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Shinsou was usually pretty blunt. Whether anyone agreed with him or not, he'd voice his opinion when asked and didn't care how he got antagonized for it. He was used to this, given his quirk.
What he wasn't used to was the tight feeling in his chest whenever he saw you interacting with a particular friend of yours. You and Shinsou were close, sure, but it's not like the two of you were dating. He had no right to get involved if they did something harmless, but made Shinsou see red for a moment.
But it pained him to watch your friend treat you like the ground they walked on. Not really paying attention when you'd talk, or cutting you off before you could finish. What irked Shinsou the most, however, was when this friend would request a favor from you, always promising to return the help but clearly never following through.
When you needed help, it was always Shinsou that was the first to respond. But this friend of yours never seemed to care about you enough to follow through on their word.
Shinsou wanted to say something, to urge you to maybe seek out other friends to hang out with. But the more he thought about it, the more upset he felt. He knew exactly why that was, but he wasn't ready to come to terms with that yet.
But suddenly, he was.
×~♡~×
It was raining – as to be expected from this morning's forecast – but you weren't paying attention to it this time, so now you were stuck under an awning from your class building, hoping the rain would lighten up to give you a chance to get to your dorm soon.
Just as you were about to consider making a run for it, you heard a familiar voice say your name. One look over your shoulder and you instantly recognized the messy purple hair, being protected by an umbrella.
"Ah, hey Toshi." You smiled. "At least one of us listened to the forecast."
"Forgot your umbrella?"
You sheepishly chuckled. "You could say that."
Shinsou sighed, "What am I gonna do with you..."
"Hey, _____!"
The two of you perked up at the sound of someone else calling for you, and the moment Shinsou recognized who it was, his expression very clearly tensed up. You glanced over his shoulder, and suddenly he felt invisible as your other friend ran past him and up to you.
"Couldn't help but notice you didn't have an umbrella." Your friend grinned. "Why don't I walk you to your dorm?"
Shinsou took that as his cue to leave, but he didn't get far before he heard you speak again.
"Oh, I'd like to, but Toshi lives right next to me."
Right. You're his dorm neighbor. No matter what, you'd all be walking the same way. Plus, didn't this friend of yours live on the other side of the dormitory building?
"Oh, well... That's alright! Could I at least walk you to your class in the morning then?"
'Give it a rest already', Shinsou pleaded in his head.
"We'll see." You smiled, before walking over to Shinsou. "I'll text you later though, okay?"
After giving your goodbyes, you stuck close to Shinsou on the walk, and he had to pretend that the coldness from the storm was why his cheeks were flushed. You loosely held onto his arm to try and share the space under the umbrella, and talked about whatever came to your mind. Shinsou did his best to pay attention, despite still feeling a bit irritated from your friend.
"So now I've gotta work with them for this group project." You concluded. "I don't get why colleges do group projects. It's not like we're in grade school anymore."
"I'm sure you'll be alright." Shinsou said bluntly. "It's you, after all. You always pull through."
You huffed with amusement. "That's sweet of you. And to think, back in high school, you were so distant and grumpy whenever I tried talking to you."
"And look where that got you." Shinsou teased. "Your stubborn ass latched on and it got to the point that I just felt morally obligated to put up with you."
"Hey!" You played mock offense, lightly smacking the arm you clung onto. You knew he was just joking, especially with the slight smirk he sported in response. "Whatever, we're almost at our dorms."
Shit, you were, weren't you? Shinsou had put the umbrella away earlier without even realizing you were still holding onto him, even though the two of you were inside now. He felt a dull ache in his stomach at the realization, and after remembering that you had a group project to work on with that friend of yours, he felt his irritation return.
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then." He said after dropping you off at your door. "Don't be a stranger."
"You too, Toshi." You smiled, before stepping inside.
Even after the door clicked shut, Shinsou still felt reluctant to leave. How close were you and this friend you talked to? Did you only walk with him out of coincidence and efficiency, or because you genuinely wanted to?
The doubt and insecurities began to creep into Shinsou's head, and with that he finally took his leave. Upon feeling the warmth of your hands still lingering on his arm, he let out a heavy sigh.
Yea, he loved you. And it was stressing him the hell out.
×~♡~×
After that day in the storm, Shinsou couldn't help but notice how your friend started being...a little too friendly. Their usual banter with you now started to include oddly sexual remarks, and they brushed it off as simply a joke if you appeared to be uncomfortable. They also seemed particularly fond of letting their hands linger on you a touch longer than normal, and it drove Shinsou insane. Was this their way of hitting on you?
