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Touya was nervous. Probably more nervous than he should be but this was going to be a difficult day for Shouto and himself.
In Shouto's last therapy session his therapist recommended Shouto try to socialize with kids his own age. And that terrified Touya and hearing it made his stomach drop.
Was Shouto ready for this? Was Touya ready for this?
Touya knows that kids are mean to people that are different. He can't help but think of what the evil little gremlins would say about Shouto being so small, skinny, not walking, can't talk properly, and now has a nasogastric feeding tube.
Touya was a little shit once and knew that Shouto might be easy picking and if anyone made his brother cry or self conscious he probably would scream at the child for insulting his brother.
Shouto barely left the house unless it was for a hospital visit or therapy. Touya was afraid to take him anywhere else in fear of what might happen to his baby brother. Shouto got overwhelmed in small crowds even since he was trapped inside his mother and father's house without socialization or access to the outside world.
“I know this may seem like a lot Touya, but I think that it will be beneficial for Shouto, especially if you would like to place him in school at some point.” Dr. Mika had said in a session a week ago.
Touya let the words sink in as he watched his brother try to put some blocks together, oblivious to the conversation. “Ok. I don't even know where it would be safe to go with him. Where he won't get overwhelmed.”
“I have the perfect place in mind. A friend of mine, Aizawa Shouta is a teacher at the local special needs elementary school. He is wonderful with children with special needs and he will most likely wind up being Shouto's teacher. Every first Saturday of the month he volunteers at the local library and hosts a special needs story and craft time. I think it would be perfect for Shouto to dip his toes in.”
That actually did sound like a good idea. She had given Touya the information of where and when the event would take place. When she then talked about it with Shouto Touya could see that he was nervous but also had some excitement.
Which brought him to today. Shouto had been jumpy with anticipation all morning at the prospect of going out, but he wasn't too confident judging by how he hid in Touya's shoulder the whole train ride.
Touya really wished that Keigo was there with them or even one of his siblings to soothe his own anxiety. He stopped walking and looked up at the building for the public library.
“You ready?” Touya asked after taking a deep breath and exhaling.
“Y-yeah p-p-play Ani!” Shouto said more into Touya’s shoulder than anything.
Touya grabbed the door handle and walked inside. He was greeted by a kind woman that directed him to the back of the library. Touya did a quick check to see if he needed to change Shouto but found him dry. They slowly made their way over to the kids section that appeared to only have a tired looking man and his equally tired looking child there.
“Hi, are you Aizawa?” Touya tentatively asked.
Touya saw the man look over. His kid also took one look at Touya and his eyes went wide. Touya was used to this. He had thick geometric black lines all over his neck and limbs and body and facial tattoos and piercings. He was used to the staring.
“Yes, and you are?”
“I'm uh Todoroki Touya. My brother's therapist said that she was going to get in contact with you.” This was awkward. Keigo was the socializing expert, not Touya.
“Oh yes! Nice to meet you. Mika had filled me in with information on your brother's background.”
Oh thank god. Touya didn't feel like he could communicate everything very well and was terrified of that long conversation.
“And you must be Shouto, right?” He asked gently, catching Shouto's attention.
Shouto's eyes widened probably at the fact that Aizawa had known his name.
“Do you know how to sign?” Aizawa asked verbally while also signing.
Shouto smiled. “Si-signing y-yeah! Can y-yeah!” He looked so happy.
Aizawa also looked happy. “That's wonderful, Shouto!” He talked while signing. “While you play with us could you try to sign while you talk as much as you can?”
“I I-I kn-know not ca-n-n do?”
“That's fine, it is difficult to learn at first, but I'm sure with some practice you could do it. How do you best like to talk to people, with your voice or signing?”
“Bo-both do can.”
“So very smart! The reason why I would like you to sign and talk at the same time is because my son Hitoshi can only communicate with sign.”
“I s-sign!”
“That’s great! You will be able to talk with him. There's other children coming that also sign too. One signs because when he gets nervous it's hard to talk.”
“Me t-too!”
“That's good, I'm sure you will get along. The other uses sign because he can't hear well and uses hearing aids. So signing is important for us to communicate and make friends!”
“Fr-friends?! Be-be-fore h-have n-never!”
“Well hopefully you can meet some new ones today. Would you like to meet my son Hitoshi?”
