Chapter Text
💚
The sun was shining, the 1-A students were merrily chatting, the first course of the day would start in three minutes and Izuku Midoriya was currently regretting all his life-choices.
Well - scratch that. Not all his life choices per say. He didn’t regret buying his very complex and thorough collection of All-Might merchandising, or accepting his idol’s quirk, or even accepting, after a very long conversation with his current boyfriends — yes, plural — to give a try to a relationship of three. The last one was even, dare Izuku say, one of the things bringing the most joy in Izuku’s life although, granted, it could be difficult at time.
No, what he was deeply regretting, however, was to have mentioned the upcoming All-Might exhibition and casually suggest his partners to make it a date.
He hadn’t been very surprised by Kacchan’s “We’re not going to your nerdy shit on a first date!”. Retrospectively, he shouldn’t have been that surprised by Shoto’s “But we already have dates every week.”even if the way both his boyfriends had spoken at the same time would have been hilarious.
Would have been, if it hadn’t prompted one of Kacchan’s legendary tantrums. Which, honestly, Izuku had not seen coming.
“The fuck do you mean ?! We haven’t done shit !”
Todoroki’s mouth pursed in slight confusion, eyebrows frowning. “I don’t understand. All the times we’ve spent together after school-”
“It was fucking training or studying, dumbass ! Who the fuck would call that - Wait, you really though I’d allow something so lame for our first fucking date ?!”
“Guys, please” Izuku chimed in, embarrassment tickling hotly under his cheeks “Erm, maybe we could be less loud ? Or talk about it later? The whole class doesn’t need to hear about that kind of, well, stuff, not that they’d judge us or anything, at least I don’t think they would since everybody seemed pretty accepting when we announced we were together, but still, this sort of details are rather personal and Kacchan is yelling again plus Aizawa Sensei will probably arrive in a minute and he’s already a bit grumpy whenever it’s classroom hour and-”
“Midoriya.” Shoto’s calm, smooth voice interrupted. “You are rambling again.”
“Ah, sorry !”
“The fuck do you mean, shitty nerd ?” Bakugo positively roared, eyes slinted like a villains and fists unclenched, ready to throw some explosions “I’m not fucking loud !”
“Yes you are.”
“Shut up Icy Hot ! I still can’t believe you thought this shit was dates !”
Todoroki cocked his head on the side, like he was trying to understand why Bakugo was angry. Not that Izuku himself knew, but Todoroki’s point was dubious as well. Izuku didn’t have much experience — in fact, he didn’t have any experience at all — in the dating field until his current relationship. He doubted the two other boys were better, especially Todorki. Still. Had he not realised the training and studying wasn’t different from the sessions they did before agreeing to become boyfriends? Oh dear All Might, had Todoroki though they were already dating before ?!
“Midoriya ?”
“Huh?!” It always unsettled Izuku a bit, the way Shoto still called him by his last name even now - all the while insisting the two others to call him by his first name.
“Quite daydreaming, Deku ! We asked you if you thought the damn training were dates !”
“Oh.” Izuku rubbed his palm at the back of his neck, slightly uncomfortable. He didn’t like when his boyfriends were quarreling and shoved him in the argument to cut things up - it always felt like he was siding with one against the other, which Izuku refused to do. Although this was not really an argument. More like a problem in communication - again. Izuku made a mental note to speak to the other boys about it later. They definitely had to work about it. “I didn’t really see these as dates, because most of the time we were with our other friends and it doesn’t change from what we do normally.”
“Oh.” Todoroki blinked. “I apologize then. I was sure -”
“That I’d let something like that be our first date ?! Like Hell !”
“Kacchan, stop it. You’re being mean.”
“Well excuse me for wanting to give you shitheads better than fucking books and kicking your asses !”
“I like books. It’s good for a first date.”
“Not the boring school ones !”
“Kacchan.” Izuku said, voice firmer, brow furrowing. “Calm down. You make it sound like Shoto’s tastes are silly.”
“That’s not what I - urgh.” Bakugo raked a hand in his spikey hair, lips twisted, and offered a grumbling pout “Sorry, Sho. ‘S not what I meant.”
“It’s alright.” Todoroki replied, sounding completely unaffected. “But I have to ask - we’ve been together for three monthes now. Why didn’t we go on a date?”
