Chapter Text
So. Negotiation. Enji remembered attending multiple classes and seminars on the matter during his UA courses and his time as a sidekick. How to interrogate villains or witnesses. How to handle hostage situations. How to collaborate with people you're not used to working with. Endeavor had studied the class as intensely as he did everything else, but admittedly, the results hadn't been extraordinary.
Negotiation might or might not be his weakest point as a pro-hero.
"Listen. We can do this the easy or the hard way." He glared down disapprovingly. "Don't test my patience."
Touya met his eyes without faltering and refused to open his mouth. The little pest turned his head to the side when Endeavor insistently pushed the spoon toward him. For fuck's sake. Now was not the moment to display that legendary Todoroki stubbornness. Enji didn't have all day. And he certainly wasn't going to be out-played by a one-year-old baby.
The kid was going to eat his goddamn purée, or else.
"Touya, open your mouth," he growled in his most thunderous Do What I Say voice.
Touya stared back, his tiny fists tightly holding the edge of his high chair. For a second, Endeavor genuinely believed he was going to cooperate. The brat opened his mouth. Let out a blurp. And closed it back again.
Enji sighed. It wasn't like he could just force his son's mouth open and throw the food inside. He would just spit it back in his face. Enji had met villains less petty than Touya.
"Distraction," Rei said from behind.
His wife slid into the kitchen in that serene way of hers. Enji had been taught since his first steps to walk with utter confidence, to conquer the room by presence alone, to rule and command. The contrast to the way Rei breezed quietly through life was nothing short of striking. He was a rock, merciless and unmovable; she a gentle wind, accommodating, pliant, peaceful.
Or so he had thought. He had seen firsthand how fast her unassuming attitude could turn into a chilling tempest when triggered. Be careful of sleeping water.
"I beg your pardon?" He frowned sideways.
"Distraction works best on Touya," Rei explained, bending down to kiss her son's bright red hair. He tried not to stare too obviously at the barely noticeable bump under her pull. "He likes your flames. You should try that."
Enji looked down at his hands. He had been told his whole life his Quirk was a weapon and a weapon only, meant to destroy and conquer. It was such an odd idea to use a weapon of massive destructive for a purpose so...innocent. Harmless. But Touya did love the flames, didn't he? He wasn't scared at all. They would have to be careful with that soon. Endeavor could make his own Quirk harmless to the toddler's sensitive skin, but actual fire wouldn't be so considerate.
He raised his finger in front of Touya's face and ignited the end of it. The toddler's blue eyes immediately lit up, for the lack of a better word. He wiggled excitedly on his seat, trying to reach the flame with his fumbling fingers.
Cute, Enji absolutely didn't tell himself. Touya was open to concession now, time to react. He grabbed the spoon with the firm intent to shove it inside the toddler's mouth.
"Fi'e!" Touya babbled happily. "Fi'e!"
Enji froze, the spoon dangling between his fingers. Did he just say his first word? Touya had been babbling incoherently for a few months, but that… That sounded like an actual word. Something familiar bubbled in his chest. It felt the same as the day Enji graduated with honors or his first promotion.
Pride. Ridiculous. It wasn't such a big deal. All babies learned to talk at some point. Nothing to be excited about.
But this was Enji's baby, and he was allowed to proud.
"Oh my!" Rei abandoned preparing her tea to hover enthusiastically above the high chair. "Did you just talk, sweet baby? Do it again!"
"Fi'e!" Touya laughed again, and the feeling in Enji's chest bursted out with giddiness.
"Of course fire is your first word; you're such a Todoroki." His wife giggled as she lifted Touya into her arms, kissing his cheeks and caressing his red hair. "My future arsonist little guy."
"There shall be no arsonist in this house." Enji tried to glare disapprovingly at them.
Rei, as usual, seemed more amused than impressed. Where did the woman who had nothing but frightful respect for her husband go? "I mean. I'm sorry to break it to you if you didn't notice before, but you're kind of one, Enji-san…"
"I'm not an arsonist."
He wasn't. Seriously. Arsonists were criminals, and Enji was the heart and soul of lawfulness.
