In Another Life [Just Like Me Sequel]

Catch up here! 

─────

Katsuki wasn’t sure how to feel.

They’d waited so long, vetted so many potential candidates, and it felt like they’d picked the perfect moment. He’d been so excited – they both had – and as much as he was still elated by the news, he was also... Strangely disappointed. The call had come too early, a whole month before they’d planned on rushing to the hospital in the middle of the night, and there had been a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as they sat in the taxi.

He remembered, very explicitly, that he had to be twenty-four.

His birthday hadn’t come yet.

They’d been shown through to a little examination room, devoid of patients so late in the night, and sat in near-silence for the hour it took them to finish off. Soon there was a nurse opening the door, dressed in scrubs, holding a little bundle of blue blankets safely in her arms.

“Here he is!” the nurse said softly, smiling at the tiny thing. “Let’s come meet your new daddies, little guy!”

Tears poured silently down Izuku’s face as he accepted the blanket-wrapped baby, and Katsuki leaned over to look, smiling faintly at the little pink blob.

“He’s so beautiful,” Izuku choked out, hugging it close. “Kacchan, we have a baby.”

“Yeah, we do,” Katsuki agreed, wrapping an arm around Izuku’s waist. “He’s the least ugly baby I’ve ever seen.”

“Kacchan! He is not ugly!”

“All babies are ugly. But he’s less ugly because he’s ours.”

“You just lost cuddle privileges.”

“Like hell I did!”

“I’ll give you two a minute,” the nurse chuckled to herself. “The paperwork is all here for you, but take your time. I’ll come back in a little bit to check in on you.”

Izuku sat down carefully in one of the armchairs, cradling the baby in his arms, and Katsuki perched on the side to watch over them. He was still weirdly torn, his chest aching, and Izuku reached over to squeeze his leg knowingly.

“I get it,” he whispered. “I know it’s not what we expected, but he’s gorgeous and I love him so much, I hope you do too.”

“I do, of course I do,” Katsuki assured him. “I love him more than I’ve ever loved anything. It’s just... Weird.”

“I know. But we knew from the beginning that this was a possibility, Ieven told us so! Or... He did. You know what I mean!And we’re still gonna be just as happy, no matter what, you’ll see.”

“I know,” Katsuki smiled faintly. “That was a good day. He was hot.”

“He was me, Kacchan, stop doing that!”

“Never.”

Katsuki leaned in closer, resting his cheek on Izuku’s hair and closing his eyes for a moment. After so many years, they’d really done it. They were parents. It was all so surreal.

When he opened his eyes again, he reached out, stroking a tiny, soft cheek with the lightest touch he could manage. The baby barely stirred, and Katsuki just stared for a moment, before he elbowed Izuku in the ribs.

“Alright nerd, it’s my turn. Hand him over.”

Izuku laughed, but nodded all the same, standing up and letting Katsuki take his place before he handed the baby over. Katsuki hugged him close, and Izuku picked up the stack of paperwork, humming to himself as he flipped through it.

“So we need to register the birth, and we should let our parents know, and plan for the celebration dinner a week from now. Do you want to call your parents or should I do it?”

“I don’t give a shit, just don’t make me move right now.”

“None of it needs to be done right now,” Izuku laughed. “We can apply for the baby support money too, it might be nice to have it since we’ll be taking more time off work than our paternity leave covers. Do we owe any money to the surrogate still? We’ve already paid for all the appointments and everything, right?She’ll be in hospital for a few more days, so we should make sure we send flowers and things. I can probably book deliveries online. Do you think we could send something each day? Just so she knows we’re thinking of her?”

“Yeah, we can do that. We should ask the nurses if we can go see her and say thanks. I know the agency said most of them don’t want to, but we should at least ask.”

“Yeah, I’ll ask when the nurse comes back. I’ve told work that we won’t be in for the next week, after that we can take turns going in. Would alternating days be too much changeover, do you think? I guess we could do a week each, but being away every day for a week seems like so long, you know?”

“Days is fine, we’ll fill each other in on what happens.”

“Okay! And I’ll write up a schedule to make sure everything stays under control. Maybe whichever one of us is working can feed him in the morning while the other sleeps. Although if he’s still sleeping, we probably shouldn’t wake him up for food! I guess we should just let him decide when he’s hungry, huh?”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out in our week together, then we can decide what to do with work days.”

“That’s true! I’ll start tracking his habits right away so we can have an idea of what he’ll need by then!”

“You’re such a damn nerd.”

“And you love it.”

“I love you,” Katsuki huffed. “Your dumb habits are just part of the package I have to put up with.”

“He needs a name. We never even talked about names!”

