Chapter Text
Shouto wasn’t one to make split-second decisions.
The particular decision he made in early January was days (maybe even months, in retrospect) in the making. The idea for it had formed during his monthly lunch with Sero. Given both of their busy schedules, they rarely had a chance to see each other in person. Shouto had come to treasure their sporadic monthly lunches, and this one had been no different.
He always let Sero choose the place—and today, he found himself eating teriyaki tacos at a restaurant not far from his agency. The fusion food should have been Shouto’s first hint. Sero usually craved it when he was feeling homesick, usually right after a visit home to his parents' house or his sister’s place.
“Three months abroad?” Shouto asked.
“Yeah! This project is perfect for me, dude,” Sero said, smiling as he sipped at his drink. “I want to switch things up a bit, ya know? Take some inspiration from our friends.” Shouto nodded thoughtfully. Crime in Japan had been dwindling steadily with each passing day. Many of their classmates had begun to work on a variety of projects when they weren’t doing hero work. Taking on projects they were passionate about.
Shouto had some of his own passion projects, too, sure. He volunteered regularly at the animal shelter near his apartment, and made an effort to visit the domestic violence shelters he’d sponsored around the country. And, like he knew Sero frequently did, he took part in Ochacco’s quirk counseling talks and visited UA for guest speaker classes with Izuku whenever he could.
“I’ve been wanting to travel more, and since things are still pretty quiet here, I figured I could do it guilt-free,” Sero said, eyes dropping down to his food. “And if I get placed near family, I can visit, and my parents will finally be convinced to take vacation days to fly out to visit them, too.” Shouto nodded, agreeing with his reasoning. He knew Sero didn’t have any work study students or interns he was currently mentoring, and his agency was in great standing—as much as he’d miss him, he knew this was the perfect time for him to go.
Shouto realized the same could be said for him. He also hadn’t done much traveling the past couple of years, having focused intently on hero work at home. He had gone on the occasional overseas mission with Katsuki, but those had been early in both of their careers.
What if you went with him? A little voice in the back of his head whispered. Shouto quickly swallowed his bite of teriyaki taco.
“What’s the project called?” he asked his friend.
The Global H.E.R.O. Project, Shouto learned later that night, while properly researching it, was taking applications from around the world until tomorrow night, when applications officially closed. Heroes would be placed in growing cities without established hero agencies and serve as consultants for three months. Selected heroes would help local heroes launch agencies and advise on structures and best practices, mentoring the young, incoming generation of pros. Up to two heroes would be assigned to any given city, and the list of participating cities was long, across countries Shouto had only read about. As he scrolled through the application, he discovered a question asking applicants to rank their top choices for placement, with an opportunity to explain any connection to the area, familial or otherwise.
Shouto knew Sero had family in Mexico and in the States, but he wasn’t sure exactly where, or in which specific cities. So, he decided to ask.
Hey, what cities did you rank on the GHP application?
He went back to filling out the rest of the application and was deep in typing out a response to one of the questions on his hero experience when his phone buzzed, startling him.
“Hello?”
“Are you applying to GHP?” Shouto smiled at Sero’s tone. He could hear his grin even through the phone.
“Yes,” Shouto responded, smiling despite himself. Sero never failed to make him smile, even when he wasn’t in the same room as him. “I was wondering if you had any recommendations on which cities I should rank.”
He spent the next hour on the phone with Sero as he finished up the application. He decided to rank the same cities as him; the thought of spending more time with his friend encouraged him. He didn’t tell Sero that, though. He wasn’t entirely sure why. Instead, he fibbed and told him he ranked various cities across continents.
“I filled the application in as much as possible,” Sero told him, well into their second hour of the phone call. Shouto was now lying in his bed, phone on his chest as he stared up at the ceiling. “I hope I get placed somewhere with family, or at least in a Spanish-speaking town,” Sero said. “It’d be great to speak Spanish more often, I don’t get to use it much here unless I’m at home.”
Shouto thought those questions had been a nice touch on the committee’s part, whoever they were. Heroes with those types of connections would work even harder, and knowing the native language was a big leg up.
