Before she met Chuck, her life had been in a sad, sorry state. Hella damaged by her past, the least likely to trust the people around her and generally someone who kept to herself, remaining quiet throughout high school and staying in her room most days. Until she met him. Her life had been a barren wasteland of darkness. How could anyone find that interesting? Find her attractive? Funny? Her self-esteem was nonexistent, there was no way someone could like a girl with demon mutations, sharp teeth, weird eyes and horns? She was the kind who got ostracized and picked on, the darkness in her life threatening to swallow everything, dragging her into a pit of despair. Meeting him changed everything, as for the first time since she could remember, when she met Chuck, and they laughed together and went on their first date, the light finally returned to her life. The man who she held so dearly, who she clung to every day and night, whether it was cuddling up to him in bed or sneaking up on him in the kitchen, he was her everything. Chuck McCoy was the sunrise on her life, the one who changed everything for the better. Once she knew what it was like to bask in his light she grew hella possessive. How could she not when she had found the perfect man?

Every I love you, every kiss and every touch made her heart flutter. It was funny to think there once was a time where she was afraid of crying in front of him, afraid that he would find it lame or something. These days, she expressed herself just as she was to him. The authentic Kazashi McCoy, hella no filter, all love for her hubby! All this time later and you could still catch her beaming when she had to sign paperwork with her new last name, or read the occasional letters that came in the mail that referred to them as a couple, a family. “Do we really have ta get up?” She mock-whined, relaxing all over as he kissed her forehead. Paradise was Chuck McCoy and everything he stood for. “Yer so comfortable Ah could stay like this for hours.” She muttered, cuddling further into him as she kissed his shoulder and closed her eyes. She cracked a grin at what he said next. “If they’re learnin’ swears, they should learn them from home.” Her fingertips danced along his chest, cupping the side where his heart would be as he held her close. She was over the moon that he still loved her like this, that her getting bigger because of the pregnancy wasn’t a dealbreaker for him. She chuckled warmly as he whispered against her skin, squirming a little bit but only so she could wriggle up close to him! “When it comes ta rankin’ heroes,” she slid her hand up to caress his cheek, rubbing soft circles into it. “Yer list an’ their list is the only one where Ah care about bein’ number one.” Hero popularity contests? Not for her, but she was going to work hard and fight to prove him right, to be the best hero mom ever. “But Ah think yer gonna be their hero too.” She whispered. “Super talented dad who isn’t afraid of anythin’ an’ who can build what he wants. Talk about a role model. ~”

She was getting hella spoiled, being treated like a princess and given handmade gifts. How did she ever get so lucky? All these years later and she hella owed Disney for linking her to her soulmate. Those magic words, every time he said it she felt a little happy shiver reverberate through her body, starting from her heart. It was spilling over with love for him, her auric eye pupils growing bigger as she looked into his own. She closed one eye and let out a soft gasp as he took her hips tightly and cupped her horns. “Love ya..” she blushed, her response breathy before she eagerly returned the kiss, her fingers gripping his hair tightly. Wanting, needing. He was too irresistible, her perfect husband. Another gasp escaped her, his kisses up her neck to her jawline driving her wild. “Don’t stop.” It was a low whimper, all she could muster in response to his alluring whisper as she held him tightly.

“Ah won’t lose!” She kissed his hand again one more time for good measure! In love with that flush in his cheeks. “Ch-Chuchu!!” She burst out laughing, taking a few seconds to gain her composure before she retaliated, starting a kissing barrage war! Once the dust had settled and he slammed onto the floor getting out of bed she was right there by his side at record speed. “Ya okay? Ya didn’t hurt yerself, hun?” She gave him a look over, one last kiss to take the pain away, even though he was hella immortal! Then, she was already getting ready for the day. Brushing her hair in front of the bathroom mirror she would playfully nudge him with her hip as he walked in

CHUCK MCCOY

A thousand emotions and a thousand more. Chuck was hella right, she was a major big softie. Not that it was entirely her fault, could anyone blame her when she had such a thoughtful husband who always brought her the cutest gifts? Always reminded her of how much she was loved and always found the time to call and check in on her. She was spoiled rotten, had been for years, she could only imagine how spoiled their kids were going to be when they had a pa this caring and giving. He made her aspire to be better every day, to push herself harder too. She was truly fortunate, that she could look back at him like this with tears in her eyes, be vulnerable with him, her soulmate, her Pluto. He was her greatest support through all the good and the bad, and her biggest inspiration.

