Having Shouto Todoroki inside of the Midoriya household was a common occurrence. Inko Midoriya didn't mind having the company; after all, he was her son's boyfriend! While the mother didn't know exactly when the two had gotten together officially, Shouto had been coming over almost every Saturday for a couple of months or so.
Izuku had brought over some other friends before, but they were always in groups. Inko had met Tenya Iida and Ochako Uraraka, both had left lasting impressions on her. (She felt relieved to know that her son had made such nice friends!)
When her son brought Shouto into the house, she could tell this classmate was someone else. The first thing she noticed was the boy's scar – the blemish led to the mother doing what she did best, think of the worst. The scar then helped Inko recall that this was the boy her own son had faced off in the Sports Festival. The event that Izuku came out of with massive wounds and a forever scarred hand.
It made Inko nervous knowing that Izuku's classmate was responsible for pushing him to the point of breaking himself over and over again. She didn't understand herself what it meant to want to become a hero, but her son had pushed himself countless of times in pursuit of this dream. She couldn't help but feel a small sense of resentment towards Shouto for being a powerful obstacle in her son's way. That was just the mother in her, wishing that her son could just hurry and become a hero with the least amount of injuries.
Despite the initial impression she had on Shouto, the boy was very kind and polite to her. He seemed to be slightly nervous talking to her as well, which Inko met with her own anxious personality. It wasn't until Izuku excused himself to grab something in his room that Shouto confessed his relationship with her son.
Inko was shocked at first, but the wave of relief washed across herself. As a mother she became increasingly nervous that her son wouldn't be able to form relationships. In middle school, Izuku had always been alone except for the occasional group projects. Never during that time did Izuku ever announce that a friend was coming over, they were only ever classmates.
Hearing that Izuku not only had close friends but now a boyfriend? Inko did the one thing she was known for – she cried!
This panicked Shouto, unsure on how to handle the situation and came to the conclusion that he was the reason for her tears. When Izuku came out of his room they both fretted over the mother until she calmed herself down and hugged the two of them.
Ever since then, Inko happily accepted Shouto Todoroki into their house, always welcome any day and any time.
"Mom we're home!" Izuku's voice rang through the apartment. Shouto was behind him, taking off his shoes as Inko walked out of the kitchen towards the two.
"Welcome home you two! I got some lemonade from the Farmer's Market today! It's really tasty so please try some!" She smiled at the two, Izuku nodding his head while Shouto bowed his politely.
"Thanks mom!"
"Thank you Mrs. Midoriya."
There was no possible way to get Inko Midoriya to stop smiling once Shouto was over at the house. He wasn't there every day, but it wasn't like he came over only once a week either. He brought a new kind of feeling to the mother, something similar to pride. He was such a kind child, despite what Inko saw on the broadcast for the Sports Festival. (Perhaps the cameras made him look extra intimidating!)
She headed towards the kitchen again to grab the lemonade from the fridge before being stopped by her son.
"Hey mom, is it cool if I cook dinner for tonight?" Izuku asked, walking with her into the kitchen with Shouto in tow.
"Oh? What's the occasion?" Inko asked, opening the fridge and taking out the bottle of lemonade.
"Did you forget?" Izuku pouted, taking ahold of her shoulders, playfully shaking her. "It's your birthday mom!"
Inko Midoriya blinked, quickly looking to the All Might-themed calendar that was held onto the fridge by an All Might magnet. She had forgotten to write her birthday since the calendar was mostly used for planning holiday and mini vacations. Inko did write Izuku's birthday on the calendar but had forgotten all about her own.
On the calendar the square for July 4th had been marked out. She even marked it today and didn't realize! She was a bit more occupied with the fact that Fourth of July was more of an American holiday, finding it interesting that the All Might calendar had made a note to include American holidays.
"Izuku! Why didn't you tell me this morning before you left?" Inko flushed in embarrassment, looking from her son to Shouto and then back to the calendar.
"Well, I was going to say happy birthday to you this morning, but uh," Izuku turned to look back at Shouto who was placing his bag onto one of the table seats. He placed another plastic bag onto the table, turning to bow politely to Inko.
"I actually texted Midoriya in the morning, he told me it was your birthday and I wanted to surprise you with dinner since you're always welcoming me into your home." He kept his head lowered and looked up at Inko whose eyes began to glisten.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "I thought it would be cool if we both said happy birthday to you, and this morning I could tell you've forgotten so I didn't feel too bad not saying happy birthday." He grinned before pulling his mother into a tight hug.