And he knew Sero was missing his family. He visited as much as he could, and he told Shouto as much. But his parents and his sister worked almost as much as he did. And to Shouto’s knowledge, Sero hadn’t visited the family he had overseas in years.
“I think you’ll definitely get placed somewhere like that,” Shouto told him. “You’ll see.”
Interviews took place the following week—Shouto’s was virtual, and he thought it went very well. He texted Sero about it, and his friend said his had gone well, too.
Sero: Also, I found out Yaomomo is on the committee for GHP! Isn’t that a crazy coincidence? She texted me to tell me she saw my name on the interview list
Shouto immediately checked his unread messages and saw a similar message waiting for him, sent by Momo not one hour ago. He really needed to get better at reading his texts.
Though to be fair, he was meeting with her for tea tomorrow, which is where they did most of their catching up. Shouto blinked down at his phone, head spinning. He was meeting her for tea tomorrow.
Shouto thought of ways to casually bring up the GHP city placements the entire way to the tea shop, but he didn’t even have to initiate that conversation. Momo brought it up the second she sat down across from him, eyes gleaming with a look that made Shouto shift nervously in his seat.
“Shouto, I was so happy to see you and Sero’s names on the list of interviewees this week,” she said after they said their greetings and had placed their usual order. “I, of course, will not be part of the decision process for the two of you, but I can say the committee is happy to have you. We’re excited to see the work you both will do!”
Shouto smiled. Momo was always so passionate and intentional about the projects she took on—of course she’d be behind one like GHP.
“Thank you, Momo. I actually had a bit of a favor to ask you.”
“Of course! What is it?”
Their tea arrived, and he busied himself with stirring it, idly adding a bit of sugar just to have something to do with his hands and avoid his friend’s intense gaze. “I was wondering if it would be possible to be placed in the same city as Sero, or at least in the same country as him.”
“Oh!” Momo said, and Shouto risked looking up to gauge her reaction. He thought he saw a glint of understanding in her eyes as she did a rather bad job of hiding her smile behind her teacup, taking a small sip as Shouto stared back at her.
Truthfully, Shouto had been missing Sero lately. A lot.
They saw each other at least once a month for lunch, and texted regularly. But it wasn’t the same. Shouto hadn’t realized how much he valued their friendship until they had graduated and moved out of the dorms. Until they had stopped being neighbors and could no longer walk into each other's rooms whenever they felt like it. Before, it had been so easy to spend time with Sero. It was habitual to seek one another out and be in each other’s company, spend nights reading manga in each other's rooms, study together, go out to explore the city on the weekends. He never felt like he needed to put on a mask around Sero. He could always just exist quietly, no questions asked.
Spending time with Sero was now a gift he’d come to treasure and savor as much as possible.
He missed his friend—he missed what they had. And Shouto was starting to wonder if they could ever get it back. If this time abroad could be their chance to try.
It was hard to make time for all of his friends now, he told himself, and Momo. “But Sero’s…different. I’m sorry to ask—”
“Shouto,” she stopped him, reaching to place her hand on top of his. He snapped his mouth shut. “I’ll see what I can do, okay? You don’t need to explain. It’s natural to want to spend more time with an old friend.” She smiled that same sly smile at the last word, patting his hand. “And you two work so well together, I’m sure this kind of team-up can be arranged.”
She leaned back in her seat, a thoughtful look on her face. “Oh yes, certainly. Hmm, I’ll have to check in with Hitoka, but I think we can…” she trailed off, pulling her phone out of her purse and furiously typing away, tea forgotten in front of her.
A week later, he met up with Sero again to open their placement results together. This time, they were at a cat-themed cafe, and Shouto found he really liked the cat-shaped pastries he got for the two of them.
Sero had immediately made a noise of content surprise upon opening his email, and Shouto chewed on his pastry as he waited for his to load. Shouto smiled as he saw the familiar city listed as his placement and remembered where it was geographically. Even if he wasn’t placed in the same city as Sero, he’d still be close enough to fly to him, maybe even take a ferry—
“No way! You got Emeria, too?”
