Chapter Text
Katsuki had always known that being a hero wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, he knew that becoming a hero was statistically unlikely. Which is why he also knew he was going to have to work harder than anyone else in his class to become one.
As a child he’d taken part in every sports activity he could get his hands on, even the girly ones like gymnastics and ballet. He worked hard, he trained hard, he was determined to be the best in everything that he tried.
And so he got into the best hero school in the country, he aced all of his tests (minus that whole kerfuffle with the first licensing exam) and ended up graduating at the top of his class. He got a job with Best Jeanist and he’d been well on his way to becoming a great hero.
The only problem was a problem he hadn’t considered, one he’d never thought was possible. People didn’t like him.
Katsuki had never had any issue making friends, or at least he’d never been alone as a child. Whether he considered the people who desperately followed him around middle school friends or not was neither here nor there.
In high school he’d made friends, made friends for life, even met the man who would become his Alpha. He never had any issue with getting people to like him.
That was until he became a pro.
People were still sceptical about Omega pro heroes, but with so many of them surviving and proving themselves during the war, well it had shut up even the most hardcore of protestors. The issue was, Katsuki wasn’t like most other Omegas.
At least not publicly. He was aggressive, he was combative, he was everything a good Alpha hero should be. Except for the fact that he was an Omega.
At first Katsuki hadn’t let it bother him. He’d been determined to prove them all wrong, to show the that he was more than capable of being a good hero no matter his secondary gender. But that never happened.
Now eight years down the road, he was fed up, washed up, stagnating in the rankings and costing his agency tons in PR just to try and minimise the damage.
He sighed to himself, snuggling deeper into his nest, hiding himself in Eijirou’s scent. He’d blown up at another reporter today. They always got in his face, in his way, and he only had so much patience.
He never understood why the media approached heroes mere moments after a battle. Sure, they wanted the scoop but in Katsuki’s case he was tired, he was hurt, he was thirsty, and he’d lost a hearing aid somewhere in the city during the fight and thus his hearing was severely reduced.
He didn’t need someone shoving a camera in his face and asking how he felt.
So, he’d overreacted. He’d exploded the dumbfuck’s camera. He could practically see the headlines now. He whined to himself. He was going to be in so much trouble tomorrow.
Tsunagu had already messaged him about a meeting in his office in the morning.
Katsuki knew it was only a matter of time before he was fired.
Tsunagu had been helpful over the years. Katsuki wouldn’t have been where he was in the rankings now without him and his PR team doing everything they could. But Katsuki knew there was a limit to their generosity, and if they kept having to put out his fires, they were going to let him go.
Katsuki had always wanted to run his own agency, ever since he was little. But now, after having real life experience, he really despised the version of him who’d thought it would be easy.
Katsuki growled as the blanket covering his head was pulled away. Eijirou was stood over him, concern evident on his face.
“Hearing aids?” he asked and signed at the same time. Katsuki huffed, pushing himself up into a sitting position.
“I can hear,” he muttered.
“Are you okay? Saw the fight on the news, it looked like a nasty one.”
“I’m fine, Ei,” Katsuki said. “Just a bit battered and bruised. Nothing broken.”
“Good,” Eijirou said, leaning forward and kissing him on the head. His coconut scent relaxed a little as he sat down on the bed.
“You saw about the journalist?”
“Mn,” Eijirou hummed.
“How they spin it?”
“Feral Omega outburst, as usual,” Eijirou said. “Baby, maybe we should just come out and say it. Tell everyone we’ve been together 8 years, mated for 5, prove you’re not some feral Omega who needs an Alpha.”
“Your ratings will drop if you tie yourself to me publicly, you know it will.”
“So? I don’t care about the rankings.”
“Yes, you do,” Katsuki said. “Maybe not the numbers part, but being top ten gives you more cases, higher ranking cases, which gives you more money, which is how we’re able to live in an apartment like this. We both know the ranking is a popularity contest, it doesn’t matter that you’ve been doing good work as a hero, if your popularity dips they won’t invite you on to those missions anymore.”
“I know, but I hate seeing them go after you like this,” Eijirou sighed. “You’re the most perfect Omega in the world, and I wish more people could see that.”
“No, you don’t,” Katsuki said. “You like that I’m only soft for you.”
“True,” Eijirou said, kissing Katsuki’s nose. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“Maybe there’s nothing to do, just keep pushing forwards,” Katsuki sighed.
