Japas looked up from his untidy scribbles to see a rather groggy-looking Mikau enter his room. The guitarist hardly ever knocked anymore, which suited him fine, since it saved him the trouble of being distracted. He jutted his chin out in a quick acknowledgment of his friend and bowed his head once more, dragging the pen across the paper in quick, sketchy movements. His bass was, for once, propped in its stand but three feet away from him, silently awaiting the next moment when it would be played.

Mikau hoisted himself onto the table gracefully, silently, watching his friend with tired eyes. He and Lulu had fought again, leaving him irritable and desperate for something to do with himself. His own guitar was leaning against the wall near Japas' bass, fret bones jutting out into the humid air in a fantastic display. He was quite fond of his instrument.

Clearing his throat and feeling a tad awkward about having nothing to converse about, he sat cross-legged and leaned his elbows on his calves. His chin rested against his palms, and he could feel the very tips of his bladefins tickling his knees. "Hey."

Japas finished the staff he had been working on and shook his hair to the side in a reflexive action. Mikau got the slightest glimpse of his friend's right eye before the hair fell back into position, and suddenly, he felt an almost uncontrollable urge to reach out and push the hair away from the bassist's face. Japas smiled warmly, an easy grin that looked at home on his face. "Hey, man."

Conversation came more and more easily to him as he soaked in the friendly expression, and Mikau allowed himself to relax. "What are you working on now?" Japas had always been the most musically inclined out of the group, always knowing what chords would sound best where and whatnot... To be honest, it really just made his head hurt. He just wanted to play the music, not worry about the logistics of it. He wondered how many of the others felt the same way, and what they would do without Japas' music knowledge. His friend's spine straightened with pride.

"Our next hit."

"What if Evan finds out?"

The bassist shrugged and went back to scribbling. Mikau marveled at his laid-back nature. If Evan had pulled the same crap with him as he did with Japas, what with stealing the credit for songs and all, he'd have tweaked long ago. Instead, Japas merely shook the cramps from his hand. "So what if he does? 'S the only way it'll become popular, man. We have the talent, but he puts it out there. You worry too much."

Mikau sighed and folded his arms, then looked back to the other Zora's face. Japas' hair was still dangling in front of his eyes. His own hair was minimal and just for style (Evan insisted that he stayed with the new trends), and even then the tickling at his jaw line irritated him. He cocked his head and blurted out the question. "How come you wear your hair like that?"

A pause in the quiet noises coming from Japas' scrawl, and the bassist lifted his head. "Hm?"

"All in your face. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Nope, not really. Guess it's always been this way."

He knew that Japas wasn't nearly as shallow and careless as he seemed, but sometimes it really was hard to believe. He cracked his neck and cocked his head to the other side. "You never wanted to try?"

"Try what?"

"A different hairstyle."

Japas glanced at the other guitarist sidelong. "Somethin' on your mind, man? Did you and Lu have a fight again?"

Mikau ignored the query and reached forward, the stretch bringing his face quite close to his friend's. His fingers tangled with the silky tresses falling around Japas' face, pulling them to their respective sides and revealing two (very confused) beautiful cerulean eyes. His nose had a slight bump in the bridge from when Mikau had broken it years back, but otherwise, the bassist had a very handsome face. He sat back, then, and admired his handiwork.

Japas frowned, then, concerned for his friend's emotional health. Instead of pushing the issue, however, he nabbed his bass from its stand, pleased as Mikau followed his actions with the retrieval of his own guitar.

As the two Zora's stumbled through their newest song together, Mikau noticed with a hint of satisfaction that Japas never shook his bangs back into his eyes.


A/n: No clue where this came from. I should be studying for the SATs. Oh well. I'll write a more in-depth Japas/Mikau story when I'm not worrying myself to death. Lemme know if you want one.