leaves, using his tape to swing across town to wherever he’s been sent.

And then it’s just Katsuki. Katsuki and his pregnant belly that’s preventing him from having Deku’s back right now.

He sways on his feet for a moment, then glances skyward. Twenty minutes to walk home – probably more, actually, since he’s not exactly his speediest at the moment.

Or…

Katsuki presses a hand protectively against his stomach. The elastic band stretched over him from his jeans feels secure enough. It’s giving him a little extra support, at least. And it’s not like he’s that big yet.

There’s a familiar flutter somewhere beneath his fingertips. A sort of gentle tumbling sensation from within that he’s grown accustomed to, but that still fills him with wonder nonetheless. Katsuki stands there for a moment, just feeling it.

And then he cocks his hands behind him and blasts off for the rooftops.

Taking the quick way home.

He’s a little out of practice, but not dangerously so. It hasn’t been so long that he’s forgotten how to do what’s always been second nature to him, and while he’s heavier now, it’s nothing he can’t make some swift adjustments to accommodate.

It’s faster than walking, anyway. Maybe not as fast as it used to be, but good enough.

Trying to land is a different story, but he’s as careful about it as he can be and hits the pavement almost gently, only jarring a little when his feet touch down. He rushes inside and up the stairs, hands shaking as he unlocks the door, and his backpack hasn’t even hit the couch after he throws it off before he’s snatching up the remote control and turning the TV on.

Deku’s still fighting.

It looks like there are a couple other heroes on the scene now, though. So he’s got backup, for all the fucking good it’s doing.

Katsuki trembles as he watches, feeling paralyzed and helpless and useless, and Sero was probably fucking right. This is a really bad idea because there’s not going to be anyone here to stop him from blowing a goddamn hole in the side of the living room when his hands start sparking and popping in agitation.

Not even three minutes have passed before Katsuki hears the sounds of keys jingling, a lock turning. The front door pushes open and he should maybe be concerned about that, but–

“Bakugou?” Todoroki calls, because he’s yet another asshole who has a key to their place. Right. Katsuki forgot about that.

Shit, they’re gonna have to get all these losers new copies once they’re at the new house.

Todoroki walks into the room, frowns at what he sees, and instantly yanks the controller from Katsuki and punches the power button to turn the TV back off. Again. “I thought I would beat you here,” he says. He reaches for Katsuki’s wrist, peering down at his palm for a moment, and then wide eyes snap up to meet Katsuki’s. “Did you fly here? Are you okay? Is the baby okay??”

“Baby’s fine,” Katsuki says, blank and exhausted. Buzzing from stress. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Hanta sent me.” Todoroki lifts Katsuki’s other hand, examining that one, too. “I was at his place, so I was close.”

Katsuki grimaces. “No, why are you here?” He yanks free of Todoroki’s grasp, backing up a step. “Why aren’t you out there helping him?” he demands. “They sent a bunch of useless fucks, they’re all gonna get themselves killed!”

“They wouldn’t be out there if they weren’t competent,” Todoroki says. “I can’t go – I worked overnight, haven’t been off duty long enough for them to call me back out unless it’s an emergency.”

“IT’S A FUCKING EMERGENCY,” Katsuki explodes. “It’s Izuku and he’s getting knocked around like it’s nothing, what the hell is everyone’s fucking problem–”

“Bakugou,” Todoroki interrupts. “He fights villains all the time. Midoriya won’t lose.”

He knows that. He knows that, but just because Deku’s strong, it doesn’t mean he’s also invincible. The nerd’s still HUMAN, just like the rest of them, and if something goes wrong–

Katsuki clenches his teeth around an angry groan and drops heavily onto the sofa, bent over his knees, his hands coming up to dig back into his hair. He feels Todoroki take the seat next to him, and doesn’t tell him to stop when he starts rubbing Katsuki’s back.

“Midoriya’s been in far worse situations than this,” he says, voice soft. “I got some of the details from Hanta. They’ll have that guy subdued soon.”

“There’s another person there,” Katsuki mumbles. “At least one more woman, if not more. I saw her – she keeps flitting around near Izuku. Whenever something fucky happens or he gets messed up, it’s because she did something. She’s some kind of – of telepath or something, mind control maybe. They need to send Shinsou out there.”

“They did,” Todoroki says, and Katsuki heaves out a breath, finding himself leaning into the other man. “He’s on his way. Or there already. Midoriya will be fine.”

“I hate this so fucking much.”

“If you were still in the field, I don’t think you’d be reacting this strongly.”

“Because I’d be there,” Katsuki growls. “It’s different when I’ve got a fucking modicum of control over shit. This… This just sucks.”

Todoroki hums a little. “I don’t know,” he says. “It’s impossible for you to be there every time. You’ve been on separate missions before. You’ve been in different fights. I don’t think you’ve ever been this scared before.”

“Scared?” Katsuki repeats incredulously, pulling away from what was actually a pretty comforting touch just so he can glare at his fuckwad of a friend. “I’m not fucking scared, I’m – I’m–”

“Terrified,” Todoroki supplies, oblivious as ever, and Katsuki feels his shoulders droop in defeat.

Shit.

His head drops back to rest against the couch cushions behind them, hands dragging over his face. “I’m having war flashbacks,” he says, huffing out a very unamused laugh. “Literally. It’s like I’m fucking stuck on the ground watching him take on Shigaraki all over again, only this time he’s gonna get stabbed and I’m gonna be left here raising our damn kid by myself.”

Todoroki’s quiet for a moment, and then: “Oh.”

Katsuki scowls. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like you think I’m suddenly making any damn sense, because I know I’m being completely batshit–”

“You wouldn’t have to do it alone,” Todoroki cuts in, ignoring him. Katsuki’s jaw snaps shut. “Ever. The rest of us would be here for you.”

“Fuck you,” Katsuki chokes out. He sniffs and then groans again, crossing his arms over his face this time to hide his watery eyes. “Ugh, fucking hormones.”

“Being pregnant seems fun,” Todoroki says blandly, and Katsuki blindly reaches out to shove his shoulder. Todoroki just goes with it, though, smirking a little as he falls sideways and then rolls off the couch and up to his feet in one fluid motion. “I’m going to make some tea while we wait.”

They don’t turn the TV back on so Katsuki doesn’t see how the rest of the fight goes, but it’s not too much later that Sero calls Todoroki with an update. He takes the call in the kitchen like that’s somehow going to stop Katsuki from intently listening in. Granted, he can only hear the less useful half of the conversation, but it doesn’t sound like it’s bad news.

“Okay,” Todoroki says when the call is wrapping up. “I know. I think he’s alright now, at least. Yeah. Yeah, I’ll let him know. Okay. You, too. I’ll see you tonight.” He pokes his head out of the kitchen. “Hanta says everything’s good now.”

The relief that rushes through Katsuki after hearing that is intense. He exhales a long, slow breath, feeling the tension seep out of his muscles. Somewhere inside, his baby squirms as though she can tell Katsuki’s afternoon of lame-ass, overblown terror has finally come to an end. He rests a hand against the swell of his belly, trying to exude comforting thoughts to calm her down.

“Is he going to the hospital?” Katsuki asks. “Should I get over there?”

“No need,” says Todoroki. “Sounds like Midoriya is being very Midoriya about it. He’s refusing to stay overnight. They’re clearing him for release now, Hanta met him there.”

“That nerd,” Katsuki says fondly, despite the raging storm happening behind his ribcage that he’s still struggling to calm. “He’s actually the worst, you know that?”

“Sure.” Todoroki leans up against the doorjamb of the kitchen entryway. “Terrible in every way.”

“I’m gonna kill him when he gets home.”

“Well, as entertaining as that would be – I’ll head out once he gets here.”

“You don’t gotta wait for him,” Katsuki says. “Seriously, I’m fine.” (Now. Now he’s fine.) “Shit, you’re probably tired as hell, you should go sleep.”

“I’m not in any danger of collapsing within the next hour,” Todoroki says dryly. He moves away from the kitchen, coming over to sit beside Katsuki again, and lets his hand fall onto Katsuki’s knee to give him a couple pats. “I can keep you company.”

Well. Katsuki’s not gonna argue with him about it. That’d be dumb.

The hour mark has come and gone by the time they finally hear a key working at the door again. When Deku trudges into the room, Todoroki’s quicker to his feet than Katsuki is. Katsuki watches the other two exchange a few hushed words, Deku thanking him profusely and Todoroki gripping the man’s bicep tight, and then he leaves. Just one quick look back to Katsuki, a murmured goodbye that doesn’t even register, and Todoroki steps out of the apartment to head back to Sero’s.

“…Hey,” Deku says, after it falls awkwardly quiet for a moment. He sounds uncertain, like he’s not sure why Katsuki’s still on the couch.

Just staring at him.

Deku only looks a little worse for wear, which means they probably used some kind of healing Quirk on him at the hospital. He’s bandaged all down one arm and across his forehead. There’s a patch of gauze on his cheek, some cuts and scrapes everywhere else, and a deep bruise spreading across his nose and beneath his eyes.

“Um, they said I can go back tomorrow to get some of the rest of it,” he continues, when Katsuki stays silent. “My arm was a little busted, and my shoulder – that’s mostly where the healer focused.”

Katsuki nods. He’s got his hands steepled in front of his face, trying to organize the needless panic he’s been swimming in all day into coherent thoughts so they can actually…have some kind of conversation. Because they probably need to. He feels like they have to.

“Sero told me you saw some of it. At the office.” Deku swallows. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Kacchan. But I’m okay! I promise.”

“I don’t think I can do this,” Katsuki blurts out suddenly, and Deku goes still. “I can’t. Deku, I can’t just watch you get your ass kicked every day.”

“…I mean.” He looks vaguely offended, which almost makes Katsuki laugh – except that’s an emotion he’s eons away from right now. There’s nothing funny about this. “I did win, you know.”

“I know. I know, but.” Katsuki draws in a shaky breath. “What were you doing? Who the hell was that guy, why were you so far outside our sector? Deku, what the fuck happened today??”

“He was just some guy still holding a candle for All For One,” Deku says with a shrug. “Thought he could avenge him, I guess, something dumb like that. He tracked me down while I was patrolling and threatened a bunch of people. Caused a pileup downtown, so I lured him out of the city.”

“By yourself.”

“No. Well – yes, but I called it in!”

“Did you know about his backup?”

“Well, I figured out she was there pretty quickly.” Katsuki nods again, then lets out a wobbly exhale. Deku squints at him a bit. “Are you mad at me?”

“I’m not mad.”

“Because I thought I handled it pretty well, all things considered. No civilian casualties. It wasn’t that big a deal.”

“Oh my god,” Katsuki mutters, burying his face in his hands. “I know, okay? I know. Just an every day fucking occurrence, right? That’s just what we do. We fight assholes, we get knocked around a little, we win, we move on to the next jackass. I know. I fucking know!”

“Kacchan…” Deku steps closer, but still keeps a bit of distance between them. When Katsuki peeks up at him again, he looks so visibly confused that it makes his heart clench.

“I don’t think I can be around it right now,” he says. “I can’t just be a witness to you pulling all your bullshit when I’m not allowed to be out there with you.”

That makes Deku frown. “I wasn’t being reckless today.”

“You just took that guy on by yourself without even–”

“Because I knew I could beat him!” Deku snaps, scowling now. “You throw yourself into just as much shit as I do, Kacchan – that’s just how we are!”

“It’s different when I’m there!” Katsuki yells back at him. “It’s different when we’re doing it together, or – or – fuck, I just. I know you don’t need me, but–”

“What – of course I need you.” Deku moves forward the rest of the way, practically throwing himself onto the couch beside Katsuki. “Kacchan. Come on, you know fighting with you is one of my favorite things.” He lifts a hand, gently brushing the hair back from Katsuki’s temple. “It’s just on hold right now. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to forget how to keep myself in check just because you’re not there watching my back.”

Katsuki leans into his touch, almost cautiously for a moment, before abruptly collapsing fully against him. He feels Deku’s arms wrap around his shoulders, feels the man bury his face in Katsuki’s hair. “I used to love watching you fight,” he says hoarsely.

“Used to?” Deku repeats, voice curious and calm.

“I don’t know,” Katsuki mumbles. “My brain feels so fucked right now. You could get in a boxing match with a lamppost and I think I’d still go all doomsday worst-case scenario.”

Deku’s quiet as he lets that sink in. “I promise I’m not going anywhere,” he says softly.

“You can’t actually promise that, though,” Katsuki spits out bitterly. “That’s the whole fucking problem. That’s the shit we signed up for.”

They don’t talk about it often. They have before, of course – they’ve had that conversation a handful of times. About what they would do. What the next steps are. It’s not something that’s ever fun to acknowledge, but they know the possibility is always there that one day one of them won’t come home.

“Maybe you’re right,” Deku says eventually. “This is… It’s extra stress you don’t need right now. Maybe you shouldn’t be around it.”

Katsuki shifts until he’s curled up against Deku like some kind of giant cat. “We need my paycheck,” he says, and then snorts in a self-deprecating way. “As garbage as it is.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Deku rubs a hand up and down his back. “Maybe you can just…cut back. Only work a couple days a week or something.”

“I’d get bored so fast – not that they need me anyway, I guess,” Katsuki grumbles. He twists his head around, gazing up at Deku’s bruised face. “…I was so scared today, Izuku. Like, it was actually fucking stupid.”

“That’s not stupid.”

“Sero and Todoroki had to coddle me like a damn child.”

“They were just taking care of a friend.”

Deku’s hand slips around until he’s cradling Katsuki’s stomach, thumb stroking against him, and Katsuki sighs. “…I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I know.”

“I knew you would be,” he says, expression going stubborn like he’s daring Deku to argue with him.

But Deku just smiles.

“I know, Kacchan.”

* * *

“It was so rough, you guys.”

It’s a couple days later. Izuku’s at lunch with his friends – Iida, Uraraka, Tsuyu. And Sero, who was supposed to be Todoroki, but he got called into work and Sero decided to go ahead and deliver the message in person.

“We’ve been through hundreds of fights, countless battles,” Izuku continues. “An entire war. But I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Kacchan like that before.”

“That’s only because you were still unconscious when he was trying to get to you at the hospital that one time,” Sero muses, swirling his drink in his hand. “I think he’s kind of always been like this.”

“Not an inaccurate assessment,” says Iida. “He cares about you deeply. I can only imagine how being out of commission is affecting him.”

“Poor guy,” Uraraka murmurs, popping a strawberry into her mouth. “Can’t he just go on full leave until the baby gets here?”

“He can,” Izuku says. “I think he could work something out with Mirio-senpai. He just doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to be at home for that long.”

Uraraka rolls her eyes. “Of course not. Hell, I’d take the vacation time and run with it, but noooo. Not Bakugou.”

“Surely there’s something else he could do,” Iida says.

“It’s such a limited window of time, is the problem,” Izuku points out. “I don’t know. We’ll think of something.”

“He really was about to have a full-blown panic attack in the lunchroom at work,” Sero says quietly. “Shouto said it was the same when he got to your place. That can’t be a good environment for him to be in right now.”

Uraraka makes a considering sound. “It’s not like villain attacks are just going to stop for the rest of the time he’s pregnant,” she says, and Iida nods.

“True. But he doesn’t necessarily need to be surrounded by it. I realize that’s difficult, given his social circle and everything else. But perhaps taking a step away from being in the thick of it on a daily basis would be healthier for him.”

Sero reaches out to bump his drink against Tsuyu’s arm. “You’re being awfully quiet. What’s up?”

“I was just thinking.” She taps her chin for a moment, then looks across the table and catches Izuku’s eyes. “I don’t know if the suggestion would be welcome, but… I thought I might talk to him about something.”

Izuku leans forward eagerly, arms braced against the tabletop. “I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt, he’s probably up for hearing anything right now. What’ve you got?”

“Hm, you’ll see.” Something almost mischievous sparks in Tsuyu’s grin. “I may have an idea.”

Chapter Text

“Stupidest day of my life,” Katsuki grumbles, as he sets a tray of food on the coffee table and then plops down onto the floor nearby. “Right up there with all the other stupid days. Sludge dickhead, getting kidnapped…” He starts ticking items off on his fingers. “Getting stabbed, the entire fucking war. That asshole with the springy arms first year on the job. Getting hit with a pregnancy Quirk, finding out I’m pregnant. And now panicking over Izuku doing his damn job.”

“I feel like all of those things are not the same,” Kaminari says. He eyes the cold soba Katsuki brought out in interest, taking a break from painting Kyouka’s toenails so that he can reach for a bowl and serve himself some.

There’s a whole spread of other shit across the table that they’ve been picking through while Katsuki threw the soba together. Various fruits and random-ass dipping sauces that make absolutely no sense. A huge bowl of cottage cheese and an entire jar of olives that’s now half-empty. Katsuki’s about to dump a pile of grapes and hoisin sauce directly onto his soba and he doesn’t give a shit who judges him for it.

Not that these two, of all people, would.

“They’re the same in that they’re all stupid.” Katsuki readjusts his headband with an annoyed scowl, shoving it haphazardly back into his hair to keep his bangs out of his eyes. He’s given up on keeping the air conditioning off for the moment, regardless of how early in the season it still is. It’s not even fucking hot out, but he’s still in gym shorts and a Hero Deku-emblazoned tank top, completely unconcerned for once with the obvious curve of his belly beneath it. Kyouka’s similarly dressed down where she’s sprawled out on the couch, a pregnancy-safe facial mask plastered across her skin.

Kaminari, meanwhile, has a sweatshirt on and a scarf wrapped around his neck, but what-fucking-ever. He’ll live. He hasn’t complained even once about whatever arctic temperature Katsuki has it cranked down to, so he has to give the man credit for that.

…Honestly, Katsuki’s really fucking hoping whatever this bullshit heat wave is that his body is inflicting on him levels out before summer rolls in. Because ugh.

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Kyouka says, reaching up to peel the mask off as the new food catches her attention. She makes grabby hands at Kaminari and he wordlessly hands her the bowl of soba he just scooped up before going back in for another.

It’s just the three of them today. Deku was supposed to be there, but he still keeps himself on call all the damn time – which is less about them wanting the extra money and entirely because Deku is fucking Deku and that’s how the two of them have been living their professional lives ever since they graduated high school. Today’s the first time Katsuki has ever really felt slightly bitter about it, though. It’s fucking dumb. They’ve all had plans interrupted because someone got called in at the last second, there’s nothing new about that. And he’s self-aware enough to know he’s probably still just grumpy and irritated and totally fucking out of sorts due to that whole debacle the other day.

Still annoying. Mostly because he already misses the nerd.

“You wanna tell him?” Kaminari asks Ears, grinning over at her. “Or should I?”

Kyouka rolls her eyes before turning to meet Katsuki’s curious gaze. “There were days early on when I forced Denki to text me once an hour to let me know he was still alive.”

“Early on.” Kaminari snorts. “You still do it sometimes.”

“Sometimes,” Kyouka stresses, kicking at him. “Some days my hormones are dumb as hell and decide to be more out of whack than usual and I just want to know you’re okay.”

Katsuki frowns. “Pregnancy hormones being shit – another stupid thing to add to the list.”

“I thought this was a list of stupid days?” Kaminari asks, and Katsuki is quick to glower at him.

“Every day is stupid right now,” he mutters, holding his glare steady as he slowly slurps up some soba noodles.

“It’s really not crazy that you were watching Midoriya get pushed around on live TV and had a perfectly normal reaction to it,” Kyouka points out. “You’ve gotta be nicer to yourself, man.”

Katsuki stabs his chopsticks angrily into his bowl with a huff. “No one else was on the verge of a goddamn mental breakdown. They all knew he’d probably be fine, they weren’t freaking the fuck out–”

“Because it’s their job not to,” Kaminari interrupts. “We’re all trained to NOT lose our shit in those situations, and any other time you would’ve been right there with them.”

“No.” Katsuki’s forehead creases for a moment, his eyebrows pinching inward, and then he sighs and his entire expression smooths out with it. “I would’ve been with Izuku. I would’ve been out there. I would’ve been doing SOMETHING that wasn’t standing around watching. That’s what’s fucking me up – the total lack of control. And then it spirals into some other doomsday bullshit and it’s all stupid.”

“Alright, calm down. We’ve established everything is stupid.” Kaminari pushes the hoisin bottle closer to Katsuki, and he scowls again, briefly, before snatching it up and dousing his soba with it. “What’s your plan now?”

“I don’t know.” Katsuki deflates a bit and pokes at his noodles. “Lemillion said as long as I work one day a week, he can keep me on payroll. So I’ll still get all the paid leave and have my job and shit when I come back, but I’d be sacrificing eighty percent of my paycheck in the meantime.”

“Hell, that’s a deal,” Kyouka says. “At least the job security’s there.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Katsuki grumbles, and then flings a hand in Kyouka’s direction. “You don’t need shortened hours because you can’t handle seeing your dumbass husband get his ass kicked.”

“Rude,” Kaminari says, which Kyouka ignores in favor of speaking overtop him: “It’s not the same. We work at different agencies and cover different ground. We’ve never even had an overlapping mission. Sure, I got panicky sometimes, but I didn’t have to watch him every day or read his case reports or hear the constant lunchroom talk about whatever crazy thing he got up to. I was surrounded by the work, and some days that was a pain to deal with – but I wasn’t surrounded by him.”

“Still,” Katsuki says stubbornly, a mulish set to his jaw. “You’re managing five days a week and I’m dreading I have to show up at least once, it’s–”

“Stupid?” Kaminari supplies, and Katsuki chucks a grape at his head.

“Was managing,” Kyouka says, grinning. “I’m officially on my pre-baby four weeks leave now.”

Katsuki blinks, then decides to take the subject change and run with it because he’s tired of being a mopey bastard. “Geez, it’s that close already?”

“Already, are you shitting me?” Ears palms at the massive swell of her stomach. “Do you see this? I feel like I’ve been pregnant for a thousand years. She could turn up tomorrow and I’d throw a party.”

“Um, no,” Kaminari says hastily, throwing her a wide-eyed, harried look. “Absolutely not, she can stay in there and cook for another four weeks like she’s supposed to. Are you insane??”

Kyouka shrugs. “Just saying. I’m over the pregnancy thing.”

“Okay, well, I’m terrified of the pregnancy ending thing, so pump the brakes, babe.”

“Whenever they track down who did this to you,” Kyouka says to Katsuki, “let me know. I need them to toss some of that Quirk over Denki’s way.”

“Done,” says Katsuki, and Kaminari shoots him an exaggeratedly wounded look, pout and all. “Do you feel ready?”

“I don’t think it matters if I’m not ready.” Kyouka glances down at her belly, a small smile ghosting her lips as she idly slides her hand over the rounded curve. “She’ll be here soon either way.”

Kaminari lets his head tip to the side, resting it against the couch and gazing at Kyouka in such adoration that Katsuki finds himself averting his own eyes for a moment. Sure, Pikachu might let his nerves bleed through every so often, but he’s clearly ready and excited to meet the little life he and Kyouka have created.

Katsuki gets it. He’s been dreaming about it lately, so vividly that he sometimes wakes up confused as to why he doesn’t already have a wailing baby to comfort. It’s weird, the way it makes him feel more settled into the whole experience while also making him buzz with nervous anticipation.

A well-timed knock at the front door luckily distracts him from having to deal with the besotted look on Kaminari’s face. He jerks around, staring, and then drops his chin to glance from the floor to his bulging gut to the spread of food on the coffee table and then back to his stomach, before he finally squints over at the door again in mild displeasure. Fuck, does he have to answer that? He doesn’t feel like putting in the effort to stand, and who the shit is bugging him at home right now anyway??

“I’ll get it,” Kaminari says, an actual fucking hero in Katsuki’s lame-ass hour of not-really-need. He hops off the couch and goes to check through the peephole, then quickly pulls the door open and announces over his shoulder at the same time: “It’s Tsuyu!”

The hell?

Not that Katsuki minds at all that she’s here, but it’s a little unexpected. He wonders briefly if maybe Deku invited her, but an invitation to her probably would’ve included Uraraka and, by extension, Iida. And Deku definitely would’ve told him if he was supposed to have enough food ready for all those losers.

He and Kyouka call out greetings as Frogger follows Kaminari into the room. “Sorry to drop in without warning,” she says with a smile. Her eyes light up as she glances around. “Are you doing a spa day??”

“Sort of,” Kyouka replies. She scoots a few inches to the side and pats the couch cushion beside her. “Sit down, let me paint your nails. Bakugou won’t let me do his and I already did Denki’s.”

“Should probably leave your coat on,” Katsuki hears Kaminari murmur to Tsuyu. “They’re pretending we’re in the north pole or something.”

Tsuyu lets out a soft laugh as she takes a seat next to Kyouka. “Dorm spa days were always my favorite,” she says. “I miss them.”

Kaminari moves to sit beside Katsuki on the floor. “Yaomomo always had the best face masks.”

“And that foot spa thing,” Kyouka adds. “I’d kill for one of those right now.”

“You hungry or anything?” Katsuki asks, belatedly remembering that he’s supposed to be the host here. “Thirsty? Kaminari can get you a drink.”

“Sure, Kaminari would love to,” the man in question cheerfully says, and Katsuki smacks the back of his hand against his arm.

“No, I’m okay.” Tsuyu holds her hands out for Kyouka, seemingly unconcerned with whatever color she might pick. “I stopped by because I have a proposition for you, Bakugou. Do you mind if I speak openly?”

Katsuki can’t imagine there’s anything she could say that he wouldn’t want anyone else to hear, especially considering their current audience. His curiosity is definitely piqued, though. “Nah, you’re fine. What’s up?”

“Izuku said you might be in the market for something else to occupy your time other than hero work right now.” She makes a considering sound. “Or, well. Hero-adjacent work. Paperwork and all that. None of which really seems your style.”

The thing about Frogger that Katsuki has always reluctantly appreciated is her ability to be blunt as fuck but also weirdly gentle about it at the same time. She’s never been one to beat around the bush, no matter how awkward or uncomfortable the topic might be, and she manages to do it in a way that isn’t offensive and doesn’t piss him off.

“Yeah, I guess,” Katsuki says, in a grumbling sort of way. “Being in the office isn’t really, uh… Working out.”

Tsuyu nods. “I heard,” she says, because of course she did. Probably everyone on the planet has heard about Katsuki’s stupid freak-out. “Have you ever considered teaching?”

What.

What kind of random-ass question…?

“Not…really,” he says slowly, brows drawing down. “Feels like it’d be too much hassle.”

“I think you’d be good at it,” Tsuyu says, tone frank, and Katsuki snorts.

“You know, she’s not wrong,” Kyouka pipes up. “You always did have a way with the underclassmen.”

“And those kids from your extra classes first year,” Kaminari jumps in eagerly. “Todoroki didn’t stop talking about that for months.”

Katsuki can feel himself making a face at the three of them. “Doesn’t mean I want to be a teacher, are you crazy? After all the shit we put Aizawa through?”

“Not all teachers have to deal with having a pair like you and Izuku in their class,” Tsuyu says dryly. “We weren’t all magnets for trouble every other week.”

“I guarantee you there’s at least one little shit in every classroom,” Katsuki argues. “If not more, especially now. With the types of Quirks these kids have nowadays.”

“The kids at U.A. now aren’t that much younger than us, actually. But see?” Tsuyu leans forward toward him a bit, her torso still twisted around so Kyouka can continue painting her nails. “That’s exactly why you should come with me and be my teaching assistant.”

…Again. What.

“Ohhhh,” Kaminari breathes out, full of some kind of understanding that Katsuki can’t comprehend as he stares up at Tsuyu in complete bafflement. “Dude, that’s a great idea.”

“No,” Katsuki says immediately – a knee-jerk reaction more than anything, honestly. His gaze darts back and forth between the two of them. “I don’t – what? No. You want me to come teach with you? That’s your proposition?”

“Think about it,” Tsuyu says. “Think of the positive influence you could have on the incoming students. A top twenty hero as their teacher? Remember how excited we were when All Might showed up to teach us?”

“Yeah, but I ain’t fuckin’ All Might.” Katsuki gives her a narrow-eyed look this time, trying to work out the logic behind her suggestion. “Aren’t you teaching the rescue course?”

“Among other things. But, Bakugou, you know better than a lot of others how important the rescuing aspect of being a hero is.” Tsuyu arches her eyebrows, an all-too-perceptive expression washing over her face. “And you know there’s always a handful of first years who think they’re above that. Or they’re in it for the money or the glory or the fame. You know that’s one of the key things they have to learn.”

That’s…

Shit, that’s actually not a bad point.

“This is your gig, though,” he tries, even though the cogs in his head are starting to turn. “I’d just be stepping all over your toes, I don’t wanna do that.”

“You wouldn’t,” Tsuyu says firmly. “I’ve never been a teacher before. I wouldn’t be asking you if I thought I wouldn’t appreciate the help my first few months on the job. It’d be nice to have someone else at my level to bounce ideas off of.”

“How much could I even do, though?” Katsuki asks. He waves toward his stomach. “With this whole thing, not like I can get super hands on.”

“I don’t think you’d have to,” Kyouka says, throwing in her two cents. “Lesson plans, presenting, supervising – pretty sure you could get away with not exploding the children, Bakugou.”

“And Tsuyu would be there the whole time anyway,” Kaminari adds. “She could handle any kind of physical requirements.”

Tsuyu nods. “I understand if you’re not comfortable with so many people finding out about your condition, though. I think it’d be hard to keep under wraps at this point.”

“No,” Katsuki mutters, a tad sullenly. “I’m sort of… I mean, shit, it’s gonna get out sooner or later. Think I’ve finally accepted that.”

“The rumors are definitely starting to pop up,” Kaminari says. “Didn’t help that you flew yourself home last week. People saw, so now they’re wondering where you’ve been.”

Katsuki grimaces. Yeah, he’s seen some of that online over the last few days. In a couple weeks, he’ll have been off active duty for two whole months. It’s not surprising the gossip mill has finally started.

“I still have to go to the agency at least once a week,” he says, somewhat cautiously. Feeling it out. Letting the idea, crazy as it sounds, knock around in his brain.

“That’s the best part!” Tsuyu’s smile stretches wide, her eyes crinkling up and her head tipping to the side. “You don’t even have to be full-time like me. Your schedule could be as flexible as you want it to be.”

“Can you even offer me a job?” Katsuki asks dubiously.

“Well, we’d have to talk to Principal Nezu,” Tsuyu says. “And I can’t speak for what kind of pay he’d offer you, if anything. But I bet we could convince him.”

Hell, Katsuki doesn’t even care about the money – which is an insane thought to have materialize out of fucking nowhere considering how concerned he’s been about it up until this very second.

He’s just so desperate to be doing something. To have something worthwhile to occupy his days, to feel like he’s actually useful in his own damn field.

Teaching has never once crossed his mind, though. He hasn’t even been a pro long enough to deal with newbie sidekicks yet. But…there’s something almost appealing about the idea of going back to U.A. for a few months in this brand-new capacity.

To impress upon the next generation some of his own hard-won lessons.

“You should do it,” Kaminari says. “I think you’d be good at it.” He huffs out a soft laugh. “I think you’d be like Aizawa, actually. And everyone needs an Aizawa-sensei in their life.”

So that’s how Katsuki finds himself standing outside U.A. three days later. Staring up at the front gates, wondering if this is one of the more batshit turns his career has taken.

They’re in the middle of spring break right now, with the new school year due to start in about a week as the calendar flips to April, so luckily there aren’t any students milling about. A small relief, since Katsuki’s not trying to deal with any nosy teenagers quite yet.

He gets on campus without any issue, looking around in a daze of fond nostalgia. It’s been a while since he’s been back here, but of course nothing has changed. His feet take him directly to the main building where classes are held – there’s less than two weeks between terms, so spring break or not, Katsuki’s pretty sure he’d find a good portion of the teachers in their classrooms if he went looking. Prepping for the incoming students, getting ready for another year of molding little wannabe heroes, all that junk.

And sure enough, when he reaches classroom 1-A, he finds Aizawa sitting at his desk like he’s already waiting for the next crop of wide-eyed kids with big dreams to find their way there. He’s hunched over as he works, marking up various papers that are spread in front of him, and for a moment it almost feels like Katsuki’s the first one to class, bright and early in the morning, and the rest of his friends are going to pour in after him any second.

He hesitates in the doorway, letting the raucous noise of twenty teens who survived a war together fade out of his ears, and then shoves his hands into his pockets and clears his throat.

“You not a fan of the teachers’ lounge or something?”

Aizawa’s head snaps up, his good eye landing on Katsuki in brief surprise before he settles into his usual dry, unaffected countenance. “Certain other members of the staff who enjoy being unnecessarily loud are working in there right now. I took that as my sign to get the hell out.” It’s quick, and probably accidental, but Katsuki doesn’t miss the way the man’s gaze drops ever so briefly to his midsection before bouncing back up again. “How are you, Bakugou?”

…Shit.

Okay then.

Best get it over with.

“So…you know. Right?” Katsuki pulls his hands free again and instead crosses his arms somewhat defensively low across his chest, just above the baby bump that really isn’t staying hidden anymore. “Which idiot ran their mouth?”

Aizawa lets out a small sigh and sets his pencil down before meeting Katsuki’s probing stare. “Shinsou. But if it helps, it seemed like an accident and I don’t think he told any of the other staff members. I just happen to see him regularly.”

Fucking of course. He should’ve known.

“It’s whatever,” Katsuki grumbles, eyes drifting to the side for a moment before darting back. “Easier if I don’t have to say it, I guess. Still gonna kick his ass, though.”

“Presumably after…” Aizawa gestures toward Katsuki’s stomach, which makes him snort out a self-deprecating little laugh despite himself.

“Nah, I could take him now,” he says with a sharp grin. “Kid hasn’t totally incapacitated me yet.” A beat passes, and the grin fades as Katsuki shoots Aizawa a faintly sheepish look. “Uh… Sorry I never returned your call, sensei.”

That has the corner of Aizawa’s mouth tugging upward in obvious amusement. “I think you’ve been justifiably preoccupied.”

“No kidding.”

“You seem to be handling it well, though.”

“Sure, now.” Katsuki scowls. “After totally losing my shit for the first couple weeks.”

“Your ability to maintain your problem child status never ceases to amaze me,” Aizawa says wryly. “Tell Midoriya I scheduled my retirement the second Shinsou let the news slip. The idea of having your combined genes in my classroom immediately gave me a migraine.”

“Your loss,” Katsuki snarks back at him. “She’s probably gonna be the greatest hero of her generation – if she wants.”

One of Aizawa’s eyebrows lifts. “She?”

“…Yeah.” His shoulders hunch a bit as he tries to cram down the swirling mix of proud, pleased emotions that suddenly erupt within him. God, no wonder Kyouka always looks like she’s fucking literally glowing whenever she talks about her kid. It’s sort of a recent thing, but Katsuki’s been knocked sideways a few times now by the bizarre sense of accomplishment and – hell – love that spreads through his veins like wildfire when he gets to talk about his own future migraine-inducing brat. “We’re having a girl.”

Aizawa hums and sits back in his seat, actually smiling at Katsuki for real. It’s a small, close-lipped thing, but it’s not a look he was privy to very often back in school, despite knowing how important all of the man’s students are to him. “Congratulations, then,” he says. “Eri will be pleased. Have they found out anything about the Quirk yet?”

“I haven’t heard anything, so who knows. The hospital’s supposed to be looking into it.”

“It’s interesting,” Aizawa murmurs. “If the owner of the Quirk knew it was something they could do, presumably it wouldn’t be such a unique situation.” He pauses. “Assuming it is unique, that is.”

“I’m the first Quirk-induced male pregnancy my hospital’s seen,” Katsuki says, a hint of cynicism in his tone. “Or so they told me. Doctor said it was exceedingly rare, but at least I wasn’t the first ever.” He snorts. “Like that was supposed to be reassuring or some shit.”

“What does your agency have you doing while you’re not in the field?”

“They’ve got me on desk duty, but… Actually, that’s why I’m here.” Katsuki scrapes a hand through his hair, grimacing a little. “They don’t need me – I’m not filling any kind of necessary position there, and sitting around all day watching Izuku and everyone else from the sidelines is fucking killing me.”

Aizawa peers at him for a moment, almost thoughtfully. “And you’ve spoken to Togata?”

“’Course, he’s my boss.” A noisy sigh escapes him. “We touch base all the time, it’s not – this isn’t his fault. He gave me a good deal, it’s just… That ain’t me.”

“Hm. Fair enough.” Aizawa leans forward again, elbows braced on the desk and hands folded in front of his mouth, still watching Katsuki closely. “So. That brings you here because…?”

“Because I want to help out,” Katsuki says. When Aizawa’s eyebrows start creeping toward the ceiling, he quickly plows on, “I wouldn’t skip out on the agency if it was gonna cause problems there. They’ll be fine without me sitting behind a desk, so I was trying to figure out what I could do instead and Frogger suggested teaching–”

“This was Asui’s idea?” Aizawa interrupts, and Katsuki nods.

“She’s taking over the rescue course,” he says, like Aizawa doesn’t already know that. “We thought maybe we could team up a couple days a week or something.”

“And Asui suggested that.”

“Yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t have just invited myself along to her new job out of nowhere,” Katsuki mutters, somewhat huffily, which makes Aizawa roll his good eye skyward.

“You can drop the defensive act, that wasn’t what I was implying,” he says. “She doesn’t exactly have the authority to offer work to people, that’s all. No matter how upstanding a pro hero they are.”

“Ah – no, we’ve got a meeting with Principal Nezu today,” Katsuki says. “I just showed up early. Shit, sensei, no way you thought she just hired me without asking anybody.”

A low, raspy laugh rumbles out of Aizawa’s throat. “I learned early on with your class to expect every rule to be broken.”

“Oi, you learned that with Izuku,” Katsuki complains. “I was a fuckin’ honor student.”

“You were an honor student some of the time,” Aizawa drawls. “But a pain in the ass equally as much.”

“Tch. Anyway.” Something that isn’t the baby flutters almost nervously in Katsuki’s gut. Which is annoying, but it’s half the goddamn reason he’s here so he forces the question out. “Thoughts?”

Aizawa blinks at him. “On?”

“On me teaching here! On me teaching rescue shit, like – fuck. Does that even make any sense?”

“You’re asking for my opinion?”

“YES,” Katsuki bursts out.

“Why?”

“Because – because if it’s stupid, you’ll tell me.” Katsuki’s shoulders slump a bit, his gaze lowering. “I’ve never thought about being a teacher before, but fact is, you’re all some of the best people I know. And I wouldn’t be half the upstanding hero I am today if you and everyone else here didn’t put in the effort and – and believe in me. And other corny shit like that.”

Aizawa snorts, but his voice is steady when he speaks again. “Do you think it’s stupid?”

“…Fuck’s sake,” Katsuki grumbles. “Are you just in teacher mode all hours of the day or something?”

“Yes,” Aizawa says, utterly flat, and he looks so serious that Katsuki actually can’t tell if he’s kidding or not. “You’re obviously capable, Bakugou. That’s never in question. But being a teacher is something you do for the students. Because you’ve got something to say to them. It’s not a hobby you pick up to pass the time. So, you tell me. Do you think you would make a good teacher?”

He couldn’t just give him a yes or no answer, huh?

Katsuki breathes in deep, mulling it over. Letting that question roll around in his head. “I think,” he starts out, speaking carefully to make sure he gets the words right, “that if I could share even a fraction of the impact with them that you had on me, then I’ll have done something right. And I do have something to say. I’ve got a lot to say, in fact. And if they hear it from a hero like me…” He holds his hands out in front of him, staring down at his palms. “You know how many people I’ve saved? I’m out there running rescue ops just as much as I’m blasting villains in the face, but I’ve got a flashy Quirk that’s strong as shit so they still label me as an offensive powerhouse. That’s how I come across.”

“I would attribute a good amount of that to your overall persona,” Aizawa says dryly. “Which is often just as explosive as your Quirk is.”

“Yeah, but that’s the whole point,” Katsuki says. “That’s what I’m saying. If someone like ME can come in here and show these kids just how important all aspects of being a hero are, then they’ll be better off for it. I had to learn it the hard way. But maybe some of these other little punks won’t be as stubborn as I was.”

“Maybe,” Aizawa agrees. He gives Katsuki another long, considering look, and then a faint smirk curls his lips. “I think you have your answer.”

There’s an excited lurch behind Katsuki’s ribcage that honestly takes him by surprise. Fuck, he’s actually into this. Like, he’s digging the entire concept of teaching at U.A.

It’s weird.

But good.

“You do know it’s not just the Hero Course,” Aizawa speaks again suddenly, snapping Katsuki back to attention. “Right?”

…He’s not sure he did know that, actually.

“Uh.”

Aizawa lets out an exasperated exhale. “Asui has a full-time position. Her classes include the Support Course and the Business Course students, too. As well as General Education. Search and rescue is only a part of it, it falls under the umbrella of Safety and Emergency Response.”

Oh. Yeah, that does ring a bell.

“Emergency response,” Katsuki repeats. “What, like when shit’s going down?”

“U.A. is a hero academy, so we work under the assumption that all of our students could potentially end up in dangerous situations,” Aizawa explains. “Whether it’s because of their eventual careers…or even just proximity.” He levels another one of his looks on Katsuki. “Which I think you can appreciate.”

“Yeah, well.” Katsuki makes a humorless little huff of a sound. “I’d be an idiot if I didn’t.”

“Part of preparing students for the future is giving them the right tools to work with,” Aizawa continues. “Knowing how to react in a hostile situation can save lives. Why it’s not required learning at all schools, I’ll never know.”

“Point,” Katsuki murmurs. “They’ll teach ‘em what to do if there’s an earthquake, but not what to do if there’s a villain taking out half the city.”