"Happy birthday mom!"
Shouto walked over with a soft smile.
"Happy birthday, Mrs. Midoriya."
Inko's eyes welled, tears running down her cheek before she threw her arms over both the boys. "Oh you boys! You're both so sweet!" She cried out, embracing the two of them tightly. Shouto placed a hand on her back while Izuku squeezed her, lifting her off the ground.
The boys pulled away while Inko wiped at her face.
"You're so sweet to be thinking of me, but you definitely don't have to make dinner for me! Izuku I don't even think you know how to cook!" She teased, causing the boy's face to flush in embarrassment.
"Mom!" Izuku whined while Shouto chuckled.
"I know how to cook, it would be my pleasure if I could do this for you." The determination on Shouto's face made Inko's heart sore, nodding her head gently as she gave a reassuring smile to both of them.
"Alright I'm counting on you Shouto, make sure Izuku doesn't hurt himself while cooking!"
"MOM!"
-
Even if she was supportive and trusting of the boys in the kitchen, it didn't stop her from worrying about the two. Even though she was sitting in the other room watching the news, Inko kept her senses focused on what was transpiring in the kitchen. She could hear the oven was on, and wondered exactly what the two of them were making for dinner. They had ushered her out of the kitchen to maintain the element of some surprise, but Inko was able to smell some sort of meat substance and knew that the rice cooker was on.
Inko anxiously waited in the living room before her son called her in for dinner. She sighed in relief when she walked in to find that the kitchen hadn't been burned down and on obvious messes on the kitchen counters. She saw that the table had been set and glasses of lemonade had already been poured out. Inko took a seat while the boys moved plates and bowls of food onto the table, then taking a seat on the other side of the table.
She was pleasantly surprised to see that the rice was cooked thoroughly and smelled delightful. On another plate was an arrangement of lettuce leaves, tomatoes and diced stir-fried beef garnished with onions. On another plate was some lime slices next to the salt and pepper shakers.
"Boys!" Inko looked at the dinner plates, astonish. "What did you even make? It smells so good!"
Izuku rubbed the back of his head, handing out the utensils to everyone.
"Todoroki was the one who really made everything, I just did what he was told. What was it called again?" Izuku turned towards the other who began scooping rice into his bowl.
"It's called shaking beef, or marinated stir fry beef. It's actually a really easy to make and my sister would make it for my brothers and me because you can make a lot in a single batch. I'm sorry I couldn't make more." Shouto handed the bowl of rice to Inko who took it graciously.
"Shouto! This is absolutely amazing! Thank you so much, after this you should gave me the recipe!" She began taking some of the beef cubes and tomatoes from the center plate onto her bowl. Inko scooped some rice and took a bite of it with the meat, amazed at how chewy it was.
Izuku took some of the meat as well, taking a bite with his own bowl of rice and turned towards his boyfriend.
"It's so good!" His face beamed. Inko nodded her head.
"It really is! Thank you so much Shouto!" She held her face, chewing happily. Shouto's cheeks turned slightly pink before he began eating his own share.
The mother asked about what the two of them had done that day in class which led to a discussion about quirk compatibility training. Izuku had gone on about how certain quirks work extremely well with one another, but in the real world heroes will sometimes have to pair up with other hero agencies on the fly, which means they have to find a medium between quirk abilities.
Shouto added that the class had picked two students at random and they were to discuss the possible strategies and combinations between the two quirks. Inko had learned about most of class 1-A through her son and by knowing a few of his friends. Of course she also saw a bit of the students in action while watching the Sports Festival. They all seemed to have such powerful quirks and it was interesting to hear about what goes on in hero course studies.
Inko had asked what was the most interesting combinations in their opinions which led to Izuku beaming, nearly getting out of his seat to deliver his answer.
"Some quirks are really versatile, so someone like Yaoyorozu with her creating quirk can be paired with anyone really! She got Jirou, her quirk is the earphone jacks I've told you about, but the scenario she got was being face to face in a hostage situation. The class was thinking about how the two could get through a situation like that since Yaoyorozu's quirk is very visual and the villain could easily see if she does something, but Jirou's quick is actually really stealthy! Since her jacks are attached to hear ears, she can move them discreetly and if she had the chance to plug her jack into the speakers on her boots, they can form a diversion!"