"Okay." Rei smiled placatingly before blowing their son's cheek. "You like fire, baby, right?"
"Fi'e!" Touya confirmed with unbashful delight.
They would have to work on that before he burned himself to a crisp.
.
.
Enji's bedroom was as utilitarian and ordered as his life. It contained only the strictest necessities, the barest minimum, a pure space unblemished by frivolities. His mother always hated it, this ridiculous 'monk' side of his. A house was a display of wealth, she believed. Everything was an excuse to show her power, from her house to her clothes passing through her own offspring. The furniture Enji owed was by no mean cheap, but it wasn't uselessly flashy either. If an object didn't have a clear purpose, then he wasn't interested.
Rei's bedroom was quite different from his own. Calm, ordered, clean, but with the most insidious drop of chaos blending in. A dirty mug forgotten on her table, soft blue curtains by her windows, fresh flowers from the garden in a colorful vase, myriads of pictures tucked around her mirror, mostly of Touya. Touches of human presence woven inside the soothing nature of her room. She had progressively colonized the rest of the house the same way, slowly but surely invading his spartian space with her personality.
Before, Enji used to pay as much attention to her room as he did to the woman herself, which wasn't much. He came to her room, grimly did what he had to, and left. Nowadays, he spent more time in her room than he did his, tucked inside her futon, her presence. Sleeping in the same room served a purpose, in the beginning, back when Touya was an insatiable monster requiring their constant attention. It was simply easier that way, and honestly Enji would have passed out anywhere without paying a second thought.
But after Touya started sleeping through the night, Enji found himself reluctant to drag himself back to his own quarters. He started staying after their lovemaking, lingering in the afterglow, and Rei didn't say anything. And then he joined her bed when they didn't have sex at all. She didn't chase him out, though she could have. He would have understood. Privacy was important, but Enji, stupidly, weakly, craved the companionship of a woman he held nothing but indifferent contempt for less than two years ago.
By comparison, his own bedroom felt cold in a way it never did before. Lonely. He slept better next to her. Wasn't that pathetic and needy.
A dim light slanted through her door when he passed in front of it. He stopped, hesitant to come in. It was quite late. An unexpected hostage situation took away most of his night. He should have been delighted for the occasion to prove himself, instead of annoyed and pissed off he didn't get to see Touya at all today.
"You can come in, Enji-san," Rei's voice rose from the other side of the door.
He opened the door after a second of senseless hesitation. His wife was lying on her side, a leg on top of the cover and the other under, a book in her hand. She looked like a cat, lazily spread on the futon by the light of the lamp.
"Why are you still awake?" Enji said, glaring at her. She was five months pregnant. She needed her rest.
Rei put her book down and gestured at her round belly. "Baby is keeping me awake."
"How rude of them." He couldn't help but chuckle as he looked for his bed clothes inside her closet.
"Hmm, Touya was worse. How was your day?"
He stripped of his costume without a hint of shame. His wife had seen naked countless times before, and one memorable occasion, covered with baby vomit. He wasn't going to get self-conscious in front of her anytime soon or try to protect her 'virtue'. Rei might resent that; she once said his abs were one of his greatest qualities. It wasn't the first time he heard that, but it did sound strange coming from his usually overly polite spouse.
And not...unpleasant, the way he disliked his fans leering at him or gushing over his 'hot bod'. Being seen as a sex symbol was part of the job, he guessed. It wasn't as bad for him as most of his female colleagues.
He had retorted her abs weren't one of hers, and Rei had laughed herself sick.
"Long," he grumbled as he slipped under the covers. And then he added, because it was the polite thing to do: "Yours?"
"Oh, the usual. Cleaning, cooking, watching stupid TV shows. I left you something in the fridge, by the way."
"I saw. I wasn't hungry. Thanks." Enji rests his leg against hers. She was so goddamn cold, but he knew what he signed for when he married her. It was convenient enough in the summer. "So, what's up with Emi?"
He wasn't interested in the stupid soap opera she claimed she only watched to make fun of the ridiculous plot and even more ridiculous characters. But it made conversation, and he liked the way she got animated when she laughed about it or got annoyed on her favorite character's behalf.
