Archive of Our Own ^beta

Denki bursts into Jirou's room, crackling with nervous energy.

"Dude! You have to help—oh, hey Yaomomo—you have to help me!"

Yaomomo smiles at him, bemused. "Hello, Kaminari."

"Not to be rude, but what the fuck?" Jirou sits up on her bed, where she and Yaomomo are tangled together and looking, if he's being honest, sickeningly cute. She smoothes her tousled hair and gives Denki a look which says he's dead if he keeps interrupting their alone time, and which he promptly ignores in favour of plopping down on the bed at their feet.

He throws an arm over his eyes with a groan. "I need some serious help!"

"Tell me something I don't know," Jirou mutters, kicking him gently with one stripey-socked foot.

Yaomomo laughs quietly. "Should I leave?"

"No," Denki and Jirou say, simultaneously.

"No," Jirou says again, punctuating it with another kick. "Momo, don't go anywhere. Kaminari, spill before I throw you out."

Denki's heart flops over in his chest as he considers his problem. "Not to be dramatic, but I fear I may have matchmade too close to the sun."

There's a long silence.

"Um," Yaomomo says politely - she really is the sweetest, Denki should get some kind of award for getting her and Jirou together. "What?"

"Dude," Jirou follows up, in a low, vicious voice. "If you want our help instead of my earjacks in your eyeballs, you better start making sense, and fast."

Denki grins despite himself. "Whoa, so violent! You've been spending too much time with Bakugou."

"Kaminari, I swear to god-"

"Okay, okay!" He throws his hands up in surrender, and then sighs heavily. "So, I may have found myself with a teensy weensy, baby little bit of a, uh, crush?"

Jirou groans. "Oh god, who is it this time?"

Offended, Denki sits up to give her his best baleful glare. "Hey, I resent that!"

"Oh, come on," she tells him, rolling her eyes. "You fall for someone new every week!"

"I don't-" Denki cuts himself off, remembering ranting to her last week about how pretty Bakugou is when he's not looking murderous. "Okay, yeah, no, fair enough."

He falls back down again, not sure how to express it to them. He knows he's always been that way—he just… appreciates people. He likes being around them, basking in their company and attention, and feeling the thrilling spark inside when he makes them laugh. Everyone's so awesome when you get to know them—like, Sero's grin is literally impossible to ignore, while Hagakure's giggle could warm the coldest heart. Kirishima's built like some kind of Greek god literally carved out of marble and he's one of the best guys Denki's ever known, and Tsuyu makes you feel calm just to be around her. And yeah, sometimes it takes Denki a hot minute to remember where the line between admiration and crushing falls, but he always figures it out eventually.

"So, those are more like… platonic crushes?" he tries, screwing his face up in thought. "But this is, uh— well, it's…" Not for the first time in his life, Denki wishes he had a way with words like the American authors he reads at night.

"This time is different?" Yaomomo suggests.

Jirou snorts when Denki nods hopelessly, but when he turns to give her a reproachful look, he sees that Yaomomo is already there, laying a calming hand on Jirou's arm.

"I think he means it, Kyouka. Just look at him."

It's hard not to shuffle under Jirou's sharp gaze as she narrows her eyes at him, but he holds still and is rewarded by her expression softening.

She sighs a little. "Okay, alright. So this one's different. Are you going to tell us who it is?"

Denki's heart flops over again. "It's Midoriya," he says, and his stomach bursts into butterflies. Yeah, he has it bad. He has it so bad.

Yaomomo puts a hand to her mouth. "Oh!"

"Huh," Jirou says, eyebrows raised. "Didn't see that one coming."

Denki bridles at their reactions. "Why not? Midoriya's awesome!" He can feel his cheeks heating, and isn't sure if it's embarrassment or indignation on Midoriya's behalf. Probably the latter, actually, because he finds himself preparing to list all the ways that Midoriya's incredible.

"Goodness, yes, of course he is!" Yaomomo says hurriedly. "It was just surprising, that's all."

Jirou's foot presses gently into his side. "I don't think I've ever seen you two spend any time alone together?"

"Then you haven't been paying attention, dude!" Denki blurts, not really mad anymore but unable to hold back his nervous excitement. "We've gotten really close lately!"

Jirou regards him for a long moment, reaching over absentmindedly to lace her fingers through Yaomomo's, who lights up with a fond smile.

"So tell us about it, then," Jirou says finally, settling back against her pillows. "From the beginning, since you look like you're going to short circuit yourself if you don't get it out of your system soon."

Yaomomo hums her agreement, tilting slightly to rest her head against Jirou's as they both watch him with expectation.

Denki shifts restlessly, and pillows his hands behind his head so he can stare up at Jirou's chequered ceiling. He always loves an audience willing to listen to him, but for once, he's not entirely sure whether he wants to share or hoard everything to himself like a dragon with gold.

"Hey," Jirou says suddenly, her voice surprisingly gentle. "You don't have to if you don't want to. The option is just there if you want it, okay?"

She wiggles her feet under his side, and maybe it's just to keep warm, but the contact makes him feel good, kind of steady and reassured. She's such a good friend.

Denki flashes her a grateful grin, and then turns back to the ceiling and sighs. "I do want to! I'm just kind of… nervous, I guess?"

Yaomomo leans forward and pats him on the shoulder. "Well, take your time."

He thinks about it for a minute as Jirou fiddles with her phone, setting some music to play quietly in the background. The gentle atmosphere finally helps settle the restlessness in his brain, and Denki smiles to himself as the first memory comes to him.

"I guess it all started when I tried to persuade Bakugou to kiss Kirishima."

"You did what?!"

***

Denki skidded round the corner, breath caught between hysterical laughter and fear as he pelted down the dorm hallway.

"MOTHERFUCKER, YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME!"

Bakugou's voice was like the roar of some demonic creature from hell, prickling all the hairs on the back of Denki's neck.

He choked out a terrified laugh. "Oh, shit!"

It sounded like the explosions were getting closer, gaining ground even as Denki's socked feet thudded against the carpet. He knew Bakugou would catch him - there was no way in this life that Denki could be faster than that monster - but his flight response was too triggered for him to stop running now.

He was so wired that when a door suddenly opened in front of him, a hand shooting out to grab his wrist and yank him into a small, dark space, Denki barely managed to hold back a shriek. Another hand clamped over his mouth, warm and insistent.

"Kaminari! Don't be scared, it's just me!"

Denki fell still instantly at the whisper. "Uh, Midoriya?" he attempted, from behind the muffling hand.

"Ah, I'm sorry for grabbing you! I'll let you go now, just don't scream, okay?"

Denki nodded, and Midoriya’s hands fell carefully away. He cast around the small space, eyes wide as they tried to adjust to the dark. There was a thin sliver of light coming through the crack of the door, and he could just make out the shine of Midoriya’s eyes and a sense of his expression.

“So, where the hell are we?”

Midoriya gave a small, huffy laugh. “In a supply cupboard! They’re usually locked, but I discovered that this one is always empty—I guess with the dorm building not being completely full they don’t need quite as much stuff.”

“How did you even discover that?” Denki whispered, a little incredulous. He hadn’t even noticed there were supply cupboards, let alone that one of them was unlocked.

“Um… curiosity? I sort of… went and tried all of the doors in the building when we first moved in.” Midoriya’s whisper sounded embarrassed, and Denki held back a grin. Classic Midoriya.

They both froze as stomping footsteps passed by the other side of the door, the faint sound of crackling palms easily audible in the sudden, tense silence of the cupboard.

“PIKACHU! I’m going to fucking murder you!”

Denki felt Midoriya’s hands hovering, clearly ready to clamp back over Denki’s mouth if he made a noise. On the other side of the door, Bakugou growled like a beast, and then his stomps receded down the hallway.

