My Father's Son - Chapter 52

The time had finally come. Katsuki buttoned up his suit jacket as he plodded down the stairs, surprised to find the house fairly quiet...

[Previous]

The time had finally come.

Katsuki buttoned up his suit jacket as he plodded down the stairs, surprised to find the house fairly quiet below him. He’d gotten in late the night prior, had just reheated some leftovers and given the boys a hug each before he fell into bed, but the little smiley faces on their communal whiteboard had let him know everything was ready to go for the morning – Izuku had taken care of it all, to make sure he wouldn’t stress. Damn thoughtful nerd.

There was a little bit of rustling coming from the boys’ rooms as he got closer, but he left them to get dressed under their own steam, heading for the kitchen to grab some breakfast instead. They didn’t need distracting on such an important morning.

A couple of rice balls waited for him on the bench, and he smiled to himself faintly as he grabbed them, eating over the sink and staring out the window at his little balcony garden. It needed some tending, now that the weather was warming up; maybe he’d manage to get some time in on the weekend, while the boys slept in. He kind of doubted it, they were both full of boundless energy, but honestly? Katsuki wouldn’t have had it any other way.

He headed down another flight of stairs when he’d eaten, ready to berate Izuku for taking too long to put a suit on – he was sure he was gonna have to fix the nerd’s tie again, and knowing him, he was probably wearing some sort of All Might shirt underneath it that he’d picked up behind Katsuki’s back, so he was gonna have to do a full inspection to make sure he was all in order and not going to embarrass anyone on such an important day.

As he got close, though, the door swung open, and both men froze in their tracks. Izuku wore his black suit – something Katsuki wasn’t sure he’d seen in full before, since Izuku usually favoured the grey one – with a white shirt and a green tie. The tie, he’d seen before. It was the same shade as his eyes, as Hiroki’s eyes, and it might have been Katsuki’s favourite one the nerd owned.

He took a step forward, and Izuku looked up at him with a wobbly smile – he always got so nervous when Katsuki stood close to him, even though Katsuki had done his best to not give him any reason to be. He’d sent Izuku out for a haircut the day prior, to tame his frizzy curls before the ceremony, but that had slipped his mind entirely until the moment Izuku stepped out of his room. It wasn’t a huge change, by any means, but he always looked so much better, more mature, without that dark, tangled mop.

Katsuki reached out, gently combing an unruly lock back into place, and then Izuku was moving. He leaned in, his hand reaching up to Katsuki’s neck, and then Katsuki felt nothing but heat. It pooled in his stomach, spread out to every fingertip and toe. It bloomed in his face, turning his cheeks bright red. And it pressed against his lips, a little dry and awkward, but so warm and soft at the same time.

Izuku stepped backward quickly, eyes wide and lips trembling, his stuttering voice only choking out a single, short word:

“Oops.”

“Really?” Katsuki asked, stepping forward, invading Izuku’s personal space again. “That’s all you have to say? Oops?”

Izuku spluttered a little, eyes darting away, hand lifting to cover his face in an attempt to hide his painfully obvious blush.

“I would say I’m sorry but that would be a lie,” Izuku mumbled finally, refusing to look anywhere near Katsuki’s eyes. “You look very handsome.”

Katsuki blinked at him, but he felt a smirk spread across his lips all the same. There was something so entertaining about seeing Izuku get all flustered and embarrassed. He was sure that was mean, but as long as he didn’t say it out loud, he supposed it was okay to be a little bit mean, sometimes.

“Damn right I do,” Katsuki said, finally taking pity. “Come on, nerd, the boys are probably ready by now.”

Izuku stood dead still for a minute, as Katsuki turned to head back upstairs, but finally he heard hurried footsteps following him, just in time for Hiroki to burst out of his room in a tiny suit.

“Daddy!” he said, grinning. “It’s school time!”

“Pretty much,” Katsuki agreed, chuckling as he hugged him, careful not to crease their suits in the process. “I can’t believe you’re all grown up now, next thing I know you’ll be kicking me off the hero charts.”

Hiroki giggled, squeezing Katsuki one more time before he moved to Izuku.

“Morning, Papa!” he said. “We match!”

Sure enough, Hiroki’s tie was the same colour as Izuku’s, and Katsuki couldn’t help but smile. It wouldn’t surprise him if Hiroki had given Izuku instructions on what to wear, just for the sake of matching, but he was so delighted by it all the same.