“A never-ending source of frustration, believe me,” Aizawa says, completely in monotone. He reaches up to stifle a yawn, then scratches at the back of his neck. “Anyway. All students go through basic first aid classes at minimum. The Hero Course then moves onto advanced classes, as you know, but we’ve started allowing GE and the Business and Support kids to opt into those if they want. So you’d have plenty to do.”

“I can handle all that,” Katsuki says. “First aid, CPR? No problem.”

Aizawa’s lips quirk into an almost-smile once again. “Sounds like you’re ready to deliver your pitch to Nezu, then.”

“Yeah…” Katsuki grins and rocks back on his heels. “Guess so.”

“The students will notice, though.” He gives Katsuki’s midsection a pointed glance. “And you’ll have to be responsible about staying out of harm’s way in classes. Keep an eye out for stray Quirks and things like that.”

Katsuki remembers when All Might nearly fucking got himself crushed that one time in first year, and nods. “I’ll be careful – assuming Principal Nezu even gives me the job.”

“Bakugou…” Katsuki’s eyebrows arch in question, and Aizawa just purposely stares at him in a way that clearly says: Really? “You and I both know he probably will.”

“I don’t want any special favors or nothing,” Katsuki says, frowning.

“That’s not what I would call it.” Aizawa stands from his chair, arms stretching out to his sides as he yawns again, not bothering to hide it this time. “Anything else? My sleeping bag’s calling to me and we don’t need to stretch this visit out if I’m just going to see you again next week.”

Katsuki snorts. “Never change, sensei.” He turns on his heel to leave, then pauses and looks back over his shoulder. “Actually, yeah – do you know if All Might’s around?”

* * *

Izuku makes it home before Katsuki does, which means he has to pace around restlessly, impatiently, while he waits to find out if Kacchan’s going to be working at U.A. or not.

He was a little thrown when Kacchan first mentioned it to him, but only because that wasn’t something he’d ever imagined the other man doing. But he’d seemed sort of…cautiously excited about the idea. A little uncertain, a lot incredulous…

But excited.

And that’s what mattered to Izuku.

Besides, after thinking about it for a bit, he’s actually pretty sure Katsuki might be, like, bizarrely good at it.

The front door pushes open, and Izuku spins around to catch a Kacchan who’s quickly barreling towards him.

“I got it,” he breathes out, eyes shining as he slams directly into Izuku’s open arms, hands clamping down on his shoulders. “Nezu agreed – Izuku. I’m going back to U.A. To teach.” His grip on Izuku’s shoulders tightens and he seems a little shocked by the whole thing, but… “What the fuck, Izuku.”

He’s happy.

Katsuki looks so happy, and it occurs to Izuku that he hasn’t seen much of that since they found out about the pregnancy. There have been moments, of course, and he doesn’t think Katsuki’s been suffering miserably without telling him or anything like that. It’s just been…complicated. There have been so many other emotions to parse through that sometimes Kacchan’s happiness gets a little muddled, lost in everything else he’s been dealing with.

This right now, though. It’s like a weight’s been lifted off his shoulders that Izuku hadn’t truly understood very much did exist.

All because of a new job.

Guilt floods through him quicker than he can blink. They shouldn’t have tried to force the desk duty. God, Izuku should’ve seen it, they should’ve just accepted that it wasn’t going to work, that Katsuki couldn’t force himself into passive stillness, swimming in stress every time his partner got caught up in a rough fight.

At least that’s over now. They can move on, get past it. Kacchan can take on this new role and, hopefully, thrive.

Like he’s meant to.

Izuku realizes abruptly how much he’s missed seeing him so full of fire.

“Kacchan,” he says, grinning wide, his arms looping around Katsuki’s thicker-than-usual waist. “That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!”

“Tuesdays and Thursdays every week,” Katsuki says. Everything about him seems brighter, somehow. Izuku’s pretty sure some of that is actually just the pregnancy, but – heck, even his hair looks fluffier than usual. It’s so freaking cute. “Some Wednesdays or Fridays if I want, Tsuyu and I’ll figure that out as we go. Depends on what we’ve got going on in class and stuff.”

“Mondays are for the agency?” Izuku guesses, and Katsuki nods.

“I figure what days I’m off, I can start getting this place in order.” He looks around the living room at all the stuff they’re going to be moving eventually. “Maybe start packing some of the smaller things.”

“Plenty of time for that–” Izuku starts to say, but he’s cut off when Katsuki swoops in to kiss him, leaning in with his entire body and pressing against Izuku like he’s trying to meld them together.

“Teaching,” he says again when he pulls back. Izuku can only stare at him in dazed wonder, watching as he barks out a thrilled laugh. “Fucking batshit.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Izuku says softly, and that prompts Katsuki to kiss him again.

“And they’re actually gonna pay me for it.” Katsuki starts walking Izuku back toward the couch. He goes all too willingly, of course. “Still not what I was making before, but – I can stop bitching about money now, I’m sick of thinking about it.”

“We would’ve been okay either way.” Izuku drops down onto the seat, pulling Kacchan down with him so that he’s straddling Izuku’s lap, knees digging into the cushions on either side of him. “We would’ve made it work, Kacchan, you know that.”

“I kept getting stuck on it, though,” Katsuki mutters. “I think I was getting, like…fucking. Anxiety spikes about – everything.” His face scrunches up into this annoyed, grumpy expression that Izuku wildly thinks is actually adorable. “Because apparently that can be a thing.”

Izuku, as per usual, finds his hands coming up as though they’ve got a mind of their own to slip beneath Katsuki’s black t-shirt, palms gently cradling him. “Did you see any of the teachers?”

Katsuki grunts, nudging forward into Izuku’s touch. “Aizawa. He already knew, by the way.”

“What?” Izuku’s eyes dart up to meet Katsuki’s. “How?”

“The brainwashing asshole,” Katsuki grouses. “It’s fine, I didn’t really care. But I’m definitely giving him shit for it later.” He pauses. “Aizawa says congrats. And he wanted you to know he’ll disappear off the face of the planet before he ever subjects himself to teaching our kid.”

Izuku snorts at that, an amused smile flashing across his face. “Bet he changes his mind. And Principal Nezu, right? You told him?”

“Yeah, for sure.” Katsuki rolls his hips forward again, rocking against Izuku and inhaling sharply as he does. Izuku idly strokes his thumbs against the warm skin of Katsuki’s stomach, content to just watch him for a moment. “Also – oh.” Katsuki’s gaze drops. “Geez, there she goes. Fuckin’ awkward.”

Izuku blinks, then realizes what he’s saying and quickly snickers. “She, ah. She’s just happy. Happy that you’re…happy.”

“Well, she can freaking quit it,” Katsuki gripes. “How the fuck am I supposed to…?”

“Same way you always do.” Izuku shrugs, his fingers spreading wide over Katsuki’s belly. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to him, but he gets how it might be, uh…distracting. “Come on, firecracker,” he says directly to Katsuki’s baby bump. “You gotta give daddy a break, he needs to get off.”

“Oh my god,” Katsuki chokes out, and when Izuku peeks up at him again, he sees that he’s flushed bright red from the tips of his ears to the point of his nose. He’s rocking his hips again, though. In small, jerky little motions that he almost can’t seem to help. Izuku pointedly doesn’t mention it. “I hated everything about that sentence, what the hell.”

“No, you didn’t,” Izuku says, a little smug despite himself, and Katsuki scowls, reaching up to yank on a lock of Izuku’s hair.

“Damn nerd,” he mutters.

“Yep,” Izuku agrees, grinning. He lifts one hand from Katsuki’s stomach to cup it behind his neck instead, intending to drag him down for a kiss – but he freezes suddenly. His eyes go round. “Kacchan…”

“What?”

“Kacchan.”

Katsuki gives him a perplexed look, but then seems to realize his stare is pinned on his other hand. The one still resting where Kacchan’s body curves outward. “Ah…”

Izuku presses against him, the slightest little touch of pressure, and holds his breath.

A few seconds later, he’s rewarded with a faint bump against his palm. It’s a barely there feeling, but that doesn’t matter because the point is that he can feel it.

And it’s INCREDIBLE.

“Are you gonna cry?” Katsuki asks, eyebrows arched in amusement, and there’s no stopping the sob that bursts out of Izuku’s throat.

“No,” he says anyway, mulishly, ignoring the few obvious tears that stream down his cheeks. He exhales a shuddery sigh as warmth balloons in his chest, bending forward until he can drop his forehead into the crook of Kacchan’s neck, and keeps his hand firmly in place.

Waiting. Feeling. And then waiting for it to happen all over again.

Above him, Katsuki hums. He strokes a hand through Izuku’s hair. “Such a nerd,” he says again. Soft and fond.

“She’s amazing,” Izuku murmurs. “This is… Kacchan, it’s so cool.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. When Izuku darts a glance at him out of the corner of his eye, he’s smiling. “I know.”

He lets Izuku stay plastered against him for a few lazy minutes, which Izuku fully takes advantage of. There’s no real rhyme or reason to how often he can feel the baby pushing against his hand, but he already can’t get enough of it and finds himself desperate for more whenever there’s a lull in her activity.

Eventually, though, Katsuki jerks a bit, snapping taught, his hand tightening in Izuku’s hair. “Shit, I almost forgot.”

Izuku looks up at him again, questioningly this time. “What is it?” he asks, and Katsuki winces. “Kacchan, what?”

“I, uh… I invited All Might to your mom’s for dinner tomorrow.”

……Oh.

Well, fuck.

Chapter Text

“You invited All Might for dinner?” Izuku repeats, gaping up at the man who’s still got his knees bracketing Izuku’s thighs. “I – what – Kacchan.”

“It’ll be fine,” Katsuki says hastily. “It’s just All Might, don’t worry.”

Oh please. That’s not the part Izuku’s worried about.

“Are we even having dinner with my mom tomorrow??”

“…I mean.” Katsuki goes a bit shifty-eyed suddenly. “Now we are.”

“Kacchan, oh my god.” Izuku presses his hands against his cheeks. “Have you told her?”

“I was going to call her!”

“KACCHAN.”

“Izuku,” Katsuki sasses back. “You wanted to tell him, right? Now you can!”

“I–” Wait. Izuku blinks. “You didn’t tell him?”

“I wasn’t gonna do it without you.”

“But you did see him today?” Izuku asks, brows drawing down. Katsuki nods and Izuku pauses for a moment, trying to make that make sense. “You saw him, and he saw you, and he doesn’t know?”

Katsuki frowns. “I ain’t the size of a whale, ya damn nerd. I just…” He lifts up on his knees like he wants to make sure Izuku can see him properly, then pulls his shirt up and starts sucking his stomach in. “I didn’t talk to him long, had the excuse of the meeting with Nezu to get to, so I kinda just did this and spoke fast and then fuckin’ bailed. So I doubt he noticed.”

…It’s actually a little unnerving watching Kacchan’s belly flatten right before his eyes. When he holds himself like that, the bump almost entirely disappears.

“Okay, okay, stop,” Izuku says frantically, reaching out to palm Katsuki’s hips so he can tug him back into his lap. “Don’t, that’s freaking me out.”

Katsuki relaxes his muscles and it’s like watching someone blow air into a balloon, the way he easily rounds back out again. “She didn’t go anywhere,” he mutters, as he lets go of his shirt and resettles his weight against Izuku. “Calm down, crazy.”

“Dinner,” Izuku says, trying to focus. “Tomorrow. Why my mom’s? Can’t All Might just come here?”

“Where would we feed him, Izuku?” Katsuki throws a hand out toward the ground. “You want All Might to sit on the floor?”

“…He could have the couch,” Izuku tries, but Katsuki just scoffs and looks away.

“I’ll call her, okay? I’ll call her and let her know and I’ll even help her cook. It’s gonna be fine.”

“I hate putting her out, though,” Izuku says weakly.

“Yeah, well, this is why we bought a house. But we’re not in it yet, so I don’t know what to tell you.” Katsuki shifts off Deku, twisting to the side and flopping onto his back on the open length of the sofa. “We gotta tell Inko she’s getting a granddaughter anyway, so. Two birds, one stone.”

“…Oh. That’s true.”

Kacchan told him about how he accidentally blurted it out to his own parents, but it’s been a couple weeks since Izuku’s seen his mom so he hasn’t had a chance to share the news and he didn’t want to do it over the phone. Really, they were probably due for a get-together anyway.

And it’s not like she doesn’t know All Might. They’ve obviously met multiple times throughout the years, but it’s been a while. And Izuku knows that she sometimes still gets flustered around the former number one hero. The idea of him showing up at her house with barely any warning has Izuku cringing – he can empathize, after all. She had to spend Izuku’s entire childhood listening to him wax poetic about the man, so some of that starry-eyed awe was bound to rub off on her and she didn’t get to spend three years as his student to help temper the fanboy urges like Izuku did.

“Mom’s gonna lose her mind when she finds out we’re having a girl,” Izuku murmurs. He angles toward Katsuki, following the call of his impatient, unsubtle foot jabs, and drapes himself over the other man, settling between his spread legs. “I don’t know what All Might’s going to do.”

“We can stop talking about All Might now,” Katsuki grumbles. His arms lift to circle Izuku’s shoulders. “Killing the mood.”

Izuku chuckles. “Was there a mood?” he asks, and Kacchan just answers with a growl and a pointed upward roll of his hips that only makes Izuku grace him with his most obnoxiously sunny grin. “Ah, right, my bad. Talking with Nezu really got you going, huh?”

“Wha– DEKU.”

“Who knew that was the secret,” Izuku continues cheerily, as he ducks to nuzzle into Katsuki’s neck and starts dropping soft kisses along his collarbone.

“M’gonna fuckin’ kill you one of these days,” Katsuki mutters. Kind of hard for Izuku to do anything other than snicker at that, though, seeing as how Kacchan’s arching all too eagerly into his touch and starting to paw demandingly at his clothes.

“What else am I supposed to think when you come home all randy like this?”

“LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE.”

“Maybe it was Aizawa, then?”

“Oh my god, you little shit, I’m gonna–”

Luckily, Izuku’s quickly able to distract him from whatever he was gonna by deftly undoing the straining clasp on his trousers and slipping his hand inside. Kacchan’s head snaps back, a throaty groan rumbling out of him as Izuku gives him an appreciative once-over. “Hey,” he says in sudden realization. “Why aren’t you wearing the pants your mom made for you?”

“Hah?” Katsuki’s eyes lower, catching Izuku’s. “The fuck’s the problem, these still fit.”

“Um. Not really, Kacchan…”

“They zipped up and shit, they’re fine.”

“But she gave you all that stuff!”

“And I wear it most days!” Katsuki huffs, clearly trying to hold on to his irritated façade as Izuku steadily works him into a panting mess. “Just felt weird wearing it to U.A. – ah, fuck.”

Izuku hums a little. “Think it might be time to retire your other clothes for now.”

“Can you talk about this any other goddamn time?”

“Just saying. I didn’t realize how tight they were getting.”

…He gets a knee planted squarely in his side for that one. Oof.

But at least Kacchan does wear a pair of Mitsuki-made jeans with the built-in belly band the following day when they drive out to Inko’s apartment.

Izuku was right about his mom having a minor conniption when she found out they were having a surprise dinner at her place. The good news is that Izuku’s off work, so they’re able to head over early in the day so he can run the vacuum and such while Katsuki helps (translation: takes over) in the kitchen.

“I just can’t believe this,” Inko says for about the sixth time as she scurries from room to room, straightening knickknacks that don’t need straightening and making sure there’s not a single speck of dust on any surface. “A little more warning, that’s all I ask for!”

Izuku, dust rag in hand and watching his mom in exasperation, just sighs. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, okay? We just wanted to see you.”

“And I always want to see you, but – but All Might! HERE.”

“I told you, you don’t even have to do anything.” Izuku trails after her, trying not to roll his eyes as she adjusts the pillows on the couch. “Mom. I said I would do all this!”

“I haven’t seen that man since your graduation and now he’s coming here. Izuku, I can’t believe this!”

“Look, just… Why don’t you go help Kacchan?”

“He said he had it under control.” Inko props her hands on her hips, blowing upwards at her bangs as she takes another look around the room. “I should really redecorate in here.”

Well. Not today, hopefully. Izuku sighs again and moves closer to gently clasp her shoulder. “You can keep an eye on him, at least. Make sure he doesn’t add anything weird to the food.”

That seems to catch her attention finally, and she looks up at Izuku. “Oh dear,” she murmurs. “Have the cravings started?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Izuku says under his breath so Kacchan doesn’t somehow hear him.

Inko smiles fondly, her gaze going unfocused for a moment as though she’s looking at something in the distant past. “With you, it was unagi and watermelon – often mashed together. And apples soaked in lemon juice.”

“That’s weirdly specific.” Izuku grins and makes an attempt at subtly directing his mom toward the kitchen. “You don’t even like unagi now.”

“I ate enough for five lifetimes when I was pregnant,” Inko says dryly. She draws to a halt before Izuku can get her all the way to the other room and rests a hand on his arm. “How are you doing, sweetie?”

Izuku blinks. “Eh? I’m fine, why?”

“I can ask,” Inko says, with a soft harrumph. “You have a lot going on right now, a lot of big changes… Are you holding up okay?”

“Oh… Yeah, of course.” He shrugs a little, glancing up at the ceiling. “It’s been kind of rough for Kacchan, but–”

“I’m sure it has,” Inko interrupts. “How are you doing?”

Izuku’s gaze lowers again and, for a long moment, he just stares at her. Then he smiles. “I’m good, mom. Honest. I mean… I guess it feels a little scary sometimes. And overwhelming. But mostly I’m just excited?” He chuckles. “And worrying about Kacchan keeps me pretty preoccupied.”

“Well, that’s fine, but make sure you take some time for yourself, too. You’re both about to become parents.”

“I know. But my entire life hasn’t been upended.” There’s a pause, during which Inko just arches her eyebrows at him, before Izuku quickly adds: “Yet, obviously. Obviously! I know it’s coming. But right now, I’m just…going to work every day. Making sure Kacchan’s okay. Most of the stuff with the house is done now, at least until it’s ready for us to move in.”

“Katsuki says you’ve been doing a lot of research about pregnancy?” Inko asks, and Izuku’s grin turns sheepish.

“Yeah. Honestly, I had to. I really didn’t know anything.”

Inko lets out an amused little laugh and gives his arm a pat. “I’m proud of how supportive you’re being, Izuku. I’m proud of you.” She sways sideways, bumping into him, and then stays there so she can whisper in a conspiring sort of way, “Now, what sort of weird foods am I watching out for?”

She goes off to monitor the kitchen, leaving Izuku to set the table and make sure the rest of the apartment is presentable enough – which it definitely is. Heck, it was even before they got there, but you know. Moms.

It gives him some time to mull over her questions, at least, but he just comes up with all the same answers. He is okay. He feels weirdly calm about the whole thing, actually. Maybe it’s because he’s been hooked since day one by the idea of bringing a child into their lives. He’d always had it in his head that it was something he and Kacchan would do eventually anyway. Not…quite this soon, of course, but once he’d found out it was happening, there was really only room for excitement in his heart.

He's kind of still in the fantasy stage. Floating along on a cloud as he imagines their precious miracle Quirk baby and the joy she’s going to bring to their lives.

But at the same time, he’s not that naïve. He knows there’s going to be mountains of chaos to deal with when she finally does get here, along with the complete upheaval it’s going to cause to the schedule he’s grown accustomed to over the past couple years.

It’s a little hard to really wrap his head around just how much things might change, if he’s being truthful. Izuku’s rarely been around babies in his life, and he’s pretty sure he’s never even seen a newborn fresh out of the hospital. Growing up, whenever the aunties in his neighborhood had kids, they usually were at least several weeks or months old before Izuku started seeing them out in their strollers.

He’s had a few instances in his pro career where he’s had to deal with getting toddlers to safety, but those have luckily been far and few between.

Honestly…honestly, even with his immediate acceptance of the entire situation, even with the slowly growing collection of baby items Kacchan’s been buying, even with the ultrasounds and the photos and knowing they’re having a girl…

Actually getting to experience the baby moving for the first time is the most REAL this entire journey has felt. And that just happened last night!

So, no, he’s not exactly stressing over anything yet. Izuku knows it’ll probably come, but for now?

Kacchan’s got that handled.

And Izuku is more than happy to be the supportive partner doing his best to keep his boyfriend from completely spiraling.

Inko’s managed to stop flitting around nervously by the time All Might arrives a couple hours later – probably helped by the drink Kacchan foisted onto her.

“You said he doesn’t know, right?” she asks, as all three of them go to answer the door. “It’s so exciting to be part of the announcement!”

“He’s pretty much the last person we need to tell.” Izuku gives Katsuki a questioning glance. “Right?”

“In person, yeah. Maybe Best Jeanist, we’ll see.” He shoves his hands into his pockets, hanging back as Izuku reaches for the door handle. “Everyone else gets a mass email.”

“Or it trends on social media after all the kids at U.A. find out.”

That has Inko’s brow drawing down in confusion while Katsuki just scoffs, but there’s no time to elaborate because suddenly All Might is there in front of them – tall, still thin as a rail, his blonde hair sticking out in every direction and a wide, toothy grin stretched across his gaunt face.

“All Might!” Izuku cries immediately, a surge of excited fondness zipping through him. He practically rushes the other man, throwing his arms around him in a (potentially literally) bone-crushing hug. “It’s been too long, thank you for coming!”

“Good to see you, as well, Young Midoriya.” All Might turns his grin to Katsuki even as one of his arms wraps around Izuku’s shoulders. “And you, Young Bakugou. We didn’t get to speak for nearly long enough yesterday.” Izuku pulls back so that All Might can step forward to greet his mom next. “Midoriya-san,” he says warmly, falling into a bow. “Thank you greatly for inviting me into your home.”

“O-oh,” Inko titters, swiftly bending forward to mirror All Might’s pose. “Of course, we’re – we’re happy to have you!”

All Might straightens again and holds out a fancy looking bottle of sake, sky blue in color. “For you. I hope it’s appropriate.”

“Goodness,” Inko murmurs as she accepts it. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

“Shit, you brought the good stuff,” Katsuki says. He looks a little grumpy about it, even though it’s not like he drinks all that much even when he isn’t pregnant.

Izuku ushers them inside, chattering away as he does and asking All Might about how teaching at U.A. is going and if any of the new students have any cool Quirks he can tell him about.

“There are always a few standouts,” the man replies, chuckling as he takes a seat at the table. “One young woman this year has a fascinating ability to manipulate matter and energy through telekinesis.”

“Mahoro was accepted,” Katsuki says. He sits down across from All Might. “You remember her? One of the brats from Nabu, she’s starting next week.”

“Fantastic!” All Might leans forward, looking eager. “Perhaps that means we’ll be seeing more of you and Young Midoriya around campus?”

Izuku smothers the sudden laugh that wants to burst out of him under a cough, his fist pressed to his mouth. Beside him, Kacchan just smirks. “Oh, who knows. Maybe.”

“I imagine I won’t be seeing much of her if she’s not in the Foundational Hero Studies class. Although…” He scratches at the back of his head in a show of unnecessary modesty. “She’s probably not very concerned about meeting this old man.”

“I have a very hard time imagining any child not being utterly starstruck by you,” Inko says frankly. “After all you’ve done!”

“You only have Izuku’s fanboying to compare to,” Katsuki drawls. Izuku scowls and knocks his foot into Kacchan’s ankle beneath the table, but Inko actually snorts and levels a look on the blonde that screams: you can’t be serious.

“And you,” she says. “I don’t think it was Izuku who tried to paint All Might’s face on my living room wall at age four, now was it?”

Katsuki flushes a bit and slouches in his seat. “I knew you ratted me out,” he mutters to Izuku, who splutters.

“It was twenty years ago!”

“Eighteen.”

“That’s very kind of you,” All Might says, all too used to Izuku and Katsuki’s shenanigans and blowing right past the way they’re half-heartedly grappling with each other to speak to Inko instead. “The public moves on quickly, though. I’ve been out of action for years at this point; everyone is pretty enamored with Hawks these days.” He looks amused at the idea, but the timber of his voice turns proud as he continues, “And this past year, I saw quite a bit of top twenty hero merch around the dorms.”

Izuku’s head snaps around and he pins All Might with a thrilled beam of a smile. “Yeah?? We’ve got fans at U.A.?”

“I believe you have fans everywhere, Young Midoriya,” All Might says warmly. He glances back and forth between Katsuki and Izuku for a moment. “Forgive me, I haven’t wanted to pry – I certainly know more than most any number of reasons why a hero might have to step back from active duty.” His gaze lands on Katsuki. “Is everything alright? I was surprised to see you at the school yesterday.”

“Yes, why were you at U.A.?” Inko cuts in. “You’ve been dancing around something all day, what is it?”

“That’s, like, third on the list of announcements,” Katsuki says dryly. “Maybe fourth. Way far down.” He meets All Might’s curious stare. “I’m off active duty because of a Quirk mishap. Got hit with the wrong thing a few months back.”

“More than a few,” Izuku says, while All Might frowns.

“Should I be concerned?” he asks. “You seem in good spirits.”

Izuku peeks at Kacchan out of the corner of his eye, finding the other man already peering back at him, eyebrows arched in question. Heck, if he’s ready, then so is Izuku. He shrugs back at him and waves his hand in a go-ahead gesture.

No reason to stall.

Inko makes an excited little sound, practically vibrating in her seat as Katsuki huffs out a breath and folds his arms across his stomach. “Well,” he starts awkwardly, because it’s never not a little difficult for him to get the words out the first time. “It’s nothing…permanently debilitating. I’ll be fine – I am fine, I’ll be back on the hero scene in a year or so. But…”

“A year?” The worry etched into the lines of All Might’s face deepens, so Katsuki quickly plows on.

“Yeah, but I’m okay! Seriously, it’s not fuckin’ – I’m not injured or anything. I’m out because I’m–” He cuts another glance to Izuku, who just smiles encouragingly and drops a reassuring hand onto Kacchan’s knee. Katsuki lets out a long breath. “Because I’m pregnant,” he finishes, and then needlessly adds, “It’s Izuku’s.”

All Might goes quiet, looking stunned. Inko, on the other hand, has the biggest smile on her face as she claps her hands a few rapid times in front of her. “A baby!” she squeals, even though she already knew. “They’re giving me a grandbaby, All Might! Can you believe it?”

“A child?” All Might repeats. “An even younger Bakugou and Midoriya?”

“Sort of,” Katsuki says, before giving Izuku a pointed look that he picks up on immediately.

“Except – it’s a girl.” He grins. “So, not exactly the same.”

Inko freezes, her eyes going wide. “A girl? Izuku, really?”

“Yeah, mom,” Izuku says with a laugh, and then watches as the tears build up and start to overflow down Inko’s cheeks. Geez, Kacchan’s right when he calls them crybabies. Izuku definitely gets that from his mama.

“Oh.” Inko blubbers out a sob and lurches out of her seat, stumbling around the table so that she can clutch at Izuku in a tight hug. “Oh, Izuku. That’s so exciting! Oh, I don’t know the first thing about raising girls, oh my goodness.” She pulls back to wipe at her face as Izuku rubs a hand up and down her back.

“I mean,” Katsuki says, voice a low rumble. “I think you know something.”

“More than us,” Izuku agrees, and Inko just sobs again and dives back in for another hug. Izuku peeks around her to see how All Might’s taking the news, but he just looks like he’s struggling to catch up with the conversation.

Katsuki leans sideways, closer to Izuku. “Think we broke him,” he mutters.

“Not – not at all!” All Might stutters out. “Ha – sorry – that’s. That did take me by surprise, I’ll admit.” His gaze drops, though Kacchan’s belly is mostly blocked by both his arms and the table. And luckily, Izuku thinks, he’s getting used to the flummoxed stares he gets when people first find out.

In fact, Katsuki just rolls his eyes and unfolds his arms, straightening up in his seat instead and tugging his shirt tight against the swell of his stomach. “Twenty-five weeks,” he says. “About six months, which is fucking insane.”

“Katsuki,” Inko scolds suddenly. Across from them, All Might appears to choke on nothing. “She can hear you, you know. Language!”

“Oh my god, mom,” Izuku groans, but Katsuki just shrugs and offers up an insincere apology, completely unbothered.

“Six months, you say? I – I wouldn’t have guessed you were that far along.” It’s obvious All Might is still reeling, though it looks like some of the shock might finally be wearing off. “You were still on duty earlier this year, weren’t you?”

“Until February,” Katsuki says. “I didn’t find out until then.” He lets out a somewhat disparaging laugh. “Not like I knew something like this was even possible.”

“No, I suppose not. That’s – that’s quite the Quirk. Holy shi–” A sharp look from Inko cuts All Might off, and he quickly summons up a hacking fit to cover his near slip. “Pardon me,” he says, clearing his throat a final time. “This is all very surprising.”

“We wanted to tell you in person,” Izuku says. “It’s hard to put the news out there for everyone, but you’re definitely someone we wanted to know.”

Something softens in All Might’s expression at that. “Young Midoriya…” His eyes crinkle up next, turning into little upside-down crescents. “Boys.” He stands so he can move toward them, and Inko releases Izuku from her grasp so that All Might can slide in to clamp a hand on each of their shoulders, forcing them to shift in their seats so that they’re angled to face him. “I’m so very pleased for you both.”

“…Thanks,” Katsuki says, gruff and slightly pink. “It’s, uh. We’re pretty happy.” He glances at Izuku, the corner of his mouth tugging upward. “Although one of us took his damn time getting there.”

“He was allowed to take his time,” Izuku says gently, before giving All Might a wide grin. “We also bought a house! So next time we can actually have you over there.”

“Wow.” All Might drops to a squat so that he’s not towering over them. “I feel like you just graduated yesterday, and yet… Actually, I feel like you were just squabbling in front of me on the couch in the teacher’s lounge yesterday. But the reality is that you’ve grown into fine young men right before my eyes.” His grip on them tightens. “I’m so proud of you two.”

“All Might…” Izuku murmurs, a warm feeling sizzling up from the tips of his toes to the very top of his head. “That means so much, I – thank you!”

Kacchan, on the other hand, is clearly about at his limit for open displays of affection from parental types. “We should eat,” he grits out, voice strained. “I’ll start bringing stuff out.”

He tries to make a run for it, standing and edging toward the kitchen, but All Might catches him before he gets too far – he’s still surprisingly fast for such a gangly former pro hero. Katsuki’s yanked to a halt as All Might straightens again and slings an arm around his shoulder, pulling him in for a hug that makes Katsuki go tense all over.

“You know I don’t have children of my own,” All Might says, and Izuku watches as Kacchan relaxes in increments against the taller man. “Students aside. And, as a teacher, I’m not supposed to play favorites.”

“All teachers play favorites,” Katsuki grumbles. “Anyone with eyes knew Izuku was your favorite, even before all the stuff with One For All came out.”

All Might chuckles. “Admittedly, I’m not very good at being a teacher. But it’s been the honor of a lifetime watching you two grow into the heroes you are now, and I may be overstepping, but…” He pulls back slightly, giving Katsuki some breathing room so he can glance between the two of them. “I hope you’ll continue to allow me to be a part of your lives. And of your daughter’s life.” His head tips to the side as he smiles. “Nothing would bring me more joy.”

“Of course!” Izuku jumps up, unable to contain himself. “We want her to know you, of course we do!”

“No limit on the number of grandparents she can have,” Katsuki says, and then smirks. “Or babysitters, we’ll take all the fucking help we can get.”

“Katsuki,” Inko groans somewhere off to the side. “I normally don’t mind, but honestly!”

“I would take the role of honorary grandparent very seriously,” All Might says, looking incredibly earnest.

“Yeah?” Katsuki’s eyebrows lift. “How about the role of coworker?” He leans to the side a bit to catch Inko’s eyes. “That’s the last announcement.”

All Might blinks. “Coworker?”

“Kacchan’s going to be working at U.A. while he’s pregnant!” Izuku says eagerly, and Inko gasps.

“That’s wonderful! Oh, honey, I’m so glad you found something!”

“I’m helping Frogger out,” Katsuki says. “Assisting with, uh… Whatever the hell it’s called.”

“Safety and Emergency Response,” Izuku supplies, and Katsuki points at him.

“Right, that.”

“Coworker!” All Might says again, throwing his arms out. “That’s why you were meeting with Principal Nezu yesterday!”

“Yep. Not full-time or anything.” Katsuki rubs at the back of his neck, grinning a little. “But it’s better than what I was doing. Kinda sucks it won’t be for too long, though.”

Inko snorts, reaching out to give Katsuki’s arm a squeeze as she scoots by on her way to the kitchen. “Believe me, Katsuki, you will be far too exhausted those first couple months to even think about working. But I’m very happy you’ve found something in the meantime, Mitsuki told me how much you were struggling at the agency.”

“Oi, don’t listen to that hag,” Katsuki grouses, but he lets Inko tug him along so they can start bringing the food out.

“This is so much to celebrate,” All Might says to Izuku when just the two of them are left. “A baby, a house, a new job! How thrilling. …Ah.” He winces suddenly. “I suppose the sake was inappropriate after all.”

“I can still drink,” Izuku says cheerfully. “I’m happy to toast how crazy our lives are about to become.”

All Might drops a firm hand onto Izuku’s shoulder again. “Thank you again, my boy. For the invite, and for giving me such a bright future to look forward to.”

“Thank you,” Izuku says. “For…everything.”

“You forged your own path.” All Might draws him in for a quick one-armed hug and a hearty slap on the back, then releases him so he can return to his seat. “I only gave you the tools to start you off.”

It’s hard for Izuku to imagine where he’d be right now if he hadn’t met All Might that day all those years ago. There’s obviously been a lot of things that have gone right in his life for him to end up exactly where he is, and of course it’s always possible he’d be perfectly happy in some other timeline where he didn’t have All Might’s Quirk…

(Again, hard to imagine…but possible.)

For all he knows, he might not have even survived that initial sludge villain attack if All Might hadn’t showed up – although that’s taking things to the extreme.

What he does know is that he probably wouldn’t have been accepted into the Hero Course at U.A.

He and Kacchan’s journey to repair their relationship might not have happened.

And it’s entirely likely – probable, in fact – that he wouldn’t be a pro hero.

Izuku knows he can’t attribute everything to All Might, but there’s a whole lot he might be without right now if he hadn’t gotten One For All. And that includes his partner and the child they’re having.

“You’ve given me a lot more than that,” he says softly.

All Might just smiles. “Well, I assure you,” he says, “and I mean this sincerely, Young Midoriya – you’ve deserved every bit of it.”

* * *

“That wasn’t too bad,” Deku says later, as they’re getting back into the car to head home.

Katsuki snorts. “Not too bad?” he repeats. “You’ve been fucking glowing the whole night. Sure you ain’t the one with a kid in his guts?”

“She’s not in your guts, Kacchan.”

“Nah, she’s just shoving ‘em all around to make room for herself.”

Deku makes a face at that, his nose scrunching up. “…Anyway. I’m glad All Might knows now.”

“Yeah. Not telling anyone else for awhile, though. I’m over it.”

“Until you meet your classes next week,” Deku says lightly, reminding him for the second time that night, and Katsuki curses.

“Fuck, stop bringing it up. Why’s this shit so exhausting every time?”

“Because you have to deal with a lot of emotional responses whenever someone finds out."

He says it as though that’s some kind of scientific fact, and hell, maybe it is. Katsuki’s not equipped for all that mess, he’s well aware of that fact.

That means it’ll probably be easier with the students, at least. Not like any of them are going to blubber all over him about it.

“Hey,” Katsuki says suddenly as they pull out of the apartment parking lot. “Wanna go check on the house? Since we’re over here.”

“Ohhh, yes!” Deku flips the blinker the other direction, away from their route back to the city. “We haven’t actually driven there from our parents’ yet, have we?”

Katsuki shakes his head and digs into his pocket to pull out his phone. “I’ll time it.” He glances at the clock, then notices he missed a call earlier while they were having dinner. The number’s vaguely familiar, and there’s also a voicemail for him to listen to.

“What’s up?” Deku asks, glancing over at him.

“Someone called,” Katsuki says. His brow furrows. “I think it’s the hospital.”

“Probably just confirming your next appointment.”

“Maybe.” He opens the voicemail and puts his phone on speaker before pressing play. It takes him a second to place the voice that starts speaking.

Good evening, Bakugou! This is Ueda Shizuka, I’m the Quirk specialist who’s been handling your pregnancy case. We met several weeks ago at the hospital when you were first diagnosed. I wanted to let you know I’m going to be joining Doctor Tajima for your appointment next week. There’s been some progress with finding the person and the Quirk that started all of this, and we want to keep you updated! Doctor Tajima said you’re on the calendar for Wednesday morning at ten, so I’ll see you then. Enjoy your night!

Katsuki blinks down at his phone when the message ends.

There’s a complicated feeling getting tangled up in his chest. It’s – he can’t really explain it, it’s not like this is a bad thing. Knowing about the Quirk isn’t gonna fucking change anything, so.

Why the hell is he nervous?

“Well,” Deku says faintly, and Katsuki slowly glances over at him. “Guess I’m going with you next week.”

Chapter Text

Monday morning, Izuku walks into the living room to find Kacchan on the couch watching the news, pregnancy pillow curled around him as he clings to it like some kind of koala – which is new. Izuku’s (reluctantly) gotten used to the pillow taking up half of their bed every night, but this is the first time he’s seen it migrate to other areas of the apartment.

“Um,” he starts, hovering in the doorway. “Whatcha doing?”

Katsuki twists his head around briefly to glance at him, then resettles in the direction of the TV. “Nothing.”

“You, uh…” Izuku walks over and takes a seat on the edge of the coffee table, partially blocking his view. “You going to work today?” Katsuki grunts out a sound that might mean yes. Maybe. He’s very obviously trying to peer around Izuku, so Izuku leans sideways to get in his way. “Are you feeling okay, Kacchan?”

“Fine, why?” he says without missing a beat, and Izuku’s brow pinches inward.

“You brought the pillow out here.”

“It ain’t hurting nothing.”

“And you’re not dressed yet or anything.”

Katsuki grunts again, shifting more onto his back and staring up at the ceiling now. “Got half an hour still.”

Well, that may be true, but…

They’re not usually watch TV in the morning kind of people. The way Kacchan’s curled up on the sofa, still in his boxers and t-shirt (one that is very clearly Izuku’s since it’s got PAJAMAS written across the chest), is definitely giving more of a day off kind of vibe.

Izuku doesn’t think it has anything to do with it being Katsuki’s day to report to the agency, though he does consider that for a moment. But no, Kacchan’s been in a weird mood since they had dinner with All Might the other night.

Since he got that voicemail from the hospital.

Izuku stays where he is for another moment, waiting to see if Katsuki will even pretend to acknowledge him again. When it becomes blatantly obvious that he’s not going to, Izuku huffs out a breath and lets Float activate, drifting upwards and pitching forward a bit until he’s once more directly in his stubborn mule of a boyfriend’s line of sight.

“What?” Katsuki snaps, glowering up at him.

“What’s wrong?” Izuku demands, because he’s equally as stubborn, honestly. “You’ve been quiet since we got back from my mom’s. What’s going on?”

“So’ve you,” Kacchan shoots back at him. “Why’s it gotta mean something’s wrong?”

“If we’re comparing,” Izuku says, “then yeah, I guess I’ve had some things on my mind. Does that mean you have, too?”

“Maybe,” Katsuki says, a defiant set to his jaw.

“So – why haven’t you said anything?”

“Why haven’t you?”

“Oh my god,” Izuku mutters, and then he drops back down to the floor, sitting cross-legged in front of the couch. “Is this about the call from Ueda-san? About the Quirk?”

Katsuki keeps his glare pinned to the ceiling for another minute or so, just long enough that Izuku can tell the man’s debating whether or not he wants to try outlasting Izuku’s own wealth of patience, before he finally sighs and rolls back to face him. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Okay,” Izuku says softly. “Okay, then…what is it? You can tell me, Kacchan.”

There’s more silence for a beat, stretched thin between them as they watch each other. Eventually, though, Katsuki speaks again. “You first.”

Izuku exhales slowly. Alright, fine. He looks away, hands fidgeting in his lap, fingers twisting together. An old habit he’d thought had been left back in his first year of high school. “I guess there’s a part of me that’s…worried,” he says carefully. “I can’t help thinking we’re going to find out this Quirk user can just… Reverse everything. Cancel the whole pregnancy by snapping their fingers or something, and if – if that’s what–” He sucks in a breath suddenly, eyes darting back to Katsuki’s. His voice is thick when he continues, bordering on ragged. “I don’t even know if I could argue with you, Kacchan. I don’t know if I’m supposed to get a say at this point, or if it’s – you know. Your body, your choice, and – and I get that, but even thinking about it’s killing me–”

“Izuku,” Katsuki interrupts sharply, and Izuku curls in on himself, his shoulders hunching. Kacchan’s tone with his next words is level, though. His gaze steady and holding Izuku’s. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“…I know you wouldn’t,” Izuku whispers. Because he does know. But there’s no relief hearing Kacchan say it, nothing to ease the unwarranted fear that oozes through his veins, oily and slick. “It’s stuck in my brain anyway.”

The idea alone is devastating.

“Fuck.” Katsuki smooths a hand over his belly, a scowl pulling at his mouth and his face pale. “That’s fucking horrifying – Izuku, what the hell.”

Izuku winces. “Yeah…” He bends closer, reaching for Katsuki. Finds his free hand and tangles their fingers together. “This is why I didn’t say anything. Sorry, Kacchan.”

“No one’s gonna delete her from existence,” Katsuki says fiercely. “Even if they fuckin’ could, I ain’t turning back time on this. I’d obliterate anyone who tries.”

“You wouldn’t get the chance.” Izuku smiles, but it’s the version he saves for villains sometimes. Utterly simple, yet somehow completely terrifying. Kacchan’s eyes go wide. “They’d have to go through me first.”

