Heart is where the Home is || Chise

Thankfully, Chise was good natured, and did not mind the barrage of questioning from Haruto’s mother. However, this cooperative nature would only encourage the mistress of the Shimizu household, whose questions would continue unless she was somehow stopped. “Oh, vocal mimicry, is it? That sounds nice. Can you just mimic anyone? How about that rising new actor, Nakamura Kou!” Haruto’s mother would reply, unaware of the limitation behind Chise’s quirk. Haruto shot his girlfriend a worried glance- He didn’t know how well his parents would take to hearing that Chise had to kiss people in order to copy them. As for Haruto’s father? As usual, he had his own ideas- “I know! Let’s have Chise-Chan mimic Haruto, and we can try to guess which one of them is which!”

While the idea of kissing Chise with his parents in the front seat was mildly awkward, the game would certainly provide a measure of relief from the constant questioning, and help burn time as they drove down the endless roads. “Up to you, Chise. I’ll play if you want to.” But of course, Haruto would never do anything if it would make Chise uncomfortable, so he left the final choice to her.

However, even if they did play, it would not be long before the questions resumed. “Oh, September? That son of mine certainly works quickly!” Haruto’s mother would comment, while his father would add in, “Like father, like son, eh?” While this elicited a chuckle from Haruto’s mother, neither seemed inclined to elaborate. Frankly, Haruto was perfectly fine not hearing the details of his parents’ love life, so he would let it be. But if Chise thought she was done with the questioning, she was dead wrong. “But September, really. That son of mine didn’t say a word about you until this year!” The accusatory tone would cause Haruto’s face to turn completely sheepish- It was true, he had worried about how his rather overprotective parents would react, and so had procrastinated on letting them know.

“So, did he ask you out, or did you have to ask him? It was you, right? I mean, that son of mine, he had so little interest in girls, I was starting to wonder if he was… You know, I searched his room high and low after he left, and didn’t find a single dirty magazine! What kind of healthy teenager is that!?” Haruto’s mother wouldn’t mind her mouth as she gave Chise a look that said- ‘it must be hard on you.’ Haruto’s father, ever one to fan the flames, would add to this, “Dear, don’t you know that magazines are a thing of the past? It’s all on the internet now! Ah, but don’t worry Chise-chan. I have access to the router logs, and there’s not a speck out of line! That son of mine only uses incognito mode to buy presents!”

Haruto, the subject of all this, had absolutely nothing to say in his own defense. He could only attempt to merge with his seat in the hopes that the topic would soon change. And with Haruto’s mother at the helm, the conversation would travel wherever it went. “So, what is my son like at school? You know, I was so concerned for him when he first left home- It’s his quirk, you know? When he was born, we had to move him up here, because the air quality anywhere else in the country was enough to kill him! The whole time before he sent his first letter, I was sure we would next see him in a hospital. But now, I almost can’t believe it! I’ve never seen so much color in his skin in my life!”

The questions would continue in this manner, until Haruto’s mother asked one that was perhaps too far out of line- “My dear, may I ask a question which has been bothering me since we met? Your chest is so large, what are your three sizes?”

Almost immediately, Haruto’s father would jump in to interrupt before Chise could answer or take offense. “So, how far have you two gone?” A question meant not to actually be answered, but to cut off his wife. In unison, Haruto and his mother would protest- “Mom! Dad!” “Dear!” Although it seemed that Haruto’s mother had not recognized the implication that her question was just as inappropriate.

Fortunately, the plan would work, and the questioning would end… At least, for now.

Expecting it, Haruto didn't so much as let out a sigh as his voice was stolen along with his lips. He did, of course, cast his gaze to the front seat, making sure that his parents were not so much as looking in the rearview mirror. Fortunately, they were abiding by the rules of the game, or at least pretending to- Neither so much as raised an eyebrow, to his relief. "Did you drop this golden Haruto, or this silver Haruto?" The white-haired boy would ask, referencing a traditional legend. Of course, even if his parents said they didn't drop either, they wouldn't receive all three! However, perhaps as expected of Haruto's parents- Or perhaps because they could hear which side the voices were coming from, they would both make the correct choice. Of course, the one we dropped is our beautiful white Haruto!" Haruto's mother would declare, while his father would respond, "Why not both?" But regardless, it was obvious what they meant. Haruto would grin sheepishly, but still proclaim, "You win this time, but we'll see how you fare when we can shuffle who's on which side!"

Unfortunately, the car was not a place where that was possible, so the conclusion of the game would have to wait until their arrival. As such, it became nothing more than a short interlude in the endless interrogation. At Chise's explanation that she had waited to tell her parents as well, Haruto's parents would exchange knowing glances, but not tease her any further. Truth be told, they didn't mind that much. While they might be rather overprotective, they had some trust in their son's judgement. Still, if they let him hide a girlfriend without giving him any crap at all, what might he hide in the future!? But of course, Chise-chan was blameless, so they wouldn't dare take it out on her! Well, not too much, at least.

When hearing about HAruto's sickly appearance at school, his mother showed a look of concern. Of course, by his current appearance, he was fine, but... She and his father had both worried that the air quality in the city would prove too low for him, and from Chise's words they weren't wrong. But at the same time, his recovery proved himself right- That by entering UA, he could improve his resistance to his own quirk. It was a bittersweet feeling, but altogether, they were just glad to know that their fears were misgiven. After all, a single look at their son was enough to tell that he was doing better than ever, even before arriving at the clean air of their home. Of course, if they heard about some of the dangers he'd been through in that time, perhaps they still wouldn't be letting him go back.

As for the topic of Haruto's browsing habits, it was thankfully let die with no fanfare, as it should be.

