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Denki Kaminari was a goddamned genius and fuck everyone who said otherwise.“Dude, you are not a genius,” Eijirou deadpanned.“What?!” Denki yelled. He slammed his hands against his desk for emphasis. He stared incredulously at his redheaded friend sitting on his bed. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Eijirou, of all people, was saying this. He was in shock. He waved his hands around to pantomime his shock and distress even more, which only caused Eijirou to laugh. He started sputtering, “What’s wrong with it?!”“Sounds kind of slimy,” Eijirou replied, making a face. “It’s totally unmanly.”“I don’t care about that!” Denki shot back.“I dunno, try and run it by me again, in like, a few weeks,” Eijirou said. “Maybe I’ll be desperate enough then.”“No, no no no no, no, absolutely not,” the blonde replied. “How is it slimy? It’s a great plan!”“Fake dating to try and make Bakugou and Jirou jealous? You don’t see how that sounds bad?”Only Denki would have come up with a plan like this. Truthfully, he hadn’t thought it completely through yet, but he’d be damned to pass up the opportunity. At this point, he was desperate for any sort of shot to get Jirou’s attention. Sure, he could ask her out like a normal person, which is what he did with most girls, but Jirou was different. They were actually friends. Something about straight up asking her out like everyone else didn’t feel right.Okay, maybe if Denki thought about it for a bit longer, he could see how it sounded kind of bad. Maybe it was a bit sleazy, but it wasn't that bad. Mineta would suggest something that was worse. So, the bar really shouldn’t be Mineta, but if he was better than Mineta in any way, it was a win in his eyes. He had to convince Eijirou that this wasn’t so bad, honest.“It’s not too bad,” Denki started. “No one would get hurt by it, the worst that’ll happen is that they’re not interested.”“And what if they are?”“Then they confess their love to each of us, we fake break up, and everyone is happy.”“Why would they confess their feelings to someone in a relationship?”“Ugh, have you never seen a romcom like… ever?” Denki groaned. “They always confess as soon as the person is off the market because it makes them realize they’re in love and they can’t miss their chance.”The redhead blinked at him, thinking.That was probably the worst explanation Denki could have given. Eijirou was already poking holes into his plan and they hadn’t even started. He hoped Eijirou wasn’t thinking too hard about the logistics because if he did this plan would be over before it had even started. Denki wasn’t even sure why he wanted to do this plan so badly, but something about it itched at his brain. It had wormed its way in and it wouldn’t come out.“Maybe you’re right…” Eijirou pondered. He was pretty easily convinced despite his initial apprehension. The two always had a way of roping each other into shenanigans with one another. If it were anyone else, the redhead likely would’ve said no immediately, insistent that it was too underhanded, but if it was Denki, he could look past some things… If he was in on the plan, he could at least be in the loop and keep Denki out of too much trouble.“When have I ever been wrong?” Denki gloated. Eijirou opened his mouth. “Don’t answer that.”Eijirou quickly shut his mouth, glancing around the room.“Bakugou seems like the jealous type, I think he’d go for the bait,” Denki egged on. He was slowly reeling Eijirou into the plan. He grinned to himself, excitement beginning to bubble inside him. He wasn’t sure why he felt so excited, but he didn’t care to think too deeply on it.“True,” Eijirou said. He sprawled out onto the bed and looked over at the blonde. “How would we even convince people we’re dating?”Denki pondered for a moment. It’d actually be pretty easy. They’ve been asked a couple times already if they were secretly dating. Mostly by Mina because she liked to tease them about how clingy they were sometimes. It wasn’t their fault, Denki was just really touchy feely with his friends, that wasn’t weird. He just happened to be with Eijirou the most out of the group. The two of them were both comfortable enough in their sexualities to share physical affection. Maybe holding hands and cuddling and the occasional joke kiss on the cheek was something usually reserved for couples, but girls did that too sometimes. It didn’t have to be weird between two guys. They were best friends.“I guess just… hold hands and kiss and stuff in public? I could post about it,” Denki proposed. “We could go on fake dates.”“What’s the difference between a fake date and a real date?” Eijirou asked, raising an eyebrow.“I’m not paying for a fake date,” Denki said with a smirk.“You don’t pay when we go out to eat anyways.”“Exactly, so they weren’t dates, I would totally pay for a real date, I’m a gentleman.”“No way, if it was a real date I’d pay for sure, it’s a manly thing to do,” Eijirou protested, sitting up. He gave Denki a very serious look as he said it, which made the blonde giggle.“Fine, you can pay when we go on a real date too then,” Denki said in feigned annoyance. Well, now he knew if they ever somehow did go out for real, Denki would be getting free food forever. The thought of that alone could get him to kiss Eijirou right then, but he couldn’t. They were doing this to woo their respective crushes; not to fall in love with each other over the promise of free food or fall in love with each other in general, that defeated the entire purpose.The blonde stretched in his chair and asked, “Soooooo? Can we do the plan?”Eijirou’s face scrunched up in thought for a moment, before he sighed and went, “Sure, why not? It can’t be that bad…”“Awesome!” Denki cheered, he whipped out his phone and stepped over to where Eijirou was laying down. Eijirou gave him a quizzical look as he pointed his phone camera towards his face and zoomed in egregiously. He made sure the angle was absolutely terrible, but Eijirou was quicker. He clapped his hands over his face before Denki could take the shot.“Ugh, don’t do that, I’m trying to make you ugly,” Denki said, rolling his eyes. With a small sneer, he said, “It’s actually really hard to make you look bad.”“That’s exactly why I’m doing it!”Eijirou always managed to look pretty in photos. That’s a thought that had entered Denki’s mind many times throughout the course of their friendship. It always made his face flush in slight irritation.Denki shook his head, looking the photo over he sighed, “I guess I can just post this one. Any objections?”“So many.”“Cool, I’m posting it,” Denki responded. He opened up his phone and pulled up the photo. He thought long and hard about how to caption it. He looked back and forth between the redhead and his phone, trying to generate any ideas. Ultimately he went with a simple:“Boyfrkend”And he hit post.Eijiro’s phone rang out with the notification and he squinted at the post, “You didn’t even spell it right.”“Half of our class thinks I’m illiterate even though I read more than most of them, I’m sure it’s fine.”Denki let himself fall on top of the other boy in his bed causing the redhead to let out a quiet ‘oof.’ He laid his stomach across Eijirou’s body and kicked his legs behind him happily. Phase one of his plan was officially in action. Thank god, Eijirou agreed. Sero would have laughed at him and told everyone. Mina would say no one would believe he could pull her and he knew deep down she was right…Eijirou was the only one he could do this with and have it be any semblance of believability. Plus, he was the only one Denki really wanted to do this with. Convincing everyone would be easy. His phone was already blowing up with texts from Mina and Sero asking what was going on. He ignored them for now, hoping they wouldn’t break down his door to get to them.Eijirou scrolled through the texts on his own phone. His eyes widened by the second. Chuckling nervously, he mumbled, “Mina seems way too excited about this.”“She keeps saying ‘finally’...”“Maybe convincing everyone isn’t going to be hard…”“It’ll be a breeze, babe.”

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“AWWWWW YOU GUYS ARE HOLDING HANDS!” Mina shouted as Denki and Eijirou entered the classroom. She ran up to the two of them excitedly and kept looking between their interlocked fingers and their red faces.The grin on her face was huge and would not stop. She clapped her hands together excitedly and called over to Sero, “Look! Look! They’re actually holding hands!”Instinctively, Denki let go of the grasp. He pushed his hair to hide his face and forced a laugh, asking, “Why are you so excited about this?”This was not how he expected things to go.“Are you guys seriously a thing now?” Sero asked, walking over.“Y–yeah,” Eijirou stuttered. He gave a sidelong glance to Denki, urging him to say something.“Yup, finally decided to… tie the knot,” Denki chuckled nervously. He was really hoping that it was coming off as just flustered and not that he was lying. Normally he wasn’t very shy, and he hoped his normal confidence wouldn’t be his downfall. His friends eyeing him made him nervous, but they had no reason to assume this was all fake. It’d be kind of crazy to just assume that kind of thing. That would be far from the first thing his own mind would jump to and he really, really hoped his friends weren’t trained in the art of mental gymnastics.Sero gave him a funny look before laughing, “That’s what you say for marriage. What, you already thinking about it?”“When you know, you know,” Denki joked back, hoping he wouldn’t notice the higher octave his voice hit. He placed an arm around Eijirou’s shoulder, bringing him closer. The two boys smiled at their friends as normally as they could muster.Mina shoved Denki off of the redhead and quickly shook Eijirou back and forth, “Ahhhhhhh, I am so happy for youuuuuu! You’ve wanted a boyfriend since forever!”Eijirou’s face turned pink at the comment and he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, “Mina, don’t just announce that…”“But it’s true!”“You don’t have to tell everyone!”Denki watched the two bicker lightheartedly. He felt a smile creep onto his face as he let out a small snort of amusement at the two of them. Mina was practically jumping for joy at the fake news. She seemed to be genuinely really happy for Eijirou, which made a small pang of guilt run through Denki’s heart, but he couldn’t let that sway him from his mission.Suddenly, Mina’s attention switched from the redhead to Denki. She looked him dead in the eye, making his blood run cold. It was like she was staring into his soul with those blacked out eyes of hers. She gave him a very serious look and warned, “If you hurt him, I will ruin your life, Kaminari.”“What the hell, Mina?” Eijirou groaned.“Yeah! What the hell? What did I do?” Denki exclaimed.“Ehhhhh,” Mina made a noise non committedly.“That doesn’t answer anything!”Eijirou sighed and shook his head, “Mina, I’ll be fine.”The redhead looked over at Denki again and smiled. He ruffled his blonde hair to Denki’s chagrin and said, “No need to worry about me. Denki’s a good guy.”The blonde smiled widely at the compliment as he took to smoothing out his hair. He loved getting any sort of praise and knowing he was seen as a good guy made his brain feel cozy. He always thought he’d be a good boyfriend and now he could prove it by being an amazing fake boyfriend. That’ll show Jirou he was worth her time for sure.“Sure, sure, anywaysies,” Mina hummed. “How did you guys decide to get together, huh?”Fuck. Denki shot Eijirou a fearful look. They could not tell her how they decided to “get together.” They didn’t think this far ahead. They really should have planned better. Denki tried to wrack his brain for an explanation that wasn’t super obviously fake. His mouth felt dry and he kept shooting the redhead panicked looks to try and get him to say something instead. He was always so earnest when he spoke that Mina would believe anything that came out of his mouth, but Eijirou looked like he had come to a deadend too.“Everyone sit down, class is about to start!” Iida called out.Saved by the class pres.Denki let out a quick sigh of relief, until he realized Mina sat right next to him.Denki grabbed Eijirou’s hand and they walked to their seats quickly, trying to run away from Mina without making it too obvious. They all took their seats and Mina tried to ask again, but Denki purposely did not look at her, keeping his eyes on their teacher as the disgruntled man entered the room. He could feel her eyes on them and he was beginning to sweat.His nervousness only grew greater when he realized her eyes weren’t the only ones on the two boys. Glancing around the room, he caught Bakugou staring at them with a strange look in his eyes. Jirou was also shooting them sideways glances from her seat. The two targets of the plan had actually taken the bait and locked onto the two of them before they even got to say anything face to face. It seemed everyone was distracted from whatever Aizawa was saying in front of the class.This was going to be a long period.Denki turned his head for a moment, looking over to Eijirou. The shark toothed boy looked nervous, squirming in his seat underneath all the stares from the rest of the class. A light blush had coated his cheeks, making his flustered state even more apparent. Denki really hoped he wasn’t regretting their plan already. It had only been one day.As an act of reassurance, he turned around to look at Eijirou for a quick moment. He blew a small kiss at the boy and winked. Eijirou’s face cracked into a smile at that and he had to cough to cover up a laugh that had threatened to bubble from his throat.“Kaminari, what are you doing?” Aizawa asked, staring dead eyed at the blonde.“Nothing!” Denki yelped.“Pay attention to the lesson instead of… whatever you were doing.”“Yes, sir!”Eijirou snickered quietly and Denki felt himself flush. He kicked a leg back at his friend, hitting him in the knee, hoping it’d get him to shut up. It worked since he caught Eijirou covering his mouth as he looked over his shoulder quickly.He glanced to his right to see Mina making a kissy face at him mockingly. He shot her a glare before glancing to his left. Bakugou and Jirou had both been stealing glances at the “couple.” He caught Bakugou’s eyes earning a deadly glare that sent shivers down his spine. Maybe the guy was jealous of him… and maybe he just earned a death sentence because of that. He shuddered at the thought and looked over at Jirou instead. With his masterful luck of making awkward accidental eye contact, he did manage to catch her eye as well. Jirou’s face turned red as their eyes met and she quickly turned away from the blonde.Score.

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It had been about a week or so since Denki had hatched up his little scheme. Things had begun to fall into a rhythm between him and Eijirou. The two would honestly act as they normally did, but with a little extra touchiness to sell the act. Denki would cuddle Eijirou on the couch when they watched movies together in the view of everyone. They’d hold hands coming to class so they’d be seen hand in hand with one another. Sometimes they would peck each other on the cheek just for that extra kick. Perhaps these were all things they’ve done before, but they were just amping it up a bit more…Denki was actually having fun with the whole charade. He loved physical affection no matter who it came from really, so he was having the time of his life. He enjoyed the attention from Eijirou a lot, not that he’d say that so forwardly. He knew this was all fake, but it made him feel weirdly special. He wondered if a real relationship with Jirou would feel this way. She wasn’t exactly the touchy feely type though, he couldn’t really imagine them doing this together…Eijirou wasn’t having a bad time with the arrangement either. He liked having Denki around. He never minded being around the blonde and he felt comfortable enough in his own masculinity and sexuality to show affection like this. Maybe other people had different boundaries with their friends, but he was alright if it was Denki. He wasn’t sure if he’d do the same things with someone like Sero or Mina, but Denki was okay. It was Denki.Mina and Sero had reacted well. Mina was excited beyond belief. Sero was happy for them. Even some of their other classmates had given them small congratulations on getting together. Some people were a bit surprised by the ordeal. Hagakure said she was shocked that they were the first people to get partners in the class, which had both of their eyes twitching slightly as they tried to ignore the comment. Midoriya and his small group were all very nice and congratulatory, wishing them the best of luck in their relationship.The only two people who hadn’t said anything yet were the two people Eijirou and Denki had been aiming for, Jirou and Bakugou.Denki snuggled up to Eijirou on the smaller common room couch. Most of the class were watching a movie together that afternoon, with the exception of Bakugou, Shoji, Koda, and Tokoyami. The four of them claimed to be busy with training or schoolwork, minus Koda who had to take care of his bunny.Denki’s face scrunched up a bit as he looked over at Jirou, who was sitting the furthest away from them on one of the cushions closest to the TV.He leaned up towards Eijirou’s ear and whispered, “Why do you think she hasn’t said anything to us yet?”He felt a small twinge in his chest, he hadn’t talked to her for a few days and was missing her.“I don’t know,” Eijirou said back in a hushed tone. “Bakugou hasn’t said anything either.”“Do you think it’s working? They’re the only two who haven’t said anything to us.”“Maybe?”“Maybe?”“I don’t know!”“Will you two be quiet?” Mina hissed at them. She hadn’t seemed to hear what they had been saying which made them both feel a tinge of relief. They gave an apologetic look and she rolled her eyes at them playfully.Eijirou noticed Jirou looking at the three of them making a small commotion and nudged the blonde cuddling into him. Denki’s head popped up like a meerkat and immediately looked over at Jirou. He waved excitedly at the girl and, to both Eijirou and Denki’s surprise, she smiled and gave them a small wave back.Denki’s eyes widened and he looked up at Eijirou, turning his head back and forth between him and Jirou. Realizing how obvious he was being, Denki lightly slapped his face and tried to convey a message by looking wildly with his eyes as if to say, “Did you see that?”Eijirou nodded affirmatively and Denki’s foot started tapping against the couch in joy at being noticed.Eijirou wasn’t really sure what Jirou’s small wave conveyed. It didn’t seem like jealousy, which was the goal they were after. However, Denki seemed happy just being given attention as he ended up snuggling even deeper into Eijirou, kicking him lightly with the tapping of his foot.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.The TV continued on and Eijirou wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with the movie. He was more distracted with Denki who was falling asleep in his arms and snoring softly. Little bits of drool were leaking from his mouth and onto Eijirou’s shirt which he had begrudgingly accepted as his fate as the blonde snoozed. Mina kept shooting them looks with an adoring smile as if she was looking at a cute puppy playing a trick.Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Bakugou walking down the hall, passing the group of teens.Eijirou was planning to call him over and wave at him, but he looked back down at the sleeping boy in his arms and realized he didn’t want to disturb him. Instead, he opted for a small wave which still managed to catch the hot headed boy’s attention.When Bakugou looked over, he saw Eijirou and his expression didn’t change much at first. Then, he took notice of Denki, cuddled up and asleep in the redhead’s arms, he immediately scowled. It took Eijirou by surprise as the blonde stomped off which caught the attention of a certain green haired boy who got up to follow after him.Eijirou hoped that look of disdain meant the plan was working and wasn’t just a general disgust with him. Bakugou hadn’t talked with or even so much as waved or even really acknowledged Eijirou’s existence since the announcement. He tried to shake off the small, sinking filling that pooled in his belly, but it grew by the day. Luckily, Denki’s warm presence, both metaphorically and currently physically, helped melt away the feeling.He tried not to let an audible sigh leave his lips as he watched the two other boys go. He knew they were close and sometimes when he saw them together a jealous sickness entered his immune system. It was a fever he couldn’t sweat out.Pinching his eyes shut, he shook his head to clear it. He gently squeezed Denki tighter, trying to focus on the warmth next to him. The blonde made a quiet, sleepy noise as he did so, but he didn’t wake up.Opening his eyes, Eijirou’s focus was nowhere on the movie. He could barely even tell anyone the name of what they were watching. If they tried and asked him, he would barely even be able to think of any movie to even exist. He looked at the screen and he saw some red haired girl wielding an axe and she was flirting with some guy, but now it seemed like she was murdering him? He was so confused.Giving up on even pretending to be paying attention, Eijirou brought a hand to his sleeping friend’s head and decided to do something else to distract him. He carefully ran his fingers through the yellowed locks and hoped he wouldn’t catch a tangle and wake Denki up. He sectioned off a small portion and quietly braided at the hair. Something about the repeated motions calmed his nerves accompanied by the slow rise and fall of Denki’s body squished next to his own.It really did help ease his nerves. A small tender moment that he longed to share with someone else.It was difficult not to let this bother him, but he trusted Denki. He didn’t really trust the plan, but he trusted Denki, that was all that mattered.