“…Okay,” Katsuki chokes out. He clears his throat and shifts his arm away from his stomach to curl around the pillow instead. “If you’re gonna murder anyone who tries to reverse the Quirk, then why the hell are you worrying about it?”

“Can’t help it,” Izuku murmurs. “It’s my worst-case what if, it’s just – there.”

Katsuki scowls. “Well, now you’ve gone and put it in MY brain, too. Asshole.”

“It – it wouldn’t be too tempting, though?” Izuku asks. Somewhat meekly. He knows the answer, but the question tumbles out of his mouth anyway in some desperate need for reassurance.

Something flashes in Kacchan’s eyes, molten lava bubbling up just under the surface that he manages to keep to a barely controllable simmer. He doesn’t respond verbally, just gives a slow shake of his head, and Izuku’s breath whooshes out of him.

“Right, sorry,” he says in a rush. His head drops forward, forehead bouncing off the pregnancy pillow that Kacchan’s clutching. “Sorry, that’s a horrible question, it’s just freaking me out.”

Katsuki untangles their fingers and drops his hand heavily into Izuku’s hair. “Made it this far,” he grumbles. “The fuck makes you think I’d back out now?”

“I’m sorry,” Izuku says again, emotion clogging his throat. “I don’t think that, I’m just being paranoid.”

“You know me better than that, you dick.”

Izuku lifts his face, chin propped on the pillow now. “I do. I just – I wanted to hear it. I’m sorry, Kacchan.” Katsuki harrumphs at him, but his hand stays firmly planted in Izuku’s hair. Combing through wild curls, occasionally giving a not-very-gentle tug. After a moment, Izuku asks, “What, uh. What are you worried about, then?”

“The opposite,” Katsuki says, voice flat. “You’re scared it’s gonna disappear, I’m more fuckin’ concerned it’s gonna last forever.”

Izuku’s brow furrows as he watches Katsuki, but the other man’s gaze skittered away with his words. Refusing to look at him again, apparently. “That’s not how pregnancy works.”

“I mean after.” A flush darkens Katsuki’s cheeks and the tips of his ears, prompting him to mash his face into the pillow. “What if this shit permanently fucks with my body?” he grits out, muffled. “Is this just ALWAYS gonna be a goddamn possibility now?”

Oh.

Okay, yeah, that might be a legitimate concern.

“Quirks usually don’t last like that,” Izuku says slowly. Except…for when they do. His mind flashes back to first year again – to Overhaul. He had the ability to disassemble anything he touched, and then could reassemble it again however he wanted. And he could use it on anything, including humans.

Permanent changes.

Izuku grimaces.

As if reading his thoughts, Katsuki says, “They can, though.” He peeks up at Izuku, eyes scrunched in a glare. “What if this – fucking – uterus bullshit hangs around, huh? Am I gonna have to deal with that period crap? Become a raging psychopath like my mother every month because I’m bleeding out my asshole or something??”

“I – what?” Izuku gapes at him. “Kacchan, what on earth, why would you–?”

“Because I don’t have a VAGINA, DEKU,” Katsuki says loudly, and Izuku thinks his brain maybe breaks a little.

It takes him a minute to recover, during which Katsuki buries his face in the pillow again and lets out a long, frustrated groan. But then Izuku scrambles forward, reaching out to cup Kacchan’s face and dragging him up before he accidentally suffocates himself. “I really don’t think it’s going to be like that,” he says. Katsuki’s expression morphs into something that’s just shy of a snarl, and Izuku quickly continues before sparks and embers can start flying. “Kacchan. We’ll figure it out, okay? There’s – there’s surgery, or maybe we could get Eri involved. This doesn’t have to be forever.”

“Sure, or you can get your shit snipped, how about that?” Katsuki yanks backwards, twisting so that he’s glaring up at the ceiling again. “This is so fucking dumb, why is this something I even have to think about?!”

Izuku brushes the back of his knuckles against Kacchan’s temple, wanting to keep some point of contact between them. “You really don’t,” he murmurs. “We might get most of these questions answered on Wednesday. Maybe, uh…try not to let it consume you until then?”

Katsuki scoffs. He doesn’t pull away from Izuku this time, though, so that’s a plus. “You said you’re coming, right?”

“Mm. Sero said he’d swap shifts with me.”

“What’s that, second shift?”

“Yeah.”

A frown tugs at Katsuki’s mouth as he darts a glance over to Izuku out of the corner of his eye. “You’ll be home late, then.”

“I know.”

“U.A. starts the next day.”

“I know,” Izuku says again. “So no waiting up for me, you need to sleep.”

“Dammit,” Katsuki grumbles. “Shitty second shift schedule screwing things up.”

“It’ll be okay.” Izuku strokes his thumb along Katsuki’s cheek a final time, then sits back. “You wanna get dressed?” he asks, and Kacchan immediately lets out a loud sigh.

“Not really,” is his muttered response, even as he heaves himself up. “Got no excuse to hang around here, though.”

A sudden buzzing sound interrupts them before Katsuki fully gets himself off the couch. Izuku checks over his shoulder to find Katsuki’s phone on the coffee table, vibrating with an incoming call.

“Who is it?” Katsuki asks.

Izuku shrugs, snatching the phone up so he can hand it over. “Doesn’t say.”

Katsuki peers down at the screen, his brow furrowing. “The fuck. I think it’s the hospital again.” He quickly accepts the call and puts it on speaker so Izuku can hear, too. “Hello?”

“Hi, Bakugou?” He grunts out an affirmative, and a female voice continues, “It’s Ueda Shizuka. Sorry to bother you so early in the morning. Do you have a minute?”

“Uh.” Katsuki’s eyes dart up to catch Izuku’s, his expression pinching with faint alarm. “Sure, what’s going on?”

“We’ve had a request from the family of the Quirk user. They want to know if you’d be open to them joining us on Wednesday.” There’s a pause, during which Izuku and Kacchan just blink at each other, before Ueda quickly adds, “You’re well within your rights to say no, of course. They’re in Kyoto, so they need to make travel arrangements if you agree to see them – that’s why I’m calling at such a weird hour. I’d like to give them as much notice as I can.”

“Is that normal?” Izuku asks, and Ueda hums a bit.

“It’s not an unusual request, but it’s not that common either. We’re dealing with Quirk mishaps that have led to hospital visits, so sometimes the other party just wants to apologize, or they want to provide additional information that might help in some way. They can always relay that information through me, but we do have the occasional request for in-person meetings.”

“Do they want an in-person meeting because they know who I am?” Katsuki asks next, voice dry.

Ueda sighs. “Well, listen. We never provide those kinds of details when we’re questioning people. Everything is kept very confidential, but given the nature of the event where we pinpointed the Quirk user… It probably wouldn’t be difficult for them to make an educated guess. They know the date, they know the location, and they know there were heroes on the scene dealing with a villain attack.”

Kacchan perks up at that, as though the conversation just became a lot more interesting. “Villain attack? So it did happen on the job?”

“Mm.” The sound of papers rustling echoes down the line. “At a shopping center in the Mishima district. There was a villain with a fire-based Quirk.”

“Yeah…” Katsuki’s gaze goes distant. “Okay, yeah, I remember that.”

It’s vaguely ringing a bell for Izuku, too. Todoroki was there, right? And maybe some other heroes, he can’t remember exactly. “If there’s a chance they’ve figured out who Kacchan is,” Izuku starts, “do we need to be concerned about potentially meeting them?”

“If I thought they had ulterior motives, I’d advise against it,” Ueda says evenly. “Or not even suggest it in the first place. But in this case, I can assure you they’re as invested in your discretion as you are in theirs. I believe that’s why they’re hoping to speak with you.”

Izuku glances at Kacchan again, finding him frowning, eyes narrowed in consideration. “You’re saying they want us to keep our mouths shut,” Katsuki surmises. “Why?”

A beat passes. A slight moment of hesitation.

And then Ueda says: “Because the Quirk user is their five-year-old daughter.”

* * *

They agree to meet with the family, though Katsuki spends the next two days trying to figure out whether or not he regrets that. He’s not sure what they could possibly want to say directly to his face. If he’s about to get handed some bullshit news and they just want to grovel for forgiveness, Katsuki’s going to scream. And then probably explode some shit.

Deku keeps reminding him not to get worked up over information they don’t even have yet, and he’s right, but Katsuki’s brain seems to love spiraling off over fucking nothing these days. And it really probably IS nothing. Ueda hadn’t seemed like she was getting ready to hit them with a bunch of terrible updates, at least.

It’s the thinnest thread of hope, but Katsuki clings to it anyway as the forty-eight hours prior to his appointment absolutely fucking crawl by. He sits through lunch with Hasegawa, listening to her babble about her sister – who apparently just got herself knocked up – and doing his damnedest not to turn into that person who starts doling out unsolicited pregnancy advice just because he’s had nerd spawn in his gut for, like, five minutes. Even though it wouldn’t be that unsolicited… She’s clearly fishing around, trying to get him to talk about it, but he’s not ready to run his mouth so openly at the agency yet.

His distraction the next day comes in the form of Tsuyu dropping by the apartment so they can start going over lesson plans for the first few weeks of the U.A. term. That keeps him preoccupied for a while, but Katsuki still finds his mind drifting eventually. Flashing forward twenty-four hours, wondering what the hell they’re going to learn about the Quirk. Like, fuck, what if it turns out the kid isn’t Deku’s? Neither of them broached that topic, but it’s another fear that’s been lurking in Katsuki’s head – the possibility that the Quirk pulled a different kind of bullshit and he’s been carrying around some random asshole’s kid this whole time.

…If he’s being honest, though, he thinks neither of them brought that up because it ultimately doesn’t matter.

Katsuki’s still having the brat. And Deku’s still going to raise her as his. End of story.

It just skeeves him out a little to think she isn’t a Midoriya baby.

And then there’s still the rest. The very real concern that he’s been irreparably altered in some way.

Physically.

He tries to convince himself it wouldn’t be anything super life-ruining if some parts of the Quirk DID hang around, but that’s garbage all the way through. The pure and simple truth is that Katsuki doesn’t want to deal with that.

He wants his fucking body back after all this, thanks.

The way it’s SUPPOSED to be.

“Everything’s still looking good,” Doctor Tajima says on Wednesday as she drags the ultrasound wand over Katsuki’s goo-covered belly. He’s used to this by now; Tajima’s been having him come in biweekly for appointments, which he’s learned is about twice as often as other pregnancies when they’re this far along.

This is the first time Deku’s come with him since that first appointment where they found out, though, so the nerd’s eyes are glued to the screen, bright and utterly captivated. Katsuki’s torn between watching him or looking at the screen himself, but tracing the gentle slope of their baby’s tiny little nose usually wins out. Counting all the fingers and toes they can see, memorizing every detail Tajima updates them on – it’s hard not to be captivated.

“No major changes since last time, but that’s to be expected.” Tajima sets the wand aside and grabs a nearby paper towel roll. “We don’t usually do a twenty-six-week ultrasound,” she explains to Deku as she helps Katsuki wipe himself off. “I’m keeping a closer eye on Bakugou than I normally would since this is such a unique case.”

“I told him,” Katsuki mutters, tugging the band on his pants back up over his stomach and then pulling his shirt down.

Tajima hums in acknowledgment as she reaches for her tablet. “Your numbers look good, too. Blood pressure is fine. You’re up about twenty pounds so far, using your most recent physical as a baseline. Almost twenty-one, actually.” Katsuki grimaces at that, but Tajima just grins at him. “That’s a good thing. Right in the range we’re looking for. You’re still exercising regularly?”

“Yeah.”

“Baby should be able to hear things outside your body soon. Do you ever talk to her?”

“Uh.” He feels himself go warm, which is fucking stupid. “Sometimes, I guess.”

Deku, meanwhile, tosses out a cheerful and extremely unconcerned, “I do!” And Katsuki can’t help rolling his eyes a bit.

“Izuku has full-ass conversations with my stomach most nights,” he says dryly.

“Also a good thing,” Tajima says, as Deku harrumphs and shoves at Katsuki’s arm. “Anyway, no concerns from me. You’re still progressing like I would expect in any healthy pregnancy. Do you have any questions before we meet with Ueda?”

“Is she coming in here?” Katsuki asks. Because like fuck he’s gonna sit up on this examination table if she’s got those other people with her. He feels like he’s still got some kind of dignified public image he needs to maintain here.

“Just to walk you through what we’ve found out about the Quirk,” Tajima says. “Then you’re going to join her in her office to meet with the family.”

Katsuki grunts out his understanding, relaxing a little. Good, so away from the ultrasound machine and other medical shit. The blatant visual reminders of what he, a top twenty hero (former?? shit), is going through.

This exceedingly rare bullshit – oh.

“Actually, I did have a question,” Katsuki says. “Doctor Matsuda mentioned some shit about other Quirk-induced male pregnancies. This kind of thing’s really happened before?”

“Well, more or less.” Tajima sits back, arms folded low across her chest. “I looked up all the information I could find on record after learning about your situation. In some cases, it was more a technicality that the patient was male before the pregnancy occurred. So we can’t really use those as a precedent.”

“Before?” Deku blinks. “What, so – they were female during the pregnancy?”

“Biologically,” Tajima confirms. “Sex swapping Quirks, you know. That seems to be the most common scenario, honestly. There are only two cases where the patient reverted back to their male form and successfully carried to term.”

Katsuki swallows, a cold feeling creeping into the pit of his stomach. “Guessing others have tried and…weren’t successful?”

“Unfortunately,” Tajima says with a sigh. “We have no way of knowing how many unreported attempts there have been, of course. In most of the cases on file, it seems that the pregnancies vanished as soon as the patient returned to being male.”

“But why would–?” Deku starts to ask, only to abruptly cut himself off. Something like understanding dawns on his face, which Doctor Tajima seems to recognize. She gives him a small smile.

“A common thread in the reported cases is that many of the patients were in same-sex relationships. Trying to grow their families. They caught wind of a miracle case and hoped to replicate it.”

Deku reaches for Katsuki’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “So – is that it? This has really only happened twice before?”

“No fucking way,” Katsuki bursts out. “I can’t be the third guy in the history of EVER to fucking get pregnant.”

“It’s not the history of ever,” Tajima says, laughing lightly. “Just since Quirks came into existence. And you’re not the third.” She gives an aimless flap of her hand. “There have been a few other one-offs. There was a case in Canada involving a seahorse Quirk. And a few years ago in Scotland, some kind of…mermaid Quirk, I think? I’m not sure how that one worked. But regardless, it’s something that’s happened very far and few between.” Tajima brightens suddenly. “You are the first case in Japan, though!”

Katsuki chokes on nothing. “Holy shit. What – Doctor Matsuda said the first in this hospital.”

“Well, yes. But also Japan!”

“Wow,” Deku utters. “That’s…that’s really crazy, Kacchan.”

“Fuck’s sake.” Katsuki drags his free hand over his face and sucks in a breath. “Okay. What the hell’s so different about this Quirk, then? Pretty sure I never fuckin’ turned into anything else.”

Tajima quickly pulls out her phone. “The Quirk you got hit with is something else entirely. I’ll let Ueda know we’re ready for her so she can come explain it to you.” When she looks up at them again, her grin is way too excited. “It’s really pretty cool, actually. This little girl ended up with a fascinating combination of Quirks.”

Those are exactly the right words to hook Deku. Katsuki’s sure of that even before he slides a glance over to the other man and finds him matching Doctor Tajima’s eager energy, looking ready to soak up whatever new information is thrown at him.

Predictable as hell.

Katsuki’s still a little apprehensive to get all the details, but now Tajima’s evidently joined Ueda in the Very Fucking Unconcerned column. They’d be treading more lightly if they had something awful to tell him, right?

The uncertainty of it all is still swirling in his gut when Ueda strides into the room a few minutes later.

“Good morning, Bakugou, Midoriya,” she greets, setting a folder down on a nearby counter and moving to grab a stool from the far corner of the room. “How’s everything going today?”

Katsuki shrugs. “Fine,” he says, short without really meaning to be. The hand Deku still has curled around his tightens, and Katsuki huffs out a sigh. “Just – antsy.”

“And curious,” Deku adds quickly. “Really, really curious.”

The corner of Ueda’s mouth curves upwards in amusement. “I won’t keep you waiting, then. Let’s get right into it, shall we?” She settles onto the stool and reaches for the folder again, pulling various documents out of it. “When we spoke the other day, it sounded like you remembered the villain event in question.”

“Mostly,” Katsuki says. “Nothing that specific, really.” Just that fucking Icy Hot showed up and basically booted Katsuki from his own damn fight.

“The field reports from that day mention your Quirk wasn’t well suited to fighting the villain, so you were assisting with clearing civilians out of the vicinity instead.”

Deku grips at his hand again, eyes wide when he swings around to gape at him. “A five-year-old – Kacchan, the daycare. You said you had to evacuate a daycare!”

Katsuki frowns a little. “That was that day?”

“Pretty sure.” Deku pinches absently at his bottom lip with his other hand, forehead scrunched in thought. “Armfuls of brats, you said.”

“Was that it?” Katsuki looks across at Ueda. “It was one of the daycare kids? I thought this family was from Kyoto or some shit?”

Ueda nods. “Dad has a brother that lives in the area. They were visiting the family that week and the daycare allowed their daughter to attend with her cousin.” She shuffles through the papers in her hands for a moment, then picks two out and leans forward to give them to Deku, who promptly angles them so Katsuki can see them, as well. “Mom runs a fertility clinic in Kyoto.”

The first paper has a woman’s headshot on it, although her name and other personal information have been blacked out for privacy. It’s a Quirk printout, Katsuki realizes – a detailing of what her Quirk is called and what it can do. He skims the page quickly, barely reading it, before his head snaps back up in Ueda’s direction.

“She’s got a fertility Quirk,” he says blankly. “She uses that at her clinic?”

“Able to boost fertility levels,” Deku murmurs, eyes still running over the printout. “But only in–”

“Those biologically capable of conceiving,” Ueda finishes. “Pretty straightforward. Dad’s on the second page.” Deku swaps the papers around and Katsuki glances over again to see what the next sheet says. Ueda continues, “His is interesting. Summoning, the ability to attract objects to himself. Basically anything he wants, he just has to think about it and the object gets pulled toward him.”

“Limited by distance,” Deku reads. “He can summon anything within a one-mile radius with just a thought. There’s barely even a size or weight limit.” He looks over to Ueda, nearly bouncing in some kind of shitty nerd excitement. “That’s amazing. Sort of similar to my mom’s Quirk, actually, but it sounds way more powerful. She can only attract small things right in front of her, but this guy – it says they’ve never tested it with extremes, but can you imagine? It’s so useful, there’s SO MUCH he could do with this! What does he do for a living? Is he able to utilize his Quirk in day-to-day life?? This is incredible, I can think of at least ten different things he could – no, fifteen – heck, he could’ve been a hero with this! It’s really versatile, especially considering–”

It occurs to Katsuki, very suddenly, that Deku would’ve been a really damn good Quirk specialist in another life.

“Izuku,” he cuts in, helplessly fond. Next to him, Doctor Tajima tries to muffle a few bubbly giggles.

“…Ah.” Deku scratches sheepishly at the back of his head. “Sorry.”

“No apologies needed,” Ueda assures him. She looks as amused as Tajima sounds, but there’s an appreciative quality to it. Like she honestly gets it – which makes sense, considering her job. “You’ll like this next part, because combining these two Quirks is where it really gets fun.”

Katsuki’s pretty sure fun is the wrong word for it, and his churning stomach seems to agree with that sentiment, but Deku just sways forward in anticipation.

“Basically,” Ueda says, as she unearths another paper from the stack and passes it over, “it’s like mom’s Quirk got amplified tenfold. It’s not just that fertility levels are boosted anymore, the daughter’s Quirk has the complete ability to ensure pregnancy in any subject. Even if that means inducing physical changes to make pregnancy possible. That’s the influence of dad’s Quirk.” She grins, hands spreading wide. “The subject just has to think about wanting it and then it’ll happen.”

It gets real fucking quiet after that.

The new printout crinkles in Deku’s grip, but other than that – silence.

Katsuki can feel the way Deku turns to stare at him. Can tell without looking at him that his eyes are BIG big.

Hell, his own are probably fucking owl-wide, too, because what the fuck.

“What,” he manages to croak out.

Ueda blows right past the twin expressions of – of – shit, Katsuki doesn’t even know what, he doesn’t know WHAT he’s feeling – on each of their faces. “Sorry, let me explain that a bit better,” she says. “By thinking about wanting it, I do specifically mean thinking about wanting a baby. Or child, rather, we don’t think it necessarily has to be an infant that springs to mind. And you do have to be in contact with the Quirk user for the Quirk to take effect. Mom’s is the same way, she has to be touching the subject to boost their fertility levels, so it appears that passed onto the daughter. My best guess is something popped into your head while you were carrying the daughter out of the daycare, and now here we are.”

Katsuki’s mouth opens, but he has…no words. Absolutely fucking nothing. His brain is just static, buzzing with white noise as he struggles to comprehend any of the total fucking nonsense this batshit insane woman just spewed at him.

“Breathe, Bakugou,” he hears Doctor Tajima say, and at least that jolts him into sucking down a lungful of air.

It seems to knock Deku out of his stunned state, too. He blinks once before his free hand comes up to cup over his mouth. He’s yet to let go of Katsuki with his other one.

“Kacchan,” he chirps, sort of quiet but too fucking happy, as though he’s trying to stamp down whatever unhinged joy is clearly vibrating through him and failing miserably at it. “You – did you, ah–”

“Don’t,” Katsuki growls through clenched teeth. His face is growing hotter by the second. In rage, he tells himself stubbornly. “Don’t you fucking say it, you damn nerd.”

Deku, looking stupidly giddy, completely ignores him.

“Did you somehow summon yourself a pregnancy??”

Katsuki splutters.

“NO!” he roars. Or yelps, really. “I didn’t–” He stumbles through a flurry of horrified sounds, nothing that actually forms anything even remotely coherent, his mind working furiously to make sense of everything. “This is bullshit, there’s no fucking way!” His hand rips free from Deku, burying back in his own hair instead.

Think, think.

Katsuki does remember the daycare. The armfuls of brats. He made two trips, helping guide the toddler-aged snot factories to safety so the workers could focus their attention instead on the few wailing infants they were in charge of. Katsuki remembers feeling sort of…guiltily relieved he didn’t have to deal with the babies – the three and four-year-olds were sturdier. And he was in a hurry.

He scowls, eyes narrowed in Ueda’s direction. “Listen, lady, you’ve got it all wrong. Thinking about wanting a kid can’t be what triggers it. I wouldn’t have thought anything like that. I was busy, there was a freakin’ villain attack going on and I was WORKING, dammit! And anyway, I’ve never–”

Something flashes through his brain suddenly. A memory.

Of one of the children.

Katsuki shuts up mid-sentence, teeth clacking as his mouth snaps shut, his eyes blowing wide.

Oh fuck.

Shit.

Come on, there’s no way. Is this a fucking joke??

“Kacchan?” Deku asks gently, and Katsuki just groans.

“Goddammit.” He tips backwards on the examination table, flopping onto his back and lifting his arms to cross them over his face. “Fuuuuuuck.”

“What is it?” Deku asks again, prodding at him, but Katsuki just shakes his head.

This is definitely the stupidest thing that’s ever happened to him. And yeah, sure, okay, he’s been saying that a lot lately, but this!

THIS.

This takes the fucking cake.

Katsuki sighs, long and low. “…There was a kid,” he says eventually. “Second trip I made getting them out. Tiny thing. Blonde. But he had these…chubby little cheeks and… Fuck.” His face is burning, but Katsuki swallows down the embarrassment and lowers his arms so he can shoot Deku a petulant glare. “Freckles.”

Deku’s own freckled cheeks flush pink. He draws his lower lip between his teeth, clearly trying to hold back a grin or a laugh or something else equally obnoxious. “Oh…”

Katsuki heaves out another grumbling, sighing breath. “I had him and, like, two or three other kids in my arms or some shit, I dunno, but that brat stood out. I remember him because he had an All Might t-shirt on and – and the hair. And the freckles. I guess I looked at him and thought…” He purses his lips for a second, wrestling with himself, and then finally mumbles: “I want one of those.”

Deku doesn’t even try to hide his grin this time. Because he’s an asshole.

Somewhere off to the side, Doctor Tajima lets out a soft, “Aww.”

“Well,” Ueda says. “That would do it.”

“I didn’t mean now.” Katsuki lurches back up into a sitting position. “And I sure didn’t fuckin’ mean it seriously!”

“One of the other children you were holding was probably the Quirk user,” Ueda continues, as if he didn’t speak at all.

Katsuki’s shoulders slump. “It was barely even a thought, how was that enough to trigger a whole goddamn pregnancy?!”

“Interesting that you didn’t summon a boy, though,” Deku says, looking thoughtful. “I guess you might’ve summoned blonde hair and freckles, but we won’t know that for a while.”

“Oi, stop saying I summoned shit!”

“It doesn’t work like that anyway,” Ueda says. “The Quirk just makes pregnancy possible – and will continue working until the want is fulfilled. But everything else is genetics and chance.”

Genetics.

Katsuki straightens out of his pouty, hunched over position. “That means the baby is definitely Izuku’s, right?”

Ueda nods. “Sure is. The Quirk wouldn’t just magic a baby out of thin air for you, it simply made it possible for you to conceive. But for that to happen, you still had to be inseminated in one way or another.”

Ugh, wording it like that is gross.

Katsuki’s nose wrinkles, while Deku just titters out an awkward laugh.

“I’m sure you have more questions,” Tajima says, as she hops out of her chair. “Unfortunately, I have another patient coming in soon, but Ueda can take you to meet the family. I think it’s just the parents here, right?”

“Yes, just them. They didn’t bring their daughter.” Ueda stands, as well, collecting her papers and folder. Deku helps Katsuki off the examination table and they say their goodbyes to Doctor Tajima before following Ueda out of the room, listening to her explain some more as they go. “The daughter was Quirk tested, but as far as we can tell, you’re only the second person the Quirk has been used on. Mom and dad hadn’t even realized her Quirk had come in until just recently.”

“I guess that would be a hard one to pinpoint,” Deku says.

“Who else got hit with it?” Katsuki asks.

“Mom’s sister.” Ueda pauses outside another office door. “They’re willing to tell you about it. I think it’ll help assuage any concerns you might’ve had about the Quirk having lasting effects.”

Katsuki hasn’t even gotten around to bringing that up, but it’s a little validating to know he’s not a complete lunatic for worrying about it. And it does ease the tension that was starting to lock up his shoulders at the prospect of meeting these people in a matter of seconds.

He’s beginning to think he understands why they want to meet him, though. Why they want to make sure Katsuki doesn’t go blabbing his mouth about this miracle worker kid.

Her Quirk is…really damn powerful.

Magic, almost, for plenty of people in the world.

And she’s only five.

Ueda knocks on the door as she pushes it open. “We’re back,” she announces. “Thank you both so much for waiting. I have some familiar faces with me you might recognize.”

She steps aside then, gesturing for Katsuki and Deku to enter, and Katsuki hears a gasp as they come into view.

“Oh my god, it IS him,” a woman exclaims, her voice hushed. Katsuki recognizes her from her headshot on the Quirk printout. She reaches out to shake the arm of a man sitting next to her. “Oh no. It’s Dynamight, Tao, you were right. Oh my god.”

“It was either him or Shouto,” the man – Tao, apparently – says wearily. He sounds burdened in some way. And a touch guilty. As though this entire situation has been weighing on him and he’s now realizing he has to accept that it’s incredibly real and not just a giant hoax. “They were the two heroes around that day, but he’s the only one who hasn’t been working recently.” Tao rises from his chair and immediately falls into a deep bow. “Azuma Tao, Dynamight-san. Please forgive our daughter for unknowingly using her Quirk on you.”

The woman scrambles up next to him and then swiftly bends forward, as well. “Azuma Emi – I’m so sorry! She didn’t know! We didn’t know. We had no idea something like this could happen, please forgive us!”

Katsuki’s honestly not really sure what to say to all that, but luckily Deku is incapable of letting people feel uncomfortable in his presence. It turns him into a mess of awkward flailing when others start falling all over themselves around him, so he’s quick to step forward, hands held placatingly in front of him and a nervous smile plastered across his face. “Ah, please don’t worry! It’s okay!”

Both Tao’s and Emi’s heads snap up, their eyes going round. “Deku?!” Emi shrieks, and Katsuki can’t help himself.

He snorts. Which only prompts Deku to give him a warning look as he smacks the back of his hand sideways into Katsuki’s arm.

“Yep, I brought Hero Deku, too,” Ueda says, like there’s nothing weird about the two of them coming in here together to discuss how very pregnant Katsuki is with some total strangers when it’s not exactly public knowledge that they’re even together-together in the first place. “Gentlemen, please make yourselves comfortable. There are enough chairs for everyone.”

Katsuki plops himself down and Deku follows a little more slowly, still wincing and acting all sheepish under the twin gobsmacked stares they’re receiving. “Sorry, I forgot you wouldn’t be expecting me,” Deku mumbles, ducking his head. “Um, Kacch– Dynamight and I are, well.” He clears his throat, then shrugs and lets an easy grin slide into place. “We’re grateful you came all this way to help us understand what, uh…what happened. See, I’m the other father. The baby’s mine.”

“Oh,” Emi says faintly, as Tao’s gaze drops helplessly to Katsuki’s midsection. As per fucking usual. “That’s actually so cute, I had no idea.”

“So please don’t think we’re upset,” Deku continues.

Katsuki scoffs. “You’re not upset,” he snarks, and Deku just sighs.

“You’re not either, Kacchan.”

“I mean, I am a little.”

“Yeah, but you’re looking forward to it now,” Deku says, sounding both pleased and teasing all at the same time. “And anyway, you basically willed our daughter into existence just because you saw an adorable kid that looked like us. So it’s almost like you did this to yourself.”

That immediately has Katsuki bristling up like some kind of shitty Halloween cat.

“I DIDN’T KNOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN.”

“You’re Mei-chan’s favorite hero,” Emi blurts out suddenly, drawing Katsuki’s attention away from where he was practically growling at an annoyingly unconcerned Deku. “She hasn’t stopped talking about you since that day. I swear, she’s got about six different Dynamight plushies now and we had to change the curtains in her room out for orange ones. You – you saved her, she just adores you.”

…Hm.

Alright, that’s acceptable.

Katsuki drops the hissing and spitting act, slouching back in his seat instead.

“We can never thank you enough,” Tao adds. “And…apologize enough. We’re so grateful and, um.” He gestures aimlessly with his hands, looking just a tad uncomfortable. Katsuki gets it – it’s a weird fucking topic. “Even if this has ended up being, uh…a blessing for you. If there’s anything we can do, please just let us know.”

“It must have been such a shock,” Emi says. “We went through it with my sister. She’s never been able to have children, she had to have a hysterectomy when we were young. And then one day, just out of the blue – bam! She’s pregnant.” A disbelieving laugh tumbles out of Emi’s mouth, as though she’s still in shock that happened. “No one could figure out how. None of the doctors. We all assumed it was a Quirk, of course, but we had no idea how to even start trying to find the person responsible. It didn’t seem that related to what I can do.”

“Wait.” It takes Katsuki a second or two to remember what the fuck a hysterectomy even is, but he eventually unearths the term from what scant medical knowledge he has buried in his brain. “You’re saying she didn’t have a uterus anymore and then the Quirk gave her a new one?”

Emi nods. “It wasn’t until Ueda-san contacted us, asking about Mei-chan and her Quirk and our Quirks, that we started to put it together. She’s only five; we thought maybe she was just a late bloomer! Turns out she’s had a Quirk since at least last spring.”

Katsuki does some quick math on that, but it’s Deku who asks, “Your sister had her baby already?”

“In January,” Tao confirms.

“A beautiful baby boy,” Emi says with a wide smile. “He’s absolutely perfect. She always wanted kids, so it was really a miracle.”

“And the whole…” Katsuki swallows down his nerves and gestures toward his stomach. “Sudden organ where it shouldn’t be situation. What happened with that?”

“I had a feeling you’d be wondering about that. That’s why we wanted to come share my sister’s story with you.” Emi spreads her hands a little, shoulders lifting in a small shrug. “It, um. It disappeared? A couple weeks after the baby was born. She was still recovering and her body just sort of reverted back to how it was before the Quirk. Like that was a normal part of the healing process.”

Relief whooshes through Katsuki, his entire body wilting with it. “Thank fucking god,” he mutters.

“See, I told you,” Deku says, kicking his foot sideways and knocking it into Katsuki’s ankle. “I said it’d be okay, didn’t I?” He glances over at Emi, a frown tugging at his mouth. “I’m sorry for your sister, though. Is she alright?”

Emi seems pleased he’s even bothering to ask. “She’s doing okay. A little sad, but mostly overjoyed with her son. But now we know how all this happened, so…” She glances over at her husband briefly, sharing a look with him. After a moment, he gives her an encouraging nod, and Emi returns it before drawing in a deep breath. “If she decides she’d like to have more kids, we’re lucky enough that we can offer her that opportunity. Our daughter… Mei-chan has this wonderful gift. But. We feel really strongly that it’s her gift to give.”

“She’s too young to understand exactly what she can do,” Tao says. “Or how desperately some people will want to use her Quirk. As much as we’d love to help everyone we can, we don’t want her taken advantage of or put in any kind of danger because of this. Until she’s old enough to make her own decisions about how she’d like to use her Quirk, we can’t have news of her ability spreading.”

“I get it,” Katsuki says. “Once we got the details, it started to make sense why you’d come all the fuckin’ way out here to talk to us.”

“We won’t say anything,” Deku assures them. “You have our word. Your daughter’s safety is the most important thing here.”

“Thank you,” Emi says, her voice thick with emotion. “It’s unfair of us to even ask such a thing after all this happened to you because of us, but you have no idea how much we appreciate it.”

“Wasn’t your fault,” Katsuki says gruffly, before shooting Deku the stink-eye. “Some dumbass here seems to think it’s mine.”

Deku rolls his eyes. “You know I’m just messing with you, Kacchan.” Then he grins. “I just think it’s cute you suddenly decided you wanted babies without even talking to me first.”

“I had ONE RANDOM THOUGHT,” Katsuki snaps. “That lasted an eighth of a goddamn second–”

“Yes, yes,” Deku interrupts, reaching out to pat his shoulder. “And then you got pregnant.”

“Um,” Emi speaks again, before Katsuki can blast an explosion in the nerd’s face. She looks like she can’t decide if she should be amused or worried about two pro heroes squabbling with each other three feet in front of her, but evidently she (smartly) decides to ignore their antics so she can continue talking. “We did want to offer you the same option, though. As my sister. That’s where I was going with all that.”

Katsuki pauses at that.

And blinks.

Then, in a flat tone: “What?”

“That’s so presumptuous, I know,” Emi says, rushed and not a little flustered. “But we just – that’s one of the reasons we wanted to come meet you. We feel like we owe you that much, at least. Mei-chan will have to decide one day how she wants to use her Quirk, but until then… There are some exceptions we can make.”

“You mean…” Deku says slowly. “Like, if we wanted to have another child…?”

“You’d be more than welcome to make use of Mei-chan’s Quirk again,” Tao affirms. “That’s our way of saying thank you for everything.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” Katsuki mutters, completely in monotone.

“It’s just in case!” Emi insists. “Please, just take our information. You can contact us anytime, okay? You never know, you might want your baby to have a sibling one day.”

Katsuki scowls. “We also might not,” he says, but Deku’s already out of his seat and holding his phone out for Emi to add herself as a contact.

“Just in case!!” he says again when he catches Katsuki glaring at him.

“Tch, good luck.” Katsuki folds his arms over his chest. “I ain’t doing this shit again.”

“Nobody said it had to be you,” Deku points out.

…And oh.

Katsuki’s eyes snap wide, his head jerking in Deku’s direction, and Deku promptly flushes red and starts waving his hands in front of him. “I’m not saying it’s going to be me either!” he says frantically. “It might not be anyone! But just – just, you know!”

“Just in case?” Katsuki asks, more amusement coloring his tone this time.

“I – yeah.” Deku meets Katsuki’s gaze, and for a long moment they just stare at each other. “We’ll see, right?”

“Mm…” Katsuki smirks a little. “If you say so.”

“Just in case.”

“Sure, nerd.” His smirk stretches. “Just in case.”

Chapter Text

Whoever said black is slimming is a fucking liar.

Katsuki scowls as he examines himself in the bathroom mirror, turning this way and that with his shirt tugged tight against his belly. He’s embarrassingly gone through about three outfit changes already, but – in his humble opinion – none of them are doing much to help hide the fact that he’s starting to look like he swallowed a goddamn volleyball.

“Oh wow, Emi-san wasn’t lying,” Deku says from the bed, where he’s still buried beneath the covers as he taps on his phone. He peers around it to grin over at Katsuki. “Mei-chan’s room is alllll decked out in you.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually texting them,” Katsuki grumbles, rotating in front of the mirror again. Fuck, okay, it’s not gonna get any better than this and he doesn’t have time to keep messing with it.

He’s got a train to catch to U.A.

“She just sent a couple pics, that’s all.” Deku hefts himself up into a sitting position. “You ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Katsuki steps up to the foot of the bed, arms spread out at his sides. “Is it super fuckin’ obvious?”

Black athletic pants from his mom, black t-shirt, and a Dynamight windbreaker over top – gotta have something on representing his colors, after all, especially if he’s not going to show up in full uniform.

Deku gives him an obligatory once-over, then shakes his head with a soft smile. “I really doubt anyone’s randomly going to guess that you’re pregnant, Kacchan.”

“Debatable,” Katsuki mutters. He props his hands on his hips and glances down at his stomach again before huffing out an aggravated sigh. “Maybe not the kids, I guess.”

“You’ll be fine,” Deku tries to assure him. “You look really good, actually.”

“Like your opinion even counts.” Katsuki plants a knee on the mattress and leans in, waiting for Deku to shuffle the rest of the way toward him to meet him for a kiss. “You always fucking think that.”

“I’m a smart man.” Deku kisses him a second time, grinning into it. “Why do you think I knocked you up? Gotta lock that shit down.”

Katsuki scoffs as he pulls back. “Okay, asshole. Playing the long game, huh?” He reaches out to give one of Deku’s bedhead curls a sharp tug, which just gets him a sunny smile in return as Deku quickly snags his hand before he can let it fall again.

“That’s me!” he says cheerfully, pressing his lips to Katsuki’s palm. “Evil genius mastermind.”

“Tch…” Katsuki pulls away again – reluctantly. Cheeks flushed despite himself. He can’t exactly hang around, though. Places to be and all that. “Something, something, nerdy dweeb,” he shoots at Deku over his shoulder as he finally makes his escape from the bedroom.

Behind him, Deku snorts. “Not your best, Kacchan!” he calls, voice echoing down the hall.

OKAY, well – whatever, it’s all his brain could cough up on short notice. “Shut up!” Katsuki shouts back.

“Love you, too! Good luck today!”

It’s surreal walking through the U.A. gates as something other than a student or visitor. Strange to return here as a teacher, a profession he’d truly never even thought about as an option before.

And weirder even than that to enter the teachers’ lounge and be greeted by the familiar faces of his now-coworkers.

“Heeeeey, BA-KU-GOU!” a loud voice exclaims from halfway across the room, and Katsuki braces himself as Present Mic thunders toward him. “I heard you were joining the ranks here, kid!” he says, slinging an arm around Katsuki’s shoulders and practically fucking screaming into his ear. “Pro life beat you down that quickly, huh? Didn’t see that one coming!”

“Because that’s not what fucking happened.” Katsuki grimaces and twists away from the other man in an attempt to save his eardrums. “I’m just here short-term. Recovering from – a thing.”

“Damn, really?” Present Mic gives him a scrutinizing look over the top of his sunglasses. “Hadn’t heard. They did a good job keeping that one out of the news.”

“Yeah, well.” Katsuki edges to the side a little more until he deems himself a safe distance away. “Not all of us like broadcasting our business every two seconds.” He takes a quick look around the room. “Frogger here yet?”

Present Mic points with finger guns toward a back corner. “Over there with the other bean sprouts.”

Katsuki gives him an unimpressed look before glancing over to find Tsuyu talking with that lizard girl from class B and a couple other guys he vaguely recognizes from their early years at U.A. Upperclassmen he probably hadn’t really cared about at the time. “Thanks,” he mutters, then beelines towards what he assumes are all the newbie teachers.

Tsuyu spots him first and gives him a wide smile. “Good morning, Bakugou.”

“Hey, long time no see,” lizard girl says, leaning in with a grin. Her voice lowers as she continues, “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Wow. Okay, who ran their damn mouth THIS time?

“That didn’t take long,” Katsuki says dryly. He eyes the other two guys, but aside from an initial nod of acknowledgment, they seem to be caught up in their own conversation and aren’t paying attention to the rest of them. “And who told you – uh…”

“Lizardy,” she offers up, rolling her eyes, and Katsuki scowls.

“I know that!”

“Tokage, then.”

“I know that, too!!” Katsuki insists, even though he definitely hadn’t. Or he forgot. Or his brain has decided to morph into a fucking sieve suddenly, just leaking the dumbest basic information all over the place. Which is great timing, really.

“Sure, okay,” Tokage says, clearly not believing him, but she shrugs it off easily enough. “Anyway, Tetsutetsu was there when you told everyone, I guess? And he’s, like, the biggest blabbermouth on the planet. Steel lips, my ass.”

“Awesome,” Katsuki bites out sarcastically. “I’ll explode him later. This your first year, too?”

“Yeah, taking over world history for a year.” She cranes her neck, looking at something behind Katsuki, and then just pops her entire face off so she can rise up for a better view. “Might stick around after that, though, haven’t decided yet. Hey, Rock Lock’s here. How long’s he been at U.A.?”