“We have like two weeks before we have to name him,” Katsuki pointed out, stroking the tiny cheek again and watching his eyes open slowly. “A week if you want to do the whole announcement day thing. We can take our time.”

“I liked that we merged our names together, like your parents did. Or, the other us did it, I guess. I thought that was really cute.”

“I still think it’s cheesy, but I’ll allow it.”

“I don’t think there are many good combinations we can make, though!” Izuku pouted. “I don’t want to use...”

“Me neither,” Katsuki agreed quickly. “We’ll come up with one. We’ll make one up if we have to.”

“Although... We probably have to accept that she’s just... not ours,” Izuku whispered, dropping his gaze to the floor. “Even if we have another baby, and it turns out to be a girl, she probably won’t be her.”

“I’m trying,” Katsuki agreed. “It’s hard to accept.”

“But she’s happy there, we know that! She’s safe, and loved, and... And we’re so lucky we got a chance to meet her.”

“Yeah.”

“And we’re gonna love our baby boy, just as much as we love her!”

Katsuki smiled when the baby yawned, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead and making sure he was comfortable to doze again.

“Hisakazu,” he whispered.

Izuku cracked a smile, and Katsuki dared to sneak a glance up at him, at the teary look back in his eyes again.

“Our little Kazuchan,” he sniffled, dropping to his knees to wrap his arms around them both. “Welcome to the family! Daddy and Papa love you so, so much! We’re gonna take the best care of you, I promise!”

The sleepy eyes turned toward his voice, and Izuku sobbed despite his smile, overwhelmed by everything, as usual.

“We’d better call our parents.” Katsuki smiled faintly. “They’re gonna kill us if we take too long.”

“Soon,” Izuku nodded, swallowing hard. “Right now is just for us.”

“Take all the time you need.”

─────

Katsuki groaned when he heard the commotion, glancing back over his shoulder to see people running. He’d only left the house to get more diapers – damn kid had gone through their massive collection of them in just days – and now he was stuck dealing with work when he was supposed to have time off?

He’d thought they could just snuggle and play with their new addition for their week off. They’d stocked up weeks in advance, with a ton of food and formula, a room completely filled with diapers and spare onesies, and of course thethousand tubs of wet wipes that were starting to fill their backyard with garbage bags. But no, of course the little punk had to be a damn poop-machine, and Katsuki had lost the dramatic janken battle that ensued between himself and Izuku, resulting in him being stuck with the duty of going out to buy more diapers.

And, of course, taking care of the god-damn villain attack even though he was meant to be on holiday.

He zipped his phone and wallet into his jacket pockets to keep them secure, gave his arms a quick stretch to make sure they were ready for a fight, and then he was off, heading toward the noise at a rapidly increasing pace.

As soon as he spotted his target he launched himself into the air, explosions propelling him like a bullet toward the creature. It was oddly reminiscent of a villain he’d seen once as a kid, a man with a gigantification quirk who’d tried to snatch a purse by the train station and ended up in a fight with a bunch of heroes. Katsuki had stopped to watch the battle for a while, fascinated by Kamui Woods’s fighting style, but when that annoying Mount Lady had shown up, Katsuki had moved on. He hadn’t given a shit about some big woman and her skimpy suit, he’d just wanted to see the interesting quirks.

The villain looked up, a slow movement that Katsuki knew meant an easy fight was in store for him. He brought his hands together, blasting a bright, golden light between them to blind the villain below, and using the cover to drop back to the ground. A few quick explosions knocked the villain’s legs out from under him, sending him crashing down onto a thankfully cleared road, but as he looked up to call for handcuffs, a weight slammed into his side. He hit the ground, groaning, arms in front of his face to protect it from the blows he knew were coming, but instead...

Nothing.

He sat up, opening his eyes to investigate, expecting to see some other hero taking all his glory, but all he saw was curious faces watching on from the footpaths. He scrambled to his feet, hurrying away from the cars that were suddenly passing him by on either side, and took a deep breath as he pieced it all together. He had to have been knocked out in the fight, but why had he just been left there? The roadblocks were gone, and there was no damage to anything – a sign that he’d done his job well – but something was also weirdly off about the area.

Maybe he was concussed? That would be a great story to tell the doctors, concussed by being knocked over on a street. While out buying diapers.

Super heroic.

He dug his phone from his pocket to check the time, frowning when he saw the numbers flick over to half past twelve. He’d left the house around twenty past, right? How had they cleaned up all that mess in minutes?

“Dad?”

Katsuki’s eyes widened when he saw the familiar face staring at him, bright red eyes locking on his own.

“What are you doing here?” she continued, weaving between pedestrians to reach him on the kerb. “Is something wrong?”

“What am I doing here?” he asked, eyebrows knitting together. “Are you...?”

“Hisami,” she grinned. “Sorry, have we not met, in your time?”

