Chapter Text
Objectively speaking, sitting in Shinsou's lap was a compromising position. But if you asked Denki, he would deny any culpability in how he got into this position in the first place. Were there other equally plausible positions he could be in? Yes. Plenty. Was Denki going to move? No. Absolutely not.
One moment Shinsou and Denki had been walking down a hallway together. They had been paired for a training exercise versus Bakugo and Kirishima. Denki had been excited to work with Shinsou. He liked to think that they were becoming friends. At least, Shinsou didn't seem to mind Denki hanging out with him and even talked to him when he didn't necessarily have to. Denki felt like that was progress. He was just happy to make Shinsou smile sometimes. Even though Denki had full confidence in Shinsou as a hero, he was still a little worried about the match-up. Anyone would have a problem in a head to head fight against Bakugo and Kirishima. There was a little extra pressure because he possibly wanted to impress Shinsou and show him how well they could work together.
They were still coming up with a plan when they heard the voices of Bakugo and Kirishima coming around the corner towards them. Denki panicked. They couldn't meet them yet. They needed a plan first. The exact mechanics of what happened next escaped him. One moment he was in the hallway and then the next he was on the ground in the closet trapped on top of Shinsou with his capture weapon. Denki was lying flat, his limbs awkwardly positioned with one arm caught under him pinned against Shinsou's abdomen and his head pressed into Shinsou's neck.
Neither one of them moved as they listened. Denki could feel the tension in Shinsou's body as he prepared to fight if they needed to. They heard the volume of Bakugo and Kirishima increase as they approached the door. But their voices didn't fade as if they were walking past. Instead, it seemed like they had paused a few feet away from the door. By the tone of their conversation, they hadn't seen Shinsou and Denki disappear into the closet. Their conversation seemed to revolve around one of Bakugo's gauntlets. It was malfunctioning and Kirishima was trying to help Bakugo fix it.
Denki breathed a sigh of relief that they hadn't been discovered. He didn't realize that in this position his breath would hit Shinsou's neck directly until he felt Shinsou twitch beneath him. Oh . Maybe he should get up. This position probably made Shinsou uncomfortable. Shinsou had never been one for physical contact. With his other friends, Denki could throw an arm around them or lean against their shoulder. But with Shinsou, Denki had been careful to respect his personal space. He didn't want to scare Shinsou away before they even had a chance. ( A chance to become what? He had asked himself a while ago. Denki already knew what he wanted the answer to be even if he suspected that Shinsou didn't want the same thing.)
Denki tried but he couldn't move too much with Shinsou's capture weapon still wrapped around him. He slowly raised his head as far as he could to get a glimpse of their surroundings. From what he could tell in the dim light, they were positioned a little to the right of center in the closet. If he moved to the left, there was enough room for him to move off of Shinsou and sit on the ground.
The only problem was communicating this to Shinsou. Surprisingly, Shinsou had yet to move at all. He hasn't tried to get Denki off of him or released him from his capture weapon yet. Maybe he was too focused that he hadn't noticed the position that they were in yet? But there was no escaping the noticeable tickle of Denki's breath on his neck. Huh . Maybe he didn't realize how easy it would be for Denki to move. Denki just had to tell him somehow.
He knew he couldn't risk saying this out loud to Shinsou with Bakugo and Kirishima still outside in the hallway. Denki had to find another way to communicate. He couldn't use his hands as those were still trapped. Instead, he would have to use his eyes to signal to Shinsou to loosen his bounds so he could move. However, Shinsou was not looking at him. His head was facing forward and his eyes stared straight up at the ceiling. Denki frowned. Shinsou was being completely unhelpful. With his head raised, his nose was about at Shinsou's jawline. The lower half of Shinsou's face was covered by his persona cords mask, but Denki tried anyway. He moved forward and nugged Shinsou with his nose. That worked, kinda.
Shinsou's head snapped towards Denki. Fortunately, Denki was quick enough to avoid getting a bloody nose but there wasn't enough room to put any more distance between them. They were now nose to nose. Denki succeeded in getting Shinsou's attention, but maybe too much. Shinsou's eyes were wide and focused intently on him. Denki secretly wished that there was more light. He'd always wanted to be this close to Shinsou, to know exactly what shade of purple his eyes were. His cheeks flushed and he momentarily forgot what he was supposed to be doing, too distracted by Shinsou's eyes. After a few tense moments, Shinsou looked away. Denki didn't get a chance to communicate his plan but Shinsou must have understood because he loosened the bindings around Denki.
