Chapter Text
“I can’t believe he’s finally here.”
Katsuki chuckled, running a finger over the clean tuft of blonde spikey hair as he watched his son feed from his wife, “Brat’s hungry.”
“Well,” Ochako whispered, adjusting her hold carefully, “I think I’d be hungry too if I spent eight months underwater.” She looked down at the top of Kyo’s hat covered head, smiling at his suckling. “Thank god he latched on.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“I don’t know. Some don’t,” she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “One of the nurses was saying that it can take some time for some babies to figure it out-”
“What the heck is there to figure out?” Katsuki asked gently. He wasn’t sure why this was fascinating. It certainly wasn’t the first time he’d seen her bare chest but watching their son feeding was almost hypnotizing. Kyo’s little lips suckled hungrily, red eyes wide awake as he ate.
“Lots of things, surprisingly.” She’d had the same thoughts when the nurse had explained the process minutes before. “Aside from Kyo not figuring it out? The nurse said that I needed to be prepared to try different positions, and they checked his mouth beforehand to make sure nothing was bothering his gums-”
“Why would something bother his gums? He’s not supposed to get teeth till he’s like one, right?!”
“Something like that, but the nurse said things have gotten caught in babies gums before, so…” she trailed off, shaking her head slowly.
“Geez.”
“Yeah, I had no idea it was so complicated,” Ochako yawned, closing her eyes again as she inhaled deeply. “The nurse said she was impressed he took so quick.”
“Barely even two hours old and you’re already kicking ass, huh brat?” Katsuki smirked, stroking the side of the babies head.
“Language.” She couldn’t help the little smile on her face.
“He is though.”
She chuckled, “He is.” Ochako gently removed the baby from her chest, carefully positioning him as the nurse had shown her. “You’re gonna show up those extras in the nursery, huh Kyo?” She gave Katsuki a teasing smile as she delivered a few gentle pats to his back.
A small burp erupted from the small baby.
“That’s right,” she cooed happily, readjusting him against her skin, “You are.”
“Don’t inflate his ego,” Katsuki warned gently, trailing his finger from the top of his son’s forehead, down to his cheek, and underneath his chin. “Brat is too little for that big ego you’re already giving him.” He tucked his finger into Kyo’s impossibly small hand. “Look what happened to me.”
“Oh there’s nothing wrong with you, and he’s only a couple hours old.” She watched as his little eyes fell closed, before stubbornly blinking rapidly. “Plus, it’s not my fault he’s so perfect,” she whispered, finding it hard to look away.
Katsuki stroked Kyo’s little arm, watching as his son slowly drifted asleep. “It kinda is though,” he told her quietly, looking up to stare at her in wonder.
“No,” she grinned, looking at her husband, “Kyo looks just like you.” Her long brown hair was tangled, the corners of her eyes held stardust, and her skin was pale and dull with exhaustion. The harsh fluorescent hospital light above drew attention to dark bags and every crinkle at the corner of her eyes.
Tired and unkempt as she was, Katsuki had trouble recalling a moment he felt more attracted to her. “I hope he gets your personality.”
“Well some of that is nurture, not nature,” she reminded him, leaning in to kiss his lips. “And I hope he gets your determination and spunk.”
He returned her grin, pressing another kiss against her dry lips. “Yeah, I think you’re gonna rethink that when he’s a teenager.” That felt so far away, but so had Kyo’s arrival.
“No,” she told him, nuzzling his nose and then leaning down to give Kyo’s nose a little nuzzle too. “Beneath that rough exterior, you were a good son.”
That wasn’t quite how he remembered it but…
“And you’re going to be an amazing father to Kyo,” she whispered looking at him with glassy eyes.
Placing a hand to the side of her face, Katsuki brushed his thumb against the side of her face. “Don’t cry about it,” he murmured, catching a few of her tears against his thumb as he swallowed a tight lump at the back of his throat.