When Yuuto emerged from his room, in his little grey suit and a bright red tie, Izuku burst into tears.

Yuuto just stared at him for it, wide-eyed and silent, while Hiroki laughed and hugged him again, and Katsuki sighed fondly, shaking his head. Izuku was such a crybaby, but in all honesty, Katsuki couldn’t blame him. He’d spent years watching his tiny green blob of a baby turn into an actual human, albeit a small one, but now it seemed like it had happened in the blink of an eye. It was kind of baffling to think that his cuddly, giggly little Hiro was old enough to go sit at a desk and actually learn stuff. He supposed Izuku felt the same about Yuuto.

“You look great,” Katsuki said, when Yuuto approached them hesitantly. “Papa is just feeling emotional, as usual. Sometimes we do silly things when we’re emotional.”

Yuuto nodded his understanding, and Katsuki reached out, patting him on the head fondly.

“You sleep okay?”

Yuuto nodded again, pulling a little squishy ball from his pocket, and Katsuki smiled when he saw the familiar colours on it. He’d never expected Yuuto to get so much mileage out of that toy, but he was glad it seemed to help him when he was feeling nervous.

“You didn’t get hurt?” Yuuto asked quietly.

“Nope, not at all,” Katsuki assured him. “Wouldn’t let anything get in the way of being with you guys today.”

Yuuto smiled, and Katsuki did his best to return it – he wasn’t very good at smiling, but he was pretty sure his boys understood the sentiment.

When Izuku finally calmed down, they said their goodbyes to Inko – who held her tears back valiantly – and piled into the car, starting the drive to their new school. Yuuto pointed out landmarks on the streets as they went, all the little markers that Mirio had pointed out to them on their group bike rides, and Katsuki did his best to take the same route they’d been practicing, just to let him find more. He was sure he missed a few, like where they’d ridden through a park and Katsuki couldn’t quite follow the same path with a car, but when he glanced in the rear-view mirror he saw Yuuto’s fingertip pressed lightly against the glass of his window, tracing it out all the same.

When they reached the school, a collection of older students was waiting for them, ready to lead them to their classes. As brief as they knew the parting would be, Katsuki and Izuku said a slightly emotional goodbye to the boys, before they handed them off to a sweet older girl, letting her show them the way. Izuku was tearing up again, but Katsuki didn’t call him out on it, letting him swallow hard and sniffle a little as he held it all in.

“Over here!” Mirio’s voice called, the moment they stepped into the school hall. “Katsuki! Izuku!”

Katsuki looked over to see a familiar hand go into the air, waving them over, and he sighed as he mentally prepared himself – it was too early in the morning to deal with Mirio’s... enthusiasm. But Izuku was already heading toward them, and Katsuki knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to pretend he hadn’t heard him, so he followed obediently. At least Mirio would make conversation, he supposed. That way he wouldn’t have to do it himself. Or worse, be forced to talk to strangers.

Izuku sat down in the seat beside Mirio, and Katsuki was a little relieved as he sat down at Izuku’s other side, creating a little buffer between himself and Mirio. Most days he wouldn’t care so much, but he hated the thought of Mirio finding some way to push his buttons and ruin the ceremony for him.

Soon, an old man was walking up onto the stage, and the crowd was falling quiet, watching as teachers led their classes in one by one to sit together at the front. Yuuto had his hands stuffed in his pockets, fingers wrapped around his squishy toy, while Hiroki looked around until he caught Katsuki’s eye, giving them all a big smile and a wave. Ryouji was one of the few kids who stood up straight and kept his eyes forward, marching in tall and proud with his classmates.

The national anthem played, and then everyone was seated and quiet, the old man on the stage starting his tedious, long-winded speech. Izuku watched with rapt attention, listening to every word the man had to say, but Katsuki just slumped in his seat, eyes roaming the room for something more interesting to look at. He couldn’t see the boys anymore, with where they sat, and all the other parents just watched and smiled and acted like they cared – disgusting.

He almost hoped his watch would beep with an emergency alert that would take him away with a good excuse for it, but the idea of letting his boys down, not being there for them on the special occasion, outweighed his boredom.

The audience clapped politely, and then another, equally old, man was stepping up to the microphone, and Katsuki groaned quietly when he began another speech. Izuku shot him a quick, half-hearted frown, and Mirio stifled a laugh, Tamaki shooting him an understanding look from the other side.