Denki blew out a long silent breath. “Well, no complaints from me,” he whispered. “You just completely saved my ass!” He cocked his head then, as a thought belatedly occurred to him. “But why were you in here to start with?”

Midoriya’s laugh was bashful. “I heard Kacchan shouting downstairs, and there wasn’t enough time to get back to my room. I just couldn’t be bothered to deal with him right now, you know?” He gasped. ”Oh god, but that sounds horrible, I-”

“Dude,” Denki reached out blindly to pat him on the shoulder, a smile spreading wide across his face. Who knew Midoriya had it in him? “Don’t freak out, I totally get it, Bakugou’s a menace!”

They fell silent again as another bellow sounded through the dorm, freezing like a pair of mice in the shadow of a circling bird of prey.

“You know,” Midoriya said after a long moment, breaking the quiet tension. “Since Kacchan calls you Pikachu, I always wondered what Pokemon everyone else would be.”

Denki nearly choked on his enthusiasm. “Oh my god, you’ve thought about it too?!”

“Yeah! It’s a bit obvious, but I think Tsuyu would be Greninja?”

“God yes,” Denki whispered fervently. “And Tokoyami basically is Murkrow!”

Midoriya’s smile shone in the dim light as they practically vibrated with shared excitement. “I could never decide whether Kacchan would be Typhlosion because of his Quirk, or—”

“Primeape because of his temper!” Denki finished, and they both snickered, trying to keep quiet; Bakugou was still stalking around out there somewhere.

Midoriya’s hand suddenly landed on Denki’s arm, patting excitedly. “Oh, oh! I just thought of one. Kirishima—there’s no other option, he just has to be Geodude!”

“Geo—” Denki spluttered. “Oh shit, you’re a genius!”

Considering they were hiding in a dark cupboard for fear of being exploded within an inch of their lives, Denki realised that he was actually having a really good time. He’d always liked Midoriya in a distant friendly kind of way, but suddenly it felt like they were somehow on the same chaotic wavelength, and Denki’s grin was hurting his cheeks.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what did you do to make Kacchan so mad?” Midoriya asked curiously, when they’d finally exhausted all the Pokemon they could think of. “Not that I’m saying it’s your fault, obviously,” he hurried to add, and Denki laughed.

“Nah, it was definitely my own fault,” he said, unrepentant. “I got kind of cocky after our mission to matchmake Jirou and Yaomomo went so well, so figured I’d try it with Bakugou. But as you can see, it didn’t exactly, uh, work very well.”

Midoriya sucked in a breath. “You tried to matchmake Kacchan?!”

“Well,” Denki drew the word out, wondering if there was any way he could make himself seem less stupid, but concluded that there really wasn’t. “Yeah, I did. But I know I’m right about this—he’s totally into Kirishima, right?” He looked pleadingly at the dark shape that was Midoriya. “They’re both nuts for each other, I swear I’m not imagining it!”

“No, no,” Midoriya hastened to reassure him, making some kind of hand motion Denki couldn’t quite make out. “You’re definitely right! I’ve never seen Kacchan as happy as he is with Kirishima, they’d really be perfect for each other. But, um, what exactly did you do?”

Denki winced. “I figured the straight forward approach would be best, since he's so blunt and honest. So I just straight up told him I thought Kirishima was into him too, and that he should just smack a big one on him and live happily ever after.”

Midoriya whistled, long and low. “No wonder you were running! Kacchan, um, well, he doesn’t like being told what to do, and he definitely doesn’t like people getting in his personal business.”

“Yeah,” Denki said glumly. “I figured that out pretty quickly. It’s frustrating ‘cause I know they like each other, they just need a little nudge!”

“The thing with Kacchan,” Midoriya began slowly, “Is that he’s really clever, but also incredibly stubborn. So if you want him to do something, and challenging him to do it isn’t an option, then your best bet is to kind of work behind the scenes. If he knows you’re interfering, he’ll do the opposite just to spite you, so you have to be really careful about it.” He laughed quietly, eyes shining in the darkness. “It’s literally like walking across a field of landmines.”

“No kidding,” Denki breathed, taking it all in. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? But of course Midoriya would know what to do, he was some kind of tactical genius, and knew Bakugou better than anyone, even Kirishima. “Hey, Midoriya, you’ve gotta help me! With your Kacchan-expertise and my Kirishima know-how, we could help them for sure!”

Midoriya hesitated. “But, wouldn’t it be interfering?”

“Not if we’re really careful about it,” Denki told him, excited now. “There’s nothing wrong with just setting things up so they can choose to make a move, after all!”

The smile Midoriya gave Denki was so bright it was almost completely visible, and pulled a grin out of Denki himself that was completely reflexive.

“Okay, I’m in!”

High-fiving was difficult in the dark, until Denki let a bit of static play across his fingers, illuminating just enough to let him see Midoriya’s hand and the way his smile creased up his whole face.

This was going to be so much fun.

*

The thing about Midoriya, Denki discovered with the utmost glee, was that he was secretly an absolute maniac.

Denki was used to his friends following his stupid ideas for a bit, until they got bored and left Denki up to his neck in whatever new project he was obsessed with. So finding himself still awake at 2am, three energy drinks down, and watching Midoriya mutter over an expansive, multi-coloured brainstorm of matchmaking notes, came as a bit of a shock—but definitely the good kind.

They were on the floor of Midoriya’s bedroom, Denki sprawled on his stomach, while Midoriya sat with his legs neatly folded under him, as they had been for far too many hours now. Denki wasn’t sure if they’d actually figured a plan out yet—if he was honest, he’d lost track of things about thirty minutes ago, when sleepiness had made the words go all blurry on the page, but he was more than happy to listen to Midoriya work it all out.

“—so, if we just make these options group activities, then Kacchan shouldn’t be too suspicious, plus everyone else will get to have a fun time, too.”

Denki nodded enthusiastically, at which Midoriya looked pleased and set down his handful of pens with a satisfied sigh.

"Man, I'm so glad I roped you into this," Denki said between several jaw-cracking yawns. "There's no way I could've managed this on my own."

Midoriya tilted his head, his analytical gaze tracing over Denki's face. It was a bit like being surveyed by a clever bird, flighty and curious, and kind of sweet. "I mean, teamwork definitely helps get things done," he said thoughtfully. "But I also think you underestimate your capabilities, Kaminari."

"Dude, I'm consistently bottom of the class," Denki told him, pillowing his cheek on his arm. Something about the late hour or his over-caffeinated state made him feel honest—or maybe it was the air of complete non-judgement Midoriya always had about him. "There's no way I'm smart enough to come up with a plan like this."

Frowning, Midoriya straightened, hands on his knees. "That's not true!" he insisted, ignoring the face Denki pulled. "First of all, UA has really high standards, so being bottom of the class here is basically like being the top elsewhere! And besides, there's more ways of being smart than academics." He leaned across the rug earnestly, fingertips almost brushing Denki's arm. "You're creative and outgoing, you always know how to make a situation funny, and the way you calculate your voltage on the fly is incredible! I've been trying really hard to figure out how to adjust my quirk's power, so I know how difficult that is. Plus, you're really, really good at English and Literature."

Denki's heart did a pleased little hiccup in his chest, warmed by Midoriya’s earnest compliments. Praise was always nice, obviously, but it felt special coming from Midoriya—like he paid closer attention than anyone else, and pulled out all the little details about yourself that you should be proud of.

Clearing his throat, Denki raked his free hand through his hair. "Oh, thanks," he said, idly noting the way Midoriya's answering smile lit up his eyes. Cute. "I guess it's just hard feeling like I'm just constantly trying to catch up, y'know?"

The little laugh this pulled from Midoriya was surprisingly dark. "Yeah, I know that feeling very well," he said quietly.

Denki eyed him, curious. "But you're always at the top of the class?"

"Mm," Midoriya agreed, with a little blush. "But I'm still figuring out how to use my quirk without literally breaking my body."