Sero had peeked over at his screen, his face immediately breaking out into a wide smile. Shouto blinked. “Is that where you got placed?” Thank you, Momo—I owe you big time, he sent a silent thanks to his friend, momentarily blinded by Sero’s smile.
“Yes! Bro, you have to stay with me and my cousin Rio! She lives outside of the city—Estrella Island is basically a second home to me, I used to visit all the time as a kid when I visited family,” Sero sat back in his seat and turned to face Shouto better, grinning. “This is perfect! Your English is great—and you know I’m fluent in Spanish. Whaddaya say?” He froze suddenly, grin fading.
“Shit, I mean, of course you can stay anywhere, I just—”
“I wouldn’t be imposing?”
Sero’s grin was back in full force, and Shouto willed his heart to keep beating. How had he survived seeing this smile every day as a teenager? “No way! Rio would love to have you, I’m positive. We can call her soon, you’ll see. Her house has extra rooms. I know she’ll make sure they're free when she hears about this.”
Shouto watched with a small smile as Sero texted away on his phone while telling Shouto about Emeria, the capital city of Estrella Island, and his cousin Rio, an OR nurse who grew up there. She was a few years older than Sero, turning 29 this year.
“She really won’t mind, bro,” Sero assured him again. “She works night shifts, she’ll be happy to have me around to help her out around the house, and you’ll be another person for her to boss around. Plus, you’ve been getting into cooking, right? You’ll have a proper kitchen and an island full of new recipes to try! Can’t say the same if you stay in a hotel the whole time.”
That was a good point. He was currently enrolled in a ceramics-cooking combination class and enjoying it immensely. They were moving on to bowl creating and soup recipes next—maybe he could cook for Sero and his cousin while he was there.
He met up with Sero again the following afternoon so they could video call Rio during one of her breaks. Any reservations he might have had about staying with her vanished minutes into the call. Rio told him she usually rented the top half of the house since she had her bedroom on the first floor, but when Shouto quickly offered to pay upfront for both of them to stay the entire three months, she shut him down.
“Family stays for free!” she said sternly. “And you’re Hanta’s friend, which makes you family. When are you guys flying out here?”
April, Sero answered her, which was two months away. Rio assured them the two rooms would be waiting for them.
Shouto spent the next few weeks attending various GHP briefings alongside Sero and, on occasion, Momo, learning everything he could about Estrella Island and Emeria. He’d pulled Momo aside at the first briefing to thank her.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Momo had whispered at him, smiling at Sero’s retreating back. “I’m happy to do this for both of you. It’s nice to see you together again.” He flushed at that, mumbling another thank you and trying to ignore her playful smirk.
His factual, political, and hero-based knowledge on the island and its capital city came from the official meetings and various reports he read—but his other knowledge came directly from Sero.
Estrella Island had seen steady population growth in recent years. This growth, alongside rising tourism, pushed island officials to petition for a dedicated hero agency on the island. There was already an agency on the main waterfront focused on rescue missions, but no agency dedicated to crime and helping the local police department. The police often called in assistance from mainland heroes in the U.S. or Mexico. And because of the island’s unique location, off the coast of two different countries, officials were growing concerned that organized crime rings could start appearing in the island’s waters.
It was a unique case—Shouto was happy to know he was ready to offer advice and his own expertise. His recent rise in the hero rankings wasn’t random or thanks to chance. He was confident enough in his abilities and standings now to admit that to himself. Paired with Sero’s own intellect and his familiarity with the island and the community? They were perfect for this particular city. Shouto was excited to get started and work alongside Sero again, to learn about a new city and a new hero system. It would be like being a student again, with his friend at his side.
Sero told him stories of visiting Estrella Island during summer or winter breaks, before he’d started at UA. Rio’s parents bought their house on the island just before prices had increased, and his family that lived in the U.S. and Mexico would fly to the island as a midway point, spending a couple of weeks together before flying back home.
“I haven’t been back in years,” Sero told him wistfully over the phone one night. With so much planning to do before they left, they had started calling each other almost every night. Shouto had been going to sleep feeling rather warm, Sero’s voice the last thing he heard before he closed his eyes every night. He was looking forward to having that be true for the next three months when they were together on the island.
