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Kaminari has a cat.
Well, technically Kaminari’s neighbor has a cat; a beautiful off-white Turkish Angora named Tofu with striking blue and green eyes. One of each, to be precise. However, Tofu likes to sneak out of her owner’s apartment to sunbathe on Kaminari’s balcony and consume his food, so he likes to think she’s at least partly his as well.
Kaminari also has a roommate; a borderline-nocturnal wedding photographer who has a completely unnecessary — yet fascinating — collection of washi tape that Kaminari likes to steal for his journaling. But the washi tape isn’t important. The camera is.
It begins with Tofu and a seemingly uneventful day for both her and Kaminari. When he has nothing better to do Kaminari likes to lie in the sun beside Tofu and read his favorite books to her, scratching the spot on her chin that makes her purr as he does. They make a routine of it, sunbathing together on the balcony at least twice a week.
It’s steady going for a few months, their naps and reading and snacking together. Then it changes one day, when Kaminari is basking in the silence until…
click
… a camera sounds behind him.
The sudden sound makes Kaminari jump and drop his book on his face, which, frankly, hurts like hell considering it’s a hardcover. He places the book aside and winces at the pain blossoming across the bridge of his nose; winces again when Tofu scampers off in fright and digs her nails into his chest as she goes.
He groans softly as he pushes himself to sit up, rubbing the bridge of his nose softly to abate the stinging pain. It helps, the burn slowly subsiding until it’s hardly even a dull ache and his skin is now warm from only the setting sun.
Fingers gently push his bangs from his eyes, and when he looks up he’s met with his roommate’s concerned expression. Kaminari is still rubbing his nose when he meets his roommate’s gaze, gold meeting a mix of blue and silver. They sit there, staring for too long of a moment before Kaminari’s roommate clears his throat and reaches out to remove Kaminari’s hand from his nose, replacing it with an ice pack.
“I’m sorry,” Todoroki mutters as he gently grabs Kaminari’s chin, his soft fingers barely brushing against his skin as he tilts Kaminari’s head up to better receive the ice pack. His eyes scan over Kaminari’s face to assess the damage, thumb idly stroking Kaminari’s cheek meanwhile. It’s calming, soothing, and Kaminari wants to lean into it — does lean into it, but he tells himself it’s not noticeable.
“I’m sorry,” Todoroki repeats softly as he stops stroking Kaminari’s cheek. Maybe he noticed what he was doing and felt embarrassed, or maybe he never realized at all. Either way, Kaminari has to hold back the pout he feels rising to his lips when the action halts. “I didn’t mean to startle you, it’s just—” he trails off then, searching Kaminari’s eyes for something before he turns his head away and stares across the balcony railing.
Now that Todoroki isn’t staring into his soul, Kaminari takes full advantage of their proximity and lets his eyes trail over Todoroki’s face. The perfectly trimmed edges of his brows, not a single hair out of place. The model-like slope of his nose, smooth and proportionate to the rest of his features. The curve of his lips, plush and soft looking and just a little pink from his favorite strawberry candy. The contour of his jawline, chiseled and sharp and just unfairly attractive…
Kaminar has it bad. He knows this.
“It’s golden hour,” Todoroki finally says, his eyes trained on the horizon, watching the setting sun turn the world pink like love.
Kaminari shifts his gaze to the side without turning his head, not wanting Todoroki to let go, and watches the sun slowly sink below the horizon. It’s simple, just sitting here with Todoroki’s hand cupping his jaw as they watch the sunset together. Peaceful, despite the dull ache still present in his nose. He could stay here for hours if the world let him.
Minutes pass and the world slowly shifts from a soft lovely pink to a darker red, fading into the telltale midnight blues that signify the coming night. Kaminari watches until there’s but a sliver of sun left to rest on the horizon, and when he returns his gaze to Todoroki he realizes he was already looking his way. A blush creeps along his cheeks when their eyes lock, but he doesn’t bother looking away, not when Todoroki is smiling at him like that.
“I couldn’t help myself.” Todoroki says, and it takes Kaminari a moment to realize he’s talking about the picture and something about golden hour.
