You were doing it again. Acting a little too silly. A little too loud. The sun was hot and the quad was full, Bakusquad lazily lounging after training. You spun a pencil between your fingers like a drumstick, balanced it on your nose, and struck a ridiculous pose. Sero snorted. Mina giggled. And Bakugo? He rolled his eyes.

Your grin faltered. Not all at once. Just... a little tug downward at the edges.

He didn’t even say anything this time. But it still stung.

Once, that look would've crushed you. Because God, you used to like him. First year, second year, just like practically everyone else with eyes and a heartbeat. He was sharp and fast and burning alive in everything he did, and somehow, you thought maybe if he saw the real you—the goofy, clowny, never-shut-up version—he’d smile. Maybe just once. Maybe it’d mean something.

You trained with him a few times. Teased him. “What? You think I’m weird?”

He didn’t even hesitate. “Totally.”

You laughed it off then. You had to. But that laugh was hollow and tight, and it never really reached your chest. That was the day the crush died.

You stopped being loud when he was around. Never showed off your dumb little impressions. No more balancing pencils. No more jokes at your own expense.

But old habits slip. Especially around the others.

So here you were, pencil on your nose like a circus clown. Bakugo rolls his eyes. Your smile fades—

And Denki bursts out laughing. Loud and unfiltered, like it genuinely got him.

Your eyes snap to him. “You don’t think I’m weird?”

He wipes a tear from his cheek, still giggling. “Oh, I do,” he says. “But so what? Everyone’s weird. That’s what makes it fun.”

And something happens.

Not like lightning—though maybe that’d be more poetic. No, this was quiet. Like when it starts to rain and you didn’t even realize it until your shoulders were already damp. Slow. Warm.

You look at him, really look at him. Blonde hair fried to hell, his grin crooked, cheeks pink from laughing too hard. And he’s not laughing at you. He’s laughing with you. Because of you.

You fall. Quietly.

From that moment on, Denki Kaminari was your favorite person in every room.

It was different with him. You didn’t have to shrink. You could be dumb and loud and trip over your own feet, and he’d just match your energy like it was some kind of language only the two of you spoke.

The first time he offered you his fries without asking for one back, you almost kissed him. Not that you did. You weren’t that bold. Yet.

And Denki? He noticed things. The way your smile faded when Bakugo dismissed you. The way your jokes quieted when Katsuki was near. One day, when you cracked a joke that landed awkwardly, Bakugo exhaled like it hurt his brain, and you shrunk back

But Denki just leaned in. “You’re not annoying,” he said, not even looking at you. Just casually. Like it was fact.

You blinked. “I didn’t say I was.”

“You didn’t have to.”

And he meant it. You knew he did.

Suddenly, the years you wasted crushing on someone who never really saw you didn’t hurt anymore. Because Denki did. He always had. And slowly but surely you fell for him, hard, forgetting the crush you used to have on Bakugo. Your focus was all on Denki now, the one who absolutely adored you, just the way you are.