Archive of Our Own

=ᗢ=

“Thank you. Have a good night.”

As the door to the cafe clicks shut, Hitoshi lets out a heavy sigh. He hates being on the night shift. His tolerance for social interaction was already low enough as it is, but he was much more irritable at night. 

The cherry on top? He wasn’t even scheduled for the night shift today. He was supposed to be at home right now, cuddling with his cat, but his dear old co-worker, Togeike, had a so-called ‘emergency’, and he was called in to take over her shift. 

With another pained sigh, Hitoshi turns to look at the clock hanging on the wall. Just ten more minutes, then he can do some quick cleaning and close up for the night. He couldn’t wait to get home.

The chime of the bell above the door catches his attention, and Hitoshi has to physically restrain himself from groaning in annoyance. Seriously. Who the hell comes into a cafe to buy coffee at 10 pm?

Gorgeous people, apparently. 

The customer that comes up to the register is a guy shorter than Hitoshi, with blonde hair that had a streak of black that resembled something like a lightning bolt. His eyes, which had been hidden behind sunglasses, come into view when the guy takes them off to prop them on top of his head. They’re an electric yellow, almost seeming to glow in the dim light of the cafe.

“Hi. What can I get you?” Hitoshi asks, cursing himself when his voice comes out slightly strained.

The customer smiles, pearly white teeth coming into view. Wow, could this guy get any more gorgeous?

“Hiya, handsome. Could I have a medium iced latte with 7 shots of espresso?”

Hitoshi’s brows draw together in a frown, and he looks back up from the register with his lips curled in disgust. He’s so shocked by the guy’s order that he doesn’t even register the fact that he called him handsome. 

“I’m sorry?” 

The customer only hums in question, lips still turned up into a smile. 

“You heading to an early grave or something?” Hitoshi asks, voice laced with disdain. “7 shots?”

The blonde lets out a chuckle, crossing his arms and leaning forward on the counter. 

“Yeah, I know it might be a bit overkill–”

Hitoshi mumbles a quiet ‘a bit you say’ under his breath as the customer continues.

“-buttt, it’s the only surefire way I’ll be able to get through the night,” the guy finishes his sentence, shooting Hitoshi yet another wide grin.

Hitoshi is stunned. He has no idea what to say. So, without another word, he turns on his heel and starts on the guy’s order. His grimace worsens with every shot of espresso he’s forced to pour into the cup, but none the less, he gets it done and hands it to the guy without further comment regarding the absurd amount of caffeine.

“Your total will be ¥600 , ” Hitoshi says, accepting the money and placing it in the register.

“Thank you very much…” The blonde pauses, squinting before another bright smile takes over his lips. “Yoshi,” he finishes, and before Hitoshi can say anything, the bell chimes for a second time and the door clicks shut behind the customer.

What a strange night. 

=ᗢ=

In full honesty, Hitoshi really shouldn’t be so surprised. Togeike always has at least one ‘emergency’ every week, and for some reason, Hitoshi is the only person that’s always available to cover for her. Only heaven knows why she always takes the night shift. The only reason he still puts up with Togeike’s nonsense is because he gets paid for the extra shift.  

But it’s alright. Just ten more minutes, and he can head home and crawl into bed with his cat.

Ding!

Oh, thank you, universe. For your perfect timing!

“Hello. What can I…” Hitoshi starts, words trailing off when his eyes catch onto blonde hair and electric yellow eyes.

“Hiya handsome! Fancy seeing you here.”

Hitoshi is tempted to fire back a sarcastic ‘I work here,’ but he’s too stunned by the sight in front of him to get any words out. The guy looks even more gorgeous than before, if that was even possible.

His bangs are clipped back, and he’s wearing a skintight shirt, putting his lean body on display. It goes unbelievably well with the black sweatpants he’s wearing, creating the perfect contrast of baggy and tight. And his eyes… just– Wow. They still seem to hold that electric glow, but it’s enhanced by the eyeliner he’s wearing.

Too bad Hitoshi’s too tired and annoyed to be nice. The world’s fault, really, for forcing another night shift on him.

With a sigh, he says, “Don’t tell me you need another 7 shots of espresso.”

The blonde only chuckles, copying his previous position and leaning on the counter again. “Guilty.”

Deciding it was in his best interest not to say anything, Hitoshi turns to start on the guy’s order. The faster he gets this done, the faster this beautiful specimen can leave and he can close up and go home.

“Soo…” The voice of the blonde guy sounds up, and Hitoshi has to suppress a groan. He is not in the mood for conversation. “You only work the night shift?”

The question catches Hitoshi so off guard that he looks over his shoulder to shoot the guy a look. 

“What?” He asks, confused. 

“Just curious,” the guy answers, leaning his head on the palm of his propped-up arm. “If you said yes, I was going to ask why because you look like you really don’t want to be here.”

Damn, was it that obvious? It’s true, of course. He doesn’t want to be here when he wasn’t scheduled in the first place. But Togeike loved making his life difficult, and like he said, he gets paid, so there isn’t much to complain about apart from the fact that it was late and that he was tired.

“I usually work the day shift,” he says, only indulging the blonde so he can avoid further conversation about his terrible luck. “I probably just look like this because it’s late.”

“Ahh. Gotcha,” the guy answers, and Hitoshi is pleased when silence falls over them once more.

“Here’s your coffee,” Hitoshi says when he finally finishes the absolute monstrosity that is a medium iced latte with 7 shots of espresso. “¥600 please.”

The blonde hands over the money and thanks him with a "Thanks, Yoshi,” before he’s out the door, and Hitoshi can only stare after him in pure confusion.

=ᗢ=

Hitoshi needs to have a long, serious conversation with Togeike and her weekly ‘emergencies.’ If not with Togeike, then a conversation with the universe and the rotten luck it brings upon him. Because seriously– three night shifts was just bordering on ridiculous. 

But it’s alright. Just ten more minutes, and then he can return to the sanctuary of his home. 

Ding!

Oh. My god. Hitoshi hates the universe just as much as it hates him.

“Welcome to Cozy Cafe. What can I–”

You have got to be kidding.

“What’s up handsome?”

Gorgeous blonde guy (as Hitoshi has fittingly named him) walks into the cafe, claiming his place by leaning on the counter and shooting Hitoshi a smirk, almost as if he knows he’s making Hitoshi’s life difficult by coming in ten minutes before the cafe closes. Little shit.

“How often do you buy this 7-shot latte?” Hitoshi asks, already busying himself at the coffee station. 

“Well, this is my third one this week,” the blonde answers, and Hitoshi stills, looking at the guy over his shoulder in horror.

“It’s Tuesday,” he grimaces, earning a laugh from the blonde.

“I had to pull an all-nighter, so I bought two last night,” he says, giving Hitoshi another smile.

“And the third?” Hitoshi asks, not sure if he really wants to know the answer.

“Had one this afternoon.”

Hitoshi is very tempted to tell this guy to (politely) fuck off and get a good nights sleep. He knows from first-hand experience just how much of a toll all-nighters and excess caffeine can have on a person’s body and mind, thanks to all the sleepless nights he’s experienced thanks to university. (Whoever told him literature was an easy major deserves a massive smack over the head. With a chair.)

All that said, he looks back down at the coffee, heaves a sigh, and adds one less shot of espresso. What the gorgeous guy doesn’t know won’t kill him.

“Here you go,” Hitoshi says, handing over the coffee and accepting the money that was already being held out by the guy. 

“Thaank you~” he says, taking a sip and spinning on his heel to leave. “Have a good night, Yoshi.”

‘Who the fuck is Yoshi?’ Hitoshi wants to ask, but the door clicks shut before he can get the question out.

=ᗢ=

Thank you, universe, for giving Hitoshi a week void of a night shift. He's had enough of those for a long while. He needs at least five years to recover before he faces another night shift.

So yeah, for this week he's been blessed by his usual day shift. Admittedly, the cafe is a lot busier in the daytime, but at least he's in a slightly better mood and less tired than he is at night.

“Looks like that's the last of the line for now,” Monoma says, dusting off his hands and coming to stand next to Hitoshi. “So, Togeike sign off another shift to you yet?”

Hitoshi lets out a light laugh, bumping the blonde's shoulder with his own. “Luckily not yet,” he answers, returning to making the orders.

“Not yet, you say. So there's still hope.”

“If that woman has one more 'emergency' I might just fix the problem myself,” Hitoshi threatens, popping a lid on one of the finished coffees and coaxing a laugh from Monoma.

“Careful. They seem like they're serious,” he teases, finally making himself useful and helping Hitoshi to finish the placed orders.

“Anything’s better than a night shift.”

“That bad, huh?”

At that, Hitoshi lets out a long, pained groan. “You won't believe the shit I go through,” he says, turning to face the blonde and using his hands to gesture just how painful his experience has been. “Get this. Every night shift I've had for the past three weeks, there's always this one ridiculously pretty guy that comes in ten minutes before we close.”

Monoma grimaces with a grunt of understanding.

“But that's not even the worst part,” Hitoshi continues. “This guy, I shit you not, gets an iced latte with 7 shots of espresso!”

Monoma’s brows shoot up in surprise before settling into a frown, almost as if he's considering something. 

“What?” Hitoshi asks, stomach churning. It looks like Monoma is about to drop some kind of massive bomb on him.

“I think I know who you're talking about,” he finally says, recognition flashing through his eyes. “Yanagi’s mentioned him to me before. Apparently he's very popular among the regular night shifters. Stupidly pretty. Always comes in ten minutes before the cafe closes and gets the same order almost every night. Medium iced latte with 7 shots of espresso.”

And now, Hitoshi isn't sure how that's supposed to make him feel. Relieved that he isn't the only one that's had to face such a deadly order. Or concerned, because almost every night? This guy drinks 7 shots of espresso almost every night and sometimes throughout the day?

"Hahaha, you should see the look on your face!” Monoma laughs. “Hang on, lemme grab my phone.”

And with that, he runs to the back and leaves Hitoshi to gawk at the air.

=ᗢ=

He knew peace couldn't last forever. Maybe Hitoshi really should consider fixing whatever it was that caused Togeike’s weekly ‘emergencies.’ Who knows? Maybe it was a genuine problem, and if he found a way to solve it, he'd be freed from these weekly night shifts.

Tonight especially, he really wishes he didn't have to take over her shift. He has so much uni work that still needs to be done, but he's stuck on the job until the clock strikes 10.

Ten more minutes, and he has to go home and finish that hellish English assignment he's been putting off. He won't even have time to cuddle with his cat. He might even have to tear a page from pretty guy's book and have a 7-shot iced latte to help him through the night.

Ding!

Speak of the devil.

“Sup handsome,” the blonde greets, taking his usual place by the counter.

“I'm starting to get concerned with the amount of caffeine you ingest,” Hitoshi says, but he moves to start making the latte anyway, intent on adding 6 shots instead of the usual 7. 

“Not my fault my boss wants me to work at night,” the blonde complains from behind him, and Hitoshi hears his head hit the counter.

