~O~

A small sigh escaped her lips as the middle aged woman stepped out of the train. To be honest, Inko wasn't a big fan of subways. They were crowded and loud and somewhat scary to her. The woman never truly felt safe in the middle of a sea of strangers. It haunted her sometimes. It used to be scarier when she was a child though — if her five years old self had to go through this, she would definitely end up crying and wailing on the spot. Yes, there were heroes left and right, everywhere in sight to protect her if something happened. Whether there was an earthquake or a villain attack, it was a hero's duty to protect her, this sea of strangers, people they didn't even know and probably would never know.

But they still manage to do it everyday and that was quite a feat in her book.

Inko didn't like the attention or being surrounded by people, a loud place wasn't exactly her taste. She wouldn't say she hated it but at least she disliked it a lot. Hisashi had once mentioned that Inko never hated something, or if she hated it she never let a single soul know and perhaps that was the secret to her purity. She didn't fully believe him then and there but that man was so intent on proving how Inko was 'ideal' or 'perfect', it stunned her every time since she was never one to think of herself as above average. The man she married was quite the flatterer, Inko remembered Mitsuki giving her these strange teasing looks from the side whenever Hisashi dropped a compliment which was often to say the least.

Where Inko was never open towards the things she hated, she wasn't too open towards the things she loved either. The green haired woman had always been a simple one. Yes, if asked Inko would say that she liked or even loved something. For example, if someone asked if she liked custard buns, she would just quietly reply with, "Mhm, I love them," and never touch the topic again. So, it was common for all the people she knew to forget what she liked or even never know her preferences for she talked so little of them. Hisashi, however, proved to be quite observant. It was like every little thing Inko ever said got filed in his brain immediately. He knew her allergies, how much spice she liked in her meal, what kind of dresses she liked and even what things she didn't enjoy very well. He remembered every little detail about her and acted on them as well.

The gesture simply blew her away, no one had ever remembered her likes, her dislikes, her. Inko had always felt like someone who would always be on the sidelines, someone who wasn't really important and someone who was too bland to be remembered. She never gave much thought to it either, rather she accepted it and went on with her life. Hisashi treated her like she hung the stars. The man dropped a cheeky remark whenever he saw her. Unlike her, he was open with his affection towards the things he liked. Inko had seen this full grown adult turn into an excited toddler whenever something of interest caught his eye. 

Quirks.

The man was such a goof, if he saw a splendid quirk, he would just stand there with stars in his eyes and forget whatever he was doing. Inko had snapped him out of such trances on their dates so much it worried her when he didn't suddenly stop in the middle of the road to observe a quirk. At first, Inko thought that love for quirks would push her down because her quirk wasn't flashy or strong. But she was wrong. Hisashi proposed without even knowing what her quirk was. He loved her and he loved her more than anything else. He showed his affection whenever he could and when they got married… Inko tried to do so as well. She tried to openly show her affection towards him too. Not as much as he did, mostly because he always had a flattering comeback to everything she said. Things like that always ended up in her getting flustered and him laughing. 

He loved her and taught her how to love.

She wondered where all that 'love' went after Izuku.

Inko made a turn and started walking towards her apartment, thoughts continued assaulting her already stressed mind. She didn't know why but things changed after Izuku. Of course every couple had to deal with changes after having a child but these were different. Hisashi was… Different. He wasn't the open goofball of a lover after Izuku was born. He became closed, reserved and somewhat stoic too. It felt like he didn't really care anymore, for either of them. He was still just as talkative but his words didn't hold as much weight as they used to. 

Why?

Why the change?

What went wrong?

Inko wondered if she did something wrong. Did she say something upsetting or was it workload that caused the sudden change in her husband's character? Was it the attention she gave to their son instead? But that made no sense. Izuku was just a newborn baby, he deserved every last bit of Inko's attention, she was his mother for crying out loud. In fact, Izuku deserved Hisashi's time too. Perhaps not all of it given how he was the only one working to keep a roof over their heads and to make sure they were always full but no child should get ignored the way Hisashi ignored Izuku. She thought if all that had something to do with how he was inexperienced with a child. But Inko was inexperienced too and she wasn't ignoring her baby's needs. Inko did everything in her power to make sure Izuku was always happy, always smiling. 

