It was the afternoon after your first week in high school. With the weekend finally there, you took the chance to relax with your mom and best friend, Brienne, at your home. The three of you were lounging around on your couch, your head in your mom's lap and your legs draped over Brienne's. A large pile of snacks sat in front of all of you, and a half-eaten pizza was abandoned on the nearby kitchen counter.
"This movie is so cheesy!" Brienne complained, groaning and rolling her eyes. You'd been taking turns all evening picking movies, and this was an oldie your mom loved to watch when she was younger.
"That's what's so great about it!" She argued, tossing popcorn at your unamused friend.
"What girl just drops everything as soon as she graduates and runs off with some guy to get married? What a waste of a degree." Brienne moaned.
"It was romantic at the time!" Your mother defended it.
"Marriage is such a sham," Brienne groaned, "Hardly any of them work and they all just end in heartbreak!"
Briennes knew how hard marriage could be, based on her parents violent and brief time together. Her mom was deep into drugs, and her father used alcohol to cope. After the divorce, her mom dissappeared without a word and her dad spent more time at work than he did at home. As such, she practically lived with you and your mom, with her own bed and everything there whenever she needed it.
"Are you telling me you're never gonna get married, Bri?" Your mother asked.
"Once (Y/N) and I become heroes we'll have men flocking towards us. I'll probably pick one eventually, but I'm gonna save up a ton of money and all three of us are gonna move south. Then (Y/N) and I will open up our agency and make it big."
"I'm glad I get to be included in your plan." Your mom laughed.
"Can we not move too far south? I like it near the ocean," You offered.
"Yeah, of course we're gonna stick by the ocean. What's the point of a water hero that isn't near water?"
"I hope someday they make a movie about you two. And when they're interviewing me for facts and juicy info I'll tell them about how you despised the thought of getting married," Your mother started with a laugh, "And I'll make sure to include that we moved south, but not too far south as to be away from the ocean."
"If you go far enough south you'll end back up at the ocean again," You mentioned.
"That's true, that's true. This opens a lot of options for us. I'll make sure to start looking for good places soon, but first we gotta finish this shitty movie." Brienne laughed.
"Alright, we'll finish this shitty movie." Your mom affirmed, causing you to smile.
Life with them had perfect.
Toshinori had not prepared you well for your visit with your mother. Saffron made the call to your mom, vaguely mentioning she wanted to visit with some of her associates to revisit the case of her missing daughter, one that had been closed years ago. You'd listened in as your mother agreed, answering a few questions about her whereabouts and when would be a good time to meet.
Turns out, the next day was most convenient for her.
Your mother sounded tired as she spoke, her voice aged in the time since you'd last heard her, but the familiarity of it made your heart ache. Had you been the reason she'd lost her carefree voice? Had the worry aged her prematurely? How much damage had you done to the woman you loved more than life itself, and was it repairable?
You missed her so much.
Tears rolled down your face once Saffron hung up, and without hesitation she pulled you to her in wordless hug. You sniffled and trembled against her, elated that you'd see your mother but also filled with fear thinking about how she'd react when she saw you.
Regardless, Toshinori had instilled his bravery in you. He believed you could do it, so you would. If not for your sake, for his. You thought about every perilous situation your new boyfriend went through every day. He faced villains, natural disaster, and general danger on a daily basis. If he could do that with a smile on his face, you could face your mother too.
That night, you were completely unable to sleep. Toshi had taken a double shift of patrols to account for leaving town with you the next day, so you were left alone with your thoughts. You weren't sure what you'd say to her, how you'd express just how much you wanted to make up for all the pain you caused her. She had every right to hate you. But, she was your mother. You held on to the hope that she'd still love you as much now as the day you left.
You found yourself slumped across the couch as you scrolled through your mother's social media profile, looking all the way back through the photos she'd shared of you in your younger years.
There was one of you as a baby, shoveling a fistful of something into your mouth with a wide, toothless grin on your face. Another one showed you and her together, after you'd gotten your first bike. There was one of the two of you on a trip to the beach with Brienne, screwing around and burying your mom in the sand. Your favorite one, though, was of the three of you on your couch, pizza crusts held up to your mouths to imitate smiles. You could see the genuine smiles hidden beneath the crusts as you posed together, and the memories of that night played in your head.
Tears began to fall down your cheeks as another fresh wound opened itself in your heart, forcing you to wonder what you'd all be doing together had you not ruined it.
You didn't realize you were being watched until Toshi shifted behind you, causing you to jump out of your skin.
"Was that you with your mother?" He asked, sliding onto the couch next to you, still dressed in his hero garb.
