Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ch 01- Smile

Society could never know how much Trust Value affected the everyday life of their heroes.

Smile could understand how disastrous that would be, how easily people would misuse that information and target specific heroes to tear them up to pieces.

No, Smile wouldn’t change society’s ignorance, but he would have liked for the Hero Agencies to give a warning to the new rising heroes, who still were at the start of their career, to be very, very careful with how they branded themselves as. Smile still flinched every time he thought about Firm-man’s side effects for too long.

Many heroes had claimed ‘keeping peace’ as their main goal. Generic branding, trust easily lost the moment the hero lost a fight or became angry in public, said something in an interview that wasn't favorable... trust was a fragile thing.

And thus, at the beginning of his career, Smile had claimed his intention was to ‘protect their happiness’.

Overall the side-effects weren’t the worst he had seen. His face lost mobility and now couldn’t do anything but smile amiably, he couldn’t feel his cheeks anymore, and he had to moisture his lips and the corners of his mouth every day with lip balm. 

His presence now commanded warmth, exuding kindness, unconditional acceptance, and hope for a brighter future. Smile found himself unable to complain about anything outloud, nor judge anyone or anything too harshly. His voice was always soft and inviting, no matter how mad or sad he could get, he always sounded like he was at peace, always sounded kind and welcoming.

It made people trust him quickly and in depth. In civilian attire, that meant having complete strangers crying on his shoulders and venting all their grievances in the weirdest of places — he couldn’t go grocery shopping anymore — and in his hero hours that meant people holding onto him long after being rescued, face pressed against his chest in a childish manner, as if that could hide them from the worst of society. It happened so often that Smile had already become used to joking about it and designed a method to let down the people he rescued gently but firmly. 

People associated warmth with light and heat, so Smile ended up being able to create a small ‘sun’ with his hands and attack with golden sphere-like missiles in the ocassional villain fight.

Anyone that met him in person was instantly charmed, his manager said Smile was ‘impossible to hate’ in the sense of ‘that overly friendly and kind neighbor that always seems to know when you’ve had a rough day and gives you a small treat when he sees you’ sort of way. 

It was the kind of trust that wouldn’t diminish no matter what the news played or what the media criticized about his work, presentation, timing, whatever. It was the kind of long-lasting, undying Trust Value that kept him within the top ten for many, many years.

It was the kind of Trust that had made his marriage last for as long as it did, even when he failed to attend the important events and show up for the small daily grievances — and the not-so-small ones too — his ex-wife had always had hope, and trusted him to try to be better.

Smile had tried, he honestly did. He probably would have succeeded if society had trusted him with their safety, fighting the villain of the week and calling it a day.

But as it turns out, the moment people most desire for warmth and happiness is in their lowest, coldest days.

Smile was the go-to responder for most suicide attempts. For the ones when he arrived on time, he had to embrace them and listen, let the silence and his mere presence become a blanket of comfort for as long as they needed. Then he would offer the phone number for the suicide-prevention line, wish them the best, and leave.

He was invited to hospitals to visit patients that were in pain, were incurable, had chronic diseases, that were much too young, much too old, and much too tired. At some point he had started to cross paths with Ah Sheng in those programmed visits, and Smile had become bright with hope that perhaps his warmth wouldn’t be needed here anymore, that people would be physically cured instead of having to conform with the emotional band-aid Smile offered.

The year when Ah Sheng became X was the one when Smile could be back home the most. When he finally had pictures with his daughter taken, when he could play with dolls, sip at non-existent tea in a pink plastic cup, grab his wife by the waist and spin her around in little surprise attacks, and give the hired-help vacation time since he could now help around with common housechores. His wife had truly smiled again. His daughter had laughed with unfiltered joy.

Then Ah Sheng disappeared without trace, and Smile’s presence was called for again. Staying in his home with his family became an impossible task. His body moved on his own to leave, to rush to whatever group of people was trusting him to be there on time. Turns out Trust also affected the control he had over his own actions, it was a terrible discovery, he missed many nights of sleep because the news would show something, and the people watching would fervently wish for Smile to be there.

Stepping down from the X title was a relief. As internet and social media became more prevalent, and people were less often exposed to Smile’s presence, the Trust value of his ‘new fans’ wasn’t as long-lasting as the one he had cemented with the older fans, and with the fluctuation came his descent from the X spot.

He wished people would forget about him, enough to fall somewhere down to the twentieth place, enough for him to recover some of the autonomy he had lost.

When that didn't happen, his wife finally had enough and filed for a divorce, and his interactions with his daughter became short phone calls. The wish of a single child to see her father again could not overcome the overall wishes of society to keep seeing Smile in action.

Speaking of children, Smile was very popular with them as well. It had started with the pediatric division of the hospitals, but word went around, so he ended up going to school tours, giving motivational speeches, carrying kids on his shoulders and biceps, putting on a fake white beard in a very poor imitation of Santa that had children delighted and making lines to sit on his lap and ask for things.

It was a very busy career. The people’s hopes never diminished enough for Smile to be able to decide what to do with his own free time, not beyond small breaks to eat, sleep (somewhat), and take a shower. 

So when that new guy that wasn’t even affiliated to any agency beat him so one-sidedly in the tournament and sent Smile straight to the Tenth place, he wanted nothing more than to hug the ever-lights out of that stranger and cry a sincere thank you.

And thus, that was exactly what he did on the second tournament that had the white-haired man now participating as X. 

“Thank you, please beat me unilaterally again,” Smile had chuckled softly as he hugged the probably very confused, bewildered hero, who had tensed up his shoulders and lifted a hand as if to snap Smile away from him, but had hesitated on the very last second.

“Uh,” X let out in such a small voice Smile wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn't so close. “Sure?”

“Thanks!” Smile released him, patted his shoulders amiably, and left to go to his designed spot for the tournament with a sincere, hopeful smile.

On the last tournament his reprieve hadn’t lasted, climbing up from the tenth to the seventh spot in a matter of weeks since the other heroes had old scandals uncovered, but it had been weeks where Smile had been able to live like a person again, had gone to eat ice cream with his daughter, had slept at least six hours without interruptions, had been able to go to the market and buy meat without being accosted by people.

He had high hopes that the respite would last longer this time around. Smile couldn’t avoid the fight since his fans wanted him to give his best, but the current X could beat him in seconds even under those circumstances,  so hopefully that would be pathetic enough to have people lose some trust in him!

(XXX)

It wasn’t enough, of course not.

“Fighting against such a power is kind of unfair,” one of the younger heroes, Nice, kept giving him a rant of genuine encouragement, as if Smile was saddened by the fight he lost and not abouth his too-stable rank. “People know that, and they… they still choose to believe in you. You’re more than your fighting power, you’re warmth and hope. People’s hope for a better, brighter future.”

That included Nice himself, no doubt. 

Nice, the young hero who was obviously starting to struggle, considering the way he clung to Smile’s forearm like he wanted nothing more than to pull him into a hug and hide from the world at large.

Considering his brand had him presented as the ‘perfect hero’, Smile wasn’t too surprised. He didn’t want to even imagine the kind of pressure that was placed on those young shoulders.

“I have a hero coaching program coming up next month,” Smile mentioned softly, kindly placing a warm hand over Nice’s and squeezing in silent understanding. “Younger heroes are invited to individual coaching and to shadow me during my work day. You know, could double as advertising, if your manager agrees—”

“Yes!” Nice looked almost desperate for a second, all sense of calm, perfect composure cracking up in that moment as he used his free hand to grab Smile’s wrist and hold it like it was the only thing keeping him sane. “I would— would love—!”

A sharp, unnatural pause, like someone had dropped a bucket of cold water over Nice. The rest of his sentence was calm and composed, a melody carefully crafted. “I’d like that. Yes. Please.”

The voice self-regulated, the calmness and composure falling over like a thick blanket hiding a crying child, muffling all sobs and cries for help. People expected a perfect hero from Nice, and now he couldn’t help but become it.

