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“I don’t get why we have to meet it.”
“Because it’s the polite thing to do, you brat,” Mitsuki Bakugou playfully nudged her son’s arm as they walked through the neighborhood. “And thanks again for coming with us, Izuku.”
“Of course! It really is no problem. I don't get to see many babies anyway. I'm sure it’ll be fun,”
“Fuckin’ weirdo,”
“HEY” Mitsuki slapped the top of Katsuki’s head, Izuku giggled.
Thinking back, he wasn’t quite sure how he got roped into coming. All he remembered is that Katsuki asked him if he wanted to come with him to do…something? He stopped reading the text halfway through. When he combed through the message again, he needed to let the request load in his mind for a little bit. A baby? Meeting a baby? The whole thing felt completely unexpected, especially from Kacchan of all people.
Even his own mother didn’t believe him. When Izuku told her he was going to meet a baby with Kacchan, she began to spiral into what “meeting a baby with Kacchan” was code for. Izuku had to reassure her it was, in fact, a literal baby.
Mitsuki knocked on the door and a kind looking woman with tired eyes answered it, infant in her arms.
She welcomed them inside, and thanked Mitsuki for bringing her some food earlier.
“It was no problem,” Mitsuki said with what Izuku thought was an uncharacteristic smile.
The woman turned to Izuku and Katsuki, “Do you want to hold her?” she asked.
Izuku nodded his head fervently while Katsuki shrugged, still reluctant to be there.
“Have you ever held a baby before?” she asked Izuku.
“No ma’am,” he replied sheepishly.
“You want to make sure you support the head and neck. like this,” she showed him the placement of her arms as he studied very intently.
Carefully passing the girl onto Izuku, his body tenses as he struggles to find the correct way to move his arms. The little girl had begun to cry, wailing and squirming as she was taken away from the familiarity of her mother’s arms.
“Tch,” Katsuki scoffed.
“I-I’m sorry Kacchan, I—“ he leaned closer to him, whispering in shame “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Idiot. Give her to me,” he suddenly reaches for her, but Izuku hurriedly pulls her away, protective of the infant with his famously explosive companion.
“You have to be careful, Kacchan! You could seriously hurt her!”
“I know that dumbass, just give her to me.”
Izuku carefully passed the child into Katsuki's arms, watching as he naturally snakes around the infant, holding her close and secure to his body.
“There we go,” he said.
He then began gently bouncing the baby up and down, still hearing the sobs.
“Shh. It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said in a small voice, one that Izuku had never heard before.
Her cries quieted, as her face red with emotion had faded back to her beautiful light brown skin. Eyes opening once more, she notices that the sight of Katsuki’s face, while he was undoubtedly a stranger, wasn’t scary. The little girl had calmed.
“Oh yeah? You feeling better now?” His smile grew.
Izuku looked at Katsuki with awe. He couldn’t help but feel so warm inside watching the way he held that child so carefully. The only word that came to mind was beautiful. In that moment, he catches a brief glimpse of the future. He often did, after all, he was something of a dreamer. As of late, his imagination always took him somewhere with Kacchan. Sometimes he would imagine his head on his shoulder, or playing with his blond hair, but this one was different.
The sight of Katsuki holding another infant just like he is now filled his vision. Izuku could hear his voice comforting them, kissing their little forehead. Waking up in the dead of night just to make sure they were okay. What he wouldn’t do to hear Katsuki’s soft voice just one more time…
Is this…a future Izuku wants?
It wasn't until today, seeing his best friend holding a baby, comforting it when it was in distress, Izuku realized he was in love with the prettiest man he had ever seen. This is a future he wanted more than anything.
“Wow Kacchan!” Izuku looked at him with stars in his eyes. Katsuki evaded his stare with embarrassment, trying to hide his burning hot face which was pink with fluster.
“How are you so good at that??”
“It’s easy,”
“Wait, I wanna hold her again,”
Katsuki rolls his eyes, “Fine,”
Giving the infant back to Izuku, he helps adjust his arms properly. Katsuki’s fingers traced the skin on his arms, making sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid. Izuku nearly froze at the sudden contact, Katsuki sighed in mild annoyance.
“It’s like holding a giant water balloon,”
“Ohh,”
The visual helped Izuku immensely. The second time’s the charm, they always say. Now, being able to see her face in its entirety, Izuku is truly enamored. Dark brown eyes, massive pools of innocence that you couldn’t help but pray will never be tainted.
He felt it in himself and he knew Katsuki felt it too: the urge to protect. To make sure nothing will ever hurt her. Like you could just hold her in your arms forever and time will stay still just for you.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
All the while, Mitsuki sat next to the woman at her dinner table, casually chatting until she noticed Katsuki handling her little girl. She stops her conversation as she watches his quiet shushes.
She turned to Mitsuki. “Your son’s becoming quite the gentleman,”
She lets out a single laugh, finding “your son” and “gentleman” in the same sentence an amusing idea, “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
“And he’s an only child?”
“Only child.”
“You must be one proud mama,”
Mitsuki thinks for a second. Hundreds of memories of the cursing and the swatting and the screaming play through her mind, feeling nostalgic for it all. It was all a constant uphill battle with her son. It wasn’t until just now she could see how it all paid off, and how her faith in him was exactly what he needed. When did he become so tall?
“I am.”
“I hope she turns out just like him,”
“Maybe not just like him,” Mistuki jokes.
“His little friend is adorable, too.”
“God, I can never separate them. I’m waiting for Katsuki to talk to me about him, but he hasn’t yet,”
“Give him time. I’m sure he’s still figuring it out himself,”
“I just want him to know that I’ll love him no matter what,”
“I’m sure he knows.”
Mitsuki sighs, “I really hope so.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
“Thanks again for having us!” Izuku waved to the woman as they walked away from the house.
Their walk home was quiet, but comfortable. Izuku, for once in his life, fell silent. He stared at Katsuki’s hand the whole way back, wondering what would happen if he just took the risk.
The boys walked alongside each other, Katsuki’s house appearing close by. Izuku looked down at their hands, so close together. Electrifyingly close. His pinky reached for Katsuki’s. He instinctively moved his hand away from the contact, looking down at the outstretched pinky.
It was only two seconds. Two seconds of their fingers interlocking. When Katsuki suddenly pulled away, he checked his watch, seeing what he had just been notified of.
Elevated Heart Rate Detected
“Damn thing,” he swore under his breath.
“What was that Katsuki?” His mother asked from ahead.
He stuttered. “Jus-just my stupid watch,”
Izuku saw the notification. Could it mean?
Oh my god he thought.
He was glad he took the risk.