"Jesus, Tosh. You scared the shit out of me!" You whined, clutching your heart. You tried to hastily wipe away any remaining tears, but Toshinori was too observant.
"What's wrong, (Y/N)?" he asked, pressing his palm against your cheek and wiping away your tears with his thumb.
"N-nothing. I'm fine, Toshi." You lied, putting your phone in your lap and taking a breath to collect yourself.
"(Y/N), we've been living together for almost two months. I know when you're upset. It's about your mother, isn't it?"
You nodded silently.
"Are you still afraid of what she'll think?" He asked.
"Terrified." You admitted. "I know she's my mom, but I'm still so ashamed of running away on her and causing so much pain."
"It's all going to be okay, darling." He murmured as he pulled you into a hug. "Whatever happens, Saffron and I will be there by your side."
"Thanks, Toshi." You mumbled, pressing your head against his chest as you tried to subdue the tears that threatened to spill from your eyes.
He held you in silence for a few moments, pressing his face into your hair as he rubbed your back. You felt your worries begin to fade with each stroke of his hands, and eventually you'd melted against his form.
"It's getting late," He whispered against you.
You hummed, barely hanging on to consciousness. Toshinori smiled and hugged you a little tighter for just a moment. He felt all of the stress he'd been carrying from the day melt as if it were never there. He wouldn't tell you, but he was as worried about the coming day as you were. He wanted it to go well, wanted your mother to accept you easily back into her life, but he didn't know anything about her. His entire opinion of her was based on what you'd told him and what he assumed she was like based on your personality.
Your mother forgiving you wasn't the only thing he was worried about, though. He worried that once you got there you wouldn't want to leave, that you'd want to stay and abandon him. While you had every right to do so, it wouldn't make the pain of losing you so soon after he'd finally confessed his love any easier.
Nevertheless, he knew that you had to be reunited with your mother, no matter what it meant for your relationship with him or the confrontation with All for One.
Once your breathing against his chest slowed he knew it was his cue to take you to your bed. He would've been content to lay there with you all night had it not been for the filthy hero suit sticking to his body. He desperately needed a shower and some fresh clothes, which would come at the expense of putting you into your own bed.
He quietly picked you up as he had so many times before, tiptoeing as best as he could to place you onto the comfort of your own mattress.
His shower lasted much longer than it should have so late at night, but he found his mind wandering as it usually did when he was on the brink of exhaustion. His worrying always started out as simple things; repairs he needed to schedule for his suit, publicity events he'd be going to soon, paperwork that needed to be done. Then, it grew into bigger and less sensical problems; if you were sleeping well, whether your relationship would work out, whether or not he'd survive his fight with All for One. His worries grew and grew like that until the heat from the shower turned him bright red and his skin became wrinkled. With a heavy sigh, he finally shut off the water and stepped out, toweling off before throwing on his sweatpants.
His blankets felt cold against his skin as he tucked himself into bed, just as they always did. He thought about how nice it would be to have you there with him, warming up the blankets and welcoming him into your open arms as he climbed into bed. He'd sleep better than he ever had, this he knew, with someone there to ground him, to keep his restless mind from wandering out of control.
But you were asleep in your own room, and you'd only been 'together' for a few days. He'd have to leave things as they were, for now. All things would come in due time.
He hoped.
When you woke the next morning you were surprised at how much sleep you got. As usual, you woke alone in your bed much earlier than your alarm, but you weren't tired. You actually felt well rested and at ease, until someone burst into your room unannounced.
"(Y/N)!" Saffron cried out in distress, toting two iced coffees and a paper bag in her hands. "What are you doing in bed? We've gotta go!"
"What? I thought we weren't leaving until 9!" You protested groggily as she pulled you out of bed.
"No! We needed to be on the road by 9! I know how long it takes you guys to get ready!" She set her coffees down and began shoving you towards the bathroom.
"It doesn't take me that long!" You argued as she shoved you into the bathroom and closed the door.
"It's mostly Toshinori I'm worried about," she explained. You could hear her rummaging through your drawers as she talked to you, most likely finding an outfit she deemed acceptable. "Hurry up and shower or whatever it is you have to do. The more well put together you look the better she'll probably take you coming back."
"What is that supposed to mean?" You said, following her instructions anyways as you filled the tub and slipped in.
"In my book 'Reconnecting with parents; Revisiting Baby Steps', I talk about parents and how they cope with the loss of children. All parents want for their children is for them to be safe and okay, so if you come back looking like hell it'll be devastating for her to know how you were suffering all those years. If you come back looking like you've got your shit together she'll be relieved."
"And you know this from your experience losing a child and reuniting with them?" You asked as you scrubbed through your hair.
