Chapter Text
The following five months were quite eventful for the Todoroki family, the most stressful being the family’s court date. Shouto’s breath hitched when he stepped into the courtroom and spotted his father. Shouto hadn’t seen his father since the incident that happened at the beginning of the year. His father looked at him with pure hatred in his eyes. Of course he wouldn’t feel remorseful about breaking Shouto’s sanity. That man has never owned up to his behavior before and clearly, he wouldn’t start now.
He felt his mother’s warm hand on his shoulder which helped calm his racing heart. That’s right, this time he wasn’t alone. He had his mother and siblings with him, supporting him. Aizawa and Kayama were also there to help him, as well. The family had never made it this far in terms of Enji receiving any kind of punishment for his abusive behavior. The police would never arrest him and CPS was a joke and never helped the family no matter how often they were called. It was thanks to Yagi that they made it this far and finally, justice might be served.
Shouto was first, giving his testimony of the abusive acts the bastard did to him. There were too many to actually list. It was terrifying having to relive those horrible moments of his life, especially in front of strangers, and he did breakdown multiple times. Shouto hugged himself and cried when he couldn’t speak anymore causing his family to weep with him.
Kayama testified on Shouto’s behalf and discussed the lasting damage to his brain caused by Enji’s abuse. She revealed some stories Shouto talked about in her therapy sessions and how Shouto’s development was altered due to the years of constant abuse. Kayama stated that Shouto’s PTSD, as well as his co-occurring conduct disorder, all stemmed from Enji’s abuse. Shouto knew he was damaged, but that was the first time he heard the technicalities of his disorders. He didn’t know this would be permanent; that he would be this way for the rest of his life. Shouto glanced at his mother and saw her face was filled with guilt.
Aizawa supported Kayama’s claims by discussing Shouto’s sleep abnormalities and how he could not differentiate reality from a memory which was all tied to the trauma caused by Enji. Lastly, his siblings and mother spoke on how Enji’s abuse impacted them and how Enji abandoned Touya. With all this evidence, there was no way that bastard was going to be found innocent…right?
His mother was right; this was their season. After years and years of the system failing them, justice was finally served. Enji was going to jail! It would be unknown if he would serve his full sentence, Shouto had read about criminals getting released early, but for now they would celebrate their victory.
With the hearing behind them, the Todoroki family could focus on other things, such as making up for lost time. When Shouto told his sister about the manga he read in the hospital, her face lit up and she squealed, “You gotta watch Snow White with the Red Hair with me! You’ll love it!” Reading shoujo manga and watching the anime adaptation became his routine with his sister.
Natsuo felt it was his brotherly duty to teach Shouto all about internet culture and flooded his phone with memes. When his brother would come home on the weekends, he would share his new favorite meme. Shouto still didn’t understand what poggers meant and maybe it was better that way.
Rei gave her son art lessons as they both shared a passion for the visual arts. Shouto was shocked to learn that his mother was an amazing artist. He never knew this side of her since she never felt safe enough to express herself artistically. It was a part she had kept hidden away due to her ex-husband.
Shouto promised himself he would write Izuku and it was a promise he intended to keep. There was so much he wanted to tell him, like how his sister helped him enroll in an online program so he could finish high school from the safety of his own home. Or that after a few months of shopping around, he finally found a therapist he liked. However, he never mentioned those milestones. He didn’t want Izuku to feel like he was leaving him behind. Sasaki may be a jerk, but some of what he said was true. He didn’t want to cause Izuku any pain, so instead he wrote about his favorite memories with Izuku. He wrote about places he would like to take Izuku when he gets discharged. He reminded Izuku of their promise to go to the beach together. He wanted Izuku to keep that promise.
It was a typical dreary, snowy day in December, but that didn’t match the energy in the Todoroki household. Natsuo was home for the winter break and he was currently watching (i.e. talking through) a movie with Fuyumi in the family room. Shouto sat at the dining table with his mother for their art session.
“Shouto,” Rei said with a smile. “I’ve started a new series! It’s things that bring me joy. I think I’ll call it the purple heart series,” she said as she held up her sketch of Shouto causing him to blush.
“It looks great,” he said softly.
“Thanks! I think I’ll draw Fuyumi next,” she said as she laid down her sketchbook. “Let me see your progress.”
Shouto frowned as he showed her his drawing of a cat. Well, he intended it to be a cat, but it ended up resembling a bowling pin with ears. He heard his mother stifle her laugh. “I think I’ll stick to coloring,” he said, slamming his head on the table.
“It’s not that bad. Besides practice makes perfect!”
