Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Denki Kaminari was a family guy. He loved game nights, movie nights, even simple walks — as long as it involved his family, he'd always be down to join no matter what it was that they'd be doing. He adored his family, especially his younger cousins who favoured him for his funny jokes and often childish behaviour, and Denki knew how children had zero filter when it came to what they thought of you; after all, he has a sister ten years younger than he was, so he always felt special when they told him how cool he was.

Even though Denki thought highly of his family, there were some people who just got underneath his skin. Some people who never knew when to stop. Denki could usually look past this because he knew everyone had bad days — he himself had them, so who was he to judge? However, everyone has that one person who knows exactly which buttons to press to ignite an anger inside of them that they never knew existed. That one person who would do absolutely anything in their power to make sure any spotlight you had shone on them instead. Denki absolutely despised his older cousin, Naoya Yoshida; one of the people he wouldn’t necessarily miss if he woke up one day and found out they were hit by a double decker bus.

Naoya was just a year and a week older than Denki was. At first, Denki admired Naoya for countless reasons — he had control over his quirk from a young age, he was insanely smart, incredibly athletic and seemingly just good at everything he did. Yes, Denki may have been a naïve child, everyone has told him so, but it didn't take him long at all to realise the hatred Naoya seemed to have for him. Denki was four when he got his quirk, it was also the age his cousin began to act on his antipathy. Denki soon learned that Naoya truly believed that he was beneath him. To this day, Denki doesn't understand what he did to upset Naoya so much when all he wanted was for his cool older cousin to like him. 

So, as Denki grew older, he distanced himself from Naoya. Though, that was kind of hard to do because, considering the fact that up until the age of eleven, they always had joint birthday parties because their birthdays were only a week apart. Thankfully, after Denki turned fourteen, his father and aunt lost touch for a while which meant he no longer had to see Naoya. Since then, Denki flourished. Joining UA helped him become more confident, it even helped him gain more control over his quirk; and the friends he earned always made sure he was never feeling down for an extended amount of time. Granted, his first year was.. rough, to say the least. Denki didn't like to talk about it. Be that as it may, Denki was extremely thankful for the years he's had at UA — and thankfully, his second year was going smoother than he could've ever imagined. He was finally happy and confident within his own skin.

Denki truly thought he'd never see Naoya again. That was until today, that is. 

Denki was supposed to spend the weekend relaxing, sleeping in and playing games with his friends as he completely disregards the multiple sets of homework he has due the following week. He was planning on having the most laid back weekend you could imagine until his father called him and requested his appearance at his grandmother's house that same Saturday he was planning on not waking up until at least one in the afternoon. Denki knew his grandmother didn't have long left in her life because of the health problems she was already experiencing at the age of seventy-two, he couldn't pass up on possibly one of the last chances he got to see her. 

What his father failed to remember to tell him, was that his entire family would be there. Not that Denki would have minded that, if Naoya didn't decide to show his annoyingly perfect face too.

Denki's mood instantly deflated once he heard the door open exactly ten minutes after he arrived, followed by Naoya's voice. Denki could never forget it; his pitch was ear achingly loud, it was even too much for him despite being a loud person himself. Not to mention, he could smell that ego from miles away.

Thankfully, Naoya didn't approach Denki; not until after dinner time, that is. Denki offered to do the dishes for his grandmother, he didn't want her to have to clean up all of the mess when she didn't even make half of it. Besides, he wanted some time to himself — a quiet place where he could actually think. 

Unfortunately, this peace was short-lived. Out of all of the people Denki would have liked to follow him into the kitchen, Naoya was at the bottom of that list.

And of course, it had to be him to do so. 

"Hello, Denki." Hummed a voice he wished he could forget. "- It's been awhile, hm?" asked Naoya as he made his way closer. Denki exhaled a deep sigh, thankful for the running water that managed to slightly block out the noise beside him. Naoya, being slightly taller than his cousin, didn't waste an opportunity to perch his elbow on Denki's shoulder to use him as a personal stand. Denki shrugged him off.

"Woah now, what's with all the hostility?" Naoya pestered Denki further, his words followed by a chuckle. The words he spoke were laced in sickeningly sweet honey, a pretence of friendliness. It made Denki feel ill. "Leave me alone." He replied, yet another sigh escaping past his lips. With his hands still covered in soap, he slid one of the plates onto the draining board. "Oh come on, stop being such an asshole for once will ya?" Naoya requested, but Denki knew it wasn't because he wanted to be friendly. "You can't still be mad at the fact my team beat yours. Grow up man, that was years ago." Denki couldn't help but roll his eyes as he listened to his cousin ramble on. He continued to wash the dishes, the sponge sliding over a knife as he stared at Naoya through the corner of his eye — and for a split second, Denki would've loved to place the knife to his lips and make him shut up.

"I brought my girlfriend, the least you could fucking do is fix up your attitude and act like a decent person, Denki." Naoya spat, his facade of kindness suddenly flew out of the window; it was gone so fast it was almost as if it was never there to begin with.

"So that's why you followed me in here like some sort of stalker. You just wanted to piss me off again and act like I'm the bad guy." Denki mumbled, his words ghosting against his lips, so silent that they were practically inaudible. Naoya smirked in amusement. "Wait. Are you annoyed that I have a girlfriend?" He inquired, an eyebrow perked upwards in curiosity. Before Denki could even spew out a reply, Naoya toppled over in a laugh. "Oh, oh that is hilarious!" Naoya held his stomach, his voice taunting. Denki elbowed him shamelessly, a huff escaping his lips. "As if I'd ever be. What's there to be annoyed about?" He finally replied, reaching over with his soapy hands to stop the running water.

"The fact that I'm ahead of you once again." Naoya declared as he stood back up to his full height, even in height he beat Denki. That smirk irked Denki immensely the more he stared at it. His expression hardened into a glare. "Who says I don't have a partner?" Denki raised an eyebrow. After a few beats of silence, the question he spoke dawned on him. Fuck. What the fuck was he supposed to say now? Denki's love life was as dry as the fucking Sahara Desert for fuck sake; but now that the words left his mouth, he couldn't take them back, especially not in front of Naoya. He would never give it up once he found out Denki just lied to him; that would only fuel his idea of Denki being jealous of him even more, and to hell with that scenario. 

The smirk was wiped away from Naoya's face, now replaced with a look of confusion. The taller boy crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles flexing in the tight fitted shirt he wore. "Is that so?" He hummed, his smirk soon returning; Naoya didn't like how Denki caught him off guard. It left a distaste in his mouth. "Well, considering nobody's ever heard of this mysterious someone, I think it's safe to assume that you're lying to me, Denki." Naoya teased, a glint of sick amusement flashing in his eyes as he leaned in closer to Denki's personal bubble. "That's rather pathetic."

Denki tsked, a roll of his eyes following. "You're so full of yourself that you just don't notice what goes on in other people's lives. Maybe if you really opened your eyes for once, you'd be able to notice the small details." Denki conversed, surprising himself with his quick responses — even if they were utter bullshit — and with the way he was managing to keep his cool. He wasn't going to allow Naoya to ruin his night, especially not at their grandmother's house. "If anything, Naoya, the fact that you've followed me in here with the intention to piss me off, that's pathetic. Not me." Naoya's eyes flashed with anger with each word Denki spat out in response.

"Oh yeah?" Naoya leaned back, "mind informing me on who this mysterious person is, then?" He asked, acting as if he'd ever be curious about that. 

Before Denki could respond, his father came strolling into the kitchen with a beaming smile on his face, an empty glass in his hand.

"Oh, Denki!" He exclaimed, his laughter slowly dying out as he left the dining room. "- Refill my glass, will you?" His father asked as he neared his son, holding out his glass to him. Denki took it without response, turning on the tap to fill the glass back up to the brim with water. His father has had too much to drink; only God knew how they would be getting home, because Denki refused to stay here if Naoya was too.

"Uncle Kenzo," Naoya greeted, his voice once again laced in the same sickeningly sweet honey he spoke to Denki with just mere minutes ago. Denki internally groaned as Naoya opened his mouth and ruined his peace for a third time that night. "Did you know that Denki has a lover?" Naoya asked, his question rhetorical. Denki's back straightened, his golden eyes widening to the point where they threatened to shoot out of their sockets. His head snapped over to his cousin as he shot a glare his way. Kenzo, Denki's father, stared at his son with a look of confusion plastered across his face. "Huh?" he uttered, a brow raising. "This is news to me," Kenzo added. Denki's head snapped over to his father.

