Nayeon looks at Tzuyu with astonished eyes, the hero’s confession resounding in her thundering heart.

Tzuyu’s eyes are shining, determined, brave as always even when there’s a bright blush covering her face, she doesn’t dare to look away.

The auburn-brown haired woman can hear, how their hearts are beating quickly, expectantly.

Nayeon swallows, she can feel and know what words she desperately wants to say, her heart beats even faster. “I-!”

“Thanks for the wait!!” Jeongyeon’s loud voice echoes in the quiet room, she enters without knocking and looking. “ I took longer because there’s not a lot of staff at this hour, and I also don’t really know what you like so-“

The blonde raises her head and opens her eyes wider than ever, she even lets go of the bag of food she was holding, her eyes linking with Tzuyu and Nayeon’s shocked ones, hangs wide open as she blushes brightly.

“YOU JUST WOKE UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHOU TZUYU!!?” Jeongyeon signals them with an accusatory finger making the two jump with surprise, Tzuyu looks at the older with a confused sneer.

“What the hell are you-“ Tzuyu tries to ask but Jeongyeon interrupts her. “I MEAN LOOK AT YOUR POSITIONS!! AND TELL ME WHY SHOULDN’T I THINK B-“

“Jeongyeon what are you making such a fuss?! I can hear your voice from-“ Jihyo enters unexpectedly, she looks at the three people in the room with a perplexed look, taking a couple of minutes to analyze what the hell is happening.

Tzuyu is awake, Nayeon is here with Tzuyu almost on top of her, Jeongyeon is blushing and signaling them, Tzuyu and Nayeon look puzzled.

There’s a lot of conclusions she could arrive to and she doesn’t really want to.

The doctor rubs her nose bridge as she starts to arrange her priorities, she shoots a deadly intimidating look at Nayeon who shivers immediately when her eyes meet Jihyo’s.

“May I ask what are you doing here? Nayeon-sshi?” Jihyo asks in a sweet and deadly tone that makes Nayeon let out a nervous laugh as she sees Jihyo approaching slowly, she unconsciously clings to Tzuyu who is also looking at Jihyo like a scared kid.

“I-I was hungry and I went to search for food-“Nayeon tries to explain but she lets out a surprised shriek when Jihyo janks her from Tzuyu with a not so gentle pull on her cheek as she starts dragging her towards the door, an annoying and fake laugh coming from Jihyo’s lips. “The cafeteria is not here, Nayeon-sshi, and I told you to call the nurses, didn’t I?”

Nayeon can’t even answer since the woman’s hold is too strong, it wouldn’t surprise her if Jihyo had a super-strength quirk.

“W-Wait Jihyo, she-“ Tzuyu calls nervously as she tries to get out of her bed making Jihyo shot her a warning glare.

“Put one foot on the ground and I will NOT hold back with your punishment.” Jihyo warns quickly smiling, still warning. “Unless you are prepared for it, ice maiden”

Tzuyu feels a cold shiver down her spine but even with that, she doesn’t want to remain idle.

But before can even say more Jeongyeon pushes her with one hand to her bed again as she remains standing next to her, laughing nervously. “She is going to stay here Ji! There’s no need to be so strict!”

“She better.” Jihyo says as she narrows her eyes, turning her head with grace as she finally drags Nayeon out of the room despite the girl’s complaints.

---------------------------------------------------------

“How old are you? Stop pouting like that.” Jeongyeon says as she takes a sip from her morning coffee.

Tzuyu woke up with an angry frown along with a big pout, she even eats her breakfast with angry bites, as if she was a kid making a silent fit.

“That’s because Jihyo and you interrupted us!” Tzuyu says with a fit of childlike anger. “we were having a moment and you-“

“HA! A moment, that’s what kids call it nowadays I see.” Jeongyeon laughs with disbelief as she shakes her head.

“It’s not what you are thinking for gods sakes! I-“ Tzuyu argues, but she is interrupted by a pair of arms crashing her into a big hug.

Jeongyeon looks at Sana and Mina with surprised eyes she didn’t even hear them opening the door as she was busy dealing with Tzuyu’s tantrum.

“Tzuyuuu!! Our cute little girl!!” Sana says with emotion as she keeps hugging Tzuyu, Mina lets out a happy giggle, Tzuyu cannot help but smile widely once she snaps out her surprise returning the hug with a wide smile. “Girls! I missed you!”

“Eeeh, you didn’t say that to me yesterday! You only hugged me and with a bad face!” Jeongyeon reproaches with indignation as she sits on the bed, Tzuyu turns to look at her with an annoyed frown.

“That’s because you need to learn to knock before entering!” Tzuyu separates a little from Sana and Mina who look at them with questioning looks.

“Okay, what happened?” Sana asks without waiting a minute, Jeongyeon lets out an annoyed sigh.

“This fella was sleeping, and I went to the cafeteria instead of Nayeon because Jihyo had her grounded, Nayeon stayed here but when I came back.” Jeongyeon signals Tzuyu with her thumb, frowning. “Nayeon was on top of her, and they had…a suspicious vibe, if you know what I mean”

Sana and Mina turn to look at Tzuyu with wide eyes filled with disbelief, Sana is the one speaking first. “Really Tzu? As soon as you woke up?”

Tzuyu grabs the sheets with force as she can feel the annoyance running through her body, she snaps her head up surprising the three before her with her loud tone. “YOU THREE ARE MISTAKING THINGS! WE WEREN’T DOING WHAT YOU ARE THINKING! I CONFESSED AGAIN AND THIS ONE” Tzuyu signals Jeongyeon. “HAD THE NERVE TO RUINED IT BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T KNOCK THE DAMN DOOR!”

Tzuyu breathes heavily as she looks at her astonished unnies looking at her with wide shock, even Jeongyeon almost lets her coffee fall.

It takes a couple of minutes before Tzuyu realizes what she said, her face starts to turn bright red and she quickly hides under her sheets before the three girls start to interrogate her.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CONFESSED AGAIN!?” Sana asks with shock as she starts shaking Tzuyu’s covered body.

“WHEN DID YOU CONFESS FIRST?! HEY DON’T HIDE!!” Jeongyeon says as she also joins Sana, Mina is the only one looking at Tzuyu’s burrito form, she wants to say something but a knock in the door interrupts them.

“Finally, someone with manners.” Tzuyu mutters as she keeps hiding in her sheets, Mina opens the door and Tzuyu smiles when she feels Jeongyeon and Sana’s hands quickly letting her go, she knows who entered the room.

“Why do you two always have to make so much noise?” Jihyo says as she enters, she ignores Sana’s pout as she approaches Tzuyu. “Tzuyu, I need to check your body, can you uh- quit your taco form?”

Tzuyu finally discovers herself as she looks at Jeongyeon and Sana who look like grounded kids, making her let out a smug little smile that makes the two shoot her annoyed glares.

The ice hero lets Jihyo check her, the pink-haired doctor hums separating a little as she taps her jaw with her fingers. “Everything healed properly, but you will need more visits with the psychotherapist.”

“uh? Why? I feel the usual strength in my muscles.” Tzuyu asks with a raised brow, Jihyo approaches with a long sigh. “You may have your usual strength, but these contractures will take more time, it’s your whole arm after all” Jihyo presses her finger on Tzuyu’s right shoulder, digging it with enough force to make the hero make a pained expression, she keeps touching the contractures that follow the hero’s arm.

“O-okay, I understand, please stop the…demonstration” Tzuyu says as she puts a hand on Jihyo’s with a pained frown, the doctor lets out a light chuckle as she pets Tzuyu’s head. “For now, stay in your bed for today, tomorrow you will start going there.”

Jihyo says as she starts walking towards the door, stopping for a few seconds when she seems to remember something, turning to see Tzuyu with a smug smile. “Ah, your girlfriend also has an appointment tomorrow, maybe you will see her.”

Tzuyu can feel her face heating up when she hears Jihyo’s words, she turns away, whispering.

“She is not my girlfriend… yet”

----------------------------------------------------------

It seems like destiny is against Nayeon and Tzuyu seeing each other for the next two weeks, their appointments with the psychotherapist, and even when they go to search for each other doesn’t match.

Nayeon sighs with annoyance as she munches her breakfast, Jihyo finally let her go home, but warned her to not do anything related to her quirk or training.

That and the fact she can never manage to see Tzuyu after the confession has been making her feel down.

“You can always text her you know?” Momo says, she is sitting across the table looking at her sister with an amused half-smile. “I don’t know why you are making this so complicated.”

“Because I wanna talk to her in person, it’s not the same through text, especially after what she said.” Nayeon puts a hand on her face, covering her little blush.

“You’re being unusually careful” Momo asks with a raised brow letting a soft chuckle. “Why? Did she confess or something?”

Nayeon stops munching as she looks away still covering her face with her hand, which is even redder.

Momo blinks a couple of times as she sees her sister’s behavior, she notices how she is blushing so hard, she wonders her face might be on fire, until she realizes what might have happened.

“SHE CONFESSED?!” Momo asks with a loud voice, her hands slam against the table as she stands up abruptly.

“A-actually…it’s the second time she confesses.” Nayeon whispers as she covers her face with her two hands now.

There’s a couple of minutes full of silence, she can feel Momo’s look of comic disbelief.

