The drive was peaceful. The sun had set and the night was coming out.

I didn't know where we were headed, but we left the city and kept on driving.

"Shota, please don't tell me you're actually a villain, and this is all a trap?"

"Wow, is that what you think of me?!" I laughed at him. I could tell he was excited by how loud his response was.

He's really getting into this.

After an hour or so, he pulled off the highway and we were literally in the middle of nowhere.

It took another 15 minutes or so and we were in a wooded forest.

"Shota are we camping?! I didn't bring anything for something like that!"

"No, no, not camping. You'll see." He stopped his car in a clearing... I'll dare say... a campsite?

"Ok, put this on." He handed me a blindfold.

"You're joking..."

"Nope, on it goes. Need help tying it?" he said lazily.

"No, I got it" I let out a playful, exasperated sigh as I tied on the blindfold. Shota got out and started unpacking things from the back of his car.

He had a really nice Subaru SUV. Perfect for this kind of stuff. He loved being outdoors way more than I knew.

I guess that explains the sleeping bag he always has with him...

"Ok, I'm going to come get you." He announced. He opened my car door and led me out, making sure I didn't bump my head.

After walking just a few paces forward, he stopped and removed my blindfold.

"Surprise." He whispered as he hugged me from behind. I was in complete shock.

He had started a small fire and laid out tons of blankets and pillows. He also had small appetizers out along with glasses and a bottle of cider.

Since we drove so far out of the city, he said it wasn't safe to bring champagne. I loved how responsible he was. And, more importantly, how thoughtful.

"Shota..." I said, barely audible. My voice didn't want to work. I had tears rolling softly down my face. "I can't believe you did all of this for me."

He turned me towards him. "y/n, I'd do anything for you. When we were walking the other night, you told me you missed the stars, so I brought you here. I know it's not right outside your front door, but it's not too far. We can come here as often as you like."

" y/n, I want you to love being home."

"Shota, I love it" I hugged him closely. "Thank you so much. You're so incredible."

He lifted up my head to slowly wipe my tears. Then, he kissed me. Deeply and passionately.

I never wanted to stop, but he was so excited to get us all cozy next to the fire and start snacking. He has fully embraced how much I love snacks.

We laid down on our bed of pillows and covered ourselves in blankets. He fed me strawberries, cheese and crackers, and we toasted to the future.

We were laying in silence, watching the stars, when Shota turned to me. "y/n, why did you leave all those years ago?"

My throat tightened up. I didn't want him to ask me that, but I knew it would come up eventually.

This was just way sooner than I thought... but I guess everything was moving much faster than I thought.

I sat up slowly and got situated. "Shota...." I sighed. I loved saying his name. "Are you sure you want to know the whole story?"

"If you're willing to share, I want to listen. I want to know everything about you." He stated simply.

"Alright then... As long as you promise to still like me after I unload all this baggage." I chuckled and grabbed onto his hand tightly.

"Of course. I'm not going anywhere." He kissed my hand.

"Well, I'm not sure if you knew this, but my parents left me when I was 10..." I started in. "You see, they were quirkless, and at some point before I was born, joined an anti-quirk group."

I'll save that part of the story for a different time... If he doesn't run after this.

"I was an only child. The hardest part is that I still have some really great memories with my parents, all from before I turned 8. By the time I was 5, I hadn't shown any signs of quirk development, so the doctors declared me quirkless. My parents were so proud. They loved me more than anything."

At least I thought they did.

"However... when I turned 8, strange things started happening that I couldn't explain."

"I first experienced it when I was swimming one summer. I was in the lake and saw some fish, I wanted so badly to join them. I still remember chasing after them, but they started diving deeper into the water. I don't know why, but I was determined to follow them."

The memory was bringing tears to my eyes. It was such a happy moment that led to so much heartbreak... Shota held my hand tighter.

"I swam further and further down. I couldn't breathe and started panicking. Just then, something clicked or snapped or whatever, and I heard a voice telling me to just inhale..."

I sighed, contemplating... I'm just not ready to tell him about Terra.

"Anyway, I could breathe. I was underwater, but I could breathe, just as easily as if I was above the ground."

