You quietly perused through a few books you found around the apartment, more so staring at beautiful photography and images rather than reading anything. It had been a few hours now and Hanta Sero had yet to return back home, leaving you to your devices. You had already eaten into a few of the leftovers in the fridge, leaving the now dirty cutlery in the kitchen while you swung languidly on the hammock that was propped in the lounge.
This was a slice of life, you thought to yourself, relaxing into the sway of the hammock. It felt unimaginable to be in Cellophane's abode, reading his books, eating his meals, swinging in this large hammock. You never imagined he was laidback with the way he swung about the city and how law-abiding he was.
A knock at the door caught you off guard, eyeing it from afar. You froze in place, hoping that you didn't make a sound until the knock persisted again.
You felt it would be unbelievable that it was Sero at his own front door. Although he had mentioned in his note-
"Hey mate, you home?" Called an accented voice from the door. "Thought I could ask a favour?"
You froze in place on the hammock, hoping that any creak from it would go unnoticed. Your eyes drifted to your clothes, still hanging by the corner of the room. After all, you were still in the large tee that Sero had offered the night before along with a pair of shorts you found scrounging around his drawers, indulging in their comfort, at least up until this point. You had not heard anything else following that request from the front door, opting to take that first quiet step towards your clothes. You slowly lifted yourself from the hammock, the slight creak of its anchors filling your ears louder than they should.
"Come on Sol, he's not home," spoke another voice while your feet slowly crept across the floor, avoiding creaks if any. "He's probably at work. You know how Pro-Hero life is."
"Babe, it's the weekend."
"It's my day off today."
"Yeah, you're different. You're a Sidekick."
"I take offense to that."
You slowly pried each piece of your outfit from the hooks on the wall, now air dried from last night's mishap before quickly making your way towards the bathroom, lucky enough that you had discovered where it was in Sero's place earlier this morning. Eavesdropping was difficult to avoid, seeing as how loud the voices projected through the door, catching the last few words of their conversation. Sero wasn't kidding when he added that note about his neighbours, you thought.
That was until-
Click
"Come on, I'm sure he won't mind if I-"
Midway across Sero's apartment, you froze with eyes as large as saucers, staring at two men, who in turn stared at you in surprise. The way this looked was beyond any comprehension, especially since you were still in Sero's clothes. The silence was deafening, until one of the men blurted a cry in panic.
"Oh-my-god-we're-sorry-for-barging-in-like-this-so-sorry," exclaimed Sol in a flurry of words before he immediately slammed the door shut. You jumped in surprise from the sudden outburst that broke you out of your frozen state, still staring at the door for any further signs of movement. You wondered, even entertained the idea, so against your better judgement, you walked to the front door, clothes still in hand, and slowly opened it. There standing before you were two men, impeccably dressed despite the casual look they exuded. One eyed you curiously, while the other looked away, his lips turned into a nervous frown.
"May I help you?" You asked clearly, turning your gaze between both men.
"Forgive us for intruding, my partner thought Sero was home," explained one of them, gripping onto the shoulders of the other.
"Oh, I guess you missed him this morning," you commented with a lopsided smile. "Don't know when he'll be back though."
"God I'm sorry," mumbled the other, his head shrinking slightly in his built shoulders.
"No need, he warned me about his neighbors. I just never knew you had the keys to his place."
"Heh, it took a while for that level of trust, believe me," explained his partner with a grin. "Oh, sorry for the rudeness, name's Rainmaker, and this is Sol."
"G'day," spoke Sol, raising his hand to greet you yet his eyes peeked from his downturned gaze.
You looked between the two, mulling over Sero's note, but also recalling a certain conversation you overheard months ago at that reunion you gatecrashed. You smiled at the thought. Maybe you'd have a little fun while you stayed in his apartment, knowing his neighbours had no inkling about your true identity at least.
"Rainmaker?" You questioned, eyeing the man with a raised teasing brow. "I doubt that's what your parents called you."
Chuckles "Well, I don't know your name, and you'd probably have heard of my Hero moniker," explained Rainmaker with a haughty grin.
"Actually, I've only heard it once, but if I hadn't I wouldn't know who you were."
Sol chuckled at your response, only receiving a slightly frustrated sigh from Rainmaker. You could judge their personalities like open books for you to peruse, yet your curiosity was still piqued about their significance, especially for your own investigations.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what did you need Sero for?" You asked curiously, leaning on the doorframe.
"Well, uh..." Sol's voice trailed while he collected his thoughts, wary of asking a stranger for a request, let alone one that was dressed in his neighbour's clothes.
"Hey, it's okay, you don't need to tell me," you reassured him.
"Sol wanted to ask Sero about a friend of his," continued Rainmaker.
"Only because of work. He's one of my clients," explained Sol in kind.
"Oh, snooping around for some dirt?" You asked teasingly.
