Top pic credit: Joikzo

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Lani POV:

"Alright, Shouto. It's officially golden hour. You know what that means, don't you?"

The half and half guy looked at me blankly, tilting his head with empty thoughts before answering curtly.

"No."

I chuckled and lowered the phone camera from my vision, bouncing back and forth on my feet.

"It means it's officially prime selfie time, obviously." I teased a bit, gesturing to him expectantly. "Go on. Give me your best smolder."

Shouto's face morphed into confusion now, awkwardly moving his hands up halfway before bringing them down to his sides.

After thirty minutes of trying to position his stiff body, we ended up here. With Shouto standing next to the river like a kid being forced to take birthday pictures with his grandma.

"Smolder? Like....fire?" He raised a brow, dual colored hair gently dancing in the early evening breeze.

Honestly, with the way the sun was hitting him right now, and the backdrop of the park lake behind him...

Subtly, I snapped a picture of him from where he stood, already impressed with the way it turned out.

He's pretty photogenic. I'm not surprised.

"I mean, in a way, yeah—fire. Spice. Smolder. You know, like, your sexiest look." I explained vaguely, not really knowing how else to say it.

Usually, most other heroes already know exactly what I'm looking for when I say that. Nine out of ten times, they double as models. Would you believe it? That was sarcasm.

But, Shouto? He's a different breed. Part of the reason he's growing on me so much is because he doesn't feed into the typical hero bullshit.

I guess that does make my job harder on most levels. Especially stuff like this. But, worth it.

He looked at me a bit bewildered from his spot under the big oak tree, already seeming intensely confused by the 'heartthrob' instructions.

Yep. Didn't see that one coming, right...

"I...don't know what any of that means." He said bluntly, stroking his chin and looking to the grass with his 'over analyzing' face.

I watched him battle his thoughts in amusement. It's definitely not as serious as he's making it out to be in his head.

We gotta loosen this guy up a little.

The fading rays of sun showered his face perfectly, painting it with warm oranges and yellows that captured his 'golden hour' so well. Truly, he could be a model if he wanted to. And he'd be a damn successful one.

He'd be everyone's crush. Everyone's dream.

His eyes lit up like jewels. His skin was glowing.

In a way, I kind of like the fact that Shouto is still so 'hidden' from the public. He won't be after today, and I know that. But, for now...

It's like he's my own little secret.

Only I get to see how cute he is. Maybe that makes me selfish. That's okay. I never said I was a good person.

But, for the sake of his success, I know it's not right to keep him for myself.

Studying him closely, I decided to throw him a bone and give him a little direction.

"Try biting down on your bottom lip." I instructed.

He took his bottom lip harshly between his teeth, causing me to cringe slightly and redirect him.

"Eh. Not that hard. Softer."

He lightened up, barely sinking his straight, white teeth into it now....

Cute. Kinda looks like a serial killer at the same time though.

The pose still looked forced and out of place, too. I attempted to tweak it a little more.

"Now, hold that position and squint your eyes." I instructed, watching Shouto take my lead. "Excellent. Now push your brows up into a pout like this."

He stood stiffly next to the tree with his new sexy face, causing me to tilt my head.

Well, that's certainly....something.

Maybe I'm just looking at him from the wrong angle. Lemme just close one eye....and then the other...

"Great." I encouraged, trying to mask my uncertainty. "Uh. How does that feel?"

Shouto blinked his squinted eyes in growing question, speaking mumbled through his fuckboy lip bite.

"Is it..supposed to feel like something?"

Lowering my phone, I closed my camera with a sigh, instantly knocking the fuckboy pose.

"You're right. This won't work." I said, crossing my arms in defeat.

Shouto relaxed his face now, leaning into the oak tree and looking up towards the sky.

The orangey sun rays hit the perfect angle of his eyes. His hair blew softly and his hands were in his pockets.

Looking at him in focus, I quickly pulled out my camera again, snapping a second test picture.

See, he looks good there. Now, I just need to figure out how to make him channel that into a photo.

"So, what do we do?" He mumbled lightly, resting the back of his head against the oak. 

