Chapter 3
“...I just don’t get it.” Touya murmured, hands clasped over his stomach. His legs rested over Shigiraki’s lap as the other clicked away on his controller.
Shimura audibly groaned. “Do not start talking about this again.”
“I’m serious, Tomura.” He sat up quickly, slightly knocking their foreheads together. “I don’t get why he’s mad at me.”
Recently, he and Keigo had an argument over the fact that Touya talked to his other friends more than his own boyfriend.
“I swear to fucking god.” Shimura hissed. “Just admit that you’re in the wrong and apologize, yeah?”
“But I’m not wrong.” He whined back, slapping a hand down on the couch cushion. “I can talk to whoever I want. Plus, I don’t see you and the others enough anyway.”
Shimura pulled his most incredulous expression yet. “We talk every day. As far as I know, you don’t talk to Keigo that much. And you guys live together.”
“I-”
“Even I talk to him more than you.” He paused his game and set the controller down, turning to Touya. “Listen. You can’t be in a relationship with someone if you’re gonna ignore ‘em all the time. You don’t wanna repeat sophomore year, do you?”
“...no.” Touya murmured reluctantly after a few moments, his shoulders hunching.
“Then apologize!” Shimura shouted, slapping the back of Touya’s head. “Plus, I’m pretty sure talking to your ex more often is pretty red flaggish.”
“‘Flaggish,’” he repeated in a mocking tone, scrunching up his nose. “That isn’t even a word, dipshit.”
“Oho. I’m gonna kill you.”
Punches landed, heavy objects were thrown. The two had fun beating each other up.
They fell back onto the couch, battered and bruised. Shimura shoved Touya’s phone into the other’s hands. “Call him and ask to meet up.”
“...maybe I should go patch myself up first.”
Shimura promptly slapped him again before shoving the phone even closer. “Now.”
He gave in after a few moments and selected Keigo’s contact. The call declined instantly.
“He blocked me!?” Touya shouted, tossing the phone away.
Shimura snorted. “Harsh, but deserved. Clearly he doesn’t want to talk to you.”
He glared, then reached out to take the other’s phone from the coffee table. He quickly snatched it back.
“Oh no. Hell no. That’s mine.” He hissed, clutching it to his chest. “Besides, it’s probably good that he blocked you. It’ll force you to find him in person now.” With that, he turned on his phone and dialed a number.
“Who’re you calling?” Touya leaned in, trying to see the screen.
“Shut up. No talking while I’m on the phone.” Shimura had a habit of hitting Touya when he got mad, or when he was being dumb. This habit was, of course, exercised in that moment as he slapped the other once again.
The phone was put on speaker just as it connected. The person on the other end spoke “Hey, ‘Mura. What’s up?” They sounded out of breath, like they’d been working out. Touya’s jaw dropped as he recognized the undeniable sunshine embedded in their warm voice.
“Hi, Keigo.” Shimura said pleasantly, shooting a smug grin at his ex. “I heard about what happened between you and Touya. Everything okay?”
The warmth in the blonde’s voice vanished immediately, his tone growing more aggressive. “Don’t get me started on that asshole.”
“That bad, huh? Why don’t you tell me about it?” He leaned back, placing the phone on his leg while he unpaused his game.
“Touya got all fucking pissed at me ‘cause I was out with Rumi all day.” Keigo was about to go on a rant, and they both knew it. “But, like, hypocrite much? He hangs out with you more than me, and you’re his ex. Don’t get me wrong, though. I love you, ‘Mura. You’re a great person. But shouldn’t he hang out with me more than you since we’re dating? I swear, it’s like he doesn’t even love me…”
Touya opened his mouth to say something, then promptly closed it when Shimura threateningly raised a hand. Simultaneously, he replied to Keigo. “Do you think he’s trying to get back with me?”
A weird question to ask, but it set Keigo off again. “Yeah! Or, I mean, probably. He’s the type of guy to say ‘you remind me of my ex’ or ‘my ex was hot.’ Perfectly justifiable in this case, I think you’re pretty hot too.”
Shimura snorted and mumbled his thanks. Touya gaped.
“Not that I’m trying to get with you, y'know? It’s a friendly thing - ahem, anyways! I really just wish Touya would gimme more attention. I don’t like being the one to reach out first.”
