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The salt in the air stung Bakugou’s nose, but the burn felt good. It felt like work, like freedom, like home. He was able to catch his first glimpse of the ocean as his car crested the inlet bridge, a wide expanse of ever-shifting and ever-changing life stretching into eternity ahead of him. Rolling the windows down, he took a deep breath, letting the cool coastal breeze settle in his lungs as he parked a few meters away from the bay. Debris still littered the shoreline, huge hunks of driftwood and tangles of seaweed dotting the sand as far as he could see. The storm had been huge, incredibly disruptive, and life-changing in more ways than Bakugou could have ever imagined.
The tide pool Bakugou had been researching was completely and utterly destroyed by the waves that had crashed onto the shoreline the day before. It was crushing to think that weeks of observing the life in that little ecosystem had been wasted, all the work washed away by one of the largest storms the coast had ever seen.
Bakugou had been turning over rocks and branches for a few minutes, trying to find some semblance of the little fish or crabs or algae he’d been studying, that he’d been getting so well acquainted with, when he’d heard the first cries. They didn’t seem to be coming from far away, but they were weak and scared, and Bakugou knew he had to help.
The first thing Bakugou saw as he made his way down the beach was the tuft of dark green hair sticking out over a pile of driftwood. “Hey,” he shouted, “are you okay?”
A panicked squeak came from the pile, along with a few more cries, and it was then that Bakugou realized this wasn’t a hurt person—this was an animal in distress. He moved a little quicker, carefully climbing over rocks and awkwardly placed dunes, trying to reach the animal before it hurt itself further. It was big, he thought, following the line of green fur that was visible under the debris.
“Listen, it’s okay, I’m here,” he cooed as he tried to not frighten it.
He blinked down at the creature in front of him as he removed the largest piece of wood in the pile, realization dawning. “Oh shit,” he whispered. “You’re a hybrid.” He looked over the creature’s form: thick green fur lined his torso and arms, which ended in little claws, as did his feet, and a thin tail curled around himself in a gesture of self comfort.
“Hy-brid?” The smaller man blinked slowly, voice shaky.
“You can talk!” Bakugou’s face lit up, raised voice startling the hybrid. “No, hey, sorry, I’m not going to hurt you.” He knelt down gently, taking care not to startle him any further.
“My name’s Katsuki, what’s yours?”
“Ka-Katsu-” the hybrid struggled to form his name. “Ka-ki? Ka-chi?” He frowned, knowing it was wrong but unable to figure out why.
“You can call me Kacchan.” Bakugou smiled softly.
“Kacchan?” He echoed, a small grin forming. “Kacchan!” His smile broadened before his brow creased, deep in thought.
“Kacchan,” he said, pointing to Bakugou before pointing to himself. “Izuku.”
“Your name is Izuku?”
The hybrid nodded, smile refusing to fade.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Katsuki said as he took in the full extent of the situation.
Izuku was trapped, pinned beneath a large branch of driftwood that had his back leg bent at an awkward angle. Bakugou winced, knowing it had to be painful.
“Are you hurt?”
Izuku looked up at him, eyes wide and uncertain as he tried to parse the meaning of Bakugou’s words. “Hurt?”
“Yeah, like, uh,” Bakugou fumbled, trying to figure out how to convey the meaning. “Hurt,” he landed on, gesturing to his own leg and rubbing it before pointing to Izuku’s.
“Oh, hurt, yes. Sorry, long time since last talk.” Izuku frowned and tried, weakly, to wiggle out from the heavy branch.
"No, wait, hold on—" Bakugou started to awkwardly climb into the tangle of debris "—you're stuck, let me help."
Bakugou lifted the branch, heaving it over his shoulder and back into the water. It landed with a splash, drawing Izuku's attention away. Bakugou took the moment to examine Izuku's leg, bruised but probably not broken, and definitely more than a little swollen. He wanted to touch it, to affirm his suspicions, but he didn't want to hurt him.
"Storm." Izuku said by way of explanation. "Big storm, big waves." He furrowed his brow and Bakugou had to stifle a giggle at how cute it was. "Scary. My family..." Izuku's face fell into a full frown. "Family. Kacchan?" Tears welled up in the corners of Izuku's eyes.
"No, hey, Izuku," Bakugou waded into the water to be closer to him, ignoring the way the cold leeched in. "It's okay," he wrapped his arms around the now disentangled hybrid, pulling him in close. Izuku clung to him, sobs wracking his entire body.
"Family," he wailed, curling further into Bakugou.
