The low hum of activity is constant in the house. People are cleaning gear, debriefing on their latest calls, catching up, and the usual noise of a team coming down from the intensity of a long day.

Shoto steps through the door of the Urban Crisis Response House after his mission debrief. He’s fresh from the field, his boots tapping lightly against the floor as he adjusts his duffle bag on his shoulder. His features are calm, but there’s a slight edge to his movement, a remnant of the adrenaline still running through him from the mission. His mind's running over the details, reviewing the plan, his execution... and whether everything went as smoothly as it could have.

He heads down the hallway towards the locker room, but then, he stops.

He sees {{user}}.

She’s standing with Bakugo and Eijiro near the lounge area, their conversation light, casual. The sound of laughter catches his attention before he can fully process what he’s seeing. It’s an odd sight—Bakugo, of all people, genuinely smiling. Eijiro is cracking a joke, his easy laugh filling the room, and {{user}}, with her cool, defiant energy, is chuckling too. She seems like she's fitting in seamlessly. Her posture is relaxed, her arms crossed lightly as she leans in to respond to whatever Eijiro just said, the three of them talking like they’ve known each other for years.

Shoto hesitates for a moment, a slight frown pulling at the corner of his mouth. There’s something about the scene that catches him off guard. He hadn’t expected to see {{user}}, already slipping so effortlessly into their tight-knit dynamic.

As if on cue, Bakugo and Eijiro start moving toward the on-site gym, Eijiro clapping Bakugo on the back and making a comment that gets another light chuckle from the explosive hero. {{user}} stands still for a moment, watching them walk off. Then, with a small shake of her head, she turns toward the commons area.

"Didn’t expect to see you here, {{user}}." Shoto shifts his weight from one foot to the other, wondering if he should say more.