Okay so here's the deal: I recently began the bnha manga, and Jesus Christ it was like someone clonked me over the head with a baseball bat then had me choking on soap. Anyways- I picked up where the anime left off, so now I'm caught up with what's happening. I'm kinda ruined now
I'll be needing to make some edits here and change around a thing or two, but otherwise nothing major. At least not big enough to rewrite any big events I got planned for the future. And I won't be making the edits for awhile, so until then I hope you enjoy
(P.S. I'm more up to date regarding their backgrounds, so... ouch)
Btw- if anything appears not to match up with previous chapters, it's because of the minor rewrite. Don't worry 'cause I'll go back and make those edits when I get to it
chapter five: small blessings
His footsteps were always so quiet, Julie noticed. Touya walked like there was something to fear, like there was something around every corner to be wary of. She knew Tenko sensed it too, but he never commented on it, just staring at the older boy with an unreadable look. It was strange seeing him so unresponsive after all the time they've been together. Only three years and she's grown so used to her kid smiling and laughing without a care in the world, but she could see that weight on his chest, the one he pretended wasn't there.
When the reports of what happened to Tenko's family came on the news, they showed just how extensive the damage was. It was hard to believe such a small child could do something like that, but she had seen the aftermath herself when he wrecked her bathroom.
(She still saw the guilt in his eyes whenever he passed the door.)
Julie wasn't sure what exactly happened to the kids—her kids, now—but she'd be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to give them happy lives after all the shit they've been through.
Touya's burns that wouldn't go away and the angry glint in his eyes when he looked in the mirror. Julie could sense it just bubbling beneath the surface of his skin, and she didn't know how to curb it. It was a burning rage about his father, that much she knew, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who was responsible for his charred flesh, but she couldn't allow him to keep living his life the way he was.
Resent glowed in his eyes whenever Julie paid any attention to Tenko, and it was almost surreal about how disparate he was for any kind of approval.
She had thanked him one night after he put his dishes away and offered to clean them, and there had been an immediate shift in demeanor. All the hostility seemed to float away, leaving him light, as his eyes leaked blood. It had taken hours to get him to calm down after he broke the bowl he was holding, and he disappeared to his and Tenko's room the rest of the night and she didn't see him until much later the next day.
Julie hated seeing the tremble in his hands whenever he held something just over a few pounds, how he sometimes strained to keep himself up and about. Despite his need for recognition and approval, the slightest hint of it sent him spiraling. The kid was a disaster.
Luckily, she had an idea that might help them both.
—
"...a what?"
"I got a dog!"
"…why?"
Julie pouted at Touya, cuddling the little cream-colored puffball closer to herself. "'Cause I wanted one, and I thought it would help you guys out," she said firmly, her mock-offense fading into uncertainty at the reception. She shuffled her grip a little, repositioning her arms to hold the dog better. "…do- do you guys like him?" she asked timidly, the freckles on her face dimming in brightness a little.
Ouch, okay, she just pulled out the puppy eyes card, Touya thought bemusedly. Beside him, Tenko was standing stock-still, eyes trained on the puppy in the woman's arms. He was tensed like he was about to make a run for it, but his feet were rooted to the floor and it was clear from the week Touya spent there that the younger boy would never ditch Julie. He idly wondered what was wrong when he spoke.
"I-" Tenko started, then stopped, taking a hesitant step closer. He eyed the dog warily, reaching slowly for it like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to.
The pup must've sensed him getting closer, because it wriggled around to try and sniff at Tenko's hand, tongue close to licking him when the boy pulled away quickly like someone held a hot iron towards him.
A pained wail left Tenko and he darted for their shared room, slamming the door behind him. Touya flinched at the noise, but he had no time to react before Julie was rushing after him in a panic, shoving the pup into his chest with a discarded "Watch him!" over her shoulder before she was in their room with the door shut behind her.
Touya stared in bewilderment, unsure of what to do, when the dog squirmed in his arms and made an odd yipping noise.
Touya dropped the furball on reflex when he felt the dog's claws digging into his burn wounds, hissing in pain as he clutched at his arm. A few pinpricks of blood seeped through the bandages, staining the material and raising the boy's blood pressure. How he hated red. He froze up, hand wrapping around his arm to stop the blood but mostly only so he didn't have to see it, didn't have to see the red red red, and then…
he breathed in once - twice, deeply - and exhaled, just like Julie taught him. Faint blue sparks leapt off his arms when the dog tried sniffing at his legs, and it quickly scurried away to squeeze under the kotatsu in the living room. Cursing himself for his slip and regaining his composure, Touya hurried after the dog before he could burn himself on the heater.
—
Tenko lay shivering and crying quietly in the corner of the room when Julie closed the door.
"Oh Tenko…" she whispered in distress, profanities floating through her mind as she should've realized that having another dog so similar to his old one would've triggered something.
She crept towards him slowly, making sure to keep her footsteps just loud and purposeful enough to let him know she was approaching.
Tenko flinched back when the floorboard she stepped on creaked, and Julie stalled, reminding herself that any sudden noises could trigger something worse.
Sighing quietly, Julie sat down on the floor a few feet from the boy and watched him silently. She had, of course, noticed that he had slowly but surely been getting louder over the years. Every little sniffle to his murmurings got louder each time, like he was finally coming to terms that this was a safe place for him—that he didn't have to be scared anymore.
