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Lani POV:

"Fuck..." Shouto panted, shirtless sweaty torso straining underneath me.

His brows furrowed together and he bit down on his bottom lip hard, grunting roughly in a way that had my stomach flip.

"Yeah, that's my good boy." I breathed out. "Don't give out on me yet. Faster."

"F-Faster?" He almost moaned, causing me to lean in closer.

"Faster. You don't stop until I tell you to." I murmured smugly, letting my perfume waft up his nostrils.

Shouto obeyed, moving his body repeatedly, his groans getting louder and louder.

He's so close. He...

....couldn't take another sit-up, releasing a heavy, shaky breath as his back collapsed onto the floor in surrender.

Yeah, 'sit-ups.' I don't know what you were thinking...

"Perfect." I grinned, positioning the phone camera over his sweaty toned body.

Holy shit, he's so fit. It's not the first time I've seen him shirtless. But, I swear he got more cut since then—how is that even possible.

Shouto's chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, draping a tired hand over his sweaty face as he let me take my pictures like a creepy stalker.

But, this is all for work purposes only.

It was only mere hours ago that I had my brush with getting fired. Again. The only thing that saved me was Shouto's social media page blowing up practically over night.

My boss Yuna's words hadn't left my mind since, knowing I wouldn't be given another grace period if I didn't put out—more like, if Shouto didn't put out soon....

"The next pictures I see of this Shouto better be hot and shirtless. Got it?"

Yep, I got it. Which is why I begrudgingly broke my pathetic 24 hour ghosting streak and texted the half and half guy on my way out of Yuna's office, telling him to meet me when he's done with work for some publicity stuff.

I was surprised when he texted me back an immediate 'ok.'

If I didn't know any better, I'd say it almost seemed like he was waiting for my message.

But, Shouto is Shouto, and I've come to find out that whatever I assume about him is usually so far from the truth. Therefore, I've tried to stop doing that.

...sort of.

We've been at the HPSC training gym for thirty minutes now, and nothing has been said. Nothing but work stuff anyways. You know, me giving him photography direction. Telling him how to pose and how to look, and his little Shouto-y replies of acknowledgement.

He went with it, either not knowing what to say, or not caring—probably the latter—letting us work in peaceful silence—that was no longer peaceful at all, might I add...

Maybe, at the beginning of our partnership, I would have preferred it this way. I mean, that's usually how I work with my clients anyways, speaking about nothing but work. Frankly, because I don't give a shit about their personal lives. Yeah, I'm a bitch, you already knew that though.

But, now that I've come to know him and become extremely interested in his life...

The silence was killing me.

So many elephants in the room—the night we spent together...dinner with his ex...all of our weird touches and looks...

But, this isn't social hour. This is work, and I feel like it's not my place to ask because I'm not supposed to be his friend. I'm his publicist and he's my client—my professional client.

And I'm afraid to get closer to him. As Kai said...

"The last thing you need is to get close to a hero."

I know. I...know.

For that reason, I restrained myself, keeping with the tense, unspoken silence as I weighted my knees atop Shouto's feet to help his crunches, pressing my stomach into his shins and leaning forward to snap thirst trapping pictures.

There's a certain way I want to position him, and if it were anyone else, I'd touch them and move them where I wanted. But, with him...I held back for some reason.

I felt his eyes on me constantly over the last half hour, looking like he was waiting for me to start a conversation the way I normally would.

His mouth moved every so often like he was about to say something before it closed again, clearly not knowing what to say.

He's not one to start conversations very often.

After snapping one more picture of his amazing body, I leaned back with a tired huff, acting like I was the one who just did over 3,000 crunches for the camera.

Lmao, right?

"Phew. Okay." I sighed, sliding my knees off his feet. "Take a break and get some water while I check these."

Purposefully so, I immediately turned my back to him, pretending to look through the pictures with a hefty amount of focus.

But, truly, I couldn't care less. I really wanted to talk to him.

I heard Shouto pant tiredly behind me before scrambling around on the mat, gulping from a water bottle for a few quiet moments.

