Denki sat, his uniform only half on, staring at the screen of the television. His face was completely blank, but his heart hurt. He saw it coming. They all did. But it was worse actually experiencing it than just imagining it.

Denki's eyes trailed over the repeated BREAKING NEWS floating across the bottom of the screen. Anything to not have to look at the stupid, excited faces of the news anchors. This was just an exciting story to them, but this was Hawks's life. And they had the audacity to be grinning and giddy? Disgusting.

"The Hero Public Safety Commission has made an official comment. Number two Pro Hero, Hawks, was sent in undercover to infiltrate and leak information from the League of Villains. Hawks has not been spotted since Friday evening when he was patrolling the city limits with his intern, Chargebolt. The Hero Public Safety Commission asks that the public keep an eye out for Pro Hero Hawks, speculating that he could be a hostage of the League of Villains, or potentially in hiding to avoid further confrontation."

Sure, they didn't exactly call Hawks a traitor, and there was no actual civilian manhunt being called by the Hero Commission, but it was so obvious. Wasn't it? Would civilians overlook the fact that just outing this information could put Hawks into harm's way if he was still with the League of Villains when it aired? That was, of course, the Commission's intentions, Denki was sure. But to observant citizens, it's a questionable comment to make to a news station, even if they had believed it was the truth.

Denki figured it could have been worse. It was a relief that Hawks's original mission wasn't a secret among the League of Villains. There would be no surprises there to talk his way out of, at least. And it also didn't seem like the Hero Commission had imagined that to be a possibility.

Denki's phone vibrated against his hand. He didn't even remember picking it up and unplugging it from the charger before sitting down to watch the news segment.

Unknown Number

"Hello?"

"Denki! Oh! Guys! Denki answered! I'm putting you on speaker." There was a change in the ambient sound coming through the phone, then, sounding more distant and echoey, Hawks asked, "have you seen the news?"

"Yeah. Just watched it now. Are you okay?"

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Hawks said. "I'm just worried that they mentioned you."

"Do you think they'll come after me next if they can't find you?" Denki asked, taking a deep breath to calm down, his racing thoughts doing nothing to ease his anxiety.

"I don't know, so we should get our stories straight now. I think they're thinking that I just blatantly ignored their orders and sent you back to the dorms instead of taking you to meet with the League. I think that's our safest bet."

"I'll be able to avoid Force Majeure's quirk that way, too. Maybe that's why they haven't come barging in, yet," Denki guessed. "They know that even if you did take me, I wouldn't be able to tell them anything."

"That's a good point. While they might not look at you as suspicious, thinking that we just had a distant and strictly professional intern relationship, I don't doubt that they'll try again. They're either going to try to get you to sign on with them after graduation, or they're just going to keep being careless when you're concerned and hope that the villains take care of you for them." Denki heard the wince in Hawks's voice, even as he spoke the truth and everyone listening knew it. "You need to make strong ties, and fast, to someone who the Commission knows better than to mess with."

Denki knew he was safe as long as he was a UA student, but with graduation nearing, that protection had a time limit.

"Who did you have in mind?" Denki hedged, bracing himself for an answer he wouldn't like.

"Endeavor—"

"Hawks!" Denki whined.

"I know," Hawks insisted. "But he's the one that the Commission is going to hesitate to get involved with. He inherited his prestige from his parents, and the Commission never had anything to do with his rankings. They never paid him any favors because he didn't need them. They have nothing to hold over his head. He's currently number one. He's the best option."

"Dabi? Shigaraki?" Denki tried. "Give me reasons why this is a bad idea?"

"We agree with Hawks," Dabi said.

"We thought about some of the underground heroes, like Aizawa. But you're too bright and noticeable to be underground. If Endeavor is going to be useful for anything ever in his whole life, it's going to be protecting you."

Denki paused to take a few deep breaths, then asked, "it's really that serious, huh?"

"I know you can take care of yourself, sparky. But they frame you for something, and get the chance to get those quirk-cancelling cuffs around your wrists?" Hawks offered. "Believe me, you'd beg to work with Endeavor over experiencing any of that."

"You sound like you speak from experience," Denki said, brow furrowed in agitation. Denki squeezed his eye shut and inhaled sharply when Hawks didn't respond to refute Denki's assumption. "I'll go see Endeavor after school today and plead my case."

"I'm sorry," Hawks said. "I know this is—"

"Thank you," Denki interrupted. "I need someone in my corner who is always looking out for me and giving me advice, even—especially when I don't want it. I'm glad I have all of you to do that for me. Is there anything else I need to do while I'm at it?"

"Actually, yes," Hawks said.

Shigaraki continued, then. "We've been tracking Full Throttle, and we've been keeping an eye on where UA has been taking you off campus since last year to make sure that his last known location and your location are never too close. But with the broadcast, if he saw it, he now knows that you're still alive."

