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The first time Denki notices Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu is during the Sport's Festival, when everybody around him is talking about what a big coincidence it is that some guy from class B has the same quirk as Kirishima, and all he can think about is how can you say that, Kirishima is cool and all but, this guy gleams bright enough in the sunlight to make even his lightning-accustomed eyes squint.
After that he sees him a few times waiting outside school for Kirishima, Denki's view of him obstructed by the redhead waving him goodbye as he jogs up to his workout partner. They always greet each other with exuberance, their fists bumping, then their shoulders, sometimes an arm slung over either one or the other. They seem so similar, so in sync, but he's noticed how it's something they both shift into when together. Kirishima can be in any mood but the moment he spots Tetsutetsu he's all grins and rambunctiousness and it's the same for the other. Denki's only spotted it a couple of times but before Tetsutetsu notices Kirishima coming he looks different, subdued. And Denki gets that, he does, because he's nothing if not a bit of a social chameleon himself.
He wonders what Tetsutetsu would change into if it was him he'd been waiting for, him he'd noticed when looking up from his phone.
It's Kirishima's birthday, and of course, it's Tetsutetsu's birthday as well. On the exact same date. They have a combined party for both of them, inviting all of Class B over to the Class A dorm. It starts out tame since the two classes not really used to hanging out together, but it doesn't take long before someone yells that they should play spin the bottle and is met with shouts of both enthusiasm and dread from around the common room. Denki's in, no hesitation; the most exciting thing thus far has been watching Iida trying and failing to be subtle about tasting the punch for alcohol every ten minutes.
Only about half of them end up joining the circle, the most surprising participant being Bakugou, looking as murderous as ever and sitting between Todoroki and Tsuyu of all people. Both birthday boys are present and accounted for, sitting next to each other and they're even both looking equally drunk off of all the excitement and attention, complexions ruddy. The big difference, the outrageous difference, is how Tetsutetsu's wearing a green t-shirt that looks at least two sizes to small from the way it hugs his torso. It also seems he's completely unaware, or at least completely non self-conscious, of the way it makes his chest visibly twitch at even the smallest movements of his arms. Denki does not stare, does not drool, and most definitely does not feel like he's dying.
Spin the bottle is honestly not a very exciting game to spectate, which is what Denki does for the first dozen or so rounds, but then it gets interesting because Tsunotori's spin is so close to landing on Tetsutetsu. Unfortunately the bottle keeps turning and stops at Kirishima instead. His bro blushes a lot, but leans forward, and gets a peck on the cheek, which, unfair. It should have gone to someone who could appreciate a kiss from a pretty girl. Like him. To give an example.
Kirishima really puts his elbow into his spin, making the bottle twist for ages. Denki sneaks a look at Bakugou, who is glaring at the bottle with the kind of fury that only hubris can generate, as if he was commanding it to obey him. When it slowed down, it actually did go to him, but then continued, the overshoot only a couple of inches but still indisputably with Todoroki as the one pointed at. Bakugou bared his teeth at the bottle, then shoved the indifferent Todoroki to the side so that the bottle pointed to him instead.
It was impressive, Denki thought, that Kirishima's face really could get just as red as his hair. He crawls out towards the middle of the circle, looking much more nervous than last time and honestly a little bit terrified, until Bakugou grabs his shirt and slams their mouths together hard enough to make an audible, wince-inducing sound. Denki's not the only one who can't really watch, because it's painfully obvious Bakugou's playing an entirely different game from everyone else in the room. Still, they break apart after just a couple of seconds, Bakugou with a new blush decorating his usual glare, and Kirishima looking dazed. They return to their places, and when Tsuyu reminds Bakugou it's his turn to spin he turns to her with a Hahh? before he snaps back to reality and reaches for the bottle.
When it stops on Denki Bakugou gives him a flat look, then curls his lip in disinterest and declares that nah, this is boring, and stands up to go to his room. Denki laughs it off because even though it did sting on some level it was a little bit of a relief to be spared, before spinning the bottle himself.
It lands on Tetsutetsu.
He can't believe his luck. Even though, okay, he'd be happy to kiss at least half the people present.
Tetsutetsu looks at him as if he's never seen him before that moment, which annoys Denki into turning on the smolder, walking as seductively as he can on all fours towards the other while mentally applauding his outfit choice when his wide collared sweatshirt falls off his left shoulder. He falters a bit as he gets closer, because he's never been this close to Tetsutetsu before and hadn't realized just how much bigger he was. Even his damn head was larger, and his hands, spread in front of him as he leaned forward, were square and rough and pretty.