His mouth pulled down at the corners, and Denki felt a sudden rush of a feeling he didn't have a good name for. Reaching for his notepad from the assorted pile on the floor, he flipped through the pages until he found a blank double page, and slapped it down between them. Midoriya looked confused as he scattered a handful of coloured pencils, but obediently took the dark green pencil Denki offered him.

Quickly sketching out a cartoonish outline of Midoriya's hero costume, Denki motioned for him to start colouring, and then started on his own drawing. He passed more time than he'd like to admit like this, doodling and colouring until the scribbles soothed whatever craziness was going on in his brain. After a minute, he glanced up surreptitiously, and felt a warm glow of satisfaction when he saw a tiny smile on Midoriya's face as he focussed on the page.

Denki drew a lightning bolt zapping a little figure. "But, like, you're not the only one," he said, hoping that he had succeeded in keeping his voice light. People never liked it when he got too serious.

"What do you mean?" Midoriya asked quietly, the soft scratching sound of his pencil syncing up with Denki's as he filled the lightning bolt with golden yellow.

"Figuring out how to use your quirk without damaging yourself," Denki explained, eyes trained on the page. He felt weirdly nervous all of a sudden, like he'd told a joke and nobody was laughing. "Breaking your bones is pretty bad, admittedly, but let's be honest, I'm just as useless when I short-circuit myself. It takes me out of the game completely until it wears off."

He was glad for Midoriya's thoughtful silence, not teasing him or rushing to reassure him with platitudes. They kept scribbling, and Midoriya slowly unfolded from his neat sitting position until he was sprawled like Denki was, propped on their elbows and heads bent over the page.

"Does it hurt?" Midoriya asked, finally.

Denki looked up, startled. "Huh?"

Midoriya's eyes were gentle but intense, his eyebrows pinched together in a soft frown. "When you short-circuit, does it hurt? I always wondered, but didn't want to pry, and I figured you must be okay with it since you're here at UA anyway—but then that doesn't really mean anything, when you consider that I'm here, too!"

It was a good thing that Midoriya rambled, because it gave Denki a chance to swallow back his surprise. He was so used to his short-circuiting being the butt of a joke—and making it that way himself—that it was a shock to have so much warm concern suddenly aimed at him.

"It doesn't really hurt," he said slowly. "I mean, sometimes it stings a bit, or I get kind of numb and tingly, but it's not like real pain."

It felt weird being so candid about it, but kind of nice, too. He thought that would be the end of it, but Midoriya was still watching him closely.

"But…?" Midoriya asked, pencil stilled on the paper.

Denki stared at the lightning on his page. "Mainly I feel super confused," he said quietly. "It's sort of like being half-asleep and feverish, where you know you're not in your right mind, but can't quite get yourself to make sense."

"That sounds scary." It wasn't quite a question, but the way Midoriya said it made Denki feel like he wanted to spill everything out onto the paper between them.

"Yeah," he breathed, giving Midoriya a smile that he knew didn't quite make it. "It can be pretty scary sometimes. I get really worried and can't do anything about it until my brain boots back up again. Sometimes physical stuff helps as something to hold onto, like an anchor to reality, but I can't exactly have that in a combat situation." He cleared his throat and pushed back his hair. "Anyway, I guess it's kind of my own fault for going overboard!"

Midoriya frowned. "I suppose so. But it's hard to hold back, isn't it? When you know you have power that could help, it feels wrong not to give it your all."

Staring at him, Denki swallowed unevenly. He was used to telling himself that he liked the attention of going all in, unleashing waves of crackling energy that lit up inside his skull and brought down everything around him, but what Midoriya said rang true, as well. He felt so understood.

"Uh huh," he managed, then shook his head to clear it. "Yeah! That's exactly it!"

The smile Midoriya gave him was bright enough to rival All Might's, and Denki grinned back at him automatically. It felt like his heart was going so fast that it was tripping over itself—probably all the energy drinks.

By the time the spread of his notepad was filled with colourful doodles, they had both talked themselves half-hoarse. Denki finally dragged himself off to his own room with Midoriya's sleepy “Goodnight” ringing in his ears. He collapsed into bed without undressing and was instantly out, dreaming of green lightning bolts, bright smiles, and gentle eyes.

*

"I can't believe I agreed to this."

Denki grinned at Bakugou's scowl, completely undaunted. Scary as Bakugou could be, Denki figured he was mostly all bark and no bite. Besides, seeing him sitting with their classmates in the fluffy assortment of blankets and pillows they'd thrown on the floor in front of the TV kind of took the sting out of his grimace.

"Why, is Kacchan scared of a little horror movie?" he teased, dodging away from a swiping hand. "C'mon Kirishima, you gotta sit right next to Bakugou, that way you can take the hit if he gets scared and explodes!"

"On it, my dude!" Kirishima looked way too happy to be seated next to Bakugou, leaning in immediately with flushed cheeks and sharing the huge bowl of popcorn he'd acquired from somewhere; it was super adorable, and Denki had to turn away so he didn't give the game away. The plan was off to a strong start.

By the time the rest of the class had gathered, and Denki had hurried to turn all the lights off—-gotta set the right mood, after all—he realised that all the remaining seats had been taken. Nobody even seemed to notice that they'd forgotten him except Sero, who was lounging with his long legs taking up half the floor space and grinning unrepentantly at Denki through the darkness.

"You snooze, you lose," he offered with a cheerful shrug.

Denki was just preparing to throw himself down with an elbow to Sero's stomach, when a touch on his shoulder stopped him.

"Kaminari, I saved you a seat," Midoriya said earnestly, and was already pulling Denki along by the arm before he had a chance to reply.

He hadn't noticed before, but to the side of the heavily populated sofas and carpet, Midoriya had pushed together a couple of chairs. Bolstered with cushions and blankets, and with padded stools to act as footrests, it was almost like a small sofa.

Denki felt his annoyance fizzle away instantly. "Dude, nice one!"

They sat down hastily as Iida started the movie. Denki was surprised at how comfy the little set up was, and they even had a pretty good view over everyone's heads, too. Plus, it was pretty warm sat so close to each other, their arms just brushing on the small seats.

"It was the least I could do, you did such a great job setting everything up, and then getting Kacchan and Kirishima to sit with each other as well!" Midoriya whispered, his eyes gleaming in the glow from the screen.

"Yeah, but it was all thanks to your big brained plans," Denki returned, giddy with glee. "It couldn't be better, a horror movie is the perfect setup for romance! Sitting all close in the dark, ready to grab onto each other when they get scared, hands meeting in the popcorn bowl—it's like we've got them on a date without going on a date!"

Midoriya fumbled with the popcorn he'd been reaching to pick up. "Yeah," he breathed with a nervous little laugh. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Figuring he had probably realised that they'd be exploded for sure if Bakugou ever found out, Denki leaned and bumped their shoulders together in a friendly nudge. "Oh, but don't worry, Blasty didn't expect a thing, I swear!"

Midoriya nodded with another tiny puff of laughter. "Right, Kacchan."

It was only when they fell quiet and settled in that Denki belatedly realised the major flaw in the plan: he was terrified of horror movies. Even the opening scenes had him on edge immediately, the chilling music creeping up his spine and making him shiver so all his hairs stood on end. Never mind Kirishima and Bakugou, this was an awful idea, he was never going to be able to sleep again.

When the first jump scare hit, Denki just about managed to stifle his horror. Instead of flinching away like he wanted to, he just shivered for a second time and desperately wished he'd grabbed a spare cushion to surreptitiously hide behind.

Midoriya turned to him, his concerned frown just visible in the flickering movie lights as he whispered, "Are you cold, Kaminari? You keep shivering."

"Huh?" Denki forced himself to unclench his shoulders from around his ears. "Cold, yeah, exactly," he muttered, glad for the excuse.

