Work Text:
“Kaminari-kun?”
The named boy looked up from his phone. He was sat on the couch, his left leg resting on top of his other, scrolling through his social media. There wasn’t much to do - everybody had gone upstairs because it was getting close to curfew. Sometimes, on days like these, he’d stay downstairs for a bit of peace . His floor was often a bit loud during this time, usually from Jirou’s music and Iida’s panicked episodes where a trail of crashes could be heard, so the late common room was where he could get the most comfort.
Usually, Kaminari would be annoyed by interruptions on his just-before-curfew self-hangouts, but when he looked up to see Midoriya, he immediately relaxed. Midoriya was one of the few people he could tolerate at all times, him easily being able to adjust to the mood. If not directly shoved into a conversation, he would be very quiet.
Reliable and understanding were the words that Kaminari would define him as.
“Hey, Midoriya. I was going up soon, don’t worry.” the blond replied. The other boy’s eyes widened a fraction and he frantically shook his hands in front of him, indicating that that wasn’t what he was here for. Slowly, he took a step forward, playing with the hem of his sweatshirt and eyes looking at the floor.
“Do you mind if I sit down?”
One thing the electric-quirked student realised was how, no matter what, Midoriya treated everybody with so much respect . Always using honorifics, asking for permission to do things, wording things in the softest and nicest way possible. Even when he’s not in the best mood and having an off-day, his respect for everybody didn’t change. It seems that he appreciated people more when he was upset, always giving out compliments and encouraging affirmations ( it wasn’t that Kaminari didn’t like it, he just wondered how the praise didn’t get to him and made him an arrogant person, particularly with such a powerful quirk ). The freckled boy continued to amaze people around him with each passing day. Really, how was he so humble?
“Yeah, it’s fine. You don’t have to ask, you know.”
While he turned his phone off and put it in his pocket, Midoriya grinned and sat down next to him. They looked at each other, both of them smiling to some extent.
“It’s better to make sure than to make somebody uncomfortable.”
Kaminari shrugged and melted into the couch. Around the green-eyed boy, he could be freer and truthful without worrying about being judged. It was probably what he was going for: to be dependable . He was more often than not willing to take care of other people’s problems and transfer all their anxiety onto himself. Kaminari would occasionally worry for him, knowing that that was not healthy , but would forget about it when he seemed to be doing well.
“Anyways, I wanted to ask you something,” Midoriya asked with nervousness radiating off of him. He had no reason to be so afraid of asking a simple question, so why was he? He may not have known what he was going to ask, but he could never imagine himself getting mad or upset at Midoriya ( there were times he was upset for him, but that was different ).
With a nod, he said, “Go ahead!”
The curly-haired boy shifted around for a couple of seconds, which was time spent gathering the courage to carry on, Kaminari guessed, then lifted his knees to his chest. Wrapping his arms around his legs, his head lay on his knees, facing the electric-quirked student. His gaze was warm. Not like the sun, no. As much as his gaze seemed to capture every part of him, keeping him warm and secure, it was not like the sun. The sun easily overwhelms people with its intense heat, forcing things out of them, hurting you if its there for too long, and it won’t stop until you move. Midoriya’s was different - his was more like a blanket. It kept the same feeling of warmness and shelter, wrapping around him and holding him close, yet it never pushed past that. It was soft upon him, tingling against his skin and making friends with the small bumps that arose from under the surface. Sometimes, that blanket would slip, leaving Kaminari feeling more vulnerable than before the blanket, with the sudden lack of protection. This just made it feel more natural, more human. There was no force, no hurt. There was no chance of unsafety, no need for preparations.
“Are you doing okay?”
That wasn’t the question Kaminari was expecting, and it definitely wasn’t something somebody should get upset over, leading to no real explanation as to why he was so nervous to ask it. He didn’t know what brought the question up either; he hadn’t said or done anything unusually troubling. Both of them didn’t interact with each other much. He had to admit that he did feel an odd sense of warm discomfort some times during the day, so it was probably Midoriya peering at him. Besides, he wasn’t going to be agitated at him for looking at him a few times.
“I’m doing good, why?”
