A/N: Hello, all! I am back! With a new chapter! And this chapter is so, so exciting, so I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you think of it if you want. Reviews, comments, votes, and kudos are always appreciated. I will say, last week's reviews were incredible, and they all made my day. So thank you guys for that. I am glad you guys are enjoying. Next chapter should be out within the next week!

How does one authentically receive chocolates on Valentine's Day from anyone besides Mineta?

Kyouka Jirou began asking herself this question a week in advance of the big day. She began hoping, wishing, this would be the year she was appreciated, the year she got a confession of love. It didn't matter from who—she just wanted a confession.

It wasn't that she was desperate. She wouldn't date whoever confessed to her (she'd only date people she really liked, which was no one at the moment); she'd just be over the moon.

After all, the last three weeks had been quite the bore. Denki sleeping in her bed, slowly becoming her very best friend—that was it, really. There'd been nothing to spice up her nights, no drama.

At the beginning of class on Valentine's Day, Mineta went around and gave goody bags to all of the girls.

"Thanks, Mineta," Uraraka mumbled, and then she turned to Asui and whispered, "Ugh. This must be some sick ploy to get something out of us." She still peered inside, though, pulling out chocolates and truffles and little erasers to use in school. She stuck her tongue out and scrunched up her nose. "And we all know what that something is."

Ashido literally handed the chocolates back to Mineta. It was the most embarrassing thing.

Hagakure grabbed at them and scoffed. She turned around to open the bag at her desk, but unbeknownst to her, Mineta tried to peak up her skirt. Hagakure was no doormat, though, and she picked up on it quickly, kicking him hard in the shins.

Yaoyorozu took her chocolates with a bit of apprehension, while Asui just clutched them without a care. To her, candy was candy, Kyouka assumed. And when Kyouka eventually did get hers, she just kind of snatched them, immeasurable disappointment written all over her face.

"We all know what you want," she said to him, the corners of her lips falling.

At the end of the day, she'd gotten one less chocolate truffle than everyone else, so she had every right to speak up.

She didn't really count perverts' chocolates as confessions of love, anyway, so none of it really mattered much, but it still bothered her. Even though she didn't count them as anything except perverts being perverts, it hurt her heart a little that Mineta saw her as inferior to the other girls.

Still, she wanted real chocolates. From someone who actually liked her.

The class was teeming with anxious commotion. Midoriya had given Uraraka "obligatory" chocolates, and Sero and Kirishima were whistling a little too loud, and everyone was oohing and aahing and circling their two peers. The same even occurred when Kirishima gave chocolates to Bakugou, which really were completely obligatory, which went to show that the class would throw a scene over anything. Hell, Hagakure couldn't even give Ojiro a goddamn cookie without a crude remark.

Kyouka felt a little out of the loop. She'd gotten nothing. It was expected, but it was still a sucker punch to the gut.

It wasn't until much, much later—when she came back from lunch—that her wish of being noticed was granted.

She stuck her hand in her desk to grab her algebra notebook. Ectoplasm would be in the room at any moment now. She paused, though, once her fingers touched something crinkly, crumpling up like a plastic bag.

Out of her desk she pulled chocolates.

A little purple ribbon tied off the pouch at the end. A tiny tag hung off the side.

It read, To: Jirou.

Nobody signed off as to whom it was from.

Kyouka inspected it. She brought the bag close to her face, twisting it around on all sides. The plastic was see-through, a yellowish tint tainting the material.

Yaoyorozu walked into class, and like a laser beam, Kyouka locked eyes with her.

Yaoyorozu was by her side in a split second.

"Kyo! You got chocolates? From who?"

"That's the thing," Kyouka began. "I don't know."

"Hm…. Well, isn't that strange." Yaoyorozu picked up the pouch.

"I know, right? I mean, what am I even supposed to say? Or do? Do I just eat them?"

Yaoyorozu gave her a look, eyelids falling as her mouth hung open, a little snicker leaving her lips. "They're chocolates, you know. Yes. Just eat them."

"I know, but still! I mean, I'm grateful, but I want to know from who. Are they sure they haven't made a mistake?"

