Tokoyami glanced up briefly from his personal copy of Frankenstein when he heard Bakugo and Izuku come through the back door. "That took longer than expected," he muttered.

"Fucking hubcaps," Bakugo growled, stomping past the cash wrap.

Izuku scuffled behind, his eyes big and sparkly as he ate a McGriddle in his hands enthusiastically.

Tokoyami raised an eyebrow. "Bakugo hates McDonald's."

"Shut up," Bakugo snapped, starting to sort through their table of returns from yesterday.

"He didn't get anything, he just took me through for some breakfast," Izuku answered with a half-full mouth.

Tokoyami struggled to suppress a smirk. "How interesting. I look forward to observing how this develops."

"Hurry up and finish," Bakugo snapped at Izuku. "Customers can't see you eating in the store."

Izuku scowled. "If you'd let me eat in your car, I'd be done by now."

"No one eats in my car," Bakugo growled. "The crumbs from all eighty of your hashbrowns could've - "

" - You're missing your hubcaps and you're worried about crumbs," Izuku pointed out snidely.

"THEY WOULDN'T BE GONE IF - "

" - We'd taken my car, I completely agree with you," Izuku interrupted, finishing off his McGriddle. "But you refused to get into my death trap." He moved his sandwich to one hand so he could make air-quotations with his fingers.

Bakugo froze, color rising to his face.

Tokoyami couldn't hold back a smile anymore. "It's refreshing to hear someone besides me outargue you, Boss. Quite a pleasant change of pace."

Bakugo growled, marching up to Izuku who still chomped down on his McGriddle as if he didn't have a towering, muscly blonde ball of rage glaring down at him. "You were a moron and left your wallet at home. You also didn't come to work dressed appropriately. That's not my fault. If you hadn't done that, we never would've needed to go to your apartment in the first place."

"Yeah, we would've," Izuku retorted. "Because you forgot that the printer-ink filler would be gone for two weeks. If you think about it, you should be thanking me."

"You little - "

"Hi, guys!" Kaminari called from the other side of the chain-link metal window. "Mind letting me in?"

Tokoyami quickly popped off the padlock and lifted it halfway to let Kaminari through, then put it back down.

"Oooh!" Kaminari exclaimed as he laid eyes on Izuku's breakfast sandwich. "Is that one of those Egg McMuffin things?"

Izuku shook his head. "McGriddle. Bakugo got it for me in the Mickey D's drive-thru."

Kaminari squinted at him with confusion. "But you hate McDonald's."

Bakugo's eye twitched. "I scheduled you off today," he reminded him, changing the subject.

Kaminari grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. But it's pretty boring at my place all by myself. And we need to write up a new availability sheet anyway, right?"

Oh yeah, that's right. Dammit. What is it about Izuku that makes me forget about everything else? This is what I was afraid of. "In that case, make a run to Staples and pick up printer ink." Bakugo pulled out his wallet and handed him his card. "You remember the pin, right?"

Kaminari nodded excitedly, like he was happy to be given something to do.

"You scheduled him off?" Tokoyami asked, perplexed.

Bakugo remembered Kaminari's panicked state yesterday. His breakdown. "Yeah. Why?"

"It's Monday. I'm only doing six hours today, remember?"

Bakugo sighed. Oh right. His poetry slams are Monday nights. This has just not been my day at all. "Then I guess I'll be crash-coursing our new cashier."

Kaminari shrugged. "I don't mind clocking in, bro. My classes haven't started yet, and no one's home. You'd be doing me a favor."

That's the second time he's said that, Bakugo realized, eyeing Kaminari warily."I don't care," he said.

"Cool. Thanks, Bakubro! I'll be right back."

As Kaminari dipped back under the metal door, Dabi bent down to make it in. He looked over his shoulder at Kaminari with narrowed eyes.

So it's not just me, Bakugo thought. Dabi noticed too. Something's definitely up with him.

"Have you guys seen Keigo?" Dabi asked. His voice was groggy and he had bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept. "He's usually here by now."

"I haven't," Tokoyami answered. "And these two just got back."

Dabi walked over to Izuku and ruffled the top of his hair. "Welcome to the team, Cinnaboy." He bent his head down and inspected what Izuku was holding. "You got Micky D's?"

