Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mezou finally headed home after his shift at his construction gig. He’s tired, hot, sweaty, and has the worst headache he’s had for years. His shirt was soaked with sweat from seven am onwards. Summer construction work will do that. When his shift finished he wanted to quickly head home, home to the quiet fragrances of his incense and the quiet meditations of his own creations, maybe even some not so quiet weed. However he needed to stop by the post office to send some mail to his best friend, Fumikage. Then he needed to restock his fridge, he was in desperate need of protein powder. Then he needed to pick up the donations for his local resale charity. So when he finally got back at eight pm he was exhausted.

It didn’t look like he’d get much rest though. He could hear a child giggling and running up and down the hallway of his apartment building. It was a floor below but he, for better or worse, has outstanding hearing. Not that he minded the child’s laughter. Maybe he’d add it into his meditation. Use it as background noise while he calmed his mind. Reflect on his own youthful joy. He smiles at the thought. Taking a negative and turning it into a positive. There’s a certain pleasure in looking on the bright side. With his mind made up, he steps outside his door and sits down, leaning his back on the door. He closes his eyes and begins putting himself in the right state of mind for winding down his busy brain. Slowly he feels his eyes droop. He feels his head nod to one side and then the other. His thoughts drip like molasses. He feels completely still. Then. . .

“HEY!” A small voice announces it's owners presence. Mezou’s head pops up, suddenly wide awake. “You’re big!” Mezou does a once over of the small human in his presence. It’s a little girl in a little white dress, with little daisies on the edges. She has light up shoes on and shoulder length blonde hair. A cute little kid. Perhaps talking to this child will prove interesting.

“Hello.” Mezou responds. He scratches his chin. “Hmm. . . you say I am big, but perhaps you are just small.” He closes his eyes and nods at that. “Yes, I believe that is the case. I am not big, you are simply small.”

“NO!” The little girl shouts. “I am regular sized! You are the one that is big.” Mezou is glad that he wears a mask, his smile hidden completely.

“Hmmm. We’ll have to agree that we will not come to an agreement on this one.” Mezou nods sagely. “What’s your name, little one.”

“Hey!” The little girl sticks a little finger out at him. “I’m regular sized!”

“What’s your name, regular sized one?” Mezou restates the question.

“I’m Kahori Kaminari. I just moved in here.” The little girl announces. She puffs her chest out. She’s clearly proud of herself. “I just moved in here. Me and my dad did. We live in apartment 45” She scrunches her face in concentration “We live in apartment 45, 1659 East Euclid Avenue.” She nods to herself.

“I see. My name is Mezou Shouji. I live in apartment 55, 1659 East Euclid Avenue.”

“I like you, Mezou Shouji.” Kahori nods to herself. “Although a name like Mezou Shouji just will not do.” Mezou blinks.

“It won’t?”

“No Siree. I think I’ll call you, The Big Man.” She nods to herself. “Yes. That has to be it.” She points her finger at Mezou again. “You’re The Big Man.” She jabs herself in the chest with her thumb. “I’m regular sized Kahori.”

“Well nice to meet you regular sized Kahori. I am The Big Man.” Mezou manages to keep his face straight.

“Yes.” Kahori nods resolutely. “I’m four.” She holds out three fingers then stops and stickers her tongue out in concentration. Then her little pinky finger pops up. She smiles. “Four years old. How old are you?”

“You know the hills Kahori?” Kahori nods her head up and down violently. She does not know ‘the hills’ but that won’t stop her from acting like she does. “Well I’m just a smidge older than those.”

“Woah.” Kahori says quietly.

“Woah indeed.” Mezou responds. He stops himself from chuckling. Engaging Kahori has proven to be a very fruitful decision.

“My dad’s old too.” Kahori says.

“And your mom?” Mezou asks.

“Don’t got one.” Kahori says. Her bluster fades.

“Mom’s are overrated anyway.” Mezou quickly covers for himself.

“YEA!” Kahori says. She plops herself down across from Mezou. She mimics his stance. She uses her hands to help cross her legs. “Moms suck. My dad says he’d rather I have two dads anyways.”

“He sounds like a wise man.”

“He’s ok I guess. What do you do?” Kahori hops topics again.

“A little of this, a little of that.” Mezou responds cryptically.

“NO!”. Kahori says loudly. She pouts for a second, clearly concentrating on how to rephrase her question. “I mean what do you do for money.”

“Ah, I see. I build things.” That answer doesn’t seem to satisfy Kahori. So Mezou tries to elaborate, “every time you see a road or a bridge, know that I had a hand in it’s creation.” Mezou smiles. He’s having a blast talking to this child. When he was a child himself he was always enamored with the larger-than-life, wise, old, father figures in his picture books. It feels good to play that role in a child’s life.

