Siren Song (All Might x Reader)

Chapter 34: Hiding Away

A movie? No, you were going to get blood clots from sitting around too long.
More swimming? No, the pool was beginning to feel too small for you.
Make lunch? That was an obvious must, but the idea of taking Toshinori lunch tempted you as well.

He really would have loved the surprise, you told yourself. You knew as well as everyone else in his inner circle that his hero work often came at the expense of his own self care. You still had plenty of time to make him something, after a bath of course.

An hour later, you were clean and ready to leave with a large bento box in your hand filled with enough food for you and Toshinori to enjoy your lunch together. You neatly wrapped it in its carrying bag, called to double check with his secretary that he'd be there, and then you set off in the elevator.

 
The farther down the building the elevator pinged, the farther your stomach dropped.

Up to that point, you hadn't thought about what would be waiting for you at the ground floor. Gutman always did a good job of keeping the press out of the lobby, but outside the front door was another story. You could only assume the paparazzi were waiting outside for you, itching to be the first to catch a picture of you after the news broke about your relationship with All Might.
You imagined the horrific things they'd say about you, about your lack of fashion or pizazz, about the way you carried yourself, about your hand-me-down phone that used to belong to Saffron, or even the more stupid petty things like the color of your clothes. Whatever they could find, they would use to tear you apart.

You swallowed hard as the door to the ground floor opened.

 
You tried to reason with yourself.

What they said didn't matter, what they thought of you was irrelevant so long as Toshi liked you, their opinion had no bearing on your relationship. Still, the thought of their opinion of you affecting Toshi in any way broke your heart. You couldn't afford to do anything, like tell them to 'fuck off' or flip them off, because all of your actions would reflect on Toshinori. You couldn't stand the idea of hurting his public reputation, even though you knew he and Saffron would have your backs.

You had to play nice. You had to suck up your fears and get out there and just ignore the cameras and everything. You couldn't stay holed up forever.

 
You took a single step out of the elevator and swallowed. Your eyes scanned the front doors and windows of the hotel and it was much worse than you could've imagined.
Dozens upon dozens of men with cameras strapped to their necks were waiting for you. They'd probably been there for days, waiting to be the first to get that million dollar shot of you making your public debut.

 
The sight of all of them swarming outside the door had you feeling sick. You couldn't wade through all of those people alone. They'd eat you alive. You didn't have a guard or an escort to guid you through. You were alone.

You turned back around to get into the elevator. Toshinoris lunch would have to wait until he got home. You weren't brave enough. You couldnt-

"Miss (Y/N)?" Gutman called out to you from the front desk. You cringed, caught in the act of fleeing, and turned around.

"Hey, Mr. Gutman." You smiled at him with uncertainty. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing wonderfully. It's nice to see you. You haven't been down in a few days. I was beginning to worry."

 
"Sorry, I just figured I should leave you alone to do your work."

 
"I can always make time for pleasant conversation with you, (Y/N). Look, I've been saving these for you when you come down!" He smiled brightly and went into the back room. You felt yourself relax in his calming, grandfatherly presence, but your eyes continued to dart to the people right outside the door who hadn't noticed you yet."