Narrator
Todoroki Shouto was grateful for a lot of things. He was grateful for his friends. He was grateful for the job he loved. He was grateful for being able to help others. He was grateful for his apartment and not having to live with his dad anymore. But most importantly, he was grateful for his wonderful green-haired fiancé, the boy he'd loved since high school.

They'd been living together for four years now and engaged for the last three months since Todoroki had finally got the courage to propose. They'd agreed to take it slow though, they were heroes and honestly, they didn't get to see each other half as much as they wanted to, besides, they didn't need some contract to say they belonged to each other, they knew it.

Their home was modest for two heroes so high in the rankings but they'd never wanted more and they'd never needed it either. They were happy as they were: together.

Today however, was one of their very few days off and as tradition stated, they were spending it on a day-long date as well as seeing their friends if possible. They had just met up with Uraraka and were making their way down a calm high street.

"So what's the plan for lunch?" she asked in a chirpy voice, "I haven't got long before I have to be on my next patrol," she added, keeping an eye on a small watch around her wrist.

"Um, I'm not really sure," Midoriya answered, looking to the man beside him and gently squeezing his hand in a silent question.

Todoroki hummed in thought, "I'm not sure either,"

"Maybe we should try something new," Midoriya suggested and Uraraka's head suddenly bobbed up and down excitedly,

"I've heard about this new cafe around here, apparently they do the best milkshakes ever!"

Todoroki saw how Midoriya's eyes lit up and knew there was no way they weren't going to this place now. "Lead the way," Todoroki told his friend.

She pulled the two along childishly and eventually they found their way to a pastel-colour-themed diner. They quickly took seats in a booth with cushioned sofas that matched the light style of the whole place. They took out menus and began to search for what to have, the majority of the meals were American but there were still a few Japanese foods for the less adventurous. Too soon, they were greeted by a hostess with short brown hair that curved boyishly around her face.

"What would you-" The hostess' eyes widened at the three heroes but they were used to this reaction from people and didn't even look up. "W-what would you three like?"

They could practically see the woman beaming out of the corner of their eyes as they continued to look through the menus.

The three gave their orders quickly, mentioning that they needed to leave quickly and yet the young woman still asked them how their day was going. They gave curt responses in an attempt to hurry her away and was glad when she got the hint.

They fell into easy conversation which quickly became a passionate debate which continued as the hostess returned with their drinks, "I see you're meeting up with some old friends today, is this a special occasion?"

"Not really," Uraraka said, barely glancing at her as the debate got more heated.

The woman handed out their drinks and stood their awkwardly for a few extra seconds until someone called her away: "Hey Zuzi! Can I get a hand over here?"

The hostess looked straight at the heroes again, then shook her head, rolling her eyes before hurrying over to her coworker in need. The group of friends mostly ignored the strange behaviour of the waitress, assuming it was just a bit of fangirling and they continued in their debate.

She was back with food soon enough, "So you guys are heroes right?"

The debate didn't end or even pause for her.

"Must be pretty hard to get one over on you, sharp as a tack you heroes,"

"Thank you," came the singular response from the green-haired hero before the debate went back into full swing.

"You'd think I had Hagakure's quirk," she muttered under her breath, "I bet a teleporter could surprise you though,"

Midoriya looked up to her, "Could I get some ketchup..." he tailed off at the end as he recognised her orange eyes, her warm smile, even her voice, how had they not recognised her voice earlier?

She smirked and chuckled to herself, "Sure,"

The small pot of ketchup appeared on their table moments later thanks to the small portal that had just closed. That sight, that familiar sight and the sudden appearance of something that hadn't been there before was what made the rest of them look up. She crossed her arms and looked at them smugly, "You are all idiots." she stated.

"Zu?"

"Been a while, huh?"

Todoroki stood in shock, breathing deeply as he stared, shellshocked at the brunette and almost painfully squeezing Midoriya's hand beside him. Even Uraraka was speechless.

"It's good to see you all again,"

"What did you do to your hair?"

Zu rolled her eyes, she'd cut it much shorter recently because it had been getting too long and she wanted to see if she liked it. She'd almost instantly fallen in love with the boyish style and had no regrets over it, "Really? That's your first question?"

The reunion was filled with excitement and tight hugs until it was quickly cut short, "Sakurai! Stop harassing the customers, table 5 is ready,"

"Sorry sir, I'll be right there!" she called back before lowering her voice, "My shift ends at five if you want to catch up, gotta go!"

She sped away, likely to the table her boss had asked her to attend to. They watched as she smiled at her customers and took orders, then the shell-shocked table turned back to each other. "Well that was unexpected," Uraraka commented.

"Yeah, it's nice to see her again though, I wonder where she's been," Midoriya pondered,

"Do you think she ever finished the hero course?" Todoroki wondered aloud.

"Well she used her quirk in front of us so she must have a license," Midoriya answered logically,

"But then, why isn't she doing hero work?" Todoroki pointed out,

"Maybe she is," Uraraka said,

"On top of waitressing?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Because if she does both jobs, when does she sleep?" Todoroki mentioned. The three of them thought about it for a few moments.

