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It all happened incredibly fast.
♦
Katsuki and Izuku were walking on the sidewalk while holding hands and talking to each other, though Izuku was doing most of the talking while Katsuki was content to just reply from time to time. Although the blond did make sure to squeeze his husband’s hand and hum or nod often so his beloved nerd knew that he was paying attention to what he was saying. They were trying to find the place where they parked their car after visiting another house. The two decided they needed a bigger place after getting married so they were currently house-hunting. Ideally, the house of the hero couple should be big enough for two people and a cat to live in and for several others to visit or spend the night since their friends come to see them a lot.
Damn pests. Bakugou likes to call them with absolutely zero bite in his voice.
However, finding the ideal house is nowhere near as easy as they hoped. Bakugou also wants a big kitchen and Midoriya wants the place to be as close as possible to their agency. The newly-weds have been looking for the perfect home for a little over a month with no success. It’s not like they didn’t have the best houses on the market at their disposal either since any real estate professional would be more than eager to try and please the new Symbol of Peace and Ground Zero. It’s just that all of the houses they visited had something missing.
Bakugou was close to start building the damn house himself. Even more so since Izuku really wants a place that is his as much as it is Katsuki’s. They do live together but that’s because the green-haired menace decided to move in with his boyfriend about a year after they started dating; not that Katsuki had many complaints regarding that. He had none in fact. The only reason he acted all annoyed and displeased back when his now-husband stepped into his apartment with his suitcase and a wide smile that tugged at his heart, was because he had wanted to be one to suggest Izuku to move in.
In fact, their whole relationship had been like a whirlwind since day one. They went from childhood friends with unresolved issues to rivals and partners to friends again and, finally, to lovers. While Izuku had been aware his entire life of the affection he felt towards the blond and how that affection transitioned into full-blown love and adoration, Katsuki had been the clueless one. Things started to change when they both graduated from U.A. and got signed to the same agency. At the time their friendship and teamwork were already a lot better and they were being sent on a lot of missions together which, of course, meant a lot of time spent in each other’s company. Time that allowed Katsuki to realize that he had a veil over his eyes and the moment he gathered the courage to take it off, how he had viewed his childhood friend up until that point made a complete one-eighty. After that, the blond’s thoughts lashed at him countless times, making himself feel guilty, distressed, unsure and in love all at once. It took him a long time to realize that his other half had been right next to him for ages and he wondered if he was too late. The fact that the nerd also matured and turned into a real feast for the eyes didn’t help either. He was all messy, beautiful curls and big, charming eyes – Use those in moderation, you damn nerd. They’re a fucking weapon. Katsuki thought more than a handful of times. His smiles were either timid and endearing or wide and blinding and as far as Katsuki is concerned, don’t even get him started on those pretty lips or other, more sinful parts of his body. Midoriya became quite the glorious sight and it did nothing to subdue Bakugou’s embarrassingly huge crush. On the contrary, it agitated the blond more and more with each passing day.
The next couple of months had been a game of push and pull, both heroes unsure of the other’s feelings. Feelings which only became more obvious as time passed and their friends were close to losing it because of how oblivious and unnecessarily scared both of them were. Fortunately, once all the love they felt became too much to contain and keep to themselves, they both spilled those feelings on what had been a very draining and emotional day.
Their families and friends felt relief first and then happiness when the two heroes finally announced their relationship, as they were starting to lose hope and think they’ll never confess to each other. Kirishima and Denki had been the most vocal about their useless fears when it was clear as crystal how much they liked each other; maybe because Chargebolt and Red Riot themselves wasted a lot of time tip-toeing around each other before they confessed and knew what it felt like to overthink and almost drown in doubt. Their parents, as well, made sure to point out how evident their feelings for each other were and didn’t understand why they refused to act on them. Bakugou almost blew a fuse when his mother patted him on the back with more force than necessary, telling him how proud she is that her idiot son finally woke up. Though he also reinforced with a short grunt and a slight blush coloring his cheeks what his mother said about him being very lucky to have someone as bright and good as Izuku.
Since then, things had only gotten better. Two years of dating, months of engagement, and then finally getting married. Both men lost count of the number of articles written about them as heroes and partners and how many blogs and forums there are, dedicated to them as a couple. Reporters did get a bit too brave at times though that was but a minor inconvenience in their happy and satisfying married life.
