My Father's Son - Chapter 44

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“Aww, look at you!” Izuku cooed, wiggling his fingers in the baby’s face. “Aren’t you a little cutie! It’s nice to meet you, sweetie pie!”

“This is Koara,” Tamaki smiled, surprisingly genuine. “Our little one.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Koara! You’re such a pretty baby, yes you are!”

“Alright Deku, enough with the baby talk,” Katsuki grumbled, dragging him away by the arm. “At least let them through the damn door first.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I got carried away!”

“It’s totally fine,” Mirio laughed. “She has that effect on a lot of people.”

“She’s so cute, with those big eyes!”

“Yeah, she takes after her Daddy,” Mirio grinned, leaning over to kiss Tamaki’s cheek. “Ryouji did too, Tamaki makes the cutest babies.”

“Enough out of you,” Tamaki sighed. “We brought some food, where would you like it?”

“Oh, thanks,” Katsuki blinked at him, somehow surprised. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Always happy to help,” Mirio grinned, balancing the bowls in one arm just to sling the other around Katsuki. “We out the back or up the top?”

“Out the back, the boys are playing in the park.”

There wasn’t much of a yard around their house, more like a concrete path and a small strip of grass, but it was more than enough room to set out a barbecue and some seating, and only a small slope separated their land from the park – this time, with a playground included. 

Ryouji had spent every afternoon with them since they moved in, barging in the front door like he owned the place by the time Izuku had picked up the boys from cram school. No matter how many times it happened, he and Hiroki always seemed so delighted to see each other, and with plenty of room for them to run and play, Izuku hadn’t minded in the slightest.

Other than feeling guilty about sending him home, that was. He was pretty good about taking off when his parents texted him, though, giving Hiroki a last little kiss goodbye, saying his polite thanks to Izuku and Inko, then disappearing through the walkway to the next street over.

“I’m sorry about him,” Tamaki said quietly, as if he could read Izuku’s mind. “He’ll get it out of his system soon, it’s just a novelty still, having Hiro so close by.”

“It’s not a problem, honestly,” Izuku grinned. “As long as you know where he is and you’re okay with it, it’s totally fine. He even does homework with our boys, so it’s not like he’s getting in the way of anything.”

“I heard. He even said he’s been helping Yuuto with math.”

“He has! He’s actually been a really good teacher! He knows how to explain things in a way that Yuuto just gets, when sometimes he doesn’t understand what I mean, you know?”

“I’m glad. Ryouji hates math.”  

“He does?”

“Yeah,” Tamaki chuckled. “It’s normally a fight to get him doing it, but this week he’s been coming home with it all finished. I hate to take advantage of you, but-”

“No, not at all! The three of them just go for it, I barely even have to supervise.”

“Not to mention he gets some peace and quiet,” Mirio grinned, looking back over his shoulder at them. “By the time he gets home, Koara is napping.”

“I’m sure he appreciates that,” Izuku laughed, leaning over to touch a tiny baby cheek again. “Are you a noisy little girl, are you? You wouldn’t do that, would you? You innocent little bubby?”

“Kill me,” Katsuki muttered, getting a laugh from Mirio as they headed for the back door.  

“Oh come on, it’s cute!”

“Not even slightly.”

“Considering how lovey-dovey you were with Hiro, you really have no paternal instinct for babies, huh?”

“Hiro was mine.”

“Okay, okay.”

Izuku and Tamaki exchanged wry smiles as the pair stalked off, keeping a safe distance before they followed. The backyard was already full of people, all the Aunts and Uncles gathering as they finished their shifts at work for the day, and off in the distance Izuku could see the boys on the playground.  

“Oh, look at you!” Mina cooed, popping up out of nowhere to fawn over the baby. “She looks just like you, Amajiki!”

“He’s Togata now!” Mirio reminded her quickly, strangely attuned to the words – even from across the yard where he was already deep in conversation. “I put a ring on it!”

“Tamaki is fine,” Tamaki responded quietly. “Would you like to hold her?”

“Can I?!”