Shouto signed 'yeah' enthusiastically.
Aizawa walked over to the low table where Hitoshi was playing with blocks.
“Hitoshi, introduce yourself.” Aizawa spoke and signed.
'I'm Hitoshi. I can sign but I can't talk.'
Shouto waved and wiggled for Touya to put him down.
'Hi Hitoshi! My signs are messy because using my hands is hard. I can sign easier than talk though. But I like to talk.'
Hitoshi smiled.'I'm autistic and non-talking.'
'What's a-u-t-i-s-t-i-c?' Shouto spelled out.
“Autism is something a person is born with that makes them think and feel a bit differently than others.” Aizawa talk explained.
'Do I have it?'
“Not quite peppermint, you are a bit different.” Touya answered.
'See Hitoshi, you are special! Cool!' Shouto smiled.
'You are special too! And peppermint is cute! Because of your hair!' Hitoshi smiled back.
'Play?' Shouto asked, motioning to blocks. Hitoshi smiled and nodded and then started building.
Aizawa, after seeing them play, ventured over to Touya.
“I was told that this would be the first child interaction he would have. How do you think it is going?” Aizawa asked.
Touya let out the breath he was holding. “Honestly, much better than expected, is that your son?”
“Yes, that's my Hitoshi. My partner and I adopted him four years ago. His birth parents were not a good fit for his needs.”
Touya couldn't help but snort at that. “Our birth parents caused his needs.” He spat out.
“So you are the oldest brother?”
“Yeah but I wasn't aware that he even existed until almost two years ago. They had him when my siblings and I had already cut contact with them for years.”
“That must have been quite the surprise. Mika had filled me in with some of the details. The story is quite grim.” Touya grunted in affirmation. “Could you tell me what his needs are currently?”
“Yeah. I think the major thing is that he does have moderate brain damage. It controls his fine motor skills, talking, and some comprehension. We've noticed a bit of age regression in some instances as well mentally. He is incontinent due to a spinal injury resulting in a condition called Complete Cauda Equina Syndrome, or C-CES, and cannot register when he needs to go so he is still in diapers. He has severe malnutrition that we are trying to desperately correct hence the new feeding tube addition but his body is fighting it every step of the way. Because of the malnutrition he has issues with hypoglycemia and needs to have his sugar checked regularly. His limbs are too bony to have a continuous monitor. He is also not strong enough to stand. His legs cannot hold up his weight and the C-CES also makes his legs weaker. We are working on that with some therapeutic exercises to work the muscles but with the malnutrition we can't get him walking yet. He also has severe PTSD and anxiety. Oh and he is blind in the eye with the scar because our mother poured boiling water on him purposely.” Touya took a breath. Shit that was a lot to get out.
“Damn, that is a lot. I couldn't imagine how difficult that was for him and your family to adjust to and to navigate. I can fully understand why you also kept him away for so long. If all that had happened to my child recently I would lock him away too.”
Touya was surprised to hear that.
“All those needs can be accommodated at our school should you choose to enroll. But I get wanting to test it out with minimal interactions before sending him away.”
“I don't think I'm ready for that either.” Touya kept watching Shouto and Hitoshi sign to each other and laugh as they built little houses. The sight actually brought tears to his eyes. This was the first time he had seen his brother so normal. Almost like all that abuse didn't happen and he was truly just happy. That's all Touya wants for him is to be cared for and happy.
Some tears dropped from his eyes and Touya rushed to brush them away.
“It's great to see them socialize like that. Hitoshi is usually in his shell and difficult to let people in. We have two other students coming today that are also in my class. One is extremely anxious and often nonverbal and the other has hearing aids and is very loud with some trouble with emotional dysregulation.”
Touya kind of made a face at that.
“We are working with him on his socializing skills, but it will also be good practice for Shouto to regulate how he interacts with others as well.”
As if speaking of the devil, a little blond kid ran past Touya and Aizawa straight to the table and promptly knocked over the tower Hitoshi was building.
He laughed and Hitoshi frowned. Touya looked at Shouto and was surprised. He didn't think he'd ever seen Shouto that mad. He went to step forward and chew out the brat but Aizawa put a hand up to see how Shouto would react.
“T-that’s mean so!! Toshi hard worked!”