He almost jumped out of his seat when Midoriya suddenly stood up, but managed to bite back his yelp. He'd never live it down if anyone caught him freaking out over a movie, especially since nobody else seemed scared at all yet.

"Here, wear this," Midoriya murmured, shucking his oversized All Might hoodie and pressing it into Denki's hands. "I'm a bit too warm anyway."

He wanted to protest, but Midoriya's barely visible smile was too sweet and earnest to resist—what could he say, Denki was a sucker for a nice smile—so he pulled it on a little self-consciously. It was soft, a little too large in the way that the best hoodies were, and immediately enveloped him in the distinct, pleasant smell that was simply Midoriya. It was weirdly intimate, especially with Midoriya's body warmth still captured in the fabric, and his chest filled with a soft, shivery buzzing. Feeling a bit flushed, Denki left the hood pulled up, partly as a shield from the horrors on the TV, but also just because it felt really, really nice.

"Thanks, Midoriya,”

“Oh! It’s no problem,” Midoriya whispered as he sat back down, his now bare arm brushing close. “Let me know if you still feel cold, I think I have a spare blanket in my room that I can get for you.”

Denki elbowed him gently. “You’re way too kind for your own good, you know that?”

Midoriya’s flustered denials got loud enough that several people turned around to shush them. After Denki had pulled faces at them enough to detract attention off Midoriya—it wasn’t his fault he was too humble for the world, after all—he simmered down and reluctantly focussed on the movie.

Shit. It really had been a bad idea to watch a horror movie. Even with so many people in the room, filling the quiet moments with the sounds of popcorn crunching and rustling blankets, Denki was completely creeped out. His hands were sweating nervously, and it was taking conscious effort to keep static from building up on his skin from the sheer fear-adrenaline that had his heart racing. This was only the beginning as well, just plot-heavy build up with no real scary moments—how the hell was he going to handle the actual bad bits?

Next to him, Midoriya shifted a little every time Denki twitched at a jump scare. It was pretty obvious that he’d noticed Denki’s tension, and he prayed to any god that was listening that Midoriya wouldn’t be like any of his other friends would in this situation and mock him relentlessly.

“I heard that they had to keep refilming this section because the actors kept laughing,” Midoriya murmured suddenly, during a particularly tense moment that had Denki’s breath literally coming faster.

After the initial shock of hearing his voice, it was kind of nice to have a distraction from his fear, and Denki gratefully took the excuse to peel his eyes off the screen and glance at Midoriya instead—a much better view anyway, if he was being honest.

He swallowed, hoping his voice wouldn’t waver. “They, uh, they did?”

“Yeah,” Midoriya said, smiling through the darkness. “I always think it’s funny to remember that they’re all just actors playing a part, not really scary monsters, don’t you?”

Between the reassuring tone of Midoriya’s voice and the comfort of his words, Denki found himself relaxing a little bit. He was right, it was just a stupid movie, it wasn’t real.

“Yeah,” he breathed. “Yeah, that’s pretty funny.”

It got a bit easier after that. For whatever reason, Midoriya’s little comment seemed to have broken some kind of dam, and he kept up a soft litany of muttered comments, telling Denki trivia about the actors, the special effects, and even the camera work. Denki had heard his muttering before—who in their class hadn’t?—but he’d never realised how comforting it was. With Midoriya's narration, the horror movie suddenly became a fun activity instead of a trial to get through.

Denki even spent a happy few minutes spacing out and wondering what other activities would be better with Midoriya’s presence, eventually concluding that he couldn’t think of many that wouldn’t be improved by his company.

And when the scares peaked, and they saw Kirishima grab onto Bakugou’s arm without being shaken off, the grin they exchanged felt like a shock of gleeful lightning right down to his toes.

*

“Oi, Midoriya, wait up!” Denki broke into a jog as he hurried to catch up. The rest of the class were already metres away, but Midoriya turned to wait, a smile breaking over his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked, surveying the redness in Denki’s cheeks and sweat on his brow with wide eyes.

Denki groaned. “I got totally caught up on my phone when I was putting it away and didn’t even realise everyone was already changed until they were leaving!”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve tried to get your attention!” Midoriya waved his hands apologetically as they both turned to catch up with the group, but Denki shrugged it away.

“Don’t worry about it, nobody else did either, and I made it, didn’t I?”

“That’s true. Actually, I’m glad you caught me,” Midoriya said, a note of hesitance creeping into his voice. “I wanted to talk to you before class.”

Curiosity thoroughly piqued, Denki pushed his glasses up onto his head so he could look at him properly. “Oh yeah? What about?”

“Well, I, um— it’s probably stupid, but I was thinking of things that might help you sometimes if you short circuit, and then I saw this and thought of you, so—" He broke off, rooting around in one of the red pouches at his waist. “Here!”

Denki was still stuck on the idea that Midoriya had been putting effort into thinking about him, so it took him a few blinks to be able to see what Midoriya had thrust into his hands.

It was a tiny plushie, small enough to fit comfortably in his hand, and with a little loop at the head for a keychain. Denki stared at the familiar, yellow fur and adorable face. He smoothed a thumb over its soft body and squeezed it gently, enjoying the squishiness of it in his fist as he turned to Midoriya, his heart suddenly jumping.

“…You got me a Pikachu?”

Midoriya flushed pink immediately. "I'm sorry if that was weird! I just thought… after our conversation about pokemon that time in the supply cupboard- and do you remember you told me that physical things can help ground you when you're short-circuited? Plus I— well, I've noticed the way you like to hold onto Ojiro's tail sometimes, so I figured that maybe you like soft things! I was trying to find something that you could hold onto if you get scared or worried sometimes, like a sensory tool, so if you accidentally short-circuit it would maybe help you feel calmer—but of course it needed to be small enough to fit in your pockets while you're in costume, so when I saw this I thought of you instantly…" Midoriya finally rambled himself out, wincing at the way Denki was staring at him, mouth hanging open. "But I'm sorry, it was probably a weird thing to do, right? You don't have to keep it, if you don't want—"

Denki's brain suddenly kicked back online as Midoriya's expression fell. "Dude, no! I love it!"

"You… do?" A tentative smile crept onto Midoriya's face.

"Hell yes!" He looked down at the Pikachu in his hand, then back up at Midoriya's hopeful smile, and enthusiasm suddenly crackled to life in him. He could feel himself practically vibrating. "Thank you so much!"

Unable to hold his excitement back, Denki simply barrelled into Midoriya and wrapped him in a tight hug, face aching with the strength of his own grin. His friends always kept him safe when he was out of it, even if they did laugh at him, but nobody had ever put so much thought into how to help him. Midoriya was so damn sweet!

Midoriya was a little slow to respond, probably stunned by Denki's sudden affection—he could be a little shy, sometimes—but after a moment's hesitation, his arms came up and returned the embrace with interest.

"I'm really glad you like it," he said quietly, voice so close to Denki's ear that it fizzled all the way down his spine.

Denki's heart did a happy little dance. "It's freaking perfect!"

As much as he was enjoying the hug—Midoriya was the perfect height, so neither of them had to stoop, and he was ridiculously warm and gentle—Denki figured he probably shouldn't overwhelm him, and so reluctantly let go. He was still grinning like an idiot, bubbling over inside with happiness, and Midoriya's pink-cheeked smile wasn't much smaller.

It was only while he was tucking the Pikachu safely in his pocket that it hit Denki that they had been completely left behind, and he shot Midoriya a panicked look.

"Oh shit! We're gonna be so late!"

Slow horror dawned across Midoriya's face. "Oh no, this is all my fault, I—" He hesitated, and then fixed Denki with a pleading look. "Please don't tell Iida about this."

Denki opened his mouth, but his question was lost to the wind as Midoriya literally picked him up like he weighed nothing, the green energy of his quirk crackling to life along his limbs, and shot off in the direction of the training grounds. Eyes watering in the blast of their speed, Denki let loose a whoop of laughter and clung on tight. Holy shit, Midoriya was the best.

