Chapter Text
Kaminari Denki is a bisexual disaster.
He flirted too much, made longing eyes at cashiers and beachgoers alike, and it seemed like he flirted with anything with a heartbeat. Tsuyu’s favorite story was when he had seen someone drowning- solely because he had previously been checking them out. Sero likes to bring up how he’s constantly saving beachgoers and immediately asking them out afterward. Eijirou always cackles like a hyena when he retells the story of Kaminari attempting tricks on the rover for an hour straight in an attempt to impress a group of volleyball players.
Denki doesn’t believe it, of course. Who doesn’t try to look cool in front of people they find attractive? It’s as natural for him to flirt as it is to breathe, and contrary to popular belief he has a very high success rate.
It’s not like he’s lonely or anything, pssh, as if . He hangs out with his best friends every day; saving lives and taking numbers. What in the world could he be missing?
Kaminari looked at the empty side of his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before sighing softly.
“Yeah, alright.” He grunted.
Denki tossed his pillow in a feeble attempt to fill the space beside him.
Then, he started his day.
.
It was the kind of warm day that shines on your skin, grazing your bones and filling the air with a sweet breeze. Denki had propped his feet up on the counter of the lifeguard's tower, reclining back in his chair as best he could. It was early yet, and while Nori Beach wasn’t Venice Beach, he could already spot about 30 civilians laying down their towels along the shore. He sighed and allowed himself to rest his eyes for a moment, alone in the tower.
No worries, good job, sunny day, no people drowning. He repeated this like a mantra in his head. Not every day was like this, and he was going to take what he could get.
Everything is A-okay, nothing to get sad over! He opened his eyes once more, scanning the beach.
The tower had to be one of Denki's favorite spots on the beach. There were so many good memories that had been made in this small sandy hovel, and the huge A/C was definitely a perk.
The tower was really just a small room on stilts, but it decidedly bigger than most beach towers. A long counter, like a continuous office desk, stretched along the front part of the room, facing the beach. This way, any Lifeguards in the tower could look out of the huge wraparound windows and scan the beach for danger. And it worked- from bag-nappings to a drowning squirrel, you could really see it all (And he definitely had) .
They’d usually stick their personal stuff underneath the counter, out of the way of sand, surf, and often bodily fluids, and they kept the medical supplies in two large metal cabinets at the back of the room. Everything from Advil, Insulin, to a giant defibrillator that Denki's only (luckily) had to see in action twice. The cabinets sat next to an unassuming bathroom door- it came especially handy on the days that Kirishima bought food from the tiny burrito place on the west end of the pavilion.
The Nori Beach pavilion is less of an actual pavilion and more like a land-boardwalk. A mile of random, ever-changing stores sat sturdy behind Denki and his beach. Some people would say that the strip was even better than the beach; Though as a lifeguard at said beach, Denki was obviously biased against that.
That didn't stop him and his friends from exploring the long boardwalk as soon as their shifts were over. Denki's personal favorite store was Biggie’s Boba - just a hop, skip and a jump away from the entrance of the beach, and heavenly delicious.
His boss had put his foot down after what happened the last time he went there, though-Two Thai Teas before a 14-hour shift on the hottest day of the year. It was a recipe for disaster.
Never again, Iida had said.
"Hey Kami,” Sero greeted him, swinging open the large entrance door adjacent to the cabinets. He plopped down into the rolly chair on Denki's left, his hair still damp from an early morning surf. “Anything crazy happen yet?”
"Nah, nothin' yet. Everyone’s too sleepy to try anything right now. What about you two?" Denki asked as Tsuyu entered behind Sero, taking a seat on Denki's right.
"We pulled a mass rescue on the east end." She responded, looking dramatically out onto the beach. Denki’s eyes bugged; He hadn’t seen anyone in the water yet, much less someone struggling. "WHAT?!? How the hell did you do that?? I’ve been watching a near-empty ocean for the past thirty minutes! Jesus, even the most mildly entertaining thing that happened was some kid picking his nose and trying to wipe it on a seagull!” He yelped, looking at his friends in shock. In all honesty, he was less shocked that he hadn’t seen it and more shocked that they hadn’t let him break protocol to join them.
...
So maybe the tower wasn’t his favorite place to be on the beach. Like most of his coworkers, the water itself was his favorite place of all. He loved to be in the action, in the water, saving lives. He was a superhero who knew how to perfectly operate the defib, and just the right way to treat a jellyfish sting, and yanked tourists out of huge rips in the water before they could be swallowed up by the sea.