"It says your name right on the tag, Kyo. Speaking of, the handwriting is sort of messy…."

"It really is…."

Kyouka looked around the room.

Kirishima caught her eye. He was all up in her business the moment she spotted him. "Woah! Did you get chocolates? Those don't look like Mineta's."

Sero poked his head in. "Damn it! I sure didn't get any. Who are they from?"

Kyouka shrugged her shoulders. "You know, I'd tell you guys if I knew. Thing is, nobody left their signature."

Kirishima looked down at Denki. "Do you know, man?"

Denki glanced up at him and shook his head.

Bakugou, Midoriya, and Ojiro all looked puzzled.

"Guess it remains a mystery." Kyouka sat down in her seat. She unwinded the bag, reaching in and grabbing a chocolate. "Hey. Are these homemade?"

Sero widened his eyes. "Holy— Lucky! They are!"

She popped one into her mouth. They tasted a bit salty. A poor attempt at salted caramel? Although, there was too much of a lack of caramel to even suspect that flavor was the intent.

Kyouka still ate them nonetheless.

Later on in class, at the beginning of last period, Midnight was teaching history on the first generation of Quirks. Kyouka was feeling slightly antsy, her head lolling with drowsiness as she tried to keep herself awake. It was exhausting feigning engagement.

Her thoughts were wandering, but she was still paying attention to the lesson. Her eyes jolted around the room, wondering who the hell had given her those damn chocolates—not only chocolates, but cookies, truffles, and trinkets. She couldn't even come up with a first guess.

Her eyes fell upon an unsuspecting Midoriya. No way. Tokoyami? She didn't think so. Kouda? He was a possibility. Satou? Probably not.

Kirishima and Sero were obvious no's.

Denki? Maybe it was Denki. She didn't know. She didn't believe he'd done it. He probably had his sights set on other girls, anyway.

Speaking of, she glanced over at the boisterous boy in question. He was actually paying attention in class for once. The inquiry Ashido had made many moons ago burst back into her head.

Do you have a crush on Kaminari?

Kyouka looked Denki up and down. His lean frame, his lanky fingers, holding that pencil with such precision, not to mention his button nose and long eyelashes and pretty lips. But her eyes were glued to his hands.

Veins were springing up from his knuckles. He gripped the pencil tighter.

He focused in and grabbed the eraser, clenching his teeth as he violently rubbed out the lines.

She wondered who he'd given chocolates to today, if he'd given any out at all. She kind of hoped he hadn't.

Kyouka felt a tap against her shoulder. She turned. Bakugou.

"Yo, short stuff, I know you've got a thing for Sparky, but Midnight's looking at you."

He wasn't wrong. Midnight sure was looking at her. But that was the least of her concerns right now.

She exploded into a bright red hue.

"A-A thing?" she asked Bakugou, but it was already too late. He had his head deep in his notes.

A thing? For Kaminari?

Slowly but surely, she craned her neck to the right. She was lucky Denki wasn't paying her any mind, glancing behind him whispering to Kirishima. Her cheeks felt incredibly flush.

Kyouka settled back into her seat. Midnight was now focused on her lecture, mouthing off the names of common Quirks, and Kyouka was surprised by how normal everyone else could act but her. They'd all fallen into their routines. Their worlds were still turning, but hers had stopped completely. Hers was at a halt.

She shook her head. Her world started spinning again.

Kyouka had a bone to pick with Bakugou.

It was totally irrational to think she could like an idiot like Denki Kaminari. He was a great guy, and he had his sweet side, and he may or may not have been kind of good-looking, but she wasn't crushing on him. Now she had that thought hanging over her head, and all day it'd been eating away at her.

7:00 p.m. rolled around. Bakugou had just gotten back from his shower, sitting down on the couch.

Kyouka popped a squat next to him. "Yo," she said, crossing her arms. "You're super annoying, so I'm only talking to you because I have to." She toned her voice down. "Me, having a thing for Sparky? Not. Happening."

Bakugou folded his legs, let out a little laugh.

Kyouka kneaded her eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Bakugou began. "What you just said is what's funny."

