The second date turns into a third date, and then a fourth.

It starts with their second date, a picnic lunch out by the Shin Fuji station, where you can clearly see Mt. Fuji rising out of the clouds in the distance. It's several months late for the cherry blossoms, sadly, but even so the rolling hills are a brilliant emerald green. There's a small town some ways away, but Cathleen and Inko are having their lunch away from the city limits, where the ambiences of civilization can't reach them. It's the birds, the bugs, and the wind, and them. The cicadas aren't too bad today, loud enough to provide ambience but not enough to annoy her.

The sun is warm on Cathleen's skin, and the breeze is nice. The grass blusters like waves on the ocean. With the chirping birds and calling cicadas, it almost feels like something out of a movie. Or a fairy tale. Cathleen turns over her shoulder to look at Inko and grins like an idiot.

"It's beautiful out today," Inko says, adjusting her sun hat. There are clouds drifting lazily overhead, but not enough cloud cover to really block the sun.

Cathleen nods, shielding her eyes from the sun as she takes in the day. "It's gorgeous."

"Like you?" says Inko with a sly smile. Cathleen blushes furiously and takes the canvas bag containing their bento lunches from Inko. Cathleen and Inko had worked together to prepare their food for today, with some input from Izuku too. Cathleen doesn't do much experimenting in the kitchen; she never really saw a point. She makes herself food that tastes good, but she's usually more focused on her training or her job and getting sufficiently fed than she is mastering the culinary arts. Inko has no such obligation. Even after experiencing all of the incredible restaurants they've visited over the course of Cathleen's vacations, she'd trade all of them for a single meal from Inko. But with all that being said, Cathleen is legitimately proud of what she's made today.

"Well, the view here isn't bad either!" Cathleen says, recollecting herself and making sure to maintain eye contact with Inko. She's rewarded with seeing her girlfriend (Her girlfriend!) blush just as badly as Cathleen herself.

Inko unfurls their picnic blanket; a large piece of durable fabric, sturdy enough to avoid being blown about by the wind. It's colored red, white, and blue. Cathleen hadn't actually seen the blanket spread out before, and she meets Inko's eyes. Inko hides her giggles behind her hand.

"It's All Might themed," she explained. "I got it for Izuku."

"Well that explains it," Cathleen says, shaking her head with a smile. Izuku is the biggest All Might fan that Cathleen has ever met, second only to herself. Then again, the little tyke seems to adore all Heroes, considering that he managed to recognize her even out of costume. Cathleen snorts, and Inko looks at her questioningly.

"I was just thinking," she says, "If Izuku was slightly less of a Hero fan, we might not have ended up together."

Inko blinks a few times before tilting her head in consideration. "You know, I think you're right. And isn't that a harrowing thought?" Inko takes a seat on the blanket and Cathleen sits down beside her, placing the bento bag in the center.

"Honestly, I'm a little more focused on how I only met you because I wasn't taking enough care of myself," Cathleen says, pulling the top bundle out and passing it to Inko.

"While I am glad you ended up taking this vacation, I hope you aren't expecting me to let you go around pushing yourself so hard the way you have been."

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Cathleen holds up her hands in mock surrender. "You'd stop giving me your wonderful cooking!"

"By that logic, I'd have to give you more."

"Oh, in that case—"

Inko playfully swats Cathleen's arm. "Don't you dare!" Cathleen responds by laughing.

Cathleen retrieves her own bento and unwraps the cloth from her own bento, a sturdy container with a polished hardwood exterior. Slipping the cloth over her lap, Cathleen carefully opens her bento, shooting a glance at Inko, who has already done the same.

The main dish the two of them made is the Teriyaki Chicken, strips of chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce and cooked to perfection, garnished with a pinch of ginger, and served on rice. The sauce has been drizzled over the beautifully golden meat. Alongside it is the inari sushi, sushi rice stuffed into delectably seasoned aburaage. Cathleen can feel her mouth watering, and she has to force herself not to drool.

The two of them say their thanks and dig in. Having the proverbial fruits of her labor come out tasting so wonderful is something that Cathleen hasn't often experienced. Imagine, Cathleen, you almost missed out on this entirely!

Cathleen lets a savory piece of chicken sit on her tongue for a moment as she watches the clouds slowly float by. It really is an absolutely perfect day to be outside. The wind blows through her hair, and Cathleen closes her eyes to let the sun soak her skin.

Eventually, Cathleen sets her empty bento to the side, closing it up. She stands, stretching her arms and back, and turns to Inko.

"I don't think I can sit still on a day like today," she says. Inko blinks, then smiles, closing her own empty bento box.

"Oh? Are you saying you need to work off your lunch?"

"Perhaps." She can't quite keep the mischievous smile of her face.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Inko says, suddenly darting out at Cathleen. Cathleen laughs, effortlessly stepping out her grasp. With Inko in light pursuit, Cathleen jogs off across the field. She twirls once to spin around and see how close Inko is. Inko seems to have kept pace well, only a few feet behind, not that either of them is trying.

