Chapter Text
The heterochromatic hero, albeit spent from fighting off another one of the League of Villain’s goons, stepped through the rubble of the damaged building. His guts and practice told him to scan the area once more before finalizing his reports. The sirens and chatter of the rescue team and clean-up crew rang throughout the scene. And just as Shoto thought the coast was clear, he caught a figure through his peripheral vision in a dark alleyway, a little ways away from the damage.
Out of instinct, the pro-hero shoots out ice from his foot extending to where the figure’s own legs were, effectively trapping them. Shoto calmly draws closer towards the figure before he stopped halfway, watching as the ice sizzled and melted around their legs. Mildly irritated that he would be stalled longer, dealing with this-what looked to be a villain- instead of being home with his little family. His flames lit up, the brightness illuminating the person’s figure. Shoto’s bi-colored hues widened in realization before he stepped back in a proper fighting stance.
“Relax. You won, little brother,” the villain stepped closer, further revealing his patchwork, calm features.
The younger male’s flames and protective ice intensified once his opponent, Dabi, took another step. The raven-haired villain rolled his eyes before raising up both arms in surrender, signaling the hero to calm down.
“This how you greet your big brother? Just wanted to talk,” he sighed, husky voice void of emotion.
Shoto’s eyes narrowed and refused to let his guard down. Dabi continued to step closer, both scarred hands in view.
“C’mon, I just wanted to congratulate you on your son.”
The statement alone alarmed the hero, he kept most of his family life details confidential to the public other than the knowledge that he was a married to the pro-hero, (Name). The mention of his three-year old son instantly put his protective senses on edge.
“Though I’m hurt, I was out of the loop for what? Two? Three years?” the villain feigned offense. Noticing the confusion flickering between the silver and cerulean hues, Dabi’s lips curl into a sardonic smile,
“You’re not very discreet either. Enrolling him in the same pre-school we went to?”
Angered, shards of ice pushed the unsuspecting, ravenette away, too fast for him to dodge. The villain grunts in pain, and Shoto marches forward in fury, intent on ending the man, momentarily blinded from the fact that he was still family despite their opposing directions.
The ice was quickly melting, as Dabi muttered one last time, his pearly white maniacal grin on display before being swallowed by the darkness of a portal,
“Careful, you perfect masterpiece,”
Shoto’s flames burst forth, missing the disappeared villain but not missing his final words,
“I’m not the only one who knows.”
That encounter a month ago sent the pro hero into paranoia, going as far as moving little Touya to a new daycare and finding a new place to move in the next two weeks. The sudden change was well understood by you, despite it stressing her out.
“Sho, we’ll be fine. It’s just a little stop over to the grocery,” you reassured into the phone, while backing up your car to park. You looked back , checking the side mirrors as you positioned the car parallel to the rest.
Your little Touya’s legs were kicking in the back seat, quietly playing with the Ground Zero action figure on his lap. He looked up at you from under his messy white locks, big cerulean eyes glinting in happiness, especially when he knew his mommy was bringing him to the grocery to purchase his favorite snacks for being such a good boy in school. The sight made your heart warm and full, as you shoot him a quick kissy face, to which he sheepishly smiles before looking back down.
“Are you sure you aren’t followed?”
You held back a sigh before patiently answering your husband, his calm tone masking his obvious worry and fear,
“Yes, baby, I’m sure.”
It was silent on the other line for a while, and you use this as an opportunity to turn off the engine before getting out of the car to unbuckle Touya’s children-safe seatbelt from the back. He immediately lifts his arms towards you, action figure still in his grasp, and you picked him up with a practiced one arm.
“When do you think you’ll be home?”
You hummed in thought as you, shift your shoulder to fixate your phone to your ear as your free hand shuts the door before clicking your car keys, the locks shuttering followed by the tell tale alarm.
“In about thirty minutes I guess, it’s just a quick stop to get Touya’s ice cream sandwich and soba.”
You smiled at the last statement, finding the fact that your son loved the same food as his father endearing.
“Okay, I’m being dismissed early.”
“Great! What time? Want me and Touya to pick you up?”
