Work Text:
You've had a very long day.
How hard is it, really, for retail customers to use common sense? More than once you've wondered if a coworker has a quirk that stops customers' ears from working, going by how many times you've repeated yourself to no productive end. On top of repeating yourself hoarse, someone messed up a display to the point of no return. It had to be redone from scratch.
The only bright side is that today is a Friday, and your shift is blessedly over. There was only a tiny bit of overtime needed to clean up a final few things. Much better than usual. On top of it all, the commute to your modest apartment was suspiciously calm.
You suspect that a certain someone had a lot to do with it.
On that hunch, you pull your phone out and bring up the local news. Sure enough, right at the top is everyone's favorite hero, grinning at the camera with a villain in a casual headlock. Visible in the background is a familiar shop front. It's the tiny grocery two blocks from your apartment.
Another news story, just five minutes older, shows All Might in front of the library four blocks from your apartment, rescued kitten in hand.
It's sweet that he tries to surprise you, but his trail of good deeds makes it impossible. He can't ignore a person in need, and news about him is too readily available for you to not notice when the man is blazing a heroic trail straight towards your apartment.
With the knowledge of an expected visitor in mind, you shimmy your key into the lock and push the door open with your foot.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
"Ah! Welcome back! No commute delay today, I see!" All Might's voice resonates through your small apartment. He sounds like he's in your tiny kitchen.
"I wonder why..." You toe your shoes off and shuffle your way into the kitchen. You have to lean against the doorway, because All Might takes up so much room just standing there. He's trying not to take up too much space, but it's inevitable even with him stooping and curling his shoulders inward.
A line of pink crossing his waist catches your attention.
It's your apron, with a miniscule bow tied with the least amount of string possible to keep it secure around his huge torso. How does he manage to do such delicate tasks with such big hands?
Speaking of delicate tasks...
"...Is that...?" The savory smell curling through the air is enough to clue you in to what's on the stove even if it's hidden from sight. Why didn't you notice it as soon as you walked in?
All Might turns to face you fully, hair grazing the ceiling. Your spatula looks tiny in his huge hands. That signature grin is on his face like always, and you can't help but feel your face twitch into a smile in response. He looks a little ridiculous in the far-too-small apron, but the way he always smiles turns everything into a good look on him. Seeing it never fails to perk you up.
"Indeed! I know Fridays tend to be particularly tiring for you, so I did a bit of ingredients shopping so I could make your favorite."
"You didn't have to..." You mumble and shuffle closer to peer around him at the stove. Your mouth instantly waters.
He chuckles. It's quieter, but still fills the cramped space. "I'm a hero, helping and taking care of people is my joy. Ah-- not that I'm here out of heroic obligation! You know that I..."
It's your turn to laugh. You grab the empty plate resting on the counter nearby and tug the spatula from his worrying hands.
"I know. And I appreciate it. This looks great, really." After the day you had, this is perfect. You cast an appreciative look up at him and smile a little wider at the tinge of red on his face. "You're right about Fridays being the worst, this is just what I needed after today."
With a bit of luck, you get everything onto your place in one go. All Might is still standing right there, fiddling his hands together since you took the spatula from him. His smile looks a little nervous, now. Something's on his mind...
"What's up?" Food in hand, you wander out of your cramped kitchen into the living room and sink onto the tired couch. All Might trails after you, apron still donned, and carefully seats himself next to you. The cushions dip quite a bit, but you're happy to let your elbow nudge against his arm while the two of you get settled. You start to dig in right away, biting back a groan at the taste. Who knew the Number One Hero could also be a top-notch cook? Or maybe he learned how to make your favorite as a special thing. They both seem equally likely scenarios.
"Hm... Well..." He brings his elbows in (making you tilt into him a little more) and taps his fingers together. "I know this might seem a bit forward, but I was wondering..." He pauses to clear his throat. "If you would want to..."
He trails off. You set your mostly-finished plate down and slowly turn to face him.
"If I'd want to...?"
He blushes brick-red. Turning to face away, he can't hide the hot glow to his cheeks or the embarrassed hunch to his broad shoulders.
