Time in a Tree (All Might x Reader)

Surreptitious

"What are you doing?" You mom finally questioned all the movement she was hearing in the background of your call. "I," you took a deep inhale then exhaled, spreading your fingers wide across the cover of the piano, "am fixing the feng shui." Watching your quirk cover its surface and slowly lift. "You're moving stuff around this late in the evening?" She said, her tone questioning your sanity. Fair enough, it's almost midnight.

"Well, yeah." You headed towards the den, instrument bobbing along behind you. "I was full of energy and I thought: huh, why not move shit that does not belong to me around?"

"And you don't think he'll mind..." That tone was ever so present as she replied. "Not at all." You eyed the spot where you wanted to set it. "I think here...but I'll have to move-" You mumbled, tapping your fingers against your bottom lip as you thought. You turned your attention to the bar you removed from the dining room.

"You're not finishing sentences, child of mine."

"My bad, give me a sec." You lifted the piano higher, angling it just right before gently setting it on the floor. "I was trying to say that I'd found a place for the piano, but for it to look cohesive in this den, I'd have to move the bar."

"I'm sorry...do you live in a house or a lounge?"

"House, but I've definitely made this room look like said lounge." You turned on your heel, pulling away the bar stools and setting your bubbles to move the main piece. "You should see it. I've got the lighting just right for a warm, night out kind of feel. He's got one of those fake fireplaces that give off heat but are really just there to look pretty. That's on and I lit this candle I bought today, it smells like pie."

"You're watching too many home improvement shows." Your mom said while chuckling. You forced your quirk over the home bar, determined to move everything in one go. "I'm aware. I also rearranged the living room to really open it up." You lifted it slowly, pulling it to your left, trying to even it out from its slightly tilted state. "It feels more inviting now. I don't think-" You heard something fall hard and roll. "What was that?" Eyes wide, you set everything down.

"Oh shit, did you break it?"

"I fucking hope not." Heart beating in your ears, you rounded to the tender's side, running your hands and eyes over everything frantically. "I don't see anything so far."

"That's good."

You crouched down, opening cabinets, looking and feeling for anything loose or out of place. "That one's good, this one's good," You said to yourself after checking each touchable surface. "This one's goo-" Your fingertips brushed something soft, freezing in place as they did so.

"What broke?"

You took hold of the object, just small enough to fit in your palm. "Nothing on the bar...." You fell back onto your bum once getting a good look at what you found. "....Fuck"

"Tell me! Stop being secreti-"

"It's a ring box."

Your mom took a sharp inhale as you held yours, cracking the box open slowly. "That's a ring alright." You puffed. "Maybe it's for you?" She tried to soothe you.

"It's not." You held it closer, that marquis cut sparkling even in the shadow you sat in. "The band's too small." Bringing it down, you let the box sit in your palms, resting in your lap. "This hurts...damn it." You tried to laugh it off.

"So he's with someone right now? You should move out yesterday."

"Mother...no." You sighed again, damn that feeling building in your chest. "Pretty sure it was for his ex." We'll see where this goes... "That's...hm... we'll see where this goes" She said softly. "I just thought that. Guess I'll just have to wait on some bullshit coincidence now, huh?" You pursed your lips together.

"Nothing may come of it. You're not like me. Not always or almost always right. It's just a hunch, at times it's your unwelcomed intuition. You'll be fine." In an attempt to calm your nerves, she consoled. "I hope so." You said just barely above a whisper.

"Do you know what happened?" She spoke up after a while, having something to put together after minutes of just the two of you breathing over the line. "I do, but only her side." You nodded. "You know her too?" Your mom's interest peaked. "Kind of." You couldn't take your eyes off what was in that box. "She cheated...a few times actually. I don't know if he knows that much."

"What the fuck."

"Yeah, she said she was lonely. They couldn't be together as much as she wanted because of how they both travel so much...then she fell in love with someone else."

"I know it's not the time, but it's giving K drama."

You chuckled. "I thought the same. I don't know any details after that. Well," What the fuck, Bianca. "I don't know any details after this."

"And you found it in the bar?" She continued. "It's using alcohol to cope for me." You sighed as you snapped the box shut, pushing yourself up from the floor. "I will continue to not know about this item, if you catch my drift."

"I do, put it back." She agreed immediately. "Working on it. I heard it fall, so it must have been in one of these drawers." You pulled one out. "Not that one." You closed the one filled with utensils. "So it must be you." You slid the other open, absolutely groaning at the pamphlet staring at you. "What now?"

"It's a pamphlet for one of her ballets...in France." You answered, picking the folded paper up, glancing over the thing. "Can it get worse?" You said sarcastically. "Do you really wanna know?" Your mom replied. "You don't have to answer that. Don't even look."

"You don't have to tell me twice. That whole situation is messy." She huffed, you could just imagine how fast she'd wipe her hands clean of any of this. "Sure is." You went to put the brochure back, catching sight of the hole the ring fell through. "Ooooh." You said in realization. "So it fell through this cut out in the drawer. Pretty sure it's meant to hide cables."

"Great mystery solved. Now put everything back."

"I know, I know." You set the items down, apart, but on the same side of the drawer to make them look as if they slid while you moved the bar. "There." You closed it up.