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Izuku enters the house after a long patrol, immediately tensing at the sound of yelling and angry pheromones permeating the air.
“No, mom, she does it all the time! She goes through my stuff without asking even if I tell her to stop!”
Izuku rounds the corner to the living room to see Akari and Katsuki arguing, their youngest daughter Katsumi hiding behind the omega’s leg. Hikaru is sitting on the couch, head twisting back and forth as he watches his older sister and his dam go back and forth with each other.
“And I’m telling you, I understand and I will make sure she stays out of your room.” Katsuki grits out. Izuku can tell the omega is beginning to lose his patience and decides to step in.
“What’s going on here?” He asks, the four of them turning to look at Izuku, having finally noticed his arrival. Akari huffs, pointing a finger at her younger sister.
“Katsumi went through my stuff and drew in my sketchbook! All of my drawings are colored over now!” Akari cries, frustrated tears welling in her eyes.
Izuku’s mouth turns down in sympathy; he knows how much it hurts to have his notebooks destroyed, and he can only imagine how his oldest daughter must feel right now. Coupled with the heightened emotions characteristic of a young alpha, and this was an explosion waiting to happen.
Izuku rubs a hand across Akari’s back as she sniffles, holding back tears. Izuku turns to his mate, noticing the lines creasing his forehead. If Izuku had to guess, he’s been going back and forth with Akari for a minute now, and was in need of a much needed break in order to cool off.
“Why don’t you take Katsumi to her room? I got this.” Izuku says, trying to comfort his omega through his calming scent. Katsuki swallows, expression melting into relief as he nods his head. He takes a deep breath before picking up Katsumi and starting to walk down the hallway.
“Come on, little one. And you too Hikaru, let’s go.” Hikaru grumbles under his breath as he slides off the couch to follow his mom. As the omega carries their daughter, Katsumi peeks over his shoulder to look back at the two alphas. Time seems to slow down as Katsumi sticks her tongue out at Akari, petulance written all over her face. The younger alpha growls, suffocatingly angry alpha pheromones flood the room, Izuku unable to stop her before-
“Shut the fuck up, Katsumi!”
The command seems to take even her by surprise, green eyes widening as she clasps a hand over her mouth, looking to Izuku with panicked eyes. Katsuki stops in his tracks, turning around to send an alarmed glance to Akari before he looks down at his daughter in his arms.
Katsuki sets the young girl down, pulling her hands away from where they had been grasping at her face. Her eyes are wide with fear, quickly filling up with tears as she’s unable to open her mouth even to cry.
Izuku rushes to them, kneeling down to get to eye level with Katsumi as he cups her small face. He shares a look with his mate, the omega nodding with a shocked expression.
“Relax, Katsumi.” He allows the command to flow through him. Katsumi opens her mouth, immediately sobbing and burying her face into Izuku’s chest. Izuku takes her up in his arms, shushing her as she cries.
Izuku looks over his shoulder at Akari, who’s still standing in the middle of the living room. She’s nervously biting at her lip, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watches her sister cry. She makes eye contact with Izuku when she notices him looking at her before looking off to the side in guilt.
“Sit on the couch,” He says, turning as he starts to walk to his and Katsuki’s bedroom, “I’ll be back in a bit.”
He doesn’t check to see, but he knows she’ll be waiting there for him.
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Izuku sighs as he and Katsuki finally manage to settle their daughter, the girl having cried herself to sleep. They sent Hikaru off to his own room so they could deal with the situation a bit more calmly.
Katsumi breathes heavily where she naps resting her head on Katsuki’s lap, snuggling close to take in the comforting scent of her dam. Izuku feels awful that this had to be her first experience with commands. If anything, this is his fault. He should’ve paid more attention to his oldest daughter, been teaching her from the beginning how to control her alpha.
“You need to go talk to her.” Katsuki interrupts his thoughts, Izuku looking up to meet troubled red eyes. Katsuki looks down at Katsumi, stroking blonde hair from her blotchy red face. “Akari’s so much like you, she’s probably out there blaming herself to all hell. I can’t- I can’t help her the way you can.” The omega whispers.
