Katsuki had only stepped a block away on patrol when it happened.

You were just about to open the café door—already picturing the sweet, overly specific pastry you’d been craving all morning—when it flew open from the inside. A low-level criminal burst out at full speed, cash spilling from his arms. He clipped your shoulder hard enough to make your balance wobble, the world tilting for a terrifying half-second as you instinctively moved to protect your belly.

Before you could even gasp—

“HEY.”

The explosion of sound and pressure came first. Then Katsuki.

He crossed the distance like a missile, fury written across his face in a way you hadn’t seen since his UA days. The criminal barely had time to register what was happening before Katsuki slammed into him, pinning him to the pavement with a brutal efficiency that knocked him unconscious instantly.

Katsuki didn’t even look at the villain again.

He was already at your side, hands hovering uselessly as panic replaced rage. “Are you okay? Did he touch you? Are you hurt? The baby—” His voice cracked just slightly as he crouched in front of you, eyes scanning every inch like he could will injuries into existence.

“I’m fine,” you said gently, reaching for his wrist. “Really. Just startled.”

He scowled anyway, jaw tight, shoulders still tense as smoke curled faintly from his palms. “Tch. Doesn’t matter. Bastard shouldn’t even breathe near you.” He shot a glare back at the unconscious criminal like he was considering round two.

When the café staff rushed out, thanking him profusely, Katsuki barely acknowledged them. He straightened, immediately shifting so his body was between you and literally everything else on the street.

“Come on,” he muttered, already guiding you inside with a hand firm at your back. “You’re not walking another step without me right there.”