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Inko was drunk.
Normally, being the single mother of a teenage son, she wasn’t the type of woman who went out drinking on a Monday night, but Izuku lived in the Yuuei dorms now, and Inko worked from home nowadays and could pick her own hours. Plus the bar nearest her apartment was having a special on half price cocktails and Inko really needed a distraction that didn’t involve laying in her queen sized bed all alone at 9pm, suffocating from loneliness until she cried herself to sleep.
So here she was.
Inko honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in a bar, let alone ordered anything. Maybe before she’d been pregnant with Izuku. Maybe after she’d signed the divorce papers.
It was difficult to recall.
She’d never been a heavy drinker. She couldn’t really afford to be with a height of 5’3.
Her sorrowful green eyes bore into her half empty mudslide, the third drink she’d ordered in an hour, as her ears picked up on the chatter around her.
There was a lot of flirting and a lot of laughter and Inko just hoped no one was laughing at the pudgy woman in her forties sitting at a barstool alone. She drew in a breath and downed most of what remained in her glass as if it was only a shot.
There were a lot of things in life that Inko missed. She missed seeing Izuku every day. She missed visiting friends. She missed being married. She missed being held at night. She missed being wanted, loved. She missed being in love.
She doubted if she’d ever truly have any of that again. Her eyes watered.
At a table behind her, Inko heard a few drunk adults explode with laughter. A glance backwards surprised her.
Her eyes met All Might’s.
He blinked at her from across his table, eyes wide and owlish, a blush on his cheeks. He seemed surprised to see her. Around him, Inko recognized Izuku’s homeroom teacher Aizawa Shouta, and the Pro Hero Present Mic, and an attractive woman with glasses who Inko assumed to be another Yuuei teacher—Midnight, that was her hero name.
Present Mic and Midnight were snickering, gazes dancing from Inko to All Might back to Inko.
Inko’s stomach dropped. They had to be laughing about her. How she was here by herself. How she was dressed in a drab skirt and ill-fitting sweater. How she looked desperate. How she looked so so lonely. She wanted to throw up. Or cry. Or run away. Something less humiliating than being laughed at in front of the former Symbol of Peace and his drinking buddies.
All Might raised his right hand and offered Inko a tentative wave, grinning but still clearly embarrassed by his rambunctious coworkers.
Clearing his throat, Aizawa made a comment under his breath that Inko couldn’t hear and suddenly money had been put on their table and the three active heroes were leaving, leaving All Might alone at the table and why were All Might’s eyes so blue and why did his expression look so soft when he was confused and— oh!
Inko almost fell off her barstool from leaning too far forward.
She managed to right herself, grip the counter with one hand and grabbed at her bottom lip with the other hand, mortified.
This was awkward!
All Might chuckled. Quietly, but Inko saw how his thin body shook with laughter.
This was so awkward!
After pulling a few extra yen from his wallet to leave the bar staff, All Might heaved himself from a seat that was a little too cramped for even his true form and headed straight for the bar. With his eyes focused on Inko, the former Symbol of Peace just barely avoided ramming into a waitress carrying a round of shots. Thankfully All Might’s reflexes were still top notch, and a mess was avoided. All Might shot Inko a grimace, and she giggled.
This was beyond awkward!
She honestly felt relieved seeing that All Might wasn’t dressed up either. For a moment she’d expected to see him in a fancy suit, not an untucked button down shirt and dark slacks.
Inko felt warm but couldn’t tell if it was just from the alcohol. He looked very handsome.
Slouching slightly in front of her to try and meet her eyes, All Might towered over Inko, and he offered her a lopsided grin, cheeks pink. “Mind if I join you?” he asked with a nod to the empty barstool immediately to her left.
Inko blinked, processing as some of the alcohol she’d just downed started to hit her. She tried to wave her arms invitingly. “U-Um, yes of course! Please sit!”
All Might sat, ordered something from the bartender, glanced at Inko out of the corner of his eye, still grinning. Her heart flipped.
Inko didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t the first time she’d accidentally run into All Might since Izuku moved into the dorms. It was definitely the first time she was intoxicated, though.
All Might’s hair was unkempt like it usually was, but it looked very clean and soft and Inko had a sudden urge to smell it but that would be weird and she didn’t want him to think that she was weird so she just gripped her abandoned drink to stop herself from doing anything weird.
