Lani POV:

Text Message TO: Raiga
Good morning—when u wake up. Gonna stop by and see you this weekend!
4:26am.

Text Message FROM: Raiga
Finally. It was getting boring around here.
4:27am.

Text Message TO: Raiga
Why are you up at 4 in the morning?
4:27am.

Text Message FROM: Raiga
I'm sure you have a good guess...
4:27am.

Text Message TO: Raiga
Hang in there. I'll bring your favorite meal, too.
4:28am.

I closed my phone with a sigh, pulling my jacket tighter around me as the cold morning air nipped at my nose.

In the two days I've known him, Shouto's already made me extremely paranoid about time, practically running into the HPSC Headquarters to ensure I wouldn't be late.

This is where he said to meet him—at the ass crack of dawn, might I add. The last thing I want is for him to go diva mode and cancel our day because I was a single minute over our discussed time.

....I feel like he would do that.

Swiping my work ID past the secured unit where all the heroes hung out, I quickly walked through, making a beeline for the day shift's locker room.

If he said 4:30, surely that means he's ready. He's too precise to give me the wrong time.

With that knowledge in mind, I pulled the door open and walked in, alarmingly used to seeing butt naked crime fighters incredibly often.

Whether it's measuring their dicks or showing off their new nipple piercings, my eyes always see at least one nude body a day.

Those people love being naked more than you might realize...

"Morning, Jeanist." I greeted casually, brushing past the man as he inspected his naked ass in the mirror.

"My butt implant got infected again..." He mumbled in tired disappointment, gingerly rubbing the big red spot on his cheek.

"Sucks." I clicked my tongue carelessly, turning the corner to try and find that head of dual colored hair.

The next row of lockers came up empty, causing me to sigh stressfully and quickly pull out my phone again.

4:30am.

"Agh." I groaned, quickly tapping on his number. "Where are you..."

Text Message TO: Shouto
I am IN THE BUILDING, SO RELAX. I REPEAT, I AM HERE AND NOT LATE. ****DO NOT CANCEL THE APPOINTMENT**** I JUST CAN'T FIND YOU. WHERE ARE-

My eyes wandered as I turned the next corner, instantly coming to a halt at the shirtless body that stood a few feet in front of me.

Well, I found him...

Shouto was the only one on this side of the locker room, lazily sliding his belt through the buckle of his baggy, dark blue pants.

He was turned to the side, not seeing me yet as he buttoned his pants and clasped his belt. He didn't hear me either as I could hear the music coming from his headphones all the way from over here.

My brows raised as I took in his frame. He was incredibly fit—he needed to be for his job. His muscles were lean, yet cut. The tight definition of his abs could be seen in the dim lighting of the locker room, even more so with the way his pants clung low on his hips.

Woah...

He's hot. Of course he is. That's why I picked him.

As if someone was watching, he unintentionally put on a show, stretching his arms over his head once his lower half was completely dressed. A low groan sounded tiredly under his breath for the long day ahead of him, his slender biceps straining as he tried to wake them up.

He closed his eyes and threw his head back, lazily scratching his toned chest. Cuts, bruises, and scars littered countless areas of his smooth skin. But, that only made him more alluring, letting wandering eyes know just how hard he works at his job.

Damn. He's got the physique of a Greek god—of course, that will be great for his popularity. Remind me to take a picture of him shirtless soon for his social media—with his consent obviously.

He doesn't wear All Might Style tights either. I like that—not that there's anything wrong with those, but man, the tights leave little to the imagination.

I could pick All Might's dick out in a crowd of dicks just from the outline of those tights I was forced to see everyday before he retired. Too much info? Whoops.

Stopping myself from staring before it could become creepy, I walked closer to him now, giving a wave to get his attention and make my presence known.

He caught the movement from the corner of his eye, looking over at me before surprise perked up his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked genuinely, quickly pulling the headphones from his ears.

I furrowed my brows in confusion, looking down at my phone again to confirm I had the right time. "Didn't we agree on 4:30 this morning?"

He nodded in realization, staying quiet for a few moments as he reached for his shirt.

"Well....I only said 4:30 because I didn't think you'd show up on time." He side eyed me bluntly. "I don't start work for fifteen minutes."

I was five minutes late one time and he really can't let that go, huh...

I pressed my lips together to hold in my sigh of annoyance, nodding and slowly making my way over to the metal locker room bench in front of him.

"No worries. I don't mind waiting." I said patiently, plopping down on the bench comfortably.

Yeah, I don't mind waiting. I could have gotten a few more precious moments of sleep...or grabbed coffee...or took that much needed poop. But, sure, I don't mind waiting if it comes to you, Shouto. Of course not, you stupid, little brat...

Regardless, I couldn't say I was too upset. Everytime I've seen Shouto so far, he's been in casual clothes, always coming from university. This will be the first time I get to see what his hero uniform looks like.

Actually, this will be the first time I get to see him in action and take a look at his quirk, too. We'll see if he can back up that cocky attitude of his with skill.

If he's Endeavor's son, he must have some sort of fire quirk. I wonder if that's how he got the scar on his eye? Perhaps it was a training accident?

Obviously, that's a very personal question. I can't just ask about it so quickly. Even if I'm an asshole sometimes, I still know what's considered appropriate.

I was perfectly fine sitting in silence as Shouto slowly unfolded his shirt, entertaining myself with all the growing questions I had about him in my head. But, it seems he was the rather chatty one today—or as chatty as someone like him seems to be.

"You're not wearing business clothes today." He observed plainly, causing me to come out of my daydreams and see he was eyeing me up and down.

As if remembering that myself, I looked down at my own appearance, smoothing out my baggier jacket under his watchful gaze.

I didn't think he'd notice what I wear. He seems like the type to filter out things that aren't important.