You asked, knowing it will make Shoto happy and that your son enjoyed seeing your husband’s ever brash co-worker, and your high school classmate, Katsuki Bakugou. Unfortunately for Shoto, Ground Zero was Touya’s favorite uncle and hero, a fact that the blonde would never let his rival live down.
“In an hour, and if its not a trouble for you both.”
“Not at all! Anything you need while I’m here?”
You walked into through the glass doors, snow-haired son in your hold as you looked for the carts.
“Body soap for Touya, the one that bubbles. We ran out when I bathed him this morning.”
You rose a brow in question, while you pulled out the cart.
“But, I just bought that a few days ago. How did-“
“I don’t know.”
Your husband quickly answered, and you began piecing things together, from how long they took in the tub this morning to the extensive amount of towels in the laundry. You sighed before chuckling, deciding to humor him.
“Mm, ‘kay, got it. Anything else, Sho?”
There was another pause and you took the chance to ask your three-year old,
“Do you want to ride on the cart, baby?”
He shook his head, white wisps of hair whipping as he did, and you smiled, knowing your son wanted to act like a big boy sometimes.
“Oh, check the bananas, you might find twin bananas by chance.”
You deadpan at his silly belief on that wive’s tale that told him you’d get twins on your next pregnancy, if you consumed such, “Sure, see you, Sho.”
He hummed, giving you his usual brief reminders of safety before ending the phone call.
You tucked your phone into your purse, before finally directing your full attention to your son who was clinging to your pencil skirt. You grinned, bending down to place a kiss on his ruddy cheeks,
“Ready to get your ice cream, and soba, quirt?”
He eagerly nodded, cerulean hues gleaming with =excitement, muttering a shy, “Yes, Mommy.”
Touya took on his father’s un-talkative personality, and your patient, bubbly mannerisms. You and Shoto enjoyed seeing his development as he grew, and as a mother, you gained a habit of attributing some traits of his to some of your personalities as a couple. He was truly a beautiful child, snow-white hair in stark contrast to his bright blue eyes, and his cheeks were soft and chubby, a spot you could not resist kissing. He was smart, sweet, demure, and clingy with his parents. Little Touya made you proud, and in contrary to what most parents complained about raising a toddler, your son was surprisingly easy to parent.
Both of you headed for the soba first, and when you grabbed the first item, you began remembering other things that you would need for the week. So, you both took your time grabbing the things you needed, Touya hovering close by you, playing with his action figure making small “boom” sounds in his quiet voice. He would fly his toy, sometimes pretending to bounce them against the cartoons of cereal, followed by his makeshift sound effects before rushing to your side, gripping the hem of your skirt. You ruffled his mess of white locks, heart warming at his clinginess. While you loved his clinginess, part of it also made him unsure and hesitant sometimes, so you took mental note to encourage your child and expose him to different environments as much as you could.
Once you reached the toiletries aisle, Touya gently tugged at your skirt, gazing up at you with those shy, big cerulean orbs,
“Want to help…Mommy,” he expressed softly. The gesture made you swoon despite raising him for three years, you could never get enough of your child. So, you patted his head and point towards the other end of the aisle, where another person was scanning the shelves.
“Remember your favorite bubble bath, baby? The blue one?”
He nodded eagerly.
“Get one over there, okay? Mommy will get Daddy’s shampoo here and wait for you.”
The boy dashed over to where you pointed, his hair bouncing after him and you took note to bring him for a haircut. Once Touya reaches the end, squatting down to look for his bubble bath. You smiled, knowing it will take some time for the boy to recognize and recall his memory for the item. So, you turn away for a brief moment, to look at the upper shelves for shampoo.
Touya’s deep blue eyes skim over the array of bubble bath one by one before he recognized what he was looking for. He smiled, excited to make his mother proud of him being a big boy who can help her with groceries. A shadow loomed over him and he could not help but look up at the tall hooded figure, a medical mask over his features,
“Fuck, this is the kid’s section,” the male muttered, making Touya gasp when the stranger said the forbidden word his uncle Katsuki always used. His mother would give this man a spank if she heard him say the bad word.
