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1.
"FIFTEEN MINUTES EVERYONE!!!" boomed the announcement over the crowd of UA students. Shinsou had made it past the obstacle course with relative ease, and he liked how his odds for the cavalry battle looked. Midoriya's ten million points were sure to be everyone's focus. Perhaps Shinsou could swoop in at the end and... convince whoever had it to hand it over. He just had to form a team first...
"Hey! Shinsou, right?!" bubbled a voice from behind him. Hitoshi whipped around to find the small, yellow haired boy from class 1A smiling at him. "I'm Kaminari!"
Kaminari. Right. That was his name. Shinsou remembered him, he had the electricity quirk, right? He was strong, no doubt about it, though a little unreliable with the brain-frying thing.
I did not, Shinsou thought, remember how... cute... he was. At this thought, Shinsou's mouth curled into a small snarl. Damn brain, thinking all the wrong things at the wrong time.
It was true, though, Shinsou conceited. Kaminari had beautiful golden hair and sparkling eyes to match it. He was, in a word, very pretty. But Shinsou would never admit that.
Shinsou realized he must have been staring when Kaminari began to wave his hand in front of the taller boy's violet eyes.
"Hu- What do you want?!" Shinsou barked quickly. Kaminari just smiled.
"Want to partner up for this one? I already have Yaoyorozu on my team, and I'm sure you could get someone from your class! We don't know what your quirk is, but I bet it's super cool! We could-" Shinsou put up a hand and cut off his rambling with a sharp shake of his head.
"No thanks."
The smaller boy's smile fell a little at that. Nobody would've noticed, of course, unless they had been paying attention.
Shinsou was certainly paying attention.
He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to do something about it.
"Hey, I know I'm not, like, the smartest person here," Kaminari chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "But, I mean, we have Momo! She's cool! And I've heard you're really smart, so-"
"Its not that," the purple haired boy cut him off in a hurry. Hitoshi composed himself. He had to sound cool. Perhaps a bit mysterious.
"I already have a plan." Shinsou looked around and grabbed the nearest person from his class. "And we're already on a team too." His classmate looked bewildered, but luckily, he didn't dare contradict Shinsou Hitoshi. "And you're too... loud. For my liking." With that, Shinsou turned and sauntered away, aiming to not make a fool of himself.
He stood with his hastily formed team and watched Kaminari out of the corner of his eye as the other boy joined his classmates. The team he ended up with was Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Todoroki Shoto. A powerhouse.
Perhaps, Shinsou concluded, if they end up with the ten million, maybe, just maybe... He wouldn't take it.
2.
Shinsou's transfer to the hero course had been finalized far quicker than he had expected. Underneath his cool exterior, the violet haired boy was beyond excited to be starting in class 1A today.
"This is Shinsou. I'm sure you all know him. He's joining the class so be nice to him. Bakugou, stop exploding Kirishima's face." Aizawa mumbled in monotone.
Shinsou looked over the rows of desks at his new classmates. Midoriya waving earnestly at him, Todoroki still as a statue, Bakugou snarling and sparking up an explosion in his palms... Shinsou loved it, which surprised him. He conceited that it must be because anything is better than general studies.
He kept his face still as he walked through the rows, looking for a place to sit. Deku was surrounded by his own friends, and Bakugou appeared to be trying to murder anyone who approached him today, so it was probably best to avoid him. Shinsou didn't really know anyone else in the class, except for-
"Shinsouuu! Come sit here!" Kaminari waved his hands in the air. Shinsou had spoken to Kaminari a few times during the Spring Tournament and during training exercises with general studies (where general studies had usually played civilians or hostages, thank goodness Shinsou was done with THAT). He had been happy to find that the smaller boy was as nice as he was pretty.
Shinsou walked slowly over to the yellow haired boy's desk. Kaminari pointed to the empty chair on his right. "Sit!" he said. Shinsou placed his books down slowly and lowered himself into the chair, looking suspiciously at Kaminari. Was this a prank or something? Didn't Kaminari have the "Bakusquad" to sit with?
Apparently it wasn't a joke. When Shinsou sat, the smaller boy smiled brightly at him. "Welcome to the hero course, Shinsou! You're sitting with me at lunch, too!"
Shinsou's dads had told him to make some new friends in this class. Apparently, that was easier than in sounded with Kaminari here.
At lunch, Shinsou got his tray of food and walked through the maze of tables. He spotted Kaminari before the other saw him this time.
