Long time no see... [Kirishima x Bakugou + Kaori]

[NicTheDjinn]

"You didn't just set things on fire in the dorms. But... Yeah, I kinda like the smell now and besides, the sound of the fire is soothing on nice nights and warm on the chilly ones. My place doesn't have a fireplace so I have to make do." He felt like he should fail to mention the mix of bitterness and comfort it brought him while he was gone. Not only did he not want to make him sad or guilty about having left, he also didn't want to taint any future times where they might be sitting around it at his home. If he was lucky, Katsuki wouldn't put that together on his own...

"You won't fuck it up. You're good at everything you think is worth doing and this is definitely worth doing. You've grown so much, both in the time you and I have spent together and even more while we've been apart. I've never known you to be a modest man, but seriously, you've got this and even if you didn't you still have the rest of us now." He assured on, smiling warmly at him and meaning every word. Truthfully, he'd always felt this way. When they were younger, before their relationship came to its sudden and unexpected end, he'd dreamed of having a child with the most precious person in his life. He didn't care if they'd found a surrogate for them or adopted outright, but he'd always known that the blond would make an excellent parent, regardless of what others thought of him.

"Oof, yeah... That's the sort of wrong idea you never want people to have about you. I have vague memories of having to really insist that I'd hurt my own eye when my quirt first manifested. The thought of being taken from my parents was really terrifying at the time." They weren't exactly fond memories, but at least it had worked out in the end. A little girl being constantly in some state of bruised being raised by a man that whose reputation in Japan still more or less consisted of being a terrifyingly angry teenager made things a lot more precarious.

He couldn't help the smile pulling at his lips at the slightly bitter, but mostly sweet memory the mention of pain management brought on in terms of his boyfriend's quirk. "I can give your arms and hands a nice rub like I used to whenever I'm around." He wondered if they would fall back into a similar routine again. Eijirou's own quirk caused numbness when he hardened which was why he generally didn't feel pain during a fight, but sustained use of his quirk, particularly his Unbreakable form, left his body painfully sensitive and rippling in that awful pins and needles sensation. Massage helped his blood flow back to where it needed to be as well as soothing his agitated nerve endings. Sure it sucked ass and hurt while it was happening, but it sped up the process and felt wonderful by the end. They had taken to helping each other in these ways before and he liked the idea they would do it again, even if only sometimes.

"Yeah... It got bad... We're still dealing with it, but... Well I've probably already told you more than I'm supposed to. You understand." The faux redhead shrugged, just happy that things weren't as bad. Sure the ring was still a problem, but it wasn't as terrifyingly huge as it had once been and the burden on Pro Heroes had lessened as a result. Now they could more comfortably rotate their responsibilities and manage to have a life outside of work again. It was nice to be able to relax, but honestly he was happiest for those of them in relationships, not to mention had kids that were starting to worry that Mommy and Daddy didn't love them anymore. It had been really heartbreaking to try and explain to a sweet little pink boy that he wasn't going to be given away like some unwanted pet.

He couldn't help laughing at the shock of what taking care of Chiko could be like. "They do, but they only get him into his harness when they go out. Can't exactly tie him to a stake in the yard at home or something. I promise he's a good kid, he's just curious and has a big imagination. Just... Never agree to play hide and seek with him. Like. Ever. That child can and will vanish. He's not impossible to find, but damn... For a kid that can be so high energy, he can stay quiet and still when he wants to." He chuckled, shaking his head fondly. "Honestly, if you can think of a way for him to burn off some extra energy, by all means."

He found himself flushing in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck when he got a bit of a scolding for his own wreckless heroing. "But I /can/ catch stuff like that nowadays! Honestly, it's the buildings that don't survive the process. I've been trapped under a bunch of them that way, I'll admit. Still, I'd kept the whole thing from coming down on at least a few people and acted as a support to keep the little pocket safe for those people. Had to do it for hours a couple of times. Not fun, but... The death count would have been a little higher otherwise." He shrugged awkwardly clearly in the same awkward position most heroes found themselves in. You should try to keep from getting yourself killed, but dying in the line of duty was common. The mortality rate among young heroes was particularly staggering and though he'd beat that statistic, that just meant he was pitted against bigger and stronger villains between everyday work.

"You had better be the 'die old' type. Gotta live long enough to spoil the grandkids and tell them 'when I was your age' stories." His heart ached at how close he had come to just never seeing the blond again. Honestly, even that would have been preferable to having to attend his funeral. "I will. Just wait till we have a moment alone and your word is the only thing that's gonna be able to stop me. Gonna bury you in kisses and if you think you're gonna be able to breathe normally while I hug you, you're dead wrong." He flushed amusingly bright as a thought flitted into his head, but he refused to give voice to it.

He couldn't help laughing when the little girl had made the choice he'd predicted. Looks like he'd be leaving his hair down more often now. It would take some getting used to, but it would save him a few minutes of getting ready at least. "His hair is a bit short to braid, huh? When we're hanging out at your house, you can play with my hair if you want." He offered, knowing that at least part of himself would regret making the offer, but he couldn't seem to resist.

And so the conversation continued pleasantly between them, something strangely familiar about the whole thing even though they'd never been in a situation quite like this one. He hunched a bit to make it easier to get his little rider off his shoulders and he smiled as she was quick to press the elevator button for them. One couldn't deny the happiness and pleasure a child got from pressing the elevator button. An elevator ride later and they were stepping out and making their way up to the apartment door, the redhead looking around curiously as they got inside. Sure enough, he'd assumed they weren't done unpacking till it was revealed that the boxes were actually going to be donated. Toeing off his shoes, he kept an eye on the little girl, all but holding his breath. If Bakugou thought he wasn't about to be pounced on the moment that little girl was in her room, he was very much mistaken.

.....

"Well, it's reassuring that you think I'm not gonna fuck her up in some kinda way. But thanks, it means a lot. I hate to say it, but I think everything that happened was good for me. Think I needed a change if I was gonna quit being such a stubborn idiot all the time. Not that I wanted to leave you like I did, but in the long run, I think it worked out okay." He gave a small shrug at the thoughts that spilled from his mouth, hoping Kirishima knew what he meant and didn't just fuck up a good thing. In all honesty, Bakugou hadn't always wanted kids. He liked kids of course, but back when he was younger, he thought kids would get in the way of hero work. Of course though, he often would find himself thinking of what it would be like to become a parent with Kirishima, have their own little human running around someday.

"And there's no doubt in my mind that if I got investigated because she had bruises, it'd be all over the hero news sites. I can only imagine how scary that was for you though, I don't want her to have to feel the same way." Now that he thought about it, if Katsuki hadn't been so angry and explosive in his youth, he might not have to worry about his lingering reputation here in Japan. Especially now that he had someone else to think about.

The mention of past post-battle massages earned a smile from Katsuki as well as he thought back on those quiet late nights they'd have after graduation. One, or often times both of them sore from work, quietly taking care of each other. They never really had to say anything in moments like that, it always felt like they knew what needed to be said without voicing it. Deep down, Bakugou hoped they'd fall into a similar routine. "That sounds great. Hell, you were always lucky when I did it to you, considering how fucking warm my hands usually are." He added, giving a small chuckle. He'd always considered it to be sort of an extra bonus to the pain relief, at least for his partner.

"Hell, I don't think they even really need an actual harness for the kid. Sero's more or less a built in kid leash. I mean come on, am I wrong? It's kinda fucked up but you've gotta admit you've thought about it a few times." He joked, snickering at the visual that came to mind. "I get it though, kids are a handful. Even Kaori has her wandering off moments. Especially in the store, fuck that kid knows how to disappear quick. Can't really get mad at her for it though, she's just a kid. I did the same thing to my old man." He grinned at the mention of ideas to get Chiko to burn off energy, gesturing to Kaori in response. "Just put those two together and boom, problem solved. She and my landlord's kids used to play together when his wife would babysit for me, and she said that she had enough energy for all of those little shits. And my landlord has five kids."

