This was ridiculous.

The last thing that Katsuki wanted was for the entire town to know that he'd come back home—mostly in part because he was almost certain that no one would care, especially with someone like Deku around. He certainly wasn't expecting for the entire block of his childhood home to be packed out with people there to attend this stupid party that his mother was throwing on his behalf. He was under the impression that it would be just a few relatives and his own personal group of close friends in attendance but this? It was like the entire town was cramped into his parents' yard.

Leave it up to Mitsuki Bakugou to take a small occasion and make it larger than life.

He wonders just how many people she'd invited as he notes the several dozens of cars cluttering the usually quiet streets of his neighborhood, parking his own at the end of the road because he didn't have the patience to spend twenty minutes of his life looking for a closer parking spot. He meanders into the front yard with a sigh, going around the side of the house and entering the backyard through the gate as it seems that this is where the party is being held. He wonders just how long this little kickback has been going on for. Deku had mentioned that people were waiting for him. Had his parents been entertaining these people all day? Just when were they expecting him? Don't they know that it's a twenty hour drive from Los Angeles?

Although everything had felt so foreign to Katsuki upon his return, nothing much seems to have changed at all. The roads were all the same; they hadn't bothered to replace that old dingy street lamp at the end of their block. Even the hanging plants on his parents' front porch were exactly the same as he remembered, down to the raggedy screen door and splentered front steps that he'd scraped himself on at least a thousand times in his childhood. As many bad memories as he had in this place...there were just as many happy ones.

It felt so good to be home again.

"Welcome home, Katsuki!"

"Hey guys, it's Bakugou!"

"Homeboy's back, y'all!"

A cacophony of loud whooping and wolf whistles sounded off as he entered the gate and Katsuki couldn't stop the grin that plastered itself on his face even if he wanted to, bracing himself as he was glomped and tackled by several welcomed and familiar faces.

His friends. He'd never admit it out loud but man did he miss those assholes.

Eijirou had been the first to get a hold of him, wrapping Katsuki in a bone-crushing embrace with that trademark smile of his beaming right into Katsuki's eyes.

He missed his best friend most of all.

"Kats! You have no idea how stoked we were to find out that you were coming home! We missed you like crazy, man!" Katsuki allows himself to be held a moment longer before he eventually wriggles himself loose, still grinning at the sight of the redheaded beta as he pulls away.

"Well, fuck, Shitty Hair. You sprouted like a goddamn tree." He greets him and Eijirou sheepishly rubs the back of his head as his cheeks bloom bloody red at the comment. Eijirou's always been a bit of a gym rat but he's put on quite a bit of muscle in Katsuki's absence. Meanwhile, Katsuki had made it a habit of hitting the gym every single day while he was away at University and all he had to show for it was toned glutes and a flat stomach. He's almost a little jealous.

"Aww! Dude, was that a compliment? You must have really missed me, too!"

"Fuck off, bitch, I'll take it back."

"Your tsundere is showing."

His smile widens as Hanta and Denki appear at his side wearing grins of their own, a cold beer seemingly manifesting itself in Hanta's hand as the tall beta offers it to him. Katsuki takes it with no objections, receiving a pat on the back.

"Thanks, Soy Face. At least someone in this pack knows how to greet a guy." He chuckles—really as much of a thank you as Hanta would ever receive for his small act of kindness but his lanky friend doesn't seem to mind at all.

"We know that you're not gonna be able to socialize for long without at least a little bit of alcohol in your system. No point in doin' this whole shindig if the guest of honor isn't having any fun." He reasons and Denki cosigns with an enthusiastic nod, still invading Katsuki's personal space with an arm wrapped tightly around the smaller blonde's shoulder. "Guess you actually do know me better than I thought you did."