Izuku nodded. "Bakugo treated me."

Dabi let a small smirk escape. "But...Bakugo hates - "

" - WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP?!" Bakugo exclaimed.

~.~

Kaminari's serotonin levels went up briefly from being around his friends. He hadn't talked much to Izuku, his new coworker, what from what he'd seen he seemed nice. He was already in University. Maybe he'd be able to give him some pointers while Kaminari showed him the ropes at work. That's what Jiro would say.

He trembled, feeling sick. It's only two weeks, he thought. You told her you could do this.

Jiro worked part-time at Hot Topic but her big bucks came from touring. Just like her parents, she was nothing if not a musician. She'd spent months saving up for Warp Tour, her personal vacation from being on the road. He swore to himself he wouldn't ruin this for her.

But his stress levels were through the roof. University scared the crap out of him. He couldn't talk to Jiro whenever he wanted like usual, because she was busy. He'd have to cut back on his hours, so paying rent was going to be a problem. Bakugo had been way more understanding about it than he'd expected, which was a huge weight off his chest. But it still bothered him that he wouldn't get to spend as much time around his friends. When his sourceless despair started to press down on him and spiral, they always managed to get him out of it. But starting next week, he wouldn't have that luxury anymore.

He tried his best to hide it, but when he thought about it all at once, it made him panic, which he promised Jiro he wouldn't do. He just had to keep himself busy. Take on extra shifts at work, which he had to do regardless to stay ahead on bills while he still could. Shop for textbooks.

He'd been so deep in thought that Kaminari parked his car, walked into Staples, and made it to the printer aisle all without remembering how he actually got there.

This isn't good. I'm doing that thing again. When his mind landed in an especially bad place, his body would operate on autopilot. Chunks of his memory were lost, not that he had them in the first place. He'd go through the motions of daily life, then realize he couldn't recall any of it.

"Kaminari?"

A woman's voice snapped him out of it.

When he turned around, Yumi and Sero stood behind him. Both in casual clothes. Yumi in a cute, floral print dress, thigh-high stockings, and a cardigan sweater. Her sapphire blue hair was pulled up into a messy bun. Sero wore a GAP hoodie and slim-fit jeans with a pair of smart-looking loafers.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"

"Picking up some moving supplies," Sero answered with a grin.

"Boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, sharpies, the works," Yumi added. "How about you?"

"Printer ink," he answered, somewhat dazed.

"You good, man?" Sero asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you don't look so good, sweetheart," Yumi said. She walked up to him and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. "Is everything okay?"

Oh crap, I forgot to smile. Kaminari smiled warmly, brushing her off. "Yeah, of course! Probably just tired."

"You sure?" Sero asked.

If they're worried they'll tell Jiro. "Yeah! But hey, I gotta get going. Bakugo really needs this printer ink ASAP so I'll catch you later, okay?"

"Okay," Yumi concurred, but she didn't sound convinced.

"Laters," Sero said, giving a half-wave.

~.~

Yumi watched the stop-light yellow blonde walk-off presumably to checkout. She briefly thought over the conversation she'd had with Jiro before they dropped her off at the airport.

"Hey, could you do me a favor?" She asked as they hugged goodbye.

"Probably," Yumi answered. "What's up?"

"While I'm gone...would you mind keeping an eye on Denki for me? I'd ask Kiri and Sero but…"

"Fair," Yumi immediately answered, rolling her eyes. "Why, is something wrong?"

Jiro flushed awkwardly. "Please don't tell anyone else, but...sometimes he has episodes when he's really upset."

Yumi's eyes widened. "Episodes?"

Jiro nodded. "It's like someone pressed an off switch somewhere in his brain but he's still awake. I'm just worried. We started dating last week and now I'm gonna be gone for eight days. This will be the longest we've ever been apart. If he starts acting weird or you feel like something's off...could you please let me know?"

Yumi furrowed her brow at the time, not really sure what she'd meant at the time. "Yeah, girl. No prob."

But after seeing him just now, she was starting to understand what Jiro meant. He'd been pale. His eyes glossy. Unfocused. When he came back to his senses, he looked lost. Tired.

Jiro had only been gone for two days but the change in him was obvious.

"Something's wrong," she said, shooting her boyfriend a concerned look.