And that included confronting Hisashi. But he always dodged the question. He always changed the subject. He always managed to assure her that it was just a mother's stress getting to her. It baffled her, how much this man loved kids and being around them yet he wouldn't even try to do the same for his own son. Hisashi acted as if he wasn't even Izuku's father… He acted as if he never wanted to be Izuku's father.

What is wrong with my baby? Inko found herself questioning it one day. Nothing. There was nothing wrong with Izuku. He was a perfect little angel. Izuku was the living example of adorable with his freckled baby cheeks and little button nose in contrast to his big vivid green eyes and the sweetest smile one could find. Inko easily elicited melodic laughter out of him with a few tickles here and there and oh, what she wouldn't give to always hear that laugh.

Why didn't Hisashi want to always hear that laugh?

Why did he never want to hear that laugh?

Why didn't he love Izuku? 

Just why?

It took her time. It took Inko too much time to realize the problem. It was before Izuku's fourth birthday, on her own birthday in fact. Inko somehow always managed to forget her own birthday but after Hisashi, she would be reminded of it every minute. But this time, she waited. She knew it was her birthday and she waited for Hisashi. The man who remembered everything that left her mouth, who was so observant and loving that he could surprise her without even trying… The man who changed after Izuku.

It wasn't such a big deal really. That Hisashi forgot it was her birthday. People did it every time. She was used to it but… That also meant Hisashi wasn't— Stupid thoughts, she was just being dramatic. He had many other important things to deal with than wishing his wife a happy birthday. Hisashi wasn't perfect, he was a human too and humans forget things. 

Inko didn't say anything.

The very next day, Hisashi left for America with the promise to come back within a month.

Izuku's fourth birthday came and soon he got diagnosed as quirkless.

That one month turned into one year, then five years and now it has been over a decade.

Hisashi didn't come back.

Hisashi never loved Izuku.

Hisashi forgot Inko.

The problem was Hisashi.

Regardless, Inko didn't say anything.

(She never talked about the things she hated.)

Instead, she focused on Izuku. Inko raised her baby as well as she could. She taught him everything she knew and learnt so much from him in return. She protected him from his fears and calmed him down when he cried — which was very often. She sang him to sleep and made sure she was always there for him, always there to love him and always there to accept him when no one else was.

Inko loved her baby.

As the woman reached her apartment she realized that Izuku's summer vacations were going to start soon and then he had to go away for summer camp as well. The green haired boy headed out earlier that day saying that he wouldn't be home till late at night because he was out training with his friends. Inko too had to leave early that day to visit a sick friend, so she wasn't home all day.

She unlocked the door and stepped in. It was about half an hour past seven and Izuku might be home soon. She still had to make dinner and everything for him, god she really hoped he didn't get hurt during training again. He came back with a pretty big gash on his arm last time. What if he overworked himself? As much as she loved him, her boy was so reckless something was always bound to happen. All of her thoughts came to a halt as the familiar aroma of butter and sugar greeted her. She realized the lights were on and Izuku's red sneakers were right there, meaning he was home. Inko didn't waste much time walking inside immediately, the sweet aroma guiding her towards the kitchen. Was Izuku cooking? What was he cooking? Why was he cooking? Did he come home earlier than expected, oh, did he get hungry while Inko was away visiting her friend?

A tired and hungry Izuku cooking himself wasn't something she ever wanted to come back home to.

"Izuku…?" She asked, putting her bag down as she watched the green haired boy work away in the kitchen in an apron over his casual attire.

The said boy turned around as soon as he heard her voice, a big grin making its way onto his face as he greeted his mother, "Welcome home, mom! How was your day?"

"It was… Fine," Inko was still confused on what was happening, "Did you come home early, honey? You could've given me a call, I would've come home. You didn't have to cook, you know.."

"Well, it's not exactly for me. And um… It's not much but," Izuku said, letting out a slight chuckle, as he revealed what he was making, "Happy birthday, mom." He baked her a cake.

Tears immediately filled the woman's eyes as she ran to hug her son. Because even if no one remembered Inko, even if no one tried to remember her when she forgot herself, when Hisashi didn't care anymore, none of it mattered. None of it mattered because Inko loved her son and her son loved her just as much.

That was all she could ever ask for.

~O~

"Izuku…?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"How come the door was locked if you were already in?"

"Um, well… That's not important—"

~O~

I decided to post this here too so :^)