“I get it, it’s okay. If you want, you can come over and hang out with me instead?” He offered lightly.
“Definitely gonna take you up on that.”
“Great.” Shimura grinned again, his gaze brightening as he completed the level he was on. “Text me whenever, okay? Love you.”
“Love you too.” And then Keigo hung up.
Touya was stunned. So stunned, in fact, that he didn’t speak for several minutes. The only sounds in the room were coming from either Shimura when he cursed or the music from the video game. Finally, he choked out a few words. “Were you just flirting with my boyfriend?”
“Hmm, what?” Shimura hummed back.
“Did you just ask my boyfriend out?” He asked again, his agitation clear in his mannerisms.
“‘Course not. ‘M just giving him a shoulder to cry on, you know?” He continued to tap away on his controller, a smile creeping onto his face.
“My boyfriend.” Touya emphasized in an outrage, slamming his hands down. “The hell, Tomura? What’s the matter with you, huh? That’s my boyfriend.”
“Not for long.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No. I’m just saying that he won’t be yours for long if you don’t man up and apologize. You know very well by now that you’re in the wrong. Clearly he’s hurt. Remember sophomore year?”
Sophomore year had been… a time. Kenji and Atsuhiro had been seniors at the time, and Toga had still been in junior high. Bubaigawara was in his second year of college.
He and Keigo had only recently become friendly, being aggressive rivals for roughly two years. Freshman year had helped them get closer, and Touya was starting to catch feelings.
He remembered the long hours the two had spent up on the school roof, skipping class and laughing the day away.
Then their second year came around.
It was discovered that the blonde had been snitching to the teachers about the things they all partook in after school - breaking and entering, drug abuse, even underage drinking for some of them.
This enraged Touya, but he bit his tongue over it for a while. But only for a while.
The police were called at some point during one of their little Mario Kart sessions. Bubaigawara was arrested that evening for supplying minors with alcohol, as well as several other past offenses. Toga was heartbroken, and Touya flew into a rage.
So he took the lighter they had used for cigarettes and lit the house on fire. The only ones unharmed were Shimura, Shuiichi, Toga, and Touya himself. Atsuhiro and Kenji were hospitalized with severe burns, and Keigo damn near died. Touya was arrested shortly after, and somehow got weaseled out of serving time by his father.
Afterwards, he and Keigo had a huge fight over everything that went on, then parted ways.
In the following weeks, Touya appeared to be endlessly irritable. Snapping at everyone, picking fights, and the like. It was clear that splitting up with Keigo was messing with him.
Shimura didn’t feel mad about it. More like.. He’d expected it. Keigo was the golden boy, very pretty, very athletic. It was only natural for him to want to keep his reputation with the teachers and staff good. He was a little upset about the other two getting hospitalized, but he mostly didn’t care. Not that he forgave Keigo just yet, but he was neutral.
Plus, it was immensely funny to find your ex crying at your doorstep, you know? Very gratifying.
He showed no sympathy whatsoever as Touya sobbed on his couch. “I just- I thought we could trust him. He wasn’t a bad guy - he was sweet, and funny, and fucking gorgeous…”
Shimura cocked an eyebrow. “‘Fucking gorgeous,’ huh? Did you like him or something?”
“No.” Touya scratched his arm, unconsciously reopening a few old scars and burn marks. He winced. “I just thought he was kinda nice. He’s got a nice body. Nice eyes. Like the sun. His smile was nice too - not just nice, his smile was cute.”
He made a face, one of mild disgust. He’d never heard Touya sounding so sappy before. It was gross.
Touya didn’t let up on his toothache inducing word bombs. “I loved his hair. It was, like, messy. But not in a bedhead way. It felt like he just woke up that way. And it was nice how he always seemed to brighten up a room. He was annoying, too, but I liked it. Loved it, even. And-”
Shimura let out a loud groan. “Are you done?”
The other fanned his face, as his cheeks were starting to heat up. “Uh, I guess.”
“If you feel that way, though,” his tone suddenly turned serious. “Why not just go tell him all of that? It’s not too late to make amends.”
Hope lit up in Touya’s eyes, then immediately died out. “But I almost killed him. He probably hates me.” Then he cleared his throat. “--uh. But I hate him too! Fuck Keigo.”
