lol since my preschool thread ended up not really fitting in my nasty account (and i keep confusing myself), im gonna continue it here. here’s the link to the beginning of it ↓

https://twitter.com/nsfwherever/status/1182482810835218432?s=21

Katsuki sits with the sleeping toddler in his lap while Jirou takes attendance of the other kiddos. He’s never felt this kind of affection towards any of the kids, and honestly, it kind of scares him.

He just wants so badly for Eijirou to be happy, for him to not be weighed down so heavily by his home life. He’s seen the kid’s sunshine personality, he knows he’s capable of being the cheeriest little shit out there.

He just wishes Eijirou could have the chance to just be a kid, instead of having to deal with whatever shit has him turned into a walking ball of anxiety and tears.

Katsuki brushes his hair back from where it’s fallen into the little boy’s face and sighs. This shit just isn’t fair.

He doesn’t even know how long he’s just been staring at Eijirou and complaining internally when Shouto walks up to them.

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s just sleeping.”

He’s also fucking emaciated, but Shouto doesn’t need to worry about that. He puts his firefighter lunchbox on Katsuki’s desk and starts opening it.

“I brought him breakfast.”

Of course he fucking did, Katsuki would be stupid at this point to actually believe Shouto doesn’t understand what’s wrong with the kid.

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Here.”

He takes out a small container of rice and a condensed fruit bar and sets it on the desk.

“He cries if he eats too much. This should be good amount.”

Shouto pats the container and closes his lunchbox before turning his attention back to Eijirou, like he’s just gonna stand there until he wakes up. He probably would.

But the kid’s been sleeping for over an hour, and he really does need to eat something, so Katsuki starts bouncing him gently. It takes a little longer than he would’ve expected, but Eijirou wakes up with a wide yawn.

He’s reasonably disoriented for a second, but he peps up quick when he realizes who’s holding him.

“Hi!”

“Yeah, hi. You hungry?”

He looks at Katsuki like he’s trying to solve an equation and chews on his bottom lip before nodding slightly.

“Is that okay?”

No, you’re not supposed to be hungry all the time, because you’re /supposed/ to be fucking fed.

“Yeah. Come on, sit up, Shouto brought you food.”

“For me?!”

He smiles wide and nearly jumps out of Katsuki’s lap to greet his friend.

“Good morning, Eijirou.”

“Morning!”

He waves with way more enthusiasm than necessary, and practically vibrates when he sees the food set out for him. Katsuki has to grab a tissue to wipe off the literal drool on his chin. How starved is he that he’s drooling over fucking /rice/?

“All of that is for me?”

His eyes are darting between the food and Shouto’s face like he wants to know his answer but is also scared the snack will disappear if he looks away for too long.

Katsuki doesn’t miss the fact he sounds so shocked that tiny amount of food is /all/ for him.

“Yes, I asked Ms. Sato to pack extra.”

Ah, yes, Ms. Sato, Shouto’s nanny and also the only adult in his life who he talks about. Katsuki hates to think maybe Eijirou isn’t the only one with a questionable home life.

He scoots his chair closer to the desk so Eijirou can reach the food, and pulls out an extra spoon from one of his drawers. He’s always surprised that parents will actually send their kids with only chopsticks, like their fat little fingers can manage that shit already.

So, yes, he does keep his desk stocked with extra utensils. Fucking sue him, watching toddlers struggle to eat pisses him off.

“Thank you!”

Eijirou takes the spoon with a very unconventional way of gripping it, and holds the container of rice out to Katsuki.

“Can you open it please?”

He’s never seen a kid so giddy about food that isn’t sweets, and Eijirou takes the biggest bite he’s ever seen the second he gets the damn thing open.

“Slow down, you’re gonna choke yourself.”

“Shahrwy.”

Well he doesn’t seem very sorry, if his second massive bite is anything to go by.

Shouto looks like the cat who got the cream and Katsuki can’t keep the smirk off his face. Of course the little fuck would get so satisfied from helping someone else.

The rice seems to be gone in seconds, and Eijirou turns back around to get Bakugou to open the fruit bar for him. He definitely slows down eating that thing, he’s treating it like it’s fucking invaluable, and humming the whole time he chews.

“Hey, how come we don’t get to eat now?!”

“This is his breakfast, sit down.”

The little extra sits down with a pout before seeming to forget why she’s upset in seconds, and goes back to her crayons. The attention span of four year olds...

Eijirou takes five times as long to finish his fruit bar than it took him to finish the rice, and flops back into Katsuki’s chest with a hand on his stomach.

“Full! Thank you Shoudo!”

Bakugou watches Shouto nod with a small smile and go sit on a beanbag with a direct view of Eijirou. Fuck, he really took this kid under his wing, huh?

Eijirou’s sucking his thumb and kicking his legs out with more energy than Katsuki’s ever seen him have.

“What’re we gonna play?”

“I don’t know, it’s up to you. We’ve got the toy cubby over there, some legos over there, the reading area where Shouto is, and some crayons where Ms. Jirou is playing with those girls.”

“I don’t know how to read.”

“Yeah, they’re mostly picture books, but I can read you a story if you want.”

“Do you have babies?”

“Yep, big babies AND little babies.”