My fingers gripped my phone tighter when he put the bottle down. I was no longer even looking at the pictures, but just staring blankly at the mat wondering question after question about him-

"You didn't text yesterday." His voice sounded from behind me, causing my brows to raise in surprise.

Like I said, it's very rare for him to start the conversation.

"Hm?" Was all that came from my throat, feeling every one of my usual snarky responses leave me.

Ugh. What is this guy doing to me...

He ran a hand through his sweaty hair, barely giving me a side glance before speaking again. "Yesterday. I never heard from you."

So, he did notice my ghosting. Judging from his neutral tone, I can't tell how he feels about it either.

Deciding to play it neutral back, I fiddled with my phone and put it down on the mat, rubbing my arm awkwardly as I kept my back to him.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I was just busy, you know..." I mumbled, looking around the training gym like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

What the hell was that response? These weird actions I'm doing? God, I spent years perfecting my charming poise, and at the moment, it's like I have nothing to show for it...

"Busy...with what?" Shouto inquired further, surprising me with his deepening interest.

Seems I'm not the only one who's been wanting to know some things today.

"Ah. Look at you, man of a million questions." I chuckled a bit smugly, feeling myself loosening up as I turned around to face him.

"I...I only asked one question though-"

"I'm more interested in where you've been the last twenty-four hours." I blurted out, feeling self control leave me.

I can only stay quiet for so long. It's taken every ounce of restraint within me to not talk his ear off all afternoon, and—he gave me the opening, okay? It's his fault.

His eyes barely twitched with life once I sparked our first real conversation of the day with more interest, relaxing slightly as he sensed he wouldn't have to think of anything else to get me talking.

Introverts. Gotta love 'em.

"Well, I was at work before you texted." He blinked a few times, before my tongue got the better of me yet again.

"I'm talking about the dinner." I emphasized, unintentionally trailing my gaze down his shirtless body. "You know, the one with your girlfriend?"

"Ex-girlfriend." He corrected, causing me to shrug.

"Mhm. Right."

Shouto sat on the mat, leaning back on his hands and displaying his defined row of abs. My hands instantly became overtaken with that itchy feeling again. The feeling to go over there and touch him. Any part of him. Just to feel his warmth...his skin...his definition.

My mind traveled back to two nights ago when we fell asleep together, realizing these were the same abs pressing into my stomach. The same abs my hand unintentionally ran down in my haze of sleep, savoring each divot of his muscles underneath my fingertips, wondering what it would feel like to just lift his shirt a little higher and-

"The dinner went different than I was expecting." Shouto explained, pulling me out of my ridiculous, horrible, absolutely unprofessional thoughts.

It was only now that I realized I was staring at his torso, instantly shooting my eyes up in hopes he hadn't noticed my gawking.

But, upon looking up, I saw his eyes were already locked on mine, causing my heart to jump.

Even so, his face was neutral, leaving me unable to read what he was thinking and whether he really noticed in the first place.

"Different how?" I quickly followed up, trying to overcompensate for my watching eyes by looking away from him completely now.

God, this is ridiculous. I haven't been this much of a loser in years.

Why does he make me feel so small? So much...like the person I used to be. The person I hated.

Completely unbothered, Shouto swept his sweaty hair away from his forehead before it immediately fell back into the same place, giving up on trying to clear it away a second time.

"She never told her parents we broke up and wants us to pretend to continue dating until the Fresh Heroes Banquet." He said bluntly, causing my eyes to bulge out of my head.

"What?!"

"I figured you'd be upset."

Again, what!?

He figured I'd be upset? Why is he figuring anything like that? He doesn't know me...

He said the words as a statement, so calm and incredibly certain as my mouth opened and closed like a babbling fish.

"I-I'm not upset!!" I said upset-ly, running a hand through my hair. "I....I mean—I'm upset, but—only because of how this affects our work!-"

Yeah. Right.

"How does it affect our work?" He asked instantly, making my frazzled mind work overtime to combat his relentless nosy questions.

The worst part of all is that he's really not being that nosy. It's a genuine question and a good one. One that had me stumbling again.

