My Father's Son - Chapter 37

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“Daddy, look!”

Katsuki looked up from his box to see an old photo in Hiroki's hands, held aloft with the brightest smile in the world on his face.

“What'd you find?” he asked, taking a step closer to look. “Oh, wow, look how tiny you were.”

Hiroki let him take it without hesitation, holding it up to look closer, a smile creeping across his lips. Other than his hair being a little longer, Katsuki didn't think he looked any different, still smooth skinned and fair haired just like his mother – she never ceased to rub it in that he took after her, with her stupid eternal youth thing. While his friends were starting to show signs of wrinkles from their stress, Katsuki, with the deepest scowl of all, seemed untouchable.

Hiroki, on the other hand, was tiny. He could only have been days old, fresh into Katsuki's life, and he suspected it must have been one of his parents who snapped the photo – he wasn't even sure he'd seen it before, it must have been slipped into Hiroki's belongings by one of his sappy grandparents.

“You're so small,” Katsuki said softly, smiling when Hiroki giggled. “I can't believe you were ever that little.”

The baby in the photo was wrapped in a soft blue blanket, resting on Katsuki's chest as he lay back on the couch. Katsuki's eyes were closed, his face fairly neutral considering the time of his life when it was taken, but Hiroki peered up at him with his shiny green eyes, already marvelling at his Dad.

“We'll pick out a nice frame for it,” Katsuki offered, handing it back down. “It's cute.”

“Can we take another?”

“A photo?”

“Like this one, but now!” Hiroki explained gleefully. “Then I can have matching ones!”

“Haah? You're ten times the size, now!”

“But Daddy is ten times stronger!”

“You little suck up.”

Hiroki giggled again, but the way his eyes shone in delight at the prospect had Katsuki nodding before he'd even realised he was doing it.

“We can try,” he conceded. “Any idea where the camera is?”

“Nana has it! She's waiting downstairs!”

“Haah?! You roped her in before I even agreed?!”

“I knew you'd say yes!” Hiroki beamed, holding his arms up for a hug. “Daddy always says yes to the little things!”

“You're a spoiled brat.”

“I know!”

Katsuki scooped him up all the same, burying his face in soft green curls as he trudged his way downstairs to his doom. Inko had the sappiest look on her face when they arrived, and Katsuki just rolled his eyes, looking away in hopes of hiding the way he blushed.

“Alright, how are you gonna do this, huh?” he asked, dumping Hiroki on the couch. “You got a plan or something, little toad?”

“Daddy needs to lie down first!” Hiroki grinned, unoffended by the way he hit the couch cushions with no warning. “Gotta get comfy!”

He stood up, handing the photo to Inko as a reference, and ushered Katsuki onto the couch, demanding as hell but simultaneously the cutest little shit in the world.

Katsuki lay back obediently, already knowing he was too tense just from the little pout Hiroki gave him, and sighed faintly as he attempted to soften into the cushions. At least it was a comfortable couch, he supposed. The one in the photo hadn't been nearly as comfortable, he'd just been exhausted as fuck – he hadn't figured out how to balance things yet, hadn't learned how to ask people for help.

Over the years he'd gotten better at both of those things, had figured out how to ask his parents or a couple of his more trusted friends to babysit when he needed someone, not to mention with Hiroki running on a normal human schedule instead of ridiculous baby time, things had settled down all around.

He held his arms out, inviting Hiroki in, and Hiroki's face lit up at the offer. No matter how many times Katsuki offered him affection, he still seemed so shocked and excited by it, like he couldn't believe his luck. Part of Katsuki hated it, hated that his kid would ever be surprised by him offering hugs, but another part of him hoped it would never change. It was so easy to make the kid happy, and he loved the way Hiroki beamed at him in those moments, his smile blinding.

“Oof,” Katsuki grunted, when Hiroki climbed onto his chest. “You're getting big, aren't you? You're lucky I'm so strong.”

“The strongest!”

“One day I won't be able to pick you up anymore, you'll be too big for me.”

“Nuh-uh, Daddy is super strong! Best hero!”

“What about when you're the best hero, hmm? When Daddy is old and limping, and Hiro is number one?”

“Then I'll carry you around!”

Katsuki snorted, Hiroki shaking on his chest as they both laughed, and Katsuki tilted his head a little to rest on Hiroki's hair.

“Sounds good, buddy. When I'm all broken and can't run and fly anymore, you can remind me what it was like.”

“I will, Daddy, I promise!”

“You're a good boy.”

He cracked his eyes open when he heard a click, getting a sheepish little smile from Inko.

“Wait Nana, we're not ready!” Hiroki insisted.

“I know sweetie, but you were too cute, I had to take one then too.”

