Neutrality Order (TomBoo)

P. R. - Chapter 1: What a Mother Would Do

By the time some whisper of the word got out that Tommy was missing from UA, Kristin was already ten steps ahead.

Before she was even made aware of her son's disappearance, she already felt it. Mother's intuition had never been wrong before, and as a mother with a quirkless child, hers could almost be classified as a second quirk with how often it sounded off. So when it began sounding off with a vengeance, she steeled herself for anything ranging from a career-ending injury to the death she was trying to come to terms with as she promised herself and her son.

Instead, several days after it went off, she received a visit from her son himself.

And the story he had to tell was one she hadn't expected at all.

Being abducted via quirk right from school. Being a part of that awful Deika City business -and the subsequent truth behind the matter. Informing her that he was currently near the top of an organization set on the restructuring of superhuman society, and was working with former villains.

All that she could somewhat handle.

Him telling her that he was in a relationship with the figurehead of said restructuring organization and he HADN'T brought him to meet her? That was the crossed line.

"I want to see him," she said crisply, disregarding Tommy's reddening face and sputtering.

"What? I mean, why, I didn't think-"

"That I wouldn't want to meet the person you've changed EVERYTHING for?" At that, he shut his mouth. "This isn't like bringing home one of your schoolmates, Tommy. THAT I was prepared for. But after everything you've told me...that you're doing all of this for HIS sake..." She sat back in the chair, brow furrowing as she stared down at her bloodless clasped hands. "...this isn't some schoolboy crush. You wouldn't be doing THIS for something as common as a crush. I know THAT much about you."

After much familiar stuttering and failed attempts to dissuade her, Tommy finally relinquished.

And that was how she found herself with Ranboo sitting in her living room looking about as awkward as her son in terms of social calls.

After the initial awkwardness concerning introductions came and went and Kristin excused herself to get some tea ready, she found herself mulling over what she noticed about Ranboo.

Of course, she'd heard about the Ranboo from the media's depictions; an unhinged creature of pure evil hellbent on slaughtering heroes.

She scoffed under her breath, glancing at the hunched young man who appeared to share her son's nervous habit of chewing his lip, looking as though he was afraid to touch anything nearby. Yes, an absolute harbinger of death. She understood her son's speech about the dehumanization of 'villains' a bit better now. Get enough of the world to call a fish a bird and everyone will call it a bird in time. It made her wonder just how bad Ranboo's life had been to get to that level, but she wasn't about to ask for his entire life story.

Kristin brought over tea, which Ranboo seemed to appreciate despite his quietness. Kristin knew a nervous silence when she saw one and wondered if Ranboo was nervous because of the chance Kristin would have called a hero at some point, or if he was meeting his boyfriend's mother. Kristin chose to believe the latter.

Still, it gave her a chance to get a closer look at him. Seeing how his hair obscured scarring on his face. Missing fingers on his left hand. The stiff resting angle of his right leg and the cane half-hidden on the side of the couch. From what she'd heard and seen of Deika and Tommy's insinuation that the bulk of that mess was Ranboo's doing, she wondered just how badly injured the young man really was.

While as a mother she didn't want to push Ranboo into discomfort, as Tommy's mother and a concerned citizen, she had to know.

So she asked her questions. What was he hoping to accomplish? What would it mean for everyone who wasn't a 'hero' or 'villain'? What was his end game?

And after she told Tommy to go into his old room for a moment to talk to Ranboo alone, she leveled a steel-hard gaze at the young man and gathered all of her courage to speak.

"...I'm not sure just how much it will matter to you," she said, "but Tommy is really all I have here. I told him that I would harden my heart in order to keep it from breaking...because of how much it hurt to see HIM break himself. But I'm a mother...I'll worry. I have always worried for him, ever since the day I was told he was quirkless. When I noticed his number of friends dwindling. When I was told about how few true paths he would have in life.

"And when he was accepted into UA...I knew I would worry for the rest of my life, quirkless or quirked. And now...I find that he's now involved in something far, far bigger than himself. It would be enough to shatter a diamond heart." She tightened her jaw, staring at Ranboo in the eye. "...I just want to know what Tommy means to you."

Ranboo stared back before lowering his gaze to this tea. He was silent for a long moment before speaking. "...I used to hate everyone and everything," he said, his voice soft and thick. "I wanted everything to disappear sometimes because people being miserable made me angry...people being happy made me angry...I was nothing but angry for so long."

He paused, his fingers twitching around the teacup.

"...even Tommy made me angry...but he also made another impact on me. It was...interesting...having someone I didn't immediately want to kill. He made me feel like I was having fun sometimes...fun without hurting anyone or myself in the process. And he made me think about things past my desire to just...destroy JUST to destroy. And after a while...I wanted to do things FOR him. I saw someone who put in an effort to listen to me...to try to understand me...and he actually told me that he would change things for me, just so I wouldn't feel the need to destroy it. So...at some point, I decided that I would meet him halfway. And together, we'd do something so that we can BE together...and create something better for others at the same time because we both have people we want to see happy." He looked up. "...does that make sense?"

Kristin was quiet for the longest time before she called Tommy back in. Her son looked wary, almost afraid of what she was going to say, and Kristin knew that whether or not she approved of any of this...Tommy had chosen his path and would not look back.

After several long moments, she looked between the two of them.

"What do you need me to do?"

《===========================》

A week later, Crow Father summoned the rest of the In-the-Know team to show them the letter Kristin had sent them.

She had spoken to Tommy and Ranboo. And it was in her best interest that she pack up and move out of the country.

《===========================》

Kristin sat quietly on the plane, staring down at her favorite picture of her son. Three years old in a Crow Father onesie, beaming as bright as the sun, with his words ringing in her ears.

"Something is coming, Mom...and even with us trying to keep it as quiet as possible, I don't even want the NOTION of you being caught up in it crossing my mind. I think you should move overseas to be with Dad for a while. And...good or bad, you'll definitely hear anything important you'll want to know without the Commission or police singling you out because of me."

She had given Crow Father a physical and email address, just in case. She knew the man thought of Tommy as his own son, and wouldn't hesitate to call her for good or bad news, now that he knew she knew more than most anyone else.

The rest of the trip to her new home was spent rebuilding the fortress around her heart that the old wall had crumbled down, putting a prayer of hope and safety with each brick for her son and the path he'd chosen.