With a Strum of My Heart Strings

Eyebags and Earlobes

Kaminari woke up the next morning to the sound of his alarm blaring. Memories of last night slowly came flooding back to his mind, and he was glad to not have the throbbing headache a hangover would have given him if he had drunk. He remembered flirting with that purple-haired girl who he still didn't know the name of. He'd have to ask Bakugou if he came into the cafe again today.

Then he remembered the other purple-haired band member. He'd have to ask about him too. Kaminari really seemed to have a thing for purple hair, huh? Well, not just purple hair.

Grunting, Kaminari arose from his bed, placing his feet on the freezing cold hardwood floor. Shivering from the sudden loss of warmth, he made his way to his dresser, grabbing his chosen outfit for the day: a Pikachu hoodie ending just short of his belly button, slightly ripped skinny jeans, and white Converse shoes. He was glad that there was no real dress code for the cafe.

Happy with his clothing choice, Denki styled his hair into its usual do and made his way to his kitchen, grabbing the breakfast he had decided on: a bagel. Grabbing his keys, he left his apartment, shoving the bagel into his mouth as he strolled down the street to his work.

Denki didn't have to walk for long, only about ten minutes, before he arrived, swallowing the last of his breakfast.

"Goooood morning!" he shouted as he entered the cafe, seeing both Kirishima and Mina, another pink-haired coworker of his, behind the counter. He was thankful no one else was in the shop. Mina smiled at him as she was cleaning up, and Kirishima simply continued preparing the drink he was making.

"You're late again, bro," Kirishima said, finally looking up at him, throwing Denki his apron as he moved back behind the counter. The two waved goodbye to Mina as she left the cafe, her shift finally ending. She'd had to stay overtime because of Kaminari's tardiness.

"Only by, like, fifteen minutes!" Kaminari retorted, grabbing the ingredients to make his morning cappuccino. Kirishima rolled his eyes with a slight smile, turning back to his drink.

"Anyway," Kaminari started as he continued with his coffee, "I was wondering something." Kirishima hummed, urging him to go on as he turned to his friend. "Is Bakugou coming in today?" Kirishima looked just a slight bit taken aback.

"I don't really know, why? Usually you're not too thrilled to see him here." Kaminari gave him a nervous smile as he finished making his drink, turning to face his coworker.

"Yeah, well, I was just wondering." Kirishima quirked an eyebrow at him as he took a sip of his coffee. Kaminari sighed. "I just wanted to ask him about something." Kirishima seemed intrigued now.

"About what?" he asked.

"Just..." Kaminari hesitated, "...about last night." Kirishima set down his coffee, giving his friend a slight smirk. "Don't look at me like that! Bakugou--" Kaminari was cut off as said blond entered the cafe, slamming open the door.

"What are you extras saying about me?" asked the familiar gruff voice. Kaminari jolted at the sudden interruption, swiftly turning towards Bakugou. Kirishima didn't seem the slightest bit surprised, being quite used to his friend's loud personality.

"N-nothing!" Kaminari quickly stuttered, not wanting to anger the man even more. Kirishima glanced at Denki, seeming to urge him to talk with the look on his face. Though he didn't want to deal with the other blond, Kaminari decided to continue on.

"Well," he averted his eyes from Bakugou's piercing stare, "I wanted to ask about your bandmates." Bakugou walked over to the counter, leaning on it in front of Kirishima. He saw the redhead visibly tense. If he weren't under Bakugou's intimidating watch, he might have teased him about it. But now was not the time.

"What about them?" He continued to stare down the shorter male.

"Anything about them, dude! Their names, for a start, maybe?" Bakugou rolled his eyes but complied.

"I call 'em eye bags and earlobes." Kaminari sighed. He didn't know why he expected anything else from Bakugou.

"Come on, Bakubro!" Kirishima urged, finally getting over his earlier panic. He turned to Kaminari. "Their names are Jirou Kyoka and Shinsou Hitoshi! Not 'earlobes' and 'eye bags'," he told him, rolling his eyes at the nicknames. Bakugou scowled at his friend. Kirishima just smiled back.

"Shinsou..." Kaminari whispered to himself, smiling. He was glad his friends were too caught up in their silent quarrel to hear him.

"Why are you asking about those shitty extras, anyway?" Bakugou growled, bringing his attention back to the blond.

"No reason!" Denki answered hastily, laughing nervously under his friends' gaze. He felt his face flush slightly. And, of course, Kirishima had to notice his blush, giving his friend a smug, knowing look.

"W-wait, no--" Kaminari sputtered, waving his hands defensively in front of him. Kirishima wrapped a strong arm around his shoulders. Kaminari struggled but to no avail.

"Say, Kami," he started, his voice dripping with mischief, "why do you ask?" Kirishima knew exactly what he was doing, and knew it was working as soon as he saw Denki's blush deepen, spreading to the tips of his ears as he tried to stumble out an excuse, but failed.

"Or should I rephrase my question?" Kirishima pressed on. Kaminari squirmed in his grip once more, desperate to break free. "What do you think of them?" The red-head watched in amusement at his friend's embarrassment.

"I-- they're cute, but--" Kaminari continued to struggle. "Ack--! Can you let go of me?" Kirishima's grip only tightened on the blond, clear he wasn't letting his friend go anytime soon.

Bakugou made a sound of disgust. "You think those two are cute?"

"W-well, Shinsou's more hot than cute, but--" Denki quickly threw a hand over his mouth, keeping him from telling his friends more. Damn him and his inability to keep his mouth shut when he's nervous! Kirishima looked pleased.

"You think he's hot?" he teased, looking Kaminari dead in the eyes. The blond man just looked away, still upset at himself for admitting that. "But wait..." Kirishima's smug grin faltered. Denki knew exactly what his friend was about to say. "I thought you still liked--" Denki quickly took the hand that was covering his mouth and put it over Kirishima's before he could say anything more. He didn't want anyone knowing that, including the blond in front of them. Bakugou just cleared his through, loudly, causing the two to look over at him.

"Sorry to interrupt... whatever the hell this is," Bakugou gestured to the two, Kirihsima's arm still wrapped tightly around Kaminari, "but I forgot to mention something," he said. His friends both gave him an inquisitive look, despite Denki's embarrassment. The blond just smirked at Kaminari as they heard a bell ring, alerting them that someone had just entered the cafe. Denki's jaw dropped as he watched two purple-haired individuals walk through that door, and Shinsou's eyes met Kaminari's as he felt a blush creep up his face once again.

"I invited eye bags and earlobes."