Chapter Text
Bakugou plops down on his living room couch immediately after getting home. It had been another tiring day of dealing with dumb villains causing havoc around the city. Them, and even dumber civilians who don’t seem to understand that their safety should be their priority, not catching him in action on film as if the entire scenario was nothing more than a taping.
He groans in frustration.
The public has kept a keen eye on him since his debut. Just as they have been for the entire following generation of pro heroes. He is, in particular, a constant on the front page of articles. People seem to have found that just slapping his name on whatever bullshit they can manage to pull out of their ass would be enough to call that news. He supposes that it’s only fair. He’d never been and never will be great at handling the media, even throughout the schooling they did for it at UA. The way he’d irately glare when questioned whether he was seeing or courting anyone probably wasn’t helping his case. Still, that hadn’t meant that he was just fine with it.
He’ll admit that it is, to an extent, flattering to have people interested in him beyond as a hero and more as one of the country’s top alpha bachelors. That had been such an ego boost the first time he’s heard it. But that high doesn’t last long when you’d have to come to terms with the fact that any personal information released could potentially be used against you. Not that there is anyone he’s trying to conceal from the public. He’d gotten around here and there, but the last time he’d been involved in a relationship was-
Tch.
He clicks his tongue and forces himself to get up and make his way to the bathroom, refusing to let his thoughts wander in that direction any further. He’d not let himself feel dejected over something insignificant that had no business still being in his mind after all these years. How his reflection on his hero work led to this was just ridiculous. He left in a huff after brushing his teeth and double-checking whether or not he’d left the sink on.
Lying more comfortably on his bed didn’t help, though. The solace of the warmth of the room and the pleasant softness of his mattress and pillows only allowed for his mind to think more, too tired to argue over how pathetic that would make him. And it did. Because here he is, the 29-year old #2 pro hero Dynamight: kept awake after a long day of rescuing people, many who look up to him and adore the ground he stands on, by the hollow feeling of emptiness; space ironically making him feel more enclosed.
How many times has it been now?
He’d lost count.
He knows this most likely wouldn’t be the last, either.
*
The next day had been a rare one where he’d be off work. He’d originally planned on spending the whole day at home, but after spending an hour contemplating his life the night before he figured that it was best to leave the house and find himself something more fulfilling to do. He settles on going out to the nearby mall. Which, as it turned out, was an even shittier idea. Not only was there nothing particular he wanted to do, but there was also no one available to drag along.
“Sorry, dude. I’m still on duty ‘til six. Maybe Kaminari or Sero’s free? They’re usually only on-patrol at night.” Kirishima says to him on the phone. They’re not, because he’s tried calling them both already. All the damn extras were either on shift or passed out from their last one. Fucking fantastic, he thought.
“’S fine, never fucking mind.” He replied. He should’ve known that this was stupid. Nothing good ever came from an off-duty pro hero wandering around the public. Most of the time, it only leads to them endangering the people nearby.
“Aw, don’t sound so down! I know how much you miss us —“ Bakugou growls “but there’s a lot you can do on your own there! Go shopping, or try one of those massage chairs they always have on display…” Those were two horrible suggestions already. “Or anything. You gotta relax and give yourself a break, you know?”
He resists the urge to yell that yes, he does fucking know and that’s exactly what he was trying to do, to no avail. He settles on an irritated sigh and quick “Ok, thanks. See you.” before hanging up.
That’s how he ended up in a tiny booth in the corner of the food court. So far, the day has been the exact opposite of what he was trying to achieve. He felt more stressed out than before, thanks to the annoying people he'd encountered. Blending in with crowds had never been his thing, but at least it got better once people started showing him the damn respect he deserved.
However, said respect was only reserved for him as a hero, and not an everyday person.
He always thought that the whole gag of people not being able to tell the difference between someone with or without a mask only happened in shitty movies. He always thought that no one was stupid enough not to recognize someone’s voice, their fucking scent, or the way they carry themselves. But no, apparently none of that matters if someone doesn’t look like a literal carbon copy of what they see on TV.
He was sure that there’s at least one person who recognizes him, though. Because he was also pretty damn sure he was being watched. The feeling of having eyes on him was something he was accustomed to and his instincts too were acting up. The latter part was kind of weird. It's not something that normally happens. He scans the area for any suspicious-looking figures that might be waiting for the perfect time to strike. There doesn't seem to anything out of the blue. Then again, it's always like that with those fucking villains.