“Of course. You might need to fight Midoriya, though, I think he’s clamouring for a turn too.”

“We can share!”

They found a vacant bench to sit down on, part of a pretty collection Inko had picked out earlier in the week at Katsuki’s insistence, and Tamaki handed her over with no hesitation, letting her giggle and coo at the happy faces who fawned over her.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised. “Need to give Katsuki something, before I forget.”

“Take your time!” Mina grinned. “We’ll be here with the little cutie-wootie!”

Mirio wrapped his arms around Tamaki as soon as he got close enough, ever the clingy husband, and Tamaki humoured him for a moment before he stepped away, reaching into the big satchel that hung from his shoulder. Most of the contents were baby supplies, Katsuki knew that from plenty of prior experience, but he was instantly curious when Tamaki began unloading cardboard boxes and tubes onto a table that wasn’t yet covered in food.

“I think that’s all of it,” he said finally, when the pile was surprisingly large and the bag rather deflated. “There were a few things the agency doesn’t have stock of anymore, but I’ll bring you the new stuff when it comes out instead. Ryouji helped me choose.”

“Is this all for Yuuto?” Katsuki asked, the thought finally dawning on him. “I don’t-”

“It’s fine,” Tamaki assured him, before Katsuki could fumble for some kind of gratitude that he wasn’t very well-versed in. “I asked them if I could grab some spares and they just loaded me up with everything, I hope he likes at least some of it.”

“Are you kidding me? He’s gonna love all of it. This is... Really cool of you. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

He stared at the pile a moment longer, nodding awkwardly when Tamaki stepped away again, but soon he caught Mirio grinning up at him from a comfortable armchair.  

“Don’t start with me, Tin Tin,” he grumbled, cheeks slightly pink. “It’s not my fault Yuuto thinks your husband is cool.”

“Awww, you called him my husband!”

“Shut up.”

The doorbell rang with flawless timing, and Katsuki quickly stepped away to answer it, stopping dead in his tracks when he pulled it open on Ochako and Tenya.

“Katsuki!” she beamed, throwing her arms around him for a hug. “It’s good to see you! Thanks for inviting us.”

“Y-Yeah, hey. Hi, Iida. Long time no see.”

“It’s good to see you, Bakugou!” he offered a hand, and Katsuki shook it firmly despite his slightly sweaty palm. “The house looks lovely, you must be very happy here!”

“Yeah,” he nodded, swallowing hard. “Um, come on in. Everyone is in the backyard at the moment, I’ll uh, I’ll show you around later, when everyone is here.”

“That sounds great.”

He led the way through to the back door again, off the main hall right beside Izuku’s bedroom, and quickly Ochako was absorbed into the masses. Katsuki paused, though, with Tenya at his side, sneaking an awkward glance across at him.

“Actually... Could we... Talk? For a minute?”

“Of course, Bakugou. Is everything okay?”

Katsuki nodded once, stepping aside to lean against a wall for some stability, his legs oddly shaky all of a sudden.

“I need to... Apologise.”

“To me?” Tenya clarified, eyebrows knitting together a little. “Well, that’s very kind of you Bakugou, you’ve clearly come a long way since high school, but I’m not sure what you're-”

“For your quirk,” Katsuki choked out, the hallway falling silent around them as he took a moment to gather his words. “If it wasn’t for... My screw up. If I’d done things right the first time. You’d... Still have it.”

“Bakugou,” Tenya began sternly, “have you been blaming yourself this entire time?”

Katsuki didn’t answer, but when Tenya looked down at him, he felt oddly small. Tenya always stood so straight and proud, never slumped like Katsuki did – he was sure they’d have been eye-to-eye if he did, but as it was, he seemed to tower over Katsuki’s hunched form.

“It was not your fault, and I have never blamed you. No matter how mad I was at the beginning, how bitter and helpless I felt, no matter how many people I tried to blame, it was never you.”

“But if I hadn’t let her go...”

“Then you’d have died, and I’d still have lost my quirk. We were children, Bakugou, we had no business fighting a war. But we did, and awful things happened, and none of them were ever your fault.”