She suddenly turned toward him, her eyes glistening mischievously under the dim light. "Oh my god. You're not going to believe it. She left Sasuke."
"Fucking finally."
"I knoooow, right? Wait for the plot twist: they were cousins. And that asshole knew, and he hid it from her for years."
"Gross."
"He's gross. I don't know what Emi even saw in him. It was very dramatic."
"When is it not." He rolled his eyes.
Rei settled against him, her head nested on the crook of his neck, her cold feet against his leg and her belly touching his side. Why was everyone in this house using him as a heater? "And?"
"Hmm?" She mumbled sleepily. "And nothing, the episode ended there. Andtouyawalkedtoday."
He froze. "What?"
Rei sighed. "I knew you would get upset. He walked today. Or like...wobbled a bit before he fell, but he did definitely got a few steps right. I took a video."
Enji clenched his fists to his side. His son took his first step, and he missed it. Like he would miss most of his firsts in general. He got lucky enough to be there when he said his first word, but most likely, he wouldn't be there for the rest. Enji could only be angry at himself. He had picked this life. And he had honestly thought it wouldn't matter.
But it did matter. It mattered a lot.
"Show me. The video."
He would have to take what he could get.
.
.
Heroes were strong, reliable, and always in control. This unshakable belief had shaped Enji's core since the more tender years of his childhood. He had strived his entire life to live up to those standards, to become the unfaillible hero the mass wished for, the leader the world would rally under, the undefeatable weapon his parents had carved with harsh words, lashing tongues, and sharp nails.
People wanted heroes without weaknesses, without vulnerabilities, without failures, who could protect them under any circumstance and sell them dreams at the same time. They didn't want to know about their doubts or their imperfections. Even less their humanity. Humanity was faillible, inherently flawed. They wanted security. Reassurance. Certitudes.
They wanted Gods.
Heroes were no allowed to be anything but perfect. And so Enji tried. He worked hard to fit that ideal. That was why he postulated to Crimson Riot's agency in first place. The man was everything Enji aspired to be. He learned a lot from his boss, but it was now time to fly on his own. He had stayed longer than he planned already.
The clusterfuck that had been Touya's first months had delayed his departure long enough.
"I see." Crimson Riot tapped his index against his desk. "You'll be missed, of course, but I was expecting this for a while now."
Enji had never been shy of his intent to build his own agency. He had no intention of staying under anyone's command forever, no matter how much he respected his soon-to-be former boss. It wasn't anything personal. Enji simply wasn't born to follow. Or perhaps he wasn't raised to follow. It was hard to tell these days.
"Sir, I'm grateful for what you taught me." Enji bowed his head slightly. "I'm ready now."
Crimson Riot stood up from his chair and moved toward Enji's side. He leaned his back against the desk, his expression thoughtful. "To be honest, a year ago I would have disagreed with that statement, but you would have left anyway."
Enji felt something cold shake in his chest. Disapproval from others should have no hold on him, yet he had to admit his mentor's disappointment did not leave completely indifferent. He had yet to destroy that whiny part of him craving attention and recognition, sadly.
"You're different from the person you were a year ago," Crimson Riot kept going, laying a hand on Enji's shoulder. "Fatherhood made you different."
He blinked skeptically. Had it really? People said becoming a parent changed everything in a man's life, that nothing was the same afterwards. Enji hadn't believed that sentimental crap at the time, but in retrospect he had to admit there might be some truth in it.
Touya might not have changed who he was, but his existence did force Enji to reconsider his priorities.
He shrugged. "Kimura said I was less of a dick now. Still a dick, but a bearable one."
She also said she would have to thank his cute little wife for whipping him into decency, but he wasn't about to repeat that in front of his boss. The fuck, Enji wasn't whipped. Because he could acknowledge Rei was worth more than her womb didn't mean he was at her beck and call.
Crimson Riot smiled, clearly amused by his 'cute ducklings' antics. "And what did you say to that?"
"I didn't. I threw her inside fountain at Central Place instead." Enji smirked without an ounce of remorse. Kimura had it coming, really. To his surprise, his stunt of immaturity had somehow boosted his popularity. People were weird.
