~Toshinori's POV~

Ellie had left early in the morning to escort young Shinso to his provisional hero license exam. I hadn't heard from her all day, though it wasn't unusual. She didn't usually like to check in. Since it was taking so long, I assumed young Shinso did well and she took him out to celebrate. Grace tried to reassure me that Ellie was fine and would turn up soon but after realizing she wasn't having any effect, she reluctantly retreated to the backyard to paint.

As the sun began to set, there was a knock on the front door. That didn't seem right, our house was secluded enough we shouldn't get random visitors. I got up from the couch and hurried to the door. As I opened the door, my eyes grew wide as I spotted a very annoyed looking Endeavor holding a crying Ellie in his arms.

"I believe this belongs to you." Endeavor grumbled angrily as he shoved Ellie at me.

"Huh?" I caught her in my arms and cradled her gently against me before looking to the surly man with the flaming beard and the piercing teal eyes warily, "what happened?"

"She saw a child drop an ice cream cone." Endeavor shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Ah...thanks for bringing her home." I said in a daze, he was the last person I expected to be lending Ellie a hand based on the very few interactions I'd witnessed between them.

He mumbled something partially coherent in return before continuing on his way.

"Hey...Flame Face..." Ellie managed between sniffles causing him to pause and turn to her with a scowl.

"What now?"

"...thank you..."

The faintest trace of a smile twisted onto his lips, "you're welcome, and I stand by what I said you are the most stressful woman I have ever encountered." His gaze flicked in my direction, "good luck." He turned on his heel and walked away without another word.

Ellie's tears subsided as she wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled into me. I smiled and gently rubbed her back as I carried her inside. Once inside, I carried her to the kitchen and set her atop the counter. She threw me a curious look as I grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink. There was a pretty big cut on her cheek that looked like it was possibly her own doing.

"Looks like you had an interesting day." I commented as I retrieved an antiseptic pad from the first aid kit and rubbed it along the cut to disinfect it. "Want to talk about it?"

She smiled as I put a bandage over the cut on her cheek, "The brat passed his exam..."

I lifted her off the counter and set her on her feet, smiling as she wrapped her arms around me. "I never doubted him; he has a great teacher."

Ellie's cheeks reddened at this and she buried her face in my chest. "Sh-shut up." She grumbled flustered.

"And you two went out to celebrate?"

"Yes, and he picked the worst possible place to go. It was a nightmare! It looked like a hero fanboy threw up all over the place." She huffed adorably.

I couldn't help but laugh at the mental imagery, "What?"

"It was hero everything! There were posters and newspaper articles everywhere, in the tables on the walls the ceilings the floor, it was a mess. All of the staff was cosplaying as different heroes they were playing an endless stream of interviews and hero moments on all the TV's, it was like I stepped into a weird pocket in the Twilight Zone." She continued ranting.

I chuckled and placed my hand atop her head. "You liked it?"

"N-No! Haven't you been listening?!" Her voice was slightly muffled as she buried her face into my chest as she tried to hide her face. It was a sign she wasn't being very honest which only made me chuckle more. "Toshinori!" Her hand balled into a fist and she lightly punched me in the side, "Stop making fun of me!"

"I'm not making fun of you." I laughed. "I just think it's cute that you found a place you lik-oof!" I cut off as she elbowed me in the gut and grumbled something incoherent before turning and stomping toward the stairs.

"I didn't like it!" She snapped before pausing as she reached the foot of the stairs. Her demeanor shifted and she mumbled cutely under her breath, "but they had cute All Might salt and pepper shakers..."

I couldn't help but smile at her, "Ellie really is the cutest."

Her cheeks reddened, "I-idiot!" She escaped up the stairs.

I resisted the urge to laugh knowing it would only upset her more in her current fragile state of mind. Instead, I followed her up the stairs and smiled as I found her in the nursery standing next to the crib. She gently flicked the All Might mobile hanging over the crib and smiled as it began to play the song we had our first dance to, at our wedding. Smiling, I tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned to me; her dark oceanic blue eyes filled with curiosity as I extended a hand to her. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to ask my wife to dance."

A blush spread across her cheeks and she hesitantly placed her hand in mine. She let out a cute gasp as I pulled her closer and wrapped my arms around her. We waltzed in time with the music from the mobile and in no time at all, Ellie was smiling.

"So, we'll have to go to this restaurant sometime." I mused.

She rolled her eyes, "you'd probably like it."

I chuckled, "Probably."

"Midoriya would love it." She noted, her smile still in place. "Maybe we should take him when he passes the exam next week."

"I think he'd like that." I kissed the top of her head. "So, how did you bump into Endeavor."

"He showed up after we did and caused a scene and we were all forced to sit together." She grumbled as her smile slipped.

I had a feeling that wasn't entirely the case but rather than risk any of Ellie's pregnant hormonal wrath, I went along with it, "that sounds interesting..."

"...okay...maybe I caused the scene..."

"That sounds more likely." I chuckled.

"He started it." She huffed.

"I don't doubt it." I smiled as I spun her in my arms.

Ellie sighed, "...I guess he's not the absolute worst person on the planet...maybe he's in the bottom ten instead of the bottom three..."

I chuckled, for Ellie that was pretty generous. "It seems like you two are getting along better."

"Are not, I still hate his guts." She grumbled as she spun back into my arms and hugged me tight laying her head against my chest.

"If that were the case, I think he'd be halfway across the world and not showing up on our doorstep." I teased her with a smile and held back a laugh as she let out a cute angry squeak and swatted at me.

"He would have been well on his way if he didn't buy that kid a replacement ice cream..." Ellie mumbled.