Something about him right now looks cozy. I don't know how else to explain it. The urge to walk over and—I don't even know what I'd do—I don't even know what I want to do. He just has this presence that makes you want to be near him.

And...if I can find a way to channel that through his social media, I'll be golden. So will he.

While I'd normally be a seasoned publicist with anyone else, Shouto has a unique way of taking direction, one I've never experienced before.

It challenges me, and you know I always love a challenge.

The second phase of our plan, or rather, Yuna's plan—turning him into a charmer, will be just as much a quest for me as it is for him, and it starts with changing things up.

He's not a 'Hawks' or 'Miruko.' I need to think outside the box.

"Well, we just have to find your appeal." I said distractedly, keeping my gaze to his features. "Everyone's attractive in different areas of life. Posing and modeling just isn't your appeal. That's alright."

The next thing I knew, I was walking over to him—and then, directly in front of him, watching his head slowly turn towards me.

He did it in a lazy way, letting his skull roll along the wood until his eyes caught mine. The two colors of his hair spilled into each other and past his forehead. His irises slowly glided down my face on instinct, pulling me in closer and closer until I physically couldn't take another second without touching him somehow.

He smells so good. He's like the fading sun, warm and soft with the promise of tomorrow.

My fingers slowly closed around his wrist. My intention was to drag him off the tree bark, but he was steeled in place and my force ended up pulling me closer into his body instead.

He didn't seem to mind, subtly melting his chest into my shoulder.

"Should we..." He trailed off, voice stripped of his usual bluntness and sass. "Are we staying here?"

There was a slight rasp in his throat. His voice was always deeper and calmer in tone, and I never knew how much I needed it. How much it coaxed my constantly racing thoughts into something slower and more relaxed.

The question sounded so appealing. Staying here with Shouto. Watching the sun set over the mountain's horizon. Sitting with him on the damp grass and talking his ear off about anything that crossed my mind—because I knew he'd listen. He always listens to me when it matters. He's always interested. He...

I...

We're here to work.

Yes, we're here to work. And....sitting here on the grass would be ridiculous. It would waste time, it would hide him from the world, and he'd never become the apple of the public's eye.

He'd be hidden. He'd be mine.

And that's not allowed.

"No, we aren't staying here." I murmured to him softly, pulling on his wrist with a little more force. "We're here to make people fall in love with you, remember? How could we do that if we stayed here?"

"We...couldn't." He answered slow and wary, eyes narrowing in almost suspicion as he tried to assume the answer.

Inhaling one last essence of his presence, I cleared the vulnerability from my eyes, unsure of when it crept in—and so easily, too.

It's embarrassing. To continue showing him too much of my true self runs the risk of this partnership turning into something lethal...

A friendship, of course.

Forcing a mechanical grin of charm back onto my lips, I pulled on him hard enough to peel his spine off the wood.

"Come on then, Shouto. Let's go make this town your bitch." I chuckled, dragging him down the perimeter of the park.

"....my what?"

*

"Feeding ducks!" I announced triumphantly, holding my camera up at Shouto's side as he crouched near the lake.

The golden hour was still at its peak as Shouto and I positioned ourselves next to the shimmery water, painted with the filter of orange lilies thank to the sky's reflection.

I handed him the stale bread and he began crumbling it in his hands hesitantly, trying to make sense of the moment for himself.

"So...is feeding ducks considered to be....you know?" He asked, dancing along the last word like it was the plague.

"Sexy?" I laughed, tilting my head at him musingly. "It can be. Anything can be sexy depending on how you portray it—well, almost anything."

"Sounds manipulative." His voice came out blunt, but still he didn't necessarily seem off put.

"Oh, it is." I nodded casually, not feeling the need to mince words and lie.

Even if Shouto has a difficult time picking up cues and making sense of things, he seems perfectly aware of everything we're trying to do here. He agreed to become a heartthrob. To be quite honest, he actually really jumped at the opportunity, which is something I wasn't expecting.

I do wonder why.

"I'm going forrr—'hot guy loves nature and giving back.'" I explained overly dramatic, gliding my hand across the sky as if he could see the invisible bulletin board in my head.

