Chapter Text
“I’m not having this argument again, Keigo.”
“It wouldn’t have to be an argument if you would just admit that I’m right!”
Touya and Keigo sat in Keigo’s bedroom. Now that the weather had gotten colder, they could no longer sit at Touya’s favourite spot in the clearing in the forest surrounding the CTC. There were a limited number of spaces they could hang out comfortably inside, so they’d had to get a little creative when picking their somewhere new. After some experimenting with stairwells that got minimal foot traffic and briefly contemplating using unoccupied offices, Keigo finally volunteered the use of his own room. Honestly, Touya was just thankful to get away from the steps that would dig into his back after sitting for so long on the stairs.
Keigo, who had been resting his head on Touya’s leg, sat up abruptly. “How could you be older than me? That logic doesn’t make sense!”
Touya, leaning against the wall parallel to Keigo’s bed, rolled his eyes. “Keigo, I’m born in January, you’re born in December. I’m older. My logic makes perfect sense.”
“But we’ll both be ten years old!” Keigo argued, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “We’re born in the same year, therefore, we’re the same age!”
Touya rolled his eyes again, making it so exaggerated that it almost hurt a little. “Whatever you say, baby bird.”
He knew that was Keigo’s least favourite nickname out of all the ones he’d given him. Touya didn’t use it too much, but for special occasions like this, he couldn’t help himself. It made Keigo pout, annoyed in the way that made Touya laugh instead of feel guilty. He knew it didn’t actually hurt the younger boy’s feelings, after all.
Still, the use of the nickname caused Keigo to retaliate, Touya only catching a short glimpse of that strong pout on Keigo’s lips before he summoned up a couple of feathers and got his revenge.
“I told you not to call me that!” he said petulantly, tickling Touya relentlessly with his feathers.
“Not my fault… you’re so small… and cute,” Touya gasped between laughs.
“We’re basically the same size!” Keigo argued as the attack continued.
It lasted another couple minutes before Touya finally surrendered and apologized, fairly certain if he didn’t, he may never reach his eleventh birthday.
Touya took a few seconds to catch his breath, getting the last of his laughs out. Keigo, who’d crossed his arms and pouted once again, slowly let out his own, soft laughter. It seemed he couldn’t stay mad, and Touya liked laughing together much better than the one-way tickling assault.
Once he’d finally pulled himself together, Touya sat upright against the wall again. Keigo joined him.
“So what are you doing for your birthday, anyway?” Touya asked.
Keigo tilted his head slightly. “What do you mean?”
“You know, how are you celebrating?”
“Celebrating?” Keigo’s face scrunched up. “What would I celebrate?”
Touya’s smile dropped a little. “You mean you don’t… celebrate your birthday at all?”
Keigo almost seemed to find that funny. “No,” he said, “why would I? It’s just another day.”
That kind of blasphemy almost made Touya want to put a hand over his heart from hearing it. Did Keigo really just say something like that?
“I mean, I guess, but…” Touya wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. “It’s still, like, your day. It’s the day you were born. That matters.”
Keigo still didn’t seem to get the appeal. “Heroes don’t have time for personal matters like that,” he dismissed easily, and Touya recognized the line parroted straight from their handlers. He was so tired of their propaganda, and he was almost equally as tired of Keigo not only repeating it, but believing it.
“Heroes are busy, Keigo, but you’ll still get some personal time, you know,” he answered flatly.
Keigo seemed to think about that, but Touya could tell he still wasn’t getting it.
“Maybe, but…” He sighed. “I don’t know…”
The fact that Keigo didn’t even understand what he was missing broke Touya’s heart. The Commission really didn’t do anything for him? Didn’t give him a muffin or something? Touya couldn’t imagine just letting his birthday pass without rubbing it in his siblings’ faces, at least, lording the faint superiority over them for as long as the 24 hours of his birthday let him. But, then again, of course the Commission wouldn’t even let Keigo have one, single day to feel good. He deserved better than that – he deserved a celebration.
