Lightning Serenade

Chapter 92: Regroup

A/N: Sorry for the delay! My schedule has been a little more hectic, so I'm reverting back to my original schedule when I first started writing on this account. Instead of posting every 5 days, it'll be every 7 days ± 2 days (or every 5 to 9 days). When I get my motivation back, it might look the same as it has been, but otherwise, it might look weekly, with a two day grace period. At the latest (hopefully), it'll be every 9 days. It's not as predictable, but I feel like it'll take some of the pressure off as I deal with the increased frequency of my migraines (and thus the increased medical appointments made to address this, along with other medical stuff going on with me right now. Nothing serious, but still things that need to be addressed. You know how it is with these mortal bodies—so fragile!)

TW: Stabbing (exactly who you think it is, maybe), talk of prior suicide plans

Denki hummed as he scrolled down through the comments on the viral video they released, noting the concern and skepticism, and pointedly ignoring the conspiracy theories.

"You should put that down and join us," Shigaraki said from where he gamed with Dabi on the couch.

Hawks had given up an hour earlier, not used to gaming at their intensity, or at all, really, with the way his handler had run him ragged. Now, he was spread across the couch, his head on Shigaraki's lap and his legs stretched across Dabi's. When they would advance to the next level, Shigaraki would take the brief pause in the game to swirl his fingers though Hawks's feathery hair while Dabi would run heated hands over his legs. Hawks would hum with content, but Shigaraki saw how he still looked at him, even then from his lap, with barely concealed concern hiding behind the freely flowing love in his eyes.

Shigaraki knew he really scared them, the two soulmates that he somehow got to love him as if he was their third. Glancing over at Denki, he wondered if he just pushed all of that stress he was feeling onto the hero, keeping none of it for himself. That's what Denki had told him to do, but hero types weren't well-known for being balanced and sharing the workload.

Denki smiled at him then, and his fears melted away.

Maybe Denki was just damn manipulative, but maybe he was just as he seemed. Maybe it was a little of both. But Shigaraki was going to take advantage of it when it suited him well, which it did when it allowed him more stress-free time with Hawks and Dabi, especially when he never imagined he would ever find love, not like this.

He looked down as the screen played the start up sound indicating that the next round was loading, watching as Hawks's face turned into his hand to get closer, seeking more pressure instead of flinching away. He rubbed his thumb along his jaw affectionately before reluctantly gripping the controller again as the screen changed to reveal the gamescape. He didn't bother to try to smother his smile when Hawks reached up, careful not to obstruct his view of the screen, and started delicately placing feathers in his hair.

"I'm so lonely," Denki complained, feeling the envy at the love swirling in the room that he was used to being a major part of with Hitoshi and Neito there to smother him with it.

"It's been a day," Dabi said, not taking his eyes off of the character he was maneuvering through the landscape.

Tough talk for a guy weighed down by his soulmate's legs, Denki thought. Tough talk for a guy who hasn't gone two seconds without Shigaraki and Hawks by his side in months.

"When's the last time you've gone a whole day without Shigaraki and Hawks?" Denki sassed. "Huh?" he pressed when Dabi didn't answer.

He knew he wasn't going to get an answer.

"That's what I thought," he muttered, accepting it as a win, anyway.

Denki fidgeted with his phone for a minute longer, glaring over at the trio on the couch as they maneuvered through the level, his glare softening into something gentler without him realizing.