“Hopefully, the next house is better. This last one wasn’t the worst we’ve seen but I still can’t help but feel like it’s missing something.” Izuku voiced as he swung his and Kacchan’s connected hands. The blond nodded as he looked down at their interlocked hands before raising his head. A bicyclist who was riding rather fast and all over the sidewalk would’ve crashed into Izuku if not for Bakugou’s quick reflexes when he saw the guy and pulled his husband aside, his free hand covering his hip where it could’ve been hit by the handlebar of the bike.
He almost growled, “Watch where the fuck you’re going with that thing. I would’ve blown it into microscopic pieces if it made contact.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.” The guy apologized as he kept pedaling. “I’m in a bit of a rush. My apologies.”
Izuku had been a bit confused as everything happened fast and only understood after the man yelled his apology as he kept going. He turned to Katsuki and was able to make out the angry red eyes behind the black sunglasses and the furrowed eyebrows. He was whispering something about incompetent people and whatnot. Izuku couldn’t avoid a smile.
“It’s okay, Kacchan. Let’s go, we still have two more houses to see.” He squeezed the other’s hand and pulled him along. It could be that the man didn’t even recognize them, Katsuki with the sunglasses that hid his eyes which were easy to recognize and Izuku with his green hoodie and the hood his husband pulled over his head when they exited the apartment building, telling the nerd that he stands out too much and they’ll get spotted.
“Oh, there’s our car.” The smaller man exclaimed when he spotted the black, stylish vehicle. Leave it to Ground Zero to drive a car as sexy as he is.
Bakugou was about to open the passenger door for Izuku when it happened.
The sound of an explosion came from nowhere, accompanied by screams and cries. The two heroes froze for only a fraction of a second before their bodies moved on instinct. They sprinted towards the source of the noises, their plans for the day completely forgotten. They were on their day off so they didn’t have their costumes but it didn’t matter. They are heroes and people were in danger. As they ran towards the commotion, a bunch of citizens were going in the opposite direction, trying to get away from danger. Izuku looked around and noticed the guy that almost hit him with his bike being one of the people running away.
“Hey, what happened?” Izuku yelled, reluctant to stop advancing but slowed down just enough to hear the other’s response. The guy stopped running as he noticed, and most likely remembered, the person he almost crashed into and the one that protected him. His eyes widened as he realized who the two were as both heroes discarded their casual disguise.
“A villain.” The man replied with a shaky voice. “He has all these black holes around him and he can pull objects from them. I didn’t see everything but I think he pulled out a grenade and threw it at some heroes that were chasing him. A lot of people got injured. Please, do something.” He finished with a pleading voice, full of fear.
Without waiting a second longer, Deku and Ground Zero started running again, faster than before. Green electric lines started to flash around Midoriya’s body while sparks and smoke erupted from Bakugou’s palms along with the smell of nitroglycerin.
“Kacchan, I’m going ahead to help the people who got injured. You should go help the heroes that are fighting.”
In the past, the explosive hero would’ve made a scene, raging from the bottom of his lungs about how Deku shouldn’t tell him what to do but things were different then. Katsuki nodded, face serious and eyes focused. Izuku took it as his cue to increase his speed and get to the people that needed help as soon as possible. Katsuki also used his arms and the explosions in his palms to propel himself up and forward, pretty much flying towards the villain. As he got closer, he noticed the bastard and the heroes he was fighting, all bloodied and barely awake. The villain had several black circles around him and his black costume covered even his face. There were some iron accessories on his arms and around his mouth and as he shortened the distance between them, Katsuki couldn’t tell if his costume was just that or his actual body as it had a shiny, skin-like texture. The fucker certainly didn’t look friendly.
Bakugou got ready to send an explosion towards the guy while he was still focused on the other heroes but the moment he acted, the villain dodged.
“Nice try.” A deep, almost robotic voice spoke.
Bakugou wanted to try another move but he was caught by surprise. Before he had time to blink, one of those black holes suddenly appeared in front of his face and a hand came out holding a ticking device. He had less than three seconds to put distance between himself and the bomb that was about to go off. Without thinking, he moved his hands to face the ground and had them send an explosion to move him towards the sky and out of the bomb’s range.
“Ooh, not bad. Better than these other losers anyway.”