Nayeon hides in her hands even more until she feels Momo’s hands on her shoulders shaking her with urge. “AND YOU HAVEN’T REPLIED IN TWO WEEKS?! NAYEON-UNNIE YOU ARE A HOPELESS ID-“

“I know!!” Nayeon says as she stops hiding in her hands, she turns to look at Momo with a troubled gaze, she takes a long breath, before letting out a deep sigh. “But, I really want to talk to her in person, and these two weeks I haven’t been able to see her…also helped me to think in a proper answer.”

Momo widens her eyes with surprise, she knew her sister liked Tzuyu, and the feeling was mutual, very mutual in her humble opinion, however, she cannot help but surprise about how serious her sister is about it.

“Is not like she has never been the one to take feelings lightly…especially the romantic ones, but it’s the first time I see her acting like this.” Momo thinks as she holds her older sister’s shoulders more gently. “And now, do you know that answer?”

“Yes.” Nayeon says as she looks at her sister with a little smile, her voice sounds soft and serious. “You also know it too, don’t you? The association will come for us soon, even though we were sort of mind-controlled, we still have to pay some debts after all the crimes.”

“I wanna overcome our past and crimes, so I can be a better person, for her, for you and Chaeyoung, and most importantly.” Nayeon puts a hand on her chest. “For me.”

Momo’s eyes widen again this time in a touched way as she looks at her sister with a soft smile, after hearing her words she knows what Nayeon means and she feels so proud, if she thought her sister was already incredible, now she believes it a hundred times more.

“I just wonder if she will wait for me.” Nayeon looks aside as she frowns with worry, Momo cannot help but let out a laugh-filled with disbelief.

“The girl went and fought with everything even if it meant her life was in danger.” Momo gives a gentle pat on her sister’s shoulders. “After all of that, why wouldn’t she wait for you?”

“I may not know her a lot, but I’ve seen the way she looks at you.” Momo says with a soft smile, her next words make Nayeon open her eyes with wonder and softness.

“I would bet everything, to say she would wait for you even if it means to wait for her whole life.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After Chaeyoung arrives from her afternoon training, the three receive an uncommon visitor.

“Hello, how may I help you?” Chaeyoung asks with a curious gaze when she sees a woman wearing elegant clothes.

“Hi!” Rosé appears from behind, making Chaeyoung blink with surprise. “Do you mind if we come in? It’s very important.”

“Sure…?” Chaeyoung frowns with confusion, letting the two women enter, Rosé speaks again making the novice hero turn around. 

“Ah, sorry for not introducing her, she is my older sister, Alice” Rosé signals her sister who bows politely which Chaeyoung answers in the same manner.

“Chae, who is it?” Momo asks, Chaeyoung hears her sisters’ steps approaching, the two look at Rosé and the other woman with curious gazes.

“Hi, sorry for the sudden visit, I’ve met Chaeyoung and Momo before, but I think this is the first time we meet right? I’m Roseanne Park, nice to meet you Nayeon-sshi” Rosé extends a courteous hand which Nayeon squeezes gently.

“Nice to meet you.” Nayeon answers shortly, raising a curious eyebrow as she turns to look at Rosé’s sister, she analyzes the woman for a few seconds and she gets an idea of where she may come, Rosé is quick to introduce her sister again to Momo and Nayeon. “She is my sister, Alice.”

“Please to meet you.” Nayeon and Momo say as they nod slowly squeezing the hand Rosé’s older sister offer them, they are probably thinking the same about the woman.

Nayeon then signals towards the living room. “Please make yourselves at home, would you like something to drink?”

“Water is fine, if it’s not much bothering.” Rosé says, while her sister denies the offer, after a couple of minutes everyone is in the living room.

“I expected the association to appear soon, is that why you are visiting us today?” Nayeon asks, as straightforward as ever, making Chaeyoung open her eyes wide as she turns to see Rosé’s older sister who lets out a slight chuckle.

“As they told me, you are pretty direct and sharp, Nayeon-sshi.” Alice says as she looks at Momo and Nayeon with a serious look but not a judging one. “Your guess is correct, I’m a lawyer from the association, and I’ve been requested to take your case.”

“Requested?” Nayeon asks with a confused frown, crossing her arms against her chest as she lays her back against the sofa. “I don’t recall requesting one?”

“You didn’t.” Alice says with a little smile as she links her gaze with Nayeon’s. “The team, second-to-none did, two of them insisted the most, Chou Tzuyu and Myoui Mina”

Momo and Nayeon cannot hide their surprise the moment Alice reveals who called for her services, Nayeon lets out a slight chuckle. “Chou Tzuyu, you never fail to surprise me.”

“Let me tell you this first.” Alice starts as she looks at the two sisters with a serious look. “The association wasn’t planning to sentence you as hard as Lee Sunmi, but they also wanted to keep you in jail for 9 years.”

Chaeyoung gasps with surprise and indignation. “9 years?! But-“

“That, until the team second-to-none claimed to have enough evidence to reduce and change your sentence.” Alice intervenes Chaeyoung, her smile showing again when Chaeyoung looks at her with astonishment.

“Today, I came here to discuss the evidence the team and their scientific, Wendy, gave to me about your memories” Alice asks as she takes out a folder, extending it to the sisters which Nayeon is quick to take and open as Alice keeps speaking.

“You will have an audience with the association, it’s similar to a trial, if everything goes smoothly, your sentence will change.” Alice explains with a sharp tone. “Instead of going to jail, you will be sent to a rehabilitation center for 5 years since even if you have your memories prisoned, you still committed crimes but you also participated greatly in capturing one of the most searched villians, one of the doctors, Chong Ting-yan will be your exclusive supervisor, if you show a good behavior and progress, you will be there for four years only, additional to that, you will be forbidden to use your quirk, unless the doctor gives you permission.”

“All of that, only if the audience goes well, right?” Momo asks as she stops looking at the documents to see Alice who gives a short nod.

“The information is correct, everything Wendy mentioned is true, the prison of memories worked in us as she wrote.” Nayeon returns the folder to Alice who takes it with a careful hand, Nayeon takes a deep breath as she looks at Alice again. “When is the audience?”

“In four days.” Alice informs with a slight frown. “I’m sorry it’s still soon, but the association is being really demanding about your case.”

Nayeon and Momo purse their lips, they knew this day would arrive soon, but they wished they would have been given more time.

These past two weeks they have also been searching for some clues about where their mother might be, along with Wendy’s help, they haven’t discovered anything yet, but they badly wished to find something before the association came.

But it looks like luck is not on their side.

“Can’t the association give us a couple of days more?” Chaeyoung asks with a silent and pleading tone as she grips the sofa with slight force.

Alice lets out a long sigh before shaking her head, she turns to see Chaeyoung with apologetic eyes. “I already tried to convince them, but as I’ve said, they are demanding.”

“May I ask why you require more time?” Alice asks gently as she turns to see the silent and troubled sisters.

“We are searching for our missing mother.” Nayeon answers with a low tone as she closes her eyes for a brief moment. “After Sunmi kidnapped us, we don’t know if she is even alive… but we want to keep searching.”

Alice widens her eyes with shock as she turns to see her little sister, Rosé smiles sadly nodding in silent affirmation.

“There are still no clues or traces to where she may be, or where Sunmi may have hid her.” Momo narrows her eyes, her voice also low with slight sadness. “We also think she may be under Sunmi’s quirk effect, which will make it even more difficult, but we…wanted to find something before the association called us.”

Alice frowns with sadness when she sees the three of them, the sorrowful looks in their eyes speaking more than anything.

The woman takes a deep breath, deciding to do something.

“I will try to convince them to give you more days.”

Alice says as she stands up, a soft smile displayed on her face as she looks at the three. “But I can’t guarantee they will.”

The three sisters’ faces light up when they hear Alice, Momo frowns with visible confusion and a smile filled with disbelief. “If it’s not rude to ask, may I wonder why would you help us? Not only with this but everything.”

Alice lets out a soft chuckle as she speaks again. “Even if they are a young team, second-to-none, is one of the most important, after their record of capturing villains and saving people, the association has a good eye for them, so when they wanted to be involved in this case, for helping you, the association knew they could believe in them.”

“As a worker from there, I was beyond surprised when I heard about it, after all, it’s extremely rare to see heroes asking for this type of help for villains or people that were villains.” Alice keeps explaining. “And this particular team was very passionate about wanting to change your sentence, that’s why they wanted all the helped they could have.”

“When I asked them why they explained everything to me but what give me a huge surprise was their definite answer, all of them told me the same sentence.” Alice turns to look at the sisters’ eyes which are looking at her with expectant gazes.

“After you meet them, even with one look you will see.” Alice turns to see the sisters with a soft smile “They’re not villains from heart.”

Nayeon, Momo, and Chaeyoung look at Alice with wide and speechless eyes, they clearly didn’t expect that answer, especially not from all the team, all of this, everything they are doing for them it’s definitely something quite shocking.

“I can totally see why now, even if I have been here for less than an hour, the way you reacted to what I told you and your gazes when you were speaking about your mother, said a lot.” Alice says as she starts walking towards the door, Rosé following her too. “After looking and treating with a lot of villains from the past years, I can even be surer about what they said about you.”

“I will definitely try to give you more days.” Alice says giving the three a last sharp but soft look.

“Thank you very much!” Momo and Nayeon say in unison, Chaeyoung joins a little later, the two-sister giving a deep bow which surprises Alice and Rosé, making the two let out a light laugh, Alice it’s the one to get out of the house, Rosé stays there, looking at the sisters with a gentle and bubbly smile.

