Jumping Hurdles ; Bakudeku

Past, Present, Future

By the time Izuku got home, it was nearly 11 pm. Curfew had completely slipped his mind, until he saw his mother in shambles on the kitchen floor. Even when Izuku came home just a few minutes late she would panic and jump to conclusions. Out on the farm, Izuku didn't have any service so as soon as he rushed to his mother, his phone rang off in his pocket. It buzzed with almost as much anxiety as Inko was feeling. Now that Izuku was nearly 8 hours late...she had panicked herself to exhaustion.

Izuku swallowed down the guilt he felt in his throat and went to wake his mother. It seems that the more Izuku chases after what he wants, the more his mother panics and withers away. Her mental state wasn't getting any better and Izuku couldn't help but feel like he was at fault.

"Mom?" He shook her with a sigh. "Mom, you can't sleep on the kitchen floor." His voice was soft despite the fact he was trying to wake her up. He moved her hair out of her face with a shaky hand. "Mom, please wake up." He whispered.

She stirred, eyebrows knitting together as she became conscious of the cool tile against her face.

"Mom, I'm home. Wake up."

Inko shot up from the ground, still panicked. "Izuku?" She grabbed Izuku's arm tightly, almost as if she was trying to convince herself he was really here.

"It's me. I'm here, Mom." Izuku said, trying his best not to cry. His mother seeing him cry would only make her burst into tears as well. That was the last thing he wanted right now. He already felt guilty enough. He should have called or texted or- anything. But he hadn't even thought about how his mother would react to him being out so late.

She had tears in her eyes anyway, twisting Izuku's heart in a way so familiar that in of itself was sad. The familiarity of pain ran deep. "Izuku, where were you? I thought today was the day you-"

"I'm here, Mom. I'll never leave you." Not like that. "I'm still here."

Inko cried holding onto her sweet son. "Where were you, Honey? I was so worried. I was so worried!"

Izuku took a deep breath. "I was with Kacchan." He let his mother hold him, not pulling away like usual. She needed it. "He took me to his grandma's nice farm and we had so much fun." He talked her down from her panic. "They had goats and horses and chickens too. There was a cornfield and we ran around in there." Izuku laughed. "Kacchan got lost and I had to lead the way out."

"Is that where you've been running off to? Are you always with Katsuki?" She asked.

Izuku nodded his head. "He took me on a nice date last week. He's taking me everywhere I want to go. He treats me well, Mom. He treats me so well." I just hope it's real.

Inko smiled. "This boy is really sweeping you off your feet, huh?" She laughed. She finally pulled away from the hug. With a huff, she pulled herself off the kitchen floor and Izuku followed, relieved.

"You know," She said, making her way to the bookshelf. She pulled out a blue photo album. It was old and hadn't been touched in years. "I always knew you boys would be more than friends."

Izuku blushed red, following his mother to the couch. "You knew?"

"Oh, yes. Come look at these." She said, patting the seat right next to her. The photo album sat in her lap as she flipped through the pages. To Izuku's surprise, they were all of him and Katsuki. "You two were always together."

Izuku's mother loved taking photos. He knew of her many photo albums. Of course, they were all of him, her only child. She had thousands of photos of him through the years. She sent them to his father in the earlier years, but at some point, she stopped sending them and he stopped asking.