My Father's Son- Chapter 48

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Izuku leapt up when he heard the door open, rushing to the fridge to haul out the plates Inko and Yuuto had spent the afternoon on. He laid most of them out on the table, peeling off all the covers, and shoved the rest into a pre-heated oven just in time for two steps of footsteps to plod up the staircase.

“Hi! You must be Spooner!” he piped up, when the unfamiliar face followed Katsuki in. “I’ve heard a lot!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Katsuki told me all about you.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry, he’s such a jerk sometimes.”

Spooner laughed heartily, a smile splitting his sun-worn face, and Izuku couldn’t help but smile back. There was something about the man that just felt so welcoming, as if they were already best friends even though they’d only exchanged a few sentences.

“These are the boys,” Katsuki added, scooping up one in each arm. “Apparently it’s a quiet day today. They’re both really good at English, but maybe they’ve gotten shy all of a sudden?”

“Nuh-uh!” Hiroki beamed, waving over Katsuki’s shoulder. “Hi Uncle Spooner! I’m Hiroki, that’s Yuuto!”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Hiroki! And you, Yuuto! You know, I hoped Katsuki might invite me to meet you two, so I might have brought a little something with me...”

Hiroki squirmed his way out of Katsuki’s grip, tumbling to the floor and scrambling over to Spooner’s feet. By the time he produced two big parcels from his bag, Hiroki was already babbling nonsense, bouncing up and down on his toes. Thankfully, he still found the presence of mind for an excited “thank you” when Spooner handed him a shiny wrapped box, so Izuku decided to let it slide.

“I have one for you, too, Yuuto.”

Spooner spoke much quieter, smiling warmly, and tentatively Yuuto slid down from Katsuki’s protection, accepting the package with shaky hands. He sat down at Hiroki’s side to tear into it, smiling when Hiroki excitedly produced a long wooden tube, turning it back and forth in his hands to admire the colours and patterns marking the sides.

“This is a didgeridoo,” Spooner explained, crouching down to help. “It’ll make your Dad hate me.”

“He would never! But, um, why would he?”

“It’s an instrument. A nice loud instrument.”

Hiroki giggled, clapping a hand over his mouth, and Katsuki groaned from behind them.

“It’s pretty hard to play, you’re supposed to make your lips kinda vibrate as you blow out.” He explained, waggling his lips with a finger to demonstrate. “If you wanna play for a long time, you need to breathe in through your nose while you’re blowing out to play.”

“Like the flute,” Hiroki nodded solemnly. “I wanna try.”

“Go for it, mate. See how long you can play for before your Dad complains.”

“Daddy never complains!” Hiroki giggled. “Not if I’m having fun!”

“Aww, what a good Dad.”

“Uh-huh! And Papa will say it’s... Uhh...” Hiroki scrunched up his face. “Good for learning?”

“That’s true,” Spooner grinned, “It’s very educational.”

“Yeah! Educational!”

Hiroki brought it to his lips, blowing a short, hard breath that sounded more like blowing raspberries than any kind of actual music, but the sound echoed through the wooden chamber and Hiroki burst into giggles again, delighted by the sound.

“Thank you Uncle Spooner! I’m gonna practice every day so I can play you a song next time you visit!”

“That sounds great, I can’t wait.”

“Are these the cookies Hiro talked about?” Yuuto asked, as he produced a brown plastic packet from his box. “The chocolate ones?”

“Yeah! I’m surprised he remembered. Everyone loves them back home, all the tourists want to try them.”

“Tim Tams,” Yuuto read from the package, contemplating. “Does it mean something?”

“I don’t think so,” Spooner chuckled. “We don’t tell people to go put on their Tim Tams or anything like that.”

“Can I try one, Papa?”

“I don’t see why not,” Izuku smiled. “But don’t eat the whole pack right now, you’ll be sick.”

“I won’t! I wanna share!”

Katsuki watched in awe as Yuuto opened it up carefully, insisting on everyone else taking one before he even considered eating one himself. Katsuki ruffled his hair fondly as he made the rounds, but Yuuto didn’t seem to understand the sentiment, blinking at him a few times blankly before he gave up and moved on with a smile.

“What’s this one? More chocolate?” Hiroki asked, picking up a jar of something dark, a bright yellow label stuck to the front. “Like for sandwiches?”

“It is for sandwiches!” Spooner grinned. “But it’s not chocolate. I suggest you only try a little bit at first.”

“Oh God,” Katsuki groaned. “This is that nasty shit you told us about, isn’t it? The one you constantly prank tourists with?”

“It tastes good, mate! I dunno what all you weird international people are on about, it’s great. It’s just... strong.”

