Morning settled into the classroom the way it always did slow, scattered, and just a little too loud for how early it felt. Denki pushed the door open with one hand, bag slung lazily over his shoulder. His usual seat was open right where he left it yesterday. He started making his way toward it then he slowed just slightly. You were there not in his seat. Just… nearby.
A few desks over, turned halfway in your chair as you spoke to someone beside you, your voice softer than the rest of the room but steady enough to hold its place. There was a small bubble hovering just above your desk catching the morning light like it had somewhere better to be. Denki paused not long enough for anyone to notice just long enough to think.
The chair a seat over from you scraped lightly as he pulled it out. He set his bag down with a soft thud. You glanced over not surprised not curious just noticing. "Hey," you said. Denki leaned back slightly, resting one arm across the back of his chair. "Hey," he returned, just as easy.
The bubble above your desk drifted slightly, wobbling in place before steadying again. Denki's eyes flicked to it then back to you. "…So you just do that all the time?" he asked, nodding toward it. You followed his gaze, like you'd almost forgotten it was there. "Oh, yeah. Kind of."
"Does it ever, like… pop on its own?"
"Sometimes," you said. "If I stop paying attention."
"Wow. So it's got abandonment issues."
Your lips curved slightly. "Or I do."
Denki let out a short laugh. "…Okay, that was good."
"Thank you."
He leaned forward a little, resting his arms on the desk now, eyes drifting back to the bubble. "Can I?" he asked, lifting a finger slightly.
You nodded. "Go ahead."
He poked it lightly. It didn't pop didn't even dent. Denki blinked. Then pressed a little harder still nothing. "…Okay, hold on," he muttered, leaning in closer now. "That's not right."
"It is right."
"No, bubbles are supposed to be, like-" he made a vague popping motion with his hand, "...useless these aren't."
"Clearly."
He tapped it again, this time with the side of his finger. The surface shimmered faintly, like light skipping across water. "…That's actually really cool," he admitted, sitting back slightly.
"I told you."
"You didn't tell me they were this strong."
"You didn't ask."
He huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "Okay, fair." A small pause settled between you it wasn't awkward more comfortable. "So how does it work?" Denki asked after a second. "Like, do you have a limit or something?" You tilted your head slightly, thinking. "They get weaker the more I make at once," you said. "And bigger ones take more focus."
"Makes sense."
"And if I lose focus completely…" You glanced at the bubble it flickered then it popped softly. Denki watched it disappear. "…Huh."
"It's not really about strength," you added. "It's more about control." He nodded slowly. Actually listening. "…You're better than it looks," he said, almost without thinking. Then paused. "…I mean your quirk," he added quickly. "Not that you I mean you too, probably but-"
Smooth.
So smooth.
You blinked at him for a moment then laughed. It created a warmth around you two. "It's okay," you said. "I knew what you meant."
"Yeah," Denki muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Cool. Good. Great." He glanced away for a second, then back. Try to recovering. "…Your turn," you said after a moment. Denki frowned slightly. "My turn?"
"Yeah. Your quirk."
"Oh."
He leaned back again, shrugging one shoulder. "It's pretty straightforward," he said. "I store electricity, release it. Big blasts if I need to."
"And the drawback?"
He paused. Then grinned, like it wasn't a big deal "…Brain fries a little if I overdo it."
"A little?"
"Okay, a lot."
You smiled, softer this time. "But you still use it anyway."
"Yeah, well," he said, glancing at you, "kinda have to." There was something quieter in that moment. Something real. Denki tilted his head slightly, a grin creeping back in. "But now I know your weakness," he added. "All I have to do is distract you." You raised a brow. "Oh?"
"Yeah. Break your focus, bubbles go pop."
"…You're assuming you could distract me."
Denki leaned in just a little. "Please," he said. "I'm very distracting." You looked at him for a second like you were actually considering it. "…Maybe," you said. And something about the way you said it not dismissing, not fully agreeing made his chest do that same rollercoaster thing again. Denki leaned back, grin settling into something easier. "Yeah," he said lightly. "I'll take that." Around you, the classroom kept moving noise, voices, the start of another normal day. But this felt different it felt warm.
"Try taking notes for once." The voice came from the side. Flat. Unimpressed. Perfectly timed. Both of you glanced up. Jiro stood there, one hand resting on her hip, the other loosely holding her notebook. Her gaze flicked between the two of you quick, assessing. Denki blinked. "We are taking notes." Jiro didn't even look at him. "You're poking bubbles."
"That was research."
"For what?"
"…Future success."
Her eyes shifted to you. "You're encouraging him." You tilted your head slightly, thoughtful. "He asked questions."
