27/12/17: Chapter edited to make it more consistent in style with later chapters. Added a few things, but nothing too drastic.


Chapter 2: Heroes League of America

Their first child is a surprise.

Katsuki and Ochaco try very hard to be careful, but the method of contraception most easily available to them is not perfect, and with both of them at the peak of fertility, it's a wonder that it even takes close to two years for an unplanned pregnancy to happen.

After a few days of experiencing nausea that Ochaco is certain has nothing to do with her Quirk, she decides to visit a doctor to confirm her suspicions. Katsuki waits at work for her text to come in reporting the results, but when it finally does, he doesn't quite know how to feel.

He's not unhappy. On the contrary, he can feel excitement simmering in his chest, the warm kind that he's learned to associate with happiness that doesn't involve making things or people explode.

He's not unhappy, far from it. But this pregnancy could not have come at a worse time, and he feels his excitement being spoiled by a pinch of dread.

Another text comes in from Ochaco. She wants to know how he's taking the news. She's always so straightforward with him; he likes that about her. But for now he can't return her complete honesty. He texts her back that he's fucking excited, and she replies with a kissy face.

He ignores the guilt rising in his stomach.


When Katsuki comes home that night, Ochaco rushes to envelope him in a giant embrace before he's even barely past the entryway of their apartment. He returns the enthusiastic gesture with a grin.

She chatters about the doctor's appointment as he unlaces his shoes to change into slippers. She's about 12 weeks along in her pregnancy, and she'll be due at the end of summer. The doctor has given her a variety of pamphlets to read. Who knew pregnancy was so complicated? There's a bunch of things she needs to learn!

Taking on a rather shy tone, Ochaco asks if Katsuki would like to come with her to the next checkup. Maybe he also has questions for the doctor? Or maybe he'd find it interesting to see the sonogram? She's quick to assure him that they could schedule it on a day when he's off-duty so it doesn't interfere with his work.

Of course he'll come, Katsuki says, and Ochaco beams brightly. It falters a little when he adds that first, they have something important to discuss. He leads her to the sofa in their living room and they sink down to it next to each other.

The agency he works for is among those confirmed to be conducting an exchange program with the Heroes League of America this year, and just this morning, Katsuki had received the official memo from his employer congratulating him on having been the one selected to go.

The meaning behind his words seem to fly over Ochaco's head, because she claps her hands together in glee and gushes about how proud she is to have such a talented husband.

He takes her hands in his and explains further.

The exchange program lasts for half a year, and it's set to start in two months' time. If Katsuki goes, he'll be absent for the rest of her pregnancy and even during the birth of their first child.

The smile melts from Ochaco's face then. Katsuki rubs soothing circles into the back of her hands with his thumbs. She watches his ministrations without a word, and when she finally breaks her silence, asking him if he still wants to go, her tone is neither reproachful nor threatening, but a little sad.

Katsuki gives her hands a reassuring squeeze. Yes, he still wants to go, but he won't if she tells him not to.

Ochaco's reaction is not what he expects. Her mouth thins and she brusquely withdraws her hands from his grasp. He's being unfair, she accuses. He's pushing the burden of the decision onto her shoulders so he'll have someone to blame if anything goes wrong.

Katsuki tries to tell her it's not like that, but she's not listening. He feels his temper rise. He tells her to shut the fuck up, and she does, but her eyes go cold, and she slams the door when she retreats to their bedroom.

Fuck. He fucked up. This isn't how it was supposed to go.

Taking a long, heavy breath, Katsuki pushes himself up from the sofa. He should go take a walk and cool his head. He's not going to get through to Ochaco like this.

He knocks on the closed bedroom door and gruffly announces that he'll be going to the grocery by the station. Is there anything Ochaco needs him to buy for her?

She doesn't respond, and Katsuki pretends it doesn't bother him. He doesn't blame Ochaco for being upset. He shouldn't have raised his voice at her like that, not when she's making a valid point.

But fuck, he wants to go!

America is the Land of Heroes, where professional heroism first started, and the Heroes League of America is the biggest hero agency in the world. He can't imagine what he would be missing out on if he lets this rare opportunity slip out of his grasp.

But that would mean leaving Ochaco alone while she's pregnant. That would mean letting her give birth alone.

But she doesn't have to be on her own, does she? Her parents could come over. They know more about this baby shit than he does. They would probably be much bigger help to her than he is.

He tries hard to convince himself, but he knows he's rationalizing.

He ruffles his own hair roughly in frustration. Grabbing the jacket he has left lying on the arm of the sofa, he slides back into his shoes and stomps in the direction of the 24-hour-grocery.

As he walks, he checks his phone periodically hoping for a text from Ochaco, but nothing comes.


Katsuki returns home after a couple of hours with dinner for two.

Without anything to buy at the grocery, he had ended up wandering aimlessly around town instead. His stomach had rumbled loudly about an hour into it, and he realized that neither he nor Ochaco have had anything to eat, so he stopped over at a family restaurant for takeout before going back.

The food would serve as his peace offering, too.

He knocks on their bedroom door and invites his wife to eat. He hears sheets rustling from the other side, and then the door swings open to reveal a bleary-eyed Ochaco who looks like she has just woken up from a nap. It hits him that she's been extra lethargic lately; it must be the pregnancy.

Katsuki lifts the brown bag containing their dinner. She stares coldly at him, and he finds himself blurting out an apology even though he really hadn't planned on doing that.

But it's worth it when a half-smile graces her face and she leans up to kiss him on the cheek. She's sorry too and she loves him.

The mood is considerably lighter as they eat. They talk about what they would name their child, whether it would be a boy or a girl, and who it would take after. They try to guess what his or her Quirk might turn out to be.

Neither of them brings up the topic of his exchange program for the rest of the evening.

Later, after they retire to bed, Katsuki is almost asleep when he feels Ochaco scoot closer. She drapes an arm around his middle and presses her face against his rib.

She tells him it's okay if he goes, and he thinks he's dreaming. But when he opens an eye to peek at her, her lips are moving.

It's okay if he goes. She knows how much he wants to become the top hero, and if this exchange program can help him get closer to that goal, she will support him.

Katsuki turns on his side so he can embrace her. He brushes his lips against the top of her head and whispers his thanks.


Author's Notes:

Why hello, you're still there? Color me flattered! Thank you for sticking with me up to the end of Chapter 2. I am looking forward to your continued support!

Do leave a review, if you can. Let me know if you think Katsuki should go on his exchange program, or if he should stay with Ochaco to support her through her pregnancy.

A few notes:

1) As with probably the rest of the world, the most common and most accessible method of impermanent contraception in Japan is the use of the male condom, which is hugely effective, but not perfect.

2) America being the 'Land of Heroes' is a legit canon fact. It's mentioned in one of the final chapters of the School Trip arc. The fact that pro heroism started there as well as the Heroes League of America, however, are things that I pulled out of my butt.

3) Not sure if it's popular practice in many countries, but here where I am, I have heard of companies with exchange programs. They send a local employee to work at a branch in another country, and then host a foreign employee in his place. It's for experience and cultural awareness.