“They’ll recognise your greatness one day, I know it,” Eijirou said. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Katsuki said. “And I appreciate how much you’re willing to give up just to try and make me happy.”
“I’d do anything to make you happy,” Eijirou said. “I just want your dream to come true, mine already did.”
“Oh yeah? And what was that?”
“To be a hero, to find the perfect mate, be a family.”
“Are we a family?”
“A small one, but yeah, of course we are.”
“Mn,” Katsuki hummed as Eijirou pressed another kiss to his cheek.
“Do you want to come out of the Nest? We could cook dinner together? Or I can make you a cup of tea if you want to stay in bed.”
“Cook together? You mean I cook, and you sit there looking pretty, stealing ingredients when you think I’m not looking?”
“Baby, I give you 3 minutes of me actually helping before you decide I’m in your way and you tell me to go and sit down,” Eijirou said. “I’m just cutting out the middle man.”
“Mn,” Katsuki hummed again. “I got those steaks for tonight, they’re marinating in the fridge.”
“Gods, I love you,” Eijirou said.
“Mn, I know how to keep my Alpha happy, hm?”
The next morning, Katsuki didn’t want to leave. His home was his safe space, the place he could be Katsuki, where he could be an Omega and not worry about the press. The second he stepped out of his apartment, he felt as though he was being judged.
Although he didn’t wear his hero costume to work, he wasn’t exactly hard to recognise, and more than once the press had taken pictures of him on his commute. It was annoying because no matter what he wore, how put together he looked, there would always be criticism.
Katsuki looked at his reflection now. Jogging bottoms and a hoodie, maybe not the best but he was supposed to change when he got to the agency anyway. Plus, if he had time, he wanted to squeeze a workout in at the agency gym, thus he was wearing gym clothes.
He felt self-conscious and he pulled his hoody strings tighter around his head, making the window his face popped through even smaller.
“What’s got you all upset, hedgehog?” Eijirou asked, moving into the bathroom beside Katsuki, grabbing his toothbrush.
“What if I get fired today?”
“You won’t get fired,” Eijirou said. “You haven’t even been given a written warning yet, you’ll be fine. Plus, if you do, there’s plenty of other agencies.”
“I don’t think anyone would want me. I’m the problem, remember?”
“You’re the 19th best hero in the country Katsuki, that means something. Okay, your reputation isn’t the best but that’s not really your fault. I’m sure you’ll find work.”
“I wish I could be as optimistic as you, Eiji,” Katsuki sighed.
“Just… go to this meeting, say you’re sorry and it’ll be fine.”
“I’m not sorry, that guy was in my space.”
“I know but sorry is what Best Jeanist wants to hear from you,” Eijirou said, squirting a large dollop of toothpaste onto his brush.
“I know,” Katsuki sighed.
“Then go on patrol this afternoon and just ignore the media if anything happens. Head down, walk away, don’t give them anything. Not even a no comment, just get out of there.”
“Okay,” Katsuki said with a nod.
“You’ll be great,” Eijirou said.
Katsuki nodded, leaving the bathroom, and heading to the kitchen. He grabbed his and Eijirou’s thermal flasks. His had a hedgehog on it, due to his prickly nature, and Eijirou’s had a bunch of puppies of varying breeds on it, as he liked dogs.
He filled Ei’s with coffee, his own with tea, both black, two heaped spoons of sugar in Ei’s. It was all routine. He got both of their bentos out of the fridge, made the night before. He opened them both and put a little sweet treat inside each of them, two for Ei.
He then wrote a little note, just saying how much he loved his mate, again like he did every day. He knew Eijirou appreciated the notes, he knew his husband kept them in a drawer on his desk, 5 years’ worth of notes, all there so if he had a bad day, he could look at them.
“Thank you, baby,” Eijirou said as he came into the kitchen, kissing Katsuki on the cheek, smelling minty fresh.
“You’re welcome,” Katsuki said.
“What time does your patrol finish today?”
“All being quiet, 6,” Katsuki said.
“Okay, I finish at 4 today, I’ll cook dinner.”
“Okay,” Katsuki nodded.
“Maybe we can watch a movie or something tonight? I could go to the store on the way home, get some snacks?”
“I’d like that,” Katsuki said.
Eijirou took Katsuki’s hand, making the Omega turn and face him. He leant in, kissing him softly.
“I love you, have a good day at work.”
“Love you too,” Katsuki said. “Kick some ass today, Red.”
“Always do,” Eijirou winked. He grabbed his bento and his coffee, pressing one final kiss to Katsuki’s cheek, and he was out the door. Katsuki sighed to himself, he had twenty minutes before he had to leave.
