Chapter 18

Hero Time - New Upload!

Fortify – Hero Student Full Body Workout 01 (21:52)

"Oh, hello."

Leaning against railings, Keigo grins down at Nana as she stares up at him with a similar expression on her face. She's still in her workout gear, the camera she'd been recording with now held in one hand and blissfully unaware of the views that're already racking up on the video she just posted. "Inspiring the next generation today, are we?"

"Izuku asked me for workout ideas now that he's getting to the end of his pre-planned exercises and I figured there might be a few other hero students out there that want to be in shape but aren't quite sure how to do it safely or correctly. A video reference might be helpful."

"Well, if it tanks-" though he doubts it, given his last look at the view count. "-then you can take comfort in the fact I appreciated watching it. Didn't follow along, but definitely watched it."

Nana laughs, pulling on a tracksuit jacket that matches the cool blue of her trainers, though clashes with the bold red of her leggings. The twin plaited tails of hair get flicked back over her shoulders and Keigo climbs the railings of the balcony he's landed on, dropping to the sidewalk with only a single beat of his wings to lessen the impact. It's early morning, before the work-crush on public transport and the sun is only just dawning. There's not a lot of people around at all other than the occasional jogger. All three who have passed by so far have gawked at him; Keigo has cheerfully waved until they return the gesture.

"Maybe you should follow along," Nana muses, stretching her arms up over her head and Keigo takes a moment to appreciate the lean lines and generous curves of her body. "It could be fun working out together."

Keigo considers to for a moment; they're both fit because of their jobs, though there's no disputing that Nana is the physically fittest out of the two of them. She's a power and speed melee fighter and he's more a long-range support speedster. He supposes there are a few exercises that could suit them both and it would be a nice thing to do together.

"Plus, we can do couple stretches then," Nana chirps, bouncing forwards and Keigo catches her hands, threading her fingers through his own, skin against supple leather. A little stretch up on his tiptoes and his lips meet Nana's in a quick kiss.

"Couple stretches?" Colour him intrigued.

"Well, technically it's called partner yoga, but I'm sure you can get the idea. Or, you know, google it. Have you slept yet?"

"Saying I look rough, Babe?"

Nana smiles, hand on his cheek and thumb tracing the tender skin beneath one eye. Okay, so he has just gotten off a night shift but it's February Fourteenth. He'd booked the day off weeks in advance; it's the first time he's not worked the day. Just because he'd never been in a relationship doesn't mean he was ignorant; lots of other heroes had significant others and wanted the time off. Keigo hadn't minded picking up the slack.

"Just a little windswept, though I'm told it's part of your charm, Nugget." Adjoined, their hands swing side to side between them, though Keigo can't quite tell if it's Nana or him putting forth the keep to get them moving. He's been looking forwards to Valentine's Day for a few weeks now, but by god does a nap sound appealing. With sand stuck to her forehead and cheeks, Nana's looking like she could use some time out too and given she'd spent the morning creating a workout video for teenaged hero-hopefuls, she'd probably not expected him to show up this early. Won't ruin whatever she's got planned. He hopes.

"Alright, a nap sounds great. Though you gotta lay with me until I drop off; your hug to kiss ratio is down again."

.

"Still sure you want a half-wet bed-buddy?"

It is with great strength of will that Keigo peels one eyelid back, having already reached the stage of a lethargic doze in the five minutes he's been laid down on Nana's bed. He's had to dismiss about seventy percent of his feathers to even lay comfortably; while she's got a big double bed, it's nothing on his. He'll summon the mass of feathers back once he's had a nap. Hopefully, Nana won't be too bothered about the red pile-up that's appeared beneath her window. He's exhausted.

But he can't quite pass up the opportunity her sentence offers.

"Can't say I've had a partner half-wet when we're in bed." His eye slides shut without any conscious thought, though it'd thankfully been open long enough for him to memorise Nana's 'lazy day' look. Sports bra, matching panties, damp hair still in the process of being towel dried. It's cute. homely, even.

