Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Toshinori comes to visit you on his nightly run, you suggest a leisure nighttime stroll to help soothe your nerves and troubled minds.

Your gaze is fixed on your hands as you flexed them from the biting cold as you both continue your leisure walk around the block.  Fall was quickly approaching into winter and with it the temperatures were dropping, especially in the night.  You cupped your hands to your face, attempting to warm them as you blew on your freezing digits, unable to hold back another shudder, this time from the chill.

“Are you cold?”  Toshinori asked out of concern as he took a half-step closer, hesitant to invade your personal space.  “Perhaps we could go to the convenience store and get you a warm drink?”

“Are you sure they have anything left after your shopping spree?” You joked lightly, trying to brush off his concern. 

“I didn’t buy any of the hot drinks.  There would be no point in that,” Toshinori pointed out, looking at you perplexed.  “They would have become cold by the time you finished even one of them.”

You looked over at him, frowning at how literally he seemed to take your response and did your best to withhold a sigh.

“Right,” you breathed out your reply quietly, closing your eyes briefly before looking over at him with a strained smile.  “Anyway, I doubt they’d be more than welcoming if you and I darkened their doorstep right now.”

You paused before adding with a bit of emphasis, “you more than me.”

Toshinori frowned at you.  You weren’t going to let that go, were you?  

He held a fist to his mouth, coughing lightly as he attempted to clear his throat, debating whether to convince you to go to the convenience store to get a hot beverage, or to offer you his jacket, but considering you were already wearing a hoodie he doubted you’d be open to that option, on top of the fact you already hinted to your concern over his health.  There was also the fact that he did run a fair distance  before arriving at your apartment and you probably wouldn’t be too keen on the idea of being covered in an article of clothing drenched in his own sweat.

A silence once more stretched between the two of you, your steps falling in synch, interrupted by the soft exhales of your attempts to warm your frozen digits.  He almost gave in to the urge to offer his jacket, hands reaching to the zipper.  He fiddles with the small piece of metal, inching it along the track that lay down the middle of his chest, exhaling a small puff of air visible from the cold condensing it,  contrasting with the warmth of his breath.  

Another idea comes to mind and he drops his hands, looking at them as he flexes his own fingers against his palms before looking over at you.  You were standing just a few steps away, having paused to focus on warming your frigid hands, alternating between cupping one hand to blow the warmth of your breath upon it, before switching hands to give it the same treatment.  You then quickly rubbed them together, a little shiver running through your whole body as you willed warmth into your limbs with the small amount of friction you could muster.  

“May I?”

This was the only warning you would get before you could respond as a pair of large hands engulf yours, encasing them into a makeshift barrier against the biting cold.  You jumped as his equally cold digits enveloped yours, but it did provide some comfort from the chill surrounding you both.  You could only stare before realizing the tall blond man was now towering over you, gently pulling you to shuffle closer as he raises your hands up to his mouth and gently blows on them to help warm them up.  Your eyes continue to widen, your entire body tense as you were stuck in place with your arms held up, encased in the growing warmth generated by the combination of his breath and being held in his much larger hands.  

Toshinori had his eyes closed as he exhaled against your hands, cupped gently in his own as he attempted to assist you in warming them up.  His eyes remained closed partly to stay focused, otherwise he’d find himself drowning in the alluring clean, light scent that remained from your shower currently invading his senses with each inhale he had to take between providing warmth to your hands.  It was also partly to close himself from your surprised expression of the flush painting your cheeks as your damp, drying hair curled at the ends, framing your face into a very pleasant visage.  When assaulted by the combination of the two he found a steady warmth pooling in his gut. 

You could only continue to stand stock-still as he continued his treatment, your eyes wider than they’ve ever been.  You should have pulled your hands from his and stepped away, but you could only stand there, as if frozen in place.  For a moment you were starting to wonder if this was this man’s quirk, to somehow incapacitate others and keep them vulnerable to his actions, no matter how pleasant they might be.

As you were contemplating the abilities of this man, at that moment Toshinori chose to open his eyes, still hidden mostly by the shadow of his brow, but you could see the shocking blue of his gaze.  Half-lidded and penetrating as they were directed at you, a wave of warmth flooding your entire body as you felt your face aflame.  A poling heat was growing in your belly, rapidly increasing your core temperature more effectively than his current treatment of warming your hands.

“Better?” He rumbled out, the single word a deep, rich breathy exhale that barely traversed the almost nonexistence distance between the two of you.

Considering that just from his gaze alone made it feel as if your body were about to spontaneously combust on the spot, you found yourself unable to speak, your throat tightening as your lips parted in the slightest only to have your head bob up and down in response.

Toshinori continued to stare down at you before adjusting his grasp on you so that now each of his palms were pressed flat against the backs of your hands, making them look incredibly tiny in comparison, his fingers curling against your palms as he pulled you to shuffle even closer, lifting your hands up and causing you to brace yourself on the balls of your feet to follow the movement.  You were just mere centimeters from pressing your body up against his as he moved your hand to press your palm against the space just below the sharp angle of his cheek bone.  Your now warm hand a welcomed reprieve from the biting cold causing him to close his eyes briefly to relish in the comfort and let out an unintentional sigh contentment.

You stiffened, beginning to tremble as you were being silently coaxed onto nearly the tips of your toes as your uninjured hand was pressed firmly against the side of Toshinori’s face, your other one, still wrapped up, was cradled in his other as he flexed his fingers lightly against the material that kept direct contact, but you could feel the warmth of his hands burning through it as if nothing were there.  You could only stare, tensing when his eyes opened and met your gaze once more, sending another rush of warmth shooting straight down to your core, tingles running up your arm from where your skin continued to keep in contact.

He shifted your hand closer to his mouth, inhaling your scent with another sigh, making sure to exhale against your palm and down the length of your arm, eyes half-lidded as he watched you shudder.  Purposely, he moved his lips slowly, brushing them against the delicate skin of your wrist.

“Much better, I think,” he says quietly as he continues to hold your gaze.  Although the cold air had his lips dry and chapped, it only added to the sensations as they brushed against your sensitive skin, your senses already kicked into overdrive at his close proximity.  Despite his time spent running and sweating through his tracksuit, his scent wasn’t unpleasant.  It was earthy with woody notes that easily muddled the more rational processes of your brain leaving you to rely on your more base instincts.

You could only find yourself nodding dumbly, an almost imperceptible bobbing of your head in agreement.

“Are you sure you don’t want a warm drink?”  Toshinori asks, squeezing your hand gently, turning to rub his chilled nose against the warmth you now possessed, his eyes closing briefly before opening to meet your gaze as he murmurs another suggestion against your palm with the slightest nip for emphasis.

“Unless you want to explore other ways I could assist with to help you warm up?”

Whether it was the words or the feeling of his teeth gently sliding against the soft skin of your palm, you were jerking your hands away from his, almost pinwheeling your arms in an effort to gain balance at your sudden movements as you all but lunged away, creating a wide berth of space between the two of you as you clutched your arms to your chest tightly.

“Drink!”  You nearly shouted the word, but it came as a nearly incoherent squeak as your voice cracked.  

You inhaled sharply to give your brain the oxygen it desperately needed to form a more distinguishable reply, nearly panting for air.  It was quite possible you had been holding your breath during that entire interaction, which probably only took over the span of a few seconds, yet felt like it had been an eternity.  

“A warm drink would be nice, now that I think about it,” you said quickly, your voice still a few octaves higher than your usual timbre as you unconsciously began rubbing your hands against the sleeves of your hoodie as you kept your arms clutched tightly over your chest.  Your palm still felt as if it were burning, tingles running up and down your arm, your thoughts in chaos as you felt you were being pulled in all directions.

An alcoholic one, you thought to yourself, frazzled.

Yes, that’s what you want, a snide voice in the back of your mind quipped, something to help lower your inhibitions even further.

“Ah, a splendid idea,” Toshinori complimented you with a smile as he looked down the street, immediately spotting a nearby vending machine.  “There’s one right over there.”

“Good, great,” you said quickly, bobbing your head as you shuffled to the side, continuing to give Toshinori a wide berth, eyeing him warily as you passed him in the direction he was gesturing in, towards the vending machine. 

He was watching you in amusement as you stiffly made your way around him, keeping your eyes on him if he were some danger you were uncertain of.  In some ways you might have been right. Your lips were pressed into a thin line as you continued to rub your hands against the sleeves of your hoodie, matching his gaze before dropping it, unable to maintain it.  Unfortunately that meant your gaze was now dropped towards his lips and chin and whether he did it on purpose or unconsciously, you found yourself fixated as he chose that moment to part his mouth, running his tongue along his dry lips in an attempt to bring moisture to them stolen by the chill of the night.

Or to taunt you.

Either way your reaction was instantaneous as you jerked your gaze away.  You were power walking now, just short of running towards the vending machine as you hoped he missed the flush that you were sure was now spreading across your cheeks given the telltale sign of warmth threatening to light your face aflame with embarrassment.

Crafty son of a bitch, you thought to yourself vehemently, yet you were still uncertain whether his actions had a specific intent or if you were just overthinking the situation.

You might have come to a conclusive answer had you not been in a hurry to escape his view and hide your embarrassment.  He trailed after you at a leisurely pace and had you taken the moment to take a quick glance over your shoulder you would have seen the slightest quirking at the corners of Toshinori’s lips.

Chapter Text

Toshinori was looking forward to Christmas.  

He loved American culture and experienced the festive joy while studying abroad in the states.  It had left a lasting impact on him, even years later back in his homeland.  He could still recall memories of his time in college which would give way to a flood of nostalgic joy that added to his excitement when it came to the end of the year.  It greatly brought up his spirits and filled his heart to be at the school, surrounded by youthful and excited energy radiating from his students whom shared in his enthusiasm for the holidays.

But mostly for the well-deserved break from their studies that coincided with it.

The students were abuzz talking about their plans to spend time with their families, along with the planned party for the school amongst classes to continue to build up camaraderie amongst the student body, strengthening bonds not only between the young students, but the faculty as well.

While it seemed most of the faculty shared in the excitement for the holidays, some other teachers weren’t so easily swayed and didn’t seem to let this take away their focus from important matters, such as the continued school curriculum and the long-term goal of ensuring each student became the best hero they were capable of being.

And some were just short of being a bit of a buzzkill.

“I’m glad to see all of you continuing to bond by sharing each of your personal holiday plans, and while your enthusiasm is contagious,” Aizawa stated in his usual monotone with a stare likened to that of a dead fish, fixated on his class, “need I remind you that there might not be much to celebrate about if you don’t start funneling that same amount of attention to studying for your final exam?”

The excitement in the room immediately shifted to a tense, nervous energy, palpable even as Aizawa cheerily wished them a good day with a smile that didn’t quite reach his bloodshot eyes.

Toshinori had the good fortune to catch the tail end of Aizawa’s class ending and his parting words of encouragement, watching as the students filed out of the room with anxious expressions, only glancing at the blond hero with hesitant smiles and departing greetings in passing as they hurried back to their dorms, once more grounded in the reality of their current academic career.  

Toshinori peered in once the last student had filed out, giving a wave to young Midoriya who excitedly greeted his admired hero and mentor before stumbling out to follow his friends.  It warmed his heart to see his young student fitting well and bonding with his classmates.  He soon turned his attention back into the empty classroom, noticing Aizawa had opted to be out of his usual yellow sleeping bag as he collected his papers, shuffling them into a neat pile on the desk at the front of the room.

“Was that really necessary?” Toshinori asked, glancing down the hall at the slightly slumped retreating backs of the students traveling down the hallway before turning his attention back to Aizawa.

“Probably,” Aizawa shrugged as he placed the folder under one arm, exiting the classroom.

Toshinori arched an eyebrow at his nonchalant response, earning a flat look from the younger man who once more shrugged in response.

“If they’re taking this seriously and are keeping up with their studies and training, then there’s no need for them to worry,” Aizawa reasoned before shutting the classroom door securely behind him.  “It’s just a friendly reminder.”

“Friendly...?” Toshinori couldn’t help but echo dubiously.

“I suppose even I’m not immune to the holiday spirit,” Aizawa turned to Toshinori with a rather unnerving grin before turning down the hallway to make his way to the teacher’s lounge.  “Good will and all of that.”

“I see,” Toshinori agreed slowly as he trailed off after the other teacher hesitantly.

The two men walked in silence, occasionally passing by students who happily greeted them in passing.  Laughter and occasional shouts echoing down the hall, adding to the cheerful decorations that now adorned the entire school interior in light of the celebratory seasons.  

Upon opening the door to the faculty room, it was almost no different to find many of the faculty members congregating within, speaking happily about holiday plans.  Present Mic was one of the first to greet the two more reticent members of the faculty.

“Eraserhead!  All Might!  Good timing!”

“I highly doubt that,” Aizawa stated flatly before Toshinori could respond to the energetic greeting.  

Aside from Toshinori, Hizashi seemed to have an equal amount of adoration for American culture, so it was no surprise that the other blond hero had nothing but boundless enthusiasm for the upcoming holidays.  He had even gone as far as to dye his hair green and fashioned it into a tree adorned with jingling ornaments and even flashing stringed lights that would occasionally blink to the beat of classic Christmas songs, albeit more modernized covers that fit Present Mic’s image as it blasted through his speaker whenever he sauntered through the hallways.  Aizawa had been tempted more than once to strangle his long-time friend with those very lights.

“Tsk, don’t be like that, Shouta-kun!” Hizashi said with an exaggerated shaking of a finger in the other man’s face before pulling back with a hand to his forehead, sighing dramatically.  “You haven’t even heard what I was going to say!”

“I don’t have to, and it’s hard for anyone not to hear what you have to say at any given time,” Aizawa responded as he entered the room, leaving Toshinori to stand awkwardly in the faculty room’s entrance.

“We were just discussing how the student’s are coming along and how excited they are to have their own Christmas parties that we were thinking about having a faculty party ourselves,” Thirteen filled in before Hizashi could continue to draw out the suspense of their discussion.  

“Ooh, it’ll be so much fun!”  Nemuri clapped her hands together in excitement as she sat next to Cementoss on the couch.  “Just like last time—maybe we can find a karaoke bar!”

“Karaoke?” Ectoplasm seemed to perk up at the suggestion.

Toshinori had begun to step into the room, but froze up at the topic of a faculty party, memories of the last time they had gathered together flooding through him.  As he recalled, it had been pleasant, at first, and he did manage to find himself getting to know the group a little better, but it had quickly gotten out of control as the rest of the faculty had let themselves go with their alcohol consumption.  While the restrictions in his diet were rather cumbersome and there were times he did miss the days he could have a drink, or much of anything he had once taken for granted when he was younger, on that night he was more than glad for his inability to drink alcohol.

“I think I’ll—“ Toshinori had started to voice his declination, but Nemuri was quick to cut him off.

“—bring that cute little girlfriend of yours?” Nemuri supplied quickly, giving Toshinori a wink as she slid her glasses a few centimeters down the bridge of her nose to give him a suggestive look. 

Immediately color flooded the tall blond’s face as he struggled to sputter out an answer.

“N-no!  I mean, she’s... we...” Toshinori was at a loss on what to address first.  While it was true that you were both now dating, it was more than a little overwhelming to have someone refer to you as his... significant other.  

It wasn’t a bad thing, not at all.  In fact, despite being terribly flustered over trying to digest the information, he was feeling quite euphoric to have someone remind him of his relationship with you.  It helped to ground him in the reality that he did have someone he was intimately close with, a reassurance he was glad to have since he often couldn’t believe someone like you had settled for someone like him, although he learned to refrain from voicing such thoughts least he be subjected to your indignant anger at his self-depreciating outlook.  The irony being you did very much the same thing which he in turn became frustrated with, but both of you were learning to curb such negative and self-destructive behavior.  And it wasn’t that he didn’t want to have his relationship with you quite so public amongst his close friends and allies, it was actually quite the opposite and he was the one more likely to display his obvious affection for you while you were more diffident about your current relationship.  

