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It was a lazy evening. Yoarashi was lying on his bed, talking to his boyfriend. Considering the distance and their busy schedules, most of the times they talked was through texts or calls, and it wasn’t being different that day. He would be lying if he said it didn’t bother him sometimes, but, after all those months together, he got used to it. Besides, it just made him treasure even more the rare chances they had to actually see each other.
Todoroki told him something funny his friend, Midoriya, had done earlier that day, making Yoarashi laugh. He was about to answer when another message from his boyfriend arrived, changing the subject to something that made his laughter stop immediately.
Shouto (07:03pm): I want you to meet my mom
There was nothing wrong with that message, especially if Yoarashi considered that Todoroki had already visited his home more than once, and already knew — and had basically been adopted by — most of his family. Even so, that single line almost gave him a heart attack.
Shouto’s mom, Rei Todoroki… Of course he had heard many things about her, including the reason why she was living in that hospital. She seemed to be a kind woman, and he knew how much Todoroki loved her.
Maybe that was part of the reason he was so nervous about it.
For a few minutes, he thought about his response, considering a few excuses not to go. In the end, however, he put that thought aside. He didn’t want to lie to his boyfriend, especially not over something like that.
Inasa (07:06pm): OF COURSE!! JUST TELL ME THE DAY! :)
He sent the message and his stomach turned. He let the phone fall on his chest, then covered his eyes with both hands and screamed like a poor soul in deep agony. The unexpected sound startled Rika, his small pet dog, who had been sleeping against his leg for quite some time.
“Stop being so loud!” his mother yelled from the kitchen downstairs. “You almost made me drop the salad!”
“Sorry!”
Yoarashi took a deep breath, then noticed Rika staring at him with worry and confusion. He petted her head as an apology, and she closed her eyes again.
“His mom…” Yoarashi repeated in his mind. “Meet his mom…”
As expected, even thinking about it was enough to make him nervous. What should he say to her? What would she think of him? It had been fun to meet Todoroki’s friends — whom he now considered his own friends — and even his sister, Fuyumi, who seemed to have liked him as well. But his mother… There was something different about that.
He knew few people ever visited Rei, other than her own children. For Todoroki to ask him to meet her… It meant a lot. There couldn’t be a bigger act of trust from his boyfriend than that, and, while part of Yoarashi felt unbelievably happy about it, the other was… scared. He was known for being loud and awkward, and — according to a few of his friends — just plain weird. He could think of a thousand ways he could mess things up before they even finished their introductions.
And there was nothing he wanted less than a bad relationship with someone so important to Todoroki.
The phone buzzed against his chest. Yoarashi raised it in front of his eyes, seeing a new message from his boyfriend.
Shouto (07:08pm): Is this weekend ok for you?
Inasa (07:09pm): FINE BY ME! WE CAN EVEN BUY HER A GIFT ON THE WAY!
Fine… It was fine. He repeated it to himself until his brain started to believe it.
Shouto (07:09pm): Sounds like a plan
There was a brief pause before another message arrived. A single heart.
A big smile took Yoarashi’s face. Todoroki wasn’t too good with expressing his feelings with words, so he usually did things like that, instead. And they were always sure to make his heart melt.
“I really am in love with him, ain’t I?” he asked himself.
Rika yawned, and Yoarashi considered that an affirmation. He laughed to himself: it was funny how everyone close to him knew how much he loved Todoroki, and yet, he hadn’t gathered the courage to say it to the boy himself. Not that he was shy, or anything like that… He just never found the right moment to say it.
They decided to meet that weekend, eat something together, buy Rei a gift, then go to the hospital. When the day came, Yoarashi followed the already familiar route to their usual meeting station, seeing Todoroki already there as soon as he reached the entrance. Yoarashi approached him, hugging his waist and lifting him up. Todoroki groaned, but didn’t try to avoid the gesture. The first time Yoarashi did that, it had been an accident. He simply… forgot about their height difference, and only realized his mistake when Todoroki was already complaining about his feet not touching the ground. Now, however, that gesture had become more of a way of him showing his overflowing affection. Besides, Todoroki’s reaction was always cute to watch.
“I missed you!” he said, placing his boyfriend back on the ground, giving him a kiss on the forehead.
“I noticed it…” answered Todoroki, with a not so convincing grumpy tone.
They made their way to a nearby café, chatting all the while, choosing a table close to the window after ordering their food. During the first times they went out together, Yoarashi noticed he was usually the one who would lead the conversation, talking and asking questions almost non-stop while Todoroki mostly replied. It had been a little frustrating in the beginning, but he soon accepted that it was just how Todoroki was. And, as time passed, he became a little more open and talkative, which made all those initial awkward silences worth it.