Katsuki clicked his tongue in annoyance. He fought the guy for less than thirty seconds and he already despised him. He looked at the street beneath him which was more destroyed than intact. There were people on the ground, crying and full of blood. He also spotted flashes of green moving around, sometimes grabbing people which probably had less serious wounds and taking them to safer spots and sometimes just slightly maneuvering the bodies on the ground or removing the debris that landed on their bodies; it was probably too risky to move them because of their injuries. From where he was standing, Bakugou also noticed vehicles coming their way; ambulances probably. That was good. Help was coming to take the citizens that got caught in the explosion but couldn’t be moved by Deku. He just had to keep the skin bastard’s attention away from the ground in case he got any funny ideas.
“Oi, tell me why you’re doing this before I make a leather jacket out of that reptile skin you have.”
“Why, you ask?” The villain spoke before snorting, like the answer was obvious. “Because. Nothing would make me happier than killing every single one of you and turning everything to dust, until nothing remains.”
Ah, so he’s one of those.
Katsuki had met others like him. Those that don’t need a reason to justify their hate, that don’t even have a goal. The worst type of villains, empty and hateful with every fiber of their being. Some suffer long enough to become villains and some have always been twisted and take pleasure from creating chaos and destruction. No reason behind their hate whatsoever. Katsuki considers the latter category to be very unpleasant and unsatisfying to fight. There was nothing there to set straight, just an empty shell engulfed in the dark matter of hate.
“Well then, I guess I have to fucking apologize for being a spoilsport but that’s not happening today. You’re going to have to take your Prophet of Doom plans with you on your way to prison.”
The villain only laughed before disappearing into one of his black holes.
What the fuck is this guy’s quirk?
The two exchanged blows for a few minutes, though to Bakugou it felt like ages. At some point, Ground Zero being Ground Zero, he started to notice a pattern to how the villain used the black holes. Even if he didn’t fully understand his quirk, he started to predict what holes he was going to pop out of and once he realized that he was right, Bakugou prepared to land a serious blow. The villain hadn’t expected it when the blond had his hand facing the black hole he didn’t manage to come out fully. He only had time to widen his eyes before an explosion went off in his face. A scream of agony resounded in the air and Katsuki wished he could’ve activated more explosions before the bastard retreated into his damn hole.
He didn’t show himself for another couple of minutes which made the hero wonder if he had managed to hurt him that badly. Not long after finishing that thought, loud, uneven breathing came from behind him. Turning to face the bastard, Bakugou noticed that the costume didn’t get burned in the area he affected with his quirk, instead a black liquid covered the upper half of the villain meaning that, indeed, he wasn’t wearing any costume. That was how he looked. He was breathing hard, a hand pressed over his face, and did not look like he was ready to start fighting just yet.
Bakugou took that chance to look at the ground again. There were no more people beneath the area where the fight was taking place. He heaved a sigh and turned to look in the distance behind him. The ambulances that were coming towards them earlier were leaving the scene one by one. He also spotted the familiar green curls and the man’s favorite red shoes. Izuku was pretty far away but Katsuki was able to make out his gestures when he turned towards him and raised his arms; he was waving at him with one hand and giving him an okay sign with the other meaning everyone had been rescued. Bakugou sighed again, with relief. His body stilled, however, when a sinister chuckle came from the injured villain.
“Isn’t that your beloved Symbol of Peace, Ground Zero?”
Bakugou whipped his head to look at the villain so fast he heard bones crack. The smile on the scumbag’s face was even more sinister. A new black hole appeared out of thin air next to the villain and he stuck his hand inside it.
“Then.. I suppose you want to keep him safe, don’t you?”
A few moments of silence passed, then Katsuki whipped his head around again, eyes searching for Izuku. He was in the same place Katsuki had seen him seconds earlier, waiting for the last ambulance to leave safely. However, behind an unassuming Deku, was a black hole with a hand sticking out of it and holding a device similar to the one Katsuki dodged at the beginning of the fight. Dread washed over him as he looked at his husband. Even if he screamed for Deku to dodge, it wouldn’t do a thing because he was too far away and too high up in the sky. His voice wouldn’t reach Izuku.
For a second everything moved in slow motion and Bakugou felt his heart break into millions of pieces before a brilliant flash of green erupted in the distance. An intense and tortured scream did pierce the suffocating silence but it did not seem to come from the direction where Deku was. As senses returned to Katsuki’s trembling body, he turned to look at the villain. His arm, the one that had been inside the black hole, was missing and more black liquid sprayed out of the severed limb as the criminal kept screaming in misery. That, though, wasn’t nearly enough for Bakugou.
