## Preface

Copy-Paste
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/27247228.

Rating:
  Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning:
  No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
  M/M
Fandom:
  僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Relationships:
  Dabi | Todoroki Touya/Takami Keigo | Hawks, Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Todoroki Fuyumi & Todoroki Natsuo & Todoroki Rei & Todoroki Shouto
Characters:
  Todoroki Rei, Todoroki Natsuo, Todoroki Fuyumi, Todoroki Shouto, Takami Keigo | Hawks, Original Characters, Dabi | Todoroki Touya
Additional Tags:
  Protective Dabi (My Hero Academia), Family, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Quirk Accident (My Hero Academia), quirk reveal, Childhood Trauma, Childhood Memories, Pigeon Verse
Language:
  English
Series:
  Part 17 of Pigeon Verse
Stats:
  Published: 2020-10-28 Words: 3,408 Chapters: 1/1

# Copy-Paste

by EloFromMars

Summary

> Touya's nephew gets his Quirk.

Notes

> Here we goooooooooooo!! More feels, more Uncle T being a good uncle, more Tododrama!! Still no Pigeon but we're getting there I PROMISE

> Big thanks to Aphra and Kii for betaing it <3

> Enjoy!!

See the end of the work for more notes

## Copy-Paste

When Touya opens the door of his bedroom, he’s met with the familiar sight of a small frame curled up under his duvet, fast asleep. Since he came back home two weeks ago, Ichiro has sneaked up in his bedroom almost every night, falling asleep on his futon. No matter how many times Natsuo and Mayu told their son that he has to sleep in his own bed and not in his uncle’s, it doesn’t change anything. Ichiro has apparently inherited Touya’s stubbornness, among other things.

Touya smiles fondly as he spots the kangaroo plushie he brought back from Australia, tightly tucked between Ichiro’s arms. Mister Hopper had eclipsed the Shouto plushie, and Touya feels very smug about it.

He tip-toes in the dark study, getting ready for the night. After swallowing his Quirk suppressors, and getting rid of his extra-layers of clothes since Ichiro tends to run very hot, he quietly slides under the duvet. He should probably not indulge his nephew like this but honestly? It helps him sleep to have someone with him. Having to leave Keigo again had triggered memories that he’d rather have kept locked away. Unfortunately, his brain doesn’t seem to be inclined to leave the past in the past. The nightmare about that day he left for the last time keeps haunting him.

The sound of the shower running, the last look around at the place he called home, the last scratch behind Pigeon’s ears.

The way he had to fight himself to leave the set of keys and the last feather on the countertop.

Walking away.

Closing the door.

Not looking back.

He’d left like a coward. Not saying goodbye. But what good would have it done? He knew that if he had tried to linger, he would have hurt Keigo and himself even more. So once more, he had taken the easy way out. That was the only way he knew at that time.

Ichiro shifts and tries to bury himself in Touya’s chest, snapping him back to the present moment. Yeah, definitely a good thing to have his nephew with him. Less nightmares. Less insomnia. He can focus on the regular breathing of the sleeping munchkin next to him to ground himself when his mind goes back to memory lane.

When his phone buzzes in his hand, he turns off the brightness on his screen and opens the text message, already smiling.

[Kei] going to sleep?

[Touya] yeah. Mom wants to meet for breakfast tomorrow.

[Kei] Oh damn. That’s not nice Mom D:

[Touya] Ikr? Who meets for breakfast, seriously? Why not lunch? Or brunch? Or afternoon tea? the cruelty :(

[Kei] i mean, it’s not like your nephew will let you sleep until noon anyway, right? You have cartoons to watch.

[Touya] ugh i can probably tell you Deku and GZ script by heart now.

[Kei] hahaha poor Uncle T.

Is he still warming my spot?

[Touya] [picture sent] Yup.

[Kei] cute. Alright, I’ll let you sleep. Night, snowflake <3

[Touya] night Kei. Love u

[Kei] love u too. Sleep tight.