Katsuki noticed way too late that Hiroki was wearing a bright blue hoodie, almost exactly the colour of the blanket in the photo, and he couldn't help but smile again at just how much attention Hiroki had put into the details. Katsuki had lived his entire life in black tank tops, so there was no need for him to change, but Hiroki had really gone all out.

“Like this?” Katsuki asked, curling his arm around Hiroki's back.

“Uh-huh! And the other one under your head!”

Katsuki bent his elbow, resting his head on his hand, and Hiroki snuggled in gleefully.

“Is it right, Nana?”

“It's perfect,” Inko assured him, glancing down at the photo in her hand. “Just gotta look at your Dad like he's amazing. I'm sure that isn't hard.”

“The easiest,” Hiroki giggled, making Katsuki cheeks burn. “Pretend you're taking a nap, Daddy!”

“I could take a real nap,” Katsuki sighed, wriggling a little to get more comfortable. “I think this is the first time I've sat down all day.”

“Daddy has been busy,” Hiroki agreed. “Take a rest!”

“Mm-hm.”

He heard a couple more snaps, and Hiroki lifted his head to look at the pictures, giggling again when he saw the screen.

“It's so good, Daddy! You wanna see?”

“Nah,” he grumbled, dragging Hiroki back in with both arms this time and holding him tight. “I'm gonna stay here for a bit.”

“Okay! Naptime for Daddy!” Hiroki agreed, planting a kiss on Katsuki's cheek.

“C'mere,” Katsuki demanded, dragging Hiroki in to return the kiss. “You gonna give me cuddles?”

“Of course I am, silly!”

He made no move to get up, happy to be held in Katsuki's arms, snuggling in happily on the broad chest. Footsteps, and then a fluffy blanket covered them, and Katsuki cracked one eye open as a pillow slid under his head.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, when Inko smiled down at him. “Wake me up in an hour.”

“Of course, Katsuki. Sweet dreams.”

Katsuki suspected Hiroki was asleep before Inko even left the room, his breaths slow and steady against Katsuki's neck, but he didn't even have it in him to care. Lying down just felt too damn good, and his mind quickly switched off.

─────

It was kind of amazing the way their lives packed so neatly into little cardboard boxes. The move from the apartment into Katsuki's house had been a lot more haphazard, full of backpacks and shopping bags, but this time it was neat, methodical packing into piles of cubes. The piles were a lot bigger than they would have been, had they done it a few months ago, and Izuku was once again reminded exactly how much Katsuki had insisted on providing for them, whether it was new clothes or shoes or blankets or even toys for the kids. He was going to have to do some serious thinking on how to repay him, even just a little bit.

“How you going, little man?” Izuku asked, when Yuuto appeared in his doorway. “You look sleepy.”

“A little sleepy,” Yuuto admitted. “I packed lots.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mm-hm. All my figures and lots of books and toys and clothes. But not my warm stuff and my pyjamas.”

“Good boy. You keep all your stuff for kindergarten out too?”

“Uh-huh. Uniform and sports clothes and shoes and school books. And clothes for after school, too. And Downfall plushie and squishy.”

“You kept those ones out?”

“Uh-huh.”

“That's good, good thinking. You wanna take a break now?”

“Uh-huh. Hirokun took a break and didn't come back.”

“What do you mean?”

“Went to see Dad,” he clarified. “But they didn't come back upstairs.”

“Maybe they started making dinner,” Izuku suggested. “Nana was talking to them earlier, but I think she went back down to her room.”

He turned to the little intercom in the corner, set up to correspond with Inko's down below, one of the sweet little touches Katsuki had put in their rooms before they even moved in.

“Hi Mom,” he said brightly, holding down the little button. “Yuuto and I are gonna take a break now, do you need a hand with anything?”

She didn't answer, but to his surprise they heard footsteps on the stairs, Inko appearing with a little smile on her face.

“The boys are napping on the couch,” she whispered.

“Really?” Izuku chuckled. “Not surprised, we've all been busy today, but Kacchan especially.”

“I was thinking maybe I'd order something in for dinner, so we don't have to wake them by cooking.”

“They've been napping a long time?” Yuuto asked, glancing toward the closed door across the hall. “Hirokun disappeared.”

“Yes, a little while now. Katsuki asked me to wake him in an hour, but they were too sweet, I couldn't do it.”

“He's gonna complain,” Izuku chuckled. “He probably needs the rest, though.”

“I thought so too. He doesn't seem to be sleeping much lately.”

“Dad gets up super early,” Yuuto agreed. “Sometimes I wake up real early and he's already there.”

“How early do you mean?”

“Before the sun goes up.”

“Yeah? You're right, that's super early.”

“I'm hungry.”

“You wanna order food tonight?” Izuku offered. “It's been a long time.”

