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Kaminari gazed out the window. He watched as the raindrops raced each other down the glass and allowed his mind to wander. A mistake. His thoughts twisted, as his mind was filled with darkness. The storm raged on. The thunder boomed. The lightning struck. Kaminari was utterly alone, unloved, unwanted, and filled with self-hatred.
The distant chatter of his friends pulled him out of his intrusive thoughts. Right, they already left the classroom. He quickly shoved his stuff into his bag and exited the room, trailing after them. He put on his mask, a fake smile, as he drew near them.
“Hey what the heck, you guys left without me!” he whined as he threw his arm around Sero.
“We told you we were leaving but you were too busy in your own little world,” Sero chuckled.
“Hmph, sure,” Kaminari scoffed as he removed his arm and pouted.
“Aw cheer up dude, it’s the weekend now, no more homework!” Sero smiled. Kirishima and Ashido cheered. Kaminari was about to celebrate with them but Bakugo cut him off.
“Shut it, I doubt you idiots finished all your work in class,” grumbled Bakugo. The cheering died down. Bakugo was right, they still had homework that needed to be done. A gloomy mood seemed to settle over the once cheerful teens. Kaminari hated seeing his friends like this.
“It’s fine, we have one of the smartest people in our class to help us,” Kaminari said in a matter of fact tone.
“No way, you’re a lost cause,” Bakugo rolled his eyes.
“How mean Bakubro, I am not!” replied Kaminari indigently.
“He might be right bro,” Sero said jokingly as he poked at Kaminari. Soon Ashido and Kirishima joined in, bugging Kaminari about his grades. His friends were once again in a good mood, despite him feeling insecure. He hid his feelings, if his friends were happy, he would be too, or at least he would pretend to be.
They made their way to the exit closest to the dorms and were met with the ever-increasing storm. Everyone except for Kaminari began getting their umbrellas ready, although it wouldn’t provide much coverage due to the strong winds, a little coverage was better than none. Kaminari silently cursed at himself, as it totally slipped his mind that morning to bring an umbrella despite his friends talking about the upcoming storm the previous day. He knew that he would get an earful if he asked to share with one of them. He felt useless and stupid. How many times had his friends reminded him of things yet he paid little attention. He always messed up important things, and now he would finally be paying the price. His thoughts were about to worsen when someone put their hand on his shoulder. He turned in surprise.
“Where’s your umbrella Pikachu?” Bakugo asked.
“Oh, uh, I didn’t bring one today,” Kaminari muttered. He was filled with shame but did not break eye contact.
“Fine, you can share mine,” sighed Bakugo.
“Uh really? I mean won’t you get mor-” Kaminari answered before he was cut off. He was clearly surprised at the random act of kindness. Sure, Bakugo could be kind, but this was unlike him.
“Shut up before I change my mind Sparky,” Bakugo grumbled.
“Right, thanks,” Kaminari smiled in return.
“Hurry up you idiots,” Bakugo said with annoyance. They didn’t want to go outside and battle against mother nature, but that would be better than to piss off Bakugo. If they pissed him off too much, he wouldn’t hangout with them. With that in mind, Kirishima took off, Ashido and Sero following close behind, and finally Bakugo and Kaminari, both struggling to run while staying under his umbrella.
Finally, they made it to the dorms, however, they were soaking wet. Regardless of their efforts to stay dry, mother nature won.
“That was exhilarating,” Kirishima stated.
“Yeah but we’re completely drenched! I’m going to change before I catch a cold,” Ashido stated as she started walking to her room. Figuring that it was a good idea, Sero and Kirishima left for their own rooms. All that remained was Bakugo and Kaminari. Both of them got the worst of the storm, as they were downright soaked.
“Go take a hot shower before you get a cold, it’ll be a pain in the ass if you do,” Bakugo said before he began walking away.