Ochako laughed lightly as she continued to cry softly, “I can’t help it. I’m really happy.” And about a thousand other emotions she could find words for.
“Me too,” he told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Here.” She adjusted the mess of blankets in her arms, holding the baby out to him. “Hold him.”
Katsuki stared at the baby, moving back as he wiped his palms against his palms.
“Did you get to hold him yet?”
“No.” And the idea terrified him. “I-” What if he started sweating? “I should probably get some gloves or something.” He definitely didn’t want to soak the kid’s blankets in nitroglycerin.
“No,” Ochako dismissed, “It’s fine.”
“Yeah, but-” His hands went back to his pants legs, wiping a few more times for good measure. “Just in case.”
“We trust you,” she told him, sitting up with a little wince as she held the baby out a little further. “Here. Take him.”
Fuck. “He’s so damn little.” Either that or his hands were really that big. Eyes wide, Katsuki carefully accepted the baby, immediately using one of his hands to support the back of his son’s head. He didn’t know much, but he knew that.
“He is,” she murmured, leaning back against her pillows, “I don’t think we have anything small enough for him to wear home.” It was kind of funny watching the man who vowed he was the best at everything since they were sixteen nervously hold their son for the first time.
He held Kyo, carefully bringing the baby next to his chest and cradled him securely. “This is fu-” Katsuki looked down at the sleeping blonde chubby-cheeked baby. A nose twitched as baby lashes fluttered. “-terrifying.” The warmth in his chest was overwhelmed by the anxiety beginning to gnaw away at him.
“No, you’re a natural.” Ochako yawned loudly as a smile twitched at the corners of her lips, “You know you’re not gonna drop him, right?”
He took a little step back as he started to gently rock Kyo. “Yeah.” Logically, Katsuki knew his hold on the infant was textbook. Kyo’s neck was well supported and fit perfectly in his forearm. Had he been braver, Katsuki was sure he could correctly hold his son with one arm but trying to keep his palms from sweating was hard enough. “You should take a nap.”
“I’m not sleepy.”
“I’ve got the brat,” he told her, looking up to see her eyes falling closed. “You get some sleep.”
Her eyes fluttered open for a moment. “I’m afraid I’ll miss something,” she admitted sheepishly with a tired smile.
“Kyo’s asleep,” Katsuki told her quietly, “And if he wakes up, I’ll deal with it.”
Ochako sighed, nodding as she relaxed into the bed, “You should take him to see our parents.” She closed her eyes as her head dropped back against the pillow.
“I almost forgot about them.” They’d gotten a glimpse of their grandson on the way to the nursery but had yet to see him up close.
“Did you text our friends?”
He definitely forgot them. “No”
“You probably should.”
He’d get to it eventually.
“Wake me up when it’s lunchtime or if Kyo gets hungry, yeah?” she whispered, looking at them through bleary eyes.
“Yeah,” he leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “Want me to get you something besides hospital crap?”
“It’s not that bad.”
“So, you’re telling me that you’d turn down some crispy chicken teriyaki from that place you like so much?”
“If it had some french fries and a side of noodles, I definitely wouldn’t turn it down.” Her eyes closed once more as sleep began to overtake her body. “Don’t worry about it though. I don’t want you to leave Kyo to get me chicken.”
“Who said I was going anywhere?”
“Hm,” she murmured, “Love you.”
“You more,” he told her gently bouncing the baby as she drifted to sleep. Katsuki looked down at Kyo, smirking.
Still asleep.
“Let’s go meet your Baachans and Jiichans, huh?” he whispered to the sleeping baby, slowly walking toward the door. Pushing a shoulder against the door, he exited the room looking down every couple steps to make sure his son wasn’t disturbed. “Oi, here’s the brat.” Katsuki stepped into the lounge his parents and in-laws sat in.
“Oh, look at his little cheeks!” Hanako squealed, tears brimming her eyes as they approached. “He looks just like Ochako did.”