“Well, I’ll tell you something I do know,” Touya said, making his decision easily. “We’re celebrating your birthday, and I’m going to make it absolutely awesome.”
Keigo smiled slightly, looking down at his hands before looking back at Touya again.
“That’s… really sweet, Touya,” he said after a pause. “Thank you.”
Touya smiled, too, but he caught himself before it got too wide and obvious. He couldn’t let Keigo think he was soft, especially not when he was getting more excited about this celebration than Keigo was himself.
“Yeah, well, it’s whatever.”
It was Keigo’s turn to roll his eyes. “You’re such a loser.”
Touya slumped against the wall, grumbling. “A loser who’s throwing you a birthday party.”
Touya remembered being really fond of Christmas when he was younger. He remembered decorating the house with Natsuo. He remembered listening to his mother and Fuyumi play beautiful Christmas music on the piano. He remembered his mother taking him and his two siblings on walks downtown to see the illuminations – pretty displays of colourful lights – and the Christmas market. And he had especially fond memories of having ‘sleepovers’ in the living room with his siblings, where they’d try to stay up all night and catch Santa. Touya didn’t really believe in Santa, but it was still a fun excuse to stay up and pretend.
When he’d gotten older, though, those Christmas memories started to fade away. By the time he turned six, Endeavor had began training him full time. Whatever days Endeavor had off was spent improving Touya, and so all the Christmas memories became something he’d watch in the distance. Once he was nine, he’d been enrolled in the Commission’s program as well, so he didn’t even get to watch any of the traditions he used to be a part of, didn’t even hear about them anymore as he was isolated from his family.
Touya still spent a lot of his time training. Even without Endeavor now, he was at the CTC for most of the day, every weekday. He had his weekends, as Keigo was the only one who still trained then, but honestly, he would’ve been fine staying and working with Keigo alone, without the other trainees. His handlers were very particular about Keigo’s individual training time, though.
Instead, in order to see Keigo outside of training, he’d sometimes stay late into the evenings on Mondays and Wednesdays, which were Keigo’s nights off. Otherwise, Touya was at home with his family, which he was beginning to appreciate. He missed training with his father, but he was still confident that if he kept up with his skills at the Training Centre, he’d be able show him his improvements and get back in his good graces. So far, Touya had managed to improve a lot, and he was pretty sure he’d have something impressive enough to show his father soon.
But he could also accept the free time he had before that happened. He got to see Keigo all the time. He played video games with Natsuo, watched stupid musical movies with Fuyumi that he swore he only watched ironically, and gardened with his mom. There were so many mundane, little things to enjoy around the house, especially without Endeavor around to mess things up.
“Touya, sweetie, could you pass the sugar?”
Touya smiled up at his mom, reaching across the counter to hand her the bag of sugar. “Here, Mom.”
She smiled back at him, her face lighting up the whole room. She had such a welcoming energy, and it made Touya feel safe in a way he never used to in this home.
“Do you want to do the next step?” she asked.
Touya nodded eagerly, keeping the sugar instead of handing it over to his mom, and pouring it gradually in the bowl as he mixed it together with the other ingredients in between intervals.
She eventually took over the rest of the mixing, using the annoying electric mixer to make sure there were no lumps left. Once it was done, his mom let him poor the batter into the cake pan – a little slower, Touya, she’d said, you don’t want it all to one side, you have to spread it evenly.
She then smoothed it over before placing it in the oven.
“And once that’s ready, all the baking will be done for the holidays.” She dusted off her hands on the apron she wore. “Good job, Touya.”
Touya got a little embarrassed by the pride that compliment gave him. He only got more embarrassed by the request he hadn’t made yet.
“Hey, mom,” Touya asked tentatively. “Do you think we could make another cake?”
“Another Christmas cake?” she laughed. “I know it’s fun to bake, but I think the one we made will be plenty.”
“No, not for Christmas, actually, it’s for…” Touya got quiet, and he definitely wasn’t blushing. “It’s for my friend…”
His mother brow raised curiously. “Oh, a friend?” she said with a knowing smirk. “Do I know this friend?”