Would this be what it'd be like if they moved in together? The thought comes and slowly glides across his mind, a downpour of ideas following. An apartment with his bed because it's clearly superior to Nana's, but with her taste in decoration because this sunset-yellow, calm grey colour scheme she's got going on? It's brilliant. Then there's all sorts of other ideas that are really quite stupid but daydreaming about it is, for some reason, so pleasant? Nana's shoes by his at the door, cooking together on a night, morning kisses and joint showers. Okay, that last one isn't so much a warming thing as it is a horny thing. He's too tired to chase that thought right now.

"Walked right in to that one, didn't I?"

"Mmm, you did. In bed, now."

"Alert the press, cool and calm Hawks gets grumpy when he's tired," Nana mocks, the mattress shifting as she climbs on and then there's an arm over his midriff, a warm body pressing up against his side. He can feel the press of metal against his hipbones; the bellybutton piercing.

"Why don't you have your ears pierced?" Curse his observant, inquisitive brain but the question's been bugging him since the day he discovered the damn bellybutton piercing. Clearly it's not an issue with needles, but then, why?

"Mmm, the white lie is I didn't fancy it," Nana muses, shifting her head as his wiggles an arm under her neck. He bends it to better stroke the slightly damp skin of her back. "The truth is one of my earlobes is attached, the other isn't and I'm vain enough that I didn't want to draw attention to that genetic hiccup." Huffing a laugh, Keigo slots that information away to be reviewed at a later date. Sleep comes first right now. Only-

"Don't let me sleep the whole day away, Babe. No matter how handsome I look while laying here."

.

He wakes up to the smell of something amazing. Inhaling sharply, Keigo sits himself up, running one hand through his hair and down the side of his face, summoning half the feathers he'd piled up. They reattach with ease, brushing against the bared skin of his back and hips, settling across the grey bedspread a moment later. The covers are twisted around his feet, kicked off his body at some point during his nap; the sun's still up so he can't have slept too long. Arms up over his head, Keigo stretches and rolls hi shoulders, taking in the room now that his thought processes are much more coherent. While Nana has slept at his a few times now, this is the first time he's crashed at hers; New Years Day he's had to leave for an early morning shift which had sucked. Drunken villains are the worst.

Sliding up onto his feet, Keigo has two feathers swiftly make the bed, making for the bookcase and browsing the titles. There's a few on heroics law, some on history; he's quite amused to spot the old All Might comics wedged along one shelf. She's got to have every issue there and they're all dog-eared. He's not really read them himself, though watching the cartoon of the Number One's time in America is a thing he's experienced. He doubts there's a single kid in Japan who hasn't seen at least a clip of that show, it's the just before school starts favourite. Keigo runs his fingers along the spines of a few notebooks, so labelled, some not. There's a few that are diaries, several notebooks from Nana's time at UA (Heroics - Year 2, Book 1'. Man, she's so neat. It's cute. He'll have to ask to read them one day.

.

Pushing open the bedroom door, he makes for the little kitchenette, sliding up onto the bar stool and planting his chin in his hand, elbow on the counter. Nana spins and he's a bit disappointed in the lack of 'kiss the cook' apron. It's plain blue. Boring.

"Good afternoon, sleeping well?"

"Yeah. Your mattress is small but it almost makes up for that in how comfortable it was." And how it had smelt like her, every bit of fabric a cosy little reminder. "I'd say get a bigger one but then your room would be literally bed and books, no floor space to be seen." Okay, he's exaggerating. She's got a desk and a rug and some floor space in there too but, compared to his own apartment? It's small.

Nana hums, stirring the gravy in the pan before she abandons the cooker for a moment, leaning over the counter to plant a kiss on his, one Keigo lazily returns. Not lacklustre lazy but the 'don't need to rush a good thing' kind of lazy.

"Not that I'm complaining, but is there a reason you're only in your underwear?"

"You mean you don't appreciate the view?"

