"Tsutomi? I told you to call me Chiyo," I admonished, much to his chagrin. That nervous move of his arm to scratch his shaggy head, the spread of a blush across his nervously-smiling face, dispelled any reservations I once held.
That didn't, however, mean my entire body wasn't still humming like a thousand cicadas.

"Chiyo, why- How did you find out where I live?"
Oh, good question. Great, now he's going to think I'm a stalker.

"It was in the school directory. Faculty has access to a lot more information than the students do. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-" Holy shit, I look like a total, crazed stalker. Sweat dampened my forehead as the nerves were replaced with sheer embarrassment; who just shows up at someone's apartment like this? Why didn't I just call? A clap of thunder reverberated down the hallway, too close for comfort, and I jumped like a spooked cat. Toshinori's laughter was gentle and a warm hand took hold of my arm- to steady or comfort me I wasn't sure.
Probably to escort me off the premises.

"No harm done. Could you, er, give me a moment? I don't usually have guests,"

"Toshi-chan, are you insinuating your apartment is anything less than immaculate?" I drawled, peering impishly through his open door. A bony chest immediately blocked my view. His reddened skin nearly glowed through his clothes.

"P-Please, just give me a moment to-"

I slithered under his arm, quick as a viper, into his apartment.
Moments later there was a great whoosh and suddenly I was suspended in the air, snug between two thin arms, before my rear end met the hard cement outside his apartment door.

I blinked.

Toshinori had moved faster than any human I'd witnessed (except- maybe- Iida) and dumped me once more outside.
I didn't know whether to laugh or be seriously concerned as to the contents of Toshinori Yagi's apartment.
This is the second time I've been held today. I thought with incredulous amazement. The phantom touch of Shota Aizawa's fingers on my skin suddenly replayed and I shivered despite myself.

He was grouchy and cared more about sleep than his own appearance or what people thought of him, but did seem greatly concerned about his students and their betterment. He had been absurdly polite to mom in the face of her personal questioning, and he had saved me from having splattered my brain across the concrete.

Plus, turns out what's hidden under all those layers could give even All Might a run for his money.

Heat sizzled across my body. I eased down to lie on the cool ground, trying to flush the inappropriate thoughts from my mind. Aizawa may be a little more fine under all that scraggle than I expected, but he was still a bully.

He called you Chiyo.

I closed my eyes, willed my brain to mind its own fucking business.
The door beside me slammed open, Toshinori's beanstalk body silhouetted in the soft light pouring out of his now-hopefully-clean apartment. Before I could move he shouted, clearly alarmed.

"Crap-Did I harm you? I'm so sorry, I-"

He knelt down, frantic, assessing my fallen form for injuries. That goofy happiness returned to my veins and I sat up, covering his mouth with both hands. Blue eyes widened and I slid my thumbs across his lips, using the force to gather his cheeks together for a pinch. Why was Toshinori so lovable and wholesome? Did hanging out with All Might do this to a person?
Note: Have Toshinori introduce me formally to All Might. Gain confidence and sincerity in abundance. Potentially mother his god-like, golden-haired babies.

"I'm fine, you silly man. I was just meditating...Horizontally. Maybe I can teach you sometime; might help with those nervous bursts of yours," My voice teased. His face went crimson. I hadn't felt quite so at ease all day. I cupped his face and squeezed one last time before standing, offering him my hands. "Come on. Now that you've hidden all your porn, can we go inside?"

"THAT IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT THE CASE! I WAS-I HAD TO-"

"Do you, like, exclusively eat frozen pizza or something?" I cut off, already inspecting his freezer. The refrigerator only earned a quick survey, as the majority of the shelves were barren. No wonder he's a toothpick. I whipped out a pizza and a random assortment of junk food, quickly assorting an unhealthy buffet of breading, grease, and cheese. Toshinori watched with widened eyes. I ushered for him to sit in the lone chair pushed against a shabby card table. Was this his normal meal place?

"I've got this. I told you, I've made it my new life mission to nurse you into obesity. Or chubbiness, at the very least."

