Izuku stared out the large penthouse window with bloodshot eyes as he sat on the floor, watching the city wake up with a sort of detached interest. Beside him sat an untouched cup of coffee, having gone cold several hours ago and not the least bit enticing to the troubled man.
"It was a mistake to stay here." Izuku thought to himself.
The feeling of his hands choking the life out of Rumi felt like it would never go away. A reminder as to why he always avoided involving others in his personal life. The nightmares and panic attacks he could handle on his own, that was how he had lived his life ever since he left the military.
But now, there was someone else who could be affected by his problems.
The sound of bare feet hesitantly walking closer reached Izuku's ears.
"Izuku…" Rumi said softly as she sat down beside him. "It was not your fault. You were probably still asleep. Your body just moved instinctively...or something…"
"It doesn't matter." Izuku thought as he kept staring blankly out the window. "I hurt someone I care about. That is unacceptable."
Rumi sighed softly and reached out to touch Izuku's shoulder. "Izuku you can't keep-"
She was cut off as Izuku jerked his body away from her touch and continued to stay silent.
Sighing sadly, Rumi pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. "How long have you had nightmares like that?"
"For a while." Izuku said dismissively.
Rumi frowned unhappily and her tone took a slightly sharper edge. "Izuku I want to help you, so please stop being a dick. It was a mistake, an accident. Let's just move forward and focus on solving the problem."
Glancing over at his partner, Izuku spoke in a venomous tone. "There is no problem. Stop sticking your nose in other people's business."
Making a disgusted sound, Rumi glared at Izuku in frustration. "No, you are acting like a dick and not letting me help. I distinctly remember us making an agreement to help each other with our problems, or are you going back on your word?"
Growling in annoyance, Izuku stood up and crossed his arms. "This is different."
Standing up as well, Rumi scowled and put her hands on her hips. "How the fuck is this different?! You-"
Like a pot of tea coming to a boil, Izuku roared at his partner with exasperated rage.
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!"
To her credit, Rumi did not even flinch at the loud outburst. Instead she closed the distance and got nose-to-nose with her green-haired partner.
"You are really starting to piss me off Izuku." She hissed. "You don't get to decide what I can and cannot do. Do you really think that a few bruises are going to change my mind? I would take a fucking bullet for you if it meant you would feel better! So stop being so difficult!"
The two stubborn partners silently glared at each other, neither willing to back down and accept defeat.
The tense silence was broken by the sound of Izuku's phone buzzing. Finally breaking eye contact, Izuku stomped over to the nearby coffee table and answered his phone.
"Midoriya here." He said tersely.
"Oscar came back." Cassandra said with fear in her voice. "He j-just showed up at the door. Said he was checking on me and making sure I w-was safe. I don't know what to do! Can you please help me? I am scared to be alone. My manager said he would hire more security but I dont think regular muscle heads can handle someone like Oscar."
Forcing himself to get into a professional mindset, Izuku nodded as he paced around the coffee table. "Don't worry, I am going to send someone I trust over to you immediately. Worst case scenario, I can come over and detain Oscar myself if he keeps on harassing you."
Cassandra let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Thanks Izuku. I owe you big time for this."
As soon as the call ended, Izuku immediately dialed the number of his department's front desk receptionist. After getting Bravo Two's work number, Izuku immediately called the shark-toothed woman and waited for the call to connect.
There was a click as the call connected, followed by a somewhat drowsy female voice. "Tanaka speaking. Who is this?"
Not bothering to waste time with small talk, Izuku spoke in his usual professional tone. "It's Midoriya. I need you to drop what you are doing and go to the address I am about to send you. You are to provide standard protective services to the woman who will meet you. I will handle the paperwork as time is of the essence. Understand?"
"Understood Midoriya." Miyu said curtly. "I am on my way."
Immediately after he ended the call, Izuku sent Cassandra's address to Miyu and sat down on the couch with his laptop in hand.
Still dressed in her clothes from the night before, Rumi walked over and sat on the other end of the couch as she looked at Izuku curiously.
"What was that about?" She asked. "I heard you mention Oscar. That is the creep you used to work with right?"
Nodding, Izuku pulled up the necessary assignment forms and began filling them out. "Yup, Cassandra said he showed up again. I am sending one of my subordinates over to be her bodyguard in case he decides to do something."
Rumi crossed her arms and tapped her foot against the floor as she talked. "I still don't understand why you won't just let me give that guy a good ass kicking. A guy like him only respects people stronger than him."
Izuku shook his head before responding. "As much as I want to let you do that, Oscar still works for the Ministry of Defense. He is not just some random thug you can beat up without consequences. You go after him half-cocked and you would only be making more trouble."
Rumi grumbled and stood up. "I am going to go work. We can continue tearing each other's throats out later."
Finally agreeing on something, Izuku nodded as he typed away on his laptop. "Sounds good."
