My Father's Son - Chapter 57

Katsuki stirred under his warm pile of blankets, rolling over but not bothering to open his eyes. It was still dark in his room..

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Katsuki stirred under his warm pile of blankets, rolling over but not bothering to open his eyes. It was still dark in his room, the sun not yet high enough to break its way in, but he heard hushed giggles beyond his door, and the tiny pat pat pat of little feet tiptoeing their way up to join him. He waited for the little click of the door handle turning before he cracked his eyes open, starting out his day with the two brilliant smiles that were already aimed his way.

“Happy birthday!” they both yelled, rushing in to dive onto the bed and snuggle in on either side of him.

“Thank you,” he chuckled, rolling onto his back to wrap an arm around each of them. “What a good way to start a birthday.”

“And breakfast!” Hiroki said, pointing at the door.

Katsuki tipped his head up, finding a nervous nerd standing in his doorway, a tray in his hands that carefully balanced a couple of plates and a mug.

“Come on, Papa!” Yuuto insisted. “I wanna show him!”

Izuku headed toward them obediently, and Katsuki sat up, adjusting his pillows to lean against the headboard. The tray landed carefully in his lap, and the boys shuffled in to lean against him, pointing eagerly at the plates.

“I made the pancakes all by myself,” Yuuto informed him. “I even flipped them. All Papa did was made sure I turned the stove off.”

“Are you serious? That’s amazing, Yuuto. They look delicious.”

“And I washed and cut all the fruit!” Hiroki added. “I picked all the berries for you since they’re your favourites.”

“I love it, thank you.”

“Papa made the coffee though,” Hiroki assured him. “He says he knows how you like it!”

“I do too!” Yuuto huffed. “I just dunno how to use the machine.”

“You do?”

“Yeah! You always say you like it strong!”

Katsuki stifled a chuckle, and caught a glimpse of Izuku’s lips twitching, hiding a smile of his own.

“That’s true,” Katsuki agreed. “You’re right. But yeah, the machine is a bit weird.”

Katsuki popped a blueberry in his mouth, then set to work cutting into his pancakes, genuinely impressed to find no lumps of flour or raw middles. Yuuto really had gotten good in the kitchen.

“You can sit with us, nerd,” Katsuki said, when he glanced at an awkwardly-hovering Izuku, still standing beside the bed. “Not like it’s the first time.”

Izuku burned bright red, but he sat down on the edge of the mattress anyway, immediately dragged closer by Hiroki. For someone who had literally cried on his shoulder the night prior – not that Katsuki could blame him – he sure was nervous about the stupidest stuff.

“And Daddy, we’re gonna go have dinner tonight!” Hiroki said excitedly, linking his arm through Izuku’s to keep him from running away. “Auntie Kyouka called, she said we’re all invited and Grandma and Grandpa said it was okay and not to let you make any excuses.”

“Auntie Kyouka called you to make my plans?”

“Weeeelllll she got Tomi to text me her phone number so Papa could sort it out but that’s basically the same.”

“Sorry,” Izuku said meekly. “She didn’t really give me a choice, she just said ‘be here at six’ and that was it.”

“It’s fine,” Katsuki conceded, cutting off another bite of pancakes. “I knew the idiotsquad would do something stupid.”

“Maybe it’ll be fun!”

“I doubt it.”

“Ryouji is coming,” Hiroki offered. “It’ll be fun.”

Katsuki snorted, ruffling Hiroki’s hair fondly, but he didn’t really have an argument for that one. That meant Tamaki would be there too, at least; maybe he could keep Katsuki sane during all the nonsense.

Izuku slipped something to Hiroki beside him, then reached behind Katsuki’s head, handing something to Yuuto to match.

“We made cards,” Yuuto said, holding it out for him to see. “Happy birthday Dad.”

On the front, in careful marker lines, was a drawing of a group of people. All of them wore black shirts with orange Xs on the front, and Katsuki grinned at the little cluster of people, featuring all four of them, along with the three grandparents in their lives.

