I Was Made For Lovin' You

Fishing his phone out of his back pocket as gently as he could as to not disturb his fussy cat Hitoshi unlocked the screen, swiping over to the source of almost every single notification he had received today: his rent-a-boyfriend ad. His inbox was flooded with at least seven unknown numbers, each one inquiring about his services. Skimming each message he stopped at the most recent one, blinking in surprise at its contents.
Unknown
6:47 pm
hey, i saw your fake dating ad online, you still accepting requests? also, would you be willing to attend a fancy gala that a bunch of famous-ish people are attending?
-
23 year old musician Shinsou Hitoshi decides to offer his assistance to anyone who needs a date for the holidays. He ends up with a little more than he bargained for.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Want to piss off an asshole coworker? Start drama with a homophobic aunt? Just cause chaos?

I am a 23 year old musician who barely has a high school diploma and drives an ancient motorcycle I’ve decked out enough to look like one of Paul Stanley’s guitars. I have been arrested multiple times and have a mohawk, piercings, and tattoos. I can and will play up any of these facts if you want. If you’d like to have me as your date for a holiday event to torment your family, friends, coworkers, etc, I'm game.

I can do these things, at your request:
-Openly hit on other guests, including siblings, parents, and bosses, while you act like you don’t notice
-Start instigative discussions about politics
-Propose to you in front of everyone
-Pretend to get really drunk as the evening goes on
-Start an actual, physical fight, inside or outside where all the neighbors can see
-Cash in a favor and get “arrested” by a pro hero

I require no payment except for the free meal I’ll receive as a guest.

If you’re interested in hiring me send a text to the number below.

He wasn’t entirely sure why he had decided to post the ad online. Boredom? An innate need to fuck with people? Whatever the reason, he had posted it nonetheless and was now facing the consequences of that decision. For the fourth time in an hour his phone pinged with a message, drawing the attention of his band members, who up until now had dutifully ignored the disruptions.

“Man, you finally got yourself a boyfriend or something?” Sakai snickered, earning him a well placed elbow between his ribs from Amaya. “Ow! What the hell was that for?”

The bassist rolled her eyes, pushing at his shoulder as she stood. “Shinsou’s love life is none of our business. It’s probably one of his dads blowing up his phone with cat videos again anyway.” Hitoshi shot her a grateful look as she sauntered past, joining her at the minifridge to grab a bottle of water. Just as he was taking his first sip, though, she spoke up again, just loud enough for everyone in the room to be able to hear her clearly. “Maybe we should start meddling though, before you inevitably work yourself into an early grave and die alone.”

Choking on the sip he had just begun to swallow, Hitoshi took a few moments to respond, busy spluttering and wheezing. Once he had composed himself slightly he turned to face the three other occupants of the room, eyebrow raised as he glanced at each one. “I’m perfectly fine with being single, why do you all think I need to start dating again?”

From the back of the room Eto spoke up for the first time, her own purple eyebrow mirroring Hitoshi’s. “Look man, we care about you, and whether you want to admit it or not you don’t have much of a life outside of work.” She shook her head, a fond smile gracing her face as the wisteria blooms in her hair swayed. “You don’t have to get back in the dating game again if you don’t want to, but maybe you should find a hobby or something, I don’t know. You’re in your prime, live a little!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll think about it. We’ve been here for hours, though, so I vote we call it a day and grab something to eat.”

Once all of the instruments had been put away, sheet music shoved haphazardly into folders, Sakai herded down the sidewalk, and Hitoshi had paid for everyone’s meals “in the name of holiday generosity”, he was finally able to drive home. Crashing face first onto his slightly-ugly-but-surprisingly-comfortable couch after ditching his boots at the entrance he groaned. Fuku meowed in protest, the cat likely expecting her dinner, and as he locked eyes with her his phone chimed again. Ignoring it he continued to stare, intent on winning this contest. However, when his phone chimed twice more in quick succession he gave up, Fuku chirping in what was likely smug arrogance before jumping onto his back and settling between his shoulder blades.

Fishing his phone out of his back pocket as gently as he could as to not disturb his fussy cat he unlocked the screen, swiping over to the source of almost every single notification he had received today: his rent-a-boyfriend ad. His inbox was flooded with at least seven unknown numbers, each one inquiring about his services. Skimming each message he stopped at the most recent one, blinking in surprise at its contents.

Unknown
6:47 pm
hey, i saw your fake dating ad online, you still accepting requests? also, would you be willing to attend a fancy gala that a bunch of famous-ish people are attending?

6:48 pm
also also, what have you been arrested for? not to be a goody two shoes or anything but that might kinda make or break this lol

Me
6:54 pm
Yeah I’m still taking requests, and it depends on what the gala is for I guess. As for the arrests, once for quirk use when stopping a mugging and twice for beating the shit out of some assholes who wouldn’t take no for an answer

Unknown
7:01 pm
great! the gala is sorta a public safety award ceremony thing

those are acceptable answers for why you’ve been arrested

7:02 pm
promise you’re not lying and are actually a serial killer or something??

Hitoshi couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the latest text, quickly shooting off a reply.

Me
7:03 pm
Yeah you got me, I’m a serial killer, I go by the moniker Stabby McMurderer, ever heard of me?

Unknown
7:03 pm
bro stfu you’re literally killing me rn

Me
7:04 pm
Isn’t that the point of being a serial killer?

Unknown
7:04 pm
true

Me
7:05 pm
I’m interested in your request, can I have a little more info? What’s the date of the event and why do you want to hire me?

Also could you give me a name or something so I can save your number as something other than “gala guy”?

Unknown
7:07 pm
the gala thing is on December 20th

ok so basically i just wanna cause some chaos and fuck with my friends and coworkers

7:08 pm
and one of the higher-ups is kinda old-fashioned and a dick so i want to potentially scandalize him

oh yeah, and my name is Kaminari, what’s yours???

Lowering his phone, Hitoshi ran through all of the details he’d just received. A gala on December 20th for “public safety”, and one of the people attending was named Kaminari? Interesting. Testing his theory, he quickly began typing again.

Me
7:11 pm
This gala wouldn’t happen to be the Pro Hero Recognition Gala, which includes invitees such as Chargebolt, aka Kaminari Denki, would it?

Kaminari
7:13 pm
BRO WTF

how did you know all of that? do you have some kind of hacker quirk or something??

Me
7:14 pm
If I had a hacker quirk I probably wouldn’t be a musician

Anyway I know a couple pros and they’ve mentioned the gala, and you too

It was a logical assumption

Kaminari
7:15 pm
ok so 1) you know my identity so i think it’s time you at least gave me a family name or something and 2) i’m assuming one of these pros is the one you mentioned owes you a favor, but which one?

Me
7:17 pm
Shinsou Hitoshi, at your service

And it may or may not be Deku

Kaminari
7:18 pm
HOW THE FUCK DOES MIDORIYA OWE YOU A FAVOR

7:20 pm
i just looked you up and you seem cool so i’m gonna trust the judgement of Google and Midoriya

Me
7:23 pm
Glad I passed your test ig

I’m free the 20th so if you’re still interested I’ll take the job

Kaminari
7:25 pm
ty so much, i’m so excited to fuck with everyone

do you want to meet to go over details and start preparing? i know we’ve got like 2 months but the longer we’ve got to get our story straight the more believable we’ll be

Me
7:26 pm
Sounds good, does 3 on Friday at Deja Brew work?

Kaminari
7:29 pm
make it 4 and it’s a date :)

Hitoshi had arrived at the little café 15 minutes early, allowing himself plenty of time to order his usual iced latte, pick out a table in the corner, and stew in his anxiety until Kaminari arrived. Just as he was about to start chipping at the polish on his nails the bells on the door jingled, a blond man in a sweater and joggers stepping into the store and up to the counter. He had a couple of minutes to acknowledge the fact that he was actually quite attractive before he was approaching the table, a steaming cup clutched in one hand, the other reaching out to Hitoshi. “Kaminari Denki, nice to meet you man.”

Shaking his hand he returned the pleasantries, “Shinsou Hitoshi, nice to meet you too.” Taking a sip of his drink, he tried to think of how to start a conversation about the gala, but Kaminari beat him to it.

“Since we’re supposed to be dating you can call me Denki. Is it alright if I call you Hitoshi?” He smiled at Hitoshi, the genuine nature behind it helping to put him at ease.

Sitting his cup back on the table he nodded, “Sure, I mean, it would probably seem sort of weird if we weren’t using each others’ given names.” Thinking for a moment, he asked, “So how serious do you want this relationship to seem?”

“I was thinking we say we’ve only been dating three months by the time of the gala, but we act super smitten and in love and very serious.” His eyes glinted as he glanced at Hitoshi, “You said you’re willing to fake a proposal?”

