Top pic of Touya and Violet drawn by kariumi443 <3

Song for this chap: Always Forever - Cults.

***

Violet POV: ~nine years ago~

Head empty. No thoughts. But, my arms...?

So full of warmth.

More warmth than usual, especially for the fading summer breeze-that's already started to become crisper with fall, every passing day.

But, I couldn't think about that. No, not when I'm sooo incredibly comfy in my bed.

I mean, seriously, I always knew Endeavor had been kind enough to grant me a nicely sized bed. It's always been comfortable. But, I've never slept this good. I've never been so content in my spot, that my body literally couldn't move.

It's as if I was melted-molded with the warmth I'm hugging, like there was nothing that could physically separate us.

The scratchiness of my jeans and awkward crumple of my shirt from the previous day let me know that maybeee I may have fallen asleep in my non-pajama clothes. But, even so, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, as I simply snuggled against the warmth closer-feeling the heavenly presence unconsciously graze my wrist with their fingers, before falling limp again-

Oh? Wait?

Did I say fingers?

My exhausted brows furrowed now as my curiosity brought me back to consciousness. And, even though I didn't open my eyes just yet, my senses lethargically perked up to my surroundings.

The first thing to gain my attention was the faint sound of music coming from my ear-before I felt a little device, only halfway resting inside it.

Feels like my headphones...?

The sound was only coming from one ear, making me wonder where my other ear bud went. The faint chirps of the birds, and the morning sun hitting my closed lids let me know that a new day was upon me.

The brightness of day caused me to groan and bury my face into the warmth I was holding, making me realize it was a rather bony warmth.

With my next deep inhale, the familiar scent of the Todoroki's laundry detergent and boy musk-a very familiar boy's musk, hit my nostrils, before I realized my legs were intertwined with something-someone.

What in the world....?

I finally cracked my crusty, swollen eyes open, coming face to face with a snow white head of hair directly in my sights. The back of someone's head.

Oh. I know who, obviously.

Still half asleep, my awkward, barely teenage head couldn't even wrap my mind around the fact that I must have fallen asleep with a boy in my bed-more trying to remember the events that led here.

Let's see....I made dinner with Fuyumi....hmm......oh, helped Natsuo with his homework.......what else?......

Ah, that's right, Touya came in when I'd been listening to my music right before sleep time. I was resting atop my bed, not wanting to ruin the neatly made sheets-practically half asleep when he plopped on my other side.

I remembered I'd half heartedly scolded him for crumpling the neatly pressed sheets, yet I couldn't even bother to open my eyes as I'd already been on my way to dreamland.

"Blah, blah, blah. Who cares about the stupid sheets? You're gonna sleep in them, anyways- and what the hell are you listening to, Grape? Something stupid, I'm sure, if it's putting you to sleep." He had blabbed too fast for me to comprehend, plucking one of my earbuds out of my ears and sticking it in his own....without my permission!

My lips had scrunched up at the lack of even sound coming from my music, causing my tired eyes to flutter open in amusement and look over at him.

He'd already made himself quite comfortable, remaining atop my blankets as he relaxed back against my other pillow.

"It's the new band I heard on the radio. Their sound is actually pretty broody, so I had a feeling you'd like it." I'd murmured softly, slowly turning on my side to face him better.

I know he felt me turn and get closer, judging from the soft tinge of pink that warmed his cheeks. But, he kept his gaze to the ceiling, seeming rather tuckered out himself as he listened to the music with me.

"It's....not terrible. But also not great." He said stubbornly, rocking his head softly with the rhythm of the music.

"Stubborn jerk." I sighed tiredly, snuggling up to him a little closer.

Hmmmm....then I remember Touya and I chatting for a little while on my bed, shuffling through different songs and getting more comfy...

....and now, here we are!

Upon fully waking up and clearing the sleep out of my eyes, I realized I'd been sleeping on my side. My arms had intertwined themselves between Touya's, with my hands snaking around his chest. My legs were tangled with his, and my face had been resting between his shoulder blades.

Ohhhh....

In other words....

I was spooning him!

Touya Todoroki as the little spoon? What a world, huh?

I groaned tiredly as I lifted my head off the pillow, peering over Touya to see if he was still sleeping.

And my heart melted at the sight. Melted, I tell you!

A dazed smile curled on my lips as I got a rare glimpse of the broody boy without his brood. Rather than the constant, irritated furrow of his brows, and scrunched up disgusted look he wore always, his face had been completely relaxed-so incredibly soft as he hugged one of my little decorative pillows to his chest.

Upon my small shift, his nose twitched a bit like he might be waking up. I bit down on my lip to keep from laughing at the small, sleep induced sound that came from his throat, feeling his body unconsciously melt deeper into my arms.

He's so cute...

But...

I know it's best that I wake him up. I'm sure he'll freak out once he realizes he fell asleep in here. Gotta prepare for that one!

Gently, I wiggled my arms out from between his, snaking my hand to his shoulder.

"Hey....Touya..." I whispered softly, not wanting to startle him so suddenly.

He didn't respond at all-instead, opting to move his head backwards, resting it against my shoulder and showing me a perfect view of his face.

I looked down at him with way too much care, smiling softly at his sleep-flushed cheeks. His hair was a bed headed mess, his mouth slightly ajar, with my other headphone falling out of his ear.

"T..Touya..." I said again, squeezing his shoulder softly to try and wake him up.

This time, an unexpected groan-garble of sleep fell from his mouth, causing me to laugh a little louder at the funny sound before I tried again.

"Ohhh, come on now. Rise and shine, Mr. Edgy." I chuckled, giving him a firm shake now, which caused his body to finally wake up...

...too quickly, as his eyes flew open in alarm, coming face to face with me.

Startled at my close presence, Touya inhaled sharply, instinctively shoving a hand over my face, before pushing me off the bed entirely.

Not the 'good morning' I wanted. But, definitely the good morning I should have expected!

"What the fuck?!" He called out raspily, voice thick with sleep as he shot up in the bed.

"Ahh!!-hold o-" I tried to get out quickly, not fast enough as I went tumbling over the bed and crashed to the floor.

So, that's what it's like to cuddle with Touya Todoroki!

I groaned softly in pain, not even having the energy to get up as I remained face down on the floor, hearing Touya shuffle around on my bed to get a look at me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He called out from above me, popping his head over the edge of my bed like an angry groundhog.

"Ohh...you know...just bleeding..." I muffled out from the ground, trying to lift my head from the floor and failing.

Touya scoffed without pity at my words, not opting to get off my bed yet as he continued looking at me.

"Not that part! I mean, what are you doing, sleeping in my room?!" He demanded, reaching his hand over the bed and obnoxiously poking the back of my bed head.

I didn't respond for a moment, smacking his hand away, before lethargically scrambling up to sitting on the floor.

Touya was laying on his stomach now, looking at me expectantly with his own bed head sticking out in all different directions.

