Chapter Text
The sun was already rising overhead as Izuku sighed and headed towards the bakery and café. His daughter walked happily beside him, babbling away about what she'd done the day before at daycare. He loved the three-year-old, but he was exhausted. It was mid summer and the temperatures were incredibly high, which made him feel like shit. Now it was the weekend, and he knew they'd be busy, but Lyra would be with them. He really hoped a few of the regulars were in to help him. His friends.. Yes, Hitoshi said they were friends, and they were amazing. And they all loved his daughter. A single heat share with a God of an alpha had resulted in him being pupped. Sadly, the alpha was gone before he realized it.
He made it to the cafe and unlocked the doors as he yawned. Lyra ran in happily as he tossed his bag to the side and switched on the lights. It was time to get baking before they needed to open.
Hitoshi walked into the café, smiling at the smell of freshly baked goods already being made. He ruffled Lyra’s hair as he walked past where she sat at her table, coloring in her Cats Of The World coloring book, which he had bought her for her birthday. “Morning, pup.” He yawned, walking into the kitchen to find Izuku. “Morning, Zu.” He says, seeing his brother in all but blood, covered in flour.
Izuku looked up from the dough on the table. "Morning, Toshi. How was your night?" He asked him softly before wiping some flour from his face.
Hitoshi sighed, “Not as good as my neighbors.” The couple that lived next door to him had been going at it like animals. He was warned that the omega’s heat was happening, so Hitoshi had to pray they made a baby soon, like they’ve been wanting, or he was going to die. Though his neighbor on the other side barely ever made a sound, which he found odd, he never questioned it.
Izuku giggled softly as he worked. "Well, at least someone had a good night," he said as he began to separate the dough. "Maybe we should try to find a house or something. My apartment is a dump, yours isn't much better," He wondered if they could do it. Give Lyra a yard to play in on warm days. "It's gonna be hot as hell today, we should make sure the frozen treats are stocked." Yes, he made those himself from scratch, too, but in massive batches.
Hitoshi ran through the numbers in his head. “Maybe. If the summer starts well, I think we could start looking for something. I mean, neither of us are gonna find an alpha anytime soon, and even then, we’re a package deal, baby.” Hitoshi leaned into Izuku for a moment, swiping their wrists together in a quick scenting before moving to help Izuku with the prep. He wasn’t allowed to make anything. Hitoshi was a bit of a disaster in the kitchen. Drinks were Hitoshi’s specialty. They’d have it all if Katsuki hadn’t been so damn determined to be a hero. Stupid Beta. But he was a good, scary guard dog at the least.
Izuku chuckled and hip-checked his friend gently, "You know it. Together forever." They'd made that deal a long time ago, and when Lyra was born, it cemented it even more. They worked together like a well oiled machine. "dibs out on making kaachan morning toxic shit." he said as he put the last batch in the oven. He was so damn glad they had so many, and each worked on its own temperature. "We should go let the cats out, too. But yeah, I think it'll be a good summer.” Summers were often good for them; they'd made themselves a name in the community since they'd opened.
“You and Lyra do the cats. I’ll start getting the coffee makers ready.” Hitoshi said, walking out of the kitchen and into the front of the cafe behind the counter. “KitKat has the morning shift this week, right? I think that’s what Denks told me the other day. I know he and Shoto are working the afternoon shift together.”
He nodded as he wiped his hands on his apron. "Yeah, it's been pretty quiet lately, but with the heat, we all know the crazies start coming out." he walked over to his pup, "Come on, princess, let's go check on the kitties."
Lyra looked up with the brightest smile on her face. "Okay, mama!” She scooched out of the booth to follow her mama.
Hitoshi shook his head. Crazy was an understatement. It’s like people took every drug available once the heat hit and did it five more times. He couldn't even count on all of his fingers and toes how many times they’ve had to call Katsuki to get some creep away from the cafe or that there were villains in the area fucking with shit. While Hitoshi and Izuku weren’t the biggest hero fans, they sure loved their heroes. “Yeah, better make sure the ice maker is in perfect condition or we’ll have to have Shoto come work for us until the heatwave goes away.” Two years ago, the ice maker broke. They thought they broke Shoto.
Izuku laughed, even if it wasn't a joke. They really would call Shoto to make ice for them. He took his pup and went to the massive cat home located at the back of the cafe, where he opened the doors. As soon as they opened, a pure white fluffy cat jumped into his arms and climbed onto his shoulders. "Morning, Snowy."