Kyouka stood tall in her seat. "How's that funny? I don't have a thing for the guy, okay? Seriously!"

Bakugou twirled an All Might keychain around his finger. "Uh-huh. That electric loser is all you ever stare at during class."

"Is not!"

"Is too."

"Ugh! Now I really see why you piss everyone off." Kyouka got up and stormed off the couch, and when she looked back, Bakugou hadn't even moved a muscle.

Have a "thing" for Kaminari? What is he, stupid? I could never!

Denki passed by, and her heart rate picked up a few beats, but she just shoved it to the back of her mind.

Kyouka strummed her guitar.

"Yech." She clicked her tongue. Much to her dismay, her stomach was twisting and turning, performing frontflips and backflips and headstands and handstands and contorting onto its side. "Those chocolates tasted all right, but they aren't sitting well. Ate too many, I guess." She clenched her torso, rubbing it in slow circles.

"O-Oh…." Denki gripped the back of his neck. "Damn. That sucks."

"Yeah. I'll be fine, though. I can tell whoever made them gave it their all. They even bought star stencils and everything."

"Guess they did." Denki sat down on her floor. She told him in order to quell his boredom, he was allowed to play her drums. He blitzed over and beat the bass and the hi-hats a bit too forcefully, their echoes ricocheting off the walls, but she let it slide, because his smile was brighter than the midnight moon.

How they ended up here on Valentine's Day, when they were supposed to be spending their time with their nonexistent significant others, was quite the short story. They were both feeling lonely, and Denki was down. So they decided to be each other's place-holder significant others, they guessed. Yeah. That was what they'd call it.

The two made the choice to finish up their homework. There wasn't much left, and it only took a little less than an hour. Neither was tired after that, not even at 11:00 p.m.

"Kaminari? I have a question."

Denki leaned back against the side of her bed. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Have you started studying for finals?"

"Well, that came out of the blue. No. Why ask?"

Kyouka sunk to the floor. "Well, I just saw you working so hard in class today, and I thought maybe you'd begun studying early for once, and I was just trying to make conversation. Oh, and, I thought it would be beneficial to bring it up, in case you hadn't started, which you haven't, because it would get you going and stress you out less to start early. That's what I always do."

Kyouka went off on a tangent. She didn't even know why she went on a tangent. She never went on tangents. Her heart was just beating strangely fast, and her face felt strangely hot with the lights turned down so low.

"Okay."

Kyouka sat up straight, looking him dead in the eye. "Huh? Seriously? You agreed that easily?"

"Uh, obviously! You give me motivation to study."

This wasn't the first time his words had replayed over and over again in her head.

You give me motivation to study.

Kyouka's heart felt light and airy in her chest.

She liked that feeling—that feeling of a fluttery heart.

"Oh. Okay, then. Yeah, let's get going! I think this'll be really good for you, Kaminari."

She smiled, and he stared at her for an extra second. She swallowed down the lump in her throat.

She stood up. "Jirou?" Denki asked.

With a fleeting glance, she looked back down at him. "Yes?"

"Can we get snacks?" Once again, he'd pulled out all the stops with those puppy dog eyes.

"All right, all right, fine. Let me check the fridge."

The fridge was empty.

"Do you ever restock that thing?" Denki raised an eyebrow. There was only a water bottle or two on the shelf in the upper corner.

"No. The snacks you gave me last time lasted a while. I usually only eat during meals."

"Weirdo," Denki mumbled.

Kyouka's eyes widened. "What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"That was not nothing." She couldn't help but smile. "So, spill it, Sparky. What was 'nothing'?"

"Nothing! Seriously."

"Nuh-uh." Kyouka kneed him in the side. "You called me a weirdo. I heard it!"

"Ow!" Denki laughed. "Geez, Jirou. You're killing me here." He elbowed her in the thigh. "Ha. Take that."

"Oh, it's on."

They began kicking each other and kneeing each other and hitting each other and elbowing each other and running around the room to get away from each other until they were both on the ground out of breath in fits of laughter.

"Kaminari"—she wheezed—"I think you left a bruise!"

