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Shinsou was an Insomniac. It was an open secret in the dorms that if someone was up late studying or watching a movie or doing... other things, that they would be able to find Shinsou in one of four places:
The first possibility was the common area. Shinsou could often be found wrapped in a blanket burrito and staring up at the ceiling while taking up the whole left-hand couch. If someone was looking to talk, a Shinsou in that position was more than willing to listen and help them work things through, if that’s what they needed. As long as anyone didn’t try to move him from the couch, he was down for whatever.
The second possibility was Tokoyami’s room. With Dark Shadow’s powers growing at night, Tokoyami was a kindred Insomniac, so it made sense for the two of them to band together. A Hitoshi in that place always had a smirk on his face and was always trying to talk Tokoyami and Dark Shadow and whoever else he could into all manners of mischief. That Hitoshi was sarcastic and witty and always down for a good prank, all sparkling eyes and easy quips.
The third possibility was the dorm roof. A Hitoshi in that place was probably a Hitoshi better left alone as the roof was his place to think in solitude. If someone wanted to share the roof, that was fine and they were welcome to do so. But conversation was a no-go, and trying to push him only led to heaved sighs and narrowed eyes. That Hitoshi was all windswept hair and contemplative eyes locked on the horizon.
The fourth, and final, possibility was Midoriya’s room. It should always be the last place to look for Shinsou because it was the place he retreated to when he needed a breather from people. Shinsou loved Class 1-A, it was plain to see, but they were a lot at the best of times and a serial introvert like Shinsou couldn’t handle all the...togetherness all the time that the dorms seemed to foster. Midoriya and he were a lot alike in that way, so it was no surprise they gravitated to each other when they needed to decompress from the chaos their classmates caused.
To be entirely honest, checking Midoriya’s room was always a bit of a gamble when looking for Shinsou. Midoriya himself wasn’t an Insomniac, so Shinsou tried not to over-invite himself so he wouldn’t throw off Midoriya’s sleep schedule. While Midoriya never complained about Shinsou’s so-late-they’re-actually-early visits, Midoriya could never quite hide his yawns the next day and Shinsou could never totally hide his pouts at the sight of Midoriya’s tiredness in his capture-weapon.
But regardless, a Shinsou found in Midoriya’s room was usually slightly pink-cheeked with a small smile on his face as he gazed at Midoriya adoringly. Because Shinsou had the biggest, fattest crush on Midoriya, and while it was admittedly adorable to watch, all the unresolved sexual tension in the air could choke a person.
Anyone with eyes could tell that the feelings were mutual, but the two boys in question were unfortunately too oblivious to recognize each other’s feelings. So, instead of confessing and spending time together during the day like well-adjusted teenagers, they just spiraled into more and more late nights spent together instead. Which was not good for anyone. Because while Shinsou could function on the little sleep his Insomnia allowed him, Midoriya could not .
And a sleep-deprived Midoriya was a bluntly honest Midoriya, which while few and far between in appearances always left a lasting impression.
The last two times Midoriya had been sleep-deprived, he had successfully played matchmaker with his classmates. The first time, Midoriya had shuffled over to where Jirou and Yaoyorozu were studying together. He had observed silently as the two girls snuck glances at each other, blushed, and were incredibly ineffective at getting any work done.
Plopping down atop their study table unceremoniously, sleep-deprived Midoriya had stated deep into the girls’ souls and stated slowly, “You like each other.”
Both girls’ eyes grew wide as they stared at the boy in shock, all pretense of studying forgotten.
Midoriya sighed and rubbed his hands over his face tiredly. “You like each other; it’s mutual. So don’t worry about ‘will she say yes if I ask her on a date?’ and all that stuff. She will.”
His piece said, Midoriya had hopped off the table and sauntered into the kitchen, grabbed a roll of cookie dough from the freezer, and promptly returned to his room leaving a heavily blushing Yaoyorozu and Jirou in his wake.
When Yaoyorozu and Jirou had come up to him the next day with hands clasped, Midoriya had stumbled over apologies for his behavior and congratulations on getting together to the point where they were nearly unintelligible from each other. Jirou started laughing so hard she was crying as Yaoyorozu tried in vain to calm the poor boy’s embarrassment and Shinsou snickered in the background.
The second time Midoriya played a sleep-deprived matchmaker was actually an accident, he swears. Midoriya had gone down to the common area to grab some chips to bring back to his room for he and Shinsou to share when he had overheard Ashido and Kirishima in the common area. Popping his head in, Midoriya was there just in time to hear the pink girl exclaim, “You’re totally hot, Kirishima! You could have anyone you wanted if you just had a little more confidence in yourself and put yourself out there!”
Midoriya vaulted over Kirishima and Ashido’s couch and landed on the coffee table in front of them. The two flinched in surprise as Midoriya straightened up from his crouch and stared straight at Kirishima.
“Ashido’s right, Kirishima. You’re definitely one of the hottest guys in our class, and hotter than the guys in 2-A and 2-B as well though Toogata-senpai and Amajiki-senpai might have you beat in 3-A,” Midoriya stated bluntly, the chip bag rustling in his grasp.
Ashido’s mouth dropped open in shock as a violent blush turned Kirishima nearly as red as his hair.
Ripping the bag open, Midoriya reached in and offered the boy a chip. “I, and any other guy, would be hard-pressed to turn you down if you confessed. You’re literally that hot.”