That's when I realized, his face didn't match the irritation his words held. He still looked relatively soft, cheeks a darker shade of pink as his, practically translucent, blue eyes averted to the sheets in begrudging shyness. Shyness that he wouldn't admit.

But, still-he's got it all wrong!

"Huh? Your bed? We aren't in your room, Touya. We're in mine!" I defended, throwing up my hands around the girlie room for emphasis.

Touya's eyes widened for a minuscule second as he actually took the time to look around the room now, closing his eyes in stupid realization as the innocent events of last night came back to him quickly.

He rolled over onto his back, rubbing his tired face with his hands as he tried to come up with a defense.

"....oh.." he mumbled unsuccessfully, making me unable to read how he felt about the situation with such a curt response.

Only, he followed up a few moments later, keeping his eyes covered with his hands as his lips curled into a smug smirk.

"Eh. Well, it's not my fault. Your shitty, boring music put me to sleep." He fake whined, grinning bigger when I gasped in light offense.

"You were bopping your head to it!" I pointed out with a chuckle, watching him shrug his shoulders lazily as he finally removed his hands from his face.

My heart skipped a beat when he looked over at me....making me realize his eyes are a lighter shade of blue in the first moments he wakes up-

"I was trying to get something out of my eye." He drawled out, snickering as he knew his answer was full of crap.

"Liar." I murmured lightly, raising my brow in amusement.

The longer Touya looked at me, the more I was suddenly aware of my appearance...causing me to cough slightly as I tried to smooth out my hair.

"Don't even bother. There's no fixing that mess." He teased, watching contently as my cheeks went bright red in embarrassment.

"Rude!! At least I slept in my own bed!" I groaned out flusteredly, slapping my hands over my swollen face

Touya hummed softly as he stretched his arms over his head, subtly running a quick hand through his own messy hair when I looked back at him.

"Don't know how you could even sleep, considering you talk in your sleep." He murmured without thinking, not seeming to realize his little slip up with such a statement.

But, I realized it...

If Touya was awake enough to know I talk in my sleep...

...that means, he was awake enough to know we fell asleep together. Right?

So...he knew he was sleeping in my bed, and stayed?

My heart felt a little giddy at the possibility of Touya sleeping in here, because he wanted to. I didn't want to draw attention to it, though. Knowing him, he'd just get embarrassed and never do it again.

Do I want him to do it again...?-

I hummed softly at my own simpy thoughts, looking over at the clock on my wall to see the time.

8:54am.

"Oh!" I uttered in surprise, quickly making my way to my feet. "It's almost nine!"

Touya furrowed his brows in confusion to my sudden alarmed state, watching me disappear inside my big, Todoroki-issued closet to get changed.

He can't see me-buttt, I'm gonna close the door, too, just in case!

"What happens at nine? You finally moving out? Thank god." He called out teasingly, his snicker muffled from the closed door.

I rolled my eyes at his words-even if he couldn't see me, quickly slipping on some fresh clothes before walking out of my closet.

"Ha Ha. Very funny!" I called out, passing his lazy frame on the bed as I went to my bathroom.

"No shit. It's no secret I'm hilarious." He pointed out boredly, lifting one of his hands towards the ceiling as I brushed my teeth.

"I'm supposed to meet Akio at nine." I explained, causing Touya to groan lowly.

"The roach?" He clarified casually, causing me to deadpan him from the bathroom.

He only started calling him a roach after he heard his dad say it...

"Don't call him a roach." I reprimanded patiently, spitting out my mouthful of toothpaste into the sink.

Besides, Touya doesn't seem to mind him. And you don't call your friends roaches!

"He said he wanted to make me breakfast." I followed up, about to walk out of the bathroom, before my eyes caught sight of the lip gloss tube Fuyumi gave me yesterday.

I've never worn makeup before! I only just turned thirteen a few weeks ago. Mom said we would go shopping for makeup together, if I ever wanted to.

I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to do that.

...anyways, with Touya in my room.....I kind of want to wear it suddenly...

"How can he make you breakfast when he's homeless?" Touya chuckled bluntly, causing me to scoff at him as I reached for the lip gloss tube.

"Do you ever listen to anything I say?" I asked boldly, enjoying the little sass that rolled off my tongue.

"Do I what?" He asked with the purpose of not listening, making me roll my eyes as I put a light coating of lip gloss on.

He's so obnoxious.

I ignored him for a moment, more occupied with awkwardly smacking my glossed lips together, and combing out my hair in front of the mirror...

Hm...

Do I....look prettier? I'm not sure. I don't really have anyone to ask. Oh well!

Feeling indifferent about the new addition of lip gloss, I shrugged my shoulders and closed the tube, sauntering out of the bathroom and back over to Touya.

"Well, like I told you last week, Akio got a paying job! Remember? At The Ice Cream Shoppe? That's why we celebrated and took him out for ice cream that night? Duh." I pointed out, placing my hands on my hips as I watched him on the bed.

Touya lazily rolled over onto his stomach once more, looking over at my changed appearance.

My heart skipped a small beat as I wondered if he would notice the lip gloss, causing me to clear my throat a bit and try to look....cuter?!

"Is that why we went out for ice cream? I thought it was to shut your growling stomach up." He smirked, causing me to look at him with a half lidded glare.

He didn't notice. Ugh. Boys. So clueless.

"Oh-who asked you??" I huffed out in exasperation, storming away in frustration for his cluelessness.

Thinking I was annoyed about the ice cream comment, Touya found delight in my irritation, finally making his way up to sitting as he spoke.

"Whatever. Give me ten minutes to change then." He commented casually, causing my brows to raise in surprise.

Not too much surprise though. I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice the gradual change that's happened with Touya over the past year-and a month, that I've lived here.

The change of him, going from wanting nothing to do with me, to following me everywhere.

Me, being the person who overthinks everything....of course I noticed Touya's progression. It went from him not even knowing if I was in the house-and not caring. To him looking up from whatever he was doing, whenever I'd leave-still, he didn't ask.

It wasn't until the six month mark of me living here, that Touya finally started asking where I was going. At the ten month mark, he started making excuses as to why he should go with me to wherever I was going. Then, the twelve month mark, he didn't even give excuses-he just said he was going!

Phew. That's a lot of thinking. On my part, anyways.

I don't think Touya realizes he's...kind of following me everywhere. Mostly, because I think he wants to stay in denial about the fact that he enjoys my company.

But, I enjoy his, too.

Anddd, I've found joy in getting sassy with him. Especially, because I'm unable to do so with anyone else. Awkwardness and all!

"And who said you were invited?" I teased, smirking at him proudly as I crossed my arms.

He snorted softly as he sat at the edge of my bed now, slowly lowering his feet to the floor.

"Me. Got a problem?" He retorted with tease, rising from my bed lazily and making my way to the door.

"Well-" I drawled out with fake thought, before he cut me off.

"Too bad. I don't care." He called over his shoulder, making me shake my head and laugh in acceptance as he opened the door to my room...

....to reveal an incredibly shocked Natsuo standing on the other side-with his hand up, like he was getting ready to knock.

