Chapter Text
🏫
Today was their first day back for the second term of their second year. The day went by boringly if you were to ask Kaminari his opinion. Most of the teachers were signing off on projects for the students or other big assignments. Kaminari thought that the war they went through was hard but these assignments were starting to add up, badly. He wasn't behind, yet. Bakugou wasn't going to allow his 'squad' to fall behind. He was more than grateful towards Bakugou, often enough he would do any favors to try to 'repay' him. The other blonde would actively remind him that he didn’t need payment. He was doing it because he cared for the other. A part of Kaminari was still scared to take the help. The last thing he wanted was for the other to believe he was only using him for homework help.
Kaminari was overthinking all his assignments for the week which caused him to space out during this class. He looked back up to the board and saw that it was covered in notes. He only has ¼ of the notes written down. He tried writing down as much as possible before the bell rang. Unfortunately for him, he only got 3 sentences in and the stupid bell rang. Looking down at his half-assed notes he ran a hand through his hair. He was going to need to ask someone for the notes, again. He mindlessly started to pack up his stuff. The only thing he was thinking about was who he should go to. His legs carried him down the stairs and towards the main exit.
I should probably go ask Katsuki for help. Wait no wouldn't he be annoyed with me because I wasn't focusing again? He's told me before that it's fine, but what if it isn't anymore? I mean he is an outspoken person but what if he is annoyed with almost always helping me and doesn't know how to tell me off? Doesn't make sense though. He tells class 2B off all the time. I wish I was born smart or something. Isn't that selfish to think? I mean I landed a spot in class 1A and now class 2A. I am still here and have a quirk to call my own, unlike Izuku. It's rude to think so lowly of myself when others have or have less than me. How does Izuku manage to stay positive after everything that's happened? Perhaps, I am not fully cut out for this? No, I can’t be thinking like that. I am cut out for this. I just need help. Katsuki and Ejirou are out, they always help me and I don't want to push Katsuki anymore. Hanta and Ashido have a date night plus they are almost always at the same level as me. Uh, maybe someone from the Deku-squad? I am not that close to them. Wait, I could ask Shinso? Would he even want to? Doesn't matter. I will ask him to see what he says and if not Tenya is my backup, then my backup for my backup is Momo, if all these fail I will have to face Katsuki... Kaminari was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't realize there was someone in front of him, he ended up colliding with the back of their head. They were at the front of the school on the trails to go to the dorms. Rubbing his forehead he got up and started to apologize for not looking where he was going. That's when he realized he had run into Shinso. He couldn't be more relieved, smiling brightly.
"Hey Shinso! Just the man I wanted to see!" Kaminari was still rubbing his forehead, but he gave Shinso a polite smile. He was still embarrassed about running into the other boy so his face was tinted a light shade of pink. "You wanted to see me. And are you okay?" Shinso was rubbing the back of his head. It didn't hurt that badly but he still felt pressure there. Kaminari quickly responded with "I am fine, don't worry! I should be asking you if you are okay. Well, are you okay?" Shinso took a moment before responding, "Yes, Kaminari I am fine. It doesn't hurt that badly. You did say that you wanted to see me. Did I do something or is this a favor to brainwash Bakugou again for a prank?" Kaminari started to feel guilty.
Have I only ever talked to him for a prank? I know we don’t hang out much or talk. That’s not fair. He shouldn’t believe that I am only using him for pranks and shit. Fuck my notes I can cry over them later. Shinso knowing I care for him is more important than learning about whatever the crap we were learning.
"Welp. There was something I was going to ask you." Shinso raised his eyebrow and tilted his head a little bit, from this angle he looked like a cat. "That would be?" quickly smiling his best smile Kaminari asked him "If you wanted to play a game with me or something. We don't hang out as much as we should. You are a fun guy!" Shinso's face was unreadable to Kaminari. His face doesn’t look pleasing right now. Did I already talk off his head? Does he find me annoying? Fuck….. "Oh, that's new. I mean sure? I honestly didn't think we'd talk again."
Huh, why wouldn’t we talk again? Oh. Is it because of the ‘prank’ thing? Man, I’ve fucked up bad. I need to start hanging out with him more. I think he’d like the rest of the Baku squad too. I mean I know he hangs out with Shouto, Izuku, and Tenya a lot. I guess he is a member of the Deku-squad? Damn it, I am getting off-topic.
Shinso was starting to worry, and Kaminari's face looked like one of disgust. Before Shinso could overthink it some more the blonde spoke up. "Why wouldn't we? We are in the same class and I think you'd get along perfectly with everyone Kyoka (Jirou), Fumikage (Tokoyami) and you seem to have similar music tastes. I've seen you bake so you and Rikido (Sato) would easily make amazing desserts! That's all I know of you sadly. So let's fix that. Do you like being in big groups Shinso?"
"Well I don't mind being in big crowds, but typically they aren't my thing. Why do you ask?" Shinso responded as he started to walk toward the dorms. He was walking slower than normal so Kaminari took it as his invitation to continue their conversation. "I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out with some other of our classmates, but if you just want it to be us two that's cool too" Kaminari was matching his walking speed to Shinso's. While walking he had a habit of swinging his arms back and forward. If Shinso noticed, he chose not to mention it. "We could just hang out in one of our dorms?" Kaminari was thinking it over. Hanging out in each other’s dorms felt… intimate for some reason. He chose to go with it anyway. "We could go to mine! I mean I have a switch" Shinso gave Kaminari a questioning look. "A switch?" Now he was confused about why the other looked confused. "Yeah. We could play Smash Bros or Mario Karts. What other games are there? Oh is there one you have in mind?" The idea of playing games was fun to Kaminari. He learned from Bakugou that this was one of the best ways to bond with someone. "I haven't played any multiplayer games so I've only played Animal Crossing on the Switch"
Kaminari stopped walking and Shinso noticed almost too quickly. Shinso couldn't read the expression on Kaminari's face. He was starting to think he had said something wrong until the blonde spoke. "That's criminal Toshi! How have you never played multiplayer games?" Dramatically Kaminari put one hand over his heart and another one on his forehead. Shinso still wasn't sure what happened but knew nothing bad had happened. He also found it weird that just a moment ago Kaminari was calling him by his last name and now was calling him by a shortened version of his first name. He was going to leave it be. It didn’t bother him anyways. "Welp for one I didn't have that many friends growing up and for two how do you play multiplayer games alone." Kaminari wanted to move forward and hug Shinso but decided against it. He didn't know him that well to do things like that. Instead, he knew that reassuring words would be better. "That's all about to change for you, my FRIEND. We are going to play as many games as possible!" He lightly punched the other’s shoulder, if he could not hug him this would suffice.