Perfect heroes couldn't cry. It was heartbreaking to see it happening right in front of him.

“Sounds good,” Smile passed an arm behind Nice’s shoulders, giving a casual embrace instead of the all-encompassing hug the other actually needed, but given the circumstances, it was the best he could offer. “In exchange, give me some tips for this photoshoot? I know nothing of the trends young people use these days.”

Smile gave a light-hearted grunt of complaint that only elders could give, and Nice’s smile was genuine as he nodded and pressed to his side, a child finally receiving comfort after crying alone for who-knows-how-long. 

Smile couldn’t do anything but place emotional band-aids, but he hoped that would be enough to help.

Chapter Text

Ch 02

By all intents and purposes, X should have shoved the random hero away from him the moment he got too close.

Especially since he knew, deep in his gut, that something wasn’t normal about the air around Smile. It had been the main reason X had snapped his fingers and sent him all the way up to the moon as soon as their round started, an instinctual reaction to the sudden, unnatural desire to be close to the blond. 

Like X could just... walk towards him and stand by his side and feel warm just by the proximity. Maybe even get a tan in the process. Like Smile was the human version of the warm sunlight that reaches through in the midst of cold, unforgiving winter.

It was illogical, irrational, it had no base to stand on, didn’t even make any sense because X knew nothing of this hero, he hadn’t even bothered trying to investigate anything about his competition, he had been confident that the knowledge wasn’t necessary to beat them and reach the X title.

And yet here he was, allowing the hero to hug him tightly —  and thank him for getting beaten, as bizarre as that sounded —  as if X hadn’t known any better. 

He should have disappeared from sight. He should have grabbed Smile and turned him into a painting on the wall.

A perfect plan, except X hadn’t wanted to.

Smile was warm, like a security blanket had wrapped itself around his shoulders, like the safety of a trusted plushie defending a child from a loud thunderstorm. Like X could stay and melt in his arms if he just stayed still enough, and he wouldn’t have to deal with defying fate and restructuring their broken hero system, like he could just be— 

He could just. Be.

Just exist as himself and not X. Leave all the bothersome overtime work to someone else and— 

“Thank you, please beat me unilaterally again,” the request was soft above his shoulder, and with it came a rush of unnatural warmth, a desire to help and do whatever this hero asked from him.

What a dangerous thought. But the request was something X had been planning to do anyway, so no harm done… right?

“Sure?”

“Thanks!” Smile released him, patted his shoulders amiably, and left to go to his designed spot for the tournament with a sincere, hopeful smile. 

Somehow, even though he knew nothing of the blond except for his reputation and what appeared on the media, X felt tempted to snap his fingers and make Smile fall into a pocket 2D dimension where they could talk without interruptions and get to know each other better. Perhaps become friends. Perhaps show him who he was outside of the crafted X character he had created. Perhaps grab a can of beer and order take out, talking about nothing and everything at the same time.

X had never felt lonely before, but as he watched Smile walk away, the desire to get to know him remained and rooted itself deeply.

(XXX)

X refused to do something as stupid as stalking. He had never abused his powers for anything before, and he certainly didn’t need them to make a new friend. 

X was a hero, and there was nothing odd about a hero stumbling upon another hero during hero hours to talk about hero things.

“Catching a break too?” Smile welcomed after recovering from the shock of seeing X land on the same rooftop. The blond was sitting on the floor, under the singular shadow created by the building’s HVAC system.

He sounded kind and welcoming, if a bit surprised, which made the small bundle of nerves resting on X’s stomach dissolve as if it had never been.

“Something like that,” X chuckled in what he hoped was a casual manner, hands in his pockets as he walked closer. “Citizens really appreciate your work, eh?”

X hadn’t stalked anyone. He had been walking down the street to grab a soda from his favorite vending machine when he got the FOMO notification of Smile being in the area close by, so he had snapped his fingers to walk across the building’s walls and reach the altercation while remaining undetected.

He had seen Smile floating above the street with a civilian on his hold, who had looked relieved, oddly nostalgic, and had vehemently refused to be put down for the longest five minutes of X’s existence. Smile had been speaking in soft reassuring tones as if he was dealing with a toddler throwing a quiet tantrum and not a grown man during the whole duration of it. It was jarring.

It looked utterly bothersome too. X didn’t want to imagine what it was like, having to deal with clingy people every single time you rescued someone. Smile was only doing his job, there was no need to get the wrong idea about— 

“A little bit too much,” Smile sighed tiredly. “But hey, if I can help them refill some of their tank of, uh, of..."

Smile gestured at the air, as if that would bring the right words to him. "Of peaceful... contentment… then it’s worth it. Right?”

Peaceful contentment, so that was the label to this feeling.

Indeed, X felt like sitting down at his side and never leaving. Like he could put all of his burdens and concerns in a backpack, then remove it from his shoulders for as long as Smile was in his proximity.

What a terrifying ability.

Almost as terrifying as the sincerity behind the words. Finding a hero that actually cared about helping people was rare in this day and age.

It was one of the things that made Smile so difficult to stumble upon. It was rare for the media to be present when he saved people, his trust value remained strong mostly due to the citizens posting about it after-the-fact in a way that made common people like X’s civilian form sympathize. 

Who wouldn’t appreciate something as small as a lift to the station when it was late at night and about to close? Nobody liked to be stranded in the same prefecture as the office that made you work overtime and caused the issue to begin with— 

“Wanna sit with me?” Smile asked when X remained unresponsive. Like a moron. What the heck, why was he getting lost in thought to this degree?

“If you insist,” X shrugged, approaching the source of warmth that was way too dangerous in its authenticity. 

He shouldn’t be doing this, he should be careful to keep his distance from everyone, it was a matter of time before some big shot from a hero agency caught something about X that led to his civilian identity— 

Then X sat down, shoulders relaxing against his will, a silent sigh escaping as his eyes fluttered close with the almost overwhelming sense of safety and warmth. He could fall asleep here, just like this.

Smile seemed to know that because he remained silent, shoulders brushing as the blond shifted in place, and X leaned slightly to the side to erase the gap and have them press against each other, mind temporarily too at peace to care about the oddity of lowering his walls so fast.

At that moment, resting side by side in peaceful silence, there was nothing wrong with the world.

Most of their early meetings went by like that, with X overthinking a thousand and one reasons why he should stay away, and ultimately failing to take his own advice every single time. 

At some point, X started to bring food to their impromptu meet ups.

In response to that, Smile started to bring beer when said meet ups happened to be close enough to a market, so they ended up having random picnics in random places within X's 2D dimension, safely away from the cameras and drones while they chatted inside the walls of abandoned buildings or in the subterranean's ceiling.

And one night, when Smile actually fought against a though villain and was bruised as a result, X offered his personal first-aid kit and a night of take out at his apartment, like it was the most natural thing in the world and not a massive leap of trust.

Smile had blinked at him in surprise, then accepted with a big, sincere grin. 

It made all the risks worth taking.

Chapter Text

03 - Nice

What the heck, what kind of cheat code was this.

“So you have no side-effects,” Smile scoffed lightly, grabbing X’s cheek and pinching it slightly between thumb and index finger, as if he had expected him to be made of rubber or something. Alas, the delirium of drunken logic.

“Nu-uh,” X confirmed, swatting Smile’s hand away with a scoff of his own, cheeks red mostly due to the liquor. “I’m not a— notta moron like you, nu-uh, I gotta keep— keep separate. The things. Yeah.”

X nodded like that was wise advice and not utter bullshit, gesturing nonsensically at the air in an invisible drawing as if that would make his words make more sense. 

Smile spluttered indignantly, gesturing back with his beer on hand. “Not fair, wha— whattam I supposed to do? I don’t wanna smile anymore, so tiring, needin’ balm and everything.”

X, the douche, snorted at his misery. “Nah, you? Don’t look like it.”

“I can’t look like it!” Smile squeaked in drunken affrontedness, squishing his empty beer can to throw it in X’s direction. It hit him on his knee successfully but ineffectively. “Gotta— gotta smile, always smile, always.”