*

The thing about living on campus was that Denki actually really missed walking home from school. He’d always enjoyed wandering through the streets from the train station, surrounded by interesting people going about their business, and ducking into shops when something caught his eye, which meant that being at UA 24/7 sometimes made him feel cooped up, despite the school’s huge grounds.

So sometimes, he asked permission to visit the nearby conbini purely so he could jam his headphones on and wander down the road, letting his feet carry him as music filled the busy space inside his skull.

Today was one of those times; Denki had grown restless and bored of the dorms, so managed to wheedle Aizawa-sensei into letting him leave, with the reluctant admission that he wasn’t the only one off-campus anyway. It was one of those amazing walks where every song on his shuffled playlist matched his stride perfectly, and he was practically strutting with pleasure.

He was a few streets away from the store, when he caught sight of a familiar mop of green hair at a junction up ahead—Midoriya must be one of the people that Aizawa had let off-campus. Smiling to himself, Denki pulled his headphones down around his neck and hurried to catch up.

As he drew close, though, he realised that Midoriya wasn’t alone. There was a small group of teenagers who seemed to be roughly their age surrounding him, and Denki frowned as he noticed the set of Midoriya’s shoulders, stiff and uncomfortable. Who the hell were these people?

Sidling up behind Midoriya casually, but staying far back enough not to pull attention, he strained to pick up the edges of the conversation.

“Look, um, it was nice to meet you, but I need to get to the shop now,” Midoriya was saying, his words apologetic but clipped. He tried to walk around the group, but two of them sidestepped in front of him to block his way.

“What’s the matter, little hero, too scared to talk to us? Snivelling little fuck, aren’t you?” sneered a tall guy, leaning over Midoriya in a way that had static rolling over Denki’s knuckles. He didn’t like this at all.

“Can’t believe you’re from UA,” one of the others spat. “What a crock of shit. You think you’re all so high and mighty in there, too good for the rest of us peasants, huh?”

“No, not at all,” Midoriya tried, looking between them. “It’s not like that at all!”

“How the hell did someone like that even get in, anyway?”

A girl with slicked back hair stepped forward, sporting a nasty smirk. “I bet he’s not even in the hero course,” she said, and turned to Midoriya. “A mousy little shit like you, think you’re gonna become a big shiny hero?”

Mousy?! Denki watched Midoriya’s hands tremble and ball into fists at his sides, felt the surge of his own rage building inside, and decided abruptly that he’d had enough. He had no doubt that Midoriya could handle himself if it came to a fight, but Denki wasn’t about to stand there and listen to a bunch of random thugs badmouth him when he was too nice and principled to fight back.

“Hey, man,” he drawled loudly, sauntering over to Midoriya and immediately throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Fancy meeting you here! You gonna introduce me to your friends?”

Midoriya looked startled at first, but then smiled with relieved recognition. “Oh! Kaminari, actually I was just leaving.”

“Right, sure,” Denki said cheerfully, still talking loudly, gaze flicking from one person to the next, fixing each of them with his best imitation of Bakugou’s most berserk, blood-thirsty grin—and he’d had a lot of time to study that particular expression. “Let’s go get some snacks, then. Gotta make sure us UA Sport Festival finalists keep our energy up, huh?” Arm still wrapped firmly around Midoriya’s shoulders, Denki jostled him emphatically. “Especially you, dude! That super strength of yours could probably level a city if you get hyped up enough, am I right?”

Midoriya’s eyes were darting between Denki and the strangers, uncertain. “R-right,” he said with a nervous laugh.

Despite Midoriya’s frankly unconvincing performance, Denki felt a sweet satisfaction as he watched uncertainty cross the faces around them as the idiots glanced at one another.

“Yeah,” he continued, raising the volume just a bit more. “I swear Sensei is gonna have your guts next week if you destroy another building like you did yesterday—man, you just absolutely pummelled that thing without a second thought!" The electricity of his anger coursing through his bones, Denki laughed as he looked the closest bully directly in the eyes. "If that had been a villain, there wouldn't be anything left of them to arrest," he finished, smile dropping away.

Denki knew he wasn't the best at acting or subterfuge, but the wonderful thing was that every single word he'd said had been the simple truth. Midoriya might still struggle sometimes, but he was outrageously strong when it counted, and the world should thank its lucky stars that he was such a sweetheart.

Feeling the tension still in Midoriya's posture, Denki pulled him in a little closer, hand squeezing his shoulder gently. Sometimes he wondered whether he was even a smidge as heroic as his classmates, but the protectiveness that was roaring inside him right now left no room for self-doubt; if Midoriya needed him, then Denki was there, not because he doubted Midoriya's ability to look after himself, but because he wanted to be there for him.

"Fuck this shit," the tall guy said after a long, awkward silence. "I don't have to stick around and listen to brats." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he glared around at his little posse. "Let's go."

Denki kept his cocky posture as they began to slope away, looking as relaxed on the outside as he felt tense on the inside. Most of the group just walked off after giving them dirty looks, but the tall guy stomped up straight towards Denki.

Refusing to give any ground, Denki clenched his jaw and braced to be shoulder-checked; and if a little extra static energy lanced down his free arm, then nobody had to know, did they?

But right before the guy reached him, Midoriya suddenly slipped out of Denki's grasp, using a firm but gentle grip on his wrist to switch their positions. Feet braced, head held up defiantly, Midoriya took the violent shoulder barge and didn't move an inch. The other guy stumbled sideways from the force of his own movement, shot a startled look at Midoriya, then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off.

Midoriya whirled on Denki, brow furrowed. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Taken aback, Denki let out a laugh of surprise. "I think I should be asking you that!"

"Ah, right," Midoriya said, deflating a little as he relaxed and smiled at Denki, sweet and warm. "I'm really glad you're okay, then."

The fuzzy feeling that filled Denki from his soft words was overwhelmed by lingering concern. "But really, are you okay?" he asked, reaching to grasp Midoriya’s shoulders as if there was some way he could sense out any hurt. If that thug had bruised Midoriya, then Denki was recruiting their whole class for a manhunt. "That was a pretty rough bump!"

"I'm fine, honestly!"

They stared at each other, mirror images of concern and reassurance. Denki felt his cheeks begin to burn hot as his gaze caught on Midoriya's freckles, and then they both burst into laughter.

The rest of the trip might have been called uneventful, given the lack of any further trouble. But spending time alone with Midoriya, chatting and making him go weak with laughter, shopping for stupid snacks at the conbini, and splitting an ice cream on the way home all felt like pretty important events to Denki.

*

Lightning cracked across the sky, lighting up the night and itching across Denki’s skin. He shifted restlessly in his desk chair, watching the driving rain hammer against his balcony doors, smearing the view of the storm outside.

It was 3am, and he’d tried to sleep, he really had, but thunderstorms were like the ultimate jolt of caffeine in his system. The sheer potential of the electrical energy in the atmosphere thrummed along his veins until his hands sweated and his heart hammered. He felt wired, his thoughts sprinting on an endless hamster wheel that shattered and reformed every time another bolt of lightning split the darkness.

Hugging his knees closer to his chest, Denki absently squeezed his Pikachu in one hand, wondering if anyone else was awake. He’d tried entertaining himself but, despite his need for stimulation, he couldn’t focus on music or games—the sounds and colours were somehow too much and not enough all at once. It was contradictory and annoying, and Denki didn’t know what else to do with himself. He’d always been sensitive to thunderstorms, but this was far worse than it had been when he was younger; strengthening his quirk had also increased his sensitivity, he assumed. This was the first storm they’d had since moving into the dorms, and he was completely unprepared.

Thunder rolled overhead and his fingertips tingled with unspent power. He shifted again, trying to get rid of the achy twitchiness in his legs by bouncing his knees in a way that would’ve had his parents snapping at him.