Kaminari noticed the smallest of sparkles forming in Shinso's eyes. He knew that Shinso lacked friends but seeing it and hearing it up close changed everything. There wasn't a reason for it. How could you not befriend someone as awesome as Shinso? "All today?" Kaminari noticed it took him a second to reply but it didn't seem like Shinso minded. Shinso was getting used to Kaminari’s delayed responses. Maybe it was something he couldn’t control. "No silly. Across multiple hangouts! Unless you don't want to." Quickly Shinso responded with "Yes! Umm. Yeah, I am okay with multiple hangouts. Sounds good." Kaminari couldn't help but giggle a little. "You sound nervous? Are you okay?" Shinso quickly started to walk forward again, and Kaminari followed suit. "Yeah. I just lack social skills. Nothing new. "
If we want to be technical it’s new to me. But maybe we aren’t so different?
"That's okay, I lack most social cues. Anyways, let's change out of our uniforms and then meet up in my room?" Shinso nodded but felt that was rude since Kaminari didn't see it since he was looking forward. He chose to also say something. "Okay. See you later then?" Shinso and Kaminari made their way to the front door of the building and went up the stairs. Shinso's room was a floor above Kaminari's so he quickly waved to the blonde as he continued up the stairs. As Kaminari walked with a bounce in his step, he was pleased that Shinso had accepted his invitation to hang out. Until it dawned on him. He'd fully forgotten about the notes. Normally it would be fine but these notes were due Monday. Today was Friday. His room was also a bit messy.
Holy fucking shit. Okay, first I need to clean my room a bit. Kaminari nervously started cleaning his room while continuing to overthink. The fucking notes are due on Monday. I need to get them over the weekend. But who? It’s rude to ask people about homework on the weekends, I think? I remember this one girl got made fun of for it during middle school. Wait, I don't think anyone would care. The class has study sessions on the weekends all the time. I could just go to one of those. I think there’s one on Sunday. It’s a little embarrassing though. I don’t know what to do. I could cancel on Shinso and go get notes from someone today but that’s rude. It doesn’t matter. I said Shinso was more important so fuck the notes. I can just cry to Aizawa about the notes or something. Knocking at Kaminari's door snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you umm decent? It's Shinso." Without missing a beat the blonde responded with "Yes, I am. Unless you don't want me to be…... Wait umm ignore that. It slipped out." Shinso walked in and noticed the blush spreading across the other's face. He wasn't going to mention it. "I am sorry. I am used to joking with Hanta and Ejiro like that." Kaminari turned his head away from the door. He didn't want to make eye contact after that. He just threw his blanket onto the bed and continued to look anywhere but in Shinso’s direction.
"Isn't Sero dating Mina and Kirishima dating Bakugou?" Kaminari was taken aback by the question. Then he remembered Shinso probably hadn't flirted with friends before. Since he hadn't had many friends before. "Yes. I have talked to Ashido and Katsuki about it and they are okay with us fake flirting. I don't think Hanta swings that way and Ejiro is HEAVILY in love with Katsuki. We all flirt with each other. If you ever need pick-up lines go to Ashido. She has the smoothest ones. Oh ho ho, wait no Kats does. It's so out of character for him but in his words "I am the best at everything. It’s not my fault you guys are just bad at everything." Ash has the best date ideas. Hanta and Ejirou give the best presents." Kaminari gradually started speaking faster as his thought process continued. By the end, he was out of breath.
"What about you? What are you good at." The blonde smiled sheepishly "Glad you asked. Come take a seat." Kaminari gestured for Shinso to come sit on the bed. Shinso went over and sat on the edge of the bed. "You can sit more on the bed Shinso I don't bite." Kaminari smiled brightly as he spoke. Shinso felt more comfortable after seeing that smile, so he went to sit by the wall. Kaminari was sitting by the other wall where his head usually is when he is sleeping. He turned off the main lights and turned on the LED lights that were all across his ceiling. The room was now this red-purple color to create a dramatic effect.
"I, my friend. Am the cupid of the group." Shinso raised an eyebrow to him. He remembered hearing once that Cupid himself got lonely. Was he trying to say he was lonely? "The cupid?" Kaminari nodded his head rapidly. "Yes! I am not the best at coming up with clever pick-up lines. They are usually very cheesy and corny. Date ideas take too much brain power. Presents I am good at but not near Ei's and Han's levels. So I figured out I am the cupid. I mean I did get Ej to confess to Kats and Hanta to confess to Ashido. But if you ask Blasty he will say he confessed first." Shinso smirked before saying "Are you Cupid because you are cute?" as quickly as he said it his face turned red but thankfully the lighting wasn't showing it that well. "Oh ho ho. Seems like you are also a cute type of pick-up line person." Shinso hadn’t meant for that to slip out, but Kaminari's wording confused him enough to forget that he was embarrassed.
"Kaminari, that sentence made almost no sense." Kaminari shrugged as he got up from the bed. He started setting up the TV and attaching his switch to it. "Doesn’t need to make sense. The less sense the better. I think that’s how that goes. I don’t know what I am talking about anymore. Anyway, you didn't answer me. What game do you want to play? There are many different choices we have. Is there one you've ever wanted to play but couldn't?" Shinso took a minute. He genuinely didn't know what kind of game to play. "We could just start a Minecraft world or something?"
Kaminari accepted his answer and they started a new Minecraft world together. They played survival but Kaminari insisted on keeping his inventory on. Shinso didn't mind so they played with cheats on in case they wanted to get something from creative mode. They were able to build a fairly big house. The bottom level was Kaminari's and the top level was Shinso's. Kaminari suggested the idea of decorating their floors secretly away from each other and then revealing them once they are finished. Shinso agreed and then spent the next 2 hours decorating. Shinso finished first, and the other boy took 30 minutes longer. Shinso went first and showed off his level. It was decorated with purples, blues, and blacks. The thing that caught Kaminari's attention was the 5 cats near the bed. Kaminari asked Shinso about it and he admitted to liking cats. He stored the information for later. That was when the two boys got a text message from the class group chat that Bakugou finished cooking and the food was ready to eat. Kaminari ran out of the room and went flying down the stairs. Shinso followed behind him, but like a normal person, he wasn’t running. Everyone gathered around the dining table. Since it was Bakugou's turn to cook, the food was to die for. Everyone talked about their day, the homework assignments they had, and what plans everyone had for the weekend. Slowly people started turning in for the night, placing their dishes in the sink and heading up to their rooms. Kaminari and Shinso finished dinner around the same time and headed up together until they needed to split since their rooms were on different levels.