Smile nodded to himself, crossing his arms over his chest almost defensively. X leaned towards him, lifting an arm so he could rest his elbow on the sofa’s back, chin pressing against the back of his fingers.

“Looks nice,” X muttered with the sort of drunken dreamy that meant he was close to falling asleep face-first on the carpet. “You’re nice.”

“I’m not Nice,” Smile giggled with the sort of drunken silliness that meant he was close to rushing to the bathroom to throw up. Gugh. “I gotta help that kid, I gotta.”

Smile nodded to himself again, then regretted it immediately when it made the room spin, and ultimately rushed to the bathroom, all the while ignoring X’s snicker, obviously entertained by his misery. What a terrible, terrible friend. X would learn to be a better friend, one of these days Smile would get X drunk but he himself wouldn’t be and then he would be able to record the silliness and get peak blackmail material. 

One of these days, the revenge would be sweet and very, very worth it.

Right now though, revenge had to be pushed aside in favor of carrying his terrible friend to his damn bed because of course X was snoring and drooling on the sofa by the time Smile got back, and Smile was a good person and a non-terrible friend that would help the damn douche, even if that meant untangling the limbs linked like a vice around him at least three consecutive times, because X was the sort of clingy drunk that always refused to let go on the first try, but Smile had better things to do than carry him bridal style the whole night.

“Sleep— nope. No, let go and sleep, come on—”

“Nooo,” X whined in a tired exhale, eyes closed while swatting at the air ineffectively as Smile stepped back and out of reach.

“I’m not a plushie you can cuddle— don’t!” Smile hurriedly grabbed the hand that tried to snap fingers. “Don’t turn me into one, you little boop!”

Damn him and Smile’s inability to curse out loud. He was a family-rated hero, damn it.

X hummed and moved the hand in his grasp, so he could hold onto Smile’s palm comfortably. He seemed content in his sleepy state, the corner of his mouth turning slightly upward. Cute jerk, it was hard to stay mad at him. Probably did that on purpose even. What a terrible, terrible person.

“You jerk,” Smile complained in a whisper without heat, carefully extracting his hand from the hold and giving X a pillow he could cuddle instead. 

“Ssstaaay.”

“No, you stay and sleep,” Smile gestured to the floor with his index finger, like he would when ordering a puppy to sit down and stay still, and let out an internal sigh of relief when X snored lightly as the only response.

Matter settled, he turned around to go clean up the mess in the living room. He was a good friend and a good guest and X was damn lucky he was even bothering with it before leaving. Smile was tired too, he hoped he could still sleep for a few hours if he made it back to his apartment on time. 

It had taken longer than either Nice or himself had anticipated, but after Miss J got an answer to her questions of what the program entailed, and Smile’s manager sent a contract regarding Adverse Publicity Protection and the like, the mentorship program was finally approved.

Thus, tomorrow— or maybe later today? What time was it? —  he had to wake up early to prepare his work’s day schedule and meet with Nice. 

(XXX)

Miss J glared weakly at the smiley icon of his chest, deep in thought. Like she wanted to be mad but couldn’t.

“This is the most relaxed I've felt ever since I got this job,” she scowled with a deep sigh. “You're very dangerous.”

“I have no control over it, very sorry,” Smile chuckled lightly, taking a polite step back.

“From this point on, you’ll talk to me while leaning on the farthest-away wall,” she said in a no-nonsense tone, pushing her glasses up.

Smile had put his hands up in playful surrender and did as told. She had shouted a reminder of the rules of the contract, and that Treeman could sue his agency if he knowingly put Nice in an unfavorable situation, among other things. He didn't plan on doing anything shady, so he tuned it out and just nodded obediently with a lighthearted smile. 

The first day of the mentorship program started with a hospital visit. Pediatrics and geriatrics always came up first, with rounds for the patients that were emotionally unwell left for last. 

Smile sat in the middle of two beds that had children in conditions that didn’t allow them to stand up, where they could draw, read, or simply rest with contented peace replacing their maladie’s discomfort, while Nice entertained the ones that had more energy and could move around better.

Watching him play, picking up kids and flying slowly, carefully spinning around, doing the fancy trick where his whole body seemed to sparkle like one of those magical girls his daughter had used to love when she was small…

It was like Smile was seeing the light physically returning to dull, dead eyes. It was both painful and a relief to witness it, since Nice was like— what, in his twenties? He was half of Smile’s age, what business did he have looking so ragged and bone-tired when he thought nobody was looking?

“At the end of the day we’re heroes. We’re just here to help people however we can,” Smile stated as he bowed back to the nurse that had accompanied them outside once the hospital’s visit ended, noting with mild curiosity the way Nice seemed to discreetly flinch at the words. “I wished I could do more.”

“You do enough, believe me,” the senior nurse reassured, smiling back at him and patting his arm kindly. “Sometimes having a day when you feel comfortably warm and well-rested helps more than all the medicine in the world.”

Smile nodded softly, patted her hand and thanked her for a good job, giving his usual ‘see you next month’ before departing. His hero agency had signed a treaty with a specific bunch of private hospitals —  because having a hero regularly visiting worked wonders for publicity, apparently — but Smile had managed to ‘volunteer’ on the public ones too, so long the hospital itself didn’t advertise it. The patients could publish whatever they wanted on their socials though.

It was good for his career and this way he avoided the public’s judgement of giving preferential treatment to specific hospitals. Or at least, that’s how Smile had sold the idea off to his superiors. Truthfully he had just wanted to reach more people.

“Alright, hero hours are done, so let’s get that one-on-one coaching,” Smile grinned and patted Nice’s shoulder, which made his mentee finally snap out of his stupor.

“Oh, yes!” The childish excitement was back, if only for a second before it was consumed again by the perfectly-manicured, relaxed poker face. “Of course. Where will it be held?”

This kid was losing himself more and more to the hero persona, wasn’t he? Smile wished he could help out with the side-effects, he wished heroes didn’t have to deal with any of this shit to begin with— 

X didn’t have to deal with any side effects.

X was a civilian that behaved like one when out of costume, which meant traveling squished against the glass in public transportation, grabbing take out from street food stalls that had questionable hygiene protocols but were tasty as heck, and then suffering the consequences of his poor life decisions right after.

Normal heroes weren’t X, not by a wide margin, but perhaps there was something worth trying in the simplicity of common day-to-day life.

“My place at the Hero Tower,” Smile smacked Nice’s shoulderblades playfully. “I don’t go there often so the fridge is empty, but we can buy some take out. What do you want for dinner?” 

Nice seemed bewildered, like he was internally combusting at the mere notion of attending such an informal invitation during his mentorship program, which— yeah, Smile wouldn’t like someone like Miss J finding out about that either. 

But Miss J didn’t have to know, so it should be fine. Smile linked his arm with the thinner white-clad one and floated up, pulling slightly until his mentee’s brain finally rebooted and flew on his own, looking up at him with wide, incredulous blue eyes.

Smile grinned even wider in response and let go of him, gesturing with his head for the younger hero to follow. They flew back in companionable chatter, hovering over different restaurant options and take-out posts until they finally settled on having sushi for dinner. 

Even in an area so close to the Hero Tower — and thus, accustomed to seeing high-ranked heroes come and go —  the young teen that attended to their order had almost fainted upon seeing them together, taking a bewildered selfie with shaky hands once permission was granted. 

Smile hugged Nice’s shoulders and bonked their heads together, grinning to the camera with a two-fingered peace sign he had seen the younger generations do in their pictures. His daughter certainly liked it, at least, and it made Nice laugh softly under his breath, eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled genuinely at the camera.

Yeah, maybe the simplicity of everyday life would help.

And thus, once their order was ready and they were back at the tower, Smile completely ignored his dining room and went to the coach instead —  crap he forgot to leave his shoes by the door, X would have had his head for that if this was his apartment — removing his shoes messily so he could sit cross-legged over the cushions. 