"Chise, you don't have to answer that kind of question!" Haruto would confirm for Chise, glaring at the front seat. Both his parents would agree, though it seemed his mother still hadn't recognized her own fault. As for his father, he had only asked to try and drive home to his wife how inappropriate she was being... Though, while it hadn't worked, he wouldn't press so long as she didn't. The awkward silence pervaded the car, but at least it ended the endless barrage. But as time passed, and the silence continued, Haruto felt like something was strange. He hadn't particularly thought much of being leaned on, but taking a closer look... "Hmm? Did Chise-chan fall asleep?" Haruto's father asked seeing her in the rearview mirror.

"Ah, yeah. It happens sometimes- Her medicine must have worn off. I did mention her narcolepsy, didn't I?" Haruto was pretty sure he had, but it may have been lost in the confusion. "But, let's try not to disturb her." The three concluded, and the road trip continued, albeit quieter than before. It was a long drive to go completely silently for, but Haruto's did their best to not waken the sleeping girl as they chastised him for keeping such an adorable thing a secret from them.

Some time later, the car arrived at the small village Haruto knew as home. Chise woke from her nap, although she didn't even seem to have noticed that she fell asleep- Much to everyone else's amusement. "We're here! Home sweet home. Unfortunately, we don't have an extra guest bedroom... But I'm sure Haruto dear won't mind sleeping on the couch, will you?" The last bit has such emphasis on it that it was clearly not a question. Haruto grinned sheepishly. Of course, he had never expected that they would let the two stay in the same room... But couldn't they have at least found him a futon to sleep on? As for Chise, "Of course! Tomorrow I'll show you around town. But for today, it's getting late, so let's get you situated in the house!"

“Oh, there’s no need to apologize, sweetheart!” Haruto’s mother would comfort Chise. “Haruto made us well aware of your condition. It must be quite inconvenient!” Not one to be left out, Haruto’s father piped in. “Besides, if you’d seen the look on our son’s face the whole way down, you’d know that you should really be saying, “you’re welcome!” “Dad!” Haruto interjected in embarrassment. Regardless of whether it had shown on his face as was claimed, the head of the Shimizu household wasn’t necessarily wrong. Being leaned on by the cute and soft Chise as she slept, how could Haruto feel troubled? Plus, it had helped to evade yet another round of dangerous questioning! His heart was saved in more ways than one!

However, they had to clear up one misunderstanding right away! “Chise, do you really think I could sleep comfortably with you sleeping on the couch? It’s fine, really, you can have the bed!” While in the background, his father nodded, as if to say ‘as expected of my son.’ Of course, both boyfriend and girlfriend were stubborn as mules when it came to each other, so… This might take some time to sort out. And in the end, odds were good that they would both end up sleeping together on the couch.

As for the promised house tour… It wasn’t particularly exciting. It was a one floor building in the so called, 3LDK style. Three rooms, a kitchen, dining room, and a living room that was home to the aforementioned couch. As well as, seasonally, a kotatsu- But now was not the time for that! Haruto would give brief introductions to each room- There’s only so much a person can say about the bathroom, as important as it is to know which door it is behind! And naturally, there was no purpose in exploring the room which belonged to his parents. The third room was an office which was split in two- Fairly obviously, at that! One half of the room was a cluttered mess, a wonder its occupant could find anything at all- While the other was so clean, it was almost a wonder they could stand seeing the other side of the room! It was where his parents had worked since moving to this small town, although Haruto could only shamefully admit that he still wasn’t sure what either of them did. In any case, it wasn’t an appropriate place to linger.

The last stop on the tour was likely the one Chise most anticipated- Haruto’s room. Upon stepping inside, she would be eerily reminded of his dorm at school- A place that could be considered more empty than clean. His bed lay flat against the wall, and next to his desk was a bookshelf evenly split between cookbooks and medical texts. Simply looking at it was a glimpse of what Haruto’s interests had been prior to coming to UA. “It’s not much, but it’s mine.” Haruto said with a slight smile, as though he did not mind the minimalism. “And that’s the house. How do you like it? It’s small, but as you’ll see, it’s got a great location!” It had never been a problem before, and was likely larger than an apartment in the city anyways. Besides which, the pristine natural scenery made for a treat whenever looking out the windows.

“Mmhmm, it’s a nice place.” Haruto concurred. He may be slightly biased on account if it being his home, but he was fond of it! Which was why he was happy that Chise seemed to like his family home. “I’d love to see yours! Maybe next break.” He offered. He knew that Chise tended to decorate more than he did- Her room at school was so full of plushies, what would her room at home look like!? Although the idea of meeting her parents was rather daunting, it was something he would need to do eventually… He gulped nervously at the thought.

Suddenly, he felt a pressure against his side. Looking down, he saw that Chise had leaned against him. With a soft smile, he would wrap his arm around her back. “Mmhmm,” he agreed quietly. But while he enjoyed the contact, he could tell that that wasn’t all there was to it- “Is it setting in again? Where did you put your medicine?” He asked. Although it was a little bit too late. By the time he fetched it, she would likely be too far gone. Taking advantage of her tiredness, he would carefully settle her onto the bed. “Sleep well,” he would whisper with a kiss on the forehead. The road trip had been long, anyways. It was nearly time to sleep. “I’ll show you around in the morning.”

Tucking her in and thus winning their earlier argument, Haruto would bring his beloved’s belongings in to the room, making especial care to leave her medicine next to the bed for when she woke up. In the process, “Hmm? Where’d you leave your plus one?” Haruto’s father asked jokingly. Haruto explained that she had fallen back asleep, but that she would hopefully be more able to visit in the morning. His parents understood, and the three spent some time talking about Haruto’s year away from home, before they set the couch for him to use, and the boy joined his other half in the embrace of sleep.