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The day started like every other miserable day in Aldera Middle School.
Izuku sat quietly at his desk, taking notes while trying his best to ignore the open hostility in the room.
He glanced over at someone a couple seats ahead of him in the next row.
Kacchan.
Bakugo Katsuki.
The boy who'd spent years making his life difficult.
The boy Izuku couldn't stop caring about anyway.
The teacher droned on about career placement forms while the class half-listened.
Then reality exploded.
A crack of purplish pink light split the air in the middle of the classroom.
Students screamed.
The teacher dove behind his desk.
The floor shook.
A massive portal tore open three feet above the ground.
And someone fell out.
The stranger hit the floor in a roll before coming up in a crouch.
Silence consumed the room.
The man slowly stood.
Ash-blond hair.
Crimson eyes.
Broad shoulders.
Scars crisscrossing exposed skin.
His black and orange accented combat uniform looked expensive, battle-worn, and unmistakably professional.
The resemblance was impossible to miss.
Every head in the classroom slowly turned toward Bakugo.
Then back to the stranger.
Then back to Bakugo.
"No way," someone whispered.
The man's gaze swept the room.
Then landed on Izuku.
His expression immediately softened.
"Zuku?"
The nickname was spoken with such casual affection that Izuku's brain nearly stopped working.
The man blinked.
Realization crossed his face.
"...Ah."
His gaze shifted toward fourteen-year-old Katsuki.
The man's expression immediately went flat.
"Hell no.”
The older man immediately looked up, searching for the portal.
It was gone.
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me. Why!?”
Young Katsuki was on his feet.
"What the hell are you?"
The stranger stared at him for several seconds.
Then pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'm you."
The classroom erupted.
"NO WAY!"
"THAT'S TOTALLY BAKUGO!"
"HE'S HUGE!"
"IS THAT A HERO COSTUME?"
The teacher finally recovered enough to shout.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
The stranger sighed.
"Bakugo Katsuki."
The room exploded again.
Young Katsuki's jaw tightened.
"Prove it."
The older man looked unimpressed.
"Your first explosion accidentally set your curtains on fire."
Young Katsuki froze.
"You cried when your mom made you apologize."
"I DID NOT."
"You absolutely did."
The class burst into laughter.
Young Katsuki looked ready to murder someone.
The older version of himself smirked.
Then his expression became serious.
His eyes flicked toward Izuku.
Then back to Katsuki.
"I need to talk to you."
"What?"
"You and Deku."
Izuku nearly fell out of his chair.
"M-Me?"
"Yeah. You."
Young Katsuki narrowed his eyes.
"Why?"
The older man folded his arms.
"Because we're not having this conversation in front of an audience."
“Sir, you cannot—”
The older man whirled around, eyes blazing.
“Like you even care, Teach! One of them could die and the other could do it right in front of you and you would blame the victim!”
“I don't know who—”
The stranger shoved what looked to be a card into the teacher's chest.
The teacher's face drained of color as he looked it over.
“Yeah. So you wanna try that lying shit again, Teach?”
“Bakugou, Midoriya. Follow the man,” the teacher said in defeat.
Both boys stood up and followed the stranger.
---
They walked in silence for a while before coming to a park.
The kind of place families visited on weekends.
The same park they used to play at.
Silence followed.
The older Katsuki stopped near the center.
Young Katsuki and Izuku stopped a few feet behind him.
Neither knew what to say.
The older Katsuki broke first.
"Alright."
He pointed directly at his younger self.
"You."
"What?"
"You're an idiot."
Young Katsuki scowled.
"Shut up."
"No."
Izuku stared between them.
The older Katsuki continued.
"I wanna hear you say why you're bullying Deku?"
Young Katsuki immediately looked away.
Izuku's stomach twisted.
The older man snorted.
"See? Right there."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Bullshit."
The word echoed across the playground.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Young Katsuki's fists clenched.
The older version of himself watched silently.
Waiting.
Eventually the younger boy snapped.
"Because he's stupid!"
"Try again."
"He wants to be a hero!"
"Nice start, but still not it."
"He doesn't have a quirk!"
The older Katsuki nodded.
"Closer."
Young Katsuki looked furious.
But beneath the anger was fear.
Real fear.
The kind nobody ever saw.
The older Katsuki's voice softened.
"You think he's going to die."
Silence.
Young Katsuki didn't answer.
The answer was obvious.
"That he's going to get himself killed trying to save people."
Izuku's eyes widened.
Young Katsuki still refused to look at him.
The older Katsuki continued.
"And even if he survived..."
Young Katsuki swallowed.
"He wouldn't get anything."
Izuku blinked.
"What?"
The younger Katsuki finally spoke.
His voice was barely audible.
"Heroes aren't allowed to be anything else."
The words stunned Izuku.
Young Katsuki laughed bitterly.
Like the answer should have been obvious.
"They'll tell us who we're supposed to be."
The older Katsuki watched quietly.
Young Katsuki stared at the dirt.
"You figured it out too."
Izuku froze.
Figured what out?
The older Katsuki answered for him.
"You figured out Deku liked boys."
Izuku turned bright red.
"W-WHAT?!"