Denki completely and involuntarily lost himself in the mental image of hiding in Tetsutetsu's broad chest and being completely surrounded by those strong arms, enough that the sudden real hand on his shoulder and soft brush of lips on his own made him jolt, and emit a slight charge, the quite literal shock of which made Tetsutetsu activate his own quirk and wow what that's interesting, Denki could feel his charge being sucked up by the metal skin, the same feeling as he got when tried to charge a phone by putting the cord in his mouth.
They break apart, Tetsutetsu looking at him with slack-jawed surprise, and Denki feeling quite a bit like after overusing his quirk and he had no idea if that was because of the weird effect the metal skin had had on his quirk or if it was just the kiss in general.
It's like they shake off whatever weird thing just happened at the exact same time, backing out into the circle again and Tetsu spins the bottle. It lands on Kendou, who gives Tetsutetsu a loud hard smack on the cheek as if she was trying to annoy a younger brother, and Tetsutetsu grumbles and smiles like one, and afterwards Tetsu's eyes find Denki's again, for just a second, before flicking away. The shyness is such a jarring contrast to the boisterous way the guy usually acts, it's so cute, that it sends Denki's head and heart both spinning. And it's not unusual for him, he knows the tell-tale signs of a new crush all too well, but that doesn't mean it isn't still the best feeling.
Denki doesn't remember much of what happened after that.
Kirishima may have been distracted by Bakugou but he's a perceptive guy, so next week he asks Denki if he wants to come with him to the gym maybe, tomorrow, and oh by the way, not that it would make any difference to you whatsoever, Tetsu's coming too.
He knows Denki would definitely had said no two weeks ago, and Denki loves him for not commenting on his pretend casual agreement more than with his usual upbeat enthusiasm, 100% teasing-free. Kirishima was too good for him. Too good for Bakugou really, but no way he was getting involved in that. He'd been watching them not get together for months now with morbid fascination at their incomprehensibly gargantuan mutual obliviousness, it was like, how.
Letting Kirishima talk him into coming to the gym with him was a horrible mistake. A horrible, awesome, horrible mistake, he thought, as he was lying on a bench with a barbell resting on the rack above his eyes and beyond it the tank-clad wide, thick, sweaty chest of one Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.
They'd had to take weight off the bar two times already from Tetsu's set. How could anyone expect Denki to lift anything when he was so busy making sure he was neither drooling nor staring, though? Hmm? He was already multitasking, spare him judgment, please.
"Ready? Try again," Tetsutetsu said, moving closer, meaning, technically, not only curling over Denki with those huge hands of his ready to support the bar if he'd fail again, but also moving his crotch closer to Denki's head.
He exhaled, shaking his head once - it probably looked like he was trying to get his head in the game, and not literally shake gay thoughts away. Same difference, but. He gripped the bar, taking it off the rack, and his arms were shaking a bit but he managed to lower it to his chest in a controlled fashion, then slowly, slowly, press it back up. He did it again, and a third time, but on the fourth rep he got stuck with the bar half-raised, suddenly impossibly heavy, and Tetsutetsu swooped in like a beefy rescuing angel and easily pulled the barbell back onto the rack.
Denki remembered that one time Bakugou had come back from training, stinking up the entire common room as usual (sweating is my quirk, dumbasses, shut the fuck up) and Kirishima had been the only one who hadn't had that specific combination nauseous-and-offended look that post-workout Bakugou had such a talent for inspiring in people. He hadn't even looked unaffected - he'd had this weirdly pleased look which Denki had noted with horrified fascination because wow what the fuck, peak gay, Kirishima, and also, gross.
It was lucky he'd never voiced that thought because in this very moment he would definitely have had to eat those words. Hard. What was wrong with him.
He got off the bench and watched Tetsutetsu stack the weights on. And then some more. Another two and shit that last set had just been warm-up hadn't it. Denki didn't know, it wasn't like he'd ever worked out outside of class because they already had physical training most days and he was neither a masochist nor had some kind of gym kink. Or. Um. There was a lot of things that were being reassessed in a very short amount of time today, because Tetsutetsu had just lifted the bar off and this time it was Denki who was spotting (even though that was ridiculous because a) there was no way Denki could lift the bar with all these weights on and b) it wasn't like steel guy could get hurt from having something as puny as a barbell land on him) meaning he was in the wonderful position of being the one who basically had his crotch in the other guy's face and now he was grunting from the strain someone please help.
Kirishima was not helping. He was off doing pull ups at the other side of the gym, back against them, like a bad friend. Or, admittedly, a great one. Both.
