Kaminari's mind is back and forth the whole night.

He tries to focus on the good, but his stupid mom's words keep coming back to him. And they always come back to the front of his mind when he's having the most fun.

Mr. Aizawa taught them how to play poker and how to bet. He'd also eaten a few desserts and dinner with them all before telling them not to stay up too late and leaving, messing up Kaminari's hair with a head rub.

It was so nice.

And Aizawa didn't want anything from him.

Didn't do anything to take advantage of him.

It made him feel good.

Shinso had bugged Kaminari about his present from Mr. Aizawa all night, and now that everyone was in their own dorms, minus Shinso who was in Kaminari's, Kaminari gave Shinso the bag with his presents to look at.

"He gave you money and snacks?"

The blond nodded, smiling widely.

"That, an offer for me to make money, and gave me permission to have a cat here," he smiles, tears building up.

Shinso smiles at Kaminari. "No way."

He nods. "Yes way."

Shinso laughs in disbelief and nods his head once in a sort of prideful way. "You deserved this. I didn't want to bring it up, but your mom seemed not so happy with you when we went downstairs. How- did- what happened?"

Kaminari bites the inside of his cheek nervously until Shinso puts his hands on either side of his face, squishing his face together.

"Don't do that. Aizawa got you gum, here," Shinso says, giving the blond a stick of gum.

Kaminari takes a deep breath and nods, taking the gum before unwrapping it and chewing nervously.

"I-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but remember, you don't have to tell me. Say you don't wanna talk about it, and we're good. Just definitely talk about it with your therapist."

The blond huffs a laugh.

"She basically told me she didn't believe me, that I lied, and that she knew I was gay, but my 'fake' story about what my dad did should have encouraged me to get a girlfriend instead to make it more believable," he says, laughing a bit at the end.

"Oh," he quickly adds, "then she left me crying in front of the dorms where Aizawa found me and made my day better."

He scratches at his arm as he chews anxiously to prevent himself from spiraling.

Before Shinso can even say anything, Kaminari speaks up again. "But, it's okay. My day started off great, with the date and all, and then I woke up miserable because I missed my mom, you know? And then it got better because fucking- you are so great to me, but then my mom showed up and made my day worse instead of making it better like I was hoping. And then it got better again because of Aizawa and he made things so much easier for me. I was just up and down today but it ended great."

Shinso takes all of that in as he watches the blond scratch at himself in the same spot.

"That doesn't mean you can't still feel bad about the bad parts. She's your mom, Denki. It hurts, and that's okay. You can hurt."

The blond nods, looking down with tears in his eyes, letting his arms fall to his sides. "It really does hurt," he pauses before saying, "A hug."

"What?"

"All I wanted from her. I just wanted a hug." God, his voice is so heartbreaking. It tugs at Shinso's heart.

"Oh, come here," he says, and Kaminari practically throws himself into the taller teen's arms, body sagging into his, and feeling all the tense energy from before fade.

"You're so good for me. I can't believe you like me."

"Of course I like you. How can I not?"

"There's lots of reasons why not, but you find reasons to stay. That's so fucking weird, you're like an angel or fucking something," Kaminari says into Shinso's chest.

They're both still standing in the middle of the room, so they probably look ridiculous.

Shinso's hands had wrapped around Kaminari's upper body comfortably, and the blond appreciated the hand placement.

The only sounds in the room are Kaminari's sniffling and the fan.

"It's so weird. Today was actually really good when you take away the bad parts."

"Kinda cheesy to say, but I wish I could take away those parts. Ew, I sound gross," Shinso laughs and Kaminari can't help but do the same.

"You're stupid."

"You're one to talk."

Kaminari shrugs in Shinso's arms. He feels like doing something. He doesn't know what. Maybe a game or watching a movie.

"Oh my god."

Shinso pulls Kaminari back and looks at him with wide eyes. "What?"

He sounds scared and Kaminari feels kind of bad for it.

"We need to watch Lilo and Stitch."

Shinso makes a weird face. "H- what?"

Kaminari laughs this time and his gum almost falls out. "A movie. You'll see why."

Shinso nods in agreement, finding Kaminari's decision okay.

They move around, Shinso leaving quickly to get his laptop and Kaminari grabbing blankets and fixing the bed.