Touya stares at his phone for just a while longer. Keigo’s smile in that picture never fails to turn his gut into mush. He sighs and locks his screen, then curls around Ichiro’s small frame and closes his eyes.

Just a month and a half.

He’s stirred up from his slumber by the sound of Ichiro’s whimpering and thrashing against him, and he groans as a small foot kicks him in the stomach. His mind restarts, still hazy with sleep.

“Hey, wake up munchkin. It’s just a nightmare,” he slurs, patting to find his nephew’s shoulder. The fabric of his shirt is soaked.

Ichiro whines louder, his eyes still tightly closed. Touya runs fingers in his nephew’s white strands and finds them drenched in sweat too. He frowns and places his hand on the kid’s cheek. He’s burning.

He turns on the light next to his futon, blinking in the sudden brightness. Ichiro’s face is flushed and twisted in something close to pain.

“Ichiro,” Touya calls again, removing the duvet from his sweaty nephew. He shakes him slightly. “Come on, beansprout, wake up.”

Ichiro snaps his eyes open and screeches, his whole body suddenly covered in blue flames. Touya recoils hastily with a curse. The acrid smell twists his gut into a painful knot, but Ichiro’s panicked eyes catch his own, wide and full of tears. Tiny flames lick his shoulders and arms, burning his PJs, and projecting blue hues on his round cheeks. Touya stops thinking and scoops his nephew in his arms to run towards the bathroom. Natsuo is already out of his bedroom, hair in disarray. He curses too and rushes after Touya. Touya kicks the door open, his nose clogged with the stench of fabric burning, mingling with the sweeter one of flesh burning. He doesn’t know if it’s his only his own or if it’s Ichiro’s too. His heart hammers against his ribcage as panic tries to take over.

Touya steps into the shower and turns on the faucet. He ignores the cold water sipping through his clothes, ignores the pain on his burned forearms and chest, all his attention on the scared boy between his arms. The pain is something he’s familiar with, he can deal.

Touya murmurs words of comfort to his nephew, who keeps sobbing, clinging to his seared and now drenched kangaroo plushie. Natsuo stands outside of the shower cabin, looking at them with wide eyes. The blue flames finally die down in a cloud of steam and sizzling noises.

“Ichiro, come on kiddo, look at me. You’re okay.” Touya soothes the best he can, cradling Ichiro’s little body against his chest. The cold droplets of water run on his face, blurring his sight. “Everything’s okay.”

Natsuo finally joins them under the shower and gently takes his son from Touya’s arms. Ichiro latches on his father, his whole body shaking. Touya turns the water off and drops on his butt, shivering. He checks his burns, scrunching his nose at the blisters. It’s going to hurt.

“You okay, bro?” Natsuo asks in a low voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry. Nothing I’m not used to.” He gently examines Ichiro’s arms and sighs in relief. Not a single burn, just his pale skin a bit redder where the flames have popped up. Touya checks his nephew’s body temperature, which seems to be back to normal. “We should get him dry. You okay, kiddo?”

Ichiro nods against his father’s chest, his matted hair making him look like a wet kitten. Touya’s heart clenches painfully but he forces a smile on his face. “Good.”

Mayu steps in the bathroom, her face ravaged with worry. She takes it from there, cooing and nuzzling her son’s face, the way only a mother knows how to. Ichiro starts crying again, more quietly this time. Touya follows Natsuo outside of the bathroom, grabbing the first-aid kit on his way out.

Saya is standing in the doorway of their shared bedroom, looking at the scene with wide eyes. She spots Touya’s burns and her eyes fill up with tears. Natsuo sighs and goes to his daughter, pushing her back inside and to her bed with comforting words.

Touya shivers again and heads to the kitchen to take care of his burns. He needs just a moment of quiet to rein in his spiraling thoughts. It’s okay, Ichiro is okay. It has nothing to do with him.

