Chapter Text
The silence in the room was deafening as you untied your opponents. Nobody said anything, especially Kaminari, who was uncharacteristically quiet all of a sudden. You started at the ground as you untied the knot you had hurriedly tied moments before. "Sorry, I'm almost done. I didn't mean to tie it this tight." You cursed the shakiness in your voice, it sounded like you were about to cry and honestly you were about to cry. It's not like you were upset, but the emotional roller coaster you had just stepped off of was insane.
"No don't worry, it's okay." As the capture tape loosened he turned and grabbed your shaky hands in order to steady them. "We don't have to talk about this now you know, it's a lot to process for the both of us just stop shaking okay?" The short nervous laugh at the end of his sentence felt like a dart through your heart. Why was he so cute, it was mildly infuriating in your moment of panic.
You nodded and let his hands slip off of yours, as soon as they were gone you missed his touch. Its absence made you all to aware of how scared you were. You were happy to have met your soulmate, this was what you had wanted your entire life, but a small part of you wanted to curl up into a ball and never speak to anyone ever again. Everyone had seen the string appear through the cameras, and to make matters worse you were the last person to notice. Nervousness that weren't yours coursed through your finger and spread to your entire body. Your mom told you about research that showed intense soul-bonds could cause emotions to be felt through the string, which meant Kaminari could feel how terrified you were. Nobody said a word as you neared to main room, All Might was waiting for the four of you at the door.
You tried to walk through, hoping he wouldn't say anything but he put his hand out to stop you. "Young (L/n), Kaminari, I'm going to need to alert Principle Nezu about the current situation," He noticed you both tense up, meeting your soulmate the first week of school was definitely not something you could plan for. Toshinori sighed and placed a hand on your shoulders. "Listen, I understand this can be scary at such a young age. However, you're both brave students who can handle this situation maturely its nothing to be embarrassed of. I won't make you stick around for the analysis of the trial, go get a drink and take a breather. Just please come back before the end of class, I AM PROUD OF YOU!" He watched the two of you walk away, young Midoriya was his favorite student due to situation but he could't help but feel something for the two of you. "ALL RIGHT CLASS TIME TO ANALYSE THE NEXT FIGHT LET'S-" The door shut and suddenly you were left alone, well as alone as you could be.
Your eyes traced over the string between you, you'd seen couples with strings before. Not only had you seen it in public, but every time you visited you mother's office there always seemed to be a couple trying to make a few bucks sitting and filling out surveys. This was different though, because it was your string on your finger. it bounced as Kaminari moved his finger to catch your attention. You met his eyes, he looked more calm than you had ever seen him before.
"Thirsty?" With a nod, you led him to a water fountain at the end of the hall and leaned against a wall. He took a quick drink and then sat next to you. You wished you had something to say, anything to break the silence, but there was no way your could put what you were feeling into words so you just joined him on the floor. It was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, "I uh, I get this is weird. I didn't except it either and I understand if you're disappointed right now but eventually I can-"
Without thinking you grabbed his hand from the floor next to you, "Disappointed? Kaminari I promise I'm not disappointed please don't think I am."
He let out a sigh of relief, "At first you just weren't saying anything so I assumed I just wasn't your cup of tea but I guess that's impossible huh? What with us being soulmates and all. I must be exactly your type, because shockingly you're all I need" He winked. Ah, there was that charm again, it was cute but you wouldn't say you missed it in this exact situation.
"I- Yeah I guess- I mean-" You cringed and let go of his hand to cover your face that got redder by the second. What were you supposed to say to that? 'yEah I tHiNk yoU'Re hOt bEcaUSe ThE uNivErse mAde uS sOulMatEs?' Instead, you opted for the next best option, rushed brutal honesty. "You're-kind-of-intimidating-and-I-don't-know-what-to-say-in-this situation."
He laughed, "I take it you aren't the flirting type?" You caught his smile through your fingers. Smug little bastard, he was definitely enjoying this.
You shook your head no and removed your face from your hands. You placed your chin between your knees, refusing to play into this by looking at him and blushing. "And I take it you are?"