Nice stood by the door, completely frozen.

“Come in, come in,” Smile gestured to the empty coach that was in front of the one he was sitting at. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m, uh,” Nice looked at the dusty floor, at his own shoes, at the coach that awaited, clearly indecisive.

Smile had seen him wash his hands meticulously after the hospital visit ended, even going so far as to try to clean his uniform and cape to erase the small fingerprints the kids had left. Was a ‘perfect hero’ supposed to always be pristine or something?

“You can come in with your shoes,” Smile reassured, gesturing at his own shoes as proof of his sincerity. “I don’t mind.”

Nice nodded carefully, floating across the room instead of walking through —  not good considering Smile was trying to get him to go back to a relaxed civilian mindset —  freeing up one hand to accommodate Smile’s shoes in a more orderly fashion before sitting down in front of him.

He looked proper, rigid, formal, and utterly uncomfortable.

“...would it be better to go to your place?” Smile hadn’t wanted to invite himself in, but judging by the utter relief in Nice’s nod as his shoulders relaxed, that was indeed the better option.

….

….

….

Smile had thought X was strict with his house rules, but— 

“Uh, can’t we sit together?”

“Wouldn’t be in order,” Nice shook his head while sitting in front of him. Except the table was unnaturally large and this was as close to informal camaraderie as putting together oil and water and hoping they would mix.

Everything in Nice’s place was spotless white, somehow cleaner than the hospitals Smile was used to visiting, and when he had suggested changing to civilian attire — he always carried a change just in case he felt like dropping by X’s apartment unannounced — Nice had looked uncomfortable and almost guilty, like he didn’t own anything that wasn’t his hero costume.

It was worse than what he had first imagined.

Smile sighed inwardly but played by his rules for now. He was Nice’s guest after all, and he didn’t want the kid to skip meals just because Smile wasn’t behaving as his host expected.

He did his best to be proper and clean during the meal, truly, but after a somewhat uncomfortable dinner Smile was already at his limit, so he ended up passing an arm behind Nice’s shoulders and practically getting him into a headlock to drag him to the coach.

“You’re utterly restless, chill out son,” Smile practically begged as he dropped his surprised mentee onto the cushion. “These younger generations— what do you do to relax? Do you have a favorite tea brand or something?”

“Uhm,” Nice had the same guilty expression as when Smile had first suggested they change out of their work clothes, which meant he didn’t—  didn’t what? Relax? Could someone even live without relaxing?

Smile remembered Firm-man’s side effects and inwardly flinched at his inner conclusion.

“No tea then,” Smile exhaled deeply, sitting beside Nice and letting the younger hero rearrange the cushions around him in whatever ‘perfect order’ he wanted. They were going to be talking in a sincere heart-to-heart if Smile had his way, so the kid better be comfortable. 

Except, Nice almost ‘rearranged’ Smile too, like he wasn’t sitting in ‘perfect order’ if he wasn’t an exact mirror of Nice’s own sitting position, like they were going to take a picture instead of just talk. His mentee had gone as far as to stand up to grab Smile by the shoulders and turn him slightly before abruptly stopping, clearly embarrassed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to —” Nice started, eyes mortified for a second before the fake tranquility overpowered it and he nodded in polite, detached regret. “Sorry.”

Damn it all, this was worse than he could have ever imagined.

“It’s alright,” Smile reassured kindly with a nod of his own, for once glad his voice and expression was literally incapable of appearing ‘harsh or judging’ to others. “Sit back down, it’s ok.”

Nice nodded and did as told, clearly still embarrassed even if his poker face remained unnaturally calm.

Smile gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, leaving his hand there until he could physically feel the tension leaking, and then brought his hand back to his lap. For better or worse Smile had gotten used to physical contact — impossible not to, given how clingy everyone got around him when his Trust value was high —  but on instances like this he would rather have the ones he was trying to help decide. They could approach if they needed it, or stay back if it wasn’t necessary. It was a reliable system.

“Nice,” he called softly, trusting that it would be perceived as kind, warm, and accepting as per Smile’s personal blessing and curse. “I’m here to help you in your career, and for that I need to understand your goals. So tell me: Is your aim to reach the top ten?”

“Yes,” Nice nodded with determination, eyes shining with that childish excitement, like he had nothing to his life or title but that one goal.

It was saddening, the way these new generations clamoured up for fame, glory, and power. If Smile could donate Trust points, he would have gotten rid of many of them to get out of the top ten ranking. Let him help people without having to sacrifice his own life and family for it.

“Alright. Then, I want you to look at the window. See the city,” Smile instructed, turning himself to look at the window as well, so they were in sync, so Smile was still ‘sitting properly’ by Nice’s standards. He wanted his mentee to focus without distractions. “How many people are out there, do you know?”

“...is this a test?” Nice whispered nervously. “I didn’t prepare for—”

“No no, not a test,” Smile chuckled softly, waving his hand in front of his face in negative. “I just want you to imagine the people outside these halls. Imagine a multitude, a very big crowd, like all the city is right in front of you, looking up at you.”

He could feel Nice’s silent confusion rolling off in almost tangible waves, but the younger hero still nodded, looking at the window with a concentrated expression.

“Can you see them?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, imagine yourself in front of them, not on your current rank… but as if you were already in the top three.”

A small pause of contemplative silence.

“Can you imagine it?”

“...not really,” Nice admitted, turning his wrist to look at the fluctuating blue numbers. “I’ve never made it to the top ten. What’s the difference between…  here and there?”

Nice seemed curious enough to ask his own questions now, perfect.

“Hmm… well, your powers increase,” Smile answered softly, looking down at his own hands.  “In my case, my… presence? The emotional warmth? It gets a longer reach, so I can calm people down more easily, and bring a semblance of quiet happiness to those that come in contact with me. The energy I create to fight villains is larger and more potent, my physical strength goes up, and I can fly faster. I don’t feel as tired when the day ends, and I need less hours of sleep to recover for the next day.

“But that’s not all,” Smile continued before Nice could overfocus on the 'positive' aspects of it, open palm closing into a trembling fist. “You’ve been in the hero industry for long enough to understand now, that there’s always side effects depending on how people perceive you. Their expectations mold us, and with more people trusting you, the strength of those expectations also change you from the inside out much more strongly.”

Nice took in a sharp breath, eyes widening in silent apprehension. The obsession with order and cleanliness, the inability to express strong emotions, and many other things Smile wasn’t even aware of, it would all get worse.

Smile was sad enough to cry now, but he still sounded merely gentle to his own ears as he continued. “I’m a bringer of happiness, and yet… I let down my own family. I couldn’t stay in my own home no matter how much I wished for it, because people wanted me to be out there, helping others, so my body moved on its own. I can’t—” A soft chuckle. “I can’t stop smiling, can’t even feel my own cheeks anymore. I can’t express emotions like anger, sadness, disappointment, fear, resentment, it’s all bottled up now. The higher in rank I am, these expectations wrap around me all the tighter, tying me up from head to toe.”

He turned to fully face Nice then, placing a sympathetic palm on his shoulder.

“For someone like you, who has been branded as the ‘perfect hero’, all the symptoms you’re experiencing right now would grow along with your powers. It doesn’t get easier on the top, quite the opposite.”

Nice remained frozen, eyes wide and scared, like his whole worldview was being shattered to pieces. Smile hated to break it up to him so directly, but it had to be done.

“So, as a self-appointed ‘protector of happiness’ my question for you is: would you really be happier once you’re at the top?”

Nice’s chest heaved in a silent hyperventilation, eyebrows twisting in silent agony, eyes tearing up. Could he even cry anymore?

The answer to that was yes, apparently, because Nice’s facade broke down at long last, with small, discrete sobs hacking up his whole body, shaky shoulders curling forward as he bent over, trying to make himself smaller, as if he was trying to disappear.