Katsuki shook his head, “Not quite.” Taking a deep breath, he secured his son in one of his arms and removed the little white hat covering his blonde hair. “He’s got my eyes too.”
“Uh oh,” Masaru teased with a good-natured smile.
“I told you the Chiaki genes are strong,” Mitsuki nodded happily.
“You certainly weren’t kidding,” Reito noted. “Just means you two are gonna give us another one,” Reito winked, placing a friendly hand on Katsuki’s shoulder, “We’ll have to see if we get another blonde grandchild, huh?”
“You all haven’t even had this one for a day yet?!” Katsuki spoke seriously, careful to keep his tone low. Kyo sleepily wiggled in his arms, undisturbed.
“You cannot tell me this little angel doesn’t need brothers and sisters,” Mitsuki cooed, “Are you gonna let us hold him or what?”
“I know,” Hanako snickered, moving next to Mitsuki, “He’s hogging our grandchild.”
“He’s my son!” The words somehow had more meaning with the baby in his arms. Katsuki took a small step away from the women, narrowing his eyes at them. “And when’s the last time you all washed your hands?”
Mitsuki cackled, grabbing Hanako’s arm as they walked toward the bathroom.
“Crazy,” Katsuki murmured, eyeing the laughing women strangely as they left his sight.
“Ochako made you wash your hands, huh?” Reito snickered curiously.
“No, surprisingly enough she just handed me the kid no questions asked.”
“Well, you’re his papa.”
Katsuki couldn’t help but wonder when that would become normal for him.
“Of course she handed him to you without any questions.”
“Yeah, but my hands…” he shrugged, trailing off awkwardly. This was the first time in a long time he had trouble trusting his palms not to sweat.
“I understand,” Masaru placed a hand on his son’s back. “I was terrified to hold you, especially after your mother did.”
Somehow, Katsuki never considered that. “How the heck did you get over it?”
Masaru shrugged, a small smile coming to his face as he looked down at his grandson and then to his son, “You trusted me.”
“Oh,” Katsuki snorted, laughing lightly as he shook his head, “That’s stupid.” He looked down at the sleeping baby. “Definitely doesn’t make me feel better.” As much as he liked to think he was going to be perfect at this role, he knew better.
His hubris had been tested many times during his teenage years, all leading to the same hard lesson: He wasn’t without fault.
No matter how much his ego told him otherwise.
“I know,” Masaru told him, “it’s scary, but it’s the best feeling in the world.”
It was.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“Look at him.”
Ochako snorted, a hand flying up to cover her face as she watched Izuku hold Kyo. She looked over at Katsuki who stood next to him, hands hovering over Izuku’s to make sure he was holding the baby properly.
“Do they all smell like that?” Izuku sniffled, eyes watering as he looked up and down at little red eyes staring up at him. “Look at his little cheeks, you guys!”
“The little trace of Ochako in all that Bakugo,” Momo chuckled.
“This is the best birthday ever,” Izuku cooed toward the baby. “It’s your birthday, too. Happy birthday Kyo!”
“I cannot believe he’s a Katsuki carbon copy,” Mina giggled, before turning to Katsuki, “You realize we now need to see your baby pictures to compare.”
Eijirou nodded, “Completely.”
“Sounds perfectly reasonable,” Momo agreed.
“We will also need some of Ochako’s to compare.”
“For science,” Izuku babbled, talking to Kyo.
“What are we doing now?” Shouto questioned, stepping into the room. His eyes stopped at the baby in his boyfriend’s arms. “Somehow even his genes are aggressive.”
“Shut up!” Katsuki growled, snapping his head to him before turning back to his son.
“I told you it was gonna be a mini Katsuki,” Ochako laughed. “I had a feeling.”
“I guess it was all of the spicy things you were eating,” Shouto joked, setting the carryout bag on the side table next to her. “I heard you wanted crispy chicken teriyaki, noodles, and fries?”
