What started out as one dinner together ended up being...several. It turned out that Inko really enjoyed making new things and Izuku was also free to try anything. She had managed to make something that tasted good out of the mess that was his diet and, funny enough, he honestly was starting to prefer eating with her and Izuku than at his own home. It wasn't something new, exactly. He had already been feeling comfortable with her, especially since they already knew other, even if she wasn't aware of it. The warmth in their home was different from the warmth that came from his heater. Even the weighted blankets were beginning to feel colder when he had spent too much time away from the family.

But every time Toshinori visited their home for a meal or even just to watch a movie, he felt the guilt pile high on his shoulders. He wasn't supposed to be there with them, not if he continued to lie about who he was and why he was there. She deserved to know the truth and...well, it was difficult to feel like a hero when he knew he was acting more like a villain towards Inko.

That's when he decided to change things. He would confess, no matter what consequences met him, and they would move on with their lives. If she decided to hate him, then so be it. As long as he could continue to train Izuku for One For All, then he would be happy to do as she wished.

"Inko?" Toshinori poke hesitantly, not sure did he still had the courage to really do this. He was at her apartment, helping her wash the dishes from their earlier meal. Izuku had left a little while ago to watch something on the news, which gave him the perfect opening.

Turning her head, the small woman gave a soft hum, her hands still scrubbing a plate.

This was it. This was his chance. "I, ah...I have to tell you something." He started strong. "I should've spoken about this a while ago but...well, I was afraid of your reaction and didn't want to ruin what has developed between us."

Inko stopped scrubbing and Toshinori felt his heart hammer in his old, rotting chest. He didn't dare look at her expression, knowing it must've been a glare or frown. She was suspicious of him. She had to be.

Just when it was beginning to feel very, very uncomfortable, she spoke. "What has developed between us?"

"Well, I...wait. What?" Now, Toshinori had to look at her. Her eyes were watching him closely but not in fear of what he may do or say, but instead it was...curious.

"What do we have, Shimura?" He hated how she said that name. It wasn't his and he didn't deserve to use it like that, but he would fix it. He would fix everything. "How do you think we feel about each other?"

That...felt like a really loaded question. "How we feel about each other?" She gave him a slow nod and Toshinroi could already feel his face burning. "Well, I find you...well, I think you're nice." He sputtered lamely. "You're really, just...nice." Words didn't seem to be his strength tonight.

Inko giggled at his response, a soapy hand coming to her mouth and hovering in front of her lips. "Nice, huh?" Her expression changed drastically, going from her fun smile to a smirk. She was teasing him and he knew it. "What else? Am I special to you?"

Oh, she definitely knew how he felt. There was no way she couldn't with that smirk and the dangerous look in her eyes. She was trying to draw it out of him. Toshinori drew in a long breath, trying to figure out how to say this. Once he thought he had it, he let the breath out and looked at her. His confidence faltered, but he forced himself to stay strong. He had beating the worlds worst villain! He could confess to Inko!

"Inko, I think that I've grown to feel very...fond of you. The way you take care of Izuku amazes me! You're so loving and caring, but you also know when o put your foot down. You're dangerous yet so inviting. You have a calm exterior but I've seen how you defend the ones you love with a fire no one would expect from you. Everything that is beautiful about Izuku came from you and I can tell that...that you..." he was starting to loose his confidence as he saw her eyes go wide. Her mouth hung open in a shock he had only ever seen once and that was when he had first woken up on their couch. "Inko, I think that-"

"Shimura." She interrupted. "I want to go on a date with you. It doesn't take have to be soon, but I would like to at some point."

The room went silent. Wait. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to go. She wasn't supposed to ask him out, but he could already feel himself nodding. He took her hand into his own, soap crossing between them but neither cared. "I would love to." He said and in that moment, he realized that he had messed up. Badly.

...

They went out the next week. It was the night that Izuku had a break from training, which meant that Toshinroi could take his time getting ready. It was bizarre, getting dressed in his smaller form. Sure, he would wear a suit for his work as All Might's secretary, but he had never really tried to look nice while doing it.