The tiny gasp seemed to call out the man’s attention as he glanced down, to see a small snow-haired boy, the color momentarily reminding him of his mother’s, and eyes—reflecting his own. The sight of his partly covered burn scars and staples under his eyes caused the smaller boy’s eyes to widen. The taller male waited for the kid to begin crying, to wail out for his parent, or just run, so he merely gave him a stare down, his cerulean hues glowering at the curious identical ones. Normally, when he was in the mood, he’d pull down his mask to reveal a bloodcurdling expression to scare the kid off, but he didn’t.
To his surprise, the boy simply stared up at him, seemingly awestruck. The more the man stared and observed, the more he felt some sort of familiarity with the child, something in his guts told him this was not just some kid in a grocery with his parents. It made him curious, so he waited to see what the boy would do.
Touya finally furrowed his brows, slightly shaking his head at the man, “No bad words.”
The hooded stranger rolled his eyes, about to tell the kid to fuck off, though he was admittedly amused at the audacity of this mouse-like child to scold a dangerous panther as himself. His insult died in his mouth when he flinched at the feeling of soft skin touching his scarred ones before a cold item was placed in his grasp. He looked at the foreign object to find a fruity bubble bath in his palm. He stood there, caught off guard, confused, while the kid reached for another one of the same for himself.
He did not know what to do with the flurry of bewilderment and realization that someone, let alone a kid, willingly touched him—a being normally feared and avoided. That interaction alone disoriented his usually calm and tactical nature.
Meanwhile, little Touya was proud he helped out a stranger by giving him his favorite bubble bath. He looked like he had difficulty before, but not anymore. He would tell Daddy and Uncle Katsuki later, they would be proud of his heroic deed. Once he realized that the stranger did not say thank you, he was about to remind him with one of the lectures his father taught him about good manners, but the sound of a rolling cart nearing the pair with identical cerulean hues stopped him.
“Touya?”
Touya.
The man visibly tensed. There was sudden pang at his chest upon hearing his real name called after ten years. Or was it twelve years? Hell, he didn’t know. It was just a long time. The way it was so lovingly said, the way it sounded so motherly, awfully reminded him of his own mother before he was unwillingly separated from her. There was a surge of panic and animosity in his veins at the sound of it. Memories and emotions attributed to his name caused his head to pound at the sudden intrusion of feelings he didn’t bother to address. He felt his hands increase in heat as he whipped his head to the owner of the voice, dreadful to see what he will find.
“Did you find it, baby?”
It was indeed a woman.
Fuck, it was Shoto’s woman.
Pieces of the puzzle quickly pieced together as the alabaster-haired boy skipped to her side, responding with a soft, “Yes, mommy” before stretching his tiny arm up to pass his item.
Suddenly, he knew why the boy felt familiar, why there was this unexplainable feeling in his gut. That silvery mess of hair, the cerulean hues of his father—of himself and half of his brat of a brother. This was Shoto’s son—hell, it was his nephew, if he were graced with the rights of a family.
“Good job! Did you make a new frie-“
You paused, as you took in the man in front of you, his onyx locks peaking through the hoodie, scars peeking from his mask. You instinctively dropped the bottle you held in favor of picking up Touya, positioning yourself in a defensive stance. You felt your son pout that you dropped what he picked up for you, but you ignored him, intent on protecting your son.
“Shit, Dabi,” you mumbled, making sure there was sufficient distance for you, discreetly touching your cart to use your telekinesis quirk.
“Mommy, no bad words,” your son quietly whined.
You ignored your son for now, and you’d apologize later, but right now you were gauging your possible opponent’s movement. You knew Dabi was a villain, but part of your family-oriented nature refused to ever directly encounter him. However, whatever actions he would take would determine how you would perceive him, either you’d be left alone, and you’d silently regard him as family, or he’ll attack and you’d strip him off the unspoken title forever.
Dabi lifts up his free hand, and you shift your heel back, cart about to fly towards him. But you were cut off when he simply waved his arm dismissively,
“Touya, huh?”
You observed his blank expression carefully, somewhat surprised he did not immediately attack as you were a Todoroki and could be used against one of the top three pro-heroes which your husband is. On the other hand, you were somewhat curious as to what he felt about his nephew having his name or whether he felt anything at all under that empty expression he constantly sported.