He turns around to look at him, only now noticing how fancy he was dressed. Despite the amount of caffeine he drinks (7 shots almost nightly. It makes Hitoshi shiver), he still looks gorgeous as ever. He doesn't even have eyebags under his eyes. 

“Sounds taxing,” Hitoshi says, in lack of any better answer. Hey, at least he sounds sympathetic… he hopes.

“Meh,” the blonde mumbles, lifting his head and smiling at Hitoshi. “I like my job, so it's not too bad.”

‘At least one of us does,’ Hitoshi wants to say, but he refrains, turning back to finish the latte. 

“Hey?” the blonde prompts, and Hitoshi looks at him over his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“You only added 6 shots,” he says, pointing to the cup, which Hitoshi has already put the lid on.

He blinks at the blonde, then he furrows his brows, turning to face him fully.

“What if I did it on purpose?” Hitoshi challenges, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the counter.

“I'd ask why,” the blonde says, looking intrigued.

Hitoshi sighs, genuinely wondering how this guy hasn't died of a heart attack yet. “I'm sure you're aware of just how unhealthy 7 shots of espresso is,” he says, and the blonde hums in agreement.

“I heard from a co-worker that this is a nightly thing,” he continues, eyeing the blonde to try and scope out his response, hoping he's starting to understand what Hitoshi was getting at.

Instead of the realization Hitoshi was hoping for, the blonde's lips curve up into a smirk, and he leans forward on his palm. “You talk about me? Aww, I'm flattered,” he says, and Hitoshi wants to grab him by the neck and strangle him.

“If you wanted an autograph, all you had to do was ask,” he says again, and the urge Hitoshi had to strangle him flies out the window because… What?

“Huh?” Hitoshi voices his confusion; one brow quirked to portray just how lost he was.

The blonde looks equally confused, lifting his head from his hand and straightening up. “Huh?” he parrots.

“What do you mean ‘autograph’? Hitoshi asks, unfolding his arms and letting them drop to his sides.

“Wait,” the blonde starts, standing up fully. “You mean you don't know who I am?” he asks, and if Hitoshi was lost before, he was on a completely different fucking planet now.

“Yeah?” He says, waving his hand around as if the answer is obvious. “You're the asshole that comes in ten minutes before we close and orders a medium iced latte with 7 shots of espresso.”

The blonde blinks at him dumbly before bursting out into laughter, startling Hitoshi and causing him to jump, almost knocking the coffee over behind him.

“Hahaha, ohh, that's what you meant,” he says through laughter, and Hitoshi’s urge to strangle him returns full force. How is any of that remotely funny? 

“Speaking of closing,” Hitoshi grits, trying to ignore the blonde's obnoxious laughter. “It's been more than ten minutes, so I'm supposed to be closing up now.”

“But you haven't added the 7th shot yet,” the guy says, wiping away a tear from his eye.

“I won't be adding the shot because I don't want to be an accomplice when you eventually keel over from heart failure,” Hitoshi says, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. He should already be on his way home by now, and this guy is starting to get on his last nerve. He's too tired to be dealing with his level of energy right now.

“O-kayy, but I kind of need that extra shot,” the blonde says, tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy.

“It's one less shot. It won't kill you,” Hitoshi argues. ‘On the contrary, one less shot might end up sparing your life,’ he wants to say, but he knows it's better to bite his tongue.

Before the blonde can say anything else, Hitoshi grabs the coffee and puts it down in front of him, maybe with a bit more force than was deemed necessary. “¥550 please,” he says, holding a hand out for the money.

“Not that I don't appreciate the concern,” the blonde starts, and Hitoshi audibly groans. “Butt I did ask for 7 shots, and if I'm not mistaken, the customer is always right.”

This little shit. Can Hitoshi strangle him now? He's starting to seriously consider it.

He lets his outstretched hand drop before bringing it back up again to pinch the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath to keep from losing his cool. 

“Okay,” Hitoshi says, dropping his hand again and glaring at the blonde. “What will it take for you to leave with 6 shots instead of 7?”

Surprised, the blonde looks to the side, taking a moment to consider Hitoshi’s words. It takes longer than he would have liked, but eventually the guy turns back to him with a wide smile, and oh . Hitoshi just made the biggest mistake of his life, didn't he?

“How about, you let me take you out on a date?” The blonde suggests, seemingly very proud of himself.

“Absolutely not,” Hitoshi immediately shoots him down, because where did this guy even get that ridiculous idea?

“Come onn,” the blonde whines, placing his chin in the palms of his propped-up arms. “I promise it'll be fun.”

“That's not–” Hitoshi has to cut himself off with another pinch to the bridge of his nose before he does something stupid like punch the guy. 

“Any other suggestions?” He asks, and the blonde shakes his head.

“Nope. That's my final answer.”

Hitoshi takes another deep breath, glancing at the clock from the corner of his eye. 10:15 pm . He really needs to get home. But…

“Why a date?” Hitoshi asks, mildly curious. Maybe if he knows where this brilliant idea stems from, Hitoshi can explain to him just how stupid of an idea it really is.

“‘Cause you're cute,” the blonde answers, straightening up again. “And I feel like it could be fun.”

Okay, now what the hell is he supposed to say to that? Cute? Hitoshi looks like he came straight out of a Walking Dead movie with the eyebags he sports due to insomnia. And yes, sure, the guy is pretty cute himself, but he is way out of Hitoshi's league.

And fun? Hitoshi hasn't known the meaning of the word since his day of graduation, finally free from the clutches of high school. Since then it was a downhill slope of trying to balance university, trying to cram all his work into a night before the due date, on top of work, because he needed the extra money.

“I am not going on a date with you,” Hitoshi eventually says. “So either live with your 6 shots, or find another idea.”

The blonde lets his head fall back down on the counter, taking another few moments to think before eventually jumping up again, startling Hitoshi for the second time that night.

“Alright, how about this?”

Hitoshi doesn't like his tone of voice. He can practically smell the bad idea heading his way. 

“I'll take you on 7 dates, one every day for a week,” he says, continuing before Hitoshi can interrupt. “Aaand for every date you don't have fun on, you can remove one shot of espresso from my latte.”

Hitoshi opens his mouth to say no, but then he closes it again, bringing a hand to his chin. It actually wasn't a bad idea, as much as he hates to admit it.

“And what if I don't have fun on any of the dates?” Hitoshi asks, folding his arms across his chest again.

“Then I'll have to live without caffeine,” the blonde says, mirroring Hitoshi's pose by crossing his own arms.

There's a few beats of silence in which they just stare at each other, Hitoshi's eyes narrowed in consideration, and the blonde wearing a smile of triumph. Because the little shit knows he just made a really good argument.

Eventually, Hitoshi drops his arms and sighs, signing himself over to his fate. "Yeah, alright,” he says, and the blonde ‘whoops’ in victory.

“Great! So, if I text you the details tomorrow, what number should I text?” He asks, phone already in hand and waiting to type in Hitoshi's number.

He lets out a tired sigh and takes out his own phone, rattling off his number and watching as the blonde's fingers fly over the number pad.

“Aaand save. Pleasure doing business with you, Yoshi,” he says, finally picking up his coffee, not even questioning where his 7th shot was, and placing his money on the counter. 

And once again, for the fourth time on a night shift, Hitoshi is forced to watch as the blonde strides out of the coffee shop, confused at who the fuck ‘Yoshi’ is.

What has he gotten himself into?

=ᗢ=

True to his word, the blonde (who Hitoshi now knows as Denki Kaminari), texted him the details of their first date the day after. 

And wow, does Hitoshi feel stupid, because really– how did he not recognize him? He was only part of one of the most successful modeling agencies the world has come to know. Denki Kaminari, famous model working for the Endevoir modeling agency. 

Suddenly, everything made so much sense. The autograph, the late-night coffee runs (given Endevoir was best known for their midnight photo shoots), and the genuine confusion when Hitoshi didn't know who he was.

He feels so stupid, truly. And really self-conscious. He was going on a date with a super famous model, after all.

Unfortunately, it was too late to back out now. All he could do was face it head-on, even with a heart that was actively trying to fight its way out of his chest. 

Thank you, universe. For screwing Hitoshi over, yet again.

After his shift (a day shift. Thank god), he went home to change into something more appropriate for the date.

According to Kaminari, they were going to a concert for the band called ‘CreatiJack,’ so he should dress comfortably and bring earplugs. 

Now, where Kaminari got the idea to take Hitoshi to a concert without knowing what kind of music he liked was beyond him, but hey! If he ends up not having fun, it just means one less shot of espresso, and Hitoshi will gladly take that over a fun date.

So, throwing on some black, ripped skinny jeans and a simple white T-shirt, Hitoshi bids his cat goodbye and leaves for the train, ready to face the music (pun fully intended).

.

“Hiya handsome~” Kaminari greets with his usual level of enthusiasm, causing Hitoshi to have to stifle a groan. How this guy has so much energy at 10 pm on a Sunday night, he will never know. Probably had 7 shots of espresso.

“Ready for the best date of your life?” Kaminari asks, walking up to Hitoshi and putting his full ensemble on display. He was dressed casually, wearing some baggy blue jeans and a T-shirt with the band’s logo printed on the front. His hair was covered by a black baseball cap, and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, much to Hitoshi’s dismay. His eyes were really pretty.

“I’m ready to remove a shot of espresso from that deadly latte of yours,” Hitoshi answers his previous question, falling into step with the blonde as he leads them through the crowd.

“Guess I’ll just have to go that extra mile, huh?” Kaminari adds absently, earning him a light snort from Hitoshi.

They eventually reach the ticket booth, where Kaminari hands in their tickets and continues to lead them further. Hitoshi has heard some offhanded comments about the band they’d be listening to. CreatiJack is, according to Hitoshi’s knowledge, a band that wasn’t established until two years ago. They were pretty popular, though, if the massive crowd was anything to go by.

“Do you want something to drink before the show?” Kaminari asks, drawing Hitoshi’s attention away from the merchandise booth he’d been looking at.

“Sure,” he answers, and Kaminari stops them at a kiosk.

Hitoshi orders a hot chocolate for himself, reasoning that he’s had enough caffeine for the day. Then he hears Kaminari place his absurd order of a 7-shot latte, and it makes him feel so absolutely nauseous.

“You can’t drop the caffeine even for a day, can you?” Hitoshi questions as they receive their orders and continue to stroll around.

“Well, I haven’t had my fill for the day. And I want to be extra awake so I can enjoy every second with you,” Kaminari answers, shooting Hitoshi the sweetest smile he’s laid eyes on and causing his heart to skip a beat.

Hitsohi quickly begins to realize that Kaminari is as flirtatious as they come, dropping a pick-up line or throwing out a flirty comment at every opportunity presented to him. Some were, admittedly, kind of clever, but most just ended up sounding like they came straight from some cheesy rom-com. 