Now that he was thinking about it, Izuku wondered too. How had he not seen that before? True, they had been very occupied by school and their own personal side occupations, such as Izuku’s personal training with All Might. But still.
Now that he had seen it, he couldn’t un-see - it flashed tauntingly in his brain. Izuku knew himself enough to be sure he wouldn’t stop thinking about that until he had fixed this major mistake. Of course, things could be rocky with his boyfriends - every relationship could be, especially with people of strong temperament like them, and being three required them to think about not one but two other persons. But Izuku wanted to hold hands with his partners and take pictures and share food and make an activity not related to lessons and away from their high school. The three of them had waited a long time to sort their stuff out. They deserved to enjoy themselves together.
“Date !” The cheerful voice of Mina erupted just as she plopped next to Bakugo “I’ve heard someone summoning me ! You guys are planning a love gathering?”
“Not your freaky business, Racoon Eyes !” Bakugo barked.
“We just discovered we hadn’t had any date before.”
“Never ?!” Mina gasped with a startle, as if they had just announced to her they didn’t know who All Might was - yes, that level of scandalous. “How is it possible ?! Aren’t you guys together since, like, months ?!”
“That’s what I just asked.” Todoroki said.
Izuku tapped his index on his chin, thinking. “I think it’s because of the tight schedule ? Between training and courses and internships, it’s a bit complicated to make some time out.”
“Nonsense !” The girl insisted, “There’s always time for dates !”
“We don’t need that to know we care for each other, you damn corny sap !”
“Weren’t you saying you wanted to organize something nicer for Shoto and me ? That’s quite corny too Kacch-”
“D’you wanna die, shitnerd ?!”
“Bakugo, stop threatening our boyfriend, please.”
“Oh boys ! If you want, Kirishima and I went to this lovely café last week, it’d be very-”
The door opened quietly, and this specific quiet sound ringed louder than anything as it announced Shota Aizawa’s arrival. Every student shushed, some literally jumping at their seats before the stern man had crossed the four steps leading to his desk.
The small slide of the door followed by Denki’s attempt to discreetly get in the room caught Izuku’s attention - oh crap, Kaminari was doomed if their teacher saw him and of course he would saw him -
“Kaminari.” The strict voice wasn’t especially loud, but for all of 1-A’s class, it always boomed like thunder, just as the bell rang a second time “I’ll let it slip this once because you were technically already in class for the final call, but next time, you’ll wait outside until the end of the course.”
“Yes Sensei !” The blond straightened like a snap. “Sorry, I was just, huh, at the bathroom for a, er, bathroom break !”
“I don’t care what you were doing. Go sit.”
Izuku offered a smile of sympathy to his classmate who positively leaped to his chair. Aizawa-sensei didn’t even wait for the almost-belated student to be seated to start talking.
“As you might know, U.A usually organizes school trips around this time of the year. Given everything that has happened in the last few months, Principal Nezu has estimated you deserve a big break and asked for an exceptional release of funds to the Ministry of education, which have been authorized.”
Oh ! School trip ? It could be fun ! Izuku hadn’t gone in one since third grade — and it hadn’t been a pleasant experience, back before he had no friend and was bullied — but now things were different ! And one of his favorite All Might movies took place during a school trip, portraying it as a bonding experience so he had dreamt of something similar ever since watching the film - oh wait, but maybe it could be a nice occasion to have a date !
Izuku wasn’t the only one excited by the new.
“A school trip ?” Hagakure shrieked in joy “That sounds awesome !”
“Man, I’ve been craving some normal cool school stuff for ever !” Hanta said, leaning toward Jiro who nodded.
“Aizawa Sensei, do the funds given to the school cover everything for the trip or do we need to pay a part of it?” Uraraka asked, raising her hand.
“Sensei ! If you allow my question, as the class representative, I would like to ask in the name of all my classmates more details about the trip, such as where, when, and how long it’ll last !”
“I’m getting there. It is fully paid. We’ll leave in two weeks, on Saturday, at 6 A.M., and we’ll go back to UA at 11 PM. The destination is Hero Disneyland.”
Almost the entirety of the class shouted in a single voice “HERO DISNEYLAND ?!”
Oh god, oh god, oh god - Hero Disneyland !
