Work Text:
Kyouka Jirou couldn't believe it.
After so much training, after so much work and learning; especially since she got her new ear-jack aid to replace her lost one during the war, she was finally standing in front of it.
It was hers.
Her very own Hero Agency.
She will always remember the first day she took her first steps in her building. She got to organise her desk exactly as she wanted, to decorate and adorn her walls with whatever she liked; and she felt like she belonged. She was finally a real Pro-Hero.
The purple-haired rockstar remember tearing up a bit when she got home that day. She was feeling too much emotional. She always knew she wanted to become a Hero. She always fought for her dream to become true.
... But, after the war, she found herself doubting all of her dreams due to the lost of her second earphone jack.
Jirou was trying to be tough in front of the other members of the class. Saying that everything was alright, that it didn't make her less strong anyways; and she intensified her efforts in training sessions to overcome her actual slight loss of power.
... But, sometimes, at night, she let herself sob quietly; her hand fiercely placed against her torn up ear.
And she thought that, maybe, now, she couldn't become a Pro-Hero anymore.
The rockstar girl managed to hide those fears and feelings to everyone. Even Mina, and Momo; even though they were her best friends. And even from Kaminari, to whom she had grown even closer after the war.
Actually, the electrifying yellow-haired boy became way more overprotective towards everyone, after the war. Especially towards her. He was constantly making sure she was feeling okay, that she ate well, that she wasn't hurt during training sessions.
Jirou knew it was probably because he saw everyone get hurt from above, in the UA-island floating ground; and couldn't do anything to help anyone. Momo told her once that, seeing Midoriya hurt as hell during his fight against Shigaraki; he literally bursted into tears in her arms, completely terrified this war was going to kill one of them.
She understood during one of her talk with him that he had felt so pathetic and useless. It made her heart sink to hear such a thing from him. So she had just gently hugged him in response, not finding the right words to answer him.
... And it was also during this specific talk that, for the first time, Jirou had let her guard down.
For a stupid reason, what's more.
It was just after that hug. They both had let go of each other, only to go and sit on Jirou's bed - as they were originally in her dorm for a jamming session -; her head tilting to rest on his shoulder. The electric boy had a slight jolt at the gesture, but had gently come to rest his head on hers in a heavy sigh.
"What about you, Jirou... Are you really doing okay...?"
She had opened widely her eyes hearing him whisper this sentence. She had felt her body tense as hell, and gulped; her throat dry.
No. If anyone was asking her this question, she was able to lie. Her friends believed her words, because she was able to keep the truth away.
... But not if it was him. She knew that.
Usually, she could have just avoided the question, and run away.
But at that moment, she was snuggled against his shoulder. She was feeling his arm gently leaning against hers. She could hear his breathe, and his heartbeat. She had felt the sincerity and the kindness in the sweet tone he used to ask her such a question.
She knew he knew. And that he would know if she lied.
... The earphone jack girl couldn't refrain her deep sorrows anymore.
She needed to talk about it with someone.
And that someone needed to be Kaminari.
... So she did it.
Feeling her body shaking, the purple-haired rockstar had extended her only earphone jack around his waist to pull him closer, wrapped her hands around his arm, and buried her face in his shoulder to hide it.
She was sobbing quietly.
When Kaminari understood, he had immediately raised his other arm and reached to pull her even closer against his chest; gently caressing her hair.
And Jirou had told him everything.
Her deep fears. Her sorrows. The fact that she missed her second earphone jack so much. That she was loosing power. That she was trying to act tough, but was crackling from the inside.
And her best friend listened to her. He didn't interrupt, he just kept rubbing her head, and her back; holding her against him like it was the last time.
The blonde had let her cry on his shoulder, and get all of her worries out.
And when she was done talking, he had held her tighter. Leaning a very soft kiss on her forehead, he had moved his head back just a bit to cup her cheeks with his hands, and wiped her tears away; gently rubbing them with his thumbs.
"Jirou... You'll be a wonderful Pro-Hero. I know it. I know it because you're one of the strongest people I know. You literally faced All For One dude !!! You could have died, you know !!!" He had said the last sentence in a shaking voice, before clearing his throat, and kept going. "... As for your ear..." He had whispered, gently tilting her head to the side to take a look at it. "... I'm sure there's something that can be done. What do you say if we go see Hatsume and ask her if she can, I don't know... Create something to replace it ? Like a... A prosthetic, you know ?"
Jirou remembered how he looked at her, a soft grin in the corner of his lips, and his eyes sparkling with hope.
And she also remembered that it was the exact moment she understood she was actually deeply in love with him for quite some time now.