It became all too apparent how untamable his hair was. No matter how hard he tried to push it this way or that, it would fall back into it's same messy potion. The curls looked dirty no matter how many times he tried to wash it and at this point, he was contemplating cutting the whole thing off, but luckily, his barber wasn't picking up.

The suit was a different problem all together. None of his clothes fit in case he had to shift forms, but it made him look even more like a skeleton than he already did. He didn't look like dating material and not for the first time, he wished he was young again.

He used to be arguably one of the most attractive heroes in Japan. His muscles were widely sought after by men and women alike. He was viewed as perfect in every magazine that came out but as Toshinroi looked at himself in the mirror, all he could see was a failure.

"What am I even supposed to say?!" He let out a sigh as he fell back onto his bed. That ended up being a very poor idea, because his scar began to flair with sharp pain. Wincing, Toshinori sat up slowly and held the spot until it was only a dull ache. "She probably won't care what I'm dressed like when I tell her I've been All Might this whole time."

He could already imagine the mix of anger and confusion on her face. Oh, how heart broken she will be. This would be the second date he had ruined for her now. The first hadn't even happened. Just remembering it made him wish he could just curl into his bed and never leave. Recovery Girl would probably prefer that, actually. He had been too active today, straining himself too much. Going out would only make that worse.

Looking back at the worn button up shirt he was wearing, Toshinori sank into himself and pulled his phone from it's place on his nightstand. He plugged in his passcode and opened his messages. He was forced to use a burner phone to contact her, just so that she wouldn't find out the horrible truth by calling All Might's number and having Shimura pick up.

He clicked on their small chat, most of it just being questions about his diet and when their date would take place. His fingers pressed on the letters as he typed out an apology and the unfortunate news that he couldn't come and they would likely have to reschedule but something on him couldn't press that green button that would send it off. He tried to hover his thumb over it but even then, he didn't have the courage to actually press down.

In the end, he deleted the whole thing and just sat numbly on his bed, staring at her last text until the words looked wrong. "I'll be there in twenty minutes." She was probably all dressed up for this, excited to go out with someone who was definitely not going to ruin her entire night. He couldn't even imagine what her best dress may look like because he never bothered to show up at their last date.

"I can't leave again." Toshinori whispered to himself. "She's suffered enough because of me. The least I can do it show up and tell her the truth."

Finally getting the strength to pull himself from his bed, Toshinori pulled at his shirt and decided that he would try to find something that could fit. If nothing worked...well, at least he wouldn't have to stay in it for very long.

...

Inko looked at the dress she had chosen. It was the one she got specifically for her date with All Might. No one but Mitsuki and her husband ever really saw it, so there would be no issue with wearing it again, but she felt that if she did wear it, he may not show up.

It was a silly thought, one that made her almost laugh aloud. Surely her dress was not the reason that the Symbol of Peace stood her up that night and then disappear for months after, but something in her still felt like this would all blow up in her face again.

"Momma?" Izuku called from outside her door. Inko quickly shoved the dress away as if it were her biggest secret before answering.

"Y-yes? What is it, Sweetie?"

"Can I have some of the ice cream?"

Oh. That was fine. He wasn't asking her about the date. "Only after you eat some real food, okay? There are still some leftovers from yesterday that you can heat up." She called.

Inko smiled as he heard Izuku sigh before marching away. At least he asked this time. It was improvement.

Looking back down at the dress, Inko finally decided to take the risk. She liked the dress, quite a bit actually, and she planned to wear it out. It did my matter that she felt like she was cheating while wearing it or that her mind tended to return to All Might as she slipped it on. Tonight, she would go on her date with Shimura and that was all that mattered.

Author's Notes: This is a shorter one only because I already wrote the rest of this and it ended up being nearly 6k words! I didn't know if everyone wanted to read that so I decided to split it up. Don't worry, I'll post the second half tomorrow, so you won't have to wait for too long.