Chapter Text
Izuku returned to his apartment feeling tired, sore, but otherwise blissfully content.
As he had done for the better part of the last few years.
The first thing he did after coming in was to carefully take off his work shoes and lay them down in their rightful spot in the genkan, mindful of keeping the lights off so as not to bring attention to his late arrival. He knew he had failed though as soon as he heard a loud bark followed by a flurry of footsteps, both human and animal alike, rapidly scurying in his direction.
“Zuku!”
“Woof!”
“Wai-!” Izuku barely had any time to brace himself for the impact before he was knocked to the ground by a fluffy bundle of enthusiastic dog and child.
“Welcome back!” Mischa greeted cheerfully, awfully energetic for the late hour. Izuku grinned back at her, carefully dislodging both her and Toshi from his chest before sitting up “I’m back, little bird.”
The lights were turned on on them, followed by a familiar voice speaking up with an admonishing inflection “You’re late, Deku.”
“Sorry Kacchan” Izuku smiled apologetically. “Something came up and-”
“Forget it. There’s dinner in the fridge, I’ll heat it up for you” Katsuki interrupted him before he could devolve into a ramble about the most recent crisis he had just solved “Hey twerp, Deku’s home now, happy? Now go back to bed.”
“But I want to hear about Zuku beating up bad guys!” Mischa protested “Please daddy, just a little longer!”
Izuku could tell Katsuki was fighting a losing battle against Mischa’s powerful puppy eyes thus quickly jumped to his rescue “Now little bird, listen to your father, it’s already late and you have school in the morning, I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow okay?”
“...Fine” the little girl grudgingly agreed, “C’mon Toshi!” she called and ran back to her bedroom, the golden haired mutt following quick at her feet.
“Don’t forget to brush your teeth!” Kacchan yelled after her, receiving something of vague noise of assent in answer before the door shut behind her.
Izuku laughed at their antics as he followed his boyfriend into the kitchen. He waited by the counter while the delicious smell of curry filled the air, eliciting a rumbling noise from his stomach “God, what would I do without you.”
“Starve to death, I reckon,” Katsuki said as he placed down the warm plate of food in front of Izuku. “How many times do I have to remind you not to skip meals, dumbass.”
Izuku smiled sheepishly as he shovelled down his food while Katsuki curled his lips in disgust at him, prompting a laugh out of the former. “God, it’s like I’m raising two children instead of one” Katsuki complained goodnaturedly with an exasperated sigh, which only made Izuku laugh harder.
They settled into easy conversation while falling into the familiar routine of dining and cleaning up after, their actions natural and practiced like two well oiled cogs of a machine. Once they had gotten ready for the night, Izuku nestled into the bed, scooping up Pepper from where she was lounging comfortably along with Chili on Katsuki's side of the bed and snuggled her. “Hey no fair, give her back!” Kacchan complained, to which Izuku responded by pulling his tongue at him “You already have Chili warming up your side, don’t be selfish”; rousing from her sleep, Pepper nudged Izuku’s hand, purring a storm at the attention.
“Tch, and you have that dog don’t you?”
“But Toshi and Mischa are practically inseparable” Izuku reasoned while he rubbed Pepper’s little head “Why are you sulking, are you jealous, do you want me to scratch you behind the ears, Kacchan?”
Katsuki’s face predictably exploded in heat at his teasing, making Izuku laugh at his reaction “Wha- shut up, that’s not it!”
“Aw, but I want to scratch them!” Izuku playfully stretched a hand towards him, which Katsuki batted away with a huff.
“Tch, stop making trouble and go to sleep already” he said sulkily while getting under the covers, his back towards Izuku.
Izuku watched him with eyes full of mirth, mindful of holding back his laughter; his smile turned fond as he marveled at how tolerant his boyfriend had grown to his teasing. After six years Izuku still revelled in every moment of easy banter and playful taunting, a privilege that he alone boasted, a level of closeness that his younger self would have never dared to imagine.