“He’s gonna need a lot of practice,” Natsuo said as he glanced at Shouto’s masterpiece.
“Aren’t you supposed to be watching a movie?” Shouto snapped.
Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door. Shouto was going to answer the door, but noticed his mother placed her index finger on her nose. He looked at his siblings and saw they also had a finger on their nose. Shouto rolled his eyes and stood up. “I was going to get it anyway,” he grumbled.
“Sure you were,” Fuyumi snickered.
“I hope it’s my guitar I ordered last week,” Natsuo said.
“Seriously? I told you your girlfriend doesn’t want you to serenade her!”
Shouto ignored their chatter as he headed towards the front door. When he opened the door, he felt as though all of his breath had been knocked out of him. In that moment, time stood still.
Unruly green hair.
Vibrant green eyes.
Freckled face.
A wobbly smile.
Clothes that were entirely too big and swallowed him whole.
“H-Hi, Shouto…”
Shouto’s body moved before he could think. He ran towards the boy, wrapped his arms around the greenette’s waist and lifted him off the ground. He spun them around in the snow, both of them laughing. He was here! He was actually here!
After spinning around in the snow, he set Izuku down and immediately began peppering kisses around his freckled face. He kissed each freckle, his nose, forehead, anywhere he could reach, causing Izuku to laugh. Shouto buried his hands in those unruly locks and crashed his lips onto Izuku’s. It may have been awkward because their teeth clashed, but it was perfect. It was perfecting because he was kissing Izuku. It was perfect because Izuku was here. As Shouto began to pull away, the greenette grabbed the front of Shouto’s shirt and pulled him back for another desperate kiss.
They both broke the kiss once the lack of oxygen became a problem, but they didn’t go far. Shouto rested his forehead against Izuku’s, with his hands still buried in his hair and Izuku clinging to his chest.
“I knew you’d find your way back to me,” Shouto breathed.
“S-Shouto…” the greenette sobbed. “I’m so sorry! I-I was scared! I didn’t want to be alone again! I wanted you to stay with me!”
Tears fell from Shouto’s eyes. “I would’ve stayed with you. I swear, I didn’t know I was getting discharged. I never wanted to leave you!”
“I-I know! I w-w-wanted to tell you, but…I didn’t want to hold you back,” he hiccupped as fresh tears kept pouring. “I didn’t want you to blame yourself. I just couldn't handle being alone again! B-But then I thought your feelings would change once you were out of the hospital. Once you were back home, you’d realize I wasn’t worth your time. I’m m-messed up and I thought you’d realize that once you left. Why would you want to be with someone as damaged as me?”
“Izuku—"
“But then I got your letters! I read them all over and over again and it felt like you were with me! My mom never wrote me, but you did! I-I wanted to see you again, Shouto! I-I made a plan so I could see you again.”
"You faked your way through therapy?" he huffed.
"Absolutely. I told him the answers he wanted to hear so I could see you again."
Shouto kissed his forehead. “I missed you so much.”
“I’m s-sorry it took me so long. It wasn’t easy to convince Sir that I was ready to leave.”
“I’ll kill him,” he said as he brought Izuku in for a hug. Izuku wrapped his arms around Shouto’s waist tightly, ensuring there was no space between them.
“H-He’s not worth it. A-Anyway, I’m just happy I could see you again.”
“Don’t leave me,” he said softly, rubbing Izuku’s back.
“Shouto!” his mother called from the doorway. “You’re going to catch a cold! Why don’t you bring your friend inside?”
Oh, right. They weren’t alone in their own little world. They broke apart, both of their faces bright red. When they separated, Shouto noticed a duffle bag and a yellow backpack on the ground. He reached for the duffle bag and nearly fell over trying to lift it.
“Ah! You don’t have to—"
“Did you pack rocks?” Shouto asked as he dragged the bag inside.
“Aizawa-sensei gave me the Fruits Basket manga collection,” he said sheepishly.
Once the boys were inside the house, Shouto dropped the duffle bag by the entrance and Izuku placed his backpack by the door. His mother and siblings were waiting expectantly and Shouto prayed they wouldn’t embarrass him. He wrapped his arm around Izuku’s waist, pulling him close.
“Mother, Fuyumi, Natsuo, this is my bunny, Midoriya Izuku.”
Izuku’s face flushed a dark red as he began stuttering. Shouto couldn’t help but smirk. He missed making him turn into a strawberry.
“S-S-Shou-chan, y-you can’t say that!” he whined, covering his face behind his arms.
“It’s nice to meet you, Izuku,” Rei said with a smile.
“Ah! I-It’s nice to meet you! All of you!” Izuku screeched as he bowed to the family.