“We did, when you were... Tiny. Three years old.”

“It is you!” she beamed, grabbing him by the hand. “Are you hurt? You’re a mess. Do you need to see a doctor?”

“I’m... Not sure. I hit my head on the concrete, but I think I’m okay.”

“Hmm. You’re always supposed to see a doctor for head injuries. Come with me! We can go see the doctor at your agency!”

“I’m okay.”

“Papa would get mad if he heard you say that,” she grinned, tugging at his hand to drag him along. “Come on, it’s not far.”

“Alright, alright.”

She led him down streets that were familiar, but not right. It was stupidly disorienting, like being in a new part of a city that you’d only seen on maps. Full of familiar names and landmarks, but almost impossible to navigate without help.

Soon they were in front of a building he didn’t remember seeing before, even though it again felt strangely familiar. It was like he’d seen it before in a dream, or a book, but never actually been there.

“My head hurts,” he grumbled, as Hisami dragged him through shining glass doors. “Not from the hit, just... Everything else.”

“Papa will know what to do!”

“Where am I?”

“Hmm... It’s Friday, so I guess on patrol? Wait, no, it’s the last Friday of the month, so U.A. probably? Uncle Ai calls you in as a guest teacher once a month, I’m so jealous.”

“Jealous? You have me at home, I can teach you shit any time.”

“It’s not the same! U.A. has so many cool training grounds and so much awesome equipment, at home we just have the backyard!”

“You want to go to U.A., then?”

“Yeah!” she grinned, gesturing toward her dark uniform. “Next year! I’ve been working really hard! I have perfect grades in every subject, I’m captain of two sports teams and the debate club, I’ve been class president for all of Junior High, and I go to the gym at least once a day to make sure I’m strong enough. I have a lot to live up to, after all!”

“Sorry if me and Deku have been putting a lot of pressure on you.”

“No, it’s okay! I know you guys will love me no matter what, this is for me not for you guys!”

She knocked on an unassuming door at the end of a long corridor, and Katsuki smiled awkwardly when an older woman stared at him with wide eyes.

“He came from the past,” Hisami explained, before she could ask. “He’s a different Dad, not the same one. He hit his head, can you take a look?”

“Of course,” she nodded, stepping aside to wave them in. “Have a seat, Mister Bakugou.”

“I’m gonna go get Papa!” Hisami grinned. “Be good, Dad!”

“Alright Mister Bakugou, can you tell me what happened?”

He sat down on a hard seat, sighing as he tried his best to work it all out.

“I was fighting a villain,” he began, starting with the easy bits. “I knocked him down, but before I could cuff him, something hit me in the side. I think it was a person, and their quirk was what sent me here. I hit my head, and when I opened my eyes I was in... the same place, but it looked wrong, if that makes sense? So I thought maybe I was concussed, but none of it added up, and then Hisami happened to walk by. I met her once, when she went back in time as a kid. Or... I guess it was an alternate timeline, technically. But since I was kind of disoriented, and I hit my head, she brought me here to get checked out.”

“Any dizziness or balance troubles?”

“No, and no nausea or fatigue. I think my brain is just messed up from the quirk.”

“That sounds about right to me, but let’s do a few tests, just in case.”

He stood up, following her directions to go through the series of tests he’d done a million times before, but right when they were just about done, the door burst open again. He jumped, whirling around and preparing to defend himself, but then a familiar laugh rang out and he felt strong arms wrap around him, hauling him off the ground.

“Welcome, Tiny Kacchan!” Izuku beamed, hugging him tightly. “Long time no see!”

“Yeah,” he grunted, squirming. “Can you put me down?”

“Nope!”

“Papa, he’s hurt,” Hisami insisted, tugging at his arm. “Don’t make it worse!”

“He looks fine to me!”

“He hit his head!”

Izuku set him down, squinting a little as he looked straight into Katsuki’s eyes, then over to the doctor.

“No concussion,” he said, strangely confident in his own assessment. “He’s okay to leave, right?”

“Right,” she smiled. “Take good care of him, trying to process the whole time travel thing is going to be difficult.”

“You know I will!”

He slung an arm around Katsuki’s back, leading him back out into the foyer with a last thanks, and Katsuki groaned when he saw all the eyes turning his way.

“Can I sit in my office or something?” he requested. “I don’t want to deal with all this shit.”

“Don’t be silly, I’m taking you home! I have some paperwork to do later, but I can take some time off until then. And you, missy, should be at school.”

“I finished! Today is the teachers’ meeting, remember?”

“And you don’t have club stuff?”

“Nope! A bunch of the debate club people have exams over the weekend, so we decided to take the day off.”

“Okay, let’s take your Tiny Dad home then.”