A single tear sneaked its way down Katsuki’s cheek, but Tenya pretended not to notice.

“As your class representative, I insist that you stop blaming yourself,” Tenya said with a smile, clapping Katsuki on the shoulder. “And I also commend you on a job well-done. You always told us you’d be the best, and you’ve proved it to the world.”

“Not like there was much competition,” Katsuki laughed weakly. “Could’ve used you out there to push me higher.”

“I’m man enough to admit that even with my quirk, I’d never have been a match for you. You’ve soared to amazing heights, Bakugou.”

“Katsuki.”

“Hm?”

“Call me Katsuki,” he said softly. “If we’re gonna be friends, and all that sappy shit.”

“Gladly. As long as you’ll call me Tenya.”

“What’s wrong with Four-Eyes?”

Back at high school, Tenya would have complained about that, Katsuki was sure of it. Never had much of a sense of humour, that one. As things stood, though, he laughed heartily, and Katsuki cracked a smile of his own.

“It’s good to have you back, Katsuki. Life has been much quieter without you around.”

─────

Katsuki held up a chocolate milkshake when Hiroki glanced over at them from the playground, and even from across a field, Katsuki saw his face light up. He set it down beside two glasses of fizzy orange juice, and within seconds the boys were back, talking over each other as they wove their way through chairs to reach him.

“Yuuto, you’ve got a present here, too.”

“A present?” he asked, eyes wide. “From who?”

“Why don’t you take a look and see if you can guess?”

He waved toward the little pile of boxes, and Yuuto blinked at them, taking a few seconds to find words.

“Which one is mine?”

“All of them,” Ryouji grinned. “I helped pick them out!”

“All of them? Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki chuckled. “Hiro and Ryou get stuff like this all the time, from their Aunts and Uncles and stuff. Figured it was about time you got a turn, too.”

Still staring in awe, Yuuto reached for the first box, jaw dropping when he pulled the lid off carefully and found a little Suneater plushie. It was a familiar design to Katsuki, though he was pretty sure he hadn’t actually seen it before – it was probably a match for Hiroki’s Lemillion plushie, he assumed.

Hands shaky, he reached for a long tube, catching on when he found a shiny Suneater poster rolled up inside.

“He brought me merch?” Yuuto whispered, eyes darting to where Tamaki sat quietly at Mirio’s side, a beer in hand and a tiny smile on his face. “Just for me?”

“Uh-huh!” Ryouji nodded, reaching for the biggest box and sliding it to him. “Not the figure you already have, just the cool ones you don’t have yet! I made sure he didn’t bring the lame ones.”

“He has lame ones?”

“Mmm, some of the shirts and stuff are real boring, they just say his name or whatever and it looks silly. He got a new designer though, the new stuff is much better!”

Yuuto opened the big box obediently, and Katsuki was amazed to see tears well up in his eyes when he found the flashy figure inside. He knew the type, they went for hundreds of dollars, and for a moment Katsuki himself was speechless too.

“This is my favourite one,” Ryouji beamed. “Even I have this one, even though he’s my Dad. It even has octopus arms, see? It took them a long, long time to decide on the design. Dad brought home lots of pictures they gave him as choices, and me and Dad helped him pick the best ones!”

“I need to go say thank you,” Yuuto choked out. “It’s amazing.”

“You don’t want to open the rest first?”

“I need to say it first.”

He marched off to where the adults were hanging out, and Katsuki watched in awe as he walked straight up to Tamaki, waiting for a pause in the conversation before he spoke up. His voice was high and trembling, with everyone watching, but he held his head high and even, somehow, looked Tamaki in the eyes.

“Thank you so much,” he managed. “There’s so much and I haven’t finished looking at it all yet but I’m really happy, so I wanted to say thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” Tamaki assured him, his smile growing a little less shy. “I was really happy to know you wanted it.”

“I love it. It’s so cool and amazing and fancy. I’m gonna decorate my new room with it.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

Tamaki reached out, patting Yuuto’s head awkwardly, and Yuuto blushed bright red, stammering again when he tried to speak.

