Electrify Me

Chapter 14

Throughout the rest of the morning, Denki can't help but find herself thinking back on what happened that morning. If Shouta wasn't there, would things have escalated further? Would Hitoshi have been able to stop themself? Would Denki have wanted him to? None of that should matter, but the thoughts keep running through her head reminding her about that morning. Along with thoughts of what could have happened if they weren't in a classroom with Shouta right there to stop them, Denki also worries about how letting Monoma know about the quirk will affect things. Can Denki really stand the idea of sharing Hitoshi with the other blonde, even if it's only long enough for the stupid quirk to finally wear off? Would she be able to handle the jealousy she's sure to have? Would Monoma make fun of her for being gender fluid again?

All too soon, in Denki's opinion, lunch hour arrives, and Denki finds herself sitting on Hitoshi's lap again, but facing away from them this time. Her reason for sitting there is to prevent Hitoshi from practically attacking the other blonde the moment he arrives since the demiboy's self control is a little better around Denki than Monoma, something that she and Hitoshi have decided is probably because he's around her more. Their self control isn't perfect, though, as Denki has to keep reminding them to keep their lips off her neck and to stop shifting under her. It's hard for her too, wanting the boy she's always dreamed of having love her the way she's loved them, but someone has to be the voice of reason with the quirk making things harder for Hitoshi to control on their own.

"I'm here, what do you want, class A trash?" Monoma announces his presence by immediately insulting Denki. "And why are you on Shinsou's lap?"

Neito finds himself wanting to turn the other way and disappear. His time working with Shinsou at Best Jeanist's hero agency only led to him developing a massive crush on them, but he knows Shinsou likes Kaminari. Did Kaminari figure out that he has feelings for the purple haired insomniac and invite him there to gloat that he... No, not he now that Neito notices that the other blonde is wearing the girl's uniform. Neito had assumed that it was a masculine day since Kaminari had been wearing the boy uniform when she had come to the classroom. Did she change after? Is her family unsupportive? He had promised blasty that he wouldn't act like he did before. Blasty was right, he can't keep alienating people like him, and now, realizing that Kaminari had changed after getting to school, he feels like even more of an ass for having said what he did that day. He shakes his head bringing himself back to th present. Did Kaminari invite him there to gloat that she won, and Shinsou wants her? No, Neito realizes that isn't what the girl is like. Kaminari is kind to a fault, even going so far as to defend him from Kendou's knock-out blow a few days ago. No, Kaminari wouldn't do that to him, so why?

Denki takes in a deep breath, watching the war in Monoma's mind through his facial expressions. "Not many people know this, but a few weeks ago, Hitoshi was hit by a quirk. It forced him to fall madly in love with the first person he saw after being hit by it, but there was a complication. According to their classmate, the quirk usually only works on the first person seen, but for Hitoshi, it worked on the first two people." This is the hard part. Denki wants to be anywhere but here. She wants to hide. How can she even imagine watching Hitoshi love someone else, even if it's temporary. "Normally, the quirk only lasts a week, but he's still struggling with it, and we think it's because he's been avoiding the second person as much as he can."

"And what does that have to do with me?" Neito scoffs, hiding his glee at the fact that maybe Shinsou could have feelings for him if not for this apparent quirk incident. That's probably why they seem to be in love with Kaminari. His thoughts press on as he imagines the quirk losing affect, and Shinsou falling into his arms, but then it hits him. "Wait, you're not trying to say that the second person is me, are you? That's ridiculous. I'm leaving." Neito turns to go. He can't stand there watching Kaminari sit there on Shinsou's lap anymore. He wants Shinsou to like him, not her, and he sure as hell doesn't want Shinsou to be forced to love him. He wants it to be natural.

Without thinking, Denki stands to chase after the other blonde. She can't let him get away. She needs this quirk to let up so that Hitohsi can go back to being their normal self. She plans to chase after Monoma, but someone else beats her to it, practically lunging for the manic boy. Denki barely takes a step before Hitoshi is clinging to Monoma as if their life depends on it. With the quirk affecting him, maybe it does, but the most confusing part for Denki is the fact that it doesn't bother her as much as she expected it to. Does she not love Hitoshi as much as she thought? No, that can't be it. She's literally been in love with them since they were kids. Why doesn't she feel jealous that Hitoshi is clinging to someone else? What makes it even more confusing is when she realizes that the only thing she feels is left out. She wants to be holding, and be held by, both of them. It makes her think back to the conversation at the mall, when Hitoshi said that they think they're polyamorous. Could she be as well? But how could she like Monoma of all people? He made fun of her for being who she is. Watching Hitoshi cling to the other blonde, Denki shoves her thoughts aside. She has to focus on making sure Hitoshi doesn't do anything he'll regret. She can worry about the rest later.

Hitoshi knows that he should back off, knows that this is probably too much contact for Monoma to handle all of a sudden, but their restraint at not holding, not touching the blonde is completely gone. He only hopes that he doesn't do anything stupid like the kiss with Denki in his dad's classroom. Their head is rubbing against Monoma's neck as they lay down, holding him close, almost purring like a cat. Monoma was struggling at the beginning, right after Hitoshi had grabbed him, but now he seems to have calmed down. They know they should release him, should let him go so they can all talk, hopefully, but their arms won't move from the vice-like grip they've obtained on the boy.

At first, Neito was startled by the sudan grip Shinsou had on him. He struggled, worrying that Kaminari would be upset that Shinsou was holding him like that, but after a few moments pass without the electric blonde being set off, he relaxes. It's nice, being held and not hiding from the touch. He's spent so much time avoiding hugs, afraid that somehow, despite having already gotten top surgery, someone would be able to tell that he was born female, but with the person wrapped around him, he doesn't have to worry. Shinsou knows his secret. He had given Bakugou permission to tell the demiboy after their conversation with Best Jeanist, and Shinsou had come out to him later on feeling like they should be even or something like that.

"As much as I'm absolutely loving this," Neito finally says, knowing that the three of them were bound to have a lot to talk about. "I'm pretty sure we have some stuff to talk about, don't we?" He wants to know how to get this quirk to wear off. He wants Shinsou to like him for him, not because of some quirk.

"Toshi," Denki gently pulls at Hitoshi's arm closest to him. "Time to let go so we can talk."

Letting go ends up with Monoma sitting on Hitoshi's lap the way Denki had been when the boy arrived. Denki and Hitoshi explain to Monoma everything they know about the quirk and even the reasoning they've come up with for the quirk latching on to both blondes. By the end of lunch, they have things agreed on with a rotating schedule of which blonde was to spend time with Hitoshi when, with some time with both at the same time, in hopes that the quirk will wear off soon so that things can go back to normal.