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Something that never ceases to amaze Shouto, is just how naturally Katsuki fits with his family. It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been together, or how many times he’s witnessed it, it’s always a pleasant surprise to see that the people he cherishes the most, get along so well.
He can’t believe how happy he feels every time they go back home, with leftovers of the lunch his boyfriend and sister made together, after spending a nice afternoon with his mom and brother, and thinks of how, in this regard, he couldn’t really ask for more. Even his father respects him, even if he’ll never admit it.
He knows it’s not out of a stroke of luck. Bakugou knows what his family’s been through. He knows how long it’s taken them to build what they have now. Katsuki being Katsuki, wanted to be the absolute best at everything he does. He's tried very hard to get along with his family because he knows how important that is to Shouto.
And Shouto never fails to let him know how grateful he is.
He always feels good after visiting his family.
Part of him wishes he could say the same about Katsuki’s side of the family.
Katsuki's family dynamic was… interesting to say the least. He knows that considering his own situation, he doesn’t have any right to comment on what a family should be like. Nonetheless, Shouto doesn’t particularly enjoy visiting his ‘in-laws’
“That’s how I was raised.”
Todoroki doesn’t think he’ll ever forget how the blonde suggested beating up a child was a great form of discipline, nor how he proposed public humiliation will make kids realise just how insignificant their lives were.
Maybe if that had been said to any other person, that comment wouldn’t have mattered. But he had said it to Shouto, who, because of his own upbringing, could never overlook that.
“The old hag wants us to visit this weekend.”
They were lying in bed after a strenuous day of work. Shouto was lurking through his social media, and Katsuki had his laptop on his lap, trying to find something they could watch.
“You don’t want to go.”
“I don’t feel like driving all the way there. But it was my old man who called.”
There was nothing left to say, and that very Sunday, after grabbing breakfast, they made their way to the blonde’s childhood home.
Mitsuki Bakugou greeted them with a huge smile. A “long time no see, sweetheart” for Shouto, and a “you’ve finally decided to visit, you brat” for his boyfriend. A hug for Shouto and a “stop pulling my ear, you damn hag” coming out of Katsuki.
The usual.
Masaru Bakugou welcomed them into their living room, talking about their jobs and how each one was doing; The fashion line they were planning on releasing, and the cases both of them had been working on.
“…It was tough, but we managed to imprison all of them.” Said the blonde, lifting his right fist in a sign of victory.
“What about the informant?”
“We couldn’t find him afterwards. He worked with us and gave us that information because getting rid of that gang benefited him—“
“So it’s still an open case.”
“It’s a closed case because all the people involved in gun trafficking were dealt with, what wasn't clear, you hag? ”
“Don’t call me hag, you ungrateful brat! You may be an adult now, but you still have to respect me. And how can you even say the case is closed if there are still loose ends? That’s a poorly done job, Katsuki. I didn’t raise you to be mediocre.”
“I’ll show you mediocre!”
Shouto doesn’t particularly enjoy visiting his ‘in-laws’ because this would always happen.
Slowly, and as discreetly as he could, he moved his hand to his boyfriend’s left thigh, just above his knee, and gave it a little squeeze, stopping Katsuki from getting up as he was about to do.
He hopes he understands the gesture for what it was. Not a ‘calm down”, but one to remind him that he was there for him.
The case had taken him weeks to resolve, and while it is true that they were able to find the warehouse where people were manufacturing the weapons thanks to a third party who provided the information, it was Ground Zero’s command and strategy that had them victorious in the end.
Shouto saw it daily. The worry on Katsuki’s face every time the news reported a new death caused by the bullets those villains were producing. He could see how angry at himself his boyfriend was when he saw deaths piling one onto the other, and they couldn’t even find who the manufacturer was to put a stop to it.
Shouto also knew how proud the explosive hero had felt when they were finally able to confiscate all the weapons (let alone when they apprehended the guy whose quirk allowed them to create those in the first place), but more than anything, he could see how relieved he was when everything was dealt with.
