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Jirou didn’t understand. UA was supposed to be the next excited step in her life. Here she would meet new people, advance her quirk, help people, face danger, and grow as a person. She had done all of that…
So why did she feel so dull.
Life had slowed down. It didn’t matter what she did. Everything she normally did to be happy just wasn’t doing it. Playing her instruments, hanging out with Momo, even just doing practice was boring. She hated the feeling, but also could barely describe it. She just couldn’t make herself excited for anything. She was just… Bored. UA was everything she had dreamed of, but after eight months and constant danger… It still wasn’t enough. She was sat on her bed doing nothing. She could have listened to music, but there wasn’t any point. She had always avoided silence, preferring the music that blasted out of her phone, but this time silence was just as good as music.
…
…
This can’t be good for her. She was sitting there doing nothing. She had heard Kirishima call for dinner a while ago. She had no idea what time it was or had been. Someone had ordered pizza, at least that was what she could smell, but she didn’t feel like it. She was fine sitting here with her back to her chalkboard and knees to her chest. She knew this wasn’t right but…
She could sit here for a few more minutes.
----
It felt like an eternity before something broke the silence of her soundproof room. She heard a loud knocking on her door. Hearing something was startling after so long in silence, but she didn’t move towards it. She just turned her head to look at the door, willing the person on the other side to do.... Something. A decade passed before she heard one more knock. She felt like she should say something, but she didn’t. A century went by before she saw the door handle turn. She hadn’t locked the door. She hadn’t really seen the point. It might be fun to see someone, Momo or Mina could probably get her out of her funk. Hagakure’s energy or even just Ochako’s sweetness could probably do it too.
She was pretty shocked to see electric yellow hair peep through the crack in the door.
Kaminari. She hadn’t prepared for or expected Kaminari. He opened the door all the way and surprisingly said nothing. He stood in the doorway, clearly unsure of what to do. She wasn’t sure either. She certainly wasn’t going to move, but she didn’t have a plan beyond that. They stared at each other speechless. Kaminari’s eyes were full of… Something. She couldn’t figure out what. At first it had looked like pity. She didn’t want pity she wanted something to get her working again. He finally made a move, he didn’t ask to come in, he just did. He closed the door behind him and sat on the small black bench across from her. He folded his hands and slouched over, resting his arms on his legs. The pose was kind of like Tokoyami’s edgy pose. He didn’t look edgy though. He had a bit of tomato sauce next to his mouth, so he actually looked kind of stupid…
She moved her eyes back up to his. They weren’t filled with pity… Was it… Sadness? He kind of looked sad. She had never seen this in him. She had seen him sad, happy, scared, angry, annoyed, and every other emotion under the sun, but she had never seen this in his deep golden eyes. They continued to stare at each other until he decided to break the silence.
“... Bakugou ate your pizza.”
She couldn’t believe that was what he had decided to go with. Out of everything he could have said, everything his eyes said, that’s what he had said. Bakugou ate her pizza. Fantastic. Great, thanks Kaminari. Despite her internal rant, she stayed quiet and kept looking at him. He didn’t smile like he normally did. It was a different smile. It was sadder, but kinder at the same time.
She didn’t smile back.
He stood up slowly. She guessed he was leaving. She felt like she had made her stance on the pizza pretty clear. Instead he walked over to her shelves. He had been in her room for jam sessions a lot, so he knew where everything was. He grabbed something off of it and walked back over to the bed. She soon felt herself covered with a warm fluffy black blanket. It had been a present from Mina over Christmas but she had almost never used it. She felt the weight on the bed of him sitting next to her and covering himself with the blanket as well. He assumed the same position she had been in for the past… While. She was shocked. Kaminari had always been a bit of a touchy person but had normally left her alone. Now they were snuggling under the same blanket in her room. She looked over to him to see him just looking forwards. She didn’t get it, but she did see his right eye. Jirou still couldn’t figure it out. What were his eyes expressing? It wasn’t sadness, she was sure of it now, but what was it? He spoke before she could take another guess.
“I don’t care if you say anything or not, I’m not leaving.” He was determined. It was all over his face. He kept looking ahead… He was also really warm. She realised how tired she was from all the nothing she had been doing. She felt time tick by, but she could keep her eyes open…
----
Kaminari watched Jirou slowly drift off.
Finally.
Her head had fallen onto his shoulder, and she was drooling slightly. Now he definitely couldn’t move. Something had been wrong with her for about a week now. She hadn’t been smiling. She was just going through the motions. Momo thought that Jirou hadn’t been getting enough sleep, but seeing this proved otherwise for Kaminari. He didn’t even know what he was doing when he walked in. He just wanted to see for himself what was wrong. Now here he was, cuddling with her in her room. The thought made him blush. He hadn’t been dealing with his crush on Jirou well. Mina had noticed a month ago, and Hagakure claimed before that, but Kaminari figured she was bluffing. They would screech if they found this.
He put his head back against the chalkboard.
Guess he was sleeping here.
----
Jirou awoke slowly. She felt warm, and happier than she had been in a long time. She slowly realized why. She felt Kaminari’s shoulder under her head. Her eyes moved up to the peaceful expression on his face. She had seen him content, but she had never seen this. She weighed her options, and then nudged him slightly. She just wanted to… She wanted to talk to him. It took three more light nudges before Jirou realized he was a really deep sleeper. She choose another option.
“Kaminari…” He stirred at the sound of her voice and his eyes opened to reveal the same look she had seen last night. She knew what the look was now. It was the same reason he had stayed all night. The same reason he hadn’t even moved, and curled up without her saying a word.
His eyes were full of love.
He smiled at her, it was his full smile, and bright as the sun. She felt herself smile back, and she snuggled into him.
“Thanks…”
His smile only widened,
“You’re welcome Kyouka.”