Chapter Text
Denki sat in the back of class, an earbud in his left ear, he couldn’t even recognize the song that was playing because he was so out of it. His head was falling to the side, out of his control and his fingertips felt fuzzy. He couldn’t even feel his toes, no matter how much he willed them to wiggle around in his shoes. He groaned, tossing his head back against the wall and shutting his eyes tightly, watching little sparks and patterns flash behind his eyes. He repressed the sudden urge to giggle. He peeked opened an eye and they fell on the guy to his right, Katsuki.
Katsuki Bakugou was one of those intimidatingly good students. He didn’t really talk to anyone except his one friend but yet, everyone knew of Katsuki. Maybe it was because he was the highest ranked student in their grade or maybe it was the teacher’s constant appraisal towards him - either way, everyone was scared of his wits. Not only was he smart, he was handsome too. He had sharp features and an angry look always on his face. He stood at about 5’7, only an inch or two taller than Denki himself. Denki hummed to himself as he continued to narrate Katsuki in his head. Katsuki was lean but you could tell he had some muscle. He was a model student, despite his grumpy and tired attitude.
It seemed Katsuki could feel Denki’s eyes peering on him, because he dragged his eyes up from his worksheet and squinted at Denki before he made a noise of disturbance. “You look like shit, Denki. You should like, go to the bathroom or to the nurse or something,” Katsuki said quietly, as to not catch the attention of the teacher. Denki hummed at him, practically ignoring him because his mind was too busy singing the lyrics of the music playing into his ear.
At the sound of Katsuki’s voice, Katsuki's friend peeked over from the table next to him. Ejirou. Ejirou was… somewhat of the polar opposite of Katsuki. He was popular and friendly, on the soccer team and was friends with just about everyone. He was known school-wide. Hell, he was known city-wide. Everyone knew of Ejirou Kirishima, everyone loved him. He was a genuinely nice person and not to mention, handsome. He was built tougher than Katsuki, broader shoulders and his muscles seemed to bulge out a bit more. He was everything you would look for in a guy, basically. The high-school senior version of every Disney prince.
“Bakugou,” Ejirou whined, and Denki blinked harshly at the two of them. It was odd to see someone so friendly with Katsuki, but from what Denki knows they’re best friends, so he shouldn’t be surprised. Ejirou continues, “You shouldn’t be so harsh to people, it’s a bit off-putting.” Katsuki grunted in return.
Ejirou looked from Katsuki to Denki and cringed, “He’s right though, you do look a bit rough. You feeling okay man?” Ejirou had a crease in his eyebrow and a small frown of concern.
But, truth be told, Denki was not fine. He was high- no not high, he was stoned. He was practically gone and he was but a shell of a man sitting in a highschool desk. Denki blinked and nodded none-the-less. He couldn’t quite gather the energy to explain himself. So he just took a deep breath and kept nodding. He nodded for quite too long but he had forgotten what was socially acceptable for how long to nod.
Katsuki looked unfazed and went back to work, but Ejirou’s eyebrows only seemed to pinch further in. Denki met his eye, and Ejirou saw just how unfocused and watery his eye were, how his eye were drooping and he had a dumb smirk on his face. Ejirou’s eyes widened and he began to snicker. Oh, so Denki’s state was apparently obvious.
Katsuki looked up from his paper and looked at Ejirou with a squint, “What’s so funny?” he asked and Ejirou lowered his voice and said to him, “Denki looks like shit because he’s stoned,” and Ejirou continued to snicker while Katsuki rolled his eyes.
Denki took this moment to finally speak up. “I’m not stoned…” He had to take a long pause to gather his words before speaking, “I’m hungry. Speaking of hungry, do you guys have any food?” Denki looked up from his lashes at both of them. They both paused, Ejirou laughed while Katsuki looked down on his paper, once again.
“Yeah, yeah I have food. You want some?” Ejirou reached into his bag while Denki nodded. Ejirou fumbled for a minute before he paused and looked up. Denki didn’t see any food in his hand and gave him a pointed look. Ejirou brushed the look off with a smile and tilted his head and said, “I’ll give you some snacks if you give me some of whatever you're having.” Ejirou took his hand from his bag and clasped them on his desk in front of him.
