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Denki’s heart was racing as they snuck through the dorm building’s hallways. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t tried to go to the girl’s side before, they’ve done it on multiple occasions when hanging out in either Mina or Jirou’s rooms. This time was different, though. They had something actually important to do, not just have a random Mario Kart race.
The mission was simple, they had gone over it with Hanta several times before finally heading out to the battlefields: Go to the girl’s dorms, ask Mina to do their makeup, then come out to her. Step one was already almost complete, and there were only two steps left to go, how hard could it be? Well, the answer was apparently extremely hard, since everytime Denki started overthinking, the lights overhead would start to flicker. If they ended up letting their nerves get the best of them, then they would have to navigate in the dark while their brain might be slightly fried. They concluded that that wouldn’t be the brightest idea, so, instead, they tried to calm themself down.
However, if Denki had actually been focusing on just where they were walking, rather than aimlessly milling about whilst trying to control their thoughts, then they wouldn’t have ended up running right into Jirou, who was walking from the direction of Mina’s room, shocking and startling the shorter girl.
“Oh! Sorry Jirou, I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going, heh.” They chuckled a bit, scratching the back of their neck and creating static electricity that made even the hair on Jirou’s neck stand straight.
“It’s fine, Kami, I was the one who bumped into you,” she paused for a second, looking over them quizzically, “Wait, why are you over here? I don’t think Mina said anything about you coming over?” Of course it was only a simple question, but it nevertheless made Kaminari’s adrenaline spike with anxiety.
“Yeah, heh, I was just, uh, just wanting to ask Mina about something.”
Jirou raised an eyebrow at them, feeling even more puzzled than before. She could tell that her friend was hiding something. Afterall, Denki was never the best at keeping secrets, no matter how big or small they were. She specifically remembers an incident where the electric teenager “accidentally” broke the fridge, and immediately told Momo “Yeah, please don’t go into the kitchen ‘cause, uh, the fridge is totally not broken. Not at all. Works perfectly fine, it does, yes ma’am.” Jirou also remembers seeing stars after she had slapped her forehead.
“Listen, Kami, I’ve known you long enough by now to know that there is more to what you’re saying,” she paused, glancing up at the blonde in question and noticing the way they were fiddling with their hands, looking at anything but Jirou. Letting out a soft sigh, she continued on, “But, I also hope you know that I’m not gonna force you to tell me anything. Just don’t be too much of a dumbass and forget to actually talk to me when you want.”
Denki felt as if Aizawa had just told them a pop quiz was cancelled, their sudden relief causing the buzz in the air to dissipate. They shot a quick, but appreciative, smile towards their friend, standing up a little taller than before and rolling back their previously tensed shoulders.
“Thanks, Jirou, and don’t worry, this isn’t something I would just forget to tell you.”
Jirou only raised her eyebrow, trying to make sense of what they had said. But, before she knew it, Denki had bolted off.
Denki had raced past Jirou as soon as they could, maneuvaring past her and down the hallway, headed towards their friend’s room. When they finally got there, they could see a light shining from underneath the door crack, proving that she was at least still awake. Swallowing some of their fear, they knocked on the door, hitting it rapidly three times, signalling to Mina that it was just someone in their so-called “Bakusquad,” little to the explosive blond’s knowledge. They stood there, waiting for what felt like hours, but was actually just a couple seconds. Still, it did nothing to lessen their nerves. Before they could even change their mind, though, Mina threw the door open, interrupting the teen’s anxious thoughts of running away.
“Denki, babe! What’s up?” She greeted them brightly, voice slightly hushed so as not to wake anyone else, but still full of excitement.
“Hey Mina. Could I, uh, can I come in?” Their words came out a little shakily, nerves starting to get the better of them. Mina only briefly glanced up at her friend’s anxious stance before jumping to the side, one arm stretched out, signalling for Denki to step inside.
“Thanks.”
“It’s no problem. Now, what can I do for ya’?”
Thinking of the plan they made with Sero, running what they talked about through their head one last time, they forced the words out their mouth.
“Could you do my makeup for me?”
Step two was complete.
Mina blinked a couple times, processing what her friend just asked.
“You want me to do your makeup?”
The blond nodded their head, “Please? I heard you talking about wanting to practice more in class and, uh, to be honest, I’m kinda curious as to how it all works.”
She stood still for a second before jumping forward, pushing Denki to sit on her bed, before bouncing back towards the bathroom, where she kept all of her makeup, talking animatedly all the while.
“Of course I can do your makeup! Honestly I’m a little surprised that you of all people would come to me. I thought maybe Yao-Momo or even Uraraka might, but I’m still happy that you asked! Oh, and I have a lot of fun eyeshadow, too! Just wait, it’s gonna look so good !”
“Uh, Mina, don’t forget to breathe,” Denki interrupted, getting slightly overwhelmed by her rapid talking.
She only let out a light laugh, turning her attention to the many bags of makeup she had now set up for them on the bed. They were filled with various makeup products, most of which Denki couldn’t recognize. They knew that one was filled to the brim with different shades of lipstick, ranging from glosses, to mattes, to metallics. There was another filled with various shades of foundation, probably to accommodate other classmate’s she was planning to do makeup for, and different contour and blush kits. Denki stared, puzzled at the one filled with varying brushes. They didn’t even know there could be so many different types of brushes, let alone what they could possibly be used for.
“So,” Mina began to say, turning towards the electric blond while holding yet another makeup bag, “Ready to look absolutely stunning?”
Denki chuckled at her, putting on their best fake pout, “I thought I was already absolutely gorgeous, though.”
“Aw, don’t worry, babe. Just wait till I’m done with you, you won’t even be able to recognize yourself.”