"No it's not! Jeez, how much have you had to drink?" Denki chuckled nervously as he quickly placed down his fathers glass, some water splashing over the rim and falling to the counter top. Denki reached up and placed the back of his hand to his fathers forehead, a pleading look in his eyes. Kenzo didn't pick up on this and he leaned back, "What's wrong with ya, kid?" He asked his son, the puzzled look on his face intensifying. Denki let out a huff. "Me? You’re the one acting weird. You know I'm in a relationship." Denki gaslit further, his brows furrowing down and meeting at the tip of his nose. 

"Doesn't seem that way to me," Naoya piped in, his words fading in with one another as a type of melody. "Come on, Denki. Stop the lying, it makes you look pathetic." Naoya mocked, a rumbly laugh meeting Denki's ears. Kenzo looked over at his nephew, about to say how he doesn't appreciate the way he is talking to his son, but Denki spoke before he could.

"I'm not fucking lying, you asshole. I have a boyfriend, and not that it's any of your fucking business, but his name is Katsuki Bakugo." Denki announced, his mouth moving faster than he could think about what to say, his mind now completely void of rational thinking.

Fuck. What did he do?

There's no fucking way he just said that, not in front of Naoya and his dad.

Naoya stared at Denki as a look of disbelief flashed across his expression, his left eyebrow cocking upward right until it made contact with his hair. “You mean the kid who died? Isn’t that kid, like— a zombie now or something?” He asked, his voice void of any sympathy or compassion. Upon hearing his words, Denki’s golden eyes hardened into a glare. Though, despite how much he wanted to yell at Naoya for his little comment, he didn’t. He kept his words to himself, just like he always did. Denki wasn’t a confronting person, but he was definitely competitive — which, actually made a lot of sense; why else would he blurt out the first name that came to his mind instead of telling the truth that he wasn’t in a relationship? Before the boy could open his mouth to speak, his father did.

Kenzo's eyes slightly widened, his face breaking out into a smile once again. "Bakugo? Oh Denki, I thought you'd never tell that boy how you felt." His father took a step closer to him before he wrapped his arms around his son's body, pulling him into his chest and embracing him into a tight hug; his grip so tight that Denki struggled to breath.

Despite his shortage of air, he replayed those words over and over in his head. Once it made sense to him, he pushed himself out of his fathers grip. "I- What the hell does that mean?!" He gaped, his mouth hanging open. Kenzo chuckled. "It was obvious from the first time you brought him over that you had a crush on him, son." Kenzo explained, shamelessly spewing his son's secrets right in front of his nemesis. ".. I'm confused," Denki confessed. 

Once again, his ears were met with the sound of footsteps nearing the kitchen. Though this time, his older brother Kenji came into view. "God, what type of sad party is going on here?" The older male teased in a playful manner, a sheepish smile plastered across his lips. "Kenji, when were you going to tell me little ol' Denki finally grew some balls and confessed to that Bakugo boy?" Kenzo queried his oldest child, whose expression now matched Denki's own perplexed one. ".. Whenever I found out. Which is now." Kenji nervously laughed while he shook his head. "I didn't know." Kenji explained further.

Naoya stared into bullet holes into the back of Denki's head, a knowing smirk sprayed across his face. He knew exactly what his younger cousin was doing, Denki wasn't stupid enough to not know that. He knew that Naoya knew he was lying, but if he confessed to lying now, he'd not only lose his dignity, he'd also be filled with enough embarrassment to last him a lifetime. He might as well have 'liar' promised on his gravestone.

Denki shuddered as he felt two eyes pouring into the back of his skull. He looked over his shoulder at Naoya as his brother and father pestered him with questions he simply did not have the answer for, Bakugo wasn't his boyfriend; how the fuck was he supposed to answer when he could bring him over? He and Bakugo weren't even that close! He's still known as 'Dunce Face' for crying out loud.

Naoya forced a cough, wanting the attention back on him. "Well isn't that perfect news," he forced his way into the conversation shamelessly. "I must say, I never would have expected you to date somebody so.. different to yourself." Naoya expressed, Denki frowned. He wanted to curl up into a ball and never come out. He knew that Naoya knew he was lying and this wasn't a lie he could just take back — Naoya would make his life a living hell a second time the second Denki admitted to lying to his face because, in all honesty, Denki was jealous of Naoya. He always has been. He believed that's where his admiration sprouted from in the first place; he wanted to be exactly like Naoya, and Denki wonders if that's where Naoya's disliking for him was born.

"- I actually have some volunteer work in UA to attend to on Thursday, actually. I'm staying in one of the guest dorms on campus, I'd love to meet this boy properly." Naoya suggested, though it wasn't exactly a suggestion — more of a demand. "After all, I gotta make sure he’s treating my baby cousin as he should be." Naoya reached over, ruffling the others goldeny-yellow hair. Denki's face scrunched up into something that was supposed to mimic a smile, but in reality, Denki just looked constipated. ".. How wonderful." Denki huffed out, "I'm sure Bak— Katsuki would just love to meet you." Denki was quick to correct himself even though he knew it was morally wrong. He shouldn't be calling Bakugo by his first name, but it would also be weird if he went around calling his significant other by his last name, wouldn't it? Denki's words weren't sincere, they were just another set of lies in the web he already created. Whatever Naoya was playing at, he didn’t like it at all.

How the fuck was he going to convince Katsuki Bakugo, of all people, to pretend to be his boyfriend.

                       · · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Denki didn't return to the dorms that weekend. He couldn't. His mind was racing with possibilities and what the fuck he's going to do the fix this mess he's created. Each scenario he's come up with have all ended with Bakugo exploding him to some unknown planet, where Denki is forced to socialise with some blue aliens who speak in a language his simple human brain cannot comprehend. For the rest of the weekend, a time which is supposed to be peaceful, Denki cannot sleep. He even found himself completing almost all of his assignments just to distract himself from his trainwreck of thoughts.

Monday came faster than Denki anticipated. He barely spoke a word to anybody all day, concerning his classmates within the first five minutes of their school day — but considering that it was a Monday, they just thought Denki was having a bad morning. His friends allowed him the space they assumed he needed, but as lunch time neared and with the way Denki still hadn't spoken more than around ten words that morning, their concern only intensified. Kirishima, Ashido and Sero shamelessly whispered amongst themselves while Denki had his head laid down on his desk, impatiently waiting for the clock to strike 12:15 so he could race out of there. He felt like he was going to either pass out or vomit, or vomit and then pass out. Neither sounded too pleasing to him. As the clock finally struck their designated lunch time, Denki wasted no time in climbing out from his chair and swinging his bag over his shoulder — he had already packed away all of his items five minutes prior, he didn’t want to have to spend any more time necessary in that classroom than needed. Denki, who usually stayed back to calmly walk with his friends considering he’s usually too tired to run on a Monday, was surprisingly the first one out of their classroom. Kirishima frowned as he watched his friend race out of the classroom. “.. What the hell is wrong with him?” The false red headed teenager asked his friends. Bakugo, who was still packing away his stuff, let out a huff. “He’s always fucking weird. No need to ask questions about it.” He shrugged his shoulders, seemingly uninterested. Sero crossed his arms over his chest, “Yeah but he’s not being Kaminari-kind-of-weird. He’s being a concerning type of weird.” Bakugo rolled his eyes. “What’s the fucking difference?” The almost-platinum blonde haired asked, though it wasn’t exactly a question. Ashido whacked her friend on his arm. “Hey! Kaminari could be seriously upset over something and you’re acting like a complete jerk, Bakugo.” She glared up at him but Bakugo wasn’t the least bit intimated. “Like I’m going to care. Fuck knows, maybe Dunce Face didn’t have a good weekend. Ever thought that he might like some damn space?” Bakugo inquired, an eyebrow cocking upwards. The group were making their way out of the classroom and down the hallway in the same direction Denki had run off to. Suddenly, they all bit their tongues. Bakugo was right, maybe Denki would like some space — he always comes to them when he needs them, maybe he’s just not ready to talk about whatever was bothering him yet. “You’re right.” Kirishima was the first to break the silence. “- I’m sure Kaminari will come to us when he’s ready too. We shouldn’t push him or bombard him with questions man!” He swung an arm around Sero’s shoulders, the other looping around Ashido’s. “Let’s just try and involve him in our conversation, I’m sure he’ll still appreciate that!” Kirishima cheered, a bright toothy smile now splashed across his once perplexed expression. However, as the group entered the lunch hall and lined up for their food, Denki was nowhere in sight. “… Maybe he already got his food and he’s waiting for us at our table!” Ashido suggested, a weak smile present on her face. Sero nodded in agreement but he didn’t voice a response. Denki wasn’t at their table. In fact, Denki wasn’t even on the school campus anymore — not technically. Denki was back in the dorms. He couldn’t take another second of being in the same vicinity as Bakugo knowing that he told his family that they were dating and he had no clue about it. The guilt was already eating him alive. At the moment, Denki didn’t care about how much trouble he’d be in, he just needed some more time to himself; some time to actually sleep. · · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

