Ochako was so preoccupied sharing her newest creation with Bakugo that she didn't even notice her parents' arrival.
"Do you like it? It's me and you! I made your hair spiky, see? See it?"
"Yes. I see it." Bakugo exhaled deeply through his nose and tried to concentrate on the set of problems on his desk. While Ochako knew not to disturb the class when the teacher was talking, lest she be taken out of the room, she had yet to be taught that independent time was also off limits.
While his peers had the luxury of finishing their work without a humming toddler next to them, Bakugo was frustratingly behind for once because of the pint-sized distraction.
"But you didn't even look at it…" Even without turning his head, Bakugo knew she must be pouring on the puppy dog eyes. She wasn't trying to be purposefully manipulative, she just had the genetic disposition for turning anyone to putty with her roundness.
Bakugo was determined to be the exception.
"Ochako, I need to finish my work." Though, maybe he wasn't completely immune. "Give me two minutes and then I'll be able to look."
"How long is two minutes?"
Bakugo finally powered through a couple of the problems without any poking or talking, but was interrupted once again by another question. "Is it two minutes yet?"
Sparing a quick look to his right, he saw a panicked Ochako squirming in her seat, bursting with impatience. He sighed, scratching in the answer to only the seventh question in a set of 20. "Count to 60."
"Ok! One, two, three, four, five," She started to whisper to herself, which was not quite the silence Bakugo was hoping for, but would have to do. "Six, seven, nine, ten… Katsuki? Can I use your fingers?"
Curiosity got the best of him and Bakugo looked down to his right to see Ochako with all of her fingers splayed out in front of her. Her eyebrows were knit in concentration with her eyes almost cross-eyed in trying to not lose track of her progress. As much as it irritated him to be constantly interrupted, he was also slightly impressed by her problem-solving skills. She didn't have enough fingers to continue counting, so she reached out for more tools. It just happened to involve him.
"Alright, kid. Tell me about your drawing really fast." He put down his pencil in amusement and leaned his head on his knuckles to give her some undivided attention. If she got out what she wanted to say, he'd have a few minutes of peace and quiet while she started a new piece of artwork.
She took as big of a breath as she could in order to get as many words out in one go. "This is me and this is you and this is the fire coming out of your hands to make the meanies go away and-"
He let her ramble on, grateful for her explanations. If left to his own devices, he would've thought her drawing was a bunch of blobs melting in a fiery explosion, judging from the yellow and orange scribbles. And he couldn't imagine that would've garnered a positive reaction from her.
Bakugo lifted his head from his supporting arm and sat up when he saw Aizawa silently emerge from his sleeping bag to answer the knock on the classroom door. The groggy teacher scratched the back of his head while his other hand opened the door to reveal who could only be Uraraka's parents.
The woman had mid-length straight brown hair that slightly curled inward at the ends. Soft lines around her eyes indicated she was no stranger to smiling and her slender fingers were clasped at her chest at the overwhelming sight of her daughter in 3-year old form. The blonde man also had tears welling up in his eyes, a stark contrast to his sturdy build. He had a broad chest and thick arms, just like Ochako said the other day, with hands worn from manual labor. They wore modest clothing and had matching faces of astonishment.
Ochako continued to point out every miniscule detail, down to the splotches of spilled juice in the corner, not realizing her awestruck parents were standing only a few feet away.
"The sun has clouds around it because we're outside and-"
"Ochako-"
"No, no, I'm not done!" She tugged on his sleeve and demanded his attention to finish sharing her masterpiece.
"Look who's here." He pointed to the brightly smiling couple holding fast to each other.
She spun around and immediately broke out in a grin as wide as her face. "Mama! Daddy!" Ochako squealed and scrambled out of her chair to sprint into a hug. Her mom scooped her up easily, despite it being a good 10 plus years since she had held her daughter in such a way, and nuzzled her face into Ochako's hair.
"Oh, hello, my love! I'm so happy to see you!" The tears were steadily streaming down the older woman's face now as she laughed at the child cuddling into her chest.
"Me too, mama! I missed you!" She giggled. "Hi, daddy!"
Mr. Uraraka didn't seem to know what to do with his hands, constantly switching between stroking his daughter's back and squeezing his wife's shoulder as he succumbed to the wet sheen over his eyes.
"Kaminari, what's wrong with you?" Sero asked his trembling classmate, leaning dangerously far back in his chair since he was done with his work.
"It's just so… so beautiful!" Kaminari burst into tears at the scene, not noticing that he was ruining parts of his paper.
"It is quite touching." Momo dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
And though Bakugo would never say it outloud, even he was getting a bit choked up watching them. It was clear to anyone with a working pair of eyes that the Uraraka family was incredibly close and that they treasured one another.
It wasn't that Bakugo didn't think his parents loved him. For all the ways his mom ragged on him and his dad helplessly attempted to mediate their interactions, he knew they would always be proud of him. There was no doubt that they cared about him and they cared for him growing up... But he wondered what it'd be like to have someone outwardly show affection to him like that.