Touya felt weirdly vulnerable explaining this to his mom. He wasn’t used to opening up with anyone else but Keigo.
“No, he’s just a friend who’s at the CTC with me. He’s super cool and funny and… he never celebrates his birthday, so I told him I’d celebrate it with him –” he was actually mumbling now “– so that he could feel special.”
It sounded so stupid out loud, but his mom just continued to smile at him, that warmth and love that radiated from her eternal and all the more embarrassing for Touya.
“You’re so kind, Touya,” she said, gently ruffling his hair. “How considerate.”
The words nearly made Touya tear up, and he turned away to collect himself for a second. It was touching to him how much his mom loved and believed in him. He was sure that after he’d attacked her and Shoto, she would be disgusted by him, much like his father was, but, apparently, seeing how remorseful Touya was, she never even brought it up. She never guilted him about it and didn’t even act any different around him. Touya appreciated that more than he could ever put into words.
His mom, seeming to pick up on his speechlessness, spoke again. “Why don’t we go into the market tomorrow as well and see if we can find more of the ingredients we need?”
“Thanks, mom.”
Then he remembered something. “By the way, there’s one more thing…”
“Anything, sweetie,” she said reassuringly.
Touya kicked his foot lightly at the ground, most definitely blushing now.
“Well, I had this idea for a present for Keigo. I was wondering if you could help me…”
The next day, Touya, Natsuo, Fuyumi and their mother headed out into town to look at the Christmas lights and do a little shopping. Rei had intended to bring Shoto, too, but Touya had heard Endeavor’s furious protest at the mere mention of it. He refused to give up precious training time, or, “let his son go anywhere near that monster”.
Touya decided to pointedly ignore that comment. He’d been doing a lot of that lately.
But hearing all that, Touya wondered how many family outings he’d missed out on due to his own training. It was hard to know for sure, but, at the same time, he didn’t know if he would’ve had any interest in ‘family time’ if it took time away from his sessions with Endeavor or at the CTC. His world had been so overtaken by training that he hadn’t even realized he wanted to take part in these traditions or anything else with his mom and siblings. Now he understood that he could have time for training and for his family. And Keigo, obviously.
“I see lights!” Natsuo exclaimed suddenly.
He pointed excitedly down the street, and Touya caught the golden, red, and green lights in the distance. They were nearing the town.
As they got closer, Touya noticed the other people walking. There were a few families like them, but mostly it consisted of couples roaming around and holding hands. Touya knew Christmas was supposed to be a romantic holiday, but he’d never personally gotten to witness that. For them, Christmas had always been a family holiday, as Endeavor never seemed to bother interacting with any of them, let alone his wife, and especially in any positive manner. All the interactions Touya could recall were not pleasant ones between the two.
He tried to think back, remember if there was a time before the angry shouts and the loud smacks and the muffled cries, but he didn’t think he’d ever experienced it. It’d been going on forever. But maybe that’s just what marriage was. Maybe all these people here were new couples and eventually they, too, would grow to hate each other. Or maybe that’s just what his father did to people. Touya wasn’t sure which possibility was worse.
“Mom,” Touya said quietly, tugging on his mother’s shirt to get her attention. “I’m glad I get to spend Christmas Eve with you.”
Rei smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “I’m glad I get to spend it with you, too, sweetie.”
Touya felt kind of silly for saying something so cheesy, but his mom’s reply made him smile. He let the warmth of that sentiment carry him through the brittle cold of the town for the rest of the night. They walked around, gazing at all the different light displays. Fuyumi insisted on taking pictures at every single one, and Natsuo was determined to strike a different, ridiculous pose each time.
They stopped at a small local owned bakery that their mother loved after they’d picked up the groceries they’d come for. He discovered that her favourite sweet treat was dango. He hadn’t known that about her before.