He focuses on the familiar gestures, ones he hasn’t practiced in years but hasn’t forgotten. Clean the burns, let them dry, apply gauze and bandage. The pain grounds him, but the images of his nephew engulfed in blue flames seem to be burned in his retina.

Breath, Touya. Breath. Ichiro isn’t you.

Touya is not the praying type but if he was, he’d definitely pray for Ichiro’s body to not betray him. As much as the idea of his nephew looking like him makes him stupidly happy, he hopes that he will take after Natsuo’s constitution, or even Enji’s. For the first time in his life, Touya wishes that someone actually takes after his father. No one should ever go through what Touya went through, especially not Ichiro.

Touya places gauze on the red skin of his left arm and wraps bandages around it. The sight of it reminds him of his cursed childhood, of the lonely nights spent bandaging his own wounds and swallowing back his tears. Definitely not a Proust’s madeleine.

Natsuo stops in the doorway of the dimly-lit kitchen, Mister Hopper in his hand. They exchange a look and Touya can see the worry written all over his brother’s open face. Natsuo puts the plushie in the washing machine before sitting in the chair next to Touya. He takes the gauze and bandages from his hand. “Let me help you.”

Touya doesn’t protest and lets his brother bandage his right arm. Just like when they were kids. Natsuo’s fingers are gentle, less clumsy than before, but they’re shaking slightly. Touya realizes Natsuo is probably going down the same memory lane as he is. He should probably say something but once more, his words are failing him. He just feels tired and drained.

“I’m sorry,” Natsuo murmurs finally.

Touya stares at his brother, confused. “About what?”

“I didn’t think Ichiro’s Quirk would be — I really thought he would take after Mom’s side. I—” Natsuo closes his mouth, looking defeated.

Touya rolls his eyes. “Don’t apologize about something you don’t have any control over. Good thing Ichiro was with me, I suppose.”

Natsuo drops his head into his hands, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. For a while, the only sounds are the ones of the fridge humming and the washing-machine spinning quietly. “He’s really your copy-paste.”

There’s no accusation in Natsuo’s voice but it still sends a pang of guilt in Touya’s chest. He picks at the bandage of his left arm. “Sorry about that.”

Natsuo glances at him with a half-smile. “Don’t apologize about something you don’t have any control over.” He puts back the extra gauze and bandages in the small box, his eyebrow slightly furrowed. The cartoon version of Deku on it smiles at them, unnerving. “At least he has decent parents to look after him.”

“He does. He’s going to be fine, Natsu. We’re going to make sure he’s okay.” Touya reclines in his chair, looking at the ceiling. There’s no more noise upstairs. “Mayu’s still with him?”

“Yeah, she put him back to bed. She will probably sleep in the kids’ room tonight.”

“You should go rest too.”

“In a moment. I just need to stop freaking out.”

Touya raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Is this you freaking out?”

Natsuo chuckles. “Yeah, that’s me freaking the fuck out. Imagine seeing your brother running to the bathroom with your son literally on fire, in the middle of the night. Stuff of nightmare, seriously.”

Touya winces. “I can only imagine.” He pats his brother’s broad shoulder. “But he didn’t seem to be burned or anything. I’m sure he’s going to handle his Quirk like a champ.”

Natsuo hums, his thumb tracing the contour of Deku’s face on the box. He finally raises his head to look at Touya in the eye. “Will you help him?”

Touya blinks, surprised by the sudden demand. “Of course. But—” He frowns, his hand wrapping around the bandage on his forearm, almost feeling the burns pulsating under his palm. “Shouto would probably be better for that. He’s actually able to use his Quirk without turning himself into a walking third-degree burn.”

“He’ll need both of you.” Natsuo groans, rubbing his eyes. “And probably the old man too. Ugh.”

The idea of Enji being around Ichiro still doesn’t sit well with Touya, but they will all be here to make sure their dear old dad doesn’t pull any bullshit this time. “Probably. But it’s a problem for Tomorrow you. Just go to sleep.”