"Ah, that's why!" Crimson outright laughed. "I wondered why she came back completely drenched."
Kimura had walked back in the agency leaving puddles on her tail without displaying a iota of shame. If anything, she looked more smug than contrite or mortified. He ended up drying her so she wouldn't drip all over his desk. After Endeavor the human heater came Enji the magical dryer. She even had the gall to complain he had ruined her 'slick hair, bro'. Worst of all, she was now calling him 'Dry Spell', the disspectful witch.
All in all, Kimura was the exact antithesis of the vision Enji had of heroes. Reckless, airheaded, always goofing around and acting like life was a massive joke only she knew the punchline for. And inexplicably, people loved her. She behaved like a buffoon, but they trusted her with their life anyway.
Enji didn't get it.
"I wish you the best, son," Crimson Riot clasped his shoulder. "You're going to do great things. I hope we'll get to work together again!"
Son. The word wasn't meant to sound warm or comforting. Son was a collar around his neck, the weight of centuries of tradition thrown on his back, the pressure of expectations clutching his lungs. Son was the leash, the stick, and the carrott.
But it wasn't how he thought of Touya, or of the unborn child growing inside Rei's belly, was it? Son meant something to protect, to nuture. To love. If he could even do that.
"Sir." He only managed to say this one word, his throat tight with unwelcomed emotion.
"Now that that's out of the way." Crimson Riot got back to his seat. "You asked off for your afternoon, right?"
Enji straightened, pushing back the turmoil festering inside his thoughts in the deepest corner of his mind. He had no time for wimpy nonsense. "I'll work double to compensate for the inconvenience."
"That's not necessary." His boss waved the proposal away. "You so rarely ask for free days; I was merely curious."
Enji tried to keep his excitement firmly reigned in. "My wife has a ultrasound today."
He hadn't bothered to show up to those during the first pregnancy, hardly seeing the point to take off work just to see a blurry picture of a fetus. It checked if everything was going well and that his offspring wasn't going to come out with a third arm. Enji didn't need to be there for that.
Well. Now he was. He'd rather die than admit it, but he kept a picture of the first trimester inside his wallet, like those dumbass future dads on TV shows. At that stage, the baby didn't even look like a human, but the image made him warm and slightly excited nonetheless.
Rei had smiled knowledgingly when he took a copy. "What?" he had snarled defensively.
"Nothing!" She had chuckled. "I didn't say anything."
Whatever.
"Oh, that's great!" Crimson said, sounding a bit nostalgic. "Please convey my regards to Rei-san."
"I will."
.
.
Deep within the closet in Rei's room, there were two things Enji clearly wasn't meant to see.
First, a pile of law school books. He vaguely remembered she had been a second-year law student when they got married, but he honestly hadn't cared at the time. Her education didn't matter, only her ability to give him healthy children and, accessorily, keep the household orderly. It made sense she would keep her old textbooks for the sake of nostalgia, but those were up to fifth year and looked well-used. Recently used.
Second, a brown backpack. The bag contained bland and warm clothes, a bottle of water, a cheap phone, biscuits that were way beyond their peremption date, and at least sixty thousands yen. It also had a knife hidden inside the inner pocket.
A emergency runaway pack.
Enji had put the cardbox keeping those two secrets of hers covered, spent an hour storming out his rage inside the dojo, and proceeded to pretend he saw nothing.
.
Nothing could make Enji lose his shit like All Fucking Might. The sight of his big dumb smile and the sound of his boisterous laugh was enough to ruin his day, sometimes even his week. Thankfully, he didn't have to interact with the man himself regularly. But his face. Was. Just. Everywhere. Apparently, the whole world couldn't get enough of All Might, and it made Enji sick with disgust.
"See how fast All Might is gaining rank and popularity," his mother snorted at him about every single time he visited. "You're not working enough."
Enji honestly didn't know how he could work harder unless he managed to add hours in the day. Not that she would care about that.
To add insult to injury, the man himself was absolutely insufferable. His goddamn big goofy persona infuriated Enji to no end. The way he stole the spotlight of whoever was in the same room without trying. How anyone could stand to exist in his vicinity, even less enjoy it, was a source of constant confusion.
