Note: If you haven't, I highly recommend reading my previous story "This Time," if you want the context of most of these to make sense. Also, unlike my last story there won't be any regular updates with this collection of one-shots, so I'll just be posting them whenever I finish one. There will not be beta for any of these. I will be taking requests though! So leave your suggestions in the comments if you like :)

Beach Days:

In which All Might learns how important personal space is, and Hara Mei gets grounded.

Set in the time between final exams and I-Island.

It was only a short trip - merely a couple days compared to the week long training camp the students would endure during the summer holiday. Per the itinerary, Friday was training on the shifting and unsure footing the sand provided, Saturday was endurance training in the water, and then Saturday night there would be a bit of free time before returning to campus the next day. It should be a fun trip, even for the staff members chaperoning and teaching.

And yet, Yagi Toshinori desperately wished he was literally anywhere but here.

First of all, it was agony holding his quirk for as long as he was having to during the day. He probably should have followed Nezu's suggestion and not offered to chaperone this trip, but at the time he'd thought it was no big deal. Plus, he'd wanted to be involved with this one, since he wouldn't be going along to the undisclosed location set for summer camp in a couple weeks. Security was everything right now, and while he wanted to be there for his students, he also knew the risk his very presence brought with it. With this trip only being a couple days, Nezu had conceded that between the two, this was the less chancy one for him to help with.

Secondly, he hadn't bargained on just how damned difficult it would be to keep his cool around Hara. Their borderline-bizarre friendship was ever shifting, and after final exams, he felt there had been a change between them yet again. He felt awkward (more awkward than normal, that is), but most importantly, he felt...

Well, he felt like he wasn't going to be able to successfully hide his feelings for the vigilante for very much longer.

Toshinori was unsure what to do with himself and these feelings anymore, now that they'd grown too far for him to continue to ignore them. He wanted her - damn did he want her - but he was also all too aware of the implications and consequences he would face should he act on it. They stood to lose too much if things went south - both of them.

By the evening of the first day, Toshinori was already exhausted (which admittedly was his normal state of being, if he was completely honest), but per usual, sleep evaded him. The trio of beach cottages had been split up with the girls sharing one, the boys one, and the staff in the third. That meant that All Might's usual tossing and turning as his insomnia plagued him would surely bother Aizawa, Cementoss, and Ecoplasm. So, he decided a little midnight walk was better than laying there with his eyes aching.

He made it to the boardwalk, and sat down heavily with his long legs dangling over the edge, just above the sand. Looking up at the stars above, he let his mind wander a little - the closest to relaxation he could probably get. A constellation over head twinkled - Toshinori wasn't sure which one it was. Astrology had never been his strongest subject, but he did enjoy trying to guess which of the brighter lights were planets. He thought the reddish-tinged one near the full moon might be Jupiter. Or maybe Mars.

The night sea breeze was cool, borderline chilly, and Toshinori shivered slightly, wishing he'd brought his jacket out with him. It wasn't bothering him enough to go back in and get it though, and mildly, somewhere at the back of his mind he sighed sadly in recognition of his own apathy. But the sound of the waves crashing further down the beach was nice, and the occasional skittering across the sand of a crab, or the whispering of wind through the sparse grasses was calming. It would all be pretty perfect, actually, if he wasn't so tired.

The soft padding of footsteps on the wooden planks didn't escape his notice, and judging by the sound he guessed it to be one of the students, possibly. They were too light to be the footfalls of an adult, unless...

All Might looked up at Hara, and quirked a curious eyebrow. "Past curfew for you, isn't it?" he asked dryly. Hara rolled her eyes.

"You're up way past bedtime too," the young woman quipped back as she approached, before sitting down next to him. Her bare feet dangled above the moonlit sands next to him, and he distractedly wondered how she wasn't freezing out here without shoes or a jacket either.

"Yes, but I'm a teacher," he teased, earning him a light punch in his boney shoulder.

"Hush," was her only reply. She didn't ask him what he was doing out here - she already knew he had a hard time sleeping of course. Likewise, he didn't ask her why she was up so late. He knew she'd probably came looking for him.

That thought warmed him against the chill just a bit.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit, before Hara sighed and scooted closer, nudging at Toshinori's arm and causing him to jump. "It's cold," she complained in explanation.

Bemused and feeling his heart beat just a tad faster, he raised his arm and put it around her, pulling her close against his side. The gesture itself wasn't unfamiliar for them - hell, they'd shared a bed for a short time even, but given everything between them lately, this simple gesture still felt more... well, more. Toshinori was growing quite frustrated with trying to infer which moves from the vigilante were hints, and which were just her being her.

Shit, as a man in my forties I should be better at this, he groaned internally.

Clearing his throat in a way that hopefully didn't come across as awkward, the hero looked down at the dark-haired woman while trying to ignore her closeness. "So how are you enjoying the beach?" he asked lamely.

Hara shrugged. "I mean, training is training. There's just no shade here, and the sand sticks to you when you sweat."

All Might felt the corner of his mouth tug into a smirk. "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere."

