This Time

Chapter 45

The leaves were brilliant shades of orange, gold, and red, and Toshinori breathed in the crisp fall air as he walked down the campus sidewalk, enjoying the general vibe of autumn. The school festival was coming up, and the growing excitement of the student body was evident everywhere you looked. In the open areas of lawn, some students were practicing some sort of routine, and in a corner of the parking lot another group was working on a structure that was still too early in its construction for him to even hazard a guess as to what it would become. There were flyers posted advertising this class's booth, or that class's performance. Everything about campus just radiated the exuberance of youth, and he adored it.

Tucked under his arm was the morning's newspaper and a couple of magazines, which hadn't been nearly as bad as he thought they might be. Still, he knew the young woman featured in them alongside him wasn't going to be entirely thrilled with some of the commentary. In his hand he had a drink carrier with two steaming to-go mugs - one with tea and the other coffee. Mei had been fast asleep when he'd slipped out earlier, and he figured a nice coffee would probably help with the lingering effects of last night's drinks.

The look on the shop owner's face (Toshinori was pretty sure he recalled the man's name was Tanaka) when the long-time customer approached the counter this morning was priceless, and now that he thought about it, he hadn't gone back to that convenience store since he'd lost his quirk. Tanaka had stared at him open-mouthed for a moment, glancing between him and the photo on the paper's cover repeatedly before a wide grin stretched across his face. "Well, this just made my day," he beamed. "Good for you, All Might." He looked next at the two drinks and it seemed to please him even more. "And tell Miss Hara I said hi, won't you?"

The tall blonde man nodded as he reached for his wallet. "Thank you, and I'll be sure to tell her you said that," he replied politely.

Tanaka waved him away when he started to hold out the money to pay. "It's on the house today."

Despite his efforts to be quiet as a mouse when he entered the apartment, a groggy (and slightly grumpy) voice called out from the bedroom, "Toshi? What are you doin' sneaking off so earlier?"

He tried to hide the smirk as he leaned against the doorframe casually. "Sneaking off? That's some thanks I get for going to get you coffee," he drawled with mock offense. "And it's not that early - you just overslept."

She had the decency to look halfway embarrassed at least, which with her peeking out from under the covers with bleary blue-grey eyes and a righteous mess of raven hair, Toshinori thought she looked positively adorable. After a moment though, she made a small, "hmf," and patted the bed sheets beside her. Now Toshinori did grin.

"If I get back in bed then we're both going to be late."

"So?" was the warm, sleepy reply.

He chuckled and came further into the room to set her coffee on the bedside table before he sat at her feet with his tea. "Some of us have classes to teach, you know."

"I'm helping with 1A this afternoon," she argued with a yawn.

"Yes, this afternoon," he emphasized, shaking his head. "I've got a class with 3B in about fifteen minutes."

Mei stuck her tongue out childishly before struggling out from under the comforter enough to grab her coffee. "Ugh. Always the responsible one, Toshinori," she complained, and he laughed aloud at that.

"Someone has to be," he snorted before standing and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you at lunch, okay? Oh, and by the way-" he held up the paper and magazines, "-I grabbed these in case you wanted to see them... for fair warning, and all that."