Chapter Text
Izuku started the day with a bundle of energy. The sun was shining through the crack in the curtains, like a spotlight over his body. Its warmth radiated on his emotions, leaving him bubbling with excitement and apprehension.
Today was his first day in his new job; a personal trainer. Well, he was starting with smaller things, helping out with equipment and working in reception to get used to the environment and people, but that was the end goal. It had been discussed and they were ready to take him on, so he basically already was in a sense.
The town wasn’t nearly as bustling as the city could be, but Izuku thought that maybe that would be a good thing. It will be more personal, easier to know his clients and coworkers.
Whatever may happen, Izuku was excited. He’d had plenty of experience in gyms before, both as an employee and customer, but it was his first time working in this context. The interview had gone great, Kirishima was really friendly, and he had reassured Izuku that he would fit in well.
Maybe it was that first day burst of energy that had him ready so early. He was almost thankful that he and Toshinori didn’t run on Monday’s, because he thinks he would’ve talked her ears off with his excitement. He was a little sad that he didn’t get to see her, though, but maybe he could invite her over later?
Because of the size of the town, Izuku was able to walk to the gym with time to spare. Another perk of not being in the city: no traffic.
“Hey!” Kirishima’s loud voice was the first to greet him when he walked through the door. “You’re here early, that’s manly!”
“Yeah, sorry, I hope I’m not disrupting anything,” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Nah, man, trust me, we need more people like you.”
“I was on time today, Ei!” the voice coming from the front desk cut in, taking both their attention. His blond hair was split by a black streak, mostly covering his face as he draped over the counter dejectedly. There were slight bags under his eyes, making Izuku think he wasn’t much of a morning person.
“First time this month,” Kirishima jested, laughing as his friend only looked more depressed at the reminder. “Anyway, I should show you around before more customers arrive. Ready for the tour?”
“Yes!” Izuku said enthusiastically with clenched fists. Kirishima laughed and clapped him on the back, keeping his arm around his shoulder as he led them down a hall.
“This place isn’t very big, so don’t worry about getting lost. The showers are through there,” he pointed to a door on their left with a sign that read showers on it. “And over here,” he turned to the double doors on the opposite side, pushing one open for Izuku, “is the main room.”
Izuku was impressed by all the equipment the room held. There was enough to work on every part of the body, all neatly laid out and organised. But his attention was taken as soon as he looked over to his right, in front of the large windows overlooking the car park, and saw a familiar figure.
She was talking to a man operating one of the running machines, and by the looks of it, walking him through all of the buttons on the large panel, pointing at individual ones as she spoke. He was one of the few customers here so early, so she didn’t seem to be in much of a rush. That was, until she saw Izuku staring at her, jaw slack at the unexpected presence.
“Oh yeah, she’s our other personal trainer. Hopefully you two will—“
Toshinori started walking over, waving with a bright smile. As she did, Izuku rushed over to meet her in the middle of the room, trying not to speak too loudly in his shock.
“Toshinori! You work here?”
“Surprise!” she grinned, doing a pose that looked something between a shrug and a shy jazzhands.
“You know each other already?” Kirishima speed walked over, looking between the two questioningly.
“We’re neighbours,” Toshinori said before he could run his mouth and blurt anything out. Izuku caught onto the hint quickly.
“And running partners,” he added with a beaming smile. He thinks Toshinori’s shoulders might have relaxed, but the act was so subtle he didn’t think too much about it.
“Great!” Kirishima “I knew I made the right choice with you!”
“Ah, thanks, but I’ve not done anything yet,” Izuku waved him off awkwardly, not sure why he was getting so much praise already.
“Don’t be so humble, dude,” Kirishima patted his shoulder again, his hand heavy where it rested. Izuku stood unsure as Kirishima addressed the additional presence. “Hey, Yagi, I should probably go help Denki up front, do you mind finishing off Izuku’s tour?”
Toshinori gave a bold thumbs up and Kirishima’s smile almost split his face.
“Prefect! You’re the best!”
And with that, Kirishima turned and left them.
Once the door swung shut behind him, Toshinori let out a deep breath and visibly deflated her posture. Izuku looked up at her, confused, but she was already walking off.
“Wait!” Izuku scampered behind her, trying to keep up with her long strides. She left the same door he came in through, but instead of heading back down the hall to the reception, she headed up some stairs and through another door.
This room was, unlike the last, a lot smaller in scale. There were two comfy looking couches and a countertop with a sink, kettle and a fridge. A staff room of sorts, Izuku assumed.
“Is something wrong?” he approached Toshinori slowly, frowning. His heart rattled with the worry that he had done something wrong.
“I’m sorry, Izuku, I…” Izuku stepped closer as Toshinori sighed, reaching for her hand unsurely. She looked down at the contact, then away to her feet. “I thought I was more prepared than this.” she kept her head down, apologetic. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for everyone to know straight away.”
