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“Oh my god Hisashi you are an absolute mess.”
Inko sometimes despaired at her fiance's ability to take care of himself. His curly black hair was a total mess, with pencils sticking out of it at odd angles. Soot stained his clothes and face. His clothes were a mess of wrinkles, and he had a hole burnt into his left trouser leg.
He just shrugged. “It was a busy day at the lab.”
Inko rubbed at her temples. “Hisashi we have dinner with my parents in an hour. What are we going to do about this?”
It would be a disaster. Bad enough that their courtship had been so short, Hisashi had never even met her parents, and Inko needed their approval of this. Well, not literally, she and Hisashi could get married without anyone’s input, but she wanted her parents to like him. This was important.
Hisashi’s hands landed on her shoulders and he pulled her into a hug. He smelled slightly burnt. “Inko. Inko. It’s going to be fine.”
Her pulse returned to normal. “I-- okay. Yes, you’re right. We can deal with this.”
“I’ll go take a shower and get changed. The restaurant isn’t far from here, we can take our time with this.”
“What if they don’t like you, Hisashi?” Inko asked as they separated.
“Don’t worry, I’ll put my charm on. It worked on you, didn’t it?”
Inko laughed, but said nothing as her husband-to-be walked further into the apartment. He always knew how to make her smile.
Hisashi had cleaned up… acceptably. His hair was still a mess, but that was normal, and at least they had removed all visible writing implements. His clothes were replaced with a button-up shirt, recently pressed pants, and a tie. He was soot-free, and no longer smelled of burnt clothing.
Even so, her father didn’t look particularly impressed. Midoriya Yoshida was a small man, but his mind was sharp and he was an even better lawyer than Inko was. So far, at least.
“So, what is it you do for a living, young man?”
Hisashi smiled. “Oh, I figured Inko would have told you! I’m a researcher with a quirk management lab. We help create technology to allow people with quirks that affect their lives negatively to function in society. Like fireproof fabrics!” He poked his tie. “This can take heats of up to 2500 Kelvin. Not perfect, but it’s also machine washable!”
“He’s very passionate about his work.” Inko stepped in, before her husband could go into the exact materials that made up the tie and the processes used to create it. She loved when he got ranty, but this wasn’t the time.
“I can see that.” Midoriya Chie smiled at her daughter. “It’s important to be passionate about one’s work. Oh, the times your father would spend with me going over the details of a case…”
“Chie, please, not the time.” Yoshida said. He was smiling back at her, though.
“Inko does that sometimes too. It’s how we spent a few of our early dates.” Hisashi poked her in the side. “It’s part of why we worked so well.”
Inko blushed furiously.
“Speaking of… so, young man, you think you can take care of my daughter?” Yoshida gave Hisashi a look that said “you had better have the right answer, or this isn’t going to go well.”
Hisashi grinned at his future father-in-law. “No, sir. Inko can take care of herself. I just want to make her happy.”
Inko’s blush grew luminescent. Yoshida smiled. “Well, Inko, it seems you’ve found a good one. I figured, when you asked us to meet him, but I had to make sure. I’d give you the shovel talk, young man, but as you’ve said my daughter can take care of herself just fine. Remember that.”
Hisashi nodded.
Chie spoke up next, as the server approached with their first course. “So, will she be taking your name then?”
HIsashi laughed. “No, I was thinking the other way around. My family and I don’t really get along. Plus, Todoroki Inko just kinda sounds silly somehow.”
Yoshida nodded approvingly. “Well then, welcome to the family, son. You’ve got my blessing. Now, Inko, you were telling me about your latest case over the phone, and I was thinking--”
Chie and Hisashi met eyes, as their significant others entered an excited debate about the legalities of mutative quirks regarding self defense, and smiled.