"Are you mad at me, Mommy?"
Rei stroked her thumb along Shouto's cheek once she finished settling him into his car seat. "Of course not, baby. I'm disappointed you got into a fight on your first day of school, but I'm not mad at you."
"But Katsuki started it," he whined. "He was being mean to Izuku and he pushed me first."
"And I believe you. But next time if someone puts their hands on you, tell your teacher and let her handle it. It's not nice to hit people, no matter who started it. Understand?"
Shouto eyes enlarged like a puppy's as his mother's words etched into his skin. She hadn't said anything too harsh, Shouto was just a sensitive child. His little heart ached knowing that he made his mommy sad.
"Okay," he mumbled.
Rei, noticing his sorrow, peppered kisses into Shouto's cheek until he giggled. It took several attempts, but once the tiniest laugh escaped his lips, she maneuvered around his car seat straps and tickled his sides, not letting up until her son was howling for real. When he gave the reaction she wanted, she closed the door and climbed into the driver's seat.
Shouto smiled the entire ride home, singing to himself the new songs he learned at kindergarten today.
When they arrived home, two of Shouto's siblings were already there. They sat at the dining room table, twelve year old Fuyumi flipping through a teen magazine and nine year old Natsuo wolfing down a plate of deli meat.
Shouto dropped his mom's hand and rushed over to his sister. He offered a closed mouth smile that made his chubby cheeks appear even chubbier. "Hi Fuyumi."
"Hey Shouto." Fuyumi set her magazine down, pushed her chair out and pulled Shouto into her lap. "How was your first day?"
He rested his hand on Fuyumi's. "Good."
"Don't I get a hello?" Natsuo asked from the opposite end of the table.
Shouto glared at him. "No. I'm not talking to you."
Natsuo let out a noise that landed somewhere between a gasp and a chuckle. "Why not?"
"You lied to me about the aliens."
"Aliens?" Rei said.
Fuyumi lightly bounced Shouto on her leg. "Natsu told Shouto that aliens were going to abduct him on his first day of kindergarten."
Rei's jaw dropped. "Natsuo!"
Natsuo failed to suppress a grin. "What? What's the point of having a little brother if I'm not allowed to mess with him?"
"You're a meanie," Shouto whined before leaning his head on Fuyumi's shoulder. His sister was always kind to him. He wasn't as close to her as he was with Touya, but Fuyumi was still the coolest big sister ever. She also gave the best hugs, but he'd never tell Touya that.
The three siblings settled into the main living room. The Todoroki abode was so massive that it had a second living room, though that one was strictly reserved for Shouto's father. When Shouto was three, he got lost in his own house playing hide and seek with Touya and accidentally stumbled upon it while his dad was in there. His dad proceeded to yell at Touya for playing hide and seek in the house, Rei for not keeping a better eye on Shouto, and Natsuo for just being in the kitchen with the other two as they got yelled at.
Shouto never made that mistake again.
He snuggled Fuyumi on the couch as she read him a Dr. Seuss story. Shouto didn't know how to read yet, but he'd probably choose to have Fuyumi read to him even if he did. Fuyumi was a great storyteller. She went at just the right pace for Shouto to follow along, and always pulled funny voices and dramatic gestures when reading as different characters. It cracked Shouto up so much that he usually just looked at his sister instead of the illustrations on the pages.
Natsuo sat on the other side of Shouto, taking turns reading the book with Fuyumi. Shouto's silent treatment lasted a grand total of seven minutes, a new personal record. But when Natsuo waved the last blue popsicle from the freezer in Shouto's face and told him he could have it if he stopped being mad at him, Shouto caved instantly.
It was as if his siblings planned it. Once Fuyumi read the final sentence and closed the book, Touya's voice rang from the front entrance.
"I'm home."
"Touya!"
Shouto jumped off the couch and raced out of the living room. The pattering of his little feet echoed through the house as the walls were paper thin.
"And now we're chopped liver," Natsuo muttered.
Touya stood in the foyer, removing his cleats. He had baseball practice after school, so he was always the last one home. On game days, Shouto got to watch him play if it wasn't too far from where they lived. Those were his favorite days, watching his prodigy of a big brother play the sport he loved so much. At all of Touya's games, he was the best player out of both teams. It wasn't even close.
"Touya!"
Touya turned and opened his arms just in time to catch Shouto and lift him in the air. "Hey buddy!" He kissed his cheek. "I missed you today."
Shouto's pudgy hands caressed the sides of Touya's face. "I missed you too." He gave Touya a kiss of his own, right on the nose.
With Shouto settled on his hip, Touya flashed his trademark smile. "So, how was my big little bro's first day of school? Were the other kids nice to you?"
Shouto started to say yes, but stopped when he spotted his mother out of the corner of his eye. She must have entered the foyer while he and Touya exchanged greetings. "Well..."