She smiled big when he said what he did, tears streaming down her face, but he was already on the case, wiping them away like he had done so many times before. “Ah love ya.” She leaned into him as he planted a soft kiss between her horns. “Best mom an' dad.” She muttered into his shoulder, her arms wrapping around, clinging to him like he was her only lifeline. “They tell me how much they love ya all the time.” She teased, they didn’t actually talk to her, but she already knew they had the sweetest little twins on the way. “Pretty sure their first words will be about ya.” She whispered, overjoyed to be woken up in his arms like this. Her joy didn’t stop there either! Aside from the tears, she was practically so giddy that she could have jumped in the bed then and there! Instead, she settled for squeezing him in a BIG hug, stealing as much of his body heat as she could in the process!!

“Yeah, Ah love it.” She traced her hand up his shoulder and then one of his arms as it wrapped around her, smiling as she looked over him. ‘‘Almost as much as Ah love ya.’’ Every morning was perfect because of him. The kisses, the cuddles, his soothing morning voice, her whole soul was at peace knowing the man she loved was by her side. Now and forever. That he was just as dedicated to her as she was to him. She could only hope that he felt it too, that she was giving enough of herself, since he had taken on more work ever since she got pregnant, taking care of her and making sure they were saving up for the future. She knew she wasn’t, but she felt hella helpless by comparison, swore to herself that if he ever fell sick she would be by his side 25/8, hella would no matter what anyway, but especially if he got sick!! His hands sliding up her back, neck and through her hair drove her wild, her hands subconsciously mimicking his as she traced her fingers to his collarbone, up his neck and into his hair, holding him closer. She didn’t just want him close to her, she needed him. When they pull apart her face is warm to the touch, mad blushing like on their first date.

‘‘Left or right? What are they?’’ She leaned to either side, jokingly trying to sneak a peek! Putting a hand up to her chin, she pretended to think about it, giving her time to send a little wink his way. ‘‘Hmm.. Right! That one always brings luck.’’ When she saw what it was she beamed. ‘‘A mall trip? It feels like it’s been ages!’’ She took his right hand in hers and kissed it a few times. ‘‘When are we leavin’? Ah can get ready in five minutes!’’ It was a bit of an exaggeration, but she could hella speedrun her makeup when she needed to!

CHUCK MCCOY

''That actually reminds me, Ah've been thinkin' about work lately. Maybe doin' part time heroism an' somethin' else that'll be easier ta do while Ah look after the kids.'' She pointed a finger at Mochi and pouted a bit. ''Ah'll tell ya, but ya have ta promise me not ta laugh!'' It wasn't really a threat so much as just the kind of banter she would do with her best friend. ''Ah was thinkin'... Maybe if Ah started a small local bakery?'' She smiled longingly, it was something she had dreams about, a nice little place to work, close to their house or maybe built into it so she could still take care of the little ones and at the same time perfect her baked goods game. She would definitely have to ask Futaba for advice there!

''Shoppin'?'' She grinned, ''it has been a while since we did, hasn't it?'' And she had to admit, it was a lot more fun to go shopping with Mochi than going on her own. Especially these days when she got tired faster than usual. She couldn't help but laugh when Mochi went into her pouting shtick over being short. Every part of Mochi was so amiable and endearing it was easy to see why she had such a successful private and working life. ''They do not!'' She immediately retorted, pointing an accusing finger at Mochi. ''Ya made that up right now! Everyone knows chocolate is good for ya as long as it's dark chocolate!'' She was breaking halfway through her sentence, laughing and sticking her tongue out at Mochi. Once they both settled down she took another sip of her drink. ''It's funny, it's like nothin' changed even after all these years.''

mochi

Her view on what family meant had always been skewered. She knew parents were supposed to love their children, but she never saw it firsthand, not in her early years. In that little orphanage in Okinawa there was no love to be found. Getting shouted at over the smallest mistake, Kazashi only cared about herself, every child for themselves in that orphanage where she learned to embrace her quirk. It was so much easier to be a sweater on the couch than a person who could get in trouble. She had always wanted a real family, but never understood what it was. Eventually, she was adopted, the Satos were absolute sweethearts, but Kazashi wasn’t ready to love by then. She was a rebellious, sensitive and complicated teen. It wasn’t until she met Chuck that she started to appreciate being human.