“It’s okay,” he tries to respond, but the ice pack against his nose makes talking a bit more challenging than he anticipates. Todoroki notices and, to Kaminari’s disappointment, removes both the ice pack from Kaminari’s nose as well as the hand from his cheek. Kaminari’s face suddenly feels too cold and it has nothing to do with the lingering effects of the ice.
“Are you okay? That book looked pretty heavy.” Todoroki, bless his heart, looks concerned again, far more than necessary considering all that happened was a book hitting him in the nose. It’s not like he dropped a camera on his face or something. Speaking of…
“Is that the only thing that looks pretty?” Kaminari can’t help but joke, cracking a grin and batting his eyelashes exaggeratedly, pain long forgotten in favor of teasing Todoroki about his odd photography choices.
“No.” Todoroki responds simply, and it’s so straightforward that it catches Kaminari off guard. Not that it should, really, because he’s lived with Todoroki for the better part of four years now and he knows his roommate tends to be blunt and to the point. But something about now feels different, not in terms of sincerity but rather… intimacy. Yeah, that word feels right. It’s intimate, this moment they’re sharing. How, Kaminari isn’t sure, but he sure as hell won’t do anything to break it.
He wants to, though. Wants to lean over and kiss the fond smile right off of Todoroki’s lips, taste the strawberry-flavored candy he always seems to be eating, pour his heart and soul out like an offering because Todoroki already claimed them.
He doesn’t, but by god does he want to.
“Kaminari?” At the sound of his name he startles, blinking once, twice, and an extra three more times like he’s trying to bring the world back into focus and out of the rose-tinted lenses he seems to wear around Todoroki.
“Huh?” He responds smartly, staring at Todoroki’s carefully neutral face and trying to read the situation.
“I asked if you wanted to see the pictures I took today.” Right, because Todoroki just had to travel four hours out of town for an outdoor garden wedding. He was so excited about the job that he wouldn’t stop fantasizing about the decor and lighting and bountiful nature that would no doubt create a magical setting. How could Kaminari forget?
“Are you sure? You’re not tired from traveling so much?” Kaminari sits up straighter as he asks, eyes narrowing slightly as he observes his roommate. Todoroki does a lot of things well, and hiding his exhaustion happens to be one of them, but after living together for four years Kaminari has picked up on his tells. They’re small things, things only close friends would notice and even then they’re hard for most people to catch.
The way Todoroki’s left eye closes a fraction more than his right does — because whatever caused his scar has made his eye weaker and more prone to tire quickly. The way his nose scrunches up when he’s trying to suppress an oncoming yawn by sheer willpower. The way the corner of his mouth twitches to stimulate his senses and keep him awake. None of this should be as endearing as he thinks, but it’s Todoroki, so anything he does is endearing.
Especially when he tiredly smiles, the corners of his eyes scrunching together more than normal, his hair falling into his face because he can’t be bothered to move it, the way his body leans slightly to the left as if in search of something to rest against. These are trivial things that others may not notice, but Kaminari does. Every mannerism and tell that Todoroki has, no matter how miniscule, Kaminari will notice. He always does.
They don’t matter, though, because Todoroki will always respond as if Kaminari can’t read him as easily as the books he writes.
“I’m not tired.” He speaks the lie so easily, just as always, that Kaminari wants to believe him. Even after his jaw tightens and his nose scrunches as he suppresses an oncoming yawn. Kaminari scoffs at the blatant lie, but before he can say anything Todoroki stands up and walks through the sliding glass door that separates the balcony from their apartment, his footsteps silenced on the wood flooring by his red and blue socks. Always red and blue. Always one of each.
He only makes it two steps in before he stops in front of the coffee table and picks up his discarded camera. There’s a brief moment where his fingers twitch and he almost drops it, his fatigue affecting his dexterity, but instead of being logical and deciding to take a nap, Todoroki justs loops the camera’s strap over his head and lets it rest around his neck so in case he does accidentally drop it it won’t fall to the floor.
When he returns he sits on Kaminari’s right side, close enough to touch their knees together and close enough to use Kaminari’s shoulder for support when his sleepy habits cause him to start leaning to the left. It takes a mere five seconds for their shoulders to brush and Kaminari ends up supporting a majority of Todoroki’s weight. Not that he minds it, of course. He may even secretly lean into it, but he tells himself it’s not noticeable.