At this point, he probably would've assumed they'd have an ulterior motive. There was no unit of measurement high enough to keep track of how many times compliments were followed with a 'but'.
But you need to be more humble.
But why are you such a brat.
But high risk quirks must be supervised.
"Let's go out to eat today!" Ochako's father suggested with a beaming smile, unable to tear his eyes off of his family.
"Really?" The little girl gasped out.
"Of course! What would you like, lovebug?"
"Hmmm… hamburgers!"
"Alright! Hamburgers it is!"
"Hooray! Can Katsuki come?"
Wait, what?
"Sure! Would that be alright, Aizawa-sensei?"
"Bakugo." The half-asleep teacher nodded his head at him, though his eyes were focused longingly on the haphazardly smushed bedding behind his teaching podium. "Go. You're excused for the day."
Like his body had registered before his brain, Bakugo stood up from his seat numbly and walked towards the happy family, completely abandoning his half-finished classwork. He couldn't help it, their invitation was so welcoming.
He trailed behind the trio all the way to the nearby burger joint, feeling incredibly out of place as they unabashedly doted on one another.
"You're so cute, Ochako!"
"The cutest daughter in the whole world!"
"Yay!" She giggled, caught up in the excitement of their reunion. "Katsuki, we hug too?"
"Hell no!" He blurted out before he could catch himself. Realizing that maybe that wasn't the most appropriate response in front of Ochako's parents, he cleared his throat. "I mean, no... Thank you." He added the last bit as an afterthought, like it would cover up his slip up.
After that, Bakugo shoved his hands in his pockets and only spoke to tell the cashier his order. He meant to pay for his own food, he didn't need anyone taking care of him, but Mr. Uraraka convinced the employee to just combine their orders.
Bakugo felt a pang of guilt when he realized his order made up half of the price on the receipt. It didn't escape his attention that the Urarakas intentionally chose the cheapest options on the menu. He thought about swiping his card prematurely or insisting that he pay the man back, but he didn't want to insult him.
So he settled on an awkward half bow in thanks instead.
It was a shame his mom wasn't there to see how good of a person he was. Damn.
He was an asshole almost all of the time, but it was usually in the name of making sure people acknowledged him as the best, not in order to maliciously take advantage of people. And who could possibly do anything bad to this family? They barely knew him, if at all, and they invited him out without a second thought just because their daughter had some weird attachment to him.
Still hadn't figured that one out.
"Daddy! Did you know that Katsuki can make things go boom?" Ochako asked as they took a seat at one of the booths to wait for their food. After a whole day with the toddler, it was almost comforting to have her lean into his side. Or, it might've been if her parents weren't directly across from them.
"Yes, we did." Her dad answered with a soft smile towards the two of them. Bakugo must've let his confusion slip because her mom clarified.
"We remember you from the first Sports Festival you kids were in."
Ah. Great. So they did know him. As the guy who beat up their daughter badly enough to make her pass out bloody and bruised. And they still allowed him to join their family lunch?
"Well, he can help you with work!" Ochako suggested excitedly, not knowing anything about their high school times. "He can explode the buildings so you can build more things, daddy!"
Her dad laughed loudly at the idea. "I'm sure he has other plans, lovebug."
"But then when I get my quirk, we can all work together!"
Bakugo's mouth opened involuntarily at her idea. For all the ways she completely idolized her dad and dreamed of eventually working with him… She wanted him there as well? Why?
If it were anyone else, they'd be able to see, clear as day, that the toddler was completely infatuated with Bakugo. In fact, she seemed pretty much incapable of talking about any topic but the explosive, blonde man. Everything came back around to him.
"Katsuki, do you want a bite of my hamburger?"
"Mama, can we go to the park after this? I wanna show Katsuki how high I can go on the swings!"
"Can I hold your hand? Please?"
Though he rejected her request, Ochako was happy enough to hold onto the belt loop on his pants as they left the restaurant and walked back towards the dorms. They were initially going to go to the park, but after a couple of blocks, Bakugo noticed the little girl wasn't skipping like usual. Instead, she was stumbling behind, rubbing at her eyes as she tried to keep up with his long legs in her tired state.
"Is it your nap time?"
"I don't wanna sleep." She whined softly, getting increasingly groggy from the good meal.
"That's not what it looks like to me, cheeks." She didn't even insist on Bakugo using her name, which indicated to him that he needed to pick her up before she straight up face planted on the sidewalk.
Comfortably settling into the crook of his neck, the toddler stroked at the hairs on the back of his head slowly, gently, until her eyelids dropped shut. Once she was fast asleep, her arm swayed loosely down his back.
"Could I?" Her mom asked with her arms stretched out tentatively, as if Bakugo wouldn't let her hold her own daughter as she slept.
Bakugo felt like kicking himself. He should've just let them take her in the first place. What was he doing, picking her up like she was his own?
"Yeah. It'll probably make your trip back home easier, huh?" He transferred the sleeping child carefully to not wake her.
