Welcome Home [Chapter 3]

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Izuku couldn’t help but fidget as he stood up, fingers curling against his too-long sleeves to tug at them lightly. He regretted not finding a suit earlier and giving himself time to get it altered, like Katsuki always did, but that was the least of his problems now – a too-big jacket was nothing on the haggard-looking woman standing across the room from him.

“Mister Midoriya, you say you had no idea the child existed?”

“That’s correct,” he choked out. “Not until he phoned me.”

“How did he have your phone number if you’d never met?”

“He says he saw it written down once and asked her what it was, and he’d remembered it for a long time after that.”

“Miss Sugito never attempted to get in touch with you after your relationship ended?”

Izuku glanced down at his lawyer, relieved to get a little nod in return.

“With all due respect, your honour, there was no relationship. We... hooked up. One time. I never saw her or heard from her again. I still haven’t.”

“Miss Sugito claims to have tried to get in touch and been turned away, do you have any way of proving you were not in contact?”

“I don’t believe so, your honour. I guess you could check my call logs and see that her number was never in them? I suppose it’s possible that she tried sending a letter or something, but nothing ever got to me, so I’m not sure how she would have tried – she clearly had my phone number and didn’t use it.”

“Of course she never tried,” Katsuki said, scowling. “He’s the number two hero, it’s not at all difficult to get in touch with him – you know how many stalker issues we heroes deal with on a daily basis? And she somehow couldn’t contact him with his phone number.”

“Kacchan,” Izuku hissed. “Stop it.”

“Sorry, your honour,” Katsuki said. “But seriously, isn’t she the one with the burden of proof to show that she did try? How is he supposed to prove that she didn’t other than the fact that he’s here fighting for custody?”

“Kacchan!”

“Sorry.”

Izuku sat down again, shooting Katsuki a glare and a lot of mouthed words that he wasn’t willing to say out loud in court. Katsuki just rolled his eyes though, and Izuku had to bite his lip to keep his mouth shut.

“Miss Sugito, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“Yes, your honour,” she said, standing up. “I’ve raised Akuji all by myself for almost nine years, with no help from anyone, and these two men suddenly want to take him away from me just because I was wrongfully arrested. I love my son and I always do my best for him. Kids need to be with their mothers, that’s just a fact.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Katsuki demanded, launching to his feet. “Then maybe you should have kept your high ass at home with your kid instead of going out to shoot up and leaving him home alone until he called the dad he’d never met because he was starving and had no money for food!”

“Mister Bakugou—”

“You are not Akuji’s mother, even the shittiest mothers wouldn’t do that crap! Deku is his mother now and I’m his father, it’s settled!”

“Kacchan, shut up, that doesn’t even make sense!”

“Fine then, I’ll be the fucking mother! I don’t care about your sexist bullshit!”

“That is not what I meant!”

“Mister Bakugou, if you don’t calm down immediately you will be removed from this court.”

Still fuming, Katsuki dropped back into his seat, the legs scraping loudly against the floor when it shifted under his weight. He looked almost comical in the little courtroom chair, his broad frame dwarfing the thing, and despite Izuku’s anger over the outburst, he couldn’t help but look at Katsuki fondly. Damn his insane soft spot wherever Katsuki was concerned.

“Mister Midoriya, you’ve told the court you want full custody of the child, is this correct?”

“Yes, your honour.”

“Please explain that to me.”

“You honour, the living situation I found Akuji in was... awful. I’m sorry, that’s the only word I have for it. He doesn’t have a stable home, he didn’t have food, he didn’t have electricity. And he told me that this is a frequent problem, not a one-off event. I understand that Sugito-san was arrested, in this event, but I also understand that she frequently goes out at night and leaves my eight-year-old son on his own in a run-down house. And if I could fix that situation by just paying child support or sharing custody, I gladly would, but...”

He trailed off, swallowing hard, and Katsuki reached out to squeeze his hand lightly.

“Your honour, Akuji asked for this,” Katsuki explained, when Izuku couldn’t find the words. “He asked us to fight for him, to not make him go back. And so we’re here, fighting for him, and will continue to do so for as long as it takes.”

“We’d like to pay for a rehab program for Sugito-san,” Izuku choked out. “If she’d be amenable to it, we’d like to help her get better, so she can be there for Akuji in the future.”

