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Mina was practically skipping as she made her way down the unfamiliar street, doing her best to drink in her surroundings as she went. She’d been looking forward to this day for ages and now that it was finally here she was barely able to contain her excitement.
She and Izuku had been dating for almost half a year now and it had been an absolutely wonderful experience. He was the kind of gentle, loving boyfriend that she had always pictured having, and he made every day with him so amazingly special that she could hardly help but love him.
He wasn’t perfect, of course. Mina still rolled her eyes at his atrocious fashion sense and tendency towards putting himself down for no real reason. But it was all worth it, at least to her. And he was getting better, slowly but surely. She’d finally got him to understand how to match complimentary colors and that was a huge win!
And today was going to be another big win because Mina was finally getting the chance to meet his mom! Izuku had met her parents several times and they loved him almost as much as she did, but Mina had never been able to return the favor. She’d heard lots about Mama Midoriya, though. Izuku talked about her all the time, and pretty much everything he said painted Inko Midoriya as an amazingly sweet woman and a pretty awesome mom, so Mina was very excited to finally meet her.
UA was having one of its very rare free weekends, with everyone in the hero classes free to return home and spend time with their families. Mina had, of course, gone to see her family on the first day of their break. The second day, however, was a special one, and she wasn't just going to spend it watching T.V. and getting pestered by her brothers. It was Izuku’s birthday, and Mina was planning to make it a super special one for him. She had what she hoped would be an awesome present for him (even if she personally thought it was a little lame), some delicious snacks for them to share, and a burning desire to see pictures of Izuku when he was a toddler.
That last one might have been more fun for her than something Izuku would enjoy on his birthday, but Mina wasn’t going to let the chance slip through her fingers just because it was supposed to be his special day! Plus, she’d make it up to him by giving him a big kiss. That way, he’d be so distracted by a mixture of happiness and embarrassment that he wouldn’t even notice when Mina got into the photo album.
It was a cunning plan that had taken her quite a while to devise, but once she thought of it, Mina knew that it was a winner.
Finally, she reached the address she had gotten from Izuku and peered up at the building. It was part of a group of apartment buildings that all looked pretty old fashioned. She was pretty sure her grandmother had lived in a place just like this one, although it had been a little more run down. Still, it was probably a decent place to live, if you could get past the boring exterior.
She sprinted up the stairs to the floor the apartment was on in record time. It still amazed her how fit she’d gotten since entering UA. She’d never thought of herself as out of shape before but, compared to now, she’d been super wimpy. She didn’t even need to take a break to catch her breath before knocking on the Midoriya’s door with a massive smile on her face!
Her smile only grew when a portly woman right around Mina’s height opened the door. She looked exactly as sweet as Mina had been picturing, with plump cheeks, expressive eyes, and a slightly bewildered expression as she saw who was at the door.
“Hi Mrs. Midoriya!” Mina said, putting as much enthusiasm into her words as she possibly could. “I’m Mina Ashido. It’s nice to meet you!”
It was a perfect introduction, and she was super proud of herself for making such a good first impression. That pride lasted all of three seconds before Mrs. Midoriya suddenly burst into a fountain of tears.
Mina’s heart instantly sank as she rushed forward to comfort the woman. She had no idea how things had gone so horribly wrong so quickly, but she really hoped it wasn’t her fault. To her surprise, though, Mrs. Midoriya wrapped Mina in a tight hug a second later.
“It's so great to meet you!” the woman sobbed into Mina's shoulder.
"I, huh, wha….?"
“I-I’m sorry,” Mrs. Midoriya apologized with a wet sniff, pulling away from Mina slightly. Her eyes were still damp, but there was also a wide smile on her face. “I just can’t believe you’re really here! My little boy has a girlfriend, and she’s so pretty! It hardly feels real!"
It was probably the strangest compliment Mina had ever received, and that included the time a little girl had said that her horns looked fun to play with. But it was certainly heartfelt, and she couldn’t really complain about getting called pretty by her boyfriend’s mom.