The anger was not received as Shouto intended because the kid hearing Shouto's broken speech actually laughed.
“Who are you halfie? You talk weird. Why?”
'Dad tried to kill me. Hurt my brain.' Shouto signed to avoid speaking disjointed again.
“Fuck.” The blond said clearly not knowing how to respond. “You can sign fine which is cool. I never heard someone talk like that before.”
“Katsuki what have I told you about using bad words?”
“Sorry sensei, I guess.” Katsuki rolled his eyes.
Aizawa stepped near the table when a short woman and a green haired boy stepped forward too.
The green haired boy tapped Katsuki. 'No bad words Kacchan. Be nice.'
'Ok, fine!'Katsuki rolled his eyes again.
“Ok kids, let's go around and introduce ourselves. Some of us may know each other but there are also some new faces.”
'Bakugou Katsuki'
'He called you Kacchan?' Shouto asked curiously.
'Don't you call me that too!'
'Kacchan and I have been friends since we were really little.'
The green haired boy signed.
'Oh ok,' Shouto responded.
'I'm Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you!'
'I'm Aizawa Hitoshi.' Hitoshi signed with a wave at the end.
'I'm Todoroki Shouto. Hi!'
“Wonderful thank you all for introducing yourselves. Why don't you play nicely with blocks for a little while until it is time to read the story.”
“Sensei can I pick?! Can I pick?!” Katsuki yelled.
“Katsuki I already picked it out but I am sure you will like it. It's an All Might story.”
There was a mix of happy yells and clapping from the kids at hearing that there was going to be an All Might story.
Before they could start, Shouto waved Touya over, which surprised him. When he approached the table the green haired boy hid behind the blond and Katsuki looked at him as if he was about to eat them.
“Why are you so creepy?!” Katsuki asked. “Are you even human?!”
“Bakugou Katsuki, that's not very nice.” The woman scolded who he assumed was the mother of Izuku judging by the hair.
Before Touya could say anything to mess with the kid, Shouto confronted him. “D-don’t fun ma-make of Aniki my!! Ni-niice is h-h-he!! Sa-sav-ed me!! No nice y-you!!”
Katsuki didn't know how to respond as he wanted to say something about Shouto's speaking but the look Touya was giving him was scaring him.
Touya rushed over to Shouto when he saw the tears in his eyes. Touya grabbed him ignoring the kids cowering.
“It's ok peppermint. Thank you for defending me. Are you ok? Do you need a break?”
Shouto continued to cry a bit as he signed 'wet'. That was probably why he was trying to call him over.
“Ok, let's go get you changed Sho.”
He could hear Aizawa talking to Katsuki but he honestly didn't care. Shouto was his concern right now. He had already stopped crying by the time they made it to the family restroom. Thank God they had one because trying to change Shouto in a men's room was difficult as they often didn't have changing tables.
“Sho baby, are you really ok?” Touya asked as he was finishing up the change.
“Ye-yeah. W-why me-mean he?” Shouto asked quietly.
“I think he's learning peppermint. Just like how you are special he is special too and has difficulty talking with people and making friends. He may not want to be mean but doesn't know how not to.”
Shouto seemed to think that over as Touya picked him up again. “Ok Ani. I-I sh-show ni-niice to how be.”
“What a good idea Sho! So kind of you! And if he doesn't behave I'll eat him.” Touya said as he made fake biting gestures at Shouto.
“A-Ani no!” Shouto laughed.
They exited the bathroom and made their way back to the kids section.
Katsuki was there waiting for them.
“I'm sorry I was mean because you look scary.” Katsuki said to Touya while rolling his eyes.
“Apology accepted, you brat.” Touya said as he sat Shouto back down on the chair. Usually on chairs Shouto had to be buckled in so he would not fall but the chairs were so low to the ground as they were meant for children that it wouldn't be an issue. Touya kept a cover that slid over the back of chairs that would turn any chair into a buckle chair just in case.
'Do you wear pull ups?' Izuku signed at Shouto.
Shouto blushed and nodded.'I can't tell when I'm going because my back and brain got hurt.'
Izuku’s eyes lit up. 'I wear them too! When I get really anxious I can't hold it.'
'I get anxious too, it's not fun.'
'Me too,' Hitoshi signed.
“Why are you so skinny?” Katsuki signed and verbally asked Shouto.