“Huh, oh yeah right,” Kaminari fumbled as Bakugo continued walking away. He sighed. Great. Now Bakugo is probably even more annoyed with him. He is such a nuisance. How does he even have friends? They all suffer because of him. He should jus-
“Hurry up and shower!” Bakugo shouted at him before heading up the stairs. Kaminari was pulled from his negative thoughts again. He hurriedly did what Bakugo said.
A tiny happy sigh escaped Kaminari’s mouth as he fell onto his bed. He had a hot shower, and then changed into sweats, a t-shirt, and fuzzy socks. He finally felt relaxed albeit a little hungry. He sat up and stared out his glass sliding doors. The rain was still coming down hard, and the wind was making it ten times worse. Not to mention the thunder and lightning was present ever so often. The sounds drowned out the world around him. He felt isolated despite being in a building filled with people. His friends were so close yet so far. There was no way he could burden them anymore than he already did. He was exhausted, as only disturbing thoughts filled his head. He was sinking deeper into the darkness. How much longer could he really keep up the façade of the happy-go-lucky guy? How much longer till he broke? He couldn’t. At least not around others, as he would have to continue putting on a show for everyone, even if that meant slowly wasting away. A quiet knock came from his door. It was remarkable that he heard it regardless of his screaming thoughts. Kaminari bit his lip. Then stood up and walked over to the door. He was greeted with the sight of Bakugo holding a fuzzy blanket, snacks, and water bottles.
“Are you going to let me in?” Bakugo questioned after Kaminari blankly stared at him for a moment.
“Yeah, of course, uh sorry,” Kaminari squeaked as he moved out of the way. Bakugo dropped everything on the bed before sitting beside it. Kaminari shut the door and turned around. “So, what’s up Bakubro? Don’t you usually hangout with Kiri and the others right about now?” Kaminari raised his eyebrow.
“Usually you’re down there too, why are you hiding in your room? You’ve been weird all day, and stop calling me Bakubro,” Bakugo replied, a glare forming on his face.
“Ah sorry, and I guess I just didn’t feel up to it today, um what about you though, you still didn’t answer my questions,” Kaminari awkwardly fidgeted.
“Why don’t you feel up to it? Most of the time you thrive off others, I swear you’re so energetic,” Bakugo stated.
“Guess today just isn’t one of those days, sorry” Kaminari chuckled nervously. Bakugo studied him for a minute before gathering his thoughts. This just made Kaminari fidget more as his nerves increased. Finally, Bakugo spoke up again.
“Whatever then, I brought this stuff over here anyways so grab your laptop, I want to watch a movie,” Bakugo sighed.
“Um I’m not going to complain but wouldn’t it be better to watch with everyone else? I mean I’m not acting like me, right? I’m probably not that fun to be around,” Kaminari said quietly.
“I came here to see you, not those idiots, so shut it,” Bakugo spat.
“Right, forget I said anything,” Kaminari replied.
He hastily made his way to his laptop before grabbing it and heading towards his bed. Bakugo set up some of his pillows before leaning back against the now cushioned wall. Kaminari jumped onto his bed, earning a small glare from Bakugo. He moved so he was positioned next to Bakugo, and as soon as he was beside him, Bakugo threw the blanket over his legs so they could share. Once again, Kaminari was dumbfounded at how warmly Bakugo was acting towards him. He grabbed another pillow and placed it between his and Bakugo’s legs, before balancing the laptop on it. He let Bakugo choose the movie as he grabbed a bag of chips and opened it. Bakugo already chose the movie before Kaminari could take a bite. A Ghibli film, Ponyo to be exact. Ever since Kaminari picked out Princess Mononoke for them to watch on one of their movie nights, Bakugo had been determined to watch all the Ghibli films. Kaminari couldn’t complain, they were heartwarming stories that distracted him. He stole a glance at Bakugo and could see he was already immersing himself in the movie. The sight made Kaminari feel something new among his usual miserable feelings. He decided watching the movie would be better than trying to determine what he was feeling, so he went back to munching and gazed at the screen.
