Hanta Sero x gn!Reader || Cellophane x pro hero!Reader
CW: pro hero AU, gn!reader, fairly fluffy
AN: I love imagining these kind of little in-between moments⊠and I love Cellophane⊠enough to rework and repost a previous fic (now deleted) so I like it slightly better. hopefully you enjoy, internet stranger :)
Sitting here under this awning, Y/n figured the rain wasn't so bad. The night wasn't a very windy one, which meant that all they and their patrol partner had to contend with was the weather.Â
With a long dayâs work over now, protecting the streets in this part of Hosu city was someone else's responsibility for the time being. Off the clock at last, all Y/n wanted to do was enjoy a cold drink, eat something hot and rest their sore muscles for a bit, maybe with a nice bath.
It hadn't been a tough patrol by any means, but that didnât mean it had been an idle one, either. With their budding career as a pro, theyâd discovered that different conditions brought out different kinds of trouble. Â
Crappy weather usually meant more civilians were inclined to stay in. But with rain, it also often meant more ill-intentioned idiots with quirks prone to trying their luck. This typically resulted in calls for service popping up that ran the gambit of water- or liquid-related abilities. Mostly break-ins, robberies or property damage, that kind of thing. But it was all amplified, made equally exhausting to deal with day after day.
This time of year, when the near-constant humidity clung to everything like a second skin, it was more or less expected. Which was why Y/n had been put on such a demanding schedule in the first place; their quirk was well-suited to dealing with the extra-wet conditions, and paired well with Cellophane's to boot.Â
He was generally easy to work with, Y/n found: A team player who took direction and offered the kind of post-fiught roundup support that resulted in the two being paired together more and more often, even when it wasn't storming like this. Still, during their onboarding to the agency, Y/n was surprised and a little flustered to see Hanta Sero (Cellophane, now) at the agency where theyâd managed to land a job. Â
Back in middle school, heâd always talked so much big game about finding the coolest ways to save people with his quirk. So although some of the support heroes and even one of the PR consultants surprised them by bringing the subject up, it had always been the most natural thing in the world for Y/n to wave off the little comments and good-natured teasing.
âI donât know, heâs always been more⊠inclined toward pros like Midnight,â theyâd usually say with a laugh. âI donât think thereâs anything to it except that weâve known each other for such a long time. Makes it easier to work together.â
Sitting in the alcove, the rustle of plastic brought them out of their reverie. Y/n turned.
"Might as well eat before the soup gets cold," the other hero said with a sheepish smile and a shrug, holding out a plastic container they recognized instantly like an offering.
"Ah, you got rice balls!" Y/n couldn't help but grin and tease him. "Awesome, thanks! My konbini savior."
Head bent over the food, they didn't see how his eyes softened in the dim light of the streetlights below.Â
"I'll pay you back," Y/n continued, but stopped short when his fingers brushed their wrist.
They paused to raise a questioning brow at their patrol partner, who was shyly averting his gaze in turn. But his hand remained where it was.
The humidity clung to everything. It made their suits and hair damp, sticking to the backs of their necks and every other available inch of skin. The pairâs breath was already heavy in the close air after climbing up to their shared perch, tucked out of sight from curious eyes and far enough off the ground that they could talk freely. Â
His fingers were long and slim, almost too delicate-looking for someone who spent so much of his time swinging from building to light pole to construction beam and back again on a full time schedule. Â
Y/n couldnât take their eyes off of them, pads pressing lightly against their pulse point with pressure so subtle they might not have caught it if not for the feeling of closeness the humidity leant everything. It made his fingers feel a little tacky, almost, like they might stick to Y/nâs skin the way his tape did.