“Fucking son of a bitch, I’m going to tear you apart organ with organ for what you just tried to pull.” Bakugou spoke with a breathy voice, his pupils still shaking. “Maybe then you’ll feel what I just felt.”
Explosions went off in Bakugou’s palms and he wanted nothing more than to destroy the piece of shit in front him but for his own sanity, he turned to look behind again. Izuku was running towards him, no signs of serious injuries anywhere on his body. Only then did Bakugou allow himself to exhale with more relief than he had ever felt. Izuku must have realized that something was behind him and activated One for All without wasting any time. Katsuki’s heart started to calm down and he became rational again. Izuku managed to get out of that situation because of course he did. That’s his husband. Katsuki aims for the best and so he married the best.
Attaboy, Deku. You’re not number one for no reason.
Wretched screams continued to fill the air from the other side.
“You heroes.. You assholes just keep getting in the way. Why don’t you just stand down quietly and let me kill you all?” The villain said with a miserable, pained voice. He was shaking from every joint and his eyes looked crazy, like something snapped inside his brain. Bakugou then raised his eyebrows as he saw several of the black holes merging to form a bigger one.
“Kacchan, are you alright?” He heard a worried voice coming from the ground. He was about to reply when the wind started picking up as all the black holes started merging into one. He had one second to notice some blurry shapes inside the big hole before the wind knocked him down from the tall pole of the building he was standing on. He had half a mind to use his quirk to alleviate his fall but caught Izuku’s bright green flashes with the corner of his eye and decided against it unless he wanted to collide with the nerd. He just let himself fall until he felt two arms grabbing at his sides.
“I’ve got you.” The nerd said, all determined.
Katsuki would’ve smiled if not for the graveness of their current situation. The black hole was growing bigger and bigger, reaching the size of buildings with several floors. The villain was still up in the air, screaming and cursing the entire hero society. There were also some cracks that started to appear on his body.
“Try to dodge this.”
Was all Katsuki and Izuku heard before many objects flew out of the hole, some of them quite large, like cars and parts of buildings and they came at them with insane speed. They even heard explosions which meant there were also bombs coming at them and they had to be careful of those too. Not to mention, the wind was also pushing them back and slowing them down. The lunatic above them just kept screaming, whether, from delight or pain, they did not know anymore. The only thing Katsuki’s red eyes were able to catch while trying to dodge or explode what was coming at him as well as checking if Izuku was doing alright too, were the cracks on the villain’s body becoming larger.
That had taken him less than a second but when his eyes looked forward again, his body froze. There was a ridiculously big building coming towards them, just as fast if not faster than everything else. Bakugou’s first instinct was to grab Izuku, then he wanted to activate one of his more flashy moves hoping to destroy the thing in front of them but the wind was an issue. It was pushing everything back so he didn’t know if his explosion was going to be as strong as it usually is. Looking to his left, Izuku didn’t seem like he had a plan in mind either. The wind was pushing him back too, therefore he couldn’t do much either since he uses his body to fight.
Fuck it.
He was about to activate his quirk since it seemed like their best option right then and there. He felt the sparks sizzling under the skin of his palm and right as the explosion was about to happen, the building came towards them with greater speed. Instinctively, Katsuki closed his eyes and tried to push Izuku behind him.
The next second felt like an eternity, knowing there was imminent danger in front of them, hearing the crazed voice of the villain and Izuku’s distressed one right next to his ear. Then everything went quiet. His eyes were closed so he couldn’t see what was going on. He only felt Deku’s hands hugging him from behind. Nothing else.
Perplexed, he slowly opened his eyes, hoping he didn’t get knocked out only to wake up in the hospital or coming to the realization that it had been some stupid fucking dream. As he expected, he was still outside, with Deku still behind him, but the building had hit the ground and wasn’t rushing at them anymore. He also couldn’t hear the villain anymore. It was dead quiet for a while.
“Are you two alright?”
The husky voice that broke through the silence came from somewhere on Katsuki’s voice. Both him and Izuku redirected their eyes to the presence near them.
“Aizawa?” Izuku said, surprised. Their U.A. teacher and current hero colleague wasn’t looking at them, his eyes fixed on the insane bastard that wasn’t moving or making a sound anymore, his body full of cracks.