“A-Ashido! You’re early!” Izuku said, rounding the corner.
Mina rolled her eyes at the formality before detaching herself from Mrs. Midoriya and walking over to Izuku with a teasing grin on her face.
“Who’s this ‘Ashido’ person? My name’s Mina, remember?”
He instantly turned bright red, his eyes flicking back and forth between Mina and his mother. “B-B-but… it’s embarrassing.”
Mina didn’t budge. Sometimes Izuku took a little prodding to get over his embarrassment, especially when it came to public displays of affection. He was shy and easily embarrassed by that kind of stuff while she was… really not. It took some adjustments, on both their parts, but they made it work. And he had let her know that he really did appreciate her for helping him come out of his shell, even if it was sometimes an uncomfortable experience.
Finally, Izuku managed to swallow his embarrassment and actually look her in the eye. His cheeks were still bright red, but he did manage to give her a small smile as he spoke this time. “Hey Mina.”
“Hey yourself, you big goofball,” she replied. “And happy birthday!”
She pressed a chaste kiss against his cheek and was a little surprised when he actually leaned into it. Then again, that was Izuku for you. When he resolved to do something he put his everything into it, even if that “something” was just showing a bit of affection in front of his mom.
They were distracted by a series of rapid clicks from the doorway. When Mina turned to check it out, she found Mrs. Midoriya snapping a series of photos with a camera she seemed to have pulled from absolutely nowhere.
“Oooh, the two of you are so adorable!” she declared, without missing even a single second of picture taking.
Mina giggled and flashed the biggest smile she could muster while Izuku spluttered and waved his hands frantically in front of him. It didn’t do anything to stop the flood of photos, though, and Mrs. Midoriya took plenty before she was finally satisfied.
By that point, they had moved to the living room to chat. Mina was delighted to find that her intuition had been spot on. Inko Midoriya was absolutely lovely and super welcoming after she had gotten over her initial emotional outburst. She even had Mina's favorite brand of tea ready and waiting, which explained why Izuku had been asking about it earlier that week.
“Oh, Izuku has told me so much about you dear,” Inko said. “Every time I call, you’re the first thing he talks about, even more than All Might!”
If they’d been talking about anyone else, it would have been just a funny little anecdote. This was about Izuku, though, the biggest hero fanboy that Mina had ever heard of. Knowing that he talked about her more than All Might was actually incredibly sweet.
“Awww, did I replace him as your favorite hero?” Mina teased.
He blushed at the insinuation, like she knew he would, but took her by complete surprise when he shyly nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. You’re the greatest hero, at least to me.”
And now Mina was the one trying to hide the heat that was creeping into her cheeks. Izuku really had a way of catching her off guard with the sincerest compliments. It was happening more frequently too, although she had no idea if that meant he was getting better at being smooth or if she was just getting weaker to compliments. Then again, Izuku’s words always hit harder than other people’s and not just because of her feelings for him. He was just so straightforward and nice that it was obvious he completely believed what he was saying.
“When did you get so charming?” Inko asked, shooting her son a smile.
“I dunno,” Mina said, “He was way more awkward when we started dating.”
“Just like his father, then,” Inko said, “Hisashi was as stiff as a board on our first date and it took ages before he relaxed enough to do more than hold my hand.
Mina chuckled at the familiar image. “Oh, Izuku was exactly like that! He even asked for permission to give me a hug at the end of our first date, even though I had my arms open and everything!”
“Can we please talk about something else?” Izuku pleaded, somehow looking even more embarrassed than he had been just a few minutes ago.
“Of course dear,” Inko said with a gentle smile on her face. “Maybe Ashido can tell me a little about herself? Izuku may have told me a lot about you, but I’d love to know more.”
“Oh, totally! What do you wanna know?”
Inko hummed for a moment while she decided on a question. As she did, Mina had to suppress a chuckle. The matronly woman’s concentrating face was exactly the same as her son’s, right down to the little dimple that formed on their chins.
