New Beginnings

Better than a Daydream

BAKUGO'S POV

"This is a lot different than when we used to visit you in the city," Inko said as they walked down the main street, admiring the small businesses. She was mentally making a list of all the stores she wanted to visit when she and her husband had the time.

"I know," Midoriya replied. "I like small-town life much more than I thought I would."

"Have you always lived here, Bakugo?" Toshinori asked.

"We have!" Masao replied for me. Everyone chuckled at his excitement before looking at me again.

"Not always, but I've been in small towns," I replied. "I couldn't imagine living in a large city like Seattle or L.A."

"It's horrible," Midoriya said, taking Masao's hand since we were getting ready to cross the street. "The only upside to city life is that you rarely see the same people twice. You probably won't have to face that person again if you do something embarrassing or stupid."

"Versus here, everyone knows everything about everyone else," I added. Midoriya nodded as we crossed the street to the small mom-and-pop diner. It's one of my favorite restaurants in town, and I have yet to take Midoriya there.

When we made it across the street, Toshinori held the door open for everyone else to walk through. When we were inside, I set Kimi on her feet and gave my arm a second rest while they pushed two tables together for us. Apparently, that second rest was not okay with Kimi. She turned to Midoriya, took one step, and almost fell before steadying herself.

Midoriya did what he always did: bent down and picked her up. She hates being on the ground. She's usually fine in a bouncer or play area, but other than that, she prefers to be held. She smiled when she was on his hip, showing off her tiny three teeth. My heart melted because of my happy baby.

When the tables had been pushed together, the server escorted us to the center of the small restaurant. I helped Masao into his booster seat while Midoriya buckled Kimi into her highchair. Midoriya grabbed two menus for the girls, and I grabbed two for the boys.

"You two seem to have this down," Inko chuckled.

"We do," Midoriya replied. I didn't realize it until then, but they're right. Midoriya hadn't even been with us that long, and he already had a routine. He has set tasks that he does every day to ensure our lives run as smoothly as possible. He's so good with the kids and with helping around the house. He's especially a good kisser.

"What's good here?" Toshinori asked, flipping through the menu.

"Everything," I said. "I've never had a bad meal here."

"Well, we appreciate that," our server said with a wide smile as she stopped beside our table with her notebook in hand. "What drinks can I get for you all?"

One by one, we ordered our drinks. Midoriya ordered the kids' drinks before I ordered us a few appetizers to share across the table, which arrived just in time for us to decide what we wanted for our actual meal.

"I have some?" Masao pushed the small plate forward.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Hmm. I have chip!" He pointed to the basket of tortilla chips sitting beside the spinach dip. I grabbed a few before putting them on his plate. While I did that, I watched Midoriya give Kimi a few tiny pieces of his breadstick before restocking Kenzo's plate with chips and a few fries.

"Midoiya?" Masao said his name loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "I gots to go potty."

"Alright," Midoriya said, standing from his chair. I'm sitting right next to Masao, and he still chose to tell Midoriya.