"Shh, Izuku, it's okay," Bakugou did his best to soothe the crying hybrid, running his fingers through his thick green fur. It was soft and slightly tangled and he focused on trying to brush out the knots. "I’m sure you miss them. Would it help if you told me about them?" He felt Izuku nod against his chest, still crying but much quieter.
"My mom," he hiccuped, "very nice. She… like to play with me, with cousins." Izuku's breathing began to even out as he spoke. "She has green fur, green fur like mine. Dad—" his face pinched together as he thought "—not real dad but nice, love me, love my mom. He, he yellow fur. Almost like Kacchan fur but brighter." Izuku lifted a tentative hand to Bakugou's head, grabbing a lock of his hair in his claws.
"Other family, Ochako with brown fur, Shouto red and white fur." Izuku had mostly stopped crying, only a few odd tears slipping out every now and then, but he still clung to Bakugou as though he was a waypoint. "Kacchan family?"
"My family?" Bakugou hummed as he felt around with his foot, finding a rock to sit on while he let Izuku float in his arms.
“Hm…well, my parents don’t live around here. My mom and dad design clothes”—he looked down at Izuku to see if he understood, pulling at his shirt to explain when the otter frowned a little—“so they live back in one of the cities, a place with a lot of really tall buildings and a lot of people.”
Izuku closed his eyes as he listened, appearing to have finally calmed down while he listened to Bakugou.
“I don’t really like the city, though,” Bakugou continued. “I’ve always liked living near the water, it makes me, I don’t know, feel connected to something bigger than me, you know? So I moved out here to study marine wildlife, animals that live in the sea like you.”
“Kacchan studies me?” Izuku tilted his head back up and Bakugou felt his heart jump at the beautiful green eyes staring up at him. He giggled, ruffling Izuku’s wet fur.
“Not you specifically, but other animals. Before the storm I was studying this little tide pool on the beach, there were a lot of tiny clams and crabs and even some little fish.”
“Clams?” Izuku’s eyes lit up again. He kicked his back feet gently and Bakugou thought the injured one was already moving a little better. “I like clams.”
“Me too buddy. Maybe I’ll bring some when I come back, would you like that? It would probably be good for you.” Bakugou shifted slightly, the cold water finally getting to him.
“Yes please!” Izuku’s smile dropped as he noticed Bakugou’s teeth chattering. “Kacchan cold?”
“A little, actually, I don’t have nice warm fur like you do.” Bakugou ran his hands along Izuku’s side to punctuate his point.
“Oh, if Kacchan is cold he should get warm! Swim?” Izuku splashed his legs again, wiggling around in Bakugou’s arms.
“Actually, I might have to get out,” Bakugou said as he released Izuku. The otter frowned at him but nodded understandingly.
“Kacchan not get sick.” He watched Bakugou as he climbed out of the water, his entire body shivering now. Bakugou silently cursed himself for not bringing a change of clothes, wishing he had at least taken off his sweatshirt before he jumped into the water. It didn’t do much good now, so he wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to keep warm.
“I have to go,” he said carefully, trying to convey that he wasn’t abandoning Izuku but just needed to warm up somewhere and gather some supplies.
“Go?” Izuku’s face fell even further and he looked like he might be on the verge of tears again.
“No, hey, I’ll be back.” Kneeling down carefully, he stuck his hand out for Izuku to come rub himself on, scratching under his chin. “I promise, okay? And I’ll bring some clams, too.” He smiled but Izuku’s tail still swished nervously.
“Okay,” he finally said after a long while. “But please come back, you promised.”
It pulled at Bakugou’s heartstrings; he hated to leave Izuku like this. There really wasn’t another option-—he was likely to catch pneumonia if he stayed and it wasn’t like he could just bring Izuku with him. Gears started turning in his head as he gathered his things, because Bakugou Katsuki was nothing if not a problem solver.
“I promise, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He bent down to give Izuku one last scratch before returning to his car and switching the heater on full blast.
True to his word, Bakugou returned the next day equipped with a wetsuit, a blanket, a spare change of clothes, and most importantly: clams. It wasn’t hard to spot where he’d met Izuku the day before, the tangle of driftwood easily visible from his parked car. He was excited to see Izuku and determined to check out his hind leg today. When he’d returned home the day before, he had briefly considered telling his advisor he had a new subject of study for his dissertation, but something about it had felt wrong—he didn’t want to use Izuku like that.
All of his things in hand, he headed towards the cluster of branches, calling out for Izuku. “Hey, Izuku, I’m back!”
There was no response, only the lapping of waves at the shore. Bakugou’s pulse quickened a little but he brushed it off, thinking maybe Izuku was just underwater. He let it go a few more steps before trying again. “I brought clams today!” A moment of silence and still nothing.