The biggest amusement resort in the country ! With one of its two parks entirely dedicated to Pro Heroes ! Offering merch and food themed after more than seventy different Pros ! It even had an All Might ride, which All Might himself had inaugurated twelve years ago ! Oh, Izuku absolutely needed to ask his mentor more about this anecdote ! He had been at Hero Disneyland once when he was four, so he didn’t remember much, but the photos shown magical places and fun-looking rides and oh there were parades too, he had seen an ad at the mall, announcing a brand-new night spectacle displayed directly on the mythical castle of Sleeping Beauty, the symbol of the first park !
Their teacher must have decided he had done his job enough as he produced his signature sleeping yellow sleeping bag out of nowhere and rolled on the floor to take a nap.
How could someone, even an adult, even Aizawa Sensei, want to nap when they’ll soon be at Hero Disneyland ?!
“Hey calm the fuck down, Deku ! Your palms are zinging green shit !”
“Crap ! Sorry Kacchan !” But could he be blamed ?
Looking at Kacchan as the blond turned to face him, and at Shoto who joined them with his impassible expression - it became apparent that them, they could.
Ah, no matter - Izuku would rile their hype up !
“Guys ! We’re going at Hero Disneyland !”
“Tch, we’ve heard. No need to hop on your chair like a dumbass.”
“I am glad it makes you happy, Midoriya.” Shoto said, cool as a cucumber.
“It’s gonna be so cool ! We should make it our first official date !”
“Fuck no !”
“Why ? Aren’t you two excited about this? Our first date ! At Hero Disneyland !”
“Oh, I am.” Shoto replied, still impassible.
“I’m not !” Bakugo insisted with an hiss. “This princess and fairytales and cartoon shit is for kids ! It’ll be full of stupid brats and we’ll have to wait fucking hours to do anything ! I’ll go blind with all the pink and glitter !”
“Hey Bakugo !” Ashido twirled back to them, with a cheshire-cat grin. “ How cool would it be if we took a picture with everybody in Mickey ears ?”
“So fucking lame I’ll kill you if you try !”
⚫
At the revelation of their professor, the class burst into merry chaos : chairs rattling, students waltzing towards others and mingling to discuss, thrilled at the upcoming journey. The surrounding enthusiasm was nice. While Fumikage himself was not particularly inclined to the Disney franchise and its products, the prospect of a break spent with his friends put a discreet smile on his face.
“Are you smiling at a specific someone, Tokoyami ?”
Ashido’s grin ate half of her face as she sat on the side of his desk.
“Not really. Why?”
The abyssal pools of her eyes glint with some unspoken knowledge. “Not even a certain froggy gal?”
At this precise instant, Fumikage found himself very grateful for his crow head, as the plumage hid whatever color his traitorous blood was pushing under his skin.
Darkness was saving him once again.
So he just shrugged and decided to remain cool and collected.
“I don’t see what you mean.”
“Aw, come on !” The spark in the girl's eyes turned mischievous - usually, Fumikage found Ashido’s eyes appealing because of their dark deepness, but at this very moment, it was more annoying than anything. “I know you have a crush on Tsu ! My matchmaker' senses have been tingling for weeks !”
Fumikage mentally winced, both at the dopey word that was “crush” and at the obnoxiousity of his classmate. Tsuyu was just a few tables away, and the teen prayed to the Darkness that she was too deep in her conversation to pick up Ashido nearly screaming her name.
“Sounds like your senses are broken, then.”
Ashido huffed like he had insulted all of her ancestry “Please, my senses are never wrong when it comes to that stuff. I’ve seen how you look at her ! And you hang out with her a lot, hm?” He pointedly ignored her, which seemed to only further her inquiry. “Oh come on ! I’m sure Tsu has a soft spot for you too !”
Fumikage intended to keep ignoring her, knowing his schoolmate would have to stop if he disregarded her long enough.
Unfortunately for him, a certain part of himself had decided to not cooperate.
“You think she does?” Dark Shadow asked excitedly, surging in a little form from his shoulder.
Fumikage choked on his own saliva and mentally cursed his companion for the betrayal.
“Ah-AH !” Ashido exclaimed, pointing an accusatory index toward the teen. “I knew it !”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“No need, they did it for you. Right, Dark Shadow ?”
“Fumikage thinks Tsuyu is pretty and clever and he sometimes compares her to a pearl of moonlight.”