“I think this is his second year,” Tsuyu says, while Katsuki tries not to make a face at Tokage’s semi-beheaded body. “He joined the staff after baby number two.”

“Feels weird as shit being in here and not in a classroom,” Katsuki says.

Tsuyu nods. “It’ll probably take some getting used to. I’m looking forward to meeting the students, though.”

All Might slides up to Katsuki just then, nearly startling the crap out of him because no person that tall should be able to make a surprise appearance. Ever. “I AM HERE!” he announces, and then drops his volume in the next second and continues, “To invite you to have lunch with me, Young Bakugou!” He beams, eyes turned into upside-down crescent moons. “We must celebrate our first day as coworkers!”

“Ah…sure,” Katsuki says, clearing his throat a touch awkwardly. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“Excellent!” All Might’s voice lowers even more and he holds a hand to the side of his mouth, whispering almost conspiratorially, “I prepared an extra bento for you with multiple options in case there’s anything that turns your stomach. And I acquired prenatal tea!”

For fuck’s sake.

“Okay,” Katsuki mutters. “So clearly it’s gonna be impossible to keep this under wraps for more than five minutes.” He scrapes a hand through his hair with a noisy exhale, and then yanks a nearby chair out from under a desk and clambers on top of it – much to the immediate protesting of All Might, Tsuyu, and lizard girl. “Oh my god, it’s fine,” he complains at them, batting ALL their hands away. “I’m not gonna fall or some shit, geez.”

Heads are starting to turn curiously in their direction, but the door to the lounge opens before Katsuki can say anything and Aizawa slouches inside. He takes one look at Katsuki, stops short, and then heaves out a massive sigh.

“I just got here,” Katsuki hears him mumble, before he continues into the room as though there’s nothing unusual about one of his former students standing on a chair for seemingly no reason. “S’too early for this.”

It IS too early for this, but hell. Might as well get it out of the way now.

“OI!” Katsuki barks at the rest of the room, even though most of its occupants are already staring at him with arched eyebrows. He swallows as everyone else turns their attention toward him, trying not to fidget in place or do anything that would make him fall. He’s not exactly at his usual level of coordination these days. “Real quick. Uh. I know I was kind of a last-minute addition to the staff roster and maybe some of you are wondering what the hell I’m doing here.”

“Recovering from a thing!” Present Mic shouts, and then gives him a double thumbs up when Katsuki scowls. At his side, Vlad King starts snickering.

“No – goddammit.” Katsuki huffs. “Look, I’ve been off field work for a few weeks and was getting sick of hanging around my agency not doing shit.” He tips his head in Tsuyu’s direction. “Froppy here was nice enough to suggest letting me double up with her and somehow we got Principal Nezu onboard. Probably just taking pity on me, but whatever. I’m gonna be even more of a pain for you people to deal with than I was in school because…” Katsuki cuts both hands in toward his stomach, more or less framing the bulging curve there. “I’m pregnant. Got hit with a Quirk. Shit happened. It’s Deku’s.” He puffs out a breath and jerks forward into a slight bow. “Thanks in advance for putting up with me, I guess.”

“Young Bakugou, please get down,” All Might hisses out in an overly frantic tone, and this time Katsuki does as told. He even accepts the hand the older man holds out to assist him.

“See, now that explains it,” a gruff voice says. Katsuki looks up to find Hound Dog stroking the bottom of his muzzle in a thoughtful sort of way. Most of the rest of the room seems completely unphased – likely a byproduct of having years under their belts as both pro heroes and teachers who’ve mentored hundreds of students with all manner of Quirks.

They’ve all seen some shit, Katsuki realizes, and the bit of tension that had locked up his shoulders abruptly drains away.

This probably isn’t even close to the weirdest thing any of them have dealt with.

“Explains what?” Katsuki asks, somewhat warily.

Hound Dog shrugs. “Your smell.”

“…What?”

“You smell pregnant. It was throwing me off.”

“WHAT?!”

“Maaaan, you’ve gotta share things like that!” Present Mic yells over at Houng Dog. “Spill the tea, share the juice, give me the gossip! How many times do I gotta tell you?!”

“Way too early,” Aizawa grumbles again. He pulls open a drawer of a nearby desk and whips out a yellow sleeping bag that’s seen far better days. “Somebody wake me up when the opening ceremony starts.”

“Shouta, did you know?” Present Mic demands, spinning toward him before Aizawa can fully disappear beneath the desk. “Shouta! HEY. Did you know??”

“Oh man, I’m so glad I signed on this year,” Tokage utters in awe. She looks a little too gleeful, honestly. “This is great.”

Tsuyu nods in agreement. “I wonder if it’s always this eventful.”

“What the fuck does he mean, I smell pregnant,” Katsuki asks, scandalized. “Is that a fucking thing? Do I stink??”

“It’s just his Quirk, Bakugou.” Tsuyu gives him a reassuring pat on the arm. “He probably picked up on the hormonal changes. Don’t worry about it. Want to go over the plans for our first classes?”

Alright, well that’s gross and terrible to know.

Also? Embarrassing.

Moving on.

Deku’s right, at least, that none of the students seem to notice anything. Mostly they’re too busy gawking at the lineup of pros they’ve got for teachers, although Katsuki does hear his own name sprinkled in quite a bit amongst all the excited murmuring before Principal Nezu quiets everyone down to give his welcoming speech. He also spots Mahoro in the sea of newcomers and feels a surge of affection at the thrilled look that washes over her face when they lock eyes. If Katsuki remembers right, his first class with her isn’t until next week – definitely one he’s looking forward to.

He and Tsuyu actually don’t have any classes on the first day since the students are all busy meeting with their homeroom teachers and going to guidance sessions. Katsuki lurks around the hero classes, though, just for kicks – and because he figures Aizawa will pull the same shit as always and straight up skip the entrance ceremony in favor of Quirk testing all his kids. He catches the tail end of that after attending the ceremony himself, watching from the sidelines as Aizawa puts each student through the ringer and nearly induces twenty panic attacks from the fear that they might be expelled mere hours into their first class at U.A.

Heh. Memories.

All in all, Katsuki feels like he settles into his new profession pretty quickly. However temporary it might be.

It’s a slightly bigger challenge adjusting to the near radio silence he’s receiving from his other job. Not because they’re excluding him or anything like that, but simply because he’s just not tuned in like he was before. He doesn’t have to be. He shouldn’t be, not when he’s got an entire school’s worth of students he needs to shift his focus to instead.

Not knowing what Deku is getting up to on an hourly basis is really fucking strange, though. Not knowing what enemies he’s fighting, what shit is going down as it’s happening.

Not knowing exactly what caused every scrape and bruise he comes home with.

Before, even if they weren’t paired together throughout the day, they still had their comms. Katsuki was still connected to the entire fucking hero network and was able to keep tabs on what everyone was doing. Constant vigilance was a habit, he had to pay attention in case he was needed anywhere at the drop of a hat.

The abrupt separation from all that is jarring…but also a relief. Which isn’t a thought he’s particularly pleased with, but it’s the unavoidable truth.

Being hands on again instead of stuck behind a desk all day is the most liberating feeling of all, though.

He dives into it with a fervor that surprises even himself. Meeting all the students, dealing with their initial starstruck pestering, and then blowing past that to get to the real meat of the lessons he’s there to impart – it’s an unexpected breeze and he loves every second of it.

Kinda sucks he’s only going to be doing it for a few months, but is what it is.

He’s just going to enjoy it while he can.

* * *

According to the baby books, Kacchan’s officially started his third trimester as of this week.

Izuku hasn’t mentioned it yet, but he’s pretty sure Katsuki knows. He’s sure the doctors have told him or he looked up the timeline himself.

He’s in his third trimester, his birthday is in a couple days, his stomach is sticking out so much – and Izuku is completely obsessed.

Of course, he was already obsessed. But Kacchan just looks so actually pregnant these days that Izuku’s paternal instincts have kicked into overdrive. When he’s at home and out of the baggy windbreaker he’s taken to wearing to work every day, his baby bump is so stinking cute that it might literally drive Izuku insane.

He can feel the baby moving easily now. Sturdy little kicks and jabs against his palm whenever he gets a hand on the other man. Izuku can’t imagine what it feels like on Kacchan’s end, especially when he starts complaining about their daughter being a wiggly little shit, but it’s fascinating from the outside. Most nights Izuku gets free reign to feel it as much as he wants while he’s slathering lotion all over the taught skin of Katsuki’s belly – in addition to the wiggling, Kacchan’s also been complaining lately about feeling itchy as the bump continues to expand outwards, so the extra moisturizing has become a new part of their nightly routine.

Usually, Izuku coos endlessly to the baby while he massages Kacchan’s belly, situated comfortably between his splayed legs on their bed, but tonight he’s distracted watching Katsuki write in some kind of journal that seems to have materialized out of nowhere. He’s got it held aloft in front of his face, occasionally pausing to check something on his phone before returning to his upside-down writing, and eventually Izuku’s curiosity gets the better of him.

“What’re you doing?” he asks, and when Katsuki peeks down at him, he juts his chin toward the journal. “That. What is it?”

Inexplicably, Kacchan’s cheeks abruptly flush pink. “Nothing,” he mutters, gaze shifting away. “I’m just…”

“…Just?” Izuku repeats encouragingly.

“Recording stuff.” Katsuki darts a shifty-eyed look at him again. “Milestones, or…random shit.”

Izuku can’t help the soft laugh that bubbles out of him at that stilted response. “Kacchan. Why are you embarrassed about that?”

“I’m not!”

“You’re acting like it.”

“I ain’t fucking embarrassed.” He huffs, bashful look morphing into a definitely-not-embarrassed glare. “There’s just dumb shit in here like ‘baby is extra sitting on the bladder today, think I peed five times before lunch’ and no one else needs to know all that.”

“Aww…” Izuku smooths his hands up the sides of Kacchan’s stomach, pointedly ignoring the way Kacchan digs the heel of his foot into Izuku’s hip. “It’s okay if it’s private. I think that’s great, though. When did you start doing that?”

“I dunno, couple weeks ago.” Katsuki gives Izuku another jab with his foot and then backs off with a sigh. “Doctor Tajima suggested it. Thought it was lame as hell, but I’m supposed to start – whatever, you know, counting kicks and all that, and I was keeping track on my phone last week but I didn’t like that, and I’m not downloading a fucking app for this shit so actually writing it out seemed like the next best thing and…” He scowls. “And now I’ve got a fuckin’ dumbass pregnancy diary.”

Izuku blinks. “Counting kicks?”

“…Yeah. Like when–”

“No, I know what it is.” Izuku beams up at him. “I read about it. I just didn’t realize you’d started doing that already.”

“You’re supposed to,” Katsuki mumbles. The color in his face deepens, spreading red across his nose. “Twenty-eight weeks. Got antsy last week, though. S’why I started early.”

So, Kacchan did know. He knew exactly which week they were at. Which milestone.

Of course he did.

A fierce rush of adoration surges up inside Izuku and he can’t help bending forward over Kacchan’s belly to claim his mouth in a warm kiss. “You’re amazing,” he says when he pulls back. “Is everything okay there? She’s doing what she should?”

“I mean.” Katsuki drops his journal and pencil somewhere off to the side on the bedspread and circles his arms behind Izuku’s neck. “It’s been, like, one day since I was supposed to start. But yeah. She’s perfect.”

“Third trimester,” Izuku murmurs. “Final stretch, Kacchan.”

He grimaces. “Don’t remind me. Also, get off.”

“Eh??”

“Off.” Katsuki grunts, and his grip on Izuku abruptly shifts, hands sliding down to his chest to give him a shove. “Gotta pee freaking again.”

“Oh!” Izuku quickly rolls to the side so Kacchan can scramble off the bed. “Sorry, sorry.”

“I thought the old hag was just bullshittin’ me,” Katsuki gripes as he books it towards the bathroom, tugging his shirt down over his rounded stomach as he goes. “Saying shit to rile me up, but this brat’s doing the same thing!”

Izuku snickers a bit. “Like father, like daughter,” he says, and Kacchan just shoots him a look before slamming the bathroom door shut.

By the time he comes back, only a couple minutes later, Izuku’s already burrowed beneath the covers. He moved Katsuki’s journal to the nightstand – and only peeked at it a little, okay, mostly just at the neat little table Kacchan drew up to record how often the baby moves during certain times each day. That same feeling from before wells up inside him again until he feels like it’s about to burst out of his chest. Fondness, awe, a sense of pride, and the deepest urge to curl around Kacchan and hold him close.

Keep him safe and protected forever.

Katsuki slips under the blanket beside him and immediately koala-clings to his stupid pillow, but that’s nothing new. Izuku’s long been resigned to the fact that they’re sleeping with that thing until the baby gets here.

“Three more months,” Katsuki grumbles under his breath, and for a second Izuku wonders if he was accidentally moaning about the pregnancy pillow out loud. But Kacchan continues, “Still three more months and she’s already acting up like this. She’s doing it on purpose.”

“Now you do sound like your mom,” Izuku says, and has to swiftly dodge out of the way of the elbow Katsuki sends flying back toward his gut. “Kidding! Kidding, Kacchan, I’m kidding.”

“The hell you were.”

“I was kidding a little.” Izuku leans over to press a quick kiss to Katsuki’s jawline, then flops onto his back the required distance away – because apparently sleeping too close to Izuku still feels like they might as well be camping inside a volcano. “Goodnight, Kacchan.”

“Mm. Night, Izuku.”

Not even two hours later, Izuku jolts awake again. He’s not sure why at first, and it takes a few long seconds for his battle-ready instincts to fade enough for him to blearily recognize there’s no immediate threat to deal with.

Just a very squirmy Kacchan on the other side of the bed.

Izuku squints at him, trying to make out his shape in what little light there is filtering in through the window.

“…Whazzat,” he mumbles after a moment of watching him repeatedly arch his back, knees bending up and then flattening again beneath the bedsheet.

Katsuki’s head snaps toward him. “Shit, did I wake you up?”

Well, yeah. “No.” Izuku stifles a yawn and inches a little closer. “You okay?”

“Yeah. M’fine.” He rolls his shoulders back again, and Izuku notices he’s got one hand resting against the top of his stomach.

That wakes him up a whole lot faster than anything else. “You sure?” he asks again, propping himself up on his elbow. He gives Katsuki a scrutinizing look from head to toe, but it doesn’t seem like he’s in pain or anything. “Why are you awake??”

“Can’t sleep,” Kacchan says, shrugging. “She, uh… She gets super fuckin’ active at night sometimes.”

That’s news to Izuku. Although…he remembers reading it was a thing that could happen. “Since when?”

“Maybe a week or so?”

“Kacchan…” Izuku scoots the rest of the way over, tucking himself against Katsuki’s side and reaching a hand down to rest alongside his on his baby bump. Almost instantly, he can feel a sort of rolling motion beneath his palm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“No reason you should lose sleep, too, nerd,” Katsuki murmurs. “Arguably, you need it more.”

“Well, that’s just blatantly untrue.”

“It’s blatantly very true,” Katsuki snarks at him. “Can’t be falling asleep on patrol, ya idiot.”

“Geez, she is active,” Izuku says, awe coloring his tone. “Wow.”

Katsuki harrumphs. “Throwing a damn dance party every night. She’s grounded as soon as she’s born.”

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“Nah.” He pauses. “Sometimes. Mostly weird. And annoying – but only because I’m tired.”

“Poor Kacchan,” Izuku lightly teases. “Dealing with a baby who doesn’t realize you go to bed at early o’clock.”

“At a reasonable hour,” Katsuki hisses. Izuku chuckles a little until another yawn interrupts him, and Katsuki makes a tsking sound under his breath. “Go back to bed, Izuku. I’m fine.”

“I can stay up a bit,” Izuku says, but he’s already fading again. Lulled into a relaxed state by the gentle rolls under his hand. He hovers there for a moment, enjoying the dreamlike haze surrounding them as he goes in and out of consciousness. Warm and perfectly content.

Until he’s jarred awake again when Kacchan abruptly speaks. “Actually, if you’re up…”

There’s a strange edge to his voice. A sort of hesitance, like he doesn’t want to say whatever he’s about to.

“Hm?”

A beat passes. Sleep tugs at Izuku, threatening to pull him under.

Then Katsuki says: “I really want some fucking mochi.”

Izuku blinks, but nothing changes and he doesn’t jerk awake out of some bizarre dream.

“You, uh… You want what?”

“Mochi,” Katsuki says again. Izuku can practically hear the stubborn clench of his jaw, can perfectly envision the petulant frown that’s probably twisting his mouth.

“We…don’t have any, I think,” Izuku says slowly.

“I know.”

“Also, you don’t like mochi.”

“I know.”

“You’ve always complained it has a weird texture. You used to make fun of Uraraka for eating it so much!”

“I fucking know, okay!” Katsuki scowls in the darkness. “But I want it. I don’t know why. Because stupid pregnant reasons or something.” They fall quiet again until another minute or two passes, and then Kacchan makes a frustrated sound and jostles Izuku before he can fall asleep again and disappear from this entire conversation. “Deku.”

“Kacchan, it’s the middle of the night! What do you want me to–?”

“The konbini on the corner is twenty-four hours.”

Holy shit.

“Kacchan,” Izuku groans, turning to bury his face briefly in his pillow before popping back up again. “Seriously?”

“I know it’s stupid.”

“It’s not – no, look, it’s not stupid. It’s just–” He reaches over to tap his phone screen and then groans again. “After midnight.”

“S’not that late,” Katsuki mutters, and isn’t THAT rich coming from him?

“I have work tomorrow.”

“So do I!”

“Yeah, but–” Izuku starts, but then quickly clamps his mouth shut, all but biting his lips to keep the rest of that sentence from making a bid for freedom.

Too late, though.

Kacchan lurches up in bed and fumbles around with the covers, throwing them off, while Izuku squeezes his eyes shut and smartly keeps his lips sealed shut to hold in yet another groan.

“You’re right,” Katsuki says, climbing out of bed. “I’ll go.”

“Kacchan, no.” Izuku sits up in a hurry. “Get back in bed, I can go.”

“No, you’re right. It’s fine.” Katsuki turns to face him, arms folded across his chest. “Seriously, I’m not just saying that. I was just telling you that you need your sleep.”

“You really want mochi that badly?” Izuku asks. A bit of a whine works its way into the question, but ugh. He can’t help it.

“Kinda!” Kacchan says, high-pitched and teetering on something that could almost be desperation. “Like – I need it. Those daifuku packs.”

“Oh my god,” Izuku mutters. “Okay. Okay, okay, I’m going.”

“I said I’d go.”

“Kacchan.”

Katsuki makes an annoyed little grunt of a noise. “Dammit, Izuku, I’m not MAD. I’m not guilt tripping you, I can walk fifty feet to the fucking store. I’m at the agency tomorrow, the only thing I’m doing is goddamn paperwork.”

“Still–”

“Just go back to sleep.”

“Too late for that.” Izuku’s up now. Flicking the light on and grabbing a hoodie so he can go to the fucking konbini at nearly one in the morning to get mochi for his pregnant partner who doesn’t even like mochi, and – wow, okay. Right, he’s supposed to be understanding here. And supportive! The heck happened to all those paternal MUST PROTECT AND PROVIDE instincts he’d been drowning in, like, three hours ago? “Back in bed, Kacchan.”

Slowly, and absolutely grumbling about it, Katsuki does as told. “You sure?”

“Yes.”

“You’d better not pass out fighting any lame-ass villains tomorrow.”

“I’ll try not to,” Izuku says dryly. “What flavor do you want?”

“Matcha,” Kacchan says instantly. “And pineapple.”

Izuku pauses. “…Not sure they’ll have pineapple.”

“They might.” Katsuki gives him a mulish look. “I’ve seen it before.”

“Okay.” Izuku breathes out a tired sigh. “Matcha and pineapple it is.”

“Grab some of those sesame dipping sauces, too.”

“…”

“If they have them.”

“…Do I want to know?” Izuku asks. Warily.

Katsuki just shrugs. “Probably not.”

Definitely not.

So, Izuku goes. Makes the (thankfully) short trip to the konbini and picks up a pack of every flavor of daifuku he can find: matcha, strawberry, mikan, yuzu – hell, even banana.

Everything but pineapple, because of course, so he just grabs a pineapple fruit cup instead and hopes for the best.

Kacchan’s not in bed when Izuku gets back, instead sitting on the couch watching some kind of pastel, pretty boy anime that’s basically the opposite of his usual tastes. Izuku doesn’t question it, just dumps the shopping bag on the coffee table and watches in sleepy amusement as Kacchan eagerly dives in.

When he rips into the sesame container, though, that’s when Izuku decides to hightail it back to the bedroom. He drops a kiss on the top of Katsuki’s head, gives his shoulder a squeeze, and then stumbles off down the hall.

“Love you, nerd!” Kacchan calls after him through a mouthful of daifuku, and Izuku promptly bursts out laughing.

This is his life now. And he LOVES it.

Before finally collapsing into bed, though, he fires a quick text off to Kaminari. Actually gets a response, too, much to his surprise. He wonders if Kyouka is going through her own late night weirdness.

[ Midnight cravings???? ]

[ LOL ]
[ yeah get used to those middle of the night food runs, bud ]

[ Pray for me. ]

[ pray for ME. Kyouka’s due this week!!!!! ]

[ !!!!!!! ]

[ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

[ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

[ what’d Kacchan want? ]

[ Wait for it… ]
[ MOCHI ]

[ LMAOOOOOO ]
[ oh I’m so telling Uraraka. ]

Welp.

At least there’s someone else stuck in the trenches with him. Going on this ridiculous yet incredible ride.

Izuku sets his phone down again and falls asleep smiling.

Chapter Text

Katsuki hadn’t thought it’d been that long since he last saw Kirishima, but the way the other man’s eyes go round, dropping low to boggle at his stomach as soon as Katsuki opens the door to greet him – yeah, okay, maybe it’s been a few weeks. Or even a month.

He’s kind of had a lot going on, alright? New job and all that.

“Hi,” Katsuki says, pointedly and with a little bite, and Kirishima’s gaze shoots back up to his face, his ears going red enough to match his hair.

“Hey! Hi. Sorry,” he fumbles out, laughing sheepishly and grinning wide. “See, now you look pregnant.”

Katsuki gives him an unimpressed look. “Thanks.”

“Ignore him,” Mina pipes up, leaning past her hulking wall of a boyfriend to throw her arms around Katsuki. “You look fab, babe. You’re glowing! Happy birthday!”

“That glowing shit is complete crap,” Katsuki grumbles. His hands lift automatically to brace against her thinner – so much thinner, god – waist in a half-assed return of her hug. “Brat’s been keeping me up this week, my back hurts, and I’m about to get real pissed off at my ankles.”

Kirishima blinks. “Your ankles?”

“Yeah.” Katsuki backs a step away from Mina and sticks his bare foot out. There’s nothing really to see, honestly, but he feels like they’re about to start swelling up. Maybe. If he squints, he’s pretty sure he can see it starting. And he’s fucking active and shit! So goddamn active, usually, most days, and he’s read on stupid ‘Mommy to Be’ forums that daily exercise is supposed to help with that.

“Oh, you’re fine,” Mina says, waving him off. “Kyouka’s looked painful last time I saw her, though. Are they coming?”

Katsuki harrumphs and finally shuffles to the side so they can enter the apartment. “Doubtful. She’s due any day.”

“Bummer,” Kirishima says as he toes his shoes off. “Exciting, though! Can’t believe how close it is now.” He reaches out to smack a gift bag into Katsuki’s chest. “Happy birthday, dude! How’s the teaching gig going?”

“Better than I thought it would,” Katsuki admits. “Got a few kids with some real shitty attitude problems, but I’m working on ‘em. Do not,” he snaps when Kirishima immediately opens his mouth, “say it’s fucking karma, alright, I know.”

Kirishima’s lips slowly press back together, amusement flashing across his face. Katsuki gives him the stink-eye just as Deku walks out of the kitchen looking faintly exasperated. “Kacchan, you left the sink running again,” he says, and then brightens when he spots their guests and promptly flings himself at them. “Ah – Kirishima, Ashido! Glad you guys could make it!”

“Hey, man!” Kirishima exclaims. He grasps Deku’s forearms and leans in, eyes bright and eager. “Dude, I’m glad you invited us over, I wanted to talk to you about that guy you fought last week. His Quirk was wild, was that Lemillion’s strategy to take him down?”

Katsuki leaves them to it, slinking off to drop the gift bag somewhere and also trying to remember, face burning, what the shit he was even doing in the kitchen before the doorbell had distracted him. Washing a dish? Getting a drink, maybe.

…He is kind of thirsty, actually.

Anyway. So, here they are. His birthday. Wednesday, April 20th.

Last one he’s going to have before giving birth at the ripe old age of twenty-two.

Katsuki’s never really been a big birthday kind of guy, particularly when it comes to parties. He started shutting all that down once he hit his teen years, despite the combined efforts of both his parents and his friends. But he’s definitely been feeling some kind of way leading up to today, a weird mix of emotions that include a sort of melancholy he doesn’t really feel like acknowledging, so he didn’t say no when Deku suggested having a few people over to hang out. Plus, now more than ever it’s actually not terrible seeing everyone considering the hectic schedules they’re all dealing with.

That are only going to get crazier once babies are in the picture.

It sort of blows he can’t get shit-faced and that he’s probably going to be kicking everyone out after only a couple hours so he can crawl into bed, but whatever.

He’s pretty sure Deku warned everyone.

And, honestly, it’s entirely likely it would’ve gone the exact same way even if he wasn’t knocked up.

Still, though. He’s a little grumpy about the pregnancy-imposed restrictions for purely petty reasons, so he’s doing his best to pretend he’s not because it’s fucking stupid.

“Todoroki and Sero will be here in a few,” Deku says when Katsuki reemerges from the kitchen a couple minutes later, glass in hand and faucet absolutely, definitely off this time (he checked three fucking times, okay). They’re all sitting in the living room now, picking through the various snacks Deku has set out on the coffee table, and Katsuki plops down on the couch next to Kirishima. “They just texted from the station.”

“We need to start placing bets on how long it’s gonna take those two to get hitched,” Mina says from where she’s lounging back against the arm of the sofa.

Kirishima blinks at her. “Why? All of us have been together way longer than them, and we’re not married.”

“Yeah, but I get a vibe from them.” She waggles her fingers at Kirishima, grinning. “Watch, Sero is one hundred percent going to pull a Kaminari and lock that shit down ASAP.”

“He’s been pining since school, apparently,” Katsuki says. “Fuck knows why he waited so long to begin with.”

Deku’s settled comfortably on the floor, elbow braced on the coffee table and chin propped in his hand. A fond smile curves his lips. “I don’t know how it would’ve gone back then, but Todoroki’s pretty smitten now. So maybe Sero waited exactly the right amount of time.”

“Todoroki was sort of an oblivious dope back then,” Mina says, laughing, though not unkindly. “Poor guy. You’re right, that might’ve been a mess.”

“I don’t think they’re in any hurry, though.” Kirishima casts an uncertain look around the room. “Are they?”

“I give it a year,” Katsuki drawls. “Three or four months ‘til they move in together. Pinky’s right, they’ve got a gay-ass vibe going on.”

Kirishima snorts, while Deku makes a disapproving sound. “Kacchan,” he scolds. “What do you think that makes us, then? We never even considered not living together.”

“Yeah, and your point?” Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Plus we’re having a kid, so we’re extra gay-ass losers. Sixteen-year-old me is appalled.”

“Sixteen-year-old you was a punk,” Mina points out. “And also pining, frankly.”

“We’re both saying shit that’s true.”

“He was just struggling a bit back then,” Kirishima says, jumping to his defense. Deku nods in agreement, ever the way-too-forgiving nerd, and Kirishima shares a quick grin with him before a pained expression takes over his face. “Seventeen-year-old you, though… You wanna talk about pining, like, damn.”

Katsuki goes warm. “Yeah, well,” he mutters, gaze sliding off to the side. “Gay-ass loser, remember?”

Deku chuckles. “It wasn’t just you. We both had it bad.”

“Could’ve solved all that a LOT faster if literally anyone had let me lock you two doofs in a closet together,” Mina says, flipping some hair off her shoulder. “Eiji stopped me more times than I can count.”

“They had to get there on their own!” Kirishima insists. “I mean, I didn’t know it’d take a million months, but it worked out in the end, right?”

Katsuki chucks a couch pillow at Kirishima’s head (which he easily dodges) and Deku laughs again, but a knock at the door signals Sero and Todoroki’s arrival, so they let the previous topic of conversation die in an unspoken agreement not to bring any attention to their shitty gossiping.

Sero has a familiar card game with him that Katsuki hasn’t played since they graduated high school, probably. It’s a fill-in-the-blanks, prompt style kind of thing – full of perverted shit and immediately chaotic once you start playing.

Katsuki decides early on to base the success of his answers on how flustered or appalled Deku gets, because that’s way more amusing than even the craziest card combos any of these other dumbasses can come up with. It does mean he nearly loses his own personal battle to Icy Hot when he, completely blank-faced, lays down a “daddy issues” card against Kirishima’s “kid-tested, mother-approved” – a move that instantly draws a loud cackle out of Sero and a half-concerned, half-disturbed look from Deku.

But luckily he bounces back a couple rounds later when Deku’s prompt card reads: “And the first-place prize for ____ goes to ____.”

“I got this,” Katsuki says quickly, and picks two cards from his hand to toss onto the table.

The first one, more visible since it’s on top, says: “pulling out late”.

“Oh god,” Deku utters.

Sero starts snickering again, but it’s Mina who leans forward eagerly to sweep that card aside so they can all see the second one. Which OF COURSE reads: “Pro Hero Deku”.

Deku groans and buries his face in his hands as the others burst out laughing. Katsuki, meanwhile, gestures needlessly at his stomach and smirks. “Boom,” he says, and Deku lifts his head back up just enough to direct a huffy sort of glower his way.

“Uh-huh, right. Because that was totally my fault, Kacchan.”

Todoroki gives him a solemn pat on the shoulder, a teasing slant to his mouth as he offers up a weirdly sincere, “Congratulations on your achievement.”

That just makes Deku flush red beneath his freckles. “Thank you…?”

“Hey, it’s a worthy accomplishment,” Sero says. “No one else here is impregnating dudes.”

This time, Todoroki lets out a light snort. “From your lips to All Might’s ears.”

“Gross,” Katsuki mutters. “Also, knock on wood, assholes, because you never fucking know.”

“Why is my name even on a card?” Deku whines.

“Oh.” Sero perks up and slides a card box across the table to him. “I picked up the new hero pack! That’s what you get for making top twenty, I guess.”

“That’s meant to be some kind of honor?” Todoroki asks with a dubious little head tilt, and Sero sways sideways to bump their shoulders together.

“Come on, it definitely is!”

“Being recognizable might be a curse,” says Kirishima. “But you gotta admit, it’s still cool!”

“S’annoying,” Katsuki grumbles. “I’m getting blasted left and right with nosy fuckwads trying to dig up some dirt on why I’m at U.A. Like I gotta have some ulterior reason.”

“…Kacchan,” Deku says, shooting him an amused look. “You do have an ulterior reason.”

“Sure, but they don’t have to ASSUME that!” Katsuki scowls. “Maybe I just wanna be a teacher, the fuck business is it of theirs?”

“If you weren’t always screaming to the rooftops about wanting to be the number one hero, they might not find the abrupt career change so strange,” Todoroki points out.

“Facts,” Mina agrees, nodding.

Katsuki’s about to tell him to fuck off with his logic when the doorbell suddenly rings again. They’re not really expecting anyone else, so for a moment everyone just blinks over at the entranceway before Deku eventually hops up to go see who it is.

“Oh – Kyouka, wow, hi! Kaminari!!” Deku spins back around, calling to others, “Guys, it’s Kaminari and Kyouka!” He quickly steps aside to let them in. “We didn’t think you’d be making it out!”

“She insisted on coming,” Kaminari says, hand braced against his wife’s lower back as he ushers her inside. He looks slightly harried and a lot frazzled, to the point that Katsuki almost feels bad for him. Ears seems like she could pop literally any second, so he can’t imagine Kaminari was too thrilled that she wanted to go anywhere other than the hospital. “She curb-walked all the way over here.”

“You walked?” Mina’s immediately across the room and at Kyouka’s side, pulling her away from Kaminari so she can force her down onto the couch. Kirishima quickly slides out of the way to make room for her. “Girl, are you crazy?”

“It’s not that far,” Kyouka says, even though she’s huffing and puffing a bit. Frankly, she looks miserable – which doesn’t exactly give Katsuki high hopes for the next couple months. “I’m trying to get this kid out, okay?”

“Not sure this is the right place for it.” Sero’s wide-eyed, watching her almost warily. “Even if it would make for a funny story. I’ll have my tape ready in case she suddenly comes flying out and needs to be reeled in.”

“Nah, I’ll catch her!” Kirishima declares. “Uncle Kiri’s got this. Hey, and she’d share Bakugou’s birthday. That’d be kinda neat.”

“Pretty sure I can keep my legs crossed until tomorrow,” Kyouka says dryly. She’s grinning a little now, and happily accepts the glass of water Deku shoves at her. “No, don’t worry, nothing real has started yet. I think.”

Kaminari groans as he takes a seat on her other side. “That’s not reassuring at all.”

Kyouka just waves him off. “I’m fine. Sorry for barging in.”

“Don’t be!” Deku insists. “We’re happy you’re here!”

“You’re fucking huge,” Katsuki says helpfully. Unsurprisingly, that draws some disapproving squawks from the rest of the group – Mina even leans over to smack him across the knee – but Kyouka just snorts.

“I know. It’s awful. My skin feels so tight, it’s actually insane.”

Kaminari arches his eyebrows at Katsuki over the top of Kyouka’s head. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

Katsuki grunts some kind of thanks at him before glancing Deku’s way suddenly. “Actually, we have something for you.”

“That seems backwards,” Todoroki comments, but Deku’s already jumping up and rushing off toward the bedroom.

“I’m generous like that,” Katsuki says. The most magnanimous, actually. Obviously.

Kyouka gives him a curious look. “And how are you?”

“Eh. Better than you.” Katsuki smooths his hands over his own rounded stomach. “Get to stall for a few months still.”

“Shit, yeah, enjoy it.” She blows a breath up at her bangs. “The last couple weeks definitely suck. And our apartment is such a mess, it looks like a hurricane targeted specifically our living room.”

Kaminari makes a small, frustrated sound. “That’s because you decided to start packing for a move that isn’t happening for another two months…”

“Better to do it now before the baby gets here.” Kyouka’s tone turns irritable in a way that indicates this is definitely some kind of ongoing argument they’ve been having. “Before we’re too tired to do anything but change diapers and make sure we’re keeping a whole new human alive.”

“Yeah… I told you I’d take care of it, though.”

“And I told you I’ve got the time! Now. Anyway, I needed to make room for all her stuff.”

“We had room for her stuff, and it’s all temporary–”

“Denki,” Kyouka interrupts, and then shoots him a look so dangerous that even Katsuki considers apologizing for something he’s got zero involvement in. “It’s fine, it’s not like I’m on freakin’ bedrest. I can still help.”

“I never said you can’t help!” Kaminari digs a hand back into his hair, making it poof out with static electricity. He’s starting to look stressed all over again. “But you could at least TRY to take it easy. I just want you to be comfortable.”

“I keep telling you that’s basically impossible at this point.”

“Because you won’t stop moving around!!”

“Oookay,” Deku says as he steps back into the room with an overly cheerful grin and an even more careful tone. “I think you guys are both doing great. Look, here, focus on this instead.” He hands a small canvas bag to Kyouka and then moves to settle on the arm of the couch near Kaminari, who promptly crumples against him and plants his face in Deku’s thigh.

“Save me,” he whispers pathetically. Deku just pats him on the back of his head.

Kyouka ignores his dramatics and takes an interested peek into the bag instead. “You guys seriously need to stop getting us stuff.”

“This one ain’t us,” Katsuki says. “My mom stopped by a few days ago; this was all her.”

That perks Kyouka up even more and she starts rummaging around inside. “…Oh my god,” she says after a moment, pulling out not one, not two or even three, but four different tiny outfits. “Oh my god, what did she do?”

“Lost her damn mind, is what,” Katsuki mutters, but he can’t help watching closely as each outfit is revealed and gently laid out. He has to admit, they all turned out pretty adorable. The pattern Mitsuki designed is a mix of purple, black, and yellow pulled straight from their hero gear. One of the two onesies has little lightning bolts and guitars dotted throughout, the other instead hosting a more prominent representation of their combined Quirks splashed across the front. There’s also a small dress with matching bloomers that’s more just swirls of color, and a pair of plaid shortalls rounds out the small collection, although that one has the salmon pink from Kyouka’s uniform incorporated rather than any black.

“Dude,” Kaminari breathes out, straightening from where he was practically flopped across Deku’s lap. “Are you serious right now?”

“Awww,” Mina coos. “Your mom is so talented, what the heck.”

“She said these are just the first attempt,” Deku explains. He huffs out a soft, almost disbelieving laugh. “Her first try at baby clothes. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up starting a whole new line – she made a ton of similar stuff for me and Kacchan, too.”

“The overalls are the best,” Katsuki starts to say, but he’s almost immediately drowned out by Kyouka abruptly bursting into sobs. “–Whoa. Fuckin’ hell, Ears.”

“She’s so nice,” Kyouka warbles through her cries, clutching the tiny dress to her chest, and Kaminari instantly rips himself away from Deku to curl around her instead. “Who DOES this? Oh my god, they’re beautiful, Bakugou, what the hell.”

“I mean…” Katsuki pauses. Shit, he was all prepared to be a grumbling bitch about the hag getting praise like that, but he can’t even pretend.

The clothes are badass.

He ends up just making a dismissive noise under his breath, but nobody’s paying attention to him anyway because they’re all too busy sending worried glances Kyouka’s way.

Kaminari draws her in close, one hand rubbing gently up and down her arm. “Hey, hey,” he soothes. “It’s okay. They’re perfect, huh? Kyouka, look, baby girl’s gonna be the cutest thing.”

“She is.” Kyouka hiccups and drags a fist across her wet cheeks. “Ugh, goddammit, I can’t wait to not be pregnant anymore.”

“Oh honey.” Mina leans forward into Kyouka’s space, hands lifting to curl around her wrists. “You’re going through it, huh? You’re about to cross the finish line, though! You’re so close. You’ve totally got this, I promise.” Kyouka lets out a shaky exhale and Mina smiles, giving her wrists a light squeeze. “Hey, do you want me to braid your hair?”

“Yes,” Kyouka says, near desperate and choking on another sob. “Please, I’m all over the place this week, I don’t even think I brushed it today.”

“Yeah, come on, let’s go wash your face while we’re at it.”

Kaminari gives Mina a grateful look as she herds Kyouka out of the room, but the second they disappear down the hall, he collapses sideways across the couch and decides to clutch at Katsuki’s shorts this time.

“Oi,” Katsuki complains, immediately trying to push him off, but Kaminari just clings even harder.

“I may actually die before the baby even gets here,” he moans. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and I’m not even the one doing it! AND IT’S NOT EVEN THE HARD PART YET.”

“Struggle city, my friend,” Sero says. “Better you than me, though. Starting to think kids might not be in my future.”

Todoroki’s head snaps around lighting quick at that. “Really?” he asks, and there’s a weird moment where the two of them just sort of blink at each other in sudden, uncertain bafflement.

“…Well.” Sero clears his throat after a few awkward seconds pass. “Not anytime soon. I guess. Maybe?”

“Ah,” Todoroki murmurs. “Right, okay. That makes sense.”

Sero goes red across the bridge of his nose and holy fucking shit, those two morons are really just out here broadcasting their business to everyone, huh?

Katsuki gives up trying to shove Kaminari away because whatever, honestly, he doesn’t care, and instead settles a hand against the side of his stomach – a subconscious thing he accidentally finds himself doing all the goddamn time lately, no matter whose company he’s in.

“Her emotions are just really heightened right now,” Deku says softly to Kaminari, slipping down onto the couch next to him. “It’s normal. You know that, though.”

“Yeah,” Kaminari agrees, voice low and pitiful and a bit sad. “I just wish I could make it easier for her.”

“She’s going to feel whatever she feels.” Deku grins a little. “I mean, even Kacchan–”

“Watch it,” Katsuki interrupts sharply, and Deku does the smart thing and shuts the hell up. He shares a pointed look with Kaminari, though, because they’re both idiots.

“Think you’ve just gotta slog this one out in the trenches with her,” Kirishima says.

Kaminari nods. “I know. God, sorry, we can talk about literally anything else that isn’t baby related. Didn’t mean to come over here and totally monopolize things.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Deku says.

“You’re good,” adds Kirishima. “I’m just happy to see you guys.”

“Shit, it’s basically all Izuku and I talk about, too.” There’s a solid nudge against Katsuki’s palm all of a sudden. He glances down, making a face at his belly and pressing back at what he’s pretty sure is a bitty little foot. “Just fucking happens.”

“Is she moving?” Kirishima asks eagerly. Katsuki flinches before he can stop himself, eyes jerking up and face going warm. It’s stupid to be embarrassed about being caught having a moment or whatever with his kid, but – like Kyouka – Katsuki’s emotions just do whatever the fuck they want these days.

Even though he decided a while ago he was done being self-conscious about stupid bullshit. Ugh.

“She is,” Kaminari answers for him, gaze unfocused and miraculously looking way calmer than he had literally about two seconds ago. Probably because the way he’s got his head pillowed on Katsuki’s thigh now means he’s pressed right up against the curve of his stomach. So he can definitely feel the gymnastics routine Miss Great Explosion Murder Baby has decided to put on.