"You're really something else, you know that?" Toshinori laughed. A flashback of Aizawa's smiling face burnt itself into my retinas, sly mouth speaking the very same words, and in turn caused me to drop an entire pan of frozen chicken nuggets. I hurriedly picked up the pieces of my sanity-er, food. Three second rule, right?
I slid the pan into the oven, set the temp and timer, and swiveled to face Toshinori. He returned the look, curious but friendly. I fiddled with the sleeves of my sweater.

"So, what's up?"
"I ran into Aizawa at the park today. My mom and I did, I mean,"
Toshinori crossed his arms, joviality fading.
"He wasn't his usual jerk self, surprisingly," I quickly informed, head shaking my protest. I eased myself onto the counter, giving a little hop to do so. I noted the smile Toshi tried to fend off at my task, but decided to let it slide.

"So, what was the problem?" His face suddenly turned sinister. "Did he hit on you?"
"What? No! I mean-I don't-" My hands provided a protective wall, hiding my flushed face.
"He just...He commented on my coldness, and my quirk." My weakened voice muttered through my fingers. There was a shifting sound and then my hands were gently tugged away. Toshinori smiled, now standing to the side of my dangling legs. My neck felt the strain of finding his looming face; even raised by the counter he towered above my stature.
His eyes, usually so haunted by fatigue, were the warmest shade of blue, unwavering on mine.

"I don't think you're cold," He said quietly.

A forgotten coil of fear unwound from my spine at his tone and touch. I turned my palms over, took his hands in mine. I noted their differences and similarities, watching them instead of his face as I spoke.

"I am cold. I have...major trust issues. It's hard for me to let people in; especially people with recognizable quirks."
It was fractional, but I felt Toshinori stiffen. My eyes found and held his.

"I...don't have a lot of memories from when I was a child. When I think back, I have a few glimmers, but nothing concrete. I do remember how much my mother feared quirks, though she'd never fully tell me why. All of my happiest memories involve my mother. She gave everything up to have me, and so I thought the very least I could do to repay her was to do everything in my power to not worry her."

"Like using your quirk," Toshinori filled in slowly. I nodded, a ghost of a smile hollowing my face.

"When we found out I had a quirk, God, she lost her shit. I was so scared." I laughed at the memory. "She made me promise to never, under any circumstance, use my quirk-"

"Even if it could save a life? Or you own?" His interruption was abrupt, alarmed. Again I nodded.

All my life, this had just been the concrete policy.
It wasn't until recently that I started to realize there's a reason rules are overturned.

But then again, those rules keep you safe.

"Growing up, I was ridiculed...a lot. The majority of people in the world possess quirks and, since I never used mine, kids assumed I just didn't have one. No one is an easier target than a quirkless little nerd," Toshinori opened his mouth, ready to protest, but I held up a hand. "No, I was totally a nerd. My mom was my best friend, I wore stripey knee socks five days out of the week, and talked to all kinds of animals and inanimate objects. I was weird. I accept that."

"Not that weird. Did you know All Might sleeps with a raggedy stuffed teddy bear? Just refers to him as Kuma, " Toshi responded dryly. He sounded almost embarrassed for the guy. I choked on laughter, imagining the symbol of fineness in button-down pajamas and a stocking cap, snuggling a beat-up teddy bear to his rippling pectorals.

Actually, it wasn't a bad image.

Toshinori must have noted my spacey gaze and gently nudged me to continue. I shook myself of the daydream where I replaced the bear with myself and back into the more-grim reality of the past.

"Usually, I could just ignore the insults. It made mom happy and I was a good student, so the teachers were quick to my defense. One day, though, they surrounded me." I shuddered involuntarily and the forgotten hands holding mine gave a gentle squeeze. Had he always been standing so close to me? Even stranger, I felt myself lean towards him, like a magnet to iron.

"There was this girl- isn't there always?- and she was a real piece of work. Looking back, she probably had her own insecurity issues or home problems, but I was alway her punching bag. One day she changed up her routine. For two weeks she was as sweet as taiyaki; she walked with me between classes, sat with me at lunch, and threatened anyone that made fun of me. When she asked to see my quirk, I didn't think twice."

