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Shouto blinked away from his nap. He looked at his ceiling, covered with glow-in-the-dark stars and listened to the sounds of his new home. He could hear Keigo singing, probably making a snack, and Natsuo playing video games. He couldn’t hear Touya’s voice. Touya wasn’t home yet, otherwise he would be singing with Hawks or playing with Natsuo.
Shouto wasn’t used to those kinds of sounds.
The sounds of joy. Safety.
Back before his brother took him in, Mom never sang and Natsuo wouldn’t play his games with the volume on. Dad hated it too much.
Shouto sat in his bed. Taking naps was new too. Dad didn’t allow naps, but Touya said that the rules were different here. Now, when Shouto feels sleepy, he can sleep.
Shouto discovered that he loved naps.
Shouto walked out of his bedroom holding his All Might plushie. He went to the kitchen and saw Keigo, who was indeed preparing a snack.
Keigo smiled at the four year old. “Hey little flame! How was your nap?”
“Good.” Shouto rubbed his right eye. Touya said he couldn’t touch his left eye yet because of his new scar.
“Great!” Keigo knelt down. “Do you want me to put the magical cream for your eye or would you prefer if Touya did it?”
Shouto whispered, “you, please.”
“Okay. Do you want to walk or should I pick you up?”
Shouto extended his arms and glued himself to Keigo. The pro hero laughed. “Okay, buddy.” He lifted him into his arms. “Nats? I’m with Shouto in the bathroom if you need something.”
Shouto couldn’t see his brother but he heard a voice mutter an acknowledgement.
Keigo carried Shouto to the bathroom and sat him down next to the sink. The bathroom was bigger than their old one. After Touya took his brothers in they started living together with Keigo in a small apartment, so small that Touya and Keigo slept on the couch. But since they moved two months ago they all had their own rooms.
Shouto looked at Keigo, who was washing his hands. The pro hero started talking again. “When Touya comes back from work I have to take Natsuo to his football game. Do you want to come with us or do you prefer to stay home with Touya?”
That was also new. Keigo and Touya always asked for Shouto’s opinion. Like it mattered. Like he had a choice.
Sometimes Shouto wondered what would happen if he chose wrong.
Keigo smiled. “I heard Touya wanted to go to the park again. Would you like to go back too?”
“Touya isn’t gonna be tired?”
“Touya could never be too tired for you.”
Shouto thought. Touya worked a lot so Natsuo and him could stay here. Maybe he should stay home so his older brother could rest. But the park was exciting. It would be the second time ever Shouto went to the park.
Keigo took the bottle of cream and opened it. “Hey little flame. What are you thinking right now?”
Shouto didn’t respond. He didn’t know what to say. What if Touya didn't want to go to the park again because he was tired? Or maybe Touya would be disappointed because they weren’t going to the park. What if he realized that Shouto was wasting his time?”
Dad said at the court that Shouto was a burden. Touya spent hours telling Shouto that he was wrong. Maybe today Touya would realize that Dad was right.
What should he choose? The park? Or staying at home? What was the right option?
What was the wrong one?
Shouto didn’t realize he was hyperventilating until Keigo told him to slow down. He cupped his face in his hands. “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe. You’re home. You’re with me. It’s okay. Just breathe. In and out. In and out. Just like that. You’re doing great, baby.”
Shouto tried to breathe like Keigo told him.
In and out.
In and out.
In and out.
“Do you want me to call Touya?”
Shouto shook his head. “No. It’s fine.”
“Okay. Can I put the cream on your eye?”
Shouto nodded.
After Keigo put the cream on the scar he washed his hands again and put the cream back in its place.
Shouto heard the front door opening and Touya shouting “I’m home.”
Keigo smiled at the little boy. “Touya’s home. How about we go say hi?”
Shouto nodded with a smile.
Keigo picked him up and went to welcome Touya. When they arrived Touya was ruffling Natsuo’s hair.