Bakugou picked up his pace, a quick walk turning into a slow jog. He was worried, scared even, that something had happened to the little otter overnight. Maybe his injuries were worse than Bakugou had realized? Maybe he’d tried to find his family and his leg had given out and he was stuck somewhere out at sea?
Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he fought through his panic, dropping his collection of items and peering into the thicket of branches. His heart finally stopped pounding as he laid eyes on Izuku, sound asleep in the pile of driftwood, tail wound around a branch so he didn’t drift away.
Sighing, Bakugou took a few steps back, grabbing everything he had dropped in his panic. He laid out the blanket on the sand, holding it down with a cooler full of clams and mussels on one side and his backpack on the other. It was still early in the day so he wasn’t surprised that Izuku hadn’t woken up yet, especially if the past few days had been rough for him. Bakugou pulled out his laptop, deciding to pass the time until the hybrid awoke by editing one of his many, many abstracts that were coming due.
Roughly twenty minutes had passed when he heard noises from the makeshift den as Izuku slowly woke up. Adorable coos and whistles filled the air as he saw him duck under the branches, swimming underneath them and popping out on the other side. Bakugou laughed as Izuku shook his head, eyes wide with excitement when he spotted him.
“Kacchan came back!” Izuku quickly swam over, back leg still dragging awkwardly behind him. “Oh, Kacchan, good morning!”
Bakugou chuckled. “Good morning to you too, Izuku.” He placed his laptop down, making his way over to the otter. He looked good this morning, sunlight shining off his pelt and highlighting the freckles on his face. “I said I’d come back. Do you remember what else I said?” He could see the wheels turning in Izuku’s mind as he thought.
“Clams!” He splashed a little, water rippling out from where his excited paws had hit the water. “Kacchan brought clams?”
Bakugou couldn’t help but laugh, grabbing the cooler as he sat on the edge of the water. “And mussels,” he said, opening the cooler so Izuku could see. The shellfish were going to stink up his cooler but the look on Izuku’s face as he stuck his little paw in and scooped out a clam was well worth it. Izuku made a few happy clicks and whistles, holding the clam close to him as he rolled in the water and dove down, eventually surfacing on his back. He grabbed the clam with his hands and smashed it against a newly acquired rock on his stomach. It took a few good hits for it to crack, after which Izuku pried it open with one claw, using the other to fish out the meat from inside.
“Is it good?” Bakugou asked, watching Izuku work.
“So good, Kacchan, thank you!” Izuku discarded the empty shell, tucking the rock under his arms and swimming back over to grab another one. The process of breakfast took a little while to complete as Izuku was easily distracted, but Bakuou didn’t mind at all. It was relaxing to watch him swim, dipping in and out of the water with practiced ease. He was a little jealous of the way that Izuku made the water his home in a way that Bakugou could never do.
“Let me know when you’re done eating, okay? I’d like to look at your hind leg.” Izuku nodded, polishing off a few more mussels before dutifully swimming back over to Bakugou.
“It hurts,” Izuku frowned, shaking his leg from his hip.
Bakugou frowned and patted the blanket next to him. “I know, buddy, can you come up here so I can get a good look?”
Izuku gently pulled himself out of the water and onto the blanket, dripping all over it in the process. It was the first time Bakugou got a good look at Izuku—he was big for an otter, but small for a person. Bakugou thought that if he stood he might reach his shoulder, a visual that warmed his heart. Izuku laid down on his good side, sticking his bad leg out so Bakugou could see.
“Was okay before storm,” Izuku said, frowning deeper.
Bakugou nodded, gently squeezing down the length of the injured leg.
“Does this hurt?” He applied a little more pressure as he moved down and Izuku shook his head.
“Only hurts when I swim.”
Bakugou’s hands reached Izuku’s calf, pressing in, and Izuku let out a shrill cry that stopped Bakugou in his tracks. “Are you okay?”
Izuku tucked his tail into his body, trying to curl into a ball, but nodded. “That hurt,” he said, voice on the edge of tears.
“I’m sorry, Izuku, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Bakugou moved his fur gently, spotting a mottled purple bruise underneath. “But I think I figured out why it hurts, this bruise is pretty bad but it’ll heal on its own. You should be okay in a few days as long as you don’t swim too much.”
Izuku looked back up at Bakugou, face warming up again. “Really?” He asked, tail flipping excitedly.
“Really,” Bakugou replied, running a hand up Izuku’s soft, fluffy side.