“Can I– Uh.” Kirishima hesitates, turning sheepish even as a wide, bashful smile stretches across his face. “Is it weird to ask if I can feel?”

It’s a real good thing Katsuki’s had years of exposure therapy with this group of losers, because he’s so used to their lame touchy-feely ways that instead of feeling reluctant or irritated by the question, he instead finds himself almost impressed that it took one of them this long to even ask it in the first place.

“…Nah,” Katsuki murmurs. He shifts his leg, lightly jostling Kaminari. “You gotta get Pikachu to move, though.”

Kaminari sticks his tongue out at Kirishima, but it’s good-natured and he hefts himself up a moment later to make room. Kirishima scoots closer, then pauses with his hand outstretched. “Where do I…?”

Katsuki grabs his wrist and positions his palm along the side of his belly before his stupid pregnancy brain can mood-swing into feeling awkward about it. “She’s kicking over here. Give it a minute.”

Actually, in a strange way, he sort of just feels like he’s bragging. Or showing off or something.

Like…

Look what I did! Check out my kid that I’m growing from scratch inside my actual fucking body. ME. I’m doing that.

He almost WANTS these guys to bask in her awesome rolls and kicks and jabs. Probably no baby in utero has done these basic-ass moves as well as she has in the history of EVER.

“Try looking less smug,” Sero says dryly, cutting through the preening daze Katsuki had drifted into. “Fucking hell, ya miracle freak of nature.”

“Jealously ain’t your color, asshole,” Katsuki swiftly fires back at him. “You don’t want kids, remember?”

“He doesn’t want them now,” Half-and-Half evidently feels he needs to remind everyone, and that’s really more interesting than it should be. If anyone had asked Katsuki before, he probably would’ve assumed kids weren’t really Todoroki’s thing either.

Very much not the case. Apparently.

There’s a sudden jab from somewhere in Katsuki’s gut, and Kirishima sucks in a breath, his eyes going round. “Broooo,” he says in awe, attention going laser-focused on Katsuki’s belly.

Sero immediately lets out a strangled sound. “Fuck, okay, goddammit – move, let me get in there.” He crowds in close to Kirishima, planting his hand next to the other man’s and intently waiting for the next show of movement.

Great. Awesome. Too late to be grumpy about it now, though. Katsuki just huffs out an oh-so-put-upon sigh and lets them get their fill. He finds himself keeping an eye on Todoroki, as well, who’s looking kind of twitchy behind the other two. Like he also wants a turn at groping Katsuki’s baby bump.

For fuck’s sake.

Somewhere off to the side, Kaminari snorts. “First-timers,” he faux-whispers to Deku.

“How long do we think before Kacchan explodes?” Deku whispers back.

“Forty-eight seconds if we’re lucky.”

“Make it thirty-six,” Katsuki grumbles, and then he raises his voice to get Todoroki’s attention. “Move your ass, Icy Hot! Window of opportunity is closing fast.”

That’s all the invitation he needs. Todoroki zooms over, and that’s how Katsuki ends up spending the evening getting felt up by three guys who aren’t his boyfriend.

Happy birthday, indeed.

* * *

They get the text Saturday night.

Izuku’s pretty wiped. He swapped his schedule around earlier in the week, bumping his Wednesday shift to the weekend so he’d be able to spend Kacchan’s birthday with him, which means he actually had to work today. It wasn’t exactly a slow day, either, so he’s thoroughly enjoying being a lazy slug on the sofa when his phone dings.

He doesn’t check it immediately – honestly, there’s a good chance it’s Kacchan bugging him from the other room, telling him apropos of nothing that he has a sudden need for cucumber maki and spicy salmon rolls again.

Ever since his birthday, Katsuki’s been hyper-focused on sorting through all the stuff they’ve got piled in the office. It’s like witnessing the bickering from Kaminari and Kyouka set something off inside him, but the thing is…they’ve got the apartment until August. Izuku wasn’t about to move farther away from the hospital, and Doctor Tajima, before their baby arrives, so he made the executive decision that they’re just going to suck it up and pay double on rent and mortgage for a couple months. No matter how much Kacchan gripes about it.

Anyway, so they have PLENTY of time to get things ready to move, but Izuku’s just been leaving Katsuki to his own devices. Better to let him bask in those nesting urges rather than kickstart their own version of the “you should take it easy” argument.

There’s another ding from his phone, and then a few more in rapid succession, and Izuku’s just about to sit up to grab it because apparently it’s not Kacchan texting him from twenty feet away, when the man in question comes bursting into the living room. Eyes owl-wide, face slightly pale.

“Did you see?” he demands, and Izuku’s heart lurches in his chest as he scrabbles for his phone. “It’s Kaminari. Kyouka had the baby.”

“Oh my god, are they okay??” Izuku asks frantically as he starts scrolling through his texts. “Is she – oh, it’s the class chat – there’s so many messages, god, is everything alright???”

Katsuki’s brow furrows a bit. “She’s fine, Izuku.”

…Oh, for–

Izuku just barely refrains from throwing his arms up in exasperation.

“Don’t LOOK like that, then! Kacchan. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“WELL.” Katsuki huffs and very nearly pouts at him, hands gesturing aimlessly, just shy of flailing around. Which all makes for a very un-Kacchan-like picture. “It’s because she had a baby. Like, it’s fucking real, okay. She’s here, Ears did it, someone in our class actually has a damn kid now.”

“Kacchan…” Izuku takes a much-needed breath, then scoots to the end of the couch and pats the seat next to him. When Katsuki immediately darts over, Izuku’s got an open embrace waiting for him to fall into. “You knew this was coming.”

Katsuki groans, head ducked down so he can press his face into the side of Izuku’s neck. “I know. But it’s weird, right? It’s weird and we’re next and what the hell is that?? Kaminari sent pictures, too, and…”

“And?”

“I dunno.” Katsuki pulls back and grimaces. “And it’s a baby.” A beat passes, then he adds in a quiet voice, “She’s really small.”

“I haven’t gotten a chance to see yet,” Izuku says. He keeps one hand curled warmly around the back of Kacchan’s neck, but finds his phone again with his other. “Can I look?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki mumbles, settling in at Izuku’s side and leaning in close so he can see, too.

Turns out, Kaminari sent a BUNCH of texts to the group thread.

Kaminari
[ GUYS. ]
[ INCOMING!! ]
[ got a new member of class A to introduce!!!!! ]

[ <image attached> ]
[ <image attached> ]

[ Meet Kanami! born this morning April 23rd @ 10:32am
5lbs 15oz
she’s perfect and Kyouka’s doing GREAT ]

[ <image attached> ]
[ <image attached> ]
[ <image attached> ]
[ <image attached> ]
[ <image attached> ]

There’s a whole slew of replies and congratulations from the rest of their friends after that, as well as a few more pictures sprinkled throughout of a sweet little newborn wrapped in a striped blanket with a pink beanie keeping her head warm. Kyouka’s in one shot, too – she looks exhausted but proud, baby tucked in close to her chest and Kaminari beaming over her shoulder.

“Oh,” Izuku breathes. “Wow. Gosh, Kacchan, look at her.”

“She’s all scrunched,” Katsuki says, and Izuku can’t help the snort that escapes him.

“She’s just new.”

“And she’s small.”

“You said that already.” Izuku gives him a soft grin. “She’s little, but that’s an okay weight.”

“Five pounds?!” Katsuki flings one hand out at nothing in particular, his other resting on the swell of his belly. “Cats weight more than that, Izuku. My damn boot is heavier than her!”

“Okay, well that’s not true.”

“Ears was BIG, though. Right? Am I crazy?”

“I mean.” Izuku scratches absently at his ear, eyes going skyward. “She was? But…she’s shorter than all the rest of us. So maybe it just seemed like she was showing more than she actually was.” He thinks on it for a few seconds more and then makes a face, feeling awkward. “…We probably shouldn’t talk about her like that.”

“How tiny is our kid gonna be, huh?” Katsuki glances down at himself. “The fuck is the point of all this if I’m just housing a goldfish or some shit?!”

Laughter bubbles up out of Izuku’s throat. “Kacchan,” he says. “Take a breath, geez. You’re freaking out.”

Katsuki scoffs. “M’not,” he grumbles. Like a liar. Izuku watches as he forces the tension out of his shoulders and rests back against the couch again. One hand still steady on his stomach. “Kanami’s kinda cute,” he adds a moment later.

“Her name?” Izuku asks, and Kacchan nods. “Yeah, it is. I like it.” He glances back at his phone, scrolling until he finds Kaminari’s initial texts again so he can see the kanji they used. “Hmm. Beautiful music, probably?”

“Sounds like something they’d go with.”

“It suits her.” Izuku peers at Katsuki for a beat. “We still need a name, you know.”

“Yeah… In July.”

“You don’t have any ideas?”

Katsuki gives a one-shouldered shrug, gaze drifting away. “Some. I kinda… I think I might wanna meet her first? See what fits.”

For whatever reason, Izuku wasn’t expecting that. But it makes him go all warm and fuzzy inside and has him stretching forward to kiss Katsuki, pressing in close and brushing a hand through his hair. “I’m okay with that,” he says when he breaks away, and Katsuki just blinks at him, cheeks suddenly flushed. “I might still tell you if I come up with anything good, though.”

“Good,” Katsuki murmurs. “Tell me. I wanna hear everything your nerd brain has.”

“Even the All Might ideas?” Izuku asks, grinning, and Kacchan reaches out to grasp his chin and haul him back in for another kiss.

“Especially the All Might ones.”

“You might regret that,” Izuku laughs once they separate. “Alright, pause, let me reply to Kaminari. Did you say anything to him yet?”

Katsuki shifts on the couch, scooting around until he can lay down with his head resting on Izuku’s leg. “He texted our other thread separately. Said we can go see them tomorrow afternoon if we want.”

“What, really?” Izuku shoots Kacchan an eager look at that. “For real, we can?”

“Mmhmm. He said Ears is gonna be at the hospital until, like, Thursday or some shit. But they can have visitors.” He glances up at Izuku. “Not everyone, though. Don’t want us crowding, s’why he didn’t mention it in the class chat.”

Izuku nods his understanding. He’s practically vibrating all of a sudden, excitement swelling in his chest. “We’re going, right?”

“Sure,” Katsuki says. He doesn’t look as thrilled about it as Izuku feels, but Izuku’s fairly certain it’s not that he doesn’t want to go.

Kacchan just seems overwhelmed, more than anything.

And like maybe he’s feeling a lot of things.

Which, fair. Izuku gets it. One of the big changes they’d been anticipating is abruptly just here, and it makes the other big change feel closer than ever. Just around the corner. A couple more months and it’ll be them at the hospital welcoming a new life to the world.

…Okay, yeah, that actually IS crazy.

Izuku feels like he’s been holding it together pretty well, though. Hell, he still feels that way when they get to the hospital the next day and make their way to Kyouka’s room.

They stumble into her parents in a nearby waiting room first and pause to exchange some quick pleasantries with them. And there’s a vaguely familiar blonde woman loitering in the hall nearby who Izuku recognizes to be Kaminari’s older sister, someone he only ever met once at their graduation ceremony. She’s busy on her phone, so he just gives her an awkward little wave before finally knocking lightly on Kyouka’s door and carefully pushing it open.

“Are we good to come in?” Izuku asks softly, peeking his head in. They’d messaged from the parking lot, but still. The last thing he wants to do is barge in on anything private.

Kaminari’s ready for them, though. He hops up immediately and rushes over to pull them in, smiling big and his eyes bright. “Hey!! You guys made it!” His voice is similarly hushed, and Izuku realizes why when he glances over toward the single bed in the private room they have.

Kyouka’s sitting there waiting for them with her own little grin. And cradled comfortably in her arms is the tiniest little dozing human Izuku has ever seen in his entire life.

Like, actually.

He’s reminded all over again that he really doesn’t have any experience with newborns. Newborns. New, new. This baby hasn’t even been out of the womb for thirty-six hours yet.

Kacchan’s right. She IS small.

“Holy shit,” Katsuki utters, walking right up to the bed and just staring. Izuku’s slack-jawed himself, but he makes sure he grips Kaminari in a tight hug before doing anything else. “Fuck, you really did it,” Kacchan continues in near-disbelief.

“Yep,” Kyouka says, lips quirking. She brushes a gentle touch over her daughter’s chubby cheek. “Didn’t have much of a choice, really, once it started. She was ready.”

Kaminari releases Izuku from his clutches and walks with him over to the baby. “Oh, wow,” Izuku murmurs. His eyes go wet – typical, honestly – but he beams through the tears. “Kyouka. She’s amazing.”

“I know, right?” Kaminari says excitedly. “All ten fingers and toes.” He bends close to Kyouka so she can pass the baby over to him. “She’s pretty bald right now, but it looks like she’s gonna have Kyouka’s hair.” Carefully, he tugs her little beanie off so they can see the wispy purple strands covering her head. “Maybe not her Quirk, though.”

True, it doesn’t seem like she has Kyouka’s earphone jacks.

“Could mean she’ll have yours, though,” Izuku says, keeping his volume low as he leans in. Kanami is still sound asleep and has been since they got there, so Izuku sure doesn’t want to be the one who accidentally wakes her up. “Gosh, she looks just like you guys.”

He doesn’t know how accurate that actually is right now, but he figures it’s the sort of thing people say. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Katsuki wrinkling his nose up in a doubtful sort of way, but thank goodness he doesn’t actually voice his disagreement out loud.

Instead, he says, “Not bad, Ears. Congrats.”

Kyouka snorts. “Woo, I did it,” she cheers, flat but teasing. “Pushed a whole human out of my body.”

“Yeah, thank fuck I don’t gotta do that.” Katsuki glances from baby Kanami to Kyouka and back again. “Like…she ain’t that big but still. How the hell.”

“Oh, trust me,” Kyouka intones, barking out a quick laugh. “She FELT big.”

“You want to hold her?” Kaminari asks, and whether that’s directed toward Izuku or Katsuki, he’s not sure, but Izuku instantly chirps out a, “YES!” and thrusts his arms out.

Kaminari carefully hands her over, making sure Izuku’s supporting everything he’s supposed to and that his daughter is safe and secure before he backs off a tad.

And that’s about when Izuku’s world finally tilts off its axis.

She’s such a little thing. And she feels fragile. Not in an unusual way or anything, as far as he can tell, but just…

Izuku’s so much bigger.

And he’s clumsy sometimes, oh god. His hands are huge, his arms bulky with muscle, Kanami looks itty bitty nestled against him and it’s WILD.

He’s suddenly so terrified something will happen to her because of him, even though there’s really not much that could happen. Because he’s being careful, SO careful, and he would never do anything stupid that would harm her, but it’s just this – this FEELING. It sweeps through him, protective and fierce and god, Kanami isn’t even his!

Holy crap, what the heck.

Some kind of sound escapes him – awed, scared, amazed, who knows. His voice is choked when he speaks. “Hi, Kana-chan,” he whispers. She lets out a little mewl, squirming for a few seconds in her blanket before she settles again, and Izuku melts. “Welcome to the world, baby girl.”

They let him hold her for almost an hour and she sleeps nearly the entire time. Izuku plants himself in a chair near the bed, Kanami a comforting, barely-there weight in his arms, and the four of them just talk for a while. Kaminari’s parents poke their heads in after a bit, but it’s just to inform them they’re going to grab dinner with Kyouka’s parents and will check back on them later.

Izuku catches Katsuki staring at him kind of lot while he’s snuggling the baby. And it’s not like he’s hogging her – he does shoot Kacchan a questioning look at one point, tilting Kanami toward him, but Katsuki’s eyes go wide and he gives a quick, subtle shake of his head, clearly trying not to draw attention to himself as he crosses his arms over his chest and stuffs his hands beneath his armpits. Izuku doesn’t want to push him if he’s simply not ready to hold her yet, so he doesn’t say anything and happily takes advantage of all the Kanami time he’s being granted.

Eventually, though, she does start crying.

Wailing, actually.

Izuku watches her tiny face screw up and knows it’s coming, but it’s still alarming how quickly the panic sets in once she starts. The oh fuck what do I do?? feeling, worrying if it’s pathetic of him to just instantly hand her back so he doesn’t have to deal with it, the lightning-fast, near-hysterical thought that zips through his brain of you won’t be able to hand her back when she’s YOURS hahaha gotta just figure it out GOOD LUCK shit shit shit.

Luckily, he’s not the only new (almost) parent in the room and Kaminari scrambles to relieve him of the baby, looking just as flustered as Izuku feels.

Kyouka’s not much better. “She might be hungry?” she guesses uncertainly, holding her arms out, and Kaminari gently, but hurriedly, transfers Kanami back to her mom. “I’m actually surprised she was quiet for even that long.”

“She’s definitely got some lungs on her,” Katsuki says, and when Izuku glances over at him, the look on his face is actually hilarious. In a creeping dread sort of way.

This is going to be them soon.

Guessing and fumbling through it and learning as they go.

Kyouka tries soothing her for a few minutes, but it’s not long before a nurse comes in and starts babbling something about trying to breastfeed again and making sure the baby latches correctly.

And, well. They don’t want to overstay their welcome, obviously, so Izuku takes that as their sign to skedaddle.

They say their goodbyes, offer more congratulations and gush about how perfect she is, and then they give Kyouka her privacy back and head out to the parking lot.

Once they’re in the car, though, Izuku just sits there for a long moment. Sort of reeling.

“…You good?” Kacchan asks eventually when Izuku still hasn’t even gotten around to turning the car on.

“I think so.” He turns to look at Katsuki, brow pinched inwards. “Kacchan, they have a baby.”

A triumphant laugh bursts out of him at that. “I told you!”

“Kacchan – oh my god.”

“Right?!”

“I can’t even… This is crazy.”

“I told you,” Katsuki says again, way too proud of himself. “It’s fucking weird!”

Izuku looks down at his hands like he’s seeing them for the first time. “She was so little.”

“THANK YOU. Fuckin’ hell, I thought I was losing my mind.”

“She’s still in a normal range,” Izuku says a bit dryly, rolling his eyes. “I think I just never realized how small a newborn is.”

“I definitely didn’t. Completely batshit.”

Izuku tips his head, giving Katsuki a searching glance. “You didn’t want to hold her?”

A strange sort of expression washes over Kacchan’s face at the question and he slumps to the side, leaning against the car door and lifting his hands to examine them the same way Izuku just did. “I, uh… I dunno,” he mumbles. “I just started thinking I was gonna sweat all over her and make her explode or something – that’s not even how this fucking works, I ain’t pulled shit like that since I was ten.”

Izuku grins a bit. Can’t help it. “Kacchan,” he chuckles, and Katsuki’s shoulders hike up as his ears go red.

“Shut up!” he says, scowling. “Fuck, seriously, I really thought I was gonna break her, it was stupid as hell.”

“Next time,” Izuku says. He reaches out to give Katsuki’s forearm a squeeze, then slides his hand down until he can thread their fingers together. “We’ll see Kana-chan again soon.”

Katsuki hums out an approving sound, then suddenly darts a sharp look Izuku’s way. “You looked really good with her, though.”

“Ah, did I?” Izuku blinks at him, then smiles eagerly. “Really??”

“Yeah, like…” Katsuki clears his throat. “Really good.”

“I was so nervous,” Izuku admits with another light laugh. “I think I did okay, though. Until she started crying anyway.”

“Mm.”

Izuku’s eyebrows arch in question. “What?”

“Nothing,” Katsuki mutters. His hand tightens around Izuku’s and he shifts in his seat, then abruptly huffs out an annoyed sound. “I don’t know! Just. Seeing you hold a baby…” Color bleeds into his cheeks as he sneaks another glance at Izuku. “It was a good look on you, okay?! It was kinda hot. Don’t make it weird.”

Oh.

“…Wouldn’t dream of it,” Izuku says faintly. Fully amused now. Katsuki’s eyes narrow into a suspicious glare and Izuku tries to hold his breath, not to make a sound, but he breaks after maybe about three seconds and can’t stop the snickers that bubble out of him.

Kacchan makes another frustrated little noise and rips his hand away. “Oh my god, you asshole. Just drive already, fuck’s sake.”

“I’m sorry!” Izuku cries, still cracking up. At least he finally manages to get the car started, though.

“Whatever,” Katsuki grouses. He’s sulking and glowering in an overdramatic way. “Hurry up. I need you to fuck another baby into me when we get home.”

“Kacchan.”

“JUST GO, DEKU.”

* * *

Katsuki still hasn’t really recovered by the time he’s back at U.A. the following Tuesday.

It doesn’t help that Kaminari keeps spamming their loser group chat with all kinds of pictures of Kanami. He’s got about fifty million slightly different variations of her just lying in her hospital bassinet now – because it turns out that newborns don’t actually do a whole hell of a lot else than just that.

She’s still all pink and kind of squished, too.

And yet, it’s adorable. He doesn’t know why. Like, she looks a bit like a tiny alien but Katsuki’s still sort of reluctantly obsessed.

It’s especially adorable when short videos start making their way into the mix and Katsuki is treated to her skinny, wrinkly little arms waving about like she doesn’t quite know what to do with them yet.

Fuck, he should’ve held her when he had the chance.

Katsuki’s not entirely sure what the social protocols dictate, but he’s assuming he’s probably not supposed to just show up at Kaminari’s place the second they get home from the hospital. They need time to adjust, settle into their new life. Heal, in Kyouka’s case.

No, it’ll probably be a good few weeks before he can blow up their door and demand to hold their kid.

Dammit.

“Baaa-kugou,” a familiar voice calls out from somewhere behind him, and Katsuki turns in his seat to find Mahoro peering around the door into the communal teachers’ office where he’s set up at a desk, grading some basic first aid quizzes that he and Tsuyu had administered to the first years that morning.

“That’s Bakugou-sensei to you, ya brat,” he says, grinning as he tips his head in a silent invitation for her to enter the room.

Mahoro harrumphs at him but she’s quick to scamper inside. “Am I allowed in here?”

“Eh.” There are only a couple other teachers around at the moment. One of those upperclassmen guys, who Katsuki still doesn’t remember the name of, and Ectoplasm. He doubts either of them will care, and they’re down at the opposite end of the office anyway. “It’s fine. What’s up?”

“Nothin’.” Mahoro rocks back on her heels and then shoots him a huffy kind of glare. “It’s just I’ve barely gotten to talk to you since school started and whenever I see you in class, you’re all teacher this and teacher that.” She thrusts her hand out, pointing directly at Katsuki’s nose. “Why didn’t you tell us you’d be at U.A., huh??”

Katsuki snorts out a light laugh, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards. “I don’t gotta tell you shit, I’m the adult here.” He pauses. “Also, it was kind of last minute.”

“Whatever, Bakugou-sensei. A call still would’ve been nice.” She grins. “Katsuma was soooo jealous when I told him. He’s demanding to come visit during summer break now.”

“He should. Izuku would love to see him.” Katsuki sets his pen down and spins around to face her fully. “How’ve your first couple weeks been? Settling in okay?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Mahoro lifts a hand, twirling her finger into one of her pigtails and glancing down at the floor. “It’s weird being so far away from home, I guess. But at least it’s easy making friends because of the dorms and stuff.”

Oof.

Alright, his bad. He knows it’s not really his responsibility, but still – he meant to check in with her sooner. See how things were going.

But she seems okay. Maybe a little sad to be away from her family, but still peppy enough.

Still bratty, too.

Definitely a good sign.

“You like the dorms?” he asks. “I always thought it was pretty kickass getting to live on our own.”

Mahoro makes a face at him. “It’s only pretend on our own. There’s still curfews and restrictions and the teachers check on us all the time. You know…” She gives him a pointed look. “The other teachers.”

“Oi, what do you want from me?” Katsuki leans back in his chair. “You’re not in my homeroom. Hell, I don’t have a homeroom, I’m only here part-time.”

“Yeah, what’s that about?” Mahoro mirrors his position, resting back against the edge of a nearby desk and crossing her arms over her chest. As though she’s about to start interrogating him or some shit. “Why are you really here?”

Katsuki shrugs. “I’m here to teach. Obviously.”

She looks more than a little skeptical at that. “Only half the week? Are you not hero-ing anymore?”

“Nah, I am. Just.” Katsuki shrugs again, trying to decide how much he should tell her. She might be a teenager now, but she’s still just a kid. And technically his student. “I’m taking a medical break.”

“Medical??” Mahoro repeats, alarmed. “Did you get hurt?”

“No. Mahoro.” He exhales a breath up at his bangs and drags a hand over his face. “It’s – it ain’t really public, okay, so…”

“Oh.” Mahoro peers at him some more, but eventually she backs off and rolls her eyes. “Geez, making me all worried and stuff. That’s irresponsible, you know!”

“Tch, you’ll live.”

“Can you even talk to me like that? Since you’re a TEACHER now and all.”

“I’m off the clock.” Katsuki arches his eyebrows. “Shimano-san.”

Mahoro immediately scrunches her nose up. “Ew, that’s so weird coming from you,” she says, and Katsuki barks out a laugh.

“Unnatural?”

“Extremely.”

“Tell me how I’m doing,” Katsuki says. “With the teaching crap. You enjoying the classes?”

“Asui-sensei is cool, I like her,” Mahoro says with a small shrug. “You’re fine.”

Wow, okay. Don’t go shouting his praises or anything, geez.

“Damn, what a glowing endorsement,” Katsuki drawls, and Mahoro gives him another attitude-y eyeroll.

“Well, I don’t know! It’s just first aid stuff so far, it’s not like I’m in the hero class.” She scuffs her foot against the ground, frowning a little. “I never wanted to be, but they sound kinda fun. Some of the boys from the hero course were going off about you, though.”

“Oh yeah?” Interesting. It’s not like Katsuki super cares about the opinions of some random teenagers, but he can’t help being a little curious. “How so?”

“They got in an argument yesterday during lunch. There’s a lot of Dynamight fans here, you know?” Mahoro pushes herself up to sit on the desk and grabs a spare pencil to fiddle around with, her legs kicking back and forth. “I guess some of them got all excited finding out you work here now, and then some others said you’re only here because you’re on probation for causing too much property damage–”

“What?” Katsuki cuts in despite himself, straightening in his seat. “The hell – property damage?! Where’d they get THAT from?”

“I mean, I think just from seeing you in action,” Mahoro says, in the absolute most duh, you loser teenage tone Katsuki’s ever heard in his life.

“Hey, I’m actually VERY good at keeping myself under control,” he says. A little too defensively, to be honest. Ugh. “I didn’t train like hell to make sure I wasn’t accidentally blowing shit up all the time just for some little twerps to make up crap about me.”

Mahoro waves him off without a care in the world. “They’re just rumors, Bakugou, chill out.”

“Oi. Bakugou-sensei.”

“Right, right. Anyway.” She brightens up a bit. Eager to gossip, Katsuki realizes belatedly, and of course he just let himself get roped into it. What the fuck. “So then there was this other guy who said his aunt’s friend’s sister works at your agency, and she told them that you’re actually on an undercover mission because there’s a villain disguising themselves as a student here.” Mahoro leans forward, grinning wide, her voice hushed. “Is that what it actually is??”

Katsuki stares at her for a minute. “…Not even a little,” he forces out eventually in faint disbelief, and Mahoro deflates like she’s a balloon leaking air.

“Boooo. That was the most exciting option.”

“That’s exciting?”

“Well, yeah. It got dumb after that.” She puffs out a breath, her cheeks rounding out with it. “Because then they all started arguing about who from your year is the better hero and none of them believed me when I said I know you guys! I tried to tell them it’s not even a contest, like, it’s definitely you and Deku, but then this one stupid jerk just–” Mahoro cuts herself off there rather abruptly, her lips clamping shut around whatever she was about to say.

“Just what?” Katsuki prompts, eyebrows hiking upwards, but Mahoro shakes her head.

“It was mean, I don’t want to say,” she mumbles.

“Hey.” Katsuki scoots forward in his seat, catching her gaze and holding it. “If it’s something that upset you, you just gotta ignore it. There ain’t a damn thing any of these kids can say that would actually bother me, alright?” He pauses for a beat, and then amends: “Except for that lame property damage thing. That was bullshit.”

Mahoro snorts out a little giggle and smiles briefly at him, but her gaze skitters away after a second and she rubs at the back of her neck. “It’s not that it upset me. It was just rude. He, uh…” She trails off again, dithering, before a frustrated groan bursts out of her. With cheeks flushed pink, she finally says in a rush, “He was talking about your weight, okay?? It was stupid, he said you were too – that you – I mean. That you aren’t…in shape enough to be a hero anymore. And that’s why you’re here instead.” Mahoro scowls. “I wanted to deck him. What does he know?!”

For a brief moment, Katsuki just sits with that.

He’s not, like, insulted or anything. He told Mahoro these brats couldn’t offend him and he meant it. And anyway, it’s sort of a fair deduction. In a way.

It’s just also a wake-up call that he really can’t hide this anymore.

He can wear whatever baggy, shapeless clothes he wants, but if even the snotty first years are picking up that something’s off, then it’s really game over.

Ah well.

Katsuki chuckles, low and amused. “He called me fat, huh?” he asks, and Mahoro pouts at him.

“Yeah… M’sorry.”

“Nah, he said it, not you. But look…” Katsuki hefts himself out of his chair and shrugs off his windbreaker, then turns back to face her with his hands propped on his hips. “He might’ve had a point, I guess. I’ll let you in on a secret, though.”

Mahoro’s gaze keeps bouncing back and forth between Katsuki’s stomach and his face. There’s a little furrow between her brows, but she still perks up at the mention of a secret. “Ohh, okay! Tell me!”

“See, that kid might think I’m fat…” Katsuki smirks. “But the truth is, I’m actually just pregnant.”

Silence.

Mahoro’s eyes get so, so big.

“P-Pregnant?” she squeaks.

“Yep. Quirk accident.”

“You and Deku??”

“Right again.”

There’s more silence.

And then Mahoro goes flying off the desk and just barely stops herself from crashing into Katsuki. “OH MY GOD,” she shrieks, practically hopping around like some kind of oversized bunny. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my GOD. You’re pregnant?? REALLY?!”

“That’s what I said.” Katsuki tugs his shirt just a bit tighter against his belly. “Guess there’s really no hiding it anymore.”

“That’s why you’re on a medical break?” Mahoro asks, and Katsuki nods.

“Also why I’m only here a few days a week.”

“Oh my god, this is so cool!!” she squeals excitedly. “Can I babysit? I was so good with Katsuma when he was little, you HAVE to let me babysit!”

“We’re definitely not turning down volunteers, trust me,” Katsuki says, his voice a warm rumble. “I’ll add you to the list.”

“Wow.” Mahoro stares at his stomach with stars in her eyes. “Also, ha! Those stupid boys were ALL wrong.”

Katsuki snorts. “Yeah, stupid boys usually are.”

“This is seriously the coolest thing ever.” She finally tears her gaze away, glancing back up to Katsuki’s face instead. “I guess all the teachers know?”

“Most of ‘em should,” Katsuki says. “I made an announcement on my first day.”

“You said it’s not public, though,” Mahoro muses, and then doesn’t wait for Katsuki to reply before she starts nodding to herself. “Okay, okay. I can keep a secret. I LOVE secrets. I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry!”

Well. As much as he appreciates that, he knows how this shit goes.

Schoolyard rumors are just the beginning. Hell, there was already buzz about it on social media. It’ll only continue to snowball from here.

Maybe it’s time to get the word out.

Chapter Text

Just because he realizes they should make some kind of public announcement doesn’t mean Katsuki’s looking forward to it.

He’s not really sure how he would’ve handled it had he just decided to stick with his desk job at the agency. It’s possible they could’ve gotten away with not saying much at all.

But he chose to put himself in a place where it’s all too easy for a certain population to scrutinize him to hell and back. He made that decision himself knowing there would be consequences. And sure, maybe he’s not REQUIRED to say anything, but he feels like he owes it to his students. They deserve some kind of explanation.

“You’re sure about this?” Deku asks as they leave Lemillion’s office. They’d discussed it at length at home before going to their boss, so Katsuki knows Deku is about one thousand percent onboard. He’s just concerned for Katsuki’s sake, which is dumb as hell.

Because the truth is… He’s actually being sort of a coward about this.

Fucking sue him.

“I’m sure,” he says anyway.

Sero, Awase, and Hasegawa are all clustered around his desk when they walk up. Bunch of idiots, nosy as hell.

“So?” Sero asks. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re going to have a small press conference,” Deku says.

“A weird-ass, fucking vague press conference,” Katsuki adds, and Deku nods.

“Closed to the public, limited media only. Mirio-senpai will announce that Kacchan will be off active duty for the foreseeable future as he…” Deku’s eyes narrow like he’s trying to read from a script written on the far wall. “Focuses on his growing family and personal life that he shares with…me.” He swallows, then grins a tad nervously. “We’re going public, guys.”

“Oh shit,” says Awase. “A double whammy announcement?”

“I’m hoping the Deku news overshadows the growing family comment,” Katsuki grumbles. “That’s the goal. Because we ain’t elaborating on that part, that’s all those fuckers are getting.”

All three of them make noises of sudden understanding.

“That might actually be sort of smart,” Sero says. “Shock ‘em with one thing and slide the other in there just under the radar.”

“It’s the media, you know they’ll ask questions,” Awase points out.

“We won’t be taking questions at the press conference,” Deku says. “So the amount of speculation might get crazy for a bit, but… It’ll be okay.”

“What about U.A.?” Hasegawa asks.

“Nezu is making an announcement to the students and staff on Friday.” Katsuki pushes a hand through his hair and tries not to let it show on his face exactly how he feels about that. “They’ll get the, uh. Pregnancy info.”

Sero sucks in a hissing breath through his teeth. “Won’t the news end up getting out anyway, then?”

“Probably.” Deku shrugs. “Honor code, though.”

“The idea is to sort of use it as an example of crazy shit that can happen in the field,” Katsuki explains. “And stress the importance of supporting your fellow heroes in keeping their private lives private, or some bullshit like that.” He pauses for a beat, then mutters: “It definitely won’t fucking work.”

“And that’s fine,” Deku insists. He reaches for Katsuki’s hand, and Katsuki just fucking lets him. The whole world’s about to know they’re together, he can handle some shitty handholding in front of three people who’ve been in on that for years. “We know it’s not going to stay under wraps, but there’ll be conflicting stories out there and different information from every side. The tabloids will be in heaven, but you know, eventually it’ll die down and then something else will happen and everyone will move on.”

“He’s very optimistic,” Katsuki says in a tone about as dry as the desert when both Sero and Awase squint at them doubtfully. “Tied myself to a glass half full dumbass.”

“Aww, no, I think Midoriya’s probably right,” Hasegawa pipes up again. “There’s always something crazier that happens eventually.”

“Crazier than this?” Katsuki jabs a finger at his bulging stomach.

“That’s just kind of romantic,” Hasegawa says airily, and Deku grins at her. “Also cool.”

“Romantic?” Katsuki repeats, nose wrinkling, but the others ignore him.

“What about security?” Awase asks. “Are we stepping up patrols around your place or what?”

Katsuki frowns. “Oi, I can still blast any assholes that try shit.”

“Dude,” Sero says. Gives him a flat look. “Come on.”

“Anyone with an ounce of speed could slip your defenses at this point,” Awase comments bluntly, and wow.

WOW.

Deku hastily takes half a step in front of Katsuki before he can use Sero’s tape to strangle that pair of morons. “We’re going to play that by ear,” he says loudly. “See how things feel as we get closer to July. And until then, we’ll just be extra cautious.” He shoots Katsuki a very sudden and extremely pointed look. “Right?”

Geez.

Katsuki huffs. “Right,” he mutters.

“Welp, that’s sure…a plan I’ve now heard,” Sero says.

“The most plan of all plans,” Awase agrees.

“I think it’s reasonable enough.” Hasegawa glances at the other two in mild exasperation. “Have some faith!”

“Sure,” Sero drawls. “If you happen to spot me or Shouto lurking around, just know we’re only scoping out the area because we might steal your apartment after you move out. We’re definitely not your new neighborhood watch or anything.”

Katsuki determinedly tries to cram down the abrupt rush of heat in his cheeks. He’s not touched by that, dammit. He’s also not going to acknowledge the grateful smile that stretches across Deku’s face.

Ugh.

Losers, all of them.

“Oh, speaking of that!” Hasegawa reaches behind her and grabs a gift bag that’s so fucking big, Katsuki has no idea how he didn’t notice it before she actively shoves it into his arms. “For the baby’s room at the new house.” She winks at him. “Don’t worry, not a whole lot of surprises in there. It’s mostly stuff you knew I was working on.”

Katsuki narrows his eyes at her. “Mostly,” he repeats suspiciously, and she just grins entirely too innocently.

“Mostly,” she confirms, beaming. “Unpack it later, okay? I’ve gotta get back on the phones. See you at lunch?”

She takes off back to her own desk, and Katsuki has to stop Deku from immediately snooping in the bag. “Don’t you have to patrol?” he asks.

Deku pouts at him. “Just a peek?”

“Later,” Katsuki insists. “Fuck off, go save a kitten or something.”

He does, but not before swooping in to steal a kiss that leaves Katsuki sputtering and Sero snickering. Awase just shakes his head and stomps off, muttering about how he needs to get a girlfriend already.

So, here’s the cowardly part. …Or more of the cowardly part.

Katsuki’s not going to the press conference.

He’s leaving that entire debacle up to Deku. It’ll just be him and Lemillion at the mics, handling the brunt of the media attention.

Katsuki will be holed up at home. Because it’s also happening on Friday, about the same time Nezu should be delivering his message to all of U.A., and basically Katsuki is just not going to step foot outside his apartment for the entire weekend. He’s not getting online, he refuses to look at social media, the TV stays off, and since he doesn’t have to be back at U.A. until the following Tuesday, he gets to spend at least a few days being blissfully unaware of what the world is saying about him.

If they’re saying anything at all.

He gets a few messages from some friends. A grinning emoji with a thumbs up from Kirishima, three rows of hearts from Mina. Edgeshot sends a text that simply says: Proud of you, kid.

Best Jeanist sends one that says they should plan to meet up soon.

Mirko calls him and Katsuki makes the mistake of actually picking up. She spends about three minutes just cackling down the line, clearly amused as shit, before eventually congratulating him on his impending litter. Which, of course, just results in Katsuki screaming at her that it’s NOT a fucking litter, goddammit, it’s just one, and she screams back that she’ll call it whatever she fucking wants, and then they just continue yelling at each other for the next FUCK KNOWS how long while Deku watches from the couch in pained exasperation.

By the time Katsuki hangs up, he’s feeling the best he has all weekend.

Like he can take on anything, including the teenage masses at U.A.

It’s still a little awkward walking onto campus Tuesday morning. He gets a lot of stares, some curious looks, all things he expected. But shockingly, no one in any of his classes says a single word about it – not directly to him, anyway. He catches some whispering, but all it takes is a quick warning look from Tsuyu and the kids quiet down again.

Katsuki’s not sure how to feel about that. About the lack of confrontation. He tries to think back to when he was in school, and how he would’ve reacted if Aizawa had turned up suddenly round with child, but he has to banish that mental image from his brain the second it appears.

Okay, so maybe all his students are simply too weirded out by the entire concept to even try broaching that conversation.

Maybe a lot of them just don’t care.

That’s also fair. Katsuki sure didn’t give a shit about his teachers’ private lives most of the time.

It’s not until later that afternoon after classes are done that anyone’s finally brave enough to say something.

Katsuki’s in one of the weight rooms doing bicep curls with the free weights – something he doesn’t need a spotter for, luckily. He’s just started contemplating whether he wants to attempt doing squats at the risk of finding himself stuck on the floor forever when he notices a few of his first years lurking around the doorway.

Tch. Nosy.

He’s not saying anything, though. Let them come to him.

It takes another few minutes, but eventually the three boys do cautiously make their way over.

“Are you allowed to be doing that?” Kid #1 asks. He’s got scales down his arms and an impressive set of wings on his back.

Katsuki pauses, eyebrows arching. “Weight lifting?”

“Anything lifting,” Kid #2 clarifies. His Quirk involves spikes, if Katsuki remembers right – he can make them appear all over his body like some kind of human porcupine and then fire them off at will. “When my mom was having my sister, the doctors told her not to lift anything over, like, thirty pounds.”

“It just depends on the person,” Katsuki grunts, doing another rep. He tries not to think too hard or be too aware of what they’re discussing. Just lets it happen. “I was a pro hero before shit went sideways. Worked out constantly, lifted weights all the time. So it ain’t a problem, I just had to scale back some.”

“I told you,” Kid #3 says softly. The quietest of the bunch. He reminds Katsuki of Koda back in their first year: big and lumbering but lacking the confidence at the moment to say a whole lot. Ironically, his Quirk gives him the ability to shrink down to the size of a pinhead, even if at his natural height he’s nearly as tall as Katsuki.

“This is scaling back?” Spikes gapes at him. “I don’t even lift THAT much on a good day.”

“Skill issue,” Wings says with a jeering grin, and Spikes jabs an elbow directly into his kidney.

Katsuki finishes with the free weights and sets them back on the rack before heading over to the leg press. The boys trail after him like they’re a trio of lost ducklings or some shit.

“My mom ran a half-marathon when she was pregnant with me,” Shrinky murmurs as Katsuki counts the weight plates and then moves to pull one of them off. “I think pregnant people can do anything.”

“Maybe not anything, but they can do a lot.” Katsuki lifts his chin in a quick jerk, gesturing at the other side of the leg press. “Grab one of those weights, will you?”

Shrinky jolts and then scrambles to do as told, while Katsuki lowers himself down onto the seat and then immediately questions all his life choices because he’s definitely not going to be able to gracefully get back up again.

“Was she as big as Bakugou-sensei is, though?” Spikes asks.

“Dude,” Wings hisses, and Katsuki follows that up with a grouchy, “Watch it.”