“Wow. You’re pretty strong then.” Kahori says. Her eyes drift to Mezou’s exposed arms. Mezou’s always been large. He’s grown even stronger since he started working construction. He maintains an intense workout regiment. Kahori’s initial assessment of calling him big was spot on. He stands at six foot six, and two hundred and eighty five pounds. He’s always been built like a brick house. He used to be self conscious about the layer of fat he could never get rid of. He used to hate having to wear XXL or XXXL sized shirts. He used to hate the fact that he’s absolutely covered in hair. He used to only wear sweatshirts, and pants, both a size too big. Anything to hide his frame. Ironically this probably just made him seem larger than he was. But now he’s gotten over his immature hangups. Now he feels comfortable in his body.

“Welp.” Kahori hops up onto her feet. “Bye!” Kahori sprints down the hall and down the stairs. As quick as the hurricane came into Mezou’s day, she exits Mezou’s day.

“I’m back Daddy!” Kahori announces as she opens the door. She still has to hop up to grab the door knob but she can let herself in and out of the house.

“Hi Kahori. Did you break any of our rules while you were out?” Denki responds.

“Hmmm.” Kahori puts her finger to her chin. “Nope.” She tries to dash passed Denki. Denki is too quick for her and easily grabs her and lifts her into the air.

“Not even the one about not making so much noise while you’re in the building?” Denki asks. He knows the answer but he wants to get Kahori to admit it.

“Hmm.” Kahori tilts her head and looks at the ceiling. “I was quiet.”

“You didn’t even break the rule about running in the halls?” Denki asks. Once again he knows the answer but he hopes that if he continues on Kahori will break and admit her lies.

“Nope. I was moving super slow.” Kahori lies through her teeth.

“Not even the rule about staying on our floor?”

“Nope. I was here the whole time.” Kahori lies. She lies like the little liar she is.

“Kahori, what if I told you that I could hear you giggling and shouting out there?” Denki asks. He smirks as the realization crosses Kahori’s face.

“Ok I might’ve been a little bit loud.” Kahori admits.

“Kahori, what if I told you I could hear you stomping and running up and down the halls?” Kahori looks down. She must know that she can’t lie her way out of this one.

“Ok, I was running. But that’s just ‘cause I got bored of moving so slow.” Kahori keeps her head down. “I just like going fast.”

“Kahori, what if I told you I knew you went off of our floor?” Denki asks. Kahori’s head flies up. She locks eyes with Denki and it seems she’s really going to try to defend herself on this one.

“I had to talk to The Big Man!” She shouts right into his face.

“The Big Man?” Denki asks as he leans his head back a little, hoping to avoid Kahori shouting into his face again. A strange thing for a four year old to say. Especially since Denki has never mentioned any religion around her.

“Yea The Big Man that lives above us.” Kahori says with a resolute nod. Denki blinks. “He’s very wise you know. He’s older than the hills!”

“Well if you had to talk to The Big Man, who am I to stand in the way?” Denki let’s her down. Kahori is lucky she's an amusing liar. Denki can never be hard on her. He's raising an oddball and needs to remind himself that regular rules just won't stick with his little oddball.

“You’re my Dad.” She says while speeding off to her room. Denki smiles after her.

He checks his phone and realizes that his friends aren’t very reliable. He’s got a couch being delivered tomorrow. But it’s only being delivered to the front door. He called in /literally/ all his friends. Now another one has dropped out. That leaves him and Hanta to move an entire couch. An entire couch all the way to the fourth floor. Denki stands at five foot four and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-four pounds. Hardly the pinnacle of human strength. Not that Hanta is much better. Hanta stands at six foot one and weighs two hundred pounds. Except he’s all stringy muscle and flexibility. Hardly the ideal couch moving partner. Denki sighs to himself. He rubs his eyes and chuckles to himself. His life is a mess.

He’s still in college. But he isn’t a full time student right now. He’s got only one semester of full classes left to get his degree. But after he and his girlfriend split he had to cut most of his classes. He is currently scheduled to finish his degree after two more years. His ex didn’t even say anything to him about breaking up. She just left in the middle of the night when Kahori was two. He doubts Kahori even has any memory of her mother. After she skipped town he never mentions her to Kahori. He even renamed Kahori from the name his girlfriend wanted to the name he wanted. Their relationship started as a silly fling, a fling that he brought with him to a shitty house party. But impregnating her at that shitty house party turned his three week long fling into a more committed relationship. His party girl turned into a mom. Then she got bored of being just a mom and turned into a party mom. Then, he guesses, she got tired of being just a party mom and dropped her mom responsibilities completely. Denki always knew the relationship was doomed but he really hoped that she’d at least stick with it until they both graduated. But things don’t tend to go Denki’s way.