“Before I go, Jennie asked me to tell you the person you heard asking for help before you passed out is doing well in the hospital, and if you could give them a visit before the audience, the person personally wants to thank you.” Rosé says with a wide smile. “With that being said! We will definitely pressure the association for those days!”

Rosé turns around getting out of the house without waiting for a goodbye, but Momo’s voice stops her, Alice who was also getting in her car turns to see them. “Wait a moment please!”

“I know, I’m not in a position to ask for something, but there’s someone who helped us to be here right now…and”

“I would like to do anything to help them too.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Jennie-unnie!” Chaeyoung calls when they visit the hospital the next day, after Rosé told them about the person, Nayeon wanted to visit them as soon as she could, her sisters also went with her as her support.

Jennie turns when she hears the novice hero’s voice, showing a soft smile and a surprised look when she sees she is not alone. “Chaeyoung! It’s nice to see you, and…I suppose you two are her older sisters?”

Nayeon and Momo nod as they smile “Nice to meet you, I’m Nayeon, and this is Momo” the oldest signals Momo, the two extending a hand that Jennie squeezes welcomely

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Jennie Kim, I work as a rescue hero.” Jennie says as she pets Chaeyoung’s head gently, making the tiny hero smile before she starts speaking again. “It’s good to see you finally healthy, when we found you, I was really surprised about your state, and especially you.”

Jennie turns to see Nayeon who looks at her with surprise while she points at herself. “Me? Why?”

“Well, your arm was pretty damaged, and it surprised me you were still awake, mostly that you asked me to help the person who was trapped on the floor below.” Jennie says with an astonishing voice and a bubbly laugh. “That left a very surprising impression of you.”

Nayeon smiles a little bit. “I heard the person yelling below us, it was the least thing I could do before passing out.”

Jennie shakes her head with an incredulous smile before humming. “I can see why you Tzuyu is over heels for you.”

Nayeon blushes immediately ignoring her sisters’ teasing smiles before fake coughing. “Ehem, well, one of your friends, Rosé told me the person trapped on that floor wanted to see me, could you tell me what’s their room?”

“Changing subjects too, mmm you are quite similar.” Jennie comments with amusement which Nayeon resists the urge to answer with her usual rolling eyes but Jennie doesn’t more, surprisingly.

“She is at the hospital rooftop, I left her there some minutes ago.” Jennie says with a kind smile as she turns to look at Nayeon before looking at her smartwatch her gaze changes to a hurried one. “Oh dang, I really need to go, or Lisa will be mad at me! Good luck with your visit I hope we can meet soon!”

Jennie doesn’t wait for an answer as she almost runs towards the exit letting the sisters with surprised looks, the three exchange gazes before letting out soft chuckles as they walk towards the rooftop.

“We will wait outside, take your time” Chaeyoung says with a little smile which Momo accompanies with a soft hum.

“Thanks, I’ll try to um not be so awkward.” Nayeon says with a nervous chuckle, smiling when she feels her sisters patting her back gently before she enters the rooftop.

As soon as Nayeon enters she covers her face from the sunshine, blinking a couple of times before she spots someone sitting on the benches.

Nayeon keeps approaching, she can only see the person’s back, she is using a nice hat probably because of how hard the sunshine is.

The auburn brown-haired takes a deep breath when she is beside the person, her voice sounds nervous but firm. “Good afternoon, Jennie-sshi told me you asked for me, nice to meet you, my name is Im Nayeon.”

The woman jumps a little bit when she hears Nayeon’s name, she starts turning her head slowly.

Nayeon’s eyes widen when she sees the woman’s eyes and hair.

“No way…”

Nayeon whispers as she keeps looking at the woman who is also looking at her with a shocked expression.

Before Nayeon can blink, she feels the woman’s hands on her face, her thumbs caressing her cheeks with such a gentle and soft touch.

The woman finally lets out a trembling and wide smile, tears rolling down her cheeks as she keeps looking at Nayeon with adoration. “Look at you…! you’ve grown a lot…Nay…”

”my dear daughter!”

Nayeon doesn’t know when the tears started to fall but she cannot stop them as she looks at the woman before her with shock mixed with happiness, every part of her is screaming to her, she knows this person is her mother without a doubt.

The woman circles her arms around Nayeon’s head as she brings the girl towards her chest hugging her with desperation, fear, and fondness as she whispers. “I’m finally able to see you again…”

Nayeon can feel even more tears falling from her eyes as she circles her trembling arms around the woman, she starts to cry loudly as she digs her face on the woman’s chest.

It seems like Nayeon’s cries were loud enough to reach where Momo and Chaeyoung were waiting, the two open the rooftop door with urgency, their older sister cries alerting every inch of them.

“Nayeon-unnie!!” Chaeyoung calls as they start running towards her, they see their sister, frowning when they see someone is hugging her as the oldest keeps clinging to the person with such desperation, they even worry she might break this person’s clothes.

Momo and Chaeyoung can feel a mutual and great shock the moment this person raises her head to meet them, the woman’s hat finally falls from her head revealing her beautiful auburn-brown hair.

Chaeyoung remains frozen as she keeps looking at this person yet there’s something deep inside her, telling her she is who she might be thinking.

Even when Momo jumps to hug the woman who welcomes her with open arms despite her loud cries, Chaeyoung keeps looking at her two sisters crying and clinging to this woman as if their life depended on it.

“Chae”

When the woman calls her name, with such sweetness and care, Chaeyoung widens her eyes with great surprise, there’s something inside her, she can’t pinpoint why, she just feels she has heard this voice before.

“Come here”

Chaeyoung links eyes with the woman who is looking at her with adoration and love, extending one of her arms to her, the tears keep rolling down her cheeks and that is when Chaeyoung realizes she is crying too.

The youngest doesn’t even think twice, her body moves first and the next thing she knows is that she is also clinging strongly to this woman, crying as she has never cried.

The four of them knew, even if they weren’t waiting for this moment.

Now it’s everything they needed and more.

-----------------------------------------------------------

“I see…so you three defeated her.” Their mother says with a long sigh and a troubled look, the three of them sitting with each other on the bench, they decided to tell their mother what happened with Sunmi after she asked with deep worry if she was still out there.

“Yes…this is the proof of her defeat.” Nayeon whispers as she rolls up her sleeve, turning around her right hand to show her scar, her mother lets out a surprised mixed with shock gasp.

“She…killed so many innocents…did robberies…prisoned our memories…she was going to kill so many more with the drug she was making…she almost killed the person I love…hurt the ones we care about and she also wanted to kill us in the end…” Nayeon whispers as she makes a fist with her right hand, clenching it with frustration and anger. “We don’t understand why, why she did all of this? Why did we do?...”

“You didn’t do anything, any of you.” Their mother says as she puts a hand on Nayeon’s fist gently caressing it, the three turn to look at her noticing her sorrowful eyes. “I don’t even know where it started, this behavior she ended up having, or if she had it always in her…”

“We were forced by our parents to become heroes, they trained us non-stop, they only cared about status and reputation, we were also home-schooled since our parents didn’t want us to have friends, because that would be a huge distraction.” Their mother starts to explain, her eyes fixed in Nayeon’s hand. “It was almost as if we were training for a war, there wasn’t breaks...to them, we were more like tools than their children.”

“Speaking out loud about the few things we lived, makes me see how messed up our parents were.” The older woman lets out a dry laugh before turning serious again, explaining more. “I was born with a strong quirk, blue fire, even when Sunmi had two quirks, she had problems controlling them and they weren’t as strong as they’re now.”

“There was always this…favoritism, my parents acted as if only I was their only daughter… Sunmi wasn’t as stronger as me, and she was constantly yelled at or punished for not living up to the expectations, even when I tried to stop our parents several times they never listened to me that and that caused to make Sunmi very wary and hostile to me”

“As we started growing up, Sunmi started to dislike me more and more since I got more freedom but… even though I tried to fix our relationship she always pushed me away.” The older woman lets out a big sigh, before pursing her lips.

“But… her attitude changed when the accident happened…it…it turned even worse.” Their mother narrows her eyes as she takes a deep breath. “For our parents, the thing that mattered the most to them, was their quirks besides money and status…so when they lost them after a fight with a villain, it was too devasting for them.”

“That villain created a rare substance that took away quirks but it also affected your health greatly.” The woman explains with a troubled expression. “Sunmi wasn’t injected with it, but I, on the other hand, was only injected with a little bit of that substance, resulting in me being unable to use my quirk as I used to, I can only burn something with a good amount of effort and the burn I do doesn’t even hurt someone.”

“However…our parents suffered a different fate.” Their mother’s gaze turns darker as she speaks again. “The substance affected their health so much, they had to be connected to machines in order to live, but they…wouldn’t move anymore.”

The three sisters look at their mother with great shock as they listen about what happened to their grandparents, when her mother mentioned a rare substance, they didn’t expect something like this.

“When the doctors told us about their condition, I was shocked and felt slightly pitiful, because despite forcing their ideals and training on us…they were still our parents.” The woman takes a deep breath before frowning with worry. “But…Sunmi didn’t see it that way, and I understood why….”

“However…”

The woman lets out the breath she was holding with trembling lips, there’s something in her expression the sisters cannot pinpoint what it is, but one thing they can see it’s the horror in her mother’s eyes.