On the other end, the older Touya’s emotions were creating a pandemonium in his gut. He was confused as to why his little brother would name his son, who apparently seemed too fucking pure, with a name that belonged to a devil like him. He did not understand why, but he suddenly decided he would do nothing, though he was sure there would be repercussions if any of his cronies found out. And to both of your surprise, the villain simply turned around and walked away.
You shakily exhaled, releasing the cart, the components shaking inside as the wheels hit the floor. Instinctively, you decided it was best to immediately leave and meet your husband at the agency as promised. While Dabi left you alone, you couldn’t risk it, especially with your son around. You leave your purchases and powerwalk to the exit, Touya still within your protective grasp. You rushed to the car, making a quick work of your son’s seatbelt, and while he began to feel upset, he also felt the urgency and panic in his mother’s movements.
“M-mommy… did not want bubbles?” he asked softly, partly feeling scared he disappointed you hence the abrupt leave.
For a while, you calmed at the sound of his gentle voice, so you glance at the rearview mirror, after checking for any possible villain.
“Of course, Mommy wanted it, baby. You did a good job,” you assured him as you drove out of the parking lot. This seemed to cheer up the upset child, his eyes lighting up.
“Mommy just thinks you can help her look for more at another grocery, near Daddy’s workplace,” you explained, deciding to keep his innocence out of the gravity of the situation.
You’ll warn him later about strangers and bad guys.
“Do you want to go see Daddy before that?”
Touya’s little legs began kicking in delight before humming a ‘yes, mommy.’
You parked your car in a spot closest to the building, anxious to see your husband. You sent him a quick text to meet you at the lobby, before you got out of the car with your son in your arms, still high on the fear that anyone could hurt him. Once the security welcomes you, the staff already familiar with you, you felt some sort of safety, knowing that no villain in their right mind would come charging into a hero agency, of all places.
You settled in one of the couches, denying the receptionist’s offer to bring you up to Shoto’s office. You just wanted to get out as soon as possible or stay surrounded in an area where heroes were currently coming in and out. You held Touya in your lap, and he did not complain about your possessive arms one bit, considering he was clingy himself. He was busy continuing his imaginary scenarios of his action figure while you calmed your breathing and palpitations.
You were a pro-hero, and so was your husband. It was not that you did not trust Shot and his abilities but the whole ordeal had shaken you off like never before despite facing danger head on countless times. You wanted to protect Touya, keep him safe, as all mothers should, but as a pro hero and a pro hero’s wife for that matter, the risk of you not being able to protect him was higher. Villains would directly target any of your family to break the other, and that terrified you. It terrified you to think that in that split second you turn away from Touya to look for shampoo, Dabi could have done something—he could have hurt him, and you’ll never forgive yourself for it.
“-are ‘ya even listening to me, Half and Half!?”
The familiar growling and stomps caused you and your son to look over the pair that walked out of the elevators, one dressed in his suit while the other sported his hero suit without the gauntlets. Shoto ignored the blonde, glancing about in search of you. And when you caught his gaze, you grabbed lifted up Touya and rushed towards him. Despite his face being void of emotion, his heterochromatic eyes lit up at the sight of you and his son.
He barely said his greeting when you threw yourself into his arms, Touya instantly clinging onto his fathers’s neck with a faintly yelped ‘Daddy!’
You allowed yourself to breathe in the familiar cinnamon and musky scent of your husband, the warmth and familiarity providing the much needed solace you sought.
“Oi, would you both quit it with the fucking PDA?” Katsuki sneered behind you, till a head of white hair popped up from his rival’s shoulder. His scowl morphs into a smirk that only grew when he recognized the Ground Zero action figure in his grasp.
“Hey, brat, why don’t you come over to Uncle Bakugou and show him your favorite hero?”
While he hated Icy Hot’s guts, he would never admit how attached he felt towards little Touya, related or not.
You smiled up at your old friend before you placed down your son, now secure with letting him out of your grasp in favor of the explosive male. Touya all but sprinted towards ‘Uncle Bakugou’ the title that grew on the rather gruff male the more he spent time with the snow haired boy.
“Your trip to the grocery was quick,” your husband stated, implications of a needed explanation underneath his deadpan tone. He knew something was amiss from the moment you dashed into him to the way you were holding your arms in insecurity.