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e relationship for entirely different reasons.Bakugou was shocked that anyone in their class would be dating at all. It wasn’t really a discussion that came around super often. It made sense Kaminari got into a relationship, he asked people out all the time, not being shy when it came to shooting his shot with whatever pretty girl he came across. Sure, other people had crushes in the class, but those didn’t really go anywhere. Izuku and Uraraka had liked each other, but that fizzled out quickly after the war came to an end. He didn’t really care to think about that particular relationship much. Someone had told him Kaminari had apparently liked Jirou. He never really saw it though. The two were close, but the way Kaminari acted about her was different from the other girls he had liked. Everyone else said he liked Jirou though, so Bakugou never really bothered questioning it too much. He truly hadn’t cared.He wasn’t really sure about Kirishima.The two never discussed this sort of thing. Bakugou never discussed this type of thing with anyone. He made it pretty clear he wasn’t interested in listening to talks about love and romance and yet, he was a bit taken aback that the redhead hadn’t mentioned anything to him about the fact he liked Kaminari. The redhead told him about things he didn’t care about all the time, so he thought he would have maybe mentioned it even just once. To Bakugou, it felt like this had come out of nowhere despite the fact Ashido had kept going on and on in the group chat about how they were “finally dating.”He guessed he could understand it. The way Kaminari was with Kirishima was much more reminiscent of the girls he had crushes on than he ever was with Jirou. Then again, Bakugou was bad at gauging these sorts of things.It wasn’t like he was particularly interested, but just seeing the two together felt… weird. He never was the type to be interested in that sort of thing, he even found himself disgusted with topics of romance and sex and the like. Yet for some reason, maybe because it was his friends, he felt almost curious. He didn’t know what that feeling was, or at least he didn’t think he did, the feeling of being in love with someone. It was strange to watch and he couldn’t imagine being like that with anyone.Jirou on the other hand wasn’t shocked to see anyone in the class dating in general. It was likely bound to happen at some point, they were high schoolers after all. It wasn’t like dating was never going to happen, she was just surprised on who it was with.She knew Kirishima was gay. He never hid that fact from anyone. He never really announced it, but if someone asked he had no qualms letting them know. It was never a secret and she really admired that about him, how he was never afraid to share that part of him. It was really cool actually.She was mostly surprised by Kaminari.Kaminari wasn’t explicitly out to anyone really. Sure, he’d made comments about guys before, but he never said if it was a joke or not, so most people assumed it was. No one ever asked to confirm otherwise. The two were close, but they never talked about that sort of thing. Even with Kirishima, she never brought it up even though she knew for a fact he was gay, she just made a point to never talk about that kind of thing with anyone. Maybe that was her own fault.No one had said anything about Kaminari’s sexuality when he posted the announcement that he and Kirishima were dating. She wasn’t going to either. She didn’t want to be the one to ask the blonde about it. It felt almost taboo.She was also surprised because all of their friends had implied Kaminari had a crush on her. If he did, she figured he’d say it, but Kirishima in particular always seemed certain about that assessment. It was a little odd seeing the two together because of that, but it made sense. Kaminari talked about Kirishima all the time. The two hung out constantly. Plus, they were always overly affectionate with each other in a way they weren’t with their other friends.Seeing the two boys together openly was kind of a shock. People were more accepting now, certainly, but it still wasn’t talked about a lot and people weren’t always the most open about it. Seeing them together made her feel… hopeful. She wasn’t sure how to approach them about their relationship, but it did make her genuinely happy seeing people like them. People like…Jirou and Bakugou watched the two boys’ relationship from afar.They weren’t sure if they were trying to avoid them or not. Just something about seeing them together stirred feelings inside them that they weren’t sure how to face exactly. Feelings that they’ve never spoken aloud to anyone. Not even once. Those feelings within them felt like they might break open if they got too close to them. They weren’t sure if they were really ready for that or not.Jirou would talk to Kaminari about it eventually. She knew she would.Bakugou wasn’t sure when or if he would talk to Kirishima about it.They had their own schedules, their own pace.Jirou knew it might look bad to continue on with not talking to the two of them for too long. She would respond to the group chat and wave and say hello, but she never stuck around for a conversation. She hoped that was enough to make sure her avoidance wasn’t taken the wrong way. She just needed a bit to sort out her own thoughts before telling either of them the feelings she had.Bakugou didn’t care how bad it looked to avoid the two. They should know better than to assume how he felt about any given thing. He didn’t want to look at anyone being lovey dovey and be forced to remember that was what was expected of him. He was expected to fall in love, preferably with a girl, and date and get married and have kids and do all of those things that he had no interest in. Maybe that’s what was conventional, but he didn’t crave the conventional.A twinge of jealousy yanked at both of their hearts as they saw the boys go on day by day.

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One month.It had officially been an entire month since Denki and Eijirou had started their facade as a couple. Late May creeped into late June and things weren’t progressing at all. Both Jirou and Bakugou had successfully managed to avoid any one-on-one contact with either of the boys, and it was starting to put both of them at unease. They needed to take things up a notch somehow. Sure, they could just try and talk to their respective crushes, but they had been so clearly avoiding them that it’d just be awkward to do now. They had to do something to get them talking.“Should we go on a date for our one month?” Eijirou asked, leaning over the couch. He watched Denki scroll through his phone absently on the couch, looking through some social media feeds. “If we post pics, it could get their attention.”“Mm that could work, where do you wanna go?”“You can pick, I’ll pay.”“So chivalrous,” Denki murmured, stifling a laugh. “Korean barbecue and ice cream after?”“Last time we did that, you threw up at the mall.”“So… no?”“Pick something else.”“Lame. Wanna check out a night market then? We can walk around and take cute pic–” Denki cut himself off and stood up quickly. He elbowed lightly at Eijirou and pointed his head at their two targets who were walking down the hall chatting. He easily hopped over the other side of the couch to stand next to Eijirou and hissed, “We need to do something.”“I thought we were doing the date!”“We can do both somethings!”Bakugou and Jirou looked towards the two boys and paused for a moment, hesitating. They looked like they were watching to see what Denki and Eijirou were going to do. Denki tried not to make it super obvious that he had noticed the two, resisting glances in their direction to see if they were still looking at them.An idea popped into his little head. This was in fact a golden opportunity.“Kiss me.”“What?!”“Eijirou, you have to kiss me,” Denki said. They had to do something before Bakugou and Jirou both left the room. Anything to get their attention. Denki was willing to take every chance he had and do whatever it took to get that moment in their eyes.“I’ve never–”“Eiji, please just do it,” Denki asked. He placed his hands on Eijirou’s shoulders and stared deeply in his eyes. He hoped that was persuasive enough. “Please, Eijirou, I–”Denki felt the redhead’s rough lips on his in an instant. He didn’t even get to finish his sentence. Eijirou’s hands held his face gently as he kissed the blonde. Every part of Eijirou had been rough and yet he kissed so tenderly. He let his eyes flutter closed as the taller boy seemed to kiss him for an eternity. It almost felt like time had stopped the second their lips pressed together. Denki tried to kiss back, but he wasn’t very good due to his inexperience. His brain was short circuiting and he couldn’t understand how Eijirou was so good at this. If he knew this is what kissing his best friend felt like, he would have done it much sooner.Unintentionally, Denki let out a small spark against their lips, shocking Eijirou’s skin. The redhead pulled back with a quick yelp and looked at Denki, slightly dazed. The blonde gasped, “Sorry! Are you okay?”He lifted his hands to touch Eijirou’s lip before quickly yanking them back to his sides.“Yeah,” Eijirou breathed. “Did I go too far?”“No, no, you’re good, dude,” Denki said, trying to cover up his fluster with a laugh. He looked around and saw that Bakugou and Jirou had left after all. Fuck, they might have missed it. “Do you think they saw?”“I’m pretty sure they did.”“Okay, cool,” Denki said absently. He hid his face behind his hair as what just happened replayed in his mind. His lips still felt tingly and he wasn’t sure if it was from the kiss itself or the shock he had accidentally let out. He could feel a heat rising in his cheeks. He just had his first kiss.Some people say that your first kiss is never that great, but Denki thought they were lying. It had been amazing. He knew kissing was probably great, people did it so often, but he didn’t expect how tender it could really be. It made his heart flutter way too hard inside his chest. It was beating so loudly he was almost worried Eijirou could hear it. He almost wanted to do it again, but there was no need to now. He dumbly lifted a hand to his lips, processing what had just happened.“Are you sure you’re okay?” Eijirou asked, worriedly. “We don’t have to do that again.”Denki blinked at him wildly before hurriedly reassuring, “No, no! That was… that was actually kind of amazing. Why are you good at that?”Eijirou’s face turned red at the compliment. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and stumbled, “I– I don’t know. You, uh, you were pretty good too.”“Liar, I could barely do anything,” Denki shot back.“I’m serious,” Eijirou protested. He looked away for a moment before deciding to look straight at Denki and softly said, “It was nice.”“Thanks!” Denki squeaked. His voice cracked and his cheeks burned even hotter now. Sometimes, specifically in moments like these, he wishes Eijirou was a bit less earnest because that look in his eyes made Denki’s stomach flip in a way it was not supposed to. This was a plan to win over Jirou. He wasn’t supposed to be getting so flustered over this, it was just to win over Jirou, that’s all. That’s all…“Was that your first kiss too?” Eijirou asked, quietly.Denki swallowed before letting out a shaky breath, “Yeah.”Eijirou looked at Denki with a look he couldn’t quite place, but he had to look away before he got even more flustered. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous all of a sudden. It was probably just nerves from his first kiss, yeah, that was definitely it. Definitely.Denki awkwardly coughed and continued, “So, uh, the date later, yeah?”“Yeah, wanna go around 5:30, so we can get ready?” EIjirou asked, looking away.Denki leaned back against the couch, checking the time on his phone. He hoped his hair blocked his face as he looked down so that Eijirou couldn’t see the blush rising in his cheeks. His phone read 4:09 and he replied, “Sounds good. I need to get dressed and do my makeup and everything.”“You gonna dress up for me?” Eijirou chuckled lightly.“It’s a date, I always dress up for dates, I’m not a slob. At least not all the time…”“It’s a fake date.”“Okay and? We need it to look real, if we’re taking pictures I can’t look ugly, plus I like dressing nice,” Denki shot back. He looked Eijirou up and down. Eijirou was wearing strange khaki shorts that bagged up weirdly, with a blue shirt that looked several days unwashed, and red flip flops. Oh god. “I need to help you get ready.”“What? Why?”“It’s so endearing, but I’m so sorry. I can’t have my fake boyfriend dressing like this out in public,” Denki said, cringing a bit. He knew Eijirou didn’t take fashion as seriously as him and generally wore whatever he could find. Normally, he wouldn’t mind as much, but this was a date. A fake date, but still.“Is the fit not hard?” Eijirou asked, a chuckle mixing into his voice.“I went soft just looking at it, please, I’ll let you borrow my clothes,” the blonde chided.“Harsh, man, but alright.” EIjirou laughed. He didn’t mind really. He was never the most fashionable and maybe he’d enjoy being a bit more dolled up.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It turns out, Denki took his role of personal stylist very seriously.Eijirou stood awkwardly in the middle of Denki’s room as he threw various shirts and pants at him, trying to decide what complemented him most. Eijirou took off the fifth shirt Denki had put him in and Denki held up two shirts in front of his chest, looking between the two with concentration. It was kind of cute how seriously the blonde was taking this. His tongue was pinched between his teeth as he ransacked his wardrobe. Eijirou wasn’t sure how he had so many clothes…“I guess a t-shirt is fine, you don’t seem like a button up guy, maybe a hoodie?” Denki mumbled, rifling back through the clothes he tossed around. Shirts were scattered around, littering the floor to the point Eijirou was surprised Denki could even move.“I think I only own t-shirts and hoodies…”“I need to take you clothes shopping with Mina,” Denki sighed. He pulled out a plain cream white hoodie. “Arms up.”“Y’know, I can dress myself right?”“It’s part of the process.”Eijirou rolled his eyes and did as he was told, letting Denki pull the hoodie over his head. He shuffled his way into the sweater and it fit snugly around him. Denki was slightly smaller than him after all, but it wasn’t too bad, it fit well enough.The blonde put a hand underneath his chin and nodded thoughtfully. The corner of his lip twitched into a smile as he looked Eijirou up and down. He placed a hand on the redhead’s shoulder and dusted it lightly. He adjusted the hood and pulled at the cloth, adjusting slightly. He nodded again excitedly and chirped, “I can work with this, yup yup yup. I’m gonna grab another jacket, don’t move.”“I haven’t been moving…”The electric user bounced around searching for a jacket that he thought might be good to layer.Eijirou watched him as he looked around excitedly. He felt a smile creep onto his face looking at his friend. He seemed to actually be having a lot of fun with this. It was nice seeing how much of a kick he was getting out of it. Even Eijirou could admit, he was having a bit of fun too. He wasn’t super into this kind of thing, but Denki was having a blast which made it better for him. Plus, it was kind of nice getting dressed up, he didn’t do it very often.“Oh I think this will be good, I have a hoodie this color so we can match.”“What is it?”Denki pulled out an olive green button down jacket, saying, “I think you have some sneakers that go with this.”He put the jacket on Eijirou and smiled, “We’re getting somewhere! Okay, take off your shorts.”“Excuse me?”“You need pants,” Denki replied bluntly.“Do I have to take my shorts off in front of you to do this?”“I mean, you don’t have to, but we’ve literally bathed together before so, do you really care?”“Guess not, but it’s weird when you’re the one telling me to strip” Eijirou sighed.“Don’t make it weird, you pervert…”“I’m not! You’re the one who— nevermind. It doesn’t matter.”Denki laughed at Eijirou as he unbuttoned his shorts and pulled them off leaving him awkwardly in his underwear and jackets. Just underwear itself probably would have looked less ridiculous, but he accepted his fate. Luckily, Denki picked out a pair of black sweats quickly enough and tossed them to Eijirou to put on.He shuffled on the pants and Denki looked at him up and down, taking in the view.“You look so good,” Denki said with a smile easily planting itself on his face. He cupped his ear, turning towards Eijirou, “What do we say?”“Thank you so much, babe,” Eijirou said, rolling his eyes. He looked himself over and he had to admit he looked good. His outfit was probably going to match a bit with Denki’s so they would look nice standing next to each other. The photos from tonight should come out actually convincing, maybe even cute.
Denki was much faster at getting dressed, despite insisting he would need a while to do so. He threw on a loose white button up with the aforementioned olive green hoodie that he said would match. He had loose, black cargo pants with black boots and a black tie to pull everything together. He rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and found a few black stringed bracelets to adorn his wrist. It suited him well, Eijirou found it interesting how he was able to put together two looks that matched, but had their own distinct style to them as well. Denki really had an eye for fashion when he wanted to put in the effort.

