Chapter 21: Flowers and Omens.

A/N: A little bit of mature content at the start of this chapter. Just warning you guys. Not a lemon, but definitely mature content.

You wake up early the next morning in Toshinori's bed, wrapped up in his arms. Your naked backside is pressed firmly against his front. You grind your ass against him and are rewarded with a moan from your handsome lover. "What are you doing, (N/N)?" The tall, lanky blonde man sleepily asks while cracking open one eye to look at you.

A mischievous smile spreads across your face, "Starting something that neither of us is going to be able to finish."

"We'll see about that, my dear," he says while rolling over onto his other side then reaching over to grab a condom from the drawer of his cherry wood nightstand. He rolls back over and cradles you from behind. He starts to kiss and nip at your neck while lifting one of your legs and placing his hard morning wood against the silky folds of your womanhood. All of a sudden, the alarm on Toshinori's phone goes off causing him to stop. He groans in disappointment before removing himself from between your legs and lowering your leg back down. He rolls onto his back then reaches over to pick up his phone from the nightstand. He unplugs the charger before turning off the alarm on his phone. He sighs and turns on the small red and white lamp on the nightstand, "It's time for me to get ready for my morning jog with Midoriya."

You roll over onto your back as well before stretching your arm and legs. "Yeah, I need to get back to my apartment and get ready to take Eddie to the docks."

Toshinori yawns then sits up in bed, "So...he's going back to America today?"

You sit up too before replying, "Yes. Venom is starting to get hungry for his regular 'food' and if they stay any longer villains might start losing their heads." You see Toshinori shudder slightly and you giggle, "After I see Eddie and V off, I'm going to go directly to U.A. to start working on a lesson plan for today."

Toshinori looks over at you in surprise, "You mean you haven't thought of a lesson for your students today?"

You stand up from the bed, "I thought I would just go with the flow. I was thinking about teaching them how to deal with the media today. Have them hold mock interviews in front of a camera. Stuff like that."

Toshinori stands up and stretches, several of his joints popping. "That will be a good experience for them...especially Midoriya and Amajiki. Good luck with Bakugo though."

You laugh, "Dahahaha! I plan on spending more time with Bakugo today than with most of the other students. Hopefully, over time, I can help him control his temper enough so that he doesn't make a complete ass out of himself on the day he debuts as a pro." Toshinori suddenly lets out a small hiss of pain and gently puts his right hand over his scar. He carefully sits back down on the bed and begins gasping for air. You rush around the bed to stand in front of him, "Are you okay?" Toshinori nods, but soon his gasping turns into harsh coughing and he covers his mouth with his hand. You bend over and grab the trash can that's in between the bed and the nightstand. You hold it out for him and he takes it before coughing up massive amounts of blood into it. You walk into the bathroom that's connected to the master bedroom and grab a washcloth from a cabinet before turning on the faucet and putting the rag under the running water. Once the rag is thoroughly wet, you turn off the water then wring some of the water from the rag. You leave the bathroom and return to Toshinori's side. He has now stopped coughing, but his skin is very pale. You sit down on the bed beside him and turn his head towards you. You begin to wipe away the blood around his mouth as you tell him, "You need to take it easy today, Luv. I'm going to call Izuku and tell him that you can't join him this morning."

Toshinori shakes his head, "I'm fine."

He tries to stand up, but you gently push him back down on the bed."Toshinori...don't make me go mama bear on your ass. Lay back down and rest for a couple more hours. I'm going to clean this up and then I have to go."

"You don't have to do that. I can clean it up later."

"I don't have to do it, but I want to."

Toshinori starts to get up again, but stops when you give him the stink eye. "I...I, uh, g-gotta use the b-bathroom." He tells you while pointing towards the master bathroom.

You nod, "I guess I can't stop you from peeing."

