Palingenesis- All Might x Reader

Chapter Sixteen

Toshinori Yagi stood in front of his full-length mirror holding different shirts up. He couldn't, for the life of him, remember the last time he worried about his clothes over a woman. With a heavy sigh, he tossed both shirts onto his bed and retrieved a plain white button-up shirt from his wardrobe. He pulled it on and haphazardly rolled the sleeves mid-forearm and left the top two buttons open. He tucked the bottom of his shirt into his dark slacks and slipped on his dress shoes. 

When he walked into UA, he received many odd looks accompanied by soft compliments. He didn't have any classes to lead for the day, but Y/n did. So he had to wait til she was done teaching her morning class. "Ooh~ Toshinori, who're you dressing up for?" The man in question shied away from his R-rated coworker as she started to question him. "I just decided that I needed to wear something other than that yellow suit. I'm not too dressy, am I?" Nemuri allowed her eyes to sweep him as she hummed. "Not really. Compared to your usual suit, this is much better. It shows off your lean body and makes you appear fuller rather than sunken in." Toshinori sighed as he nodded. "Thank you." Nemuri sat down beside him with a huff.

"So who's the lucky lady? You can't lie to me, I've seen through your lies." Toshinori gave in to Nemuri's persistence "It's L/n. I've been helping her with a lot in these last few months, I want to take her out to a nice dinner and make sure everything is going alright." Nemuri hummed with a nod. "You've got it bad for her, huh?" Toshinori nodded. "I've never felt like this before. All of this is new to me, and I don't want to rush anything." Nemuri nodded as she stood up. "I'll leave you to it. She'll be in here shortly, so be prepared." Toshinori said a simple thanks as Nemuri left the teacher's lounge.

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When Y/n reached the teacher's lounge, she was ready for a coffee. She didn't see Toshinori as she nearly ran for the coffee machine. She nearly pissed herself when he spoke up. "Hey, I wanted to ask you if you would want to join me for dinner tonight." Y/n was at a loss for words "Are you... Asking me out?" Toshinori was now flustered, he was hoping for a simple yes or no. 

"well- uhm-" He was cut off as an airy laugh filled the room. "Yes. I'll join you for dinner. Your question caught me by surprise." Toshinori let out a relieved sigh as Y/n sipped on her coffee. "I was worried you'd say no." She shook her head and set her coffee down. "I'd only have said no if you were someone else." Y/n's words had his thoughts spiral. "What do you mean by that?" Y/n shot him a look with one eyebrow perked up. "Last time I checked, I'm in my fifties, and most of the other people I interact with on a daily basis are at least half my age or more. Even if I look like a twenty-year-old, I can't bring myself to run around dating people half my age." Toshinori let out a simple Oh. 

"Besides, I can't say no to someone who has saved me multiple times and is the closest person to me." Toshinori smiled seeing her lips tilt up. "I don't have any classes for the rest of the day, I do need to fill out my lesson plans for next week and then we can get out of here." Toshinori simply nodded with a soft smile. 

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Y/n mentally compared all of her clothes to where she was going to dinner. She assumed the way Toshinori was dressed meant they would be going somewhere that was just below upscale dining but not quite a casual dining setting. As soon as she was done with lesson plans, she nearly ran home. 

Her first course of action was to get a shower and find something suitable. She had pulled out everything she owned from her closet before she finally settled on one of the first things she had tried on originally. Blouses, skirts, and dresses littered her bed. Her dress of choice was a simplistic skater-style dress in f/c that had a halter top. She chose a pair of black heels to match her dress. Y/n wasn't done with her hair when Toshinori arrived. He had a key to her apartment and wasn't loud enough when he announced his arrival. When he rounded the corner to check on Y/n, she yelped when she saw him suddenly standing in the bathroom doorway. 

"Sorry! I was checking in on you." With a hand over her heart, Y/n took a breath to steady herself. "You gotta holler at me when you come into my apartment. I didn't think you'd be so early." Toshinori chuckled "Actually you're running a bit late. I'm on time." "Shit! really? I can't believe I lost track of time." He waved his hand as she started to rush. "Don't worry. We have a bit of time before our dinner reservation. Take your time, there's no need to rush." Y/n thanked him as she turned back to the mirror to finish getting her hair and makeup done. 

After locking up her apartment, Toshinori opened the car door for her and helped her into his car. "I bet this damn thing cost a fortune." Toshinori laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot. "It wasn't too bad. The car was a gift from my agency after I showed up a little late a few too many times." He awkwardly shifted in his seat but relaxed when Y/n laughed at his antics. "I would have freaked out if someone dropped a set of keys in my hand because I was too late too many times." He shrugged as she turned on the radio. The station was one that played a mix of American favorites. 

At the restaurant, Toshinori escorted her inside with their arms linked. Y/n had never been treated with such dignity and respect, it was nearly taboo compared to all of the things she had to do for the JHC. 

They ordered their food and conversed as the night led on. 

"How are you doing settling in?" Y/n sipped on her wine with a bittersweet smile. "It's been weird trying to settle in. I was always under immense stress, now it feels like I'm being lazy with how quiet and easy teaching is." "I understand. I went from full-time pro hero to part-time hero work and part-time teaching. It's a challenge at first to switch it off." Y/n nodded and sighed "I never thought I'd have the chance to ever relax like this. They worked me till I'd drop, then while I'm down the work would always pile up and work me nearly to death again."

"Do you remember when you were extremely sick and passed out on a bus stop bench?" Y/n hummed and nodded as she recalled it. "I remember waking up in a hospital and Hawks wouldn't stop squawking about my health." Toshinori chuckled hearing his reaction 

"I was the one who found you on that bench. I had used up all my time that day and had a bit of trouble dragging you into the nearest open shop. You were practically frozen, and you barely had a pulse. I couldn't find any ID and your phone had a lock. I remember your phone got a call and I answered it. It was Hawks, and he told me I couldn't move you. I nearly lost my temper with him over taking you to the hospital. I felt powerless when you were thrown haphazardly into the backseat of a van and taken back to the JHC's headquarters." Y/n's eyes watered as he spoke of his end of what happened. 

"I got scolded for being sick. I couldn't help that I collapsed from exhaustion, and yet they immediately threw me into another mission. One that could have ended with me in a pine box." Toshinori listened as Y/n took a moment to breathe. "I fully expected to die. I was ready to end it as soon as I was given the chance. Then you came along, you flipped it all upside down. You convinced me to save that kid and I agreed. The only reason I stayed alive was that I needed to make sure you and the kid were going to be okay." 

"I'm glad you did. Otherwise, I would've never gotten the chance to take you out." Toshinori's smile was infectious and Y/n felt her lips start to twitch upwards. 

After dinner, they went for a walk through the park. The temperatures were mild for the late summer and some of the cherry blossom trees still had their petals. The ground was littered with petals along with leaves. They settled into a wooden bench overlooking the small lake. The sunset reflected over the water. They sat in comfortable silence as they watched the sun lazily set. "I'm glad I stayed around. Everything is so much better than I ever imagined..." Toshinori listened to her soft words as he relished the warmth that radiated off of her. He loved the feeling of her head resting on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

He felt a bit sad as she pulled away to face him.

"I would have never been able to enjoy this." 

She leaned in and joined their lips in a soft heartfelt kiss.

Word Count: 1,600