Well, it's not like he had any room to talk. He wasn't even confident enough to try to make any kind of move on you, so he simply did what he did best: bottle those feelings up. Surely they won't explode at some point.
Though, this group project you had to work on was getting on his nerves. Not only were you basically required to spend more time with your friend for the project, but Shinsou was the one you came to when you wanted to vent about how all your ideas kept being shot down. No matter what you proposed, your friend always tried to one-up you with something supposedly better. Shinsou tried to suggest just finding someone else to do the project with, but you insisted that no, your friend had a point, and that maybe your ideas were a bit stupid.
By now, Shinsou was at his breaking point. He couldn't stand watching you get trampled on by someone who was also clearly trying to get in your pants. But what was he supposed to say? That he doesn't like your friend? He's pretty sure he made that clear by now, but he tried to respect the fact that you were sort of like him, and that having more than one friend was quite the rarity. So when someone showed interest in you, who was he to deny you that chance of happiness? Shinsou loved you, sure, but he wasn't obsessive. He was fine with you having friends that weren't him.
But if those friends were obviously more interested in your body than you, then was it alright for him to get involved, let alone be upset?
Ugh, this was becoming too much for him to think about. Maybe he should step back and—
A knock on his front door tore him from his spiraling thoughts. Who the hell could be knocking at – Shinsou checked the clock – eleven at night?
Regardless, whoever was there knocked again after a minute, so Shinsou forced himself to get up and get the door. Just when he was about to give the person knocking quite the lecture – maybe even brainwash them to screw off – he froze at the sight of your trembling figure.
"H-Hey..." You shakily smiled, acting as if your face wasn't currently shimmering with tears and you weren't gasping for air.
Without much thinking, Shinsou pulled you inside, quickly closing the door. "What happened?" He asked worriedly.
"I—..." You stopped as another sob choked out. "My other friend, they...they tried to come on to me."
Shinsou desperately held back his flooding rage, loosening his grip on your wrist. "They... What did they do?"
"I-I was just trying to explain to them part of the project and they just— They—" You put your free hand to your mouth, your fingers lingering against your lips. "They thought I was into them so they...made a move, and I...I just started crying, a-and I ran out before they could...could..."
Shinsou decided that was enough, and hushed you before you could spiral into an anxiety attack. "Shh, hey, you did what you could. Is there...something I can do? To help?"
You frantically shook your head, but moved to bring Shinsou into a tight hug. While the sudden affection made him tense up for a moment, he quickly relaxed and returned the embrace, brushing off your muffled apologies for the sudden hug.
"Don't worry about me." He muttered to you. "You're dealing with a lot. Just let it out."
Upon saying that, Shinsou felt your grip on him tighten, as if you tried to have him as close as physically possible. He decided to do the same, leaning his head against yours as he soothed your hair.
After a few minutes when your breathing evened out, Shinsou pulled away enough to look at you, ignoring the damp spot on his shirt. Your face was shiny with tears and your eyes red and puffy. His heart broke at the sight, and the anger he initially felt returned.
"I've had enough of this." Shinsou sighed. "I'm gonna go talk to them."
"No!" You grasped onto him. "No, please don't, I don't want them to be mad—"
"You're still considering their feelings after what just happened?" Shinsou looked to you, appalled. "_____, they kissed you with no warning and probably wanted to do much worse if you hadn't run off. They're not your friend anymore."
"Maybe so, but—"
"But what?" Shinsou glared at you. "Look, I get that feeling, of wanting to keep friends no matter what they do. But this has gone too far. I don't care whether you like them romantically or not, you deserve someone that'll treat you right, and not as just some toy that they think they can do whatever the fuck they wanna do, whenever they want to."
Your glassy eyes moved to stare at the floor, unable to think of anything to say. Shinsou stood with you for a moment, his gaze practically burning holes into your skull.
"I just... I don't want them to be mad—"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Shinsou stepped back. "Why are you still acting like you can redeem them? They could've assaulted you!"
"They wouldn't! They—"
"They threw themself at you, _____!" Shinsou raised his voice. "If you hadn't escaped, who knows what more they would've done!"
"No, they're my friend! They wouldn't try to—"
"Who cares if they're your friend at this point?! No one, especially you, deserves to be put through that! Someone who actually respects you would've at least said something before doing such a thing!"
