Cathleen Bate is fussing over her hair. When was the last time she fussed over her hair? Other than dyeing it blonde and styling it like All Might's signature tufts. But that's Star and Stripe. When was the last time Cathleen Bate fussed over her hair? It was definitely before her debut as Star and Stripe.

Cathleen adjusts her long hair, holding it up to see what it looks like in a variety of styles before settling on keeping it the way she usually has it, long and straight down her back. Not to mention the pile of dresses sitting on the bed behind her. She's tried on every single dress that she bought during that first trip with Inko—and it makes her so warm to call her by her first name—all those days ago.

She's settled on a reddish-maroon lace dress. It's sleeveless, all of the dresses she bought are, and has a beautiful ring around her collarbone where it connects in the back. There's a small opening over her chest at the top of the dress, almost like a symmetrical zigzag. The entire dress looks like a single piece of fabric, with small, sparkling stones along the lacework. It's masterfully made. Cathleen pairs it with silver earrings, metal hoops two inches in diameter with another hoop linked through the center.

A low whine escapes Cathleen. Her leg bounces in her chair as she looks out at the five different perfume bottles. It's not fair! Why does Inko have to be so pretty, and so kind, and so understanding, and—

Cathleen has attended a number of important galas, parties, ceremonies, parades, and speeches over the course of her Hero career. Never before has she been so anxious getting ready! Of course, normally she just wears her Hero costume and calls it a day.

But this is also Cathleen's first date. Ever. She moans again just thinking about it. Cathleen devoted her life to being a Hero, ever since that day when All Might saved her life. And as part of that, she'd assumed that she'd never really get to have a personal life. Part of that was that she chose the government training program over a traditional Hero School. She answers far more directly to the government than most licensed Heroes in America, but that was the tradeoff for having access to better funding and equipment. She knew what she was getting herself into.

It's not like she was ever told she couldn't have a private life. The opposite really, considering how many times she's seen her brothers' families and friends before. But Cathleen wanted—still wants—to be the top American Hero. The kind of Hero like All Might who can be seemingly anywhere. And while that's easy in a smaller country like Japan, America is really big, actually.

So Cathleen put dating out of her mind during her early teenage years and focused on training instead. Something she now regrets. If she knew anything at all about dating, maybe she wouldn't be such a mess right now.

Oh, who are you kidding, Cathleen. One smile from Inko and you'd melt in your seat! She cradles her face in her hands. Why did she need Mrs. Bakugou to point out just how bad she has it for Inko?

"Pull yourself together, Cathleen," she says to herself, leaning her head back to stare up at the ceiling. "It's just the two of you going out for coffee. You've basically done this with Inko already. Several times. The only difference is that Izuku won't be there." And it's officially a date. She grimaces at the treasonous thought.

Cathleen sighs, flicking between the bottle of perfume she's considering. She settles on lavender. It reminds her of the Hana Café, that place she went the day she met Inko. A soft smile graces her lips at the memory, even as part of her screams about just how head-over-heels Cathleen is.

It isn't fair to Inko. Cathleen is a top-raked Pro Hero. She is out risking her life every day. She lives halfway around the globe. Not to mention the differences in time zone. There are a million more reasons why this relationship isn't fair and why Cathleen shouldn't be doing this. But for every time her brain says 'no,' Cathleen's heart demands 'yes.'

Cathleen takes a deep breath as she dabs her perfume into her elbows and the sides of her neck. She thinks about what Mrs. Bakugou said. Because the woman was correct, as crass as she can be. Cathleen's reservations may be valid, but until she discusses them with Inko, they're only excuses.

Besides, maybe we'll decide it's better to be friends. Cathleen pushes down that spark of hope that flared to life the day before when Mrs. Bakugou told her that Inko keeps passing glances at her, too. That maybe this hopeless crush isn't as hopeless as it seems. She huffs, setting aside the perfume bottle. Why is romance so complicated?