"I mean I was. Before you know..." He tugged the string, pulling you towards him. You met his eyes again, he looked like he was enjoying himself but his previous flirty demeanor was clearly being forced. Poor boy was definitely nervous and you suddenly felt bad for acting like you were the only one who was currently freaking out. "(Y/n) I've never had to do this before. I mean I've always been able to flirt relatively well, but I've never been in a real relationship." He thought for a moment to try and narrow down the point he was trying to make. "What I'm saying is I'm bad at this-" The momentary silence made you both laugh and his confidence returned as he continued. "Like really bad at this. You are my forever, and while that's amazing to know I just... I don't want to mess this up by saying something stupid like I usually do."
"You won't mess things up. Not even if you tried." The seriousness in your tone showed how genuine you were. "I'm just scared... And I can't really tell you why I'm scared right now because I don't really know why myself. But along with that scared feeling I'm also really happy so just don't- don't think I'm not excited too." The forced smile turned genuine as you saw the look on his face. He really was a dork, that you had to admit, but it wasn't a bad thing because he was your dork.
The silence returned but this time it was comfortable silence as you studied his face, this was the first time you were able to get a good look at him. There was a scuff mark from training along his cheek and his hair was fluffed up more than normal, the black lightning streak stayed in its shape so it was either natural or the best dye job you'd ever seen. He also had very light freckles, seemingly buried deep under his skin, if you weren't paying close attention you'd miss them. His eyes were probably the best part of his face, (aside from his annoyingly handsome smile) their gold color made them sparkle in the sunlight. You could spend hours staring into them and still find something new to focus on, he really was cute, you silently thanked the universe for choosing him to be your soulmate.
"We should probably go to class." He hummed as if he heard you but didn't take his eyes off of you or make an attempt to get up. "I'm serious Kaminari, All Might was really nice to let us sit out for a second."
He groaned and took one last look at you, "Okay." As if snapped out of a trance, he got up and lightly grabbed your arm to pull you up next to him.
So far, the string hadn't locked up and if you didn't think about it you'd probably be able to forget it was there all together. You quietly wondered if you would be able to feel his presence through the string even after it faded. You walked back to the main room and made light conversation. The fear you felt earlier had slowly slipped away and you felt comfortable for a moment.
As soon as you opened the door the anxiety returned, all eyes turned away from the screen to look at the two of you. "Focus students! We're still analyzing the last fight!" All Might's reminder was able to pull half of the attention back to him but your new friends still had their eyes locked on the two of you. Mina was shaking in her seat, eyes darting back and forth between both the open spot next to her and the string that held you and Kaminari together. Kaminari was looking at the open seat next to Kirishima and Sero a row back. "We should be able to sit away from each other, go ahead." You whispered.
"Okay," He ruffled your hair. "See you in a bit."
You rolled your eyes but couldn't help but smile. He made you feel so comfortable. He was so outgoing and open all of the time that it just drew the parts you hid away out of hiding. You'd be lying if you said him being your soulmate didn't automatically make him feel safe to be around, if he was anyone else you'd still be on edge around him because that was just who you were. Getting comfortable with people was hard for you, growing up it was just you and your mom so meeting so many new people was hard.
Mina yanked you down next to her when you were in reach, "Ohmygosh (y/n) did you see that?! I mean of course you did but-" You shushed her and she continued a bit, but not much quieter than before, "Like you tied him up and you were so excited because you beat him but then you guys were soulmates! Can you believe it?!"
You could feel yourself sinking further into your chair. "Not really... it's a lot to process." You stopped her before she could ask more questions, "Mina aren't we analyzing your fight right now?"
"Psh! We won anyways so I don't need to analyze it, silly." You sighed but there wasn't any need to argue because All Might was calling the class to an end. The class stood up and walked to the exit of the training facility, All Might continued to talk about hero stuff but your focus was somewhere else entirely. All Might was cool and all, but now he wasn't just the number one hero, he was your teacher. Knowing you'd get to see him every day this year made tuning him out a little too easy.