"Randomly things like this just kept happening. I didn't know what to do. I was so nervous to tell my parents. I heard them talk about these special powers as if they were evil..."

Was I evil too? Was I broken? I asked these questions my whole life, but I forget they started when I was so young.

I sighed sadly. Almost missing my parents.

"By the time I was 9, they figured it out. I couldn't control it, and it became more powerful. There were physical side effects that would keep me in bed for days too."

"When I was 10, my parents stopped acknowledging me altogether. I would walk the city begging for food, trying to dig up new clothes to wear. Sometimes I would disappear for days, just to see if they'd notice."

"One night, I woke up and found them standing over my bed.... My dad had a knife in his hands, and my mom was standing next to him. I blacked out, and my quirk completely took over, but I made it out alive."

Not the whole truth, but I wasn't ready to tell him what I really did.

"I spent the next few years ravaging the streets when Principal Nezu found me. Honestly, I was using my quirk to steal some food when we first met." I started laughing to myself.

"Living on my own, I trained constantly so I could control my quirk enough to survive. He was impressed. He wanted me to go to UA someday, so he couldn't take me in himself. Instead, he helped me get emancipated officially."

"I went back to middle school, worked in the evenings for a family he knew, got some government subsidies... I don't know." I trailed off.

"I just...survived."

"Anyways, I was accepted to UA on recommendation by Nezu and Recovery Girl, who started healing me well before I was in high school." I smiled. She'll always be a light in my life.

"And, you kind of know the story from there..." I shrugged. "I worked my ass off. Became the best, and planned on never looking back."

"I see." Shota responded hesitantly. I could tell he knew there were missing pieces of my story.

He sat there silently, waiting for me to continue. Clearly not going to speak until I did.

I sighed in defeat...

"My third year...." I choked out in a low voice "A story came out about an anti-quirk and anti-hero rebellion group. They were targeting well-known families. Children..."

My voice trailed remembering their horrific acts.

"Some of the anti-members were captured, and even accidentally killed, by various citizens and heroes during a particularly intense siege."

"My parents were the leaders of that group." My voice was shaky.... Damnit y/n, keep it together.

"My mom was killed, but my dad was captured. He'll be in prison until he dies."

"When the news broke, and I saw their photos on the news, everything I tried to forget came rushing back."

"I was young, Shota." I said shamefully, trying to defend my actions. "It broke me."

I looked back at him for some sort of response, but he was staring into the fire.

"UA really is the only home or family I've had, but at the time, all I could think about was disappearing. It consumed me, so I took off the first chance I got."

He was nodding intently. Processing every word.

"So why'd you come back?" he said, barely whispering.

"Honestly, it's not very exciting. When Nezu somehow found me in the middle of no where, I took that as a sign from the universe that it was time to come home. So here I am." I said nonchalantly.

He finally looked back at me, and I gave him a smile. I think he had tears in his eyes, but he blinked them away.

It was silent for awhile, and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"So, any questions? You sure you don't want to just leave me here and drive back to the city as fast as you can?" I laughed to try and hide that I was only partly joking.

He pulled me closer. "y/n, you deserve so much more than you'll ever know." He kissed my forehead. "And, if you let me, I'll spend all my time trying to show that to you."

Who knew I could smile this much after telling that story..

"I do have one question," he asked. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Hmm, well not in America" I laughed, which I think caught him off guard a little. "But, once I left, I started finding peace within myself, and that's better than anything I could've ever hoped for previously."

He smiled, understanding why my mood changed. I was proud of myself. And, for the first time, I was starting to genuinely love myself.

"You are incredible." He kissed my cheek.

But that wasn't enough, so I grabbed his face and kissed his lips. He kissed me right back.

The fire started to die down, so we decided to pack up for the night and head back.

I hugged him before getting in the car. "Thank you so much. Tonight was perfect."

"It was my pleasure," he responded while opening my door.

The drive back was peaceful as we talked casually, laughed, and shared our favorite songs.

As we approached the inside of the city, I decided to go for it... "So, Shota."

"Yes?"

"Can I come over for a bit?" He looked at me and gave me a devious grin.

"I thought you'd never ask."