"Hey umm. I had fun today. Thank you." Shinso softly smiled at Kaminari. The other boy felt ecstatic that he was able to make someone happy. Small sparks surrounded his fingers as he hid them behind his back "I am glad you had fun Shin. We should hang out again soon or something." Shinso nodded his head in response and softly smiled as he started heading up the stairs to his room. Kaminari waited until he was out of sight to begin making his way to his room.
🌕 ▶️ ☀️
The following morning Shinso woke up rather early compared to other weekends. He had nothing better to do so he started cleaning his room. As he was picking up the clothes off the floor, he realized that he had accidentally left one of his jackets in Kaminari's room. He made his way down and knocked on the door. There wasn’t an answer, but he could hear music lightly playing. He chose to open the door slowly. It was noticeable that Kaminari was working on something at his desk. “Hey. Kaminari?” The boy looked up from his papers. “Oh hey, Shinso! Do you need something?” He placed his pen down and turned the chair to face Shinso . “Errr. I just came to get my sweater that I left behind yesterday.” Kaminari pointed over to the beanbag in the corner of the room between his bed and the closet. “I am guessing it’s that lovely sweater right there!” Shinso looked to where his finger was pointing. “Yes. That’s my sweater, but umm what are you doing?” Looking back at his papers and then at Shinso again he spoke, “It’s umm…..the notes I missed yesterday. I got distracted and didn’t get the notes so I am making them up today since they are due on Monday.” Kaminari tried his hardest to pull off a smile. The idea of missing notes because he distracted himself was eating away at him. “Do you need help?” Shinso spoke quietly, almost as if he didn’t realize he’d voice his thoughts out loud. “I couldn’t ask that of you! It’s going to be fine. These notes are easy anyways.”
Easy….easy enough I want to drop out again. Maybe I can make it as a fisherman or something.
“They are? I found them kind of hard.”
Oh. Shit. Fuck me.
“Kaminari. It’s honestly fine. I want to help you. I can see you are struggling. Just let me go to my room and grab my backpack.” Shinso didn’t wait for Kaminari to reply, instead went straight out the door and to his room. Kaminari was left in shock. From then on they would regularly have study sessions and help each other out. Shinso would help with Math and History while Kaminari would help with English and Science.
🍂 🎃 ☕️
Subconsciously Kaminari started buying many different clothes that had accents of purple. His clothes now were mainly yellow with black accents, and he had no idea where this came from. Having more colors never hurts anyone, though. Mina and Bakugou noticed this.
🍂 🎃 ☕️
Throughout September Shinso and Kaminari grew ever closer. They spent most evenings with one another. Kaminari was still trying to get Shinso to be comfortable enough to join him and the rest of the 'Baku squad.' Shinso finally agreed to join Kaminari for a group hangout after Kaminari oh so begged him many, many, many times. The others were nothing but welcoming but Shinso still felt out of place. After a couple of hangouts Sero and Shinso grouped up to crack jokes about Kaminari's not-so-smart moments. Secretly, Kaminari didn't even care. Seeing Shinso get along with more people and enjoy being around them made the blonde jump in joy. His heartbeat would increase, he couldn't control his face and would break out in a smile.
It was the end of September and everyone was relaxing in Kirishima's room. Bakugou and Kirishima were cuddling on the bed, Sero and Mina were sitting on bean bags by the closet, and Shinso sat on a bean bag near Kaminari's feet. Kaminari claimed the desk chair as his own and everyone let him. They liked seeing how happy he would get about the chair. Everyone had their own mini-conversations going on. Kirishima, Bakugou, and Sero in one, and Kaminari and Shinso. This is when Mina starts to question Shinso and Kaminari, they are offaly close to each other. At first, she thought that it was the same as he was with Kirishima and Sero but then on a couple of occasions, she caught Kaminari faintly blushing. She started observing him and this time she knew that Kaminari had to have a crush on Shinso. Shinso wasn't the best to read but she was placing high bets he liked him back too. He treated the other boys in the group differently, in a good way. They way they both looked at each other was lovingly. The way Kaminari’s wardrobe became purple too, god this boy was in deep.
"Ashido, are you good?" Sero turned over on his beanbag and gave Mina a look. "It's nothing. I was just zoning out. You needed something?" Sero quickly looked where she was looking and caught on. Leading in, he began to whisper. "So? What is going on between those two?" Mina giggled before responding. "I have reason to believe that our Denki might like Shinso!" Sero looked back at the other two and back at Mina. "I thought that Denki liked Kyoka?" Wait shit no. She's dating Momo. Then I'd have to agree. He gets all giggly like he used to with Kyoka."
"What are you two whispering about?" Bakugou interrupted. Mina and Sero flushed in embarrassment. Kirishima, Shinso, and Kaminari also started to look over. "Nothing!" They said in unison. "You guys suck at lying you know." Mina whipped her head around, eyed Kaminari up and down, and responded, "You aren't any better you know." Dramatically Kaminari gasped loudly before fake fainting. "You wound me Ashy. You might as well have told me you don't love me." Mina rolled her eyes and everyone went back to one conversation. They were all planning a big hang-out with the Deku-squad. Fall was around the corner, and many loved this time of year.
🕰️
A couple of hours later everyone started heading back to their rooms. Shinso was the first, Sero followed suit and Mina and Kaminari headed out together. Before Kaminari could get far Mina rushed over and grabbed Kaminari's wrist. "I need to speak with you Denks." Kaminari turned around. He was starting to worry. The words "we need to talk" are rarely used in a good manner. "Is this something bad? And or do we need to talk privately?"
"It's not a bad talk. I am just wondering about some things and yes it's private. Let's go to my room to talk, okay?" Kaminari let out a breath he didn't notice he was holding. "Okay. Okay. Let's go to your room." Mina led the way and Kaminari followed. Opening the door she moved to the side to let the blonde go in first. Kaminari jokingly bowed and went to sit on the bed's edge. Closing the door Mina also headed to take a seat on the bed.
