🌸 Pathetic 🌸

Chapter 26: Sincere

*I thought this video was funny*

Around a half an hour later, a quiet knock tapped from outside my door. 

"Katsuki?" It was my ma, "I'm done." I was huddled on my bed, my face buried in my pillows. ..Already?..aahh..fine.. I slugglishly pushed myself up and fumbled to grab my backpack. I then staggered over to the door, clicking it unlocked. I swung it open to see my ma with the sweatshirt tucked between her arms. 

"Here." She said handing it to me. I flipped the sweatshirt over and like I expected, the rips were mended. The fabric buckled inwards from the stitching but it was barely noticeable. I slowly started to smile at it. 

"Thanks.." I muttered as I began unzipping my backpack. 

"By the way," My ma then mentioned, "Hope you don't mind but threw it in the washing machine." My eyes flew back to her in an instant. 

"The thing reeked of BO and my nose couldn't take it." 

"MA! Why would you-!! How could-!!" I brought the sweatshirt up to my face and sure enough, it smelt exactly like our laundry detergent. Kirishima's scent was gone. I dejectingly dropped my hands, still clutching the sweatshirt. ...d-dammit.. My ma just continued to stand in the doorway slightly fidgeting. 

"I thought-..well.. I assumed that he'd..appreciate if you returned it to him..cleaned." I finished placing the sweatshirt in my bag before turning back to her. 

"..yeah.. I guess he would.." I mumbled as I slid past her to the stairs. I fled down the steps, making a break for the front door. I hurried to cram my feet into my sneakers before anything else happened. 

"Katsuki! Wait!" I heard my ma cry out from the stairs. I glanced behind me to see her uncharacteristic, concered expression. 

"Do you..do you want to sit down and talk about it?"

"...no....just-..just forget I said anything..its not important.." I replied slipping my backpack on. 

"But its important to you." I paused, staring at the carpeted floor. I soon felt the light touch of my ma, graze upon my arm. 

"Am I the first one to know?" I flickered my eyes to her and then hunched my shoulders. I barely nodded, almost impossible to see.    

"Alright..Come on, I'll make some coffee." 

The two of us headed into the kitchen; I found myself a seat at the dining table while my ma worked on brewing coffee. She filled up the maker with water and scooped the grounded mix in. She then clicked the start button and joined me at the table. 

"So.." My ma began to say, "Is he..who I think he is?" She made a motion with her hands, sharply waving them around her hair while flashing me a huge, teethy grin. I somewhat scoffed at her dumb actions. 

"Yeah, its him.." I admitted. 

"Thought so. I always liked that kid. What was his name again? Ejiri? Edjiro?"

"Eijiro Kirishima." 

"Ah so close! Last time I saw him was when he dropped by sayin' you were sick. Otherwise you don't visit often or bring any friends over." 

I leaned forward, folding my arms on the table and dropped my chin into them. 

"..hmph.." I grumbled. My ma seemed to fall silent, like she was unsure of where to go. She was trying to trend lightly around the subject. 

"Katsuki, have you..um, have you always been gay?" 

"N-No!" I stammered, "It's- it's..new."  I continued to slouch over even more. 

"Just sayin', it'd explain why you never had a girlfriend." 

"I didn't need one, okay?!" I spat back, "I don't want any of this mushy, love crap!  All I want is to be the next number one hero! That's it!" 

My ma quietly sighed as she rose up to check on the coffee. 

"There's no reason you can't do both." She said, searching the cupboard for mugs, "It doesn't matter to me if you like guys. I'm just happy to know you're capable of falling in love." 

"I'M NOT IN LOVE!!" I errupted, jumping up out of my chair. My ma chuckled at me and shook her head. She began pouring the coffee into a pair of mugs and then brought me one. 

"Stop lying to me, you idiot." She told me grinning, "It's too late for that." I took a quick sip of the hot drink and somewhat glared at her. 

"He's..he's my friend, ma." 

"What do you think your father and I were before we started dating?"

"Dad told me you kept hitting on him." 

"Besides that! Most relationships start off as friendships." 

"Mine's not normal though! I can't just go up to him and say-..you know!" My ma started laughing at me again as she rolled her eyes. 

"Oh my god, I finally have a daughter!"

"MAA!! I'm being serious!!" I shouted peering down into my drink, "I..I don't know what to do.." 

"Well, there's not much I can help you with" She told me, "It really comes down to how you feel, Katsuki. If you want to ignore it, you can but," My ma then reached her hand across and rested it atop mine, "it's absolutely fine to embrace it." 

I simply sat there taking in what she said. I mean..is it that easy? Can I just..change that quickly?.. I finished the last of my coffee, gulping it down and slowly stood up. 

"I'll think about it." I uttered with a small smile, "But I'd better get going." Before I turned to leave, my ma padded over and threw herself at me. I tensed for a second but then welcomed the hug, wrapping my arms around her. 

"Thank you, ma."