-Kaera/Rose's POV-

My heart was in my throat as I pressed my lips firmly against Toshinori's. His thin lips were surprisingly soft and warm, but it was like he was frozen causing me to panic and start to pull away. Maybe I messed up. I definitely messed up; however, right as I was pulling away, he reached up and cupped both of my cheeks in his hands and his lips affectionately against mine. The gentleness and care in his kiss had my knees going weak, but fortunately, we parted right as my knees were getting ready to buckle.

I opened my emerald green eyes to shyly meet his electric blue ones. Wow. The man in front of me was legitimately radiant. He had a huge grin that lit up his whole face as he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me away from the crowds to sit on a bench near the water's edge to watch the paper lantern boats. Toshinori sat down on the bench before gently tugging me to sit beside him, pulling me close to him as we watched in silence for a couple of minutes.

The November air was crisp and chilly, and I found myself snuggling into the blonde hero's side as we watched the beautiful scenery in front of us. There were so many families and friends here to celebrate their loved ones, and if you looked closely, you could see the healing happening from the comfort of knowing that others had gone through the same or similar things. Feeling warmed from the inside at the beautiful sight, I hadn't even noticed my apparent shivering as the temperature continued to drop.

"Rose," Toshinori murmured gently in my ear, "Let's go back to the apartments. It's getting pretty chilly out here, and I don't want you getting sick." My face flushed at his hot breath on my ear as I nodded taking the hand he offered me as he stood up, helping me up as well.

The walk back to the apartments was silent, almost uncomfortably so. Obviously, we needed to talk about what happened, but at the same time, I was on cloud nine from the whole night. I had almost forgotten about the letters tucked into my saree until we reached the apartments.

"Wait! Toshinori, why did you have me bring these letters?" I asked in confusion. His eyes widened and his face flushed in embarrassment.

"Dammit… I forgot to do this while we were at the park…" he muttered, clearly frustrated with himself as he scratched the back of his head for a second before his face lit back up, "Wait! We can still do it. I have an idea." His excitement was adorable, and I didn't hesitate to follow him into his apartment when he rushed in there himself. He ran over to the kitchen drawer and pulled out a lighter causing me to look at him in confusion.

"Pull out the letters," he instructed, and I did as I was told. He motioned for me to follow him, and I did so as he led me to the back of the apartment where he apparently had a balcony. No fair… But whatever. He led me out there and turned back towards me with a gentle smile.

"There's an old legend here in Japan that if you read a letter to someone who has passed and then burn it, the smoke will reach them along with your voice and message," Toshinori explained softly as he handed me the lighter, "It's supposed to allow them to better rest in peace. I can give you some time out here by yourself if you'd like some privacy to do so." His consideration for me once again had me overwhelmed as he began to go back inside. Not wanting him to leave, I reached out and grabbed his hand, looking up at him pleadingly.

"Please stay. I want you to be here. There's a lot I have to say, not just to them, but to you too," I admitted my voice uncharacteristically small. Toshinori's eyes softened even more as he wrapped an arm comfortingly around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. Comforted by his warmth, I pulled out the two letters and read them aloud starting with Isha's.

Dear Isha,

My sweet baby girl, words cannot express how much I miss you. Your sweet voice. Your sassy attitude. The way you drove me and your father absolutely crazy sometimes. I miss all of it, but I know you're in a place now where the pain and hardships of this world will forever be a mystery to you, and for that I am thankful. Now, I may not be able to see you again for a long time, but during that time, please take care of your father. You know the poor man can't even feed himself properly. Be sure to play a lot and learn lots of new Telugu words so you can confuse me when I try and talk to you and your dad. More than anything though, please be happy my sweet baby. I miss you more than words in any language can express. And remember that means a lot because your momma speaks six languages. I love you my little Isha. Goodbye.

Love Mommy

Tears flowed from my eyes as I finished reading the first letter aloud. Toshinori comforted me by rubbing small circles on my back and gently wiping my tears with the sleeve of his yukata. Putting the lighter down, I decided I wanted to send the smoke with my own fire. Focusing on my quirk, I managed to make a small white flame on my finger that lit up the paper, turning it to ash within ten seconds as I deactivated my quirk watching the smoke rise into the night sky. Next was Santosh's letter. This was the one Toshinori really needed to be here for, and I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the emotions I was afraid would overwhelm me.