“I am not tiny,” Katsuki huffed, swatting away the hand that reached to ruffle his hair. “Don’t start this shit, nerd.”

“I seem to remember someone telling me I was hot now.”

“Doesn’t mean you ain’t a nerd, nerd.”

Izuku just grinned at him knowingly, patting him on the head before he could slap the hand away again. Katsuki scowled, but Izuku didn’t seem to care, too busy ushering him out the front door and back into the streets full of people.

“How old are you, anyway? Early twenties, obviously, but specifically?”

“Twenty-three.”

“Ahhh, a good year,” Izuku smiled wistfully. “Did you, uh, do the whole... Thing?”

“The surrogate process?” Katsuki huffed a faint laugh, looking away. “Yeah, we did. God that was a mess.”

“Right? But so worth it. You guys are gonna be so happy. I’m so happy. Babies are so cute, I wonder if Kacchan would agree to have another.”

“Probably.” Katsuki couldn’t help but smile faintly, glancing over at Hisami. “You’ve done well so far, after all.”

“True! Maybe I’ll ask him, I’d love another baby in the house!”

“Let me move out first,” Hisami requested, poking her tongue out. “After I go to U.A.”

“Cool, we can use your bedroom, then.”

“Real funny, Papa.” She rolled her eyes. “You have a spare room.”

“True, but what if I want to have friends over?”

“Then they can use my room. Not a stinky baby.”

“Okay, that’s fair. Deal.”

Katsuki froze at the end of a path, blinking at the familiar house standing before them. Izuku just grinned at him knowingly, when he saw the surprise in his face, waving for him to follow.

“We don’t plan on moving any time soon.”

“It’s so clean.”

“Oh! Yeah! It took a while, but we got everything cleaned up! My Kacchan started doing some little projects while the baby slept, he eventually got bored of just staring at the crib all day. He got really good at painting, especially!”

“You painted my room red for me,” Hisami added, beaming up at him. “Papa said it might be too much but you knew better!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“You’ve gotta do that again, okay? Even when Papa complains.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki said quietly, swallowing hard – there was suddenly a lump in his throat that didn’t want to shift. “I will, I promise.”

“Do you wanna see?”

“Absolutely, show me.”

“Okay! Come with me!”

Izuku unlocked the door and quickly stepped aside, letting Hisami barge her way in and drag Katsuki off up the stairs. He barely had time to kick off his sneakers in the doorway, Hisami’s little hand happily laced through his to lead the way, and Katsuki didn’t have the heart to tell her that he knew his way around the small building.

She turned left at the top of the stairs, giving Katsuki a moment of surprise considering he and Izuku had set up their nursery in the room to the right. Then again, he supposed her bedroom wasn’t necessarily the same room they’d had the nursery in – they might have moved her to a new room when she got into a proper bed, after all. That was something he’d have to think about, soon. Did they want to keep Hisakazu in the same room and have to refurnish it? Or would it be easier to move him to a new room, and either keep the nursery for a second baby, or convert it to the guest room in their own time?

Either way, he was going to have to learn to paint.

“See? Look at my walls!”

Hisami showed her room off proudly – surprisingly tidy, for a teenager – and Katsuki couldn’t stop the soft smile that washed over him. Izuku was completely right, it was way too much, but Hisami was so delighted about it that he found himself falling in love with it anyway. It was so bright, though bits and pieces were covered by darker furniture and a ton of posters of heroes. There were photos scattered around too, Hisami with various friends and family, but he tried to avoid looking at those too closely. On one hand, he was worried about potential spoilers – finding out things he shouldn’t, or didn’t want to know. On the other, there was that ache in his chest knowing that she wasn’t his. Those memories would never really become his, the way she expected them to.

“It looks great,” he agreed, when she looked at him expectantly. “He did a good job.”

“Oh, and look at this!”

She pulled a box out from the bottom of her closet, opening it on a little pile of brightly coloured clothes, far too small to ever fit on her again.

“Your friend made me these,” she explained, holding up a pair of fluffy red pyjamas. “I used to wear them when I stayed with Uncle Eiji or Auntie Mina. I was scared being away from Daddy and Papa, but you and the other Papa made me safe again, so they helped me feel safe when I was away from home too.”

“I’m glad we made you feel safe,” he whispered, hugging her tightly. “I’ve thought about you every single day since then, I hope you know that.”

“I love you,” she grinned, hugging him back. “You’re so sappy, Dad.”

“I know,” he chuckled. “Sorry. I love you too.”

“It’s okay.”

He sniffed as he released her from his clutches, quickly wiping his eyes before she could see how watery they’d become, and she tucked her pyjamas away again safely.

“Hey, you guys hungry?” Izuku called. “I’m gonna make some lunch!”