“You seem tired.” Kaminari says with no bite to his words; he doesn’t want Todoroki to leave, after all, but what kind of friend would he be if he endorsed ill habits?
Then, Todoroki has the audacity to smile at him again, soft and relaxed and purely him, unlike his usual porcelain smiles he saves for the public, crafted over years of oppression to perfection with not a crack to be found, never revealing the true Todoroki that lies underneath. An authentic Todoroki Shouto smile is a beauty to behold, a rare gem to be treasured like a precious heirloom in a museum.
Kaminari tells himself he loves Todoroki’s real smile because he’s afraid to admit to loving anything more.
Suddenly Todoroki leans forward, and for a moment Kaminari thinks, This is it, this is the moment. Thinks he’ll finally get to steal a kiss from his longtime crush and his heart skips a beat before stopping all together.
Todoroki is so close that his hair brushes against Kaminari’s cheek, the scent of his waterfall shampoo flooding his nostrils and clouding his mind. Kaminari can feel the other’s breath ghost over his lips and his eyes flutter closed in anticipation, heart palpitating and bruising the inside of his ribs from the intensity of its pounding. One second passes and then another and Kaminari thinks, Any second now, only to rip open his eyes when he feels Todoroki pull away before he can claim his desired kiss.
Kaminari is confused, disoriented beyond belief as he desperately searches Todoroki’s face for an explanation, eyes silently pleading for reprieve. It goes unanswered, his silent suffering allowed to fester and mutate in his heart like a weak virus. Not deadly, but painful nonetheless.
But it’s not Todoroki’s fault that Kaminari has been pining over him since they met in college, and Kaminari knows this, is fully capable of acknowledging that his own feelings are entirely his responsibility. Still… It can't help but feel like he’s being taunted and laughed at at times, like a parent poking fun at their grade schooler’s first crush on their babysitter.
It hurts, sometimes, to love someone just barely out of grasp, but it would hurt far more to lose them, so Kaminari is content to sit on their balcony feeling like an idiot because he truly believed Todoroki might actually kiss him.
He tries to lean back, to add some more space between them because their innocent proximity will be the death of him some day, but he doesn’t get far before something is tugging at the back of his neck to keep him in place. When Kaminari glances down he sees what’s keeping him in place and realizes exactly what Todoroki was doing a few seconds prior.
The camera strap is now looped around both of their necks, allowing them just enough space to relieve Kaminari of his suffocation but not nearly enough for him to truly catch his breath — something he may never be able to catch with how close Todoroki is sitting and how radiant his smile is when he directs it Kaminari’s way.
“Maybe I am.” Todoroki’s voice is soft now, not so much tired as it is affectionate. He fakes a yawn and scoots even closer to Kaminari, linking their adjacent arms together and using his free hand to hold the camera between them. “You’ll just have to keep me awake then.”
“Haven’t you been awake for like, over 20 hours already?” Todoroki answers with a small shrug, his jacket rustling as it moves against Kaminari’s bare arm.
“Maybe, but I like our tradition. I come home and show you the photos I’ve taken and then you let me read what you’ve managed to write for the day.” Kaminari listens as he watches Todoroki one handedly turn on his camera and start scrolling through photos, his skin icing over with chills at the next words. “Sleep can wait, this is more important to me.”
If Kaminari wasn’t already in love, he would have fallen right then and there.
“Why?” Kaminari’s brain unhelpfully asks, wanting to tear apart a precious moment with worries and doubts. He narrows his eyes at the camera, angry with himself for trying to ruin something so cherishable, an unfortunate habit of his. When he wills himself to pull his focus from the camera and direct it to Todoroki, he notices Todoroki was already looking at him with a confused expression.
“Because you’re important to me.” Five simple words should not have the power to make Kaminari feel so weak, but it’s simply the sparse beginning to what Kaminari can only describe as an avalanche of feelings all at once. “Did you not know that?”
Kaminari swallows so violently the noise echoes between them, the skin of his throat feeling scratchy from the sudden action. It makes him want to cough or drink a glass of water, but he tampers down the feeling in favor of staring at his roommate, intent on catching every word he says.