Izuku nods, leaning to give his mate a soft peck on the lips. “I will. But I’ll need your help too. I think it’s time we start training her, huh?” Katsuki’s eyes widen, mouth dropping open.
“Fuck, is it that time already? It feels like she just barely presented yesterday.” Katsuki mumbles, eyes foggy as if lost in a memory. Izuku hums, recalling the memorable day of Akari’s secondary-gender presentation. Even though it was a tough situation then with her being their first child to present, he thinks about it a bit fondly now. He can’t believe she’s growing so fast. He just hopes he’s able to help her along the way.
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Izuku settles onto the couch next to Akari. The young alpha is avoiding his eyes, partially out of guilt, but with the way she slightly tilts her head, as if proving herself to be non-threatening, Izuku can tell her instincts are much more pronounced now than he’d realized. He grits his teeth, clearing the thoughts from his head that hiss that he should’ve known better. That attitude isn’t going to help him now.
“Katsumi is fine, she’s taking a nap. When she wakes up, I want you to apologize.” He starts. He knows telling her it’s okay and that she didn’t mean to wouldn’t satisfy his daughter. She needs a way to make up for her actions; she’s so much like her mother in that way.
Akari nods, eyes fixated on the coffee table in front of them. Izuku wracks his brain for the best way to approach this, knowing that this is one of the most important moments in helping Akari come into herself as an alpha.
“Do you remember the day your quirk presented?” He asks, Akari turning to him with confusion in her eyes. Izuku smiles reassuringly at her.
“You mean when I almost set you on fire?” She says, lip twitching as if to fight off the urge to smile. Izuku laughs, settling back into the couch more comfortably.
“I was more so thinking about after that. We tried to get you into quirk training, but you refused. You were so scared to use your quirk again, you said you didn’t want to hurt anyone. Do you remember what I told you after that?” Akari’s face falls, looking away from her dad as she bites her lip in thought.
“You said… I’d be more likely to hurt someone if I tried to avoid using my quirk at all than I would if I practiced controlling it.” Izuku nods, reaching a hand out to smooth through his daughter’s soft curly hair.
“And look how that turned out. You have perfect control, and you’ve never hurt anyone with it since.” Akari shakes her head, moving out from under Izuku’s comforting touch. His hand falls to the couch between them, brows furrowing.
“I know what you’re trying to get at, but this is different. Using my quirk is nothing like giving commands. I- I don’t want to feel like that ever again.” She wraps her arms around herself, shrinking into the cushions. Izuku takes a moment to think to himself.
“What does it feel like?” He asks. He already knows, of course. He’s no stranger to the rush that commands give a person, but he needs to understand the feeling from her perspective.
“Like… like a wave of power. I wasn’t even me for a moment. It felt- it felt evil, Dad. I don’t want to be that person.” The young alpha sniffles, and Izuku doesn’t hesitate before taking her into his arms. He holds her while she cries, letting out soothing pheromones to help calm her.
“When your mom and I first started training to be heroes, we didn’t have a great relationship,” Izuku rumbles softly. Akari’s sniffles go quiet at that, breath slowing as she listens to her alpha talk.
“Kacchan was angry, for a lot of reasons. He decided to direct that anger at me. I was his outlet. I was the person he turned to for help, even if from the outside it seemed like maybe he was just picking on me.
“One night things became too much, and we snuck out of our dorms onto the training grounds. We fought there, and that was the first time I ever gave a command.” Akari pulls back, focusing wide green eyes on him. Izuku sighs, thinking back on that late night fight at Ground Beta. The way Kacchan cried to him, silently begging him to fight back. To prove himself.
“What was it?” She whispers. Izuku looks away, that decades old guilt returning to him.
“…I lost control of myself. Pinned him down and told him to sit still.” Izuku answers, thinking back on the way Katsuki’s red eyes widened, fear flashing in them before they hardened into pure rage. He shivers.
