Chapter 4: Shinsou's Confrontation

Shinsou Hitoshi didn't mean to fall in love with both of the blondes. It was never his intention to hurt them.

He should have known better, honestly. What did he think was going to happen? But every time he tried to decide which one to break it off with, he couldn't bring himself to do it. What he feared the most happened: He fell in love with both of them. He was head-over-heels for both of his boyfriends, and it was only a matter of time until they had figured it out.

Surprised wasn't the right word to describe how he was when both boys came knocking at his door. It was dreadful and unexpected in the moment, but he wasn't surprised. He knew his little paradise was going to have to come to an end eventually. He had actually been hoping that one of them would get tired of him and move on, making the choice for him, but that hadn't happened yet.

He shouldn't have let it get that far. It was all his fault, and he knew it. The blondes did nothing wrong.

It's just…

When Neito had kissed him during quirk practice, he had already been on two dates with Denki. It started out as casual for both relationships. There were no labels or talks of exclusivity, just having fun exploring a more physical and romantic side of the already established friendships.

So, when Neito had asked him to be his boyfriend, he had said yes, because what else could he have said? He had no reason to say no.

Then, the next week, when Denki introduced him to a classmate as his boyfriend, Hitoshi didn't object. How could he?

He kept giving himself deadlines. First, it was 'By the end of the week, I'll decide who to break it off with.' Then it was 'By the end of the month, I'll decide who I'll keep as my boyfriend.' Those deadlines kept getting pushed back until it became 'Maybe one of them will break up with me and my problem will be solved' with no deadline for the resolution.

He had deliberately fooled himself into thinking that at least one of the boys would get tired of him and move on. They were both such high-energy, life-loving individuals, and he had no idea how he had kept both of their affections for over a year at that point. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, he'd be awake and staring at the ceiling, imagining how the breakup would go.

Maybe Denki would tell him that they are better off as friends. Maybe Neito would say it had been fun, but he needs more energy in a partner. Maybe they would both break up with him within the same month: It would be what he deserved, of course. He wouldn't be able to fault them.

He had imagined this scenario, too. Denki and Neito coming to confront him together, but he thought that this one would be the least likely to happen.

His imagination had nothing on reality, though.

His imagination didn't conjure the absolutely heartbroken look on Denki's face as he tried his best to hold back tears while confronting him. Hitoshi wanted to tell him that he wasn't weak if he cried, but that wasn't his place anymore, was it? He couldn't tell Denki anything. He would try, because Denki deserved that, but what good would apologies do when he had hurt him?

"I just don't understand," Denki had whispered, eyes flickering from his own eyes to the floor and around the room, not being able to settle on one area.

Hitoshi quickly quashed down the idea that he didn't know that Denki would be that upset, because of course he would. That was just an excuse, and not even a good one. Everyone knows that when Denki loves, he loves with his whole heart, unconditionally, and fully trusting. And Hitoshi was the one to break that trust. He didn't have an answer or explanation of why, either.

His imagination also didn't accurately predict Neito's reaction. Instead of only being mad for himself, he was beyond pissed for Denki. Hitoshi wasn't the least bit surprised, though. He didn't know that they had become friends. He didn't know that the friendship sparked because of being paired together during a group project until later. All he knew is that once Denki decided to be your friend, it happened quickly and seamlessly until a few hours later and you felt like you must have known him in a past life or something with how quickly he could disarm anyone around him.

"How could you do this to him?! To me?! To either of us?!" Neito had growled out, his glare not straying from Hitoshi's for a single second.

Neito had not stopped to wait for a response because they all knew that nothing that Hitoshi would say would satisfy the questions being asked.

It broke Hitoshi's heart even more when he realized that Neito was hiding his own pain behind his need to protect Denki. Unfortunately for Hitoshi, the perfect scowl on Neito's face did nothing to deceive him.

Hitoshi wanted to give them the answers they asked for, but he couldn't. It wouldn't be enough to just say that he loved them both so, so much. It would seem like a cop-out to say that he thought that one of them would break up with him before it got this far. It wouldn't be satisfying for them to hear that Hitoshi had done nothing to stop this chain of events because he couldn't decide who to pick as his boyfriend.

Neito had stormed out first, slamming the door open on his way out and not closing it, knowing that Denki would shortly follow.

Denki had looked at Hitoshi again, with those sad eyes. He had done a great job holding his tears back but could no longer. It physically hurt Hitoshi to see the tears spill over Denki's cheeks and not be welcomed to wipe them away.

Hitoshi had opened his mouth to speak, but quickly snapped it shut again. Nothing he could say would make this any better, so he said nothing.

Denki then turned and followed Neito out, closing the door softly behind him without looking back.