On their way back, Touya and Natsuo started a snowball fight that continued on and off all the way home. When they’d finally arrived back at the house, Rei decided to let them watch a Christmas movie, even though it would last past their bedtime. They curled up together around the fire, popcorn in hand, and, for the first time in months, Touya was almost able to ignore the muffled cries echoing from the training room down the hall.
Two days after Christmas, Rei, Touya and Fuyumi gathered in the kitchen to make Keigo’s cake. Fuyumi insisted she be allowed to help, since she loved baking and they’d already made one cake without her this year. She also thought it was “so cute” that Touya had a friend he was willing to bake for. Touya hated Fuyumi sometimes.
“So we’re making a chocolate cake?” Fuyumi asked from her spot on the counter.
“Yeah,” Touya replied, getting the measuring cups from the cupboard. “Keigo’s not technically allowed to have chocolate, but one time I snuck him a chocolate bar and he loved it.”
“Why’s he not allowed to have chocolate?” Fuyumi asked, kicking her feet.
“They have a diet for him to help his training.”
“Does he get enough to eat?” Rei asked, her motherly concern making Touya giggle.
“Yeah, he does,” he promised. “It’s just mostly healthy stuff. I don’t think he’s ever even had a cake… ever”
Fuyumi pouted. “That’s sad.”
“Yeah, but Keigo’s not sad about it!” Touya complained, jumping at the chance to voice his annoyances and actually be understood for his outrage. “He just wants to be a great hero who helps people. He doesn't even know what he's missing out on! Wouldn’t it suck to never get sweet snacks?”
Fuyumi nodded in earnest. “Yeah, that’d be awful.”
“Right?! He’s just a really good person, so he never complains about it, but it’s honestly so unfair.” Touya laid out the different measuring cups he grabbed. “Like he’s such a good hero. He’s only nine, but he’s easily the most talented person in there! It’s not even a contest.”
“So he’s even more talented than you?”
Natsuo walked in, taking a spot next to Fuyumi on the counter. At this rate, they wouldn’t have any room to bake.
“Okay, I mean, barely,” Touya said, waving off Natsuo’s sarcastic comment. “But he is really talented, trust me. Like, he can use his quirk in so many different ways, and nobody else can do what he does. And we train together a lot, too, so we’re the best duo out there. When we grow up, we’re gonna be a great team – we’ll be No. 1 and No. 2! We’ll kick All Might and Endeavor right out of the running!”
“That sounds like a lot of pressure,” Rei said carefully, gesturing for Fuyumi and Natsuo to scooch over a bit so she could sort the ingredients. “Just make sure you stay friends, and everything else will fall into place.”
“Yeah, you don’t need to be a hero, you know,” Fuyumi said matter-of-factly. “I want to be a teacher when I get older.”
“Well, that’s because you barely have a quirk, Yumi,” Touya said dismissively. “Keigo and I will be heroes, and we’ll be real high in the ranks. It’s what we’ve been training for our whole lives.”
Fuyumi opened her mouth to speak again, but Rei beat her to it, “It’s okay if that’s your goal,” she said patiently, “just don’t forget that there are other things in life, too.” She handed Touya the spoon for mixing. “Like baking cakes for your best friend.”
They spent the next half an hour mixing the ingredients and getting everything ready. Touya told more stories about Keigo and the CTC, Fuyumi teased him while helping with the baking, and Natsuo just sat there like a lump, taking up counter space and also teasing Touya.
“Mom, they’re being mean to me!” Touya fake-whined.
“Oh, my poor baby,” Rei joked. “Would you feel better if I let you lick the spoon?”
This was an honour in the Todoroki home, and Touya graciously accepted. “Yes, please,” he said taking the spoon for his mom.
“Hey!” Natsuo protested. “I always get to lick the spoon.”
Touya stuck his tongue out at him. “That’s what you get for not helping!”
Natsuo pounced up from the seat he had taken at the counter and lunged for the spoon in Touya’s hand. The older boy dodged it easily and licked it.
“Bet you don’t want it now,” he taunted, holding it out to Natsuo mockingly.
Natsuo snorted. “You don’t know me very well,” he said as he grabbed the spoon and licked it, completely unbothered.