“Yeah!” Hisami called back, leaping to her feet. “Udon!”

“Manners?”

“Oh glorious wonderful father wouldst thou perhaps consider making thy heavenly udon?”

“You are so much like your father.”

Katsuki grinned as he followed her down the stairs, leaning against the doorway to watch as Hisami pouted, poking her Papa repeatedly to keep his attention.

“Okay, okay!” Izuku caved, shoving her toward a cupboard. “Get the noodles. Kacchan, you want some udon?”

“That would be great, thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

─────

When Izuku headed into his office to do paperwork, Hisami insisted on taking Katsuki back outside. His brain had finally calmed down once he adjusted to the few furniture and paint colour changes in the house, making him far less groggy and gross, and Hisami was determined that that was good enough to show him around town.

Once his brain finally accepted that things were different, it was actually kind of fascinating to look around. Their favourite restaurants were still exactly where he expected – probably in part because they were Izuku and Katsuki’s favourites. Once they found a place they liked, they tended to put a lot of money into it, on all the nights they were too tired to cook. The agency building Katsuki had visited was, he was pretty sure, an old office building for a company he’d never liked much. They were always overworking their employees for shitty pay and all that, he was pretty happy to see that they were gone in general, let alone replaced by his own agency. And the grocery store he’d been heading to when everything went down was also still standing, right where it was supposed to be.

“Did you want something?” Hisami asked, when she found him looking at the old building. “I can buy you something, if you want! You probably shouldn’t use your own money, it might make economic problems.”

“You’re a smart cookie,” Katsuki said fondly, watching her light up in response. “No, I’m good, I was just... Looking.”

Hisami hummed quietly, thoughtful, just the way Izuku had always done as a kid. If they weren’t in a public place, Katsuki might have grabbed her in another stupid hug then and there for it.

“I have an idea,” she announced, grabbing him by the hand again and dragging him toward the train station. “Let’s go for a run.”

“A run?” he laughed. “Okay, sure.”

“I know the perfect spot.”

She shoved some coins in a ticket machine and handed Katsuki the little paper slip it spat out, leading the way through gates that hadn’t changed in the slightest since Katsuki’s own time. A train pulled up not two minutes after they arrived, and Katsuki followed her in obediently, not bothering to ask questions.

Soon they were heading back out again, into a new station – unfamiliar this time – and Hisami led the way with a quiet confidence. She’d obviously made the trip a thousand times in her life, and Katsuki was weirdly proud, watching. In another life he’d raised such a strong daughter. She was so full of personality, brimming with self-assuredness, and he had zero doubt that she could protect herself if the need arose, too.

“Do you train with your quirk a lot?” he asked, as they walked down a quiet street. “You said it was like mine, before.”

“Yup! To both!” she grinned. “I don’t produce quite as much volume as you do, but Dad says that’s probably just age. With more training and practice he thinks I’ll be able to do it just like you. I didn’t have as many accidents as you, though, Dad was always there to make sure I was safe.”

“Good, I’d be pissed if he wasn’t.”

“And Papa gave me lots of lectures about combat strategy, so I try to be smart when I fight, too.”

“I’m glad.”

“Okay, we’re here!”

She stopped at a little wooden trail sign, and Katsuki stared at it for a moment. He certainly hadn’t been expecting a hike when she wanted to go running.

“It takes us a couple of hours when we walk,” she explained knowingly. “But if we run, it should only take us an hour!”

“Do we come here a lot?”

“Yeah! This is one of the first hikes you took me on, since it was short and close to home. We still come back sometimes, to do trail runs or have a picnic at the top. Do you wanna?”

“You bet I do,” he assured her, cracking a smile. “Lead the way, I’ll follow.”

“Okay!”

She set off at a slow jog to begin with, easing them up a long slope, but when the trail opened up into wider pathways and more plant life around them, she lifted her pace. She was surprisingly sure-footed for someone so young, perfectly at home in the twisted, rocky path, and once again Katsuki was overwhelmed by pride. Despite being a trail they’d apparently taken when she was pretty young, there were no neatly manicured paths or concrete stone slabs, just pure, barely touched nature, the way Katsuki liked it.

Sure enough, they spent about an hour following the track, occasionally slowing to climb a steeper hill or weave their way through fallen trees, all at once the woods gave way to wide, open space, the air fresh and clean above all the city noise.

“This is perfect,” he said softly, when Hisami turned to look back at him. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me! You brought me!” she smiled. “Does it look much different?”

Katsuki looked out over the skyline of their little section of the city, the buildings that housed the people he’d sworn to protect. There were a few tall blocks that he didn’t recognise, newer builds he suspected, but otherwise it was just a mess of coloured buildings, all blurring together into one.