“I’ll never forget…the smile she had when she was seeing our parents on their beds…the look of bright and dark happiness she gave to me after we got out of the hospital.” The woman cannot help but squeeze Nayeon’s hand, her tone trembling a little bit. “That’s when I probably realized…she had changed.”

“after that…we started living on our own, we were given some money our parents left for us, and I had a fight with her.” Their mother lets out a tired and irritated sigh. “She wanted to keep our parents connected to those machines, but I didn’t want to since the doctors told us it was basically impossible for them to wake up and be normal again but Sunmi wanted to keep them ‘alive’.”

“At first, I thought I was being insensible and should follow Sunmi’s suggestion…but after listening to what she did and experimenting it…I can say I thought wrong, she didn’t want them to keep them alive because she cared…just as she kept me alive even if she had the opportunity to kill me.” Their mother clenches her free hand, gripping her trousers.

“…She wanted us alive so she could keep making us suffer until she got tired of it.”

After hearing their mother’s words, the three sisters can feel a cold shiver running down their spine, their eyes filled with shocking horror, as everything starts to make sense…

“When she kidnaped me and made me recover my memories for a few minutes she told me these words.” Their mother frowns with anger as she quotes what Sunmi said.

“The ones connected to machines cannot suffer, but you can, and you will keep suffering as long as I want to…”

“Because that’s why I have always desired.”

The horror in the sisters’ eyes only increases after they heard what Sunmi said to their mother, they look at the woman with stares full of disbelief, none of the three can utter a word.

“That’s why she kidnapped you…used you…made you believe in the wrong things.” The woman closes her eyes with pain as she purses her lips with frustration. “She knew as long as she had you in their power I would suffer endlessly… she probably wanted to show me you three being villains like her…make me see that I had no opportunity to do something”

“All because she hated me.”

Nayeon and the other two gasp with surprise when they see their mother looking down, tears staining her pants as she starts trembling, her voice full of regret and sorrow. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”

“I should have stopped her…I should’ve known, since the first visit that she didn’t have any good intentions…I was a fool for giving her chances she didn’t deserve.” The woman says between sobs, her voice trembling with anger. “If only I have stopped her that day…all you three suffered…would never have happened “

“No!” Nayeon raises her voice taking her mother and her sisters by surprise, all of them turning to look at her with wide eyes, Nayeon can feel the tears threatening to fall again but she endures.

“None of this is your fault! How could you have known?!” Nayeon says as she puts her other hand over her mother’s hands. “One could never guess what she was planning…and she always acted so well…”

“And that day…you did everything you could to protect us! Even if you knew it was dangerous because of your damaged quirk! You still fought for us!!” Nayeon’s voice starts to tremble as the tears finally start rolling down her cheeks again.

“I can speak for the three of us when I say no one blames you for anything…!! The one who is guilty is behind the bars right now.”

Nayeon takes a deep breath as she caresses her mother’s hand with a soft thumb. “She made us lose so much time with you…but now that…that doesn’t matter anymore.”

“not now that we finally have you with us.”

The woman looks at Nayeon with a deeply moved look, her lips trembling when Momo and Chaeyoung also put their hands on the one Nayeon has over her mother’s hands, the three of them looking at her with glassy but honest eyes.

“We can make good memories from now on, we can write a totally new chapter…there’s no one who can stop us from making it.” Nayeon says with a trembling but happy voice.

“And if someone tries, I will beat them!” Chaeyoung says as she rubs her nose, showing a toothy and wide smile.

“We will.” Momo agrees with a wide smile, the unexpected statement makes the four women share a loud and refreshing laugh between sobs and tears.

“You can learn from us again and even if you take a long time, we have enough of that!” Chaeyoung says as she laughs, she looks at her smiling mother for a couple of seconds before she starts crying again. “I…I cannot remember you like them…Sunmi’s quirk erased my memories because I was too young but-!”

“I want to do a lot of things with you! For so many years…I didn’t know what happened…I believed a cruel lie that I wasn’t even sure about but you are finally here with us.” Chaeyoung says between loud sobs.

“I want to be with all my family!”

And with that Chaeyoung starts crying, even more, her loud sobs resounding on the rooftop as the three women look at her with touched yet sorrowful eyes, Nayeon and Momo cannot help but feel their heart clenching at the sight.

After all, Chaeyoung will always be their little sister, and even if she acts strong and positive, the moments where she cries like this it’s painful.

Their mother lets go of their hands to hug the three against her with a strong and determined hold, even if she also keeps crying, she smiles despite everything.

Nayeon and Momo cannot help but cry as hard as Chaeyoung the moment their mother hugs them.

It doesn’t matter if it has been so many years since she has hugged them.

The hug from a mother, will always make all your defenses crumble so you can finally cry with freedom.

“This time… no matter what happens.” The woman says with a strong voice as she keeps hugging the three, even if her tone is strong is also gentle.

“Our family will be together.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yes, I saw you yesterday too grandma Suzy, you don’t need to come every day you know?” Tzuyu laughs as she keeps following her psychotherapist’s instructions while she speaks with her grandma through her earphones.

“YOU WERE involved in a dangerous mission, WITHOUT TELLING ME and that mission almost KILLED YOU, and you are telling me I can’t go to see you every day since you woke up? NONSENSE!!”

The older woman says with a slightly alarmed tone, making Tzuyu make a tiny grimace since her grandma’s tone is also loud.

“W-well, you have so many things to do, you have to keep an eye on the company.” Tzuyu lets out a nervous laugh. “Even if Jieun-unnie is a big help, you might need to give her a long rest.”

“Oh my…I didn’t tell you, sweetheart, I’m so sorry, I’ve been so focused on you and the company I forgot to tell you.” Suzy says with a long sigh, a sigh that makes Tzuyu frown. “Something happened with Jieun-unnie…?”

“Yes.” Suzy’s voice suddenly turns serious which makes Tzuyu purse her lips with worry as she listens to her grandma. “It seems like Jieun was kidnapped in the recent poison incident, but don’t alarm, she was rescued and is now resting at the hospital, fortunately, she wasn’t poisoned but she was injured when they found her, her health seems to be okay now.”

Tzuyu opens her eyes with shock and stops her movements abruptly when she hears the news about Jieun, she blinks a couple of times before speaking again. “Right now, in which hospital is her?”

“She is on the same as yours, I’ve visited a couple of times before you woke up, it would be great if you could visit her too.” Suzy says as she frowns with worry knowing what face Tzuyu must have now, knowing that Jieun and Tzuyu are not so close but they’re friends, nevertheless.

“Y-yeah, I will, thanks for telling me…I have to go now, I need to continue my physiotherapy session.” Tzuyu says as she puts a hand on her face. “Take care please.”

Suzy also bids her goodbye before hanging up, Tzuyu lets out a big sigh, thinking her grandma could’ve told her sooner, but considering the situation she understands why she also didn’t do it and why she forgot.

The ice hero takes a brief look at the door before continuing her session, she makes a mental note to ask for Jieun’s room later.

----------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m deeply sorry for not informing you before Miss Tzuyu, I only informed your grandmother” Jieun says as she bows from her bed.

“No, no it’s okay, I understand the situation.” Tzuyu says as she waves her hands with urgency to make stop Jieun’s bow, sitting in front of her bed.

After she heard about Jieun yesterday she cleared up all her schedules from the next day to visit her. “I’m deeply sorry that you had to suffer such a hideous incident, the villains really went off-board that day, I’m thankful that you are healthy and well.” The hero says with a worried frown

Jieun stays in silence for brief seconds, she wonders how much she can tell to Tzuyu, her daughters told her she should be careful and only tell the association what she saw-

“Oh, do you like that gummies too?” Tzuyu’s sudden question makes her snap from her thoughts as she turns to see the gummies Nayeon left before she went for her breakfast.

Jieun cannot help but let out a happy giggle that makes Tzuyu blink with surprise since she has never heard Jieun laugh like that.

“I didn’t know about them until today, my eldest daughter really likes them, and she wanted to share some with me.” Jieun takes the bag of gummies between her hands looking at them with such fondness Tzuyu cannot help but smile. “…it’s been quite long since I saw my daughters, but they have been visiting me, they even went for my breakfast today”

“I didn’t know you had-“ Tzuyu stops talking when she hears someone knocking on the door, Jieun smiles widely. “Come in please.”

“Guess what! They gave us extra dessert today for your breakfast! Jihyo-unnie said it’s because Nayeon-unnie has behaved well!”

Tzuyu widens her eyes with shock the moment she hears Chaeyoung’s voice, she even opens when she sees Momo and Nayeon behind her.

“Ah! Tzuyu!”

Chaeyoung says with a smile as she hurries to crash her friend into a hug Tzuyu takes a couple of seconds to answer, she is currently looking at Nayeon who thank god, didn’t let go of the bag of food she is holding despite her obvious shock, Momo seems to be pretty shocked to see her there too, but not as much as Nayeon.

It takes more than a few minutes before Chaeyoung finally realizes the situation as she separates abruptly holding Tzuyu’s shoulders. “wait a second, not to sound rude but what are you doing here?”

“She came to visit me.”

Jieun intervenes making the three sisters look at her with visible confusion, the older woman cannot help but let out a loud laugh, even though she doesn’t fully understand what happens between her daughters and Tzuyu, it’s quite amusing to see.

“Even though we haven’t shared every detail about us, I didn’t expect my boss would be friends with my daughters.” Jieun says with a calm smile mixed with a tiny chuckle.

