Just like the day before, Izuku woke up, picked at his breakfast, got in the car and allowed Shota to drive him to school. Eri sang to herself, leapt from the car when they reached her school and insisted yet again that she was friends with Takahashi despite the girl shouting at her during lunch the previous day, she waved in the general direction of the car and rushed into school with an excited pep to her step.

"Are you ok, Izuku?" Shota asked as they pulled away from the drop-off area and started heading towards Izuku's school, "I noticed that you look a bit upset, and Hizashi said you've had a falling out with Bakugo,"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. This happens sometimes. I guess... I'm just a bit worried about my mum. I'm probably just overthinking, don't worry about it." Izuku muttered.

"You are perfectly within your rights to worry about your mother, Izuku, just try to not let it consume you. I know it's easy for me to say that, but try to think of something else, why don't you try and make amends with Bakugo?"

"Yeah, I'll try..."

Izuku didn't tell Shota that trying to apologise and make nice with Katsuki when he was annoyed at you was like trying to talk to a brick wall. Izuku loved his friend very dearly, but Katsuki's stubbornness was legendary, and even he couldn't wear down Katsuki's resolve.

They arrived at Izuku's school within a few minutes, Izuku bid Shota farewell and took a deep breath, ready to face a day full of loneliness and being ignored by everybody his age. Surprisingly, when Izuku was making his way through the front door of the school, he felt a familiar hand land heavily on his shoulder.

"Kacchan?" Izuku asked in a surprised tone.

"Come on Nerd, we're gonna talk," Katsuki muttered gruffly, he guided Izuku towards the tree in the centre of the school grounds, grip never easing.

Izuku followed silently, his confusion must have shown on his face because Katsuki scoffed and rolled his eyes when he looked back at him, "Don't look so confused, dipshit," he grumbled.

When they reached the tree, Katsuki gestured for Izuku to sit down beneath the swaying branches, Izuku did so and watched inquisitively as Katsuki flopped onto the ground without any grace. They both stayed silent for a short time, staring out as their fellow students walked to their classes chatting and laughing amongst themselves.

"Why did you bring me here, Kacchan?" Izuku finally asked in a voice no louder than a whisper, "I thought you were angry at me..."

"Yeah, I was," Katsuki muttered, "Then you sent me those stupid ass text messages, How many times have I told you to type properly, hah?"

Katsuki pushed Izuku's shoulder, he was probably aiming for a playful nudge, but he often didn't know his own strength, which resulted in Izuku tumbling to the ground, landing on some stray twigs.

"Ahh! Kacchan, no need to push me," Izuku complained, though there was a subtle thread of humour that weaved through his voice, "Plus, just because you type like an old person, doesn't mean you should try and make me do the same. The way I type is cool."

"Keep telling yourself that, Nerd. Trust me, nobody types like you, it's overkill, is what it is," Katsuki scoffed, he shook his head and grumbled something under his breath, but Izuku didn't catch what he said.

"Anyway, I didn't bring you here to bitch about the way you type, I... I wanted to say... I'm sorry. And you better have had your ears wide open, Nerd, 'cause I ain't saying that shit again. I know that you're going through a lot and I get that you love your mum a lot, I just don't want to see you get hurt if it takes her a while to get better." Katsuki's attempts at a sincere voice failed miserably, he sounded strained, not used to showing such clear outward empathy. Even so, Izuku appreciated his words. They struck him in his heart and burrowed in making him love and appreciate Katsuki even more. Izuku knew that Katsuki had many (many) flaws, but he was his best friend. Izuku was glad that even though he only had one friend, it was Katsuki. If there was such a thing as soulmates, then Katsuki was his. He would follow him anywhere, and vice versa.

Izuku smiled at the awkward look on Katsuki's face. Deciding to put him out of his misery, Izuku pulled Katsuki into a hug, resting his head on his friend's shoulder, "Thank you, Kacchan,"

Despite being tense for a few moments when he was initially pulled into the hug, Katsuki relaxed and wrapped his arms around Izuku in return, "No problem, Nerd."

Don't ask Izuku how it happened, but somehow, a rumour started going around the school that he and Katsuki were dating. Izuku had no idea how such a rumour had come to circulate in the zeitgeist. Izuku didn't really care about the rumour, he was aware that he wasn't dating Katsuki and Katsuki didn't seem to be perturbed by the rumour. When either one of them was directly asked about it throughout the day, they denied it, and yet that only seemed to fuel the flames of the gossip mill. The workings of the teenage brain were a mystery to Izuku.