Now Kahori is four years old. Denki works as a bank teller, and all Denki’s college friends are too busy to give him a social outlet. He gets it. Of his old crew, only Hanta, Eijirou, and Katsuki stayed in town for their new career. Then Eijirou and Katsuki finally cemented their relationship with a marriage and then a little adopted baby of their own. He can’t ask them for help because they’ve got their hands full. Hanta remains his only social connection. Through Hanta he’s kinda, sorta friends with Shouto, and through Shouto, Hanta is acquantinces with Izuku, Tenya, and Ochaco. The power of /social connections/ Denki chuckles to himself at the though. Denki turns off the burner.

“Kahori dinner’s ready!” He shouts out to Kahori. Kahori comes flying back into the room carrying an action figure and a doll. She uses the doll to slap the action figure’s face and giggles to herself. Denki can’t keep the soft smile off his face. Life might be tough but she keeps him going. When she sees Denki watching her, she throws the toys to the ground.

“No toys at the table!” She announces. Then climbs up into her chair.

The delivery ends up being late. Very late. A morning delivery that didn’t get there until six thirty in the afternoon. Denki thanks his past self for taking the whole day off. He ends up tipping the delivery drivers anyway. If they’re this far behind schedule, their days had to suck. They seem exhausted but give Denki excellent service. He’s thankful for that. Hanta spent his off day just hanging around Denki’s apartment. Kahori promised to stay inside their apartment while they went down and moved the couch up four flights of stairs. Denki normally would’ve let Kahori watch but he feels that Hanta and he might be swearing up a storm. He doesn’t want his daughter to see him struggling to move a couch. He doesn’t want to lose the ‘superhuman’ illusion that she has of him. She still looks at him like he hung the stars and he doesn’t want that to change this soon.

His analysis proves intensely accurate. Hanta does a better job than Denki would’ve expected though. They managed to get up a flight of stairs. But they’re both soaked in sweat and the couch sits at a funny angle. They’re stuck. Denki hates to admit it, but he might need to start begging his neighbors to help move the couch.

“I really don’t want to ask for help.” Denki says.

“Ok. I’m trying to get Shouto down here but he’s staying late at work.” Hanta chuckles at his phone. “Dude, he’s so cute. He writes with perfect punctuation in his texts.”

“I normally wouldn’t mind asking. I mean if you need help, you need help.” Denki continues. Ignoring his love struck friend. “But Kahori was causing a ruckus yesterday. Can’t have my little menace being her evil little self and then turn around and ask the people I just annoyed for help moving my couch.”

“That makes sense dude.” Hanta says. He sits down on the couch. “Let’s take a breather. We’ve got three more flights to go. It might take us all of the night but this couch will be in your place at some point.”

“Daddy?” A small voice calls from the stairwell.

“Sweetie just stay in the apartment. We’ll be right up.” Denki says, he keeps his eyes closed but he stops himself from seeming too out of breath.

“Do you need help?” Denki chuckles at how cute his kid is. Ready to offer help at a moment’s notice. “It’s never a bad thing to ask for help.” She reminds him. He frowns. How did he raise such a little shit?

“No. Daddy and Uncle Hanta are just taking a break.”

“I can ask The Big Man for help.” Kahori says.

“Yea. We’ll definitely need The Big Man’s help.” Hanta chuckles. Denki shoots him a look.

“Ok. I’ll be right back.” Kahori says and then stomps up the steps.

“I didn’t know you were raising your kid religious.”

“Neither did I, honestly.” Denki says. He awkwardly laughs.

Mezou had a much better day today. He got voted in as a union representative. That means better hours and more meaningful work for him. He hums to himself. He got to make his favorite chilli as well. Fumikage texted him that he got the letter from him. He wrote back telling Mezou that his research grant was approved. Then he recommended a lot of poetry and music for Mezou to check out. So far Mezou was happy with all the music Fumikage had sent him. Mezou wasn’t always up on trends but Fumikage tried his hardest to plug Mezou into the local music scene. Everything seemed to be going his way today. Mezou had just turned off the burner when he hears a soft knock at his door. He lumbers over and opens it up but he doesn’t see anybody. He shrugs. He’s about to turn around when he hears a familiar voice boom out.

“Hey Big Man!” Kahori shouts. Mezou looks down and then crouches down to be more on her level. “My daddy needs help. YOUR help.” She points her little finger at him.

“What does he need help with.” Mezou is more than happy to entertain the little girl again.

