Chapter Text
10AM. Sat in his dimly lit room, Enji sorted through paper after paper trying to finish this seemingly never-ending pile of paperwork. He made the effort to change into his hero costume beforehand because he recognised this side of pro heroism as part of the job, even if he didn't like it. This mountain of papers in front of him would take hours to get through, but Enji figured he could speed up the process if he gained some momentum. Progressively, papers were read and signed faster and faster until he was eventually whizzing through them all. It didn't take long for Enji to reach a pace he considered ideal, but once he did, his focus was immediately ruptured by the loud crash he heard below. Without the slightest hesitation, Enji frantically shot out of his room to check what the situation was.
He peered into the living room but saw nothing out of place. Then he stepped into the kitchen. His dining table was broken - one leg split and the table tilted over. The remains of a glass plate were scattered all over the floor, mixed with well made bacon and eggs that had now gone to waste. In front of all the mess stood a boy who shook with so much fear at his impending doom that he was already prepared to lose his life. He saw this enormous man, shrouded in flames, step into the room and he only felt fear.
Inasa, paralysed with this fear, couldn't utter a single sound. Unsure of how to act at all, he weakly brought his hands up and signalled for peace. In a few seconds, Enji's brain had put the pieces of the puzzle together and he realised what took place here. This wasn't a house invasion, it was just…
Enji grit his teeth for a few seconds, shaking with anger, and then…
“What the hell did you do?!” he roared.
Inasa was admittedly a little surprised the windows didn't shatter with that roar.
"Don't just stand there! Explain yourself!"
Inasa tried to give him an answer, but he couldn't look him in the eye while he did it.
"The table… fell…" he said quietly, almost like he was whispering.
"How did it fall?!"
"I… I don't know. I just leaned on it and-"
"Damn it!" yelled Enji, stomping on the ground in frustration.
Then, silence.
The heavy breathing calmed over time. Inasa still didn't move, patiently waiting for the hero to fully calm down. After Enji's pacing around the room and some hair pulling, he appeared to have finally calmed down.
"I'm sorry." said Inasa, his head still facing the ground.
On the verge of tears, he felt he needed to say it aloud. He was really sorry. In this moment, an immense guilt loomed over him. This mess was probably the worst thing he could have done to a family that allowed him as a guest.
When Inasa looked up again, Enji's expression looked entirely different.
"Kid. I just remembered." he said, as calmly as possible.
Part of him was still angry, but he knew it would be unfair to direct it all towards the frightened boy in front of him. That's why he remained as calm as he could.
"Our table was about to break anyway. We knew about the problem, but we forgot to warn you." he explained.
Inasa was silent.
"We should have gotten a new one a long time ago." he continued.
Inasa was still silent.
"What I'm saying is, this isn't your fault."
"But I still did it." said Inasa. "I've messed up your kitchen and I've disturbed your peace!"
Inasa did what he instinctively had done for years. Smashed his head on the ground and apologised profusely.
"I'm truly sorry for disrespecting your home! I understand if you won't, but please forgive me!"
What in the hell was that?
Enji didn't comprehend any of the words of apology because he was too stunned at the ridiculous performance he was witnessing in front of him. There were more important matters to deal with though, which is why he tried to stop the excessive apologies.
"That's enough, kid. Get up and stop apologising. This place is a mess and we need to clean it up."
Inasa stood back up and nodded.
"Yes sir!"
"I'll get the broom - you start picking up the larger shards of glass you can see." he said. "And deal with the bacon and eggs."
Only three minutes passed, but the lack of communication between the two made it feel like ten. The two of them had cleaned up most of the mess, except for the broken table in the middle of the room of course. Inasa stood in place, once again not knowing what to do with himself. He watched Enji surveill the ground a second time, ensuring there was no longer any glass on the floor. Inasa remained unmoving, even during the time that the man left the room to put the broom away and then come back. Meanwhile, Enji was very ready to be rid of problems caused by this guest and just resume his own work.
“Now that we’ve cleaned up this place, I’ve got work to get back to. You can eat breakfast in our living room.”
All he wanted to do was get his work done in peace. To be unbothered. With that interruption out of the way, he was immediately heading back to his room. But something stopped him.
“I really am sorry. I won't bother you again.” said Inasa, apologising to the backside of a man who was done with this situation.