Hara barked a surprised laugh before quickly clamping a hand over her mouth and doubling over. Leaning into him for support, she shook with silent laughter. The hero chuckled, and if he held her a little tighter while she laughed, well, really it was just to keep her from tumbling off the boardwalk in her mirth, right?

When she regained control over herself, she sat back up, and wiped the back of her hand under her ocean eyes. Even in the dark, Toshinori couldn't help but stare at the way they shined from the moon and water reflected in them.

God, she's so beautiful, flitted through his mind.

"I might have guessed you were a Star Wars fan," she chuckled breathlessly, "But the prequels? C'mon, Yagi, I thought your tastes were better than that."

Toshinori huffed indignantly, but his grin might still have peaked through. "Says the woman I caught watching Twilight last week," he teased, and she punched his shoulder again.

"Shut up," she pouted, and now Toshinori took his turn to hide laughter behind a hand, only for him it hid the small spattering of blood on his lips as well. "It just happened to come on tv while I was sleeping on the couch," she tried, and failed, to convince him.

"Oh, sure," he drawled playfully, and Hara scowled.

"Careful there, All Might. You don't want to catch the wrath of an ex-villain," she warned.

The hero practically cackled, enjoying messing with the dark-haired woman. Usually it was her mercilessly teasing him, so he was tickled to be on the other side of it tonight. "And just what might you do, young Hara Mei? You'd hardly be the first villain I've upset - reformed or otherwise."

Hara rolled her eyes. "Yes, but I'm privy to extra knowledge. I know where you live - I know where you sleep," she grinned deviously.

He huffed in amusement. "You know a lot more than that."

"Exactly," she hummed, "Lucky for you that you hardly ever sleep, or I'd be able to get the jump on you."

His smile slipped a bit. "Yes. Lucky," he repeated. It's the whole reason I'm out here with you now, he thought with much more resignation than bitterness.

Hara froze. "I didn't really mean it like that," she said quickly, but the thin blonde was already shaking his head.

"I know," he smiled gently at her.

She was quiet for a moment, looking down at their feet dangling side by side over the boardwalk edge. Her toes tangled together with each other anxiously. "How..." she paused, liked her lips, and tried again. "How have you been sleeping lately?" Hara asked softly, a hint of guilt creeping in. Toshinori knew the reason for that.

They had never discussed it - never talked about why she'd decided not to share his bed anymore. He'd never wanted to be pushy, certainly, and the bed sharing had always been completely conditional on her comfort when it had started. Regardless of how he felt - regardless of the fact that his insomnia seemed to lessen when she was laying beside him, and no matter how comforted and rested he felt waking with her hair filling his nostrils and the warmth of her body against his chest - if she didn't want that sort of contact, then he wouldn't question her. He didn't question her.

He'd assumed she'd started to feel uncomfortable after that night at the karaoke bar that was almost a date if you squinted at it. The one where he'd almost kissed her, and her lips had been so tantalizingly close before the moment had been interrupted. At the time, he'd taken her retreating to her own room afterwards as a rejection, but since then part of him had wondered if he hadn't gotten it wrong. Perhaps he should have said something. Maybe if he'd only had the balls to finish what he'd started - if on that walk home he'd pulled her close and whispered to her what she meant to him - maybe she'd still be spending every night in his bed.

Toshinori had to jerk his mind away from that train of thought, as some decidedly ungentlemanly images started popping into his head. For fucks sake, you dirty old man, she's half your age, he scolded himself for the hundredth time, as if that fact made his feelings any easier to ignore. He felt his cheeks heat in the cool night air, and he ducked his head, hoping it was dark enough Hara wouldn't see his fluster. "As good as ever," he answered her question with a forced nonchalantness.

Hara was quiet again, and the sound of the waves crashing stretched between them. Eventually she sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she finally muttered, so quiet he almost wasn't sure if he really heard her or if it was just a trick of the wind.

He leaned his head against the top of hers. "There's nothing to be sorry for," the hero told her, and he meant it.

The shake of her head was barely even perceptible but for the fact he could feel the movement under his boney chin. The hero heard her inhale as if about to speak, but whatever it was she might have said, he never found out.

Somewhere back by the beach cottages, a door softly opened.

It was so quiet, All Might could have missed it if they'd still been talking. Luckily, he hadn't missed it, though.

Shit, shit, shit.

No one could see them like this. It would be a disaster of epic proportions to be observed by any one of the people staying in those cabins (save for maybe a single green-haired teen), especially with him in his skinny form and even more so since everyone here thought Hara was about ten years younger than she actually was.

The Symbol of Peace didn't know if Hara had heard the door or not, but they may not have time for him to wait and find out. It only took a fraction of a second for him to bulk up to his muscle form, and before the steam had even finished rolling off his body he had grabbed her around the waist and bolted for the mottled shade and relative safety under a clump of palm trees. The young woman would have yelped in surprise at the sudden movement, had he not had the forethought to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

The transformation had been necessary in order to move at the lightning speed he needed, but now as he set Hara down on the sand with her back to one of the trees, he realized his size could be an issue if they were to avoid being detected. Automatically he shielded her, keeping her out of sight with his body, and he hunched his shoulders. Perhaps he should have just shrunk back down to his skeletal body again, but he wanted the option of his super speed if it was needed.