“Babies are all little.”

“No, hop down, I’ll show you.”

Katsuki lifts Eijirou out of his lap and is yet again hit by how ridiculously light he is. He can’t think about it too long though, the second tiny red sneakers hit the ground, Eijirou is bolting towards the toy area.

He’s already started checking the baskets by the time Bakugou walks over, and starts whining when he can’t reach the second shelf.

“That one!”

“C’mon, use your words.”

“I want that box, please.”

He smiles widely and stares tippy tapping his feet in excitement when Katsuki gets down the basket with a baby doll arm hanging over the rim. He lets out a quiet squeal when he sees the dolls.

“So many babies!”

“Uh huh, and these are the little ones.”

Eijirou looks like he’s just been showed pure gold when Katsuki pulls out the half sized baby dolls made specifically for younger kids.

“They’re babies small for me! My size babies.”

He takes the doll and Katsuki doesn’t miss the odd way he’s holding it. He’s not just hugging it like most of the kids do, he’s cradling the damn thing like it’s a real child, even fucking supporting it’s neck.

It makes sense with what he said about his mother “making sure he does it right”, but who the fuck teaches toddlers that shit? He doesn’t need to know how to hold a baby, he /is/ a fucking baby.

“Yeah, and look, they have a squishy tummy, so that means they can’t get hurt.”

“But babies die when their head hurts.”

Uhhh what the fuck?

“Sometimes, but these are special babies, they don’t die.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Even if they get too hot in the blanky?”

He just needs to reiterate, what the /fuck/?

“Yeah, even then they’d be fine.”

Eijirou looks down at the doll with wide eyes and a soft “wahw”. Why does his behavior repeatedly remind Bakugou of fucking horror movies?

Kids knowing about sudden infant death syndrome is not hallmark movie content, that’s fucking redrum shit.

“So I’m guessing you want to play with the babies?”

“Yup yup!”

Well, it looks like Katsuki’s gonna spend his morning holding a fake child while Eijirou coaches him on infant care. He’s got a mini babydoll in each arm and somehow convinced even Shouto to hold one in his lap while he reads.

“My babies are so cute! Oooh your baby is cute too!”

He still seems unnaturally energetic, but overall looks pretty happy. Of course, until Bakugou picks up the fake baby bottle toy a second time.

“No! Your baby will get fat and sick!”

He shushes him gently with a pet on his head and sets down the bottle.

“Babies are supposed to be kind of fat, Eijirou. And they need food, it’s what helps them grow big and strong.”

“No! My mommy gave me too much food when I was a little baby and I got big and ugly! She says that’s why my tummy can’t eat a lot anymore.”

He looks genuinely distressed about the idea of Katsuki’s doll gaining weight, and Bakugou is working hard to keep his expression neutral.

That certainly answers the question of why Eijirou looks like a fucking skeleton.

It sounds like he’s not even being neglected, like someone actually put their (previously) healthy toddler on a diet.

He understands putting kids on diets when it’s advised by their doctor, and they’re actually getting fucking fed enough, but giving him /vegetable juice/ for lunch every day?

And no sane person tells a fucking baby that they were fat and ugly. Bakugou feels even shittier about leaving Eijirou in that house over the weekend.

“Hey, shh, it’s okay. Calm down, the babies are fine.”

He looks up at Katsuki with watering eyes and he feels his heart break for the twentieth time this week.

He obviously just wants to play with dolls, a fucking normal thing children do, and his mother has apparently added ten tons of panic and anxiety to that shit.

Katsuki doesn’t have an exact plan yet, but he’ll be damned if he lets Eijirou go home with that sicko today.

-

The rest of the day goes uneventful. Eijirou makes a few more concerning comments, and Katsuki has gone through a thousand scenarios in his head. Some good, some... not so good.

Even if he does somehow manage to take Eijirou from his family, what the fuck happens then? It’s not like he’ll get adopted right away, and Katsuki does NOT want to put him in foster care. Best case scenario is, honestly, fostering the kid himself.

But he’d have to take time off school, and his apartment isn’t baby proofed, and Jirou would probably have to help him with his class full time, even if Eijirou goes back to Uraraka’s.

It’s not /realistic/, but it’s also not fucking impossible. If he has to put his plans on hold for a bit to make sure Eijirou is taken care of and ends up in a good household, he’ll gladly make that sacrifice.

Fuck, he’s gotten so soft. He knows Eijirou is a special kid to him, but looking around at all the other little brats in his class, he’d do the same for any of them.

If someone had asked a teenage Bakugou if he ever pictured himself /wanting/ to be a temporary foster parent, he would’ve laughed in their face.

Then again, he also never pictured himself letting kids color in his tattoos with washable markers, and that shit happens once a week.

Speaking of which, Eijirou is fucking horrible at staying in the lines, but he also held the marker at the back end of it, so it was to be expected.

He had a stomach ache earlier, and Katsuki realized how hard it is to gauge the severity of his issues when he reacts so little to pain. It passed pretty quickly though, and he’s currently napping on a beanbag.

Shouto scooted his over so they’d be connected and read his story out loud until Eijirou fell asleep. If Katsuki was anyone else, he would’ve called it cute.

