If Shinsou was bold enough to look at just how long he'd been agonizing over an outfit for his date he'd find it to be twenty minutes of staring at various shades of black clothes- that, quite frankly, all looked the same. He was a man of understated style, and the fanciest he got was button down shirts when he was at work. Was a lunch date a button down occasion? Ten minutes of Googling, and carefully avoiding Yahoo Answers, led to him finding out that they were perfectly acceptable, especially on a first date. "You want to leave a good first impression," the fashion bloggers all said.

Shinsou was pretty sure that ship sailed the moment he said "Yes Cat," but it's the thought that counts. According to Mina it was a good impression, despite all common sense. He was lucky that Denki had pretty egregious taste.

After double checking he had his wallet and keys, Hitoshi looked at his watch to find he still had some time before he needed to leave. Which meant he had time to quietly panic. He considered texting someone for support, but he had already managed to firmly look like a dweeb in front of everyone he knows.

He should plan the date itself, first. Would taking Kaminari to a ramen place be too on the nose? Shinsou didn't want to give anything away until he'd figured out how to come clean about knowing the man is Ch4rgeb0lt. He knew the man liked American food, he had frequently referred to it as "trendy" on the stream, so that was a safe bet. There were some places in the area that would work, and he could just ask the guy what he'd prefer.

It was weird to think that this was sort of his second serious date with Denki, and a significantly cheaper one, but Kaminari wouldn't know that. He'd also have to play dumb on a number of things or the blonde would sense in a heartbeat that Shinsou knew a little too much about him.

He had been fretting so deeply he almost missed that he that should already be leaving if he wanted to be on time. Hitoshi practically flew out of the house, throwing his headphones on to block out any more mental panicking he'd inevitably start doing.

By the time he'd reached Amped Up, and looked inside, Kaminari was nowhere to be seen. The bell rang as Shinsou stepped through the cafe's front door. Mina and Sero were behind the counter, arm wrestling of all things, and the tape user's elbows were proving to be a significant advantage. Mina's knuckles hit the counter and she whined.

"No fair! I call cheating!"

Sero shrugged, "You shouldn't play the game if you aren't willing to lose."

Kirishima had been cheering them on, now dressed like an adult and not a kid at his first slumber party, like the supportive friend he clearly is. It's hard to marry that smiling image with the man who had his neck in a killer chokehold hours earlier. Bakugou sat at one of the tables sorting through what looked like two piles of fanmail- judging by the hearts drawn on some of them- with a bored expression. The pile on the left was nothing but burnt and hand shredded paper, while the pile on the right (which was significantly smaller) was neatly stacked.

Shinsou nodded a greeting when they looked up.

Sero gave a disturbingly toothy grin, "Huh, you actually showed up!"

"Was I not supposed to?"

Mina laughed, "We were wondering whether or not we properly scared you off with our shovel talk. Consider that the first test, Cat man."

Kirishima nodded, "You now have two points."

Hitoshi arched a purple eyebrow, "How did I get the first one?"

"Eijirou liked your shoes," Bakugou grunted from his seat.

His boots were as old as he was, but if it won him some votes then he'll wear them every date. Yes. Every date. He was trying to be optimistic.

"Hey!" Kaminari walked out from the kitchen, which must be where the stairs to his apartment were, and skipped past the counter. "You made it!"

Hitoshi looked him up and down and tried desperately not to blush. The blonde looked good. A tight blue t-shirt with an oversized comfy looking yellow sweater over it that had sleeves which were adorably just a little too long for him. His legs looked a mile long in skinny black jeans and boots, and Shinsou was surprised his fashion sense was better in real life than it ever looked on his streams.

"Look nice."

Monosyllabic words again. This guy really brings out the best in me.

Denki didn't seem to mind. He even twirled in place before bending forward in a dramatic bow. "Thank you, kind sir! You don't look too bad yourself. You ready to go?"

Shinsou nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

Mina and Sero catcalled obnoxiously while Kirishima just laughed. Bakugou was absorbed in his work but still growled a bored sounding, "Don't fuck it up."

"I'll try not to!" Denki called back.

