Travel The Distance

Chapter 50

Shoto and I stayed in my room (soon to be our room) for the entire morning. We basked in each other's presence, spending most of the morning simply talking to each other and catching up on what we hadn't been able to express through our letters.

Simply lying beside Shoto, with his hand in mine, was like heaven on earth. The scars that marred his palms were like memory lines for me to grab onto and hold close to my heart. Staring at Shoto's face that was lit only by the stray rays of sunlight that pierced through the curtains, invading our perpetual night, made my heart stutter to a stop in my chest only for it to restart when Shoto hummed out a short sentence. Our silence together was perfect, but we both knew that we would have to emerge and face the world sooner or later.

"We should probably go to lunch. Your stomach has been growling for the past hour and I'm sure your friends want to see you." I grumbled gruffly.

"Yeah. They're your friends as well, Katsuki, I'm unsure why you insist otherwise." Shoto whispered in return. It seemed as though neither one of us wanted to break the spell of silence that had settled upon us.

"Whatever. Come on. We should go down, the idiots will be wondering where I am. Get your ass up, I still need to get dressed. I can't believe I've been so lazy as to lie here all morning in my nightclothes." I sighed as I rolled over and flopped onto the floor like a useless worm. "Get up as well, asshole. And sort yourself out, your clothes are all crumpled from lying down for so long. Plus your clothes smell like horse and sweat."

"Oh. You should have said something. I'll change then." Shoto said in his usual monotone voice.

"Good, but hurry up about it."

Shoto and I walked to the dining room hand in hand, it seemed as though we needed to be in constant contact after a month apart, a fact that I detested but couldn't fight against, the urge was too strong. No matter how much our loving behaviour may have made my stomach acid curdle had I witnessed another couple acting in the same way, I relished in the warmth of Shoto's body next to mine and his hand clasping my hand.

"I really missed everyone," Shoto started, a minute smile slipping onto his face, "I wonder how they'll react to my sudden reappearance?"

"Probably similarly to me, just with less explicit language. They've missed you too, for some reason." I grumbled.

"Don't pretend, Katsuki, I know you missed me too. I have written proof, there's no shame in admitting that. Anyway, how has your mother settled into living here?" Shoto asked

"She's settled well. It helps that the others are here, the rest of my tribe, that is. It means that she's reassured or something, I don't know, I'm not a healer. It's nice having her back, though she can smother me too much sometimes. You'd think I was 10 and not 21 with the way she treats me at times!" I huffed like a petulant child. A certain part of me ached with the knowledge that Shoto would never be able to complain about overbearing parents again, not only because they were both absent in one way or another for most of his life, but also because his brother's greed and selfishness had robbed his parents of their lives.

"I guess she's simply making up for all of that lost time. I'm glad you have her back now." Shoto's smile, whilst sad and distant, conveyed how genuinely happy he was for me. His joy made my heart stir and ache.

"Yeah. Are you ok? I know we haven't really spoken about it, but... you know," I had never been good with comforting words, everyone knew that, and Shoto seemed to understand what I was trying to convey well enough.

"I'm not perfect at the moment, and I doubt the wounds will ever fully heal, but I've spoken to my sister and brother about it a lot, and we know we'll get through this together. Not to mention I have you, Izuku, Tenya, Momo, Ochako and the rest to help support me. I'll be fine." Shoto hummed.