Lightning Serenade

Chapter 51: Second Year at UA I

"I really think they're trying to kill us."

"You're so dramatic, Nei," Hitoshi dismissed with an affectionate eyeroll.

"No, no! He might have a point!" Denki defended lightheartedly, leafing through the papers he was given, mind half on the conversation and half on his task at hand. "This year's schoolwork is really intensive, and now they're adding another internship on top of it. Maybe it really is to kill off the weak."

"Too bad I'm not going down that easy!" Neito declared as he bolted forward to grab his own stack of flyers, reinvigorated and ready to get down to business. He always was ready to accept a challenge! "Let's see them try to call me weak!"

"Holy shit..." Denki whispered under his breath before leaping up, his flyers scattering everywhere. He repeated louder, "holy shit!"

Hitoshi glanced over at the flyer that Denki was holding tightly in his hands and let out a low whistle. "You're being recruited by Hawks? That's great! Are you going to take it?"

"How could I pass up the opportunity to intern with the number two hero?! I'd regret it for the rest of my life!"

Neito stepped forward to pry the flyer out of Denki's hands, and Denki quickly let go with a sheepish grin.

"Don't want you to rip it. You're going to be a big hot shot someday, and you'll want to remember this moment, I'm sure," Neito mused, a soft smile on his face at his blond boyfriend's barely contained excitement. "I can get it framed in gold for you, if you want."

Denki snorted, though he wondered if Neito was being serious. Knowing him, he probably was. Denki swore he'd never get used to this and wondered how Hitoshi did. After a glance in Hitoshi's direction only to see him shrug uselessly at him, Denki figured out that Hitoshi hadn't figured it out quite yet, either.

Neito's eyes scanned over the flyer, and he asked, "I wonder why Hawks chose you." He hummed in thought before adding, "I wonder if he has something in mind..."

"How do you mean?" Denki asked, looking over his shoulder to look at the flyer again, but wisely keeping his hands off of it.

"Well, he taught Tokoyami how to fly. I wonder if he saw some untapped potential in you, too."

Denki smiled as he thought about the shocked faces from all of his classmates, himself included, as Tokoyami literally took to the skies in their mock battle of their second year at UA.

"If he does and he's successful, I'll teach you everything I learn!" Denki promised easily.

It wasn't unexpected, but it still made Neito feel warm and happy that Denki made it a priority to always make Neito feel completely welcome to his quirk, like it was meant to be both of theirs from the beginning anyway.

As the soulmates got up to leave, gathering their own flyers and helping Denki pick up his own and neatly stack them once again, the Hawks flyer lying proudly on top, they each pulled Denki in for a quick kiss before leaving through his dorm door, promising to meet up for training the next morning before class.

Denki swore he would never get used to it, and he couldn't wipe the smile off his face even an hour later.

"What has you so happy?" Toga asked, amusement dancing in her voice.

"How can you tell?" Denki responded, answering her question with a question, still unable to force the corners of his mouth back into a neutral position. He flopped back onto his bed, holding his phone lightly against his ear as he smiled dumbly at his ceiling.

"It's in your voice. I can tell you're smiling. Now, spill! Is it about the soulmates?"

"Of course, it's about the soulmates!" Denki laughed out. "They kissed me! Both of them! And every time it happened after the first time, it felt like the first time all over again!"