𝙱𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚠𝚗 - 𝚃. 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚞 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Thirteen

With nearly a month's time flying by, Toyomitsu found himself on the tail end of another double shift, covering for a different hero agency in the city who'd recently had a few of their sidekicks injured in a villain attack. More and more often he was picking up additional patrols to help out, leaving him completely exhausted by the time he'd get off the clock. Though he'd still try to pop by and see Izumiya on his late-night patrol breaks, he hadn't been able to spend a lot of time with her and if he were being honest with himself, it was starting to get to him. Sure they weren't even actually dating, but as it stood, he didn't think that'd change if he kept working sixteen-hour days with hardly any time off in between.

Toyomitsu and Izumiya had developed their own unspoken agreement in a nightly routine in which the former would visit the latter on his break and she'd snuggle up to him as she continued drawing whilst listening to whatever was on his mind that day. Though it'd only be thirty minutes to an hour each evening, it was more than enough time for tension to build between them. Izumiya tried her hardest to ignore her growing attachment while Toyomitsu thought he'd go with the flow; if the moment felt right he'd take his chance, hoping fate would be on his side.

What the hero didn't know was how her heart fluttered every time he settled in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder before he lowered his voice and asked about her day. He hadn't realized that she looked forward to seeing him each night and that it was always the best part of her day. And he definitely wasn't aware of how often she'd talk herself out of kissing him. What he did notice, however, was how she stopped hiding her smiles from him, laughed more often, and spoke more openly – all of which made him effervescently happy.

Popping a strawberry starburst into his mouth, Toyomitsu chewed thoughtfully while he wrapped up his early evening patrol, remembering how Izumiya had deduced that flavour was his favourite when he'd tried to bribe her with the candy a few weeks ago. As if thinking of the woman had conjured her presence, he spotted the familiar brunette exiting an art supplies store a few dozen feet away.

The towering hero picked up his pace and caught up to Izumiya, falling into step beside her and stuffing his hands into his costume's pockets, pretending to act casual. "Oh, geez, Izumiya. I didn't see ya there."

Izumiya rolled her eyes before glancing up at him with a raised brow. "So that was someone else who ran up from behind me then?"

"Must've been," he shrugged, an effortlessly endearing smile crossing his lips as he continued. "Good thing Fat Gum's here to protect ya from any bad guys tryin' to sweep you off your feet."

Looking over her shoulder before placing a hand to shade her eyes as she dramatically looked ahead, Izumiya couldn't help but tease him. "I see no nefarious suitors around...unless," she gasped, placing her hand over her heart. "Fat Gum is secretly the bad guy."

"No way," he scoffed, bumping her shoulder with his arm. "I'm definitely your knight in shinin' armour."

"More like my perverted goofball in a tacky hoodie."

"Well, y'know what they say: beggars can't be choosers," he chuckled. "I'll take what I can get, Ivy."

The brunette's heart skipped a beat hearing him use her given name so effortlessly, and she bit her lip as she tried to contain her smile. She thought something so small shouldn't affect her as much as it did, but she just couldn't help it. Izumiya had only heard him use her name one other time, and even then, she was practically asleep.

Toyomitsu, however, took her momentary silence as a bad thing and grimaced. "Sorry, Izumiya. It just slipped out."

"Hm?" She tilted her head to the side as she looked up at him, her cheeks speckled with the faintest blush detectable by the human eye. "It's no problem. Actually... I think I'd prefer it."