Bakugou dismissed Kirishima's defense, crossing his arms as he responded with just a bit more well-meant scolding. "I know you /can/ catch that shit, but that doesn't mean it doesn't scare the shit outta me when you do. I don't wanna lose you the same way you don't wanna lose me, got it?" He arched a brow before dropping his argument, giving a bit of a huff to finish it off. Sometimes he hated how tough Kirishima's quirk made him, because he knew that he /could/ catch falling buildings and survive. But that didn't stop him from worrying everytime he saw Red Riot in a headline.

"If I die it'll be a fucking miracle, let's just say that. Having a kid definitely kicked up those self preservation instincts, that's for sure. Just hope to live to see if my grandkids have as cool of quirks as I do." He couldn't help but flush at Kirishima's determination, the redhead's words making his heart skip a beat. Just imagining being kissed by Kirishima after so long had his face red, definitely looking forward to their next moment alone.

It wasn't long after they were in the apartment that Kaori was running off to her room, no doubt getting as much of her Red Riot merch as she could in order to show it off to Kirishima. Bakugou knew she was in her room as soon as he heard her shut the door, glancing over to Kirishima. When his mother had found out that Katsuki let Kaori shut her door while playing, she was appalled, but really, he saw no harm in it. Kaori knew that if she needed him, to open it and go get him, or there were even times when it was too quiet in the house and Bakugou would ask her to keep it open for noise's sake. So, he didn't worry when he heard the door shut, padding towards the kitchen so he could place his bag on the countertop. "She won't be out of her room unless I ask her, but she's probably getting shit together to show you all her Red Riot stuff. So definitely be prepared for that."

.....

So Katsuki felt that having left was an overall good thing. He had very mixed feelings about that... It had hurt when he'd left. He'd felt unloved and thrown away. He'd felt like in the end, he wasn't good enough, that he wasn't valued. The months that had followed had been some of the darkest he'd ever had and it had taken years for him to find a sense of normalcy again. It had given his anxiety a foothold so it more firmly gripped his psyche and to this day he still struggled with his self-worth. The whole ordeal was legitimately traumatic. While he struggled and failed to move on and find himself a new boyfriend that wasn't horrible, Katsuki found himself someone else and even started a family. It hadn't worked out exactly, but it was far more than he'd managed. It seemed he'd grown and matured better without him too. So the only thing he regretted was how suddenly he'd left... He was hesitating too long. That realization forced him to speak, not wanting to give away his thoughts.

"I'm proud of you. You've grown a lot since we last saw each other. I always knew you'd be great you just..." ...had to leave me behind to do it... "...needed a change in scenery. Sometimes we just need something new in our lives! It can show us different angles and stuff." ...and gets us away from the old things holding us back... Despite his inner thoughts he spoke as cheerfully as he always did. Only a keen eye would be able to notice that he wasn't alright. His smile a touch too delayed and a little too wide. The way he couldn't quite hold the same amount of eye contact. Little tells the people that knew him intimately would be able to pick out with ease. The question was, after all this time, were his subtle tells still noticeable to the blond?

"Mm. My parents were never famous and there was no history indication of abuse before that either. Still it's hard for a hospital to ignore a kid with a split open eyelid. I'm lucky the damage to my eye was minor and healed up just fine. My classmates still made fun of me for the accident, but I was more concerned with the way these weirdly nice adults kept asking me how I hurt my eye and if my parents were really nice to me, like they thought I was lying. They even told me if I told the truth I would go live with a really nice family that would love me." He sighed with a shrug. "It was fine in the end, but trust me, do what you can to avoid that shit if you can."

The reminder of how naturally hot his hands were and the thought of how hot he could make them cause a shiver to skitter down his spine at the memory alone. "Yeessss... They're like those heated stones at a spa, but soft. It was always amazing. I've legitimately missed that. I've gotten way better at regulating my hardening so the painful stage usually only lasts a few minutes now so I'm good pretty fast, but that weird numbish tingling sensation still lingers way after. The pain only sticks around on really bad days."

"Pfft! I mean yeah, but his adhesive isn't great on skin and it would hurt. If he just stuck it to his clothes, Chiko would just slip out of them and bolt. We don't really have to think about it, we've tried it. It's how we figured out he needs an actual harness when we're going out... The first time the kid ditched his shirt and we had to chase him and the second time it took about fifteen minutes to get him to stop crying because he'd ripped himself free. He had a red spot on his arm too. Poor kid... I wasn't there for the first try, but the second I was and it was awful. He didn't seriously hurt himself, but we didn't expect him to try pulling free that hard either. We haven't tried that again." And this is why idiots had to learn how to take care of their kids very quickly...

"I think the kids will get along great though. Who knows. Maybe she'll teach him to be less hyper on his up swings and he'll teach her how to nap." Honestly, the thought of the two of them cuddled up in a warm blankie together was incredibly cute and he really hoped he would get to see it someday soon.

He flinched a little when he got scolded, ducking his head guiltily. He hadn't thought Bakugou had been keeping such close tabs on him. He'd always sort of assumed he would just put him out of his mind, something from the past best left forgotten. "I'm sorry I worried you. I... Kaori's mother wasn't a hero I take it? Katsuki it's what I'm good at. It's the only thing I'm good at. It's part of our job. You... Y-you sure you're good dating another hero?" He dreaded the answer he might get, heart racing as he struggled with wanting to both say anything that Bakugou wanted to hear to make sure he didn't leave again while also wanting to makes sure he knew what he was getting himself into. The only other choice he had available was to avoid danger, something that was virtually impossible in their line of work. He knew he could never forgive himself if he made the conscious choice not to act just because it would be dangerous to him to do so.

At least the conversation was kept light around Bakugou's little one. They had a lot of things to work through it seemed. Eijirou had more than convinced himself that he was the one that needed most of the work too, but that was something to concern themselves with later. Now they were in the Bakugou apartment and Kaori was making her way to her room. There it was, the click of a door and he didn't hesitate following after the blond till he'd put his bag down.

The heartwarming warning barely had the time to be uttered before Bakugou would find himself pinned to the counter. Hips pressed to hips to keep him there, one strong arm slipping around him to all but crush him against his chest, the opposite hand dipping into fluffy blond to finish pulling him in so their lips could crash together with all the pent up desperation the redhead had barely kept in check till now. The single searing kiss lingered, but didn't last for too very long, kiss after heated kiss on the heels of the last.

.....

Even if Katsuki had been out of the country and away from Eijiro for ten long years, it wasn't hard to see that he wasn't alright. Sure, to the untrained eye, the redhead looked fine, but he knew Kirishima's tells like the back of his hand, regardless of how long he'd been away. His features softened as Bakugou reached a hand over to hold the other's, giving a small squeeze to it. "I know what you're thinking, Eijiro. The situation was fucked and I'm not trying to say what I did was good. It was shitty, and fucked up, a-and I'm honestly still trying to figure out why you took me back like you did. I don't deserve that kind of forgiveness. But none of it was about you- I didn't leave because of you, I didn't change because I wasn't with you. I was stupid, and didn't see what I was fucking up. It was my damn job to make you happy, but I fucked that up too."

"I'll be damn sure to not let that happen to my kid. I can understand why the hospital was so worried though, child abuse is serious shit. But at the same time when you have a kid, you've gotta be prepared for whatever quirk the kid ends up with. Bad things are bound to happen with kids just getting their quirks. It's a wonder my parents actually got to keep me after all their shit." The last comment was bitter, considering all his parents had put him through as a kid. And even though he was allowing them to be part of his daughter's life, that didn't mean he didn't hold resentment towards them.

"Those fancy ass spas don't have anything on my hands, that's for damn sure. Who needs stones when you've got these?" He grinned, gesturing to his hands. "But it's great that you're getting better with it. I don't think I miss the way my arms and shoulders would hurt after those huge explosions like howitzer impact. And I'm definitely not looking forward to that pain again now that I'm old, according to Kaori."

"Oh shit, poor kid. Yeah, after that I wouldn't even think about trying that shit again. Hell no. But at least you guys figured it out. From my experience, parenting, especially when you have no fucking semblance of a clue what you're doing, is just a whole lotta trial and error." Honestly most of his parenting advice either came from other parents back in Germany, or the internet, and so far he hasn't traumatized the kid, so he's doing pretty okay.