Midoriya bit his lip and directed his field of vision to somewhere in front of him, away from the electric-quirked boy. Rocking back and forth now, a quiet string of mutters erupted from him; if they weren’t so quiet that Kaminari couldn’t hear him properly, he would have felt bad for listening in on something that felt so private. He let some time pass, waiting for the boy to sort his thought process and say something. Well, he assumed it was to sort his thoughts more than anything ( he was always thinking way too hard and second-guessing himself, which the blond would later learn came with his anxiety ).
The freckled boy nearly always tried to make himself look smaller, physically and metaphorically, too. Oversized clothing, hunched back, nervous eyes, mostly quiet. He could easily grab the attention of everybody in the room, make himself known, yet chose to do the opposite. It was absurd how easily the boy could manipulate the mood just by his presence.
He let out an uncharacteristic sigh, signalling the taller boy of the conclusion of his muttering.
“It’s just, I’ve been worried? Like, when you short-circuit, does it hurt? And the people who take advantage of it are horrible, I’m so sorry for some of the things that happen when you’re in that. Honestly, they should know not to take advantage of somebody like that. -And being called names and constantly being degraded, even as a joke, I understand that it can go too far. Of-Of course, you don’t have to tell me everything! I was just worried, that’s all!”
People taking jokes too far.
The subject was a tacenda in their class, countless people being afraid to own up to their mistakes, and others afraid to make their classmates feel regretful. Had it not been for Midoriya at this moment, Kaminari would have reasonably snapped under the demand and expectation of having to improve at a rapid pace. Catching up to others was hard, he learned during middle school.
Thankful for this opportunity, he manoeuvred closer to the green-haired student. Just when the blond became unsure of whether or not to touch him, the other brushed their shoulders together. Kaminari looked at him with a ghost of a smile.
“I don’t think it hurts as much as it sounds or I think I’ve gotten used to it,” he started. “What people do with me, on the other hand…”
“Take your time, okay?”
“Yeah, I wish I could tell them to stop. I have minimum control over my body, but that doesn’t mean I’m a ragdoll. If I told them, I don’t think they would take me seriously. Most things I say are pushed to the side.”
Following a nod confirming that he was still listening and paying attention, Midoriya lay his head on the boy’s shoulder. His curls brushed against the electric-quirked boy’s neck, the softness of them stroking the sensitive skin. Kaminari felt his voice clump, stuck, unable to get any sound out as words tickled at the back of his throat. They begged for escape, saddened when forced down. They travelled down, forming an odd weight in his stomach and an unsettling feeling lingered. That was until, from the corner of his eye, he saw the green-eyed boy twist and look at him, patiently waiting for his next words. The weight ostensibly dissolved ( Kaminari wondered how long it had been since he had felt this calm around somebody, and when was the last time somebody really listened to him ).
“Stuff is hard, I guess. I struggle, and I know I’m not the smartest. Being constantly reminded by everybody isn’t the best feeling.”
The freckled friend hummed.
“I understand. Stuff gets out of hand and you feel helpless.” The blond’s head bowed. “I can ask people to stop, or I can try to find you when you need it. It might not be all the time, but if I get worried, I’ll get to you. I’m proud of you, you know? You’re doing great. I mean it.”
Out of the bloom, Kaminari stiffened as he tried to hold back a wave ( tsunami would be more accurate ) of emotions. He felt the shorter boy smile and he stood up, stood in front of him and wrapped his arms around the electric-quirked classmate. Although not as a light gaze, but as weighty arms, the blanket from earlier was back. The unexpected might of Midoriya’s arms guarded him as he dug his face into the crook of his neck, weakly resting his own arms on the boy’s back.
He didn’t know how much he needed to hear those words.
Hands began rubbing circles on Kaminari’s back, slowly easing him back into relaxation. The kindness of the embrace did wonders; he was hesitant to pull away. With the blond in such an exposed position, he gripped onto the back of Midoriya’s shirt, with no intention of letting go. No tears were spilt during those few minutes.
When the green-eyed teen pulled away first, a benign grin stretched across his face, the taller of the duo asked himself how he’d managed to meet and become friends with such astounding people.
“Do you want to, maybe, go to my dorm? We can just talk or watch a show or something. Talking about it can be cathartic, but you don’t have to. It-It’s your choice, obviously!”
Face flushed, Midoriya took a step back and let Kaminari have some room. The feel of the curly-haired boy’s firm arms around the other boy remained, ingrained in his subconscious - he wouldn’t mind encountering that again.