“Ew!” Touya said. “My spit’s on that!”
“Yeah, but so’s chocolate,” Natsuo said grinning.
Fuyumi and Rei were giggling somewhere behind him.
“Mooom!” Touya whined. “He stole my spoon.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie, but you really shouldn’t have antagonized him like that,” she said, stifling a laugh. “At least you and Keigo will get the cake all to yourselves.”
“You mean I don’t get any of the cake?” Natsuo cried. “How’s that fair?!”
“Oh, you shush,” Rei said ruffling his hair.
As they continued on with the baking – putting the cake in the oven and cleaning up – Touya turned to his mother. “By the way, I had a question.”
“Yes?”
“I was wondering if I’d be able to stay over at the Commission so I could celebrate Keigo’s birthday with him at midnight.”
Touya knew it was a tall ask. He used to sleep at the Commission fairly often when Endeavor was training him. Whenever Endeavor backed out of a training session last minute or got too busy to pick him up, he’d request that Touya stay the night. It wasn’t often enough that he had his own room or anything, but he did stay in the same guest room each time. He hardly ever slept there now, though, because it upset his mom.
While his father had given him permission to keep training, Rei always tried to stop him. She noticed the burns on his arms and was terrified that Touya was hurting himself. He didn’t know why she decided to make such a big deal about it – his father, his handlers, no one else cared, so why did she?
He loved his mother, and he was grateful about the time he now got to spend with her, but this was one of the annoying things about her. Touya just hoped that, maybe, when he showed Endeavor the new things he’d been working on at the CTC, he could show Rei, too, and maybe she’d also finally be proud of him for his improvements.
But this visit had nothing to do with that. This was just about Keigo. He could put all his hero stuff aside for just a bit to give his friend a good birthday.
“Pleeeease Mom?” he begged.
She bit at her upper lip. “It’s just to celebrate with Keigo?”
“Yes, it is, I promise!” he sighed, slightly annoyed.
“Okay, then,” she decided. “We’ll send you with an overnight bag tomorrow and you can stay – just the one night, though,” she added quickly.
“Thank you, mom, you’re the best!” Touya said excitedly, giving his mom a big hug.
And maybe, since she’d agreed this time, she’d agree again down the line and he could get extra training in. Then they’d all see. Then they’d finally be proud of him.
“Are you sure none of the handlers will catch us?” Touya whispered quietly, even within the safety of Keigo’s room. He wouldn’t have cared if it were just him at risk of getting in trouble, but he remembered what they did to Keigo the last time he’d broken the rules, and he didn’t care for that to be repeated ever again.
Keigo shook his head. “It’ll be fine. Most of them are home with their families for the winter break. And even the ones that are here don’t usually patrol the halls or anything.”
“Really?” Touya asked, making himself comfortable on Keigo’s bed. “Seems like something they would do.”
Keigo shrugged, moving his pillow to make room for himself. “I mean, we’re expected to stay in our rooms and stuff at night, but no one really ever checks, I guess. I’ve never really had reason to disobey until now.”
“Well, technically you’re not even disobeying,” Touya pointed out. “You’re expected to stay in your room, and we will indeed be in your room. All night, even.”
Keigo rolled his eyes. “How responsible of us,” he replied.
“Oh yes, very responsible indeed,” Touya joked back.
They both laughed, but Keigo tapered off quicker. He checked his watch.
“10:44,” he said with a sigh. “There’s still more than an hour…”
He slumped back, and his poorly hidden annoyance made Touya laugh a little more.
“What?” Keigo pouted, eyes looking a little skeptical, and maybe even self-conscious.
“Nothing,” Touya said casually. “Just that, you know, for someone who didn’t care about celebrating his birthday until two weeks ago, you sure are excited about it.”
Keigo didn’t reply. Instead, he mindlessly took one of his feathers in his hands and smoothed it over repeatedly between his fingers. He seemed to be thinking about it, or beating himself up over it somehow, and Touya hadn’t meant for that. He just thought it was sweet, is all. He wanted Keigo to be excited and impatient – he deserved to have something to look forward to other than his hero career years down the line.