When the quiet knock at the door came, Denki almost jolted onto the floor in his surprise, spilling sparks across his rug. Conscious of Iida sleeping in the next room, he hurried to the door to prevent another knock.

When he swung the door open, Midoriya was there blinking at him in surprise, hand still raised in front of him. He dropped his hand quickly and smiled at Denki. He was wearing pyjamas and a sweatshirt, looking so soft and comfy that the sight of him alone was comforting.

“Hi, Kaminari,” he said quietly. “I hope I didn’t wake you?”

“Nah, I was awake anyway,” Denki told him easily, stepping back into his room in case any more static sparked off him by accident. “Wanna come in?”

Midoriya followed him, closing the door carefully behind himself. Denki was about to offer him a seat, but flinched and rolled his shoulders as another crack of lightning flashed through the glass of his balcony door, shuddering down his spine like phantom energy.

“Oh, so I was right,” Midoriya said, moving a little closer as a concerned frown grew across his expression. “It’s the electrical storm, right? It bothers you? I know you can handle so much electricity with your quirk, but I figured that maybe it would be difficult to rest when it’s all in the atmosphere like this.” His eyes tracked across Denki thoughtfully, soaking in detail and making him feel rather like a test subject—which was actually quite a nice sensation, in a weird way. “I hope it doesn’t make you feel too uncomfortable. I know you said that your quirk doesn’t hurt you, but I imagine it could still be irritating.”

Denki shrugged, trying for casualness. “Uh, it’s okay, mostly,” he hedged, but Midoriya just watched him with so much patience that he sighed and gave up pretending. “Yeah, no, it sucks. I can’t sleep because I’m so wired, but I can’t focus on doing anything either.”

Midoriya's noise of sympathy went straight to Denki's heart. Had he really come to find Denki in the literal middle of the night because he'd been worried about him?

"Well, I'm not asleep either, so maybe I could keep you company? The storm is meant to pass in another hour or so, according to the forecast."

"Yes, please!" Denki blurted without thinking about it, and then winced. "I'm probably not very good company though, so it's cool if you wanna go back to bed or something instead, I totally get it."

He was taken aback when Midoriya laid a tentative hand on his arm, and clamped down viciously on his quirk so no stray sparks could shock him; Midoriya's touch was gentle, and the casual gesture of affection warmed Denki like sunlight, so the last thing he wanted to do was put him off doing it again.

"No," Midoriya said firmly. "I'll stay with you, if you don't mind." His resolute expression broke into a smile. "Anyway, you're always good company, Kaminari! I like being around you."

Denki was glad that Midoriya turned away then, settling himself onto Denki’s bed with a kind of shy determination, because he could feel his cheeks getting hot—and it definitely wasn’t because of the storm.

They sat quietly, talking about nothing in particular and falling silent when thunder rolled overhead or fresh sheets of rain hammered at the window. Despite the restlessness tingling through his body, Denki found it easier to relax with Midoriya around. He didn’t demand Denki’s energy, and seemed happy just being there, despite Denki being distracted by the storm and unable to summon up the focus needed to entertain. Even his mumbling was kind of soothing in its own way, and he never failed to reflect back Denki’s enthusiasm when he went off on a tangent.

When the storm began to ease, leaving the rain to patter gently as the thunder swept away, Denki found himself drawn to his balcony. Sliding the door open let in a wave of fresh air that he gulped down gratefully.

“I guess the forecast was right,” Midoriya said, materialising at Denki’s side and gazing out into the darkness. “It seems like the storm really is passing, now.”

They stood side by side, leaning on the balcony railing and letting the sweet, fresh rain dampen their pyjamas. Midoriya’s shoulder was warm against his, and Denki had the abrupt thought that what he wanted, more than anything, was to turn and kiss the apple of Midoriya’s cheek, where it plumped up with his smile.

All thoughts of the storm were completely obliterated by the siren in Denki’s head that was suddenly shrieking over and over that he liked Midoriya.

He liked Midoriya.

“Do you ever think how lucky we are?” Midoriya murmured, head tilted up to watch the dark clouds overhead.

Denki swallowed hard to stop any stupid words from spilling out. “Uh, yeah,” he managed. “Yeah, lucky, for sure.”

Holding his breath, he dared to lean in a little more, pressing their arms together more firmly. To his delight, Midoriya didn’t pull away, and Denki ducked his head to try and restrain his giddy grin. He desperately, desperately wanted to ask Midoriya out, to beg him to stay close a little longer, even to ask if he could hold his hand, but forced himself to be satisfied with enjoying this small moment; it felt too precious to be stamped on by his clumsy flirting.

So for now, Denki just smiled, and breathed, and treasured the feel of Midoriya so close to him, warm against the cool damp of the night.

***

Denki falls back onto Jirou’s bed, a little breathless and feeling like there are literal stars in his eyes just from the retelling of his memories.

The girls are quiet, and he looks over at them, suddenly nervous about their reactions. Jirou is staring at him with a stunned expression, but Yaomomo has a thoughtful hand to her chin.

“That’s really lovely, Kaminari,” she says gently. “But to be honest, it doesn’t sound like you need any help.”

Denki pushes clumsily up onto his elbows. “Are you kidding? This is Midoriya, there’s no way I have a chance in hell with him if you don’t help me figure something out!”

Jirou snorts loudly, shaking out of her stunned silence. One ear jack stretches down to poke him in the ribs. “Oh, come on. I know it’s hard, but try to be serious for once in your life.”

“I am being serious!” Denki sits up properly now, feeling a bit indignant. He’s spilled his heart out to them, properly laid himself bare, and they’re giving him nothing. He should’ve just gone to Sero—at least he would’ve offered some advice, after the initial obligatory teasing. “You know what? It’s fine. Thanks for listening, I’ll stop bothering you now.”

“Hey, whoa, hold up!” Jirou snakes out a hand to grab his arm as he shuffles off the bed. Her grip around his wrist is steely, but her eyes are soft as she frowns up at him. “Come on, sit back down. We weren’t trying to shrug you off, I promise.”

“She’s right,” Yaomomo adds, clasping her hands. “Please, let us talk it over properly before you leave?”

Denki, feeling mollified and a little embarrassed by his outburst, sits meekly back down. “Sorry, just feeling kind of self-conscious about it all, I guess.”

“Yeah, we got that.” Jirou gives him a wry smile. “But, listen, I didn’t mean to suggest you were kidding about your feelings or anything, okay? To be honest, I’ve never seen you so serious about something.”

He nods, letting loose a sigh of relief at being understood. “So you will help me?”

“Of course we will,” Yaomomo says warmly. “I just don’t think you need the help you think you do.”

That makes no sense to Denki, and he opens his mouth to say as much, but Jirou beats him to it.

“Look, if everything you’d said is true, then I don’t think you need to actively do anything to impress Midoriya. You just need to be honest with him, and you don’t need our help to do that.”

Yaomomo nods, tucking her hair behind her ear. “That’s exactly what I meant. It’s hard to know for sure, but-“ She exchanges glances with Jirou, who picks up the sentence and flings it at Denki with a grin.

“It definitely sounds like he likes you too!”

That hits him like one of Bakugou’s explosions right to the head, and he gapes at them wordlessly, ears ringing.

Jirou raises an eyebrow at him. “Did you short-circuit yourself, or are you really just struck dumb?”

“For real?” Denki wheezes. “You think he likes me too?”

They both nod at him, smiling, and Denki’s heart pretty much gives out under the sheer force of his excitement.

“Even on the off chance that he doesn’t,” Yaomomo says gently, “Midoriya is very kind - he would tell you so nicely.”

“Seriously, you’ve got nothing to lose.” Jirou leans in to grab him again, giving him a stern look, her slim fingers like steel on his wrist. “Just, listen—no gimmicks, no missions, and no crazy plans or whatever, okay? Just find a good time to talk to him, and tell him how you feel. Keep it simple, stupid.”

