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Izuku was having a bad day. He had bad days before but something about today made everything seem worse. He missed his morning run because he slept through his alarm after staying up late studying for a test. Then someone had finished his orange mango juice that he drank every morning. Some people had coffee, Izuku had his juice and without it murder was a possiblility. Then, once he finally made it to class, Kacchan decided to say something about his tie. Izuku was having a bad day and school hadn’t even started yet.
After Kacchan made a stupid comment, Izuku just stared at him. He didn’t have the mental energy to react today. If he was going to react at all it might end up bloody. Kacchan must have recognized the look in his eyes because he immediately sat down and didn’t bother Izuku again before class. There was one time. One time in primary school. Izuku’s dad had left the night before. Izuku was nine. Izuku had a bad day then too. Kacchan ended the day with a broken arm and had been burned by his own quirk. Kaminari just stared at him during this entire interaction. If it was any other day Izuku probably would have been a blushing mess but not today. Today he just stared back.
None of Izuku’s friends had tried talking to him all day. It was already lunch. Izuku wasn’t upset. He wasn’t. It just would have been nice to be distracted from his bad day. Choosing to stay in the classroom instead of awkwardly eating near people who hadn’t talked to him all day Izuku sighed heavily. His food tasted like cardboard in his mouth even though he knew it wasn’t. Sure, it wasn’t the best food he ever had, but it didn’t normally seem so awful. Letting his head thump against the desk Izuku groaned lowly. Could the day just end already?
Izuku didn’t bother lifting his head at the sound of footsteps so he was unprepared for a thin, pale hand to enter his vision. Jolting upwards Izuku met Kaminari’s soft golden eyes. Pretty. “Hey, Mido.” Attempting his usual smile Izuku mutter a quiet hello back. “Don’t do that please. You don’t need to fake a smile okay?” Letting the painful grin slip off his face Izuku tried to send a grateful look before tipping his head back to look at the ceiling. “I-” Kaminari flushed bright red for a moment before seeming to recover himself. Is he getting sick? “I noticed you were having a bad day and-” Kaminari placed something on Izuku’s desk before quickly stepping back. “Here. I know it’s your favorite.”
Looking at his desk Izuku saw a small cup with lemon pudding staring back at him. Izuku brought his eyes back to Kaminari’s and a real smile pulled on his lips. “ Thank you , Kaminari. I- Yeah, it’s just been a bad day.” Kaminari chuckled before shooting Izuku finger guns. That really should not be as adorable as it is. Izuku took a bite of the pudding and sunk into his chair slightly. It tasted really good today okay? Kaminari made his way back over to his seat but kept shooting looks over to Izuku.
“Hey, Mido?” Humming around the pudding Izuku didn’t even bother opening his eyes. He was enjoying the moment of bliss too much. “If- If you need to talk about- about anything, I’m not a bad listener.” Izuku peered at Kaminari through half-closed eyes and could feel all of the stress melting away for that moment.
“I know, Kaminari. You know, I think you’re the only one who knows this is my favorite. We don’t have it often enough for most to notice. You’re a lot more observant than people give you credit for, than you give yourself credit for.” Kaminari flushed bright red again and tucked his chin into his chest. Finishing up the pudding Izuku packed away the rest of his uneaten lunch. It wasn’t heroics today so he should be fine.
“Thanks, Mido. Just thanks for being you.” Izuku felt his cheeks flush red and tears prickled the backs of his eyes. He didn’t even realize he needed to hear that today. Quickly, Izuku rushed over to Kaminari’s desk and pulled the taller teen to his feet and wrapped his arms around him. Kaminari sank into the hug immediately and embraced Izuku back tightly. “If you want to talk, or even just not talk I’ll be in my dorm after classes. The doors always open for you.” Izuku could feel the tears leaking down his face and tightened his grip just a bit.
Everything shouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did today. He knew that. Izuku knew that while things kept going wrong it shouldn’t have been as bad of a day as it was. Sometimes though, his brain decided to make an unpleasant situation worse and that’s what kept happening. Right now though? Having a friend, a very pretty friend , bringing him sweets, hugging him and offering just to be there for him? It was too much and Izuku’s chest felt like it was bursting. “You’re the best Kaminari.” Moving back to his seat Izuku wiped his face off.