It takes Cathleen another ten minutes to decide on her eyeshadow color. And maybe she's stalling because of her nerves, sue her! But even she can only stall for so long. She picks a deep burgundy and applies it. It matches the dress and her lipstick perfectly.

Despite all of her stalling and indecisive preparations getting ready for their coffee date, Cathleen is still done way too early for her to leave yet. Which is unfortunate because that means she has nothing else to do except sit around her hotel room waiting, letting the anxiety creep steadily into her mind.

"Take it easy and just breath," she says to herself. "You are going out for coffee with a friend. And yes, this friend makes your heart flutter. That does not change the fact that she is your friend and a good, kind person who will not hate you if you screw this up."

This does very little to silence the mental whispers of 'you are going to screw this up, and she'll hate you and never want to speak with you again,' or 'you're going to make yourself look like an idiot in front of her.'

Cathleen has fought Villains less nerve-wracking than this.

The coffee shop is an interesting place. The lights dangle from the ceiling in metal cage-like lanterns, bathing the room in a warm light, and making the walls look yellow. Rows of heavy logs line the ceiling as rafters. The hardwood floor is sturdy even under Cathleen's weight. The counter reminds Cathleen of a bar, but with plates, cups, dishes, and other knick-knacks on the shelves behind the server instead of alcohol. The tables are small—the kind of circular tables that only need a single leg. Each table has four chairs around it. Cathleen traces her teeth along her bottom lip. The chairs are a bit small, and she… isn't.

Inko is already there, sitting at a table by one of the tall windows, staring outside with a peaceful look gracing her features. The sun bathes her skin in a soft glow and Cathleen's face heats up. Inko looks up as Cathleen approaches and smiles. Cathleen returns the gesture, hoping it isn't obvious how much her heartrate spiked when Inko did that. Inko is wearing a simple red gown with a rose pattern that takes Cathleen's breath away for a moment.

"Fancy seeing you here," says Cathleen, pulling a chair out and sitting down. The back of the chair is curved and wraps around her back. Luckily, it isn't too tight like she was afraid of.

"Why hello, Cathleen," Inko says, beaming, and sending Cathleen's heartrate into the stratosphere. "I feel like I saw you just yesterday!"

Cathleen chuckles at the joke. "Has it been that long already?" she says, earning a laugh from Inko. "So, what's good here?"

"Everything," Inko says with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I don't normally have coffee myself; I'm more of a tea person. But this place has a wonderful café mocha." Cathleen nods, looking over the drink menu. It's the end of July, so it's decently hot outside. She's definitely leaning towards one of the iced drinks herself.

"How's the iced mocha?" Cathleen says, looking up from the menu.

"Heavenly," says Inko. Cathleen smiles.

"Then I know what I'm getting."

There are a few minutes between the waiter taking their order and their drinks arriving. Cathleen and Inko spend the time making small talk, something that leaves Cathleen feeling lighter in some way.

"You—you look wonderful," Cathleen says, fixing some loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"So do you," says Inko, "If I do say so myself."

"I hope they sell this perfume brand in America. It's a new favorite," Cathleen says.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Like it?" Cathleen rolls her eyes dramatically. "I love it. Everything you picked out is absolutely wonderful, Inko. I can't thank you enough."

"It was my pleasure," Inko says. There's a brief silence between them, but not an uncomfortable one.

"You know, I don't think I've ever asked what you do," says Cathleen after a few seconds.

"Oh!" Inko straightens, "You're right! I'm, well, I do freelance legal advisement. People come to me for legal advice, but I'm not an attorney. I mainly handle contract negotiations and breaches."

Cathleen nods. "That sounds interesting."

"It can be," says Inko. "Depending on the contract and client. What about you? Why did you become—" Inko looks around. "Well. You know." Cathleen hums. The coffee shop isn't packed to the gills or anything, but's hardly empty either. And given the prevalence of Heroes as celebrity figures, there's a good chance that even though no one should be listening in, at least one person would hear if Inko referred to Cathleen as a Pro Hero herself.

