Shoto liked your hugs. They made him feel warm and safe, and reminded him of his mother before the... incident.

Sometimes he'd get bad thoughts, dark thoughts, horrible memories of the day everything changed for him. Whenever that happened, he could feel his scar begin to burn, just like the day he got it, but he didn't know why. It's been so long since then, why does it still hurt?

Your hugs helped keep the bad thoughts away from him, they stopped the hurting. But it was hard for him to ask for such affection like his other siblings did. So he remained his quiet self, silently watching longingly as you hugged his siblings throughout the day. Of course that didn't mean you neglected him, you gave him his fair share of hugs as well, but he still wasn't able to ask for them himself.

But for now, he was content with just being by your side and holding your hand. Even he wasn't playing with his siblings, then he'd be attached to your side, wanting to watch and interact with you.

You were a lot kinder than his dad, and never made him train to be a hero. Heck, you didn't even tell him to be anything!

You only ever pressured him when you knew it'd be beneficial for him, like eating his veggies or taking a bath. Other than things like that, you'd never make him unhappy.

Why couldn't his dad have been like that?

Shoto figured that the world would be a lot better of a place if everyone was like you. Kind.

•

The rain poured harshly on the house, the older three siblings found it comforting, but the youngest found it suffocating. It was all too much for him. It was too loud. A sudden crash of thunder caused him to hide under his covers, closing his eyes shut.

It felt like the walls were closing in on him, it got harder to breath, he started feeling hotter and hotter. He saw the teapot. He saw his mother'a scornful glare. His eye hurt. It burned.

Roaming the hallways looking for your headphones, you could hear soft crying, and went to investigate. You got to Shoto's room, finding that he was the source, although he was hiding underneath the covers.

You sat down on the bed, stroking his back soothingly,
"Shoto? Are you alright?"

He immediately flung the covers off of him before clinging onto you like a baby, sobbing.

You held him close, gently caressing his head trying to soothe him.

For a while he didn't speak, but soon you'd hear him mumbling,
"It hurts,"

Upon questioning him, he turned his head up at you, tears streaming down his face. He pointed to his scar.

Your heart broke at the sight. Just what had happened to this child? Did his father do this to him?

You gently kissed his scar, hoping that maybe it'd help. And to an extent, it did. Affection like this was something he hadn't received in forever, so it felt a little foreign.

Holding the boy in your arms, you started to cradle him, humming a relaxing tune as well. You didn't know how long you'd need to do it for, but you'd gladly do it till the end of time.

His tears started to slow down, and he was finally able to form coherent sentences.

"C-can you be my dad instead? Please?"

You hesitated for a moment.
"Oh Shoto I don't think-"

The pleading look in his eyes made you change your answer,
"Yes. I'll be your dad now,"

He smiled in relief before burying his head in your shirt, wiping whatever was left on his face off.

He still had a lot he needed to work through, but at least he had you now.

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This chapter is not happy I lied mb