There was no such thing as a normal day when working in retail, something which Shin knew all too well. He was perfectly used to all of the ups and downs of working at a convenience store. Thankfully, most of the people he'd see were just office workers stopping during their lunch break for something cheap. Of course, there were at least one or two oddballs he'd see in a day, and every now and then he'd get an angry person yelling in his face over something out of his control- but it was a convenience store for crying out loud, he could've had it much worse. If anything, it was one of the more pleasant experiences he's had when it came to working in retail.

That was, until his friends found out where he worked. In that moment, his experiences working at a 7-Eleven had quickly plummeted from one of his best work experiences so far to what was easily his worst experience by a long shot. And right as he thought that surely, it couldn't possibly get any worse- he was quick to realize how wrong he had been the moment he heard hell's bell ring followed by a rough voice shouting "Hey, bottom boy!"

"So it was you who taught Gin that!" Shin pointed an accusatory finger in the direction of the voice.

Rounding the corner and glancing around the store, Reko's brown eyes lit up with a mischievous glint as soon as she caught sight of Shin. "Nope! Try again!"

Shin lowered his hand in disappointment. "Then who was it?!"

"I'm not telling you." Reko scrunched up her nose in disgust.

Shin didn't press the topic further, too drained from his last encounters with his friends to put any more effort into the matter. Out of everyone he knew in the groupchat, he had to say that Reko was probably the person he got along with the least. It wasn't to say that they didn't get along at all, it was just that she didn't particularly care for his personality, and the feeling was mutual. Thankfully for him, there was a good chance Reko didn't come alone- she probably came with her girlfriend, Nao, or perhaps she brought her brother, Alice, with her. Although they were very different people, Shin found them both to be far more tolerable than his other friends.

"Hi, Shin!"

"Greetings, Shin Tsukimi!"

Oh. He wasn't expecting both of them to be with her. A surprise, certainly, but it was one of the few he actually welcomed. Despite that, he still was not in the mood for anything. Not now, at least. And probably not ever. "Hello, Nao, Alice. What brings you three here?" He asked through gritted teeth, forcing a smile as they approached the counter.

"Oh, nothing, really," Nao started, waving her hand dismissively. "We-"

"Just wanted to mess with you." Reko interrupted, resting her elbow on Nao's shoulder.

"Reko!" Nao pouted, shoving her elbow off of her shoulder. "Unlike some people, I wanted to come visit you in person, that's all."

"And you?" Shin turned his gaze to Alice, peering into his eyes with a bored stare.

Alice huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do not look at me like that. These two simply approached me and asked if I could drive them here- and who am I to turn them down when they asked ever-so-nicely?"

Shin sighed, rolling his eyes. "If that's all then I'll be seeing you guys never. Good day," With that, Shin opened the cash compartment to the cash register, glaring momentarily at the overflow of pennies before sorting through its contents.

"Dude!" Reko grunted, slamming her fist down on the countertop. "We just got here! You can't just-"

Shin wasn't having any of it. "You guys got what you wanted already. Nao got to visit me in person, which was nice, and Alice got to drive his sister and her girlfriend around like a good big bro-"

"G-girlfriend?!" Nao squeaked out in surprise, her cheeks flushing red. "W-We're not-!"

"Relax," Shin waved his hand dismissively. "There's no homophobes around to hear. They usually come in at around 17:00."

"Nao and I aren't dating, dipass," Reko hissed, shooting a glare at Shin.

"Wait, what?" Shin's eyebrows raised in genuine surprise. "You guys aren't dating?"

"No..." Nao murmured, bringing her hands to her face as her voice raised in pitch from embarrassment.

"No?" Shin parroted. "You're telling me after all this time you guys still aren't dating?"

"Can it, punkass!" Reko snarled, lifting her fist up from the counter and waving it around threateningly.

"I-I'm... I'm gonna go get a drink or something..." Nao mumbled, looking down at her feet as she quickly shuffled off.

"Wait, Nao-!" Unfortunately for Reko, the artist was surprisingly fast, already gone before she had a chance to call her back. "Now look at what you did, you twink!" Reko growled, shooting Shin a glare before hurrying after Nao.

Normally, Shin would've pissed himself out of fear after receiving a look as deadly as that- but quite frankly, he couldn't bring himself to care. He'd worry about Reko killing him later. "God, they're so obvious it actually drives me nuts!" He cried out to Alice, holding his hands out in bewilderment. "Don't you find it annoying too?!"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it to be a little annoying at times," Alice hummed in agreement, leaning his back against the counter next to where Shin stood. "If I didn't know you, or them, any better, I'd have pegged you as the homophobic type."

Shin nearly laughed at how ridiculous the statement was. "Oh, believe me, I'm not homophobic," he shook his head. "I hate everyone equally. And besides, you're not pegging anyone."

"Excuse me?" Alice lifted his chin up, glaring at Shin incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Shin shrugged. "You get no action. At all."

Alice merely laughed. "That's rich coming from the likes of you!"

"Hey!" Shin protested, leaning forward. "I can peg who I want, when I want!"

"You are the literal dictionary definition of a bottom, Shin Tsukimi!" Alice proclaimed. "It is I who does the pegging around here!"

"Oh my god why are you guys talking about pegging?" Shin and Alice both turned their attention to Reko, who was holding a drink in each hand as she approached the two with Nao at her side. "Please don't make me vomit, I haven't even drank my coffee yet."

"Guys!" Shin slammed his hands down on the counter. "Who radiates more top energy?!"