I could just imagine it. Ellie spotting the child losing their ice cream and because of her hormones was probably way more upset than the child was. I chuckled as I imagined an uncomfortable Endeavor not wanting to deal with the hormonal Ellie and angrily yelling at someone to get another ice cream. As the mobile stopped playing music, we stopped swaying and I hugged her close.

The sound of applause from the doorway caused Ellie to let out a cute yelp. She turned ready to blow away our intruder but I caught her hand in mine to keep her from summoning any gale winds in the house. I turned to find Grace grinning in the doorway.

"You two are so cute." She giggled.

Ellie glowered at her, "keep it up and I won't deliver the message your mom gave me."

Grace's eyes grew wide, "you saw my mom?"

"When?" I asked her curiously.

"After sending Shinso back to his dorm...but that stupid Flame Face wouldn't let me go on my own because he's a jerk and thought I was up to something." Ellie grumbled.

"How is she?" Grace asked.

Ellie sighed, "are you done teasing me?"

"For now." Grace grinned.

Ellie rolled her eyes at her response but her lips pulled into a smile, "She's good...still the boss..."

Grace's green eyes welled with tears. "She still won't let me visit her there."

"It's not a place you should be." Ellie shrugged. "She said she loves you very much, and she can't wait to see you again once she's released...I showed her some of your art...she's really proud of you."

"She is?" Grace choked on a sob and Ellie pulled away from me and went to give her a hug.

"Of course, she is. You're living your life doing what you love and that's all she ever wanted for you." Ellie smiled.

I watched her carefully, I didn't know she was going to visit her old cellmate. There was something in her eyes as she talked about her with Grace that told me not to question her about it in front of Grace. So, there was another reason she'd gone to the prison.

Grace hugged her back, "thanks Ellie." She sniffled before releasing her from her hold, "but why did you visit her in the first place?"

"To let her know you were staying with me in case she tried to get a letter to you on the outside." Ellie shrugged, lying came naturally to her.

Grace smiled not the least bit suspicious, "you really are a big softy." She stuck her tongue out at Ellie before stepping away to avoid any wrath.

Ellie shook her head, "whatever you need to tell yourself...what have you been up to all day anyway?" She asked as she noticed the paint staining Grace's front.

Grace giggled again, "I'm working on a painting for you to add to the nursery."

"What? Why?!" Ellie frowned.

"As a thank you for saving me again and taking care of me."

"It's not necessary." Ellie grumbled.

Grace giggled and disappeared down the hall once more. Ellie turned to me looking tired. I smiled and followed her to the bedroom where she shut the door and retreated to the bathroom. A chuckle escaped me as I heard the bath start to run. She reappeared a moment later wrapped in a fluffy terry cloth robe before retreating to the closet and taking her time picking out an assortment of ducks to take with her.

"Ellie?" I called out to her.

"Hm?"

"Why did you really go see, Gem?"

She hesitated clutching one of the ducks she'd selected tightly in her hand. "Gem was a yakuza princess...I was worried the target on Grace's shop wasn't a coincidence..."

"Was it?" I asked worried.

"I'm not sure...Gem only has limited resources and the only person affiliated with the Shie Hassaikai...which is the group that hired them...died in the infirmary the same day of the attack on Grace's gallery...I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right. I'm not sure if they were targeting Grace or they just wanted her to clear out of the area so they could have it and make a secret base of operations, but either way...I don't like it." She replied with a long sigh of exhaustion.

"Why do you feel like you need to take it on alone?" I asked her worried as I approached her and took the duck from her hand before she accidentally squeezed too tight and popped its head off. That would be a nightmare no one would survive.

"Because if what Gem told me from her memory is right and still current then the guy leading this group is a fucking psychopath and is incredibly dangerous... no one can get near him...he'll destroy anything he touches..."

She was worried about other people getting hurt. As much as Ellie liked to believe she was a villain she couldn't stand innocents being hurt. I opened my mouth to tell her to rely on me but she shot me a fierce glare that instantly made my heart freeze up in my chest.

"Don't. Even. Think. About. It." Her voice was like ice.

I sighed, because I couldn't use One for All anymore I wouldn't be of much help and putting myself in danger would just make her sick with worry. "Alright, but maybe you should talk to my old partner..."

Ellie frowned at this, "Sir Nighteye?"

Ellie had only met him once, at our wedding, but we dissolved our partnership after the fight with All for One as we didn't see eye to eye. We'd almost dissolved our partnership before then because he didn't like the idea of me falling in love with a known villain. I nodded.

Ellie picked up on my reasoning for asking her to talk to him. "Oh, you just want him to use his quirk on me to make sure this whole ordeal won't get me killed, is that it?"

I hesitated before nodding.

Ellie sighed, "If it will put your mind at ease, I suppose, but he wasn't a big fan of me at our wedding, I highly doubt his opinion has changed very much."

"I'd feel much better if you saw him." I replied, "since I can't-."

Hey eyes narrowed into a glare, "if you even think about saying something as stupid as 'since I can't protect you anymore' I will send you flying."

She knew me too well. Of course, that was what I was thinking about. It was all I thought about. I couldn't use One for All anymore, I could hardly do anything. How was I supposed to protect my family? As I was about to lose myself in my own self pity party, her arms slid around me.

"You're such an idiot, if you think for a moment that I don't rely on you every day. I'll always rely on you, because you're the one person I can always rely on without fail." She breathed softly.

I hugged her back with a smile as I felt a lightness in my chest at her words, "And here I thought I've been relying on you all this time."

"That's because..." her cheeks reddened looking uncomfortable with whatever she was going to say, "...you're the number one husband..."