The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

9

They nod. "Well, we'll keep an eye out," Enmei says. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but we need to get moving before it gets to be too late. We need to at least get our necessities moved in before the night's over. Katsu!"

Katsu finally turns from his tea and looks to see his brother and cousin standing with Inko and Izuku. The tension that's been plaguing his body seems to dissipate as he realizes that his family is here. He walks around the counter and gives them both a brief hug before turning his attention to Izuku and his mother. His eyes soften as he speaks, "You must be Izuku's mom. I'm Katsu. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," she nods. She's thoughtfully quiet for a second or two longer before smiling. "You know, I was planning to make dinner for Izuku and his friends while I was in town. Would you three be interested in joining us tomorrow night?"

"I don't know what Enmei and Sana have going, but I'd love to come along," Katsu answers.

Sana nods, "A home-cooked meal would be nice. I've been growing tired of take-out, lately. I'm sure Enmei would agree."

"Yeah, a nice break would be nice," he reasons.

Inko hums with glee, "Great. I'll have Izu contact one of you with the time tomorrow. Make sure you boys come hungry."

"Great," Katsu says. "Well, I guess the three of us need to get going. We'll see you both tomorrow." With that, Katsu clocks out and grabs his tea before escorting his family out of the store.

Izuku looks at his mom and sighs, "Well, are you ready to get going too? I still have to make the bed in the guest room and I'm sure you're hungry."

Inko nods, "Are you done here for the evening?"

"Yeah, Ena and Akasuki are closing tonight." Izuku smiles back at his friends and waves on their way out. They get into the car and drive home. Izuku carries Inko's bags inside and sets them down as she walks inside.

She takes a moment to look around the house, going to check out the kitchen and the living room before making her way upstairs to further investigate. The last time she visited, she wasn't able to come to the house, so this is her first time seeing it. She walks back into the kitchen where Izuku is already working on an easy dinner for them both. She frowns and sighs as she takes a seat at the bar across from the stove. "Izuku, sweetie, you've got a nice home," she stops and her frown integrates further.

"But?"

"I don't think I saw a single picture of you and Masashi throughout the entire house. This is your home, shouldn't there be some sign that this is a life you're building together somewhere in here?" she asks.

Izuku stares down at the food sizzling on top of the stove. "Yeah. I guess it is weird, but Masa doesn't like having pictures taken of him, and it's weird to just have pictures of myself just sitting around the house, so we settled for wall art," he explains.

He hates that there's no evidence of their life together scattered around the house, other than the proof that they both live here. There's always been a piece of him that wished Masashi would make an exception just for a small handful of pictures, but he's never pushed the issue. He finds it better to just leave things like that alone after Masashi makes his stance known. It always spares him the trouble of a fight if he just grins and bears it. Inko sighs, pulling the cup of tea that Izuku made for her closer. "Is there no compromising?" she asks.

"Not with the pictures," Izuku frowns.

She takes a sip and sets the tea back down, "It's not just the pictures, sweetie. It's everything."

"Mom--"

"I know. I know, but you have to see where I'm coming from, don't you? First, he talks you into moving here with him with no compromise concerning your education. Then he buys the house although you told him you'd be more comfortable renting. He refuses to help you come and see me. The pictures are hardly the issue. Sweetie, it just seems to me that you keep letting yourself down to make him happy. Is that what you really want?" she reasons. "I know you love him, but this love is..."