Sweets for the Sweet

Elly blinked several times, her ears up straight and her head pulled back.

On top of her desk lay a vast array of boxes and trays tied up in ribbon and cellophane, brightly colored cardboard and towering stacks of bento boxes. There were foods of all types, arranged from savory to sweet, with not a few sour in between.

"Who the hell..?" There was an orange envelope in the midst of the pile, and she opened it with trepidation. The person's scent wasn't one she was familiar with, and if she were to be honest, her delicate nose was overwhelmed by the feast displayed before her.

There was a quote written inside.

"Great food is like great sex. The more you have, the more you want." ♡

Her face flushed bright red and her tail smacked the back of her chair as it fluffed wildly out in all directions. "Midnight!" She screamed shrilly in panic.

The 18+ Hero poked her head in the counselor's door. "You screeched for me, Ches?"

Elly pointed with a shaky finger, and she walked around the desk, her eyebrows raised. "Hey, this is a lot of expensive stuff."

"I don't care! Who did this?! I didn't get a single clue besides this!" She shoved the envelope at her colleague.

Midnight slid the card out and read it, then burst out giggling. It was not a pretty giggle. "Oh - oh my, he jumps right to the punch, doesn't he?"

"Who?!"

"This is from Toyomitsu Taishiro. Otherwise known as Fatgum."

"F - Fatgum?"

"Yeah. Big, big guy? Wears an orange hoodie -" She shook the envelope at her, "with two Fs and a G on it?" She paused. "Guy that looks like a totoro?"

"I vaguely remember him from the files I've read on the areas around here. Wait, how come he knows me but I don't know him?"

"You passed through somewhere he was eating, most likely." Midnight popped a takoyaki in her mouth and chewed. "Mmmn. You know, they say he has excellent taste."

Her ears flattened. "Cut that out."

"Sorry!" She didn't sound like it, though.

The door cracked open and to Elly's horror, she saw the glint of orange sunglasses. "Yo, yo, what's all the ruckus over here - holy shit!" Present Mic stood dumbfounded at the heaps of gifts and food on the counselor's desk. "Is it yer birthday? I thought that was in the summer!" He wrung his gloved hands together anxiously, worried he had forgotten.

"No, you're right, Mic," she sighed. "This," she swept her hand to indicate everything, "is from an admirer."

Mic hiccupped, and hastily covered his mouth. He suddenly looked ill, as if he had been made to swallow a bug. Midnight watched the Voice Hero carefully, her eyebrows raised higher.

"Oh! Uh... who th' hell sends only food to a girl? That's wack."

"No clue. He wants me to meet him at this restaurant tonight." She read the name dubiously. "Isn't that close by?"

"Uh huh." Midnight gave her further directions in case she wasn't sure. "Or, you know, Google it. Just be sure to wear something nice! You haven't been on a date since you came to Japan, haven't you?"

"Yeah," she agreed shyly.

They chatted for several more minutes, and she was surprised to see that Mic had left at some point before. He never entered or exited a room without a bit of flair, like pointing finger guns at her or waving like a loon.

Weird.

Elly shook it off and wondered apprehensively about what might happen later. Even as she got off of work and showered and changed she was very nervous. She arrived early in front of the restaurant and curled her tail around her while she waited. She was dressed simply in a t-shirt and jeans since Midnight had told her it was a casual place. A good spot for a first date, really.

A man walked up to her waving in a friendly fashion with a welcoming smile. He had golden eyes and was wearing an orange hoodie with no logo on it and black pants. Still, she recognized the basic colors as Fatgum's and blinked in surprise. He was wide shouldered and built well, muscled and surprisingly lean.

"Toyomitsu? Oh. You're - you're not..."

"Fat?" His grin stretched nearly from ear to ear. The white-blond man ran his fingers through his short hair and laughed easily. "Nope. This is what I look like when I'm not using my quirk."

Elly shook her head. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. I'm just so confused."

"Oh? I thought this was all pretty straightforward."

Her ears flicked. "You certainly are," she said a bit tartly.