Clearly, he's more perceptive than I thought...

"I knew we'd be running around all day. Didn't really wanna do that in heels." I smiled, leaning back against the lockers and gesturing to my converse.

The same kind he was wearing yesterday in my office. Guess we have one thing in common—our preference in shoes. Maybe it's just a coincidence though. I can't imagine having anything in common with this guy.

He nodded distractedly, continuing to fiddle with his shirt as his gaze peered past my opened jacket.

Shouto POV:

Her jacket was baggy and so were her jeans. But her top was tight—I don't understand that. Why was her shirt tight if the rest of her clothes were loose? Wouldn't she want her shirt to be loose as well? Or her pants and jacket tight to match?

I don't understand her.

I don't know. I never notice what people wear—anyways, her shirt was tight enough where it rode up her stomach a little, barely giving me a flash of her bellybutton.

...is that a....

It's almost unnoticeable with the shirt covering half of it, but she has a piercing there. In the professional work clothes she wore before, I wouldn't have guessed she did. She also has a small lip ring peaking out of the corner of her mouth. Something she didn't wear yesterday at work.

Not only that...

But, I think that might be a tattoo near her side.

I can't get a good look with the jacket on.

She dresses very differently outside of work. Do her clothes reflect her personality? If they do, what does that mean...?

None of that matters though. It's unnecessary information, so I'll forget about it.

Lani POV:

I raised a brow as Shouto studied my appearance in drawn out silence, sighing tiredly as that blank look on his face seemed to be judging me. Again.

"Ah. Do you...wear that shirt to work? Or...?" I gestured to the material in his hand, causing him to blink a few times and come out of his head.

"Oh." He murmured, immediately unfolding the black undershirt and throwing it over his head.

He began tucking it into his pants, stopping halfway before peering at me in innocent question. "Don't you...like, need to document this, or something?"

Starting to understand how he operates, I let out a genuine chuckle as I figured he was serious, shooting him a cheeky smile.

"You getting dressed? As much as the people would love to see that, no. It's an invasion of privacy." I explained, waving him on to continue in peace.

He tried to absorb my words, furrowing his brows a bit before opting to finish up. "Okay."

Silence consumed us as he continued getting ready. Usually, heroes will talk your ear off the moment you meet them, salivating for any moment to talk about themselves and their accomplishments.

Shouto didn't care about any of that though, lost in his own, little Shouto world.

It makes my job a little harder. But, a nice change of pace regardless—he still annoys me though.

"Sooo...." I tried to break the ice as he put his boots on. "What do you have on the schedule today?"

He slid two tiny gauntlets around his wrists before giving his hair a messy shake, packing up his previous outfit and non-essentials away in his duffel.

"I checked the police scanners when I came in and it should be a pretty boring day." He shrugged, crossing his arms and standing over me.

Naturally, my eyes wandered up and down his finished appearance.

I like his hero suit. The look is cool and straight to the point. Nothing too flashy and only the essentials.

Definitely fits his personality.

"Ooo, boring, huh?" I stood up, lazily stretching my arms over my head. "So, like....getting kittens out of trees? Helping little old ladies cross the street and all that?"

***

CRASH!

EXPLOSION!

BOOM!

SPLAT!

"SOMEONE HELP ME!! I'M GOING TO DIE!!!!"

"THIS IS THE MOST ABNORMAL DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BORING ABOUT THIS!!!!"

My eyes widened in shock as Shouto and I walked by the collapsing building, with nothing but chaos surrounding the area.

It's not that I've never been out in the field to observe heroes before. It's that no hero in their right mind would call this a boring day

But, Shouto is Shouto...as I continue to find out...

I peered over at him as people continued to sob and shriek for their lives in the swaying building above us, with Shouto assessing the scene and deeming he had a few seconds before he needed to get started.

Checking the sky for any falling pieces of the building, his hand settled firmly on the middle of my back, gently pushing me forward to walk with him. Honestly, it felt more like I was a criminal and he was leading me to the police car after the end of a long chase.

"Where do you want to observe me?" He asked, with the warmth of his hand starting to seep through my jacket.

I opened my mouth to answer, not getting a chance when a giant piece of debris broke from the building above our heads.

Ah, that's unfortunate. At least I won't have to pay my rent next month. Cause I'll be dead.

It came hurling directly towards us now, causing Shouto look up at it through half lidded eyes.

I was surprised when he instantly grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest, not sparing me a glance as he extended his hand upwards.

For someone so clueless about most things, his reflexives were pretty quick.

...honestly I had plenty of time to get out of the way. But, nice of him to take precautions. A good first impression of his job skills for sure.

Wanting to catch a glimpse of his quirk, I looked to the sky, watching a stunning, glossy tarp of ice shoot out from his palm and cover our heads.

Ah. It's pretty.

So, an ice quirk, huh? I'm surprised. I really thought he'd have a fire quirk like his dad.

Regardless, it's a cool power.

He kept his eyes to the sky as the debris crashed right atop his ice wall, not even flinching from the loud blast of impact it made.

His grip on my arm instantly melted around my back again, pushing me flush into his body as he ensured the debris wouldn't get through the barrier.

Listen, I won't lie to you. I do feel his muscles, okay...

His chest was warm and soft against my shoulder, contrasting nicely against the chilly hue of his ice resting right above us.

I looked up at the ice with him calmly, meeting his eyes when they slowly slid down to mine.

"So where did you say you wanted to observe me again?" He murmured boredly, keeping his arm around me as he studied my features.

This guy. Nothing fazes him, it seems—except me threatening to sit on his lap yesterday. The irony.

A soft chuckle escaped my lips at his odd composure, feeling his abs strain against my stomach from my sound.

"How 'bout anywhere that doesn't get my head blown off."

*****

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