He stands up from the bed, successfully this time, and makes his way to the bathroom. While Toshinori is in the bathroom, you take the small trash bin into the kitchen before tying the top of the bag closed then removing the bag and putting it into the kitchen trash can. You then take the bedroom trash bin over to the double sinks and start to wash it. After you're done, you quickly dry it with the dishtowel that's beside the right sink. You turn around to head back into the bedroom, but stop when you see Toshinori standing a few feet away from you, now wearing a pair of dark blue boxer briefs. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to clean up my mess."

You shrug your shoulders, "I don't mind, Toshinori. It's not like I've never dealt with blood before," you tell him while waving what's left of your left arm at him.

His cheeks turn slightly pink and he rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, I-I know. It's just..."

You walk up to him and cup his left cheek with your right hand. "Toshinori, it's okay to accept help. I know that it's hard to...especially since you're used to being the one that everyone depends on for help...Trust me, I know how hard of a pill that is to swallow, to go from being someone that everyone can always depend on to having to accept someone else's help in doing the simplest of tasks...But there's going to be times when you need help and I want you to know that I will be there for you. No matter what it is that you need help with. And you're not alone in what you're going through mentally."

Toshinori wraps his arms around you and pulls you flush against him in a tight hug. He leans down to bury his face into the side of your neck. "Thank you." You feel something wet against your neck and hear him sniffle a little.

You reach up and run your hand through his messy hair, "Now...you go and lay down and get some more sleep. I'm going to get dressed then go back to my apartment." He releases you then quickly turns around so that you can't see his watery eyes. He starts to walk back to his bedroom with you right behind him. Your tongue pokes out of the corner of your mouth as you watch him walk away. You suddenly reach out and lightly pinch his butt. He jumps slightly then looks over his shoulder at you. You grin and wink at him, "Sorry...I just couldn't resist your buns of steel." You begin to act like you're being pulled towards him like a magnet to a large piece of metal. "Oh, no. It's happening again." You wrap your arm around him from behind and firmly press your naked body against his. "I don't know if I can pull away this time!" You act like you're trying to pull away, but can't. "The magnetism to your buns of steel is too strong! Oh, well...it looks like we're gonna be cuddling for a little longer."

Your antics make Toshinori laugh as he walks, with you still clinging to his back, over to his bed. You both climb back on the bed and under the sheets, where you spoon with Toshinori until he falls asleep. You then get up and put on your clothes before grabbing your phone from the fairly new nightstand beside the side of the bed that you sleep on. You and Toshinori went to a furniture store last week to pick it out and, by pure coincidence, it turned out to be the mate to Toshinori's nightstand. You send Izuku a text telling him that Toshinori isn't feeling well this morning and that he won't be joining him this morning. After a minute you receive a reply of 'Is he ok? What happened? Why are you over at his house so early?'

You send Izuku an answer, 'He's fine, Izu. And technically, I'm just now leaving his house after staying the night.'

'Dggfbg,' you receive a weird text from your nephew followed by another one that says, 'Sorry, I dropped my phone. Ew, aunty! I'm sorry that I asked.'

You quietly chuckle before shoving your phone into your bright blue pants with pink and purple leopard spots scattered all over. You then grab your wallet, putting it into your other pocket, then pick up your keys. You walk around to stand beside where Toshinori is fast asleep then you bend over and place a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams, my love." Toshinori stirs only slightly before rolling over onto his back and continuing to sleep. You walk out of the bedroom and make your way downstairs, through the large living room, and to the front door. You slip on your shoes, unlock the deadbolt before opening the door and leaving. You close the door behind you and lock it with the key that Toshinori gave you a week ago.

You begin to walk back to your apartment almost 3 miles away, but you don't mind the walk. On the way, you stop at a small all-night convenience store to buy some more dinosaur chicken nuggets and chocolate for Venom to make sure that the symbiote is full before he gets on a boat full of people that have nowhere to run. You also buy a freshly baked glazed doughnut and a cup of coffee for yourself. You eat the doughnut and drink the coffee as quickly as you can before continuing on your way.

After you see Eddie and Venom off; the later throwing a small tantrum because he wanted to spend more time with you; you head to U.A. to start getting ready for your classes.