“Okay!”

“Why don't we go get it?” Inko offered. “It'll be quicker, we can take a nice little walk down the block.”

“Yeah!” Yuuto nodded, eyes lighting up. “Can we go to the one with the playground?”

“I'm sure we can do that. Let's peek in and see if Hiroki is awake, he might want to come play too.”

Izuku caught on far too late, nodding gratefully when Inko smiled back at him, and quickly slid his pile of boxes off to the side.

“We'll bring you back something,” Yuuto promised. “Something yummy!”

“Thanks buddy, do I get a hug?”

Yuuto wrapped his arms around Izuku's waist, squeezing him briefly and letting Izuku squeeze him back. As quick as it came, it was gone again, and Yuuto was off following Inko. A little patter of footsteps told him Hiroki was up and about too, and Izuku waited patiently for them to be gone before he left his room.

Katsuki rolled over with a groan, rubbing at his eyes, and Izuku smiled fondly.

“Good morning sunshine,” he teased. “You have a good nap, old man?”

“Shut the hell up,” Katsuki grumbled, with exactly zero bite to it. “What time is it?”

“Just after six.”

“Haaah?! I told Inko to wake me up!”

“She tried, but you were tired as hell and apparently adorable.”

“Ugh.”

“They've gone out to get dinner,” he continued, stepping into the room. “The two of us need to talk.”

“You breaking up with me?” Katsuki snorted, sitting up all the same. “What, nerd?”

“Are you stressed out?”

“I'm a hero, nerd, I'm always stressed out. What's your damn point?”

“You've barely been sleeping,” Izuku shrugged, sitting down next to him. “You're up before sunrise every day, and lately you've still been up when I went to bed, which isn't like you. Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“Like hell, nerd. I'm fine, just fuckin' busy.”

“Okay. Well, remember that I'm here, alright? If you need a nap, I can take care of the boys. If you want me to go check on the house, I can do that while you take some time off. And if you want to go see your friends, you're allowed a night out! It might be nice to spend some time with Eijirou or Mina, or Mirio?”

“What the hell are you getting at?” Katsuki growled. “Trying to get rid of me?”

“No! I just thought maybe if you don't want to talk to me, you might talk to one of your hero friends, that's all.”

“I'm fine.”

“You're not,” Izuku argued, pouting a little. “If you don't want to talk, that's fine, but don't lie to me.”

Katsuki hesitated, scowling, then looked away stubbornly to avoid Izuku's eyes.

“It's not like that. I'm just busy with work and shit, it's no big deal.”

“Tell me how to help.”

“I don't need help.”

“I know that, but tell me anyway.”

Katsuki sighed when he saw Izuku's stubborn expression, so familiar from his much smaller counterpart.

“You can take the boxes over,” Katsuki conceded. “I'll load them into the car tonight, they're just getting stacked in the garage.”

“Okay! I'll help load them!”

“Whatever, nerd.”

Katsuki hauled himself off the couch, groaning, and Izuku smiled as he followed him upstairs, picking up messily-taped boxes from the pile outside the boys' bedroom. It was surprisingly big, a lot more work done than Izuku had expected, and by the time they cleared out the boys' pile, Katsuki's pile, and Izuku's pile, the boot and the back seat of the car were both filled to the brim. Inko's two lonely boxes went into the front seat, and then Katsuki was locking the car behind them, brushing his hands off on his sweaty shirt.

“Go take a bath,” Izuku instructed. “Relax until the others get back, and you can have an early night.”

“I don't need an early n-”

“Yes, you do,” Izuku cut him off. “You're tired and cranky and even more stubborn than usual. Take care of yourself, you don't have to do it all on your own.”

“I still need to-”

“Your paperwork isn't due until the weekend, you damn over-achiever,” Izuku cut him off once more. “You don't need to cook dinner, the boys have done their homework, the house is clean, the boxes are loaded, and I'll make your lunch for tomorrow just to shut you up and get you in that bed.”

“When the hell did you get so damn bossy?”

“If you're gonna act like a child, I'm gonna treat you like one,” Izuku smirked, getting a scowl in return. “You gonna be a big boy and go take your bath? Or do I need to carry you?”

“I''d like to see you try,” Katsuki snorted, flicking him in the forehead. “I'm going, you stubborn bastard. Better be a good lunch.”

“It'll be the best lunch ever, just you watch me!”

Izuku couldn't help but smile at his back as he left, heading upstairs to get clean, but the moment he was out of sight, he headed for the kitchen. A container of little plastic cutters and stamps came out of the pantry, and Izuku smiled to himself as he set to work, shaping fruit into little flowers and hearts and cutting the crusts off of fluffy bread.

Katsuki was going to hate him.

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