Sitting up a little straighter, Ochako swung the little table in front of her, “You didn’t have to get me anything.” She turned to Katsuki. “I told you hospital food was okay.”
“You said you wanted that stuff and you told me not to leave the brat, so I improvised,” Katsuki shrugged.
“You didn’t have to bring me food,” Ochako sighed, looking at Shouto with a full-cheeked pout.
“I didn’t mind,” Shouto told her.
“Seriously, you guys have done a lot for us, and I don’t know what we would have done if you guys hadn’t been there to help.”
“She’s right,” Katsuki admitted quietly. “We owe you idiots.”
“Was that a thank you, Bakubro?” Eijirou grinned wildly, bracing his hands on his friend’s shoulders.
“Yeah.”
“Geez, it’s only a few hours in and fatherhood has made you soft.”
Katsuki sighed, refusing to take the bait.
“Can we hug it out?”
“No.”
“Damn.”
“We mean it, you guys have done a lot for us,” Ochako nodded as she placed a container of food in front of her. “We’ll have to do something.” She wasn’t sure how she could possibly begin to repay them.
“Oh, I’m good,” Izuku nodded toward the baby in his arms. “We are over here having the best birthday ever, yes we are.”
“Hey! Stop hogging my nephew dude,” Eijirou chuckled, “I want a turn!”
“Wash your hands before touching my kid,” Katsuki barked, “and no touching his face.”
“Bossy.”
“No, brand new baby,” Ochako informed, siding with her husband, “The only thing protecting his immune system is me right now, so we need to be a little careful.”
“It’s cool,” Eijirou nodded, moving next to Izuku with his freshly washed hands. “We cannot-“ he started, slowly taking the baby from him, “have anything happening to our little Bakubro, can we?” He leaned down, talking sweetly to the baby who stared at him wide-eyed and curious.
“I think he likes your hair,” Ochako chuckled as she started eating with a happy sigh.
“Is it good?” Katsuki asked, smirking as he watched her shove another piece of chicken in her mouth.
She nodded, “I think this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
“Well you haven’t eaten since…” Mina trailed off, raising an eyebrow.
“Since we went to dinner.” Those popsicles didn’t count.
“Wait, so you were in labor at the airport?” Eijirou asked, jaw dropping in shock.
“Hey! Watch the kid!” Katsuki warned, putting his hands underneath to catch.
“Chill out, I’ve got the little guy,” Eijirou insisted before turning back to Ochako. “You were in labor?”
“I-” She shrugged, distracting herself by stirring a chicken strip in the little cup of sauce, “I might have been. I don’t know. I just know I was tired and achy, the discomfort didn’t start until the next morning.” Ochako shoved the piece of chicken in her mouth, bringing a hand to cover her mouth. “Don’t judge me I’m starving.”
“No judgment here,” Momo assured, “You’re doing okay?”
“Yeah,” Ochako nodded swallowing, “I’m tired, but the pain isn’t too bad.” Yet. She knew she had the painkillers to thank for that. “My stitches itch, but other than that I’m fine.”
“You had a C-section?” Shouto frowned.
Her lips tightened as Ochako slowly tilted her head to the side. “Um, no.”
“Ouch,” Shouto cringed.
“I mean-” From what she’d heard, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. “Yes, but…” She trailed off shrugging.
“No, ouch,” Momo winced.
“Agreed,” Mina added turning to Eijirou, “You’re gonna have to get your fatherhood fix from borrowing their kid cause I need to time to forget that lovely detail.”
“You’ve had stitches before,” Eijirou shrugged, continuing to play with the baby.
“Um-” Izuku started.
“Stay out of it,” Shouto warned.
“But-”
“No.”
“You’re so stupid it amazes me sometimes,” Katsuki shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment.
“What?”
“Where do babies come from, Ei?” Mina questioned evenly.
Eijirou rolled his eyes, “Well, I figured I had a few more years before I had to give this little dude some advice, but-”
“Absolutely not!” Katsuki protested, shaking his head.