It was just that there was no way in hell that he would allow you anywhere near his colleague’s while they were drunk with lowered inhibitions.  He’d learn that the hard way what a joy that could be.  

“Now, now, don’t put him on the spot like that!”  Hizashi tutted with his arms crossed, the ornaments attached to his hair jingling from his movements.  “After all, I’m not even sure she’s old enough to drink.”

“She isn’t?”  Thirteen questioned in astonishment, looking over at Toshinori sharply.  It was amazing how someone without a visible mouth could still manage to look quite horrified in that moment.

“Wha—of course she is of age!”  Toshinori sputtered, his face growing red with a mixture of shock and embarrassment, soon becoming so flustered he broke into a coughing fit.

It was a sensitive topic, one he himself would agonize over from time to time.  There was quite a noticeable gap between your ages, and to be fair he had little time to even consider the possibilities of a relationship with anyone due to his line of work and the dangers it imposed not only on his life, but those he chose to be close to.  It was part of the reason why he kept himself distanced from others, as lonely as it would be.  Never did he ever think he would have been in a relationship with someone, especially as young as you were at his current age (something he still avoided to discuss, even with you), but he really didn’t even think he’d live much past bestowing his quirk to his successor.  Another sensitive topic he wisely chose to avoid discussing with you, as well as realizing it was better for him not to dwell on.

Despite having recovered from his coughing fit, a dark look must have been obvious on Toshinori’s expression, his posture tense and his gaze dull with a mixture of shame and embarrassment, something Aizawa noticed even from his position across the room.  He knew this was a point of conflict for the older man and if left to his own devices would probably spiral into unnecessary brooding.

“Enough, we don’t need to start unnecessary rumors,” Aizawa cut in with a yawn as he flopped onto the worn couch on the other side of Nemuri, leaning back to drape an arm over the back as he craned his neck to rest against it, closing his eyes.

“We’re just joking,” Nemuri assured Thirteen before turning back to Toshinori with a brilliant smile.  “But really, the more the merrier!”

“Anyway,” Hizashi said loudly before he could once again be interrupted or go off tangent.  “You’re just in time to see the outfits we got for the party and it’s perfect timing for you to see what we picked out for the two of you!”

For once both Aizawa and Toshinori seemed to share a similar expression as it showed they were less than excited about the prospect.

“Great,” Aizawa stated flatly, already trying to melt into the couch as if it could swallow him up and save him from the next few minutes of irritation and embarrassment he was sure his friend had in store for him.

“Outfits for the party?” Toshinori asked, trying to be more polite about the situation despite the dread starting to twist at his gut.

“It’ll be an ugly sweater party!”  Nemuri said gleefully as she slapped Aizawa’s knee.  To his credit, the dark haired man didn’t so much as flinch.  “Christmas themed of course.”

“Don’t have one,” Aizawa said, but he knew there was no point in fighting the inevitable as Nemuri and Hizashi shared knowing looks.

“We figured you’d say that so we made sure to cut out the middle man and bought you one ourselves—you can pay me back later,” Hizashi said, ignoring Aizawa’s response (“not a chance,”) before digging into a Christmas gift bag he had stored on the floor.  “Ta-da!”

In seconds Hizashi had pulled out a brightly colored sweater that had a mint green base color adorned with various breeds of cats in Christmas theme outfits, including one in a Santa hat that said ‘Santa Claws’ next to it as it sported an expression similar to Aizawa’s at present.  The excited hero waved it over the face of his usually somnolent colleague.

Aizawa opened his eyes in the slightest, knowing if he didn’t Hizashi, with his endless supply of energy, would be up to continuing to wave the outfit around obnoxiously until he had at least acknowledged it.

He stared.

“Ugly sweater...?”  Toshinori repeated, looking baffled.  He found it a little confusing that his colleagues were suggesting a party that consisted of outfits for the Christmas holiday that they would find to be ‘ugly.’  Why would they want to own such clothing and parade it around if they didn’t like it?  “I’m not sure if I have anything like that...”

The other faculty members could only share a look with one another.  Although it wasn’t that they felt Toshinori was a hypocrite, they could argue his fashion sense was rather dated, for lack of a better word.  They continued to survey the man who stood in his suit, a bright green adorned with splashes of red color in his tie and cuff links.  It was also hard to miss All Might’s brand of sweaters that were displayed in the stores, a popular example of one being All Might dressed up as Santa Claus with woven letters of ‘Ha Ha Ha’ to replace Santa’s classic laughter of ‘Ho Ho Ho.’

Nemuri and Hizashi, having had the idea to make the party a themed one, were sporting their own festive sweaters as samples and inspiration to the other staff members of what they would be wearing.  Nemuri chose to wear a sweater that was bright green with a bright red target that had multiple rings shrinking to a small one in the center with a few small velcro balls hanging in different areas of her sweater.  At the top of the sweater it stated ‘You miss,’ and at the bottom it stated ‘you drink.’  The others had no doubt she would uphold the ominous threat displayed proudly across her chest.  

Hizashi‘s complemented his hair style by sporting a red sweater that had Santa Claus riding across the night sky with the words ‘Sleighing It’ written in a bold and edgy font, giving it a style similar to that of a rock star.  

Toshinori seemed to take in their appearances and began to sweat at the prospect of finding something that could match or even rival the sweater’s his colleagues were now sporting.

“As long as it’s Christmas themed and a sweater,” Nemuri said carefully, knowing that Toshinori would most likely have his own merchandise available, but made sure not to cross over the line of insulting the number one hero on his taste in fashion.  Arguably, the sweater was selling, especially during the winter months.  

“Oh, then, I think I have one,” Toshinori said brightly, looking relieved and almost forgetting his initial reluctance of coming to the party.

“Great!  If not, I had one in mind for you, but I think it probably wouldn’t have fit you as well,” Nemuri said, pursing her lips in thought as she eyed the tall hero.  She had initially bought the sweater but had forgotten to take in Toshinori’s unusual height.  

“Probably not,” Toshinori laughed in agreement.  Despite the various drastically different physical characteristics of people thanks to the evolvement of quirks in the population, Toshinori had to admit it was still a bit difficult to find clothes that fit him well, especially when taking into account of his ability to change his body mass, albeit for brief periods of time.  

“But I did find one that could benefit you and your girlfriend,” Nemuri said cheerfully as she picked up another package and pushed it into Toshinori’s hands.

“Oh, uh, you, you really didn’t have to...” Toshinori began, not wanting to sound ungrateful for the unexpected gift, but knowing Nemuri and the image she portrayed as her heroic persona, Toshinori couldn’t help but be apprehensive over the gift, especially when stressing on her meaning on exactly how it could benefit his relationship with you.

He doubted it would be very wholesome, and he was almost certain you probably wouldn’t wear it to the party.

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t have to wear it to the party,” Nemuri assured him, before giving him a quick wink, “and I don’t think you’ll want her to wear it anywhere but at home.”

“Then why—nevermind,” Toshinori began, but quickly decided he didn’t need to know the answer, looking down at the gift with a mixture of trepidation and mortification despite having yet to see the actual contents of the bag he held.  He almost didn’t want to look in the company of his colleagues, but knew if he didn’t he would probably regret it and it seemed Nemuri was expecting him to look at it, practically bouncing on her heels as she fixed him with her bright eyed stare from behind her lenses which seemed to add an almost menacing factor beneath her steady gaze.

Hesitantly he reached into the bag, pulling out a mass of red material.  He placed the bag down as he held the sweater in one hand, unfolding it to see most of the sweater seemed to be red with accents of green, reflecting the classic Christmas colors.  He found nothing on the back, realizing the design was probably on the other side given how Nemuri was practically giggling as she waited excitedly for his reaction.  He slowly turned the sweater around to see there was, indeed, a message on the front.

‘Kiss me under the mistletoe.’

In addition to the message there was a picture of what seemed to be mistletoe that positioned itself on the bottom half of the sweater along with an arrow that pointed down for emphasis.  

For a long moment Toshinori could only stare at the sweater blankly, but as time passed he could feel a heat spreading across his cheeks and up from his neck as the message seemed to sink in.  Nemuri was more than beside herself with absolute glee to find Toshinori seemed to under the message loud and clear.

“See?” Nemuri said, smiling widely and looking very pleased with herself.  “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Classy,” Aizawa said as he now sat up on the couch after finishing his surprisingly quick outfit change as he now wore the gaudy cat adorned sweater Hizashi had gifted him without an ounce of embarrassment.  

Hizashi was beaming from behind the dark haired man, displaying two thumbs up excitedly in obvious approval before slapping Aizawa’s shoulders and slinging an arm around the other man excitedly.  Aizawa remained stoic amongst all the jostling, a stark contrast against the outfit he now adorned.

Toshinori found himself speechless for more than one reason.

While Toshinori had his own dilemmas to deal with concerning his workload of students, his colleagues and the coming holidays that mixed with his duties as a hero, you had your own set of problems you were desperately trying to balance, along with avoiding your creepy new supervisor who didn’t seem to know where to draw the line when it came to interacting with you and your other female coworkers.

The only saving grace was that they at least knew enough not to cross the line into physical touch, but made it quite clear of their obvious attraction to you.  Although luckily it wasn’t just you.  It was any female in the office.  Their comments always made you incredibly uncomfortable and there was an obvious difference in the way they treated the men from the women, all the while dropping less than subtle hints of their past exploits and relationships, many times emphasizing how many of this relationships were with fellow coworkers, as if trying to open up the avenue to shout to the entire workforce that this supervisor was clearly looking to find some action and thought themselves a suave and smooth operator rather than the inappropriate, off-putting creep they actually were in reality.

You didn’t talk about these problems to Toshinori.  You didn’t want to worry him and you knew it wasn’t as if you were the sole focus of this person’s attention.  You also didn’t care for confrontations and did your best to diffuse the situation by either making sure to include others, especially male coworkers, or speaking as distantly and professionally without allowing any amount of small talk.  It was actually more difficult than you thought because you still had to treat them with respect as your supervisor, not only because you felt you believed in the old age saying of treating others the way you wanted to be treated, or really just out of common decency, but you were also aware that if you spoke out you were certain this supervisor might hone in on you and make your already stressful job even worse if you found yourself on their black list.

But it was starting to wear on you and even if you didn’t tell Toshinori he seemed to pick up on it in other ways.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Toshinori had called you during his lunch break.  

It had been well over a week since he had seen you, and although he didn’t need to see you on a daily basis, he admittedly missed your presence.  An occasional text was all the both of you could manage in between small breaks.  It was actually why the relationship seemed to work since he had his secrets and his own responsibilities while you had yours, which made it a little easier for both of you not needing the constant validation of each other’s presence.  He also knew with that you tended to need your time alone, and while at first he had been hurt by your initial admission of feeling you needed some time apart, he began to learn that it was in no way a reflection on how you felt about him but simply about your comfort and needing time for yourself to recharge.  He knew that there were probably many times where he himself had benefitted from time on his own and while he thrived on the energy of others, he did appreciate and understand the need for time alone and realized how important this was to you.

And in his understanding of your needs and letting things go at a comfortable pace for you, he found you had opened up more and despite wanting time to yourself, there were more occasions where you hadn’t turned him away, even initiating to suggesting more plans to spend time together, which would eventually lead to spending time at one another’s home overnight (although, usually one of you took the couch and this was often a battle in itself of who would take the bed, but usually it ended with both of you on the couch, which was sometimes the best outcome despite the aches and pains he’d suffer once he woke.  It was entirely worth it.).  You seemed comfortable to simply be in his presence while both of you either worked or enjoyed quiet time together without having to engage in conversation or feel pressured to entertain one another, and for him who had spent his whole life doing his best to keep others safe and happy with heroic and even comedic antics, it had seemed strange at first to find that you required nothing but his presence and merely the knowledge of knowing he was in your life, but soon he had found it to be a huge weight off his shoulders.  

“Hi,” you responded groggily, trying to hold back a yawn as you lay on your couch.  You had just woken up from a short nap having worked the night before and well into the morning.  You normally would still have been (struggling to) sleep at this time, but you didn’t have work later that night and you hardly ever had a good amount of rest, and since you had yet to see or speak to Toshinori for nearly a week aside from a few sparse texts here and there between work in your waking hours, you were more than happy to make that sacrifice to simply hear his voice.

“Did I wake you?” He asked, concern evident in his voice.  

While you missed Toshinori and would have loved to see his face, you opted not to video chat knowing he would probably fret and worry about seeing you in your exhausted state.  It was also a lot harder to gloss over any of his concerns because he could probably read the nuances of your facial expression and body language.

“No, I was awake, don’t worry,” you assured him, pausing to take a sip from your thermos full of freshly made coffee.  You sighed in contentment at the taste of the rich, dark liquid sliding down your throat, perfect for the more chilly late mornings such as this one.  “How are you?  How’re the students?”

“Very well,” Toshinori said, his tone brightening at the mention of the students.  “They’re very excited for the holidays, but we’re making sure they are still working hard at their studies.”

“That’s great,” you hummed as you multi-tasked with the phone on speaker resting in one hand, while with the other you browsed on your tablet more to keep your hands busy through any awkward pauses or lull in the conversation.  “I’m sure they’ll all pass with flying colors.  You’re a great teacher.”

“Ah, well, I wouldn’t know that,” Toshinori stumbled over his words, clearly caught off guard by your compliment, causing you to grin.  While Toshinori was confident in many of his abilities, teaching was still something new to him, and he often worried if he was giving enough to his students.  “But, yes, I do believe in all my students and that they’ll pass with flying colors!”

“Especially Izuku-kun, right?” You added, a hint of knowing mischievousness in your tone.

“I believe in all my students equally and I don’t play favorites,” Toshinori responded.  You noted a bit of disapproval and slight indignation is his tone, but you could hear a hint of a smile in his voice.  “But, yes, I am certain he will do very well.”

“Of course he will, look at who his favorite teacher is,” you couldn’t help but continue to tease him, enjoying the flustered pause on the other end as Toshinori took a moment to collect himself.

“Ah, well, speaking of the holidays, did you receive my text?” Toshinori asked, changing the subject as he cleared his throat.

“The holiday party?” You asked, glancing over at your phone to pull up the log of texts between the two of you, careful not to cut the line as you navigated through your phone.  “With the ugly Christmas sweater theme?”

“Yes, although I don’t think it has to be, ah, ugly, but I was wondering if you had one...?”  Toshinori trailed off, sounding hopeful, although you thought you could hear a small hint of desperation in his tone, oddly enough.

“I actually don’t,” you admitted to him apologetically, moving back to your tablet to browse for a sweater, looking through the designs as you considered if it was worth it to buy one.  “I like pockets and usually they don’t have any.  I might have a Santa hat somewhere, would that suffice?  Otherwise I could buy one.”

“I expected you wouldn’t have one,” Toshinori sighed deeply.  “No, please, don’t trouble yourself.  I can get you one, if you don’t mind the All Might theme.”

“What?  Of that guy?” You emphasized your response with an exaggerated groan, feigning irritation at the prospect, but your lips were upturned in a smile.  

“I’m told they’re quite popular, but yes, I suppose you might be a bit tired of seeing that face all the time,” Toshinori responded, but he was chuckling as he seemed to hear the jest in your own voice.  “Or you could wear the one Kayama-kun was kind enough to supply.”

Despite the fact he was voicing the suggestion, you could tell Toshinori was not at all excited to give you that option and seemed to sincerely hope you wouldn’t even consider it.

“I wouldn’t recommend it, and Kayama-kun said you didn’t have to wear it to the party,” Toshinori added on, confirming your suspicions, the humor evaporating from his tone quickly, piquing your interest.

“Kayama-san did?”  You took a moment to register the name as you attempted to match it to a face, your eyes widening with understanding, followed by the furrowing of your brows.  You were still getting used to referring to the U.A. faculty members to their actual names rather than their heroic titles, but luckily they were fine with being referred to as either so they didn’t mind when you slipped up.  “Oh, Midnight-san.  Is it something... Something, um, raunchy?”