At Kirishima's question, Bakugou admittedly had to pause and think about it. Did he want to date another hero? Especially when he had a child who no doubt was already fairly attached to him? Even if it was uncertain that he wanted to date another hero, he was certain that he wanted to date Kirishima. That was a given, and all he'd ever wanted for so long. After a few moments, he finally spoke, pulling himself out of his quiet moment. "I- no, she wasn't. And she hated that I was. Probably one of the reasons she didn't want Kaori- she didn't wanna have to deal with a kid by herself if I kicked the bucket. But, I'm not telling you to quit what you're doing. I'm just saying, I don't wanna go to your fucking funeral anytime soon, Eijiro. I love you and I don't want to lose you when I just got you back." The strain in his voice wasn't well held back at all, but he ignored it.

He was more than glad that they kept the conversation light around Kaori. The last thing he needed was her asking anything about what all they talked about at the park, which were some pretty heavy subjects for a four year old. They had a lot of shit to talk about if they were going to cohesively make the relationship work again, but he thought they could do it. Or, at least he hoped.

Bakugou barely had time to get the warning out before he found himself pinned against the counter, Kirishima's lips pressed against his own. While it admittedly took him by surprise for a few seconds, he soon let his hands fall into place, with one on Kirishima's hip, and the other going up to cup his face. It'd been too long since he's had any sort of contact like this, touch starved for much too long. He was surprised they'd gone as long as they had without doing anything like this, but now that they were, he wasn't sure he could stop.

.....

He squeezed the hand that slipped into his own thoughtlessly as soon as it was there only to tense as he was called out. Dammit. He was normally so good at hiding how he felt when he was sad... Not that it ever worked against Mina, Hanta, Denki, or Kyouka, but he'd been hoping Katsuki had lost his touch. Stupid of him to think, honestly, with how observant the blond had always been. He smiled, the gesture a little more openly sad.

"When you quit your job, you can't be held responsible for your old responsibilities, other people need to pick up the slack. Relationships are the same. When you were with me, you were as good at making me happy as you were with anything else you thought was worth your time. When you left, I wasn't your problem anymore. I've taken you back because you can't pick who you fall in love with. I didn't have some kind of puppy crush for you. I'll always love you. If you're with me or not, that doesn't change how I feel."

"Child abuse is serious, but it's also kind of scary how normalized it is in Japan. A kid that gets slapped around isn't abused, that's just a difficult child, stuff like that. It's awful... It's one of the reasons I know you're gonna do great. You've realized how you were treated was wrong so you're never gonna do that and I'm sure you won't let anyone else do that either." He meant it too. He knew without the shadow of a doubt that Katsuki wouldn't allow anyone to hurt his baby, family or no.

He couldn't help laughing at the confident boast and from personal experience knew it to be true. Hot rocks felt lovely, as did massages, but hot rocks couldn't do the massaging. Bakugou could. He snorted softly at the little self jab. "Old? Damn. She's already old enough to be judging us for our ages? Guess we'll just have to show her how awesome old men can be. I don't envy you the soreness though. Getting back into hard training after a month in the hospital is bad enough, I can't imagine what it's like to come back into it after years. We should train together again! I bet Kaori would have fun watching how awesome her dad is in action from the safety of an observation room."

"Yeah... Chiko was fine, like I said, but it was a bad enough scare for us to never try anything like that again. You know how kids are though... He was playing like nothing had happened minutes after he stopped sniffling and in a couple of days there wasn't even redness left. Parenting is hard, man, and I don't even do it full time like you guys do. Still, it's incredibly rewarding too. Chiko's already doing the 'I wanna be a hero' talk. It's really cute. Considering he can already climb walls and even the ceiling though, I don't doubt he could be. Crazy how strong quirks get with each new generation..."

"We'd all die old and peacefully in our beds if we could choose when we die, Katsuki. I'm tougher than most and when I go out there, I have Tetsutetsu watching my back. I'll fight my hardest to keep living, but I can't promise you more than that." His heart hammered at the thought that he'd only just gotten his boyfriend back and here he was saying things that might change his mind about it and leave him painfully single again. Honestly, the thought of going back to being friends when they were this close sounded even worse than him not being there at all. If that weren't enough, he already knew that he would take anything he could get, no matter how cruel it may have been.

With Kaori safely in her room, however, all the painful thoughts were gone as he gave in to the desperation that had been building up in him. For a few terrifying seconds, he got no reaction in return. Had he read the situation wrong? Had Bakugou been joking when he'd said he would hold him to the promise of jumping him as soon as they were alone. Had he made some horrible mistake? Had he ruined everything?!

His panic mind melted into the lust gripping him as he felt lips finally moving against his own, a hand at his hip, and another at his cheek. The tenderness soothed away his anxiety and he was more than happy to continue to kiss him with no less enthusiasm. He hoped beyond hope that Bakugou was right about his little girl not leaving her room till he called because this was a hell of a way to find out your hero had the hots for your dad. While he barely managed to resist the urge to grind their hips together, his lips did part enough to take the blond's lower lip between his own and affectionately suck.

.....

A feeling of dread built up in Katsuki's chest as he watched the sad smile come to Eijiro's face, a look of remorse washing over his own normally stoic features. He felt guilty as fuck for making Kirishima feel this way for so long, never taking responsibility for his actions. Or, well, never coming back until the damage was already done. That's what hurt him the most, was that it would be so hard to earn back that trust he'd just up and thrown away, because he knew Kirishima would never fully trust him again.

"Eijiro, please, it's not like that. It never fucking has been. You were worth my time then, and you're damn sure worth it now. I feel like I don't deserve you, with everything I've done to you. You deserve the fucking world, and I don't know if I can give you that if we're being completely honest here. But I'm gonna sure as hell try. It just seems like everything I say makes it worse, and that makes it so fucking hard to let you know that I'm sorry."

"Child abuse is way too fucking common in Germany too. People were surprised when I told them that Kaori was good without me having to hit or spank her for everything. Almost like they expected me to hit her." He crossed his arms over her chest, scoffing at the thought. If he ever had to spank her, it'd have to be for something terrible, otherwise it'd never happen. "Back at my agency in Germany I found out three sidekicks I had workin for me hit their kids. Let's just say they were picking themselves up off the floor of my office and finding themselves different work after I got done with them."

Bakugou chuckled and nodded at the question of Kaori calling him old, rolling his eyes. "Oh yeah she's my kid alright. Think she might've heard me call my dad my old man one too many times. She'll be playing and I'll ask if I can join her but she'll tell me "no dad, it's not for old people like you." The kid's something else you'll see." His kid was a smartass if anything, even if she was only four. Seems like that's genetic. He perked up some at the mention of training, however. "I'd fucking jump at the chance to train again, especially sparring against your ass. Show ya a few things I learned in Europe. Plus, she's never actually seen me fight, other than a little incident when she was three, but I don't think she remembers much of it."

"Yeah I get it. I feel like kids are way less likely to bitch about getting hurt than heroes are sometimes. At least my kid. She falls off of things all the time, but just cries for a little bit then goes back to playing. But really? He's already doing that kinda talk? Damn. Kaori can't stop asking me when she'll get her quirk. It's scary to think that she either won't get it, or the combination of mine and her mom's quirks will be some kinda crazy shit that's gonna run my insurance up."

".. Alright. Just be careful, as careful as you can be at least. I've got some people I'd love to fucking come home to every night, you being one of them. I can't afford to die on my kid. So..if I end up quitting hero work in a few years, it's because I can't just up and leave her either." He ran a hand through his hair at the subject, shaking his head some. He'd always considered not going back, just because he knew first-hand how dangerous his work could be. And since he was a versatile hero, they used him in all kinds of work, but he'd have to get back into the field to see if he wanted to retire for good or not.

There was no hesitation in Katsuki's mind as their lips met and he felt the counter top behind him. No panic, no second thoughts, just pure drive because he was back and Kirishima was here with him, almost like he'd just been gone for a few days and they were seeing each other again.

Against better judgement, Bakugou's other hand dropped to Kirishima's other hip as well, pulling him almost impossibly closer against his own hips. While Kirishima may have been able to barely fight the urge, Bakugou was unable to win the battle, grinding their hips together with a sigh. This was not the right time but like hell if he cared. The blond reciprocated Kirishima's actions regarding their kissing, trying not to seem as if he hadn't exactly done this for a long five years.