After you have lunch with Toshinori, Present Mic, and Midnight in the teacher's lounge, you borrow some video cameras from the support department and make your way to the class 1-A classroom.

The fake interviews go just about how you expected them to...with Bakugo losing his temper and destroying at least two video cameras, Izuku freezes up, his entire body trembling and unable to utter a single word, while Mineta just makes sexual innuendos to any of the female students who are playing the part of the interviewer. Uraraka, Ashido, Aoyama, and Kirishima are the most energetic in front of the cameras, which is a very good thing. While Ida, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki manage to keep themselves completely calm and focused. The rest of the class does well, nobody else has a complete meltdown like Izuku or destroy any cameras in a fit of annoyance like Bakugo.

Class 2-A does very well and they manage not to break any video cameras...a big plus in your book since you have to replace the cameras that Bakugo broke with your own money. When it's time to teach 3-A, you find a beautiful bouquet of light red carnations and lavender roses in a green vase on your desk. Naturally, Hado; or Nejire as she asked you to call her by her given name; is asking you question after question about the flowers: "Do you know who sent them? Was it your boyfriend? Who are you dating? If you're not dating anyone, do you think that you have a secret admirer? Do you think that it's one of the other teachers? Do the flowers have any special meaning?"

"Dahahaha! So many questions from just one girl...Carnations have many meanings depending on their color. These are light red which means admiration. And the lavender roses mean love at first sight and enchantment." You see a small card with the flowers and pick it up. "As for who they are from...I have a guess, but we'll find out if I'm right or not." The card is simple: thick, white paper with purple ink that matches the lavender roses. It simply says 'To the beautiful heroine, Red Force.' You don't recognize the handwriting, but that doesn't mean that the flowers aren't from Toshinori because he could've had the flower arranger write it for him. You decide to thank him for the flowers later.

After the final bell rings, signaling the end of the school day, you return the surviving video cameras then return to the 3-A classroom to pick up your flowers. You make your way to the teacher's lounge, hoping that Toshinori is still here. You open the door and see Toshinori hunched over a desk most likely grading papers while Present Mic sits in a nearby chair talking Toshinori's ears off. You make your way across the room and stop in front of the desk. You sit the flowers on the desk, grabbing Toshinori's attention and causing him to look up at you. "I love the flowers...thank you, sunny-honey-bunny."

You walk around the desk and place a kiss on his boney cheek. "Uh...I...I didn't send you flowers, (N/N)-chan. I m-mean I-I definitely w-would, but, uh, t-these aren't from me." He tells you while looking at the beautiful bouquet.

Present Mic facepalms, "Man, Toshinori, you're too honest for your own good sometimes, ya know?"

Toshinori furrows his brow at the younger blond, "What do you mean, Hizashi?"

"When a woman thinks that you've sent her flowers at work when you didn't, you just go with it, man! You just blew your chance for some extra special lovin' tonight, if you catch my drift!" He pulls his orange glasses down slightly and winks at Toshinori.

You chuckle, "No, he didn't." You move to stand behind Toshinori and wrap your arm around him and lay your head on top of his. "Honesty is always the best policy. I'm going to do things to him that will have him asking how I did what I did with only one arm." Toshinori's cheeks turn red and he coughs up a little bit of blood.

Present Mic chuckles then stands up from his chair, "Well...I'm going to go announce to the other teachers that All Might apparently has some competition for the beautiful (Y/N)'s heart! SEE YA LATER!!" Present Mic shouts as he runs towards the door, eager to share the newest gossip with the other teachers.

You chuckle slightly before moving to sit on the side of the desk so that you can see Toshinori's face. But when you see the look on Toshinori's face, your good mood disappears. He's looking at the flowers with the saddest expression on his face that you've ever seen, his beautiful blue eyes that normally shine so brightly are now dull. "(Y/N)...I...I'll understand if...you want to leave me for somebody else. I'm not the man that I used to be...the man that you deserve. I'm old and broken...and..." He places both of his elbows on top of the desk then rests his forehead on the palms of his hands. "...And I don't have much time left. You're still young...you deserve someone who will be able to grow old with you."