"Me?" Reko raised an inquisitive brow. "The hell kind of question is that?"

"Who radiates more top energy, me or Alice?!" Shin corrected himself. He watched in horror as both Nao and Reko pointed to Alice. "Oh, come on!" He wailed.

"It is as I said." Alice ran a hand through his blue hair, a victorious smirk lighting up his face.

"I know I said I came here to mess with Shin, but now it feels like he's messing with me..." Reko mumbled to Nao as she pretended to gag, to which the college student giggled.

"God, you're still on about that?" Shin rolled his eyes once again, straightening out his posture. "You have your drinks already- can't you just buy them and leave me alone? What more could you want from me?"

"Dude, I already told you I wanted to screw with you, are you deaf or something?" Reko asked, passing one of the cups in her hand to Nao.

Shin groaned rather loudly. "Isn't there something else you could be doing right about now?! You're literally in a band! Go make a song or sign some autographs or something!!"

Reko hummed in thought. "Well, I guess there is something I should be doing right now..."

"There is?" Alice raised an inquisitive brow.

Reko nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, I was actually supposed to be doing your mom right about now!" She exclaimed, a shit-eating grin taking over her features.

"No," Shin shook his head firmly, holding out his hand. "We are not doing that in here."

"Fine by me," Reko shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee. "I can just do your mom outside."

"No!" Shin cried out, slamming his elbows onto the counter and burying his face into his hands. "You are not doing my mom anywhere!" He yelled. "Those jokes aren't even funny, they're just annoying!"

Alice closed his eyes as if he were contemplating something. "I agree," He hummed.

Shin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank-"

"You should at least take her out to dinner first!" He exclaimed, his eyes suddenly shooting open. "Get to know her a little better before you start to have intercourse with her!"

"Oh my GOD-?!" Shin's eyes nearly popped out of his head, his voice almost cracking from how high it had gone.

"Nah, man," Reko shook her head, taking yet another sip of her coffee. "If we're eating, then we're eating, you know what I mean?" She asked. "Though, since we're talking about knowing her better, I suppose she probably has a husband or something..."

"Not to worry!" Alice snapped his fingers, smiling haughtily. "We can merely divide and conquer! I'll go for Mister Tsukimi, and you can go for the missus!"

Shin's pleas for the siblings to stop talking about having sexual relations with his parents went unheard as the two continued to passionately discuss their plans- it was almost as if they were preparing to go into battle. After a minute or so, Shin gives up on them, turning his attention to the only option he had left. "Nao..." He muttered weakly, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Please... Help..."

"Ah-!" Nao's eyes widened. "I-I'm sorry..." She averted her gaze down to her feet once more.

"Nao..."

"I'm sorry..." She repeated, taking a deep breath before meeting Shin's eyes. "For doing your mom last night!" She exclaimed, clenching her eyes shut as she gripped her drink tightly, some of the liquid spilling out from the top and onto the floor.

The air around them went silent in an instant. Alice and Reko both stopped talking immediately, looking at Nao with nothing but surprise in their gaze. In her stupor, Reko dropped her cup of coffee, paying no attention to it as it spilled all over the floor.

After what felt like forever, the silence was finally broken. "NO!" Shin sobbed, dramatically slamming his head on the counter. "Not you too, Nao!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Nao stuttered out. "I really am this time!"

"Don't be sorry, Nao!" Reko grinned like a madman, stepping over the puddle of coffee on the floor and standing next to her. "That was incredible!" She praised, patting Nao on the back with more force than she had intended.

Nao stumbled forward, her cup slipping from her grip and spilling all over Shin, who gasped in surprise as he shot up from the counter. "Shin!" Nao frowned guiltily. "I didn't mean to- um, wait here, I'll get some napkins-"

"No, no, you're fine," Shin grumbled, looking incredibly unamused. "I have paper towels right over-" He turned around to grab the paper towels, only to underestimate just how much of Nao's drink spilled- something he realized only after his foot had slipped from under him and sent him flying to the ground, yowling out in pain.

"Gottem!" Reko howled. "Let's go before he gets up!"

"H-Hey!" Shin called out, grabbing onto the counter and hoisting himself up. The only noise he heard were the sound of footsteps rushing away from him, followed closely by the bell sounding. "Get back here, you!" Carefully maneuvering around the spill on the floor, Shin went around the counter and towards the front. "You have to pay for your coffee!"

The very same coffee that Shin proceeded to slip on not even a second later.

"...Or not." Shin blinked, staring up at the ceiling in a daze.

He wasn't sure how long he was laying on the floor for. Maybe it was only a minute, maybe it was a whole hour, but at some point in time he heard a long sigh, followed by the sound of cleaning supplies being taken out. "Hey," He mumbled, still not bothering to get up from his spot on the floor. If only the ground would swallow him whole, that'd be great right about now.

"Hey," His co-worker greeted him, sounding just as unamused as Shin felt. "Rough day?" He asked, taking out the mop and starting to clean up the mess on the floor, strategically mopping around his co-worker.

"...You could say that."

Words: ~2.1k

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter came out so late. If I'm being honest, I genuinely had no ideas and wrote everything in the span of a few hours. I'm really happy with what I came up with, though! I love these four so much, their dynamics are brilliant! Also, I meant to add this in the author's note for chapter 2, but did you know Shin has a co-worker at his job? Nankidai tweeted about it some time ago- apparently it's the main character of another work of his. I just think that's neat :) He'll definitely come back more often LOL