With a Strum of My Heart Strings

I'm Late!

"Oh! Well, first, you need to act cool! You can't--" He stopped as Shinsou quirk took place, face going slack and pupils turning white. He never really liked using his quirk on his parents, but in some cases, such as this, it was necessary.

"Let go," he commanded, and his dad backed away, arms releasing from around him allowing Shinsou to slip away. He released his quirk as he shut the door behind him, not turning back as he heard his parents yelling for him. He just chuckled as he made his way to the cafe.

But the closer he got the more anxious he became. He was just hanging out with a friend, though! It would be fine! The more worrisome thing, he realized, is just how tired he really was. He was finding it hard to focus on the world around him and he kept getting lost in his thoughts, only to snap out of it by the sound of a car honking at him, or another pedestrian almost colliding with him. He started to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea, that maybe he should call this off and just go home and rest, but by that time it was already too late to turn back, and Sero's was stood right in front of him. He stopped outside the door for a moment, pulling himself together, before opening the door.

Kaminari's head shot up as soon as he saw Shinsou entering, a wide smile growing on his face. "Hey!" he called.

"Uh, hi." Shinsou was willing himself to not be awkward, though it didn't seem to be working.

"So, this is the guy?" he heard a female voice ask. He looked over to see another girl behind the counter. She had pink hair and skin, most likely part of her quirk. Denki scowled at her, though Shinsou could tell he didn't really mean it.

"Mina!" he scolded. "Shush!" Mina just giggled.

"He hasn't shut up about you since he's gotten here," she said to the purple-haired man. Shinsou could feel his cheeks starting to tickle with warmth. He probably was just excited to make a new friend! At least, that's what he told himself.

Denki slapped her before turning back to Shinsou. "I'm sorry about her." He nervously smiled. Shinsou put a hand to his neck.

"It's fine." Shinsou walked over to the counter and took a seat. It was only then that Shinsou realized that Kaminari had been making a coffee behind the counter while he was talking. He just did it so naturally. No wonder he had this job, it suited him.

Just as Shinsou had noticed Denki making the coffee, he finished and handed it to him.

"It's on the house." He smiled at him. "Besides, you look like you need it." Shinsou heard Mina giggling, but he didn't care.

"Thanks," he said, shooting him a small smile. The three stood in silence for a moment, Mina helping a customer, Denki making a drink, and Shinsou quietly sipping his hot coffee. When the pink female finished, she asked Denki to join her in the back for a second. The blond looked at her funny but complied, leaving Shinsou alone.

He just sat there, wondering when they were coming back. He was glad there weren't any customers waiting for them, at least.

But then, Shinsou heard hushed talking coming from the back.

He could make out that it was Denki and Mina, but he couldn't really tell what they were saying. He could only hear some words and small fragments of the conversation, like, "it's okay", "hour", "you sure?", and, his personal favorite, "you bi disaster." That one was definitely Mina.

When they finally came back, it took all his strength for Hitoshi to not laugh at the look on the blond man's face. It looked like a cross between confused, angry, and a little excited. It was pretty cute.

Nope. No. No gay thoughts! Shinsou didn't need to have another "gay panic".

"Uh," Denki stuttered as he approached, "I have a break in five. Do you wanna go get lunch or something?" Shinsou felt his heart skip a beat. He had to do everything he could to remind himself that this was not a date, and they were just going to get lunch as friends. That was still proving a bit difficult, though.

"Um, yeah, okay." Oh, my god. Shinsou wanted to slap himself. Could he be any more awkward?

"Great!" Denki cheered as he skipped to the other side of the bar to help an incoming customer, his nervous energy seemingly slipping away. Shinsou smiled as he watched him work for those next five minutes.

When they were finally able to leave, Denki threw his apron to Mina, who glared at him, before it melted into a smile. "Have fun, you two!" she called. Shinsou glanced at her, and she just winked, causing his cheeks to tint pink as he looked back to see if Kaminari caught that, but he seemed unfazed. Shinsou held the door open for his new friend, and he smiled.

"Such a gentleman!" he joked as Hitoshi followed him out. He was going to have some serious trouble not thinking of this as a date.