Chapter Text
GOOD LUCK BABE!!!
That's all I've got. Go and get your McDreamy! Be confident. Be cool. Be you. And if this doesn't work out then honeeeeeey there are THOUSANDS of other bees ready to pollinate that flower. Go get yourself a rich one with a big stinger, ok? Wishing you all the luck in the love!
The chime of the doorbell interrupts their morning routine. Pressing a finger to his lips, Izuku gestures for Eri to continue to lead. She plucks her own wooden mallet from her side, leaving her spot to stand in front of the white bowls on the table. Katsumi remains sitting, back straight and face relaxed.
He takes a deep breath before exiting the room, hoping the girls wouldn't find a way to tip over a candle while he's gone. It'll only take him seconds anyway. The only person that can be at the door is Kacchan.
He opens the door.
It is not Kacchan staring back at him.
"Mornin!" Camie gives him a cheery wave. Her glasses slide forward and he can tell the exact moment she takes him in since her eyebrows shoot up.
Saturday mornings are meditation mornings. So he's allowed to walk around in harem pants and a crop top, especially in the safety of his own home. He didn't wear a crop because he was expecting a certain someone to walk through the door that morning to pick up his daughter. He exposed his abs purely for his own comfort.
Honest.
"Good to see you again," He says. "Let me go get 'Sumi."
She smiles, lips pressed together as she pushes her glasses back up her nose. He returns to the meditation room to find that they hadn't set any of the tapestries on fire. Eri's playing a perfect E note. He allows himself a moment of paternal pride before he puts a hand at her shoulder to stop her mallet.
"Katsu," The girl opens her eyes. She looks relaxed, as if she's about to melt into a puddle right there. All that is lost when he finishes with, "Your mom's here."
He can see the thunder enter her expression in seconds. It's wild how such a sweet girl can look so demented. He almost wants to cover Eri's eyes. As soon as it appears, it fades away.
"No," She says simply.
"...I'm sure your mom would love a chance to hang out-,"
"No." She says again, insistent. Eri looks between her friend and her father. Izuku jerks his head to the door, a silent request for some privacy. Gently setting her mallet down, she gives Katsumi one last concerned look before scampering off.
It's a tantrum. It's not a loud, ear-drum shattering one but it's a tantrum nonetheless. A bit of patience goes a long way when it comes to something like this. So Izuku sits on his haunches and prepares for the long haul. When she turns away from him with a sniff, he lays flat out on the floor, looking up at her with what he hopes is a neutral expression.
"I think your Mom's been looking forward to seeing you. I know I miss Eri when she's at her Uncle's for too long."
"....You're different from her."
"I am," he agrees, hoping this is encouraging. "A bit stranger I think."
"I like strange." His chest warms at the protectiveness of her tone. Fierce for such kind words. There's a couple seconds of quiet. A little rain has started pattering against the window. He watches the drops gather till they form a little river running down the glass.
"Tell you what," he begins in a hush, as if he's about to share a secret with her. It's amazing how something as simple as a tone-shift can get a child's attention. "Why don't we have a little experiment? A test to see if any of this meditation stuff even works? You'll be my little helper, and we'll use your Mom as practice."
It takes a second or two, but she narrows her eyes eventually, curiosity getting the better of her. Sitting up on his elbows, he leans up to whisper the plan into her ear.
No less than ten minutes later, Katsumi is on her way out the door, sunglasses on and a backpack slung over her shoulder. Camie straightens up when the kid comes her way. Her smile's bright. A genuine beam of bleach white teeth when she chirps,
"Hey Mimi! Ready to go?"
The child doesn't do so much as glance at her.
"I am protected by positive energies," She says. "You will not enter my force field and kill my vibe. I reject all your bad juju."
Satisfied, the girl takes a deep, shoulder-shaking breath and walks right out, ignoring her mother's shell-shocked look. There's a short pause, interrupted only by the patter of rain outside and Eri fumbling about upstairs. Izuku's about to explain when the woman gives a little snicker. Which turns into a full out laugh as she looks to him.
"...You're good with her," she says finally.
"H-Huh?"
Camie's turned her smile onto him, but its muted now. Something bittersweet sits at its edges.
"You're good with them," she amends. "Better than I was. Take good care of them for me."
She turns as if to go, but Izuku can't just let her disappear like that. He can't help but call out to her, to have her pause in the doorway.