Nowadays things were different. She had reunited with her biological mother and while her half siblings and the Kaneko family continued to haunt her, they couldn’t hold a candle to her undying love for Chuck. Her proudest moment was when she received the ring, when she filled out the paperwork to have her last name changed to match his.

Waking up, she immediately turned to look at Chuck’s side of the bed. Empty. She could hear him working away in the kitchen and couldn’t help but smile. He had started doing this more and more recently, getting up before her to make breakfast. She felt a shiver through her body, causing her to curl into herself. She wasn’t sure why but her feet always got cold every night and morning. For that exact reason she kept a warm blanket nearby. Without getting out of bed, she turned both her arms into scarfs and rather clumsily unfolded the blanket and draped it over the foot of the bed. Perfect. With a self-satisfied smile she went back to closing her eyes until he came back into the bedroom.

“Mornin’.” She hugged him right back, squeezing him extra tight. “What’s happenin’?” She rubbed her eye and yawned as she sat up. “Early birthday?” She looked down at the wrapped present, then up at him. It wasn’t until he said it. Mother’s Day. That it clicked. “Ah’m goin’ ta be a mother.” She whispered, almost as if she had forgotten. Then the happy tears started rushing down her face. “An’ yer…” She grabbed him for another hug, leaning into his familiar scent as she quietly sobbed. “Ah love ya, we’re goin’ ta be the best parents ever.” She finally pulled away, wiping the tears from her face. “Do Ah open it now?” Her hands were practically already unwrapping it, so eager to see what he had gotten her. “Chuck-kun..” she picked it up and inspected it, turning it this way and that, opening and closing it as she traced her fingers along its edges. Then the writing made her want to cry again. “Did ya make this? It’s beautiful! Thank ya, Chuchu!” She pulled him in for another hug, but then tried to push him onto the bed, climbing on top of him as she kissed him all over his neck and face!!

CHUCK MCCOY

Kazashi wanted to give her all the space she needed. Time to gather up her thoughts before speaking and when she did, she listened quietly, but attentively. The unknown was indeed a scary thing. Kazashi recalled her own confusion and horror when her villain father first emerged. What were his motives? Why was he targeting her? Why was she separated from her biological parents soon after birth? She knew nothing and could only scream and cry as she watched Chuck get cut down. Getting kidnapped all while she thought no one was coming to save her. There were so many unknowns in that encounter and it killed her, one little piece at a time. If she hadn't been rescued from her father, Kaz wasn't even sure where she would be today.

It pained her to see Kaida in this state. No one should have to deal with so much suffering early in life. ''Kaida...'' What did she even say in a situation like this? She felt like everything that came to her was just moot advice. No, no matter what she settled on, Kaz knew she had to speak honestly, from the heart. That was the only way she could think of that had even a sliver of a chance of reaching Kaida. ''We can't change the future ta where we want it ta be. Not entirely, anyway.'' She put her cup down and folded her hands in her lap. ''But we can influence it, in little ways. It might not seem like much, it might even seem like a waste of time, but startin' small we can slowly push our futures in the direction we'd like.'' She was about to lean forward, reaching for Kaida's hand to give it a comforting squeeze, but before she could there was a bang against the front door as it swung open.

The figure who emerged immediately threw a knife at the back of Kaida's head, but before it could connect, Kazashi leapt from her seat, placing herself between the villain and Kaida as she transformed her hand into a combat boot and punched the knife out of the way, using her durability to completely halt its momentum. Panting, she glared up at whoever it was. Was it one of the guys that were after Chuck?

Familiar auric eyes stared back at her, the man approximately 6'7'' tall with a buzz cut and horns that looked almost identical to her own. ''Daiki! What the hell do ya want?! None of yer heads are here!'' She sneered, ready to thrash the entire apartment if it meant protecting Kaida.

''My business isn't with you, sis.'' He pulled another knife from his belt and pointed it at Kaida. ''It's with her.''

Kaida Ikarashi

“Ya think?” She grinned like an idiot, loving every second that he humored her little training joke. “All for ya.” She affirmed with a giggle, she could get lost gazing into his milky white eyes for days. She hella would have had he not moved down to her tum. She blushed at his response. It was a new thing for her, her body being in this changing state that it was. It meant the whole world to her that he was here to support her every step of the way. That he wanted this life together just as much as she did. It made every change, every bout of morning sickness a little less scary to know he was always by her side. Even when he wasn’t by her side all day, all she had to do was talk into her ring to get the comfort she needed. “Yeah?” She perked up, before bursting out laughing at what he said next. “Ya better watch out, they’re learnin’ all their rizz from ya!”