At dinner time, Denki poked around at his food. He couldn't bring himself to eat any of it, his stomach was still doing constant flips as his mind replaced each moment he shared with Naoya in their grandmother's kitchen — his lie playing on loop, his own mind torturing him with his fuck up. What's worse, Denki absolutely loved Bakugo's cooking; and ironically, his classmate made a side dish of nigiri sushi, Denki's absolute favourite.

He excused himself from the common room early. He needed some time to think. Alone in his dorm room, he came to the conclusion that he couldn't let Naoya know that he lied — Naoya already makes it his priority to taunt Denki. He couldn't add any more fuel to the fire. He just needed to figure out a way to calmly bring up the idea to Bakugo, and.. that shouldn't be too hard, should it? As long as he eases him into it, Bakugo shouldn't freak out.. or so he hopes.

Denki shook his body from head to toe to free his muscles from their nerves as he inhaled deep breaths. He needed to be calm for this. A singular freak out would send his mind racing and cause him to fall off of the, admittedly poorly thought out, plan he had. After he was sure he was ready as he'd ever be, he left his dorm room and traveled up to the fourth floor where he knew Bakugo resided. After what felt like an agonisingly long walk up the stairs and down the long hallway, he found himself standing in front of Bakugo's door. Denki doesn't know how long he stood there with his hand balled into a fist hovering just a few inches away from the door. Just as he finally built up the courage to bang his knuckles against the wood door, a shadow covers his left side.

"Are you going to knock or just keep standing there like a fucking creep, Sparky?" Bakugo spat. Denki let out a yelp as he visibly jumped, stumbling backwards before he caught himself right before he was about to fall. He pressed a hand to his chest directly above where his heart was located.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" The electric blonde gasped, his gaze glued down to the suddenly extremely interesting red carpet his socks were disappearing into. 

"Move outta my way," Bakugo huffed out, an unreadable expression plastered across his face. Denki took a step back and Bakugo stepped in front, opening his door and stepping inside — though, he left it open. Denki didn't move. After a few seconds, Bakugo's head wiped around to face Denki. "Are you going to fucking come in or just stand there?" His classmate spat, though his words didn't hold any true anger. Before Denki could overthink it, he rushed inside after Bakugo, slamming the door shut behind him.

Chapter Text

For a solid thirty seconds, Denki kept his mouth glued shut. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth and allowed words to come out, he would sound just like a baby trying to say their first words; and right now, that’s exactly how Denki felt. Coming up here, he didn’t think of a proper plan — he just knew he had to tell Katsuki what he did. He assumed he could’ve winged it, but now that he was standing in front of his classmate — who, by the way, looked extremely attractive with the white vest he was wearing — his mouth felt dry.

Katsuki, who up until now had his back turned to Denki, looked over his shoulder with an eyebrow raised. The angle he turned was to his left, meaning his scarred side was still out of Denki’s view. Denki knows that Katsuki hates it, but he thinks it’s absolutely gorgeous. Denki’s eyes slightly widened and he cleared his throat. “.. Um.. okay,” Denki exhaled a sigh. “So! How was your weekend?” He then asked, a very obviously forced smile now spreading across his lips.

Katsuki turned to face him properly. He crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps flexing at the movement. Denki’s mind went blank as his gaze traveled from Katsuki’s face down to his arms, he sucked in his lower lip between his teeth and he bit down. After a few seconds, the taste of metallic made contact with his tongue.
“The fuck are you asking me that for?” His voice was rough, raspy even. “Ay, Sparky. I’m talking to you.” Katsuki reached out, snapping his fingers directly in front of Denki’s face. Just like he wanted, Denki snapped out of the trance he was in. “Just curiosity." Denki lied, a soft hum passing his lips, which were now bleeding ever so slightly. 

Katsuki sighed. “It was fine. Nothing fuckin’ special, made dinner for my parents.” He vaguely explained. A silence fell between the two, an unspoken sentence of Denki asking Katsuki to ask him about his weekend. Katsuki rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what Denki wanted. It pissed him off with how Denki never voiced what he wanted, instead he beat around the bush, but Katsuki found himself asking anyway. “How was your weekend?” Denki shrugged his shoulders, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. He averted his gaze, his eyes looking everywhere but at the boy in front of him. 

“Well, you knoooww..” Denki rubbed the back of his neck. “- I went to my grandmother's house on Saturday. I saw my entire family! Uh, my dads side, that is.” Before Katsuki could speak in response or ask why Denki is even telling him this, Denki continued. “AndIkindoftoldmycousinweweredatingandnowmywholefamilyknows.” Denki spoke so fast that Katsuki couldn’t even understand a single word, or where one word ended and another started. “Woah, woah.” Katsuki huffed out. “Slow the fuck down, you overdose on adderal or some shit?”

Denki frowned slightly at Katsuki’s words before he shook his head. “So stop fuckin’ acting like it and talk normally, how do you expect me to understand you when you’re talking like you’re running outta air?”

“I wasn’t even talking that fast.” Denki rolled his eyes before he straightened his back, sucking in a deep breath. “.. I.. fuck, uh.. I kind of told my cousin you and I were..” The boy trailed off, trying to find the right words to use despite knowing it would be best if he just told Katsuki straight forward. “You and I, what? Spit it out already.” Katsuki replied, his words coming out like a tired sigh. Denki’s expression hardened into a scowl. “I told my cousin that you and I were dating. Now my entire family knows and they’re expecting me to bring you over at some point.” Denki stated, his voice slightly wavering. His palms grew sweatier the more the time passed with Katsuki staring directly into his soul. He clenched his fists to unclench them again, this process repeating.

“You did what?” Katsuki gaped, his eyes widening. “Dunce Face, what the actual fuck?!” The taller of the two raised his voice ever so slightly, but it was quiet compared to how loud he was just one summer ago. “What the actual fuck would possess you into doing some stupid shit like that?” Katsuki groaned in annoyance, throwing his head back in exasperation. He ran a hand through his spiked blonde hair.

“I’m sorry, okay?! I said what came to mind!” Denki tried to reason, but even he knew it was stupid. “And you couldn’t just tell the fucking truth?” Katsuki spat, slight anger present in his tone. “And why me, of all fucking people?”

“I don’t know. Okay? I don’t fucking know. I just— I need you to pretend that we are in a relationship. Please, Bakugo, I’ll literally get on my— you know what?” Denki cut himself off. Slowly, Denki lowered himself to his knees in front of Katsuki; he slapped his hands together in a praying gesture. “Bakugo, I’m literally on my knees begging you right now!” Denki hung his head down low, his arms and hands held above his head. “Jesus fucking Christ- get up, you idiot. That is not a sight I ever wanted to fucking see.” Katsuki cursed, dragging both of his hands down his face. Denki tilted his head upwards to stare at Katsuki as he pushed himself off of his knees, to his feet until he stood back to his full height; even then, Katsuki was those few inches taller than he was.