Denki let out a big breath. "Shit." He hadn't thought about that. Being out on patrol with nothing bad happening had given him a false sense of protection.

"That about sums up our feelings on it, too," Dabi said.

"Okay. I know what he looks like, and I can keep my distance pretty well, now," Denki said, listing off his qualities on his fingers, even though no one else was in his dorm room to see him. "What else do you have for me?"

"We don't know," Shigaraki admitted. "Not much is known about him at all. He might not have even seen the broadcast. He seems to just drop off the radar until he pops up again every few weeks to cause more destruction. Then he disappears just as quickly as he appeared."

Denki's dorm room door slammed open and Midoriya rushed in, slamming the door shut again behind him. "Kaminari! Did you see the news—? Sorry for just barging in, but I feel like this is super important for you to know about right away… and I'm interrupting a phone call. I'm so sorry! I'll come back!" He turned around to reach for the door.

"It's fine," Denki said with a reassuring smile. "It's just the League."

Midoriya froze in place, hand inches from the doorknob. After a few breaths, he turned around to face Denki with clear question in his eyes.

"Midoriya!" Shigaraki's voice greeted loudly through the phone, enough to carry across the empty space even without being on speaker.

"Shigaraki," Midoriya greeted through his teeth in return.

"Class is starting soon," Denki said into the phone. "I'll call you guys with updates after I try to land the contract this afternoon."

After a chorus of wishes of good luck, Denki hung up and gave Midoriya his full attention. "I did see the news."

"Hawks?" Midoriya questioned. The spoken question was so simple, the underlying layers so complex.

"He's safe," Denki said with a nod. "For now, at least."

Midoriya sighed in relief and nodded.

"So, Force Majeure…"

"Yeah. She altered her quirk to include you in the in-group," Denki said. "And it didn't hurt. Everyone thinks that it hurts, but it didn't hurt me, so no need to give me pitying looks, okay?"

Midoriya offered a small smile. "Okay," he agreed. "What contract were you talking about? Am I even allowed to know? It's fine if not."

"I'm going to try to get a hero contract through Endeavor's agency. Some baddies are after me, you know how it is," Denki said, hoping his nonchalant shrug would mask how nervous he felt.

"I do know how it is," Midoriya agreed easily. "Shouto has been going back and forth about joining his father. Maybe knowing that you're trying for the same thing will help him make his final decision."

"Oh, yes!" Denki exclaimed. "It would be so much better if you two were there, too!"

"How do you figure that I would be there, too?" Midoriya asked, grinning.

Denki smiled. "Very little gets past me, Midoriya."

Midoriya rolled his eyes and started to list on his fingers. "Except that I had a connection to the League, too."

"Yes, there's that."

"And I really am quirkless and that I didn't just get my quirk late."

"And that."

"And that my quirk is eerily similar to All Might's, whose strength had been weakening as mine had been increasing."

"And that."

"And—"

"Okay, I think we get it," Denki said, laughing. "Let me rephrase." Midoriya nodded and extended his hands in a 'go ahead' manner. "Very little in the way of romance," Denki purred, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, "gets past me."

Midoriya brought his hand to his chin as he thought. He started nodding slowly, shallowly, but rapidly gained confidence. "Yeah. I can't argue against that."

"That's right!" Denki exclaimed as he jumped up in celebration.

"Come on," Midoriya said, openly laughing. "Let's go before we're late to class."

-.-.-

"Only three more weeks to go!" Denki announced as he sat down at the table with his boyfriends, sliding his lunch tray in place in front of him.

"How close does it have to get before you start counting the seconds?" Hitoshi asked.

Neito nudged his soulmate with his shoulder. "Don't be giving him any ideas."

The soulmates turned to look at Denki who had a thoughtful face as he did the math in his head.

Hitoshi looked back at Neito with a shrug. "Too late!"

"Want to go do some training?" Neito asked as they finished their lunch early.

"Yeah! Let's—"

The familiar, warm haze enveloped Denki's mind, and he would have laughed if he had any control over his body.

"I told you he wouldn't notice!" Neito said to Hitoshi. "Follow me," he commanded Denki as he led the way to the nearest training gym.

"That proves nothing," Hitoshi argued. "Even if he did notice, he would have answered. You know that!"

"Why do you always have to argue with me?" Neito asked, exasperated.

"Because I—"

"Follow me," Neito commanded cheekily to the blank-faced Hitoshi.

Hitoshi could do nothing but obey. No one who walked past them bumped into him to knock him out of his own quirk; everyone was already familiar with the ease and comfort that the trio worked together in, so no one was going to come to his rescue. No, he'd just have to sit there in his head and fume as his legs followed commands that were not his own.

When he was finally released when they had arrived at their destination, he turned his glare on Neito. "I really love you, you know."

"But?" Neito asked, grinning.