To make it clear, Denki was not friends with the pair. He usually only talked to them when he needed help on school work because they were both smart, but they were not friends. Denki was socially normal, he was not known but he wasn’t unknown. He liked his position on the social rank of highschool hierarchy and wanted to keep it. He was somewhere in the middle and Katsuki and Ejirou were on the top. But, in his current state, he couldn’t bring himself to care about social status. But his answer was the same, none-the-less.
“No. Sorry, dude,” Denki saw Ejirou’s eyes fall in such a sad and pitiful way, like a puppy. It almost made him change his mind.
“Man, it’s not like it would be my first time, come on. This will be to repay me for all the times I’ve helped you with your Psych work,” Ejirou looked at him with a pout and sad eyes, Denki blinked at him. Denki crossed his arms over his desk and put his head down. He was getting tired.
He could hear Ejirou audibly whine at him before Katsuki cut him off. “You should not be getting high at school, Kirishima. That’s irresponsible, even for you,” he stated, sounding as responsible as ever.
Ejirou’s whines got a bit louder, “But Bakugou, It's the last period on a friday, It’s not that irresponsible.”
Denki lifted his head up.
Katsuki spoke again, “I mean, I’m not stopping you, just not encouraging you,” Denki looked at Katsuki and saw him with the faintest smirk on his lips. Hm, that’s funny. It was almost like Katsuki liked to tease Ejirou. What an odd pair.
Denki grabbed his bookbag and stood up, the pair looked up at him in synch. Denki sighed before he spoke to them, “you guys can have some, go to the student parking lot after the bell rings,” then Denki walked up to the teachers desk and painted a concerned and rushed look on his face. From the back of the class where Katsuki and Ejirou sat, all they could see was the teacher's eyes open comically wide before she nodded quickly. They both watched as Denki walked out of the classroom with his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets all nonchalant.
The pair glanced at each other. “What was that about? There’s still 30 minutes until the bell.” Ejirou asked, but Katsuki just shrugged at him before he started to work again and Ejirou began to scroll through his phone.
Sero walked out of his classroom with a smug look hidden on his face and he saw Denki across the hall, also just leaving his class room. Denki stopped and waited for Sero to catch up with him before they both began to walk out of the building. Sero pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and a lighter, he stuck his hand out to offer one to Denki, but Denki shook his head. Sero lit up his cigarette.
Though they were still on school property and were out in the open and in a very easy position to be caught, their school was kind of shit and the teacher there didn’t have the energy to stop any kids they saw with drugs or alcohol. It was a bit pathetic, but to kids like Sero and Denki, the lack of protection was to their advantage.
They walked to Sero’s car, talking about some events that had taken place during their school day and making plans for later that night. Both Sero and Denki had parents who didn’t care much, so they didn’t have to worry about parent approval.
“Oh, by the way. Ejirou and Katsuki caught me in class and,” Denki had to pause and take a deep breath, “hm, they convinced me to give them some stuff after the bell rings today. Is it cool if we wait until I give them some stuff before we leave?” Denki looked up to Sero who was looking down at him.
Sero gave him a shrug and said, “Yeah, that’s cool,” Sero’s gaze drifted around as they neared the car before he remembered something and said, “And I met with Shinsou today durnig lunch. He gave me like a quarter of pot and said ‘happy birthday’.”
“Your birthday was four months ago?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell him that. I just said thanks and took the weed.”
Denki laughed and Sero shrugged. They came to the car and Sero worked on getting music to play while Denki hopped in the passenger seat. Sero’s car was old and broken down, the heat didn’t and the music used to not work. Sero had to choose whether to fix the radio or get heating and Denki convinced him to get the radio.
But, considering they could now listen to music, they had to suffer by being freezing cold. Denki didn’t mind too much, he liked the feeling of being wrapped in a jacket while it’s cold. Denki was rubbing at his face because everything felt weird and the tingling sensation he felt in his fingers was traveling all along his body and he giggled about it. Sero gave him a look and said, “You good?”
Denki laughed and nodded, before his head dropped down, his chin nearly touching his chest. He peeked up at Sero and asked, “Can you give me one of your jackets, I’m cold.”