Now stood face to face, Katsuki let out a huff. The ash blonde crossed his arms over his chest for the second time and he tapped his foot against his hardwood floor. “.. You’re such a fucking idiot, you know that right? It would’ve been so much easier if you just told the damn truth.” Katsuki scolded Denki, the goldeny-yellow haired male just pouted again. “I know, okay? But I didn’t think. I just.. I talked, and that’s what came out. Look, it’ll just be for a week! And you can pretend to break up with me after that. But seriously, I need you to do this for me.” Denki pleaded, his eyebrows furrowing downwards and meeting at the glabella of his nose. 

“And what’s in it for me if I do? Because right now, all I’m hearing is you not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of your family.” Katsuki jabbed Denki in his chest, making the other stumble back slightly. It wasn’t meant maliciously, Denki knew that, which is why he laughed lightly. “Dude, I’ll pay you if that’s what you want.” Denki shrugged his shoulders, stepping back closer to Katsuki. Katsuki rolled his eyes, a slightly amused smirk plastered across his lips. 

“Pay me? You talk shit. You’re broke as fuck, Sparky.” Katsuki declared. Denki gasped in offence, a hand slapping over his chest directly above where his heart would be located. “I am offended that you’d assume such nonsense!” He hollered, his cheeks puffing out all of the air they held until his fair skin was now a rosy shade. “It’s no assumption. You followed me around all day until I agreed to pay for your train ticket two weeks ago. Which, that reminds me; you still haven’t paid me back for that yet.” Katsuki reminded the other, Denki’s entire face illuminating in a shade of red at the reminder. “Shut up! I have a lot of debts to pay off.” Denki swung his leg forward, aiming to kick Katsuki in his ankle; he just about missed him as Katsuki stepped out of the way which caused Denki’s foot to connect to the bedframe. He let out a yelp of pain as he clutched onto his foot. “Fuck!” He howled, now hopping on his un-injured foot whilst trying to ease the pain in his other. Katsuki couldn’t help but let out a cackle. “Karma.”

Denki glared, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “Shut the fuck up, asshole.” Denki dropped his foot, knowing if he continued to hop, it would only result in him falling. Once Katsuki’s laughter calmed down and Denki wiped away his forming tears, he spoke again. “.. So?” He asked, once again beating around the bush of what he wanted to ask. Katsuki shook his head. “So what?” He hummed.

Denki let out a groan. “Come on man, don’t make me say it again..” Denki whined, his arms swinging at his sides. Katsuki shrugged his shoulders. “Dunno what you’re talking about.” He claimed shamelessly, that cocky smirk still hanging across his lips.

Momentarily, Denki found himself about to swing his leg forward again in an attempt to kick his classmate for the teasing — but he quickly remembered what happened only a few seconds ago, so he decided against it. “You’re a fucking- Zeus, strike me down.” Denki whispered to himself as he shook his head, his face still a shade of red mostly due to embarrassment (and partly because he thought Katsuki’s arms looked insane in that vest) “.. So, will you pretend to be my boyfriend?” Denki hesitated before he asked, the silence drawing out for too many seconds than necessary, Katsuki’s smirk only grew wider. “Huh. Will I?” He repeated.

“Come on!” Denki told him, swinging out his arm — this time, he punched him directly on his chest. It wasn’t enough to injure him, though it definitely hurt. Katsuki shoved Denki away before he placed his own hand where Denki had punched him, soothing the pain but rubbing his hand over. “You know, I was about to fuckin’ agree to do it until you assaulted me.”

“I didn’t assault you, stop being dramatic.” Denki said, his arms now crossed across his chest. Though, soon enough, his confident expression wavered. “… Please, Bakugo—” He began to say, his lips turning into a frown. However, before he could speak any further, Katsuki spoke up. “Stop begging me already, it makes you sound sad and pathetic. I’ll fucking do it, but you owe me, got that? And I don’t fucking mean with money. So you better come up with a way to do that.” Katsuki finally agreed, his voice sounding a bit harsher than he intended it to. Despite this, Denki’s face lit up in a smile once again. His eyes shimmered, his cheeks still dusted a rosy pink. “Yes! Thank you!” The shorter boy cheered in excitement (and a bit of relief). He threw himself at the other, wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace; a thank you hug. “I thought I was going to have to leave the country and start a new life somewhere random,” He chuckled nervously.

Katsuki didn’t hug Denki back. He froze. He never was one on physical contact. After a few seconds, he shoved Denki off of him as the other still laughed. “Don’t hug me. That shit- why are you laughing?” Katsuki cocked an eyebrow, his expression shifting to one of pure confusion. Denki shrugged his shoulders as he bounced on the heels of his feet, momentarily being brought up to Katsuki’s height before falling back down. “You gotta get used to me hugging you. We’re supposed to be in a relationship.” Denki reminded Katsuki.

“.. Not fuckin’ here, right?” Katsuki questioned. Denki rolled his eyes. “Dude, my cousin is coming here on Thursday; so yeah, here.” He huffed. “Come on, you can pretend to break up with me in a week and it’ll be like it never happened. After you have dinner with my family, that is-” Denki whispered the last sentence, but due to their closeness, Katsuki could still hear it. “You want me to what?! Sparky I’m gonna kill you-!” Katsuki threatened, his voice rising in pitch. Denki instantly stepped back, a large smile still spread across his face.

“No can do! You already agreed!” He reminded Katsuki, his own voice rising to match his pitch. By now, Denki was at the door and he and Katsuki had a relatively good distance between them. “Goodbye, pretend boyfriend!” Denki continued the banter and teasing, he was only truly returning the favour of Katsuki’s earlier teasing. Just as the other took the steps towards him, Denki let out a yelp. He grabbed the handle of the door and swung it open, sliding himself through the crack and slamming it shut. He held the door handle down for several seconds as he waited outside, Katsuki didn’t pull on it from the inside.

Slowly, Denki let go of the handle as a deep sigh exhaled his lips. He shook his head just as he turned on his heels and made his way back towards the lift to head back down to his own floor. As he waited for it to ping, he ran a hand through his hair and gave it a light tug, a bad habit he picked up on in his early childhood. Denki somehow found comfort in the stinging pain it gave his scalp. Perhaps it was the feeling of a hand running through his hair, or maybe it was the actual pain he relished in. He never understood it, all he knew is that doctors told his father he’d soon grow out of it; which, he did not.

Denki felt like he had been standing there for years when the lift finally dinged. As it did, it opened to reveal two people: Kirishima and Todoroki. Kirishima and Todoroki were having a conversation that Denki didn’t know what it was about, but the second Kirishima noticed his friend, he let out a gasp.

“Dude!” He huffed out as he stepped out of the lift. Once face to face with his friend, he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. “Fuck, too tight— Kirishima, I can’t fucking-” Denki gasped for air, still patting his friends back despite his shortage of oxygen. Kirishima instantly pulled away but he kept his hands firmly on Denki’s shoulders. “Where have you been all day?!” He then asked. Denki exhaled a sigh, which he felt like he’s done a lot today. A weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, yes, but a new one has been added — he still needed to lie to everybody else, but at least he wouldn’t be doing it alone this time. “Can I talk about it another time? I just want to go to bed.” Denki whispered softly, his voice cracking. Kirishima frowned but he allowed his hands to fall from Denki’s shoulders with a nod. “Alright.. you want me to take you down?” Denki shook his head.

“No thank you, I’m alright. Just need some time to myself.” Denki forced a smile to his face but it didn’t meet his eyes. Kirishima didn’t want to let him go but he knew he couldn’t force Denki to talk to him if he wasn’t ready. The two said their goodbyes and Denki waved to them both as they separated. Once in the lift, alone once again, Denki laid his head against the cold metal wall, it instantly cooled his forehead down at the contact. Despite the way up here, the way down felt like it went by in a blink of an eye. The boy stepped out onto the second floor and thankfully, nobody was out of their dorms to get in his way or pester him with annoying questions he didn’t want to answer. He headed straight to his room, his clothes feeling too tight all of a sudden. Unfortunately for Denki, his dorm is down on the opposite end of the hallway — so he ran. Once he arrived, he slammed the door behind him and headed to his bathroom.

He already had a shower that morning and usually Denki doesn’t like to shower twice (he normally showered at night but he needed some sort of way to clear his mind that morning) but he knew that his body was too sweaty to not shower. He was only supposed to be in there for ten minutes considering it was his second one, but when he climbed out and wrapped a towel around his waist, the time on his phone read 9:36pm; meaning he had been in the shower for more than forty minutes.