A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. “100% willing. I can make it as sappy or awkward as you want, too. If we’re supposed to be this serious though we should probably get to know each other pretty well so we don’t seem suspicious.”

Kaminari - no, Denki - nodded, bracing his elbows on the table to place his chin in his hands. “You ready for a pro hero interrogation?”

Hitoshi’s smirk widened as he spoke, “It wouldn’t be my first and probably won’t be the worst either, shoot.”

Denki’s eyebrow raised at the challenge in his words. “Alright then, you said you barely have a high school diploma, why?”

“I was super sick my 3rd year of high school and couldn’t go to school most of the time. Eventually my parents just enrolled me in an online homeschool program so that I could finish up my minimum requirements for graduation.”

Denki looked surprised, digesting the information for a moment before speaking again. “Damn, that must have sucked.”

Hitoshi shrugged in response, “Being sick sucked, yeah, and I finished school a few months late, but honestly I already knew I wanted to be a musician and wasn’t gonna go to college so it was fine.”

Eyes closed for a moment, Denki hummed in thought. “You mentioned your parents, tell me about them?”

There’s so much Hitoshi could tell him, probably could shock the hell out of him with a simple name drop, but Denki was still barely an acquaintance, he barely knew him. He settled for a more simplistic answer instead, “I was adopted by my dads when I was 15, right at the beginning of high school. They’re both pro heroes and have a lot of friends at UA, so if it wasn’t for my insistence that I wanted to go to an arts school I might have actually seen you on campus in general studies.” At Denki’s widening eyes he continued. “No, I will not tell you who my parents are. They can be pretty private, plus I’ve got my little sister to think of.”

Luckily he seemed to be understanding, and instead Denki latched onto the last statement. “You have a little sister? Me too! Though she’s really not that little anymore, she’s a whole ass adult now and just started her second year of college. I also have an older sister, she’s 25 and is working on her PhD in engineering, definitely the brains of the family.”

Hitoshi couldn’t help but chuckle at the slight ramble spilling out of the man across from him. After another sip of his drink he cleared his throat. “I mean, she can’t have all of the brains or you wouldn’t be one of the top 50 pros in Japan.” Denki flushed slightly at that, the tips of his ears slowly turning red. Electing to not dwell on the reaction he’d just caused, Hitoshi continued. “Anyway, my little sister was adopted a few months after I was, when she was 7. Now she’s a deceptively sweet 14 year old, and when she’s not studying she’s relentlessly bullying me.”

Snorting, Denki quickly swallowed his mouthful of coffee, hands swinging out in a wide gesture. “Man, if that just doesn’t describe younger sisters perfectly! Nariko seems like a perfect angel but we all know she’s got a mean streak that you don’t want directed towards you. I was a victim of her pranks as a kid enough to know better by now.” He paused for a second, his hands lowering down to the table. “What were we talking about?”

“I believe you were attempting to interrogate me?”

His face brightened as his memory was jogged, leaning across the table to stare directly into Hitoshi’s eyes. Voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper, he asked another question, “How do you know Deku and why does he owe you a favor?”

Over the next few weeks the two met at least once a week to go over their plan, reviewing the details of their supposed love life over drinks or food. When they weren’t talking in person they were shooting rapid fire texts back and forth at all hours of the day. Hitoshi can’t remember the last time he talked to someone so much, and it had become noticeable to his friends and family. His dads, and Eri, had noticed his frequently vibrating phone during family dinners, side eyeing him every time the device went off. He had braced himself for a confrontation, waiting for the onslaught of questions, but they must have decided to have some mercy and never actually addressed it. His bandmates, on the other hand, didn’t have quite the same amount of tact.

They’d barely started warming up on Wednesday, a month after Denki had first texted him, that Amaya finally snapped, lunging for his phone where it was charging on his music stand. “Bitch, that dick better be amazing for you to be cool with the constant quadruple texting.” Slapping her hands away he snatched his phone up, glancing at the thread of videos Denki had been sending him, each one a different clip of his friends’ cringiest fumbles during fights.

“Denki has ADHD, that’s just how he texts. And we’re not together, we’re just friends.” It was true, somehow through a fake boyfriend for hire post he’d gained a new friend, and he couldn’t find it in himself to complain about the situation. And sure, maybe Denki was exactly his type and he’d thought more than once about actually asking him out once the gala was over, but that was between him and god, not his nosy band mates.

Rolling her eyes Amaya scoffed, ever-changing tattoos flashing across her arms in bursts of inky black and blue as she crossed them over her chest. “Sure you’re not. That’s why you respond to him immediately and go out on dates all the time and let him ride your motorcycle, which you haven’t let any of us do and we’ve known you for years.” Sakai and Eto had walked over to stand behind her, one on either side, and he reluctantly handed over his phone with Denki’s contact pulled up as Eto made grabby hands for it.

He was expecting Eto’s comment about Denki being “exactly his type”, but what he wasn’t expecting was Sakai to rip the phone from her grip, stare at the photo with wide eyes, and then screech “You’re dating Chargebolt?” at a decibel level much too high for the small practice studio.

After a quick moment of consideration Hitoshi decided that if they were going to con Denki’s friends and coworkers for shits and giggles they could do the same for his. “Yeah, fine, we’re dating. You got a problem with that or something?”

“I need to know how you bagged a pro-” Amaya cut Sakai off before he could finish, fingers fidgeting with her rings, a pensive look on her face that made him slightly nervous before she broke into a wild grin, rearing her arm back to punch his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you just tell us, you asshole?” She laughed. “You’ve been happier since you’ve met this guy and that’s all we really want, but you didn’t have to lie.”

Stealing his phone back from a now-smirking Sakai before he started going through his messages Hitoshi shrugged, slipping the device into the back pocket of his jeans and running a hand through his already messy hair. “I didn’t want to say anything when we first started going out because it was new and I was worried I’d get all our hopes up for nothing. But Denki’s a great guy and I really like him, so I think it’s safe to say that it’s going well.”

Eto lunged forward to wrap an arm around his neck, pulling him down to drag her knuckles against his scalp, messing up his hair even more as she laughed. “That’s all we want to hear. We’re happy for you.”

Denki had laughed when he’d walked into the diner later that day, sitting down in the booth across from him. “Damn man, your hair is messier than usual! I know you usually rock the ‘my hair is fluffy and basically just sticks up like this on its own’ mohawk but this looks like I shocked you and then shoved your bike helmet on. What happened?”

As they ordered and ate Hitoshi told him all about his confrontation with his friends and how they were now very supportive of their “relationship”. In return Denki shared how he had started dropping hints that he was in a relationship to his friends, ranging from casually mentioning a date to straight up gushing about Hitoshi to Bakugou in the locker room after a patrol. Hitoshi had laughed so hard imagining the number 11 pro hero bitching about Denki telling him that Hitoshi had bought him flowers and walked him home that he almost tripped up the stairs to Denki’s apartment twice. Denki had to grab his bicep, wheezing with his own laughter, as he pulled Hitoshi up the last three stairs and through the door.

“- and then Hanta asked if we’ve made it to third base yet and Katsuki threatened to blow us both up if we didn’t ‘shut the hell up’.” Denki flopped onto the couch, leaving enough room for Hitoshi to do the same.

“You said that he knows the truth though and wants to help fuck with everyone, right?”

“Oh yeah, Hanta’s my best bro, there’s no way I could fake this well enough without him catching on, so I just decided to let him in on the joke. He thinks it’s hilarious and is 100% down to help however he can.”

Tucking his legs underneath him, Hitoshi huffed a laugh. “That’s why I didn’t mention anything to my family, because they were going to ask way too many questions and then see straight through my bullshit.”

Denki suddenly swung his head to face him so quickly his neck cracked. “You said your dads are both pros, right?”

Concerned about the sudden intensity, Hitoshi slowly nodded. “... yeah, but like I said before, I’m not going to tell you w-”

“No, no, I know you won’t tell me who they are, despite my many fantastic guesses.” Denki cut him off. “But we’re literally going to a hero gala, won’t they be there? And then they’ll see us and know we’re lying to everyone and call us out and it will be ruined and-” Hitoshi leaned across the couch, setting a gentle hand on Denki’s shoulder.

“Denki, breathe. I agreed to going to the gala because I know they’re not going. We won’t run into them there, it’ll be fine. Pops doesn’t really care but my dad hates most fancy events like that and thinks they’re a waste of time, so they mentioned months ago that they’re not planning on attending.”

Relaxing again, Denki grinned, bumping their shoulders together. “That’s a shame, I bet they would love to see their son drive in on his fancy motorcycle with a hot blonde hanging off his arm.” Hitoshi settled back into the couch, leaning slightly against Denki’s lithe frame.

“Honestly, pops probably would. Did I tell you that he was the one who gave me the motorcycle?”

Next to him Denki perked up. “No, really?”