Kaminari was, in fact, sitting with his other friends. He was on the end of the table with Sero on his right and the pink girl - Mina - sitting past Sero. Across from Kaminari was Bakugou, face red and flustered as Kirishima leaned against him casually, laughing.
Shinsou was somehow intimidated by them. They seemed so happy, so confident in themselves. He wouldn't know what to do amongst them, he had just begun the hero course today for crying out loud!
So when Kaminari caught his eye and waved him over, calling his name, Shinsou replied with "No, too loud," and made a break for the door of the cafeteria. He ran down the nearest corridor and sank to the floor. It was quiet in the hallway, but Shinsou's brain wouldn't shut up.
3.
Shinsou and Kaminari were in the school library about 3 months after Shinsou's start in the hero course. A few students had been injured in a mock battle two days before, so Aizawa decided the class would spend this week on a nice, safe research project. They had to partner up, and Shinsou had immediately turned to Kaminari. The two had grown quite close as soon as Shinsou got over his fear of being near Bakugou and Kaminari at the same time.
Kaminari had seemed surprised when Shinsou had asked to work with him, though he eagerly agreed. They were now spending their lunch period here in the library to begin research on the classification of quirk types.
"So then I tackled Mina, but she started doing the acid thing, and I had to jump off just in time to avoid it!" Kaminari was telling a story about the 'most epic battle he had this week.'
"Wait, wait, I thought you were fighting Jirou this time," Shinsou smiled. He bumped his shoulder against Kaminari's. "Don't go changing the story on me now, Kami." he teased. Kaminari laughed and pretended to ponder the question. Shinsou loved Kaminari's laugh.
"No, no, I'm certain it was Mina, Shinsou. Maybe you're remembering the time Jirou and I kicked your ass in those two-on-one battles! " Kaminari grinned slyly.
Hitoshi laughed and raised an eyebrow at the smaller boy. "Oh, ok, Kaminari, you wanna go there now?" Kaminari giggled. "Alright, I guess I'll just have to show you who kicked who's ass!"
Shinsou lunged at Kaminari over a chair, causing the other to shriek and turn to run into the nearest row of bookshelves. Shinsou jumped after him and wrapped his arms around Kaminari's waist. "Gotcha, Pikachu," he grinned into the top of Kaminari's hair.
"Ahhh, Shinsou, no!" Kaminari shrieked. He pressed his hand to Shinsou's and shocked him gently, careful not to hurt him, but strong enough to get Shinsou to jump back and release Kaminari.
His friend turned to look at him and burst out laughing. "Shinsou... your hair...." he wheezed between breaths. Shinsou patted the top of his lilac colored hair. It was standing up even more than usual, flying around wildly with the static electricity from Kaminari's shock. Shinsou smirked as Kaminari clutched a bookshelf in laughter.
"Oooh, I'll get you for that one," he promised. He walked to Kaminari, who laughed even harder. The smaller boy tried to walk backwards, but tripped over his own feet and took them both down to the floor.
Shinsou landed heavily on top of Kaminari, dark lavender eyes staring into bright golden ones. Kaminari's laughter faded and he smiled shyly at Shinsou. Shinsou smiled back, causing Kaminari to blush slightly.
"Your eyes are purple, too, Shinsou," Kaminari said quietly.
Shinsou felt his face flush, and Kaminari jumped when he realized what he'd said. The smaller boy shoved Hitoshi off of him quickly, and Shinsou hit his head on the bookshelf to his right. A pile of books precariously stacked on one of the lower shelves tipped and fell directly on top of the violet haired boy.
Half a shelf of books fell into the isle and Kaminari could hardly breathe through his laughter. "You're so weird, Shinsou," he snorted.
Another book smacked Shinsou in the knee. His face was red with embarrassment and from Kaminari's closeness.
"Shut uppp, Pikachu, this is a library. Quit laughing so loud and help me," Shinsou whined, turning his face to hide the blush. Kaminari chuckled and shook his head, reaching out a hand to help Shinsou up.
4.
Shinsou Hitoshi could not sleep. This was by no means a new occurrence, and he was pretty much used to many sleepless nights in a row by now. But some of those nights, Shinsou's mind gave him too much to think about as he laid in bed, staring at his ceiling. About his skill level compared to everyone else in class, about his villain's quirk, about Kaminari, beautiful Kaminari, about how Shinsou could never live up to how Kaminari saw him.
Yes, tonight was certainly one of those nights.