Sero nodded and did the awkward maneuvering it took to reach into the back seat and grab one of his many jackets he had piled back there. One of Sero’s hobbies was stealing his parent’s cash and going to thrift stores to buy jackets, so as a result he had way too many jackets. He handed the jacket to Denki and Denki smiled at him in thanks.
Denki went to put it on but realized it was all too confusing for his fried brain to handle. He felt a little bad because he was so high he couldn’t handle himself but he forgot the guilt and giggled. He looked at Sero with a dumb smile on his face and laughed out, “I need help, I can’t put this on. I can’t feel my fingers.”
Sero stared at him for a second before he laughed loudly. Sero got out of the car and went around to Denki’s side. Denki didn’t have any time to wonder what he was doing before the passenger door opened and Sero bent in the car, all up in Denki’s space.
Denki breathed in while Sero took the jacket from his hands and slipped one of Denki’s arms into the jacket. Sero smelled like cigarettes and that made Denki smile. It was such a comforting smell to him. Sero slipped his arm around Denki’s back and slipped his other arm into the jacket. Denki kept trying to breath in Sero, but Sero pulled away once he was finished putting the Jacket on Denki.
Sero stood straight before he looked back down at Denki in the car, “Why are you breathing so heavy?”
Denki didn’t take time to think before he looked Sero in the eyes and said, “You smell good.”
Sero blinked at him and Denki blinked back before they both broke out into a laugh. Denki couldn’t stop laughing, it felt all too funny. So he kept laughing. Sero shut the car door and went back around to the drivers side before getting in. “Shit Denki, how much did you take, I thought I told you to only have a little?”
“I,” Denki began but he couldn’t stop laughing so he gave up on what he was going to say. Sero giggled at him and began to play some music. He reached into his bag and pulled out the bag of pot Shinsou had given him earlier that day.
Denki had finally taken a breath because his stomach began to hurt and he looked up at Sero. “Shiit, Sero. That’s a lot of weed,” he said and Sero looked at him with a smirk.
“Yeah I know,” he paused and looked out the window before looking back at Denki, “Do you want to go smoke at the spot or go back to my house? My parents went on vacation for like two weeks so the house will be empty,” Sero spoke while he reached infront of Denki to open the console where he kept most of his stuff. He pulled out joint paper and started to roll a joint for them to share.
“Hmm,” Denki thought but ultimately he couldn’t choose so he said, “Let’s go to the spot and then we can go back to your house and I can spend the night,” Sero nodded in agreement and Denki looked up and saw a flood of students walk out of the school.
Next he saw Ejirou and Katsuki walk out of the school and head towards their car. Denki rolled down the window and peeked his head out just enough for the pair to catch sight of him. They walked over to him and Ejirou bent down to look through the window.
“Hey Denki, hi Sero,” Sero smiled and waved at him and Denki blinked. He was never in a good mood around other people when he was high. He only really liked being high around Sero.
Denki took a harsh breath and asked, “Do you want edibles or weed?”
Ejirou thought for a moment and even looked back at Katsuki who just shrugged in disinterest, finally he said, “Just some edibles, enough for two people though,” and he beamed a smile. Denki nearly squinted because Ejirou’s smile was so bright.
Denki opened the console and got out a brownie. He took out two pieces which should be more than enough for the both of them. He handed the brownies to them and Ejirou thanked him with another smile.
Denki said bye and Sero said something along the lines of “have fun,” and Denki rolled up his window and groaned.
“Damn, what’s wrong with you,” Sero handed him the joint and began to pull out of the parking lot. Denki took a puff and scrunched his eyebrows.
“Ugh nothing, it’s just other people always ruin my high,” he rambled in a hushed voice and Sero laughed at him, snatching the joint from his hands.
“You’re such a baby, Kaminari,” Sero laughed and Denki looked out the window with tired eyes. Bleh. He just wanted to smell Sero and go to sleep. He laughed to himself, that sentence sounded weird. He rested his head against the window and closed his eyes. He didn’t go to sleep but he was so relaxed that he felt like he was sleeping.
The drive from school to their spot was about 20 minutes, but Denki had no sense of time right now and he couldn’t tell how long it had been. He didn’t mind though, he let himself be caught up in the smell of Sero’s smoking and the music playing quietly and the small breeze of crisp air coming into the car from the small cracks in the window. Denki smiled a little, everything was such a good feeling.