Bakugou made a visit to Inko’s office right after he started his nap, and she agreed to talk to Eijirou’s parents with him at the end of the day.

“His mother was always such a good friend, and a good parent to Eijirou’s sister, it’s sad to see she hasn’t given him the same kindness.”

“He’s never talked about a sister.”

“I understand why he wouldn’t, she’s over twenty years older than him. His mother had her daughter young, and she was one of the first children I took care of. Before I even had Izuku. I was always so impressed by how well she raised that little girl..”

She spent a lot of their meeting sighing and looking down with watering eyes. It makes sense this shit would hurt, she’s known that fucked up lady for longer than she’s even known Katsuki’s own mom.

Somehow, hearing Eijirou has a sister who actually got a good childhood, made him even angrier. The woman obviously /knows/ how to properly care for a kid, but she pointedly decided not to give that to her second.

He was really hoping he’d return before Eijirou woke up, but he was greeted by a crying little boy when he got back to his classroom. Like usual, he calmed down quickly once Katsuki picked him up, but seeing Eijirou cry at all makes him feel like shit.

He cries again when Katsuki tells him the school day is almost over, and that is fucking understandable. Bakugou isn’t even surprised when Eijirou’s mother shows up almost twenty minutes late.

“Inko? What’s going on? Is Eijirou alright?”

Katsuki can hear them talking before they even enter his room, and the kid must be on the same page, because he’s gripping Bakugou’s pant leg for dear life.

“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about..”

“We?”

“Uhm, yes, step in here please.”

Katsuki can practically feel the woman’s apprehension as she steps in the room, and she looks absolutely nothing like what he was expecting.

She’s obviously pretty old to have a baby, based on what Inko was saying, but she doesn’t look a day past thirty.

Her hair is long and well maintained, she’s objectively very pretty, and she’s dressed in an outfit that can’t be under ¥100,000.

He’s fucking lucky Deku had enough to work with, because there’s no way he would’ve gotten shit out of this lady.

“What’s going on? Eijirou, come here.”

The kid looks between his mother and Katsuki while whining lightly before he ultimately shakes his head and moves even more behind Bakugou’s leg.

“Eijirou.”

Katsuki steps forward a bit when he hears her tone. She’s not happy with the kid, and that would be way less threatening if he didn’t know she was hurting him.

“Hi, I’m Katsuki Bakugou, I teach some of the older kids.”

He knows he’s not everyones mental image of a preschool teacher. Tall, muscular, with ear piercings, tattoos, and a scowl etched into his bones, but she smiles sweetly in a way he knows is practiced, and shakes his hand with dainty fingers and manicured nails.

“It’s nice you meet you, Mr. Bakugou. I would assume you already know who I am.”

“Of course.”

He can feel Eijirou’s little fists shake where he’s holding his pant leg and he’s working hard not to blow up at this woman. Eijirou is /shaking/ in the presence of his own mother.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what’s going on here. Did something happen?”

If she’s nervous, she doesn’t show it, and she wears her fake concern well.

“Haruna, I don’t know an easy way to say this...”

“You’re mistreating your kid and we’re taking him.”

She looks at him like he’s said the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard.

“/Excuse/ me? Inko, what is this boy talking about?”

Inko stumbles over her words for a moment before Katsuki speaks up again, but not before reaching down to cover Eijirou’s ears.

“/Her/ dumbass son is training to be a child welfare officer, and he was already able to get the director to sign off on protective custody.”

Her eyes grow even wider. She looks like she never even considered someone would take her kid, and honestly, she probably didn’t. Rich ladies with nice smiles and soft hands don’t ever expect to get in trouble.

“This is ridiculous. Eijirou, come on, we’re going home.”

“Eijirou, you don’t have to go anywhere.”

He’s already started reaching towards his mother’s hand when Bakugou speaks, and he stops in his tracks.

“Bu-“

“Eijirou, we’re /leaving/.”

It happens in a flash, and it takes Katsuki a handful of seconds afterwards to even /understand/ what has happened.

Eijirou’s mother grabbing his hand, a dull pop, and Eijirou screaming before going deathly silent.

The three adults stare silently for a moment as well, before Eijirou starts sniffling and Katsuki drops down to his level.

“What happened, what’s wrong?”

“My arm. It hurts.”

“Show me where.”

He points to his elbow and whines loudly when Katsuki barely touches it. He’s no doctor, but that shit looks very wrong.

“I- I didn’t mean-“

“I think it’s dislocated.”

He’s saying it more to Inko and the bitch, but Eijirou furrows his brows at him.

“What’s dislagaded?”

“/Dislocated/, and it’s when your elbow pops wrong and it hurts until the doctor puts it back.”

“It does hurt.”

“I know, buddy. Think you can walk to the car or do you want me to carry you?”

“Carry please.”

Picking him up without hurting his arm is a feat, but he manages to get it done with minimal pain and starts walking to the parking lot with Inko and Eijirou’s mom at his heels.

“You- You can’t take him without me!”

“Obviously fucking not, I don’t have a car seat for him yet.”

He’s at the lady’s car before she even is, and she unlocks it so he can get Eijirou in his seat.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

He doesn’t know if the shit he’s looking at can even be /called/ a safety seat anymore. It looks like she’s just been using the same one from when her daughter was a kid, if the worn out pink fabric is anything to go by.