“It’s not bad,” Touya finally said, seeing Keigo just go small and quiet now instead of protesting the teasing.
He hesitated before continuing, “I was worried you wouldn’t be. Excited, I mean.”
Keigo looked up at that, fingers pausing. He then looked at the feather, letting it go and just twiddling his thumbs. He shrugged.
“I didn’t think I’d be this excited,” Keigo confessed. “My parents didn’t even know my birthday, you know? I didn’t even know my birthday until the President told me. But you made it sound so fun, like I didn’t even know what I was missing. I guess I still kinda don’t…”
Touya watched him, taken a little aback. He actually hadn’t known his own birthday? The actual day he was born? The idea was completely insane. Did he even know how old he was before coming to the Commission?
He’d known Keigo’s parents were really shitty, keeping him inside and caged up in their apartment. Until now, Touya hadn’t really processed how bad it must’ve been, because if he didn’t know his birthday, then he couldn’t have possibly gone to school and be put into the right year. And if he didn’t go to school, then when he said he didn’t leave, he meant at all. He had to find out from the damn President, of all people.
That made Touya feel completely icky. The Commission may have sucked, but it might’ve actually been a better alternative than what Keigo had lived through. Still, it didn’t make these people any better.
Touya scooched over on the bed, sitting directly next to Keigo now.
“You’re not missing out,” he said, nudging Keigo with his shoulder. “Not anymore, alright? One more hour and it’ll be your birthday and we’ll celebrate, and we’ll do it every year.”
Keigo smiled sheepishly, probably feeling bad for bringing the mood down. “Thanks, Touya. It really means a lot.”
“It’s no big deal,” Touya said, brushing off the praise even as it made him feel extremely proud of himself. “We’ve gotta start having some serious birthday traditions. We’ll make up for all of it!”
“Well… I kinda have one tradition.”
Touya perked up at that. “Really?”
“I think so,” Keigo said. “I just wasn’t sure it counted, with the way you talk about birthdays.”
“What is it?”
“Well, every year on my birthday since coming to the Commission, I get a yearly physical. Not to brag or anything, but I’m always in really good health.”
Touya stared, unimpressed and once again struck by how little the Commission gave him.
“A check up? Seriously?”
“…So, it doesn’t count?” Keigo reasoned, wings drooping.
“No, it doesn’t count,” Touya said flatly. “That sucks, Keigo. That’s exactly what I’m talking about when I say the Commission’s abusive.”
Keigo frowned. “…Really?”
“The fact that they have you thinking that a physical exam is a nice reward? Yeah, that’s abuse.”
Keigo frowned. “Interesting… That never really seemed like a problem.”
“Yeah, that’s what they want you to think. Most kids get a whole birthday party and stuff. Presents and praise. Their families celebrate them. Do they even tell you ‘good job’ for your clean bill of health?”
Keigo scrunched up his face. “No,” he said eventually. “It’s mostly for checking that minor damage hasn’t slipped by in my training.”
“See? They’re checking that they didn’t fuck up. It isn’t even about you and it’s your birthday!”
Keigo nodded, deep in thought. “I never thought of it like that.”
“They praise me for other stuff, though,” he added. “Just earlier today they told me my speed was ‘adaquete’. Or last week they told me I was ‘finally showing improvement’.”
Touya stared at Keigo blankly. “That’s neutral, at best,” Touya said. “Non-abusive trainers would say things like ‘I’m proud of you’ or ‘The new move you came up with was really impressive’ or ‘your speed has increased to insane levels, good job’.”
Touya sped through the examples and tried not to dwell on the fact that he’d never heard any of those words from Endeavor, either.
Keigo’s eyes narrowed as he thought. “I don’t think they’ve ever said any of those things to me.”
“Exactly!” Touya said, getting increasingly heated – figuratively and literally. “It’s pretty messed up, honestly.”