.....

"I believe you, Katsuki. I know you're sorry because you wouldn't be upset if you weren't. That doesn't change how things work though. I know I'm worth your time or you wouldn't give me any of it. That's true of you in particular. You never waste your time so I'm worth that at least. But that only counts for as long as your around. It's not just you, everyone is like that. It's normal. I tried to date after you left. I've been in thirteen different relationships. Thirteen! I didn't break up with a single one of those guys and the reason I'm single now is that I had to, it was affecting my reputation." His breath hitched, but he forced a deep breath. He couldn't let himself cry here. He couldn't look upset with so many people around.

"I didn't spend enough time with them, I was too clingy, I didn't buy them enough stuff, they didn't like me paying for everything, I didn't put out enough, I was a slut, I..." He caught himself as his throat tightened up. No, no, no. Keep it in. Not here. Let it out later. Let it out when no one can see. Not here. "Just... Tell me what you want me to do. I'll do anything for you, just don't leave. Please. Anything at all, just don't leave me..." With every new word, it made it more and more clear just how much of a train wreck Kirishima's romantic life had been and how thick the trauma lay at this point.

"That's awful... There's enough violence in the world, there's no need to be violent towards our kids too. They're so smart... They just need talking to. Not yelling, not hitting, just talking. If you can get them to understand, it does wonders." He shook his head, wishing the laws would be enforced more strictly. This had all been going on more than long enough.

He snickered at the little story, lightly biting the inside of his lip to try and keep it in. "The sass is strong with this one. I bet she'll change her tune once she sees you in action though, particularly when she starts her martial arts classes. How much fun would it be when she decides she wants to spar against you? She's gonna be so cute!" He was excited about it already, not particularly concerned about how much money it would take to rent a place capable of withstanding the kind of havoc the two of them could wreck, particularly together. "She's gonna love seeing what we can do, I'm sure of it! Heh... Maybe she'll finally think her dad is cooler."

"Yeah... It's cute. I'm sure things will work out with her even if she doesn't get one though. She'll just need to know she's loved and supported. Could be a little extra work as you'd have to find things that would help her feel empowered, but I'm sure you can do it and we'll all be here to help!" He assured though he couldn't help smiling at the thought of the blond's insurance jumping up because of her quirk.

"I know, man... I'll be as careful as I can be. I can promise that. But hey, if you decide front line work ain't your thing, you can always run an agency or maybe try for a teaching job. I bet you'd be a killer heroic's teacher." He pointed out, clearly trying to think of other examples, but it wasn't something he'd really looked into. He was sure that Bakugou could find something else all the same that could keep him feeling accomplished. The guy was good at practically everything after all.

His heart lept as another hand found his hip, pulling him forward to grind just like he'd tried to avoid. His resolve crumbled in the face of Bakugou's wordless demand and his own hands were on the move again. They trailed down the man's sides, to his hips only for his grip to tighten. The next moment he was lifting him like he weighed nothing, lightly plunking him down to sit on the counter. The faux redhead shifted forward to slot himself between his boyfriend's legs, hands caressing their way up his thighs.

A final nip to those lips and the kisses started to trail down along the blond's jaw, to his neck and even his shoulder. "I missed you so much... I missed touching you and feeling you against me... You're scent... I'd almost forgotten how good you smell!" Those wandering hands rubbed their way further up, over those slim hips, and finally around to give his ass a nice squeeze. He rolled his hips forward then, pulling the blond into it to firmly grind against him. "Shit... I want you... I want you so bad! I don't even care who's in who I just need to feel you..."

.....

The blond's mouth opened to speak but closed once again as Kirishima continued, raising his brows in surprise at the mention of how many men he'd been with in the last ten years, but not commenting. It wasn't that it was a lot, it was the fact that he'd been able to move on almost so easily, but he'd hurt Kirishima enough to damage him permanently. And that's what had hurt the most in that moment. He was able to settle down and love someone else, and even have a kid with them, but Kirishima had been stuck here, ruining his reputation and trying to find someone to take the hurt away.

His expression softened as Kirishima asked him what he needed him to do, making Katsuki shake his head. "Eijiro, I don't need you to do anything. They were all assholes, and yeah, I'm an asshole too, but I see how fucking amazing you are. You don't have to be someone else for me. I just want you, and that's all I want. If you want to be clingy one day, fine. You want space? I'll give it to you. If you wanna have sex or not? I don't give a shit. I'm not gonna leave because you're not doing enough." He tried to reassure him, meaning every word.

"How cool am I gonna be when she's got her old man doing martial arts right with her? I could use the training, on top of what I already know that is. I'll let her win of course, maybe until she's old enough to kick my old ass." He chuckled, grinning ear to ear at the thought of his daughter kicking his ass one day. "Oh hey they're making the sparring room at Sero and Denki's agency blast proof since I'll be there now too. Could always spar there once it's done." Katsuki offered, giving a shrug.

"I don't think she'll have too much of a problem if she doesn't get one. She's tough." He said proudly, quietly hoping that she would get a quirk though. Every parent did. Not for them, but for their child's safety and happiness. "Her mom's quirk was sound manipulation. Could make things quiet or loud whenever she wanted. Since Kaori turned four I've been thinking of every possible combination to try and be ready for whatever she manifests."

There was no way he could hold back a laugh at the mention of him being a teacher, nudging Kirishima with his elbow. "Me? A teacher? I'm sure Aizawa-Sensei would love to see that happen. But..I dunno I'll think about it. If I decide I don't wanna do front line work I'll put in an application at U.A. for heroics. Might be interesting." He shrugged, his grin slowly fading. Who knows, he could be a good teacher after all.

Katsuki cocked his head as Kirishima went to trail down his neck and shoulder, giving a quiet groan as his boyfriend gripped his ass and went to grind against him. His own hands went to work on undoing the others jeans, pure instinct and need driving him at this point. "I missed you so fucking much...I just need you, Eijiro...fuck please.." He urged into the others ear, nipping on the love like he knew that he enjoyed. Even after ten years, he still knew these things of course.

He'd just gotten Kirishima's jeans undone amidst muttering vulgar things in the others ear, letting him know just how much he wanted him, when an all too familiar- "Daddy!" Rang through the apartment, causing his words to catch in his throat, and back up to look at Kirishima in the face. "I.." He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "...think I need to go check on her. I'm sorry."

.....

He shook his head almost immediately when he was assured that he didn't need to do anything different. The poor guy was that sure his shortcomings at this point, even if he wasn't even sure of what they were at this point. "If I were that good, why couldn't I keep a relationship longer than a year? One of them only lasted a couple of months. I... I can't fuck this up. I can't... M-maybe you really don't think I need to change at all, but there's gotta be something wrong with me. There has to be... So... When you start getting annoyed or bored, just t-tell me, okay? Don't just leave, tell me what you want and I'll give it to you." He insisted on, clearly not ready to budge from this standpoint.

If nothing else, it was amply clear that the faux redhead hadn't handled the breakup well and had spiraled in that aspect of his life. He'd kept everything else together. He kept up with friends, worked tirelessly to forward his career, even did everything he could to help his partner do the same at his side. He'd kept it all together, everything but his toxic love life. He'd only been single for the last year or so and only because nasty rumors about him had started to circulate. He'd dragged their rating down and he couldn't allow that. He couldn't bring Tetsutetsu down with him. Sure enough, after a few months of being single, his reputation improved and the hard duo's ranking had started to rise again. Interviews still brought it up from time to time, but for the most part he was being left alone about it for now. He had no idea how the media would take finding out that he had yet another boyfriend and one that had left him out of the blue no less.

He couldn't help laughing at the thought of the little girl actually sparing her father, not to mention the man that would never dream of throwing a fight happily doing so for her. "Better be careful with that. You might end up with something like your first sports festival win. I don't think she'll let you hear the end of it once she realizes you're purposely losing." He was a little surprised they would be so quick to make a modification like that, but then again if they intended to employ Bakugou for the long term, it would be an investment that would quickly pay for itself in the lack of repair costs. "Yeah? I wonder how blast proof 'blast proof' actually is. Don't know if you should test that too hard though. Maybe work up and see how it does. Better for your arms anyway, from the sound of things. Gotta get the bones and joints to accept their fate again."

