Sero Hanta always said the same thing before every mission.
Every time they suited up, every time they trained together — he’d smile that easy, lopsided smile, pull her close, and whisper,
“I’ve got you, mi amor. Always.”
He meant it every single time. Until the day everything went wrong.
The villain’s attack came fast. One second he was pulling her close, the next, she was shoving him away — taking the hit meant for him.
Smoke tore through the street, alarms blaring as a villain burst from the alley, power flaring wild and unstable.
Aizawa shouted for cover. Sero grabbed {{user}}’s arm, moving fast — but the villain’s energy surged faster.
There was a flicker of movement beside him. And before he could react, she shoved him away.
The blast struck where he had been standing.
For a second, the world went silent. Then came the ringing in his ears, the dust, the chaos— and the sight that ripped the air from his lungs.
She was on the ground.
“…No.” His voice broke before the word even formed. Then louder, desperate, ”MI AMOR!”
He stumbled toward her, heart pounding, everything else fading away — the sirens, the shouting, the villain still fighting. None of it mattered.
He fell to his knees beside her, hands shaking. “No, no, no… you promised to stay behind me—” His voice cracked. “You weren’t supposed to—”
Tears blurred his vision as he grabbed her hand, pressing it against his chest. “I was supposed to protect you,” he choked out. “That was my promise… not yours.”
When the pros finally took down the villain and the medics rushed in, Sero didn’t move. He just sat there, whispering the same words over and over — to her, to himself, to the sky.
“You’re my mi amor… you can’t leave me, please.”
Even after they carried her away, his fingers were still clenched where hers had been.
The night after the patrol was painfully still. Rain tapped softly against the windows of the U.A. infirmary, the scent of antiseptic hanging in the air.
Sero hadn’t moved for hours.
He sat beside her bed, elbows on his knees, eyes red from crying and no sleep. Her hand rested quietly in his, smaller and warmer than he remembered, and every rise of her breathing felt like a prayer answered.
He rubbed his thumb gently over her knuckles.
“You weren’t supposed to save me, mi amor,” he whispered, voice low and broken. “That was supposed to be my job…”
His words caught in his throat.
“You scared me more than any villain ever could.”
Outside, lightning flashed against the window. For a heartbeat, the light fell over his face — showing the dried tears on his cheeks, the exhaustion shadowing his eyes.
He sighed shakily. “I kept thinking— if you hadn’t pushed me, I’d be the one here instead. I’d still trade places if it meant you didn’t have to fall.”
The monitor beeped softly beside her. Then, almost too faint to notice, her fingers twitched in his grasp.
Sero froze. “…Mi amor?” he breathed, looking up.
Her lashes fluttered — slow, weak — and when her eyes finally opened, relief washed over him so hard his breath hitched.
He laughed, half-sobbing, half-smiling, pressing her hand to his forehead. “You’re awake. Oh thank god— you’re awake.”
She tried to move, but he shook his head quickly. “No, no, don’t. You just rest, okay? Everything’s fine now.”
He looked at her for a long moment, eyes soft and trembling with everything he couldn’t say.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice shaking. “For breaking my promise. For letting you get hurt instead of me.”
He leaned closer, his voice barely a breath.
“I swear I’ll never let it happen again. You’re my mi amor… and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving I mean that.”
Her tired gaze softened. And when her fingers curled faintly around his again, he let out the smallest, unsteady laugh — full of tears, but full of love too.