“DARK SHADOW !”
Fumikage could have begged the Abysses to open and swallow him until the end of time and above.
Dark Shadow felt his embarrassment, and in return Fumikage felt his friend’s confusion through their bond.
The living shadow winced, clearly not understanding what they had done wrong. “What ? If she might reciprocate your affection, it’d be a good thing to tell her, no ?”
Fumikage glanced at them and sighed. He knew Dark Shadow only wanted his happiness, and he felt bad for his friend’s creeping distress : they hated hurting him. “It’s… more complicated than that.”
Ashido chose this time to chime back in. “No it’s not, you’re just being a shy emo boy. Luckily for you, this school trip could be a great opportunity !”
“What are you guys talking about?”
Shoji’s timing couldn’t have been worse. Or better, Fumikage was still debating.
Fate must have deemed his mortification strong enough, or maybe Ashido had enough respect to not lay out Fumikage’ secret for the other students to see (the teen suspected a combo of the two). Ashido threw her hands in the air. “Of how excited we are for Hero Disneyland ! Say, Shoji, have you ever been to an amusement park ?”
The two started to discuss while Fumikage’s heart calmed from its frenzied sabbath.
He intended to tell Tsuyu his feelings. He just wanted to do it on his own terms, and when he’d find the good way to reveal how much he cared about his classmate.
“Say, Tokoyami.” Dark Shadow glided from one shoulder to another, their beak close to the teen’s head. “Weren’t we supposed to see Hawks, saturday in two weeks?”
Oh. That was right. He’d have to text his master and apologize. The winged hero was kind enough to offer short training sessions when he could, even if the internship had ended, and with the Pro’s busy schedule, it wasn’t always easy to find a time for the training. He doubted Hawks would resent him, though.
“Thanks for the reminder.” Tokoyami said with a small smile. “I’ll send him a message during lunch break.”
🔥
“Greetings, Shoto ! How have you been ? I’ve heard UA is organizing a trip and thought maybe I could volunteer to escor-”
“Don’t bother.”
Enji blinked at the beeping noise indicating the end of the conversation.
Then he started fuming. Literally.
“Raaah ! He hung up on me !”
Despite having the information in the early afternoon, he had waited until the end of the day to make sure the courses would be over so as not to disturb his son.
He had pushed aside the frustrations of his day and made sure to take a friendlier intonation, something Fuyumi had helped him work on.
He had even prepared his speech, short but sympathetic, and his youngest hadn’t even let him finish!
To fuel up the fire racking his nerve, an obnoxious chuckle came from his couch. Hawks was sitting there cross-legs, hands on his knees and small wings fluttering behind him, like he was watching some stupid sitcoms instead of Enji’s familial hardships. He shot the blond a dirty glare.
“Don’t be mad Endeavor-san! Your son probably just doesn’t want to be embarrassed by his old man on a school trip. Gotta side with him on that one – although, I’d totally make an exception for you-”
“Get out of my office. Now.”
Hawks dramatically put a gloved hand on his own chest and gasped. “Is this a way to treat the guy giving you oh so kindly free inputs? You’re supposed to, like, offer to take me to dinner!”
Enji massaged his temples in an attempt to sooth his mind. Piled-up dissatisfaction and irritation were ready to burst and burn everybody who’d dare to be in his perimeters. If he couldn’t stop the rampant headache, at least he could try to not make it anyone else's problem. He wouldn’t have cared about passing his nerves on others before, but ever since realizing how much he had hurt his family, he tried to become a better person and correct his most toxic characteristic. For example, not getting angry too quickly. However, it could turn out quite difficult. Namely when a certain winged brat decided to mess with his head unannounced.
“First: I didn’t ask you anything. You flew into my office and pestered me with your so-called scoop. Second: I’m not paying you anything, you glutton.”
Hawks whined. “Aw, come on! Admit you wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
That much was true. He wouldn’t have known about UA’s school trip if his colleague hadn’t swung in by the window. The only real contacts Enji had in UA were All Might and Shoto. He never sought the company of the first, and he was fully aware that his son would have never told him.
“How did you even know?”
