Pop Rocks

Chapter 7: Meeting the Parents Part 2

After Baku and I part ways with his parents, we make our way back to the train station from the restaurant. Once we catch the next train and are headed on our way to see my mom, I turn to Baku and say, "So, that went well, don't ya think?"

He looks at me, and although he's trying to hide it, I can tell he's happy. "Yeah, it did. How do you think it will go with your parents?" he asks hopefully.

I realize then that I haven't told him much about my family. He doesn't even know that my dad isn't around anymore. I'm usually pretty nervous to tell people this story because it's pretty depressing, but I know Baku will understand, so I decide to go ahead and tell him. With a nervous laugh, I say, "Oh, actually, uh, it's just me and my mom. My dad hasn't been in the picture since I was in middle school. When I came out to my parents as gay, he got so angry at me that he walked out. We haven't seen him since. Luckily, my mom has always supported me and has raised me by herself since then."

Baku sits there, staring at me, for a few seconds. Finally, he says, "What a dumbass. You're dad, I mean. For walking out on you and your mom, just for something like that. He missed seeing his son grow up just to be a jerk and walk out on his family. What a dumbass."

I chuckle at his response. "Yeah, yeah he is," I say. After a few more seconds of silence, I decide to say, "I'm sure you have some more questions about my dad and everything that happened there, but I'll answer those when we get back to the dorms later. For right now, let's focus on the good things- you meeting my mom in a few minutes!"

He gives a small smile and a little chuckle. "Yeah, sure. Is there anything else I need to know or do before meeting her?" he asks.

I think for a minute. I love my mom more than anything, and I really want her to like Baku as much as I do. Not that I don't think she will, but it wouldn't hurt for him to get in a good first impression. After I make a quick plan in my head, I answer him, "Maybe just.. try and be a little calmer than you normally are. Mom might not be very receptive to such an explosive personality."

I chuckle after I say this, but Baku doesn't seem to find it so funny. He stares at me, an eyebrow raised. "Seriously?" he says, "So you basically want me to tone down my entire personality?" He doesn't sound very happy about this.

"Uh, yeah?" I say, rubbing the back of my neck nervously, "I mean, putting it like that sounds worse than what I meant, but that's kinda what I meant."

He sighs and leans forward, resting his arms on his knees. "Fine, I can do that," he mumbles. We're silent for the rest of the ride after that.

After a few more minutes, we get off at our stop and start making our way to my house. Baku hangs behind a little bit behind me and he's very quiet. I wonder what's wrong with him, but I don't have time to ask him before we make it to my front door.

Excitedly, I knock on the door. Pretty much immediately after I knock, Mom answers the door. As soon as she sees me, she pulls me into a tight hug. I laugh and say, "Hi, Mom."

Once she lets me go, she smiles widely at me and says, "Oh Eijiro, it's been too long! You need to come visit more often!"

I chuckle and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know, Mom. You say that every time I call."

"Well then, start doing it and I'll leave you alone about it," she says with a laugh. Then, she turns to Baku and says, "You must be Katsuki. I've heard so much about you!"

He smiles at her and says cheerily, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Kirishima." I'm taken aback by this at first, but I'm glad that he's trying to make a good first impression.

Mom grins back at him and says, "Please, call me Katameru. Now, boys, come on in! I can't wait to talk to you both."

After that, we follow Mom into the house. As soon as we walk inside, the smell of all types of food hits my nose. Walking into the kitchen, Mom says, "I know you have already eaten, but I figured I would make a few snacks just in case you get hungry. So, help yourself to anything here!"

There's tons of food sitting out all around the kitchen, and it all looks super good. Mom has always been a great chef, it used to be her dream to become a famous chef and travel the world. Then she met Dad and had me and settled for being the star chef at a small local restaurant and cooking around the house. She stills works at the restaurant to this day.

Anyway, Baku and I each grab a few snacks and sit down at the dining table. Mom follows us and sits down in front of me. "So, I wanna know everything. Tell me how you two met, who asked who out, everything," she says excitedly, leaning forward and resting her chin on her palm.

So, Baku and I tell her pretty much everything. How we got together, everything that has happened since then, all of that kind of thing. She asks the basic questions that every parent asks, and we answer them all. Surprisingly, Baku answers all of them happily. He jumps in to answer them before I even can, and never once does he explode or get angry. It's new, but I'm super glad that he's making a good first impression with Mom. I can tell that she likes him, too.

After a while of talking and eating, Mom says, "Ei, why don't you show Katsuki you're room? Or, old room, now."

"Good idea, Mom! We'll be right back," I say, grabbing Baku's hand. I pull him up from his chair and lead him to my old bedroom, which is just right down the hall from the kitchen and dining room.

Once we're inside, I let go of his hand and motion to the room. "Welcome to my humble abode," I say with a chuckle.

He looks around for a second and then goes over to my desk. He picks up one of my Crimson Riot action figures. "Oh yeah, I remember those things," I say, going beside him and looking at the action figure, "Crimson Riot has always been my favorite hero. He's so manly and always knows how to save those in need."

"Yeah," Baku mumbles, putting the action figure down. He turns away from me and doesn't say anything else.

His sudden mood change from how he was with Mom has me a little worried. "Everything alright, Baku?" I ask, going over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

He pulls his shoulder away and says, "I'm fine. It's getting kind of late, shouldn't we start heading back to the dorms?"

Still confused by his attitude, I look out the window that's over my bed. Sure enough, the sun is starting to set. I check my phone and see that it's 6:30, so I decide that Baku is right. We've been out for quite a while, it's probably time to head back before Mr. Aizawa gets worried. "Yeah, sure. Let's go say bye to Mom and then we can go."

We head out of the room and go back out to Mom. We say our goodbyes and tell her thank you and everything like that. Surprisingly, Baku's cheery attitude has miraculously returned and he's back the way he was before. I'm highly confused on what's going on with him, so I decide to ask him as soon as we're out of the house.

Once we've said goodbye to Mom and we're back on our way to the train station, I glance at Baku. Sure enough, he's back to looking somber and slightly angry. I ask him, "Baku, what's going on with you? Are you sure everything's okay?"

He shakes his head angrily and says, "I said I'm fine, alright? Leave me alone about it, damn."

I put my hands up in defense and chuckle nervously. "Woah, sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but you know you can tell me anything that's on your mind, right?" I say. He doesn't answer.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, he breaks and says, "Are you ashamed of me?" He's so quiet that I can barely hear him.

"Huh?" I say, confused.

"Are you ashamed of me, Kirishima?" he says louder. This time, I hear him loud and clear.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: we're not even gonna talk about how it took me over a month to post this.
Alright, I know the ending makes no sense right now, but I promise it'll make sense next chapter. Baku's about to get pretty angsty, so prepare for that. Okay, I won't take anymore of your time, I'll see you in the next one. Byeeeee :)
(p.s. don't ask me what kirishima's mom's name means/how I came up with it cause I don't remember lol)