Cathleen gives a delighted yelp as Inko throws herself towards her. She steps back, seizing Inko around the waist and spinning her around fast enough for her feet to leave the ground. Inko laughs, her warm breath tingling against Cathleen's neck as she drapes her own arms around Cathleen's shoulders and down her back.

Inko promises that she has some kind of surprise for their third date.

Cathleen is of course immensely looking forward to whatever her wonderful, brilliant girlfriend could be planning. And maybe she hasn't known Inko for more than a few weeks, but she knows she's brilliant. Inko is after all, a practicing legal advisor, and that's not something that anyone can do. And Cathleen spends a healthy amount of time thinking about how amazing Inko is, mind you. This is her first relationship, sue her.

Inko does tell her where the date is happening at the very least, since it's the Mustafu City Art Museum. It's not like people don't wander in from off the street or wearing more casual clothing – it is a public space after all—but no one would bat an eye if Cathleen took the opportunity to dress up for the occasion. And before this wonderful past month, Cathleen has never really dressed up in her life, so when another opportunity presents itself, she takes it with both hands.

The museum is an excellent refresher course for Cathleen—not just her Japanese language skills, but her Japanese history and culture as well.

(Not that she hasn't had plenty of language practice. That comes with, you know, being in the country.)

Even when she was a girl, Cathleen preferred things like this over the big tourist attractions. She's always found it much more interesting to learn about the people who live somewhere than any of the Big Historic Events that people make a big deal about. Even on her visit to Hawai'i during her training, she spent most of her time off at genuine local spots than, say, Pearl Harbor. Yeah, it's historic and all, but she was taught growing up that America was founded as a place for people to come together, not a collection of sites where American Colonialism stands tall. Japan is not too dissimilar in that regard, though Cathleen is fairly sure she'd have to go to somewhere like Hokkaido for the analogy to be perfect in this instance.

An hour flies by as Cathleen and Inko wander largely without destination through the treasure-trove of artwork and culture, lovingly preserved for future generations. Cathleen learns more about woodblock printing than she'd ever known before. And it turns out they're lucky enough to visit the museum while some of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's 'New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts' are on loan to the Mustafu City Art Museum. Cathleen may be creative, but she's no artist. Even still, she can see the masterful work prominently on display everywhere in the museum.

Finally, Inko giggles to herself and declares it's time for her little surprise. Cathleen grins widely as Inko drags her to a specific wing of the museum, one she'd noticed Inko had deliberately shepherded her away from until now. And Cathleen can finally see why.

This wing of the museum is dedicated to Heroes, Hero Costumes, and Hero Iconography. Cathleen muses to herself that this wing must be relatively much newer compared to the other wings. The Dawn of Quirks and subsequent rise of Heroism only happened within the last two hundred or so years.

The central display is all about All Might through the years. There are pictures and recreations of his 'Young Age,' his 'Golden Age', and his 'Silver Age' eras, with notes about how and why certain elements of his costume changed over time. Personally, Cathleen misses his cape that his modern costume no longer has. She knows that she won't be trading in her own cape anytime soon.

"Izuku would love this," Cathleen murmurs to Inko, scanning over the display for the Wild Wild Pussycats, a team that formed only a few years ago. They're one of the few Hero Teams to have some form of uniform as opposed to a shared iconography or theming on otherwise unrelated costumes. The Magical Catgirl look is certainly interesting, and if nothing else they make it work.

"Oh, don't I know it!" Inko laughs, keeping her voice down so as not to disturb the other patrons. "He begged me for weeks to take him here. I thought he was going to explode from excitement when I finally caved." Cathleen snorts. That sounds exactly like the Izuku she knows.

She's finishing up reading about Tectonic, a Rescue Hero from well before her own debut and how he maintained his image while operating in the Ring of Fire when Inko gently takes her arm. Cathleen smiles and lets Inko lead her to wherever it is that she's being taken. This part of the museum is absolutely incredible, but Cathleen knows Inko well enough to know that there's more to this surprise.

"This is what I wanted you to see," Inko says, gesturing to a small display in the International Heroes section. Cathleen follows her lead. She gasps, the back of her neck heating up as she bites back an embarrassed moan. After all, the display Inko led her to is about Star and Stripe. It's not a bad display at all, covering how she emulated All Might while also embracing the American theming in different ways to her inspiration—there's even a section about her hair! –but the idea of people coming her to gawk at her is something that Cathleen hadn't exactly considered before. At the very least no one seems to recognize her out of costume.

"Thank you," she says to Inko, and she means it. Despite the mortifying ordeal of being known, Cathleen does legitimately appreciate what it is that Inko wants her to see: people honoring the work that Star and Stripe does.

Inko smiles mischievously and gives her a quick peck on the cheek.