Shinsou kicked himself out of bed and threw on a shirt. He wasn't going to sleep tonight, so he might as well go get a snack or something. In the dorm's communal kitchen, Shinsou shoved some leftovers in the microwave and pressed the buttons for reheat. As he stood off to the side waiting for it to finish, the floorboards behind him gave a small creak.
"Kaminari?" he questioned when he saw who had entered. "What are you doing down here, it's -" he checked his phone " - 2:27 in the morning." Kaminari rubbed his eyes and yawned. His hair was pulled back in a small, loose ponytail, the part with the black stripe curling in front of this eye. God, he's adorable when he's half asleep, Shinsou thought.
"I could ask you the same question," he replied. Shinsou shrugged.
"Insomnia."
Kaminari nodded, eyes closed. "I heard you get up," he said.
Shinsou mentally smacked himself on the forehead for that one. Kaminari's dorm was on the same floor as his own, he had to try to be more quiet at night.
Kaminari patted him on the arm as he passed, opening a cabinet and beginning to scan the contents of it. "Don't worry, I only got up because I wanted to keep you company."
Shinsou melted inside at that. Kaminari was the sweetest person he had ever met. Shinsou was certain he didn't deserve to be friends with that angel.
The microwave beeped, and Shinsou jumped on it before it could wake anyone up. When he turned back around, Kaminari was over on the couch, clutching the tv remote in one hand and sticking the other in the bag of cookies nestled between his crossed legs. "Oooh, Shinsou, come on, they're playing 'Attack of the Friendly Monsters' !" Shinsou had to hold back a laugh at the blonde's eagerness. Even half asleep, Kaminari could get excited over the smallest things.
Shinsou padded over to the couch. He grabbed a blanket from the chair and threw it over at Kaminari, who placed it carefully over his lap. It was November, and at this time of night, it was especially cold.
Kaminari lifted one end of the blanket and nodded at Shinsou to come over. They always sat together at Bakusquad movie nights now, it was just a routine. So why did it feel so different when they were alone?
Shinsou ignored the thought and curled into the blanket to the left of Kaminari, who promptly began the movie as soon as his friend sat.
'Attack of the Friendly Monsters' was exactly the kind of movie Shinsou thought Kaminari would like, a cheesy old black-and-white horror movie parody, with ridiculous costumes and terrible special effects. Kaminari was enthralled, and Shinsou loved the movie simply for the smile it put on the smaller boy's face.
About halfway through the movie, the community of friendly monsters decided to attack the human village as revenge for how mean the humans had been to them. Shinsou thought it was, quite frankly, a completely unbelievable plot, but Kaminari was loving it.
There was a sudden jump scare as a vampire appeared in the house of the lead villager. Shinsou barely flinched, but Kaminari jumped straight in the air, abandoning his dwindling supply of cookies in favor of clutching Shinsou's right arm.
Shinsou panicked internally. Friendly touches between the two were common now, but Kaminari wasn't letting go. The scary climax of the movie was nowhere near over, and for some reason, the smaller boy seemed genuinely frightened.
So Shinsou told himself it was for Kaminari's sake when he brought his other arm around his chest and guided Kaminari's head closer to his shoulder. Kaminari didn't hesitate to bury his face in Shinsou's shoulder, leaving one eye exposed and focused on the screen. When he squeezed Shinsou's arm tighter, the violet eyed boy began to stroke his other hand through his friend's golden hair. It had come loose from the hair tie with all of Kaminari's flinching. Despite how it pricked his hand a little with the electricity charged through it, Shinsou could tell it was soft. And it smelled like blueberries and apricot.
They finished the movie like this, with Kaminari pressed against Shinsou's side, Shinsou's hand running through his hair. By the time the monsters had made peace with the humans and the end credits began to roll, Kaminari was almost asleep on Shinsou's chest.
He dared not move, having Kaminari here was like having a kitten asleep on your lap. It was a great honor, and you couldn't possibly move until the perfect thing in your lap decided to. Luckily for Shinsou, Kaminari stirred at the music playing with the movie credits.
"Hey, Pikachu, it's like 4 am." Shinsou whispered as his friend blinked awake. "You should get some sleep."
"What about you, though, Hitoshi?"
Hitoshi. The two had begun using each other's given names, but only sparingly, and generally only when they were feeling vulnerable. Funny, really, how their names felt like a vulnerable thing.