Eijirou watched him plop down at his desk and sift through his makeup bag to find what the blonde had needed. Eijirou sat on the bed and watched the blonde carefully powder dark brown shadow over his eyes. He was always enamored watching Denki do his makeup, he always seemed to be at peace doing it. He never rushed the process, always taking his time, a contrast to how he normally did most things. He carefully smudged penciled eyeliner along his waterline and brushed mascara along his lashes and he was pretty much done. He never wore a lot of makeup, never committing to a full face, but he still pulled it off well. It was just a simple, small joy mixed into Denki’s day. It wasn’t much, but he took to the task with great care.

Eijirou always thought Denki looked pretty like this.

Denki looked back and forth between Eijirou and his desk, squinting, “Wait…”

“Huh?”

Denki stood up, grabbing a black lipstick out of his bag. He painted his lips carefully and moved onto the bed next to Eijirou. Pulling out his phone, he opened up his camera. His hand squished Eijirou’s face and he planted a kiss on his cheek, moving his face to show off the lipstick stain, he clicked a quick photo and buried the phone back into his pocket. He grabbed a makeup wipe and rubbed the lipstick off of them both and matter of factly said, “Cute.”

Eijirou felt his cheeks burn for a moment and he wiped the spot with his hand, causing Denki to roll his eyes playfully, and the redhead asked, “Are you ready to go now?”

“Hell yeah.”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔
.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.

The night market had just begun by the time the two had gotten there and Eijirou had a good chunk of cash they were able to spend before they ran out of money. The sun was beginning to set, staining the stalls in orange, red, and yellow hues. Sweet smells of desserts and scents of food cooking perfumed the air as they strolled about. Noises of chatters and sizzling of fryers could be heard all around them. The cool breeze made the two thankful to have worn jackets to protect against the cold as the midsummer’s nights clung onto the cold, fighting against the slip into blistering night. Denki found himself slipping his sleeves back down to protect his arms from the chill.

The two walked around slowly, taking in all the different stalls that had been set up for the night. Eijirou already felt like he was starving by the time they got there and he knew Denki probably felt the same way. Eijirou was quickly drawn away from their path by a stall selling meat skewers and he dragged Denki by the hand to get him to follow behind.

“Two beef skewers, thanks.”

Eijirou handed the vendor the money and got the food in exchange. He passed a stick over to Denki who hummed appreciatively as he took a bite. The two both managed to shove the food down in just a few bites and continued wandering about. The two held each other by the hand so they wouldn’t get lost as they quickly bobbed and weaved amongst the people.

“Is there anything specifically that you want?” Eijirou asked as the blonde scanned across the stalls.
“I dunno, there’s so much stuff,” Denki whined, but he still ended up slinking away to another stall among the plethora of options. He ordered a roasted sweet potato and looked over his shoulder expectantly. Eijirou sighed, amused, and passed Denki some cash.

Denki unwrapped the small foiled package and took a bite too quickly, yelping as he burnt his tongue. The redhead laughed at him quietly as he shot back an unappreciative glance. Desperately blowing on his food, he took another bite and made a noise of content. Turning back towards Eijirou, he carefully held out the sweet potato to the other boy’s mouth, using a hand to cup underneath for any crumbs, “You wanna bite?”

Eijirou took a large bite and had to cover his mouth to keep any food from spilling as he laughed. Denki’s eyes widened as he gave him a distressed look and protested, “I said a bite! Not the whole thing!”

“I paid for it!”

“Still!”

Denki snatched the potato away from Eijirou and continued chewing on it, trying to send Eijirou annoyed glances despite his smile getting in the way.

As they continued around, the two of them had slowed their pace, comfortably walking around hand in hand. They didn’t really seem to notice it throughout the night, a casual intimacy between the two that they quickly became accustomed to without needing to acknowledge what was going on. Denki’s cold, manicured hands pressed against Eijirou’s warmer, roughened ones as they exchanged heat with one another.

Denki had zero qualms about spending Eijirou’s money, he was used to the other paying whenever they went out to eat. The two ordered whatever food they liked, stealing bites from each other’s things. Denki would even ask to swap if he liked Eijirou’s better, which the redhead hadn’t minded, he generally ate anything. Denki wasn’t necessarily picky, but he had his preferences and wasn’t afraid to ask to switch food more than once.

They were used to this routine by now. Denki would often snatch food off the redhead’s plate only to get something stolen in return. They’d swap portions of their meals in the cafeteria or just shared if they wanted a bit of everything. Bakugou always said it was gross how the two always shared food or drinks, but they didn’t really care. They were with each other pretty much all the time, they basically had the same germs at that point.

Music played on the air and a playful tune caught Denki’s ear. He turned his head, wandering around to follow the noise, stumbling on a small toy cart adorned with keychains and other tchotchkes to buy. His eyes landed on a small sausage keychain, shaped like an octopus. He grinned to himself, picking it up and holding it in front of Eijirou’s face, he giggled, “This looks like you.”

“How?”

“It’s red and has a dumb face,” Denki explained easily.

He was right. It did have a dumb face. It was two black dots and a small yellow circle for the mouth. Eijirou wasn’t sure if he should be offended by the dumb face comment or endeared by the cute octopus. Before he could decide on how to feel, Denki had already purchased the keychain and plopped it into the redhead’s hands, saying, “For you, my good sir.”

Eijirou looked down at the small trinket and smiled. He began to fish into his pocket for cash, asking, “Do you want the money back for it?”

“No way, you’ve bought all the food, the least I can do is buy that thing,” Denki said. He poked at the keychain gently as it rested in Eijirou’s palms. “It’s cute, huh?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Eijirou replied. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt warmer all of a sudden. A small connector in his brain putting together the fact Denki said the octopus charm looked like him and the other fact that Denki said it was cute. He shouldn’t overthink it, so he shook his head to clear away the thought. He pulled out his wallet and carefully clipped the keychain to attach it, smiling fondly as he put them away.

Eijirou never minded when Denki spent his money on food. He made up for it in small trinkets and comics and the like. He bought Eijirou gifts that he could keep forever.

“Can we get dessert now? I think I had enough normal food,” Denki asked. He batted his eyelashes at Eijirou playfully, as if he even needed to ask, let alone try and convince the redhead. He broke into a large smile as Eijirou nodded at him and pumped his fist in the air, “Yeah!”

“Anything catch your eye?”

“I want crepes.”

Eijirou cocked an eyebrow at the blonde, “Romantic much?”

“I mean, we’re on a date,” Denki replied. He winked at Eijirou over his shoulder and walked off to wherever the stall was. He shivered against the cold air and called out, “Dude, I’m fucking freezing. Why the hell is it freezing, it’s almost July.”

“Do you want my jacket?”

“You mean, my jacket?”

Eijirou didn’t bother responding and just took off the jacket and placed it over Denki’s shoulders. The electric user didn’t say anything and grabbed Eijirou’s hand again to drag him over. Their steps fell into rhythm with one another easily. Denki’s head popped up to scan around for a crepe stand they could go to. Eventually, he found one and dragged Eijirou quickly.

“Do you wanna share?” Denki asked. The blonde eyed Eijirou up and down, squinting. “Never mind…”

“What the hell, man?”

“You’ll eat it all,” Denki deadpanned.

"You eat a lot too, y’know,” Eijirou complained.

“Yeah, more reason for two then.”

Denki ordered crepes for the two of them and handed one over to Eijirou, along with a copious amount of napkins. It was a simple crepe, strawberries and bananas topped with whipped cream and an absurd amount of Nutella. The two went off to sit at a small bench. Their shoulders bumped together as they sat, quietly looking around and observing all the people walking by.

Eijirou took a bite and mumbled, “This is so sweet.”

“Do you… not want it?” Denki asked. He hadn’t even finished his own crepe yet, barely a couple bites in. However, he was still eyeing Eijirou’s crepe.

“I’m still going to eat it, finish yours first and maybe you can have some of mine if I don’t finish.”

“Fine,” Denki groaned. He chewed at the dessert thoughtfully and hummed, “This was actually nice. I’ve never been on a date before.”

Eijirou popped a strawberry into his mouth, saying, “I’ve been on a few. Not as good as this though.”

“Yeah? What kind of dates have you been on?”

Eijirou leaned against Denki’s shoulder, thinking for a moment. He stole a piece of banana from Denki’s crepe, earning a dirty look from the blonde. He explained, “Just some guys in middle school. All of them were pretty short dates, pretty awkward too.”

“Do anything fun?”

“Eh, not really, just some cafés and shitty coffee.”

“You don’t even drink coffee.”

“Exactly,” Eijirou hummed.

Denki leaned back on his hands and eyed Eijirou thoughtfully. He grabbed a napkin and carefully wiped Eijirou’s face, chuckling lightly. The redhead hadn’t noticed anything had been on his face and turned his face away, embarrassed. He felt the blonde’s hand place itself over his own that sat on the bench, as Denki asked, “What type of guys are you into anyway?”

Eijirou’s face heated up at the question, acutely aware of the hand on his own. In any other situation, he’d think Denki was hitting on him, but it was probably just Denki being Denki. He chewed at his crepe more to avoid the question for a few extra seconds, he could feel the other boy’s eyes on him and it made him more nervous. He swallowed awkwardly and explained, “I— uh, I guess muscular guys. Manly men and the like. Confident.”

Denki’s hand quickly left Eijirou’s and he teased, “Typical.”

“Not fair. What’s your type?”

“In guys or girls?”

“Either.”

Denki licked a bit of Nutella off his fingers and said, “Eh, I don’t really have a type. I prefer girls usually, but I could be with a guy. If he was cute enough…”

The two glanced at each other for a moment and quickly looked away, the air shifting slightly. Denki cleared his throat and crumpled up his crepe wrapper. Eijirou handed the rest of his dessert to Denki, bringing a smile to his face. The energy lulled for the rest of the “date,” but the quiet wasn’t completely uncomfortable. The two leaned against each other in silence and they felt the exchange of warmth between them. Eijirou took out his wallet to fidget with the octopus keychain. The small charm made something in him feel warmer, despite the chilly breeze.

Denki scrolled through the photos they took throughout the night and had Eijirou pick a few he liked. He rested his head against Eijirou’s shoulder and typed out a caption:

“two halves of one whole idiot @themanEijirou”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the late afternoon and Denki was stretching in the common room by the couches. Just a few days ago, he had kissed his friend to try and make the girl he liked jealous. His plan seemed successful from what he saw. As Jirou was walking out the door, she had seen him and Kirishima. He never caught the look on her face, but assumed it had to be jealousy. He didn’t know what else it could be. He, literally, patted himself on the back reliving the moment. Everything was going according to plan again.Just as he was congratulating himself, he spotted Jirou walking into the shared space. She had a strange look on her face and seemed like she was looking for something. Or someone.When her eyes landed on Denki, she perked up slightly. Score.Jirou casually made her way over to him and greeted him, “Kaminari.”“Hi, Jirou,” Denki replied. He was grinning ear to ear. Had his plan actually worked? He could feel his heart already beginning to pound in excitement. He fiddled with his hair nervously and asked, “What’s up?”“Not much,” she said, stretching her arms over her head. She looked him over with an inscrutable expression. He wanted to unlock whatever emotion she was putting a poker face in front of and know how she felt. Was it the jealousy he craved? Was it judgment? Was it love? Was it something else entirely? He needed to know so badly that he could almost feel a sweat break out against the back of his neck.Jirou bit at her lip in thought for a moment before finally saying, “I saw you and Kirishima together a couple days ago.”Holy shit. This was it, wasn’t it? Denki’s head buzzed excitedly and the blood pumping through his veins seemed to go even faster. He could feel every nerve in his body tingling in anticipation. He couldn’t tell if he was more excited that a plan of his might work or the fact Jirou might like him. The plan working almost felt more enticing…“Yeah?”“Yeah, I’m kind of jealous,” Jirou admitted. Her gaze was still hiding an emotion he couldn’t quite reach yet.Denki felt his breath catch in his throat. Jealous. He heard the one word he had wanted to hear so badly. If he got too excited, he might have choked right then. He tried not to freak out too soon, but he was getting so excited.“You two seem like a really good couple, y’know. I’m really happy for you,” Jirou said. She had complimented them.
Huh?
“Yeah, things are great, no trouble in paradise,” Denki said, trying not to grind his teeth too badly. He was instantly deflating. His nerves became ice cold like he had just been dunked into a cold bath. He couldn’t make it too obvious that the sentiment threw him off. Why was she praising his relationship now? He thought she was jealous of them being together. What was going on?“That’s great,” Jirou smiled, her smile faltered for a moment and she glanced away from the blonde. She brought her gaze to the floor and began to fidget with her ear jack. She seemed almost upset. She chewed her lip in thought before looking back at Denki again. There was definitely a sadness in her eyes that Denki didn’t recognize.Some small shitty part of Denki almost got happy. Maybe his plan was working. Maybe Jirou was going to confess how she liked him after all, maybe not being with him made her unhappy. The compliment was just a small setback, it was a segue. She might have really been jealous of them being together and that’s what was causing her woe. Despite that small shitty part of his brain, Denki pushed that thought down. She seemed genuinely upset and Denki was worried about her.Knowing she was okay was more important than some fantasy he had.Awkwardly, he placed a hand on Jirou’s shoulder and asked, “You alright?”Jirou glanced at the hand on her shoulder for a moment, before quietly saying, “Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you about something.”Denki could hear her take a large breath in. He let his hand fall off her shoulder as she shook her head to clear it. She tapped her ear jack nervously, poking it with her finger; replacing her old tick of tapping both together; but looking back at the boy, she gave him a small smile. She looked a bit wary, but he could tell she was trying her best to be brave. Something about how she always tried her best to be brave no matter what is part of why Denki liked her so much in the first place. He smiled back at her, trying his best to be encouraging.“I’m a lesbian.”“What?”Denki quickly clapped his mouth shut, realizing he said it out loud.“You’re not going to be weird about it, are you?” Jirou asked. She looked nervous again, which made the boy’s heart crumble a bit. She shouldn’t have had to be scared to say anything in the first place.“Of course not! I was just surprised,” Denki said, honestly. “I had no idea.”“Yeah,” Jirou breathed out. She looked more relieved now at the small reassurance, relaxed, as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She put a hand behind her neck and chuckled awkwardly, “You’re the first person I told.”“Seriously?”Denki almost wished he wasn’t.“Seriously,” she said. “I wanted to tell you for a while now, but I was really worried about it, but I dunno, seeing you with Kirishima, it made me feel less worried, I guess.”Fuck.“Why were you so worried?” Denki questioned, cautiously. He felt shitty knowing that she had gotten the courage to tell him based off of a lie. He felt slimy inside and wanted to take a shower as if that could clean off what he had done. He never could have guessed this would have been one of the consequences.“I knew you liked me, or at least everyone said you did,” Jirou explained. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed or something.”“Why would I…?”“I don’t know,” Jirough sighed. She looked almost guilty saying it, but she smiled back at Denki and said something that he never thought she would, “I know you’re not like that, it’s just hard feeling like maybe I hurt people by being who I am. I don’t really know why I thought that, but that’s not your fault though. You’re one of my best friends, honest.”Denki swallowed around the hard ball forming inside his throat, starting to feel sick, but it slowly disappeared as he noticed Jirou looked happy. Small tears had begun to roll down her cheeks, but she was smiling so brightly. It was like she took off whatever had been dimming her light for a long time. He’d gotten the chance to see her so genuinely just once before, during the school festival. It was raw and bare and real, not covered in a mask or layer of irony like so many things about her before. He couldn’t help, but smile back.“You and Kirishima gave me more confidence to be myself,” Jirou laughed softly. “Thanks for that.”Jirou opened her arms out and Denki immediately pulled her into a hug. He could feel tears beginning to prick at his eyes already. He squeezed her tightly in his arms and he didn’t want to let go of this shiny light that she held inside her. Speaking softly into her ear, he said, “Thank you so much for telling me.”He still felt a bit guilty knowing he was lying to her, but part of that lifted. If what he had done had helped one of his closest friends feel this free, maybe it wasn’t so bad. He could live with lying to Jirou if it meant she didn’t have to lie about who she was. He could apologize to her some day, but that’s not what she needed right now. She needed a friend to support her, not to bring her down with an apology. He could do that for her.“Kaminari, too tight,” Jirou choked out.“Sorry, sorry,” he laughed. He let go of her and for a bit he just stared at her. She had changed since the war. She was even cooler than he remembered.“Don’t smile at me like that, weirdo,” Jirou giggled.“I’m just happy for you,” Denki grinned.“Thanks,” she replied, sitting on the couch.Denki sat next to her and beamed. A cheeky thought had wormed its way into his head even after their heart to heart. He was Denki after all. A mischievous grin replaced his smile of sincerity. Leaning onto Jirou, he slyly asked, “Sooooooooooooo?”“So?” She gave him a weird look.“Any girls you like? OW. CRAP. STOP.”Jirou’s earjack stabbed its way into his ear and it vibrated harshly, causing the blonde’s body to spasm wildly.Retracting her jack, Denki noticed the pink blush spread across her face. He rubbed his ear violently before smirking at the girl. He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in close. He raised an eyebrow at her inquisitively, before teasing, “Come on, Jirou, tell meeeeee. I’ll never leave you alone again until you do. Pleaseeeeeeeeee. I can see you’re blushing, you can’t hide it from me.”“You're so dumb,” Jirou whined. She rolled her eyes before looking away again, suddenly shy. She tapped her jack and finger together again, before mumbling, “It’s Yao Momo.”“Aww, that makes a lot of sense actually. I should have seen it sooner…”“Don’t make fun of me.”“I’m not! Honest,” Denki assured.Jirou and Yaoyorozu had been really close friends for a long time now. It seemed really fitting that Jirou liked her so much. It made Denki’s stomach flutter happily. If she didn’t like him, at least it was someone as good as Yaoyorozu. If things did work out between the two, he knew she’d treat Jirou amazingly. That’s all he wanted really. Honestly, after Jirou’s confession, he didn’t really care if she didn’t like him that way. Any worry over that left fleetingly. Now, all that he had to worry about was his friend being happy instead of twenty million what ifs inside his head.Jirou rested her head against Denki’s shoulder as his grip around her slackened. He glanced over at her and she had a wistful smile across her face. In that moment, he realized he did love her, a lot. But that was different from being in love with her. If he knew his feelings would melt away so quickly, before she had told him, he’d realize that much sooner. Maybe it would have saved him some time.They slipped away so quickly his mind pondered if they had ever been there to begin with. He couldn’t have known before though, but he knew the answer, somewhere deep down. He didn’t want to look too deep down yet. He’d grow out of the crush he had, but he wouldn’t stop loving Jirou as his friend. No matter what.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was 4:00 in the afternoon and Denki could see the sun setting outside of Eijirou’s window. He had laid himself out across the bed sheets lazily, laying on his stomach. He rifled through Eijirou’s phone, trying to pick out some music to play while Eijirou worked out next to him. He kicked his feet idly behind him as he scrolled.Eijirou was beside him, hitting at his punching bag, working up a sweat. Denki was growing tired just looking at him exercise. Being next to him made the room feel warmer as Denki stared at him from the bed. Sweat beaded down his neck even with the fan spinning above them.About a week ago now, Jirou had come out to Denki and he really hadn’t felt all that different from before. He wasn’t sad or crushed that she didn’t like him back, he just felt normal. He never had problems really with getting over a crush once he knew he had no chance. He knew when he wasn’t wanted and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it was just something that happened. He wasn’t even really sure what he would have done if his plan had worked. He wouldn’t describe his feelings as fleeting, but he never liked to dwell on things too long if there was no chance. He guessed it wasn’t hard to avoid dwelling on something he hadn’t thought much of to begin with. Now that he was rejected, he didn’t feel much of a shift. He still felt the same desire to be closer to her that he always had, but he knew he was over his crush by now. He wasn’t entirely sure what that meant.He knew Eijirou was different though. The redhead didn’t let things go as easily as Denki had. Part of him worried that maybe if this plan went any further south, Eijirou might get genuinely hurt. He could tell part of this was already stressing him out. Bakugou had managed to avoid them both for a little over a month now and it seemed to be getting to the other boy.He watched over the month as Eijirou spent more and more time working out. His punches grew stronger against his punching bag as his stress grew. He was doing his best to try and get his nerves to melt away with each hit. He’d run for longer or spend more time outside of the dorms, filling up any minute he wasn’t with Denki, his friends, or schoolwork with exercise. It let him get away from his thoughts, as long as he kept moving, he didn’t have to worry about his dwindling friendship and crush.“Hey, Eiji?” Denki called out. He watched Eijirou’s jabs still as he turned to look toward him. His skin was flushed slightly from the work out. His hair looked slightly sheen with the wet perspiration that had been coating him. The tension in the room dissipated slightly as he stopped moving, but a small fluttering filled Denki’s chest as he looked at his friend. Eijirou looked good like this and that was the biggest understatement Denki could make, but he shouldn’t focus on that now.“What’s up?” Eijirou panted.Denki fiddled with his hair nervously, “I was just kind of curious, how do you get over crushes?”Eijirou’s eyes widened a bit as he eyed Denki down, “Shit man, did something happen?”The blond let out a small sigh. He rolled over so he’d be laying on his back instead. He turned off whatever music had been playing, setting down Eijirou’s phone. He chuckled lightly, trying to keep the mood from weighing down too heavily, before saying, “No, no, well yes, actually. I should probably let you know.”Eijirou’s forehead began to crease slightly with worry.“Jirou for sure isn’t interested in me.”The redhead let out a small breath, “Oh crap, I’m sorry about that. Have you been holding up okay? Do you know why?”“Oh, no! I’m totally good,” Denki replied, waving his hands in front of his face. He really didn’t want this to be about him, but he figured he shouldn’t hide the fact his side of the plan failed. “As for why, it’s Jirou’s business so, not planning on spreading that around to anyone.”He felt the mattress dip slightly as Eijirou sat down next to him, placing a comforting, but unneeded hand on his shoulder. The gesture made him smile anyhow. He truly was okay and the reassurance wasn’t necessary at all, but he felt warm inside knowing Eijirou did care. If he had actually been upset, he knew he could always go to Eijirou, no matter what. He patted the hand on his shoulder and made sure to beam up at the redhead to try and soothe any nerves he may have.“I’m alright, seriously,” the blonde smiled, but it did falter a bit as he continued, “I was actually kind of worried about you.”“Huh? What for?”“Bakugou’s been avoiding us for a bit now and I’m just kind of worried it’s been getting to you…”Eijirou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, embarrassed, “That obvious?”“A little.”Eijirou leaned back on his hands, staring at the ceiling above him. He let out a sigh, thinking to himself about how things with Bakugou had made such a sudden shift that it had given him whiplash. He really thought the two were getting closer, but it seemed like now, their progress was almost unworking itself and he didn’t know why. His own insecurities could only bring up one reason in his head, the same reason so many people gave him a sidelong glance in middle school. Unsure, he said, “I’ve been worried that maybe he just… I don’t know, maybe he’s not comfortable seeing two guys together or something.”Denki tilted his head a bit, confused, “Why would he care about that? He already knows you’re gay and I’m pretty sure he figured I liked guys for a while now.”“I don’t know, I don’t know why else he’d be avoiding me,” Eijirou said. “It’s the same shit I was worried about in middle school.”Denki didn’t say anything for a few moments, trying to piece together what to say. He never really dealt with what Eijirou had. Maybe it was because he wasn’t explicitly out to anyone, maybe it was just a roll of the dice. If he had told people in middle school, he might have gotten the same treatment, but he wouldn’t know. High school was easier that way, people cared less and grew out of certain things, but you never know who might not be on your side until things are too late.“I don’t think he’s like that,” Denki reassured. He placed his hand over Eijirou’s comfortingly. He wasn’t sure what else to say. The best bet would have been to have the two actually talk, but he felt bad suggesting Eijirou put in the work when Bakugou was the one who shouldn’t have avoided them in the first place. He was sure this had to all be a misunderstanding, Bakugou caring about that kind of thing didn’t even make sense to him.“I hope you’re right.”The conversation tapered off for a few moments before Denki worked up the nerve to ask his original question.“I wanted to know like… how you get over crushes, in case this plan doesn’t end up working out…” Denki said, trailing off. He looked up at his friend and could see his sharp teeth worrying away at his lip. The question seemed to throw the redhead off, unsure how to really respond. His brows knit together in confusion trying to form something to say.“I’m not really sure,” Eijirou admitted after a long silence.The blonde grabbed one of Eijirou’s hands which had been sitting on the bed, then said, “I mean, you’ve had crushes before him, right? How did you get over those?”Eijirou looked down at Denki’s hand holding his own for a brief moment. He averted his eyes from the hand over his and stared at his wall. He didn’t move his hand away, just letting Denki’s rest over his own, a comforting touch as he thought about what he might do. He had liked Bakugou for almost a year now, but he never said anything with everything going on. Though, the longer Bakugou kept ignoring him, he could feel something in him begin to slip away and it made him almost sad. It felt like there was a candle burning inside him with the more time that passed, like it was beginning to melt away.“I think those kinds of things just go away with time,” Eijirou said. He looked back down at Denki’s hand, “And with a good friend there.”He could feel himself smile a bit. The heavy atmosphere in the room was helped by the small contact between the two of them. Anchoring them together.The blonde blinked a few times, processing the words before he beamed up at him, squeezing Eijirou’s hand tighter, he laughed, “That was really cheesy.”“Hey! I was trying to be earnest!”“No, I know,” Denki chuckled. “It was sweet.”Eijirou couldn’t keep looking at the smile on Denki’s face, turning away again. Sometimes the two shared these small moments, ones where they felt entirely too close and yet completely comfortable all the same. Maybe too close didn’t really exist between the two of them. These moments of pure earnest wound their way into their conversations so easily some days.Eijirou felt the blonde’s hand lift from his own and he turned his head back toward Denki. He had stretched himself out across the mattress and he played with his hair, fiddling the strands between his fingers. If Eijirou wasn’t looking so hard, he would’ve missed the pale blush tinting his cheeks.Denki’s eyes met his own and the electric user asked, “Did you know that if a crush lasts for over two years it’s considered a limerence?”“What’s that?”“Typically, it’s a one-sided infatuation with another person, an obsession really.”“Huh, that’s… really interesting actually,” Eijirou replied. He tilted his head curiously at Denki. He was silently asking him to continue and Denki seemed to get the message.“It’s different from love because it’s all about that uncertainty if they like you back,” Denki explained. “It essentially takes over your life. One of the ‘cures’ for it is cognitive behavioral therapy.”“I don’t think I’m that bad yet,” Eijirou chuckled. “With how Bakugou’s been avoiding me, I don’t know how long I’m gonna be able to keep up.”Denki looked at Eijirou over curiously at that comment, but didn’t say anything, letting Eijirou continue, “Y’know Denki, you’re actually pretty smart.”“Eh? For real?”Denki looked at Eijirou like he had just gotten a concussion and was speaking in nonsense. His eyebrows knit together and he squinted at the redhead in shock and confusion. He sat up and pressed a hand to Eijirou’s head, asking, “Did you hit your head or something? A fever making you delirious? Anything?”Eijirou laughed, pushing away his hand, “I’m serious. Maybe you aren’t great with school stuff, but I never would’ve known about that limerence stuff or anything like that.”“I just go on a lot of internet deep dives…” Denki mumbled, not quite looking at the redhead.“Still! It’s really cool you know about stuff like that, there’s different ways to be smart.”Denki’s hair hid his face as he swiped strands in front of it to cover himself. He turned over so his back was facing Eijirou, uncharacteristically shy. He let out an airy laugh before turning back around. His face was a bright shade of pink and he couldn’t seem to stop smiling. He did his best to avoid looking directly into Eijirou’s eyes. Trying to look at anything, but the other boy, he whispered, “I don’t think anyone has ever called me smart before.”“I’ll try and remind you from now on.”“Sounds good, I do love compliments,” Denki hummed.“I know, you fish for them all the time.”Denki laughed at that, scrunching his face in amusement. He shoved Eijirou’s shoulder lightly, a grin spread wide on his face. The redhead shoved him back, giggling. Denki scooched closer to the other and rested his head on his shoulder, sighing, “I think we’re gonna be alright.”He quirked an eyebrow up at the redhead and continued talking, “Even if Bakugou doesn’t like you, even if you’re sad for a while, I’m gonna be there, time and a good friend and all that junk.”“Even if I come crying to your room?”“Yeah, especially if you come crying to me,” Denki said. The smile on his face could have blinded Eijirou if he looked for too long.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