"Field research, babe," She stated as she flung the door open and entered without permission.
At this point, you were so used to her lack of personal boundaries that you just rolled your eyes. She busied herself in unloading her purse with things she'd specifically brought to gussy you up.
"Alright, I guess I'll trust you. It's better than going in there without a plan." You sighed, draining the tub and slipping a towel around you as your tail dried. Once you regained use of your legs you stepped over to the counter to see what she had prepared for you.
"Sit," She pushed you down by your shoulder onto the small stool that sat in front of the mirror.
"What's all this stuff?" You asked, gesturing to the mountain of skincare products she had in front of you.
"The key to make you look fresh," She said, taking the cap off of a small jar and dabbing its contents onto her finger. She rubbed the substance onto the bags under your eyes.
"Are you saying I look stale?"
"No, just not as fresh as you could look. You look like you spend all your days training and working out."
"Well, I kinda do," you retorted as she started massaging a sweet smelling oil into your hair.
"Yeah, but your mom doesn't need to know that. We're gonna tell her you're working at All Might's agency as a talent recruiter, just like we've been telling everyone else. That kinda job is going to require you to look like a business woman at least a little bit. Business women don't have hangnails," She explained, taking your fingers into her hands and smearing them with a citrusy smelling cream.
"Yeah, yeah. I know that, but my mom knows me and she knows I hate office work. I don't know if that lie will work for her."
"We'll fluff it up a bit, then. Say it's part of a community service that you're doing for stealing food when you were homeless."
"I don't want my mom to think I have a criminal record." You groaned.
"I mean, technically you do. We just had it expunged when you started working at the prison."
"She doesn't need to know that, though! Can't we tell her I'm recruiting water heroes by testing their quirks or something? That sounds more reasonable and less paperwork oriented."
"Sure, sure. Whatever you think will work." She nodded, tossing you the outfit she'd picked out for you. "Now dry your hair and get dressed. We have to leave in five minutes. I'm gonna make sure Toshinori is almost ready."
"Good luck with that," You said as she left the room, leaving you alone with your thoughts.
You busied yourself with drying your hair, then putting on the outfit Saffron had picked out for you. You had to admit, once your hair was styled and your outfit was on you did look pretty professional. She'd picked a simple outfit that was the definition of 'business casual' but you didn't completely hate it, they were your clothes after all.
Once you took one last look in the mirror the dread began to set in again.
"I can do this," You whispered to yourself, clawing at the counter with a white knuckle-grip. "I'm gonna go, I'm gonna see her, and we're gonna make up and it will be fine. I can- I can- I can't do this..."
Your weight slumped against the counter as your trembling knees gave way. "I can't do this... I can't do this... I can't-"
"(Y/N)? Are you ready to go?" Saffron peeked her head in, gasping once she saw your shivering form. "Oh my god! What's wrong?"
"I can't do this, Saff. I still can't face her. I'm too afraid." You mumbled.
"Don't say that! I absolutely know you can!" She encouraged you, dropping to the floor and pulling you up into a big hug. "You're so brave. Once you get there it'll be so easy you'll wonder why you were ever scared."
"She's gonna hate me! She has every reason to hate me!"
"She won't hate you, (Y/N). She won't. I promise you. She loves you just as much now as she did then. It's how moms are."
You shuddered for a few more moments as Saffron hugged you, finally taking a deep breath. "Do you really think so?"
"I know so." She said, squeezing you tightly.
"Thanks, Saff. I don't know what I'd do without you," You smiled meekly at her.
"I dunno what you'd do either, honestly," She grinned, helping you off of the floor.
"Are you ladies ready to go?" Toshi asked, entering the bathroom and surveying the scene. He was dressed in a black shirt and jeans, much more casual than you were used to.
"Yep, we're ready!" Saffron cheered, "Just finishing up. Come on, (Y/N). Your iced coffee is probably melting."
Saffron released you long enough for Toshi to swoop in, putting a reassuring hand on your back as he asked you if you were okay once again.
"I'm fine, Toshi. With you two by my side I can do this." You said, more for yourself than for him.
"I know you can too, you don't even need us."
"But having you here helps," You whispered as you hugged him.
"I'm glad," He smiled and hugged you back.
Like clockwork, the three of you were on the road by nine on the dot. You were scheduled to meet your mother at eleven, which left about two hours for you to worry and stress. Toshi and Saffron had even rented a hotel room for the night, just in case the three of you ended up staying with her longer than anticipated. That way your reunion wouldn't feel rushed.