“Thankfully, a teacher showed up and was able to undo it. That was the night I realized I really had to control my heart when it came to your mom. I wasn’t… I’m still not good at controlling my alpha when it comes to him.” Akari thinks on this, focused intently on Izuku.
Izuku hesitates before continuing, unsure if he should be telling his daughter all this. He doesn’t want to scare her, but he knows she would hate it even more if he deliberately kept things from her.
“I- I’ve hurt people, and whether or not they deserved it isn’t the issue. The point is, I didn’t do it out of heroism. I did it because Kacchan was all my alpha could focus on. When I saw him in danger, I couldn’t think about anything else. And if you’re anything like me, I can promise you it’ll be so much better to learn how and when to use your commands and control your alpha before you end up accidentally doing something you can’t take back.” Izuku locks eyes with his daughter, trying to convey to her that this is something she needs to take seriously. Akari nods eventually, inclining her head to Izuku.
“Okay. I’ll… practice with commands.”
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Kacchan cracks his neck side to side before letting out a deep breath. He opens his eyes, gaze focusing on Izuku before giving the alpha a curt nod.
Izuku nods back, turning to his daughter. She sits on the padded training gym floor of their agency, staring off into space. Izuku crouches in front of her, putting himself in her line of sight.
“I’m going to go over it again.” He says softly. Akari’s vision slowly focuses on him, eyes darting up to where Kacchan has come to stand next to them, the blonde giving her an encouraging smile. She blows out a breath before nodding to the alpha.
“You’re going to practice giving commands to your mom, okay? I’ll be here to guide you if you need help or in case anything goes wrong, but I need you to really try. Focus on simple commands. The more straightforward they are, the easier they’ll be to give.”
“Okay.” She says, standing. “Okay.” She repeats more firmly. Her face hardens in determination as she faces Kacchan. Izuku takes a few steps back to give them both space.
Akari sucks in a breath before she seems to lock up again, but before Izuku can step in, his mate is already there to help.
“You gotta relax, brat. I’m a hero, remember? I’ve trained against commands, I’ll be just fine. Trust me.” That seems to be what their daughter needs to hear. She nods, taking a moment to breathe before she focuses her vision on her dam.
“Step forward.” She says in a hard tone, face twitching in irritation when Kacchan doesn’t react.
“You have to want them to follow the command in order for it to work, love. Speak firmly and don’t hesitate.” Izuku says, arms crossing over his chest.
“Step forward!” Akari hisses, growling when Kacchan still doesn’t move. She turns to Izuku, frustration written all over her face, “I can’t do it!”
“You can, I promise. Here, maybe it’ll be easier if you watch me first.” Izuku steps up, taking Akari’s place in front of the blonde omega as she steps off to the side to watch. Katsuki raises an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Oh, you wanna command me too now, huh? I’m just everybody’s plaything today.” He laughs, cheeks going pink.
Izuku smiles, eyes darkening, “You’re always my plaything, baby. Come here.” Kacchan doesn’t even have time to react before he’s moving into Izuku’s space, the two pressing chest to chest. Well, as much as they can with Izuku being over half a foot taller than the omega.
Kacchan is unable to keep a quiet purr from rumbling in his chest as he stares up at Izuku, eyes darting down to the alpha’s lips. They break out of their trance at the sound of a throat clearing, Izuku taking a step back as he sees his daughter’s unimpressed face.
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be training me, not flirting with each other?” Izuku laughs, running a hand through his hair sheepishly.
“Yes, sorry. Did that help at all? I can do it again with less, uh, flirting.” Akari blinks at him, looking confused.
“No, I still don’t get it. Can’t I try giving you commands? Maybe it’ll work.” At that, Izuku shakes his head.
“No, love, I’m sorry. I’m your alpha, which means you can’t give me commands. It would be the same if any of your siblings presented as alpha as well. I’m your sire, so they wouldn’t work on me.” Akari deflates, hanging her head. She groans loudly before looking up at her parents again.
“Okay, fine. Can you show me again, please?” Izuku nods, positioning himself across the mat from his mate once again.
