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“Come on Toshi, I wanna go to the park,” Eri politely demanded from her older brother.
“Alright, alright,” Hitoshi complied as he gathered a small bag to go out with. He looked at his boyfriend, Neito, who had accompanied him home from school.
“Do you want to come ? It would be a little boring just sitting by myself,” Hitoshi shot the blonde a sweet smile as he invited him.
“Of course,” Neito happily accepted and wrapped his body around Shinsou’s arm as they headed out.
Shinsou was definitely grateful for Neito’s company since he wasn’t sure what time Aizawa and Hizashi were going to get home today. Usually their schedules lined up better and one of them was always home, but after lunch at school he got the message that neither of them would be home until much later. There wasn’t time to get much detail about whatever was calling them, and he tried not to make himself too anxious by overthinking all the possibilities. Easier said than done, but more manageable with Neito around.
After a short walk from their home they get to the neighborhood park. It’s small with only some swings, a jungle gym with a slide, and a small ropes course. It had some nice open space, scattered with a few picnic tables and colored with a rainbow of wildflowers. Eri loved coming here, usually when Hitoshi would get home from school Hizashi and her were just coming back from the park. Though Shinsou can’t actually remember the last time he was at a park.
Eri takes off right away as soon as they get into the gate. Hitoshi chuckles before being led to the swings by Neito. It’s a nice evening; the wind is calm and the air is still warm. They sit in a quiet contemplation for a few moments, just watching Eri play with some of the other children and enjoying the simple peace.
Though Neito can’t help but notice when he sees Shinsou stop swaying in his seat. Fists gripping tighter around the metal chains are signs that suggest something other than bliss.
“Hey, you ok ? Something on your mind,” Neito asks. He already has a good idea that he is probably just overthinking Hizashi and Aizawa-sensei’s mission and is ready for whatever reassurance Hitoshi might need.
Shinsou lets out another sigh, and his hands loosen from the cool chains and fall to his lap.
“No, it’s nothing,” he feighs a half smile to ease Neito’s suspicions though he really should know his boyfriend better by now and that he won’t believe that for a second.
Neito gently pushes at Hitoshi’s brick walls a little , “I know you better than that, Hitoshi, what are you thinking about?”
“Not much,” he pauses and sighs again, taking a look around the field.
“I guess … just being here,” Neito leans in as Hitoshi has a habit of mumbling when he is trying to open up about something, “It’s just a little … I don’t know.” His vague sentiments are punctuated with a shrug as he struggles to find the words to convey his inner thoughts.
“Ever the poet, Toshi,” Neito mocks him a little for how he fumbles over his words causing a slight blush on the other’s cheeks to form. Though, Neito places a comforting hand on Hitoshi’s knee as they sway slightly in place, an unspoken sign that he is ready to listen to whatever Hitoshi wants to share.
After a small break of silence, Neito can feel the tension bubbling again, “Come on, I’m all ears” the blonde smiles as he tries to push through Shinsou’s walls again.
Hitoshi bites his lip and looks away, though Neito still keeps his hand on his knee so he feels some connection. “I … I’ve never really been to a playground before. Well … not like this at least.” He immediately feels a little embarrassed for what he said, it sounds so silly when said out loud.
But Monoma doesn’t say anything. He keeps his hand on Shinsou’s knee and gives a firm, reassuring, and attentive squeeze.
“I … I wasn’t allowed to come during the day,” Shinsou confesses.
Neito squeezes a little harder and his eyebrows raise inquisitively, but shinsou is looking down as his sneakers drag over the soft ground.
“The other kids .. my quirk… there were rumors, and everyone kind of agreed it would be best if I wasn’t there.”
He shrugged as if he was so numb to the memories after all these years. Neito didn’t know what to say.
“Well I’m sure your parents took you other times ?” Neito tried to infer with a positive spin.
All Shinsou could do was laugh at the assumption. It was so rare for Shinsou to be laughing that Neito was a little surprised but laughed along awkwardly to not waste it.
After wiping some tears from his eyes at the good laugh Shinsou spoke again, “not a fucking chance.” It was cold and pointed, and even if it wasn’t directed at him Neito could feel the sting of the hateful daggers around his words. “Those assholes never took me anywhere.”
The laughing stopped immediately, and Neito couldn’t help the way his face reddened with embarrassment for his obviously insensitive assumption.
“I would come to the park at night sometimes just to get away from them… from all the yelling or sometimes if my dad was in a mood… I would just leave the house and run down a few blocks to the park. Only at night though.”