"So? Umm. What is this about? I know you said it's not bad talk but you sounded way too serious….. DID SOMETHING HAPPEN BETWEEN YOU AND HANTA? Is he not treating you well? Do I need to talk to him?" Mina was taken aback by Kaminari's responses. It was sweet that even though Sero and Kaminari were close, being "brothers from different mothers" he was willing to put Sero in his place if he got out of line. "Goodness no Denki! Hanta and I are doing great! This is about your love life. Understand?" Huh? What the fuck is she talking about? "Mine? I don't have a love life, Ashido." Mina gave him another look. "Are you bs'ing me or are you being for real?" He didn't respond immediately. Why does she seriously believe I have a crush on someone? I haven't spoken to anyone like that. I’ve only flirted with three people to be giving off that impression. Ejirou is dating Katsuki, she knows this. It's obvious that she knows she's dating Hanta. "Hitoshi?" Mina gasped loudly and started to whisper-yell. "YOU LIKE SHINSO?!"
"WHAT? WHEN DID I SAY THAT." Kaminari started to turn pink from that. He was sure he didn't say his name out loud. " YOU JUST SAID HIS NAME. LIKE HIS GIVEN- FIRST NAME. I DIDN'T KNOW YOU TWO WERE THAT CLOSE!" Kaminari was full-on red. Little sparks of electricity started forming around his body. "You are flustered as hell! Did you realize you liked him?" Kaminari whispered something inhumanly quiet. "Denki?"
"So maybe I just realized something..."
Kaminari started to get up. "Where are you going?" He turned to her and smiled lightly. "Umm, bed yeah. I will text you later! Promise." Kaminari opened and closed the door, running to his room. The reality of the situation was hitting. He liked Shinso a lot more than he thought. All of these "friendly" feelings weren't so friendly.
🌙 ▶️☀️
He, in fact, did not text Mina later that night. He mostly spent it freaking out about this newly found information. Kaminari was already questioning whether or not he only liked girls. He's found multiple males attractive before, he would've dated his best friend from middle school if he knew about his bisexual-ness then. Now comes the problem of how to handle it like a normal person.
How am I supposed to act normally around him? I didn't have to worry about Jirou finding out that I liked her last year since that was the goal. I wouldn't mind him knowing that I have a crush on him but isn't it a little bit soon? Wait didn't I call him handsome when I FIRST met him? At least he knows I find him good-looking. Does he even find men attractive? Would he be willing to date one, let alone me? I am over-stressing. It's fine. I could just treat him like normal but be a little more flirty and see how he reacts to it. Why am I already thinking about dating him? I JUST found out. I am not against the idea of dating him right now. I guess I’ve always had these feelings? Fuck it. If it all goes to shit I blame Ashido and say it was a dare? Nope. I've seen enough TV shows to know that's how miscommunications happen and they don't get together fast enough. Why am I comparing my love life to shows? KATSUKI. He's read enough romance shit to help me out. Tomorrow morning I'll head over and ask him what I should do. Piece of cake.
Kaminari went to set an alarm for 7 AM. He needed to talk to Bakugou before the rest of the students woke up. Shinso was the last person he needed to find out about this. To make sure of this the only way was to talk to Bakugou alone, the only time he was alone was in the mornings. Mostly everyone in the dorms doesn't wake up until 9 AM on weekends. Restlessly he tossed and turned on his bed. After 2 hours of mindlessly scrolling on his phone, he became sleepy enough to start closing his eyes. He still needed background noise so he turned on a random documentary on his phone before piling blankets on himself.
🌙 ▶️☀️
Kaminari awoke to the sound of his phone ringing loudly and vibrating. It took him a minute to turn around and shut it off. He might've woken up his dorm neighbors so he took a second to hear around. It didn't sound like anyone woke up from his alarm. Rubbing his eyes he pulled the blankets off himself and sat with his legs dangling from the side of the bed. He had forgotten why he set that alarm in the first place. He looked around his room and landed on one of his jackets with purple accents. Hitoshi. Running a hand through his hair he got up from his bed and went to his door. He stood there behind his door for a minute. It was regret sinking in, now he was having second thoughts about everything. Should he ask for help? Was it better to leave things as is? Before he could start doubting himself more he finally opened the door and made his way to Bakugou's room. The other blonde's room was a floor above Kaminari's. As luck would have it, it was on the same floor as Shinso's room. Now he was fully regretting getting out of bed. There's no way Shinso wouldn't hear because of how thin the walls of this place are. Fuck me. I should've just texted Katsuki that I wanted to talk. Kaminari was starting to back away from the door, as he was about to turn around and start walking, the door opened.
"Huh? Dunce face, what are you doing here?" Bakugou spoke through slight yawns. "I was going to ask you something but it's not that important so I was going to go back to my room." Bakugou eyed him up and down, he was expecting some form of a joke to happen until he saw that Kaminari was nervously playing with the sleeves of the shirt he was wearing. "It's not nothing. You out of all people wouldn't wake up 'this early' to come to my room." Bakugou made air quotes when he said "this early." Kaminari would always say anything before 10 in the morning is diabolically early. "Is this a private talk that you are okay with Eijirou hearing or is it so private only I can know?" Kaminari took a minute to respond. It wouldn't be the end of the world if he told Kirishima. The only reason he hadn't thought about telling him was because he knew the redhead would actively try setting them up, but this was something he wanted to do on his own. "I would prefer it if only you knew as of right now."
"Okay give me a minute. Go put on shoes" That was all Bakugou said before he went back inside his room. It left Kaminari confused but he did as he was told and went to his room to grab some running shoes. As he was putting on his shoes Bakugou sent a message to Kaminari to meet him at the front doors of the building. After Kaminari finished grabbing and slipping on his shoes he saw Bakugou waiting at the doors. He didn't know how to start the conversation so he just waved at Bakugou. Bakugou nodded his head and they began walking. It was dead silent. Kaminari wasn't comfortable with it, it made him feel like he wasn't supposed to be here right now. His skin started to get goosebumps from the chilly morning air too. That's when Bakugou spoke up. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"
Kaminari was debating on lying or not. It's not like his love life was this important to talk about. At the same time, he didn’t know what to do. Sure he was surprisingly good at giving out love advice but taking it was a whole different level. He needed someone to talk to.
