“Hi!” The blonde stepped forward, holding out her hand. “I’m Brittni!”

“I swear I’m going to have an aneurism,” Mina muttered as Ochako sped ahead, ripping open the door to the stairwell rather than wait for the elevator.

“Uhhh,” Brittni’s eyes darted between Mina and Katsuki. “Is this a bad time?”

“Aww, this one has a brain,” Mina crooned condescendingly.

Katsuki sighed. “I’ll call you tomorrow?” he spoke to the blonde.

“Sure,” Brittni shot Mina a skeptical look before leaving.

Mina waited approximately three seconds before stepping to Katsuki, smacking him across the face.

“WHAT THE FUCK, MINA?!”

“I’M MAD AT YOU!” she screamed, going to smack him again. “YOU LIED!”

“WHEN THE FUCK DID I LIE?!”

Mina pointed a finger up in his face, backing him up against the wall. “I was rooting for you! I thought maybe, 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒, you had finally pulled your head out of your ass. That you two were finally going to stop acting like idiots and sort yourselves out. But noooo--”

“The fuck are you going on about?”

“I’ve searched for Chaks all afternoon, to watch her nearly get herself run over because you’re flirting with some chick--” Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Brittni?” Katsuki asked, confused.

“After yelling at Hanta and Ei--”

“Slow down,” Katsuki stepped forward, gently grabbing Mina by the shoulders as she began to cry.

“I thought this was it,” her voice cracked. “You two would finally be happy…”

“I wasn’t 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 with Brittni,” Katsuki defended himself calmly.

“Oh, please,” Mina rolled her eyes.

“Her little brother is a fan. Lost his arm in an accident. Wanted to know if I would go visit him.”

Mina shot Katsuki a skeptical look.

“He hasn’t been coping well and she thought a word or two from me would help.”

“So, what, she just stalked you to figure out where you live?" Mina asked in disbelief.

“I ran into her on the subway. She and her brother live in the next building over.”

“Oh god,” Mina exclaimed, resting her forehead on Katsuki’s chest. “Now 𝐼’𝑚 acting like you idiots.”

Katsuki said nothing, simply wrapping her in a hug.

“Is it true? Is it just some kind of sex pact?” she asked quietly.

“Yes.”

It was Mina’s turn to keep quiet, the two standing in the empty lobby as the sun set fully.

“I don’t know what to fucking do,” he whispered. Mina stepped back, looking up at her friend. “I want her to be happy.”

“I know,” Mina nodded.

“And whatever in the hell happened at that lunch today--”

“She needs her friend right now. Her 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 friend.”

“I don’t know if I can be that person anymore,” he admitted.

-----------------------------

As a general rule Denki Kaminari had very few cares in the world. He consistently showed up to work on time, never forgot a friend's birthday, and made it a rule to stay out of the media.

For his part he had only had one scandalous article written about him, Kyouka daring him to moon a tour bus of elderly women. The article itself had read something along the lines of him being a perverted agist, despite the direct quote from Esther who found the antic funny.

Denki always took headlines with a grain of salt, generally giving people the benefit of the doubt; ensuring he never did anything to end up in them himself.

Until he ran into Deku leaving his favorite ramen shop.

He had seen all of the headlines. Accusing Ochako of assault, of being unpatriotic, or hating heroes. As much as Denki tried to stay out of the chaos and gossip he was one of the few that knew and understood why Ochako would suddenly have such an uncharacteristic diva moment.

“Uh, hey, Denki,” Deku waved nervously as they crossed paths.

“Hey, buddy,” Denki pulled back, sucker-punching Deku before he had a chance to react.

His takeout splattered on the sidewalk, Deku swaying back with a betrayed look as the paparazzi went wild. “Congrats on the baby,” Denki said before continuing about his evening.

---------------------end pt 19/mo'