He finds the culprit when he spots a pair of big, blinking eyes peeking through the divider that separated his booth from the one on the other side. They let a small gasp as they realize they’ve been caught before ducking back down fast. Baffled, Bakugou stands up. At full height, he can see over the divider to where they were seated. He makes eye contact with a child, a little boy, looking at him with his mouth agape.
He’s immediately taken aback.
Not by the fact that the only person able to recognize him (this he can tell because the kid was wearing his merchandise and practically had stars in his eyes) was a literal kid probably no more than five years old, but because he looked exactly as Bakugou did at that age. The resemblance was too uncanny. Those were his eyes and his nose… The only thing slightly different is the kid’s hair. It’s slightly less unkempt than his and while still blond, was also flecked with a few red streaks.
A million questions were running through the alpha’s head. He breaks the silence between them when he realizes that another minute of staring won’t do anything to answer any of them.
“Hey, kid. Don’t you know it’s rude to stare at strangers?” He huffs his chest and crosses his arms to feign a sense of authority, though truth be told he has no idea how he’s supposed to act right now. If he was bad at interacting with normal grown-ass adults, he was even worse with children. Now that he’s thought about it, he hardly ever interacts with them at all. Whenever a child got in his way their parents would always be there to discipline them.
The kid balls his tiny hands into fists and gives him a defensive look. “Y-you were staring at me, too! Just now…”
Bakugou smirks.
Talking back, huh?
“That’s ‘cause I caught you first.” Bakugou listens as the other scrambles to reply and sighs when he unsurprisingly comes up with nothing. “What were you even trying to do?” He asks him.
“I just wanted to see if it was really...” The kid admits, his voice growing softer per word. He looks down and starts messing with the hem of his sweater, drawing the hero’s attention from his fidgeting hands to the little bomb patch on his upper right side. He was looking awfully guilty, and Bakugou almost felt the need to apologize for being too harsh even though he knew he wasn’t at all. He’s the adult and the one in the right here, damn it.
It was such a short and simple answer but, it was enough to make his chest feel tight in a weird sort of way. When did he grow a fucking soft spot for dumb brats? None of this was making sense. All of it was confusing and awkward as hell. He needed to put an end to this and head back home where he can lay back down and forget about this entire day ever happening. He also needed to find this kid’s parents. From what he can see, there doesn’t seem to be any sign that this kid was already at this booth with them before he arrived. Yeah, no, this kid was definitely the type to quickly follow something when it catches his attention.
The alpha sighs again, “Where are your parents, brat?”
To no one’s surprise, the kid was not all alarmed by the fact that he was all alone. It was as if he was used to being asked this question, having done this many times before. Because instead, he beams and points to the line of check-out counters that divided the food court from the supermarket. “Mama’s over there!” He exclaims proudly before groaning. “The line was taking so long it was killing me. Then I saw you, so.”
Bakugou clicks his tongue in annoyance, though he can’t seem to choose whether it was directed towards the kid or the mother. It’d be hypocritical for him either way, knowing how many times he’d done the same thing at this age no matter how much more he was scolded for it. And if his demon of a mother couldn’t keep a wandering child in line, then what more could a possibly normal parent? Still, this isn’t something he would just let go of easily.
“That’s not an excuse for you to just run off like that. What if you got it wrong and something bad happened? Bet your mother’s worried sick, wondering where their brat’s gone.”
“But I wasn’t wrong!” The kid proudly defends, and the hero raises his brow at that because as far as he knows, he hasn’t said anything to confirm his suspicion. “And mama always worries too much, anyway.”
“They’re probably causing a scene right now trying to look for you. ”
The kid shakes his head, “He wouldn’t do that. He doesn’t like attention or strangers.”
Oh great. Bakugou can imagine just how fucking delightful this would be. He doesn’t think he can handle getting yelled at by some obnoxious, entitled parent accusing him of kidnapping on top of every other shitty thing that’s already happened today without committing property destruction. He prays to the gods that he wouldn’t have to deal with that shit.
Surely, if their kid was such a fan, the mother would be able to recognize him too; right? He hopes because maybe then he’d get the respect and appreciation he deserved and he’d be the one nagging about keeping children in check.
Or if not, maybe he would let them scream their ass off before pulling out his license and shoving it in their face. And then watch as shock and horror fill their expression upon realizing what they’d done to the current number #2 hero, all while their kid was watching the embarrassing display. That could be just as satisfying.
“Alright, I’m bringing you back.” Bakugou walks over to the other booth, “Show me where your mother was.”