“Yeah, he spent a little time in the US when he was younger and brought back a huge love for their music and cars. After him and dad adopted me he passed that passion on to me. When I signed my first record deal he bought it for me as a gift.” Hitoshi smiled at the memory, Hizashi wrapping him in a tight hug when he got home that day before handing him a set of keys and dragging him out to the garage. His dad had muttered something about buying a death trap before pulling him into his own hug, a quiet “I’m proud of you” whispered against the side of his head. “We’ve worked to customize it together for the past couple years. My sister loves helping bling it out to match my stage persona. I swear every time I mention wanting to make some upgrades she has six new glittery, rhinestone encrusted ideas.” Eri was one of those teens who loved everything glitzy and glamorous and it definitely showed. Hitoshi was pretty sure her hero costume sketches would rival that of Aoyama.

Denki nodded sagely, “Tell her that I say she’s got good taste. Speaking of, what’s your plan for the gala, you gonna dress up?”

He shrugged. “I was thinking of going all out and showing up in a concert look, y’know, makeup, jewelry, leather, the whole nine yards, but I can wear a tux instead if you want. It wouldn’t stand out as much.”

Denki looked incredulous. “Why would I want you to stand out less, especially when your concert looks are so hot?” Hitoshi fought back the urge to flush pink as he continued. “Anybody can bring a guy in a suit as a date. Nobody else is gonna bring a ripped rockstar who looks like he’d beat the shit out of them while wearing boots that make him, what, 6’ 8?”

Shaking his head, Hitoshi amended his guess, “I’m 6’ 2 and the boots I was thinking of wearing have eight inch heels so I’d be 6’ 10. Also you know I’d only fight someone if they were a real asshole and that doesn’t really apply to most pro heroes, so I don’t think that’s going to matter.”

Denki shrugged before flicking Hitoshi’s forehead, gaining a frown in response. “Yeah but nobody else knows that, and when you frown like that you look grumpy. Plus you’ve got a resting bitch face, so add that to the rest of your look and you’re intimidating as fuck. It’ll just be between us that you’re a huge softy for animals, especially cats, and that you cry at kids' movies.”

“That was once!” Hitoshi pouted. “I want a divorce.”

His lips twitched into a smile as Denki doubled over with laughter, “You haven’t even proposed yet!”

He was just finishing smudging out his eyeliner with a glittery black shadow Eri had given him as an early Christmas present when Denki poked his head in the doorway, taking in the various hair and makeup products strewn across the bathroom counter. They’d decided to get ready at Hitoshi’s place so he didn’t have to drag all of his stuff across the city to Denki’s apartment. It helped that Hitoshi lived closer to the gala venue, too.

“You almost ready to go? I figured we’d leave a little early so you could drive a little slower on the way there.” He eyed Hitoshi’s thick curls, which had been gently gelled and hairsprayed to hold the shape of his fluffy mohawk. “Wouldn’t want all the work you put in to go to waste.”

Wiping the excess makeup off of his fingers he reached for the plastic organizer to his right. “Yeah, I just have to change out my piercings and put on my boots and I’ll be ready.” Evidently taking that as his cue to watch, Denki sat on the toilet seat lid, careful not to wrinkle his maroon suit as Hitoshi took out each of his ear piercings and his lip ring, replacing them with shinier silver jewelry. He turned to Denki, eyebrow raised as he asked “Thoughts?”

Denki hummed, tilting his head slightly. “The cartilage piercings look good, but maybe change a couple of the lobe ones to something dangly, add a little contrast y’know. Are you going to change out your septum or nose rings?”

Rifling through his jewelry organizer he dug out a few more earrings, beginning to swap out some of the ones Denki had mentioned. “Nah, I like those ones, they can stay.” Once he was finished he padded across the apartment, stopping to give Fuku a few scratches under her chin and to fill up her water bowl before slipping on his boots and zipping them up to just below his knees. Looking up he realized Denki had followed him out, waiting a couple feet away. As he stood up Denki’s eyes followed him until he was the one looking up and Hitoshi had to look down at him.

“So, what do you think?”

He watched as Denki took in each aspect of his outfit, from the low rise leather pants to the fishnet shirt strategically ripped to showcase the tattoos along his arms. “You look very rock ‘n roll, Mr. Shinsou.” He paused for a moment before shooting him with a finger gun. “I think you should do a spin.”

He laughed as he did so, slowly shuffling in a circle with his arms out like he was 15 again and playing dress up with Eri. Once he had made an entire rotation he stopped, the studs lining his leather cuffs clinking as he crossed his arms. “Was that good?”

Linking their arms together Denki pulled him out the door and into the elevator. “That was perfect.” Pressing the button for the ground floor he snickered. “Can’t wait to introduce Katsuki to my boyfriend who’s wearing eyeshadow and a vest with rhinestone stars on the back.”

“If he says shit about it I’ll just remind him that he wears eyeliner for his hero costume.”

“I think you have a death wish tonight.”

They had found the venue easily and handed Hitoshi’s motorcycle off to a slightly nervous-looking valet. It was then that he noticed all of the press that they definitely had forgotten to account for at the front door. “Ugh, I hate reporters.”

“Me too, they’re always sticking their noses in everyone’s business. I know that’s literally their job but it gets really annoying when you’re trying to do your job and they won’t stop bothering you.” Linking their fingers together he began leading them towards the flashing lights, ignoring them for the moment. “These guys out here will probably write a bunch of speculative articles about us based on the pictures they’re going to get but the reporters inside are all highly trusted by the pros and likely won’t write anything other than how the awards ceremony goes. Sound good?”

Hitoshi smirked as they got closer to the mob, cameras beginning to flash in his eyes. “I don’t care, I’m already in the spotlight anyway. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with.” Walking past the barriers cameras and microphones were shoved in their faces, shouts of “Chargebolt!” filling the air, though a few reporters seemed to recognize him too and were calling out his name as well.

Ignoring all of them he and Denki stepped up to the door, where a retired pro who Hitoshi recognized but couldn’t remember the name of was checking names off the invitee list. “Ah, Chargebolt, I see you brought a guest. Well, enjoy yourselves.” Nodding at the man the two turned to head inside when one of the heroes acting as security spoke up.

“Hey man, you didn’t have to wear your hero costume! The invite said formal dress.” The guy chuckled, but awkwardly stopped when met with Hitoshi’s blank stare.

Pulling out his best deadpan, Hitoshi spoke quietly but firmly. “I’m not a hero, I’m a musician.” At the bewildered look on the hero’s face and the yelling of the press behind them he pulled Denki inside, shutting the door behind them before joining him in his laughter.

“Did, did you see his face?” Denki wheezed, straightening up from where he had bent over from the force of his laughter. “That was the funniest thing I think I’ve seen all month. And the way you delivered that with a perfectly blank face! Oh my god!” Straightening Denki’s tie for him from where it had gone askew, Hitoshi was about to respond when another voice emerged from the din of the ballroom.

“Denks! I knew I heard your laugh, Mina thought I was going crazy or something!” Approaching them was a tall, lean man with choppy hair as black as his suit that Hitoshi assumed was Sero Hanta, known to the public as pro hero Cellophane. Denki was pulled into a loose one-armed hug before turning to face him, a mischievous smile lighting up his face.

“Hitoshi, meet my best bro Sero Hanta. Hanta, meet my boyfriend, Shinsou Hitoshi.” He wiggled his eyebrows on the word boyfriend and Hitoshi had to physically restrain himself from snorting at just how ridiculous he looked. Sero obviously had no qualms about laughing at his friend of years, snorting and smacking him on the shoulder.

“You’re the worst.” Suddenly sober, he made direct eye contact with Hitoshi. “You had better be treating Denki right, or else.”

Ever the dramatic, Hitoshi placed a hand on his chest as if the very notion of mistreating Denki was offensive, affecting another deadpan to deliver his line, “Of course, only the best for my baby.” The three of them stared at each other in silence for one second, then two, and then they were all laughing together, gasping for breath as they tried to quiet down and avoid the stares of some of the heroes around them.

“I like this guy, Denks, I think you should keep him around after tonight.” He then looked at Hitoshi with what he could only call a shit-eating grin. “So, what do you need help with tonight? Denki showed me your ad, you can hit on me for some drama, or I’m down to get in a fight, though that may not be the greatest idea since I do have like eight years of combat experience.”

“My parents are both pros and insisted on training my sister and I so we would always be able to defend ourselves, so I could probably hold my own pretty well. But I think we’re going to go the proposal route, so if you just want to maybe keep Dynamight from murdering me, that would be great.”

Sero looked slightly impressed. “Well damn, maybe we’ll have to spar sometime. Who are your parents?” Before Hitoshi could put his foot in his mouth trying to come up with a way to avoid answering the question a woman with pink skin and hair came barreling over, her gold dress shimmering as she drug two other women with her.