One the drive there you anxiously picked at your nails and bounced your knee. When Saffron saw you ruining all the hard work she'd put into your nail bed, she swatted your hands away. You resorted to chewing at the skin of your lip instead, trying your best to keep your mind off of things. Saffron filled her car with idle chatter as she drove, and Toshinori slept in the back, the entire section filled with his large body.
You let the sound of Saffrons voice drone on as you stared out of the window, thinking about your mother and old best friend.
"So, (Y/N)," Brienne began, flopping over on her bed to face you. It was the middle of the night, as it usually was when Brienne asked serious questions, but you were awake nonetheless, debating whether or not you wanted to finish the leftover pizza that your mom had put away once you'd finished movies.
"What should we do if we don't become heroes?" She continued.
"What? What do you mean?" You asked, sitting up in bed.
"Like, if we end up being shitty heroes what are we gonna do?" She elaborated, turning the light on her phone to shine it in your face.
"Ouch, what the hell! Turn that off," You groaned, sheilding your eyes. "Why would you ask about something like that? You're at UA. You're deffinitely gonna be a hero."
"I know, but like imagine: What if one day all quirks disappear just as fast as they came? What will we do?"
You sighed, much too tired to be thinking about things like this so late at night. All you wanted was some pizza, why couldn't Brienne just go to sleep like a normal person?
"Well, I dunno. I've thought about being a singer, but I'd be shit at that."
"Yeah, you're pretty shy." She agreed. "Maybe you could do that think some people do where they just sing and have a hologram perform for them."
"I dunno... that's kinda weird."
"Yeah, but it'd make hella money."
"True."
"Okay, funny stuff aside; what would you really do?" She pressed.
"God, I dunno Bri. I've never thought about it. It's more likely I'll suck at being a hero than you, so when that happens I'll run your agency. How about that?"
"Like I would ever let you touch my paperwork. I've seen your homework. You can work at recruiting people for me. Draw them in with your womanly whiles."
"What the hell does that even mean? You want me to seduce people so they'll join your future agency?"
"Bingo." She giggled hysterically.
"Jesus, Bri. I think you're getting a little slap happy. Go to sleep." You couldn't help but laugh along with her.
"Alright, alright," She sputtered out in between fits of laughter, "But first you gotta ask what I'll do if I don't become a hero?"
"Okay, what are you gonna be if you aren't a hero?"
"A stripper!"
"(Y/N), wake up. We're at the hotel. Get your ass up!" Saffron shook you, waking you from your dream.
"Crap, sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." You yawned, getting out and stretching your legs. Toshi stood there waiting, your small overnight bag tucked alongside his under his arm.
"We gotta hurry and check in before we head over. She'll be waiting for us."
"Yeah, okay. We can do this..." You exhaled, giving Toshi the fakest smile he'd ever seen.
It only took you a few moments to check in to the hotel, which was much fancier than you'd expected based on how the rest of the town looked. It was rather rural, but the inn seemed to have all the modern amenities you might need. Clean rooms, room service, and a small hot spring.
Toshi had reserved two rooms for the night. One for you and Saffron and the other for him. You put your things down without paying much mind to the room itself, too eager to get to your mother and get it all over with.
Saffron had to be right. By the time you were done you'd wonder why you were ever scared in the first place.
Her house was close to the edge of town, which was about a five minute walk from your hotel.
Five minutes of absolute agony.
You held tightly onto Toshinori's hand as you walked, fear filling your body. You counted house numbers, trying to figure out which one would be hers and how close you were getting to it. You began at one hundred houses, then going down to fifty, then ten, and suddenly you could see it, the house she'd moved to after the memories of your hometown were too much to bear. It seemed so her as you walked up the sidewalk and towards it, all while Saffron was telling you all about protocol and other stuff you weren't listening to. The house was small, maybe with only one or two bedrooms, but well kept. The porch housed some pots of small summer flowers, and everything seemed so familiar to you, even though you'd never been there before. It just showed how much your moms essence and energy flowed through everything she touched, making her the wonderful artist she was.
Toshi squeezed your hand reassuringly as the three of you walked up to the house and up the porch. Your breath caught in your throat and you found yourself inching behind Toshi as Saffron knocked on the front door.
Time stood still as you pressed your head into his back, completely concealed by his large body. The three of you waited, you holding your breath, for your mother to answer the door.
It took a few moments, but eventually you heard the door creak open, and Saffron greeted the woman at the door with her bright as ever greeting.
"Good morning, Mrs. (Y/LN), I'm Saffron. We spoke on the phone yesterday."
"Nice to meet you Saffron," Your mothers voice rang out clear as ever. "I- wasn't expecting you to bring anyone else with you."
You could hear her stuttering as she took in the number one heroes form.