“Why don’t you tell me a little about your family?” Inko finally asked. “Izuku has mentioned them, but not in very much detail.”
“Alright!’ Mina said. “So, my mom is super smart, but she’s really weird too. Like, I know I’m scatterbrained, but my mom’s waaay worse. Yesterday, she almost forgot her purse because she heard that dinosaurs had feathers so she was looking up lots of pictures to prove that they didn’t!”
“But dinosaurs probably did have feathers,” Izuku said.
“That’s just what they want you to think!” Mina replied. “Anyways, she’s super forgetful and she gets distracted a lot, but she’s real good at her job, and she’s a pretty great mom too. Besides, my dad makes sure she doesn’t forget anything too important. He’s a lot like you, super chill and friendly, and he hangs out with my brothers a lot, so I don’t have to deal with them!”
“I thought your brothers were fine,” Izuku said.
“You don’t have to live with them. Subaru, he’s the little one, is always running around doing something. I can’t tell you how many times he’s tried to batter down my door to get me to come play with him while I’m trying to relax. And Tsune, my older brother, is just the bane of my existence. He’s always teasing me just because he’s not nearly as cool or as pretty as I am!”
“They sound like a wonderful family,” Inko said.
“Eh. They’re mine,” Mina replied with a cheeky grin.
She’d never admit it to her brothers, but she really did care about them. For all the Tsune bugged the hell out of her, he’d helped her out plenty of times growing up. He gave surprisingly good advice when he was being serious, as infrequent as that was, and Subaru was pretty funny and adorable for his age.
“It’s always just been me and Mom here,” Izuku said.
There was just a tiny hint of sadness in his voice as he spoke, and Mina pressed herself up against his side to comfort him. She didn’t really get it, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to make him feel just the tiniest bit better if she could.
“We have been a rather small family,” Inko said. “Although perhaps the two of you will change that before too long.”
Mina was a little quicker on the uptake, her blush returning in full force about a second before Izuku let out a scandalized cry of “Mom!”
Inko just smiled knowingly and offered the two of them a plate of cookies as a peace offering. Mina took one gratefully, nibbling at it while she tried to hide her face. She was way more forward than Izuku, but she still had a limit for embarrassment, and that had well passed it. She might tease here and there, but she and Izuku were nowhere near that step yet, even if she did occasionally catch her gaze straying lower than necessary from time to time.
They were saved from any further embarrassment on the relationship front by a beeping sound from the kitchen, which prompted Inko to go bustling off to tend to it.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Izuku said the minute his mother was out of earshot.
He looked terrified, like Mina was about to snap at him for his mother’s teasing. Actually, knowing Izuku, that was probably exactly where his mind was at, and Mina wasn’t going to stand for it. Before he could spiral any further into anxiety, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his.
“Don’t worry about it. Your mom’s sweet, and I hear way more embarrassing stuff from my brothers every day. As long as she doesn’t start throwing condoms at us out of nowhere I’ll be fine.”
He shivered at that thought, and Mina had to suppress a snicker. She also resolved never to tell him about the literal boxes of contraceptives her brother had left in her room after Izuku’s first visit to their house, along with a note not to use them all in a single day. The vengeance Mina had wrought for that particular prank had been swift and decisive, and Tsune wouldn't be repeating it anytime soon.
"Seriously, though, I already love your mom, so you can just relax and enjoy your birthday, kay?”
To his credit, he did lean back on the couch and let out a sigh. Mina could still see a little bit of tension in his shoulders, but that was probably the best she was going to get for now. He’d calm down eventually, and they could have a nice, fun party for the rest of the day.
“Izuku, could you run to the store for me?” Inko said, emerging from the kitchen and waving to get his attention. “We’re out of brown sugar.”
“I thought we had an extra bag in the cupboard,” Izuku said with a small frown.
“Oh, well we, uh…”
Mina had to suppress a sudden fit of laughter. It seemed like Izuku had also inherited his lying skills from his mother as well as some of his expressions. Mina might not always be the most observant person, but she could definitely tell when someone was trying to get her alone. Normally she’d do her best to talk her way out of it, but in this case she’d love to have some one-on-one time with Inko so she decided to help out a little.