Hawks shrugged with a knowing smile “A little birdie told me. Heh.” He stretched his slender form gracefully - no, not gracefully, Enji said to himself quickly. He was just a lazy brat. “So Hero Disneyland, huh? That sounds fun! Have you ever been there? Please, tell me you have! At least to inaugurate the attraction based off of you! How did they name it again ? Oh yeah ! Endeavor’s Tower of Hellflames ! I can picture you, all solemn and grumpy, surrounded by kids with stars in their eyes because a real hero is there – alright, maybe you’re not the most popular with kids but if they’re happy when they see Snow-White or Aurora, which are the more boring characters ever, they’d be happy to see –”
Enji tuned the blond’s chirping off.
Damn.
He needed to find a way to get inside this stupid park and keep an eye on his son. He had to. Hero Disneyland was out of Endeavor’s patrolling zone, and even by being the current Number One, he doubted the administrative formalities to request a team-up with whatever agency covering the area would be done in two weeks. Besides, he wasn’t sure Pros could roam in the parks if there wasn’t an attack.
And Enji could not take any risk.
“… and I was the closest to Tsushima Island so I stopped the villain but couldn’t make it to the park on time aaaand you’re totally not listening to me.”
“Maybe I can ask Eraserhead directly to join the group.” The redhead murmured to himself.
Hawks grimaced “No offense, but if you do that, you’ll just piss the little one off. It’s nice you want to spend some bonding time with Junior and all, but -”
“It’s not about bonding.” Enji paused and hesitated barely a second. For all his carefree behavior, Hawks was capable of being serious when he needed to. And, while Endeavor would never admit it aloud, he trusted the younger man. Hawks had always stayed by his side, their fight against the Nomu a make-or-break baptism of fire; and neither of the Heroes had broken. “I’m aware Shoto doesn’t want to… spend time with me for now. And usually, I respect that. I’ve no right to impose my presence” Not after all the wrongs he did. “But when it comes to my children’s safety, I have to make an exception.”
The laid-back attitude changed instantly.
One second, a twentysomething was slouched on Enji’s couch, pestering him and being nosy; the second, the Number Two was straightening, honeyed eyes sharp and attentive.
“You think something could happen?”
Usually, Hawks was always the one two steps ahead, and, Enji realized, even if he had no idea of what Endeavor was alluding to, he was ready to listen.
There weren't a lot of people Endeavor trusted, but Hawks was one of them. And by the looks of it, the feeling was mutual.
He locked eyes with the other and spoke. “I don’t have… proof, per say. However, I have reasons to believe someone might be targeting my family recently. Natsuo was almost kidnapped a few weeks ago by a villain I had helped arrest years ago. ”
“Ending. I’ve heard of that.”
“And last Friday, Fuyumi was followed when she got back from work.”
“Shit. Is she okay ?”
Enji nodded. “Yes. She even tried to downplay it, saying she wasn’t even sure, that she might just have imagined it. I know my daughter, she’s not of the paranoid kind. The villain attacking Natsuo was specifically after me, so it’s not impossible I’m at the core of the problem.”
“It’s not your fault if some maniacs use cowardly ways to mess with you.”
Hawks face remained impassible for anyone not used to look at him. But since the blond had decided to tag along more and more, Endeavor had picked up a few things about him : like the subtle way his pupils slitted when he was genuinely angry, as they did at the moment.
“But it’s my fault if my family might be in danger.”
“And even with all that, your son refuses you join?”
Enji shook his head curtly. “Fuyumi refused to tell her brothers about her incident. She keeps saying it’s nothing and doesn’t want to have them worried.”
“I see.” Hawks looked by the huge bay window, bushy brows knitted, like his mind was reeling. “Looks, I get that you’re worried. You should inform the agencies near the parks so they’ll be ready and send a few of your sidekicks there exceptionally, I’ll even send some of mine if it can help. But you shouldn’t overheat about the school trip stuff. Your eldest kids were both alone when they’ve been pursued. In this case, there’ll be the UA teachers to supervise and interfere if needed. Plus, all Japan has seen what your youngest can do during the Sport Festival, so the villains will think twice before attempting anything.”
That answer annoyed Enji.