Inko raised her glass, wanting to polish off what remained of her mudslide, but All Might distracted her with a hesitant touch to her wrist. Inko raised an eyebrow as he stammered, “You, um, left that unattended a bit ago, right? Why not have some water instead?” Just as he said that, two bottles of water were set in front of them.
Understanding that he was worried someone had tainted her drink while she had been observing her son’s teachers, Inko peered up at All Might. “Oh, I doubt anyone would want to try anything on me.“ All Might opened his mouth as if to say something, but he seemed conflicted, his brow wrinkled. “Thank you, though,” Inko continued, “for your concern. I...I appreciate it.”
Inko beamed and set her glass on the counter in exchange for the cold, unopened water bottle. The two single adults tapped their bottles and each took a sip, All Might flustered, Inko trying to keep from giggling with a mouthful of water.
She faced All Might, leaning on the counter with her cheek cradled in her palm, and All Might mirrored her. He looked healthier than he did when he’d first retired. Inko remembered Izuku telling her about his organs when she’d offered to make them both dinner a month ago.
It was her turn to be worried as she asked, “You haven’t been drinking tonight have you?!” Her voice was a little too loud to be very polite but All Might seemed to not mind it. He shook his head.
“Just water for me tonight. Thank you, though, for your concern,” he repeated, teasing. Inko laughed, relieved.
They sat at the bar together for close to an hour, talking about their hobbies, Izuku’s progress in school, plans for the coming season. It was nice. It had been ages since Inko felt so at ease just talking to someone, learning about another person. All Might didn’t seemed to mind that Inko was tipsy, which helped calm her nerves. He was so kind. And so caring. And so very tall, very handsome.
Despite claiming to be sober, there was an almost constant blush on All Might’s face that filled Inko’s heart with hope and made her thoughts race. Maybe he liked spending time with her. Maybe he liked her. Maybe he wanted to kiss her. Maybe she did too. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.
Inko’s daze of intoxication and lovesickness was broken by All Might standing and offering her his arm to grab.
“Shall we, Miss Midoriya?”
Inko spared herself a moment to take in All Might’s lovely eyes and his kind smile, and then she nodded with a bashful smile of her own, grabbed her purse, and wrapped an arm around the crook of his elbow and stood.
Or, stumbled, really. It was a good thing she had something strong and sturdy to hold onto, as her intoxication made her clumsy. “Sor-Sorry! Sorry!” Inko laughed, clutching All Might’s arm with both hands.
“It’s quite alright. Just keep holding onto me.” They headed for the exit. The bar was more crowded, but the pair stayed together.
When they got outside, Inko tilted her head to look up at All Might. He was so tall next to her. He was like a tree. Or a dandelion. Or a sunflower. A very handsome sunflower. Inko burst out laughing, prompting the man to pause on the sidewalk. Inko heard him hum lowly.
“Yes, Miss Midoriya? Would you like to share what is so funny?” he asked kindly, patiently.
He’s being so patient with her even with her drunkenness! Inko wanted to cry over how sweet he was to her, but then she remembered what exactly was so funny, and she giggled through her answer. “You-You’re-You’re a-a han-handsome sunflower!”
All Might raised an eyebrow, his grin widening with a wave of confusion. “Oh?” Why did he look so cute when he was confused?
“Yes…” Inko stopped herself from elaborating, realizing that what she was saying probably sounded weird. She stared at her shoes. Her boring, practical shoes. She was very tipsy.
So she didn’t notice how All Might’s expression shifted from amused to soft adoration when he looked at the woman on his arm.
“Shall I finish escorting you home, my dear?” he asked gently. Inko nodded, glanced at his face for a moment before looking forward, cheeks rosy. From the alcohol. Only the alcohol. Obviously. He was so kind. So handsome. My dear, he’d called her.
She wanted to kiss him.
Inko made up her mind about that as they walked the streets back to her apartment, illuminated by the lamp posts. Inko would ramble about how he and Izuku both need to visit her more, she was a single woman at home all alone, you know, she needed company. All Might would agree. He made sure to be the one walking closer to traffic, and his grip around her waist would tighten whenever someone suspicious stalked past them. It flooded Inko’s stomach with butterflies. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to. She wanted to. Oh how she wanted to!
