Fading into the background

Chapter ten: Tokoyami the mother-hen(crow)

Author note: I'm so very much sorry about taking forever. My computer sorta.. ehrm... died? But it did not get set on fire and now I have a new one so more chapters :)

Tokoyami gently coaxes Shoto back to a standing position, but despite his compliance the younger boy still looks rather dazed. Fumikage carefully guides Todoroki to his house which is only ten minutes away from the field they are at. He spends the entire way awkwardly hovering over Shoto, afraid he will topple over with no warning considering how out of it he looks. They finally reach his house and he leads his friend towards the living room, telling him to sit on the couch.

"Just wait a sec. I'll be right back" says Tokoyami before he disappears down a hallway.

He comes back moments later with a bulky white first aid kit in his hands. Shoto doesn't think it is necessary at all but seeing how worried his friend looks he lets him help him anyways. Tokoyami looks very unsure about what to do next but he eventually pulls out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some gauze and asks Shoto if he can clean the cut on his cheek. Todoroki just hums affirmatively and closes his eyes. Next, Fumikage grabs some kind of cream that smells like herbs and extends it over where he assumes there is a bruise before putting a bandage over it.

The bird-boy slowly puts everything back on its place and leaves once again. This time he comes back with a big tub of chocolate ice-cream and two spoons. He grabs the remote control and plops down into the couch next to Shoto handing him one of the spoons. Todoroki hesitatingly takes the spoon he is being offered and begins fidgeting with it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asks Fumikage all of a sudden.

Todoroki immediately shakes his head no and braces himself for more questioning. Surprisingly enough, there is no pushing by his friend. He is beginning to relax again when the, now opened, ice-cream tub is shoved in front of him. He almost drops it because of the surprise but he manages to catch it before looking at Tokoyami questioningly.

"Eat some. Ice-cream makes everything better." His friends states while he browses through a movie catalog.

By the way he says it, it seems as if ice-cream making everything better is a proven absolute truth. Shoto somehow doubts it, but he can't really judge considering he has never had it before. After some time of just staring at it he can feel the condensation drops wetting his hands and finally he decides to try it. It is cold and soft and sweet and perfect. Shoto loves it and thinks that maybe, just maybe, ice-cream does make everything a bit better. His approval of ice-cream must have shown somehow because he hears Tokoyami try to suppress a snort by his side.

The movie starts playing and Shoto is suddenly acutely aware of how bright and loud everything is. His head is throbbing with a vengeance and the rapidly changing lights and sounds from the TV are really not helping. Then one of the characters drops a pile of pots and before he can even think about it Shoto hisses at the screen. Right after realizing what he has done he feels his ears growing hot and he makes a point not to look at his friend who is chuckling by his side. When he stops laughing Tokoyami does lower the volume and adjusts the brightness of the screen which Todoroki greatly appreciates. He must have appreciated it a bit too much because a couple of minutes later he falls asleep.

Tokoyami, seeing as Todoroki is asleep, immediately pulls out his phone while he internally freaks out. He turns it on and unlocks it with his fingerprint before realizing he doesn't really know what he was going to do with it. He knows his best friend is getting abused by his father. He also knows that said best friend's father is Endeavor, the number two hero. And as much as he loathes it, there is probably nothing he can do to fix it. So he does the next best thing he can think of, he makes sure that Todoroki has a safe place to go if he needs to, and mentally apologizing to Shoto for telling someone without his permission, he texts his parents. He explains the entire situation to them and they assure him that his friend can come over whenever he needs to.

The credits of the movie are rolling down the screen and Tokoyami has just put his phone down when Shoto stirs awake. He looks confused for a few seconds before he spots Fumikage.

"Errh.. mh... I'm sorry about... uhm... yeah..." He says sleepy.

Tokoyami looks unimpressed by that statement, which Shoto must admit has not been his most brilliant moment.

"You have nothing to apologize for... If you ever need anything you can come here" Fumikage says, trying to force a smile that looks more like a grimace than anything else.

"-kay, thanks" Shoto replies, showing a small genuine smile.

They stay sitting in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes. When Todoroki looks more awake, Fumikage finally gathers enough courage to talk about what had happened that day.

"You should tell the teachers. They might be able to help" Tokoyami says bluntly. He had tried to come up with a more subtle way to suggest this, but subtlety is not his thing and Shoto can be rather dense sometimes.

"I- I can't. Just not- not now. Maybe later?..." Shoto stutters out as an answer.

That was better than what Tokoyami was expecting. It is not good, not even close to good. But it isn't a no, which is the answer that he had been expecting.

"Okay, that's okay. How about telling the others?" Fumikage tries again. It might not be much help but if he is not available at some point it would be better if Shoto had more people he could go to.

Todoroki is surprised by how accepting Fumikage is of his every answer. He is also now having an internal debate. Until this moment he had been rather sure of what his answer was to every question but, does he want the others to know? He is afraid of them knowing. Afraid they will treat him differently. Afraid they will force him to tell someone else. But they didn't treat him differently because of his disabilities and Tokoyami has been very helpful and understanding. He takes in a big breath and makes up his mind.

"Okay. I-I can do that" he answers with resolution.

It is only after voicing his decision that he realizes that now he has to tell them. He has to go to them and tell his friends that his father beats him up. How does one do that? It is not something he can just walk to them and blurt out. He is completely lost about what to do. He was already running through dozens of possible scenarios in his head, all ending up in disaster when Tokoyami interrupts him.

"Do you want to do it or do you want me to do it?" his friend asks.

"You. You please." It had been a long time since he felt so much relief about something.

Tokoyami looks about to ask something when his phone starts beeping. It was the alarm to go home. It is already 2 o'clock and he has to leave now if he wants to catch the train. Shoto hurriedly grabs all his things and as he is going out the door Tokoyami stops him.

"Are you safe?" He asks seriously.

Shoto tenses hearing this question. He wants to say yes, but he can't. He does not want to start lying to his friend now. So he does the next best thing he can think of. He unclenches his jaw and with what he hopes is a reassuring smile he responds to his friend.

"I'll be okay"