She let go of the other women’s wrists to wrap Denki in a hug, pulling away to hold him at arm's length. “Sero said he heard you and I didn’t believe him but then Kyouka said the same thing.” She rounded on Hitoshi. “And then I saw Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome over here with you and had to come over immediately. So who exactly might you be, mysterious stranger?”

This must be the Mina that Denki, and now Sero, had mentioned. “Shinsou Hitoshi, it’s nice to meet you…” he trailed off, hoping she got the message.

“Ashido Mina.” She seemed distracted, circling around him slowly, eyes scrutinizing while the rest of the group just watched. Finally done with her assessment she stopped in front of him again. “Denks, in all of the times you’ve mentioned the guy you’ve been seeing, why did you never mention that he’s smoking hot?”

“Uhm…”

“And why did you never mention that he’s a relatively well known rockstar that’s been rising up the charts?” Hitoshi looked at the woman who had just spoken, trying to place where he’d seen her before. After a second her short dark hair and quirk-enhanced ears stirred up some recognition.

“Earphone Jack, I’ve heard a lot about you, the music industry is quite fond of you.” So were his dads, but he wouldn’t mention that.

She twirled one of the jacks around her finger, the sleeve of her dress sliding slightly down her wrist. “You can call me Jirou. I’ve become quite the fan of your music, I have to say. I appreciate the inspiration from western pre-quirk metal and rock while still staying true to your own style.”

Not expecting musical praise at a hero gala, he tried not to get too flustered. “Ah, thank you, that means a lot to me.”

The other woman standing next to Jirou, who he had now recognized as Creati, gave him a gentle smile. “Yaoyorozu Momo, it’s a pleasure to meet you Shinsou. Kyouka introduced me to your music, it’s quite nice.” Creati was not a person he expected to listen to his music, but he wasn’t going to complain. “I wasn’t aware that you and Denki were dating.”

That seemed to grab Ashido’s attention again, her curls bouncing as she whipped her head around to join in the conversation. “Yeah Denks, I’ve heard you mention a Hitoshi plenty of times, but why didn’t you tell us who he was or introduce us before now? You could have at least told us you were officially dating, y’know.”

Denki looked apologetic, but Hitoshi was sure that he was laughing on the inside. “Mina, I love you, I really do, but you’re a bit of a gossip.” The woman in question pretended to take offense as her friends fought not to laugh. “If I would have told you that I was dating a well known musician you would have immediately told every single acquaintance we have. Hitoshi may be a public figure too but we wanted to tell people on our own terms, right babe?”

Hitoshi shifted closer to him, intertwining their fingers again as he put on a slightly sappy expression. “Right darling.” Around him the girls cooed, turning into a squeal from Ashido when he leaned down to press a soft kiss to the top of his head. The squeal turned into a squeak as he lifted his head and glared at her, faux irritation flashing across his face.

“Sorry! Well, we better not keep you, I’m sure you want to show off your boytoy now. Nice meeting you Shinsou, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon!” Once the women had said their goodbyes and left Sero had clapped them both on the shoulder, wished them luck, and told Denki to text him if they needed anything, including a protection detail from Dynamight.

After grabbing drinks off of a passing waiter’s tray they had moved around the room, mingling with many of Denki’s colleagues and former classmates. Hitoshi hadn’t had the pleasure to meet Dynamight yet, but he had met Iida, Shoji, and Uraraka, as well as a few other UA graduates and, most notable so far, Hawks.

They were currently chatting with Selkie, Gunhead, and Fatgum on the right side of the ballroom, since Hitoshi had dragged them over there to avoid where he could see Nemuri talking to some of the other UA teachers. He really didn’t need to run into any of them right now.

When the three other pros were distracted for a moment Denki pulled Hitoshi down to whisper in his ear, “So what do you think? Should we go harass Endeavor after this? All Might looks like he could use a break from him soon.” Hitoshi grinned at that. He’d heard enough about Endeavor from his dads and Midoriya to know that he was kind of a dick, so fucking with him would be fun.

“-uh, Shinsou?” He looked up at Selkie, who looked a little uncomfortable. “Are you alright, you’re, um, smiling a little odd.” His grin dropped. Oh god, he just did dad’s creepy smile, the one that always unnerved people. Now he’s scared them all and they were all gonna think he’s some kind of crazy murder or something. Before he could continue freaking out Fatgum laid a large hand on his shoulder.

“That’s amazing Shinsou, you looked just like Eraserhead right then, don’t you agree Kaminari?”

Glancing at Denki, the other man looked stunned. “Holy shit,” he breathed out. “Holy shit you looked just like Sensei, I gotta show everybody, I-” Turning to look around them his eyes scanned the crowd before zeroing in on a broad redhead passing by. “Ei!”

The man’s eyes met the group and he brightened like he was the goddamn sun. “Denki! Fat! How are you guys?” He wrapped each man in a bear hug, practically picking Denki up off the floor before greeting Selkie and Gunhead, who wished him well and excused themselves. Finally, his red eyes met Hitoshi’s. “Sorry, I’m afraid we haven’t met before. I’m Kirishima Eijirou, also known as Ret Riot.”

Shaking Kirishima’s hand, Hitoshi tried not to wince at his strong grip. “Shinsou Hitoshi. I’m Denki’s boyfriend.” Before he could even blink Kirishima was pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. His ribs creaked in protest as he prayed that all of his skeleton would survive the embrace.

Eventually Kirishima released him, a large smile crinkling the corners of his eyes and showing off a set of razor-sharp teeth. “It’s so good to meet you, man! Denki talks about you all the time!” As if seeing his outfit for the first time, his eyes scanned him up and down, but just like the ball of sunshine that Denki had described him as, he just seemed to smile even wider. “Lovin’ the look man. Denki said you’re a musician, right?”

Hitoshi was pretty sure he had whiplash. “Uh, yeah, that’s right.”

“That’s awesome, super manly!” Looking back to Denki, he tilted his head, almost like a dog. “So what’s up bro? I was just heading back over to check on Kats.”

“You would not believe what Hitoshi’s been hiding from me! Apparently he can imitate Sensei’s creepy grin perfectly and just never told me. Toshi, show him, do the grin.”

Denki and Fatgum both looked at him expectantly, while Kirishima just looked curious. Sighing, he gave in. “Fine, but just this once.” Taking a deep breath, he schooled his face into a replica of the smile he’d seen Shouta do so many times before.

“... oh my god. It’s perfect.”

Fatgum laughed, a jolly rich sound that warmed Hitoshi right before he spoke again, ruining the effect. “That’s what I said! We’ve got to show him, I know I saw him and Mic around here earlier.” He turned to Kirishima, hitching his thumb to the side. “I’ll go right, you go left, see if we can find them?” With a nod the two of them split off, leaving Denki and Hitoshi with a parting “Stay there, we’ll bring him over once we find him!”

Denki was chattering away next to him but Hitoshi had frozen, mind running a mile a minute. They were here? They weren’t supposed to be here. Hell, they had explicitly said they weren’t planning on coming this year. What the fuck was he gonna do? What-

“Hitoshi? Hitoshi, are you okay?” Right, Denki was still right next to him and didn’t have a clue what was going on.

Grabbing his hand Hitoshi glanced around, checking for a secluded corner before pulling Denki along with him. “Hitoshi, what’s wrong, you’re acting weird all of a sudden.” Once he was sure that nobody else was around other than two young pros a couple yards away who seemed to be making out… in the wall? Whatever. Quirk shenanigans aside, nobody else was around, so he could explain to Denki, who was looking more distressed by the minute.

“Hitoshi, seriously, are you all right? Breathe, man. You gotta breathe.” He coached him through a breathing exercise, hand gently squeezing his own to help ground him. Once he was breathing normally and his heart didn’t feel like it was going to beat out of his chest Denki tried again. “Okay, you want to tell me what’s going on?”

He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture he’d never quite kicked. “This is going to sound super dumb, and honestly I don’t know why I freaked out so much because it’s not even that big of a deal but-” He sighed. “You know how I told you that my dads are both pro heroes and I wouldn’t tell you who they are but that we didn’t have to worry about them because they weren’t coming to the gala?”

Denki nodded, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with the conversation… we were just having…oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Your dads are…”

“Eraserhead and Present Mic, yes.”

“Oh my god. This makes so much sense.”

He blinked in surprise. “What?”

Denki’s face lit up as he started waving his hands around. “No seriously, it makes a lot of sense! You said you got your love of western cars and music from your pops. Mic drives a 1960s Mustang he once told us he had imported from the US. The music thing just makes complete sense, I don’t need to elaborate on that.” He paused for a moment to suck in a breath before continuing his rant. “You said your dads had a lot of friends who work at UA, that’s because they’re their coworkers. Hell, you can do Aizawa’s deadpan and creepy grin perfectly, honestly there’s a striking resemblance beyond that too. Are you sure you’re adopted?”