He knows his boyfriend, and even though he will never say it, he knows how much he likes for his work to be recognised. Specially by those who matter to him, and those he wants to make proud. To hear that his parents thought he did a mediocre job on something he had worked so hard on was definitely not what he was expecting.
“It’s not like you’re not searching for him. You actually did a great job,” he said to soothe his boyfriend’s probably already hurt ego.
“I too think you did a great job, Katsuki!” said his mom, “I just think you could do better.”
“Hm.”
“I’m happy that everything’s well now, son.” Commented Masaru, looking at his son and wife from one side of the room to the other, as if gauging his family’s reaction, to know whether he had to interfere or not. He never did anyways. “Ah, what do you boys think of that American hero touring the country? His costume looks a bit unpractical to me...”
They kept talking for a little while, now that the tension had somewhat dissipated. At one point, Mitsuki got up to start working on their lunch, and her son followed her to the kitchen without being prompted.
He stayed in the living room with his boyfriend’s dad. Ever since the blonde had introduced him to his family, he’s always wondered about the huge contrast between his boyfriend’s parents.
They ran out of things to talk about after Mr. Bakugou told him about the Japanese symphony concert he had attended, but silent moments like this weren’t awkward with him. Masaru Bakugou had such a passive personality, that he didn’t even try to force any interaction.
If he were to consider only his father, Katsuki’s comment from years ago wouldn’t make sense to him. He would have never imagined the calm disposition his boyfriend’s father has. One that Shouto have started to see in his boyfriend as he becomes more mature.
Masaru turned on the TV, and after Shouto told him he didn’t want to watch anything in particular, he switched the channels until he found a fashion competition.
“I’ll go check on Katsuki and see if he needs any help,” he said as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen, staying just behind the threshold to peak his head in.
His boyfriend was working quietly on the left side of the stove. He was only quiet in the kitchen when he was overthinking. He lifted the rice cooker’s lid and turned around to look for a paddle to stir the rice with, and Shouto could see the frown on his face.
Mrs Bakugou was working on the other side, cutting the meat, rattling the chopping board every time the knife made contact with it, and loudly tossing the meat to the frying pan with the vegetables that had been chopped before.
Katsuki’s mother was so different from her husband, he thought, as she laughed delighted at the smell of her food.
Mitsuki Bakugou has always been very kind to him. She was always trying to make a good impression on him, trying to do all the stuff that he liked. And while Shouto appreciated that, there was still something about her he wasn’t quite convinced of.
And no, it wasn’t her violent personality that bothered him the most.
They never really talked about this (except after that one course they had to take on how to deal with children during a rescue mission). It was a topic Katsuki wasn’t very keen on. But from the little information he had managed to get out of him, Katsuki really used to believe that the physical punishment he was raised with was the only way his mom could deal with him.
It was a relief he no longer thought like that, as well as knowing that his mother didn’t hit him anymore. At least, not beyond the ‘loving’ slaps, ear-pulling and the wrestling they had from time to time. Like the one they were having right there.
“Add a bit more of mirin,” said the blonde as he tried to reach for the liquor after his mother was trying to put it away after adding just one teaspoon to the pan.
“It’ll be too sweet if I do that,” said Mitsuki, holding the bottle in her right hand, and pushing her son away with the other one, “I don’t know where you got you should add more. That’s not how I taught you to make this.”
“That’s how I always prepare it at home, and it tastes damn good!”
“Well, this is my house, and you’re not going to ruin my food with your dumb ideas!” said his mother finally pushing him away, “Poor Shouto has to settle for subpar food. I cannot even imagine the things you serve to that poor boy…”
“Stop being so overdramatic. It’s just a sweetener, hag. It balances the food nicely.”
“Oh, yeah, Mr. Chef? Think you can come into my kitchen and tell me how I should change the recipe I taught you how to make? Go set the table instead of trying to ruin my menu, see if you can do that right.”