It wouldn’t be fair of Hitoshi to say that it was exhausting, because he actually finds Kaminari’s pick-up lines to be sort of endearing, but he was tired. He could probably just chalk it up to the fact that he was out and about at night rather than staying home.

“Make sure to put in your earplugs in,” Kaminari says when they reach their seats. (Front row seats, might he add.) “The music can get kind of loud.”

Hitoshi merely hums in response before putting his earplugs in and staring up at the stage, where the band members have started filing in. The flashing lights create an exciting atmosphere, and Hitoshi can feel his stomach swirling with anticipation. 

From the previously mentioned offhanded comments, Hitoshi could deduce that the band created indie and alternative-rock themed music, both genres that Hitoshi (begrudgingly) has to admit that he does enjoy. Maybe Kaminari just had some ridiculous luck when guessing what music he liked.

“Hello fans and friends! Are you all having a good night?” The lead guitarist yells out, earning her eager yells from the crowd. Even with the earplugs, Hitoshi winces, not expecting the reactions to be that loud. 

“I’m so glad to hear that! Now, get ready, and enjoy the show!” The guitarist says again, placing the mic back in its stand and strumming the first few chords of the opening song.

.

Okay. Hitoshi is surprised. Very surprised to find that he not only enjoys the concert, but actually recognizes some of the songs as well, belting out the lyrics that he’s familiar with. By the time the show concludes, he’s panting heavily, exhilaration coursing through his veins. Kaminari’s staring at him with a victorious grin, and Hitoshi is too happy to even tell him off.

“Yeah, okay, you win,” Hitoshi admits, gulping down the bottle of water he bought before the show. 

“I’m not done yet,” Kaminari perks up, practically sparkling with excitement as Hitoshi follows behind him.

“What do you mean?”

Kaminari spins around to look at him, walking backwards and narrowly avoiding bumping into another person. “I told you before the show that I’d have to go the extra mile, remember?” He probes, and Hitoshi nods in confusion.

What could this guy possibly have up his sleeve?

A big, massive Trump card, as it turns out, because Kaminari leads them backstage, flashing the security guard their VIP tickets before they’re let into the backstage lounging area. Color Hitoshi impressed. He really didn’t think Kaminari had it in him.

“Sup guys!” Kaminari greets as they step into the lounge area, falling onto one of the couches and finally removing his sunglasses, putting his beautiful electric yellow eyes on display. 

“Get your dirty feet off the couch,” one girl scolds, and Hitoshi recognizes her as the lead guitarist and vocalist. 

“At least say hello back, Kyo,” Kaminari whines, relenting and sitting up straight when his feet are swatted away and the girl sits down next to him.

Hitoshi feels so extremely out of place, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking around the room. It was cozy and fancy at the same time, with two three-seater couches and an armchair all following a red and gold color scheme. On the armchair sits another blonde guy, hair sticking in all directions and looking like the literal picture of an explosion emoji. Hitoshi recognizes him as the drummer.

On the couch opposite the one Kaminari and the vocalist are occupying sits another girl, the bassist. She has long black hair tied back into a high ponytail, and next to her sits another guy, with slicked-back black hair. He was the second guitarist.

“I’ve told you one too many times to stop acting like you own the damn place,” the vocalist reprimands Kaminari again, repeatedly poking his side as the blonde laughs.

“I know, I know,” he says through giggles, trying to get away from the girl’s attacks. “But what’s the point of having you all as friends if I can’t take advantage of your hospitality?”

“Idiot,” she mumbles, finally stopping her poking and giving Kaminari some room to breathe.

“Hey, Pikachu!” The human explosion emoji calls, catching Kaminari’s attention. “Aren’t you going to introduce your friend?”

“Right!” Kaminari quips, getting up from the couch and slinging an arm around Hitoshi’s shoulder and causing him to lightly stumble. “This is Yoshi. He’s my date.”

Hitoshi straightens up at the mention of ‘Yoshi’ and he pushes Kaminari off of him, taking him by the shoulders and staring him in the eyes with a fierce determination. 

“Kaminari,” he says, firm and serious. “Who the fuck, is Yoshi?” Hitoshi asks, desperate to finally get some clarity on the subject.

Kaminari blinks at him, once, twice before he gives Hitoshi a shy, albeit confused, smile. “You are,” he squeaks, and Hitoshi lets go of his shoulders, causing Kaminari to fall flat on his ass.

Hitoshi has to turn away from Kaminari and the group, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath. “My name is Hitoshi, ” he grits out, placing special emphasis on his name.

There’s a few moments of silence in the room, before the blonde on the armchair barks out a laugh, doubling over and clutching at his sides as he dissolves into a fit of laughter.

“You– You’re telling me,” he says through chuckles, “that you didn’t even know your date’s actual name!?” 

The notion of it sends the blonde into a fresh state of laughter, howling like it’s the funniest shit he’s heard all week. 

“It’s not my fault,” Kaminari complains from his place on the floor. “I wasn’t wearing my glasses when I read his nametag.”

His nametag on his barista uniform, as Hitohsi recalls, has his name squished into tiny letters so it was able to fit on the nametag. He remembers talking to his boss about getting a new one, but she never got back to him about it, which meant he was stuck with the one he had. He supposes he shouldn’t blame the poor Kaminari for not being able to read it, when even he had trouble making out the characters sometimes. 

“It’s fine,” Hitoshi sighs through the drummer’s laughter, reaching a hand down and helping Kaminari up from the floor. “Just don’t call me Yoshi again.”

“Deal,” Kaminari promises with a smile.

When the blonde on the armchair finally calmed down, Kaminari went around and introduced Hitoshi to the members of CreatiJack. The lead guitarist and vocalist, Kyoka Jirou, one of Kaminari’s oldest friends. Katsuki Bakugou, the blonde that died of laughter nearly moments ago and was now scowling comfortably. Momo Yaoyorozu, the bassist, and Jirou’s girlfriend. And Fumikage Tokoyami, the second guitarist. 

Apparently they all knew each other in high school and stayed friends well after graduation. Bakugou was also a part-time model for Endevoir, as hard as it was to believe. (Could have fooled Hitoshi with that wicked frown.) All in all, though, Hitoshi could deduce that they were great people, and he looked forward to attending more of their shows.

By the end of the night, at the ungodly hour of 1 in the morning, Kaminari drove Hitoshi back to his apartment and walked him to the door, like a true gentleman.

“So, Hitoshi~ ” Kaminari all but purrs, sending a chill down Hitoshi’s spine. “How’d I do?” He finishes his question, more than likely referring to the date and inquiring whether or not Hitoshi had fun.

Hitoshi stares at him from his doorway, putting on a show of acting like he was deep in thought before finally looking back at Kaminari and letting a small smile spread across his lips.

“You’re still 7 shots rich,” he says, ignoring the pride flashing through Kaminari’s eyes. “But we’ll see how you do tomorrow, Mister Model.”

“I won’t let you down!” Kaminari says, giving a stupid little salute that Hitoshi really shouldn’t find as endearing as he did before he spins on his heel and marches down the hallway.

=ᗢ=

Hitoshi was very grateful to not have a shift that day, although the universe would always find a way to make his life a living hell by forcing him to attend the early lecture rather than the afternoon one. He had to fight to keep his eyes open in class, never finding so little interest in morphology. Finally, though, he was free from class and had an hour free before his date with Kaminari.

Kaminari refused to give him any other information besides that he needed to dress comfortably and that he had to bring his hobby along with him. What that entailed, Hitoshi really couldn’t guess. So, he threw on another pair of jeans, these ones a light blue and fully intact, with a black graphic T-shirt. In his backpack, he stuffed his notebook and sketchbook, along with his portable pencil case, and bounded out the door (but not before bidding his sweet kitty goodbye).

.

He met with Kaminari in a nearby park, immediately noticing the guitar case on his back and squinting at it in curiosity.

“Hello handsome~” Kaminari greets, removing his signature sunglasses and placing them on his head.

“Hi,” is all Hitoshi can say as he shakes his head at the blonde’s flirtatious greeting. 

“Ready for the second best date of your life?” Kaminari asks, prompting Hitoshi to follow him deeper into the park.

“Hmm, what do you have planned for me today?” Hitoshi questions with mock exasperation.

“Weee…” Kaminari drags out the word, settling on an open spot of grass and digging around in his bag. He pulls out a red and white checkered blanket and spreads it open on the grass, turning back to Hitoshi with a near blinding smile. “Are having a picnic!”

Hitoshi isn’t even sure how to feel, standing awkwardly to the side as Kaminari plops down on the blanket, crossing his legs, and looking as giddy as a toddler on Christmas. 

“Come on. Sit down,” Kaminari says, inviting Hitsoshi by patting a spot on the blanket in front of him. 

He does so, toeing off his converse and stepping onto the blanket, mirroring Kaminari’s position, and sitting down cross-legged. He feels very out of place, staring around the park at the various people passing by, some hand in hand and others alone with their dogs. It’s not that he felt self-conscious about being on a date with another guy. It’s more, he felt inferior sitting down with this extremely gorgeous piece of a man while he probably looked so pale and bland in comparison.

“Alrighty,” Kaminari quips, successfully pulling Hitoshi’s attention away from the people passing by. “Did you bring your hobby?”

Hitoshi is stunned for a second before he registers the question and starts to dig around his backpack. “I wasn’t exactly sure what you meant, so I just brought both my hobbies,” Hitoshi explains as he places the sketchbook and notebook down on the blanket between them. 

Kaminari automatically reaches for the sketchbook, and Hitoshi is a second too late to stop him as he starts flipping through the pages. 

“Just don’t–” Hitoshi starts, intent on trying to preserve at least a sliver of his dignity, but he is once again too late as Kaminari reaches the last page of the sketchbook and his yellow eyes shoot open in surprise. “Flip to the last page,” Hitoshi finishes lamely, bringing his hands up to hide whatever shade of red the mortification has surely painted his face.

It’s nothing as cliche as you’d expect. It’s not a portrait of Kaminari’s ridiculously pretty face (although Hitoshi will admit he’s thought about drawing the blonde once or twice in passing). No– it’s so much worse. It’s his very first attempts at drawing human anatomy. More specifically of the… male region. 

Hitoshi hates the world.

When the silence drags on for too long, Hitoshi cautiously peeks out from between his fingers, only to find that Kaminari was still staring at the page, a light blush coating his cheeks.

“Stop looking at it,” Hitoshi groans, grabbing the book from the blonde’s hands and slamming it shut. 

The embarrassment works its way deep into Hitoshi’s bones, and he has to fight from not getting up and bolting away. All the while, Kaminari sat, seemingly frozen in place with his hands still raised in the position they were in when they held the sketchbook.

“So…” He finally says after a while, returning to his senses and looking over at a still very embarrassed Hitoshi. 

“Kill me,” Hitoshi mumbles, hiding his face behind the (thankfully closed) sketchbook. 

Kaminari lets out a light giggle, gently coaxing the book away from Hitoshi’s face. “I didn’t say it was bad,” he offers, as if that was going to erase the humiliation Hitoshi was currently feeling.