“It is suggestive in nature, yes,” Toshinori confirmed.  There was an awkward pause as you waited, wondering if Toshinori would elaborate, but by his tone it seemed he didn’t want to continue on the topic, if it could be helped.  “She stated it could, ah, benefit, our... relationship...”

You knew Nemuri probably meant well, but you felt her idea of help was more embarrassing given your more reticent nature. Combined with Toshinori’s more chivalrous outlook, you could understand why many outsides would view your budding relationship to be going at a snail’s pace and why they felt the need to interfere.  While you just weren’t comfortable displaying or parading out your affections, it didn’t mean you were both chaste prudes in your private lives with one another.

“Is it that sweater?” You asked while browsing on your tablet, opting to look up more promiscuous outfits related to sweaters and coming upon one that seemed to have a high popularity as it was displayed by many attractive models, mostly female but you found a few men who were pulling it off well enough.

“That sweater?  Ah... I’m not sure...” Toshinori trailed off uncertainly.  You could hear the shuffling of movement as he seemed to be pulling the phone away as if expecting to see if you had sent him a text or a picture to help clarify what you meant by ‘that’ sweater.

“The virgin-killing sweater,” you stated rather bluntly once you had given Toshinori time to put the phone back to his ear.  You wanted to hear his reaction and it was at this point you regretted not opting to do a video chat.

You were not disappointed by what you did hear.

Toshinori made a sharp choking noise, devolving into a fit of coughs on the other end.

“Vir-vir-virgin kill-killing...?!”

You chose a few photos, making sure to pick the most licentious poses that were overtly suggestive.  Although you knew Toshinori would never share these photos or your current conversation with anyone else, you still felt the need to prove something despite the fact you knew Nemuri would probably never find out.

“I sent some photos.”

There was a long pause over the other end.  Initially you were certain you could hear rather harsh coughing in the background at a distance, realizing Toshinori had probably pulled himself away from the phone once he had viewed your sent photos.  However, the coughing had stopped quite some time ago and you were starting to worry if Toshinori had actually ended the conversation out of embarrassment.

Or was he still looking at the photos and something else entirely was going through his mind?  You weren’t sure, although you knew that this was not the sweater Nemuri probably gifted Toshinori by his reaction.

You then picked out a few photos of the men modeling the sweater before sending that as well.  You heard a strangled noise on the other end as Toshinori seemed to be caught off guard at the new onslaught of messages.

Ah, so he was still there.  He was still looking at those photos.

Interesting, you thought to yourself, placing your index finger to your lower lip, tracing it lightly as you smiled.  Very interesting.

“It looks good on men, too.  Especially if they wear it backwards,” you said lightly, biting your lip at the sharp intake of breath you heard clearly over the line, doing your best to hold back your laughter.  “Just saying.”

“I... I see...” Toshinori finally managed out a response, his voice cracking as he spoke.  He cleared his throat several times before adding quietly, “no, that’s... it’s not that sweater...”

“What about this one?”  You asked, sending another photo, this time of a sweater called ‘keyhole turtleneck.’

There was a pause before Toshinori spoke your name quietly, a hint of resigned exasperation in his voice.

“Please...”

“It’s not as bad, but it’s definitely up that alley,” you said cheerfully, before jamming one of your knuckles into your mouth to hold back your laughter.

Toshinori would have been inclined to believe you, looking at the name it seemed innocent enough, but considering the previous photos you had sent him in the last few minutes he was hesitant before viewing the picture.

There was a pause, shorter than the last, but at least you didn’t hear any coughing.

“... No, that is not it either,” Toshinori answered wearily, as if the mere act of viewing the pictures were as exhausting as running a triathlon.  

“That’s a shame,” you said airily, “because if you were willing to wear one I would have worn the other.”

For the second time that day Toshinori was rendered speechless, but he wasn’t exactly quiet as he found himself caught in another coughing fit, your soft laughter just barely audible from the other end.

You had apologized profusely over the phone, despite being unable to hold back an occasional giggle.  Toshinori had been less than amused, although you were more than a little certain that the idea might have appealed to him, at least the prospect where you jokingly offered to wear one of the sweaters.  You knew it certainly appealed to you, imagining Toshinori sporting one or both of the sweaters you had suggested, but you knew better than to push your luck and you really did feel bad for causing him any discomfort, physically and mentally.   You thanked him for offering the All Might sweater that you could wear to the party and agreed to attend.  He seemed in better spirits and you both ended your conversation shortly after.

The rest of the week went off uneventfully until the day of the party.  You found you did have to work, but you had managed to ask to work earlier in the day so you could have most of the night off.  You could still attend the party, albeit a little late, but Toshinori assured you that would be fine, while asking multiple times if you were comfortable with coming and he didn’t want you to feel obligated or inconvenienced.

“No, I said I’d come and I want to come, I promise,” you told him reassuringly, although you could hear the hesitance in his voice.

“Are you sure?”  Toshinori fretted before adding, “would you like me to come pick you up from your office?”

“No, it’s fine.”  You laughed a little as you prepared yourself to go into work, holding the phone between your shoulder and ear as you poured coffee into your thermos and grabbed your keys along with your bag.  “I don’t know when I’ll be done exactly anyway, so I’ll just meet you when I can.  I’ll text or call once I’m done and meet you wherever you are at the time.”

“If you’re certain,” Toshinori agreed reluctantly.  

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” you assured him.

And in that moment you were hopeful and you didn’t intend to break your promise.  Most other places would be closed early and since you were usually a few hours ahead of most countries who cherished this holiday, you doubted you’d see a lot of business.  It would be mostly closing last minute deals and prep work for the next year.  

In fact when you headed into your office you found the atmosphere to be incredibly lax and cheerful.  Apparently most of your coworkers, and even some of the managers, had decided to thank the group for its hard work over the year and had a catered lunch for the day.  It felt very casual and while there were was an upside with the more fun and friendly atmosphere, it also put the focus off of work, distracting others, but you were determined to get your tasks done quickly.  You had your own party and a promise to fulfill later tonight.

However, you weren’t quite prepared for the worst of it, which was that it allowed your creepy supervisor to sneak through the female population of the staff.  Many of your coworkers were smart and made sure to keep in mixed groups, but because you were more focused in your work than to socialize, it left you an easy target.

You felt a sort of intangible miasma before you noticed the slight dip on your desk as a figure cast a shadow over you, blocking your lighting and resting just a few centimeters from your computer’s monitor.  A small disposable plate with a sloppily placed piece of cake sat on top on its side in a pathetic display with a fork stuck in the spongey material straight up from the middle.  Despite your better judgement, you couldn’t help but be startled into glancing at the intrusion only to find your supervisor hovering over you with a toothy grin spread from ear to ear as he waved the treat in front of you.

It caused some of the frosting to smear, making it look like a toddler’s finger painted project, messy and unappetizing.  You did your best to school your expression into a neutral one and had to restrain yourself from wrinkling your nose in disgust.

“I thought you could use some company,” your supervisor said as he waited for you to take the plate, but when you made no movement to even attempt to grab it, he simply tossed it down lightly to land next to your monitor.  Bits of frosting flicked off onto the bottom of your screen and onto your keyboard, barely noticeable but you couldn’t help your fingers from recoiling in the slightest as your stomach churned with a mixture of absolute disgust and irritation.  

“Sitting here, all alone, hard at work.”  Your supervisor had his own piece of cake in his other hand, stabbing a piece on his fork before shoving it into his mouth, frosting and bits of cake raining back onto his plate as he continued to speak.  “While everyone is enjoying the party.”

You felt physically ill forced to watch his display and had to turn your attention back to your screen before you felt the urge to gag.  You moved over to reach for the container of anti-bacterial wipes you always kept close at hand, making sure to wipe up any bits of frosting and food, as well as spit that may have landed in your work area, grabbing the plate holding the sorry excuse of a pastry to clean under it before setting a good foot away from your work area.

“Yes, well, I did ask to come in earlier so I could leave earlier than normal, so I just want to make sure I get everything done.” You tossed the wipe into the trash before pausing and taking a moment to take another wipe to throughly wipe your hands and arms that could have been exposed to his onslaught of spittle before tossing that as well.

You still felt dirty despite using the wipes, having scrubbed it hard with the force of your nails to the point that you noted your skin had become slightly discolored in angry protest at your abusive treatment.  You’d have to remind yourself to moisturize your skin later.

“Such a dedicated worker, but don’t work too hard now,” your supervisor said with a wink that you thankfully missed.

You instead kept your eyes fixed on your screen continuing to type.  You flashed him a quick, strained smile before turning back to your screen.

“No promises, sir,” you said in a neutral tone.

An awkward moment of silence, but you still felt his constant presence as he made slight adjustments in his posture just out of your periphery vision.

“Since we’ll all be off tonight, maybe I’ll see you at the after party?  Seeing that you came in early and all.” Your supervisor asked, leaning in closer.  The scent of his cologne was cheap and overpowering.  You discretely moved your hand over your nose and mouth, still strong with the scent of disinfectant to cover over his nauseating scent.

“I actually have plans, sir,” you said, emphasizing the term to hopefully solidify the distance between the two of you, glancing at him with that same stiff smile.  “But I hope you and the others enjoy yourself.”

“It’d be more fun if you’d be there,” your supervisor pressed.

Already having enough, you no longer bothered to make eye contact and kept your focus on your work.

“I highly doubt it, but as I said before, I do have plans, but I appreciate the extended offer, sir.”

Your reply came out a little more curt than you intended, knowing it was unwise to pick a fight with your supervisor, but it got the message across as you noted they were now leaning away from you, their posture tensing.

“Well, I can see you’re busy, so just let me know if you need any help,” your supervisor said cooly, but you both knew this was an empty offer.  You were more than glad to send him on his way and couldn’t help but turn to him with a bright smile, foolishly thinking yourself triumphant in this exchange.

“Thank you, I’m fine for now, sir,” you said in a more chipper tone.

Your supervisor regarded you for a moment before leaning down to toss the remnants of his dessert in your trash, something you wrinkled your nose at as you watched his movements, but once more schooled your expression into a neutral one before he could notice.

“Just remember that the clock is ticking,” your supervisor said, clapping a hand on the back of your chair as he stood up to leave.

“Yes, sir,” you replied, a little vexed on how he continued to linger and state the obvious.  

“After all, Christmas cake is only appetizing until it’s after Christmas.”  

You pause, finding your gaze drawn to the messy and sad excuse for a piece of cake before turning to glance up at your supervisor.  He was looking down at you with an unreadable look, but soon he’s plastering on his usual, unnerving grin with a raised brow before giving another clap to the back of your chair and slinking back off to the heart of the party.

You’re left feeling a mixture of emotions, none pleasant as you find yourself raising your hands to your arms, crossed over your chest and clutching at them tightly as you watch him disappear into the midst of the party before glancing down at the cake still sitting on your desk.

Without hesitation you grab the plate and all but throw it face down into the trash can at your side before standing up to drag the trash can away from your desk and closer to the party for the others to use and hopefully bury the offending pastry amongst the piled party favors and other unfinished food.  

To rid yourself of the experience that made you feel nothing short of violated, you found yourself leaning back in your chair, stretching the kinks in your shoulders as you reached up towards the ceiling before letting your shoulders once more slump, your hands moving to rub at your temples in sheer exhaustion, feeling physically, emotionally and mentally drained from the combination of events.  Thanks to being a few hours ahead of most of the usual countries you spoke to, many were still in the spirit of celebration for the Christmas holiday, leaving you little work left for you to do as you expected, but for once you were glad you were able to go home without getting any significant progress done.

Your coworkers had seemed to be interested in heading to a bar or restaurant to celebrate the holiday, despite the fact that none of you actually received any time off and wouldn’t for a few more days as it would still be business as usual tomorrow morning.  Instead, you had opted to volunteer and finish closing up so all your coworkers could head out a little earlier to start their celebrations.  Most were surprised and some even reluctant to leave you with that burden, but you waved them off and urged them to go.  You only asked they help clean up with the party favors and pack up the rest of the food.  Many left, thanking you and making promises of owing you, but you shrugged it off.  Your closest coworker made you a plate, knowing you didn’t even bother to take a break during your shift, wrapping it up neatly in a package for you to take home once you finished at the office.

You were thankful they didn’t include any of the Christmas cake.

Your coworker also knew of your plans for later, bidding you farewell with a quick wink, but you yourself had lost track of time and almost forgot about the very party you had come in early to finish up work for so you could attend.

It wasn’t until you were left alone in the office, finishing up nearly by nine in the evening did you suddenly remember the party you had promised to attend.  You had frozen up just as you were about to call it a night, quickly fumbling for your phone to find a few messages, most coming from a single source that had your heart sinking.

Shit.

Toshinori had texted you three times and called you twice, leaving a voice mail each time, but because you usually kept your phone on silent and neglected to check it due to the finicky service you would get, you had ignored it for most of the night.  You bit your lip hard at your carelessness and quickly began to dial his number, hoping your service would be kind enough to let you connect.  

They might still be there, they did want to meet up at a karaoke bar after the restaurant and if you were quick you could probably catch the last few hours of their get-together.  You doubted Toshinori would really want to stay for much longer if the party was moving to a bar when he couldn’t really drink, but you had a suspicion that the other heroes probably hadn’t waited to get to the bar to start their celebratory drinking.

Just as you were about to call Toshinori, another call sprung up onto your phone’s screen, startling you into answering automatically.  You cursed inwardly, realizing you had answered your supervisor’s call, one you’d normally ignore and allow to go to voicemail, especially under the current circumstances. 

“Hello?” You tried your best to sound neutral and professional.  It was a struggle at best to keep the exhaustion out of your voice.

“Oh, good, I figured you’d still be at the office!”  Your supervisor said cheerily.  “Be a sport and take this call that should be coming in about thirty minutes.  It’s simple enough, just answer a few questions and give them a quick run-down of our agency and services.”

You stared at your phone in shock, unable to comprehend their message for a few moments before your blood began to boil as you placed it on speaker, too angry to bring it up to your ear in fear that you might end up gripping your phone in an attempt to crack it to pieces, instead keeping it flat against your palm, forcing your fingers to extend out.

“I’m actually on my way home, sir,” you said in a tightly controlled voice.  

“Really?” Your supervisor feigned surprise.  “Well, that’s interesting seeing as I called the front desk and security stated they didn’t see you leave the building, so you must still be in the office.”

“I was locking up as you called, sir,” you nearly had to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from hissing on the respond, leaning away to take a short breath.  “I can talk to them tomorrow—“

“No, that’s no good.  They can’t do it at any other time, and it’s very important we address their concerns least we lose their business.”

You highly doubted it was that important, but you weren’t about to have a confrontation outside your darkened floor with your supervisor over your phone as you held back a sigh, rubbing at your right temple with the fingertips of your other hand as you tried to figure out a compromise.

“Can I at least take this call at home?  I’ll be able to get there soon and be ready for their call.  I can give them my other cell number for the agency business—“

“At home?  When you’re already at the office?  I think it’d seem more professional and consistent to do this at the agency.  It’d be less confusing that way.”  Your supervisor spoke to you in such a condescending tone you were about ready to throw your phone at the wall, but you held your ground, biting your lip so hard you were certain something gave way as the bitter, intense flavor of your own blood invaded your senses.

“Sir, there isn’t anything I can’t do for them over the phone that I can’t do at home and I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me—“

“It’s all about image and answering from your phone at home seems a bit crude when you can do the conference call in the office to show them what we have to offer. You’re already there and what’s another hour or two?”  

“Another hour or two?  Sir—“

“Besides, it’ll be after Christmas soon,” your supervisor interrupted, pausing before adding, “remember, no one likes Christmas cake after Christmas.”

The line cut, leaving you with the flashing message showing the duration of time for your latest call.