The apartment felt lonely without Eijirou, somehow too big and too suffocating at the same time. Katsuki rubbed his face, growling softly to himself. He knew today was going to be a bad day. He could just feel it. He wasn’t normally this clingy, this desperate to be with his mate.
He growled again, grabbing his bento and tea before he too, left the apartment. It wouldn’t do any harm to be early.
The walk to the train station wasn’t a long one and soon enough he was on the train to Tokyo. It wasn’t a long journey, not with how fast the trains went, but still it felt uncomfortable.
A lot of people were commuting to work, and thus Katsuki had to stand, which he wasn’t too bothered about. There were too many people though, and if one more person accidentally nudged him he swore he’d blow up the whole train.
Soon enough he was able to escape though, and thankfully he was on his way to work.
Katsuki hadn’t known what to do when he’d graduated. At that point the media hadn’t turned on him. People still remembered his contributions and sacrifices during the war, and he’d received employment offers from almost all of the big agencies.
He’d thought long and hard about his options. Endeavour Agency was good, but with Endeavour’s injury and Shouto apparently taking charge, Katsuki didn’t particularly want the hassle. Plus, he didn’t want to work with Icyhot and Deku, he’d spent three years with them, every single day, he wanted a break.
He’d briefly considered working with Eijirou, joining Fat Gum’s agency. But at the time they’d mostly patrolled at night, and Katsuki’s quirk wasn’t one for stealth. He’d looked through them all, weighing out the pros and cons before finally deciding to go with Best Jeanist.
Hakamata Tsunagu had been the only hero to really try and teach him anything after all. Endeavour had been too focused on Shouto, All Might on Deku. Okay, Aizawa had taught him a lot, but he was split 20 ways with all his students, and he’d gone through several life altering traumatic incidents whilst he’d been Katsuki’s teacher.
Hakamata had been tough on him since day one. He’d listed Katsuki’s flaws, and he didn’t sugar coat them. Yet even after a rather disastrous internship, he was still determined to help Katsuki become the best hero he could be, and that’s what Katsuki had wanted to be.
Katsuki had been there for 5 years now. He’d gone from being a side kick to a partner, a proper hero who worked under Best Jeanist. Hakamata wasn’t as popular as he used to be, and to be fair, he was past his prime.
Losing a lung had been a lot, and although medicine and science had come a long way, some of the lasting effects were a bit much. Thus, Hakamata patrolled less, he focused more on the paperwork side of things and left the hero work to those a bit younger and fitter.
He was still a capable hero, just only three days a week.
Hakamata was in his office when Katsuki arrived, he could see him through the glass walls. Katsuki went straight over to his desk, putting his bag under it and taking a sip of his cooling tea. He took his bento over to the work fridge, on the section of shelf that had his name on.
He’d divided the fridge into shelves after he got fed up with his coworkers bringing horrid smelling soups and leftovers and leaving stains all over the fridge. At least his section was pristine.
Then he went back to his desk, turning on his computer and signing in. The action alerted Hakamata to his arrival and within a matter of seconds his boss was standing in his office door.
“Katsuki, a word,” he said. Katsuki nodded, knowing this was coming. He took another sip of his tea, to see if it would calm him down, it didn’t. So, he walked into Hakamata’s office almost shaking with anxiety.
“So, Heroes Weekly called, you broke a camera,” Tsunagu said as soon as Katsuki sat down.
“The guy was in my face, I just tried to push him back.”
“You can’t use your Quirk on civilians.”
“I didn’t. I used it on his camera.”
“This is serious Katsuki, you know the HSPC could suspend your license over something like this, right?”
“I know,” Katsuki said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I just… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Tsu. They get in my face, they yell at me, they don’t leave me alone. Hell, I couldn’t get to the paramedics yesterday for ten minutes. They almost left without checking me over, which I needed by the way, because I had glass in my arm.”
“Katsuki—”
“I’m sorry about breaking the camera, I am. But the media needs to back off. They’re supposed to stay behind the police tape, they’re not supposed to interfere with our work. They’re supposed to wait at the side until we go over to them. Why am I the one who’s being told off when that reporter was the one breaking the rules?”
“I know you’re frustrated,” Tsunagu replied. “I know they’re not fair to you, but I can’t have you attacking reporters, no matter how much they’re in the wrong.”
“So, what does that mean for me?”