Izuku couldn’t keep the smile off his face, relaxing as the weight was lifted.
“I’ll wait then,” he reassured, squeezing her hand and filling the space between them. Toshinori tensed as his chest pressed to hers.
“You shouldn’t… not here,” Toshinori looked over to the door, but made no effort to fight Izuku off like he knew she easily could. He took that as a sign it was okay, just her nerves feeding into her insecurities, and raised his hand to cup her face.
“Is anyone else other than Kirishima and Kaminari working here?” Izuku asked. Toshinori shook her head. “Then we don’t have to worry, right?”
She seemed hesitant, her gaze jumping around. Izuku remained patient, rubbing his thumb over her cheek and sneaking his other arm around her waist, holding them close together.
Finally, Toshinori caved. She nodded slowly, letting her eyes settle back on Izuku as he beamed. Her gaze dropped to his lips, and he was happy to oblige, standing on his toes to kiss her.
It was slow, speaking all the words of his affection. Izuku knew how he felt for her and he didn’t care if other’s knew, but if Toshinori wasn’t ready for that sort of publicity, Izuku was willing to wait. What they had in private was far better than anything they would let other’s see, anyway.
Toshinori pulled back first, her face flushed as she looked away again, still embarrassed by such attention.
“We should go back to work,” she said, but made no effort to leave his embrace. Izuku hummed.
“I’d like to finish my tour.”
The morning went by smoothly after that. Just as Kirishima had said, Izuku fit in immediately. It was as if the place had been made specifically for him. He had been ecstatic when he found out Toshinori worked there too. Not only would he see her on their runs, but he’d also get to see her throughout the day!
The only negative to that was he had gotten distracted more than once. Whenever she was around him, talking to clients and walking them through routines, she radiated a constant aura of calmness.
It was different to the Toshinori he had gotten to know out of the work setting. She still smiled and carried that supportive attitude, and she even seemed a little more outgoing than the version he had come to know, but it felt modified. Toshinori was more human than that, the one he knew anyway. She blushed more, made dumb jokes and struggled with her insecurities.
That was the Toshinori Izuku fell for, and he felt proud now that he was one of the few that saw her in that light.
What he also learnt was that, while she was no longer anywhere close to her body building status, Toshinori still had some of that fire.
The gym was more of a local thing, working with the average people in town and getting to know them better, unlike the bigger city gyms, and Toshinori seemed popular. He figured with her title, as well as seeming less intimidating to the older clients that were there for something more easy going, that such a thing made a lot of sense. It was nice to see her interacting so openly.
Embarrassingly though, Kirishima had caught him watching her a couple times. He seemed to misread the look on Izuku’s face, however, as he would drop little bits of information or facts every time it happened.
“She was a beast back in her day! It’s a shame she has to retire so suddenly, but she’s still got that fire.”
“Honestly, I think she is the main reason we get so many clients. They all love her!”
“You should get her to give you some sparring lessons. She’s got a mean punch — it’s so manly!” (To which Kaminari had added “that’s a strange way to say we got our ass’s beat.”)
Izuku was just glad that they didn’t interpret the true meaning behind his ogling and accepted the information with endless praise for her.
The new job was exciting, and Izuku was already making friends with everyone, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when the hours quickly slipped by. Izuku had, for the most part, worked alone with the customers and clients, but each time he got to be with Toshinori were the highlights of the day.
“Toshinori!” Izuku called out, jogging up to her as she looked over her shoulder at him, stopping until he was at her side. “Can I walk with you?”
“Sure,” she said, seeming a lot more relaxed than she had earlier. Izuku returned her smile and they started walking together in quiet ease.
The sun was higher than it had been when Izuku left that morning, beaming down on them. It was bright and hot, as the day had been, and Izuku couldn’t wait to get back and relax. As summer kicked in the temperatures were rising, and it was only supposed to get hotter.
When they got to Toshinori’s gate, Izuku turned to say bye, but paused when he saw the embarrassed look on Toshinori’s face.
“Would… would you like to—“ she cleared her throat, cheeks blushing faint red, “would you like to come over? For tea?”
Izuku blinked, then grinned so wide his cheeks hurt. He thought Toshinori would’ve had enough of him by now, especially with him lingering whenever he had a few minutes free of work, but maybe she was just as eager to be with him as he was with her.
“Yes! One minute,” he said quickly, then rushed into his house to change, before running out and hastily locking the door to rush back over to Toshinori’s. He let himself in, calling out as he kicked off his shoes. Once again, Toshinori told him to make himself at home, so he placed himself on the couch again while he waited.
Moments later, he heard her footsteps coming down the stairs and looked over his shoulder not so subtly. In typical Toshinori fashion, her shirt hung loosely off her body; he had to look away so he didn’t stare (he’d done enough of that already). It was so endearingly her, Izuku loved it.