Not bothering to properly get dressed, he dried himself lazily and put on some new boxers. He threw his dirty laundry into his laundry basket after his daily thought of ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. He walked over to his bed, his knees collapsing and his body landing on his memory foam mattress. His body bounced as the springs boinged, but Denki was asleep before his head even hit the pillow. He found that his mind and body were always the most awake when he was trying to go to sleep, but unlike the weekend, tonight his lights were out like a newborn babies. Denki snored shamelessly, his head burying itself deep into his pillow as his body curled into a comfortable position atop his blue shaded duvet.

Whatever tomorrow brought, he’d deal with then. 

Chapter Text

Denki is awoken by the blazing sun that poured in through his windows. He groaned in annoyance as he grabbed his pillow and placed it over his head; he cursed himself for falling asleep without closing his curtains, though he was even more mad at himself for even thinking that it was a smart idea to have his bed underneath his window in the first place. Denki tried to fall back asleep as he was engulfed in the peaceful darkness once again, though his peace was not long lasting as the sound of loud banging against a door reached his ears. It took Denki a few seconds to realise the sound was coming from his own door, earning yet another grown from the boy. “Go awaaay!” He snapped, his words muffled due to the pillow atop his head.

“Wake the fuck up, it’s after eight.” The voice on the other end of the door yelled.

Wait. After eight?

“Fuck!” Denki yelped as he intently jumped free from the warm duvets of his bed— he didn’t bother to question when he got under them. “You wake me up now?!” He asked, his voice hurried. Denki raced to his closet, his socked feet skidding across his floor.

“It’s not my job to wake you up, is it?” The male asked Denki. “It’s considerate to at least think of it!” Denki huffed back as he tossed shirts over his head in search for his uniform.

Katsuki rolled his eyes on the outside of the door, he tapped his foot against the floor. “I’m not your fucking parent, Sparky. Set an alarm next time.”

“I do!” Denki groaned out, his voice filled with annoyance. He finally located his school shirt. For a moment, he contemplated leaving the shirt he was already wearing on. His laziness easily won and he slipped his arms through the holes of his white polo shirt. “Well it’s clearly not fucking working is it?” Katsuki asked, his tone sarcastic. “You know, Bakugo, I don’t appreciate the sarcasm this early in the morning.”

The other end fell silent for a few beats, the seconds of silence ticking in Denki’s head like a time bomb. There was nothing he hated more than silence, that and studying.

Katsuki exhaled a deep sigh. “Katsuki.” The other corrected Denki, though the one word was hesitated; almost as if Katsuki didn’t want to speak it. Denki looked over at his door and he raised a brow, but instead of responding immediately, he thought for a moment. About last night, about what happened over his weekend. That one night of finally getting a good sleep momentarily let him forget his situation; the stupid situation he got himself stuck in. “.. Oh. Right.” Denki exhaled a nervous laugh. “Katsuki.” He hummed softly as he slipped his legs onto his green toned school trousers, his shirt still unbuttoned. “Give me a sec, I’ll let ya in.”

Katsuki crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back on his heels as he examined the hallway. He was alone, which was a given considering that Denki was one of the only people who weren’t already downstairs in the common room eating breakfast and indulging in early morning conversations.

Just like the golden haired boy said, the door clicked open in just a few seconds. Denki stood in the doorway, his shirt now buttoned, his hair a complete mess — his forehead exposed, the fringe he grew in the last year pinned back with a bright red bobby pin. “Come in.” He stepped aside, allowing Katsuki room to enter. Once both of the boys were inside, Denki closed the door behind him.

“We need to talk about this properly.” Denki took a pause, exhaling a deep breath he sucked in as he closed the door. “- Look, I know that I pounced that on you unexpectedly last night and I apologise for that. It was fucking stupid to not come up with a plan before.” Denki swung his arms nervously at his sides, his shoulders tense. Katsuki stood in front of him, his arms still crossed. “You telling people you were in a relationship, let alone one with me, that was fucking stupid.” Katsuki replied, a slight look of amusement flashing in his red eyes. “You’ve said that already.” Denki reminded him as his brows furrowed, the gaze in his eyes hardening into a glare. “Can’t push away the truth.” Katsuki shrugged.

“Whatever! Just- okay. You and I need to find a way to make this work for starters, otherwise it’ll be too obvious. We need to act like a couple in front of our classmates too for it to actually be believable.” Katsuki rolled his eyes at Denki’s words as he leaned his head back. “You’re fuckin’ killing me here, Sparky. This is so fucking dumb.” Katsuki grumbled in response, shaking his head before he pulled it back up, he and Denki making eye contact momentarily before Denki looked away, seemingly not wanting to stare at Katsuki too long — as if the guilt was too much. “Just shut up and let me talk, kay? Like I was saying, I watched a movie once where this couple faked a relationship and the girl wrote this like, fuck, what was it?” Denki drawled, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. “A fake dating contract! It had like a bunch of rules and shit and they signed it at the end. I believe we should do that.” Denki smiled brightly, feeling as if a brilliant idea had struck him. His excitement soon died down when all he got in response was a deadpanned expression. “Don’t look at me like that!”

“That sounds fucking stupid.” Katsuki insulted the other, Denki shook his head. “You think everything is stupid. We’re doing it, I don’t care.” Denki declared, shamelessly leaving no room for any sort of argument. He raced on over to his bedside nightstand, yanking the small draw open and pulling out a black notebook that was decorated in stickers alongside a blue gel pen. He flipped to a page as he sat down on his bed, “Come, come!” He invited Katsuki over to the space beside him. With a drag in his step, Katsuki finally took the space next to him. He watched Denki wrote ‘Our contact’ in bold, messy hand writing on the very top line. “Your handwriting is shit.” He pointed out, wagging his finger at the page. Denki huffed, puffing out all of the hair from his lungs. “Don’t focus on that. You should be thinking about what rule you wanna add,” Denki advised Katsuki, though it honestly seemed more like he was telling him to do it instead of it being a suggestion.

“Okaaayy.. so, for rule one, you have to be a bit nicer to me! You can’t go around calling me stupid names all the time, that’s not how a boyfriend is supposed to act.” Denki waved the blue gel pen in Katsuki’s face, a smirk across his lips. “I’m sorry, since when were you a relationship expert?” Katsuki asked, a brow cocked. Denki quickly fell silent. “I’m still going to call you Sparky, dumbass. Anything less than that will cause suspicion too quickly.” Denki’s face consorted in confusion. “But, don't we want them to assume something's up? That’s, like, kind of the whole point of pretending to date.”

Katsuki nodded his head in agreement, “Yeah, but too big of a change will cause suspicion, not make them think we are a thing. It would be fucking weird for me to just wake up one day and start calling you by your name.” Katsuki explained, actually putting effort into their conversation. Denki blinked, nodding his head along Katsuki’s words. “.. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Okay, so Sparky stays, but you still have to be nicer to me. Less yelling, man. That’s how relationships lead to toxicity.” Denki hummed, his smile now returned as he scribbled down writing into the page.

RULE #01: BE KINDER TO YOUR FAKE BOYFRIEND (YELLING LEADS TO TOXICITY!)

“Now it’s your turn.” Denki lifted his gaze to look at Katsuki. Katsuki pursed his lips together as his brows furrowed, coming to a close knit at the tip of his glabella. “God, uh-” He breathed out, reaching his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Okay. You gotta try my katsudon with ichimi togarashi; that shit makes it taste ten times better.” Katsuki’s lips curled into an amused smirk as he watched the colour fade from Denki’s face. “.. Dude, you know I can’t handle my spices.” Denki frowned, his hands slapping over his face. Katsuki chuckled at his reaction, reaching over to take the notebook and pen. “Get used to it, Sparky.”

RULE #02: YOU WILL TRY KATSUDON WITH SPICE

Katsuki made sure to underline the word ‘will’, he needed to make sure he got his point across. Denki peeked through the gaps of his fingers down at his notebook, groaning into his palms as he read the words. “Your handwriting is no better than mine!” He then huffed, his voice full of offence as he removed his hands from his face. Katsuki shook his head in disagreement, “It’s way fucking better than yours. Your words are all over the place— you know what?” 

