Chapter Text
Bakugou Katsuki grumbled nonsensical curse words under his breath as he glared at himself in the mirror.
It was seven am, he was tired, and his tie would not fucking cooperate.
With another loud groan, he heard the noise of small footsteps running past the bathroom door. All he managed to catch was a burst of orange darting down the hall.
He rolled his eyes with a chuckle and turned towards the doorway. He shifted his weight to one foot and propped a hand on his waist.
“OI, what do you think you are doing?” His voice was loud but held no malice.
From the hallway, he heard a frantic giggle and more shuffling. “Noooottthhhhingg!!”
A small voice sung through the halls, growing louder as it’s source came closer.
Bakugou laughed, low and rough, as he shook his head from side to side. “Oh, yea. That sure sounds like nothing to me!”
He was greeted by another giggle followed by a shrill laugh as he moved to the doorway quickly. His puff of ash blond hair bursting into the hall as he peered around the corner.
He managed to see the bright eyes of his daughter widen as she half screamed and half laughed, frantically turning to run away down the hall.
“Ah, ah, ah- Not so fast, little firecracker!” His voice rose above the high pitched laughs that came from the squirming girl. While he spoke, he strode forward with long steps and scooped her up.
Her little legs kicked as she wiggled in his grasp. “NOOOO!!” Though she screamed in exaggerated dismay, the joy from her blindingly bright smile couldn’t mask how much fun she was having.
Bakugou laughed deeply as he pulled her in and swung her around in a circle.
Their house was rather spacious and neatly kept, but was not often very quiet. Between his various cries of frustration, the sound of laughter and the occasional noises from toys- there was rarely a slow moment in the Bakugou household.
As he slowed down his rotation, he lifted the small girl so that he was holding her at eye level, right in front of his face. Her vibrant green eyes stared back into his own fiery red ones with determined mischief.
“Come on now- you know you have to get ready for your first day at school, my little whirlwind. And by the looks of it,” He took an exaggerated look at her clothing and raised an eyebrow.
She was wearing a bright orange shirt with a green “x” across the front. Her pants were still just her pajama shorts and she wore nothing on her feet.
“-you have not gotten very far with getting ready to go.”
She crossed her arms and grumbled to herself, much like her father often did, “But, I don’t want to….”
He might have missed the quiet words had he not turned his hearing aids to the highest volume setting. His eyes softened and Bakugou let out a sigh. He lifted her so that she was grabbing his neck and her short legs were wrapped around his waist, resting most of her weight on his side.
“I know it’s hard, Tatsu, but you know you have to go to school.” As he spoke he noticed her hearing aids were not in. Another sign of defiance, for sure.
He sighed again and brushed her hair behind her ear delicately. He was met with silence and a pouting lip.
Bakugou clicked his tongue and lightly squeezed the girl’s nose. “Oi, don’t give me that pouty face nonsense.”
When he released her nose she laughed again and grabbed at it, as if to make sure her nose was, in fact, still there.
Her laugh made a warm smile cross Bakugou’s lips as he nodded off towards a bedroom down the hall. “Come on, I’ll help you, Ok?”
She looked over his shoulder towards her room and rested her chin on his shoulder. A slight nod as she nuzzled closer into him.
He turned on his heel towards her room and planted a soft kiss on the top of her brown hair.
Most mornings in this house were wild, but today was especially so.
It was the first day of the new school year, in a new neighborhood and a new school district.
Bakugou had hated having to put his daughter through a move like this, but he had to move for his promotion. He had fought to avoid it but ultimately lost in the end. He knew she would be upset, but figured that the stability of his income couldn’t be questioned. The mere thought of not being able to take care of his daughter made his chest ache. He pushed it off as best he could as he walked through their new halls.
Once they got to her bedroom, he placed her down and shuffled through her drawers for some clothes.
“What are you feelin’ today, little firecracker?”
Little footsteps quietly padded up next to him as Tatsuo stood on her tiptoes to look into the drawer her dad was rummaging through.
She took a little hand and pointed at some shorts towards the back.
Bakugou lifted them up to inspect her choice and nodded to himself. As he spoke, he glanced over to her and smiled wide. “Good choice.”
She giggled and bounced over to her bed to sit. Her little legs kicking off the edge.
Bakugou helped her get dressed and their laughter rang through the house once again.
As time passed Bakugou checked his watch absentmindedly, a slight groan leaving his lips. “We gotta go, Tatsu. You can’t be late on the first day! That is not a good look.”
As his sentence ended, he poked the end of her nose affectionately.
Of course, late meant something different to Bakugou than most other people. Late meant less than ten minutes early. They had twenty minutes at this point.
As Tatsuo scurried around her room to pack her bag, Bakugou returned to the bathroom to finish tying his tie.
After a few moments of mumbling and fumbling, his tie sat perfectly knotted.
He laughed triumphantly and smirked at the tie’s reflection in his mirror. “I fucking win.”
Another blur of orange darted back into the doorway, but this time she was beaming up at her father. Her tiny hands grasped the backpack straps around her shoulders and she struck a powerful pose. “IM READY, DADDY!”
He turned to face her and smiled like he was going to burst with pride. “That’s my girl! Let’s go get em!”
She bounced on the balls of her feet as she trotted down the stairs towards the door. Bakugou took one last glance around the upstairs, patted his pockets and then descended the stairs himself.
He cleared his throat and looked towards Tatsuo, who was sitting by the door getting her shoes on. He glanced up towards her ears and ensured that she put her hearing aids in. He was pleasantly surprised to see that they were sitting carefully in her ears, small bits of hair falling in front of them.
He smiled to himself and slipped his own shoes on, faster than his much smaller and clumsier daughter.
When she finished tying her shoes she scrambled up frantically and struck another triumphant pose.
“Alright, are we ready to rumble?” Bakugou returned her pose and grinned wildly.
“YEA, I’m ready!!” Two tiny fists pumped into the air as the little girl cried out, ready to take on the world.
Bakugou laughed from deep in his chest as he rustled her brown hair, “That’s what I like to hear.”
As they left the house, Bakugou couldn’t help but glance back inside. This was the start of their new life. This was the start of his daughter’s school career.
It was time to get his shit together.
As the door clicked closed, Bakugou closed the door on his past.