"They need you too. Please don't doubt that. Katsumi's just...just..." He flounders. "I'm sure it's a phase."
"Maybe." It's one word, thrown into the air for the sake of throwing something out there. He can tell she doesn't believe him but the shadows in her face have lifted some. Her lips part but immediately shut once more, as if she doesn't trust the words on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she offers a little smile and a wave. He returns it, just as awkward. Despite the chill of the rain and wind, he watches her leave till the lights of her Prius disappear completely. Eri comes downstairs.
They make chocolate chip pancakes that are far too sweet. Kacchan calls him and manages to swing by just in time for a movie. Izuku leans into his arm on the couch. Sneaks kisses in the kitchen. Watches him play with Eri in the living room as a record plays.
"You're good with them," Camie said.
They're good like this. With him. With each other.
"They're going to get cavities."
"This is tradition," Izuku insists, sprinkling a tablespoon of sugar over watermelon slices. Kacchan sneaks a slice from the tray. The moment he takes a bite his face scrunches up into one of distaste. Good. Serves him right. Out of pure spite, Izuku scoops up another tablespoon and dusts the red with white.
Kacchan continues to suck at his slice, slapping Izuku's ass as he walks past to join the girl's outside. It's a hot summer day, 1 week after the last day of class and three days before his next deadlines is due. There's a pressure weighing on him, but he pushes it to the back of his mind.
Today is going to be a good day. A peaceful day. He spoke it into existence that morning and he's ready to take all the steps necessary to be sure of it.
There's a prickling on the back of his neck. Not uncomfortable, just enough to get him to curl his jaw to his neck to shake the feeling away, eyes flickering off to the far wall.
Mirio smiles down at him from a framed photo. There's a pang in his chest, but time has dulled that pointed knife into something blunt. A dim, thudding ache rather than a sharp stab. With a smile of his own, Izuku plucks a slice of watermelon up and raises it in salute, before stuffing the tip into his mouth and holding it between his teeth. Sugar and fruit fall past his lips but he pays it no mind, relishing the taste on his tongue as he scoops up the tray to join the others on the back porch.
The girls are at the edge of the lawn, just beneath the first row of trees, dancing amongst the golden lights of the fireflies as the night continues to creep in.
The Age of Seventeen is playing, needle scratching every once in a while. They need a new record player, it seems. He sets the tray down on the table, careful to put it far away from Kacchan's hands, before turning to the device.
"Oi!" Kacchan yells, "We got fruit!" then, a quiet aside, "Is it really fruit though?"
Izuku aims a backward kick blindly. There's a telltale bumbling as his boyfriend dodges the blow, knocking his knee into the table in the process.
Schaudenfreude.
Grinning to himself, Izuku resets the record to play from the beginning of the album, back to Bella Donna, before he turns. The girls are just crawling over the steps. They set their mason jars down at the very top. Their captives flicker weakly, jumping from edge to edge, peeking through the glass to watch their companions fly free amongst the grass.
"Make sure you free them before you go back inside."
"Of course!" Eri says, settling on the stoop. She holds a slice of watermelon in each hand, chowing down.
"We're not monsters." Katsumi follows up with a hip-check to her father's arm, forcing him out of the way so that she can grab two of their own.
They talk about stupid things. What they're looking forward to in school next year, swimming lessons, a summer event the PTA wants to put together. There's a lovely domesticity about it all. One that settles the ache in his heart, fills his mind with thoughts of the future, ever plowing forward into the unknown.
Kacchan's hand is warm on his thigh. Izuku holds it in his own, still damp from the fruit
As a family, they revel in the summer heat. Sticky fingers and sweet, wet lips.
"Marry me?"
Izuku looks away from where the girls crouch at the edge of the forest. Kacchan doesn't look at him; his eyes are on the kids, soft and steady, but a telltale tension at his jaw. He looks back to the forest. It's nothing like the movies. His heart doesn't race. There's no birds singing or angel's choir. He doesn't cry or gasp or bring a hand to his lips. There's only the calm, quiet of night. Cicadas murmuring under the wind.
Perhaps he's too grown for the dramatics. Perhaps the girls have given them enough drama to last a lifetime.
'Yes' he thinks, peace in his heart, but his lips open to say, "I really hope that's not how you intend to ask me."
"I'll propose...just' wanna know if you'll say yes first."
"I'll say yes." The girls jump back with wild yelps. Tiny flickering amber lights soar up into the sky. "If you ask me, I'll say yes."