Shouto saw Katsuki angrily tossing a towel over the counter and moved away from there quickly. He knew Katsuki didn’t like him to be there when he was arguing with his mom. This one was one of the dumbest he’s heard, but some of the things Mitsuki says never sit right with him.
He hated the comments she made sometimes, and his blood boiled whenever she used him as ammunition against his boyfriend.
Right now it was how he was ruining the food, but earlier she implied that he wasn’t doing enough at his job. Other times it had been how he makes everything more complicated than it should be, and others that he is too weak, that he's always giving everyone problems, that he is impossible to deal with…
She had a collection of negative words that although it seemed they didn’t affect Katsuki, Shouto knew that sooner or later, they would in one way or another.
One afternoon at the Bakugou’s had been enough for Shouto to discover where his boyfriend’s inferiority complex came from.
Katsuki has so much confidence in himself, his skills and abilities, that it’s so hard to see when he lets his mother’s comments get to him. Because they came from her. He surely wouldn’t care if they came from a random stranger, but this was his mom. And regardless of what he says, he knows Katsuki, at the end of the day, just wants her to be proud of him.
He's aware that what she said earlier was, in her own way, how she wanted to push him to be better because she knows he can. But the way that was worded didn’t make it sound like a “you can do better”, but more like a “you’re not good enough”.
He respects his boyfriend's mom. After all, she's part of what shaped Katsuki to become who he is today, and he loves everything Katsuki is today. He is certain that Mrs Bakugou loves her son, and that most of the things she says or does are with the best intentions. But he doesn’t see how those types of comments were going to help him when they have made him feel insignificant and guilty in the past.
The first and last time they had broached the subject, Katsuki had mentioned that his mother would tell him stuff like that so that he remembers where he really stands, and not believe all the compliments he received outside their house.
He admits that he might not be the smartest person when it comes to this kind of thing, but he doesn’t understand the logic behind that. He wishes he could understand it, but Katsuki doesn’t like to talk about it. A shame, because talking about his own family issues with his boyfriend and knowing he could rely on him have really helped him. But because they don’t, he’s had to find different ways to show Katsuki he’s there for him too.
“The food’s delicious,” complimented Masaru once everything was served and the four of them sat at the table.
“I’m glad!” exclaimed his wife, “How about you, Shouto? Everything all right?”
His boyfriend must have told them he enjoyed traditional cuisine because whenever they came to visit, she’d always serve traditional Japanese food for him.
They were eating a traditional Nikujaga dish. It wasn’t something that they ate often, not with Katsuki’s recent obsession with international gourmet food, but he always enjoys it whenever Katsuki cooks it for him. Judging by how they were chopped, he had been responsible for the vegetables, and the rice they served the food with had the consistency he liked.
“Yes, Mrs. Bakugou,” replied Shouto, seeing her pleased smile, “I prefer it sweeter, but this is good.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the little sly smirk of satisfaction on his boyfriend’s face.
They said their goodbyes after finishing eating, and the three of them chased him out of the kitchen when he offered to wash the dishes. They promised to visit again soon, though he was sure the four of them knew that wasn’t true.
Katsuki was at the wheel, and Shouto took out his phone and hooked it to the car’s stereo. And once they were far enough, he took Shouto’s right hand in his to caress him gently.
“You do know you don’t have to antagonize her every time we visit, right?”
“Your mother asked me a question, and I gave her an honest answer. I don’t know what you do to make it taste different, but I like it better when you make it.”
“Glad to know you like it and don’t just settle for my ‘subpar food’.”
“With you? You’re always trying your best to make me happy. I don’t have to settle for anything.”
“How can you just say things like that!” he exclaimed with a light blush on his cheeks.
“Well, it's the truth.”
He knew Katsuki noticed he had been there, but that’s all right. That way they can be on the same page, even if they don’t mention it directly.
Shouto squeezed Katsuki’s hand in return as they made their way to their home. He could tell they were both happy the hardest part of the day was finally over.
Visiting the Bakugou’s always made him feel drained. And while he enjoys the time they spend with his side of the family, he loves it when they get to return to their small one the most.