Even if you had wanted to respond you found yourself at a loss for words as your phone’s light eventually faded before cutting off to a black screen, leaving you with only the dim florescent lighting of your agency’s hallway.

Your supervisor wasn’t exaggerating when they stated it would be a good hour or more with this client, but it was an exaggeration of how ‘simple’ the call was.  It turned out this client spoke very little English and next to no Japanese, and from what they did speak, it was painfully slow and thick with a heavy accent.  They spoke a language you weren’t at all familiar with and in the end you had to call your coworkers, eventually finding one who was still mostly sober that could assist you, let alone one who could speak the language your current client was speaking.  You eventually resorted to finding a translator when you did figure out the language they spoke and found that your supervisor had stretched the truth even more than you suspected as your client was obviously confused, the translator stating that they were told now was the best time to receive their call, not that they had chosen or requested to speak to the agency at this time, which they had initially found strange.

Your supervisor had insisted that since you were still in the office, or assumed you were, that you were well equipped to receive and assist any new clientele regardless of the time or lack of information or preparation.  It was frustrating, to say the least, and you were able to arrange for a more appropriate time and place to speak with the client, hopefully pairing them up with someone who could speak their language fluently but in the mean time you would assist them at a more convenient time once you had researched and consulted with your coworkers to find the best arrangement.  By the time you had managed to clear everything up and finally get to head home, it was almost two in the morning.

You held back tears, whether it be from frustration at your situation, disappointment and shame from knowing there was no way you could fulfill your promise to Toshinori, or just from sheer exhaustion.  You were all but ready to bury yourself into your bed and hide yourself under the blankets until the next year (or longer since that was actually coming up in a few days).  As you neared your apartment you dug into your bag for your keys, finding your phone instead.  You glanced at the time, grimacing at how late it was when you froze up, staring wide-eyed at your phone’s screen saver as if you were seeing it for the first time.  

A photo of Toshinori beamed up at you, his chin atop your head as you both had posed for a silly picture where you had convinced him to share his coat, allowing you to fit snuggly up with your back against his front as his large coat easily enveloped you both.  He had to bend down in order to place his head onto yours.  You remembered struggling with trying to angle your phone just right before Toshinori took over, using his long limbs as an advantage to take the photo that you were more than pleased with as you immediately set it as a background photo for your phone.  You had edited it, much to Toshinori’s amusement and slight embarrassment, by adding a flower crown to his head.  

You remembered how he pointed out how your part of the photo remained unaltered, while you responded with a shrug, “I can’t have a flower crown or anything, it would block out your face—the best part!”

His expression was priceless.  

In the end, you compromised by taking another photo, one that met his preferences.  He had kept you both in the same position, but took a minute or two angling the phone before he seemed satisfied.  You had tried to take a peek, but he easily held it out of your reach, toying with the settings in the way that you had shown him, before smiling it satisfaction.  

It was almost vexing when he refused to let you see the final result, wondering if he had gone over the top and made it embarrassing in some way, and if he made it his own wallpaper or perhaps the photo for your contact.  In either case, you were relentless in your curiosity until you found out. Toshinori was more than amused by your determination and easily avoided your attempts before feeling he had teased you enough, conveniently leaving his phone in a place you’d find it while the screen was still lit.  You jumped on the chance only to find it was nothing more than a simple picture of yourself of that day.  He had cut himself out, although you could see his bangs framing you in the photo just cut off at the sides, but he had done nothing else to change the photo.

When you had glanced up to find him leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he arched an eyebrow at you, a small smile playing across his lips as you managed to look sheepish, but the confusion must had been still evident in your expression when he answered your unspoken question.

“It’s perfect the way it is.”

In some way you felt that was your karma as your face flushed with color as Toshinori had let out a hearty laugh at your expression, which you were sure he must have considered just as priceless as the one you had goaded out of him on that same day.

Now the photo you cherished and looked to for comfort was bringing you nothing but guilt and shame as you silently berated yourself.  There were now an additional three more messages, two texts and one missed call, which you’d normally be happy to see from Toshinori, but now only filled you with absolute dread.  A feeling you never thought you’d ever associate with him, or at least, you had hoped never to have to associate with him.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell into even darker thoughts.

And to top it off you had forgotten, caught up in your misery and pathetic little pity party, to call Toshinori back.  

Damn it.

You slapped your phone hard against your forehead, wincing as tears sprung up from your eyes.  The impact coupled with the emotional rollercoaster you were forced through in the last few hours had the dam, that usually held your emotions in check was now threatening to burst at the cracks that were beginning to form.  It was one thing to have a stressful day when you were under constant stress with the scrutiny and borderline harassment from your supervisor on top of your already high maintenance attitude, but it was another to bring that back home where it could affect your personal life.  It unfortunately always managed to seep through, making fine lines through your carefully built wall, but they were superficial, you could manage that.  They were easy to overlook and they didn’t look like they ran deep, and while you had tried to be so careful not to let it show, admittedly there were occasions that threatened to deepen those cracks right through the thin barrier you created to protect yourself from the world around you.

And from yourself.

Most of all, you worked tirelessly to make sure Toshinori didn’t notice.  He worried about you more than you felt you deserved and now you’ve probably given him more than enough evidence to continue to worry about you.

It was bad enough he worried about everyone else, especially his students, yet failed to take in his own health into account.  You’ve reprimanded him on more than one occasion of his carelessness, and despite his remorseful attempts to appease you and promising to do just a little better next time, you knew your lectures fell on deaf ears.  It seemed it was almost in every fiber of that man’s being to be concerned about everyone else but for himself.  It was incredibly frustrating as it was endearing, which is why the least you felt you could do was to make it so he didn’t feel the need to worry about you.

Little did you know it was because you tried to seem so steadfast and self-sufficient that it meant you lacked a part in communication which only made Toshinori worry even more.  And even if you were just fine you were almost certain he’d still worry about you.

You quickly wiped at your watery eyes, mentally fortifying yourself back to keep from breaking down on the steps leading up to your apartment—that could come later once you were holed up in the confines of your darkened bedroom.   You blinked your eyes rapidly to clear them as you began to text Toshinori a reply full of contrition as you tried your best not to offer any excuses.

‘Sorry, I just got out of the office.  Had to do more than I expected, I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.  I’m sure the party has winded down by now, I’m so sorry I didn’t contact you earlier.  I’ll make it up to you, I promise!’

You didn’t add in how you would try to make it at this point or bother to ask if they were still celebrating, you knew it was a lost cause of the night and on top of that you were certain even if the party was continuing this late you knew you would be less than suitable company and felt it was better to cut your losses as it was.  You felt like absolute crap and there was no reason to bring anyone down with you, least of all Toshinori.  You were sure he was probably more than a little disappointed at your radio silence accompanying your no show, but you were sure he would have enjoyed his time better if you didn’t show up, at least for now.

Text sent, you paused on the steps before realizing you had forgotten to add a friendly greeting appropriate for the holiday, although it was technically the day after Christmas, still you knew it was important and made sure to add a quick ‘Merry Christmas!’

The text now sent, it somehow made you feel a little worse rather than ease your guilt, the words somehow seemingly empty and almost offensive.  Perhaps you should have called instead, but you weren’t sure if he were still with his friends and you didn’t want to disturb or take him away from his colleagues.  There was also the chance he may have already retired for the night, which was more likely.

You knew the latter was most likely the case, and it was more your cowardice than anything, wanting to avoid hearing his disappointment and the awkward conversation.  You were more than a little disgusted with yourself at the moment, but the damage was done and all you could do was move on, get some rest and put your all into making it up to him when you could.  

With that in mind you fumbled to remove your keys from your bag, unlocking your door  as you leaned against it heavily to push it open.  You had been expecting darkness, your eyes downcast and your bag already slipping from your shoulder to be slung down on the ground along with your coat so that you could drag yourself to the bathroom, or even just to flop down on your couch in your exhaustion.  Your phone was clutched in your other hand, eyes scanning to see if there were any responses, although your stomach felt as if it were full of lead as you anxiously hoped Toshinori wouldn’t be awake and attempt to call you.

It was a fear that would soon be laid to rest as you were confronted with a much more dreadful situation.

The first thing you noticed was the soft lighting, making your brows furrow together in confusion as you wondered if you had left the hallway light on.  It wouldn’t have been the first time, but you bemoaned the idea of the unnecessary use of power and electricity, raising your gaze away from your phone only to freeze up as you took in the sight of your apartment.

There were strings of lights hanging along the walls glowing softly in your common area, along with the smell of fresh pine as a beautiful tree stood in the corner of your apartment, elegantly adorned with various ornaments, strings of lights, and topped with a beautiful star that sat just a few centimeters beneath your ceiling.  There were a few carefully wrapped presents beneath it, contained beautifully in foiled patterns of red, blue, white, with golden ribbons.  Stockings were hung along your wall with the telltale bulge of small trinkets and candy canes the curved out from the openings, and on your coffee table there were two mugs of hot chocolate, the richness of the cocoa just discernible over the scent of pine.  There was a hint of sweetness and a white film over the top making you realize that there probably had been marshmallows but they had long since melted into the warm, dark liquid.

And right in the middle of it all was a familiar tall, thin blond man who stood in the midst of your artfully decorated apartment that seemed to have been transformed in just a few hours since your absence from that morning.

His eyes were downcast towards his hand.  It took him a moment to look up, meeting your gaze.  He offered you a small smile and you felt your throat tighten considerable, making it difficult to swallow, let alone speak as you stared at him with wide eyes, still frozen in place.  It was then you noticed something clutched in his hand.

His phone. 

He had just read your text.

He smiled at you, the corners of his eyes crinkling as a soft look came over his gaze, pocketing his phone as he greeted you with his arms raised at his side in a welcoming gesture.

“Welcome home, love.”

At that very moment you just wanted the floor to swallow you whole.

Your front door closed firmly behind you, startling you to tear your gaze away from him guiltily.  You move to lock your door, feeling his gaze burning upon your back as you felt tears prick the corners of your eyes, using the distraction of securing your apartment’s entrance to recompose yourself.  You quickly wiped at your eyes before turning back to him with a wide smile, one that didn’t quite reach your gaze as you ambled over to him.

Toshinori brightened considerably and you felt your heart sink, filled with nothing but guilt as he raised his arms up a little more, meeting you halfway as he gathered you up into a tight embrace.  He smelled of fresh pine, snow and a mixture of sweetness that had you melting into his arms, tightening your hold as you inhaled his scent deeply.

“Sorry,” you managed to mumble against the material of his sweater, another stab of guilt as you felt warmth ebb into your chilled skin, reminding you of the party you missed and the promise you had broken.

“It’s all right, my love,” he murmured against your crown, kissing the top of your head chastely before pulling away to meet your gaze.  

“This is beautiful, when did you have time to do all this?” You asked as you gazed around your apartment, still in awe at the decorations.

“Ah, well, I hope you don’t see this as taking advantage of the emergency key you entrusted to me, but I came by earlier once I knew you had left for work,” Toshinori said, looking a little sheepish as he explained.

“A little bit, mostly because you really didn’t have to,” you said, frowning up at him but still you kept your arms around him and gave him a meaningful squeeze to show your appreciation for his efforts.

“Yes, I should have done it a little earlier in the month so you could have enjoyed it for longer,” Toshinori lamented.

“No!” You looked appalled at his response, even going as far as to pull back to deliver a quick, light jab to his bicep at the mere suggestion.  “If anything, you should have told me so I could have helped!”

“And miss seeing your reaction?”  Toshinori chuckled, feigning hurt to the arm you had struck as he dropped his arms from around you to clutch at his wounded one.  “And the wonderful thanks you’ve bestowed upon me for my efforts?”

Although his tone was light, you still felt a hot flush of guilt rise in your gut as you seemed to pull back, gazed fixed on the ground.

“Sorry... It really is lovely, and, just, um, thank you...” You stumbled over your words, standing there in front of him awkwardly as you fiddled with the strap of your messenger bag that had slipped to your forearm.

Toshinori felt his own mood drop at seeing your timid response, noting the signs of how you were withdrawing into yourself and inwardly cursed for pushing you too far.  He should have known since he was certain you already probably felt terrible for missing the party, on top of his grandeur gesture he only meant to do as a way to express his feelings for you and make sure you had a chance to celebrate.  He felt you worked hard and tried your best, and it was clear you often forgot about taking care of yourself in lieu of looking out for others.  He should have realized to cut back least he made you feel uncomfortable and it hurt him to know that rather than bringing you comfort and joy, he seemed to only worsen your feelings of inadequacy.

“Why don’t you wash up and get settled?”  Toshinori suggested.

“Oh, uh, yes, thank you,” you responded, bashful as if you were a guest in your own home.  You removed your bag, placing it on the counter and your coat soon after.  You noticed the mouth-watering scents of a fine home cooked meal, your curiosity tempting you to peek into the kitchen to find an array of dishes you were certain weren’t there this morning.  You weren’t even sure you had any of the ingredients in your kitchen to make such an amazing meal, making you feel that much more guilty as you guessed Toshinori had also snuck in to cook you a wonderful Christmas dinner on top of the decorations.  You remembered the take-away plate your coworker had made you and quickly tried to hide it behind your back, making your way to the kitchen towards the fridge.

Toshinori, however, had seen it earlier when you had first entered the apartment.

“Did you eat at work?” 

“Ah, no, my coworker made me a plate.  We had a Christmas party, but I can just eat it later,” you stumbled over your response as you quickly opened the fridge, ready to shove it in and praise Toshinori over his wonderful meal, but stopped short at the sight that greeted you from the middle shelf.

An elegantly decorated dessert sat on a golden colored plate.  The frosting was smooth without a single flaw, an almost pearlescent white that had hints of pastel colors reflected in the fluorescent light from the single lightbulb that illuminated the contents of your fridge.  On top were generous dollops of whipped cream surrounding rich, dark and the most luscious looking strawberries and blueberries you had ever seen.  In the very front stood a Santa Claus figure with a snowman, fitted with a little top hat, scarf and all the intricate details you would later be amazed to find were all edible.  In between the two was a thin bar of chocolate that said ‘Merry Christmas to my heart.’

It was small but absolutely stunning that would have put any pastry chef to shame.  You knew Toshinori had made this himself.  On top of the cake being incredibly gorgeous, there were some telltale signs indicating his handiwork, including the fact the Santa looked like All Might and there was a small doodle of a panda on the chocolate sign. 

It was a Christmas cake.

If it were a few hours earlier, the sight of this cake would have had you over the moon, filling you with absolute adoration for the man that currently stood in your apartment, with the only inner turmoil being that you felt it was almost too beautiful to eat.  However, the unwanted memories of your supervisor and his piercing words immediately flooded back and you couldn’t help but be frustrated and disgusted at the fact that despite no longer physically present he could still manage to ruin the rest of your night.  

“Ah, that was supposed to be a surprise,” Toshinori said quietly, looking sheepish as he hovered a few feet behind you.  

You swallowed your disgust and the dam of overwhelming emotions that broiled inside of your stomach, carefully placing your plate on the bottom shelf so it wouldn’t risk marring Toshinori’s masterpiece before turning to him with a bright smile.

“It’s... incredible. I... I can’t wait to try it...” 

You had tried your best to sound excited, but even you could feel and hear the cracking in your voice as your vision blurred and you quickly looked away, rubbing at your eyes as you let out a short laugh.  

Toshinori reached out to you in alarm.

“Sweetheart, what—“

“Sorry, I’m just... kind of tired.”  You take a step back out of his reach, missing the flash of hurt cross his expression as you rub harshly at your eyes before looking up and smile at him, a little less brightly than before.  “Did you eat?  At the party I mean.”

“Well, I...” Toshinori hesitated from explaining that he soon realized you weren’t coming and had decided on leaving early to cook a meal to enjoy with you, but he knew if he had said anything more you would only feel worse.  

Despite the fact he said nothing more, you could easily read between the lines.