He looked up at the sky with me in confusion, narrowing his eyes for some sort of premonition he wasn't seeing.

"Okie dokie." I huffed in anticipation, remaining crouched and waddling backwards on my feet. "Need to get a good angle here—perfect. Shouto, you stay there. On the count of three, drop the bread."

I raised my phone and opened the camera, grinning slightly when Shouto appeared on the screen.

He was stiff as a board, looking at the camera warily while mechanically extending his hand towards the duck at the edge of the river.

"Ready?" I looked at him through the camera.

"It's hard not to be."

"Okay then. One....two...three."

The two of us stared at each other in silence as Shouto held the bread over the water, uneventfully letting it fall with an awkward "plop."

Oh.

Slowly, I lowered the camera and watched the soggy, floating bread with Shouto, both of us contemplating every life decision we made that brought us to this exact moment.

...okay.

So, the duck idea sounded sexier in my head...

"Yeahhhhh...." My cheer fell flat, cringing softly before snapping my fingers with hope.

"Okay. Next!"

*

"Walking!" I announced cooly, sauntering next to Shouto as he walked down the street.

He looked at me in distraction as I skiddled and daddled around his slow moving body like a paparazzi, trying to snap still shots of every angle.

"Oh. I didn't realize walking could be....sexually arousing." He commented plainly.

He really has a way of killing the mood.

"Trust me. When you're a fan girl or boy, Shouto, anything is hot." I smirked slyly.

He hummed and nodded, still not getting it, but trusting my lead.

He's really coming around.

"Okay, you're walking down the street, right?" I narrated, trying to hype him up. "Total cool guy. Just don't care about anything. Whatever."

"I don't care about anything?" He furrowed his brows lightly. "How do I show that in a photograph? It's not a tangible item."

Snap.

"Just like that!" I cheesed, getting his typical 'Shouto' face in action.

"And I still don't understand the 'smolder.' What is the smolder-"

"Now, gimme a little laugh." I instructed, holding the camera closer to his face.

He looked right into the lens, blurring it slightly before it focused nicely on his photogenic features.

"But, you didn't say anything funny." He concluded, causing me to groan.

He's killing me here.

"Just pretend I did." I instructed patiently.

He nodded and sighed, closing his eyes as he imagined before opening them. "Okay, I pretended."

What? How is that possible?

"...but, you didn't laugh." I said in confusion, causing him to shrug.

"Because you're not funny. So, if you tried to say something funny, I wouldn't laugh." He explained bluntly. "This is me reacting how I normally would."

My jaw dropped at his sassy comment. Honestly, I was more amused than anything else.

I barely caught the way his eyes softened, seeing he went out of his way at trying to crack another joke. At my expense? Sure. But, that's just him being a little shit.

Heh.

"Are you trying to annoy me." I quirked a brow, playing into his hand and feigning light irritation.

He answered immediately, lips barely twitching up as he kept his eyes forward.

"I don't know. I think so."

My lips pressed together to stop myself from legitimately laughing. Even when he's joking around, he sounds so serious and awkward. It's really funny.

Shouto looked up as I instinctively covered my mouth to hide my smile, causing me to bite down on my lip and forcibly get myself together.

"Well, it's working. Okay, we'll just act out the laugh. Be like 'hahhhh.'" I mimicked, lightly flipping my hair off my shoulders with a flirty smile. "You try."

Shouto furrowed a brow. "Ah?"

"No, no—'hahhhhhh'"

"Oh."

"Hah!"

"Eh."

"Hahhhh!" I started losing my patience. "With an 'H'—HAHH."

Shouto stopped walking for a moment and looked at me in thought, leveling the anticipation before breaking the silence.

"You had garlic for lunch and you really shouldn't have." He said, causing me to groan and look at the sky.

"Oh my god."

*

"Helping old people cross the street!" I announced less hyped than the first two times, forcing a mechanical, enthusiastic grin on my face.

I stood in front of Shouto and the old lady at the crosswalk, walking backwards and trying to snap the 'money shot,' so to speak.