'Eating is hard. My parents made me sick.'
“Well they should be arrested! You need to eat more. Is that why you have the tube?”
'Yeah, I need to gain weight.'
“Good! I wanna cook for you and fatten you up! I'm the best cook ever!” Katsuki looked determined.
'Yeah Kacchan is the best!' Izuku signed.
'He brought cookies last year and they were good.' Hitoshi added.
Touya smiled at the interaction and he could tell the parents were shocked that Katsuki must not say stuff like that often. Shouto looked at Katsuki like he hung the stars in the sky.
'I like cold soba!' Shouto signed.
“Cold soba? You need healthy food to make your body happy!” Katsuki yelled a little louder than needed to be.
'It makes my heart happy!'Shouto argued.
“Ok kids, before we argue about food let's all come over to the pillows in the corner here so I could read the story to you all and we could then do the craft.” Aizawa corralled them all into the corner and began to hand out pillows.
Each kid grabbed a pillow and Hitoshi grabbed an extra one for Shouto and set it next to him. Katsuki looked at the pillow and gave a growl before he set his pillow down right beside the one for Shouto.
Touya gave Shouto a quick kiss on the head and told him he was running to the restroom. Shouto nodded and got comfy on the pillow, excited for the story.
Touya took his time going to the bathroom and checked his phone to see a text from Keigo.
Wish I was there for you, my love. I am sure it will be fine and I can't wait to hear about Shouchan’s little adventure. I will be home later tonight. I love you.
Touya smiled. If only he knew how well it was going. There were some hiccups but Shouto seemed to be doing well. A lot better than Touya was expecting. He was anticipating more anxiety or breakdowns from Shouto.
When he made his way back he saw that Aizawa was finishing up with the story. The woman waiting next to Touya turned to introduce herself.
“Hello I'm Midoriya Inko, Izuku's mom. Katsuki lives in the apartment across from ours and they are practically like brothers. I noticed Shouto called you his older brother?”
“Yeah I'm his eldest brother. I got custody of him a year and a half ago.” He then proceeded to launch into the full story of his brother.
“Oh my that poor baby. It's a good thing that evil man is dead or I would have killed him myself.”
Ok mama Midoriya! She seemed quiet and Touya was not expecting that reaction. “Me too, trust me.”
Aizawa finished the story and the kids did a mix of cheering and clapping.
“Time to do the craft! Let's make our way back to our table. May I pick you up, Shouto?” Shouto seemed nervous but nodded.
“You can't walk either? Damn, halfie. You need more than soba! I'm talking like meat and veggies too!”
Shouto laughed at that even though Katsuki was probably more serious than a heart attack.
Aizawa placed Shouto gently on the chair and waited to see if he was stable before walking away. “Ok kids, now for the craft I want you to draw yourself as a superhero and show us what your super powers would be!”
Aizawa brought some paper and crayons out of his bag. Touya could see the anxiety on Shouto's face when he saw the small skinny crayons but his anxiety was short lived as Touya noticed that Aizawa gave Shouto a pack of the thicker crayons that he would have an easier time coloring with. Honestly bless this man as Touya could see the happiness on Shouto's face.
He made small talk with Aizawa and Inko, arranging possible future play dates. Aizawa also talked with him about school and registration.
“What do you do for work?” Aizawa asked.
“By trade I'm a tattoo artist. I own my own shop. But when Shouto came I haven't really been able to tattoo much. I really miss it. My boyfriend is a pilot for Japan Air.”
“Wow those sound like fun jobs! And I guess you look the part of a tattoo artist.” Inko smiled.
“You know my husband wanted to be a part of a tattoo competition that is coming up and was thinking about getting a back piece. He also said it would probably be really good press for the artist.”
“Good press?” Touya questioned.
“Oh yeah, my husband is Present Mic.”
Touya felt his jaw drop. “Like the singer Present Mic?!”
“The one and only. If you would be interested I could put you into contact with Hizashi.”
“Yes!” Touya probably said a little too excited.
“Good. How do you think Shouto is doing so far?” Aizawa asked.
“Honestly, I am surprised that it is going so well. I was expecting a lot of anxiety and breakdowns, but he seems to be having a good day today. Mind you it's only been an hour and a half. I don’t know if he’d be able to handle a full day. His days PTSD wise are more bad than good.”