Halfway through the movie Kaminari rested his head on Bakugo’s shoulder and whispered, “Thank you”, as a tiny smile appeared on his face. Bakugo peeled his eyes away from the screen and regarded the smaller boy. After a moment Bakugo paused the movie, and moved his shoulder, causing Kaminari to lift his head and return his stare. Before Kaminari could say anything, Bakugo did.
“What happened today?” Bakugo asked in a remarkably soft voice. “Something happened.” His voice was laced with unease.
“It’s nothing you have to worry about, thank you, but it’s none of your concern,” Kaminari responded meekly.
“What the hell do you mean it’s none of my concern, it is! You don’t always have to act happy but at least tell me when something is wrong, let me be there for you damn it! Why do you think you need to go through that alone,” the anger was clear in Bakugo’s voice as it changed from gentle to alarm.
“I-don’t know what to say,” Kaminari said merely above a whisper, breaking their gaze and looking down at his lap.
“Take your time, I’ll be here all night, just explain things to me, don’t face it all on your own, I won’t leave you,” Bakugo said as he lifted up Kaminari’s chin and stared into his eyes. His voice was soft, softer than Kaminari ever heard. Kaminari attempted to say something back but he couldn’t, ultimately, he broke. Tears filled his eyes and ran down his face. His body shook as he sobbed. Swiftly Bakugo moved the laptop out of the way and embraced Kaminari. He held the fragile boy as all his pent-up feelings found an outlet. Outside the wind, thunder, and lightening halted, but the rain continuously fell.
Even after Kaminari stopped crying they held onto each other, as it made both of them feel secure and wanted. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. In such little time Bakugo broke down the walls Kaminari built. His façade was ruined. Once everyone learned the truth he would surely be hated, how could they not despise him after he hid his true feelings for so long. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t hear Bakugo call out to him. Bakugo hugged him a bit tighter, and this seemed to bring Kaminari back to reality.
“Are you ready to talk about it?” Bakugo asked. Kaminari simply responded by burying his head deeper into Bakugo’s neck and shaking his head ‘no’. Bakugo hummed in response and continued holding him. After a few moments Kaminari pulled slightly away so he could look at Bakugo, and spoke up, though his voice was rather hoarse from all the crying.
“I tried hard for so long to hold it together. To be the carefree guy everyone would enjoy being around. To cover up how miserable and pathetic I really am, I guess that’s all over now,” Kaminari said dejectedly.
“Damn right it’s over now! I’m not going to let you go through this shit again, it’s fine to feel insecure and pessimistic at times, everyone feels that way! But I refuse to let you suffer all alone with no one to talk to, to pretend to be something you’re not! When you’re feeling like this tell me, your happiness is everyone’s. That damn smile lights up the room, your laugh makes everyone feel better even in dark situations. But none of that matters if it isn’t genuine,” Bakugo declared. Kaminari’s face changed from a surprised expression to a flushed teary smile.
“You’re really something else, but I’ll take you up on that offer then, thank you Bakugo,” Kaminari responded.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean!” Bakugo retorted, his voice slightly raised.
“I meant it as a compliment, I swear, it’s just this is the first time anyone’s ever noticed that and you’ve been so kind to me,” beamed Kaminari.
“Obviously, Pikachu, your happiness is important, don’t make me repeat myself,” a blush formed on Bakugo’s face as he scowled.
“Right, who would’ve thought you could be such a sweet guy, I’m sure lucky,” Kaminari giggled as he buried his head into Bakugo’s neck again.
“W-what the hell, you aren’t gonna be lucky when I blow up your face Sparky,” barked Bakugo as his blush deepened. Thus, began two blushing boys playfully fighting one another, as their affection melted away the darkness. Subsequently, the rain let up and the sun began shining, as if to show that no matter how intense a storm may be, there will always be the sun radiating warmth after.