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The first time Touya opens his eyes after the war ends, he can’t believe he’s still fucking alive.
He doesn’t even know how he feels about the fact.
This wasn’t the plan.
The plan was to go out in a blaze of glory, leave all this shit behind and never have to worry about seeming weak and a bother again.
What he got was the opposite.
Because here he is, burnt and broken once again, his family looking at him with pity in their eyes, his friends, at least the ones who’s currently allowed to visit him with some form of security, they clearly do not know how to speak to him now, and Touya doesn’t judge them for that.
Because Touya cannot speak at all.
The combination of his own ice and fire during that final fight with Shouto had damaged his vocal cords beyond repair, so now all Touya can do is watch .
Watch his friends and family awkwardly hovering around his hospital bed, watch the nurses and doctors look at him nervously, and he can’t even tell them to fuck off.
That he doesn’t need pity.
That he’s not dangerous anymore.
All the danger burned away with his whole resolve the day of the fight.
So Touya just lies there, staring up into the roof, trying to dissociate the time away until someone will finally tell him what’s supposed to happen next.
Then Hawks show up.
Or actually, it turns out Hawks isn’t there anymore, it’s just Keigo now, and it actually turns out there ‘s quite a difference between the two.
Where Hawks grinned, Keigo smiles in a strange, loop-sided way, with his eyes more than his mouth.
While Hawks’ eyes were cold and calculating, Keigo’s is nervous and curious.
Where Hawks’ wings were huge and majestic, Keigo’s is smaller, more scraggly.
That one is all Touya’s fault, and he knows that.
And he can’t even fucking admit to it out loud.
He can’t even apologize.
To be perfectly honest he’s not sure he would have even if he could, but he sure would like to have the option.
But for now, they simply watch each other when Keigo comes to see him.
It's weird, before all this Keigo would talk his ears off, always chattering about something or another, but now he's just... there.
Never quite meeting Touya's eyes.
It's fucking weird, is what it is.
Then, one day it’s not Keigo who comes through the door like Touya had come to expect, but instead the dual haired weirdo that was his youngest brother.
Little Shouto Todoroki, the very same person Touya had spent years building up in his head to be some form of Endeavor clone, a fighting machine with no heart.
Little Shouto Todoroki who, as it turns out, is just a strange boy with a big heart and quite abysmal social skills.
And coming from Touya, that’s saying something.
Shouto doesn’t usually come here alone, but today it’s just him, a slightly too big sweater and a cat themed messenger bag slung over his shoulder.
When he just keeps hovering awkwardly near the door Touya eventually raises his eyebrows and nods towards the empty chair next to his bed.
Shouto’s face lights up for a moment and he scurries over there to sit down and open his silly cat-bag to show Touya what he’s brought.
Touya feels all the color drain from his face.
Because Shouto keeps pullings things out of his bag; books, cards and writing supplies, all with the same themes plastered on them.
Sign language.
Finally Shouto meets Touya’s gaze, and a look of understanding falls over his face.
“You can say no,” Shouto says quietly, and Touya simply raises his eyebrows in a deadpan expression.
Can he, though?
Shouto actually smiles a little.
“You know what I mean,” he says with a shake of his head, and Touya is momentarily taken aback by how easily his youngest brother seems to understand him.
Touya sighs and averts his gaze.
“We’ve learned some of the basics in school, since the chance of us running into someone who’s hard of hearing through our hero career is quite big, but I’ve been taking it up again after you…”
Shouto drifts off for a second, and Touya turns to look at him again.
“After you woke up,” Shouto finishes, and Touya sighs.
It’s really, really hard to keep hating this kid once you actually get to know him.
Touya makes a motion for Shouto to hand over one of the books, and Shouto’s face breaks out into the biggest smile Touya had ever seen on his brother’s face.
It might be worth a try, after all.
And try they did.
Touya begged, through writing, for Shouto to keep this a secret, just in case he couldn’t do this, he couldn’t stand to fail at something else in front of everyone he knew, he simply couldn’t.
So Shouto kept his secret.
Shouto came by almost every damn day with a smile and bag full of books and memorizing cards, he kept motivating Touya when he was just about ready to give up, he picked up the cards when Touya threw a tantrum because he got something wrong again, and he cheered when Touya finally managed to sign proper sentences.
Touya had no idea how to properly thank him.
When he finally admitted so, through the signing Shouto had taught him, Shouto simply shook his head and told Touya that getting to do this for him was everything he wanted.