He laughed, his bold eyes meeting hers without a hint of embarrassment. "I don't like to waste time. I see what I want and go for it." His stomach rumbled loudly and he grinned wider. "Like dinner. I'm starving, let's go in!"

After they ordered and were sipping from their respective drinks, the doors flung open with a loud bang that made most of the patrons cringe. Elly looked like everyone else but was far more shocked when she saw a tall man with blonde hair and red glasses squinting at the diners as if trying to find someone.

Her ears jumped straight up.

"Yamada?"

Toyomitsu turned around and both men saw each other. Hizashi's mouth set in a thin line and he marched over, ignoring the hostess who tried to block his path.

"Hey, Yamada? What's wrong?"

The other man pushed his glasses up on his nose, his greenish-gold eyes as hard as agates. "Look, Toyo, we gotta talk."

"Really?"

Hizashi grabbed his arm and propelled him bodily away several feet and around into a hall, where he was sure her delicate cat's ears couldn't hear them.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm on a date," the BMI Hero remarked blandly. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here 'cause I want to know what your intentions are!"

"I'm on a date," he said, more firmly this time.

"I know that!" Hizashi's voice raised and the neat stacks of cutlery nearby rattled alarmingly. He slapped a hand over his mouth.

"She's pretty, right? A lot of the guys in my agency were talking about her. Some of them wanted to ask her out, but they were too nervous." He stared calmly at him as he spoke.

The long haired man opened his mouth, finger jabbing into his new rival's chest, but deflated when Toyomitsu hurried on, "It wouldn't be very heroic if anyone would demand they have a claim on her or anything. That's kind of sexist, don't you think?"

Hizashi's finger drooped. He couldn't argue with him. He'd been quickly and neatly shut down. Still, he tried.

"This is so not cool, yo. I - I .." He stumbled to a stop, uncharacteristically tongue-tied.

"Well, it's fair if we both do our best, huh?"

Back at the table, Elly was texting furiously on her phone, her eyes huge and her tail tips twitching madly.

Cheshire: Help!!! On date with FG, Mic's here!

Midnight: What? He SHOWED UP?!

Cheshire: I think they're arguing! WTF? Why?

Midnight: ♡♡♡! OMG! Ok girl you've got to do this right. They're probably gonna go the "girl picks 1 of us" route...

Midnight: ...so what u do is make both dates count. You better pay attention & kiss em both at the end.

Cheshire: Kayama! WTH are you talking about?!

Midnight: They both like you ♡

Cheshire: no way shit ok he's back gtg

She swallowed hard past her constricted throat as she watched the Voice Hero walk quickly off towards the exit. Toyomitsu came back all smiles and offered a simple shrug for an explanation.

"If he wants to bring it up with you later, he can. But we were talking about American and Japanese food, right?"

The rest of the date went well. It was interesting to find out about the cultural differences in their foods. He took her to a different place for dessert, a street vendor that had delicious sweet buns.

Toya was allowed inside the U.A campus to walk her home after a quick flash of credentials at the gates. They chatted about the school for a few minutes until she realized they had reached the teacher's complex. She waved at the door in front of her.

"Well, this is mine." She couldn't stop her heart from beating too fast, though she tried to breathe slowly and relax. What Midnight had told her earlier was in the forefront of her mind, flashing like a bright neon sign.

"They give you guys a nice layout," he murmured. "Lots of space?"

"Yep."

He was smiling gently at her in a non threatening way, not too close with enough room for her to break away if she chose. "It's okay," he said. "I'm not going to bite."

"I - I'm nervous," she said with a shaky laugh. "I haven't dated in years, so..."

His warm, golden eyes met and held hers. "You jumped back in, though. I respect that. It must've been hard." He moved smoothly, his warm mouth pressing briefly on her own. She froze, her mind racing and unable to think, breathe or act. But Toyomitsu didn't hold the kiss. He smiled at her and stepped back.

"Thanks," he said cheerfully. "I had fun!"

Elly watched him leave with a befuddled shake of her head. She fished around in her purse for her keys and slipped in the door to her apartment.