“Aww!” Izuku fawned, when a class was invited up on stage. “Look how cute they are!”

Sure enough, a little group of seven-year-olds was setting up for a presentation of their own, to show off everything they’d learned over the past year. Katsuki was sure it would be more entertaining when his own sons were in there, but as much as the kids were kind of cute, he supposed, he just wanted it to be over.

More speeches, a bunch of staff introductions that went in one ear and out the other, and a school song later, the group finally dispersed to go to the kids’ classrooms. They paused in the hallway, glancing at each other, and Katsuki jerked his head toward the first door.

“You go with Yuuto,” he instructed. “He’ll want you there first. When there’s a good opportunity, I’ll come switch with you, so we can meet both teachers.”

“Are you sure? I’d hate for you to miss anything.”

“S’fine, he’ll have Ryouji and his uncles there, they’ll catch us up if they need to.”

“Okay,” Izuku agreed. “Thanks, Katsuki. Be nice, okay?”

“I’m always nice, asshole.”

Izuku laughed, and Katsuki cracked a smile, shaking his head fondly. He left Izuku to it and followed Mirio and Tamaki down the hall, pausing with them at the door to Hiroki’s classroom. The pair were talking quietly, borderline arguing, but when Katsuki approached, their mouths closed and their eyes darted to him immediately.

“What’s crawled up your ass?” Katsuki asked.

“We’re good!” Mirio assured him.

“There aren’t any other hero parents in the class,” Tamaki explained. “I don’t want to embarrass him.”

“Embarrass?” Katsuki asked, eyebrows knitting together. “The kid thinks you're awesome, why would he be embarrassed?”

“He’s worried the other kids will make a fuss when we walk in,” Mirio explained. “I don’t think they’ll even notice, when we’re in civilian clothes!”

“Even if they do, he won’t care,” Katsuki said with a shrug. “He’ll be proud, don’t worry about it.”

He nudged past them, stepping into the classroom, and sure enough, every kid’s eyes darted to him immediately. Tamaki followed, borderline tiptoeing with the way he tried to go unnoticed, but Katsuki just waved to a couple of kids whose eyes shone with recognition, heading over to the pair of desks where Ryouji and Hiroki were already sitting together, grinning as they whispered to each other.

“Daddy!” Hiroki said, quickly dropping his voice again when Katsuki crouched beside his desk. “I was good, did you see? I didn’t wiggle the whole time during the speeches.”

“I’m super proud,” Katsuki told him, ruffling his hair fondly. “Even I was wiggling a bit.”

“Hi Dad, hi Dad,” Ryouji said, when the pair joined them, on the other side of the desks. “Did you bring snacks?”

“You had snacks in the car,” Tamaki reminded him quietly. “Are you hungry again already?”

“I’m always hungry, you know that!”

Tamaki sighed, but Mirio just slipped something into his hand, the pair exchanging conspiring smiles as Ryouji popped it into his mouth. He held out a hand to Hiroki, offering him a piece of the candy, but Hiroki smiled and shook his head, so Ryouji just stuffed it into his desk for later.

“Welcome, families!” the teacher said, when the last of the adults had funnelled in. “There are some chairs down the back, please feel free to take a seat with your children.”

Mirio waved him off when Katsuki started to move, returning quickly with three chairs in his hand for their group, along with another handful that he doled out to a few parents who hadn’t yet gotten to it. He received bright smiles for his efforts, like always, and Katsuki barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“My name is Terada Satoshi,” the teacher began, when the parents were settled. “I’ll be the homeroom teacher for this class this year! I’m looking forward to working with you all!”

He talked for a little bit, both about himself and what to expect in the upcoming year, and then he was pulling out packages of textbooks and stationery for all the kids, ready to be labelled. While they were all occupied with sorting and handing out items, Katsuki ruffled Hiroki’s hair again, and stood up.

“I’m gonna go swap with Papa and meet Yuuto’s teacher,” he explained. “I’ll be back again in a little while.”

“Okay, Daddy! Give Yuuto a hug for me, if he wants one!”

“I will,” Katsuki promised. “You be good.”

He slid out the door, heading down a quiet hallway to the other room and peeking through the little window in the door. The teacher was still talking, so Katsuki waited, letting it all come to a lull before he slipped inside. He got a few curious looks from kids, whether for his job or his lateness he couldn’t be sure, and waved to Yuuto and Izuku when they looked up. While the teacher was beginning to hand things out, Izuku whispered a goodbye and headed out, leaving Katsuki to sit down in the tiny school chair he’d vacated.