Touya tilted his head to one side and directed his gaze at his mother. "What happened?"
Rei, expression neutral, brushed Shouto's hair with her fingers. "Your brother got into a fight on the playground with another boy. Pushed him to the ground."
"All right, Shouto!" Touya cheered. He held his hand out for Shouto to high-five him. "Way to show that loser who's boss!"
"Touya!"
Touya cleared his throat, but not without emitting a slight laugh. "Right. Shouto," he said with a fake stern tone, "it's not okay to hit people. Next time use your words if someone upsets you. Understand?"
Shouto nodded eagerly. He did whatever Touya asked him to without complaint. "Mhmm."
"What's this I hear about hitting?"
Shouto's face went pale as his eyes flickered toward the doorway. His father was by the entrance, hanging his coat on the rack. In one swift motion, Touya set Shouto down and moved in front of him. Shouto peered from behind Touya's leg and stared up at his father.
Enji Todoroki stood out compared to the rest of his family. For starters, he was huge, both in height and in muscle content. And unlike his free spirited children, Enji hardly displayed any emotion apart from nonchalance at best and unadulterated rage at worst. Shouto couldn't think of a single time he'd seen his father smile.
Something Shouto knew all too well, however, was the way his mother's demeanor shifted whenever his dad entered a room.
Rei exhaled before gently patting the air, signaling for Enji to calm down. "There was a minor incident at school, but everything's been taken care of."
Enji grunted. "One day at that place and he's already acting out. I told you it was a waste of time sending him."
"His teacher informed me that he was an absolute delight the rest of the day," Rei insisted. "He participated in all the activities without fuss and he willingly shared his toys with the other kids. Miss Yukizome says he's a bright kid, he just needs some guidance. But she said Shouto could easily catch up to his classmates by the end of the month if-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Shouto stepped back at the sound of his father's yelling. Enji had a strong and commanding voice, one that was often too loud for Shouto's ears to handle.
Enji stomped over to Rei, not acknowledging either of his sons who were frozen in place. He stuck his finger out at his wife and sneered at her.
"I don't give a damn about what some stranger says about my son. Especially if she's going to imply he's behind in anything. Shouto's destined for something far greater than whatever kumbaya nonsense she's trying to indoctrinate him with."
"Oh God, Enji." Rei's voice trembled as she spoke. It unsettled Shouto more than the anger in his father's eyes. "What is your obsession with turning our kids into these superstar athletes? Just because your career got cut short-"
"How dare you talk to me like that in front of my kids," he spat. He wasn't yelling anymore, which was somehow all the more chilling. "How dare you talk to me like that in general. Be thankful you can even call this place your home. You were nothing before you met me. If it weren't for me, you'd be living in the streets, injecting God knows what into your veins and popping out kids you couldn't afford."
"Stop it!" Touya shouted.
But Enji didn't stop. He was just getting started.
"And you have the audacity to question my parenting? I don't recall Shouto ever acting so out of hand whenever he's with me."
"Because he's scared of you," Rei cried.
Tears flowed down Shouto's cheeks at a rapid rate. His parents were arguing about him again. Why did this always happen? Was he really that bad of a kid? Maybe they secretly wished he wasn't part of their family since he caused so much trouble.
Touya noticed and immediately scooped Shouto into his arms. His frustration toward their father had split in half, now letting both parents have an earful.
"Jesus, how can either of you be surprised he got into a fight at school when this is the example you set for him at home?"
He stormed off, Shouto crying into his shoulder, ignoring his father's outburst in response to that remark. Shouto's room was closer than his, so he carried the boy in there and locked the door behind him. Touya sat on the edge of the bed, hugging his brother for as long as it took for him to stop crying. Which, due to their parents' argument still heard through the walls, took several minutes.
Shouto did calm down, but not fully. He was still crying, but the wailing stopped. He rubbed his eyes as he sat in Touya's lap while Touya wiped away the tears Shouto failed to get himself.
"You okay, buddy?" he muttered.
Shouto sniffled and tilted his head down. "They're yelling because of me."
"What? No, no, Shouto, they're not. Look at me." He tilted Shouto's chin up until their eyes met. "Listen, what's going on out there has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. I don't ever want you thinking them arguing is your fault because it's not. Do you understand?"
Shouto sniffled again, but nodded.
"Good. Now come here, gimme another hug."
Shouto nuzzled into his brother's chest, which relieved a lot of the pain in his heart. Touya calmly rocked Shouto in his lap.
"God, I'm so sorry you had to hear all of that," he said. "You're just a kid, Sho. They shouldn't be acting like that in front of you."
Enji's bellows grew louder, apparently to throw some vitriol toward their other brother as well.