Thinking back to that time, Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship had always been complicated, if he had to put it into words, it was as if they were two like poles of a magnet, always repelling each other no matter how hard you tried to make them meet. Izuku had accepted a long time ago that he might never be able to fully close the gap that separated them, but still, like asymptotes, he still wished to be as close as he possibly could, as close as Kacchan would let him. Being a simple classmate and estranged childhood friend was hardly close enough.
But even then, Izuku could hardly give up, no matter how difficult a proese, Katsuki was like a star, or more accurately like the sun, his presence shining brighter than anyone in the room, and Izuku had always gravitated towards him like his very own satellite. So as much as he respected the space Kacchan had built between them, he had still relished every little bit of leeway he was allowed in order to get closer.
And then, one day, it was like everything changed overnight. Suddenly, wall after wall were being brought down by Kacchan himself, the distance between them rapidly closing as Izuku, lured in like a moth to a flame, couldn’t help but take the chance to dive head first into further unexplored territory.
But the thing about being so close to the sun was, that unlike from a distance, the heat no longer felt warm on his skin, it burned.
And he was so afraid of being burnt.
Izuku suddenly found himself feeling lost and scared, everything felt so new and different, so much bigger than himself. Katsuki was a force of nature, and next to him, Izuku felt like a pebble being washed away by the unforgiving current of a rampant fleuve.
In contrast, Uraraka’s presence was like a calming balm and a breath of fresh air to Izuku’s anxious teenage heart; she was easy to be around and their relationship was never difficult to navigate, unlike with Kacchan where every interaction was like a puzzle and every step risked the danger of falling victim to the fire. Uraraka made sense, she would have been the obvious choice.
But the sun was so close and the fire impossible to ignore, drawing Izuku further in, demanding his attention. And then that day back at his house, after so much hesitating and beating himself up over it all, it only took for Kacchan to look down at him, his scalding red gaze fixed on Izuku like he was the very center of his universe, lips closing in with single-minded focus, not so much like a beast hungry for prey as much as a man stranded in a desert catching sight of his oasis, for Izuku to realize the truth which he had been unknowingly trying to hide and run away from all that time with sudden stark-light clarity.
He wanted to burn.
Izuku wanted to be consumed by the fire of that gaze, all the way to the bone until nothing was left of him. He wanted to succumb to the scorching heat and let himself be engulfed by the depths of his desire. The fire burnt, and it was terrifying, but it didn’t hurt. It was bright, it was honest, it was addicting and it was everything he had always wanted.
It was love.
There was never a choice from the start.
And much like the chaotic fashion that started their relationship, that which followed naturally hadn’t been easy, there were fights, disagreements, forks in the road as well as setbacks, because just like Kacchan had said, they were both equally stubborn in different ways, which made for an explosive combo, but they still persevered through it, because their relationship might not have been easy to navigate, or simple, but if there was something Izuku was certain of in this life was that Katsuki was it for him, and that he wouldn’t give him up for anyone or anything else in the world, no matter what it took.
And he could see that Katsuki felt the same way, thus they continued to walk together and grow along with each other, same as they always had.
They had only just moved in together for a few months during their second year as a couple when Katsuki had first brought Chilly in, quickly followed by Pepper, there would have probably been a Red and a Hot as well but Izuku had drawn the line at two; a month or so later Izuku was the one bringing in a pet of his own, Kacchan had been a little reluctant to accept the latest household adquisicion at first, but he had reluctantly put up with it, knowing that he had always wanted to raise a dog (and albeit he'd never admit it, Izuku knew he was smitten with Toshi).
Four years later, they made yet another addition to their little family, the most important of them all.
Thinking back to the beginning of their relationship, Izuku had always wondered about it, the thing that had Kacchan acting so out of it during those last few months into their senior year in Yuuei, although he hadn’t dared to bring it up in the name of preserving the precious and, as off yet, fragile balance they had established. Back then, everything had seemed so new, so unreal, as much as Izuku had been over the moon about it all, he had also practically walked over shells for the better part their first year together, afraid that even the smallest of movements would scare Kacchan away, back to where they started; later, once he had grown more confident in the stability of their relationship, Izuku had practically forgotten all about his initial doubts, thinking that whatever it was, as long as his boyfriend wanted to talk about it, he would listen, otherwise he wouldn't bother with it.