The lady hugged Shouto's arm tightly and hobbled forward, using her free hand to adjust the hat from flying off her head.

"You look like my grandson." She croaked out in a nasally, happy voice, snuggling closer to him.

Shouto blinked blankly and looked at me in silent question, causing me to nod encouragingly for him to engage.

"Oh. Okay." He said curt and awkward, looking at me again when I subtly waved my hand at him.

'Give her a compliment.' I mouthed to him, causing him to stiffly look back to the woman with empty thoughts.

"You....um...you look....old." Shouto said, causing me to face palm.

"You look like....my grandma." He tried again, glancing at me for approval. "She's dead now."

"Andddd, we're done here!"

*

I collapsed back onto the park bench in exhaustion, looking up at the soft sky.

Golden hour had faded by now. It wasn't necessarily dark, but rather, that in between stage of dark and light. The sky was now a soft purple with hues of grayish blue.

Shouto trailed a few steps behind and took the space next to me. The park bench was barely big enough for the two of us, feeling the outside of his thigh press snugly into mine.

I kept the back of my head resting on the bench, lulling it lazily towards his direction with a tired smile.

"Who knew it would be so difficult to get a simple photograph?" I murmured, lightly knocking my knee into his own. "Gotta give those Instagram influencers credit, huh?"

He side glanced at me before looking up at the sky, too, surprising me with his answer.

"You.........—I don't know. You seemed to understand it pretty well." He concluded. "Maybe you should be the model."

I chuckled at his words, finding his obliviousness to be endearing. "I understand the camera side of it. Not the model side of it."

His brows furrowed and he slowly looked back to me now. I could feel his dual colored eyes on me.

"How is the model side any different?" He asked genuinely.

"Well, for starters, one has to actually be attractive." I chuckled automatically, not meaning to spill that much.

"Oh." He said, unable to hide the creeping hints of surprise lacing his voice.

I don't know which part he seems surprised about. There's many different possibilities, but knowing Shouto, none of them were probably correct.

Instead, his gaze burned into me harder, studying every single feature for himself.

The softer tone of his voice shocked me when he said, "Wait. Do you...think you're...ugly?"

Do I think I'm ugly? For some reason, in that particular moment, that wasn't my actual concern.

Slowly, I trailed my gaze over to him, catching his eyes wandering along my mouth. He instantly lifted his attention with my movement,

I don't know why I'm not speaking. It's as if...I'm looking for him to say something. Something completely unnecessary. Something Shouto would never say because he's too honest. Too honest to really think it.

And, he didn't. He didn't say a word, melting his eyes deeper into mine, subtly creeping closer until our body heat intermingled and soaked into the other's bones.

Laughing off the anticipatory silence weakly, I broke our gaze, catching sight of the stray brown leaf stuck on the collar of his jacket.

"Well, this isn't about me, is it?" I sat up straighter, turning my body in towards him. "It's about you."

With that, I lifted my hands to Shouto's jacket collar, gently brushing the leaf away before gliding my fingers along the jacket creases to smooth them.

He let me, never once looking away as I unintentionally came closer. My hands glided over the material of his coat. And, once the coat was smoothed, they continued to do so anyways, smoothing out invisible pieces of nothing for a reason I couldn't understand.

When it comes to him, it feels like I always need to be touching him somehow. Every time I don't, I feel cold. Empty. Itching for something I can't explain.

And, once again he let me. Did he understand? That there aren't any more creases on his coat? That my hands gently traced his strong, warm sternum, feeling the rushing of his blood and the pumping of his pulse underneath his shirt.

Did he catch the way my fingers accidentally slipped into the material of his coat, only now feeling how warm his body was against his shirt. Did he...

Did he...does he...

I need to stop.

It was only when I felt soft breaths hitting my face did I come back to reality. When had I come so close to him like this? When did his exhales become deep and his inhales shallow?

When did his pulse spike, and his eyes drown in my presence? Forgetting how to speak, forgetting where we were, and who we were?

When did he look like he enjoyed it?

Enjoy what? You're just smoothing out his jacket.

With a harsh swallow and clear of my throat, I slowly pulled my hands away from his chest, looking down at our knocking knees.

