Work Text:
She wasn’t actually sure why it bothered her so much. It’s not like it mattered. It wasn’t like she wanted that little pervert to think she was hot or anything. She supposed it was the fact that she was the only one he never said anything about. He made comments about Hagakure, and he couldn’t even see her.
But no, it shouldn’t bother her at all.
Still, every time Yaoyorozu complained about the unwanted attention, or Ochako found herself dodging the little pervert, Jirou found herself feeling almost… Jealous. But that was all kinds of wrong, and she felt bad the instant she had any of those thoughts.
“Ugh, it’s just so annoying,” Mina complained, flipping back on her bed. “How is it that someone so gross is in the Hero course? And why does it have to be our class?”
The girls were all gathered In Jirou’s room for a girl’s night, and the topic had drifted, as it often did, to boys. Which somehow led them to Mineta.
“I don’t know,” Yaoyorozu mused. “It’s just a bit unprofessional, I think. There are much better ways to show a girl that you like her.” She tilted her head, glancing up towards the ceiling. “Right?”
“You mean the way Todoroki talks to you?” Tsu asked innocently, causing the rest of the room to explode in laughter as the girls fell over each other at Momo’s embarrassment.
“It’s not at all like that!” Momo protested. “He’s just friendly.”
“He is not,” Mina protested. “Trust me, girl, he’s just waiting on you at this point.”
“And don’t think we haven’t noticed Bakugou and Ochako walking to the dorms together after class,” Tsu piped up.
“You’ve become so devious!” Mina clapped her hands. “That’s true, though! Since third year started, he’s been all over you, ‘Chako.”
Ochako’s cheeks turned bright red and she looked away from the girls, which was in itself answer enough to the question that none of them had vocalized. She shrugged weakly, before saying, “We’ve been sparring more together, that’s all.”
The chatter drifted to Ochako and Bakugou’s sparring matches, which Mina had some very lewd things to say about, and Jirou found herself just sitting back and listening to her friends enjoying themselves. It was nice, when they could all hang out together like this. It didn’t happen as often now that they were third years, since their training was far more intense than it had been initially. Jirou had first thought it couldn’t get any more intense, but it somehow had, and she was tired most of the time.
“What about you, Jirou? You and Kaminari have been close since we started school, and you still haven’t made a move,” Hagakure pointed out suddenly, and all eyes were on her. Jirou sat up ramrod straight, feeling heat cover her cheeks.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Kaminari,” She said firmly.
“That’s not true,” Mina whined. “You guys hang out all the time.”
“You hang out with your friends, don’t you?” Jirou snapped, suddenly feeling defensive. “We’re friends, that’s why we hang out.”
“I don’t hang out in boy’s rooms!” Hagakure pointed out loudly, a sleeve waving in the air as she gestured wildly.
Jirou patted her cheeks, trying to assuage the heat she could feel building in the skin there. “Kaminari’s my friend, that’s why I hang out with him.”
“Ugh.” Mina flopped back. “Listen, Jirou, you and I both know that is not the case. Kaminari doesn’t just hang out with girls.”
“He hangs out with you,” Jirou pointed out.
“Not alone, though,” Ochako piped up, seemingly grateful that the attention wasn’t on her at this moment. “You go to his room.”
Jirou had to acknowledge, as much as she didn’t want to, that that was true. Kaminari often invited her over and she’d been teaching him guitar since the festival. But that didn’t mean anything in a romantic sense. She’d told the girls as much before, to the point that she was starting to feel a bit like a broken record. A frustrated broken record.
She wasn’t under any sort of delusions that Kaminari was interested in her. She never had been. She knew she firmly fit into the category of “one of the guys” and usually, she was fine with that. But when it came to Kaminari… Well, she liked him. She could admit it to herself, in the quiet of her own mind, but to no one else.
Especially not to him.
Luckily, the topic drifted away from her as Momo started to see that she was uncomfortable and redirected to a more neutral topic. Jirou sat still, battling with herself and trying to continue engaging in the conversation. It was difficult. Her mood was already ruined.
*****
“Do you wanna come over later?”
Jirou peered up from her desk to see Kaminari grinning down at her. She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.
“What for?”
He shrugged. “You know that video game that just came out?”
“You’ve only been talking about it for weeks.”
“Yeah! I got my copy today, finally, do you wanna come over and play it later?”