“I know it’s hard the first few times, but try to remember that the command is only as strong as your conviction when you give it. Even the smallest hint of doubt can void it. Maybe try thinking about a strong emotion you’ve felt recently and draw from that.” Izuku focuses back on Katsuki, not allowing the omega’s sultry eyes to distract him this time.
“Sit.” The omega drops to sit cross-legged on the mat, blinking down at himself once he comes out of the foggy haze of the command. He scoffs, giving Izuku an annoyed look.
“I’m not a dog, asshole.” Izuku laughs, walking over and offering his hand to help his mate to his feet.
“You obey so well, though.” He whispers in his ear, turning to Akari and ignoring the indignant sputtering from the omega.
“Any better?” He asks. Akari has her lip pinched between her fingers, muttering to herself as she gets lost in her own thoughts. Izuku cracks a smile, turning to his mate.
“Is that what I look like?” The omega turns to look at their daughter, laughing quietly.
“Down to the little crease in her brow and everything.” He whispers.
“Mm. You did a good job.” He says, curling a hand around Kacchan’s waist, feeling the softness that clings to him after having three kids. What Izuku wouldn’t give to see those stretch marks right now.
“I did, didn’t I? All me and nobody else.” Kacchan snickers teasingly and Izuku smiles, pressing a kiss to the crown of his fluffy blonde head before calling out to their daughter.
“Okay, Akari, you try. I wanna see one full command from you before we leave, alright?” That snaps the young alpha out of her thoughts, blinking back to focus.
She nods, shuffling up to the mat as Izuku takes his place near the wall again, watching intently. Akari closes her eyes briefly before opening them again, focusing on her dam. The blonde gives her the okay, signaling he’s ready.
“Step forward.” She says, the blonde picking up his foot against his will before setting it back down. The both of them turn to Izuku, Akari with excitement and Kacchan with surprise. The alpha smiles, nodding at his daughter.
“That was good! You just need to carry that command through, you’re almost there.”
They practice like that for a little while longer, Akari only managing to get up to half commands for a while. Izuku begins to think it’s nearly time to call it quits. It’s getting late and they still have to pick up Hikaru and Katsumi from Katsuki’s parents tonight, so Izuku makes a promise to himself. If Akari doesn’t get any further within the next few tries, they’ll call it for tonight and try again another time.
Just as he finishes that thought, he hears Akari’s voice again, strong with the distinct persuasion of an alpha command, “Step forward.”
Kacchan takes a confident step, eyes widening when he realizes his daughter just gave him a full command. Akari is shocked, eyes wide and darting between her parents. Izuku smiles wide, scooping up the young alpha in a strong hug, laughing proudly.
“You did it, that was so good!” He sets her down, and Kacchan comes over to join the hug, Izuku wrapping them both in his big arms.
“My little alpha, I can’t believe you’re so grown up now. What the fuck.” Kacchan pinches Akari on the cheek as they break from the hug, the girl squirming under the touch.
“Ow, Mom!” Akari laughs, managing to escape from the omega’s grip. They take a moment to cool down from all the adrenaline, as they bask in Akari’s important accomplishment.
“How did it feel?” Izuku asks eventually, voice soft. Akari looks at him, thinking on her words before she replies.
“It was still the same power, but this time I could control it. I was still me.” She smiles at him, unshed tears shining in her eyes. Izuku and Katsuki share a look, smiling at each other.
“That’s how it should be.”
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Later in the night, after all of the kids have been picked up and put to bed, Katsuki pulls his green haired alpha on top of him.
“You got me all worked up. Take responsibility, dumb alpha.” Katsuki pants against his lips. Izuku smiles, licking into his mouth before pulling back slightly.
“Oh yeah? A few commands from me got you all wet, sweetheart?” Izuku laughs cruelly when the blonde keens as he cups a hand against the wetness seeping through the omega’s shorts.
“Ah! Y-yes, please alpha, command me more!” Katsuki moans, digging his nails into Izuku’s back, sharp omega fangs on display as he throws his head back with every rub of Izuku’s fingers. Izuku growls, pressing his whole weight against Katsuki to force him back into the mattress.
“Present for me, Omega.”