Chapter Text
People often assumed Hanta Sero was a massive stoner— not that he didn’t smoke occasionally. It was just in his nature to be calm and easygoing and sometimes, a little goofy. His personality ended up becoming an important asset for hero work. He never freaked out in an emergency, and his presence was comforting to citizens in danger, especially children. Still, though, he was surprised when Endeavor, the number one hero, reached out directly to invite him to his agency as his newest sidekick. He was unlike the sidekicks he’d already hired: Sero didn’t have a flashy heat-based quirk, and he wasn’t loud and intense. But Sero accepted the offer anyway, excited at the opportunity to be mentored by such a renowned hero and work with other up-and-coming stars, including two of his friends from U.A.; it was no surprise Endeavor took interest in Bakugou and Midoriya, who had been the most famous of their class.
Sero was enjoying his relatively new life as a sidekick, though it did take some time to get adjusted. It was the first time he ever lived alone, and he was grateful his friends were just as needy as him, so they were constantly crashing at each other’s apartments and going out whenever their schedules aligned. Having a full-time job was so much different than going to school or having an internship, but mostly he liked it. He learned how to navigate tricky professional relationships— not everyone was charmed by his affability, though it was a rare occurrence —and he learned how to advocate for himself, even if it meant standing up against Endeavor himself when Sero disagreed with something. As unpredictable as it could be, Sero soon found a certain peace and steadiness in adulthood.
And then he met Shouto Todoroki.
As soon as Sero laid eyes on him, he literally gasped as he gazed at one of the most beautiful, alluring people he’d ever seen.
He was tall and lean, less lanky than Sero and more muscley. His half-red half-white hair hung just below his ears, half of it tied into a top knot. It had an infuriatingly silky quality but was just messy enough that implied Todoroki simply just had to wake up for it to look like that. Like his hair, Todoroki’s eyes were different colors— one was a bright blue, one was a warm gray. A large reddish burn scar covered much of the left side of his face, from his forehead to his cheekbone. Otherwise, his skin was pale and smooth and blemishless.
Of course, Sero knew who Todoroki was. Endeavor’s youngest child, he had a powerful quirk that allowed him to wield both fire and ice. He attended an exclusive international academy, where he trained to become a hero and earned his hero’s license before he’d even turned fifteen. Up until now, he was a free agent, participating in missions all over the world. And now he was back in Japan-- there were rumors that despite their troubled past, he was going to take over Endeavor’s agency.
Sero tried flashing him his crooked smile, though he shifted awkwardly while Todoroki just stared at him with an unreadable expression.
“This is my son, Shouto,” Endeavor announced with his booming voice.
Sero almost jumped, momentarily forgetting that he was in his boss’s office in the first place.
“And Shouto, this is one of my sidekicks, Hanta Sero.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sero managed, slightly bowing his head.
Todoroki nodded in response.
“Sero will help train you,” Endeavor continued.
“I don’t need training,” Todoroki narrowed his eyes as he glared at his father.
“You may be a licensed hero,” Endeavor sighed, exasperated. “But every agency operates differently, and it especially varies depending on the country.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Todoroki seethed.
“I disagree,” Endeavor insisted. “Besides, I think you two will work well together.”
“You—“
“Don’t accept any food from Burnin,” Sero interrupted.
Endeavor raised an eyebrow, and Todoroki blankly stared at him. “What?”
“She likes to haze new hires— even if you’re the boss’s son,” Sero said, smiling. “She gave me mapo tofu on my first day, and it was so spicy I had to chug a bottle of milk. Didn’t phase Bakugou, though.”
Todoroki just furrowed his brow.
“Uh,” Sero rubbed the back of his neck. “I know you’re already an experienced hero-- I can just show you the ropes around here, y’know? Like who to ask when you need to fix equipment and how we operate during patrols, stuff like that.”
Todoroki turned to look at his father. “Fine. But after that, I work alone.”
Sero laughed.
Todoroki turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised. “What?”
“You just sound like half of my classmates when we first started at U.A.,” Sero explained. “They’d say shit like ‘I’m not here to make friends’ or ‘Out of my way, extras!’ And now they’re my best friends, and we team up all the time.” Sero grinned toothily, even though Todoroki had yet to react positively since they were introduced to each other.
“I’m not like your friends,” he finally said.
Sero shrugged. “Okay.”
“Enough,” Endeavor said. “Sero— have an intern give him a tour of the office, and then you two can go on patrol.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Sero said.
As they both turned to leave, Endeavor spoke once more, this time a bit quiet. “And welcome home, Shouto.”
Todoroki paused for a moment, but then he just sucked his teeth and left the room.
Sero nodded awkwardly at Endeavor and followed after his new colleague. Sero led him to the front desk, where an intern was stationed. He introduced Todoroki and asked to show him around.
“I, uh,” Sero called after him as Todoroki walked away. “I’ll wait for you in the lobby while you go on your tour.”
Todoroki didn’t respond, just kept walking as he followed the intern. Sero sighed, headed to the elevators, and hoped he wouldn’t have to do his patrol alone.