“Y-your-“ Nayeon and Momo start but Chaeyoung’s loud voice interrupts them. “BOSS?!”

“I didn’t tell you yesterday, but I work as her assistant, actually I’ve been working in her family company for a long time.” Jieun explains, still calm, laughing again when she sees the full shock displayed on her daughters’ faces.

The three sisters can’t believe what they are hearing, to think how easily they could’ve found their mother if only they started searching on Tzuyu’s company…they’ve been so close to her yet so far at the same time.

On Tzuyu’s side, she can’t believe she has been working with their mother, it’s absolutely mind-blowing for her, she is still greatly shocked until she remembers what Nayeon told her about the orphanage, she quickly gets up, her stare turns colder just as the room making everyone look at her with wide eyes.

“HOW DARE YOU be all smiley and happy around them after you abandoned in that orphanage?!” Tzuyu’s voice sounds furiously cold as she clenches her teeth, her stare never leaving Jieun’s still surprised eyes.

Nayeon puts herself in front of her mother taking Tzuyu by surprise, the room stops being colder as she sees the older girl determined eyes despite her sad frown. “Nayeon…?”

“She wasn’t the one leaving us there.”

Nayeon says, her voice sounds low but determined.

Tzuyu frowns with big confusion as she looks at the older who only smiles a little bit, reaching to grab Tzuyu’s hand. “It’s a long story, but if you are willing to listen, I would like to tell you the truth.”

The ice hero looks down to see Nayeon holding her hand for a couple of moments before she looks at the older calm’s face she is even smiling a little.

Tzuyu blinks for a couple of seconds, she looks at the soft brownish-green eyes, usually, they’re shining with her challenging gaze but now…they look so relaxed Tzuyu cannot help but wonder why the woman’s eyes changed like this.

The ice hero gently squeezes Nayeon’s hands, before letting out a long sigh.

“You already know my answer.”

-------------------------------------------------------

After Nayeon takes Tzuyu to tell her everything on the hospital’s rooftop, the hero remains speechless and shocked, to think all the troubles that woman caused only for irrational hate, it’s beyond her.

To think, she only saw Nayeon, Momo, and Chaeyoung as simple tools she could use to make her sister suffer, without giving a single about them or how much hurt it would cause them, makes her blood boil.

She doesn’t even notice she is starting to use her quirk again, she even exhales cold air as she makes a fist to contain all the fury she is feeling.

The ice hero is even thinking about going to the jail where they have her trapped only to beat her until she gets what she deserves after making the ones she cares about to suffer for so long.

“She doesn’t deserve any mercy, I don’t care if the association makes something against me, I won’t rest until-“

“Tzuyu.” She hears Nayeon calling her gently, putting her hand on her trembling fist, once again, the ice hero abruptly stops as she feels Nayeon’s warmth melting her cold anger.

“I think…I know what you are thinking but…we fought her for that reason…for everything she did to us…even if now we know why she did it” Nayeon lets go of Tzuyu’s hand to show her right palm to the ice hero who gasps when she sees the scar.

“I can still feel her costume melting against my flames…her nails digging in my arm…her eyes full of hate and fury.” Nayeon whispers as she also looks at the scar, pursing her lips with a troubled frown. “I will never forget that face.”

“The face she always hid behind her smiley mask for so many years.”

“She was always like a nightmare…one we wanted to escape of even though we didn’t know why…now we know.” Nayeon narrows her eyes as she turns serious.

Nayeon makes a fist with her right hand, trembling with anger as she keeps talking. “…The girls she thought would never know the truth, the ones who would never go against her, the girls who she thought would be her dolls forever…the ones who always feared her haunting green eyes”

The older girl suddenly stops trembling as she slowly starts opening her palm. “They learned to fight back, to do follow what they want, they…changed.”

“They were no longer scared of her green eyes and ended her without doubting.” Nayeon fully opens her palm, Tzuyu looks down to see the scar again, as she keeps listening to Nayeon.

When Tzuyu looks up with wide eyes when she looks at Nayeon who shows a relieved, mature and quiet smile adorning her lips as she raises her hand showing her scar proudly. “This scar, certainly is the proof of that, and even more.”

“It’s the sign for our new beginning.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Tzuyu knows she hasn’t seen anyone more beautiful than the woman in front of her, the sunshine making her even more breathtaking...

There’s no trace of the wary, lost, and always angry woman she met months ago.

Right now, she sees a free woman, a woman who is ready to accept whatever comes by in the future.

Nayeon was always brave, she has never doubted it, even when she called herself a coward.

But it’s different now.

Her brownish-green eyes show a bright light Tzuyu has never seen there before, yet she can tell why.

“She finally has what she yearned for...” Tzuyu thinks, she cannot help but show a soft smile as she looks at Nayeon with pride and great happiness.

Tzuyu whispers something making Nayeon tilt her head a little bit, humming in question since she didn’t hear what Tzuyu said.

The ice hero lets out a soft and loud giggle, Nayeon’s adorable confusion only makes her giggle even more, until she raises her right hand to caress Nayeon’s face gently.

“I was thinking, you look even more beautiful.” Tzuyu says with a soft voice full of adoration, she raises her other hand to cup Nayeon’s face. “I always love how your eyes speak for you.”

“They’re always challenging and determined…but now, there’s a spark there, you know what I can see in that spark?” Tzuyu asks softly as she caresses Nayeon’s cheeks with gentle thumbs, the older girl even if she is blushing and is looking at her with surprised eyes she manages to shake her head.

“An ignited freedom.”

Nayeon widens her eyes when she hears Tzuyu’s words, the hero keeps looking at her with deep love, her voice is just as soft as her eyes.

“Seeing the person I love being finally happy, it’s definitely the best joy in this world.”

The hero’s wide and bright smile and her gentle glassy eyes are more than what Nayeon can handle.

She doesn’t think twice to throw herself at Tzuyu’s arms, she envelops her arms behind the hero’s back as she desperately grips her shirt.

“This person…who make the effort to know me…to rescue me in so many ways…even if I pushed her…she never gave up…she did so much for me and that’s why-“ Nayeon thinks as she digs herself in Tzuyu’s chest as she keeps hugging the ice hero.

“Tzuyu…”

Nayeon whispers, she can feel Tzuyu is also holding her with her face digging on her hair, the ice hero hums in answer.

Nayeon separates a little, she raises one of her hands to caresses Tzuyu’s face, the ice hero is fighting her tears making the older smile softly because she knows Tzuyu is trying to be strong.

“I want to be someone worthy for you.” Nayeon tells her, with determination even when her lips are trembling a little bit. “… that’s why I have something to ask.”

“Even if it sounds greedy…will you wait for me?”

Nayeon keeps caressing Tzuyu’s cheeks who is looking at her silently and attentively. “I want to overcome everything, for everyone I care about and for me, because I want to be a better person.”

“I want to be someone I can be proud and happy about before we can be together.”

Tzuyu opens her eyes wide when she hears Nayeon, the older is looking at her with fondness and even a hint of worry, the ice hero smiles softly as she leans to lay a gentle and silent kiss on Nayeon’s forehead.

She remains there for a few seconds before she separates a little bit, her smile doesn’t fade away just like her tone, which sounds more like a promise. “No matter how many days, months, or years you take…”

“I will wait for you.”

Tzuyu hugs Nayeon again against her chest, her nose digging against Nayeon’s hair as she breathes her strawberry scent still smiling. “And when you come back, when you finally are the person, you want to be…”

“Answer me, open your heart fully to me, give me all the feelings you wanted to give me while you were away…I’ll listen... no matter what because...”

“I will always listen to you”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time sure flies fast.

It’s what Nayeon thinks when she is packing the few things, she had in her room putting them carefully on boxes.

“Nayeon-unnie.” Momo calls as she leans against the door, a happy smile on her face when Nayeon turns to see her. “Mom says you need to take a rest, she made our favorite food.”

“But I’m almost done.” Nayeon makes a tiny pout which makes Momo chuckle but before she can tell something Jieun appears beside Momo wearing an apron and raising an eyebrow. “No buts Nay, a little birdie told me you skipped eating breakfast while I was gone this morning.”

Nayeon immediately glares at her younger sister, Momo looks aside with a nervous laugh.

“Come on, Chae will arrive soon and I want to have our last meal in this house together.” Jieun says with a soft smile making Nayeon stop glaring at Momo revealing a gentle smile instead.

With that, her mother and Momo go back to the kitchen and Nayeon takes a couple of minutes more to look around the room before she finally goes after them.

“I’m homeeee!!”

Chaeyoung shouts entering the house, Nayeon looks at her running towards the kitchen with surprised eyes, she pokes from her room to see why Chaeyoung entered so excited.

“Mom! Momo-unnie look!! I appeared in the newspaper again!!” Chaeyoung says with a happy giggle showing the newspaper proudly to both.

“Oh my! We are going to frame this one too, our collection keeps growing and growing!” Jieun says laughing happily as she caresses Chaeyoung’s head gently making the tiny girl smile brightly. “Well done Chae, I’m very proud of you.”

“You beat a group of villains on your own, damn, you are getting stronger these days!” Momo says as she ruffles Chaeyoung’s hair.

The tiny hero keeps laughing softly until she looks around searching for her older sister. “Where’s Nayeon-unnie? I want to show her this too!”

