That night, I couldn't sleep. After all I had seen, all I had witnessed, and all I had gone through, I just couldn't. My mind was on high alert.

Mom and Peter thought it would be best for Ollie and I to get some sleep the moment we got home. They were worried, and I could tell they wanted to talk to us, or at least do something more than just send us to our rooms, but they didn't. What they did was what they thought was best, and probably was as Ollie could barely keep his eyes open the moment we stepped inside our home.

While he fell fast asleep, I just couldn't.

I turned my head to see my alarm clock reading that it was three in the morning. It was then I knew it'd be impossible for me to sleep. My left hand held my right arm close to my chest. It still hurt from what happened earlier, but I guess that was to be expected, being that the medic wanted me to go to the hospital because of that. The skin around my wrist was swelling up, and it hurt every time I had touched it wrong.

My wrist wasn't what was keeping me up. Every time I had closed my eyes, I saw him. Mr. Elastic made it very clear that he was gone for good, but I couldn't help but to fear otherwise. After all, he tricked everyone once, wouldn't he be able to do it again?

After the thought nagged me, I gave up. I sat up and pushed myself up to my feet. Being in my room wasn't helping. If anything, it was making the matters worse.

Walking out of my room, I noticed a small elephant stuffed animal sitting on my desk. It was the only thing that was different in my room, otherwise, everything was how I had left it when I left to go to Sakura's that one day. Kaito must've really thought that stuffed animal would've changed everything, but instead, seeing it just made everything worse.

No. No, he was just doing what he thought was right. It wasn't. If only he'd listen. All I wanted was for someone to listen to me, and all he did was do what he thought was best. I mean, he wasn't always wrong. If it wasn't for him coming after me when Kannon tore me away from everyone, I would've never come up with that plan to stop him for good. Kaito could have just let me go on my own, which meant I probably would have been gone.

Despite all the help he did during that, I somehow knew that the next time we'd see each other, things weren't going to end well. Right now, I didn't want to think about that. I turned around and pushed my way through the door, finding someone else was doing the same thing down the hall. My eyes widened as I looked at him.

When our eyes met, the man let a heavy sigh. "Can't sleep?" Peter asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think I can with everything that happened," I honestly told him before looking down at my hands. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you or worry you, or Mom, or anyone."

His footsteps were almost silent when he walked towards me. Despite hearing him walk closer, I just stood there, closing my eyes for a moment. Him and Mom had no idea what had happened. They were just happy that we made it back alive.

Maybe they knew. It had been a while since I had seen them, or anyone really. They could've been informed about everything that had happened, but I wasn't entirely sure. All I knew was that there was no way they knew about my plans of dropping out of U.A. after all of this, nor did they know of all the horror Ollie and I had to face. Heck, even I didn't have a clue what those trio of villains forced my brother through. All I knew was what they did to me.

"Do you want me to make you a cup of tea?" Peter asked, "Or a midnight snack?"

"Yeah," I whispered. "I'd—I'd like that."

~*~*~*~

Peter didn't say a word after that, even as he handed me a plate with a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich and a cup of tea next to it. I looked up at him as he sat across the table, wrapping his hands around a mug. The string of the tea bag dropped over the crack of the mug, almost as if that was where it was meant to go. His hand covered up the black lettering that adorned the mug, but even if his hand wasn't there, the words were already starting to fade from the amount he used that very mug.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford a new mug. We had quite a few to choose from, but Peter always took the same blue mug from the cabinet for himself. I never questioned it. Instead, my hands wrapped around the sandwich before picking it up and taking a bite out of it.

"So," Peter awkwardly said. "You wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head. "I'd rather not."

As soon as those words escaped my mouth, I winced. It wasn't the pain in my right hand. No, it was a select choice of words my friend said to me the last time I refused to talk about what happened. Ironic that both times I had been asked, I was eating something pretty late at night.

"I just don't want to think about it," I whispered, placing the sandwich down on the plate. "But, not talking about it makes me think about it too."

