A/N: here's nearly 5k of absolute garbage and death, hope you like it ✨

"Slow down, honey." 

It never ceases to amaze Toshinori how fast Katsuki is able to finish his meals. He's unsure of where the habit has stemmed from but it concerns him a great deal; the blonde is eating as if his food will be taken away from him if he doesn't eat it fast. He remembers what Inko said about hormonal imbalances and having Katsuki's appetite pick up but this is something that he'd noticed upon even the first night of bringing him home. He's aware that Shigaraki has made comments about Katsuki's weight before, but you'd think that he was starving the poor boy with how Katsuki responds to being fed. 

Katsuki pauses in his chewing, slowly putting the massive burger back down onto his plate as he makes a visible effort to take his time with his food. Toshinori reaches over to clean the mess of ketchup and other condiments from Katsuki's cheeks, making his hands aren't a mess as well. 

"No one is going to take your food away, sweetheart. Take your time and enjoy it, okay? You wouldn't want to accidentally make a mess on your pretty new dress would you?" He encourages him, noting the slight shake of Katsuki's head as he goes to focus on his fries instead. Toshinori has to pour the ketchup onto his plate for him, as Katsuki has developed a bit of a habit of emptying near-entire bottles of condiments onto his food whenever he eats. He'd shown him how to dip his fries instead of bathing them in ketchup. 

"For such a tiny babe, he's sure got one hell of an appetite." Touya muses, brows raised. He's a little impressed, honestly. Some alphas don't even have an appetite that big.

"Well, he's still a growing boy." Toshinori offers and he fully expects the curious look that he receives. "I really want to ask but I get the feeling that you're gonna tell me that it's not my business." The younger alpha says and Toshinori shrugs. "I'd tell you if I could but it's case related." 

"Ergo: shut the fuck up, Touya, it's none of your business." 

"Are all Todoroki men meant to be so dramatic?" 

"What can I say, we've got damn good genes." Touya says flatly, taking a sip from his drink. Toshinori laughs with a fond shake of his head. "How's your mom been? New husband treating him well?" He switches the topic of conversation and Touya scoffs at him, slightly annoyed by the question. "He's an annoying, arrogant and vain bastard who's goddamn lazy and honestly kinda fuckin' sneaky."

"But he makes Enji happy?" 

"For some godforsaken reason." 

Toshinori offers him a smile of sympathy. He can understand that watching his parents struggle in their union for so long must have been stressful and for them to finally have gotten a divorce must've been devastating. Toshinori honestly believes that separating was the most healthy thing they could do, and he was proud of Enji for finding an alpha that he genuinely felt joy in being with. 

He's known Enji for a long time, having been classmates and even friends at some point. He was at his arranged marriage when he and his previous alpha, Rei, had gotten married. Had known that he'd been forced to have children under the obligation of their arrangement. 

He'd tried to handle the mental trauma of it all as best he could. 

Toshinori could admit that Enji wasn't a perfect parent, but what parent is? Enji did the best that he could, did what he genuinely thought was the best for his children and he was only so hard on them to keep Rei from 'disciplining' them too harshly. She resented Enji. Resented having to marry him to simply satisfy their families. She said she'd resented him for ruining her chances of following her dreams. Enji tried to make it work for as long as he could for the kids but eventually, he just…

Couldn't. 

So they'd gotten a divorce and Rei left on the first plane to Venice before it had even been finalized. The kids go and visit whenever they can. Enji doesn't want them to resent her. 

Touya seems to be the only one of them unable to get past it. And it would seem that he blames his mother for being incapable of keeping their family together. Enji has tried to get him to understand, but his overbearing parenting has only served to push Touya further away. 

The entire ordeal is a mess, it would seem. 

But as far as Toshinori knows, Enji's current alpha takes good care of them and makes an effort with each of Enji's pups like they're his own. Most people's first impression of him is that he's shallow and vain because he works in the entertainment industry but Toshinori has gotten the chance to know Keigo and he's a good man.

He can only hope that Touya will come around someday. 

Toshinori feels his phone vibrating in his pocket so he holds up a finger as if to ask Touya to give him a moment, tapping the screen to see a text from Shota. 

'Hey. You need to get back to the precinct asap. Forensics came back and I think...that the results are something that you should see in person. It's a fucking shitshow in here.' 