Ah, so that’s what happened.
Without any exaggeration, as soon as Bakugou realized the fight came to an end, he felt drained. That was certainly not how he thought he was going to spend his day off.
The next twenty minutes or so, both Ground Zero and Deku had to explain to the authorities how things went down. The blond winced just thinking of the paperwork that will be waiting for him at the agency. And of course, Deku being Deku, he offered to help other rescuing heroes that came to the battle scene to look for people that might still be trapped under the destruction and debris, so Katsuki had to help as well.
He did look around, he really did, and checked under several surfaces but there wasn’t anyone to be found. Besides, he knows Izuku. He wouldn’t leave someone in harm’s way. In Bakugou’s damn honest opinion, the chances of Izuku failing to rescue someone are not even zero, they’re negative. The blond exhaled long, knowing he won’t find anyone, and decided to go tell his husband that there’s no need to look anymore.
That’s when he heard a whimper. Yes, he did think he imagined it. Yes, he did turn around to check the area again despite believing that his brain was playing a trick on him. No, he couldn’t quite believe it when he found two small boys behind some rubble. They were both dirty and probably hurt if the blood that was starting to dry on their skin was any indication. He couldn’t believe it but it was true. He was surprised that the two kids actually survived with everything that happened.
“Over here.” Bakugou roared, grabbing the attention of the other heroes. He felt bad when he saw the boys flinch because of his loud voice but felt even worse when his eyes landed on Izuku’s face. The nerd looked devastated.
The unpleasant feeling started to fade away however, when Izuku saw the children and it sunk in that they were both alive and not in life-threatening conditions. Katsuki saw one of the heroes approaching the boys and though they looked scared, he figured that people well-trained in rescuing know how to handle frightened victims. All he wanted was to grab Izuku and go the fuck home and sleep for two days straight. That was exactly what he planned to do but as soon as he took Izuku’s hand and turned to leave, a small voice stopped him.
“Don’t..”
He looked back.
One of the boys, with green eyes so familiar that they stunned Katsuki in place, light blond hair and tear-streaked cheeks with a few, barely noticeable freckles, slowly walked towards him. The child made sure to avoid every person that tried to grab him or even slightly approach him. His eyes looking only at Katsuki and Izuku.
“Don’t leave me.. again.” The little one spoke, with a weak but desperate voice.
Again..
His small legs stopped advancing for a couple of moments as he studied Midoriya from head to toe. He looked a bit unsure but not scared like he was of everyone else. Then his green eyes moved to look at Katsuki who, for some reason, felt like his knees were going to give in.
“Dad.” The boy said looking straight at Bakugou.
That’s how the explosive number two hero, Ground Zero, felt the oxygen get stuck in his throat. And everything and everyone around him also stopped. Well.. there goes his sleep. More than that, he didn’t think he’ll be able to sleep a wink for days to come after what he just heard.
♦
The ride to the hero institution where Tsukauchi and his colleagues planned to thoroughly study and understand how the quirk of the villain Dark Matter works, had been a very quiet and tense one. Bakugou still felt like he wasn’t breathing properly and Izuku even checked his pulse a few times, thinking his husband was in a big enough shock to forget to inhale and exhale. Not that Izuku was doing any better.
Normally, all the people that get injured when a villain attacks are taken to the hospital but just to keep the little boys calm, they had them ride the same car as the two best heroes in Japan and would be checked for serious injuries at the infirmary of the hero institution. Luckily, they fell asleep during the car ride, the heavyweight of fatigue probably catching up to them, so no children were screaming and crying when the two boys were separated from the heroes. Besides, the children had some things to explain and everyone believed it would be a lot better if they said what they had to say when rested and not in pain. However, they didn’t get the chance to say anything because, after a few hours of analysis and interrogation, Tsukauchi entered the waiting room where Izuku and Katsuki were trying to rest their tired bones and told them he might have an answer for the strange incident with the children.
“We found out what Dark Matter’s quirk is.” The officer announced, tone even and serious. “It’s something called Multiverse. He can open entrances to parallel worlds and universes. He can send something or someone into a different world or bring them to this one, a frightening power really. We’ll transport him to Tartarus immediately.”
Bakugou and Izuku were still confused and lost though.
“So.. the children?”