"Not like that mate. I just wanted to make sure he gets the best sessions at work," continued Sol.
"Besides, I'm more curious how you came to be here," interrupted Rainmaker with a sly look in his eye.
You stared at the man's forwardness, knowing what kind of game he was playing with a smirk of your own. "Sero and I have known each other for a good half year now."
"Wait a minute, really? We hardly hear anything from the guy."
"It's an on and off kinda thing."
"Babe, stop snooping around," groaned Sol, embarrassed of Rainmaker's forwardness. "It was nice meeting you.... Uh..."
"Oh, sorry, my name is-"
"What's going on?"
All three of you froze, turning towards the sound of the voice to find Sero standing by the apartment railing, in his Pro-Hero outfit, his eyes widening at the sight.
"Hi Sero!" you happily greeted, waving towards the Hero while he approached the group by his front door. "Sol here was-" Suddenly his hand reached out for yours, pulling you back into his apartment while standing between yourself and his neighbours. It shocked you to see how panicked he looked behind that cool facade he wore.
"Sorry guys, I need to speak with them for a bit," he explained, now standing in the doorframe.
"Whoa, hey, chill," spoke Rainmaker, a little confused by Sero's sudden over-protectiveness. "We were just getting to know each other."
"Babe, leave 'em be," spoke Sol, smiling a charming grin towards Sero. "It's all right mate. They're cute. We'll catch up with you later?"
"Uh, yeah sure," agreed Sero, unaware of any context to the conversation.
You peeked over his shoulder, watching his neighbours walk away from his door. Seeing how dressed they were, you had figured that they had prior engagements somewhere else before the impromptu introductions. You smiled at the couple, now aware of Sero's description of his neighbours before you moved back into his apartment when Sero shut his front door.
"Wow, I never knew you felt so protective over me," you teased, until Sero turned to face you, stern, grabbing the clothes you still had on your person before taking you to his bathroom.
"You need to get out of here," he immediately quipped.
"What? Huh? Why?" you quickly asked, allowing him to take you.
"People know you exist."
"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you're a thief."
"No, I mean, you're a target. People know."
Staring into his eyes, you found something unlike him about his behaviour and his reactions. Something must have happened while you enjoyed his hospitality, seeing his eyes fraught with worry.
"You need to go dark, hide somewhere, wait for everything to blow over," he continued, throwing your clothes into the bathroom and pushing you inside as well.
"Hold on, how do you know this?" you asked, turning to face him.
"There was an incident. I needed to speak with a friend about you and then something happened at his place-"
"You talked about me?"
"With Chargebolt, he was the only one who knew-"
"Well, who else does? Do they know about your reunion? Christmas? Our romantic rendezvous?" you teased.
Sero grumbled and heavily sighed under his breath, frustrated by your candidness at this time. It wasn't your fault, he knew this, but the sooner he could help you leave, the sooner you could-
"Deku knows about you," he admitted. "And he wants me to help him capture you. He knows that you were involved in that bank heist months ago, and he knows that you were with me last night."
Your face faulted, your smile dropped upon hearing the news he had to give. The thrill of secrecy, the chase, the cat and mouse, all went up in a plume of smoke before your eyes. It was something you had grown to be intimate with the Tape Hero, something that was only between him and you now broken.
"... right," you answered, slowly and sadly.
"You need to get out," he suggested, his eyes searching in yours now downcast. "Find a place to hide, don't do anything huge. What did you steal?"
"Huh?"
"At the bank, what was it?"
"Bucky-"
"Midoriya told me."
All Sero was met with was silence. You said nothing to defend or explain yourself.
"Look, just don't do anything," he advised.
"No," you replied back, taking him by surprise. "I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing, and I'm going to keep looking for the Doctor, with or without you."
You shut the door in Sero's face, turning to your outfit that laid haphazardly in the bathroom. A sadness washed over you, knowing that whatever secrecy you had, whatever advantages you gained, have now been destroyed. You couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door while you began to change into your clothes, but the sadness that overwhelmed you was the betrayal. You wished it wasn't that feeling. It was one you hated the most.
Sero meanwhile stood beside the bathroom door, contemplating on his options now. He had agreed to help Midoriya, only because he had no other choice. What excuse or reason would he have to refuse? He kicked himself mentally on how he had handled the situation, on how he had explained it all, but all he wanted was to give you a headstart.
He heard a familiar sound from inside the bathroom after hearing the door unlock, turning to open the door slowly to find his shirt and shorts on the floor. Flecks of light floated against the tiles, fractals of them soon disappearing before he found his bathroom window ajar. Not a single goodbye, not even a note. Sero collected his clothes from the floor before he made his way back into his apartment, hoping that whatever happens from here on out, he could always give you a headstart.
Little did he know, a familiar couple spotted the trail of light across the sky that beamed from the apartment building.