"Shit, you're really strong," he blurted intellectually, just as Tetsutetsu placed the bar back on the rack and sat up with a grin, turning around so he straddled the bench facing the other. His teeth weren't exactly like Kirishima's, they were rounder, but more importantly, the lips around them looked really really soft. Kissable, to be blunt. As if there was anything subtle about what Tetsutetsu did to him, ha.
"Thanks! Gotta work out a lot with a quirk like mine, ya'know?" Tetsutetsu said, flexing one arm and simultaneously letting the skin on it fade into steel, as if being intentionally indulgent. "With yours though, I bet your usual training's a lot flashier than this."
Was Tetsutetsu punning at him? "Was that a pun?" The other guy looked at him with slight confusion, too damn cute for someone flexing while straddling a bench while sweat ran down his neck into the dip between his pecs. "Because yeah, it's pretty flashy," he said with a laugh, letting lightning crackle between his palms and then Tetsutetsu got it, a pale pink blush spreading across his face.
"Right," he said, obviously embarrassed. "Um."
Now, this was a perfect moment to say something flirtatious and charming. Something that maybe would make them both laugh, something reassuring to break the awkward tension. Because there was something here, right? It wasn't just his imagination, Tetsu was definitely feeling something. Denki knew how to flirt. He did it all the time. Hell, you couldn't make him stop flirting, most of the time. He'd even flirted with Kirishima (platonically), in front of Bakugou (not aware of the platonic thing), fully knowing that there would be some "accidental" explosion-caused debris showered on him during afternoon training. He couldn't stop. He had flirty verbal diarrhea. The problem was that this time, there was something, so.
Denki had nothing.
He wasn't used to this, people didn't get flustered around him, that wasn't a thing, he was the flustered one, not the flusterer, and Tetsutetsu's awkwardness made him feel awkward on top of his self-generated awkwardness from all the being overwhelmed by Tetsu's very physical physicality and he didn't know what to do so he just stood there, in actual pain from how the awkwardness just kept increasing by the second.
Tetsutetsu inhaled. Held his breath for a second, before hurrying out a "Do you wanna maybe grab something to eat? After," and then taking another breath, holding that too in wait of a response.
"Sure," Denki answered casually, mentally high-fiving himself for his acting skills, "should I ask Kiri if he wants to join? He loves food." Yeah, wow Denki, astute observation there. Really adds to the conversation. It was a constant struggle, how pretty made him stupid.
It was not surprising basically everyone in his class thought he was a dunce.
Tetsutetsu breathed out, failing miserably at hiding his uncertain disappointment. "...If you want to?" His expression hit Denki right in the stomach, because, okay, the something was most certainly definitely something, and it was happening.
"No! No, uh. Okay. Yeah. Yep. No. Sure." Somebody stop him.
Tetsutetsu did, with a deeper blush and the widest grin yet and a "Great!" and by falling back down on the bench to do another set with even more energy than the last one.
When they were done Kirishima lead the way to the showers and it was unanimously, non-verbally decided that uh yeah Denki'd shower in the dorms and they'd meet up by the gate in half an hour great.
By the time they'd both showered and dressed and found their way to the gate they were both so hungry they decided they'd just get something from the nearest convenience store. It wasn't very romantic, but neither was sudden gym-induced starvation.
Tetsutetsu insisted on paying, making Denki's traitorous mouth actually form the words "only if you let me pay next time", completely against his will and better knowledge. At least he could be happy his old trustworthy flirtation anti-filter was back, or something.
They walked slowly, but still managed to finish everything by the time they were back. Denki followed Tetsu to his dorm, since it was closer. They stopped outside the door. They stood.
Not even mustering the courage, just doing, Denki got up on his toes and gave Tetsutetsu a peck on the cheek, and there was that blush again. He decided it was kind of fun, being the flusterer for once, even if it cost him getting just as flustered himself every single time.
Then a flash of genius, the most amazing idea, and using all his fortitude to stop himself from laughing and instead doing his best to look as much as a blushy schoolgirl as possible (not a stretch) Denki moved closer, placing a hand lightly on Tetsutetsu's chest.
"Can I..." he looked up at Tetsu under his lashes. "Can I call you by your first name?"
Oh, he should win some kind of award for not breaking, because Tetsutetsu's face was absolutely priceless, an epic internal battle of confusion and bashfulness and Denki could see every single beautiful detail.
"I - ..."
He couldn't do it anymore, he burst out giggling, his forehead falling against that wide chest. After a beat, he could feel Tetsu laughing as well, his warm hands coming up to fall on his shoulders. Denki was still giggling when he was carefully pressed back far enough that their eyes could meet and then Tetsutetsu crouched down and leaned his head to the side and they were kissing. This time there was no jolt of electricity, at least Denki didn't think so. It was hard to tell.