“Right.” Tsukauchi continued. “We believe they were brought into our world when Dark Matter opened that last black hole. It might be just a big misunderstanding and the child simply confused Ground Zero with his father, but.. if we do entertain the other, more incredulous option, the boy may be, in fact, your child. Just from another world.”
Truly, no one had seen Midoriya and Bakugou look as stumped as they did when Tsukauchi finally explained it to them. One thing made sense at least which was that Midoriya did not fail to rescue those two kids, they stumbled into their world right before the battle ended, but the rest...
“Wait, but.. how..?” Izuku tried to reason, to find some logic in the madness.
“Well, just keep in mind that we are talking about different worlds here. We don’t know how things work wherever those children came from. One of you may not be a male in their world.” Tsukauchi concluded but then looked at Midoriya as he seemed to have remembered something. “I suppose it could be you, Deku, since Ground Zero is the father, apparently.”
Well, that did not make things any less insane or complicated. Both heroes looked like they entered a trance after finally understanding the situation. Tsukauchi kept quiet, allowing the words they heard to sink in. And sink they did, at least for Bakugou. He only had to think back, to visualize that small, weakened child again. To think of the big, green eyes that implored him not to leave and knew right away that the boy couldn’t be anyone else’s child but Izuku’s. As soon as he finished that thought, he stood up with urgency, demanding to see the boy again.
♦
Tsukauchi had mentioned before leaving the two heroes in front of the infirmary’s door that they’ll keep investigating and try to find a way to send the boys back to their original world. Something that Katsuki felt like he needed to pretend not to hear, despite knowing that what the man said was right. The two boys were brought into a world that wasn’t theirs and their parents are probably looking for them. Katsuki swallowed before grabbing the doorknob and pressing down. He quietly walked in, leaving the door open for Izuku to follow him. His red eyes immediately focused on the two, small silhouettes sleeping on the large hospital bed. The blond boy was facing him while the other boy faced the window on the other side. Bakugou took silent, careful steps so as not to wake the two and then sat on the edge of their bed. He felt Izuku right behind him.
“Do you think.. it’s true?” Deku asked him, voice hushed and unsure.
Bakugou allowed another image of those green, familiar eyes flash before his and had his answer.
“I don’t just think, Deku. I’m positive he’s ours.”
It seemed like Katsuki’s statement and the certainty in his voice were what finally let reality hit Izuku full force. The shorter man’s breath hitched and then he finally broke. A few tears fell down his cheeks and he moved to sit on the bed too. Katsuki couldn’t help but think of the tear-streaked face of, well.. their son, after taking a look at Izuku. His husband raised a trembling hand and patted the boy’s hair with very hesitant moves, almost like his touch could make the child disappear and the blond felt an uncomfortable tug at his heart.
“This feels so surreal.. To think this boy is our son.” Izuku whispered, not moving his gaze away from the child. Katsuki smiled as he took in the image of the two. He had never seriously thought of having children and Izuku never mentioned anything either. But there wasn’t any doubt that what they were feeling while staring at the small body beside them was unlike anything else they ever felt.
A tiny whimper startled both men and Izuku did not dare to move his hand anymore. They waited in silence as the little boy – their little boy – started to wake up, blinking his swollen his eyes drowsily. It took a while for the child’s gaze to focus but once he identified the figures in front of him, his body reacted as if radio-controlled, immediately sitting up.
“Dad.” The boy said once more, looking at Bakugou. The word evoked a strange, warm feeling inside the blond’s chest. “And..”
Green met green and Midoriya was barely able to control his body and not hug the boy with all his human strength, afraid that it might scare him.
“Mom..?”
Without any hesitation, Izuku nodded, because he already had an idea why he’d been addressed like that and, also, because he knew what the boy wanted his answer to be judging by the hopeful glint in his eyes. It didn’t take long for the child between the two heroes to start crying his little heart out, grabbing whatever part he could reach of his parents. Izuku patted his back, his own green eyes wet and blurry, and Katsuki’s reaction had been more subtle, just the trace of a shaky smile showing on his face. They waited and let the boy cry all his emotions out, though they almost jumped to try and stop him when the child started coughing from chocking on excess saliva. That still didn’t deter him from shedding all the tears left in his body. Izuku opted to pat his back and Katsuki squeezed back the small hand that grabbed his larger, warmer one. Surprisingly the other boy didn’t wake up.