It’s better than nothing, but a woman with a designer purse should be able to buy her kid a seat that doesn’t look two seconds from falling apart. The strap that’s supposed to come up between his legs doesn’t even buckle anymore.

Eijirou screams like he’s dying when Katsuki has to guide his arm through the seatbelt, and it’s the worst fucking sound he’s ever heard. If the kid with the highest pain tolerance he’s ever seen is wailing because of this shit, it has to be /seriously/ painful.

Katsuki sits his ass down next to Eijirou and buckles up while giving the kid’s mom a look that’s practically daring her to say something about it.

She looks like she actually might, until Inko climbs in the passenger seat and her mere presence is a decent mediator. But only to the point Katsuki won’t start bitching out the lady driving.

The drive to the emergency room is the most tense environment Katsuki’s ever been in, but somehow Eijirou crying breaks it a bit. Well, it at least distracts Bakugou from his death stare towards the kid’s mom.

He doesn’t know if he’s ever felt such deep hatred for a real life person. Yeah, he’s got a temper and people piss him off often, but this feels like so much more than that, and it grows with every tear rolling down Eijirou’s cheeks.

He feels a bit ridiculous, refusing to let the boy’s mom even touch him as they walk inside, but de doesn’t give a shit. He’d be perfectly fine letting her hold him if she hadn’t just injured the kid, and if she hadn’t starved him for god knows how long.

Eijirou doesn’t seem to mind though, if he even notices. He hasn’t even lifted his head since she hurt him.

He doesn’t lift his head to answer the doctor’s questions, or when Katsuki asks him where he wants to stay tonight. But honestly, he should’ve expected that, Eijirou probably doesn’t understand that he has other options yet.

Bakugou’s hopes about the custody case grow when the doctor starts asking about the kid’s diet and weight.

“He doesn’t reach the charts for children his age, in height /or/ weight. Does he have trouble eating?”

“Yes.”
“No.”

The doctor looks between them with an uncomfortable look on his face before moving on to different questions. Katsuki is more than happy to tell him /exactly/ what happened to Eijirou’s arm.

Inko stays in the hallway while they talk, and the man pops Eijirou’s elbow back in in seconds. Ei whines when he touches him, and yelps when it pops, but the tears stop abruptly when he realizes he can move his arm around again.

He looks at Katsuki with a big smile while repeatedly bending it.

“Look!”

“Yeah, that’s awesome bud.”

He brushes Eijirou’s hair from his eyes and wonders how the fuck he’s going to go about getting him home.

(okay so i’m going to make the cps in this story a weird mixture of the american and japanese systems)

He should probably start by calling Deku, he was /supposed/ to bring the warrant for protective custody to the preschool, but they’re obviously not there anymore.

He gets more panicked every second they get closer to checking him out of the ER, and Inko fucking disappeared somewhere, so he’s just sitting here, holding Eijirou’s hand while the kid’s mom works out the payment and insurance with the woman at the front desk.

He’s really hoping it’ll take her a while, considering he can’t find Inko and Deku won’t fucking pick up the phone. Eijirou can either feel his tension, or understand he’s about to go home, because he’s practically fucking shaking again with a worried look on his face.

“Hey, it’s okay bud. You’re coming home with me today.”

Eijirou whips his head around fast enough his hair flies around his face.

“Huh?”

“Yup, we’ll go soon. I just gotta-“

“I’m here!”

Katsuki has never been more happy to see that green haired freckled fuck.

“Took you long enough.”

“Shut up! I went all the way to the school before Mom called me, and then she made me go buy a car seat, which you’re paying me back for, by the way, and-“

“Yeah, I fucking get it, you’re the knight in shining armor. Give me the papers.”

Izuku rolls his eyes and hands Katsuki the manilla folder in his hands, that Eijirou immediately tries to look at over his shoulder.

“No pictures.”

It’s quiet enough Katsuki’s pretty sure he was saying it to himself, and he slouches back in his chair, apparently very disappointed in the lack of pictures.

Everything seems to be in order, and Katsuki gives Deku a solid nod as he stands up.

“Fucking, thanks, I guess.”

“Aww, Kacchan!”

“I take it back. Fuck you.”

Izuku just fucking laughs and sits on Eijirou’s other side so Katsuki can go shove the papers in the piece of shit’s face.

He doesn’t think he’s experienced anything more satisfying than watching her, shocked and floundering for words when he gives her the signed warrant, and leaves the hospital with Eijirou in his arms.

“Bye Mommy!”

Eijirou is smiling and waving over Katsuki’s shoulder, and Bakugou can fucking feel every bit of excitement drain from the boy when his mother scoffs and doesn’t respond.

“Whu- Why?“

He starts rubbing Eijirou’s back in an attempt to prevent any oncoming tears. He’s never hated anyone more than he hates that woman, and he’s more certain of that by the second.

Even Izuku can’t hide the disgust on his face and that’s fucking saying something. He’s practically the king of smiling through shit.

“I don’t get people like that..”

“I’m right there with you, asshole.”

“Rude.”

Eijirou doesn’t fully cry, but he’s definitely sniffling and hiccuping a bit in Katsuki’s ear on their way to Deku’s car.

