My Father's Son - Chapter 8

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Never in his life had Izuku expected to end up in a store that specialised in suits and suits alone. The last one he'd bought – the only one he'd bought – was the price of a cup of coffee at a second hand store, only intended for Yuuto's school visits. That hadn't been good enough for Katsuki, though – no surprises there. He'd woken them up early on a Saturday morning with bacon and eggs already on the table, demanding that they eat and get dressed so he could take them clothes shopping.

“Did you have a particular colour in mind?” the employee asked, after Izuku tried on a dozen different jackets that all looked nearly the same.

“A black one and a navy one,” Katsuki answered on his behalf. “Oh, no, we decided navy was bad with that hair. Let's go for grey instead, yeah?”

“Of course, Sir.”

Izuku stood awkwardly on the little podium, giving a sheepish smile to the giggly boys who watched as the employee took measurements. If he'd been asked, Izuku would have come up with maybe three things to measure – leg length, waist size, and maybe his height. Apparently he was off by at least a factor of ten, dumbfounded as he watched the man jot down dozens of numbers in a little notebook.

“And shirts, Sir?”

“Yeah, thanks. Let's go with maybe three shirts, different colours that'll go with the suits. Oh, and shoes, we'll need some nice shoes.”

“Of course, Sir.”

The man wrote it all down, then turned to pick up three shoeboxes from behind them. Izuku felt awkward as hell when he knelt down to help put the first pair on him, blushing bright red as the man laced them up and checked the fit.

“Personally I recommend these ones with dark suits, very classy and versatile. They come in brown also.”

“Yeah, they're not bad,” Katsuki nodded, looking at the pair in the box and the matching ones on his feet. “Nice and simple.”

“Some people like these ones, also,” he continued, holding up a third pair for Katsuki to look at. “The toes are a little less round, and some prefer that aesthetic.”

“Let's see 'em.”

Izuku lifted his feet obediently, letting the man switch his shoes one at a time. The new pair seemed identical to the first, in Izuku's eyes, but Katsuki hummed his contemplation.

“Nah, you're right, the first ones are better,” he said finally. “Alright, you're done, nerd. Yuuto, you're up.”

Yuuto pouted a little, but stepped up obediently when Izuku moved, slipping back into his own bright-red shoes. Hiroki pulled a face at him when Katsuki wasn't looking, and Izuku was weirdly relieved to learn that Hiroki even knew about behaviour like that.

Oh. Actually, Yuuto probably taught him. Oops.

Yuuto tried his best to stand still as the employee took his measurements, but despite his best efforts he still squirmed at times. The man didn't seem at all surprised, though, and he worked with a practiced ease to get it all over with.

“Can you pop these on for me?” he requested, setting a pair of shoes in front of him.

Yuuto nodded, stepping into them carefully, and Katsuki folded his arms as he watched the man tie his laces.

“Do they feel comfortable?” he asked, when he'd finished the neat bows. “They're not pinching anywhere? Or slipping?”

“No, they're okay.”

“Good, I'm glad.”

Yuuto looked over at Katsuki, waiting desperately for permission to get back down, but the blond eyebrows were furrowed deep, concentrating on something that Izuku would probably never understand.

“People tell me black is too dark for blond hair,” he said finally. “I don't care when it's me, but maybe a navy for him? Then he won't match the nerd, though. Is there a grey that would work for both Yuuto and Izuku?”

“I think a good charcoal would suit them both nicely.”

“Okay, let's go with that. Charcoal for them both, matching, and an extra one in black for Izuku.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Yuuto finally escaped from his podium hell, retreating quickly to Izuku's side. Neither of them were big fans of being stared at at the best of times, let alone when one of the people staring was Downfall, the number one hero.

“The interview is on Thursday, you can do them by then, right?”

“Absolutely. We should have them done by Tuesday, so you can come in for a fitting. Any final changes we can likely make on the spot.”

“Perfect. And half upfront on payment I assume?”

“At the end is quite alright, Mr. Bakugou.”

“Oh. Alright, thanks. We'll leave you to it, then, and see you on Tuesday.”

“Thank you for coming by. It was lovely to meet you, Mr. Midoriya, Mr. Yuuto.”

With a few last pleasantries, they finally escaped, and Izuku and Yuuto breathed matching sighs of relief. Yuuto's fingers tangled into Izuku's pant leg, peeking at the armload of bags in Katsuki's hand from various other stores. He'd been dumbfounded by the range of things Hiroki and Katsuki threw at him – warm jackets and sweaters, nice jeans, fuzzy pyjamas that fit him properly, even a couple of new pairs of shoes. His favourite was the heavy winter coat, though – squishy wth feathers, lined with fur, and warmer than anything he'd ever worn before. He kind of hoped it would be winter forever, just so he could keep wearing his new coat.