When the rest of the class came back in Kacchan kept shooting looks between Kamianri and Izuku but didn’t let his eyes linger on Izuku for long. He didn’t relax for the rest of the day. No, Izuku didn’t find that funny. Not even a little bit in the small part of his brain that whispered ‘good’. After classes Izuku made his way back to his room. His feet were dragging and heavy like they did everytime he had a bad day. Dropping his back onto his chair Izuku watched with dull eyes as the zipper came undone and everything spilled out. He really should have expected that today. With a heavy sigh Izuku took one step towards the mess before Kaminari’s words looped back through his head. Yeah, being away from here sounded like a good idea. It totally has nothing to do with pretty yellow eyes and soft pale hands. Totally.
Izuku only had to wait three seconds after knocking for Kaminari to open the door. Kaminari’s usual bright smile softened it something that warmed Izuku’s chest. “Come on in, Mido.” Kaminari moved back and seemed to kick a few clothes under his bed and flushed slightly. Izuku did not think it was adorable. He did not. Kaminari led Izuku over to his bed and sat him down to where they were facing each other. “Okay, are we talking or just hanging because I’m totally fine with whatever.” Izuku sent Kaminari a fond look. Kaminari was kind of perfect at helping Izuku relax today.
Looking around the room Izuku’s gaze caught on Kaminari’s book shelf. It had been a while since Kaminari had told him about one of his books. Izuku would be lying if he said he didn’t miss it. “Could- Could you just read to me? Whichever book is your favorite right now.” Kaminari’s eyes lit up and his smile seemed to glow. It made him look ethereal. Like one of the elves that stepped straight from Kaminari’s stories. He immediately reached for a book that was shoved underneath his pillow and motioned for Izuku to get comfortable.
Izuku laid onto his stomach with his head propped on his hands and face turned to where Kaminari was lounging on his bed. “Right now I’m kind of obsessed with the pre-quirk series Divergent.” Clearing his throat once Kaminari started reading from page one. His voice grew smooth and soft with inflections in all the right places. Izuku could feel the bad day slipping off his skin like rain water and he let himself sink heavily into Kaminari’s sky blue sheets. By the time Kaminari had read through three chapters Izuku’s bad day feeling was only a wisp of smoke in the back of his mind. He knew it wouldn’t leave completely for a couple days but right now it wasn’t as bad.
Around chapter four Kaminari had to stop for some water. At some point Izuku’s head had wound up on Kaminari’s thigh and Kaminari’s hand had wound itself through Izuku’s hair. Izuku was half asleep in his relaxed state, the atmosphere was soft and everything seemed to be filtered through a hazy screen. He didn’t really want to move. “Hey, Kaminari?” Kaminari hummed in acknowledgment and scrapped his nails over Izuku’s scalp. “Thank you for today. I really needed it. Sometimes my brain makes everything bad and I really didn’t want to have to be stuck in my head.” Kaminari brushed his fingers over Izuku’s eyebrow in a soothing motion. Soft, warm, like being wrapped in a fluffy blanket.
“Anytime, Mido. You can call me Denki you know? Most of the others do.” Izuku let his eyes drift the rest of the way shut and nuzzled his face into the warmth of Denki’s thigh. Tomorrow he would be embarrassed. Tomorrow he would blush and stutter through apologies. Right now though he didn’t want to move. He wanted Kami-Denki to keep stroking his eyebrow and he wanted to keep the warmth wrapped around his skin like armour. Armour that protected him from the whispers and the thoughts of bad days.
“Only if you call my Izuku.” Izuku’s voice was muffled and sleep heavy. His body leaden and the edges of sleep wisping around and sinking him lower into a full slumber. Just as he was drifting into the unknown Denki’s whispered agreement slipped into his mind and Izuku felt a smile tug on his lips.
When Izuku woke up the next morning the bad day feeling was pushed far enough away that he wasn’t worried about the whispers and the crawling of bugs under his skin. When he woke up with Denki’s arms wrapped around him and one of his hands still buried in Izuku’s hair he knew he should be embarrassed. He should try to scramble away but he didn’t. The soft, hazy, warmth that filled the room yesterday was still there. Izuku snuggled in closer. He would keep that feeling just a bit longer. And maybe Izuku would talk to Denki about going to get hot chocolate together. Maybe Izuku would finally admit that he wanted Denki’s hugs everyday, not just bad ones.