It's an ominous message if Toshinori has ever seen one, a cold feeling settling deep in his gut. 

"Is everything alright? You seem to be in distress." Katsuki notes with a sniff to the air, effectively yanking Toshinori out of his overthinking. The change in his scent is so subtle that most people would never have been able to notice. He's impressed by Katsuki's keen sense of smell. "Ah, no, honey, I'm fine. Just got a text from work; Shota says that they need me so we're gonna have to cut our meal short. Izuku should be home soon, sweetheart, so I'm gonna drop you back home before I head back, okay? You don't mind hanging out at my place for a while, do you, Touya?" 

"Nah. I'll just catch Izuku when he gets ready to take Shouto home, no sweat. Besides, the longer I don't have to deal with my mom's bitching, the better." The pierced alpha accepts. Katsuki blinks owlishly. 

"What's a text? Is it a thing that you do with the tiny contraption in your pocket?"

Right. Katsuki doesn't know what a cellphone is. 

"You don't know what a cellphone is?" Touya sounds skeptical, brow raised as he stands from his chair and looks down at Katsuki. His brows knit together a moment later, a look of bewilderment plastering itself onto his feature. "You had shoes on earlier, why are you barefoot?"

Toshinori leans back to look underneath the table and, surely enough, Katsuki's shoes are nowhere to be found. "Baby, where did your sandles go? Did you leave them in the car?" Katsuki shakes his head, hopping out of his chair onto the tile with a wiggle of his toes. "One of them was broken so I have thrown them away." He explains, brows pinching together in a slight bit of panic. "Oh no, have I done something wrong again? I'm very sorry, I---" 

"No, honey, you're okay. I just don't want you getting sick by walking around with your shoes off but if it was broken then there wasn't a lot you could do. Tell me next time, okay? Come here, I don't want you walking on the dirty floor." Toshinori sighs. Dealing with Katsuki reminds him of dealing with a toddler sometimes. It's not the boy's fault, he knows. He can't imagine how difficult this must be for Katsuki at his age when he's gone his entire life thinking that he knows all that there is to know. 

#

Touya is, to say the least, curious about this little omega who seems to have come from nowhere at all. Everyone seems so familiar with him, holding him and petting him scenting him with their pet names. Not to mention that the kid is a little odd. At first, he'd just assumed that he was a little slow but that hadn't been the case. He's incredibly bright, quick to catch on as well. He just…

Genuinely doesn't know any better. 

Yagi had said that he couldn't tell Touya much of anything because it was case related, but Touya has picked up the feeling that Yagi just doesn't want to mention certain things around the kid. Something traumatic, maybe? Touya wouldn't be surprised. 

The driveway is empty upon arrival, neither Izuku or Inko there to greet any of them. Touya knows where the spare key is and debates whether or not he should just come back to the precinct with Yagi instead of being left alone with the kid---he doesn't know Touya very well and the alpha doesn't want to make the blonde uncomfortable---but Yagi insists that he trusts Touya to look after Katsuki as he'd rather not leave Katsuki at home by himself. The older alpha even confirms with Katsuki as to whether or not he's okay with being left alone with Touya. 

"He seems very nice. If I am to feel as though I am in danger, I will kick him in the testicles and run away." 

Toshinori chokes on his own spit when he laughs, completely caught by the ankle by Katsuki's response. 

"K-Katsuki...honey, where did you learn that?" 

"Shouto said to do that. He also says that if I can get to a knife, stab them. They will not die, but it will hurt very much." 

"I'm gonna have a little talk with Shouto." 

"Why?" Touya snorts. "That's damn good advice." Especially for someone Katsuki's size. He wouldn't be able to fight someone off even if his life depended on it---not unless he had a weapon. "If you ever feel threatened by me, kid, by all means stab the shit out of me." He encourages and Katsuki actually manages a giggle. He seems to think that Touya is joking. 

"Alright, then." Toshinori sighs. "In that case, I'm leaving Katsuki in your care. His appetite is pretty heavy lately so if he gets hungry just get him something microwavable out of the freezer. Do not try to cook anything. Inko will never forgive me if she finds out I let you burn our house down." 

"Hey, I can cook, dammit!" 

"Not in my house, you can't." 