Bakugou looked at him scornfully, "That wasn't directed at you, drooly," before turning to lock eyes with Hitoshi and then sharply drawing a finger across his neck in warning.

Shinsou gulped.

Kaminari was all glowing smiles, "Isn't he the sweetest? Just makes you want to squeeze him, right?"

Shinsou was smart enough to leave quickly since a heavy envelope hit the door hard mere seconds after they'd closed it behind them.

Denki snickered at their near miss."So, where are we headed?"

"Is it rude to say you look like someone who likes American food?"

Kaminari 'hmm'd to himself, "Maybe, but you're totally right. There's a pretty good place a couple of blocks from here. Wanna do that?"

Hitoshi shrugged, "If you like. It's your date too," before pausing. "This is a date, right?"

Denki looked nervous and cocked his head to the side, "Do you not want it to be?"

"Would it convince you it was if I told you that I spent around twenty minutes trying to pick an outfit for this?"

The blonde laughed, "That's cool. I spent thirty."

Kaminari led the way to the restaurant, happily talking all the while as Shinsou nodded or added short replies to keep him going. There was something really nice about not being pressured to speak. He felt that Denki might have picked up on that, but he couldn't be sure. If there was one thing he knew it was that the blonde was good at reading people- even through a screen.

"-and that's why Kirishima isn't allowed to have sugar after six pm. Kind of like that movie where the monsters can't have water or something like that after midnight? Either way, Mina and I make sure to slip him some Jolly Ranchers around, like, eight just to see what happens. Bakugou gets sooo pissed. It's awesome."

"You have some very interesting friends," Shinsou said as democratically as possible.

Denki wholeheartedly agreed before stopping short and pointing at the store in front of them, "Here we are! I think you'll like it. Do you eat burgers? They have super good burgers."

Shinsou held the door open for the other man, who theatrically swooned before walking through it. "I'm not picky. I'll trust your recommendation."

The demure hostess led them to what looked like an old fashioned American diner booth. The whole place had that theme to it. 'Trendy,' indeed.

The two sat down across from each other and grabbed the menus handed to them. Kaminari immediately leaned over the table to point different dishes out to the purple-haired man. "This burger and their chicken wings are easily the best things on here, but I've practically tried everything and it's all good. Are you one of those people who only eats salad on dates?"

Shinsou shook his head, "No. Are you?"

"Hell naw. Salad is for losers," the blonde paused, "unless you like them in which case they're cool!"

Hitoshi laughed. The boy was adorably awkward and it made him feel a lot better about his own lack of skill. "I don't really have strong stances on salads. My papa has spent years forcing them down my throat so I'm well acquainted."

Kaminari made a cooing sound, "You call your dad your papa? That's too cute!"

"I have two fathers. We use 'Dad' and 'Papa' to differentiate. They argued over who got to be which and eventually flipped a coin for it. My dad is still smug about the win."

The waitress came and took their orders while Shinsou debated bragging about his father being the pro hero Eraserhead, but he figured he'd save that surprise for later.

"I wish I had two moms. If I have to hear one more dad joke I'm going to scream at, like, Present Mic levels."

Shinsou choked on his own spit.

Kaminari leaned over the table again to hit him on the back, "You okay, man?"

"Yeah," Hitoshi wheezed, "that was just...funny."
The blonde lit up, "I'm a pretty funny guy. Mina, Sero, and Kirishima think so, anyway."

"Not Ground Zero?"

Denki smiled crookedly, "Bakugou used to keep a tally of puns that I made and punch me in the arm for each one at the end of the day. Kirishima calls it 'tough love,' but Bakugou freaks out if we use the 'L' word. Not the show though, he likes the show." Then he whispered, "You can't tell him I told you that!"

"I don't think he wants to talk with me anyway."

"Nah," Kaminari added, "I think he actually likes you...a bit. He approves, at least. Last time a guy tried to pick me up at the cafe he left with part of his jacket on fire. Bakugou isn't afraid of making his opinion clear."

Hitoshi snorted, "I've noticed."

Their conversation was light. They exchanged basic interests and life plans. Denki enjoyed helping Jirou run the cafe and had no "grander goals" while Shinsou admitted he wanted to get into the underground hero business someday.

