Time in a Tree (All Might x Reader)

Prognosticate

Your questioning at a halt as he passed by the first time. His steps more pronounced than normal. You heard as he moved into his room and then...Your ears perked, the sound of running water. The second time Yagi passed by, your racing mind went from a ten to a thousand when you caught sight of the red hazard bag in his grip. Oh it's bad. It's gotta be really bad. Lips sealed shut but ear canals wide open, you listened as he left.

By the time he returned you were in the kitchen eating. His eyes just barely glossing over you before he returned to his room. You heard it again, the sound of running water. Really bad.

The initial shock had worn off. Your form now curled up on the loveseat of the living room. Remote in hand, you flipped absentmindedly through channels in dire need to distract your ears. Cooking, animals, comedy, another hero dead, comedy. Damn, was it a shame you were becoming numb. Or is it a shame it's becoming the norm? 

You shook it off, deciding a streaming service would do you best at the moment. Navigating to the app, it immediately opened to the login screen. Deadass? He doesn't have...not like he'd have time. You logged in with your own info. 'Your' being used lightly. You browsed through your mother's profile then your brother's to see if they'd been watching anything interesting. Nothing caught your eye so you went to your own, settling on a thriller you'd long ago put in your watchlist.

His movement picked up again not even fifteen minutes into starting your film. He was moving through the back of the house. He was moving through rooms you hadn't explored but you knew were there.

Step step step. From his room to his office.

Step step step. From his office back to his room.

Step step ste-. You cocked your head. That's new. That is new. A heavy door opened to a room you hadn't known was there. Something gnawed at you, begging you to go investigate while the better half of your conscious told you to mind your fucking business. So you curled up just a bit tighter on the seat.

His pacing continued, steps becoming softer. He was speaking with someone. Hushed conversations not meant for your ears. You kept time with each film you watched, he hadn't slowed down until you were on the third. The clock creeping towards and hour after midnight. The movies were good, you were just a tad distracted at the time. You promised yourself you'd come back to give them your undivided attention.

When you found yourself scrolling through social media to kill time that had done nothing wrong, he found repose on the couch adjacent to you in a huff. "I'm sorry about that...about earlier."

You shrugged it off. "Told you I've seen some shit." The hum he gave in response sounded almost...disapproving.

Yagi was there, but it seemed your only company was the television and the dimmed lights from the kitchen. And the sighing. You didn't think he realized it, but he was sighing so deeply every few minutes. You flung your head back, catching his eye. "You want a hug? Because you're acting hug deprived." You said straight faced, Yagi blinked a few times, taken aback. "I..I-"

"Yes or no, big guy." You stayed direct. "Um...sure?" His brows furrowed as you pushed up from the warm spot you created and bored your knees into the couch next to him. "Open 'em." You tapped at his arms that were still closed off, pushing in at the soonest opportunity that presented itself, latching round his neck. 

"Th-thank you?" He gave two awkward taps on your back. "Don't give me that stiff ass fan hug!" You squeezed tighter. "Hug me back...thirty seconds. That's all I ask." You begged inwardly that he'd just go with it, and then gave your own sigh when he did. "Why?" His voice a low rumble in your shoulder while you were pulled in by your waist.