Silhouette ✓ (⛔❤☁)

F I F T Y - F I V E

By the time Boss arrived to pick up Kanna, Katsuki had moved on to styling her short hair.

He'd been so focused on weaving her thin strands into small braids that he hadn't noticed the man arriving.

Aizawa met with the man first. Katsuki still had no idea when or why they'd exchanged contact information.

"Hey kiddo"

Katsuki jumped, instinctively whirling around to face the source of whatever had startled him.

Boss.

Kanna grinned. "Hi uncle! D'ya like my hair?"

"It's nice"

Something must've be wrong with him, he ended up concluding. It didn't make sense for him to be stuck in this mood. His friends were with him. His... his neighborhood friends were here. His boyfriend was here. Why did he feel so weird?

So fuzzy, heavy, and just... sad. Why?

A body settled next to him on the concrete steps. The night air seemed to create a bigger contrast between the coolness of the breeze and the warmth of the body next to him.

He leant up against Boss, silently finishing Kanna's hair. They'd been together for so long that no words were needed. Somehow, Boss always knew what to do. More often than his own father did, but he couldn't fault anyone for that.

Eventually Boss sent Kanna off to go say her goodbyes, leaving them alone.

"What's up, kid? Who do I need to beat up?"

He cracked a smile. "No one"

"Right" Boss said, running a hand through Katsuki's hair. "How can I help?"

"Jus' ...tired"

For a few moments, there wasn't a reply. They both knew it wasn't just being tired. It was a bone-deep, mind-numbing exhaustion. It was a profound sadness that dragged him down.

Boss knew about this feeling. Katsuki had tried to drown it out many times. Those gummies, the drinks, the fights. He tried to claw his way out of the quicksand in every way possible and yet... Katsuki still had this feeling.

He didn't know how to deal with it, aside from push it away. Fighting it rarely helped.

Boss knew that.

So the man kept him company, sitting next to him until he figured out what he wanted to say.

And eventually, he did. "I've got a case now" Katsuki decided on saying.

"Yeah? That's good. You gonna stay with your dad?"

"It's gonna be me an' the old man soon. I just... Why didn't he do anything sooner?" He leant against the man next to him with a deep sigh. "I could've gone with you, could've left her a long time ago. I made s wish he'd forget about it one time, but... I'm almost sixteen. It's a long fuckin' time"

Boss moved to pull out a cigarette and a lighter. Katsuki watched the man flick the lighter a few times, entranced on the flame that it created. "I can't speak for your father, but you'll always have a place with me"

The smoke from the cigarette filtered up into the air, slowly dispersing until it was indistinguishable.

"From what I know, though" Boss continued. "The law ain't on our side in these cases. Since she's your mom, the court would probably just hand you over to her. It's a bit different now that you're older and there's so much backing"

Katsuki took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the cigarette smoke. "That's fucked up. Just cuz she's my..."

His father... The man definitely had the means to act, but if what Boss said was correct, it definitely would've been difficult to even just divorce. He'd have to talk to his father about this.

Katsuki let the silence hang between them for a few moments, his mind combing through everything Boss had just said.

"Doesn't make it right" Katsuki then muttered, his voice quiet and raw. The law can just... let that happen?"

Boss exhaled another puff of smoke, his gaze distant, as if he were remembering his own battles. "Ain't about what's right or fair, kid. The law's just written for people who think they know better. Families look good on paper, but they don’t always see the cracks until it’s too late"

Katsuki sat up slightly, his eyes narrowing as he processed Boss's words. "So what? They'd rather keep a family together, even if it’s... Even if it's like mine?"

"Most times, yeah. They figure a kid’s better off with their mother, no matter what’s goin’ on behind closed doors. It’s all messed up, but that’s how it is"

Katsuki’s jaw tightened as the familiar anger bubbled up. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to punch something, to break through the frustration that gnawed at his insides. But there was no quick fix for this. No fight he could win by swinging his fists. His father hadn’t been able to protect him because the system had been against them from the start.

"That’s why he waited?" Katsuki said after a long pause. "I wanted to leave, but he... He wasn't..." Katsuki’s voice caught, his words faltering as his anger mixed with the sadness he tried so hard to bury. "He wasn't gonna do anything, was he? He was just gonna wait for me to grow up"

Boss flicked the ash from his cigarette before speaking again. "You can't change people, kid. What's done is done and you’re out now. You've gone through enough but now, don't need to take anyone's bullshit"

Katsuki scoffed, leaning back against the bench. "Yeah? What if I mess that up?"

"You won't" Boss said firmly, his voice cutting through the fog in Katsuki’s head. "Because you’re not like most kids. You're gonna be the number one hero, right? You're gonna be okay. I've got your back, no matter what happens"

Katsuki stared up at the darkening sky, feeling the weight of Boss’s words. For so long, he’d carried everything: his anger, his fear, the guilt of not being able to escape sooner. But now, his situation was improving. Slowly but surely.

So he nodded, more to himself than to Boss, "I’ll talk to the old man. See what he has to say"

"Good" Boss said, standing up and taking a final drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out on the ground. "But remember, kid, you don’t need to rush anything. You're still a kid, let us grown ups handle the adult stuff"

Katsuki stood too, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, sure. Thanks Boss"

The man grinned. "You're gonna be okay"

It was rare that he got moments like this, but it was in moments like these that Katsuki could truly appreciate his much he could lean on Boss.

Their relationship had it's ups and downs, but throughout everything, the man was still someone he could stand by.

"Katsuki?"

"Go on, kid. I'm gonna take Kanna home. Tell your boyfriend I said 'hi', okay?"

"Okay"

Yeah, it was going to be okay.

Word Count: 1166

I'm having one'a those depressive episode thingys so I'm writing this instead of crying haha