Smile opened his posture in case he needed— that was fast. Ok. Yeah, alright, he had an armful of Nice now, alright, he was used to this, just shift the position so he could— there. Back pats, gentle pats, use his arm to add a comforting weight across the shoulders, this usually helped to ground the people that almost decided to jump off from a building.

Smile let Nice sob and hiccup on his shoulder, humming lightly the same melody he had used to lull his daughter to sleep back in those precious, precious toddler years when Ah Sheng had given him a good respite. He really couldn’t thank that man enough, if he ever stumbled on him he would hug him to pieces.

“What else can I do? What else am I supposed to do?” Nice’s fingers scratched against Smile’s shoulderblades as he clutched the fabric, he was glad he had worn the jacket over his hero uniform. Looser fabric to grasp tended to help people regulate, it was harder to cling to hard back muscle. That was the reason he wore a hero cape to begin with. “I can’t go back now, not after everything— everything I’ve done, everything I’ve— I’ve seen. I did— so many things, I know— I can’t—“

Smile stopped patting Nice’s back and shifted his arms instead, so he could embrace his mentee in a strong, reassuring hug.

“I don’t doubt you’ve sacrificed many things,” Smile said softly, imagining that was what he was referring to. “But it’s never too late to change your mind on who you want to become. You’re young, you still have a long road to walk. I know it’s hard to imagine right now, but— ”

Nice pressed his forehead against his clavicle and scoffed a hysterical laugh. “Change? After everything I’ve— can I really just change my mind now?”

That wasn’t a reaction Smile had been expecting, but he had seen and heard many things across the years, and this wasn’t the wildest by a wide margin.

“I never said you had to do it alone,” Smile chuckled softly, lifting a hand to place it over white locks of hair, as carefully as he could to avoid disrupting the perfect hairstyle. “I’m your mentor now, and if there’s something we heroes can trust about this industry, it’s that people’s perception can change very, very fast.”

Nice stayed silent for a long moment, breathing slowly going back to a calmer rhythm even as he curled up more against his chest, as if he was a child that didn’t want to face the disappointment of his parents.

“...you want me to give up my hero—”

“I want people to stop thinking of you as the perfect hero,” Smile interrupted quickly. “I want to show them the human side of you. The one that gets dirty because it makes children happy, the glimpse of what I saw today.”

Carefully, Smile lifted the hand that was supporting the back of Nice’s head, thumb brushing the baby hair growing over the ear in a comforting manner. This gesture tended to work when it came to convincing people from walking away from the edge with their own two feet. A silent ‘you’re not alone, there’s people that care, I care about you,’ gesture.

“Weren’t you happier today?” he asked softly with open, unjudging curiosity. “Wasn’t this closer to what you thought heroes would always be?”

Nice hiccuped and nodded, forehead still pressed against him, grounding himself in a way that also kept his expressions hidden. That was fine.

“I want to help you reclaim that for yourself. I want you to become a hero that can laugh and cry freely, one that can—” Smile gestured at the air, trying to find the right words. What did freedom look like? “One that can dance in the air. Just because it makes you happy, and you can even continue to sparkle if you want—”

“Dancing…” Nice went boneless in his hold with a deep sigh, letting his full weight crush him and— yeah, alright. Progress? Probably. His voice sounded nostalgic, maybe he had really used to enjoy dancing at some point. “Why can’t I dance anymore?”

Melancholic was more like it, Nice sounded like he was on the verge of tears again.

“Who says you can’t?” Smile leaned backward into the armrest, trying to get more comfortable without much success. At least he could still breathe properly even with the added weight, it could be worse. “It’s all about media advertisements these days. I’ll help you change the perception of the public.”

“Miss J wouldn’t—”

“Bah, we’ll get around it,” Smile made a dismissive gesture in the air, even knowing Nice couldn’t see it. “Just stick with me during the shadowing work hours. If this is a change you want, then I’ll find a way to make it work, trust me.”

Nice was silent for a long while, breathing shaky as he tried to recover from the emotional rollercoaster of the last few minutes, hands still grasping the jacket almost like a child that was too afraid to let go of his guardian’s hand, afraid to be left alone when facing the monster under the bed.

This was, sadly, a lot more real than monsters under the bed, so Smile simply rubbed small circles on Nice’s upper back, waiting for his mentee to relax a bit.

“I do trust you,” Nice admitted softly after that long pause of silence, voice tinted with concern, self-doubt, and a thin layer of hope. 

“That’s all you gotta do, son,” Smile grinned more sincerely now, ruffling the pristine white hair and watching Nice flinch for a moment, then scoff and laugh at his own reaction, tilting his head like a cat that wanted more scratches. “Trust me, we’ll make it work.”

He could help with this much, at least.

Chapter Text

 - 04 -

Nice always looked so composed.

He had never looked like he was afraid of fighting, even though his archnemesis was so strong he deformed buildings just by passing close to them. Nice was always on time to help the affected citizens and stop anyone from being too injured; and the incidents he resolved had small numbers of hospitalizations and loss of life.

Nice was always absolutely perfect, his white costume never got dirty, and he always stayed after the confrontation was over to smile at his audience and give playful finger guns to the cameras, trying to lighten the mood after getting the situation under control.

He was the kind of perfect that was impossible to ever get, so when his fandom had seen the way he smiled when rescuing Moon, the undeniable fact that he had looked happier and softer, the ship was instantly born and sailed. It was a pity because plenty of fans liked to draw and write self-inserts and OCs with him, but Moon was the one who made him smile softly, and there was nothing better than a happy Nice to look at.

At least, that was what she had thought.

But then new material came up, a badly-recorded video of Nice in a hospital setting with kids grabbing and hiding under his cape at times, at other times Nice was floating and giving them a demo of how flying in his arms felt like, doing his signature spinning that made him sparkle, and listening to the kids laughing and playing around him almost made her wish Nice would have kids of his own, but— 

But the new material didn’t end there. 

There was a selfie of the luckiest cashier of the world, showing a blond man with an arm wrapped behind Nice’s shoulders, heads bonking together to fit into the picture, and Nice— 

The corner of his eyes had crow’s feet, his smile was so wide it had dimples, and his hair was the kind of stylish messy that wasn’t perfectly composed but still looked boyish, like Nice had just landed from a high-speed flight, or perhaps like the blond man had given him a playful hair ruffle before the photo was taken.

It made her realize, with perfect clarity, that she had never seen Nice look genuinely happy before. Not like this, never like this. This was— Nice looked handsomely… approachable. Like maybe he could be one of her coworkers or college classmates — the ones that were insanely popular, of course, but still more ‘normal’ than what she had thought possible for him.

#Nice and his hero dad #Nice looks so damn happy here #Let them work together more oftennnn #Apparently Smile still exists lol #Kinda forgot tbh

Smile? Who was Smile, the blond man…? Wait, yes, she had the vague memory of someone like him getting his ass kicked by Bowa like, a few tournaments ago. Yeah. 

He kinda was present in most tournaments, actually. How did he get such a high Trust value without having constant advertisement? She didn’t recall seeing him trending anywhere in the last few years.

She had never bothered to look up that hero before, but now deep-dived into the older tags, condemning herself to staying up until the early hours of dawn as she went deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of hyperfixated need for new content. 

On one hand, considering the kind of hero work he focused on, Smile was definitely perfect hero-dad material. On the other hand, what the heck, why was the Nice-Smile content limited to a single picture? She needed to see more of Nice and his hero dad!

(XXX)

The collaboration was a huge boost for Nice's career, as he got first-hand experience on helping society with the more mundane side of life, and more people — the mature-aged ones that didn’t bother keeping track of the new heroes that popped around, which made up for a large amount of Smile’s undying fanbase — recognize and appreciate him.

Smile knew by his own experience that those were the kind that never abandoned you, so it was pretty good for his mentee. 

The collaboration was also slowly but surely starting to change the concept people had of them both, noticeable because merely a week after its start, Nice didn’t seem nearly as bothered by the hair bangs that kept falling on his eyes, nor did he seem to inwardly vibrate with absolute, discreet panic at the smallest patches of dirt that got into his white costume after a day of hero work. He also seemed overall more casual in his mannerisms, bumping shoulders and ugly snorting from time to time.

