Work Text:
Winter break lasted a month. One month of work studies with his father, patrolling the streets, perfecting flashfire, chasing after Endeavour because, no, they still hadn't gotten to a villain before he did.
Winter break lasted a month. Work studies lasted a month, along with extra side work during term time.
Shouto's winter break lasted a month.
Shouto's work study lasted two days.
He wasn't exactly sure how it had happened. A random villain on the street, quick highway chase, and suddenly, his right arm was bent all wrong.
Endeavour wasn't entirely sure what was more terrifying: another son he couldn't save, the crying child on the pavement, or the blood-curdling scream that Shouto released on impact with the ground.
Everything was a bit of a blur after that. Shouto was in and out of consciousness for a while, remembering patches of the starry night sky and fluorescent lights overhead; only to truly come back and find himself in a large cast with his right arm suspended in the air, quirk suppressant cuffs of both of his wrists.
Endeavour - or maybe Enji, who felt more heroic right now? - sat beside his hospital bed, along with Fuyumi and Natsuo.
"He's awake - Fuyumi, call the nurse." Enji spoke, soft, like he'd been awake for days. "Shouto. You've broken your arm and the doctors have said that you're to be suspended from any and all hero work or training for the next month. They said they tried their best to heal the bone, but it was almost completely shattered. And, you never told us you received your classification results. A little? You should've told us before I started sending you out on the field. I heard from UA that you've got a caregiver, Bakugou at that, but you should've said something."
Shouto tried to speak, really he did. But...
Hero work? Suspended? He must've been hearing things wrong. His head was already filled with cotton and his brain was all loopy - assumingly from all the medication they had him on. He couldn't just not do hero work for the next month! He had to perfect flashfire! He was already behind enough as it was... And... Yumi wasn't here. Nothing good was coming out of this.
"Mmm..." the boy groaned, low and sleepy, tossing and wiping at his eyes with his free hand, "No... Daddy, I wanna..."
Enji stared at him for a second. Two. Three. He'd have never imagined his son as a little - less so that he'd be actively regressed in front of him. Then, again... The training, the kettle, the... abuse... But, he was trying to atone. That had to mean something right?
"Hello, Todorokis. Endeavour." the nurse bowed as she entered the room, "Shouto here is free to be discharged in the next few hours after we've checked his vitals and his head for any other injuries. We've done all we can and all we insist is that he is avoiding any hero work or training for the next few weeks. You may sign him out at the front desk later."
The lady took her leave.
Shouto couldn't believe the way she had spoken like he wasn't even here! He wasn't little right now and he wanted to know about his arm. It was his arm!
"Shouto," his father began, "I've got hero work that it is imperative I attend and Fuyumi is working for most of the day. Natsuo is at college and isn't staying anywhere close, so we've all decided it's best for you to head back to UA, for the remainder of the holidays."
"Daddy, nooo. Yumi stay, Natsu stay, stay, stay. Don't wanna..." Shouto was pleading now, holding up his left arm and flexing his fingers at everyone. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't.
Tears slipped down his face.
"Don't wanna go..."
"I'm sorry, Shouto but..." Enji paused. Something in his head was screaming at him to not make this about Shouto's classification. He punched it in the face. "You're little. You even are right now. You're going back to UA and I've arranged for your teacher to come and get you soon. I've excused Bakugou from hero work so he can go and stay with you for the next few days. I'll try to visit you."
Shouto wanted to argue. To scream. To shout. To tell his dad that, no, he wasn't little. No, he wasn't going back to the dorms. And no, he wasn't missing his whole work study because of his stupid arm.
•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•
Shouto was back in the dorms.
•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•
He had arrived last night, driven in by Aizawa Sensei and teetering on the edge of little space - not that 'zawa had to know that. Shouto was beyond tired. He had been sitting in a stupid car with his stupid cast and all in all, his stupid, stupid self. Not to mention how he couldn't get his seatbelt off, whining so much that 'zawa had to help him like a stupid baby. And just to add fuel to the already raging inferno - Shouto just couldn't get his legs to work and 'zawa just had to carry him all the way to bed, like the stupid baby he was. 'Zawa took the quirk cuffs off at least, cautioning him not to use his quirk in fear of his temperature regulation going out the window.
Shouto was not having a good time.
He awoke the next morning with an itch he couldn't scratch; under his cast and practically begging to be scrubbed red and raw. Only thirty seconds into his day and he was already starting to tear up. He didn't think before picking up his phone, somewhat glad that his quirk made him ambidextrous. He wasn't the best at using his left hand and certainly preferred his right for basic tasks, but his right arm was currently out of commission, so he made do. At this rate, he practically only had half a quirk. It was just not looking good.
Ring...
Ring...
Ri-
"Shouto? You okay?"
"Ki... help..."
"Hi, baby... I'm on my way."
Shouto stopped thinking as much when Katsuki had cracked the door open and Shouto had tried to dissolve into him - not that it worked with the stupid cast in the way.
