Work Text:
Aomine was going to kill the guy upstairs. It was the third night in the row he couldn’t sleep because of this maddening creaking from above. Someone finally moved into the apartment upstairs and, guess what, it had a creaky bed. Apparently, his new neighbor was a very restless sleeper, too, so Daiki was slowly losing his mind. Satsuki begged him not to do anything stupid until his neighbor got a new bed, but enough was enough – he’s been patient for too long already.
He sprung out of bed, unceremoniously climbed the stairs, and knocked on his neighbor’s door. Thanks to the creaky bed, he could hear them move and freeze so he knocked again, which resulted in the exact same noise. When still no one answered the door, he started banging on it until a terrified, scrawny guy with teary eyes finally opened it.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!”
Aomine raised an eyebrow and scratched his head, taken aback. “I didn’t even say anything yet.”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s my fault, so I’m sorry!”
What the actual hell? Daiki tried to focus, shaking off sleepiness, and took a closer look at the guy. He didn’t look crazy (a bit malnourished maybe, but in a I-forget-to-eat-sometimes way, not I’m-a-drug-addict way), but he definitely sounded like that. He was hugging his arms and shuffling on his feet nervously, avoiding eye contact altogether, so maybe he was just paranoid or something.
“Well, it is,” he grunted, even more annoyed than before. “Your bed-”
“I’m so sorry! I know it creaks! I’ll sleep on the floor!”
Aomine’s eyes widened in surprise. “What the hell is wrong with you? I don’t want you to die of pneumonia! I just came here to tell you to stop squirming so much! Or buy a new bed, I don’t know. Ear plugs for me at the very least…”
“I’m sorry, I can’t afford a new bed right now,” whimpered the guy pathetically. “I don’t have a job and-”
“Whoa, whoa!” interrupted Daiki, raising his hand. “I didn’t come here for your life story, man. Just… keep it down.”
The guy dropped his eyes and bit his trembling lip, nodding. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I will. I’m sorry for being a bother.”
Before Aomine could say anything else, the guy closed the door in his face. Daiki sighed and got back to his apartment. What else was he supposed to do? He realized he might have been a bit harsh, but they were strangers, and Aomine wasn’t looking for friends; he wasn’t good at making them and definitely not at keeping them. His only real friend was a girl he’s knownforever, so he probably just grew on her – like a parasite or something.
The creaking didn’t stop entirely, but he could tell the guy was trying to stay as motionless as possible. It probably meant he wasn’t going to get much sleep, being all self-conscious about it and all that, but out of the two of them, Daiki preferred it was him who got to sleep soundly through the night. He must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he remembered was the sound of his alarm clock. He hated Mondays.
He opened the door to go out and found his weird neighbor on his doorstep, holding a bento box and looking determinedly at his own feet. Aomine cleared his throat, making the guy flinch and thrust the bento at Daiki.
“I’m sorry! I know it’s not much, but bento are pretty much the only thing I’m good at making, food-wise, and I wanted to apologize, and- Please, take it, I’m so sorry!”
Before Aomine could react in any way, the guy ran upstairs, and the sound of the door being slammed shut startled Daiki back into reality. What. The. Actual. Hell. This guy was obviously beyond weird, but was he the level of weird where he would try to randomly poison his neighbor for complaining about his creaky bed? After opening the lid and seeing the most ridiculously crying panda made of food, Aomine decided against it and took the bento with him.
The bento was as delicious as it looked, and that was the beginning of the end for Aomine Daiki – he wouldn’t admit it to his neighbor but he wanted to eat a bento like that every day for the rest of his life. Satsuki was unimpressed, as always when Daiki reminded her unintentionally what a bad cook she was, but she did give him a pretty brilliant idea. When his neighbor opened the door, he barged past him and flopped down on his creaky bed, testing its limits.
“Um… I’m sorry… can I help you, Aomine-san?”
Aomine frowned. “Why do you know my name? I don’t know yours.”
“I’m sorry! I forgot! Sakurai. Sakurai Ryou. Uh, I’m sorry, but your name is on your door.”
“Oh. Right. Anyway. I’m here to hire you.”
Ryou’s already big eyes widened comically as he looked at Daiki’s leisurely pose and then at the bed he was currently occupying. His face went red in record time, tears welling up in his eyes, and that was when Aomine realized the misunderstanding. He immediately starting protesting because, while he probably wouldn’t kick Ryou out of his bed in different circumstances, that was not what he came there to talk about.
“I want to pay you for your bento! Think about it! You don’t have the money for a new bed. And, thanks to you, I don’t get enough sleep to wake up early and make lunch.”
He purposefully left out one tiny detail – that he had never actually made any kind of food by himself – and Ryou instantly started apologizing, just like Daiki expected him to do. Aomine wondered briefly how long he could go on without being interrupted, but got annoyed before he could find an answer to his question.
“So do we have a deal?”
Ryou nodded enthusiastically, and that was that. They started hanging out at some point and Ryou turned out to be pretty cool company. When Daiki got used to his compulsive self-blaming, he started noticing other things about him. He was apparently as good at drawing as he was at making character bento, and he liked basketball, too. He wasn’t anywhere near Aomine’s level of skill, but his three pointers were pretty amazing. It also turned out, much to Daiki’s surprise, he was crazy competitive once he was facing a worthy opponent.
