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Izuku was positive that grocery shopping shouldn’t be as exciting and happiness-inducing as he found it to be. There was something about grocery day where he was able to gather up his entire family into their car and go spend half a day getting their food for the week that just brought an unexplainable warmth to his chest. It was so mundane compared to everything else in their lives. Honestly, Izuku could compare it to a breath of fresh air. Being a Pro Hero made life hard enough, especially when his partner was also a Pro Hero. When they added children to the mix, it just became so much harder. Izuku felt tugged in so many directions, torn between being a good hero, a good husband, and a good parent. He was amazed they ever found balance, but considering who his partner was, that made sense.
“Oi Deku,” As if the very thought summoned the man, Izuku spun on his heel to face his husband. Katsuki was holding two different things in his hands. Izuku recognized the two different miso pastes right away and couldn’t resist chuckling a little. One thing Katsuki wasn’t very good at was memorizing what was in their cabinets. Once they got to the grocery store, it was like it all flew out the window. The blonde could never recall what they had. Even with their very organized list (courtesy of Izuku) Katsuki always found something to question.
“We only need the regular one Kacchan, you have plenty of your spicy one.” Katsuki grunted in reply before walking down the aisle to put the spicy one back. Izuku smiled at his husband’s retreating back before turning back to what he was originally looking at: cereal.
Once a month, Katsuki permitted one hero cereal for Izuku and their five-year-old son, Ichigo. Izuku always took the time to pick one he knew his son would enjoy and had some sort of toy or figure inside. Ultimately, he decided on an old classic, the Mighty-O’s. He slipped it into their basket then leaned over the stroller to check on Ichigo.
The little green-haired boy was still passed out. It was pretty chilly outside and Katsuki had bundled their youngest up in multiple layers, including a soft Deku-themed blanket. It was Ichigo’s favorite blanket and Izuku loved seeing his son cuddled up in it. Gingerly, to avoid waking the boy, Izuku brushed his fingers along his son’s forehead. Ichigo snuffled a little but otherwise remained asleep, clutching his blanket a little tighter. Izuku couldn’t help the soft smile across his face. He would never understand how he got so fucking lucky. It was a reminder that this was what he fought for. This is what kept him going; knowing that he was making the world a better place for his children, ensuring they would never endure what he and Katsuki did.
Standing up, Izuku glanced further in the opposite direction at his other child. His eldest. She was talking with someone, a boy who seemed to be from her school by the looks of his uniform. Her beautiful blonde braid, courtesy of Katsuki, was swaying as she shook her head. Izuku just watched the interaction from afar. He knew if Katsuki saw it there would be risk of an explosion or two. Thankfully, when his husband did return, he was squinting at the ingredients of something. Izuku raised a brow and handed his husband his reading glasses. Katsuki grunted in thanks and slipped them on.
“Wanna tell me why you are holding a bag of… Is that more peppers?” Katsuki shrugged nonchalantly, going back to reading the package. “Kacchan, hang on baby, you got so many-,”
“Yeah but these are those specialty peppers I needed for that soup recipe,” Katsuki butted in. Izuku heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. It didn’t matter what he said, Katsuki would be getting the damn peppers. Even though there was now an entire shelf dedicated to his husband’s spicy pepper addiction.
“Fine baby, just promise me you won’t eat the damn things raw,” Izuku grumbled, lips already tingling with the phantom sensation of kissing his husband after said man ate a whole bird’s eye chile. Katsuki snorted, probably remembering the same incident, prompting Izuku to press a silly kiss to Katsuki’s forehead. Bless the stars that he got that last growth spurt. He couldn’t get enough of being able to kiss Katsuki’s forehead. Even being together for nearly twenty years couldn’t take away the sheer joy of being able to hold his beloved. Katsuki hummed and placed the bag in their basket.
“Where is Kimiko?” Izuku froze, frantically glancing between his husband’s back and their daughter, who was still talking to that boy.