“I mean,” Ochako started, “Shouldn’t it make us feel better that Kyo has a community of responsible adults around him who love him and are there if he is too embarrassed to ask us something?”
“No. This idiot doesn’t even understand basic human reproduction.” Was it even appropriate to talk about this in front of the baby?
“Dude,” Eijirou started, “When two people love each other very much-”
“Fast forward,” Mina instructed with a nod.
Eijirou froze, eyes popping wide at the sudden realization, “Really?!”
Kyo’s face wrinkled and a soft cry erupted from him as his little fists curled angrily.
“Geez Ei,” Mina shook her head, laughing, “Disturbing the little Bakuboy.”
“Oh, no, what you cry for, huh?” Eijirou asked, gently trying to comfort the baby.
“Guess he didn’t like that either,” Shouto snorted.
“Is he hungry?” Ochako asked, wincing a bit as she leaned to see what was going on.
“Brats not hungry,” Katsuki assured, holding his arms out to take Kyo, “Probably traumatized from that idiot’s bad grammar and your stupidity.”
“Give him to me,” Ochako commanded gently, wiping her hands on the blanket as she adjusted herself in her bed.
Katsuki bounced him gently as he made his way to her, placing him in her arms.
She placed the baby against her chest, holding his neck carefully as she placed his tiny ear near her heart.
“Look at that,” Shouto noted, “He’s already screaming at Kirishima, and Ochako is the only person that soothes him.”
Ochako laughed, gently patting Kyo’s back as she cast a look to Katsuki.
Katsuki shrugged, “Smart kid.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“You should go home and sleep.”
Katsuki stepped out of the small hospital bathroom, shuffling toward the chair next to her bed, “Eh, I’ve got a perfectly good chair to sleep in here.”
“You’ve got a pefectly good bed you can hog at home.”
“Which,” he plopped down in the chair, pulling the blanket in his lap with a yawn, “We’ll both sleep in tomorrow.”
“Kyo and I are fine,” she relaxed back in her bed, looking at the bassinet next to her.
“Yeah, but I figured I might as well be here tonight,” he shrugged with a smirk. “Also, you always said you sleep better with my snoring.”
“So you finally admit you snore?”
“Tch.” His head fell back. “I didn’t admit a thing.”
“Whatever that’s not what we heard.”
Katsuki chuckled softly.
“Come snuggle with me,” Ochako commanded softly, “If you’re going to stay, we can share the bed.”
“That bed is too small for the both of us.”
“We’ve shared smaller.”
They had. “Still-”
“Come on. There’s no IV line for you to get tangled in this time,” she teased, scooting over to pat the space next to her, “And Kyo is asleep.”
Katsuki stood up, making his way toward her bed with his blanket in hand. He stopped at the bassinet looking at the sleeping baby. “I thought babies cried more.”
Ochako leaned over, watching Kyo sleep peacefully. “Maybe he’s so quiet because he’s not in the nursery with the other screaming babies?” The combination of Katsuki’s sudden departure from the conference, Ochako’s publicized cab ride with Izuku, and the sighting of several pro heroes in the emergency room yesterday had set off a small media firestorm. Hospital security had already caught one journalist with a camera lurking in the maturity wing. Everyone thought it was best that Kyo stay in Ochako’s room and nurses would visit to help.
“Eh, the brat isn’t a follower.” But it was pretty obvious where he’d inherited his looks. There was also the real possibility of someone just snapping a photo of their child to sell.
She smiled, shrugging, “I mean he definitely has cried. Or we don’t notice it as much because we have the nurses helping us?”
Maybe.
“It’s gonna be different when we take him home tomorrow,” she sighed, feeling the bed dip behind her. “Think we can take a couple nurses with us?”
“We don’t need them.” He carefully put a hand around her waist. His hand rested around her still rounded stomach as he placed his chin to her shoulder. “We’ll be fine.”