"Oh, I appreciate it very much," Nana says over one shoulder, back to tending to her multiple pans, microwave dinging in the background. He's assuming it's a western dish, something chicken based. He can smell it, probably in the oven, roasting away. "But I want a photo of our first Valentine's Day, one I can put up in a photo frame and not have visitors gawk at."

Keigo laughs, grinning at the expressions these metaphorical guests might pull.

"How about a picture for your hallway and then a different one for you bedroom? I would very much like a copy of the second one to put on display in my apartment, one I can look at when you're off at work and think 'ah, that's why I get up in the morning."

Nana giggles, whipping the tea-towel she'd been using as a temporary over mid towards but Keigo catches the end with ease, freeing the material from her grip.

"Alright, Abs. I'll go put a shirt on." Only a shirt though.

.

They have dinner (roast chicken dinner, made from her Mother's handwritten recipe book and Keigo would be lying if he said he wasn't a little touched by that) and take a respectable photo. They're both sitting up to table, Keigo with the traditional Valentine's Day chocolates Nana has made for him on the table, Nana still in her terribly boring apron.

Talking with Nana is easy; they've covered everything from modern day heroics to the pre-quirk period, what they've both been up to during the last four days since they've seen each other, and the reason why Nana has suddenly decided to create workout videos.

"-sharing ideas is how we've bettered society in the past and being real heroes isn't a competition. If someone is better at it then so what? We should all just be striving to do our best and improve."

"Hey, I agree." Keigo throws in with his hands up in surrender, knocking his foot against hers under the table, twisting the spoon he's using in his steady demolishing of the cheesecake desert. "The more effective heroes can be, the more chance I have of getting a day off."

"I think Dad made great arrived on the roll of a hero in society, but he made himself too indispensable; once he retires, there's gonna be a great big vacuum that no one who's in the game at the moment can fill... I reckon it'll be teamwork that makes the dream work." Nana clicks her finger and thumb in a little finger gun movement, winking with the gesture. Keigo fires one back at her. "Though, speaking of Dad... how do you feel about meeting up with him at some point? Not as Hawks to All Might, but as, like, my boyfriend to my Dad?"

How does he feel about that? Er, nervous. Excited too; if Nana wants him to meet her parent then clearly she's as serious about this as he is. Maybe daydreaming about moving in together isn't so unrealistic after all?

"Yeah- that's serious, isn't it? Should I wear a suit? Ask for formal permission to court his daughter?" Sitting up straight, Keigo leans over the table a bit, peering into Nana's eyes and he waits for her cheeks to start flushing. "I mean, we've been dating for three months now and that's a quarter of a year, will he be offended that I'm so late? Would it be in my best interests to whisk you away to my apartment where you can read and workout to your heart's content?"

"I think moving in comes after meeting parents to be hon- hey!" Nana dives for him across the table but it's too late; he's slipped the stolen bit of cheesecake between his lips and her plate is now officially empty. With a flap of his wings, he stops the both of them from toppling back onto the floor, instead leaving him still sitting in his seat and Nana sprawled across the table.

"Food thief," Nana grumbles, one hand bunched up in his shirt, the other keeping her torso elevated so she doesn't end up with a gravy stain across the front of her shirt.

Keigo croons, "it was an easy steal too! You left your plate pretty much undefended!"

"Don't think you'll grow any taller just by eating some more." Ah, a height jab.

"Just means I don't have to angle my head as far down as some others to stare at you're ass. What, you needed that last bite of cheesecake exercise energy?" He's leaning forwards now, breath a little short and he's not imagining the way Nana's pupils are getting bigger, the blue irises retracting as she stares at him.

"I was planning on a different form of exercise tonight." A diff-

It clicks and Keigo closes that space between them, eager lips finding Nana's.

.

He ends up dumping feathers under Nana's window again (bloody small bed) for a few more hours.

Perfect Valentine's Day; he's so looking forwards to next year.

Actual plot chapter next, I swear.

Tsume
xxx