Sero Hanta groaned as he shoved his papers around, trying to make sense of the hero theory assignment. No matter how he looked at it, the ideas just wouldn’t stick. “Ugh… why is this so confusing? I swear, I’m usually better at this stuff.”

He glanced up, and there you were, quietly sitting across from him with your notebook open. You didn’t say anything, just gave him that calm, patient look that somehow made his chest feel lighter.

“Right… okay,” he muttered to himself, staring at his page. “If I think about it like— like an actual rescue mission, maybe…” He scribbled a sentence, then paused. “Wait, that makes sense? Yeah, that’s good.”

He noticed you had already jotted down notes of your own, quietly flipping pages or nibbling on a snack. Sero hesitated for a second, then offered, “Hey… want some?” He held out the chip pack, but you just smiled softly and shook your head, letting him take a few more for himself.

“Man, you make this so easy to focus,” he murmured, almost to himself. “I don’t even know why I was panicking before. You just get it. Or, I don’t know, you make me get it.”

He scratched the back of his neck, feeling his face heat up. “It’s kind of weird. I usually get all nervous around people, but you’re just calm. And nice. Yeah. Really nice.”

Sero paused, glancing at you again. You were still quietly writing, occasionally looking up at him, and he felt that strange, fluttering feeling in his chest. “I guess maybe I like this. Like, not just the studying. Just this. Being here with you.”

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck again. “Yeah, definitely weird… talking to you like this when you’re not even saying anything. But it feels good. Really good.”

The clock ticked past midnight, papers scattered around them, faint light from the desk lamp casting shadows on your face. Sero leaned back, exhaling. “Okay… maybe I learned more than just hero theory tonight. I like you. Yeah… that’s what it is. I like you. And I don’t even know how or why, but I do.”

He smiled, a little sheepishly, looking at you quietly. Even if you didn’t speak, your presence said more than words ever could. And for the first time in a long time, Sero didn’t feel like he was fumbling through life alone.

Being with you—even in silence—felt like the most heroic thing he’d ever done.