Strictly speaking, she isn't legally allowed to use her Quirk abroad. The World Heroes' Association and her Admiral would both get very annoyed with her if she got caught doing so. But she is also acting to preserve her own privacy, and this Order probably won't get her in any trouble anyway.

"Cathleen Bate can only be heard by Midoriya Inko," she murmurs in English, feeling the power from her Quirk seep into the world itself, accommodating her Order. Inko looks at her in confusion. In Japanese, Cathleen explains, "I used my Quirk to give myself some privacy. No one can overhear me right now." Inko's eyes widen slightly, and she nods in understanding. "You know, it's funny," Cathleen snorts. "I already told your son why I chose to be a Hero." She rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "But the short answer is All Might."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Cathleen looks out the window, eyes distant. "I was on my way to an amusement park with my family—my parents and little sister. But a casino we passed on our way there got robbed by two Villains. During their getaway, they were about to crush us." Cathleen shudders. It's still scary to think about sometimes. "And then… All Might saved us. And I knew I wanted to be like that."

"You and Izuku are alike in that way," notes Inko. Cathleen nods, letting her Order dispel.

"Yeah. That man is an inspiration to… so many people."

"You know," Inko says, "When I was a little girl, I used to want to be a Hero myself." She smiles wistfully. "What child doesn't?" Cathleen blinks, having not expected that.

"What changed?"

"My Quirk," Inko replies evenly, but not unkindly. "It's not very strong. I can attract small objects towards myself." Given that they are currently in public, Inko doesn't demonstrate. "It can't affect items that are too far away, and it's not very fast. Not exactly a Heroic Quirk. Besides," she huffs. "I don't exactly have the strongest stomach for disasters like the ones Heroes face. Even that video of All Might's debut is too much for me."

Cathleen winces sympathetically. Depending on which version of that video you're watching, it can be a little graphic with the injuries. There are no clean disasters. Cathleen can completely understand Inko's hesitance towards scenes like that.

"I can get that," she says with a slow nod. "But you're wrong about your Quirk." Inko seems to startle at that. "Lots of Heroes have Quirks that you could write off as 'weak' or not useful to Heroics. But with training and creativity, a lot of those Quirks turn out to be real powerhouses. And even the ones that don't are still useful to have around."

The waiter arrives with their drinks before Inko can respond. The two of them graciously take their coffees from the nice man. Cathleen takes sip from her iced mocha. Her eyes fly wide open. Inko was right, it is heavenly. Cathleen isn't one for morning coffees like some of her brothers are. She rarely indulges in any caffeine, actually. But this tastes absolutely wonderful. I can almost understand why people have a coffee every morning now. But surely coffee from a pot isn't this good.

"How is it?" says Inko knowingly.

"I can't believe you undersold it to me," Cathleen replies. Inko laughs like chimes, and the tips of Cathleen's ears turn bright red. "What—" she clears her throat, "What about yours?"

"It's as good as it always is," Inko says. "Would you like to try it?"

Cathleen feels her face rapidly heat up as it turns bright red. She stammers for a moment or two before resigning herself to nonverbal communication and nods. Inko laughs again, that delightful chiming laugh that sends Cathleen's heart fluttering again. Inko gingerly passes over her café mocha and lets Cathleen take a small sip from the side furthest from Inko. It is superb. Just like Cathleen's own mocha, not that she's surprised.

Cathleen nods with a hum. "That's very good." Inko smiles warmly, taking her drink back.

"I told you so," she says with no bite. "What about you? If you weren't—if you had to pick a different career, what would it be?" That gives Cathleen pause.

"I—" her voice crackles a little, "I don't know. I knew what I wanted to be from such a young age, and I worked at it ever since. I never really thought about what else I could do with my life." She takes a sip of her mocha, thinking. "Maybe I'd go into health services? My Quirk is… well, it's strong. Not using it to help people in some way feels irresponsible, somehow."