"Sound manipulation? Interesting quirk, I guess, though I doubt something like that could be used in combat... Maybe something like Present Mic does? I dunno..." He wasn't particularly good with figuring the nuances of how quirks might be applied in a given situation. He was lucky his own only had a few ways to be used so he didn't usually have to think much on things to know how to come at a situation, if there was anything he could help with at all. "Midoriya would be the better one to ask if you wanna talk quirk theory." He answered honestly with a helpless shrug. "That's always been his thing, ya know?"

His smile brightened with a nod. "Yeah! I honestly think you'd make a great heroics teacher! At any level too, I mean you're definitely better with kids now so it would work. You're an inspiration man! People look up to you and want to be as great as you are. That's literally one of the most important things for a teacher to be!" He pointed out, kind of excited at the prospect of Bakugou becoming a teacher after retirement, be that in a few months, a few years, or a few decades. Guilt ate at him when he realized that part of him hoped that the indomitable blond's career would fail and he'd be forced to either depend on others or find work elsewhere. He wanted him to fail because he liked the idea of being his sole provider or at the very least that he be a teacher so that he'd have the time and lifestyle to make it easier to start a family together. Such awful, toxic thoughts... No... He had to hope that things went well, that Katsuki thrived in the one thing he'd thrown his everything into and earned himself that number one title as he'd always said he would. Don't be selfish. Hope for the best for him.

He could feel deft fingers working open his jeans, the loss of some of the restrictive pressure enough to get a pleased groan out of him on its own. Thankfully it was quiet, but he hadn't even thought to try and suppress it. His breath hitched as his earlobe was nipped, heart fluttering at the thought that they still knew each other so well. This intimate knowledge followed through with each new dirty thing whispered to him, urging him forward till his hands finally moved to come around and take hold of the button on his boyfriend's pants. Lube. They'd need lube. Ugh, but no one kept lube in the kitchen. Fuck it. Olive oil made great lube it was just a bigger clean-up after, that's fine.

Before he'd managed to clumsily unbutton it, a tiny voice had him yanking his hands away like he'd just been burned, breath hitching and body giving a sharp startled twitch before he registered the little voice was too far and muffled to be within line of sight. He stepped away, shaking his head as he struggled to catch his breath. "No, no. Don't be sorry. She's way more important. I'll just be here... Thinking about wrinkly old grannies and dead puppies." He stepped aside and leaned his hands on the counter, sure enough trying to will his very stubborn boner back down.

.....

"Ei, we dated for three, almost four- fucking years and I only broke up with you because I was an idiot. I think if you had something I didn't want, I wouldn't be here right now. I fucking love you, and I always have. There's nothing wrong with you, I promise." He reiterated, giving a small sigh upon seeing that Kirishima wouldn't be budging from his standpoint. If only he could get it into his head that Kirishima was perfect, more than perfect actually. Bakugou had always been the one that needed to change.

"What about me? What about all the people that told you to leave me because I was 'abusive' or 'rude' or hell, even straight out mean to you? You know what that did to my reputation? But you didn't leave me, even though I was sure you fucking would. Even our friends told you to, and don't think i didn't overhear that conversation. You never left me for my faults, and I'm not gonna fucking leave you for yours."


"If she's anything like me she'll be pissed if she finds out I let her win. Then again there's no way in hell I'm slapping a muzzle on my kid like they did me, but that's not even gonna happen so I'm not worried about it. When she can hold her own and I don't have to worry about hurting her, then it's every man for themselves." He was actually glad that the agency was so excited to employ him, knowing it would give them a line up of three big pros, which meant the agency would get more money. So of course, they'd do anything to accommodate his quirk like they'd done for the other two. "I told em about my moves and how big my explosions can get, they said they've got it covered. But I'll be the judge of how good it is."

"She wasn't a hero, actually, she composed music. She want to be a singer, but failed, so she did the next best thing." He added, shaking his head some at the nice memories that came back to him. This wasn't the time to think about her. She doesn't even want anything to do with him. Not that he loved her anymore, but he didn't want to think about his ex while with his boyfriend. "I'll text him about it, get his input. He's got tons of notes on my quirk, and I know all about hers, so we can come up with some ideas of what it might be."

He genuinely thought about himself as a heroics teacher, picturing teaching a class of twenty something kids how he was taught in highschool. Well, with hopefully less trauma. "I'm not against it. It's definitely an option, and would keep me busy, cause god knows I can't fucking sit and do nothing for years. At least it gives me a definite answer to if I'll fucking die in my thirties or not." He'd never liked the idea of sitting still and doing nothing. In Germany, he clawed his way up to the number three spot, but it had never been enough. Here, he could make his way up the ranks, and try so so hard for that fabled number one spot his friend held.

As soon as Kaori had called for him, his own hard-on went down instantly, earning a huff from the blond. Kids were such fucking cockblocks. Not that he could be mad at her, but still. It was frustrating. He pressed a kiss to Kirishima's temple before he hopped off the counter, fixing his jeans. "Bathroom is through there if you need it." He offered quietly, feeling terrible that his own daughter put a complete halt on their moment. He felt like it was his fault, but knew it wasn't really anyone's. He padded off to her room, sighing as he went.

When he came back some time later, he looked absolutely exasperated, but also somewhat amused. Kids were... something. "She had so many questions, but she was scared to ask you. Favorite color, who your favorite hero was, if you would play with her later. I'm sorry my kid cockblocked us with silly questions." He apologized, going ahead to grab food he needed for the katsudon. Kaori had also complained about being hungry again, so he figured he should get started.

[NicTheDjinn]

Another shake of his head. He wasn't perfect. He couldn't be. If he was so perfect, why couldn't anyone else love him? If he was so great, why was it so easy for people to up and leave him time and time again. Katsuki had been his longest and strongest relationship, he'd honestly thought they would be the hold hands in rocking chairs on the porch when they're old and grey types. The blond was his first boyfriend and he'd thought he'd be his last. Though it had taken longer, in the end, he'd left just like all the others. Being himself wasn't enough, but changing for others wasn't either. At this point, he was at a loss for how he could keep things from falling apart at the end. Still, he'd learned to be flexible. He wouldn't fuck things up this time. He would pay extra close attention to be sure that he did everything he could to keep from losing the one person he'd loved more than anyone from leaving again.

"They just... They didn't understand you. I didn't mind the way you talked because I knew what you meant. I know from the outside it sounded really bad, but I understood. The rest of the squad understood too, but... I guess they just didn't like hearing it anyway. I didn't mind, really!" He assured and meant it. This in of itself was rather worrisome. It was sweet that he stuck around because he understood Bakugou better than the others, but simply accepting the insults as they came couldn't be healthy. What's more, this in of itself wasn't entirely true either. Katsuki was more than observant enough to have noticed that sometimes he let the words slide right off, but there were times the faux redhead had definitely been hurting and simply forgave him anyway as if it hadn't happened.

"Hah! I bet the tantrum will be legendary. You be careful, man. She knows where you sleep." He snickered at the thought of tiny child wrath, but sobered up at the mention of the infamous muzzle. "I doubt Yuuei would pull that again, not with the way those same restraints were used by the League. Hell, maybe that's something to put energy into. School systems need better mental health care so things never escalate like that again. I really wish someone would have just tried spinning it in a way that would have calmed you down instead of just restraining you like that. Like... 'Being strong isn't just a physical thing, it's an emotional thing too. Physical and quirk strength means nothing if you don't have the will to fight. Your willpower and determination were stronger than his, proving you were the stronger combatant,' something like that." He shrugged lightly, I'm sure she'll put up more of a fight than you'd think though, particularly when she sees us spar. It'll set a hell of a bar for her to reach."