“It might not be enough.” He hadn’t been able to protect his children from his own monstrous ambition, from his own unhealthy way to cope with grief; it was almost ironical that he attempted to protect them now, and he knew Natsuo, and maybe even Shoto, wouldn’t hesitate to tell him so. Nevertheless, Enji refused to put them at risk for his mistakes once again. “I don’t want to deprive Shoto of this experience. Recently, he seems… happier. He has made some good friends, I think. But on the other hand…”
“You don’t want to take any risk.” He slouched back on the couch, golden hair like a halo, lith arms behind his head. Like that, he looked like a model - not that Enji cared about models, but Hawks exuded a kind of effortless grace, even when he was not moving. “Sounds like a tough one, Number One.”
“And Shoto will resent me if I insist to come along.”
“Yep.” The p popped, but Hawks’ voice was supportive. “I’m sure you’ll find a solution.”
Enji frowned. “I don’t need a solution, I need the best remedy.”
“Always pushing yourself to the top, huh, big guy.” Hawks glanced at him, the amber eyes making a quick up-and-down look at Enji’s form. When his colleague spoke again, his words sounded slightly tilted. “You should try to just take what you want, sometimes. It’d spare you the headache.”
Enji was about to groan that it’s exactly what Hawks do and very much what himself despises - waltzing in without thinking nor caring about consequences, that’s what brats do, not men of his age - when his scold died on his tongue.
An idea popped in his mind.
An idea he would never have had, or refused on the spot. But since all is fair in war and family matters, maybe playing dirty, playing like Hawks would, could be the solution.
Huh.
“For once, you might be right.” Enji said, almost to himself. A plan unfurled slowly in his mind. “If I just go there undercover and make sure everything’s fine without Shoto noticing, he’ll get to enjoy his trip and I’ll be sure he’s safe.”
“Hey, I’m always rig- wait, seriously ?!” Hawks shot up from the couch, going from laid down to up without sitting, like a switchblade knife. His eyes had literal stars in them and he honest to God squealed. “I’m coming with you !”
“No you’re not.” Enji replied with the flattest voice. “It’s going to be difficult enough as it is.”
The other started to whine and bounce on his feet and Enji took back everything nice he had said about him, Hawks was just a petulant little thing “Come ooon! I’m the one who gave you the intel ! And you know the saying : a bird a day makes the fun stay!”
“It’s not about fun, brat !”
Hawks crossed the short distance between them like Endeavor’s flames weren’t a hair to lick his face “Pleaaase Endeavor-san ! You’ll pass for a creep if you’re spotted alone following children ! And my quirk is a lot handier than yours when it comes to spying and tailing !”
The young man jutted his bottom lip out, cheeks puffed, wings puffed, eyes still glinting like shooting stars had frozen in the amber of his iris.
Enji groaned.
After all, Hawks had a point. His feathers would be a lot more useful than Endeavor’s flames for subtle matters.
“Fine. You can come.”
The blond’s arms shot up and his wings flapped excitedly in his back “Yay !”
“But we’ll have to be discreet.” They had to establish rules and structure if they wanted the mission to succeed. So Endeavor started to enumerate, as much for himself than for his colleague “If people know we’re there, so will Shoto and the potential attackers. Plus, your groupies would obstruct the spinning. So no using your wings to get there and not getting caught. You come here and I’ll drive us to the parks. Tell your agency you take a day off. And dress up accordingly.”
Hawks’s features turned teasing and a playful smile stretched his lips. “Aww, are you taking me on a date, Endeavor-san ?”
The flames on Enji’s face doubled as he roared “Shut up before I change my mind !”
The sound of Hawks’ laugh echoed, light and clear in Endeavor’s usually silent office.
⌁
It was a bit like in these cool spy movies. He had to be stealth and act like he hadn’t a very precise purpose when he left the Squad, saying he was tired and wanted to chill in his bedroom until he dozed off.
When in fact, Denki didn’t go to the 1-A dorms but, plot twist!, to the 1-B.
He approached his target, making sure no one was in sight by looking left then right before pouncing on the door. He knocked and slid in as soon as a “Yeah, come in” answered.
Inside, sat at his desk and frowning over a notebook, was Hitoshi. Recent addition to 1-B class, future badass Pro Hero, and actual secret boyfriend of one very lucky Denki Kaminari.
Shinso hadn’t even looked away from his notebook. The blond grinned from ear to ear at the adorable sight that was his boyfriend, with his soft-looking grey shirt and the tufts of his hair messed like he had been racking his hand in multiple times. Making sure the door was closed, Denki trotted to the other student, sparkles in his stomach, and slid his arms around Shinso’s neck from behind.