"Nope," Hitoshi said, relaxing and shaking out his shoulders. "I just really love you."

"You can't do that to me," Neito said, a warning tone to his voice.

"We both really love you, because you're the best," Denki chimed in, snaking his arm around Neito's and Hitoshi's waists as he wormed his way between them.

"You can't counter my mean shit with your love! That's not fair!" Neito grumbled under his breath.

No matter how many times they teamed up on him like that, though, he couldn't train his cheeks to not turn pink.

"Did you see the news this morning?" Denki asked as they ran laps to warm up.

"No. Why?"

So, in that big, empty gym, three boys got in a quick workout, got up-to-date with current events, and planned some counter-strategies for when things get out of hand faster than anyone else might see coming. Anyone else, that is, except for three third-year UA students.

-.-.-

"I'm here to join your agency," Denki said as he let himself in, not even bothering to knock.

"Who are you?" Endeavor asked, obviously wondering who this weird kid was, walking into the number one hero's office like he owned the place.

"Kaminari Denki. Chargebolt, if you will."

Endeavor knew who this kid was. He just needed a reminder, was all. This is the kid who was kidnapped by the League of Villains, which led to the fight that was ultimately the major catalyst to All Might's retirement. Endeavor was glad to be number one, where he rightfully belonged, but still felt a little bitter that it happened the way it did. He wanted to earn it through hard work and endurance, but instead, it just felt like the villains cheated and ended up actually helping Endeavor meet his goal. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, despite All Might's vocal support of Endeavor's new ranking as number one.

"I don't recall sending an invitation."

"That's why I'm perfect for the job!" Denki quipped, throwing himself down in one of the overstuffed armchairs on the other side of Endeavor's desk. "I'll keep track of the invitations you send so that you won't have to."

Endeavor narrowed his eyes as he looked the kid up and down. He's a confident one, he'd give him that.

"I don't need an electric type."

Denki perked up. "How did you know that I was an electric type?"

"You're in Shouto's class, aren't you? I know who trains next to my son. I don't have many spots open," Endeavor said.

"And you're holding out for Shouto, right?" Denki asked. "That's some nice nepotism you have going there. I'm impressed, really. It's all so blatant and shameless."

Endeavor's eye twitched. Of course, everyone would know about their little disagreement about where Shouto should end up for the beginning of his hero career, including this little, electric annoyance.

"Kidding!" Denki said with a laugh, holding his hands up in surrender, sensing that he was nearing Endeavor's boiling point. "Shouto is really powerful and strategic. Any agency would be lucky to have him!"

"Listen, Chargebolt. Thank you for your interest, but I need people who will have my back. People who can take care of themselves. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course, I do!" Denki said. Endeavor had a feeling based on Denki's chipper attitude that he, in fact, did not understand. "Like I said, I'm perfect for the job! Where do I sign?"

"People who are kidnapped by villains don't seem to also be the type of people who can take care of themselves," Endeavor said, figuring that he had to be very to-the-point if he didn't want Denki to keep dancing around the issues.

"I could argue that the people who failed their provisional licensing the first time might also have difficulty," Denki said, humor dancing in his eyes, no sign of insult or indignation. "But I'm classier than that. It would be rude to bring up Shouto's failures in his own father's office, would it not?"

"What—"

Endeavor was interrupted by the doors bursting open yet again, and Endeavor almost burst a blood vessel from the anger at the consistent disrespect. He opened his mouth to yell, but hadn't yet decided if it would be words of anger or just a scream of frustration when he saw his son and Midoriya standing in the doorway.

"Speak of the devil!" Denki chirped with a toothy smile, sending a small wave in Shouto's direction like he hadn't just been insulting him to his father's face.

Endeavor stood up. "Shouto, are you here to accept a place in my agency?"

"Maybe," Shouto said. "If you offer Deku and Chargebolt the same type of deal."

Endeavor took a breath and looked at the three almost-heroes in the room.

"You're my son. And you're so powerful. You'll always have a place here. Deku is… fast. He's strong. He could fill in some weaknesses among our ranks. But Chargebolt—we don't have a need for an electricity quirk," Endeavor tried to reason. When Shouto did not look impressed, he added, "plus, I don't know if you'd all get along." Who could get along with a smug brat who talks shit to Endeavor's face about his son?

Shouto smiled and looked at Denki. "What did you say?"

Denki shrugged, rubbing the toe of his shoe against the carpet in faux bashfulness. "Just that I shouldn't be looked down on when you're the one who failed your provisional licensing."

Endeavor was aghast at the audacity of this kid to repeat that to his son's face. He was about to order the blonde out, but then Shouto laughed.

"He has a point, Endeavor," Shouto said, the humor still lacing his voice. Then, more seriously, "Chargebolt can keep up with me during pre-training workouts."

Endeavor paused, reconsidering what he was about to say. "Really?"