“Do you have your bag ready?”
Natsuo nodded. “Yep. I saved my progress in the game and put my shoes on.”
“Good.” Touya turned his head and smiled when he saw his boyfriend and his younger brother. “Hey you two! Did you have a good day, Shouto? How was your nap?”
Shouto smiled. “Fine. I didn’t have nightmares today.”
Touya grinned back. “That’s so cool!” Touya took Shouto from Keigo' arms and held him. “Did Kei’ put the cream on your eye already?”
Keigo put his jacket on. “We just did! Right, Shou? And you, babe, how was your day?”
“Fine, thanks.” Touya looked back at Shouto. “So are you staying with me this afternoon or are you leaving with Keigo and Nats?”
Shouto pressed his face against Touya’s chest. “I want to stay with you.”
“Okay buddy. Do you want to go to the park? Maybe we could see the two little boys again.”
Keigo smiled. “You got friends, Shou?”
Shouto blushed and hid his face. He didn't have the courage to go talk to them last time. He secretly hoped he would see them again. They seemed nice.
Touya smiled. “Maybe. One of them is blond and a bit loud and the other one has green hair and is more shy. If we see them again today you could try to talk to them!”
Keigo nodded. “It would be great, little flame!”
Shouto didn’t know what to say. He wanted to be friends with them, but what if they made fun of him because of this scar? People at the grocery store always looked at him weirdly when Shouto went with Hawks and Touya.
Natsuo zipped his jacket closed. “Keigo? Can we leave, please? I don’t want to be late.”
“Sure, buddy. Did you check your bag? Do you have everything?”
“Yep.” Natsuo waved at Shouto. “Bye Shou! Have fun at the park!”
Touya kissed Shouto’s head. “Say bye, baby. And Kei’, don’t forget to record the game!”
Shouto waved while Keigo promised to record everything. The little boy heard Natsuo complaining that Hawks didn’t need to record all of them. There would be plenty of games.
After they closed the door, Touya kissed Shouta’s forehead again. “Are you ready for the park?”
Shouto looked at his brother. Touya worked so hard at work and even Shouto could see the dark circle under his eyes. “I prefer to stay home, please.”
Touya’s smile faltered. “Really? I thought you’d be excited to go to the park again. But if you prefer to stay home, that’s fine.”
Shouto frowned. “You’re tired, Touya. You should rest.”
Touya sat on the couch, still holding Shouta in his arms. “Hey baby, don’t worry about me, okay? I’m fine.”
“You’re sure?”
Touya hummed. “Of course I’m sure. Do you really want to stay home, or do you want to try and see your friends again?”
“They’re not my friends yet.” Shouto frowned. “What if they don’t like me?”
“I’m sure they’re going to love you. Just like I do.”
Shouto thought about the idea of going back to the park. Last time he saw the swing but the two boys were using it. Maybe today he could join them.
It seemed nice to be included.
But Touya –
Touya brushed his nose against Shouto’s. “Hey. What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“It’s okay. We could go to the park for,” he thought for a moment, “let's say an hour or two? And then we can come back here and watch some cartoons together. It could be fun.”
Shouto nodded. Touya’s plans were the best.
Touya smiled. “Great! Now go put your shoes on.”
Shouto left Touya’s lap and went to put on his shoes while Touya took the rest of the snacks that Hawks had prepared. The blond hero had left half, taking the rest for Natsuo.
“Are you ready? Or do you need help?”
Shouto hummed. “Ready!”
Shouto had indeed put on his shoes and coat. “Great! Don’t forget the scarf, baby. Off to the park!”
Shouto smiled. He couldn’t wait to see the two other boys. Maybe today he would finally get up the courage to talk to them.
———
When they arrived Touya held Shouto’s hand while they walked to the bench close to the swings. “I don’t think I see the two boys yet,” Touya said. “Maybe they’re not here today.”