"You...you had some...leaves on you." I uttered through a slightly strained voice, rubbing the back of my neck and barely turning away.

"I....I might have more." He murmured immediately—almost eagerly, not seeming to care about the leaves—not even looking down at his own shirt as he subtly suggested I touch him again and check.

A weak chuckle slipped past my lips. Something too dangerously authentic and real.

"No. You don't." I shut down quietly, inhaling deeply to pull us out of this moment.

This weird moment. This addicting moment. This moment that we're both probably comprehending differently.

To Shouto, I'm sure it's just leaves. To me, it's just...it's....

Nothing. That's what it is. Spending every hour of the day with someone will make you a little closer. That's all.

I could still feel his eyes on me, and felt like something was building in the silence. Something too strong and vulnerable for my comfort level-

"E-Excuse me, sir?"

The little voice a few feet ahead made Shouto and I visibly jump out of the moment. Both of us seemed surprised, having become so lost, we didn't hear the footsteps that skipped right in front of us.

Shouto sat up straight and I instantly turned away from him completely, looking at the little boy in front of us.

He was peering up at Shouto, causing the half and half guy to point to himself in confusion.

"Me?"

The little boy nodded, immediately pointing a few feet away.

"My toy got stuck in that tree over there. Can you help me get it?" He asked politely, bouncing on his feet with nerves.

I smiled lightly, surprisingly finding him adorable.

Yes, surprisingly. Kids are usually little assholes. I said what I said.

Shouto rose from the bench and crouched in front of the little kid with a new type of patience I hadn't seen before.

"Which tree?" He murmured to the kid quietly, looking around the park filled with aspens.

He looked down at his arm as the kid gently gripped his wrist, allowing himself to be lugged forward towards the possible trees.

I got up and followed the two, crossing my arms and watching from a few feet away.

Shouto looked up at the tree and found the toy in question, steeling the sole of his converse onto the bark and climbing it effortlessly.

Of course. He's incredibly fit.

Hanging off one of the thick, sturdy branches with one hand, he reached up and easily swiped the toy with the other, looking down at the ground before deciding he could jump.

He landed back on the ground stealthily, about to hand the item back to the kid before it caught his attention.

"What is this?" He furrowed his brows, looking towards me with question. "I've...never seen one of these before."

I smiled at him musingly, tilting my head with curiosity. "Really? You never played frisbee as a kid?"

"Frisbee, you said? No."

Now, I find myself even more curious about Shouto's life as a child. What was it like to have Endeavor as a father? What did he do for fun?

I opened my mouth to speak, allowing myself to be interrupted by the excited little boy in front of us.

"Oh!! Well, it's real easy, mishter!" He said with a toothless grin, swiping the frisbee from Shouto's hands. "You just hold the frisbee like this and—bam!—throw it!"

The boy threw it on cue and Shouto watched perceptively, stroking his chin with observation.

"It goes sideways." He stated with confirmation, looking back at me again with brows slightly raised.

He always looks at me after something's been said. Like my opinion matters that much to him.

Cute.

"Yeah! Do you wanna try?" The boy asked happily, getting Shouto's attention again.

Wordlessly, he took the frisbee, hesitating for a moment before tossing it.

But, his force was way too light and the wind wasn't on his side, gently sending it back into him until it plonked the side of his head.

And then...

His eyes softened, free from their usual dullness for a single moment as they lit up like a child. A child it seemed he never had the chance to be, breaking out into a light smile. Light enough to show his teeth. Pure enough to show himself.

He looked adorable. Beautiful.

...wait a minute.

Quickly fumbling with my phone, I navigated to the camera and lifted it towards Shouto, snapping the perfect picture.

Then another.

And another.

I was smiling, too, and I didn't know when I started. But, apparently, Shouto's smile was contagious.

It was only then that I realized...

"Candid photos." I murmured to myself, giving my head a soft shake for my mistake. "Of course."

Yes. Of course. Candid photos. Photos that are natural. Unposed. In the moment. Genuine.

How couldn't I have just realized that Shouto's appeal...

...is just being himself.

***

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