Curiously enough, it also cemented the middle-aged look on Smile’s own face. It had remained unnaturally untouched by the pass of time for most of his career, but now that he was coaching the younger hero and an old ‘Santa’ picture went viral for the weirdest reasons, people seemed to settle on him looking middle aged to transmit more of that ‘kind elderly neighbor’ vibe. It took some time to get used to the new face wrinkles and more-pronounced laugh lines.

Same as the slightly increased height and width of his shoulders, apparently people felt more protected if the hero embracing them was taller and broader than them? Or maybe someone took a wild guess at his measurements and enough people believed it was true. In any case, Smile couldn't complain. Other than being forced to buy new clothes, it wasn't too bad a side effect.

Treeman was reaching out to Smile’s hero agency now, requesting the collaboration to be upheld for longer than what the program originally stated. Smile’s agency wanted to refuse, claiming that Treeman obviously wanted nothing but for Nice to ‘ride on his coat tails’, but…

But Smile could see Nice was slowly growing to become more genuine, looked overall happier as they kept working closely together, so he vouched for an agreement whenever he could, confident it could be extended to last a full month. The verdict hadn’t been issued yet, but Smile’s manager had become a friend after many years working together, so the times he was refused anything were rare.

The downside of this collaboration though, was that Smile was starting to trend in social media, presence exposed to people that didn't necessarily investigate what a hero stood for or what his work looked like, which made things like his appearance and the impression people had of him more volatile than what he would prefer. 

He hadn’t known what ‘DILF’ meant, and honestly he would love to erase it from his memory if he could, because why would anyone— why? Just why? He had always been a family-rated hero!

At least he could now say things like ‘damn’, ‘shit’, and ‘fuck’ outloud now. The only upside to that particular mess.

The worst downside of it all though— 

“Why daya keep gettin’ bigger?” X slurred drunkenly while clinging to his shoulders like he was trying to become the human version of his hero cape, and Smile— 

He had never felt anything but exasperated fondness for his friend on these instances. Smile was— he had been married to a wonderful woman and had never once thought he would have to question his own sexuality after so many years, particularly because people always considered him a family-rated hero…. and with that came the inevitable downfall of libido and his overall interest in anything R-18 rated. 

He had a daughter simply because that fun activity had been initiated by his ex-wife’s own desire back then, and Smile had enjoyed each instance, of course, but also didn’t feel a particular loss when his sex life diminished because he had other ways to demonstrate love and affection.

So why now— no, fuck that, he knew why. Stupid trends of social media, stupid new fanbase, stupid DILF concept existing in the stupid internet— 

X’s hands gave an accidental caress over his pecs as he tried to shift his monkey-like clinginess, and for the first time in a long, long while Smile felt a shiver travel down his whole body, shoulders tensing as his abdomen contracted on its own, as if to better resist the urge to— to what?

“Don’t ignore me,” X scoffed in that funny drunken tone he always got when he was about to start whining about the most ridiculous things, except this time he had done it right on Smile’s ear and the puffs of breath made his inner shiver worse, and he was starting to feel— 

No, nope, get rid of that, get rid of everything. Fucking internet, fuck.

“You’re out of your mind, it doesn’t dignify a response,” Smile defended weakly, wishing he was as drunk as his friend so he wouldn’t be so utterly mortified by his own thoughts and reactions— but then again, wouldn’t that lower his inhibitions and then it would be worse for entirely different reasons— 

Fuck this, he was too old to get a sexuality crisis, he refused to entertain the mere thought. 

Smile grabbed X’s wrists to force the arms clinging to his clavicle apart, all while flying up and leaning backwards, which made X squeak in surprise and instinctively land on his feet — then his rear, because he was so drunk things like equilibrium and reflexes were mere concepts of imagination and not real things — giving him an offended squint.

“What’s wrong with you,” X accused with squinty eyes like Smile was the problem. His friend was still a horrible, horrible person, damn him for being a cute jerk.

“Stop projecting your wrongness onto me,” Smile snorted, offering a hand to help his friend up. Because they were friends. Just friends. No need to overthink it, the trends would pass, and so would this feeling.

“You’re acting weird,” X insisted as he took the offer and, of course, utterly refused to let his hand go afterwards. Always a clingy drunk, seriously.

Smile kept his hand-hold firm as he stepped forward and guided X to the bathroom. “I’m not drunk like you, that’s why you think I’m acting weird. Come on, you’re about to fall on your face, so go and brush your teeth first.”

“I’m not a kid,” X complained, releasing his hold on Smile’s hand to begrudgingly do as told. 

X always changed into his pijamas before starting to drink, so at least that was out of the way when it came to night preparations. Smile gave him a light shove in the bedroom’s direction once he was finished.

“Go sleep,” Smile instructed while looking at his phone’s screen to avoid meeting X’s suspicious, squinty gaze. “I need to turn in early today, so—” 

“Look at me.”

“ — gotta get going— what?” Smile turned to face him with a confused frown. “Why?”

X’s hands came up to his face, cupping his cheeks as if to ensure Smile wouldn’t look away, leaning in absurdly close because X was drunk and without his glasses— who knew where those went during the last hour or so? And wow he was so close.

Smile blushed, and he was so embarrassed by that immediate reaction he wanted nothing more than for the ground to open and swallow him whole.

“Huh,” X smiled in what was probably the softest but happiest expression Smile had ever seen him make, and— 

And gave him a kiss on the nose, what. 

“Ehm,” Smile uttered stupidly, completely baffled.

“I wanna kiss you, but I’m drunk, I need to not be drunk so I can kiss you,” X giggled in circular logic, swaying in place with a stupid happy grin while looking up at him like Smile had gone up and hung the sun and moon— 

What, wait, for how long— when did that even happen?

“Sure?” Smile ended up saying, tentative but inviting to his own ears. He wasn’t sure if he could blame his Trust value for the ‘inviting’ part right now.

“For sssure,” X slurred while wiggling his eyebrows in an funny flirty attempt, giggled more, swayed in place before falling forward with his full weight in a leap of faith that forced Smile to step forward to catch him, and— 

And nuzzled drunkenly at his chest while chuckling mischievously.

Damn him for being a cute jerk, damn him.

Smile did the sensible thing and pushed at X’s shoulders while bending forward, so he could lift his friend (?) up like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder. 

He went into the bedroom, carefully put him down, and protected his own mouth from a kiss attempt when X tried to lean in.

“You’re drunk, you need to not be drunk to kiss. Remember?”

“Oh yeah,” X agreed, then pecked Smile’s palm with a snort of mischief. Why was he acting like this today, what was Smile supposed to do when facing that?

“Stay?”

“Can’t stay.” Smile needed to go back to his place, collapse on his own bed, and lose any and all hours of sleep overthinking things to try to understand what the heck even happened tonight. “But I’ll see you again soon, alright?”

“Mm-hmm, right, right,” X nodded in contented agreement, letting Smile go without trying to cling to him, for once. “When I’m not drunk, so we can kiss.”

Smile was going to have a heart attack if he stayed here any longer, he felt like laughing in baffled disbelief, what the hell even happened here?

“Uh-huh,” he squeaked out, utterly mortified by the tangled mix of feelings fluttering somewhere inside his torso.

“Goodnight kiss?” X asked hopefully like he had already forgotten what he just said, which sounded tempting, so that was Smile’s queue to get up and leave already.

“Next time,” Smile answered, unsure on whether he was offering empty platitudes or an actual promise. “See you… next time.”

Chapter Text

-05-

When his Trust Value was too high Smile had issues doing simple things like going to a shopping center without being immediately surrounded by people, but Nice had nothing in his closet except copies of his hero costume and that needed to change asap.