"Maybe she sleeps like Aizawa," Uraraka suggested with a laugh.

Normal conversation followed soon after, with more than a few glances towards the brunette helping out on one of the other tables until Uraraka had to dash off, giving a quick wave to Zu who smiled and waved back as she left, wishing her a good day.

When Midoriya and Todoroki had finished, a different host came to clear away their plates and give them the bill, but as they left, they managed to catch Suzumi's eye and tell her they'd be back later. She nodded with a bright smile as they left but quickly had to return to her work.

Meanwhile, the couple walked down the street, "I have to admit, I never imagined Zu would ever work as a waitress."

"No," Todoroki responded, glancing back at the American diner. "and if she was working as a hero, wouldn't we know,"

"She could be underground," Midoriya inputted.

"I suppose, but still, it's odd."

His fiancé nodded and squeezed his hand gently to help break him from his deepening thoughts, "Well, we'll just have to ask her later, won't we?"

Todoroki nodded, smiling at the greenette beside him.

They walked home to their cosy apartment and decided to spend some time relaxing on the sofa in each other's company. The TV was flicked on at some point, not that either really paid any attention to it or the news, they didn't care about recent vigilante movements or theories, they just cared about one another. Being together now was all that mattered because this was their life.

They began to stir at 4:30, realising they should probably make sure they were ready to go back to that diner to see Zu.

They ended up arriving a few minutes late, just as the diner was closing up properly but they could see something happening inside. Looking at it, you might just think Suzumi was talking to a customer but judging by the clear signs of aggression the man was showing (clenched fists, a tight jaw) and the quiet fury rolling off Suzumi in carefully controlled waves, it was anything but that.

"She doesn't want to see you." they heard Suzumi say as they entered.

"Of course she does! Get out of my way!"

"Is there a problem here?" Todoroki stepped in,

Suzumi barely spared a glance to him before saying to this man, "I suggest you leave sir, now."

The man looked between her and the two men who had just entered and quickly made his mind up, he stalked out, sending a glare Zu's way and pushing past the two heroes he'd failed to recognise.

"Sorry about that guys. I'm just gonna make sure Keiko gets home safe, I will literally be two minutes, do you mind?" she checked with an apologetic smile.

"No, no, that's fine, we can wait." Midoriya told her, smiling brightly back to reassure her.

"Thanks, I'll be right back," she said quickly, hurrying to the back area of the diner. They heard her talking to another voice for a few seconds before silence filled the place, not five seconds later, Zu had walked back to them and began flicking lights off.

"So," she started, "don't think I haven't noticed those rings on your fingers," she continued, ushering them out, "congratulations, now tell me everything." She turned to face them with a mischievous expression as she finished locking up the restaurant for the night. They had closed early today because it was a Sunday and now Suzumi planned to enjoy reuniting with her old friends.

"We got engaged three months ago." Midoriya told her, "We've been living together since graduation-"

"You were basically living together well before then." Suzumi interjected with a great smile on her face.

Midoriya rubbed his neck sheepishly, "Well, yes,"

"Aw, I'm so happy for you guys!" she grabbed them both and pulled them into a tight hug.
"So what's new with you?" Midoriya asked,

"Yes, and what exactly did we interrupt earlier?" Todoroki added.

"Oh that guy, he's an ex of one of my coworkers, a real pain really, I said I'd help her get rid of him and she's staying with me until she can get a place."

The two nodded.

"As for me, well, I'm working in a diner as you know, um... yeah, nothing much else."

"What about your license?"

"Oh!" Her eyes widened slightly, "Yeah, I got it, which is why I could use my quirk at work, um... I don't really do much in the way of hero work but Aizawa or someone ropes me into an assignment every once in a while,"

"Why not?" Todoroki interrupted.

"Why not what?" Suzumi responded with a soft frown.

"Why don't you do hero work full-time?"

"Oh, I uh- I had a change of heart." she explained, "It's not like I really wanted to be a hero in the first place so, yeah."

Midoriya looked at her in surprise, "You didn't?"

"No, didn't you know?"

Todoroki shook his head along with the fluffy-haired man beside him.

"Oh, well, you know after the whole thing about that year I spent with Hirota, when I was a kid," she started, they nodded and she took it as her cue to continue, "well, Nezu was part of my uh, 'rescue team' and after, everything that happened during the rescue, he offered me a deal:" she watched for their nods once more before continuing, "go to UA and everything to do with my involvement in the whole thing gets left out of the news."

"Nezu gave you that deal?" Todoroki checked in disbelief, Midoriya looking shocked beside him.

Suzumi just nodded, "It was what was best for me and it's not like I regret it at all so, are you guys still in contact with any of the others?"

Midoriya took a breath to answer but was interrupted.

"Other than Uraraka, of course," Zu rushed to add.

"We see Iida and Uraraka quite a lot, Bakugou and Kirishima we see too,"

"Are they together?" Suzumi asked quickly, a curious expression on her face,

"Almost," Midoriya answered with a sly grin,

"No." Todoroki said, before looking to his fiancé with a frown,

"My love, you are adorably clueless," the greenette remarked, planting a peck on the heterochromic man's lips.