"Kaminari..." She had just whispered in answer. He had let out a soft chuckle, and had booped her cheek. She had let out a slight squeak of surprise, before frowning. "It's not going to look good on me..." She had whispered. Kaminari had frowned in response, and had immediately shook his head.
"Nonsense!! Geez, you look like a lost lil' puppy!! C'mon, have some get up and go Jirou-Jack!! Don't be hopeless!! I'm sure we can figure something out. And I'll be there for you all along! I promise."
She had been so surprised with how kind and hopefull he looked. And it had made her heart flutter; as a beautiful smile was drawn on her lips. A smile only him could get out from her.
. . .
... And, in the end, she actually got her prosthetic ear.
At the start, she had been struggling a lot to understand how to make good use of it. It was frustrating. She felt like a five year old learning to control their quirk.
... But she got there in the end.
And now, she had her own Hero Agency. She finally did it.
... However, there was something that had made her quite upset.
Of course, she was still in contact with all of her ex-classmates; as they all stood very good friends. She was seeing Momo and Mina for tea parties - when they were lucky, all the girls were there -; she had also grown closer to Bakugo, who became like a brother figure to her, and he was riding her quite often when she needed to go somewhere. All of them had a group chat on which they talked absolutely every single day. As for Kaminari... She didn't have the occasion to see him often, unfortunately. Chargebolt was busy with his own life as a still-sidekick. The idea she got her Agency before him will always make her laugh. It reminded her of when they talked about it in class, back in first year.
. . .
"Yeah but that's as far as some people go... They miss their chance to go inde' and stay eternal sidekicks. Actually, that's probably where you're headed... Kinda dumb."
. . .
She said that to tease him, back then.
. . .
... But, some days ago, he randomly called her in the evening, after work.
. . .
"What do you want Jamming-yay ? I need to go buy some food-"
"Jirou-Jack!!! I have a great news!!!!"
"Kami, stop screaming!!! Ugh. What is it??"
"I'm going inde'!!!!"
"..." Jirou stood silent. Blinking in confusion, she stuttered a bit. She heard him giggle.
"I'm going independent Jirou-Jack!!! I finally decided it was the time to stand on my own two feet!!"
"Since when did you decide that?! Don't tell me today because I'll kill you. Well, I'd kill you anyways because, if it's not today, that means you thought about it some time ago and didn't tell me!!!"
"Hey, calm down Miss Rocky!!" Chuckled Chargebolt on the other side of the phone. "It's been some months I'm thinking about it. But I was terrified to, like... Actually do it." He admitted in an embarrassed pout. Kami then cleared his throat, and gasped. "But I finally found the perfect emplacement today!!! And I'm going to visit and probably rent the building this weekend!!"
"Oh woah..." Jirou let out in an exhale. "And may I know why the fuck you didn't tell me???"
"Because I wanted it to be a surprise!!!" He laughed. "I wanted to prove the high school you who made fun of me that, eheh, I did it in the end !!!" Chuckled the blonde in a cheesy tone.
"... You're a fucking dumbass Kaminari." Chuckled the purple-haired girl as she rolled her eyes. "On stars I already told you I was joking."
"Still!!"
"Pfftt-" They both laughed, before Jirou picked up the talk again. "... I'm proud of you, Kami." She smiled softly. "Really. Do you want me to come with you, this weekend, to honour that? I'll pay ya a coffee or whatevs you want afterwards." Jirou heard nothing but silent as an answer. She frowned, confused. "... Kaminari ?" The rockstar suddenly heard sniffles. She chuckled, and rolled her eyes. "Oh you crybaby."
"N-no!" Whined Kaminari, trying his best to hold his tears back. "I just... Thanks, Jirou-Jack. I was actually going to ask you the same thing. So, we're on the same wavelength."
"Good !!!" She was about to keep going, but Kaminari immediately cut her out.
"I'm glad I'll get to see you. We haven't hung out in quite a while." The purple-haired girl opened widely her eyes, and let out a sad sigh.
"I know Kami... But you know it's not like in high school anymore. We can't see other as often as before." She sighed, once more. "We're not next to each other anymore..."
"Yeah..." She swore she could hear a little high-pitch noise of joy in his answer. But just thought it was an interference.
In the end, they finally agreed to meet on Saturday at 2pm. Kaminari insisted to come directly to her house and pick her up. After insistence, Jirou eventually said yes.
And there she was. In front of her door. Waiting for him to arrive.