Jirou blinked. They didn’t have a guitar lesson scheduled for today, so she supposed she could. And as much as she was reluctant to tell him, his taste in video games was sort of good. He was fun to play them with too.
One of the boys, her traitorous brain reminded her.
It made her gut roll, but not enough for her to turn him down. If this was the way she could hang out with him, then that was fine. She nodded, looking back to her desk.
“Sure,” she said bluntly, making little sketch marks with her pencil.
“Cool! Maybe after class? Unless you have work study today?”
“I don’t have work study. I’ll come over.” She looked up at him, meeting his gaze to tell him specifically she wanted to hang out with him. She thought, for a moment, she saw a flicker of nervousness, before he nodded and beamed at her again.
He went back to his seat, and Jirou let out a long sigh through her nose. She returned to the little doodle she’d been doing on her paper when she heard the indistinguishable voice of Minoru Mineta cut through the air.
“Kaminari!” he called, hurrying over to Kaminari. Jirou almost winced. They were deskmates. The two boys were only a couple steps for her.
“Huh? What’s up, Mineta?” Kaminari acknowledged, although he seemed a bit distracted.
“I found out Yaoyorozu and Todoroki have been seeing each other,” the shorter boy lamented, his voice at a high whine. “There goes my shot.”
“Dude, you didn’t have a shot to begin with,” Kaminari laughed. “Momo’s had a thing for him since first year. The fact that he just now got his head out of his ass has nothing to do with you.”
Jirou almost laughed, but bit her tongue instead. While they hadn’t put a label on it, everyone had noticed how Todoroki was gravitating towards Momo like she had an orbit to pull him into. It also wasn’t a surprise that Mineta thought he’d had a chance with Momo.
“That only leaves Ashido, Hagakure, Uraraka, and Asui.” Mineta sighed heavily. “Guess I’ll have to up my game.”
“Do everyone a favor and don’t,” Kaminari responded.
She’d barely heard Kaminari’s response, what with the knife that felt like it was buried in her chest. She hadn’t even been mentioned under a list of girls in the class. She clenched her jaw. This sort of thing shouldn’t bother her. But Kaminari spent enough time around her - shouldn't he have picked up on the fact that her name was missing and added her in? What was that all about? Out of sight, out of mind?
Maybe it was because she was sitting right here. But that also couldn’t have been it… Why would they censor their talk just because she was nearby? She had super hearing, she would be able to hear them anywhere if she wanted to.
And she had.
She’d heard the way all the guys talked. Most of them, she didn’t fault, they were just guys after all. But none of them ever talked about her. Never. She knew she wasn’t exactly a hot topic when it came to the physical assets of the girls in class, but she’d sort of hoped that someone would have at least a passing interest in her.
She wanted Kaminari to have an interest in her, but that was aiming the bar a little too high, actually. He was popular among the girls in other classes, especially since their third year had started. He’d grown his hair out, and dressed nice when they were off campus. Pair that up with a smile that could cure the common cold and how sweet he was, it was no wonder he had the pick of the lot when it came to girls.
Jirou found herself lucky that he was too busy with hero work and school to date. As much as she pined after him from afar, she knew it would actually gut her to see him with another girl. She wasn’t sure she would even be able to be friends with him when that inevitably happened.
Mineta continued jabbering on about the girls and their assets. Kaminari listened, but didn’t offer any of his own commentary like he used to in first year.
Jirou’s name wasn’t mentioned once.
After class, Jirou skipped out before Kaminari could catch her. She’d text him and meet him in his room after she changed out of her uniform, and everything would be completely normal. No reason to be different with him. It was just a reaffirming of everything she already knew about herself, and about her relationship with him. It was never going to be the fairytale romance that her stupid head had dreamt up on nights she was up too late and he’d been a little too nice in the face of her teasing.
Still, she may have been fast enough to outrun Kaminari, but she was not fast enough for Momo, who caught up with her right outside the building.
“Jirou!”
She jolted. “Hi, Yaomomo. Aren’t you walking with Todoroki today?”
“I told him I needed to talk to you about something,” Momo responded, her hands clutching at the strap on her messenger bag. “You’ve been off all day, I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
Jirou arched a brow. “I’m totally fine.”
“You’re not.” Momo sighed heavily. “I can already tell. You were fine this morning, did something happen?”