Ashido let out a choked sound as Kirishima smiled nervously at the green-haired boy, taking the chip gingerly. Midoriya nodded and hopped off the coffee table, heading for the exit before stopping just inside the doorway.
“If you confess to Kacchan, he’s going to accept you. Then you two can go be ridiculously hot together,” Midoriya finished and Ashido lost the battle against her emotions, loudly guffawing as she rolled off the couch. Without another word, Midoriya had left the room while stuffing a chip in his mouth.
The small smile on Bakugou’s face the next day was too soft to be a smirk, and Kirishima was practically glowing with happiness.
And if the red-head had teased the green-haired one later with a, “Ridiculously hot, huh? You’re very straightforward,” Midoriya just slammed his head into his desk and replied, “My answer was the only straight thing about me. Obviously.”
When Aizawa entered class that day, it was to a smiling Bakugou, Ashido and Kirishima crying with laughter, a red-faced Midoriya sputtering apologies, and an oddly contemplative Shinsou whose eyes were locked on the tableau. Aizawa had simply sighed and started class; he didn’t want to know.
After his two stints at sleep-deprivation matchmaking, Midoriya had become extremely vigilant over his sleep schedule, always ensuring he got more than enough sleep at night so he wouldn’t embarrass himself any further than he already had. This, in turn, saw Shinsou withdrawing, spending more and more time up on the roof at night as his Midoriya-time cut down to nearly non-existent.
Nearly non-existent, that is, until final exams started looming.
The stress of exams took its toll on everyone as study sessions dragged later and later and review and revision messed with everyone’s sleep schedules.
It took until the night after exams ended for the moratorium on sleep-deprived Midoriya to lift.
That night, the entire class was collapsed in various configurations all throughout the common area. Bakugou and Kirishima were slumped into each other near the rest of the Bakusquad, while Jirou and Yaoyorozu were cuddled up on the loveseat nearby. Jirou chatted tiredly with Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari while Yaoyorozu and Todoroki conversed quietly. Iida and Uraraka shared the couch with Todoroki, Uraraka barely keeping her eyes open while Iida chatted with Asui and Shouji who were on the final loveseat. Tokoyami and Shinsou were sprawled on the floor in a spill of pillows with Ojirou, Hagakure, and Kouda nearby on beanbags. Satou and Aoyama were working in the kitchen to bake macarons and the entire room smelled heavenly, lulling the students into a false sense of security.
That was when sleep-deprived Midoriya finally entered the common area. Shinsou sat up quickly with a smile on his face at the appearance of the green-haired boy, and Tokoyami and Shouji shared a glance over the Brainwasher’s head.
“Midoriya,” Tokoyami called, “I have a quick question for you.”
The entire room went silent as they recognized what was happening, smirks creeping on everyone’s faces except for Shinsou’s, who looked confused, and Bakugou’s, who always looked annoyed unless he was looking at Kirishima.
Midoriya shrugged, making his way over to Tokoyami. “Sure,” he replied trustingly. “What’s up?”
“How do you feel about Shinsou?” Tokoyami asked triumphantly, and Shinsou choked.
“Midoriya,” the purple Insomniac sputtered, “you don’t have to-“
“What do you mean?” Midoriya asked, cocking his head to the side at Tokoyami’s question. “He’s my best friend. Isn’t that obvious?”
Shinsou’s mouth snapped closed as he began to shrink into himself at the perceived rejection.
“No, Midoriya,” Shouji continued. “Tokoyami wants to know if you like Shinsou. As in, do you like him?”
“Of course I like him,” Midoriya answered without a hint of hesitation. “He’s absolutely amazing; what’s not to like?”
At those words, Shinsou’s head snapped up so fast he probably gave himself whiplash.
“So you have feelings for Shinsou, Deku-kun?” Uraraka pressed, a wide smile on her face as she grew excited for her friends.
The entire class waited with bated breath as Midoriya scrunched his nose and rubbed it tiredly. “Yeah, definitely,” Midoriya replied, and the room burst into excited whispering.
“Wait,” Shinsou’s voice cut through the din and the room went silent again, a captive audience to the action going on right in front of them. “You have feelings for me?”
Midoriya turned and locked eyes with Shinsou, a small smile adorning his lips as he stated simply, “Yes.”
Shinsou squeaked and flailed, tripping and nearly falling on Tokoyami in his haste to get closer to Midoriya. “H-how are you able to j-just s-say that so e-easily?” Shinsou stuttered, and Midoriya shrugged.
“It’s the truth,” Midoriya answered matter-of-factly, wrapping his hand around Shinsou’s wrist and tugging him closer. Shinsou gaped at the shorter boy, and Midoriya chuckled tiredly. Pressing a kiss to the Brainwasher’s cheek, he tugged Shinsou with him to the kitchen, swiping a few fresh macarons from a flummoxed Satou and smiling and crying Aoyama before leading the blushing boy to his room. And the rest of Class 1-A descended into chaos in their wake.
After that night, there was a revised list of the most likely places to find Shinsou. If someone was up late and looking for the purple boy, they only needed to check Midoriya’s room to be able to find him. He was still often blushing and gazing at Midoriya, and they were still adorable together, but at least the unresolved sexual tension was gone so it was easier to deal with.
But, really, it was probably in everyone’s best interest to just leave Midoriya and Shinsou alone and let the green-boy sleep. Otherwise, he might start trying to set the teachers up next and heaven knows Shinsou’s too disgustingly in love with Midoriya to stop him, especially when he’s sleep-deprived.