“I’m gonna go look at the rest,” he squeaked. “Thank you so much.”

“Any time, Yuuto.”

He didn’t seem to notice all the eyes watching him as he escaped, back to cling to Katsuki’s side, hiding his burning face in Katsuki’s jeans. Katsuki wrapped an arm around him knowingly, rubbing his back, and Yuuto whined into his leg.

“I’m so proud of you, Yuuto. That must have been so scary, you’re so brave.”

“I’m a big boy.”

“You certainly are.”

He stayed tight to Katsuki’s side even as he opened up the rest to look, marvelling over more posters, shirts, keychains, stickers, and everything else under the merch-sun. Hiroki helped him repackage things to safely carry them, when he got stuck trying with one hand, tucking them all safely into their boxes except for the first soft plushie which stayed near Yuuto’s hand.  

“You wanna go put them upstairs?” Katsuki suggested. “I can give you a hand, if you want.”

“I’ll help, Daddy can cook,” Hiroki insisted. “Ryou will help too!”

“Uh-huh!”

Yuuto nodded, finally parting from Katsuki’s leg, and Katsuki ruffled his hair fondly as he moved.  

“Is that like saying you’re hungry?”

“Maybe,” Hiroki grinned, carefully scooping up a couple of boxes. “Milkshake will help though! I’ll be back for the rest of you soon, milkshake!”

With their arms loaded up, the trio disappeared into the house, and Katsuki followed them a lot slower to retrieve the meat from the kitchen. The doorbell rang with flawless timing, right as he put his first foot on the stairs, so instead he turned around to answer it.

“Hey, you made it. Good to see you again, Eri.”

Eri nodded once, offering him a plate with a homemade cake on it, and he smiled his best, least-menacing smile.

“Thank you, it looks delicious. Did you make it all by yourself?”

She shook her head, looking up at Aizawa, and Katsuki nodded understandingly.  

“Ahh, Aizawa helped, huh? You must have done the decorating though, he’s not nearly that good at making things pretty.”

Another nod, this time, and Katsuki grinned when she cracked a tiny smile.

“Everyone is out the back right now, do you want to come meet everyone? We can stay in here for a bit if you prefer.”

Eri pointed at the back door, and Katsuki was genuinely surprised by the lack of reluctance in her face.

“We’ve been preparing,” Aizawa explained. “We’ve looked at lots of pictures and videos, haven’t we? And talked on the phone to some people, too.”

“That’s awesome, I’m sure they’ll be really happy to see you.”

Footsteps pounded behind him, but Eri didn’t jump or look scared, didn’t even reach for Aizawa to hide – she really had come a long way in such a short time.

“Eri! Uncle Zawa! I knew it was you!”

Hiroki dove at Aizawa for a hug, squeezing him tightly, before turning to give Eri a little wave.

“Do you want a hug?” he asked. “Or a high five? Or just a smile?”

Despite the nerves that made an appearance, Eri stepped forward, and Hiroki beamed as she opened her arms to him. Even Aizawa seemed surprised, as he watched them hug each other tightly, but a smile worked its way across his lips.

“Have you met Ryouji yet?” Hiroki asked, pointing back at the stairs. “He’s nice, he’ll take care of you too!”

“Lemillion is his Dad,” Aizawa added. “Suneater too, I don’t think you met him much though.”

“Hello,” Eri whispered. “I’m Eri.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Eri!” Ryouji grinned. “Dad told me all about you! I’m happy to meet you finally!”

Eri nodded, her lips moving silently for a moment, before she swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

“He told me too,” she said, just as softly. “About you.”

“He did?”

She nodded, and Katsuki chuckled to himself.

“Mirio likes to babble about stuff. Did he tell you lots and lots of things?”

Another nod.

“And baby,” she added, looking toward the back door again. “Is baby here?”

“My baby sister? Yeah! You wanna meet her?”

Eri nodded, and Ryouji hopped down the last two stairs to join them, offering her a hand.

“Her name is Koara, she cries a lot. Come on, I’ll take you.”