“All good so far?” he asked Yuuto quietly.

“Uh-huh. I gotta label things.”

He held up a sheet of little stickers, with his name written on them in tiny kanji, and Katsuki smiled softly. It was just like Izuku to do something nerdy, instead of just writing it in marker, but he supposed it would save some time and effort, at least.

“Oh, hello,” the teacher said, when she stopped at their desk. “Sorry, I don’t think I said hello to you when you came in!”

“I was a bit late,” Katsuki explained. “I’m Bakugou Katsuki, my other son is in Class A, so Izuku and I are taking turns in each room; I hope that’s cool.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Bakugou-san! I’m Norizuki Michiyo, I’ll be Yuuto’s homeroom teacher this year.”

So she’d already started memorising names. Impressive, Katsuki had to admit.

“Nice to meet you too,” Katsuki said. “Sorry in advance if I miss anything, we’ll catch each other up later and be on the same page.”

“No problem at all! So you have a brother the same age, Yuuto?”

“Uh-huh,” Yuuto said, nodding. “His name is Hiroki.”

“Well, I look forward to meeting Hiroki, too,” she said warmly. “Is it strange being in different classes?”

“Nuh-uh. We only met a little while ago.”

“Long story,” Katsuki said apologetically, trying to force an awkward smile. “Short version: switched at birth?”

“Oh, wow, that must have been tough. It looks like you’ve managed to work things out, though!”

“Yeah,” Katsuki agreed, smiling a lot more genuinely as he patted Yuuto on the back lightly. “I’m glad Yuuto is a part of my life, now.”

“Me too!” Yuuto said with a grin. “I like having both Dad and Papa at home.”

They chatted with the teacher a little more, until she excused herself to the next desk, and Yuuto began carefully peeling and sticking labels onto his belongings. Katsuki helped out too, taking some of the trickier-shaped objects while Yuuto worked on flat surfaces. It seemed like the labelling never ended, when it came to school supplies. Every time they got an email from the school or attended a dumb meeting, they just got handed more and more shit to write the kids' names on.

Right as they were finishing up, Izuku appeared in the doorway, waving to the pair through the window before he showed himself in. Katsuki stood up, giving Yuuto one last pat on the back, and with a quick wave to Norizuki, Katsuki headed back to Hiroki’s class.

It felt a little excessive, in all honesty, but Izuku had been so worried about missing things. Katsuki had suggested they just swapped halfway through, but that had sent Izuku on a whole tangent about not knowing how long things would take, about being in different areas of the school, or in the middle of important speeches. In the end, he’d just agreed to whatever Izuku had deemed the most suitable, which had resulted in an apparent game of musical chairs throughout the morning.

“Welcome back,” Mirio said, when Katsuki dropped into the empty chair, giving Hiroki a quick hug. “Does his teacher seem nice?”

“Yeah, she’s very chatty, already knows him by name.”

“That’s good! I’m sure she’ll take good care of him.”

“I finished all my labels,” Hiroki said, proudly holding up some pencils. “Papa brought stickers.”

“I saw that, that’s very cool.”

“He said he was always jealous of the people with cool stickers instead of chipped marker, so he wanted us to be the cool kids!” Hiroki giggled, turning to poke his tongue out at Ryouji. “Haha, you don’t get to be cool.”

“Oh no,” Ryouji said, face deadpan. “How will I survive?”

“It’s okay, some of my coolness will rub off on you, you can meet my cool friends.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

Katsuki cracked a smile at the pair of them, pretending not to notice the look Mirio gave him for it, and with their belongings all neatly packed away into bags and desks, the class gathered up again. It was time to tour the school, apparently, and Katsuki had to admit, it was a good thing they’d just swapped places – Izuku would have freaked out if they’d tried to swap places mid-tour, or gotten stuck, unable to swap because of it. Izuku had timed it well, even if it had just been a coincidence.

“Daddy, do you need to go with Yuuto?” Hiroki whispered, apparently a mind-reader now. “I can go with Ryouji and Uncle Suneater and Uncle Number Two if you need to be with Yuuto.”

“Don’t be silly, I wouldn’t miss my school tour with you for the world.”

