Chapter Text
Eventually, Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku are set to get released from the hospital.
It’d been a long month of rest and rehabilitation that neither of them particularly cared for, eager to go back to U.A. and rejoin their friends in the efforts to rebuild Japan and create a bright future. Their time in the hospital only made bearable by the fact that at least they had each other.
Katsuki had taken to breaking into Izuku’s room to check on him, enough so that the nurses begrudgingly stopped scolding him, and then took to shaking their heads in disappointment when he straight up moved into Izuku’s room.
Katsuki didn’t know what to expect… after everything. Especially between him and Izuku.
Once All Might had been moved to a different part of the hospital for treatment, he expected it to be stilted and awkward.
He had apologized. In the pouring rain, covered in sweat and blood, he cradled Izuku in his arms. He had fought in a fucking war with him. He had died for him. And he had come back to life for him.
They were childhood best friends.
They were important in each other's lives. And people considered them rivals. And there's something more there too. Their relationship’s always been hard to define. Any one word had always felt… lacking. Like a puzzle with half the pieces missing.
But there was still so much left unsaid between them. It should be weird as hell, right?
And it was weird. How easily they fell into old routines again. Just like Izuku’s hand, his companionship had always been there waiting for him, ready for him to reach out and take it.
They’d watched stupid All Might videos on Katsuki’s phone -- any news apps had been muted before he got it back. And make bets on what Katsuki was already capable of doing with his left hand -- which was basically everything because he was fucking awesome. And laugh about old memories from back when they were brats -- and no, Katsuki didn’t bring up any stupid, fucking rivers. And at the end of the day, Izuku would fall asleep with his head cradled underneath his, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
Eventually, Izuku’s release date came.
“You’re staying?” Katsuki had raised an eyebrow, relief washing over him. “Thought you’d be dying to get back out there with the rest of the nerds.”
“I am!” Izuku insisted before looking at the ground. “But there’s a ton of physical therapy and treatments I need to do and it’s easier if I’m already here, right? And Mr. Aizawa said to take as much time as I needed. And then someone needs to keep an eye on you to make sure you’re still taking it easy, Kacchan. So I-”
“Alright, alright,” Katsuki grumbled, slamming the palm of his hand against Izuku’s mouth. “Shut up. And I’m the one watching you, shitty nerd! Don’t think I didn’t see you overexert yourself when you- WHAT THE FUCK?! DID YOU JUST LICK ME-”
And so, Izuku’s hospital room had technically become Katsuki’s hospital room.
All semantics, really, considering they slept in the same bed more often than not.
Their routine had continued, wrapped up in each other’s presence, playing cards as their knees touched and eating lunch as they wordlessly passed things between them. Until their new release date…
“The nurses told me some extras from our class are coming to get us later,” Katsuki mentions, “Dunno why. It’s not like we’re fucking invalids. We can get back to U.A. ourselves.”
“Kacchan, don’t call our classmates that! It’s nice that they want to take the time to help us,” Deku scolds, raising an eyebrow and giving Katsuki a look.
“Help with what? Walking?” Katsuki growls out between gritted teeth. “It’s my arm that’s messed up, not my fucking legs.”
Izuku, the sassy brat that he is now, just half-rolls his eyes and continues eating the extra serving Katsuki had handed him.
Katsuki glances out the window of the hospital cafeteria. The hospital they’ve been recovering in is incredibly private and secure, used mainly by pro heroes and their loved ones, even before the war. It takes a lot of clearance to be able to move freely through the hospital, much less enter it. Nonetheless, that doesn’t seem to deter the swarms of press that Katsuki can see stationed outside the hospital’s entrance; they’re as close as they can possibly be without the hospital’s security officers having the right to kick them off the property.
Bunch of fucking vultures.
Maybe Ponytail and her fancy car and driver aren’t such a bad idea.
Katsuki and Izuku have hardly heard any news from outside the walls of the hospital, every adult in their life insisting that they just take time to focus on rest and recovery. And for once, Katsuki didn’t fight it, because that meant Izuku had to rest too.