“Hey, shh, we’re gonna have a lot of fun tonight, okay? It’ll be like a long sleepover.”

Ei nods at him with a weak smile and lets Katsuki set him down in the car seat.

“Whoa, fancy.”

Bakugou fucking hates hearing him say that, it’s the most basic car seat in the goddamn world.

“Okay, let’s get you buckled up.”

“Why am I backwards? Why are there so many bugkles?”

Because Deku bought the car seat that’s actually fucking right for your size.

“Keeps you safe. Lift your arms for me.”

Eijirou happily follows Bakugou’s instructions then squeezes the cushioned parts of the seat.

“Who’s is this for? I thought you had no babies.”

“I don’t. This is for you bud.”

He looks at Bakugou with pure confusion before going back to poking the cushions with a small smile.

“Thank you.”

Katsuki smiles at him and kisses his head before closing the door and making his way to the passenger seat.

“Hey, Eijirou, what kind of music do you want?”

“Baby shark!”

Bakugou was worried he would say that...

But, he has to admit he enjoys hearing Eijirou happily yelling the lyrics loud enough to be heard over the song. He looks at Midoriya, who’s also smiling at the sound of a little voice screaming “do do do do do do” behind him.

Yeah, no surprise there that Deku chose a career in helping kids. It’s always been annoying how much more the little shits like him than they like Katsuki.

But only because he hates losing. He can admit it’s better for the kids to like Midoriya, considering Katsuki doesn’t plan on staying in this line of work.

It doesn’t matter though, Eijirou likes him more than Deku, and his is basically the only opinion Katsuki gives a shit about.

Katsuki questions that when the song ends and Eijirou yells “Again please!”

-

He’s reminded yet again why Deku is the superior caretaker, when they pull up to Katsuki’s apartment and he starts getting some long boxes from his trunk.

“The fuck is that?”

“Seriously, Kacchan? He’s a toddler, he needs bed rails or he’ll roll off in his sleep.”

Katsuki turns to Eijirou, who shrugs.

“I falled off the bed sometimes at home.”

“It’s fell, not falled.”

He nods and lifts his arms once Katsuki’s gotten him unbuckled.

“Up!”

Midoriya grumbles when he realizes Bakugou has no intention of carrying anything besides Eijirou and a single shopping bag, and that leaves him to lug everything else up the stairs. This is the thanks he gets for buying Kacchan baby supplies...

“You’re saying /I’m/ daddy shark?”

“Yup!”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’m baby shark, and you’re daddy shark.”

Katsuki pretends to try and bite the tiny finger pointing at him, and Eijirou fucking squeals with laughter. He flops on Bakugou’s shoulder to look back at Midoriya walking behind them.

“What’s he holding?”

“Lots of stuff, but the big things go on the side of the bed so you don’t fall out.”

“Why?”

What?

“Because falling out of the bed hurts.”

“Are those espensive?”

“Uh, not really.”

Eijirou leans back to look up at Bakugou with a confused pout.

“Why do I not have them at home?”

Because your mother’s a horrible parent.

“I don’t know, bud. You getting hungry?”

It’s a small victory that Eijirou only hesitates a bit before nodding, but Katsuki will take what he can get. Deku stays for dinner as Bakugou’s unspoken thanks for helping with everything, including setting up the apartment.

Katsuki feels shitty about how many of these things he didn’t even consider while cooking with Eijirou on his hip and watching Deku put little plastic things in the power sockets, put foam bumpers on the hard corners of his furniture, -

come over and put grippy socks on Eijirou’s feet for the wood floors, and practically cover Katsuki’s apartment in plushies and toys.

“Okay! I think that’s all. Oh wait, I got some snacks too, and some-“

Holy fuck this guy was /made/ to be a dad.

So, yeah, he can admit Deku deserves some fucking food, and a check for the absurd amount of supplies that Katsuki is certain cost more than the nerd is telling him.

“I’m not fucking broke, I can pay you back for all of this.”

“That is for all of it!”

“Oh yeah? Show me the receipt.”

“Oops! I forgot to get one.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes and puts Eijirou in a chair so he can give Deku the money. Once that’s done, he helps Eijirou eat, since apparently he has no idea how to /not/ get food everywhere, and he looks like he’s about to cry every time he spills.

It’s around seven thirty when Ei is struggling to keep his eyes open and Deku heads out.

“You ready for bedtime?”

Eijirou nods and holds out his arms for Katsuki to pick him up. It takes them way longer to actually get to bed than he thought it would, with how sleepy Eijirou is.

Note to self: next time, start getting him ready for bed /before/ he’s about to pass out. Maybe then he can actually brush his teeth by himself.

Katsuki doesn’t have a guest room, or a second bed, but according to the internet, it isn’t unsafe to let toddlers sleep in the same bed as you, as long as he has the bed rails.

So here he is, watching Eijirou’s even breathing as he sleeps on his back with a little dog stuffed animal in his arms.

-

Getting him to school in the morning is easier than Katsuki would’ve expected, except for when he cried because he felt bad about being too full to finish his breakfast, but they sorted that out fast enough.

Katsuki tells him that the baby shark song isn’t working so they have to listen to something else, which Eijirou takes in stride, and squeals happily when Katsuki gives in and plays the damn thing.

