"I want to have a sleepover with my boyfriend tonight."

Your mom practically spit out her drink. "E-excuse me...?"

"I said, I would like to have a sleep—"

"No, no, I heard you the first time! I just, umm..." She nibbled on her bottom lip. "Isn't it...too early for you guys to be doing things like that...?"

You blinked once, perplexed. It didn't take long for you to realize what she meant by 'things', and soon enough, you were flushed a deep crimson.

"T-that's not why I want him to sleepover," you stammered. "I don't plan on doing anything inappropriate, it's just...tomorrow's the day we leave for the training lodge, and I wanted us to be able to spend a bit more time together before we're with the rest of the class. Waking up and leaving together would be nice, too..."

You imagined you looked pretty ditzy and foolish right now. Certainly, there was nothing preventing your mother from rejecting your absurd request right then and there. But maybe it was because you seemed to be in such a trance, with palms pressing up against your flushed cheeks and eyes that were practically sparkling. You couldn't be sure of anything, but you noticed the way your mother's expression softened.

"I see. You must really like this boy, huh?"

"I-I mean—" You cast your head down, fiddling with the sleeve of your shirt. Even your ears were red. "Yes...I like him...a-a lot. So I just thought it'd be nice if we could do this together."

Your mom hummed in understanding. She ran her fingernails across the counter-top in evaluation. Her lips curled into a smile.

"Well...your father is away on a business trip right now, so I suppose I'm the one who has the authority to make such decisions."

Your eyes widened. "So, then—?!"

"I'll allow it," she chuckled, "just because you look so happy these days. I know your date went really well, too. Can't recall the last time I saw you in such high-spirits."

"Thank you, mom! Thank you so much!" In a second, you'd flung your arms around your mom and were squeezing the very life out of her. You felt her muss your hair and chuckle.

"But," she began, "there are some things we need to discuss before I can allow it. For safety precautions."

"O-oh. Yeah, of course. What would that be?"

She cleared her throat, awkwardly glancing around the room. "I'm sure you must already know about this, but as your mother, it's my duty to ensure that you are well-educated in the matter."

Your stomach churned. Oh, boy. Here it was, the discussion that every teenager dreaded.

"I-I just want you to know that there are a lot of contraceptive methods to ensure that you don't—"

"Mom!"

"I can run to the store to buy condoms if you need—"

"MOM!!!"

—

You'd suffered through a rather grueling sex-ed crash course with your mother, so you hoped to god that Katsuki would even agree to the sleepover. Otherwise all of your suffering had been for naught.

His phone rang a few times, but you eventually heard him pick up from the other end. "Hello?"

"Hi, Katsuki-kun!" Your voice came out sounding a lot more high-pitched and eager than you'd been expecting, but you just couldn't help it. You really were excited. "You're free tonight, right? Not going anywhere?"

"Huh? The hell would I go? We have that fuckin' camp thing tomorrow morning, I need to make sure I get my sleep."

"Yep, yep! And, well...about that..." You paused (mostly for dramatic effect), and you could imagine Katsuki furrowing his brows at you. "How...would you feel about grabbing your things and sleeping over at my place for tonight?"

"Eh."

"Eh?"

"What."

"What?"

"Stop repeating my words back to me, you annoying little shit."

"Sorry. But does this mean that you don't—"

"Are your parents okay with this?" Katsuki asked. He sounded almost...fidgety. Or uneasy. Maybe it had been a poor suggestion on your part...

Your eyes glazed over. "Well, yeah, my mom's the one who gave me permission. But if you're not interested, that's...fine. I understand."

Silence.

"Who the fuck said I wasn't interested?"

You blinked. "U-um, but—"

"Of course I'm interested. No shit I would be. But, ya know...you have to understand where I'm coming from. You've basically just invited me to sleep with my girlfriend." You heard him swallow. "So...obviously I'm having other thoughts right now."

"O-oh."

Well, that much was a given. He'd been a lot more forward during your pool date, talking about your chest and even grabbing your butt... so of course he would have some dirty thoughts every now and then. You trusted Katsuki, though. If you weren't comfortable doing anything, you knew he would never force himself onto you. Otherwise you'd probably never have suggested sleeping together in the first place.

Still, the topic at hand made you nervous, especially since you had no experience with that level of intimacy. Restlessly, you blurted out:

"W-we have condoms in the house now!"

"Asfhdf—WHAT."

Katsuki's voice had cracked with the last word. He was breathing heavily on the other end. You weren't much better off, cheeks burning so hard that you felt as if they were on the verge of exploding. You'd gotten so riled up that you'd unwillingly said something you truly wished you hadn't. But it was already on the table now, and you didn't really feel like back-tracking out of sheer embarrassment. That would just be even more sad.

"My m-mom just bought some earlier," you squeaked. What the hell am I saying right now?! "Uh, it's just...in case you wanted to do something, we're p-prepared, is what I'm trying to say." Kill me, please. Someone, anyone.

Katsuki stammered out, trying to string together a proper sentence. "So, you—I mean, uh. Y-you're okay with doing that kinda stuff? Like, if we were to—"

"Just bring everything you've packed for tomorrow and come over when you can! Thanks, bye!!"