“It’s perfect,” Katsuki said, hugging Yuuto lightly. “I love it.”

He opened it up to read the little ‘happy birthday Dad’ inside, written with so much care to make sure it was legible, and hugged it to his chest for a moment when he’d read it.

“Thank you, Yuuto. You made an awesome card.”

Hiroki handed his over next, shedding a little bit of glitter onto the blankets, but for once Katsuki didn’t mind. Unlike Yuuto’s little group of people, Hiroki had crammed at least thirty people on the front of his, full of Aunts and Uncles and Grandmas and Grandpas, each of them wearing a little orange party hat perched on their colourful hair.

“Wow, Hiro.”

“I didn’t want to leave anyone out,” he explained, grinning. “But we’re at the front!”

Sure enough, their little group of four was front and centre, surrounded by all the people in Katsuki’s life that he had some form of attachment to. Hiroki would have said loved, he was sure, but they didn’t need to have that debate on his birthday.

“You shouldn’t have to work on your birthday,” Yuuto said solemnly. “That isn’t fair.”

“You guys go to school on your birthday,” Katsuki pointed out.

“But we get to see our friends at school and eat cake!”

“That’s true.”

“Katsuki gets to see his friends at work, he just won’t admit it,” Izuku teased.

“And we’ll have cake at the party!” Hiroki added.

“Yeah, so we’ll be okay,” Katsuki said, hugging both his boys. “Maybe I’ll get to beat up a villain at work, that’ll be a good present.”

“Just don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t be silly, I never get hurt. Especially not on my birthday. Unfortunately I do need to go pee though.”

Izuku stood up, dragging a giggling Hiroki with him, and Katsuki slid out of bed, stretching lightly in his singlet and boxers. He could feel Izuku’s eyes on him, but for the sake of his birthday, he decided to be nice and not call him out on the perving for once.

“That was the best breakfast ever. Thank you, guys.”

“You’re welcome!” Hiroki grinned. “Happy birthday!”

They ran off down the stairs as Katsuki headed into his toilet, but when he returned, he found Izuku still standing there, and repressed the urge to groan.

“Don’t,” he said firmly, opening up a closet door to get to his costume. “It’s fine. Really.”

“Thank you, though,” Izuku said softly. “I’m sorry I was such a mess.”

“Of course you were a fucking mess,” Katsuki huffed, stripping off his singlet and ignoring the eyes that burned into his back. “Anyone would be.”

“I just... thank you. Again. For helping me, and for being so nice afterward.”

“It’s fine,” Katsuki repeated. “I’m taking my boxers off now, so either leave or close your eyes.”

Izuku squeaked, but he didn’t move, and when Katsuki looked back he saw the eyes squeezed tightly shut. Nerd wasn’t done yet, then. Typical.

“I know you don’t like presents,” Izuku began, and Katsuki felt every muscle in his body go rigid. “But it’s only something small, so you have to say ‘thank you’ and accept it graciously, because it’s your birthday.”

“It better be miniscule.”

“It is!”

“Alright,” Katsuki sighed, hitching up his pants. “Open your eyes.”

Izuku opened them and reached into his pocket, a gleeful look quickly taking over his face as he held out the gift. It wasn’t wrapped, wasn’t even in a box; it just sat in the palm of Izuku’s hand, almost perfectly spherical but for the little nose that poked out, with two beady black eyes.

“It reminded me of you,” Izuku said gleefully.

“Hah? Why?” Katsuki demanded, face a little pink as he accepted the fluffy toy.

“He’s spiky, and prickly, but also really cute even though he’d probably try to hide it.”

“Stop projecting shit on a hedgehog.”

Izuku laughed, apparently unoffended by Katsuki’s complaints, and Katsuki felt himself soften a little as he cupped it between his hands.

“Thanks,” he said finally. “I’ll name him Bloodthorn.”

