The first thing he learned how to do when he got home from school was how to cook bacon.

The first thing he learned how to do when he got home from school was how to cook bacon. He would set the pan over low heat on the burner before school, so that it would be ready for him to throw in a few pieces of bacon when he got home. The greasy smell would fill his kitchen and he’d eat it out of the pan while watching his favorite TV show. <br><br>His mom was never home to see him do it, but his dad would come home early sometimes and he loved surprising his dad with the smell. He loved being able to do that for someone, so he always made extra.<br><br>He didn’t eat breakfast with his dad on weekends, he’d sleep over at his friend’s house instead. They’d watch movies and play video games all day Saturday and sleep over Sunday night so they could have a sleepover on Monday too, when they had a snowday.<br><br>His dad’s job was at a school that was really far away. He worked until five pm, and was exhausted every day. He was always in bed by nine pm, and he didn’t come home on weekends because he was too tired to do anything. <br><br>He didn’t have any siblings to take care of him while their mom was away. Just him and his dad, and his dad was his best friend. He knew that his dad missed his mom, but he had no idea how much. He knew it was hard for his mom to be gone, but she was the one who wanted to be a hero, who wanted to protect the world from evil. His dad just wanted to stay home with his family. <br><br>His dad never said anything, but he knew. He knew that his parents were miserable. He knew that his mom had tried to be a superhero when she was pregnant with him and that’s why she was still a superhero. He knew that they were fighting all the time because they didn’t want to be heroes anymore. He knew that they both would much rather be at home with him.<br><br>He didn’t know if his parents would ever be heroes again. His dad still said yes every time his mom asked him to go with her, but he always backed out at the last minute. And his mom was always tired when she came home.<br><br>He knew his mom was sad, because she missed his dad. And his dad was sad because he missed his mom. They both missed each other. They missed their family. They missed their home.<br><br>He wanted them to be happy again. He wanted them to be heroes again. He wanted to be a hero with them. He wanted to have a normal family again. He wanted them all to be happy.<br><br>He knew how to cook bacon. And he was going to learn how to cook more things. And maybe one day he’d be a hero too.