He thinks about how he's never said Shinso's given name. Not out loud and especially not to call out to Shinso. Maybe he can just say it once or twice so that Shinso won't feel weird or anything.

It's also for his own peace of mind.

Said teen comes back after a while, and smiles at the blond. "Got the goods," he says, holding up some snacks and his laptop.

They get comfortable and Shinso looks for the movie as Kaminari thinks about whether or not to use his first name. He also puts his gum in a wrapper so he can eat snacks.

"Okay, I found i- what the fuck is that blue thing?" He asks, pointing at Stitch on the screen next to Lilo.

Kaminari laughs. "That's Stitch."

Shinso 'oh's' and hits play and Kaminari wraps an arm around him. "Thank you, Hitoshi."

Shinso's about to lose his shit. No fucking way Kaminari just used his first name. He's going to cry. No, he's gonna scream.

Holy shit he might just combust or something. God damn why does that make his heart beat so fast? The blond is so cute he could just fuck around and start a religion right then and there.

He's literally winning right now.

Oh god.

"Please don't thank me," he says, somehow still able to think, "I'm legit doing the bare minimum."

Kaminari laughs.

"Not if you feed me snacks," he shrugs and Shinso decides that, you know what? He might just start that religion.

Shinso does end up feeding Kaminari snacks as they watch, laughing at the blue little thing that has six arms. Shinso thought it looked weird, but now it's kind of cute.

"Wow. San Francisco," Lilo says.

It clicks.

That's why Kaminari wanted him to watch this movie so bad. He didn't get the reference.

Shinso smiles, and looks over at Kaminari to see him already smiling at him.

