mari rebranding hii 👋

Everyone, including Denki, turns to look at the idiot who had just dropped his entire order on the ground—where it lies right alongside his jaw.

A tall, broad-shouldered, redheaded idiot.

"Oh fuck."

~~

He doesn't notice he's yelling until he takes in the silence around them, and feels several eyes on their table.

The silence lasts maybe two seconds before a loud clattering sound takes its place.

Half of Japan can attest to the fact that I've tried enough fish in the sea that I should've found one I like by now. But I don't want any other fish! I want that stupid shark and his stupid pufferfish. If all they want from me is an extra hole once in a while, what am I supposed to do about that!"

"Denki, why?" Mina asks, looking like she is going through all five stages of grief.

"Because," he whines. "What else am I supposed to do, Mina?" He asks. "I've tried getting over them, I really did.

Sleeping with your best friends? Bad idea. Sleeping with your best friends who are in a happy and committed relationship with whom you are helplessly in love, who only view sex with you as a fun game, which absolutely destroys you each time? Very, very bad idea.

She really didn't have to phrase it like that.

"Denki," she sounds exasperated. "What the fuck!"

And he knows, okay? He does. He knows this is a fucked up situation, and he knows anyone who heard about this would judge him to hell and back.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," he snorts at her choice of words. She continues, unimpressed, "They are not leading you on. They're just… using you as a glorified sex toy to spice up their already ridiculously perfect relationship?"

Denki winces.

"They only have me over on like, special occasions or whatever. Not like, anniversaries, obviously, but like… I don't know, when they feel like doing something different, I guess."

By his friend's face, he had somehow made the situation worse.

"Look," he says, trying to deescalate the situation. "It hasn't happened that often, okay? It's not like they're leading me on or anything." He brings his hands back to the table and starts fiddling with a napkin.

He grimaces. "Like, eight? Maybe nine?" Mina glares harder, and he urges to defend himself. "Definitely no more than like, ten times!"

She visibly stops herself from jumping at him from across the table. Denki appreciates his friend's self-control.

He groans, knowing that her judgment was well-earned. "I know! I know, okay?" His shoulders slump. "What am I supposed to do? Say no to them?"

"Yes!" She immediately agrees. "Yes, Denks, that is precisely what you should do! How many times did this happen?"

She drops his hands in her shock, and he immediately draws them back to his lap, clenching them anxiously. Her brisk movement makes their dishes clatter, drawing some attention from the nearby tables.

Mina doesn't seem to notice, gritting her teeth with a glare focused solely on him. "Denki."

He tries not to remember how it felt to search for gazes that would never meet his. How, in that first intimate moment, he felt real heartbreak for the first time.

Mina drops all pretense of dealing with the situation gently. "Denki, what the fuck!"

About how, three years ago, his fragile little heart experienced such a ridiculous flare of hope it could have burst.

He pointedly doesn't think back to their hesitant touches, finding their way around each other. Or how good they had felt compared to anyone else's.

"How long has this been going on for?" She tries not to sound too accusing, and mostly succeeds.

No, Denki reminds his stupid eyeballs as he tries to control his breathing. It's not time to cry yet.

"Since our debut year," he admits, trying not to think back to their first time.

It would be cruel, more than it felt like already.

"Nah," he breathes out. "They ain't shitty like that, you know that, Mins."

Her knowing look told him she wouldn't be so sure about that. Mina may love all of her friends, but she doesn't stand for anyone's bulshit.

(Do they know you are devastatingly in love with them, she doesn't have to say)

Denki scoffs. Wasn't that a heavy ass question.

He sure hopes they don't know. Not because he has some face left to save, or that he would be embarrassed by it—but because it would be so much worse if they knew.

"Oh sweetie," she coos, before dropping her chopsticks and reaching for his hands over the table.

Denki refuses to cry.

After a few moments, she asks, "Do you think they know?"

feeling nauseous in a way that is starting to feel frightingly familiar. He closes his eyes and breathes through it. "They invite me over sometimes, and we fuck."

Mina stares at him, eyes wide while she takes the information in. She seems to understand then, like he knew she would.

#kiribakukami with kaminari angst, ft. established krbk

"They fuck me sometimes," Denki says, breaking the silence.

"What," Mina half grumbles, mouth full of salad.

Denki swallows past the lump in his throat. "Kiri and Bakugou, I— They," he pauses,

The whole team sagged in relief, and Atsumu sneaked in a wink to his captain.

That night, they barely made it through the door of Meian's apartment before the man made sure Atsumu did good on his promise.

~~

When Meian's breath quickened, he knew he'd won.

Once he was a respectable distance from the captain, the man called out. "Alright you slackers, we're doing shoulder streches today."

It wasn't exactly a lie. Atsumu had planned to ride Meian into oblivion in the near future, he just hadn't planned anything for that day specifically.

But oh well, the wonders of having a big heart. His teammates would owe him one, and he was more than fine with that.

"Well, ya see," Atsumu took a step closer to him. "I was kinda hopin' to save some of that energy fer later today? Kinda had plans fer tonight, big guy, but they ain't gonna work if my precious thighs are too tapped out."

"I was hoping we could do somethin' else?"

Meian was visibly confused. "What's wrong with workin' on thighs today? Ya never had a problem with it before."

Atsumu felt all giddy on the inside as he always did when the man called him that.

So he liked being someone's baby, so what.

"About the conditionin' today," he made sure to look up at Meian through his eyelashes, going for a coy look with his head still leaning down.

Atsumu was not entirely sure why the man wanted to keep their relationship hidden from the team, but he would respect the other man's time. When he was ready, they would tell them.

"What did you need, baby?" Meian asked him in a low tone, eyes soft.

With the way he was positioned, there's no way any of their teammates could see where their hands were touching. With one last look across the gym, Meian's shoulders finally relaxed, and he gave Atsumu's wrist a light squeeze before letting go.

"Yes, Atsumu?" Meian looked around, wanting to make sure no one was being privy to their interaction.

When Atsumu reached for his forearm, the man grabbed his wrist, looking more frantically around the gym.