“I’m here” says Nayeon as she approaches Chaeyoung, the black-haired girl’s face immediately illuminates when she sees her oldest sister. “Look this Nayeon-unnie!”

Nayeon gently takes the newspaper as she reads the news with a pleased hum. “I bet you made them bite the dust, as expected of you Chae.”

The oldest gently pats Chaeyoung’s head making the tiny girl smile brightly after she received praises from her family.

“Hey!” Nayeon says as she signals Chaeyoung’s feet. “You forgot to take off your shoes, again”

Chaeyoung sticks out her tongue as she lets out a little giggle. “I’m sorryyy.”

“Yeah yeah, now go and put them in their place.” Nayeon says as she flicks Chaeyoung’s forehead a little making the tiny girl frown as she rubs her forehead.

“You’re too strict Nay.” Jieun says with a small chuckle as she starts putting the food on the table, Momo and Nayeon start to help with the dishes.

“Some things never change.” Momo says smiling, sitting beside Nayeon once everything is set, Chaeyoung doesn’t take long before she sits beside their mother, the four start to eat quietly until Momo speaks.

“Did you wash your hands?” Momo asks Chaeyoung trying to use a strict tone which Chaeyoung answers with a smug smile. “Are you sure you are the one who should be asking me that? You are the one who forgets to wash her hands.”

“I danu’t furget-“Momo says with full munching with a big pout as she sees Chaeyoung who rolls her eyes. “Don’t lie!”

The two younger girls keep bickering even if they’re eating until Nayeon and Jieun speak at the same time. “We’re eating, behave girls”

“Yes…sorry.” Say the two in unison when they see her mother and Nayeon’s intimidating eyes, it was already intimidating to deal with Nayeon’s eyes now that their mother is with them their eyes look even more intimidating together.

Even with that, the two share wide smiles as they keep eating happily, it doesn’t matter if they look more intimidating, because now, their family is complete after so many years.

Nayeon lets out a happy sigh as she starts eating humming when she finally takes a big bite of the food in front of her.

“How is it?” Jieun asks softly, turning to see Nayeon with a gentle smile that the older girl answers with a wide and happy one.

“It’s delicious, Mom!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------

“I can’t believe you are going a year before.” Elkie says as she cleans a fake tear. “It feels like you arrived yesterday.”

“I can’t tell if you are being serious” Nayeon says with a suspicious look as she puts the last box on the van Elkie lend them to go back to Seoul.

“I’m being serious!” Elkie says as she acts a sad sniff while she covers as if she was crying silently. “Can’t you see how sad I am?!”

“I can only see you are a good actor, haven’t you consider being one? I think it fits you better.” Nayeon says as she leans against the van.

“Oh? It seems like we still need to give you another few lessons.” Elkie says with a serious tone that makes Nayeon narrow her eyes, but the blonde starts laughing suddenly making Nayeon roll her eyes, Elkie can’t act serious for a long time and Nayeon has learned this since the first time she and her family arrived here.

“I’m proud, Nayeon.” Elkie tells her and this time Nayeon can see the calm in her eyes, for once in a while, she is actually being serious.

“You really improved a lot, well, you and Momo, even your whole family while you were staying here, even the association was surprised by the progress.” Elkie says with a sincere smile. “I believe all of you will go through a bright path from now on.”

“That’s mainly because you helped us.” Nayeon says as she smiles softly while looking at the blonde. “After all, you are the one who pressured the association the most, so my mother and Chaeyoung could live here with us too.”

“Not to mention, you will also help our friend Seulgi after she finishes her sentence which you also helped to reduce along with Alice, we’re truly grateful.” Nayeon smiles widely and mildly.

“You are flattering me too much.” Elkie lets out a slight chuckle. “I only helped with what I could, and also because you and your family…”

Elkie takes a deep breath before turning serious. “You four were separated for so long and the association was going to take you away from your sister and mother’s side…it was something none of us wanted to see and I only happen to have more power in the association’s decision….and well”

Elkie turns and winks towards Nayeon. “I couldn’t do anything while one of my best friend’s girlfriend was the target!”

Nayeon immediately turns bright red when she hears Elkie’s words. “W-we are not girlfriends!!”

“…yet”

Nayeon whispers but Elkie’s smug smile tells her she heard her which makes her roll her eyes.

“You better propose or something, she has been waiting a long time for you.” Elkie says with a slight chuckle as she turns to start walking to her office.

“Have a safe trip, and I don’t want to see you or Momo’s face here again!”

“Elkie!” Nayeon calls making Elkie stop her tracks, turning to see Nayeon who is waving towards her with a wide smile.

“Thanks for everything!!”

Elkie chuckles softly before turning around again waving back while she resumes her walk towards her office thinking.

“I don’t know who is luckier, her or maybe both?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Aaand we are done for today ladies.” Jeongyeon says, as soon as they arrive at their shared house, which is more like headquarters now that part of the team lives with their girlfriends.

“If another villain dares to come out today I will put them to sleep before they can move.” Sana says with an irritated scoff.

“Someone is angry because they interrupted your date with Ji” Mina mocks while she lays on the sofa with a smug smile.

“Says the one who beat the out of a group of villains before we could even do something because they interrupted your call with-“ Sana’s sentence is interrupted by a cushion hitting her face, one that she throws back at Mina and they start a small pillow fight on the sofa.

Jeongyeon only shakes her head from the kitchen, already working on their dinner, she takes a tiny glance towards Tzuyu who is on the balcony looking at the city with silent eyes.

“Only a year more, huh?”

Tzuyu whispers as she keeps looking at the city, time has passed normally, although sometimes it has been fast, others slow.

Yet she keeps her promise until this day.

It’s been so different since Nayeon went to the rehabilitation center three years ago, thankfully the association let Nayeon and Momo live with Jieun and Chaeyoung, thanks to Elkie and their pressure.

She has been seeing Chaeyoung regularly as she used to, even when the younger is already graduated and an official hero, she still stops by to train and tell her how her sisters are doing.

But even if she hears about Nayeon or reads her messages It’s not the same, she misses her every day.

“If you miss her so much, why don’t you do a video call like Mina and Momo?” Jeongyeon asks and Tzuyu even jumps a little since she was so immersed in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the older walking towards her.

“Because I want her to be here and seeing her through a display knowing she is far…” The ice hero says with a long sigh as she puts her jaw on her palm.“...Only makes me want to go where she is.”

“Jesus christ.” Jeongyeon says, covering her face because of the tiny blush Tzuyu’s sincere words provoked. “Every time you talk about her, we realize how whipped you are.”

“Hey-“ Tzuyu is about to complain but Jeongyeon’s hand on her head stops her, the older showing her a playful wink.

“Well, patience is one of your virtues, this year will fly fast before you realize.” Jeongyeon says as she rubs Tzuyu’s hair.

The ice hero only looks at the older for a few moments before looking aside.

“I hope it really flies fast.”

-----------------------------------------------------

“Why did you want to make a sudden picnic?” Tzuyu says while she walks through the park, one of her hands holding her phone against her ear.

“We just wanted to cheer you up!” Sana says with a bubbly laugh. “You looked like a sad puppy yesterday and today.”

Tzuyu lets out a light chuckle. “I am not that sad though.”

“But you are still sad, aaand that’s something we can’t let continue.” Sana says with a happy hum. “We brought your favorite, so wait for us a little bit, okay?”

Tzuyu raises a curious eyebrow, shaking her head with a half-smile. “Sure, just don’t take long guys.”

“Oki doki!” Sana says before hanging up, Tzuyu looks at her phone for a few seconds before putting it in her pocket again.

While she waits for her friends, she knows which place she can go to in this park.

With calm steps, she arrives at the stream trail she knows very well, she looks at the river too, taking a deep breath before she sits, her stare seems lost, again immersed in her thoughts.

The ice hero lays down on the grass, thankfully today isn’t too sunny so she can see the clouds in the blue sky, she smiles a little bit before closing her eyes, her mind starts to make her all the moments she spent with the auburn brown-haired woman making her smile subconsciously, thinking. “I wanna see you…”

Tzuyu keeps her eyes closed, whispering with a delicate and soft voice…

“Im Nayeon.”

…..

…

“Yes?”

Tzuyu opens her eyes abruptly, she has never sat up so fast, she looks around until she hears the laugh she has been wanting to hear up close in these past three years.

The ice hero finally looks behind her, her heart skips a beat when she sees her.

The woman finally stops laughing, still sitting in front of Tzuyu, when her brownish-green eyes link with her greyish black orbs, Tzuyu can feel herself melting when she sees the deep adoration in her bright eyes.

Tzuyu doesn’t wait anymore, she throws herself at the woman in front of her even if they fall on the grass she doesn’t care.

She can feel how her gentle hands envelop her in a warm hug and Tzuyu only tightens her hold, she wraps her arms around her neck even more.

They stay like that for a few moments, the only thing they can hear is the sounds of their happy hearts.

Until Tzuyu unwraps her arms from the woman’s neck, putting one hand beside her head and the other one on her face, raising a little bit to see her face again.

“You’re really here.” Tzuyu whispers as she caresses the woman’s face with gentle and soft hands, her heart races fast when the woman puts her hand over hers, pressing her face even more against her hand.

The brownish-green eyes look at her again with such adoration Tzuyu is not sure how much her heart can handle.

“Yes.” The woman whispers softly before showing her a wide, bright smile.

“I’m finally here, Tzuyu.”