Touya bristles at him and vehemently unbuckles his seatbelt to get out of the car. He opens the door of the backseat for Katsuki and helps the omega down when he realizes that it's a bit of a leap for him. Katsuki gives him a very polite 'thank you' as he pads his way over to the front door, pausing to wave goodbye to Toshinori as he pulled out of the driveway. He watches curiously as Touya reaches over the tall door frame to feel for the key. 

"I would never have guessed that was hiding there." 

"That's kind of the point, kid." 

"I do not understand why you continue to call me 'kid' when I assume that the age difference between you and I is not a large one." Katsuki points, walking into the house after Touya unlocks the door and holds it open for him. He closes and locks it, setting the key down on a nearby shelf and plopping down onto the living room sofa. He takes a moment to search for the remote, looking up at Katsuki when the omega just stands there watching him. It's a little awkward but Touya realizes that it's only awkward for him. Katsuki, like any impressionable child, just seems curious. 

"Oh? How old are you? Sixteen?" 

"I am nineteen." 

Oh. 

Well, he certainly didn't expect that. 

"Well, shit. You got me there, kid." 

"Do you intend to say that I look like a child?" 

"You don't look like a child, you're just...hella small." Touya admits as he finally finds the remote and turns on the television. 

"I see. I am much smaller than most omega's my age, as I have been told quite a bit." Katsuki murmurs, turning his gaze to the floor to look down at his feet. Touya looks away from the television with a sigh. He didn't mean to make him feel bad about himself. 

"Shit. C'mere, ki---I mean, ah, Katsuki. You ain't gotta be afraid of me. Sit down." He assures him, hoping to make the situation a bit less uncomfortable. Hesitantly, Katsuki shyly makes his way over to sit on the opposite end of the sofa. "I am not afraid of you." He corrects him and Touya raises a brow. "Yeah? Why are you sittin' so far away then?" 

"Because you are uncomfortable." 

"I'm uncomfortable because I don't wanna make you uncomfortable. I don't make the best first impressions. Most people are either afraid of me or wanna fight me." 

"I see. Is that why you were in the place where the bad people go?" 

Touya groans, slightly annoyed at being reminded of his morning gone wrong. "Yeah." 

"But I do not think you to be a bad person." 

"What makes you think I'm not?" 

"Mister would not have such faith in you if you were." Katsuki says matter-of-factly. "Also, I have what I believe is called a gut feeling. If you are Shouto's big brother...the brother of someone who is so kind...then you cannot possibly be a bad person." He reasons and Touya actually feels a swelling feeling in his chest. For once, someone's first impression of him is not that he's some degenerate; a lost cause. Katsuki isn't afraid of him. Katsuki thinks he's a good person. 

Now, that could very well be due to the fact that he's very naive. All the same, he seems fairly in tune with his instincts. 

Touya will take the compliment as is. 

"But if you are not bad, why were you in the place for bad people?" 

"Ah. Well, let's just say that I hurt some bad people real bad." 

"And...that is bad?" 

Touya snorts, a sarcastic lilt in his tone. "Apparently fuckin' so." Katsuki scrunches in confusion. "That does not make very much sense to me. I cannot find the logic in such thinking." And Touya points a finger at him as if to tell him that he's onto something. "Damn good point, brat. Sadly there are some bad things that are still considered to be legal and while destroying those bad things isn't necessarily bad, it is very illegal." 

"What did you do?" Katsuki asks, more invested in the story than Touya had initially assumed that he was. The alpha debates on whether or not he should tell as he'd be potentially exposing him to the very thing he despises I'm doing so, but the off chance that Katsuki doesn't understand what racism is becomes very probable. 

"Well, some people are so fucking stupid that they think they're better than someone because of the color of their skin or where they were born. These people are bad people, have hurt people and even done worse all because they were so jealous and they couldn't accept being their own miserable selves." He begins. Katsuki looks at him as if he can't possibly fathom the idea of something so ridiculous and Touya would have to agree. 

"That is very sad. I do not understand why anyone would be so cruel as to simply harm someone because they are different."

"Me either, buddy." 

"But you saw the bad person doing a bad thing and you punished them? That does not seem like a reason for you to have been punished." 

"The world's a fucked up place, Katsuki." He laments, the television merely background noise as he's become more intrigued with learning about the odd young lad at his side. 

"I do not know what that means." 

"Means that sometimes the world isn't very nice to good people." 