"That's dangerous," Jiro said dryly.
Denki scoffed. "Wow. No faith."
"I've seen you in action."
"That was one time."
"It was multiple times."
You let out a quiet laugh at that. Small. Soft. But it broke the moment just enough to keep it from turning awkward. Jiro exhaled lightly through her nose, flipping her notebook open. "Aizawa's already talking," she said, glancing toward the front of the room. "So unless you want to fail quietly, you might wanna pay attention." Denki followed her gaze. Sure enough Aizawa was already halfway into the lesson, voice low and steady like none of this mattered.
"…Right," Denki muttered, straightening slightly in his seat. "School. Forgot about that part." Jiro hummed, unconvinced, then stepped past his desk, heading back to her seat like the interruption had never happened. The moment shifted it wasn't gone. Just broken.
Denki stared at his notebook for a second. Blank. "…We were talking about something," he said under his breath.
"Your distraction plan," you replied quietly. He glanced sideways. You were already facing forward again, pen in hand, posture relaxed like you'd slipped back into place without effort. Like nothing had changed. "…Right," he said but it didn't feel the same now. He picked up his pen, tapping it once against the page before actually writing something down.
Focus.
Notes.
But his eyes couldn't help but flicker sideways.
You were listening. Actually listening. Nodding slightly at something Aizawa said, jotting things down without hesitation. Calm. Steady. Denki frowned faintly. He hadn't noticed that before. Not just the way you talked or smiled or even looked but this. The way you paid attention. The way you didn't need to fill every second with noise.
Weird.
He looked back at his notebook. Wrote something didn't process it.
Across the room, someone whispered too loudly and got a piece of chalk thrown at them a few quiet snickers followed. Everything kept moving but something about earlier the conversation, the bubble, the way it all just flowed. Denki tapped his pen again. He liked that. The thought slipped in before he could stop it. He stilled slightly. "…Huh." It wasn't just that you were easy to talk to it was he didn't have to try. No jokes lined up. No overthinking. No trying to be the loudest person in the room just to stay part of it. He just… talked.
Denki leaned back slightly in his chair, eyes flicking toward the front of the room again. Aizawa was still talking. Everything still normal but something small had shifted not big enough to notice if you weren't looking for it. Denki wasn't.
The bell finally rang. Like the room had been waiting for it everything broke at once. Chairs scraped back, voices rose, papers shuffled into bags with varying levels of care. Denki blinked, sitting up a little straighter as the moment snapped apart around him. "Finally," he muttered, stretching his arms over his head. "I was about to short circuit from boredom."
"Pretty sure that's not how your quirk works," Sero said, already halfway out of his seat.
"Don't question my process."
Around them, the class shifted into loose clusters, conversations overlapping again like nothing had happened. "Yo!" Kirishima popped up beside him, energy somehow still intact. "You guys talking strategy or what?"
"Yeah," Denki said dryly. "Deep, serious planning."
"Liar."
"Wow. Betrayed."
"Wait what were you guys actually talking about?" Sero asked, leaning against the desk. Denki opened his mouth then paused. "…Quirks," he said finally. "Just how they work and stuff."
"Wow," Sero deadpanned. "Thrilling."
"It was," Denki shot back. "You wouldn't get it."
"I definitely wouldn't."
Mina appeared out of nowhere like she always did, sliding into the space between desks with zero warning. "Oh my gosh, are we doing a group thing?" Mina Ashido beamed, already inserting herself into the conversation. "Because I have ideas."
"You always have ideas," Sero said.
"And they're always amazing."
"Debatable."
Your voice slipped in softer, but steady. "They're at least creative." Denki glanced over. You were there now closer again, part of the circle like you'd always been standing there. Not forcing your way in not trying you were just… included. Mina gasped dramatically. "See? Y/n gets it."
"I said creative, not good," you added.
"Rude!"
Kirishima laughed, clapping his hands together once. "Okay, okay what if we actually trained like that again? Same teams?"
"No way," Sero said immediately. "I'm not getting melted by acid this time."
"That was one time!" Mina protested.
"It was enough times."
Denki leaned back against the desk slightly, arms loose at his sides, watching the conversation bounce around. Not carrying it not forcing himself into it he was just there and oddly that was enough. "…You're quiet," Mina said suddenly, narrowing her eyes at him.
Denki blinked. "Am not."
"You are. Suspiciously."
"I'm literally talking."
"You were."
Kirishima snorted. "She's got a point."
"Wow. You too?"
Mina leaned in slightly, grin sharpening. "What were you and Y/n talking about earlier, huh?" Denki didn't miss a beat. "Quirks," he repeated.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
A pause.