Peter didn't say anything. Hearing his silence was something I was used to. Mom did most of the talking for the two of them. When I looked up at him, his brown eyes were more concentrated on the tea in his hands. The lights were on, so I was able to see his broad shoulders hidden behind an old high school sweatshirt he always seemed to love wearing.

"I met him," I told Peter, causing him to freeze. My step-dad didn't have to even ask who I was talking about. I could tell as his eyes looked up at me while he placed the mug on the table. It was awkward bringing it up to him, but I think talking to Mom about it would be even worse. "He—he was nothing like Mom said. He was worse, especially since...since...he t-took Ollie."

My eyes closed as my head dropped. Of all the things I could have done, I shouldn't have told Ollie I no longer wanted to be a hero the second I saw him. I should've waited. If I had just kept my mouth shut about it all, things would've been a whole lot better.

Things would've been a whole lot better if I had just kept doing what I had always done instead of mess things up.

That guilt slowly washed away as I felt a hand wrap around my left hand. I felt relieved for a moment, not sure how I did all of a sudden.

"Don't push all the blame on yourself," Peter told me. "You had no control over that. You did the best you could."

I opened my eyes, noticing something strange. The feeling of relief wasn't coming from me; it was coming from Peter. I carefully pulled my left hand away from him, remembering what happened the last time someone used their Quirk on me with physical touch

But, Peter didn't have a Quirk. I was just being paranoid. After all, I had just dealt with a man who could erase memories as long as a person was relaxed or more effectively, asleep, while another could kiss someone to sleep. It was no wonder those two worked together, but after dealing with them too long, I was just starting to assume everyone was like that.

"S-sorry," I told him.

"No worries. I tend to forget sometimes that you're not a touchy person. That was my fault. Your mom and I were so worried about you and Oliver that I'm just so relieved to see you two back here. Whatever you two went through, it must've been terrifying," Peter explained.

"It's not that," I honestly told him. "It's just, for a moment, I thought, well, I felt, I—it's ridiculous."

"Tami, what is it?" Peter asked.

I drew in a deep breath as I looked up at him. The man was looking at me with a concerned look on his face. Somehow, I could tell he was doing everything he could do to stay calm, but at the same time, he looked as if he was about to go on full worry mode. Mom did it more than he did. I think it was because Peter was a guy, he could hold his emotions better. Or maybe that was simply because he had to for Mom's sake.

"Your touch, it—it reminded me of him. It shouldn't. I mean, that was all it took for him to—to—'' I exhaled as I looked down, trying to calm myself. It came a lot quicker than usual, as I felt my breaths even out. "To forget. It's ridiculous, really, it is. He's gone for good, so I-I don't have to worry about—to worry about anyone using their Quirk like that again. You don't even have one, so I really, really shouldn't have thought of that, but it was the first thing that popped into my mind and I just...I just...sorry."

Peter exhaled. "No, don't be. If he had a Quirk that manipulated the mind like that, you have every reason to worry. I'm just sorry things had to turn out the way they did. But, you don't have to worry about him or anyone like him again since it's over."

A smile crossed my lips as I looked down at my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All of my worries seemed to slowly be fading away with every word he was saying. For once, I felt relaxed. I guess I should have. Peter made it very clear that him and Mom were just happy that Ollie and I had just made it back safely.

I took a few bites into my sandwich, thinking about that for a moment. Peter seemed relieved to have me back, even if he knew about what truly happened, or an idea of it. Talking about Kannon didn't bother him, but I guess we all knew he wasn't the best man in the first place. At least now we could truly forget about him.

It was a funny thing. All Kannon wanted was to be remembered as a hero, yet he died a villain. He did so many awful things that when Mr. Elastic broke the news to me, I didn't feel heartbroken or anything. I thought that made me a horrible person for a moment. We were still related by blood, yet he wasn't really my father.

Peter was.