Lowly, he whispered as loud as he dared to the woman the situation, hoping that the wind would be enough to carry his voice the opposite direction of the cottages. Since she didn't respond, he assumed she understood, and he watched carefully over his shoulder. It wasn't until he looked back at her, he realized his grave mistake.

She was so close.

Belatedly, it occurred to him that he still had a grip on her waist with one large hand, and the other braced against the tree truck beside her head as he shielded her. In trying to make himself a little smaller, all he'd really done was pin the girl, and it was then that his brain finally registered everywhere they touched.

Hara's chest rose and fell with quick breaths that pushed her breasts against his torso. Her hands were splayed over his pecs like she was trying to support herself against him. The hero noted simultaneously that her hands were shaking ever so slightly, and that his heart was nearly beating out of his chest under her palm. He would have been more mortified that she could feel it hammering away, if he wasn't so transfixed by her eyes.

They almost glowed in the scattered moon light that only barely managed to make it under the trees. Those ocean orbs were wide and staring, and seemed to be mesmerized by him much like he was by her. Or, at least he'd like to think that was the reason she was looking at him like that.

Her face was so close to his - too close. Dangerously close. It made all those thoughts from a few minutes ago come rushing back, despite how hard he tried to shut them behind heavy mental doors.

He wanted to push her away.

He wanted to never let go.

He should back away.

He imagined crushing his lips to hers and finally showing her what she meant to him.

That thought was very, very dangerous for multiple reasons, although currently the biggest was that they needed to stay still and quiet. If he kissed her, Toshinori knew he wouldn't be able to do either of those things. Yet still, he couldn't get it out of his mind; it was beyond his capabilities, when all he wanted was a mere breath away.

Unconsciously, he licked his lips.

It was almost impossible to tell in the dim lighting, but he would have sworn he saw her pupils dilate, and her gaze flickered to his lips almost imperceptibly.

Fuck, he groaned internally, Mei, you'll be the death of me.

His quickly waning self-control was saved by the voices that floated over to them from the boardwalk, and it grounded him. Reminded him again how important it was that no one saw the older hero alone at night with the girl who was undercover as a student. Even if nothing actually was happening, it would still look really, really bad. Plus it could blow her cover, and then the whole mission would be screwed.

Yeah, that last bit should have been the most important thought, he reminded himself with a mental scold. The students came first - their safety was what Hara was here to ensure, and if he accidentally outed her now... the kids might be the ones to pay for it later.

"I just checked in on the students, and we seem to be missing one," Cementoss' voice could be heard from a distance.

"I have three guesses as to which one it might be," Aizawa growled in response.

"Shit," Hara muttered quietly; the spell was broken.

"Where's All Might? I heard him get up a little while ago," Cementoss continued, and Toshinori cringed.

Shit, he agreed silently. But then an idea occurred to him, and he frowned in thought, debating how good of a plan it would be. Hara was going to hate him for this.

But it will work.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured, still maintaining eye contact, "Just trust me and go with it, okay?" Ever so slightly, the dark-haired woman nodded. Her eyes still looked a little dazed.

Swiftly, he swung her around, grabbing her by the scruff of her t-shirt, and confidently strode out of the trees, dragging her along with a yelp. All Might had his classic hero smile plastered all over his face as he waved cheerfully at the other two teachers he approached. "Yo! Aizawa, Cementoss! I caught a student out for a little midnight walk it seems!" he called.

"Really, Hara?" Aizawa glowered in a tone that was equal parts exhausted and pissed.

"Well, that answers that," Cementoss commented lightly.

"S-sorry, sir," she stammered, wide eyed and already playing the part assigned to her. Toshinori admired her acting ability, and how she seemed to grasp his plan so quickly. Unfortunately for her though, the apology seemed to mean little to her homeroom teacher. The off-white capture scarfs had already ensnared her before she'd barely gotten the words out.

"Oh, you will be sorry," the tired-eyed pro promised... or threatened.

When he'd come up with the rash plan, Toshinori didn't know exactly what punishment he'd earned the woman he was falling in love with. After it succeeded, sure he still felt really guilty for it, but he was also very glad they hadn't been caught. So, the next day while her friends trained in the water and got to spend a little free time after goofing off on the beach, All Might visited the 'problem child' who'd been grounded to the cottage all day.

Hara looked at him with a pout. "I'm missing all the fun," she complained.

Toshinori laughed, and stooped to pressed a quick and chaste kiss to her forehead. "I'll make it up to you later," he promised with a smile.

"Hmf. You better," she grumbled, but he thought the saw a hint of a smile at the corner of her lip.

"You have my word as a hero!" he crowed exuberantly, clutching a fist to his chest. That earned him the rest of the smile, plus an eye roll.

And Yagi Toshinori would do anything to make his Hara Mei smile.