Home...?

Epilogue

"Papa! How's he?" Rene exclaimed as she bursted into the master bedroom of Loft 703. Her long brown hair billowing behind her as she came to a halt in front of her fathers bed. She was still in her Aqua blue and red hero outfit which served as a tribute to both her fathers and her brother.

'You both are the goal I have to beat so wearing red kind of encourages me... And Joe is someone I don't want to ever forget..." A 15-year-old Rene had told her choked up fathers as she designed her costume. The little girl had just gotten into UA high with most of 1-A's sons and daughters.

"I'm the same as I was the day before and the day before that." Bakugo said, an audible fire still blazing in his feeble voice. Kirishima chuckled at his side, his snow-white hair shining brightly in the sunlight streaming in through the windows. Kirishima had stopped dying his hair when he retired at the age of 55. He'd wanted to live a peaceful retired life. Plus, being stopped in the street every time he had to go to the grocery store had quickly grown old.

"You know what the doctors said, dad... It could happen any day now..." Rene said sadly as she took her seat next to Bakugo's bed, beside Kirishima. Bakugo huffed a little at her words and clenched onto his husbands hand tighter.

While Kirishima had gracefully accepted his retirement, Bakugo was unable to do the same. He felt like he had to be out in the field. To protecting the people and their protege's, though the stubborn old mule would never admit to liking the many kids he'd mentored over the years.

Beneath all that however was a much darker reason, Bakugo wanted to make sure that no one forgot his name. A sense of bitterness had claimed him as he realised that despite being a pro hero for more than 40 years, he'd only bagged the title of Number 1 hero once. And even that was only because Deku had been in the States that year.
Bakugo fed into this bitterness for a whole year, recklessly endangering himself, completely disregarding his family's pleas to stop. His pride and stubbornness proved to be his downfall.

A villain managed to lodge a piece of shrapnel into Bakugo's chest, nicking his heart. Luckily the medics were able to save him but the blow severely weakened the then 59-year-old man. The doctors had informed the Bakugo-Kirishima's that the blonde would have to take it easy or he wouldn't last through the year. This finally pushed Bakugo into retirement.

The volatile blonde had expected to hate retired life, he never saw himself playing scrabble or watering plants like he'd seen a few of their retired classmates do. But he'd forgotten to account for Kirishima in that equation.

The two pro heroes never lost their young spirits and this was obvious in their various daily activities. They'd host parties with the Bakusquad, play video games, cook together, go on dates. They'd even gone on a 6-month cruise across Europe. They'd been together for 57 years, and while their relationship may have evolved and changed in some ways, their foundation of friendship, love and trust was as firm as ever.

Katsuki and Eijiro had completely settled into their wonderful retired life full of calm, peaceful companionship and exuberant partying.
The blonde ex-pro hero was finally content.

But the world doesn't stop revolving just because its inhabitants wish it to.

A year after their cruise, a child of an old nemesis of theirs resurfaced. She'd managed to find their address and had attacked them in their own home. The two pro heroes barely managed to secure a victory, but the triumph came at a steep cost.

The chip in Kirishima's spine was damaged, forcing him into a wheelchair. But the elderly man had refused to go back into surgery especially when the success rate was less than 2%. And Bakugo...

His weak heart had begun deteriorating further. He only had a couple months to live at best according to his doctors.

"We're here! We're Here!" a flummoxed Akira ran in breaking the sombre mood that had befallen the family, his straight black hair cropped short, his eyes wide with stress, fully displaying his black sclerae and golden eyes. A brown-haired teenager with his father's eyes flew straight into Kirishima, causing the old man to let out a soft 'oof' before chuckling and wrapping his arms around the boy. A 7-year-old girl with a shock of bright pink hair and green eyes made her way onto the bed and into Bakugo's awaiting arms.