Cathleen hasn't ever dated before, but she's pretty sure she and Inko are going faster than most people, cramming a total of four dates over about a week. But, well, Cathleen is going back home very soon, and they want to make the most of their new relationship before then. The knowledge that they can call each other whenever they want helps alleviate some of Cathleen's fears about this, but the time difference is still a huge hurdle for them to overcome.

Even so, Cathleen wouldn't trade this for the world. She and Inko are on their fourth and probably last in-person date for some time. A dinner date this time, at the Midoriya apartment. Izuku is politely staying in his room, working on something or other while giving them their privacy.

Inko has the window open to keep the air flowing. Through the balcony doors, they can see what feels like the whole of Mustafu, though it's but a small part. In the sky above, the summer sun won't set for at least another hour.

"So," Inko says. "Tomorrow."

Cathleen nods. "Tomorrow."

Tomorrow, she packs up all of the wonderful souvenirs from this trip—her jewelry, her dresses, her cosmetics, the trinkets and knickknacks she's bought from gift shops and street vendors—and she goes back home to America. To where her brothers are waiting for her. To where the people are waiting for her to once again on her costume and fight the good fight.

It's strange to think about. Cathleen's entire world has tipped on its axis, but everyone else is going about their lies like nothing has changed. Like Cathleen hasn't discovered a possible future she's never dreamed of, tantalizingly close to being hers.

"Inko," Cathleen says slowly. "Do you—do you feel like everything is different now?"

Inko looks at her curiously. "I suppose," she says at last, turning her gaze out over the city. "But I think… I think that's what it means when we make new connections. We… we all have our own little worlds that we live in. And I suppose, in those terms, when you and I met, we changed each other's worlds. I know I felt like my whole world had changed when I met you, a Pro Hero, there in the flesh, and supporting my son."

"How could I not?" says Cathleen. "He's a little ball of sunshine." Cathleen watches traffic in the distance. "He's not at all like most of the adults I know." She huffs. "If they were more like him, we probably wouldn't need Heroes."

Inko fails to hide a snort. "That's true."

"I'm…" Cathleen takes a moment. She doesn't want to start crying because if she does, then Inko will too. "I know we'll be able to call each other, and we're going to see each other through video calls, but… I'm really going to miss you."

"I'll miss having you next to me," Inko says. "But we won't be that far apart." Despite the reassurance of her words, Cathleen hears Inko choking on them. She places a reassuring hand over Inko's. They stay like that for a while, quietly enjoying each other's company together, watching the sun slowly descend through the sky over the city, reflecting in the distant ocean waves.

"Here's to the pleasant surprises of Mustafu," Cathleen says, raising her glass slightly in a toast. Inko's face melts into a smile.

"To us."

It really isn't a surprise at all that both Midoriyas meet Cathleen at the airport to see her off. Cathleen would have been more surprised if they hadn't show up, actually. They spot her first, wheeling several suitcases across the lobby—some of which she had to purchase to carry home her new belongings.

"Ms. Bate!" Izuku says, wrapping himself around her legs. Cathleen ruffles his curly hair, laughing under her breath.

"Well hey there, Izuku," she says. "Come to see me off?" Izuku nods into her leg before peeling himself off of her.

"Do you have to go?" he asks quietly. Cathleen softens.

"I do," she says. "You know that. You know why I have to go home." For some reason, that last word feels like a lie.

"Yeah… 'cuz your job is important," he says.

"But I'll be back," she promises him.

"I'll hold you to that," Inko says with a grin Cathleen recognizes as the grin Inko has when she's planning something. A shiver goes down her spine. She isn't sure if it's fear of excitement until Inko cups her face and removes all doubt.

They hesitate for only a fraction of a second before pressing their lips together for the first time. Fire blossoms from their embrace, racing through Cathleen's body. Lightning courses across her nerves, in her veins, along her spine. Cathleen's heart leaps for joy. She thinks there might even be fireworks, but she's far too focused on Inko to know for sure. And then they pull apart.

"Wow," says Cathleen, in absence of any higher thought power.

"Now you have something to come back for," says Inko.

"Inko," Cathleen breathes. "I already did."

"I know."

"Until next time."

"It's a date." Inko leans her head forward and Cathleen does the same, pressing their foreheads softly together.

An hour later, Cathleen watches as Japan disappears out from under her as her airplane takes off, bound for the United States once more. Not all of Cathleen is coming home from this trip. There's a piece of her heart living in a small, but loved apartment in Mustafu, somewhere that you can see the ocean. The ghost of a smile gracing Cathleen lips makes her certain that this is a good thing.

(A few days after Cathleen comes home and tell her brothers all about her vacation—and all about her new, incredible girlfriend—Aaron gets her the greatest gift she thinks any of them could have. A watch, set exactly seventeen hours ahead. Star and Stripe may never wear it, but Cathleen Bate always does.)