After about fifteen minutes they reached her apartment building, and All Might deterred her from attempting the stairs, nudging her subtly to the elevator. They held hands. Inko couldn’t remember which of them had instigated this scandalous hand holding but nevertheless they were holding hands and this was certainly a step in the right direction of the dozens of inappropriate thoughts swirling in Inko’s head at the moment.
His hands were large. Her hands were small. She adored his hands. They were so gentle in hers. Inko’s knees turned wobbly. They stood close in the elevator, hand in hand. Inko’s hand was sweaty, but maybe his were too. It was hard to tell. Inko was drunk.
She wanted the former Symbol of Peace, her son’s teacher, to kiss her in the elevator of her apartment building.
They got to her floor and Inko had to let go of All Might’s hand to dig around in her purse for the keys to her apartment.
As she fidgeted with the lock, Inko glanced up at her— the handsome sunflower.
“Would...Would you like to come in?” She hoped that her tone wasn’t too hopeful or that her eyes weren’t too pleading, too yearning.
All Might nodded, his eyes blue and soft and considering. “Of course.”
He held her hand as she toed off her shoes to keep her from tipping over. Because she was tipsy. Inko released a breathy laugh.
“I’m drunk,” she said.
“Indeed.” He chuckled. She adored that. She wanted to swoon in adoration and he’d catch her and hold her close and they would kiss through the night.
He turned on the main light switch and walked her gently to the couch in the living room. When she was seated comfortably, All Might made to move away, but she quickly grabbed his sleeve to stop him. “Wh-Where are you going?” She didn’t want him to leave. Not yet. Please not yet.
“Worry not, my dear, I’m only getting you something to eat. Is that alright?” He was probably hesitant about going through her kitchen cupboards.
Inko nodded and pointed to the pantry where she kept crackers and bread and other snacks.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised.
She observed him over the back of the couch as he looked around the kitchen. Inko imagined him eating dinners with her and helping to set the table and insisting he help dry the dishes because he didn’t need a step stool to reach the upper shelves. They could splash each other with the soap bubbles and All Might could trap her between his long arms and lean in to kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her—
“ Shiiit! ” All Might hissed. He must have stubbed his toe on something. He gripped the edge of the sink, clearly in pain.
“Are you okay, All Might?!”
“Y...Yes, I’m fine! I’ll be right there!” He waved a hand as if to prove he’d be fine. Inko sat forward on the couch and turned on the TV to some cheesy late night romcom that was playing. She looked around for the wall clock. It was nearing eleven. Inko was suddenly remembered a side effect of being drunk.
“I’ll be right back!” Inko called as she rushed to the bathroom to empty her bladder.
“O-Okay!”
When she finished washing her hands, All Might was sitting next to her spot on the couch with an unopened sleeve of name brand crackers and a full cup of water.
Okay. Now Inko really wanted to kiss him. She gratefully accepted a handful of crackers and began to eat. All Might held the cup of water for her. He looked around at the decor of the apartment. Asked how she was feeling. She said she felt fine.
Maybe Inko chose to sit close enough to him that their thighs were almost touching. Maybe she could smell his cologne. Maybe she wanted to lean up and press a kiss to the underside of his sharp chin. Maybe she hoped he would stay the night. He could use her shower in the morning.
Did he have to work in the morning?
“Do you have to work in the morning?”
All Might gazed down at her with a reassuring expression. “Ah, no. Tomorrow is a day off. Some historical holiday I can’t recall the name of. Good thing, hm?” He winked and Inko felt her cheeks heat up once again as she fought of a huge smile. A small one broke through anyway. Maybe she could still blame her joy on the alcohol. “I’m glad…” she whispered. Maybe he’d buy it.
Inko drank some of the water when she was finished with half of the sleeve of crackers. All Might brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, his hand resting against her cheek longer than necessary. He was blushing, too. Their eyes met once again.
All Might’s eyes looked so gentle and his lips looked so smooth and they were sitting so close and for a moment Inko felt like a she was truly wanted by someone and before she could change her mind she used her quirk to pull at his shirt to bring him closer and she closed her eyes and she kissed him.