As they finished their meal, Yoarashi’s mind wandered again. He had managed to stay calm until that moment, but as the time to meet Rei got closer, his nervousness got stronger. He took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore all those bad feelings, and soon noticed Todoroki’s eyes upon him. Was he being too obvious? Yoarashi offered him a wide smile.
“So,” started to say Todoroki, “how are things in Shiketsu?”
“Fine!”
For some reason, Todoroki didn’t seem pleased with that answer.
“Hm…” he frowned a little, as if considering something. “Is everything alright with your family?”
“Yeah, we’re good!”
“And with Rika?”
“She’s fine too!
Todoroki stared at him for a few seconds, then let out a defeated sigh.
“Alright, I give up,” he said. “What’s the matter?”
The question got Yoarashi by surprise.
“What?” he asked, in an even louder tone than usual. “Matter? Nothing!”
That was a terrible answer. Yoarashi laughed in an attempt to prove his point, but it only made his reaction even more unnatural and awkward. Todoroki stared at him.
“Was I supposed to believe that?” he asked.
Yoarashi felt his forced smile fade quickly. He lowered his eyes to the table, aware that Todoroki was still looking at him.
“C’mon, Inasa…” insisted Todoroki with a softer tone. “You’re never this quiet. What’s wrong?”
Yoarashi gave up on trying to keep cheerful facade. He was never good at hiding his feelings, and it wouldn’t be now that he’d get better at it.
“The truth is, I…” he kept his gaze low, hesitating a little before proceeding. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
“This?”
“Meeting your mother.”
Todoroki’s face dropped, and Yoarashi immediately regretted saying that.
“Why?” he asked.
“It’s not like I don’t want to meet her, or anything!” he quickly added, not wanting to cause a misunderstanding. “It’s just… Look at me!” he gestured toward himself. “I’m not the kind of partner she’d want for her son.”
Todoroki stared at him for a while, and Yoarashi suddenly lost the courage to look back at him. Saying those words out loud made his eyes sting and his throat get dry, and he wished he could just erase the last few minutes of his life.
“I really don’t know why you’re saying this,” said Todoroki, after a while. “My friends like you, my sister too… Why are you so sure my mother will be different?
Yoarashi opened his mouth, but the answer didn’t come as easily as he expected.
“Besides,” added Todoroki, “you don’t have the right to decide that for her.”
“But I know how important she is to you, and I don’t want to disappoint neither of you.”
“Why would you disappoint us?”
“I don’t know!” he admitted with a frustrated tone. “But what if I do? I can’t stop thinking that I’ll do or say something stupid, or rude, and that she’ll hate me for it.”
As he said it, he started to realize how senseless he should be sounding. He was over-thinking, he knew it, but, despite his awareness, he just couldn’t stop worrying. Todoroki reached for his hand over the table, squeezing it lightly.
“It’s alright, I understand,” he said. “But you’re worrying too much about it. My mom won’t hate you, she’s not like that.”
“But, Shouto…”
“Inasa, she has no reason to hate you. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Yoarashi tried to repeat those words in his mind, but it was still hard to believe them.
“That’s easy to say…” he muttered.
Todoroki lowered his eyes to their hands, thinking for a while.
“I talked to her about you,” he said.
Yoarashi looked at him. It shouldn’t be something surprising, but he was still caught off-guard.
“You did?”
“Yeah…” confirmed Todoroki. “Many times. When I first talked to her about taking you with me on my next visit, she got really excited. She said she couldn’t wait to meet you, and that she hopes you two will become close.”
“But what if she’s expecting something else? Something better?”
“You know how much I like my mother, right?” Yoarashi nodded in agreement. “All I want is for her to be happy, no matter what. And I know she feels the same about me.”
He pressed his lips together for a second before proceeding.
“She said I look the happiest when I’m talking about you.”
Those words made something jump inside Yoarashi’s chest.
“Really?”
“Do you even need to ask?”
Yoarashi lowered his eyes again, but this time, not because of his anxiousness. A light smile took his lips as he answered.
“I see.”
He turned his hand upwards, entwining his fingers to Todoroki’s.
“Sorry for worrying so much about this,” he said. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”
“It’s fine,” answered Todoroki, caressing the back of Yoarashi’s hand with his thumb. “Actually, I’m happy to know you care so much about all this.”
Yoarashi laughed, not in his usual, loud and cheerful way, but simply relieved. He didn’t know he could care so much about it either.
“What can I say?” he flashed a wide smile at his partner. “I’m always trying to make my boyfriend happy, even during my worst moments.”