“He’s small and weak. But he wants to look strong so he won’t ask.” Kahori starts. “Err. I mean.” She smacks a little fist into her little hand. “It’ll be easier to just show you. Follow me!” She announces then turns and runs towards the stairs without checking if Mezou is following her. Mezou takes a look down at himself. He’s got an old pair of black sweatpants on. He removed the elastic from the waistband a few years back. Now the pure tension of the pants around his thighs and waist keep the pants up. They’re black but stained in a few places with bleach. An accident that Fumikage is still apologizing for. He looks at his shirt. A matching black sleeveless tank. A little bit of chilli is on it. He shrugs. He doesn’t expect to be out of his apartment for long so he follows the little girl down.

“I got the big man!” Kahori announces. She turns and dramatically throws her arm through the air to present nobody. “Huh. I guess I outran him. I am very fast after all.”

“You sure are, Sweetie.” Denki says automatically.

“Could’ve really used The Big Man’s help on this one Denki.” Hanta grumbles. Denki just closes his eyes again. He’s about ready for the next flight of stairs.

“Well I’m pretty strong. While we wait for him I can help move it up.” Kahori announces.

“Thanks honey. Why don’t you help with my side? We can let Hanta push it up, while we pull. Alright?” Kahori flexes, then she mimes spitting on her hands.

“I’m ready!” She shouts. Denki smiles down at her and places a little kiss on the top of her head.

“Regular sized Kahori?” A deep voice sounds from a flight up.

“Holy shit!” Hanta exclaims. He’s tired and for a moment actually believes that Kahori has obtained the help of some god. He’s snapped out of it by a little kick to his leg.

“Bad word! Uncle Hanta, don’t say bad words.” Kahori scolds him. Denki sassily snaps his fingers.

“That’s my girl.” He ruffles her hair. He’s smug for a moment but his jaw hits the floor when he sees the man coming down the stairs. A shaggy haired bear of a man rumbles down the stairs and into view. Denki takes in the man’s appearance. He has sweatpants desperately clinging to his muscular thighs. Denki figures this man could crush his head in between his legs. Denki might even thank him for it. Denki’s eyes move up to the man’s torso. The man’s shirt might as well not be there. Denki can see the exact outline of his musclegut and his juicy pecs. He blinks his eyes quickly, like he’s trying to dispel a mirage. The man’s arms are covered in thick black hair.. He wears a navy blue mask. Denki can feel his face heat up. He spots Hanta raising an eyebrow at him from the corner of his eye.

Mezou, for his part, is also stunned at what he sees on the bottom of the stairs. First he notices a plain looking man with a mullet. Then his attention is drawn to Kahori. Now she’s dressed in cute, little, black, overalls and a pink shirt. But right next to her. In a /matching outfit/ of black jean overalls and a pink tee is a small man. He must be over a foot smaller than Mezou. There’s no muscle on his arms. They look soft though, possibly even squishy. Mezou wouldn’t say he’s fat or even chubby but his arms seem plush and supple. His skin is a very pale white, pale but perfect. Mezou can’t spot a single blemish on his skin. The man has a cute face, with a button nose, and long blond hair. He has a small black lightning bolt dyed into his blond hair. Mezou blinks. He can’t believe such a cute man was living in the same apartment building as him.

“YES! The Big Man is here to help.” Kahori raises her arms into the air and cheers.

“Moving a couch?” Mezou asks.

“Yup we sure are. Care to lend a neighbor a hand?” Hanta asks. Denki is too stunned to react.

“I think I could do that. Especially for a neighbor with such a nice, little, firecracker for a daughter.” Mezou chuckles to himself. “I’m Mezou Shouji, I live in apartment fifty-five”

“No! You’re The Big Man.” Kahori insists. “And this is my Daddy, Denki Kaminari!”

“My apologies. I am The Big Man. And I live in apartment fifty-five.” Kahori nods her head in approval.

“I see. You’re The Big Man Upstairs.” Denki pieces together.

“We live in apartment forty-five, right daddy?” Kahori says. Denki nods dumbly.

“I suppose I am.” Mezou says, temporarily ignoring Kahori. He shoves at the couch and moves it easily. The couch is out of it’s awkward position and nearly into position to go up the next flight. “I think it’d be best if you and your friend guide the couch up the stairs. Me and Kahori can do the heavy lifting and move it up.”

“Kahori and I!” Kahori shouts.

“Yes, Kahori and I can do the heavy lifting.” Mezou corrects himself.

“Sounds good to me, Big Man.” Hanta says quickly. He’s glad to be relieved of doing nearly all of the actual moving of the couch. He scrambles to the same end Denki is and positions the couch correctly.

