Bruised And Broken

Baking

Todoroki woke up on Thursday morning with a warm feeling in his chest. Rather, on his chest.

He cracked a grey eye open to register the fur of Yuki, where she was lying on his chest.

And that's when he realized; he didn't have a nightmare.

For once in months, he felt a strange burst of utter joy. Similar to the joy he had felt yesterday when they had adopted Yuki.

"Good morning, Yuki." The teen whispered to the cat. She was already awake, but lying there peacefully.

Taking his phone of the bedside table, Todoroki eased himself into a sitting position. Yuki curled on his lap, purring.

He turned on the device, and saw the time- it said 8:00. Normally, he would wake up at around 6:00, because he always thought he needed to train.

But now, with Yuki, he could actually get rest.

Todoroki yawned, apologising to Yuki as he got up and changed. Running a hand through his hair, he exited the room. Yuki sprang after him.

"Good morning, Shoto." Aizawa greeted him wearily when the teen entered the kitchen.

"Good morning." Todoroki returned. He still had a small smile on his face from the ways Yuki had helped him the previous night.

"Did something good happen?" Aizawa asked, now looking fully engaged. He was sitting at the kitchen island, crosswords spread in front of him.

"It's just... Yuki helps a lot." Todoroki explained. The teen grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl and joined Aizawa.

"Cats are the best." The pro chuckled lightly.

"Where's Hizashi?" Todoroki asked him softly.

"Still sleeping." Aizawa gestured lazily down the hall.

"Ah, I see." Todoroki peeled his orange, and bit into it.

"He's going to teach you to bake." The adult yawned.

"That's right!" A loud voice bellowed out from the adults' bedroom.

"Looks like Hizashi's up."

~

"I could just use my fire." Todoroki suggested. The trio were in the kitchen, after they had all eaten breakfast. Baking supplies were spread across the counter, and Aizawa had just said they needed to wait for the oven to warm up.

"Shoto, no." Hizashi laughed.

"I don't see why not-" Todoroki cut himself off. He knew he should not question his guardians' judgement.

Endeavor would have-

No. Shoto- not Todoroki, he won't be associated with Endeavor- is not going to think about him today. He's going to have fun with his real guardians.

"Right, we can put the cookies in now." Hizashi announced, grabbing the tray of batter with horribly pink oven gloves.

"Let's play chess while we wait." Aizawa set the oven timer, leading the other two through to the living room.

~

Shoto was surprisingly good at chess, even though he had never played before.

But Aizawa was an absolute god at it. (Though he seemed more like a devil, playing with an evil smile.)

Hizashi was just... Hizashi. He kept losing; though Shoto suspected he might be doing it deliberately. Hizashi did hide a lot of intelligence under his dumb persona.

"Checkmate!" Aizawa smirked, stealing Hizashi's king.

"Nooooo." The blonde whined. Shoto was in the kitchen, peering through the oven door.

"I think the cookies might be done?" The teen called back to the adults. They made there way to the kitchen and Aizawa took out the tray only to find burnt cookies.

Shoto did not seem fazed, and he broke off a piece with his left hand, putting it in his mouth.

"Are they supposed to taste burnt?" Cookies were another thing Shoto had never gotten to experience.

"No!" Hizashi cried, blocking Shoto from getting another.

"Oh..." Shoto looked a bit confused.

"How about we make some lunch?" Aizawa sighed. Their baking and chess adventures had taken up most of the morning. "Soba?"

"Cold?" Shoto asked quietly.

"Of course, little listener!" Hizashi grinned.

~

Three bowls of cold soba were ready on the kitchen island by the time it was 12:30pm.

Shoto was the first to sit down, followed by Hizashi and Aizawa. Yuki was content to be sleeping on the sofa.

With permission from Aizawa, the teen dug in, revelling in the taste.

His mother always used to make soba for him before she was taken away. Such a bittersweet memory.

"You okay, Shoto? You sort of spaced out." Aizawa paused his eating to send the boy a concerned glance.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm good." Shoto said with a reassuring smile.

"Good good." Hizashi beamed.

~

After lunch was finished, Hizashi introduced Shoto to his instrument collection. It was stored in the adults' bedroom, and consisted of a drum kit, an acoustic guitar and a keyboard.

"My brother used to play guitar." Shoto murmured. The pros shared a concerned look over the implications of 'used to'.

"I can play for you!" Hizashi grinned, grabbing the guitar and sitting on the double bed. Aizawa sat down next to him, and Shoto cautiously perched on the edge.

Hizashi strummed an eccentric tune, happy and loud. Not really Shoto's style of music.

Aizawa took the guitar and plucked a beautiful melodic harmony, and the adults instantly saw Shoto enjoyed it.

"Thank you..." He smiled.