“Wow…” Todoroki raised his brow, offering him his best unamused expression. “Aren’t you amazing?”
“I’m glad you recognize it!”
Todoroki shook his head, smiling lightly with the corner of his lips.
“Well, you sure recovered quickly,” he said.
“Of course! That’s one of my strongest traits!”
To tell the truth, Yoarashi was still nervous, and both of them knew it. But that brief conversation helped him feel better. After all, just like Rei, all he wanted was to make Todoroki happy.
“Listen, Shouto,” he said, lowering his tone a little. “With all of this going on, I didn’t even say it, but it means a lot to me that you want us to meet.”
“And it means a lot to me that you’ve agreed to come,” his expression gave place to a provocative smile, “despite getting all nervous and restless like that.”
“Now I’ll feel embarrassed whenever I think about it…” complained Yoarashi.
“Why? It was kind of cute.”
“Just let it die already!”
“Why should I?”
Yoarashi complained for a while, but he didn’t actually feel bothered by it. In fact, he knew Todoroki was trying to stop his worries from coming back, and, if anything, it just made him love his partner a little more.
They left the café shortly after, stopping at a nearby flower shop to buy Rei’s gift. It was difficult to go wrong with flowers, and they made most people who received them smile.
“What is her favorite flower?” he asked Todoroki.
His blank expression made clear that he wouldn’t be of much help.
“I’m not sure…” he said. “I don’t know much about flowers.”
Yoarashi raised his brow at that answer.
“Do you have a favorite flower, at least?” he asked.
“Not really.”
Why wasn ’t he surprised?
“You don’t make being romantic something easy for me.”
“Just buy me something to eat, instead,” Todoroki shrugged. “It’ll make me happier.”
“Fine,” he let out a dramatic sigh. “There goes my dream of appearing on your door with a giant bouquet of red roses…”
Todoroki looked at him with a mix of amusement and disbelief.
“You have a dream like that?” he asked.
“It seems I have now! The best way to make me want to do something is telling me not to do it.”
To his surprise, Todoroki offered him a playful half-smile.
“Good to know…” he said. “I’ll keep that in mind next time I want something.”
“Wait… You’re not planning to use this against me, are you?”
“Of course not.”
“You are!” he laughed, throwing his arm around Todoroki’s neck, kissing his head. “But I won’t fall for that!”
“We’ll see.”
Yoarashi was thinking of a retort when his attention was grabbed by a shelf with small potted plants. He approached it, taking one of the vases in his hand, showing that plant with rounded, purplish leaves to Todoroki.
“How about this one?” he asked. “They’re called succulents, and are easy to take care of. My mother loves them!”
“It looks kinda cute,” said Todoroki, then narrowed his eyes. “I think she had a few of these back home, when I was younger.”
“I hope this means she likes them!”
“I’m pretty sure it does.”
They left the flower shop after paying for the succulent, that was placed in a decorated paper bag, big enough to accommodate the plant without squishing it. Despite this, Yoarashi still carried it with utmost care, keeping it in front of his body, with one hand under it all the time. As they got closer to the hospital, his heart started to pound again, while an anxious voice screamed in his head. He tried not to listen to it, though, following Todoroki through the corridors until they reached the right room. Todoroki glanced at him, with a look that asked “is everything alright?”. Yoarashi nodded, and he opened the door.
“Hi, Mom,” greeted Todoroki as he entered the room. “I brought Inasa with me, today.”
A young woman with white hair looked at them, and Inasa could immediately see some resemblance between her and Todoroki.
“Ah, finally!” she said. “I was starting to think you’d never come to visit—”
When she turned her gaze to Yoarashi, her eyes widened a little. It gave him the urge to leave the room, but soon her surprised expression gave place to a warm, welcoming smile.
“Oh my, you’re as tall as Shouto said!” she commented in an amused tone. “It surprised me a little.”
“She thought I was exaggerating your height as a joke.” said Todoroki, sitting beside her. “Do you believe me, now?”
“I do, I do…” she laughed briefly, then gestured for Yoarashi to come closer. “My name is Rei Todoroki. I’m glad I’m can finally meet you.”
“I’m Inasa Yoarashi,” he answered, trying not to sound too stiff. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too!”
She looked at his face for a second.
“As handsome as he said, too,” she concluded.
“Mom…” complained Todoroki.
“I’m just agreeing with what you told me!” she said, starting to play with his hair. “If you have something nice to say to someone, then you should just say it.”
“I guess…”
Todoroki threw a resigned glance at Yoarashi, then his eyes fell upon the paper bag on his hand. It reminded him of the reason why he bought it in the first place.
“Oh, I brought you a gift!” he said, carefully taking the potted plant out of the bag, offering it to her. “I hope you like it!”