“Objection, your honour, my client doesn’t have a drug problem.”

Every face in the room gave the lawyer a sceptical look, but no one dared to laugh at him.

“Do we have a statement from the child?”

“Yes, your honour.”

Their lawyer handed over a written document, in Akuji’s most painstakingly neat handwriting, explaining the events that had led him to want to stay with his dads. The judge read it over, and Izuku felt himself tearing up, locking his gaze on the table in front of him.

“I am granting thirty days of custody to Mister Midoriya,” the judge said finally, and Izuku felt like his lungs suddenly doubled in size with how easy it became to breathe again. “Miss Sugito will take that time to get her life in order again and meet with a counsellor to discuss further steps, and to arrange suitable, safe living arrangements for the child if she wishes to have custody again.”

“Thank you, your honour,” Izuku said breathlessly. “We appreciate it, and so will Akuji.”

Izuku didn’t dare to make eye contact with Sugito as they all filed out, but Katsuki stared her down with the fire of a thousand suns, ready to burn her alive if that was what it would take to keep Akuji safe. If Izuku hadn’t already been in love with Katsuki, he was pretty sure he’d have fallen in love that day, even if Katsuki had yelled at a judge.

“So, thirty days,” Katsuki said quietly, when they regrouped with their lawyer outside. “What do we need to do in that time, to make sure we keep him permanently?”

“Well, the courts are more inclined to rule in favour of the mother, so the fact that you’ve gotten thirty days is a great start.”

“Yeah, but we need to do more.”

“Making sure he’s safe and happy, well taken care of. Letting Sugito-san visit under supervision, if she wishes. Showing that you’re making an effort to cooperate with her.”

“Gross,” Katsuki huffed. “Fine. Anything else?”

“Well, if you could convince her not to try, that would be great, but I don’t see that happening.”

Izuku chuckled weakly, but Katsuki’s face remained dead serious.

“Is there something we can do to prove beyond all doubt that she has a drug addiction?” Katsuki asked. “I know we probably can’t record her without consent, or that kind of thing, but is there something we could do? Find witnesses? Talk to her friends?”

“Leave that to the police,” the lawyer instructed. “It’s better not to get yourself mixed up in this kind of thing, just keep showing that you can support the child, emotionally and financially, that’s your most important job.”

When they parted ways, Katsuki immediately reached for Izuku’s hand. Izuku wasn’t sure which of them it was meant to comfort, to be entirely honest, but he kind of liked the idea that maybe it was both of them. Katsuki really had been such a rock for him and Akuji both, even if he had yelled at a judge just mere minutes prior.

“We’d better get on the train,” Katsuki said, when the silence between them grew long. “He’ll be out of class soon.”

“Thank you.”

“Hah? It’s not like you couldn’t have just looked at your watch.”

“Not for that.”

“For yelling at everyone in the courtroom?”

“Definitely not for that.”

Katsuki squinted at him, but Izuku didn’t elaborate, and after a moment, Katsuki just squeezed his hand a little tighter.

“Whatever, nerd. We’re in this together, just like everything else. You’re stuck with me.”

Izuku swallowed hard, squeezing him back to keep the tears at bay, and Katsuki just smiled knowingly, leading him toward the train station.

“I know the one with the beach view was excessive,” Katsuki admitted. “But I do think we should find a house. Soon.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Izuku said, sighing faintly. “I just hate rushing into things that are so... big.”

“I know,” Katsuki assured him. “But it’s not like we can never move again, it’s just about finding somewhere with a little more space.”

“But a house? That’s massive!”

“Okay,” Katsuki said, humming thoughtfully. “How about just a bigger apartment, then? It’s not like the court is gonna care if it’s a house or not. I thought it’d be nice for him to live in a good house, but I’m sure he’d be happy with anything.”

That did sound a little less daunting.

“Maybe,” Izuku agreed. “I think that could work.”

“Okay. We’ll find a bigger apartment that we can make the move to pretty soon, then we can keep an eye out for houses, and we can cross that bridge when we get there.”