“I hope you die. You literally make me sick.”
Touya snapped out of his memories when Shimura made a noise of annoyance. “Did you hear anything I just said?”
“Absolutely not.” He stood up from the couch and headed for the front door.
“Where are you going?” Shimura called after him, looking a bit bothered.
“Somewhere. Bye.” Then he left.
.-.-.
“Did you hear about Monoma?” A girl asked Keigo one afternoon.
He pretended not to know. “Hmm? What?”
“Yeah, somebody said he tried to kill himself.” Another girl said with furrowed brows and crossed arms. “That’s why he was gone so long. All his family members just said he was sick.”
“Don’t spread rumors around.” Keigo muttered, standing up and stretching his arms high over his head. They shrunk under his gaze and muttered apologies.
After a few minutes, he decided to ignore the girls entirely and turned around, starting to walk away. They trailed after him - why? Simply because it’s Takami Keigo. He’s hot, he’s funny, he's a star.
The blonde shakes them off after a little while under the guise of needing to chat with a teacher. After the fact, he heads to the bathroom.
Keigo quietly leaned on the sink, tapping his fingers.
“Fuck Touya.” He said to himself, glaring into the mirror. Then he bent down and splashed his face with cold water, over and over, until he didn’t feel like crying anymore.
One of the stall doors opened, and he froze.
“‘Fuck Touya,’ huh?” A voice scoffed from behind him. Keigo pretended not to hear, simply splashing his face again. The person walked over and placed a hand on his back, gentle as ever. He tried to ignore the flutter in his stomach.
He stands up to his full height, making eye contact with Touya in the mirror. “Yeah. Fuck you.”
He made a face and pushed the other forward until his hips were pressed into the counter. Keigo had a faint idea of what was coming, as this scene was familiar to him.
…nope. Not this time.
Keigo lightly pushed him off and went back to admiring himself in the mirror. “Ehh.” He thought to himself. “Not really admiring. I just can’t look at Touya.”
Running a hand through his hair, he turned and found that the other wasn’t right behind him anymore. Instead, he’d moved to lean on the door.
“Gonna try ‘n leave?” He asked casually, tapping a finger on his other arm. Keigo noticed that the burns on his arms were fresh - no, not fresh. They’d just been… reopened.
He shrugged. “Maybe. What’s it to you?”
There was a hint of a frown on Touya’s face as he pushed himself off the door, taking some steps closer to him. He cleared his throat. “Can we talk?”
“What is there to talk about?”
“You know. Stuff.” He didn’t elaborate any more than that.
“I think it’s more than ‘stuff.’” Keigo crossed his arms, their gazes locking. “Go ahead, keep talking.”
“...okay.” Touya scratches his arm, a nervous habit that Keigo knew he had. “I wanted to-”
Yeah, whatever. “Heard enough. Bye.” The blonde pushed past him and practically tripped out the door.
.-.-.
The sun was beating down heavily today, but Tokoyami was mostly unbothered. He was sitting in his backyard, making props and painting sets for the next play. Heavy metal blasted into his ears through his headphones.
He set the paintbrush down quietly. It’s all too much stress. The entire club had been in shambles since the whole thing with Monoma. Not that he was blaming the guy - of course not. He’s just… really tired. Blaming a person for wanting to off themselves? That’s criminal.
So he’s not going to. Maybe, under other circumstances, something simpler, but not this.
Tokoyami distracts himself by setting up the set fully, then backing up a few feet so he can look at it. His fingers twitch. It looks bad. So bad that it irritates him. He’s going to have to start from scratch now - the planning, the buying, everything.
He runs a hand through his hair, already picturing the new set in his mind. It would be better, he hoped. He’d make it look better.
For now, he’d just get rid of the old one.
“Fuuuumiiiiikaaaaageeeee!” Someone called out from behind him, and he suddenly felt a warm embrace. Aoyama had just run out of the house and was now enveloping him in a hug. The ravenette puts a hand over the blonde’s.
“Hi..” He says softly, rubbing his hands.
“Bonjour, mon chéri!” He said joyfully. “Have you finished the set?” The blonde turned this way and that, leaning and trying to see over Tokoyami’s shoulders. He shifted so the other couldn’t look.