Sero and Tsuyu laughed at Denki's face. He sighed, massaging the space between his brows. “Please tell me this didn’t actually happen, or Iida’s going to have my hide for 50 different things.”
Sero grinned. "Nah.” He started, punching Denki’s arm lightly. “Worst thing that happened was some kid leaving his skid board on the shore- And I was the one that stepped on it, go figure." He finished, throwing his hands up in desperation. Tsuyu nodded, chuckling.
"It was pretty funny though.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, scanning the beach once more. “Not as funny as when Midoriya somehow managed to get wrapped in a woman's towel and fall into the water like some kind of sea burrito." Denki let out a half-groan half-laugh as Sero cackled. "Oh, come on , That's not nearly as funny as when Kiri-"
They continued to talk as they watched the ocean, and Denki was reminded again about how good he had it. He loved his job and his friends more than anything in the world- Yeah, it'd be nice to have someone else to enjoy it with, but he would always have his friends by his side! Nothing to get sad over.
With nothing happening besides the sun beating down on the sand.
Nothing goin’ on, nothing to be sad over.
Nothing at all.
Absolutely noth-
The door slammed open with a loud "GUYS!"
God, finally!
If there was one person who could always make something more exciting, distract you from an injury, or make you confess to stealing bags (It had happened before) , it had to be everyone's favorite lifeguard-
"What's up Kirishima?" Sero asked, spinning slightly in his chair before taking a sip from his water bottle.
"I'm getting a tattoo!" Sero spat out his water. Tsuyu's eyebrows rose, and Denki’s jaw fell open. "What, like… now?"He questioned. His friend rolled his eyes like a petulant teenager. "No, not now .” He walked over to the group, leaning on the back of Denki’s seat.
“I was just thinking! We get all these cool tourists covered in tattoos; even Todoroki has a bunch of them! I just think it’d be cool, y’know! Something new to spice things up.” He said, acting… oddly nonchalant. (Subtly wasn’t one of his strong suits.)
Denki saw right through his act, and administered several back pats to a choking Sero before responding. "Ei, dude, does this have anything to do with the hot blonde guy you were bugging earlier?"
Silence fell over the room and Kirisihima’s face went as red as his hair.
"Wh-whaaaaa?" His voice got higher as he trailed off, crossing his arms like he most definitely had something to hide.
"Come on , dude! You can't get a tattoo of some guy you just met!” He yelped. His friends eyes turned to him. “Actually that sounds like something very characteristically Kaminari…” Tsuyu said, stroking her chin like she had an invisible beard. Sero took Kirishima’s arm dramatically. “Bro. Don’t pull a Kaminari, you’re literally the only sane one left.” Kirishima shook his head at them and laughed nervously."No guys, come on, not of him.”
They all relaxed for a moment.
Kirishima coughed into his fist. “...From him."
A beat of silence, before the inevitable-
"YOU CAN’T GET A TATTOO FROM SOME WEIRDO ON THE BEACH !!"
"DUDE, NO! YOUR PERFECT SKIN!"
"KIRISHIMA, HE'LL GIVE YOU A DISEASE!"
"LITERALLY DO NOT DO THIS FOR THE LOVE OF GO-"
Kirishima held up his hands in a feeble attempt to try and calm the angry trio in front of him. "It's not like that! He doesn’t have some kind of kit on the beach or something, I feel like that’d be illegal!!”
They stopped screaming at least, but Denki felt like they’d have to do several background checks on the mystery guy before he got anywhere near Kirishima (He was a little protective- So sue him! Kirishima was the best lifeguard on this damn beach, and his best friend for that matter. Denki wasn’t about to let him get some weird disease from a rando).
“He's an actual tattoo artist, I swear! His shop is right on the pavilion!" Kirishima stuck his thumb behind him in the general direction of the shops.
Denki’s anger was suddenly replaced with confusion. In all his five years of working here, Denki had never seen a tattoo parlor...Which was honestly a little weird once he thought about it. So he said as much-
"What tattoo parlor? That’s like, the one thing I haven’t seen there, which is honestly a little weird.” He finished, crossing his arms. Tsuyu’s face turned grim, and Kirishima and Sero looked at him like someone had just stolen his cat.
Sero put his hand on Denki's shoulder, taking a shuddery breath. "Okay look, we weren’t going to tell you like this-."