“On the contrary, it’s very good,” he continues. “Very realistic.”

“If you don’t kill me, I might have to kill you,” Hitoshi grumbles, earning him another laugh from the blonde.

“How about we start with my hobby then?” He suggests, and falls back on his heels, dragging the guitar case Hitoshi had spotted earlier closer. 

He takes out an electric yellow guitar that matches the color of his eyes almost perfectly, with lightning bolt accents at the bottom. Hitoshi tries his best not to gawk, but man! The guitar looks so cool. The enthusiasm must have been showing on his face, because Kaminari chuckles and holds it out for him. 

Hitoshi shoots him a look, almost resembling the question, ‘Can I?’ and Kaminari smiles at him, prompting him to take it.

“Go on.”

Hitoshi takes the guitar from his hands, surprised by how heavy it actually is, and he places it in his lap, softly strumming the chords. After the initial sound dies down he strums the chords again, almost lazily.

“So what exactly was the purpose of us bringing our hobbies?” Hitoshi asks, curiosity getting the better of him. He picks at the chords of the guitar as Kaminari answers.

“Well, since dates are all about getting to know each other, I thought it would be fun if we taught each other our hobbies,” Kaminari says, leaning forward and propping himself up with his hands.

Hitoshi raises his brows in surprise, shocked at just how much thought Kaminari seemed to have put into the date.

“As long as you don’t ask me to teach you how to draw a dick,” Hitoshi says, earning him yet another cheerful laugh from Kaminari.

“Deal.”

They spend the majority of the next two hours going back and forth, Kaminari teaching Hitoshi some of the basic chords and which of them to press down on and pick to get certain sounds, and Hitoshi teaching Kaminari some of the ways to hold a pencil and how hard to press if he wanted a certain shade. He also makes sure to keep a close eye on the blonde lest he flip to the last page again.

All in all, it was a great experience. By the end of the two hours, Hitoshi could confidently strum some chords to produce a relatively okay sound, and Kaminari ended up drawing Hitoshi playing his guitar.

“I thought you said you could barely draw stick figures!” Hitoshi exclaims as his eyes scan the page of his sketchbook containing an absolute masterpiece. How was Kaminari this perfect? Ridiculously good-looking with artistic skills to top it off. It just wasn’t fair.

Kaminari lets out a nervous chuckle, scratching at the nape of his neck. “I had a really good teacher,” he says, ever the relentless flirt.

Hitoshi slams the book shut with a click of his tongue, vowing to work a little on his drawing skills when he gets home. He puts it to the side as Kaminari places his guitar back in its case. 

“How’d you get into guitar?” Hitoshi asks, straightening his legs out and leaning back on his hands.

“I used to play with Kyoka in high school,” Kaminari answers, turning to face Hitoshi again.

“Why not join the band?”

Kaminari thinks about it for a second before smiling. “I would never survive that. I’m not as dedicated as Kyoka.”

Hitoshi hums in understanding. “I used to think I wanted to be an artist, but in the end, literature just kind of stood out to me more,” Hitoshi says, offering up a little about his own life. 

“You study at the university near the cafe you work at?” Kaminari asks, and Hitoshi hums again in confirmation.

A comfortable silence falls over them, and Hitoshi closes his eyes, leaning his head back and appreciating the light breeze blowing by and rustling the leaves. The atmosphere is peaceful, and he’s once again forced to admit just how much he was enjoying this date. 

“You hungry?” Kaminari asks after a while, already digging through his bag, presumably for the food he brought for the picnic. Hitoshi blinks his eyes open and readjusts his position, crossing his legs again. 

A few short moments later, Kaminari pulls out a disposable cake container with an excited smile. “Ta daa~” he sing-songs, placing the cake between them and removing the plastic lid.

And oh. Hitoshi doesn’t know whether he should laugh or grimace, because in front of him, in all its glory, sits a beautifully frosted strawberry shortcake. And…

“Pfft.” Hitoshi loses the battle, letting out a giggle before ultimately trying to stifle his rapidly increasing laughter. 

Kaminari only stares at him, tilting his head like a confused puppy, which makes it that much harder for Hitoshi to bite back his chuckles. 

“What?” He questions, bringing a hand up to wipe at his cheek. “Is there something on my face?”

“Pfft– No,” Hitoshi somehow manages through his suppressed laughter. “It’s just–”

Oh god, he can’t breathe.

“Hitoshi?”

“I’m allergic to strawberries,” Hitoshi finally gets out, losing the ultimate battle and letting his laughter get the better of him when he catches a glimpse of Kaminari’s face. He’s staring down at the cake in horror, seemingly not knowing what to do with himself as he lets out a stangled cry.

.

“I am so sorry,” Kaminari apologizes for the umpteenth time that afternoon, handing Hitoshi the box containing the (strawberry-free) croissant he bought to rectify his past mistakes.

“It’s fine,” Hitoshi says, barely managing to cover up his chuckle with a cough as he accepts his alternative lunch.

“I can’t believe I didn’t even ask!” Kaminari exclaims in frustration, falling into step with Hitoshi as they start the walk back to his apartment.

In spite of the absolute disaster that was supposed to be a picnic, Hitoshi still had a lot of fun. Learning a little more about Kaminari and even seeing him flub what was supposed to be a perfect date. It gives Hitoshi peace of mind to know he wasn’t as perfect as he seemed to be. 

“Well, for that, you can say goodbye to one of your espresso shots,” Hitoshi says through a bite of his croissant, smiling when Kaminari whines in complaint.

“It’s only fair,” he says again, and Kaminari sighs.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Then, after a moment, seeming to bounce back from his disappointment, he asks, “Did you at least have fun?”

Hitoshi pretends to think for a moment, earning him a light elbow in the side before he answers, “If we don’t count the absolute disaster that was the last page of my sketchbook and your strawberry shortcake–” Kaminari groans at the reminder. “-then yes. I had fun,” he finishes, and Kaminari shoots him a smile.

“I’m glad. I’ll make tomorrow even better!”

=ᗢ=

Blessedly, Hitoshi was once again not scheduled for a shift that day. He’s also pleasantly surprised at the fact that Togeike hasn’t had one of her emergencies yet, but hey! You won’t catch him complaining.

He meets up with Kaminari for their date outside the cafe he works at, lip curling in disgust when he spots the signature drink of death in the blonde’s hand. 

“At least wait until after our dates conclude before you kill yourself any further,” Hitoshi says as he walks up to Kaminari, pulling the blonde’s attention away from his phone. 

His gaze flicks between the nearly finished latte and Hitoshi before he merely shrugs with a guilty smile. “I have to savor them while I can. I’m already down to 6 shots,” he says, causing Hitoshi’s brows to shoot up in surprise.

Kaminari catches this and asks, “What’s up?”

Hitoshi shakes his head, putting his hands in his pockets and looking down at the ground. “I just didn’t think you were being serious, is all,” he admits, feeling slightly bad for doubting the blonde.

“‘Course I’m serious,” Kaminari quips, taking no offense to Hitoshi’s admission. “Speaking of. You ready for our date~”

Hitoshi hums, looking back up and catching the excitement shining in Kaminari’s eyes. 

“What do you have for us today, Mister Model?” Hitoshi asks, following behind Kaminari as he leads them down the street.

“Okay. So remember when I said yesterday that dates are all about getting to know each other?” Kaminari asks, and Hitoshi hums in confirmation. “Well, I thought, why not do one of those impromptu interviews. You know? The ones paparazzi usually do on the street.”

Hitoshi doesn’t know. He’s not the famous supermodel here. When Kaminari picks up on his lack of response, he stops and turns around to face him.

“You don’t?” He doesn’t say it in a tone that makes Hitoshi feel belittled. Instead, he asks as if he’s genuinely curious. Hitoshi shakes his head ‘no’, and Kaminari jumps in to explain.

“Think of it as a game of 20 questions, but instead of going back and forth, one of us is acting like an interviewer and the other is just answering questions about themselves.”

Hitoshi nods to show he’s following along, mouth forming a perfect ‘O’ when he understands what Kaminari meant by ‘impromptu interview.’

“So, where are we going then?” Hitoshi asks, confused at why they were still in the middle of nowhere. 

"Ah, but that’s what makes this so fun!” Kaminari says, digging around in his bag and ripping out a literal microphone. “We’re going to pretend to randomly run into each other on the street, stop each other, and initiate the interview.”

Hitoshi can’t tell if the flip-flops in his stomach are because of horror or anticipation. Either way, it feels unsettling. His face must have given his unease away, because Kaminari quickly swoops in to try and make him feel better.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be like, live or anything. If you want, I can interview you first?” He offers, and Hitoshi hesitantly nods, unsure of what the hell he’s gotten himself into this time.

.

"Well, hello, gorgeous. What’s your name?”

Hitoshi casts a quick gaze at their surroundings, noticing some people whispering behind their hands as they pass by. He does his best to ignore them, turning his attention back to Kaminari, who stands in front of him, holding the microphone to his mouth. 

“Are you seriously asking me for my name?” He asks, eyes narrowed in annoyance. He doesn’t really mean to sound annoyed, but with all these people around, who can blame him?

Kaminari doesn’t look the least bit phased at Hitoshi’s annoyance, only going on with a playful, “We’re supposed to not know each other, remember?”

Hitoshi sighs, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Instead, he keeps his hands firmly in his pockets and answers, “It’s… Hitoshi Shinsou,” with a pregnant pause in the middle. 

Kaminari lets out a light chuckle at that. “Were you this uncomfortable during your interview for the cafe?” He teases, and Hitoshi can feel the tips of his ears heat up in embarrassment. 

“No! At least that interview was indoors,” he bites out, earning another giggle from Kaminari.

“Well, Hitoshi~ ” Hitoshi still feels a chill when his name comes from Kaminari’s mouth. “Let’s jump straight in with question number one. Are you allergic to anything else besides strawberries?”

All Hitoshi’s embarrassment and unease melt away as soon as the question leaves Kaminari’s lips, and now it’s his turn to laugh.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to know each other?” He says through a snort, pointedly ignoring the look Kaminari gives him. “How do you know I’m allergic to strawberries?”

“Let’s just pretend I did my research,” Kaminari whisper-yells, earning him another snort from Hitoshi.

“Sure.” He clears his throat. “To answer your question. No. Just strawberries.”

“Good to know!” Kaminari perks up, and Hitoshi only rolls his eyes. “Next question. What would you like to do when you graduate from university?”

Hitoshi hums in thought. “I’d like to be a freelance author. Publish my own books and all that.”

“That’s so cool!” Kaminari exclaims, and Hitoshi doesn’t miss the genuine affection and need to know more about him flashing through his eyes. “So do you write now?”

Hitoshi nods. “Yes. I’m busy working on my first novel when I have free time,” he says, and he notices how much more at ease he is now that he’s settled into the whole interview thing. Kaminari’s honest excitement was starting to rub off on him, and Hitoshi can feel himself getting excited when his time as an interviewer rolls around.

