My Father's Son - Chapter 16

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When Izuku woke up, it was with a surprisingly sweet face far too close to his own. He felt himself burn red, barely holding back a squeak, but when Katsuki slept on peacefully he managed to compose himself a little.

The sun was just beginning to rise, a soft light filling the room through their wide cabin windows, and inexplicably Izuku was the first one to wake. Like most mornings, he had a sleeping Yuuto curled up against his chest – the lump a little bigger, with sleeping bag surrounding it, but familiar all the same. On Yuuto's other side, a tiny hand clutched at his sleeping bag, where Hiroki sprawled on his back with both Yuuto and Katsuki held close.

Izuku couldn't resist a little smile at the way Hiroki had dragged them all together in the cold night, determined to hold on to both of his favourite people.

Katsuki was the only one in the group with two layers of blankets, with his sleeping bag bundled around him and his new blanket over the top. Izuku had noticed, as they slid into bed, that Katsuki's sleeping bag was a lot thinner than the rest of them. Designed for summer more than winter, he assumed. It didn't surprise him that the man owned one of each, but the fact that he let Izuku use the warmer one was a bit of a shock. Had he selflessly given up his warmth for Izuku's sake, or had he done it intentionally so that he could use his new blanket? Izuku would probably never know the answer, but either way he was content.

"Morning Papa," Yuuto whispered, as he rubbed at his eyes sleepily. "I'm nice and warm."

"Me too," Izuku smiled, hugging him a little tighter. "You need to use the bathroom?"

"Mm... No."

"You sure?" Izuku asked warily. "You can come back for snuggles after."

"I don't like the toilet," Yuuto confessed, ducking his face into the sleeping bag. "It's scary."

"Want me to come with you?"

"No, that's weird," he pouted. "I'll just wait, it's okay."

With a little stretch that was oddly cute, Katsuki's eyes blinked open, his face hardening from the soft, sleepy look into his usual expression.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you," Izuku blushed, pulling back a little to put some space between them, but mostly failing considering their little chain of snuggly boys. "I'm just gonna go take Yuuto to the bathrooms, we'll be back soon."

"Oh," Katsuki mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eye. "I'll take him."

"It's okay, you don't need-"

"Come on buddy, let's go for our morning run."

He wriggled out of his blankets and pulled his boots on, plucking Yuuto out of the bed and hauling him onto his back. Izuku smiled despite himself when Katsuki pulled his coat on over them both, keeping Yuuto warm and secure, and then they were out the door without another word.

He had to admit, by the time Izuku and Yuuto had made the walk over together, the kid would have been pretty desperate. When he heard Katsuki's footsteps jogging down the stairs he finally realised why the man had taken over, propping himself up on his elbow to watch through the window as they made their descent, the man surprisingly sure-footed for having just woken up and dealing with the morning snow.

"Daddy?" Hiroki mumbled, hands clutching at the empty blankets.

"He'll be back soon," Izuku smiled, reaching out to stroke his hair fondly. "Sorry."

"Mmm, Papa snuggles?"

He rolled over without waiting for an answer, and Izuku opened his arms to accept the touch, letting him cuddle in close. His fingers tangled in Izuku's shirt and he curled into the curve of Izuku's body as if it were made for him, smiling faintly despite his eyes never once opening.

"Yeah," Izuku whispered. "Papa snuggles."

He wrapped his arm around the happy little boy, swallowing hard when he felt tears pricking at his eyes. He refused to let them fall, refused to make a sound to disturb their peace, focussing instead on draping his arm over Hiroki's warm body and holding him close.

When Katsuki returned with a relieved Yuuto they found their boys sound asleep, snuggled together like it was their last day on Earth. Izuku's dumb freckled face was stained with tears even though he smiled in his sleep, and Katsuki snorted at them as he pulled off his boots.

"Idiots," he said fondly, while Yuuto crept closer to investigate. "You still sleepy or you wanna do something?"

"Sleepy," he agreed, falling back onto the futon and reaching for his sleeping bag. "Do stuff later."

Katsuki opened his mouth to respond, but when Yuuto's little hand reached for him the words caught in his throat. His chubby cheeks flushed pink as he pouted, unable to bring himself to say the words, to ask the question, but Katsuki nodded all the same.

"Alright, a little more," he agreed, sliding in behind the boy and opening his arms. "You coming?"

Yuuto rolled in happily, hiding his face in his sleeping bag, and with a little smile Katsuki wrapped him up in his arms.

"Get some rest, bud."

─────

When Katsuki looked down from his perch in the leaves, he found a strained smile on Izuku's face. He looked up at Katsuki and the boys as they climbed, watching fondly, but Katsuki could see the tension in his limbs, the way he fidgetted awkwardly as he watched. With a little smirk, he dropped back to the ground, wrapping his arms around Izuku's thighs and hitching him up.

"Up we go," Katsuki grinned, despite Izuku's indignant squawk. "Come on, a little help here, nerd."