His heart can't handle this.

~~~~~

The following school week is comprised of Shinso and Kaminari suffering through one last week of school.

Kaminari went to his counselor multiple times actually, which kind of made Shinso nervous, but also relieved that the blond was taking action and taking care of himself.

The blond would sometimes wake up earlier to make breakfast for the two, and now it's the end of Friday which means their first year is officially over.

Shinso's birthday was on Monday, and the blond used what money Mr. Aizawa gave to him to take him out to dinner and buy some last minute gifts. The money was legit a life saver for the blond since he'd just run out of money recently.

The class is having a graduation/birthday party. The birthday part is for Shinso.

Shinso honestly would've been more than happy with the date Kaminari took him on and the gifts he was given, but the class wanted to do more, and since they were in the celebrating spirit, Shinso just let them merge the two events.

The only thing that tugged at his chest the entire night was Kaminari.

Everyone would be going home tonight. Todoroki and Bakugo, who were the other two students who had parent troubles, were going home for a bit starting tonight, but got permission from Aizawa to stay at the dorms as well. They had already made plans with their families to go home, so they had to suffer through that for a bit. That meant Kaminari would be alone.

Shinso wanted to stay, but his parents planned this whole thing out of town and since they made the reservation months ago, buying a ticket for Kaminari wasn't possible.

It really hurts him to know that the blond will be alone in only an hour or two. Some of the class is already getting ready to leave.

"I'm really sorry you couldn't come," Shinso apologizes, holding Kaminari's shoulders and looking at him dead in the eye.

Kaminari smiles, rolling his eyes.

"It's okay, I promise. I'll be fine. I'm still gonna go to my counseling appointments and stick to the schedule. Just text me, yeah? We can hang out when you get back," Kaminari reassures.

Shinso had told the blond that he'd leave his laptop for the blond to use when he was alone. They could use social media to keep in touch.

"Okay, just humor me and hang with me for the rest of tonight. I have to go in like an hour and a half," Shinso frowns.

Kaminari nods, and Shinso doesn't know if he's just putting the idea in his head to make himself feel better or what because Kaminari actually seems happy. Even though he's going to end up alone in this building by the end of the day, he's still so upbeat.

Shinso doesn't know how he does it.

"You're amazing, you know that? I- you're just- you're amazing," he nods.

Kaminari smiles at his words. His face is slightly red and it makes Shinso's heart beat just a tad bit faster.

"Okay you two, come on, Mr. Aizawa is here and he wants to say something," Mina says, pulling their arms.

"Okay okay."

"Fine."

Most of the class is already around their teacher and said man is waiting patiently for everyone to get to him before he starts talking. Kaminari knows that his bored look is just an act. He cares about this class, and anyone with common sense knows this.

After the last few students join, their teacher clears his throat.

"This class has been through shit. Lots of it," he starts and some people laugh, "but you guys got through it and you'll get through more because life is always throwing shit at you. Always. Some get more shit than others, but this class can get through it. It's hard sometimes, and now that you all are second years, you'll have to deal with more, but I guess since I'm the adult here, I'll always help. No matter what. Even if it doesn't have to do with being a hero."

The class takes this in and a happy feeling surrounds them. A hopeful feeling.

A lot of anxieties leave their systems and Mr. Aizawa smiles. Well, kind of? It's a little weird, but he's trying.

"I'm aware some of you have to leave now, so get going. Enjoy your break and I'll see you next semester, second years," Mr. Aizawa finishes.

With that, some students start leaving while others get back to celebrating and eating desserts.

Their teacher joins them in the fun as the number of people in the room gets smaller and smaller as it gets closer to nine. Shinso hates that he has to leave, already getting texts from his parents.

He asks them if they can wait until everyone leaves, and they say it's okay.

Mr. Aizawa is apparently also staying until the very end because he's sitting on the couch chatting with Tokoyami who is the only other student here besides Kaminari and Shinso.

Then it's down to Kaminari and Shinso and Shinso looks upset that he's leaving the blond alone.

"Alright, Shinso. Nezu informed me that there's been a car out there for about an hour. They said they're just waiting for you. I'll keep an eye on Kaminari for you, so get going."

Shinso sighs heavily and looks at Kaminari who's just smiling a bit.

"Go on, I'll be fine," Kaminari waves, and Shinso blushes red as he goes in and presses a kiss to Kaminari's hand before saying bye and rushing off with his bags that he left by the door.

Kaminari barely has time to process it because Shinso's already out the door.

His face is hot and when he looks up, Mr. Aizawa is covering his mouth with his hand because he's definitely trying not to laugh.

Kaminari face palms in embarrassment.

"I hate him."

"Kid, it doesn't look like you do."

He sighs heavily and starts going into the kitchen to pick up trash and put away some things that are in the way.

He puts away the desserts that were left over, deciding he could pig out on them for a few days since he's still gonna keep up the workout schedule. There's also some groceries that were left that the class didn't finish, but Kaminari is grateful that they didn't because he at least has four days worth of groceries in there, so he won't have to go to the store too soon.

Mr. Aizawa joins him after a while and helps clean up, but Kaminari stops and turns to him.

"You don't have to help me. I'm okay to do this by myself," he says.

The man shakes his head. "I know you are, but I just wanted to congratulate you on becoming a second year. I'm proud of you, kid. You've had more than enough reasons to give up, but look at you," he says, gesturing to the blond, "you're here and you're doing great."

Kaminari obviously doesn't expect such nice words from Aizawa. He's not really known for giving encouragement and compliments so easily, especially not being emotional.

"Wow, thanks teach."

Mr. Aizawa nods, and then sighs as he changes the subject.

"Listen, I know your mom hasn't been good to you for a while," he starts, but Kaminari cuts him off quickly.

"It's fine, sir. I don't need her in order to succeed. Not every hero gets support from their parents and I sure as hell don't need it from mine."

He wipes the counters aggressively as he tries not to focus on how much his mom sucks for not believing him and even going as far as disrespecting him. It's so humiliating and he just can't believe that this is who his mom is.

He's just so mad at her. His emotions towards her were a mix of sad and mad, but now he's just mad.

How hard is it to be on his side?

"I know you don't need it, but it sucks not having it. I believe you Kaminari. Whatever you said happened, I believe it happened. I feel very bad for your mom because she ruined her chances of being able to be a part of your life. I know I'm not your actual parent, but I will be here for you. You don't need constant support, but it's good having it."

Kaminari had slowly but surely stopped wiping down the counter and now he just stares at his hand as his vision blurs with tears.

"I don't understand her. Wha- why doesn't she believe me? Literally what goes through her fucking mind that makes her think 'oh, that's just Denki being Denki and lying about Kisho r-' fuck," he half yells and runs his hands over his face roughly.

"Shit, I'm sorry," he says, realizing his outburst and feeling dread at the situation, "I don't know what came over me, that was really inappropriate. I swear it won't happen aga-"

"No. You're right. You have every reason to yell and be mad or sad or confused or feel whatever you feel. Be mad. Lash out. Do anything, but don't bottle it up and wait for the bottle to break. In this case, you're the bottle."

Kaminari laughs just slightly and then sighs dramatically as he rests his upper body on the kitchen counter.

"Alright. Don't think I'm gonna skip out on therapy. I'm going and I'll make sure to schedule more appointments a week if I need to."

Mr. Aizawa nods in approval.

"That's good. Also, since you have a lot of free time, we can spar sometimes if you're okay with it. Once a week at least. Sound good?"

Kaminari's eyes nearly pop out of his head with the offer. "Hell yeah."

