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Inko closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, breathing in the salty warm air. Tilting her head back, she hummed at the feeling of the sun pleasantly heating her skin. She shifted, feeling the blanket underneath her shift with her under the palms of her hands. She sighed in content.
“You seem to be enjoying herself,” a deep voice from next to her said playfully.
A green eye peeked open through her lashes. She saw her new husband lying next to her, one leg extended parallel to hers and the other folded with the opposite elbow resting on his knee to face her. Bright blue shone out from dark hollow eyes that seemed deeper than normal with the sun beaming down on him. To others, he would likely look terrifying, like a skeleton. To Inko, however, she saw past his appearance and saw the playful but loving gleam of his eyes and smile.
She closed her eyes and rolled them under her lids. “I know how to relax,” she said calmly.
“What’re you trying to say? That I don’t know how to relax?” he retorted back. She could hear the playful frown in his tone.
“I’m saying, Mister Number One Hero,” she playfully said sarcastically with a smile, “that you never learned how to wind down and enjoy the scenery. You could learn a thing or two from me, you know.”
Her mind wandered to her son, Izuku, whose idea of relaxing seemed stressful to others (including herself). His idea of relaxing was studying and researching all there was about heroes and their quirks. She couldn’t see how that could be relaxing, but she saw that it helped him relax so who was she to judge? If that made her baby happy, then she was happy for him.
A poke on her shoulder woke her from her temporary wandering thoughts. “That’s Mister Retired Number One Hero to you,” he retorted in a playful tone. “Your son has the title of Number One Hero now.”
Inko hummed and opened both her eyes to look up at Toshinori. His wide shoulders and thin but large form had casted her in shadow. His blonde bangs covered half of his face and tickled her cheek. She looked at his lips, which were formed into a small smile, and then glanced up to his loving blue eyes. For not the first time, she felt a flutter in her chest. “Our son, you mean,” she said softly.
Seeing the former Number One Hero’s countenance become flushed enough to cook an egg would never get tiring for her, and she giggled at the other’s very red face. “I-I-I, well,” he looked away with a harsh cough, a speck of blood appearing on his closed fist. “Yes, I suppose he is my step-son now…”
Giggling again she sat up from her position and lifted her knee closest to her husband to lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek. “Mmhm,” she hummed in affirmative, and Toshinori turned his face to meet her lips. Her heart picked up and thumped against her chest as she pressed against him.
Much too quick, the kiss ended. She couldn’t be disappointed though; she knew there was a lifetime of kisses to be had with the love of her life. (After Izuku, of course, who will always come first and she was thankful that Toshinori understood that).
“You know… It’s strange,” Toshinori said as he leaned back with a groan. Inko hummed as they both turned to watch the waves wash up the sandy shore. “I’ve only known Young Midoriya for ten years, and yet I feel like I’ve known him his whole life.”
Inko hummed as she looked down the shoreline. There were couples and families scattered along the water, some on the sand and some on the shore. Some younger folks around Izuku’s age were rough housing in the water, while another group of much younger children were building a sand castle on top of a snoring gentleman adjacent to her.
“Well you did see him grow," she murmured under the wind, just loud enough for him to hear. “Not just physically, but emotionally. Izuku was so different then; I didn’t think he would really become a hero until I watched him train his last year of middle school. It sounds horrible, but…”
She sighed, an embarrassing memory flitting through her mind. “I’ve forgiven myself for the way I acted back then. But since then he got to meet you and finally get the confidence he needed to become a hero.” She lifted her shoulders and dropped them. “But you know… He is your step-son now. You can call him Izuku.”
Toshinori winced, holding back a shudder. “I know I should, but it sounds so strange!” he laughed boisterously. “He’s been Young Midoriya to me since I’ve known him in middle school! I think even he would think it’s strange if I started calling him Izuku all of the sudden.”
Inko giggled. Yes, she supposed he was right, but… “What if you called him Young Izuku? I think it would mean the world to him if you did.”
Toshinori blinked and tilted his head in thought. “That… Actually might work… Huh. Yeah, I think I’ll do that.” He gave her a toothy grin. “Thank you, Inko.”
Green eyes widened and she turned away to look at the ocean flustered, her face suddenly too hot. “Well, of course!” she stuttered as she fanned herself with one hand. “I-I’m glad I could be of some help!”
As her husband laughed loud and proud once more, Inko smiled. After a stretch of silence, her husband sighed as he stood up from his spot on the blanket and stretched his arms upward. “Well, I think I’m gonna go in the water,” he groaned before sighing in contentment. “You joining me?”
She hummed for a moment. “Maybe later,” she finally replied with a smile, glancing back up to her husband and squinting against the light.
She saw him nod, despite his face shrouded in shadow, before turning to walk to the shore with pep in his step. His whistle could be heard through the soft crashing of waves and the steady breeze, causing her to giggle.
They were both wearing matching swimsuits, the colors and design of her son, the Pro-Hero Deku. Inko’s suit appeared to be a two piece despite being a short John wetsuit, with the tank-like top flaring around her waist and the top of her hips. Toshinori’s shorty wetsuit matched nearly identically, only with the sleeves covering his arms and legs partially.
Inko giggled as she watched her husband walk gallantly toward the water, a habit she supposed he had from being All Might for all those years. She watched as he entered the water, obviously cautious about the temperature. At about hip depth, he stood with his back to her and his fists on his hips. He looked a lot like his hero persona at that stance.
Sighing once more in contentment, she leaned back entirely on the blanket and closed her eyes, basking in the sun. It wasn’t until about ten minutes later that she heard the usual squeals and screams. With a frown, she pushed herself into a sitting position and scanned the water for the source of the screaming. When she discovered where it was coming from, she couldn’t hold back the very unlady-like snort that escaped her.
Standing on the sandy shore was her husband, surrounded by teens and young adults of all ages who all seemed to recognize who he was. Inko couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could get the sentiment. Toshinori tried to placate the crowd, his hands up in a surrender, but the crowd seemed ruthless. They seemed to really want something.
Finally, she watched as her husband sighed heavily in defeat and motioned everyone to step back. They all did as they were told, and even from where Inko sat she could see the air around them jittering with excited energy. Toshinori took a deep breath, before releasing it and puffing out his chest. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke surrounded him and in milliseconds he became the renowned All Might everyone knew, his height now a meter taller and his muscles bulging in such a way Inko was concerned he would tear his suit with how much strain the clothing was under. His familiar 100-watt smile lit up the beach, and of course more people took notice of the retired hero.
The crowd erupted and cheered, most likely all demanding selfies and photos with him. However, just as quickly as he appeared, he vanished under a cloud of smoke back to his lesser known form and a waterfall of blood dripped from his lips. Just as quickly as they had gathered and celebrated, they scattered and screamed.
“PFFFFT!” Inko couldn’t help but guffaw at the scene in front of her. How could she not?! This happened almost everywhere they went, and everytime her Toshi fell for their puppy eyes and heartfelt declaration of adoration. And everytime, he ended up scaring the crowd away with his coughing fits. She was still giggling when he sulked back to her.
“Oh Toshi,” she said in between breaths, “do you think you’ll ever not fall for that?”
“How can I say no?” he groaned as he collapsed onto the blanket, his head hiding in her shoulder shamefully. “I can’t turn away my fans.”
Inko continued to giggle as she stroked her fingers through his blonde hair. “I know, it’s one of the things I love about you.”
Toshi huffed a chuckle as he leaned further into her touch. “And I love that you accept that about me.”
Humming, she kissed the top of his head. “That I do.”