"Hey," he joked, "you left some on me too!"

"Damn! Maybe I should soften up a bit." She was able to speak normally now.

"No." Denki would still let out a giggle every once in a while. "Don't worry about it. That was"—he laughed—"pretty great, actually. All fun and games. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you were a wrestler."

"Nope. My dad was at one point, though."

"Makes sense."

Denki lay down on the floor. He spanned his arms and legs out like a snow angel, staring up at the ceiling. Kyouka walked up next to him, her head as tall as a skyscraper.

Once again, he put on his puppy dog eyes. "Jirou, I'm hungry."

Kyouka sighed. "Say it."

"We should go downstairs and get food."

Kyouka closed her eyes, smiled. To herself, she mused, "Why did I know you'd ask that?" She let out a little laugh. But at the same time, she just couldn't say no. And then, out loud, she said, "Sure. We'll have to be careful, you know."

"I know."

They'd have to tip-toe around. Memories of their past endeavor flooded her mind. Please let this be like last time. Kyouka wanted it to be like last time so badly.

Kyouka threw Denki a blanket, setting the scene. She wrapped one around herself as well.

They left the room quietly (or, at least, they thought so—it was hard to tell) and hopped onto the elevator together. Kyouka kept her distance once her arm brushed by his.

Denki walked out into the common area first. He ran right to the fridge, shoving packages of mochi and popsicles and yogurt into his hands. Kyouka went and raided the chips cabinet. Her stomach ache had gone away, and now it was replaced by rumbling and she was searching thoroughly for the sour cream and onion. The fact that half the bag was left nearly made her night.

Kyouka already missed the matryoshka doll incident. She missed memories like that.

Although, she was glad that tonight she was making new ones.

Kyouka grabbed some sodas. She even stuck her hand in the candy bowl, picking out a fistful of sweets, lollipops and gummy bears and strawberry Kit Kats. She may not have been the biggest fan of food between meals, but even her mouth was watering.

"Okay, Kaminari, I think we're all set—"

She froze.

It wasn't matryoshka dolls Denki was stacking up into the shape of a penis this time. It was coffee mugs.

He was snickering like a rascal.

"What do you think, Jirou? Don't you just love my new creation?" Denki wiggled his eyebrows.

"I— No comment."

She said she wasn't going to comment, but the laugh that left her lips told a whole different story.

"I knew you'd be a fan."

She rolled her eyes at the little innovation before her. "Let's go upstairs."

"Wait! Hold up!" Denki scoured through the cabinets. "I swear there was a glass in here with a mustache on it— Ah! Found it!"

"Oh, no. What are you doing now?" Kyouka announced from the sidelines.

"Just hold on a minute, will ya? It's no biggie."

Denki replaced a mug in the middle, nearly tipping all the rest over, with the mug with the mustache on it.

"There. Dick with a mustache."

"All righty, then. Dick with a mustache." Kyouka spouted out a light laugh. "That's what this has amounted to."

"Yes. Dick with a mustache."

Kyouka nodded. "Dick with a mustache."

It took her a moment to realize what she was saying.

"And it's time to go back upstairs." She grabbed him by the collar, and he whined as she pulled him toward the elevator.

Kyouka was relieved their adventure didn't get interrupted this time. No Sero walking in on them. No having to go upstairs in separate wings. No sleeping alone. No relying on electronics to communicate.

Just the two of them, and their real, live faces, and Kyouka's bed, and snacks, and sodas, and warm blankets. That was it. Kyouka already felt like cracking into the sour cream and onion flavored potato chips.

"All right, Kaminari, let's get started. What subject do you want to get the ball rolling with first? English? Isn't that your best subject?"

Denki scrunched up his fists. "Hell yeah!"

"Okay. Let's go all the way back to Unit Nine…."

Denki was a quick learner, but only in English was that the case. In every other subject he struggled. He couldn't seem to get the names of Japanese historical figures down, or common Quirks in the beginning eras. He had trouble with Pascal's triangle, and even more so with advanced grammar lessons in his native language. English was the only subject he got down pat. Hell, he was probably even better at it than she was.

