Denki ran down the dorm hallway on Shinsou's floor and hoped he'd find him inside. He'd meant to bring the other boy's gym bag and try to use that as an olive branch but the second he woke up he threw on clothes and dashed upstairs. He slowed down and finally stopped when he got to the other boy's door and tried to figure out a game plan.

Okay, I'll bow and say I'm sorry. Uh, that I know you aren't a villain! Yeah. No, wait. Straight up shouldn't mention villains. Probably. Um, then I can try and give him a hug unless he hates me?

Denki didn't think he'd ever actually be ready for this confrontation, so he just surprised himself by knocking loudly on the door.

…

No answer.

Does he know it's me and just doesn't want to talk? Would he not open up for anyone? Could I pretend to be Aizawa-sensei and lie my way in? No, our voices are super different.

He knocked again.

…

Still nothing.

The blonde refused to be defeated. He had a mission to accomplish and a boyfriend to make up with, and if that meant sitting in front of his door till he has to come out then so be it.

Kaminari sat down and crossed his legs. He leaned against the door with his back so that he'd immediately feel it if it were to open.

It was twenty minutes of fiddling with his phone in front of the door before he heard any noises. Only it wasn't sound from inside the room, but the ding of the elevator down the hall. Denki perked up.

There, in all his exhausted glory, was a very disheartened boy with messy purple hair and a somber expression. Which was serious because even when Shinsou was sad he didn't actually look it.

Kaminari tripped over his own legs while trying to stand up as fast as he could, and started to run to the other boy.

"Toshi!"

Shinsou looked legitimately surprised, and then immediately went blank. The same look he gave to everyone he wasn't close to. It hurt to see. He stopped in his tracks the second Denki caught up to him. There was no getting past the blonde so he'd have to speak with him if he wanted to get to his room.

Okay, say 'I'm sorry' and 'I know you're not a villain.' Don't screw this up.

"I'm a villain!"

Fuck.

"What?" Hitoshi looked perplexed.

"I mean, I'm a villain...for not telling you that I totally believe in you and that I messed up and please don't hate me forever!"

Nice save.

"Let me get to my room. Save your apologies, I don't want to hear them."

"But, I wan-"

Kaminari felt his mind go blank and suddenly the world was fuzzy. When he came back to himself he was alone in the hallway and the sound of a slamming door echoed behind him.

He never thought Shinsou would use his quirk on him like that. He must have really ruined everything after all. He turned around to look at the closed door and considered his options. He could go back to sitting outside of it and apologize until Hitoshi forgave him out of sheer annoyance, but the boy could end up using his quirk again and then all that waiting would be for nothing. Scratch that. Denki could give him his space like he wanted and apologize later, but it didn't feel meaningful enough. How was he supposed to get his point across in the middle of class or at the lunch table?

The electric boy sighed, went to the elevator, and took it down to his floor. He walked to his door, with his shoulders slumped, and closed it behind him with a kick.

Shinsou might even just not go to class today. Dadzawa would totally let him get away with it…

If that was the case then Denki would skip it too. His grades didn't matter if the boy he loved was heartbroken.

Loved?

Oh, balls.

This wasn't quite the way Kaminari wanted it to hit him, but he couldn't argue with the facts. It was love. He might have felt that way for a while but it was too late now. He'd stuck his foot in his mouth and isolated the person who meant the most to him.

What would a real hero do? How would they fix this mess and show Hitoshi how special he was? How good he was?

Denki stared at his desk and saw the mysterious letter was still sitting on it. Untouched out of fear that it would somehow bring the sender back if he re-read it.

A letter...

He went to his school bag and grabbed his notebook. He tore out a page and wrinkled his nose at the frilled edges from where he'd pulled it. He plucked them off as evenly as he could.

He grabbed a pen from the bag and sat down at his desk to write.

It has to be super inspiring and romantic and show him that I love him and trust him more than anything.

A very tall order, now that Denki thought about it. He had a hell of a vocabulary but at the end of the day, he wasn't the best at putting all of those words together. He stared at the page, trying to will it to write itself, and racked his brain for the perfect thing to say. He knew he needed to explain himself. Shinsou wouldn't accept an "I'm sorry," unless he knew why Kaminari had frozen at that moment. He put pen to paper and wrote from the heart.

