Mumbling along with the words to the song echoing from the radio, I stand at the kitchen counter. Eyes focusing on the task at hand as I flit around the kitchen. My haven. My place of sanctuary. My safe space. An assortment of vegetables and meat rests on the kitchen counter as I begin to create dinner. Finally, I'm getting back into the swing of it all. I'm beginning to feel comfortable in my own skin and not worrying about my scar. Life is starting to come up for me. It's all working out. The knife clutched in my hand slices through the onions in front of me as I begin to do the food prep for the very much deserved curry I'm making my boyfriend.

Curry. The one dish that Katsuki adores. The dish that is a mixture of aromatic and spice. A dish that my loving boyfriend worships almost but also heavily criticises when it's not done to his expectations. Katsuki is like a connoisseur of curries. He's tried every curry that he can get his hands on and he has made sure to let everyone know which curries are the best and which ones are best to avoid. Spice is always a big thing for him.

Spice also makes him sweat which aids him in his job. The more he sweats, the more nitroglycerin he can produce, the bigger the explosion he has on his hands.

So making Katsuki curry is a huge deal. It's an even bigger deal since it's the first meal I've made for him since our argument. So this has to be perfect! It had to be! I can't let this ruin our relationship, well... I know that sounds dramatic but Katsuki can hold a very big grudge. And he never lets you forget it when you do something wrong. He won't let Denki forget the moment where he electrocuted himself on a plug socket and plunged the dorm into darkness in their third year. He never let Izuku forget the moment where he broke his nose on a child's pram. He also never lets Shoto forget the stupid phrases he says. So this is a very large deal.

To me anyways.

As I allow the chicken to fry and the onions to sweat, I turn toward the mushrooms and begin to dice them. My eyes focusing on making the vegetables as perfect as possible while an assortment of spices stands on the kitchen counter. The whole dish would be homemade, that's how much effort is going into this meal. I am not using anything that came from a packet or a jar. It's all homemade from the curry paste to the flavour itself.

Luckily, Mitsuki had a recipe I could borrow to use as a sort of guide. The blonde woman had her own recipe. It was, according to her, Katsuki's all time favourite meal and he would have this at least once a week. So this is going to be a very huge deal. If I fuck this up, Katsuki will probably never forgive me for it. Especially if this is a childhood favourite of his.

As I begin to add the spices to the chicken, allowing it to marinade and soak up all the flavour, the front door opens. My focus splitting from the food to have a quick glance at the reflection of the bin nearby the door that's in clear shot of the hallway. He's home. My handsome boyfriend is home after a very long long day of work. Catching my attention, I set down the kitchen towel in my hand and walk into the hallway where my lips curl into a smile.

"Welcome home," I tell him, walking over and wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him into a hug. My whole body crashing into relief like a wave against sand as he kisses my forehead and holds me just as close, "How was your day?"

"Stressful. Damn Deku nearly got his head blown off," Katsuki mumbles into my hair while I slide off his jacket and hang it on the coat pegs, "He's so stupid sometimes, it astounds me how brain dead he can actually be,"

"Well, he's very lucky that you're out there watching out for him," I tell him, smiling as he nods and rests his forehead against my own, "Anyone would be lucky to have you as their partner, Katsuki. You're just as caring as everyone else,"

"Mmm, only around you," He huffs softly, his eyes softening as they open up to meet my own, "How was your day? You didn't have any episodes? No panic attacks?"

"None, although getting out of bed was a chore in itself," I told him, kissing his roughed up knuckles before heading to the kitchen with him in tow, "I'm making your favourite, well, your mother said it was your favourite,"

"You're feeling ambitious," Katsuki teases, looking over the food and tasting the sauce without so much as getting a spoon and just prodding his finger in to taste, "Mm, that's good... that's really good,"

"You're not just saying that?" I ask hopefully, adding in a little more spice and stirring the curry together, "You're genuinely saying that,"

"You know I never say things I don't mean, Baby Face," Katsuki hums, leaning against the doorway before watching as I grab the plates and cutlery, "Want me to set up the table?"

Without so much as a nod, Katsuki immediately heads into the dining table to set the table and get it back to its smaller state. We had to extend the table out when the Todoroki children were over. It's a little system we have, if I cook then Katsuki sets the table and it's vice versa if the other cooks.

It's probably the only thing that relaxes us both.

Katsuki prefers more physical outlets whenever he's stressed. It's either going to the gym with Eijiro or going to the training grounds at U.A with Izuku to just punch his stress out. He likes to go for a run sometimes to just have that hour or two away from everything and have his own space. Sometimes, he'll want to have sex (it's a rare occasion when he's stressed though) but when we do it's always gentle and he works himself up. Then again, Katsuki is a physical person. He's not very good when it comes to words. He prefers to use his actions.

On the other hand, I prefer less strenuous activities to release my stress. Reading a book is always going to be at the top of my list, immersing myself in a world that's fiction to my own and imagining the characters getting up to things. Cooking, as always, will be my go to stress relief. Stress baking is my speciality. I also like to listen to music and just watch tv sometimes. Little things like that.