Eventually, the cries turned into sobs and the reddened eyes of the child became clear again. Bakugou thought it was a good enough time to start asking some questions.
“Do you remember what happened to you and your friend?” The blond inquired and for the first time, he cursed himself for having such a rough voice, feeling that it might scare the child. However, nothing of the sort happened. The boy looked at him with something akin to wonder. He wiped his wet cheeks with the back of his hand and swallowed before opening his mouth.
“We..” His voice was coarse from all the crying. “We were just walking on the street when this scary, black circle appeared. We tried to run from it but the wind behind us was strong so we couldn’t. After that, everything got more scary and confusing. I remember being up in the air and then falling. I think I passed out and when I wake up, I saw dad looking around. I thought I was dreaming..” He finished with a very quiet and soft voice.
Katsuki and Izuku looked at each other, concern and heartache etched onto their features. The poor kids just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Obviously, they did not jump into the black hole themselves. They probably wanted to go back to the home and parents from their world. Bakugou had to steel himself which usually is not necessary because he never hesitates to say it like it is, but.. getting slapped in the face with the knowledge that he has a child, biologically his and Izuku’s on top of everything, who came from a different world, was enough to make his resolve crumble. Even so, he had to tell the child what happened. And so he did. Both him and Deku explained to the boy how the villain attacked the city and what his quirk did.
“Wait, you’re not lying to me, right?” The boy asked, his eyes comically wide and his expression resembled Izuku’s surprised face so much that Bakugou's heart almost jumped out of his chest. “This is a different world, with villains? And heroes.. like you?”
“Mn.” Izuku confirmed, his palm caressing the boy’s back comfortingly. “Do you not have heroes and villains in your world?”
The boy shook his head. No wonder he looked lost and perplexed while they recounted everything that happened.
“You must’ve been so scared today. Don’t worry, we’ll try our best to help you and your friend go back to your world.” Izuku spoke with a soothing voice, although there was a muted pain in his chest. “Your paren-”
“No!” The child cut him off while grabbing his clothes with all the strength he had.
He only said one word but he said it in such a desperate manner that it startled both heroes. Everything that followed after that, made them go rigid with shock.
“No, please don’t send me back! I don’t want to go back to that world, it’s so lonely there! Can’t I just stay here with you? I promise I’ll be good and I won’t cause you any problems, just please don’t send me back.”
Their boy started to cry again, the despair in his voice sending chills down their backs.
Izuku barely managed to ask, “Why..? Don’t you want to go home? Your parents must be-”
“My parents from that world are dead!”
The child continued to cry, scared that he was going to be sent back to the place he came from but time stopped for Bakugou and Midoriya, not able to process what they just heard.
“Wait, they’re dead? We’re dead? How.. what happened?” Deku was starting to panic too and Bakugou felt the urge to do something looking at his husband and his son losing control over their emotions.
The boy tried to subdue the sobs that were too violent for his tiny body and Katsuki hated it.
“It happened last year. There was a big earthquake and.. my parents tried to protect me but..” It was visible how painful it was for him to remember the past and speak about it but he said enough for Katsuki and Izuku to understand what happened. They didn’t make it out alive. Despite that, they only felt acceptance and understanding. The child is still alive and that must’ve have been the last wish of the other Bakugou-Midoriya couple.
“After that, some people I don’t know sent me to an orphanage. That’s where I met Rei.” The kid grabbed the other boy’s hand. “But I don’t like it there. And Rei doesn’t either. No one is taking care of us there. A lot of adults ignore us and they even forget to bring us food sometimes. They even hit us before. I don’t want to go back there. Even if this world is different, you’re still my parents, right? It doesn’t bother me at all that I have two dads here, just please..” The boy pleaded with wet, sad eyes.
Katsuki saw fucking red, just thinking of those pieces of shit that had the nerve to mistreat his son. People like that shouldn’t be allowed to take care of plants, let alone children.
“But if.. if I can’t stay with you, at least send me to an orphanage here. It might still be better than the other one.”
Izuku’s heart broke while Katsuki finally snapped.
“No!” The blond said, voice booming inside the infirmary. The other two looked at him with almost identical surprised faces and Katsuki had to close his eyes for a moment.
“No..?” A tiny, shaky voice asked, sounding like the world was about to collapse.