“It’s where Biggie’s Boba used to be.” Tsuyu said suddenly.
Alright, this was definitely worse.
"What.” Denki looked desperately to Kirishima. His crimson-haired friend just shook his head gravely, and Denki realized that all hope was truly lost.
"Tsuyu we weren't gonna tell him like that!" "But why? It can’t really be that bad-" "That was THE boba shop!" "Wait, the one from the accident?" "Yes! It got shut down for health code violations, actually." "Christ, that explains a lot."
His friend’s voices reduced to background noise as Denki attempted to cope with his incredible loss.
...Finally after a few moments of staring at the floor contemplating his existence and what was truly real, Denki shook his head. This was a problem for when he got home and could cry his eyes out with his cat- Who fortunately hadn’t been stolen.
"God, whatever.” He inhaled, attempting to calm himself down. “So when's the big appointment, then?"
Kirishima brightened immediately, obviously glad that Denki wasn’t throwing himself off a cliff right now. "It’ll be tomorrow at 4!” He smiled, his sharp teeth glinting in the early morning sunlight. "Are you sure about this Kirishima?” Tsuyu inquired. “It is a big commitment."
"Yeah, I've been thinking about getting one for a while actually.” Kirishima chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve got money saved up and everything-I really just needed a time and place to do it.” He shrugged, obviously excited. Ever so subtly, though, his demeanor shifted into something more nervous.
“Actually,” Kirishima started. “I was kind of hoping that one of you guys might want to tag along. I'm kind of nervous about it." He finished. Tsuyu put a hand on Kirishima's arm. Knowing that Kirishima wasn’t just rushing into this was a relief for the three friends.
“I wish I could join you Kirishima, but I have a date tomorrow." She said, patting Kirishima’s arm in comfort. Sero stretched his arms above his head. "Yeah, I’m sorry man, I'm actually going over to Shoji and Tetsu’s tomorrow; Shoji’s boyfriend got him a switch and we’re gonna teach him how to play Smash Bros.” He finished, whispering under his breath. (“I still cannot believe that man has never played Smash…”)
"Dude." Denki and Kirishima said in unison, now looking at Sero like HE was the one who had stolen their cats.
Sero seemed to realize his mistake, his eyes widening. "Guys, it means nothing I swear! I’m just going to teach him how-"
"I thought you were bae, Sero!” Denki gasped dramatically, a hand clutching at his red Lifeguard hoodie. "Turns out you're just fam." Kirishima finished, and Denki swore he saw actual tears in his eyes.
"You guys are very strange." Tsuyu commented, turning away from the group in favor of looking out on the beach.
Kirishima sighed and pretended to wipe a tear away. "Alright, alright.” He looked at Denki pleadingly. “Denks, please-Will you come with me, bro?"
"Well..." Denki scratched his chin, looking away nervously.
No, sorry, Kirishima who-has-rescued-dozens-of-people-in-the-last-week-alone. I can’t be your comfort wingman because I'm planning on sitting in my room for the rest of the day as I obsessively swipe through tinder with my cat drooling on my legs as Minecraft Let's Plays scream in the background.
Kirishima noticed Denki’s apprehension almost immediately and began to plead."Come on dude, you owe me!"
Denki rolled his eyes. "What? I don't owe you anyth-"
"Third day,” Kirishima started, suddenly stone-cold serious. Denki’s muscles all froze at once.
“Eijirou-” He started.
“Our first year." He finished, looking Denki directly in the eyes.
“You wouldn’t.” Denki whimpered. Kirishima looked at him as if to say ‘try me’ .
"UGh-” Denki sighed, exasperated. “FINE, Kirishima."
And just like that, it was like Kirishima had suddenly come back to his regularly scheduled program. "Great!” He beamed, squeezing Denki’s shoulder in thanks. He chuckled. “Seriously dude, thanks.” Kirishima backtracked a little. “Really though, if you don't want to come, you don't have to-"
"No, no," Denki said, sighing. "You're right. I owe you."
…
(Later)
"So..what happened on the third-" Tsuyu began.
Kirishima visibly shuddered.
"No one can ever know." Denki whispered solemnly.
.
A cheery bell chimed through the room as Kirishima and Denki strolled through the door of the tattoo shop. It was a little weird being in the pavilion without his typical lifeguard attire. 99% of the time Denki was here it was after work, and he was usually too lazy to change out of his comfy lifeguard jacket and trunks.
