Work Text:
“Hitoshi, my man, my dude, my most wonderful excellent amazing friend–”
Shinsou pulled open the dorm room door that Kaminari was currently rapping on. “What is it? I’m trying to take a nap.”
Kaminari peeked inside, taking in the scattered math textbooks, discarded snack wrappers, and the face-up phone currently displaying a ‘cats are liquid’ slideshow in all its productive glory. “I see you’re working on Ectoplasm’s stuff already! I came to ask if you could help me study for the final tomorrow, you know, since you always seem to know exactly what you’re doing in his class?”
“Doesn’t look like I have a choice,” Shinsou snarked, but it was all bark and no bite (all hiss and no scratch?) as purr usual. “Seeing as you’ve already invited yourself in…”
Kaminari had the decency to look slightly ashamed. “I can leave you to your ‘nap’ and come back later-?”
Shinsou opened the door slightly wider. “Just get in here,” he grumbled, and with a whoop Kaminari stepped inside, plopping his stack of worksheets down on the floor.
“What is it you needed help with?” Shinsou asked once the pair had gotten cozy. “I’m a bit lost on the polar and parametrics myself, but we can work through whatever you need and struggle together if necessary.”
Kaminari beamed as he pulled one particular worksheet out from the middle of his stack. “You’re the best!”
Shinsou rolled his eyes. “I haven’t even confirmed if I know enough to help you yet.”
“You always do – you’re amazing,” Kaminari answered without hesitation, a slight blush creeping up his neck as he processed his own words.
Ignoring the way the tips of his ears were certainly turning red, and ever thankful for the fact that his messy hair was covering it, Shinsou leaned over to look at the worksheet that Kaminari had selected. “Integration by parts – that’s a trickier one, but we should be able to cover it in the next thirty minutes…”
~
“Thanks so much, Hitoshi!” Kaminari waved as he exited Shinsou’s room. “You were such a great help – I’d be ready to fail tomorrow if not for you, but now I think I can pass with at least a C plus!”
“Hey,” Shinsou chastised. “Don’t you dare talk yourself down like that. I know you’re going to do great – I’ve seen you master so many concepts in the last three hours.”
Kaminari grinned good-naturedly. “We’ll see.”
“And besides,” Shinsou added, “is that an insult to my teaching skills? Are you saying my student can only get a C-plus after I invested my precious time?” He smirked. “Nah, I’m expecting an A-minus or higher.”
Kaminari sputtered before regaining his composure, dipping into an overly deep bow. “Yes, Shinsou-sensei! I’ll be sure not to let you down!”
As the blond skipped safely out of earshot, Shinsou murmured, “You could never let me down.”
~
The day of the final dawned bright and early – a bit too early for Shinsou’s liking. He dragged himself down to the common area, rubbing his eyes groggily. “I’ll need a triple shot of espresso for today,” he muttered to himself, sinking into one of the couches and tearing open a protein bar. “And maybe a black coffee on top of that… four cups before noon for sure…”
Half falling asleep as he munched on his bar, he barely noticed when Kaminari set down a mug on the side table with a clink. “Toshi!” the electric blond singsonged. “Triple shot of espresso for my most beloved Professor Shinsou!”
Suddenly very wide awake, Shinsou stared in mild shock. “Denki?”
“Drink up!” Kaminari answered cheerily. “You need all your caffeine for today. Don’t want your student doing better than you, now, do you?”
Shinsou grinned, picking up the mug gratefully. “No way.”
~
The exam was brutal. But now, finally, it was over.
“Do you think you passed?” a dejected Kaminari asked Shinsou as they strode to the cafeteria. “Forget getting a C plus or an A minus. I just want to pass.”
“I think that thinking you did badly is a good sign,” Shinsou replied. “Whenever I think I bombed a test, I find out later that I actually did really well.”
Kaminari sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Hopefully.” A moment of silence passed before he spoke again, his words thoughtful. “But anyway, thank you for helping me, putting up with me, being patient with me for three whole hours… I wouldn’t have been able to do even half the stuff I knew on that exam without you. You’re amazing.”
Shinsou smiled back, his traitorous heart fluttering. “Anytime.”
~
“Hitoshi! I passed!”
Shinsou spun around just in time to see Kaminari leaping at him, clutching in his hand an exam booklet with a bold red A+ scribbled across the top.
The blond threw his arms around him, laughing giddily. “I passed, I passed, I passed!” he sang out. “And not only that, but I GOT AN A PLUS!!!”
Despite his attempt to remain cool and collected, Shinsou’s mouth stretched into a wide grin. “I knew you could,” he said. “I told you so, didn’t I?”
Kaminari beamed back. “Yeah, but I thought you were just being nice or something!” He laughed again. “But oh my gosh, I actually got the highest grade — I can’t believe it! I love you so much for this, Shinsou!”
As soon as the words fell from his mouth, Kaminari’s eyes went wide and he clapped his hands over his face. “Ah, I mean-”
Carefully, Shinsou began to speak. “When have I ever been nice for the sake of being nice?” he asked rhetorically. “I’m only nice to someone if I really mean it. I don’t care for all the awkward sugarcoating or pretending to believe something I don’t. I told you you could get an A because I knew you could get an A.” His voice dropped. “And… uh, I kinda like you too, if you meant it in that way.”
There was a pause.
“I was hoping you’d say the quiet part out loud,” Kaminari finally murmured.
Shinsou’s cheeks and neck reddened. “Oh, come on, you heard it the first time. As Aizawa-sensei would say, it’s illogical for me to repeat it.”
“Just let me have this, will you?” Kaminari shot back. “It’s not every day a guy gets confessed to by the person he’s had a crush on for three years, okay?”
Shinsou stared, his mouth falling open slightly. “You- you- you-”
It was Kaminari’s turn to flush. “Forget I said that, please. I sound like a lovesick idiot, don’t I? I mean- I know I always do, but-” he buried his face in his hands, trailing off.
Shinsou was silent for a moment longer. And then-
“The first time we met was three years ago! I cussed you out for being too stupidly nice in the bathroom and then we didn’t see each other for half a year until I got transferred into your class!”
Kaminari nodded. “Yep.”
“Where in the world is your taste in crushes?! What is wrong with you?” Shinsou burst out.
“I mean…” Kaminari ran a hand through his hair. “You like me back, apparently, so I have to had gone right somewhere, right?”
Shinsou looked up to the sky. “You’re an idiot. But I suppose I can’t argue with that logic.”
“You’ve got no right to argue,” Kaminari giggled. “Actually, I decree that you get no rights at all.”
Shinsou placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt. “How could you? After I just declared my feelings? After I just bared my heart to you?”
Kaminari winked. “You’ve got no rights because you stole my heart. That’s a crime, you so-called hero in training.”
Shinsou smirked. “And what are you going to do about it?”
Kaminari pretended to think for a moment. “Well, to make up for this dastardly deed, you’ve got to take me on a cheesy movie date, tutor me for my next three exams, and cook pancakes for me every morning for the rest of the week…”
Shinsou sighed affectionately. “Are you sure this is really punishing me?” he asked before his expression softened. “Because I’d love to do all these things for you for the rest of our lives.”