Eri paused for a moment, glancing back at Aizawa, but when he nodded, she accepted his touch. Their fingers linked together, and Hiroki reached for the other side, forming a little chain to lead her away. 

When Aizawa made no move to follow, Katsuki hung back too – they’d known each other far too long to not understand those cues.

“We think her quirk is gone,” he said quietly, when the kids were out of sight. “She’s shown no signs of it. No horn, no accidental rewinds, nothing.”

“I can’t decide if that’s a bad thing or not,” Katsuki grimaced. “It might be easier for her.”

“Yeah. She doesn’t like to talk about it, or about anything to do with her quirk, really. Mirio says she talked to him once and won’t anymore.”

“Did he tell you what she said?”

“Not exactly,” he sighed. “He saw her use it once, he said, and she talked about that a little. I think she might have used it on him, that last time you two found her together.”

“She didn’t,” Katsuki said quietly. “She used it on me.”

“What? They never told me that. She used it on you?”

“I asked them not to,” he grumbled, looking away pointedly. “I think... I would have lost my quirk. If she didn’t, I mean.”

“Katsuki, you need to tell me everything that happened. This could make a difference in our research,”

“I don’t remember half of it,” he admitted, a little embarrassed by the thought – memory loss in the middle of one of his biggest battles, how ridiculous. “Mirio was all beat up, and he told me to take her, so I grabbed her and I ran. I shouldn’t have left him, he could have died.”

“But he didn’t. It’s okay, Katsuki. He doesn’t hold it against you.”

“I know that, but it could have. It was a stupid move. And I just remember running down that stone corridor, it felt endless, and then there was this burst of pain through my spine like nothing I’d ever felt before. I thought I was going to explode. And then... I don’t know. My vision went white, and then I was outside with her in my arms and everything felt normal again. And I heard that asshole’s voice calling to her, and... She went. You know the rest.”

“Why did you never tell me any of this?”

“Because what was there to tell? It’s stupid and it didn’t matter. In hindsight, knowing what her quirk does, I can only assume that he tried to disassemble me, or shot me with one of those quirk bullets, and she saved me. Worst case I’d have died, best case I’d have been quirkless. Neither were ideal for a teenager.”

“That explains why you changed so much, afterward. There was a lot more to it than I ever realised. I’m sorry I couldn’t have supported you more through that time.”

“You did. You did everything I needed from you.”

“And you did everything you needed to on that day,” Aizawa smirked. “It’s time for us all to move on.”

“I guess it is.”

Katsuki glanced back when he heard a little thump, smiling at Yuuto’s nervous face that peeked out of the stairwell.

“Sorry,” he squeaked. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything,” Katsuki assured him. “You remember Aizawa?”

“I remember,” he nodded. “It’s nice to see you, Mr. Aizawa. Is Eri here too?”

“It’s good to see you too. She’s out the back with Hiroki and Ryouji.”

“Oh, okay! I, um, I got her a present,” he explained, holding up his carefully wrapped little package. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is, that’s very kind of you. Let’s go see what they’re getting up to, shall we?”

“Okay!”

Together the three of them headed out to join the masses, finding Eri perched between Tamaki and Izuku, smiling brightly at the baby in Tamaki’s lap. A tiny hand was closed around one of her fingers, and Eri had never looked more calm.

“Hello, Eri,” Yuuto spoke up, when Koara released her grip. “Um, I got you a present.”

“Me?” she asked softly.

“Yeah,” Yuuto nodded, holding out the package. “I hope you like it.”

Eri blinked at him a few times, accepting all the same, and her eyes lit up when she unwrapped a little yellow toy.

“I got you a duck,” Yuuto explained, in case she wasn’t sure. “So you can have one to play with in the bath.”

To everyone’s surprised, Yuuto included, Eri wrapped her arms around his neck. She hugged him tight, and with his face bright red, Yuuto hugged her back nervously.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I love my duck.”

“Oh good!”

She hugged it to her chest when they parted, looking down at the little plastic face in delight, and Izuku reached out to ruffle Yuuto’s hair.

“You picked well,” he praised. “It’s a very good duck.”