“Amazing~ I better get a free copy when you publish it. Anyway! Back on topic, next question. Do you have any siblings?”

“Yes. I have a little sister.”

“Aww, and pets?”

“Yep. I have a cat named Phantom.” Hitoshi smiles while thinking of his cat. He loves her a lot. His dad got her for Hitoshi back in his last year of high school, when his insomnia had really started to peak. She helped a ton when he had trouble falling asleep at night.

“So you like cats?” Kaminari asks, and Hitoshi nods in reply. “Why not work in a cat cafe then?”

“As much as I would have loved that, the cafe I work at is closer to my university, so it’s more convenient,” Hitoshi answers, earning a nod of understanding from Kaminari.

“I see. I’m glad you ended up working there, though,” he starts, and Hitoshi quirks a brow in question. “If you didn’t, I never would have met you, and we wouldn’t have gone on these dates.”

Hitoshi feels his cheeks flush, and he takes a hand out of his pocket to hide his face. Man, since when did Kaminari’s flirty comments start to affect him this much? Must be the fact that they’re in public.

“Last question,” Kaminari says again, completely skipping over the fact that Hitoshi was likely furiously blushing. “What is something you’d like to do that you’ve never done before?”

Hitoshi quickly recovers from his momentary, flustered state. “Is that your way of cheating and planning a date I’d actually enjoy?” He retorts, enjoying when it’s Kaminari’s turn to become flustered.

“No! It’s just out of curiosity!” He explains, and Hitoshi nods his head, thoroughly unconvinced.

“Riiight. To answer your question, I’ve never been to an aquarium. My sister was always too scared, and my parents never wanted me to go alone, so.”

Kaminari, true to his ever-enthusiastic nature, quickly gets over his blush and nods his head excitedly. 

“That is very good to know.”

“Yeah, yeah. My turn, pretty boy,” Hitoshi says with an eyeroll, holding his hand out so Kaminari can give him the microphone.

They walk in opposite directions before turning around and approaching each other again. Hitoshi barely manages to suppress a smile at how giddy Kaminari looks as he’s approaching him. He put his sunglasses on again, walking with his hands in his pockets and a wide grin on his face.

“Excuse me!” Hitoshi half calls, stopping Kaminari in his tracks and grabbing his full attention. “Are you the Denki Kaminari?” He asks in his best news reporter voice.

“Why yes, I am. Thank you for noticing,” Kaminari says, dramatically pulling his sunglasses off and putting them on top of his head. He flashes Hitoshi another bright smile, and he has to resist the urge to laugh at how ridiculous he’s being. 

“Could I ask you a few questions today?” Hitoshi asks, and Kaminari nods with a happy hum.

“Right, thank you. First question. Is that lightning bolt streak in your hair natural?”

Kaminari reaches a hand up to touch at the black streak in his hair, almost as if he forgot it even existed. “No. I got it as a joke after my friends nicknamed me Pikachu in high school, but I guess it just stuck with me ever since.”

Hitoshi recalls from back on their first date when Bakugou called out to Kamiari by Pikachu, when he first asked him if he was going to introduce him. He supposes he never really gave it much thought after, but now he was mildly curious.

“Right, and where did Pikachu come from?” He asks, using his opportunity as interviewer to its fullest.

“Oh, that’s a really funny story,” Kaminari starts, eyes lighting up with mirth. “So, back in high school, we used to live in the dorms, and there was this one night in our first year where it was storming like super bad,” he tells, and Hitoshi nods along, interested to hear how the story unfolds.

“Anyway, at one point I let out this massive sneeze, and at the exact same moment, the lightning from the storm struck and took out the entire building’s power!” Kaminari laughs, seemingly remembering more. “And Bakugou’s always been fond of nicknames. So, without any warning, we all just hear him yell, ‘Damn it, Pikachu!’ from the kitchen.”

Hitoshi can’t help but laugh along with Kaminari, because it was stupidly funny. He can practically hear the ‘Damn it, Pikachu’ coming from Bakugou, and that fact alone is enough to have him doubling over, almost dropping the microphone in his attempts to not fall to the ground laughing.

“Long story short, I got the nickname Pikachu because the power went out at the same time I sneezed. Next day I went into class with the lightning bolt in my hair, and the rest is history.”

Hitoshi heaves a final laugh, standing back up straight and taking a few deep breaths. “Ohh, that is absolutely hilarious,” he says, wiping away a tear from his eye.

They take a few moments to catch their breath before Hitoshi sends out his next question. “Please tell me there’s a funny story behind why you need to wear glasses?” He asks, and promptly bursts out laughing again at the face Kaminari pulls, because ‘Yes. Apparently there is a funny story behind it.’

“In my defense, they’re only reading glasses. And I got them prescribed because I stayed up too many nights reading comics without proper lighting.”

It definitely doesn’t top the Pikachu story, but it’s still stupid enough to have Hitoshi laughing. 

“Ohh, right, okay. Back on track,” he says after he huffs out his last chuckle. “How did you get into modeling?”

“Funny enough, that story also stems from my high school days,” Kaminari says. “I had a friend in high school once tell me that I had the looks to become a model, and his father just so happened to own a modeling agency. He talked to his dad and got me an interview, and yeah. I guess that’s how I got into the whole thing.”

Hitoshi hums in reply, still riding his high from the previous laughing fit. “He sounds like a good friend,” he says, earning an eager nod from Kaminari.

“Mhm, he’s great.”

“Hmm, anyway. For my next question, did you ever go to university for a backup?”

Kaminari shakes his head. “Not university, but I do have a degree in electrical engineering.”

“How’d you manage that?” Hitoshi asks, and it came out sounding like he thought Kaminari was stupid– which, he isn’t. Hitoshi knows he isn’t. But that’s what it came out like, and he instantly cringes at his poor choice of words.

Kaminari (bless his socially inept soul) continues on as if Hitoshi didn’t just unintentionally insult his intelligence. “My school had this thing where you could obtain a degree from certain electives. I happen to enjoy taking jokes too far, so I chose electrical engineering to go with the whole Pikachu theme. Turns out, I actually really enjoy it, and the topics were easy enough to understand. So, yeah! That’s how I got my degree.”

Throughout his entire explanation, Hitoshi can’t help but notice just how comfortable Kaminari is just talking. He looks right in his element, never faltering or looking uneasy or annoyed. He seems to be the complete opposite of Hitoshi, and usually, he would have trouble putting up with people that had his level of energy (enter Neito Monoma), yet with Kaminari, Hitoshi hasn’t felt tired or annoyed once during their outings. He actually enjoys spending time with Kaminari, cheerful energy and all.

“You’re really cool,” Hitoshi says, and he really means it. 

“Thank you,” Kaminari replies, so quietly and gently, as if Hitoshi’s words meant the world to him. A few moments pass by where they only stare at each other, purple eyes connecting with electric yellow, creating their own little world in which only the two of them exist. For a fleeting moment, Hitoshi is reminded of an Asagao, a flower with a beautiful combination of yellow and purple petals. 

“Anyway,” Hitoshi clears his throat, tearing his eyes from Kaminari’s and getting ready to ask his final question. He’s been saving the best for last. The thing he was most curious about. 

But just as he opens his mouth to ask, there’s a sudden squeal to their left, and in a matter of seconds, Kaminari is being swarmed by a group of high school girls. Hitoshi almost forgot they were in public, so the sudden crowd causes him to feel more shocked than he should be, heart practically leaping out his throat. 

“Oh my! It really is him!”

“Kaminari! Can we please get a picture?”

The girls all talk over each other, and even Kaminari, who is supposed to be used to the attention, looks bewildered, eyes darting between the group of girls as they ask him for this and that. 

Hitoshi probably shouldn’t feel as uneasy as he does, given he was expecting this to happen at any point during their dates. It was inevitable. Kaminari is a famous model and well-known around the city of Musutafu. He was bound to get recognized at some point. 

Kaminari easily gets over the initial shock of being surrounded, and a smile spreads across his lips again, like it’s second nature. Was Hitoshi seriously starting to feel special, hoping that level of attention he got from Kaminari was only meant for him, when he was happily giving the fangirls that same bright, honest smile?

Maybe. He supposes somewhere down the line he forgot this was just an arrangement to get Kaminari to drink less caffeine. So simple, yet it completely slipped Hitoshi’s mind. Even if Kaminari had said he was serious, it probably only meant he was serious about maintaining his 7– No. 6 shots of espresso. 

“Anyway, I’d love to give you girls that picture, but I’m pretty busy at the moment,” Kaminari’s voice reaches Hitoshi’s ears, drawing his attention back to the blonde. Before he can properly register what’s happening, Kaminari’s arm is curled around Hitoshi’s bicep, and he’s dragging him away from the group of girls. 

A few moments later, when they’re out of the fangirls’ field of view, Kaminari lets go of Hitoshi’s arm and lets out a heavy sigh, mumbling something along the lines of, ‘should have worn my hat.’

He turns to Hitoshi with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes, leaving Hitoshi to blink at him in surprise.

“It’s fine,” he assures. “I’m sure you didn’t plan for that to happen.”

Kaminari shakes his head, silently confirming that he in fact did not intend for it to happen. 

“Still, it looked like you still had a question for me,” Kaminari says, looking back up at Hitoshi. “So? What was it?”

Hitoshi considers it for a moment before shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it. It can wait.”

“You sure?” Kaminari asks, and Hitoshi nods in reply. “O-kay then. Tell me then, what’s the damage? Did I lose a shot?”

Hitoshi smiles at that, shaking his head no. “As long as you promise it wasn’t intentional, you’re still on 6 shots.”

“Yay me!” Kaminari pumps his fist in victory, striding forward and leaving Hitoshi to saunter on behind him, strangely missing the warmth of an arm wrapped around his own.

=ᗢ=

“Please,” Hitoshi begs, hearing another groan over the phone. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“You owe me coffee for a month!” Monoma shouts over the phone before the line promptly goes dead, and Hitoshi sighs, pocketing his phone. Well, at least that’s taken care of. 

It took some serious begging on Hitoshi’s part to get Monoma to take over his shift, but at least he did it, even if it did cost him a month of coffee. Can’t be helped, though, seeing as the aquarium is only open during the daytime. 

Right, the aquarium. Predictably, Kaminari texted him that morning and told Hitoshi to meet him at the aquarium for their fourth date. Scary to think it’s already been four dates and Kaminari is still on a lethal dose of 6 shots of espresso. Hitoshi seriously needs to step up his game and be a little more strict, but hey! It’s not his fault that he’s actually having fun.

When Hitoshi eventually gets off the train, it was just a few blocks until he was staring up at the big blue letters reading ‘OPEN WATERS.’ He scans the crowd gathered at the entrance for a familiar head of blonde hair, but he comes up empty. Was he early? 

As Hitoshi pulls out his phone to double check their meeting time, he feels a tap on his shoulder, and he stiffens before turning to face the perpetrator. 