Silence.
Adult Katsuki smirked. "And?"
Young Katsuki looked off to the side. "..."
"And?"
"Shut up."
"And?"
"...I said shut up.”
"And then you realized you did too."
Young Katsuki made a strangled noise.
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't."
The older Katsuki looked completely unbothered.
Young Katsuki covered his face with both hands.
Izuku looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him.
The older Katsuki sighed.
"You spent years convincing yourself that if Deku gave up on becoming a hero, he'd have a better life."
Neither boy spoke.
"You thought he could find somebody."
The older man looked toward the sky.
"Somebody who could love him without making him hide."
Young Katsuki's shoulders trembled.
The older Katsuki understood exactly why.
Because he'd been there.
Because he'd spent years terrified of the same thing.
Then he reached into his pocket.
A worn leather wallet appeared.
Young Katsuki immediately froze.
"What are you doing?"
The older man grinned.
"Providing proof."
A photograph emerged.
He handed it directly to Izuku.
Izuku looked down.
Then he forgot how to breathe.
It was a family photo.
An older version of himself stood in the center.
Green curls.
Freckles.
A nasty scar down the side of his face.
But the same smile his mother always loved.
A wedding ring gleamed on his hand.
Beside him stood Katsuki.
One arm wrapped securely around his waist.
Their rings matched.
Three children crowded around them.
One looked almost exactly like Izuku but with red eyes.
One was unmistakably Katsuki's but with green eyes and freckles.
The youngest appeared to be a perfect combination of both.
All five were smiling.
Happy.
Openly.
Without fear.
Without shame.
Izuku's eyes filled with tears.
"Kacchan..."
The younger Katsuki snatched the picture.
Then froze as well.
The world seemed to stop.
That was him.
Not the obvious Pro Hero that stood in front of him.
Not a celebrity.
Not a perfect image.
Just...
Happy.
The happiest he'd ever looked.
The older Katsuki's voice was gentle.
"The world changes."
Young Katsuki stared at the photo.
"How?"
"Hawks."
The older man smirked.
Young Izuku blinked.
"What?"
"Hawks becomes head of the Hero Public Safety Commission after the war."
Both boys went pale.
"The war?"
"Long story."
The older Katsuki waved it off.
"But one of the first things he does is start tearing apart all the old garbage."
A smile tugged at his lips.
"The unofficial rules. The expectations. The image management. The people deciding who heroes are allowed to be."
Young Katsuki looked up.
The older man met his gaze.
"You don't have to hide forever."
The words hit harder than any explosion.
"We don't?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
The older Katsuki folded his arms.
"You become a hero."
Young Katsuki stared.
"Deku becomes a hero."
Izuku’s eyes widened.
"And eventually you stop being an idiot long enough to tell him how you feel."
Young Katsuki groaned.
The older Katsuki laughed.
The sound was warm.
Comfortable.
Happy.
A sound neither boy had ever imagined coming from Bakugo Katsuki.
"You get married."
His smile softened.
"You have a family."
The younger Katsuki looked back down at the photograph.
The fear he'd carried for years suddenly felt smaller.
Not gone.
But smaller.
Manageable.
For the first time, the future didn't look terrifying.
It looked possible.
The older Katsuki stretched.
A crackle of energy filled the air before another portal appeared.
His ride home.
He glanced between the two boys.
Then pointed directly at his younger self.
"Apologize."
"What?"
"Apologize."
Young Katsuki scowled.
The older Katsuki's expression never changed.
"Now."
The silence stretched.
Finally, reluctantly, painfully—
"...Sorry."
Izuku blinked.
Young Katsuki looked horrified.
The older Katsuki looked satisfied.
"There. Wasn't so hard."
"It was awful."
"You'll survive."
The portal widened.
Then someone stormed through it.
"KATSUKI!"
A familiar voice echoed across the playground.
A green-haired man in a dark business suit stepped out of the portal, looking absolutely furious.
“Shit.” Adult Katsuki said under his breath as he turned to face the man.
Said man pointed directly at the older Katsuki.
"What part of 'stop volunteering to be Hatsume's test subject' was unclear?!"
The older Katsuki immediately raised both hands.
"Oh come on, it worked this time."
"THIS TIME?!"
The man looked ready to explode.
"Katsuki, you had been launched through three buildings!"
"I landed eventually."
"YOU LANDED IN A RIVER!"
"I still landed."
The green-haired man dragged a hand down his face.
Young Izuku stood frozen.
His brain had stopped functioning.
The man standing in front of him was older.
Taller.
Covered in scars, just like in the photo in Katsuki's hand.
His green curls were shorter than his own, flecked with gray at the temples.
A wedding ring gleamed on his left hand.
But despite the years, despite the suit and the exhaustion written across his face, it was unmistakably him.
The older Izuku glared at the older Katsuki again.
"And then you disappeared through an unstable temporal displacement portal before Recovery Girl could finish examining you!"
"It wasn't unstable."
"It was glowing purple!"
"Purple's not even in the top five dangerous colors for that woman."
The boys could only stare.
The older Katsuki looked completely unrepentant.
The older Izuku looked one minor inconvenience away from committing a felony.