You hesitated; gaze averted from him as you thought of how you were going to deliver the news to Shoto. He placed his warm palms on your biceps, silently reassuring your visibly shaken figure.
“Dabi came,” you bluntly stated, still not looking at him.
You felt his palms tense against your skin, almost squeezing them. Panic flows through his body and he quickly scanned your figure, checking to see any damage before turning around to do the same to his son. You stopped him, still not ready for his attention and presence to be averted,
“He’s fine,” you gulped, “we’re fine.”
“Are you?” he pressed and when you finally looked at him, his eyebrows were furrowed. Concern, fear, and slivers of anger swimming in silver and cerulean pools, you could feel the tightening of his muscles under his skin. The way his jaw was clenched and how he did not hesitate to pull you once again into his chest told you he was just as panicked as you initially were.
“Yes,” you mumbled into his chest, “he didn’t do anything.”
Slowly, you released each other from your embrace, but you held each other close nonetheless. You both look over to where Touya was seated on Katsuki’s shoulders, the male snarling when the toddler gripped his unruly locks too hard while he laughed out, waving the action figure in the air,
“Die! Die! Die!”
You were finally entering into the familiar state of security, relishing the feeling of your husband’s protective arm on your waist while you watched the brightest of smiles appear on your son’s elated features.
“He didn’t do anything,” you muttered once more.
That night, you refused to let Touya sleep in the nursery, and Shoto agreed to the idea of having your son sleep in your shared bed tonight. You stood over the bed, watching your little angel sleep, the lampshade illuminating his silvery hair framing his closed eyes, lashes resting on his chubby cheeks. While you already felt safe, you couldn’t sleep, bothered by the fact that a villain, that Dabi did nothing at all. He was stronger than you, and you were sure he could have easily overthrown you, but that was just it—he didn’t.
An arm wrapped around your waist, pressing you closer to his side and you let out a sigh. You leaned against Shoto’s shoulder,
“Are you alright?” your husband asked, his thumb rubbing soothing circles around your stomach.
“Yeah,” you quietly replied, “I guess I was just surprised he left us alone.”
Shoto hummed, pulling you impossibly closer, trying to comfort you in his own discreet way. The event confused him as well, especially since their last encounter, Dabi barely did him harm even when he caught his family, vulnerable.
Was it because he did not serve the “false heroes” purpose? Was it because his older brother respected him as a true hero? Did he stop caring about it? Or was he plotting something else? Did the fact that he named his first son by Dabi’s real name confound him? Or did it not affect him at all?
You both didn’t know.
But right now in your husband’s protective embrace, your presence alone, and your son peacefully sleeping under his parent’s care, you both realized it didn’t matter for now.
Whatever was to come, you would have each other as family, as Todoroki’s.
Your momentary silence and feelings of peace were interrupted though when Shoto’s palms began caressing your form in an all-too familiar way. You sighed in bliss when he began placing feathery kisses against your neck. Your husband perhaps needed some physical assurance of some sort after what happened today, and you were about to suggest taking this somewhere else, when he lowly whispered into your ear.
“(Name)?”
You moaned softly when he gently tugged your earlobe with his teeth, starting to feel your body heat up at the action alone.
“Would you like another child, perhaps?”
The suggestion caused blood to rush through you tenfold, your initial adrenaline from your edged emotions returning. You whimpered when he gradually added vigor into his kisses,
“Yes.”
But as fast as your body warmed up, so did it simply stopped responding,
“How’s twins this time? You ate those twin bananas, right?”
SMACK.
“Shoto, you cockblocked yourself!”
~
The same night, in another location far from center of the city, a certain patchwork male stared at the bubble bath product in his shabby bathroom. His emotions mellowed out as time passed, but his confusion remained.
“Touya?”
He’d be caught dead before he admitted that he missed his mother.
That the wonder those cerulean hues held baffled him.
And that the fact that his damn little brother chose to name his son by him.
Dabi let a heavy breath through his nose, tucking the bubble bath away behind numerous other bottles with questionable contents behind the cabinet. He’d be damned if anyone saw he owned a toddler’s product, let alone a bubble bath.
He closed the cabinet.
Well, if there was another Touya Todoroki in this world, he knew, judging by the sound of your voice, and the man his little brother had become—little Touya Todoroki would have the family he never had.