Denki scoffs at that. "Yeah, it's not like we've been friends since the tenth grade or anything." He points sardonically, leaning over to pucker his beer-soaked lips and make kissy noises in Katsuki's ear only to be palmed in the face and  straight-armed. Katsuki pulls his lip back in a mildly disgusted snarl. "If you put your gross alpha lips anywhere near me, I'm gonna kick you in the balls so hard that they roll out of mouth." Denki laughs at that—mostly because he's confident that it is an empty threat—but he complies and backs away nonetheless as he doesn't want to try his luck.

"If you don't want anyone to get handsy then you're gonna have a hard time with Mina cause she's already hella wasted."

Of course she is. You could always count on Mina to drink until she drops. Katsuki doesn't get why Eijirou allows her to drink herself sloppy at these sorts of things. Wrangling in 250 pounds of dead weight and alpha muscle at the end of the night wouldn't be an easy job.

"Who else is at this shit show?" Katsuki inquires, doing a quick scan of the party and catching a good few familiar faces but also a good number of ones he hadn't recognized at all.

"Well there's Ochako and Tenya. Forgot to tell you that they're married now."

Katsuki is genuinely surprised.

"Angel Face and Glasses McGee got married? Damn, and here I always kinda thought that she was way into Deku."

Eijiro gives him a shrug. "So did we, but apparently Izuku had other interests in mind." He said, shoving Denki in his side when the blonde alpha gives him a sly grin at the implication. "He let her down pretty gently and they managed to remain good friends after the fact. She and Tenya are really happy together. Honestly, they're a super cute couple."

"Shouto and Yaomomo are sort of a thing too now." Denki chimes in, "But neither of them have mentioned a wedding so far. Which is a little shocking considering his dad's whole schtick about marrying his kids off to get an 'heir' or whatever. I swear, rich people have such weird ass customs."

Katsuki rolls his eyes at that.

"Tch. Good for him, I guess. I didn't even know the halfie bastard was capable of feeling an emotion like love. Or any real emotion at all, frankly." He chortles and takes another swig from his beer.

"I know, right?" Hanta agrees. "They've been together for about six years now. Shouto took over one of his dad's businesses and Yaomomo is an advisor at some organization run by her own folks. I reckon that having jobs like that would be enough to keep you too busy to do much else."

Katsuki spots the two of them curled into each other, dancing to a slow song underneath the fairy lights in their own little world as if they weren't currently at some backyard barbecue. Cute.

Still kinda weird, but cute.

"Must not be that busy if he's here."

"Well...you've got a point there."

"I think our entire graduating class is here, dude. Even Minoru and Fumikage came." Hanta concludes, surveying the party as if he hadn't been there for the last several hours. He seems to recognize a few old classmates that he hadn't noticed earlier in the night. He claps Denki on the shoulder to grab his attention.

"Mei and Tetsu are here, I'm gonna go say hi." He declares and Denki wraps an arm around his slim waist to pull him closer and press a kiss against his jaw. "Sure, baby. Just don't wander off for too long, alright? I don't want Tetsutetsu stealin' all of your attention from me." And he sends him off with a playful clap to his backside.  Katsuki feigns disgust, faking a gagging noise as the beta turns to walk away.

"You guys are gross."

"Don't be hatin' cause I've got someone to keep me warm at night."

"I didn't need those mental images, thanks."

The blonde just laughed at him again, almost dropping his beer as the song changes to something ridiculously techno. He ultimately ends up manhandling Eijirou into dancing with him, leaving Katsuki to his own devices. It was then that the back door swung open and his mother stuck her head out.

"Katsuki! Get in here and say hello to your mother, ya lil shit, or I'll kick your ass!"

"Don't threaten me, you hag! I was gonna get to it!"

"Well get to it now, fucker!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Katsuki screamed back, but padded his way across the yard despite himself to follow his mother inside as a few of the guests laughed at their little display because anyone who lived in that town knew that...well, that's just how the Bakugous were.

As soon as Katsuki rounded into the kitchen, he was being pulled into his mother's arms in a sweet, gentle hug. He almost instantly relaxes into her embrace, inhaling the spicy sweetness of her scent.