“Yeah! It has red eyes like me and Eri and Dad.”

“I’ll call him Akamo,” Eri told him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! I’m glad you like him!”

From across the yard, Katsuki smiled at the pair, watching a moment longer before he turned around.

“I’m gonna grab the meat, better start cooking before it gets too cold out here.”

“You need a hand?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Alright, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks.”

Soon the kids were off again, back to the playground with Eri in tow this time, and Izuku was a few drinks in, chatting with Katsuki’s friends while Katsuki and Shouto got started at the grill. 

He burned bright red when Ochako giggled at him, realising far too late how blatantly obvious he’d been, and just how long he’d been staring. She nudged him playfully, and he covered his face with a whine, shaking his head.

“It’s not like that!” he insisted. “Don’t do this to me!”

“So you’re not perving at Katsuki while he sweats over a hot grill?”

“Shut up, I would never!”

“Are you sure? Because I’m sure as hell perving at him. Just because he’s my friend doesn’t mean I can’t look!”

“You’re awful. And married.”

“If Tenya was grilling I’d perv at Tenya,” she shrugged. “But he’s not, so I’ve gotta make do with Katsuki!”

Izuku cracked his fingers open to sneak a look, eyes immediately glued once again to the thick, muscular forearms. He’d rolled his sleeves up to keep them out of the way as he cooked, and something about it was so inexplicably enticing, even when he was used to seeing Katsuki in sleeveless shirts.

“What do you think, Momo?” Ochako prompted, turning her grin to her other side. “Shouto looks pretty good standing over a grill too, don’t you think?”

“They’re both very handsome men,” Momo agreed gracefully, taking a sip from her glass of wine. “And it’s natural to enjoy watching them do manly things.”

“I bet Shouto would love to hear that, you should tell him he looks good!”

“That will not be happening. We’re just friends, we’ve been over this.”

“Tell me about it,” Izuku huffed. “You get drunk with her one time and she never stops teasing again.”

They quickly closed their mouths when Katsuki came to the table with a plate of meat, stacked high with steaks and burgers. At least they had that much sense.

“Dig in,” he instructed. “There’s more where that came from.”

“Katsuki has so much meat,” Ochako giggled.  

“You’ve had too much wine,” Izuku huffed, blushing. “Quit it.”

“Look at him handle that sausage!”

“Ochako.”

“I’m sorry for her,” Momo sighed. “The rest of us have gotten used to it, I forgot how hard  it is for newcomers.”

“Something is certainly hard,” Ochako giggled.  

“Ochako!”

“Okay, okay!” she caved. “I’m done, my lips are sealed.”

Shouto approached them with another plate, this time loaded with sausages and hotdog buns, shooting a quick smile at the trio as he set it down on the table.

“Dig in,” he said, a lot more gently than Katsuki had. “Would you like a sausage, Yaoyorozu?”

Ochako burst into laughter, and even Izuku couldn’t help but turn a little red, covering his mouth to stifle anything that might come out. Shouto just stared at them, oblivious, and Momo blushed faintly as she accepted the tongs.  

“Thank you, Todoroki, they look delicious.”

─────

When Hiroki ran back to the group for a drink, Katsuki beckoned him over, leaning forward to talk to him under the chaos of intersecting conversations around them.

“There’s a kid next door,” he explained. “Maybe two kids. They keep looking out the window and watching us, watching you guys. Do you want to ask them to come play, maybe make a new friend?”

“Yeah! Can I?”

“Of course you can. I’ll come with you, but you’ve gotta do the talking.”

“Okay!”

Katsuki hauled himself out of his seat, groaning quietly, and Hiroki took his hand with a big smile, leading him down the little path at the side of the house. He knocked on the front door of the next house over, where he’d seen the little peeping eyes appear throughout the night, and soon there were footsteps moving toward them.

“Hi!” Hiroki said brightly. “My name is Hiroki, this is my Daddy! We moved in next door!”

“Oh, hello!” the woman smiled at him warmly, sucked in just like every other adult he met. “It’s nice to meet you, Hiroki! I’m Tatami, we moved in about a month ago. I have a son about your age!”