“Of course you will,” Izuku chuckled. “Happy birthday, Kacchan. Don’t forget your lunch, I put extra care into it for today!”

“Oh god.”

“In a good way!” Izuku protested. “I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will,” Katsuki mumbled, eyes darting away. “I always do.”

“I’m glad.”

Izuku finally decided to evacuate the room, heading off down the stairs, and Katsuki paused for a moment, staring at the fluffy little hedgehog orb in his hands, and finally managing a tiny hint of a smile as he set it on his bedside table.

“See you after work, Bloodthorn,” he said softly. “You’re the man of the house now, take good care of everyone.”

─────

Katsuki couldn’t help but laugh when they pulled up in front of the building, glancing over at Izuku and getting a grin in return. He was pretty sure he’d never mentioned the place to his friends and coworkers, had never been specific about where their first meet-up had taken place, but apparently Kyouka and Katsuki shared a single brain when it came to planning events.

“Let’s go find Ryouji,” Hiroki said, as soon as he and Yuuto stepped through the door. “Tomi is probably there too, he’s cool, you’ll like him.”

“Be nice to Nen too,” Katsuki instructed. “Be good.”

“I’m always nice!” Hiroki assured him. “Have a good party, Daddy!”

Together the pair ran off to the playground, already occupied by a handful of kids. He didn’t know most of them beyond looking vaguely familiar, but he knew they were all the kids of his agency sidekicks, plus a couple of his old friends who had chosen the family life.

“He’s younger,” Katsuki explained, when he caught Izuku looking. “His brother doesn’t like to include him in stuff, but he always wants to hang around them.”

“Is he another friend’s son?”

“Oh, no, they’re both Kyouka’s. You would’ve met their dad at the school, but I haven’t seen the kids recently.”

Sure enough, when they got closer to the group of chatting adults, Izuku’s eyes lit up with recognition, and Takaji shot them both a smile when their eyes met.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Midoriya. Happy birthday, Katsuki.”

“There you are!” Kyouka said, punching Katsuki in the arm the moment he got close enough for her to reach. “You’re late!”

“I’m never late,” Katsuki objected, thumping her right back. “You just got here early as hell.”

“Well yeah, I had to set up, but you’re still–” she glanced at her phone and paused, and Katsuki smirked. “Okay, shut up. Happy birthday.”

“I hear you manipulated my kid into getting me here.”

“Excuse me, I did not,” Kyouka huffed. “I got my kid to get your kid to manipulate your boyfriend into getting you here.”

Izuku squeaked indignantly, but Katsuki just rolled his eyes, admittedly a little amused when Kyouka stepped out of his reach immediately.

“Don’t tease the nerd, he’s not used to you shitheads yet.”

“I’m not teasing Midoriya, I’m teasing you, it’s different. Anyway, come on, both of you – grab a drink and some food, everyone is excited to celebrate with the birthday boy.”

Despite Katsuki’s weak protests, Kyouka dragged him over to a crowded area, and he groaned when everyone immediately cheered. He glanced back only once, finding Izuku and Takaji talking together comfortably, and with a final sigh he let himself get absorbed into the stupid, loud, mass of old friends and classmates, and new or new-ish sidekicks.

“We know you said no presents,” Mina began, making Katsuki groan again. “But we all went in together on this one, and we didn’t spend any money, so we figured it was okay!”

She handed over a thick little book, and Katsuki snorted when he read the cover, with Katsuki’s Koupons written in fancy calligraphy. The pages all came with pretty little borders, someone had obviously taken care with getting them printed up nicely, but the offerings on them ranged from silly to downright stupid.

“One free sparring session,” he read out, from the first few pages. “What, you guys got death wishes or something?”

“Exactly,” Eijirou said with a grin. “None of us ever have the energy or pain tolerance to spar with you, but now you can make us do it.”

“One free shift cover,” he read next. “Oh, you know I’m gonna have fun with that one.”