Hiroki opened up the jar, giving it a sniff and pulling a face at the smell, suddenly a little more wary of the little plastic tub.

“Papa, smell this,” he insisted, shoving it into Izuku’s hand. “What is it?”

“Yeast Extract,” Izuku read, eyebrows knitting together as he took a sniff. “It smells salty. And strong.”

“Correct on all counts,” Spooner laughed. “Give it a try, you might like it.”

Izuku retrieved some spoons from the kitchen, but when Hiroki offered him the first try, he shook his head quickly. Katsuki snorted at him for it, but when Hiroki offered it to him next he found himself backing off, grimacing at the dark colour and weird smell.

“I’ll try it,” Yuuto offered, taking one of the spoons from Izuku’s hand. “I’m a big boy.”

“The biggest boy here,” Spooner grinned. “Big brave man.”

Yuuto took a small spoonful, sticking it in his mouth to suck on, but despite the curious eyes watching eagerly for his reaction, his face didn’t change.

“I think I like it,” he said finally, when he’d licked it off the spoon and swallowed it. “It’s yummy, but weird on its own.”

“That’s my man,” Spooner laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “A man of fine taste, we’ll make an Aussie out of you yet.”

Yuuto didn’t understand what half those words meant, but he smiled all the same, handing the container back to Hiroki. The trio were much less apprehensive the second time, each taking a scoop to try, but the moment it touched Hiroki’s tongue he was gagging.

“Too salty, too salty!” he complained, setting the jar down in a hurry and running to the kitchen for water. “Nuh-uh, not good! Yuuchan lied!”

“Did not!” Yuuto pouted, lower lip jutting out. “Papa doesn’t like it either?”

“It’s not for me,” Izuku grimaced, tossing his spoon in the sink beside Hiroki’s and waiting for his turn with the tap. “You really liked it, Yuuto?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna give it a hard pass, too,” Katsuki grumbled. “Do you think a small explosion would get the taste off my tongue without damaging it?”

“You can have it, Yuuchan,” Hiroki offered, when he’d finished draining his glass. “I don’t mind. Sorry Uncle Spooner.”

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Spooner laughed. “Not liking it is kind of the fun in giving in to people. You can always get your friends to try it too, so you can laugh at them.”

“Nuh-uh, it’s mine!” Yuuto grinned, grabbing the jar and tucking it away with his own. “I’m gonna make sandwiches.”

“It’s choice on toast, too. For breakfast. Or crumpets? Do you have those here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Never heard of them,” Katsuki hummed. “Are they a type of bread too?”

“Ah... Sort of, yeah. They have a bubbly top, and they’re soft and spongy.”

“Maybe we can find a recipe,” Katsuki offered, smiling when Yuuto grinned at him. “We’ll try to bake some on a weekend, or something.”

“Yeah!” Yuuto grinned. “And I can have crumpets and... And... Veg Mighty?”

“Vegemite,” Spooner smiled. “Very close! It’s like ‘fruit and veggies’, kind of.”

“Is that a name for vegetables?”

“Yeah, it’s a short name. A nickname.”

“Vegemite,” Yuuto mumbled, testing the word out. “Like All Might but with vegetables.”

“Exactly,” Spooner laughed. “You gotta eat your veggies if you wanna be strong like All Might. Or Downfall, for that matter.”

“I do,” Yuuto nodded. “Veggie-Might could be Hiro’s hero name.”

Hiroki pouted a little, but it was gone as quick as it came when everyone else laughed along, Izuku leaning down to give him a quick hug.

“It’s ‘cos Ryou said my hair looks like broccoli when it gets long,” Hiroki explained. “I’m not a broccoli!”

“You’re a very handsome young man,” Spooner assured him. “I love broccoli, but I wouldn’t want to eat you.”

“I’m not for eating! I’m a people!”

“Exactly.”

The door opened again below them, and Izuku smiled faintly, glancing at Spooner where he still sat crouched beside the boys.

“That’ll be my Mom,” he explained. “Sorry, she doesn’t speak any English, we’ll do our best to translate.”

“No worries mate, I’m here in your home, you shouldn’t be put out just because I don’t speak ya language. It’s my bad.”

“Speaking of All Might,” Katsuki smirked, when they heard the familiar, deeper voice from below. “Sounds like we have another guest.”

“I’ll check the food!”

The boys quickly got to work putting away their little gifts, tucking instruments and foods and little toys alike back into their boxes to carry, and with a last excited thanks to Spooner, they set them aside to help with the food. Yuuto had spent the whole afternoon helping Inko put the dinner together, and everything about him screamed pride when everyone began complimenting the dishes, even All Might joining them and praising the spread laid out before them.