He knows that Japan is in a state of recuperation; everyone’s been coming together to rebuild what’s been lost and make changes so something like this never happens again -- even outside Japan. Katsuki’s met with a few doctors with specialty quirks from abroad for his heart. And the amount of junk -- Izuku insists on calling it gifts, but all it does is clutter the hospital room -- they’ve received from everyone wanting to wish them well and thanking them is honestly baffling.
That Half and Half Bastard’s told them some stuff every time he’s come around to annoy them.
The infamous Class 1-A -- well, now Class 2-A -- has always had the spotlight on them, but now it’s been multiplied tenfold. And though everyone’s trying to be optimistic after all the tragedy, the Hero Public Safety Commission and U.A. have fallen under a lot of scrutiny.
Everyone’s watching closely to see how the next year unfolds. And apparently there’s three main things the reporters and tabloids have been itching to know more about: U.A.’s next steps, the Todoroki Family’s drama, and the status of Deku and Dynamight.
Once again, fucking vultures.
“Did you eat enough?” Katsuki asks when his eyes catch Izuku moving to get up. “I didn’t see any greens on your plate.”
Izuku bats at his good arm. “Yes, Kacchan, I’m good. My nutritional intake is just fine thanks to you and the dozen doctors looking after me.”
“Damn right.” Katsuki smirks.
He gets up to walk with Izuku back to their hospital room. They both walk slowly; Katsuki’s doing it for Izuku and he’s sure Izuku is thinking the same thing for him.
“I think my nutritional intake is a little too good, Kacchan,” Izuku says, pouting. “I miss katsudon.”
Katsuki scowls. “You’d eat like shit if left to your own devices… I can make you katsudon when we’re back in the dorms.”
Izuku perks up. “What, really? Thanks, Kacchan!”
“Whatever, nerd.” A momentary pause. “I’m making it to my spice preference though.”
Izuku gives him a wide, bug-eyed look that makes him want to simultaneously whack him, smush his squishy cheeks, and hold his scarred hand.
All normal childhood best friend things, Katsuki is sure.
“You’ll go easy on me, right, Kacchan?” Izuku pleads with a nervous chuckle. “Right?”
Katsuki shrugs noncommittally and doesn’t bother to muffle his cackle when Izuku starts panicking.
“I- I think I’m going to wait to tell everyone about One For All. And the embers,” Izuku brings up suddenly, cutting through their banter. “Just for a while.”
Katsuki, who’d been opening the door to their hospital room, looks back in surprise.
He and Izuku had talked a lot during their stay in the hospital, but not about anything important, as much as Katsuki wanted to bring it up. After that first day when Izuku had told him that he lost One For All, lost his dreams, with a smile -- and Katsuki had fucking cried --, he seemed reluctant to talk about it. About anything really.
His borrowed quirk. His future. His dreams. His goals.
Izuku wears a grin. And sometimes it rings true. But Katsuki can tell.
He can feel his panic when they shuffle around in their sleep and Izuku loses his heartbeat. He can see the horrible, blank stare Izuku gives his irreparably damaged hands that were forged in a quirk he no longer has. He can sense the way the quiet seems to bother Izuku, for some reason, until it hits him -- the vestiges.
Then, Katsuki’s drowning out their corridor of the hospital with the soundtrack of Izuku’s favorite All Might movie as a kid.
Katsuki can’t force him to open up -- not yet anyways. Not when their wounds are so open still.
But he can do right by Izuku. He can devote himself to Izuku and his dreams until he’s ready to hold them too. He can continue reaching his hand out -- every day of the rest of his life if he needs to -- until, one day, Izuku is ready to reach back out.
“Okay,” Katsuki says, gruffly adding on, “it’s not like it’s any of their business anyway.”
Izuku sighs, looking painfully relieved at his easy acceptance, and something twists in Katsuki’s stomach. “Thanks, Kacchan. Really, I just- thanks.”
Katsuki closes the door behind them and they move to sit on their shared bed. He casually kicks a random assortment of snacks out of his way.