He chuckled, still recovering from the shock of how well Denki was taking it. “Yep, definitely adopted, though you might as well know that Shinsou is my stage name. Legally I’m Yamada Hitoshi.”

“Aww, no fun hyphenated family name?” Denki pouted.

“Nah, dad and pops thought about it, but since dad is an underground hero it’s risky to tie his name to us, plus pops’ family name is super common, so nobody would bat an eyelash at it. They did the same thing with Eri.”

“Damn, I forgot about the fact that if you’re Aizawa and Mic’s kid then Eri is your sister. She was always so cute and polite when we were in school, I can’t believe she’s a little gremlin now.” A lightbulb seemed to go off over his head suddenly. “Wait, did your dads ever tell you about our class? Eri had to have at least mentioned us before.”

“Dad bitched about your class all the time, he swore he was going to be completely gray by the time you graduated. Everything was pretty stressful those first few years, but underneath the complaining they really do have a soft spot for you guys. I’m assuming you get why I didn’t exactly want to tell you who my parents are, though, yeah?”

A soft hand landed on his bicep, the weight reassuring. “Hey, it’s fine.” Hitoshi raised his head from where he had lowered it to stare at the ground, Denki’s eyes soft and genuine in the warm overhead lighting. “You’re allowed to have your secrets, you don’t owe me anything. What’s the plan if we run into them though? I’m not entirely sure I can survive a shovel-talk from Sensei.”

Hitoshi stopped himself from nervously running his fingers through his hair, opting to fidget with his jewelry instead. “Well,” he hummed, “I guess we’ll just have to tell them the truth.” Denki looked like he was about to object so he hurried to elaborate. “My parents know me too well, they’d see right through my bullshit. Plus, even if they believed me they’d probably be upset that I hadn’t felt I could tell them about my personal life. I don’t want to end up hurting them for a prank.” He paused. “Knowing them, once they find out they’ll want to be in on it.”

Fifteen minutes later saw them approaching a table towards the front of the room where All Might seemed to be valiantly attempting to hold a polite conversation with Endeavor. When Denki had revealed that Endeavor was the old-fashioned geezer he wanted to terrorize he had willingly agreed to mess with him, dutifully slinking behind Denki with his so-called “resting bitch face” on full display. Stepping up to the table, Denki bounced on his toes. “All Might! How are you?”

The man in question smiled, seeming to almost be relieved by the interruption. He looked much less gaunt than the last time he’d seen him in person, filling out his slim blue tuxedo well. “Kaminari my boy, I’ve told you, you can call me Toshinori. I’m doing well though, thank you for asking.” Eyeing Hitoshi he spoke again, “I see you have a guest with you this evening.” Across from him Endeavor huffed, a quiet noise that he chose to ignore for now.

In a flash Hitoshi had all five feet and eleven inches of Kaminari Denki pressed against his side. “Toshinori, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Shinsou Hitoshi. Toshi, meet Toshi.” Denki giggled as Hitoshi nodded at All Might.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” He turned his head to subtly glare at Endeavor, dropping any semblance of a smile he’d held for Toshinori. “You, not so much.” The man in question started to grow red in the face, however Toshinori coughed, pulling the group’s attention back to him, likely in an attempt to diffuse the already growing tension.

“Are you a hero, Shinsou? I’m afraid I don’t recognize you.”

Sliding the hand he had draped across Denki’s shoulders up, he twirled the soft hair at the nape of his neck as he shook his head. “Nah, my quirk is more cut out for being a villain than a hero.”

When he’d been younger people had not been afraid of him or his quirk, necessarily, but many of his classmates and teachers had made offhand comments about the inappropriate or even illegal things he could do with it if he wanted to. As he’d started to spend more time in the public eye he began to get comments that he had a villain’s quirk. His family had raised him with the understanding that a quirk was a tool and could be used for good or evil, that a quirk was not inherently villainous by nature. He knew this and was confident in his quirk, but sometimes others were not.

Interest piqued, Endeavor finally piped up on Hitoshi’s left, “What’s your quirk?”

He merely tilted his head to the side. “Why don’t you guess?”

“I don-”

Bright blue eyes froze, wide open as they faded to a milky hue. Toshinori looked stunned as Hitoshi gave the flame hero a command. “Hand me your drink, then pinch yourself.”

Left hand still tangled in the hair brushing Denki’s collar as the man draped himself along his side, Hitoshi gently took the cocktail from Endeavor’s grasp with his right hand. He had to take a sip to hide his smirk as the hero broke out of his quirk, confused for a mere second before irritation blanketed his features.

“What the hell was that?” He had begun to heat up, a few dainty tendrils of smoke curling above his head.

“Brainwashing.”

Blue-again eyes squinted at him. “What?”

“My quirk, it’s brainwashing.”

That seemed to finally jog his memory, eyebrows shooting up as his jaw dropped. “You! You’re the punk I arrested for quirk use at that mugging a few months ago!” Out of the corner of his eye Hitoshi could see Toshinori fidgeting with his glass, as if he was nervous that one of his former students was dating a criminal. As funny as this was, he didn’t really want the symbol of peace thinking he was a mugger for longer than necessary.

“If I remember correctly I stopped the mugging before it could actually occur and then you arrested me for unlicensed quirk usage,” he stated. “You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

Endeavor didn’t seem to appreciate that. “Who even bailed you out that quickly anyway? You were already gone by the time I made it to the station.” Toshinori’s head was swiveling back and forth like he was watching a riveting tennis game.

“Ah, I’m close to Eraserhead and Present Mic. Just gave them a quick call and they straightened it all out with the police for me.” He took another sip of his stolen drink. “Now I’m a free man.”

Apparently that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, Endeavor’s growing heat finally bursting out in the form of a blazing flame beard. He fumed silently as Hitoshi handed Denki the cocktail, reaching into his vest pocket.

Pulling out a pack of cigarettes he shook one loose, quickly leaning in to light it on Endeavor’s beard before the man could move away. “Oh, thanks for the light man.” Blowing a puff of smoke directly at him, Hitoshi held back his laughter as Endeavor gaped like a fish. He could practically see the vein throbbing at his temple. Deciding this performance needed a final bow before drawing to a close, he tilted his head to whisper in Denki’s ear, blond hair tickling his cheek as he spoke.

At Denki’s quiet affirmation he straightened, left hand sliding down the other man’s back before sliding into his back pocket, eliciting a squeak as he gave a quick squeeze. Cigarette still held loosely between his right index and middle fingers he nodded to a bright-red Toshinori. “It was nice to meet you, All Might, but we’ll leave you alone now. You know how it is, places to be, people - sorry, things - to do.” Shooting him a wink and a salute with the cigarette he steered the two of them towards an empty balcony, hand still in Denki’s pocket.

Once they were safely alone on the balcony they took one look at each other and promptly lost their shit.

“Oh my, oh my god! Did you see Endeavor’s face! He was so pissed. And All Might!”

“The former symbol of peace now thinks I’m some kind of horny degenerate, holy shit,” he gasped, choking on peals of laughter.

“If Endeavor could incinerate you with a look you’d be straight up ashes.” After a few more minutes of attempting to stop their laughter and failing miserably, Denki finally wiped the tears of mirth from the corner of his eye and handed him the cocktail glass. “Here, I need to find the bathroom, I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

The lights of the city glimmered on the horizon, Hitoshi leaning against the balcony railing as he placed the drink next to him and stubbed out the cigarette in the conveniently placed ashtray near the door. He enjoyed the hum of the gala patrons inside and the city outside while he waited, surprised to hear approaching footsteps sooner than he expected Denki to come back. His blood froze in his veins, however, when the footsteps stopped and their owner spoke up.

“You know, when I heard whispers about a guest with a purple mohawk wearing leather pants and enough eyeliner to rival Bakugou under his mask I said, ‘That sounds like our kid.’”

“And I said there was no way, since it would be illogical to think that our son, the musician, would be invited to attend a gala to celebrate the achievements of pro heroes across Japan. And yet, here he is, sipping a cocktail and smoking a cigarette on the balcony while he waits for Kaminari Denki to come back from the restroom.”

Turning slowly, Hitoshi came face to face with his parents. His dad had his hands tucked into the pockets of his suit, one of only two that he owned, face unreadable. Next to him his papa shifted his weight from one leg to the other, arms crossed over his chest and eyebrow raised over the rim of his sunglasses in clear disapproval.

“Cigarettes, Hitoshi? Really? I thought we talked about this.” They had. When Hitoshi had been 16 going on 17 he’d decided he needed to have a small rebellious phase and acquired a couple of packs of cigarettes from a classmate. A few weeks later, in a scene eerily similar to his current situation, Hizashi had come home to find Hitoshi leaning against their balcony railing, a cigarette dangling between his lips while he watched the traffic on the street below. What ensued after was an hour-long lecture about the damages that cigarettes could cause, especially to someone who was planning a career as a vocalist. The final nail in the coffin was when he reminded him about how the secondhand smoke could affect the rest of the family’s lungs. Shouta had returned from his patrol that night to find his teenage son crying into his husband’s chest and a half-empty pack of cigarettes in the kitchen trash.

