Hisami wakes from his nap about an hour later, fully refreshed, but a bit cranky. He has this shitty little pout on his face that reminds Katsuki so much of himself it's hilarious. He can't stop laughing. He's giddy and light in the oddest way, and he knows it's because he's finally talked about this with someone other than Deku. He feels supported in a way he's never felt before, and it leaves him almost delirious.
"Papa, don't laugh at me!" Hisami bangs a tiny fist on the couch cushion.
"I'm not laughing at you, Bub," he says, even though he absolutely is. He tries to school is face into something a bit more serious. "Do you want to go home, or do you want to meet some of my friends for dinner?"
"You have friends?"
Katsuki frowns, and his traitorous parents howl with laughter. Hisami gives a small smile, but hides it behind his hands until he gets his pout back in place—he's determined to hang on to his shitty mood.
"'Course I have friends! They're heroes, too."
"Frostfire?" Hisami breathes the word like a prayer, and just the idea of him has Hisami abandoning his foul mood entirely.
"No. Red Riot and Pinky," Katsuki says, waiting for the inevitable excitement. Hisami scowls.
"Who?"
There have been very few times in his life in which Katsuki has been utterly speechless. He takes a few seconds to compose himself because he doesn't want to laugh at Hisami's brazen lack of giving a shit. Honestly, a bit of pride kindles in his chest—this is classic Bakugo behavior. Every time his son acts a bit more like him, he feels validated, somehow.
"They're dumb, but they want to meet you. Sound good?"
"I guess. Are you sure we can't go to Frostfire's house instead?"
"I'm positive. Sorry, Bub."
Hisami pouts the whole way to Kirishima's and Ashido's new place. It's just outside of the city proper, on a large, lush plot of land, complete with an idyllic, cliched white picket fence. It's a nice place to raise a kid, and Katsuki fleetingly entertains thoughts of living in a place like this with Hisami—and then he realizes that he imagines Deku there, as well, and shoves the thought away.
"Bakubro! And little dude, hey!"
Hisami stares at Kirishima, but offers no words of greeting. He's clearly unimpressed. He turns to Katsuki, and beckons him down to his level so he can whisper in his ear.
"This man is a clown, Papa."
Katsuki snickers into his hand. Post-nap Hisami gives no fucks about anything.
"What makes you say that?"
"Dumb hair," he mutters, eyes shifting to Kirishima for just a second. Katsuki could melt from the intense pride he feels radiating out of him. His son is too much like him.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Bub," he says, ruffling Hisami's hair before standing to his full height. "This is Hisami. Hisami, this is Kirishima, the hero, Red Riot."
Kirishima sits on his haunches, face to face with Hisami, his usual beaming smile in full view.
"Hi, Hisami! I've heard a lot about you." He holds his knuckles out for a very bro fistbump.
"I don't know a Red Riot," Hisami says primly, holding his Frostfire plush a bit tighter, and refusing to bump Kirishima's fist.
"I'm… the number nine hero…" he says, baffled—and vaguely hurt, if Katsuki's not mistaken.
"Do you know Frostfire?"
"Yes," Kirishima says tentatively, like he doesn't know if that's the correct answer.
"He's the only hero I care about. And Ground Zero, but I have to love Papa."
Kirishima guffaws, and Katsuki grimaces. He hopes Hisami is just trying to be cute, otherwise Katsuki will have spent an obscene amount of money on Ground Zero room decor that Hisami only feels obligated to like.
"Clown-san, who's that pink lady?" Hisami says, apparently done with Kirishima because he's looking past him to where Ashido rests on the couch, her large belly peeking out from under her shirt. She waves, clearly not ready to move to greet them. He wanders off to speak to Ashido, and he immediately comments on her baby bump. He's obsessed with her belly, and asks to hold it shortly after introducing himself. Ashido looks delighted with him—he must've been kinder to her.
"Clown? I'm Clown?"
Katsuki laughs as he steps through the threshold of their new home. It's cavernous and open, but still cozy. He can tell everything isn't quite in its place yet, but it looks great.
"Yep. Those nicknames stick, too."
"Why am I a clown?"
"He says your hair is dumb," Katsuki says, absolutely beaming as he follows Kirishima to the kitchen. He kindly puts a beer in his hand. Katsuki doesn't waste any time popping off the cap and taking a swig.
"Goddamn, he really is your kid," he says, chuckling. "What's his obsession with Todoroki about?"
"You know, that's a good fucking question," Katsuki says. "Oi, Hisami, why do you like Frostfire so much?"
Hisami doesn't miss a beat. His little head pops up over the back of the couch.
"Papa and I think he's pretty!"
Katsuki makes an awkward choking noise and Kirishima smacks him on the back to get him breathing again.
"Hah?"
"Papa said he can warm me up anytime! But I think his ice is better." Hisami shrugs, the innuendo going completely over his head, and Katsuki chokes on a laugh again, sounding like a dying walrus.
"I guess that answers that," Kirishima says, snickering around the mouth of his bottle.
"Deku doesn't think I'm pretty?" Katsuki teases, not quite done messing with Deku. He'd never pass up a chance to hold this over his head. And… he's curious. Todoroki isn't the only pretty hero out there.
"No one is as pretty as Frostfire, Papa. Don't be embarrassing," he says, mispronouncing embarrassing and rolling his eyes. He hears Ashido squeal.