“It’s working now!”

“Sure is, bud.”

They hit their biggest obstacle when Bakugou tries to drop him off at Uraraka’s room.

“I don’t wanna go! I wanna stay with you!”

“I’ll be right down the hall, and we can have lunch together, okay? Come on, don’t you wanna play with your friends?”

Eijirou’s hiccuping and wiping his eyes with the tiny hand Katsuki isn’t holding.

“I don’t have friends in there! Nobody plays with me because I cry.”

Katsuki has never felt the desire to fight a group of two year olds, but..

What’s he supposed to say about that, though? The only kid that’s actually shown an interest in befriending Eijirou is Shouto, and he’s in Katsuki’s class..

Fuck it, it’s not like this is real school, who gives a shit if Ei stays with the older kids?

Certainly not Inko, and that’s really all that matters. Anyone else can fuck right off.

He probably shouldn’t give in to everything Eijirou asks, but he’s had a hard enough time already, Katsuki doubts having a few of his requests fulfilled will seriously fuck him up.

He deserves to get what he wants sometimes, and so far, he’s been more than reasonable. So, yeah, maybe Katsuki’s spoiling him a bit, but it’s worth it to see the little crybaby smile.

-

The rest of the day goes well, and so does the next, but Katsuki feels like they’re on borrowed time. He knows Deku is handling most of the stuff with the mother, but he’s still worried shit will hit the fan when he’s least expecting it.

And that’s not to say everything is /perfect/, for example, he never expected bathing Eijirou to be fucking stressful, but he was very wrong in that assumption.

His apartment has a single bathroom, and the tub is pretty basic, with just a regular faucet and not the detachable kind. He didn’t think that would be a problem.

Eijirou wasn’t exactly excited about getting in the bathtub, but he didn’t say anything about disliking it, and Katsuki bought him bath toys, he thought it wouldn’t be a big deal.

It only got bad when he began tilting the little boy back to wet his hair, Eijirou started whining loudly and clawing at his arms to hold on to something.

“Hey, shh, it’s alright. I’m just gonna get your hair wet so we can wash it, okay?”

He nodded at him, but once Katsuki finished with most of his hair, he leaned him back a little more to get his bangs, and a tiny bit of water got on Eijirou’s face. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and screamed.

So here they are now, Bakugou sitting in his bed with Eijirou in his arms, wrapped up in a towel too big for him and shaking like a leaf. It seems like every day, something new has Katsuki wondering how much longer Ei would’ve even survived in that house.

He doesn’t even want to know /why/ getting water on his face had Eijirou screaming and sobbing, but he can take a wild fucking guess.

At this point he almost pities that woman. No one in their right mind would do the shit she did, especially not someone who previously raised a kid well.

He also wants to know what the fuck it is about Eijirou that she hated so much, because Katsuki can’t find a thing.

Yeah, he cries often and he’s fear in a human form, but she made him that way, and those are the only faults Bakugou even knows he has.

He was honestly wondering if there
was something deeply wrong with the kid that lead to all that shit, and he’d find out once he started fostering him, but Eijirou barely even /speaks/ at home.

The second day Katsuki brought him home, he put his tiny shoes by the door, and sat silently on the rug by the couch. He started counting his toes, and jumped when Bakugou spoke to him.

Which lead him to the question, did that bitch make him just sit on the floor in silence all day? No wonder he’s such a chatterbox when given a chance to talk.

He still won’t accept that the toys Bakugou and Deku bought him are his, and not school toys or for “lessons”.

Katsuki’s only solace is the hope that maybe Eijirou is young enough he’ll end up forgetting most of what he went through.

-

Though he doubts any kid could forget their mother giving up full custody the second she’s faced with trouble.

She argued for what felt like ten fucking seconds, calling Katsuki a creep for being obsessed with her son, saying she’s the only one who can properly care for Eijirou, but she dropped it all when Eijirou’s medical files were brought up.

He knows she just doesn’t want to be fully investigated or prosecuted, but holy fuck, she barely even blinked signing those papers.

Katsuki is a responsible adult who knows how to take care of kids, obviously, but she didn’t fucking know that. She could’ve been handing her son over to a serial killer, and she took that risk just to avoid possible jail time.

She didn’t even hug the kid goodbye. Katsuki ended up being the one who had to explain to Eijirou why his mommy was leaving without him.

And holy fuck, comforting a toddler every night who’s crying for their mother who nearly killed them, is hell.

He wonders if there will come a day in Eijirou’s life when he forgets that woman’s face. He hopes so.

-

“Bleh!”

“Eijirou?! What’s wrong?”

Katsuki drops the spatula he’s holding and practically slides to where Eijirou’s now sitting and crying on the living room carpet.

Ei opens his mouth to show Katsuki his blue tongue and Bakugou sighs while grabbing a paper towel to wipe off as much as he can.

“Wiw I die?”

His words are muffled by Katsuki’s fingers in his mouth, but his panic is obvious.

“No, you’re fine, but that’s not food. We’re about to have dinner, okay?”

Eijirou looks down at his socks and lets his tears continue.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, buddy. Come here.”