"NOT NOW, NATSUO! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY HERE? WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS GET IN THE WAY?"
At the sight of Shouto hunching his shoulders, Touya smiled at him. "So, what happened at school anyway? Why'd you get into a fight?"
"Katsuki said we couldn't play on the jungle gym with him," Shouto said. "He said we had to play somewhere else, but we were there first. Then he pushed me and I pushed him back."
"I see. This Katsuki kid sounds like a piece of work."
Shouto nodded. "He was being really mean to Izuku too. That made me sad cause Izuku is nice."
"Who's Izuku?"
"He's in my class." He perked up in Touya's lap. "Do you wanna know something? He asked me if I wanted to be his friend and I said yes!"
"All right!" Touya and Shouto exchanged fist bumps. "I knew you'd make friends. You're too awesome of a kid not to. And you stood up to someone that was bullying him. That's what a good friend does."
"Then why did I get put in time out?"
Touya sighed. "Adults like to believe that violence is never the answer. And I'm not saying that you should always use your fists when someone's bothering you, but there are some people in the world that'll keep picking on others until someone stands up to them. Katsuki's probably one of those kids. I bet he'll think twice before messing with you again."
Shouto smiled. "Really?"
Touya smiled back at his brother and winked. "Yeah, but don't tell Mom I said that."
"Okay!" Shouto linked his pinky with Touya's and shook on it. He loved when he and Touya kept secrets to themselves, no matter what they were. Like they were part of an undercover operation. All they needed was a clubhouse.
"So tell me," Touya said, "what else did you do at school today? I want to hear all about it."
Shouto's eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot!"
He climbed out of Touya's lap and ran across his room. He fetched his backpack off of his treasure chest toy box in the corner and hurried back to Touya. The backpack was opened and flipped upside down, contents spilling out all over the floor. When Shouto spotted the yellow folder, he picked it up and took out the only sheet of paper in it. He dropped the folder back on the floor and handed the paper to Touya.
"I made you something!"
Touya took Shouto's drawing and scanned it over. Immediately, his demeanor changed. He sucked in his bottom lip before covering it with his fist.
Shouto was too excited to notice. He pointed to the red haired boy in the picture. "It's you! See?"
"Yeah," Touya choked out. "I see."
Shouto frowned as his brother stood up, pacing the room as he stared at Shouto's drawing some more. He expected Touya to express some level of happiness, but his face depicted the exact opposite.
"What's wrong, Touya?" he asked. "Do you hate it?"
Touya stopped and glanced down at his brother. Tears trickled down his cheeks as he offered Shouto a warm smile. "Of course not, buddy. I love it."
"Then why are you crying?"
Touya's smile stretched wider. "Oh, these are happy tears." He crouched beside Shouto and held his arms out. "Get over here."
Shouto didn't need to be told twice. He gave Touya the tightest hug he could, smiling against his shirt. He knew Touya would like his drawing, but hearing it out loud was even sweeter than he could've hoped for.
"I love you so much Sho," Touya whispered.
Shouto gave Touya's back three light taps. "I love you too."
When Touya pulled away, he set the drawing next to him and brushed some of Shouto's hair out of his face. "You know what? I'm gonna work as hard as I can so when I turn eighteen, I can get drafted to a professional baseball team. I'm gonna make a bunch of money, buy myself a mansion, and have you, Fuyumi, and Natsu come live with me."
"Really?" Shouto squealed.
Touya, still crying, nodded. "Yeah. You guys deserve better than to live somewhere like this."
Shouto was too young to understand exactly what he meant, but he figured "this" had something to do with their parents, who were still arguing in the foyer at that point.
"I'm gonna make it happen," Touya said. "I promise."
Shouto bounced on his tiptoes. The thought of living in his own house with Touya was nothing short of a dream. And he promised, so he knew it had to be true. Promises were unbreakable. Touya taught him that.
"Can we get a cat?" Shouto asked.
Touya chuckled. "Yeah, I'll get you two cats if you want. But this stays between us for now. If Mom and Dad hear you talking about it, they won't be happy."
"I won't tell them," Shouto said. "I promise!"
No way was he spilling a secret this huge to anybody. If Shouto was good at one thing, it was staying quiet. And he'd never betray his brother, especially when it came to this.
Touya wrapped Shouto in another hug. "It's you and me against the world, kid."
They stayed like that for a while, neither of them willing to let go just yet. Touya filled the silence by whispering into Shouto's hair.
"One day it won't be like this, Shouto. They won't hurt you anymore."
Shouto rested his head on Touya's shoulder and closed his eyes. Sure, it'd be a long time before Touya turned eighteen and could buy a house for them, but as long as he had his big brother around, Shouto would always have a reason to smile.
Touya squeezed his brother a little bit tighter. "You're safe with me, buddy. I've got you."