She smirked, turning her head to press a kiss to his cheek before looking back to Kyo. “We need a bassinet though.”
“We already have a crib.”
“Yeah, but that’s in his room.” She wasn’t sure why they hadn’t thought of that sooner. “Maybe we could move the crib in our bedroom for a couple months?”
He kissed her neck, smiling as Kyo’s nose twitched, “Don’t worry about it.”
“We also don’t have a carrier.” The near dizzying euphoria of their child’s birth had quickly plummetted to panic at the realization that they were going to be caring for a newborn alone. “Where are my parents gonna sleep?” There was also a good chance the living room was still littered with popsicle wrappers. “Oh god,” she sat up slowly, “The house is a mess.”
“The hag-”
“Kyo can definitely hear you calling your mother that now.”
“He’s asleep,” he told her. “That devil woman -”
“What if Kyo starts calling me hag?”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Okay,” Ochako laughed quietly, leaning into him. “What are you going do if Kyo calls you ‘old man’ or-” She frowned thoughtfully. “Or troll-”
“Why would he call me a ‘troll’?”
“I’m not sure what the male equivalent of hag is so that was my best guess.”
“Eh, we’ve got a while before he’s talking,” Katsuki spoke, leaning back against the bed. He patted his chest signaling Ochako to lay down. “We’ll figure it out then. For now-” His fingers curled at the back of her head as he scratched her scalp. “-Let’s just focus on getting him home tomorrow.”
She sighed, “Without a carrier.”
“My mom or your mom already took care of that, your parents are staying with my parents, and our idiot friends were planning to throw you a baby shower when I got back so we got a bunch of baby stuff waiting for us when we home tomorrow,” he explained quietly, wrapping a strand of her around his finger. “There might be a bassinet somewhere in there.”
Ochako hummed, relaxing against him, “Will there be cake?”
“Seriously?”
“I’d like to think that motherhood hasn’t changed me.” She sat up a little, looking down at Katsuki with a smirk.
“You’re ridiculous.” His hand slid to the side of her face.
She shrugged, “We really do need to do something nice f-”
“I love you.”
The corners of her eyes wrinkled with mirth as she leaned down to rub their noses together. “I love you too.” Ochako kissed him, settling her weight on top of him as she tucked her head underneath his chin. “We survived our first day as parents.”
His fingers trailed up and down her back as she hooked her leg around his. “We’ve got a few more hours before he’s a day old.”
She laughed, turning to the bassinet, “It’s going by so fast. He just got here, and he’s already a day old.”
“Dork,” he murmured sweetly, “We have plenty of time.”
“I’m afraid if I go to sleep, I’ll miss something,” she yawned. “What if we miss him smiling?”
“You won’t,” Katsuki assured, closing his eyes, “I think the brat is too little to smile.”
“Probably, but,” she sighed, “I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”
“I get it.” He understood. “We should still get some sleep though.”
“I know,” she huffed, watching Kyo sleep. “I’m almost afraid this is some weird dream, ya know?”
His younger self would have never guessed this would have been his future. “I do.” Being a hero had always been apart of his plan, but love and fatherhood had snuck up on him. “Good thing it’s not. We’ll see if we can get the brat to smile in a few hours when he wakes up to eat.”
Ochako chuckled, allowing her eyes to drift shut, “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Go to sleep.” Katsuki barely had the chance to finish the command when Kyo’s soft cry broke in the room.
“Or not,” Ochako sighed happily sitting up.
“Guess the brat heard us.” Katsuki watched as she gently picked up the crying baby and moved him to her chest. “You hungry, kid?” he asked gently petting his son’s unruly blonde hair.
“I don’t think so,” she whispered, positioning Kyo so he could see their faces, “I think he was afraid of missing something, too.”
He snorted, kissing her cheek. Katsuki rubbed his fingers over his son’s cheek watching his little red eyes stare at them in wonder. “There’s plenty of time.”
There was.