Jirou sighed. The problem with her best friend being one of the smartest people in the class was that she was observant as hell, and it was really tough to get one over on her. “Don’t you ever get tired of keeping such a close eye on me?”
“I care about you very much. So no.”
“You can’t tell anyone.”
“I never do.”
“I know, but I mean it. Like, if anyone besides you finds out about this, I’ll personally string you up by your toenails.”
Momo pulled them a bit off the beaten path, so they’d be taking the long way to the dorms that no one else really used. She slung her arm through Jirou’s and nodded primly.
“Understood. Go on.”
Jirou bit back a laugh at Momo’s seriousness, but sighed heavily when she remembered how much she was going to have to unload on her friend.
“I have a crush on Kaminari.”
“Is that all?”
“You knew?”
“Kyouka, I’m surprised he doesn’t. You don’t tease anyone the way you tease him, you hang out with him the most out of all the boys… You’re patient enough to keep teaching him guitar. I can’t think of anyone else you could conceivably have a crush on.”
Jirou groaned. “Okay, fine, you’re the relationship mastermind. But no, that’s not all. That’s not the part I feel stupid about.”
“You’re not stupid.”
“I know, but this feels dumb.” She bit the inside of her cheek, composing herself before continuing. “You know how Mineta talks about all the girls-”
“-Unfortunately, yes. Did he say something about you? I could ask Todoroki to-”
“No. No, that’s the thing, that’s what I feel stupid about. He never talks about me. In the entire time we’ve all gone to school together, he’s always talking about the girls, and I’m never once brought up. And today, he went down the whole list of who was available after you and Todoroki started… You know… And I wasn’t even on the list. He doesn’t even consider me a girl.
“But that’s not what bothers me. He was talking to Kamianri about it.”
“Did Kaminari say something untoward?”
“No. He didn’t even correct Mineta. Didn’t even add me to the list. He doesn’t even see me as a girl.” Jirou huffed. “It’s stupid, like I said. You guys are all fighting for that twerp to see you as people and here I am, wishing I was being objectified.”
Momo was quiet for a moment, considering. “Well, yes, but you don’t want to be objectified by Mineta. You want to be noticed. I don’t think that’s bad.”
“It’s toxic.”
“Hm…” Momo squeezed Jirou’s arm. “When are you seeing Kaminari again?”
“He asked me to play a video game with him today.”
“Then… And I know this will be very far out of your comfort zone, but I really think you should ask him about it. See what he says. Maybe tell him the truth?”
Jirou rolled her eyes. “You only say that because you’re perfectly happy with your perfect new boyfriend.”
“Todoroki didn’t speak to me for a day and a half after I confessed.” Momo directed her stare to Jirou. “He so believed he was undeserving of affection that he attempted to cut me off entirely. There is nothing in this life that is worth it that doesn’t require a bit of risk.” She stopped their walking, pulling Jirou to face her. “You deserve to have someone who worships the ground you walk on. If that isn’t Kaminari, then move on. But if it could be, if there’s another reason for his actions… It could be something good.”
Jirou bit her bottom lip, trying not to tear up at Momo’s words. She nodded, looking over her shoulder. “Fine. Fine, but only because I know your nosy ass will keep asking me about it.”
“Yes.”
“I reserve the right to string you up if it goes bad.”
“That seems fair to me.”
****
Jirou had never been more nervous to go to Kaminari’s room. Of course, he threw the door open and beamed at her and she flipped him off as she entered, so it was all normal. But she was too caught up in the topic she was going to have to bring up.
“I haven’t played it yet, but there’s a co-op mode we can do together!” He scrambled to set up the game.
“You haven’t even played it yet?”
“No! I was waiting for you.” He tossed her a controller, which she caught with one hand and sat perched on his bed. Once he had it set up he scrambled up next to her, sitting cross legged and adjusting his controller.
It was easy to fall into normalcy with Kamianri, even though she was upset. She found herself laughing and her mood improving as they played a few rounds of the game. The co-op mode was a basic shooter, which Jirou found she was pretty good at. Kaminari caught up to her skill quickly, clearly having a great time.
Still, she knew she had to bring it up, or it would eat away at her all night. So, after about an hour, she cleared her throat, trying to get his attention before she spoke.
“Kaminari, do you think I’m pretty?”