"Don't even dare to lie to me. If you had the thought to talk to someone about it it means it's important to talk about." Kaminari remained silent. "Is this about homework help? I've noticed that you haven't been asking for help for a little while now. If it is that then I don't mind helping you. I told you I am fine helping you even if it tests my patience. I can understand that learning doesn't come as easy to you as it does to me."
"It's not homework help. Thank you though...for reassuring me. I have been getting homework help from someone else. Not that you weren't doing good....it's just I felt annoying always asking for help and never being able to give the same help back. I don't know if that makes sense. I can't fully put my emotions into words."
Bakugou lightly chuckled. Kaminari couldn’t process if the other was making fun of him or not. "You've helped me with English homework a couple of times. It's not like you "aren't of no help." But Denki I don't expect something in return when I help you. I help you because we are friends. If I expected something in return it would be more of a business transaction, not a genuine friendship. I know I am the last person to be talking about how friendship works but that's how I have grown to see them. So, what is this about?"
"It's kind of silly now. After that conversation we just had." Kaminari lightly laughed at himself. He wasn't expecting Bakugou to reassure him of their friendship. It was something he needed to hear so he was grateful that Bakugou was able to read him like a book. At the beginning of this year, Kaminari had opened up to Bakugou about how poorly he had viewed himself in the past. One of the things he'd grown to learn and live by was his value was only measured by how much he was able to help others. That's when things started clicking for Bakugou like why the boy acted the way he did.
Bakugou caught on fast that Kaminari needed to be reassured a lot, it wasn't something that Kaminari actively told people through words but if you were to see his actions you'd notice it right away. Another reason why he felt blessed to have someone like Bakugou around. Bakugou would speak for him when he couldn't find the words. "Doesn't matter to me. If you thought about telling someone, find the person worth telling." The two of them were in the woods near the school. There was a bridge that went over the pond, Kaminari took a seat and sat with his feet dangling just above the water. Bakugou followed the other's lead and sat beside him. "I think I might've fallen in love with someone."
"You are asking me for love advice? Out of all people? Damn, you surely are in a rough place" Kaminari lightly punched Bakugou's shoulder in response. "You suck." Bakugou couldn't help but smile. "I came to you for several reasons I will have you know." This caught Bakugou’s attention. "First, Ashido found out and I am NOT getting my advice from her. Don't get me wrong I love the girl but we both know she can go over the top. Hanta is wrapped up with Ashido so that takes him out. Eijirou would actively want to set me up and I want to do this on my own." Bakugou could understand that. When he was trying to ask out Kirishima he told Kaminari to stay out of it. “This is something I need to do on my own.” It’s now his time to return the favor. "So why don't you tell him that?"
"Good point." Bakugou noticed that Kaminari left out Shinso. There was one of two options that he was coming up with. 1. Kaminari and Shinso weren't as close as he thought or 2. Shinso is the one that he is in love with. Only one way to find out. "So what about that purple-haired guy you've been around a lot lately." Bakugou turned his head to the side and saw that Kaminari's face was now a deep shade of red. Option two was the right choice. "H-...Shinso. His name is Shinso." Kaminari turned his head as far as possible away from Bakugou's line of sight. He was caught and was going to get teased about it. "Seems like you have a type for people with purple hair."
"Be quiet. How did you guess it that fast?..... Holy shit don't tell me it was that obvious?! Do you think he knows?" He turned his head back to look at Bakugou. His expression was hard to read, but Bakugou knew he needed to choose his next words wisely to not cause the other to overthink. “It’s not hidden. At the same time, it’s not something people will see unless they are trying to find it. I only guessed it based on how you started talking. There are 5 people in the class that you are undoubtedly close to. You mention Eijirou, Hanta, Ashido and I am here. That left out Shinso. The odds were he was the one you were going to tell me about or you two weren’t as close as I thought.” Kaminari pondered the other boy's words. He wasn’t entirely wrong. “Do you think he knows? It’s not hidden like you said, but do you think he’s looked into it and noticed before I did?” Bakugou thought back to Shinso’s and Kaminari's interactions. It didn’t seem like Shinso knew about the crush, but at the same time, it did. It was hard to tell. Even more, due to Bakugou not being close to the boy. “I can’t tell you that. It seems to me that he knows but at the same time no, I can’t judge. If he did notice he doesn’t seem to mind it. Or else he would’ve said something by now.”
“I guess that’s good?” Kaminari was nervous and worried that he might’ve messed up an amazing friendship. “It’s not the end of the world. If he had a problem with anything you were doing he’d tell you to stop. He likes being around you. Take that for what it is.” It was still an odd sight to see Bakugou being….not overly aggressive and yelling. It was a good change. “Take that for what it is.” “Um. Do you believe I can make him fall in love with me?” That Bakugou didn’t know. With Kirishima, it just so happened that they both liked each other at the right time. He didn’t know anything about making people fall in love with you. “As cliche and stupid as it is. Just be yourself. I didn’t make or do anything to get Ejirou to fall in love with me, Ashido didn’t change anything to make Hanta fall in love with her. The only case that would go against it is Shouto and Izuku. Shouto changed for Izuku, but for himself too. He changed into someone Izuku would be proud of, but in a way that helped him overcome his past. If he can’t love you for who you already are then he isn’t going to love you through the worst of it.”
What if I haven’t accepted who I am?
“Who knew you were so wise.” Kaminari chuckled at himself. “What is so funny?” Kaminari broke eye contact first, staring into his reflection that was spread across the water. “You talk about not changing. But with the relationships you’ve talked about, they’ve all changed. Shoto changed…grew because of Izuku. I will give it to you that one changed for another. But you’ve changed too. At the start of our first year, no one but Izuku and Ejirou talked to you. In actual conversation might I add before you smart-mouth me. Ei slowly helped you change. You grew. You are more open with the class, with yourself. I think changing yourself for a relationship isn’t bad.” Bakugou looked at the water. The stillness of the water was left undisturbed. “That’s not change. That’s called growing. You said “grew” instead of “change” a couple of times. I didn’t change for Eijirou. He just made me realize I wanted to be a better person.”
“I guess you are right. We should start heading inside. Ei is going to start looking for you.” Kaminari started standing, foot hitting the water. Ripples spread over the surface. What once was peacefully left undisturbed is no longer. “Is there something else you want to get off your chest?”
