Hot-Headed (Now also a podfic on spotify!)

Chapter 31

"You," her mom spat, an abundance of venom seeping out of just one word.

Katsuki, realizing that this was not an ideal situation for him, stayed silent. True to fashion, he didn't back down or look away from her, but he also didn't put on a condescending or aggressive air either.

"You- You!" her mom spluttered, fuming and at a loss for words. His presence had clearly surprised her and she was trying to put her thoughts together as quickly as possible.

"Mom, wait! I'm sorry I didn't call you," Ochako tried to deescalate the situation, "I was going to but-"

Katsuki silenced her, his hand rubbing at her back, eyes still not leaving her mother.

"What are you doing here with my daughter?" she asked him, not giving him a chance to answer before turning to her and asking the same, "What is he doing here, Ochako?"

"Mom I-"

"I thought you cared about her! I let you in my house! Your mother and I supported you, even after New Years, and then you went and-" she cut herself off with a huff, arranging her thoughts once more.

"You left her. You left her alone, out there just crying! Never said another word to her for months! And I picked up the pieces!" she pointed at him, her voice as harsh as Ochako had ever heard it.

"Do you know what it's like to see your daughter so upset she hardly eats? Do you know how long it took for her to even just-" she had to stop again and Ochako could see she was about to cry.

Tears sprang to her own eyes. She was right. Her mother had watched over her. Had forced her to eat when she was so heartbroken, she didn't even want to breathe. She had worried incessantly when she'd decided to move out and take a job so far away and she found time to come visit almost every weekend.

She'd been so happy for her when she'd heard Nate was coming back. It had probably seemed like a sign of her healing, her taking a job with him.

She should've known her mother would want to see her first thing after getting back. And now she had surprised both her mother and Katsuki with a confrontation neither they nor she was ready for.

"Mama..." she choked out, pulling away from Katsuki to go to her mother, taking her hand.

"Ochako," her mother finally turned to her, voice going gentle as she put a hand to her cheek, "why are you letting him do this to you again?"

Ochako couldn't find the words to reply as she stared into her mother's eyes, seeing the heartbreak there.

But Katsuki was there, at her side again. She hadn't seen him move but he combed his fingers through her ponytail, calming her, before addressing her mother.

"I do care about her. I love her," he told her firmly, his hand finding its place at her waist once more, "I've already told her but I might as well tell you: I shouldn't have hurt her. I can't take back what I did but I can guarantee I won't hurt her again. And, just so you know, she gave me a hard time about it too. She didn't take me back just like that or nothin."

"That must be nice for you to get her back when she was finally coming around," she snapped at him, not at all persuaded, "You weren't there when she seemed like she was wasting away. You didn't see her face when, even after two months passed, she had to realize all over again that you weren't going to show back up to fix everything when you went back to work."

Ochako blushed at this, hanging her head. She had thought she'd hidden her disappointment well when her mother had visited then. She hadn't told Katsuki about that or any of the rawest details of those three months. Things were still so new between them. That pain was still so recent that she didn't want to have to face it again right now.