His head whipped around to her, eyes wide, and his character onscreen was obliterated as a result. Jirou kept her hands firmly on the controller, her eyes on the screen.
“Huh?”
“Please don’t make me repeat it.”
“No, I just! I’m surprised, that’s not the sort of comment you make usually,” he shifted so he was facing her more, even though she hadn’t dared to glance at him. “But yeah, I think you’re super pretty.”
Heat covered her cheeks and she stared up at the ceiling. “This is so embarrassing.”
“What’s going on?” He asked softly, “Are you okay?”
“I heard you talking to Mineta today,” she said softly. “Like… Okay, I get it, I’m not super hot, I’m not like the other girls in class. But he didn’t even list me when talking about the girls, and I mean girls in general, and you... “ she turned to look at him. “You didn’t correct him.”
Kaminari swallowed hard, and it was his turn to blush as he looked down at the bedspread, picking at a nonexistent loose thread. “Um. Yeah, I can explain that. He’s not allowed to talk about you.”
“What the fuck?” Jirou balked, furrowing her brows at him. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does, hold on, I’m just nervous, okay?” He breathed out a deep sigh, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear. “Mineta hasn’t been allowed to talk to you since the beginning of our first year. I didn’t say anything today because you’re off limits.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t clear things up, Kaminari.’
“Because I like you, okay!?” Kaminari threw his hands up. “He’s not allowed to talk about you because I like you, and I don’t wanna hear him being gross about you. I like you, but I also respect you, and I don’t want anyone to make you feel bad.” He deflated a little. “And I’m sorry if that ruins everything.”
She clenched her fists around the controller. “You like me?”
“Jirou. I’m like, obsessed with you. Kirishima says he’s surprised you haven’t thrown me out a window by now.” He leaned back against the headboard, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I never thought it would upset you that we weren't talking about you, you know?”
She set the controller down, shifting around awkwardly to face him. “It upsets me because I like you,” she said quickly - perhaps too quickly. “Because I want you to think of me that way.” She ran her hand through her hair. “That’s gross.”
“Um, no! Not at all.” He finally made eye contact again, breathing growing shallow. “Like, listen, I do… I think about you… That way. I just- I never wanted it to get in the way of us hanging out, because I’d rather just be your friend then not have you at all-”
“Hey, idiot, did you miss the part where I said I like you?” She felt like her heart was going to explode of her chest, and nothing was going to calm it down. “I don’t just want you as a friend. That’s why it upset me.”
He breathed out a shuddering breath. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah?”
“The coolest girl I have ever met in my life,” he pointed at her, “That’s you. You like… Me?” He pointed at himself.
“ Yes!”
“Holy shit!” He laughed, a disbelieving sound as he reached for her but then retracted back. “Sorry! Sorry, way outta line-”
She pushed up on her knees and launched forwards into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. She felt him relax and tug her against him, effectively pulling her into his lap. His nose pressed to her neck and he let out another shuddering breath. His hands curled into her shirt and she closed her eyes, revelling in the feel of him.
“It’s fine,” She said softly, “It’s not out of line.”
He let out a light laugh. “You won’t stab me with your earjacks if I wanna hug you?”
“No.”
“Or if I wanna hold your hand on the way to class?”
“No.”
“Or if I wanna kiss you?”
“N-no.”
“Or if I wanna say gross things to you?” He trailed his nose along her jaw, making her shiver. “All the shit that Mineta’s not even allowed to think about you or I’ll fry his brains?”
She laughed a little, sitting back. “You’d fry your own brain.”
He cupped her cheek with one hand, smiling softly. “You’re worth it.”
“Immediately sappy, huh?”
“Three years of it saved up,” he said cheerfully, the nervous tension leaving his body as she remained close to him. “I’m sorry though. That I made you feel bad.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did, and I was trying to protect you. I’m sorry.”
Feeling bold, she leaned forwards and kissed him full on the mouth, pulling back after just a second of connection.
“Wait, come back,” he mumbled, tilting his chin up to kiss her again. She bent down and kissed him again, slower this time, letting him move against her and cradle her against him, like she was something precious and meant to be held gently.
Finally, she pulled away from him, and settled for another hug.
“What, no smart comment?” he asked teasingly.
“Not now. Give me two to three business days,” she said.
If this was the new normal, maybe she wouldn’t have to tease him quite so brutally from now on.
Unless he deserved it.