Uh-oh!

Touya froze in place, standing directly in front of his brother in gaping silence. Natsuo and I were no different, matching Touya's wide eyes and blank, speechless face as no one moved a muscle.

Natsuo's wild eyes slowly trailed from Touya's obviously bed-headed hair and slept-in school clothes from yesterday, looking into my room to find me staring at him in panicked shock.

He slowly turned his eyes back on Touya-eleven year old face slowly lighting up with specks of jealousy and frustration as he opened his mouth to speak.

Clearly panicking, even if he wouldn't show it, Touya quickly slammed the door in his brother's face before he could talk, standing in front of it blankly.

The slam of the door brought me out of my freeze, causing me to jump and glare at the back of Touya's head.

"I-huh-what are you doing?! Why did you slam the door in his face?!" I hissed out quietly, storming over to Touya.

He remained staring at the door, running a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out why he did such a thing.

"Well-cause he saw me. Duh." He justified dumbly, causing me to scoff.

"So what? Nothing happened. But, by slamming the door in his face, he's gonna think something's wrong!" I pointed out, gesturing to the closed door in annoyance.

Touya furrowed his brows in slight annoyance as he knew I was right-yet, he kept the door closed and threw his hands up in frustration.

"Huh?! Well, what do you want me to do about it!?" He asked in defense, crossing his arms with sass.

I gave him a deadpan glare, narrowing my eyes at him in disbelief.

"Uhhh, open the door maybe?!" I retorted, causing Touya to mumble begrudging curses under his breath as he threw the door back open.

As expected, Natsuo was still there...looking at Touya and I with a shock that never left his face.

"Hey." Touya uttered blandly to Natsuo, clearly trying to downplay the situation as best he could.

But, of course...Natsuo, being the nosy younger brother he is...

"Did you sleep in there?!" He exclaimed loudly enough for the entire house to here, causing me to groan and slap my hands over my reddening face.

Touya didn't seem to care about Natsuo's loudness the way I did, looking at him with a half lidded glare as he leaned against my doorway.

"No. I forgot something, and came to get it." He lied badly, looking up at the frame of the door as if he found it incredibly interesting.

Natsuo's eyes narrowed at the lie, causing him to grit his teeth in disbelief as he assessed Touya's appearance once more.

"What did you forget?!-and why is your hair all slept in then?!-and your clothes are the ones from yesterday-and you weren't in your bed when I woke up-you're a late sleeper-" he began rattling off, before Touya cut him off with a genuinely irritated scoff.

"So what? Since when do you even care? I thought you didn't want to talk to me." He bit back a little aggressive, clearly having his own pent up anger towards his brother that didn't involve the events of today.

Natsuo's face flashed with hurt at his brother's words, causing his brows to furrow in a pity Touya didn't want as he spoke.

"T-That's not true, Touya! Of course I wanna talk to you. I just don't always wanna talk about all the stuff you hate!-" he tried to justify, seeming as if he'd already tried to explain this to Touya's stubborn mind before.

And what a stubborn brain it is...

"Whatever. Save it. Why are you here, anyways? That's the better question." He quickly changed the subject, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Natsuo immediately perked up at the question, already forgetting Touya's pain as he spoke a little more excitedly.

It's not his fault. What eleven year old wants to hear their fifteen year old brother complain all the time? I'm sure he's tired of it.

"Well, I was gonna ask Vi if she wanted to have breakfast with Fuyumi and I downstairs-I was gonna invite you, too! I just couldn't find you-" Natsuo tried, before Touya cut him off with a roll of his eyes.

"Sure you were-"

"I was!-"

"Whatever. We can't go. We're going to see the roach-I-fuck-I mean....Akio, or whatever his stupid name is. He's making us breakfast, I guess." Touya mumbled, shrugging his shoulders like he didn't care.

"Oh! The homeless guy? I like him! Can I come?" Natsuo asked hopefully.

Touya simply threw up a hand of careless question, gesturing towards me.

"I don't know. He's not my friend. Ask her." He said impatiently, causing Natsuo's eyes to quickly land on me.

I finally perked up a bit into the conversation, admittedly hoping I could have spent the walk to Akio's place with just Touya...

But, I don't want to hurt Natsuo's feelings. Look at those puppy dog eyes!

"Oh-Uhh, sure Natsuo. You can tag along. Why not?" I smiled softly, realizing more people were coming to this breakfast than Akio was expecting.

He probably only has enough food for me and himself. I can't even text to him to let him know more people are coming, because he doesn't have a phone.

"I'm gonna pack up some extra groceries from the kitchen and bring them over to Akio's place. How about you two get changed, and I'll meet you outside in ten?" I proposed, causing Natsuo to smile and Touya to slouch.

"Whatever." The broody boy said, as he little brother gave a simultaneous 'great!'

Touya POV:

I ducked out of Grape's room quickly after that, not really seeing a reason to stay there any longer. Especially, since she's leaving to head to the kitchen, anyways.

But, honestly my quick exit was mostly because my stupid cheeks wouldn't stop feeling hot, when I remember the events of last night and this morning....

I've never fallen asleep with a girl before.

It's not like I meant to fall asleep in there last night. I only wanted to talk with her a little before bed. Don't know why. I was just...bored.

But, anyways...I dunno-her bed's always been more comfortable than mine-even if mine is technically bigger and more expensive. Feeling her laying there next to me, with her sweet smell and warmth all over the sheets-and her stupid music playing in my ear softly....

She fell asleep before I did. Wayyy before I did. I guess I knew it and had the chance to leave.

But, I was comfortable, and decided it couldn't hurt to rest my eyes for a minute.

Ehhh, the cuddle part caught me off guard this morning though. When I fell asleep, we were side by side. Being woken up to see Grape and her half asleep, drooly face, holding me like a dipshit? Gross!

....yeah. Gross...

-and was that makeup she had on today?! What was that about?? Who's she wearing that stuff for, anyways? Akio?

Hmph. Whatever. Not that I even care about that. If Grape and Roach wanna get together, fine by me. Then my dad will see I don't want to marry her. A win-win situation for everyone!

Nah, I don't have a problem with Akio. And, you didn't hear it from me, but he's not too annoying. I actually look forward to hanging out with him.

Heh. But, don't get that twisted. Before you go thinking 'aww, he wants a friend. That's why he likes hanging out with him,' you're wrong! Let me explain.

I like hanging out with Akio....because he's a loser.

He's awkward-not the good way. He flinches every time someone even raises a hand above their shoulders. He's quiet and shy-sure, he's becoming a little less quiet every day, but still quiet enough. He's skin and bones-making my scrawny self look three times his size! He's so afraid of everything, if I tell him the sky is brown, he'd agree, cause he's too afraid not to...

And, most of all...

The best part...

Akio Matsubara is weak. So pathetically weak.

So much weaker than me.

I don't even think the kid has a quirk-or, if he does, it's probably a dumb one. But, god, he makes me look like an All Might in the making!