In the middle of their studies, that ocean smell she now associated with him had wafted over into her area. She liked that smell. So much. It was so fresh.

And then she was blushing.

And Bakugou's voice was filling her thoughts again. I know you have a thing for Sparky.

Did she? Did she have a thing for Sparky?

Could she even have a thing for Denki Kaminari? Was that even possible?

Wasn't he too much of a goofball? Too wild? Too all over the place? Too confusing? Too much her polar opposite?

There was no way she could have a thing for him. Right?

Denki made a comment about the penis he'd sculpted downstairs. "Yo, Jirou," he started, peeling his eyes away from his notebook, "how long do you think it'll be until somebody finds my creation?"

"Morning, I bet. Bakugou or Midoriya might find it first."

Denki giggled. "Midoriya's reaction will be priceless!"

"Oh, God. Imagine if he and Bakugou found it together."

"Wait, wait. I'll be Midoriya; you be Bakugou. Let's do a play-by-play. You start. Go."

"What the fuck is this?" Kyouka began in a gruff voice. "I'm trying to make my goddamn coffee. What the fuck is this shit?"

"Why"—Denki snorted—"do you sound like an 80-year-old smoker?"

"Dude! You ruined it!" She punched his arm. "Just shut the hell up and go!"

"Okay, okay." Denki tuned his voice up ten octaves higher. "That is a penis, Kacchan."

It was then that Kyouka lost it.

She fell flat on the floor. Her laughs were so intense she wasn't even making a sound, but by the way her diaphragm was pushing up against her ribcage, her eyes billowing up with tears, anyone within a ten-foot radius would have been able to tell she was laughing, as whatever she'd just heard must have been utterly hilarious. And she wasn't just laughing—she was laughing her ass off.

"Why"—she chortled—"does it sound like that?"

"It?" Denki questioned, now also on the floor nearly pissing his pants.

"I don't even know." She let out a chuckle, and then went back to her impersonation of Bakugou. "I could fucking tell that much, Deku. You don't think I know what a penis looks like?"

"Well, it just seemed like maybe—"

Kyouka, eyebrows almost as furrowed as the bitch-faced Bakugou's, hit her fist against the table. "Shut the fuck up! I know what it looks like, okay? Geez! And why the fuck does it have a goddamn mustache?"

Denki raised his voice much higher again. "For comedic purposes?"

Kyouka pounded her fist against the table. "Well, Deku, I don't know what penis has a mustache, but it's not fucking funny!"

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Denki mumbled in his little girl voice.

Kyouka craned her neck. "What was that?"

"And then"—Denki giggled, his voice now going back to normal—"the room becomes a battleground of explosions and fiery blasts." He threw his hands up in the air to emulate the sight.

"Kaminari, I— I can't with you." She wiped away her tears and clutched her stomach. "I can barely breathe."

"Same here!" Denki snorted.

Kyouka's body felt hot. Her head felt all fuzzy, cloudy, and her limbs felt jumpy, like she was high even though she didn't know what the hell high felt like. She didn't need to know, though. This was better than anything drugs could offer.

She glanced at Denki, rolling over onto her side. She was still laughing like there was no tomorrow, and he was still all balled up on the floor.

Bakugou's words continued to eat away at her insides. That electric loser is all you ever stare at during class.

She took a look at him.

Just one glance made her feel warmer.

She felt safe here. She hoped he felt safe too.

Her heart felt content in this moment.

She stopped laughing for a second.

Her eyes met Denki's golden ones, glassy from all of their laughter. And finally, she caved in.

Oh.

So that's how it is.

That was how it had been all along.

Denki sat up straight, finally cooling down from his laughing fit. Kyouka was still a wheezing mess, but she was able to get herself together.

She was surprised she was barely blushing. She felt more high on adrenaline than anything.

"Oh, man, that might've been the best laugh I've had in a while." Denki's chest rose and fell.

Kyouka nodded. "I gotta agree with you on that one." She tried her goddamn hardest to keep her head on her shoulders. She couldn't let her cards show. "Kaminari, you always get me to laugh so easily."

She looked at him across the table. Even in the dim light, she could tell his cheeks were red.

