It Started with a Smile

Chapter 10

The sense of déjà vu was so overwhelming, I stopped in my tracks. Frozen on my doorstep, one hand on the handle, I watched Sero and Ochaco animatedly chatting at the top of the stairs. She was punching the air with a determined expression on her face while a grinning Sero listened to her, occasionally adding a comment of his own.

Feeling observed, Sero scanned the hallway and when his eyes landed on me, he smiled. The notebook I was supposed to return to Midoriya slipped through my fingers and I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me.

I'd recognize that particular smile anywhere; that gentle, upward curl of his lips with a hint of shyness. It was what had caused me to develop feelings for him, after all.

I slammed the door shut, my face aflame. Did that just happen or was my mind playing tricks on me? I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Hey, it's me. Can I come in?"

My heart fluttered at hearing Sero's voice, softly asking to be allowed inside. I opened the door and stepped aside to let him in, all the while trying to tame my furious blush.

His eyes scanned the room as I closed the door behind him. Our living quarters couldn't be more different what with me preferring a more western style with predominantly blue decorations.

"Hi," I greeted lamely, admiring the way he both stood out and fit into my room.

"Hi," he echoed.

There it was again, that tender smile, and this time, I was sure it wasn't just my imagination. I closed the distance between us in two strides and threw my arms around his neck. He grabbed me by the waist but my momentum swung us backward.

Fortunately for us, I happened to own the world's biggest and comfiest bean bag chair that easily broke our fall. I almost bounced off but Sero managed to catch my legs and pull me up until I was sitting in his lap.

He kept an arm securely wrapped around my back and the other beneath my knees. Cupping his face between my hands, I pressed my lips against his. There was no hesitating this time as I tilted my head to get a better angle. I felt his hands tighten around me as I slid my tongue over his lower lip. He made a sound deep in his throat which drew a smile from me.

"You're slipping off," he mumbled when we broke apart for air, readjusting his grip once more.

I pulled back to look him in the eyes. "I like you, Sero Hanta."

His brows knit together and I felt my stomach churn in apprehension - I'd read him wrong and this was not why he came.

The flexing of his arms was my only warning before he stood, picking me up as well. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, unable to hold back a surprised squeak. He gently deposited me on the ground and placed his hands on my hips.

"I was supposed to say it this time," he said with a frown.

"Say what?" I asked, distracted by the feel of his cool fingers drawing circles on the exposed skin on my sides.

"That I like you."

My eyes snapped up to his face, wide in surprise. "You do?"

A smile that made me melt from the inside blossomed across his features. "Yeah."

Sero lowered his head and captured my lips in a gentle kiss, his arms snaking around my waist to pull me closer. I wound my fingers through his hair, marveling at the softness.

"I like you," he confessed, placing butterfly kisses along my jaw. "Go out with me?"

I gasped in delight and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"Yes," I breathed a few moments later, gently nipping at his ear which sent a tremor through his lean frame.

* * * * *

We were back in the bean bag again, my legs thrown over Sero's lap. He was absentmindedly running his thumb over the back of my knee while I listened to the steady drum of his heartbeat. He slipped the fingers of his other hand under my shirt and I stiffened momentarily against his cool touch.

He apologized with a sheepish smile. "I know my hands can get a little cold."

I spoke before he could remove it. "Don't stop, it feels nice."

I felt his laughter rumble through his chest which drew a smile from me as well. I tilted my head upward and he leaned in for a quick peck.

"Can I ask you something?" He nodded his assent. "Is it okay if I call you by your first name?"

Sero huffed in amusement. "You already do."

"Yeah, but I never asked."

Sero nuzzled my cheek and I pushed him away with a giggle. "So why bother now?"

"Because it's polite," I said, leaning away and forcing him to grab me tighter so I wouldn't slip off.

Pulling me back against his chest, he found my ear and huskily whispered my first name. A delicious tingle ran down my spine and when I raised my eyes to meet his, there was a knowing grin on his face.

I proceeded to wipe it off with a languorous kiss that had him making that sound in the back of his throat that I was beginning to love.

"Hanta," I whispered, trailing kisses down his jaw.

"Hmm," he mumbled, eyes closed while he rubbed circles on my back.

"Hanta."

"You'll wear it out," he said, lazily raising his head to allow me better access to his neck.

"As if," I retorted, grinning against his exposed collarbone. "Hanta."

Sero cocked an eye open and looked at me. "What?"

"We missed dinner."

~*~*~*~

The End.

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