RULE #03: WORK ON YOUR FUCKING HANDWRITING SPARKY

“That’s not even a rule that’s related to our relationship!” Denki exhaled a breath through his clenched teeth. He reached over and shoved Katsuki’s arm, slightly pushing the taller male. All he did was laugh in amusement. “I’m not walking around with a boyfriend who has fuck ass handwriting. Your brain is really fucking fried if you think I am.” Katsuki spoke with a wide smirk, sitting up straight to his full height while Denki slouched against his wall. “I’m writing the rest. I can hardly read your writing, my four year old cousin can write better than that, Dunce Face.” Katsuki teased, his words insulting but his tone was surprisingly playful. “Whatever, write all you want, makes my wrist cramp anyway.” 

“If I have to try spices, you have to watch any movie of my choosing.” Denki compromised as he pushed his body off of his wall, now being sat up straight but still appearing shorter than Katsuki was. “Oh! Movie night! Write that,” Denki reached over and he grabbed onto Katsuki’s arm, shaking him left to right in an eager manner. Katsuki shoved him off, shooting him a slight glare as he wrote down on the page.

RULE #04: FUCK ASS MOVIE NIGHT

Denki stared down at the page, his eyes narrowing. “Do you have to swear in writing too?” He sighed, Katsuki nodded with a hum. “I’ll write what I fucking well want, Sparky. Got a problem with that?” Katsuki asked. Denki held his arms up in surrender while he shook his head. “Jeez, no need to get so defensive.” The boy laughed, shooting Katsuki a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh, how do you feel about physical contact?” Denki suddenly asked, though when Katsuki gave him a look of confusion mixed with distaste, Denki spoke again with a shrug of his shoulders. “I mean, we wanna look like a couple. Couples touch each other at least a little bit. Nothing weird if that’s what you’re thinking!” He was quick to defend himself, cutting his sentence off to do so. “- If you’re uncomfortable with it, it’s fine man.” Katsuki rolled his eyes at Denki’s quick backtrack. “Stop overthinking it, you’ll make it look like a mess.” Katsuki’s words left his lips like a sigh of a man who lived beyond his physical years.

RULE #05: TOUCH!!

Denki hummed in agreement as he watched Katsuki write down on the lined paper. Katsuki was right, his hand writing was a little neater than his own was, but he held the pen too tightly and it made the paper tear slightly. He decided not to comment on it, the detail too small to cause any issue for him. “I’m sure that’s all we’d need, right?” The shorter one asked, his head tilting back up for his gaze to linger onto Katsuki’s side profile. Katsuki shrugged his shoulders. “Not that we fucking needed this or some shit, but I’d assume so.” He spoke in agreement, handing the notebook and the pen back to Denki. He accepted it, placing the two into his lap. Though, after just a few seconds passed by, another question struck Denki.

“It’s your turn to handle the shopping for the dorms, right?” He asked, Katsuki nodded his head after a few moments of confusion. Denki then picked up the pen and wrote down as he spoke, “I’m coming with!” He cheered in excitement, his gaze glued down to the paper.

RULE #06: FOOD SHOPPING TOGETHER!!

Katsuki allowed his shoulders to slump, his body seemingly relaxing in the calm — yet somehow still buzzing — atmosphere of Denki’s dorm room. “Whatever. Just keep your hands off of unnecessary shit, got it?” Katsuki asked before he drew in a breath, letting the air swim through his lungs before he exhaled it through his mouth. Denki stared at Katsuki with a deadpanned expression, a smile still present across his lips as he spoke. “I’m not a child.” He reminded his friend, “Sure act like one, Sparky.” Katsuki spoke without looking at the other. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, examining the time. Upon opening it, he saw he had a few missed texts — majority of them from Kirishima in their direct messages, a few from the stupid group chat Iida made back in their first year to use for studying communications and tips, which never actually got used for that purpose. “It’s 8:42, we're late. Get up.” He informed Denki as he pushed his body off of his classmate's bed and he rose to his feet. Ignoring the messages, he shoved his phone deep into his pocket. Denki nodded his head in understanding and he stood up alongside Katsuki, placing the notebook down onto his mattress. He clipped the pen lid onto the pen before he tossed it down with it. “You didn’t bring your backpack with you,” Denki questioned without actually asking anything.

Katsuki shrugged his shoulders, “Made Shitty hair take it with ‘im.” He explained vaguely, his words mumbled and rushed. “Get a move on.” Katsuki told Denki as he headed to the door, Denki followed after him quickly. As Katsuki exited his room, Denki shoved on his shoes. Once they were on and tied, he stood back up and found Katsuki still waiting at his door with his bag over his shoulder. Denki chuckled lightly. “You carryin’ my bag now, Katsuki?” He asked, a look of amusement flashing in his eyes. Katsuki rolled his as he turned on his heels and began walking away, not bothered in entertaining Denki’s banter.

“Hey, wait up!” Denki called out after Katsuki, hurriedly stepping out of his dorm and slamming the door shut behind him. Honestly, it was a miracle that Denki’s door hadn’t come off of its hinges already from how harshly he slams it, how often too. He chased after Katsuki who was already halfway down the hall heading to the lift down.

                        · · ─ ·✶· ─ ·

The walk from the dorms to the actual entrance of UA was spent mostly in silence besides Denki’s whistling in an attempt to match the tweets of the birds perched in a nearby tree and Katsuki’s grunts in annoyance as he kicked the rocks laying across the ground. The entire time, Katsuki kept a hold of Denki’s bag despite the heaviness of it. Upon arriving at the gates, the two of them scanned their student licenses — a new security system Nezu added after the war to prevent any unauthorised access to the building — and stepped through one by one.

“I’ve never seen the hallways this empty,” Denki whispered, his voice still echoing through the empty hallway. “What’s the time anyway?” He asked Katsuki in curiosity, a brow raising. Katsuki didn’t respond immediately. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, noticing a miss call he didn’t even know he had. “Just before nine. 8:54.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket, the two of them heading towards a set of stairs. Denki nodded his head, "That explains why then. Ectoplasm-Sensei is going to kill us, you know that right?”

“Nah, I’ll just say you fell into a bush and were being dramatic about it.” 

“Why am I the fall guy?” Denki whined, a pout ghosting over his lips. “Because it just makes sense that way. You keep your lips hushed and let me handle the talking, yeah? I know that’s hard for you to do, Sparky, but keep it zipped.” Denki gasped in offence at Katsuki’s sly insult. He slapped a hand over his chest in a theatrical display of hurt. “It is not hard for me to be silent! I’m highly offended by that, you asshole.” Denki argued back, stopping dead in his tracks on a step away from the top. Katsuki continued to walk, leaving him behind. “And this is exactly why you’re the one who fucking fell in the hypothetical bush.” Katsuki retorted, his tone sarcastic and sharp. Denki groaned as he threw his head back, chasing after Katsuki as complaints left his lips.

They arrived at the classroom with the label ‘MATH, ROOM 21’, across the door in a short time. The two didn’t say anything amongst themselves before Katsuki pushed it open. As the door creaked open, silence fell in the previously talkative classroom. All heads turned to them with curious expressions, though none of the students dared to speak. 

Ectoplasm, a man of five feet eleven inches dressed in a trench coat that covered his figure from his neck to his ankles, made his way over to the two boys standing in the doorway. “It’s two minutes past nine. Class started at 8:40, mind informing me on why you’re both so late?” He asked, his voice deep and robotic like due to the built-in speaker in the face mask of his costume. “Sparky here,” Katsuki coughed, jabbing a thumb Denki’s way, “fell into a bush and was being all dramatic about it. Then he realised he lost his student ID half way here and we had to go back to search for it,” Katsuki explained, lying through his teeth. He made sure to emphasise the ‘we’. Denki nodded in agreement, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly to act as if he’s embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to lose it! Otherwise we would have totally been here on time.” Denki slapped his hands against his upper thighs as he swung his arms back down. Ectoplasm gave them a skeptical look underneath his face covering but he didn’t press any further before he sent the boys off to the seats; Denki two rows from the front and Katsuki three rows behind him, sat directly two seats behind and across from Kirishima. Before the two boys parted their ways, Katsuki handed Denki his bag and whispered something incoherent to the rest of their curious classmates.