"I SHOULD GO CHECK ON YOUNG MIDORIYA. NOW, WATCH HOW A PRO EXITS LIKEHE'SGOTSOMEWHERE TO BE!" Smoke gathered as he zoomed away from the class.
"Okay you guys, that is a hero!" Kaminari's voice was laced with genuine admiration. The first person he turned to look at was you, subconsciously wanting to know how you felt.
You gave him a thumbs up and the look on his face honestly could've killed you then and there. He looked so... happy? And you could've sworn there were little bits of electricity sparking off of his hands. When you returned to class, Aizawa made the class run a few errands but dismissed everyone for the day afterwards. You and Kaminari had opted to carry in textbooks from the library.
Kaminari had taken most of the textbooks, swearing that he was "a gentleman who would do anything for his lady". The laugh that comment elicited made him want to make you laugh as many times as he could, he couldn't get enough of the sound. "So... Want to grab a bite sometime? I mean what kind of stuff do you like?"
"Hmm." You thought for a moment, "I like soup I guess, oh and burgers."
"Burgers! I love burgers! Maybe I can take you to my favorite place this weekend? It's this sick cafe by the arcade, I usually stop there on my way home we could go there too!"
"I'd love too Kaminari." he immediately reddened.
"You know since you're going to be stuck with me for awhile you can just call me Denki... Sometimes, I mean if you want to."
"I thought the flirting master never got flustered," You leaned closer to him, "Denki~"
In a low voice he whispered in your ear, "You really want to go there... (y/n)?"
This was a mistake. You were utterly spineless, there was no recovering from the blush that coated your cheeks. "PFFFT OK OK I SURRENDER!" You shoved him with you armful of textbooks. You had lost your strength, too busy laughing.
"Don't take it out on me just because you're all bark and no bite." You turned into the classroom. Most of your classmates surrounded Midoriya, his arm was still in a sling but he looked much better than he did earlier. On other other side of the room, Iida was doing his thing, yelling at people. It was only day two but this was the new normal, it was nice.
You picked up your backpack and glanced at the string. It only seemed to move when either of you moved it intentionally, which would come in handy when it came time to go to bed. "I'm gonna head home, Mina's probably around here somewhere." She had disappeared from the doorway but knowing Mina she wouldn't have gone far.
"Ok, when I go to bed I'm gonna pull the string two times to say goodnight, I figure that's what its for right?"
"I'll be waiting, bye Denki." You waved each other goodbye and you set out to find your pink friend. Eventually, you found her and Uraraka staring down at a distressed looking Midoriya. "Everything okay?"
"Deku looks upset, I think him and Bakugou got in a fight, they're rivals." Uraraka's face was pressed up against the glass as if it would allow her to hear the people in the courtyard.
Mina yawned, "Man I'm beat, we gotta catch the train (y/n)."
You nodded, "Bye Uraraka, we'll see you tomorrow." She waved you off and you set on your way to the train station.
Dodging as many questions about the string as possible, you made it home without having to talk too much about the whole soulmate thing. You'd made up your mind, talking about soulmates with Denki was very fun, but when it came to other people it was the opposite. There were so many questions, it made you feel like you were talking with your mom.
Speaking of your mother, you'd have to keep this from her for as long as possible because she'd be interrogating you for hours once she knew. With people she was researching she had to be professional but with her own child the possibilities would be endless.
You popped a microwave dinner in the microwave and fed Ghost his dinner. "Hey buddy, was your day anywhere near as eventful as mine?" He meowed an answer, "Ah I see." His tail brushed against your leg and you grabbed your dinner after the timer went off. The rest of the night continued like normal, every so often you'd check the string, just making sure it was still there. You hopped out of the shower and towel dried your hair before slipping on PJs and getting in bed. After five minutes, there was still no little tugs from Kaminari's end. You frowned, had you missed it?
The clock read 11:07, it wasn't too late but it for a school night it was definitely time to be in bed. Right then, as you were deciding on how to scold him for staying up too late you felt the string tighten. As promised, two little tugs came from the other end of the string. You grinned and mirrored his goodnight tugs before closing your eyes. Now this, this was something you could get used to.