Afterward, he addressed it and signed it accordingly- he even drew a little heart next to his name and another one up by Hitoshi's. Kaminari realized he didn't have an envelope to put it in, and he sure wasn't about to re-use the creepy one. Then he remembered the ribbon Mina gave him to tie his hair up last week and rolled the paper up carefully before securing it with an uneven bow. It was light blue- which is to say it wasn't purple- but it'd have to do.

Denki evaluated his handiwork and deemed it good enough to deliver to the boy upstairs. When he reached the door he realized he'd have to play a game of ding-dong-ditch if Shinsou was to know the letter was there. He placed it neatly on the handle and knocked loudly before running for the stairs. Kaminari peeked around the stairway door to see Hitoshi open the door a crack, see the letter fall to the ground, look at it with suspicion, and then finally bring it inside.

Mission accomplished.

Shinsou stared down at the rolled up paper in his hands and wondered if the mysterious threat writer had decided to go for a cuter look. The ribbon seemed familiar but he couldn't place why. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anything right now except sleep. Last night was the worst he's slept in a long time, even though he got to lay between Hizashi and Aizawa under their small army of cats. This last week had been the worst thing to happen to him in a very long time. Maybe since losing to Midoriya at the Sports Festival. He'd been incredibly crushed by that loss, and no amount of family cuddling had gotten him out of his low mood for at least a week.

He sat down on his bed and pulled the ribbon off the paper. Better to get it over with now than to stand there guessing. Shinsou immediately recognized Kaminari's surprisingly neat handwriting.

My super dearest Hitoshi,

I totally get it if you never want to see me again, but at least let me tell you why I was stuck when you needed me. It's not an excuse for my behavior, I know that. I wouldn't insult you with empty words if I didn't really mean them. I think I'd be better at this if we spoke. Would you be okay meeting me after class? We could meet on the roof- neutral territory? Or we could sit in your room or mine? You can text me your answer if you don't want to see me soon. I'll try really hard not to take too much time out of your evening, but this is really important. So important that I have to say it in person. I already can't forgive myself for making you sad, and I'm glad you probably spent the night with your dads because they're way better at comforting you than I seem to be, but I really wanna tell you everything. If you still hate me afterward I'll accept that and leave you alone. I know I'm an idiot but please say you'll meet with me first?

I miss you so so so much,

(Hopefully still) Your Denki.

Hitoshi only noticed his eyes were wet when he saw a tear land next to the heart Denki drew beside his name. He used his sleeve to rub his face dry and thought about what he'd read. He believed that his boyfriend was sorry. He'd looked downright devastated before Shinsou used his quirk to make him get out of his way- something he still felt a little guilty about. The letter was so sincere, and so unforgivingly Denki in its language. It was comforting to be able to hold proof of the blonde's trust in him.

If asked about it later, Shinsou would say that the letter did not make him smile or give him happiness. He'd say that it was fine and probably try and Bakugou his way out of the situation with uncouth non-answers. Uncouth. The most polite way to describe Bakugou when he's being a little shit. He really does miss the squad, but not half as much as he misses Denki by himself.

Shinsou knew that a part of him had already forgiven his boyfriend, but that didn't make his feelings any less hurt. Then again, he had stormed off before letting Denki fully respond so he took a tiny bit of fault for it. Just a little though.

He debated how he'd answer. Would meeting in a neutral place be better? Does he have access to the roof? A part of Hitoshi thought it was only fair that Kaminari came to him to apologize rather than having to go to the blonde's room to hear him out. He pulled out his phone and debated the options of how to say it.

Yes, you're an idiot but you're my idiot please come to see me?

I've been thinking about your hair's lightning bolt streak and I really miss you?

Mic called you a Tesla Coil and that was funny. PS Come hug me?

None of these seemed like the right choice. Better to be direct.

You: 8 pm. My room.

Denki: TY! ill be there! 3

Shinsou could practically hear Kaminari's voice whenever he texted. Though his entire group of friends were the same. Especially Bakugou. He could type with perfect grammar and still feel like the living embodiment of the caps lock button.

He stopped himself from sending a "3" back by throwing his phone onto his bed. Dadzawa had already given him the ok to stay in his room and decompress, but now he sort of wished he'd agreed to go to class. He couldn't stand the suspense and his mind was racing with all the possible ways tonight could happen.

Hitoshi decided he'd do his homework...after reading the letter once or twice more.

At 7:42 pm the two boys stared each other down.

"Hey."