She thought getting a dog would help cement the mindset in, but all it did was make things worse.
Maybe I'm not as good at this as I thought… Julie thought wearily, shoulders slumping as she hugged her knees close to her chest, burying her head in them with despair.
She just wanted the best for her kids, but it was so hard to get everything just right without triggering something for either of them. Tenko still hesitated stepping foot into the backyard, and Julie always had to go out with him to keep him from panicking. Churned, muddy earth always sent the boy into a frenzy, so she was always careful about steering him away from any construction sites. She squeezed her eyes shut hard.
Just a few days ago, she had burned the pork they were going to eat for dinner, and Touya had curled up, trying to stop himself from crying and skittering away from Julie when she tried to help him, and he avoided the kitchen entirely whenever she cooked because the stove fire sent him reeling. He hated looking into any mirrors and didn't look out any of the windows, always scowling when her freckles turned the same blue shade as his eyes. Her nails dug into her arms.
She had hoped getting a dog that wasn't overly loud or hard to take care of would help ease them into comfort, but perhaps she was wrong. She just didn't know what to do.
Julie looked up from where her head was buried in her knees, spying Tenko slowly but surely calming down, his cries stifled and shoulders no longer shaking.
Slowly, hesitantly, Julie uncurled herself, scooting closer towards the boy until she was sitting in front of him, arms at her sides and eyes trained solely on him. When she didn't move for several moments, Tenko lifted his eyes from his arms just enough to see Julie, his eyes rimmed red and lip trembling, but at least he wasn't crying anymore.
"I- I'm suh- sorry," he managed to stammer out in a low whisper, but Julie was already pulling him into her lap and hugging him tightly. Low murmurs of It's okay, baby and You have nothing to be sorry for escaped her as he curled against her. He didn't protest or struggle, only sinking into the embrace with a small sigh. After a few seconds, he unwound and relaxed fully against her, letting his head loll back to rest on her shoulder with no complaint.
Humming a tune she knew he liked, Julie rocked them back and forth, removing an arm from him to run her hand through his hair. Julie knew he was self-conscious about the color it had taken on and she constantly tried to soothe his worry about it. Running her fingers through it and brushing it always seemed to calm him down, and she wasn't about to stop if it helped him.
Finally, Tenko's breath evened out, and he was asleep.
—
"Come on out, you stupid puffball," Touya grumbled, reaching under the kotatsu to try and grab the dog, but it only yapped at him, poofy tail wagging and tongue lolling. When he tried to grab the scruff and yank it out, he nipped his hand and forced him to pull away when one of its teeth snagged on a bandage, but Touya managed to keep from snapping this time. "Ow! Sonuva bi-" he cursed, only to cut himself off when the dog shot past him and into the hallway. Groaning in irritation, Touya scrambled up after it, careful to not knock into any walls as he regained his balance.
"Why did Julie think this was a good idea?" Touya grumbled to himself, turning a corner when the stupid mutt charged off into Julie's room and under the bed. Facepalming and wishing he didn't knock himself out when he first woke up in this house, he resigned himself to crawling on his belly after the pup. There was, fortunately, enough room for him to squeeze under the bed (thank god he was still small) and found the pup laid on its back, giving Touya the puppy dog look that just screamed 'pet me'.
Now I understand why Endeavor never let us get that pomeranian we wanted, he mused, finally getting a grip around the pup's scruff and wiggling out backwards under the bed, the dog firmly in his grasp again.
Huffing as he got it settled snuggling but firmly in his arms, he finally managed to get a good look at it.
It was a Shiba Inu, if he had to wager a guess, with a small poofy tail curling around its hind legs and a pretty cream coat. It stared up at him with beady black little eyes that reminded him of a beetle, but a very adorable little beetle, Touya would begrudgingly admit.
Sighing, he untucked a hand from supporting its back to scratch behind its ears, which it readily leaned into with something that almost sounded like a purr.
Well, Touya decided, I guess this isn't so bad.
Grinning to himself, he turned on his heel and made his way to his and Tenko's shared room to check on him and Julie.
Maneuvering the dog around in his group a little so he could open the door, Touya stepped into the bedroom and found Tenko passed out in Julie's hold, the latter not seeming to mind much as she hummed him what sounded like a lullaby. She glanced up when she heard him enter.
"How'd it go?" Julie asked quietly, shifting a little so she could face him better.
Touya shrugged a little. "Could've been worse," was all he offered, mindful of keeping his voice down. Julie grinned a little like she knew exactly the kind of struggle he went through to nab the pup. "We keeping him?" Touya asked with a half-hearted glare, rubbing the dog's belly when it whined a little for more pets.
Julie looked down at Tenko with a considering frown, ceasing her rocking and tightening her hold on the boy. "If…if Tenko wakes up and doesn't freak out, then yeah," she finally murmured. Sighing quietly, she looked back up with a glittering look in her eye that seemed to make her freckles glow brighter.
"What do you think we should name him?"
"Hmm, how about Megumi?"
….
Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. Was planning on posting Saturday but then I got depressed, couldn't post Sunday because I was at a fourth party, so here's this. I hope I got the fluff right! Was getting a bit tiring only writing angst.. Anyways, thank you all so much for the support and see you next time!
