When he started, scared and unsure, he had only the ambitions of his father to hold onto. Because Endeavor believed in him and knew what he was capable of. He would become a hero and surpass all others, until he stood at the top, vanquished All Might, and proved once and for all that the bloodline of Enji Todoroki was the superior hero! For that, he threw himself into his training, willing to power through everything that stood in his way. With his father's support, he would fulfill his ambition, earning his pride and the acknowledgement that Touya was worth every moment.
Until he wasn't. Burning himself, a weaker body unable to handle his Quirk or the physical demands placed upon him, when pure emotional grit wasn't able to break through those obstacles... all of that he could've handled. But when Endeavor turned away from him in disgust and anger, that was when Touya felt the agony of being a failure. A mistake. Breaking down in Keigo's arms, he'd clung to him, begging to know what he'd done wrong, why this happened, what he could do to succeed. Terrified that his failure would make him lose Keigo as well. Leaving this place could've been easy, a rejected and useless "hero" that couldn't make it. But he couldn't lose Keigo, not the only remaining person who saw him as something more than a broken, risky flamethrower. It's why he stayed when they offered to let him continue to hone his Quirk, even if it meant he was nothing more than weapon burning itself up. It let him keep his only friend...
So when he was gone, when Keigo left, when they said he wouldn't return because he had nothing left here for him, it broke everything. Even now as he clung to his returned friend and bled tears from his eyes that were too damaged for normal water, the intense burn inside him refused to go away. He hated them, every single one of them, the scientists and workers here, his father who abandoned him, his brother who replaced him, his family who ignored him, the damn heroes that were so important to this world. When he was in the middle of his rampage, burning everyone and everything around him... he felt so damn good. Even as his skin cooked on his body and the pain ripped his nerves apart, he felt free.
Some of that's shaken with Keigo's return. But nowhere near enough to push Touya's train back on the tracks. Derailed, crashed, exploded, and burnt, it wasn't going that way anymore. No straight rails for him. Only the warped and twisted tracks that carried him into the darkness with every passing moment. Clinging to Keigo right now was able to help calm some of those burning sensations (the drugs doing much of the rest), but inside... Touya continued to burn up.
Like an oven door closed over the furnace, the winged hero's tenderness is able to wind bandages around him, gently patching him up for the time being. Touya slowly begins to calm, the tears and shuddering taking their time to ease off as he sinks into his friend's embrace. Feels his breath through his hair, the soft avian cooing drifting into his ears and skin like it had so many times in the past. Together... Anywhere together... forever. His eyes drift half-shut and Touya's hands ease up on the death grip in his friend's shirt. Yes... yes he does want that. To stay with him. The one place he's ever felt save, validated, and wanted.
To hear Keigo say those little words... they break through the charred remains of his body and dive for what little bits of raw heart he still retains. Swirling and sinking inside like cool water, refusing to ever be removed from his flesh and mind. Some vague part realizes those words may very well have just cursed him forever, may become problems later, but there's no going back. Not when his broken heart accepted them so eagerly and consumed them in desperation to live. It's what brings the smile to his lips, half-charred as they are. Probably shouldn't be smiling in his state, but... whatever. There's a shift in his arms and he flickers a little in his consciousness, because Keigo's there a second and a second later he's there kissing the corner of his lips, then the other, "covering" his mouth in a way. It's... it's cute and keeps the smile on Touya's mouth.
"Didn't know..." He knew he was a friend, knew he was important, knew all those things. But love? Touya didn't exactly have a good example of what "love" actually was or acted like. But he accepts it regardless as hands guide his head. White spikes sink against Keigo's shoulder and the older teen settles against him, the bloody lines on his face no longer continuing to leak. More touches, more coos. He's too damaged and exhausted to do more than lean against his friend and rest, listening to his voice and heartbeat. "Don't think I ever will..." To be told someone loves him is almost surreal, but it gets through everything, medication, burns, pain, and the rest. Locked away inside Touya's heart to safely stay deep inside the blackened yards.
that's likely gonna be the policy regardless, but yeah, protective bird~
Until he wasn't. Burning himself, a weaker body unable to handle his Quirk or the physical demands placed upon him, when pure emotional grit wasn't able to break through those obstacles... all of that he could've handled. But when Endeavor turned away from him in disgust and anger, that was when Touya felt the agony of being a failure. A mistake. Breaking down in Keigo's arms, he'd clung to him, begging to know what he'd done wrong, why this happened, what he could do to succeed. Terrified that his failure would make him lose Keigo as well. Leaving this place could've been easy, a rejected and useless "hero" that couldn't make it. But he couldn't lose Keigo, not the only remaining person who saw him as something more than a broken, risky flamethrower. It's why he stayed when they offered to let him continue to hone his Quirk, even if it meant he was nothing more than weapon burning itself up. It let him keep his only friend...
So when he was gone, when Keigo left, when they said he wouldn't return because he had nothing left here for him, it broke everything. Even now as he clung to his returned friend and bled tears from his eyes that were too damaged for normal water, the intense burn inside him refused to go away. He hated them, every single one of them, the scientists and workers here, his father who abandoned him, his brother who replaced him, his family who ignored him, the damn heroes that were so important to this world. When he was in the middle of his rampage, burning everyone and everything around him... he felt so damn good. Even as his skin cooked on his body and the pain ripped his nerves apart, he felt free.
Some of that's shaken with Keigo's return. But nowhere near enough to push Touya's train back on the tracks. Derailed, crashed, exploded, and burnt, it wasn't going that way anymore. No straight rails for him. Only the warped and twisted tracks that carried him into the darkness with every passing moment. Clinging to Keigo right now was able to help calm some of those burning sensations (the drugs doing much of the rest), but inside... Touya continued to burn up.
Like an oven door closed over the furnace, the winged hero's tenderness is able to wind bandages around him, gently patching him up for the time being. Touya slowly begins to calm, the tears and shuddering taking their time to ease off as he sinks into his friend's embrace. Feels his breath through his hair, the soft avian cooing drifting into his ears and skin like it had so many times in the past. Together... Anywhere together... forever. His eyes drift half-shut and Touya's hands ease up on the death grip in his friend's shirt. Yes... yes he does want that. To stay with him. The one place he's ever felt save, validated, and wanted.
To hear Keigo say those little words... they break through the charred remains of his body and dive for what little bits of raw heart he still retains. Swirling and sinking inside like cool water, refusing to ever be removed from his flesh and mind. Some vague part realizes those words may very well have just cursed him forever, may become problems later, but there's no going back. Not when his broken heart accepted them so eagerly and consumed them in desperation to live. It's what brings the smile to his lips, half-charred as they are. Probably shouldn't be smiling in his state, but... whatever. There's a shift in his arms and he flickers a little in his consciousness, because Keigo's there a second and a second later he's there kissing the corner of his lips, then the other, "covering" his mouth in a way. It's... it's cute and keeps the smile on Touya's mouth.
"Didn't know..." He knew he was a friend, knew he was important, knew all those things. But love? Touya didn't exactly have a good example of what "love" actually was or acted like. But he accepts it regardless as hands guide his head. White spikes sink against Keigo's shoulder and the older teen settles against him, the bloody lines on his face no longer continuing to leak. More touches, more coos. He's too damaged and exhausted to do more than lean against his friend and rest, listening to his voice and heartbeat. "Don't think I ever will..." To be told someone loves him is almost surreal, but it gets through everything, medication, burns, pain, and the rest. Locked away inside Touya's heart to safely stay deep inside the blackened yards.
"I wanna stay with you..."