Then Cellophane withdrew as quickly as heâd reached out, awkwardly raking the sopping hair back from his forehead in search of something else to do with his now-free hand. The other, Y/n noticed, was clutching the plastic container that held what was likely his meal.Â
âSorry. Didnât mean to, uhâŠâ He gestured vaguely, his voice pitched low and sheepish, âyâknow. Just thought you might appreciate something slightly more substantial than just vending machine drinks. Especially after how much your quirk ended up coming in handy today -- just felt like you earned it. So donât worry about it, âkay? Itâs on me.âÂ
The corner of his mouth quirked upward, more habit than confidence, but the brief glance he risked was tinged with something else Y/n couldnât quite catch.Â
He shifted on the ledge next to them, long legs folding under him as he set the plastic bag between them, posture loose but edged with the kind of restlessness Y/n had seen in the way countless other colleagues pretended at repose. Â
Their eyes caught on a raindrop as it slid from his hairline down his jaw, catching in the dim light.Â
To bridge the silence that had gathered between them, the off-duty hero took a quick bite of one steaming rice ball -- and almost immediately was forced to huff out little puffs of air to avoid burning their mouth on it.
âHot, huh?â Cellophaneâs laugh was quiet, a little breathless itself as he bent over at the waist, clutching his middle as he tried to contain himself.Â
Through his giggles, he reached a hand out for a canned drink heâd bought and held it out, fingers brushing Y/nâs again when they accepted it gratefully. âShouldâve told you to pace yourself.â
âGah, yeah,â Y/n retorted once theyâd choked down a few gulps of what turned out to be canned coffee. Their favorite kind. âThis is totally all your fault, Cellophane. On the record.âÂ
Their face tingled with lingering heat, the clinging atmosphere doing little to help as the other hero chewed thoughtfully while the moment passed.   Â
Amid the light pollution, Y/n thought the clouds seemed to shift. The canned coffee passed back between the pair amid more shared laughter. The rain had lightened to a drizzle now, but neither moved to stand even as they both grew quiet in favor of eating.  Â
All around them, the chorus of pattering sheets had faded to a steady drip, drip, drip that was barely audible over the sound of sparse traffic stories below them.
Y/n wasnât sure how long passed before they found themself asking, âYou wanna try one?âÂ
If Cellophaneâs expression was anything to go by, he was just as surprised by the offer as they were, even after having made it. But there was the proffered rice ball, held out between their chopsticks right in front of his face.
His own chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth. For a heartbeat he just stared, the drizzle tapping the awningâs curve overhead in the silence between them. Â
Another particularly fat raindrop made its way down his forehead, melting into one thick eyebrow in a way that made Y/n wish they could smooth their thumb over it. Â
Cellophane blinked, scrubbed his palm over the eye, and flicked his dark gaze from the rice ball, to Y/nâs expectant face, then back to the food.
âAhââ He barked out a laugh, an awkward, almost too-loud sound, and rubbed at the back of his neck the way he did when realizing a villain would take more work than expected to take down. âYouâre, uh, offering me a bite? From your chopsticks? Thatâs okay with you?âÂ
Y/n blinked, not quite catching his meaning.
âUm, well, yeah? Itâs good, promise.â They tilted their hand a little, holding it level with his lips now. âI mean, you bought âem, after all. You should at least have one.âÂ
Sero swallowed, ears burning hot despite the cool night air that settled around them, drawing fog out of the damp air to wrap the city like a shroud. Â
He knew it was silly; this wasnât some middle manga setup. That crap wasnât even real. But the thought of his mouth where theirs had just been lit up his nerve endings like live wires anyway.
Still, just as Y/n was trying to work out whether they should retract the potentially offending utensil, they blinked and registered him leaning in.Â
âRight. Yeah. Sure, uh-huh,â he mumbled, hunching his shoulders a little as if that could make the movement smaller, less loaded somehow. âJust-- I mean it. Just donât laugh, alright? Not very heroic of you to bully your partner.â
The corner of his mouth twitched upward, a feeble attempt to disguise how careful he was as he took the offered bite. When he drew back, jaw working slowly, he kept his gaze fixed on the skyline beyond the awningâs edge their legs dangled from.