"You were supposed to be recovering."
"I was recovering."
"You disappeared through an experimental temporal displacement portal!"
"It wasn't that experimental."
"Melissa literally labeled it 'DO NOT TOUCH.'"
Future Katsuki shrugged.
"Mei says those are usually suggestions."
"They are not suggestions!"
Young Izuku had never seen anyone willingly argue with Kacchan.
Watching an older version of himself do it was surreal.
Future Izuku pointed an accusing finger.
"You have children."
Future Katsuki blinked.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"You are setting a terrible example."
Future Katsuki looked offended.
"My example is excellent."
"Natsuki tried to build a flamethrower last month."
"That's called initiative."
"SHE'S NINE."
Before Future Katsuki could answer, another voice interrupted.
"Daddy!"
A small child barreled through the portal.
She couldn't have been older than seven.
Ash-blond curls stuck out from beneath a green beanie.
Freckles dotted her cheeks.
Green eyes.
She skidded to a stop beside the older Izuku.
"Natsuki is playing with Auntie Hatsume's equipment again and won't listen!"
The older Izuku groaned.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes."
The little girl crossed her arms.
"She said she was conducting science."
"That's never a good sign."
"She already broke two things."
"Definitely not a good sign."
The older Katsuki snorted.
"That's my kid."
"That's exactly the problem."
The little girl rolled her eyes before finally noticing the two stunned middle schoolers standing nearby.
She pointed.
"Who are they?"
Silence.
The older Izuku blinked.
Then slowly turned around.
His eyes landed on fourteen-year-old Izuku.
Then shifted to fourteen-year-old Katsuki.
He froze.
Completely.
Utterly.
Frozen.
The older Katsuki winced.
"...Surprise?"
The older Izuku's face immediately turned bright red.
"KATSUKI."
"Yep."
"WHY ARE THE TEENAGE VERSIONS OF US HERE?"
"Funny story."
"KATSUKI."
"I decided I was going to fix emotional damage."
"BY TIME TRAVELING?!"
"Hatsume did not explained what would happen."
The older Izuku looked seconds away from passing out.
Young Izuku wasn't doing much better.
The little girl looked between all four of them.
Then her eyes widened.
"Oh."
Understanding dawned.
A slow and dangerous smile formed on her face.
She pointed at young Izuku.
"You're Dad."
Young Izuku made a strangled noise.
Then she pointed at young Katsuki.
"And you're Papa."
Young Katsuki looked like he'd rather fight All Might.
The little girl beamed.
"Oh wow."
Then she grinned.
"You guys are babies.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” Adult Izuku said under his breath before looking down at the little girl.
“You! Get back through that portal now and you!”
Somewhere on the other side of the portal, something loudly crashed.
A distant child's voice yelled:
"I MEANT TO DO THAT!"
Future Izuku groaned.
Future Katsuki pointed.
"Definitely my kid."
Then another explosion sounded.
Future Izuku grabbed the front of Katsuki's costume.
“Fix this mess now, and then get back to fix THAT mess!”
“You know, you're hot when you're bossy.”
Future Izuku groaned again and turned to face his younger self.
"Congratulations," he deadpanned. "It does not get easier."
Young Izuku looked ready to pass out.
Young Katsuki looked ready to explode.
The older Izuku pushed the older Katsuki away, grabbed the little girl's hand, and stormed back through the portal.
"You're explaining this to Recovery Girl when you get back."
"I survived, didn't I?"
"KATSUKI."
The little girl waved enthusiastically.
"Bye, baby Dad! Bye, baby Papa!"
Both teenagers immediately turned red.
Then the two of them disappeared through the portal.
Silence settled over the playground.
The older Katsuki watched the swirling light for a moment.
A fond smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Dorks," he muttered.
For a second, he looked less like the battle-hardened pro hero standing before them and more like the husband and father from the photograph.
Then he glanced down.
Young Katsuki was still staring at the family picture.
Young Izuku looked equally stunned.
The reality of everything they'd seen was finally starting to sink in.
The older Katsuki exhaled slowly.
His smile faded into something gentler.
Something sincere.
The older Katsuki stepped toward it.
Then paused.
"Deku."
Izuku looked up.
"Yeah?"
The older Katsuki smiled.
The same smile from the photograph.
"You make it. You become one of the strongest heroes of our generation and eventually a teacher that helps future generations. Never give up."
Tears immediately appeared in Izuku's eyes.
The older Katsuki turned toward his younger self.
"And you."
"What?"
The older man smirked.
"He's worth it. Every headache. Every rescue attempt that turns into a catastrophe. Every time he forgets he's allowed to lean on other people. Every scar, every close call, every impossible mess we somehow survive. He's worth it."
Then he stepped through the portal.
The light vanished.
The park fell silent.
Only two boys remained.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Izuku looked down at the family photograph still clutched in Katsuki's hands.
The future.
Proof that everything would be different.
Proof that they would be happy.
“Not now, but someday,” Izuku muttered.
“Yeah, Nerd. Someday.”
For once, Katsuki didn't pull away when their shoulders brushed.
And for once, Izuku didn't either.