"Damn, that's a shame,"

"I know, right? Uraraka have been trying to get them to realise it for six years but they still refuse to admit their feelings for each other!"

"I thought they were just friends," Todoroki muttered,

"They're friends with benefits at least," Midoriya tacked on,

"And it is hardly our place to judge them, considering," Todoroki reminded him.

Suzumi caught on immediately but Midoriya spoke up quicker, "Yes, but I still think they should stop acting like they did when they were at school and finally say something to each other. Those two belong with each other!"

"Nu-uh, considering what?" Suzumi asked, determined to get to the bottom of this slip-up.

"I mean, even if their quirks weren't made for each other, which they are, it's a perfect match!"

"Shh you! Considering what?"

"Considering we were friends with benefits for some time." Todoroki answered plainly. Midoriya turned bright red and Suzumi gasped dramatically.

"No, the cinnamon roll has lost his innocence," she said, shaking her head and holding a hand over her chest.

"Please don't call me that," Midoriya begged, hiding his face with his hands,

"But you are a cinnamon roll," Todoroki countered, only causing his partner more embarrassment.

They talked for a while, sharing fun stories about what they'd missed from each other's lives and basking in the ability to enjoy having their company again. But soon, they had to part ways, promising to meet up again soon, and maybe bring along some of their other classmates.

Zu hurried along home and smiled at the incredible aroma of her friend's cooking and the loud bubbling of boiling water. "Hey Keiko, I'm back!"

"Zu-!" The scream tore her from her good mood, she didn't even hesitate to teleport straight into the room, to help her friend.

The smaller woman was on the floor in tears, her jerk ex standing intimidatingly over her, clearly about to hit her. Zu moved instantly in between them, pushing the man back. He stumbled for a moment before righting himself.

"I thought I told you to stay away." she stated as he turned a deathly glare her way. Anger overtaking him, he stalked up to her and slapped her with all his strength, expecting it to knock down a weak woman like her. She barely flinched.

Now she had all she needed.

"Get out!" she growled.

He flinched for a moment before chuckling at her, "Get out of my way before I hurt you too, bitch!"

"Oh don't worry about that, you won't be hurting anyone for a good while,"

"Oh really? And what's some weak girly like you gonna do to make that happen?"

He was slammed into a wall before anyone could blink, "That." Zu answered him as he collapsed to the floor, out cold, "Guess I can add sexist pig to the reasons why I hate you," she muttered under her breath.

Immediately, she turned to her friend to check she was uninjured. The young woman's face was red and teary, a few bruises already beginning to swell into existence. Zu tightly hugged the ebony-haired female and let her cry into her shoulder.

"It's ok, you're safe now, he's never going to hurt you again. I promise." she whispered, not stopping the small comforts until the moment Keiko's shaking and painful sobs had paused.

"I'm gonna take him to the station," Zu said in a gentle voice so as not to startle her friend, "do you want to come with me or stay?"

Keiko latched onto the other woman's hand in a silent plea to stay with her.

Suzumi smiled softly, "You may need to tell people about what he did if you want to keep him away for as long as possible,"

She nodded, understanding Zu's meaning. They'd both known this would be needed eventually.

"Ok then, let's head out."

She used a portal to get the three of them to the nearest police station, dragging the man through by his shirt. She plopped him on the floor and someone immediately appeared to assist them. Zu was asked to show her license which she was happy to provide for them before she explained the situation to the officer, allowing Keiko to take a seat a metre away so they could talk and not upset the poor woman any more than she already was.

"How long has he been abusing her?"

Sparing a glance at Keiko just to make sure she was still alright, Suzumi said, "Almost six months, I tried helping her as soon as it started but she wouldn't let me,"

"I'm sure with both of you, there'll be enough to make a case."

Zu nodded.

"At the very least you can get him for assault judging by your cheek,"

That's when she smiled, "I hoped I could do that."

The policeman frowned, an idea suddenly springing into his head, "Did you-" he paused because surely a hero wouldn't do that? "Did you let him hit you?"

Zu gave him a look of mock horror, "How could you even accuse me of such a thing?"

The officer shook his head, trying to fight down the smirk teasing the corners of his mouth, "I'll never understand you heroes."

"It's probably best that way." Zu replied with a laugh before returning to Keiko who had watched carefully as they'd handcuffed her ex-boyfriend and taken him far, far away from her. She was finally free of him.

As soon as Zu came over, she wrapped the brunette into a tight hug, "Thank you," she told her, "thank you, thank you," she repeated over and over.

Zu had almost fallen when Keiko had jumped at her but soon managed to regain her footing and keep the both of them on their feet, "It's ok Keiko, you don't have to thank me," she said, trying to gently pull away but the ebony-haired woman was having none of that and only held her tighter,
"I'm sorry I pushed you away before, sorry that I kept trying to stop you," the girl wept, waterworks starting again and Zu's shoulder quickly getting wet, "thank you for not giving up on me!"

Zu let the woman cry it out, and when her coworker had regained a little composure, she whispered back, "I never give up on my friends."