Thus, he had used his always-active charm to ask pretty please, to both Miss J and Jing, Smile’s own manager, for a photoshoot to be organized in casual clothes. To show the people that heroes can relax too, and hey, people loved the Nice-Smile dynamic, let them play around with that and add some informality to it, and of course both heroes could keep the clothes afterwards, indirectly promoting whatever brand the hero agencies picked for them. Advertisement! Trending on the trends! So much money exchanging hands! A win-win for everyone, wouldn’t that be great?

“You’re not even being discrete with your true goal and it’s still working,” Miss J scoffed lightly under her breath. “I should be mad about this.”

“Welcome to my world,” Jing snorted with entertained eyes. “What are you gonna ask next, for the photoshoot to be held on the beach? Want some company-paid vacations disguised as work?”

“Would love to,” Smile admitted sincerely, even knowing that was nothing but a fantasy since people still commanded the frequency and duration of his free time. “But I’ll be fine with just free clothes.”

“Can you at least not say it outloud,” Miss J smacked his arm with her tablet in a light reprimand.

“Very sorry,” Smile laughed softly, feeling someone approach from behind with light steps.

“What’s next on the agenda?” Nice placed his chin on Smile’s shoulder to look down at the tablet, an arm half-wrapped around him with the sort of casual lightheartedness that would have been impossible mere weeks ago.

“A conference, then patrol,” Miss J answered absentmindedly, already focused on searching the best brands to collaborate with for free clothing.

“Before that starts though,” Jing threw him a look. “Smile, you come with me.”

It was his ‘back to business’ tone, so Smile gave his now-sleepy mentee a small, affectionate headbutt —  that made Nice snort under his breath — before freeing himself to follow his manager.

Smile wasn’t concerned until they passed several hallways, which meant Jing was leading them to his office, which meant the topic he wanted to talk about was delicate.

And indeed, his manager immediately locked the door behind them with a deep sigh.

“I know he’s a good kid and you’re just trying to help, but we can’t keep this up forever,” Jing whispered, concerned but firm. “The mentorship was supposed to end last week. We got it extended for another week, but it will have to end at some point.”

Smile sighed deeply, wondering what kind of mess he had gotten himself into.

The more he talked with Nice, the more he came to the conclusion that the kid had been… groomed for his position. At the heart of the matter was the horrible, undeniable fact that Nice didn’t consider his own needs as important anymore, that he was absurdly willing to sacrifice many, many things in the chase of what he had considered his life’s goal.

Even now that Nice wasn’t sure on whether he actually wanted to reach the top,  if that would make him any happier than he was now, if it was worth the sacrifices, if it would be as fulfilling as he first thought it would be… ultimately he still worked towards it. 

Because it was part of his contract. 

Because he didn’t know what to do except follow orders and be thankful the opportunity was even given to him.

Because he wasn’t sure what would happen if he suddenly refused, because ‘Mr. Shang was counting on him’. The words had been whispered while looking down at the floor with a barely audible tremble.

Nice was afraid of Treeman’s CEO to an incredibly high degree. Watching him clamp up the second Shang was even mentioned in passing was— 

“Are you even listening?” Jing tugged at his cape almost desperately, a good distance away. “This can’t last forever, and I need you to say you understand that.”

What else could they do to help? What could he do so all their progress wouldn’t go down the drain?

“He’s always been in Treeman,” Jing tried to reassure. “He’s used to it, he will be fine.”

Nice had always been under Treeman, indeed.

“Can’t we extend him an offer?” Smile wondered with hope. “If he can work with us, he would learn to have more self-agency, ask questions and suggest stuff instead of just following orders blindly.”

Jing blinked at him like he was mildly tempted to strangle Smile with his own cape.

“Do you want me to dance tango while I’m at it?” Jing deadpanned. “Your plan is to steal one of Treeman’s best assets, for real? Even you must know how insane that sounds.”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be stealing,” Smile rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Maybe we could offer Treeman something in exchange.”

Jing exhaled like wanted his soul to reach a better plane of existence. “Hate to remind you of this, but the only reason this agency is still in business is because of you. You’re the only hero that’s profitable enough to keep this small agency afloat, we have nothing to offer them.”

Nice was changing for the better in such giant leaps though. There had to be a way to extend his experience outside of Treeman’s grasp, at least for long enough for the kid to start putting together a stronger sense of self that would let him defend himself, fight back, perhaps even escape his current agency for good.

At least in a way that wouldn’t end with his hero career — like Firm-man’s recent retirement, as the man finally had enough of the side-effects and formally renounced to free himself of most of the Trust value — but wouldn’t have him hunted down either, like… Ah Sheng had been. 

Smile had considered he had respected the man’s decision to retire for long enough to not be a bother if he visited, so he had finally looked up Ah Sheng’s name, intending to escape early from his next conference to go thank him. 

He had cursed his inability to cry when he found out the healer had been murdered in cold blood, leaving behind his only son without anyone to take care of him. Little Johnny had been ten years old back then, and even though he was closer to his late twenties now, Smile wanted to make some time to visit the Johnnies someday… perhaps offer them a spot on the mentorship program once Nice’s situation was stable— 

“Earth to Smile.” Jing tugged at his cape with a deadpan look. “I know you, you little boop. You’re gonna get everyone in trouble if we keep this up, but you’re also stubborn as hell and won’t stop if it’s not by your own decision. So tell me you understand.”

Smile bit his lower lip and gave an apologetic shrug.

“Hell no,” Jing cursed under his breath, turning around to escape. “Don’t count on me—”

“Let’s change ‘mentorship program’ for ‘exchange program’,” Smile suggested, passing an arm behind Jing’s shoulders to redirect him away from the locked door. “I can work with Treeman for a month or two, and Nice stays here and works with you for that same period. He’s a very profitable hero, right?”

“Why do you do this to me—”

“Just a couple of months!” Surely that would be enough time to find a better solution to this mess.

“Get the fuck out so I can get angry at you,” Jing whined, shoulders relaxing under Smile’s hold, head rolling to the side so he could rest his temple against him. “If you hate me just say it.”

“They’re not gonna fire you, I’d leave the agency,” Smile reassured with a light chuckle.

Jing sighed and relaxed further, probably hating every second of it. “I’ll yell your ears off once you’re out of my sight.”

Smile accepted his upcoming fate and guided Jing to the empty chair so he could sit down. His friend had probably relaxed a bit too much by now, judging by the way his legs wavered slightly. 

Smile had gotten up to rank three after his collaboration with Nice started, so he was just below Queen right now. It made his side-effects all the more prominent, Smile was thankful X had learned how to make himself immune to it, otherwise it would have been bothersome for the both of them.

“Sorry,” Smile said sincerely. “It’s for a good cause though.”

“Don’t I know that,” Jing covered his face, wanting to be frustrated but unable to while in Smile’s close proximity, so he was stuck being frustrated at not being frustrated, stressing over the lack of stress. His friend was a funny contradiction.

Smile looked at him expectantly. His friend sighed like wanted to fully deflate, as if that would let him float around like a feather, so he wouldn’t have to deal with Smile’s ideas ever again.

“You’ll speak with the higher ups and get the greenlight for this,” Jing conceded at last. “I’ll only help with the contractual stuff.”

“You’re the best,” Smile punched his shoulder playfully. “Trust me, I’ll get it done!”

“You need Treeman’s a— approval too,” Jing reminded with a yawn, eyes fluttering close as he relaxed further into the chair. “Speak in person with— with fucking Shang De, so I’m not the only one suffering from the—” Another yawn. “The sleepy… bullshit…”

Smile had never interacted in person with one of the big-shot CEOs before, acceding only to the rare phone call with proposals inviting him to work for another agency, which were kindly refused across the years.

He would rather keep it that way.

“I’mma leave so you can wake up again, put on the alarm,” Smile reminded, already unlocking the door.

“Not my first rodeo,” Jing waved him off, a single eye opening begrudgingly so he could stare like a zombie at his phone’s screen and program it.

“Thanks, sorry, and I really appreciate you,” Smile waved in farewell, floating so he could fly back to where Nice and Miss J were waiting. They were going to be late.