"Yeah? You never told me your quirk anyway, what do you do?"

Shinsou got the butterflies in his stomach that he always did when someone asked. The reactions were rarely anything good. He braced himself, "If someone answers a question of mine I can control their actions."

"That is so…" Kaminari paused and Hitoshi was ready to die until the blonde went, "COOL! Oh my gosh, you'll be the best hero ever! Unless it's like a fire or something, but otherwise you just ask the bad guy who goes to dramatically monologue about his plan and BAM that sucker is doing the chicken dance until the police arrive!"
"...What?"

Denki frowned, "Did I say something wrong? Is this about the chicken dance part?"

Shinsou rapidly shook his head, "No, I just...no one has ever answered so positively to that. Usually I get told that it's creepy and then people don't answer me when I talk to them."

Kaminari frowned, "That's messed up. You're obviously not the kinda guy who abuses that stuff. People can be so mean!"

Their waitress returned, carrying two plates that smelled delicious, and told them to enjoy their meal. Denki still looked annoyed about what Shinsou had said and kept his pout even as he ate. It made him look like a chipmunk and was pretty goddamn cute.

"You don't have to worry. I'm used to it."

Kaminari slammed a hand on the table, startling a nearby couple, "That's even worse! Just because you're used to crappy behavior that doesn't excuse it. Ugh, it makes me so mad!" Once he noticed the other tables looking he quickly turned bashful, "Uh, sorry. I just hate it when people do stuff like that. I mean...you're a really nice guy, you know? You deserve better."

If Shinsou wasn't in love before he sure as hell was now. He managed to swallow the "marry me," that had almost burst out of him, and settled for a warm, "Thank you."

This brightened Denki's mood right up, and the man went back to happily stuffing his face. Now seemed like a good time to change the subject.

"So, how did you meet Bakugou and Kirishima? They aren't exactly your average citizens, and you seem very close."

Kaminari swallowed a bite. "We went to school together. Not for super long, but we clicked really fast. Mina and Sero too. We were the Bakusquad! Still are, I guess?"

Shinsou looked shocked, "You went to UA?"

"Sort of? I wouldn't have done it if my middle school teacher hadn't told me I should take a crack at it, but it didn't stick."

"Where did you go to middle school?"

"This little place in Saitama. Nothing too exciting. My sensei was the coolest though. He's Eraserhead now!"

Shinsou was sure that Denki must have short-circuited him because there was no way that his father had taught his (ideally future) boyfriend at two different schools.

"Wait, you seriously had Aizawa as your teacher?"

"Yeah! Aizawa-sensei was the one who told me I should apply to UA. I couldn't believe it when I got in and was placed in his class. I was there long enough to make some friends but I transferred to a regular high school instead."

Shinsou cocked his head, "You didn't want to be a hero anymore?"

"I didn't say that. I think being a hero can mean a lot of things. I'm not cut out to go zapping my friends while trying to chase bad guys. I freeze up and panic. Sensei would call me out on that all the time. I had only been there about a month or two before I dropped out. I'd rather someone have my chance to make a difference fighting instead of staying in school with the hopes that I could become a different person. I don't know who got my spot but that's one more hero doing a job I couldn't. I don't regret my choice, but I always felt bad for wasting Aizawa-sensei's time."

Shinsou boldly reached out to hold Kaminari's hand, "Trust me, I know Aizawa and he didn't consider that time a waste. He wouldn't have let you leave if he didn't feel it was best for you to chase your happiness somewhere else. He's got a bad record for expulsion, but he's fought to keep kids in class that were thinking of dropping out. If he believed you would be doing the most help by staying then you'd never have been allowed to leave. If anything, I bet he appreciates that you knew yourself well enough to make that decision and give someone else a chance."

Denki smiled softly, "You really think so?"

"I know so. In fact, you could ask him yourself if you like?"

"How? He's probably super busy being a hero and teaching."

"I've got some connections."

Kaminari lit up, "Seriously? That's so cool! How do you know him? Was he your teacher too?"

Shinsou grinned before replying, "Let's just say he and I go way back."