“Umm, I sent her to grab the coconut milk and that fluffy bread Ichigo likes,” Izuku blurted out, moving to stand in the way. Katsuki was fiddling with Ichigo’s coat and didn’t see his husband move. He did, however, hear the stutter in Izuku’s voice.
“Deku, you’re a terrible liar,” Katsuki growled as he turned around. Izuku chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.
“Kacchan, it’s fine,”
“Hi Papa, I got the coconut milk you like,” Kimiko appeared beside them, smiling at Katsuki while holding up the coveted item. “I grabbed three, since I know they rarely stock it and you don’t like going downtown for it,”
“Thank you, Angel,” Katsuki took the cans to be placed in the cart. Kimiko just nodded before smiling at Izuku. Izuku grinned back. “Is that everything?”
“Yes Papa. They didn’t have Ichigo’s bread, Dad picked out a cereal, I grabbed the fruit for my bentos, and I made sure to grab extra protein bars for your office. I also picked out a new pre-workout flavor for you and got Dad’s favorite vitamin gummies for his joints,” Kimiko held up a finger for each thing she listed.
“Thanks, Princess,” Izuku pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter’s head. Normally, he’d ruffle her blonde locks because he loved how she inherited Katsuki’s color but his curls. However, Katsuki would flip out if Izuku ruined the braid.
“Alright, let's go check out and pick up dinner,” Katsuki ordered, grabbing the basket to lead the way. Izuku just shook his head and grabbed the stroller, double checking Ichigo was still sleeping. He had a feeling he was going to regret letting Ichigo sleep so much but the kid was pretty tuckered out from his first week of full-day daycare. Normally, Katsuki only sent Ichigo for half the day and Inko or Mitsuki would pick him up. This month, both grandparents were too busy and Ichigo needed to spend the full day. Katsuki was a little nervous but Izuku had managed to calm the blonde’s nerves. If anything, Izuku was extremely hopeful that a full day at daycare would help get some of Ichigo’s rambunctious DIE energy out. Since he seemed to have inherited Katsuki’s childhood need for noise and obnoxiousness.
Check out was easy as ever. Katsuki took control, putting the groceries up while Kimiko stood beside him holding his wallet and rewards card. Izuku put Ichigo at the end of the lane to snatch up bags and tuck them into the little basket below the stroller. Cold stuff was neatly packed together while dry stuff was hung on hooks Katsuki had put on the stroller for ease of access. Once the blonde swiped his card and the last bag was grabbed, they were ready to go.
It was only a five minute walk to get to the parking structure where they left their car. Izuku used Black Whip to load the groceries while Katsuki got Ichigo in his carseat. By some blessing of someone out there, the five year old remained asleep despite his father's whispered curses as he fumbled with the straps. Kimiko eventually took pity on Katsuki and used her quirk to strap Ichigo in. While Katsuki was appreciative, he did give a quiet lecture about her quirk usage. Unlicensed quirk usage in public was a big deal, especially with her parents being Pro Heroes.
The drive was pretty quiet from there out. Izuku drove, as Katsuki tended to get stressed behind the wheel in the city. Izuku had one hand on the wheel while the other held Katsuki's hand. It was muscle memory at this point. Get in, buckle up, start the car, shift gears, grab Katsuki's hand. In that exact order. Sometimes he'd use Black Whip to shift gears just so he didn't need to release Katsuki's hand. They were about ten minutes from home - A car accident being cleaned up provided some delays - when Katsuki turned towards Izuku with that furrow in his brow. Izuku was quite familiar with that look. It was a shy, questionable look. A sign Katsuki had been thinking about something and went down a rabbit hole of negative thoughts. Izuku squeezed his hand, thumb stroking over Katsuki's knuckles in a semblance of comfort. He checked the rearview mirror, confirming his son was still asleep and Kimiko had put some headphones on.
Izuku hummed. “What’s wrong, baby?” Katsuki shifted in his seat, looking out over the sea of brake lights and cars.
"Thinking," He murmured. Izuku hummed again and squeezed his hand. When he got no response, Izuku brought Katsuki's hand up to press a kiss to his knuckles.
