My name is Shinsou Hitoshi, and I was bitten by a radioactive spider

Shopping Spree

Kaminari sat at the edge of a fountain, sobbing as he clutched onto his phone. Snot dripped down his chin as red splotches reminiscent of a rash covered his cheeks. Dumbfounded, Hitoshi accepted his Americano from the coffee shop at the edge of the food court while faced with the reality that Kaminari was an ugly crier.

His heart cinched at Kaminari's tears because someone as bright as the sun deserved to be happy. The paranoid voice in Hitoshi's head whispered that he was at fault for the emotional outburst. Because he'd dumped the burden of his canon event onto his friends. Taking a long wistful sip that scorched his throat, Hitoshi suppressed that notion. After all, the world didn't revolve around him. And with the shitshow that society was, Kaminari could have a whole number of reasons to be crying.

Water droplets sprinkled onto Hitoshi as he settled down beside Kaminari. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kaminari sniffled.

Hitoshi sighed softly. "Sure, you are. It isn't like you read like an open book. Want to talk about what's wrong?"

Kaminari stared down at his shoes. "Not really. It's a dumb reason. You might think less of me for it."

"So little faith. And here I thought we were friends. You sure you don't want to at least give me a chance?"

Friends. The word stung Hitoshi's tongue. But he couldn't be greedy, couldn't ask for more. Not when Kaminari was willing to support him through the tribulations of canon events. Not when he had hurried to the hospital in record time even though Hitoshi wasn't the one injured. Kaminari was a good friend and Hitoshi had to let that be enough.

Scooting closer, he let Kaminari lean on his shoulder. As tears bled into his shirt sleeve, Hitoshi patted Kaminari on the back even though gentle comfort had never been his forte. At last, Kaminari spat out three words that – try as he might – Hitoshi couldn't quite make sense of.

"AO3 is down."

"Is that a game?"

Kaminari pursued his lips together as if he wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry. "No, it's this fanfic site that's been around since before the dawn of quirks."

"Oh." Great job, Hitoshi. Such eloquence. Many words, bravo. What a great way to respond.

Fists clenched, Kaminari lifted his chin off Hitoshi, unable to look him in the eye. "If you're gonna judge me for reading fanfic, then spit it out already."

Panicked, Hitoshi waved his arms in front of himself. "No! I'm not. I swear. I think it's cool you're so passionate."

Fuck. Now Kaminari probably thought he hated him. His attitude of condescension from the Sports Festival had come back to bite him even though it had only been a veneer. Quick. He had to say something. Anything. Too bad Hitoshi didn't know the first thing about fanfic since he preferred to nap rather than read in his free time.

Still, he gathered his bundle of nerves and turned to Kaminari who was looking at him expectantly. Sheepishly, Hitoshi scratched the back of his head. "I mean if you really love the world a story created, it only makes sense for you to want to see more of it."

"Yeah, it does," Kaminari chuckled. "I practically live on the site, to be honest. Reading about found family or slow burn romances that definitely aren't in my cards... is comforting."

"I don't think romance is out of the cards for you. You aren't ugly."

"Not ugly? Amazing, I'm so flattered." Kaminari waved at himself dramatically like he was overwhelmed with compliments.

"But you don't patronize me, Shinsou. You literally flinched away instead of holding hands."

"That was because of me not you."