"Hi, Shou-Shou. What's going on?"
"Ki... 'urts. Icky..."
Katsuki paused. He had watched as the scene went down on the highway. Shouto's scream that he was sure was straight nightmare fuel. The way his arm was mangled and twisted in three different directions. The way he rushed over to him and stroked his face, already dialling the ambulance.
'Icky? Icky...'
"Ngh..." the boy whined again, shaking his cast in the air.
'Icky... Itchy. Itchy?'
"Is it itchy?"
Shouto seemed relieved at that.
'Okay. Well done, Katsuki.'
The blond had been in a cast before, maybe he was around eleven; the result of a failed attempt at the monkey bars. He remembered the way he used to subdue itching - though maybe not ideal in Shouto's case. Katsuki quickly grabbed an ice pack from the common room, bringing it against his cast.
Katsuki felt bad, in all honesty. An ice quirk and needing an ice pack because your ice hand is shattered? Yeah, that's... sigh.
Shouto seemed to relax at that, visibly looking a bit less strained, only to flex his fingers in Katsuki's face again, the universal 'pick me up' sign received.
Shouto was in Katsuki's arms now, albeit a bit awkwardly with his massive cylinder hanging down because he couldn't grab his neck properly. Placing him on his hip instead, Katsuki moved toward the common room, fairly empty with most either at home or at their work studies.
"You hungry, Shou-Shou?" Katsuki coaxed, he wasn't entirely sure the last time he'd eaten. He wasn't met with much of a response, except for the frantic turning of Shouto's head and tears brimming once again. Katsuki didn't have time to ask more questions before the boy erupted.
" 'umi! 'umi gone!"
Katsuki mentally face-palmed.
How did he forget Yumi? He'd apologise to her later.
He ran back to Shouto's room, grabbing the elephant with the comically large ears and placing her in front of Shouto, earning him a wet giggle and sniffles subsiding.
" 'umi!"
The rest of the morning went by uneventfully, with barely anything going into Shouto's mouth besides his pacifier. It was possible that he just wasn't hungry, Katsuki wasn't entirely sure, deciding to drop it for now. He watched Shouto playing with Yumi on the floor, flying her through the air with a whisper of "whoosh!" every so often. It was until about 11am that things went smoothly.
"Ki?"
"Mm?"
"Yumi mad. Mad. Mad. Mad."
"Oh? What's wrong, Yumi?"
Shouto shook her violently, or as violent as he could get with one hand. He didn't want to hurt her, but there were so many big feelings.
Shouto didn't really respond as much as he simply got up and started flailing his arms around, face screwed up tightly. These soon transitioned into quick jerks of his forearms into the empty space. Tiny grunts emitted from his mouth that soon turned into whines and something near tears. It was almost like-
'Was he fucking shadow boxing?'
Now, forgive Katsuki, but seeing a toddler shadow box wasn't on his bucket list today, especially after discarding Yumi onto the ground.
"Baby, baby, baby." Katsuki rushed in to guide his arms back to his side, slipping them both down onto the floor, something almost routine. "I know Yumi's really mad, but Yumi's hurt..."
Shouto stared at Yumi, lying sideways on the floor. Tears pricked at his eyes again.
" 'umi! Sorry, sorry, sorry, s'rry, s'rry! 'umi sad. 'umi!" Shouto garbled out, tears flooding his senses.
"Hey, hey..." Katsuki lifted him into his lap again, counting slowly as he rocked back and forth, "I know you're— sorry— Yumi's mad. It's long and boring in a cast and you can't do much for a while, especially because you not doing hero work or training isn't exactly ideal. But, Yumi got hurt when you threw her on the floor and Yumi can't do much work now either..."
Katsuki trailed off, slightly hoping the message would land. It did. Or, he thinks it did, seeing as Shouto's tears slowly stalled as he held Yumi in his arms.
"We can wrap Yumi up. Just like you. Then, we can all sit and watch something?"
"Mm. Yumi 'urt. Ki, help?"
"Yeah, I can help. Yumi's gonna get one just like you, okay?"
Shouto just nodded, words getting harder to say.
Katsuki brought him along to the kitchen, hoping Iida or maybe Yaomomo had filled up the little first aid kit that he's pretty sure was there for Kaminari just because he couldn't find painkillers one day.
Luckily for him, the stars aligned, leaving Katsuki with Shouto being placed on the countertop and Yumi in his arms, being carefully wrapped up with gauze.
" 'umi 'ett'r?" Shouto glanced down at her in his arms, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Mhm, a little bit better. But it has to stay there for a bit longer, so she can be all strong again. Like you."
Shouto hummed at that. Maybe he couldn't train for now and maybe he couldn't do his work study. But, Yumi couldn't either... And maybe, just maybe, that was okay. At least he wasn't so alone anymore because Yumi was hurt too. Just like him.