“Listen. I told you to stop apologising."
He turned around to speak but that's when he saw Inasa's face. Riddled with guilt. Why must he take this so seriously? Enji couldn't just ignore him when he made a face like that.
“Kid. The table isn’t a big deal. What matters is that you’re safe.” said Enji.
He just wanted the kid to stop making that face, so that’s what he said. He hoped it would do the trick. But after observing his reaction, Enji saw that it did not, in fact, work. Maybe a more direct approach?
“I’m telling you to wipe that sorry look off your face.” he said sternly.
“Sorr-”
Inasa slapped his hand over his mouth and cursed his own stupidity.
What a strange kid. Enji didn’t have time for this. He didn’t. But, he was curious. This friend of Shoto’s was quite unusual. Who casually slams their head on the ground like that? Why was the kid even in his house right now at all? He wanted answers, because he didn’t know anything about the kid who roamed around in his own home right now.
Knowing he was about to make conversation, Enji stepped back into the kitchen to grab a snack while he was away from all the paperwork. He searched inside the refrigerator for fruit while asking Inasa some questions.
“Kid. Why did you slam your head into the ground earlier?” he asked.
“Hmm?”
“Why did you slam your head into the ground?” he repeated. “It’s not a normal thing to do. Doesn’t that hurt?”
Enji asked because he wondered to himself. What would compel a child to do that? Questioning the kid was the natural response. He expected a straightforward answer, a simple explanation that would add some rationale and make this kid look less insane. Inasa paused, because he wasn’t so sure himself. He’d forgotten that it wasn’t a normal thing to do. Hand on his chin, he searched his head for an answer.
“Well… I don’t know.” he said.
Enji’s eyebrows raised up. Is this kid serious?
“You don’t know?”
“Really, I don’t. I’ve just done it for years.”
Enji found an apple.
“Can you remember why you started doing that?” he asked.
Inasa thought about it again.
“No, not really.” he said. He surprised even himself.
“That’s unfortunate.” he sighed, but then he thought.
The kid is definitely strange, but he’s a friend of Shoto’s. So Enji got an idea.
One of his ongoing regrets is how he treated his son. As a result of his actions, even if they were related by blood, they weren’t close at all. Enji didn’t know much about him, but these days he tried to make the effort to learn. Shoto wasn’t ready to do any of that though, which was fine. But. This kid that stood in front of Enji right now seemed very close to his son. Therefore, maybe… just maybe, making the effort to understand this kid could help him get closer to understanding his son as a result.
“Take a seat in our living room,” he said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Without question, Inasa did just that. The television was off, so he sat and quietly waited for whatever Enji had in mind. Actually, he was only able to last about a minute before he got too bored for this. He reached for the remote and was about to hit the power button when he heard Enji’s gruff voice call for him from the other room.
“Kid, how do you take your coffee?” he said.
Upon hearing the question so distinctly, Inasa was beginning to notice the strength naturally present in that man’s voice. He was being addressed from another room and yet - it didn’t sound like Enji was trying to project his voice at all. The man radiated power naturally. A good trait for the new Symbol of Peace. Then Inasa remembered he had to actually answer the question.
“Black!” he yelled.
Not that he knew what he just asked for, or drank coffee at all. He’d just heard it before. Soon after, Enji stepped into the room holding two mugs of coffee.
“This is for you.” said Enji, setting Inasa’s mug down on the table in front of him.
Inasa thanked him for the coffee while Enji went to sit on the chair opposite Inasa.
“I don’t want you to feel intimidated, or like you’re being interrogated.” he said.
“Thank you, but I’m not scared at all!” said Inasa, though it was an obvious lie.
“You looked a little nervous when I walked in, but if you say you’re fine, then that’s good.”
He took another sip, then set his mug back down on the table.
“You seem to be close to my son, so I’m assuming you’re a decent person.”
“I like to think so, yeah.” he laughed.
“Although, that’s only after putting aside the immature behaviour at the Provisional Hero License Exam.” said Enji, being sure to shoot a glare at the kid when he said it.
Inasa immediately looked elsewhere to avoid the glare out of embarrassment rather than fear.
“Don’t misunderstand.” said Enji. “I don’t hold it against you, we all make mistakes. You’re only a kid.”