Neito held in a gasp. Even though they were similar in a lot of ways, Neito sometimes forgot they did not grow up the same. Shinsou rarely talks about his birth parents and his childhood, so Monoma is still getting bits and pieces of his life. This newest development has him a little more shocked than usual, but he is working to not overreact and make his love feel self-conscious. Aizawa had a long talk with Monama before he and Shinsou started dating about this very thing. Aizawa knew more of Shinsou’s history than he let on, but it’s to be expected when you go through the adoption process. It was crucial to not overreact when Shinsou spoke about his past; anyone he felt comfortable enough to share with was just to listen and be supportive. It was a struggle sometimes for Neito, who wears his own emotions so openly, and when he can feel the pain from someone he loves. It's hard to keep it in.
Shinsou looks over, and though he can see Neito stifling his reaction he still can feel the effects. He does appreciate the effort, it's not easy for either of them to hear about Shinsou’s past.
Hitoshi sighs in embarrassment and thinks of a way that he can change the subject. Regretting that he soiled their peaceful afternoon with his own feelings.
Before he gets the chance though Neito breaks the silence.
“While I can't understand your parents… well I kind of can ? I spent most of my time with my grandparents. My mom and dad were always busy with business trips and my siblings and I were sent off to grandma’s almost every day. I didn't mind though. You know I loved my Grammy” he laughs and Shinsou laughs as well remembering some of the cute innocent stories Monoma shared of the time he spent with his grandparents
“I'm guessing you guys went to the park a lot huh ?” Shinsou assumes.
“Well, at first we did. It was something that we could all go to. Me and all my siblings.”He smiles reminiscing about some of the more pleasant memories.
“But it didn’t last because when my quirk developed we… well we still went especially when Gramma was busy and my mom needed some way to keep all the kids occupied. But … well… let’s just say no one wants to get close to the kid that can steal their powers.”
“Especially then, I couldn't control my theft as easily as I do now,” he gave a forced laugh and his signature show of exuberance to hide the sadness of his story. They had a lot of differences but it was always a nice reflection that despite growing up with 5 other brothers and sisters and semi attentive and caring parents, Neito felt just as alone as Hitohsi because of his quirk.
“You see the jungle gym over there,” he pointed across the small field to a dome of metal bars with kids climbing on it, “They use to say that was the jail… and whenever we played pretend I always had to be a villain so they locked me in there so i couldn't come near anyone.”
“Neito…” Shinsou reached his hand out to put on his knee in comfort, “that’s cruel.”
Shinsou thought about how the other kids in UA interacted with Neito. How they teased him and called him a copy cat… even though that was his quirk name. But now he wondered if Neito even got to pick the name himself or if it was another sign from society that he would never be a worthy hero.
Shinsou felt the same. He had his own memories of when the doctor named his quirk, “Brainwashing” , something you hear in comics that the villain does to make people do bad things.
They were set up from the start.
The outside noise of children playing and birds chirping keep the silence from becoming overwhelming. But they could both tell that the other was deep in thought over what was just shared between them.
Neito looked over the playground and saw the other kids playing with Eri. He smiled, she deserved to have a normal life. She had already been through so much and to be ostracized from her peers even more than she has already been would be cruel.
Shinsou watched them with baited breath. Aizawa had always told him to be careful when she was around other kids. If she got too worked up and her quirk activated, it could be catastrophic. But everything seemed to be normal. To be honest, he was less worried about that and more about the kids teasing her for her scars.
It was spring now, and they couldn't exactly hide them with long pants and sweaters. Today she was wearing a set of light blue overalls and a red tee shirt underneath. The scars on her legs and arms were more than visible and even if it drew some uneasy looks from the parents the other kids didn't pay them any mind.
Hitoshi smiled while watching them. He blinked the sun out of his eyes and felt a tear trail down his cheek. Feelings from talking about his past and grieving the childhood he was denied finally starting to spill over.
But judging by the ray of light beside him, his future looked bright.
He chucked a little and Neito looked over at him quickly, “Everything alright Toshi ?” the blond asked, now a little more wary of Shinsou’s spontaneous laughter.
“Yeah,” he looked over at his boyfriend, his violet eyes glimmering as the sun shone around him. Neito could see the tears welling up and how his cheeks were turning a soft shade of pink.
“Just thinking about the future.”
“Oh yeah ? What about it ?” the blond smiled, glad to see things picking up.
“I don’t know, just things.” Hitoshi shrugged and gave a sweet smile.
Neito laughed at his boyfriend’s eloquent way with words.
“Well you want to know what I was thinking ?” Neito insisted, taking Hitoshi's strong hand in his.
“I want a big house when I have a family,” he continued.
“Oh yeah ?” Neito said with a slight sass.
“Yup, a huge house with a big yard and maybe even a pool,” his fantasy expanded.
“Is that so?” he chuckled and rubbed his thumb over Neito’s softer hands, “a big yard for big parties ?” he chuckled knowing well that Hitoshi was far from the party animal.
“No silly,” Hitoshi laughed softly, holding Neito’s hand.
“I want our kids to have their own playground.”