At one point, Sero brought an arm up to Denki’s head and ruffled his hair affectionately, and Denki leaned into the feeling. He could feel the warmth radiating off of Sero’s hand and the feeling of his fingers coursing through his hair sent tingles through Denki’s spine.
When he blinked his eyes open, the car was parked in the grass under some trees and he peeked over at Sero, who was looking at him. Sero puffed smoke out of his mouth and said, “I wasn’t sure if you were sleeping or not, so I was just going to let you figure out we were here on your own,” and he handed Denki the joint. Sero must’ve rolled a new joint in the time they were parked here because the joint was new and barely smoked.
Sero was the first to hop out of the car and while Denki was still in the front seat, Sero went to the back to grab them a blanket. The blonde managed to get himself out of the car and when he stepped out he stretched and groaned, it felt like his limbs were creaking but at the same time it all felt electric. Sero came next to Denki and leaned into the passenger seat, opening the console and most likely grabbing something to smoke the weed with. Denki wasn’t watching him though because he was already walking down to the river.
Their spot was this old and dank place that felt too moist and musty to have been discovered any time recently. There was a river that was deep and polluted. There wasn’t any noticeable trash in it, but the water was diluted and you couldn’t see the bottom. There were mounds of large rocks surrounding the river that formed a shallow valley around the water. There was an old, rusty abandoned bridge overhead that was probably used at some point but had been untouched for what looked like 50 years.
The area is only down the street from Sero’s house, about a five minute drive. When they were younger, they would walk here and hang out for hours. Until after dark. They’ve spent the night here too, sleeping next to each other and waking up just before the sun had risen. Denki grinned to himself as he sat down on a flat rock, the one they sat at most often, and Sero came trailing behind him.
Sero sat down next to Denki, leaving barely any room between them, so close that their arms and legs brushed against each other every time they breathed. Denki breathed in deeply, taking in Sero’s smell again. Denki stared at Sero, he just looked so comfy. He wore one of his hoodies that fit him loosely and grey sweatpants with some sneakers. Denki wanted to take the clothes for himself because he knew they'd be even bigger and comfier on him, and as a bonus they probably smelled like Sero. Denki, himself, was in a pair of jeans that had grown to fit him a little loosely and a shirt with a long sleeve shirt underneath, and just recently paired with one of Sero’s jackets. Denki breathed in, feeling the cold and crisp air from the outside fill his nose.
Sero grabbed the blanket he brought and laid it over top of the both of them, then he began to grind up more pot and fix it into a bowl.
Denki kept thinking about him and Sero, how they met how long they’ve been friends and everything they’ve done together. It was nice. Sero had been with Denki for as long as he can remember, they’ve been close forever and were always there for each other. And Sero was tall, tall enough that Denki’s forehead only went up to his chin, but Denki liked the difference.
And Sero was so warm, literally and metaphorically. All the times that they’ve laid together and Denki can’t remember one time where he was cold. Or how Sero was always by Denki's side when he needed him, a shoulder to cry on and someone to talk to. Or even someone to listen to. When Denki needed the distraction, Sero was there to talk to him about nonsense. Denki would be nothing if it weren’t for Sero. God, he’d probably be dead if it weren’t for Sero.
Oh but Sero was handsome too, he had this sharp jawline and wide eyes. His ears were a little big but Denki liked his ears, they got this dusting of red on the tips when he was embarrassed or when he got too drunk. And he had dark black hair that fell behind his ear and down to the nape of his neck. And when he smiled it was contagious, it made Denki smile.
Denki got his mind out of his thoughts when Sero wrapped one his lanky arms around Denki’s shoulders and put the bowl in his hand. Denki took it and puffed it while Sero pulled Denki closer to him. The body warmth was appreciated but that tingly feeling came back to Denki and it made him giggle.
“What were you thinking so hard about?” Sero asked and Denki puffed out the smoke he had breathed in. Sero’s voice was calming, it was deep and smooth, but it had this undertone of a grumbled, probably from years of smoking but Denki loved it.
Denki remembered that Sero asked him a question and he thought about what to say to him. But, quite frankly, Denki said stuff without thinking a lot, he had too much going through his brain for him to properly pick something out and say it. “I was just thinking about,” Denki breathed in the bowl and breathed it back out, passing it to Sero, “How we’ve been friends for so long but I have no idea how big your dick is,” he said, unfazed, gazing out at the river.