After filling out all the necessary paperwork to assign Miyu as Cassandra's temporary bodyguard, Izuku began working on something that had been bugging him for a long time.
Specifically, finding out what Oscar's true purpose was for being in Japan.
The American was clearly involved in something sinister, that was for certain. The question was, which side was the psychopath on? The man was a loose cannon, and Izuku found it hard to believe that Oscar had any redeeming qualities that would make him a good field agent. On the other hand, the unhinged American was a perfect fit for unethical black ops assignments.
Unscrupulous, sadistic, and cunning were just a few words that came to mind when Izuku thought of Oscar.
Izuku had already scoured the Ministry of Defense database for any information on the American and had come up empty handed, so now he was focused on using different methods to gather information.
Being a former special forces soldier, Izuku had made many friends all over the world in his travels. While the special forces community was small, they were also the prime recruits for various black ops organizations. Needless to say, it was an unspoken rule that you did not probe too much into someone's past operations. Every special forces soldier had blood on their hands in one way or another, and a quick way to get ostracized by the tight-knit community was to start poking your nose into affairs that did not concern you.
However, Izuku was not asking for incriminating information or hard evidence of wrongdoing. All he was doing was discreetly putting the word out that he needed information about a certain CIA agent. All off the record of course. Izuku knew how highly people valued their privacy, and he made sure to clarify that any information he found was for his own personal use, and that he was not working on behalf of any organization or third party.
The rest of the day passed quickly, and eventually Izuku closed his laptop and rubbed his tired eyes. With the sun setting amongst pinkish-orange clouds, Izuku put on some casual clothes and exited the apartment. He needed to stretch his legs after spending all day on the phone or computer, and while he was out he might as well pick up some groceries for dinner. After visiting a nearby grocery store, Izuku returned to Rumi's penthouse with several bags of ingredients in hand.
As he stored the various ingredients in the kitchen, Izuku had time to reflect on the argument he had taken part in earlier in the day.
In hindsight, he had been a bit of a dick to Rumi.
He had let his emotions get the better of him and had lashed out without thinking things through. Wanting to make things right and apologize, Izuku set about making some dinner for himself and Rumi. After some thought the green-haired agent decided to use a recipe that had been shared with him by a hispanic special forces comrade.
Quesadillas to be exact.
Getting all the necessary ingredients together, Izuku immediately whipped up some chicken and vegetable quesadillas. Just as he was putting the finishing touches on dinner, the sound of a heavy thump from outside heralded the return of his rabbit-eared partner.
"Something smells good in here." Rumi said as she walked through the glass patio door. "What gives? I thought you said you were gonna teach me how to cook or something?"
Grabbing two plates from a nearby cupboard, Izuku deftly divided up the food and placed the full plates on the counter.
"I wanted to apologize." He said truthfully. "You were right, I was being an asshole this morning. I had some time to think and...well I figured I could at least try to make up for what I said."
Gesturing to the plates of delicious food, Izuku awkwardly avoided meeting Rumi's gaze and wrung his hands together nervously. "I know it's not much, but this was the best I could do on short notice...sorry."
Hearing nothing but silence, Izuku cringed slightly as his brain began conjuring up scenarios where Rumi refused to forgive him. Still staring at the floor, Izuku felt his heart sink as he heard Rumi silently walk off to her room.
Great, he had probably just ruined his friendship with his partner.
Hanging his head in despair, Izuku did not move as he heard Rumi return.
However, he was completely caught off guard when the tanned pro-hero suddenly came up to him and pulled him into a warm hug.
She had changed out of her hero outfit, and was now dressed in a plain white tank top and black sweatpants, her chrome arm glistening as if it had been recently polished.
Confused and flustered, Izuku could not stop his nervous stutter from returning. "W-what are you d-doing? I thought y-you w-were mad at m-me?"
"Why would I be mad at you?" Rumi said as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "Sure, you can be a dumbass sometimes. But you are my dumbass."
His cheeks turning tomato red, Izuku could only splutter in shock as he tried to understand what exactly his partner was saying. But before he could get his mouth to work, Rumi had pulled away and gave him a smile that lit up the room.
"Thanks for the food Izuku." She said warmly. "I was gonna apologize as well, but you beat me to it. I guess we must think alike."
Still not fully sure what Rumi was trying to say, Izuku could only nod dumbly as his partner grabbed a plate and examined the food with a hungry look.
"What are these called?" She asked as she took an experimental bite. "I don't think I have ever eaten something like this before."
Deciding to ask what Rumi meant later, Izuku cleared his throat awkwardly and picked up his own plate. "They a-are called quesadillas. The recipe is from one of my old special forces buddies. If I r-remember correctly they originate from Mexico. It is a very popular dish in South America."