“Oooh, if you’re going to the store, can you grab me one of those sodas I really like? Pretty please?”
Izuku still looked a little confused at suddenly being sent away on an errand, but once Mina batted her eyelashes a little bit he quickly agreed to run out for a little shopping. Mina felt a little bad for the deception, but she’d pay him back when he returned. And the soda did sound really good…
“Would you mind helping me in the kitchen while Izuku is gone?” Inko asked once Izuku was out the door.
"I'm kinda bad at cooking," Mina admitted, "but I can mix whatever you need!"
She flexed her bicep for emphasis, which actually looked a little impressive these days, earning a laugh from Inko.
Thankfully, there really wasn't all that much for Mina to do. Inko handed her a bowl filled with frosting ingredients, and Mina started beating them together with enthusiasm while the matronly woman tended to a dish on the stove.
“My son adores you, you know," Inko said, without turning around. "The way his face lights up when he talks about you… I haven’t seen him that happy since he was little. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him that happy again.”
Mina’s smile faded a little. Every part of Izuku’s childhood that he’d told her about sounded miserable, and she was kind of amazed that he could still be so open and friendly. But that was just part of what made him so amazing in the first place!
“I really like him too,” Mina said. “I know I can be… a lot sometimes, and it makes people around me tired. I try and turn it down or give people space, but it’s hard, you know? But Izuku, he told me that he doesn’t get tired of being around me, even when I’m dragging him all over the place. It feels like when I’m with him I don’t have to be anything other than me and he’ll still like me afterwards. And he never makes me feel dumb or anything, even though he’s way smarter than me. He’s been amazing, and I just… yeah.”
She cringed a little bit from how lame that sounded, but there was no way she could come up with a speech that actually conveyed everything she felt for Izuku, even if she could write it out ahead of time. Blurting it all out like that was probably the best she was going to do and it still wasn’t even close.
Inko seemed to appreciate it, though, if the sudden burst of happy tears was any indication. Somehow, none of the tears landed in the food, which was probably an acquired skill. Mina was thankful for it, though. She didn’t think she could handle a meal quite that salty.
A moment later, Inko abandoned the cooking entirely to wrap Mina in a tight hug. It was a good one, too, warm and loving without being overbearing.
“How on earth did my boy find someone as sweet as you?” she asked.
“Well, I really did most of the work, so it’s more like I found him,” Mina replied.
“That does sound more like my son.”
Mina chucked at that before continuing. “Yeah. We hung out a lot during the cultural festival first year, and then after it too, since he asked me to teach him how to dance. It was so fun, I almost didn’t realize I was crushing on him until we missed a week and I started moping. And trying to flirt was a nightmare after that. He’d miss the obvious attempts I was making, but acted like he was interested other times. I finally got so tired of the mixed signals that I just asked him out in the middle of lunch. He passed out a little bit, but he did say yes when he woke up.”
Now it was Inko's turn to laugh. “He didn’t tell me about that part.”
“Oh it was awful. I thought I killed him for a second,” Mina admitted.
“I'm glad it didn’t put you off too much.”
“I knew what I was getting myself into,” Mina said with a small smile. “And he’s worth it to me.”
Inko cooed at the words while Mina just smiled. She meant what she said, even if it was a little embarrassing to say it out loud.
Their little heart to heart had to wait, since the food on the stove-top started smoking, prompting Inko to hurry over before it burned. By the time that was done, Mina was halfway done frosting the cake (She was very proud at how smooth she managed to get it) and Izuku had returned from the store.
He seemed extremely confused as to how they’d finished cooking without the sugar from his “urgent” errand, but Mina was able to distract him with a quick hug. She'd tell him about the talk she and his mother had had later. For now, there was good food to enjoy, funny stories to share and, if she was right about the book Inko had just brought out, baby pictures to look at!