"I'm glad you're home, baby."

Katsuki wraps his arms around her waist. He missed his mother, no matter how annoying she is.

"Me too."

"Have you had the chance to see everyone yet?"

"Nah, I'm just getting here. I'll make my rounds soon enough."

A loud knock at the front door pulls Mitsuki out of Katsuki's arms and she pets Katsuki's shoulder as if to tell him she'd be right back. Katsuki watches behind her, peeking his head out from the corner and watching her open the door to reveal a head of green curls and a shit ton of freckles.

Katsuki downed the rest of his beer and slammed the empty bottle into the garbage can with an excessive amount of force, looking on as Izuku threw his beefy arms around his mother and smiled as she kissed at his cheeks, squeezing his face and coddling him like an overgrown child—none of which the alpha objected to. There was a short discussion between them, probably about what was going on outside before he ducked his way out into the backyard.

Katsuki eyes his mother all the way back to the kitchen, eyes narrowed and scowl plastered onto his face. She just slides past him and goes right into the fridge, taking out a plate of strawberry cheesecake and handing it to Katsuki.

"Take that outside for me, hon?"

Katsuki spotted his father passing by and artfully slid it into his confused hands as he made to reach out and hug Katsuki. After a moment of pondering and a look from his son, he just shrugs and floats his way out into the party with dessert in hand.

"Mom."

"Yes?"

"Why in the fuck is Deku here?"

Mitsuki pauses in unloading the fridge, pivoting around to face Katsuki. She seems genuinely perplexed by the question, brows creased and head cocked to the side.

"What do you mean, Kat? You've been friends with Izuku since you were babies; he even helped me set everything up for your party tonight."

What?

"Are you sure that it wasn't Eiji or Hanta or even fuckin' Shouto? I've kicked Deku's ass a thousand times over as kids; we ain't friends by a long shot."

Mitsuki rolled her eyes and twisted to pull another large bowl of chicken salad out of the fridge and set it onto the counter.

"Izuku has been really helpful since he came back home last week. He's been tending to the plants outside, mowing the lawn since he knows your father's back is bad these days and he even started painting the house. Once he's done, he's gonna replace those old shitty wooden steps out front with cement ones."

She paused to reach for a smaller bowl from the top cabinet and Katsuki reached over to grab it for her so she wouldn't have to struggle so much to get it down with her shorter stature.

"The fuck is he being so nice for? If it were me, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the fucker who made high school a living hell for me. He's plotting something, I fuckin' know it."

Cause why else would he be trying so hard to weasel his way into the smallest crevices of Katsuki's life? That supid alpha was just trying to lure him into a false sense of security and then he was gonna make an ass out of him. Embarrass him the same way that Katsuki had done to him once upon a time.

And Katsuki Bakugou would literally rather fucking die than be victim to someone like Izuku Midoriya.  

"You're just being paranoid. You were kids and nothing you could have done could really have been so bad that he'd hold a grudge against you forever."

"I gave him mega-wedgies! I set his notebooks on fire!"

In hindsight, Katsuki was a terrible teenager. But he's grown now. He's a better person.

He'd like to think so, at least.

"If you ask me, I personally think that you were just picking on him because you liked him. Everyone knows that you're absolutely shit at expressing your feelings. I'd be surprised if you aren't still a virgin with how bitchy and choosy you are."

"Fuck you, I get laid plenty."

"I'd like to see you try and push him around now; that boy is a beast. You should've seen him moving furniture the other day. That boy could bench press a washing machine. A big, strong alpha with a big check and probably an even bigger dick."

Katsuki sputters at his mother, nearly knocking the chicken salad from the counter as his arm shot up to slap his palm against his forehead.

"What the fuck, ma?!"

Clearly she was laying it on pretty thick, praising Izuku as if he were the object of her wildest wet dreams.

Katsuki's not so convinced.