Hiroki just smiled up at him, reaching for his hand, and Katsuki accepted, holding the tiny fingers in his own. He knew one day Hiroki would be old enough that he didn’t want to hold hands anymore, or hug, or be carried around, but despite Katsuki’s hatred of being touched by just about anyone else, he hoped that day was a long, long way away.

–––

Hiroki and Ryouji were happily chatting away, as usual, when Izuku switched back into his room. They’d finished their tour a little quicker than Yuuto’s class had, and now they just sat at their new desks, waiting for their new teacher to finish talking to a bunch of older kids. Izuku caught one of the older boys glancing at Hiroki and Ryouji, elbowing his friend to whisper something to him, then leaning over to talk to one of the girls, before he looked at Hiroki and Ryouji again. It made Izuku feel weirdly on edge, despite them being children.

“Those boys keep looking this way,” Izuku explained, when Mirio gave him a questioning look. “Like maybe they know Hiroki and Ryouji?”

The kids looked up, curious, and Hiroki shook his head.

“I don’t know them,” he confirmed. “Ryou?”

“Nuh-uh.”

Mirio laughed, and even Tamaki cracked a smile, leaving Izuku to stare at them blankly for a moment, waiting for one of them to cave and explain.

“They’re our buddy class,” Tamaki said softly. “They’re probably picking out their buddies.”

“And if they recognise anyone,” Mirio added, still chuckling to himself. “It’s us, Izuku.”

“Oh,” Izuku said dumbly, his face flooding red. “Right, I guess they... might be looking at you, not the kids, huh?”

“You’ve finally gotten used to it,” Mirio teased. “You’ve stopped being so conscious of us! Congratulations!”

“Leave him alone,” Tamaki reprimanded Mirio, shaking his head. “He’s just looking out for his kid. And ours, for that matter, so don’t give him a hard time, or he might stop.”

Ryouji snorted, and all three adults turned to look at him – it wasn’t often they heard that kind of reaction from Ryouji.

“Like he would ever,” Ryouji said, shaking his head faintly. “Mr. Midoriya is more protective than both of you.”

“W-Well I care about you!” Izuku blushed. “I want you – all of you – to be safe!”

“Exactly,” Tamaki said, shooting Mirio another weak glare. “So don’t make fun of the man who babysits our son just about every day.”

“I’m not making fun of him!” Mirio insisted. “I’m glad he’s finally comfortable with us, now!”

The class of kids at the front began to disperse, and the conversation thankfully ended when the two boys came running over – sure enough, they’d picked out their buddies, and Izuku breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hi! I’m Kitarou!” the first said, jerking his thumb at his friend beside him “That’s Kouichi. Are you guys friends from kindergarten?”

“We’ve been friends since we were babies,” Hiroki said, as he grinned back. “I’m Hiroki, and this is Ryouji!”

“Me and Kitarou are best friends,” Kouichi said, punching his friend in the arm lightly. “So now we can all hang out together!”

“Yay!”

Izuku smiled to himself, taking the seat next to Mirio and Tamaki – apparently the kids didn’t need his help to make new friends, though he hoped Yuuto was having the same luck. He supposed, if nothing else, Katsuki could just let his hero name slip and watch a thousand kids come running to meet his son.

“Do you like heroes?” Kouichi continued, pointing at the little Downfall keychain hanging from Hiroki’s bag.

“I love heroes,” Hiroki agreed. “I’m gonna be the best hero ever, when I’m grown up!”

“I’m gonna be a hero too,” Kitarou said proudly, puffing out his chest. “And Kou is gonna be my sidekick!”

“My quirk isn’t very good for being a hero,” Kouichi clarified. “I just make things grow faster.”

“That sounds good to me,” Ryouji said, sounding almost bored about it, rather than encouraging. “I bet you could make a plant grow and tangle people up, or make people’s cells grow faster to heal, or something.”

“Yeah! He’s gonna be a great sidekick!” Kitarou agreed, clapping Kouichi on the back. “I can replicate stuff, make more of it. What about you guys, what do you do?”

“I control fire.”

“Woah! That’s so cool! No wonder you wanna be a hero! Do you ever get to use it?”

“A little,” Hiroki admitted, glancing over at the group of dads. “Only with the right people, so it’s safe to practice, otherwise I’d get in trouble.”

“Oh yeah,” Kitarou dropped his voice lower, practically a whisper. “My parents tell me I can’t use mine except with the quirk counsellor, but sometimes you just gotta, right? Like the time Kou broke his pencil before a test; no one is gonna arrest me for replicating mine for him, right?”

