Izuku's day had been shit.
Granted, it's been a long time since he had a day that hadn't been shit, but this one really takes the cake. First, he wakes up to find that his coffee machine had finally passed away, only spitting out a few thin streams of water before sparking, loudly, and shutting down. That wasn't too bad; he'd had this one for so long that it had started tasting like metal rather than coffee and it was an easy replacement. More pricey than he would like, but easy.
Then his train was delayed, and when he decided to walk to work in an effort to not be late he got splashed with muddy rainwater from an errant car speeding by and it was laundry day, so he didn't have any extra clothes in his bag like he normally would've. Then, he still ended up being five minutes late and he had to sit through his boss screaming at him for another ten minutes before taking his place behind the register, only to find his eyes drawn to a 'HELP WANTED' sign posted in the window right next to him, most likely purposefully in view.
Only ten minutes into his shift and he already
wanted to lay his head down and cry.
But he didn't. He shook his head, plastered on his customer-service smile, and scrolled through job listings on his phone in-between customers.
This would be the fifth job this year, and he wasn't sure if his landlord would take any more excuses when he lost this one. Which means he should probably start looking at apartment listings as well if he hasn't already exhausted the list of rundown buildings willing to take in a Quirkless person
with no guaranteed employment.
By the time his shift ended it had started raining again, and he didn't bring an umbrella, and by the time he made it home with his bag only offering meager shelter, he was about ready to just lay down and not get up again, ever.
He eventually managed to get his key in the lock and shove against the rusty door to get inside, not bothering to flick the lights on as he kicked his shoes off and dropped his soaked bag in the entryway. He only made it a few steps inside before his foot slammed into something, and he stopped for a moment to jump and mutter curses until the pain faded.
He squinted, unable to make out whatever was on the floor in the dim light from the streetlights through his ratty blinds, before giving up to reach over and flick on the overhead light. There was a nondescript cardboard box on the floor, and he cocked his head, trying to remember if he had ordered anything online before remembering he never had the money to order anything online. And it would've been waiting on his doorstep instead of inside his apartment, so that meant-
He dropped to his knees, hurriedly flipping aside the box flaps and hefting out the black, smaller box inside. He carefully tilted the box up to read the face of it.
It was a coffee maker. Not like the 2,000 yen, sputters like an old truck one that died this morning but a big expensive one that steamed milk and made espresso shots right into the mug. This type of machine went for 5 times the price of his old one.
Almost reluctantly, his lips curled up into a smile.
Izuku had...a bit of a problem. He hesitates to actually call it a problem because it had never really caused any problems for him? Pretty much it had only brought him good things. New appliances to replace broken ones. Plusher cushions for his couch and pillows for his bed. Fluffy blankets for him to curl into when he was watching reruns after a long work week. A better, more durable set of headphones after his last ones broke on the train.
He was trying to justify it but at the end of the day, the situation was plain: he had a stalker. Evidently, a rich stalker.
He knew he should be freaked out at this point. This had been going on for...god, it's been months now, hasn't it? And these 'gifts' that kept showing up weren't signed and were extremely specific. There was no way anyone could've known that his coffee maker broke unless they were in his apartment, which probably also explained how the box was inside his door instead of out of it. This would be the part where he called the police.