If Shouto saw Touya’s eyes tear up after that, he didn’t point it out.
Another thing Touya was eternally grateful for.
Sometime between the start of the lessions with Shouto and now, Touya had been moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility, both for his physical injuries, his mental health and his villainous past.
It’s there, in his little room as he’s getting closer to being released on a strict house arrest sort of deal with Haw- Keigo, of all people, that he finally shows off his new skill to someone other than Shouto.
He’s honestly just taking a chance here, hoping that Keigo knows some level of sign language himself, but based on what Shouto has told him the chances seem high enough.
So, when Keigo comes for a visit on a rainy spring afternoon, Touya is honestly a little excited when he signs a simple greeting.
At first Keigo doesn’t even skip a beat, simply replies how he always does, still not fully meeting Touya's eyes.
“Heya Hot-stuff, how’s -”
He cuts himself off.
Slowly turns towards where Touya is sitting, trying his very best to not look how proud he’s feeling.
“Did you just…?” Keigo asks, and Touya signs a confirmation.
“What, cat’s got your tongue?” Touya signs, slowly and rather clumsily, but it gets the point across enough for Keigo to laugh.
“You sure you, of all people, want to be the one to make that joke?” Keigo asks, before a look of dread falls over his face.
"Fuck, I didn't mean ut like that, or, I did but I didn't, I.."
He trails off into a loaded silence, and Touya just stares back, deadpan.
"It's okay, Silly Bird," Touya signs, and Keigo gives. him a small smile.
They simply watch each other for a moment, before Keigo speaks up again.
“Did they teach you that in here?” he asks, and Touya shakes his head.
“Shouto did,” Touya signs, and Keigo’s eyes widens.
“Woah, really?” he asks, and Touya nods, proudly.
Keigo whistles.
“That’s impressive,” he says, more to himself than Touya.
“He’s a good teacher,” Touya signs, and Keigo raises his eyebrows.
“I mean sure, obviously, but I was more talking about how he managed to teach you something without ripping his hair out in the process,” Keigo muses, and Touya glares back at him with a pout.
“If this is about you trying to teach me how to play poker we both know you were the problem there,” he signs, and Keigo rolls his eyes dramatically.
“Sure, you setting fire to the cards had nothing to do with it at all,” Keigo quips back, and Touya actually smiles.
After a moment Keigo smiles back.
Softly.
“This is nice,” he says with a fondness in his voice Touya hasn't heard since before the war.
Touya nods.
“I missed telling you off,” he signs back, and Keigo rolls his eyes with a laugh.
“I guess I missed having someone to keep me in line,” Keigo chuckles, and Touya tilts his head.
"Really?" he signs, and Keigo tilts his head, confused.
"You have kind of avoided me since I woke up," Touya explains with his hands, and Keigo averts his gaze.
"I didn't mean to," Keigo says quietly.
"But how... how could I not, after everything?"
Touya sighs heavily.
"After I burned your wings?" he signs, and Keigo's eyes wides.
"What, no!" he exclaims, and Touya raises his eyebrows, confused.
"My wings... fuck, who cares abut my wings, they're still there, they still work, kind of, but Touya..." Keigo's voice softens as he utters the other's name.
"I, I mean we, we nearly lost you Tou, for real," he whispers, as if he's afraid to utter the words.
To make it real.
"I'm still here," Touya signs, not really capable of finding the right words in the moment.
Keigo smiles.
"You have no idea how glad I am for that," he admits, and Touya huffs, trying to hide his blush by looking away.
"Silly bird," he signs, and Keigo chuckles.
"What can I say, you bring out the best in me," he says with only a hint of sarcasm, and Touya smirks.
“Are you sure you’re ready for that full time?” Touya signs, not quite brave enough to hold Keigo’s gaze while he does.
He’s good at joking and jabbing, but this has actually been eating on him recently.
Keigo is making quite the sacrifice to help Touya rejoin society or whatever.
A feather gently pokes his cheek, and Touya turns to face its owner.
Keigo’s still smiling, but there’s something different in his eyes now.
Something Touya can’t quite decipher yet, but when he moves closer Touya doesn’t object.
For a second Touya thinks he’s gonna kiss him, but instead Keigo gently touches his forehead to Touya’s, making their noses bump against each other gently, before he moves back a little again.
Touya’s heart is hammering in his chest, but in a good way, he thinks, and when Keigo finally answers, Touya’s whole body feels light and fluttery.
“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life, Hot-stuff.”