“That is to be expected, this is a big first step for him. We also have counselors on site that work with students with Shouto’s condition if he is having a bad day. We wouldn’t just throw him in for a full day right off the bat because that is very jarring for the kids. It's a whole change in routine and some do not adjust to that well.”
Touya nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. He also has nap time twice a day as the brain damage and waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares every night makes him tired.”
“We have students that take naps in our classroom, so he will fit right in.”
This all sounded good to Touya, but it was a huge step for him. He couldn’t imagine how big of a step it would be for Shouto.
“Just something to think about and hopefully ease some fears.”
Touya just nodded. It was quiet for a minute as they watched the kids.
“Katsuki is really surprising me today.” Inko had said. “I don’t think I have ever seen him interact that well with a new child.”
“I am quite shocked too. I am thinking that he might see Shouto as someone that needs help that he can take care of. Katsuki is very insecure around someone he may see as a threat or smarter or stronger than him. I think he sees the same in Izuku, but I think he may recognize that Shouto needs more care.”
“I am quite sure that they will be thick as thieves after a couple of play dates.” Inko laughed.
Touya nodded. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the little brat, but he wasn’t being cruel to Shouto, so he will let that pass.
Aizawa then walked over to the children. “Ok kids, are we ready to show our pictures? Who wants to go first?” Of course Katsuki almost fell off the chair with how enthusiastically he put his hand up. “Ok Katsuki, you first. Let’s practice signing too.”
Katsuki looked at the paper and his hands and saw a predicament. “How can I show my paper if I gotta use my hands?”
“I will hold it up for you.” Aizawa grabbed the paper and showed it.
Touya could see what appeared to be a lot of violent coloring.
“When I’m a superhero I’m going to have laser vision, and explosions that I can control, and mind reading, and lava breath, and I’m going to defeat all the bad guys!”
“Wow Katsuki that sounds really powerful!” Aizawa handed the paper back to him. “Izuku, would you like to go next?”
Izuku looked scared, but he gave Aizawa his drawing to hold so that he could sign. 'When I’m a superhero I wanna be strong and brave like All Might! I wanna help people and smash stuff!'
Everyone chuckled. “Good job Izuku! Hitoshi, would you like to go next?”
Hitoshi gave his dad his paper. 'When I’m a superhero I want to be able to talk real loud and control people so that they hear me and listen. And I want to be able to fly!'
“Good job, Hitoshi! Thank you for sharing. Ok Shouto, your turn.”
Shouto hesitantly gave Aizawa his paper. 'When I am a superhero, I want to be as caring as my Aniki so I can take care of people. I also want to be able to walk and run. I miss walking…'
Shouto's face crumbled as he began to cry. Touya rushed forward to pick him up.
“Shouto it's ok, you’re ok.” Touya eased him.
Katsuki shot up from his chair surprising everyone and walked over to Touya. Touya was worried about what the little gremlin was going to say.
“Hey halfie!” Katsuki then patted Shouto’s leg. Shouto turned around in Touya’s arms to see him. “You are gonna walk one day! You gotta get stronger! Promise me you are gonna eat lots and then we can walk together and be heroes!”
That honestly surprised Touya and judging by everyone else it surprised them as well. Shouto smiled wide through his tears. “O-ok Kats, I-I gon-gona stro-ong g-get!”
Katsuki blushed at the words and the nickname but nodded and quickly made his way back to his chair.
“Katsuki, that was so kind of you, I am proud of you! Yes Shouto, you are going to be big and strong and then run circles around us. I am sure of it! Now this is the end of story time and I hope you all had fun. Let’s make sure to pick up all the crayons and put them back in the basket. The big crayons Shouto was using go in this box.”
The kids got all the crayons together and helped to tidy the room while Shouto calmed down in his brother’s arms.
'Will we see you again?'Hitoshi asked Shouto.
“Yes, your dad is going to arrange a playdate for you guys.” Touya answered and Hitoshi smiled.
'What about us?' Izuku signed.
“I got Shouto’s brother’s number so we will be able to call him as well.”
“You are also welcome to bring him to the school if you want to give it a test drive before you enroll.” Aizawa smiled at Touya.
Touya smiled back. “That all sounds good I am sure you will see us quite soon.”