“I just need a minute and then I’ll help you set up and we can eat.  I’m sorry you had to wait so long for me, but thank you, I’m sure everything will be delicious.  It always is!” 

“But—“ Toshinori began to reach out to you once more but you were already heading out of the kitchen to the bathroom.

“I’ll be right back!”  You said, your voice full of false cheer but you knew if you stayed a moment longer or if Toshinori managed to even brush his hand against you, you would definitely break.

You were in the bathroom before he could utter another word.

It took you five minutes.  You timed yourself by setting your phone, holding it one hand before letting the faucet run at full power before letting out a choked sob, sliding down against the wall across of the bathroom sink as you clutched your hand over your mouth and cried.

You didn’t even understand why this got to you and why you were so weak that you had scurried off to the bathroom to cry.  It made you feel pathetic and even more undeserving of the man who probably stood inches outside the door, waiting for your return anxiously on the other side.  

You let yourself cry for a few minutes, struggling to keep the noise to a minimum with your knuckle stuffed between your teeth, your shoulders hunching and shaking with every sob, resisting the urge to throw your head back to strike against the wall behind you least Toshinori heard the noise.  Sooner than you expected the alarm on your phone vibrated on the floor next to you.  You quickly rubbed your face with your hand to clear your vision, struggling to take a breath as you fumbled for the phone, turning off the alarm.  You grabbed a nearby towel, using it to rub your face clean as you stood up before the mirror, grimacing at the way your eyes were beginning to swell, now red and bloodshot, the dark circles under your eyes making your face seem more sunken.  

You blew your nose, wiping it before using the water on a cold setting to help offset the redness and swelling, but you knew you could not linger for very much longer least Toshinori begin to worry more than you already knew he was.  You shut off the water, patting your face dry.  You heard the soft creaking of the floorboards just outside the bathroom door, confirming your suspicions as you let out a soft sigh.  You placed the towel into the dirty laundry, now soiled from your somewhat cathartic cry session before slapping your hands to your cheeks.

“Okay, okay,” you mumbled to yourself, staring at the expanse of your bathroom door before closing your eyes briefly.

You reached over to open the door, still a bit caught off guard to find the tall, lanky blond to be lingering just a few inches from the doorway in your hallway.  He jerked his gaze over to you as you exited.  You quickly turned the light off from the bathroom so he couldn’t see the full extent of your distress.  You were glad Toshinori had opted to keep the ambient lighting for the mood, using only the Christmas related lights and a few flameless candles to set the atmosphere.

“Ready?” You asked, clapping your hands together as you fixed him with a wide smile, averting your gaze towards the kitchen as you began to make a beeline to set up the plates and utensils.  “I’m starving—“

Before you could make it a step further you felt one of your wrists being encircled by something large and warm, gently pulling it away from your other hand and forcing you to turn back to the blond now standing before you.  It surprised you enough to pull your gaze back to his face.  Your heart nearly broke at the pained look on his face.  Despite towering over you, his posture and the look of utter helplessness seemed to make him look much smaller, and much more fragile.

“Don’t,” he began quietly, gently tugging you closer.  You initially tried to resist, but the soft pleading timbre broke your resolve easily as you found yourself shuffling back over to face him, but you still keep your gaze averted, unable to take another second of his injured gaze.

“Please, don’t,” he pleaded gently, raising his hands up to cup your face, gently coaxing you to tilt your head up.  You allowed him to angle your head so you were now facing him, but stubbornly you kept your eyes close, reaching out your hands to rest against his own as you kept your smile in place, yet your lips were trembling and it was all you could do to keep from breaking the front you so carefully tried to put up.

He had only said a few words, but his unspoken pleas rang clearly through the small space between the two of you.  Although physically you were within an intimate distance, emotionally you had distance yourself far from his reach.

Don’t.

Don’t close [me] out.

Don’t bottle it in.

Don’t leave [me].

And though you have told him countless times that you would never leave him, you also knew that isn’t what he meant.  You knew that there were times where you put such an incredible distance between you and the world around you, locking everything in tightly while deepening the trench that surrounded you.  He was pleading with you not to withdraw into yourself and at the very least not to put him on the other side of that barrier where he couldn’t reach you.

Knowing actions always spoke louder than words, undeterred, Toshinori leans down until his forehead was touching yours, the angle incredibly uncomfortable due to the large height difference between the two of you, but not a stranger to pain, Toshinori is easily able to ignore the momentary discomfort in order to ease your own, which he sees as his highest priority.

The initial touch of his forehead against yours had you flinching, making Toshinori’s heart ache to find you still so skittish in his presence even now, but to your credit, you seem to immediately force yourself to relax, although your fingers are now curling more firmly around his own palms and there’s a slight tremor in your hands.  He recognizes your effort, and it was arguable that your behavior was in reaction from the events of the day that were weighing heavily on your mind, rather than his close proximity.  Keeping that in mind, Toshinori continues with his careful approach, tilting your head slightly to the side as he gently brushes his thumbs over your cheek bones, teasing over the dark shadows that stand out starkly against your skin even in the dim lighting.

His nose brushes yours as he leans closer, his breath ghosting against your lips, causing yours to part automatically as you unconsciously lick your lips, your body already anticipating his next move.  His eyes are drawn to the movement of your tongue and he watches as it roves between your lips, leaving them moist, a tantalizing temptation that is almost too hard for him to resist.  

However, Toshinori has a strong will and he almost chuckles at feeling the pressure under his hands increase as he sees you rock up onto the tips of your toes, stretching your neck just a bit more, lips parting invitingly, but instead Toshinori drifts his own towards your right cheek bone, following the path of his thumb as he presses a trail of warm, chaste brushes of his lips along your sensitive skin.  You’re only briefly disappointed before the tingling leaves a warm trail across your face.  Your smile is genuine in that moment as Toshinori trails down towards your ear lobe before pulling away only to give the same treatment to the other side of your face.  

Once he reaches the other ear lobe, he lingers there, letting out a soft exhale that has you shuddering, your eyelashes fluttering briefly before clenching shut as you anticipate his next move.  Toshinori pauses before moving back to your forehead, pressing a soft, yet firm kiss to the center before trailing down, between your eyes, the bridge of your nose, hovering his lips back over yours to brush his own nose against yours before skipping your lips entirely to press his softly against your chin.

You can’t help the involuntary noise of frustration from escaping your lips, causing Toshinori to chuckle.  The rich baritone of his voice sends a shudder down your spine, amplified through the physical connection of his hands that still remain on your face.  Suddenly growing impatient with his game, you opened your eyes, your lips curling down into a frown.  It was exactly what Toshinori had hoped for, watching your eyelashes flutter as you finally return his gaze.  You found your irritation dissipating the moment you meet his gaze, the shocking electric blue filled with such warmth and unconditional love has you stunned, your lips parting more out of amazement at being reminded how lucky you were to have this man staring down at you with absolute adoration.

Toshinori is shocked at how quickly you’re moved to tears, watching as they pool over your eyes before spilling over onto your cheeks and his hands.  Your expression quickly dissolves into one of inconsolable distress as you clench your eyes shut, your shoulders shaking with sobs that you’re desperately trying to hold in by biting your lip to the point of tearing it.

“Ah,” Toshinori let’s out a noise of panic at seeing your tears, quickly trying to thumb them away as he murmurs soft words of comfort.  Sweat is starting to gather across his brow as he frets over you, bemoaning his idiocy at making the situation worse.  You seem to notice his distress, which only brings more tears to your eyes as you let out a strangled sob of incoherent noises, attempting an apology but it comes out as a wet garbled mess with your sinuses clogged from the onslaught of tears that you can’t seem to stop.

It takes a long time before both of you finally calm down enough to have a conversation.  Toshinori had scooped you into his arms and taken you to the couch, cradling you close and gently rocking you as he allowed you to take a literal cry on his shoulder, gently stroking your hair and nuzzling your crown as he murmured nothing but soothing nonsense as you desperately tried to regain your composure, clutching at the material of his sweater tightly as you kept your face buried against him, shoulders shaking with every agonizing breath.

You were now resting against him, listening to the steady beat of his heart and watching the slightly uneven rise and fall of his chest that you rested on, noting how the left side had considerably less lift than the right.  He continued to run his fingers through your hair, along your scalp, occasionally nuzzling your crown as he inhaled deeply, content to simply lay with you.  You wrinkled your nose at the saturated mess you left on his sweater in a specific spot, surrounded by balled up tissues, most of which were on the floor having missed the container due to the already large amount amassed in the trash bin Toshinori had moved nearby earlier for convenience.

Your head was throbbing, your nose as red as a certain reindeer’s, and your eyes nearly swollen shut.  What you needed was an ice pack and few hours of sleep in absolutely darkness.

“‘m sorry...” you croaked out, your throat raw from your painful, yet cathartic crying episode.  “Your sweater...”

Toshinori blinked and looked down, his hands stilling for a moment before moving to smooth your bangs from your forehead.  He was smiling at you, his gaze soft and warm.

“Don’t be,” he assured you gently before his brows began to furrow in concern.  “Are you... feeling better?”

“A little,” you admitted, looking sheepish, embarrassment from your earlier display starting to set in now that the wave of emotions had ebbed away, but in the end you were almost too exhausted to feel anything.  

You began to sit up, wincing as the movement made you slightly nauseous.  Toshinori was shifting his position, helping you to lean up, his arms still wrapped around you securely.

“Are you hungry?  Would you, ah, like something to drink?” Toshinori asked, arching a little in relief for his aching muscles.  

“Maybe water, not really hungry,” you mumble, leaning against his shoulder, holding one hand up to cover your aching eyes, your fingertips rubbing against your temples to stave off the pounding migraine that seemed to threaten to pulse your eyes right out of your skull.

“You should eat at least a little,” Toshinori said, coaxing you to sit back on the couch, carefully moving out from under you in order to set out to make you a plate.  

“So should you,” you call out after him, removing your hand to watch him head off into the kitchen, wincing at the assault of bright light coming from the kitchen.  “You didn’t eat, right?  At the party?”

“I’m fine,” Toshinori glossed over as he made himself busy in the kitchen.

You frowned, not at all impressed by his answer.  That was usually your line.

“You didn’t eat.”  You weren’t asking and continued to press, ignoring the fact that you probably sounded like a hypocrite.  “You need to eat.”

“I didn’t say that,” Toshinori countered, although he never did clearly state if he had or hadn’t eaten.  And he wasn’t about to tell you it’d have been a good twelve hours since he had anything but a glass of water, and even admitting that was a bit of an exaggeration.

Despite knowing you were struggling with your vision thanks to your eyes becoming incredibly swollen from crying, he could feel your stare burning against his back, causing another round of sweat to break across his brow.  But he ignored it in favor of your health, heating up some of everything he had created for what he had hoped would be a romantic Christmas dinner.  He really had a wonderful night planned where you two would have dined in, perhaps had a chance to see the Christmas lights and take a walk around the city before retiring back to your apartment where he would have kissed you under the mistletoe.

Although, he realized in hindsight that placing the mistletoe above your front door was probably the least ideal place.  He was also certain if you knew about the full extent of his plans you probably would feel even worse than you already did.  Admittedly he was a little disappointed, but only because he thought he had failed you by having you believe you were pressured to come to the party, rather than thinking of his plans having been ruined.  After all, he could always try again next year, or so he could hope, and there were many other things both of you could do throughout the year.

He quickly shook his head of less pressing thoughts, focusing his attention back on your comfort and health, putting together a plate with an array of choices for you to at least pick at, pausing before moving to the freezer to procure a reusable ice pack.  He wrapped it up in a thin dish towel before returning to you, balancing the plate in one hand, a cup of ice water in the crook of his elbow and the ice pack in the other.

He was more than a little surprised to see you sitting up, squinting down at your mobile phone, your fingers clumsily moving over the touch screen keypad.  He placed the plate down on the coffee table in front of you along with your water and the ice pack.  He opted to sit on the floor beside you, still coming up to just about your shoulder even as you sat on an entire level above him on the couch.  He looked over at what you were doing on your phone to find you had selected a number of familiar contacts and you were currently in the midst of sending a mass text.

“Are you wishing them a holiday greeting?” Toshinori asked, his lips curling at the corners in the slightest as he glanced up at you, his brows furrowing in concern.  “I think that can wait—“

“No,” you answer shortly, glancing at him briefly through your swollen eyes, frowning.  “I’m texting to check if you ate at the party.”

“There... There’s no need for that,” Toshinori stuttered, straightening up as he quickly grabbed your phone.  

Your exhaustion and compromised vision made your reflexes much too slow for you to react.  It was just as well since merely looking at the bright screen made your head throb and your nausea worsen by the second.  

“It’s very late, it’s probably not a good idea to contact anyone at this time.”  Toshinori continued, trying to reason with you as he placed your phone on the far end of the coffee table well out of your reach before offering you the glass of water.  “Here, drink some water.”

“You can eat this food too, right?”  You asked, refusing to take the offered glass as you frowned at him.  “You made it so both of us could eat it?”

“Well, yes, technically, but really, I’m fine—“

Toshinori tried to reassure you, more worried about your current state than his own as he watched you fumble with the chopsticks, trying to pick up a piece of food.  It was painful for him to watch you struggle and he gently pried the utensils from your hands, skillfully managing the task that seemed impossible for your at the moment.  It was another reason why he chose to sit on the floor—it was easier to assist you with eating.

“You first,” you state stubbornly, finally taking the glass of water he had left on the coffee table when he had moved to assist you with the chopsticks.

“Come, now—“ Toshinori sighed, but you shook your head, stopping immediately as the movement seemed to exacerbate your current migraine.  Instead, you occupied your mouth by bringing the glass to your lips, nursing the water as you watched him over the rim of the cup.

Toshinori waited for you to put the glass down, but you refused, keeping your puffy-eyed gaze locked with his in a battle of wills.  You were both stubborn, he knew that was a fact, but he also knew that he was at a disadvantage.  If he continued this game with you, while he was physically and mentally in more stable condition, he knew that you would more than likely push your limits until you were absolutely miserable all because of your stubborn nature.  You would not back down until he took care of himself first, at least in your eyes, so in order for him to take care of you, he would have to let you believe you were taking care of him first.

With a resigned sigh he brought the chopsticks to his mouth, placing the bite he had intended for you past his own lips.  He made a show of chewing the piece of food thoroughly before swallowing.  You slowly brought the glass from your lips just as he picked up another piece from the plate, one hand cupped under the chopsticks as he held it out to you.

“There, satisfied?” He asked wearily.  “Now will you please eat?”

“That’s all you’re going to eat?” You asked, looking far from pleased, but reluctantly you were leaning forward, parting your lips.

Toshinori was more than relieved at your cooperation, bringing the food to your lips and watching you carefully as you chew on the piece of food offered to you.  He couldn’t help but smile as your expression seemed to brighten.  You enjoyed the flood of flavors that enveloped your tastebuds, the appetite you thought you had lost now presenting itself as you let out a soft sigh and managed to swallow, bringing the water back to your lips.

“I’ll eat a little more, as long as you do,” Toshinori assured you, emphasizing his point by using the chopsticks to feed himself another bite of food.

You watched him carefully, sipping on your glass of water.

“Your turn,” Toshinori prompted, raising the chopsticks up to your lips.  You lowered the glass, leaning forward just a little more to take the offered food.

This continued for a few minutes, but soon Toshinori had reached his limit, with you falling not far behind as you had continuously supplemented yourself with water between bites, filling yourself up quickly.  You found you were a lot more hungry than you had initially realized, but it was to be expected when you had essentially gone nearly the whole day without any food, and on top of that rather embarrassing emotional outburst, your body was probably starving for energy.  

“Thank you, it was delicious,” you tell Toshinori quietly, placing the now empty glass on the table before clapping your hands in a show of gratitude.  

“You’re welcome.”  He chuckled in response, moving to press a chaste kiss to your forehead before placing the ice pack in your hand while picking up the plate to clean in the kitchen.