“We have bets on who you’ll use it on and when,” Denki laughed. “I think you’ll make me cover your shift on my own birthday, but Eiji reckons you’ll use it when your kids have a school event on.”

“That first one is tempting,” Katsuki said with a smirk. “I’m sure I’ll find something good.”

“The next one is my favourite,” Mina said, beaming as she leaned in to read with him. “There’s only one, so use it wisely!”

He flipped through a few more shift cover coupons to get to it, grinning the moment he got there. He tore it out immediately, holding it out, and with a wary look in his eyes, Shouto accepted.

“One compliment to a news crew,” Shouto read out, sighing to himself but conceding a nod. “Fine. Happy birthday.”

Katsuki continued flipping through the booklet, laughing with his friends over some of the sillier ones, like “listen to Katsuki rant freely for thirty minutes” and “one night as designated driver”. When he reached the back half, he found “one free hug”, but when he tore it out to burn it, he found another one underneath. He flipped through, eyebrows lowering as he continued to find more and more of them, and finally he tore off the entire back half of the book, tossing it over to a curious Hiroki who was watching them laugh from the snacks table.

“That’s your half,” he said, when Hiroki caught it neatly. “Have fun.”

Hiroki’s face lit up when he read it, immediately tearing off the first one and handing it to his nearest adopted relative – currently, Ochako. She laughed and hugged him tightly, ruffling his hair as she assured him he didn’t need coupons for that, and then he ran off to the next one, another coupon in his hand. He made the rounds through all his aunts and uncles, gleefully handing off coupons, and Katsuki could only watch fondly as they all hugged him enthusiastically.

“Happy birthday,” Shouto said again, as he handed over a card. “I made this for you.”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, looking down at the glittery homemade card, inked with terrible stick-figure renditions of himself and Shouto holding hands on the front, with big, dumb smiles on their faces. He flexed his fingers, preparing to blow it up, but Shouto’s mouth opened again and he stopped in his tracks.

“The boys helped me make it,” Shouto said proudly. “I’ve never made cards before.”

Katsuki grumbled to himself, but shoved it in his bag all the same – even from Shouto, he didn’t have the heart to blow that up.

“Go grab some food,” Kyouka said, when they’d all finished laughing over the coupons together. “The cake will be out in like an hour, until then just hang out and have fun. Plenty of drinks, too, but they’re behind the counter so the kids don’t grab them by accident.”

“Sounds good,” Katsuki said, nodding. “Um, thanks. For this.”

“Thanks for coming,” she said, with a wry smile. “We kind of thought you’d just never show up.”

“Damn, that was an option?”

She punched him again fondly, and Katsuki grinned, bumping her lightly with his shoulder.

“Really though,” he said. “As far as parties go, this one is acceptable.”

“High praise indeed.”

She stepped away to let the next person approach, and Katsuki was surprised to see Ryouji appear, holding up a big box. Mirio threw his hands up, when Katsuki looked at him, shaking his head insistently.

“It was all Ryou,” Tamaki assured him. “He hasn't even let us see what it is.”

Katsuki accepted finally, watching Ryouji’s face light up when he crouched down to open it together, and for a moment he was speechless, staring at the contents of the box before he slowly looked up to Ryouji again.

“Happy birthday Uncle Katsuki!” he said brightly. “I’m gonna go play, call us when the cake comes out!”

In Katsuki’s hands sat a box loaded with fireworks – and not the weak little sparkly kind you could find everywhere during festival periods, but real fireworks, the kind Katsuki was pretty sure were banned.

“Did you help him buy those?” Tamaki whispered, leaning over to Mirio.

Mirio just shook his head, a concerned look on his face, and Katsuki smiled to himself fondly as he closed the box back up for safe keeping. He’d have to find somewhere secluded that they could put on a show for everyone without being noticed. Ryouji never failed to amaze and confuse him, it was no wonder Hiroki liked him so much.