About a week had gone by since Eijirou and Denki had their heart to heart and now the blonde was racing up and down the dorm halls, searching for Bakugou. The two needed to talk. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Eijirou and Bakugou weren’t going to talk on their own. Eijirou pushed Bakugou’s boundaries less than what Denki had become accustomed to. It’d be easier if he was the one to goad Bakugou into talking.He managed to catch Bakugou walking towards the front doors and Denki dashed up to him, placing his hands over Bakugou’s eyes, he sang, “Guess who?”“Idiot, get your fucking hands off me,” Bakugou hissed, turning around. He slapped Denki’s hands away and glared at the boy with a white hot stare.Despite Denki’s initial joking tone, he wasn’t here for a good laugh. His talk with Eijirou kept buzzing in his mind. Maybe he shouldn’t have been taking things in his own hands, but he hated seeing Eijirou upset. He needed to push the two together somehow, they had to at least get back on speaking terms.Denki crossed his arms, shifting his tone to be more serious, “We need to talk, dude.”Bakugou looked him up and down, grimacing a bit, “Since when do you get off on telling me what I need to do?”“I’m serious,” Denki sighed. “You've avoided me and Eijirou for over a month now. People are starting to think things…”“What fucking things?”“Well…” Denki wasn’t sure how to put this non-bluntly, “Eijirou is starting to think you might be… uncomfortable… seeing two guys together.”Bakugou’s jaw fell in shock. His eye twitched and Denki could see the gears turning in his head, trying to process what Denki had just told him. Every possible mixture of anger and confusion spread across his face and it would have been amusing to Denki if he wasn’t more worried about Eijirou.“Why the fuck would he think that?”“Because you keep avoiding us,” Denki whined. He rubbed his temple in slight annoyance. Sure, he didn’t think for a second that Eijirou was right, but it wasn’t hard to see where he got the idea from. If it were someone he knew less, he might even believe it, but it was Bakugou. The guy could care less about if any of his friends were gay. There had to be another reason as to why he had been avoiding them, but Denki didn’t care to find out. He was just focused on one thing. “You really need to talk to Ei.”“Can’t he talk to me himself?””Dude,” Denki groaned. He tried to give Bakugou the most exasperated look he could muster. It must’ve worked since the other blonde’s eyebrows furrowed in irritation. He hated being treated like he was an idiot just as much as Denki did, but he was being completely dense right now. With a sigh, Denki continued, “I get how you are, I really do. Yeah, he should talk to you, but think about it, okay?”Bakugou’s eyes continued to pierce into Denki, but he let him continue speaking.“I know you’ll come around eventually, but Eiji doesn’t really think like that. If he thinks you hate who he is as a person, why would he go up to you first?”“Assuming that is fucking ridiculous, wh—““I know it’s ridiculous, but he doesn’t need to hear that from me, he needs to hear it from you,” Denki butt in.Bakugou and him were pretty close. Denki never felt fearful of calling him out on anything before and now was no exception. He didn’t really care if Bakugou was annoyed at him for interrupting. He didn’t want to go in circles about how Eijirou shouldn’t make assumptions or how he could just talk to Bakugou. He already knew that, but if Bakugou could just understand where Eijirou was coming from, this would be easier. He hated arguing, but he’d prefer his friends to talk sooner rather than later. Bakugou never did anything he didn’t want and right now, he didn’t want to talk to Eijirou or Denki, but the shorter boy had an issue with that.“Literally anyone who didn’t know any better about you would assume you were avoiding us because of that,” Denki explained.“He should know me better than that.”“Maybe,” Denki agreed half heartedly. He wasn’t going to outright deny that, but that wasn’t the main issue. “I don’t know how much Ei told you about when he was in middle school, but maybe you should know him better too.”With that sentence, Bakugou fell silent. He didn’t have a snappy comeback or an argument. He just stood there. He seemed to actually be taking in what Denki was saying. His eyebrows furrowed in thought as he looked at Denki. It almost felt like he was really seeing the electric user for what he was, taking their conversation in. The two stood there in the middle of the hallway, waiting for the other to say something more. For once, the two boys who never shut up were quiet.Denki broke the silence first, asking, “Can you please talk to him?”“I don’t know.”“I know it’s difficult, but we both miss you, I want my friend back too,” Denki admitted. He enjoyed making fun of Bakugou, it kept his ego in check and his reactions were funny. He missed getting to talk to him everyday. Maybe not in the same way Eijirou did, but Bakugou was important in his own life too. No matter how often he called Bakugou out, he would never hesitate to defend him either. He was on Denki’s never ending list of best friends and that meant he was someone important to him.“Don’t make it weird,” the taller one said with a grimace.“I’m not!”Bakugou rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. His face contorted, unable to settle on one emotion while looking at Denki. Eventually, he settled for a look of agitation, as he muttered, “Fine, I’ll talk to him.”Denki’s demeanor finally softened at his agreement. He really hated arguing. It always felt draining, but now he just felt relief. Bakugou had actually listened to him and agreed. He knew the other would have to come around eventually, but now he wouldn’t have to wait so long. With a soft smile, Denki said a simple, “Thanks.”“Don’t fucking thank me, sparkplug. I’m not doing this for you,” Bakugou said with a glare. His eyes turned away from the electric boy and seemed to focus elsewhere. It lingered far away, away from Denki and everything else around them. He was somewhere else in his mind, as he said, “I’m not doing it for him either.”“I know,” Denki replied. He placed a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder, grinning at him. Deep down, he knew a part of Bakugou was doing it for them. Part of it was definitely Bakugou doing this for himself, but he had his friends in mind, even if he wouldn’t say that. “I think I know you pretty well by now.”Bakugou shoved his hand off of him and began to stomp down the hall, shouting, “Piss off, dumbass.”The electric blonde couldn’t help, but laugh. The insult was almost nostalgic after not getting to talk to Bakugou for so long. He missed this.“Admit it! You were lonely without us,” Denki teased, his voice reverberating around the hall. The spiky blonde promptly flipped him off as he walked away. His shoulders raised angrily as Denki cackled at him.“Eat shit and die, Kaminari.”“Eat shit and live, Bakugou,” Denki shouted back. He pointed his middle finger back at Bakugou, but he was smiling. He knew he got his friend back.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Kirishima,” a voice called out.Eijirou turned around and saw Bakugou walking towards him. He had been sitting outside the dorms, getting some fresh air. The warmth of the breeze blissfully reminding him that summer break would be starting in just a few weeks. Seeing the blonde caused a small smile to break out over his face instantaneously. He still felt slightly apprehensive, but he hoped this wasn’t going to confirm any of his fears. This had been the first time Bakugou actually bothered talking to him in over a month. He stood up, replying, “Hey, Bakugou! How’s it going?”“Fine,” Bakugou replied stiffly.The smile slightly faltered on Eijirou’s face, but he pushed forward anyway, “That’s good.”“What’s up with you and the dunce?” Bakugou asked. This was definitely weird. Bakugou almost never asked about anything to do with the redhead’s personal life. Besides that, Bakugou should already know what was up after over a month of the two “dating.” Despite being friends, there was definitely a wall there between them that Eijirou wished to either knock down or climb. Maybe this fake dating thing was actually working and the wall was beginning to crack finally, but it felt like it might have created a larger wall…“Uh, we’re dating,” Eijirou lied. Bakugou squinted at him. Nervously, he questioned, “Why do you ask?”“Just making small talk.”Something was definitely up.“Bullshit.”“What the fuck did you just say?” Bakugou fumed.Rolling his eyes, Eijirou explained, “You never make small talk. You always complain saying something about how you shouldn’t waste your time making conversation for no reason.”A nervousness bubbled inside Eijirou. Since Bakugou had begun to avoid the pair, he had this nervous feeling that pooled in his gut. The same one he got whenever kid’s in middle school would stare at him for too long and whisper words he couldn’t make out. He always knew what they were saying though. He didn’t need to hear it to understand loud and clear what they meant.Eijirou stayed quiet for a moment, before continuing, “You’ve been avoiding me since Denki and I have started dating.”Bakugou scoffed at the comment. His lip curled a bit into a sneer, as he said, “Y’know your little boyfriend had to tell me to talk to you since you wouldn’t yourself.”Denki had asked Bakugou to talk to him?A small pang of anger filled Eijirou’s gut at the comment. He wasn’t angry over Denki saying something. He appreciated it, the other boy had been doing whatever he could to help. Glaring at Bakugou, he responded, “Denki has a name y’know.”With that, Bakugou gazed over Eijirou curiously. His expression wasn’t quite readable. He was calculating something in his head that Eijirou couldn’t figure out. He was too irritated to try anyways. The blonde’s stare felt like a hot knife raking through his body as he said, “You two idiots sure are protective over each other. I guess it makes more sense now.”Eijirou wasn’t sure what that was even supposed to mean.“If you have some sort of prob–”Bakugou scowled at him and just said, “I don’t fucking know. It’s just weird seeing you two idiots together.”
Weird.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eijirou asked, growing more defensive. He wasn’t sure what Bakugou had meant by that. His mind continued to teleport back to middle school with all the guys who called him weird for liking other guys.The blonde knew Eijirou was gay, but he’d never seen him in a relationship with another guy or really brought it up much. Maybe actually seeing it made him uncomfortable. Just that thought made the hairs on Eijirou’s neck prick up in agitation. He’s had over a month to let these thoughts stew and spiral and now he felt his worries bubble up to the surface.He didn’t want Denki to go through the same treatment he had before.Bakugou, surprisingly, realized his mistake and shot out, “Not like that, fuck. I think any relationship is fucking weird.”Some of the apprehension left Eijirou as Bakugou said that, but he was still on edge. His weeks of anxiety weren’t going to melt away so easily. The tension in the air was cut slightly and Eijirou could feel his initial anger begin to simmer away a little.Eijirou paused and tilted his head curiously. They never talked about this kind of thing before. Bakugou made it clear he just wasn’t interested in discussions of romance a lot of the time. He was honestly just grateful it wasn’t what he thought, but he still felt on guard. Cautiously, he asked, “How come?”“Don’t think I’m wired for it.”Oh.Bakugou’s cold stare pierced him as the blonde huffed, “Got a problem with that?”Shit, it wasn’t that. Now that same agitation he just felt was being thrown back at him. Underneath the irritation, he could see something else behind that expression; fear. Something about laying yourself out in front of someone for the first time always brought out a small flicker of dread inside the heart. He knew he had that same underlying look within his own eyes just a few moments before.“No, ‘course not.”Over the course of their first and second years, it wasn’t much of a shock to hear Bakugou say he hated romance. That was normal, but he never explicitly said why. He never gave a clear indication of if he just wasn’t lovey dovey or if he was genuinely uninterested in relationships themselves. This was the first time he finally confirmed that he just wasn’t… wired to be in love.Eijirou felt a stinging disappointment inside of him at the realization, but he knew it couldn’t be helped. You can’t change who you are in that way. Though, he still had questions.“Yeah, well,” Bakugou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. His gaze went to the ground and he asked, “What’s it like anyway?”Eijirou was kind of confused at the question. He also didn’t know what exactly to say, everything was fake after all. If Bakugou wasn’t interested in relationships, why’d he seem so curious about the two of them? It kind of threw Eijirou off. He’d successfully avoided the couple for over a month and now he wanted to talk about them. It didn’t make too much sense in the redhead’s mind, but Bakugou wouldn’t have asked unless he really was curious.“It’s uh– it’s good, really good,” Eijirou choked out.“That’s it?”“I don’t know man, you put me on the spot,” he groaned. He tried to think of an actual answer. It didn’t really matter if their dating was fake, they still had an actual relationship with one another. They were pretty much best friends. Eijirou tried to think of what that friendship made him feel like and he thoughtfully mused, “It’s fun. I don’t think there’s anyone else like Denki. We’ve always gotten along well, but this whole thing brought us even closer together. I think he might be one of the best people I’ve met.”That was an understatement. Denki managed to become one of the driving forces in Eijirou’s life. He was there every single day and they always talked and found time for each other. Denki was there for him no matter what, always willing to lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on. Denki made him laugh every day and warmed his chest as giggles burst through him. He was sweet and loyal and kind. He was also one of the bravest and manliest people Eijirou knew, no matter what anyone else said. The two pushed each other to be better.But Eijirou couldn’t just say this all out loud.Bakugou sat down on the steps and stared up at Eijirou in thought.The look made him nervous. He couldn’t help, but feel slightly flustered underneath that piercing gaze Bakugou always had. Even with the newfound information he had been given, his heart hadn’t let go within a few minutes. It felt like he could see deep into his soul and that he somehow knew that Eijirou actually liked Bakugou instead.“That sounds… I don’t know,” Bakugou sighed.Curious, Eijirou asked, “Have you never liked anyone before?”He had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer either way.“I don’t know,” Bakugou replied. “I don’t know what that feels like.”That answer was more complicated than a simple yes or no. It held a lot of underlying meanings within it. Did he like someone and just was unsure of what he felt? Did he truly just never feel like that? Did he just not recognize the feeling if he did feel it? Eijirou didn’t know what to do with this information, so he sat next to the blonde quietly, thinking of what to say.“Um, do you want me to describe it?”Bakugou gazed at him and shrugged his shoulders, non committedly, “Sure, whatever.”Eijirou bit at his lip, looking at Bakugou. He knew what he felt. Something about the fact he was about to explain those feelings felt surreal. It was almost bittersweet. He dreamt of this moment, explaining to the blonde how he felt about him, but not like this. Not right after he found out it wasn’t meant to be. He took a breath in and he cursed himself for not being able to look Bakugou in the eye as he spoke, “For me, it’s like, you want to be better for that person and do whatever you can for them. It kind of changes your life in a way. You want that person by your side whenever you can and grow together for the rest of your lives.”Eijirou realized he had liked Bakugou when he had been kidnapped. It made him come face to face with his own flaws and he hated it, he hated being unable to help when it had occurred. He realized that he wanted to do anything he could for the other boy and was so happy to be able to save him, but it never felt like enough. Something in him felt like it was never going to be enough no matter what he did and it ached inside him. Now he knew that was partly true, but it wasn’t his fault.Bakugou leaned back on his hands and muttered, “Maybe I do get it, but it’s not the same. I don’t feel the same way about it as you do, it’s different.”With just those words, Eijirou knew it was over.He looked back at Bakugou and Bakugou was looking somewhere else. Somewhere Eijirou couldn’t reach. If Bakugou understood that feeling of loving someone, Eijirou quickly realized it wasn’t going to be with him. Bakugou loved him somewhere deep down, but not in the way he craved. There was only one person Bakugou was closest to and it had taken him a lifetime to become that way, Eijirou didn’t have a lifetime to give, only a couple years. Even then, Bakugou didn’t seem to have those feelings for anyone, so there was no way he had a chance either. He was the second closest person in Bakugou’s life, he knew that and sometimes his jealousy over that dug its claws into his brain. However, even with that lifetime together, Bakugou just wasn’t that type of person to fall in love and that was fine.Quietly, Eijirou asked, “It’s Midoriya, isn’t it? The person you felt like that with?”Bakugou’s face turned into a scowl, but he didn’t deny it. All he could say was, “I fucking hate all that romance bullshit. It’s not something I’d do with anyone, still don’t think I’m built for that kind of thing.”“I get it, I think.”Eijirou knew Bakugou couldn’t be whatever he needed. That was okay, people were just different. They had different needs and were composed in ways that weren’t always going to match up exactly how they wanted. If Bakugou really couldn’t stand romance that badly, no matter how badly he wanted to be with him, he didn’t want the other boy to torture himself for it. Even with that understanding, he couldn’t help, but feel that pang in his heart as it was quietly ripped in two as they sat in silence together.In his heart of hearts, he knew what Bakugou had done right now was brave. An admittance of one’s true feelings was bravery at its utmost peak to Eijirou. Bakugou was a true man and maybe Eijirou wasn’t as much of one as he tried to be. He felt disappointed in himself, he confessed how he felt, but he didn’t do it with his full face. He was never going to let that happen again.The candle had finally been blown out.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