Katsuki had decided, “No, we’re not sending you to an orphanage. You’re coming home with us and that’s that.” There was finality in his voice. It let no room for argument. Just as he finished talking, he turned his head to look at his husband and was met with one of the nerd’s most brilliant smiles and shiny, bright eyes which almost sent his heart out of his ribcage.
He’s gonna give me a fucking heart attack someday.
“Then I guess we should start the legal procedures to make it all official. Though he is blood-related to you so those don’t even matter but the boy should have his own documents if he’s to stay here for good.”
Izuku and Katsuki redirected their eyes towards the door, where they found Tsukauchi leaning on it. They had probably been paying attention only to their sons and failed to notice when Tsukauchi entered the room.
Katsuki grinned subtly, “Thanks, old man.”
Izuku’s brilliant smile became even more blinding and there were tears at the corners of his eyes. He hugged the boy on the bed without holding back and the child returned the hug tenfold, thanking them over and over again as if it wasn’t a parent’s duty to take care of their child. The two parents did feel a little bad for making their son cry so much but at last, the tears that damped Izuku’s hoodie were tears of happiness.
Oh, right! Izuku remembered.
“Your dads would like to know your name. Will you tell us?”
“It’s Kazuma.” The answer came, loud and happy and it warmed the hearts of the heroes.
Kazuma.. It sounds like a name the nerd would choose. And Katsuki had not a single issue with that, finally allowing himself to really smile.
The officer turned to leave, being more than content with how the situation with the children ended. Or.. child. He stopped moving right when his hands grabbed the doorknob.
He turned again.
“So.. what do we do with the other boy?”
The question brought Bakugou and Midoriya back to the real world, both turning to look at the other child. Kazuma held his friend’s hand tighter sensing the change in mood. Izuku thought about it. Kazuma will go home with him and Kacchan but both boys had no stumbled into their world, not by choice. It would be unfair to send Rei to an orphanage. Just when Deku was about to open his mouth and suggest something, something started to connect inside his brain. He studied the other boy for a few seconds longer, then turned to his husband, gaze wide and a bit uncertain.
“Kacchan, doesn’t the boy look familiar to you?”
Katsuki blinked and furrowed his eyebrows as he studied the child that was still sleeping. For a few moments, nothing came to mind, but then he started to notice. The boy had red hair and a small, sharp tooth was visible as he slept with his mouth slightly opened. The blond would’ve noticed other familiar features on that small face if he had taken more time to study it but the hair and the teeth had been enough to make him realize. The child was a carbon copy of his best friend.
Oh boy.
♦
To no one’s surprise, Kirishima and Denki arrived at the place where Bakugou was in less than fifteen minutes after he had called them, breathing hard and trying to find someone to direct them to the right room. In the meantime, Rei also woke up and Kazuma tried to explain to him that they’ll both go home with their parents, gesticulating with his arms and his voice getting louder and louder. It only made Katsuki melt. His son had his lungs, for sure. Rei, however, didn’t look very convinced by Kazuma’s words and it was only natural. His son told him that Rei lost his parents in a car crash. When the two boys, literally, flew into their world, Kazuma saw him and Izuku and knew they were his family but Rei didn’t see his parents. He barely believed everything else, like him traveling to another world and the existence of villains and heroes. When he was told that his parents are alive in the world he got sent to, he only shook head and hid his face.
But then Kirishima slammed the door open, looking like he ran a marathon. Denki was right behind him, not looking any better. The loud bang of the door when it hit the wall startled everyone, including Rei who instinctively looked up. His golden eyes went wide with shock because, truly, his parents were alive and right in front of him. Not that Bakugou had any doubt that the three were family, having asked Kazuma to tell him what Rei’s full name was. And so, Kirishima Rei gasped, then got up and broke into a run. The boy hugged Eijirou’s leg as soon as he reached his father and started bawling. Red Riot and Chargebolt must have felt the same connection that Katsuki and Izuku felt with their son because both of them kneeled and hugged the red-haired boy back as soon as their senses returned, after having the shock of their lives too. Tsukauchi smiled knowing some legal procedures will have to happen for the other boy as well.
♦
That night, when Katsuki looked at his son sleeping peacefully between him and Izuku, his husband grabbed his hands to get his attention and smiled.
“I guess that now we really have to put some effort into finding a bigger house, don’t we?” The nerd said, his pretty smile lighting the entire room.
Bakugou agreed earnestly.