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Endeavor did a good thing. A beyond good thing—he'd go down in history books for this. And fuck, he deserved to. Japan was so behind the sexuality curve it was insane. America had been with the times since before quirks were even a thing, and Japan had just...never caught up. There'd been bigger things to worry about.
Dabi feels the fight drain out of him, purpose gone. He stops going to the League's meetings, stops going to the bar entirely. This is not a monster needing to be slain, not anymore. In the same way Touya changed into Dabi, Endeavor shifted back into Enji. Dabi will never forget the past, but he... he can't ignore the future.
And it...it hits home. Because this change has bettered society, is something Dabi himself had wanted and secretly yearned for. It wasn't something he was allowed to have, but... maybe now it was. Maybe his father had given him that whether he realized it or not. And maybe, maybe Dabi was allowed to take it.
If he wasn't going to be a villain anymore, he needed to be something else. If he took this, if he tried to make a life for himself... well, a normal life was no place for someone like Dabi. Dabi had existed to kill Endeavor. But after what the pro'd just done, how could Dabi be so self-centered as to take that away?
That wouldn't be justice. It wouldn't be some big reveal. It would not be the mercy, the service it would've been before. It would just be plain murder, and people would mourn Endeavor for it.
Dabi wouldn't forgive him. Not now, not ever. What he'd done was vile, but what he'd become now? He... he needed to see where it would go. He needed to know if it was here to stay. And in the meantime, he couldn't be Dabi while he did it.
(Maybe he'd been secretly yearning for an out. Perhaps he'd been reaching for something beyond this, wanting desperately to be more than what Endeavor made him. For a chance to fall back into his own skin and just... be.)
"There you fucking are! Fuck, I haven't seen you in forever!" Hawks all but shrieks, yanking him into his apartment when he finally gets the nerve to knock. "Where the hell have you been? Why is your hair white? Fuck, you scared me, you stupid, moronic, i—"
"Hey." Touya greeted, heart thundering. "I—fuck. Do you want to get married?"
Hawks stares at him for a beat, and then another. He grins.
(They have a winter wedding.)
The thing about winter weddings is that, well, it takes until winter to have them. And so what is Dabi Touya to do but go back home, first?
He could laugh, really. The prodigal son, finally returning from literal death. It sounded like the plot of some dumb movie. Under the Red Hood, specifically. When Hawks—er, Keigo (god, using his real name was strange, but after Touya confessed his real name to a shell-shocked Hawks, the man decided to confess his real name back, and what a pair they made for that?) showed him that movie months ago, he balled like a baby. Ever since, he's been a pretty big Jason Todd fan. Not that he'd ever admit to even knowing that Jason existed if asked.
But now, he was here. He was standing on the doorstep of the one place that he swore he'd never return to ever again. And he wasn't Dabi. He was Touya, with white hair dyed as closely to its original shade as possible and a classic t-shirt and jeans (borrowed from Keigo, of course. Turns out, Dabi only had Hot Topic couture™ in his own closet, from what his fiance said). Keigo tried to get him to wear a buttoned shirt and slacks for this meeting, but that was too far from Touya's comfort zone.
Even now, Touya was fucking terrified. He hadn't stepped anywhere near the Todoroki Estate in years, but he was here, willingly, and he knew that his entire family—sans mother, though it turns out she might be released from the hospital soon from news he had overhead—was inside, likely eating a late lunch.
It was strange to think about, but Endeavour decided to take a break from hero work to celebrate the news of gay marriage being legalized, and he'd been spotted at the forefront of parades, too! It was so far into uncanny valley territory that he was half-certain his old man had gotten himself replaced by a bodysnatcher, though that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing as, sometimes, a bodysnatcher might be a better person that the, you know, actual person.
And of course, Touya was stalling. He didn't want to knock. Even the idea of doing so was utterly nerve-wracking, but what the hell else was he gonna do? Sit there like some idiot all night? Fuck that.
Gathering all his courage, rang the doorbell.
Barely a minute later, it opened.