“I don’t know,” he laughed finally. “I’ve never seen it like this before.”

“You’ll have to come back here when you get home and find out!”

“Yeah, I will.”

“And bring me when you can, okay? You can carry me up as a baby so I can see with you!”

Katsuki’s eyes watered again, but he hoped the breeze surrounding them would let him play it off. He nodded firmly, and Hisami leaned into his side, letting him wrap an arm around shoulders that were surprisingly high up – he still expected her to be so much smaller.

“I promise,” he said softly. “The first chance I get, I’ll bring you back here with me.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

They took the descent a lot slower, chatting as they walked, and by the time they reached the bottom the sky was starting to grow dim. He stopped to read the trail sign again, committing the words to memory, and made sure to pay extra attention to every step they took on the way back to the station. With any luck, he’d be able to pull up the station on a map the moment he got home and follow their footsteps to the entrance, marking it down to keep forever. The next time he got nostalgic or wistful, he’d be able to jog to the top and stand there alone, looking out over the growing city.

Maybe he’d even be able to take Hisakazu with him, one day. If he was interested in hiking at all, Katsuki would be able to make that same trip with his own kid, to tell him about the sister who brought his parents together, who set everything in motion for them to be lucky enough to have him.

Because he was. He really, really was. Hisami was amazing, such a fun and beautiful daughter, but Hisakazu was his. The son he’d gotten with the love of his life, the boy he would get to raise to be just as amazing – more amazing, if he had any say in it – and to love and protect every damn day of his life with nothing but pleasure.

His chest tightened, and as they stood on a quiet train, he took a moment to close his eyes. Somewhere, or maybe somewhen, Izuku would be curled up with their son, smothering him in kisses and cuddles and probably singing some stupid song that he’d made up on the spot and made zero sense. As much as he loved seeing the older Izuku and spending time with Hisami, he really, really wanted to go back to his own family, too.

“Tired?” Hisami asked, when she grabbed his hand to drag him off the train. “Dad will be home soon, he can probably take you home, but if not you can have my bed to sleep!”

“Thank you,” he smiled, squeezing her hand lightly. “Let’s head home, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

They followed a group of people toward the gates, the beginnings of an evening rush Katsuki was intimately familiar with, but as they made it out into the main station area, Hisami froze.

“What’s up?” he asked quickly, looking down at her stunned face. “You okay?”

Her hand fell out of his, and Katsuki watched, wide-eyed, as she launched herself at a boy near the doors. He was a head taller than her, dressed in a U.A. uniform, and he caught her without a second thought, laughing as she hugged him tightly.

“I missed you!” she yelled, uncaring of the people around them who turned to stare. “I didn’t know you were coming home today!”

“Didn’t I tell you?” he asked. “I said Friday, right?”

“I forgot it was Friday! I’ve been busy, since- Oh! Look!”

She slid down from his grip, turning to point at Katsuki’s baffled face, and the boy’s jaw dropped.

“This is the Dad I met in the past! When I was a little kid!”

“Holy shit.”

“Papa would tell you off for that.”

“He isn’t here.”

The boy walked closer, almost as tall as Katsuki despite being at least two decades younger, and Katsuki finally noticed the bright red eyes when their gazes met.

“Um, hi,” the boy said quietly. “I’m Kazu.”

Katsuki threw his arms around his waist, dragging him into a tight hug, and Hisami laughed brightly as she watched. Katsuki’s eyes watered, and it took every ounce of his willpower to keep the tears from spilling over, squeezing them shut for a moment to compose himself.

“Hi, Dad.” Hisakazu chuckled, hugging Katsuki back just as tight. “I uh, I love you too.”

“I just had you,” Katsuki whispered, refusing to let him go. “You’re only a week old, I’ve missed you so much you wouldn’t even believe it was possible.”

“Take care of me, when you get back.” Hisakazu smiled. “I know you will.”

“You’re gonna be such a spoiled brat when I get home.”

“Sounds great.”

“Spoil me too,” Hisami insisted, as she threw her arms around them both. “Buy me a pony.”

“Since when are you interested in ponies?” Hisakazu laughed. “You’ve never asked for a pony before.”

“Spoiled rich kids always have ponies.”

“Don’t buy her a pony, Dad.”

Katsuki finally conceded his grip when the hug got awkwardly long, wiping his eyes quickly as they parted in the hopes that the kids wouldn’t see. Neither of them mentioned it, and whether that came from a good upbringing or from not noticing, he wasn’t really sure - or bothered, honestly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, when he’d gathered himself. “I won’t do it again.”

“I don’t mind,” Hisakazu laughed. “You can if you want. Maybe warn me next time, though.”

“Kazu is a hugger,” Hisami explained. “Him and Papa never stop.”

