Chips and Soda

Chapter One

Kirishima worked diligently, his rough hands working to unscrew the lightbulb from its fixture. The damned thing had been flickering for the past week and he had finally had enough of it. Below him, Sero, his coworker, was leaning against the ladder he stood on, lazily watching him.

"You know we could have called the boss in to do that, it's above our paygrade to be acting like electricians." Sero drummed his fingers against the dingy, yellow spray painted aluminum.

Kirishima paused in his movements, the lightbulb wasn't going anywhere in the meantime. "Sero, you're not doing anything. Why are you complaining?" Sero sputtered for a moment, not able to come up with a plausible answer. The tired teen settled with a scoff but fell quiet as Kirishima went back to his self-assigned job. The fluorescent tube refused to come loose as Kirishima twisted it between his hands - he'd even tried tugging the light free. He had yet to make progress.

After another couple minutes of struggling, Kirishima heard the familiar ding of the shop's doors open. He'd been working at the convenience store for three weeks and that sound still startled him. He glanced at Sero and tipped his head in the direction of the register, signaling for him to go and keep an eye out. Kirishima had yet to see anyone rob the place but store policy was indisputable.

With a sigh, Sero trudged up the counter and slid behind it, his arms resting on the surface that was riddled with stickers marking sales for the month. Kirishima remembered seeing one from years prior, advertising a discount on the already cheap Polar Pops. He'd have to remember to scrape it up later.

Averting his attention back to the pesky light, Kirishima's face bore a frustrated frown. With his distraction, he didn't notice a customer approaching him until an irritated voice pulled him from his reverie.

"You're doing that wrong." With a start, Kirishima looked to the source of the sound. Rather quickly, his eyes settled on the blonde haired teen standing not but a few feet away from the bottom of the ladder, arms crossed over his chest.

"You talking to me, sir?" Kirishima questioned, unsure if there was someone else he could be speaking to.

The teen rolled his eyes and took a step forward, his arms dropping to his sides, "No idiot, I'm talking to the snacks." It took Kirishima a moment to note the sarcasm in the other's tone but as soon as he did a grin spread across his face.
 
"Okay then, please, give me a play by play," he said, hands resting on the light bulb in preparation. At the invitation, the customer moved closer to the bottom of the ladder, his scowl not leaving his face as he pointed to the light.

"Turn it about ninety degrees and pull. It's simple enough for an idiot like you." Kirishima paid no heed to that last part, instead of focusing on following directions. Much to his surprise, and annoyance, the stubborn light slipped out of its fixture without any trouble. With a quiet scoff, he climbed down the steps of the ladder, ready to thank the stranger for his assistance. When his feet did hit the ground though, he was baffled to see the teen already walking away, hands shoved in his pockets.

Kirishima hurried after the grumpy stranger, already dead set on thanking him.

"Sir," Kirishima said as he fell into step behind him, fluorescent light still in one hand. The teen turned around, an annoyed expression painted on his face.

"What?"

Kirishima paused, gathering his words before he spoke, "Um, I just want to say thank you."

The stranger seemed unaffected by his thanks and stared expectantly as if expecting him to say more. "I'm Kirishima," Kirishima said politely, extending a hand. It was at that moment that Kirishima fully took in the strangers appearance. He wore slightly baggy black skinny jeans that were accompanied by a black leather jacket with a white undershirt. Kirishima could make out the beginning of a tattoo just beneath the cuff of his sleeve. The blonde had a face the Kirishima could only describe as handsome. He sported deep red eyes and a sharp but subtly round jawline that surely got him all the ladies. The red-haired teen got "Bad Boy" vibe from just looking at him.

"I know, your name tag says it in bright red," the customer said in a matter of fact tone as he leaned against a shelf of chips, ignoring Kirishima's outstretched hand. He dropped his hand as the other continued, "Since you insist on formality, I guess I should tell you that I'm Bakugou."

Kirishima grinned and tossed the light between his hands, "Nice to meet you Bakugou. Anything I can help you with today?"

Bakugou scoffed and turned away from Kirishima, the corners of his lips twisting up in a tiny smile, "No, I don't need help looking for soda."

Kirishima somewhat reluctantly left Bakugou alone, returning to his task and quickly replacing the light which proved to be much easier than removing. After he was finished he collected the ladder and carried it to the back room, leaving it in an easily accessible place that wouldn't be in anyone's way. He walked back out into the shop just in time to see Sero ringing up Bakugou's drinks. Making his way over to the two, he rested his arms on the counter, his fingers absent mindedly thrumming against the lottery ticket holder.

He glanced to Bakugou who was just beginning to pull out his wallet, "I got it." Bakugou jerked his head up and gave Kirishima a questioning look. The employee ignored the look as he pulled a few neatly folded dollar bills from his pocket and handed them to Sero, shrugging when he noticed his friends raised eyebrows.

"I don't want your money, idiot," Bakugou growled from across the counter, his demeanor stiffening. Kirishima only waved him off with a grin as Sero rang up his order and handed him his receipt. Without a moment's hesitation, Bakugou snatched the paper from Sero, grabbed his drink and made his way for the exit, not even bothering to spare the time to say thank you to Kirishima.

"Have a nice day," Kirishima yelled after him, his grin seeming to only get bigger as Bakugou flicked him off over his shoulder, not glancing back. Kirishima felt a laugh bubble up in his chest when the glass door slammed behind his retreating figure.

"Adorable," Kirishima mumbled, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

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So! What do you guys think of the first chapter of this story? I hope you enjoy reading I as much as I enjoyed writing. I'm hoping that I did well enough on writing it that I don't have any typos.

Have a nice day lovlies.