Toshi's signature laugh rang out in the air as he chuckles, his hero persona and voice making an appearance.
"I apologize for not giving you and warning, Mrs. (Y/LN). It's very rude of me. Saffron is a close associate of mine and told me about the case, so I felt it important to be here."
"Really? I thought this was just an interview." She began, nerves tinting her voice "Must be something really important if the number one hero is visiting me."
"Very important," Saffron said, grasping you by the arm and pulling you out from behind Toshi.
You heard your mother gasp as soon as she made eye contact with you, but time was frozen as you gazed at each other. She was still as a statue, her mouth dropped open in surprise. You stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say or what to do. You felt tears sting your eyes at seeing someone you'd missed for so long, and as time continued you could see the same tears mirrored in her own.
She looked older. A few grey hairs ornamented her mesy bun, and wrinkles creased her eyes where they hadn't before. She seemed smaller, or maybe you'd just grown bigger, but she was still wearing that same gaudy necklace you and Brienne had pitched in together to buy one christmas.
Despite the changes she'd gone through, she was still your mom.
And despite all you'd gone through, you were still her daughter.
Before anyone could interrupt your mother lunged towards you, capturing you into a hug so ferocious it knocked the two of you to your knees.
She let out a choked sob as she closed her eyes and held you close, rocking you back and forth. You held on to her tightly, duetting her sobs with your own as you buried your face into her neck.
"Mom I-" You began, talking in between cries and gasps of breath.
"Shh... Sh... it's okay now, sweetheart. I'm here." She whispered against you, just like she used to when you were a scared little kid. Her loving embrace only made you sob louder, your heart bursting into pieces with how full it felt, how much you'd missed her crashing away as she held you.
"I-I missed you so much." You told her once you'd settled down, wiping your eyes as you looked at her.
"I missed you too, (Y/N). More than you could ever know." She looked at you through her own happy tears, taking note of everything that'd changed about you. "You look so grown up."
"Mom, I'm so-"
"No," She cut you off. "Don't say anything, okay? You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one who's sorry."
"Sorry? Mom, why are you sorry? I was the one who ran away. I was-"
"No," She stopped you firmly, "I was the one who scared you off. I called the cops. I shouldn't have said what I said. I've regretted it every day since."
What is wrong with you? Those were the harsh words that spilled out of her mouth as she saw you standing next to your friend. Those were the words that had rung around in your head in your solitude at the bottom of the ocean, every time you fed your quirk, every time you felt self loathing.
What is wrong with you?
What is wrong with you?
What is wrong with you?
Eventually you began to sincerely ask yourself that?
What was wrong with you?
It plagued you every day of your life. Why were you like this? Why you cursed with a quirk that forced you to harm others? How had your life gone so terribly wrong?
Eventually you learned to mute the questions, to numb the pain they caused just like you numbed all the other feelings. Part of that was why you'd initially been so skeptical and afraid of meeting her again. You were worried the fear and anger she'd held in her face then would still be present now, but instead all you saw was love.
And she'd apologized.
"Mom, you don't-"
"Let me finish, (Y/N). I'm sorry I said what I did, and I'm sorry you felt you had to run away. If I could go back to that day and change everything I did I would. I would go back and pull you into my arm and tell you it would all be okay and never let you go. I'm just so happy you're alive, (Y/N). I was worried you died."
"I'm alive, mom." You smiled at her, so happy to be there with her again.
"How did you survive? Where were you? What did you-" Your mom was cut off suddenly by Saffron clearing her throat.
"Maybe we should take this inside. You're gonna hurt your knees if you keep sitting there on the cement."
"Oh, right. Come in! Let me show you the house!" She hoisted herself up off the ground and pulled you up with her before ushering you into the house.
The tour of her new house was relatively short lived, with only a few rooms to explore. Her makeshift art studio looked the same as it had in your old home, with disheveled papers everywhere and paint brushes strewn about in various cups. She skipped past the bedrooms, instead showing you her spacious living room and kitchen. It was just as she'd always dreamed, big and spacious with bright light streaming in through the windows. She still had most of the same furniture from your other home, and you couldn't help but smile as you sunk down into the couch with your mom by your side. It was just as comfy as you remembered it, perfect for long movie marathons. You felt the weight of it sag as Toshi sat on the other side of you, while Saffron chose the arm chair across from you.
"So, you have to tell me now. Where have you been? What did you do? How did you end up meeting Saffron and All Might?"
"Well..." You thought of where to start, blushing when you thought of telling her about your relationship with Toshinori. "It actually started a-"
"(Y/N)?!" You heard a familiar brunette shriek as she opened the door. "You're alive? And you're dating All might?!"
Brienne.