"Oh…" 

He notices Katsuki's entranced stare as his eyes rake over the expanse of Touya's colorfully inked skin and the alpha smiles, holding his arm out so that Katsuki could get a better look. "You like those?" He asks and Katsuki, in absolute awe, simply nods as his fingers lightly ghost over top of them. 

"They are very pretty. Did you paint them yourself?" 

"Not paint, kiddo. They're tattoos. You get 'em stamped into your skin with a needle and some ink." 

Katsuki cringes and pulls his hand back as if he's worried he'll cause Touya pain. The alpha can't help but feel a bit of fondness; this kid is growing on him a little. "You're okay, they don't hurt. Well, they did at first but they're fine now. I barely even feel the needle these days."

"You have more?!" 

"Plenty. All over my body." 

The imagery has Katsuki blooming up to the tips of his ears. 

All Touya can think is that Katsuki is an absolute angel. He understands why his little brother has been keeping him a secret.

"Innocent little cutie." He chuckles, reaching over to ruffle Katsuki's hair and his reaction is priceless---blush thickening over his skin as he gets all flustered. "What's the matter, kid, can't take a compliment?" 

"Y-You...think that I am cute?" 

Stunning, really. Katsuki's got a couple of odd traits that most people there in Sapporo don't see too often. Stark pale skin that rivals porcelain, unmarked and unmarred---his hair is nearly just as pale. His eyes are a deep red---not vibrant but something that reminds Touya of bourbon. Anyone who didn't know any better would simply assume that it was a case of albinism but Touya can piece together that it isn't. Whatever else Touya may be, he isn't blind. Katsuki is, in short, incredibly gorgeous. 

"Course I do. I can't imagine anyone thinking otherwise. What, does no one in this house compliment you?" 

"They do, it is just that...I sometimes feel as though they may feel obligated to say that to me from a sense of duty since they are responsible for me. I do not want to say that they would lie to me but...I do not ever feel very beautiful." 

That...is quite painful to hear. It's fuckin' sad, is what it is. Or would it be more appropriate to call it a crime? 

"You...do not have any such obligation towards me. And you seem like you are not the kind of man to go out of his way just to spare someone's feelings. I just could not tell if you were simply teasing me or…" 

Or if he'd meant it. 

"...did somebody say somethin' to you to make you feel like you're not pretty? You can tell me." So he can find them and punch them right between their fuckin' eyes. The one thing Touya despises just as much as he hates racists are fuckin' bullies. Especially picking on someone who can't defend themselves; someone as small as Katsuki. The blonde shakes his head. "Not necessarily, I don't believe. Not intentionally. My appearance is just always so off putting to others. People comment on my small stature quite a bit…" 

"I think it's cute that you're so tiny but that could just be a fetish talking." Touya tries, adding the last bit on jokingly but Katsuki doesn't seem to get it. Then it occurs to Touya that Katsuki doesn't know what a fetish is and he feels bad for making the joke. This entire time he's been swearing up a storm, too. Katsuki probably doesn't know what any of those words mean and here comes Touya, rolling in the dumpster fire that he is and corrupting this innocent little angel without even thinking twice about it. 

"Ah, fuck---dammit, I mean---shit!" 

"You say those words a lot." 

"You just make sure you don't go around repeating me---those are bad words." 

"What makes them bad?" 

"They're considered crass and rude." 

"Then why do you say them?" 

"It's just how I express myself." 

"Then how could they possibly be bad?" 

Touya hits a wall there. Katsuki kind of has a point. He's only told not to sweat so much because of social standards and people's sensitive ass ears, why should he limit his expressions because people are too goddamn selfish to understand that everything isn't about them and their damn etiquettes. 

"You know what, angel? You're absolutely right. That's very insightful of you, thank you." He smiles and Katsuki smiles right back, cheeks ruddy as receiving praise still makes him incredibly giddy. 

"My name isn't Angel. My name is Katsuki! But Izuku sometimes calls me Kacchan." 

Touya tries and fails to hide his snort of laughter. "I know, Katsuki. It's just a pet name. You know, sweet nicknames? Like Nori calling 'honey' or 'sweetheart'." 

"O-Oh. No one has ever called me that before." 

"Well, cutie, just think of it as my personal nickname for you now."