"Well—because—and—I-"

"It doesn't seem like you have an answer." He shut me down again without even knowing, making me resist the urge to slam my face into the mat at full force.

With a sigh of self loathing, I took a moment to pause and get myself back on track, reflecting on the bomb he just dropped on me.

From Shouto's words alone, it's clear his ex doesn't find this breakup mutual. Shouto clearly broke her heart and now she's trying to keep him.

Which only affirms what I assumed earlier—she must love him. I figured that out in the first few minutes he brought her up. But, does he realize it? How does he even feel about it?

Might as well just come out with it. He does best when I speak his language—clear and blunt.

"Do you want to keep dating her?" I asked—or, rather, grumbled, cutting right to the point.

Shouto's stoic face finally had some emotion from my words, eyes barely widening before shrinking back to their usual size.

"I never said that." He said, trailing his gaze along my features.

His answer and reaction satisfied me more than I was expecting.

My body relaxed slightly as I scooted closer to him on the mat, finding my curiosities getting the better of me again.

"Well.....then what did you tell her?" I mumbled, desperately trying to downplay my interest as I pressed down on the squishy sparring mat.

He scratched his chin with intense thought and looked at the ground before remembering. "I didn't say anything. Then we walked inside and continued eating."

Kill me.

Typical Shouto Todoroki shit.

I sighed tiredly and let my head hang between my shoulders, feeling my hair spilling into my face.

"So, you agreed." I groaned, closing my eyes at the migraine that was forming.

"Is that....agreeing?" He said with genuine confusion, causing me to peer up at him in annoyance.

"Well, it's certainly not disagreeing."

In her mind, they're definitely still dating—or, at least, not cutting ties with each other anytime soon.

And, once again, I find myself confused. Shouto's such a blunt and honest person. When he told me he didn't care for his ex-girlfriend, I also thought that meant he'd have no problem telling her no when it comes to things and boundaries.

That's one thing I really didn't think I'd be wrong about.

Sensing my frustration, Shouto looked down at the mat with me, watching my fingers absentmindedly pressing shapes into the mat.

"I really wasn't sure what my answer should have been." He explained, starting to mimic my actions on the mat with his own fingers. "I didn't know how it would affect us, so I wanted to talk to you about it."

Shouto's words halted my frustrations instantly. The way he phrased them sounded so intimate and personal.

Affect us, he said? Surely he means how it would affect our partnership...

And he wanted to talk to me about it? Why? Is it...is it because of work stuff?

Yes, it is. Stop reading into things.

For your sake, it needs to be because of work stuff.

Anyways, there would be no other reason why he'd wanna talk about it with me. I'm just his publicist. I don't know why I seem to keep forgetting that.

And yet...

"You did?" I uttered quietly, keeping my eyes to the sparring mat.

He barely glanced up towards my face, body unintentionally hovering closer into my space before he looked back down at the mat with me.

"Oh. Should I not?" His voice asked genuinely, suddenly seeming confused.

"No. You absolutely can." I said instantly, chuckling softly before peering up at him. "I....I'm glad you did."

That last part wasn't necessary. Not one bit.

Shouto and I were shoulder to shoulder, giving me the perfect close up view of his face—rather, his side profile as he continued looking towards the ground and said, "Okay."

His hair was sweaty, dual colors of it tangling with each other and the ends tickling his cheek bones. His eyelashes were so long, it was a crime to give such flawless ones to someone who doesn't care about looks. His lips were just a little chapped today from the workout, his tongue wet the bottom one as his fingers messed around on the mat...

And when my shoulder accidentally bumped into his own from coming closer, he looked up, eyes stirring with subtle surprise for my distance before relaxing almost instantly.

He didn't pull away.

His gaze melted into mine, sending sweet butterflies to the pit of my stomach. His shirtless body was so inviting, and I already knew how warm it was from sleeping with him—falling asleep with him.

I told you I get addicted to things easily, and already I find myself unable to forget the feeling of him. What it would be like to reach my arms out and touch him. To lay with him again and wipe the hair from his forehead, and rest my face in the crook of his neck, and feel his hands on my body.