Toshinori made her way into the kitchen, where she immediately went to work making the tea.
“How did you find your first day?”
“It was great! Kirishima and Kaminari are so nice, and you’re there!” he saw her ears turn red, but she didn’t look back at him as she placed two teabags into mugs.
She hummed.
Izuku looked over as Toshinori prepared the tea, using the bright red mug Izuku had started to use every time he was here — it matched his shoes, so Toshinori said it was the perfect one for him. Her hair was down, covering the upper half of her back. Her shirt was too big for him to really be able to tell much of her figure, but he remembered from the tighter fit clothes she sometimes wore on the runs how she really looked under the layerings.
And from when he had hugged her, had his hand on her waist, down to her hip, feeling over the curves of her body. It hadn’t been much, they hadn’t really had much time for him to really explore, but it had been enough then. Now, though, they had more time, and they were alone.
Izuku couldn’t sit still with that thought on his mind. He left the couch, advancing behind her quickly.
Toshinori was aware, he knew she was when her head turned slightly in his direction. He wasn’t exactly being quiet, so he smiled when she ignored him. Taking that as a victory, Izuku took the remaining steps between them. He was gentle, touching her arm first, then her hip; slowly guiding their bodies together until he was pressed against her back.
Izuku’s face was only at her shoulders, but the position allowed for him to easily wrap his arms around her waist and rest his head against her. He heard as well as felt when she took a deep breath, but made no more movement than that.
“What are you doing?”
“Hugging you,” he answered honestly, lifting his head enough to peak at her over her shoulder. “Is this not okay?”
“No, it’s fine,” her eyes softened. “You’re very full on. I should’ve expected that.”
“Do you not like it?”
“I never said that,” she focused on the teas, stirring them mindlessly. Her admission came with great relief, and Izuku took a deep breath and smiled as he laid his head against her shoulder again.
Once the teas were done, she tapped his side and nudged him away, carrying both the mugs into the living room again. Izuku followed behind, plopping himself close to her on the couch.
“Do you want to watch a film?” she offered, pointed to the stack of cases by the tv.
“Sure, what do you have?”
“Ah, well,” she held a couple up. A wide range of romance and action. “They’re mostly in English, I should have a couple Japanese ones though.”
“English is fine! We can put the subtitles on.”
While Izuku had been very academic, English hadn’t been a subject within his education for a long time. He remembered bits from highschool, simple phrases and grammar, but probably not enough to fully understand a film without the subtitles on. He didn’t mind that though, as long as Toshinori liked them.
“I didn’t know you could speak English,” Izuku mused as he dug around the pillows for the right remote. He’d heard her swear in English before when she was frustrated, which he thought was insanely cute, but majority of the time she stuck to Japanese. Which made sense, considering that was where they lived, but he was surprised that hadn’t been mentioned between them before.
“I spent a couple years in America as part of my career,” she nodded over to one of the shelves lined with trophies and medals. While a lot had Japanese, there were just as many with English engravings and plaques. Yet another reason why she was so impressive. “But that was a long time ago now. The films still stuck with me though.”
Toshinori slipped the disk in and joined Izuku on the couch, sitting close but keeping a small gap between them. She fiddled nervously with the remote, flicking through the settings until the film started playing.
An action movie. Izuku had a feeling that was done with the intent to steer Izuku’s thoughts away from that sort of thing. That wasn’t going to work on him, though.
No matter how many times he tried to stop, Izuku’s eyes couldn’t stop wandering away from the screen. Each time, they found their way back over to Toshinori. She seemed too distracted by the film to really notice, so Izuku took his chance to once again study her. From the way her hair rolled down over her shoulders, to the relaxed expression on her face, down to where their thighs now touched after a bit of shuffling.
The position was comfortable, their bodies not quite pushed together, but enough that Izuku almost considered it cuddling. His heart pounded, both nervous and excited.
About half way through the film, Izuku let his impulses take over. His hand graced her thigh, gentle as to get her attention without scaring her away. She tensed subtly, but he felt as she forced herself to relax.
Toshinori still looked nervous at the affection, the same as she had when he hugged her at work, as if someone might be there to judge them. But he could see the conflict in her eyes, how she looked back at him when he tilted her head to face him.
As he kissed her, she relaxed more into his touch, kissing him back with almost as much vigour. She wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as Izuku was, but she followed the rhythm he set, letting his hands join in as he followed the curve of her body.
Izuku just about melted when she copied the movement, resting her hands at his nape and threading her fingers into the base of his curls.
Izuku struggled to leave afterwards. They drew out the night as long as they could, long after the sun had set, but exhaustion could only be fought off for so long. They had work again the next day too, and if Izuku wanted to keep up the good impression, he’d have to stick with the early mornings. He couldn’t wait to be greeted by her smile again and again.