Katsuki beams at him and Touya thinks it may very well have been the absolute most pure thing he's ever seen in his life. He wants to know just where Toshinori found him---how he'd managed to stumble upon what could very well be considered the eighth wonder of the world. Someone genuinely pure of heart who has managed to remain so without ever having been touched by the dark clutches of a world so cruel. It's so unreal. 

"Does this mean that we are friends? I've found making new friends to be rather enjoyable!" 

"Y-Yeah, angel. We can be friends." 

Katsuki's smile grows impossibly wider. 

"That makes me very happy." 

The sound of the front door unlocking startles Katsuki a bit but when he sees that Touya is rather unbothered, he relaxes back onto the sofa only to jump back up as soon as the door opens. 

"Izuku! Shouto!" He cheers, hands clasped together as he happily shifts from heel to toe. The freckled alpha seems oddly surprised to see him but opens his arms to offer Katsuki a hug all the same, leaving Shouto to close and lock the door behind them. "Kacchan? Where's dad, babe? Did he leave you here alone?! What the fu---" 

"Izuku. Little Brother. 'Sup." Touya greets them from his spot on the couch to let them know that Katsuki hadn't been left home alone but both Izuku and Shouto just stare him down with a narrowed gaze. 

"What?" 

"My father must have been snorting fucking cocaine if he honestly thought it would be a good idea to leave Katsuki here with you." 

Touya's hand flies to his chest in genuine offense. "Well, fuck my feelings then." 

"Touya, you're literally the last person who needs to be babysitting anyone's kid, let alone looking after someone as sweet as Katsuki." Shouto chides and Touya throws up his hands, appalled that his own brother has turned against him, too. "I'm good with kids, what are you talkin' about? And I've been behavin', haven't I, angel?" He defends himself, prompting for Katsuki to back him up. 

"Touya and I are friends now. He's been very nice to me since I have threatened to stab him." 

"Well, let's be clear that I ain't afraid of being stabbed by you, doll, but yeah, I've been good. No funny business." 

Izuku's narrowed gaze morphs into a glare. 

"Let me find out that you did one thing out of line and I'm going to shove my entire foot up your ass." 

Touya gives him a flat stare; he wants to tell Izuku to fuck off for ever assuming he'd take advantage of someone to even begin with. He also wants to point out that Izuku couldn't beat him in his wildest damn dreams but if Izuku wants to lay the Big Brother role on that thick then who would he be to stop him? 

"Yeah, man. Sure." 

"Awesome. You stayin' for dinner? I think we're having fried chicken." 

#

Toshinori is unsure of what to expect when he gets back to work, but he certainly doesn't expect for the entirety of the precinct to have gone dead. All of the lively energy he'd felt earlier was completely gone, dread settling deep within his bones. 

"...What's going on here, Captain?" 

Tsukauchi seems to be bordering on devastation. Did someone die? What did they find?? 

"Ah...well, Toshinori. I'm not gonna be one of those assholes who drags things out so I guess I should just say it. We got results back in those body's. Middle aged man's name was Oboro Shirakumo. We're unsure of his affiliation with Tenko Shimura just yet but we're sure he's had something to do with the Hokkaido kidnappings---same ones that Katsuki became a victim of. We're looking into it now. 

"The other body belonged to a young girl who would have been around Katsuki's age should she have survived. Sixteen year old named Himiko Toga. She wasn't a name that came up when we reviewed the old case files so she wasn't affiliated with the Hokkaido kidnappings." 

Toshinori nods as he soaks the new information in. But…

"What does this have to do with me?"

Tsukauchi heaves a suffering sigh and Toshinori's anxiety spikes ten fold. Just spit it out already. 

"While CSI's were scouring the place, they found some loose boards in the basement that seemed to be intentionally hiding something. Managed to get them up with a crowbar and they...found another body. Recent as two years ago. They, uh…" he pauses, stumbling over his words. "The results came back and...the body belongs to Nighteye." 

Nighteye. 

Toshinori's partner before Shota had transferred to their precinct. 

He'd been transferred over to a precinct in the next town over after he and Toshinori had a falling out---a falling out that was caused by Toshinori recklessly risking his life for the sake of apprehending a perp. They hadn't spoken in over four years. 

And now he's dead. 

"I'm sorry. Yagi. Maybe you should take the week off. We'll handle this part of the case and notify you if...if Tenko Shimura wakes up." 

Maybe that's for the best.

Toshinori feels light-headed.