Denki nods furiously. He wants to take time to think this over, but everything is still so fresh and urgent that he can’t hold back from bouncing to his feet and running his hands through his hair.

“Okay, okay. Oh my god, okay.” he says, half to himself. “I’m good, right? I look good?”

Yaomomo beams at him. “Very handsome!”

“Yeah,” Jirou laughs, jabbing him in the butt with an ear jack. “Now go get him!”

*

When Denki turns up at his own room to find Midoriya hovering awkwardly outside, turning to him with a sheepish smile, he’s bowled over by his own stupidity. How the hell could he have thought the giddiness and comfort that swims in his chest around Midoriya was anything other than friendship?

His hands are sweating, his mouth dry, but he manages to gather himself enough to speak. “Hey, Midoriya! What’s up?”

“Kaminari, I was just coming to find you,” Midoriya says in a rush. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

“No, no, it’s cool!” Denki says hurriedly, barging into his room and beckoning Midoriya in so he can be sure nobody will witness his embarrassment. “I, uh, I actually wanted to talk to you as well.”

“Oh!” Midoriya looks faintly pleased, a little pink around the ears, and Denki has to swallow back the bubbling excitement in his chest. Maybe the girls are right, maybe he does feel the same.

Suddenly anxious to impress in a way he normally isn’t around Midoriya, Denki bumbles around the room, turning on low music and straightening his blankets before throwing himself onto the bed in an effort to look casual, leaning against the wall and stretching his legs out in front of him. Midoriya sits next to him with his hands neatly resting on his knees, as polite as always, and just ridiculously cute.

“So, what did you want me for?” Denki starts with, figuring it’s probably best to let Midoriya have his conversation before he potentially makes everything really awkward.

Midoriya’s back straightens. “Right! Um, where to start…”

Denki sees the way his hands curl into fists, and feels his jitteriness ebb a little with concern. The last thing he wants is Midoriya to feel uncomfortable around him.

“The thing is,” Midoriya says quietly. “We’ve spent a lot of time together recently, and I don’t want to assume how you feel about it, but I’ve been really happy about it.”

The words sink over Denki like a soft cloud, and suddenly everything feels calm and fuzzy, like he knows exactly where this conversation is going.

“Have you?” he asks, a little dreamily. “Yeah, me too. I’ve been very happy about it as well.”

Midoriya breaks into a hesitant smile. “I’m really glad,” he says, shooting Denki a glance from the corner of his eye. “Because I—” He breaks off, fists tightening a little.

Denki doesn’t know whether it is nerves or something else that’s making Midoriya so tense, but whatever it is he knows that all he wants is to ease it somehow.

“You’re a really great friend,” he says in a rush, barely thinking the words before they tumble out. “You know that? Seriously, you’re the best.”

“Oh,” Midoriya breathes, taken aback. He looks down at his hands, uncurling from their fists as the tension suddenly melts out of him with a soft sigh. He gives Denki a warm smile. “Thanks, Kaminari. You’re a wonderful friend, too.”

An alarm goes off in Denki’s head; he knows he’s put his foot in it somehow, but his thoughts aren’t catching up quickly enough to understand. “Yeah,” he says, a bit panicked. “Yeah, but that’s not exactly—”

There’s a knock at the door, but before they can react it’s bursting open and Ashido and Sero are tumbling in.

“Hey, Kaminari! We’re gonna start a new game on—” Ashido pulls up short when she sees them sitting on the bed. “Oh, sorry Midoriya, we didn’t mean to interrupt!”

Sero holds up an apologetic hand. “We can come back later,” he says easily, but Midoriya is already standing with his own good-natured apologies, moving towards the door.

Denki’s words are stuck in his throat, and he watches in mute horror as Midoriya fumbles his way out of the room. This is not how that conversation was meant to end, and the disconnect between expectation and reality is frying his brain.

“Uh, dude? You okay?” Sero asks with an uncharacteristic frown. Denki doesn’t really know if he’s okay, because most of his brain power left the room with Midoriya, so he just shakes his head.

Ashido bounces over to sit next to him, eyes wide and curious. “What’s wrong?” she says, throwing an easy arm around him. Maybe it’s the physical contact, or the simple concern in both of their faces, but Denki is suddenly hit with realisation like a bucket of icy water to the face.

“Oh, shit,” he says, dropping his head into his hands. “Oh, fuck! I think I just freaking friend-zoned Midoriya!”

“Oh, shit!” Ashido echoes, hands flying up to slap her cheeks in horror. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, was it our fault for barging in?!”

Sero looks unconcerned, and grins widely at Denki’s consternation. “Nah, if it had been going well before we got here, then Kaminari would’ve just kicked us out straight away, right?”

Wishing he was back in the more gently-supportive bubble of Jirou’s room, Denki nods miserably. “I literally told him he was a really great friend,” he moans. “How the hell am I going to come back from that?” He stares at them pleadingly, then frowns. “Wait, shouldn’t you guys be surprised or something?”

“I never question love!” Ashido says passionately, while Sero just shrugs as if happy to go with the flow. “Anyway, you need to go after him, right now!”

The look of glowing enthusiasm she gives him has Denki’s energy coming back a bit, revitalised by their support. “You think? He won’t just think I’m stupid for saying all of that?”

“You are stupid,” Sero says with another grin to take the sting out of it. “But I think he probably already knows that, so you’ve got nothing to lose.”

Ashido shoves Denki off the bed. “Go on!” she urges. “Go get your boy!”

Denki takes a deep breath, and lets the anticipation seep back in. Okay, so he had a bit of a failed start—whatever, that just meant he could get it right this time. He lets Ashido and Sero pat his shoulders and ruffle his hair like sports coaches trying to hype up their athlete before a big moment. Then, once again encouraged by his friends, Denki heads off with a pounding heart to find Midoriya.

This time he’ll make himself very clear.

*

Denki hammers on Midoriya’s door, unable to restrain himself to knock more politely. After a minute, though, nobody appears except Aoyama, who pokes his head out of his room with a little scowl.

“Mon ami, what is the problem? So much noise!” He takes in Denki’s fist, raised to hammer again, and the way he’s practically vibrating in place. “Ahh, so you have finally realised, how fabulous! You won’t find Midoriya in there, though.”

“What do you mean, finally?” Denki remembers Aoyama’s inexplicable penchant for knowing everyone’s intimate secrets, and shakes his head. “Never mind—do you know where he is?”

“Training, I believe. Even on a Sunday that boy doesn’t let himself rest,” Aoyama says with a delicate sigh. “Oh! But before you go—“

Denki, already turning to leave, gives him a pleading, impatient look. “Yeah?”

In one smooth movement Aoyama slips from his doorway, jewelled slippers quiet on the carpet, and is up in Denki’s face, spritzing him with something that immediately gets down his throat.

Denki holds back a gag at the sudden bitterness in his mouth. “What the hell?”

“Parfum,” Aoyama says with great satisfaction and another flourishing spritz. “Essential to proper romance, non?”

When he can manage to swallow around the awful chemical taste, Denki realises that he does, in fact, smell pretty great.

He shoots Aoyama appreciative finger guns as he turns away, and then calls over his shoulder, “Maybe next time try not to spray it down my throat, yeah?”

Answered only by the sound of faint laughter and Aoyama’s door shutting, Denki hurries to get back to his mission—find Midoriya, confess, and somehow convince him to be his boyfriend. Easy.

When he gets to the empty gym that Aizawa-sensei had agreed they could use outside of school hours, though, Denki’s adrenaline has faded a little, and only takes a further hit when he realises that Midoriya isn’t training alone.

“Hey, man!” Kirishima calls from across the room, already shirtless for some reason, as Bakugou glowers at both him and Midoriya. They seem to be warming up, halfway through some basic stretches. “Come to join us? Awesome!”