“Noted.”

He continued to snatch looks at the pair as they walked, heading back toward the familiar house, and when either of them caught him they just gave him little smiles in return.

God, he had such good kids.

“Oh, there you are,” Izuku called, the moment Hisami unlocked the front door. “Did you see your brother?”

“I’m home,” Hisakazu called back, kicking his shoes off. “You guys didn’t tell me we had a visitor.”

“He wasn’t exactly planned!” Izuku laughed, wiping his hands on a tea towel as he came to greet them. “Welcome home, Kazu. Tell us all about it!”

“I will! Just let me use the bathroom first.”

He paused long enough to give Izuku a quick hug, and Katsuki stifled a laugh when Hisami looked up at him pointedly. She managed to get away with a high five when Izuku looked at her next, excusing herself to finally change out of her uniform, and Izuku grinned when he looked down at Katsuki, watching him take off his boots.

“Welcome home, Kacchan!” he grinned, bending over to plant a teasing kiss on Katsuki’s cheek. “We did good with our boy, too, huh?”

“You did,” Katsuki agreed, blushing. “I’ll try to do the same.”

“You’ll be amazing, Kacchan! I know you will, I’ve already seen it!”

“I wasn’t sure how to feel, when they handed him to us,” Katsuki admitted. “The brat never told us she had a sibling, I thought... That we’d missed out on her, I guess. That our timeline was too different.”

“He wasn’t what we were expecting, either,” Izuku laughed. “The surrogate told us it was going to be a girl, but it turns out she never did the test, she just thought it was a girl. So we had all these girly toys and clothes at home, we had her name picked out, and then the nurse handed us this sweet little boy in a blue blanket and it was like all our plans went out the window.”

“Sounds like it was pretty similar, even if the reasons were different.”

“You don’t have to beat yourself up over it, you know. I get it, and so does your Izuku. You’re allowed to be confused and concerned and even a little disappointed without it taking away the love you feel for him. You’re gonna adore him, you’re just not used to plans changing so suddenly.”

“Thank you. That uh, actually helps. A lot.”

“I know you, Kacchan! Now come have something to eat, the other Kacchan is on his way home and he should have a quirk disk with him for you to get home!”

“Really? That easily?”

“Maybewe kept a few in storage, just in case,” Izuku grinned. “You never know when we might need a cute young hero to come help us out, if we’re all old and beat up.”

“You know I’d be here in a heartbeat. I’d kick ass if anyone tried to harm my kids’ world.”

“I know.” Izuku ruffled his hair fondly, ignoring Katsuki’s indignant squawk. “Thank you. Come on, I made your favourite curry.”

Katsuki followed him through to the pretty little dining room, and two sets of hurried footsteps told him the kids weren’t far behind. They were in their seats by the time Izuku took the lid off the rice cooker, holding their bowls out toward him desperately, and Izuku just laughed as he pushed them away playfully. He took a big scoop of rice, aiming it at Katsuki’s bowl, and Katsuki blinked in surprise when another bowl darted out, intercepting it.

“Oi!” Izuku objected, pushing Hisakazu’s bowl away again but unable to resist a grin at his triumphant expression. “Guests first, you know that!”

“He’s not a guest, he’s Dad.”

“It still counts!”

“Good to know they got your patience,” Katsuki smirked, watching Izuku’s cheeks flush pink. “It’s okay, I’ll wait.”

“It’s the principle.”

All the same, he reached over and dumped a matching scoop of rice into Hisami’s bowl, getting them both out of the way to fill Katsuki’s next. He did two more, setting them aside for himself and the other Katsuki, then returned to the kitchen for the curry pot.

“For the record, it’s nothing personal,” Hisakazu assured him. “We do this every night, he’s used to it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The front door opened while Izuku was in the kitchen, and Katsuki looked up to see his older self ditching his boots and bag in the entryway.

“Hey Pipsqueak,” he said softly, leaning over to kiss her head as he passed. “Hi Junior, how was it?”

“Good!” Hisakazu grinned, setting his bowl down and getting up to hug him. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too, never do that again.”

“I’ll try my best,” Hisakazu laughed. “I’m sure I can tell just about any agency that you want me home and they won’t say no.”

“Damn right. What use is there in being the top hero if I can’t even get my son home on weekends, huh?”

“Noted!”

Izuku returned with the curry, stopping to give Katsuki a kiss while the kids mimed gagging, and soon they were all gathered around the table with their bowls of steaming hot curry and rice. Izuku and Hisami added a big dollop of yoghurt to their bowls, mixing it all together before they got started, butKatsuki couldn’t help but smile as he watched Hisakazu chow down without hesitation.

“He’s a little mini-Kacchan,” Izuku said knowingly. “You should see him when he’s due for a haircut, it’s uncanny.”