Dear Santosh,

It's taken me an entire afternoon to figure out how to write this damned letter to you because no matter what I came up with in my head, nothing seemed to come out right on the paper. These past years without you and Isha have been absolute hell. Your family has blamed me for you and Isha's passing, and to be honest, I don't think they're wrong. I should have been able to protect you both. If I didn't have this quirk, you guys wouldn't have been targeted. I am so sorry for all of this.

I've spent the last several years blaming and punishing myself for the deaths you two experienced. The panic attacks that I've always had have gotten much worse or at least they had. You see, something happened when I moved from my college town here in Japan to Musutafu City. My first day here, some skinny blonde guy insisted on helping me move into my apartment and did nothing but try and force his way into being my friend.

At first, I thought this guy was an absolute moron. He talked highly of heroes and was so damn positive about absolutely everything. And this was just in the first 12 hours of meeting the guy. Well, as my luck would have, turns out my neighbor is actually the number 1 hero in all of Japan, and the woman who saved me from the villain that attacked us, was his mentor. Seriously, Santosh, I have no idea why my life feels like a damn drama at times.

Anyways, long story short, this optimistic blonde hero has managed to break down almost every wall that I have spent the last several years building up and reinforcing. And he did it without me even realizing it. Maybe what I'm feeling now is unforgivable, but I wanted to let you know. This man's name is Toshinori Yagi, and I've completely fallen for him.

I will always love you, Santosh, and treasure the time we had together. Even the fights… Well maybe not the fights as much. Some of those got pretty bad. Either way, I am beyond thankful for the time we had together. I miss you, but I wanted you to take comfort in knowing that I am no longer fighting alone anymore. I know that is something you always hated when I did. I hope you approve of him, and I hope you can forgive me. I will love you always.

Love,

Rose

As I read the last two paragraphs aloud, tears flowed freely from my eyes, and I once again used my quirk to set the letter aflame, releasing the paper as a gust of wind blew through and the paper disintegrated into smoke and dust. As soon as I finished, Toshinori pulled me back inside where it was warm and pulled me into a deep kiss that took my breath away.

Kissing back with just as much emotion and passion as he did, we continued as he shyly ran his tongue against my lips, asking for permission, which I gladly gave. His hands wrapped snugly around my waist as I reached up, cupping his cheeks lovingly before we eventually had to part for air; however, Toshinori didn't let me get far as he placed his forehead affectionately against mine.

"Rose," he said, his deep voice thick with emotion as he pulled away enough to meet my eyes, "I'm not sure what I did to deserve you feeling this way for me, but I cannot tell you happy I am to know this. Will you be mine?" The way he asked was so sweet, and, frankly, adorable that I couldn't help but stand on my tiptoes and place a gentle kiss on his nose.

"What do you think, Toshi?" I answered with a sweet smile before giving a real answer, "Of course, I'll be yours. Just… be patient with me okay? It's been awhile since I've done this whole relationship thing." With that comment, I rubbed the back of my head nervously like he had done earlier causing him to chuckle and the mood to lighten a bit.

"It's okay. Me too," he admitted sheepishly, "Being the Symbol of Peace hasn't exactly given me lots of time to date, especially when I was sure no one would want to be with me in this form." At that comment, I frowned and took his face in my hands making him turn his eyes to look at me in confusion.

"Shut up," I said firmly, back to my normal blunt self, "There is nothing wrong with you in this form. This is you, and frankly, you're attractive. Your personality is fucking radiant if you just let people see it, so don't talk down about yourself." At this, he grinned and laughed happily pulling me into his arms.

"Thanks, Rose," he chuckled, "So that being said, I was wondering if this beautiful woman in my arms would be interested in going to dinner with me tomorrow." My face flushed at this as I pushed myself out of his arms and crossed my own trying to look irritated and hide my flustered expression. Damn cheesy hero.

"Only if the hero man in front of me picks me up from work again," I muttered irritably, wanting to hide my blushing face and also fix the problem that has been me missing him picking me up from work the past couple of months. His smile was radiant as he pulled me in for another hug kissing me on the cheek sweetly.

"It's a date."

Song: All About Us by He is We and Owl City