"I'm ok, Denki, really. But you need rest." Shinsou pulled his hand away from Kaminari's hair, but the boy on his chest pulled it back. Kaminari pushed into his shoulder gently until Shinsou was lying on his back on the couch with Kaminari atop him, head in the center of his chest over his heartbeat. The smaller boy curled the blanket around their waists and closed his eyes.
"Y'know, Hitoshi, you're kinda like a friendly monster," Kaminari yawned.
"Oh, yeah?" Shinsou smiled, continuing to pet Kaminari's hair. "And why's that, Denki?" He loved his best friend's name.
"Well, you're all, y'know, " Kaminari waved a hand vaguely, eyes remaining closed. "grrrr, and stuff, but really..." he trailed off into another yawn. "but really, you just want to get along with people. You want everyone to be happy. " Kaminari brought his hand down, toying with the fabric of Hitoshi's shirt. Shinsou drew in a breath, watching the boy on top of him rise with his chest.
"I want you to be happy, Denki,"
There was a pause in their conversation, long enough that Shinsou wondered if perhaps his friend had fallen asleep. Finally, he felt Kaminari smile and laugh a little.
"Aww, how sweet." Shinsou was somewhat relieved that he didn't seem to be taking it too seriously.
"...I want you to be happy, too, you know."
Shinsou was silent.
"You deserve that much, Hitoshi."
The violet haired boy couldn't reply to that. He didn't know how. So he settled for pulling Kaminari closer and wrapping his free hand around his chest.
"Shhh, Denki, if you keep talking you won't get any sleep." He whispered into the top of Kaminari's golden mop of hair.
"Mmmh, ok... sleep well, Hitoshi," Kaminari mumbled, clearly on the edge of sleep.
"Goodnight, Denki," Shinsou replied.
And although they had only 3 hours before the day started, that was the best night's sleep Shinsou had ever gotten.
5.
"Todoroki and Iida, you're up against Shinsou and Kaminari. You're the villains this time. Uraraka can play your hostage. Shinsou, Kaminari, I think you get the point." Aizawa grumbled from within his yellow sleeping bag. It was December, and they were still expected to do outdoor training because 'heroes don't get seasonal vacations', but nothing could get Aizawa out of that bag now.
Shinsou made his way with Kaminari to their starting point in the fake building used for these practice scenarios. They stood by the entrance, waiting for Aizawa to give them the signal to begin. They had 5 minutes to strategize, but the pair used the same method in almost every battle - Denki to distract the villains and lead them away from the hostage, and Shinsou to trick them with his voice changer and brainwash them into turning themselves over. Somehow, it worked almost every time.
"You doing anything this weekend, Shinsou?" Kaminari asked, breaking the silence and drawing Shinsou out of his thoughts.
"Uh, I was gonna go to a concert with my little sister. It's her birthday and she wanted to spend time with me." He replied. "Why do you ask?"I
Kaminari looked a little disappointed for some reason. He shrugged. "Oh, no reason, I was just gonna see if you wanted to come see a movie with me, Bakugou, and Kiri on Saturday. But that's cool, it's your sisters birthday after all, you can't miss that!" Kaminari smiled.
Shinsou said something in return, but suddenly he couldn't focus. Was Kaminari trying to ask him out just then? Everyone with eyes could tell that Bakugou and Kirishima were madly in love with each other (except those two themselves, of course). Was that supposed to be like a double date? Or was he overthinking it?
Aizawa signaled the beginning of the match with a whistle, and Denki entered the building. Shinsou followed after him, his mind in a haze.
What was he doing? This was stupid. He and Kaminari had done plenty of things like that together, just as friends. This time couldn't have been any different.
Kaminari signalled for them to split up to search. Hitoshi wandered off to the left.
And what was he thinking this way for in the first place? Shinsou sighed audibly. When had Kaminari started to mean more to him than just a friend?
He asked himself that question like he didn't know the answer. Well, he didn't know THE answer, but he had plenty of possibilities on the top of his tongue.
The days spent in each other's dorms for study sessions that turned into fits of laughter.
The first time Kaminari had helped Shinsou up when he lost a fight, even when nobody else would reach out their hand.
The way he would never hesitate to answer Shinsou despite his quirk.
The look in his eyes when he first called Shinsou "Hitoshi."
The sound of Kaminari's laugh, the sound of his voice, of his feet running and jumping to greet his friend.
His friend. Perhaps the reason Shinsou fell in love all along was because Denki had been there for him, his first real friend.
