The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

9

"Smothering?" he asks, turning off the stove. "I know. I've been feeling that way for a few weeks now, but what if it's just a short time? What if I hurt him for simply having a hard time?"

"He's been having a hard time since you met him. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life loving someone that's so full of themselves that they keep ignoring the fact that you're having a hard time too?" she asks.

Izuku hates this. She's right . She's been saying it for years, that Masashi was too involved with himself and didn't care for Izuku the way that Izuku cares for him. He's always ignored those implications because he didn't care. He felt like the love he received from Masashi was good enough. He might not be perfect, but he's been trying, right? Trying should be good enough. Even so, tonight he can't bring himself to shrug the conversation off the way he always has. Something has changed, although he can't quite place it. He's been slowly realizing that Masashi is less and less what he wants for himself despite the part of him that still wants to cling to what they have together. "It's not, but I don't think I can bring myself to give up. What if I quit on us too soon? What if he needs me to hold out just a little longer? Surely there's some hope he'll come around, don't you think?"

Inko shakes her head and sighs. "I think it's long overdue, to be honest. I'm glad that you love him, I am. But, as your mother, I only think it's fair of me to ask that you love someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved."

"Right. Let's move on, okay? We're supposed to be having fun and enjoying each other's company. Let's eat and catch up," he resigns.

***

Katsuki sinks into the couch in Eijiro's and Shoto's new apartment. It's quiet for now, as they've both gone to pick up food for the night. They should be back any minute, and Kyoka won't be far behind either. He closes his eyes and tries to mentally prepare himself for what's ahead. Today's been draining enough as it is, he can only imagine what will come with the information that his friends have now that they can discuss it freely.

The quiet lasts for only a few minutes longer, as he suspected it would. The door opens and Eijiro and Shoto walk in with food in tow. Directly after, Kyoka enters carrying her laptop so that she can take notes and help touch base on things she's discovered with everyone else. Katsuki opens his eyes and sits up, "You guys certainly weren't long."

"Yeah, we missed you too," Shoto smirks, crossing his arms. "So, where should we start?"

Eijiro sets the food down and rustles through the bag until he finds his order. He grabs a set of chopsticks and sits down on the other end of the couch. "Let's start light," he answers. "To be precise, let's start with your friends ."

"What about them?" Katsuki asks.

Shoto sighs, "Well, we should really start with which one you told the truth to and why you did it."

Katsuki could see that one coming, he knew as soon as he told Ena why he was really doing there that he'd have to report it to his team. He also knew they'd be curious as to what reason was a good enough one to blow his own cover. He crosses his arms, "I just needed to. She's good, we can trust her."

Kyoka sits down on the floor in front of the couch, "It seems you think we can trust a lot of people, where do you draw the line?"

"Wait, who else have you told?" Shoto asks.

"No one," he says.

Kyoka smiles, "Well he didn't say anything to him that I know of, but he did say we could trust his friend Izuku."

Eijiro smirks, turning his body to face Katsuki. "Well, that's self-explanatory enough, but.." His smirk disappears, traded out for a solemn frown. "It is somewhat unsettling."