So she hadn't been a hero... It explained why Katsuki was so anxious about him doing hero work. He wasn't used to having a romantic partner that was so often in danger. He'd seen other hero couples deal with this situation and though they, of course, worried when their lovers were hurt, they lived with a certain amount of trust and acceptance in their ability to take care of themselves and that they may be hurt or even die in the line of duty. Not everyone could be happy in a relationship where that was part of the deal and though the blond had already assured him that he wanted to be with him, that anxiety made him nervous. The thought of giving up hero work himself flittered through his mind and it hurt. He'd worked so hard and come so far... He didn't want to just give it all up. But... Maybe being a stay a home dad might be nice? Assuming Bakugou didn't leave him again...

"Yeah! Keep that in mind for the future. I'm sure Yuuei would love to have you and even if they don't, maybe another school like Shiketsu. There are options! For now though, you should be focusing on getting back into the game and then it's time to go after Deku, right? Just like old times!" He failed to mention the incredible gap between them as he hadn't been operating in Japan. That wasn't to say he didn't have a fan base here too, but it certainly wasn't the same.

"I'm good. I'm not about to get off in you're bathroom..." Okay, Eijirou. Stop thinking about it. You need to will your boner down. This isn't the time. It wasn't the time to begin with, that was definitely a bad call, all things considered. They would definitely have to find someone to baby sit for at least a day, then they could go at it without having to worry about being caught, in the kitchen no less. Olive oil... Seriously? He wasn't a teenager anymore! He should have more control than that. He'd missed him so much though... Being able to feel him in his arms again, to touch and hold him, to smell and taste him, the thought of how good he would feel around him... He caught himself and looked down at the very prominent tent in his jeans. Dammit... Pulling out his phone, he opened an app and turned off a setting for now. He sighed as his 4 in one settled the fuck down. That didn't make him any less horny, but at least it wasn't tenting his pants anymore.

When Katsuki returned, he couldn't help laughing, "Dude, we were going to bang in the kitchen. Don't be sorry, I was being reckless. It was nice kissing again though. We should do that more real soon. For now, I'll go babysit while you cook." He closed the distance between them, leaning in to steal a final kiss from those lips before leaving him again with a smile. As promised, he searched out the little girl's room and gently knocked as he let himself in. "Hey! Your dad said you wanted to ask me stuff. I said you could braid my hair proper too. Why don't you make my hair nice while I answer your questions? He told me a couple you asked so I'll start there. "My favorite color is red and my favorite hero is Crimson Riot! He's a hero from pretty far back, you probably haven't heard of him... I chose the hero name I did because of him and I've strived to be as amazing a hero as he was."

[TiredLesbian]

Bakugou knew better than to put any more pressure on Kirishima to try to get the other to see him the way he did, so, he dropped the subject with a heavy sigh. It made him realize how much he'd hurt Kirishima, putting him in the position to where this mindset of his could take over and make him question his self worth like he was. He was such an ass, causing all of this shit just so he could have a better chance at success in something so..trivial. It wasn't ever about hero work, it'd always been about beating everyone else, and in the end, he still couldn't do that. All he accomplished was hurting the love of his life.

"I never really meant anything I told you, none of the insults, that is. I was fucking terrible to you sometimes but you never left me when you fucking should have. I..I wasn't good for you, Eijiro. I'm sorry about everything I put you through, I just hope that now that I've been away, I can be ten times better at this shit." He'd always known he was the asshole in the relationship, but had never felt the need to change until his life was flipped upside down on him. Only when he realized what he left behind, did he learn to be better than he had been before.

"You haven't lived until you've seen my kid have a tantrum. Luckily she doesn't have many of those, but still, they're huge. Wouldn't want one of those on my hands, so I'll have to be careful." He chuckled, but regained his seriousness at the talk of the muzzle and mental health. "I fucking hope they don't pull that again. It was humiliating, having to be up there like that. I was pissed for a whole new reason when they slapped that on me. Didn't make it any better when the League of Villains used the same thing on me, pretty sure that's the whole reason I fucking hate being tied up. By villains or otherwise." He sighed, but nodded nonetheless. "I'm sure she will. I won't hold her to any standards though, don't wanna ever pressure her to be better than she already is. If she wants to reach that bar, or even go above it, I'll support the hell outta her either way."

Bakugou's ex had never liked the idea of him being a hero. After all, it had been the main source of tension between them, other than him not being over Kirishima, of course. He'd come home bruised and bloody from a fight, she'd fret over him like he was a child and scold him for being so reckless. Bakugou would argue back, since he was just doing his job, but, they'd always end up sleeping separately, having spent most of the night arguing. They'd never really gotten along well, but somehow they'd made it work until she got pregnant with Kaori. But she had never been the one putting herself in danger, and it had always let him rest easy knowing that she wouldn't get hurt at work. Now? He was nervous, knowing how extreme Kirishima's dangers could get during work.

"I'll beat Deku in no time, he doesn't stand a chance against me! I'd like to think my fighting style is better now that I've seen how the Europeans do shit. Picked up a few things too I'd love to try out on Japanese villains. You'd love it over there, especially how hardcore some of the heroes are. I could probably introduce you to a few that are a lot similar, if you'd wanna go that is." It wasn't like Bakugou didn't have an idea of how big the gap was between him and Midoriya at the moment. There were plenty of other pros he had to beat to get to the top, and he planned on doing just that.

God, they were going to fuck right there in the kitchen if Kaori hadn't called for him. The kitchen of all places! Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it was just the fact that they were so reckless and could have been caught. It was easy to get caught up in the moment though, so it was forgivable for the time being. It'd felt so good just to be held by Kirishima again, to be touched by him, to feel him the way he used to before everything happened. "What are we, teenagers? It was nice though, we'll definitely get to do more of that when a certain four year old isn't here though. You don't have to babysit though, but I'm sure she'll love talking to you more. Thanks." He smiled at the kiss, starting to grab things he needed while Kirishima went off to find Kaori's room.

The smaller blonde's eyes lit up as her favorite hero entered her room, looking up to the tall man as he spoke. She'd get to do his hair? Best day ever! Kaori motioned for him to sit down as he answered her questions, rushing to grab a brush and some of her favorite clips to put in his hair. As soon as he sat down, Kaori's little hands went to work, gathering hair as she thought up more questions for Kirishima. "Is being a hero fun? Daddy says it's scary sometimes. Oh! Do you know how to sign? My dad taught me when I was real little for when he takes his hearing things out!" She sounded proud of herself at knowing how to sign, excited to hear his answers.

[NicTheDjinn]

"I know you didn't mean any of it. That's the point. It's just how you talked is all... I didn't take it personally. Heh... I don't know if I could do better than you, but even if I could, that's not what I want. I don't want someone 'better' I want you." The faux redhead sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know it sounds bad... But I mean it. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for you. I know a lot happened between us, but... I'll always be thankful for that."

"I've seen your tantrums. Her mother would have to be Shouto levels of calm to mellow that out of her I think." He frowned at the memory of the blond muzzled, cuffed, and chained down. "I really hope they've learned since we graduated... It's an amazing school, but it definitely isn't perfect." Reaching out he gave the other's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "Regardless, I'm sure she'll be amazing. She's an amazing kid... I'm really looking forward to watching her grow. One way or another, that little girl is gonna do great things, I just know it!" He smiled over to said little girl then, watching her play fondly.

"Hell yeah! The most up to date stuff was what he could find on the internet from the German news stations I think so I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff he doesn't know yet! You'd have the element of surprise! He's not gonna make it easy for ya though, he's been working hard to keep improving too." He realized that the fact that Bakugou had suspended work to raise his daughter meant he'd fallen way behind. It was going to be a hell of a climb and there were many people in his way, he and Tetsu included. Hell yeah! When you're feeling up for it, I'm totally down to a training session so I can see what you've learned! I wonder how we'll measure up! Tetsutetsu's better more versatile than I am, but between the two of us, I'm the one that can get harder!" Yes, he's aware of the innuendo, the jokes been sort of run into the ground by this point, in no small part because of Denki...

He chuckled at the exasperation at their almost bad decision. "I mean, I feel years younger now that you're back." He snickered, stealing his kiss before making to leave the kitchen. "Don't worry about it man, I love kids." He assured, venturing into the little girl's room to answer the questions he'd been relayed and to await his adorable little stylist to get to work on his hair. When he felt little fingers working at his hair, he resigned himself to his fate and settled in for the long haul. So long as she didn't break out something permanent like scissors, he would be fine with whatever she chose to do. "Yeah! It's both of those things. It's a dangerous job so it can be really scary sometimes, but our work is important. It's super rewarding too! I really like helping people so saving people from danger comes naturally for me. You get to meet a lot of really interesting people too!"