Bakugou arrived a few mornings later, making his way toward the little structure of sticks and branches Izuku had built over the past few days. It had been amazing to watch him work so quickly, spending his days chatting with Bakugou while building his hut. He was surprised to see the slender hybrid already awake and swimming. Relief flooded through Bakugou as he watched him, his back leg moving well and his green pelt glittering in the hazy morning sunlight. Bakugou sat carefully as he set his collection of goodies down on the rocks next to him, hoping not to interrupt the other’s morning workout.
“Kacchan!” The shout drew his attention and Bakugou knew he’d been spotted. He waved, watching as the hybrid swam closer to him, a lazy underwater somersault punctuating his arrival. “Good morning!” Izuku’s smile was wide, bright, and incredibly welcoming.
“Good morning to you too,” Bakugou replied. “Up early I see.”
Izuku swam a little closer, pulling himself up to rest on a half-submerged rock. “Current not too strong, good for swimming!”
“That’s good,” Bakugou nodded. “It should help loosen some of your muscles back up.”
“Kacchan knows so much,” Izuku smiled. “What is this?” He gestured to the stack of books next to Bakugou.
“Some papers I need to grade for the class I’m TA-ing and a few books I thought you might like.” Bakugou reached into the pile and pulled out a book titled Marine Aquatic Hybrids.
Izuku cocked his head, screwing up his face. “TA-ing?” His tail gave a little flick as he waited for Bakugou to answer.
“Ah, sorry, I keep forgetting. TA-ing means teaching assistant, like... I help the professor, the teacher, explain things to the students, the people learning.” He tipped his head back, staring up at the light grey sky. “But honestly it’s just more work for me, not so much teaching.”
“No fun?” Izuku pushed himself a bit further down on the rock, sinking more of his body into the water. “Why Kacchan do if not fun?”
“Well, it pays for my PhD, my degree.” He looked at Izuku to see if he followed and explained further. “It lets me come do things like this, like spend time with you.”
“Oh,” Izuku replied softly. “Well if Kacchan can be with me maybe not so bad.” He smiled, and Bakugou thought it was just a little brighter than yesterday.
The days seemed to bleed together—Bakugou’s life revolving around the little otter. Distantly he was aware that he spent a fair number of days on the beach with Izuku, but if you asked him to count? He was too busy enjoying learning about hybrid life from Izuku and teaching him about the human world. Every day he watched Izuku get stronger, become able to swim for longer, and before Bakugou knew it, he was ready to go home. It was heartbreaking, making plans to say goodbye to the friend he’d been spending every waking minute with, but he knew it was for the best.
“Izuku?” Bakugou sat at the edge of the water, his feet encompassed by the tide.
“Hm?” Izuku swam over, his coat looking as bright as ever from Bakugou’s daily offerings of shellfish.
“You can swim really well now.” He smiled, fighting back a wave of emotion. Izuku nodded like this was a well known fact. “I think... I think I have a way to help you find your family.”
Izuku stilled in the water, staring at Bakugou with an unreadable expression. “Family?”
“Yeah, your mom and your friends?” There was a tightness in his voice he just couldn’t shake. “I found someone who studies otter hybrids and he thinks he knows how to find your family.”
The hybrid only blinked back at him, chewing on his lower lip. “If I go, will I see Kacchan again?”
A long moment of silence stretched between them. “I don’t know,” Bakugou finally answered. “I might not always be here, so I don’t know.” He broke eye contact with Izuku lest the dam of emotions finally break.
Izuku, however, had no such concerns. Tears spilled readily from his eyes as he swam closer to Bakugou. “But Kacchan.” he stuck a little paw out for Bakugou to hold. “Kacchan is family?”
“Oh, Izuku.” Bakugou wrapped his hand around his paw, pulling him closer. “I will always be your family, even if you don't see me anymore.”
This was hurting a lot more than Bakugou had anticipated. It sounded silly, even to him, but he was fairly certain Izuku was the closest thing he had to a friend right now. Of course he had friends back at the university, but everyone was so busy with research and teaching and classes that they rarely ever had time to get together. Izuku, on the other hand, was someone who Bakugou had spent every day of the last several weeks with, and it was going to leave a giant whole in his heart.
Izuku frowned at him, tears sliding down into the briny ocean. “I not want to leave Kacchan.”
He looked down at Izuku for a long moment, the only sound the waves lapping against them and the gulls across the bay. “I can’t make you leave,” he whispered, pushing away some of the green hair that had fallen in his face. “If you want to stay, you can stay.”