"I'm just saying that he'd be a good alpha. A real sweetheart, even though he picked up a hell of a mouth while he was training with Yagi. I shouldn't really be surprised. Inko was like that too, always unnecessarily sweet until you pissed her off." She goads, smiling fondly at the thought of her friend. "Izuku is in the Pros, you know. He could protect you. He'd be a great provider for you. Y'all would have some pretty babies. Aaand he's single."

Her tone is suggestive, mouth curve up into a sly grin as she wiggled her brows at him. Katsuki mutely wonders if his mother has lost her goddamn mind.

"Absolutely not."

"Yer just bein' a brat."

"I'd literally rather fuck myself with a hot iron dildo."

"You'd have more fun on his—"

"Ma, fuckin' shut up!"

The sound of knuckles heavily rapping against wood had Katsuki jerking his head back, nearly spinning his head around on this shoulders with how quickly he had turned to scowl at the doorway when he saw said alpha peek his stupid curly head in.

"Hey, Mrs. Bakugou, you need any help?"

"Baby, I told you call me Mitsuki! And could you help Katsuki carry those cases of soda out? He won't be able to carry them all by himself."

Katsuki bristled at his mother, stomping his way to the pantry and lifting all four cases of soda at once. He could hardly see over the top, but he didn't want Deku to think he needed him for anything, especially since he already owed him one for helping him with his car earlier on.

Fucker.

"I don't fuckin' need help, go find somethin' else to do." His hisses, voice just as strained as his visibly shaking arms underneath the weight of the load. His mother glides past him carrying the huge, plastic Tupperware bowl of chicken salad out back with a roll of her eyes.

He hasn't even made it out of the kitchen yet and his fingers were already starting to hurt.

"You look like you're having a hard time." Izuku points smugly. Katsuki glares at him from over the top of the box, though its effect is fairly diluted by the Coca-Cola logo pressing against his nose. "Nah, I'm good." He grunts, staggering back as the alpha attempts to take the cases from him. The freckled man huffs at him impatiently, his hands going to rest on his hips as Katsuki continues to be defiant. "Just gimme the fuckin' soda, Kacchan."

And Katsuki damn near drops the boxes onto his feet at the sound of a swear word coming out of goody-goody Deku's little virgin mouth.

"I said fuck off!"

"Why won't you let me help you?!"

"Cause maybe I ain't ask for it, dickhead! You don't even have a reason to be here!"

He has to adjust the boxes in his grip with the support of his knee, leaning against the kitchen table so he doesn't tip over from the weight of them. Izuku clicks his tongue at him in annoyance. "You tryna say that I'm not welcome here?" The alpha reaches for him again and Katsuki dodges him once more, rounding the table so that he was closer to the doorway and out of Izuku's grasp. At this point, he's pretty much wheezing with the weight of the soda against his chest.

"Yeah! Wait...no? No!"

"Yes or no, Kacchan."

"Fuck you, these are heavy!"

"Then fucking give them to me!"

"Deku if you try and take these so help me God I'll kick your stupid alpha ass!"

"Kacchan—"

"Don't call me that, fuck off!"

"So you can call me Deku but I can't call you Kacchan? What a load of bullshit! Quit being such a fucking brat and just gimme the goddamn soda boxes, you tiny little pain in the ass!" And he advances on Katsuki in two quick strides, forcefully yanking the boxes out of the omega's hold just before he manages to drop them on his own toes. A good save, but he knows very well that Katsuki isn't going to thank him for it. "That's what I fuckin' thought, pipsqueak." He sticks his tongue out at him and Katsuki, glaring at him with dagger-like eyes, flips him off and makes the ultimate decision to separate himself.

"You're an absolute fuckin' child, Deku."

The alpha attempts to chase after the angry blonde as he kicked the screen door open but it slams shut just before he could trail him out, smacking Izuku right against his nose.

"Ow! That hurt, you little shit! You're gonna pay for that one!"