“Yeah. Yeah okay.” Natsuo stands up, still looking a bit out of it. “There are painkillers above the sink in the bathroom. Thank you for tonight.”

“Of course. Night, Natsu.”

“Good night, Touya.”

Ichiro doesn’t go to school the day after and remains glued to Touya’s side, his seared kangaroo never leaving his arms. He doesn’t really talk and Touya doesn’t try to make him. If Ichiro needs space to process, Touya won’t go against it. It doesn’t matter if he’s 4 or 34, Touya won’t force him to do anything.

So they watch Deku and Ground Zero Excellent Adventures 3 two times, eat chicken nuggets and ice cream for lunch, and more ice-cream in the afternoon. Touya checks Ichiro's temperature every now and then but it seems to be back to normal. Ish. He’s still running hot but doesn’t look like he’s about to spontaneously combust again.

They start on an old All-Might cartoon when Ichiro climbs into his lap, Touya’s phone in hand.

“What’s up?”

“Can we call Keigo?”

Touya blinks, not really surprised about the demand. Saya and Ichiro had caught the habit of crashing Touya’s conversations with Keigo every time they could, because Keigo is ‘ cool and fun’ according to Saya. Which he is, Touya can’t disagree with that. Keigo is surprisingly good at talking with them both. It flows naturally, as if they had known each other for years. When Touya asked about it, Keigo simply shrugged, telling him that Touya talked about his munchkins so much he felt he knew them already.

Well, sue him for being a proud uncle.

Touya starts a video call with Keigo, amused. “No guarantee he’ll answer, beansprout. Might be busy surfing.”

Keigo’s face appears on the screen as Touya finishes his sentence. His hair drips on his tanned forehead and his sunglasses, proof that he had been in the water not so long ago. “Just got out. I think I might have a sixth sense when it comes to you.”

Touya hides his wide grin in Ichiro’s hair. “Or I’ve got a sixth sense about you stopping pretending to be a fish for one minute.”

“Fishies don’t surf, Uncle T!” Ichiro giggles. “They would die!”

Keigo snorts. “ Listen to your nephew, Uncle T. How are you Ichiro? Touya told me you got your Quirk last night?”

Ichiro recoils slightly between Touya’s arms and nods slowly. “I burned Uncle T and Mister Hopper.”

Keigo’s smile fades away and he removes his sunglasses. “ Hey, it’s not your fault, munchkin. Right Touya?”

Touya wraps his arms around Ichiro and squeezes until the boy squeaks in protest. “Of course, it’s not.”

“But you have bandaids everywhere and -” He sniffles, hugging Mister Hopper against his chest. “And Mister Hopper is -”

“Hey hey, don’t cry, little man. Tell you what! I’ll go and buy you a new one. What do you say?”

Ichiro sniffles a bit more. “For real?”

Keigo raises his pinkie. “ We can’t pinkie promise through the screen but pinkie promise. I’ll get you a new one. And don’t worry about your uncle, he’s going to be just fine. Right? ”

Touya catches Keigo’s gaze and can read concern. He rolls his eyes. “Obviously. It’s just a few burns, I’ve seen worse.” He smirks. “No need to worry, surfer boy.”

Keigo hums before refocusing on Ichiro who asks to see the ocean and Keigo’s surfboard for the thirtieth time, and the Combi and people and everything he can think of. Keigo gracefully indulges the demands and Ichiro is back to his usual self in no-time, to Touya’s relief. Apparently, Natsuo and Keigo share the same magic power of making things better by just being themselves. Fondness and longing mingle in his chest as he listens to his nephew and Keigo talk to each other.

A month and a half.