Hiroki reached for his hand, and Yuuto accepted it without question, letting his friend coax him away from his Papa to drag him on ahead.

“Five minutes, Daddy?” Hiroki pleaded, turning back to give Katsuki his best puppy eyes. “I promise we'll be quick!”

“Go on,” he agreed, nodding. “The nerd'll want to go in anyway.”

Izuku was a little confused to see Katsuki pull his hood up, but when Hiroki led the way into a comic book store he understood quickly. The boys went straight for the merch section, marvelling over all the shiny new figures, and Izuku was unsurprised to find Katsuki's face bearing down on them from every wall.

In hindsight, he wasn't sure how it had taken him so long to make the connection – the hair should have been a dead giveaway. His eyes weren't quite as vibrant on the posters, though, more of a rusty brown than the intense ruby of Katsuki and Yuuto, and with the dark mask tied around half his face, it was really only the hair that gave him away. 

Hence the hood, Izuku supposed. 

He'd been too used to seeing those blond spikes on his own kid, had never stopped to consider that they might stand out, to other people.

“Look at this shit,” Katsuki snorted, picking up a floppy Downfall plushie, complete with smirk and grenade-shaped gauntlets. “Who buys these things?”

“Daddy it's so cute!” Hiroki bleated, bouncing up and down as he batted at it. “I never saw that one before!”

“Try again.”

Hiroki paused in his bounces, contemplating, then looked up with wide eyes.

“I've never seen that one before?”

“Good boy.”

He handed it over for the kid to take a look, and Yuuto blushed when he saw it, mouth moving in silent words.

“Daddy I want one,” Hiroki pouted. “You didn't tell me about them.”

“I didn't know about them. Should probably ask my suppliers why I didn't get approval on them.”

“Because you always yell at them, Daddy.”

“Well yeah, because they give me the same t-shirt designs fifty times!”

“You told them not to ask you unless it was cont- cont-”

“Controversial,” Katsuki sighed, ruffling green curls. “Yeah, I did. I guess these were considered safe.”

“Do you think you could get me one?” Hiroki's lower lip jutted out, the toe of his shoe kicking lightly at the ground. “Pretty please?”

“You're a spoiled brat, you know that?”

“I know,” Hiroki grinned, the manipulative pout gone immediately. “Please, Daddy?”

“Whatever, we can just buy one.” He sighed, plucking the thing back out of Hiroki's hand to look at its little stitched face again. “You want something too, Yuuto?”

“Th-that's okay, I d-don't n-need-”

“Want,” Katsuki repeated firmly. “Not need. Do you want something? Take a look around, pick a treat. Anything you want.”

Yuuto blushed, reaching for the shelf behind Katsuki and picking up a matching plushie. His eyes shone with both delight and nervous tears, as he held it up silently, but Katsuki just smirked.

“Yeah? Okay, I guess they're a hit after all. We'd better buy one for the nerd, too, or he'll pout all night.”

“What?! Me?! Pout?!” Izuku insisted, gaping as Katsuki plucked a third one from the massive display of them. “I don't!”

“Uh-huh.”

He handed all three of them down to Hiroki, squatting beside him to hand over a few notes from his wallet. Hiroki didn't question it, skipping up to the counter with his beaming smile back again, and the lady at the counter smiled back sweetly.

“Are you a big Downfall fan?” she asked, as she scanned their labels. “He's pretty cool, right?”

“The coolest!” Hiroki agreed, reaching up to slide his cash onto the counter. “He's my favourite!”

“He's mine too,” she grinned, handing him back his change and the stack of toys. “Would you like a bag?”

“No thank you, that's okay!”

“Okay sweetie, you have a great day.”

“You too!”

Izuku followed as they filed back out of the store, and Yuuto lit up when Hiroki pressed one of the plushies into his hands. He hugged it tight, resting his cheek on the fluffy hair, and Izuku smiled softly when Hiroki handed one to him, too.

“Thank you,” he smiled, patting Hiroki's back lightly. “He's very cute.”

“Uh-huh!” Hiroki agreed, pausing for a moment. “Oh, wait! No! I'm meant to say he's not as cute as the real thing!”

Katsuki flooded red when Izuku laughed, his strong hand reaching out to mess up Hiroki's hair.

“There were conditions on when to say that, kid, you know that.”

“I know!” he grinned. “But I thought it was a good time!”

“You little-”

“Am I wrong, Daddy?”

“Yes, you little shit, you're wrong.”