“What else do they do that’s bad?” Keigo asked curiously.
Touya had honestly been waiting for this moment. After Keigo had told him about Room 101 and the punishment he’d faced for skipping training, Touya had been furious. It took everything he had not to go and punch the President square in the jaw. The only reason he hadn’t was because he knew they’d somehow find a way to blame it on Keigo. So instead, Touya just listened to his friend. He was a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear as Keigo vividly described the horror he faced. And even after all that, Keigo still wasn’t ready to hate on the President or his handlers. He talked about what happened, but he wouldn’t quite admit that they were abusive, and Touya often had to remind him that nothing about what he experienced was his fault.
Now, finally, two months later, Keigo seemed ready to admit, or at least ready to hear, about all the ways the President and his handlers were actually pretty fucked up.
As if he’d been taking notes, Touya pointed out a bunch of the small little things Keigo had mentioned to him that he’d flagged over the past couple months. Things like the lack of praise, the threats, the manipulation. He went on and on, and Keigo sat there nodding, occasionally interjecting and asking questions about why something that was said was bad, or trying to argue that certain things – like working poor Keigo on his twelve hours a day schedule with only one break – were actually perfectly okay.
The conversation ended eventually, not because Touya ran out of things to point out, but because he realized he may have just slightly overwhelmed Keigo with information. He quickly switched gears instead, to give Keigo a break and talk about something a little more uplifting than the way he’d been unknowingly abused for the past four years.
“You should have seen the lights, Kei!” Touya gushed. “They were all so beautiful!”
“I’ve seen them before!” Keigo agreed excitedly. “Whenever I go on my flights near Christmas, I always fly by the big cities. You should see the illuminations in Tokyo!”
“What? That’s so awesome! And it counts as a tradition.”
Keigo practically beamed at that. “Really?!”
“Yeah! You have a Christmas tradition! Is there anything else you do? Like, I bake Christmas cake with my mom, and me and my siblings sleep over in the living room to try and catch Santa.”
“Have you ever caught him?” Keigo asked curiously.
“Nah, we always fall asleep. Besides, I think we all know Santa’s not real by now, but it’s still kinda fun to hang out together and pretend.”
“That does sound fun.”
“Yeah. But what other Christmas traditions d’you got?”
Keigo looked down at his hands. “I don’t really have any more,” he admitted quietly. “I think it’s just the city flights.”
Touya smiled, taking Keigo’s hands in his. “Then we’ll put it on the list. I’ll make sure we get some good Christmas traditions in next year.”
Keigo smiled back. “And I can take you on a flight to see the illuminations!”
“That sounds awesome!”
Touya caught the glint of Keigo’s watch and smiled again. “Hey. Look at the time.”
Keigo grinned ear to ear. “It’s 11:58! It’s almost midnight!”
Touya laughed at the giddiness in his voice. He was glad he could bring so much joy to Keigo over such a simple thing as celebrating his birthday.
The two watched the clock together as time slowly ticked towards midnight. As soon as the time changed, Touya tackled Keigo and punched him lightly in the arm ten times.
“Ah!” Keigo shouted, trying to shield himself, but it just gave Touya another arm to playfully hit. “What was that for?”
“It’s called birthday beatings! One punch for every year old you are. Happy birthday, Kei.”
Keigo pouted a little. “That seems dumb, but if it means I get to punch you eleven times on your birthday, I guess I’ll handle it.”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Touya said. “Birthday beatings can only be given out by someone older than the birthday person. Sorry.”
“There’s no way that’s a rule!”
“It is so!” Touya insisted. “I just made it up.”
“Well, that’s not fair!”
“Sorry, baby bird, rules are rules.”
Keigo shoved Touya right off the bed at that one. “Hey!” Touya said indignantly. “I guess someone doesn’t want his cake and presents.”
“No!” Keigo quickly protested, using a couple feathers to help lift Touya back onto the bed. “I’m sorry, I’ll be good! Please don’t take my cake and presents.”
