With a Strum of My Heart Strings

Mind if I Join?

"Good morning, sleepyheads!" Hizashi greeted them when they came downstairs. "Well, afternoon, I suppose." He smiled. "Can I get you two something to eat?" Kaminari remembered the conversations from last night. Present Mic was acting a lot less serious now, something the blond was extremely relieved about.

"Sounds great!" he chirped, and Yamada left them to grab some lunch.

Denki gasped as he saw Shinsou's cat-- he couldn't remember her name-- walk around the corner and mew at them. He immediatly bent down and cooed at her, scratching underneath her chin, which she seemed to like. He heard Shinsou laugh as the cat purred.

"Food's ready!" Hizashi called from the kitchen. Kaminari skipped to him, Shinsou close behind. He just prayed they wouldn't have a repeat of last night's meal.

And thankfully, they didn't. As the four ate, they kept the conversation light. Denki felt that he could actually breathe this time, which he greatly appreciated.

When they had to leave to go to Shinsou's band's practice, Kaminari laughed at the long hug the three family members had embraced in, even though it was obvious Shinsou would've rather been doing literally anything else. That was, Denki was laughing until he was pulled into the hug as well. "It's a family hug!" Yamada had said. "That means you, too, Kaminari."

Once they were finally released and allowed to leave the home, Hitoshi led the way to Bakugou's house.

"Sorry about them," Shinsou said, rubbing his neck. Nope. Denki was fully aware by now that he did that when he was uncomfortable. Kaminari pulled his hand from his neck to hold, instead, which earned him a small smile from his boyfriend.

"It's fine!" Denki reassured him, swinging their arms. "I didn't mind."

The two walked in silence for a moment, which was more than enough time for Kaminari to hype himself up about going to Bakugou's house. Very few people were allowed to go there, or so he'd heard. It must be an honor. He wondered if the ash-blond would even let him set foot into the house.

But, to his surprise, Bakugou showed little resistance to Shinsou bringing him along when they arrived. They were ushered into his room, where Jirou was already waiting. Denki took this moment to look around the room, convinced this would be his only chance to ever see it.

Kaminari had expected the room to be littered with Bakugou'sbelongings, but it was quite tidy. His bed was made, his floor was clear-- aside from the instruments they would be using during practice-- and his dresser tops were cleared off. One of them even had a vast collection of All Might figures, all neatly organized on the provided space so that it didn't look too cluttered. The walls were lined with band, hero, and other posters that Bakugou owned. The area was a lot different than Denki had envisioned.

"Earth to Dunce Face." Bakugou's gruff voice dragged him from his thoughts. Kaminari had apparently spaced out.

"Oh! Sorry, dude," he said, walking into the room and sitting on the bed while Shinsou grabbed his guitar from the corner. Kaminari hadn't thought that he'd keep his instrument here with Katsuki, though it did make some sense since the band gathered there almost every day.

"What's he doing here, again?" Jirou asked, eyeing Kaminari like they weren't already good friends. At least, that's what Denki thought they were. He'd be disappointed to find out Kyoka didn't see them as "good friends."

Kaminari put a hand to his chest. "Rude!" he said, sounding offended. No one paid mind to his comment.

"He wanted to come along." Shinsou shrugged, draping his guitar strap over his shoulder.

"I'll be quiet! You won't even know I'm here," the blond promised, grinning at Shinsou's band members. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel just a bit intimidated, though.

Bakugou scoffed, sitting down at his drum set. "You'd better be." Jirou rolled her eyes and frowned at him before looking back to Denki, putting a finger to her chin in thought.

"Actually," she started, looking between him and Shinsou, "Maybe he could help you with those lyrics, Shinsou. You said you were having trouble, right?" Shinsou nodded then scowled as if the lyrics had hit him or something.

"I could definitely use the help." Denki jumped up from his seat on the bed and sat down on the floor next to Hitoshi, who laughed. "Eager much?" Kaminari flicked his temple.

"I don't have to help you, you know." Shinsou sighed.

"Okay, no, please help me." Kaminari giggled. "I'm having some serious writer's block." Jirou turned around and pointed a finger at him.

"That's because you tried to write three songs at once and then overstressed yourself! One at a time, Shin!" Shinsou huffed, looking away. "Finish this one and then work on the others or else I'll tell him." She shot Hitoshi a mischievous grin, and his eyes widened slightly.

"Nope. I'll just work on this one. Got it," he said hurriedly. Denki was very confused, but he didn't question it and decided to just brush it off.

"So, what're we working with here?" Denki asked, changing the subject, something he knew Shinsou would be grateful for. "Also, I have no idea how songwriting works so bear with me." Shinsou snorted, handing him a notebook.

"Here, this is what I'm working on." Denki read it over as Shinsou explained. "I guess it's kinda about turning down those random guys that will flirt with you or try to pick you up on the street, you know? I mean, it could be interpreted differently, but that's just what I had in mind while writing it. I'm still struggling with the chorus, though." Kaminari nodded.

"Can I have that?" he asked, motioning to the pencil in Shinsou's hands. He gave it to him, and Denki scribbled something down before turning to show Shinsou. "What about this?" Hitoshi read it and his eyes lit up. At least, as much as they do with his usual poker face.

"That's actually really good," he muttered, taking back the notebook. Smiling, he leaned in closer to whisper, "I think you're going to be a big help with this, after all, kitten." Denki felt a shiver run down his spine. He was confused at first as to why Hitoshi had whispered that before he remembered he didn't want his or Denki's friends to poke fun at him for the pet name. That was understandable, he supposed.

"Oi!" Bakugou called, banging his drum to get their attention. Kaminari nearly jumped out of his skin, yelping. "You two dumbasses got something you wanna share with the class?" he asked, having noticed them whispering.

Shinsou gave him a small smirk, looking between the two blonds before wrapping an arm around Denki's shoulders.

"Nope."