"So let me get this straight", you spoke seriously but your tone dripped with sarcasm,"you want me to help you break into a pro hero's house who's on vacation and steal valuable jewerly from him?"
"No, I want you to accompany me while I do that."
You sighed in exasperation. There was no way Hitoshi wasn't missing your point on purpose. The two of you sat on his bed and you were sitting as straight far up as possible to intimidate him into taking you more seriously but ever since he came back from talking alone with Aizawa's soulmate, who you learned was named Sara, he'd been facing your 'intimidation tactics' far easier. It was like he knew something far more frightening now.
You slumped into the bed so you were laying on your back. The two of you were past being shy at the notion of getting comfortable on each other's bed; you had shared a bed already, how could you get shy about something smaller after that? You might not be shy about making yourself comfortable in his bed, but that didn't mean the act of sharing one throughout the night didn't make you bashful. Curse morning amnesia. You only hoped you didn't cling onto him throughout the night like you did your pillows, otherwise he might've seen you in a bad way.
Hitoshi stared down at you from the other side of the bed as you got lost in thoughts while staring up at the ceiling. This was an atmosphere he loved that was turning into common occurrence--one of the two of you cozy on the other's bed. He wasn't sure whether to bring up your endearing actions from the other night. You didn't look like you remembered it and he couldn't tell whether it was a good or bad thing.
"What do you say, princess?Will you be my partner in crime?", you snorted at his question.
"We're so getting sued if we go through with this", you contemplated. It shocked you that you were genuinely considering this but Hitoshi could probably convince you to do anything. The man didn't look the tiniest bit worried.
"Only Aizawa-sensei could sue us and he wouldn't. I can't say anything about being banned from his house, though."
"I've never even been inside his house."
"You could be if you came with me", he turned the situation around. You couldn't help but laugh, he was being so ridiculous yet completely serious. It warmed your heart that he was always so willing to include you in anything even if it had no reason to involve you. You looked over to his violet eyes and smiled; it was getting easier and easier to get lost in the color everyday.
"Toshi, you have lovely eyes", you complemented. It wasn't like you to be impulsive with praises but you were well aware of the feelings you were growing towards him. You were also accepting them more and more everyday, which somehow made you even happier to be in his presence. Hitoshi's face only slightly broke out of its lack of expression before it turned to normal as he looked down at your laying form.
"Princess, I'll seriously get the wrong idea if you compliment me like that. I might even think you're flirting with me", he said in a controlled tone. Far more controlled than the hope that was trying to not to show. You blushed but didn't deny it.
"Take it however you want it...", you mumbled shyly and turned your back on him, laying on your side instead. The man's eyebrows shot up and luckily for him, you couldn't see the way his face was lit with the unrestrained hope. He chuckled.
"You're so goddamn cute all the time."
Your face flushed and you shoved your face into the covers at his blatant opinion of you, trying desperately to ignore the familiar smell of Hitoshi invading your noise and working its way to your brain. Your voice came out muffled from between your face and the bed but he heard you clearly.
"Now who's flirting?"
"I can't help it though. You're very beautiful."
"Toshi!!", you couldn't possibly press your face into the covers any more than it was right now. The man was obviously enjoying your clearly embarrased reactions, mockingly patting your back as he got off the bed and started getting ready to go.
"You're only making my case, beautiful. You should start getting ready, I want to leave before it gets dark."
The new nickname made you heart both skip and go into a frenzy. You forgot how to breathe for a solid ten seconds and both the embarrassment and happiness overpowered you to the point of nearly crying. You didn't move your burning face from its hiding spot despite his suggestion.
"I'm gonna need a minute."
The man smiled. Luckily for you, the nickname was only a one-time thing to not overwhelm you like right now; as amusing as it was, it was a bit too strong for someone who was only a friend. He was sure you'd be more used to it after he asked you out. Hitoshi made the mental note to call you beautiful every day then.
∴ ∴ ∴ ∴ ∴
"Princess.....No."
"Why not?"
"Because no."
"Would you take that reasoning from me if I ever said that?"
"No."
"So yes?"
"No."
You pouted. In your hands were two masks you wore during dangerous commisions that could potentially throw sparks on your face. Despite your initial debate, you were slowly getting more into the spirit, but Hitoshi refused to let either of you wear a mask to break into Aizawa's home. You were looking at him with puppy eyes and Hitoshi felt proud to finally be able to say no to one of your silly requests. He took the masks from your hands as he tossed them back into your still open apartment before taking the keys from you to lock the door. He couldn't believe you made him wait before the two of you left for that 'awesome idea'.
"Come on. I don't want it to be dark by the time we come back, it'll be cold and your short-sleeve shirt won't be any good against it."
You wondered how he could think ahead when it came to such tiny details but didn't refuse. Instead, you walked beside him as a comfortable silence enveloped the both of you. It was amazing how walking side by side without saying anything was enough for you to be happy, as it was for him too.
"Princess...", his voice pierced the silence after about fifteen minutes,"I forgot to ask after we walked back home yesterday, but did Kenzo try anything?", he looked at you as he waited for an answer. There was a subtle eerie look on his face; it remained mostly the same but there was something about his eyes and the circles underneath that were waiting for a response that displeased him. You smiled up at him.