Aizawa and Eri showed up next, Eri looking a little nervous as she hugged her bag to her chest, glancing up at Aizawa for support.

“She’s worried because you said no gifts, but she’d already started making it,” Aizawa explained. “I told her it would be fine, that you wouldn’t mind.”

“A homemade present? I’d never say no to that, that’s so thoughtful of you.”

Visibly relieved, Eri pulled something dark from her bag, holding it out to him, and Katsuki gave her his best attempt at a smile as he accepted. In his hands, he found a thick, fluffy, hand-knitted scarf, in stripes of black and orange. His eyes widened, and he looked up at Eri again as he unfolded it to look properly, finding a shy smile waiting on her face. That smile might have been the sweetest thing he’d seen in months.

“This is beautiful,” he told her sincerely, as he slung it around his neck. “You learned to knit?”

She nodded, glancing up at Aizawa again, and he smiled fondly as he patted her on the back.

“Nejire taught me,” she said quietly. “It’s almost summer though.”

“It’ll be perfect for the cold nights and windy days we’ve been having,” Katsuki assured her. “And when autumn and winter come back, I’ll have it ready to go, to keep me nice and toasty. I love it, Eri. Thank you so much.”

She blushed a little, but smiled much more brightly, and Aizawa gave her another fond little pat.

“Do you want to play?” he asked, gesturing toward the playground area. “I’m sure the others would love to see you.”

She nodded slightly, and Katsuki glanced back over his shoulder, scanning the crowd for familiar faces.

“Yuuto,” he called, when he spotted him popping out of a tunnel. “C’mere a sec?”

He jumped down with no fear, running over with a big grin on his face and immediately offering Eri a hand.

“Eri, you’re here!” he said. “Do you wanna come play?”

She nodded, accepting his hand, and Yuuto squeezed her lightly in greeting.

“Do you want something, Dad?”

“No,” Katsuki said fondly. “We’re good, go play.”

“Okay!”

They hurried off together, and Aizawa gave him a nod, Katsuki brushing him off before he could open his mouth to say thanks.

“He likes hanging out with her,” Katsuki assured him. “I mean, Hiro will play with anyone, so he’d happily drag her in too, but Yuuto is more picky about his friends, so...”

“I appreciate it. Now I’m pretty sure it’s time for our birthday drink.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

─────

“I know you said no presents,” All Might began, smiling fondly when Katsuki’s eyebrows knitted together. “But this is more like returning something that already belongs to you.”

He held out a small envelope, and Katsuki accepted it hesitantly, keeping a wary eye on All Might as he slit it open. It was so thin, almost like it could be empty, but when he reached inside, he knew. The moment his fingers brushed against it, like they had for so many years on end, he knew.

“How the hell?” Katsuki asked, before he’d even taken it out. “Where did you get this?”

“An old friend sent me a photo and I knew immediately that it was yours. They’ve been excavating the site where that battle took place, and apparently it survived.”

He finally drew the card from the envelope, cupping it gently in his hands, as if it might crumble into dust if he held it too tightly. For all he knew, it could. That thing had been through so much, had survived so many near-misses, but somehow, it was back in his hands, safe.

“I kept it with me all through high school,” Katsuki said quietly, swallowing hard to get the words out without them wavering.

“And beyond,” All Might said knowingly. “I didn’t know how much it meant to you until you lost it.”

Katsuki shifted it into one hand, gently stroking the edge with his finger. It was a little tattered, a little thicker and fluffier feeling than the smooth material it had started out as, and he felt like he still knew every single imperfection that it held.

“I carried it around because I wanted you to sign it,” Katsuki admitted, the words falling from him like a lead weight he’d never quite been able to shed before. “I could never bring myself to ask.”

All Might blinked at him, silent for a moment, and Katsuki felt his heart pound in his chest, trying to beat a hole in his ribcage.

“Of course I will,” All Might said finally. “I’d be honoured.”

