Six O'Clock Shadow

Chapter Three

Alarm clocks are annoying, to say the least. Kaminari slammed his hand down onto his to silence the blaring noise. He sat up, his hand smarting. He tried to shake it to make the pain dissipate, but after thirty seconds of shaking his hand, he gave up. His hand was just going to hurt a little. Despite his hand, Kaminari was very thankful that the clock had gone quiet.

Even though his day had barely started, Kaminari already knew that this wasn't going to be a great one. He hadn't slept well the previous night. Or at all. He was too busy jumping at every passing shadow, and every flicker of light. His light yellow curtains kept passers from looking into his home, but they did nothing for the light.

Another shadow passed by, and Kaminari was embarrassed to say that he frantically searched for its owner once again. He used to like living in his basement apartment. Basement apartments weren't common in Japan, but the moment Kaminari saw it he fell in love. There were no stairs to climb, the walls didn't have a lot of windows on them - which could be a problem for most people - and Kaminari was able to put LED lights up everywhere. His gaming setup fit perfectly in one corner, and the more open floor plan made the area feel really big. The apartment was also only a block away from the Bronze Door, and best of all, it was cheap, and after scraping up some money Kaminari was able to buy it.

However, his newfound sense of paranoia found him liking the apartment less and less. It might be time to replace the lightweight yellow curtains with something a bit sturdier. Something that would let less light in, and block the flash of cameras. Why anyone cared was beyond him, Kaminari thought as he brushed his teeth.

He grabbed a coat, and started on his walk to work. He kept his head down as he entered the cafe, and didn't say hi to Kirishima. Kaminari was nearly ten minutes late, and of course Kirishima noticed.

"What got you held up? Did you get stopped at a traffic light?" Kirishima giggled dopily at the end, he knew very well that Kaminari walked.

"Very funny. Has anyone come in yet?"

"No, and don't try to change the topic on me!" He had a shit-eating grin on his face. "Why were you late?"

"Why do you care? Besides, you're always late!" Kaminari grumbled. He turned on the kettle, and pulled a coffee mug from the cupboard.

"We're not talking about me right now, we're talking about you. Why are you late today?"

"I didn't want to get out of bed." Kaminari grumbled. He sat down on the floor as he said that, leaning his back on a shelf.

"Wow, you are tired." Kirishima, his grin turning upside down and his brow furrowing with concern.

"Leave me alone." Kaminari murmured, growing more annoyed with his friend.

"Hey, I'll drop it for now-"

"Finally." Kaminari cut him off.

"If you promise to tell me what's going on after this customer leaves." Switching gears, he starts talking to the customer in a happier tone. "Hello! What can I get for you today?"

"I'll have a medium Earl Grey with a sugarcube. No cream, please."

"Okay-"

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Kaminari cuts him off. He remembered this customer, and he wanted to chat with them. He also wanted something to distract Kirishima with.

"No, nothing else."

"You can take a seat. I'll bring your drink over in a minute."

The kettle had always been a little faulty, if you filled it too high it had a tendency to spill over when it boiled. Ashido had been a recent advocate for a new one, but she was out voted by Kaminari and Kirishima, who didn't want to spend anything on a tea kettle. For goodness sake, they barely ever used it.

While the kettle was boiling, Kaminari searched through the drawers to find the tea bag. Just as the kettle went off, he found it. Dropping the tea bag into the cup and pouring the hot water took no time, and Kaminari was quickly off to hand the customer their tea.

"Here's your tea!" Kaminari said, setting the tea cup and saucer on the table.

"Thanks."

"Can I catch your name and pronouns? It's kinda odd knowing your order but not your name. I've been seeing you around here a lot recently." Kaminari started to ramble a little, but stopped before it turned into a full on monologue. The person didn't seem too bothered by it though.

"I'm Hikari Shinsou, I use her/her pronouns. Who are you? And your co-worker there? I've been seeing you two a lot here."

"Nice to meet you Shinsou! I'm Denki Kaminari, and that's Eijiro Kirishima." Hearing his name, Kirishima looked up from his phone, and Kaminari quickly waved him over.

"Did you make a new friend Kaminari?" Kirishima said patronizingly when he was near the table. He meant it in good fun, and it was what Kaminari asked him whenever he was talking to someone new.

"I did! This is Hikari Shinsou. Shinsou, this is Kirishima."

"It's nice to meet you." Kirishima said, smiling brightly.

"You as well. I have to say, you work at a very nice cafe. I really like coming here."

Kirishima beamed. "Thank you so much! It took some trial and error, but I really like the way the Bronze Door feels now." He had put many hours into painting and repainting the cafe to get the color scheme right, and moving around tables and chairs to make everything just the way he wanted it to be, so while 'trial and error' was accurate, it didn't fully encompass how much work had been put into the place.

"Well, enjoy your tea! We'll see you tomorrow?" Kaminari asked.

"Yeah, I think you will."

Kaminari waved to Shinsou as he walked away. He had to admit, she was cute. Kirishima talked to her for a couple more minutes before rejoining Kaminari behind the counter. They had gotten back just in time, as a couple of guys walked into the store. 

~~Word Count 1021~~