Midoriya turns, and Denki’s heart pounds when he sees his expression brighten with pleasure at seeing him. “Kaminari, hi!”

“Oi, Dunce Face, are you in or out?”

Denki tears his gaze away from Midoriya's smile, thoughts running slowly. "Uhh?"

Bakugou rolls his eyes. "In, then. Two on two, Kirishima and I against you idiots," he snaps, and Denki barely has time to enjoy the way Kirishima lights up at the use of his actual name before Bakugou is charging straight at him, palms sparking.

There's a green blur, and suddenly Midoriya is in front of him, deflecting Bakugou's blow with a smooth pivot and a scolding frown.

"Kacchan! He hasn't warmed up yet!"

And although that's patently true, and he'd had no plan to do anything approaching work until the school day started tomorrow, Denki feels his head swelling with the desire to impress. Plus, how could he turn down the chance to fight alongside Midoriya?

"Thanks Midoriya," he says, cracking his knuckles. "But it's okay, let them bring it and we'll show them what we've got."

All three of them send him identically vicious grins, instantly ready for battle, and Denki has a bare moment to wonder what he's gotten himself into before they're off.

They keep quirk usage to a minimum at first, sparring hand to hand to practice their close combat skills. Denki is… well, he's awful at close combat, and time after time Midoriya has to swoop in to his rescue, taking vicious hits from Bakugou or apologetic punches from Kirishima without complaint. He always has an encouraging word, helpfully pointing out tips for Denki's footwork, or reassuring him that he'll get it next time. Slowly, Denki finds his ego getting battered and bruised until his mood is sinking low, and in his desperation to save face, he agrees to a one-on-one with Bakugou.

As Midoriya and Kirishima take seats along the edge of the gym, Bakugou stalks right up into Denki's face.

"Quirks this time," he says, glancing behind him at the others as they laugh together on the long bench. "We do this properly."

Denki wipes his brow, trying to rescue his sweaty bangs from their demise. "I dunno man, isn't that a bit much for weekend training?"

Bakugou bares his teeth mockingly. "What, you scared, Pikachu?"

Yes, Denki thinks, even as his mouth protests, "No! I just… don't want to destroy the gym, y'know? Sensei will murder us if we damage anything."

"Tch. Fine, we'll take this outside then," Bakugou tells him with a victorious grin, and Denki feels his heart sink into his stomach, but nods anyway.

The others are excited when they explain, and spend the short walk outside hyping Denki up. Between Kirishima's manly enthusiasm, and the pointers that Midoriya gives with shining eyes, he starts to feel a bit of anticipation come back by the time he's facing off against Bakugou on an open field.

"You ready?" Bakugou taunts.

Denki flashes his best grin, electricity humming to life. "Bring it, Blasty."

With a bang and a yell, Bakugou launches for him. Conscious of Midoriya's keen gaze on him, Denki dodges neatly and retaliates with a wave of voltage that Bakugou darts away from.

They carry on like that for a while, playing a kind of chicken as they launch at each other and dance back in moves that get flashier by the turn. Kirishima is yelling Bakugou encouragement, and Denki's heart soars every time Midoriya urges him on.

He catches Bakugou's grin widening after one particularly excited shout of "manly!", and realisation suddenly hits him.

"You're trying to impress Kirishima," he gasps the next time their dance brings them in close. "No wonder I'm not dead yet!"

Bakugou falters just a hair, and that's enough for Denki to know he's right.

"The fuck if I am? At least I'm doing a good job of it," Bakugou hisses. "Y'think the shitty nerd's going to be impressed by your moves so far?"

Denki gapes at this sudden candour, completely taken aback. And how did Bakugou manage to see straight through him so easily? Despite his surprise, the words hit home, and he can't help glancing longingly at the blur of green hair to the side.

"Hey," he protests, feeling the whine build in his throat under Bakugou's red-hot glare. "I'm doing my best!"

Bakugou just sneers. "I don't fucking think so. Give it your all or give up now, idiot. I'm not gonna go easy on you anymore, so get ready."

They part for another round of traded blows, but Denki's mind is spinning. Bakugou's right, he's been playing it safe, but he desperately wants to impress Midoriya—and everyone knows there's nothing he loves more than heroes and quirks.

So when he sees the explosions building white hot in Bakugou's clawed hands, and hears Midoriya calling his name, Denki throws all caution to the wind and unleashes his quirk in a wave of power that sings through his whole body.

Denki laughs wildly as the shockwaves pass through him, but it burns too hot in his nerves, and he's distantly aware that he's crossed his limit line.

Explosion meets electricity, and Denki is thrown backwards.

Sitting up.

Where?- huh? Denki fine, okay… thumbs up- thumbs up, okay. It's noisy- noisy voices, who?

Thumbs up, shaky… Head spinning. Okay? What- he's- where? Smile, okay, Denki okay…- alone? Who’s there- where… who… empty space

Swallow, hands tingly- thumbs up, Denki okay. Denki…where, uh? Worried, thumbs up okay but what? Who-

Warm.

He's holding onto- Warm, steady, firm.

Denki okay. Warm, safe.

Denki's okay. Everything is okay.

When the world resolves again, and the frizzling in his brain fades away, Denki looks at his hand.

Where he normally squeezes the Pikachu that Midoriya had given him, instead there are warm, gentle fingers clasping his, calloused thumbs stroking across the back of his hand.

"Kaminari? Are you okay? Are you back?"

Looking up into concerned green eyes, Denki feels like his brain is short-circuiting all over again. He's sitting on the ground, legs out in front of him like a child, and Midoriya is sitting next to him, holding his hand.

Midoriya is holding his hand.

"Hey," he croaks. "Uh, yeah, I'm back."

A smile breaks out across Midoriya's face, but he doesn't let go. "Hi."

"Hi." Denki stares at him stupidly. "You're holding my hand."

"Yeah." Pink flushes across Midoriya’s face. It's really pretty. "Is that… um, is that okay?"

Denki nods furiously. "Yeah. Hey, Midoriya?"

"Yes?"

"I like you." Denki had many plans for clever lines, and they're all lost to the way his heart is racing in his throat. "I really like you."

"Oh," Midoriya breathes. "I really like you, too."

"Go out with me," Denki blurts. "I mean– please— sorry." He swallows hard. "Midoriya, would you go out with me?"

Midoriya takes a sharp breath through his nose, suddenly clutching hard to Denki's hand. His eyes search Denki's, as if trying to read what's in them.

"... Are you sure?"

Denki's mouth drops open. "What?"

"Are you sure you want me?" Midoriya says quickly. "You're so popular, you could probably go out with anyone you wanted, so I just— are you sure? It's okay if you want to change your mind, I'd understand!"

There's a lot of things in life that Denki doesn't know how to do, but when he gets a gut feeling like this, he always follows it.

Reaching up with his free hand, he brushes his palm gently against the softness of Midoriya's cheek, and then tucks a stray green curl behind his ear.

"God, yes," he says, as Midoriya falls silent and stares at him dazedly. "I'm sure. I like you, Midoriya. Will you please, please be my boyfriend or something?"

"Yes please," Midoriya says, his face slowly filling up with red. "Oh wow, yes, of course!"

Denki's chest goes tight with happiness. "Awesome."

And there will be time later to ask where the hell Kirishima and Bakugou went, and to gloat that he got a boyfriend before they did, and to tell Jirou and Yaomomo that they were so damn right, but for now…

For now, Denki is content to just revel in the way Midoriya slides his arms around him, first hesitant and then eager, and the way that he kisses Denki's cheek, again and again until a kiss lands on the corner of his mouth, and they hesitate for one breathless moment, and then they're kissing properly, warm and sweet and everything Denki's ever imagined.

For now, Denki is happy just to know that his first kiss will forever be embedded in his memory, like a flash of green and gold lightning.