As the class picked back up in its previous liveliness, Kirishima looked over his shoulder and past Tsuyu to stare at Katsuki in confusion. Katsuki noticed the lingering stare of his friend and he raised a brow, mouthing a ‘What do you want?’.

Kirishima turned back in his seat and ripped out a page of his notebook, scribbling down some writing onto the page before he folded it and turned back around to face Tsuyu. “Hand this to Bakugo, please.” He whispered, handing her the paper. Tsuyu took it and handed it to the boy behind her to her left without any question. Once Katsuki received it, he opened it up and leaned back on his seat as he read over what was written. ‘Why were you holding Kaminari’s bag? And what were you whispering about?’ was written in black ball point ink. Katsuki looked up from his desk to find Kirishima shooting glances his way, seemingly not going to give up until Katsuki wrote back a response. He sighed and gave in, scribbling a quick response down. ‘Cause I can. Sparky always complains about his arms hurting and shit. And that’s my business what we were talking about’ he scribbled back, his handwriting rushed. He tossed it in front, it landing perfectly in the middle of Tsuyu’s desk. “Oi, pass it to Shitty hair.” He whispered, leaning forward in his seat. Tsuyu, once again without question, leaned forward and tapped Kirishima’s shoulder, passing him the folded up note.

Their written conversation between Tsuyu continued until Ectoplasm made his way down the rows of seats, coming to a stop between the third and fifth row — the two rows in which occupied Kirishima and Katsuki. “I’d like that.” He spoke, his deep robotic voice causing Kirishima to jump out of his skin due to it suddenly being so close. Kirishima looked up, a look of surprise and embarrassment washing over his face. “.. Yeah, sorry Sensei.” Kirishima sighed as he handed the paper to his teacher. Ectoplasm hummed, folding the paper into sixes until he tucked it away into one of the pockets of his trench coat. “Math class isn’t for note passing, wait until the next break or few minutes between class switching to talk to your friends; let that be a reminder to you all.” He spoke out to all the students, earning a sea of “Yes, Sensei”’s from them all.

Math class ends within twenty five minutes, the time on the clock ticking to 9:30am. The rest of the class, Denki purposely kept looking back in his seat to make eye contact with Katsuki. Katsuki even flashed him a few smiles. The act was a solid start to stir curiosity within their classmates, which definitely seemed to work as the second the bell rang, their three closest friends from their first year rushed to their sides. The questioning only continued as they exited Ectoplasm’s class and headed down the hall to English. “You’re definitely acting weird.” Ashido huffed in disagreement, crossing her arms over her chest. “Bakugo, you never carry anyone’s bag and you walked in with Kaminari’s over your shoulder! Not to mention, you kept looking at each other during class— like you were talking with your eyes. It was creepy.” The pink skinned girl spoke factually, her gaze flicking between the two boys who stood side by side. “We didn’t do shit.” Katsuki denied, his gaze stuck forward as the five of them manoeuvred their way through the busy hallway. “You’re a horrible liar, man. Not to mention when I lost my student ID, you told me to look for it myself! Not cool of you, by the way.” Sero reminded Bakugo, side stepping between two people as he spoke. Kaminari shrugged his shoulders, “Him helping me doesn’t mean we’re acting weird, guys.” Denki looked over at Ashido, a hum leaving his lips. “I guess Katsuki just woke up in a good mood, is all.”

“Katsuki?” Kirishima, Ashido and Sero gasped in sync, their eyes widening until they could’ve bulged out of their sockets. “Yeah, that’s his name; Katsuki.” Denki spoke in a questioning tone, a brow raising as he looked back at their friends when they didn’t continue walking alongside them. Just as Denki was about to stop, Katsuki reached over and placed a hand onto his shoulder. “Get a move on, Sparky.” Katsuki gruffed out as he pushed Denki forward, causing him to stumble. Denki muttered something to the ashen blonde as he looked back over his shoulder and waved goodbye to his friends before they disappeared into the sea of people. The remaining time that the two boys were in their line of vision, Katsuki kept his hand glued to Denki’s shoulder.

“What the actual hell?” Kirishima asked Ashido and Sero, his brows furrowing as the three of them began to walk after them in a slow pace. “Yeah, there’s definitely omething going on.” Ashido sighed, a pout ghosting over her lips. Sero shoved his hands into his pockets, the three of them momentarily splitting up to guide their way through a group in front of them. “Kaminari’s been acting standoffish since the weekend, whatever happened probably had to do with Bakugo.” The boy suggested. Ashido looked up at him with a questioning gaze. “But yesterday when we asked him, it seemed like he genuinely had no clue on what was going on with him.” She disagreed with Sero, her arms falling down to her sides. “He could’ve lied. If Kaminari didn’t want Bakugo to tell us, he wouldn’t have. One thing he doesn’t play about is trust.” Kirishima reminded Ashido, grabbing a hold of the hook of her bag as they nearer their next destination.

“Yeah, that’s true. He’s really good at keeping secrets.” Sero exhaled a deep breath, his shoulders slumping as if he hit a mental wall in ideas of what was going on between two of his friends. “Whatever it is, I just hope Kaminari will tell us when he’s ready.” The boy added, a soft hum escaping his lips. “I’m sure he will! You know he tells whoever he feels most comfortable with at the moment, perhaps Bakugo was just that person for him. And besides, it’s not like he doesn’t tell us anything, we just gotta trust him.” The dyed red headed boy flashed his friends a sharp toothed smile, throwing his spare hand up into a thumbs up. Ashido shook her head, “But why tell Bakugo and not me? I thought Kaminari and I grew really close over the summer,” The girl grumbled, her happy mood clearly deflated. Sero reached over and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “It’s alright, Ashido. He’ll tell us when he’s ready, right?” Sero hummed as he reiterated Kirishima’s words, Ashido nodded her head after a few moments of hesitancy. “.. Yeah, yeah I guess you’re right.” Without much more discussion, the trio arrived at their English class.

As the trio arrived, they found that eleven people were already in their next class — Kaminari and Bakugo included. Four of them sat in their seats while the rest talked amongst themselves as they awaited Present Mic’s arrival alongside the rest of their classmates. Ashido’s eyes scanned the room curiously, Denki wasn’t at his own seat in the front row. She looked around, her gaze eventually falling onto the third row from the front. Ashido’s eyes located Denki easily; how could they not when he was propped up on Katsuki’s desk? The two seemed to be talking about something, Denki speaking expressionally through his hands as they frayed around in the air. Katsuki kept his eyes on Denki, his gaze narrowing at something the other boy said. “.. I’m starting to believe our friends have been replaced by aliens.” Ashido stated factually. Both Kirishima and Sero laughed at her words, rolling their eyes in sync. “They have not been replaced by aliens. Bakugo, maybe. But trust me, no alien wants the data from Kaminari’s brain.” Sero mocked Kaminari, though he never meant anything by it. Kirishima snorted out a breathy laugh as he slapped a hand over his mouth. “That’s- That’s not funny.” The boy struggled to get out, Sero only smirked in response as they headed to their separate seats. As they parted, Sero extended out his arm into Ashido’s direction. In doing so, he mouthed: ‘She’s the alien’ to Kirishima, who doubled over as laughter overtook him. 

                       · · ─ ·✶· ─ ·

Lunch rolled around faster than any of them registered. They had a double English period and Present Mic always tried to make his lessons fun and interactive (especially after the war the students of UA helped in during their first year), which filled in the gaps of the missing time frame. Each student piled out the classroom in their own small groups, some finding comfort in walking alone with music in their ears. Denki, though, was in a much lighter mood than he was yesterday. He skipped over to his friends, a smile from ear to ear plastered across his lightly freckled face. “Guys, guys! I have the best idea ever!” He exclaimed, his voice echoing through the nearly empty classroom.

Dragging his feet behind him came Katsuki. Slumped over with his bag hanging over his shoulder, the ash blonde exhaled a deep sigh. “It’s not the best idea.” He stated, contracting Denki’s last spoken words. Denki rolled his eyes in response and shook his head. “Yes it is.” He hummed. Denki continued to speak, not allowing his friends to pipe into the conversation as they stepped out of their classroom. “My hero name. It’s kind of bland don’t you think?” Denki asked, his lips pursed together as he rubbed the back of his hair.