“Sorry,” Spikes mumbles. “I meant, like, as far along.”

“I think she was about halfway through,” Shrinky says. “She medaled, though. I’ve seen the pictures.”

“Second trimester, then.” Katsuki’s tone is clipped as he focuses on pushing against the leg press. A little self-conscious, to be honest, but only because he kind of doesn’t want to become a wheezing mess in front of his students. “If I tried that now, I’d probably freakin’ expire on the spot.”

“What’re you?” Wings asks.

“Third trimester, right?” Shrinky guesses.

“Gotta be third,” says Spikes, and then he winces when the other two shoot him dirty looks. “I’m just saying! My mom only had my sister last year, geez. I remember what she looked like.”

“Ya moron,” Wings drawls. He leans up against the side of the machine when Katsuki pauses for a breather in between sets, staring down at him curiously. “Is it weird?”

“Hella weird.” Katsuki stares intently back at him. “Do you think it’s weird?”

The kid’s gaze falls and he huffs out an uncertain sound. “…A little, I guess. But it’s not a big deal.”

“Do you think you’ll go back to hero-ing after?” Spikes asks.

“That’s the plan.”

“It’d be cool if you kept on teaching, though,” Shrinky says in a quiet voice, and he’s got a bashful air about him when Katsuki glances over. “You could switch to Hero Studies or something.”

Spikes shoulders Wings out of the way so he can get in Katsuki’s line of sight. “How’d you end up stuck teaching rescue stuff anyway?”

“That rescue stuff is arguably more important than anything else you’re learning.” Katsuki puffs out a breath and starts his next set, forcing the boys to back off the weight machine.

“Yeah, yeah,” Wings grumbles. “We know. Save to Win, Win to Save. Always reach out a helping hand, blah blah blah. Hero Deku’s constantly saying stuff like that.”

At the mention of his name, all three boys suddenly go still and pin Katsuki with wide-eyed, laser-focused looks. Like they’re waiting for him to react somehow.

…Right, because they would know now, wouldn’t they? About him and Deku. Hah.

Great.

Katsuki lets the leg press lock back into its starting position and carefully heaves himself upright. “What do you think being a hero is all about? Fame? Glory?”

“I mean, kinda,” Spikes snarks, and this time it’s Wings who elbows him in the gut. “Oof– I’m KIDDING, goddamn, dude.”

“Protection,” Shrinky whispers. And then somewhat louder, “It’s about protecting people.”

Katsuki points at him. “That’s what it boils down to every time. It’s always about keeping the public safe.”

Wings groans a bit. “That’s sort of boring, though.”

“Keeping a person alive is boring?” Katsuki’s eyebrows arch. “You wanna try saying that again while Aizawa’s nearby?”

He’s pretty sure these guys are from his homeroom.

“No!” Wings yelps with a haunted look. “No, I’m – I’m good.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Katsuki says, snorting. “Listen up, problem children, I’m not gonna spin off into a whole lecture right here. I’ll save it for the classroom. But you’d better get it in your heads now that there’s not going to be a huge fight for you to get involved in every day. Hell, there’s probably not even going to be a fight most days. We’re not out here battling a constant stream of alien warlords or some shit, that’s not how it works. What you’ll have are opportunities. The chance to do some fucking good and help someone. Car accidents, muggings, earthquakes, landslides, you name it. Outreach programs, charity fundraisers, bullshit paperwork – there’s way more to this job than you probably even realize right now.”

He leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, and lets a sharp grin tug at his mouth.

“You do get to punch a lot of assholes along the way, though.”

All three of the teenagers bark out surprised laughs at that, any tension that had started to build quickly bleeding away.

“You want it to be boring,” Katsuki adds thoughtfully. “You want it to be peaceful. That’s our entire goal.”

“Do you like saving people?” Spikes asks, and Katsuki goes quiet for a moment. Mulling that over.

Because obviously yes – but he wants to word it the right way.

“I was a bigger brat than any of you when I started here,” he says eventually. “I had to learn how important the saving aspect was. Have it really drilled into me, even. I was pretty stubborn about it.”

Katsuki tilts his head back, looking up at the ceiling. Beyond it to the wide, blue sky, and past that to a time years gone when it was Deku up there giving it his all. Doing his damnedest to keep Shigaraki off the ground.

He would save his nerd a million times over, even if it meant getting stabbed through the chest every fucking time.

“But I did learn it,” he continues. “And I accepted it. Saved my partner a time or two or three, and he’s the most important person in my life, so.” His head lowers again so he can meet the kids’ owl-wide stares. “Guess you could say it’s my favorite part of being a hero.”

“How long have you and Deku been together?” Wings bursts out suddenly, looking so fucking curious that it actually startles another snorting laugh out of Katsuki. “Were you dating when you were at U.A.??”

“They joined the same agency right out of school, so probably,” Spikes says, also eager.

“But they knew each other before.” Shrinky’s eyeing him in a speculative way, like he’s some kind of fucking detective. “Didn’t you? Since you were kids, right?”

Wings and Spikes both start oooohhhhh-ing as though that’s some kind of insider tip and not totally public knowledge. Katsuki just rolls his eyes.

Like hell is he answering any of that.

“None of your damn business, ya brats,” he says, and then thrusts both his hands out. “Now help me up already. And since you’re all standing around being useless instead of doing your own workouts, that means one of you has to spot me while I bench press.”

And really…that’s that.

There are headlines, of course. Both his leave of absence and relationship with Deku are front page news for the better part of a week, what few facts they put out instantly snowballing into rampant speculation. Some tabloids run wild with rumors and bullshit articles. Social media has a fucking field day trying to figure out the full story.

But Hasegawa was right – it doesn’t take long for the tides to change. Eventually some random pop singer idol gets caught up in a stupid-ass love hotel scandal, and suddenly Katsuki’s name isn’t constantly trending in the top five anymore. The press stop crowding the gates of U.A. trying to spring an interview on him. He gets relegated back to the usual hero gossip columns instead of page one in big, bold font.

The world knows, and you know what?

It keeps right on spinning.

* * *

Katsuki’s pretty sure he’s timed this out correctly. It’s been four weeks, so Pikachu should be back to work now. And it’s Wednesday, which means Ears has had a few days on her own without him, so Katsuki won’t look like a crazy person who’s been waiting to ambush her the second she was left home alone with the baby.

He hasn’t pestered. Never even showed up at their place to demand baby snuggles. He’s been very patient, okay, but the constant barrage of newborn pictures started dwindling once they got Kanami home from the hospital and whatever fucking switch flipped in Katsuki’s head when he saw her squished little face for the first time apparently rewired his entire brain, and now he’s filled to the brim with goddamn baby fever.

It's weird.

But maybe a good thing in a roundabout way, because his impatience with his own stupid pregnancy has increased tenfold lately. He’s ready for it to be over, and not just because his belly at thirty-three weeks has become a gigantic pain in the ass.

He just wants to meet his own kid already. He wants to see her, hold her, have some living, breathing proof that this whole bizarre experience was worth it.

Katsuki’s still stuck with his lumbering, unwieldy body for another month-and-a-half, though, so baby Kanami’s just going to have to suffer the brunt of this newfound need to have an infant cradled in his arms, like, stat.

He doesn’t exactly have a plan. Isn’t sure if inviting himself over is a good idea or if he should try to convince Kyouka to leave the house with a weeks-old brat. Hell, maybe she won’t even want company. She isn’t exactly the social butterfly that Kaminari is and it’s not like Katsuki has any idea if new moms are often up for hanging out, but he’s hoping it’s been long enough that she’ll be ready to see an adult other than her husband for the first time in a month.

Or, well.

She’s probably seen others. Yaomomo, at least, he assumes.

Whatever. He’s just gonna call her.

Somewhat surprisingly, Ears answers on the second ring. “Bakugou? What’s going on, you okay?”

“Hey – what?” Katsuki squints at the opposite side of his kitchen. “Yeah, I’m fine. The fuck would I be calling you for if something was wrong?”

“Well, you don’t usually call at all,” Kyouka says dryly. There’s some fussing in the background and Katsuki hears her make some shushing sounds. “So – come on, Kanami – what do you need, then?”

“I don’t need anything.” Except a baby in his arms, maybe. “Just figured I’d check on you. See if parenthood is all it’s cracked up to be or if I need to figure out the refund policy on the parasite in my guts.”

“Oh.” There’s a light snort, but mostly Kyouka sounds distracted when she speaks again. “It’s… It’s all just – more. Than I expected.”

“Reassuring.”

“Yeah, well.” The fussing grows louder, swiftly escalating into angry baby cries, and Kyouka groans. “There’s a ton of this.”

Katsuki winces a bit. “Did I wake her? When I called?”

“She hasn’t really slept, so no.”

“Shit, that’s rough.”

“Tell me about it,” Kyouka grumbles, and Katsuki finally picks up on the exhaustion in her voice. “But, uh. It’s been a while. How are things with you?”

“Awful,” Katsuki says promptly. “You could’ve fuckin’ warned me how goddamn weird things get in the third trimester.”

Kyouka chuckles in a tired way. “What, and ruin the surprise?”

“I drool now. Apparently. At night. Just wake up to fucking puddles on my pillow every morning.” Katsuki scowls and pushes away from the counter so he can pace aimlessly around the living room instead. “And I thought my stupid body temperature bullshit had finally leveled out, like I feel fine, but sometimes I wake up just DRENCHED and it’s so freakin’ gross. Izuku stayed glued to the goddamn bed the entire time I felt like I was living in Hades’ asshole, but I start sweating buckets and suddenly that’s enough to get him to camp out on the couch.”

“If you accidentally explode your bedroom,” Kyouka cuts in, “I would just like to say that it’s been a true experience knowing you.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Katsuki says mulishly. “Also, an experience? What the shit is that.”

“Just the truth.”

“Oh – and I guess I’m just fucking allergic to strawberries all of a sudden?! Kinda pissed about that one.”

“I was…” There’s a small grunt and then Kanami’s squalling grows louder, as though she’s closer to the phone now. “I was two seconds away from jumping Denki my entire third trimester.”

Katsuki’s nose scrunches up. “Gross.”

“Even when we were arguing. Especially when we were arguing.” Kyouka barks out a laugh. “He was actually turning me down by the end. Denki. Can you believe that?”

“Not really.”

“He was so sure he was going to…I don’t even know, hurt the baby somehow. Like he thought he’d be ramming it into her head–”

“Fucking– STOP, holy shit.” God, that’s a scarring mental image. Katsuki makes another face and rubs between his brows as though he can somehow erase all that right from his brain. “Geez, you had it that bad?”

“Yep,” Kyouka says simply. Distracted again. “It was both awesome and terrible.”

“Great,” Katsuki mutters. Because, honestly? …Yeah. He’s kind of been feeling that coming on recently. And he was hoping it would pass. “I, uh. Had a moment. Earlier on, like – in January? So second trimester, I guess. Which was enough, thanks, s’too much of a hassle dealing with that shit now.”

“Just put Midoriya to work, he won’t mind.”

Despite himself, Katsuki feels his cheeks go warm. “For fuck’s sake, Ears.”

“Just saying.” Kanami’s still wailing in the background. Katsuki listens to Kyouka coo at her for a minute, trying to soothe her, but it seems like she has zero interest in settling down. “God, she just won’t stop.”

“Is she okay?” Katsuki asks.

“I don’t–” Kyouka’s breath hitches. “I mean, yeah? She’s fine, I just.” She makes a defeated little sound, her voice steadily going thick and somewhat strained. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Bakugou.”

“Ah.” Katsuki clears his throat, an awkward feeling creeping in. “Nah, no way, I’m sure you’re…doing great.”

Baby Kanami’s volume ratchets upwards again, to the point that Katsuki grimaces and pulls the phone away from his ear. He hears Kyouka curse. “I just want her to sleep. She was up half the night and Denki’s, you know, he’s back to work, so.”

The emotion tangled in her words keeps building, frustration and fatigue and desperation all bleeding into each other in a way that causes a dull panic to start thrumming through Katsuki’s veins.

“I’m supposed to sleep when she sleeps, right?” Kyouka continues, hiccupping. “But she won’t sleep and I’m so fucking tired.”

“Oi, hey,” Katsuki says quickly. “This is just the shit part of it all, but it’ll pass. You just gotta…”

Gotta what, what the fuck does Katsuki know?

Kanami’s still crying. He’s pretty sure Kyouka’s crying, too, and that makes his ribcage feel unnaturally tight.

“Can you get Kaminari to come home?” he blurts out in a rush, and Kyouka chokes out a shuddering sob.

“No. He’s only been back at work for three days, I can’t just – I should be able to handle this! I’m her damn mom, I can’t just give up and call for help the second I’m alone.”

“But.” Katsuki flounders, searching for something useful or reassuring to say. Literally fucking anything. “It takes a village, right?”

“I don’t – I can do this.” Kyouka draws in a deep breath. “I can do this.”

“Obviously you can,” Katsuki starts to say, but he’s interrupted by a particularly loud wail from Kanami that nearly fucking bursts his eardrum. “Fuck, are you sure she’s okay??”

“I have to go,” Kyouka says abruptly, and then she hangs up before Katsuki can say another word.

Shit.

Alright, so maybe he won’t crash her place today.

…Or maybe he still will, actually, because now he’s fucking worried.

Probably over nothing. Babies cry. He might not know a ton about them yet, but he at least knows THAT much.

It eats at him anyway, and within minutes he’s shoving a hat over his head, cramming his feet into his shoes, and beginning the normally easy walk to Kaminari’s apartment. Luckily, he doesn’t spot any paparazzi lurking around. There were a few brazen assholes who kept showing up in the days after the press conference, but Deku shut all that down real fast.

No, the bigger problem right now is that they’re only a couple weeks away from the calendar flipping to June, which means the weather is quickly turning warm and muggy.

And Katsuki fucking feels it.

His hips are not happy with the sudden burst of activity either. When he saw her last week, Doctor Tajima had mentioned his brat might start dropping lower soon (lower where, fucking hell), and that if she did, he’d likely feel an increase of pressure in his pelvis. Katsuki has no idea if that’s happening or not – frankly, he feels more like this kid is lodged up by his lungs or some shit with how annoying it’s become trying to draw in full breaths of air. So maybe it’s just the sheer size of his belly weighing him down and not the baby dropping, but regardless, moving comfortably is definitely a thing of the past.

All that to say, he’s practically fucking wheezing by the time he finally makes it to the apartment. And he’s sore. For SOME fucking reason. Just from speed-waddle-walking a measly twenty minutes down the damn street.

Ears does him a favor and doesn’t ignore his frantic knocking, but he can tell she regrets opening the door the second she sees him.

“Oh god,” she groans, fussy baby in one arm and the other holding the door at a carefully allotted six inches cracked. There are bags under her eyes and mysterious stains on the oversized shirt she’s wearing, she’s got her hair haphazardly pulled back into a claw clip, and she definitely looks like she’s about five seconds away from keeling over. “You didn’t have to come rushing over here, I swear we’re fine.”

Her red-rimmed eyes and wrecked voice say differently. Katsuki just peers at her, still trying to catch his breath.

Kyouka squints right back at him. “Are you dying?”

“Maybe,” Katsuki says, snorting and then puffing out one more heaving exhale. “Kid has taken up residence in my ribcage, I think.”

She gives him a commiserating look at that, absently giving her own baby gentle little bounces in a never-ending effort to make her calm down. “Okay, well now I feel bad telling you to fuck off back home.”

“You can.” Katsuki keeps his gaze pinned on Kanami, watching as her face screws up to let out another cry. “I’m not trying to barge in on you or anything, I just – I was worried.”

“Ugh, Bakugou,” Kyouka whines. She glances back over her shoulder. “It’s so bad in here, everything’s a mess, I don’t want…”

“Kyouka.” Katsuki waits until she meets his eyes again, and then speaks as honestly as he can manage. “I’m the last person who’s gonna judge you for anything. I just want to help. Let me be your fuckin’ village.”

Kyouka stares at him for a moment longer, and then her expression crumples. “Help how?” she asks weakly, but she’s at least stepping away from the door and letting Katsuki enter the room. He quickly shuffles inside before she can change her mind.

“I can watch Kanami for you,” he offers. “I can…”

Oh.

Katsuki gets his first look at the rest of the apartment. At the piles of laundry, open packages of diapers, dishes scattered around the living room – which makes him think the kitchen is probably in a similar state.

Okay, so there’s a lot he can do. Actually.

“You wouldn’t even hold her at the hospital,” Kyouka says, and Katsuki’s gaze snaps back to her again. There’s nothing accusatory in her tone, but that doesn’t stop him from grimacing. Figures she’d picked up on his reluctance back then. “You really want to jump right in and deal with this?”

“I’m gonna be in the same boat.” Katsuki shrugs a little. “Might as well. Look, just let me take her and you can go…shower or something. Take a nap.”

“Shower,” Kyouka repeats flatly, and then drags her free hand over her eyes. “I look that bad, huh?”

Fuck.

“No,” Katsuki says quickly, but Kyouka just huffs out a humorless laugh.

“I thought I showered yesterday,” she murmurs. “But hell, maybe I didn’t get around to it. I can’t freakin’ remember.”

“Again, not fucking judging you. In any way. And I’m not trying to stress you out. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave.” Katsuki gestures at the baby. “Or you can hand her over, screaming and all, and I’ll just fucking deal. It’ll be okay, I swear.”

Kyouka still hesitates, but Katsuki thinks – hopes – that it’s more a reluctance to stop holding Kanami than it is her lack of faith in Katsuki’s abilities. She finally leans forward, though, holding her out, and Katsuki VERY carefully shifts the kid over into his own arms.

And then just stares, eyes owl-wide and uncertain, down at her frustrated, unhappy little face.

“This is so weird,” Kyouka whispers, also watching her in an oddly similar fashion. “I actually miss her. Like…she’s right there. But I miss her!”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Katsuki says softly. “You want her back?”

“No,” Kyouka blurts out immediately, and then winces. “Yes. But no. I’m in desperate need of sleep.”

“I’ve got nothing going on and nowhere to be.” Katsuki glances up at her. “Take your time. Run a bath first, enjoy it.”

Kyouka’s eyes well up with tears. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve got this, I promise.” The corner of his mouth tugs up into a grin. “Do me a favor, though – stick your head out when you’re done so I know you didn’t fall asleep in the tub. Then get in bed and stay there as long as you fucking want.”

“She’ll have to eat eventually.” Kyouka starts backing away slowly, even though she’s still got her eyes glued to her baby girl. “I think she’ll be good for a while, though.”

“We’ll be fine,” Katsuki says for maybe the fifteenth time. “Go.”

Kyouka does. She takes one last lingering look at the pair of them and then determinedly marches off.

Which just leaves Katsuki, absolutely clueless, with a still fussy infant cradled in the crook of his elbow. She’s not exactly wailing anymore, more just snuffling and choking out the occasional sad sound, but she doesn’t look thrilled to be in some stranger’s arms. Maybe that’s what prompted the sudden break in her crying, though, because instead she’s peering up at Katsuki in an unfocused, almost confused kind of way. Like she’s wondering who the fuck he is.

“Listen, squirt,” Katsuki says, turning to head farther into the living room so he can start gathering up dishes with one hand. “You and I are just gonna have to get used to each other, because we’re about to be in each other’s lives for a really long-ass time.”

Kanami’s face scrunches up into such a disagreeable little expression that Katsuki actually snorts.

“I’m not that bad,” he says to her. “And you’re gonna like my kid when she gets here. Is that why you’re so grumpy? You’re mad you got here first and now you have to wait?”

Obviously, she doesn’t answer. Katsuki carries a stack of plates into the kitchen, notes the rest of the cups and utensils piled in the sink, and sighs a little.

“I feel ya, kid. I think the wait’ll be worth it, though.” Kanami whines at him and Katsuki sways his arm, gently rocking her a bit. She’s still so small that it takes no effort at all to keep her snug against him like this. “You know, I nearly ended up down to one arm back in high school,” Katsuki says absently, words just spilling out of him like Kanami might actually understand. “There was this big war back then, it was total shit. Guess you’ll learn about it one day. I got lucky, though.” He shoots the baby a quick grin and she hiccups at him in return. “Let’s see how I would’ve managed if that had happened, eh?”

He starts by tackling the kitchen. It’s really not that bad at a second glance – probably only a few days’ worth of dishes lying around unwashed, which likely means things started piling up when Kaminari had to return to his agency. Trying to figure out a work-life-baby balance can’t be easy. And if Kanami’s normally as temperamental as she’s been today, then Katsuki can’t imagine how that’s added to the struggle.

“Do you just miss your dad?” he asks abruptly at one point, free arm submerged in a sink full of soapy water. “Is that it? You got used to having him around for a month, huh? Probably wondering where the hell he is all day.”

Once the dishes are done and the counters have been wiped down, Katsuki moves back out to the living room. Turns out the piles of laundry are mostly baby things. Not surprising. Onesies and towels and burp cloths galore. He finds the basket they overflowed from and starts sorting through what he can tell is actually clean and what needs a trip to the washing machine.

Kanami still isn’t sleeping, but she’s fussing less. Her confusion from earlier seems to have morphed into a reluctant fascination with this new human who’s carting her around.

“Your dad’s a hero, though, you know?” Katsuki says, as he starts organizing diapers so they’re not taking up half the floor space. He wants to run the vacuum before he’s done. “He’s an idiot, but they kinda need him out there. Sucks he can’t be with you all day, but I know he wishes he could.”

Eventually, Kyouka does poke her head out of the bedroom, hair damp and freshly clean, a headband keeping it pushed back out of her face. She takes a quick glance around and Katsuki’s scared for a moment that she’s about to start crying again, but she just sucks in a steadying breath and then pins him with a grateful look.

“You good?” she asks.

“We’re good,” Katsuki fires back.

“You really don’t have to do all that–”

“I want to.” He waves her off, keeping Kanami facing the opposite direction just in case she recognizes her mom is nearby and starts up all over again. “Go sleep.”

Kyouka nods and swiftly disappears back into the bedroom.

Katsuki digs the vacuum out of the hall closet so he can get that out of the way before she’s truly conked out so he doesn’t interrupt her nap.

He keeps puttering around for a while, straightening things up, dusting where he can, all with Kanami tucked in against him. It’s all mindless work, shit he truly doesn’t mind doing, and he feels like Deku or something because he can’t stop babbling to the baby for the life of him. He’s never been involved in such an extended, one-sided conversation before in his entire fucking life, but it seems to help. Kanami slowly, finally begins nodding off, just when Katsuki’s about to do a load of laundry.

Not wanting to wake her, he settles on the couch just for a minute – which turns out to be so many goddamn minutes, actually, because the second he stops moving he realizes just how stupid tired he’s gone and made himself.

Fucking hell.

And his feet hurt, and his hips are even more sore now, and his back is not happy.

Katsuki huffs out a breath and adjusts his hold on Kanami, shifting her up over his rounded stomach and settling her against his chest. Her legs end up tucked up under her, making her small enough to nestle just beneath his chin.

And, well. Mission accomplished.

He’s getting those baby snuggles after all.

It’s an odd experience. Sometimes it randomly hits him that his friends made this tiny human. That he and Deku are cooking up one of their own. That babies don’t just magically appear out of thin air, that they share parts of their parents, and the whole thing is just really wild. This is so beyond where Katsuki thought he would be at this point in his life.

He’s long accepted it’s happening, of course, but it’s still so strange to imagine that in a few short months, he’ll be able to hold his own baby like this.

Katsuki’s a little too paranoid to let himself fully drift off to sleep, all too aware that he’s the one in charge of protecting Kanami right now, that it’s his duty to keep her safe. But he does end up dozing a little, one hand secure across the entire span of her back and breathing in that lingering, new baby smell. He couldn’t say how long he ends up sitting there, but eventually the sound of the front door opening causes him to stir.

And the next thing he knows, Kaminari’s standing in front of the couch, peering down at him with a vaguely amused expression on his face.

“Uh,” Katsuki says intelligently. He clears his throat. “Hey.”

“You know, this is a good look on you,” Kaminari says. Katsuki chooses to reply by gracing him with a glower. He absently notices Kaminari’s still in his hero gear. “Kinda thought I’d have to beg and plead to get you to babysit, though. If I remember right, you said you’d be pawning that shit off on Midoriya.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki mumbles. It was an entire lifetime ago that he said that. In a whole different timeline even. “She was giving Kyouka a hard time, just figured I’d lend a hand.”

“Ah.” Kaminari cringes a little and drops down onto the couch beside Katsuki. “Yeah, this week has been…rough.” He casts a look around the room. “Um. Did she clean, or…?”

Katsuki readjusts Kanami against him. Doesn’t even think to offer her to Kaminari. “I did.”

“Aww, dude.”

“Least I could do. I’ve got the time.” He slides a glance over to Kaminari, hesitating a little. But the question tumbles out of him before he can stop it. “Where’s her mom?”

Kaminari blinks. “Kyouka’s?” At Katsuki’s nod, he sighs. “They’re on tour. Both her parents. They had a bunch of gigs set up through the end of the year before they found out we were pregnant.”

“They could’ve rescheduled or something,” Katsuki grouses. “I just… Fuck, I don’t want to overstep, but.” He pauses for a beat, trying to choose his words carefully. “She’d probably appreciate the support.”

“You’d think.” There’s something off in Kaminari’s tone. Something a little strained. He pulls his hero glasses off and tosses them onto the coffee table, then drags his hands over his face. “She’s been so determined to do this on her own, man. It’s like she thinks she’s got something to prove since…you know. We decided to do this now.”

The ‘at our age’ goes unspoken, but Katsuki knows that’s what he means.

He hums a bit. “Guess it was a little different when you were both home.”

“Yeah…” Kaminari lifts his head again and gestures around. “I was doing most of the housework – and I still was going to! This week has just sucked. And then I try to take over baby duties once I’m home, so all this just…” He huffs out a small, disbelieving sound. “Somehow it all piled up crazy fast.”

“It wasn’t even that bad,” Katsuki tries to assure him. “Seriously. Kyouka was being all weird about it, too. Almost didn’t let me in – but that’s my point. It ain’t a big deal if it’s a little messy, but it’d be one less thing to worry about if you had extra help.”

“Yaomomo offered to get us a cleaning service for a few weeks. Kyouka shot that down.” Kaminari exhales a breath up at his bangs. “And who else was gonna help? Everyone we know is busy as hell.”

Ah.

So…maybe nobody else has been by yet. Hmm.

“This is what you get for being the first ones in the group to have a kid,” Katsuki says dryly, weirdly gentle about it. Having a sleeping baby on his chest makes him want to keep his volume down, so everything keeps leaving his mouth in a low, rumbling tone without him even having to think about it. “None of us know how the fuck to act.”

Kaminari snorts. “No one has to do anything, that’s not how it works.” He shrugs a little. “We’ve managed alright. I did miss seeing people, though. Only good thing about being back this week, to be honest.”

Katsuki shoots him a curious look. “Did I miss some shit? Why’s this week been bad, something happen?”

“Nah,” Kaminari replies, shaking his head. “It’s… How do I explain this.” He leans back against the couch cushions, squinting up at the ceiling. “I’m, like…hyperaware that I’ve got a kid now. That she needs me, I guess. That I have to make it home every day.” A self-deprecating laugh tears out of his throat. “So I’ve been scared shitless that something might happen. I fucking dread the first real fight I have to get involved in, dude.”

…Wow.

This might be the first time Katsuki’s looked at Kaminari and actually thought of him as an adult.

Barely an adult, granted. He won’t even turn twenty-two until next month.

But still.

“Those are some dark-ass thoughts,” he says, and Kaminari groans.

“Shit, right?! I was so unprepared, oh my god, it just blindsided me my first day back in the field.”

“So this is what happens when you gain one single responsibility, huh?”

“One–” Kaminari lets out a faux-affronted sound and gives Katsuki’s shoulder the least aggressive shove in the history of the universe. “Whatever, asshole. She’s one single entity, maybe, but she’s eighty million responsibilities.”

Katsuki chuckles. “Alright, fair. I’ll allow it.” He reaches up with his free hand to help cradle Kanami so he can lower her down to rest on top of his thighs instead. She squirms the tiniest bit, uncurling her arms and legs to momentarily flail in newfound freedom before calming again.

Something warm and goopy blooms in Katsuki’s chest.

“…Hey, Denki.”

Kaminari startles at that, and Katsuki sees in his periphery how his eyes suddenly go round. “Uh. Yeah?”

“She’s pretty perfect.” Katsuki grasps Kanami’s little hands. They’re small enough that her fingers can just barely clutch instinctively at his thumbs. “You should be proud.”

A beaming smile explodes across Kaminari’s face. “She is perfect, isn’t she?” He scooches in closer, gazing at his daughter in utter amazement. “She’s definitely the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“She, uh. She actually does look like you guys.” Now, that is. Sort of. She looks like them more than she did four weeks ago, anyway. If Katsuki studies her really closely, scrutinizes each of her features, he can mostly recognize that she’s got Kaminari’s eye shape, and probably Kyouka’s nose and mouth. Her fine wisps of baby hair are still coming in dark purple.

God, he can’t wait until he and Deku have their own firecracker to examine, can’t wait to see which parts of himself are present in her and which parts come from the nerd.

“What, is that surprising?” Kaminari asks, teasing, and Katsuki rolls his eyes.

“Well, she mostly looked like a potato at the hospital, so you know.”

“Okay, wow, can you please not call my daughter a potato?”

“Just saying. She’s kinda plumping up now so I can actually see it.”

“She was always a perfect angel,” Kaminari says, dramatically serious. “And definitely not just a little pooping machine who enjoys discovering every new decibel she can reach, especially in the middle of the night.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Katsuki mutters. “So much to look forward to.”

“Mmhmmm.” Kaminari reaches out to lightly smooth his fingers over Kanami’s hair. “She was a miracle oops baby,” he says after a moment. “Did I tell you that?”

“Don’t think so.” Katsuki arches an eyebrow at him. “The hell does that even mean?”

“Well. It’s not like we were planning to have kids so soon.” Kaminari shrugs, expression going sheepish. “Kyouka was always on birth control. And I did my due diligence, man, I swear I did. But we were celebrating her birthday so things were going a little differently…”

Ah. Katsuki’s nose wrinkles up and Kaminari immediately snickers at him.

“It was her choice!” he insists. “And it was one time, we figured that couldn’t possibly be too much of a risk.” Kaminari lifts his hands and spreads them out like he’s trying to gesture to the entire world at large. “And now here we are, nine months later. Baby girl was determined to be here.”

“Shit happens,” Katsuki says, and then adds dryly, “I would know. If she’s a miracle oops baby, then mine is the ultimate oops baby.”

“Or the ultimate miracle baby?” Kaminari suggests. “Midoriya would probably like that better. Kyouka doesn’t like me calling Kana-chan an oops baby, heh.”

“Can’t imagine why not,” Katsuki drawls, and Kaminari knocks their shoulders together.

“She is, though! But it’s not like I’m gonna tell her that.” He pauses for a beat, then shoots Katsuki a sly look. “You gonna keep being a baby hog or can I hold my kid?”

“Shit – yeah. Sorry.” Katsuki hastily, but oh-so-carefully, lifts Kanami up and transfers her over to her dad, then watches as he arranges her comfortably. He already looks like such a natural holding her that Katsuki’s damn near jealous – to the point that he actually has to force himself to look elsewhere, which means he finds himself glancing out the window for the first time in hours and holy hell it’s dark outside already?? “…What time is it?”

“Almost seven by now, probably,” Kaminari says. He tucks Kanami against his chest up by his shoulder, gently rubbing a hand over her back. “She’ll need to eat soon.”

Katsuki curses and scrambles to dig his phone out of his pocket. “Izuku’s probably wondering where the fuck I am. I didn’t let him know I was coming over here.”

Sure enough, he’s got about twelve text messages from him and three missed calls. Oops.

It’s not like he and Deku constantly keep tabs on each other like that, but Deku’s pretty obviously been veering more and more into overprotective mode lately. Plus, these days, Katsuki is generally at home more often than not anyway. He doesn’t often disappear to random places, and his lack of replying probably didn’t help at all either. Fuck, hopefully Deku hasn’t gone and blown through every hospital in town trying to find him.

“Oh, way to go,” Kaminari says. “I’m sure he’s not totally panicking or anything. How’d you end up over here anyway?”

“Uh.” Katsuki feels his cheeks go warm and resolutely ignores it. “I had…an urge.”

Kaminari’s eyebrows lift. “An urge?”

“Well.” Katsuki scowls and gestures helplessly at the peacefully snoozing baby. “You haven’t been sending as many pictures lately and – look, my brain got fucked over the second I saw her at the hospital. And I was stupid and didn’t try holding her when we were there, and I just. I wanted to see her! I can’t even explain it.”

“You don’t have to.” Kaminari’s grinning a shit-eating grin and looking way too amused. “I get it.”

Katsuki scowls some more and slumps back into the couch cushions. “Anyway. So I called Kyouka and then she was… I mean. I could hear Kanami crying in the background, and I dunno. I just got worried. So I overstepped and showed up outside your door like a fuckin’ psycho.” He slides a glance toward Kaminari. “I asked if she could call you. But–”

“Nah, she wouldn’t,” Kaminari cuts in. “I wish she would, but she’s really been in her head about this whole thing.” A slow grimace steals over his face. “She’s probably gonna be pissed when I tell her my mom’s gonna come stay with us for a few weeks.”

“Oh, she is?”

“Yeah. Everything you’re saying?” Kaminari shrugs. “It’s stuff I’ve noticed, too. We’ve got the move coming up, my mom can get the time off, it just seemed like a good idea to have her here to help. Give Kyouka a break, you know? Even if she thinks she shouldn’t need one.”

“I don’t mind coming over and doing shit until she gets here,” Katsuki says, and Kaminari’s eyes widen a bit.

“Dude, you don’t have to–”

“I said I don’t mind,” Katsuki repeats, somewhat forcefully. “I’m only working three days a week, and – fuck, Denki, I had no idea what the first few weeks with a newborn looked like. I still barely know, but…I dunno, maybe I’ve got a better idea now.”

“It’s not all bad,” Kaminari says. Kanami starts to stir against him and he gives her a few gentle bounces. “Most of it’s really good.”

“Yeah, well.” Katsuki’s sure it is, but this whole day has been something of a wake-up call. “Good, bad, whatever, if Kyouka will accept the help then I’m willing to give it.”

“No, Baku–ah. Katsuki? We’re doing that now?” Kaminari looks so excited by the prospect that Katsuki can’t help defaulting to an awkward sort of flustered scoff.

“Sure, I guess,” he grumbles, and then adds in a louder voice, “Since I’m fucking stuck with you now.”

“Now?” Kaminari barks out a laugh. “Bitch, you were always stuck with me.”

“Because you’re like a goddamn sandbur plant,” Katsuki snarks, and Kaminari promptly jabs two fingers sparking with static electricity into his bicep. Katsuki yelps a bit, but he can’t even fucking retaliate because the asshole’s holding a damn baby. “Ow, fucking hell, you dick!”

Kaminari ignores that.

“Anyway, Katsuki.” Kanami’s big eyes blink open suddenly and it’s like Kaminari senses it the moment it happens. He pulls her away from his shoulder and cradles her in the crook of his arm instead, before immediately bending his face closer to hers and pulling a few goofy expressions. “What I was gonna say. It’s not bad. It’s really not. It might be hard sometimes…” He glances back up at Katsuki. “But it’s all so fucking worth it, dude. Don’t let any of today scare you or stress you out – and don’t say you’re not stressing because I can tell you are.”

Katsuki slowly presses his lips back together.

“I wouldn’t change any of it,” Kaminari continues. “Kyouka wouldn’t either. And I’m keeping an eye on her, don’t worry. But thank you for showing up for her today.”

“…S’fine,” Katsuki murmurs. “I’m glad I could.” He palms at the back of his neck, huffing out a sigh. “Stressed ain’t the right word, though. Maybe I am a little, but I’m more just…”

“Anxious?” Kaminari guesses, and Katsuki exhales noisily again.

“That. But I’m looking forward to it – now. I just want her to be here already. I’m getting so fuckin’ impatient, but also I don’t know what the hell I’m doing and having to just figure it out is a batshit prospect.”

“You’re going through every emotion on the planet and some you didn’t even know existed,” Kaminari says. He coos some baby talk down at Kanami, and then continues, “It’s a roller coaster, believe me. But it seems like you did fine on your own today.”

“I think she literally had no tears left in her body by the time I got to her,” Katsuki says dryly. “Wasn’t hard to carry her around for a couple hours.”

“Oh, she’s always got tears left. Don’t you, baby girl?” Kaminari lifts Kanami up to smack some kisses to her pudgy cheeks, and she doesn’t exactly smile at him, per se – Katsuki’s not sure if she really can yet – but she gurgles out some excited little noises and kicks her feet a few times. She’s staring at Kaminari so intently, tracking his every move when he pulls back again, and Katsuki just yearns.

He’s fucking aching with it.

“Uh-oh,” Kaminari singsongs as he draws Kanami in close again and gives her a sniff. “Think someone needs a diaper change.”

…Just kidding, actually Katsuki will be revisiting that refund policy after all.

If Kaminari notices the way Katsuki’s nose wrinkles up, he pointedly blows right past it as he hops up from the couch and says, “C’mon, Kacchan, I’ll show you how to do it.”

“Hah??” Katsuki rears backwards. “No way, I – I need to call Izuku, let him know where I am before he goes on a rampage through the city.”

“If he hasn’t hit the class chat yet, then he’s not that worried about you.” He shifts Kanami to one arm and holds a hand out for Katsuki, and it’s extra lame that they both recognize Katsuki’s big enough now that he might actually need the assistance. Katsuki just glowers up at him for a moment, but Kaminari stubbornly keeps his hand hanging there, expectant and lightly snickering. “You gotta learn, right? It’s constant and endless, dude, I’m telling you. Might as well go in prepared.”

“Fuck, fine,” Katsuki says, and then grasps the offered hand to help haul himself up.

He does call Deku eventually, obviously. And Kyouka finally emerges from the bedroom, looking appreciative and halfway refreshed. She doesn’t even put up a fight when Katsuki suggests having Deku bring them dinner from the Thai restaurant down the block, paper plates and plastic utensils included – shit they can throw out and not have to wash later.

…He’s learning, okay? Taking notes.

Starting to map out a plan for when it’s their turn.

Kyouka snags his arm when they go to leave and wraps him up in a bruising hug, coming at him from the side so that his stomach doesn’t get in the way. That’s not something they do very often, but Katsuki finds himself quickly winding an arm around her shoulders in return.

“Thank you,” Kyouka whispers, expression hidden as she buries her face against his shirt.

“Don’t touch the laundry,” Katsuki murmurs into her hair. “I’m coming back to do the rest of it on Friday. Everything in the basket is clean.”

Kyouka pulls back to give him a knowing look. “You just want to see the baby again.”

Tch. Rude. What he wants is to help.

But if he happens to get some more baby Kanami snuggles, well.

That’s just a bonus.

Chapter Text

It’s nearing 11:00 PM by the time Izuku makes it back to the apartment, shopping bag in hand. There’s light spilling out from the open office door, though Izuku doesn’t know why Katsuki would be in there. He’s pretty sure Kacchan finished packing it up a couple weeks ago because he’s since moved on to other areas of the apartment – made evident by the boxes that are placed randomly about the living room. Some already taped up and others still open, their contents overflowing onto the floor.

“Kacchan?” Izuku calls, wandering down the hall once he’s kicked his shoes off. He pauses in the doorway, eyebrows arched. “What’re you doing?”

Katsuki glances up at him from his cross-legged position on the floor, one open box in front of him and a picture frame in hand. “Did you get it all?” he demands eagerly.

Izuku breathes out a soft laugh. “Yep.” He holds up the bag. “Chicken katsu curry – since you’re still scared of pork–”

“Oi, I’m not scared of it.”

“Tuna onigiri, one of those…flan pudding things.”

“And the candy?”

“Mmhmm. Weird grape noodle gummies.” Izuku hands the shopping bag over and Katsuki immediately starts pawing through it.

“Did you get the–?”

“The purple ones, yep.”

“Sweet.” Katsuki pauses suddenly, then peers suspiciously up at him. “7-Eleven, right?”

“Yes, Kacchan,” Izuku says with a roll of his eyes. “Even though there’s nothing in there that tastes any different from the stuff they’ve got at the corner konbini.”

“It does taste different,” Katsuki insists. “This curry is better, and anyway! It’s only three blocks farther.” He harrumphs and pulls out one of the grape candy packages. “Not like I made you go on a month-long trek through the fuckin’ desert or something.”

“You’re welcome,” Izuku says dryly.

“Thank you,” Katsuki snarks back at him, and Izuku snorts.

“I thought you were done in here?” He lowers himself to the floor, settling beside Katsuki and digging through the bag for the umeboshi onigiri he got for himself. Technically he does have work tomorrow, but he’s not due in until the second shift so he’s not super worried about going to bed anytime soon. If Kacchan’s going through another late-night episode, Izuku can stay up with him for a bit.

“Yeah, I was just looking at stuff.” Katsuki reaches for the picture frame he set off to the side and passes it over to Izuku. “We never put this up.”

Izuku gently takes it, a small sound of recognition escaping him. “Oh…” He brushes his fingers over the glass. “We didn’t put up a lot of stuff.”

“Didn’t think we’d be here long, remember?”

“Mm. Definitely one thing that’s going to change in the new house.”

Honestly, Izuku can’t wait to actually display all his memorabilia again. His figures, some of his posters, the new items he’s collected since graduating – which includes merch of several of his classmates.

They have a few pictures of themselves out in the living room. Some group shots of their friends, all things that were photographed fairly recently.

This… This is old. A childhood treasure that took on even more meaning after the war.