~~~~~

Mr. Aizawa had left the dorms after they'd cleaned up the kitchen.

Kaminari lied and told him that was all that he would clean for the day, knowing that he'd be leaving campus when he left because he has plans.

He'd turned off the lights, and even got in the elevator with Mr. Aizawa in the building, and while he waited for the teacher to leave, he cleaned up a bit in his room. After about thirty minutes, and a lot of anxiety because wow the dorms were scary when no one else was there, he'd turned on all of the lights on the main floor and started cleaning.

Deep cleaning.

He felt so nervous for some reason and knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he started cleaning.

It would've had to get done at some point. Might as well do it now since he has the energy for it.

His next counseling appointment is in two days, and he might tell Arai about these next few days. As he aggressively mops the floor, he thinks about Shinso and remembers he was supposed to text him when he went to sleep.

It's been hours since everyone left.

Shit.

Maybe he can say Aizawa stayed and talked to him so late, so when he finally got upstairs, he passed out?

That might work.

He sighs in relief and continues mopping.

He'd already swept, gone back to really clean the counters and then started cleaning the fridge, stove, rice cooker, microwave, pantry, and tables. Oh, and the chairs.

There was also the common area which he also cleaned by vacuuming the carpets and couches, wiped down the tables in there along with the entertainment center and tv. All of the windows downstairs were also wiped down.

So now he's just mopping.

He'll do the second floor tomorrow and so on. By the end of the week, the entire dorm building should be cleaned, along with the now 2-A classroom.

His breath hitches at the thought of being a second year.

It's crazy that he's actually made it this far. He's mostly proud, but also really nervous at the thought that soon he'll be out on his own.

Really on his own because of his mom's decision to not believe him. There's no way he can still keep his relationship with her without having to deal with his dad. It's inevitable.

His mind starts falling down a dark hole, and he smacks himself hard with the stick of the mop, he knows he'll bruise and sighs in relief at the pain.

It sounds cringe, really, but damn does he miss that feeling.

So, he does it again, maybe harder this time.

And then again.

And then one more time before he settles down and laughs at his stupidity. Fuck, he's so stupid.

He starts to get a headache, which okay, that's on him, so he finishes his mopping job quickly before going upstairs, making sure all the lights downstairs are off.

"I need to get a fucking grip," he tells himself as he opens the door to his room.

After turning on the light to his restroom, he goes over to the mirror to make sure there aren't any visible marks on his face, but there's one bruise near his temple, closer to his forehead and he curses.

"Fuck. What a dumbass."

And he presses on the bruise. Hard.

With a hiss of pain, he turns and leaves the restroom, turning off the light in there before changing into something more comfortable.

Once he's in bed, he turns on Shinso's laptop and looks at the time, cursing once again.

It's six in the morning.

There are a couple of notifications from Shinso on Instagram where they decided to text, and he opens them.

-----

hey, you good?

did you forget to text me?

it's all good, just let me know that you're safe when you remember

goodnight

loser

-----

Kaminari smiles dumbly at them and sends the excuse he came up with earlier.

He won't lie to him again. That's not good for a relationship that's barely starting, so he can't do this anymore. Well, it's not good for a relationship at all.

The least he can do is be honest.

Not this time, though. Shinso can't know he cleaned the entirety of downstairs just because he couldn't sleep.

That sounds a bit mentally unstable.

Which Kaminari is not.

He laughs at that thought.

Definitely not mentally unstable.

***
Word Count: 3,577
i fucking hate school oh my god. anyway i hope y'all liked this chapter. i posted two minutes earlier cause im cool like that 😋. i'll post the next one next Sunday at 8pm central time. I love you all and tysm for reading<3