While talking, I had focused on every liquid element in the room. The refrigerator, the ice crystals collected on the ice box and insides of the freezer, the very oils and moisture from Toshinori and I's connected hands. I could feel every ounce of blood running through his veins, feel the gnarled arteries and nerve endings in the side of his chest. What had caused that?

A buzzing filled my brain, pulling at wisps of memories, suspended on dust and fog. Why was this ringing some distant bell? Fighting the urge to lift his shirt, see what could only be marred flesh, I allotted my concentration to lifting the liquids all at once, opening our conjoined fingers to display little rising spirals, bright as mercury. Water bubbled out from the sink's tap and floated through the air; fragments of ice, soft as snow, slipped through the seal-lock of the freezer and surrounded us, catching and refracting the kitchen lights in a way that added surreal colors from some scientific phenomenon I couldn't even begin to explain.

Toshinori pulled away, eyes like saucers, mouth open in wonder. He reminded me of the first time we met, how he stood in my classroom with such awe and light. The starry sky of my classroom paled in comparison to this. I thought I'd feel embarrassed, nervous to show off something once so taboo to another person, but when Toshinori turned to me, a grin cracked from ear to ear, all I could feel was warmth.

"This is amazing," He breathed, head shaking lightly, "You are amazing,"

"No," I answered quietly. "My quirk may be, but I'm not."

"How can you say that?" For the first time since I met him, the great sunflower of a man actually seemed upset. He gestured around the room. "Look at this. You did this; you are doing this-"

"My mom was so uncomfortable with me being friends with Manami, but I finally had a friend. A friend my age, not just some pitying teacher or babysitter," I continued on, ignoring his protests, eyes falling from his light face, voice dropping with the shame and regret I'd carried for over a decade now. "I was so desperate for her attention that when she asked me to show her friends what I could do, I did. I ignored everything my mom had ever told me and astounded the circle of Manami's friends with my quirk."

"And then?"

"And then she showed me hers."

I drew the liquids to me, feeling each vibrating droplet, recalling the all-too-visceral pain of that day. My waning strength was reflected in my quirk as the water shook, as unnerved as my voice.

"Do you know what happens, when five hundred volts of electricity strike water and a connected ten year old's body?"

The water dropped with my depleted mental and quirk stability. A mild downcast soaked Toshinori Yagi's linoleum kitchen floor, bouncing a bit as it lost its once-form. I held up my hands.

Quakes, beginning from my elbows, trembled down to my fingertips, like restless trees in a breeze. Every few seconds a finger would twitch a little harder than the others, a shoulder would jump just slightly, a calf would tense and relax.

The actions were minuscule; like a gently vibrating washing machine, but endless.

Maddening.

"The truth is, I do use my quirk, almost constantly. The electrical shock that coursed through my body that day damaged my cerebellum and impacted the neurological signals sent to my various nerves and body parts. The end result was, simply put, essential tremors. It's not degenerative, but it's not curable, either. Not that anyone's aware of, anyway. But, with submersion-"

Eyes closed, I pulled a slow inhale, opening my eyes with the release. I focused on every limb, every artery, every ounce. Everything slowed; my heart, lungs, but most importantly, the tremors. I tested each calm finger, squeezed my socked toes together. I managed a small smile.

"I've been doing it so long, it takes almost nothing; just the slightest concentration, usually. Unless I get a little...emotional. Which returns us back to the whole 'cold personality' bit. I'm distrustful of people because I've been shocked by them before, and utilize a cucumber aesthetic in uncertain atmospheres to keep my body in check. If I'd listened to my mom, if I hadn't been so weak, maybe I wouldn't be like this. Maybe I wouldn't always be so anxious and nervous twenty-four-fucking-seven, maybe I could be someone strong, but I didn't. I'm not."

Time was still between us.

The floor shined with dew, my heart floating through it, and Toshinori Yagi's bright blue eyes were frozen on me.
His expression was an open book of horror, etched into the sides of his mouth, his forehead. Something else was reflected in his irises.

Pity.