“Right!” Hiroki agreed. “As long as we don’t hurt anyone, including ourselves!”

“Exactly!” Kitarou grinned. “So if I ever set the chemistry lab on fire, you’ll come help me out, right?”

“Of course! There’s a chemistry lab? We didn’t see.”

“Yeah, for the older students,” Kouichi said apologetically. “When you guys get a little older you’ll get to have a turn!”

“Ryou loves chemistry,” Hiroki explained, glancing over at him. “I can’t wait ‘til we get a turn!”

“Do you want to be a hero too, or are you gonna be a scientist?” Kouichi asked, turning his gaze to Ryouji.

“Dunno yet,” Ryouji shrugged. “Probably a hero, maybe lots of things.”

“Are you guys gonna be a Hero Duo?”

“No,” Hiroki laughed, at the same time as Ryouji stifled one of his own. “We’re gonna fight to be the best!”

“A rival!” Kitarou nodded sagely. “It’s important to have a rival, so you keep growing. Do you have a cool quirk, though? I love cool quirks.”

“It’s alright.” Ryouji shrugged. “It’s not flashy or anything, not like Hiro’s.”

Izuku frowned, but Mirio shook his head slightly – this was normal, then, he supposed.

“He eats things and uses their properties for other stuff,” Hiroki said. “It’s super complicated, I dunno how he does it all.”

“Eats things?” Kitarou asked. “That sounds kinda... like...”

He trailed off, raking his eyes over Ryouji, then slowly, painfully slowly, shifting them over to the adults.

“Oh,” he finished.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kitarou,” Tamaki said knowingly. “And Kouichi. Thanks for taking care of our boys.”

“Of course, Sir!” Kouichi stood up straighter, raising one hand in a salute. “Thank you for protecting us!”

“And that’s my other dad,” Ryouji said, gesturing toward Mirio and getting a wave in return. “Hiro said we practice with safe people. They’re safe people.”

“That’s so cool! You can tell us all sorts of cool stories when we do our buddy class stuff, then!”

“Sure,” Ryouji agreed. “Hiro has better ones.”

Hiroki shot him a look that Izuku couldn’t quite read, and Ryouji clamped his mouth shut in a hurry.

“I think we gotta go,” Kouichi said, gesturing toward the classmates beginning to gather at the front of the class. “We just came to say hi and meet you guys, today, but we’ll be here again to help you through your first day! Are you gonna take the train to school?”

“We’re gonna ride our bikes!”

“Oh cool, do you know where the bike stands are?”

“Uh-huh! We did a practice ride!”

“Awesome. We’ll see you in class, then! Oh, wait.” Kitarou grabbed a piece of paper from his bag, writing something down on it hurriedly and tearing it in half. “Here. If you need anything, just call us!”

Sure enough, two names and two phone numbers were written on each piece, and with a last smile, the pair hurried off to join their classmates. They waved when the class filed out together, and Hiroki tucked the paper carefully into his pocket, handing the other one to Ryouji, who didn’t seem all that fussed about it.

“They seem very nice,” Mirio said, when the boys looked over. “I think you guys got some good buddies!”

“Yeah,” Ryouji agreed, shrugging. “I have Hiro though, I don’t need a buddy.”

“But our buddies know the school!” Hiroki objected. “What if we get lost?”

“We’d follow everyone else,” Ryouji said, poking his tongue out. “It’s okay, I’ll be nice.”

“You’re always nice,” Hiroki said, with another bright laugh. “I hope Yuuto got a good buddy too.”

“I’m sure he did,” Izuku said, smiling softly. “We can ask him all about them, soon.”

“Yeah!”

Sure enough, with one last quick speech from the teacher – Terada, Izuku thought, if he remembered right – the class was dismissed, with excitement about reuniting soon for their first day of classes together. The corridors were packed with people leaving, but they managed to worm their way down to Yuuto’s door. He waved the moment Izuku looked in, and Katsuki glanced back, pausing before he gestured for Izuku to come join them.

He planned to just slip inside unseen, but Yuuto hurried over to meet him, a few pairs of curious eyes turning their way, and grabbed Hiroki’s hand to drag him along. With Hiroki’s other hand already linked through Ryouji’s, the whole group ended up along for the ride, and Yuuto smiled shyly at an older girl who stood by Yuuto’s new desk.

“This is my brother,” he said. “And my Papa, and Ryouji, he’s my friend.”