“What? Is it unfinished?” Aoyama inquired, spinning Tokoyami around and causing their noses to touch. He was never one to enjoy having his own personal space, so he’d always get in the ravenette’s face.
“I don’t like it. Gonna throw it out.”
“No! Everything you make is wonderful, my love.”
“It- I- You-” He stumbled over his words for a minute or two, then coughed. “It’s just the color combination I used. It’s off. I’m just going to repaint it and maybe redo the shapes a little… Stuff like that.”
“Mm, yes, yes.” The blonde nodded along, too distracted with squishing Tokoyami’s cheeks to give a proper answer.
“...do you want to help me?” he asked after a moment, one brow raised, trying not to blush at the sensation of hands on his face.
“Oh, I would love nothing more! Want a snack while you work? I brought cheese.” He grinned.
“Of course you did… sure, why not?”
.-.-.
“Down… down… I said down, not to the left.” Kendo let out a heavy sigh. “Reset, please. Correctly this time?”
“Miss Itsuka…” Camie said plaintively, her shoulders slumping and bringing the banner down with them. Kodai scrambled to hold it up. “My arms hurt, and you keep yelling at me.”
“I’m not yelling at you.”
“You are. You snap at me when I’m not holding the banner up right.” She stomped her feet a little.
Kendo pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. “Toga, come get your cousin.”
Toga heard and heeded the call, dropping the box she was holding to scurry over and climb onto the stage. “I’ll take over the banner thingy for you, big cousin.”
“Ah. You’re a doll.” She dropped it, waving her hands and fixing her shirt before prissily sashaying away. Toga took the banner and it was pinned up in no time (finally).
Kodai went to rest her arms, and Yaoyorozu checked her phone when it buzzed. “We’ve got five minutes.”
“Crap.” Kendo cupped her hands to her mouth and called out. “Places, everyone! Fumikage, hit the lights!”
The lights in the auditorium instantly went out, and footsteps sounded. Then it went quiet.
A few minutes later, the double doors at the front opened. Three silhouettes came into the light.
“Why’s it so dark in here?” Monoma’s voice rang out, a little rough from his still-healing throat wounds. The group of three started walking forward as the tallest one spoke.
“Don’t worry about that.” Bakugou said calmly. “Let’s get you on the stage.”
“For what?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Midoriya piped up this time, a hand placed encouragingly on the blonde’s shoulder.
The couple helped Monoma up the stairs on the side, uttering hushed don’t worry about it’s and up we go’s.
“Ready?” Kendo whispered from her spot beside Tokoyami. “Finger on the buttons. And three, two…”
The lights came on in a blinding flash. Party poppers went off. Monoma jumped. A banner hung over the stage, Welcome Back Monoma! painted in vibrant letters. The entire drama club was there – even a few people from outside the club had shown up. There was cake and punch and presents all over the tables.
He gazed at the group of people that had gathered to welcome him back. He blinked a couple of times, lashes fluttering. Then he started crying, and everyone cheered a little more.
“Guys, what…” He murmured. Midoriya patted his back gently, and Bakugou grinned.
“We planned this out for you, cuz!” Camie said energetically. “It’s your welcome back party. It says so on the banner.”
“Yeah, I can read, Cam.” Monoma rubbed his cheeks, getting rid of the tears.
“Soooo?” Midoriya poked him a few times. “What do you say?”
“...thank you, everyone.” He said slowly, and everyone roared back with a ‘you’re welcome!’
The party was fun. Everyone chatted away and ate cake and gave presents. The cake was Monoma’s favorite flavor (lemon, and he’ll call you a loser if you like anything else). Endless congratulations and a few mutterings of wow he’s alive later, he finds himself leaning on a table and talking to his therapist.
“Having fun?” Shinsou asked him lightly.
Monoma nodded. “This is all really unnecessary, but I appreciate the sentiment. It’s sort of helping, too.”
“How does this make you feel?” He inquired, briefly slipping to therapist mode.
“Happy. Welcome.” The blonde said after a moment of thought. “Like people really care.”
“Think you’ll get back into acting?”
Monoma looked around, at all the happy people that had gathered together to welcome him back to school. For a moment, he smiled. “Maybe.”