"You're early."

Kaminari stood in the doorway, afraid to outright ask to come in but hoping Shinsou didn't expect him to do all of this in the hallway.

"Can I, uh...talk to you?"

Shinsou stepped aside and let the other boy in. The big door to the room's patio was open and he might have appreciated the romantic nature of it if he wasn't 58% sure he was going to be dumped tonight. He'd even worn a nice shirt for the occasion; Denki didn't want to look like a slob when he got his heart broken.

The blonde noticed a cup of dark liquid- the odds of it being coffee were good- sitting on the floor next to a marked up copy of their English textbook. Shinsou must have been studying. Kaminari admired his dedication. After all, if he had the day off he'd milk it for every asinine distraction from school that he could. The electric user turned to meet his boyfriend's blank expression.

"So, you studied all day, huh?"

"Can you get to the point, Kaminari?"

"Ouch...back to last names?"

Hitoshi winced a bit at the pain in the blonde's voice.

"That's cool. Can I sit on the balcony with you? I'll try and be fast but it's not exactly a sentence. I gotta say it right, you know?"

Shinsou shrugged and walked past him to sit down beside his previously abandoned cup on coffee. He picked his textbook up and set it aside leaving the space next to him empty.

Kaminari took that as good a sign as any that he could follow and pressed himself as close as he could to the purple-haired boy's side without actually touching him. He took a deep breath and started.

"I'm totally about to monologue, but its important okay? Will you listen?"

Hitoshi sipped at his coffee. "If it's about how you've lost faith in me then I don't want to hear it."

"Dude, would I ever actually say that? Shut up. This is a big deal."

"Alright, say it then."

It hurt to see Shinsou using the same dead expression he wore with everyone outside the squad. Denki felt like he had taken four steps forward and twenty steps back just by hesitating when Hitoshi needed him most.

"I know I fucked up. I had so much to say at once but I was super scared and just stood there with my mouth open like an idiot. I should have supported you before anything else but I kept getting scared that it would make my biggest fears come true."

"That I was the villain?"

"No, dummy. I know you're not." Kaminari reached out hesitantly before placing his hand over the one Shinsou had draped on his own leg. After he wasn't immediately brushed off he squeezed the hand held in his and continued, "I wasn't scared of you. I'm scared of your dads, yeah, but I'll never be scared of you."

Hitoshi squeezed his hand back, it was barely any pressure but it meant the world to Kaminari to feel it.

"What would you have to be scared about? Nobody thought you did it."

"I know...I was afraid that if I sided with you everybody really would leave me."

Shinsou turned his head to look at Denki, unimpressed and confused, "Why would anyone ever leave you?"

The blonde sat quietly on the balcony looking up at the stars. He had managed to wiggle up right next to Shinsou's properly and then nestled his face against his shoulder.

The stars are wonderful but the boy next to me is even brighter.

Kaminari kept his gaze averted while he spoke. Slightly muffled from talking into Shinsou's shoulder, but still audible enough for both parties.

"I just...I've always had this constant fear that one day everyone really will abandon me. That they don't need the funny stupid one anymore, and that once we graduate they won't even notice I'm not around. I was never as smart, and my quirk is supposed to be so powerful but I can't even use it correctly without ending up fried. It makes me think that this whole time the people I love and care for don't actually care and love me back. Why should they? I know it's stupid, but I'm still waiting for the day it happens. I can't seem to convince myself that it won't."

The two sat in quiet for a moment processing the words said.

Kaminari steeled himself, "On top of that, I was really selfish. I saw Kirishima get hurt and all I could think was, 'that could have been me who hurt him.' I didn't even think that you did it. I was just focused on how bad I am with my quirk. Electricity is dangerous enough that I wasn't allowed to play with other kids when I was younger. My own sisters were kept away until I started being able to manage it. That's why I'm so touchy and friendly with everyone. I feel like if I don't get all the love now then I'll have nothing when they go." Kaminari sniffled quietly while Shinsou put an arm around him.