Her ears perking up as she swallowed her first bite, Rumi let out a sensuous moan that made Izuku's skin tingle.
"Holy fuck these are good!" She exclaimed. "Are you secretly a master chef or something? Because normally I don't really like foreign food, but I could eat like ten more of these."
Blushing at the praise, Izuku smiled shyly and picked up his own plate. "I am not that good, it is just an easy dish to make. I can teach you how to make them tomorrow if you want?"
Walking over to the couch with plate in hand, Rumi sat down and patted the spot next to her invitingly. "That sounds like fun Izuku. It is also my day off tomorrow, so let's watch the sequel to that sci-fi movie we watched last night."
Walking over and sitting down next to his partner, Izuku took a few bites of his food before picking up the remote. "Sure, I can take the day off as well. I do have a lot of vacation days saved up, would be a shame to not use them."
If Izuku was being honest, he could barely pay attention to the movie. What Rumi had said when she hugged him had been bouncing around in his skull and he felt like his head was going to burst from all the questions he had.
Did she mean because they were partners? Was she just teasing him like she always did? What would happen if he talked about it and got the meaning wrong? Was Rumi even cognizant of what her words could be construed as?
Unlike last night, Rumi kept her distance from Izuku even after she was done eating. Sure they were sitting close enough for it to be cozy, but she was not purposefully closing the distance like she had previously.
As the movie ended, Izuku came to the conclusion that the best choice was to act like nothing had happened. He was not confident enough to believe that an amazing woman like Rumi actually had feelings for him, and on the off chance she did, the media would tear her apart for getting involved with someone like him.
Standing up and assuring himself he made the right choice, Izuku picked up Rumi's plate as well as his own.
"I will be honest, I liked the first one better." He said casually in an attempt to appear calm and collected.
Standing up as well, Rumi nodded in agreement. "Yeah me too. The second one was not bad, I just think the first one was a little bit better overall."
Quickly washing the dishes and putting them away, Izuku yawned and realized he was still dressed in the clothes he had worn the night before.
"Well I guess we can sleep in tomorrow." He said as he walked over to his bag and grabbed a fresh set of casual clothes. "I can't really remember the last time I took a day off. Feels a little weird to be honest."
Rumi smiled slyly as she loitered around in the kitchen. "That does not surprise me at all considering how much of a workaholic you are."
Nodding in agreement, Izuku awkwardly waved as he headed to the bathroom to change. "Well umm...goodnight I guess…"
Quickly changing into his fresh clothes, Izuku returned to the living room only to be greeted with the sight of Rumi standing in front of his futon.
"Umm...everything alright?" The green-haired agent said curiously as he slowly approached.
Turning to face her partner, Rumi slowly began to walk closer to him. "Izuku, you trust me right?"
Confused by the question, Izuku nodded as the tanned woman slowly approached him. "Yes I do...why?"
Getting within touching distance, Rumi reached out and grabbed Izuku's muscular arm with her hands and pulled him away from the futon.
"Just come with me." She said with a happy grin on her face and a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
Gently guiding Izuku to her room, Rumi opened the door and pulled him inside.
At this point Izuku could feel his cheeks burning bright red and his heart beating rapidly as he looked around the somewhat messy room and tried to ignore how nice it smelled.
"Uhhh...I d-dont get it…" He said dumbly.
Guiding the flustered man over to the side of the spacious bed, Rumi gently pushed him down onto the fluffy bedding.
"You are gonna sleep in here tonight." She said huskily. "I am gonna personally ensure that you get a good night's sleep."
Izuku could feel his mouth opening and closing silently as he tried to get his brain to form coherent words.
This was way too much for him to handle! His heart was not ready yet!
Quickly going to the other side of the bed, Rumi climbed under the covers and gently pulled Izuku down so that he was laying down next to her. As the lights in the room dimmed, Izuku could swear that his heart was beating so loudly that the downstairs neighbors could hear it.
Feeling a gentle hand on his cheek, Izuku turned his head to look at the woman next to him.
If he was being honest, at that moment Rumi looked so beautiful that he was not sure if he was dreaming or not.
Shifting closer to her partner, Rumi wrapped her arms around Izuku's broad chest and gave him a shy smile as she spoke softly.
"I love you Izuku."
Completely dumbfounded by the sudden confession, Izuku could only stare in disbelief as Rumi nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck.
"You don't have to say anything right now." She murmured against his skin. "Just sleep. I just wanted you to know that you don't have to suffer alone any more."
Feeling Rumi's soft breath gently tickling his neck, Izuku hesitantly wrapped his arms around the beautiful woman next him. This only made Rumi snuggle closer, and Izuku felt tears form in his eyes as his body relished the feeling of warmth and companionship that he had never experienced before.
Closing his eyes, Izuku let himself drift off to sleep.
For once, he was not worried about having any nightmares.
Not as long as Rumi was there with him.