(X)

He despised being in the top three.

“Madam,” Smile prodded gently for what was probably the twentieth time. “You’re safe now, it’s ok, you can stand down…”

She sniffed and clung to him more strongly. “Do I have to? I just need a bit of time, just…”

“Do you want me to give you a ride?” Nice offered, voice kind even if the deadpan stare betrayed his true feelings. He was tired of this too. “Get you to your safe place?”

She glared at him with the kind of intensity only a toddler could muster against their sibling, especially when they didn’t want to share their parents attention at that moment.

“This is my safe place now,” she hid against him again— he didn’t have time for this. He could feel the need to be elsewhere, the people were calling for him to resolve another thing already, and it was only a matter of time before that mindset grew and the feeling transformed into an uncontrollable urge that had his body flying against his will.

Thus, Smile let her down, carefully removing the limbs with his trusted-and-tested method of having him grab the civilian’s hands and push them away firmly, then squeeze them gently.

He stayed close even as he let go of her hands to rip off a large section of his hero cape, then wrapped it around her shoulders like a blanket. “I care about you, I want to help you... but there’s people that still need my help, so I can't stay.

“You’re stronger than how you feel right now,” Smile reassured kindly as he grabbed the yellow fabric and pulled it tighter around the lady’s shoulders. “I trust you to hold onto that strength. Be kind to yourself, and take care.”

He patted her shoulders once, twice— 

Then flew up in a rush of wind before the rescued citizen could try to cling to him again, giving another apologetic farewell before flying away.

“Wow,” Nice sighed, already catching up with him. “It’s really changed from the first time I shadowed you. It’s gotten…”

“Worse?” Smile sighed tiredly.

“Yeah,” Nice muttered apologetically. “I didn’t know it would be quite like that.”

No kidding. The public really seemed to like their Nice-Smile dynamic on social media, which had increased both of their ranks in a ridiculously short amount of time, but when it came to in-person rescues people thought very differently.

When it came to the rescued citizens that liked to cling to Smile for longer than necessary, Nice was competition. Somehow. Like they genuinely thought Smile would drop them unceremoniously to go carry Nice up instead, it was surreal.

It made letting them down more difficult than usual, so he had asked his fellow hero to entertain himself somewhere farer away — out of sight — on such instances, but ever since getting into the top three not even that was enough deterrent for the citizens to leave him alone so he could continue working in peace.

“I like them better when they get sleepy,” Nice admitted, because of course, people that were more emotionally stable would simply fall asleep in his arms after a minute or two.

Those that had been dealing with the most difficult side of life tended to cling to the sensation of safety and warmth though, which put Smile in a tough spot, because he couldn’t indulge them for too long, but he also didn’t want to be too harsh with someone that was already carrying a heavy burden in their heart and soul.

Thus, a partying gift in the form of a piece of his cape. It was the part of his hero uniform that needed to be replaced most often, his agency complained a lot about that.

“Me too,” Smile sighed with as much sadness as he could express. “Me too.”

(X)

The additional week went by incredibly fast, and thus, their mentorship was coming to an inevitable end. 

Smile hadn’t been able to arrange anything with Treeman’s leadership, not even with Miss J’s help, and his other contacts he had gathered across the years weren’t influential enough to grant him an audience. He wondered if Shang De and high-up delegates were truly that busy, or if they were avoiding meeting with him because they knew of Smile’s side-effects.

Perhaps he would be able to help from afar? The end of their mentorship didn’t mean they couldn’t talk with each other anymore— 

“Smile?” Nice called tentatively, playing with the edge of his own cape instead of looking at him.

“Hmm?” Smile acknowledged softly, scooting closer to him while looking at the city outside of the Hero Tower. Something told him Nice would feel scrutinized if Smile looked directly at him, so he pointedly didn’t.

They were in casual clothes —  now that Nice actually had a wardrobe for it, it was their routine to relax after a long day —  having just finished a toast to ‘close’ the mentorship in a good note, as brightly as they could afford to, at least.

Truth be told, the atmosphere had been anything but. There was a weight to it, as if an unknown threat lurked right around the corner, just out of sight.

“I... I have to tell you something,” Nice muttered under his breath, body relaxed even if his expression was faraway and lowkey miserable. “I know it's selfish, but even knowing how inconvenient it is for you, even knowing how it's affected you... I'm glad you're still an active hero.”

It was rare for someone to acknowledge the sacrifices of being a hero, even more so considering Smile was incapable of outwardly expressing sadness, regret, or grief. He nodded in silent appreciation, waiting for Nice to continue.

“Thank you for— for creating this mentorship program, for helping me help people, teaching me what a hero is really like,” Nice continued with a sad, tearful smile. “Thank you for everything.”

Why did that sound like a farewell, like things would never be the same after this?

“You know it’s not illegal to befriend other heroes, right?” Smile teased with forced lightheartedness even though he wanted to sound concerned. He really despised his number three rank. “Why don’t we get dinner together from time to time?”

Nice laughed like he wanted to cry. “I know. That’s not— not the issue.”

Of course it wasn’t. It was obvious from miles away that working for Treeman was the issue.

“You can say no,” Smile said softly. “When the agency asks you to do something you’d rather not do, I mean. You can… say no.”

Nice looked down at his own lap like he knew he couldn’t. Smile wondered why he was so sure of that. 

There was something missing, information Smile didn’t have, something that Nice hadn’t shared but also wasn’t public knowledge. What kind of thing could tie someone up so tightly though? Enough that Nice really believed he couldn’t change agencies, couldn’t decline any request, couldn’t do anything by his own initiative, only moving if he was instructed to like he was nothing but a breathing puppet— 

The door creaked as it was opened, and they both tensed upon identifying the unexpected arrival.

What the hell, why was Shang De visiting Nice’s place at this hour?

Nice hurriedly cleaned up his face, even if there was nothing that could conceal the red rimmed eyes, horribly panicked and afraid the second Shang stepped into the room— 

Without thinking twice about it, Smile stood up in a swift movement, stepping forward to greet Shang and purposely standing physically between them. 

“Mr Shang, what a surprise,” Smile greeted with more kindness and warmth than he would have liked, extending an arm forward for a polite handshake.

The CEO froze in place, looking at him like he was a puzzle piece that didn’t fit, as if Smile was the one invading Nice’s space and not the other way around.

But at least he had succeeded in keeping the focus away from the younger hero, as Shang shaked his hand with a strong squeeze and a small nod. The man asked about the conclusion of the mentorship program, what had been achieved, what was next, all the while looking at Smile and Smile only. Like Nice had managed to merge with the wall and disappear from his perception.

It was obviously a bullshit excuse, no CEO would come to meet their employee at dinner time just to ask about things that Miss J could have easily summarized in an email. Still, Smile played along regardless, standing as close as socially permissible so he could, hopefully, infect Shang with a level of drowsiness that would be impossible to ignore.

Heroes had better resistance to Smile’s side-effects, becoming affected just when Smile was already close enough, but civilians usually couldn’t do much about it and at the end of the day, Shang De was just a civilian in terms of Trust value.

Oddly enough, instead of showing any signs of getting sleepy, Shang De had simply relaxed his posture and stepped closer with a curious gaze, as if silently testing out a theory. Damn, was his Trust value actually high enough to resist it to the same extent a hero could? He knew people trusted the hero agencies to do their work, but did that extend to the people working on said company? Or was he just absurdly good at controlling and masking his own emotions—

“How can I help Sir?” Nice asked instead of a greeting as he stood by Smile’s side.

Nice had composed himself and was as presentable as he could be while in casual clothing, having approached them with the same willingness of a cow going to the slaughterhouse.

“Hmn,” Shang De didn’t even bother to look at him, gaze still studying Smile. “Nothing we can’t discuss at a later date.”

Shang gave them a short nod of farewell, turning around to leave.

Smile had thought it was a good thing back then, since Nice had been obviously relieved, but in hindsight… he should have known better.