Heading to and from work that night Aoi did not catch sight of the man as he promised. It was a relief to see that he can keep his promise.
And so since he kept his promise she had to keep hers. And so she stood in front of the stove listening to the sound of food frying, rice cooking in the rice cooker. Smell of the breaded pork filled her small apartment. A sudden knock at the door had her jump, before she scurried over to check who it was knocking at her door. Sticking her face against the door she peered through the peak hole taking in the tub over dark green hair telling her exactly who it was.
"Midoriya," she greeted as she quickly started to work at undoing the multitude of locks to allow the man to enter her apartment.
"Good evening. I hope I am not too early?" Man asked, a blush littering across his freckles. What a little sugar cookie.
"Not at all I'm just finishing up, come on in," she said as she locked the door and turned to head back into the kitchen quickly walking back up to the stove and the food she had forgotten about for a second. She had left the man to get comfortable himself, he had pretty much lived with her for a few days. He had stolen her bed and used her shower. The fact that she now knew he owned All Might boxers kind of made it feel like the two had known each other for more than a few days. Although they had only known each other a few days it had felt like they knew each other for much longer. It was odd and yet she was not going to argue with herself over it either. It was so easy to just feel comfortable around one another.
And she was not the only one who seemed to feel comfortable with the other person and being in her home together. As she was finishing up cooking Izuku had already started to pull out bowls and cups. Placing the bowls on the counter beside her for when she needed them, which earned him a thanks after she shot him a surprised look. From there the man started to set the table as she loaded the plates. He had easily remembered where she kept most of the basics like the cups and plates, as well as her utensils.
"You don't have to set the table," she called out as she started loading a bunch of rice into his bowl.
"Huh oh I don't mind. Anyways it would feel a little odd to just sit back and watch you run around getting everything. I really don't mind, seems like the least I could do since you cooked the meal," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as his cheeks flushed with colour. What a sugar cookie.
"If you say so," she said simply with a shrug of her shoulders as she turned with her hands full and started to the table placing his nearly over filled bowl down in the chair that was apparently his now before she returned to grab her own much less filled bowl. But still her bowl was well filled with food.
Sitting down across from the man she watched his face just light up at the sight of the home cooked katsudon. It wasn't as fancy looking as some top notch restaurants. But it smelled good. And with a quick thanks she popped a mouthful of the breaded pork into her mouth humming happily to herself with her choice of a nice light breading. It paired well with the egg and rice. It was good enough for her. But a quick glance across the table made her feel a little nervous. Would her guest find it good as well? After all being a number one hero he probably ate top notch food all the time. Her cooking would surely never compare.
She had no reason to fear as she looked up to see the green haired man smiling widely like an idiot as he chewed his own mouthful. He looked truly happy. Then again she wasn't sure the idiot could lie and fake anything emotional to save his life. The man wore his heart on his sleeve. She was sure.
"Hope it's not too bad," she still couldn't help but say as a little nervousness seemed to eat away at her as she couldn't just push away the self doubt she had about her own ability to cook.
"Oh no not at all. In fact it's delicious. There's always something about a home cooked meal that always makes food taste so much better, and this reminds me of home," he said smiling widely before starting to blush as he said a little more than he had planned to. But that had her own lips curl up a little. Cooking had never been the easiest for her, it was a skill she only recently learned when she actually had the money to buy consistent groceries and learned eating instant ramen and whatever she could get her hands on did not really make true meals.
"I'm glad you liked it. Otherwise I feared you'd have to learn to scarf down bad food. Going through everything you bought is way too much for one person to eat. I'll need your help eating, I'll be damned if it rots before getting eaten," She said, tossing him a slight glare once again for having bought her so much stuff before letting out a huff of air and pouting slightly. He bought her more groceries than she typically bought in two weeks, maybe almost a month. And anything fresh and green especially would not last long enough.
"We don't all eat like mountain men," she teased lightly when she noticed the man looked a little ashamed and looked like he was about to open his mouth and apologize once again. And she did not want to hear it.
That teasing seemed to help pull the man out of his attempt to apologize yet again. She had to try and not laugh as she watched him blush at her comment.