Tzuyu starts feeling tears in the corner of her eyes, she smiles widely speaking with bright happiness.

“Welcome back, Nayeon.”

------------------------------------------------

“So they knew since yesterday?” Tzuyu asks with an incredulous look, they are walking side by side, the two of them have been talking nonstop about what happened while the other was away, until Nayeon mentioned Jeongyeon, and the others already knew she was coming back.

“Yes.” Nayeon laughs softly and when she notices the ice hero narrows her eyes with a pout, she is quick to clarify something. “But we all agree in wanting to give you a surprise that’s why they kept it in secret.”

“And Jeongyeon-unnie told me this year would past fast since patience is one of my virtues, ha.” Tzuyu chuckles with disbelief, running a hand through her hair.

“Well.” Nayeon walks faster and stops in front of her, the ice hero also stops looking down to see the older girl smiling softly while she puts her hands behind her. “Patience is really one of your many virtues.”

“Because you said you would wait for me, and you did it, even if…it took some time.” Nayeon says, her warm gaze never leaving Tzuyu’s surprised one.

Tzuyu smiles gently, her tone sounds as soft as always. “Of course, I waited, it’s you who we are talking about.”

“Who wouldn’t wait for Im Nayeon?”

Now it’s Nayeon’s time to see Tzuyu with a surprised look before she lets out a tiny chuckle.

The older looks down for a few moments, she can feel the blush creeping on her cheeks. “As always you have this way with words that takes me off guard.”

“But…that’s one of the many things I love about you.”

Nayeon says when she raises her head again with a happy yet shy smile, she can’t help but laugh a little when she sees now, she was the one taking Tzuyu off guard by the way her eyes are so wide open.

“The time I’ve been away…these three years only made my feelings for you grow, even if I thought they couldn’t, whenever I thought about you…the way you call my name…your beautiful laugh…your always gentle and breathtaking eyes…your sincere and determined voice…your tight and so expressive hugs.”.

Nayeon keeps looking at Tzuyu but as she keeps speaking her gaze turns softer. “To think I had someone as special as you, waiting only for me…it was always mind-blowing whenever that thought came to my mind”

“Tzuyu is waiting for me.” Nayeon whispers but Tzuyu can hear her. “Tzuyu loves me.”

Nayeon puts her hands on her heart, showing a tender and sweet smile to the tall girl.

“And I love her."

“You were there for me when I broke, you stayed by my side, you kept trying to understand me no matter what, you tried to make me see things were different, ¡ you believed in me even if had the opportunity to betray you in any moment, you fought with everything you had to save me…”

“If it wasn’t for you, I would probably still be a villain, my life would be the same but…everything changed the moment you wanted to know more about me… that’s why”

Nayeon extends a gentle hand towards Tzuyu, there are tears trying to fall from the corners of her eyes but she keeps holding them back.

“Chou Tzuyu.” Nayeon calls her with deep love and softness. “I want to cherish you, hold you, kiss you, cuddle you…love you every day, every month, every year.”

“Will you stay with this normal civilian?”

Tzuyu doesn’t know when but she can feel the tears rolling down her cheeks as she keeps looking at Nayeon, she can feel her heart beating like no other day, for a few moments she can see the Nayeon she saw that day, the day she extended a hand to her.

And now Nayeon is the one extending a hand to her.

The hero can feel her lips trembling as she manages to curve her lips in a tender and wide smile, looking at Nayeon with all the adoration she has been holding back in these three years, her hand slowly rising until she finally takes Nayeon’s hands.

Nayeon slowly moves her hand to make it intertwine with Tzuyu’s, she smiles brightly, tears also falling from her beautiful eyes as she laughs happily.

Tzuyu feels her heart skipping a beat when she sees that happy laugh, her eyes widening, shining with bright love as she gently pulls Nayeon towards her.

The ice hero closes her eyes as she leans, finally feeling the soft and hear-shaped lips, always molding so well against hers.

She can feel Nayeon kissing her back instantly, the older girl even tiptoes as she tries to get more of the ice hero’s soft lips.

The two separates slowly, only when the air from their lungs extinguishes, they remain like that for a few moments hearing their slow and calm breathings until Tzuyu whispers.

“I love you.”

 Nayeon can feel her heart warming when she hears Tzuyu’s words, smiling softly when she feels Tzuyu leans and puts her head on Nayeon’s shoulder, her hand still holding Nayeon’s as she gives it a light squeeze.

 The older gently leans her cheek against Tzuyu’s as she raises her free hand to put the tall girl even closer to her, whispering quietly but surely.

“I love you too.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

There’s sunlight creeping through the window, the ice hero frowns with annoyance even in her sleep as she hides under her sheets.

Until the sunlight manages to reach her eyes is that when Tzuyu finally opens her eyes, blinking as she sees the morning’s bright sun.

She sits up, still taking a couple of minutes before finally putting her feet on the ground, her nose twitches a little when she recognizes a delicious and well-known smell.

She stands up and walks towards the kitchen as she follows the smell, she smiles softly when she sees Nayeon humming while she is looking at the cookies in the oven.

Tzuyu smirks mischievously as she starts approaching like a quiet cat towards Nayeon, the oldest too focused on the cookies to realize she is about to get scared.

“boo!”

Tzuyu says in Nayeon’s ear making the older let out a loud shriek, Tzuyu immediately starts laughing hard, pleased by Nayeon’s reaction.

“You! sneaky iceberg lady!” Nayeon says with a loud voice punching Tzuyu’s chest, which makes the tall girl laugh even more.

“I couldn’t help it!” Tzuyu says between laughs until she stops Nayeon’s fist, the older one looking at her with a pout the ice hero leans a little to kiss Nayeon’s cute frown before she separates and signals the cookies. “They’re going to burn if you don’t stop it”

“Ah!” Nayeon says with a big realization as she quickly stops the oven, Tzuyu was right another few minutes and they would have had carbon as breakfast dessert.

The older takes out the cookies from the oven with careful hands, putting them aside to let them cool down she signals Tzuyu with her finger in a demanding manner. “Let them cool and don’t eat all of them while I go to search for the sugar glass”

“Yes ma’am.” Tzuyu says with a salute along with a soft smile, Nayeon narrows her eyes with suspicion but she sighs walking towards the cupboard.

“Mina-unnie told me the girls want to hang out this evening, would that be all right for you?” Tzuyu asks after she yawns, putting their breakfast dishes on the table.

“Sure, why not?” Nayeon says with a lively voice as she starts decorating the cookies. “We haven’t been able to train with them since a few months ago.”

“I know, the association really started to give us more separated missions after you came back two years ago, but these past months they’ve been giving the girls even more.” Tzuyu says with a sigh while she drinks her cup of coffee. “I wish we could be as lively as Chaeyoung, the girl is always so excited for the new missions.”

“You are talking like an old lady.” Nayeon jokes as she finally puts the cookies on the table, the two of them sitting in front of each other.

“I love being a hero don’t get me wrong and I absolutely adore I can do missions with you and the girls now after the association realized the precious diamond in the dust you are but-“Tzuyu interrupts her excitedly rambling to sigh again. “I can’t help but miss the calm days from time to time.”

“Well, you are not the only one.” Nayeon says as she munches one of the cookies, resting her jaw on her hand. “I also like what I do now, but I wouldn’t mind some vacations, I would love to pay my mom a visit as regularly as I used to do.”

“Unfortunately, there are no vacations in this job, although we have decreased the number of villains and that’s a good sign.” Tzuyu says with a calm tone, Nayeon answers with a soft hum but also with a sigh that makes Tzuyu look at her. “What is it?”

“It’s just that…” Nayeon tabs the table a little before she speaks again, her voice sounds troubled and distant. “I just wonder why there’s a lot of them, it seems like there’s no end for this.”

“And there’s always so many different types of them, ones that are truly evil, others that just rob because they want…but there’s always one type that it saddens me to see.” Nayeon takes a deep breath.

“The ones who are being obligated to do it?” Tzuyu says before Nayeon can speak, making the older widen her eyes and look at her, the tall girl shows her a soft smile which makes Nayeon let out a slight chuckle. “How did you know?”

“Because I know the person I’ve been in love with for the past five years,” Tzuyu says with a gentle laugh. “I have seen how much you have changed, even more after you came back from the rehabilitation center.”

“And I’ve also noticed how you look at the villains who are being obligated to be one, for others it might be incredible how fast you can recognize them since they don’t know the past you overcome.” Tzuyu says with a serious yet soft voice. “But me who have seen you from the start…I know why it saddens you so much.”

“However, there’s also something important I will always remind you.” Tzuyu lets down her cup of coffee to reach one of Nayeon’s hands, intertwining their fingers gently.

“It’s because of you, that we can help more like them, we can reach them because there’s someone who knows how they feel, someone who can truly empathize with them.” Tzuyu looks at Nayeon with her always gentle and loving eyes

Tzuyu’s next words are something that takes Nayeon off guard, looking at her with a speechless gaze.

“We can help and protect more people thanks to you, Nayeon.”

The ice hero doesn’t know how much that simple words make such an impact in Nayeon’s heart, she keeps looking at Tzuyu with great surprise, her heart beating thunderously against her rib cage when Tzuyu shows her a lovely and wide smile.

Nayeon looks down for a few moments, she is trying so hard to hold back her tears as she gives Tzuyu’s hand a gentle squeeze, she bites her lip when she remembers what she wanted to be when she used to be a kid.

