My Father's Son - Chapter 9

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By the time Wednesday rolled around, Izuku felt like he was back in university all over again, cramming facts and quotes down his throat in the hopes that he would remember them for the interview. They'd had the call Tuesday afternoon that their suits were ready, but with Katsuki stuck at work and unwilling to send them on without him, they'd had to delay it until Wednesday after kindergarten. Izuku prayed nothing would be wrong with them, since he suspected Katsuki would throw a tantrum if they weren't ready and perfect.

The man at the counter handed over two matching grey suits from a rack, holding them up for approval first and thankfully getting a nod from Katsuki. With that settled, he picked up two white shirts to match, setting everything out in neighbouring cubicles for them to get changed.

“Let us know if you need any help, Yuuto,” Katsuki instructed, as the door swung closed between them. “One of us will help you.”

Hiroki found a seat near the mirrors to wait, watching other people shop for their own new outfits. He smiled at everyone who glanced his way, even complimented a few of the more nervous-looking patrons, and Katsuki saw him melt at least a dozen hearts just in the time it took for Izuku and Yuuto to get themselves dressed.

“I feel like an idiot,” Izuku grumbled, when Katsuki called through the door to check on him. “I look stupid.”

“You always look stupid,” Katsuki snorted. “Let me see.”

When Izuku stepped out in his impeccable new suit, fidgetting with his cuffs, for a moment Katsuki was speechless. The employees really knew what they were doing when they picked the colour, still dark enough to compliment his lighter skin, without being overwhelming matched with his dark hair. Even the material was perfect, thick and sturdy without being heavy enough to sag under its own weight.

Yeah, they'd done their job well.

“Shoes,” Katsuki instructed, handing him the box. “Let me see.”

Izuku blushed, with the critical gaze upon him, but wordlessly he leaned over to slip on the new shoes and step closer to the mirror.

“You look so handsome, Papa!” Hiroki praised, clapping his hands gleefully. “Oh, but you need a tie!”

“Yeah,” Katsuki nodded. “What colour do you reckon, Hiroki? He and Yuuto should probably match, right?”

“Green would be pretty, but you would say green doesn't work for Yuuto,” Hiroki mused. “Maybe a stripy one?”

“You spend a lot of time doing this fashion thing?” Izuku asked with a wry smile, softening when Hiroki giggled. “I'm useless.”

“Grandma and Grandpa do fashion for work!” Hiroki explained. “Oh, Daddy, maybe we should send Grandpa a photo and he can help choose?”

“Yeah, he'd probably like that,” Katsuki admitted. “The old man loves to help.”

When Yuuto emerged, equally as shy in his matching suit, Katsuki knelt down beside him to help with his shoes.

“Perfect,” Katsuki informed him. “I'm so impressed, Yuuto! You look all grown up.”

“I'm a big boy,” Yuuto confirmed, standing a little straighter. “Of course I look grown up! I am.”

“Quite right, silly me. Can you go stand by Papa and let me take a quick photo?”

Yuuto nodded, taking Izuku's hand with a hint of nerves still in him, and Katsuki snapped a shot of their flawless suits and awkward faces. Then another, just for good measure.

He sent it to his Dad without an explanation, letting it send while he drafted the question in his mind, but as usual Masaru was one step ahead.

“Handsome boys!” he came back right away. “Need matching ties. Something greyscale?”

“Hiroki thinks stripes of some sort.”

“Boy has a good eye. Send him to pick one out.”

Katsuki snorted, but tucked his phone away all the same, catching Hiroki's eye and jerking his thumb toward the case of ties across the room.

“Grandpa says you should pick one out. He thinks greyscale. You remember what that means?”

“No colours?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay! I'll go look!”

He skipped off to choose, nose nearly pressed against the glass as he contemplated, and Katsuki leaned down again to straighten Yuuto's jacket and fasten his tiny buttons.

“There's no way they'll be able to say no to you,” he smirked, nudging lightly at a tiny chin so their eyes would meet. “They're gonna take one look at you and think 'wow! he's so handsome! I want him at my school!' even before they ask you any questions.”

“I'm good at questions!”

“Yeah, I bet you are. You wanna try one?”

Yuuto nodded, and Katsuki hummed thoughtfully.

“Okay, here's one. What's your favourite subject to learn?”

“I like learning English because it helps me talk to lots of different people from all over the world, and one day when I'm an amazing hero I'll be able to travel and communicate with the people I help in other places!”

“Wow, you really are good at questions. Did your teacher ask you that one before?”

“Uh-huh! I said I like English and we talked lots about why!”

“You're too prepared for me,” Katsuki grinned. “Okay, here's a harder one. What do your parents scold you for most often?”

“Katsuki, come on,” Izuku whined. “Don't be like this.”

“That's what they asked me!” Hiroki explained, before Katsuki could open his mouth. “I told them Daddy doesn't like it when I don't speak properly, so I get told off for mumbling or making silly sentences.”