Nothing that time won’t change.
“Nope. Thank you.” Bakugou copied the other’s movement and unfolded his legs to stand. Bakugou said “You’re welcome” , and they made their way inside. Kaminari went to his room and Bakugou to his.
⏩⏩ - ⏸️
After some time, Kaminari realized and accepted that he was attracted to Shinso. Although he attempted to remain calm around the other, it turned out that there was nothing to worry about. He undoubtedly got butterflies around the other, but it was so natural he didn't fumble over words. He realized this was how it felt to be in love, not crushing over someone. If anything he made more of an effort to spend his time around Shinso. They got comfortable enough to call each other by their given names in public. Aizawa caught on rather quickly. Shinso had been adopted by Aizawa sometime during the summer. Shinso’s parents were moving to the Netherlands and wanted to take him with them, but Shinso wanted to remain in Japan, with his classmates. They sorted something out and Aizawa became his legal guardian. Shinso would still fly over to the Netherlands to visit his parents from time to time. Shinso got lucky and had a family and found family.
Speaking of. It was a weekend when most students got the chance to go home to their families. Todoroki went with Bakugou and Midoriya to visit home. After the war, Todoroki didn’t want to spend a lot of time at home. The guilt of Touya’s death weighed heavy on him. Fuyumi had thrown herself into her work and Natsuo moved away with his now fiance. Uraraka would go and visit Toga’s gravestone whenever she got the chance. Often Todoroki, Midoriya, and Uraraka would go together to visit Touya, Himiko, and Tenko. “Someone needed to remember their stories. To show them they are loved. Perhaps loved too late, but loved nevertheless.” Kirishima, Kaminari, Mina, Ida, Jirou, Yaoyorozu, Koda, and Ojiro were some of the other students who visited home frequently.
On this day Shinso was helping set up the table for dinner. Yamada and Aizawa were cooking in the kitchen while Eri colored the pages of a puppy coloring book. Shinso had finished setting up the table earlier than expected, so he went into the living room with Eri and sat on the couch. He pulled out his phone and watched a couple of the Instagram reels that Kaminari had sent him the day prior. A ghost of a smile was on his face. Most of the reels were of cats. He’d let it slip that he liked cats once and Kaminari remembered that information pretty well. He’d gotten Shinso a cat keychain to help him stop losing his keys as often. It was a sweet little gift, but it meant the world to him. He actively made sure not to break it, taking great care of the little thing.
Aizawa was about to walk into the living room to announce that dinner was ready. When he saw Shinso smiling idiotically at his screen. "What are you smiling at Hitoshi?” Shinso turned off the phone as fast as humanly possible and said “Nothing!” Eri and Shinso were told by Aizawa to go wash up after he rolled his eyes at Shinso. In the dining room, Yamada finished serving plates. “What’s up Shota? You have that look in your eye.” Aizawa couldn’t tell if Present Mic was trying to joke about his missing eye or not. “I have a sneaking suspicion that Hitoshi may have started crushing on someone in UA.”
“So what if he has?” Present Mic questioned. “It’s not a bad thing. I am just curious to know who it might be.” Present Mic then remembers how at the start of the student's first year some of the teachers placed bets on who would end up together and who was queer. Midnight ended up getting some of them right, sadly she isn’t here in person to see their relationships bloom. They all knew she was keeping them safe from up above. “Why don’t we place a bet? You know, like old times.” Aizawa smiled softly. Present Mic didn’t need to say anything, he knew the memory all too well. “Seems like you have someone in mind.?” As brightly as ever Mic spoke. “I am willing to bet it’s that Momona kid. They seemed to understand each other rather well when Class 1A and Class 1B did their training together.”
Shinso and Eri walked into the room before Aizawa said his bet out loud. They all took their seats at the table. The conversation started slowly, with everyone talking about their day and the plans they were making for the future. “Toshi. This year class 2A is in charge of taking care of the haunted house. Is there anyone you’d like to work with?” Yamada gave Aizawa a nasty look. This was his way of seeing who was the first person that popped into Shinso’s mind. “Why do you ask?” Shinso wasn’t dumb. Before entering the room, he overheard a small portion of the conversation. “I am in charge of making the groups. I was curious if you wanted me to partner you up with your friends or have it be random.” Shinso had to bite his tongue. He was going to instantly say Kaminari’s name, but then that would’ve given it away fast. Then again there wasn’t anyone else in the class he’d liked to partner up with besides the blonde. He remembered how Kaminari had a hyper-fixation with anything Halloween or horror, it’s now his time to return the favor of itsm things. “Well. Denki would be a good person to partner up with. He has spent a lot of time watching Halloween movies. If this is being graded I….We would get an A for sure.”
“This isn’t being graded. It's to make sure you kids have fun. Last year you helped with the haunted maze. It’s going to be a little similar to that. Since we're having a haunted festival that is also open to the public, UA has rented out the area. It’s to brighten everyone’s spirits after this year’s events. Different groups will work in different areas. Class 2B and a couple of the other courses are helping out as well.” Shinso remembers everything that happened earlier this year. This was a good distraction from the world. “So. What groups are available?” Aizawa pulled out his phone and started reading down the list. “Class 2A has quite a few options. Six groups will be formed for the event, including the first group to assist in the baked goods section, the second group to dress up as horror/Halloween characters, the third group to assist with rides, the fourth group to paint faces, the fifth group to be security, and the final group to be the haunted house.” What would Denki like to do? The haunted house is the safest bet, but dressing up is also his thing. “I don’t know. The dressing up sounds fun, but the haunted house does too.”
“What do you think Kaminari would like to do?” Shinso's face ran hot, trying to save his dignity he placed his hands over his face. “I don’t know. I would say the haunted house perhaps then again dressing up is something he’d like.” Aizawa hummed in acknowledgment. “I remember that last year he let it slip that he started to really like haunted houses. Whenever I or any of the other students asked him why he wouldn’t say.” Yamada said as he was serving food on Eri’s plate. Shinso has a few memories of seeing Kaminari in the haunted house. There was a picture somewhere on Mina’s phone where Shinso was jump scaring people passing by and one of them happened to be the blonde. Now that he thought about it he saw him in the house at least 6 times, always with different groups. He looked like he was searching for someone. Did he have a crush on one of the girl actors or something?