Besides that, Shinsou didn't make any attempts at moving away from Denki. He laid still and tense. Denki assumed he was still focused on Bakugo and Kirishima so he worked to free himself. Denki extracted his arm from underneath himself and pushed himself up into a sitting position with his legs on either side of Shinsou's abdomen. He was careful to support his own weight with his legs so that he wasn't pressing on Shinsou's stomach. The capture weapon was loosely entangled around his shoulders and waist. He ran his hand along the length to find an end and wondered how Shinsou was able to use this so effectively. He knew Shinsou had alluded to many mishaps practicing with Eraserhead, but Denki didn't think he'd ever be able to use a weapon like this.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom outside. Then, a few things happened at the same time. Denki froze, but Shinsou moved. He sat up, causing Denki to slide down to be straddling his hips. Denki was so surprised by the movement that he sat back without thinking and planted himself firmly in Shinsou's lap. Denki automatically tried to move away, but Shinsou's arm wrapped around him and held him in place. Denki held his breath, unsure what was happening. He waited to see what Shinsou would do next. Shinsou seemed to be waiting as well, but his eyes were watching the door over Denki's shoulder for any signs of Bakugo or Kirishima.
Seconds passed like this but nothing happened. Shinsou probably barely noticed their position, but Denki wanted to yell. His stomach was in knots. He felt this built up of nervous energy that needed to be released. If he wasn't careful, he would end up electrocuting Shinsou. Denki knew he should remain still and wait. After all, they were in a competition and he should be focusing on trying to win, not blushing because he was sitting in his crush's lap. But he couldn't contain it. He was a man of action. He was loud, hyper, and bright, so much like the electricity he controlled. He wasn't used to this slow, hesitant burn . He needed to do something. He needed to… No, he thought. He could do this. He just needed to retain his composure and he could stay in control.
Denki closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, relaxing his body and adjusting his hips to sit more comfortably. He felt Shinsou's hand on his back flex and his breath hitched. Interesting . Denki opened his eyes. Shinsou's eyes were still fixated at a point over Denki's shoulder, but Denki had the inkling of an idea. He shifted again, barely moving at all (just enough that if he was wrong, he could play it off. But if he was right, he would get his answer). Shinsou's hand darted up to the nape of Denki's neck and squeezed. All thoughts of the training flew out of Denki's mind and were replaced with a singular focus.
This time he concentrated on watching Shinsou. He could only see half of his face with the mask covering the lower half, but that was all he needed. He moved his hips again. If he wasn't watching, he would have missed Shinsou's reaction. The skin around his eyes tightened and he blinked more slowly than usual. Denki moved again, more purposefully this time. This got the reaction he was looking for. Shinsou's fingers dug into the nape of his neck and his other hand moved to grip onto Denki's hips. His eyes snapped to Denki's. His pupils were dilated with only a small sliver of purple around the rim. Denki could read the message in those eyes, What are you doing?
Disappointed, Denki stopped. It wasn't what he had hoped for, but it was probably what he should have expected. Shinsou was reacting because Denki was making him uncomfortable and he wanted him to stop. Denki hung his head and tried to move away. He didn't really care about where they were or about the capture weapon wrapped around him. He just needed some space to be able to process this. He felt guilty that he had pushed Shinsou's boundaries over a stupid idea. But when Denki tried to move away, Shinsou's grip on him tightened to stop him again. Now, Denki was thoroughly confused. He couldn't move and he couldn't stay. What did Shinsou want?
Denki raised his head. Shinsou was watching him carefully. Denki didn't know how to interpret his expression. He didn't look angry or uneasy, maybe something more akin to thoughtful as if he was considering something. Denki waited. He was out of his depth here. He had no idea what Shinsou was thinking.
Then, Shinsou moved, slowly and cautiously. The hand on the nape of Denki's neck inched steadily up until Shinsou’s fingers brushed Denki's hairline. Denki knew Shinsou was closely watching his expression. But he didn't know how to react. He didn't want to scare Shinsou away, but he wasn't sure exactly what was happening yet. He leaned into the touch the slightest bit and that seemed to encourage Shinsou. Shinsou's fingers crept up into his hair and sank in. Denki hummed in pleasure. His hair had always been a weakness of his. He loved when someone played with it.
Denki's eyes fluttered closed. It felt nice. He could get used to this. His shoulders relaxed as he enjoyed the moment. He soaked up the feeling of gentle fingers running through his hair and the warmth of Shinsou beneath him. The warmth spread throughout his body, a serene feeling settled over him, like this was where he was supposed to be, like this is what he needed. Denki opened his eyes. Shinsou was right there. Denki took him in from his disheveled purple hair to his pale skin to his captivating eyes, even the perpetual dark circles under his eyes. His face was so familiar yet it was something more now.
