"Passing out while training is unlike you Robinn." All Might said from the driver seat, looking back at her through the mirror.

  Robinn lay there limply on the back seat, glaring a hole into the ceiling. Her hair was untied, strands spilling over the seat in a messy curtain that caught what little evening light filtered through the tinted window. The whole disheveled state did not help her case, nor did dad coming to pick her up like she was five.

  "Shut up." She mumbled, crossing her arms with more effort than she wanted him to see. "You didn't have to carry me into the car like a little girl." She added, flicking her eyes to the mirror for only a second, enough to make the point before retreating into her sulk.

  All Might sighed and started the car, the old engine giving a soft rumble as he pulled out onto the street. The drive from U.A. to the apartment was short, but the air in the car felt stretched thin. The city outside rolled by in late-afternoon colors, streaked gold on glass and concrete. Students on the sidewalk headed home in clusters, while the occasional hero-intern whizzed overhead on their commute. None of it coaxed a word out of her.

  "Do you want to talk about it?" All Might asked, already knowing her answer.

  Silence followed them the whole ride home, and then continued into the evening. Robinn had buried herself in a physics book as soon as they got inside, lying flat on her bed with her hair still unbrushed and her expression blank. The room stayed quiet except for the turning of pages and the muted hum of the apartment's air

  All Might stood in the kitchen, arms braced lightly against the counter as he looked toward her room. The apartment lights cast a soft yellow glow over the stove and cabinets, the kind of lighting that usually made the place feel calmer. Tonight, it only made the stillness sharper.

  He remembered how peaceful she had looked in the car, slumped over and completely out. It reminded him of her younger years, moments he barely got to have. Carrying her again pulled on a fatherly instinct he rarely let himself acknowledge. It was the first time he had carried her like that. By the time she was in his care, she had already pushed herself into a level of independence that made those small moments feel out of reach. Maybe not physically, but mentally.

  He sighed deeper, rubbing his thumb across the edge of the counter while his thoughts circled back to the same frustrating place. The guilt. The pressure. The knowledge that he had poured so much attention into Midoriya recently. Not because he loved Robinn less, but because All For One was no longer a ghost of the past. The threat was real again. His duties as the Symbol and his duties as a father never seemed to agree with each other.

  "Shameful to think they were once the same." He whispered to himself.

  "How has summer almost ended and we haven't gone to the beach once?!" Mina complained and almost shouted into her phone, sitting cross-legged on her zebra print bed. The pink light from her neon desk lamp washed her walls in a soft glow, giving her room the chaotic energy it always had. Kaminari and Kirishima were on a video call with her, both of their faces floating in tiny squares on her screen.

  "Well we went to the pool that time." Kirishima offered, trying to stay positive. His voice crackled slightly from his weak connection, his room dim except for the warm bedside lamp behind him.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Kaminari spoke up. "But all we did was train that time, the beach can only be fun."

  Mina tossed her hair with exaggerated triumph. "I didn't train that day." Her tone made it clear she considered this a personal victory.

  "That’s only because Mineta told… nevermind." Kaminari trailed off, eyes darting away from the camera as if he could crawl out of his own sentence.

  Kirishima turned off his camera, the screen switching to a dark circle with his initials as he started texting the group chat. "Well we should go, I'll invite the whole class."

  "You're really onboard with this..." Kaminari said in a lower tone, only to be drowned out by Mina’s excitement.

  "Yes! We can play beach volleyball and sunbathe." Mina said, kicking her feet against the bed frame.

  Kirishima nodded fiercely even though they couldn’t see him. "Of course I am!, the beach is super manly."

  Kaminari grinned at his two friend's energy, the kind of grin he didn’t even have to think about. Then he heard the front door open and froze. "Oh hey guys I gotta go, see you later." He hung up before they could really say bye and placed his phone on his desk.

  He frantically glanced around his room. Clothes on the chair. Backpack on the floor. A stack of snack wrappers on the nightstand. His brain went blank trying to remember if he had forgotten a chore or if the universe just liked stressing him out.

  His mom's voice rang out from the living room, tired and warm. "I'm homee."

  He stepped out of his room and stopped at the doorway to the living room, watching her set her keys down and tug off her visor. Her unruly yellow hair with the same black streaks as his fell forward, barely hiding the exhaustion in her eyes.

  "Welcome back." He said softly. "How was work? Catch any bad guys?" He leaned on the doorframe with a warm smile, pushing out a playful tone to make her smile.

  She looked at him and gave him that exact smile back, the mirrored one they always shared. "A bunch of bad guys." She said with a small laugh, then glanced toward the kitchen. "Have you had dinner already?"

  Kaminari shook his head and followed her into the kitchen, giving her a hug from the side as he answered. "Nope, I was waiting for you."

  They sat together at the small kitchen table, the hum of the refrigerator filling the quiet space as they ate reheated leftovers. Kaminari looked at her hero costume draped over the back of a chair. It was scuffed, torn at the shoulder, and faintly stained with something he hoped wasn’t blood. She probably did do some amazing hero work today, but she never told him the details. She always kept the stories vague, probably so he would worry less. He worried anyway.

  After a bit of smalltalk she noticed her son looking somewhat down, his expression dimmer than usual.

  "Hey Denki, you okay?" She asked softly, setting down her chopsticks and leaning in a little.

  He hesitated, fiddling with his thumbs. Not embarrassed, exactly, but uneasy. "I guess… I mean…" He paused and reconsidered his words. "Can I ask you a question?"

  She lifted an eyebrow and eased her shoulders, the shift into mom mode almost automatic. "Of course you can."

  He spoke up in an awkward tone, the kind he used when he wasn’t sure if he was being dramatic or stupid. "I like a girl... but she seems to like someone else... what should I do?"

  She blinked. He wasn’t the type to ask her stuff like this. After a moment of silence she straightened. "Do you really like her? Are you already friends?"

  His eyes briefly widened before he answered. "I think I do... and yeah we're already good friends." His uneasiness eased slightly when she reacted so normally, like this wasn’t a disaster of a topic.

  "Well I'd say go for it and tell her how you feel. You miss all the shots you don't take." She said simply. Then her tone shifted into a sheepish one. "But you know me, I’m not exactly a success story in that department." She let out a self deprecating laugh as she said it, her tired eyes not quite matching her smile in a way that made the joke land heavier than she intended.

  He looked at her doubtfully and put his forehead on his palms, elbows on the table. "I can't do it... what if it ruins our friendship."

  "What if it doesn't?"