Your mortification led you to abruptly hang up the call. You felt embarrassed, and just the tiniest bit disappointed.

—

"Come to think of it, I've never actually met your soulmate-slash-boyfriend in person before."

Your mother was sitting on the couch, tapping her bottom lip introspectively. She'd been filled in on everything that had happened between you and Katsuki—fights and all included—but she still had yet to properly meet him, or even see what kind of person he was. It had totally slipped your mind. You'd been so caught drowning in a pool of embarrassment over your "condom" comment from earlier, than you hadn't even stopped to imagine how Katsuki's first interaction with your mom would go over.

I hope he's not rude. Well, less rude, at least.

The doorbell rang just moments later. You swallowed hard, feeling both excited and nervous to see him, but your mother was up on her feet within a flash, practically sprinting over towards the door. She grinned back over her shoulder, watching as you rolled your eyes, then proceeded to open the door with an exuberant swing.

"Oh, uh, h-hi." Katsuki was standing there, stiff as a rock, looking somewhat surprised by your mother's appearance, but also not really. He was clutching a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. "Nice to meet you," he greeted, bowing his head reluctantly. "I'm Katsuki—[Name]'s b-boyfriend."

Oh my god he's so nervous and cuuutee!

"Here," he gruffed, extending the flowers out towards your mom. "These are for you. That shitty old—I mean... my mom said it'd be nice to bring 'em. I don't know what your favorites are, but...hope you like these. Yeah."

Katsuki's jaw was clenched, and his cheeks were speckled with pink. He really was nervous; Bakugou Katsuki, of all people, nervous to be introduced to your family. You could honestly say you'd die happy in this moment.

"Thank you very much," your mother smiled, taking the bouquet in her arms. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Katsuki. Please, come in!" she ushered. "And I'll have to apologize for my husband not being here right now. He's away on business at the moment."

"Ah. S'all good."

You caught him breathing out a sigh of relief. Your dad wasn't awfully scary or anything, but it definitely took the edge off knowing that he wouldn't be here to heckle your boyfriend.

"We're just getting ready to eat dinner," your mother announced, looking for a vase to put the flowers in. "The two of you can hang out for the time being, and I'll call you over when it's ready, alright?"

Katsuki nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Appreciate it."

Your mother let out a hum of approval, making her way back to the kitchen once she'd set up the flowers in the middle of the living-room table. Dinner wouldn't be too long; the savory scent wafting through the room told you it was nearly ready.

"Thank you for coming," you smiled, timidly tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. "I know it was sort of a weird request, but I thought it'd be fun for the two of us to sleepover before we leave on our trip. Right?"

"Guess so."

He'd brushed you off casually, but his cheeks were still a little flushed. Whether it was from the nerves of meeting your mom or what you'd said earlier, you had no way of knowing. It didn't really matter. You were just glad he was here.

Grinning ear-to-ear, you practically jumped into Katsuki's arms. He faltered, letting his hands fall to your waist.

"Jeez," he muttered, "warn me before you're gonna do that shit. One of these days you're gonna trip and fall face-first onto the ground."

"You wouldn't let me fall," you smiled, "you care for me too much."

He blushed again. "W-ow. Someone's getting really full of themselves, huh?"

"Haha, yep! It's 'cause you make me feel so good about myself, Katsuki-kun." You dangled your arms over-top his shoulders and leaned in to press a quick kiss to the bridge of his nose. The scarlet hues on his cheeks only deepened.

"You're becoming a lot more bold, too," he mumbled, holding you tighter. "How else are you gonna surprise me today, hm...?"

You could tell he was going in for a kiss, but you didn't try to shy away from it. Instead, you let your eyelids flutter to a close, and chest press up against Katsuki's own. His musk was as intoxicating as always. Like fresh, spiced pine. And his lips were so soft...

"Dinner's ready!" your mother trilled. "Ah—oopsie! Sorry about that!" You and Katsuki had broken away from the kiss in a hurry, both staring blotchy-faced back in your mother's direction. She was giggling good-naturedly and setting down the plates on the table. She'd definitely seen the two of you kissing.

You rolled your eyes. "What impeccable timing, mother."

"Hm, I've been told! But hey," she grinned, "no need to be shy around me! Kiss each other all you want!"

"Mom, stop!"

She continued to chuckle, totally unabashed. Katsuki was so red he couldn't even think of a retort. Even with all his self-confidence, it seemed as though even he couldn't handle a parent walking in on him.

"Thanks for the food," he finally mumbled out, taking a seat just beside you the table. He forked food onto his plate, very actively avoiding eye-contact with your mother. You thought it was unbearably cute. He was unbearably cute. Maybe you didn't spend enough time thinking about how truly lucky you were.

Your mother was trying to engage Katsuki in conversation now. He replied mostly with some timid mumbles, sparing a few odd glances in your direction that seemed to cry 'help me'. You weren't even touching your food, just enjoying the show. Your mother was right, in any case.

You couldn't remember the last time you'd been this happy.