“Can we cuddle?”
His classmate’s face visibly lit up and nodded enthusiastically. His scarred hand reached out to help him up off the couch, which he accepted almost immediately. Even if it was only for a second, the blond could feel that Midoriya’s hand, too, was warm. (He shone the word ‘safety’.)
“My dorm’s only the floor above, so that makes things easier.”
Kaminari followed his classmate to his dorm. The journey was nothing short of silent, the both of them keeping verbal interaction at a minimum in a hurry to reach their destination. They were hungry for the interaction, albeit not in a desperate, aching way they would be for the main meal - it was the hunger for the small, sweet dessert that they received at the end and had them finishing on a good note. With the palatableness of the dessert carrying over into the beginning of the next day, cuddling would be considered a good dessert. Perhaps it would become one of the more common desserts the blond would have.
Limited time had passed by the time Midoriya and Kaminari had reached the former’s dorm. They took their shoes off and the taller boy took those few moments to look at his surroundings.
The moment the electric-quirked boy entered (the soft click of the lock behind him didn’t go unnoticed and assured him that nobody else would be coming), he identified many of the heroes on the walls. However, there was a distinct change upon the shelves and other places used to store more petite things. The shelves, previously displaying dozens of All Might figurines and plenty other hero merchandise, were replaced with an impressive amount of horror novels, comics (many of which unrecognised by the blond, so he assumed they were pre-quirk era comics) and ordered notebooks.
On the desk, there was an extensive amount of loose paper, pens, markers, staples and other note-taking essentials. Appearing to be the only unorganised part of the room, it was most likely used more often. Slung over the chair was a large, grey hoodie.
As that final detailed registered in Kaminari’s mind, his friend walked over to it. The freckled boy quickly took his jumper off and slipped the grey fabric on with ease. Former article of clothing being thrown into a basket in the corner, Midoriya awarded an expeditious grin before charging and plunging onto his bed. He rolled over, closer to the wall, and made space for the other male.
Without a word, the blond slotted himself beside the shorter boy, who didn’t hesitate to pull him close. Untroubled, Midoriya sighed contentedly through his nose. His relaxation spread throughout his entire body and he let Kaminari place them how he pleased.
After a couple of minutes of shuffling, the duo found themselves in a pleasing position. The curly-haired individual was slightly lower than the other, resting on Kaminari’s arm, which found itself in his questionable mess of what he called hair. Midoriya’s head rested on the blond’s collarbone, whose face was dug into his green curls, and had both his scarred arms around his friend, pulling them closer to each other and giving as much security as he was receiving. Kaminari’s free arm was wrapped around the green-eyed boy’s waist. Their legs were in a comfortable tangle and the duvet pulled over the lower half of their bodies, adding passion to the moment.
Midoriya, the electric-quirked classmate noted, had not once complained about what they were doing and leaned into his touch greatly. He prided himself on being able to protect others and this was one of the rare moments where he let himself be protected as well.
Their position rarely changed (if it did, they were just pulling themselves closer, holding tighter, moving the duvet or rearranging their legs to get some cold air) and all was quiet with the exception of happy huffs of air or short statements. Sometimes Kaminari would compliment the scent of Midoriya’s hair, how strong and warm he was, his calming personality, all of which earning a quiet laugh in response. Sometimes Midoriya would ask about Kaminari’s days, how he was feeling, stuff he would like to work on in the future, and he would answer earnestly. Sometimes the two would melt into their embrace, inhaling every bit of warmth they could, no words exchanged.
The green-haired boy quietly yawned, momentarily gripping the back of his friend’s shirt. The latter could feel him smile against his skin.
“I hope you don’t mind sleeping here, because I definitely won’t be letting go now. Sorry,” he whispered. Kaminari chuckled and grinned.
“You’re lucky I’m wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants,” he teased in response, making them both laugh. “But, it’s fine. This is nice, thank you.”
A nod, then Midoriya allowed himself to ease his breaths and drift off. Only minutes later did Kaminari follow his lead with a smile on his face.
If this was what heaven felt like, then maybe he didn’t mind dying.
If Kaminari bragged about it all to Kirishima and Sero the next day, well, nobody had to know.