Shouto looked around the park, trying to find the two boys, but he didn’t see them either. Maybe Touya was right. Maybe he wouldn’t see the two little boys again. Maybe they could have been friends if he had been brave enough last time and gone to play with them.
Maybe Dad was right when he said that Shouto was a coward.
Shouto wanted to cry but Dad said only the weak cried.
Shouto was about to ask Touya to go back home when he heard someone shout “Kacchan!”
The two Todorokis turned their heads at the voice. Touya smiled. “Seems like I was wrong! Do you see them?”
Shouto shook his head.
Touya started looking around and saw a mop of green hair pass by. He knelt and pointed at the two boys. “There, Shou! They’re at the slide. Do you want to go or do you prefer to stay with me?”
Shouto saw the two boys laughing and sliding.
This stomach felt weird again.
“I prefer to stay with you, please.”
“Okay.” Touya sat on the bench and opened his backpack. “You want to eat something?”
Shouto shook his head. He sat on the bench and glued himself to Touya’s side.
“Okay. I took a book if you want.”
Before Shouto could respond, he heard a very happy voice nearby. “Hi!”
Shouto turned his head and saw the little boy with green hair and a face full of freckles smiling at him. “My name’s Izuku. Do you want to play with me and Kacchan?”
Shouto’s stomach hurt again. He held his brother’s arm. “I’m Shouto,” he whispered. “Do you want to play with me?”
Izuku beamed. “Hi Shouto! Of course I want to play with you!”
Shouto looked at Touya. He heard his brother whisper. “You should go. If you don’t want to play with them anymore just come to me and we’ll go back home, okay?”
Shouto nodded. He slid from the bench and took Izuku’s hand. When they started walking, Shouto looked back at Touya. “I’m right here,” his brother mouthed with a thumbs up.
When they arrived at the slide Izuku went to see the blond boy. “Kacchan! Look, I found him! I told you it’s him!”
Shouto looked at the blond. “Kacchan?”
Kacchan rolled his eyes. “My name is Katsuki but Deku didn't know how to say it so he called me Kacchan.” He tilted his head. “What’s your name? And what happened to your face?”
Izuku jolted. “Kacchan!”
Shouto’s stomach started hurting again. Why did it hurt so much? Shouto wanted to go back to Touya. But maybe Touya would be disappointed if he did. He looked so happy when he left with Izuku.
Katsuki crossed his arms “What Deku? It’s not my fault if his face is weird. Also your hair is weird too. Why are there two colors?”
“Kacchan! You can’t say that!”
“Why not, Deku?”
Shouto frowned. “Why do you call him Deku?”
The two boys stopped talking and looked at him. Katsuki smirked. “Because Deku is a deku! Deku is quirkless.”
“That’s mean. You can’t call your friend that.”
“Why not, Strawberry-Vanilla?”
Izuku’s eyes started to fill with tears as he came closer to the blond kid. “Kacchan, please don’t fight.”
“I do what I want, Deku.” Katsuki pushed Izuku and the green-haired boy fell on his butt.
Katsuki smirked. “See? Such a Deku.”
Shouto looked at Izuku. The poor boy started crying. He helped him get up. “Are you okay?”
Izuku nodded.
Shouto turned back to Katsuki. “You need to say sorry.”
Katsuki snorted. “Never, Strawberry-Vanilla.”
“My name is Shouto! Why are you so mean?”
“I’m stronger than Deku. I don’t need him.”
Shouto felt Izuku’s grip get tighter on his hand. He was crying in silence. “It’s okay, Shoucchan.”
Shouto looked at Izuku and back to Katsuki. The blond was smiling.
“You’re like my dad.”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow. “Who’s your dad? That guy on the bench?”
“No. That’s Touya, my big brother. My dad is Endeavor.”
“Really?” Katsuki smiled even more. “Hear that, Deku? I’m cool and powerful like Endeavor!”
Izuku wiped his tears and nodded. “Endeavor is cool, but not as cool as All Might.”