“I wonder how much it’s changed since then,” Sero continued. “I don’t expect it to be the same, but…Going with you will make it all seem familiar, no matter what. You have that effect.”
“I do?” Shouto asked quietly. He heard Sero exhale a laugh.
“Yeah. I’ve been remembering our UA days more lately, after spending more time with you. Not the parts that gave me nightmares,” Sero said. His voice was quieter, and Shouto recognized it as a sign he was about to fall asleep. “I’ve been remembering the other, softer parts. When we could be kids and have fun. The calm parts. Maybe the island will give that back to us for a little bit.”
Shouto stayed quiet for a second, listening to Sero’s breathing even out over the phone. He’d fallen asleep.
“I hope it does,” Shouto said into his empty room.
Exactly one month before he was set to leave, his flight booked (with a seat next to Sero), his agency released a statement announcing he’d be participating in this global project. There’d been no mention of Sero in the official statement, but his friends had found out they were going together within an hour of its release.
Class A gossip spread fast thanks to their group chat. When one of them went abroad, it was the topic of conversation for at least a day. With two of them going, and to the same place, it quickly circulated various times in the chat until Shouto was sure even members of Class B knew about it. A few of his classmates offered helpful advice, which Shouto appreciated.
Other messages had been more… cryptic.
Katuski and Izuku had both texted him in the mini group chat they had, which was normally pretty quiet.
Katsuki: You’re going abroad with Hanta for 3 months? Are you fucking serious?? Have we learned nothing from the past eight fucking years? I can’t do this again you fucker
Izuku: What he means to say is have fun! It’ll be nice to see both of you together again :)
Shouto had sent back a thank you, unsure of what else to say. Katsuki had sent back a string of colorful curses, and Izuku had replied with another smiley face, which didn’t ease Shouto’s confusion.
His PR consultant at the agency was pleased with the media reception of the news, at least. “Great boost for your already fantastic ratings, Shouto!” she’d chirped when he saw her the following morning. “And don’t worry, we’ll have plenty to do around here while you’re gone. We’ll hold down the fort, please don’t fret over us.”
Before he knew it, the week of his flight arrived, and he was packing up the biggest suitcase he owned before stopping by his mom’s place for dinner with his siblings. He met Sero at the airport late at night, and they both slept through much of their flight, leaning against each other in their seats and whispering over which movies to watch for the remainder of the flight.
Rio was there to pick them up at the airport, holding a small sign that read “Welcome Hanta and Shouto!!” in English and Spanish. She wrapped Sero into a hug the second he got within a foot of her, and then quickly enveloped Shouto in one too, squeezing him tightly. Shouto blinked in surprise, glancing at Sero over her shoulder. He was beaming at him, grinning widely, and Shouto quickly glanced away, fighting off a blush.
“It’s my day off, and we’re getting tacos,” Rio announced to both of them when she pulled away from the hug, linking her arms through Shouto’s and Sero’s and leading them out of the airport. “I hope you’re both hungry.”
Shouto, it turned out, was starving. Rio drove them to a small restaurant not far from the airport, on the outskirts of the city. He ordered based on Sero and Rio’s recommendations and dug into his food the second the plate of steaming tacos was set in front of him, much to the cousins’ amusement.
“I think you’ll really like it here, Shouto,” Rio told him as they ate. “Hanta told me you’re learning to cook—there are lots of new flavors for you to try and take back home!”
At his request, she and Sero happily gave him a breakdown of exactly what he was eating, and Shouto took mental notes of the ingredients in the salsa and taco toppings he’d added to his plate, copying the way Sero had loaded his up.
Rio gave them a quick tour of her side of the island, as she called it, after they finished their meal. They drove with the windows down on the back roads, away from tourist traffic. Sero chimed in with additional commentary, pointing out shops he used to visit as a kid and places where he remembered playing with his cousins. Shouto found himself quickly agreeing with Rio as he took in the sights of the ocean on one side, the outline of the city on the other. Sero’s voice lulling him into a sense of peace.
He knew he’d love it here.