“I don't think so.”

“Shut up.”

Hiroki just giggled at him, still hugging his new toy, and Izuku gave up on trying to decipher their arguments, slipping his own gift into his bag carefully.

“Thank you for the present,” he said quietly, when they walked side by side again, the kids running off ahead. “How did you know he was my favourite hero?”

“Shut up, nerd.”

─────

It was Saturday night when Izuku and Katsuki exchanged the knowing look, agreeing that the time had come. They'd discussed it a few times, after the kids were in bed asleep, but it had been a long wait for the right opportunity.

“Hey, kiddos, there's something we want to talk to you guys about,” Katsuki began, flipping the television off as the movie credits rolled. “You still awake?”

Hiroki's face perked up, and Katsuki scowled at him, giving him a sharp poke in the forehead.

“Not what you are thinking,” he warned. “Something else.”

“Aww, okay. I'll keep waiting.”

Katsuki shook his head, when Izuku shot him a confused look, warning him not to get involved, and thankfully Izuku seemed to shrug it off.

“You know how we all met kind of... suddenly?” Izuku asked awkwardly. “There's kind of a story behind that.”

“Are you sure it's not what I think?” Hiroki pouted. “It sounds like it.”

“No, you little shit,” Katsuki growled, messing up his curls. “Shut it and listen.”

“Um, anyway,” Izuku mumbled, “You remember when we took those blood tests for school to check you were healthy?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, um, the doctors told us something... Weird.”

He glanced at Katsuki for help, and Katsuki grimaced.

“When you guys were born, the nurses kind of... mixed things up. I don't want to say they made a mistake, but I guess that's what it was at the time. Uh, Yuuto, do you- Do you know where babies come from?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, after you guys were born, when you were still in the hospital, you got... Mixed up.”

“Mixed up?”

“Yeah,” Izuku said breathlessly. “Um, the baby who me and my partner had, was actually Hiroki.”

“And the baby my ex had was Yuuto,” Katsuki finished. “But in all the confusion, there was a mix-up, and so the baby she brought to me was Hiroki.”

Both the boys were silent, and Katsuki and Izuku gave them a moment to process.

“When we found out, we met up, and the hospital said we should switch you back,” Katsuki said after a pause, hugging Hiroki a little tighter. “But neither of us could do that. Hiroki, you're my son, whether our blood says so or not.”

“And you're mine,” Izuku agreed, pulling Yuuto into his side. “I would never even think of giving you away.”

“We both wanted both of you,” Katsuki smiled softly. “So I thought it would be nice if we all lived together.”

“So Mr. Bakugou was meant to be my Papa?” Yuuto asked quietly. “If things didn't get mixed up?”

“Yeah, I guess I was.”

“Your quirk came from him,” Izuku said softly, his eyes watery as he leaned in to kiss Yuuto's hair. “Just like he makes explosions, you make your little booms. Whatever your... Your mother, had, it must have combined to make your sparks.”

“I have Downfall's quirk?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki smirked. “Pretty cool, huh?”

He nodded, and Hiroki whispered to himself as he contemplated.

“What's going on in that head, bud?”

“Mr. Midoriya doesn't have a quirk,” he mumbled. “But I have a quirk. So my... Can I say mother?”

“Yeah, you can.”

“My mother, she must have controlled fires too?”

“Actually, that came from your grandparents,” Izuku smiled softly. “My Mom can move small objects, like you've seen, and my father could breathe fire. So you got the quirk that I would have gotten, if I hadn't been quirkless.”

“Is that why Daddy looks at you the way he does?” Hiroki asked sweetly. “Because I look like you?”

“Yes,” Katsuki growled, blushing as he pulled at Hiroki's hair again. “Shut up.”

“I thought it was cool that we have the same hair,” Hiroki grinned at Izuku. “Now I know why!”

“Me too,” Yuuto nodded, sneaking a glance at Katsuki. “I don't meet many people with spikies.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki nodded. “You look like me. Izuku and I both saw it when we met each other, it was very weird.”

“So you're my father,” Yuuto continued, piecing things together. “But Papa is my Papa.”

Izuku finally burst into tears, nodding, and Katsuki couldn't help but laugh at him.

“Yeah, exactly right,” Katsuki agreed. “And we both love both of you, it was impossible to give up on either of you, so we thought it was best if we all came together like one big happy family.”

Hiroki perked up again, but Katsuki shoved his head back down firmly, not even entertaining the notion.

“Do you have any questions?” Izuku stumbled through his tears.

“Why are you crying?” Hiroki asked innocently. “Are you sad?”

