Underneath (BNHA Fanfic)

It's 3 AM. Just sleep.

REWRITE

Touya squeezed the innocent ball tightly in his palm, his knuckles white as his nails attempted to penetrate the squishy stressball. His head pounding in agony against the stiff futon as he muffled a cry, disturbing the deafening silence. His sight turns cloudy, wet tears threatening to fall while he tried to ignore the burning agony on the side of his leg.

He hears a faint rip as he focuses on the ball in his hand, his eyes falling on the new tear on the side, small but visible. He breathes in, keeping his sight on the ball as he lets go of the it and watches the ball rise from it's dented state slowly, his knotted muscles slowly undoing themselves and his breathing paced itself.

He played with the toy mindlessly, too tired to move. His gaze habitually switched from the ball and the clock until the pounding became nothing but a soft echo and the ticking of clockwork was the only thing he could hear.

Touya hated how claustrophobic he was. At random moments of the day, his heart would start racing and his mind would beg for him to break down, whether it be at school, training with Endeavour or presently, in his room wide awake at 3 AM. Sometimes he'd freeze up and just disconnect, log off from the world.

It was alright he guessed.  The panic attacks weren't so bad that he couldn't take care of them himself. He had gotten used to them and stubbornly refused to let anyone know about them, especially his siblings.

Why? Because it was stupid. His blankets hadn't left the cupboard since he was 5 because he was too scared to use them. Last time he did, it felt as if he was suffocating and couldn't breathe.

He whimpered, curling into a small ball and hugged his knees. The nights in Japan where often cold but it was nothing Touya couldn't handle. Despite making him dangerously prone to fire, inheriting his mother's constitution and his father's powerful fire quirk made him somewhat ice-proof. The cold simply didn't bother him and ice would just melt off him much to Natsuo's dismay.

Soft footsteps, almost silent, stopped outside his door as Touya listened keenly. There was a small slide, a pair of heterochromatic eyes, one turquoise another stormy, peered through the gap and into the room gingerly. The redhead quickly wiped his tears and took a breath before speaking.

"Come here Shou,"

Shouto's eyes widened, a bright smile on his face. He slid through the ajar door and curled in his brother's arms. His bicolored hair brushed softly against Touya's sensitive neck as he turned to face his brother.

"What happened this time?" the older boy pressed softly.

"My room was too cold,"

Touya laughed softly, a fond smile on his face.

"Am I nothing but a heater to you?" he retorted playfully. Shouto nodded into his chest, wrapping his small arms around the other. The redhead narrowed his turquoise eyes on the other, concern laced in his gaze. The younger boy was being too quiet when he'd usually be chattering away Touya's ears. Both of them were night owls while Fuyumi and Natsuo were a pair of early birds.

"Shouto," His tone was final and reminded him of his father, making him wince.

"Mummy and father are fighting again," the bicoloured boy said softly, his tiny hands clenched onto his brother's shirt, "It's really loud,"

Touya had forgotten Shouto's room was closest to their parents since he was the youngest, three-years-old. Frankly, Shouto spent more time in his room than his own that Touya had a spare drawer for his clothes and a small hamper filled with toys. He sighed, holding onto his shortcake tighter.