"Denki...We get hurt all the time in training. Heroes know the dangers but we're here to help regardless. No one would blame you for it. They know you wouldn't do it on purpose-"

"But I could kill someone! Not just hurting them for a while. Electricity runs through the body in less than a second and singes everything in its wake, and if it goes through the heart? Gone. Did you know it only takes one amp to shock hard enough to stop a heart? One..." Kaminari considered he was probably squeezing the other boy's hand too hard but he was afraid he'd leave if he didn't. "If you're outgoing and loud everyone assumes you have friends already. I stuck with that story and stayed alone for most of my school years. The only fear worse than them abandoning me is the fear that one day I'll really hurt someone with my quirk. It's gotten a lot more under control over the years, but my grandmother would always tell me that if I hurt them no one would want to play with me- I think she said it to get me motivated to control my quirk but all it really did was make me scared. What if I do find people who love me and then one day there are too many volts and suddenly everyone is ash in the wind, you know?

"Heh, sorry this has been really depressing. I promise I'm not making this all about me. I have a point here even though it doesn't seem like it."

Shinsou stayed silent but ran his fingers through Denki's hair as the blonde continued.

"What I'm trying to say is: I got scared of losing people by staying with you, but it only took me a little to see how stupid that was. I'd rather have you than all of them, and I know you understand what it's like to have a dangerous quirk. You're brave enough to be honest about it and use it carefully. I shove people's phone chargers into my mouth even though I could short their phones in a second, and possibly them too if they are close enough and I misjudge the wattage. You probably have these fears about hurting others too but you get up every day and work hard. You don't deserve to be looked at as anything less than a hero. I believe you didn't do it. No, I know that you didn't do it. I knew it then in the locker room too but I wasn't brave enough to say it."

Kaminari could hear the sigh of relief and feel the tenseness in the other boy's shoulders start to disappear. He leaned over and kissed the taller boy's cheek.

Shinsou turned to him and placed a soft kiss against his mouth in return, "Thank you. It means so much to hear you say that. Other people painting me as the bad guy is fine- I'm used to it, but I couldn't lose you."

Denki snorted.

"You definitely haven't. You might regret it one day but I am here to stay, babe. Hush, I'm not done though."

Hitoshi kept himself close to the other boy as he let him talk.

"It's because of those things, and a ton of others that I couldn't possibly finish listing, that I know I love you. Like, love you love you."

The shock on Shinsou's face was almost as brilliant as the smile that came after it. He pulled Kaminari closer and spoke quietly. "Those worries: being forgotten, being labeled then cast aside, unrecognized for the things you're good at, and trying your best anyway… yes, I do understand those feelings well. Our fears are similar, which is why I can promise you that I know how painful it is to feel that way and how lonely it makes a person. You can be surrounded by others and still be perfectly alone. Left out. It starts to seem like everyone else has somebody who needs and loves them.

"Since I was a child I was called a 'villain-in-training', ignored by previous friends and unspoken to for years. My teacher made me write my answers down instead of just letting me say them. My parents did the same. Its people like that who show you what good people and family shouldn't be.

"Your quirk and your lot in life has made you the really lovable person you are today. Do I wish it had been easier on you? Of course, but then you wouldn't be my Kaminari and he's the one I'm in love with. Does 1-A need an ass kicking for making you feel stupid just because you procrastinate and put your efforts into what you like and not necessarily math? Yeah, they do deserve one, but I know they also love you and believe in your ability to be a great hero someday- especially since we know you're such a great person.

"We love you, Denki. Hopefully, I've been able to articulate that to you because you deserve to know it."

Shinsou turned to look at Kaminari's face and found tears streaming from his eyes that he's been wiping away with his sleeve.

"But, our class better not love you the way I love you or I'm going to have to start a lot of trouble."

Kaminari hiccupped a laugh and smiled at hearing that before he buried his face into the crook of Shinsou's neck. He threw his arms around the taller boy and planned on never letting go.

How the hell did I get so lucky?

"Now that we've established we're both being stupid can we cuddle and put this shitty day behind us?"

Denki's laugh was muffled by Shinsou's skin, and the two realized just how much they'd missed each other. Kaminari stood first and helped pull his boyfriend up to his feet. The coffee sat abandoned as the two changed into pairs of Shinsou's sleep clothes- Denki had to roll up the sleeves and the pant legs, to the sound of smug appreciation.

"Yeah, let's go to bed. Tomorrow we have a squad meeting to hold. We're gonna crack this case wide open."

"Together?"

"Together."

Shinsou grabbed Denki's hand and held him still.

"Hold on, you've got something on your face"

"Really?"

"Yeah, this," he said before leaning down and softly placing a kiss on Denki's mouth. Shinsou would have to thank Aizawa for that trick later.