You took the ice pack gratefully, pressing it against your swollen eyes and leaning back against the couch with a sigh of relief.  You listened to the domestic sounds of Toshinori moving about in the kitchen.  The clinking of plates and glasses, the sound of water running in the sink, the fridge being opened and closed before you heard him finish up by the soft click of the light switch.  A minute later you felt the couch sink down next to you, an arm wrapping around your shoulders to pull you up close against something warm and firm and all too familiar.  You settled against Toshinori in a more comfortable position, your eyes closed behind the ice pack as you sighed in contentment, feeling Toshinori once more begin his relaxing massage of his fingers pressing lightly along your scalp.

“It’s getting late,” Toshinori murmured to you softly, pulling you a little closer so that you now had your legs swung over his thighs, arms wound around you in a comfortable embrace, offering you a cocoon of safety and warmth you never wanted to leave.

“Mm,” you mumbled sleepily, fighting to keep from slipping off into unconsciousness, much too comfortable after your incredibly exhausting and emotionally draining day.

A few minutes went by in silence.  Toshinori was content to hold you in his arms, gently stroking your hair and listening to the even rhythm of your breathing, noticing how longer and deeper each one stretched.  He was almost certain you had fallen asleep and was ready to carefully adjust his grip on you to carry you to your bedroom when you startled him, speaking up softly.

“Are you staying over tonight?”

“I thought you were asleep,” Toshinori said, calming his racing heart as you laughed softly, your ear pressed against his chest so you could clearly hear how quickly his heart was beating.  

“You can stay,” you murmur sleepily, your words beginning to slur in your exhaustion.

Toshinori stiffened, wondering if you were truly coherent enough to understand the gravity of your invitation, or if you were simply too exhausted to comprehend what you were offering.  It wasn’t as if Toshinori was being crude, but just being in the current position of you laying against him on the couch with your arms wrapped around his neck as his rested against your back was something that would have been unheard of.  It took several months for you to even be comfortable in just sitting close enough that your shoulders would brush.  Even if either of you would sleep over, one would either choose to rest on the couch while the other on the bed (something you argued over fiercely of who would get which, mainly because you would both push for the other to remain in the comfort of the bed), but there were a few, very rare times where you both had shared a bed, but most times it was out of sheer exhaustion and never intended.

Now you were resting against him, boneless in his arms, peering up at him through your lashes as you pushed your ice pack from your face.   Your eyes were still swollen, but it had decreased to the point that you could actually open your eyes without as much discomfort, your nose was still red and your cheeks splotchy with color.  But you were smiling at him softly, unguarded and letting yourself be completely vulnerable in his presence.

He never thought you looked more beautiful.

It was all he could do to restrain himself from cupping your face and bringing you into a passionate kiss, but he knew you probably would argue you were a mess and weren’t up to the task, something he would vehemently disagree on, but he didn’t want to ruin the current mood and simply moved a hand up to stroke your cheek gently, watching as your eyes fluttered closed in contentment, even leaning a little more into his touch.

He felt his throat tighten, making it difficult to speak.

“If that’s what you’d like,” he said, his voice hoarse as he spoke making himself wince.

You didn’t seem to mind and hummed in response, a small smile still playing on your lips.

“I would,” you mumble quietly tightening your hold around his neck as you pressed your weight firmly against him, making Toshinori shudder as your next exhale positioned your mouth against his collarbone.

“All right,” he said, wrapping his arms back around you to hold you close, nuzzling his face against your crown.  “I am here, to stay.”

Your smile widened, he could feel it against his skin and he couldn’t help but reciprocate, both of you content to bask in each other’s presence and the warmth shared between the two of you.

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” you murmur.

Toshinori blinked, pulling back to look at you, but you resisted, making a noise of displeasure as you tightened your arms around his neck.  He relaxed, sighing wearily. He should have known.

“But...”

Toshinori perked up at your voice, the hands he had been running up and down your back and through your hair stilling for a moment.

“Let’s stay like this a little longer.”

You continued to keep your face buried against his clavicle, refusing to meet his gaze, your face feeling a little more flushed despite the ice pack that still remained against your face.   Toshinori chuckled, pulling you closer, continuing to smooth his hands soothingly through your hair and down your back.

“As long as you want, my love.”

As long as you wanted turned out to be the rest of the night and early morning as you both ended up falling asleep.  You had easily fallen victim first, with the combined soothing touch of Toshinori’s gentle hands, his encompassing warmth, and listening to his steady heartbeat and soft breaths, you really stood no chance.  Toshinori knew you had fallen asleep within minutes, but he feared if he were to move you too soon you would wake and follow through with your promise to sleep on the couch alone.  So he decided to wait until you were lulled into a deep sleep, but he soon found himself opening his eyes to the semi-darkness of your apartment, groggy and disoriented.

He shifted, attempting to sit up when he realized there was an oddly comfortable weight resting on his chest, alarming him for a brief moment as he jerked his gaze down, only to relax to find you sleeping against him.  The flameless candles and Christmas lights he had set up for ambience were on a timer, to conserve electricity and power, had long since gone out, but it seemed he had forgotten to turn off the hallway light and was able to use that to get a bearing on his surroundings, reorienting himself to your apartment.  

He blinked rapidly, noting it was still dark, but feeling a small panic start to take hold as he wondered about the time.  While the students were now on holiday, the faculty still had to finish up with placing grades and there were still a few meetings for the loose ends to tie before the end of the year.  Feeling for his pocket, he carefully adjusted your weight, reaching between you and his hip to carefully pull out his phone.  You still had your arms wrapped around his neck, but it was clear you were in a deep slumber as your mouth was now open with a pool of drool now saturating part of his sweater.

He briefly debated taking a picture, holding back a laugh, but quickly decided against it.  He knew you would be mortified if he were to reveal it to you, but mostly the lighting was too poor at this angle to catch a proper one, much to his disappointment.  It could have been his new background for his phone.  

He checked his phone and sighed in relief to find it wasn’t as late as he feared, but he knew it would be best to get up soon to prepare for the day.  He carefully reached out to place his phone on the coffee table, doing his best not to disturb you in your sleep.  Ideally, this would give himself time to be ready for his faculty meeting and prepare you a healthy breakfast that would hopefully start you off on the right foot to make up for last night’s fiasco.  He was still bothered that you failed to give any details or insight on what had upset you.  He highly doubted it was merely just the stress of work or the fact you missed the party you had meant to attend.

But that meant moving you, and if he moved you then you might wake up.  You looked incredibly comfortable in your deep slumber, but he had to admit the awkward position on your couch was doing a number on his back, and while it might have been comfortable for someone of your size, it was less than accommodating for his own stature.  

Knowing he couldn’t very well lay with you all day, as tempting as the prospect might be, his body was already against the notion.  He let out a soft sigh, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you close to give you a tight squeeze, as if in a silent apology of what he was about to do.  That movement alone had you shifting against him, mumbling incoherently as you turned your head.  He stiffened as he felt you pull a hand to wipe at your mouth, relaxing his hold to allow you freedom to move while making sure you didn’t end up tumbling off the couch.

Your movement had you turning your face against the wet spot of drool on Toshinori’s sweater, the uncomfortable texture bringing you out from layers of unconsciousness as your eyelashes fluttered, grimacing as you pulled away.  The reusable ice pack you had been using had long since become warm, now lost somewhere in between the two of you or the crevices of your couch.  You began to sit up, but found the positioning awkward as you peered around blearily in the semi-darkness, the hallway the only source of light as you felt something gently grasping your waist.  

“Good morning, love,” Toshinori said quietly, his voice a little hoarse from disuse over the night.  He cleared his throat a little, watching how you seemed slow to register his presence, now straddling his waist and looking at him blankly.  

You stared down at the man laying beneath you, blinking rapidly to adjust to the poor lighting before bringing your hands up to rub at your eyes.  The remnants of the night were slowly coming back to you, along with the dull ache of your migraine continuing to persist behind your eyes.  Toshinori was rubbing gentle circles with his thumbs along your hips, adjusting his own position to sit up as he reached up to smooth your bangs from your forehead, pressing a chaste kiss against your forehead.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”  He asked, pulling you close into another tight embrace as he gently stroke your hair and back, pressing another soft kiss to your temple. 

“What time is it?”  Was your first groggy response as you straightened up, stretching out the kinks in your muscles as you did your best to hold back a yawn.  

“Still early,” he assured you, but he watched as you found his answer unsatisfactory as you were patting around for your phone, but realizing it was left in your bag well out of reach you glanced down to see his on the coffee table and reached for it to check yourself.  “I do need to get up and start to get ready.  I can make you breakfast as well.”

“‘s okay,” you mumble, squinting down at the bright screen before placing his phone back on the coffee table.  

You moved to slip off the couch, stumbling a bit as your feet, numb from the awkward position entangled together on the couch now had pins and needles shooting up your leg, making you grimace.  Toshinori reached out to steady you, a look of concern on his face.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” you said, shaking off one leg at a time while using his shoulder to keep your balance before looking at him, a little embarrassed before you add, “just... can I, um, go first?  In the bathroom, I mean...”

Toshinori blinked, before letting out a soft chuckle.

“Of course, love.  This is your apartment.”  

“Right, um, I won’t be long,” you said, color filling your cheeks before you scurried off quickly, firmly closing and locking the door behind you, your ears burning at the sound of his laughter following after you.

By the time you had emerged from the bathroom, Toshinori was already in the kitchen, picking out ingredients and left overs from the fridge.  You hesitated before turning to your bedroom, deciding to change out of your previous clothes for something a little more comfortable.  It was quite cold, despite the heater in your apartment, and you opted to wear some sweat pants along with a long sleeved shirt.  You honestly would have worn the Christmas sweater you were certain Toshinori had brought, but you weren’t up to searching around for it and decided it was better to just change into something quickly.  Once you finished dressing, you peered out from your bedroom, watching as Toshinori continued to move about your kitchen as if it were his own.  He had easily memorized where everything was stored and with the skill of a professional chef he seemed to be setting up his work station.

Your heart filled with warmth at the site and you debated whether to simply sit on the couch so as to not get in his way, but you wondered especially after disappointing him last night if it was appropriate for you to simply sit and let him do all the work.  Your mind made up, you cautiously pad over quietly.  Despite your efforts, Toshinori seemed to easily sense your presence, or perhaps he anticipated your arrival after hearing you emerge from the bathroom, but either way he spoke up without turning, startling you into an abrupt halt a few feet away from his back.

“Do you mind some left overs from last night, or would you like something else?  I can make eggs,” Toshinori offered as he finished putting on a pot of coffee, mainly for you, while setting a kettle on the stove for himself.   “Or pancakes?”

“Leftovers are fine,” you said quietly, guilt from last night and the image of the elaborate spread of food filling your mind as you hesitated from approaching him.  

As if sensing your thoughts, Toshinori turned to you, offering a brilliant smile as he held out a hand to you.  

“Would you like to help?  Or would you simply like to rest?  I know you’re tired.”

“I’ll help,” you said quietly, hesitantly reaching out to take his offered hand.  

He beams, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he gently pulls you closer.  You followed, your hand still in his as you sidle up next to him.  

You both work in comfortable silence, but beneath the surface Toshinori is still concerned and you find yourself with a mixture of emotions, mainly embarrassment, shame and disgust.  And you knew Toshinori probably hadn’t let it go.  You knew him long enough that he could try to hide his own secrets, but when it came to concern for others he was easier to read than any open book.  He had learned over time to pull back and let you come to him rather than insist on being able to help.  You guessed it was probably ingrained in him due to his career as a hero and just in his very core to be able to help people and when he finds himself unable to, he feels helpless.  You didn’t want him to feel that way, and you knew you couldn’t convince him to shrug off your emotional outburst.

So it didn’t surprise you when Toshinori eventually broke the silence with the question you dreaded.

“Did... did you want to talk about what was bothering you last night?”  

“Not really,” you tell him honestly, pretending to be focused on your current task in assisting with the meal, but you were clearly distracted.

Toshinori expected this answer and, while disheartening, he would not press on the matter.

“You know... You can talk to me,” Toshinori wasn’t going to press the issue, but he wasn’t going to let it drop completely.  He wanted to at least assure you he was always here for you. “I’m here.  I’m always here for you, whenever you need.”

After all, if he couldn’t help the people he cared about the most, how could he really call himself a hero?

“I know,” you say softly, stilling in your movements as you stare down at the counter. 

You take a moment, inhaling and exhaling quietly before turning to him with a small smile, not quite reaching your eyes, you gaze still troubled.

“I appreciate that.  And I’m here for you, too,” you pause before adding with a self-deprecating laugh, “not that I’m really anything close to a hero, or good for much but—“

“Stop.”

You look up at Toshinori, startled at his sharp tone. He isn’t facing you, but he’s gripping the handle of one of the pots so tightly you can see his knuckles are turning white, his posture tense and his bangs are hanging low to keep you from seeing his eyes.  Then suddenly he relaxes before reaching over to shut off the stove.  He doesn’t move for a long moment before turning to you, his gaze looking utterly at a loss. 

You feel your heart breaking at the sight knowing you were the cause.

“You,” he reaches out to you, closing the distance between the two of you as he gently cups your face with both of his hands, “are my hero.  Do not think for even a moment you are anything less than heroic.  You’re brave, strong, intelligent and you have so much to offer the world.  I know you find it hard to see for yourself, but I can see it. 

“I believe in you.”

Your eyes are wide, stunned by his passionate response, but soon your eyes are shining with unshed tears, your brows furrowing as your lips twist into a frown.  

“I—“ 

“I love you.”

Toshinori knows you were ready to argue, to deny his claims, but he had had enough.  He pulls you close and effectively cuts you off by leaning down to slot his mouth against yours.  You stiffen, completely caught off guard by his actions.  He takes advantage of your slackened mouth, slipping his tongue past your lips to taste yours.  You’re startled, instinctively responding by grasping his arms, ready to push him away, but you shut your eyes, forcing yourself to relax in his hold, opening your mouth a little wider and hesitantly pressing back.  Toshinori hums in approval, sending a shudder down your spine, encouraging you to become bolder in your response by stroking your tongue against his, soon melting into his hold as his tongue explores every surface and crevice of your pliant mouth.  

He had only meant to initiate the kiss as a way to startle you from your negative thoughts and distract you, but Toshinori finds himself becoming lost in the action.  He drinks in your tiny gasps and soft whimpers, the way you were reaching up for him, now pushing yourself up onto the balls of your feet to get closer.  He can feel a tightness in his chest beginning to spread, finding it difficult to regulate his breathing as he slips his hands down to your back, then to your waist before bending down to hook them under your thighs, hoisting you up to sit on the counter, your legs automatically cinching around his waist.

A week was much too long.  

“The time to wake... has come!”

You and Toshinori broke away with a start, panting raggedly as you clutched one another.  Toshinori let out a frustrated groan as he cast a sidelong at his phone that continued to vibrate on your coffee table, his own heroic voice booming obnoxiously through your small apartment.

“The time to wake... has come!”

You let out a soft laugh, regaining Toshinori’s attention as he turned to you, his hands still gripping your thighs as he bent just enough to rest his forehead against yours, placing one last chaste kiss against your lips before reluctantly stepping away.  You let your legs slide down from his hips, his arms now raised up to grasp yours, allowing you leverage to help you hop down from your kitchen counter.

“I got it,” you tell him as you give him a consoling pat against his chest, smiling at him widely. 

Toshinori thanked you, letting you slip off into the common area to switch off his alarm.  He allowed himself a brief moment to bemoan his situation, leaning forward against his forearm that rested on one of your cabinets, wondering if anyone else had ever been interrupted by, well, themselves.

It was just as well, he thought to himself as he dropped his arm, pulling away from the cabinet to straighten up, returning to the stove and switching it back on.  He glanced over to see you had turned off his alarm, looking up to meet his gaze and smiling.