Touya froze for a second, staring at Keigo. The boy looked genuinely scared and only in Touya’s pause did he seem to realize it was a joke.
He tried to laugh it off. “Just kidding,” he said weakly.
Touya felt like an ass. He should’ve known he couldn’t make those types of jokes like he did with Natsuo. Being denied for such a small infraction was part of Keigo’s everyday life and ‘training’, and even though it hurt Touya that Keigo would think even for a second he’d do something like that, he also kinda understood.
If it wasn’t Keigo’s birthday, Touya may have pressed the issue. He may have delivered a whole speech about the abuse and how that was nowhere near okay, but Keigo didn’t want to focus on that right now. So Touya bit back his words and apologized with his eyes and smiled instead.
“It’s okay, Keigo, you don’t have to be good on your birthday,” he said with a short laugh. He patted Keigo on the head, using the gesture in lieu of the verbal apology he knew Keigo didn’t have the energy to hear.
Touya stood up and walked over to the closet where he had hidden the cake and the present he made Keigo.
“Here you go!” he said proudly, holding the cake out to Keigo. It had clearly gotten a little smushed, between Touya carrying it here on the bus and Keigo using his feathers to lift it through the window – so it didn’t get seen by their handlers or the President – but it was still a cake.
“Is that chocolate?” Keigo asked excited, looking ready to devour the thing.
“Yeah,” Touya said, suddenly shy. “I remembered you mentioned you never had it and you liked it the one time I brought it to you, so…”
“It’s perfect,” Keigo said, accepting the fork Touya handed him. “Oh my god, this must be what Heaven tastes like.”
Touya had never seen Keigo eat so fast. He shoved mouthful after mouthful into his mouth, barely even looking like he took the time to chew at all. Touya thought it was cute, honestly. The poor kid had never gotten a chance to be himself like this.
“Whoa, there, birthday bird, slow down a little. You have training tomorrow, and I think your handlers might get a little suspicious if you’re barfing up chunks of chocolate.”
“Honestly, it’d be worth it,” Keigo said but he did slow down a little.
“Well, whenever you’re done with your cake, I’ll give you your present as well.”
“Present?” Keigo beamed, mouth full of cake. He swallowed purposefully. “I want the present, I want the present!”
“Go clean up and you can have it,” Touya replied with a small laugh, eyeing Keigo’s chocolate covered fingers and mouth.
Keigo raced, towards the bathroom, not bothering to shut it as he frantically washed his hands and face.
Touya pulled out the hastily wrapped gift and put it on Keigo’s bed.
“Here you go,” he said gesturing to it. He crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly feeling weirdly self-conscious about the gift he put so much effort into.
Keigo went to open it. He teared the paper carefully, as if worried he was going to break what was inside. When he finished tearing the wrapping, he was left holding a plush toy.
The body was just a little bigger than Keigo’s hand. The golden brown hair, the stitched on smile, the amber eyes. It may not have been exact, but regardless there was no mistaking the burning red wings that extended out. It was clearly Keigo.
“Touya, I…”
“Yeah, well, my mom basically did the whole thing,” Touya said, completely unsure why the lie was falling from his lips. “I guess I knew you destroyed your Endeavor plushie and I knew how much that meant to you so I thought I’d give you one of a hero you can always believe in.”
Keigo had tears shining in his eyes. Touya could tell he was trying hard to push them back. Instead of saying anything, Keigo just leaned towards him, enveloping him in a tight hug. Touya was stunned for a short second, but eventually he began to hug back, too, trying to let all of his feelings pour out through this gesture since he couldn’t verbally express them. Hopefully Keigo understood.
By the time Keigo pulled away, there were no more tears in his eyes, just a pleased smile on his lips and a grateful look on his face. “Thank you, Touya. This is the sweetest thing you could’ve done.”
Touya gave a little bit of a lopsided grin. “Yeah, well, it’s whatever.”
Keigo rolled his eyes. “Well then, thank your mom for me, too. Since, you know, you barely had anything to do with it.”
Touya chuckled. “That I can do.”