It lasted for five seconds. Just as Inko broke away, All Might leaned in as if to respond but stopped. Inko took a few deep breaths, opened her eyes a little. Their lips were still millimeters from each other, close enough to brush. Inko hoped her lips weren’t too chapped. Hoped her breath didn’t smell too bad from the alcohol. Hoped he didn’t run out the door screaming. Inko held her breath.
Suddenly Inko was too scared to try another kiss. What if he hated her now? What if he never wanted to see her again? What if? What if? What if?
What if he was wasn’t pulling away? What if he smiled against her trembling lips? What if he nuzzled his nose against hers?
Because that’s what he was doing. That’s what he was doing!
Inko exhaled a shaking breath mixed with a laugh and she wanted to cry with relief. She met All Might’s eyes again.
“H-Hi,” she murmured.
“Hi.” All Might’s voice was suddenly deep and raspy and nervous, and he chuckled. Inko felt it. She rested a hand on his thin shoulder and squeezed.
“Hi.” She giggled.
And then they were kissing again. But this time All Might reciprocated, a slow and gentle pressure against her lips. She played with the fabric of his shirt collar between her fingers. All Might hesitantly took the cup of water from her fingers and tried his hardest to not break the kiss as he stretched to set it on the coffee table. And then his strong hands were cupping her face as if she was the most delicate, precious thing in the world and Inko never wanted this to stop.
They kissed and kissed and kissed for far, far longer than just five, ten, sixty, three hundred seconds and it wasn’t until Inko tried to straddle his lap and undo the top button of his shirt that they paused, All Might pressing their foreheads together, his thumb ghosting over her bottom lip to keep Inko from following after him for another kiss.
“Wait…” he gasped. “Wait.”
Inko opened her eyes and smiled. All Might was beet red, his eyes shining, shifting between her eyes and her lips. He was so handsome.
“Yes, All Might...?” She leaned forward, about to shut her eyes again.
The next instant she was alone on the couch. And the former Symbol of Peace was pacing back and forth behind the couch, flailing his arms madly, utterly flustered.
“Nope, nope, nope. My dear Miss Midoriya, this is a bad idea. You, you are a very lovely, very charming, very pretty woman, for whom I seem to be developing—ah yes, ahem! You—You are drunk. Far too drunk. And I am sober. Far too sober. You want to kiss me. And I. I want to kiss you as well. Very much. But therein lies the problem! You are a smart, sensible woman who is currently—unfortunately—intoxicated. And it would be horribly villainous of me to exploit that. How could I, as a retired Pro Hero? I must be respectful and courteous, for I would hate for you to regret doing—ah, being intimate with me. I would hate for you to be embarrassed. By your actions or by mine. By me.
“And! And you, my dear, are the mother of my precious student! Shit— young Midoriya would kill me if I were to act in any way other than a gentleman toward you, I’m sure of it! And I would let him! He could full cowl me to the face —oh ,or maybe he’ll already kill me — and I would gladly accept it because I—the last thing I would ever want to do is to hurt you. Nevertheless you would surely be saddened if I left after reciprocating your affection...and I couldn’t afford to allow you to suffer a hangover alone in the morning...Well. Hm.”
All Might paused his muttering, paused his pacing, turned to Inko and pointed dramatically, approaching her with the back of the couch between them. Inko couldn’t hide her amusement.
“So! Miss Midoriya! Here is what we shall do!” He was still beet red. “I shall help you to your bedroom, and once you are settled I will remain here for the night, asleep on your couch, and we may discuss our f-feeling of each other once you are in your right mind.” Silence. All Might blinked. “How—How would you feel about that?”
Inko reached up and cradled All Might’s face in her small hands. “Okay. And if...if I wanted to kiss you again in the morning? What then?” She batted her eyelashes, teasing and hopeful and giggly.
All Might suddenly coughed, a fist pressed to his mouth to keep blood from splattering all over Inko’s very lovely face. He cleared his throat. “Oh, I..If… Well, if that is the case in the morning then you will find me, um, w-waiting and happy—to kiss you. Again. Yes.”