The day was bittersweet. Enji had finally succeeded in his months-long endeavour (ha! See Natsuo? He knew how to pun now!) to legalize gay marriage for his son, but even now, with all three of his children sitting and talking with him, it all felt strange.
For so many years, his family had suffered at his own hands. He abused them, and while that word was hard to stomach, his therapist had been absolutely certain to hammer it in, and it was clear to see that 'abuse' was exactly the right word for the past twenty-something years of his life.
Enji felt terrible about it. He regretted everything that he ever did to his wife and children, and he knew that nothing could take it back. Not even legalizing gay marriage for Shouto. It would never make up for how he treated his family.
And it would never make up for how he killed his eldest son, Touya.
It took many, many therapy sessions, but he finally managed to realize it. His son's death wasn't some suicide. It was a quirk accident that, in the end, was his fault. He was a horrible person and an even worse father, and if he had just been there that day, then Touya would still be alive.
For many months after it had been made clear that Touya's fire hurt him, he had been worried, and he refused to train his son. And then when Shouto's dual fire and ice came in, he had begun to train the boy in quirk control, which he desperately needed to keep from sneezing fire everywhere. And perhaps Touya felt replaced, his therapist had said. Maybe that's why he started acting out, he wanted his father's attention and love. At that point in time, Enji hadn't realized how harsh the training was. He didn't see how his son was bruised and burning and crying from the so-called 'training' sessions.
At that point in time, all that he wanted was to be the number one hero. And when he realized that wouldn't be possible for him, he wanted to train his children to be better than him, to do what he never could. He thought that meant pushing them. To beat the quirk control and training into them.
But that wasn't okay. He had abused and beaten his own children, and it wasn't until he had seen the consequences of his own actions, how it ostracized his children from him and killed his eldest, that he began to finally realize what he had done. He was now the number one hero, but what did it mean to be number one if your own family hated you and wanted you dead? What did it mean to rule over the ashes of your loved ones? Nothing.
Enji should have known. He should have prioritized his family first and foremost, he should have prioritized his own mental health and his children's mental health. He should have gone to therapy the moment he found out Rei was expecting Touya in order to be the best parent he could be.
Enji never wanted to be anything like his own parents, to be hateful and cruel and conservative, always expecting but never giving. Always putting the highest of expectations on him.
For a long time, he had convinced himself that they were in the right. That they wanted what was best for their only son, and look at him now? He was the number one hero, and he was one of the most powerful people in Japan, perhaps the world. So of course, it was alright to treat his children the exact same way he was treated, if not worse.
But it wasn't. And it took his therapist months of working him through his own childhood for him to realize the truth.
He, Todoroki Enji, had become a monster. He was a horrible person and a horrible parent. He couldn't be forgiven for what he did, and he could only pray that when he finally died, Touya would be able to forgive him.
He doubted it, though. His other three children hadn't quite forgiven him either. Perhaps they were willing to forget, considering they were actually seeking him out and talking with him now, but he could still see out of the corner of his eye how Shouto was always aware of his surroundings, how he'd flinch at sudden movements from him. And Fuyumi and Natsuo were both very hesitant to be anywhere near him, still, though Natsuo had shown to be getting better. Fuyumi had always been more eager to forgive him, of course, but he doubted she truly forgave him. She was more willing to speak her mind now, and she was still angry, he could see.
His children may have been willing to forgive and forget, but they weren't, really. They didn't forget what he did, and Enji doubted they'd forgive him either.
So perhaps that was why today was such a shock.
Glass shattered on the floor. "T-Touya? Touya, is that you?" Fuyumi shouted, and Enji could hear the tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Hey, Yumi, it's been a while." A deep, familiar rasp spoke.
Endeavour rushed forward. He forgot everything other than Dabi was right here in his home.
He lunged, grabbing onto the shorter man's collar. "Get the hell away from my daughter you—"
Blue eyes. Vivid, fiery blues stared at him in barely concealed shock and glee. It was the same pair he saw in the mirror every day, worn by a man with familiar white hair. And that jawline, the cheekbones—
"Touya."
Natsuo and Shouto spoke the words in unison, and Enji deflated.
"Touya."