Katsuki pulls the little boy into his lap and picks up the cup of play dough to see how much his tiny fingers scooped out. Not much, but apparently enough to upset him.

Bakugou keeps forgetting Eijirou hasn’t adjusted to being consistently fed yet, and anything that seems like it could be edible, is going in his mouth.

He might’ve underestimated how much of Eijirou’s life has been spent hungry, because half the shit in his apartment have little pointy teeth marks now.

Even if they’ve just eaten, if he sees something that might be food, he goes for it. Katsuki hopes that habit will break once he puts on a little weight.

-

It does, somewhat. He still eats everything he can get his hands on, but now it’s usually real food, and the little fingers reaching for it almost look like normal baby hands.

Katsuki has to attribute most of his success with Eijirou’s recovery to the pediatrician who helped them by recommending a shit ton of stuff. Including the nutrition shakes made for children.

Those things are a fucking godsend, and Eijirou actually likes them more than regular chocolate milk. He also likes to refer to them as his “muscle juice”.

The “muscle juice” comes from the first time Katsuki was trying to get him to drink one, and put on a whole flex show so Eijirou would want to get “big and manly” like him.

Now, almost every time, Ei will flex his little arms and make a very non threatening “grrr” when he’s given the shake. He beams for half an hour when Katsuki tells him he’s “looking very manly”.

-

It’s been eight weeks when Katsuki realizes Eijirou’s cheeks have gotten big enough to pinch. He’s not pudgy yet, but his bones are barely even visible anymore. Bakugou is amazed at how resilient kids are.

He’s finally actually on the charts with kids his age, even though he’s still around the fifth percentile, and he’s currently being watched by Deku while Katsuki buys his birthday presents.

He’s still really into baby dolls, but Shouto recently introduced him to superheroes, and he’s somewhat obsessed.

He insists one /is/ Katsuki, and he makes him play this “ground zero” guy every time. He’s also taught Katsuki how to properly make sound effects for the explosions, and he’ll stand there waiting for the noise whenever Bakugou forgets.

The concept of a birthday party made him uncomfortable, which is understandable. He’s never had a play date before, or interacted with other children outside of daycare, so a party would probably be overwhelming.

But, Katsuki is determined to get Shouto over here at some point for a play date, since both of them seem genuinely at ease around each other.

For right now, he’s just gonna focus on buying Eijirou’s gifts and a cake for him. A party with just Katsuki and Deku should be enough for him.

He makes sure Eijirou is napping when he gets home so he can properly hide everything for tomorrow. Though, hiding balloons is a fucking challenge. He sticks them in the closet.

“Whader you doing in there?”

Katsuki turns around to see a very sleepy Eijirou trying to look past him into the closet, and closes the door before going over to sit next to him on the bed.

“Nothing, bud. Did you have fun with Deku today?”

Eijirou nods while rubbing his eyes and slumps on Katsuki’s side to be held.

“Did you play superheroes?”

“Yeah, and we played house.”

“Oh yeah? What was he?”

“He was the baby.”

Katsuki struggles not to laugh.

“And what were you?”

“I was the mommy.”

He really struggles.

“Are you getting hungry? I know you ate lunch early today.”

Eijirou shakes his head and snuggles closer.

“Sleepy.”

He knows he’s supposed to be strict about Eijirou’s nap times, but how the fuck if he supposed to tell the baby that he can’t sleep right now? Especially with how cranky tired Eijirou is.

“Cranky” is used loosely, he basically just cries twice as easily. Katsuki has yet to see him throw a true tantrum, but he wonders if that could actually be any worse than him sitting on the floor and crying silently for no reason.

He’s been doing better with the tears since he’s been adjusting to his new lifestyle, but Bakugou wonders if he’ll ever truly get over it.

He just doesn’t think Eijirou’s ever had the option to express his feelings in any other way.

Katsuki has to do a lot of inferring when it comes to what he had to go through, since he isn’t going to outright ask him, or ask Eijirou’s child therapist. He’s not going to make him think of that shit when he doesn’t have to.

So Bakugou just pays attention to the clues he gets. For example, when Eijirou looks at him with clear worry after he does something Katsuki assumes his mother didn’t like, such as talking or laughing too loud, or squealing when he gets excited.

He also notes every time Eijirou will start crying and curling in on himself prematurely. Usually after he makes a small mistake or mess, or after he admits to things that were “unmanly”, like letting another child take his toy.

The most upsetting thing though, in Katsuki’s opinion, is when Eijirou will force himself to act or speak in ways obviously more aggressive than he’s comfortable with.

Bakugou didn’t even know how to respond the time Eijirou cried to him about being weak, and a “little bitsh” after he got pushed over on the playground.

Katsuki ended up just holding him and telling him he isn’t one, and that it’s a bad word, but he took extra long to calm down that day.

Eijirou must’ve seriously tuckered himself out with Deku, because he’s right back asleep after dinner. Katsuki sees this as the perfect time to wrap his presents and get the living room set up.

Not to toot his own horn, but it looks great. He can’t wait to see Ei’s face tomorrow...
He hears crying from his bedroom and it immediately sends him into panic mode.

“Eijirou?”

“Whut?”

The little boy is sitting up in the bed, sobbing and rubbing his eyes.