“I just don’t want everyone to get wrapped up in worrying about me when I’m fine,” Izuku continues as he curls a hand into the fabric of one of their pillows. “We’ve already got enough to focus on with the reconstruction efforts.”
‘You’re definitely not fine,’ Katsuki wants to scream at him. But if he shouts anything of the sort, the only thing Izuku will give him is more reassurance and that stupid, fake smile that makes him want to punch something -- maybe he’ll start with himself.
“They can worry and also move debris around. They’re not that incompetent,” Katsuki points out, roughly nudging at Izuku’s cheek with his index finger.
Izuku blinks at him. He doesn’t move to push Katsuki’s hand away so his fingers just linger there. “Wow, Kacchan! That was oddly nice of you.”
Katsuki scowls something fierce and moves his fingers to instead pull at his hair. “Oi! I’m a damn saint!”
“Ah! Kacchan!”
He moves his left hand back as he cackles.
Izuku grumbles, “Never mind, you’re just as mean as always.”
Red eyes glare. “See who makes your sorry ass katsudon then.”
“Wait, I didn’t mean it!” Something shifts in Izuku’s expression. “Do you think All Might will mind… me waiting to tell people?”
Katsuki stares at him as Izuku’s eyes are locked on their knees, just barely pressed together. He can feel the warmth of Izuku’s skin. He’s always been warm and soft, even now, with all the added scarring and muscle; he’s always felt warm and soft. Katsuki knows he himself runs hotter due to his quirk. Sometimes Izuku will move to follow his limbs, like a cat searching for a heater.
He wonders what Izuku is thinking right now. Is it really because he doesn’t want others to worry or does he just not want to talk about it with anyone? Is it both? Does he want to pretend things are ‘okay’ for just a little while longer?
“If anyone’s going to understand, it’s All Might.” Katsuki’s voice is low and steady.
Izuku nods slowly, not lifting his gaze. Long eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. “Yeah.”
“It’s your quirk,” Katsuki adds, carefully watching his unchanging expression.
Izuku nods again. “Right.”
Out of everything regarding Izuku’s future, there seems to be only one thing he isn’t distressed to talk about: the embers.
Every single day since Katsuki learned that the embers are slowly fading, he’s asked about them. And every single day, Izuku gives the same response.
The fact that Izuku doesn’t want anyone else to know about them… in a way, it’s concerning. But the fact that he told Katsuki and has been okay talking about it with him makes something weird flutter in his chest. It makes him want to protect Izuku and that feeling.
“How are they?” Katsuki asks, pressing his hand against Izuku’s chest.
Izuku makes a soft, pained noise in the back of his throat.
Fast as his shaking limb can move, Katsuki lifts his hand from Izuku’s chest and moves it towards his cheek, palm resting against the barely there smatterings of freckles now covered by a scar. “Does something hurt? Tell me what happened. I’ll get the nurse-”
“No, no, Kacchan. I’m okay, promise,” Izuku assures him, offering him a sweet smile as he leans into Katsuki’s touch. “Physical therapy just left me pretty sore there. I think I did this one stretch wrong and pulled something.”
“You need to take better care of yourself,” Katsuki says gruffly.
Izuku laughs lightly. “Only if you promise to take it easy, Kacchan.”
Katsuki scowls, roughly thumbing at Izuku’s cheek. He still can’t believe half his freckles are gone; it makes him want to keep touching the ones that are left. “Hah?! You think I can’t take it easy? I can take it easy better than anyone in this damn hospital can.”
“Mhm, so that’s why you spent the first two weeks here dragging around your fluids while the nurses ran after you.” Izuku nods along knowingly.
He should yell at the damn nerd for the disrespect. Instead, he drops his hand back down to Izuku’s center.
This time, Katsuki moves his hand a little lower.
“How are the embers?” Katsuki asks, gently cradling Izuku’s stomach in his palm.