He smiled at the next question, carefully moving for a moment and interrupting her braiding so she could see him better. Sure enough, as his lips parted, his hands raised and started to move with his spoken words. Your dad started to lose his hearing in high school. It made us all realize how important it would be to be able to communicate with someone that can't hear or talk in an emergency situation. The whole class learned. I used to be better at it, but I haven't had anyone to sign to that often so I'm a little rusty and slow. Also the hearing things are called 'hearing aids'. To aid means to help. Hearing aids help people hear. Make sense?"

[TiredLesbian]

Instead of continuing the strained topic, Bakugou let it go, not wanting to get into it just after reuniting for the first time in ten years. He preferred not to discuss how he'd been towards Kirishima all those years ago, knowing full well how full of himself he had been. An arrogant, borderline verbally abusive asshole was what he'd been, but for some fucking reason, Kirishima wanted him. He felt like he didn't deserve Kirishima, he didn't deserve someone so full of love, so caring, so... everything Bakugou wasn't.

"Her mom was almost as bad as I was when it came to temper. This kid is gonna be hot headed as hell, that's for sure." He couldn't help but smile at the squeeze to his shoulder, glad to be reassured by his boyfriend. "She'll be great, with whatever she decides to do with her life. Hero or not, I don't care what she does, as long as it makes her happy. And I'm excited to see this kid grow up to be cool like me, or at least half as much." He chuckled, watching his daughter play with a smile on his face.

"Oh I'm fully aware of how much he's probably improved. Since when has Deku made it easy for me, huh? I need to hit the gym though, the only muscles I have now are from when I get the chance to work out at the house and from hauling that little shit around." He was seriously lacking in the strength department at this point, regardless of how much he'd tried to catch back up on leveling himself out. He was still strong, but he probably couldn't lift nearly as much as he'd been able to once upon a time.

Kaori's eyes lit up like stars at Kirishima signing to her, setting the brush down so she could sign back to him, her own lips moving with her spoken words as well, just like her dad had shown her for years. "I understand! Daddy says I can sign when I don't feel like talking sometimes, he says it's okay, even though Oma only likes me to use my words." Even from the moment she'd started talking, Kaori had always had moments where she decided not to speak, she'd go for days without speaking, preferring to sign instead. Bakugou had never minded of course, but once his mother had found out, she'd been determined to break the child of the habit, which of course caused disagreement between the two.

She went back to braiding, every so often trotting off to grab some clips or an elastic band to secure something in his hair. It wasn't long before Bakugou was done cooking, wondering how things were going in Kaori's room. After setting the table, he padded to the room, knocking gently on the door to get their attention, not being able to hold back a snicker at Kirishima's hair and all of the braids and clips that it held. "Hey, lunch is ready you two, come on before it gets cold. Nice look by the way, Eijiro, you should probably look in the mirror though."

[NicTheDjinn]

"Maybe! She's young enough for you to teach her better though. Haven't known her for too long, but what you've told me lines up with what I've seen. Kid's friendly so that will give her a leg up. If you teach her that losing her temper isn't good and her friends say the same, I'm sure she'll be good. Channel all that fire into passion instead!" His smile grew as the blond went on, nodding his agreement. When they were teens, Bakugou had never seemed interested in having kids, but he'd been sure if he did, he would have encouraged them to be a hero too. It was a bit worrying to think he might venture too close to Endeavor territory, but it hadn't really mattered once they'd gotten together. The only one between them that could have kids was Eijirou and the thought of falling pregnant and wrecking all his hard work was too off putting at the time to even consider. Though he'd thought and even dreamed of having children, he hadn't actually brought it up on his own.

"Yeah, she will and she's got you to support her. That's all she really needs, the rest is up to her." He looked back at the blond only to find him fondly watching the little girl he'd just been. Such a pretty smile... He told his heart to settle done when it gave a little jump at the sight. "I'm sure she'll grow up well." He forced himself to move on, not wanting to call attention to himself.

"Yeah, man... It's fun to spar against him, but he hasn't fought me all out in a long, long time. He's way out of my league so you're gonna have to get strong enough to take me down easy before trying to go after him. Todoroki's a beast too, but my quirk's good against his so it's a lot more even, ya know?" Honestly the fact he could keep up in any capacity was incredibly impressive and one had to assume that Tetsutetsu was in a similar situation. It really brought to light how much people favored flashy quirks as their rank should have really been higher. He couldn't help laughing at what training Katsuki had managed to get in recently. "Man, you're everything is going to hate you when you start training properly again."

.....

He smiled at how happy the little girl grew as soon as he started to sign. She was too cute for words! He was a little surprised at the information that followed, starting to speak and sign once again. "You're a selective mute? That's okay! Talking is hard sometimes!" He hesitated then, but pushed forward with his question anyway. "Oma?" He had no idea if there was a sign for something as specific as 'jute' in JSL so instead he did the next best thing and used the sign for 'rope'. She sounded like she was talking about a person though so who could it be?"

Contently he allowed her to do as she wished with his hair, carefully hardening as little as he could get away with any time he felt a tug to make sure his hair wasn't damaged in the process while also not accidentally producing sharp edges she could cut herself on. Honestly, it was kind of fun having to use such fine control as he rarely needed to. He kept nice and still for her all the same, enjoying the joy she got from playing with his hair and answering any question she might have for him as she worked.

When Katsuki finally returned, he smiled up at him from his seat on the floor, not at all offended by the snickering. He was very well aware of why it was happening, having a general idea of what was going on, on his head just based on where he felt things. Without missing a beat he shot him a smirk as he stood, holding his head up proudly. "You're just jealous because I'm prettier than you. I look pretty, don't I, Kaori-chan?" He asked his little stylist, as he brought a hand up to flip his hair dramatically.

[TiredLesbian]

"You think? The thing about being a first time parent is that you use a lot of advice from others, otherwise you'd never know what the fuck you were doing. I'll make sure to keep that it mind, might be harder when I start hero work and she sees me lose my temper more. Gotta admit, it's hard to keep it together sometimes with my mom and all the shit she pulls. She better be glad Kaori's around all the time or I really would lose my temper." Maybe back when they were teens, if they'd had kids, he would of encouraged them to become a hero. But now as he got older and saw the way the world was, the thought of Kaori becoming one some day scared him. He knew full well the dangers behind it, and didn't want her to feel pressured into becoming something she didn't want to be.

"Trust me, I know just how much works gonna have to go into working out and getting better if I even wanna come close to Deku's level like I used to be. I'll get there eventually, gotta give my old ass some time though." He joked, smiling at the other. He definitely would be out of his element once he started back up next week, but he was sure he'd be fine. After all, he loved hero work, it'd be hard to give it up all because of some lack of years of experience.

"You're tough, but I could smoke you just like I used to. I'll work on it though, don't you worry. I'll beat as many people as I have to in order to get where I used to be." He was determined, but at the same time, he wasn't all too sure. After all, he'd been out of the game for years, and on top of that, he couldn't afford to be as reckless as he once was. So, if he decided not to go back into the field, he hoped Kirishima would be understanding of his decision. "Yeah, not looking forward to the sore muscles once I start up again at all."

.....

"Is that what that's called? Selective mute? Talking is hard sometimes, especially when things are super loud. I don't like it when it's loud." She explained, speaking and signing to Kirishima in return. Her tiny brows furrowed at the sign for rope, but after a few moments she had realized that she'd used the german word for grandma instead. "Oh! Oma means Grandma in German!" Kaori stopped signing, pointing out her forgetfulness. "Daddy's mom! She doesn't like when I don't use my words."

Kaori filled the red locks full of red riot and ground zero clips, small and large braids alike sitting in Kirishima's hair. When she was satisfied with her work, she took a step back, smiling to herself. She really appreciated Kirishima letting her braid his hair, after all, the most she could do with her father's was put clips in it, and the only thing she got to practice on were her dolls. It was nice to have a person to practice braiding on!