The end of the day came about before Izuku knew it, the school day seemed to pass faster with the knowledge that Katsuki wasn't mad at him anymore. They stood together, ignoring the stares and whispers surrounding them, waiting for their guardians to pick them up.

"Uh, Kacchan," Izuku whispered, "Do you know if your parents heard from my mum last night? I'm just a bit... worried, ya know?"

Katsuki was silent for a moment, eyes gazing out into the traffic that passed them by, after a few elongated seconds, he replied, "No, they didn't hear from her yesterday. I know they're worried as well,"

"Oh, ok... Do you think she would have, you know, tried to commit suicide?" Izuku whispered scarcely loud enough for Katsuki to hear him.

"I don't want to lie to you Izuku," Katsuki said. He didn't say anything more, clearly not ready to vocalise the truth that, yes, it seemed likely that Inko would attempt such a thing.

Ordinarily, Izuku's eyes might have started to well up at the silent confirmation, but standing outside of the school with his shoulder pressed to Katsuki's, he didn't cry. Izuku thought he didn't have the energy left to cry for his mother. He had passed years with the constant worry that he'd wake up one day and find that his mother was no longer breathing, he'd unconsciously prepared himself for the day when that dreadful event finally came to pass.

"I'll ask my parents if they've heard anything when I get home, ok?" Katsuki reassured his friend, "They're as worried as you are,"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Kacchan," Izuku squeezed Katsuki's hand to show his gratitude, carefully watching Katsuki's face to ensure he hadn't overstepped a line. They'd had more physical contact that day than what was usual and he knew that Katsuki was nearing his limit for the day. Thankfully, the hand squeeze hadn't caused any problems.

"Izuku!" Emi's voice echoed across the busy street. When Izuku looked up, he saw her waving at him joyfully from the driver's seat.

"I guess I better go now," Izuku hummed, "I'll speak to you later, Kacchan."

"Bye, Nerd,"

Izuku squeezed the hand still in his grasp one more time before pulling away from his best friend to jog to Emi's car. As he left, he heard the frantic whispers of his classmates as he passed them by. He didn't linger long enough to know what they were saying, but something about the curious looks they were casting between Izuku and Katsuki set Izuku's nerves on edge. Was it wrong for him to seek physical contact with his best friend while going through a rough patch in his life? Was that something that friends didn't usually do? Izuku endeavoured to do a bit of research when he got to the car. As far as he was aware it was completely fine, he'd seen some of the girls in his class hug for minutes on end over something as little as spilling curry on their favourite skirts.

"Hey, Izuku, was your day at school ok?" Emi asked when Izuku reached the car. Ordinarily, Izuku would get into the passenger seat, but that place was already occupied by Nemuri. Izuku didn't want to, but he could feel himself building walls around himself upon seeing the woman.

Izuku was sure that Nemuri was a lovely woman, but he had only met her once before and she had done nothing to prove to him that she was safe for him to be open around. It was for this reason that Izuku didn't delve into the intricacies of his day with Emi (a woman who had gained his trust almost immediately) and simply answered, "It was ok," to her question.

"Just ok? Who was that blonde kid you were with? A potential love interest, hmm?" Emi looked over the back of her chair and waggled her eyebrows at him in a way that was clearly supposed to be comedic, but Izuku couldn't see the comedy in it. He had heard rumours about his 'blossoming romance' with Katsuki all day at school, he didn't want to hear it from Emi too.

"Kacchan. He's my best friend, I don't like him like that and I never will. Whatever 'that' means?" Izuku said rather shortly, and because he was starting to get annoyed and string emotions were often followed by rants, he continued speaking despite the presence of an adult he wasn't all too comfortable around.

"Everybody keeps saying that. 'Are you two dating?' or 'When are you two going to start dating?'. I don't understand it! If the girls in my class can hug each other and hold hands and, hell, kiss each other on the cheeks every day just because they want to and not have anybody bat an eye then why can't I hug Kacchan when I'm feeling stressed?" Izuku rants, dimly, he notices that the car has rocked into motion and Nemuri's full attention is on him.

