Catch Me

Longing and Belonging

Shinsou shook his head lightly to clear the memories from his mind. He could reminisce when he didn't have a drunk Kaminari to deal with. He waved to Kaminari and the girl as he approached them.

"Toshi!"

When Shinsou reached the first step, Kaminari spread his arms wide and flopped forward, putting all his weight onto Shinsou in a hug.

"Ouf, Jesus Kami, you're heavy!"

The brunette girl stood up behind them, smiled, and waved.

"Hi! You're Shinsou-san, right? I'm Uraraka, we spoke on the phone. Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, I am. Nice to meet you too," Shinsou smiled fondly as he continued, "I'd shake your hand, but I'm busy carrying this lump." He gestured to Kami, slumped over on him.

Uraraka giggled a little, "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks for all your help. I'm going to try and get him home now. Have a goodnight!"

"Anytime! Goodnight!"

Shinsou turned and shifted so Denki was tucked into his side and supported on his arm.

"Come on you, we gotta get you home," Shinsou's voice came out much softer than he'd intended.

Denki's voice came out slurred, "Thanks Toshi."

Shinsou's chest felt tight with longing for something that was so close, but always just out of reach.

-------

It took Shinsou double the time to get Kaminari home as it had taken him to get to the party. Partially because Hitoshi had run on the way there, partially because they'd had to stop a couple times when Denki had to be sick. By the time they walked up to the door, half an hour had passed and they both had puke on their clothes and in their hair.

Shinsou didn't want to talk about how he'd gotten puke in his hair.

His keys jingled as he tried to unlock the door while still supporting Kaminari's full weight. Shinsou eventually opened the stubborn lock and shuffled Denki through the door. Their front entrance was a little square of space with exactly enough room for a chair that was essentially a wooden stool and some hooks for their jackets.

"Ok Kami, I'm gonna put you down on the chair now, okay? Stay still please."

Shinsou toed off his shoes and kicked them into a corner before kneeling in front of Denki. He tugged on his shoelaces, loosening them gently and sliding off his shoes one after the other. He placed them in the corner of the room beside his own.

"Toooshhiiiiii, I'm tireedddd," Kaminari whined.

"Stop whining. You're covered in puke and I'm not letting you sleep in your own vomit tonight. I need you to stay there for a second, okay? You hear me? Stay put."

Shinsou opened all the cupboards in the kitchen searching for a garbage bag before remembering he'd put them in the closet with the cleaning supplies.

Damn, I really need to calm down. I'm too shaky from the adrenaline high when I ran to get Kami.

Denki had, fortunately, listened to his instructions. When Shinsou returned with the black garbage bag, he was still slumped against the wall on the bench. He visibly brightened and sat up straighter upon seeing Shinsou.

"Okay love, can you lift your arms up for me? I need to take off your shirt. It's covered in puke."

Did I... just call him LOVE?

Kaminari happily threw his arms up in the air. Shinsou took a deep breath, trying to center himself. He slid Denki's shirt over his head and tossed it into the bag.