Just a month ago, he needed my help to simply stand up, because he was so malnourished! Hah! I bet he thought I was so cool and powerful, being Endeavor's son. I'm sure he thinks I could kick his ass in all different directions if I wanted to-I could!

I've finally found someone who's more pathetic than I am. There's no way I'm gonna NOT enjoy that.

Like I already said before, friends are a waste of time. I wouldn't call Akio a friend-I mean, sure, I enjoy his company. He's never done anything wrong to me. He's funny, sometimes. Doesn't irritate me all the time. But, that's not what makes a friend.

...is it?

No. It's not. Friends are a distraction, remember? Friends won't help you win dad's approval and get to the top.

But, being powerful will help me. And, since Akio is one of the first people I'm stronger than...I hang out with him to feed my ego. Hanging out with him and seeing how much better I am, will help improve my confidence in training!

Akio's weakness gives me hope. Hope in myself. Hope for a bright future for me.

Then I can train harder and better. Then I can show dad I'm not a mistake. See? It's all gonna work out. Don't worry! It's fine!-

"Touya? Hello?? I've been calling your name for like a whole minute! Your hands are smoking!!" My little brother nagged from next to me, causing my head to return to the present time of being in the hallway.

Upon returning my attention to reality, I realized that my thoughts had been more frantic than I thought. I'd been sweating and trembling for no reason. My hands were burning, as my quirk had started to activate without my permission, and hot, steamy tears had slowly started to run down my face, matching my rapid breathing.

Woah. I didn't know I'd been that emotional! My thoughts didn't feel emotional? Did they? Why am I crying? Fuck-I hate my body. I hate myself. Stop crying, loser. Stop crying and freaking out over everything, you weak, stupid shit!!-

"Touya!!" Natsuo called out firmer, causing me to flinch and squeeze my eyes shut as a small blue flame lashed against an, already scarred part of my wrist.

"Shit!" I hissed out, stopping the walk to my room as I grabbed my wrist and hunched over in pain.

"Crap. That looked like it hurt. Are you alright?" Natsuo asked in concern, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I could practically feel the pity in his touch.

Furrowing my brows and gritting my teeth, I abruptly stood up straight and smacked his hand off me, ignoring the throbbing sear of my wrist as I quickly looked around the hallway.

I was looking to see if Violet had seen me burn myself, glad to see she had clearly already been at another part of the house.

Seeing Natsuo standing next to me, waiting for an answer, I scoffed in annoyance and turned on my heel, continuing the path to my room so I could change.

"I..I'm fine! It didn't hurt!" I snapped defensively, gingerly rubbing my stinging wrist as I kicked open the door to our shared room.

"Oh? Good!" Natsuo began cluelessly, quickly following me into our room as he obviously had more things to say. "So, what was that about then?"

"What?" I muttered, already knowing what he was referring to.

I just didn't really wanna talk about it.

"Sleeping in Violet's room? That's against the rules, you know!" My brother reprimanded, causing me to scoff and roll my eyes as I removed my crumpled shirt.

"Yeah? Who's rules?" I retorted, only making him more annoyed as he plopped on his bed.

"Well-I don't know-the house rules, I guess? Dad's rules?" He tried with excuse, making me blurt out an involuntary answer of anger when he spoke of dad.

"Who cares about dad's rules, anyways?! If it's not about Shouto, he doesn't care!" I lashed out, running a rough hand through my hair as I searched for a clean shirt.

Natsuo's brows furrowed in surprise at my rebellious words, opening and closing his mouth a few times before speaking.

"Well-you do!! You always care about what dad thinks! I bet he wouldn't be happy if he found out you spent the night in a girl's room!" He threatened, causing me to laugh slightly at the irony.

No. I don't think dad would care if he found out I slept in a girl's room. Like I said, if it's not about Shouto, he doesn't care.

Sometimes, I don't think dad would even care if I killed mys-

"So, go tell him, if it bothers you so much." I chuckled in gleeful amusement, feeling my heart starting to pound in a little bit of excitement at the possibility.

Cause maybe he would get mad! There's a one percent chance of it happening, you know! He could get mad, and seek me out. He would reprimand me and discipline me, because he cares. And he would talk to me and pay attention. Then, I could keep him there and show him the new move I've been working on. The one that will beat Shouto-

"M-Maybe I will!" Natsuo tried, already falling short on the threat.

But, now I want him to!

My eyes lit up with crazed determination, feeling a line of frantic sweat drip down the side of my face.

Oh? Looks like I'm getting pretty worked up now! There go my emotions again!-I guess I deserve the pain it's bringing me, feeling things so strongly when I shouldn't! It's like a punishment. Pain makes you stronger, right?

"Good!! You can even tell him I slept under the covers with her!" I grinned crookedly, abruptly turning my teary face away from Natsuo as I threw on a clean shirt.

"Did you?!" Natsuo gasped in genuine offense, thinking he found the scandal of the year.

I paused my internal breakdown as images of Violet flooded my mind....causing my body temperature and hysteria to slowly start cooling off.

"....N..No! Gross!" I blurted out a few seconds later, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly as I grabbed some clean pants and underwear from my drawers.

Natsuo was quiet for a moment as he took in my words, luckily too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice me changing quickly.

"So then...that means you don't like her?" He asked in confirmation, only looking my way once more once I was fully dressed.

I froze slightly at his words, feeling as if they just shattered the glass of my denial in one fell swoop.

I've been avoiding that question. And it was fine when I avoided it. But, it's not okay when someone else brings attention to it.

Cause then it feels more real.

Why did I freeze, anyways? I shouldn't have froze and been so affected by the question.

"No. I don't like her. Of course not." I grumbled a little quieter, stomping my way over to our shared bathroom so I could brush my teeth.

I growled softly when Natsuo hopped off the bed and followed me, sitting outside the door so I'd be able to hear him properly.

"Then why did you fall asleep with her?" He questioned impatiently, causing me to sigh irritatedly as I plopped the toothpaste on the brush.

"It's exactly how you said it. I fell asleep. On accident. Duh." I replied bluntly, unable to look at myself in the mirror as I said the words.

But, it wasn't on accident. You could have left, stupid.

Natsuo had gone silent at my dishonest justification, letting me brush my teeth in peace as I tried to avoid my own thoughts.

"...so.......you don't like her then, right?" He followed up once more for clarification, causing me to shake my head in annoyance as I rinsed out my mouth.

I threw open the door to see him sitting next to it, causing his body to shoot back up to standing with his own look of hope.

It was hope for his crush on Violet. That irritated me.

"No, Natsu-kun. I don't like her-but, she doesn't like you either, so get over it and leave her alone." I pointed out, starting to walk past him and towards the kitchen before he gasped and grabbed my arm.

"W-Wait-did she...tell you that? That she doesn't like me?" He asked with flecks of sadness, causing the hole in my chest to squeeze as I sighed and tried to backtrack.