The conversation quickly turned to Australian heroes as they sat down to eat, Izuku always eager to learn about heroes and quirks, but Katsuki had to admit he was kind of curious too – he’d heard bits and pieces in the time they’d spent together previously, but most of their time had been taken up by their mission, with little time for idle chatter.

“Old Steve is a good mate of mine, he talks to animals, crocodiles are his speciality.”

“Oh! Like Anima!” Izuku gushed. “Didn’t you go to school with him, Kacchan?”

“Mm, yeah. I never talked to him much. He was quiet.”

“That would be such a neat power!” Izuku continued, wistful. “Imagine being able to tell all the kittens to come closer for pats...”

“Some hero you’d be,” Katsuki snorted. “Kitten Man.”

“I’m just saying!” Izuku pouted. “Anyway, continue, Spooner!”

“Steve’s partner is a guy named Jack, he has boxing gloves for hands. Must be the most inconvenient quirk in the world, I swear to God. And there’s this guy Harold, he’s a search and rescue hero out on the ocean. He can breathe underwater.”

“Wow!”

“The only guy I ain’t f- messing with is Red Back. He’s this asshole from up north who shoots spiders from his hands. No thanks, mate.”

“Spiders?” All Might clarified, eyes wide. “That’s horrifying.”

“Tell me about it. And then there’s the Pied Platypiper, he’s just a total weirdo. Commands an army of platypussies.”

“It’s platypi,” Katsuki said stubbornly.

“What are you two on about?” Izuku sighed. “It’s just platypuses.”

“But it’s English,” All Might objected. “Shouldn’t it be something like platypodes?”

“So anyway, these platypussies,” Spooner continued. “I don’t know where they come from but they’re always with him and it’s creepy as hell. I don’t know if he talks to them or what but they do all his fighting for him. You don’t wanna be on his bad side, that’s for sure.”

“Can you tell us about your quirk too?” Hiroki asked, swinging his legs under the table in his excitement. “Daddy said you use a big knife.”

“Yeah! I can pull these knives from my body to fight with, and the more damage I take, the bigger they come out. It’s pretty neat.”

“Oh no, is that why Katsuki calls you Spooner?” Izuku groaned, covering his face with his hands. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise it was just Katsuki being a jerk!”

“Haah?!” Katsuki demanded, scowling. “What the hell, nerd? Here I am being polite to this asshole because he’s a visitor and you go accusing me of shit?”

“Spooner is my last name,” Spooner clarified quickly. “Ironic, I know. I’ve told Katsuki a thousand times that he can call me Forks, but he refuses. For such a casual guy, he’s real picky about that.”

“Your name is... Forks... Spooner...?”

“What of it?”

Izuku just stared at him in disbelief, jaw hanging open slightly, but just as he was gathering the thought to apologise, Spooner cracked a smile.

“I’m just messing with you. It’s Grant. I think Spooner is just easier to say, for Japanese people.”

“Yeah,” Izuku admitted, relieved beyond belief. “It’s hard, and rude, so Spooner it is.”

“So what about you, hm? You love heroes, why aren’t you one?”

The entire room tensed up, but Izuku just cracked an awkward smile, shaking his head.

“I, um, don’t have one. A quirk, I mean.”

“Ah, you’re like old Hughie. He worked real hard to get buff enough to fight without one, now he’s one of the best heroes I know.”

“What?”

“Hugh. Uh, Jackedman is his hero name. He’s great in a crisis, nothing phases him. Love the asshole. Still remember the first time we met on scene, the villains were all ‘are you here to arrest us?’ and he’s all ‘well I ain’t here to fuck spiders mate’ I hear there’s a whole quirkless team in New Zealand these days, they were one of the first to allow hero licenses for Quirkless people so it makes sense I guess. But yeah, strewth, some of those quirkless heroes are true badasses.”

“Kacchan, let’s move to Australia.”

Katsuki snorted when he saw the nerd’s eyes shining, and he raised an eyebrow despite his fond smile.

"Oh yeah, that could be fun,” he nodded. “Fight massive bush fires, kill snakes and spiders, rescue people who wander into the outback and get lost and heat-stroked…"

"Nah mate no snakes in the city no wozzas. Except this one time when I found a brownie in the toilet bowl when I was about to piss and let me tell you…"

Izuku stared at him blankly, and it didn’t take long for Spooner to notice, grinning widely when Izuku tried his best to look apologetic.

“Anyway,” he chuckled. “Katsuki, you'd be fuckin' great mate, your heat tolerance is a beaut. We’d be glad t’ have ya down in Sydney, even if ya just wanna holiday."