“Yeah, because you like to drop half the words from your sentences and then no one can understand you,” Katsuki huffed. “Yuuto? Anything?”

“Papa doesn't scold me very often, he sits down and tells me why I shouldn't do it instead. I don't do them anymore when I know why it's bad.”

“Maybe Hiroki needs to take a lesson from your book,” Katsuki smirked. “Okay Hiroki, did you choose one?”

“I like this one!” he said brightly, holding up a tie of diagonal stripes, rich black and a slightly metallic silver. “But if it looks bad there are others I like too.”

Katsuki accepted it from his hand, looping it around Yuuto's neck and going extra slow as he tied it, making sure Yuuto watched.

“I like this one too,” Katsuki agreed, taking a step back to look. "What do you think, Yuuto?”

“I like the shiny parts.”

“Yeah, they're nice. Think it'll look okay on Papa too?”

“Yeah!”

Izuku lifted him up, holding him in front to see the tie against his chest, and Yuuto giggled when he saw them in the mirror together.

“Very handsome!” Hiroki praised. “You both look so nice!”

“Thanks, sweetie,” Izuku laughed, blushing faintly. “You're very kind.”

“Alright, you two can change back into your boring clothes.”

The pair were back in their cubicles before Katsuki even finished his sentence, desperate to get out of the spotlight, and Hiroki and Katsuki exchanged knowing smiles.

“We should make them dress up every day,” Hiroki teased. “They look so nice!”

“Now there's an idea,” Katsuki agreed, hearing a little thump in the changing room where Izuku tripped over his own feet. “You reckon I should just throw away all the sweatpants and baggy t-shirts while they're not home?”

“Uh-huh! Oh, but let them keep their pyjamas!”

“Don't you dare,” Izuku warned them through the door. “Hiroki, stop letting him corrupt you, you're such a sweet kid and Daddy is ruining it.”

“But Daddy is the nicest!”

“Only to you!” Izuku argued. “Have you heard him talk to adults?”

“But they deserve it!”

“Oh sweetie, we need to keep you away from him.”

Katsuki ruffled his hair with a grin, getting a cheeky little smile in return, and soon the cubicles were opening again. Izuku held all three of his pieces, neatly hung, but Yuuto held three empty hangers. When Katsuki peeked inside he found the clothes laid out neatly on the little bench, and felt three wooden hangers touch his hand lightly.

“I couldn't do it,” Yuuto explained. “M'sorry.”

“It's okay, let me show you.”

Where Izuku would have done it for him without question, Katsuki sat down and held up the first hanger, teaching Yuuto how to slide the shirt over the ends then button it up to make sure it would stay put. It took him a lot longer than it would have to just do the work for him, but when it came to the kids, Katsuki seemed to be the most patient person in the world, always more than willing to put in a little effort to teach them a new skill.

When everything was neat and straight on a hanger, Katsuki picked the pile up, ruffling Yuuto's spiky hair.

“You want me to carry it for today and you can get your shoes?”

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah, it's a little much for you to hold.”

“Thank you for helping.”

“Any time, kiddo.”

Yuuto picked up his cardboard box, the new shoes stowed safely back inside, and Izuku couldn't even watch when they reached the counter. Not a single piece had a price tag on it, he'd searched high and low to make that discovery, which meant Katsuki didn't want him to see them. There was no reason for the shoes or ties to not have tags, otherwise.

The man at the counter produced a pile of shirts in other colours, too, just as Katsuki had requested, and even helped pick out a few ties to match, while Izuku slowly shrank into himself in the background. He used a credit card to pay, not waiting for the total to be said aloud before he handed it over, and then he was loading Izuku up with bags and boxes, a sharp little smirk playing on his lips.

“There, now you're sorted for at least a year of formal events. Maybe closer to ten years, if we add a new shirt or tie every so often.”

“This is m-more than enough,” Izuku assured him. “Th-thank you, you're... like, stupidly generous.”

“You, on the other hand,” Katsuki continued, ignoring Izuku's stuttered thanks in favour of ruffling Yuuto's hair again. “We'll probably need a new one for you next year, when you grow out of it.”

“I grow fast,” Yuuto confirmed, oddly distressed about the words. “M'sorry.”

“Huh? You have nothing to be sorry for. You know how many suits Hiroki has been through already?”

“Mm... Five?”

“Not bad, kid! He's on his fifth now.”

“One for each year,” Yuuto smiled. “Thank you for buying me nice clothes, Mr. Bakugou, I promise I'll do really good- um, really well at the interview.”

“I know you will, don't worry.” Katsuki smiled with a surprising warmth to it. “And you don't have to call me that. Whatever you feel like is fine.”

“I prefer Kacchan, myself,” Izuku teased. “Suits him, don't you think?”

“Shut up, you damn Deku.”

