cannock chase ꩜ shouto todoroki ⋆·˚ ༘ *
the road to forgiveness is a long one; enji wants to start by understanding his son, and the opportunity presents himself when he meets you.
content warning. endeavour's pov, crack mostly ive been in a silly mood and i thought this was funny, shoto's whipped, genuinely he's down TF badt, enji's kinda jealous that his son likes you lol, endeavour internship arc adjacent, reader interns with fatgum n em :>, use of yn, fluff, endeavor redemption arc but dont be fooled i fucking hate him
A/N. this was so hard for me to write bc i had to be empathetic for this sack of shit, it was torturous the entire way through guys believe me, this was a sweet piece tho and i dog on him a bit anyway so it balances out for me
enji todoroki, as hard as he tries for him, can tell his son does not enjoy his company.
and in all honesty, he doesn’t blame him. he knows and tries to come to terms with the hurt he’s caused. not only to him, but all of his children. all of his family.
but still, he can’t help but feel a bit bitter about the situation in front of him.
he knows shouto doesn’t like him around. even now, while he’d accepted the offer of working under him for his work study, this had elated enji at first (even if shouto had ended up dragging two of his classmates along), it would allow for some good father-son-bonding time, maybe his son would get some esteem for him.
but seriously, did he have to look at him like that ?
he never blamed his son, no matter how he feels about him. he knew he would have to work to earn his respect, his forgiveness.
but the road to forgiveness feels so very long when your own son looks at you like you embarrassed him every time you spoke.
shouto barely offered his father a glance beside when asking him the occasional question about hero work. enji figured he was taking a step towards the right direction, but shouto didn’t make it easy for him.
for everything he thought he did right, shouto would only grace him with tight looks and occasional glances. the most he’d get from him was a sigh when he’d lecture him and his classmates.
and oh, how he seemed to hate. hate—when enji referred to him by name. even if it did happen to be his hero name as well, it was like his name even being uttered by him disgusted his own son. he was never one for over-animated reactions, shouto had always been a calm boy. as most of his children were.
his mind drifts, and the older man tries hard to not let it show. it was amateurish of him to let himself get this bent out of shape over his teenage son’s antics, over dark memories of the past. he promptly shakes himself out of it.
he was a hero first and foremost. and just once, he wants his son to be proud of that fact.
today’s street patrol looks like it wouldn’t be anything special, enji almost scoffs at it. there wouldn’t be anything for him to show off to to teach his son. the boy walks a few paces ahead of him, sharing some small talk with his classmates. he decides maybe a random question will keep them on their toes, it usually got their attention. the little green one would start muttering to himself like crazy, though. but for shouto, it was worth it, he thought.
enji hears a voice calling further ahead, coming their way was someone who knew his son. was it a fan ? he didn’t know he had already gotten that much attention...was it because they’d been seen together ? pride slowly bubbles in his chest, until he realises his son knows this person.
shouto sighs. it’s small but to enji, it’s like the boy had just started hysterically laughing.
ahead stand three unknown faces accompanied by a hero—fatgum. enji scowls in confusion, he didn’t know the man patrolled around here. in front of him stands a red haired boy with shark teeth, who also seems to know his crew. as well as a dark haired older boy who stands a bit further away.
and one other person, the one that had called his son by name. or, well—hero name he guesses.
the fire hero crosses his arms to seem imposing, though he would obviously stand out the most being the tallest and the one other pro hero around. fatgum tries to strike up light conversation, but enji is too focused on the look.
that is, the look on shoto’s face.
“hi, yn.” shouto greets, voice warm despite his facial expression not changing much. enji can tell he looks…content to see you. but he’d never heard about you before, not that his son came to him talking about school…
a strange feeling settles in his chest when he sees how you converse. shouto seems familiar with you, he seems less stiff. less trained. he talks to you casually, listening and staring at you intently as you speak.
“that’s not my name right now, silly !” you giggle, smacking his arm softly. shouto pays it no mind, even though enji's sure if he were to even stand next to him he’d for sure be greeted with an ice cold glare. but you get to hit him—like it was nothing !
this was childish, there was no reason for him to feel bitter about how you act towards his son.
shouto corrects himself obediently, calling you properly by your hero name. your laughter comes easy, and shouto seems full of surprises today because enji swears he sees the hints of a small smile on his son’s face.
just who were you ?! he was ashamed to say he was almost impressed.
“i see you’re on patrol with dad, eh ?” you giggle. enji notices how you try to quiet yourself in the presence of said father. he subtly tries to stand up straighter, maybe you’d just given him the chance for shouto to finally acknowledge him—!
“oh,” shouto sighs—no, groans. “that doesn’t matter. how is your patrol going ?”
denied. completely and utterly denied.
the road to forgiveness is a long one indeed.
his son hadn’t even given him the decency of acknowledging him by name or pronoun. that ?! seriously ?!
but no matter, the situation in front of him was still strange. you were obviously classmates, yet you talked to him like he was a friend of a life time. you we’re casual with him like hawks would be overly familiar with enji. and while that annoyed him to no bounds, shouto seemed more than pleased by your behaviour.
and most importantly, there was no flinch at his name leaving your mouth. in fact, he even seemed to perk up when you said it.
seriously, just what were you to his son ?
fatgum goes on his way after the quick break in schedule with his students in tow. you turn back to wave at your classmates, calling shouto out specifically by name before you turn back to leave. he waves back immediately and doesn’t lower his arm until you’ve turned away again.
things should've taken their course again, and he’s thinking of how to bring up what he just saw when shouto’s phone buzzes. enji almost doesn’t notice with how quick the boy yanks it out of his pocket, immediately pressing it to his ear—only to remember he hadn’t pressed the answer button yet.
“hi…yeah, i still see you. you’re quite small from over here, though.”
enji looks up and lo and behold, you, a little speck from afar, were waving at his son !
said son seems eager to entertain you, waving not high or enthusiastically, but he knew his son wasn’t one to waste his time on foolish thing. or…he thought he knew, but shouto seems completely focused on his task of making sure to reassure you that he still sees you and that he was still waving. even after you hang up.
“i-i think she’s far enough away now, todoroki..” his unexpected saving grace, midoriya pipes up. but even as he sweat drops an affectionate chuckle slips past him.
“i can still see her,” shouto confirms “she’ll get sad if i stop.”
“you losers are fuckin’ disgustin’..” bakugou scoffs, rolling his eyes. enji thinks for once he agrees with the boy.
later, finally back home. enji takes his chance. he calls for his son, who as expected stiffens at his voice.
“that girl, from earlier,” enji doesn’t miss how shouto immediately turns his full attention to him once you’re brought up “who was she to you ?”
shouto doesn’t miss a beat “i don’t think that should be any of your business.”
shouto’s attitude wasn’t anything new, but for some reason—a strange reason, the bitter feeling dissipates. it fades to curiosity.
he wants his son’s forgiveness, his respect. but more importantly; he wants to know—more about his son, about his life, what he cares for. he wants his son to know he cares.
he wants to know what it is he hears when you say his name that makes him look so happy, so content to hear it come from another.
even if he hates him, enji wants to know nonetheless. he doesn’t need to understand what it is about you shouto likes so much, he wants to understand his son’s compassion, his need to reassure and make sure you wouldn’t get sad he’d stopped waving at your small fading figure.
he almost laugh. that definitely wasn’t something he’d taught him, had to have been something he’d gotten from rei…
enji decides not to pry, letting his son turn away from him with no more words exchanged. shouto’s phone lights up, and he smiles—small and soft, and he’ll guess he'd just received a message from you.
the road to understanding is long and hard. but it’s one he was prepared to endure.
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