They sat down together on the quiet train, and Katsuki dug his phone out of his pocket, opening up the apartment listings where they’d found their current home – Izuku understood why he’d gone straight there; it had all been such a smooth process, and they had an awesome apartment, so why fix what wasn’t broken, right? He set filters for the areas around Akuji’s school, first, but when only three shabby-looking options came up, he quickly removed that one. Instead, he filled in all the little tick boxes about bedrooms and living rooms and building age, then leaned over so Izuku could see too, scrolling through an extensive list of options that could potentially suit their new family.

“Tiny bedrooms,” Katsuki complained, when Izuku pointed one out that looked nice. “Same square footage as our current place.”

“Oh. Hmm.”

“This one is bigger, but why is it a hexagon?”

“Yeah, that’s kind of weird,” Izuku agreed. “This one is nice, but the bath looks super small.”

“What about this one?”

Izuku leaned in a little closer, watching Katsuki flip through images, and despite his best intentions, he couldn’t seem to find a single flaw with it.

“The bedrooms are right beside each other,” Katsuki pointed out. “Is that weird? For privacy and stuff?”

“I don’t think so.” Izuku shrugged. “I feel like bedrooms are always together, right?”

“True.”

“Add it to the shortlist,” Izuku said. “But let's keep looking.”

By the time they got to the school, they’d added six different apartments to their shortlist and sent an email to their realtor about it, putting the phone away just in time for the school bell to ring. Akuji looked surprised to see both his dads at the gate, but he didn’t say a word about it as he joined up with them, glancing back at a couple of familiar faces who Izuku knew had given him some trouble.

“Hey, buddy!” he said brightly. “We missed you!”

Akuji blushed a little, but he didn’t protest when Izuku patted him on the back fondly, Katsuki reaching over to mess up his hair at the same time.

“It’s our job to be embarrassing,” Katsuki told him with a smirk, even though Akuji didn’t question it. “You ready to head home?”

“M’ready.”

“You doing okay?”

Akuji’s stomach growled, and Katsuki couldn’t quite bite back a laugh.

“Let’s get snacks first,” he suggested. “On the way to the train. What are you in the mood for?”

“M’okay.”

“Come on, kiddo, don’t be like that.”

He put a hand on Akuji’s shoulder, steering him into a convenience store, where a lot of his classmates were already debating after-school ice creams and rice balls.

“I’m thinking about a sandwich,” Katsuki mused, heading over to look at the shelves of fluffy white bread and thick fillings. “You know what Deku’s favourite snack was at your age?”

Akuji shook his head.

“He would get one of these egg sandwiches here, then he’d get a piece of fried chicken from the counter, and put it inside the sandwich.”

“Do not act like that’s weird,” Izuku huffed. “Mister Onigiri Pancake.”

“I was carbo-loading!”

“You know those little packages of pancakes with butter?” Izuku asked, despite Katsuki’s protests. “He put rice on them.”

“At least I didn’t slurp potato salad out of a bag.”

“You forgot to get me a spoon!”

Akuji smiled, and immediately their argument ceased, Izuku smiling softly at him while Katsuki nudged him lightly.

“Come on, let’s pick a new combo to try.”

Izuku watched as the pair spent a solid five minutes debating their options, finally settling on curry bread with fried chicken, a fruit sandwich with chocolate cake, and a yakisoba roll, which they apparently deemed weird enough without combining it with something. Izuku could only watch with interest, amusement, and mild horror as they bought their bits and pieces, giggling together as they made a mess of their hands trying to assemble their first experiment.

Thirty days.

Izuku swallowed hard, and Katsuki looked back just in time to see his face fall, quickly jumping up to stuff a bite of fruit-cream-and-chocolate-cake-sandwich into his mouth and watch him recoil. Akuji laughed at the face Izuku pulled, wiping his hands on a napkin, and Izuku did his best to push it all aside and just return the sweet smile.

“Izuku bought me one of these when we first met,” Akuji said, as he carefully unwrapped the curry bread. “It was good.”

“Yeah? They’re my favourite,” Katsuki told him. “I’ve never tried them with fried chicken, but that’s the nerd’s favourite, so logically they should work perfectly."

“Why?”

“Because we work perfectly,” Katsuki explained, making Izuku blush. “We’ll have to figure out your favourite and mix that in, too.”

“I liked the egg sandwich he got me.”

“Oh no, don’t start trying to con me into building that monstrosity, I know exactly what you’re trying to pull.”

Akuji grinned, and Katsuki elbowed him lightly, reaching for the paper bag of chicken to help him assemble their new experiment.