"Oh well. I did not know what to all get, I wasn't completely sure what all I ate of yours. Then I was not sure if you had allergies or a preference to anything in particular. It made more sense at the time to buy too much than not enough," she watched as the man blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck. She could not really argue it was a smart idea to be better safe than sorry. But still her cupboards had never been so full before, neither had her fridge.
"No allergies and I am not a fussy eater. I'll eat almost anything," she said, being completely honest as she answered the unasked question. As long as the food was not growing mold it was free to eat in her books. Even then she had eaten some questionable meals in the past. But she was not about to share any of that information with the man as they ate their meal enjoying the simple company of each other.
And of course since she opened up a little to the man he was quick to ask more questions like wanting to know what food she did like. Which ended up being harder than she thought it would be to answer. Picking one utmost favorite was hard, having a preference was not usually something she could indulge herself in. But she still tried to answer. She said takoyaki was something she loved that she did not get to enjoy much and she would indulge every chance she got. That then sent the man on a ramble about a number of really good places that sell takoyaki from food stalls in some areas of town to restaurants in other parts. She should not have been surprised to learn the man was well accustomed to the layout of nearly the entire city. Which she found amazing, she still got lost if she had to walk to an area of the city she was unfamiliar with. She liked her familiarity and the safety it brought that she knew the streets and the shadows that hide the evil. But unfamiliar streets hid their own evil and she always grew incredibly anxious in unfamiliar areas.
Once she was done eating Izuku was quick to scoop up their dirty dishes, he not only set the table but also started cleaning dishes. Why could more men not do something so simple? She would have to praise his mother if she ever met the woman on her raising of a fine young man. Still Aoi could not just sit back and watch the man clean up her mess. She put away the leftovers after having offered them to the man for his lunch the next day but he declined.
"You better be eating a good lunch when you're working. Skipping lunch is not healthy," She was quick to scold when he denied her offer of the leftovers. That had him blush softly yet again and give her a light chuckle.
"Lunch is usually a rush job if I take the time for a break. I usually grab snaps and food while out on patrol. When I have paperwork to do I'll grab some take out and eat it while dealing with the desk work," He admitted as he watched the woman scowl at him and cross her arms over her chest at him.
How much take out did this man eat? That was not healthy eating fast food or takeout every day for lunch, that is if he even ate lunch apparently.
"That's not healthy. There are healthier options for eating on the go than that," she scolded, well aware the man could afford the best. Surely meal planning could not be that hard for him. Hell she wondered if he could just pay someone to do it for him even. Wasn't like the current number one of Japan couldn't afford such things.
"Haha my mother says the same things, she loves to scold me when she learns I skipped lunch," She listened to him chuckle softly at the thought of his mother.
"Smart woman it sounds like. Someone has to keep you from being more self destructive than you already are," She said as she slipped her left over into the fridge before moving to sit back at her table since the kitchen was really not big enough for them both to be standing in it.
"Hey. I have gotten really good at not being self destructive any more," Izuku said, trying to mock looking offended which in turn just had them both laugh lightly.
"Oh yeah, totally not self destructive. You totally did not nearly bleed out in my bedroom only nights ago," She could not help the heavy sarcasm and the roll of her eyes at the man. And he could not even try to argue with her about that either.
"Okay. You have me there," he said as he dried his hands before moving over to sit back at the table as well once he was done with the dishes. She laughed lightly at him as he did not even try to argue about that. Was kind of hard because it was completely true.
"So mister hero. Did you break anyone's bones today while on the job? Your own or someone else's?" She couldn't help but still tease him about the broken bones. She had done some homework and had looked up the hero. Hard not to recall his early high school days when he used to break bones like no tomorrow.
"Don't worry I did not break any bones today. At least none of mine. I don't think I broke any criminals. It was a relaxed day and with Shoto being my partner for this week's shifts makes catching criminals easier," Izuku said, simply actually answering her teasing with an honest answer.
"He uses both ice and fire, correct?" she asked, making sure she had the right quirk to the right hero.
"Yes that's correct," Izuku said with a nod of his head.
"I imagine his ice is a good tool for catching criminals, I've seen him on the news before. He has a habit of loving to freeze people to the ground," she had to bite back the urge to point out that the two toned haired man had a very bad habit of being predictable in his fighting habits. He really loved to use his ice to freeze up the ground a lot. But she imagined the man sitting across from her was also well aware of his friends' habits.
