Second Chance -Shinkami book 2-

7. Awkward Family Dinners

"So you're the alpha my son is dating," Kaminari's dad said as the young couple walked into the living room.

"Yes sir," Shinso said. "I'm Shinso Hitoshi."

"Yes, I know full well who you are," he said with distaste in his voice. "You're the one who cheated on Denki."

"Dad," Kaminari said. "We talked about this! It was a misunderstanding!"

"I don't see how someone can "accidentally" make out with someone," he said.

Kaminari was about to start yelling at his dad and Shinso could see this so he put a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Kaminari, as Denki said, it was a misunderstanding. I have a quirk that allows me to mind control someone and another student at UA has one that can steal quirks. He took my quirk and forced me to kiss him. If I were in control that never would have happened."

"Very convenient isn't it," Kaminari's dad said. It was clear that he didn't like Shinso, but the alpha didn't know what he could do about that.

"Dad I told you not to bring this up tonight!" Kaminari said shrugging off the hand Shinso had put on his shoulder.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," his dad said glaring at Shinso. "And he's hurt you once so-"

"Just stop! I can take care of myself! You don't have to baby me!" Everyone seemed at least a little shocked by Kaminari's outburst. He didn't yell often, at least not out of anger. "Do you not think I've thought of that? I trust Hitoshi, if he says that's what happened then that's what happened!"

The room fell deathly silent until Kaminari's mom cleared her throat. "Is Uhh, is everyone ready for dinner?" She asked. It was rare for Kaminari to get mad at his parents and it had shocked her most of all. "I made Katsudon."

"Sure mom," Kaminari said a little calmer. "Come on, the dining rooms over here," the omega said pulling Shinso to the dining room. Kaminari sat beside the alpha keeping their hands interlocked. He didn't like being mad, it often led to him losing hold on his quirk, and then nightmares of memories. Holding Shinso's hand helped keep him grounded, and the alpha could see that so he gave it a small squeeze telling him he was there if he needed him.

"It smells good Mrs. Kaminari, thank you for inviting me over for supper," Shinso said forcing a small smile. If he could show them he wasn't the bad guy then maybe they would like him.

"Thank you, I thought I'd make it special since Denki was bringing you over." His mom was also forcing a small smile, but at least she was trying to respect her son's choices. "It's already been a few weeks since you've gone back to the dorms and I haven't seen him since then." The table fell silent for a moment. "We'll dig in!" She said happily.

"Thank you for the food," they all said before taking their first bite.

Kaminari could never get enough of his mom's home-cooked meals. It was on par with Bakugo's. The flavours just melted in your mouth, mixing perfectly together.

"So how's school been?" Mrs. Kaminari asked.

"Mr. Aizawa's picking up the pace on our training so it's a little tough some days but we can't be great hero's without a little struggle," Kaminari said with a small laugh.

"And what about your studies? How is the academic side of things?" Mr. Kaminari asked.

Kaminari took a moment to swallow his food, half hoping Shinso would answer instead but he didn't. "It's tough at times," Kaminari said.

The table fell into another long silence. Shinso didn't know what to say. He didn't want to make Kaminari's dad madder at him, but he also didn't want to leave his boyfriend to do all the talking. But then again what was he even supposed to say? He just met them, he didn't know their interests or hobbies, he had nothing to ask them about.

"We have a new classmate," Kaminari finally said breaking the silence once again.

"Her name is Takahashi," Shinso continued.

"Is she nice?" Mrs. Kaminari asked.

Shinso and Kaminari shared a look. It's not that she wasn't nice, it's just that she was odd. Both of them had caught her in odd situations, oftentimes coming away from a conversation with someone and the other having no recollection of the conversation.

"She's..." Kaminari started.

"Ok?" Shinso finished. "We haven't talked much with her." With her track record, they could have talked with her a hundred times and they wouldn't know.

"Ok? Is she a bully or something?" Mr. Kaminari asked.

They shared another look. "No, it's hard to explain," Kaminari said scratching the back of his head.

Dinner continued, there were many awkward silence where none of them knew what to say, but they all survived.

"Bye sweetie, we'll see you soon k?" Mrs. Kaminari said pulling her son into a tight hug and kissing him on the forehead. The omega had given up the struggle, he was still embarrassed, but he knew he couldn't get away from it.

"Ya, next time I'm free," Kaminari said. "Bye dad," Kaminari waved to his dad.

"Bye Denki," he said.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Kaminari, thank you for having me," Shinso said with a bow.

"It was nice having you," Mrs. Kaminari said.

When her husband didn't say anything she elbowed him in the side prompting him to say, "yes, it was nice meeting you." He didn't sound sincere.

Kaminari led Shinso out of the house and they both let out a sigh as the door closed. Kaminari laughed a little at their reactions. "Well that wasn't that bad, was it?" Kaminari asked looking up at the alpha and squeezing his hand.

"You weren't there when your dad and I had a one on one conversation," Shinso said with a small laugh as they started their way back to the dorms.

"Did he try to intimidate you or something?"

"He just made sure I knew that if I hurt you again nothing was stopping him from hurting me back, then he offered to show me his gun collection, I got the message," Shinso said with a stiff laugh.

Kaminari cracked a small smile at this. "My dad doesn't have a gun collection, you don't have to worry about that."

"Well that's good to hear," Shinso said with a small sigh of relief. "But I have the feeling he doesn't need a gun to hunt me down."

Kaminari shrugged. "Probably not, but if it makes you feel better, I'll always be there to protect you," Kaminari said in a cheesy voice.

"Hey that's my line," Shinso laughed.

Kaminari lent his head against Shinso's shoulders as they continued down the street. "It can go both ways Ya know, I have a powerful quirk."

"I know," Shinso said. "But that doesn't mean I still can't protect you. I don't want to see you hurt by anyone, I love you."

"I love you to Hito," Kaminari said.

Shinso noticed the new nickname and smiled. "Hito?" He asked playfully.

"Ya, Hito," Kaminari represented.

Shinso just smiled. Slowly, very slowly, things were going back to normal.

(Posted Feb 12, 2021)