“Lucky kid.”

The older Katsuki snorted, and Katsuki grinned back, ignoring the eye roll Izuku gave them both. He took a bite of curry to keep from pushing his luck, eyes widening when he tasted it, and this time Izuku looked proud when he glanced over.

“I’ve been practicing!” he grinned. “Kacchan says it’s good, but he’d probably say that either way.”

“It’s amazing,” Katsuki assured him, taking another bite and barely resisting a moan. “The spices are perfect, holy shit Deku.”

“I’m glad you like it!”

Hisakazu filled them in on his internship adventures as they ate, somehow going back for seconds before the rest of them had even finished their firsts, and as he complained about the other interns he worked with and the mentors who hadn’t trusted him enough to give him any real responsibility, it finally began to hit him.

This was his son.

By the time they wrapped up and the other Katsuki produced a familiar little disk, Katsuki was finally realising exactly how the rest of his life was going to go.

Yes, he was going to raise an amazing son. Yes, he was probably going to get to raise a wonderful daughter, too. But yes, he was going to fucking miss these ones like crazy, even though he knew he’d eventually catch up.

“It was nice to meet you!” Hisakazu smiled, hugging Katsuki tightly one more time. “Take good care of me!”

“I will,” Katsuki promised. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too!”

Hisami dove at him next, ignoring her fathers’ huffs about how she wouldn’t give them hugs, and Katsuki chuckled to himself when she snuggled into his chest and shoulder, just like she had as a toddler.

“You never told me you had a brother,” he grumbled, squeezing her a little tighter. “Had me worried for nothing, Pipsqueak.”

“I didn’t?” she laughed. “Sorry! Um, you got him when you were twenty-three, and then me when you were twenty-four! I thought I told you!”

“Well you didn’t,” he huffed. “You only told me about you. So you’re only a year apart?”

“Uh-huh! Me and Kazu have birthdays the same month! Oh, and we have the same, um... Surrogate!”

“I’ll get started as soon as I get home, then,” he said softly. “I won’t miss out on having you.”

“And Kazu too?”

“I’ve got him already, I thought he was instead of you. I’m gonna go home and give him all the hugs in the world, I’ve missed him a lot.”

“He’ll like that.”

“Be good for me, okay?”

“No way,” Hisami giggled. “That wouldn’t be any fun!”

“Yeah,” Katsuki grinned, setting her down. “You’re right, that would be boring.”

He accepted the disk the older Katsuki offered him, giving him a nod, and Izuku raised one hand in a little wave.

“It was good to see you again!” he beamed. “Take care of me!”

“Always.”

“And of me,” the other Katsuki snorted. “I know they said all that diverging timelines crap, but coming from a villain I sure ain’t risking it. Don’t get yourself killed, I don’t wanna fade away or some shit.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful. Can’t risk losing all of this.”

“Damn right.”

With a last thanks, he pushed the button on the disk, and in the blink of an eye he was back in his own living room – messier, a grosser colour, with much older and cheaper furniture, but his, all the same.

“Deku?” he called, dropping the crumbling disk and taking the stairs two at a time. “Deku!”

“Kacchan?! Thank God!”

He met Katsuki in the hall, their bodies crashing together in a hug, and Izuku couldn’t help but giggle when Katsuki planted kisses all over his face and hair.

“Where’s my boy?” he demanded, the moment they parted. “I need to see him.”

Hisakazu opened his eyes the moment Katsuki leaned over him, looking up at Katsuki’s face, and Katsuki felt his eyes fill with tears as he scooped him up, blanket and all, to hug to his chest.

“I missed you so much, Kazu,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry I ever even considered being disappointed, you’re perfect.”

“You weren’t gone very long, Kacchan,” Izuku giggled. “Not even a whole day! Was it a lot longer for you?”

“No, they got me home super quick,” Katsuki assured him. “I’m just so happy.”

“From what they told me, it sounded like that same quirk,” Izuku began, his smile a little wobbly. “Did you get to see her?”

“I got to see both of them.”

“B-Both?”

“She had a brother the whole time,” Katsukiexplained, his laugh coming out closer to a sob than what he’d intended. “She says she thought she told us. That one is your kid, for sure. They’re only a year apart, Deku. They have the same surrogate. We’re not missing out on her to have him, we’re not moving on and giving her up, we get to have two. And God, Kazu was so perfect, Deku. I don’t deserve all of this.”

“Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t joke like that, Deku.”

Izuku’s nervous face finally broke into a proper smile, and he threw his arms around the pair, nuzzling into Katsuki’s neck and making him squirm.

“I love you, Kacchan.”

“I love you too, nerd.”

“Let’s have a baby. Another baby.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”