“Yeah! I wanted to ask if he could come play!”

“We’re having a barbecue,” Katsuki explained. “The kids are out on the playground, so we thought it might be a good time to make new friends. Feel free to come grab a burger or something and send the kids off to play.”

“You know what, that sounds lovely,” she beamed. “My husband is still at work, but I’ll bring the kids by soon!”

“Yay!” Hiroki grinned. “I can’t wait! See you soon Miss Tatami!”

“It was very nice to meet you, Hiroki!”

Hiroki skipped his way back to the little party, dragging Katsuki along by the hand, and sure enough Tatami wasn’t far behind, with two wide-eyed kids in tow.

“Have we met?” Tenya asked, as he stood up to greet the newcomers with a bow. “I’m sure I know your face.”

“Oh, uh... It’s possible?”

“She was one of Joke’s students,” Aizawa said flatly, barely bothering to look up. “You all sat your license exam together.”

The yard fell silent for a moment as Tatami took a moment to look around, jaw dropping as she began to catch on.

“I didn’t know it was a hero party!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry, it’s so different out of costume, as you know well I’m sure!”

“It’s fine, I didn’t know either,” Katsuki shrugged. “And it’s not really, just family and friends or whatever. Saw your kids looking and thought we’d invite them out to play, that’s all. Hiro, you wanna take them to meet the others?”

“Yeah!” Hiroki grinned. “I’m Hiroki, come meet my family!”

In a flash, the trio was gone, and Katsuki sneaked another glance at the woman beside him.

Nope, still no memory of her.

“You probably know my husband better,” she smiled sheepishly, when she caught a few more pairs of eyes doing the same. “Grand?”

“Oh hell,” Katsuki groaned. “Of course we moved in next to Grand of all people.”

“Katsuki!” Izuku hissed. “Be nice!”

“Ugh.”

Burning red, Izuku stepped between them, ducking his head in his embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry, he’s always like this. About... Everyone, pretty much. I’m Midoriya Izuku, Katsuki and I live here with our boys, and my Mom over there, Inko. It’s nice to meet you!”

“You too! I’m Shindo Tatami, my husband You is on patrol duties tonight. It’s good to know we won’t have to hide our costumes and injuries from the neighbours!”

“Please feel free to come by if you need anything! My Mom and I aren’t heroes, we have much more normal schedules, so there’s usually someone home!”

“Thank you, and the same to you!”

“Come have a seat, have you eaten? We have plenty of food to spare!

Katsuki breathed a sigh of relief as they moved away, trying his best to ignore the pointed look Aizawa was giving him.

“It came out wrong, you know that!” he spoke up finally. “Shakeweight wouldn’t care!”

“She doesn’t know who you are.”

“What?”

“She clearly didn’t recognise you, Katsuki. Whether you want to tell her or not is up to you, but right now all she knows is that you don’t like her top-twenty husband and she probably thinks you’re jealous.”

“No way,” he snorted. “Look around, Aizawa. There aren’t many heroes or hero-spouses who wouldn’t recognise at least one of the top ten here. We’ve got what, seven of them here? There’s no way she doesn’t know seventy percent of the hero charts.”

“Did you know all ten of them before you joined it?”

“Of course I did, I always knew who my rivals were.”

“I suppose I should have expected that.”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t care if I’m the asshole neighbour, saves time playing the polite game.”

Aizawa shook his head faintly, giving up, and instead looked out to where Eri was shyly waving to their new friends. The younger of the neighbour kids was a girl, which seemed strangely rare in Katsuki’s life – other than a couple of Hiroki’s classmates he’d met in passing, all the kids in his life up until Koara had been male. Now he had Eri too, and even a neighbour whose name he should probably try to learn at some point. There were a couple of years between them, but maybe Eri would like having a female friend – and in a few years, maybe Koara would get along with her too.

Why was it that his brain always went so far ahead, so far into the future? It made it so much harder to live in the moment, to forgive his own assholery.

He supposed he’d better be nice after all.

[Next]