“I want to be someone that protects and helps when I grow up!”

“Ah really…” Nayeon thinks as she starts smiling widely, hiding her face from Tzuyu who is looking at her with a patient and gentle gaze. “I’ll never get tired of being thankful that you are here…that you-“

“Tzuyu” Nayeon calls her, tenderly, smiling despite the surprise in Tzuyu’s eyes when she sees Nayeon is about to cry. “Thank you …for everything…most importantly-“

“Thank you for being here.”

Tzuyu cannot help but smile softly, she leans to put her forehead on Nayeon’s closing her eyes as she whispers. “No matter how many days or years past, you can be certain of something, Nayeon.”

“I will always stay”

Nayeon smiles brightly as she rubs her nose against Tzuyu in a lovely way Tzuyu always adores, whispering back.

“Now I know.”

The two stay unmoving for a few seconds before Tzuyu leans her head slightly to the right side as she starts approaching Nayeon’s lips…slowly…

“EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!”

The two abruptly separate when they hear the signal coming from their smartwatches, Tzuyu runs a hand through her hair and Nayeon lets out a long sigh, pressing the watch display so they can hear Wendy’s message.

“There’s a big group of villains attacking the downtown area, we need the full team there! I will send the details in a few minutes but please hurry!”

The two exchange looks before they get up quickly leaving their breakfast behind as they take out their costumes from their capsules, Tzuyu opens the window, and Nayeon jumps, the tall girl jumping right after.

They decide to run towards the downtown area since they live nearby, Tzuyu cannot help but smile as she looks at Nayeon’s costume.

It’s a full red costume with black details, her chest is slightly discovered in a diamond form but it’s not so revealing, she also has black long gloves and boots, Wendy’s special touch, and her latest creation that endures lava temperatures for more than 10 minutes.

“Do you like this costume so much? You always look at me for so much time after I put it on.” Nayeon says with a soft laugh as they keep running, Tzuyu looks at her with a wide smile.

“Yes, I like how cool and breathtaking you see on it” Tzuyu says with a smug tone, winking when Nayeon turns to see her with a raised eyebrow. “After all, everything looks good on you.”

Nayeon only rolls her eyes, looking aside to hide her blush which makes Tzuyu laugh.

“Can you not be all lovey-dovey for five seconds?”

Jeongyeon says with a disgusted tone, taking Nayeon and Tzuyu by surprise when they realize Jeongyeon and Dahyun are beside them also running.

“Forgive her, we received the call when we were still sleeping, and you know how sensitive we are about that.” Dahyun asks them with a tiny laugh.

“Lord only knows how bad those villains are going to cry when Mina, Sana, Momo, and Jihyo who are right behind us beat the out of them.” Jeongyeon says as she signals with her thumb behind her

Tzuyu and Nayeon turn around their heads a little to feel shivers down their spines when they see the four women running with those menacing auras around them, making Tzuyu and Nayeon run faster even if they’re not the objective.

“And Chaeyoung?” Nayeon asks Jeongyeon who is also running faster, the sand hero smiles and winks at her “She is already there!”

Nayeon turns her head towards the front when she hears a big explosion, she widens her eyes when she sees Chaeyoung smiling wide while she uses her two quirks at the same time taking down two villains from the big group.

The older cannot help but smile widely when she sees her little sister in action, she never gets tired of seeing it really, not when Chaeyoung barely could use her two quirks let alone use blue fire.

So, when Nayeon sees Chaeyoung using a big blast of blue fire successfully countering another villain attack, she can feel her chest overflowing with pride, one that she can see in Momo’s eyes when she also looks at their young sister.

“Girls!” Chaeyoung says with a happy and full of energy tone.

The youngest sees the rest of the team arriving, the eight girls standing beside her, the group of villains in front of them even take a step back when they see how menacing team looks.

When second-to-none was just conformed by four of them, it was always intimidating by the villains, but now that the team has grown and it’s fully complete every villain turns religious the moment the new second-to-none springs into action.

“Well, ladies.” Tzuyu says as she cracks her knuckles, exhaling cold air as she smiles smugly.

 “Let’s go!”

Each of them doesn’t need to be told twice, they run towards the villains starting to fight the large group.

While Nayeon fights against two at the same time, she still manages to see how her friends are doing, she sees Sana and Jihyo being a nice combo as always, with Sana’s steam quirk and Jihyo’s strength even if it’s not her quirk, the doctor does a lot of damage ironically.

Her stare travels towards Jeongyeon and Dahyun, she blinks with surprise when she sees Jeongyeon using her sand hands to punch a few villains to the air where Dahyun is waiting to shoot them down with a powerful air breeze, the older shakes her head with a smile, well, that’s what the villains get for taking away their precious sleeping time.

Another couple who is in a bad mood, makes her let out a soft laugh while she shoots a fire blaze at the two villains to take them down.

She sees Momo and Mina combining their flexibility and hand-to-hand combat abilities, taking down some villains while watching each other’s backs.

The way Momo begins to use her water quirk to create a big wave to gobble up the villains while Mina gives them the final shot with her emotions quirk making some villains laugh or uncontrollably make Nayeon think they make an…interesting combo, more like a dangerous one if she is being honest.

The older also cannot help but smile when she sees the lovely looks they give to each other before continuing the fight, until her sister links gazes with her, Momo asks her through signals how her costume looks today with a smug grin.

Nayeon rolls her eyes, it’s something Momo does since they received their costumes, Momo is always showing off, not that Nayeon blames her, not when her costume is designed like an off-shoulder top accompanied by long trousers, she also uses black boots and gloves that help her to control her water quirk easily.

Nayeon teases Momo with a thumbs down, she also sticks out her tongue which her younger sister answers with a playful water splash that Nayeon easily dodges laughing.

After she takes down another villain with a blast of blue fire, a similar blue fire blaze draws her attention, she sees Chaeyoung fighting against a villain who seems to give her a hard time, however, Chaeyoung manages to take them down.

For a few moments, Nayeon gets worried and it’s about to go to aid her sister when she sees 10 villains surrounding her.

But her tracks stop when she sees Chaeyoung raise her hands to her sides, using her two quirks again creating another powerful blue fire blast and a large wave, successfully defeating the villains.

Nayeon can only look at her sister with an astonished look that transforms into a happy one, her lips curving into a wide and proud smile as she keeps looking at her sister with admiration.

The older is so immersed in looking at her sister that she doesn’t realize there’s a villain approaching her

The villain is about to attack her from above, but his face receives the strong kick of a foot covered in ice.

Nayeon turns around with a surprised gaze, she looks at the ice hero who stands in front of her.

Tzuyu puts one hand on her waist showing a smug smile. “Your guard is down Im, what happened? Getting rusty?”

Nayeon rolls her eyes with a small smile, she pulls Tzuyu down by her collar, successfully silencing the hero with a kiss which makes Tzuyu open her eyes wide.

Nayeon smiles in the kiss raising her hand to use a powerful fire blast for the villain who was about to attack Tzuyu but the hero didn’t see her coming since she was busy making fun of her.

The auburn-brown-haired woman separates and lets Tzuyu’s collar go, before she whispers. “You wish, Chou”

Nayeon passes running beside her, the ice hero is still surprised, touching her lips with her fingers as she looks at Nayeon with a tiny blush.

“What happened team leader?” Nayeon says as she effortlessly knocks down a villain with a single kick, she puts her feet on them standing proudly in front of Tzuyu. “Cat got your tongue?”

“You are gonna eat your words Im” Tzuyu answers playfully, as she runs towards Nayeon and the other villains.

The battle keeps going, Nayeon, Tzuyu, and the girls successfully taking down every single villain that dares to fight them.

Nayeon and Tzuyu are back-to-back, the ice hero exchanges brief looks with her lover before the two smile and run towards the rest of the girls to end the final villain with their powerful ice and fire fists.

They can hear the people cheering for them, the nine of them standing between the beaten bodies of the large group of villains, Nayeon looks around and beside her, she looks at her friends, her comrades, her lover…

“Yeah… this is-“

She takes Tzuyu’s hand and intertwines her fingers, she looks up to see Tzuyu who is looking at her with a proud and soft smile, Nayeon answers with a tender one as she turns to look at the crowd with a wide and bright smile.

“Our new reality!”

---------------------------------------------THE END---------------------------------------------

Ooof my god what a ride has been this story!

It’s a genre I’ve never written and it was quite exciting to write someone new and again long jajajaja

There are a few details that I still have to polish and each story I write helps me to learn more and hopefully get better.

I honestly didn’t hope the story would get more than a few views, but even if 1 person liked it was enough for me! :D

So imagine my big surprise when I saw almost 3k views on this story! Man, that’s crazy! Even I can’t still believe it every time I see it. ToT

I really really want to thank everyone for their lovely comments, they helped me to feel even more motivated and with heartily enthusiasm

And thank you so much for reading until here and for all your patience between the updates, I know I still have some grammatical errors so thank you for being here, really it meant so much you don’t have an idea.

Lastly, thank you for joining me in another of my journeys! I hope we can see you soon if you would like to spend some of your sweet time reading another of my stories or the upcoming I have on the mind!

Please stay safe, wash your hands, and wear your masks properly! And remember to eat and sleep well, (a piece of advice from someone who knows that sleeping 6 hours is not healthy but college is a b*tch) but really take care of yourselves guys, and remember to take a break from time to time.

Until next time!! :D