“I miss family, but I think I miss Kacchan more.” Izuku said thoughtfully. “Family okay without me, I okay without family.” He gave Bakugou a weak smile and he wasn’t sure who Izuku was trying to convince.
“Izuku,” Bakugou cooed, stroking the fur under his chin. “Would, would you like to come home with me?” Bakugou knew he didn’t have the space in his tiny one bedroom apartment for another person, let alone a saltwater hybrid, but he was certain this would be possible to fix.
The otter looked up at him blinking a few times. “Home? To where Kacchan goes at night?”
Bakugou couldn’t help himself as a grin crossed his face. “Yeah, Izuku, to where I go at night.”
“I think I would like that.” Tiny ripples expanded outward from where Izuku paddled his feet in the water and Bakugou was sure his heart had never felt so full.
Things fell into place nicely, as if the universe, or someone, was looking out for Bakugou. He had never really asked his parents for anything, having worked through high school and undergrad to pay for most of his necessities, and they were more than happy to lend him the money to purchase a house. It was a quaint bungalow; small, with just one bedroom, but it wasn’t the interior that had drawn Bakugou to it.
The ocean, the wide expanse of ever-changing life, was visible from his back porch. It was his own private strip of beach that backed right up to the yard, and it was beautiful. The accommodations took a few days to make, the addition of a huge saltwater pool in the modest backyard, changing out the carpet for non-slip tile flooring so Izuku didn’t fill the house with mold, and an economy-sized refrigerator for fresh seafood.
Bakugou was nervous to show Izuku the house, but Izuku was nothing less than excited, head stuck out of the window like a dog as Bakugou drove the short few blocks to his new home. He showed Izuku the interior, watching the way his eyes lit up at all of the things that were brand new to him. He was, as Bakugou had suspected, a big fan of the TV.
“I have one last surprise.” Bakugou led him to the back door, propping it open as he watched Izuku peek his head around, immediately taking off on all fours towards the pool.
“Kacchan!” Izuku rolled in the water, dampening his fur, face full of gratitude. “This is the best!” He flipped under water, head popping up as he caught sight of the ocean on the other side.
“That’s ours too, buddy,” Bakugou said as he dipped his feet in the pool, watching as Izuku paddled over to the edge, eyes set on the horizon. “And you’re always welcome to leave, if you want.” He cocked his head as Izuku turned around.
“I not leave Kacchan.” Izuku smiled, gliding back over to him. “Kacchan make this place for me, so I stay.” He rested his head on Bakugou’s knee, sticking out a paw for Bakugou to grab.
“I’d like that.” Bakugou threaded his fingers through Izuku’s digits as best he could, holding them close.
The sun was cresting over the horizon several days later, casting yellow gold rays across the expanse of ocean before them. Bakugou’s heart raced as one little head breached the surface, green fur incandescent in the early morning light. It was closely followed by a brown head and a yellow one, and one that Bakugou could have sworn was half red and half white. A moment passed before realization dawned on him and Bakugou was gently shaking Izuku awake, the otter having drifted off in the pool next to him holding his hand.
“Izuku, your family,” Bakugou said breathlessly.
“Kacchan is family,” Izuku reliped sleepily, snuggling back into him.
“No, Izuku—” Bakugou pointed towards the pack of otters bobbing in the surf “—your family!”
Izuku finally looked, gaze following Bakuogu’s hand, and he let out an excited chirp followed by a few squeaks as he wiggled out of the pool, running on all fours down the sand and into the tide. Bakugou followed quickly, going in up to his knees as he watched the reunion before him. It was heartwarming, watching the odd little family be reunited again. Guilt flooded him as he found himself worried that Izuku was going to end up leaving him after all.
He watched for a long while, listening to the chorus of chirps accented with odd words here and there, before Izuku swam back towards him with a beautiful shell in his claw. “Mom said for you,” he announced, pushing the shell into Bakugou’s hand. “Thank Kacchan for taking care of me.”
He smiled and Bakugou couldn’t help but smile back.
“They said come visit sometimes.”
Bakugou felt his heart sink as he prepared himself for the inevitable goodbye.
“I miss them but it's okay.”
Izuku waved at them as they swam off, watching until each of their heads dipped below the surface before he wound himself around Bakugou’s legs.
“Oh,” Bakugou said quietly, “they’re coming to visit you.” Relief flooded him as Izuku chirped, listening for a response from the disappearing pack before slowly making their way back to the house, Izuku rinsing the salt from his fur before slipping inside. Bakugou took a moment for himself, watching the way the sun shone off the ocean. He inhaled the thick salty air, feeling the way it rested comfortably in his lungs. It felt like home.