You were visibly curling into yourself. "Maybe they were just nervous! Maybe—"
"Would you stop defending them?!" Shinsou was yelling now. "I don't care about their supposed "reasoning" for this, if they actually loved you, then they'd be the one comforting you right now!"
"You say that as if you—"
"BECAUSE I DO LOVE YOU, OKAY?!"
A piercing silence fell throughout the room. Shinsou was certain he was going to get a noise complaint in the morning, but now that the dam had burst, he might as well let it all out.
"I love you, I've loved you for god knows how long, but I kept it to myself because I know you deserve better! But this isn't better! It fucking hurts to see you hanging out with someone that treats you like their play-thing, like some fucking tool, when you deserve someone that'll treat you like you're their everything, and...and..."
By now, Shinsou was staring down at his own feet, only now noticing that he'd started crying too at some point. He spared a glance to your own shocked gaze. "I...I know I'm not perfect. Hell, I can't even say I'm a good person. But...I know damn well that even I could treat you better than they ever could."
The two of you stood still, locking eyes as you both processed what just happened.
"This...isn't how I planned on confessing." Shinsou raised his hand to the back of his neck, ignoring how his eyes welled up. "Scratch that, I wasn't ever planning on confessing. But...now you know. You don't have to say anything, just know that I—"
A sniffle took Shinsou out of his little monologue, and he watched as you buried your face in your hands. "Damnit..." He muttered, stepping closer to you. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling, I didn't mean to—"
"Do you mean it?"
"Huh?" Shinsou raised an eyebrow. "Mean what?"
"What you said..." You tried to wipe your face. Locking eyes with him again, you reiterated, "About how you love me... Did you mean it?"
Shinsou's expression softened, though his brow still furrowed because...was this rejection? "...Yea. I meant all of it."
Slowly, you stepped forward, leaning your forehead on his shoulder. "I...didn't think you felt the same."
Shinsou visibly stiffened, but relaxed after just a moment. "I...uhm..."
The two of you simply stood there for a few moments, just to process the turn of events. "Can I...hug you again?" You sheepishly asked, ignoring the tears still spilling down your cheeks.
Shinsou let out a chuckle, pulling you closer. He felt another tear or two escape down his own face. "Yea. If it's you, I don't mind."
This embrace felt...much different than before. It felt as though the both of you were trying to convey unspoken words to each other, and hoping the physical contact was enough.
And it was.
"Why don't you...stay the night?" Shinsou hesitantly offered. "We can get you cleaned up, and...I'll do my best to help you forget about what happened."
His heart momentarily stopped when he felt you smile against his shoulder. "Okay."
×~♡~×
After a short meeting with your professor the next morning, they contacted other students in your class to group you with in order to help you finish the project. For now, your...friend would be working by themself, and that was enough to ease your anxiety about confronting them.
"So? How are you feeling?" Shinsou asked as you stepped out into the hallway.
"Better than last night." You smiled. "I'm...admittedly still kinda shaken about what happened."
"Makes sense." Shinsou nodded. "Well, neither of us have classes today, and I've got some time off from my pro-hero job... Maybe we could, uhm...go somewhere? To take your mind off of things."
"...Just say it's a date, Toshi."
Shinsou was quick to blush. "I...I didn't wanna push it if you weren't up for it being that sort of thing." He slightly pouted, rubbing the back of his neck again as he glanced off to something else. "Last night was...exhausting, ignoring the accidental confession bit."
"Yea, but..." It was your turn to blush. "I think I've waited long enough to be able to go on a date with you. So, c'mon, let's go."
Shinsou let out a small noise as you took his hand to guide him out of the building. "Hey, y-you can't just say something like that!"
You laughed, and while Shinsou still pouted, he couldn't help but feel a flutter in his chest.
"...How long?"
"Hm?" You looked to him.
"How long were you waiting?"
You smiled, stopping and turning to Shinsou. Upon giving a gentle peck to his cheek, you muttered, "Since high school. I had a thing for tsunderes, and it just sorta stuck."
Shinsou pulled back enough to lock eyes with you. "I am not—"
You chuckled, and Shinsou bit the inside of his cheek. With a light scowl and a deep flush on his cheeks, he sighed. "C'mon, let's go."
With no warning, he pecked your cheek as well, leaving you in shock as he took the lead this time.