"That's a bit like saying you're obligated to help people carry things because you have arms," says Inko. She places a hand over Cathleen's, causing her to blush. "You should want to do something because you want to, not because you think you were born to."

That's… a good point. It's not the reason that Cathleen wants to be a Hero. No, that's exactly what she told Inko: she wants to help people the same way All Might saved her. She isn't paying that kindness forward; she just doesn't want anyone else to be afraid that way she was when she thought she and her family were going to die.

But Inko is correct. The question may have been a mere hypothetical, but her reasoning was shallow.

"Then if I had to pick another job, I'd—I guess I'd have to try things out and see what else I like."

"You do like being—your job, don't you?"

"I do," she assures Inko. "It's not an obligation. It was my choice, and every day I'm glad I made it." Cathleen scratches at her cheek, looking away in embarrassment. "That being said… I may have been neglecting a personal life."

"It's good you took this vacation, then," says Inko. And isn't that the understatement of the year.

"Yeah," Cathleen scratches the back of her head. "One of my brothers had to browbeat me into it. I was a bit too focused on training. That's why I have a whole month of vacation, actually." She chuckles awkwardly. "I, um, may have never taken time off before and had a lot of unspent vacation days."

The look Inko gives Cathleen is not very impressed, but Inko can't maintain her composure before she falls into a giggling fit.

"You have brothers?" she asks once she pulls herself together.

"Not by blood. We're all part of the same squad. Brothers in arms, technically, but we all see each other as family."

"I'm glad they care about you enough to make you take time off."

"Yeah," says Cathleen. "If he hadn't, I'd never have met you."

"Then I'm especially thankful," Inko beams, and Cathleen can't help but match her smile.

Izuku is waiting for them at the door to the Midoriya apartment when Cathleen escorts Inko back home. The little tyke wastes no time in ruining any of Cathleen's plans of parting romantically.

"Are you and mom getting married?" he says with such sincerity that Cathleen sputters a laugh.

"We'll have to see, Izuku," Inko says, ruffling her son's curly hair. "This was just a first date."

"But you two act all lovey-dovey like Aunt Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru!" Izuku protests, leaning into his mother's touch.

"Well, kid, it's a bit more complicated than that," says Cathleen, crouching down to be at his eye level. "Mr. and Mrs. Bakugou have known each other a long time. But I only met your mom a few weeks ago. Not to mention… I don't exactly live around here."

Inko nods. "Yes, we'll need to discuss that, considering you're going back to America in—ten days, is it?"

"Yeah," Cathleen says. Izuku pretends to pout but lets Inko shuttle him off to his room so they can talk. Or at least he pretends to. As soon as Cathleen and Inko move to the kitchen, he sneaks out of his room to eavesdrop. Of course, being four, he's not exactly the most inconspicuous person in the world. Cathleen snorts and rolls her eyes, while Inko merely shakes her head with a fond sigh.

"I was a little worried he wouldn't take to me," says Cathleen. "You're his mom, after all. I didn't want him to think I was stealing you."

"You're a Pro Hero. He loves you unconditionally," Inko replies, nudging Cathleen's shoulder. "So. How do you want to do this?"

"Video calls, I guess?" Cathleen chuckles nervously. "I've never really done anything like this."

"Well, it's a good idea," says Inko. "Matching schedules might be tricky, but I know I'd love to see your face more." Cathleen, ironically, covers her face in her hands.

"I… get some vacation days every year," she murmurs. "I could make time to visits on important days of the year, but not many. Do—do you have preferences on when I'm here in Japan?"

"July," Inko says after some thought. "Both Izuku and I have July birthdays, and I enjoy being able to spend time with you both during his summer break."

"And everything else, we'll figure it out as we go," Cathleen says. "But… would—" she clears her throat. "I had a great time today, Inko, and I was wondering…"

"I'd love to do this again," says Inko.

Not even Izuku whooping from down the hall can stop Cathleen from beaming.