(Besides, some of the stores along the pavilion would give discounts and snacks to lifeguards when they stopped by, and wearing his whole getup was the prime way to get those deals.)
Denki looked around the open shop. It was even more obvious now that Biggie’ s was truly and forever gone- Any remnants of it had been scrubbed away and painted over. The walls now shone a pretty violet hue (in contrast to the garish, yet beloved neon green that it was before) with dark grey accents everywhere.
A black counter with a glass top stood a good 10 feet away from where they stood at the door, and a hallway (concealed only by a grey swinging gate) stood adjacent to it. A few comfy looking black waiting chairs were spread out to the right of him, magazines scattered about on a sleek glass coffee stable in the middle of them.
Denki turned to his left and his mouth fell open.
It was tattoos, obviously. Drawings, and sketches, some fully fleshed out in pictures and some still on plain paper. They adorned the wall in an array of different designs, each piece tastefully framed in grey, with small labels underneath each. All different colors, styles, and mediums, and Denki was in absolute awe.
He was more inclined to music, but he had always appreciated art- And this shop was full of it. More pieces littered the other walls here and there, but this one seemed to be like a Hall of Fame- Only the best could stay here. There looked like there was room for even more.
Denki’s mouth fell open at the sight. He realized briefly that he had never actually been inside a tattoo shop before, and Kirishima seemed to be the same. He was taking in every inch of the store like it was the first glance at Narnia.
Is this what Neil Armstrong felt like on the moon?
He felt his friend lightly tug him closer to the counter, but Kaminari’s eyes stayed glued to the wall. He needed to get a closer look at those masterpieces before he left.
"Uh... Hey!" Kirishima’s voice tore him away from his thoughts, and Denki remembered that this was a shop, not a museum. His eyes flickered to the counter for just a second, and he saw the man standing behind it.
Denki’s breath hitched.
He was looking away from them, talking to someone who was... under the counter? But at the sound of Kirishima’s voice he looked up.
Oh. Oh.
He was lean and tall, all sharp edges, but his face held this sort of ...softness to it. His eyes were a piercing violet, with dark circles shading the skin underneath them. His soft, pale pink lips were set in a resting indifferent line that Denki had the sudden urge to kiss into something that curved upwards. His broad shoulders caused the sleeves of his black shirt to tighten ever so slightly, and thank god those sleeves were short because tattoos .
And his hair.
Denki was in awe of his hair. He had no clue if it was a styling choice or it simply defied the laws of gravity, but it looked so good. It was beautiful, accentuating and framing the man’s features just right. In addition to all of this, it looked so, so, so goddamn soft, and all Denki wanted to do was run his fingers through it.
His mind was blank as he not-so-discreetly scanned the man up and down, landing on his arms. They were covered in all sorts of colors, lines, and pieces of gorgeous art.
Denki was too far away to see most of them up close- But he could see a small cat on the guy’s forearm. It was just a simple outline, nothing complex, but it was absolutely adorable and Denki swore he fell a little bit in love.
Extremely-hot-purple-guy turned to face the pair fully and Denki almost ran to get the defibrillator for himself; He was convinced that his heart had stopped.
Kirishima’s hand tightened slightly around his wrist and pulled him even closer to the most attractive man Denki had ever seen. (And he had seen Kirishima, who was arguably the hottest out of all of them.)
"Hey.” The man greeted them. His voice was somehow gruff and smooth at the same time- It reminded Denki of black coffee.
“Do you have an appointment?" And fuck if it wasn’t deep.
Kirishima nodded, somehow unaffected by the literal god standing in front of him. "Yep! Four o'clock with Bakugo?" He answered, his calm demeanor betrayed by the slight crack in his voice.
The purple-hot-guy raised his eyebrows slightly, oddly surprised by what Kirishima was telling him. "Alright." He said.
He leaned down.
"Hey Katsuki, your boyfriend’s here."
SLAM
"FUCK!"
The man under the counter slammed his head hard against the underside, but he seemed to be okay enough to begin cursing out his coworker. Hot-purple-dude just looked at him with a sly grin and low-lidded eyes; This seemed to be a regular occurrence.
Kirishima, who was apparently always on lifeguard mode, attempted to diffuse the situation. "Bakugo, hey! Come on, it’s okay-How about we just get started?” Kirishima said calmly, dragging the angry man’s attention towards him.
Bakugou ceased his rant, contemplating what Kirishima had said before glaring at his coworker once more. He tch-ed. "Fucking fine, shitty-hair. Let's get this over with." The angry blonde man turned to walk away, but Kirishima stopped him. "Ah, hold on- What about the price?"
