A long journey home

Part 24

This was a lot to take in.

His oldest son was alive... Toya was alive.

How was that even possible?

That wasn't really important. How was he supposed to tell Shoto? They had been working hard at rebuilding their relationship. Would this be the one thing big enough to destroy it? Enji couldn't lose another child. Not like this...

He couldn't lie either. The truth always came out and Shoto deserved to know. Toya deserved to be apart of their family again. If that's what the teen wanted...

Jeanist had been taking care of him for weeks. A chance encounter on a late night brought his boy back to him. Toya seemed like he was willing to give him another shot. Enji wasn't sure why, but he wouldn't question it. This wouldn't be an easy reconciliation. There was a lot of trauma to unpack, but the hero was ready to do that.

His family meant everything to him. Therapy had been his saving grace. He never thought he'd get a second chance with any of his kids and now... now he has the opportunity to mend two of the broken bridges he created. It felt like a dream come true.

It was almost too good...

His therapist would remind him to stay focused on the present moment, encourage him to stay away from the what if scenarios. That would be a dark path, so he shut that door. Slammed it... he couldn't worry about what could happen. There were too many possibilities.

He had a shot and that's all he could ask for.

Waiting for his youngest child to get home from school felt like torture. It had only been a few days since he came face-to-face with Toya. A welcomed ghost from his past. Enji promised the boy he would tell Shoto, but he needed time to process first. He didn't take long though because he could tell the older teen was antsy. The hero wouldn't let the wayward boy suffer longer than necessary. He could deal with the discomfort... Toya couldn't.

He had been alone for so long. The mere idea that his kid's only option was to get involved with notorious villains made his stomach flip. That was his fault and he owned it. He was the reason Toya worked himself overtime. He was the reason Toya never learned how to properly control his quirk without hurting himself. Enji never imagined it would turn out the way it did.

He never thought Toya would...

The sound of the front door creeping open shook him from his thoughts.

Shoto was home.

His palms was sticky with sweat and no matter how many times he wiped them on his pants, they were still drenched. He was so nervous.

His newfound bond with Shoto was still fragile. This might be too much for it to bare.

That wasn't his choice to make though. He had to trust his son. Trust that they could solider through this as well. Repairing the damage he caused was never going to be simple. His therapist warned him that there would be setbacks... times when Shoto would push away. It was normal.

He took a deep breath and then pushed himself away from the kitchen counter. Shoto liked to relax in the main sitting area for a bit after school usually, so that's where Enji headed.

Upon entering the front living space, he noticed tension in his son's shoulders. A clear indicator that he was stressed. Enji sat down gently, leaving just enough room so he wasn't smothering the kid.

"Are you okay?" Shoto glared at him, but there was no real fire behind it. He appeared to be annoyed rather than truly upset.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired. My remedial classes suck. It's almost over though." Ah. That was understandable. Enji was relieved that nothing major had happened, but now he was just planning on piling more shit onto his son.