“But Chargebolt fits you. You’re known as Chargebolt.” Kirishima disagreed, his brows furrowing to meet at his glabella, confusion written all over his face. “What else could fit you more than that?” Kirishima cocked a brow towards his hairline. As they walked, he threw his arm over Denki’s shoulders, holding the smaller boy close to his side. “Chargebolt is nice! I love it. But recently I’ve had a revelation.” As he spoke, Denki waved his hands around in the air, a sparkle in his bright eyes. Ashido giggled, her lips quirking upwards. “I didn’t know you knew what that word meant.”

Denki’s head snapped to his left, a playful glare in his eyes. “Shut the fuck up. I do know what it means— but that’s not the point of this conversation!” He protested, his words coming out in a rushed huff. “From now on, I want you all to address me as The Rizzler. No exceptions.” Denki spoke with pride, his arms crossed over his chest. Three of them froze in their steps, the other two continued walking. Kirishima’s arm slipped from around Denki’s shoulders, causing the boy to spin around and look back in curiosity. Though before he could speak, Sero did. He wasted no time in jumping forward, dropping to his knees at Denki’s feet with his hands glued together in an act of prayer. 

“Oh my God, Captain Rizzler, save me!” Sero pleaded, his hands shaking as he waved them around. He unclenched his hands seconds later only to grab onto Denki’s trousers, tugging against the material. “There’s a nonchalant villain that’s trying to take my aura away, you have to help me!” Sero’s voice echoed through the hallway causing multiple heads to turn their way. Denki threw his head back in laughter, his hand reaching down to ruffle Sero’s black hair. “Alright alright, get up.” Denki chortled as he spoke, a happy smile across his lips.

“That is what is going to happen if you change your name to that stupid piece of shit.” Interjected Katsuki, butting himself into the conversation. Denki looked over his shoulder at the other, Katsuki was pressed up against the wall, his right arm peeking through his blazer, the clothing item hugging over it instead. Denki’s heart swelled at the sight. They all went through a traumatic time at the war, he knew that first hand, but none of them came face to face with death like Katsuki did. Denki admired him for that, how quick he bounced back after he woke up from his coma. He flashed Katsuki a weak smile, a hum leaving his lips.

“Seriously, Kaminari, please tell me you’re joking.” Ashido stated, her arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her foot against the floor. In the time Denki’s head was turned, Sero climbed back to his feet. He reached over and placed his hands against Denki’s shoulders, giving them a light squeeze.

“Come on man, let’s just get to lunch. I’m staaarving.” Sero exaggerated, a groan in his voice as he dragged out his words. The five of them continued their walk towards the lunch hall, Katsuki a few steps in front. Every so often, the blonde glanced over his shoulder at the other three, making sure they were following along. “Hurry the fuck up, stop talking and focus on walking. You’re taking forever.” The male suddenly snapped, his voice gruff.

“Shut up with your dramatiiccss!” Denki groaned as he threw his head back, his arms snaked between one of Ashido’s. He shook the girl for a moment as he spoke, his theatrical behaviour peeking through. Denki was a theatre kid growing up, a secret he’d keep to his grave. “We’re not even three steps behind you, asshole.”

Sero’s gaze switched between Denki and Katsuki at a rapid speed, his eyes widened. “Dude, what the hell-? He so would’ve killed my ass if I said that!” 

“Keep up talking about me and I fucking will, I promise you that.” Katsuki threatened his friend, but with the calmness of his harsh words, Sero could see through the banter Katsuki presented to him. Nonetheless, he straightened his back to shake off the shivers that shot through him when he and Katsuki locked eyes. Denki propped his chin against Ashido’s shoulder, his lips pouted. “You’re so meaann!” He whined, his words extending with his dramatic behaviour. Katsuki didn’t snap back, he simply let out a huff in response.

                       · · ─ ·✶· ─ ·

By the time school ended, Katsuki carried Denki’s bag a total of two times and bit his tongue each time Denki shot him a stupid response every time he helped him with an Algebra question during lunch a total of three — a drastic change compared to a week ago when Katsuki used a rolled up magazine to wack them over the head with. Not only that, but Katsuki liked his space after school. He liked the time to relax, to clear his head. This wasn’t a secret to anybody, much like the fact that Katsuki only trusted one other person in the kitchen other than himself; which was Sato. So as the clock struck five pm, it was definitely a mind boggling sight to see Denki perched on the island in between the kitchen, swinging his legs back and forth as he talked off Katsuki’s ear.

“You’re telling me you’ve never watched Howl's Moving Castle? What kind of rock have you been living under?!” Was heard all the way by the door of the dormitories, Denki’s voice booming through the building. “Shut the fuck up with your loud ass mouth.” Followed quickly after by Katsuki, his voice gruff and his words demanding; but he made no effort to make Denki leave the kitchen. “It’s one movie. I’m sure you’ll survive without me watching it.” Katsuki said, his voice low as he focused on chopping some vegetables. Denki shook his head in disagreement as he slapped his palms down into the island beside his thighs. “Nope, you’re watching it! We agreed to it this morning.” Denki reminded the other, a proud smile on his face as he pushed himself off of the countertop, his feet landing on the tiled floor with a smack. “No, we agreed to a movie night. Not some weird ass anime from the two thousands.” 

“You didn’t specify what we could or couldn’t watch, we’re watching it! Come on, don’t be such a loseeer. You have to watch it at least once. It’s a cinematic masterpiece!” The golden boy argued back, now arrived at Katsuki’s side. His elbow propped up on the counter beside the chopping board, his body leaning against the build. “Come on. You can’t die without watching Howl’s Moving Castle.” Denki pleaded, a small pout across his lips. Katsuki stared down at Denki, the male appearing shorter due to how he was leaning, through the corner of his eye, an eyebrow cocked. His hand stilled on the cutting, his grip on the knife tightening as his gaze was now averted. “You’re one fucking dramatic guy, you know that don’t you?” 

Denki only smirked, a look of victory already shining through his gaze. “So I’ve been told by everyone. Howl’s Moving Castle, my dorm tonight! You don’t have an option. And I swear, if you don’t show up, I’m gonna-” Before Denki could finish what Katsuki could only assume to be a threat at him, he let go of the knife and waved the boy off. “Yeah yeah whatever. Fuck off and sit down, I’m trying to cut vegetables here and you’re in my space.” Katsuki interjected all while Denki pushed his body up and he held his arms up in surrender. He turned on his heels and walked back to the island in the middle of the kitchen, using his palms to pull his body back up.

“Hey, Kacchan!” A voice called out from the stairs as the person raced down them. Denki looked over, his eyes falling on Midoriya. “Hi Midoriya!” He cheered happily, his hand outstretched in a quick wave. As the other neared the kitchen, his chest rising rapidly with each heavy breath, he flashed Denki a quick smile. “Hey.. hey, one second-” Midoriya doubled over, one hand pressed against the wall as the other rested on his chest while he caught his breath. After just a few moments passed, Midoriya stood up straight, both of his arms calling to his sides. “.. What’s for dinner?” He then asked curiously, his head tilting to the side. Katsuki shot him a glare. “Do you have to be so nosey? You’re all lucky I’m even still cooking you fucking dinner.” Katsuki snapped out a quick response as he pushed the chopped up vegetables from the chopping board into a pot on the stove. He left the board and knife on the side as he picked up a wooden spoon. “- Miso soup and dumplings. Now get the hell out of my kitchen.” He huffed, not sparing his classmate another glance as he stuck the spoon into the pot, his wrist stirring it in a perfect motion.

Midoriya didn’t verbally respond. He gave the two a bow before he dashed off, calling after Uraraka who was making her way out of the door with Asui. “Dude, you’re mean.” Denki laughed, his hands now occupied by his phone. “Don’t you start either. You’re lucky you’re even here. Keep quiet and let me cook or you’re leaving too, Sparky.” Katsuki warned Denki, who surprisingly obliged his threatening request and stayed silent for the majority of their time in the kitchen. As Denki sat on the island countertop, he couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. He was glad he found the confidence to tell Katsuki, he was even more glad that Katsuki agreed to go along with his stupid lie. Denki wasn’t sure how long Naoya’s stay at UA would be, but he believes that he and Katsuki are going to be comfortable enough with each other by the time Thursday rolls around.