“For now, it means an official warning, a note on your file for 3 months. Another incident will be a suspension followed by an independent investigation into your behaviour.” Katsuki sighed, running his hands over his face.
“You know there’ll be another incident, there’s always another incident.”
“I know, Katsuki, but my hands are tied. Heroes Weekly wants you fired. And I don’t want to lose you, Katsu, you’re a great hero, you’ve saved countless people. But if your bad PR keeps dragging this agency into the mud, your behaviour will take all of us down with you.”
“I just want the press to leave me alone.”
“I’m going to issue a public statement, saying you’ve apologised and that the cost of the camera will be coming out of your pay,” Tsunagu said; Katsuki nodded. “But I will also be stating that the media needs to stick to the established rules, and any further incidents involving reporters past the police tape will be considered the reporters fault.”
“Thank you.”
“I will issue a private request to the big papers to leave you alone, I don’t know if it will work but no publicity will be better than what we’re getting at the minute.”
“Yeah,” Katsuki said.
“Failing that, the only option I can see is putting you on the night shift, there’s less media presence and you might actually be able to get through a shift without trending on social media.”
“Thanks,” Katsuki sighed. “I don’t want to cause problems, I just want to do my job and go home.”
“I know, bud,” Tsunagu sighed. “I wish they’d give you a break.”
“Me too,” Katsuki said. “If that’s all I’m going to go to the gym?”
“That’s all for now,” Tsunagu said, “I’ll send someone else with you on patrol tonight just in case.”
“I’ve missed being babysat,” Katsuki said dryly.
“It’s not babysitting, it’s giving you a witness.”
“Right, thanks,” Katsuki said, getting to his feet. “I am sorry, you know. I don’t want to keep bringing trouble to your door, not after everything you’ve done for me.”
“I know Katsuki,” Tsunagu said.
Katsuki nodded, leaving the office behind. He headed towards the gym, prepared to lose himself to the mindlessness of exercise.
He warmed up and then went over to the weights. He had to start slow, whilst the injury to his shoulder had been healed with years of rehab and quirked healing sessions, he still felt some tightness every now and then if he didn’t warm up properly, and it was always the first place to ache when he’d over did it.
He worked out with weights for a little while before deciding to run on the treadmill. By the time he was done, he was covered in sweat, and ready to start his paperwork. He showered and got dressed in his hero costume.
There’d been a few changes made to his costume over the years, but the fundamental layers of it were still the comfy, loose pants and the long sleeved turtleneck. The fabric was made to withstand his explosions and allowed to use them despite being clothed.
He had Hatsume Mei and his father to thank for the fabric. The two of them teaming up to create a fabric specifically for him had been a shock, but he was grateful for it. The fabric was hard wearing and comfortable enough to be able to sit in whilst he did his paperwork, without his gauntlets and bracers of course.
Paperwork was the most boring part of Katsuki’s job, but it was the thing he did the most and he enjoyed it. Well, enjoyed was a strong word, but he didn’t mind it. And he was good at it.
He had to make reports on cases, he had to justify his choices, he had to calculate the costs of everything. He often did the reports for other members of the Genius team too, just because he was good at it.
He worked until lunch, where he ate his bento and then, a short while later, he and the sidekick Flashback went on patrol.
Katsuki liked Flashback. He’d been at Genius long before Katsuki had, and he’d patrolled with Katsuki a lot in the past.
“I thought we were done with babysitting,” Flashback said as they began to walk.
“Yeah, me too, apparently attacking reporters gets you put back on probation,” Katsuki said.
“Sucks man,” Flashback said.
“Mn, just another day for Japan’s resident feral Omega.”
Patrol was thankfully quiet, and Katsuki was able to leave on time. He took the train home and when he got there, his mate was waiting for him. Eijirou was standing in the kitchen, his hair in a ponytail as he stirred a pot on the hob.
“Hey, Baby,” Eijirou said. “How was work?”
“Fine,” Katsuki said, taking his shoes off. He moved into the kitchen, kissing his husband. “You?”
“Good,” Eijirou said. “Got to chase a villain three streets.”
“Nice,” Katsuki said. “I’m proud of you.”
Eijirou smiled and Katsuki felt his heart flutter, like it always did when Eijirou looked at him like that. He still got soft, like he had a crush on his love.
“What are you making?”
“Curry,” Eijirou said. “I’ve made it as spicy as I can cope with, you’ll have to add more to yours if it’s not enough.”
“I’m sure it’s perfect,” Katsuki said. “Thank you.”