“Evening, Handsome !”
Shinso’s head tilted and his features morphed into a shy smile. “Hi Denki.”
“How was your day ?” Denki planted a quick kiss on his boyfriend’s lips and stopped, puzzled. “Why do you taste like coffee when it’s this late?” He glanced at the desk and saw a cat-themed mug, a quarter full of still fuming coffee. “Seriously?”
Shinso sighed contritely. “Yes, I know what you’re about to say.”
“You already have enough trouble to sleep without caffeine at 9 P.M. !”
“I know, I just… I wanted to study a bit longer.”
Denki grimaced. “Dude, when I’m the one saying to be reasonable, it’s a signal whatever you’re doing have to stop like right now.”
Shinso shook his head, features pinched in an expression Denki didn’t like because it looked like his boyfriend was low-key in pain. “You don’t get it. I’m already behind all my new classmates in practical courses, I can not afford to be late in the theoretical ones as well.”
The blond would have bet this was about that.
He didn’t know if Shinso had always been stressed about school, or if it was something that had come with his transfer to the Heroic Course. What he was sure of, however, was that it was not good for Hitoshi. Like, okay, study sessions helped, but not until you literally passed out on your books ! Plus, it always seemed to give Shinso bad vibes. He would rarely complain, but Denki knew it enforced the false idea the other boy had that he wouldn’t make it if he didn’t burn his ass off in daily, extreme revisions.
On the other hand, saying this would just make Hitoshi feel bad and not listened. And Denki very much planned to be supportive of his boo.
He squeezed the other’s shoulders. “Don’t sell yourself short ! You have good grades everywhere.”
“Not in Heroic Laws and Customs.” Shinso mumbled, but still relaxed a bit under the comforting pressure. “The general study course didn’t have this subject. I have months to catch up to.”
“Heroic Laws and Customs is the worst thing ever.” Denki winced like he had bitten straight into a lemon. “I’m sure there’s not more than four people in my class who passed this one.” Hitoshi didn’t seem convinced. Okay, time to switch tactics. “Anyway, it’s secret boyfriend break time.” His hand grasped Shinso and tugged while he moved toward the bed. “Close this thing and cuddle with me.”
Shinso didn’t move, but a smile tugged the corners of his lips. Ah-hah ! “Who said so?”
“I said so.” Denki knew his boyfriend was one minute from giving in. He tugged their laced fingers again and whined. “Come on ! I want my cuddles!”
The soft chuckle coming from Hitoshi made something buzz on his skin and in his stomach, followed by the pleasant sweetness of victory when the other finally gave in and closed his book.
Scores for Denki !
They sat on Shinso’s bed, bodies pressed together, Denki leaning against his boyfriend as the 1-B student looped an arm around his shoulders, thumb swiping in a gentle caress. He heard Hitoshi sighing, relaxed. Another mental fistbump.
Shinso smelled something fresh, probably his shower gel, and his hair was still a little damp. Denki squeezed their locked hands and played with their entwined fingers.
The softness in Hitoshi’s eyes made the blond’s heart beat a little faster and his breath stuck in his throat.
“Hey.” Shinso just said with a smile that melted Denki’s brain, and ok, how could someone be so cute and so cool at the same time? How could Hitoshi doubt so much about himself? How could people doubt Hitoshi? They had been dating for a bit now, but holding his hand and seeing that particular fond look in the purple glance never failed to make Denki trip on his own words. And get his quirk out of control. He might have given a quick unintentional zap to his boyfriend once or twice.
Heh, he had a literal spark with Hitoshi.
“Hi.” He grinned, and felt his own smile turn bigger. Oh, he had a good one. “Hey Toshi, are you Netflix?”
The other boy looked at him, puzzled. “What?”
“‘Cause I could watch you all day.” Shinso distinctly tried to contain his smile, but the small snort and the way his mouth twitched didn’t go unnoticed. His cheesy pick-up lines never failed to make him smile. “Soooo, did Vlad King tell you guys the next big event?”
“You mean about the school trip? Yeah, it sounds fun.”
“It’s gonna be awesome, you mean ! It’s just what we need to relax a bit. Plus, since both our classes are going there, it means we can spend more time together!”