“Now that you mention it I do remember seeing him. He and half of the class were going through. I guess I would choose the haunted house and have De… Ka… Denki is someone that’s in my group.” Shinso hesitated for a moment before adding, “Wouldn’t this be classified as favoritism?” Aizawa shrugged his shoulders, “And? You're my kid.” Shinso rolled his eyes, “Aren’t we all your kids?” Aizawa knew that Shinso was right, there was no point in arguing. They continued with dinner, finishing up and everyone went off to their rooms for bed.
▶️
The time was around three in the morning, and Shinso was still awake. During middle school, he began having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. There have been a few occasions when he has been afraid to sleep for no apparent reason. To keep himself awake he’d watch random cleaning videos on YouTube. This was one of the nights where sleep didn’t seem to come. Kaminari stopped responding to text messages around 11 pm. Shinso guessed that he had fallen asleep. He was in the middle of a movie when the notification that someone was calling appeared. “Knock-Off Rapunzel… is calling.” Shinso answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Hi!” Kaminari spoke loudly, causing Shinso to press the lower volume button rapidly.
“Not that I mind, but why the hell are you calling me?”
“Easy. I woke up and saw you were active on Instagram.”
Shinso rolled his eyes but realized Kaminari didn’t Facetime him so he couldn’t see him. “For your information, I rolled my eyes. Guessing you can’t sleep?”
“No, I can. I just wanted to talk to you though.”
“Huh? That’s weird. People usually will go to sleep instead of calling.” While Shinso was responding to Kaminari he was grabbing his headphones and putting them in. The last thing he needed was Kaminari yelling something and Aizawa waking up.
“Okay, it’s half true. I did want to talk to you. It’s just….promise not to make fun of it?”
His voice was uncharacteristically quiet. If it wasn’t for the fact that Shinso put in his headphones he would’ve missed it. “I won’t.”
“It’s not a secret and you might’ve heard people in the class talk about it. My hair glows in the dark so there are some nights that it bugs me and it wakes me up. It’s so fucking stupid.”
“I mean if you were afraid of the dark it would’ve been a cool night light. It’s gonna be a stupid question but have you tried sleeping with something covering your hair?”
Kaminari let out a long sigh before responding to Shinso’s question. “You are right, dumb question. Seriously though, I have placed pillows over my head, blankets, and even tried to wrap my hair in a towel. They work until I start moving in my sleep and they fall off. I’ve tried wearing a sleeping mask and they are like 75% effective. The problem is I move around A LOT during my sleep.”
“Is that why there are some days you come to class looking like a damn zombie?”
Kaminari chuckled at that. “Yeah. I am not the best looking while I am running on 3 hours of sleep.”
“I doubt anyone looks good sleep-deprived.”
“Yeah, yet you manage to pull it off effortlessly.” You could practically hear the smirk in his voice when he said that.
“Ha. Ha. Anyways. Are you planning on going back to sleep?
“I want to, but my hair is bright right now so I have my face buried into a pillow.”
Now it was Shinso’s turn to chuckle. “Err. I feel like I should tell you. I knew about the glowing hair thing. It’s not the worst side effect from a quirk.”
“I had a feeling. That one day you gave me your phone to change the music. I saw a notification from “Knock-Off Rapunzel” and saw it was me. I will say it’s a creative name. I loved that movie growing up. It’s sad because most of the class hasn’t seen it since it’s hard to find a Japanese dub for it. The movie is an 11/10. Wait, have you seen it?”
“Yeah. After I learned English to a good enough point to understand most conversations I watched the movie for the first time. It’s great. I’ve been teaching Eri English so she could watch the movie.”
Before Kaminari spoke he gave a warning to Shinso to turn down his volume, and Shinso followed suit. Then he started to whisper yell. “AHH! It’s hard to find people who have seen the movies I have. I will say I have read and seen movies that are predominantly in English and since we aren’t well English it makes sense that barely anyone knows what I am talking about. Does that make sense?” Shinso hummed in acknowledgment. “What other movies have you seen?”
“Er. I have seen the live-action ‘Beauty and The Beast.’ This isn’t Disney, but I have also seen the Teen Titans from 2006. I liked that show a lot. In a way, I saw myself in one of the characters.”
“How so?”
“Well, have you seen it? Kaminari hummed in response. “It’s Robin. Out of everyone in the group, he is the only human. He has no super abilities, but still fights. I know that I have a pretty useful ass quirk. The thing is it’s not long-range or close-range. It will only work if the person response to my questions. I fight like how someone without a quirk would fight.”
Kaminari let Shinso continue with his comparisons. He hadn’t realized that Shinso did fight without a quirk. Most of his classmates did, they had quirks that boosted them but ultimately it was still fighting quirkless.
“That’s what makes you so amazing, Shinso. With or without a damn quirk you are going to be an amazing hero. We should open agencies by each other. WAIT! I have an idea. I can’t use my quirk around others in case I end up hurting them. So can you teach me hand-to-hand combat?”
“You want me to teach you? Why not have da….Mr.Aizawa teach you?”
It took the blonde a moment before responding. He could ask Aizawa to teach him, but the idea of Shinso teaching him sounded nicer. “Good point. That’s because I want you.”
“You…want..me?”
“Yes. Is that umm bad?”
Shinso’s heart started to speed up . The context that Kaminari said it in was simple, but the words “I want you.” rang in his mind. It took a minute to realize he hadn’t responded. “Yeah, I can teach you. I would have to teach you the basics of course.”
From that point on, Shinso and Kaminari spoke until 6 a.m. Kaminari's end of the phone was accompanied by light snoring. Shinso found his snores adorable. Soon after, his eyes began to feel heavy. Slowly blinking, he passed out as well.
☀️ ▶️ 🌕
It was around 10 in the morning when Kaminari awoke. His body was sprawled out on his bed like a starfish. Stuffed animals sat on the floor next to the bed, his blankets were shoved in the corner, and the pillows were about to fall off. His room was a mess. Papers covered his desk area, he had dirty dishes on his nightstand, laundry he desperately needed to do and his bed looked….bad.
When was the last time I cleaned my room? It was when Hanta came over for a sleepover. When was that? That was….2 weeks ago. I need to get up and clean but my bed is so comfy. But it’s also getting on my nerves. Ma is going to tell me to clean anyway. A voice interrupted his thoughts. “Good morning sleepyhead.