It was just twenty minutes later, though, when Todoroki approached where Sero was chatting with one of the security officers on duty. Todoroki was wearing his hero uniform— a form-fitted blue shirt with matching pants, practical and much less ostentatious than most hero uniforms, though it did accentuate his fit body.
Sero swallowed. “Hey.”
Todoroki just nodded at him.
Before they ventured outside, Sero introduced Todoroki to the security guard. “Unlike Burnin, you can trust this dude’s cooking,” Sero said with a smile, winking. “He makes the best goddamn soba I’ve ever had.”
“I love soba,” Todoroki said, almost blurting it out involuntarily.
Sero beamed, feeling like maybe Todoroki was starting to warm up to him after all. The security guard laughed, promising Todoroki he’d bring him some next time he made it.
After, as they walked down the streets, Sero explained what to expect. Today they’d be monitoring the neighborhood directly outside the agency, which usually didn’t have too much crime— there were too many heroes around. Mostly it was petty theft or traffic accidents. It was a touristy area, too, so many citizens would ask for photos or autographs.
“I hate that part of hero work,” Todoroki grumbled.
“I thought I’d hate it, too,” Sero admitted. “But it’s kind of nice, you know? I like that every part of hero work isn’t just constant danger. That you can just chat with people and know that they’re glad to have you around. I don’t live in this part of town, but I feel like they’re my neighbors.”
Todoroki didn’t respond, though he was frowning slightly like he didn’t agree.
The patrol was quiet, as was expected. So far they’d only caught a teenager shoplifting, and after Sero convinced the store owner not to press charges— there was no reason to ruin a kid’s life over such a small violation —he and Todoroki started to make their way back to the agency.
They were only a few blocks away when they heard a scream. Seconds later a huge man, carrying a cash register like it weighed nothing, was running by.
“You pursue, I’ll go around the corner to cut him off--” Sero started, but Todoroki was already set in motion, ignoring Sero as he ran after the villain.
Sero huffed in frustration but he’d have to talk to Todoroki about his teamwork skills later. Using his tape, he swung gracefully from building to building until he landed a few meters in front of the villain. At the same moment, Todoroki used his quirk to trap the villain’s feet in ice.
“No, stop!” Sero shouted as Todoroki approached the villain to handcuff him, but it was too late.
The villain activated his quirk, which somehow liquified the ice surrounding him, the water absorbing into his skin and causing him to grow bigger.
As Sero tried distracting the villain with his Tape Shot Trident move, he shouted back at Todoroki. “Use your fire! He can absorb water in any form, so you gotta dehydrate him!”
“No,” Todoroki said. “I can defeat him with just my ice, I always find a way.” He moved like he was going to charge at the villain. But when he was within range to grab him, the villain dodged his attack and instead punched him square in the gut, using the heavy weight of all the water he’d absorbed to pack the punch.
“Todoroki!” Sero shouted. But at least Todoroki had provided a distraction, enough so that the villain wasn’t able to get out of the way in time as Sero relentlessly wrapped him up in tape. The villain cursed in rage, trying to struggle free but instead tipping over and falling to the ground, almost comical as he writhed around like a fish out of water.
Sero used his comms system to request an intern come help with picking up the villain and taking him back to HQ. Then he quickly ran over to Todoroki, who looked a little roughed up but otherwise wasn’t injured.
His face, however, was the most emotive Sero had ever seen since they met. Todoroki was absolutely fuming , his eyes dangerous slits and his nostrils flaring. Sero almost expected steam to come out of his nose-- sometimes it happened to Endeavor he was upset, too --but it didn’t. Todoroki was shaking, as if trying to control himself.
“Hey,” Sero said. “That wasn’t okay. I get that you usually work alone, but you need to learn to listen to me or whoever you might be partnered up with. That villain--” he glanced down at where an intern with a strength-based quirk was lifting up the captured thief, “--is a wanted fugitive who has committed multiple robberies in the area. We have a profile on him, so if you had just worked with me, I coulda warned you.”
“I could have handled it,” Todoroki insisted. He was shaking more, and Sero noticed the side of his face was covered in a thin layer of ice.
“You don’t use your fire, huh?” Sero asked, this time a bit more soft.
Todoroki shook his head.
“Hmm. Gonna need to unpack that eventually if we’re going to keep working together. But for now…” He placed a large hand on Todoroki’s cheek. Todoroki winced, but didn’t move to push him away. “I run hot,” Sero grinned as the ice began to melt away under his warm touch. Todoroki’s skin was just as soft as Sero imagined and it took all his self-control not to rub his thumb across his sharp cheekbone. “Seriously, though. Even if this is just a temporary partnership, I’m gonna need you to meet me halfway. Otherwise, we put the people we’re trying to protect at risk.”
Todoroki removed Sero’s hand from his face, the ice now melted completely. “Fine.”
“Good,” Sero exhaled a sigh.
They made sure nobody at the scene was hurt, and once the police took over and started to interview witnesses, the two young heroes walked back to the agency.
“So,” Sero said with a small smile. “How was your first day?”
Todoroki rolled his eyes. “Could have gone worse, I suppose.”
Sero laughed. “That’s the spirit, dude!”