It’s a floating frame with room for three photographs inside. Two of the spots are taken up by the All Might cards he and Kacchan pulled on the same day almost twenty years ago. The one on the left is still in pristine condition, stored carefully over the years so that it’s maintained its bright colors and sharp edges.

The one on the right…is a little worse for wear.

A bit crumpled.

A lot bloodstained.

All Might had offered to get him another one, but Katsuki turned him down. He’d carried that one around for so long and somehow, despite everything, it had survived that day.

Same as Kacchan had.

Both cards are autographed now, and between them is a picture one of their mothers had taken of the two of them proudly showing them off back when they’d first won their prizes as four-year-olds. Matching grins on their little faces, eyes bright and full of glee.

Izuku strokes against the glass again. “We were so young…”

“Yeah.” Katsuki reaches over and taps the photograph in the middle. “I was trying to get a visual.”

“A – visual?” Izuku’s gaze snaps up to find Kacchan watching him in amusement, chin resting in his palm and the corner of his mouth tugged up into a small smile.

“Yup. Like…mentally trying to merge our features together,” he says, with a huff of a laugh. “Look how fucking big your eyes were back then.”

“Kacchan.” Izuku purses his lips for a moment before cracking and breaking out into a grin. “That picture’s inaccurate representation, I think. I was excited!”

“Nah, you were always a doe-eyed little brat.” Katsuki stares fondly down at the image. “And those curls.”

“You think she’ll get them?”

“Maybe. Your mom doesn’t have curly hair, though.”

Izuku makes a considering sound. “Actually, looking at you and your mom, I think you’ve got the stronger genes here.”

“If she looks like my mom, I’m gonna scream,” Katsuki mutters sourly, and Izuku sways sideways to bump into his shoulder.

“Maybe your dad, then? Surprise brown hair,” he says, chuckling.

Kacchan shoots him a faintly alarmed look. “Fuck, I didn’t think about that.” He makes a face. “That’d be weird. If she’s not gonna look like me, then she’d better look like you.”

Izuku grins. “Freckles, right?”

“Yes,” Katsuki says, very seriously.

“Brown hair with freckles and glasses.”

“NO.”

“I hope she has your eyes.”

“Hmm.” Katsuki’s nose wrinkles up. “I like your eyes, though.”

“I know.” Izuku turns to plant a kiss against Katsuki’s temple, one hand lifting to thread through his hair. “But I love your eyes.” Kacchan hums again, leaning into him, and Izuku smacks another kiss to the top of his head. “You gonna eat? Since you were starving and all just an hour ago.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Katsuki grumbles. “In a minute. Need a drink first.” He shifts his position, getting his knees under him to begin the, as he calls it: pain-in-the-ass process of fucking STANDING UP like he’s never done it before in his life or some shit, fucking hell.

Izuku leaps to his feet first, easily and as nimble as ever, and Katsuki immediately glowers up at him. “I’ll get it, Kacchan.”

“Fuck’s sake, Izuku, I can do it.” He pushes up with a grunt, only swaying a little once he’s upright. Izuku reaches out to steady him anyway, gently gripping his elbow, but Katsuki just shakes him off and then heaves out an annoyed breath as he settles a hand against the prominent swell of his belly. His other hand braces against the small of his back.

“Alright?” Izuku can’t help asking.

Katsuki grimaces. “Fine,” he mumbles. “She’s just – heavy. It’s fuckin’ stupid. Like I don’t life heavy shit all the time??” He scowls. “I dunno why the fuck this feels so different.”

“Because it’s constant,” Izuku says. Something pings in his head – something Kaminari told him about awhile back. Now seems like as good a time as any to give it a shot. “It’s a new weight your body had to make accommodations for because it’s there all day, every day.” He steps toward Kacchan, sliding just behind him and pressing up against his back. “Can I try something?”

“Um. Yeah?” Katsuki glances at him over his shoulder, brow furrowed in slight confusion. “What is it?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Izuku murmurs. He hooks his chin over Katsuki’s shoulder so he can better see what he’s doing. Sort of, anyway. Kacchan’s stomach blocks most of it, but still. His hands slip around to Katsuki’s front, stroking over his sides briefly before dropping lower to cradle his belly right where it starts to curve drastically outward from his body. “Just relax, okay?”

And then he lifts.

“Sure–” Katsuki starts, before a startled noise bursts out of him. “Oh.” He freezes for about three seconds, then abruptly melts backwards into Izuku. “Oh, holy shit.”

Izuku grins, keeping the bulk of Kacchan’s baby weight supported in his hands. It’s a little weird, the way he can just move the baby around like this while she’s still securely housed inside Katsuki’s body. Kaminari had said how much of a relief it was for Kyouka, though, having someone else bear the burden for even just a minute. Having some small way to reduce the pressure on her back, all her joints, everything. For a few glorious seconds.

“Good?” Izuku asks, and Kacchan just groans, long and low.

“Holy shit,” he says again. He’s resting entirely against the length of Izuku’s torso now. “Fuck yeah that’s good, when the hell did you learn this little trick?”

“Kaminari mentioned it.” Izuku has to adjust his hold after a moment. Geez, baby girl is heavy. Although not, like, actually heavy – Izuku can lift way more than this without blinking an eye, obviously. But it’s just…different. Having this kind of weight glued to his front for weeks on end, and not in a particularly balanced way, would definitely be a pain to deal with. Especially since the additional weight is completely from one specific area, throwing everything else off.

No wonder Kacchan is so uncomfortable these days.

“Fuck,” Katsuki chokes out. His head tips backwards onto Izuku’s shoulder, eyes closing. “Think I forgot what it was like not having a fuckin’ bowling ball attached to me.”

“Your poor hips.”

“Yeah, they definitely weren’t built for this shit.” Katsuki puffs out another breath that’s half a moan, shifting the rest of his weight from one foot to the other. He doesn’t seem in any kind of rush to stop leaning back against Izuku. “Hope you’re ready to stand there forever.”

Izuku chuckles warmly and adjusts his hands again. One drops lower in the process, unintentionally brushing along the front of Katsuki’s gym shorts, and – wow, okay.

Katsuki grunts, going still. Izuku pushes up onto his toes in an attempt to get a better look over Katsuki’s shoulder, but his rounded stomach is still very much in the way.

So, he just asks.

“Kacchan, are you hard?”

“…Maybe.” It comes out a petulant mutter. Their faces are close enough that Izuku can feel the way Katsuki’s cheeks go hot. “Don’t – fuck. It’s nothing, okay, I pop a boner if the wind blows right these days.”

Oh, that’s interesting. Izuku glances at him as best he can out of the corner of his eye. “Really? Like being in high school again, huh.”

“I wasn’t fucking like that in high school!” He scowls, pushing back against Izuku, hands coming up to wrap around his wrists. “Just ignore it.”

Izuku snorts. “Now why would I do that?”

“Because it’s annoying.”

“You know it’s not exactly a chore for me to help you out, right, Kacchan?”

“I don’t want you to move, though.”

Ah.

Izuku snickers a little, ducking his head down to press a row of kisses along the juncture of Katsuki’s neck. He hears Katsuki inhale sharply, feels the tremor that shudders through him.

“Don’t worry,” Izuku says, voice going low and rumbly in a way it rarely does. Katsuki shivers again. “I can do both.”

He lets Blackwhip seep out of him, flowing down his arms in long, inky tendrils. Katsuki stirs curiously at the feeling and lifts his head from Izuku’s shoulder so he can watch each dark strand curve beneath his belly, supporting the weight alongside Izuku’s hands. Once Izuku feels like he’s got enough of it in place, the rounded curves of Kacchan’s frame as secure as ever in Blackwhip’s hold, he slowly pulls his hands free.

“Still good?” he asks. He tests Blackwhip’s strength, hefting Katsuki’s belly just a tad bit higher and then carefully settling back down again. The movement draws a strained sound from Katsuki, makes his breath catch in his throat. “Comfortable?”

Blackwhip pulses gently, thrumming with a barely-there energy.

“Yeah,” Katsuki utters faintly. He swallows. “Uh. Suddenly realizing we haven’t been nearly fucking kinky enough with this tentacle shit.”

“Never thought to use it that way,” Izuku lies.

Kacchan doesn’t say anything in response to that, but he doesn’t have to.

His complete and total skepticism is LOUD.

“As if I would ever abuse One For All like that,” Izuku continues loftily. He snakes another tendril of Blackwhip down Katsuki’s leg and then up under his shorts, twirling around his thigh and tugging it wide.

Katsuki grunts again. He’s halfway to panting already, skin still flushed and weight thrown completely back against Izuku. He has to keep himself on his feet, but Izuku can support the rest of him easily.

“You’re fuckin’ full of it,” Katsuki growls. “Ya little perv. Been holding out on me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Hey, look.” Izuku creeps his hands down and pushes beneath the waistband of Kacchan’s shorts. His mouth curves against the side of Katsuki’s neck. “Suddenly my hands are free.”

By the time he’s turned Kacchan into a gasping, boneless mess in his arms, the curry has gone cold. It’s okay, though.

That’s what microwaves are for.

* * *

The first time Kyouka steps foot outside the apartment without baby Kanami attached to her, it’s because Yaomomo offers to whisk her away to a day spa for a few hours and Kaminari insists he’ll be totally and completely fine watching their daughter on his own.

And, honestly, he would’ve been. It’s his kid, of course he’s got it.

But he still calls up half his friends, and anyone who actually answers their phone is ordered to come hang out with him because why fucking not.

Katsuki doesn’t need any convincing even though he was just over there, like, two days ago to vacuum and shit. Deku’s off work, as well, so he eagerly tags along, and once there they find that Kirishima and Tokoyami have also been roped into have a guys’ day.

It’s no day spa, but chilling with Kanami is arguably a better time anyway, so Katsuki’s not complaining. Especially since he gets to watch as Deku slowly grows more comfortable handling a baby. Kirishima’s more of a mess about it, terrified he’s going to drop her or Harden up and scratch her or any number of other ridiculous things. Tokoyami, meanwhile, begs off holding her entirely, instead choosing to idly strum his guitar from where he’s curled up in a corner of the sofa.

“Music is good for infants,” he says, as though he actually researched that shit. “It helps promote auditory skills.”

Deku and Kirishima are on the floor with Kanami, taking turns entertaining her. Kirishima seems determined to make her laugh, but Katsuki’s pretty sure it’s way too early for that. She’s only six weeks old – they’re lucky if they can even get her to smile.

She’s definitely starting to track things a little better, though. Particularly brightly colored things, which means she’s utterly fascinated with Kirishima’s hair when he bends down close and makes some kind of goofy expression at her.

“It’s good for them when they’re still in the womb, too,” Deku says. He’s on his stomach next to Kanami on the play mat, dangling a toy rattle above her face and cooing some random nonsense at her.

Katsuki eyes him from his spot on the other end of the couch, trying not to enjoy his growing confidence too much. Kaminari’s got the middle seat beside him, and between them is a pile of freshly laundered baby clothes that they’re folding so they can be put away before Kyouka gets back.

“Sure, classical music and shit like that,” he says. “Not whatever McEmo over there is playing.”

“I know several lullabies,” Tokoyami intones, and then smoothly swaps over to one seemingly mid-strum.

Kanami flails her arms around and gurgles out a small sound suddenly, hands opening and closing in front of her face. Deku lowers the rattle for her – it’s a circular thing, decked out in primary colors and fucking noisy – and she sort of bats at it a bit. Almost ready to grab it, but not quite there yet.

“Denki, dude, she’s so smart,” Kirishima says in awe. Seeing as how Kanami is mostly just lying there, that’s a statement that definitely doesn’t make any damn sense. Kirishima grins up at them, though, completely sincere. “There’s so much going on in her little head right now, you know?”

Kaminari puffs up with parental pride. “Right? It’s pretty cool watching her learn. She was just a lump, like, three weeks ago.”

“She’s gotten so much bigger, too,” Deku adds. And that is true. Katsuki’s pretty sure she’s nearly doubled in weight already.

“Seriously, I’m gonna be so sad when she stops fitting in her newborn clothes.” Kaminari holds up a onesie and stares at it for a long moment. “I didn’t realize how fast it was all gonna go.”

“Yeah, well, the good news,” Katsuki says, “is the top twenty baby shit had sizes through eighteen months or something. So you can just keep buying more.”

Kaminari snorts. “All the Dynamight?”

“Fucking right, all the Dynamight.” Kanami’s actually wearing her newborn Dynamight onesie now – mostly because Katsuki volunteered to take care of her last diaper change specifically so he could dress her in it.

“Is she sleeping better yet?” Deku asks, and Kaminari barks out an exhausted laugh.

“Kinda yes? But we still have to get up and feed her, so it doesn’t even matter.”

“At least she’s not crying her eyes out today,” Katsuki points out.

“She’s too fascinated with all the people here to even think about crying.” Kaminari leans forward in his seat, smiling down at the baby. “You’re so distracted, you haven’t even noticed your mommy’s not here,” he coos out. “Isn’t that right, baby girl? Genius plan, perfect, no notes. Well done, me.”

“I think she’s mostly just fascinated with Kirishima’s hair,” Deku says, amused. Kirishima promptly ducks closer and turns his head until the baby’s flexing hands finally find something to latch onto. “She’s barely noticed I’m here.”

“You can do tummy time with her,” Kaminari offers.

Deku’s eyes go wide and eager. “Yeah?”

“Sure, go for it.”

That’s all the invitation he needs. Deku carefully untangles Kanami’s fingers from Kirishima’s hair, scoops her up, and then rolls onto his back right there on the floor and rests the baby stomach-down on his chest.

“Hi there,” Deku singsongs at her as she mouths around at the collar of his shirt, struggling to lift her head much further than that. “Up here, Kana-chan! Wow, look at you go, huh? You’re doing so good!” He peers around her up at Kaminari. “Just a few minutes, right?”

“Yeah, like three or four maybe.” Kaminari taps on his phone. “Unless she starts getting pissy or something. I’ll start a timer.”

Deku smiles and coos at the baby some more, at one point lifting his back just slightly off the ground and effortlessly holding that position to give Kanami a better angle, and fuck, maybe bringing the nerd here was a mistake. Watching them interact is doing fucking terrible things to Katsuki. And his goddamn body.

But fucking hell, Deku has no business looking so good doing stupid dad shit. It’s somehow endearing and cute and HOT all at the same time, letting loose all sorts of squirmy bullshit in Katsuki’s chest and igniting some territorial, nearly primal urge deep in his gut.

Shit, this is bad. Absolutely NOT THE TIME.

It’s no use, though.

By the time Kaminari’s phone dings and Deku hefts himself fully up into a sitting position, still cradling Kanami against him, Katsuki’s had to shove a couch pillow into his lap because his fucking dick is quite literally out of control. Ugh, god, who the fuck decided having an outward indicator of arousal was a good idea?! What a garbage flaw in the human male design, fucking shit.

Katsuki’s so over it. He really is. Being constantly turned on was a hell of a lot easier to deal with back before he’d gotten knocked up and he could just throw himself at Deku without any issue.

Now, the whole ordeal is extra frustrating because Katsuki’s never felt less sexy in his entire freaking life. Ears had said to put Deku to work, and sure, it’s true he definitely doesn’t mind taking care of Katsuki, but the problem is that as much as Katsuki fucking wants it, it’s hard to actually get into it. His body doesn’t move the way he wants it to anymore, everything feels weird, and most positions are just uncomfortable at this point. Not to mention all that extra movement seems to kick his kid into gear every single time. It’s like she’s annoyed at being jostled around or something, so she’ll start kicking and jabbing all over the place, rolling and flipping to the point that sometimes Katsuki’s nausea decides to make a triumphant return, and none of that is a fun time right smack in the middle of sex.

No, her being so determined to make her presence known while they’re fucking is just goddamn awkward.

And now his body is being a horny bitch while three of their friends and a baby are in the room, like, seriously? SERIOUSLY?? Just fucking doing shit whenever the fuck we feel like now, huh?

“You okay, bro?” Kirishima asks suddenly, and Katsuki peels his eyes open to find everyone watching him. Fuck.

“M’fine,” he mutters. He clutches the pillow a little more tightly and tips his head backwards against the cushions, squeezing his eyes shut again specifically to avoid looking at Deku. “Just…tired.”

“Should we head home, Kacchan?”

“No. Said I’m fine.”

Kaminari gets up to relocate all the folded laundry and returns with his own guitar in hand, quickly falling into a simple tune alongside Tokoyami’s more complicated chords. They have a natural give and take between them, born from years of practicing and playing with each other all throughout high school. Kanami squirms in Deku’s hold, head lolling, trying to find the source of this suddenly more energized music, so Deku scoots a little closer to the couch and turns her around, letting her rest back against his chest and giving her a clearer view of her dad.

Not that she can focus on anything that far away from her, but his bright shock of blonde hair probably gives her an idea of where to look. Her little legs kick in excitement, gurgling sounds bubbling up from her throat.

And the corners of her mouth tick upwards into the beginnings of a tiny baby smile.

“Oh, she likes that,” Deku says softly, looking amazed.

Kaminari bends forward over his guitar, bringing his face a little closer to Kanami. “Kyouka’s been playing for her since we got home from the hospital. Hasn’t she, Kana-chan?”

“She is…unfairly cute,” Tokoyami murmurs.

“I thought you said Dark Shadow wanted to meet her?” Kaminari directs his way, and Tokoyami nods.

“Yes, but I have no desire to frighten her. Dark Shadow’s presence might be somewhat alarming.”

“Just gotta bring him out slowly,” Kirishima says.

“She’ll be fine.” Kaminari reaches out to tickle Kanami’s belly and she gurgles out another breathy, happy little noise. Her smile gets wider for a second, then fades just as quickly – it’s something she’s only just learning she can do. “It’s good to expose her to a bunch of stuff early on.”

Tokoyami sighs and his hands pause on the guitar. He looks like he’s having some kind of internal conversation for a moment, and then Dark Shadow begins to emerge over his shoulder. Small, just barely peeking down at the baby.

A lot more timid than Katsuki’s ever seen him before, that’s for sure.

He gradually grows in size, twisting down across Tokoyami’s torso to get a better look Kanami. “This is a very tiny human, Fumikage,” Dark Shadow says, somehow looking almost excited about it. He slinks closer, hovering right in front of her face. “Tinier than you ever were!”

Kanami’s eyes get so, so big as he looms over her, and Katsuki preemptively grimaces.

On the bright side, at least wailing babies still remain an absolute turn-off.

* * *

Izuku can tell Kacchan’s going through it, but it becomes even more evident when they enter their apartment and he doesn’t even stop to take off his shoes. Just trudges straight through to their bedroom, leaving Izuku to trail along after him and watch as he flops heavily onto the bed. Katsuki doesn’t acknowledge him, instead dragging his hands over his face for a moment before flinging his entire arm across his eyes.

“Kana-chan’s adorable,” Izuku says, trying for a calm, soothing tone as he kneels at Katsuki’s feet and starts untying his shoes. “I know I shouldn’t laugh, but it was a little funny how startled she got seeing Dark Shadow up close.”

Katsuki snorts from beneath his arm, then sniffs wetly, and that instantly puts Izuku on high alert.

“Kacchan?” he asks, rising up onto his knees between Katsuki’s spread legs. “What’s going on, are you okay??”

“I’m fine,” he chokes out. His free hand rubs harshly over one cheek and Izuku notices it comes away damp.

“Kacchan…”

“Just fucking leave it, Deku, okay?” Katsuki demands. He scrubs at his face again, makes the mistake of stealing a glance down at Izuku, and then groans in frustration. “God, don’t sit there like that!”

“Huh??” Izuku blinks rapidly a few times. His brow pinches inwards. “What? Kacchan, you’re starting to worry me.” He braces his hands against Katsuki’s thighs – with no specific intent whatsoever, but Katsuki jolts like he’s just been electrocuted.

“Fucking – stop.” He rears back, legs trying to close except that Izuku’s in the way, blocking them. So instead he clumsily lifts a socked foot and plants it against Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re making me – just. Ugh. Fucking back off, I’m not in the mood.”

“I’m not trying anything,” Izuku says blankly. He pulls away, though, and Katsuki’s leg falls flat again.

His loose athletic pants don’t do much to hide…well. Anything.

Izuku sucks in a slow breath, understanding dawning.

“…It’s still that bad?”

Kacchan clenches his teeth and turns onto his side, scooting farther back onto the bed so that he can curl up around his protruding stomach. “It won’t go away,” he whines, frustration bleeding into his voice. “Or – it did go away, but then you fucking got on your knees and it came roaring back.”

“Ah. Sorry,” Izuku says, sheepish. He crawls up onto the bed next to Katsuki, careful as he lies down behind him. “Um. That’s probably the increased blood volume and blood flow.”

“What?”

“During pregnancy,” Izuku clarifies. “There’s a gradual increase starting from the early weeks until, uh…about now, I think. It should hit a maximum in the next week or so.”

“Right, but what the fuck’s that got to do with anything?”

“Well, you’re a guy.” Izuku shrugs a little, not that Kacchan’s looking at him. “I guess your body has a more…visually obvious way to showcase the increased blood flow than a woman’s might.”

“Gross,” Katsuki grumbles. “That’s fuckin’ annoying as hell, for fuck’s sake. This shit hasn’t been an issue since – what, January? February? Bullshit can fuck right off.”

Alright, well that’s about thirty fucks in the last two minutes, so he’s REALLY in a mood.

Izuku reaches a hand out, lightly prodding Katsuki’s shoulder. “Hey. Can I touch you?”

“Are you fucking kidding me–”

“Not like THAT.” Izuku huffs and strokes his hand down Katsuki’s arm. “Geez, Kacchan. I could give you a massage? Or anything, I mean, I don’t know why you don’t want me to take care of you. But I could.”

“I’m tired,” Katsuki grits out. “Tired and sore and fuckin’ pent up and she won’t stop moving today and everything sucks.”

“And you don’t want me to help alleviate one of those things…why?”

Katsuki exhales noisily and presses backwards into Izuku’s chest, burrowing against him and then tugging at his hand until Izuku takes the hint and fully wraps his arm around Katsuki’s chest.

“Too much effort,” he mutters. “I don’t have the energy.”

“You wouldn’t have to do anything,” Izuku says, and Katsuki scoffs.

“What, like I’m not gonna give as good as I’m getting? The hell is that.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Izuku finds Katsuki’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “Seriously, don’t worry about me. Let me help you.” Kacchan goes quiet for a moment, but at least he seems to be considering the offer. Izuku presses closer and wedges one of his knees in between Katsuki’s thighs. “Just tell me what you want.”

“I want your dick nowhere near me,” Katsuki says immediately, even as he shifts his hips downwards and gives a subtle little grind against Izuku’s knee. “You’re not sticking it anywhere, none of that shit is comfortable anymore. Doesn’t matter what position.”

They’ve tried it a few different ways ever since Kacchan started getting actually big. It usually seems to go alright, as far as Izuku is aware, but he can’t deny that the belly has definitely started making things…somewhat difficult.

And he’d had to make peace with the fact that Kacchan probably wasn’t going to be topping him again for god knows how long after their last attempt about three weeks ago had ended up being more of a chore than anything else.

…For Katsuki, anyway.

Izuku hadn’t minded in the least, but Kacchan had a hard time getting any kind of decent rhythm going. And it wasn’t like Izuku could just climb on top of him and do it that way because lying on his back wasn’t exactly a comfortable position for Katsuki either, what with the heavy weight of the baby adding pressure in all the wrong places. Plus, his belly had still kind of been in the way even then.

Ultimately, Katsuki had shut it all down really damn fast. Red-faced and growling in frustration as he did.

If they’ve hit a point now where Kacchan doesn’t want to do it the other way anymore either, then so be it.

Izuku will just have to get reacquainted with his own hands. Simple as that.

“You can just tell me these things, you know,” Izuku murmurs, holding his leg steady for Katsuki to slowly move against. “I’m not going to get my feelings hurt or something. This is all pretty normal, I’ve seen so many other people saying similar things online.”

“Yeah?” Katsuki’s chest heaves, his breaths going ragged. “What kind of shit have you been looking up?”

“Everything. Anything I thought might be good to know. It’s not unusual for the drive to still be there even if the sex itself isn’t doing it for you.”

“Fucking sucks,” Katsuki pants. “I miss it – I miss you, I miss my fuckin’ body, I miss bending you over the arm of the couch–”

“Imagine how good that first time back is going to be,” Izuku says, and Katsuki moans. “Maybe I’ll even get you to beg for it again.”

“Hah. Fat chance.”

“I kind of liked you desperate, though.” Izuku grins and presses his knee up, drawing a sharp gasp out of the other man. “Back when the Quirk first hit. You were so needy all the time.”

Katsuki’s grip on Izuku’s hand goes tight for a moment, clenching around his fingers, and then he shoves it straight down past his stomach and into his pants. “Hands,” he demands, jerking once more against Izuku’s knee. “Hand, Blackwhip, fuck, anything, just fucking do something!”

Izuku happily complies.

Then he yanks Kacchan to the edge of the bed, strips his pants off, falls to his knees, and uses his mouth to do it all over again.

They end up in the tub after that, Kacchan resting back against Izuku’s chest while Izuku frets over the temperature of the water, checking and double-checking to make sure it’s not too hot. Katsuki seems to not have a care in the world, though. Finally relaxed, limbs loose, palm resting against the crest of his stomach.

As per usual, Kacchan being active ends up making baby girl active, as well. Which, naked as they are, means Izuku’s treated to the bizarre sight of Katsuki’s stomach jumping and rippling right before his eyes. It’s like a wave coasting across his abdomen. Little bumps protruding here and there as their kid kicks outwards.

“I feel like an alien is about to explode out of you,” Izuku mutters, reaching down to press back against one of the small bulges that appears. “That looks so weird.”

Katsuki snorts. “Try being on this side of it.”

“Wonder if she’s going to be this active on the outside.”

“Guess we’ll see.” Katsuki cranes his head back and lifts his arm so he can dig a hand into Izuku’s damp curls and pull him into a firm kiss. “I love you.”

“Mm.” Izuku smiles and kisses him again. “Love you, too, Kacchan.”

“Sorry for being a hormonal asshole.”

“Nah…” Izuku wraps his arm around Katsuki’s chest. Noses into his hair and quietly marvels at how much softer his pecs feel now. “It’s a day that ends in Y – I’m used to it.”

“Oh, fuck you.”

“Thought that was off the table?”

“IZUKU.”

“Just saying.”

* * *

In a very unfortunate turn of events, and a case of really shitty timing, Katsuki’s at U.A. the first time it happens.

The good news, at least, is that they’re not all the way out at the U.S.J.

The bad news is that he’s surrounded by Aizawa’s first years, and Aizawa himself, and that’s just fucking awkward.

Frogger’s got the kids running a rescue simulation at Ground Beta. They’re using one of the abandoned buildings to practice in while Katsuki observes from a distance – a bit uselessly, but everyone has insisted he can’t go over there because they’re setting off some minor explosions in the area to imitate a villain attack.

Tch, like Katsuki couldn’t explode any shit that comes his way right back.

“How are you feeling?” Aizawa asks, standing next to him with his arms folded across his chest.

Katsuki shoots him a look, eyebrows raised somewhat skeptically, then rolls one shoulder in a half shrug. “What, like in general?”

“Here,” the older man clarifies. “At U.A. Have you settled into teaching?” He pauses for a beat, and then adds: “And also in general, yes.”

“I’m okay,” Katsuki says. “Teaching is…good. Better than expected, if I’m being honest.”

“I’ve heard positive things from the students.” Aizawa jerks his chin in Tsuyu’s direction. “You and Asui seem to make a surprisingly good match.”

“Eh. She doesn’t really need me here, but I’m–”

Whoa.

Katsuki flinches suddenly. Braces a hand against his stomach, which is something he tries not to do a whole lot when there are nosy teenagers around. They might all know, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be constantly reminding everyone about the batshit situation he’s found himself in. So he does his best not to draw extra attention to it.

The sudden motion does catch Aizawa’s eye, though. He glances over, but Katsuki doesn’t notice.

He’s too distracted by the way his entire stomach just went tight. So fucking tight. His belly is rock hard beneath his hand and what the hell?

“Bakugou, are you okay?” Aizawa asks, somewhat urgently, and Katsuki realizes he’s just been standing there frozen, eyes blown wide and glued to the swollen area beneath his shirt.

“I, uh…” Katsuki swallows. His stomach still feels weirdly firm, but nothing hurts or anything like that. So. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m fine.”

Aizawa’s gaze narrows. “You think?”

“I don’t know what the fuck…” Another few seconds tick by and finally, gradually, things start to loosen up again. The tension drains out of his frame and he exhales in a whoosh. “Shit. Yeah, sorry, I’m good.”

Aizawa keeps watching him for a moment, but eventually he lets out a dismissive scoff of a sound and turns back to continue observing the training drill. “Language,” he softly chides. “You’re a teacher, so you should act like it.”

Ugh, please.

He carefully refrains from rolling his eyes, instead just nodding as though he has any intention of ever cleaning up his mouth.

The current group of students finishes and they swap out with the next crew that’s waiting to go. Katsuki’s mentally taking notes, keeping track of which kids he needs to speak to later. There are a handful of them who are a little too eager, too ready to charge through the building without checking first to make sure it’s even safe to do so. Running haphazardly through a danger zone like that only ever invites more trouble, the last thing you want to do is cause a situation where more people end up in–

–Ow, fuck, shit.

Katsuki’s hand flies to his stomach again.

Okay, but not really ow, though. There’s still not any pain, per se, it’s just startling as fuck when everything goes all tight like that.

Katsuki grimaces, bent slightly forward. He realizes Aizawa’s next to him, calling his name, and apparently Katsuki flung his free hand out to grab Aizawa’s arm at some point because he’s clutching at him in an alarmed way and that’s fucking embarrassing.

More pressing matters, though – what the FUCK is happening??

It’s like…cramps, of a sort. Really intense cramping, and his belly’s all weirdly hard again, and what the absolute fucking shit.

“Bakugou,” Aizawa hisses for probably the tenth time. “Do you need to see the nurse?”

“I…” Katsuki starts, then shakes his head. He doesn’t know what the hell he needs. He doubts anything is, like, happening. It’s still too early for all of that.

But.

“Bakugou-sensei!” another voice shouts, and suddenly Katsuki is being swarmed by his little lost duckling trio who likes to follow him around the weight room. “Are you okay?” Spikes says frantically, flitting around like he’s somehow morphed into a nervous hummingbird. “Is the baby coming?!”

“Should we call an ambulance?” Wings asks.

“No,” Katsuki forces out. Fuck, god, now they’ve got everyone’s attention. Great.

Tsuyu hops over next, quick to brace a hand against Katsuki’s shoulder. Her voice is calm when she speaks, though. Cool, collected. “What is it? Do you need to sit down?”

“No, I’m fine,” Katsuki insists. Weirdly, he actually is. He doesn’t feel panicky at all. There’s a faint inkling drifting through his head, though. Just out of reach. Some random bit of medical knowledge that he definitely knows, he just can’t think of what it is he’s even trying to think about.

…That’s a really jumbled thought, fucking hell. Maybe he’s actually in shock and disassociating.

“Fukuhara, take him to the med bay,” Aizawa says decisively, and Shrinky snaps to attention, nods, and then immediately ducks under one of Katsuki’s arms to offer him support that he DOESN’T FUCKING NEED. “Tatsuya, go tell him we’re coming.”

“Right!” Wings says, and then he takes off at a dead sprint before leaping into the air to fly back to the main U.A. building.

Aizawa falls into step on Katsuki’s other side. “Stay with them,” he says to Tsuyu over his shoulder. “They have lunch after this, don’t release them until then. Saeda–”

“I’m coming,” Spikes demands, scrambling along after them. “I – I can help, I’ll be his moral support – I’m great moral support!”

“Stay,” Aizawa orders, and he’s got the sort of tone that means there’s absolutely no room for arguing here. Spikes looks like he’s gearing up to try anyway, but Aizawa shoots him a look and the kid finally stutters to a halt. “We’re just taking precautions,” he says, noticeably more gentle. “Stay with your classmates. I’ll be back soon.”

It’s been a few years since Katsuki has visited the medical bay, obviously, but it looks about the same as ever. The biggest difference is that it’s no longer run by Recovery Girl. She finally retired before Katsuki’s third year of school, and in her place is a much younger, sandy-haired man whose healing Quirk isn’t nearly as useful or fast acting.

Katsuki can’t remember the guy’s name, but whatever. He has him sit up on one of the hospital beds and quickly shoos the two tagalong teens outside, before hitting Katsuki without about twenty million questions. Makes him repeat what happened, describe exactly what he was feeling in annoyingly specific detail.

“And you’re how many weeks?” he asks.

“Thirty-five.” The too-tight feeling has gone away again. Katsuki keeps prodding at his stomach anyway, though, almost unconsciously. Like he’s testing the firmness of it.

That hard feeling before had been SO strange.

“Well, I can’t say Obstetrics is my specialty, but my guess is you were probably experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions.”

…Oh.

“Nothing to be alarmed about. You might want to confirm with your doctor, though. Just to be sure.”

Oh.

Fuck, right, THAT’S what it was.

The thing Katsuki had been trying to remember just a few minutes ago.

Braxton Hicks.

Yeah, he’s definitely heard about those from Doctor Tajima. She’d explained all about them, when they might start, what he should expect.

…So he’s there now, huh?

Great.

Fucking peachy.

“Braxton Hicks,” Aizawa repeats, before heaving out a sigh and rubbing at his forehead. He looks stressed and more tired than ever – being stuck still having to deal with one of his problem children’s dramatics this many years past their graduation probably hadn’t been in his plans. “Do you want us to call Midoriya for you?”

“Uh. No.” Katsuki’s doing his best to pretend he’s not vaguely mortified right now. He doesn’t do well with people freaking out over him on a good day, and this is the most basic pregnancy shit in the world. Kicking up such a fuss over nothing, stupid as hell. He scrubs a hand over one of his flushed cheeks, scowling. “I’ll tell him later, ain’t a big deal. Just caught me off guard.”

Thundering footsteps echo down the hallway outside the medical bay. There’s a brief commotion, several voices suddenly piled on top of each other, and then Mahoro comes bursting through the door.

“BAKUGOU!” she cries, skidding to a stop in front of him – much to the consternation of the nurse and the utter exasperation of Aizawa. “Some boys in the cafeteria said you went into labor in the middle of class! Are you okay, are you having the baby?? Where is it?!”

“I said he might be having the baby!” Spikes yells from out in the hallway.

“Way to keep a lid on it, dude,” Wings mumbles.

Shrinky cautiously pokes his head around the doorjamb. “Are you okay, Bakugou-sensei?”

There’s a sharp jab from somewhere inside Katsuki as baby girl tries to punch him in the kidney or some shit. He flattens his hand against the spot, pushing back against her.

Holy fuck, the attitude on this kid already. Just has to be the center of attention.

“Yeah. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you guys.” Katsuki grins. “Don’t worry. Everything’s good.”

Chapter Text

They get the keys to their house the second week of June.

Their house.

The house that they OWN.

It’s a little insane but so cool. They head over with a few things as soon as they finish signing all the papers – not that they’re moving in just yet or anything, but Izuku figures they can at least start slowly transporting stuff over now while they’re still baby free.

He thinks it’s a good idea, anyway. Until he catches Kacchan standing in the middle of the room they’ve decided is going to be the nursery, looking more overwhelmed than excited or anything else.

Izuku carefully sets the oversized box he was carrying against one of the walls before stepping further inside. “Hey… You alright?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki says faintly. He looks around briefly, gives a small shake of his head, and then repeats more firmly, “Yeah. It’s just…really empty.”

Well…obviously. They’ve only had the keys for about an hour.

“It won’t feel that way once we get all our stuff here,” Izuku says. He sidles up next to Katsuki, slipping an arm around his waist so that he can palm the side of his stomach. “We’ll fill it up fast.”

“Sure, except right now it’s empty.” One of Kacchan’s hands twitches by his side. The other he rests on top of Izuku’s arm, clamping down, fingers digging into his skin a bit. “We’re bringing a kid here in a month and nothing’s gonna be fucking ready.”

“Technically, we’re bringing her to the apartment,” Izuku says lightly, and Katsuki immediately scowls at him, leaning slightly away as if he’s making sure Izuku can take in the entirety of his grumpy countenance. “Kacchan, it’ll be fine.”

“Moving takes time. It’s a goddamn hassle and we’ll have to unpack and I’ll barely be able to help and we’re going to have a screaming baby interrupting us every two seconds.” Katsuki sucks in a breath and his grip on Izuku’s arm tightens. “Fuck, we’re gonna be living out of boxes for months. Years. Nothing’s in place or organized, this was a fuckin’ stupid idea–”

“Hey, hey,” Izuku interrupts in a soothing tone. “It’s not just us. We’ll have help, right? My mom’s taking time off work. And your dad said he’d take care of the nursery! So that’ll probably be the FIRST room done.”

Kacchan’s eyes dart from one corner of the room to the other again. “She has so many clothes already. Where the hell is everything going to go?”

“In the furniture we picked out.” Izuku gives him a brief squeeze and then goes about trying to free himself from Kacchan’s iron claws. “Speaking of, your dad’s coming up with the tools. I don’t know if he’s going to need them, but–”

“Tools?” Katsuki swings a questioning look his way. “For what?”

Izuku blinks. “Um…” He gestures back over near the doorway where he left the box housing the baby crib. “He said he’d put it together for us.”

“We brought the crib?!” Katsuki nearly screeches, and Izuku winces, rubbing at his ear. “Where the fuck is she gonna sleep at the apartment, Deku??”

“…In the bassinet your mom bought. We can put it in our room.” Izuku’s brows draw down. “I swear you were there for that conversation.”

Katsuki throws his hands up with another scowl. “I don’t even remember you grabbing that box, you think I remember some random-ass conversation we had fuck knows when?”

Fuck knows when, AKA a week ago.

But Izuku sure doesn’t say that.

“Your parents went and got it while we were picking up the keys,” is what he goes with instead. “I don’t think it would’ve fit in our car.”

Katsuki opens his mouth, pauses, and then unceremoniously lets his arms flop back down. “Oh.”

“You sure you’re alright, Kacchan?” Izuku asks, peering at him. “Are the, um…the crampy things bad today?”

“Crampy– The fuck?” Katsuki squints right back for a second before his expression smooths out. “Oh, the fake contractions bullshit? Nah.”

“Maybe you should sit down anyway,” Izuku says, nearly under his breath, but of course Kacchan hears him regardless and scrunches his whole face up, going full stink-eye on him.

Luckily, Izuku is saved from his wrath by the arrival of Katsuki’s dad.

“Hey, kids!” Masaru says, entering the room in his usual jovial way. “This place is great, you really grabbed a good one.” He claps a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, but they already greeted each other downstairs so he quickly moves on to Katsuki and tugs him in for a hug that’s half-heartedly returned in a manner befitting a teenage boy: petulant frown, one-shoulder lean into the embrace, and all. Izuku will give him the benefit of the doubt this time, though – he thinks Kacchan probably keeps his belly twisted out of the way on purpose, because there’s still something about being super pregnant around his dad that makes him a tad awkward.

Whatever the reason for his tepid response, Masaru takes it in stride. It’s not like he isn’t used to it, so he just chortles a bit before pressing a kiss against Katsuki’s temple. “This is it, huh?” he asks, after Katsuki huffs and swats him away. “Can’t wait to get started. Did you look at any of the color samples I sent you?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki mumbles. “Got everything picked out.”

“Great! Izuku, can you help me with this?” Masaru reaches for the crib box and Izuku scrambles to grab the other side, helping move it to the center of the room for easier access. Even though he totally could’ve just one-armed it by himself. “I’ll pick up the paint and everything this afternoon so we can get started. That way it’s all done before the rest of the baby’s furniture is delivered.”

“You’re doing the crib now?” Katsuki asks, watching as Masaru kneels on the floor and starts tearing into the box.

“We can cover it so paint doesn’t get on it. No time like the present, right?”

“I guess…”

Masaru glances up at Katsuki. “Feeling alright, Kat?” he asks, and Kacchan promptly scowls at nothing and everything.

“Oh my god, I’m fine,” he says, exasperated, and Masaru shares a quick look with Izuku before shrugging.

“You sound pretty crabby.”

“I’m not crabby!”

“Okay,” Masaru says easily. He’s already pulling all the pieces of the crib out of the box and setting things aside in some kind of order that Izuku can’t decipher, without even having looked at the instructions yet. “You want to help me put this together?”

“No,” Katsuki replies, but he leans up against the closest wall and uses it for support as he slides down to the ground. “You don’t need my help, old man.”

“No, but I think it’ll make you feel better.”

Kacchan’s brow pinches inwards. “I just said–”

“I know. But you’re just like your mother.” Masaru smiles over at him, completely unaffected by the growling snarl he’s immediately hit with. “She was really restless towards the end. Kept messing with your room, even though we had it ready to go months in advance. Suddenly nothing was good enough, nothing looked right, everything needed to be shifted two feet to the left.” He laughs softly as he reminisces, and Izuku watches as Katsuki’s face slowly calms. “She had me rearrange all the furniture three times, only for it to end up exactly the way we originally had it.”

“Every time you compare me to the hag, I die a little,” Katsuki says flatly. “And every time you imply we act the same while fuckin’ pregnant, I die a LOT.”

Masaru makes an utterly unconcerned, amused little sound. “You do, though.”

“Fuck off. At least you had furniture to rearrange!”

“Yours is being delivered in a few days.” Masaru looks around and, finding Izuku still standing there, points at one of the pieces of the frame. “Can you grab that one? That’s the first piece we need.”

Izuku does as requested and then joins the other two on the floor, holding the frame in place while Masaru attaches some other piece to it. “Kacchan’s just feeling anxious because he thinks we don’t have anything ready.”