“Oh my gosh! He’s too cute!” Fuyumi cooed.
“Wow, Shou. I didn’t know ‘baby’ was your type,” Natsuo grinned mischievously.
“Shut up!” Shouto tried not to blush and was failing miserably.
“Hey, I didn’t see a car pull up in the driveway. How did you get here?” Fuyumi asked.
“O-Oh, I walked here.”
“Eh? Do you live nearby?”
“Oh, n-n-no. It took me two hours to walk here.”
...
...
“WHAT?!” the family exclaimed.
“Take off your shoes and come in this instant!” Rei said, dragging the boy further into the house.
“Why didn’t you call me?! We would’ve picked you up!”
“You must be so tired. Come, sit down and get comfy.”
“I’ll make the little guy some tea.”
“No, I’ll make the tea, Natsuo. We don’t want to serve him a burnt beverage.” Fuyumi chastised.
“That was one time!”
“How exactly do you burn tea?”
“Ugh! Leave me alone, Shouto!”
Rei pulled the ottoman over and placed Izuku’s legs on it. She then cocooned the boy in several blankets as she was worried he might be cold. His siblings brought the boy a plate of cookies and his freshly brewed tea. It warmed Shouto’s heart to see them fuss over his bunny.
“Geez mom, you think he has enough blankets?” Natsuo snickered.
Rei blushed. “I just wanted to make sure he was warm. He was outside in this cold weather for too long.”
They made sure he cleared his plate and finished his tea. Izuku began to tear up and Shouto was immediately by his side. He placed his hand on the boy’s thigh…well, the mountain of blankets covering his thigh. “Izuku?”
The boy shook his head. “No, I just…” He gave a wobbly smile to the family. “Thank you.”
“You’re so precious!” Fuyumi squealed.
“That’s not going to fill you up. Can you stay for dinner? What would you like to eat?” Rei asked.
“Y-You don’t have to—"
“He likes katsudon,” Shouto answered.
“Do I have the ingredients to make that?” Res pondered to herself.
“I’ll order what we need and have it delivered,” Fuyumi offered.
“You can just order takeout,” Natsuo said.
“No, he needs a nice homemade meal after leaving the hospital.” Rei turned to Izuku. “Oh, I shouldn’t have assumed! Did you just get discharged today?”
Izuku nodded and kept his eyes on his lap. “Yes, I was discharged today,” he said quietly.
Based on his own experience, he knew the hospital staff dropped patients off at their homes once they have been officially discharged. The same must have been true for Izuku and since he still had his belongings that meant…
“How did it go with your mother?” Shouto asked hesitantly.
Izuku’s body began to tremble violently. “S-S-Shouto…” his voice cracked as fresh tears began to fall. “S-Shouto,” he started again but couldn’t get the words out. Shouto dug him out from the blankets and placed the boy on his lap. Izuku immediately wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in the crook his neck. “S-She doesn’t love me,” he said though it was barely audible.
“What?”
Izuku bawled, unable to hold it in any longer. “She doesn’t love me, Shouto! She doesn’t want me anymore!”
Shouto held him tightly, silently cursing whatever god was responsible for making Izuku suffer.
“S-She said she can’t take it anymore. She d-doesn’t want to deal with me trying to kill myself. She doesn’t want me around if I’m just going to hurt myself. She wouldn’t let me in our home, Shouto! S-Shouto!” he screamed.
“I’m here, Izuku. I’m not going to leave you.” Shouto kissed the top of his head, as he rocked the boy in his arms. “I’m here.”
“I d-don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do, Shouto,” he sobbed.
“Stay with me.”
“W-What?” He lifted his head and looked at Shouto, tears still falling from his eyes.
“Stay here with me,” Shouto pleaded.
“I-I can’t do that! I don’t want to burden your family. I-" he gasped and began to panic. “I-I didn’t come here to use you! I was going to visit you regardless of how things went with my mom! I promise, I wasn’t—"
Shouto kissed his tear stained cheeks. “I know, Izuku. Please, stay with me. You’re not a burden.”
Izuku shook his head. “I-I can’t…”
“Where else would you go?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to go back to the hospital,” he sniffled. “I don’t want to bother you though and be a freeloader.”
“Izuku, our mom is rich so it’s really not a problem,” Natsuo said.
“I don’t think institutions have been very kind to you. Please stay here with us,” Fuyumi pleaded.
Rei held Izuku’s hand and smiled warmly at the boy. “Izuku, you did so much for my son, more than you’ll ever know. I want to return the favor. Please stay with us.”
Izuku looked around at the friendly, caring faces. He cried and quietly said, “Okay.”