"I don't even know what the difference between romance and platonic feelings is! How are they any different? Is the difference that you'd kiss them? Because I'd kiss a lot of people in my class, but I'm not remotely attracted to them in a 'romantic' or whatever way. They're objectively attractive, everybody says so, and I can see that. I just don't understand, everybody my age is starting to talk about romance and crushes and whatever but I just don't get it. I don't think Kacchan does either 'cause he looks confused when his friends ask him about his crushes and stuff!"

By the end of his rant, Izuku is left out of breath and no less frustrated than he was when he began. The car was silent for a moment, Nemuri broke it with a light chuckle.

"I don't think I've ever heard you speak that much," she chuckled.

"I don't think I have either," Emi smiled, "It's ok to feel this way Izuku. There are a lot of people who feel like you in the world. Romance is a complicated thing to experience, let alone explain. I think it's different for everyone. I'm sure the platonic love for your friend is just as meaningful as the romances that your classmates are starting to have. Friendship is just as important as any other relationship."

Izuku didn't say anything in reply to Emi. It's not like he didn't already know what she was saying. Izuku was a chronic worrier, if he thought too long about something he had to know why he was thinking about it and what the cause of it was. To put it simply, Izuku was a very curious person, so when he noticed that he didn't feel the same way as his classmates, of course he avidly started researching why he was different. The question of whether he was broken crossed his mind. So many people said that love and sexual attraction were vital parts of being human. How can you not feel those things? And yet Izuku didn't. He didn't understand love, at least not in the romantic sense. He didn't understand why people wanted to have sex with others, it sounded like an uncomfortable chore to Izuku. Izuku simply didn't understand. So he researched, scoured every resource he could get his hands on and determined that he was more than likely aromantic and asexual, but he was scared to say that about himself. What if he was wrong?

Of course, Izuku had confided all of this to Katsuki, explaining in a shaking voice as best as he could. Katsuki's response had been simple, "Yeah, me too. Not that it really matters, I don't care what I am." The nonchalance with which Katsuki spoke baffled Izuku. Izuku liked to fit everything about himself into categories, it helped him understand himself better. The prospect of not being able to label himself was daunting. If he didn't he felt like he would be condemning himself to live in a liminal void, a place where he floats about without a proper sense of what his identity was.

Eventually, Izuku quietly confided in Katsuki that he was aroace. Labels didn't have to be permanent, Izuku repeated this to himself over and over again. Katsuki was the only one to know about Izuku's identity, and he would remain the only one to have been told explicitly for quite a while yet.

As soon as the car had stopped, Izuku leapt from his seat, quickly said thanks to Emi and rushed up the stairs to his bedroom. He hadn't meant to go off on a tangent in front of Emi and Nemuri about his confusion, and in doing so he had only worked himself up into a bit of an anxious frenzy.

Izuku fell onto his bed with a sigh and tried to calm his racing heart. Really, he'd faced situations more anxiety-inducing than talking about his lack of understanding of conventional romance. He was exaggerating. Neither Emi nor Nemuri had branded him a freak and ejected him from the house, so what was there to worry about? Slowly but surely, Izuku's breathing calmed and his heart slowed to what some may consider an average rate. He knew he was being silly, he had no reason to worry, and yet he always managed to find the worst in situations.

After the seemingly random bout of anxiety and worry, Izuku peeled himself away from his bed and started on his homework. No matter what, he couldn't neglect his studies, not if he wanted to get into UA and certainly not if he wanted to make his mother proud. It would make her happy to see him thriving, so he needed to try his hardest to work hard and be deserving of her praise.

Just as Izuku was finishing his maths homework, his phone started ringing. He was expecting to see Katsuki's name flashing on his screen, maybe Mitsuki's, what he wasn't expecting was for the word 'Mum' to appear. Anxiety shot through Izuku's chest and clouded over his eyes. His focus narrowed down solely to the buzzing device on his desk, slowly inching towards the edge so that it might destroy itself before Izuku got the chance to answer.

An eternity must have passed before Izuku gathered his wits and picked up his phone to answer. A deep breath. A strained smile that she wouldn't even be able to see. Shoulders back. The perfect son.

"Hey, Mum, how are you?"

Sorry that this is a bit shorter than usual. If you can't tell, I'm projecting my lack of understanding of romance onto Izuku. I am yet to find out what the difference is between platonic and romantic feelings, I guess it'll just have to remain one of the great mysteries of the universe. 

I'm going to be going on a bit of a hiatus for a while, I've got my mock exams coming up in January and I really need to focus on that. I'm aiming to start posting again at the end of January/Early February. Anyway, happy holidays and new year, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.