"Wow, old man, didn't think you cared that much." Dabi—no, Touya spoke in such a horribly familiar sarcastic tone that he was shocked he never noticed it before. This was his son, back from the dead.
Tears were spilt by the whole Todoroki family that day. Most of them hadn't cried in years.
Lunch cooled.
It took many minutes of yelling and hugging and where the hell have you been? and you kidnapped my classmate? before Touya could finally explain, and by that point, their lunch had cooled considerably. And Touya's 'explanation' didn't exactly explain much either.
"I'm getting married. His name is Keigo, and we're planning on a winter wedding."
"You're eloping?" Fuyumi hissed.
"Nah. Keigo wants a pretty big wedding. Y'all are welcome to come." His tone sounded so ridiculously blase, not at all like he, who had previously been dead for years, was now suddenly inviting his family to his wedding with an unknown man.
Touya earned a slap for that. Where Fuyumi got the sandal, no one was sure.
"Why have you come back?" Shouto asked from his spot beside Enji. "Why are only telling us now? Aren't you a villain?"
Touya fidgeted a bit before scratching his head. "I—ugh, I saw the news. Thanks for that, by the way, old man. I'm gay. Didn't think you liked that sort of thing...."
Enji blinked. That was why....
"Of course I do. Shouto is a gay person as well, and he should be allowed to get married without fear." Enji's knowledge of gay lingo had gotten better, though he wasn't too sure if he should have said 'gay person.' But he had other things to worry about.
"Oh, damn! Score on that. High-five, kid!"
Shouto blinked awkwardly. He raised a fist up and hit Touya's open palm with it.
"Or a fist-five? High-fist? Eh, it's fine."
Fuyumi came up to Touya, and he took his hand, rubbing at his scars. "Oh, Touya...this must hurt."
He waved it off him. "I'm fine, Yumi. The pain receptors are all fried. It doesn't hurt at all now. Sides, I know you got more questions than that."
She shook her head fondly, letting out a sound in between a laugh and a cry. "What, I can't worry about my own brother now?"
Touya shrugged in response.
"I'm not the only one that remembers Touya saying he has a fiance, right? You aren't just shitting with me?" Natsuo looked utterly gobsmacked, staring right through his brother as if he could read his mind somehow.
Touya gave a smug grin. "We've been dating on and off for months. I proposed this morning."
"By all the motherfucking—" Natsuo lunged at his older brother, and they both fell to the floor. "You've been dead for years! How the fuck are you getting married before me!"
They wrestled playfully (though it looked more like they were clawing each other's faces off, though that was classic sibling behaviour) on the carpet for a while, and everyone else stood back.
"Get over it, shortie!"
Natsuo grinned viciously. "Ha! You can't call me that anymore! I'm taller than you!"
Touya punched Natsuo straight in the face. "Oh, fuck that shit! You're short if I say you're short. Little brothers can't get taller than their older brothers!"
"....Aren't we the same height, Touya?" Shouto was the one that spoke.
After that, chaos was unleashed and all three boys were fighting on the floor.
Enji was fairly certain they'd keep going until they dropped unless he stopped them. So, he stepped in and grabbed each of them by the collar before depositing them on the sofa like unruly children, which they were. His children. And he could worry about how his eldest miraculously returned from the dead later.
"Hey, Touya? Who the hell is this Keigo guy anyway?" It was Natsuo that dropped the question during their very late lunch or early dinner, now nursing a bruised nose and a cut lip.
Touya, equally as injured as his brother, let out a smug grin, the same one he always let out when he was holding something above someone's head. "Hawks."
Enji sat through the resulting screams of shock. He was sure that he himself was in shock at that moment with the realization that, of course, his eldest, formerly dead son that had returned from the dead had decided to perform the biggest show of defiance and rebelliousness by deciding to marry the number two hero and thorn in his side, Hawks.
That man was utterly ridiculous, flamboyant, and arrogant. Enji couldn't see how his son was so fond of him, but he knew he couldn't get in between them. He had kept his family from being happy one too many times, so now, he'd let them do what made them happy.
It was what being a father means, after all. Loving his children enough to let them be themselves.