There was an awkward silence as the boys continued to stare at one another. Kio, being used to introducing himself to other kids almost on the daily, was the first to step forward and offer his hand.
"My name is Kio, it's nice to meet you guys!"
He watched as the two others stared at his hand before the blue-eyed one hesitantly reached forward and shook his hand gently.
"Touya."
The name was whispered softly, but in the silence that surrounded them, it was heard loud and clear. Kio grinned, squeezing his hand once before letting go and moving to the other boy. He waited patiently as gold eyes scrutinised his hand before jumping up to meet his eyes, hands staying firmly by his side.
"Keigo."
Although it was clear that Keigo did not want to shake hands, Kio was determined. He reached forward, grasping gently at his hand. He didn't hold it too tightly, allowing Keigo the chance to break away if he wanted. However, all he felt was a small tremble in his fingertips as he shook his hand and gave him the same bright grin he gave Touya. Gold eyes widened at the gesture, lighting up at the small contact.
Kio let go of his hand and watched the other two with an expectant gaze. They shared a confused glance, not sure what he was expecting. Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Kio gave a small huff and pointed between the two.
"Go on, shake hands!"
The mock glare he had on his face earned him a small giggle from Touya. The sound seemed so dissipate any remaining tension between them. Touya and Keigo turned to each other with small smiles on their faces, shaking hands gently before glancing at the red-eyed boy. Kio had a big grin on his face as he finally saw them smile.
"Alright! Now that that's out of the way, on to the next problem!"
They watched with eager eyes and amused smiles, wondering what Kio could possibly be up to now. Kio spun, pointed at the bunk bed and said with the most serious voice he could.
"Who gets the top bunk?"
Touya and Keigo giggled quietly, glancing at each other with growing smiles.
"I prefer sleeping close to the ground cause of my feathers."
Keigo fluffed his wings up for emphasis, Kio's wings twitching slightly in response. They stared at each other's wings for a while, before turning to Touya who was watching the small interaction with interest.
"Um, I don't have a good handle on my quirk yet and I wouldn't wanna accidentally burn anyone."
He fidgeted with his hands, staring a hole into the ground. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Keigo flinch slightly, wings pressed tightly to his back. He felt tears of shame burn his eyes. If only he could control his quirk! Then maybe his dad wouldn't have...
His thoughts were quickly cut off by Kio, who had stepped forward and placed his hands on his shoulders. He looked up in surprise, only to be met by sparkling red eyes shining with excitement.
"You have a fire quirk? That's so cool! Can you show us?"
Touya's lips twitched, eyes lighting up at Kio's excitement to see his quirk. He lifted his hand, ready to show him his fire, when Keigo stepped forward, half hiding behind Kio. He paused, remembering how Keigo had flinched beforehand, and hesitantly lowered his hand.
Kio glanced back in confusion, wondering what made Touya stop. Seeing Keigo, eyes wide with apprehension and wings pressed tightly to his back, he turned towards him, wondering why he seemed so scared.
"Is everything alright?"
He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling Keigo take a small step closer to him. He lowered his head, a hand grasping onto the back of his shirt.
"I don't like fire. My feathers burn easily and it hurts a lot."
The words were whispered, Keigo's hand tightening on Kio's shirt. He wanted to see Touya's quirk too, but the thought of being burned was too frightening.
He felt a small hand land on his head, looking up at Kio who gave him a comforting grin.
"It's alright! My wings are heatproof so just stay behind me, I'll protect you, ok?"
He spread his wings, shielding Keigo behind him so that only his eyes and the top of his head could be seen. Keigo smiled wide and gave a small nod. He shuffled closer, safe behind the dark wings. Both boys looked up at Touya, ready to see his quirk.
Touya looked both in the eyes, making sure they were really ok, before lifting his hand. He concentrated, feeling the heat travel up his arm, before igniting a small blue flame in the palm of his hand. Kio and Keigo shuffled forward, eyes wide with wonder and excitement.
Kio reached out, fingertips grazing the flame before Touya pulled back, alarmed. He grabbed Kio's outstretched hand, examining it for injuries. Once he made sure he hadn't burned him, he looked up with frantic eyes.
"Why would you do that? I could've hurt you!"
Kio placed a comforting hand on top of his, giving him an easy smile.
"It's ok! It's not just my wings that are fireproof."
He placed a proud hand on his hips, the other pointing at himself. His wings flared out for dramatic effect, Keigo giggling behind him. Touya sighed in relief, before joining Keigo with small giggles of his own. Kio huffed happily, watching the two laugh. Keigo stepped out from behind Kio, hands tugging nervously at his shirt.
"My quirk isn't as flashy but I wanna show what I can do too!"
Touya and Kio smiled encouragingly.
"Doesn't matter if it's flashy or not, every quirk is awesome!"
Touya nodded in agreement, both turning towards Keigo, who's wings puffed with the attention. Feeling slightly more confident, he closed his eyes and felt his feather move off his wing.
Touya and Kio watched it spin and flip in the air, hands reaching up to try and catch it, only for it to fly further from their reach. They glanced at each other, before laughing and running around the room trying to catch it. Keigo giggled from his spot by the door, moving the single feather expertly around the room. Another one joined it up in the air, Touya jumping after one and Kio running for the other.
Shrieks and giggles filled the room as the two boys ran around chasing feathers while Keigo laughed at their horrible attempts. The small game finally came to a close as Kio leapt up with a beat of his wings and caught both feathers in one fell swoop. He held them up triumphantly before they wiggled out of his grasp and back to Keigo.
Touya collapsed on the single bed, Kio joining him soon after. Both boys were breathing heavily with fast-beating hearts, wide smiles plastered on their faces. Keigo sat on the edge of the bed with his own smile and wings twitching happily. While the other two were catching their breath, he went on to properly explain his quirk.