Bakugou raised his brows at the playful accusation, smirking as he sarcastically replied. "Oh of course I'm jealous, who wouldn't be?" He laughed, Kaori going to answer Kirishima's question. "Way prettier than daddy!" She giggled, hiding behind Kirishima to look at her father's reaction. "Wow, my own kid thinks I'm ugly. I just might cry y'know." He said dramatically, not being able to hide his smile.

[NicTheDjinn]

"Yeah! Kids are sponges, man. It's why you have to be careful around them, they'll learn everything they see around them, good or bad. If she sees bad stuff, which is bound to happen at some point, you need to make sure she understands that those things aren't okay. Stay consistent and she'll get it I'm sure. Just be prepared to explain, she seems like the kind to want to know the 'why' behind things." Though his own parenting experience was limited mostly to babysitting, he was sure the advice was good. How to approach the issue was a different story as each child reacted differently, but the general idea was sound.

"Heh, yeah... Got an uphill battle ahead of ya." A smirk pulled at his lips then, fists hardening as he lightly thunked them together. "I'd like to see you try. I'm not as fast as I used to be, but the trade-off is I can get harder and last longer." Ugh... Why did everything to do with his quirk have to sound like an innuendo...? "Playing the long game isn't gonna work as well as it did when we were in high school!" And it was true. At the start, he'd been trying his best to be well-rounded, but thanks to All Might's advice, he shifted gears to instead focus on strength, stamina, and strengthening his quirk. He was a hard to deal with tank. Against a villain, it was harder for him as they could just keep away from him, but in a sparring match, he was a problem for many except the hardest hitters. "You'll get there, man, I believe in you!"

.....

"Selective mutism is named badly. It sounds like you pick when you don't want to talk, but what it actually means is that sometimes you just can't. Loud things can be scary sometimes... If I'm ever too loud around you, just let me know okay? Or if things are just too loud around you, you can let me know too! I'll come to the rescue!" The faux redhead was quick to promise, smiling brightly to her. His smile faded when she translated the word he hadn't understood though. "Oh... Well, she's wrong. You don't have to use your words if they're too much. It's not your fault if she doesn't care enough to learn to JSL, it's a good skill to have. Hmmm... I'll give this a think and see if there's anything I can do to help, okay?" He didn't like this news one bit. One way or another he was going to push for her to be taken care of by anyone other than her grandparents.

He continued to sit content as his hair was worked on, almost feeling guilty knowing that he was going to have to take it all down before he left. He would try to do it out of sight so she didn't see and think he didn't like them. It didn't even feel remotely even up there... He must look so rediculous, but so long as she was happy and he didn't have to go out in public like this, he was perfectly happy to let her have her fun.

"Hah! Hell yeah, you should be. I'm the prettiest!" He declared proudly, the smile very real, though he was having a little trouble keeping himself from laughing. "Awww... Don't cry!" He cupped a hand over his mouth and stage whispered rather loudly to the little girl. "Quick! You should put a couple of clips in his hair too so he doesn't feel left out, that would be mean! Quick though so the food doesn't get cold!"

[TiredLesbian]

"It's almost scary how careful you have to be around kids so you don't give them the wrong idea about certain things. But I got it, thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. And yeah, she's the kid that asks 'why' about everything. Moving to a whole different country with her was definitely interesting, she had so many questions about everything. Which is understandable, but god there were a lot." He genuinely appreciated any advice Kirishima had to offer, seeing as he had a little more experience in the kid department since Chiko was a year older than Kaori. Even if Kirishima's experience was limited, he still appreciated any help or advice given.

"You know I like a good challenge. If I can handle parenting by myself, I'm pretty sure hero work will be a breeze." He joked, but knew about the battle ahead. It'd be a lot of work, but as long as he kept at it, he could do it.. Right? "You can only last so long, but we'll just have to see when we eventually spar. Let me get the hang of things again though before we do, you know how long it's been since I've used my quirk at full capacity? Or any capacity? It's hard when your kid doesn't like loud noises."

....

"I will!" Kaori agreed, grinning at the promise of her hero coming to her rescue. It was nice to know he had her back, especially around the loud noises that Japan was full of. She didn't quite like the way his smile went away when she translated the word for him, but she didn't say anything about it for the time being. "Okay." The small blonde gave a nod in agreement, going back to work on the faux redhead's beautiful hair. Truly, Bakugou and his mother butt heads about a lot of things, but Kaori being selectively mute was a big one. She hadn't even cared enough to learn JSL when she'd been told Bakugou's hearing was starting to go, he should have expected her not to want to learn it for her own granddaughter.

Kaori gave a small determined nod at the request to put clips in her father's hair, running over to where she kept them before back over to Katsuki. He leaned down enough for her to put them in his hair, letting her clip them wherever she pleased. It wasn't much, but hey, if it made her happy oh well. "Thank you. Now I don't have to cry about it." He smirked at Kirishima before going to head back into the kitchen, motioning for them to follow.

Immediately, Kaori ran to the table to eat, absolutely loving all kinds of Japanese food that her father cooked, Katsudon included. Bakugou sat between her and Kirishima, going to dig into his own food, but glanced over at Kaori every once in a while to make sure she was eating okay before finally turning to talk to Kirishima. "Bet you're glad you finally get to have my cooking again. This kid was happy as hell the first time she tried soba noodles, from then on she was hooked on all kinds of Japanese foods. I still make German foods too here and there, but I know how to make this shit better."

[NicTheDjinn]

"No kidding. Curse once and you're doomed, they'll remember that word forever. Kaminari said 'shit' in front of Chiko once and I thought Mina was gonna kill him when the kid instantly asked what that word was." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with a smile. "You're welcome. I'm just glad I'm not getting on your nerves. I've had parents get all huffy about telling them how to raise their kids and it gets worse when they find out Chiko isn't mine, like that fact would make me love him any less. The nerve of some people..." He finished off with a grumble.

He shook his head, putting the thought aside. "I'm not surprised she's been asking so many questions though. Comes with being smart and she definitely got that from you." He couldn't help smiling at a thought, though it only took him a second to decide to go ahead and voice it. "I wonder what she would think of Midoriya's notebooks. She could find out quite a bit about a lot of us that way."

"Ya know, that's a fair point. I've felt more fear babysitting Chiko than I have while literally stared down the barrel of a gun. Seriously though, there is nothing more frightening on this planet than a pink woman demanding to know, 'Where is my baby'. If Chiko hadn't chosen that moment to accidentally knock something over in the cupboard he was hiding in I'm pretty sure I would have been melted into a puddle where I stood. Like my fear had been climbing the longer I couldn't find him, but that peak of fear then the relief that followed was something else..."

His smirk widened then, jutting his chin out in a show of pride. "You're right, I can only last so long, but I'm willing to bet I can outlast you. You're not getting through my defenses!" He wondered how long that would be true. He was sure he'd win hands down as they stood, but the bar was set pretty low at the moment with Bakugou having been out of work for as long as he has been. Would he stick to things long enough to close the gap between them and surpass him? He tried not to think selfishly again, but it was hard and that fact filled him with shame. Regardless of how he felt about it, he'd help Bakugou however he could.

...

Already he was thinking of how he might be able to help her with her loud noise problem, particularly if they ever wanted her to watch her father in action. He didn't have much time to dwell on the subject nor, thankfully, his thoughts on how Mitsuki was handling the girl's sensitivities. Instead, he got to enjoy the fun little distraction of the sad state of Katsuki's level of prettiness. Which was ridiculous in of itself, the man was gorgeous... All the same, it was amusing and he took advantage of the little girl's determination to find pretty clips to improve his looks to silently sign 'She's so cute!' to the older blond while the younger had her back turned.

With clips expertly fastened in spikey blond hair, the pretty crisis was averted and it was time to eat. He was honestly pretty excited about that as he still had very fond memories of the man's cooking and surely experience has only improved on his skills. His mouth was already watering before he'd even sat at the table with them. "You'll have to show me what you've learned sometime. Ugh, it looks so good... I've missed your cooking so bad! Itadakimasu!" Unsurprisingly, the first bite was accompanied by a happy little moan around his mouthful, as expressive about his love of food as always it seems.