Lyra giggled as cats swarmed around her. The two of them, even if she was only three, were quick to refill water bowls and food dishes before heading back into the cafe. The place was large and felt like walking into an enchanted wonderland. The cats spread out around the building happily. "We should be alright, I had the guy come in and check it last week," he told Hitoshi as he settled Lyra once more in her seat.
“Good. Because I can only make so much sugary crap for people on a daily basis, I can’t make Shoto’s abomination anymore than once a week as a way to pay him for his services.” Hitoshi was not a fan of sugary coffee himself; he liked it with a hint of caramel, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
He busied himself, making his first cup of the day along with Izuku’s, before making Lyra her hot chocolate just the way she liked it. “Here you go.” He set her little teacup in front of her, along with the kettle —a gift from Shoto for her birthday, after she made an offhand comment about wanting to have tea parties at the cafe with everyone. It was specially ordered, everyone had their personalized cup, but they still matched.
Lyra looked up with a happy, bright smile. "Tank you, unkie!" She took the teacup and lifted her pinkie finger before sipping delicately from it.
Izuku nodded as he checked the baking timers. They still had some time before everything was finished. He checked the freezers and made notes of what needed to be restocked before the next order was due to arrive. Once he finished, he grabbed the bentos and lunches they sold and began setting those out as well. Once that was finished, he finally sat down with his coffee and sighed. "This heat needs to stop.”
Hitoshi sat beside him, head falling onto Izuku’s shoulder. “Tell me about it. My AC’s out and my landlord is being a dick about fixing it. If my neighbors weren't being rabbits, I’d ask to stay on their couch for a few days.” He closed his eyes and grumbled in frustration.
Izuku laid his head against Hitoshi's. "I don't even have ac, I rigged something for lyra's room but it's not the greatest." being quirkless sucked when the landlord could get away with anything. "I was tempted to bundle her up and sleep in the booths here last night.” After all, they owned the place, and it had excellent AC.
“Sleep over in the cafe doesn’t sound like the worst idea.” Hitoshi mused. It wouldn’t be the first time. Back when they first inherited the place from his mom, they slept here all the time because they couldn’t afford to get an apartment together, let alone separate ones. It was only once Izuku got pregnant and they finally had a decent cash flow that they stopped. “But if KitKat showed up and found us sleeping here, he’d be mad and then we’d be forced to sleep on the disaster trio’s couch and I don’t know if I can do that for anything more than being too drunk to leave after movie nights.” He loved their best friends, but they were something else.
Izuku groaned. "Yeah, no. Those three are constantly all over each other. It's sweet, but I don't need to see that, and neither does my pup." Kaachan was a fantastic uncle, so were their friends, but they had no idea what it was like living with a three-year-old. "Maybe we could sleep in the cat room or something. He wouldn't find us there.. Maybe..”
“I'd find you losers no matter where you go. Best nose around, remember?” Katsuki’s voice echoed in the cafe with the ringing of the bell. “Just tell me when I need to go talk with some landlords, and I’ll do it.”
Hitoshi huffed, “Because that did so much the last time you insisted on talking to my landlord.” It did nothing but get Hitoshi in trouble a few weeks later, and a raise in his rent. His landlord apparently didn’t take kindly to being threatened by heroes. Well, Hitoshi didn’t take kindly to being sexually harassed, but the dude who lived in the apartment next door before the quiet dude whom Hitoshi had never seen, let alone heard more than doors opening and the occasional footsteps, didn't seem to care.
Izuku rolled his eyes at the blonde, "We need to remember to lock that door in the mornings before we open," He grumbled softly. He'd been evicted last time. Told it was too much trouble having a null living there. Katsuki just wanted to help, but it just never worked out right.
Lyra looked up before running over to her uncle. "Unkie Kaachan!" She cried out happily, hugging his legs tightly.
Katsuki grinned as he lifted the pup into his arms. “Sup, kiddo? Been good for your ma, right?” He tickled her sides. “I have a key for emergencies, remember, so I’d let myself in anyway.”
Hitoshi groaned, “I loathe you. I hope you know that. Like if I were a worse person, I’d do that thing that Izuku says I can’t say in front of Lyra.” Izuku made Hitoshi swear never to threaten to brainwash someone who wasn’t threatening them in front of Lyra. He didn’t want her to repeat something to the wrong people. It was hard enough to run a business as two omegas, forget the fact that one was quirkless and the other had a quirk that the world claimed was villainous.