“New things?” Her face was flush, her tone a soft, morning whisper. “Ah get sick in the mornin’ sometimes. That’s how Ah first noticed too.” She grinned, thinking back to when she went to the doctor thinking she had gotten sick, only to find out it was something much more important. “The few days before Ah told ya.” She looked down, her hand moving to find one of his so her fingers could dance playfully across his wrist, palm and fingers. “Really? They don’t have an office in Tokyo?” Living in the city she was so used to everything being close by. “We can go if ya want. Make a little trip out of it?”

Her heart beat faster as they kissed, his soft lips plucking her breath away with each passing second. Without thinking about it her legs moved to wrap around his, her desire to be as close to him as she could ringing true. All she wanted was to be his soulmate, to realize all of his and her own dreams together, grow old and gray with the best life to look back on. One of her hands slipped around his hip and up his back as she reciprocated his embrace. “Ah love ya.” She whispered, breathless, flushed, before she leaned in for more kisses!

“Yeah? Ya got me. ~” She grinned, blushing as he held onto her horns in a way that made her head spin. She chuckled when he picked her up, leaning in to kiss his neck. One short trip to the bathroom later and Kaz found herself seated in the kitchen. “With the amount we’re eatin’ these days, we’re already cookin’ for a whole family.” She turned her arm into a scarf and wrapped it around a strawberry before popping it into her mouth. “Ah bet they’re gonna go crazy for pa’s cookin’.” She stood up to grab them a glass each and some cups for hot drinks. Walking past Chuck by the burners, she picked up another strawberry and gave it a tiny smooch, before turning to hold it up to his lips.

CHUCK MCCOY

Her dreams were sweet. They had been for years now. She still remembered a time where she would wake up shaking next to him, cold, shivering, terrified, only to calm down in his arms as he reassured her everything would be okay. He was right. Those demons were long gone now, defeated at the hands of Chuck McCoy, her husband and number one hero! Hella didn’t matter what society thought about him!! As she slept in his arms her tum, featuring a growing baby bump, was slowly rising and falling with her breathing. This was it, her personal heaven and she wasn’t even awake to cherish it, cherish him and everything he did for. Something she would have to remedy when she woke up.

She was quite the heavy sleeper, so when Chuck got up it didn’t wake her, but her body did instinctively move a couple of inches, cuddling closer to his side of the bed. Their lives had taken a different turn ever since her pregnancy. She wasn’t as involved in the hero business anymore, at least for the time being, and it had been a real struggle to shelf all that. Especially when Chuck was getting up and going to work, risking his life, presumably having to work even harder to cover their cost of living. She wanted to be out there with him, keeping him safe and beating up anyone that might look at him wrong, but she knew what was best for the little ones, and that was her staying at home.

On the flip side, she cooked a lot more now that she had the time and was sewing and crocheting clothes at a breakneck pace. She even crocheted little charms for Chuck. Cute little things with hearts and encouraging messages on them. Sometimes she left them on the door for when he came home, hid them in his workshop, or snuck them into his lunchbox! Anything she could think of to make his day a little easier, to put that beautiful smile on his face, a smile that shone so brightly the whole deserved to see it and get blinded by it!

After a little while she slowly opened her eyes. Feeling his arms around her and his face against her neck, she immediately smiled as she turned her arms into soft, fuzzy jacket sleeves and pulled him in closer. “Mornin’…” she mumbled into his forehead, giving it a lazy kiss. “Yer gonna get cold, Chuchu, come here.” She held him tight, rubbing the sleeves against his back. There was no better feeling than waking up next to him. To know that the one she was building her whole life with was right there next to her. Somehow more handsome with each passing day, year, decade? If their kids took after him they would be hella blessed, his dreamy, infinite eyes, his perfect, big sappy heart that could charm anyone, not to mention the most gorgeous and goofy smile to go with it. He was the perfect husband, the perfect pa to their kids. “Did ya sleep okay?” She kept caressing his skin as she let him answer, then it dawned on her. “...Ah slept much longer than ya again, didn’t Ah?” She kissed his forehead again, giving him a little nudge as she worked her way down to kiss him on the lips.

CHUCK MCCOY