“Hey handsome~”

Hitoshi recognizes Kaminari’s black baseball cap, but he's surprised to spot the lack of electric yellow eyes staring back at him. Instead, Kaminari's eyes are an odd green color. It actually matches him a lot better than Hitoshi would like to admit.

“What's with the eyes?” Hitoshi asks before he can help himself.

“They’re contacts,” Kaminari admits, letting out a soft sigh. “They were supposed to be blue, but they kind of mixed with the yellow, and now they're this weird shade of green. After yesterday, I thought it would be a good idea to wear them so I don't get recognized as easily. Why? Does it look bad?” He asks, bringing a hand up to touch at his eyes.

Hitoshi shakes his head, already feeling the blush creeping its way onto his face. “No, don't worry. Your model genes are coming in clutch,” he mumbles, pocketing his phone again to distract himself from the sight that is Kaminari and his stupid green eyes crinkled in happiness.

“Thank you, genes~” Kaminari sing-songs. “Anyway. You ready?” Kaminari asks, and Hitoshi nods in lack of a better response. 

Kaminari pays for their tickets at the kiosk and grabs a map, leading them deeper into the aquarium. When they reach a good stopping point, he folds the map open and stares at it for a few seconds.

When the silence starts to border on uncomfortable, Hitoshi sneaks a glance at the map over Kaminari’s shoulder, using the extra 10 cm he has on the blonde to his advantage.

“Where are we heading?” He asks, earning a yelp from Kaminari thanks to the sudden close proximity. 

“Uhh,” he mumbles, quickly looking back down at the map before shifting his attention back to Hitoshi. “I may or may not be unable to read the map…” he shyly admits, an embarrassed blush painting his cheeks. 

“Are the contacts affecting your vision?” Hitoshi asks, fully intending on telling Kaminari to take the stupid things out if they did, recognition be damned.

“Not… exactly,” he says, looking off the side with a pout. He really has no business being so cute, Hitoshi thinks to himself as Kaminari continues. “I can't really make out the words without my glasses.”

Realization dawns on Hitoshi, and he kind of wants to slap himself for forgetting such a simple fact. With a breathless laugh, Hitoshi holds his one hand out, silently asking Kaminari for the map.

“Lucky for you, I have two fully functional eyes,” he teases, earning a ‘Hey’ in protest from Kaminari.

He doesn't argue any further, though, and hands the map over to Hitoshi, who then straightens it out and scans the contents. 

“We could start off at the sharks?” Hitoshi suggests after doing a quick overview of where they were. “Since they're the closest.”

“Sounds good,” Kaminari says.

Hitoshi folds the map back up and stuffs it in his bag before leading the way to the shark exhibit, Kaminari short on his heels.

.

“Woahh! Look at that one!” Kaminari exclaims, and Hitoshi is worried for a second that he might press himself up against the glass.

“It almost looks red!” He says excitedly again, prompting a nod from Hitoshi. In their examination of the different sharks, Kaminari took a vivid interest in the Tiger Shark tank, which is where they've currently been standing for a good 5 minutes.

Not that Hitoshi was complaining. Kaminari’s gleeful behavior was adorable, as childlike as it was. Even though he claims to have visited an aquarium before, he still looks like it's his first time here. 

“It does,” Hitoshi confirms, eyeing the specific tiger shark Kaminari was referring to. Realistically, he knows it's officially brown, but from where they're standing, it does appear almost red. 

“He reminds me of my one friend, Eijirou,” Kaminari says, much calmer now that the initial excitement has worn off. “We nicknamed him Sharky because of his wild obsession with sharks,” the blonde continues to explain. 

“Did Bakugou pick that one out too?” Hitoshi asks out of curiosity, looking over to the blonde, who is now standing next to him.

Kaminari shakes his head with a ‘Nuh uh.’ “No, Bakugou called him Shitty Hair because he always dyed it this vibrant red and liked to do it up in spikes. He still does to this day.”

Hitoshi snorts in reply, tearing his eyes from Kaminari and looking back at the shark tank. He likes the peaceful environment that the aquarium provides, with the almost ethereal blue hue created by the sun shining on the water from above and the distant sounds of the water tanks serving as a kind of white noise. Hitoshi could spend hours here. 

“Want to check out the penguins next?” Kaminari asks after a while, breaking the silence they had fallen into. 

“Sure,” Hitoshi answers, pulling out the map and leading them to their next location.

.

They spend the next hour or so strolling around and examining the various exhibits the aquarium provides. There was one moment where Kaminari almost fell down a hidden step, and Hitoshi nearly tumbled down as well trying to catch him. Needless to say, they were both very aware of their steps from then on forward.

Eventually, Kaminari eagerly announced that it was almost time for the main event. Hitoshi was, understandably, quite confused, given he's never been to an aquarium and thought that the exhibits were the main events.

“Nope! Not all aquariums do it, but this one in particular has a big show after 2 where they do tricks with the dolphins and orcas,” Kaminari helpfully explained and dragged Hitoshi along by the wrist in the direction of the show.

They end up arriving early enough to grab some front row seats, even having made a pit stop for some drinks. It took some convincing from Hitoshi, but he eventually managed to get Kaminari to get a soda instead of a 6-shot latte. He was quite pleased with himself, might he add. 

In due time, the director calls upon the audience and introduces them to the trainers and the animals that would be taking part in the show. Hitoshi can feel Kaminari practically buzzing with excitement next to him, and the giddiness seems to rub off on him, if his stomach twisting is anything to go by.

The show kicks off with the dolphins doing various tricks like jumping through hoops and doing all kinds of fancy twists and twirls in the air. With every successful trick, Kaminari would cheer for the dolphins, and Hitoshi would inadvertently find his gaze leaving the show to focus on the blonde next to him. He should probably be paying attention to the show instead of Kaminari, but who can blame him when Kaminari looks so absolutely adorable when he's excited. 

“Oh look! It's time for the orca!” Kaminari squeals, and Hitoshi's gaze settles back on the massive pool in front of them. A giant killer whale emerges from under the water, blowing out a fountain from its blowhole. 

“It's so pretty,” Kaminari says in awe, drawing Hitoshi's attention to him once more. 

“Yeah. Really pretty,” he breathes, eyes focused solely on the blonde next to him. 

“And now, Miss Akane here will demonstrate the orca’s famous jump!” The director announces, and Hitoshi barely has enough time to register Kaminari’s words of warning before he's suddenly drenched from head to toe. 

“Oh– Pfftt.” Kaminari bursts out laughing next to him, still fully dry with a plastic sheet laying on his lap. 

Hitoshi can only blink at the air in front of him, not even paying attention to the show in front of him anymore as his T-shirt and jeans cling uncomfortably to his body. 

“Sorry, I tried to warn you,” Kaminari manages through his laughter, placing a hand on Hitoshi’s very wet shoulder to steady himself. 

The show eventually comes to a close, and the crowd deperses, leaving a slightly less wet Hitoshi, and still giggling Kaminari to be able to head home for the day. 

It's on their way to Hitoshi’s apartment that he eventually says, “If you don't stop laughing, I might actually consider making your usual 5 shots instead of 6,” because Kaminari is still laughing at his misery.

“Okay, okay. Sorry, I'll stop,” Kaminari says, taking a deep breath and wiping his tears from his eyes.

“So, I take it you had fun then. If I'm still on 6 shots?” Kaminari questions, shooting Hitoshi a knowing smirk.

Hitoshi can only sigh, letting a begrudging smile tug at his own lips. “Yes. Besides my free shower, I had fun,” he admits. 

“I'm glad,” Kaminari replies, nudging Hitoshi’s shoulder playfully as they continue walking.

=ᗢ=

Shit, shit, shit. Hitoshi is so screwed, and he can't even blame the universe this time around. 

In his daily dates with Kaminari, Hitoshi completely forgot about the Semantics assignment he was meant to complete, and hand in that same day!

He is so unbelievably screwed.

“Hello handsome~” comes Kaminari's usual flirty greeting over the phone, and Hitoshi is loathe to admit just how nice it feels to hear his voice.

“Hey. Listen. I hate to be the one to do this, but we might have to postpone our date today,” he says, feeling like an absolute asshole. 

“Why? What's up? Anything happen to you?” Kaminari questions in concern, only making Hitoshi feel like an even bigger asshole.

“No, no, I'm fine. I just completely forgot about this one assignment, and I'm supposed to hand it in by midnight,” he explains. “So, I'm probably not going to make our date today.”

“Hmm,” Kaminari hums in contemplation. Hitoshi narrows his eyes at the air in front of him. Why does it feel like the little shit is planning something?

“I might have an idea,” he quips after a while, confirming Hitoshi’s earlier suspicions. “Where do you usually work on your assignments?” he asks.

“It depends,” Hitoshi replies. “Sometimes at home, but most of the time I sit in a random cafe. The atmosphere helps me relax.”

“Purrfect!” comes Kaminari's reply, and Hitoshi’s brows furrow at the very obvious cat reference. “I'll text you the address. Bring your assignment and meet me there.”

And with that, he hangs up, and Hitoshi can only stare at his phone in utter confusion.

.

Hitoshi looks up from his phone, then down, then back up again, staring at the massive pastel pink sign that reads ‘Kittens and Mittens.’ The address Kaminari sent him led him to this very cute cat cafe, so it has to be the right place. Somehow, he can't help but feel that something's off, though. 

With a resigned sigh, and time ticking down, Hitoshi steps into the cafe, hearing the all too familiar chime of a bell, signaling his arrival.

“Good afternoon,” a waiter greets Hitoshi by the door, moving closer to him with a menu in hand. “Table for one?”

“Uh…” Hitoshi stumbles, casting a quick glance over the cafe and spotting Kaminari's signature black baseball cap, with blonde tufts of hair peeking out from the bottom. “No, I'm meeting someone,” he answers the waiter, vaguely gesturing in Kaminari's direction. 

He gives the waiter a light bow before moving over to the table Kaminari was sitting at, coming face to face with the blonde sipping a latte (good god, will he ever drop it?) and a small ginger cat on his lap. 

“Oh, hey ‘Toshi,” Kaminari greets, flashing him a bright smile. 

“Hi,” he greets back absently, sitting down on the seat across from Kaminari and immediately digging his laptop out of his bag. 

“Not even gonna mention the latte?” Kaminari questions, waving the cup around so the ice cubes rattle loudly against each other.

“As much as I hate that disgusting latte of yours, and as confused as I am about you being here, I don't exactly have the time to chat, Kaminari,” Hitoshi says, words coming out harsh and firm. He would feel bad about being so mean, if it weren't for the fact that this assignment wasn't going to finish itself.

“Don’t worry,” Kaminari assures, leaning forward on his palm and smiling soundly, as if Hitoshi didn't just almost bite his head off. “You won't even know I'm here.”

And so, without giving Kaminari a response, Hitoshi puts his laptop on and creates a fresh document.

True to his word, Kaminari was silent as can be, only speaking when ordering a hot chocolate for Hitoshi and himself. Somewhere during his existential crisis, the ginger cat moved from Kaminari’s lap to Hitoshi's, purring happily as he continued to work. 