"I-no. Look, she didn't tell me straight up. But-she said she doesn't like younger guys. You're two years younger than she is, so-I dunno. Do the math." I tried a little lighter, still sounding pretty bitter and impatient to my own ears.

But, apparently that explanation was enough for Natsuo as his eyes lit up with hope once more.

"She didn't say anything about not liking me personally though. Right?" He clarified again, causing me to yank my arm out of his grasp and walk towards the kitchen.

"I already told you. I'm not saying it again." I followed up dryly, feeling my brows furrow down in anger as I stormed towards the kitchen.

I felt anger for a few different things. I was angry that Natsuo liked Violet-and still wanted to pursue her. I was angry that he called me out for feelings I didn't want to address. I was angry that I let myself fall asleep with Violet purposefully...

But, most of all....I was angry at myself. Angry that I've been letting myself get closer to Violet, even though I shouldn't. Angry that I enjoy hanging out with her, and seek out her company.

Angry that I can't easily stop myself from doing so, and angry that I don't want to stop.

Violet POV:

"Knock knock!" I called out happily as I opened the door to Akio's 'house,' pretty proud of myself for how cozy I've made this park supplies closet look for him.

Sure, he still didn't have a real bed, but my big, comfy comforter-old comforter, I should say, provided him with some nice cushiony support, along with the pillows I gave. He still didn't have enough money for a little refrigerator to store his leftovers and perishables, but I brought him an ice chest that he refills multiple times a day, from the ice machine in the park.

I also got him a small reading lamp, so it's not so dark-along with some good mangas and books he can read to pass the time.

Not that he has much time to pass anymore honestly! Between his new job and meeting up with me everyday, he's not alone too much anymore. I'm glad about that.

He looked up from his spot on the floor, flashing me a happy smile as he stirred something around in a little pot.

"What's up, Violet? You made it!" He started off, before the circus of chaos walked in behind me.

"It's not even cold outside, Fuyumi! Stop trying to make me wear the jacket!" Natsuo complained as Fuyumi tried to put the jacket over his head.

"Says the boy who got sick last year at this exact time for not wearing a jacket! Come here!" She reprimanded passionately, as Touya pushed past the both of them to enter Akio's room.

"Both if you shut up! Either put the jacket on, or don't! You've been arguing about it the entire way here!" Touya snapped, waving his hand at them dismissively.

Akio's smile fell slightly as he realized more people would be joining us for breakfast, looking down at his small pot of food in stress.

I chuckled softly as I held up my bag of extra supplies, ignoring the sibling bickering behind me as I took a seat across from him on the floor.

"Hey! Sorry I couldn't tell you they were coming in advance. You don't have a phone-but, I brought some extra stuff they can eat. So, don't worry about not having enough food." I reassured happily, handing over the supplies before I felt Touya plop down directly next to me.

"That better be enough. She cleared out like half the fridge into that bag." Touya pointed out, getting comfy in his spot on the floor as he leaned back on his hands.

"I did not!" I whined slightly, hearing Akio laugh as he carefully took the bag from me.

"I bet it will be. Besides, I made some extra soup for Touya, anyways. I figured he would come with you." Akio said, causing Touya's brows to furrow.

"Wha-huh?! Why are you assuming that?" He questioned a bit defensively, causing Akio to grin at him a little more confidently.

I can see he's starting to become more comfortable with everyone.

"Because you guys are always together. It's like, I cant get one of you, without the other-don't worry, I think it's cute." Akio smiled genuinely, earning a giggle of amusement from me as I knew that would embarrass Touya.

As expected, the broody boy's eyes widened in a mixture of irritation and embarrassment at being called out, causing him to scoff and look away as he tried to play off the moment.

"I-and-you don't even know what you're talking about." Touya grumbled lightly, as Fuyumi and Natsuo finally sat down in our circle.

Akio grinned sheepishly as he sensed the touchy subject, nodding in acknowledgement to Touya's point in an attempt to ease his embarrassment.

"Oh-Uh-yeah, you're probably right. I got it all wrong, huh-anywaysss, this soup normally has fish, but I didn't put any in it cause, Touya, you said you don't like fish." He said to change the subject, giving another stir to the steaming pot of soup as he spoke.

I felt my heart warming at the words, instinctively lugging an arm around Touya's shoulders as my giddiness took over.

"Aww. Touya, he remembered you don't like fish! Isn't that sweet?" I swooned slightly, resting my head atop his shoulder as I watched Akio hand him a bowl of soup.

The scrunched up brood on Touya's face slowly relaxed at Akio's words. His brows even raised a bit in surprise, as it seemed he didn't expect Akio to take something like that into consideration.

"It's...alright." He muttered a little softer, not looking at Akio as he awkwardly took the bowl of soup from his hands.

Akio smiled softly at the action, groaning a bit as his cheeks flushed, before scooping another bowl of soup for Natsuo.

Upon seeing him do so, I only now noticed the bowl of soup had swirls of hot steam coming off it-not seeing a hot pad or heating device underneath the pot.

"How did you heat this up, Akio?" I asked curiously as he handed Fuyumi a bowl of soup, watching him look up at me shyly.

"Oh. Well.....I...I haven't actually told anyone in awhile-I haven't even used it in so long. But, I-" he started explaining, before the bickering siblings were at it again.

"That was my carrot, Touya!" Natsuo called out, causing Akio and I to look over and see Touya dunking his chopsticks in Natsuo's bowl.

"Did it have your name on it?" The older boy snickered, successfully grabbing the big piece of carrot out of Natsuo's bowl and plucking it in his mouth.

"You know, I don't even think you two said 'thank you' to Akio for making this!! That's really rude!" Fuyumi chimed in from the side, causing me to groan softly and look at Akio with a knowing smile.

"Do they ever get along?" He laughed slightly, eyes widening a bit as the yells of the Todoroki siblings slowly escalated.

I shrugged my shoulders, completely unfazed at the outbursts after experiencing them for a year, trying to tune them out as I dug into my own soup and spoke.

"Eh. Once every few months, maybe. Don't worry, you'll get used to it." I pointed out contently, humming in delight for the food as Touya screamed at Fuyumi to shut up.

Akio shrugged and followed my lead, taking a sip of his cup as he shook his head in amusement.

"I think I already am."

********

"The game is simple. It's a good old fashioned game of heroes versus villains." Touya smirked smugly to our group, with the tips of his white hair softly rustling with the perfect, outside breeze.

The rest of breakfast had gone relatively smooth, with me and Akio, along with the Todoroki siblings, eating and chatting away.

Akio slowly seemed break out of his shell a little more as time went on, and before we knew it...breakfast had ended, and we decided to utilize the park he was living in for its actual purpose-hanging out!

The outdoor temperature was perfect. The day was a bit cloudy, and the wind was soft. Quite honestly, no one could have asked for a better day than this.

Touya had surprisingly been the one to suggest a game-of course, using the excuse of wanting to get some training in as the main objective.

Heroes Versus Villains was the typical game the Todorokis and I played. An exerting game for sure. But, I suppose I could use the exercise!