“No, sweetie, I'm very, very happy. I was scared that Yuuto would be upset, or that you wouldn't want anything to do with me, so- so-”

“You guys are taking it really well,” Katsuki explained, when Izuku lost his voice to spluttering tears again. “We weren't sure how you would react, so he's happy that you're both okay.”

"I'm just h-happy you w-want me in your l-life."

“Of course I want you!” Hiroki gasped, climbing over Yuuto and into Izuku's lap. “I love you and Daddy!”

“Oh sweetie,” Izuku sniffed, wiping his eyes uselessly. “Thank you.”

He hugged both boys super tight, cramming them into his chest, but soon Yuuto was squirming away.

“Sorry, baby,” he laughed weakly. “I know you don't like hugs, but I just love you boys so much.”

“I'm not a baby, you're not allowed to call me that anymore,” Yuuto pouted. “But I love you too, Papa.”

“Can I call you Papa too?” Hiroki beamed, snuggling in closer, relishing the cuddles. “Then I can have a Daddy and a Papa!”

“Y-Yeah,” he choked out, nodding. “Of course you can.”

“Yay!”

Katsuki smiled at Yuuto's little pout as he finally managed to get free, ruffling his hair lightly.

“Weirdos, right?”

Yuuto nodded, eyeing them warily like they might snatch him back at any moment.

“I won't ask you for a hug,” Katsuki assured him. “Unless you want one. Are you okay with all this, though? Any questions?”

“A little one.”

“A little question?”

“A little hug.”

He crawled into Katsuki's lap, and even Katsuki choked up a little when the tiny arms wound around his neck.

“I like cuddles sometimes,” he admitted, just a whisper by Katsuki's ear. “But not like that.”

“Okay,” Katsuki grinned, nodding. “Just little hugs, not big cries and grabby hands.”

“Yeah!”

“Me too.”

All cried out, Hiroki and Izuku finally parted, both their faces a mess of puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

“Can I call Yuuchan my brother now?” Hiroki asked excitedly, throwing himself at Yuuto and getting a whine in return. “He is, right?”

“Not exactly,” Katsuki laughed. “But sure, I think it's close enough.”

“My twin brother 'cos we have the same birthday!”

“Not how that works, bud,” Katsuki said fondly, dragging Hiroki over for a hug of his own. “Let's say adopted brother, okay?”

“Okay!”

“But now you brothers should be getting to bed.”

Katsuki picked them both up, one under each arm, and hauled them up to their bedroom with Izuku at hs heels, laughing at their whines. He threw them at their beds, watching them bounce back with a giggle, and Yuuto reached for his Downfall plushie immediately.

“Go on, in the blankets, chop chop,” Katsuki hurried them along, throwing blankets over their heads and setting off another round of giggles. “Time for sleep, you promised you'd go straight to sleep after the movie!”

“We're tryinggggg,” Hiroki whined, finally getting himself into the blankets and giggling again when Katsuki tucked him in extra tight. “Daddyyyyy!”

“Now you can't escape,” Katsuki grinned, turning to tuck Yuuto in just as snugly. “Perfect, you're both stuck here.”

“What if I need to pee?”

“I'll bring you a bucket.”

“Ewwww!”

They finally began to settle, when Katsuki stopped the teasing, and Izuku smiled as he nudged past, leaning over to kiss Yuuto's forehead.

“Sweet dreams, Yuuto.”

He turned to the other bed, pleased to see Hiroki's eyes shining as he waited, hoped, for a turn.

“Sweet dreams, Hiroki.”

He planted a kiss on Hiroki's forehead too, struggling to hold back his tears when Hiroki beamed at him for it.

“Alright, snuggle-bugs!” he announced, flicking off the light switch. “Me and Katsuki are leaving now, any last words?”

“Goodnight!”

“That's a good one. Goodnight!”

Katsuki ruffled their hair one last time in the darkness and took his leave, following Izuku down the stairs to return to the living room.

“That went better than I expected,” Katsuki admitted. “Thankfully.”

Izuku was already crying again, when he turned around, and Katsuki groaned. Damn nerd couldn't seem to keep his face dry for more than thirty seconds.

“I'm just so happy!” he explained needlessly. “I love them both so much!”

“No kidding, nerd. Come on, it's time for your homework.”

“My homework?”

“Yeah, nerd. Interview shit. The better you listen, the sooner I can go to bed.”

“You can go to bed now, if you want!”

“Very funny. Here, I printed this shit for you.”

He produced a leather folder from the kitchen, slapping it into Izuku's hands, and all Izuku could do was gawk at the heavy stack of papers.

“You can't be serious.”

“Get reading, nerd.”

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