"-sou? Shinsouuu? Hitoshi? Hey, anybody in there?" Kaminari's voice crackled through the mic. Shinsou shook his head to snap himself out of it. He was being stupid. If this were a real mission, someone could've been hurt.
"Yeah, yeah, hey, Pikachu. I'm here."
" Alright, you weren't answering there for a minute. I thought my headset was broken or something." Shinsou really had to stop acting so strangely. "Anyway, I think I hear Uraraka through this wall. Get over here and we can save her and beat the pants off of Todoroki."
But say Kaminari HAD been asking him out. What if Shinsou had just blown his chance? What if he scared Kami off by saying no?
"So while you walk over here, I'll take this opportunity to tell you about the time I beat Bakugou in a fight, saved a kitten's life - you like cats, so you should love that part - and ate this super huge, spicy pepper on a dare, all in under a hour! So first of all, you should know that this kitten was cute. Like, REALLY cute. Like, it was the kind with little -"
And Shinsou wanted nothing more than to sit there all day, listen to Denki's voice through his earpiece, and forget the internal struggle building inside him. But just then, Iida appeared in his line of vision, and Shinsou took the distraction willingly.
"Hey, Pikachu, I'm gonna need you to be quiet for a sec, okay?"
+1.
A few nights later, Shinsou was up late again. He had pretty much given up on sleep and decided to relent to the part of him that desperately wanted a cup of coffee. So, he picked up a sweatshirt from the floor and pulled it over his head, happy that it was oversized and hanging past his arms, just as he liked it.
When he entered the hallway, however, happiness faded to slight concern when Shinsou saw the door to Kaminari's room unlocked and open just a crack.
Shinsou crossed the ball and walked silently to the door. He hesitated before turning the handle, wondering if maybe his friend had just left it open accidentally and was sleeping soundly inside.
But through the silence he heard small whimpers and sniffling from behind the door. Kaminari was crying...
He didn't hesitate after that. Pushing the door softly, Shinsou stepped into his best friend's room.
On the wall directly to the left of the door was a messy desk. Over in the corner was Kaminari's bed, complete with sheets adorned with small stormclouds and lightning bolts. The covers had been thrown off and a pillow was missing. Twinkling lights were strung across the ceiling, but they weren't switched on.
Curled against the side of the bed, almost directly under the window, Shinsou could make out in the darkness a head of golden hair.
He approached quietly but with speed.
Sitting carefully next to his friend, Shinsou peered over to see Kaminari's face. His eyes were red and puffy, and delicate year tracks painted the side of his face. The golden haired boy stared intently at the ground and curled his knees into his chest, clutching them. Shinsou could see his hands shaking.
"Hey, Denki. Hey, hey, what's wrong, baby?" Shinsou caught himself using a pet name and winced internally. Now's not the time for that! But concern for his friend quickly took over Hitoshi's thoughts.
Kaminari remained silent, though. He even turned his head slightly so Shinsou couldn't see his face. Th e taller boy's worry grew.
"Denki, Pikachu, c'mon, please. Are you alright, are you hurt?" Kaminari shook his head slightly, and Shinsou exhaled in relief, both from knowing he was safe and receiving a reaction at all.
Shinsou didn't really know what to do beyond that. He wasn't exactly a "feelings" person. All his life, his peers had feared him, avoided him, called him a villain. So he built up his walls and a persona that protected him from their sharp words. Hitoshi taught himself how to NOT deal with emotions. He never wanted, never expected, to have friends at all, so he had no idea how to deal with Kaminari crying on the floor in front of him. But he had to try.
Reaching his arm around the small boy's front, Shinsou guided Kaminari's face back towards him. He moved closer to his friend and took Denki's shaking hands in one of his own, using the other to brush away years with his thumb.
If Kaminari didn't want to talk, Shinsou supposed he shouldn't make him. But he had to give it another shot. "Denki, I'm here. You know I'm here for you, ok? Please, beautiful, please don't cry. I just want you to be happy, remember?"
Kaminari broke down then, falling into Shinsou and burying his face in his chest. Hitoshi panicked, thinking he had somehow made it worse.
"Shit, I mean, crap, Denki, I'm sorry," Shinsou pat the top of the electric boy's hair awkwardly. But Kaminari shook his head and hugged Shinsou tightly.
" No, no, Hitoshi, " his voice was raspy and cracking from crying so much. "thank you, thank you, thankyou, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I - "
Kaminari was mumbling into Hitoshi's shirt now, speaking so quickly all at once that he was losing his breath. His rambled words soon turned back into broken sobs. Shinsou held him closer as he cried, waiting for his best friend to calm down to talk to him.