The kid beams again, with a wider smile this time, and takes a hold of Bakugou’s hand and tugs, wanting to lead him. And for some reason, the alpha isn’t at all bothered by this. Something about it felt right. Like his instincts themselves telling him to follow the kid and not to let him go. It was weird. A small part of him wanted to rebel against the feeling and pull his hand back, then tell the kid off for being grabby. But he couldn’t. So he decides that screw it, he’ll humor him.
It’s a win-win situation. He’ll keep the kid happy and, he’ll be able to work on communicating with children with one he doesn’t find nearly as annoying as many others. He convinces himself that that was all there was to it. He also pushes away the voice in the back of his head asking when did he start to care about how brats feel.
They reach the fourth to the last counter before the kid takes a pause, scanning the area for a familiar face. When that fails, he starts sniffing. Bakugou instantly recognizes the behavior. An alpha child, he notes. He lets himself get dragged around for couple more minutes until they come to a stop again. This time, Bakugou’s had enough.
“Could you at least tell me what your fu— reaking mom looks like?”
The kid turns around to look at him before pondering, and then lets out a soft “Aha!” after a few seconds of thought.
“He’s really pretty!”
Bakugou felt his eye twitch.
He closes his eyes and reminds himself to breathe and keep calm. It takes a few seconds of repetition before he can safely look at the kid again without feeling the urge to explode. Of all things, of all the god damn things this kid could’ve said to distinguish his mother from every other living being in this quirk-infested society, where the majority of the population have some sort of physical modification unique to their identity, it had to be about him being real fucking pretty. The hero had no idea how to reply, honestly. Was he taught to say that? How the hell was he supposed to say he didn’t care and that was dumb and unhelpful without sounding offensive and hurting the child’s feelings?
Luckily, he didn’t have to.
“Mama!” Bakugou’s gaze follows the kid as he runs past him and towards his mother. And just as he thought all of this was finally over, for the second time that day, he is immediately taken aback. This time, by the familiar sight of perfectly parted, two-toned hair and, indeed, the prettiest fucking face he’s ever laid eyes on.
“Masato!” He calls out and kneels as his kid reaches and catches him in his arms in a warm hug.
Bakugou, too, starts approaching them slowly.
“How many times have I told you not to wander off like that?” The mother scolds in a stern, angry tone. Well, as angry-sounding as it can, coming from him.
“But mama,” The kid, Masato, says excitedly, “look who I found!”
When he’s close enough that his shadow looms over them both, the omega finally looks up.
His expression turns from a mix of worry and anger to pure dread.
“It’s Dynamight!”
Bakugou felt his heart skip a beat upon seeing those mismatched eyes again. “Shouto.” He forces himself to say like it was a greeting, though it came out more of a whisper. But he knew he couldn’t have done any better, not with how fast his heart is beating and the many thoughts and questions going through his head. All of these having to do with the fact that there’s a child who looks exactly like him calling the omega he used to be in a relationship with "mama" that also happens to be around as old as the last time he’s seen the half-and-half bastard, who now was pulling the child closer.
It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.
“Katsuki,” Shouto responds, the shakiness of his voice doing nothing to hide the fact that he’s feeling panicked.
The alpha could feel the tension in the air. And apparently, so can the child because he glances back and forth from him and his mother, visibly confused. So he asks despite already knowing the answer, “This is… your kid?”
Shouto stands, his posture very stiff “Y-yes, thank you for bringing him back safe.” He bows, placing his hand on the kid’s head so he’d imitate the action. “I’ll make sure to keep a closer eye on him, so…” He picks up a bag of groceries placed on their side, “We’ll be going now.” That’s all he says before turning around, ignoring his son’s objection.
“Wait!” Bakugou grabs Shouto’s arm on instinct, surprising all three of them. It’s only when he’s this close that he can really sense how anxious the omega was feeling through his scent. He loosens his grip but still held the omega firmly.
“Please let me go.”
He wants to tell him no. That there’s no fucking way he’ll just let him disappear from his life out of the blue again when there’s so much shit that needs explaining. He wants to demand an explanation right there and then, but he sees his kid watching and, not wanting to set a bad example of forcing anyone against their will, reluctantly releases the omega.
Shouto doesn’t waste a second. The moment he’s free, he scoops the child up with one arm and makes a run for it. The kid is looking back at him, tugging at his mother’s clothes while still protesting. They leave Bakugou there, unmoving like an idiot, to process everything that’s just happened. Running after them wouldn’t do any good. He knows Shouto will only deny everything and turn him away in panic, and he’d prefer not to let his kid see how messy that could get.