"Yes makes it nice when dealing with a group especially. Criminals can not run off when they are encased in ice. Then we just have to wait for the offices to pick up the criminals. I can restrain criminals as well but Shoto makes it nice and simple," Izuku was happy to praise his friend's powers. It did make his job easier than using black whip to restrain criminals while waiting on cops to show up and arrest people.
It felt mildly weird to talk about the youngest Todoroki. She really did not know much about him. But she had learned a fair share about his father Endeavor. After all, before a dear old friend of hers left her he had complained a lot about the once number one hero. The man they were talking to she assumed did not even know she existed and yet she knew more than she should about his family.
"I'm assuming you do not get a lot of slow days. Or is it more so the matter that you strike me as a man who looks for something to keep him busy?" She asked with a tilt of her head and a quick new question and slight subject change wanting to get away from the conversation of the Todoroki man.
"Is it that easy to tell?" He asked, looking a little sheepish, when she was able to call him out for the fact that he often spends his free time still looking for villains. If he was not in bed or as of late with her then he was out on the streets. He often picked up every patrol shift he could or was more than happy to just walk around the streets and see if he could run into any active crimes while on his off time.
"Well first off you strike me as a workaholic. Second, I could not find what you did to end up with a hole in your gut the night you showed up in my room. So you were doing either a job the media was not allowed to know about or you were just out and about when you encountered something or someone doing something criminal. People also love to talk and gossip you tend to be out and about at all hours of day or night it sounds like," She said well aware that a few overheard conversation in the restaurant and a few right people to ask herself, as well as some simple old news searches it's easy to tell the man was always catching criminals and helping people.
She watched Izuku arch an eyebrow at her as she pointed out how she noticed he seemed like a workaholic. Their conversation earlier about his skipping of lunch probably gave away he was a workaholic on its own. But he was more surprised to learn she had tried to figure out what he had done to end up bleeding on her carpet that night. But he did not want to address that at this exact thought.
"Oh what do people say?" He asked her with a slight tilt of his own head and an actual curiosity in his eyes.
"Depends on who you talk to. Some people just repeat what the news or magazines have to say. Talk to any single woman young and the conversation easily will turn to one about who's the most attractive top hero. Which by the way a lot of people are unaware Dynamite and Red Riot are an actual item. Maybe it's denial who knows. Talk to a criminal and they will complain that there are always heroes around lately. I assume since you moved into the neighborhood you spend some time walking around the streets in your spare time. It puts those in the shadows on edge noticing the presence of a hero. And your presence has started to be noticed," She said simply as she rested an elbow on her table and then placed her chin in her hand. Izuku on the other hand had to try and not let his jaw drop as he listened to her list off simple things she had heard.
"You should really work in an agency or police department with detective skills like that," Izuku said once he was able to pick his jaw off the floor.
"Nah, not my thing. People also would not talk to a cop. Really people love to talk and they often treat waitresses like they don't have working ears. You would be surprised what I can hear about on any given day," She said simply with a shrug of her shoulders. It also did not hurt that she knew a few people to talk to about the more shadowing part of the streets.
"Still that's amazing," Izuku said with heavy praise. She didn't see it as such. More so it was her way of doing a background check on the hero before her. Hated heavily by villains for all the good he does and loved heavily by the people he is supposed to protect. After all, she wanted to make sure the man she was inviting into her home was not a danger to her. Well he was in a few ways, the fact he was a hero alone could upset some people but she did not want to think about that. And then add on he had an incredibly strong quirk while she was quirkless. Would not be hard for him to over power her if he had felt the need to. Izuku just couldn't see that her paranoia had gotten the best of her and she had looked for a little more information on the number one hero.
The rest of the evening followed suit as the two sat and talked. Getting to know each other more and more. And somehow the two would fall into an odd little routine. They spend one meal a day together. She would cook either a lunch or dinner for them if they both had the time off. Some days did not work out, both working the day away. But they quickly settled into an odd routine. Eating and then moving to her couch in which Izuku had given her access to some of his streaming subscriptions since he was always over at her home and watching movies on her tv. And well he had noticed early on her lack of more than a handful of cheek tv channels. But it was nice enjoying the man's company on an almost daily occurrence.