“Alright. Kahori, let’s push on the count of three, alright?” Kahori nods. She has a serious look on her face. Eyebrows scrunched and tongue sticking out in concentration. “One. Two. Three.” Kahori and Mezou push the couch and Denki and Hanta guide it up the stairs. The couch slides easily up the stairs. In five minutes Mezou accomplished what had taken Hanta and Denki the better part of an hour. A few more pushes and Mezou has the couch inside Denki’s apartment. Once positioned well enough for Hanta and Denki to take over, Mezou puts his hands on his hips and wipes the sweat from his brow. Kahori copies the motion. Denki snickers at the display.

“Well. I’ve got some dinner to eat. Nice to meet you Denki.” He sticks out his hand for Denki to shake. He then crouches down to Kahori’s eye level and sticks out his hand for her to shake. “And until next time, regular sized Kahori.” Kahori grabs his hand and squeezes it tight. Mezou moves his hand up and down and then exits the apartment. He carefully shuts the door behind him. Hanta and Denki quickly finish positioning the couch. Hanta sarcastically wipes the sweat from his brow.

“Well, I’m going to head out as well. Try not to rub it raw to the thought of The Big Man, Mr. Kaminari.” Denki swipes at Hanta’s head but Hanta’s already out of arm's reach. “Probably could’ve caught me if you were regular sized!” Hanta teases. He leaves slamming the door with a ‘BANG!’.

“You’ve got a lot of things to explain Kahori Kaminari.” Denki says. Kahori lightly chuckles to herself.

“What do you need to know, Daddy?”

Chapter Text

Denki quickly appraises his daughter’s outfit. She wears her hair in a neat ponytail, and has a nice yellow sundress on. Cute as a button. The unsuspecting person would never expect that she’s on a vital reconnaissance mission. She’ll fly perfectly under the radar of a certain giant living above Denki. He smirks to himself and nods at Kahori. Kahori nods back, she tries very hard to maintain a serious expression but there are cracks in her facade. Cracks that might put this very mission in jeopardy. Denki better go over the mission parameters with her again.

“What’s your mission?” Denki asks. Kahori blinks rapidly then stands up straight with her arms locked at her side.

“Find out The Big Man’s favorite dessert.” Kahori shouts back.

“And how sneaky do you have to be?” Denki asks again. Kahori furrows her brow in thought.

“I can’t just walk up to him and ask what his favorite dessert is. I’m ‘sposed to push it into the conversation naturally.” Kahori nods resolutely.

“Alright, go get ‘em my little super spy!” Kahori marches off towards the door. She takes one last glance behind her and walks out. “I really hope he’s home on Saturdays.” Denki sighs to himself.

Kahori marches her little legs quickly and practically runs to apartment 55. She flies up the stairs and is at the door to The Big Man’s apartment in a flash. She bangs her little fist on the door. She immediately is answered with a few barking dogs. She jumps a little bit in surprise before smiling to herself. She loves doggies. The door creaks open and The Big Man looks down at her. He’s wearing his mask again, but this time he wears blue jeans and a black tank top. Kahori tries to look into his apartment. Mezou clears his throat and her eyes lock back onto him.

“You have doggies?” She asks. Mezou nods simply and whistles lowly. Instantly there are three dogs at his feet. Kahori coos once the first one comes into view. A fluffy white samoyed smiles up at her.

“She wants you to pet her. Can you be gentle with her?” Mezou asks, gesturing for the dog to move forward. Samoyed instantly puts her face right into Kahori’s chest and looks up at her with big pleading puppy dog eyes.

“Of course! I’m really good with doggies.” Kahori shouts back. “What’s his name?”

“Her name is Cumulonimbus.” Mezou answers.

“Oh she’s a girl?” Kahori asks. Mezou nods to her. She leans in close to the dog’s ear. “I’m a girl too!” She tells the dog. Her hands softly pet Cumulonimbus’ fur. Cumulonimbus happily barks up at her, enjoying the attention that Kahori's little hands give her.

“Want to meet the others too?” Mezou asks. He doesn’t want to overwhelm the little girl.

“Yes! I want to meet all the doggies!” Kahori’s basically forgotten her mission entirely at this point.

“Sure the next one is Stratus.” Mezou says he gestures for Cumulonimbus to move back into his apartment. When the dog turns around Kahori notices she’s missing her back left leg.

“Wait!” Kahori shouts in surprise. “What happened to her leg?” Kahori points to the little stub left near Cumulonimbus’ hindquarters.

“She decided that having four legs was just excessive.” Mezou responds quickly. Kahori nods.

“That makes sense.” Kahori agrees. "What's excessive mean?"

"It's just too many legs for her. She thinks she's better off with just three."

"Ok!" Kahori accepts this explanation without a pause.

