Forgiveness
Natsuo's stomach turned over and over and over again. He remembered the scant few times father had taken him to the dojo, demanded he display his quirk. He hadn't been impressed, even when Natsuo had done his best. He couldn't produce enough fire, or fire hot enough. He was a failure, cast out while Touya was brought back. He'd been angry, maybe envious. He'd gone to the training room at night before, hiding outside while father trained Touya.
It was different with his new brother. Touya never cried out. Touya never sobbed and begged. The familiar sounds of slaps and hits, he'd thought they were… he didn't know what they had been, he'd never cracked the door to watch, but he never thought that father was doing this. Touya was bigger, stronger, but the look on his face, the wrongness in his eyes. Natsuo lurched into him, wrapping his arms around his brother and blubbered in silence.
A second later Fuyumi was at his side, her arm wrapping around his back, grasping the hand behind Touya binding them to their brother. Sorries rushed out of him, barely above a whisper, and tears sank into his brother's shirt. Fuyumi was crying too, but above that he heard a hoarse cry from inside the dojo. And then there was pressure on his back. Touya bent his head down between them, whispering that they didn't know, that it wasn't their fault. Natsuo just continued to cry, shaking his head and smearing himself into his brother's side, but Touya hushed him.
They had to leave. Father would… father would find them if they stayed. From the silence it was likely that training was coming to an end. Father had pushed Katsuki past his limits. They couldn't be here when the door opened. Reluctantly Natsuo steadied himself and gave a nod to his brother, taking Fuyumi's hand as they snuck away to Touya's room.
They arrived, and promptly fell apart again. Tears spilled from his eyes. He hadn't known. His brother was so strong, he'd just thought, he didn't know what he'd thought. Touya was silent in the darkness, but squeezed back as they spoke. And finally it was all too much for him and he told them to stop. It wasn't their fault. It was father's fault. They weren't hurting him, they weren't hurting their brother. They weren't their father.
Natsuo wanted to cry more, but Touya asked them to be brave, to be strong. They would need them to be strong, stronger than they had ever been. They needed to be strong for him and for their brother, he would need them, and he would need people who cared. Was that really all they could do? Just be strong for him? He had failed his older brother, could he really fail his younger brother too? Was he really a failure like his father said?
Touya was silent for a long time after that. He needed time to think, and they needed to be in their beds in case father checked. He never did, but if he did they would get in trouble, and that would make things more difficult. Reluctantly he left with Fuyumi, but his brother stopped them at the door to give them a parting hug.
The night passed in silence and without sleep. Natsuo could hear his brother's cries whenever he closed his eyes. Some were those of his younger brother, echoing, others from older, imagined, and they gnawed on him. He struggled through the next day barely able to pay attention to his tutor. Touya visited him after, looking much the same as he felt, but gathered him up and brought him to Katsuki. Fuyumi was already there, talking with their brother, trying to comfort him. He didn't see how he could make it better, but he sat on Katsuki's other side as his brother cried about his mother and father and how he missed them.
He talked about them, even though father said he wasn't supposed to. It was… strange, listening to him talk about them. They weren't like father, they weren't even like mother. They had been there, been with him. He missed them terribly, he wanted, more than anything, to return to them. He'd give anything, do anything, but he couldn't even call them. Their father had confiscated and destroyed his phone the day he arrived, and he hadn't been given another. There were no phones in their home, father had long ago forbade them. Touya's eyes narrowed as they listened to their brother's begging and pleading, and then sat down in front of Katsuki. There was an intensity in his eyes that rivaled even their father's, a fire burning hot, but not with hatred.
Where did they live? What was their address? Their brother nodded and rambled out answers. He looked at Fuyumi, but she shook her head, and then to Touya who looked angry at himself. They might be close, they were in a nearby city, but none of them knew how to get there. Worse, they had no money to take a train or a taxi. Father wouldn't even give them enough to send a letter. Touya was frowning, but then hesitated and asked if Katsuki knew their phone number.
Author's notes: It turns out that the only people Endeavor's children can rely are on each other. It's taken them too long to realize that, and it's a step towards healing, but to start healing they have to stop the hurting.