Bakugo audibly groaned this time and turned back to face him. Tearing his eyes off of the purple man in front of him, Denki got a better look at Bakugou- a little silver piercing lay in his eyebrow, both arms full of tattoos, and what looked like partially clear hearing aids were snugly tucked into each ear. God, were all the employees here attractive?
If Denki ever decided that being a lifeguard wasn’t for him, he was coming here.
The two men began to discuss the price of the tattoo, taking into account how big it was, how long it would take, and how many colors (if any) would be used. Purple-guy would interject here and there, and but Denki stayed surprisingly quiet.
1st phase: Dumbstruck.
Kaminari Denki’s brain would go flat- His friends called it his dunce mode. He could focus on nothing else but whoever triggered this state.
"150, you said?" Kirishima said.
Bakugou nodded stiffly, tapping some buttons on the small register in front of him. "However,” Purple hair piped up. “We are having a special offer right now." He finished.
Kirishima perked up, and Denki unabashedly stared at the man as he spoke. "Offer?"
Purple hair scratched the back of his neck, showing off even more of his glorious tattoos as his sleeves shifted. Denki caught a brief glimpse of a microphone and a pillow, right beneath what looked like some kind of hairband, a single horn attached to it.
"To get some more publicity for the shop. Get one tattoo and we'll give you another one free." He concluded.
"Not a whole fuckin sleeve or anything. Maximum size would be like, your thumb. Doesn't have to be on the same person either." Bakugou added, pointing offhandedly at Denki.
2nd phase: Complete Trainwreck
Kaminari Denki becomes a useless flirt at this point- Literally nothing can stop him. His friends kindly refer to this as the Lost Cause stage, although he has been known to snap out of it on his own if the catalyst of this mess loses Denki’s interest.
Kirishima nudged him, his eyes shining with excitement and his nerves seemingly dissipated. "What do you think, Kami? Early birthday present?” He asked.
Denki smiled, a look in his eyes that Kirishima could probably place a mile away. Judging by the way his friend blanched slightly, he already had.
Denki stuck one elbow on the counter and leaned on it, a seductive smile on his face as he channeled the most Tamaki Suoh energy he's ever fucking had.
"I'll pay for a whole damn sleeve if it means you're touching me for the next 2 hours."
You could practically see the twinkling anime roses surrounding him. If he was paying attention to literally anything else, he would have heard Kirishima’s groaning or Bakugou’s howling laughter. But no, he was focused on the pink blush spreading across purple hair’s cheeks, resting on the tips of his pierced ears.
"Alright Toshi, you're taking that one." Bakugou gasped out in between wheezes. Toshi still hadn’t moved, just staring at Denki with wide eyes and a red complexion. Denki was beginning to think he had passed out with his eyes open.
Not the usual reaction, Denki thought to himself, smiling. Which is really nice.
Hot-purple-Toshi broke out of his apparent trance and shook his head as he sighed.
"Alright then, come with me. You two can pay after." He said, walking out from behind the counter and into the main room.
It took all of Denki’s willpower not to run into his tattooed arms as soon as he stepped out because holy fuck.
Black jeans were skin tight around his toned thighs, small rips all along them revealing pale flesh. His black t-shirt fit comfortably on his frame, the words 'THE PRESENT MIC - 109.7 FM ALL DAY RADIO' in large, yellow Helvetica letters spreading across his chest, and curving slightly along the folds of fabric.
God, Denki was really in it now.
As he attempted to subtly stare this man up and down, Kirishima and Bakugou made their way through the gray gate and into the proceeding hallway, talking about designs or something or other. Denki was a little preoccupied with Adonis in front of him to really pay any attention.
Toshi lead Denki through the hallway as well, going into a small room on the right side. He heard Kirishima shout a quick “Good luck!” as he walked into his room. “You too!” He yelped before zoning back in on the sexiest man alive staring at him.
Wait, what?
Toshi had taken a seat on a small stool in front of a little workstation in the room. It was about the size of a school desk and it was on wheels, a rolling metal tool shop cabinet thing next to it. Attached to the side-and probably hooked up to several different things Denki knew nothing about-was the tattoo gun. Adjacent to the whole setup was a long, black, dentist-style chair/bed where Denki assumed he'd be sitting.
To get his tattoo.
The tattoo he was getting because of a hot guy.