Instead, he decides to go to the only other person he knows could provide him some answers.
*
The walls of their agency quaked upon his arrival.
Their employees knew by now that it was best to avoid him when he’s like this. And even if they didn’t, the scent of pure rage and murder he was giving off should be enough of a warning. He’s learned to better manage his anger over the years, but this whole situation was too fucking much for him to care if he makes some of these extras feel weak in their knees or what.
It seemed that not everyone got the message, though.
“D-Dynamight!” Greets a young beta woman in formal clothing Bakugou’s not familiar with. A new recruit? He doesn’t know. He’s barely had the time to get to know any of the fuckers he doesn’t personally hire himself. “What are you doing here, sir? Isn’t today an off day for you?” She asks.
He ignores her questions and gets straight to the point, “Where the fuck is Deku?”
She blinks in surprise, “Oh! You’re looking for Deku!” The alpha tries his best not to shout because yeah, no shit, he just said that. “Lucky, he’s in his office-” He doesn’t bother to stay for the rest because that was all the information needed and he really had no time to even pretend to be interested in small talk. He makes his way up, this time purposefully growling at anyone who so much as looked like they dared to get in his way. He’d not let himself be left in the dark any longer.
Slamming the doors open, he spots the nerd on his desk doing paperwork.
“You motherfucker...”
Deku is surprised by the sudden intrusion, “K-Kacchan! You’re-” He doesn’t get to finish that sentence because the alpha slams his hands on the table, violently scattering hours upon hours of worth of paperwork all over the room.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?!”
“About w-what?”
“Don’t fucking play dumb with me!”
The beta stood and had the nerve to look him in the eye while breathing in and out deeply, which Bakugou knew was his stupid attempt at reminding the alpha how to remain calm. He responds to this with a deadly glare.
“Kacchan, I genuinely have no idea what it is I know that you’re talking about. If you could elaborate, that would be very helpful.”
“Oh, I’ll elaborate, alright,” Bakugou says with all the venom he could muster. Deku smiles at him, in a way that’s saying please do.
And so, the alpha starts.
“You’ve kept in contact with Icyhot all these years.”
“Yes…” Deku’s smile starts to fall, “That isn’t news to you, though. I know you’ve known for a long time now.”
“Yeah. And even if it didn’t make any fucking sense, even if it fucking ruined me to know that he chose to trust you with whatever he was dealing with over me, I’ve never once questioned his damn decision out of respect.” Bakugou can feel tears threatening to escape. Holy shit, he was so, so angry. He tries to hide it with a smug chuckle, but he knew it’d be pointless because this fucker could probably tell he was about to lose it either way. “So imagine my surprise when I saw the bastard this morning with a fucking kid that looked exactly like the one who used the beat the shit out of you.”
Deku’s mouth falls open in shock. “Kacchan…” he stops, not sure what exactly it is he wanted to say. A few seconds of silence pass by, with just the two of them staring at each other. Well, it was mostly Bakugou doing the staring. Because the beta could barely meet his eyes when he says, “I-I can’t speak for Todoroki… but he’s got to have had a good reason why he didn’t tell you.”
“I’m sure he fucking did,” Bakugou says, not buying what he heard because there was no fucking way whatever reason that bastard had was any good. There was no point getting angry at someone who wasn’t there, though. So he turns his frustration to the man across him instead.
“How’d you do it? How’d you endure seeing me every god damn day knowing you were keeping my literal child a secret from me?”
“Kacchan, I’m sor-”
“Save it. I didn’t come here for your apology.” The alpha takes his phone out and holds it out to the other like a weapon, “What I need from you is that fucker’s number.”
Deku only looks at it with hesitation, “I… don’t think that’s something I should-”
“Holy shit, you really want to fucking die today?”
He sighs in defeat, taking the phone from the alpha’s hand. “Alright, fine. But I’ll be sending Todoroki a warning.”
“Don’t make it sound like I’m out to kill him,” Bakugou says, quickly yanking his phone from the other as soon as he held it out.
“Aren’t you?”
He scowls, “No,” before he looks at his phone, making sure that the bastard at least put in a legit-looking number if he planned on fucking with him. When it all seemed fine, he looks at the other straight in the eyes again.
“’cause then I won’t be able to fix my family.”
Deku’s eyes go wide before his whole expression turns soft, his smile is the last thing Bakugou sees before turning to walk out the door.
“I’m rooting for you, Kacchan!” He calls out.
The alpha flips him off from behind.