At last, Kaminari's sobs died down and he took a shuddering breath. Shinsou waited for him to speak.
And he waited.
And waited.
The silence was overwhelming.
Kaminari clung to his chest like a small kitten, no sound coming from him except the uneven rise and fall of his breath.
"Tell me, Denki," Shinsou broke the silence.
He didn't know if he was begging or ordering, but he would take an answer either way, so long as Kaminari was alright.
"They found out..." Shinsou took in a breath as Kaminari finally replied.
"My parents, they... they found out and. They. On my phone..." Denki trailed off and buried his face deeper in Hitoshi's chest. The violet haired boy got the idea and reach out to grab Kaminari's phone from the bed.
He unlocked it with ease since he knew Kaminari's password (it was only four numbers, 1234, of course). Some social media page of his was open already.
Hitoshi smiled when he saw the post it was displaying. Kaminari and Kirishima stood in Denki's dorm room, with the blonde holding his camera up to the mirror that they stood in front of. He was wearing a choker, black t-shirt, and scandalously tight red jeans. On his shirt was a small triangular pin with his bi pride colors on it. Kirishima next to him wore a black variation of the pants and a jacket adorned with flames that seemed to be a bit too big for him, along with a matching rainbow pin. The hashtags below the image read: #pride, #lgbtq, #kiri has a boyfriend now, #its obviously bakugou, #congratulate him, #or else. Typical Denki, Shinsou smiled to himself.
Shinsou scrolled through the comments quickly to see what could have upset his best friend. Nothing seemed to be amiss.
"Look at the messages, 'toshi," Kaminari mumbled, having seen that Shinsou was in his phone.
Concern growing, Shinsou opened Kaminari's texts. They were open to a groupchat with his family, and...
Oh. There it was.
Someone - Kaminari's sister, by the looks of it - had sent a screenshot of Denki and Kirishima, informing his parents that "this means he is gay." He read through the messages quickly and had to hold back a gasp.
Mom 💕💕: I'm so disappointed in you, Denki.
Sis: i told you guys years ago and you wouldn’t believe me.
Big bro😜: didn't know you were a fucking f** denki
Dad ❤: Don't bother coming home for break, Denki.
Dad ❤: You will not be welcome in this home again.
Sis: thank god.
Dad ❤ has removed you from this chat.
Shinsou resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room. Heck, he was resisting the urge to track down beautiful Denki's family there and then and make them pay, one by one, and-
"Don't do that, Hitoshi, please don't go," Denki whispered beneath him. Oh. Had Shinsou said all that out loud?
He managed to brush off the wave of rage he felt towards Kaminari’s family when he looked back down at his best friend, who had curled impossibly deeper into his side and resumed crying softly, sniffles breaking the silence that sat between them.
“Why does everyone leave, Shinsou?” Kaminari looked up at him, eyes tear stained and red. “W-why aren’t I ev- ever enough?”
"Oh, Denki,” Shinsou’s heart broke right then, he could feel it. “Denki, Denki, beautiful, you are so much more than enough. You are everything.” A shakily soft wail came from the boy in his arms. “You are everything to me. I'll never leave you. Never. Not even if you wanted me to,"
They sat like that for a moment, Shinsou whispering sweet, comforting words into Kaminari’s ear. He meant every word he said.
“You are wonderful, Denki,” Shinsou stumbled out these next words. If ever there were a time to confess, he figured it might as well be to cheer Denki up.
“and you deserve so much more than me, but I love you so much. I love you, and you’re my best friend no matter what, but I love you so much and I will never leave you, Denki. Never. Never.”
Another moment of silence, and Shinsou prepared himself for the worst.
"Promise?" the blonde sniffled.
Shinsou could play it off as a joke. But seeing the sweet boy he loved so much sit in front of him and ask that question, he really only had one way to respond.
And so Hitoshi drew Denki by the chin up towards his face and slowly, slowly, captured his lips in a soft kiss. As he pulled away after a moment, he felt Kaminari smile against his mouth.
"I promise, Pikachu, I'm never letting go of you."
Kaminari wiped away his remaining stray tears and laughed a little. It was dry laughter, broken from all the crying, but Hitoshi loved it all the same. The blonde boy threw his arms around Hitoshi, who put his face in Denki's hair and closed his eyes, smiling and kissing the top of his head.
They could figure it out together. In the morning.