If there was one person in this world he had no wish to see at the inauguration of his agency, it was All Might. Yet here the dumbass was. Drinking his champagne, devouring his food, attracting everyone's attention with his gaudy uniform and his awful hair and his laugh.
Talking to Enji's wife like he had a right to. He shouldn't be looking at her, even less engaging her with his dumbass stories.
"And then the villain said…" All Might was recounting, his hands making large movements to enphazise whatever point he was trying to make. "Oh, Endeavor! Good evening! It's such a nice party. Thanks for inviting me!"
He only did because it would have been rude not to. He never expected the Number One hero to actually show up. The dick. He met his wife's eyes, and her quiet amusement died out when she noticed his expression. A flicker of fear passed through her grey eyes. Enji was too angry to care about it. What right did she have to enjoy his sworn ennemy's company?
"All Might," he coldly greeted the grinning man. " What an honor."
Rei huddled closer, slipping her arm under his, her hand running across his arm soothingly. It was hard to stay angry at the sight of her enormous belly under the silver dress, but another look of All Might revived his fury all over.
He was looking at Enji's wife like he wanted to steal her away.
"Haha, hardly!" The buffoon laughed. "The honor is mine. Todoroki-san was kind enough to indulge me and listen to my silly stories."
Rei bowed in acklowledgment, as low as she could. So, not very much. "It was no chore, All Might. I hope you enjoyed yourself."
"I did; Todoroki-san is an exceptional hostess," All Might said softly, sounding almost sincere. Until he added obnoxiously: "Sadly, I have to leave early. Duty call! I wish you the best, Endeavor."
Enji grunted in vague agreement. Rei discreetly kicked his shin. "Thank you for coming," he reluctantly said.
All Might finally decided to back off, slowly making his way toward the exit door, but stopped every two steps to greet people. Dickhead. He couldn't stop himself from stealing the show, could he? He just had to hog everyone's attention.
"Just look at him," he grumbled. "Prancing around like a goddamn god."
Rei hummed along non-commitally. It was the sound that meant 'you're so wrong but I'm too diplomatic to show you the errors of your ways.'.
"Why were you even talking to him?"
Her eyebrows shot up incredulously. "What was I supposed to do? Tell All Might to fuck off?"
Yes. Definitely. He would have paid to see that. Really, he would have worshipped her until the end of his life if she had. "Hmm."
"You're ridiculous, husband of mine." She tilted her head to the side, staring at him with those wise beyond her years eyes of hers. "You don't see that man at all."
What the hell was she talking about? Fucking women and their fucking 'I know better than you' attitude. She had no clue what she was babbling about. "I see him just fine. With an ego that big, he's impossible to miss."
Some might say it was a bit hypocritical of him to critize other people's ego considering the massive size of his own. And to those people Enji only had one thing to say: fuck off.
"No, no. You're just projecting your own feelings onto him. You're not seeing him."
He stared at her, gobsmatched. "Did he slip something in your water?"
Rei laughed. "Oh my god, Enji-san. Of course not." She leaned on the tip of her toes, whispering into his ear. "Look at him. Really look at him. The way he's talking to people. The way they part in front of him. The distance between him and the rest of the world."
Her breath was chilly against his skin. And then, as if it was the saddest thing in the world, she added:
"He's lonely."
.
Next month saw Todoroki Enji stop on the side of the road in the middle of the night. Again. Rei couldn't stop laughing between contractions. Enji didn't see what was so funny about another emergency childbirth inside a car. One was an accident; two was unacceptable. At this rate, all his children would be born in the wild like savages.
"One day-" She had to take a minute to finish her sentence. "One day we'll make it to the hospital, Enji-san."
Thank god he actually read on the matter. He wasn't going to be caught unprepared like last time. Strong with his newly gained knowledge, he could now say with certitude women bodies were the grossest thing on earth.
He cursed and got on his knees.
.
.
"I think there is something wrong in the way you perceive contractions, Todoroki-san," the doctor said, pensively. "Possibly due to your quirk."
"No shit," Enji grumbled as Rei pat the top of his head.