“Are you sure?” Shinso snorted. “Since you don’t want anyone to know we’re dating, wouldn’t you prefer we stay as far away as possible?”
Okay, ouch.
Denki winced.
“Don’t be like that, babe. You know it’s not anyone -”
“Yeah, yeah, just Aizawa Sensei.”
“And if any of my classmates know, he will too. But as long as we avoid Aizawa, it’ll be fine ! We can go on rides, and eat food, and even hold hands in dark rides ! Hey, are you afraid of height or speed?”
Hitoshi’s brows furrowed again, and he turned to totally face the blond, taking his arm off of his shoulders but keeping their hands linked. “Denki… Maybe it’d be a good time to think about not hiding anymore?”
Everybody knew Aizawa was Shinso’s mentor : after all, it was thanks to the teacher that Hitoshi had been allowed to move in the Heroic Course. Basically, it’s like Denki was dating his professor’s son. And Denki had seen enough movies to know it never ended well for the boyfriend, especially with a papa bear like Aizawa, and especially because Denki was just… well, Denki.
This was why he had asked Hitoshi to stay under the radar for now. And sure, it was not ideal : it prevented them from spending as much time together as they wanted, and Denki had to physically refrain from bragging about how wonderful his boo was to the Squad (he had to lie by omission to them, and damn, it was not easy), and he had keep a poker face when he spotted Monoma a little too close to Shinso. Plus he could tell Hitoshi was growing frustrated too.
At first it was cute, and even a bit exciting, the thrill of not getting caught. But now, it was more a bother than anything else. Denki knew it. He was almost late this morning because the empty room they had sneaked in for a quick make out session was the farthest possible from 1-A classroom. His teachers already thought he was a lazy dummy, no need to add to it by arriving late.
But whenever he thought to screw it and just go kiss Hitoshi in plain sight like in Mina’s beloved rom-coms, Aizawa’s creepy head popped in his mind like a new Sadako accusing him of not being good enough for Shinso.
“We’re not really hiding…” He attempted, but Shinso quirked an eyebrow so Denki had to conceive. “Yeah, okay, we are but it’s not like that ! I know everybody would be chill about that.” From what he knew, every student in his and Shinso’s classes had accepted Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugo’s relationship. So if they had nothing against a (polygamous ? polyamorous ? He didn’t know the difference, but when he had joked about a new addition to the ménage-à-trois, Bakugo had almost blast his head off and yelled they were exclusive between the three of them and to shove his nosiness in his own ass) gay relationship, no one would have anything against a plain gay relationship. And it’s not like Denki had ever hid that he was swinging both ways. “Except maybe Monoma because he’s a douche when it comes to anything remotely linked to 1-A. And also because he probably has a crush on you.”
A small blush colored Hitoshi’s pale cheeks as he mumbled “Stop saying stupid things like that.”
“Like what ? That you’re hot and people are drooling over you? Well plot twist baby: it’s not stupid, and it’s the truth. You just don’t notice because you don’t see how awesome you are.” Sometimes, he wished he could lend his own eyes to Shinso, just so the other could see how he really was. “‘S just… Aizawa’s scary.”
He saw Shinso opening then closing his mouth, finally not saying anything. After a short pause, the 1-B student spoke. “Look, I don’t mind waiting if you need time but… can you at least promise me you’ll consider it?”
“Y’know what : if you promise me not to screw your much needed sleep with coffee at godforsaken hours, you got a deal.”
Shinso rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, I know it’ll make my dark circles bigger.”
“Toshi, your dark circles are like super cool ? It gives you twenty more points of charisma ! Like, it gives this mysterious, dark-handsome vibe !”
The only thing Denki didn’t like about his boyfriend’s growing bags was it meant he was getting more tired, and so, that Shinso was more likely to have one of his big, awful headaches. Shinso, on the other hand, didn’t seem to find the appeal. He just stared at the blond for a solid three seconds, like Denki had started speaking Venezualean or Russian.
“... Dark-handsome?”
“Yeah ! You know, like, for a rocker, or a dude in leather who kills monsters - oh, or like, a super clever scientist who studies magic !”
Denki proceeds to keep a comfortable rambling about the new D&D campaign the Squad had started and how Shinso would totally be a sorcerer blessed by a deity that would have him carry their power, sneaking a compliment here and there, just to keep making Hitoshi smile.