"No, nothing like that. I told you I'd be fine. He asked for quirk cancelling bracelets--similar enough to handcuffs but police-issued handcuffs need to have the hands binded closely for the quirk cancellation to work, while the bracelets could let the person issued with them move their hands freely. It's nothing too hard", you spoke with a happy shine in your eyes as you thought about the ways you could approach the commision. Hitoshi smiled at that.
"Smart girl", was all he commented but it showed his faith in you and you smiled appreciatively, not caring about the small blush on your cheeks. The two of you continued walking in silence after that. It didn't take long to get to your destination.
"What's the plan, partner?", you asked as you stared at the front of the house. Hitoshi rolled his eyes as he motioned for you to follow him and the both of you made a circle around the house. Now you were staring at a tall wooden fence.
"We're going to climb this", he explained. You turned to him with scrunched eyebrows, hoping he was joking.
"Yeah, great plan, because this fence isn't 10 feet tall."
Hitoshi chuckled,"It's not, you're just short. I'm going to boost you up", he said as he started getting into position before you began to protest immediately.
"Uh-, even if you get me to climb the fence, how exactly am I supposed to get down? I've never had to jump down from so high before, and I won't be able to get in a good position for my ankles from up on the fence without falling", you were admittedly a lot less experienced with usnig your joints in out-of-the-norm activities other than your wrists when at work, which you almost always were. You probably had godly wrists.
"I know, princess, that's why I chose this specific spot. There's a table against the other side of the fence so don't worry about any height disadvantages", he patiently motioned to his entertwined hands so he could boost you up already and you smiled a lot more confidently.
"Right, thank you", you responded before putting your foot on his hand and letting him slowly bring you up, keeping your hands on the fence for stability. Clumsily but bravely, you made it onto the top and then the table, hurriedly getting off in fear it would fall apart with you standing on it. Before you could say anything, Hitoshi jumped onto the fence and you almost stammered at how easily he reached the top in one movement, using the leftover momentum to jump down beside you.
"From here we can-...Are you okay?"
You were not okay. What you had just seen was incredibly impressive and not to mention attractive. It reminded you that the man you had feelings for was someone who had the physical and mental skills to regularly fight actual villains.
"That was...holy shit, Toshi, that fence was so tall and you jumped over it like it was nothing. It was kinda hot."
The words left your mouth before you registered them and you instantly covered your mouth in your hands, the panic switch that flipped on your brain not letting you break eye contact with Hitoshi, who stared at you wide in shock and it looked like even his mind was frenzied with your commentary based on the way he found no words to respond.
"N-Not in a weird way, though", you stammered out with no idea how that was supposed to help,"I just meant like, you're clearly skilled and the fact that you don't show it but can clearly do it at any time is so attractive because it's the kind of thing that makes girls think 'oh I wonder what else he could do'", you desperately wanted the ground to swallow you as you only made the situation worse with each word yet couldn't stop,"and the fact you're a hero who does that kind of thing all the time only makes it mo-"
You were cut off once Hitoshi pulled your arm and pressed your body flush against his, your back on his hard chest and his hand pressed tightly on your mouth to block out the squeal he knew you let out whenever he caught you off guard like that. You looked up at him in a confused and blushing mess and he tilted his head down, making your heart beat faster at how close his face weas. The hand blocking your mouth left yours slowly as he pressed a finger on his lips, signaling for you to be quiet as he finally looked away and onto the side of the fence that was shared with a neighbor. You heard the voice of an old man cry out next.
"Honey, do you know if the hero next door is back from his vacation?", he yelled out, his voice slightly weak from age.
"He's not, sweetie!", the voice of a sweet sounding old woman came out from somewhere inside the house.
You couldn't see the old man but heard the grumble of doubt that came from him,"Could've sworn I heard a voice..."
Eventually, the slow steps retreated and you heard a sliding door close behind them. Hitoshi loosened his grip on you so you could step away and you were a bit guilty at how easily you forgot that you were supposed to be stealthy.
"Sorry", you muttered out in a lower voice than you'd been talking earlier, just in case. He nodded without looking at you as he walked to a window, making you wonder if perhaps he was upset, when the man was feeling flustered instead. You had started going into a rant that he wished he could've heard you continue but it was okay, because he was sure he'd remember what you did say, and he would ask you to continue on one day.
The man grabbed onto the bottom of the window and pulled it up. You wanted to ask how he knew it would be unlocked but you were still hesitant to make noise after what happened and a small part of you was still anxious he was upset so you stayed quiet. He motioned for you to get in and that thought quickly left your mind; the man who always let you cross the door first was now doing the same thing with a window.
You climbed into the house and awed at how immense the living room looked on the inside. Despite the size, it looked more cozy than luxurious but you tried not to stare too much. It was probably dumb to want to respect his privacy after breaking into his house but it that wasn't enough to stop you and Hitoshi broke the silence with a deep chuckle once he noticed how much you tried to avoid looking at the older man's photos and belongings. He walked over to the fireplace, finally getting his hands on what the whole trip was for.
"Princess", he called out in his normal voice and you grasped how unimportant it was to be so quiet when actually inside the house,"I got it. We can go home now."
You smiled at the thought of Sara finally having her necklace back.
"We should do this more often. We're clearly good at it", you joked, happy for the opportunity to speak up again.
"Maybe, if you don't almost sell us out with how attractive you find m-"
"Nevermind."
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Just a sorta filler chapter :)
Chapter Details:
Written 12/7/2022
Published 12/8/2022