Trembling, Izuku latched on to a low branch with his arms, and Katsuki gave him another little shove to get him up safely. Yuuto watched in awe as Izuku steadied himself, bursting into a wide smile when Izuku looked up at him.

"Papa you're climbing!" he exclaimed, when their eyes met.

"Yeah," Izuku chuckled nervously, grabbing another branch for balance when Katsuki jumped up beside him effortlessly. "I'm not very good, you're gonna have to teach me."

"You're doing great, Papa!" Hiroki insisted, reaching a hand toward him. "You want some help?"

"Um, I'm- I'm okay here," Izuku assured him, laughing nervously. "You boys take care of yourselves, don't fall because you're trying to help me!"

"He's a little big for you," Katsuki grinned, standing up as if the branch was the flattest of floors, reaching to ruffle Hiroki's hair. "I'll help Papa, you and Yuuto help each other."

"Okay!"

As the boys climbed higher, Katsuki bent down on one knee, gesturing Izuku closer. It took a minute for the man to shimmy over, clinging tightly to the branch above, but Katsuki just waited silently until he got close enough.

"Here, stand on me," he explained, Izuku's eyes dropping to the muscular thigh clad in baggy sweatpants. "I've got you."

Izuku wasn't sure what he was thinking, following the instruction. He was gonna fall and crack his head open, and all Katsuki would do was roll his eyes and ask why the hell he didn't hold on tighter. It was just so damn hard to say no to the man, though, and Izuku was weak.

Nervously, he shifted one foot onto Katsuki's surprisingly sturdy thigh, and the man didn't even twitch at the added weight, letting Izuku boost himself up to get a good grip on the next bough.

"Swing your legs up there," he instructed, pointing at another branch nearby. "So you're kinda sideways."

With a lot of scrabbling and kicking, he managed to get his legs up, and Katsuki gave him a little shove up to sitting.

"See? Easy," he smirked, gripping the branch and hauling himself up like it was the easiest thing in the world. "Just takes practice."

To Izuku's surprise, though he wasn't sure why, when he looked up he saw Hiroki scaling branches in the exact same way. He gripped one bough, swung himself up to the next, then aided by knots in the trunk he pulled himself up to sit. Somehow, the thought of Katsuki teaching a tiny Hiroki the same method as he taught to the much bigger and less coordinated Izuku was weirdly comforting. Katsuki had his ways and methods for everything he did, and he never taught Izuku a watered-down useless-adult version, just the same beginner version he taught to anyone else.

"Come on nerd, you'll get left behind," Katsuki smirked, jumping up to the next spot. "These ones are closer together, should be easy."

"B-But-"

"There's a hole in the trunk just there, use it as a foothold."

With a sigh, Izuku found the spot Katsuki was looking at, jamming the toe of his boot in roughly and testing it under his weight.

The boys clapped from above when Izuku managed to hook his leg over the branch, clambering up another step.

"You're learning so fast, Papa!" Hiroki praised. "I took a long time to learn!"

"Y-Yeah," Izuku laughed breathlessly. "I'm doing my best."

"You're doing so good!"

When the branches began to thin out, Izuku shook his head, looking nervously at Katsuki when he pointed to the next one.

"This is high enough," he blushed.

"You scared of heights?" Katsuki asked, moving a little closer. "You never told me that, idiot."

"Um, n-not really? B-But the branches are getting thin, and, um, I don't want to b-break them?"

"I weigh a lot more than you do, nerd," Katsuki snorted, dangling from the branch pointedly and swinging himself back and forth. "You don't trust me?"

"I'm not athletic, you know that."

"A little faith, idiot."

He stayed surprisingly close when Izuku caved, reaching for the next branch with his shaky grip, the boys still high above. He kept a hand outstretched, ready to steady Izuku if he needed it, and sure enough the branch held.

"A little more, Papa!" Hiroki encouraged him, pointing out through the thin covering of leaves. "It's so pretty!"

He couldn't say no to that eager little face, nodding before he could think twice about it, and he caught a glimpse of a surprisingly genuine smile on Katsuki's face below. He was used to the sharp smirks, but it was rare to see the real thing, and his heart pounded a little harder before he quickly looked away.

Somehow, he made it up high enough to see what the boys were seeing, to look out over the icy lake that bordered the campground. It really was a pretty sight, surrounded by fresh snow and younger trees, much shorter than the massive counterparts where their cabins were built. Katsuki waited a branch below until Izuku was settled, just in case he slipped, but when Izuku had a strong foothold and a firm grip, he climbed up beside him.

"Worth it?" he teased, glancing over at Izuku's wide-eyed stare and heaving chest. "You did good, for a nerd."

"Thanks," Izuku laughed sheepishly. "So, um, how do I get down?"

"Good question."

"What?!"

The familiar smirk was back this time, when Izuku looked over in a hurry, and he struggled not to smile back as he pouted.

"Relax, nerd, I've got you." Katsuki assured him, looking away. "I've always got you."

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