A bell, screaming loud in the dead silence, nearly knocked me off the counter in shock. Time resumed a normal pace and I hopped down, fussing with some dish towels for the spilt water and an oven mitt for the cooked snacks.
You shouldn't have said anything. You should've stayed home, snuggled with Nasu, and lost yourself in a fictitious world where you aren't a complete conundrum of cowardice and stupidity.
I hid myself by crouching to the ground, mopping up the water with handfuls of material, hardly aware of the task at hand. You've probably just scared away the only person you've trusted in years, congratulations. I rose, still not making eye contact. "Do you, um, do you want me to put these in the sink? Or do you have-"

Toshinori had moved again so quickly I'd had no time to prepare myself; the towels fell from my hands as I was suddenly lifted off the ground, feet dangling in the air as I was crushed to his body, eyes wide in surprise.

He smelled like the sun.
Of ripe fruit, days before its ruin. Of the heat of a summer's midday, right before the cooldown. He'd lifted me from my waist and his long arms twisted all the way around, elbows nearly conjoined behind me, blonde hair tickling my nose, my cheeks.
It's softer than it looks.

"I'm sorry," His voice was broken, as if he himself had been physically harmed. It gave me a start and an unintentional twitch lifted my right arm. His, in turn, seemed to tighten all the more.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Toshinori."

"I'm sorry there was no one there to protect you. I'm sorry for the cruelty and jealousy of others. I'm sorry something so awful happened to you, but I'm most sorry for the repercussions, both mental and physical, you've suffered because of it. You shouldn't have to fear quirks; or people, for that matter. I'm just so sorry, Chiyo."

I was able to slip my arms out from under his, wrap them around his shoulders, his neck. He was so warm. I let my body relax, toes still several feet off the ground. He's…

"I promise, I will never allow something like that happen to you again. I give you my word," His words buried themselves into my hair. I sighed, both in a newfound, safe happiness and in mild awkwardness at the severity of his whispered tone.

"Did you notice that, even during my sob story, I was able to insert two puns?" I joked in response, eyes closed. It seemed no struggle for him to hold me, suspend me in the air like this.
Unlike someone else I know.

As if punishment for my thoughts, Toshinori lowered me back to the ground. His sad gaze drenched me in discomfort so I grinned, tapping a finger on his long nose. "Enough with the sadness! We have a pig-out to partake in! Grab some plates! I was thinking we start with the mini-corn dogs…"

Toshinori seemed reluctant to let the moment pass. I nudged his side with my own, still cheerful. A small smile responded. The plates he offered were plastic and decorated with the cartoonish image of a costumed All Might, demonstrating his familiar thumbs-up stance. I shook my head and Toshinori laughed awkwardly, once more embarrassed. That's more like it.

"Toshi?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For listening, I mean. And saying those things,"
He took the plate I offered, looking confused. "What things?"
"The whole 'jealousy of others'. Manami wasn't even the slightest bit jealous of me, but it...it was a nice thing to say, I think,"
Toshinori chuckled, and the amusement on his skeletal face was in itself amusing.

"I wouldn't be so sure she wasn't, Chiyo. What ten year old boy can resist a pretty, wide-eyed girl with stripey legs?"
"I was so not pretty; I had braces nearly my entire childhood-"
"Chiyo," His eyes were on me again, smile sweet, and that fluttery warmth pooled in my belly.
"I cannot imagine a single second where you could've been anything less than what you are now. So I'm sorry, but I just can't believe you."
My face ignited. I turned away quickly, knocking an entire pan of food on the floor...again. Erratic laughter slipped out of my idiot mouth and I could've screamed with embarrassment.

I stayed for longer than I should've, ate more than I would've thought possible. I left, breathing with helium lungs, a smile painted on my relieved face.

I'd done it; I'd told someone. I'd allowed someone in, someone I could trust, and felt the warmth of friendship that I had only rarely experienced.

I promise I'll never let something like that happen to you again.

A tiny pinprick pocked my high, deflating my body just in the slightest. Like finding an upside down penny on the sidewalk.

I'd let someone in.

So why did I feel so disappointed?