The Hero and the Damsel

Thankful for the Big Things

            After the interaction I had of being judged by that bombastic neighbor woman, Nadeshiko, it was nice to be in Breathing Pollen working preparations for tomorrow. Everything in this shop truly was coming together. The light wood flooring looked welcome as the evening sun shone through the large, bright window leading outside. The walls were painted a pastel blue with decorations of different flower pictures and inspirational quotes. The containment unit for the flowers to stay fresh was against the wall, a glass display case for vases and corsages was resting under my slim finger tips as I leaned against the counter.

I was gazing out at mine and Toshinori's handiwork. We had made this place together, and Breathing Pollen was going to be a success...hopefully. I didn't want his money going to waste. He already wasted enough money on me from my medical bills to letting me free-load off of him. I was confident this would be a success though. It was my dream. It had been my dream since I was a young girl starting my first garden in my parent's front yard. To think my dream was finally becoming a reality. To think I'd actually be standing here.

It was all thanks to him. All of this...was thanks to Toshinori. I wouldn't even be in this shop if he hadn't saved me from that fire a little more than a year ago. Then again though, I also probably wouldn't be pregnant either. Not that I minded. Either way, I guess I can admit that I'm in love with the bumbling dork and grateful for him as well. Toshinori really was an affectionate, caring guy.

As I leaned against the counter, daydreaming of tomorrow and my shipment of flowers, the grand opening of Breathing Pollen, I started to wonder how Toshinori was doing. He was at work, I knew that much. Perhaps he would see my message after saving the day countless times and come here to pick me up and go home. Perhaps. Pushing myself away from the counter, I went over to the large glass pane that gave me a wonderful few outside. Some passersby waved or stared at me in the window as I began to fiddle with my grand opening sign. I wanted to make it look nice. I wanted everything to be perfect.

The sign was simple enough. It said the name of the shop, Breathing Pollen, and then it said grand opening in eloquent, characters under it. It was a good sign, I'd spent a good bit of time working on it as I refused to buy a grand opening sign. The people continued to pass by, some taking notice of me, others continuing on with their day. I continued to fiddle with the sign, adding drawings of flowers, making little patterns, just fidgeting.

As I worked, I took a quick glance outside to see the evening sun ducking out of sight. It was getting late. Maybe Toshinori had messaged me and I missed it due to my distracted haze. I whipped out my light lavender phone, flipping it open with ease to see that not a single message was sent. I stared at a picture of Toshinori sleeping, his golden locks a complete mess about him, his features softened with relaxation. No alerts. No messages. This was unlike him, but it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that he was still saving people as All Might. I mean, he did proclaim himself the Number One Hero and the Symbol of Peace. Such confidence. Idiot. But...at least his ego at home wasn't nearly as bad as on the news or T.V.

No...he was a good man, a bit timid and stuttering and dorky and nerdy and cute and dreamy and sexy...wonderful...but yeah good! I went back to drawing my flowers and intricate patterns on my grand opening sign, immediately sensing my thoughts drifting to Toshinori. My Toshi- There was a crash! A loud crash! It shook the shop causing me to spring from my seat in the window to the display cases and flower displays to make sure they stabilized without falling and breaking.

Once the building, and subsequently my soon to be merchandise was secured, I ran to the window to see what had caused the noise. Before I even reached the window, a flash of red, gold, and white. The door slammed behind the blur that had entered my shop, and my heartrate sky-rocketed causing my breathing to become jagged. That was until to blur hiding in my shop spoke, "Sweetheart, breath, it's just me. I'm hiding from the media."

Toshinori. Damn moron. I walked over to him and slapped his hand reproachfully, but not too hard. Not that if I did it with force it would cause much damage anyway. I did the action while my other hand rested over my chest. "Damnit Babe! You scared the Hell out of me coming in here like that." With a sigh, I made my way to the window and pulled the blind down, catching sight of media and press running down the street. He must have done something great. He usually didn't hide from the press often though. I closed the blind and turned to him, crossing my arms as I regained my shallow breaths. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

Toshinori's eyes focused on the blinded window before focusing on me. Those brilliant blue gems shimmering brightly even with the dimmed lighting. "Um...Well, I was trying to get home to see you and I wanted to hide from the press. If I had stayed, they would have questioned me for hours and I wouldn't be home in time to actually spend time with you."

I gave a bit of a smirk as I made my way over to him, uncrossing my hands to place them on his broad, expansive chest. "Aw, thinking of me?"

Toshinori gave a timid gulp as he shakily placed his hands on my hips. They were trembling as he began to stammer. "Y-Y-Yes...I-I'm worried a-about you. Y-Y-You g-get into a-all sorts of d-danger and...w-w-with the b-baby I...I-I want to make sure you're o-okay."

I gave a short laugh as I leaned myself closer to him, his arms slowly encasing me in a gentle, tender embrace. "So, you duked the media and press to come home. Well, once things die down, we'll head home. I'm nearly done here."

Toshinori gave a nod as he released me to head over to the counter, his eyes scanning to the shop and taking in everything. "It's come together nice Ayano. Are you happy with it?"

I followed behind him at a slower stride before nodding with a slight smile tugging at my lips. "Yes...I am happy. Toshinori?"

Toshinori quickly turned, his cape billowing behind him as his eyes observed me. I hardly ever used his full name anymore, so I supposed that using it now put him on edge. "Y-Yes...S-Sweetest? I-Is everything...o-okay?"

He was nervous, but he wasn't laughing, a miracle I could get him to stop laughing when he was at home resting. His nervousness was still evident in his voice and actions though. He was scared, that was for certain. Well, this wasn't a bad thing. I went over and took his hand, placing it on my hip as I got on my tip-toes to attempt to wrap my arms around his neck. "Lean down here or pick me up Babe."

Toshinori was quick to follow the action as he scooped me up into his arms and held me gingerly, as though I was some precious pearl. I coiled my arms over his shoulder to hug him to me before placing a quick, innocent kiss to his lips. "Thank for everything Toshinori. All this...I don't think I could have done it without you. So...thank you."

The expression that appeared on his face was somewhat funny. Toshinori began to smile before laughing and hugging me a bit closer. It wasn't his annoying laugh, no...it was his goofy, embarrassed, normal laugh. He just laughed and held me, snuggling his face into my abdomen. That got my attention rather quickly. "T-T-Toshi!"

Toshinori kept laughing before he beamed up at me. "S-Sorry Ayano, I just never thought I would hear you, the person who didn't even thank me for saving her, say thank you to me. You didn't even thank me for getting you pregnant."

A snort left my lips as I placed my hands in his liquid sun locks, attempting to push his head away from my stomach. "Toshi, why in the Hell would I thank you for that?"

Toshinori continued to grin at me with the brightest smile I had ever seen him wear, brighter than the one he presented as All Might. It radiated...just like the sun. I could feel myself blossoming at that moment. "Because that means we're are close enough to each other to create a new life."

Such a dork. Really. Another sigh left my lips, but the smile was still plaster on my face as I gave up pushing his head away from my stomach and merely rested my hands on his head, my fingers interlacing in golden strands of hair. "If only everyone else thought that way..."

Toshinori's smile lost some of its brightness, but he remained positive and beaming as he moved his head from my stomach and tilted me a bit giving him better access to place a kiss on my forehead. "They'll come around Sweetheart. Give it time."