Shouto hated hearing them say that. “He hurt my mom.”
The two boys stopped talking. After a minute Katsuki spoke first. “What?”
Shouto looked at the ground. “Endeavor. My dad. He hurt my mom. He hurt me and my siblings too. Now my mom is in the hospital because of him.”
Izuku took back Shouto’s hand. “I’m so sorry! Are you safe now?”
Shouto nodded. “Now I’m with Touya. My scar, it’s from my mom. My dad hurt her so much that she hurt me.”
Izuku hugged him. “Why did he do that?”
“Because he doesn’t like All Might.”
Izuku gasped. “Who doesn’t like All Might?” he whispered.
Shouto raised his gaze and saw Katsuki’s face. He looked baffled. “So Endeavor is like your dad, Deku. And I’m like them.”
Izuku stopped the hug and went to Katsuki. “What? No, Kacchan, you’re not like them!”
“Shouto said that Endeavor hurt his mom and now she’s in the hospital. Your dad hurt Auntie Inko and she had to go to the hospital. Because of me you had to go to the hospital too.”
Izuku tried to take Katsuki’s hand but the blond kept them tight to his chest. “Kacchan, it was an accident! You didn’t even know you could make explosions with your hands! It’s not your fault!”
“I’m so sorry, Deku. I mean Zuku.”
Izuku beamed but then he stopped and frowned when he saw Katsuki rubbing his eyes. “Kacchan, are you crying?”
Katsuki rubbed his eyes more. “I’m not crying. Don’t be silly, Zuku!” He looked at Shouto “Now what do you want to do? Swing or slide?”
Shouto looked at the swingset. There were three open swings.
“I want to play on the swings.”
Izuku beamed and took Katsuki and Shouto’s hands. “Quick! We have to go to the swing before someone steals them from us!”
Katsuki snorted. “Last one there’s a rotten egg!”
The three little boys started racing. Shouto saw that Katsuki was first but suddenly he started running slower. Shouto decided to go slower too.
Izuku arrived first and beamed “I won!” The green haired boy was so happy that he was vibrating and jumping everywhere.
Katsuki smiled. “Yeah, congrats, I guess. So, Zuku, which swing do you want?”
Izuku pointed to the middle swing “I want the middle one! That way I can be next to both Kacchan and Shoucchan.”
The three boys started using the swings. But, since no one was pushing them, they couldn’t get very high.
Izuku looked at Katsuki. “Kacchan, do you think Auntie could push us?”
“I don’t know.”
Shouto felt brave. “I could ask Touya. He could push us.”
Izuku tilted his head. “You think he could? He’d be strong enough?”
Shouto hummed and stood up from the swing. “Touya is a pro hero. He’s the strongest.”
Izuku gasped. “Oh my All Might! Touya is Bonfire? Oh my All Might! Kacchan! Did you hear that! I knew I knew his face!”
Shouto blushed. “I'm going to ask Touya!” The five year old ran to his brother, who was reading the book he’d brought. “Touya?”
Touya looked up and smiled. “Is everything okay Shou? You want to go home?”
Shouto was wheezing because of the run. “No thank you. Can you come to the swings so you could push me, Katsuki, and Izuku please?”
Touya smiled. “Of course.”
Shouto beamed. He took Touya’s hand. “Come on, Touya. We need to be fast!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Give me a second!”
Touya put the book back in his backpack and followed his brother to the swings. Once they were close Shouto let go of Touya's hand and ran to his swing. Shouto smiled. “Touya! Come on!”
Touya smiled back. “I’m here, Shouto. I’m here.”
———
Touya spent several hours pushing the three kids. The boys were all laughing and smiling. Eventually Katsuki and Izuku’s moms came to pick them up.
Shouto hugged Izuku and Katsuki and promised to come back soon while Touya and the two moms exchanged phone numbers. The three adults planned a date. Next week, same day, same hour.