“I know Papa, I promise that they’re herbal cigarettes and I didn’t, I- I only took a few drags for show. I didn’t even buy them, I got them off a friend in the film business for tonight. I know I told you I’d never smoke again bu-”

“Hitoshi,” his pops interrupted his rambling, “while I don’t love the idea of you smoking for any reason, I’m not mad. You’re an adult and can make your own decisions, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them. I’m more confused about why you’re here. I didn’t realize that you and Kaminari are so… close.”

“I wasn’t aware that you even knew Kaminari,” his dad finally spoke again.

He decided to rip the bandage off. “Long story short I agreed to pretend to be Denki’s boyfriend for the night to mess with his friends and coworkers.”

Shouta did not look impressed. “No, I want the long story. Spill.” Next to him Hizashi nodded, looking expectant.

“Ok fine, so I posted an ad offering to act as a fake date during the holidays and Denki reached out about hiring me for the gala. That’s who I’ve been texting lately. We’ve been hanging out and planning this for about two months now. Basically the plan is to fuck with his friends, who think we just started dating recently, and scandalize some of the older pros because we’re both awful and think it would be funny.” His dad’s stance had become more relaxed, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly in a way Hitoshi knew meant he was interested in what was being said. “Up until about 45 minutes ago I didn’t know you were coming, so the only people here who would actually know me in real life would be Aunt Nemuri and Midoriya.”

His parents looked more intrigued after his spiel, mulling over what he’d just told them. Faking a dramatic sigh Hitoshi rolled his eyes, “And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling parents.” That finally elicited a laugh from his papa.

“Sounds chaotic, definitely something Kaminari would be into. Now that we know about it, I think we could offer a little assistance, what do you think Shouta?”

“It would only be logical.” He smiled, the creepy grin Hitoshi had imitated earlier spreading across his face. Hitoshi mirrored him.

“Papa, get ready to turn on the waterworks. Dad, better prepare your shovel talk. You’re about to get another son.”

Denki chose this exact moment to reappear, stumbling out of the crowd and onto the balcony. He opened his mouth to speak before spotting Hizashi and Shouta, closing it for a moment before making a new attempt to speak. “Mic, Sensei, hi! Um, I see you f-”

He didn’t finish his sentence, distracted when Hizashi’s long arms wrapped around his shoulders and dragged him into a tight embrace. “There’s my favorite future son-in-law!” Shouta snorted as his husband crowed in mock delight, Kaminari blinking in surprise. He seemed to go through a few seconds of the human equivalent of blue-screening before coming back online.

Gold eyes met Hitoshi’s. “I’m going to assume that you told them, then?”

Releasing Denki to wrap an arm around his husband’s waist Hizashi chirped again, “Yep!”

His dad’s deep voice rumbled across the small space, commanding everyone’s attention. “While our son hasn’t told us all of the details, and we will be having a long conversation about this later,” at this he shot a look Hitoshi’s direction, causing him to shrink slightly on instinct, “we’ve decided that it’s in our best interest to assist in this ruse.”

“Really, dad? The ‘logical ruse’ angle?”

“Ok, maybe I think these events are boring and too stuffy and want to provide a little entertainment, sue me.”

“And you say I inherited my dramatics from papa.”

His parents sufficiently filled in on the plan for the rest of the evening, Denki led him to the table they’d be sitting at for the remainder of the night, snagging a few hors d'oeuvres on the way. He’d been seated next to a vaguely irritated looking Dynamight, the absolute beefcake that was Kirishima next to him. To his left was Denki, smile shining as he chatted to the other heroes he’d been introduced to: Asui (“call me Tsu, kero”), Tokoyami, Todoroki, and of course Midoriya, who had been distraught to find out that two of his friends were dating and he wasn’t aware of it. His dads were conveniently seated only a table away, able to watch the chaos unfold.

Kirishima had lit up when they’d walked over, smacking Bakugou’s shoulder to get his attention in what was probably supposed to be light tap but instead looked like it would leave a bruise. “Kats, this is Shinsou, Denki’s boyfriend I was telling you about!” Hitoshi pulled out Denki’s chair for him before slouching into his own, draping his arm across the back of Denki’s chair. “Sorry I couldn’t find Aizawa, man,” Kirishima apologized to him, “Fatgum swore he’d seen him but it’s like he disappeared. He’s tricky like that.”

A weight settled gently against his side, Denki popping into the conversation. “We actually ran into him and Mic a little bit ago. He said he was hiding from Bakubro’s ugly mug.”

The blonde’s eye twitched. “Shut up, idiot. And you,” his gaze pierced into Hitoshi’s soul, however, he had been raised by Shouta for the past nine years and wasn’t phased in the slightest. “How come I never hear shit about you and Sparky dating and then all of a sudden you roll into a prestigious pro hero event dressed like every goth kid’s wet dream with him hanging off your arm?”

“Kats!”

Hitoshi stared at him head on, dead eyed and blank faced. “Well Kats, pretty sure Denki’s been talking about me for a while. I feel like I remember him telling me you were bitching about the flowers I bought him, right lightning bug?” Turning his head slightly he caught Denki turn pink, flushing up to the roots of his hair. He could hear Bakugou pretend to gag next to him, so he turned back to him, ready to start some shit. “What, you got a problem with me dating Denki?”

He scoffed, “If you’re insinuating what I think you are, well then I’d be a damn hypocrite, wouldn’t I?” Hitoshi was well aware that Bakugou and Kirishima were dating; between his dads, Midoriya, and now Denki he knew more about their relationship than they’d expect, but it was still funny to see Bakugou get all riled up. “All I’m saying is that you’ve been together for three months, I hear about you but never meet you, and then the first time we’re introduced is at a very public event. In my opinion it’s just a bit fuckin’ fishy that you’re never around but show up when it’s time to show off.”

The rest of the table so far had been silently watching their conversation like it was a daytime soap opera, but Midoriya and his lack of self-preservation decided it was time to step in. “Kacchan, Shinsou’s a pretty popular musician, he’s busy a lot. He probably is just free right now because of the holidays.”

That just seemed to irritate Bakugou even more. “I didn’t ask you Deku, mind your business. You act like you know the guy, what, are you friends or something?” he muttered.

The perfect segue to distract the whole table for a while, Hitoshi responded to Bakugou’s (probably rhetorical) question. “Actually, Midoriya has babysat my younger sister multiple times.” At the dumbfounded looks he received he continued. “What? You asked if we knew each other.” For the rest of the meal leading up to the ceremony portion of the evening he fielded questions about his personal life, his job, and in one memorable moment, vaguely brushed off Todoroki’s question of whether or not he was related to Aizawa. The guy didn’t always seem to be trying to be funny, but Hitoshi liked his dry wit and planned to attempt to befriend him later. If nothing else he’d enjoy how they had aggravated his father earlier.

Speaking of Endeavor, out of the corner of his eye Hitoshi could see him, Hawks, and Toshinori stand up, heading towards the stage to begin the ceremony. Craning his neck he quickly glanced at Sero, nodding at him once he saw that the other man had begun discreetly filming. Looking back towards the stage he made eye contact with Endeavor, who had just approached the podium, shot him a smirk and a wink, and then stood up. Towering over the table he drew a few pairs of eyes, but as he carefully knelt onto one knee and drew a small box out of the inside pocket of his vest he redirected most of the room’s attention from the stage to him, especially at Kirishima’s loud gasp.

Denki looked appropriately shocked, one hand pressed against the lapel of his suit jacket, the other quickly covering his mouth as Hitoshi opened the box to reveal a silver ring encrusted in stones that reflected the light of the chandeliers overhead. Hitoshi cleared his throat. Time for the big finale. “Kaminari Denki, light of my life, we’ve only been together a short time, but I’ve never been happier than I have been the past three months. I want to be this happy with you for the rest of my life. Will you make an honest man out of me and marry me?”

Denki nodded, beaming. “Yes, I- a thousand times yes.” His eyes sparkled with a few fake tears of joy as Hitoshi slid the ring onto his finger, crashing into a tight embrace immediately after. From his vantage point on the floor he could see a disgruntled Endeavor standing next to Toshinori who was dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

Before breaking apart Hitoshi whispered in Denki’s ear, “I think we just made All Might cry.” Denki chuckled as they pulled apart, standing up and brushing a quick kiss against his cheek before wrapping him in another hug.