"I can control each of my feathers and I can feel things through them. Like someone's breathing or heartbeat. Right now I can feel how fast your hearts are beating."
He giggled in amusement, avoiding the weak hands that swatted at him in mock annoyance. A comfortable silence settled on the trio as they relaxed on the small bed.
Keigo was happy that they had enjoyed his quirk, it wasn't the flashiest or most impressive but it was still useful and fun, as evidence of the content smiles on the other's faces. He hadn't laughed this much in, what felt like, forever!
Touya felt a lightness in his heart he hadn't felt in a long time, not while he was with his dad anyway. They didn't shy away from his quirk, well Keigo did, but Kio helped a lot. It felt nice, finally being accepted and appreciated instead of a disappointment.
Kio, meanwhile, wasn't one to stay down for long, and once his breathing was back to normal, he bounced up and stood in front of the other two. They watched him with amusement as he gave them a wide grin, hands coming up in front of him with his palms facing each other.
"Now then! I guess it's my turn to show my quirk!"
That piqued their interest, Touya sitting up and both boys giving him their full attention.
Kio's wings twitched a bit as he gathered the energy stored in them and directed it towards his palms. They all watched as bolts of purple lightning zapped between his palms, making small buzzing noises as they appeared. Keigo and Touya immediately shuffled closer, eyes wide and mouths open in amazement.
Since they were so busy watching the lightning, they didn't see the growing smirk on Kio's face. As their faces drew closer, Kio turned his palms and zapped them lightly on their noses, not enough to hurt but just tingle lightly. He watched in amusement as they threw their heads back, shouts of surprise leaving their lips.
They rubbed at their noses while giving him small glares, not being able to hold the expression as Kio dissolved into loud laughter. He held his hands up, giving them apologetic smiles.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't resist!"
It was he managed to get out before he fell to the floor in another bout of giggles. Touya and Keigo gave each other a look of exasperation before laughing along with him.
Once they had calmed from yet another giggle-fest, Keigo and Touya pulled Kio up onto the bed, sitting on either side of him as he explained his quirk.
"I can store energy in my wings and release it as lightning. I have pretty good control of my quirk cause the old guy at the orphanage had a similar quirk and helped me with mine."
The two perked up at the mention of his past home and shuffled closer with curious gazes. Touya spoke up, voice soft and gentle.
"You lived in an orphanage?"
"Yep! Everyone was really nice, we were all friends."
Touya and Keigo looked at each other with small frowns, before turning back to the smiling boy.
"So, you don't have a family?"
For the first time since they met, Kio actually winced and his smile fell. He looked down at the floor, red eyes dimmed with sadness. He kicked his feet lightly and watched them swing back and forth over the edge of the bed.
"Not really. I mean the people at the orphanage were nice and all, but they weren't family. Seeing kids getting adopted and moving away to new homes, it's different ya know? Something I could never have."
Kio stilled, eyes downcast. Keigo shifted beside him, resting his head on his shoulder. He took a deep breath, before letting his own feelings out.
"My parents were never home, and when they were, they would just fight all the time. They were always drinking and we had takeout every night. I would see so many other parents playing with their kids, and I always felt so jealous. My parents didn't love me, I was sure of it. The only reason they agreed to send me here was for the money. Probably gonna waste it on drinks and stuff anyway..."
His voice trembled as he buried his face in Kio's shoulder, feeling tears burn his eyes. His hands were clenched tightly on his thighs, trying to fight back the tears. He felt Kio's hand wriggle it's way into his, holding it in a tight grasp. He sniffled quietly, feeling the comforting squeeze on his hand.
Kio didn't say anything, he knew whatever he said now wouldn't matter, instead offering his comfort by simply being there for him. He turned to Touya on his other side. Touya's lips were trembling and eyes glistened with tears of his own. He held a hand out, a small smile on his lips. Touya shuffled closer, grasping his hand and snuggling into his side. He watched Kio rub the back of his hand with his thumb for a while, before opening his mouth, voice a mere whisper, filled with emotions.
"My dad...he didn't see me as his son. He trained me, telling me I would grow up to beat the number one hero. It was nice for a while, I got to spend some time with my dad...but the training got more intense, and whenever I messed up, he would punish me and shout at me. I was always tired and injured. My mum tried to step in sometimes, but dad would ignore her and continue training me. My dad didn't think I was training enough, that's why he sent me here so that I could become stronger."
His voice petered out at the end, ending in a small whimper. A shaky breath left his lips as slow tears ran down his cheeks. He pressed against Kio's side, seeking comfort after years of abuse.
Kio sat and listened to his new friends cry quietly. Silence settled over the trio, as each became lost in their thoughts. With a heavy breath, Kio spread his wings and wrapped them around the two, squeezing them closer to himself. Letting go of their hands, he instead chose to run his fingers through their hair, comforting them and letting them cry to their heart's content.
The three boys sat there, curled up in a warm embrace as they let out all feelings that had been bottled up inside. Once their cries had been quietened to soft sniffles, Kio raised his hands, palms up in front of the other two. With a gentle but determined voice, he spoke.
"From now on, I'll look out for you guys. We can be a family. A better one that actually protects and cares for each other, cause there's no way in hell I'm ever letting anything bad happen to you ever again!"
He voiced with all the conviction of a 10-year-old. Touya and Keigo glanced at each other, happy smiles spreading on their faces before they reached forward and clasped Kio's hands.
Although none of them knew what the future may bring, the words struck deep within them. They would become what they couldn't have before.
A family, a home.
...
"Ya know, we never did decide on who was getting the top bunk."