“Mr Endeavor, I truly am sorry though! My childish behaviour affected Shoto too. I shouldn’t have done that, so I apologise.”
“It was a learning opportunity for the both of you. You also became friends as a result. I think Shoto really appreciates your presence.”
And this was his opportunity to find out why.
Meanwhile, Inasa was incredibly flattered to hear those words. He couldn’t hide his blush and before he knew it, he was already rubbing the back of his head looking stereotypically flustered.
“You think so? Well, I guess we did get really close as a result.”
“So close that Shoto thought it’d be appropriate to let you stay here while he’s on vacation, apparently.”
There he went, making Inasa feel like an intruder. Though, it’s not like Inasa didn’t think that of himself already.
Timidly, he responded, “We’re very close.”
“Uh huh. Kid, tell me the truth."
Another sip of the coffee.
“Are you with my son?”
Hold on. What?
Inasa's world just grinded to a halt. Enji opened a box that Inasa really wanted to keep shut and Inasa was entirely unprepared. Tons of thoughts ran through his head simultaneously, but the most important one was - how did he know? He preferred to not find out - he hoped it was all a joke.
"You mean like, on a team?"
"Don't lie to me. Are you dating my son?"
Enji wasn't falling for it.
"What are you talking about Mr Endeavor? We're both guy-"
“Whatever. You can keep lying, but you’re stuttering like mad. I know the truth.”
Inasa finally gave up. That box wasn’t going to close again.
“How?”
“You were far too flustered when I talked about Shoto. That wouldn’t be enough to go on but I’ve watched Shoto for a while. I may not understand him much yet, but I’ve noticed subtle things. However, he’s much better at hiding it than you.”
Harsh, but true. Because of his actions, they’d been found out. That thought devastated him. He sulked into his hands.
“What have I done?! Shoto will never forgive me!” he said.
"You and Shoto... so, Shoto is gay. And he's already dating. On top of that, he hides it from me."
Inasa switched from sulking to punching himself in the face.
"Damn it! I'm sorry Shoto!" he shouted.
"I assume you're punching yourself because you're the reason I've found out about Shoto."
The punching came to a halt, and Inasa nodded.
"Well, I'm not sure what to say." said Enji.
He tapped his coffee and stroked his chin while mentally he was trying to process this important new information.
By now, Inasa was prepared for anything this man was going to throw at him. Slurs, a slap on the face, being thrown out… anything.
"How long have you two been dating?" asked Enji.
That’s... not what Inasa expected to hear. Was he not upset?
"About half a year…"
"Alright. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Shoto would hide such a thing from me."
Inasa made the utmost effort to gauge how Enji felt about this reveal. Disappointment, anger… any negative reaction… he was ready for it, but he saw none of it.
"Please, don't hate him for it." he said.
"Hate him for it? I’ve no reason to.” said Enji.
He understood why Inasa said what he did, knowing how the society he lives in views this sort of thing. Some people were okay with it and others weren’t, but up until now, Enji had no reason to care.
"You don’t care… that he’s with a guy?” asked Inasa.
“I hadn’t thought about it before, but I don’t know what there is to think about. He seems happy and this doesn’t stop him from being a pro hero. Not anymore, at least.”
Inasa couldn’t have worded it better himself. Such acceptance made him speechless. He didn’t smile because of it, he just stared at the man in awe, as if he’d just seen a whole new world. It meant so much to him.
"I’m curious though, is Shoto interested in girls at all?" asked Enji.
"No, not from what he's told me."
"So it’s just guys. I see."
Inasa studied his reaction yet again but the man only looked like he wanted to know more. He still couldn’t believe it yet - that things were going this smoothly. He expected to be told to shut up, not to say more.
"Damn it. So every time I've asked him if he's interested in this or that girl…"
"Yeah."
"I was just trying to bond with him.” he sighed. “Now I feel like a fool."
"Mr Endeavor, it’s not your fault at all. Shoto tried to hide it all on purpose because he was worried about how you’d react."
"Did he also think I'd hate him for it? Why? Did I say something?"
"Well, I told my own parents. They didn't react very well, so that might have scared him."
"What happened?"
"Mr Endeavor… it's actually the reason I'm here."
"Oh?"
Enji was reminded that he wanted the answer to that question as well. Why was this kid staying at his place?