"Heroes Versus Villains, huh? Sounds like fun. What are the rules?" Akio asked curiously, deciding to stretch his own arms when he saw everyone else doing the same.

Touya grinned a bit ferally at the question, pointing to the park equipment in the corner.

"See that little flag at the top? I already stuck it up there. It's like a relay race. One of us is a hero,
The other is a villain. Whoever gets to the flag first wins. Whichever team has the most wins at the end, wins the entire game. Got it?" He explained surprisingly patient, looking over at Akio for confirmation.

The glowy eyed boy pursed his lips slightly, narrowing his gaze in focus to the maze-like obstacles that he would need to conquer, in order to get the flag.

"Mmm, yeah! I think I got it. I don't know if I'll be any good though." He said honestly, causing Touya to walk over and lug a heavy arm around his shoulders.

"Oh. I know you won't." He said smugly, causing me to glare at him lightly as I tied up Fuyumi's hair for her.

"Touya! Don't be rude!" I reprimanded, causing Fuyumi to agree as she kept her head still.

"Whatever." He called back, rolling his eyes at us in annoyance. "And, are you gonna keep giving makeovers over there? Or can we finally start the game?"

Fuyumi and I laughed at his irritation, slowly sauntering back over to the boys.

"I'd rather do the makeovers." Fuyumi teased, causing me to jump in.

"I have to agree with her, considering you and Natsuo always make Fuyumi and I the villains." I pointed out, watching Touya's smirk get wider as he knew I was right.

"Yeah, well. The way you annoy me should be considered a crime, Grape." He murmured, letting out a laugh he didn't want when I attempted to shove him in the shoulder.

He expected it, immediately stepping back out of my reach to ensure I wouldn't be able to reach him.

"Can we just get started?" Natsuo grumbled, watching in pouty annoyance when I grabbed Touya's shoulders and squealed in delight.

Touya laughed lightly at my sound, grabbing onto my arms to steady my giggling frame-before the watching eyes of the rest of the group caught his attention.

Quickly clearing his throat, he lightly pushed me away and walked back over, rubbing the back of his neck slightly as he tried to downplay the moment.

"Uh-yeah-whatever..." he muttered, as I popped up next to him.

"Then who's first?" I asked with pep, looking around the group. "Touya beat me last time and gloated for hours, so I don't really wanna verse him again."

The white haired boy snickered at that, seeming to know exactly who he wanted to verse as he turned to a certain person in our group.

"Akio and I will be the first group." Touya announced confidently, making my brows raise in surprise at his sureness.

Akio's eyes widened slightly at being called out, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he looked to Touya in half hearted agreement.

"Oh-uhhh, sure, Touya. So, am I the hero? Or the villain?" He asked, seeming willing to take either role.

"You're the villain." Touya confirmed, nodding him over to the starting line.

Natsuo, Fuyumi, and I all lined up to the side, starting to cheer for the boys as they got themselves ready.

Akio hesitantly followed behind Touya, looking over at me with uncertainty, before I gave him a nod of encouragement.

"You got this, Akio! You too, Touya!" I cheered evenly, as Touya looked over to the nervous boy he was about to challenge.

"Of course, if you're too scared I'll beat you, we don't have to do it." He grinned at Akio, causing the boy to actually shrug with possible agreement.

The sun opened up from the clouds at the same moment, shining brightly on the boys and revealing flecks of gold in Akio's eyes that I didn't even realize were there before.

"No. I'll do it." He said a little more confidently, letting the flecks of gold cloud his vision strongly as he seemed more willing to get on the starting line now.

"Good." Touya started off with a grin, quickly looking straight ahead and setting himself up. "Vi, call out the time."

My heart fluttered a bit as he called me 'Vi.' He's only done it a couple times, and of course, everyone else calls me Vi. But, it's different when Touya does it.

"Oh-sure! I'll start from three," I warned with excited anticipation, waiting for Akio to get ready before I would start counting. "Alright. Three....two...one.....go!"

Touya and Akio simultaneously took off running towards the flag, causing our trio from the sidelines to break out into loud cheers.

Immediately, Touya had the upper hand in the run, creating distance from Akio as he sprinted across the sand.

As expected. Akio has gained some healthy weight and nourishment over this past month. A lot, actually. But, he was on the verge of legitimate starvation when I found him. He still has a long way to go in the recovery process.

Or, so I thought, as I watched the fragile boy jump over the track hurdle with more stealth than I was expecting-more stealth than Touya as he gradually closed a bit of distance.

Touya looked behind him slightly as he heard Akio getting closer, blue eyes widening a bit in surprise as he picked up his running pace.

On route to the flag, Touya beat Akio to the monkey bars, quickly starting to swing across them towards the climbing rope.

Akio paused for a moment when he got to his own set of monkey bars, pursing his lips perceptively as he saw how slow Touya was forced to go on the obstacle.

Thinking outside the box, my 'fragile' friend jumped onto the monkey bars, swinging his legs back and forth a few times before flipping his body up to the top of them like a gymnast.

"Woah!! Did you see that??" Natsuo exclaimed in surprise as Akio decided to stand on the rails of the monkey bars, rather than swing across them by hand.

Touya froze in place at Natsuo's words, looking behind him to see Akio running across the slippery monkey bar rails with much more balance than anyone in our group possessed.

What in the world?!

"Huh?!? Hey! That's not allowed!" Touya yelled in frustration, causing Akio to stop running midway and look at him.

"Oh? It's not? Sorry! I thought we just had to get to the flag. I can start over at the beginning of the monkey bars-" he suggested, before Fuyumi's yells cut him off.

"No! Starting over isn't fair, Touya. You're following the rules, Akio! Go on!" She cheered, causing Touya to growl in frustration as he tried to go faster.

Akio looked at Touya's growing irritation with guilt, quickly sliding himself back down the monkey bars to swing across them by hand.

"Ah. Well, if Touya's using only his hands, then I will, too. That's only fair." He pointed out, causing Touya's eyes to flash with more anger.

"Don't hold back for me, you fucking roach!" He spat, quickly beating Akio off the monkey bars.

He grabbed on to the climbing rope, groaning slightly in exertion as he tried to pull himself all the way up to get the flag.

My happy smile slowly began to fade as I noticed the gradual change in Touya's demeanor, looking at Fuyumi and Natsuo to see they didn't notice Touya's frustration.

Even starting over from the monkey bars, Akio was quick to swing across them by hand, already reaching the other climbing rope when Touya wasn't even halfway up his own.

Uh-oh.

My cheers went silent with concern as I watched Akio cling onto the rope, using perfect technique to pull himself up and start climbing effortlessly.

It almost looks like he's trained on this stuff before.

I realize, I don't really know what Akio's life used to be like. We haven't talked about it, yet.

But, I'm willing to bet he used to be an athletic person before tragedy struck his life, especially when he effortlessly surpassed Touya's spot on the climbing rope, causing the white haired boy to curse loudly.