I felt dehydrated, but not of water. Of him. My mouth felt dry and my body so hot in a way that only he could fix. What would he do? Ohhh, what would he do...

What would he do if I touched him right now?

It would be so unprofessional to find out.

And, yet my hands moved so greedily. So selfishly.

I leaned in closer and swiped his sweaty hair away from his forehead, feeling the damp ends of it tickle my fingertips.

I could feel his breath rolling onto my face as I did so, knowing I should pull away before the moment would become too noticeable.

And, yet, addicting temptation controlled my actions, remaining mere inches from his lips as I stroked my fingers through his hair, feeling the subtle stutter of his breath and how it became just a little heavier.

"You have such nice hair." I whispered softly, feeling the tension in my chest starting to rise.

I don't know why I had such an overwhelming need to compliment him. To let him know how attractive he was and how much I noticed. To hear myself speak all the thoughts scattered in my brain.

Shouto's face barely hovered closer from my words, seeming drawn to the source they came from as he eyed my mouth.

"Is....is that you joking again?" He murmured, not protesting when my outer thigh pressed against his own.

"No. I'm serious." I said, not realizing when it became harder to breathe. "You just have a nice...everything."

"A nice everything...." He repeated softly, trying to make sense of my words.

The sentence sounded so stupid after I said it, but not in a bad way. Actually, it was a funny way, different from how I talk to other heroes and enough to make me laugh for a reason I didn't understand.

The moment my lips curled up into a smile, I lowered my head, not intending to face plant against his bare shoulder, but not pulling away when I did.

His body melted from my soft chuckle, and I could feel his eyes trying to catch a look.

"Why are you laughing?" He said genuinely, only making me laugh a little harder from how serious he was.

I covered my mouth tightly and forced myself to calm down, clearing my throat and slowly lifting my head a few moments later.

"I....don't really know." I admitted, wearing the afterglow of a good laugh.

He's made me laugh more times this week than I have in the last year honestly.

He blinked a few times as he tried to process, looking just a little eager as he asked, "Did I say something funny?"

I pressed my lips together to hold in the next fit of laughter, shaking my head in amusement.

"Not this time."

"Then why do you keep laughing?"

He almost sounded concerned and it was hilarious. His constant asking made me crack again as I started to laugh, internally wishing so badly I could stop.

I hate my laugh. My smile. It's so ugly.

"Ahhh, I dunno. But, stop making me do it!" I giggled, lowering my face from his watching gaze again.

On instinct, I lifted my hand to cover my smile. But, my eyes widened when a warm hand caught my wrist before I could, holding onto it gently.

My laughter stopped from the shock, slowly looking up at Shouto in question.

His face was blank, almost surprised he did such a thing. But, he kept his grip on my wrist, unintentionally grazing his thumb just below my palm.

"I....I don't think.....you should cover it." He said choppily, keeping his eyes on mine in distraction.

He left me speechless, looking at him in pure awe as he slowly lowered my wrist further away from my face. His mouth opened and closed, trying to pull the right words from his brain.

"It's a good smile." He followed up a few moments later. "So.....you don't need to worry."

My jaw softly dropped from his words, instantly taken aback.

No one's ever told me they like my smile before.

And whenever Shouto says something, it's like liquid gold because he always means it.

He likes my smile. He...genuinely likes my smile.

He's been saying a lot of nice things to me lately. Things that people don't ever say. Things that are too dangerous to tell a person like me. Someone who feels more than they appear to. Someone who's starved of the basic love and affections people tend to receive. Someone who gets addicted, and someone who takes every word to heart—good and bad.

Someone who falls easily. More easily than people might have guessed.

My heart swelled the way it hasn't in years, starting to feel overwhelmed by the simple things that are never just 'simple' to me. I feel even smaller than I did before, yet so big under his gaze, almost like he was watching me through a microscope.

Voices of the past played in my head. Voices I've tried to forget. Voices that scarred me and hurt me.

"You should never smile."

"You're so ugly. It would be better to kill yourself so no one has to look at you."

