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“Hello there!” Masaru went to welcome them at the door.
“Good evening mister Bakugo, thank you for the invitation.”
“Izuku, dear, there’s no need to be so formal.”
Inko smiled to her son and the boy followed her inside.
Mitsuki was setting the table in the living room, and Katsuki was in the kitchen, finishing preparing dinner.
“Mom, pass me the salt.” He said, when Izuku entered the kitchen.
Izuku knew where to find almost everything in Katsuki’s house, he found where the salt was and passed it to him.
“Thanks-” Katsuki realized only then that it was Izuku who was in the room with him, and not his mother. “Thanks, nerd. Hi.”
“Hi Kacchan!” Izuku smiled to him, but Katsuki continued to ignore him. “There’s something I can do to help you?”
Katsuki pointed a chair near the small kitchen table. “Sit there and don’t get in my way.”
Izuku nodded, and went to sit, watching Katsuki cook.
“How are you?”
It wasn't Katsuki-like to start a conversation usually, but Izuku was happy to keep talking. “I’m okay, thanks Kacchan, what about you?”
“Fine I guess.” Silence returned for a few seconds. “Dinner is almost ready.”
Izuku nodded again, not knowing if he should say anything.
“You can help me put food on plates, if you want.”
“Yes, I want.” Izuku stood up, and took the plates that had been prepared on the table one by one to pass them to Katsuki.
A few minutes later, the two of them brought the plates to the table in the living room, where their parents were chatting.
“Thanks Katsuki.” Inko smiled to him when Katsuki put the plate in front of her. “It must be good. You have always been very good in the kitchen.”
“It surely is.” Katsuki commented.
“You’re supposed to say thanks, idiot!” Mitsuki scolded him.
“I’m not supposed to do anything.” Katsuki answered, annoyed. Any way, two seconds later he turned to her again. “Thanks, miss Midoriya.”
“My pleasure, Katsuki. And call me Inko.”
He wanted to tell her not to tell him what to do, but he didn’t.
Izuku sat next to Katsuki, in front of his mother, and they started to eat.
When he and Katsuki were children, their family organized dinners together more often, but after all those years, he wasn’t used anymore to be there.
“Say, Izuku, how is school going?” Mitsuki asked.
“It’s going well, I guess. I like going to UA.”
“He’s one of the best in our class. He’s always been a nerd.” Katsuki smirked.
“I’m happy for you, dear. Katsuki never tells us what you do there. He comes back from the dorms every now and then and talks at most about some villain you've faced. He never tells us about everyday life.”
“Because it’s boring.” Said Katsuki.
“It’s not, in reality. We have a lot of friends there. It’s fun to spend time with them.”
Katsuki snorted, and his mother scolded him again.
The conversation then turned to their parents' lives without their children, and Izuku went back to eating in silence, and let his mother do the talking.
He was already a little tense for that dinner, and Inko did her best not to make him feel guilty, but Izuku knew she was always worried something bad could happen to him, even though he tried to call or text her often to let her know he was okay.
As the evening progressed, the three adults continued to talk to each other, expecting the two boys to do the same, but even though Katsuki was now being nicer to Izuku, neither he nor Izuku quite knew what to talk about.
Plus, Izuku was trying to concentrate on the action of getting the food to his mouth without doing any trouble, and when he finished eating, he had to hide his fists under the table, to hide that he was shaking a bit.
Katsuki noticed, but didn’t say anything.
“Does anyone want anything else?” Masaru asked, standing to start clearing the table.
Everyone shook their head, and Masaru started collecting the plates.
Izuku wanted to help again. He was used to always help his mother when he could, but moving a glass with his shaking hands, he tipped it over, wetting the tablecloth with the little water that was left inside.
He stood up instantly. “I’m- I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Izuku, it’s only a little bit of water.” Mitsuki said, trying to calm him down.
“We would have removed the tablecloth anyway, dear, don't worry.” Masaru added.
However, Izuku clenched his fists again, unable to calm down.
“Izuku, it’s okay. Nothing happened. It’s just water.” Not even his mother's words could calm him down.
Izuku began to visibly tremble and breathe irregularly, deaf to the words of those present.
Katsuki had seen him panic like that before, but not as badly. He stood up and took a few steps towards Izuku, bringing his hands close to his. “Can I touch you?”
Izuku managed to not, and Katsuki took both his hands in hers, unclenching his fists and stroking the backs. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Katsuki said, softly.
Izuku concentrated on Katsuki's hands caressing his own, and in a few seconds his breathing returned to normal.
“Thanks.” Izuku said, managing to catch a breath.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Masaru was worried, and Inko and Mitsuki were too, but Izuku wasn’t really ready to talk.
“We go for a moment to get some air. We'll be back shortly.” Katsuki dragged Izuku outside, still holding his hand, and their parents didn't object.
“Thanks Kacchan,”
“No problem, nerd. You can hug me later.” Katsuki gave him a serious look. “Do you want to tell me what the heck happened in there?”
Izuku looked down, and Katsuki squeezed his hand lightly.
“I was just sorry I ruined the tablecloth.”
“It’s just water, Izuku. And everyone told you that it was okay.” Katsuki said. “No point to lie, I know you.”
“I’m sorry, Kacchan.”
“Stop that, nerd.” Katsuki was starting to get annoyed.
“I was nervous about coming here tonight.” Izuku admitted. “I was afraid it would remind me of when we were kids.”
“I’m sorry for that, it’s my-”
“It’s not Kacchan.” It was Izuku the one who squeezed Katsuki’s hand this time. “Do you remember my father?”
Katsuki went silent for a moment, confused. “A little. He went abroad for work, am I wrong?”
“He was very strict, especially at the table.” Izuku explained, ignoring Katsuki’s question. “And I've always been very clumsy. He always got mad at me when I dropped something. If I spilled something, or made a mess somewhere, he-” Izuku stopped, starting to tremble again.
Katsuki reached behind Izuku's head and hugged him to his chest, not knowing what to say. “That bastard,”
“He was just very stiff.” Izuku said, letting Katsuki hold him.
“And you were a child. You’re supposed to help your children, not to traumatize them.”
Izuku didn’t say anything.
“Do you feel like going back inside now?” Katsuki asked, a few seconds later.
Izuku nodded, but Katsuki didn’t let him go.
“It’s really okay, Izuku. I can guarantee they are not mad or anything. They have always been nicer to you then to me.”
Izuku giggled. “Thanks Kacchan.” He said then, seriously.
“Anytime, Nerd.”