“I know how to keep my Omega happy,” Eijirou said, leaning in and kissing him again. “I got those crisps you like, and a huge share bar of chocolate.”
“You don’t expect me to share it, right?”
“Babe, we’ve been together eight years,” Eijirou said. “Of course I don’t expect you to share your chocolate, I got myself a bar.”
“Good,” Katsuki said. “I’ll set the table.”
“Thanks, shouldn’t be much longer,” Eijirou said.
Katsuki laid their table and made them both some drinks whilst Eijirou plated up the curry and rice. Katsuki smiled as his Alpha sat down next to him.
“Enjoy.”
“Thank you, Eiji.”
The two of them dug in for a moment before Eijirou began speaking.
“Oh, Denki got a puppy,” Eijirou said.
“What?”
“Yeah, said he found a guy selling them, just puppies in a box, so he bought one.”
“The fuck does Sparky know about looking after a dog?”
“Well that’s funny, he named it Sparky,” Eijirou said.
“That dog is gonna be dead within a month,” Katsuki huffed.
“He’s not that bad,” Eijirou said. “He’s managed to keep himself alive this long.”
“True, what kinda dog?”
“Yellow lab,” Eijirou said. “We should get a dog.”
“Maybe,” Katsuki said.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that.”
“Getting a dog?”
“Well, more like what are the next steps for us? We’ve been married for five years now, we said we’d talk about kids in the future… I guess I…”
“I don’t know Ei,” Katsuki sighed. “It’s a lot.”
“I know, and I don’t mean now, baby, I just, I want to know if it’s something in our future. If not, okay, I won’t bother you about it again, but if it is—”
“It’s not like it’s just up to me, it’s a decision we both need to make.”
“Yeah, but you’re the one who has to carry it, or not, we could adopt or something.”
“I… I think I want us to have a baby… I mean my Omega does, but I just don’t know if I’m ready. Like that’s a whole person we have to look after.”
“I know, but I think we could do it. I mean we’re both on good money, we can look after a kid in that sense, we’re responsible, we’re—”
“Both pro heroes, Ei, what if we get hurt? What if we get killed?”
“That’s a worry everyone has, Baby, anyone can die, anyone can suddenly get hurt,” Eijirou said. “If we live our life in fear, we’ll be stuck.”
“I guess,” Katsuki said.
“I just mean… I… fuck why’s this so awkward?” Eijirou said, rubbing his hands against his face.
“You want us to have children?”
“Yeah,” Eijirou said. “I do.”
“Right,” Katsuki nodded.
“You don’t?”
“I just said I wanted to,” Katsuki said. “I just… I’d have to have time off, a lot of time off, and like… who’s gonna look after it?”
“We could get opposite shifts, or reduce our hours, so many heroes have kids,” Eijirou said. “I could talk to Tamaki, ask how he and Mirio do it? I mean Mirio runs his own agency now, and they have two pups.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” Katsuki said. “Just… I don’t know.”
“We don’t have to talk about it anymore, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it.”
“It’s okay, we need to talk about it,” Katsuki said. “We’re a couple, we should be able to discuss our future. I just don’t know what the answer is right now. I got a lot on my plate at work and I can’t just go to Tsu, hey I need time off because I want a baby.”
“Maybe time off will help, get you out of the media’s attention. You could just hide for a little while.”
“I’m sure they’d find some way to make it a bad thing, Ei,” Katsuki sighed.
“I wish I could make you happy,” Eijirou said.
“You do.”
“I know you love me, but you’re not happy Baby, you don’t ever smile anymore,” Eijirou said. “You smell stressed, you hate leaving the house in the morning, you don’t do your hobbies anymore, you just go straight into your nest. Maybe some time off will do you some good.”
“I don’t… I mean… I’m not that bad, am I?”
“I’m just worried about you, Katsuki,” Eijirou said. “I love you so much and I feel like the job is taking too much from you. It should be something you can switch off from, not something you spend the whole evening worrying about.”
“I guess,” Katsuki sighed. “Maybe I’ll book a week off or something.”
“Let me know, I can book something off at the same time, we can go away or something.”
“I’d like that,” Katsuki said.
“You’ve got Heat leave soon, don’t you?”
“Yeah, in a few weeks,” Katsuki said.
“You want me to take the whole week off?”
“Just the first two days, I’m usually fine after that,” Katsuki said. “I mean, unless you want the whole week, I don’t mind.”
“Okay,” Eijirou said, nodding. “You like the curry?”
“It’s delicious.”