For the first time in over a decade, I wanted to cry.

And I don't really know why. I don't know the trigger and I don't know if it's happy or sad tears, but I wanted to cry, and I wanted Shouto to stay here with me. I wanted Shouto to hug me and pay attention to me, and listen to me.

My lip softly began to quiver as I looked up at him, feeling my eyes starting to cloud over as I croaked out his name.

"Shouto..."

His brows furrowed softly from my uneven tone, forcing his socially unaware brain to listen for my cues carefully and understand I was emotional.

"Yes..." He breathed out with concern, gently gliding his thumb back and forth along my palm.

Affection. Touch. God, it feels so nice to be touched.

My breaths deepened and came out heavier as I leaned in closer to him, pressing my forehead to his own and making him gasp softly.

"Shouto..." I repeated quieter and much too personal, letting my eyes fall closed as I absorbed every ounce of his presence I could, inhaling the breaths as they came from his mouth.

My voice came out more vulnerable and he knew it. I don't even think he was aware he was subtly tugging me closer by my wrist. Or, maybe he did know. Shouto is a mystery to me.

"Lani..." He breathed my name, making my stomach flip with sensitivity.

He almost never says my name. It's always awkward for him when he does, but I love how it sounds from his mouth. The way it rolls off his tongue is so foreign and exciting at the same time. It feels like I'm getting the deeper side of him. The side that people don't get to see very often. The side he might not even see himself very often because he isn't used to it.

More. I wanted more...

But, it seems, fate had other plans. And I've never been more grateful for that.

The giant clock in the gym chimed loudly with the start of a new hour, causing me to gasp sharply in surprise and instantly pull away.

My heart jumped in my throat, beating rapidly as I covered my mouth and looked at the mat wide eyed.

Because what the hell was that...

It's not very often that I'm unable to control myself. Especially when it comes to personal space and affection.

I mean it when I say...I really wasn't thinking about my actions. They just sort of...happened. Spurred on by Shouto's presence.

Shouto didn't even move—or flinch the way I did, looking blankly at nothing as the clock calmly chimed two more times.

What is he even thinking? Is he even aware of how close we just were? Was he even affected? He's so quiet, but then again, he's always like that.

Silence consumed us once the clock stopped dinging, leaving us in the residues of something that was now incredibly awkward for me, and something that was just neutral for Shouto.

Jesus. We are an absolute disaster.

My brain was scrambled, my mouth fought for words...thoughts...anything I could to quickly draw attention away from whatever moment that was.

Because I don't want to bring it up. I don't want him to think anything of it, because there's nothing to think about. It was just a weird vibe.

"A-Anyways...." I muttered, blinking rapidly before getting my thoughts back. "Uh—what was I saying?—oh—yeah, I...I have no idea what to do honestly about your ex-girlfriend honestly."

The words stirred guiltily in my stomach.

Because, deep down, I do. I know exactly what to do and I know what my boss would want me to do as well in this situation.

From the pictures I saw of Shouto's ex, I can already tell she's someone of high status. Someone that would raise his popularity and send him sky rocketing into the eyes of others. The most logical thing for his career would be going with his ex's plan of continuing to date and use that to our advantage.

But....I don't want to do that. I don't want him to do that.

This is exactly why I said you should never be friends with your clients. Emotions start making decisions instead of logic, and it hurts the hero's success.

I don't want to hurt Shouto's success. I really don't.

But, my emotions won today, foolishly jeopardizing both of our jobs due to my odd selfishness for the situation.

Clearing my throat, I tried to compose myself, smoothing out my shirt unnecessarily.

"We still have a month until the Fresh Heroes Banquet. Let's just ignore it for now and cross that bridge when we get there. Sound good?" I asked, looking back at him with a weak smile.

Shouto had already recovered from the moment like it never happened, quirking a brow of confusion as he spoke.

"Um. What bridge are we crossing?"

Yep. Definitely back to himself.

"That's my boy. Now! Let's get back to the important stuff. Sexy selfies. Yeah..."

Next Chapter Title: 'Doing It.'

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