Satsuki liked him too, said he was “a good influence.” Which was ridiculous because Ryou spoiled Aomine just as much as she did. He always made sure every bento looked and tasted great, despite the fact that Daiki paid him next to nothing. Aomine didn’t like thinking about that at all, though, because it reminded him that it was just a deal between them, and it would probably all end after Ryou got a new bed; it wasn’t like Daiki was nice or likeable and Ryou would want to stick around just because.
He wanted to believe he’d only miss the bento, but that was a lie even he couldn’t make himself believe. He liked Ryou. Which was stupid, and pointless, and frustrating to the point he took it out on Ryou when he was in particularly bad mood. Satsuki just rolled her eyes at him most of the time, but she would try talking some sense to him, occasionally. It only pissed him off more, because that usually involved calling him stupid instead of giving some actual advice. They would fight and she would go up to Ryou, and Daiki would be left alone to sulk.
Just like today. So, there he was – watching his ceiling with a scowl and pretending he didn’t care Ryou and Satsuki were up there having fun without him. Maybe even a bit too much fun, judging from the steady but persistent creaking of that goddamned bed made. Aomine slowly sat up, listening carefully, his frown deepening the longer the creaking continued. The sound was maddening, especially considering its implications, even if they seemed impossible, and before he knew what he was doing, he was barging into Ryou’s apartment.
“Are you two having sex?!” he roared, his face beet red from anger.
Both of them lifted their faces to look at him, Ryou shocked and scared, Satsuki confused and offended. Daiki was forced to reconsider, seeing Ryou lying on his stomach with Satsuki propped on his thighs. Her hands were resting on his shoulders that she has been obviously kneading before he interrupted. Which was a thing she often did, being a physiotherapist, and all. He cleared his throat awkwardly and tried to back away, but Satsuki clicked her tongue.
“What were you going to do if we were having sex?”
Ryou yelped. “Momoi-san! What are you saying?!”
“No, no, Sakurai-kun, let him talk, I’m sure it’ll be very educational.”
Aomine cursed under his breath, turning his head to the side. “I don’t know, okay, I panicked!”
Momoi chuckled and got off Ryou, patting him on the butt, which predictably made him blush and squawk indignantly. “Sakurai-kun has been really tense lately, so much pent-up stress. So I offered my services. Free of charge, of course, which is what friends do. Isn’t it right, Sakurai-kun?”
Ryou whined softly, and Daiki felt like he was missing something. Satsuki gathered her things quietly and kissed him on the cheek before she left. He made a show of wiping it with disgust while Ryou nervously shifted to sit on the bed. The way it creaked even with the tiniest movement made Aomine snort.
“It’s been months and you still can’t get a new bed? Am I really paying you so little?”
Ryou was silent for a long moment, eyes fixed on his feet. “I’ve had enough money for a while now.”
“What?”
He must have heard that wrong because why wouldn’t Ryou buy a new bed if he had money, knowing how annoying it was for Daiki to hear it creak every single time Ryou so much as moved? He waited, too stunned to even be impatient, and watched Ryou’s cheeks color as he bit his lip and scowled at his feet like they offended him somehow. Ryou shrugged eventually, looking at Aomine.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’ve found a part-time job some time ago. And, yes, you do pay me so little,” he added, chuckling when Daiki made a noise of protest.
Aomine was confused. “I’m confused.”
“Sorry,” muttered Ryou, hugging his knees. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to spend time with me anymore after the deal was off. I know, I’m sorry! Momoi-san did that already so, please, don’t yell at me. I’m sorry…”
Daiki was speechless, which didn’t happened to him often, and simply stood there, mulling over what Ryou just said. Which, coincidentally, was the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. Never mind that he himself entertained similar thoughts on daily basis, because that made much more sense. After all, Aomine wasn’t someone who could be called a people magnet, while Ryou was just…
“Are you an idiot?!”
Ryou flinched. “A-Aomine-san?”
“Are you and idiot?!” he repeated, his face growing hot. “I thought you’d want to bail as soon as you got a new bed!”
“Why?!” cried Ryou, eyes wide.
“Have you met me?!”
Ryou pouted, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Are you trying to say I have a bad taste?”
“Duh!” said Daiki, nodding like an idiot. “That is- If you’re saying… what I think you’re saying, then- Yeah! Are you saying it? What are you saying? You piss me off!”
“I’m sorry! Yes, I’m saying it! at least I think I am? Uh, I’m sorry…”
“Okay! I’m saying it too! What now?!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know!”
Aomine groaned, exhausted by this confusing exchange, and flopped down the bed next to Ryou. He side-glanced at Ryou, who was blatantly avoiding eye contact, blushing. God, it was annoying – the awkwardness. Satsuki would probably beat them to a bloody pulp if she was there to witness their complete incompetency. But he was nervous, for some reason; probably the same reason Ryou was. Tentatively, he shifted minimally closer, noticing the way Ryou’s stiffened. He nudged his shoulder, making him look up, and scowled.
“So we’re gonna kiss or what,” he mumbled, pretending his face didn’t feel like it was burning.
Ryou’s breath hitched and he stared at Daiki for a long moment, his lips slightly parted. He licked them reflexively, unintentionally drawing Aomine’s attention do his mouth, and nodded.
“Yeah, okay.”