“I’m Hiroki!” he said brightly, waving to the girl. “Are you Yuuchan’s buddy?”

“Yeah! I’m Uta, it’s nice to meet you guys!”

“So you’re Hiroki,” the teacher said fondly, coming over to join them. “It’s nice to meet you! I’m Norizuki, Yuuto’s teacher.”

“It’s nice to meet you! I’m in Terada-sensei’s class, Ryouji is too.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ryouji parroted politely. “Those are my dads.”

He gestured vaguely at his fathers who waited in the doorway, and they each smiled and waved, Mirio’s bright and cheerful, Tamaki’s a little forced.

“I guess our school will be well-protected,” Uta said, with a little grin. “I hope my Junior High has some hero parents too, next year.”

“Take good care of my son, and I’ll take care of your school next year,” Katsuki offered, smiling surprisingly genuinely. “I can handle two schools.”

“It’s a deal,” she laughed. “But I would anyway.”

“So would I.”

The pair laughed together, and then Norizuki was glancing at her watch, making a surprised little noise when she saw the time.

“My apologies, we’d better wrap this up!” she said. “Buddies, please say goodbye and head back to your classroom, tell your teacher I’m sorry for keeping you late! Everyone else, I look forward to seeing you back for your first day, please take care!”

Uta said a quick goodbye before she hurried off with her classmates, and Hiroki hugged Yuuto tightly, despite his protests.

“She seems like a great buddy,” he whispered. “She’ll take care of you!”

“I don’t need it,” Yuuto huffed, poking his tongue out at Hiroki when he freed him from the hug. “I don’t need my boyfriend to hold my hand at school!”

Hiroki blushed slightly, but Ryouji just laughed at them.

“Hiro is fine,” he said, grinning in a way that was strangely reminiscent of Katsuki, of all people. “He has to hold my hand though, I don’t like meeting new people.”

“You met me,” Yuuto objected.

“Yeah, but you’re Uncle Katsuki’s kid,” Ryouji said, as if that explained everything. “Dad, I’m hungry, what’s for lunch?”

“You can choose, you did well today,” Tamaki conceded. “You know you won’t get to eat snacks in class all day, right?”

“Not if they catch me.”

“Are you gonna start eating lizards, so you can camouflage yourself while you eat?”

“I was hoping you could introduce me to Invisible Girl.”

“Don’t you go biting people again, I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow, but Hiroki just giggled rather than explain anything for him, and Izuku didn’t bother asking questions.

“Come take photos?” Ryouji requested, when the group began to head for the door. “Dad wants to take photos under the sakura trees.”

Katsuki nodded, when Hiroki looked up at him, and together they all headed out to find a spot. The school grounds were crowded with other people doing exactly that, but thankfully everyone seemed to get their shots and move on quickly, well aware that other people were waiting for a turn. They snapped a few shots of the boys in the trees, taking turns photographing each of the kids, and then again with their dads too, until the gate area began to clear out. Mirio led the way, when a space opened up, quickly befriending an older woman to hold his camera for him, and snatching Katsuki’s to hand over too. He gathered the entire group together by a sign displaying the school’s name, under the scattering sakura petals, grabbing the back of Katsuki’s jacket to pull him in close.

Katsuki glanced over at Izuku, who stood beside him with the most rigid, awkward posture he’d ever seen, and couldn’t resist a little chuckle at his expense. He reached out to brush a fallen flower petal out of Izuku’s hair, and when their eyes met, he knew he turned just as red as Izuku did, their eyes quickly darting opposite directions to keep from thinking about it.

“Lovely!” the older woman said. “Everybody smile, and three, two, one!”

The camera snapped half a dozen times, to make sure she got a good one, quickly repeated on Katsuki’s, before Mirio hurried over to retrieve them and thank her a dozen times, while Katsuki and Izuku awkwardly avoided each other’s gaze. Despite the bustle of people all around them, it was weirdly quiet, with Mirio holding back his tears over the family photos, Tamaki being Tamaki, and Katsuki and Izuku trying to subtly avoid each other until they got their thoughts under control.

“How about Coco Curry?” Ryouji asked.

“Sure,” Tamaki said, smiling faintly. “Come get curry with us?”

Hiroki looked up at Katsuki hopefully, and Katsuki nodded, ruffling his hair fondly.

“Like I’d turn down curry with the in-laws.”

[Next]