Lyra nodded and hugged her uncle after he picked her up. "Uhu, Mama, let me feed Kikies! And- And Unckie Toshi made me a hot chokie in my teapot!" She told the blonde man happily.
Izuku sighed, "I blame Mama for him," he grumbled softly. "Kaachan, why are you even here this early? I know you have the morning shift and all, but shouldn't you be.. I don't know, at home still?”
Katsuki scoffed, “Some fucking idiot newbie got into some shit they couldn’t handle last night. I got called in to help because it involves a case I’m working on. Told the old fucker I’m heading the case with, that I’d pick him up some of the best coffee and baked goods on my way back to the station while we go over and see if that punk screwed our case up or not.” he seriously hated new heroes who thought themselves tough shit. They always fucking messed shit up for him.
Izuku glared at the blonde. He knew he'd never stop swearing, but still! His pup was little and impressionable! The sound of a timer going off made Izuku move. "Well, good timing then, I should have things out in a few minutes." He quickly returned to the kitchens and began turning off timers and pulling hot pans from the ovens. The smell of baked goods filled his nose and made his stomach grumble as he worked. He was in his element as he placed items on cooling racks and gently tossed pans into the sinks to be washed. "What do you want to take with you?" he called out from the kitchens as he worked.
“Anything with espresso in it. The old geezer’s a coffee addict. Maybe a variety and my usual.” Katsuki said with a grunt.
“And coffee?” Hitoshi asked, slinking over to the counter to open the cases for Izuku to set baked goods into. He turned to the coffee makers, starting them up to start Katsuki’s usual order.
“Black. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s only ever drank black coffee.” he walked over and leaned against the counter.
Izuku nodded to himself and quickly packed up the order for his brother. He slipped a few extra espresso caramel brownies into the box and then took a new box and placed a lemon square inside. He'd finally gotten the courage to make one of his mama's recipes. He hadn't told anyone yet. He wrapped everything up and walked back out with a smile. "Here you go. Don't let anyone but you touch the small box,” He glared at him to show he was serious.
Katsuki raised a suspicious brow and sniffed the box. That caused another suspicious and confused look to cross his face. “That smells…” He paused. “Familiar.” He didn’t know how else to describe it.
Hitoshi pressed the lids onto the To-go cups and wrote the labels before putting them into a carrier. “Here ya go. Our strongest black coffee, and you’re basically not coffee because it’s got chili powder in it, aka the Dynamite.”
He nodded. "It should. Wait until you sit down to eat it, please." He told his friend, "Now be safe out there. Don't jump into shit you shouldn't and call for backup if you need to." He told the man. Yes, he was a hero, and more than capable, but Izuku would always worry about him out there.
Lyra kissed her uncle's cheek, "Get the bad guys!”
Katsuki grinned at his niece. “You know it, kiddo.” He ruffled her hair before taking the drink carrier. “The mountain of paperwork I have to do will be worse than any villain. Thanks, losers, I’ll see you after my shift to make more bentos.” He turned and headed towards the door. He had to get to work after all.
Izuku chuckled as his daughter was put down. "Don't annoy the nice detective too much today, Kaachan," he told him. He'd heard enough about the lie detector detective. "Now get outta here, I'll see you and your boys later," he said before he headed back to the kitchen to start putting things in the case and getting ready to open.
“I’m a treat for that man compared to the old geezer.” Katsuki snickered. Poor Tsukauchi was overworked, but as far as Katsuki knew, not underpaid.
“Yeah, tell him he needs to pay his tab or he’s not getting any more coffee.” Hitoshi gave the warning for Katsuki to pass on. It was usually the explosive hero taking the detective coffee, or a man with a cat mutation named Sansa. The omega pair had yet actually to meet the man their friend works closely with.
Izuku shook his head, "Stop being a brat and get to work," he told his brother. Knowing he'd be getting a text as soon as the man checked that box. Kaachan left, and the two of them finally got everything settled before Izuku stretched, snowy still on his shoulders as always. He flicked the open light and headed for the cash register to wait for the morning rush he knew was coming.
Lyra went back to her seat and began coloring happily. A gnarly-looking, large cat sat at her table, glaring and hissing at anyone who came close to her.