“Kaminari, you’re one of the most important people in my life, how could you not know that?” The camera rests idly in Todoroki’s hand now, its screen brightness dimming before shutting off all together from the inactivity but neither of them notice, their eyes locked on each other in a quiet, cautious comfort. Kaminari doesn’t know where this is going, but he’s far too afraid to speak up and derail this train of events.
Todoroki is the one to break their eye contact, clearing his throat as he shifts his gaze towards his camera. He fiddles with the lens for a moment, seeking a distraction. It almost seems like he’s trying to garner courage before he speaks again.
“I love all of my friends. You, Deku, Iida, even Bakugou. But everyone tells me that I’m wrong when I say the same for you, and I don’t understand. They say I don’t love you, but that I’m in love with you, and I don’t get the difference. Love is love, isn’t it? At least, that was how I felt before today.”
Kaminari’s heart is back to racing, accelerating with both fear and excitement and a little bit of hope. He can’t be hearing this right… Right? The word ‘love’ has never spilled from Todoroki’s mouth so many times before and that alone makes it hard to focus, hard to hear the context because the sound of the word alone is sweet enough to outsell a honey stand. He’s so in and out of it that he only really focuses back in when he feels Todoroki gently shove the camera against his stomach, urging him to look.
It’s not at all what he was expecting. There were no wedding cakes or flower arrangements, no brides in their dresses or guests in their chairs. No, this photo was far simpler.
The photo shows Kaminari sprawled across their balcony on his back, one hand barely holding up a hardcover copy of a collection of Ernest Hemingway stories while the other disappeared into the off-white fur of the cat napping on his chest. The sky backdropping him was soft, the golden glow of the setting sun overlaid with a blush of pink. It’s a beautiful photo, and Kaminari can’t help but stare.
“I realized what they meant today, after I took this photo.” Kaminari’s eyes snap back to his roommate, but Todoroki’s eyes are still fixed on the photo, looking lost in thought. He mumbles out something Kaminari doesn’t catch, and he debates on asking him to repeat it until suddenly their eyes once again meet and Kaminari’s breath is stolen away. A look of determination has passed over Todoroki’s face now, but that’s not enough warning for Kaminari’s poor heart. ”You’re beautiful, Denki, inside and out, and I think I may have loved you as more than a friend for a lot longer than I came to realize.”
That’s the final straw that breaks Kaminari’s back — and restraint. He surges forward and clumsily presses his lips to Todoroki’s, knocking their foreheads together in his urgency and the momentum almost knocks them over but luckily they both have quick reflexes.
Kaminari reaches a hand out and places it firmly on the floor of their balcony to hold them up. At the same time, Todoroki wraps his free hand around Kaminari’s neck, holding on tight lest he tumble backwards onto the hard concrete. It’s a messy and tactless thing at first with the clicking of teeth and squished noses, but they find a rhythm eventually and the kiss smoothes out into something Kaminari would describe as something from his dreams.
Todoroki’s lips are soft, just as he suspected. They taste of strawberry and are tinted a darker pink than usual from his favorite candy. His hand is soft where it rests against his neck, gentle in its caress as Todoroki slides his hand down to rest on Kaminari’s shoulder. Waterfall shampoo wafts into his nose with each new breath and all Kaminari can think is, It can’t get more perfect than this.
Todoroki pulls away first, his cheeks flushed and lips more red than pink. His eyes remain closed longer than Kaminari’s do, and he takes the opportunity to bask in the pure delight that overcasts Todoroki’s face.
Everything is just perfect, he’s perfect, and Kaminari can’t help but lean in again and claim another kiss, this time softer. More gentle and less rushed, a purely innocent declaration of his pent up feelings. Todoroki returns the kiss as soon as it’s given, not an ounce of hesitation or uncertainty to be found in his movements. Fingers tangle into the hair at the base of Kaminari’s neck and the rush of emotions becomes too much for him to handle any longer so he slowly pulls away, just enough to break their kiss but remain with their foreheads resting against one another.