On the walk home Shouto talked the entire time about Katsuki and Izuku. When they arrived, Keigo and Natsuo were already back. Shouto told them everything that happened at the park.
During dinner Shouto was happily eating his ice cream, talking and laughing without a single break. Touya was washing the dishes when he heard Shouto and Natsuo giggling in the living room, cartoons faintly playing in the background.
Keigo hugged him from behind. “I guess you had a good time as well?”
Touya smiled. “Yeah. You should have seen him. He freaking laughed. Like real, good, honest fucking laughter.”
“It must've been amazing. When are you going to the park again?”
“Next Saturday.”
Keigo kissed Touya’s neck “We could switch. Like, you go to Natsuo’s game and I go with Shou to the park.”
Touya turned around and kissed his boyfriend on the lips. “Sure. But I’m warning you, one of the two kids is a freaking hero nerd. He asked me a ton of damn questions. I mean, I’m underground and that kid still knows me! He’s going to freak out when he sees you.”
Keigo snorted. “I’ll be ready. I think. And you should get ready too, ‘cause believe me hon, supervising a teenage boy’s football team is so much harder than three toddlers–”
Touya kissed Keigo once, then twice, and then a third time before Keigo spoke again. “See? I told you we’d be kick-ass guardians.”
Touya snorted. “Yeah. Now watch me be the bad guy. It’s bedtime.”
Keigo laughed. “Good luck babe.”
Touya went out of the kitchen. “Shou? Come on, bed time!”
Shouto got off the couch and ran to Touya. “I’m here!” He went directly to his room and climbed in this bed.
Touya tucked him in and kissed his forehead. “Did you have a good afternoon?”
Shouto nodded. “It was a bit scary, but it was the best afternoon ever! Thank you again, Touya.”
“No need to thank me, baby.” Touya ruffled his hair. “Why was it scary?”
“They’re my first friends. It’s new.”
“It was scary because you hadn’t done it before?”
Shouto nodded.
“You know,” Touya sat on the seat next to his bed, “new things can be terrifying, but they can also be exciting, right? I mean, you were very brave to go play with them even if you didn’t know them. I’m very proud of you, baby.” Touya kissed Shouto’s hair. “Good night.”
“Good night, Touya.”
Touya was about to close the door when Shouto called out for him again.
“Yes, baby, you need something?”
“When will I see Kacchan and Zuku again?”
Touya frowned. “Kacchan and Zuku?”
Shouto sighed. “Katsuki and Izuku.”
“Oh.” Touya counted in his head. “In six sleeps.”
Shouto clenched his All Might plushie. “Do naps count?”
Touya smiled. “No, naps don't count, baby.”
“Oh, okay.” Shouto gasped. “Did I tell you they liked All Might too? Like, they said he was their favorite hero in the whole world!”
Touya nodded. Shouto had told him six times now that All Might was Izuku and Katsuki’s favorite hero. “Really? And he’s yours too, right?”
Shouto giggled. “No! All Might isn’t my favorite hero anymore.”
“Really?” Damn, Touya had already bought the new All Might toy for Shouto. It was coming out next week.
Shouto smiled. “It’s you, Touya.”
Touya felt warmth flood his body. He was close to crying, though he’d deny the few tears that managed to make their way out. Instead, he smiled. “Thank you. You’re my favorite hero too.”
Shouto giggled again. “Silly Touya. I’m not a hero!”
“Right.” Touya went back to the bed and put another kiss on Shouto’s forehead. “Have a good night, baby. If you need anything I’m just one door away, okay?”
Shouto nodded. “Goodnight Touya.”
The little boy adjusted in his bed and found the right position to sleep. Touya turned on his nightlight and closed his door.
Shouto fell asleep hoping the six sleeps separating him from his new friends would pass quickly. He wondered what they would play together next.
Touya was right. Sometimes new things were scary, but they were also so exciting.
So wonderfully exciting.