“Did you see the judge today?” Akuji finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him. “Is that why you’re trying to make things fun? Before I have to go back?”

“You have at least thirty days with us,” Katsuki told him matter-of-factly. “After that the case will continue, and we’ll have to prove you’re better off with us, but that shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Will I need to say it in front of her?”

“We don’t know anything more yet, but you’ll be the first to know when we hear anything, and you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, we’ll make it work regardless.”

“But for thirty days she can’t take me away?”

“Yep. You’re stuck with us, little dude.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks for putting up with the nerd so you and I can hang out.”

“Hey!” Izuku objected, indignance immediately fading when he saw his two favourite people laughing together again. “The next train is in five, are we gonna get on it?”

“Yep!” Akuji said, jumping to his feet with half a curry-and-chicken-bread still in his hand. “This one is good, you wanna try?”

Katsuki shoved his half into Izuku’s mouth before he could answer, making him take a bite, and Izuku’s eyes widened as he chewed.

“That’s not bad,” he admitted. “Still nothing on my oyakosando though.”

With their rubbish thrown away, they walked to the platform together, only then unwrapping the yakisoba roll that had baffled Katsuki so much – despite being the apparent king of weird carbo-loading. Akuji carefully tore it into three pieces, handing them a section each, and they stood in silence as they ate, watching their train roll into the station to carry them home.

“That’s definitely the weirdest one,” Katsuki said, as they squeezed into the train car – it was surprisingly busy that day, apparently. “I’ll take chicken curry bread any day.”

“Even the cake sandwich was better,” Izuku admitted. “I bet it was some weird kid who came up with that idea. Maybe one of the creeps we went to school with.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Katsuki agreed. “That guy with the fingers who used to hang around me.”

“Or the one with the eye thing,” Izuku chuckled. “Yeah, I can see it.”

“How about tonkatsu sandwich and potato salad next time?” Akuji suggested, making them both chuckle. “Maybe with a spoon.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

───

Akuji set his bag down in the entryway, pausing to kick his shoes off before he looked up, freezing in his tracks.

“Huh? Oh,” Izuku chuckled. “Yeah, we figured if you’re gonna stay, we had to make some changes around here. Katsuki and I are up both earlier and later than you, depending on shifts and things, so this way made more sense.”

“You didn’t have to, I was okay with my couch...”

“Nah,” Katsuki said, shrugging it off. “Gotta have some privacy and get some good rest. We’re looking for a bigger place, maybe closer to your school, but this will work until then.”

Akuji just stared, wide-eyed, at the queen-sized bed set up in the corner of the living room, with a chest of drawers at the end where Izuku and Katsuki had managed to consolidate the vast majority of their clothing.

“There are a couple of things in the bedroom closet still, sorry,” Katsuki said. “My mother would murder me if I put our suits in a drawer, so we had to leave them hanging for now. There should still be plenty of room for your stuff though, at least until we find a new place.”

Akuji’s eyes got watery, and Izuku knelt down beside him, wrapping his arms around him and gently pulling him to his chest. Akuji finally lost it, sobbing into his shirt, and Izuku just held him a little tighter, stroking his back as he sank into the hug, letting Izuku keep him upright.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, when Akuji tried and failed to form words. “I’ve got you, you can let it out.”

Akuji didn’t bother trying to answer, just opened his mouth a little and wailed, and Izuku felt his heart shatter into pieces at the sound. He never wanted anyone he loved to sound like that.

“We’re here, little man,” Katsuki said quietly, wrapping them both in his arms. “We’re not going anywhere, I promise.”

It took a long time for the sobs to calm down a little, and Izuku carried him over to the couch when they did, curling up with him on the cushions and just letting him cry, letting him feel everything he’d been trying to hold back, letting him let go and just let his dad take care of him, like a parent should. Izuku was pretty sure he’d have punched Sugito if she’d been there, for making his boy feel that way, but instead he settled for just holding his son, for as long as he could possibly want it.

“Feel a little better?” Katsuki asked, setting a mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table when Akuji seemed to have cried himself out. “Sometimes it feels good to have a good cry, huh?”

Akuji sniffled, and Izuku helped him sit up a little, letting him reach for the mug. He took a long sip, lips still trembling a little, and Izuku just held him, letting him figure it all out.