An odd sound bubbles up from deep in Kaminari’s chest and he can’t tell whether it’s a laugh or a sob. The way Todoroki’s fingers still at the back of his head tells him his roommate has assumed the worst, so he forces out a more recognizable laugh to soothe both of their nerves. It helps, from what he can tell, and Todoroki’s fingers resume combing through Kaminari’s hair.
“Are you—” Todoroki begins to speak, but Kaminari quickly cuts him off by shaking their heads as one.
“No, shh. Just… I just need to process this, holy shit.” Kaminari shakily sighs and then silence envelopes them, nothing more than the sound of birds and ambient city noises and Tofu’s curious pattering as she returns to their balcony after the previous fright.
They sit on the balcony long enough for night to fully fall, all dark blue skies and pretty glowing lights from the city below. When Kaminari finally gains his composure enough to look back at Todoroki, he absently prides himself on installing fairy lights that automatically turn on when the sun sets around their balcony.
Now, even in the darkness of the night, there’s enough light to illuminate Todoroki’s relaxed and pleased expression. He’s not even looking in Kaminari's direction, instead staring off into the distance over their balcony, fixated on nothing in particular. His fingers continue to play with Kaminari’s hair, but it’s all a series of random movements and accidental tugs and Kaminari knows he’s deep in thought.
“Hey.” Kaminari whispers in an attempt to draw Todoroki back to him. It works, and he watches his roommate’s eyes slowly slide back in his direction. His lips twitch at the eye contact, wanting to form a smile, and Kaminari is barely able to keep it tampered down. “Did you mean it?”
Todoroki’s fingers still once more, but unlike last time where he seemed to be staving off a bout of anxiety his eyes become pensive, jaw moving minutely as he considers his response.
“Would I have kissed you back if I didn’t?” No, is Kaminari’s immediate thought. There’s never been a time where Todoroki has done something he didn’t want to do. He’s stubborn like that, and a little irritating when that mentality applies to house chores, but it also means that all of Todoroki’s actions come from a place of earnestness. Sincerity. Kaminari smiles.
“Just double checking, verifying that I’m an idiot.” The confusion crosses Todoroki’s face in record time, his brows knitting together as he tilts his head, their foreheads brushing together at the action.
“Not that I’m disagreeing, but why this time around?” Ouch, even in such a heartfelt, emotional moment Todoroki still finds time to be a little shit. God, Kaminari really loves him, and he laughs quietly at the blatant insult.
“I’ve been pining for you since we met. If I had known I had a chance before now, even by just a month, I would have kissed you a lot sooner.”
“You—” Todoroki begins, only to fall short of words. From their close proximity, Kaminari can see the raging blush that’s taken over his cheeks after his confession, sees the gears turning in that pretty head of his. His eyes stare blankly back at Kaminari as he processes the words, the heat from his burning cheeks keeping Kaminari’s face warm. “You liked me for that long?”
“Yeah.” He responds without hesitation, no longer afraid of rejection. “Since the moment you dropped your papers in the middle of that English class presentation and carried on like nothing happened.”
“That’s—” Todoroki blinks and seems to reboot his thoughts before he carries on with a different approach. “Why did you move in with me then?” And willingly hurt yourself is implied between the lines, but Todoroki is too nice to point that fact out directly. At least, at this moment he is. Normally he wouldn’t care to censor his thoughts, but in such a fragile and delicate setting he must have fought hard with himself to keep his impulses in check.
“Because,” Kaminari shrugs and looks down between them, eyes landing on the camera still nestled in Todoroki’s lap, “I figured being in your life as a mere friend was better than not being in your life at all. You’re too good of a person to lose so quickly and stupidly.” Kaminari bites the inside of his lip as his eyes examine the camera, his mind thinking back to when he had bought it for Todoroki’s birthday the previous year.
Todoroki wanted him to return it, said it was ‘too expensive’ and all he really wanted was to spend time with his friends but Kaminari outright refused, claimed it as a work expense and moved on before it could be fully rejected. The following week Todoroki dragged him on endless library and coffee shop dates to make up for it and Kaminari filled up an entire shelf with new books in no time.