Yuuto contemplated, fingers twitching on his box nervously, but Katsuki just waited for him to figure it out.

“So, um... Dad would be okay?”

“Of course,” Katsuki grinned, bending down to hug him briefly. “I'd be honoured.”

He managed to keep his tears at bay, despite how his eyes watered, and when they finished their hug he quickly stood up again so Yuuto wouldn't notice.

“Alright assholes, let's go, I'm starving. You think your Mom is cooking, nerd? I could do with one of her hot meals.”

“I'm sure she is,” Izuku said fondly, tucking his new things into one arm so he could dig out his phone.

“Let me help!” Hiroki insisted, taking the shoebox out of his hand. “I can carry too!”

“Thanks, sweetie. You're a great helper.”

With his hand free to type, he pulled up his texts, smiling to himself as he typed out a message.

“Is there any chance you could make dinner tonight? Katsuki is hoping for your cooking.”

“Already on it,” she replied within minutes. “It'll be ready and waiting when you get back.”

“You're the best.”

As they climbed into the car, a little smirk crossed Katsuki's face, and he glanced back at the boys buckling themselves into their booster seats.

“Alright, on the way home it's Deku's turn to be quizzed. You guys are in charge.”

“Okay!” Hiroki grinned. “Do you wanna go first, Yuuchan?”

“Okay,” Yuuto nodded, contemplating it as Katsuki pulled out of the parking spot. “Umm, Papa, why do you want to send me to this school?”

Izuku shot a pathetic look at Katsuki, pleading for it to stop, but Katsuki kept his eyes on the road and pretended he hadn't seen.

“You should start with the good academics,” Hiroki whispered, leaning forward to get close to his ear. “That's what they work the hardest on.”

“Thank you,” Izuku caved, sighing. “Uh, I want my sons to have the best education they can get, so that in the future they can follow whatever dream they choose and not have to worry about having the qualifications to be accepted into the right schools. They're both very intelligent boys and very hard workers, so I think it would be a good fit for them academically, as well as having a wide range of club activities where they can explore their other interests and find hobbies they love.”

“Good job, Papa!” Hiroki giggled, “but I already got accepted, you only need to talk about Yuuchan!”

“Right,” Izuku smiled, “sorry.”

“It's okay! That's why we practice!”

“Your turn, Hiroki,” Katsuki prompted, smirking again when he glanced back. “Give him a tough one.”

“Hmm... What do you like best about Yuuto?”

“Everything.”

“That's not an answer, Papa!” Hiroki pouted. “That's what they asked Daddy about me! You gotta be serious!”

“And what did Daddy say?”

“That I'm always well-behaved and I listen to what he says and try to learn from it instead of complaining or arguing, and that I'm always willing to try new things!”

“What a boring answer,” Izuku teased. “He likes you because you do what you're told? He doesn't know you at all.”

“You gotta give answers the school will like!” Hiroki explained. “It doesn't help the school decide they want me if he says his favourite thing is that I give him cuddles after a long day at work!”

“Oi, I told you that in confidence,” Katsuki blushed. “You weren't meant to blurt it out to people.”

“But they're family Daddy, they're allowed to know the secrets!”

Izuku couldn't resist shooting a teasing smirk at Katsuki, watching him stare pointedly at a red light, refusing to engage.

“So, Papa? What do you like best about Yuuchan? You can give a real answer and a school answer if you're worried.”

“Yuuto is very independent,” Izuku answered with a huff. “I can always count on him to do all his homework and be ready for kindergarten the next day without having to remind him.”

“That's better!” Hiroki grinned. “Good job, Papa!”

“And also he's cute,” Izuku teased, grinning at the little pout Yuuto gave him. “I wanna give him lots of snuggles and kisses and tickles.”

“You probably shouldn't say that one at school,” Hiroki giggled. “But I think so too!”

He leaned over to ruffle Yuuto's hair, grinning to himself as he messed up the blond locks, and Yuuto shoved him off with a whine, face burning red. He folded his little arms, looking away, and Izuku turned to Hiroki behind him.

“He takes after Katsuki,” he whispered. “Look at them both, pouting away.”

“They're cute when they pout,” Hiroki whispered back. “Teasing is too much fun!”

“I agree!”

“I don't know why I put up with you,” Katsuki huffed. “You better take this damn interview seriously, I had to throw my name around a lot to get it.”

“Of course I will!” Izuku gawked at him, a little offended. “You know I'm grateful!”

“Whatever. Just get him into the damn school.”

“I will! We will!”

As they pulled into the garage and the boys clambered out of their seats, Izuku found himself reaching out, grabbing Katsuki's arm as he went to open his door.

“Thank you,” he said softly, hoping Katsuki could tell how sincere he really was. “I'm really, really grateful for everything you've done.”

“Shut up, nerd,” Katsuki grumbled, cheeks burning pink as he yanked his arm away. “Just... Do the shit.”

“I will!”

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