That night, Eijirou knocked on Denki’s door. He had just taken the longest, hottest shower he had taken in his life. He couldn’t feel the tears drip down his face with the boiling water running down his back. After getting yelled at for taking so long, by a particular blonde, he didn’t really want to hang around the common room, but he didn’t want to sit alone in his own room either.He considered talking to Mina about what had happened, but then he quickly realized she couldn’t know what was going on. The plan itself had to stay a secret even if it had failed. He felt the teensiest bit bad about lying to one of his best friends, but oddly enough seeing how happy Mina was seeing him with Denki made him feel better about it. She was genuinely happy for them and it was nice knowing how much she supported him.Realizing he couldn’t exactly talk to anyone else, he decided talking to Denki was his best option. He was usually his top choice anyway. The electric user was always willing to hear him out and just be there when he needed it. Never once was he turned away, no matter how much of a mess he ended up becoming.Denki’s blonde hair popped up from behind the door curiously, upon seeing the redhead, he smiled, “Hey hey hey, Eijirou. Whatcha doing here?”Eijirou tried to smile, but it seemed like it wasn’t working since Denki’s face immediately fell and the blonde asked, “What’s wrong?”“I don’t think the plan’s gonna work, man, there’s not way Bakugou would ever be interested.”“Oh shit,” Denki breathed. He searched for what words to say, but failed to find them. He gave Eijirou a sympathetic look and opened his door up further, “Do you wanna come in?”“Yes, please.”“Alright, come on,” Denki replied. He grabbed Eijirou’s hand softly and led them to his bed. The two laid down next to each other, facing one another, and sat quietly for a few minutes. Eijirou sniffled quietly, not saying much. He felt miserable and it really wasn’t Bakugou’s fault. He hadn’t known Eijirou liked him and he couldn’t change his feelings or who he was for Eijirou’s convenience. He knew that, but he still felt shitty.“Wanna talk about it?” Denki asked carefully. He rested a hand on Eijirou’s own, his golden eyes meeting Eijrou’s red.“It’s kind of stupid,” the redhead laughed bitterly. “He’s not really the relationship type so I don’t know what I expected. I guess just having that fantasy finally come to an end is just… ugh.”Eijirou let out a sigh, tears were already starting to form along his waterline. He felt tired. Trying to hold back his tears, he mumbled, “I feel guilty for being upset honestly.”Denki looked over at him before saying, “I mean, you’re allowed.”“Huh?”“You’re allowed to be upset. You really liked him, it’s okay to be sad when shit doesn’t work out as long as you’re not gonna like… take it out on him or ruin your life,” Denki explained. His grip tightened around Eijirou’s hand and he smiled softly at the boy, “You can let whatever you’re feeling out. I don’t mind.”At the small reassurance, Eijirou broke. Tears had begun to spill from his eyes and he tried to immediately wipe them away with his hand. Denki quickly pulled him close so he was now situated in the blonde’s arms. Eijirou went stiff for a second before letting himself relax a bit. He sniffled, “I wish someone liked me. It’s not even a big deal, it’d just be nice, I’ve wanted something like that for a while.”A small part inside Eijirou’s head told him he wasn’t worth liking and sometimes he was inclined to believe it. That same voice had eaten at him since middle school and he tried so hard to work past it, but it was easier some days than others. Today was one of those days where that little voice was louder than usual. He knew he was being irrational, if he was anyone else, Bakugou wouldn’t have been interested either. However, he couldn’t help, but wonder if it was something about him specifically. He pressed his face down so it was buried in Denki’s chest as his brain spiraled downwards.“I really thought I grew out of those middle school insecurities and shit, man.”To Denki, Eijirou was one of the people who deserved love most in the world. He was the bravest person he knew, always willing to jump in front of the world to save his friends. He was always kind to Denki and generous when it came to treating him. Eijirou also happened to be extremely attractive, which was an added bonus. The blonde always felt a bit surprised when Eijirou said no one really liked him romantically. Denki could hardly fathom the thought. Who wouldn’t like Eijirou? Denki knew he’d make an amazing boyfriend, so why didn’t others see that?Denki held Eijirou in his arms tightly. He let the other boy cry and sniffle as much as he needed, he didn’t care how much snot would be on his shirt by the end of the night. All he cared about was Eijirou’s broken heart that he was holding gently in his delicate hands. Rather than saying something, he let Eijirou say whatever he needed. Sometimes a listening ear was better than whatever advice or reassurances he could come up with. He thought Eijirou was amazing, but he knew it’d be wiser to listen rather than argue over how Eijirou was better than anyone else Denki could meet… no matter how much he wanted to shower the other with compliments…“If it was him in our position, like if he dated someone else, I’d be jealous. I get jealous over stuff all the time, I hate it, I don’t– I don’t want to be that kind of man,” Eijirou said, his voice shook slightly as he spoke, desperate to keep it steady. His hardened fingers gripped at Denki’s shirt and Denki could feel the scrape of them against his skin through the fabric, but he didn’t mind.Denki realized slowly that Eijirou wasn’t really upset over Bakugou. He was upset at himself. He’d always been that way, getting upset at his own faults rather than other people, even if he hadn’t done anything wrong. Even if it was just for a feeling, for being human, he’d find a reason to get mad at himself. He seemed like he could get angry with himself just for the crime of being alive if it meant saving someone else.Bakugou wasn’t wrong for how he felt either. There was no one to blame in this situation. It was just a matter of just not being compatible. When there’s no clear blame to be set, it can be easier to blame yourself, but that’s not how these things work. It was a small pain of growing up and realizing no one needs to be the one taking the blame.“It’s okay to be jealous,” Denki said. “It can show you care. As long as you don’t let it control you, I think it’s okay.”Eijirou didn’t respond so Denki continued, “Plus, you’re allowed to want things. I mean, everyone wants something in their life, especially love. Have you seen me? I’m practically the poster child for hopeless romantics.”Eijirou let out a small chuckle at the comment. It wasn’t very funny, but Denki took it as a win.Denki rubbed small circles into Eijirou’s back. Slow and calming as best as he knew how. He’d been here before, maybe it wasn’t this exact situation, but he had spent several nights with Eijirou crying over however he felt. It was mostly with how he saw himself and that’s what made Denki the most sad. Denki hated seeing Eijirou get like this. This wouldn’t be the first or last time they’d be here together, one crying in the other’s arms. Eijirou had been the one to hold Denki a couple of times. He wasn’t much of a crier like the other, but he had no qualms about returning the favor. He just wished his friend didn’t have to feel terrible for him to do it.He brought a hand to gently feather through Eijirou’s damp hair and massaged at the other boy’s scalp. He took quiet notice of the black roots starting to grow in. He always found it sort of pretty when Eijirou’s natural color began to seep in. The redhead would have to dye his hair again soon. He let out a sigh and mumbled, “You don’t need to try and prove you’re enough to anyone, y’know. You’ve done enough.”He couldn't solve all of Eijirou’s problems, but he hoped his words might help, just a bit. He listened as the sounds of sniffling and crying lessened slowly. It put him more at ease. He gave a small laugh, saying, “Sorry if it feels like I’m saying cheesy crap or something.”Eijirou untucked his head for a moment to look Denki in the eyes and say, “No, thank you, I appreciate it a lot, dude.”“No sweat,” Denki replied. He ruffled the redhead’s hair lightly, smiling sweetly at him. Something about Eijirou thanking him made his heart feel warm. He gently shoved Eijirou’s head back down, chuckling quietly, so he didn’t have to keep looking him in the eyes, it was beginning to make him feel flustered.“I hope I can get over it soon,” Eijirou said quietly.“You will,” Denki comforted. Testing the waters, cheekily, he continued, “Maybe some other handsome guy will come along for you to fall head over heels for. I’m sure literally anyone else would be an upgrade from Bakugou.”“Don’t be mean,” Eijirou giggled, muffled by Denki’s body. Denki couldn’t stop now, he managed to get Eijirou to laugh. That was always a good thing. If he could keep him laughing, he wouldn’t have to spend time crying.“I’m serious, he has the personality of a fucking cactus, I don’t know what you see in him.”“You liked him too!”“For a fucking week, don’t bring that shit up again, it’s so embarrassing.”“Yeah, yeah,” Eijirou replied. He let out a small hum and continued, “I like that he’s brave. And strong. Plus, he’s pretty.”“I’m literally all of those things,” Denki teased. “Plus I’m way prettier and nicer to boot. Maybe you need better standards.”“Mm, maybe you’re right. Would you rather have me fall in love with you instead?”“Can’t get much better than me,” Denki laughed. For some reason, the question made his face heat up and he wasn’t sure what for. He chalked it up to the close proximity the two were sharing. That’s why he was warm, not the flirting, definitely not that. He was still getting over Jirou after all. Well, his feelings had pretty much dissipated the moment she came out to him, but he didn’t want to think about it too hard. He definitely didn’t want to think about the fluttering in his chest he felt every time one of these moments with Eijirou came about. Moments where the two seemed to flirt and tease one another, but it was all just a little joke between friends… Moments where he surely hadn’t been flustered before… The quick beating of his heart hadn’t meant he was nervous. Not that he’d admit it…“I’m sure you’d be happy about that, you trying to tell me something, Denki?”“In your dreams, you’d be lucky to have me.”“I would be,” Eijirou hummed.“For real?” Denki asked, barking out a laugh. He hadn’t expected Eijirou to actually agree with him.“You’re a catch,” Eijirou praised.Denki’s face burned even more. This was way too intimate. As usual, he did his best to pretend his heart wasn’t beating quickly and like his cheeks weren’t aflame.After a few minutes of joking back and forth, Denki noticed Eijirou had stopped crying all together and was beginning to drift off to sleep. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes. He was glad he could always get Eijirou to calm down with a good laugh. It made him feel special. He liked knowing that he was funny enough to make people laugh or cheer them up. If he wasn’t funny, it’d be so over for him.He knew Eijirou said the plan wasn’t going to work, but he felt reluctant to let things end here. Even if Jirou and Bakugou had already rejected them both, they could still keep going. He wanted to keep going. Some part of him didn’t want to stop this charade. A rather large part of him really.He tapped on the redhead’s shoulders to check if he was still awake, letting the other’s head poke up to squint at him sleepily.“Hey, uh, I know you were saying the plan isn’t gonna work, but we can still keep fake dating,” Denki suggested. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to keep going with the bit, but he couldn’t help it. He was actually enjoying himself even if it had failed miserably. Plus, faking a break up sounded a lot more complicated and he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I mean, if you wanted to, is all. It's kind of fun, right? Plus, if we stopped now we’d have to explain a bunch of stuff and–”“Alright.”Denki jerked his head down to look at Eijirou who was still cuddled into him. He actually agreed? Incredulously, Denki asked, “Really?”Eijirou yawned, attempting to wink through tired eyes, “Like I said, you’re a catch.”He let out a small yawn and closed his eyes again, falling asleep almost instantly, not bothering to let the blonde even respond to what he had just said. Denki quietly cursed him in his mind for just falling asleep right after flustering him so badly. They’ve done this before, Denki wasn’t sure why he was only getting flustered by Eijirou now, or at least he was beginning to notice it now. Any other time it had happened was conveniently slipping his mind at the moment. Sure the flirting had made his heart pound before and maybe he enjoyed cuddling with Eijirou a little too much before this, but he never acknowledged it truly made him nervous. Not in a bad way, just… in a way… He could feel his cheeks blistering with heat. Even though no one could see, he hid his face, burying it into Eijirou’s hair and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping sleep would take over soon.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next morning gained on them at a slow pace. Eijirou woke up feeling well rested, somehow still nestled in Denki’s arms despite how much the other boy usually moved in his sleep. He blinked sleep out of his eyes, alertness entering him quickly as he carefully ducked out from the blonde’s arms, gently replacing himself with one of Denki’s pillows. His careful escape didn’t work however, since Denki looked at him blearily and confused.“Where are you going?” Denki yawned out, squishing the pillow between his arms. He pouted and patted the pillow, trying to get Eijirou to come back to bed. The clock in his room read 6:08, way too early for when Denki usually got up, especially on a weekend. The blonde usually got up much later than Eijirou did, the redhead slept in often too, but tried to get up early when he could help it.“Thought I’d go work out,” Eijirou said, stretching. He rummaged through Denki’s closet for some clothes to slip into, not wanting to go out in his sleep clothes.“Mmmmm okay, Ei, if you have time after your workout can you buy me some cornets for breakfast? There’s some money in my wallet,” Denki mumbled. He snuggled deeper into the blanket, blinking sleepily at the redhead.“What am I? Your husband?” Eijirou scoffed lightly.“Mmmm no.”“No?”“You’re my wife.”“Why am I the wife?” Eijirou asked incredulously. “How come you get to be the husband?”“No no no no, ‘m also your wife. We’re wives,” Denki said, smiling lazily. It was funny seeing Denki’s brain addled with sleep. His thoughts weren’t completely all there yet and he just said whatever he thought, too tired to really care. Eijirou always liked their conversations when Denki was half asleep, there was a strange softness surrounding them he could never quite place.“Alright, man,” Eijirou laughed. He grabbed Denki’s wallet off his desk and grabbed some money. He was about to open the door to leave, but Denki stopped him.“Wait, you’re forgetting something,” the blonde whined. He tapped his cheek with a finger, looking expectantly at Eijirou. His eyelashes fluttered softly as the two boys looked at one another.“Are you seriously asking me to give you a kiss on the cheek?”“Mhm, come here,” Denki hummed.Eijirou rolled his eyes, but he didn’t protest. He walked back over to the bed and leaned over Denki. He pressed a small kiss on the boy’s cheek. The blonde giggled quietly and closed his eyes, ready to slip off back to sleep.The redhead made his way down the elevator and to the common rooms, doing his best to stay quiet and not disturb anyone who may still be asleep. Making it down, he was surprised to find a familiar black haired boy snooping through the class fridge this early in the morning. The noise of the elevator must have spooked him, causing the taller boy to jump slightly. He turned around, confused, but smiled tiredly when he saw Eijirou. Frazzled, he greeted, “Morning.”“Hey, good morning, Sero,” Eijirou replied. “What’re you doing up?”Sero looked like he had been up all night. The bags under his eyes were darker than usual and his normally neat, straight hair was sticking up in different directions. Eijirou noticed there was a can of coffee in his hand, likely stolen from the fridge from someone else. He chewed at his thumb, grinning, “Pulled an all nighter with Ashido. Mostly studying.”“Mostly?”“Uh… got distracted playing Mario Kart…” Sero admitted, smiling guiltily.A faint dust of pink covered Sero’s cheeks as he spoke, instantly clicking the pieces together in Eijirou’s head. Surprised, he asked, “Are you and Mina a thing now?”Sero nearly dropped his coffee at the question. Scrambling to keep it from slipping between his fingers, he looked up at Eijirou, startled. He quickly straightened up, and nervously replied, “No! Uh, just talking… is all, yeah.”“Surprised she hadn’t mentioned it,” Eijirou said absently.“You never mentioned you liked Kaminari, least not ‘til you started dating, I mean, you talked about him a lot, but you never said you liked him like that,” Sero answered through a yawn.A small spark of fear ran up Eijirou’s spine at the comment. He felt his eyes widen instinctively out of shock and tried to will them to stop. His nervousness felt almost palpable. Reflexively, he reached a hand to rub at the back of his neck. Through a crooked grin, he choked out, “Ah, just never felt the need to bring it up.”He had always been a terrible liar.If Eijirou had been a little more observant, he would have noticed the slight way Sero’s eyebrows had furrowed together for a moment, as he mentioned, “You brought up your crush on Bakugou when you liked him.”Sero looked at Eijirou over the rim of his canned coffee as he took a slow, lazy sip. His expression was blank as he stared. Noise from the coffee being sipped sent a small shiver throughout Eijirou. It felt much louder than it really was in the quiet of the morning. The strange tingle it left inside Eijirou’s head only made his forced smile falter. Trying to keep his mouth in a grin, he explained, “That was different…”“How so?”Sero leaned against the fridge nonchalantly, sipping at his coffee even louder.“Dude, are you doing that on purpose?” Eijirou asked, staring at the can and deftly dodging the question.It worked. The black haired boy choked on his drink a bit, spluttering. He straightened his back, hitting his chest, and choked out, “Oh– uh no, sorry. Crap.”