Travel The Distance

Epilogue

Being bonded to Shoto was like living on a cloud. That's not to say that we didn't have our conflicts and fights, we both had emotions, after all, they clashed at times. Sometimes Shoto would do something that pissed me off and condemned him to a separate room, sometimes I would overwhelm Shoto with my anger and abrasive personality, leading to us not speaking for a day, three days at most. But, after all was said and done, we always came back to each other. We always fell back into each other's arms, because that's where we belonged. Despite how rare our fights were, staying away from Shoto always left a foul taste in my mouth and made my heart clench in pain. Despite my promise to myself to not be a sappy shit, I still thought all manner of sweet things about Shoto. It was embarrassing, even in the depths of my mind. 

Not long after Shoto and I bonded, Ochako gave birth to her baby. And by not long after, I mean I was woken up from my bed the morning after the bonding ceremony by pounding at the door and Denki's voice shouting.

"Katsuki! Shoto! Oh my gosh! You have to come quickly!" Denki screamed through the oak of the door, his fists created an irregular beat against the door. I wanted nothing more than to throttle the asshole, but the urgency in his tone stopped me from wringing his neck. 

"What the fuck is it?" I growled as I flung the door open and glared down at the excited looking blond who stood in front of me. 

"Katsuki! You have to come quickly, Ochako is giving birth, she and Deku want everyone to be there. Well not watching her give birth, obviously but to be there when the baby is actually born and-" Denki rambled, though he was cut off by Shoto shooting through the door, past Denki and rushing down the hallway. It seemed that my husband wanted to get to his friends as fast as possible to support the child's birth. I couldn't blame him, but the way that he literally skidded on the floor, falling and tripping over himself, made it seem like it was his wife in labour, and not his best friend's wife.

"He seems a bit eager." Denki chuckled. I grumbled in reply as I walked at a leisurely pace after my husband.

Ochako was in labour for 9 hours, apparently, she had started having contractions not long before the feast celebrating mine and Shoto's bonding had ended. She hadn't told anyone but Mina and Deku, so everyone was none the wiser until we were all summoned to stand outside the medical room. By the time I had arrived, the baby was practically out, yet it still hadn't been born.

Everyone waited in silence, anticipation and nerves running high amongst us, even I could admit to being nervous. Ochako's pained screams and Deku's hummed words of assurance (though he sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down) didn't aid any of us, the noise filtered through the firmly closed door. 

We waited in anticipation for an entire hour before Mina opened the door and smiled at us, beckoning us in. She had deep bags under her eyes, she had most likely stayed up all night supporting Ochako through the birth.

"Hey, guys," Deku smiled, he too looked like he was ready to pass out from exhaustion, I guess witnessing and aiding in the birth of a new life was tiring. 

Ochako was laid on the bed, eyes shining with joy as she looked down at the bundled blankets in her arms, she cooed and tickled at the nose of the baby. All I could see from my position was a tuft of sandy brown hair sticking out of the pristine white blankets.

"Hi, everyone," Ochako smiled tiredly, "This is Katsuma Midoriya." 

Everyone shuffled a bit closer to Ochako's bed so we could peer down at the baby. His face was all round and squishy, only to be expected when both of your parents had baby faces despite being in their twenties. The baby had a surprisingly large amount of hair on his head, I didn't think babies were born with that much hair. His eyes were closed, yet his hands did wave around ever so slightly, seeking out the touch of his mother.

"Aww, he's adorable, Ochako," Eijiro cooed.

"Yes, he's a beautiful baby," Tsu croaked, "I think he's going to grow up to be just as kind as you and Izuku." 

"We hope so. I'm so happy," Deku said, "Though I'm really tired." 

After the birth of Katsuma, the castle got more lively, especially since Mina was getting bigger by the day. The gestations period of dragon-folk was shorter than that of humans, so it was only six months after the announcement of Mina's pregnancy that I once again found myself in the medical bay after a new life had been brought into the world. 

The baby, she was called Hana, was a peculiar fusion of her parents, yet she was no less adorable. Her skin was a gentle pink colour with sporadic patches of the tanned colour of Kirishima splattered across her body. There was a patch of skin on her cheek that started by her lip and stretched over her left eye that was the same colour as Kirishima's skin, the rest of her tiny body was covered in similar patches. Her hair was the same bubblegum pink colour as Mina's though she lacked the thin horns that her mother possessed, a fact that Mina seemed to be eternally grateful for. She had heterochromia like Shoto. One red eye she had gained from her father, and one yellow eye from her mother.

"She's adorable, you two," Kyoka hummed as she rocked the baby in her arms. 

"I know right, who knew we could make such a cute little thing?" Mina enthused, despite only giving birth an hour prior, she still seemed to have vast reserves of energy, the complete opposite of Ochako. 

"I can't wait to teach my little lady how to be manly. Maybe I can teach her how to sword fight! No matter what, though I'll love her to bits!" Eijiro sniffled like the emotional puppy he was.

Standing there, watching the family I had gathered for myself as they celebrated the birth of a new life, I felt my heart warm and flutter in my chest. 

"I love you, Katsuki," Shoto whispered. We were sat together, wrapped in a blanket, on our balcony, staring up at the stars on the one-year anniversary of our wedding and bonding ceremony. 

"I know that idiot, you tell me every day," I grumbled back, "But I love you too." 

I leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my husband's cheek, savouring the heat that I inspired in his cheeks. 

"Katsuki, do you ever think we'll have children, beyond Tores that is," Shoto hummed into the warm summer air.

I jolted in place and looked at Shoto with wide eyes and an agape mouth, "What! What the fuck are you talking about!" I screeched. 

"Tores. You feed them. You clothe them. You provide their education. You provide them with a bed. You are there when they are having a bad day and you cheer them up. You discipline them when they do something wrong. Is that not what a parent does?" Shoto sounded genuinely curious as to if he had genuinely believed that I was Tores' parent. 

"Uhh..." I had no idea what to say, everything Shoto said was true, I couldn't really deny it.

"Regardless, do you think we'll have children together?" Shoto queried.

I regained control over my expression, quickly snapping my mouth shut and shaking my head. "Yeah, sure, but not yet. When we're a bit older, maybe." I muttered.

"Ok. I love you Katsuki."

"I love you too, idiot."

I always seem to end my stories with someone saying 'I love you'. I wish I could break that habit, but I'm not sure how. Oh well.

Thank you so much for reading Travel The Distance, I've absolutely adored writing this story, even if I lost motivation to do so at times. Writing and creating stories with characters I like is always fun, and I'm glad that people enjoy reading the things I write. Again, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.