Katsuki had never mentioned it, and Izuku hadn’t pressed him for it, but neither did he need to, once Mischa came into the picture, he knew.
The way Kacchan had suddenly started acting different, still like himself, but also like a whole other person, how he suddenly became more approachable, making concession after concession that Izuku had previously never dared imagine, how he almost seemed to know about things that hadn’t yet happened, how he sometimes seemed to stare off into space for extended periods of time, how the night terrors frequently woke him up in a pool of cold sweat and anxiety, sometimes carrying along awfully accurate predictions that Katsuki, with all his skeptic nature, always swore cross heart by; everything fell into place like pieces of a previously half missing puzzle finally forming a complete picture in Izuku’s head.
No wonder Kacchan had been so recently obsessed with looking through reports of missing children and digging around for even the barest hint of what might be a human trafficking ring, he had thought; not that Izuku had ever questioned his partner’s heroic spirit, but something about it had been oddly specific, almost targeted. He had of course lended his unconditional support in his search, no questions asked, and when their investigation ultimately bore fruit, Izuku finally found the answer he didn’t know he had been looking for.
Normally, it was unadvised for professional heroes to adopt orphaned children, making it quite an ordeal to go through the procedures officially, but Katsuki had fought tooth and nail to make it happen, and Izuku had of course aided him all the way. It had helped how instantaneous Mischa’s attachment to Kacchan had been, she had latched to him practically as soon as she saw him, calling him ‘Onii-chan’ over and over, it was nigh impossible to pull them apart, thus why child services had finally yielded to their request and granted them custody.
The way Mischa had acted with Katsuki had practically cemented Izuku’s already solid conjecture, even though she didn’t seem to recognize him, she still acted like she had known him all her life, it had been a battle to make her give up the Brother title and adapt to calling Katsuki her dad, but she had slowly come around. He still remembered how wary of her surroundings she had been at first, not even daring to approach Toshi, much less other humans, only ever seeming to listen Katsuki, and on occasion, Izuku as well; Kacchan had said something about how he had known they would get along, but once he prompted him for the reason, he only said that they had a lot in common, Izuku guessed that was true enough, they both loved her dad fiercely, for one.
Izuku watched Katsuki’s back rise and fall with each breath, body deeply fatigued but the remnants of adrenaline in his system preventing him from falling asleep, keeping his mind wide awake and reeling with various thoughts. Usually he wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on the what-ifs, but in moments like these, with nothing and no one to keep him from succumbing to the darkest recesses of his mind, Izuku couldn’t help but imagine what sort of future had Katsuki escaped from, the mere idea that somewhere, in a different life that he didn’t know, Kacchan wouldn’t be sleeping soundly at his side and their daughter wasn’t safely tucked into her bed a door away from them terrified Izuku like nothing else, infusing his heart with anxiety.
Suddenly the soft creak of the door being pushed open startled him from his spiraling thoughts, and Izuku quickly sprung up from his perch into a standing position, posture guarded and ready for battle, only to almost instantly relax when he found the source of the intrusion to be none other than the sleepy eyed little girl he had thought to be peacefully slumbering in her room. Izuku’s expression softened and his voice was full of coaxing as he asked her in a hushed whisper, careful not to wake the man at his side “What’s wrong little bird, have trouble sleeping?”
Mischa padded towards the bed while rubbing watery eyes, now that she was closer Izuku could see the traces of tears clinging to her eyelashes, the third eye on her forehead was open, which if he hadn’t already noticed anything was wrong would have served as confirmation “No it’s just that… I had a nightmare.”
“Oh, sweetie” Izuku beckoned her over, wiping her tears with the pad of his thumbs “Do you want me to get you a glass of water, warm milk?”