Hitoshi had half a mind to admire how peaceful the cafe was, decorated with fairy lights and providing that familiar coffee scent Hitoshi has grown so fond of. 

But, of course, peace couldn't last forever, and discord presented itself in a probing Denki Kaminari. 

“So, what's your assignment about?” He asks about an hour and a half into Hitoshi’s working session. 

“Semantics,” Hitoshi answers offhandedly, swearing under his breath when he accidentally deletes the sentence he was editing.

“Cool.”

. . .

“What's Semantics–”

“I thought you said I wouldn't even know you were here?” Hitoshi snaps before the question can fully leave Kaminari's mouth. 

“Sorry,” Kaminari apologizes with a pout, sinking back in his chair and fiddling with his hoodie’s drawstrings. 

Hitoshi lets out a sigh as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “No– I'm sorry,” he says, letting his hand fall to the table and giving Kaminari an apologetic look. “I'm just stressed. I shouldn't be taking it out on you.”

“It's fine,” Kaminari mumbles, straightening back up in his seat. “I'm sorry for inviting myself along. I just thought the company would be nice.”

He's so considerate, Hitoshi thinks to himself. He looks back to the laptop, gauging the work he still had left to do before pushing it over to the side. 

“I can afford a quick break,” he says, not missing the way Kaminari's entire person lights up in response. “Tell me a story,” Hitoshi suggests as he picks up his half-empty cup of (now cold) hot chocolate.

“What kind of story?” Kaminari questions, and Hitoshi shrugs.

“What about another funny nickname story?”

Kaminari looks to the side as he thinks before his gaze jumps back, and he gives Hitoshi an excited smile.

“Okay, I'll tell you my favorite,” he starts, and Hitoshi has to admit, even he's anxious to hear this one.

“This one's about one of my fellow modeling friends, Mina Ashido. Aka, Pinky.”

"Oh, I can already see where this is going,” Hitoshi mumbles, taking another sip of his hot chocolate.

“So, Mina is absolutely obsessed with the color pink. And our high school wasn't so strict about coloring our hair.” Kaminari waves a hand at the lightning bolt in his hair before continuing. “Anyway, so one night she decided she wanted to dye her hair pink. She went into the bathroom looking like a normal high school girl, and came out absolutely covered in pink dye, from head to freaking toe.”

Hitoshi barks out a laugh, startling the cat on his lap and slapping a hand over his mouth when a few heads turn their way.

“She still refuses to tell us how it happened, but we've been calling her Pinky ever since,” Kaminari finishes his story, holding back his own share of giggles.

“Ahh, that's so funny,” Hitoshi says with a final chuckle, pushing his empty mug out of the way and dragging his laptop closer again. 

“Okay, I should really get this done now,” he says again, feeling refreshed after Kaminari's story. 

“Okie-dokie~” Kaminari sing-songs. “I'll be quiet, promise,” he whispers, leaning forward to rest his head on his arms and gazing up at Hitoshi.

He works in silence for approximately 5 minutes before he hears a chair scrape lightly across the floor and sees Kaminari standing up from his seat.

“You leaving?” Hitoshi questions, hating how disappointed his voice sounds.

“Nope. Just running to the bathroom real quick,” Kaminari says before walking away from the table. 

Relieved, and unsure as to why, Hitoshi returns to his assignment, wishing his pain was over already. He still has a solid 2 topics to discuss before he can make final edits and call it done. 

Kaminari returns a short few moments later, but instead of reclaiming his original seat, he sits down in the chair next to Hitoshi, sitting upright for all but a second before he lets his head fall onto Hitoshi's shoulder, causing him to tense up.

“What are you doing?” Hitoshi asks, sounding suspicious but not immediately shaking the blonde off. 

“Watchin’ you work,” Kaminari says, words sounding strange with the way his cheek is squished against Hitoshi’s shoulder.

“Can you even read what it says?” Hitoshi questions with mock exasperation, shooting the blonde a look he can't see.

“No, but even if I could, I wouldn't understand it anyway,” Kaminari replies.

“Good point,” Hitoshi adds before they fall into a comfortable silence. He slowly sinks into Kaminari's touch, appreciating the warmth it sends through him.

If he were working alone right now, he'd probably be a lot further behind than he currently is, but with Kaminari's presence next to him, Hitoshi finds himself working much faster than usual, not nitpicking all the unnecessary details and or stressing about his word choice. It was nice, truly. 

“That is one long word,” Kaminari says, pointing to Hitoshi's laptop screen. “What's it say?”

Hitoshi follows his finger to find the word he's referring to. “Presupposition,” Hitoshi answers, earning a quiet ‘Ohh’ from Kaminari.

“What does it mean?” He asks again, and Hitoshi laughs at his annoying nature this time rather than scolding him.

“You just went down to 5 shots,” Hitoshi says, causing Kaminari to shoot up and squawk at him in offense.

“Whaaat? What did I do?”

“You keep pestering me,” Hitoshi answers simply, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the chair comfortably. ‘And because I care about your health,’ Hitoshi wants to add, but he keeps his mouth tightly shut.

“I'm trying to take an interest,” Kaminari argues, waving his hands around in indignation. 

“Take an interest when I'm not actively fighting the clock next time,” Hitoshi finishes, straightening back out with a stretch and a yawn before typing away on his laptop again. 

Kaminari only lets out a huff but doesn't argue any further, leaning his head on Hitoshi's shoulder again and blessing him with that pleasant warmth.

=ᗢ=

Should Hitoshi even be surprised at this point, that the universe would find a way to make his life even more miserable?

Beep beep.

Hitoshi takes the thermometer out of his mouth and grimaces at the numbers staring back at him. A whopping 37.9 °C. Yep, he was sick alright. 

Hitoshi takes in a deep breath, planning on letting out a long, painful groan, but it dissolves into a coughing fit before he can get to it. Man, how did this even happen?

There were a ton of contributing factors that could have led to him getting a cold. First one being, he's been out on dates with Kaminari pretty much every day for almost a week. For someone like Hitoshi, who only really leaves his apartment for short periods of time, whether that be for a shift at work or to attend a lecture, being out and about for five days straight can take a serious toll on the body. 

The next factor was that he got drenched on his date to the aquarium, and stayed in the clothes for quite some time after. If he recalls, there was also a slight wind on their walk to Hitoshi's apartment that day, and that paired with the wet clothes could only spell trouble.

The last notable thing was the massive workload he had to finish up yesterday. He had put some massive strain on himself by having to cram that stupid assignment into a few hours so he could hand it in on time. He probably overworked himself and ended up with a cold.

Or who knows? Maybe all three factors were in play. The fact of the matter is, Hitoshi has a cold and now has to cancel yet another date with Kaminari. 

He stares at his phone with furrowed brows for a good 10 minutes before he eventually works up the nerve to dial Kaminari's number, bringing it up to his ear and listening as it rings.

“Hello, hello~” Kaminari answers, as upbeat and cheerful as ever. Hiroshi smiles when he hears the blonde's voice, but the smile is quickly wiped away by a fresh new round of coughs.

“Ohh, you don't sound so good,” Kaminari comments, and Hitoshi wishes his ‘no shit’ look could be translated over the phone.

“Yeah.” Another cough, thank you universe. “Might have to take another raincheck. I'm so sorry,” Hitoshi apologizes.

“It's alright, no worries,” Kaminari reassures, and Hitoshi is once again stunned by his consideration. “Do you know what it is?” 

“Pretty sure it's just a common cold. So it should fix itself in a few days,” Hitoshi says, petting a hand over Phantom’s head where she's sleeping next to him on the couch. “I still have to call Monoma and ask him to take over my shifts for a few days,” he groans. He can already imagine how that conversation is going to go.

“I'm sure it'll all work out,” Kaminari says, and Hitoshi can hear the smile in his voice. “Anyway, you just focus on getting better, alright? Our date can wait till another day.”

Hitoshi can't help but smile himself, suppressing the cough trying to force its way out. “Yeah. Thanks Kaminari.”

“You really ought to call me Denki by now, Hitoshi~” Kaminari teases, placing that special emphasis on Hitoshi's name that never fails to make him shiver. This time it might be due to both that and the cold, though.

“Alright. Thanks, Denki~ ” Hitoshi teases back, laughing when the line promptly goes dead. How cute.

.

Knock, knock, knock.

Hitoshi startles awake, blinking at the wall of his bedroom in confusion. What just woke him?

Knock, knock, knock.

He lets out a long, tired groan, not missing the way his throat yells at him in its dry state. He rolls his way out of the bed, dragging his blanket along behind him as he makes his way to the front door. A chill runs through Hitoshi’s body when he steps into the living room, forgetting that he put the AC on full blast earlier that morning when he was busy sweating like a madman. 

He’s freezing now, though, and he instinctively pulls his blanket closer to his body. 

A third series of knocks sound up from the front door, earning a round of mumbled complaints from Hitoshi as he pulls it open, coming face to face with–

“Hiya handsome~” 

Hitoshi’s eyebrows practically shoot up into his hairline in surprise, and he can only blink at the blonde standing in front of him.

“Can I come in?” Denki asks gently, almost hesitantly so, and Hitoshi steps to the side, because how can he say no to Denki?

The blonde steps into the apartment, toeing his shoes off by the genkan and removing his baseball cap from his head, revealing the lightning bolt Hitoshi has grown so fond of. 

“What are you doing here?” Hitoshi can't help but ask, following the blonde as he walks deeper into the apartment and sets a plastic bag down on Hitoshi's kitchen counter. 

“I'm here to take care of you,” Denki says, turning to face Hitoshi with a smile. “Granted, I've never actually taken care of anyone before, but my mom took care of me all the time when I was sick, so I'm sure I'll manage.”

Hitoshi goes to laugh, but is promptly interrupted by a cough, reminding him of just how raw his throat was. He really needs a glass of water. When he moves to get one, though, Denki gently grabs him by the shoulders and guides him over to the couch, pushing him back and standing over him with his hands on his hips.

“Nope. You stay right there and focus on getting better. Let Mister Model here take care of the rest,” he says, pointing a finger to himself.

Hitoshi doesn't exactly have the strength to argue, so he resigns himself to sinking into the couch while Denki moved around in the kitchen, returning shortly after with a glass of water and a white medicine capsule.

“What's this?” Hitoshi asks, eyeing the capsule in curiosity.

“It's medicine for your cold. I picked some up on my way here,” Denki answers, and Hitoshi is one more floored by his sheer amount of consideration. To think he would take it this far, doing so much as going out of his way to buy medicine for a guy he's been on five dates with. It makes Hitoshi feel so… special.

He takes the capsule and downs the rest of his water, handing the empty glass to Denki and letting him place it on the coffee table. 

“Thank you,” he croaks out, shooting Denki the best smile he can manage at that point. The blonde easily returns it, beautiful electric yellow eyes shining in glee. 