Shouto nodded.

"And I'm not just an average electric type," Denki said, deciding that he had deserved the right to brag, at least a little. And hey, if Hawks said to trust Endeavor, then he would. He didn't have to like him to trust him, he decided. "I'm faster than Deku!"

Endeavor looked warily at Denki, but didn't respond, turning back to Shouto. But Shouto and Midoriya were looking at Denki, too, surprise clear in their eyes.

"I'm faster than Hawks?" Denki tried when he didn't get the response that he was looking for the first time.

That got Endeavor's attention. He snapped his head back in Denki's direction.

"Hawks is the fastest hero."

"Sure is, until I graduate in a few weeks," Denki said, faking nonchalance by examining his fingernails instead of the hero's face like he so desperately wanted to. He had a mission from Hawks: Sign on with Endeavor. He'd regret failing, he was sure, so he was going to try his best to succeed. "Then I'll be taking that title."

"What?" Midoriya asked, eyes not leaving Denki as he slipped off his backpack to pull out his notebook and a pen.

"Hawks sent me here," Denki admitted to Endeavor, staring him down to try to convey the importance of this information. "He said that having a contract through your agency will protect me." From the Hero Public Safety Commission went unsaid, but completely understood on Endeavor's side. Endeavor wasn't a perfect human being by any means, but he was actually a decent hero, and he wasn't stupid.

"That's a big risk you're asking me to take on empty promises," Endeavor argued.

He never teamed up with Hawks because of his affiliation with the Hero Commission, so why risk getting on the Commission's bad side by taking on this kid who held no respect for him? Though, if Endeavor sat down to think about it, he was trying to get Shouto to sign on with him, and no one had less respect for Endeavor than his own damn kid.

"Fine," Denki said. "Let's play tag. If you can catch me, I'll leave, and I won't bother you again. If you can't catch me, then you give me my contract."

Endeavor considered for a few seconds, stood up, and stretched his arms out, preparing himself for a chase. "Time limit?"

"We can go as long as you want, big guy. You'll give up before I do."

Endeavor wasted no time and leaped across his desk without warning, arms going around Denki, thinking about how easy this was to get this kid out of his hair without having to be the bad guy in front of his son. But then, Denki just wasn't there. A light flashed before his eyes and thunder boomed in his ears… well, maybe. It was so quick that he wasn't sure if it actually happened or if something weird with his blood pressure was to blame. Then, Denki was across the room, giving a little, taunting wave.

Midoriya and Shouto stood, eyes wide as they took in the sight of Denki. Midoriya broke out of his trance first, hurrying to scrawl new information on the pages in his notebook dedicated to Denki.

"Hawks taught me how to turn into lightning," Denki said when he saw that Endeavor wasn't going to make another impulsive leap toward him. "He said himself that even he's not faster than the speed of light."

An hour later, Denki walked back to the dorms with Shouto and Midoriya. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," he admitted. "I didn't expect him to actually follow through with our little deal. I thought I'd have to work harder than that."

"He's cooled off a lot since I first interned with him," Shouto said. "That's why I was considering signing with his agency in the first place. Even after everything I've done to go directly against him, he still welcomes me. He didn't even argue with me when I found out that Yaoyorozu is my soulmate, but I chose Midoriya, instead."

"To be fair, Yaoyorozu also chose Jirou over you," Midoriya said, fighting the blush that crawls across his face every time he thinks about Shouto announcing that he found his soulmate, but he was taking Midoriya as his partner instead. Midoriya then spoke to Denki, "Endeavor's been trying to talk things out and use reason rather than force, and he's actually getting better and better at it."

"Ah," Denki said. "He found out that honey attracts more flies."

"Exactly," Midoriya said at the same time Shouto said, "huh?"

"Can you show us that lightning thing again?" Shouto asked.

"I'll do you one better," Denki answered with a quickly growing grin stretching across his face.

As lightning started to crackle across his body, he reached one arm out to each of his newly signed workmates. When, in the next instant, they were all standing outside the gates of UA, Shouto and Midoriya turned to look at Denki, stunned.

Denki shrugged, said "Hawks taught me that!" and strolled in through the gates, the stunned duo following after him, completely speechless.

Midoriya's fingers twitched as he anticipated how much writing and analyzing and predicting he was going to do once he was back in his dorm, surrounded by his notebooks on the floor and piled on his desk.

A/N: Ngl, the first time I wrote this, I wrote Endeavor too nicely. He was hesitating and shit. I hated it as I was writing it, but after going back after getting the first version typed out, I feel a lot better about it. I removed the hesitating and added some indignation in there. I also made Denki instigate a little more. Haha! I've never written Endeavor before, and this isn't meant to be an Endeavor-bashing fic. That said, I'd appreciate any con crit you have on my Endeavor and what I could do to make him more in character (again, not bashing, though) next time!