She shook her head no, a different request following “Can I sleep here… with you and dad?”
“Of course little bird, come here” he agreed immediately as he helped her climb into the bed, scooting over so she was nestled in the space between him and Kacchan’s sleeping body, gently cradling her into his arms “Was your dream very scary?”
Silence answered Izuku as she seemed to hesitate before he felt her nodding against his chest “...It was about dad”
Izuku let out a breath slowly through his nose, trying his best not to let any trepidation seep into his voice “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“It was… I don’t know” she mumbled, voice thick with tears “He was on the ground, and there was a lot of blood, I kept shaking him and screaming his name but he wouldn’t wake up…”
“Shhh, It’s just a dream birdie” Izuku assured her while carding his fingers through the inky feathers in her head in a comforting motion, attempting to channel all the confidence he didn’t feel in his tone and practiced heroic smile “Daddy is alright, he’s right here see?” he said while gesturing to his boyfriend’s still slumbering figure.
“But… but what if it was p-prophetic-?” she insisted through sniffles, her voice a hushed whisper as if the mere mention of it filled her with terror “With my quirk I-, Mischa’s scared-!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll never let that happen '' Izuku assured her, taking notice of how her old speaking patterns were beginning to slip, belying the instability of her emotions. He hugged her tighter to his body, comforting her as much as himself with his words “I’ll always protect you and your dad, promise you.”
She sniffed and peeked at him through her damp eyelashes “Pinky promise?”
Izuku smiled down at her, genuinely this time, and held their fingers together in a silent vow “Pinky promise.”
“Hmm, what are you two whispering about there..?” Katsuki mumbled in a slurred voice, apparently having had his sleep disturbed by their conversation.
“Oh, Kacchan, sorry for waking you” Izuku smiled apologetically “Mischa just had a nightmare, don’t worry it’s nothing, you can go back to sleep.”
“Nightmare…?” he repeated after a yawn, extending an uncoordinated hand to ruffle Mischa’s feathers in an attempt at confort. “There there, listen to your father, we’ll both protect you, you can sleep...” Mischa giggled and playfully batted his hand away, but didn’t protest, a few seconds passed before Katsuki followed it with “You too Deku, ‘Night”
“Huh? Ah right! Good night Kacchan!” Izuku said, surprised at being called out. Silence drifted in the room as Mischa seemed to finally drift into peaceful slumber, at some point of which Toshi seemed to sense her absence in her own room and thus migrated to their bed, which became increasingly cramped with every inhabitant of their home, human and animal alike, squeezing into the king sized mattress.
“Hey Kacchan?” whispered Izuku into the stillness of the room, unsure whether he would get an answer.
After a while in which Izuku had already almost drifted himself, Katsuki’s sleep-addled voice finally came “Hmm, I said sleep.”
Izuku smiled sheepishly at him “I know I know, but I just wanted to tell you, I’m very happy.”
One of Kacchan’s eyes snapped open to look at him “ ‘bout what?”
“I mean like, in general” he mumbled, face tinted red at his admission, although it wasn’t much of a confession at all, but it was something Izuku thought about every day, felt every waking moment “About everything you know, my life, being here, with you, both of you.”
Katsuki for his part just stared at him, eyes softening. “Me too” he said, “The happiest I’ve ever been.”
And maybe that shouldn’t have made Izuku’s heart rate speed up or his breath stutter, after so many years together, but oh god it did. “Oh- I’m glad-!” he finally managed after a long beat “Good night” he said, and then softer “I love you.”
“I love you too” Kacchan whispered against Izuku’s lips as he landed a kiss on his mouth, rendering him a complete mess. “Now stop worrying your little nerd head and sleep.”
“Yeah…” Izuku answered absently and finally let himself succumb to peaceful rest, realizing that no matter what sort of future could have been, he was grateful for the now, for that single, precious moment together with all his most beloved things in the space of a 20 m² room, and will do his utmost to build and protect the future that belonged to him.