"Actually…" Ochako's dad stopped walking and pulled out a white envelope from his pocket. It had Bakugo's name written in the middle with in black ink. "We were wondering if she could stay at the U.A. dorms. With you."
What?
"Uhhh. Why?" Who in their right mind would entrust him with their child?
"Seeing Ochako like this again… it was a gift. But we are not in a position to care for a young child at the moment. Taking two weeks off of work is an impossibility and there are no affordable daycares in our area."
Bakugo had never felt more uncomfortable in his life, watching the older man bowing his head in shame at not being able to provide for his young daughter. "We know we are asking a lot of you, but would you be willing to look after Ochako until she returns to her rightful age? We can compensate you-"
"No."
"Oh." Both of her parents' faces fell at his response. "Yes, of course. We're sorr-"
"I mean, you don't have to pay me." Relief flooded their bodies in understanding, along with a new resolve in the older man's eyes.
"Please, it's the least we can do." Mr. Uraraka tried to get Bakugo to accept the envelope, resorting to trying to close his fingers around the paper.
"Really, it's fine."
"Take it. Please."
Bakugo knew more than most how important one's pride was. And as much as he didn't want to take anything more from her family, he was already stealing their time together, he wasn't going to allow the man to continue begging.
He willingly accepted the envelope of cash with two hands and finally saw a smile on the older couple's faces. Seriously, where was his mom when he finally had solid proof of having a heart?
Although the amount was modest, the stack of bills no more than just a few layers, it weighed heavy in Bakugo's pocket. It wasn't just the responsibility of looking after a child for the next couple of weeks, it was the implication that he had somehow earned the trust of this entire family. Maybe that wasn't surprising, coming from this particular family. Just looking at the Urarakas, it was obvious they were kind and loving and trusting.
But he was Katsuki Bakugo. Brilliant, strong, and, in seemingly every other person's eyes, dangerous.
Definitely not anyone's first pick as a babysitter.
Once they entered the U.A. campus, Ochako's dad brought attention to a dark blue, rolling suitcase set off to the side.
"There's a few changes of Ochacko's clothes in here with some of her old stuffed animals and favorite books."
"We've already washed the cloth items so they're ready to go wherever you need 'em." Mrs. Uraraka added in a whisper, still swaying to let Ochako continue sleeping.
Damn (he remembered to keep that part to himself). "You kept all this stuff?" Bakugo asked with surprise.
"They're a reminder of our little girl." Mr. Uraraka looked over fondly at the sleeping child on her mom's chest, snoring with her mouth wide open. "Being a hero and all, she doesn't need us so much anymore. It's nice to look back at how it started."
"I'm sure the school can pull some strings to let her into a daycare for a bit." Bakugo suggested, but the older man shook his head with a smile.
"No. We want her to stay with you. She's happy here."
Unwilling to venture further into what that could mean, Bakugo wordlessly took the suitcase by the handle and guided them to his room where Mrs. Uraraka tucked Ochako into bed. Although, everyone in that room knew she would wake up with the blanket nowhere near its original state.
Bakugo set the suitcase by the door and stepped out, feeling like he couldn't breathe within those four walls. He couldn't stand to continue watching them stroke Ochako's face and fawn over their child without feeling like he was intruding, even though it was his room.
He was just about to go back to class when they emerged from his room.
"Would it be alright for us to wait here until she wakes up?"
"She's your kid. You can do what you want."
"That's very kind of you." Bakugo could tell exactly where Ochako got her eyes when her mom's curled in that same crescent shape as she smiled. Once again, the pervasive, completely unwarranted thought of their hypothetical kid popped into his head. Would they get her brown ones, or his red? What about their hair? Their quirk?
"Our train back is at 6:13pm. You can join us for dinner if you'd like."
He did. But he didn't. There was no way he was going to let them pay for him again. Or smother him with all of their… everything. Their words and smiles and warmth.
"You don't have to decide now." See? The whole family was so understanding, it made him feel sick. Like a fluttery feeling in his stomach. "In case we don't see you before we leave, we also wanted to give you this."
In Mr. Uraraka's hands were a tiny pair of black gloves with extra padding on the tips of each finger. Bakugo used to have something similar back when his parents were tired of dealing with scorch marks on the walls and pieces of shattered toys.
"Ochako's quirk manifested around this time. If it ever does come up, please use these. She's going to have a hard time remembering to not use all of her fingers and dealing with the side effects."
With a nod, he pocketed the gloves where that white envelope was.
"Thanks, son." Bakugo stiffened at the large hand on his shoulder. The fuck? Son?
Mr. Uraraka patted him a couple more times as he added, "Ochako always had an eye for good people. It might as well be a second quirk."
"I-I…" Bakugo stammered out embarrassingly before clamming up, not knowing what to say.
Ochako's mom seemed to recognize the conflict in him, giving him a watery smile as she cupped his face and made sure he was looking her in the eye.
"Thank you for taking care of our Ochako. She is so lucky to have you. We all are."
He was right.
Complete knockout with no chance of survival.