“This next guy is Stratus.” Out steps a lean doberman, the doberman is missing an eye, the result of being rescued from a dog fighting ring. Stratus is far and away the sweetest of Mezou’s dogs. “I want you to be careful because he’s going to try to lick your face right away, alright?” Kahori nods. Mezou let's Stratus out from his apartment. The dog immediately walks up and starts slobbering on Kahori’s face. Kahori makes no move to stop him. Mezou claps his hands. Stratus sits down, ears perked up and at attention. His tongue hangs out of his mouth like the doofus he is. “Why didn’t you try avoiding his tongue?” Mezou asks, he’s confused that Kahori just let it happen.

“Bleck” Kahori whines, she uses her hands to wipe off the slobber from her face. “You just said that he was going to try to lick my face. I didn’t know I wasn’t ‘sposed to let him!” Kahori complains. Mezou snorts out a laugh.

“Let me grab you a towel. You can pet him just don’t let him lick your face.”

“You got it, Big Man.” Kahori says. Mezou wanders back into his apartment. He quickly returns with a dry dish towel.

“Here.” He hands Kahori the towel who quickly rubs her face down. Stratus tilts his head in confusion watching the little girl vigorously rubbing at her face.

“Why does he only have one eye?” Kahori asks.

“Don’t you think it’s unnecessary that we have two eyes? Maybe it’d be better if we all had one.”

“I think I’ll stick to two eyes.” Kahori responds without a second thought. After a few minutes Stratus starts to get antsy so Mezou let’s him back into the apartment.

“Alright I have one dog left for you to meet.” Mezou motions Stratus back in. “Don’t tell the others but this one’s my favorite.” Kahori zips her lips shut with her hand, then mimes locking them with a key, then dramatically holds up the key into the air and drops it into her mouth, she chews the imaginary key and finally makes a big show of swallowing it down. She giggles adorably once the motion is complete.

“How’d you swallow the key?” Mezou asks, he tries to hide the smirk in his voice.

“What do you mean?”

“Well if you lock your mouth and zip it shut how do you then open it to swallow the key?” Mezou asks. Kahori’s eyes widen in shock.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” She mutters to herself. She stares at the floor for a moment before meeting Mezou’s eyes again. “I guess I’m just that powerful.” Kahori looks down at her hands, apparently marveling at her own strength.

“I guess you are that powerful.” Mezou chuckles to himself before letting the final dog come over. A slow aged Rottweiler meanders over. This one is much older than the other two. Mezou’s had this dog his entire adult life. The dog is nearly deaf and has weak knees. He can’t run around anymore and his muzzle has grayed with his old age. “This is Zeus, he’s my oldest dog.” The dog slowly walks up to Kahori. He sits directly in front of her and waits for her to make a move. Kahori slowly moves her hand to rest it on his head. Once her hand makes contact with his head his mouth drops open and he happily sits while Kahori thoroughly pets his head. “He can’t hear very good anymore, and his knees aren’t so good anymore. But he’s a good boy.”

“A very good boy!” Kahori corrects. She moves her other hand to itch his chest. Zeus closes his eyes and leans into the touch. “I love them all!” Kahori announces.

“Me too, kid.” Mezou responds. “So may I ask why you’re up here knocking on my apartment door.”

“I’m on a secret mission.” Kahori admits immediately. So much for being a super spy.

“Oh? May I ask what the secret mission is?” Mezou asks, genuinely baffled by the small child’s behavior.

“I’m here to find out information about you. Important top secret information.” Kahori says proudly.

“What information do you need?” Mezou asks.

“I need to know your favorite dessert.” Kahori says. “I need to know so that I can tell my daddy and then he can make it for you.”

“Hmm.” Mezou rubs his chin. “I don’t think I’ll just give away such an important secret for free. What are you going to give me in exchange?”

“You’re a worthy rival, Big Man.” Kahori starts patting her dress down. “I don’t have pockets right now but I can come back with something. Tell me now and I’ll get back to you with one of my dollies.” Kahori demands.

“How about we trade information?” Mezou suggests. “I think that’ll be more fair, don’t you?”

“Sure that’s fair. I’ll go first, what’s your favorite dessert?” Kahori jumps right into her question.

“I think it’s only fair that I get to ask a question first.” Mezou responds. Kahori pouts but doesn’t disagree. “What’s /your/ favorite dessert?”

“I like ice cream! Chocolate ice cream is the best!” Kahori shouts back at him. “But I also like birthday cake.” Kahori starts to look unsure of herself. “Oh! And I love brownies! And I love Chocolate Chip Cookies! I love when Daddy makes them himself, because he lets me eat the cookie dough.” Kahori opens her mouth to start talking again.

“Don’t you have a question to ask me?” Mezou interrupts, otherwise he might be stuck listening to a child list desserts all day.

“Oh yea! What’s your favorite dessert?” Kahori asks.