“What are you doing awake?” Kaminari couldn’t get through his sentence without yawning, tears started forming in the corner of his eyes. “I just woke up.” Shinso was also now yawning. “I think I am going to go back to bed, nighty nighty.”
“Get up. You told me earlier that you needed to clean your room today.”
Kaminari reached over to the floor, grabbing one of his pillows. “And? I changed my mind. I am tired.”
“I will go over and do it myself”
“Fine. Give me a minute. I need to pee.”
Kaminari got up and went to the bathroom. When he came back he heard music playing from Shinso’s end. He was guessing that the other was also going to clean his room. The idea of someone else being productive helped the blonde clean his room slightly. He started with his dirty clothing and then made his bed. By the end of it, he saw just how many stuffed animals he owned. He definitely needed to get rid of some. Then he grabbed his trash can and threw away any papers that weren’t important. Periodically Shinso and him would start up a conversation and then go back to cleaning. They liked the company the phone call brought.
“You finished cleaning your room Denki”
“Yeah. I just laid down on my CLEAN bed for once. For only visiting on the weekends I sure make a mess. Wait, Toshi. You have a switch, right?
“Uh? Yeah? Why?” All Shinso could hear after that was Kaminari giggling and moving around. “Remember that one Minecraft world we made? We should play for a little while. I mean it’s Sunday so that means tomorrow we are back to school and assignments.”
“Had me at playing.”
That’s how the two spent the rest of the day. They changed the world into full survival. Kaminari was the miner and Shinso was the one who stayed back to build a farm and make the area look better. At some point, Kaminari came across a village and found different types of cats. He made a fishing rod and started fishing. He got as many fish as he could in survival, and then he just gifted himself 3 stacks of fish. “What are you doing?” Shinso asked him and Kaminari told him not to worry about it. He was building a fence around the cats so they wouldn’t run away.
“Hey. Toshi are you doing anything REALLY important right now?”
“Uhhh. No? Why? I just finished organizing the place.”
“Good.” Without another warning, Kaminari teleported Shinso to him. “Hold on. I am still loading….. ARE THESE ALL CATS?” Kaminari just hummed. “That’s why you gave yourself a shit ton of fish.” Kaminari’s character in the game started throwing the fish at Shinso. “Here. Go crazy and tame all of them. I built a fence around the area so it’s easier for you.” He didn’t waste a second and started taming all the cats he could. “Wait. How far is the house from here?” Shinso asked. He realized he couldn’t teleport back. “Don’t worry it’s not that far from here. I say we first raid the village then I can take you back to the house.” The purple-haired boy followed his lead and took the seeds from the farms. The blonde went around looking and taking things from the chests. Once they got everything they could, Kaminari led the way back to the house. Shinso sat down all of the 16 cats he had in his room. Before he could say a word a feminine voice came from Kaminari’s end of the phone. He stayed quiet. A small part of him felt jealous, the other part was hurt. He didn’t know the other had someone he was talking to…. “Toshi. I have someone who wants to meet you.” The other’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts. “Who would that be?”
The sound of the phone being tossed around was all Shinso heard before he got an incoming Facetime call. He answered it but faced his phone to the ceiling. Kaminari got a hold of the phone and stood up. “Sorry about that Toshi. Anyways my little sister wanted to meet you.” Little sister? “I didn’t know you also had a little sister?” Kaminari was hopping around his room while he answered. Shinso was confused, then again he didn't know much about Kaminari’s family life. He rarely talks about it, only recently bringing up his mom. “Yeah, I have two? She’s my step-sister right now, but my mom is pregnant so soon to have two half-sisters or one half-sister and half-brother. We don’t know the gender yet. That’s being saved for the baby shower. Wanna come to that? I forgot to ask you about it.” Needless to say, that was a lot of information Shinso had to process.
“Yeah…. I would like to come to that. I mean I’ve never met any of your family members so it’s gonna be awkward.”
“Yeah, you're right. The baby shower isn’t until the end of December so I can tell you all about my family before then.”
A loud “ow” was heard and it caused Shinso to look back at Facetime. Instead of being met with Kaminari’s face, he was met with a toddler’s. She had light freckles covering her face, dark jet-black hair with streaks of red and orange, and purple-red eyes. “HI! MY NAME IS KASAI!” spoke the girl. Shinso didn’t know how to answer. “Umm hello?” Kaminari snatched back his phone and apologized to Shinso. “Yeah. She’s been wanting to say hi for a while but I usually forget to mention it.” Another voice could be heard. To Shinso the voice was muffled. “Okay. This will be a little weird and short notice, but could you come over for dinner? My mom came and just invited you over sooooo. You can say no of course don’t feel like you are being forced or anything!” The last half of Kaminari’s sentence was rushed out, spoken in one breath. Shinso got up from his chair and started making his way to Aizawa’s and Yamada’s room. “Yeah let me just ask my dads.” Kaminari just hummed in response.
▶️
Shinso walked into his ‘parents’ room, quietly knocking on the doorframe. Present Mic was reading a book while lying on the bed, and Eri was watching a movie at the foot of the bed. Aizawa was at the desk in the corner of the room and looked to be grading assignments. “Hey dads? Can I ask you something real quick?” Aizawa looked up from his desk, “Yeah. What is it?” Shinso awkwardly stood at the door. He knew nothing bad would happen, but the idea of asking to go out was weird. “I know it’s last minute, but I was on the phone with Denki and his mom invited me over for dinner. Would it be okay if I went over there?” Aizawa and Yamada looked at each other. “Yeah, it’s fine. Just make sure to text us if you need anything okay?” Aizawa spoke as he returned to grading. Shinso smiled and waved goodbye to Present Mic and Eri. Shinso walked out the door and unmuted himself. “Good news Denki. My dads are okay with me going over. Let me just get ready and I will walk over. Your house is a 10-minute walk away, no?”
“It should be, but I can come get you if you want. I know how to drive!”
“Is it… well legally?” There was a moment of silence before Kaminari answered the question. “I…don’t know?” Shinso looked at the Facetime to see if maybe Kaminari was kidding. What he saw was Kaminari looking confused about whether or not he could legally drive. “Listen. I can drive that’s a fact. I did it once during a training thing last year. It’s safe to drive for like 3 minutes to come get you.” The purple-haired boy weighed his options. Nothing bad could happen in 3 minutes. “Fine, I will be waiting outside.”