"Baku, I love this kid. You need some ice for that burn?"
"Fuck off," he barks, somehow in good humor, and Ashido throws a middle finger up over the back of the couch.
"Language, Icky-san! You have to be nice to pregnant ladies! They're goddesses!"
"Yeah, idiot!" Ashido yells, egging Hisami on. He giggles and pats her hair.
"I like you, Pink-chan. You're pretty."
Katsuki shrugs and drinks his beer. They'll need to talk soon, but why not guilt them with how cute Hisami is? They settle on the couch with Hisami and Ashido, and catch up. It almost feels like they never fought, and Katsuki hasn't been AWOL for months.
—
Izuku is enveloped in quiet. It's almost eerie. He half expects Hisami to pop out from nowhere, yelling about Frostfire or begging to put off bedtime for another thirty minutes. That won't happen, of course, because he's alone. He's sitting in a chair in a bookstore, and it's surreal. He hasn't been in a quiet bookstore in years, but he remembers spending all his free time in this very chair before Hisami was born.
He should be enjoying this. He wants to be enjoying this, but he can't stop thinking about Hisami—what he's doing, where he's going with Kacchan, if he misses Izuku at all.
"Midoriya?"
Izuku turns his head at the sound of his name. It's someone from his parents group. Taikutsuna Shiro doesn't quite stand out in the group. He's nice, but a bit forgettable—though, he's sure that what everyone else in group would say about Izuku, himself. He gives a polite smile, and his fluffy, white hair turns a soft pink. He hasn't asked for the specifics of Taikutsuna's Quirk, but he knows it's called Mood. Apparently, his hair and eyes change color with his feelings. It seems like a really embarrassing Quirk to talk in-depth about, so Izuku has refrained from peppering him with too many questions.
"Hey," he says, closing the book in his hands—he wasn't really reading it anyway. He's far too busy thinking.
"I've never seen you outside of group meetings. How've you been? I know your ex is back in the picture. That can be… tough." His hair turns pale blue, and deepens steadily in color as he seats himself in the chair across from Izuku.
"Uh, yeah. This is my first weekend without Hisami. I kind of don't know what to do with myself," he says, self-consciously, looking away from Taikutsuna's ever-changing hair color. "You… you share custody with your ex, right?"
Izuku feels bad having to ask. He's loathe to admit that he finds him a bit boring at times, and he often gets lost in his own thoughts when he's talking during the meetings. His hair turns black for a moment, before melting into pink again. It's very distracting. Taikutsuna nods.
"Yeah, it's tough at first. If you ever need to distract yourself and get out of your apartment, I'm pretty good at finding distractions around the city. I could give you my number?" His pale pink hair deepens into a hot pink that Izuku can't help but stare at.
"I might take you up on that. I need distractions right now."
Taikutsuna smiles warmly, and his hair flickers between orange and yellow and pale pink. Izuku can't help but laugh at it. If anything, his wild hair will be a good distraction, even if the conversation is boring.
—
"He's a great kid, Bakugo." Kirishima says, smiling widely after Hisami and Mina playing on the lawn. His face falls before he turns his guilty gaze on Katsuki. "I'm sorry for everything Mina and I said. We should've known you had it all handled."
Katsuki shrugs. He doesn't really want to talk about this anymore. He wants to move on from this bump in their friendship, and enjoy the time he's got with his kid and his friends. Ashido and Hisami get on like a house on fire, and the constant barbs he throws at Clown-san are hilarious. He feels warm and light and he doesn't want to ruin it.
"I don't have it handled, really. I'm still working through everything, but… there are more important things than being angry."
Kirishima has the audacity to laugh. He clinks his beer bottle against Katsuki's for no apparent reason, like he's toasting him.
"When did you become such a grown up?"
"I've always been a grown up, asshole," he grumbles and sips his beer.
"No, you haven't. You've always been a grumpy, old man, but you've never exactly been mature. I've never seen you like this—so grounded."
"Not to sound condescending, 'cause what the fuck do I know after being a dad for a few months, but you'll find out once your kid comes." Katsuki feels like he's aged at least ten years in the last five months. Kirishima is right. Bumbling through fatherhood is a very grounding, humbling experience—and Katsuki can't remember the last time he's been down with being humbled.
"I'm fucking nervous, dude. You've got to help us out."
"I'm as clueless as you when it comes to babies. I know Deku would help you, though, if you really need it."
For some reason, the thought of Deku integrating himself into his friends' lives doesn't irk him. It'd be nice to have the two biggest forces in his lives collide without it ending badly. He's come to terms with the fact that Deku is a big portion of his life, even if it's awkward and tentative.
"Does he know what we said about him?" Kirishima frowns, obviously uncomfortable with anyone thinking he's cruel. Katsuki nods. He's not going to work double time to make him feel better. Assuming they every actually meet, Deku the doormat sure as shit won't hold him accountable, so Katsuki will have to. Kirishima looks a bit off, like he's surprised and sad that Deku knows. He clears his throat.
"Well, the shower is coming up. Deku is welcome to come with you. Hisami, too, of course. Todoroki and Momo are bringing the twins."
"Uh, we don't really do shit like that—go places together, I mean. Not unless it's for Hisami."
"He's part of your life, Bakugo. No getting around it. Do what you want—we just don't want you to feel like you have to hide him from us."
"I'll ask him," he says, knowing full well that he won't accept.