Our favourite rockstar had taken out clothes a little bit fancier than what she usually wore. She just wanted to look a little bit nice, as they also planned to go to the restaurant at the end of the day. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a pink checked shirt, and a dark purple skirt with black stripped tights, and dark ankle boots. She also had her favourite choker around her neck - one Kaminari offered her -, some other of her usual jewelries, and a black rose hair clip in her hair; with some make-up as well.
Being lost in her thoughts, miss Earphone Jack didn't hear her bell ringing right away. However, she was startled by her favourite Jamming-yay screaming her name. She squeaked slightly, and quickly stepped forward to open the door, letting a joyful and smiling Kaminari face her; his eyes sparkling like a child in front of their favourite thing.
"Jirou-Jack !!!!"
"Jamming-yay."
In a laughter, the electrifying boy jumped forward and wrapped his arms around his best friend, pulling her closer to him in a tight embrace. The rockstar girl gasped a bit in surprise, but quickly laughed as well as she gently hugged him back, patting his back amicably.
"I'm sooo glad to see you!!"
"Never thought I'd said that, but... Me too Kami." She teased as the blonde gasped, falsely offended; and stepped back to face her, frowning and crossing his arms.
"Hey !! Don't start teasing me !! It's a big day !!" He joyfully shouted, lifting his hands to the sky in a chuckle. "Can you believe it?? I'm finally inde'!!"
"Oi, calm down Jamming-yay. You haven't rented the building yet." Giggled the purple-haired girl as she rolled her eyes. "C'mon though! Or we're gonna be late."
"Yes ma'am !!"
And they both got in his car to ride towards the future Agency of Mister Pro-Hero Chargebolt !
In the car, they took the time to really take news from one another; and hear about the funny little stories or events that could have happened to either of them. Switching between happily bantering about their life, remembering silly anecdotes, and singing when a good song came up from the radio; they both noticed how... Good it felt. To spend time together.
Halfway, as they both finished singing another song that came up, Jirou glared at her best friend with a pout. She took a deep breathe, leaned in her seat, and groaned.
"...Kami ?"
"Hm ?"
"...I'vemissedyou."
"What?? What did you s-"
"I said I've missed you. Dumbass."
"Wha-" Kaminari blinked a bit in confusion, before glancing quickly at her; smiling softly. He chuckled, and nodded. "I've missed you too, Ji'. A lot."
And she glanced back, smiling shyly; a light shade of red shining on both of her cheeks. We all know Jirou wasn't pretty good with feelings and everything. But she utterly wanted to tell him at least that she missed him. Because she knew it was hard for him, to be far away from everyone. And seeing a very small tear in the corner of his eyes, and such a wide smile on his lips, convinced her she made the right choice to overcome her shyness and embarrassment at expressing feelings; just to see him happy like he was at that moment.
Jirou was about to answer something, but as she opened her mouth, Kaminari turned his eyes towards her, and stopped the car.
"Here we are !!" His eyes were shining more than ever, and his smile was the one of a child waiting to open their Christmas presents. The rockstar raised an eyebrow, a bit confused, and looked up at the window as mister Chargebolt was trying to park.
Suddenly, it hit her.
She raised her eyebrows, and quickly turned her head towards her Jamming-yay.
"Um- Kami-"
"Come on, let's get out!! Ouuhh I'm so excited!!! Come on Jirou-Jack!!!"
And on those words, the blonde quickly turned off the key, took it, got out and ran to open her door in a chuckle. The rockstar girl rolled her eyes, still a bit in shock, but got up silently to get out of the car; not knowing how to tell him that they were...
Well, she didn't have the time to think further, as Kami grabbed her arm and dragged her around the car, to the facing sidewalk.
"It's this way, c'mon!!!" He shouted, almost stamping of joy.
She was dragged, once more, not knowing what to say or what to do.
And it was even worse when she noticed they were walking towards it.
What the heck did all that mean???
Suddenly, Jirou stopped, and grabbed Kaminari's shirt to pull him back towards her. She was frowning, her eyebrow twitching a bit.
"Okay, Kaminari Denki, you stop right there." She groaned, frowning.
"What ? What's wrong ?" The speed with which he lost his smile made her heart sink, but it was not the moment to think about that. Thus, she shook slightly her head, and pointed out a building, not far away from them.
"Kaminari, my Agency is right here!!!! Are you pulling some kind of joke on me or-?!"
"... Just come." Simply answered the blonde; taking her wrist to, once more, drag her towards...
. . .
... Towards the empty building that was next to her Agency for many months now.
Miss Earphone Jack felt her knees tremble, trying to keep his pace and not show any signs of her heart pounding like drums in her chest.
They walked in front of her Agency... And stopped right in front of the building next to it.