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Denki offers after a while, already grabbing the remote and settling into the couch next to Hitoshi.

“Only if you're okay with me falling asleep,” Hitoshi says, yawning in emphasis, and earning a chuckle from the blonde next to him. 

“That's alright,” he says, flipping through some of the titles on screen. “Anything specific you want to watch? He asks, and Hitoshi shakes his head, ‘No.’

“You pick. I'm curious to see what you like,” Hitoshi says, pulling his feet up and curling further into his blanket. 

Denki ends up putting on a cheesy rom-com, because of course he does. Hitoshi has stopped following the plot within the first few minutes it started playing, drowsiness getting the better of him, and allowing his eyes to drift shut on their own. 

He doesn't exactly know when or how it happened. All he knows is that at some point, he maneuvered his way on the couch so he was pressed into Denki's side and leaning his head on the blonde's shoulder. 

“Aren’t you afraid of getting sick?” Hitoshi asks through his sleepy brain, relishing in that warmth only Denki was capable of providing.

“I'm willing to risk it for you,” Denki answers, leaning his own head on top of Hitoshi's, and wrapping an arm around his curled-up form to pull him impossibly closer.

And wow. Just… wow. What started off as a simple arrangement to try and lower one Denki Kaminari’s caffeine intake, quickly turned into so, so much more. 

When Hitoshi first got to know Denki, he believed the blonde to be a relentless flirt with an ego equal to that of a self-absorbed high school jock’s. He believed this deal they had was only Denki taking his joke too far, as he had mentioned he loved doing before. He thought, This guy is nothing but a pretty asshole who wants to help the universe in making my life as painful as possible. 

But no. Denki is so much more than that. He's gorgeous (obviously), but he's also kind, and smart, and funny, and thoughtful. He put so much time and effort into planning dates that would ensure that Hitoshi had fun. Never once did he try to use his fame to his advantage, or go through the dates looking like he wished the ‘challenge’ was over already. No– Instead, he took time out of his busy modeling schedule, and dedicated that time to Hitoshi, going on dates with him and actively trying to get to know him, like he was the only person that really mattered. Like he was special.

Denki is special. So incredibly special to Hitoshi, and he wants him to know that.

=ᗢ=

A long four days later, and a very colorful message from Monoma telling him he owes him two months’ worth of coffee (and a tiny little ‘get better idiot’ message) later, and Hitoshi was finally healthy enough to head back to work and attend his lectures again. 

He should be thanking Denki for the speedy recovery. If he were taking care of himself, Hitoshi knows it would have taken him at least a week and a half to get back on his feet. His nose was still slightly stuffy, but at least he wasn’t coughing up a lung anymore.

With all that said, he promised Denki that seventh date after his first day back at work, and he would never be able to forget the way his face lit up at the mention of another date. 

So here he was, waiting in anticipation for the time to tick by so he could go home, get changed, and head out on his date. Hitoshi even declined Togeike’s request to take over her nightshift for probably the first time ever, which definitely made for a very funny moment of exasperated gasps over the phone. 

“Sup handsome~” 

Hitoshi looks up from the register, surprised to see a pair of electric yellow eyes looking at him from the other side of the counter.

“You're early,” Hitoshi comments, casting a quick glance to the clock on the wall. “I don't finish for another 30 minutes.”

“I know,” Denki admits with a sheepish smile. “I came here from a photoshoot with some friends,” he says, pointing over his shoulder to a table occupied by four other people. 

Hitoshi recognizes Bakugou among them, but the rest are new faces. Except… he can reasonably deduce that the head of wild pink hair belonged to a beloved, Mina Ashido.

“I see. What can I get for you guys then?” Hitoshi asks, jumping straight back into work mode. If Monoma sees him slacking, he might just make it three months worth of owed coffee.

“A large pink drink.” Hitoshi can't help but roll his eyes with a smile. “Two medium frappuccinos, aaand a medium iced latte with 7 shots of espresso.” Denki rushes the last part out, and Hitoshi slowly looks up at him, catching sight of a very guilty smile.

“No? 6 shots?” Denki tries.

Hitoshi raises a brow.

“Ugh, okay fine. 5 shots it is,” Denki groans, falling on the counter with a pout. 

“Coming right up,” Hitoshi says, basking in the feeling of victory as he turns around to start on their orders. He's gotten Denki down to 5 shots already, but with enough luck (and the universe on his side), he may succeed in making it a solid 0 by the end of the night.

How you might ask? Just wait and see.

.

Hitoshi can't remember the last time he's been to the ocean. Probably around middle school, when his parents could finally convince his little sister to tag along.

He almost forgot just how calming the sounds of the crashing waves can be. And the smell of salt in the air that somehow borders on just enough to be nauseating but just enough to tickle your nose. 

He loves it. And now he might manage to love it even more, with the gorgeous blonde walking by his side with his hand in Hitoshi's own. 

“I'm thinking we write each other's names in the sand,” Denki suggests, not even giving Hitoshi a chance to argue as he lets go of his hand and rushes off to a clear spot of sand. 

Hitoshi watches with a fond smile as the blonde drags his finger through the sand, standing up and dusting his hands off before turning to him with a giddy smile. “Come look.”

Hitoshi suppresses the urge to roll his eyes before he walks closer, fully expecting his name with cute little hearts drawn in the sand. But no– Yes, there are hearts, but they surround the big, bold letters spelling out ‘Yoshi.’

All it takes is one look for Denki to know he has to run, setting off in a sprint before Hitoshi can manage to get a hold of him. 

As they say, though, you lose the battle but you win the war. Hitoshi may not have been able to grab him immediately, but he ends up tackling Denki into the ground, getting a face full of sand when the blonde struggles to escape from Hitoshi's grasp.

“Pleaseee!” Denki pleads, protecting his sides at all costs and fighting the barade of tickles Hitoshi’s actively unleashing upon him. “I'm sorryyy! I didn't mean itttt hahaha!”

“I thought I told you not to call me that,” Hitoshi says through his own laughter as Denki squirms and writhes beneath him. 

“I'm sorryyy!” Denki continues to apologize. 

Eventually, Hitoshi does feel sorry for the poor guy and ceases his tickling, allowing the blonde to catch his breath as his head falls back on the sand. Hitoshi remains above him, though, straddling the blonde's hips and staring down at him.

The late afternoon sun casts a certain glow on Denki, painting him in an orange hue that makes him seem warm and inviting. And when he eventually opens his eyes, the electric yellow that Hitoshi loves so dearly is illuminated by the sun's light, glowing like they did in the dimly lit cafe the first night they met. Denki is absolutely stunning.

“You're staring at me,” Denki comments, drawing Hitoshi from his trance.

“I just think you're really pretty,” Hitoshi admits before he can think better of holding back his words. Right now, if he wants the universe and lady luck on his side, he needs to be honest and open.

Denki looks stunned for a moment, blinking in surprise before his lips spread into a wide smile. “I think you're really pretty too,” he says, and Hitoshi swears his heart might just burst out of his chest.

“I'm not a model,” Hitoshi argues, letting that inkling of self-consciousness show itself. 

“You don't have to be a model to be pretty.” Denki reaches a hand up, gently cupping Hitoshi's cheek. “I think you're pretty handsome, model or not.”

Hitoshi isn't sure if it's the blatant honesty in Denki's words that make his eyes tear up, or if it's from the sand he got in the face a few moments ago. It doesn't really matter either way, because Denki wipes them away before they even get the chance to fall.

“I really like you, Hitoshi,” Denki admits, saying it so softly the crashing of the waves could have covered up the noise. But Hitoshi hears it, and his heart swells with pure joy.

“You're so special to me, Denki,” Hitoshi says, and it's his own way of telling Denki just how dear he holds him to his heart. It has the intended meaning of telling Denki that Hitoshi likes him too, but even without the direct words, Denki understands. 

He reaches his hand further back to play with a few hairs at the nape of Hitoshi's neck, before he pulls him closer and presses his lips to Hitoshi's, filling him with that familiar warmth, the one that makes Hitoshi feel so wholly special. He's reminded of Asagaos again, the beautiful flower that means willful promises, and blooms diligently from the morning till night, symbolizing a love that may bloom eternal.

When they eventually break apart, from a short kiss filled with willful promises, Hitoshi is left to admire Denki in all his glory once more. 

“Hey,” Denki prompts, earning a hum of acknowledgement from Hitoshi. “What was that question you wanted to ask me? Back on our third date.”

Hitoshi has to think for a moment, still lost in the bliss of their first kiss, but he does manage to recall the ‘oh so important question’ he was so curious about.

“Oh, right. I wanted to ask why 7 shots of espresso?” Hitoshi questions. “Is there any special meaning behind the number 7?”

Denki lets out a light giggle, shaking his head and creating dents in the sand under him. “Nope. 7 is just my favorite number,” he admits. 

Hitoshi groans in disappointment, falling down on the sand next to Denki. “And I was so curious too,” he complains, earning him another laugh from the blonde.

“Okay, I'll tell you the truth,” Denki finally relents, causing Hitoshi to prop himself up on his elbows to shoot Denki a glare.

“Does it have something to do with Bakugou?” He questions, but he has a feeling he already knows the answer.

“Of course it does! And this story also comes from my high school days, believe it or not.”

“Oh, no. I believe you,” Hitoshi says, falling back down on the sand.

“So, one day in class,” Denki starts, waving a hand in the air for dramatic flair. “We were in study hall, and I had stayed up the night before to read a comic–”

Hitoshi fires back a muttered, 'No surprise there,’ earning him a pause and a presumed glare from Denki. 

“As I was saying,” he continues, and Hitoshi lets out a soft snort. “We were in study hall, and I ended up falling asleep because I was so tired. In the end, Bakugou, who was sitting behind me at the time, had to hit me over the head 7 times with his notebook for me to finally wake up.”

Hitoshi doesn't bother trying to hide his amusement, barking out an obnoxious laugh and clutching at his stomach.

“And that's why you always drink 7 shots to keep yourself awake!” Hitoshi laughs, glad to finally know the story behind why Denki always got the absurd number of espresso shots.

“Like I said, I like taking jokes to the next level,” Denki says with his own giggles. 

It takes a long time for Hitoshi to finally stop laughing, but when he does, he swears he's never felt more happy in his entire life. 

“So, you're down to 4 shots today,” Hitoshi says out of the blue, having to stifle yet another chuckle when Denki suddenly bolts up and stares down at him in terror. 

“Whaaaat!?”

“I've decided that from now on, for every kiss you give me, I'll be removing one shot from your latte.” 

Denki lets out a strangled squawk of disbelief, taking full offense at Hitoshi's impromptu decision.

“That is so unfair!”

“It's not.”

“I want to be able to kiss you multiple times a day!”

“Too bad. You'll have to learn to live without caffeine then.”

“Hitoshiiii!”

.

In the end, Denki never did have much luck in keeping his remaining 4 shots of espresso, but hey! At least he managed to gain a super sexy boyfriend in the end, even if he did have to live off of hot chocolate from then on out.