Rei arrives by the end of the afternoon, loaded with bags of food and presents for Ichiro, to celebrate his Quirk reveal. Rei is all over Ichiro in the blink of an eye, checking him from head to toes despite Touya’s reassurance that the boy was completely fine. She only settles down once she’s sure than Ichiro was actually okay and only then does she start to fuss over Touya, insisting on changing Touya’s bandages ‘We don’t want it to scar, baby. Let me help you.’ Touya relents in the end, more for his mother’s sake than his own. He knows it’s a way for her to compensate for the years where she couldn’t be there for any of them, a futile attempt to make up for the lost time. They both know it. So Touya lets her fuss, lets her redo the bandages that don’t need to be redone, lets her coddle him and embraces the bittersweet feelings that wash over him. It’s better than nothing, after all.

Fuyumi shows up shortly after that, all smiles and easy talk, despite her gaze barely meeting Touya’s. She focuses on her nephew and gives him two boxes with a smile.

“This one is from Grandpa,” she explains to Ichiro, pointing at the biggest one.

Touya huffs. “You told him?”

Fuyumi holds his stare for a moment before looking away once more. “Yes, I did. He deserves to know. He’s very proud of you, Ichiro.”

Touya stands up. “Yeah, of course he is.”

“Touya,” Rei intervenes with a frown.

Touya waves both women off. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

He knows he shouldn’t behave that way, not in front of Ichiro at least. Natsuo and Mayu had made the choice to include Enji in their kids’ lives, it’s not his place to argue with it. And Ichiro might need the help of his grandfather to handle his Quirk, but damn does it irk him.

Natsuo finds him in the kitchen, passing his foul mood onto the veggies. He doesn’t say a word but he squeezes Touya’s shoulder. Touya is relieved that their non-verbal communication still works because he really doesn’t want to talk about it right now. Instead, they both focus on preparing a big dinner, listening to the rest of the tribe chatting in the living room. Ichiro’s piercing screeches ring out between the walls when Shouto and Deku, still in their hero outfits, arrive. Deku has his arms full of packages, probably more merch, knowing the green nerd.

“He’s going to spoil them rotten,” Touya muses, amused at the sight of Ichiro ripping the boxes open and squealing in delight, helped by his sister.

Natsuo hums, looking at his kids with a fond smile. “It’s okay. That y’all jobs as uncles after all.”

The remnants of Touya’s annoyance dissolve with his nephew’s happy laugh. That’s the only important thing, no matter what he thinks.

After dinner, Deku takes Ichiro to the backyard and asks him to show his Quirk. Touya stays back, looking from afar as blue flames burst between Ichiro’s hands. A small hand slips in his and he looks down at Saya.

“You okay, munchkin? You’ve been quiet during dinner.”

Her ears twitch. “Ichiro has a cool Quirk. Mine is lame.”

Touya huffs and squeezes his niece’s hand. “I don’t think your Quirk is lame.”

“It just gives me headaches all the time,” she mumbles, leaning against Touya’s hip.

“But you don’t catch fire in the middle of the night.”

Saya shrugs. “I guess.”

Deku watches the blue flames, tugging at his lower lip until Shouto bumps his shoulder to stop the probable muttering.

Touya looks down at Saya, and the small line between her eyebrows is back. He remains silent for a moment longer, trying to find the right words. “Quirks are not everything, kiddo. Being a good person first is more important. Trust me on that one.”

Saya looks up, still frowning. “What’s your Quirk, Uncle T? You never use it.”

“It’s the same as Ichiro.” He gives her a crooked smile. “And I don’t use it because it hurts me. My body is not made to handle fire.” And I’m not allowed to use it anymore, anyway.

“Oh.” She worries her lower lip. “Do you think Ichiro’s body will handle it then?”

Touya squeezes her hand, reassuring. “Seems like it.”

Ichiro giggles happily when Shouto joins his own flames to the blue ones before snuffing everything out with ice. The rest of the family applauds and Touya smiles, hoisting Saya in his arms before joining them.

Yeah, everything will be fine. They will make sure of it.

## Afterword

End Notes

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