Jirou immediately thought she was dreaming. There was absolutely no way this was real. But feeling Kaminari's hand gently letting go of her wrist and slipping to reach her hand; which he gently took, made her realise that what she imagined at that moment was true.
And the way her heart was pounding in her chest proved that it was even more real than she could ever imagine.
"What the..."
"I found out the building right next to your Agency was free. So... The decision was quick." Gently chuckled the electrifying boy, looking down at her with a wide grin. It was almost like he was sparkling. "I rented the building next to yours for our Agencies to be next to one another. It'll be like old times !" He tried to keep a proud attitude, but... His shaky voice in the last sentences, and his teary eyes, clearly revealed how he really felt about it.
The purple-haired girl opened widely her eyes, and her mouth to try and say something. But the only thing she could feel was some tears flowing down her cheeks, her heart pounding in her ears, and her head literally exploding from the inside.
"Are you... Are you fucking kidding me...?" She could finally say, barely above a whisper; trying not to let out loud sobs. Kaminari turned around to face her completely, and slowly shook his head to say "no."
"I'm not, Jirou-Jack... I really am not."
"T-This is..." She ground her teeth, looked at her Agency, and his future Agency, before looking back at him; tears running down her cheeks. "Amazing..."
"Awwww c'mon don't cry Jirou-Jack!!! And I'm the crybaby??" Laughed the electrifying blonde, gently bumping her shoulder with his fist. In response, the rockstar girl raised her earphone jack to poke his cheek in a sigh.
"S-Shut up, if you don't want me to not accept ya next to me, idiot !!!"
"Okay, okay !!!" The blonde laughed, and rolled his eyes. Jirou groaned, and, in a matter of a second, wrapped her earphone jack around his neck to pull him closer; also wrapping her arms around him. In a slight gasp of surprise, Kaminari chuckled and quickly wrapped his arms around her to hug her back.
"Idiot... You're a fucking idiot..." She mumbled, nuzzled against his shoulder. The Jamming-yay boy laughed as an answer, and just tightened his embrace around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "Why didn't you just tell me ?!"
"Because it was a surprise, Jirou-Jack...!" She could hear him stick his tongue out, which made her roll her eyes and mumble.
"... Dumbass."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it-" Laughed Kaminari, about to pull away from the hug to face her; but he suddenly felt his best friend snuggling tighter to him. He nose sighed, smiled, and kept holding her against him; gently rubbing her back.
"... I'm so glad to know you're gonna be next door from now on." Whispered Jirou in a sniffle. She felt like a little kid, right now. But it didn't matter. She was going to have one of, if not the, most important person in her heart back close to her. Exactly like years ago, when they were in high school. And, when usually she could easily hide her feelings away; she allowed herself to be weak, for once. It was not like Kaminari was going to judge, after all. He was worse than her, on the crybaby side. And that thought made her smile, nuzzled against his shoulder.
"Yeah... Me too... It feels reassuring." Simply whispered the blonde back.
"... I hate to admit it, but yeah, kinda." Teased the earphone jack girl in a chuckle, at which Kaminari answered by a gasp, and a laughter.
"Ouuuh, so Jirou-Jack actually admits she likes m-" He started to tease in a cheeky tone; but immediately got zapped in the back of the neck. "OUCH!"
"Shut up, smartass, if you don't want my jack in your eye!!!" Groaned the purple-haired girl, who haven't moved from an inch from his arms; but her ear jack did to zap the back of his neck. The blonde chuckled, rolled his eyes, and gently patted her head.
"Okay, okay, sorry!!!!!"
"Ugh, you'd better be."
On those words, Jirou slightly raised her head towards her favourite blonde, and noticed he was greatly smiling at her. Feeling a blush rushing across her cheeks, she kindly smiled back at him; as they stood quite some minutes still, hugging each other; before finally letting go to go in the building.
Kyouka Jirou couldn't believe it. And neither did Denki Kaminari.
Not only had they become Pro-Heroes...
With their own Pro-Hero Agency...
... But now they were both reunited by literally working next to one another. They could even team up whenever they felt like it.
... Yeah, it did feel reassuring to know Kaminari was next to her, from now on; thought Jirou on their way towards the restaurant.
. . .
"Today is an amazing day", she thought with a grin in the corner of her lips, just before they arrived.
"After you, Princess Jirou ~"
"Oh shut up, you dumbass."
But she couldn't refrain a chuckle. Neither a blush.
... Damn it.
She wondered how much time she was going to keep her feelings in check.
. . .
... "Only the future will tell", she thought a bit worryingly.
Yeah...
Only the future will tell.