"I told them long ago, around the time Shoto and I started dating. That's when things went downhill. They completely flipped.” he said.
Thinking back to it all, Inasa couldn’t stop himself from shaking at the memory. His vulnerability was clearer than ever.
“Even though I live under their roof, I’m completely dead to them. They don’t talk to me at all, never share their cooking with me, they don’t even look at me anymore. That’s what my home life has become."
"All because you told them you were gay?" .
"Yeah. But then, last week, I tried to talk to them again because I couldn't take being ignored. That was a big mistake, because I underestimated how much they must hate me. I guess ignoring me was a courtesy, because when I spoke to my dad again, he got violent.”
Inasa speaking of a violent father rang differently in Enji’s ears compared to everything else he said.
“My mom only interfered when he was about to throw a chair at me. But she called me a disgrace, and told me to leave her sight." said Inasa.
Inasa made the effort to appear strong, so there were no tears to be found. No voice cracks. It was as if he was telling Enji any old story about his past. But Enji could decipher that it affected the kid more than he let on.
"I'm sorry." he said.
"Don't be, it’s not like you didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you're leagues above them. Letting me stay over and accepting me for who I am. I’m really grateful!" smiled Inasa.
"It’s no problem.” said Enji.
"I just don't get parents who hurt their kids, you know? You’re supposed to love your child, not hit them, right?” said Inasa.
That one stung, but Enji faced that feeling head on. He agreed with Inasa and hearing it aloud brought all those feelings of guilt and shame to the surface once again.
"A parent that beats their child is a bad parent.” said Enji.
"Right! Even before I came out to them, they were pretty bad. If it were a smack here and there, maybe that would be okay, but it wasn’t ever just that."
"What did they do? If you don't mind me asking."
"It's okay, I feel like I can tell you anything.” said Inasa.
Enji wasn’t sure if he was happy to hear that, but he listened anyway.
“Sometimes, most of the time, my dad would give me a punch if I misbehaved. Just one, in the face, but it hurt. He always said it was discipline but, sometimes, if he was angry enough, he'd slam my head into the ground-" he said, until he cut himself off mid sentence. He had a realisation.
"What's wrong? You look like something just clicked inside your head." said Enji.
"I just remembered!"
"Remembered what?"
"When you asked me why I slam my head into the ground. I remember why now!"
"Huh?"
"I started doing it without being told! That usually calmed my dad down." he said.
"That's terrible."
"Probably! But it was like a solution back when I started, so I guess it turned into a habit!" he said.
While Inasa looked upon his past so lightly, Enji pictured a parallel between Inasa’s family and his own. To think, Inasa’s experiences due to his violent father leaked out of his home life and into his person. Was this the case with Shoto too? To what extent did he hurt his own son?
“I’m truly sorry you went through such a thing.” he said.
And he meant it.
Despite not being the cause of Inasa’s suffering, he felt like it was his responsibility to help, not just as a hero, but as a father. A father trying to be better. He was still figuring out how to make things better for his own family, a task that weighed heavily on his mind each day. He had a few ideas and sending the family away on a vacation, without him, was one of them. Yet, with every new idea he came up with, he knew that none of them made up for the years of pain he inflicted on them all. Especially Shoto.
But damn it. If he could make things better for at least one kid suffering under their father, there’s no way he wouldn’t do it.
“Inasa. You’re welcome to stay over here whenever you like.”
This conversation was just a series of pleasant surprises for Inasa.
“Really? Whenever I like? Am I part of the family then?!” he said, unable to control his big pure smile.
“Calm down.”
“Right, right, right.” he nodded. He couldn’t help being excited though.
“You shouldn’t have to stay in such a place anymore. I want this house to be a place where you can feel safe.” said Enji.
He could have figured out some random home to send the kid to, but he saw that as passing the issue onto someone else. He wanted this burden to be his.
Slowly, tears were beginning to form in Inasa’s eyes.
“Thank you, Mr Endeavor! Thank you so much!”
“It’s no problem at all. And call me Mr Todoroki from now on. You’re my son’s boyfriend, after all.”
“Will do, Mr Todoroki!” he said. He was so ready to wear that out.
Enji couldn’t help but gently smile. The kid’s enthusiasm was infectious it seemed.
“But seriously, Mr Todoroki, thank you for accepting us.”