He returned it, feeling his heart swell at the sight of your genuine smile.

“It’s stupid, really.”  

Soon you and Toshinori were sitting down to a small meal.  You weren’t that hungry and Toshinori normally didn’t eat very much.  You seemed to be picking at your plate as you sat from across one another.  He noticed you were reverting back to your previous mood, but you were at least opening up, albeit you continued to avert your gaze.

“I’m listening,” Toshinori assured you, reaching out to take your hand resting on the table, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles to emphasize his reassurance.  “If it’s bothering you, then I’d like to know so I can help.  If you are comfortable talking about it.”

You continued to push food around on your plate, your gaze averted from his, but you weren’t pulling away from him which he took as a good sign.  He waited patiently, gently rubbing his thumb along each of your knuckles, offering a reassuring squeeze.  A long moment had passed and he wasn’t sure you would open up, but he wouldn’t press you on the matter.  He was certain you’d let him know when you were ready and all he could do now was be patient and supportive while you sorted through your feelings in your own way.

“I... It was just a comment some guy made at work,” you started, surprising Toshinori.  You were picking at each grain of rice with your chopsticks, pulling it apart from its sticky comrades as you kept your focus on your plate.  “He’s been kind of creepy and he does it to everyone, mostly the females, so it’s not just me!”

You added the last bit with a quick glance at Toshinori’s face.  You didn’t want him to think you were the only target, and on top of the fact that you hadn’t mentioned this until now was also a possible point of contention.  Toshinori was reasonable enough that he knew he couldn’t, and wouldn’t force you to divulge all your worries and problems to him.  As much as it went against everything he stood for being a hero, to just sit around and wait, he knew that it would do no good to push you past your limits when it came to these matters.  And while you appreciated his patience and understanding you knew it was killing him to be idle and that you needed to compromise and meet him half way.  It wasn’t any easier for you, to admit to your problems to him, but you knew if you didn’t communicate with one another it might manifest in other ways that could strain your relationship.

You stiffened at seeing the dark look cross his face.  It was only for a brief moment, so brief that if you hadn’t been watching you would have missed it, before he took on his usual pleasant countenance when he noticed your attention, but you had known him long enough to catch the slight nuances to indicate his mood.

He was upset.

“Oh?”  Toshinori asked quietly, and although there was a small smile playing on his lips for the appearance of being calm, there was an odd chill underlying his tone as he carefully placed his chopsticks down to give the conversation his full attention.  “Someone from work?”

“I, I mean... you know maybe it was someone in passing, not just at work I, I can’t quite remember.”  You stumbled over your words, quickly putting down your chopsticks and taking his other hand, startling Toshinori briefly as you squeezed them both in earnest.  “Anyway, it was something silly.  Just, um, you know, the more I think about it the more I realize how stupid it was—“

“What did he say?”

He didn’t raise his voice, and there was no anger or demanding, but there was a quiet power that had you halting in your jumbled response that had you looking at Toshinori with wide eyes.  You squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze, while soft and not at all threatening, you could see the hint of sadness behind those striking blue eyes.  It felt like he was looking into your very soul and trying to find out the reason why you didn’t want to talk to him.

It made you feel like a child, being ungrateful to a parent who only showed you unconditional love even when you shut them out.  You knew Toshinori was feeling helpless and he already felt that enough with his current state while watching his students and fellow heroes continue on while he struggled just to keep from falling behind, knowing it would be his inevitable fate.  

And now the person who should have been the closest to him was shutting him out.  

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust him, and you certainly didn’t want him to feel this way.  You just didn’t want to be a burden, and felt it was something you could and should address on your own, but by trying to shoulder this on your own you were soon finding you were being more of a burden by keeping to yourself.

You took a deep breath, squeezing his hands before letting out a soft sigh.

“They called me a... ‘Christmas cake.’”

There was a beat of silence.

Even to your ears your answer sounded ridiculous.  You kept your eyes glued to the table, a warmth filling your cheeks as the seconds stretched by.  Toshinori hadn’t released your hand, he hadn’t laughed, but he wasn’t saying anything and you were too embarrassed to even chance a look at his expression.

Toshinori was dumbfounded.  He knew this meant more than he probably thought, just from hearing the base statement.  You were obviously upset by this and he could figure as much it was probably some sort of colloquialism that he did not understand.  Treating the situation delicately, he let go of one of your hands, startling you to look up, but he only did so to allow himself to scoot his chair closer to you before taking your hand once more in his and squeezing them reassuringly.

“I apologize for my ignorance, but I am not sure I understand.  I’m assuming it means more than saying you’re something elegant, beautiful, and a popularly delicious delicacy shared on the holidays?”  

Toshinori was trying to lighten the mood and you smiled, but the embarrassment seemed to burn even worse knowing that Toshinori didn’t seem to immediately recognize the meaning and you looked down at your lap, sighing, even more convinced you were being a fool.

“Yeah, it’s slang for someone—well a woman actually, who’s over the age of twenty five and hasn’t married yet,” you explained, “because, you know, Christmas cake is desirable before and on Christmas Day but after Christmas no one really wants an old cake, right?”

There was a beat of silence.

“I mean—not literally, I mean, I’ll definitely love to eat your cake today!  I’m so sorry I didn’t, uh, we could eat it now!”  Your eyes were wide, jerking your gaze up to Toshinori as your cheeks flushed anew, recalling the cake that remained in the fridge, the labor of his hard work that you just verbally spat on.  “I’m sorry, oh gosh, I didn’t mean to insinuate—it really looks delicious—“

You had jerked your hands from his, holding them up in a gesture of surrender, waving them awkwardly to emphasize your remorse as you backtracked on your statement.  

There was a snort of laughter, interrupting your rambling that had you stiffening, eyes wide.

Toshinori had a hand covering his mouth as he was holding back his laughter.

“You’re upset because someone said something that ridiculous?”  

You felt a flood of shame as you dropped your hands in your lap, jerking your gaze down as you clenched your fingers into the material of your pants, feeling a flash of heat over your eyes as the tears welled up.

“Y-yeah... I told you, I was being stupid,” you said, trying to keep your voice from cracking as you forced out a choked laugh.  

“Oh, sweetheart, come here, I’m not ridiculing you, my love,” Toshinori said quickly, picking up on the quavering in your voice as he reached over to embrace you, pulling you into his lap with a chaste kiss to your temple.  Still, he was chuckling, the vibrations and the rich notes of his laughter managing to bring a curtain of calm to your emotions as you reluctantly accepted his embrace.  “It’s just, you do realize the irony from my point of view?”

You blinked away the tears before pausing and looking up at him.  

“Because you made the cake?”  You asked, genuinely confused by his statement.

That earned another bout of laughter, one he couldn’t even attempt to stifle.  Toshinori pulled you even closer, burying his face against your shoulder for a moment in an attempt to quell his laughter.  You shudder at the contact, but soon you were returning his embrace despite your confusion as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“No, my heart,” he finally managed to pull away to answer, moving to nuzzle against your crown.  “Because I’m so much older than you.  If you’re a Christmas cake then I’m, well, probably comparable to the bread they use for communion, if my knowledge serves me well.”

“What?” You were stunned, looking up at him with wide eyes.  “No, no, that’s not what I meant to—“

“I know, but you see,” Toshinori chuckled as he pulled you close, rubbing his cheek against yours in hopes to calm your horrified expression.  “That’s why you must find it a bit humorous when countless of times you’ve assured me that age is not a barrier in our relationship.”

You didn’t respond for a moment, instead letting his words sink in along with his warmth as you accepted his desire to be closer to you.  Again you felt you had been overreacting but without the flush of shame, although there was still a hint of embarrassment.

“You’re right, it is kind of funny when you put it that way,” you agreed before tightening your hold around his neck and pushing closer, pressing your cheek against his, a small smile making its way on your lips as you turned your head to press a soft kiss to his lips.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled back against your lips warmly before leaning closer to deepen the kiss.  

The kiss continued for a moment longer, one arm still draped over his shoulder while you had pulled back the other hand to cup his face.  Toshinori kept his arms around your waist, allowing you take control of the kiss as you used your hand to angle his head, parting his lips to gently tease your tongue along the seam of his lips, silently asking for access.  Toshinori hesitated, pulling away before the two of you could be carried away and you let out a soft noise of disappointment.  He pressed a chaste kiss against your lips in apology.  He still had to get ready for a meeting at school and he was certain you still worked later tonight.  That thought alone shifted his mood, almost palpably as you sensed something had changed in the atmosphere.

“As much as I’d like to continue, I have a meeting, but there is one last thing I’d like to ask,” Toshinori began apologetically, raising his hands to cup your face, moving to press a kiss to your forehead.

“Mm?” You raised your head a little to meet the pleasant pressure of his lips against your skin, but all too soon he had pulled away, but his hands continued to caress your face as he met your half-lidded gaze.

“What was the name of the person who made that comment?”

You shuddered at the dark note underlying Toshinori’s tone, your eyelashes fluttering open as you gaze wide-eyed at him.  Despite the gentle smile and soft spoken question, you could see something sharp in his gaze, a quietly boiling animosity you could feel, although he directed nothing but the most loving touches and affection as he ran his thumb under the dark circles under your eyes.

You certainly didn’t like your supervisor and you were certain many of your coworkers would agree that he wasn’t the most pleasant person to work with, but feeling the intensity of Toshinori’s gaze, you weren’t sure you were okay with the man being annihilated.  

For one, you just didn’t want to be the reason Toshinori did something that might have been deemed unheroic, even if it was for the sake of your dignity.  You had tried to distract him and reassure him that you were certain your supervisor had enough complaints that he’d either be transferred to another department, another agency location or dealt with in some more appropriate way or other.

Toshinori had only continued to smile gently and although he dropped the matter, you had a feeling he hadn’t actually given up.  

You both parted ways an hour later after finishing breakfast and cleaning up.  Toshinori promised to text you later and wished you a good day which you returned, waving at him from the doorway of your front door as he headed off.  You closed and locked your door firmly, jumping when something small flashed past your sight and hit the floor.  You bent down and found upon closer inspection it was a piece of mistletoe.  You felt another wave of guilt hit you as you picked up the small item, straightening up and looking around your apartment at the decorations that had been placed up.  The tree still stood, beautifully decorated and you knew the cake still waited in the fridge for you to partake in, most likely crafted with the skill and unconditional love you were certain Toshinori put in through his efforts.

Determined and with a new goal in mind, you looked at the mistletoe in your hand and made a plan to go shopping for the items to put your plan in action.

Just before you started your list, you noticed the small package on the floor nestled in the corner near your front door.  It was in a Christmas themed gift bag and had a tag that you read to find holiday wishes as well as a small message stating ‘you’re welcome’ rather boldly along with x’ s and o’s and Midnight’s signature.  Your interested piqued, you vaguely recalled Toshinori mentioning Midnight having picked up something for you.

You opened the package and pulled out the contents, unfolding it to stare at the Christmas sweater and the message it held, the mistletoe still held in one of your hands.

Toshinori had texted and spoke to you a few times throughout the rest of the week.  The end of the year was coming up quickly and you were in much higher spirits, knowing you would actually have a few solid days off for the new year.  You had invited him back over a few days later, wanting to have a nice intimate dinner one last time to end the year on a good note before the both of you would be inundated with parties and plans with friends and family alike.  He readily agreed and was nearing your apartment.

You had even sounded a bit nervous over the phone when you had invited him.  He usually was the one who cooked, mostly because you were poor at it and his diet was so specific you were often worried of making a mistake.  But this time you had insisted on cooking and setting everything up, so he had hoped the trepidation he had heard in your voice wasn’t about cooking for him.  He didn’t want to be a burden or cause you any stress.  He had debated on cooking and bringing something as a back-up, but he knew you could be prideful and may have taken that as an insult, so he quickly decided against it.

Soon he found himself at your door, having texted you once he was within a few minutes of your building.  You had hurriedly called back, instructing him to knock and wait, or call you to make sure you answered the door for him, despite knowing he had his own key.  Puzzled by your specific instructions, he wondered if you still needed time to prepare the meal, but readily agreed.  He lifted his hand and knocked against the door with three successive strikes with his knuckle, before dropping his hand and waiting patiently.

“Be right there!”  Your muffled voice responded almost immediately.  “Close your eyes!”

Toshinori blinked, tilting his head in the slightest at your strange request, but did as he was asked.

“They’re closed,” he said loudly, making sure his response traveled through the door to reach you.

There was a few moments of odd shuffling and other various noises, but soon he heard your foot steps hurrying to the front door.  He couldn’t help the slightest upturn at the corners of his lips, his curiosity piqued.

“Okay, keep them closed,” he heard you instruct as you opened the floor before feeling your hands grasp his, holding them up and pulling gently to guide him forward before pausing just past the threshold.  “I’ll guide you.  Do you trust me?”

Although you meant it more as a joke, your tone light-hearted, there was still a note of apprehension he could barely detect, and still you hadn’t moved, keeping his hands resting gently in yours as you waited for his response.

“With my life,” Toshinori said, unable to hold back his smile as he gently squeezed your hands.  

“Let’s... let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” you mumbled, a flush making its way across your cheeks at his bold and straight-forward response.  For anyone else it might have seemed exaggerated or over dramatic for effect, but you knew Toshinori was sincere and meant what he said whole-heartedly, which both made your heart flutter with your chest tightening almost to the point of pain at his absolute trust in you, as well as made you anxious because when your mind drifted to darker thoughts, one of your more prominent fears did center around Toshinori’s life expectancy.

It was something you tried not to dwell on, and now was definitely not the time to bring it up.

Shaking your head as if it would physically rid yourself of those thoughts, you steeled yourself to focus back on the task at hand, gently tugging at Toshinori’s hands as you stepped backwards.  He followed you easily, the front door shutting behind him as you made sure to lock it before returning back to being Toshinori’s guide. You pulled him further into the apartment, before stopping him in a place you deemed appropriate.  

“Okay, just wait here, and keep your eyes closed!”  You instructed him as you helped him to remove his coat and took his bag to set it aside.

“All right,” Toshinori responded obediently, a smile still playing across his lips as he simply stood where you left him.

He could hear you moving about.  Occasionally there would be a soft thump or the sound of you moving an object, sometimes followed by a soft curse under your breath.  Not able to stay idle long knowing you might be struggling, his brows furrowed together as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

He was just about to question how much longer he’d have to stay in place, but you made a noise of triumph before your footfalls lead you back to him.  He could sense your presence standing just in front of him, his senses confirmed when you reached out to take his hands once more.

“Okay, you can open your eyes,” you said, shyly as you waited and watched his expression with rapt attention.

Toshinori was smiling when he obeyed your command and opened his eyes, fixing his gaze to where he thought he would meet yours.  Your expression was slightly flustered, your hair a bit askew and you were wearing a sweater—the one Nemuri had provided, which was his first shock of the night.  He felt color fill his own cheeks as he was at a loss between apologizing for the sweater, and inquiring if you had purposely worn it while knowing its meaning.  However, the display of lights that adorned the main room of your apartment soon distracted him.

Not only did he find you had left his decorations hanging, but you had added an almost obscene amount of additional lights all over your apartment.  There were attempts of creating Christmas symbols such as reindeers, Christmas trees, stockings, candy canes and other shapes with the lights that you’d later admit to painstakingly adjusting the bulbs and sticking to your windows and walls.  There was now tinsel hanging over the tree as well as your small tablet playing a video of a cozy fireplace that you placed sitting up on your coffee table, where his own cake sat, still as elegant as the day he had brought it, untouched.  In the corners stood an inflatable snowman, two reindeer and a Santa Claus that was lit up from the inside.  

However, the most amazing thing was that you had covered the entire floor of your apartment in fake snow.  This was another part of your decoration scheme you felt would be a pain to clean up, but in the moment the look on Toshinori’s face was absolutely worth every agonizing second you spent decorating, and the time you knew would be taken to clean up after.