“Yeah, I’m sure we can make it down there one day. As soon as we can all get the time off school and work.”

“Looking forward to it!”

The sun was long-since set by the time they started to wind down for the night, the boys full of over-tired giggles as Izuku ushered them off to the bath. Katsuki ruffled their hair as they called their goodbyes to Spooner, squatting down to smile at them both, out of view of the adults around them all.

“I’m gonna take Spooner back to his hotel, you guys be good for Deku and I’ll come say goodnight when I get home, okay?”

“Okay!” Hiroki agreed, flinging his arms around Katsuki’s waist. “Goodnight Daddy, see you later! Goodnight Uncle Spooner, it was nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you,” Yuuto echoed. “Night Dad.”

They disappeared upstairs to their bedrooms, and Katsuki waited as Spooner said his goodbyes to the others, lingering by the stairwell with his hands in his pockets. Izuku tensed up when Spooner dragged him into a hug, laughing awkwardly, but Spooner just grinned like he hadn’t even noticed. He squeezed extra tight when Izuku nervously reached around to pat him on the back, and when he finally let go, Izuku breathed a long sigh of relief. He turned his attention to Inko next, and then All Might, hugging them all in turn, and Katsuki jerked his head toward the stairs when he finally turned around.

“I’ll drive you.”

“You don’t have to do that! I can find my way!”

“Last time I let you find your way I got a call six hours later that you were lost on the other side of the city. I’ll drive you.”

Izuku giggled, quickly drowned out by Spooner’s booming laughter, and finally he conceded a nod.

“Thank you Katsuki, I appreciate it.”

“All good. Come on, then.”

He led Spooner down to the garage, and soon they were pulling out into the street, heading for the nice hotel near Katsuki’s agency building. Spooner chatted more than enough for both of them, telling stories and filling him in on his recent cases – it seemed like the guy never ran out of things to say, and Katsuki wasn’t entirely sure whether he hated or envied that.

“Your Izuku seems nice.”

Katsuki burned bright red, shooting him a quick glare before he put his eyes back on the road, and Spooner just grinned that annoying knowing grin he was so fond of wearing.

“He’s not mine,” Katsuki hissed through gritted teeth. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Spooner chuckled. “You just seem fond of him, you know? The little smiles, the teasing, the f-”

He cut himself off when Katsuki thumped him in the arm, rubbing at the sore spot, and Katsuki glared at him once more.

“What was that for?”

“Thought you might want a bigger knife,” Katsuki muttered, flicking on his indicator and concentrating on driving for a moment to gather himself. “We’re friends, yeah, but that’s all.”

“You live together with two sons and his mother.”

“It’s a complicated situation, this was the best I could come up with.”

“You don’t seem too upset about it.”

Katsuki grumbled something non-committal, and the smile Katsuki glimpsed was much softer than usual.

“You seemed lonely, last time I was here,” he shrugged. “It was work and kid, nothing else. I know it’s still work and kids, but now at least you have a friend at home to talk to. An adult friend.”

“He takes kind of a load off,” Katsuki admitted. “Even just little stuff like this. I can drive a friend home without having to bring my kid along.”

“Awww, we’re friends now?”

Katsuki thumped him again, and this time Spooner just laughed brightly.

“Really though, it’s good to see you a little more relaxed. I heard you finally caught that League Boss you told me about, it must make you a little more relaxed.”

“Yeah. I um, I’ve been seeing a therapist again too.”

“Oh good, I bet that helps a ton. Slowly learning to talk things out?”

“I guess so.”

“I’m happy for you mate, you deserve to be sane and happy.”

“Thanks.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach the parking lot, pulling in beside the big hotel building, and Spooner shot him one last grin as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Thanks again, Katsuki. It’s been good to hang out with you, and I’m glad I got to meet your family this time.”

“Come back any time, we’re happy to have you.”

“Same to you, come visit me some time.”

“Yeah, I’ll sort it out when we get the chance.”

“And let me know when Yuuto runs out of vegemite, I’ll send him some more.”

“You kidding? I don’t want that shit in my house,” Katsuki snorted. “I’ll send you some of those weird kitkats you like, in return.”

“Snack penpals,” Spooner laughed. “Perfect. Thanks again for having me this week, and for dinner too.”

“Any time.”

With one last wave, he headed off to the front doors, and Katsuki waited for him to get inside before he started to move again, turning back out into a dark, empty street. With no traffic around, it took no time to get back home, locking up the garage and the front door on his way through and heading up to the kids’ rooms. Izuku was just putting away their book, slotting it back onto Hiroki’s shelf, and Katsuki couldn’t help but smile when Hiroki reached a tiny hand toward him.