“Because I’m freakin’ right and we don’t have anything ready,” Katsuki mutters. He tips his head back to rest against the wall, and then something in his expression shifts slightly. Izuku watches him carefully, recognizing the signs that he’s become familiar with over the past week or so of Kacchan experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. The small twist of his mouth, the way his eyes narrow just a bit. The hand that he braces atop his baby bump.

He says it doesn’t hurt or anything, just feels kind of weird, but Izuku’s been on high alert anyway ever since Katsuki first told him what happened at U.A. Even though he’s been assured by both Kacchan and Doctor Tajima that this is normal and expected and definitely not anything to be worried about.

They’re just so close to the end now. Izuku can’t help feeling jittery about literally everything that signals they’re edging ever so slightly toward that finish line.

“You’ve been organizing her clothes for weeks and if we buy any more diapers, we won’t be able to walk from one end of the living room to the other,” he says gently, teasing, and Katsuki glowers at him. “If you’re restless, we could go unload the car?”

“Tch, I’m not going up and down those stairs a hundred times.” Katsuki swipes a finger along the floor and examines the nonexistent dust he thinks he picked up. “I might clean something.”

Izuku sighs. “Alright. Whatever makes you happy, Kacchan.”

“Or everything.”

“…Maybe don’t exhaust yourself, though.”

Katsuki kicks a foot out to nudge at one of the many pieces of the crib. “Gonna help my dad finish this first,” he says, and Izuku nods even though he’s pretty sure that really Katsuki just means he’s going to continue unhelpfully sitting there.

Which isn’t a problem, obviously.

Masaru’s always been a soothing presence for Kacchan, even when he pretends he isn’t.

“Where is ma, anyway?” Katsuki asks.

“Outside,” says Masaru. “With Inko. They’re talking to your friend’s mom.”

Kyouka and Kaminari got everything for their house finalized today, too. And unlike Izuku and Katsuki, they’re actually for real moving in throughout the next couple of weeks. They only have their apartment until the end of the month, so time is a bit more limited for them.

As if he’s been summoned by Izuku’s stray thoughts, a door slams somewhere downstairs and Kaminari’s voice comes echoing up through the empty halls.

“HELLOOOO, NEIGHBORS!” he yells, stomping around as he looks for them, and Izuku can’t help grinning because it feels like a preview of how the rest of their lives are going to go. “WHERE YOU GUYS AT?”

He can tell Katsuki must be thinking the same thing, because his head drops forward as he groans.

“Up here!” Izuku calls back.

There’s a soft sound of sneakers squeaking against the new floors, followed by Kaminari thundering up the stairs, and then he unceremoniously comes sliding around the doorjamb – baby in his arms and all.

Which instantly perks Kacchan up.

“Hi!” Kaminari cheerfully greets them, before doing a double take at Kacchan’s dad. “Ah – sorry, Bakugou-san. Didn’t know you were here.”

“You’re fine,” Masaru says. He shoots him a smile overtop the parts of the crib he’s constructed. “Come on in, join us.”

“Denki,” Katsuki blurts out abruptly. Kaminari glances over and snorts when he sees Katsuki’s outstretched arms. “Gimme that.”

“Give you that,” Kaminari repeats in a good-natured way, looking amused. “How about: may I have the honor of holding your darling princess, please??”

Despite his comments, though, he easily passes Kanami off to Katsuki’s grabby hands, grinning as Katsuki immediately tucks her up against his chest and smooths a palm over her back.

Masaru watches in some mix of fondness and awe, and Izuku has to wonder if it’s the first time he’s ever witnessed his son holding an infant. It probably is, right? It’s not like Kacchan ever babysat in his younger years.

“She’s beautiful,” Masaru says, and Kaminari beams. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks! We made her from scratch.”

Katsuki scrunches his nose up at him. “The fuck kinda stupid-ass thing…”

“Just telling it like it is.” Kaminari throws his arms out wide. “Anyway – how are we feeling, homeowners?!”

“Kacchan’s freaking out because he wants to nest but he can’t,” Izuku says bluntly, and Katsuki’s face abruptly flushes red.

“Oi, what the hell?!”

“Ahh.” Kaminari gives a knowing nod as he glances around the mostly empty room. “Yeah, we picked a terrible time to do this. Oops.”

“It’ll be worth it in the end,” Masaru says. “You’ll be glad you have this place once you’re all moved in and settled.”

“It’s getting to that point that’s the problem,” Kacchan grumbles. Kanami squirms against him and he adjusts her so she’s comfortably nestled in the crook of his arm.

He already makes it look so easy. Izuku still has a tendency to hold Kana-chan like she’s a piece of glass that might shatter at the slightest upset, but Katsuki’s been hanging out at Kaminari’s so often the past couple of weeks that he seems to have figured out at least the basics in how to do this whole thing. He looks comfortable, which is maybe the most impressive part.

Izuku’s happy for that, because it wasn’t that long ago that Kacchan was more panicked than anything about the prospect of becoming new parents. So he’s glad that being around Kanami has given him some peace of mind. Allowed him to practice a little, get used to it.

Except that now Izuku’s the one who feels like he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

And that’s okay – he knows he’ll learn fast once baby girl arrives.

But he’s been working so hard to be Kacchan’s support throughout this whole journey that it feels a little weird to be in the final stretch and suddenly have things shift. The fact that holding Kana-chan now calms Katsuki down instead of freaking him out is wild.

“Oh, you got the four-in-one?” Kaminari asks suddenly, squatting down to examine the furniture box and all the pieces strewn about. “Nice! Is this the one that has the changing table on the side?”

“Nah,” Katsuki murmurs. His eyes are on Kanami as he rocks her a bit. “We ordered a dresser that has one on top.”

Kaminari grins. “Copied us, huh?”

“You’re kind of the unintentional guinea pigs here,” Izuku says with a soft chuckle, and Kaminari waves him off with a flap of his hand.

“No, no, I get it,” he says loftily. “Put us on that pedestal! Definitely been all smooth sailing on this side of the tracks, of course you want to recreate that experience.”

“That’s what I do when I come over.” Katsuki glances up at him and lets one eyebrow lift. “Judge every parenting decision you make and immediately come up with a way to do it better.”

“See, I don’t even think you’re joking about that.”

“Yeah, because I’m not.”

“He’s such a kidder,” Kaminari directs at Kacchan’s dad, who just snorts lightly in response. “You raised a huge comedian over here.”

“We realized he needed a good sense of humor to balance out all that sass,” Masaru says, playing along. He shoots Kaminari a look over the top of his glasses. “You can see how well that turned out, though.”

Katsuki flashes both of them the middle finger with his free hand. “Sass this, assholes.”

“Yeah, no, sass definitely won that battle,” Kaminari says dryly. Katsuki makes a face at him and Kaminari mirrors it in an exaggerated way, which quickly has Izuku erupting in a snickering fit because they both look ridiculous. “Oh, hey,” Kaminari speaks again after a moment, goofy expression clearing. “How’d your last week of work go? You’re done now, right?”

“Just at the agency,” Katsuki says. “It was fine. Uneventful.” He huffs out a breath. “Not like I was doing much there anyway.”

Kaminari blinks. “Wait, you’re still teaching?”

“He insisted,” Izuku mutters. “Said he’d be too bored otherwise.”

“I’m staying on at U.A. until the doctors cut me open.” Kanami starts fussing a little, not that Izuku blames her. He doesn’t particularly like hearing it worded that way, either. The whole idea makes him feel a little queasy, but he’s pretty sure that’s more because it’s Kacchan and less anything to do with the actual procedure. “Two days a week ain’t shit,” Katsuki continues, as he gives Kana-chan a few gentle bounces. “Doubt it’ll be an issue.”

Kaminari straightens into a more alert position, watching the pair of them closely in case he needs to intervene. “Well, hey, it’s good to stay moving, I guess.”

“As long as you don’t try to do too much,” Masaru adds.

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry, they won’t let me,” he grumbles. “Think I accomplished the impossible and scared the shit out of Aizawa over nothing. So he’s got everyone on high alert.”

“Hasegawa’s already asked about you,” Izuku says. “Do you talk outside of work?”

“Eh. She has my number.” Katsuki throws a quick look over to the far side of the room, then swivels his head around to frown at the doorway next. “Actually, I brought that bag she gave us. Did I leave it downstairs?”

“The – oh, the gift bag?” Izuku jumps to his feet. “I’ll go check!”

He finds the bag downstairs on one of the counters in the kitchen, and then promptly gets waylaid by all four moms before he can make it back upstairs. They pester him with a hundred questions that Izuku is sure are not important at the moment – aside from Kyouka, who simply wants to know where Kaminari disappeared to with their child, and that’s a totally fair thing to want to know.

By the time he makes it back to the others, the crib looks like it’s more than halfway assembled and Kaminari has taken over assisting Kacchan’s dad with holding pieces in place to be attached. Izuku drops ungracefully to the floor at Kacchan’s side, more excited than the situation probably calls for and with the gift bag slightly crumpled in his grasp.

“Here!” he says, thrusting it out, and Katsuki’s eyebrows arch a bit.

“The hell, what took you? Did I put it somewhere weird or something?” he asks, which wouldn’t actually be all that strange at this point. Izuku found the TV remote control in their refrigerator a few days ago, and there was one day last week where Kacchan tried to start dinner, forgot about it entirely when Izuku came home with takeout, and then the next day they found the tray of chicken thighs still uncooked in the oven because he – thankfully – had never turned it on to begin with.

“No, I got dragged into another conversation. It was just in the kitchen.” Izuku glances over at Kaminari. “Kyouka’s looking for you, by the way.”

“Ah, shit. We’re supposed to be doing stuff at the house.” Kaminari groans a little and pushes himself up to stand. “I’m already exhausted and we haven’t even started. Do you want to watch her for a bit?” he asks Katsuki, whose eyes widen slightly.

“Uh–”

“Cool, thanks!” Kaminari blurts out quickly, grinning big and wide and throwing him a pair of double thumbs up before he all but sprints out of the room.

“Fuck, wait,” Katsuki tries, but it’s too late. Kaminari is long gone. Katsuki scowls and looks down at the baby, but she seems content enough even without either of her parents nearby. She’s busy making all sorts of sounds, coos and sighs and the occasional grunt. Izuku smiles in fond amusement – she’s a noisy little thing lately. “Dammit, when the hell did I agree to babysit?”

“When you demanded to hold her, I think,” Izuku says.

“That wasn’t a free pass for the rest of the day,” Katsuki complains, but honestly, Izuku doesn’t know why he’s even trying to put up this façade. He’s got one of Kana-chan’s little hands curled around his finger and he clearly wasn’t about to pass her off for someone else to hold anytime soon.

“You’re really good with her,” Masaru says.

Katsuki grumbles under his breath a bit and goes pink across the bridge of his nose. “I just…got used to holding her, is all.”

Izuku shakes the bag to draw Kacchan’s attention back. “Do you want to open this or can I?”

“You can,” Katsuki says. “I threw some of my stuff on top, just toss it aside.”

After a quick check with Masaru to make sure he doesn’t need any additional help with the crib at the moment, Izuku eagerly dives into the gift bag. He first pulls out several small, stuffed, round…things – “Penguins,” Kacchan grumpily tells him – and carefully sets them on the floor. There’s a decent amount, and he can guess from the colors that they’re meant to represent some of their friends.

“You made these?” he asks, turning a half-pink one over in his hands. The body is an intricate swirl of teal and purple, which, if Kacchan crocheted it himself, is actually pretty impressive as far as Izuku is concerned.

Katsuki snorts, though. “If it looks like it required any skill at all, it’s one of Hasegawa’s.” He points at a couple dual-colored penguins that have a solid head and body. “The black and white one is me, that’s Sero. Navy and red is Edgeshot, blue and yellow is Denim Head, green is Frogger. There’s a half-finished Todoroki somewhere, but I tried doing three colors on that one and it was looking fucking stupid last time I was working on it.”

Aside from those, there are several others that look perfect and cutely detailed. A red and black one for Kirishima, yellow with black lightning bolts for Kaminari, purple and black and pink for Kyouka. A few have little beads for eyes, but it looks like Hasegawa probably switched to stitching the eyes on halfway through when it became apparent that these might eventually end up in the hands of a toddler.

“I didn’t know you can knit,” Masaru says, as Izuku continues to unearth more little penguin friends. “Is this why you suggested a penguin theme for the nursery?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki says gruffly, looking a tad embarrassed. He pauses for a beat, then adds: “It’s crochet, actually.”

“Oh.” Masaru blinks. “My apologies, then.”

“Work was boring, okay??” The tips of Katsuki’s ears go red. “I’m not built for desk work shit. Hasegawa got me started on all that and it was a good way to pass the time–”

“Whoa, hey,” Masaru interrupts, holding up a hand. “Does it look like I’m in any way judging you?”

“…No.”

“So take a breath.” The look Kacchan’s dad gives him is exasperated, but still full of warmth. “You always did like to keep your hands busy. I’m not surprised you found a new hobby to keep you occupied.”

“It was a temporary hobby,” Katsuki grumbles, before nudging at the gift bag again. “Keep going.”

There are still four more stuffed penguins in the bag. Three of them slightly larger than the rest, and one even smaller.

Izuku’s not surprised that one of them is crocheted in All Might’s colors. Red, blue, yellow, white – all represented in thick stripes banded around the penguin’s body. The last two big ones are equally expected after seeing the rest, but easily Izuku’s favorite. One black and burnt orange with hints of forest green, the other dark teal and black with red highlights.

The final penguin, the one that’s the tiniest of the lot, is a swirling mix of yellow and green. Katsuki makes a soft sound when Izuku pulls it out of the bag, and he glances up to find the other man staring at it, wide-eyed.

“That one’s new,” Kacchan says, sounding a bit choked. “That sneaky bitch.”

“Language,” Masaru chides.

Izuku cups the baby penguin in his hands. “It’s so cute!” he says in awe. “Kacchan, look, it’s our whole little family.”

Katsuki makes another strained kind of noise. “Yep. See that.” He drags the heel of his hand across one eye and mutters stubbornly, “I’m not crying, shut up.”

Masaru reaches around the crib to pat his shoulder as Izuku chuckles under his breath and continues pawing through the bag.

Hasegawa did way too much.

Beneath all the crocheted animals are several beanies in a variety of colors. Two that again match their hero branding and an additional two in pink. They’re different sizes, Izuku notices, which is super thoughtful considering the baby’s due in July when they likely won’t be very necessary.

After that is a baby blanket patterned with varying shades of teal and orange zigzagging the length of it. And below that is yet another crocheted blanket, bigger this time, that’s made up of angled stripes in soft pink, blue, and yellow pastels.

“Oh my god, she’s insane,” Katsuki hisses, dragging the large blanket over. “No wonder she didn’t want us opening this in front of her, she knew I’d lose my fucking shit.”

“It’s all incredibly thoughtful,” Masaru says. “She really did all that herself?”

“She crochets on her lunch break.” With his free hand, Katsuki piles the blanket up until it forms a little nest and then gently rests Kanami on top of it. “I’ve seen her work, I know she’s fast, but god.”

“Everything is so soft,” Izuku murmurs. He runs his fingers over the teal and orange blanket. “These are really beautiful.”

“It’s too much!” Katsuki insists as he continues fussing with Kanami until he’s apparently decided she’s adequately protected within her new blanket walls. “She’s crazy.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to thank her when I see her tomorrow.”

“That’s it, right?”

Izuku peeks into the bag. “Ah, no. Looks like one more thing.”

“I’m gonna kill her,” Katsuki mutters. “Fine, what is it?”

The final item is wrapped in red tissue paper, so it’s not until Izuku rips into it that they catch a glimpse of what’s hiding within.

Both Izuku and Katsuki promptly gasp in unison.

Masaru just sighs a little.

It’s an All Might plushie – crocheted like everything else, a little floppy, and clearly decked out in his Golden Age uniform. All the details are there, from the design of his costume to the bunny-eared yellow hair pieces sticking out from his head. There’s a wide grin stitched across his face, and Izuku is absolutely, immediately obsessed.

“Oh my god!” he cries, clutching at the doll like he’s six years old instead of twenty-one. “Oh wow, this is so cool! Kacchan, look!”

“I would, but you’re fuckin’ hogging it.” Katsuki leans forward as much as his rounded stomach will allow, trying to swipe it from him. “Let me see!”

“Look, look!” Izuku says again. He thrusts it into Kacchan’s hands. “It’s amazing – like having our own unique All Might merch!”

Katsuki quickly examines the plushie from all sides and angles. His eyes are bright as he takes it in, excitement etched across his features. “I’m really gonna kill her. How’d she do this?”

“I wonder if she found a pattern for it or just made it up herself?” Izuku bows his head near Kacchan’s, eagerly looking it over, as well. “It’s so great.”

“You realize it’s probably intended for the baby,” Masaru says dryly, and both Izuku and Kacchan freeze. “Right?”

Katsuki clears his throat. “Well. Yeah.”

“If she likes All Might,” Izuku starts to say, but Kacchan cuts him off with a forceful: “Oh, she’s going to like All Might.”

“Piece of advice,” Masaru speaks up again. “Don’t pin your hopes on her liking any of the same things you do. It’s possible she might, but it’s also very likely she’s going to develop entirely different interests. And it’s fine if she does.”

Izuku can feel the pouting frown tugging at his mouth, which has got to be stupidest thing ever for his face to be doing right now, but Masaru’s growing amusement tells him that Kacchan’s probably making the same expression he is.

Because they’re both stupid, honestly.

“Hey, none of your parents were that into heroes when you two came along,” Masaru reminds them. “If I’d tried to force an interest on Katsuki, then he’d probably be some kind of world-famous fashion model right now. But he didn’t care about any of that, so here we are.”

Katsuki huffs and grumbles something under his breath, while Izuku becomes momentarily distracted by the idea of Kacchan being a model.

Like, they’ve each done their fair share of billboard photoshoots for hero advertisements and Izuku can barely handle that. Kacchan’s sculpted muscles and intense gaze smoldering down at the public in all his three-story tall glory is bad enough when he’s just in his hero gear. Izuku can’t imagine seeing him plastered everywhere in open button-downs and boxer briefs or something. He might actually die.

“She’ll probably get drool and slobber all over this thing,” Katsuki says, still eyeing the All Might plush. “Guess that’s what washing machines are for.”

“Are we seriously sad about not being able to claim an All Might doll as ours because it’s technically going to belong to our daughter?” Izuku asks.

Katsuki snorts. “Yeah, kinda.” He shakes the plushie at Izuku. “Look at it!”

“I know,” Izuku says mournfully. He closes his eyes. “I can’t look at it, actually. I’ll want to take it home. Put it away!”

“This IS home, I guess.” Katsuki checks on Kanami briefly, but she’s unbothered by their dramatics as she snoozes away in her blanket nest. So he leaves her be and uses the wall for support as he struggles up to his feet.

Kacchan’s dad is just about done with the crib. He’s finishing up tightening the last bolts on the mattress support when Katsuki lumbers over to check out his progress.

“Look, Kat,” Masaru says. He points along the railing. “You can lower the mattress as she gets bigger, see? That’s what all these different holes are for.”

“It looks great!” Izuku gushes from where he’s still on the floor, scooted up next to Kana-chan so he can keep an eye on her. “Thank you so much for doing that for us.”

Masaru smiles at him. “Of course. Can’t wait to get started on the rest of the room.”

“I don’t even think I had a crib when I was born.” Izuku starts gathering up all the little crocheted penguins, holding them out for Katsuki to take. He places them in the crib one by one, crowding them around the All Might plushie that’s also found a new home there, and Izuku tries not to look too disgustingly smitten by his actions. “Mom said she did the co-sleeping thing with me until I was, like, at least two.”

“That checks out,” Katsuki says, as he places the last penguin. Izuku offers him the teal and orange blanket next, and he carefully folds it before hanging it over the railing of the crib. “The hag wouldn’t dare.”

“She kept you by the bed for the first few months,” Masaru points out. “Honestly, I think I was the one who suggested finally putting you in your own room.” He rubs thoughtfully at his chin as he remembers. “You were the fussiest sleeper, it was easier to stay with you in shifts so we could each get some decent rest.”

Izuku arches his eyebrows at Kacchan. “Great, that’s reassuring.”

“Tch, whatever.” Katsuki scowls, folding his arms across his chest and looking a bit pink. “I probably wasn’t that bad. Anyway, maybe she’ll take after you!”

That last word is barely out of his mouth before Kacchan clearly hears himself and stumbles to a halt, eyes narrowing to a scrunched squint as deep regret flashes across his face.

Izuku just lets out a snorting laugh.

“Sure, because I wasn’t a total crybaby or anything, right?”

“I forgot,” Katsuki says, utterly deadpan, and that just makes Izuku laugh even more loudly.

They’re piling the remainder of the box and other packaging together to take to the trash when Mitsuki and Inko seem to decide they’ve all been left to their own devices for long enough. Izuku’s normally not one to comment on the decibel level that only seems to be attainable by moms on a rampage, but he has to admit there might be some truth to Kacchan’s constant complaining about his mother being a banshee – Mitsuki is definitely skilled in a way that few others probably ever will be.

“KATSUKI!” she screams up the stairs, startling all of them – including Kanami, who jerks awake in Izuku’s arms. “IZUKU! INKO AND I UNLOADED ALL THE SHIT FROM YOUR CAR SINCE YOU COULDN’T BE BOTHERED TO DO IT YOURSELVES. YOU’RE WELCOME!”

Katsuki curses as Kanami’s little face twists up into the beginning of a wailing cry. “Fucking seriously?” he grouses, glaring over at the doorway. “We’ve got the baby up here, ma!”

There’s a brief pause before Mitsuki shouts, “SO WHY ARE YOU YELLING?”

“I’m yelling because YOU’RE yelling!”

“YOU’RE THE ONES WITH THE BABY.”

“YEAH, AND NOW YOU’VE WOKEN HER UP!”

“WHATEVER. WE’RE TAKING KAMINARI-SAN TO GET COFFEE.”

“Oh my god, JUST FUCKING GO.”

“This brings back memories,” Masaru says lightly, while Izuku frantically shushes Kanami and tries to calm her down.

“Kacchan,” he hisses. “That’s so unnecessary, just go downstairs and talk to her!”

Katsuki makes a face, his lower lip jutting out. “She could’ve come up here.”

“You made Kana-chan cry!”

“Yeah, well.” Kacchan has the decency to look a bit sheepish at that. He palms the back of his neck. “At least we can give this one back.”

“KACCHAN.”

“I’m just saying!”

* * *

Katsuki’s busy rotting on the couch in a pair of gym shorts and nothing else when Sero calls him.

It’s Monday, so he doesn’t have anywhere to be. And it’s fucking humid out – he can feel the early summer heat seeping in through the apartment walls even with the air conditioning chugging away. It’s barely helping at this point, to be honest, but it’s doing its damn best.

Katsuki, meanwhile, is completely fucking over life. He feels like a beached whale and looks like a hot fucking mess. Belly hanging low over his shorts, headband pushed back against his bangs. The pressure against his pelvis these days is insane in the weirdest way. Like, he can actually physically tell his kid’s position has shifted. She’s dropped lower in useless preparation to make her escape (out of an impossible exit – no thank you, absolutely fucking not), but on the bright side, that means he at least feels like he can actually sort of breathe again now that she’s not fighting for living space behind his goddamn lungs or some shit.

Still. It’s uncomfortable and it’s making him cranky, and the Braxton Hicks contractions sure don’t fucking help.

Usually, they’re just kind of annoying. If even that. Once he knew what to expect and the experience in general was no longer a surprise, they really weren’t much of a problem at all.

Katsuki doesn’t know if he’s just having an off day or if it’s some combination of all of the above, but there’s something about the way his belly occasionally goes tight today that’s extra pissing him off.

There’s an array of snacks on the coffee table in front of him. Mostly veggies, because he’s trying to be fucking normal about his pregnancy eating habits for once, but also a bag of roasted chicken wing flavor potato chips.

Because he can.

Because he’s pregnant, okay, fuck off!

He’s really not expecting his phone to ring considering it’s the middle of the work day.

He expects even less to see Sero’s name flash across the screen, because it’s a WORK DAY and he’s supposed to be out hero-ing and shit, and also Sero almost never calls him.

Which is why it’s immediately concerning. He’s only calling if he’s got something important to tell him and – shit.

Katsuki’s heart leaps into his throat as he scrambles to answer the phone.

“Midoriya’s okay,” is the first thing out of Sero’s mouth, almost before Katsuki can even say anything. Like he knows that just hearing the phone ring might be enough to send Katsuki into a panic spiral. “He’s fine, minor injuries, just some scrapes and bruises.”

And that’s a relief to hear, sure, but it’s not as reassuring as it should be.

Because it means something else happened.

Katsuki inhales slowly, trying to keep himself calm. “Alright,” he says after a moment. “Okay, and everyone else?”

It’s really strange being so disconnected from his usual profession. Even months into purposely taking himself fully out of the game, it’s jarring to find out shit’s gone down secondhand and not through his comms or because he was actually there.

He knows stepping back was the right move.

But it also sucks hearing about everything after the fact.

“We’re all fine. Awase might have a broken arm, they took him for X-rays. That’s it, though.”

If it wasn’t any of them, then–

Katsuki takes another deep breath and releases it in a forceful exhale. “What happened?”

Sero hesitates for a moment, but he knows better than to keep Katsuki waiting.

“We lost some civilians.”

Fuck.

Katsuki grimaces as Sero continues, “Two of them, a mom and her daughter. It was just…really bad timing, we couldn’t get to them and – shit, man.” He puffs out a rough sounding sigh. “Midoriya didn’t want me to tell you. He said it wasn’t worth stressing you out or anything, but…you know how he gets.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki murmurs. Deku always takes these kinds of incidents almost personally. Like he thinks he should be able to be literally everywhere all at the same time. It’s something Katsuki’s still trying to work on with him.

“I figured you’re better off knowing. Because he’s gonna show up later trying to act like he’s okay and you know he’s not.”

“He’s an idiot like that.”

Too determined to be Katsuki’s rock right now. And he has been. For months now he’s been the one single thing getting Katsuki through this entire shitshow. His warmth and confidence and pure excitement about their future family is what gave Katsuki the courage to decide he could do this at all, and he’s been relying on that steadfast support throughout all the ups and downs of the crazy journey he’s been on.

They’re normally a lot more balanced in how they prop each other up. There’s an equal give and take between them, each drawing from the deep well of strength in the other when they need help or comfort or care. And maybe they’ve just been lucky that there haven’t been a ton of huge villain incidents in the last few months – or none that have been casualty events, anyway. They’ve been able to scrape by with Katsuki being mostly out of the picture. Deku’s been able to scrape by. He’s been flying solo while still making it home every night to attend to Katsuki’s needs.

Katsuki doesn’t think he’s been some kind of selfish leech sucking Deku dry ever since their firecracker made herself known, but he’s definitely self-aware enough to realize he’s been sort of hyperfocused on his own shit. But for Deku to think he’s better off NOT knowing about something? For Deku to be more concerned about protecting Katsuki’s state of mind than his own, for him to set aside his own need for any kind of comfort rather than put some of that weight on Katsuki?

Oh hell no.

Katsuki’s not playing that game.

If Deku needs him, then he’s damn well going to be there.

“Hey,” Katsuki says suddenly. “Are you good, Sero?”

“Eh…you know.” Katsuki can practically hear his shrug down the line. There’s a shaky tremor to his voice. “Mostly. But also not really.”

“How much longer ‘til you guys can clock out?”

“We’ve gotta debrief still, and then you know we’ll have meetings all day tomorrow about it.” Sero sighs again. “But today – couple hours, I guess?”

“Just gotta get through it,” Katsuki says in a gruff rumble, about as gently as he can manage. “Fuckin’ sucks, sorry I wasn’t out there with you.”

Sero huffs out a humorless laugh. “That would’ve been a sight.”

“Oi, I don’t mean me now.” Katsuki scowls. “Like – last year me.”

“I know, I know,” Sero says, but at least he sounds somewhat amused now. “Listen, dude, I gotta run. Don’t worry, Shouto already knows. He’s waiting for me, I won’t be by myself or anything.”

“Gross,” Katsuki snarks on purpose, and this time Sero snickers. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Yep. Fingers crossed Midoriya doesn’t kill me for it.”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t. See ya.”

“Later, Bakugou.”

Katsuki hangs up and makes an effort to pull himself together, but it’s more difficult than it should be.

Look, he’s kept himself busy on purpose. There’s a reason he’s still doing two days a week at U.A. Why he’s done his best to stick to his modified workout schedule, why he’s barged in on Kyouka at home so much, why he’s tried to stay active. He doesn’t DO the couch potato thing very often and never has. He’s usually not good at sitting still for too long and he wasn’t about to let being pregnant become some kind of all-encompassing excuse to do jack shit.

But he is not feeling it today.

It happens sometimes. Despite trying so hard to stick to certain routines, Katsuki’s also had to learn to be gentler with himself. His body’s been going through a fuckton of bullshit and some days it knocks him all sorts of off balance and that’s OKAY. It’s okay if he takes a break. It’s probably even good for him if he does.

That reality is sometimes still a harsh slap to the face, though – when he wants to do something but simply can’t.

This moment right now feels like it’s trying to be a simply can’t situation, but Katsuki forces himself. Powers through it. Cleans up his lazy slug day mess and pulls out the ingredients to start dinner. He’s still hit with the occasional cramping in his lower belly, maybe a bit more intense than usual, but it’s fine.

He can keep his shit together for Deku.

A few hours pass before Deku comes trudging in through the front door. He looks worn down, paler than he should be and without his usual spark, but he still dredges up a smile for Katsuki when he comes around the corner from the kitchen to greet him.

“Hey, Kacchan,” he says tiredly, dropping his bag at his feet and haphazardly kicking off his shoes. “That’s, uh… That’s a look.”

Katsuki never bothered finding a shirt. His skin’s weirdly sensitive today, so he just threw on an apron to cover his baby bump and, honestly, even that’s almost too much. He’s still got his hair pushed off his forehead, a pair of chopsticks in his hand – he’s sure he’s giving off some kind of domestic housewife vibe, but he doesn’t fucking care.

(The apron’s an old gift from Kirishima, one that has the words Cooking With Dynamite! plastered across the chest – yes, dynamite, not Dynamight, it’s not a brand deal – and a bomb with a lit fuse underneath that rests right on the curve of his stomach. Which is fucking dumb, you’d think it would just have a stick of dynamite on it or something. But it reminds him of the stupid pictures Deku found online of people who painted bombs on their super pregnant bellies for one photo and then paired it with a second image taken later where they were holding a newborn while comically singed and smoking.

Deku had looked kind of hopeful when he showed those to Katsuki, but he shot that shit down fast. And then felt like a dick after, but no. Just no.)

“I’m cooking,” Katsuki says, completely needlessly, but Deku’s eyes go wide and he tips his nose up to sniff at the air. Cautiously, Katsuki notes. Fuckin’ rude. “Oi, knock it off! I didn’t add anything weird, dammit.”

“And you didn’t burn anything down?”

“I left the burner on one time–”

“I’m kidding, Kacchan.” Deku reaches out to squeeze his shoulder and leans in to plant a kiss on his cheek before brushing past to head toward the kitchen. “You’re usually the better cook between the two of us. Trust me, I’m always as shocked as you are whenever things go sideways.”

“Hey, the spicy peanut butter ramen was a real recipe, you ass. I didn’t even make that one up.”

“You say that, but it smelled pretty suspicious.”

Katsuki harrumphs and moves to check on the rice while Deku leans up against the doorjamb, a small frown tugging at his mouth. Everything else is already done and the scent alone probably makes it obvious what he decided to go with tonight.

“Did you make…katsudon?” Deku asks, and Katsuki shoots him a sharp grin over his shoulder.

“Yep.”

“But you haven’t had pork in months.”

“Yeah, I’m not fuckin’ eating this.” Katsuki waves his chopsticks at the steamer. “Vegetables and rice for me.”

Deku just stares at him, brow slightly furrowed now like he’s trying to figure out what’s going on.

And then all at once, he groans.

“Who told you?”

“Sero,” Katsuki says easily, as he starts serving up heaping portions of food. “Since apparently you weren’t going to.”

“He should’ve minded his own business,” Deku mutters, voice tight, and Katsuki snorts.

“I’ve been saying. He’s a sleeper busybody, can’t keep his nose out of anything.” He triple checks the stove, the burners, the rice cooker, fucking every appliance they have to make sure nothing’s still turned on or doing shit it shouldn’t be, then carries both of their plates out to the living room.

It takes Deku a minute to follow him, but that’s okay. Katsuki has a feeling he’s trying to firm up his unbothered appearance – a useless endeavor, honestly.

Katsuki knows him. He can see right through that nonsense.

“I didn’t want to…” Deku trails off. A myriad of emotions flash across his pinched face. “I’m okay, Kacchan.”

“Mm.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Don’t be fucking stupid.” Katsuki waves at the spot on the couch next to him. “You gonna sit down or what?”

Another moment passes, but eventually Deku’s expression crumples. He drops onto the sofa and bends forward into Katsuki, face seeking out the curve of his neck and fingers clutching at his stupid apron. Katsuki hears the shuddering exhale that escapes him and quickly wraps one arm around his shoulders, his other hand burying itself in thick, green curls.

“Sorry,” Deku gasps out wetly, trembling against him. “I’m sorry, Kacchan, I didn’t want to – I didn’t – I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Katsuki murmurs in a gravelly rumble. He pulls Deku in closer until the man’s forced to draw his legs up onto the couch, curling into himself and tucked safely against Katsuki’s side. “And don’t think you have to keep things from me.”

“I don’t! I just–” A frustrated sound tears out of his throat. “It shouldn’t have even happened, I should’ve been able to – to do something, I should’ve BEEN there–”

“You can’t be everywhere,” Katsuki says softly, and Izuku groans.

“But I could’ve been there. If I’d – if I’d been paying better attention, I could’ve stopped it. I could’ve saved them!”

“Izuku…”

Katsuki doesn’t tell him it wasn’t his fault. He doesn’t say there’s nothing he could’ve done, doesn’t try to brush it off. Empty platitudes never help and it’s not like Katsuki has all the details anyway.

But he can hold Deku close. Rub a hand soothingly up and down his back and let him mourn, even as the nerd tries to clench his teeth against whatever tears are attempting to burst out of him.

“I didn’t want to put this on you,” Deku mumbles. He shifts slightly, turning his head so that he’s more just resting against Katsuki’s shoulder, then drags the heel of his hand across his damp cheek. “You have enough going on.”

“I don’t have shit going on, are you kidding?” Katsuki scowls. “Ask me what I did today.”

“…What’d you do today?”

“Made a perfect imprint of my ass on one of these couch cushions.” Deku glances down and then behind him like he’s trying to find it, and Katsuki gives one of his curls a sharp tug. “Don’t bother, it’s gone now. You sat on it, it’s ruined.”

“Ah, damn. Unfortunate.”

“Izuku.”

“Hm?”

“I’m never gonna be so overwhelmed with my own shit that I can’t make room for you, too.”

“…I know,” Deku whispers. “Just – I feel like I’m supposed to be supporting you right now.”

“Dumbass.” Katsuki combs his hand through Deku’s hair before giving a lock another tug. “That doesn’t mean I can’t support you back. It’s not one or the other. I get to take care of you, too.”

He feels Deku nod against him. Hears him sniff before releasing another shaky sigh. “Today really sucked, Kacchan.”

“I’m sorry,” Katsuki says. “You wanna tell me what happened, or…?”

“No.” Deku swipes his hand over his eyes again. “Not right now. She, um.” He swallows. “The daughter. She was only seven.”

It’s always the fucking worst when it’s a kid.

“Okay,” Katsuki murmurs. He stretches a leg out, trying to hook it beneath the coffee table with little success. “Come on, you need to eat. Blackwhip that shit over here.”

Deku snorts out a small huff of a laugh and does as told, sending out some Blackwhip tendrils to pick up the plates so that neither of them has to pull away from the other to do it themselves.

“Food, then bath and bed,” Katsuki says decisively. He watches to make sure Deku takes a bite before shoveling some rice into his own mouth. “I’ll wash your hair for you.”

“You just want an excuse to use your fancy shampoo on me,” Deku says, tone dry.

Katsuki ignores that completely accurate accusation.

“We can do face masks, too.”

“Kacchan.”

“You need one! Or your eyes will be all puffy tomorrow.”

“I’m not crying,” Deku says stubbornly.

Katsuki squints at him, but he’s not wrong. He’s all sniffly and his eyes are wet, but it looks like he hasn’t really let himself break yet. “You can.”

“Later.” Deku lets Blackwhip hold his plate for him and slips an arm under Katsuki’s apron to curl around his stomach. “How she’s doing?”

“She’s fine. Everything else is shit.”

“Two weeks,” Deku says, and Katsuki feels his heart literally jolt in his chest.

“Yep,” he says faintly. “Two weeks.”

Two weeks.

Hah.

Yeah fucking right.

Since it was a garbage kind of day all around, Katsuki doesn’t make a fuss when Deku snuggles up too close to him in bed that night. He just kicks off the covers and lets it happen, because he has a weird sense that he’s not going to get that much sleep anyway. His hips are aching and the pressure in his stomach – below his stomach? Below his fucking lame-ass uterus, down somewhere in his pelvis, keeps waking him up every time he manages to drift off.

He feels alright the next morning, though. Lack of sleep aside. Being tired isn’t enough of a reason for him to try blowing off U.A., so he drags himself off to work and pushes through the day with as much enthusiasm as he can muster.

Which is basically none, but whatever.

A few of the other teachers notice. Tsuyu checks on him a couple times and he has to stop himself from biting her head off. Aizawa definitely gives him more than one wary look.

It’s like they all think he’s about to pop or something, which is dumb as hell. He’s not due until July, and besides, he’s pretty sure he’d know if his body was about to pull some shit.

At least, he assumes. Or hopes.

His confidence gets knocked down a peg once he’s home and digging some fruit out of the fridge to snack on, because what he thinks is the beginning of a Braxton Hicks contraction swiftly balloons into…more. It catches him off guard in its intensity, the way the cramping seems to throb in his gut until he actually has to grab onto the counter to steady himself. And it doesn’t stop – Katsuki didn’t think to time it or anything, but he’s pretty sure it’s past the minute mark by the time the feeling starts to fade away.

So that’s fucking great.

He frowns down at his stomach once it’s over, trying to decide if he should feel alarmed or continue hoping it was a fluke.

It’s not unusual, right? Braxton Hicks, early contractions, false alarms, all that shit happens leading up to the real thing. He’s fine! This is normal.

Roughly twenty minutes later, it happens again. Only this time, the cramping and the pressure squeezing inside of him builds up and up and up until it tips right over the edge into something that’s borderline painful.

Katsuki’s felt a lot of different types of pain in his life. He’s a pro hero, for fuck’s sake, he’s used to taking minor hits on the daily and shrugging off the injuries that want to linger. He’s been punched, kicked, shocked, burned, thrown into concrete, slammed into walls, literally fucking shish-kebabed in multiple places at once, and he’s always come out the other side stronger for it.

This feels different in a way he can’t even begin to explain. It hurts but it also kind of doesn’t. It’s a lot, edging into too much, only to slowly disappear again. There’s an aching in his lower back that pulses in time with the sharp discomfort that spreads throughout his abdomen, all of it bearing down on him and dragging the seconds out.

Rapid-fire information flashes through his brain. Research he’s done on his own, shit Doctor Tajima’s told him, things Deku has read, all about what he should be doing or paying attention to, how long he should wait before…before what? Before doing something, he guesses, but he doesn’t want to do anything because he’s not fucking ready for this to ACTUALLY be happening.

He should probably call Deku.

Except, again, he kind of doesn’t want to in case this is all nothing.

It’s probably nothing, so why should he bother Deku when he KNOWS today is already going to be tough for him?

…And yes, he’s absolutely aware of the irony there. That he’s avoiding putting any additional burden on Deku right now when just last night he was lecturing Deku for doing the same thing with him.

Fuck, ow, okay, that’s another wave of pain slicing through his belly. Even more intense than the last two rounds.

What’s that – four times now? In the last ninety minutes or so. They’re definitely spread out, which he thinks is the biggest clue that this isn’t actually anything yet.

Katsuki forces himself to breathe through it, eyes closed, hand braced against the wall for support. He’s been pacing restlessly around the apartment since the first – contraction or whatever. If that’s what it is. But it’s probably not.

Moving seems to help, though.

He should really call Deku.

Just give him a heads up, right?

…

Katsuki calls Kyouka instead.

“How do you know if you’re having real contractions?” he blurts out the second she picks up, cutting off whatever greeting she might’ve had.

It’s silent for a moment, until she goes: “What?”

“Contractions!” Katsuki repeats forcefully. He sounds a bit manic, can hear the way his voice slips up an octave, and shit. No, he’s not freaking out right now. He’s not doing that.

“Oh my god,” Kyouka says. “Are you – wait, are you in labor?”

“No.” Katsuki grimaces and rolls his shoulders, trying to stretch the tension out of his frame. One hand unconsciously kneads into his lower back. “It’s too early, I can’t be.”

“I mean…that doesn’t really matter. You’re, what, thirty-eight weeks? Thirty-seven?”

“Thirty-seven,” Katsuki grumbles. “And, like, two days.”

“Okay. So it could be a number of things at this point.”

“That’s not helpful.”

Kyouka laughs a little. “Listen, it all sucks. But you’ll be fine. If it’s time, then it’s time.”

“It can’t be time,” Katsuki insists again. “I can’t just fucking go into labor, Ears – there’s nowhere for her to go!”

“Oh, right.” Kyouka pauses. Katsuki can hear her fussing with her baby and murmuring something to someone else, before she speaks again. “Bakugou, is Midoriya with you?”