He was speechless.  

“Since they already took the lights down in the city, I figured I’d make you a, uh, private one?”  You say, looking increasingly bashful with each passing second, your arms initially thrown out at your sides in order to present your display, but with Toshinori’s continued silence and wide-eyed stare, mouth agape, you were becoming less confident about your success.  

Catching sight of the sleeve of your sweater, you straightened up, taking back your confident stance, puffing out your chest so the pattern could be seen clearly, “And, and, I wore the sweater Kayama-san gave you for me, I’ll thank her later, but, um, uh, look up?”

Toshinori blinked, eyes trailing down to your sweater, a tinge of pink making its way across his cheeks as he registered your words before slowly raising his eyes to the ceiling.

In ever archway and every point of entrance, as well as in various spots on your ceiling was mistletoe.  Most were hanging from various lengths and some were even starting to peel off.  If he were to look close he would have seen a chair and a stepladder slightly out of place that you must have hurriedly shoved by your counter which explained your earlier delay in answering the door.  

At that moment one of the hanging mistletoe’s chose to fall, landing first on Toshinori’s forehead before bouncing off to become stuck in one of his bangs.  A look of horror crossed your features for a brief moment, but you quickly regained your composure, hesitating before stepping towards him and thanks to your significant height difference, you shyly took his bang that had the mistletoe and raised it up above your head.

“Merry belated Christmas?”  You said quietly, raising your shoulders up as you offered a painfully awkward smile.

There was a long moment of silence as Toshinori stared at you.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Toshinori let out a snort, which he quickly tried to cover with his hand, noting how you jumped and hovered near him, concerned that he may start to have a coughing fit, but nearly jump when he can’t help but burst out laughing, throwing his head back as he clutches his left side.  

You let his hair slip from your hold, stepping back in surprise, before a mixture of irritation and embarrassment start to take hold.  While you were happy to see him laughing and you enjoyed hearing his voice, you were a bit miffed at his reaction.  Had you read him wrong?  Do you really go overboard?

Before you could ruminate over your actions and second guess yourself, a pair of arms startled you as you were pulled up onto the tips of your toes as Toshinori leaned down to raise you up into a firm embrace, his chest still reverberating with his fading laughter as he buried his face against your crown, inhaling your scent deeply with a sigh before pulling away.  He flashed you a wide grin for a brief moment before leaning down to press his lips against yours in a passionate kiss.

For a moment you were stunned, but soon enough you were melting into the kiss, your own arms reaching up to wrap around his neck as your toes curled, dangling just a few centimeters off the floor in his tight embrace.  He tilted his head to angle his mouth for a better seal against yours, tracing your lips with his tongue in a silent plea for entrance that you readily granted as you parted your lips with a sigh, melding your mouths together in an intimate display of your affection for one another.

All too soon, the kiss ended as Toshinori pulled away from you with a soft pop as your lips parted, gently lowering you back onto your feet.  He maintained contact with his forehead against yours, both of you grinning from ear to ear as he lightly rubbed his nose against yours.

“Merry belated Christmas, my love,” he murmured softly, tightening his hold around you for a brief squeeze in gratitude.  “Thank you.”

“You know,” Toshinori began as the two of you sat together on the couch cuddled up together, a cup of tea for himself and one of hot chocolate for you on the coffee table, “it’s not necessary to inundate your apartment with mistletoe.”

“You don’t like it?” You ask, holding a plate that now held a slice of the Christmas cake Toshinori had made for you.  You easily pressed your fork through the soft spongey material, still lamenting over the fact that you had to cut into his beautiful creation, before bringing it to your lips as the sweet and light flavor flooded your tastebuds.  You let out a soft moan of appreciation as the morsel melted in your mouth.

“It’s just, if you want a kiss all you need to do is ask,” Toshinori teased, beaming at the sight of you enjoying the treat.  

“Says the guy who put mistletoe over my front door in the first place,” you grumbled as you gathered another bite onto your fork, pausing to add, “and supplied me with the sweater I’m wearing.”

“Ah, well, that was technically not from me,” Toshinori mumbled, color returning to his cheeks as he leaned back against the couch, choosing to look at the ceiling to keep the sweater out of his line of sight, but he now found himself staring at the mistletoe that continued to hang from your ceiling.

“Right,” you laughed around the piece of cake, swallowing as a puzzled look crossed your expression as you tilted your head to glance at him.  “Which reminds me, I was thinking that isn’t it weird that they have a mistletoe on a sweater like that asking for a kiss?  Because the tradition is to kiss under the mistletoe right?”

“Ah, well,” Toshinori swallowed hard, keeping his gaze averted from your curious stare, a light sweat starting to break out over his brow.

“And the picture of the mistletoe is so low on the sweater,” you frowned.  You even pulled at the hem of your sweater and looked down at it before glancing up at Toshinori who had chanced a peek, only to quickly jerk his gaze away before your eyes could meet.  The tips of his ears were quickly becoming red as his flush was spreading over his cheeks and down his neck.

“It, it is?  That’s... How odd.” Toshinori agreed, his voice a slight octave higher than his usual timbre and threatening to crack.

“A hat would make more sense, wouldn’t it?”  You mused, curious at Toshinori’s reluctance to continue on the topic.  

“Perhaps... How... How is the cake?”  Toshinori asks quickly, an obvious attempt to change the subject.

“It’s delicious.” 

“That’s good, I’m glad.”

You continued to watch him, mystified at why he continued to avoid your gaze and seemed to be flustered by the topic before shrugging as you reached for your phone.

“Maybe I’ll ask Kayama-san about it—“

“No!”

“Did you hear?”  

The moment you had stepped into the agency’s office you were accosted by your coworker as they nearly jumped into your path before you had even taken a single step passed the threshold.

“No?”  You had taken a step back, slapping your palm against the wall while the other instinctively clutched at your chest, eyes wide as you stared at them as if they had grown a second head.  “Also, hello?  Happy new year?”

“Yeah, yeah,” your coworker quickly waved a hand at your greeting before encircling one of your arms with both of theirs, dragging you further into the office with a look of barely contained excitement.  “Guess what?”

“What?” You frowned, pulling away slightly with some discomfort as you both hobbled over to your work station.

While you were certainly in a better mood since you had a few days off, enjoying your time with Toshinori to celebrate the remaining holiday and starting the new year on the right foot, you weren’t exactly up to playing inane guessing games on your first day back to work.

“The sleazebag got transferred!”  

“Sleaze—oh?”  You blinked, glancing around the office.

You realized that a lot of your coworkers seemed to be excitedly chatting with each other, the previous shift lingering to catch up on gossip, but as a whole you noticed the entire floor seemed to have a lighter atmosphere.

“Really?”  You looked over at your coworker with a dubious look.  “It’s... You know who?  They really got transferred?”

“Yeah, just the other day,” your coworker finally let you go to hurry to their desktop, displaying an e-mail, “the higher-ups sent out a mass e-mail stating the position is now open in-house for now, and to wish him well, yadda yadda, all I can say is about damn time!”

You stared at the e-mail.  Usually you were up to date on such events and checked your e-mail quite frequently, but admittedly you had slacked off during your vacation and felt that if it was pertinent your bosses would have called or left a voice mail if it required your immediate attention.  You did review your e-mails earlier that day before coming into work, but failed to see that one.  Glancing at your phone, you pulled up your work e-mail and sure enough a similar e-mail now lay in your inbox, buried beneath other e-mails from clients along with the occasional correspondence with a coworker, albeit it was time a few days ago.

“Where did he transfer to?” You asked carefully, suspicions rising as you closed out your mail app on your phone, the image of Toshinori beaming up at you, catching your attention.

No...

“Some other branch or agency, somewhere way up north?”  Your coworker said, looking thoughtful as they scanned the e-mail.  “It looks like they put him on Sakhalin?  So he’s closer to the main land to facilitate communications.”

“That’s... Wow...” You seemed at a loss for words as you read over the e-mail next to your coworker.  “That happened fast.  I’m surprised he agreed.”

“I think the rumor was that he was highly encouraged to take the offer by an outside agency,” your coworker glanced over at you, a sly look coming across their features as they slowly straightened up, a hand placed under their chin as they glanced over at you.  “On top of the complaints we’ve been filing, I think he was given an ultimatum that was pushed along thanks to the influence of a very well-known hero.”

You stared at the computer screen, eyes wide as you tightened your grip on your phone.

He didn’t.

“But, whatever the reason, I’ll say it again,” your coworker shrugged, placing their hands on their hips with a wide grin.  “It’s about damn time!  Hey, where are you going?”

“I... I’m just going to make a quick call.”

“We are early,” your coworker mused, watching you stagger towards the break room.  “By the way, tell your boyfriend I said hi!”

You tensed, slowly looking over your shoulder as you tried to put on a smile, failing miserably as you fiddled with your phone.

“How, uh, do you even know I’m going to call him?”

“When did I say you were going to call him?  I was just saying that after your nice, long break that you let him know I said hi.”  Your coworker smiled, a mischievous look entering their eyes as they crossed their arms over their chest.

“Oh, uh, right, of course,” you agreed, a look of relief flooding your face as it seemed your coworker was back to their usual teasing as you smiled, waving them off.  

“And also tell him thank you,” your coworker added with a wink.

You stared wide-eyed at your coworker, your mouth dropping open, but they were already turning away with a wave over their shoulder, disappearing around the corner and leaving you alone in the hallway.  Brows furrowing together, you frowned deeply, looking at your phone as your coworker’s parting words seemed to confirm your suspicions.

You unlocked your phone, picking a recent contact as you turned to head into the break room, closing the door behind you, pacing around as you waited for the line to connect.  The ringing halted soon and there was a pause before a familiar voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello,” you echoed, stilling in place as you rested a hand on your cocked hip. 

“I thought you were working tonight,”  Toshinori sounded pleasantly surprised to receive your call.  It was a believable and natural response.

But you knew this man could be quite the thespian when the occasion called.

“I am.  I’m here at the agency, but funny story,” you said, listening carefully for any sort of reaction that might give him away.

“Oh?”  His tone was difficult for you to read.  

Damn, you should have put him on video chat.

“Seems like one of my supervisor’s got transferred all of a sudden,” you paused for effect. 

“Oh,” he echoed your pause, possibly waiting for you to elaborate but when you failed to follow up he tried to continue the conversation.  “That is interesting.”

“It’s weird, really,” you said slowly, “remember that person I told you about that upset me? On Christmas?”

“Yes.”  His answer was quick without hesitation but still you couldn’t read anything in his tone.

“That was the person who transferred,” you finished, holding your breath for a moment as you strained your ears to listen to his response.

There was a pause.

“Oh, well, that’s a strange turn of events,” Toshinori commented, sounding relieved, “but it’s good, isn’t it?  After all, it was a problem affecting many of your coworkers as well, wasn’t it?”

“It was, yes,” you let out a breath, frowning.  “But it was... all of a sudden.  And people have been complaining for months, yet somehow, once I come back from vacation, now he’s gone?”

You didn’t mean to sound accusing, and it wasn’t as if you wanted that supervisor back, but it was all clearly very suspicious and strangely coincidentally.

“Well, that sounds like a promising start for the new year,” Toshinori supplied cheerfully, “I’m glad things seem to be working out in your favor.”

“Toshinori, what did you do?”  You asked bluntly, tired of beating around the bush as you scowled.  

“Me?”  Toshinori seemed to sound genuinely perplexed over the line.  “What do you mean?”

“Really?”  You pressed your lips into a thin line.  “Okay, fine, we can play that game.  I appreciate you looking out for me, but really, I can handle myself.”

“Of course you can, love, I know that very well,” Toshinori paused, his tone sincere.  “Oh!  I see.  You think I had something to do with this transfer?”

You blinked, straightening your stance as your hand dropped from your hip.

“I... well, did you?”

“How could I?  I was with you all week.”  Toshinori’s tone took on a hint of amusement, “You didn’t even want to give me their name.”

That was true.  You didn’t tell him their name and you had been with him most of the week.  But he easily could have texted your coworker asking for details, and by the suspicious way your coworker had spoken to you, you were more than certain this was most likely the case.

“They said something about a well-known hero being involved,” you quickly recalled your coworker’s words, fueling back your suspicions.

“There are many well-known heroes,” Toshinori replied, before adding, “and I’m merely a secretary of one.”

Now you were more than certain of your suspicions.

“Well, then, mister secretary,” you paused, “will you pass on a message to your boss?”

“Certainly,” Toshinori agreed, amusement clear in his tone.

“Tell him there’s a sweater I’d like his opinion on.”

“Sweater?” He repeated, genuinely perplexed and thrown off guard by your message.

“Yes.”  It was your turn to sound amused.  “I mentioned it to you before, I may have even sent you photos?”

“Photos... Oh!”  There was an awkward pause.  “I... I can’t... view such photos here...”

“Why would you view them?”  You feigned innocence, placing a hand to your chest to add to your tone despite knowing he couldn’t see you, “I said I wanted the opinion from your boss, you know, the well-known hero?”

There was another pause.

“Very well,” Toshinori mumbled, sounding a little exasperated.  “I’ll let... him know.”

“Thank you,” you smiled widely, “besides, I wouldn’t do something as crude as send photos of myself modeling such scandalous outfits.”

“Of course,” Toshinori sighed, “you’d just send photos of other people modeling such outfits.”

“I have more class than that,” you feigned indignation to your tone, but you were still smiling, “I’ll model for him personally, later.”

“You’ll...” You could hear Toshinori swallow audibly from the other end.  “When did you even get that sweater?”

“Same-day delivery,” you were grinning now.

“Ta-da!”  

Toshinori had entered your apartment, his heart fluttering with anticipation at the sweater you had teased him with since your conversation from your office.

It was not what he had expected.

You had made a show of sitting him down in your bedroom, fixing him with a sultry look as you used the cliche line of ‘let me slip into something more... comfortable’ before instructing him to close his eyes.

He really should have known better.

You were grinning widely as you puffed out your chest, arms spread out at your sides as you stood proudly in your All Might sweater, the same one he wore weeks back where his heroic persona was dressed up as Santa with his boisterous laughter printed boldly across your chest.  You had actually bought it yourself, during your after Christmas shopping spree along with the lights and other gaudy Christmas decorations you still had up in your apartment despite it being halfway through the first month of the new year.  

Still, he couldn’t help but smile as you approached him, looking smug and pleased with yourself.  He did note it was quite large, at least two sizes too big where the collar was close to slipping off your shoulder and the hem of the sweater reached just below your knees.

“What do you think?”  

“Admittedly, not what I expected but I commend your good taste,” he smiled as you laughed, stepping over to him to wrap your arms around his neck, setting yourself on his lap.  “I thought you said you sent me photos of the sweater.”

“I said I may have sent you photos,” you corrected him.

“Of course, my mistake for assuming,” he laughed as he wrapped his arms around you.  “But I don’t see how this sweater can be considered scandalous, unless there is something I’m missing?”

“Oh, well no, not with the sweater itself,” you admit.

“That’s good, otherwise I’d have to talk to my agency about the quality and screening of our products,” he chuckles.  “It does look a bit big for you.”

“A little bit,” you agree and smile at him widely.  “It’s also the only thing I’m wearing right now.”

“I see,” Toshinori nodded absently, slightly distracted to see the collar had slipped further down your shoulder, revealing your clavicle.  Color tinged his cheeks as he reached up to re-adjust your collar, pulling it back up over your shoulder when your words slowly sank in.

Toshinori jerked his gaze up to meet yours.  You arched an eyebrow, holding his gaze, purposely shifting to cross one of your legs so that the hem of the sweater rose a bit higher, slipping over your thighs.

Toshinori choked, a spurt of crimson shooting out between his fingers as he slapped a hand over his mouth, startling you to jump off of his lap.  You quickly moved over to rub his back, doing your best to stifle your laughter as he tried to recover.

Toshinori wasn’t sure if he could ever wear or even look at his own sweater after that.