They were almost touching, he realized belatedly.Â
âTastes betterân mine,â Sero said finally, voice a little thick even after heâd swallowed. âPssh, figures.â
âConsider me grateful,â Y/n replied, biting into another rice ball and savoring the taste this time like their heart wasnât pounding so hard that if they hadnât known better, theyâd have thought it might bump against their ribs with enough force to send them off balance and tumbling into the late night traffic rushing by obliviously below. Â
Sero, whoâd been stealing covert glances at them as they spoke, followed their wandering gaze to the twinkling skyline.
 âIâm really glad we ended up at the same agency, yâknow.âÂ
He blinked, caught off guard by the easy sincerity in their tone. His chopsticks hovered over the container in his lap and he stared openly for a beat longer than intended before he finally picked out another bite and busied himself with it. Â
âYeah?â he asked, going for casual despite how his throat worked around the word. Â
God, he felt so stupid. Just sitting there, staring and chewing at them. Â
Shouldnât this be the time when he said something insightful, made them laugh with some clever joke? But his brain wouldnât produce either with them smiling like that, so differently than they did when the pair were about to take down a villain and wrap up a long shift together.
Absently, he grabbed a napkin to dab at the splotch of sauce that landed on his costume when Y/n pointed it out. Â
âDamn,â he murmured under his breath, eliciting a chuckle from his companion at which he couldnât help but feel a swell of something like pride in his chest.
âYeah.â Y/nâs smile was faint, eyes still straying toward those distant lights as if their thoughts were somewhere else entirely. âPatrols go faster with you around. Feels like weâve got each otherâs backs, even if itâs just finding a kidâs mom at the park or something.â
For once, Sero didnât deflect. Something about the look on her face had the joke heâd been about to brush off the compliment with die on his lips. Instead he just nodded, jaw tight as he chewed, brown eyes shifting to the hazy glow of Hosuâs skyline as if he could see whatever it was on their mind, too.Â
âButâŠâ Y/n took a quick sip of their soup before continuing. âYouâve also really helped me out of some tight spots, you know, Cellophane⊠I kind of⊠seriously owe you one.âÂ
The drizzle had all but stopped now, leaving behind the heavy cling of humid air and the steady, dull hum of traffic below.
âYou donât owe me anything,â he was quick to say, âexcept that Iâd like if you just call me my name when weâre off the clock.âÂ
Their knees brushed when Y/n shifted, a small, thoughtless adjustment for comfort. But neither hero retreated.
âHanta?â they questioned, half teasing and half disbelieving. Â
Was this really happening?Â
Wordlessly, he shook his head. The smile that curved his full lips upward was contagious.
âSero,â they self corrected.Â
It came out a little more breathless than theyâd meant. Theyâd blame that on the humidity if he ever asked. For now, masking it with a little laugh and shoving an orange soda from the plastic bag at their side would do.
His face lit up. Y/n felt it tug at something in their chest and tried not to stare too much at that wide grin they were starting to go out of their way to see more often while he cracked it open with a satisfying hiss.
Knees pressed together, they lost track of time from there between more traded bites of food, friendly little jabs, stories about their school days and talk of how different the world had become. Â
âBut not everything changed,â Sero blurted, prompting Y/n to shrug.Â
âLike what?â they challenged, huffing when he poked their cheek. âWhat? No, I definitely--âÂ
For a long moment, both were too stunned to speak.Â
âI still like you,â he mumbled again before Y/n could reach out and shake or smack him and demand an explanation. âWorking with you, making fun of you, eating meals with you. Being your partnerâs the best thing about being a pro.â
That, thankfully, seemed to dissolve the fraught tension stretching dangerously thin between the pair just seconds beforehand. Not that there was much distance left for it to cross, anyway, as Y/n huffed out a laugh and tilted their face up to look at him properly. Â
If heâd been standing, their smile would probably have made his knees too weak to hide. Instead Sero threw an arm around his partnerâs shoulders and pulled them in, protesting and laughing even harder now, for a noogie that gave him enough excuse to hold them close, just for a second, before theyâd have to descend and return to routine.
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