Rei took the small vase on both hands, her face brightening in a pleased surprise.
“Ah, it’s so pretty!” she said. “Did Shouto tell you I like succulents?”
“No, he’s the one who chose it,” admitted Todoroki. “To be honest, I didn’t even remember you liked them before he showed me this one.”
“Of course you didn’t…” she sighed, but there was a hint of humor in her voice. “Sometimes I forget who I’m talking about.”
Rei placed the small vase on her bedside table, admiring it for a moment before looking at Yoarashi again.
“I wasn’t expecting a gift, and now I don’t even know what to say…” a discreet laugh left her lips, and she reached for his hand, gently holding it between hers. “Thank you, my dear. It made me really happy.”
That subtle, kind gesture made Yoarashi relax a bit. Maybe Rei noticed the change in his expression, since her smile widened.
“Go on, take a seat now,” she asked, indicating the chair close to her bed. “We have so much to talk about!”
Yoarashi agreed. It seemed like that would be a pleasant day, after all.
In the end, meeting Rei hadn’t been as complicated as he thought. Not only that: he really liked her, and she seemed to like him as well. Now that the visit was over, he couldn’t understand why he was so nervous to begin with. Rei was as nice and caring as Todoroki said she was, and he wouldn’t say it out loud, since he knew it would cost him a glare of disbelief, but that was something both of them, mother and son, had in common.
“I’m glad she liked the gift!” he said as they left the hospital.
Todoroki nodded.
“Seems like you have a good taste for flowers,” as he said it, his mind seemed to wander to something else. “Oh, that’s right… I forgot to ask earlier, but do you have a favorite flower?”
The question caught Yoarashi by surprise.
“There are many that I like…” he said, thinking a little about it. “Most of them are pretty, after all. Why? Are you planning to give me flowers?”
“I didn’t say that…”
Yoarashi grinned, not willing to let that subject go so easily.
“I didn’t know you had a romantic side too, Shouto!” he said. “Don’t worry, any flower you give me will become my favorite!”
“I said I didn’t…” Todoroki interrupted himself, shaking his head. “I don’t know why I even try arguing with you.”
Yoarashi laughed, placing his arm around Todoroki’s shoulders. Todoroki did the same to his waist, and they walked like that for a while. They still had a little time to spend together, and he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.
“I had a great day,” he said after some time. “Thanks for inviting me!”
“You don’t need to thank me,” Todoroki smiled. “Actually, I should be the one thanking you for coming. It means a lot to me to see you two getting along.”
He noticed Yoarashi’s gaze on him and stared back, frowning.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing!” said Yoarashi in a cheerful tone. “I just really like to see your smile.”
Todoroki raised his brow, as if that was the strangest thing someone ever said to him. Yoarashi was already used to that reaction, though: his boyfriend wasn’t that good at dealing with compliments.
“How mushy,” said Todoroki.
“C’mon, Shouto…” complained Yoarashi. “Let me be a romantic boyfriend, already!”
Todoroki shrugged.
“I’m not stopping you,” he said.
“But you’re judging me!”
“I’d never do something like that.”
“You do it every time!”
Yoarashi expected him to continue that casual bickering, as they always did. Instead, Todoroki smiled again, placing his arms around Yoarashi’s waist, resting his face against his chest. After months, such a simple gesture shouldn’t be enough to make his heart race, but at that moment, it did. Yoarashi embraced him back, placing a hand on his head, caressing his hair.
“Inasa…” said Todoroki.
“Yes?”
A brief pause.
“I love you.”
The words made his brain stop working. He couldn’t find an answer, Todoroki’s voice still echoing in his mind, over and over, to the point he wasn’t sure if he had actually heard that phrase or just imagined it. It would be just like him, after all, to just imagine the thing he wanted to hear the most. With that lack of reaction, Todoroki pulled away, looking at him with a worried expression.
“Did I say it too early?” he asked. “I mean, it’s not like I don’t—”
He stopped talking, his eyes widening when he noticed the tears on Yoarashi’s face.
“Inasa? Are you crying?”
He was. Damn, that was so uncool…
“No,” he said, wiping those tears with the back of his hand. “I just… didn’t expect it… You got me by surprise, that’s all!”
Todoroki let out his breath, clearly relieved.
“You really scared me for a moment,” he said.
“Sorry…”
Todoroki hugged him again. Yoarashi rested his chin on the top of his head, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, needing a moment to reorganize his thoughts.
“I love you too, Shouto,” he said in a low voice.
Todoroki didn’t answer, but his arms tightened a little around him. It was more than enough.
He couldn’t be happier than that.