“Us?”
“Shoto and I. You aren’t bothered that we’re gay, so that makes me really happy!”
“Is that so?”
“Yup! Honestly, I don’t get to talk about it much, and my family not accepting me hurt a lot. So hearing you be okay with it all meant a lot to me.”
Then the shower of tears started appearing.
“Actually, I’m really, really grateful.” said Inasa, wiping his eyes as the tears ran down his face. “You have no idea. I’ve always wanted... to be in a place... where I felt safe!” he cried.
“This is the place. You’re safe here.” said Enji.
Enji wasn’t very experienced at comforting, but he wanted to try it now. He got up and sat next to Inasa. He’d seen it in movies before, where a father touches their child’s head. He could give that a try.
He held his hand above Inasa’s head and left it there for a moment, before slowly bringing it down. When his hand was on top of Inasa’s head, he raised it back up again then brought it back down and repeated this motion almost robotically. What he was attempting to do was very different from what he was actually doing. He was basically hitting Inasa on the head.
“Haha, what are you doing Mr Todoroki? That’s the worst head pat I’ve ever seen!” he said, simultaneously laughing and crying.
Embarrassed, Enji immediately retracted his hand.
“Did I not do it right?”
“Ahaha, not even close! But it’s the thought that counts!” he said, eventually drowning out the tears with joyful laughter.
“Whatever.” mumbled Enji, going back over to his own seat. “So, as I understand it, you begged me to let you stay here for a few days because of your family.”
“Yes. I needed to get away for some time, so I told Shoto. We were going to spend time together for a week and I was supposed to book a hotel for that time. He helped me pay.”
“You kids have that money? And why didn’t he offer to let you stay over here anyway?”
“He told me he didn’t want me to have to stay in a place like this, but I don’t get what he meant. This place is very nice - even though I created a mess in the kitchen…”
Enji knew what Shoto meant.
Damn it! Damn it all. Shoto can’t even feel comfortable bringing his boyfriend into his home. He despises this place that much… and Enji knew it was all his fault.
“Anyway, I only booked four days instead of seven. It was too expensive in the end, so I was going to go home early, but I wasn’t able to bring myself to go back there yet. I guess even he’d forgotten that he was going to be away this week.” he said.
Enji didn’t hear any of it. All he could hear was “I hate you” in his own son’s voice as he drowned in guilt.
“I need to apologise to him,” said Inasa. “I must have really put a lot on his shoulders. Oh, wait! Mr Todoroki.”
Enji didn’t respond. He was spaced out.
“Mr Todoroki! Hey!” he shouted, snapping the man back into reality.
“Huh? Oh, sorry. What was it?”
“Please don’t tell Shoto that you know he’s dating me, or that he’s gay. I think he might have been trying to avoid this as well.”
“I won’t say a thing.”
“I’m sorry he feels like he can’t tell you yet. If only he knew that you’d be so positive about it!”
If only this kid knew what Enji knew.
“It’s okay, he doesn’t want to tell me yet. I should respect that. My mouth is shut.”
Inasa smiled again.
“Thanks a lot!” he said.
Inasa glanced at his untouched coffee and felt grateful again. For years now, he’s wished for something like this. Not just a role model to look up to, but one in his life that cares about him. One that accepted him for who he is. Right now, this moment was euphoric.
“Mr Todoroki, this may sound weird to hear, but…” he shyly looked down and twiddled his fingers. “I wish you were my father instead.”
He didn’t look back up, he was still too shy. It was much easier to say something so embarrassing while not looking in the man’s eyes. But when he didn’t hear anything for a while, he looked up. That’s when he realised, he shouldn’t have said that.
Inasa couldn’t see Enji’s face because the man looked straight down, but he had put the coffee down and was clenching his fist while shaking. Was he angry?
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that! Please, forget it.” said Inasa.
“Don’t say such a thing to me. I’m not a good father.” he said.
“What are you talking abo-”
“I think we’ve talked for too long. I’ve got work to get back to.” he said. With no further words, he was up and out of the room, leaving Inasa alone
What?!
Inasa was a mixture of confused and shocked. He meant it as a compliment - why did Enji’s mood suddenly flip?
“He’s not a good father? Why would he say that?”
His stomach rumbled.
"Oh. Guess I'm still hungry."