“I like pumpkin and nutella cheesecake.” Mezou says. “Now it’s my turn. What’s your dad do for a job?”

“He’s a bank guy. People come in and say "Kahori drops her voice low. "They say ‘give me money’ then he looks them up on the computer and gives them their money.” Kahori puffs her chest out when she talks about her father. “What’s your favorite color?” Kahori asks.

“Gray.” Mezou simply responds. “Is your dad single or is he dating someone?”

“Daddy always says he’s as single as a pringle.” Kahori responds. Mezou smiles to himself and tucks that little piece of information away for later. “My turn! My turn!” Kahori jumps up and down. She seems to really be getting into their little game. “What’s your favorite class?”

“Oh, uh, I guess I liked Math when I was your age.” Mezou answers.

“EW! Math is for nerds!” Kahori says.

“That wasn’t very nice, Kahori.”

“Sorry!” Kahori apologizes quickly. “Your turn!”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Yellow!” Kahori spins around in her little yellow dress. “It’s the same color as daddy and my hairs.”

“I see that.” Kahori holds up a finger to cut him off.

“It’s my question now!” Kahori looks down at the floor to come up with a question. “Why do you have three dogs?”

“Why not?” Mezou answers.

“Hey! That’s not a real answer.” Kahori cuts him off.

“Because I like dogs.” Mezou says. “My turn. Does your dad know you’re up here right now?”

“I’ve gotta go!” Kahori turns and runs in the other direction. She stops at the stairs. “My favorite class is Gym since you didn’t ask!” She sticks her tongue out at him and bolts down the steps. She pounds her little feet running downstairs as fast as she can go. She runs all the way down and starts reading the door numbers to herself. “Four-One. Four-Two. Four-Three. Four-Four.” She jumps and grabs the door knob to let herself back into her apartment. “Kahori’s home!” Kahori shouts into the apartment even though Denki is only a few feet from the door.

“Welcome back Kahori.” Denki responds automatically. “Was your mission a success?” he asks.

“I’m the best spy ever, Daddy!” Kahori says back. “His favorite color is gray, he likes math, and his favorite dessert is pum’kin and new-tell-uh cheesecake.”

“Great job sweetie!” Denki says. He can’t believe his daughter actually got the information he asked for. “How’d you get that information quickly.”

“I just told him you wanted to know. Then he told me right away.” Denki smacks his face with his palm and slowly drags it down. He slouches down on the couch. Of course she told him. “Then we traded question for question. I told him that my favorite color is yellow, that I love desserts and that you’re single.” Denki sinks further into the couch

“Great.” Denki sarcastically mutters to himself. “Now I just have to figure out how to make this cheesecake.”

“You don’t know how to make his favorite dessert?” Kahori asks innocently. She starts moving towards the door.

“I only don’t know for now though, I’m sure there’s a good recipe online.” Denki turns around to get his laptop to start looking up recipes.

“I can just go ask him!” Kahori says. “Then I get to see his doggies again!” Kahori opens and slams the door shut before Denki can even get a word in. She runs up the stairs and pounds on Mezou’s door again. Mezou opens the door and is surprised to see Kahori standing there.

“Back so soon?” He asks with just a hint of teasing in his voice.

“My daddy doesn’t know how to make your favorite dessert.” Kahori says.

“Ok.” Mezou responds.

“So you need to tell me so that I can tell him.” Kahori says exasperation clear in her voice.

“How about I come down with you and we tell him together?” Mezou says, already stepping out of his doorway. He starts making his way downstairs making sure to walk slowly so that Kahori can keep up. He stops in front of their door. Kahori hops right into their home but Mezou knocks on the door. Two quick thuds. He hears his cute little neighbor jump up. A few seconds pass and the neighbor is at the door.

“Hello, Denki.” Mezou starts easily. Denki leans against the door frame.

“Hey there ‘Big Man Upstairs.” Denki responds with a laugh. “What brings you down here?”

“Oh I heard from a little birdy you were looking for a cheesecake recipe. I’m free all day today so I thought I’d come on down and help you out.”

“Then I suppose we ought to go grocery shopping.” Denki replies with a smile.

“Let me grab my keys. I have no problem driving.”

“Yeah, I’ll need to get Kahori ready. I’ll meet you out front.” Denki says before shutting the door and facing Kahori. “Well kid, you ready to go shopping with the Big Man?”

“The Big Man! The Big Man!” Kahori cheers while jumping up and down. Denki sighs to himself. Maybe he should’ve done more thinking and vetting before letting Kahori get so close to their neighbor. Then again it was more like Kahori decided she’d get close to Mezou and Denki didn’t do much to stop it. He shrugs to himself, Kahori has always been excellent at judging someone’s character. It’s why she’d scream and shout as a baby when her mother held her. A quick face wash later and a check in the mirror and Denki’s ready to go.