Once I finish plating up the food, I head over to my boyfriend and set the plate in front of him with a small smile. Hope rises in my chest as I sit opposite him and begin to dig into my meal without so much as a word. My stomach overriding my brain at this rate while I nibble on the curry. Eyes focusing on Katsuki as he picks up his fork and decided where to start on his meal.

Then he goes straight for the curry part making my chest tighten. Fear and hope swirl in my stomach as he swallows down a mouthful of it and sits for a second. His ruby irises stare toward me as I send him a nervous smile before giggling as he grins widely. He likes it! He really likes it!

"This is amazing, baby, you need to make this more," Katsuki tells me, grinning as I cheer and run over to hug him peppering his face in kisses, "God I love you,"

"I love you more," I coo, kissing his nose while he pulls me into his lap and takes another mouthful of curry, "You really really like it?"

"I love it," He tells me, smirking as I clap my hands happily and kiss his cheek before sliding off his lap to go and eat my own meal, "Can I ask you something? If you don't mind,"

"Go ahead,"

"You know when you were in the hero course," He begins, making me nod and swallow down another mouthful of curry, "Did you ever have a hero name? And a costume? I'm just wondering,"

"Yeah, I have a hero licence, I thought I told you when I got attacked in the park," I told him, grabbing my purse from the side and pulling out my hero licence. A giggle leaving my lips as I slide it toward him and he picks it up, "I still went for my hero exam, Aizawa wouldn't let me not take it,"

"Mmmm... I'm just wondering, and you don't have to agree, but maybe we could train you back up," Katsuki tells me making me arch my brow and set my cutlery down, "Look, you have a hero licence baby. Even if you be a sidekick, you and I could work together and I can keep an eye on you. Nothing too big, I just don't want you to lose this opportunity,"

"I really appreciate it Katsuki, I really do," I begin, taking a deep breath as I sip at my glass of soda, "But being a hero isn't my passion anymore. I want to have my own restaurant, I want to be a culinary hero like Lunch Rush. I'm more than happy to do training, I could use the self defence but I am fine. Being a hero is your thing,"

"Okay, well you if you ever change your mind..."

"I'll let you know," I tell him, blushing as he stares at me with utter adoration while I grab a piece of naan bread and rip it apart to use it as a little spoon to scoop up leftover sauce, "Eat up, wouldn't want you to waste your meal,"

"What does your hero suit look like?" He asks softly making me giggle and push to my feet to go and get it, "Are you getting it?"

Despite my rather horrific and trauma - inducing turn of events, I still kept all of my hero stuff. My hero license is always going to be on my person (it's easier to tell people I have a license and show them instead of having the police take me to the station every time I defend myself with my quirk) but that's the only thing I really carry. The rest is in my closet boxed up. My hero suit is folded up neatly in the box and rests on the top of all my other things. My medal from the Sports Festival is in a small case that remains unopened. Even my gadgets from the Support Course are in the box.

Kneeling down in front of the closet, I pull out my box and open it up. Immediately, I'm met with hero suit. A soft lavender coloured leotard with a little skirt attached to it. The colour of calmness and tranquility. It was like a leotard dress and I had a utility belt like Mina's wrapped around the waist that was often filled with the substance I secrete when I use my quirk. Like soothe bombs if you will. My hair would often be tied up into a bun to keep my hair out of my face or it would be in two twin braids. Looking at it now, I wonder why I even gave up... but then the scar flares up reminding me of what happened and all the things that were taken away from me.

Pushing aside the intrusive thoughts, I slide out of my outfit and into the hero suit. A faint smile on my lips as I stare at the reflection in the mirror. I felt fifteen again. I felt fifteen, unsure about my future and way over my head. It was strange... weird even. Regardless, I walk downstairs and lean against the doorway with my arms crossed over my chest with a clear of my throat. Instantly, I catch his attention and he drops his fork when his eyes rake over my figure.

"Oh my god... where have you been hiding that?!" Katsuki gawks, staring at the leotard as I twirl around to show him the back. A small groan leaving his lip as I giggle, "You're gorgeous... are you sure you don't want to be my sidekick? I'll give you really good perks... especially looking as good as you do,"

"This is my hero suit, it was in the box at the bottom of the closet," I tell him, tucking a strand of hair out of my face as I sit down in his lap, "You like it?"

"I love it, it looks good," He tells me happily, wrapping his arms around my waist while I fiddle with his blonde strands of hair, "So what's the hero name?"

"It's Serenity," I tell him softly, fiddling with his hair before taking a deep breath, "The Soothing Hero : Serenity... that would have been my hero name. I interned with Eraserhead and did some Underground Hero work for three months before being taken on by Miss Joke to work on some lighter cases after I threw up seeing someone have their eye taken out."

"Serenity, huh?" Katsuki wonders, rubbing circles on my hips while I nod, "You have to be my sidekick, or even part time... please? You need to,"

"I'll think about it,"...

"How about I do you a deal? If you work part time for me, I'll work part time at the restaurant for you when you get it,"...

"Deal,"..