The piece of the sandwich I had bitten into slid down my throat as I realized that. I felt relieved knowing I had someone else to look up to, but at the same time, I still had to break another piece of news with him and Mom. Only, this time, I didn't feel anxious about it, not like I did when I told my friends and Ollie about it. This time, I felt ready.

"As a hero, I would have to worry about that kind of stuff all the time: about villains, uncomfortable situations, saving people I-I wouldn't be able to," I told him, dropping the sandwich on the plate before downing it down with the hot tea. Once down, I continued to talk. "I don't think that's the kind of life I want. I-I don't want to be a hero."

Once again, everything was silent, but it wasn't the same kind of silence that set me on edge. If anything, I felt even more relieved than usual. In fact, it was like a wave of relief when I said those words. Even if I didn't get Peter's reaction at first, I wasn't afraid of what could happen. All I knew was that I knew what I needed to do.

My hands wrapped around the mug as I looked down at the tea. There wasn't much left in it that I should've gotten up to get more, but I still didn't get Peter's response. I wanted to know what he'd say. Despite wanting to know, I was just happy I could get it off my chest.

Of all the ways I would've felt when telling him or Mom about it, relieved and happiness were two emotions I wasn't expecting. It was nice.

"You never wanted to be a hero, did you?" Peter asked.

I shook my head, looking back at him. Peter wasn't mad. He just looked at me with a soft smile.

"You know, Tami, I was quite surprised when you first told me you wanted to be a hero. I know your mother wasn't, being that we thought we knew the kind of man he was, but it just seemed off to me."

"Wait, told you?" I asked. "I thought we moved here, so I could be a hero. Isn't that what you and Mom wanted for me?"

Peter laughed. "Oh no! We moved here because things at home were strange. Looking back, I should've realized something was up being that the Quirkless rate was going up, but no one said a word about it. We came here because we always said how we wanted to visit and since Japanese is our second language, we thought the transition would be easy. We thought it would be for you too.

"Course," Peter added, "we weren't thinking that you knew nothing, so on your first day of class, your teacher asked what you wanted to be when you grew up. You brought home the homework assignment for it and everything, and the only thing you had circled was Hero. I should've known it was because you didn't really know what it said and had guessed on it, but your mother was so proud that we just supported you. We would support you with whatever it is you wanted, so from that day, we were just trying to help encourage you to be a hero, not knowing how you really felt. I'm sorry about that."

My eyes closed for a moment. Why wasn't it that I remembered that? It wasn't like Kannon could've taken that memory from me considering he just found me. If he found me sooner, then things would've gotten out of hand a lot earlier than they did.

As if sensing my confusion, Peter said one more thing. "You probably don't remember it though because your Japanese was really rusty, making it easy to forget. To be honest, I think when your mom hears about that, she'll be more than supportive of you. After all, these last few days, you had her worried sick."

I nodded my head. "At least you don't have to worry anymore," I said, looking up at him. "Thanks Peter."

"Anytime. Is there anything else on your mind?" Peter asked.

I fell silent for a moment as I picked up and ate the rest of my sandwich. There was one more thing I wanted to talk about, but I didn't want to talk to Peter about that. Actually, I don't think I wanted to talk to anyone about what was going on, except with the person I was having troubles with.

Thinking about it, I knew I'd have to make a tough decision. Kaito was my friend. I'd always think of him that way, but maybe...maybe we went into a relationship too soon? Of all the things I was worried about, I shouldn't have been worried about that, but these past few hours, I saw a whole other side to him I didn't expect. If Kaito was going to continue to be pushy, then I really don't think a relationship was something that was good.

But...he helped me out tremendously. If it wasn't for him, I don't know if I could've escaped from Kannon. He was definitely there when I needed him, but only physically. I couldn't help but have a bad feeling that if we were to talk about it, he'd just use it as an excuse to be a hero.

