| Running Out Of Time | 172732014

I'm Glad You're Here: The Restaurant

When you learnt you'd be around districts where Pro Heroes would frequent, you kept your head low so as to not catch their attention. However, your most recent exploits, despite it going absolutely wrong, wasn't a total loss.

A zipping sound caught your ear, before you found Sero standing before you, his helmet reflecting what was left of the evening light. You peered through your half-lidded eyes, grinning.

"You made it," you commented with a smirk. "For a minute, I thought you wouldn't show."

"How did you know I'd find this?" asked Sero, pulling out the card from his person.

"Not even a hello? Really?" you teased, leaning up from the armchair and offering the other to him, tapping at its arm. "Come on, sit. Relax."

Sero eyed you suspiciously while you smiled up at him. He knew there were no traps of the sort, having watched you from afar when you arrived on the scene, arranging whatever was available. He slowly made his way to the armchair, taking a seat before you reclined back in yours. Sero continued to stare at the card, flipping it in his hands with the question still burning in his mind.

"I heard the police callout," you replied, catching his attention. "Your name popped up in response... along with Deku. So I hightailed it out."

"You were there," spoke Sero, stating the fact rather than questioning it. "So that means you were involved."

"But I did not orchestrate it," you corrected with a wave of your finger. "Blame the brute who thought he had the brains to pull it off. I was their escape plan if something went wrong."

"So you abandoned them?"

"They refused to listen to me," you continued. "So I took actions that were in my best interests."

"You know, I could arrest you for being an accomplice to the crime."

"You could, or..." You breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of the restaurant. "Don't you just love the smell of freshly cooked spaghetti?"

"... What?"

Sero stared at you with dumbfoundment. The sudden change of topic took him off-guard while you smiled to yourself, looking off into the horizon. The bright oranges and yellows showered across the rooftops of the promenade, causing them to glow in the evening light, yet the streams of blues and purples came into view, signalling the night to come.

You leaned on your knees, your hands clasping one another while they kept the bite of the chill at bay.

"This restaurant here," you spoke, directing with your eyes. "It's the place where I had my first bowl of bolognese. Brings back so many memories."

"What is this?" asked Sero. "What do you want?"

You turned to the Hero with a smile, tapping at your head while eyeing him through his helmet. "Not everything is a conspiracy, Bucky," you reassured. "You're a good guy, and I want to get to know you more, outside of work. And besides..."

You tapped your finger on his helmet, causing Sero to recoil from the tap, grabbing your wrist while he did to stop you. You smiled at his reaction, even though you still couldn't see through his helmet.

"I know you don't trust me, but you can't have dinner with that on."

"Dinner?"

Sero watched as you turned your gaze behind, your eyes at the door that led to the restaurant below. Standing there, a middle-aged man brought up two bowls of spaghetti bolognese and two large refreshments on a large metal tray, placing it on the old tyre that separated the both of you. Sero looked towards the man, his gentle smile beaming from him as he looked down at you, watching as you returned the smile. As quietly as he arrived, he left, closing the door to the restaurant and leaving the both of you to your devices.

This took Sero by surprise. What was your connection to this place?

"Sorry that I ordered ahead," you cheekily spoke. "I didn't know if you liked anything in particular." Immediately you grabbed your bowl and began to start eating into its contents, content yourself with your fill.

Sero, meanwhile, watched you cautiously, staring at the meal and then back at you without a care in the world. Just like you were back at the museum. The more he thought about it, the more intrigued he was about meeting you, talking with you, and in your own words, getting to know you.

After the museum fiasco, birthday drinks for Sero went on like usual, catching up with old friends, but he remembered talking about you and the moment you both shared in the museum, to the point that Kaminari continued to tease him over it, just as much as he was teasing Kaminari about his charge. He felt his cheeks burn a little inside the helmet thinking back at Kaminari and Mina's teasing nature.

"How was your birthday?" you asked, pulling Sero out from his thoughts. He watched as you continued to partake in dinner, savouring the food offered to you.

"Oh, yeah, it was great," he reluctantly answered. "Just drinks, and friends, and not having to roam the graveyard shift for once."

He heard you chuckle in between bites while you twirled your fork in your plate, taking a scoop of pasta into your mouth. "I'm happy to hear that," you replied. "I think by the sounds of you, you work too hard, and the graveyard shift? Unless you're part of some sting operation, only the locals should take that mantle, not Pros like you."

Sero's brows furrowed at the statement. Was that a compliment? From a thief?

"But I could be wrong," you continued. "I wouldn't have met you otherwise." You smiled at him again before you continued to eat.

Sero eyed the bowl of pasta before him, the smell of it enticing now that he had been hanging around for a while until...

His stomach protested, catching your attention with half of the pasta hanging from your mouth, the corners of your lips curled before you continued to eat. Sero watched as you paid no mind, grimacing about his decision. With a heavy sigh, he removed his visor before he pulled the helmet off, revealing his slightly mussed hair. You turned your gaze towards him, watching as he picked up the bowl of pasta and began to eat into it himself.

"I'm glad you made it," you spoke softly, watching as Sero turned towards you with pasta dangling from his mouth. You chuckled at the sight, seeing the hunger in his actions, before he slurped the rest of it into his mouth.

"It's good to have some company tonight." You raised your glass to Sero before he grabbed his refreshment and followed suit, clinking the glasses together. As soon as the both of you took a sip, his eyes widening at the taste before he recoiled slightly, pleasantly surprised and yet shocked.

"What is this?" he asked, holding the drink before him as if it were a living creature.

"Limencello," you simply replied before you took another sip. "You don't like citrus?"

"It's alcoholic."

"So?"

The both of you stared at each other for a moment, feeling an air of confusion circling around before you chuckled again, causing Sero to nervously chuckle with you.

"Sorry, this is... different," he admitted with a giant grin on his face.

"Well, not everyday you get a birthday gift from a felon, right?" you clarified before you took another sip of your drink.

"Felon?"

"Yeah, well, that is what you think of me, right, Bucky?"

Sero looked into your smile, but noticed that your eyes didn't. Despite your mischievous behaviour, your teasing nature, and your cheeky personality, he found some intrigue in you within the short amount of time coming to know you. And he couldn't help but continue to learn more.

He raised his glass to you, watching you falter slightly by his offer. A cheeky smirk appears on your lips before you raised your glass to meet his.

"Not tonight, Darling."