“Right…”Eijirou turned to leave, letting Sero choke to death as he went towards the doors, ready to start on a morning run. The sooner he could get out of here the better. For over a month now Denki and him had managed to skillfully dodge any questions that might blow their cover. Today was going to be no different. Whether the two had to physically run away (in Eijirou’s usual case) or play a game of mental chess (Denki’s case), the two managed to artfully make an escape.Just as Eijirou’s foot left the door, he heard Sero shout, between coughs, “Wait– you never, ack– answered the ques—tion!”“Oh, sorry! Have to run, dude. Need to pick up breakfast for Denki. Bye, see you later!” Eijirou called back, shutting the door quickly behind him. He nearly tripped down the stairs in his haste.The summer breeze was warming up the air around him. Practical exams were already over and written exams were coming up soon. In just a week they’d go to work studies again before the semester wrapped up the week after that. With the war, scheduling for their second year had been a bit all over the place. The training camp had been moved to the last week of summer vacation since they had to cram in the work studies. Nezu insisted the students still get a full summer vacation even with the tight scheduling, it was the least they deserved since the war after all.As his pace picked up, the breeze blew comfortably against Eijirou’s skin. He felt most at ease when he was doing something physical. He didn’t have to think about anything, usually. However, today he could feel the thoughts seeping into his head as he jogged. Thoughts of yesterday’s conversations with Bakugou and Denki flooded his mind. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t escape them, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to just yet.He couldn’t keep his mind focused on his conversation with Bakugou for very long. He almost wanted to linger on it, think back on what had happened, but his mind kept drifting off somewhere else. It kept landing himself back in Denki’s room, underneath the gaudy covers the blonde owned. If he thought too hard about the other boy’s manicured hands scraping gently across his scalp he thought he might break.A strange bittersweetness stung at his mind as he thought about the memory. Eijirou wasn’t a hopeless romantic like Denki was. He was nothing close to the sort, a yearner, maybe, but he wasn’t the type who fell in love with everyone he met. He needed more time to do that. He liked making a connection first before diving headfirst into things like Denki had. Yet, he still ached for that same touch as the moment replayed in his mind like a rewound tape. He wanted that tenderness from someone more than anything. He wasn’t desperate. He just needed it badly. He needed it from someone who would love him just as much as his friend had.His breath quickened as he continued running and eventually found himself at the door of a bakery. With all the thoughts jumbling in his head, he couldn’t help, but think about the strange domesticity of all of this. He placed his order with the old man at the counter and nervously played with the cash in his pocket as he waited. Who would he be with twenty years from now doing this exact thing? Would they prefer a more savory breakfast or have a sweet tooth like Denki did? Would it feel just as domestic as this? If Bakugou hadn’t rejected him, could he even picture doing this for Bakugou? He couldn’t make out the image of Bakugou in his head or even anyone else. How many more times would he do this for Denki before suddenly it was with someone else?Why did that thought make him a bit sad?Eijirou tried to focus on where he was. The smells of the bakery surrounded him with scents of fresh baked bread and coffee brewing. The glass counters filled with different pastries, all arrayed in various colors of cream and gold. The faded menu on the wall with stickered over prices felt nostalgic. He could go out and get breakfast for Denki like this for the rest of his life, whether it be before patrol or on a lazy morning. He wasn’t sure if he could replace that with something else.He exchanged the bag of cornets for the money in his pocket and he was off. Eijirou could feel the warmth radiating through the bag and held it to his chest. He walked back to the school, not bothering to run any longer. He could see the sun beginning to rise slowly along the horizon and the slight warmth it gave washed over him gently. His thoughts seemed to still as the sun continued its slow rise into the sky.By the time he got back to the dorms, other students were already up and milling about the common rooms. There was already a commotion going on. He could hear Bakugou before he saw him, the explosive boy was chasing after Sero, yelling about the coffee from earlier. Mina had passed out on the couch, presumably exhausted after her all nighter. Jirou was laughing at the cat and mouse chase with Denki by her side.When Denki noticed Eijirou was back, he immediately skipped over to him.“Aww hell yeah, you got them!” Denki cheered as Eijirou passed him the bag of pastries. He opened the bag, peering in excitedly and nodded. He pulled one out, noticing the white filling excitedly. Taking a large bite, he sighed contently, “You remembered I like the cream ones instead of the chocolate ones.”“Thank you, darling,” Denki purred out, handing a pastry to Eijirou. He glanced around the room at the other students before turning back to the redhead. He pressed a kiss to Eijirou’s cheek and for the briefest moment, Eijirou wished this was all real.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A week had passed and work studies were starting again. Most of the class were staying with their original work study partners. This year they were going straight into the work studies rather than doing another round of internships. Everyone in the class milled about the subway station as they waited for their individual trains to arrive. It wasn’t too crowded down at the station, most people had left for work already and now it was just past the traffic hour.Denki and Eijirou stood next to each other, hanging about with Sero, Mina, and Jirou before their train arrived. Even Bakugou was there with them, idly checking his phone, ignoring the rest of the group. Mina rocked on the balls of her feet, excitedly chattering about her new work study partner since Yoroi Musha had retired. Denki noticed Sero hung onto every word she said, smiley sweetly at her. He elbowed Eijirou lightly, pointing his chin at the two.“You and Sero are lucky to be doing your work studies together,” Mina whined, turning towards Denki.“Hey, don’t get too excited,” Jirou butt in, “They’re also with Mineta.”Denki laughed at the comment, but brushed past it, saying, “Yeah, hopefully we work more together, last time was so cool. Since Edgeshot and Kamui are both with the Lurkers we’ll probably see each other lots.”An announcement rang out from the speakers of the subway station and Eijirou looked down at his ticket quickly. His face broke into a small grin, excited for what was to come and said, “That’s mine. See you guys later!”Before leaving, Eijirou paused for a moment, looking back at the blonde who was next to him.“Good luck on your work study, don’t die,” Eijirou joked lightly.“Yeah, yeah, I’ll try not to,” Denki chuckled back. He was acutely aware of his friends’ eyes on the two of them as he pulled Eijirou into a hug. Sometimes, it made him nervous just how easily they started falling into their act. Each hand hold and kiss on the cheek got easier the more times they did it in front of someone else. Denki wished he could say the same for the kiss he planted onto Eijirou’s lips. That never got easier.The two didn’t kiss very often still, but Denki figured if they were going to be doing a sort of goodbye, he should play it up. Even if it was an act, he couldn’t help, but feel that same short circuiting feeling he had felt the first time they had kissed. Eijirou still kissed him just as gently as before and he could feel his brain melt, trying to chalk it up to the fact that he just wasn’t used to the sensation. A small thought ran through his mind of asking Eijirou to practice this sort of thing so he’d be less nervous whenever they did it.Pulling back, he quietly spoke into the redhead’s ear, “I’ll miss you.”“I’ll miss you too,” Eijirou said back, slowly letting Denki go. He turned and waved to everyone, running off to catch his train before it left without him. It was funny watching him go, sprinting away with his suitcase awkwardly shaking behind him.“Get a fucking room,” Bakugou barked at them. It was nice having their bristly friend with them again, even if it meant getting yelled at more often over PDA.“Oh jeez, are you two going to be able to survive without each other for a whole week?” Sero asked, his voice dripped with a mock disgust.“Oh Eijirou!” Jirou swooned, a hand reaching her forehead. “Oh how I’ll miss you so!”“Oh Denki, I’ll miss you too, I can’t believe I have to go without you!” Sero replied, grasping one of Jirou’s hands. Sero leaned down and the two faked an overexaggerated kiss. “Mwah, mwah, mwah!”“Aw, I thought it was cute,” Mina chimed in, giggling at the display.“You guys are so childish,” Bakugou sneered.“Will you two drop it?” Denki hissed at them. They did, in fact, not drop it. The pair continued making heinous kissing noises and Denki could feel his eye twitch. At least he knew his charade with Eijirou was real enough to get openly mocked by his friends… Still, he couldn’t help, but slip, “Sero, you were making puppy eyes at Ashido all morning and Jirou… I’m not even going to say anything.”The two shut up at that and quickly stepped away from one another, embarrassed.Mina looked over at Sero, grinning widely at him, but he wouldn’t catch her gaze. She laughed and cooed at him over being so obvious, leaving him with his face in his hands, trying to hide himself from the attention suddenly being thrust his way. His usual cool demeanor had been ruined in an instant. Denki couldn’t help, but feel a bit smug over it as Sero caught his eye from the side and glared at the blonde with an intensity that could rival Bakugou.“Yeah, you’re not slick,” Denki teased, rolling his eyes at Sero.Over the speakers, the number for Denki’s train was called, alerting both him and Sero. Mina gave them each a hug before leaving, lingering on Sero’s for an extra moment to which Denki and Jirou scoffed. The blonde pulled Jirou into a quick side hug before running off to the train with Sero by his side.The two boys hopped onto the train and quickly found a spot to sit next to each other. Denki always sat a little too close, leaving their legs touching one another, but Sero ignored it. He was used to this by now. The two chatted idly on about their work study, school, and whatever else.“You and Kiri never said how you two got together, I’ve been really curious about it,” Sero mentioned with an air of casualty.“Why’re you so curious?” the blonde asked. He could sense something in the way Sero spoke. He always tried to act so blasé constantly, but it didn’t work half the time.“Was hoping for some advice for asking out Ashido. Got any pointers?”An easy grin rested on Sero’s face, but it made Denki nervous. That wasn’t the real reason Sero was asking. Even though Denki wasn’t the brightest bulb in the room, he knew how to read people well. All the way back in first year he managed to get a read on Bakugou quickly enough. He knew his friends well and he could tell when Sero wasn’t being completely honest.“A girl doesn’t kiss and tell, Sero,” Denki replied, placing a finger up to his lips. He always managed to say something stupid when he got nervous.“Last I check you weren’t—”“I can be whatever I want, shut up,” Denki groaned, flicking Sero in the forehead. “Besides, usually when I ask out girls it doesn’t really end up in much.”The taller boy nodded his head sagely, “Yeah, you never really worked your way up to asking Jirou out huh?”“I guess not,” Denki replied.He tried to imagine what it would have been like if he had asked her. Would they kiss and hold hands like he did with Eijirou? Jirou wasn’t really the super touchy type. He tried to conjure the thought of holding her hand and cuddling and the thoughts came easily to him, but he didn’t get a fluttery feeling in his stomach. He tried to envision the two on a date, but the picture in his mind only showed their normal hangouts. He couldn’t picture the two kissing at all and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever imagined it before at all. The concept felt almost foreign to him. A wave of confusion fell over him as he tried to think, in the entire time he liked Jirou, had he ever thought about really dating her? He knew he wanted to be closer with her and felt happy whenever she was around, everyone thought he liked her and teased him for it, so why was this concept something he couldn’t wrap his head around?Shaking his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts in his mind, Denki joked, “Maybe you should try guys.”“I don’t kiss boys, Kaminari.”“Ehhhhh,” Denki replied, moving his hand back and forth in a ‘so-so’ gesture. He giggled to himself when Sero shot him a glare.Sero pulled out his phone and typed something in quickly, before turning back to Denki, “Little fun fact for you, Asihdo and I actually made a bet on you two.”“Are you serious?”“Absolutely, I can show you the receipt, had to send it directly to her account,” the black haired teen replied. He smiled wolfishly at Denki, a glint in his eyes. It was bait, Denki knew that, but Sero always knew how to get Denki hook, line, and sinker.“What was the bet?” the blonde asked cautiously. He already had an inkling of what it was. It was obvious, but he needed to hear it. Just how much did their friends think he was in love with best friend and vice versa? It was strange. They all thought he liked Jirou, but at the same time Sero and Mina seemed almost convinced the two boys were secretly in love with one another. What the hell did everyone else see that they didn’t? He felt like he was colorblind, seeing one number when everyone else saw another. The dots just wouldn’t make up the right number for him. Reds and golds just mixed into a color he couldn’t see.“I think you know already,” Sero teased. “Ashido bet you two would start dating sometime before summer break and I bet you two were too stupid to realize you liked each other until after.”“Are we that obvious?”“It was obvious enough to bet on it.”“But… how though? I really don’t think–”“Dude,” Sero interrupted. He was looking at Denki with such an incredulous look that it made the shorter boy feel stupid. His eyes squinted tightly, staring at Denki, almost judgmentally. Denki had been on the receiving end of Sero’s side eye many times before and it never got any less severe. With a small sneer, Sero continued, “You two were constantly all over each other. You guys hang out all the time. Everyone knows you guys sleep in each other’s rooms even though it’s not allowed. You guys even held hands or kissed each other on the cheek and shit. Do I need to keep going?”“I’m like that with everyone though, aren’t I?”The blonde always had a habit of being handsy and clingy. He hated being alone and felt most comfortable in group or partner settings. It gave him someone to bounce his thoughts off of instead of getting into his head and yapping to himself. He wasn’t lonely or anything, he just… he loved everyone he met. Yeah, he loved Eijirou more than others, much more actually, but he wasn’t aware it was all that different.“Yeah, you’re touchy as hell, but with Kiri it’s a different level, the way you two manage to fall in sync with each other is kind of crazy,” Sero explained. He nibbled at his lip, trying to come up with an example. He needed to nail this into Denki’s brain somehow. Chewing at his thumb, he said, “Like right now, you sit way too close.”A finger pointed to where Denki’s thigh was pressed up against Sero’s leg.“That’s normal for you, but if I was Kirishima, you’d be leaning on my shoulder by now, or playing with my hand or my hair, whatever you could fidget with. Even with Jirou, you aren’t really super touchy, come to think of it.”Was he really not like that with anyone, but Eijirou?Thoughts flitted through Denki’s mind as he tried to conjure up memories of moments like these. Recent ones came to mind, how he snuggled into Eijirou on the couch during the movie, but he could dismiss that. It was part of the act. The fake date was another. Their hands easily tangled with one another and the shoulders knocked together on the bench as they ate their dessert. That was harder to excuse, but he could excuse it away with just trying to match the vibe of a real date. It was easier to make it believable in photos if it felt real. Then his mind wandered to Eijirou being back in his bed, his face pressed into Denki’s chest as he cried and the way Denki’s hands easily made their way to the redhead’s hair and how warm everything felt in his room despite the summer night’s chill that refused to go away.The blonde could feel his face heating up at the realization Sero was right, at least about how close he and Eijirou were. He wasn’t sure about the part where he said he was in love with his friend.Since Jirou was no longer a part of the picture, the electric teen felt his view had become less obscured. He wasn’t sure if he would have realized before, even with Sero’s help. He felt like he was seeing clearly for the first time, nothing was blocking his view now. There was someone right in front of him that he hadn’t noticed before because of course, Eijirou was always there, he was a constant in the background of Denki’s life, but now he could see it wasn’t just the background, but a bigger part of the full piece.He couldn’t tell if he had a physical reaction or not to the realization. He felt his electrical currents buzzing beneath his skin, filling the air with static, but he hoped it was his imagination. His face felt hot and with the way Sero was looking at him, he knew the look was written all over his face.Sero tapped something into his phone again before saying something that vaguely sounded like he was checking in on Denki.Denki wasn’t sure if Sero was right about everything. He hated to admit it, but Sero was actually right pretty often. He had to check and see if he was right this time too. He’d have a chance after the work study, a whole week to think about another hair brained scheme

