Some things were simply beyond Shinsou's current understanding. How did the tides work? What existed before the Big Bang? And why the hell did he like Kaminari Denki so much?

Shinsou hadn't exactly returned Kaminari's enthusiasm at working together during the 1-A vs. 1-B battle, but that hadn't seemed to faze Kaminari one bit. After that it was as if they were best friends: Shinsou would be sitting alone at lunch when Kaminari would suddenly appear at his side - not even asking if the seat was taken, just assuming it wasn't and sitting down like he had no cares in the world. And Shinsou was completely caught up in his flow. He liked sitting alone, but he somehow never found the words to ask Kaminari to leave; they'd spend the lunch period sitting together, chatting about classes and the weather and mutual acquaintances. Shinsou had never been a person who chatted about anything with anyone, but he was drawn into making small talk, almost against his will. And he liked it.

So it was aggravating - and unsurprising - that when Kaminari asked him to grab something to eat after school one day, he agreed. Without hesitation, even.

"Look," Shinsou said, on the way there, "aren't you afraid of me?" Best to get it out of the way now, he thought - although if Kaminari was afraid, he was hiding it very well. Shinsou kept his gaze focused ahead, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Kaminari turn to look at him in surprise.

"Huh?"

"People often are," Shinsou went on. "They say they're afraid I'll use my Quirk on them. Doesn't that bother you, knowing I could control you like that if I wanted?"

"Right, you said something like that once," Kaminari said. "I remember. It's so stupid that people are like that with you. Like, this is U.A., right? We're all really powerful here, especially in the hero course. Are you afraid I'll use my Quirk on you and shock you?"

"No, but-"

"I could probably kill you if I tried! Are you afraid Mina will melt you with her acid, or, uh-"

"I think I get the point."

"Okay, good! Yeah, like, obviously we could all hurt each other, but we won't. So no. I'm not afraid of you."

And Shinsou had liked that answer because for him it had rung true. They all had a certain amount of trust in one another at U.A. anyways; any number of his classmates could kill or seriously injure him - some could destroy the school if they wanted. But they didn't, and the teachers weren't shaking in fear that they might. Why would they be?

Shinsou liked knowing Kaminari trusted him, but he liked some of Kaminari's attempts to bond with him a little less. They made a habit of getting food together after school quite often - whenever Kaminari suggested it, really - and after a while their conversational topics shifted as they got more comfortable with one another. Case in point: now, when they passed attractive women on the street, Kaminari would elbow him in the ribs and whisper something along the lines of, "She was cute, wasn't she?"

Shinsou tolerated it for about three days. When Kaminari asked him, he always mumbled something or other to shut him up - "Yeah, sure" or "She's alright" or "Not really my type" - until he finally snapped and said, "Kaminari," in such a tone it made the other boy stop dead in his tracks.

"What?" Kaminari asked. "You know her or something?"

"What? No. But please stop pointing out attractive women to me."

"Why?" Kaminari asked, looking a little like a kicked puppy.

Shinsou looked him in the eye and, making a split-second decision, said, "I'm not attracted to women."

Kaminari stared at him a long moment; Shinsou could practically see the gears turning in his head. Finally he sucked in a breath and said, "Ohhhhhhhh."

"Yeah, so, that's why," Shinsou said. He began to walk again, hoping this would settle the matter, and that would be that.

"You're gay!"

"Yes."

"Ohhh," Kaminari said, but said nothing more about it, and Shinsou was thankful he'd brought it up. This was about as good a reaction as he could've hoped for, to be honest, because while he could not explain it, Shinsou was really quite fond of Kaminari. He liked the way Kaminari filled the silence, liked his jokes and his striking hair and his good-looking face. In particular, he liked how comfortable Kaminari was around him: Shinsou was not used to that complete lack of fear. He was deeply glad that coming out hadn't changed anything, and was glad he wouldn't have to pretend to be straight anymore.

But the next time they were walking somewhere together, Shinsou felt an elbow hit his ribs and heard Kaminari whisper, "Did you see that guy we just passed? That jawline!"

"Excuse me?" Shinsou said. "Are you making fun of me?"

Kaminari stopped and turned to face him, his head cocked to the side in confusion. "No?"

"Are you trying to bond with me over being gay now?" He gritted his teeth, feeling altogether rubbed the wrong way. "Just stop it, Kaminari."

"I mean, he was cute though, wasn't he?" Kaminari looked at him, blank and puzzled. "I can stop if you really want, but I'm not, like, mocking you."

Shinsou held very still. "You actually found him attractive?"

"I mean - yeah, didn't you?"

"Kaminari, are you - bi?"

"I guess?" he said, rubbing his chin. "I like guys and girls. But, like, I try not to point out guys I think are hot around other guys, 'cause I've gotten weird reactions in the past. I figured if you were gay it would be alright, though. Right?"

"Oh," Shinsou said, hating himself for being so jumpy that he'd instantly assume the worst of Kaminari, "yes, actually, that's - that's fine with me."

"Okay, good!" Kaminari said. "It's nice to have someone I can talk about that sort of thing with!"

"Yes," Shinsou said, turning away to hide his smile, "I agree."