He felt his face warm, his hands trembling as he looked around for a pen. Ninety-nine percent of his life, he had a marker in his pocket, ready for any random fans who ran into him in the streets. Of course that was the one fucking night that he wasn’t carrying it.

“I can do it another time,” All Might assured him. “I’m not going to take it back.”

“I’ve waited long enough.”

He pressed the card to his chest to protect it as he walked, stomping over to where Mirio sat at a table, Tamaki and Izuku hanging out right alongside him. He looked straight at Mirio, not daring to move the card and risk dropping it, just holding out his other hand and hoping the warmth in his face wasn’t too noticeable.

“I need your pen,” he said, his voice a lot quieter than he’d have liked. “I didn’t bring mine.”

“Really? That’s not like you.”

He fished one out all the same, and grinned when he saw Izuku’s confusion.

“He always has a marker for autographs,” Mirio explained. “He talks a big game about hating it when people stop him in the street, then carries a marker around because he doesn’t want any little kids to miss out, like he did once.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki growled, snatching the pen the moment Mirio got it out of his pocket. “You do it too.”

“Because of what you said!” Mirio laughed. “Apparently he had something he wanted All Might to sign, but he never—wait. What are you holding?”

Katsuki scurried off with the marker before Mirio could hold him up any longer, jamming it into All Might’s hand, then offering him the card much more gently. All Might smiled knowingly, but didn’t say a word, just carefully set the card on a table, giving himself a flat surface to write on. He grabbed a napkin, testing the pen first, and Katsuki’s chest tightened – only All Might would take such care with something so small, just because of Katsuki’s feelings. Sappy old man.

“Anywhere in particular?” he asked.

“Wherever,” Katsuki said, a little breathless. “In a space?”

All Might nodded, and carefully touched the pen to the card. Nothing exploded, the ink didn’t pool and ruin the paper, no villains burst through the restaurant door – he just signed his name carefully, gave it a minute to dry, then capped the marker and offered them both back.

“Thank you,” Katsuki said, picking up the card reverently. “This is the best thing I’ve ever owned.”

“I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, Katsuki,” All Might said, chuckling to himself. “But I’m glad you’re happy, I’m sorry it took so long. I hope you know you could have asked me in school and I’d gladly have done it.”

“I know,” Katsuki admitted. “I just felt stupid asking, it was embarrassing or something.”

“I understand. Being a teenager is hard.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki agreed, still staring at the autograph in disbelief. “I can’t believe it came back to me.”

“Fate works in mysterious ways,” All Might said, smiling warmly. “It brought us together at U.A., it brought you and Izuku together with the boys, it taught you not to let opportunity pass you by, and now it’s rewarded all your hard work by giving back something you thought you’d lost.”

“Fuck. How am I gonna protect this until I can get it a cover or something?”

“Katsuki, it survived five years being carried around in your pocket, and what, seven buried in a pile of rubble and dirt? If anything we should be finding out who manufactured it and having them do all your future merch.”

Katsuki managed a choked laugh, and All Might smiled knowingly, reaching out to rest a hand on Katsuki’s head lightly. Once upon a time he’d barely had to lift his hand to do that, but Katsuki had grown, and All Might had gotten weirdly emotional when Katsuki had passed six feet. He could see it in his face that that hadn’t changed. Even with All Might still towering a foot above him, he still got all lip-trembly about it.

“Thank you again,” Katsuki said, tucking it back into the envelope, then into his bag, carefully shielding it from creases within Shouto’s ridiculous homemade card. “But if you start crying at my birthday party, I’m gonna... I want to say punch you, but you know I wouldn’t.”

“Yes, you wouldn’t punch an old man.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

All Might grinned, and Katsuki couldn’t resist one of his own, nudging him lightly with a fist, just to make a point.

“I’d better check in with my parents, they’re getting antsy,” he said softly. “Say hi to Inko for me. Take good care of her.”

“She doesn’t need me to take care of her.”

“No, but she deserves it all the same.”

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