This has got to be good. Curiosity pushes you to lean closer to where All Might is suffering in his seat, shifting this way and that with a scarlet face.
"Toshiii..." Your usage of his real name has him tugging his collar. "You know you can speak your mind around me. And you can relax from that form, if you want. I know it's hard on you."
"W-Well, you see, for what I have in mind, having my body like this is most suitable..."
"What is it?" You'll resort to begging if you have to. He's being more bashful than you've ever seen and you're dying of curiosity. "Pleaaase, let me know what's on my favorite hero's mind?"
That seems to do the trick. All Might takes in a big breath and turns to face you once more, face still red, but with a much more determined bearing.
"I was wondering if you would like to go another step, if you're ready."
Your brows shoot up to your hairline. "What?"
"You've been particularly stressed lately, and I was wondering if it would help you if we... cuddled?"
Oh.
Oh.
Now it's your turn to be flustered. One thing stands out in your mind, and you grasp it to keep yourself from getting too distracted by the thought of All Might wanting to cuddle-
You clear your throat. "You... said something about wanting to stay in that form for it? Why?"
"Why? I doubt you want to be that close to these bones. I can last another hour or so like this, I'll be fine." He laughs it off, waving his hand.
A frown crosses your face. "You know I don't mind you like that. I like it."
"But for this..."
"I'm happy to be close to you any way you are." Being so forwardly cheesy brings a blush to your face. It's hard to say things so blatantly, but they're completely true, and sometimes, you think, they're what he needs to hear.
A few moments of silence pass by. You hope he's taking your words to heart. Not that you have any reason to think he'd ever brush you off.
A gush of fog obscures your view of the living room. Once it fades, Toshinori is sitting next to you, skinny and drowning in his clothes. The apron should fit him properly now, actually. He rubs the back of his neck, looking sheepish.
"I take that as a yes?" He says, and meets your eyes. The excitement shining in his clear blue gaze has your heart going faster despite your efforts to stay cool for his sake.
"It's a yes." You have to smile at how the grin returns to his face. Despite the gaunt form, his smile glows just as bright. "Let me finish eating first. This is too good to ignore." You pick your plate back up and hesitate with your fork hovering above the food. There's one more thing you need to get clarified. "Uhm... couch? Or bed?"
Toshi's blush returns full force.
"I was thinking that it would be more comfortable for you if we, ah, used your bed. Is... that alright?"
All you can do is nod, tucking into your food in a transparent effort to hide your flush.
You try not to pay too much attention to Toshi taking off the apron.
———
He's surprisingly warm. Even like in this form, without much padding to his body, Toshinori is like a furnace.
The two of you are laying on your sides facing each other, him with his arms loosely and carefully wrapped around you, and you trying not to be overly conscious of how close his skinny chest is to your face.
It was a little awkward getting into bed together. The most you've done before this was share a hug once, and that was over a week ago. Sharing space like this, being wrapped in his warmth, so close that his shallow breathing tickles through your hair, is a little overwhelming. You know that he's being extremely careful to avoid making you uncomfortable. While you appreciate it, it isn't doing much to lighten the mood.
"I--"
"Toshi--" You didn't mean to interrupt him. What was he about to say?
He chuckles. "You first."
"Mm... No, you first."
He gives you a brief squeeze. "I'm just happy you said yes to this. ...Are you comfortable?"
Is he worried about his true form being bad to cuddle with? You edge closer and let your folded arms graze against his chest.
"Extremely."
"Ah, that's good." The relief is clear in his voice. He's relaxed enough to crack a joke. "What kind of hero would I be if I let someone so close to me be uncomfortable?"
"Oh? You trying to be a hero even now?"
Toshinori laughs. Being so close to him, the sound thrums around and almost through you. You shiver pleasantly and do yourself the favor of wiggling just a little closer. Toshi's arms tighten to accommodate.
"I'm always a hero," he states matter-of-factly.
"Even now?"
"Even now."
"But what kind of evil could you be fighting here? Hmm?"
