The spoon struck the side of the bowl with a sharp metallic clink.
The sound seemed impossibly loud.
Every conversation in the inn faltered. A few patrons looked up from their meals, while others slowly turned in their seats. Even the crackling fire in the stone hearth sounded quieter, as though the room itself had decided to listen.
Standing just inside the doorway was an elderly woman wrapped in a faded forest-green shawl. Rain clung to the edges of her hood, tiny droplets glistening like silver against the worn wool. A wicker basket rested against one hip, filled with bunches of herbs, dried roots, and freshly picked wildflowers whose scents mingled with the smell of stew and old timber.
She couldn't have stood much taller than Izuku's shoulder.
Age had bent her back and silvered every strand of her hair, but her eyes remained startlingly clear.
They were fixed entirely on him.
"...No..." she whispered.
The basket slipped from her fingers.
Bundles of rosemary, lavender, and sage scattered across the wooden floor.
"It can't be..."
Izuku felt every muscle in his body tighten.
There was something about her voice.
Not recognition exactly.
More like a memory buried so deeply that only the feeling remained.
The old woman took one careful step forward.
"...Young master?"
The words barely escaped her lips. The innkeeper inhaled sharply. Several nearby patrons exchanged confused glances. Young... master?
Katsuki remained silent. He didn't step between them. He didn't reach for Izuku. He simply watched. Izuku swallowed.
"I..."
The woman smiled through gathering tears.
"You have her eyes."
His breath caught.
"...My mother?"
She nodded immediately.
"So very much like Lady Inko."
The name settled over him like a blanket he hadn't felt in fifteen years.
His mother.
Not as a story.
Not as a memory fading around the edges.
As someone this woman had genuinely known.
"You... knew her?"
The old woman laughed softly.
"Knew her?"
She wiped quickly at her eyes.
"I delivered vegetables to the Midori manor every other day for almost twenty years."
Her gaze softened.
"You used to hide behind your mother's skirts every single time I visited."
Something warm flickered behind Izuku's eyes.
"I..."
"You hated pumpkins."
His eyebrows lifted.
"I did?"
YOU ARE READING
help me / bakudeku omegaverse /
Fantasyizuku, 19, male omega, had always been alone, on the run from anyone and everyone because of the trauma he's experienced before. bakugou, 21, male alpha, is still looking an omega mate. he needs to get one soon too, otherwise his mother will take th...