When Kahori and Denki exit the building they’re met by the sight of Mezou with his mask slightly pulled down. He takes a drag of his cigarette and blows the smoke up and into the air. Once he spots his neighbors he quickly drops it to the ground and stomps it out with his black combat boot. He mumbles some sort of apology for smoking in front of the kid but Denki’s too preoccupied with how picture perfect Mezou looks. The man is practically a wet dream come to life. Mezou nods a direction and motions for them to follow him. Kahori runs right up to walk side by side with Mezou. Denki hangs back a few feet just observing how sweet and kind Mezou is with Kahori. He watches as Mezou patiently listens to the small child prattle on about whatever pops into her little head.

Mezou drives a big gray pickup truck. Some of the paint is scratched off and there are a few dents in the sides. Mezou secures a tarp over some buckets and sledge hammers he has in the bed of his truck. He graciously opens the door for Denki and Kahori to climb in. Denki has to lift Kahori up by her arms to get her into the truck and into the seat. He has a little bit of trouble hoisting himself into the seat. After his third attempt Mezou takes pity on him and heads back around to the passenger side.

“You want to put your left foot on the bar there and then use your right hand to grab the handle at the top of the door.” Denki attempts to do as he’s told but his short little arms can’t reach the handle to pull himself up and in. Denki curses under his breath and feels his face flush red in embarrassment. Then he feels giant hands cup the underside of his arms. The fingers easily overlap.

“Sorry about this.” Mezou’s deep voice whispers into his ear, as Denki is lifted up and into the car. He’s greeted with Kahori giggling and clapping her hands. Now his face is flushed red from a different sort of excitement. He can feel blood rushing down to inappropriate areas.

“Daddy your face is so red!” Kahori manages to say between her giggles. Denki sticks his tongue out at her. Mezou gets in shortly after.

“Alright we’re ready to rock and roll.” He announces. Then starts up the car. Denki can feel the whole thing shake as it rumbles to life. “Sorry about the age of this one. It’s old enough to have collector’s plates.”

“Woah.” Kahori says quietly.

“Woah indeed.” Mezou replies quickly. Then he shifts into reverse and pulls out of his parking spot. Denki instantly feels nervous and looks for anything to strike up a conversation about.

“Oh it’s a stick.” Denki says. “I can’t drive a stick.”

“Yea, I call it my anti-theft security.” Mezou chuckles to himself. “Well that and the locks on the doors. I’m rather fond of this truck. I’ve had it since I moved here fifteen years ago.”

“Fifteen years? Where are you from?”

“Small mining town about five hours from here.” Mezou responds cryptically. “I moved here right when I turned eighteen, and I’ve been working construction ever since. Where do you work?”

"I’m a bank teller at the bank coming up over here." Denki points towards his job, "but really it’s just a gig until I finish out my degree.”

“You’ve got a job, a kid, and are a college boy huh?” Mezou says teasingly. Somehow the way he says ‘college boy’ really gets a rise out of Denki and little Denki. “Must be real busy.”

“Yea but those three things are basically all I’ve got.” Denki says back. “My friends are all becoming responsible adults so I don’t get out too much.” Denki pauses and bits his lip. He figures he might as well drop a little hint to test the waters with a little bait to see if Mezou is interested. “No boyfriend either.” Well that was more like dropping a grenade than baiting a hook. Denki cringes at his own comment. Well at least this way Mezou is guaranteed to know his intentions.

“I’m the same way. Just haven’t been able to get out much with my hours. Plus I’ve just been put in charge of my union chapter so works been plentiful. I feel like if I got a boyfriend it’d need to be something a bit more relaxed and easy. I can’t really deal with someone who’d need constant attention.” Denki laughs. Mezou’s making the same points he usually makes to his friends.

“I feel the same way. I’d love to get with someone but between my job, Kahori, and school I’d feel like I wouldn’t be able to give them the time that they deserve for a relationship. I’d need someone low maintenance.” Denki says back. He figures Mezou looks like a pretty low maintenance guy. “Plus I don’t want to date someone who's immature. I can’t be messing around. I'd want someone with a little more experience, someone who already knows who they are and won’t freak out or bail on me randomly. I’m looking to settle more than have a fling.”

“At my age, settling down is the only thing left to do.” Mezou says back, a smile evident in his voice.

“Sounds like you two are a pretty darn good match then.” Kahori pipes up. Her sudden entrance into the conversation startles Denki. But Mezou just chuckles deep and low. The sounds makes Denki shudder.

“It certainly sounds that way huh kid?”

Denki has officially fallen and cannot get up.