“Izuku?” Rei gave his hand a light squeeze. “Thank you for being Shouto’s friend.”
“Oh that’s…” he gave a wobbly smile. “The pleasure’s all mine!”
Shouto blushed and buried his face in Izuku’s hair. “He’s staying in my room.”
“Of course!” Rei giggled.
“Oh!” Fuyumi shot up. “We should probably take him to the mall to buy him new clothes! You’ve had the same clothes for years, right? And you probably miss going to the mall.”
“Y-You don’t have to—"
Natsuo rolled his eyes. “Just say you want to go to the mall, Fuyumi.”
Fuyumi blushed. “I’m doing it for Izuku! He’s gonna need new stuff!”
“Let’s go tomorrow then,” Rei suggested.
“Y-You really don’t have to!” Izuku said, waving his arms frantically.
“We know. We want to do this for you,” Fuyumi grinned.
That sent the greenette into another fit of tears and Shouto was more than happy to comfort him.
Later that night, Shouto brought Izuku to his room and the boy gasped.
“Shou-chan, your room is so big!”
“Our room, bunny.”
Izuku’s face flushed as he placed his bags in a corner.
“Let us know if you need anything,” Fuyumi said from the doorway.
“Leave us alone.”
“Aw! He wants some alone time with his bunny,” Natsuo teased.
"You can't hog him forever!"
“Out!” Shouto said as he shoved his siblings out of the room and slammed the door. He locked it for good measure. “Sorry, I know they can be a lot.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind at all,” he said softly.
“Now that you’re here, we can go on all those dates I mentioned in my letter. Don’t forget, you still owe me a beach date…when it gets warmer.”
“I-I don’t know if you’d want to go to the beach with me,” the greenette mumbled.
Shouto arched an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I…” Izuku paused to take a deep breath. “I think it’d be better if I showed you.”
Before Shouto could say anything, Izuku took off his shirt. Shouto gasped when he saw the large scar that ran across Izuku’s stomach, as well as the many scars painted on his chest. Izuku turned his right arm revealing a large scab on the upper part of his arm.
“Izuku?” he said shakily as he couldn’t take his eyes off all the scar. He was shocked that he did that much damage to his body.
“A-Anything can be used as a weapon if you apply enough pressure…” he mumbled.
“Izuku…” He stepped closer to the boy. “When your mother…were you going to hurt yourself?”
“I don’t know,” he said, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes. “I don’t know! I-I just wanted to see you. I wanted to see you first. I knew if I stopped walking, if I stopped moving...I would've given up.”
Shouto embraced him, breathing him in. “I love you, Izuku.”
Izuku gasped and pulled away. “S-Shouto?”
“I wanted to tell you that sooner, but I couldn’t put it in a letter. I needed you to hear it from me in person.”
“S-Shouto,” he smiled brightly. “I love you too!”
“Stay with me,” Shouto said as he cupped Izuku’s face. “Please don’t leave me.”
“S-Shouto…”
“You can see my therapist! He’s great and I think you’ll like him. I…we can heal together. Just don’t leave me,” he pleaded.
“Okay.” Izuku gave his brightest smile. “I don’t want to leave you. L-Let’s stay together.”
“Always.”
“Always,” Izuku whispered.
Izuku closed the space between them, slotting their lips together. Shouto moved to wrap one arm around Izuku’s waist and the other around his neck. He gave his hip a squeeze causing the greenette to gasp. Shouto used that moment to deepen the kiss, exploring the boy’s mouth with his tongue. The two stayed like this, tasting each other until they needed to take a much needed breath.
Shouto traced the long scar on Izuku’s stomach causing the boy to shiver. “I would still be honored to take you to the beach.”
“These don’t…disgust you?”
“No,” Shouto said as he touched his own scar. “It just means that we’re still here. We survived.”
Izuku’s plush lips once again made their way onto Shouto’s. “We survived,” he smiled.
"We survived. And that means we can continue to find things that bring us joy and make life worth living," Shouto smiled warmly at the greenette. "That's what you taught me, Izuku."
"Shouto...thank you for joining my club and bringing joy to my life."
"The pleasure's all mine."
That night, as Izuku laid in his- no, their bed, Shouto took his rightful place with his head on Izuku’s chest. He wrapped his arms around Izuku as the boy stroked his hair, humming softly. He listened to the Izuku’s heartbeat reminding him that he is here. That he is still alive. As they drifted off to sleep, Shouto thought about how this angel came into his life. Izuku started a club to bring joy to others and he ended up giving Shouto so much more. For Shouto, life had been endless harsh winters, but thanks to his friend, spring had finally arrived.