Natsuo and Fuyumi cheered excitedly as Akio reached up and snatched the flag off the top of the pole, waving it up with one hand, while holding onto the rope with the other.

Touya looked up at him in pure shock, eyes blinking blankly as he watched Akio slowly descend the rope with the flag.

I don't know how to feel. I'm happy Akio won, but also sad Touya lost.

It's just a game though. Touya's had a few flubs and lost before. He was always fine afterwards. Hopefully, this match with Akio won't be any different....

Akio made it back to the ground before Touya did, turning around and looking up at him with a grin.

"Good game, Touya! I'm sure I just got lucky. You're really good." He smiled warmly, giving him a thumbs up as Fuyumi and Natsuo came over.

"Akio!!! That was amazing!!" Fuyumi exclaimed.

"You were so fast up there!!" Natsuo followed up, crowding around the boy with his sister.

I quickly made my way over to the group, noticing Touya was still descending the ropes in silence.

I'll give him time to come back down and get himself together. I can see he doesn't want to talk at the moment.

"Really great work, Akio! I had no idea you were the athletic type." I congratulated genuinely, watching Touya finally land back on the ground and walk over to us.

Okay. He looks irritated about the loss, but not furious. So, that's good-

My thoughts were cut off when the area suddenly became incredibly bright, causing me to quickly shield my eyes along with the others as I assumed the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds again.

Until...

"Ah, sorry about that! I...I guess I got a little excited." Akio chuckled, before the bright lights immediately died down.

Upon being left with the cloudy outdoors once more, I slowly removed my hands from my eyes, looking over at my fragile friend to see he was....

"G...Glowing. You're....wow-you're glowing." I blurted out in awe, watching a warm light softly illuminate off Akio's body.

It was beautiful, coming through strongly off his skin, his teeth, his eyes, even the ends of his hair.

His cheeks blushed red at my words, causing him to try and suppress the glow with no avail.

"Oh-hah, thanks, Violet. It's....it's my quirk. I haven't used it since my parents.....-well, anyways. I used to be pretty good at controlling it. But, now I think I'm a little rusty. I can't turn it off." He said sheepishly, trying to cover his softly glowing body.

"You don't have to turn it off! It's beautiful!" Fuyumi exclaimed, as Natsuo reached out to touch him.

"And so bright! I bet you could seriously blind someone with this, huh? How bright can you go!?" He asked in awe.

Akio shrugged softly as he looked down at his glowing skin, smiling shyly at the encouragement he was getting.

"W-Well....at the moment I can put out one-thousand lumens. Did you know the sun puts out one-hundred-twenty-seven-thousand lumens? I don't think I'll ever get there without evaporating. But, I wanna try to at least get to one-hundred-thousand lumens by the time I become a pro hero!" He exclaimed happily, sounding so genuinely innocent and humble about his aspirations.

.....pro hero?

But, what caught my attention was the small gasp I heard behind Akio, immediately looking over and seeing Touya.

Any possibilities of friendship or likeness towards Akio had immediately melted off his eyes, with the feelings of hatred and anger being the ones to replace them. His hands had started smoking. His face had paled. His eyes had barely started to tear as he immediately stormed over to the group...

....before shoving both hands into Akio's back, causing the boy to fall face down onto the ground-the mud, actually, as Touya pushed him into a wet puddle. Whether that part was intentional, I'm not sure.

"Touya, what was that for?!" Fuyumi exclaimed as Akio barreled into the mud, immediately rushing over with Natsuo and I to help him.

Akio's glow had dulled away now as he coughed up small bits of mud, slowly attempting to pull himself up to sitting.

"Touya, come on. That wasn't cool." I reprimanded softer than Fuyumi, kneeling down into the mud to help Akio get his balance.

Touya said nothing, balling his fists in anger and hurt as he looked at Akio through emotionally grit teeth.

Akio's brows furrowed as he sat in the mud, wiping bits of it off his face as he looked up at Touya in hurt confusion.

He actually looked like he was about to apologize for just existing. But, suddenly his eyes had gained that glow again-that very specific glow of gold as his gaze immediately morphed into intense anger. Amplified anger.

"W..What the hell was that for, man?!" Akio shouted, causing me to jump a bit as I haven't heard him angry before.

Feeding off the negative energy, Touya's grit teeth immediately snarled up into a wicked smile as he looked down at Akio, hands still smoking and breathing erratic as he started to shake.

He looks like he's about to have a panic attack.

"It was to remind you that you are-and always will be a big waste of fucking space. Roach. You're the useless one. You're the mistake." Touya growled out, practically hyperventilating the last word before immediately storming past our group and out of the park.

Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Akio all watched Touya leave in silence, with confusion and anger for his outburst.

But, there was no confusion behind my eyes. Because I knew exactly why Touya had that outburst...

And, it wasn't truly because of Akio.

However, I know Touya pretty well now. So, I know it's best not to go after him right now, and let him have his space.

I sighed softly in sadness for how the day had ended, deciding it would be best to focus my efforts on Akio for now, and check in on Touya later.

"Come on, Akio. Let me help you get cleaned up." I muttered sweetly, watching the toxic gold glow immediately fade away from his eyes as he looked at me gratefully and nodded.

*****

And by the time I returned back to the house, the day had already turned into night.

While I spent most of the day with Natsuo, Fuyumi, and Akio....Touya hadn't ever left my mind. I was worried about him.

I felt bad when the trio kept talking about what a sore loser Touya had been for losing the match. Or, how he's being immature and unreasonable. I didn't participate in those talks, not wanting to say things I didn't believe.

Because I don't believe them. I mean, I do. But I know the reasons behind them. The reasons everyone seems to forget, or maybe not even realize. Yes, Touya can be a sore loser sometimes. But, it's not because he wants to be the best.

It's because he wants to prove he's worth something. Anything. And the only way he knows how to do that, is by strength. Because that's what his dad taught him.

And maybe he is immature. But, he's immature because his parents have neglected him since he's been a little boy. He's still stuck in the mindset of a little boy, vying for his parents approval.

I know he's unreasonable-he's so unreasonable to the point where he hurts himself, because he's willing to do absolutely anything to prove he's not a mistake.

Touya's entire life and upbringing were unreasonable. He's simply a product of his environment.

Am I making excuses for his behavior? Maybe. I don't approve of what he did to Akio today. I'll be honest and tell him that.

But, like I said before....Touya is more than what he shows on the surface. If all you search for is anger and rudeness, it's all you'll find.

It's when you search for more....that you find the beautiful person he truly is. It's when he knows you're searching for more, that he will let you in and show you; even if he won't admit it.

Because in his eyes, if he sees you searching, it means you think he's worth something.

So, no. I don't agree with Fuyumi, and Natsuo, and Akio's assessments of Touya today. I understand them fully. I understand what Touya did was completely wrong.

But, they don't see the person I see.

They don't see the person right now-the broken boy, who was sitting slumped on his floor, in the dark, when I opened the door to his room.