She blushed, peering down at the ground. Denki rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks."

"Of course."

"Want to get ready for bed?" Denki asked.

Kyouka smiled. "Yeah. I'd love that."

In the mirror of her mini bathroom, Kyouka analyzed her facial features, applying toothpaste to her toothbrush. She wasn't a sight to behold, but she was certainly a distraction from her racing thoughts, a worthy diversion from the effervescence pumping through her blood. With her mind running a million miles a minute, that was what she needed right now—a distraction.

She walked out into her open room as she finished brushing her teeth. Denki was playing on his phone. Through a muffled mouth, she mumbled, "I'm still stuck on that topic of who gave me those chocolates."

"Huh?" Denki furrowed his eyebrows. "I can't tell what you're saying."

She repeated herself, her voice a little louder this time. "I wonder who gave me those chocolates."

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Back to that, I see. I wonder, too."

She spit her toothpaste into the sink. Then, she washed her face. "I really wasn't expecting anyone to even look at me that way in the first place. Never mind give me chocolates."

"Why are you so surprised? I told you a few weeks ago, right? You're beautiful."

Kyouka was so glad she had the bathroom wall to hide behind.

"T-Thank you," she muttered. She was surprised by herself. It was a rarity for her to stutter.

Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the bathroom. "You go. We'll finish this conversation after."

Denki brushed his teeth and washed his face and prepared himself for bed, and then he climbed into the sheets with her. At this point, climbing into bed together was their routine. Neither felt awkward while burrowing under the covers—they felt at home. Kyouka could safely say having Denki in her bed was like a little sliver of home.

Denki's head rustled against the pillows. "So, yeah," he started, "don't think you aren't deserving of chocolates. You very, very much are."

"Kaminari?"

"Yes?"

Her heart was beating fast. "Why are you saying all of this? All of this about the chocolates, I mean?"

"Because I… I just… think you deserve chocolates, Jirou. That's all. I really think you do. I really wish you'd give yourself more credit. There are people out there who find you gorgeous, and I know that for a fact."

Kyouka stared up at the ceiling.

How did Denki know that for a fact?

How could he know that for a fact?

Only if he was one of those people, of course.

And then it dawned upon her.

"It was you."

"Huh?"

"You." She wanted to turn her head toward him, but her shot nerves refused. "You gave me those chocolates."

"J—"

"You did, didn't you? If you don't say anything, I'll know it's you."

Denki didn't say a word.

Kyouka didn't know where she'd found the determination, but, running purely on a borrowed rush of energy, she rolled over onto the other side of the bed, slowly wrapping her arms around him.

Time stopped.

The ticking of the clock was suddenly so loud. The rattling of the heater was on overdrive.

"Jirou—"

She brought a finger to his lips, shushing him. "Don't talk."

Their bodies were so close. His back hit her chest, and after a few rhythmic breaths, their breathing synchronized. Kyouka tucked her elbows beneath Denki's arms.

"Kaminari… Thank you. Your chocolates were great."

"Didn't you say they gave you a stomach ache?"

She squeezed him tighter. "Yeah, but I liked them anyway, so it's okay."

She buried her head into his neck. "Thank you for letting me help you. Thank you for staying safe while I'm here being your person. Thank you for trying to get better. Please just let me be there for you." She sniffled. "Please. That's all I ask."

Kyouka began running her fingers through his hair. She ran circles along his back, wrapping her leg around his hip. Nothing was close enough for her. A little piece of her wanted to crawl into his skin.

"Jirou… I should be the one thanking you."

"Don't sweat it," she said.

"Oh, God." Denki put a hand to his mouth, shaking and sighing. "Uh, I will sweat it. Just a little, at least. Thank you for being here. All day, every day. Thank you for being my rock during my darkest times."

There was a pause.

"And, Jirou?"

She presumed he was about to say something about them.

"Don't worry about it, Kaminari. Whatever you're about to say—it'll all sort itself out. For now, just lie with me."

Denki surrendered. "Okay."

The two of them dozed off like that, and for the first time in a while, Denki got a good night's sleep.