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The rattling in Denki’s brain hadn’t stopped all week. It was becoming a distraction actually. Sero’s analysis really did a number on him. He couldn’t stop thinking about every little interaction he had shared with Eijirou that might have been a little too close for most friends. It was beginning to drive him up the wall. Romantic feelings for his friend weren’t something he had considered for the longest time because they just felt… normal. He never noticed a change in how he felt about Eijirou. The nervousness he noticed wasn’t necessarily new. He just hadn’t realized what it had meant before. He wasn’t sure if that meant he had felt that way the entire time or if the progression was just so natural he never seemed to notice. What he did know was he needed a way to figure out if those romantic feelings even truly existed or if Sero’s words were muddling with his perception.He shouldn’t be thinking about this while out on a patrol.The Lurkers and their mentees were walking about the cityscape, looking for any trouble they might come across. Kamui took the rear end of the patrol with Mt. Lady as the students walked in the middle of the group. Edgeshot led them along the path. The man was saying something, but Denki wasn’t paying enough attention.The sun was beginning to set already, this was the last patrol before they’d all return to school. He was itching to get back and see Eijirou, he cringed a bit internally, knowing how clingy he felt. He just wanted to figure out if Sero was right and if he really did love the redhead like that.He was snapped out of his thoughts by the smell of burnt rubber. A truck was racing down the crowded street, others skirting away hastily to avoid being hit. Everyone was immediately on the move.As training went on, the pros tried letting the students take more of a lead. They’d been in a war now, surely they could handle some small-time villains. Ibara made the first move, as they raced over to the scene, her vines went to wrap around the truck. The wheels of the vehicle smoked as the truck tried to reverse fast enough. Snapping of vines and screeching of tires played against Denki’s ears as the smell of burnt rubber only worsened.With a quick launch off Sero’s tape, Mineta was able to reach the truck, gunking up the tires with his projectiles. A few villains hopped off of the truck bed, making their way to the young heroes. Denki only saw about four guys, but there were likely more inside the truck.“Looks like easy odds,” Sero called out.Denki wasn’t so sure about that. One of the guys who hopped off the truck looked huge, frankly. They had number odds though with three full fledged pros and four work study students. It still made him nervous. His electrocution had less of an effect on large targets due to the fact larger amounts of mass absorbed electricity less.He fumbled with his sharp shooter, aiming it at the truck, but as it launched through the air it was easily smacked away and shattered by the large man.“Oh crap,” Denki squeaked out.Quickly, Sero shot out tape at the man as he headed towards the blonde, but he tore the white adhesive easily. The black haired boy’s face fell in dismay and he called out to Ibara, but the man was already making mad dash towards the blonde. He batted away and ripped the vines sent towards him easily. A strength quirk probably with how easily he managed to rip through both Sero and Ibara’s attacks. The other villains were on the move now too, exiting the inside of the car. Suddenly, obscured by frames of wood, the amount of villains in the car was unclear.Quickly, everything had been sprung into motion. The electric user didn’t see when Edgeshot and Mt. Lady had moved. He wasn’t sure where Edgeshot had gone to begin with, but Mt. Lady was suddenly in her giant form by the truck. Some of the villains escaped the wooden prison and made their way to fight.Stealing nervous glances around the street, each of the heroes and other mentees were becoming increasingly more occupied as the fight worsened. Dread gripped Denki's chest as he realized he couldn’t get a good angle. With everyone fighting so close together, there was no way to get a clear shot with his pointers. He’d be putting everyone at risk of electrocution.He really couldn’t do much. He was being forced onto the sidelines like he had been so many times. He had to watch everyone do something while he had to wrack his mind for anything to do. Every second he spent trying to think was a second wasted where he could’ve been helping somehow.That was the one thing he hated about his quirk.The electricity that flowed from his body wasn’t able to be controlled. He could manage the output, but not the flow. In order to properly fight, he’d have to get up close and work as a stun gun whenever his sharp shooting failed him. That led to increased risk of injury and if his opponent had long ranged attacks, it was hard to find an opening to move closer.Unluckily, he didn’t have to worry about his opponent staying far from him. Of course, the large man he had been nervous about was heading his direction.Another fumble with the sharpshooter.A disc shot out, clattering to the ground as it was once again knocked away.Reaching into his pocket, the villain pulled out what looked like a gun, however something glinted at the end. Shiny metal hooks at the end of the barrel. A grappling gun. Its hooks shot out quicker than Denki could react and suddenly he was being dragged forward. His feet were pulled out from under him and his knees hit the asphalt with a resounding crack.As his hands caught himself, a kick met his gut. Coughing and spluttering, he fell over himself, pain bloomed across his stomach. The foot retracted and winded up again, another hit contacting with his lithe body. It felt as though his organs were shifting painfully within himself. Sharp stabbing spikes of pain attacked his body as he did his best to hold himself up.As Denki watched the foot reel back to land another blow, he desperately reached a hand out. His fingers grasped around the man’s ankle, gripping it harshly. His elbow hit the ground as the man tried to pull away, causing the boy to hiss in pain.“One million volts,” the blonde choked out. The electricity passed through his palms, leaving behind a tingling sensation. The familiar scent of ozone mixed with the burning of rubber. The crackling electricity mingled with the sound of the man yelling out in pain. Until the shock subsides, it would be hard for the man to move. While being electrocuted, it's hard for one’s muscles to properly contract and move as they usually would, forcing them to stay put as their body convulses rapidly.If he could hold out this output for just a little longer, he could easily knock the villain out. His grip remained strong as he propped his curled body on his elbow. His other hand fished around for the hook wrapped around him as an idea bubbled in his brain. He grasped the hook in his hands, if this panned out how he wanted, he had something to even out the playing field from then on.Volts spread from his other hand. Electrical sparks ran down the wire rope, spreading straight through the wire. A second wave of shocks hit the villain from where the wire and gun connected to the rest of his body. His grip continued clenching the gun, unable to remove his grasp.A small laugh of delight bubbled its way out of Denki’s throat before he heard a yell.“Chargebolt, look out!”Denki couldn’t tell who shouted it.Something heavy slammed against the back of Denki’s skull. The pain flashed white hot against his head for the briefest moment. Then he was out. It was just for a few moments. His eyes fluttered open and he found himself on the ground. He tried to move his hand to feel the back of his head, but his hand wouldn’t move right. It flailed awkwardly and even though he couldn’t touch the back of his head, he could feel the dampness in his hair sticking along his neck. He let his eyes drift closed once more. He really never got to be cool.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Denki could tell he was in the hospital when he woke up. The room smelled sterile and he could hear a small beep from a monitor, likely tracking his heart rate. Did he really get knocked that badly? It couldn’t have been that long. The blanket covering him felt scratchy against his skin and he could feel the light brush of a hospital wristband. He hazily looked around, wincing at the throbbing pain in the back of his head.The room seemed almost empty of people. The door was closed, light leaking in through the small window placed within it. The lights were dimmed, likely not to disturb him as he slept. He glanced at the heart monitor by his bed and saw a chair next to it, pulled up right to the edge of where he was laying. A familiar spike of red hair sat in it, eyes closed as the person leaned against their hand.“Ei?”The redhead quickly startled awake at the noise. First, relief washed over his features soon followed by an expression mixed with annoyance and what seemed like a deep fondness.“Holy crap, you’re awake. I thought I told you not to die,” Eijirou groaned. He pressed his hand against the blonde’s cheek, cradling his face gently. He could see the confused look on Denki’s face and explained, “We were wrapping up our last patrol before I headed back to UA when Sero called me.”Denki was happy to see him, albeit a little surprised. He really didn’t expect anyone to show up besides the rest of the Lurkers, if that.“How come they let you in?”“Uh, I played the boyfriend card and it actually worked.”“Did you cry?”“No?”“You’re a terrible actor, cry next time,” Denki sighed. He gingerly lifted a hand to the back of his head. He could feel the bandages wrapped around it, he still didn’t know how long he’d been out for actually. It couldn’t have been too long, but his head was throbbing hard. From what Eijirou said, it seemed like it was at least the same day. Chuckling, he asked, “Tell me doc, how bad is it?”“Just a minor concussion. They arrested the villains already. You’ve been asleep for about an hour, but from what Edgeshot told me, you’ll be out after the doctor checks in with you.”“That’s so lame, was I the only one who got injured?” Denki griped. He only ever got to be cool for five fucking minutes. It was starting to annoy him.“Sero sprained his wrist, does that help?”“I really want to make a joke about that to piss him off…”The redhead rolled his eyes, but he still laughed quietly. Denki smiled at that, but he couldn’t help, but feel a little bothered still. He never got to do much during missions due to the nature of his quirk. It put others at risk too easily and he often had to fall back onto the sidelines, playing support. It was hard for him to play support on the main field anyway without anything to charge. He felt as if he mainly got in the way.“Are you alright?” asked Eijirou. The question woke Denki up from his thoughts.“Yeah no, I was just thinking…” he waited for a joke about him being able to think, but it didn’t come. Red eyes just stared at him in concern instead, urging him to continue. With a quiet sigh, he went on, “I feel like I don’t really do much, battle wise and all.”“What do you mean? You do a lot, you shouldn’t talk yourself down like that.”The blonde’s fingers fiddled together as he glanced away from his friend’s stare. The reassurance calmed him slightly. Eijirou always seemed to know what to say to make him feel a bit better. Still, he wasn’t happy with how he’d been progressing. Pressing forward, he said, “No, I know that, it’s just– during the final battle, with the war and all… I kind of had to sit back and watch everything. I don’t get to use my quirk a lot with like close combat, I’m stuck in support a lot, but I kind of hate it.”“Support is important,” Eijirou started. Denki opened his mouth, ready to interrupt, but Eijirou quickly said, “But you could be a good DPS. We just need to think of a work around for damaging your allies.”The shorter boy nodded, a bit more eager now. It was a bit silly, but using video game terms got him a bit excited. It was something he was good at. He taught Eijirou all those words and lingo. The redhead hadn’t been super into those types of things, but Denki understood what to do better when picturing things laid out like this. Plus, his friend was listening to him rather than just telling him to stick to the role he was assigned. It felt like someone was really hearing him out.“Yeah, I mean, I have my sharp shooter, but today, and a lot of other times actually, they just get knocked away,” Denki groaned. He remembered the man easily slapping away the discs like it was nothing. “Plus, the discs have a hard time sticking into what they need to a lot of the time since they were rounded.”“Maybe you need a piercing weapon? Like a harpoon!” the shark toothed boy suggested excitedly.“A harpoon?”“Okay, maybe not that exactly, but…”Denki could feel the cogs turn in his brain, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he thought out loud, “No, no, that’s a good start. Harpoons have like a rope attached right? So the weapon can be returned and it has an arrowhead to pierce and it's hard to pull out ‘cause of the head…”“Yeah!”The blonde thought back to the battle and the memory of the wire rope slipped its way into his brain. His eyes widened as he turned too quickly to Eijirou, his vision blurring slightly causing him to lurch forward.“Careful!” Eijirou chirped, holding his hands out to steady Denki.“A grappling gun!” Denki announced, gripping the redhead’s arms. He shook them excitedly. “The guy I was fighting had one! It had wire rope so I could send electricity through it and shock him. If I had something like that, but with a harpoon-ish end, it could work. Something to pierce the enemy so it sticks… like a barbed end…”“Holy shit, dude, you’re a genius.”The way Eijirou was looking at him made Denki’s face burn. He was quickly shoving strands of hair in his face as he made a noise of gratitude. The love in Eijirou’s eyes made every part of him turn to mush. He could practically see the redhead’s eyes glimmer in pure adoration. It was too much.Denki wanted to kiss him.Denki was just chalk full of good ideas right now.Maybe if he kissed Eijirou now, privately, it’d help him figure out if he really did have feelings for his friend.The thought alone already made his skin tingle with electricity just beneath the surface, but he tried to ignore it. If they kissed now, he wouldn’t be able to excuse it in his head as just part of their act. He could easily claim it was though, if Eijirou asked. Someone could potentially walk in. He had plausible deniability.Denki had always come up with the best sort of ideas.“Eijirou?”“Huh?” the redhead perked up.“Could we kiss?”Denki could see a faint dusting of red on the other boy’s cheeks as Eijirou asked, “What for?”“Sero might come in any minute,” Denki lied. He knew the black haired boy wouldn’t come in. He wouldn’t want to walk in on whatever he thought Denki and Eijirou might be doing. Well, it could happen, but the odds of that were unlikely. “He could catch us, y’know, keep up the act a little.”“Alright,” Eijirou breathed out.That nervous fluttering made its way into Denki’s chest. He wrapped his arms around the redhead’s neck, pulling him in closer. The sound of Eijirou’s breath hitch before he leaned in played softly against his ear as he pressed their lips together. He was worried Eijirou could hear his heartbeat with how loud it was pounding in his chest. It was worse than all the other times they had kissed publicly, this was different. This wasn’t an act, at least not on Denki’s part. He was kissing Eijirou, his dearest friend, in pure earnest.Denki would never get over how Eijirou’s lips felt against his. Sure, they were rough and cracked, maybe other people would hate it. He loved every bit of it. Despite the coarseness against his mouth, it still felt so soft and wonderful somehow. Maybe it was the way Eijirou’s hands gently grazed against his ribs or how he moved his own lips against Denki’s. He wasn’t really sure. It just made sense somehow. That was how Eijirou was afterall, a rough exterior, one fit for battle, but he was gentle when he wanted to be and he wanted to be gentle with Denki.He could feel himself trying to deepen the kiss. This was going on for too long, but Eijirou wasn’t stopping him. A hand slipped down, pressing against the redhead’s back. He let his other hand tangle into the other boy’s red hair, trying to push him in further. Eijirou allowed it, kissing Denki back harder.Scents of ozone started filling the room. Small sparklets came from the blonde’s pale hands, prickling against his skin. He almost pulled back, almost let go. Worry that he might hurt Eijirou bubbled inside him, but he felt skin hardening beneath his fingers. Anxiety slipped past him once again like flowing water through outstretched fingers. The moment seemed to melt around him.He already knew the answer by now. He was in love with his best friend. He probably had been for awhile. His eyes were finally adjusting to the colors and he could see what everyone else had seen so clearly before. So much time was spent with his friend, not knowing what he felt beneath the surface, so much time he could’ve spent doing this instead, but he didn’t mind. He wouldn’t trade any of his old memories with the redhead for anything in the world. He had this now, even if it was just until–The kiss was broken.Eijirou pulled back, eyes filled with worry. He gasped out, “Shit, I’m sorry.”Denki didn’t register the sharp pain against his lip until Eijirou had pulled away. He brought his thumb to his lip and he saw a ruby red stain against his skin. He could feel the drip of blood slowly trickle from his lip, threatening to go down his chin. Without thinking, he brought his thumb to his mouth, licking it clean. The taste of copper rested on his tongue and he looked back at Eijirou. The other boy’s eyes matched the blood dripping from his mouth.“I’m sorry, I got– fuck, I was getting too into it, I’m sorry,” Eijirou frantically apologized.Sucking his lip, Denki replied, “S’okay, didn’t mind it.”Hastily, Eijirou stood up, looking around the room. He quickly spotted a box of tissues, bringing it over to the bed. Sitting back down, he pressed his thumb against where Denki’s lip met his chin. The blonde’s mouth fell open slightly, no longer sucking where the cut had been. Using his other hand to dab at the spot with a tissue, Eijirou murmured, “You really shouldn’t just drink it up like some vampire.”“But I always do that when I get a cut.”“You’ll get an infection or something doing that.”“Nuh uh, saliva has healing stuff in it, something called histatin.”“Okay, but it also has a ton of germs?”“Haven’t gotten an infection from licking a cut yet.”“Yet. Doesn’t mean you should keep doing that.”“Whatever,” Denki replied, rolling his eyes.A heavy silence filled the room as Eijirou held the tissue to Denki’s lips. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but the air felt warmer than it was supposed to. Denki almost felt like he could choke on the thickness of it as it settled in his lungs. He swallowed the saliva pooling uncomfortably in his mouth, ignoring the way his friend glanced at lips as he did so.He almost wanted to break the silence, before he heard a commotion from outside the door.“Young man, what exactly do you think you’re doing?!”The two boys' gazes shifted towards the door.“Nothing! I swear, I’m with them!” another voice replied. It was distinct.Not a moment later, a familiar face stumbled within the room, quickly shutting it behind him. Sero’s lanky frame quickly shuffled inside, paper cup in hand. He glanced between Denki and Eijirou, brows furrowing as his eyes moved between the two and the tissue pressed against Denki’s lips.“Am I interrupting?”“No– no, it’s fine,” Eijirou hurried out. His hand quickly left the blonde’s face, bits of tissue awkwardly sticking to the wet blood.“How’s your wrist?” Denki asked, trying to break the air. “I’m gonna tell everyone you sprained it je–”“Haha, very funny, shut up, Denki, least I didn’t get knocked out,” Sero interrupted.“What even happened?”“One of the guys hit you in the head with a pipe.”“Eugh,” Denki cringed, rubbing the back of his head. He caught Eijirou shooting him a sympathetic glance.“That fight was super annoying, there were maybe twelve guys?”“What the hell? In that small truck?”“Dude… one of them had a clown car quirk…”“A clown car quirk…?” Eijirou repeated.The group of boys fell into a fit of laughter at the thought. The lightness filled the air, cutting through it easily. The heavy feeling left the room as easily as it fell over it. Denki felt almost thankful for Sero’s presence in that moment. He managed to ease whatever tension had been in the air. He was good for that, his easy going demeanor making things tranquil quite often.The heavy feeling in the air wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Denki suspected he would notice it come more often now. Little moments where neither knew exactly what to do. Moments just like at the night market where they sat quietly by one another. He realized now that those passages of time might have been more intimate than he had realized. Sero was right, as Sero was about a lot of things. Denki really did love Eijirou.