Vaguely, Katsuki hears a noise from outside his hospital room. After… everything, it’s easy to be hyper alert. A constant guard up, waiting for something that could hurt Izuku, that could take him away to somewhere he can’t follow. He knows Izuku feels the same. But this is a hospital -- it’s safe. It makes so many fucking noises, Katsuki gripes at the nurses about it because Izuku’s already only getting halfway decent sleep on the best of days.
So Katsuki pays little mind to the stray noise.
Anyway, the boy in front of him is more important than his instincts gone haywire.
Izuku smiles softly. “They’re good. I promise, Kacchan.”
***
“You all know what this means,” Todoroki says, eyes wide with awe as he nods to himself. “Midoriya’s pregnant.”
The group lets out a burst of noise but Yaoyorozu is quick to shush them.
Kirishima blinks. “Wha- uhm, Todoroki… I don’t think we can assume something like that, man,” he responds, blushing wildly as he scratches at his cheek.
Iida chops his hand, the motion vigorous and flustered, stuttering out a response, “U-uh, w-well, does Midoriya e-even have the parts for -- ahem -- such a… task? In the locker room, does anyone recall-”
“Hey, it’s not very manly to assume or discuss that kinda stuff,” Kirishima reminds him gently, patting his shoulder.
He nods quickly. “Of course. That wasn’t my intention. I didn’t mean to be inappropriate or cross the boundaries of Midoriya’s privacy. Please forgive me!”
Yaoyorozu has a worried look on her face as she pats Iida’s back. “It’s alright. I’m hesitant to admit it, but I’m curious myself.”
Iida and Yaoyorozu, as the Class President and Vice President, respectively, had been tasked by Aizawa with the duty of filling in Bakugou and Midoriya on U.A.’s current standing and the work they’ll be doing after they’re both able to leave the hospital today. And Yaoyorozu had kindly offered her chauffeur’s services to them all in order to avoid the crowd of reporters. Todoroki and Kirishima just like to come to the hospital to visit them when they’re free.
Or as Bakugou puts it: “Bother them like a buncha extras that have nothing better to do.”
It’s okay, Todoroki knows. Because after the war and with their immediate jump into international fame and recognition, they’ve all been sent a litany of well wishes and gifts to their hospital rooms -- especially him, Bakugou, and Midoriya. And Bakugou, now technically the only one with a hospital room to receive such gifts, could throw away Todoroki’s favorite snacks, as he’s always threatening to do.
And yet, when Todoroki visits, those snacks are never in the trash can.
Checkmate, bestie.
Todoroki sneaks another look into Bakugou’s hospital room. They’re sitting next to each other on the bed, knees pressing against each other, bodies leaning forward as though there’s a gravity pulling them together. As though touching is their natural state of being and this whole time, they’ve been trying to return to this.
Midoriya is whispering something, bursts of laughter between words. And Bakugou’s wearing a scowl, but Todoroki has learned a lot this past year -- about people, emotions, lines between lines. When did such longing and devotion start swimming in Bakugou’s red eyes?
Bakugou’s hand is still pressed against Midoriya’s torso.
Todoroki repeats: “Midoriya is pregnant.”
“I’ll go along with you for a moment, Todoroki,” Yaoyorozu acquiesces, thinking over the matter. “If what you’re insinuating is true, perhaps it was some sort of quirk accident. Albeit incredibly rare, there are some quirks capable of producing such feats listed in the quirk registry.”
“It is possible, I suppose,” Iida responds, hesitation clear in his tone. He squints his eyes in contemplation. “Maybe he came into contact with someone and they accidentally set off their quirk. Do you think Midoriya would plan something of this sort? He’s always been quite studious and hardworking with a keen focus on his goals of being a hero. Though if anyone could strive to ace both heroics and parenting, it would be him!”
“Nah, if it was planned then Midoriya would probably tell us, yeah?” Kirishima adds, before something seems to hit him as he stares at three of the smartest students in class. “Wait! Dudes, we’re not actually considering this, right?”
“No, no! Of course not,” Yaoyorozu says lightly, waving her hand. “We’re simply thinking over the possibility logically as if it is true.”
“But I think it is true,” Todoroki says with a blank expression.