Sero erupted into a loud fit of laughter that made Denki’s heart flutter when he heard it. He looked up at Sero who had his head tilted back, his eyes squeezed shut in his mouth open in laughter. Denki smiled at him and Sero finally calmed down.
“Shit, Denks, you say the funniest shit, I swear,” Sero was still grinning, a light blush fell over Sero’s ears and Denki caught notice of it, grinning wider.
Their giggles faded out and they sat in silence for a while, sometimes they would speak up and share random thoughts going through their mind, huffing out small laughs or giggles. They lost track of time, passing the bowl back and forth, when it ran out they set it to the side and didn’t bother to refill it. They watched the sun go down and Denki’s super high from earlier had finally gone down a little, but he was definitely still stoned.
When it had gotten dark enough for Denki to be a little scared of monsters popping out from the trees, he tugged Sero’s sweatshirt and said, “Let’s head to your house now,” and Sero nodded in agreement.
The short walk back to the car felt nice, the distance between them didn’t grow, they were so close that they could hold hands, but instead they just let their fingers brush with every step.
The car ride back was also relaxing, with low music playing and Sero smoking a cigarette, chatting in between puffs about countless things. Sero told him before that he loved the way he felt when he was driving down an empty street and smoking a cigarette, he said it just made him feel a little free. Denki couldn’t drive so he didn’t understand the feeling completely, but he understood in some ways.
It didn’t take long before they pulled up into Sero’s driveway, and they both hopped out of the car and walked into the house. Denki headed up to Sero’s room while the other boy went to the kitchen to grab whatever snacks he could gather. Some of it was expired crackers or off-brand chips but neither of them really cared.
When Sero made it back up to his room, Denki was sitting on the ground, his back against the bed and he held a game controller in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He was loading minecraft on the screen.
Sero grinned at the sight, Denki looked so… Sero couldn’t figure out the right word so he just went and laid on the bed, flat on his stomach and his head peeked out next to Denki’s.
Denki handed him the other controller and they got lost in eating snacks, playing minecraft and smoking. After a considerable amount of time had passed by, Denki started to nod off, and Sero was tired himself. The black-haired boy grabbed his phone and checked the time, it read 3:52am.
He let Denki fall asleep for a quick second while he turned off the console and took off his hoodie and t-shirt he was wearing underneath. He kept his sweatpants on though. He walked over to Denki and tapped him awake, and Denki peered opened his eyes. Sero’s face was right in front of his with a small smile. “Get up so we can get into bed,” Sero said quietly, as to not get Denki out of his sleepy mood - hoping Denki would just get up and get into bed peacefully without much disturbance.
Denki complied, standing up and stumbling a bit, holding onto Sero’s shoulder for a second. He stripped off his layers of clothing until he was in nothing but his boxers. He was about to crawl under the covers when he saw Sero’s hoodie he was wearing earlier. He looked back at Sero who was already on the bed, scrolling through his phone. And without much thought, he grabbed the hoodie and slipped it on. He crawled into bed next to sero, he fell onto his side, facing Sero.
He took a deep breath. He felt so out of it, tired, high and exhausted. Sero glanced at him and smiled and Denki grinned back. His eyes were slipping shut when his mouth started moving with less thought than usual.
“Hey, Sero,” his voice was nearly hushed to a whisper, Sero set down his phone and looked over at the blonde.
“Yeah?” his voice quietly matched Denki’s.
“Hm,” Denki was so tired, he was slipping into sleep, “Can you kiss me?” he asked, and his eyes were closed, he was just barely conscious.
Sero wasn’t surprised, they’ve kissed before. Not often, probably no more than a few times when they got too drunk or too sad.
Sero nodded and leaned into Denki, resting a hand on the side of Denki’s face as their lips met. Sero’s eyes slipped close and their lips moved gently against one other. It wasn’t a heated kiss, nothing more than a lazy kiss, but yet it was so comforting to the both of them that they were tempted to never stop.
Eventually, Sero pulled his lips away then pulled Denki close to him so they were touching nearly every inch of each other's body. Denki muttered something really quiet before saying, “I love you.”
And Sero whispered back, “Yeah, I love you too.”