"That's enough, Toshinori," you say in a very serious tone of voice. He removes his head from his hands and you cup his pointy chin, gently turning his head so that he's looking at you. "I don't want anybody else. I only want you. I don't care about your age, how you look, or how much time you have left...I will cherish every second that we do have together because I love you with every beat of my heart." You kiss him on the lips, "Now why don't we call it a day, go to your house, and watch a couple of movies while cuddling on the couch?"

He gives you a large smile, the brightness of his eyes returning. "That sounds wonderful...Just let me gather up my paperwork then we can go."

You watch him pick up the papers that are on the desk and put them inside of his black briefcase. Toshinori stands up, grabs his black suit jacket, and puts it on. Heholds his left arm out for you to take so you do. You say to him, "I want you to know that my life without you would be like a broken pencil…pointless?" Toshinori chuckles as he leads you out of the teacher's lounge.

The next morning, you and Toshinori are woken up by his alarm. He tells you that you can go back to sleep since it's just 4 a.m. and you decide to take him up on his offer. Three hours later, Toshinori wakes you up so that you can take a shower before going home to get ready for work.

Before leaving his house you ask him, "Since you're going to be taking class 1-A to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint today, do you want me to finish grading the rest of those papers that you didn't get to yesterday?"

"That would be great, but only if you don't mind."

You wink at him, "I wouldn't have asked if I did, handsome."

"I'll go get the briefcase real quick." He walks back into his house to get the briefcase full of ungraded paperwork from his office. It only takes a few minutes before he's back and hands the briefcase over to you. "I was thinking that since I'm feeling better today that I would take you out for a nice dinner then we could come back here and make wild, passionate love," Toshinori says the last part with a blush on his face.

You give him a huge smile, "That sounds great! Call me later with the details, handsome." You kiss him on the lips, "I'll see you later, sunny-honey-bunny."

Hours later, you're sitting at a desk in the teacher's lounge grading papers when your phone rings. You see that it's Toshinori that's calling and immediately answer it. "Hey, Toshi! What's up?"

"I have a favor to ask of you, my dear."

"Anything for you, handsome."

"On my way to the school, I ran into some civilians that need saving and now I'm running out of time. Would you mind filling in for me today and going to the USJ in my place?"

"Sure, no problem. I'll let Nezu, Aizawa, and Thirteen know what's going on. Will I still see you tonight?" You ask him hopefully.

"Of course!"

"Then I'll see you later tonight, handsome. Be careful, my love."

"I will be. Thank you for all of your help, my dear." He lowers his voice and whispers, "I love you."

Your lips lift in a beautiful smile and you tell him, "I love you too."

MEANWHILE NEARLY HALFWAY ACROSS THE WORLD*

A man with bright red hair and three scars running diagonally across his left eye is sitting in a bar beside a man with long grey hair, an x shaped scar beside his left eye, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. On the red-headed man's other side is Dracule Mihawk and beside the famous swordsman is a medium-size man with dark blonde hair tied into dreadlocks. Sitting across the table from the red-headed man and nearly taking up the entire side of the table, is a large and very fluffy man who is eating a large piece of meat.

The five men are drinking and having fun when the red-headed man says, "Let's drink to my beautiful daughter, (Y/N)! It seems that she's finally found true love and is getting ready to settle down!" He raises his glass of rum in his only arm, having lost his left arm years ago. "To (Y/N)!" There's suddenly the sound of cracking glass. The table falls completely silent as a large crack appears on Shanks' glass starting from the very bottom then running upwards towards the top. The glass breaks into chunks, rum spilling on to the table and his pants. "No...no...please..." Shanks' eyes widen in fear at the death omen. "Not my little girl."

A/N: Man, I got a little carried away with the angst in this chapter. I'm glad I managed to get this posted just in time for Toshi-kun's birthday. Happy birthday All Might!