“Any time you feel like you need to let it out, we’re here,” Katsuki told him, chucking a blanket at them lightly. “If you need to cry, or yell, or whatever it might be, you won’t scare us away, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Akuji whispered. “It’s hard to be brave.”

“You don’t have to be brave,” Izuku assured him. “That’s what you have us for, okay? Tell us all your worries and let us figure them out for you.”

“Within reason,” Katsuki said with a grin. “We can’t do your homework for you, or ask out someone you like – actually Izuku would absolutely do that.”

“I would not!” Izuku huffed. “Akuji he’s being mean to me again, tell him to quit it.”

Akuji laughed. A tiny, weak, tired sound, but a laugh all the same. Izuku was a little proud of himself for not bursting into his own fit of tears over that sweet laugh.

“Do you wanna come see your bedroom?” Katsuki suggested, when Akuji had finished his hot chocolate and all the marshmallows that came with it. “It’s not much, but I hope it’ll be comfy, at least.”

Akuji nodded faintly, and Katsuki held out his arms. Izuku had seen those arms go out so many times in his life, to allow Izuku a hug, but he’d never seen them extend toward a child before, let alone seen the child reach back, letting Katsuki lift him up against a hip and carry him down the hall like he was made for it.

“You got me a bed?” Akuji whispered.

“Wouldn’t be much of a bedroom without one,” Katsuki teased. “We couldn’t find any exciting duvet covers or anything so you just have blankets for now, we can find some cooler stuff when we move. Curtains, bedding, some more furniture, all that shit. For now it’s pretty boring, sorry. And I dunno if you’re a big stuffed toy person, but we love these ones, so we thought maybe you'd like having something to hug if you want, or just to keep you company at night.”

The two toys in question, perched against Akuji’s pillow, were the roundest, softest, squishiest, most adorable pieces of merch that either of their teams had ever produced. Izuku had fallen in love with them immediately, and even Katsuki had admitted a certain fondness for them, so they hoped Akuji could get a little comfort from them too. He reached out to squeeze one, visibly shocked by how soft it felt, and Katsuki couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Right?” he asked knowingly. “I know it’s a bit cheesy, having your dad’s merch, but at least they’re comfy.”

“It’s not cheesy,” Akuji objected, pulling them both into a hug when Katsuki set him on the bed lightly. “I like them, thanks.”

“I’m glad. Next time Deku goes on patrol, you’ll have the better version of him to take care of you.”

Akuji laughed weakly again, and even Izuku cracked a smile this time.

“He’s not wrong,” he said fondly, watching on from the doorway with tears pricking at his eyes. “I’m not nearly as squishy, I’m jealous of them.”

Katsuki grinned, leaning over to grab a fistful of Izuku’s hair and plant a big, dumb kiss on his cheek. It wasn’t exactly rare for Katsuki to show affection, but Izuku ate it up every single time, falling in love over and over again.

Izuku’s phone dinged repeatedly in his pocket, and he plucked it out to take a look, expecting to see their old group chat lighting up, like it seemed to do once in a while when something big happened. Instead, though, he found vague and concerned texts from his closest friends and family, shooting a glance at Katsuki as he clicked on the link that Ochako had thankfully included.

A bombshell revelation hit Japan today in the form of beloved Pro-Hero ‘Deku’, who has been keeping a secret from the world – an eight-year-old child now tied up in a messy custody dispute. It just goes to show that even the most celebrated heroes are not infallible, with hidden scandals that have been years in the making.

Sources close to the ongoing legal proceedings confirm that the child is temporarily in Deku’s custody, for the first time in their lives. The child had been living with their mother, who was arrested for alleged drug use, forcing Deku to take the child in, while she was unable to care for them. Deku’s legal team emphasised his financial stability and clean record in their initial hearing today, citing a poor living situation with the child’s mother which he hopes to remedy by fighting for full custody.

Dynamite was also seen in the court room, serving as a character witness and as emotional support for Deku, while making some cryptic comments that left the courtroom reeling. The names of the mother and child have not been revealed, to offer them some privacy at this trying time.

Stay tuned for updates as further information becomes available about today’s hearing, and as the case progresses over the coming weeks!

“Well,” Katsuki said softly, reading over Izuku’s shoulder. “Fuck.”