What was so great about being a hero anyways? Sure, there was always the fame and glory that attracted most people to the job, but beyond that, it was dangerous. My Quirk wasn't cut out for it. While I always knew this, I couldn't say I hated all heroes. Not anymore. Sure, Mr. Elastic and the few heroes he brought with him were a bit late when we took down Kannon, Nightshade, and Goro, but they were there. Most of my friends were supportive with my decision.

Heroes weren't bad. I just didn't want to be one.

And I most certainly did not want to talk to Kaito about it.

"Something's troubling you," Peter said.

I swallowed the last bit of my sandwich before looking up at him, a bit confused. "H-how did you know?"

Peter frowned as he looked down at his mug. "Can you keep a secret, Tami?"

Instead of verbalizing my answer, I nodded my head.

"It's my Quirk," Peter said. "Your mother knows, but we decided to keep it quiet because it's nothing much, honestly."

My jaw dropped out of disbelief. "Your Quirk?"

There was no way he had a Quirk. I distinctly remember Mom telling me that Peter comes from a family of people who are Quirkless. The same goes for her. If he would have had a Quirk, he could have had a much better job than working at the same factory Mom did.

They would have told me if he had a Quirk. If he did, then Ollie would have had a chance at having a Quirk, wouldn't he? I remember what his doctor said at his last appointment. He wasn't capable of getting a Quirk. Ollie didn't have the right bone structure for that. Being that he took after Peter a lot, there was no possible way Peter could have had a Quirk.

Yet, while I didn't believe it, Peter just stuck with his story. "It's called Empath. It allows me to feel the emotions around me, and in some cases, I can help people through some tough emotions. For you and your mother, I try to help keep calm during times of stress. I just try not to manipulate it too much as I have to be able to control my own first."

Empath. It was weird, but it wasn't the first time I've heard about that Quirk. Some say it wasn't even a Quirk at all being that it just sensed and manipulated emotions, but what he said made sense. I never found it weird when I was young that my mom married another man. If anything, I was happy for him. He always felt like family, even if he hardly talked to one another.

Thinking back on it, I don't think there was ever a time my mom really felt anxious after meeting him. When I met Kannon, he made it sound like the two butted heads, and that she was constantly tearing me away, but my earliest memories of her were being calm. I don't think she could have been calm if she was trying to get away from someone, even if she didn't remember why.

"Are you—are you ever going to tell Ollie about it?" I carefully asked.

Peter pressed his lips together as he took a deep breath. "When the time is right, but now isn't the time for that."

Even though it felt wrong for Peter to hide something like that from our family, I understood where he was coming from. I mean, word was going to get out that Kannon had the ability to force people to forget their Quirk. For all I knew, Mom could have had a Quirk. If Ollie found out that he was the only one in the family without a Quirk, or if the thought even crossed his mind, well, I couldn't imagine how he would have felt.

I just nodded my head as I placed my mug on the top of my plate. Before I could pick it up to bring it over to the sink, Peter's hand grabbed it from me. I looked up, seeing the man giving me a soft smile.

"You probably should get some sleep though. If you'd like, I could use my Quirk to help calm you down," he suggested.

Again, I nodded my head. "I'd like that."

Author's Note:

Such a heartwarming scene between Tami and the father-like figure in her life. Now, I wish I could say I came up with the idea of Peter Davis's Quirk; however, he is not the first person to have that Quirk. If you've read Kita's Legacy by sd1229 , you may have noticed Peter shares the same Quirk as young Emiko Yukimura. Luckily, the author gave me permission to use it, and I can't express how thankful I am for that, so thank you again for letting me use it!

Moving into this chapter's question, being that Peter and Tami are sipping some tea, I want to know, what is your favorite comfort drink? Is it hot cocoa, tea, a cup of coffee, or is it something else?

Character Spotlight: Peter Davis
Quirk: Empath
Likes: His #1 Dad Mug

Song: Animal Crossing Wild World 5 am Music (wish I could get this on loop, but apparently, I can't find that for this. Oof).