"There may not be evil, but there's still good I could be doing, you know. I have a few moves just for the occasion." He sounds far too pleased with where the conversation is going. All you can do is encourage it.
"Moves? I forbid you from transforming here. I just got comfortable." You pout and shift your weight to settle your point.
"Oh, they're not moves I need to be in my hero form for..."
"...Oh?" Now you're really curious. "Show me then, Mister Hero-All-The-Time."
"Are you sure you're prepared, citizen?" He puts on a joke-stern voice that has you biting back giggles.
"I'm very prepared. Bring it on."
"Well then..." He shifts a little and you grin into his chest.
"Deeetroit..." Oh god what is he doing. "Cuddle!"
Toshinori wraps his arms around you tight, rolling onto his back and dragging you on top of him. You gasp and flail your legs, but he holds fast and laughs. His arms are secure and he tucks his face into your hair, muffling his laugh but turning it into something you feel with your whole body. It's deep and resonates through your bones, especially with him holding you chest to chest with him. His breath is warm through your hair and when you feel his chin nudge your ear you get a bout of ticklishness and squirm in his hold.
Your face is almost in his neck. If you let your head relax, then your face would be tucked so nicely against it.
You're glad he can't see your face like this.
"Toshiii!" You try not to breathe too hard against the skin of his neck, but the way the arm on that side tenses around you tells you that he feels it.
"Had enough, citizen?" He speaks almost right into your ear. You bite your lip. You have an out, but...
"Nnno..."
"Then how about this! Detroit..."
What could it be this time...
"Snuggle!"
"That's the same as-" You gasp when he flips the both of you over faster than you can react.
Your back bounces against the mattress. You get your bearings and stare straight upward, freezing when you see Toshinori hovering less than a foot over you. His bangs are tickling both your cheeks, and even in the dark, his eyes shine clear.
The "this isn't a snuggle" dies on your vocal cords. Your throat suddenly feels dry.
You can't think of anything to say, and he's not saying anything either. All you two do is stare. Silence reigns now, nothing oppressive or uncomfortable, but it's loud compared to all your joking and laughing not a minute earlier.
Then he starts leaning down.
You close your eyes. You hold your breath.
A pressure on your shoulder and warm hands on your upper arms pull the tension out of your body. You open your eyes to a head of blond hair resting on your shoulder. Toshi's hands slide from your arms up underneath the pillow your head is resting on. Without thinking, you raise your arms to gently wrap around his back.
Under your light touch, he lowers the rest of the way until he's laying on top of you, head tucked on your shoulder and arms looped to be a support beneath your pillow. You smooth your hands across his skinny back, fingers brushing over his jutting shoulderblades.
"Mmm..." The hum against your neck makes you shudder. You rub more firmly against his back and he settles more of his weight on you. He's lighter than you expected. It's still a notable weight, but not oppressive. It's a comfortable pressure across your whole body, something that calms you more than you expected.
With more ease than you thought yourself capable of, you trail a hand up until your fingers run past Toshinori's neck and thread into the hair at the base of his skull.
He groans.
Now that you think about it...
Toshi said that this was for your benefit, to ease your own stress, but there's absolutely zero doubt in your mind that he needed this too.
You pet through Toshi's hair with new resolve. He's done so much for you, you're taking this opportunity to do something for him.
His hair is much softer than you expected, somehow. With how much it changes when he transforms, you figured it would be pretty stiff, but it's feather-soft and easily parts around your fingers. You push your hand further up and press your fingers together to tug at the hair at the nape of his neck.
The whine he makes has you grinning at your ceiling.
"Do you like that?" You can't stop yourself from asking.
"Ah..."
You tug on his hair some more. Whatever response he was going to make gets lost in another quiet groan.
"You know... you're so tall I bet no one gets to touch your hair. I'm lucky." You turn your face to nose against the fluffy blond. It smells like... honey and mint? Fitting, for him. You chuckle into his hair and your breath catches when he blows lightly against your neck.
"I'm not used to this, you're right..."