A hot guy that he had just met.
.
..
...
Well, he was eating his words now, wasn’t he?
"So," Denki started, walking over to the big chair, overtly aware of Toshi’s eyes on him.
"What's the name of the hot stranger that's going to be putting permanent ink into my skin?" He grinned, hopping up on the plasticky black surface and dangling his feet over the edge. Toshi turned back to his paint, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. Not as red as before, and the thought made Denki only slightly disappointed.
...So he decided to keep going.
"Y'know, just so I don't have to keep calling you hot purple guy in my head." He said cheekily.
Denki saw the corners of Toshi’s mouth twitch up momentarily, and he made a vow that he would do anything and everything in order to see him fully smile.
"Shinsou Hitoshi," He looked up again, purple irises pinning Denki in place.
For the second time tonight, Denki was convinced he would need the defibrillator.
Shinsou, huh?
"And you?"
Me? While I'm ready for you to lock that door and- He stopped that right in its tracks- that was a bit much, even for him.
"Kaminari Denki, at your service." Denki said, smiling at Shinsou.
"Well then, Kaminari,” Shinsou stretched, scooting slightly away from his workstation to fully turn towards Denki.
“What do you want this stranger to permanently tattoo into your skin today?" Shinsou’s tone was dry, but there was an amused ghost of a smile stretching across his lips.
Denki had a feeling they’d get along just fine. But...
Well shit.
He hadn’t really thought this one through, huh?
Denki’s brows furrowed, and he hummed thoughtfully. What to get, what to get. He thought to himself. It has to be small...no colors, and it probably shouldn’t be something completely random…
"Ah-ha!" He smacked his fist into his open palm in realization.
There was only one thing that Denki could think of- Something he wanted permanently on his body. Y’know, besides the man sitting in front of him.
Shinsou’s eyebrows quirked up slightly, and Denki could see curiosity only thinly veiled by his amusement. It figures- He probably doesn’t get too many hot blonde lifeguards that decide what tattoo they want in five minutes with no previous thought behind it.
“What is it then?" He asked, putting his chin in his hand.
3rd Phase: The Finale
Kaminari Denki’s smile was one that could start wars, end them, restart them, and sign the treaty. It made little old ladies pinch his cheeks, gave him discounts at the Dollar Tree, and could get his teachers to raise his grades from D’s to B’s. He didn’t often get to this stage- In fact, it usually would end in the 1st phase; This serves as Denki’s last coherent train of thought, the last chance to realize if he really wanted this.
And oh, when he did…
Denki looked Shinsou directly in his eyes, electric yellow meeting piercing purple. He could see all different shades in his eyes- Almost like he was staring into the deepest parts of the galaxy.
He made his decision.
Yeah. This is good.
Denki gave his biggest, brightest, 1000-Watt smile to Shinsou Hitoshi, right then and there.
"A Lightning bolt!"
.
.
.
Shinsou Hitoshi is a gay disaster.
He has no idea how to talk to men. The first time someone confessed to him, he thought they were playing a prank on him- So he laughed. Ochako likes to bring up the time he literally ran away from someone because they complimented his hair. Katsuki’s personal favorite was when Shinsou had gone into a conversation prepared to ask someone out and had left it saying that Ochako was his girlfriend (Ochako didn’t mind, just patting his shoulder and sighing as Hitoshi hung his head in his hands) .
Even his Dad has a top-ten list for Hitoshi’s Greatest Disasters- He had no room to talk though because he hadn’t even asked Papa out until he was 29.
Hitoshi thinks he’s just being careful. He just wasn’t the kind of person that people had crushes on. He was saving himself from rejection, and them from a mistake. He was an anti-flirt, a man who knew of no relationships (no matter how much he really wanted one).
He had woken up this morning groggy, getting out of bed slower than a snail before trudging into the kitchen for coffee.
He definitely hadn’t been thinking about that blonde lifeguard. The one from weeks ago, who had walked out of the water in slow motion, like he was on an episode of Baywatch .
He had set his empty coffee cup in the sink, brushing the thoughts away like invisible dust on his shirt.
And now, Hitoshi was seeing him again. He sat fidgeting in front of him like a live wire. He noted the exact shade of his sunny yellow eyes, the thick darkness of his eyelashes, light freckles brushing along the bridge of his nose, and ones that looked like they had managed to make their way into his iris.
Hitoshi didn’t even know eye freckles existed before Kaminari Denki.
Oh boy , was he fucked.