Both Shouto and Inko listened intently to Izuku rambling on and on about the quirk compatibility exercise. Inko always welcomed her son's moments of admiration, finding it to be inspiring. Shouto also found the act to be interesting, a reflection of Izuku's intelligence. It was also really cute.
"And you Shouto? What did you think was an interesting match?" Both Inko and Izuku turned to face Shouto who wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Anything with Bakugou was interesting. It doesn't matter about his quirk, it's his personality that can be difficult to work with."
Inko had took a sip of her lemonade before spluttering it back into her glass, laughing loudly. She took her own napkin to wipe the excess beverage from her face, holding a hand up and looked away.
"Mom are you alright?" Izuku handed her more napkins. She took them and placed them over her mouth, laughing into the napkins.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, that was just really funny! Oh that Katsuki, he is hard to work with isn't he? Maybe I should talk to his parents about that." She wiped her mouth before looking back at the kids. Shouto had chuckled with her.
"It's true. Considering we have to work with him sometimes, it can be hard for him to cooperate." Shouto added, looking to Izuku with a small smirk. The green-haired boy laughed and nudged him.
"His quirk is amazing though, and he knows how to use it to the best kind of advantages. It was just exercises, but in real situations he'd definitely be able to work out compatibility with other heroes, but that's only if he feels like he needs to use others for help. Oh! Mom are you done eating?" Izuku turned back towards his mother, offering to take her bowl.
"Oh, yes thank you sweetheart." Inko handed over her dishes, Shouto standing up as well.
"We have one more thing for you," Shouto headed over to the fridge and pulled out a cake. It was a small cake, enough for maybe four slices but it was adorned with fresh fruit on top and one candle. "We didn't make this, but I hope you like it as well."
Inko placed a hand over her heart, smiling sweetly. "It's perfect you two, thank you."
Izuku put the bowls and dishes away as Shouto used his left side to carefully light the candle.
"I want to thank you, one more time," The boy began, placing the cake on the table in front of the mother. "You've been so kind to me, though I am not a part of your family. I, as you know… Haven't had the opportunity to experience what it's like to have a parent support me throughout my life. Meeting your son had changed my life for the better, and meeting you made me realize the reason why he is the way he is." Shouto took a quick glance at Izuku whose face flushed red.
"You've welcomed me into your home with open arms, and I couldn't begin to express how that's made me feel to have an adult figure like you in my life." He continued, his own face growing pink while looking down at the cake. "So thank you, for everything you've done. Happy birthday."
Shouto looked up to the woman to see her staring back at him with widened eyes, tears already forming. Shouto would never be used to the tears from his boyfriend nor his boyfriend's mother. It was startling to see how easy tears could fall from the Midoriya's, never would he be prepared for them.
"S-SHOUTO!" Inko got out of her seat and ran over to give him a giant hug. She held onto him, hiccupping softly as her voiced wavered.
"You precious, gorgeous boy! I'm so happy to have you in Izuku's life! You've been nothing but a dear and the sweetest!" Inko pulled away and sniffed, wiping her face onto her sleeves quickly. She moved to take ahold of Shouto's face, catching him off guard.
"You've told me about your family before, and I'll tell you again what I told you that first time. You are always welcome in this household, any time, any day. You are a part of this family now whether you like it or not, and if you need absolutely anything, I'm more than willing to be here for you." Inko moved to kiss the boy's forehead gently, Shouto's lips quivering ever so slightly, returning her embrace.
Izuku smiled brightly, nearly bursting into tears himself before picking up the cake.
"Mom you still have to make your birthday wish!" He called out. The mother wiped her face, turning back towards her son with a matching smile.
"Oh I don't think I need a wish, everything I've ever wanted has already happened!" Inko turned towards the cake and blew out the candle. Izuku tilted his head.
"Really? What was it?" Izuku placed the cake down as Shouto moved to get the pastry knife.
"For my son to get himself a really nice partner!" She grinned. Izuku flushed again, using his arms to hide his face.
"MOM!"
Inko laughed, wiping her tears with a finger once more. It seemed like it had been a good thing that she had forgotten her birthday, but she would never forget this birthday for the rest of her life.
She would never forget the love she felt in that moment that reminded her that being a mother was the best job in the world.