You use your free hand to give Toshi a one-armed hug around his waist. You can feel the bump of the scar marring his side, and you're careful not to touch it too much because you learned a while ago that it's sensitive.
"We-ell..." You roll the sound around your mouth to buy yourself time. How to phrase this... "You can be used to it. If you wanna." You tug at the ends of his unruly hair.
He picks his head up to look at you. On a whim, you push your hand through his unruly hair just to hold it. Your entire hand is lightly pressed against the back of his skull. It feels like the longer you two are like this, the less shy you get about touching.
His eyes meet yours.
"You want to do this again?" There's hope in the shy curve to his lips.
"Mhm. Detroit Snuggle really did me in."
He almost lights up the room with his smile. It quickly turns mischevious again.
"You know... I have other moves too. Very strong ones."
"Oh really? Do I have to wait until next time to see them? Or will you pull them off right here?" Your hand playfully tightens in his hair. Toshi lets his neck relax and settles his face back against your neck. Something about the way his shoulders are bunching up makes you think he's blushing.
Just a little more push...
"I'd love to see one more. Please?"
His arms tighten around you and his legs tense around yours in a full-body embrace. You hug him tightly in return. "If you close your eyes for it... I'll show you."
You shut your eyes with no hesitation.
Toshi relaxes from the hug and slowly picks himself up off of you. You let your arms slide off of him and feel his own braced on either side of your head. The only part of him you can immediately sense is the light brush of his bangs on your cheeks.
A beat passes. The tickle of his bangs starts sliding towards your ears and you suddenly realize what he's going for.
It's impossible to prepare. Your eyes squeeze shut even harder and your breath stops in your lungs. Can he hear how much your heart is pounding in your chest? You feel him hesitate and force yourself to visibly relax so that he keeps going.
"Detroit..."
The word is felt, an inch away from your lips.
He whispers it.
"Smooch."
You can't help yourself. You pick your head up off the pillow and kiss him before he can finish his move. A surprised but happy sound rises in his throat, exacerbated when you wrap your arms around him and pull him down on top of you.
Toshinori's lips are moulded to yours so perfectly that you don't want this moment to stop. You savor every moment of the kiss, drawing your hand up his back and into his hair, and when he keens at the tugging you smile so hard that you can't keep up the kiss.
He lifts up just enough for you to see that he's smiling, too. Beaming, actually. He looks out of breath, and by god if that isn't a good look on him.
"Ah... I was nervous, that I was about to make a wrong step..."
"It was a right one." His hair easily parts when you run your fingers through it again. You want him to come back down, but today you feel like you have all the time in the world to relax and go this pace. "Trust me. I liked it."
"I could tell." He chuckles. "So... you said you wanted to do all this again sometime?"
"You just want to hear me say yes again, don't you?"
"You caught me." He rolls off you onto his side, arm held up in invitation.
You don't hesitate to scoot closer, giving him a hug with your face pressed against his chest. If you concentrate, you can hear the beat of his heart. It's going about as fast as yours.
For a while, you two stay like that. Letting yourselves come down from the high of your first real kiss, settling comfortably against each other and basking in each other's presence. It's warm and cozy and there's nowhere else you'd rather be right now.
"Hey... Toshi?"
"Mm?"
"...Thanks," you say. "For... everything." The cooking, coming to see you so often, listening to your troubles when you feel down, and now the cuddling... "You do a lot for me, and..." The words trail off as you lose your sense of what you wanted to say.
His voice is soothing and quiet. "You do a lot for me, too. I know that... me being what I am can be an inconvenience. I'm very grateful that I can know you, and moreso that you let me know you despite everything. I..." Now it's his turn to trail off.
"Toshi..."
"Y-Yes?"
"Let's take a nap."
He laughs as the tension dissipates and you smile in response.
There's no rush for either of you to say anything. You know he'll be there tomorrow, and the day after that, and so on and so forth until... well, you don't know what exactly the future holds. But you know he's not going anywhere, and you know for sure that you're not going anywhere.
Words can wait.
Until then, you're content to stay like this, right here, comfortable and at ease in each other's arms.