It was Denki’s turn to whisper in his ear. “Don’t look now but your dads are coming in hot, expect Mic to yell in 3, 2, 1…”

“Hitoshi!” Removing himself from his fiancé’s hold he moved to turn toward his pops’ voice. Taking a step back with his right foot he braced himself as he was hit with 180 pounds of crying voice hero. Hizashi continued to blubber about his baby growing up and how he was ecstatic to have Denki as a son-in-law, switching to wrap said man in his own fierce hug.

After a brief hug from his dad Hitoshi watched as Shouta approached Denki, face blank before breaking into a small smile. “Welcome to the family,” he grinned, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Cutting through the murmurs that had exploded after Denki accepted his proposal, Bakugou erupted, “What the fuck?”

Evidently taking the exclamation as his cue Endeavor finally spoke into the microphone on the podium. “Ah, why don’t we all take a few moments to… congratulate… the, er- happy couple.” The pause on the word congratulate and slight growl on happy did not go unnoticed by a few other pros in the crowd, including Hawks, who subtly elbowed the man as they shuffled back off the stage.

Back in front of him Denki’s friends had swarmed them, voices all overlapping, trying to all speak at once. Fed up, Bakugou yelled again, “Shut up! Nobody can hear when you’re all talking at the same time!” Satisfied with their newfound silence, he whipped around to face Hitoshi and Denki. “Now I think I speak for all of us when I ask what the hell is going on. You’ve only been dating for three months and now you’re getting married?”

Denki slipped his hand into Hitoshi’s, leaning his head against his arm whilst donning a sappy, lovesick smile. “Yep!”

Bakugou narrowed his eyes. “And you see nothing wrong with marrying a guy you just met? One who we’ve never met? We haven’t even done a background check on the guy or anything.”

“Well I for one like Shinsou, congrats guys.”

“Hanta!”

Bakugou continued to glare at Hitoshi as Ashido spoke up. “Look, no offense, but we know almost nothing about Shinsou. Up until today we didn’t even know his family name, and that might be fake anyway, he’s a performer! We could do Katsuki’s background check and find out he’s a hitman or something because he's lying about his identity.” During her rant she had been waving her arms wildly about her, but now they were sternly crossed over her chest.

Coming to the defense of his son, Hizashi puffed up in outrage. “Now what exactly are you-”

Bakugou cut him off, pointing back and forth between him and Shouta. “And you two! Why are you so inves-”

“Ashido is right,” Hitoshi cut Bakugou off, giving him a taste of his own medicine. “If you ran a background check on me right now nothing would come up, Shinsou’s not my real name.” He continued before Kirishima could interrupt with the question that was obviously at the tip of his tongue. “Yamada Hitoshi at your service.” He gave a small sarcastic bow, still holding onto Denki’s hand.

The group was silent for a second, then two. Then Todoroki, who had been quiet during the whole affair, spoke up. “So I was correct, you are related to Aizawa.” Hitoshi and Denki both laughed, shaking against one another in mirth.

“Yes and no.” Shouta had wrapped an arm around Hizashi’s waist, one of the biggest public displays of affection he’d allow himself around his coworkers and former students. “We adopted Hitoshi when he was 15, he’s not biologically related to either of us.” On the fringes of the group someone muttered something that sounded an awful lot like “coulda fooled me”.

Smiling once more, Kirishima tugged Bakugou back by his hand, as if he was handling an angry little dog straining against its leash, attempting to lunge at the ankles of passersby. “See? Shinsou, er, Yamada?” He looked to Hitoshi for help.

“You can keep calling me Shinsou, or you can call me Hitoshi if you’d like.”

“Well, Hitoshi seems like a great guy to me, plus he’s got to be fine, he’s Mic and Aizawa’s kid! There’s no way they’d be vouching for their son if he was some kind of villain or something.” Hitoshi was starting to understand why everyone loved the guy, he had to be an angel in disguise or something. “Plus they’re probably not going to actually get married for a while, so we’ve got plenty of time to get to know him.” God bless this mountain of a man.

“You can all interrogate me another time if you want, but we should probably let them start the ceremony before somebody blows a gasket.” At that Hitoshi sent a pointed look towards the stage, where Hawks and Toshinori were chatting as Endeavor seemed to be waiting impatiently, clearly a little agitated at the disruption to the schedule. As if sensing that eyes were on him he looked up, catching the tail end of movement as everyone settled back into their respective seats.

Stalking back up to the podium he addressed his audience. “Once again, congratulations to Chargebolt and Shinsou Hitoshi on their engagement.” Hitoshi blinked in surprise, shocked that the man actually remembered his name. Polite applause echoed around the room, Endeavor beginning his speech once it had died down. “Tonight we gather to celebrate the work of pro heroes, both active duty and veteran, across the country of Japan.”

Later, once the ceremony had ended and Hitoshi had agreed to meet with all of Denki’s friends once the holidays were over (read: was forced to agree to an interrogation by Bakugou), he found himself cornered on the balcony by his parents again while Denki was in the restroom. He hadn’t even had a chance to say anything before his dad spoke.

“You actually have feelings for him, don’t you?”

He sighed, knowing there was no way he could deny it. “...yeah. It’s that obvious?”

His pops chuckled, backlit by the skyline as he leaned against the railing. “To us, yes. To everyone else you were just really convincing with your dating act, but you can’t fool your own parents, kiddo.”

At his distressed groan his dad laughed too, a rare sound that never failed to make Hitoshi smile. “Look, no matter how much he wanted to be ‘in character’ there’s no way Kaminari would have been that into being your fake boyfriend if he didn’t also have feelings for you. Did you see how often he blushed around you tonight?” Now that he thought about it, Denki had turned pink a number of times around him, not even including tonight. And while he was sort of flirty by nature, he’d definitely actually flirted with him a few times. Hell, he’d called him hot the other day. “Just ask him out when you drop him off tonight, I can guarantee he’ll say yes. From what I’ve heard you’ve practically been dating anyway.”

“Gee, dad, since when were you the relationship guru?” Hitoshi snickered.

His dad cuffed him on the back of the head. “Brat. And this is a one-time thing, any other advice you need, go to your papa.” Spotting Denki heading back towards them, Shouta spoke once more. “Get going, and remember what I said.”

Walking to meet Denki he waved his dads off. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

“And don’t forget to get my ring back.”

“Emi gave that to you as a joke, it cost her like 2500 yen max.” He rolled his eyes.

“Well maybe I want it back so that I still have the option to elope with her when your papa is annoying me.”

Hizashi pretended to be affronted. “Hey!”

He waved again as they continued their playful bickering, looping his arm with Denki’s as he led them outside, fighting past the paparazzi to get to his motorcycle. Of course one of them caught sight of the ring on Denki’s finger as he pulled on his helmet and alerted all of the others, a swarm running over to bombard them with questions and pictures. Revving a few times Hitoshi flipped up the kickstand and accelerated, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the dark street, away from the dazzling camera flashes reflecting off of the bike.

Once back at Denki’s apartment complex they climbed the stairs up to his floor, idly chatting about the award recipients for the night. A surprising amount had been recent UA graduates, which evidently was the reason his dad had changed his mind about going. Despite what he said he was very proud of all of his former students and wanted to recognize their hard work.

Having walked Denki to his door, Hitoshi stood in the hallway awkwardly as he unlocked the door, swinging it open with the keys still in the lock as he turned to face him again. “Denki, I-”

“Oh, I heard Aizawa say he wanted his ring back! Here.” He began to remove the ring from his finger. “Emi is Ms. Joke, right? I’ve seen her jokingly propose before but didn’t realize she’d actually bought a ring-” He slowed to a halt as Hitoshi placed a hand over his.

“Keep it on for now.” At the obvious confusion on his features he hurried to explain. “You should probably keep it until we explain the joke together so nobody questions you about it early.” Sighing, he removed his hand from Denki’s, lifting it to rub at the back of his neck. “What I was actually going to say was, uh, well. I like you, Denki. Kind of a lot. I know this is kind of ass backwards since I just ‘proposed’ to you but would you like to go out with me? For real this time?”

Denki smiled, small and soft, a rosy blush growing across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “I’d love to.” Taking two steps forward he looped an arm around Hitoshi’s neck, the other reaching forward to grab a fist full of the collar of his vest. Pulling slightly he leaned up, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Hitoshi happily reciprocated, threading his fingers into soft blond hair until they eventually had to break for air. “Not to sound like a harlot, but would you maybe want to come in?”

Hitoshi snorted and pressed a kiss to Denki’s forehead, repeating his earlier words. “I’d love to.”

