"Are you ready?" Todoroki Shouto rubs his hand on his lover's back.
Nervously but full of determination, Midoriya Izuku nods.
"You'll do great," Shouto says before knocking on the door. "Mother, it's me. I brought a guest with me today."
"Come in," She softly answers back.
Midoriya swallows, clinging to his red backpack for dear life. Shouto opens the door, revealing a dainty hospital room. The room has a refrigerator, a television, and a cream sofa. Sitting on the hospital bed is an elegant woman, Todoroki's mother, Todoroki Rei.
"Welcome," Rei greets with a gentle smile. "Please take a seat."
Midoriya nods enthusiastically, scrambling to find the nearest chair. Shouto frowns, finding it tenderly adorable how frantic his boyfriend is acting. Izuku catches a glimpse of Shouto's smile, for some reason, it calms him down.
On the window was a clear vase with a foreign white flower inside. Midoriya couldn't help but notice since that flower isn't a native of Japan and can't be found here for that matter.
"You must be Midoriya Izuku-kun," Rei says. "My son has been talking relentlessly about you."
"Mother!" Shouto blushes.
Izuku peers at Shouto, equally red as he is. For some reason, hearing this makes Izuku feel somehow giddy.
"Whenever he visits, all he talks about is you." She continues. "I'm glad to be able to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is mine," Izuku bows meekly.
"No need to lower your head," She chuckles. "a friend of Shouto is a friend of mine as well."
Both of them tense up.
"About that, Mother..." Shouto scratches the side of his face.
Rei blinks, tilting her head to the side like a confused puppy.
"We're dating."
Izuku chokes at nothing in particular. Shouto remains with his steadfast expression. Rei blinks a couple more times.
"Well then, welcome to the family." Rei rests her back on the pillow, smiling.
Midoriya looks at his boyfriend, confused. Shouto could only offer a relieved sigh before standing up from his chair to give his mother a tight hug.
"Thank you, Mother."
"What's there to thank?" Rei pats him on the back. "You're my son."
Shouto tries his best to stop his tears from falling.
He fails.
——
The day was spent with the three bonding together. Midoriya found out that Rei was the acclaimed writer of The Evening Rose, the original Endeavor, Endeavor Rei. As expected, Deku completely fanboys over her the same way he fanboyed originally with Shouto.
Soon, it was already evening and it was time for the couple to leave.
"We'll visit you soon, Mother," Shouto says.
"I'll be looking forward to it."
They close the sliding door behind him and Rei is once again filled with loneliness. She gets the remote and turns the TV open, watching the news as if something interesting was bound to happen.
A few minutes later, there comes another knock.
"Come in," Rei wonders if Shouto forgot something.
The door opens, revealing a tall burly man holding a bouquet of white flowers called Edelweisses.
"I'm back,"
"Welcome back, Enji."