Sero shrugged. "He probably just misses Jiro. I'd miss my honey too if she left me all on my lonesome for so long…" he muttered huskily, trying to steal a kiss.

She stopped his mouth with her hand pursing her lips. "Why don't you take him out tonight? Have a guys' night or whatever with Kiri. Maybe a few drinks, some pool - "

" - Are you asking me to spend my entire night at a bar with my friends getting wasted and ignoring you?"

Yumi shrugged. "Yeah."

Sero squinted at her. "This feels like a trap."

Yumi flushed. "I'm serious! Just...cheer him up, okay? Maybe ask Dabi and Keigo too."

Sero winced. "You didn't stop by Spencers yet today, did you?"

Yumi scoffed. "No. I don't have to be at work for another three hours. Why would I need to hit up the mall?"

Sero sucked in air through his teeth. "It was chilly."

"Chilly? What like...hostile?"

"They must be fighting or something," Sero said, scratching his head. "When I came by to say hello like usual, they weren't even looking at each other. They'd made themselves busy on opposite ends of the store."

Yumi swallowed. If mom and dad are fighting we're in deep shit. "Kaminari doesn't need to be around negativity like that. He's got enough on his plate already. So just ask him and Kiri, okay?"

"If you say so. What are you gonna do?"

Yumi quickly recalled Kaminari's address from the list of places she'd sent party invites to for Christmas last year and branded it into her mind so she could punch it into her GPS. "Work," she lied smoothly. "I'll get Keigo to take me home tonight. Maybe I can find out what's got them in such a tizzy."

Sero grinned. "Stan with a plan, huh?"

You have no idea. "Don't let him go home before the bars close," she requested, planting a kiss on Sero's nose.

~.~

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'RE DONE?!" Yumi exclaimed on the phone.

Keigo sighed, shooting Natsuo an apologetic look. "Yumi, I'm on a date. Can we talk about this later?" He whispered into the phone.

"A WHAT?! With WHO?!"

"The guy I'm seeing," Keigo answered.

Natsuo shot him a curious, slightly amused look but shrugged, continuing to eat his yakisoba.

"Does Dabi know?!"

Heat rose to Keigo's face. "Yeah," he offered pathetically.

"You lying sack of shit."

"He knows!" Keigo insisted. "Sort of," he scoffed. "It's not his business."

"Keigo, you two live together. You work together. He's your boss."

"Is there another reason you're calling? I'm trying to enjoy my date, so I'd really like to see an end to this conversation."

He could tell from her tone Yumi was fuming. "You haven't said his name yet. Maybe you're just making this up."

"I'm not taking the bait, Yumi."

"What bait?"

"The bait you're using to get his name out of me, which isn't happening."

"Why not?"

Keigo hissed into the phone. "Because the second you know it, you'll facebook stalk him until you know everything else!"

"Should I ask for the check?" Natsuo offered, looking alarmed.

"Oh crap you are with someone," she said. "He sounds cute. How old is he?"

"Why are you calling?!" He exclaimed, flushing immediately when everyone else in the restaurant turned to stare at him.

"I need a ride."

"Why can't Sero drive you?"

"He's with Kaminari and Kiri. They're having a boys' night."

"Since when does that stop you from asking your boyfriend for a ride?"

"I don't have time to explain. It's already almost midnight and the bars close at two. By the time I get there, I'll only have an hour."

Keigo raised an eyebrow. "Get where? What are you talking - "

" - Did Jiro ever tell you about Kaminari?"

Oh no. After being Kaminari's friend (and pseudo-parent) for over two years, he'd gotten to know him pretty well. Including his...moods. "That's why you can't ask Sero," Keigo realized out loud. "You don't want a ride home. You want me to take you to Denki's."

"This is a covert operation. For a friend. Okay? Is that enough, or is a hot piece of man more important than Kami?"

Keigo's jaw tensed. "Fuck."

"I'll be outside Hooters." She hung up.

Keigo stared down at his phone, sighing deeply. "Natsuo - "

" - It's okay," he said, waving his hand towards their server for the check. "It sounded pretty serious. There's always next time."

Keigo flushed. Christ, could this guy be more perfect? "I didn't think people like you existed."

Natsuo smiled and winked. "Me neither. Yet here you are."