Work Text:
Shouto sat on the courtroom bench, swinging his legs. He felt so small compared to the adults deciding his fate in the other room. So nervous on what they would decide.
Izuku reached out and laced their fingers together, reminding Shouto that although he may feel alone, he wasn’t. He had Izuku and all of his friends at Yuuei. And yet...
“Maybe I shouldn’t have done this,” Shouto admitted quietly.
Izuku’s head snapped towards his. He felt himself relax at the fierce expression his boyfriend gave him. “What are you talking about, Shou? Why would you think this is the wrong thing to do?”
Shouto shrugged. “I don’t know. He was… He was getting better. He hadn’t lost his temper or hit Fuyumi or me in so long before the charges were brought up against him. He was trying to be a better person.”
“But he still hurt you, Shou. He hurt you here too,” he spoke softly, touching Shouto’s heart, “and no amount of excuses and apologies will ever make that hurt go away. It doesn’t matter that the bruises faded. The impact is still there on you and Fuyumi and the rest of your family.”
“Maybe…” he started hesitantly, “Maybe if I had been a better son, he wouldn’t have—”
“Shouto, don’t even finish that thought.” Izuku’s words were firm. He reached up and squished Shouto’s cheeks between his hands. “You are an amazing son and an amazing person, and you need to understand that he is the one that fucked up. Not you. Not your mom. Not your siblings. Him. And it’s his job to take responsibility for his actions, not anyone else’s and especially not yours. Got it?”
Izuku always seemed to know exactly what words he needed to hear. He didn’t know how he was lucky enough to have Izuku in his life, and as his boyfriend, no less.
Shouto leaned forward and kissed Izuku chastely on the lips. “Got it,” he murmured, cheeks still squished between Izuku’s hands.
“Good.” Izuku released him and reached down to take Shouto’s hand again, his mouth stretched into a small smile.
They sat there together on the courtroom bench for a while. The room was quiet besides a few scattered conversations; none of Shouto’s family had wanted the trial to be open to the public, so there were very few people outside of their family in the room. Aizawa and All Might sat a few rows behind Shouto and Izuku, their faces tense from the wait. A row behind them was Jello Fello, the sidekick that had found and saved Shouto what felt like years ago but was really only months. Fuyumi and Natsuo were along the same bench as Shouto, huddled close to each other as they conversed. Fuyumi’s eyes were red from crying.
Shouto wished his mother was here too, but he was simultaneously glad that she wouldn’t have to go through this. She stayed strong for as long as she could when in the same household as his father, and she was strong as she learned to overcome what he did to their family. To put her through watching her abuser deny all his wrongdoings… Shouto couldn’t do that to her, and Fuyumi and Natsuo had agreed. When they told her what was happening, she had agreed with a sad smile. “My brave, beautiful children. Stay strong for me, okay?”
The doors to the courtroom opened, startling Shouto from his thoughts. He subconsciously clenched Izuku’s hand tighter.
Izuku patted their joined hands. “Everything’s going to be alright, Shou. Trust me.”
One after another, the three judges walked back into the room. The hulking figure of Enji Todoroki trailed behind them with two guards flanked on each side, his hands bound with quirk suppressant handcuffs. The three judges sat down at the front of the room, facing the crowd and Shouto’s father standing before them.
The judge in the middle cleared her throat. “After deliberating all evidence, we have found Todoroki Enji… guilty of all charges. Furthermore, he will be stripped of his hero license and sentenced to three years of jail and three years after that of probation. A restraining order is also to be placed between him and his children and wife. We suggest that you follow this restraining order, or there will be more severe consequences awaiting you in the next trial. The court is final on their decision.”
The sound of a gavel knocking on wood echoed through the room then Enji Todoroki was being led back out of the room. He stopped for a moment in front of Shouto’s bench, a forlorn look on his face. “I know I have no right to say this, but I am sorry.”
Natsuo stood up. Fuyumi, Shouto, and Izuku followed not long after. “You have no right to say sorry now,” Natsuo spat out. “No fucking right after years of abuse."
“Natsuo, please,” Fuyumi spoke up. “He’s not worth getting angry over.” She placed her hand gently on Natsuo’s shoulder as she gazed into Enji’s eyes. “You’ve done enough. Please leave.”
Enji seemed to take this in stride, and he looked towards the last of his children, to Shouto who could only search his open, remorseful expression and wonder why. Why was he acting apologetic now? Why did he hurt everyone he claimed to love?
And then he remembered that the why didn’t matter, really. It happened, and Shouto was ready to move on.
Resolved, Shouto lifted his chin and met his father’s cold blue eyes one last time then silently looked away.
Enji stumbled back a few steps at the clear dismissal. “Really, Shouto? Not even a few angry words for your old man?” When he still didn’t say anything, his father clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I look forward to seeing you become the number one hero.”
Without another word, Enji Todoroki walked up the aisle of the court and out of Shouto’s life. The doors closed behind him with a feeling of finality.
For what felt like the first time in years, Shouto exhaled. He turned to his side and gave Izuku a tiny, yet genuine, smile. Izuku easily returned it.
“I’m proud of you, Shou,” Izuku reminded him. Shouto relished the feeling of his boyfriend leaning into him and wrapping an arm around his waist. “You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for, and I love you so much for that.”
“Thank you for being here with me for all of… this.” He gestured around the room haphazardly.
Izuku reached up and grabbed his hand, bringing it down until he could kiss the top of his knuckles gently. “You don’t need to thank me for something like this. I’ll always be there for you, okay?”
“Always?”
“Of course.”
“I love you, Izuku.”
Izuku leaned closer, snuggling into Shouto's side. “I love you too.”