Yaoyorozu offers him a sympathetic smile. “Yes, well… you think a lot of things are true. Uh, no offense, Todoroki.”
“As Bakugou and Midoriya’s best friend,” Todoroki claims, ignoring Iida and Kirishima’s squawks of protest, “I think this theory has merit. It makes sense that Midoriya would tell Bakugou first given their closeness and history… wait, that's not right…”
This silences the others as they hang off his words.
Todoroki glances up in contemplation. “Embers… fire… explosions,” he says to himself, though the others listen closely, enraptured. “A nickname like that makes sense given Bakugou’s obviously the one who sired those children. Maybe it’s some kind of narcissism-”
“Hold up, hold up,” Kirishima says quickly. “First, you’re telling me Midoriya is pregnant. And now you’re saying that Bakugou’s the father?! I didn’t even know they were together.”
Iida adjusts his glasses awkwardly. “W-well, let’s not be hasty!”
Todoroki nods. “I never knew for sure, but I’ve suspected the two of them have been hiding a secret relationship for quite some time now.”
“Oh, really? How long, Todoroki?” Yaoyorozu asks, tilting her head.
“Since the beginning of first year. Or maybe since their middle school days,” Todoroki answers as the other three blink in shock. “But I really started to suspect something after Bakugou was taken by the League during our summer training camp.”
Kirishima thinks about it for a moment. Even as Bakugou’s best friend, he’s never fully understood his and Midoriya’s relationship.
No one in Class 2-A has.
Their “relationship” has just always been one of those strange and bizarre constants that everyone in the class has learned not to question too much. They don’t get along but refuse to leave each other alone? Okay. They know each other better than anyone but barely acknowledge it? Alright. They will do anything to protect each other but won’t say it in as many words? Sounds good.
They’ve always had some complicated, tangled up thread of something between them -- everyone can see that. Though even after a year of knowing the two, Kirishima feels as though he’s barely scratched the surface of understanding what’s up with his classmates.
But what Todoroki’s saying… it kinda makes sense.
“Bakugou’s always been secretly protective of Midoriya, especially the last few months. And then all that stuff about knowing him better than anyone,” Kirishima remembers the dark days when Midoriya left U.A. before shuddering as more memories hit him. “And then the four of us know better than anyone how Midoriya reacted when Bakugou was taken.”
Todoroki nods sagely. “Yeah, that’s exactly how someone would react when the father of their future children gets kidnapped.”
“B-but that’s absurd!” Iida exclaims as the others move to hush him, not wanting to disturb the duo inside the hospital room. “The timeline doesn’t make sense. If he’d been pregnant back then, he’d definitely be showing by now.”
“Remember when the two of them got into a fight and then were placed under house arrest?” Yaoyorozu brings up, recalling the scrapes and bruises Bakugou and Midoriya wore, but also the glances and softer expressions. “There was certainly a shift in their dynamic after that night. Perhaps that’s when they got together? And then… uhm, conception… came later.”
Kirishima nods “Oh, yeah! I remember that, Yaomomo! That’s when they started sneaking around everywhere and Bakugou started helping Midoriya with all that extra training.”
“That was for Blackwhip training though, wasn’t it?” Iida mentions.
“It’s the perfect cover for a secret relationship, Iida,” Todoroki points out. “And a secret pregnancy.”
Iida still doesn’t seem convinced. “Hm, I’m not sure, Todoroki… though we know something changed between the House Arrest Boys, we don’t know quite what transpired between them. But we were all there for Bakugou’s love confession- ahem, I mean apology! In the rain. I think starting a relationship together after that point makes much more sense.”
Yaoyorozu swoons. “Sharing your feelings in the rain -- how romantic!”
“Ah! That’d be such a manly time to confess!” Kirishima cries out and pumps his fist in the air, and is then promptly shushed by the group. “But Bakugou and Midoriya were pretty focused on winning the war and saving everyone. Even if they realized their feelings, I think they’d wait till later to confess. Maybe it happened here in the hospital.”