“Welcome home, Daddy.”

Yuuto rolled over to look, curled up on the mattress at Hiroki’s side, and a small smile crept across his lips when he saw Katsuki watching.

“Looks like I got home just in time,” he said fondly, leaning over to give them both a hug. “Goodnight, my boys. Sleep well, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight Daddy!”

“Night Dad.”

Izuku leaned over to plant a kiss on Hiroki’s forehead, and Katsuki scooped Yuuto up against his chest, marvelling over how tiny the boy still felt in his arms – six years and he still wasn’t used to just how small kids were.

“Shall we tuck you into your own bed?”

“Yeah,” Yuuto nodded, leaning his head on Katsuki’s shoulder. “M’sleepy.”

“Good.”

He stroked Hiroki’s hair one last time with his free hand, the three of them saying their last ‘goodnight’s, then they were off to Yuuto’s room down the hall to tuck him into his own cozy pile of blankets.

“Dad?” he whispered, when Katsuki set him down gently.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“You can sleep in your bed tonight, I’m a big boy.”

“You sure are,” Katsuki grinned, hugging him gently. “I think we’ve gotten used to all the new noises together now, yeah?”

“Yeah, nothing to be scared of.”

“Exactly. Such a brave little hero. You know where to find me if you need me, okay? You can come up to me, or go down to Deku’s room, and we’ll both be fine with that.”

“I know,” Yuuto nodded. “Papa and Dad are always there if I get scared.”

“And we always will be.”

With a last little hug Katsuki stepped away, letting Izuku lean over to kiss a tiny forehead. They left the door open, just like Hiroki’s, to give them a little light from the hallway and to hear them if they called out, but otherwise the kids were left to their own devices, snuggled up in their new beds. Katsuki felt strange, glancing at the staircase to his own room – he still hadn’t actually slept there – but Izuku seemed weirdly excited by the development as they headed downstairs to clean up.

“You get to sleep in your new room!” he said gleefully, picking up a tea towel to start drying what Inko was washing. “That’s so cool!”

“It’s just a bedroom, nerd,” Katsuki snorted, snatching the plate from him as soon as it was dry. “It’s no big deal.”

“You might get lonely, though,” Izuku hummed, smile fading a little. “It’s been a long time since you had a bed to yourself.”

“I’ll cope.”

“Are you sure?” Izuku teased, handing him another clean plate. “Do we need to find you something to cuddle?”

“Why, you offering?” Katsuki snorted, thumping on the head lightly and watching him blush. “I’m good, nerd. I’ll survive.”

“Of course I’m not offering!” Izuku huffed, turning away pointedly. “Why do you always twist my words?”

“You just make it so easy.”

“Meanie.”

They worked in silence through the rest of the dishes, other than Inko’s little chuckles that Katsuki was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to hear, and when the kitchen was clean he glanced around pointedly.

“Where did Toshi-sensei vanish to?” he asked, smirking. “He wouldn’t have gone home without saying goodbye.”

“He’s in the shower,” Inko smiled back, her cheeks a little pink. “I think he might stay the night. As long as that’s okay with you, of course!”

“He’s always welcome here, you both know that,” Katsuki nudged her lightly, his smirk stretching wider. “You need me to roll out a futon?”

“Kacchan, don’t tease,” Izuku sighed. “We’re happy for you, Mom.”

“She knows that,” Katsuki snorted. “Take care of each other, you hear me? And use protection, we don’t need any babies in this house.”

“Oh Katsuki you charmer,” Inko laughed. “You know as well as I do that I’m far too old for that to happen.”

“You? Old? No way. You’re just getting started.”

“You handsome young heroes are all such flirts.”

“How do you think we got so high in the charts?” Katsuki grinned. “I’m gonna take a shower myself, and head to bed. Can’t believe the kids almost outlasted me.”

“Get used to it, sleepyhead, not everyone goes to bed by seven.”

“By ten thank you very much.”

“It’s okay, Kacchan, we know you need your beauty sleep.”

“Damn right I do,” Katsuki sneered. “Maybe you should try it out, nerd.”

“Ouch!” Izuku clutched at his chest, gasping, before the expression quickly broke away into laughter. “Sweet dreams, Kacchan. See you in the morning?”

“You know it. Night Inko, thanks for dinner and everything.”

“My pleasure! Goodnight!”

As Katsuki climbed the stairs to his bedroom, he found a tiny smile lingering on his lips – an expression that had always belonged to other people, not to Downfall. He’d always been the scowler, the “resting bitch face” of the hero charts, but here he was, smiling to himself like a god damn idiot.

The nerd was a terrible influence.

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