Dates. Were they dates back then? Todoroki never specified just how long he had liked — no, loved — Kaminari, so it could be plausible that he masqueraded dates as simple outings to make up for an overpriced birthday gift. If he did… well then he was a smooth fucker, that’s for sure.
Something soft hits him in the middle of his forehead and breaks him out of his thoughts. It’s not startling enough to make him jump, but Kaminari does tense before he risks a glance at his roommate.
“You’re thinking too hard.” Is all Todoroki says, voice soft but eyes softer. He’s looking at Kaminari like he’s found a long lost treasure, eyes full of affection and adoration, and Kaminari’s lips move before his brain can catch up and stop him.
“I love you.” It’s just three words. Three words he’s wanted to admit for years, sure, but three words nonetheless. They feel like a thousand crushing weights lifting off his chest, inviting new air into his lungs. “I love you.” He repeats, because he can say it now without fear, knowing the sentiment is returned.
The blush returns to Todoroki’s cheeks, once faded in the silence but now renewed and reinvigorated. The soft fairy lights don’t do him any justice, but it’s still a beautiful sight to behold. It looks like a dream, with Todoroki’s eyes so full of love and his cheeks warm with excitement and the lights twinkling around them. Tofu quietly hides in the background, as if she can sense the unfolding of something magical and refrains from intruding.
After a passing moment Todoroki turns his head and looks away, his blush barely illuminated in the soft lighting but the way he bites at his lip gives away his nerves.
“This is a lot.” He whispers, the words falling between them like snow to melt into Kaminari’s skin. “I didn’t think I’d actually get this far, I figured I would chicken out. This is… this is a lot.”
“Hey.” Kaminari whispers back, slowly taking Todoroki’s trembling hands into his own so as to not startle him further. He intertwines their fingers and squeezes gently to get his roommate’s attention, waiting patiently until Todoroki is looking at him to speak. “You’ve been awake for a while now. Why don’t we go eat something then go to bed? We can talk about this tomorrow.”
Todoroki blinks back at him with a blank expression, his brain trying to figure something out that Kaminari can’t quite place. He waits quietly, stroking the back of Todoroki’s hand with his thumb to help ease his nerves. Despite appearances, Todoroki is a lot more emotional than most people think. They both are, that’s why they work so well together. Kaminari tends to feel and understand too much of his emotions while Todoroki feels his emotions but has a hard time interpreting them. Todoroki needs extra time and Kaminari helps him through it because he gets it, he understands the tumultuous wave of emotions that crash over them both frequently, like a roaring tide determined to upend their ship. So he waits, stroking the back of Todoroki’s hand as comfortingly as he can manage. He would always wait.
“Okay.” Todoroki whispers into the night air, his hands no longer trembling but he suddenly seems overworked, extra tired like another two days without sleep have somehow passed.
“Okay.” Kaminari whispers back. He brings their intertwined hands up to his face and places a soft kiss on their fingers before he carefully pushes himself to stand. Mindful of the camera and Kaminari’s discarded book, he helps Todoroki rise to his feet as well, not once letting their hands part. “How’s soba sound?”
Todoroki’s eyes widen comically large at the suggestion, brimming with childlike glee, though there is still an underlying uncertainty simmering just beneath the surface.
“You don’t have to.” Kaminari isn’t sure if he means he doesn’t have to order takeout or make soba from scratch. It doesn’t matter either way.
“Don’t worry,” he says with a smile, “there’s some already made. It was supposed to be a surprise since I knew you were coming home on such little sleep, this just all worked out better than planned.” Todoroki breaks out into a soft smile.
“Lucky us.”
“Yeah, lucky us.”
Kaminari has a cat. Not truthfully, since she’s just a neighbor’s cat that likes to spend time with him, but she visits so often and frequently she might as well be at least partially his.
Kaminari also has a roommate; a workaholic fiend who likes to sneak pictures while he’s not looking and neglect his sleep schedule.
Kaminari also has a boyfriend; a devilishly handsome and socially inept individual who likes to surprise him with books and show him his photography and read Kaminari’s writing and show his love through his actions rather than his words. It took him a few years, but now that Kaminari has him he’s never letting him go.
It’s a modest life at most, but Kaminari has everything he could have ever hoped for.