“Hey, buddy. What’s wrong?”

He can barely understand what he’s saying between hiccups, but it roughly translates to,

“I dreamed mommy gave me away again, and then you left too and I had nobody and no food.”

“Hey, Eiji, look at me. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m gonna make sure you always have food, okay?”

He looks up with those big eyes Katsuki loves so much and nods.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Ei. Now, back to sleep.”

Katsuki has a hard time falling asleep after Eijirou. What’s he supposed to do?

He can’t raise a kid right now, regardless of how much he cares about the little fucker, but he feels like it’ll seriously traumatize Eijirou if they ever split up.

Katsuki just wants him to be safe and happy, but he’s not capable of being a fucking parent yet.

-

His point is proven the next morning, when he makes a big mistake in the way he wakes Eijirou up.

It’s his birthday, so Katsuki, being a fucking idiot, thought it’d be fun to wake him up with one of those party kazoo things and give him the balloons and his little party hat that has ‘Birthday Boy’ on it.

Eijirou bolts upright with a scream when Katsuki blows in the stupid kazoo and the baby immediately shuts his eyes, covers his ears, and starts wailing. Fuck.

Why Bakugou ever thought waking him up with a loud noise would be a good idea, he doesn’t know, and now he’s trying to calm down a sobbing three year old.

“Hey buddy, look, it’s just a toy. It won’t hurt you, I promise. It’s just loud.”

Eijirou lets Katsuki pull his hands from where they’re held tightly over his ears and he crawls into his lap.

“It scared me.”

He doesn’t stop crying, but Bakugou knows enough about kids to know they don’t calm down easily after a scare.

“I’m sorry, Eiji, I didn’t mean to scare you with the noise, I just wanted you to wake up for your special day.”

“Special?”

“Yeah bud, it’s your birthday, remember?”

Eijirou’s tiny eyebrows pinch together in confusion that turns into surprise when he looks up and sees the balloons tied to the foot of the bed frame.

Cuddling Katsuki is long forgotten and he leaps over to them and tugs one down by it’s string to play with it.

“Boon!”

“No, they’re /ba/loons.”

“Baoon!”

Katsuki doesn’t bother correcting him a second time, and leans back to watch Eijirou laughing as he repeatedly hits the “baoon” and it comes right back up.

Bakugou almost forgets about the party hats until he tries to run his fingers through his hair.

“Ei, come here.”

“Whut?”

He crawls back over with a giddy smile on his face and looks rightly confused as Katsuki gently secures the paper hat on his head. Holy shit, he’s never seen a cuter little kid.

Eijirou puts his hands up to try and feel what’s on his head, and turns to Bakugou with a questioning look when he can’t figure it out.

“It’s a birthday hat, for a special birthday boy.”

He tickles Ei’s tummy while he says it and watches him squeal and roll around on the bed before standing up to inspect Katsuki’s party hat.

“They look so funny!”

Bakugou knows he probably looks fucking ridiculous, but Eijirou’s laughing, so he doesn’t care much.

-

Their morning goes great, not counting the very shitty start, and Eijirou is ecstatic when he finds out they’re going to spend the day together.

They come across a little bump in the road when the party hat starts bothering him and he nearly cries because he feels bad about wanting to take it off, since it was “a present”, but they sort that out easy enough.

He entertained himself with the balloons for an hour, and panicked a bit when he accidentally let go of one of them and it floated up to the ceiling, but the string wasn’t even five feet from the ground, so Katsuki easily retrieved it for him.

Deku shows up when Ei is down for his first nap, and he helps Bakugou “hide” Eijirou’s presents around the apartment so he can have a scavenger hunt for the smaller boxes.

He’s overjoyed when he gets up to find that his second favorite grownup is here too, and he pouts briefly when they tell him they aren’t playing heroes or house yet.

“Why not?”

Deku scoops him up and sets Ei on his hip.

“We have another game to play first. I’ll give you a hint, you have to find things to win.”

“I Spy!”

“Nope, guess again.”

“Hide and seek!”

“Nope, one more try.”

“Uhm.... I don’t know.”

He looks deflated at his inability to think of a third finding game.

“We’re having a scavenger hunt!”

Izuku bounces Eijirou on his hip to get him more excited, and it works.

“And guess what we’re looking for?”

“I don’t like guessing!”

“Fair enough, we’re gonna find all of your birthday presents!”

Ei doesn’t match Deku’s excited tone, and he frowns at the green haired adult.

“Why do I get presents ‘cause of my birthday?”

Deku’s smile turns strained and Katsuki doesn’t even try to pretend that question doesn’t piss him off.

“Because your birthday is a special day! It’s a whole day for us to celebrate you being around, right Kacchan?”

“Yeah, and we give you presents because we’re happy we get to be with you.”

“Why?”

“Why what? We just explained it, bud.”

“Why are you happy to being around me?”

Katsuki’s too busy trying to come up with an answer to correct his grammar. He can’t put into words how much that question hurt.

Deku swoops in while Bakugou flounders.

“Because you’re the best! We love playing with you! Don’t tell the other kids, but you’re my favorite.”

He whispers the last part and Eijirou smiles and mimics zipping his lips closed.

“Now, you ready to find some presents?!”