When they had first met, Denki’s thoughts about Shinsou could be narrowed down to basically, he’s hot . And it's not like his opinions on that front had changed very much. Shinsou was still hot, like really hot. Objectively, Shinsou was probably even hotter now as his frame had filled out and his features sharpened. But there was something different about seeing someone for the first time versus being their friend and seeing them everyday. The first time the attraction is purely physical. It's not good or bad. It's just the way it is. There is no context for the person besides what is presented at that very moment.
For Denki, he had seen Shinsou and thought that that was the face of a popular guy. (But that was the same thing he had thought when he saw Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, and many others. Not to say anything about those guys. They were all pretty cool, but they weren’t like Shinsou to him.) Now, Denki sees Shinsou and thinks about how much Shinsou has grown in such a short time, how hard he worked to join the hero course, the prejudices he had to overcome, his unwavering pursuit of being a hero. Now, he sees Shinsou as himself and he doesn't want to look away.
Shinsou’s hand at his hip squeezed him lightly. He was still watching Denki carefully, eyes scanning his face. His other hand that was in Denki's hair pulled back a little and then shifted until his thumb brushed at the soft spot under Denki's ear. His thumb moved back and forth, sending a small thrill down Denki's neck. Denki felt his cheeks flush again. Somehow Shinsou's little actions felt more intimate than his own bold moves. Denki suddenly felt shy and embarrassed of himself. He broke eye contact and looked away. Why couldn't he be more subtle and smooth? But he wasn't given much time to think about it. Shinsou's fingers ghosted along Denki's pink cheeks and landed on his chin, gently nudging his face back towards him.
Denki was surprised by the look on Shinsou's face. On the surface, there was a layer of nervousness and insecurity that Denki was sure reflected back on his own face. But there was something else, something that shined through even brighter. It was a look he recognized. He had seen something similar in the way Shinsou looked at Eri. It was a look of fondness- the kind of look that a person gets when they are with someone that makes them happy by just existing. It was a heady thought that this look was directed at him. Denki smiled, a full and bright smile, because he was happy. He realized that he might be able to have what he wanted. He thought maybe Shinsou was smiling too under his mask.
Denki threw his arms over Shinsou's shoulders and leaned into him. It felt too good to be true. Maybe he was reading into this too much but he couldn't help the overwhelming elation that bubbled inside his chest. He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud. Shinsou's eyes flickered down towards Denki's mouth and then back up again. It wasn't a super obvious movement but Denki caught it. Was Shinsou looking at his lips? Oh… oh! Did he want to…? Denki’s stomach twisted and he was filled with desire. But Shinsou was still wearing his mask. Denki wanted to take it off. Was that too much? Was that actually what Shinsou wanted? Denki did, it was all he could think about now. His fingers twitched to undue the binding and pull off the mask and…
Boom! Another explosion echoed through the door- this one louder than the previous ones. "Awesome, man!" Kirishima yelled.
"Finally. Let's go get these losers." Bakugo must have fixed his gauntlets and was ready to fight.
Denki stopped. He had almost forgotten about the competition. He felt stupid. He frowned and pulled his arms away from Shinsou. Shinsou did the same so that both of their arms hung uselessly at their sides. Denki was still sitting in Shinsou's lap. He clamored off, ungracefully but quietly. He moved to the side and pulled up his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Denki pressed his forehead against his knees, wanting to hide away. The last few minutes replayed in his mind and he wanted to scream. He took two deep breaths to calm down. Then, he risked a glance at Shinsou. Denki didn't raise his head, just rotating to look sideways at him.
Shinsou's cheeks were pink above his mask. His right arm was crooked behind his head, rubbing nervously at his neck. Cute , Denki thought. Seeing Shinsou feeling embarrassed as well helped alleviate some of the tension in Denki. He wished that they were somewhere else right now. There were so many questions he wanted to ask. He needed to know what Shinsou was thinking. Did he need to apologize? Above all, he wanted to know if Shinsou was okay. He didn't want to cross any lines before Shinsou was ready. He knew exactly what he wanted now, but he needed to know that Shinsou wanted the same thing. After they finished this training exercise, he would ask. They just needed to win this first.
Denki raised his head completely, drawing Shinsou's attention. “I have an idea,” Denki whispered.