Pro Hero Chargebolt Spotted With Mysterious Guest At Gala

Most pro heroes choose to attend galas either alone or with their colleagues, though some do choose to bring their long-term partners. Number 37 hero Chargebolt, however, surprised other attendees with a mysterious guest few recognized. The man, clad in all black, cut an imposing figure as he towered over Chargebolt as… [read more]

Chargebolt Engaged to Musician Shinsou Hitoshi

On December 20th hundreds of current and former pro heroes traveled across Japan to attend the annual Pro Hero Recognition Ceremony Gala, including Kaminari Denki, also known as Chargebolt. With him was Shinsou Hitoshi, lead singer and guitarist for HYPNOS, a rock band that has been steadily climbing the music charts. While the two declined to comment on their relationship, while they were leaving the venue a ring was spotted on Kaminari’s hand that was not there when they arrived… [read more]

Chargebolt Accepted a Marriage Proposal and We Can See Why

Recently Kaminari Denki, better known to the public as Chargebolt, was permanently taken off the market during the Pro Hero Recognition Ceremony Gala, and we’ve got to say that he has great taste. His fiancé, frontman for HYPNOS Shinsou Hitoshi, stands 6’ 2”, emphasizes his piercing eyes with dark makeup and face paint, and is surprisingly ripped for a rockstar. Oh yeah, we can’t forget his chillingly deep voice, w… [read more]

A week and one predictably hectic family Christmas later, Hitoshi was walking up to Denki’s apartment, where he could already hear the sounds of Denki’s friends inside. He’d had to endure his family’s teasing, especially from Eri once she’d found out the truth, for the past week, while also artfully dodging the texts from his bandmates, manager, publicist, and Midoriya. Bracing himself, he knocked three times on the door, hoping it would be loud enough to be heard over the noise inside.

Immediately the decibel level dropped and the door unlocked to reveal a grumpy looking Bakugou, though when he thought about it the man always looked a little grumpy, or at least slightly emotionally constipated. Leaving Hitoshi in the doorway, Bakugou stomped back through the living room before flopping onto the couch, feet thrown into Kirishima’s lap as he announced Hitoshi’s presence, “Lover boy’s here.”

Crashing out of the kitchen Denki screwed his face into what he assumed was supposed to be an angry expression. “Shinsou Hitoshi we are through! I’m breaking off our engagement!” Ripping the ring off of his finger he hurled it at Hitoshi, who caught it in mid-air before it could smack him in between the eyes.

Playing along he huffed, shutting the door behind him. “Darling, baby, lightning bug, what’s wrong? Whatever I did, I can make it up to you.”

“No. I’m done. You’re a liar and a cheat and I can’t believe I agreed to marry you!” Denki threw his hands up, stalking across the apartment to stand in the living room.

“I’m pregnant.” Hitoshi saw the moment the words registered in everyone’s brains, eyes widening as they flicked rapidly between the couple. Denki looked seconds away from losing his shit. Sero didn’t look much better, hands held over his mouth and shoulders minutely shaking as he sat on the floor.

Voice small, Denki whispered “What?” He wasn’t sure if it was because he was trying to sound distraught or if it was the only way he could speak without laughing.

“You heard me.” Hitoshi took a shaky breath. “I’m pregnant. And it’s yours.”

Crossing his arms over his chest Denki glared at him. “You know what, I don’t care. Get out.” He pointed at the door, which Hitoshi was still standing next to. “I don’t want to see you ever again.”

“Fine, I don’t want you in this child’s life. We’ll be perfectly fine without you.” Wrenching the door open, Hitoshi took a step out into the hallway before pivoting on his heel. “Good thing this engagement was fake anyway.” With that he launched the ring into the living room, years of self-defense training with his dads ensuring his aim was true as it hit Denki square in the chest, falling to the floor with a dull thud that was echoed by the apartment door slamming shut.

Counting to five, Hitoshi opened the door again, took one look at Denki, and doubled over with laughter. Denki did the same, leaning against the wall to support himself as tears welled up in his eyes. The other occupants of the room, minus Sero, who was choking on his own laughter, were swiveling their heads between the two men like very confused owls. In his typical fashion Bakugou repeated what Hitoshi had decided must be his catchphrase. “What the fuck?”

It took them another 10 minutes to calm down enough to sit down on the floor together, as every time they looked at each other they’d start laughing again. Finally Denki pulled himself together enough to speak, looking each of his friends in the eyes before taking a deep breath. “So Hitoshi and I aren’t engaged, and we weren’t dating either. We were faking the whole thing to mess with you guys.”

“What?”

“So I’m not going to be the best man at the wedding?”

“Shut up, Hanta.”

Jirou looked upset, though her expression quickly morphed into surprise. “The whole thing was a lie? For like two whole months you’ve been setting us up on one big prank? That’s a lot of dedication, Denks.”

Next to her Ashido nodded, “I’m kind of pissed at you right now but I’m also impressed. Holy shit, we totally fell for that hook, line, and sinker.”

“The whole thing wasn’t a lie, there’s no way.” Everyone looked at Kirishima. “Even if you two are both amazing actors there was too much real emotion happening for it to be completely fake. I saw the way you guys looked at each other, the way you talked and walked and laughed and touched. There’s something there, even if it was built off of false pretenses.”

Hitoshi decided it was his turn to speak up. “It started when I posted an ad offering to be a fake date for the holidays for anyone who wanted one. Denki reached out and I was interested. We started texting and hanging out all the time to plan and start giving you hints that he was seeing someone. Along the way we became friends, and at some point I guess we both developed feelings. The crux was the gala last week, Denki wanted to mess with you guys and make you think he was going to marry a man he just met. I thought it would be funny, so of course I was in.

“The problem came when it was time for it to be over. Just like it was obvious to Kirishima, it was obvious to my dads that I had feelings for Denki and he returned them. They encouraged me to tell him and for once I actually listened to them.”

Grabbing his hand, Denki shot him a smile. “So now I’d like to introduce you all properly. Hitoshi, meet my friends Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijirou, Sero Hanta, Ashido Mina, and Jirou Kyouka. Everyone, meet my boyfriend, Yamada Hitoshi, also known by his stage name Shinsou Hitoshi.”

The group sat in pensive quiet for a minute, Kirishima eventually breaking the silence with a booming laugh. “Ok, I’m still a little mad at you but I think we can all agree that it’s at least a little funny.” Confirmation came from around the room, even Bakugou grumbling out a “fine, it was kinda fuckin’ funny” before yelling at his boyfriend when he pushed his legs out of his lap to climb to the floor, giving Denki a quick hug and Hitoshi a slap on the back. “Now I want to hear all of the details, including the confession.” He paused. “Especially the confession.”

“Yeah! Did you really grab Denki’s ass in front of All Might?”

“You did what in front of the symbol of peace?”

A year and a half later saw Hitoshi actually proposing to Denki on his 25th birthday, surrounded by friends and family and no nosy reporters. He had gone out with Hanta and Katsuki, who surprisingly had a good eye for this kind of thing, to pick out a real ring this time, finally replacing the cheap one he’d first given him so long ago. His dad had jokingly complained that it was a “family heirloom” and he was “ruining tradition”, but Denki had ended up keeping the ring on a chain, claiming that it had sentimental value now. He had worn it for the entirety of their fake engagement and had grown quite fond of it, he said.

Attached at the hip since the night of the gala, the two were practically inseparable. They’d gone on hundreds of dates, officially met each other’s families, and moved in together. When Hitoshi had bent down on one knee Denki had made a joke about getting deja vu, but his eyes were suspiciously misty this time around. Hitoshi had repeated his original speech to the laughter of everyone watching, though he wasn’t even able to begin the new speech he had planned before Denki had crashed into him, almost knocking him over. Hands gripping his biceps Denki had shouted a resounding yes before peppering him in kisses, another yes whispered between each kiss while they both cried. In their teary embrace he had slid the new ring, a warm gold band engraved around the middle with a sparkling round stone in the center, onto his finger next to the original ring.

His papa had actually cried this time, and though he’d deny it until his dying day his dad had teared up too, dabbing at his chronically dry eyes with a tissue from Momo. Eri had immediately insisted on assisting with the planning and declared herself flower girl, though she had decided they needed to work on the title since she was 16, not 6. Hanta had then told her she would have to fight Bakugou for the position, scrambling to hide behind Shouto for the rest of the night to avoid bodily harm from the man.

Life was good. His musical career was continuing to rise, his band ecstatic for their first tour in a few months. He had more friends and family than he ever expected to gain when he had first been adopted all those years ago. He had caring, supportive parents; a loving if not slightly chaotic sister; and a frankly adorable cat. And though the general public thought they had been engaged for over a year, the love of his life was finally his fiancé. The path to get here may have been a bit messy and unorthodox, but it was perfect.

Notes:

I did so much research on KISS just to add only a few details here and there, but just know that Hitoshi takes quite a lot of inspiration from them, both in his music and his aesthetic. I just think the 70s/80s glam rock/metal vibe would fit him well.
This was inspired by a real life Craigslist post I saw online and quickly ran away from me... as usually happens when I actually start writing. I guess Santa went a little overboard with the cure to writer's block he brought me for Christmas.
Thanks for reading! I appreciate all of you and love any and all kudos, comments, and feedback!

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