"…Boring," Mina decided.
"Thank you."
You laughed again. Soft. Easy. But this time Denki didn't look away. It wasn't just the sound. It was how natural it felt now. Standing here. Talking. Not overthinking every word. He didn't even realize he was smiling a little.
Across the circle, Kyoka Jiro leaned lightly against a nearby desk, arms crossed, watching.
Quiet.
Her gaze flicked between Denki and you not lingering too long she was just noticing. Denki laughed at something Kirishima said, shaking his head. "No way that would work."
"It would if you didn't mess it up," Kirishima shot back.
"Wow. Fake support."
You added something quick, thoughtful and the conversation shifted again, pulling everyone along with it. Denki responded without thinking. Easily.
Jiro's eyes narrowed just slightly not out of annoyance she was simply thinking. "…Huh," she murmured under her breath. No one heard it. The moment didn't stop. Didn't change. But from where she stood something about it felt... different and she noticed.
The group didn't break all at once. It unraveled. Slowly. Mina got pulled into another conversation across the room, loud as ever. Sero followed soon after, already laughing at something before he even got there. Kirishima lingered for a second longer. "Catch you later, man," he said, clapping Denki once on the shoulder before heading out. And just like that the circle thinned. Voices stretched farther apart.
The room felt bigger. Denki shifted his weight slightly, adjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder. "Guess that's everyone," he said, mostly to fill the space. You were still there. "Looks like it," you replied. Another small pause quieter now. People filtered past the doorway in loose waves, conversations echoing faintly down the hall. Denki glanced toward it then back at you. "…You heading out?" he asked. "Yeah," you said, nodding once. "I usually walk a bit before going back."
"Clear your head?"
"Something like that."
Denki rocked back slightly on his heels then forward again. "…I'll walk with you," he said. The words came out easy like they didn't have time to get caught on anything.
"Okay," you said. With no hesitation no question for some reason that felt bigger than it should've. The hallway was quieter than before. Most people already gone, the leftover noise distant enough to blur into the background. Your footsteps fell into rhythm without trying. It wasn't perfectly matched but… close enough.
For a minute, neither of you said anything. It wasn't because you didn't have anything to say but because you didn't need to fill it. Denki glanced sideways you were looking ahead, relaxed, hands loosely at your sides. No bubbles this time. No glow. Just you. "…So you do this a lot?" he asked after a second. "The walking thing."
"Yeah." You glanced at him briefly.
"It helps me think."
"About what?"
"Everything."
He huffed a quiet laugh. "That sounds exhausting."
"It can be." A small pause.
"What about you?"
Denki blinked slightly. "Me?"
"Yeah. What do you do when you're not… being distracting?"
He snorted. "Wow. That's my whole brand, you know."
"I'm aware."
He thought for a second. Not long."…I hang out," he said. "Mess around with the guys. Nothing serious."
"That fits."
"Hey!"
There wasn't any real offense in it. You smiled slightly another few steps passed. The air outside was lighter, cooler, brushing past in a way that made everything feel a little more open. "…You're quieter than I expected," Denki said suddenly. You tilted your head slightly. "Expected?"
"I don't know," he admitted, shrugging. "I thought you'd be more like Mina, I guess."
"Loud?"
"Yeah."
"…I can be."
"Really?"
"Sometimes."
He glanced at you again a little more curious this time. "I don't mind it," he added quickly. "The quiet thing." You hummed softly. "Good." A small bubble flickered into existence near your hand. Absentminded. Denki noticed this time. "…You do that when you're thinking, don't you?" You looked at it. Then back at him. "…Yeah." The bubble drifted slightly between you closer to him this time. Denki hesitated for half a second he reached out and tapped it lightly. It didn't pop.
"Still unfair," he muttered.
You smiled. "Get used to it." He let his hand drop, falling back into step beside you. "…Next time," he said, glancing at you, "I won't get caught like that." Your eyes flicked toward him, something faintly amused there. "That confident?"
"Absolutely."
"You hesitated for, like, a full second."
"That was strategic."
"That was panic."
Denki scoffed. "Wow. No faith."
You looked at him for a second. "Maybe a little," you said.
That same rapid beat again. Quieter now but it was still there. They walked a little farther not rushing but eventually, the path split. You slowed slightly. "So… this is me."
Denki stopped too. "Yeah." A small pause again. "Try not to get trapped again," you said, a hint of something playful in your voice now. Denki grinned. "No promises." Your smile lingered for just a second longer then you turned, heading down your path without looking back.
Denki stood there watching he exhaled, shifting his weight before turning the other way. "…Yeah," he muttered to himself, adjusting his bag. But his steps felt lighter.