Natsuo said he wanted to sleep on the couch tonight, because he was angry with Touya. He wouldn't be coming into their shared room.

I don't know if Touya heard me come in. He kept his knees pulled into his chest, with his forehead atop his knees, sobbing softly as the smell of burning skin filled the room.

He could very well be crying because he's in pain. Physical pain.

Wordlessly, I entered the room and closed the door, slowly walking over to him....keeping my steps careful and quiet as I did so.

His sobs stopped for a moment as he heard the steps, yet he didn't lift his head even though he knew there was a visitor now.

Does he knows it's me? I'm not sure. I doubt he can tell just from my footsteps.

Surprisingly, Touya said nothing as I approached his spot on the floor, letting me slowly scoot down the wall next to him and sit.

He was frozen in his place, keeping his face hidden from me and his sobs-and even his breaths completely stagnant.

I didn't really know what to say. I only came in here to check on him. I'm sure he doesn't want me here. Does he even know it's me? I don't know.

We remained in silence on the floor, with me looking to the floor absentmindedly, and Touya continuing to hug his knees and bury his face in them.

He was the one to break the silence a few seconds later. Voice raspy and completely broken.

"If you're here to get an apology from me, Grape. You can forget it. I'm not sorry." He choked out, trying to keep his voice free of the emotional shake that crept into it.

So he does know it's me.

I hugged my own knees into my chest, letting out a detoxifying sigh as I tried to figure out what to say.

I have such a hard time talking with everyone, because of my awkwardness. But, when it comes to Touya, it's so easy to just say the first thing on my mind.

"I didn't come here for an apology. I know you're too stubborn to give one." I murmured softly, keeping my words light and non-accusing.

He was quiet at my words, still not lifting his head from his knees as a sniffle sounded from him.

"Then I'm sure you came here to tell me I'm a sore loser. Or a crybaby, right? Yeah, tell me something I don't know." He muffled out defensively, clawing his dull nails into the palms of his steaming skin as he spoke.

I remained patient, giving my head a shake he couldn't see.

"Nope. I didn't come here to tell you that either." I simply replied, absentmindedly studying the wood planks of Touya's floor.

Once again, he was quiet....seeming as if he was trying to push me away by addressing all the obvious reasons.

"Then you came here to tell me I have issues, right? That I should 'get help, and give up the hero stuff,' as everyone keeps saying? Well, I don't need to hear that from you, too. So you can leave now." He spat out in an attempt to be intimidating, failing as he broke out into a soft whimper at the end.

And, while I definitely think Touya does need some professional support, and to give up the hero stuff-solely for his physical and mental health...

"That's also not why I came here." I declined patiently, finally causing Touya to loosen the hold he had on his knees.

Once again, he was quiet-seeming as if he was trying to find another excuse to use, before realizing he couldn't find any.

Slowly-very slowly, he lifted his head from his knees, keeping his gaze forward and away from me as he spoke incredibly quiet. Unrecognizably quiet.

"Why....are you here, Violet?"

Now, I was the one who chose silence, thinking about his question for a moment and why I came here. Thinking about how he was on my mind all day, and how I was worried about him.

I'll just tell him the truth.

"I came here, because I wanted to make sure you were okay." I whispered softly, reaching my hand out before I could think and gently touching Touya's tear streaked face.

His skin was still hot, but he didn't flinch or pull away from my touch. Instead, he closed his eyes tiredly, with the action causing another batch of tears to press out of his closed lids.

I swiped my thumb up towards his eye, gently wiping away the hot tears-once again, surprised that he let me.

My god. This boy.

He just wants to be understood. How can no one else see that? How can everyone just dismiss why he is the way that he is?

How can no one else see his pain so obviously written all over his face.

My next words came straight from my heart. So confident and strong, which is very unlike me. They were passionate and emotional. So intensely felt, that they didn't even give Touya the chance to second guess if they were true.

"I understand, Touya. You're not alone, because I understand you. I accept you. And you are so incredibly worth it." I whispered softly, feeling my own throat choking up from the words of my heart.

I've never felt a set of words so honestly. So strongly and intensely.

Touya kept his eyes closed, but his nose and eyes subtly scrunched up vulnerably when I said the words, before more tears escaped past his closed lids.

"W..Why?" He breathed out softly, inhaling sharply to stop himself from sobbing once more.

I continued wiping away his tears, gently swiping my hand up to brush the sweat stuck hairs away from his forehead.

"Because you're not a mistake. You're a blessing. And you deserve to know that always." I followed up, causing Touya's brows to furrow emotionally at my words as he started to sob again.

His hands went to his hair, pulling painfully hard and even tearing a few strands out.

But, I quickly placed my hands over his own....rubbing soft circles on his clenched fists until he relaxed his grip fully.

I was surprised when his fingers flipped and quickly reached out for my own, gripping them tightly for support he's never had before.

Once again, my next words and actions came from my heart as I looked at Touya with my own set of tears, blinking them away quickly so I could be strong for him.

"I also came here to give you something else." I breathed out raspily, causing his bloodshot eyes to barely start opening.

"What is it?" He started out, before I pulled him closer.

The stubborn boy was broken, melting into my hold and letting me slowly lower his head down onto my shoulder; letting me pull him close as possible and wrap my arms around his shaking frame.

"A hug," I whispered into his hair, feeling his body weight willingly fall against mine as he let me place my hands on his back. "I came to give you a hug."

Touya hummed emotionally against my shoulder, giving into his weaknesses for this moment as he wrapped his arms around me.

The hug had a feeling to it I couldn't describe. I've hugged people before, but it's never felt like this.

I can't put my finger on what the emotion is. But it feels so strong and caring. So intense-like I don't ever want to let him go. It's an emotion that starts in the deep depths of my chest and blooms out to every muscle and sense in my body. It almost makes me want to cry-cry because I care so much about him.

But, I'm only thirteen. I'm not old enough to really know what that emotion is. Right...

His hold on me started off loose. But, after a few moments, it gradually became tighter and more emotional as he relaxed his body in my arms, letting me gently comb my fingers through his hair.

And that's where we stayed-sitting against the wall in a tight embrace, as Touya's body temperature and sobs gradually calmed down with every passing second; with every little caress I gave his hair and his skin.

It wasn't until the moon had been incredibly high in the sky and I felt myself drifting off that I heard him speak softly against my skin, not daring to let me go as he held me tightly.

"Y...You know, you're gonna get sick of me someday." He said raspily, snuggling further against my shoulder as I combed my fingers through his hair.

It was a defense mechanism. Something he's clearly wondering, and trying to address; so he can prepare himself and push me away.

"I won't get sick of you, Touya." I reassured honestly, before he followed up quickly.

"You will. Everyone does."

"I'm not everyone." I countered patiently, causing Touya to fall silent once more as he relaxed back into my hold.

"No, Vi. You're right, you're not like everyone..." he started off, before a faint smile formed on his face at his next words.

"You're a hell of a lot better."

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