And so, with that, Mina grabbed one of the foundation bottles and got to work, expertly applying the liquid onto their skin after a quick moisturizer, making sure it was spread evenly across their face before moving on to concealer.
It was surprisingly calming to Denki, sitting there and letting the shorter pink girl play around with the makeup products, although they found some of the different textures a little weird. It was almost like there was something in them. At one point Mina stopped, sensing their discomfort.
“What’s wrong?”
The teen looked up at their friend, eyebrows furrowed, a puzzled expression encompassing their face before they realized what she had meant.
“Oh! It’s nothing, I’m just not used to having all this on my face.”
Mina only hummed in response, putting down the contour kit that she was about to use on their face. Denki watched her movements closely, wondering what made her change her mind before leaping back, startled by her suddenly slapping herself on her forehead.
“Oh my god, I’m an idiot!” She started rifling through some of the bags as she explained to Denki, “Most makeup products have traces of metal like aluminum in them. You’re probably extra sensitive to that since you’re, you know, electric.”
They made a small surprised face as the realization dawned on them.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh.’”
“So, you can’t do my makeup then?”
The shorter teen stopped her random search and seizure of her makeup to look back up at Denki, her face softening when she saw their disappointed one.
“Aw, hun. Don’t worry, I can still do it, I just have to be careful with how much I use, and what else I use. I probably won’t be able to use any highlighter, though-”
“No, it’s fine, you can still use all that stuff on me-”
“Denki, are you sure?”
“Yeah, I just wasn’t used to the feeling. I’ll be fine. If I can handle having a charger in my mouth then I’m sure I can handle whatever is in the makeup.”
It looked as if Mina was still facing an internal battle, but ultimately decided to side with Denki’s argument.
“Alright then, hold still.”
Mina continued to put the makeup on them, moving from contour to highlighter to blush, then back to highlight for the fun of it. She was going to make sure they shone brighter than even Aoyama. Just the thought of it made her giggle.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh nothing, just the thought of the others seeing you like this.”
It was silent for a moment, only to be interrupted by Denki, softly asking, “Do you… do you think no one will like it?”
“Mm, I doubt anyone won’t love it. You look amazing so far, and I haven’t even done your eyes yet!”
“Heh, thanks.”
“It’s no problem, hun. Ooh! We should take cute pics of you after this! Make everyone jealous of just how good you look!”
“Uh, I don’t think anyone would ever be jealous of me,” they chuckled, scratching the back of their neck, only for their hand to be swatted away by Mina.
“What do ya’ mean?”
“There’s not much to be jealous of.” They shrugged their shoulders in a matter-of-fact manner, almost as if to say that there wasn’t much else to say. But, of course, Mina wasn’t going to accept any of that.
“Denki Kaminari, you look at me right now. You may not see it, but there’s so much to be jealous of for you. For one, your quirk is pretty amazing, even with its drawbacks. You’re also an extremely good friend and very funny. You want to be a hero and save people, and you’re also so understanding. You can be anyone’s friend, hell, you even managed to befriend Todoroki! You bring out the best in people, so don’t you dare say there’s nothing to be jealous of.”
Denki could only sit in stunned silence before tears started welling up in their eyes, threatening to roll down and ruin their makeup. They quickly wiped them away, only to be engulfed by a bone crushing hug from Mina. The two young heroes stayed like that for a while, just holding each other, enjoying each other's support, before Mina finally pulled away, wiping away some of Denki’s tears as well.
“Hey now, you better not ruin my work.” The blond only let out a small laugh, sniffling loudly in her ear.
After calming down, Mina got right back to work. Reapplying some of the highlighter, she moved onto their eyes. She made quick work of putting on a primer, then putting a base shade to make it easier to blend. Then, grabbing one of her many eyeshadow palettes, pressed into a neon yellow shade before quickly applying it all over their lid. After blending it out on the edges, she grabbed some concealer, planning to do a cut crease, and added some matte black eyeshadow to the crease. Adding a bit of a bright metallic white shade to the inner corner, she reached for a white liquid eyeliner.
“So,” Mina started to ask, carefully applying eyeliner to Denki’s upper lid, “Care to tell me why you actually wanted me to do your makeup?”
Their eyes widened as they pulled back to look at their friend, searching her face for any sort of negative emotion. They were only met with pure curiosity.
“Wh-what?”
“Denki, I honestly don’t think you asked ‘cause you were interested in how it works. I mean sure, you might be, but there’s definitely more to it. If not, you could have just looked up some tutorials online.”
Well, it was now or never for them. They wouldn’t really have another chance, and so far, Mina had been nothing but understanding. So, they took a deep breath and moved on to step three.
“I-,” they tried to find the right words, but decided it would have to be like ripping off a band-aid. Quick and to the point, and painless.
“I asked you to do my makeup because I’m non-binary,” they waited for some sort of interruption from Mina, but when met with silence, they continued, “I, uh, I use they/them pronouns- but I’d appreciate it if you only use them when it’s just us! O-or with Hanta, since he’s the only other one who knows. But, uh, but yeah. I just, uh, wanted to tell you, and, well, what better way than you doing my makeup, right?” They let out a low chuckle, scratching the back of their neck again, staring at the ground.
“Oh, Denki, I’m so happy you told me!” She quickly engulfed them in another hug, but this time, with just a little less tears.
“I’m so proud of you for telling me, thank you. And just know that you’re still one of my best friends, no matter what, okay?”
“Heh, okay. And, thank you. For, y’know, accepting it, me, everything.”
“Of course, hun. How about we go ahead and finish your makeup before one of us cries again, huh? Namely you.”
“Yeah, and we can take some pictures if you still want.”
And with that, Denki felt another small weight lift off their chest as they opened up to their friend more, smiling and laughing throughout their mini photoshoot, and genuinely liking the new photos they had taken of them.