So in less than ten minutes Inko was lying comfortably in her queen size bed. She’d put her favorite pink, bunny-printed pajamas on while All Might waited shyly on the other side of the door, willing to help if he heard her fall over. She was under the blankets alone, like she’d always been for more than a decade, but for the first time in a long while she wasn’t heartbroken about it. Her unplanned house guest had found spare sheets in the hall closet and made up the couch, and her bedroom door was ajar in case she needed him. (Of course she did need him. She felt she would need him for the rest of her life.) Her heartbeat raced, and she just couldn’t stop smiling until she finally drifted off to sleep, comfortable and dizzy and tired. She’d kissed him. She’d kissed him. She’d kissed him.
And he’d kissed her back.
Inko was sober.
Normally, being the single mother of a teenage son, she wasn’t the type of woman who ended up with a hangover on a Tuesday morning, but her night had gone unexpectedly all around. She went from miserably drinking in a bar by her lonesome to making out with the former Symbol of Peace on her living room couch for almost ten minutes, all in less than three hours. And then he’d helped her to bed.
So here she was.
There was a glass of fresh ice water and two pain relievers waiting next to her alarm clock—which he must have shut off as it was nearly two hours past 7:30. Her room was bright and her door was open a little.
The aroma of eggs and bacon cooking on the stove prompted Inko to action.
She wrestled out of her bedding, remembered to swallow the water and medicine, didn’t bother looking for her house slippers and all but sprinted out of her room, not caring that she was still in her bunny-printed pajamas. Just as she rounded the corner, she felt her hair cascading freely down her back and she realized that All Might must have undone her hairdo last night so she’d be more comfortable. What a kind man.
And there he was, standing at the stove, wearing one of her aprons that didn’t even reach his waist, cooking breakfast. Eggs, bacon and toast. It seemed he made a pot of tea, as well.
The kitchen table was set for two.
Inko leaned against the back of the couch, starstruck. When was the last time someone had cooked for her?
All Might looked up from his self imposed task of plating the meal and putting away ingredients and jumped.
“Ah! M-Miss Midoriya! Good morning!”
Inko hummed. “Good Morning, All Might.”
He took in the sight of the woman still in her pajamas and waved a hand to the table, inviting her to sit. “How are you, ah, feeling this morning? I was just about to check on you.”
She blushed and said thanks for the food he handed her. The bacon looked a tad too crispy and scrambled eggs weren’t her absolute favorite, but Inko had a feeling this would be one of the best meals she’d ever had.
“I’m feeling very well, thank you. I woke up with only a minor headache. I, um, very much appreciate all your help last night. You tolerating my...drunkenness.” She took a bite of her breakfast and wanted to kiss him all over again. “This is delicious, All Might, thank you.”
“Of course, my dear. And I-ah, I wasn’t bothered at all. It was rather endearing, honestly.” All Might smiled and began eating with her, though his plate was a much smaller portion. They spoke very little, just content to have lovely food with even lovelier company. The two both blushed all the while.
They shyly agreed to do the dishes together.
“I’m sure it helps having a handsome sunflower around to help reach the high cupboards, no?” All Might teased.
“Oh my, I did call you that, didn’t I…” Inko busied herself with scrubbing a plate, very embarrassed, but secretly pleased he seemed to enjoy her drunken evening.
All Might dried off a frying pan with an old dish rag, with his back against the counter, only inches from Inko. He grinned. “Hmmm. yes. Although I’d much prefer if you called me Mr. Yagi Toshinori. Or just Toshinori.”
The sponge in her grasp fell to the soapy water. She stared at him, the wrinkled button down shirt he’d slept in, his wild hair. “Ah, so that’s your name?”
He bent over to put the dried pan in a low cupboard as he casually replied, “But of course! Only if you’d like to though. We are dating, yes? — AH!” He banged his head when he suddenly stood up too fast. He gripped the back of his head, as his eyes turned nervous. “...We are dating, aren’t we?”
Inko rushed to grab an ice pack from the freezer, and Toshinori bent down so she could apply it for him, their hands overlapping. They’d stop blushing around each other soon, wouldn’t they? The corners of Inko’s lips turned upward as she murmured, “I would love that very much.”
And then they kissed.
It was brief and shy and sober, and their lips quickly turned into bashful smiles, but Inko and Toshinori knew there would be many more to come.
They couldn’t wait.