Todoroki nods in contemplation. “So, it’s either ‘reconciliation’ sex or ‘thank god we aren’t dead’ sex. Regardless, Bakugou fucked Midori-”
“Uhm!” Yaoyorozu coughs awkwardly, her face turning a bright red. “I don’t think you need to put it like that.”
“… Right. Sorry.”
“It’s difficult to hypothesize a potential timeline for this,” Iida groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “See! This is why we as a class collectively decided never to try and understand Bakugou and Midoriya’s bond.”
“There’s definitely something there! Even if we don’t really get it,” Kirishima replies, looking more and more resolute by the second. “How early can you get a positive pregnancy test anyways?”
“I’d say the earliest is eight to ten days, though if it’s a quirk accident, I’d say anything is possible,” Yaoyorozu explains.
Todoroki’s eyes widen. “I had asked Midoriya why he extended his stay at the hospital and he deflected the question. This explains everything. Of course he’d want to stay to make sure the pregnancy is moving along smoothly.”
The rest of the group contemplates this new revelation with varying degrees of believability.
“So, you all agree with me then?” Todoroki asks. “Midoriya is pregnant with Bakugou’s children.”
The beginnings of protest form on Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and Iida’s tongues.
“The likelihood of that exact scenario being true-”
“Are we sure that we want to get into-”
“I don’t think we’ve hypothesized enough on the how of all this-”
He gestures to the window on the hospital room’s door. “Just look at them,” Todoroki replies simply.
They all glance through the small window of the hospital door.
Bakugou’s hand is still pressed against Midoriya’s stomach. He’s just letting it rest there as though it belongs there.
And the intensity of the way he’s staring at him. Like he would do anything in the world to protect him. Burn the world down if need be.
The sceptical air around the group begins to shift.
Yaoyorozu seems to think it over. “It’s certainly unlikely… but maybe not as impossible as I first believed,” she says before a blush rises on her cheeks as she gives the others an eager grin. “And if it’s true, just think about how cute the babies will be! Aw, I can just imagine those adorable blonde-haired, green-eyed bundles of joy. Do you think they’d have freckles? Oh, and I’m sure we could babysit for them. I have the most precious little outfits in mind!”
“You just want to make their kids cute clothes. But if you’re agreeing with me, then I won’t complain,” Todoroki decides.
“Even after our theorizing, I still have many questions,” Iida says, swiftly chopping his hand. “But it would be ill advised of me to ignore the general tone of the group, and I can understand where you’re coming from.”
Kirishima nods. “I don’t know what’s going on… but I am ready to step up when they ask me to be the godfather!”
“Me too,” Todoroki adds and then gestures to the hospital room. “Should we ask them about it?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Todoroki,” Yaoyorozu says, her eyebrows flitting together. “We’re intruding on what looks to be a very intimate moment between them. If they’re not ready to tell us about either their relationship or the pregnancy, we shouldn’t pry. On top of that, it’s quite common for people to hold off on announcing a pregnancy until a certain amount of time has passed. We should let them come to us when they’re ready. Maybe we should simply ignore it for now?”
“But if Midoriya needs our help, it wouldn’t be manly at all to ignore that!” Kirishima protests, hand fisting together as conflicting feelings run through him. “I get where you’re coming from, Yaomomo, I really do. But if I see Midoriya struggling, there’s no way I’d be able to just stand by.”
“Then perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle -- a compromise,” Iida suggests, ever the Class President. “I still have some reservations about Todoroki’s realization. It’d certainly be embarrassing, both for Bakugou and Midoriya, and us, to talk with them without knowing more. Let’s just observe them for now. And if they happen to need our help, we can try and do so in a way that doesn’t reveal what we’ve learned.”
“Good idea, Iida. If that’s the plan, we should keep this between us for now, okay? We don’t need news of a hidden pregnancy circulating, especially without their permission or any definitive proof,” Yaoyorozu points out.
“Sounds good to me! Whatever is the best way to help my friends out, I’m game,” Kirishima says with a grin.
Todoroki nods. He is very ready to observe.