"What are you thinking about?" A red blush covered Katsuki's cheeks. It wasn't a flustered blush, nor a dirty blush. It only covered the tops of his cheeks. An embarrassed flush.
"I… Us," Katsuki exhaled, gripping Izuku's hand tighter. "Sometimes it's so… overwhelming," Izuku remained quiet, squeezing Katsuki's hands in turn while nodding slowly. He knew exactly what his husband was referring to. It tended to come up with the most mundane shit too. That's what made it so much more heart-wrenching. The mundane little things they did as a family, like grocery shopping, movie nights, breakfasts and dinners… All of that could've been ripped away before they ever had it.
The idea that his beautiful princess and adorable little boy might not have ever seen the light of day should they have lost the war always made Izuku's heart clench. His children were the light of his life, alongside his husband. Izuku didn't ever want to imagine a world without them.
Traffic cleared quickly after Katsuki admitted what was bugging him. Another seven minutes and they were parked in their apartment’s designated parking structure. Before Katsuki could exit the vehicle and wake both of their sleeping children, Izuku hummed to get Katsuki’s attention. The blonde turned towards his husband easily, a brow raised in question. Izuku gently cupped Katsuki’s cheek and pressed their lips together in a love filled kiss. Katsuki returned it equally, tilting his head for easy access. Izuku sighed as he pulled away. He gave himself a moment to admire the way Katsuki's eyes were a bit hazy and he was licking his lips subconsciously before getting out and moving to release Ichigo.
This time, Ichigo did wake up. He was still wrapped in his Deku-themed blanket and clutching his Dynamight plushie. His little ruby-red eyes were drooping from sleepiness. Izuku cooed and rested his son on his hip, letting Black Whip snatch the groceries and plug their car in. Kimiko and Katsuki were only a couple yards ahead of them, Kimiko holding her backpack and gym bag while Katsuki had his and Izuku's work bags over one shoulder and Ichigo's bag over the other. Izuku still thought of it as a diaper bag, even though Ichigo didn't use diapers, but Katsuki always smacked the back of his head when he said it. Wasn't worth the lump.
"Alright, Dad and I are gunna order dinner. Kimiko you have any homework?" Katsuki gently took Ichigo from Izuku, letting out a similar coo when Ichigo made a sleepy protest.
"No Papa, I finished my work in last period." Izuku grinned. He was always so proud to know Kimiko inherited their tenacity for success.
"Alright, go set the table please then you're free." Katsuki chuckled as Kimiko bounced away with a pleased grin. Sometimes they would give her extra work or scenarios to work through, being Pro Heroes and wanting to enrich her pre-hero education as much as possible. Balance was key though and she hadn't had a free evening in a week or so due to a project.
"You wanna put him to bed and I'll order some ramen?" Izuku offered as he began to gather groceries to be put away. Katsuki hadn't moved from the genkan, just swaying in place while cradling Ichigo to his chest.
"Remember when he was tiny?"
Izuku paused, glancing at Katsuki with more attention than previously. The blonde had an almost wistful look on his face as he stared down at Ichigo's sleep-calmed face. Izuku already knew exactly what Katsuki was talking about. Ichigo was tiny when he was "born", smaller than Kimiko had been. It was normal, according to their quirk and fertility specialists. It had made both of them extra protective of their son. He used to fit in Katsuki's palms easily when the blonde would do skin-to-skin. It was the same for Izuku, practically one of his hands engulfed their son. The way Katsuki was holding Ichigo now was exactly like they would when doing skin-to-skin. Izuku hastily wiped away his tears.
"Yeah… He was so small and cute," Izuku hummed in agreement, approaching from the side to wrap one arm around Katsuki's hips while his other hand came up to cup the back of Ichigo's head. "I love that we got two mixes. Kimiko with your blonde and my green, Ichigo with my green and your red," Katsuki chuckled, pressing into the embrace.
"Yeah… makes it hella funny whenever he glares at someone,"
"Hey! He's got my glare, so what?"
"That's exactly what, Deku,"